Survivor Game Changers Cast Assessment: J.T. Thomas Jr.

Although more attention may be paid to the other two winners on Survivor: Game Changers, J.T. Thomas still has some strengths. How might he play this time?

Survivor: Game Changers called in three great winners in to fill out the cast of 20 players. We have Sandra Diaz-Twine, Tony Vlachos, and finally, J.T. Thomas, Jr. Understandably, Sandra and Tony have been getting a lot of attention in the pre-game media; she’s the only two-time winner of the game, and he’s emerged as a massive target. This might mean that J.T. can go far. Let’s break his games down and see where he might excel.

First off, he won his first season, Tocantins, and turned in the very first perfect game of any Survivor winner. That alone earns him the title of “Game Changer,” since it took 18 seasons for any winner to pull the feat off.

Here’s video of him putting his strategic acumen to use in Tocantins:

As he and Taj note, they went into the merge down in numbers, but emerged victorious nevertheless on the basis of their partnership. (Also, J.T. had an amazing ability to charm people.) In fact, J.T. also famously broke a tooth during a challenge, but spit it out and kept playing nevertheless, confirming his physical skills. That would seem to suggest that he would do well in his second season, Heroes vs. Villains, right?

Well…J.T. also owns one of the worst moves in Survivor history. You see, he ended up giving Russell Hantz a Hidden Immunity Idol, believing that it would win Russell to the side of the Heroes, take out Parvati, and help the Heroes ride a wave of victory all the way to the end.

It did not work out that way, based on the fact that J.T. later had to give Sandra his vote to win her second million dollars as part of the jury. However, the risk seemed worth it to him at the time.

Here’s J.T. talking about his plans going into Game Changers.

He has a very good point in fearing Tony, who can get paranoid very quickly and turn on you. J.T.’s Tocantins social game probably would help him there, but the two may not even have to play together at all, since they’ll start out on opposite tribes anyway.

As long as he can prove himself a physical asset, he should be able to get through the first few episodes, giving him time to build bonds with others on his starting tribe of Nuku. In fact, looking at his starting tribemates, J.T. may want to look to someone like Ozzy Lusth, whom he also mentions in the video, as a shield and a fellow physical player. Alternatively, he could end up working with someone like Zeke Smith — J.T. has shown he can work with almost anyone, after all. He works well when he has a long-term game partner or two to work with.

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Unfortunately, he also starts the game as the only winner on Nuku. That might put a target on his back. Additionally, others who know how he operates may think it’s better to take him out early rather than let him stay and work his way into an alliance. Cirie Fields, in particular, may want some revenge based on his role in her elimination from Heroes vs. Villains, and to do so would basically pull off what he did to her in Samoa.

What he may need to do is play a more subtle game this time around, presenting himself as a follower rather than a leader until such a time where he wouldn’t be as threatened. In other words, J.T. might need to play some of Sandra’s “as long as it isn’t me” game.

However, he clearly has the will to play to win, so if he can overcome some early challenges, he could go deep once again.

Next: Sandra Wants You to Know She's the Best Player Ever

Survivor: Game Changers premieres March 8 with a two-hour episode.

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