Spoilers ahead for Episode 2 of Survivor: Winners at War
As far as reality competition shows go, there are few quite as prolific as Survivor. The social experiment hanged the face of TV when it premiered back in 2000, CBS is showing no signs of slowing down. We're currently in the midst of Survivor: Winners at War, the whopping 40th season which brought back some of the most beloved castaways of all time. Chief among them is Survivor expert Boston Rob, although Jeff Probst recently revealed the way he could be beat.
Boston Rob is perhaps the most iconic Survivor player of all time, with Winners at War marking his fifth and final time as a castaway (not including his mentor role last season). He's a master manipulator and strategist, but host/producer Jeff Probst believes there's a way to dethrone the king. As he put it,
That’s why Rob had a statue. I can’t explain it. Nobody can. And it will probably never work again on Survivor because in just these first two episodes we’ve seen Rob work his powers of persuasion in ways that boggle the mind. So future players have no choice. If Rob were to ever play again the only thing you can do is vote him out immediately. IMMEDIATELY. I know you want a great answer, I don’t have one.
Well that was surprisingly simple. Jeff Probst didn't offer any strategy to outwit and outplay Boston Rob once he hits the beach on Survivor. Instead he offers the most obvious solution: vote BR out first. Unfortunately, that is not what happened in the first two episodes of Winners at War.
Episode 2 of Survivor: Winners at War aired last night, and it was a wild one. There's a ton of advantages and idols being floated around, and the fire tokens bring a new dizzying component to the gameplay. Boston Rob's tribe went to tribal council for the second time last night, but he somehow hasn't become the target yet. While this might change in the future, BR is dominating his tribe alongside Parvati Shallow and continues to invent new strategies.
Rob's best moment from last night's episode came at tribal council, where he attempted to reveal the location of any hidden immunity idols by having the tribe empty their bags. And the tribe did as they were told, although the person with the idol managed to hide it at the perfect time. Later in his conversation with EW, Jeff Probst cited that move as an example of why Survivor loves to bring Boston Rob back. As he put it,
When people ask why do you have Rob back so many times? This is why. He’s compelling. He’s amazing to watch. The move to have everyone empty their bags was so smart on so many levels. Even levels that didn’t play out this time. And I do not think this will be the last time it happens. It’s a very powerful move that could be used in many ways. Nor is it the last really cool move we’ll see this season. We have a ton of extremely compelling players and this game is just getting started.
Survivor: Winners at War is the biggest season of the show yet, and it should be interesting to see how these all-star players ultimately perform. It would definitely be a shock if players like Boston Rob and Sandra Diaz-Twine go deep in the game, given how iconic and masterful their playing style is. But with the returning players all so paranoid, there's no telling how it could go down. But if I were to guess, I'd assume BR would be sent to the Edge of Extinction after a tribe swap.
Survivor: Winners at War airs new episodes Wednesdays on CBS. In the meantime, check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch.
