Survivor Game Changers: Sandra Leaves With A Royal Decree
Even as she departs from Survivor Game Changers, Sandra Diaz-Twine offers up post-game commentary to prove the Queen stays the Queen forever.
People (including yours truly) offer Sandra Diaz-Twine as the Queen of “Anybody But Me” gameplay. It’s a major factor going into her wins in Survivor Pearl Islands and Survivor Heroes vs Villains, but even in respecting her status like that, it does a disservice to her insane reads of other players. In Survivor Game Changers, she had to adapt a more aggressive playstyle to make it past Day 15.
Survivor Game Changers episode 6, “Vote Early, Vote Often” exemplified Sandra Diaz-Twine at her best; being able to visualize the tribal lines, know who to trust, know when people are lying to her and being able to convince others that being her teammate is to your benefit. Were it not for the fact that she was the only winner left in the game (a two-time winner, at that), she may have been able to convince the tribe of old old Mana to go after Tai instead of voting her out.
Alas, Sandra’s time on Survivor Game Changers came to a close, as she was voted out 5-2 after some wacky tribal council shenanigans. As such, she offered up her final words as the credits rolled, showing she’s still as sassy and confident in defeat as she is in control of the game.
In a truly historic occasion, Sandra Diaz-Twine opened up with her thoughts instead of giving a victory speech live on television. She laments getting voted out and Jeff Probst snuffing her torch, but realizes that 16 days before she received her first vote as a two-time winner is a badge of honor. She ends it all by proclaiming there will never be another two-time winner except herself, “the Queen.”
However much she likes to expound upon her time with Survivor is extrapolated on CBS All Access, where she offered up six minutes of post-game thoughts about her time on Survivor Game Changers from a relaxed, outside perspective the day after getting voted out.
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She knows that going back into the game this time, she easily could have been voted out first due to her threat level as a two-time winner, and rationalizes her moves and decisions well. It’s clear she has no regrets about her play, and that a bad swap at the end put her in this position at 15th out of 20.
More from Season 34 Game Changers
- Survivor Game Changers wins GLAAD Awards’ Outstanding Reality Program
- Survivor Awards 2017: Best episode of the year
- Jeff Probst defends Survivor Game Changers’ outlandish idol count
- Big Brother 19’s handling of transphobia makes me proud of Survivor
- Survivor Game Changers: 5 Players we most want to play again
You need to get CBS All Access to really figure out the depth of gameplay awareness Sandra Diaz-Twine has, as she breaks down several levels of play recognition in her 16 days on the Mamanuca Islands. It’s clear the reason that she won twice is her ability to provide an opportunity for assistance in a way that makes her both a valuable friend that will owe you a favor later, while also hiding behind you with fierce loyalty.
Survivor is such a fickle game, especially in a season like Survivor Game Changers where the next twist is just around the corner. To throw that many variables into the air, including losing four members of your original tribe in a row and survivor four out of five tribal councils without a vote (heading to tribal five out of six total tribal councils this season) shows just how strong she played in such a short amount of time.
Next: Survivor Game Changers: Ranking All 33 Previous Seasons
Don’t take it from me; listen to what she has to say before we learn about the next Survivor Game Changers boot next week after episode 7, “What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile.”