Game Changers Episode 4: Crazy Town

Sandra has unanswered questions after tribal, but J.T. says all he told Brad was that he was safe. Now that his tribe is gunning for him, J.T. really needs the idol. He finds a clue that tells him where to dig, and all of a sudden, he has the safety he needs.

Here's what a good balancer looks like

Tavua are confused when they arrive at the sand spit for their next challenge and see Mana intact, and shocked when they see Malcolm gone. They're playing for PB&J, and to get it, they'll need a grappler to retrieve a bow and a digger to retrieve a ball. Then they must carry the ball over a balance beam and solve a puzzle. Sierra beats Varner and Sarah at the grappling, but Michaela's quick digging helps Nuku stay on their tail, It's Hali, J.T. and Ozzy carrying the bow. which Ozzy does very quickly. Cirie is a slow digger though, which allows the others to catch up. Andrea and J.T. beat Debbie at the beam, allowing Zeke a large headstart on the puzzle. Debbie continues to struggle as Zeke gets the win and Sandra gets second place. Debbie is pissed and blames Brad for being a dictator....but the replay clearly shows Debbie wanted to be on the beam. Busted!

Tavua enjoy the food from their victory, but Sarah's mind is still on the game. Not wanting to just take the easy option, she talks with Troyzan, who tells her she's the only one he trusts. The two start to form a connection, but Sarah is very clear to him not to take this to anyone else.

Stay out of Cyclone Debbie's path!

Debbie packs up and leaves camp in response to her embarrassing challenge choke. She takes it out on everyone else by accusing Brad of not showing her respect and Hali of getting everything she wants. The rest of them are just confused by this, but try to calm her down. Brad goes to apologize and Debbie just yells in his face. Holy crap, she is unstable and absolutely delusional.

J.T. gets annoyed with Michaela when she starts demanding too much sugar. Sandra sees this as an opportunity to create a rift, so eats the rest of the sugar in the hopes that J.T. blames it on Michaela. He falls for it hook, line and sinker. This is one of Sandra's most underrated skills: taking attention off herself. Meanwhile on Mana, Tai has found another idol clue. Damn, this season is just raining idols. He can't look for it just yet, but it seems like only a matter of time.

Sandra's sweet idea

Fire away!

The immunity challenge is to climb over an obstacle and roll a cube, unlock a crate, then transport sandbags over a balance beam to fire at targets from a slingshot. Debbie wants to do the balance beam again, but then throws a tantrum and decides not to. The meltdown continues even during the challenge, with her loudly pointing out how she was the first one down to the mat, then criticizing Tai's performance on the beam. Michaela also gets yelled at for not taking enough. Andrea and Ozzy are very good at carrying the bags which sends them onto the slingshot first. Ozzy has a go at it, but then lets Sarah do it and she gets 2. Sierra also gets 2 and Brad gets the last three to give Mana a win. Ozzy and J.T. are now in a showdown and it comes down to the last target. Ozzy wins to keep Tavua safe again.

Michaela is experiencing deja vu from the slingshot challenge last season that sent her home. J.T. is campaigning hard to get her out and thinks the tribe is actually better off without her. Sandra is playing J.T. though and still hasn't forgotten what he did to Malcolm, so gets Michaela and Varner together to discuss whether they can afford to lose their strongest player.

At tribal council, Sandra still thinks their target was leaked and that's how Tai knew where to play the idol, as J.T. half-confesses to his role in it. Michaela calls J.T. out for thinking he's running the show. J.T. says they're having to babysit Michaela and that she's not really a game changer. Everyone piles on Michaela and it's a stellar acting job from Varner and Sandra. Will it make J.T. comfortable enough to not play the idol?

But that's none of my business

Michaela takes out a cup and her water bottle to drink as the votes comes up. Haha, she's so extra. She gets the last laugh though as J.T. is blindsided. I should feel bad for the farm boy after his second embarrassing exit in a row, but I feel like he deserved it. Aubry is blindsided too, and Sandra finally cops to being the sugar thief.

Well, with another swap in the works, it looks like Nuku are being spared any repercussions from getting rid of their muscle. But their futures in the game are far from certain.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE

Sandra skates by once again, thanks to some expert pot-stirring and great acting. And now she's the last winner standing, so even if she doesn't win, she still keeps her crown.

Game Changers Episode 3: Sucker Punch

Tai admits it was hard to vote for Caleb, but he wanted to gain trust with his tribemates. Debbie is telling Hali that they'll vote Tai out next, but she's actually committed to taking out the last Mana.

He wasn't even a quarterback

This next challenge requires only two people - one to carry a ball over a balance beam on a stick, and another to knock down bamboo sticks. Ozzy, J.T. and Tai do the first part. Ozzy takes an early lead, but he loses it on the last section and allows J.T. to catch him. As Malcolm and Troyzan duke it out on the tossing, Tai is still behind. By the time Brad gets in on the action, the other two are nearly done. Malcolm wins it for Nuku, and Troyzan has just two left. But an awesome effort from Brad sees him somehow get them all down and take second. Great, as if Troyzan needed to give them another reason to vote for him.

Ozzy is actually glad his tribe lost reward so that they need his provider skills, and he goes out and catches a huge ray. Nuku enjoy their coffee as Sandra talks about how she's running the show and nobody knows. Really? You haven't been that quiet about it. One person that has definitely noticed her power is J.T., who is working on Malcolm to try and get the queen targeted.

Coffee is for closers

The immunity challenge is for a caller to direct four blindfolded tribemates to grab bags from under buckets of paint. Then they have to put balls through a table maze. Probst then casually drops that only one tribe will win immunity and the other two will be going to tribal. "That's kind of a big 'by the way'" says Malcolm.

Yep, that is what you're after

Cirie, Varner and Brad all act as callers, and the challenge is off to a hectic start. Zeke and J.T. both get bags for their tribe, but Debbie has trouble hearing Brad. Nuku collect their bags first and move swiftly onto the maze, where J.T. gets their first ball. Ozzy takes on the maze for Tavua and gets it, whilst Malcolm gets Nuku's second. Varner takes his time since they still have a lead, but then Sarah ties it up, and it's down to him and Andrea. Varner's ball goes into the centre, but then flies out. Andrea scores and saves Tavua, leaving Varner pretty devastated. Probst then complicates things further by telling them the two losers will be voting together. Now THAT is a game changer!

Nuku aren't too fazed by the twist, thinking they can just pick off whoever they want with their extra number. But they don't all agree on who it should be, with Sandra wanting to vote Sierra and J.T. wanting to vote Tai. Malcolm and J.T. discuss who they think Brad will target, and conclude that it's probably Sandra...which J.T. would be fine with.

X marks the spot

Hali is considering flipping as well, and thinks it's funny that Mana are suddenly acting like she's a valued member. The general consensus seems to be Sandra is the best target, but Sierra is pushing for Malcolm. Tai goes off to look for the idol, since that would really help right now, and finds a clue that tells him it's in the middle of the space by their tribe flag. He pulls it out of the ground, and now they have some leverage. Tai informs his tribemates, who are understandably delighted, and Brad thinks they need to play it to have a chance.

Talk about a live tribal

Both tribes get to tribal council, as Malcolm says tonight is something that they've never seen before. Brad likens it to a Mexican standoff, but points out that not everyone on their tribe might be loyal. Debbie reminds J.T. that he used to be one of them, but Sandra says that's old news. Hali gets heat as a possible flipper too, as Brad basically threatens her to vote with them. Hali mentions wanting physical threats out, which Nuku take as a hint towards Brad, but they're not willing to change their plan. J.T. gets up out of his seat and whispers to Brad that they're voting Sierra. What? Hali does the same to try and get the other side to vote Brad, and suddenly there's two large huddles. After it settles, Probst tries to get the vote started, but Hali says she doesn't consent. But then Sandra tells her to go, and she goes.

No votes are shown, but we hear some choice confessionals. Brad is voting for the best player, whereas Varner threatens to soil himself if he sees an idol. On Brad's insistence, Tai does pull his idol out and asks who wants it. Sierra takes up that offer, and now Nuku are nervous. With Sierra's votes canceled. now we wait to see who Mana went after. It's Malcolm, who is absolutely shell-shocked. Sierra gives him the kiss of death as he walks out in disbelief. J.T. is crying, although Michaela is already speculating he set them up.

Malcolm is in tears too in his final words, calling the tribal the most ridiculous one ever and says J.T. won't be getting a Christmas card. They better give him a 4th shot after that. Well, I think there's gonna be a lot said about this controversial twist...undeniably historic tribal though, and the repercussions of it will ripple through the game for quite a while. When will J.T. learn not to trust the other tribe?

STAR OF THE WEEK: SIERRA THOMAS

The Mana tribe all deserve credit for playing their parts, but I thought Sierra in particular did very well tonight. She picked out Malcolm as the target, let Tai speak when she noticed he had something to say, and did a good job of convincing Hali to stick with them. That game-saving idol could've extended her life for quite a while.

Game Changers Episode 2: Hello, Old Friend

The episode opens up going right into the tribes meeting Jeff...I guess the aftermath to voting out Tony wasn't very interesting, then!? Well we do have a lot to get through, as Zeke correctly guesses that it's a swap. The new Mana tribe leaves Caleb and Hali on the outs, but at least the cowboy gets his lover Tai, along with Brad, Debbie and Sierra. The Nuku tribe leaves J.T. with 5 old Mana (Sandra, Varner, Malcolm, Aubry and Michaela). Troyzan is alone on the green tribe with Ozzy, Cirie, Zeke, Andrea and Sarah.

Left adrift

Varner and Malcolm walk into the awesome Nuku camp and can't believe their luck. J.T. realizes he needs to do something big to survive, so takes his tribe out in the ocean for a fishing trip to keep them occupied. When Malcolm breaks the spear, J.T. offers to go back and get the pliers...seizing his chance to go look for the idol. The other players all realize what he's doing, and laugh about it.

Brad starts decorating his new Mana beach to make it look a bit more like his old home. Hali recognizes that she's on the bottom but hopes that Caleb is a bigger target than her because of Tai. Unsurprisingly, Tai is making the argument for them to keep Caleb but Brad is a little worried about leaving three Kaoh Rong people in the game.

Troyzan's ticket off the bottom

Ozzy sets up camp at the new Tavua tribe and Cirie is hoping this can be the start of a new relationship between the two of them, since they're both in the numbers. Troyzan is pissed about getting the short stick and Andrea's fake attempts to placate him aren't making it better. He starts looking for an idol and finds a message in a bottle. It's a clue that tells him there's an idol at the next challenge under the puzzle table. Wow, this one seems harder than the others, but we'll see.

J.T. offers to catch goats for the tribe, and him and Malcolm manage to successfully snag a baby and his mother. But nobody has the heart to kill it (except Sandra, who is outvoted) so they all put it back and take a chicken instead. Bet Sia was pleased watching that,

Sandra has experience handling goats

The immunity challenge is the same one that crippled Missy - cross an obstacle course to fill up a bucket of water until it lowers a gate, then solve a puzzle. Troyzan looks on anxiously, knowing he can't make his move yet. Nuku go over the obstacles very quickly whilst Mana fall behind going under. It's relatively even going into the puzzle though, with Troyzan's really slow untying hindering his tribe. Varner and Sandra do an awesome job on the puzzle to give Nuku the win. But both tribes are right behind, so who will get it first - Zeke and Cirie or Brad and Hali? Despite a false alarm, Tavua edge it out and win immunity. Troyzan pretends to be slumping down by the table in celebration...and manages to stuff the idol into his crotch. And just like that, his game has life again.

A sand facial?

After losing the challenge, Hali and Caleb aren't sure which one of them it's gonna be. Tai wants to keep the tribe strong, but Brad wants Caleb out and is hoping he can get Tai to make that decision too. He talks to Tai and tells him his relationship with Caleb is gonna hurt his game, and whilst Tai agrees, he's not sure he can shank his real-life friend.

Hali rests her case

At tribal council, Debbie and Caleb both talk about the Kaoh Rong contingent that's making people nervous, with Caleb trying to downplay it by saying him and Tai started on different tribes. Caleb lists the positive attributes he brings to the table, but Hali flips it and says those make him a threat. Caleb then points out Hali's ties to the other tribe. It's clear this is a tug-of-war between these two and Hali is in full lawyer mode.

In the end, it's Caleb that's voted out, with even Tai writing his name down. Caleb has no hard feelings and kisses Tai's head for good luck, leaving with grace. Man, day 9 is just good for him, huh? But he does point out that he's grateful he's at least able to leave the game on his feet this time.

STAR OF THE WEEK: BRAD CULPEPPER

I'm really liking what I'm seeing from Brad this season, he's making smart decisions whilst - somehow - flying under the radar. This much more quiet approach is sure to serve him well.

Game Changers Episode 1: Royal Rumble

20 veteran players sail towards a Fijian island as we are quickly reacquainted with legends like Sandra, Cirie and...Brad Culpepper. Probst greets the cast and tells them they're all back because they have proved they're willing to play hard. (Well, maybe not

Bolting out of the gate

all...but let's not get into that.) The players now have an opportunity to gather supplies, but they are told there's a toolkit underwater for the first tribe to untie it. Ozzy heads straight for it unopposed, as Mana clearly think it's pointless to take him on. Caleb eventually goes, but too late to stop him. Tai is almost crushed by a crate in the scramble, and Sierra picks up a secret advantage envelope.

Mana arrive in camp and introduce themselves, with Michaela asking Troyzan if that's his real name. Tony runs off and declares he's looking for the idol, which leaves the rest of his tribe unimpressed. Caleb and Sandra eventually follow him and let him know he's in trouble. I don't know what he expected.

The most game relevant she's ever been

On Nuku, Zeke is in awe of the legends he's in camp with. Sierra uncovers the slightly-modified legacy advantage, which is immunity at either 13 or 6. She also makes alliances with Brad and Ozzy. Ozzy has a score to settle with Cirie, and although they try to bury the hatchet, he still thinks she's weak. Cirie tries to get reassurance from Tai that she's good, but his pause lets her know she's in trouble.

On Mana, Tony goes off to get water...only he's really digging a spy bunker. Dude, this is the kinda shit that's gonna get you voted off. Troyzan spots it happening and tells everyone. Ciera suggests voting out Tony or maybe his best buddy Caleb, but now Malcolm is wary of Ciera.

Probst explains the first challenge which sees them paddle out on rafts to get keys then come back over an obstacle course. Then they dig up two bags in the sand, unlock the chest containing the third, and put together a ship's wheel puzzle. He also tells them there's a change in the rules this season, and that there will be no revote after a tie - it's straight to an open discussion, and then rocks! You can see the gears turning in Aubry's head as she hears this.

Uhh, should Caleb really be doing this?

Nuku have a slight lead following the rafting section, and send out Ozzy to get the key, whilst Mana send Hali. J.T. and Tai dig the bags out for Nuku, whilst Caleb and Malcolm do it for Mana. Debbie stumbles on the locks and allows Varner to catch up. But then Varner stumbles too (whilst bitching out Jeff for accusing him of panicking). It comes down to the puzzle: Sandra and Ciera vs Zeke and Cirie. Zeke and Cirie get it first and Nuku win immunity. Cirie fans all breathe a sigh of relief.

Ciera feels guilty for blowing the puzzle, and there's now a group at the water well agreeing that she should go since she's been throwing out names. When Ciera walks up, they decide to tell her to vote Michaela. This seems like an easy vote, but Michaela gets freaked out when she hears she's the decoy target, which makes the rest of her tribemates a little scared of her.

You can't contain greatness

At tribal council, Tony says his tribe really put the brakes on his craziness very quickly. Caleb talks about how he's still an unknown quantity. Michaela thinks the first vote shouldn't be easy. Sandra is asked if she's the easy vote, but she says nobody will let her win again and they can use her. Hali mentions challenge weakness, and that gets Ciera worried. Ciera is voted out in a surprisingly straight-forward boot for an all-stars season. And we don't even get to hear her final words.

But with Tony around, the game isn't going to stay slow-paced for long, and he goes to Aubry to put together an alliance containing them, Malcolm, Caleb and Sandra. He talks with Sandra too, and they both agree they need to be with a winner at the end to stand any chance. The action at the Nuku tribe is much slower, with the only slight conflict being Tai's tendency to overfeed the chickens.

RIP winner alliance

Tony is having another restless night so decides to work on his bunker some more. But then he sees Troyzan and Sandra coming and has to bail out. Hearing them talk about him, Tony pops out to interrupt the conversation and doesn't believe Sandra's cover. So now he's not trusting Sandra, and Sandra's patience with his antics are wearing thin too.

Witness the Cirie charm

Cirie is trying to improve her position by making connections with Sarah and Zeke, but neither of them are willing to stick their neck out for her. The social butterfly gives Debbie some advice about how she's coming off, but Debbie decides to ignore it. Classic Debbie! On Mana, Sandra is spilling the beans on Tony to Hali, Troyzan and Varner to make him their target. Tony talks to Aubry, Malcolm and Caleb about voting out Sandra and keeping the tribe strong. The lines are drawn, place your bets now!

Suddenly, it's a contest

The immunity challenge is to swim over to a cage and pull out a giant snake to take across obstacles. Then the throwers will remove discs and toss them onto paddles.  When the tribes get to the cage, Varner tries to help out by staying above. Nuku get the snake first and it is heavy. Varner really starts to struggle with the lifting and goes to the other side of the cage to put more weight on it. Mana, already behind, then lose more time when Hali and Troyzan fall off the balance beam multiple times. Sierra and J.T. take turns tossing rings, but Malcolm is able to mount a pretty good comeback and tie it up at one point. Alas, he is unable to close and J.T. scores to give Nuku a victory.

You're either with her or against her

So Sandra has the numbers to get Tony out, but she's worried that he might have an idol and wants to pull in Malcolm and Caleb for extra security. Sandra tells Tony she's voting for Aubry, but Hali fills Caleb in on the real plan. Tony and Caleb see crystal clear how dangerous Sandra is and make a play for Michaela's vote, since they know she values strength.

At tribal council, Michaela talks about how strong players are needed. But Troyzan says he's hoping to make the tribe less paranoid. Tony responds to this call-out by accusing Troyzan of being the one sneaking off. Tony pledges that he's calmed down, leading to Varner and Malcolm chiming in to say they have got along with Tony much more than they thought they would. Asked what the vote is based on, Varner gives a rather cryptic square peg/round hole analogy.

Still fighting

As the votes are revealed, we see 2 for Aubry, and the rest are all for Tony. They finally got him! Tony makes a remark about them being "sheep lead to the slaughter", as Sandra bitches him out for turning on her and reiterates that she's the queen. Well, that was a hell of rivalry...I just wish it hadn't come this early! But I'm sure there's a lot more heartbreaking boots still to come, so enjoy the stars while you can.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE

I am in awe of Sandra. The fact that she can come in with the target she should have and not only survive two votes, but control them, is nothing short of incredible. You wouldn't think it would be possible for a two-time winner to up their game even more, but it happened.

Best Survivor moments - alumni weigh in!

In the build-up to Survivor's 500th episode, CBS asked past players to share their favorite memories of the show. Here's a sample of what they came up with:

Gretchen Cordy: "It was day 6 and we were invited for dinner, so we decided to dress for the occasion. I came up with the idea of wearing the buff as a tube top - so when you think "Gretchen didn't leave much of a mark on Survivor" - buffs as tube tops, does it get better than that?"

Jessie Camacho: "When Sandra won not once, but twice - dos veces! I gotta give it to my girl, as a Latina myself."

John Carroll: "Hands down, it's Eliza and Jason's "it's an effin stick"...and maybe me getting my hand peed on."

Jed Hildebrand: "When Ian jumped off after 12 hours of sitting there, he brought in the outside world of friendship from Katie and Tom and begged for forgiveness. Gameplayers now, they don't do that - they are stone cold if you wanna win!"

Andrew Savage: "Cambodia, day 21, voting out Wentworth, she's going home. 9 votes, sending a message of who's in control. Then she pulls out the hidden immunity idol, and I go home. How on Earth can THAT be my favorite moment? When you love Survivor as much as I do, that was stunning. Timing in life is everything and Wentworth nailed it."

Rob & Amber: "Our favorite moment is from season 8 when we fell in love and got married."

Katie Gallagher: "As a viewer, I enjoy watching people lose their minds. One of my favorite examples of this is Shane finding a piece of tree that looks like a Blackberry and he uses it to communicate with his loved ones."

Cirie Fields: "When Parvati played two idols and neither one of them was for herself. She got that one!"

Abi-Maria Gomes: "My own moment when I am ballsy enough to tell RC that if she messes with me, she's dead to me."

Matt Bischoff: "It's gotta be from my season, where we walked up to that mat and Jeff Probst said "welcome to Survivor!" It still gives me chills, it's an honor to play the greatest game ever invented."

Jeremiah Wood: "Picture this, I'm in the middle of the pacific ocean, only thing that stands in between me and the gold is a basket and five balls. I look over to my right, who is it? NBA star Cliff Robinson. Then I look to my left - Spencer Bledsoe. Then the shooting begins. As I pick up that fifth ball and it sinks, I notice they haven't even started shooting yet. And I notice that I won gold, and all I can do is pick up Morgan and hold her up like Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing!"

Tony Vlachos: "Has to be Johnny Fairplay's grandma lie. I truly believe that moment is what created the monster I was on Cagayan. When I watched Fairplay stating his grandma is probably watching Jerry Springer at that time, I lost it! It was right there and then that I realized what players would do to get an edge."

Jenn Brown: "Anything Greg Buis has ever done ever, because he's amazing. From my season, it would be the first tribal council when I thought I was still watching Jeff Probst on TV. To this day, I still can't believe I was there."

Tai Trang: "When Erik was convinced by Amanda, Cirie, Parvati and Natalie to give up his immunity idol. Wow, what great gameplay from the women, but so painful and I feel bad for Erik."

Jessica Figueroa: "I'd have to go back to Samoa, where Shambo accidentally let go of one of the chickens and Erik went into the woods to find it and got clotheslined by his own clothesline."

Zeke Smith: "The final six tribal council from Second Chances, in which Kimmi sees Jeremy's win written on the wall and flips against Jeremy's alliance. So there's three votes Kelley Wentworth and three votes Jeremy. Wentworth plays an idol, Jeremy plays an idol, and for the first time in Survivor history we have no votes. So we have a revote, and it's tied, and everyone is immune for one reason or another and the decision comes down to Keith Nale, who has no idea what's happening. I love this tribal for a couple of reasons, the first is I'm a huge Survivor nerd so I love it when there are firsts, but more than that, I so love this move from Kimmi Kappenberg. She knows she's 4th in that alliance but she says heck no, I didn't wait 15 years to not take a shot at winning this thing, so I'm gonna make a move even if I go home a couple of places early."

Sunday Burquest: "When Parvati played two idols, followed closely by James going home with two in his pocket. I also love the funny moments like Keith saying "stick to the plan" and my going "shh" to Bret at tribal council."

Hannah Shapiro: "When Cochran came back for his second season and instantly got burned like a little tomato, but then took them all down. So here's to Cochran and Aubry and dweebs like us, dominating on islands everywhere."

The Game Changers cast, ranked by my level of excitement for them

1. Michaela Bradshaw
Season: Millennials Vs Gen X
Game-changing moment: Taking her top off to win a challenge.
Verdict: I'm pumped to see Michaela back, she went out far too early last season. She's the full package: smart, strong and likeable. Now that she knows what not to do, I could see her winning the whole thing.

2. Tony Vlachos
Season: Cagayan
Game-Changing moment: Creating a spy shack.
Verdict: Tony is back with brand new tricks in the hopes of becoming the "King of Survivor", and I'm here for it. He's so hard to trust that there's no way he's not a huge target, but based on Cagayan, Tony relishes having his back against the wall.

3. Sandra Diaz-Twine
Seasons: Pearl Islands, Heroes Vs Villains
Game-changing moment: Flipping between sides in true "anyone but me" style.
Verdict: The two-time champ is already spitting the sass! She doesn't plan to change her game (and why would she?), but it'll take a miracle for her to get far again. I think she'll see the value in sticking with Tony for now, but it'll be interesting to see how long that lasts.

4. Ciera Eastin
Seasons: Blood Vs Water, Cambodia
Game-changing moment: Drawing a rock.
Verdict: Ciera is known for her love of big moves, so she must be relishing being on a season called Game Changers. Her strategy this time is to have options and position herself in the middle. Can she pull it off? I dunno, she seems to have people already wary of her, and a weak challenge competitor is always vulnerable pre-merge.

5. Sarah Lacina
Season: Cagayan
Game-changing moment: Using her intuition to expose Tony as a cop.
Verdict: Does Sarah actually have winner potential, or will she flame out again? Either is fine by me. She showed herself to be fairly strategic-minded on her season, but her achilles heel was Tony. With unfinished business between them, it could be interesting if they meet at the merge.

6. Jeff Varner
Seasons: Australia, Cambodia
Game-changing moment: Positioning himself as the Ta Keo power player.
Verdict: Varner had to wait 13 years for his second appearance, and now he's back again just a year later. That's a testament to how big of a splash he made during his brief time in Cambodia. Sounds like we're not going to see crazy Varner this time though, and he's learning to chill out. All I know is if he fails to make the jury again, that would REALLY suck.

7. Malcolm Freberg
Seasons: Philippines, Caramoan
Game-changing moment: Using TWO immunity idols to send Phillip out of the game.
Verdict: I've always been a big Malcolm fan and maintained that he's a strong, well-rounded player. But his video shows the cocky side of him that's probably not going to be a good look. He's also looking to team up with Debbie - c'mon, don't let your Oedipus complex be your downfall again.

8. Aubry Bracco
Season: Kaoh Rong
Game-changing moment: Convincing Tai to turn on Scot and Jason.
Verdict: I don't know if her season being fresh in the mind will be quite as devastating as it might seem. She was a strong player but a likeable one that people could want to work with. And wasn't part of the reason she lost because people didn't know she was playing as hard as she was?

9. Cirie Fields
Seasons: Exile Island, Micronesia, Heroes Vs Villains
Game-changing moment: Getting Erik to give up the immunity necklace and then voting him out.
Verdict: Cirie wants to show a new side of herself this time...hard to do when you're a 4-time legend! She's in the best shape she's ever been, but no-one will want to let her get far with her reputation, and she'll have to face both J.T. and Ozzy.

10. Debbie Wanner
Season: Kaoh Rong
Game-changing moment: Pulling off a blindside on Liz.
Verdict: Debbie kinda gets lost in the shuffle in this cast (something I never thought possible), but that's why I'm expecting her to make the merge if she can keep her head down. She's one of the few people who wants to work with Tony and Brad...man, that is a trio of crazy.

11. Andrea Boehlke
Seasons: Redemption Island, Caramoan
Game-changing moment: Correctly sniffing out a plan to vote for her and getting the vote switched to Michael to dodge an idol.
Verdict: This older, wiser Andrea might finally reach her potential if she can find the happy medium between playing too hard and not hard enough. I feel like she's coming into this in a good spot and is definitely a contender.

12. Tai Trang
Season: Kaoh Rong
Game-changing moment: Choosing good over evil when he didn't give his idol to Scot.
Verdict: Tai says he wants to have better jury management and own his game this time, but I think his real problem will be curbing his image as erratic and clueless. Neither him or Debbie seem keen to work with Aubry again - so much for this strong Kaoh Rong four!

13. Hali Ford
Season: Worlds Apart
Game-changing moment: Playing a solid social game that got her into the Nagarote majority.
Verdict: Hali is very likeable, but I didn't have that much faith in her gameplay until I watched her video. She's perfectly aware of her own abilities and what the perception of her will be. The determination to prove herself could be what she needs to evolve into a kick-ass player.

14. Zeke Smith
Season: Millennials Vs Gen X
Game-changing moment: Going into a 5-5 deadlock against David's side and coming out victorious.
Verdict: Zeke played hard the first time and it sounds like that won't change. He says his strategy is to work with the girls, and I think that could be smart. Being an unknown quantity is a double-edged sword, so it'll be interesting to see what he makes of it.

15. Brad Culpepper
Season: Blood Vs Water
Game-changing moment: Voting out John to help his wife's game, even though it hurt his own.
Verdict: Brad seems to be making a conscious effort to go in directions you wouldn't expect, like not being a leader or aligning with unlikely people. That should serve him well if he can pull it off. His bio says he's more self-aware now, and I kinda believe it.

16. Troyzan Robertson
Season: One World
Game-changing moment: Winning immunity with the whole tribe against him.
Verdict: Having been in the mix several times and denied, I was starting to think we'd never get a Troyzan return. Maybe the long wait will lessen his target, but he'll still need to improve his social game and tone down the ego to have any chance.

17. Sierra Thomas

Season: Worlds Apart
Game-changing moment: Choosing to stick with her alliance of goats over personal vengeance.
Verdict: Sierra has major Amber upside coming into this season. She came a lot closer to winning the first time than she gets credit for, and now she's looking to make moves. I'd be shocked if this barrel-racin' beauty didn't make a deep run.

18. Caleb Reynolds
Season: Kaoh Rong
Game-changing moment: Literally almost giving his life for his tribe in challenges.
Verdict: I'm certainly not surprised Caleb is back after the way he went out last time, but that doesn't mean I'm happy about it. He could be a very valuable ally if people take advantage of his loyalty and challenge strength, but he doesn't have the game-savvy to get anywhere close to winning.

19. James "J.T." Thomas
Seasons: Tocantins, Heroes Vs Villains
Game-changing moment: Playing the first-ever perfect game, with no votes cast against him and a jury vote sweep.
Verdict: Not to be mean, but J.T. doesn't look to be in as good shape this time. Could we be heading for a Colby situation? Predictably, he's going to team up with the alpha males, which will probably keep him well-shielded.

20. Ozzy Lusth
Seasons: Cook Islands, Micronesia, South Pacific
Game-changing moment: Offering to be voted out so he could kick Christine off Redemption Island and come back.
Verdict: Ugh, I thought we were done with this guy. Look, we all know how the Ozzy story is gonna go. He's gonna win challenges and act as a provider for the pre-merge, then after the merge get kicked off for being a threat the first time he loses. He's a one-trick pony we've seen 3 times already.

The real game changers

When season 34 was announced as Game Changers, a lot of fans took that label very seriously. More seriously than the producers, apparently. Don't get me wrong - Cirie, Tony, Sandra and Ozzy absolutely are game changers...maybe even Ciera, at a stretch. But Caleb? I decided to take a look at who actually changed the game. Please note: I'm not saying all of these people should've been on this season, and I know that at the end of the day, it's really just a title. But for my own amusement, I came up with...

Richard Hatch: I feel like this needs no explanation. Richard introduced strategic gameplay to Borneo, and was the first to prove that this show was about more than just mere survival. Without his win, the show could've been very different.

Colby Donaldson: Colby set a record for immunity wins with a very dominant peformance in Australia, establising himself as one of the show's top competitors. Whilst Colby ultimately did not win the game, he did win the hearts of many by becoming the original Survivor good guy.

Rob Mariano: Ask any casual fan who the best player of all time is, and a lot will say Boston Rob. He had a huge impact on 4 seasons with his mafia boss-style game, controlling votes and executing brutal blindsides.

Rob Cesternino: Rob was a pioneer in the strategy of flipping from different sides, teaching players that you don't have to accept your fate if you feel you're bottom of an alliance.

Jon Dalton: Another flipper, Jonny Fairplay pushed the boundaries for what we expect of the Survivor villain. Once he lied about his grandma dying, nothing was off-limits anymore.

Rupert Boneham: Rupert, meanwhile, was the exact opposite. With his survival skills and friendly nature, the gentle pirate gave the franchise a new type of hero, and was one of the first megastars (aka screentime hogs).

Stephenie LaGrossa: Still one of the most inspirational and revered female contestants to have been on the show, Stephenie showed a lot of strength and heart out in Palau under extraordinary, unprecedented circumstances.

Terry Deitz: Another dominant challenge performer, with a record-breaking streak of five immunities in a row. It's rumoured that his loss in Exile Island was partially what inspired the switch to the final 3.

Parvati Shallow: Pretty much every young girl who goes on the show now tries to emulate Parvati. Her legacy is often reduced to just flirting, but she was a very well-rounded player that made it deep into the game 3 times for a reason.

Cao Boi Bui: Although he has since become a pretty obscure footnote in Survivor lore, he was the originator of one important factor of the game: split votes, with his hilarious plan voodoo idea.

Yau-Man Chan: Whether it was making fake idols or engineering car deals, Yau-Man is someone who saw the game a completely different way and was always thinking outside the box.

Russell Hantz: Love him or hate him, there's no denying Russell left his mark on the show like nobody else with his aggressive strategic game. A larger than life presence that dominated two back-to-back seasons, he ushered in a new era of constant idol-searching, as well as other less-used strategies such as camp sabotage. His mistakes were just as eye-opening, igniting a fierce debate about how juries are "supposed" to vote and how to handle them.