Ethan Zohn

Exclusive Exit Interviews with the Final Three from Survivor: Winners At War

by Tom Santilli on May 14th, 2020

There can only be one winner, even on a season full of them. “Survivor: Winners at War” came to an explosive close on Wednesday, and a winner was indeed crowned. The chaotic, overly aggressive, super-strategist, known for building Spy Shacks, Bunkers and Nests on the island, Tony Vlachos became the Sole Survivor of Season 40 and the show’s second-ever two-time winner (behind Queen Sandra). He outwitted, outplayed and outlasted 19 other winners to grab the record 2 million dollar prize and sole bragging rights as the best of the best. Tony earned it, that’s for sure.

But on his heels were two other former winners, who took totally different paths to the end. First there’s Michele Fitzgerald, the only winner to come out of “Winners at War” having never had her torch snuffed…ever. She was an underdog most of the game, and fought an uphill battle to try to earn respect from the other contestants, and from the fan-base, many of whom called her first season win “undeserving.” Natalie Anderson on the other hand, was the first person voted out this season on Day 2, and she endured 33 days at The Edge of Extinction, winning her way back into the game at Final Six and then protecting herself to the end with Immunity Idols found and bought.

It was epic, it was exciting, and it’s all over…other than we still need to get answers to many of the nagging questions that still remain! Tony, Michele and Natalie were all on The FilmSurvivor Podcast following Wednesday’s Three-Hour Finale, the link to which is beyond the following “Continue Reading” link below.

CLICK CONTINUE READING FOR MORE!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Finale Recap: A Winner Is Crowned

by Tom Santilli on May 14th, 2020

It’s done. Survivor is now on the other side of 40 seasons, as “Winners at War” drew to a conclusion following Wednesday night’s three-hour Finale. There was no Reunion Show due to the pandemic. There was no screaming crowd, no familiar faces of past players out in the studio audience. Thankfully, there was no Sia.

What we did get was wall-to-wall excitement, as not a minute was spared during the entire three-hours. Jeff Probst was not joking when he said there was a lot of story left to be told, and now that it’s over, we have ourselves another two-time Sole Survivor – finally – who can sit alongside the only other two-time winner (and one time quitter), Sandra Diaz-Twine. There is so much to discuss, so much emotion flowing through my veins, and a glimmer of hope – coming at the very end in a message from Probst’s garage – that has me finally looking forward to something towards the end of this wretched year.

Strap in, we’re going to break it all down, and I’m not going to leave even one thought unexplored this time around, as this may be the very last Survivor Recap for a while, at least a few months. I plan on milking it. Survivor has been a powerful medicine during these trying times, and it sucks, plainly, knowing that at least for now, Survivor is over. And at the very least, the sadness is just starting to sink in that this was definitely the last chapter in the Survivor-lives of many of our favorite players, who rode off into the sunset tonight in epic fashion, never to be seen in this game again. Let’s ride.

As I do at the beginning of every recap, please heed the following: Remember that this recap assumes that you have already seen this week’s episode of Survivor: Winners at War. If you have not and don’t want to be spoiled, please come back later! It’s important to add that while we WILL hit on all of the important developments of the episode, this is not a linear “blow-by-blow” recap. It is more of a discussion and reaction of what we just witnessed together.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 13 Recap: Endure And Let Go

by Tom Santilli on May 7th, 2020

It’s hard to believe that we have just one more episode left of Survivor, with no more (for the time being) loaded in the chamber. “Survivor: Winners at War,” the monumental 40th season of the greatest Reality TV Show of all-time, gave us a two-hour penultimate episode tonight, with a massive three-hour Finale and Reunion set for next week, May 13. After that? Well, production has been halted indefinitely on Seasons 41 and 42, despite CBS making an official announcement Wednesday that Survivor was renewed and is part of their 2020-21 schedule. That means we have one more episode, possibly for the rest of 2020. Just one more reason why 2021 can’t get here soon enough.

There was a lot jam-packed into tonight’s two-hour fiasco, including a lengthy preview of next week’s Finale usually reserved for, well, the beginning of the Finale. The stage is now set for how Winners at War will shake out, with just five players remaining in the game, and another 14 awaiting a come-back challenge to see if their hopes of a second Survivor crown can be revived and come to fruition. We’ll tackle everything we saw tonight, and take a glimpse forward as to how things may play out when Season 40 wraps up next Wednesday, in what is sure to be epic fashion.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 12 Recap: Whisperers At War

by Tom Santilli on April 30th, 2020

I don’t know about you, but I’m going to miss me some Survivor when it’s gone in just two weeks. As we barrel towards the two-hour double-episode next Wednesday, and the three-hour Finale Episode on May 13th, I’m reminded how good we have it that Survivor is in our homes right now…at a time when we’re all in our homes. And we’re very fortunate that we still have five hours of Winners at War to get through before Survivor goes away for what could be an extended period of time (with production on Seasons 41 and 42 delayed indefinitely due to coronavirus).

The game is just operating on an unprecedented level right now, driven by one Tony Vlachos, who over the past two weeks has absolutely put on a clinic, on a season where it’s not just returning all-stars, but some of the best players the game has ever seen. The challenges have been surprising, the strategy top-notch, and each week at The Edge of Extinction we’re given stories of endurance and sheer will-power. As for Tribal Council though, it’s not without controversy. The fairly recent trend of “Tribal whispering” sent the game of full-tilt tonight, reviving the argument in the Survivor community over whether Tribal Council “huddles” should be allowed in the game at all. Some fans love the drama these moments provide, others think it is ruining the game. Where do you land in this debate? I’ll give you my take after the page break…and we’ll dissect all of the other major happenings from this week’s chaotic episode.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 11 Recap: A Survivor MasterClass

by Tom Santilli on April 22nd, 2020

If you love Tony Vlachos like me, then tonight was about as good as it gets when it comes to Survivor. From the first moment until the last, this was a Tony-centric episode through and through, culminating in yet another absolutely epic blindside at Tribal Council. They even managed to fit in a Survivor fashion show.

There’s no question that tonight’s big move was epic, entertaining and masterfully executed, but was it the right move? Or, was it just the product of impatience? Let’s break it all down, shall we?

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 10 Recap: There Will Be Blood

by Tom Santilli on April 15th, 2020

Tonight was the episode of Survivor that we needed. It was a “loved ones” visit like the show has never seen, followed by a Tribal Council that when the smoke clears may land in the Top 10 Tribal Councils of all-time. It ended with a “secret scene,” unscripted (not that any of this is scripted, but this was a moment clearly created by the players themselves and not producers), that put an emphatic exclamation point on what was hands-down the best episode of what has been a phenomenal season.

Yes, there was blood on the beach and blood on the ground after a messy, complicated Tribal Council, and we’ll try to dissect and get to the bottom of things coming up.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 9 Recap: A 50/50 Chance

by Tom Santilli on April 8th, 2020

Somebody famous once said, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” On tonight’s wild episode of Survivor: Winners At War, several players took some big shots, risking their games in the process, because really, why not? You win, or you lose, right? In the end, it really is that black-and-white. Sometimes, it just comes down to the flip of a coin.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

Survivor: Winners At War Episode 8 Recap: Peanut Butter, Jury Time

by Tom Santilli on April 2nd, 2020

The merge episode of Survivor is always one of the best episodes of every season, and this one lived up to the hype. I’ve been soooooo looking forward to this particular episode ever since the them of Season 40 was announced, as it also featured The Edge of Extinction Return Challenge where one of the previously voted-out winners got a chance to re-enter the game. I was literally shaking in anticipation and even for several minutes after the challenge, as it did not disappoint (well, depending I guess on who exactly you were rooting for). We’re now not only into the post-merge, but the jury phase of the game too, as new alliances and battle lines are being drawn and re-drawn nearly every episode.

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!

Recaps,Survivor

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Ethan Zohn