Less experienced contestants have an advantage in Survivor: Winners at War because their reputation isn’t as well known to everyone else. If they played in a more recent season, they are also more accustomed to some of the twists they may face out on the island.
The first couple episodes of season 40 have shown us a split in the Sele tribe between old school and new school players. On the Dakal tribe, the one-time players have formed an underground coalition. Each division exemplifies a clear disadvantage. For players who haven’t played recently, like third boot Danni Boatwright, the overwhelming pace of play can be too much to overcome. Amber Mariano, eliminated first on her tribe, also expressed feeling ill-prepared to handle the rigors of the modern game. Meanwhile, the most recent winners, Wendell and Nick, appear in comfortable positions in their tribe. (Yul Kwon, winner of season 13, is an outlier because he’s a genius.)
On the Sele tribe, the new school alliance controls the numbers even if Boston Rob appears to have control of their minds. Adam Klein, winner of Millennials vs. Gen X looks like someone who hasn’t had too long of a layoff since his appearance on the show. He expertly flipped the vote to Natalie Anderson in the first tribal council to prevent himself from being a target. While Rob, Parvati Shallow and Ethan Zohn haven’t received any votes, they could all be in trouble if Sele goes to tribal council again.
The less experience a player has, the fewer people know what they’ve done in the past. The legacies of Rob and Sandra Diaz-Twine haven’t hurt them yet, but come merge time – should they advance that far – there will be a microscope on their games. Meanwhile, the Adams and Wendells of the world can only put themselves in hot water with their actions in the island. They haven’t lost yet, but they also haven’t betrayed their weaknesses in previous seasons. Those who have played more than once have done just that.
The refreshing thing about the most recent vote is that it wasn’t been targeted toward any one person because of past reputation. Danni simply let paranoia get the best of her and was promptly taken out. As the game progresses, however, those with multiple seasons under their belt will feel the wrath of the one-time players who feel a responsibility to prove themselves as something more than a one-hit wonder.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on CBS.
