Evolution

**SurviVARs: Evolution** is the sixth season of *SurviVARs*. It had 18 new castaways marooned for 35 days. It premiered August 27th 2022 and the winner was crowned September 30th 2022.

## Production

This season of *SurviVARs* had 18 castaways divided into two tribes of nine. The game lasted 35 days but if someone had to quit or be ejected tribal council would be cancelled.

## Twists/Changes

* **Pokemon Safari -** Advantages and idols were hidden in a separate server which could be explored and interacted with using bot commands.
* **Double Tribal -** Instead of one tribe going to tribal council; two tribes will be sent to two separate tribals.
* **Final 2 -** Final Tribal Council was between two players instead of the usual three.

## Season Ranking (2nd)

**Cast - 3/6**

Evolution’s cast is stacked, and I talk about this all the time. I really struggled between 2nd and 3rd for this one, but I landed on 3rd because there were still some players that didn’t show up as much as I wanted them to, compared to the top two seasons. At the end of the day, Evolution’s cast was one of my absolute favorites, even if it had some weak links holding it back, especially in the pre-merge (H\*t Al🤮)... For a season with no returnees, it still felt like an All-Star season to me, especially in the merge. Ranking these characters was hard, because it felt like all of the top 12 or so deserved to be top 5 characters in their own right. The next All-Star season is gonna be brutal, because it’s going to be really tempting to just fill half of the cast with Evolution players. We had amazing characters like JC and Nicko, mixed with great strategists like Kyle and Hope. It was a well-rounded cast, and probably our most diverse when it comes to archetypes and gameplay styles. Without the flop people like Shit Al, they could very well of given the top two a run for their money. It was a really fun group to host, and I miss them already.

**Pre-Merge - 2/6**

Evolution has such a good pre-merge, which is kind of surprising in hindsight. Like, you would think the combination of a quit and Hot Al’s douchebaggery would hurt this season, but it really doesn’t. For one thing, the Safari was really fun this season, especially in the pre-merge. JC and the other Safari lords really ran that thing, and it led to some really interesting cross-tribe dynamics. There were also some fun minor narratives (like Coco and Dex) punctuating the larger action. JC in the pre-merge was really entertaining to watch, as everyone already wanted him out but he continued scrambling around and being super visible regardless. And then, of course, who can forget the epic advantage play that knocked out Nicko and shook up the entire game? Nicko was at the top of the game, and then suddenly he was just gone. We’ve never seen someone get robbed so goddamn hard like that before. Some of the votes were a bit predictable, but it was still super entertaining because of all the other factors. Because let’s be honest, most pre-merge votes are predictable, no matter the season, so what makes them fun is the other stuff surrounding those votes. And this season is second only to Hogwarts when it comes to an exciting pre-merge.

**Post-Merge - 1/6**

Evolution had an incredible post merge. There were no duds from the merge onwards, and so every boot felt like it was a heavy hitter being sent home. Even less visible players like Jordan and Jack still had great storylines and were really lovable characters, and had a lot of influence on the game despite being surrounded by such large characters like JC, Drew, and Kyle. Almost every move in the premerge came out of left field, and there was no way to predict what would happen next. It was like the chaos of Seven Seas, but presented in a way where the moves made a lot more sense and so it wasn’t as disorienting. Serbet’s vote set the tone for a wild post-merge, and this was replicated with the eliminations of Jack, Drew, Amree, and Shelby, all of which seemed to come out of nowhere. It was so fun watching Kyle pull the strings of the season, and watching Megan evade threat after threat when they should’ve been targeted. Arceus’s topdog arc was absolutely insane, and Hope and Shelby’s power duo had a great rise and fall. Every character in this merge played a big role, and every round progressed the story in a fun and unexpected way. Ultimately, even with really tough competition from other seasons, I think Evolution just barely squeaks out as our best post-merge.

**Gameplay - 3/6**

Evolution’s gameplay was chaotic, but it was intelligent chaos. People made wild moves, and power shifted constantly, but it still made sense for the big players to be acting the way they were. Kyle stands out as one of the best strategic players in SurviVARS, and his gameplay alone elevates this season quite a bit. The whole cast was solid though, and Drew, Serbet, JC, Arceus, Hope, Shelby, Jordan, and Jack all held significant amounts of power at different times. Like, that’s crazy. This wasn’t a season of underdogs, but a season of massive characters taking wild swings at each other when it benefited them to do so. I think we could run this season a dozen times and get different outcomes each time. These players were smart, and willing to be a bit wild. Sometimes these big swings missed, but there was a creativity and ingenuity to this season’s moves that really elevate it. We had the most exciting advantage play of this ORG’s history with the mutiny, even if it didn’t really help JC all that much in the long run.

**Story - 4/6**

Evolution has a great story, but unfortunately three seasons just had a better one. There were so many great mini-narratives, especially the stuff I mentioned in the post-merge write up, but this didn’t always add up in the way the other seasons did. A lot of potential narratives felt like they got cut short because of how many characters were blindsided in their prime. Like, Nicko is a prime example of a story that was set up to be really important in the merge, and then didn’t even wind up making the merge at all. Moves like this were super exciting, and it was always great gameplay and entertainment, but did result in the story being a bit more all over the place. There isn’t much else to say, because this season’s story wasn’t bad. The others were just more cohesive and structured than Evolution.

**Hosting Experience - 3/6**

I really loved hosting Evolution, and it’s probably the most active I’ve ever been as a host. It was my first time doing recaps on my own, which meant I was much more active in following the season’s story. This definitely elevated my enjoyment, and let me parse through the season’s more chaotic moments. It also had a REALLY fun cast, both with people I knew (like Jack, JC, Megan, and Kyle) and people I really didn’t know before the game (like Drew, Arceus, Hope, and Serbet). I loved getting to know this group of players and watch their journeys, and a stellar theme also helped. The last thing I’ll say is that the Safari for this season is seriously one of my coolest things I’ve ever built and I’m super proud of it, which definitely helps this season in this category.

**Overall Thoughts**

Overall, Evolution was a really solid season. It had our best post-merge, and one of my favorite newbie casts. Even the things that sucked about this season (like the Hot Al quit and the parchment drama) didn’t wind up tarnishing how much I loved hosting this season. The cast played super hard, and power was always shifting in unpredictable ways. The storylines didn’t always pay off in a clean way, but there was so much fun in the chaos that this doesn’t really hurt it all that much. I have to admit that I’m biased because the recaps made me invest in this season so much more than I may have otherwise, but in my eyes that just let me see the season’s strengths that much more clearly. Evolution was a blast, and I’m so thankful for the cast that made it happen.