Casting-wise, I’d LOVE another Blood vs Water. 27 and 29 are two of the best seasons imo
Twist-wise, the One World twist could be cool to have again. And instead of the stupid journeys, they could bring back Exile Island maybe
Yesssss. BvW is the greatest theme they’ve ever come up with. Works so well with all newbies but even better with the returning players - giving them a second chance - but also throwing in the emotions. Come on.
Australian Blood vs Water was maybe the worst season in any iteration of Survivor I've ever seen so that has made me very skeptical of any more of that
I feel like most of why that twist hasn’t returned is because of how bad OW’s cast was and not the twist itself so I’m totally a fan of them trying this again
THIS!!! The idea of both tribes on the same beach is GENIUS, only issue was the cast wasn’t the best & they abandoned the twist after the Swap… like WHY! The entire point was the be ONE WORLD, not One World, Two Worlds, back to ONE WORLD, a whole season of being on the same beach would be PERFECTION, especially with the longer episodes we get now
*Winners at War* would’ve benefited from this a lot.
Heck, even throw the people from the Edge in their camp, just on another side of the island, but don’t let them enter their camp or something. /hj
I contend that Redemption Island would have been an infinitely better season if it used the One World twist. Zapatera could have talked some sense into Rob's tribe earlier on, Russell may not have tried his bald faced weaseling quite as hard so we may have gotten at least an episode more of him (say what you will about him but he makes good TV), and with less unitarian control, if BR wins it's far more impressive (despite it being his 4th time). While the RI twist was arguably a safety net for Rob, the OW twist would have been a new gameplay mechanic for him to have to navigate.
I would be down to see it again. I just think it lends itself to being "more reality TVish" which I dont think survivor needs to become. But that could also just have been that hot garbage of a dramatic cast and not the twist.
Those early season challenges where everyone could see where the alliances are. Like when you answered a trivia question right, you got to chop off a rope in someone else’s station. Three chops and that person was out.
The reason we don’t see these anymore is because in one season the main alliance just vocally worked together on it. Jeff even stopped the challenge and asked who they were going to decide who was going to win.
It was, however, nice to see who stood where in the game, just so they could shake things up later on. Those challenges mostly happened in seasons where idols didn’t exist, so it would be more fun to watch now that idols are in play.
I always found it to be what survivor was. It could also be a great strategy to send someone to exile and weaken them or even give them an advantage (idol). Just a wonderful thing that needs to come back @ Jeff Probst.
I kind of agree. It like the idea of people having a second chance in case they get ganged up on or something, but the problem with exile island is that it was always just dominated by strong dudes. There needs to be some way of using your social game to get back in as well.
Are you talking about redemption island? Where players go when they are voted out and have a chance to come back? Exile Island is a different thing than what it sounds like you are describing which is redemption Island
Exile island is where a single player goes (usually chosen by the winning tribe) for a day or an afternoon and lives in exile. There is usually an advantage hidden on the island, once it was "a f***ing stick", and then they come back to camp usually before a challenge or even tribal.
I miss the old reward challenges that would take you to experience the culture. I distinctly remember a swim with jellyfish that couldn’t sting! I was like 10 and thought it was so cool!
Oh you should see the one in Australian Survivor. A surprise night challenge DURING Tribal Council. And then the Tribal itself was the best Tribal I've ever seen, and it's not even close.
If you've seen it, you'll know.
Please for the love of god wind down the puzzle-pieces-in-a-bag challenges a bit.
What happened to the whack each other off (*giggity*) the rolling log one, or the one in the knee-high water getting the ring across the goal line?
The memory challenges. The "which of your felllw castaways is most likely to XYZ" quizzes, etc...
There used to be such variety, now I groan whenever Jeff says "puzzle"
The problem with those challenges you stated is they were almost always reward challenges, which we rarely if ever have anymore. The chopping rope to disqualify contestants or the voting popularity test game arent really fair for immunity. BUT the old physical challenges should definitely come back. Or the super simple ones like shooting a bow and arrow or throwing ninja stars.
The best example I can remember is Koah Rong when Tai and Scott had one each that could combine to be played after the votes were cast. Their alliance member Jason was "voted out" and the plan was to save him. Tai refused to give his idol up because of how they had been "bullying" him into working with them. It adds a ton of strategy and social skills to the game and idol usage.
The losing tribe of the first challenge gets the medallion of power that they can use at any future challenge. It will be some sort of advantage at that challenge (equaling the playing field) once they use it it will then go to another tribe (in 3 tribe format i think they would probably give it to the losing team of that challenge?)
Agreed. The Medallion of Power didn’t work because they tried to use it on an Older Vs Younger cast. The younger cast had no incentive to use it because they could win anyway and using it would give it back to the other tribe in the next challenge. It would be interesting to see it an otherwise normal season with balanced tribes.
Exactly. Jeff has said it is probably his least favorite advantage though and that they hated it so much they pulled it from the season before they had originally planned. My problem with that is they have tried almost every advantage more than once so why is this one, one that arguably is actually a good design, the one that gets the ultimate ban?
Well redemption island is generally seen as good when done like BvW, the outcast twist is pretty hated because it came out of no where. BvW is good because it doesnt allow for too much extra time with jury members. Ideally I think this subreddit likes the idea of a premerge redemption island where the player comes back at merge so that they dont get an unfair advantage or making friends on the jury while at redemption and they are strategically/socially handicapped as a punishment for getting voted out
I actually kind of agree... I haven't watched all the new seasons, but in WaW i felt like it was kind of wasted but could have been developed in a really interesting way.
Blood vs. Water and One World are the best twists besides the hidden immunity idol. I would also die to see an Australian Champions vs. Contenders style season with a similar caliber of US sports stars.
This isn’t a twist but a challenge they should bring back. I recall the one challenge were they would vote for superlatives for people and everyone would guess what person fit that statement . I enjoy it as someone who loves drama lol. Also it creates good tensionnnn.
I guess this isn't a "returning" twist but I'd love to see a "celebrity version" of Survivor. One where each player is somewhat famous (more so than John Rocker or Jeff Kent).
Just like TV / Movie Actors, singers, etc all pitted against each other would be cool. Prize can go to charity of your choice type of thing like when they play jeopardy or what have you.
Idol nullifier was pretty badass in David v. Goliath what a great moment. That scene with the Davids discussing their advantages is one of my favorites.
- fire tokens
- two tribes, even if they go to three then one that’s better than starting at three
- one world twist… three tribes would be quite tolerable, but confusing, here
- challenges that aren’t only a variation of obstacle course + puzzle or throwing challenge
I think Fire Tokens adds way too much complexity and detracts from the social side of the game. You're now trying to keep score for these tokens that you don't know what they'll be good for.
Redemption Island, either way I like the idea of voted out players fighting to come back, obviously BvW had the best version of RI, that aside it isn’t that bad of a twist, real issue was the Episode Length… which brings me to the next twist…
Edge of Extinction… you know… the twist that basically would’ve been perfect with S45&46’s episode length and not the standard episode length the seasons used to have… though I’d say remove the return at F5 as that’s TOO BROKEN, keeping it so you come back at the merge of 10-11 players, and whoever was left on the Edge joins the Jury that starts at the merge… also easy thing to add… you’re immune once you return, like you should at least get 1 round of safety imo, would say the same for RI, but I kinda find it very funny seeing someone end up like Matt or Ozzy and go there 3 times in 1 season…(only bring it back for all returnee seasons, it shouldn’t be for new players)
One World… get a better cast and keep them on the SAME BEACH from start to finish and it’ll work.
Final 4 Vote… easy fix, if you win F4 immunity YOU CHOOSE if they vote or do fire, if you feel confident then vote, if not then send in someone good at fire, or make a big move and challenge someone to fire, if a tie happens then obviously fire will happen
I feel like edge is basically what the outcasts twist allegedy was, with the only real change being they compete against each other to get in rather than compete against the 2 tribes to get in. Plus the sail.
Super Idol and Idol Nullifier. It doesn’t have to be every season, I just want to see it brought back as a surprise every now and then. Oh, and Fire Tokens
My answer would be idols hidden in the challenges, like how they were in the pre-merge of Cambodia. The beware advantages (in 45 and 46) are alright, but for me personally, in Cambodia, the process of getting the idols felt more dangerous.
I'd like to see fire tokens come back on a newbie season. It was a bit of a bust of a twist on Winners at War, but I think the idea of an in-game currency is still potentially an interesting prospect.
Casting-wise, I’d LOVE another Blood vs Water. 27 and 29 are two of the best seasons imo Twist-wise, the One World twist could be cool to have again. And instead of the stupid journeys, they could bring back Exile Island maybe
Yesssss. BvW is the greatest theme they’ve ever come up with. Works so well with all newbies but even better with the returning players - giving them a second chance - but also throwing in the emotions. Come on.
How about BvW with One World? And pairs are on opposite tribes...
I’d LOVE to see that. Great idea
Oh man this is good.
Why can’t they just hire you as executive producer?
I'll take only half of Jeff's salary!
Australian Blood vs Water was maybe the worst season in any iteration of Survivor I've ever seen so that has made me very skeptical of any more of that
But it wasn't bad because of the Blood vs Water twist itself. It was bad for other reasons.
I suppose that's true but it will not be erased from my mind still
The one in between was also really good too (JEFF, PLEASE DO NOT DO ANOTHER BRAINS BRAWN BEAUTY SEASON IT’S A DUMB TWIST)
They really did cook with 27-29 and then 31-33 for the most part. I just forget Worlds Apart exists lol
The One World twist
I feel like most of why that twist hasn’t returned is because of how bad OW’s cast was and not the twist itself so I’m totally a fan of them trying this again
THIS!!! The idea of both tribes on the same beach is GENIUS, only issue was the cast wasn’t the best & they abandoned the twist after the Swap… like WHY! The entire point was the be ONE WORLD, not One World, Two Worlds, back to ONE WORLD, a whole season of being on the same beach would be PERFECTION, especially with the longer episodes we get now
I would love to see this in an all returnee cast as the main problem was OW's cast but with all returnees I feel like we get better dynamics.
They should have made WaW a one world style.
Let the pregaming alliances come to the forefront!
Could have actually made WaW a good season tbh
Omg yes!!
*Winners at War* would’ve benefited from this a lot. Heck, even throw the people from the Edge in their camp, just on another side of the island, but don’t let them enter their camp or something. /hj
I contend that Redemption Island would have been an infinitely better season if it used the One World twist. Zapatera could have talked some sense into Rob's tribe earlier on, Russell may not have tried his bald faced weaseling quite as hard so we may have gotten at least an episode more of him (say what you will about him but he makes good TV), and with less unitarian control, if BR wins it's far more impressive (despite it being his 4th time). While the RI twist was arguably a safety net for Rob, the OW twist would have been a new gameplay mechanic for him to have to navigate.
Definitely this. But I hope they don’t split by gender again
I would be down to see it again. I just think it lends itself to being "more reality TVish" which I dont think survivor needs to become. But that could also just have been that hot garbage of a dramatic cast and not the twist.
I was so excited for that twist than Colton ended up being the only one who used it
I'm not sure WHY I love auctions so much, but they're so damn entertaining!
shocked no one else said this
I could watch them do the auction every season and not get bored tbh. Prob something about watching storage wars all the time as a kid
Any Day 1 format where production doesn't choose the tribes (Palau, Fiji, Gabon) and instead 1 or 2 people are elected to pick them.
Those early season challenges where everyone could see where the alliances are. Like when you answered a trivia question right, you got to chop off a rope in someone else’s station. Three chops and that person was out.
The reason we don’t see these anymore is because in one season the main alliance just vocally worked together on it. Jeff even stopped the challenge and asked who they were going to decide who was going to win.
It was, however, nice to see who stood where in the game, just so they could shake things up later on. Those challenges mostly happened in seasons where idols didn’t exist, so it would be more fun to watch now that idols are in play.
Exile Island. I'm not what the community thinks on it but man I used to love Exile Island.
i love exile and it’s such a remnant of the time between old school and new school, kinda timeless imo
I always found it to be what survivor was. It could also be a great strategy to send someone to exile and weaken them or even give them an advantage (idol). Just a wonderful thing that needs to come back @ Jeff Probst.
I kind of agree. It like the idea of people having a second chance in case they get ganged up on or something, but the problem with exile island is that it was always just dominated by strong dudes. There needs to be some way of using your social game to get back in as well.
Are you talking about redemption island? Where players go when they are voted out and have a chance to come back? Exile Island is a different thing than what it sounds like you are describing which is redemption Island
Exile island is where a single player goes (usually chosen by the winning tribe) for a day or an afternoon and lives in exile. There is usually an advantage hidden on the island, once it was "a f***ing stick", and then they come back to camp usually before a challenge or even tribal.
Yes, sorry I always get the two mixed up
I miss the old reward challenges that would take you to experience the culture. I distinctly remember a swim with jellyfish that couldn’t sting! I was like 10 and thought it was so cool!
I thought the mutiny was really cool
I liked the night challenge in Second Chances.
Any night time challenges have been fucking dope. I loved the one in China!
Oh you should see the one in Australian Survivor. A surprise night challenge DURING Tribal Council. And then the Tribal itself was the best Tribal I've ever seen, and it's not even close. If you've seen it, you'll know.
Please for the love of god wind down the puzzle-pieces-in-a-bag challenges a bit. What happened to the whack each other off (*giggity*) the rolling log one, or the one in the knee-high water getting the ring across the goal line? The memory challenges. The "which of your felllw castaways is most likely to XYZ" quizzes, etc... There used to be such variety, now I groan whenever Jeff says "puzzle"
I think puzzles make it too easy for contestants to practice and prepare, too.
Repeat puzzles for sure. Really hard to 3d print a new puzzle every 6 months tho, gotta reuse the same one for 3 years!
The problem with those challenges you stated is they were almost always reward challenges, which we rarely if ever have anymore. The chopping rope to disqualify contestants or the voting popularity test game arent really fair for immunity. BUT the old physical challenges should definitely come back. Or the super simple ones like shooting a bow and arrow or throwing ninja stars.
Blood vs Water
Two tribes and 39 days
LOL!!
I love how BvW did redemption island
Couldn't agree more. I'm watching it again with my girlfriend (her first time) and I forgot how well done it was compared to other redemption islands.
I love the combining idols to be a super idol
How does that work?
The best example I can remember is Koah Rong when Tai and Scott had one each that could combine to be played after the votes were cast. Their alliance member Jason was "voted out" and the plan was to save him. Tai refused to give his idol up because of how they had been "bullying" him into working with them. It adds a ton of strategy and social skills to the game and idol usage.
IIRC on David vs Goliath and maybe some other seasons, you could combine two idols to be a super idol that could be played after the votes were read.
wasnt that on KR season 32
Medallion of power could legitimately fix 90% of the problems of the new era premerge
I don’t remember the medallion of power. What is that?
The losing tribe of the first challenge gets the medallion of power that they can use at any future challenge. It will be some sort of advantage at that challenge (equaling the playing field) once they use it it will then go to another tribe (in 3 tribe format i think they would probably give it to the losing team of that challenge?)
Dont quote me on it, but I think it was in Nicaragua? Or for some reason Gabon is ringing a bell? Not 100% sure
Nicaragua
Agreed. The Medallion of Power didn’t work because they tried to use it on an Older Vs Younger cast. The younger cast had no incentive to use it because they could win anyway and using it would give it back to the other tribe in the next challenge. It would be interesting to see it an otherwise normal season with balanced tribes.
Exactly. Jeff has said it is probably his least favorite advantage though and that they hated it so much they pulled it from the season before they had originally planned. My problem with that is they have tried almost every advantage more than once so why is this one, one that arguably is actually a good design, the one that gets the ultimate ban?
It could be a lot more strategy with the 3 tribe format than it was with old vs young
Yeah, it would have definitely come into play with Yanu's losing streak this season!
I forget what this subreddit's opinion on the Outcasts twist is, but I think another one would go crazy
Well redemption island is generally seen as good when done like BvW, the outcast twist is pretty hated because it came out of no where. BvW is good because it doesnt allow for too much extra time with jury members. Ideally I think this subreddit likes the idea of a premerge redemption island where the player comes back at merge so that they dont get an unfair advantage or making friends on the jury while at redemption and they are strategically/socially handicapped as a punishment for getting voted out
I’m going to get hate from this, but, fire tokens. I think there’s a lot more that the show can explore with them.
I actually kind of agree... I haven't watched all the new seasons, but in WaW i felt like it was kind of wasted but could have been developed in a really interesting way.
Medallion of power 🗣️🗣️🗣️
Final 2
Blood vs. Water and One World are the best twists besides the hidden immunity idol. I would also die to see an Australian Champions vs. Contenders style season with a similar caliber of US sports stars.
Having a player from the other tribe attend tribal council and vote to give a player on the other tribe immunity
Two tribes, one beach.
Yes
Conch shell, and also the touchy subjects challenge
The matching challenge from Amazon and All Stars
This isn’t a twist but a challenge they should bring back. I recall the one challenge were they would vote for superlatives for people and everyone would guess what person fit that statement . I enjoy it as someone who loves drama lol. Also it creates good tensionnnn.
I guess this isn't a "returning" twist but I'd love to see a "celebrity version" of Survivor. One where each player is somewhat famous (more so than John Rocker or Jeff Kent). Just like TV / Movie Actors, singers, etc all pitted against each other would be cool. Prize can go to charity of your choice type of thing like when they play jeopardy or what have you.
Idol nullifier was pretty badass in David v. Goliath what a great moment. That scene with the Davids discussing their advantages is one of my favorites.
- fire tokens - two tribes, even if they go to three then one that’s better than starting at three - one world twist… three tribes would be quite tolerable, but confusing, here - challenges that aren’t only a variation of obstacle course + puzzle or throwing challenge
I think Fire Tokens adds way too much complexity and detracts from the social side of the game. You're now trying to keep score for these tokens that you don't know what they'll be good for.
Redemption Island, either way I like the idea of voted out players fighting to come back, obviously BvW had the best version of RI, that aside it isn’t that bad of a twist, real issue was the Episode Length… which brings me to the next twist… Edge of Extinction… you know… the twist that basically would’ve been perfect with S45&46’s episode length and not the standard episode length the seasons used to have… though I’d say remove the return at F5 as that’s TOO BROKEN, keeping it so you come back at the merge of 10-11 players, and whoever was left on the Edge joins the Jury that starts at the merge… also easy thing to add… you’re immune once you return, like you should at least get 1 round of safety imo, would say the same for RI, but I kinda find it very funny seeing someone end up like Matt or Ozzy and go there 3 times in 1 season…(only bring it back for all returnee seasons, it shouldn’t be for new players) One World… get a better cast and keep them on the SAME BEACH from start to finish and it’ll work. Final 4 Vote… easy fix, if you win F4 immunity YOU CHOOSE if they vote or do fire, if you feel confident then vote, if not then send in someone good at fire, or make a big move and challenge someone to fire, if a tie happens then obviously fire will happen
Battle to the death from the *original* survivor.
The Outcast twist perfectly fit the theme of the season. I think it could only be pulled off one time.
Redemption island but not the andrea kind, the ozzy version is better. Duel style is much better since you either win or lose, nothing in between.
I feel like edge is basically what the outcasts twist allegedy was, with the only real change being they compete against each other to get in rather than compete against the 2 tribes to get in. Plus the sail.
The "Who's the poser game"!
If we are gonna keep getting three tribe starts can we get another Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty?
Everyone on one beach would seem fun to see again. Also, fire tokens given they have some way to use them for things outside of food or handicaps.
Gross food eating challenge
Not a twist per se but casting wise I love the idea of voting in the players. Would be great for Season 50.
Super Idol and Idol Nullifier. It doesn’t have to be every season, I just want to see it brought back as a surprise every now and then. Oh, and Fire Tokens
My answer would be idols hidden in the challenges, like how they were in the pre-merge of Cambodia. The beware advantages (in 45 and 46) are alright, but for me personally, in Cambodia, the process of getting the idols felt more dangerous.
39 days.
I'd like to see fire tokens come back on a newbie season. It was a bit of a bust of a twist on Winners at War, but I think the idea of an in-game currency is still potentially an interesting prospect.
Boiling the water lol
Survivor used to do this thing where they split everyone into 2 tribes instead of 3 so I think that would be cool to bring back
Fire tokens. Super idol. Redemption Island.
One idol per game (per beach). When it’s found it’s gone. No advantages!