Survivor: Fans vs Favorites

**Survivor: Fans vs Favorites** is the 8th season of Parody: Survivor.

## Twists and Changes

After competing on the very first season of Parody: Survivor, Elmer Harrison is back almost five years later, ready to find some redemption.

On his first season, Elmer started out on the unlucky Sparrison tribe which lost four out of six members by the time he reached the merge. To top it all off, he ended up in the minority on the merged tribe, and his last remaining tribemate from Sparrison - eventual co-runner-up Penny Hooper - abandoned him for the majority, leaving him to have to fend for himself with what little allies he had left.

In spite of the odds, he managed to make it far in the game, coming up short as the 12th person voted off and the 5th member of the Jury. He confronted Penny at Final Tribal Council for her betrayal, and understandably he did not give her his jury vote, in spite of their physical intimacy prior to his elimination.

He ended up voting for Erin Castellan to win; and she did, in a landslide 8-0-0 vote.

Now, Elmer's returning to the game and still has a relatively big reputation to uphold. He was viewed as an underdog in his first season, being in a weak starting tribe and a minority alliance at the merge, so having survived as long as he did was an impressive feat. He was a fan favorite on Ademius because of his underdog status, and no doubt due too to his charisma, gentlemanly behavior, good looks and athleticism. He garnered himself his own fanbase as well, and quadrupled his amount of Twitter followers.

Elmer's reputation could either hurt or harm him in Fans vs Favorites. Undoubtedly people will want to work with him. He was never a schemer nor was he a backstabber in his original season, and his athleticism will make him a person to keep around in the pre-merge phase. He could easily get into a good alliance of strong men and women like him, and his kind-hearted nature may draw other Favorites like Griffin Cole to him.

However, he did prove to be strategic, as he and fellow Ademius castmate Terrence Smith worked and orchestrated blindsides within the majority alliance. If people realize the strategic threat he poses on this season, he will most likely be made a target.

#### **Survivor: The Punishing Isles**

* Griffin Cole

Casting Griffin Cole as a member on the Favorites tribe may come as a surprise to some viewers, considering he was viewed as a sheep for most of his season, blindly following and voting with ally and eventual Sole Survivor Hunter at almost every tribal council. However, this devotion and loyalty that Griffin has displayed may help him if he can survive the pre-merge phase.

Griffin was most known for being bullied by fellow Punishing Isles castaways Lukas and Elton Wells - who he described as 'loud and obnoxious'. He never got along with most of the other men on his tribe and frequently voiced his distaste of them and their boisterous activities. He got his wish as he outlived both men; at least until Elton returned from Redemption Island and beat Griffin in a fire-making tiebreaker at Final Four, sending Griffin to join the jury as its 7th member.

Hunter stood

He, of course, worked on getting the jury to vote for his ally Hunter, which took up 99% of his jury speech. Unsurprisingly, he voted for Hunter to win.

Griffin does have a reputation on Survivor, though not one as big as Elmer Harrison. He will most likely seek out the 'good people' on his tribe, such as Elmer, and may choose to stick with him to the end. That was his strategy in Punishing Isles: to find a kind-hearted person as an ally and stick with him as far as possible. It may work in Fans vs Favorites, but his meekness and lack of a reputation may make him an easy pre-merge boot.

That being said, post-merge, Griffin's reputation will probably help him as there will be bigger fish to fry and bigger targets to take out like Elmer or strategic powerhouse and challenge beast Candy Hoftman. If he can survive the pre-merge phase, he may last a long time on the post-merge phase. As long as he aligns himself with someone on the majority alliance, the chances of him being targeted are very slim.

## Castaways

* The Favorites tribe consisted of ten players (selected by the host) who had previously participated on Parody: Survivor, with representatives from each of the previous seven seasons. In preparation for the Favorites tribe, Survivor.com wrote and published Prediction Articles commemorating the returnees' previous seasons as well as predicting how they would fare in the new season.
	+ Elmer Harrison returned to the show from Survivor: Ademius.
	+ Griffin Cole returned to the show from Survivor: The Punishing Isles.
	+ Candy Hoftman returned to the show from Survivor: Brains vs Brawns vs Beauty.