Survivor: Winners at War

Survivor: Winners at War is the fortieth season of .
This season featured twenty of the show's previous winners to commemorate its 20th anniversary. Tony Vlachos beat Natalie Anderson and Michele Fitzgerald in a 12-4-0 vote, becoming the series' second two-time winner.
==Production==
The season was filmed in May–June 2019, two weeks after .
Much like every previous season to feature an all-returning player cast, challenge producer John Kirhoffer revealed that classic challenges return to commemorate the show's 40th season and 20th anniversary.
The pay scale for the season is significantly increased, with the winner receiving $2,000,000. The first person voted out is guaranteed to take home at least $25,000 instead of the standard $2,500.
Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, who both appeared as mentors on Island of the Idols, only had two weeks to prepare for the upcoming season.
Due to an unprecedented incident of inappropriate touching in Island of the Idols, beginning this season, new guidelines regarding personal space, inappropriate behavior and how to report violations were imposed. Anti-harassment, unconscious bias and sensitivity training were also given to cast and crew members alike pre-production.
The announcement of the winner was done virtually due to the outbreak of . As such, there was no reunion show for the season. The contestants, however, were all in the video conference to witness the announcement of the winner.
===Casting===
According to host Jeff Probst, the cast was assembled to equally represent winners from the earlier seasons, the middle, and the more recent seasons.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gql3kwvOEHE Despite initial hesitancy from some who came back, according to Probst, nobody refused.
The past winners who did not make the cast were:
* Richard Hatch (), who was initially invited and was set to compete, but was cut due to his controversial actions during , the memory of which Probst felt would not sit well with the modern audience, especially following a recent similar incident during Island of the Idols.https://youtu.be/XQE4QsjJD54 
* Tina Wesson (), Tom Westman () and Todd Herzog (), who were invited, but cut from the final roster.https://youtu.be/vD-VYWWZKLM?t=6430
* Vecepia Towery (), Brian Heidik (), Jenna Morasca (), Bob Crowley () and Mike Holloway (), who were not contacted.https://youtu.be/sr7gNNxwblE?t=985https://twitter.com/survivor_bob/status/1221153332850499588https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ZICacB5cU/
* Aras Baskauskas (), who was invited, but declined.
* Earl Cole (), who was invited, but declined in order to take care of his wife who was undergoing premature labor at the time.
* Chris Daugherty ()
* J.T. Thomas ()
* Natalie White ()
* Fabio Birza ()
* John Cochran (), who was invited and would have been given a spot, but stood by his previous statement to never play again.
* Chris Underwood (), who was invited, but declined as he received the call on his wedding day.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-edge-of-extinction-chris-underwood-quarantine-questionnaire/ 
* Tommy Sheehan (Island of the Idols), who was not invited because he would not have known that he won at the time of filming, as Island of the Idols and Winners at War were filmed only three weeks apart and the former season had yet to air.
==Twists/Changes==
* Returning Winners: Twenty former Survivor winners returned for a chance to win another Sole Survivor title.
* Increased Prize Money: For this season, the winner received $2,000,000, the biggest prize given in the series and reality television history. Further, the pay scale was significantly increased, with the player finishing last receiving at least $25,000.https://ew.com/tv/2020/01/19/survivor-winners-at-war-cast-prize-money-guarantees/#:~:text=While%20Survivor%20has%20a%20standard,At%20War%20have%20been%20guaranteed
* Fire Tokens: A new twist, Fire Tokens allowed the castaways to purchase creature comforts, food, or game advantages.
* : The Edge of Extinction returned this season with the same rules and premise, but the inclusion of Fire Tokens added a supply and demand system between those still in the game and those who were on the Edge of Extinction.
** Effort Tasks: The players living on the Edge of Extinction will have to perform tasks requiring herculean effort to earn Fire Tokens.
* Hidden Immunity Idol: A Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at each camp. However, these idols had two halves, one of which had to be given to another castaway before sundown on the same day that it was found. When combined, both halves worked as a regular idol.
* Edge of Extinction advantages: The following game advantages were available thru the Edge of Extinction and sold by its finder to a castaway still in the game before sundown on the same day that it was found:
**Temporary Hidden Immunity Idols: These idols were only usable for three Tribal Councils after they are purchased.
** Safety Without Power: The castaway was able to leave Tribal Council before the vote, effectively making them immune, at the cost of not voting. This advantage was usable until there were 10 active castaways left.
** Vote Steal: A vote steal was hidden at the opposing tribe's camp, which the purchaser must retrieve the night after the transaction was completed.
** Idol Nullifier: This advantage would have been able to void the use of a Hidden Immunity Idol and would have been usable until there are 5 active castaways left.
** 50/50 Coin: The player who purchased the coin may use it at any Tribal Council up until there were 7 active players left. If flipped and landed on "safe" the player who used it became immune the same way a Hidden Immunity Idol would.
** Extortion Advantage: Found on the Edge of Extinction, the eliminated player who found it gave the power to "extort" an active castaway into giving them an amount of Fire Tokens of their choosing before the next Immunity Challenge. The demand had to be met before the next Immunity Challenge. 
** Challenge Disadvantage: Once purchased, an active player was able to anonymously disadvantage another person at the Day 34 Immunity Challenge. 
* Tribe Expansion: With 15 active castaways left, a tribe expansion occurred, introducing the ​ tribe.
* Double Tribal Council: On Day 16, only the first place tribe won immunity, sending both losing tribes to Tribal Council to vote out one person each.
* Merge: This season merged with 12 castaways in the game; eleven in the main game and one from the Edge of Extinction.
* Simplified Final Four Tribal Council: Instead of a traditional vote, the person who won the Final Immunity Challenge got to choose one person to take with them to the Final Three. The remaining two castaways competed in a fire-making challenge to determine who would be eliminated.
* Final Three and Expanded Jury: Three finalists faced a 16-person jury.
* Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.
==Castaways==
Contestant 	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation 	Tribe Affiliation 	Tribe Affiliation 	Finish 	Edge ofExtinction Status 	VotesAgainst
Contestant 	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Expanded Tribe 	Merged Tribe 	Finish 	Edge ofExtinction Status 	VotesAgainst
 	Amber Mariano40, Pensacola, FL & 	 	rowspan="3" 	rowspan="4" 	 	 	6
 	Danni Boatwright43, Shawnee, KS 	 	 	 	8 	 	
 	Ethan Zohn45, Hillsborough, NH & 	 	 	 	4 	 	
 	Rob Mariano43, Pensacola, FL, ,, & 	 	 	 	 	4 	
 	Sandra Diaz-Twine44, Riverview, FL, ,&	 	 	 	 	 	1
 	Parvati Shallow36, Los Angeles, CA, ,&	 	 	rowspan="2" 	 	 	5
 	Yul Kwon44, Los Altos, CA 	 	 	 	 	3 	
 	Wendell Holland35, Philadelphia, PA 	 	 	rowspan="13" 	 	 	12
 	Adam Klein28, Los Angeles, CA 	 	 	 	 	15 	
 	Tyson Apostol39, Mesa, AZ, ,& 	 	 	 	 	12 	
 	Sophie Clarke29, Santa Monica, CA 	 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Kim Spradlin-Wolfe36, San Antonio, TX 	 	 	 	 	9 	
 	Jeremy Collins41, Foxborough, MA & 	 	 	 	 	9 	
 	Nick Wilson28, Williamsburg, KY 	 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Denise Stapley48, Marion, IA 	 	 	 	 	14 	
 	Ben Driebergen36, Boise, ID 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Sarah Lacina34, Cedar Rapids, IA & 	 	 	 	 	2 	
 	Michele Fitzgerald29, Hoboken, NJ 	 	 	SecondRunner-Up 	 	6 	
 	Natalie Anderson33, Edgewater, NJ 	 	 	 	 	11 	
 	Tony Vlachos45, Allendale, NJ & 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	 	0 	
Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded 	Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded	Note: Winning season is bolded
==Season Summary==
Twenty former Survivor champions returned to commemorate the series' 20th year and 40th season. A new twist called Fire Tokens added a layer of economy where active players paid tokens in exchange for advantages that inactive castaways found on the .
Relationships outside the game heavily affected the early days of the game, attributing to several eliminations. During the pre-merge, allies-turned-enemies Sarah and Tony made amends and resurrected their alliance, while controversial winners like Ben and Michele fought for validation. The earlier winners found themselves employing familiar strategies, whereas the more recent winners capitalized the modernized style of game play, leading to the "old-schoolers" getting sent to the Edge of Extinction to compete for Fire Tokens which they used to buy advantages come the return challenge. 
Every person eliminated took the challenge of the Edge, with the exception of Sandra, the first two-time winner, who raised the sail on Night 16. Tyson won the return challenge on Day 19, rejoining the game at the merge. Despite not winning the return challenge, Natalie, who was the first person voted out, dominated the Edge of Extinction, finding and selling game advantages and getting paid Fire Tokens in return.
At the merge, the fluidity of alliances and fast-paced game play led to multiple last-minute plotting at Tribal Council, leading to several blindsides. Tony, who had kept a low profile pre-merge in stark contrast to his trademark brash game play in his previous outings, began to seize control of the game post-merge, finding a Hidden Immunity Idol, and winning critical Immunity Challenges. On Day 35, Natalie's perseverance earned her enough Fire Tokens to buy a Hidden Immunity Idol and three advantages at the return challenge, which ultimately allowed her to return to the game.
On Day 36, Natalie reunited with her early ally Michele, who was an outsider from the majority alliance of Ben, Sarah, Tony, and Denise. In an attempt to break the quartet, Natalie revealed that Tony was popular among the jury, which Sarah resented as she was Tony's voice of reason and equally had a hand in their decision-making. With Michele winning immunity, the majority alliance decided to pile their votes on Natalie despite Tony's objections because he believed that she had an idol coming back into the game. Natalie played her idol, forcing Ben and Tony to use theirs, leading to a stalemate. Denise and Sarah, the only players eligible to receive votes, were up for elimination where Denise took the fall. Despite still being in the majority, Ben, who had formed a close bond with Sarah, allowed her to vote him out to set herself up better against Tony at the finals.
Natalie won the Final Immunity Challenge and chose to pick Michele to join her in the Final Three, leaving Sarah and Tony to compete in the fire-making challenge. In a close match, Tony defeated Sarah, joining Michele and Natalie in the Final Three. At the Final Tribal Council, the jury praised all three finalists for their distinct strategies: Tony for his improvement from being reckless in his first season to being patient and calculated, Michele for her strong social game and resilience despite being left out from the vote numerous times, and Natalie for conquering the Edge of Extinction and making the most of her second chance. In the end, it was Tony who was awarded the title of Sole Survivor in a 12-4-0 vote, making him the second two-time winner of the series.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* This is the first season to have its number displayed on the logo.
* This season is the fifth season comprised entirely of returning players, following , , , and .
* This is the first season to have castaways in a familial relationship compete against each other in a non- season.
* With Danni representing , the earliest season where no first-time castaways have returned is now .
** With Ben, Wendell, and Nick representing , , and respectively, the earliest season where no castaways whatsoever have returned is now .
* Amber and Kim are the second and third castaways to play under two different last names, following Candice Cody, who played as Candice Woodcock in her first two seasons.
* Of the participating castaways:
** Eleven are playing in their second season: Adam, Ben, Danni, Denise, Kim, Michele, Natalie, Nick, Sophie, Wendell, and Yul.
** Five are playing in their third season: Ethan and Tony who won their first, and Amber, Jeremy, and Sarah who won their second.
** Three are playing in their fourth season: Parvati who won her second, Tyson who won his third, and Sandra who won both her first and second. 
** One is playing in his fifth season: Rob, who won his fourth. Rob is the first person to play Survivor five times.
* With this season, Amber and Ethan broke Kelly Wiglesworth's record of 30 seasons for the largest gap between appearances in two different seasons, with 32 seasons.
** Amber also broke the record for the largest gap between the first and most recent appearances, with 38 seasons.
*Winners at War is the second season where every contestant won an Immunity Challenge, after .
* All three finalists lived in New Jersey at the time of filming.
* Winners at War currently contains the largest jury, with 16 jurors.
*Winners at War has the most vote outs of any Survivor (U.S.) season, with 18.
*Winners at War is the only season without an aftershow or reunion episode following the announcement of the Sole Survivor.
*Winners at War is the most recent season of Survivor (U.S.) with 39 days of gameplay, to feature Tribe Expansion, and 20 contestants.
*Winners at War is the first season of Survivor (U.S.) since to air in a single year, despite the subsequent season was not able to film due to the worsening .
==References==
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Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: Winners at War
Category:Returning Player Seasons
Category:Seasons with a reused location