Survivor: Bhutan

## Cast

***Survivor: Bhutan - Second Chances*** was the twenty-sixth season of Survivor RP. It ran from September 23 - October 30, 2022.

## Season summary

Season 26 was originally slated to be *Survivor: Valhalla*, which would also have the Second Chances theme. However, work scheduling issues with its primary host led to the need to alter the season slightly. The location was changed to Bhutan, though it remained as a Second Chances season, and new ideas were put forth for appropriate challenges, advantages, etc. Sign-ups opened on September 16, 2022, and closed on September 18. The roster was revealed on September 21.

*Bhutan* assembled twenty-four past contestants aiming for a second chance at *Survivor* and the potential to improve on their placements. They were divided into two tribes: Gipmochi and Jomolhari. At the start of the game, the tribal dynamics were characterized by a story of "good guys vs. bad guys," especially on Gipmochi. Gwen was an early casualty of the "good guys" in a vote led by more villainous returnees like Dr. Boom and Marx. However, these two soon became casualties themselves after a Tribe Swap.

Additionally, Jomolhari suffered an historic losing streak during the pre-merge period; although briefly interrupted by a Double Tribal Council on Day 16, Jomolhari went to Tribal Council six straight times across two Tribe Swaps. After a merge and beginning of the jury at 14 players (a first), the dynamics shifted from "good guys vs. bad guys" to "male vs. female." This was initially apparent in the first merged Tribal Council. The next Tribal Council on Day 25 was one of the longest, most chaotic and most memorable of the series; it featured the first usage of a Super Idol since *Siberia* and culminated in a revote that eliminated Jeanne d'Arc, a significant personality on the female side.

After the women's numbers were significantly whittled down, the men's alliance began to turn on each other, as former alliance leader Kyouya Onodera spiraled into the jury, and prominent flipper/swing vote Biker was eliminated in a firemaking challenge from the Blazing Vote advantage. The final six emerged in the form of Mym and Kairi (two close allies who had been previously connected to the women), Wake Forneus (an individualistic player who mainly helped the men), Ryouko Otonashi (the highest-placing former competitor and an ally of the men), as well as Craig and Zagreus (remnants of the men's alliance who survived their dissolution through strong social games). After Craig was eliminated by way of Mym's Legacy Advantage, Mym was then voted out by Ryouko, Wake, and Zagreus. Although Kairi seemed poised to fall on the fourth place sword, Wake (who had been a prime mover during much of the late merge) decided to change the narrative and take Kairi to Final Tribal Council, believing she had a better chance against her than Ryouko.

At Final Tribal Council, Kairi remained humble about her game, and her connections to the women's alliance and Mym were highlighted, though some questioned her control over the game. Wake pursued an aggressive strategy, making a point out of her unused Hidden Immunity Idol. However, much of the jury had been poisoned by Wake's performance in the merge, especially the former members of the women's alliance led by Jeanne. Zagreus emerged as a viable alternative for those who did not want to vote for Wake to win, though he received criticism for a poorly thought-out deal with Oda for her jury vote, which she did not honor. Ultimately, Kairi being in the Final Tribal Council at all was an important factor and many of the women on the jury she had been connected to voted for her to win. She eked out a plurality victory in a 5-3-3 vote. Kairi, who had finished in last place during *Greece*, went to first place and won the title of Sole Survivor.

## Trivia

* The season's logo was created by Martin and Squid, based on a concept by Rhys.
* *Bhutan* was the first season to be fully dedicated to the Second Chances twist. Previous seasons had allowed players to individually compete for a second chance (see here), but *Bhutan* was the first instance of a season-wide theming for Second Chances.
* *Bhutan* was the first season to merge at 14 players and have all of the merged players be part of the jury phase. Because of this, it was also the first season to intentionally include 11 jurors since *Sri Lanka*.
	+ The reasons for this decision were twofold, based on the events with the jury last season, as well as *Bhutan*'s status as a returnee season.
	+ *Socotra* also merged at 14 players, but 14th place did not enter the jury.
* The most represented season was *Japan*, with three returning players.
	+ *Siberia*, *Turkey*, *Roanoke*, *Gorgona* and *Tanzania* all had two representatives.
	+ All other seasons (*Romania*, *Moon Islands*, *Galápagos*, *Greece*, *Black Forest*, *Cranberry Isles*, *Jan Mayen*, *Camelot, Socotra,* *Hawaii*, and *Mesoamerica*) had only one representative.
	+ In total, seventeen seasons were represented over twenty-four players.
* Out of the 24 Returning Players:
	+ Ten were standard jurors.
	+ Fourteen were prejurors.
	+ Four were played by different people than in their original season.
	+ One was evacuated from their previous season.
	+ None were losing finalists or Fan Favorites.
* The lowest-ranking member of both tribes (Rook Hunt and Kenji Setou) were from the same season, *Turkey*, and were from the same starting tribe, Kimse.

## Gallery

The Final 5MapThe hosts and the Sole Survivor