I assume you mean Tocantins because China did have 3 finalists. If you did mean Tocantins, are you sure? Because it certainly seemed like a “back to basics” season. 16 contestants, 7 jury members, 2 finalists. It played out just like Borneo. However, Joe was removed just prior to the jury phase so it does fit your story.

-You forgot Terry Deitz. Swap him with Colby.

-Cassandra does not deserve a spot on any all star season.

-I do think Becky is a legit player… didn't Yul say that the Aitu 4 made all there decisions as a group?

I believe playing the game well means you know what other people are planning and are able to guide people down the path that beneifts you the most. That's why I think Rob and Stephen played such good games.

That's also why I will never say Sandra was a good player, even though she won twice. She ended up in the finals because of the actions and decisions of others, not because of anything she did herself. And had she been a better player, she would have been taken out when the people in charge of the game targeted Tyson, Rob or Courtney.

I think y'all are giving too much credit to Sandra to suggest she plans to play the way she does. She does not fly under the radar or float through the game. She tried all season to control the action. She is just terrible at it. So the end result is the same as if she had been a floater. But its not because she wanted it that way.

Remember they even teased two episodes with previews like “And Sandra makes her move” or “And then Sandra takes control of the game”. And in both of those episodes, she tried to put together a plan and wasn't able to convince anyone to do anything. Not sure how that is taking control of the game.

Well, in Borneo it wasn't really considered dumb then because they had no idea what to make of this show and Rich sort of invented the game and the concept of making an alliance so it was all unique to them.

I thought when Alex told Rob that he'd be gone at 4 should have been one of the dumbest moves ever.

“Russell keeping Natalie in the game.”

Galu didnt vote for Natalie. They voted against Russell. Had he gone to the final 3 against a stick and a coconut, Erik, Jaison, Monica and the other sore losers would have voted for either the stick or the coconut. I think they would have gone with the coconut, because it has a tough defense and puts up a good fight to keep from getting split open. The stick, on the other hand, just waits for someone to throw it into the fire. So the coconut would have won, and your list would say “Russell keeping the coconut in the game.”

Few people mention what I think is one of the dumbest moves. Shi-Ann and the Sook Jai tribe losing on purpose in Thailand because they had a lead in numbers and were ready to get rid of one of their own. The other tribe ended up winning the last four challenges before the merge and took the lead in numbers. Perfect example of a team getting ahead of itself. I actually would consider it for the dumbest move in the history of the game because nobody was tricked into doing it. There was no surprise waiting for them when they did it. They consciously made the decision to reduce their tribe number by one in a game where going to the merge with the numbers advantage can make all the difference. They got what they deserved.

i think the decision that cost Parvati the game was her not telling Russell about her immunity idol. that move planted the seed of distrust in Russell's head and “forced him” (in his mind at least) to break up her and Danielle….. if that doesnt happen, Russell, Parvati, and Danielle end up the final 3…. ensuring Parvati a victory.

With this newer generation of Survivor, the people who watch now haven't been loyal fans since the earlier seasons like I know I have. I mean, proof of this is JT winning that vote for dumbest move when Erik should have clearly won it. In terms of who played the best game, the top players going into this season were Parvati, Amanda, Cirie, Sandra, Russell, and arguably Boston Rob if you want to call physically dominating good strategy, some people do, whatever.

Lots of people don't even remember Pearl Islands and/or had to re-watch the season and then realize that Sandra played an incredible strategic game. Also, something that seems to be overlooked is that not only did Sandra win twice, she mastered the old school survivor of 7 jury members, a final 2, significantly harder challenges, but she also mastered the new school survivor of 9 jury members, a final 3, Russell Hantz, and lots of other little things that have drastically changed the game since season 7.

Parvati hasn't gone more then 2 years without being on a survivor which she has 3 times.
Sandra hadn't been on it for 7 years.
The game Parvati played the first 2 times was a lot more similar to Heroes vs Villains then the game Sandra first played.

Sandra deserved to win 100% and as good of a game Parvati played, I feel like Sandra matched that because she was the underdog, and got to where she was not based off hidden immunity idols (or at least not nearly as much as Parvati and Russell did).

Rob, thanks for keeping spoilers off this site and out of your podcasts. I try to avoid them, but I think nearly any fan with an internet connection had the final 3 spoiled for them this season.

All season, I wanted to know how much of it had been spoiled for you and your guests. Yau-Man honestly didn't seem to know where the season was headed, but I thought I could hear Penner, Hatch, Kenny and Fairplay filtering what they really wanted to say and pretending not to know where the season was headed.

I felt like Sandra got a lot of play in you podcasts because y'all knew she was going to win. Like when ESPN Classic shows the 1982 NCAA basketball championship, they spend a little too much time in the introduction talking about a certain freshman from North Carolina who wasn’t the most important guy in the game.

If Survivor played out live like Big Brother, I think Jerri and DoubleD would have gotten more attention during the podcasts for the games they were playing. If we didn’t know where the season was going, I think they would have been the best choices for winning the game when we were down to 9 or 8 players. But you and your guests were talking about someone who was really struggling each week and suggesting she was playing a great game. I think since y’all knew Sandra was going to win, there was a need to justify her success by pointing to “good moves” and “good game play” that simply didn’t exist.

CBS did the same thing with their weekly teasers like “Next week, Sandra takes control of the game” and “Next week, Sandra makes her move”. I’m still waiting for her to do either of those things. If she would have gotten snuffed at about 4th or 5th, we would have seen about as much of her as we did of Brett in Survivor Samoa.

PorkStoreKiller, you write, “I think it's pretty clear that the people who would support Amber over Rob in All-Stars would support Natalie over Russell in Samoa.”

At least in my case, you're incorrect. I would've voted for Russell over Natalie in Samoa; AND, for the same reasons articulated by Shi-Ann, I would've voted for Amber over Rob in All-Stars.

You also write, “That doesn't justify anyone supporting Sandra over Parvati though.” Just because I would not have voted for Sandra over Parvati doesn't mean there's no
“justification” to the contrary. Jury members can vote however they want. That's part of the game. And when determining who the game's best player is, it's important to keep that in mind even if we passionately believe that the game should be different.

Agreed, Jerri especially had probably the biggest character this season. My first original picks were Parvati, Russell, JT, and James (2 of the top 3). Then after a few episodes, James was being a dick and I knew he'd be going soon, so I transplanted Jerri into the 3rd position. She had a real fire and tenacity that she lacked in other seasons and several characters also didn't have this season. She also become one of my favorite characters of all time and I need to actually see the entire Australia Season. I've always liked Coach as a person and as an intriguing character. Read more at http://bit.ly/SURVIVORthoughts and see videos/reviews at http://bit.ly/ratatv. Cheers.

Rob and Nicole, your blatant bias towards Russell is a little sickening. Parvati shouldn't have even been on another season after her Cook Islands season. She is definetly not the best player ever.