Survivor Game Changers: What Is Jeff Varner Hinting At?

"What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile" - Jeff Varner and his tribe attempts to solve the Immunity Puzzle on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 12 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jeffrey Neira/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile" - Jeff Varner and his tribe attempts to solve the Immunity Puzzle on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR: Game Changers, airing Wednesday, April 12 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Jeffrey Neira/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved. /
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Based on some social media clues, it appears as though Jeff Varner is involved in some sort of major Survivor Game Changers incident tonight.

Survivor is often filmed many, many months in advance of their air dates, mostly done in a way to get two seasons airing in a regular September – May annual prime television period. That means the players, production and PR know what happened on a day-to-day basis throughout each cast’s adventures well in advance, but can’t speak about what happens in a season like Survivor Game Changers due to non-disclosure agreementsJeff Varner may be preparing for something major set for later tonight, but can’t be forthright until it happens.

Over the past few days, the Jeff Varner Twitter account has been making some peculiar changes to certain aspects of its regular behavior. Ever since April 8, Jeff Varner has been retweeting some fairly specific people reaching out to him, and none of them are former players, members of CBS or are involved with the production of Survivor.

The first case mentions “no matter what happens this season,” seemingly aware of something that Varner did. Perhaps it could be in relation to the 20-second preview of Survivor Game Changers episode 7, “What Happened on Exile, Stays on Exile.” He did say he wants to “punch them all in the throat,” although it could refer to the Sandra Diaz-Twine vote last week.

On April 9, Jeff Varner retweeted Brian Scully (Family Guy screenwriter, similar to Millennials vs. Gen X player David Wright), prefacing the next episode with virtual hugs and an Erik Reichenbach heart gif.

More from Season 34 Game Changers

Today is where I noticed the odd behavior most clearly and evident, as Jeff Varner tweeted out a message about vulnerability being the antidote of shame in addition to retweeting a fan who notes tonight “may be rough.”

Since the official news came that Jeff Varner was going to be on the Survivor Game Changers full cast, he had noted that he was a “student of shame” on his Twitter bio. Not only that, he has since deleted his #Survivor500 video tweet (still up on his Facebook) where he mentions his favorite moment yet to be aired.

"This has been a traumatic situation for a lot of people involved; this show is very difficult for us. It may be difficult for you at a couple of points, so I just want to say that…it’s an ugly game, and we can all do good with that, if we try. So, yeah; that’s coming. We’re here. It can’t end before it begins, so welcome to the premiere of Survivor Game Changers!"

Next: Survivor Game Changers: Ranking All 33 Previous Seasons

Clearly, whatever happens tonight on Survivor Game Changers is horrible enough to warrant so much forewarning, support and understanding about Jeff Varner the person, not Jeff Varner the player starved of food 18 or more days into a reality show. Whatever happens, we hope it’s not nearly as awful as it looks from afar.