The Old School players seriously are having a lot of bad luck on Survivor: Winners at War! How did we get to a place where they were all voted out pre-merge? Might this have something to do with their legacy in the series? The Old School castaways were viewed with almost an irreverence compared to the New School players. Parvati, Sandra, Yul, and Boston Rob make up the legacy, so of course it would be difficult to avoid that target status. But, for the eliminations to be a complete wipeout is a shocking series of events. It may have been unintentional, but the proof is in the pudding.
Yul’s vote-off (maybe a blindside?) came from left-field as he seemed to be in a good position with his alliance. He had a tight trio with Nick and Wendell and he had a decent friendship with Michele. Sure, he had the reputation of being a strategic mastermind, but he kept that dormant for much of the season and played in the background. He looked good and golden to survive to the merge. So, what happened? His overplaying to make a strategic move when he didn’t need to did him in.
Fire tokens are insignificant at this point in Survivor: Winners at War. They might have a big advantage later in the season or they might not. However, collecting them shouldn’t be the main focus of any strategy. At the end of the day, challenges, relationship-management, and strategy are what determines victory – not a metallic coin. Yul came from nowhere with a devious move to get Michele her coins back from Wendell that it only caused undue attention toward him. If he had kept with the plan, Nick and Michele would’ve been more than happy to vote out Wendell, especially after his behavior the last two rounds.
Though, let’s not blame Yul’s recent move for being the only reason he got voted off. His elimination also stemmed from Wendell having closer relationships with Nick and Michele. Wendell had past romantic history with Michele, so they had a pre-season bond they could rely on if need be. And, Wendell’s season win was close to Nick’s win, so they have friendship history being close together. Yul stayed mostly out of the Survivor picture. In a game of all-winners and returning players, the relationships make a difference and Yul didn’t have those strong connections coming in that would’ve helped him. (Let’s not forget that he completely lost touch with Parvati, someone he actually played with on his only season.)
Speaking of Wendell, is Survivor: Winners at War prepping us as viewers for a merge boot elimination or a shocking one coming soon? His edit has taken a complete turn toward the full “villain” status. It’s surprising that he didn’t get voted off because the edit supported Michele and Nick turning their backs on him after he cost them the victory during the immunity challenge. Based on the edit, there is no way Wendell is winning Survivor: Winners at War.
At the challenge, you always have to keep your head in the game. Anyone can come from behind to win the game, even if they’ve stumbled or come up from the rear. And, even if there is a puzzle, focus on your own board to get it completed if you already know what the design will be. Wendell showboating and continually looking at his competition wasted precious time that could’ve been used to win the challenge. His tribe was literally one second behind! Future Survivor players should look to this as what not to do.
At the Yara tribe, Adam’s paranoia will hurt his chances. Even if you suspect someone has a hidden immunity idol, why would you call out your tribemates? Also, why would you then not suspect everyone? Sophie had the idol, but he never questioned her or looked in her direction as a suspect. All he did was push his tribemates away and put a big target on his back if they had lost the challenge. Adam is playing this season like a newbie.
Over at the Edge of Extinction, Boston Rob played the challenge correctly compared to Tyson. Why would you tell everyone that you found the fire tokens? Keep them a secret and whip them out when you need to make a powerful move. The only person who might need to know about them is Amber, but that is only because Amber is married to Boston Rob. Tyson should’ve kept it a secret since everyone else found out.
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“We’re in the Majors” delivered one final strategic strike before the castaways head into the merge phase. The last of the Old School players said their goodbyes in a war that seemed destined to be in the New School favor. Survivor is in a New School world and we’re all living in it. But with the players soon becoming one tribe, did they make the right call with the last elimination? I’m not so sure. Sarah and Sophie might not react as well knowing Nick and Wendell turned on Yul when they needed the numbers.
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