These Survivors Need More Respect (Again)

More Forgotten Evolutions of Survivor Strategy

Ahead of Survivor 47, I’m looking back.

Survivor is a social experiment that captivated us in 2000, and since then there have been 697 castaways that have played the game through 46 seasons. In that time, strategy has evolved from the alphabet voting strategy and the “alliance” in its infancy, to the most recent Q-skirts and an epidemic of idol flushing blindsides. The advancements in Survivor strategy over 24 years would have sent pioneer Dr. Sean to the emergency room, needing a neurologist of his own. And just imagine Susan Hawk finding a Knowledge is Power advantage! 

Despite the evolving strategy, there are common throughlines that have held since the beginning, and many of these are built upon the tenets set forth in seasons past. We’ve come to know the big names that make up the Survivor Mount Rushmore – Sandra, Boston Rob, Tony, Parvati. We’re quick to remember the other strategists that have shaped the game – Rob Cesternino, Cirie, Kim, Natalie, Tyson, among others. And we know the games’ biggest moments like Parvati’s double idol play, fall of the Rotu 4, and the 17 times we’ve flashed back to Erik giving individual immunity to Natalie. There are, however, other key moments in Survivor history that have been lost and players that were ahead of their time and these pioneers of the game deserve their flowers, too.

This is part two of a two-part series (see part one for my thoughts on Sue Hawk, Gervase, T-Bird, and Kathy Vavrick O’Brien).

Here are four more players that helped evolve Survivor strategy.

Julie Berry (Vanuatu) – Lying about the game

Julie had a low key edit on Survivor: Vanuatu, and is perhaps most famous for dating Jeff Probst for a number of years. But remembering Julie for her outside of the game relationship is a disservice to her as a player and person. Julie charmed her fellow castaways and was playing from the bottom after her close ally Dolly was blindsided. She managed to worm her way into a majority with Ami and Leann thanks to her social game, to the point where it blew up the relationship between Ami/Leann and Scout/Twila because she had essentially replaced Scout.

Julie’s edit was at times reduced to the social flirt, but this viewpoint simplified and overlooked how good her game really was. Much like Parvati, her social game opened up relationships and strategic options. Her read on social situations allowed her to make educated guesses about where alliances were forming. This especially came into play after the tribe swap, where Julie and Twila found themselves outnumbered by the men 4-2. Julie saw Twila getting closer to Chad, Chris, and a man named Lea. She sensed she was losing Twila to the men, and used her game sense and social read to create the perfect lie – that she was also approached for a final 4 by the men. When she told this to Twila, it immediately turned her off from the men and back into Julie’s corner. Keep in mind, Twila and Julie were also on opposite alliances in the original women’s tribe and Julie even voted Twila out of the game before the swap. 

Julie’s lie was rooted in educated guessing based on observation, and was a key factor in her not only surviving the swap but allowing the women to take the majority post-merge when Twila flipped back. In the episodes after, Twila blames Julie’s deception for why Twila flipped on the men. This tactic was made more famous by Sandra in Heroes vs. Villains – “I’ll lie, I don’t care, but I’ll make up a good lie” – which she did to remove Coach from the game. And it was Julie’s move that actually inspired my own gameplay on Survivor 42 when talking to Mike about Hai.

Cao Boi Bui (Cook Islands) – Splitting the vote

Okay, the real ones remember this one, but the casuals do not. Cao Boi was an eccentric character, and his portrayal was often clouded by the racial divide twist which he was more than leaning into, much to his tribe’s dismay. 

That being said, Cao Boi was authentically himself and even discovered splitting the vote in a kooky way – a dream. He dreamzed he needed to split the credit card to pay a bill 3 and 3 – which is how he and his alliance could defeat the hidden immunity idol he thought Jonathan or Candice possessed.

The only problem is that Cao Boi’s alliance was actually Jonathan and Candice’s alliance, so he was blindsided. But he invented the strategy that has become as Survivor 101 as the alliance. Well, maybe Survivor 102, since we still see instances where the majority fails to do this – shout out Kelley Wentworth and Kaleb Gabrewold.

^{*Honourable mention to Stacy Kimball for inventing splitting the vote onto a tertiary target}

Devon Pinto (Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers) – Contingency vote

Devon is a one-time player that surprisingly hasn’t returned. Although HHH isn’t regarded highly as a season, there were some great moments and characters. Devon was definitely one of them, and someone who probably would have won the season had the final 4 fire-making twist not been implemented. 

Devon’s alliance was battling against Ben bomb after Ben bomb, as their perennial target kept finding immunity idols. It was thought that after two successful idol plays, there’s no way that Ben could find another. Additionally, Chrissy’s fake idol was used as a bluff to prevent Ben from looking – but they didn’t know Ben did actually find another. And Ben planned to blindside Devon as long as the entire majority alliance piled their votes on him – just like Ben sent out Lauren two votes earlier. But Devon’s spidey sense was tingling and he went rogue with a contingency vote for Dr. Mike, which ended up saving him after Ben played his idol. The resulting 1-1 tie between him and Dr. Mike allowed his alliance to spare him in the game. 

I do think this is a bit distinct from the “split vote” as this was not a planned alliance split, but rather served the individual. This is also a concept that has taken on new life in the new era, where a contingency vote for the shot-in-the-dark is quite common. This concept and when to optimally use it is dynamic and situational, and still in development. We have recently seen people use or not use this unsuccessfully – Chanelle voting for Mike to protect against Daniel’s shot in the dark on Season 42 did her a disservice and lessened her trust with her tribe. In season 45, we saw both J Maya and Emily lose the game because they DIDN’T implement a contingency vote when they were both the alternate boot candidates.

Michael Yerger (Ghost Island) – Lying about game mechanics

This is one that only fans will remember. Michael was one of the more successful teenagers to play the game, carrying a quiet confidence and knowledge of the game that surpassed many who were older than him. He was swapped into a minority at the new Malolo tribe, outnumbered by the Naviti Strong Dictatorship 5-4. 

Michael’s alliance of four went looking for an immunity idol and he was lucky enough to find one. But this still only allowed for a 25% chance of playing it correctly. This is where Michael showed tremendous innovation. The Ghost Island theme brought back idols from the past that were cursed, and Michael’s idol previously belonged to James Clement who was voted out with two idols on Survivor China. Michael decided to bluff that James’ idol matured into two idols on Ghost Island, allowing him to play it on two people. This was a scare tactic to try and flip a member of Naviti and while it didn’t work, this was one of the first times this was performed. 

There were similar situations prior to Michael – for instance, Val lying about having two idols, or Tony claiming his special idol extended protection to the final 4. But Michael’s lie was more developed and fabricated, which I think deserves distinction on its own. The biggest impact we’ve seen of this since was in Survivor 43 and Survivor 44. Idols and advantages were often shifted around due to fear of knowledge is power – and some players, such as Jesse, used the threat of knowledge is power to shift advantages in his favor.

With so many seasons and players, I’m certain there are many more under-the-radar strategic evolutions that have gone unnoticed. It’s also exciting to think about how far the game has evolved, and where it may go from here. Thank you for reading this Confessional. And again, if you missed part one, check it out here.

-Omar

Omar Zaheer is known as a strategic mastermind. He was on Survivor 42 where he was taken out in the biggest move of the season. He works as an exotic animal vet in Canada.

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