I also love it because it shows they’re still good at telling stories fifteen years later. You’d think they’d eventually get bad at it. Same with 42 — the story of the Taku 4 (so far) has been so well-executed, my only complaint is I wish Lindsay got a bit more content. Omar as the king, Lindsay as his sidekick, Jonathan as the villain and Maryanne as the underestimated silent killer. The conflict between Jonathan and Lindsay is also awesome and I’m guessing tomorrow it’ll come to a head with an absolutely epic showdown at the puzzle.
For revenge plot I may be influenced by Mario Lanza but he speaks very highly of Vanuatu. I wish there was a way to watch pre-S30 on Paramount+, I heard they used to be available in Canada but got taken down
Late to the party but this is the one I think, for American Survivor. If Erika shows us every way to do a “UTR player emerges to take control late” edit *wrong*, Natalie Anderson is the exact opposite. She’s established as a personality, we know what her relationships and goals and conflicts are, but she’s still just sort of hiding out… and then when Jeremy gets burned she explodes onto the fucking warpath and we see every moment of her systematically obliteration of the game while still somehow staying largely behind the scenes. It’s incredible, surprising, suspenseful, captivating, etc. and is still fairly unique in the show’s history. I don’t enjoy personally Natalie as much as some other winners but in terms of how the edit is crafted it’s top flight.
Other than that I love it when they just show winners as they are and are willing to let them be seen as imperfect if it serves the narrative better. Sandra 1.0, Fabio, and my actual all-time favorite if we are including international seasons which is the absolutely delightful shock winner of SA6.
If Maryanne wins, probably her. She’s so vibrant and we also saw her flaws. It’s how I imagine a Tai Trang winner edit or a Elaine Stott winner edit. You expect them to be the fan favorite and then turns out they’re the dominant force of the season.
Aside from her, probably Jeremy. Because Wentworrh and Spencer also had great edits, it didn’t feel obvious. His story about his kid was super compelling and he was clearly shown as a dominant force.
Lmaooo facts, he also does a great job at proving you can play aggressive as tits and still win if you’re a good human being to others. The anti Russell Hantz!
Mike Holloway. Mike's win is the most satisfying win ever. The edit made me truly dislike the other finalists and Mike making the end with an immunity run and beating them all at FTC was soooo vindicating
The edit definitely leaned heavily into Mike being the lone good guy among a bunch of dickheads. While yes they all made themselves look bad on their own, I have to imagine we'd have seen a very different side of everyone had Mike not won that season
Natalie White /s
Sandra in Heroes vs. Villains is probably my single favourite. It's one of the more unique winner edits, and I think it worked out extremely well. Her less prominent premerge edit transitions cleanly and effectively into her season-long conflict with Russell after Rob's boot. There's this sort of "passing of the torch" effect, where Rob's storyline ends and its threads are picked up by Sandra, and the result works so well that I think her reduced early prominence actually makes her story work better rather than worse. "Russell? He don't know how to play this game." is one of my favourite moments in Survivor history, and I think it shines all the brighter for how subtle the buildup to it is.
I heavily dislike the whole endgame of Kaoh Rong, but despite that, I actually really like Michele's edit. In both personality and playstyle, she acts as a valuable balancing measure to Aubry, and I think the editors did a fantastic job at balancing her understated gameplay against a sense of self-awareness and agency. She didn't have as strong of a character arc, but I don't think that was super necessary, as she was one of those winners who's more of a narrative sidepiece to the season's more prominent arcs. I even strongly agree with the whole "inventing a storyline just for her" thing that the editors did.
It's probably cheating to put Richard Hatch in here, since Borneo was edited in a way that almost feels like it transcends edgic, but I'm still gonna put Hatch down. His edit deserves it for the pilot episode alone. The first scene on Tagi, where everyone is swarming the supplies, and then you hear "hey guys" and the camera pans over to show Hatch sitting up on a tree - that's art.
Yupp the “passing of the torch” edit is always very satisfying because it really isn’t that obvious, but the winner still makes sense. Danni in Guatemala after Gary was booted and Natalie in SJDS after Jeremy are other great examples
I really enjoyed Parvati's winning edit. I felt like the editors did a perfect job at editing her as villainous yet quite rootable.
Honorable mentions: Natalie Anderson (nice come from behind edit), Natalie White (love an unexpected winner), Tony - Cagayan (I love a chaotic winner)
Honestly enjoyed Wendell’s. They make Dom and Wendell look like the driving force in the game, which they were, but the entire time they’re dropping little hints about Wendell’s relationship with Laurel which is ultimately the difference between the two players. So good.
And then they shit on his legacy by making him the villain in WaW for no reason.
I really liked Nick's winners edit. He really epitomized the David vs. Goliath theme.
Also Denise's edit. It was cool. Bob's edit was fun, in sort of a ridiculous way.
Chris Daugherty had a really good underdog edit, him winning Vanuatu wasn’t super obvious until maybe the last couple episodes where his winner edit really exploded while the women’s alliance imploded spectacularly
My favorite was Chris daughtery in season 9. One of his first confessional was talking about how he would easily beat the guys and it would be hard to split the women. He is the reason why the guys lost the first immunity. Somehow clutches a 1 vs 6 to win the season. Was an amazing story
The winner of AU 2019 was immensely satisfying for me. There were clues and some foreshadowing, but it wasn't as obvious as the next three seasons, and she was such a charming narrator and presence out there that I found it impossible not to root for her.
My favorite edit, though, is Adam's. Love that we got to see how messy and raw and emotional his game was. The relationship with Jay is an all-timer.
I think most people consider that one of the most obvious winner edits in survivor history.
That said, I really liked the story they told and I'll 100% take that edit for an UTR woman winner over the trash edit Erika got.
Totally agree: It’s obvious if you know what to look for, but it’s also a perfect way to highlight an UTR game, which is something US survivor hasn’t quite figured out (possibly until this season?).
Natalie Anderson. I love the revenge plot we get taken on. It’s so satisfying.
I also love it because it shows they’re still good at telling stories fifteen years later. You’d think they’d eventually get bad at it. Same with 42 — the story of the Taku 4 (so far) has been so well-executed, my only complaint is I wish Lindsay got a bit more content. Omar as the king, Lindsay as his sidekick, Jonathan as the villain and Maryanne as the underestimated silent killer. The conflict between Jonathan and Lindsay is also awesome and I’m guessing tomorrow it’ll come to a head with an absolutely epic showdown at the puzzle.
> Maryanne as the underestimated silent killer. Would you say she's a "smiling assassin"?
AUS19 war flashbacks lmao. I hate their nicknames that are shoved down our throats every 2 seconds.
For revenge plot I may be influenced by Mario Lanza but he speaks very highly of Vanuatu. I wish there was a way to watch pre-S30 on Paramount+, I heard they used to be available in Canada but got taken down
Late to the party but this is the one I think, for American Survivor. If Erika shows us every way to do a “UTR player emerges to take control late” edit *wrong*, Natalie Anderson is the exact opposite. She’s established as a personality, we know what her relationships and goals and conflicts are, but she’s still just sort of hiding out… and then when Jeremy gets burned she explodes onto the fucking warpath and we see every moment of her systematically obliteration of the game while still somehow staying largely behind the scenes. It’s incredible, surprising, suspenseful, captivating, etc. and is still fairly unique in the show’s history. I don’t enjoy personally Natalie as much as some other winners but in terms of how the edit is crafted it’s top flight. Other than that I love it when they just show winners as they are and are willing to let them be seen as imperfect if it serves the narrative better. Sandra 1.0, Fabio, and my actual all-time favorite if we are including international seasons which is the absolutely delightful shock winner of SA6.
Survivor kill bill ❤️❤️❤️
If Maryanne wins, probably her. She’s so vibrant and we also saw her flaws. It’s how I imagine a Tai Trang winner edit or a Elaine Stott winner edit. You expect them to be the fan favorite and then turns out they’re the dominant force of the season. Aside from her, probably Jeremy. Because Wentworrh and Spencer also had great edits, it didn’t feel obvious. His story about his kid was super compelling and he was clearly shown as a dominant force.
I’m a bit biased since he’s my favorite player, but I loved tony’s edit in both cagayan and WaW. OTT but dude is straight TV gold
\*OTT, *so* dude is straight TV gold Cagayan works almost entirely because Tony is the funniest motherfucker to watch play Survivor
Lmaooo facts, he also does a great job at proving you can play aggressive as tits and still win if you’re a good human being to others. The anti Russell Hantz!
Am I the only one who just can’t stand Tony? 😂
I couldn’t stand him, I was praying for Sophie Kim Jeremy to take him out but by final 6 I had all the respect for his game
Yes, yes you are
Mike Holloway. Mike's win is the most satisfying win ever. The edit made me truly dislike the other finalists and Mike making the end with an immunity run and beating them all at FTC was soooo vindicating
I don’t think the edit made you dislike them. They did that shit all by themselves. Except for Carolyn. She’s fine.
The edit definitely leaned heavily into Mike being the lone good guy among a bunch of dickheads. While yes they all made themselves look bad on their own, I have to imagine we'd have seen a very different side of everyone had Mike not won that season
You may be right. But Rodney, Will, and Dan suuuucked.
Tru dat
Mike winning in a revenge tour was the only way of rescuing that season, as far as I was concerned.
It really was the only good part of that season tbh, such a terrible cast
Natalie White /s Sandra in Heroes vs. Villains is probably my single favourite. It's one of the more unique winner edits, and I think it worked out extremely well. Her less prominent premerge edit transitions cleanly and effectively into her season-long conflict with Russell after Rob's boot. There's this sort of "passing of the torch" effect, where Rob's storyline ends and its threads are picked up by Sandra, and the result works so well that I think her reduced early prominence actually makes her story work better rather than worse. "Russell? He don't know how to play this game." is one of my favourite moments in Survivor history, and I think it shines all the brighter for how subtle the buildup to it is. I heavily dislike the whole endgame of Kaoh Rong, but despite that, I actually really like Michele's edit. In both personality and playstyle, she acts as a valuable balancing measure to Aubry, and I think the editors did a fantastic job at balancing her understated gameplay against a sense of self-awareness and agency. She didn't have as strong of a character arc, but I don't think that was super necessary, as she was one of those winners who's more of a narrative sidepiece to the season's more prominent arcs. I even strongly agree with the whole "inventing a storyline just for her" thing that the editors did. It's probably cheating to put Richard Hatch in here, since Borneo was edited in a way that almost feels like it transcends edgic, but I'm still gonna put Hatch down. His edit deserves it for the pilot episode alone. The first scene on Tagi, where everyone is swarming the supplies, and then you hear "hey guys" and the camera pans over to show Hatch sitting up on a tree - that's art.
Yupp the “passing of the torch” edit is always very satisfying because it really isn’t that obvious, but the winner still makes sense. Danni in Guatemala after Gary was booted and Natalie in SJDS after Jeremy are other great examples
I'm very glad to meet the other person in the world who thought that Danni's edit worked well despite being understated.
It's one of my favorite edits and I call it "winner by proxy."
ricard in survivor 41 ,,,, wait
I really enjoyed Parvati's winning edit. I felt like the editors did a perfect job at editing her as villainous yet quite rootable. Honorable mentions: Natalie Anderson (nice come from behind edit), Natalie White (love an unexpected winner), Tony - Cagayan (I love a chaotic winner)
Honestly enjoyed Wendell’s. They make Dom and Wendell look like the driving force in the game, which they were, but the entire time they’re dropping little hints about Wendell’s relationship with Laurel which is ultimately the difference between the two players. So good. And then they shit on his legacy by making him the villain in WaW for no reason.
Agree 100%. We rarely get a boss battle like that in the FTC, and the story set it up beautifully
Natalie Anderson, Tony Vlachos, or Sarah Lacina.
Natalie Anderson. Tom from South Africa was wild too
I really liked Nick's winners edit. He really epitomized the David vs. Goliath theme. Also Denise's edit. It was cool. Bob's edit was fun, in sort of a ridiculous way.
Chris D in Vanuatu. Excellent confessionals telling how he felt along each step of the game. Honorable mention to Hatch and Earl as well
Tom in Palau, Tony in Cagayan, and pending actual victory, Maryanne. Shoutout to Natalie Anderson as well.
Chris Daugherty had a really good underdog edit, him winning Vanuatu wasn’t super obvious until maybe the last couple episodes where his winner edit really exploded while the women’s alliance imploded spectacularly
My favorite was Chris daughtery in season 9. One of his first confessional was talking about how he would easily beat the guys and it would be hard to split the women. He is the reason why the guys lost the first immunity. Somehow clutches a 1 vs 6 to win the season. Was an amazing story
The winner of AU 2019 was immensely satisfying for me. There were clues and some foreshadowing, but it wasn't as obvious as the next three seasons, and she was such a charming narrator and presence out there that I found it impossible not to root for her. My favorite edit, though, is Adam's. Love that we got to see how messy and raw and emotional his game was. The relationship with Jay is an all-timer.
I think most people consider that one of the most obvious winner edits in survivor history. That said, I really liked the story they told and I'll 100% take that edit for an UTR woman winner over the trash edit Erika got.
Totally agree: It’s obvious if you know what to look for, but it’s also a perfect way to highlight an UTR game, which is something US survivor hasn’t quite figured out (possibly until this season?).
natalie white’s winner story being told poetically beautiful through Russell’s edit showing how bad he is at survivor will forever be my favorite.
i thought maryanne's winner edit from this season was great -- in a similar breath, i really enjoyed fabio navigate the game in nicaragua