Survivor is currently in the third season of its “new era” following the landmark, all-winners 40th season. There are a few things different in these three seasons thus far. There are new, powerful advantages, and the season is shortened to 26 days. Some of the changes have refreshed the game, but the gritty feeling of Survivor‘s classic seasons are a distant memory.
Love them or hate them, the game’s recent twists give players new elements to adapt to in a slightly different version of Survivor than what they may have expected. Some may thrive under the new conditions while others may struggle. The strongest players, though, would have been up for the challenge to play and succeed even in old-school Survivor.
Shan Smith
Shan was on Survivor 41 and was voted out in eighth place. She is probably best remembered for her relationship with Ricard and her brutal blindside, but she was overall a strategic thinker and a compelling player to watch. She is almost certainly a lock to return for a future Survivor season.
Shan’s social manipulation skills would benefit her greatly in the old-school version of the game. For example, she convinced both Genie and JD to give her their advantages right before she sent both of them home. This kind of strategy in the old days when there is usually only one or two idols per season would work great in getting information out of certain people, or straight up just giving their idols to Shan. She was voted out due to being a threat, but with the old two-tribe structure, she could spearhead and lead her tribe after the merge.
Ricard Foyé
Ricard came in fifth place on Survivor 41. He got far in the game through his brutal strategy, which fans saw in his blindside of his closest ally, Shan.
Ricard’s cutthroat style of play brought to mind classic seasons of Survivor. He did not need any advantages or secret powers to play effectively. He had solid instincts about who the bigges threats were and wasn’t shy about voting anyone out when necessary. The blindsides of Shan and Nasser were brutal to watch but represented Ricard’s best strategic options. He also showed the ability to win immunity challenges, so if his strategic prowess makes his threat level too high, he could win himself to the end.
Xander Hastings
Even though Survivor 41 was not one of the best recent seasons of Survivor, Xander was a fan favorite and a joy to watch. He made it to the final tribal council and was the second runner-up.
Xander’s social adeptness to form close bonds quickly is a great sign he would have succeeded in the early days of the show. For example, his confidence and relationship with his alliance in the post-merge were awesome. Everyone knew he had an idol, but they did not think about flushing it. Xander trusted them so he never got paranoid. He used his idol to leverage his standing in the alliance with every vote. It is almost reminiscent of what Yule did in the Cook Islands with Penner.
Liana Wallace
Liana might be more remembered for her misuse of the knowledge is power advantage, but she was a strong, assertive player. She came in seventh overall on the season.
Liana proved to have a cutthroat strategy when it came to Survivor, similar to Ricard, but to a lesser extent. She had no problem cutting ties with Xander when she asked for his immunity idol. She seemed to have no allegiance to her original tribe mate, which would make for some awesome post-merge drama like in the old-school Survivor since the two tribes’ formula caused a more ‘Us vs Them’ mentality. Fans could have seen a flip similar to Cochran’s in South Pacific from Liana
Nasser Muttalif
Nasser was the lovable underdog in Survivor 41. Naseer came in 10th when he was blindsided and is most remembered for his bubbly personality and when he found the last beware advantage that activated them all.
Nasser started in the dog house, but quickly earned respect when he became the tribe’s provider. Gathering food or starting the fire are simple things castaways can do, during any era, that could get them further in the game. Not to mention he was keen enough to find an immunity idol, so Nasser would excel in the long, less brutal version of the game.
Hai Giang
Hai was probably the biggest standout from Survivor 42. He was incredibly strategic, but, due to his large threat level, only made it to eighth place.
Hai showed right away he could have dominated early Survivor. He was immediately in the bottom of his tribe and needed to save his ally, Lydia. He was able to convince Mike, who was in the majority, to flip his vote and save her. His social manipulation would have worked wonders in the early days. Fans would have loved to see him do this in a tribe larger than six people.
Omar Zaheer
Omar came in 6th on Survivor 42. He may have deceived some people as he started slow, but rapidly become a large, strategic threat.
The early era of Survivor was all about picking people off that were big threats. Omar was great at recognizing who was playing a better game than him and orchestrated their demise. He was able to make Drea misuse her knowledge is power advantage, which resulted in her being voted off. Omar would just need to learn how to keep his own threat level down because, after this tribal, he was looked at as the next biggest threat and was sent packing.
Drea Wheeler
Drea was a victim to Omar as her knowledge is power advantage went to waste, and she was voted out in seventh place. However, Drea was an active player who kept tending to her relationships to ensure they were strong.
Survivor was, is, and always will be a social game at its core. Drea’s way of constructing a web of relationships with so many people on the island made her social game a joy to watch. The idol she found and correctly played would have made her a very strong player if she was on the show earlier. Overall, her only weakness would be her mouth. Fans saw this when she told Omar about her advantage, which cost her the game.
Lindsay Dolashwich
Lindsay came in fifth place in Survivor 42. She might be most remembered for her rivalry with Jonathan for the majority of the post-merge, but her strong physical play made her a great player.
Lindsay’s best aspect of her game was her ability to win immunity challenges. Back when there were no advantages, or even idols, winning immunity was the only way to keep one safe at tribal. Fans loved watching Lindsay battle with Jonathon in every immunity challenge, and it was reminiscent of some other rivalries, like Russel and Rob in Heroes vs Villains. As long as Lindsay kept her bonds socially strong, she could have played an Ozzy or Mike Holloway type of game.
Rocksroy Bailey
Rocksroy was the first victim of the double elimination as he came in 10th. Rocksroy had a somewhat abrasive personality but was good at leading people, especially early on.
Fans wondered if Rocksroy knew there was a game going on since he seemed to care more about the shelter than any strategy, but he proved them wrong as he was a member of the majority alliance in the merge. Like with Naseer, Rocksroy being the main provider for a tribe, even come the merge, should be enough to let him survive a few votes. Rocksroy sure was a character that seemed he should have been on the show years ago.
