TV Review: Survivor: Winners at War

June 25, 2020

Last month, reality TV competition series, Survivor, wrapped up its fortieth season, “Winners at War.” Like the previous seven seasons, Winners at War took place in Fiji’s Mamanuca Islands. What immediately makes this season stand out is that every single contestant competing was a winner from a previous season. Survivor legends from the show’s early seasons like Sandra Diaz, “Boston” Rob Mariano, and Parvati Shallow were mixed in with more recent winners like Tony Vlachos, Michele Fitzgerald, and Sarah Lacina. This wide range of winners, spanning nearly twenty years, quickly created an intriguing dynamic that viewers got to enjoy for the entire season.

*Warning: Spoilers for Survivor: Winners at War below*

The most refreshing aspect of this season right from the jump is how well each of these players grasp the strategy required to play Survivor well. This isn’t a huge shock; each of these players had won a previous season, but it is something that has been lacking in recent seasons that thankfully was not the case in this winner’s only edition.

Two gimmicks for Winners at War were the reintroduction of the Edge of Extinction, an island that voted off players could stay on for a chance to get back into the game, and the introduction of fire tokens, a type of currency that could be used to buy idols, advantages and rewards. Both of these twists had a big impact on gameplay throughout the thirty-nine days of the competition.

For the most part, fans of the show don’t really seem to like the Edge of Extinction, and it is easy to see why. If a contestant gets voted out, they shouldn’t get a chance to re-enter the game. The existence of the Edge of Extinction makes tribal councils feel a little less serious, knowing that the player about to be voted out has a chance to get back in the game. The reception to fire tokens was well received with many fans hoping the currency returns in future seasons.

Before contestants even got to their tribal camps, lines had already been drawn in the sand. The main theme throughout the first half of the game was “old school vs. new school”. The old school players were obviously going to work together if given the chance, because of the relationships they had built over the last decade and a half. Because of this, the new school player’s strategy was to target the old school legends to not let them get much power in the game. This strategy was largely successful, with eight old school players voted out in the first nine tribal councils.

Over the first half of the competition, Tony Vlachos, who eventually won, had played a relatively quiet game. Going into Winners at War, Tony was well known for his impressive victory in season twenty-nine, Cagayan, and his chaotic failure in season thirty-four, Game Changers. Since he was aware that it was his fast-paced antics that got him voted out in Game Changers, Tony knew that he had to lay low to start the game. Once he got established in the majority alliance, he was able to do just that.

Tony picked up his gameplay after most of the old school players had been voted out. He constantly pushed the vote in the direction he wanted and was able to form alliances with just about everybody on the island after the merge. When Tony was extorted by Natalie Anderson (finished runner-up), he was able to get fire token donations from three different people, two of which he wasn’t really aligned with in the first place!

The greatest asset to Tony’s game is his ability to get his allies back on his side after going completely behind their backs to make a move that only benefits him. After he did it a number of times in season twenty nine then general consensus was that nobody would be able to win a season like that again. When Tony left his closest ally, Sarah Lacina, in the dark for the blindsiding of one her allies, he still somehow reeled Lacina back in after the vote, despite Tony having an untrustworthy history with her.

In the end, Tony was rightfully crowned as the sole survivor in an exciting season with many great storylines. Natalie took advantage of the Edge of Extinction and the fire token system and nearly pulled off a massive upset. Michele Fitzgerald (finished third place) deserved a couple of votes in my opinion after playing a strong social game.

Overall, it was a satisfying finish to a season with ever shifting gameplay and alliances. With every single player grasping for power and influence, the level strategy was incredibly high throughout the entire season. It was a season full of blindsides, fake alliances, and innovative gameplay. Ultimately, Winners at War served as a final act for many of the greatest to ever play the game of Survivor while paving the way for a new generation of players to take up the torch.

You can stream Survivor: Winners at War on CBS All Access

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