# Survivor: 41st Season **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [September 23, 2021, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202 "2021-09-23T15:04:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/121 "2021-11-15T16:04:43Z")
It might’ve changed because of the pandemic, but there were rumors they were going to do that again with two different “idols”. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/122 "2021-11-15T18:30:14Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > The way seasons are planned in advance, I think it’s hard to shift midstream if there’s a negative reaction. There was a big stink over Edge of Extinction but they still used it again two seasons later. I think the next one is all set already. The one for next Fall? I think there is some room to adjust there. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/123 "2021-11-15T19:44:43Z")
Don’t they film 2 seasons literally back-to-back, then wait 9 months before filming again? It saves money on transporting all the personnel & equipment, and they get the best filming weather that way as well. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2021, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/124 "2021-11-15T21:03:49Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Don’t they film 2 seasons literally back-to-back, then wait 9 months before filming again? It saves money on transporting all the personnel & equipment, and they get the best filming weather that way as well Yes, and they also were using the same basic location over and over to sort of set up a permanent structure for the crew. Minimal spoilers out there indicate they did film or are filming the other season for this year. I would indeed expect it to be the same general thing as this year. I think “all newcomers” is pretty much for sure. ---
**Author:** ![HammerJoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@HammerJoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HammerJoe)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/125 "2021-11-16T00:13:28Z")
One of the issues with survivor and it always has been are the alliances. They simply kill the interest, especially when its a cohesive group that sticks together till the end. I hate that. I applaud the efforts of production to try to come up with ideas to try to demolish or at least minimize alliances as much as possible. The only thing I find this season is that the advantages are not really having any impact in the game. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2021, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/126 "2021-11-16T04:33:31Z")
> [@HammerJoe](#): > > The only thing I find this season is that the advantages are not really having any impact in the game. Well, they are and they aren’t. True, nobody has played an advantage to their own… advantage. But the mere existence of the advantages has definitely influenced alliances and voting patterns. It’s all been way too chaotic, though. I’m not really sure what Jennifer Coolidge impersonator Heather was trying to accomplish with her “big move.” I don’t think it was just hurt feelings at being mentioned as the decoy; she clearly was looking to make some waves and seemed to have had _some_ sort of plan. But she acted upset at the results of the vote, even though she herself voted for Tiffany. ---
**Author:** ![Noelq](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/noelq/32/16438_2.png) [@Noelq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noelq)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/127 "2021-12-02T17:15:57Z")
Posting my opinion before I’m told I’m wrong :). I really, really like the do-or-die challenge. First, prefacing it with the “if you don’t think you can win, you can opt out”. I enjoyed that, as it gave some (equality?) to the situation. But having the do-or-die really, really gets rid of the players that just drop out immediately because they know they won’t be voted out. I LIKE having the threat that if they aren’t really trying, they could get voted out of the game immediately. I’d vote to keep this threat going. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/128 "2021-12-02T17:29:32Z")
I’ll second liking the do or die. People on r/survivor are hating but that fact they knew about it in advance makes it all work for me. Also, it actually gives some strategy to people who KNOW they’re in danger of going home. They might choose to just drop out and go for the chance. On the flipside, what a flop the “Shot in the Dark” was. Only used once, and even people who knew they were in danger didn’t want to give up their vote for it. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2021, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/129 "2021-12-02T18:14:29Z")
My only complaint with the Do-or-Die was that it wasn’t fully explained beforehand to allow players to make an informed choice. If Jeff had said “You’ll roll a die and have a 1 in 6 chance of going home,” I’d probably have gone ahead and participated in the challenge. If he’d said “You’ll only have a 1 in 3 chance of staying in the game”\* there’s no way I would play. > [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > On the flipside, what a flop the “Shot in the Dark” was. Only used once, and even people who knew they were in danger didn’t want to give up their vote for it. I agree. They’ve thrown a lot of stuff at the wall this season, and I’m sure they knew that not all of it would stick. I don’t expect the shot in the dark to hang around after the next (already filmed) season, if that. \*I realize this was the Monty Hall problem (correctly identified by Xander) and the odds, if played correctly, are actually better than 1 in 3. But most people don’t get that. Deshawn made the wrong choice and got lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/130 "2021-12-03T15:36:52Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > My only complaint with the Do-or-Die was that it wasn’t fully explained beforehand to allow players to make an informed choice. I think I agree, but that wouldn’t have worked for the Monty Hall problem since the players probably wouldn’t have agreed on what the odds were… we would have spent most of the episode with them arguing about whether you should switch boxes or not. 🙂 This season is really petering out. I think I’ve decided that there really aren’t any very good players, other than maybe Ricard. Deshawn has totally blown up his game (and got pretty lucky this week). Erika has no chance, and probably should have pulled the trigger on Ricard, IMO. Her only winnable final 3 was her, Heather, and Liana (although Liana might win that… maybe…). Perhaps she thinks she can win an Erika, Danny, Heather final 3. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/131 "2021-12-03T15:41:07Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > Erika has no chance, and probably should have pulled the trigger on Ricard, IMO. The edit Erika is getting is so weird. Every player is acting like Erika is really sneaky and some huge threat, but we haven’t seen any of that. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2021, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/132 "2021-12-03T16:56:31Z")
In the older seasons it was common to underestimate a player who was pulling strings but not being too obvious about it. These days, when everyone is hyper-vigilant and every single word and action is scrutinized and analayzed to death, it’s probably more likely that Erica is being _over_estimated. Her game play has been inconsistent, and the others may be ascribing motives that aren’t really there. ---
**Author:** ![Lare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/53a042/32.png) [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/133 "2021-12-04T23:16:08Z")
About the Monty Hall identification on the “Do or Die” challenge: Isn’t that predicated on Monty (Jeff in this case) knowing where the biggest prize/fire symbol being? Do we have any indication that Jeff did or did not know how the boxes were stacked before offering them to be picked? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/134 "2021-12-04T23:24:10Z")
I think we can assume that Jeff knew which box was which. Otherwise, if Jeff randomly opens the box with the fire symbol, the game is over and Deshawn doesn’t have the opportunity to switch or not. Jeff is always going to open a skull box, or the game doesn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/135 "2021-12-04T23:53:26Z")
> [@Lare](#): > > About the Monty Hall identification on the “Do or Die” challenge: Isn’t that predicated on Monty (Jeff in this case) knowing where the biggest prize/fire symbol being? Do we have any indication that Jeff did or did not know how the boxes were stacked before offering them to be picked? I pointed this out to my wife immediately and we agreed that he knew what was in each box. It reminds me of a standard “future prediction” magic trick where the magician has a number of outs and they change which cards(or boxes, etc.) they reveal along the way based on what the target says. Jeff knew which box had they fire and so he made sure he opened a “skull” to create the 50-50 result. I think because of this, he knew for sure which of the other two had the fire as well. However, I think they pre-establish that he will offer the chance to change no matter what. His knowledge does not affect what he offers. Anyway, that is what I figure. Note: I have heard Jeff many times discuss how they pre-set everything on the show to meet the game-show requirements that were setup after the Quiz-show Scandals. All of the challenges are pre-set up and the order they will be played in is also set. No changing them based on the individual strengths and weaknesses of who is left. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2021, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/136 "2021-12-04T23:58:58Z")
Yeah, it’s pretty clear Jeff wanted to do the Monty Hall problem. Especially after the prisoner dilemma stuff earlier this season (kinda weird how quickly that disappeared as well). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2021, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/137 "2021-12-05T00:56:33Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Jeff knew which box had they fire and so he made sure he opened a “skull” to create the 50-50 result. 2:1 for switching, not 50-50. Deshawn picked wrong but got lucky. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [December 9, 2021, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/138 "2021-12-09T16:48:03Z")
Well, another pretty dull episode. There just aren’t enough players that are doing what they need to do to win the game - or perhaps said another way too many that seem perfectly happy with second or third place. I can’t understand why Deshawn and Danny didn’t at least _try_ to blindside Xander. I don’t completely understand why the majority would chose to keep Deshawn over Danny. I’m not really sure why Ricard was happy to just let Danny go home instead of at least making Xander use his idol (by getting Danny and Deshawn to vote for Xander along with 1 of the majority, perhaps himself). It just really seems like we have only two or maybe three people playing the game, and even they aren’t that good at it. It doesn’t help that the big targets seem to win immunity every week so there isn’t any room to maneuver. Just a rough season… maybe the game has run its course? Time for even more aggressive overhauls? ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/139 "2021-12-10T17:52:59Z")
I have to agree with **Jas09**. There have been moves to be made that simply weren’t. Anyway, here’s how I see it shaking out: Ricard will win if he is in the Final Three. Xander will win if he is in F3 without Ricard. Deshawn will win only if it’s him, Erica, and Heather. Erica and Heather have no chance of winning. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [December 10, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202/140 "2021-12-10T17:58:22Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Erica and Heather have no chance of winning. What if another twist is going back to a final two? 🙂 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-41st-season/951202.md?page=8)