Survivor Game Changers Episodes 8 and 9: Former Players React

Survivor Game Changers episodes 8 and 9 had plenty of drama after the merge and two eliminations, and here’s how former players reacted.

In the first scene of Survivor Game Changers episode 8 (as part of a dual-episode with episode 9), Zeke Smith stated that he hoped to just get on playing the game. Following the horrible events at Tribal Council from a week ago involving Jeff Varner, that was a sentiment shared by many. Thus, the game went on.

Related Story: Survivor Game Changers Episode 8 and 9: Recap

And with the game going on, so came the merge. Down to 13 players in the game after 20 days of being stranded in Fiji, it was time for it to become an individual game. And man, oh man, did it ever become a free for all.

Right out of the gate as the player all came up to see the merge feast, there was apprehension in the air. Jeff Probst stood next to a table and every player’s imagination began running wild. As it turns out, the twist awaiting them was that one player from each of the two tribes prior to the merge had to volunteer to sit out of the feast. There shockingly wasn’t much debate as Brad and Tai came out and took one for the team:

Debbie may have been trying to fool everyone about being drunk. Andrea was, in fact, not:

One of the more poignant moments right after the merge at the new camp belonged to Zeke. When asked what happened with Varner, he owned the story and came out to the entire group of remaining players as transgender, noting that the whole experience and the game as a whole made him stronger:

Prior to the first challenge after the merge, there was obviously a lot of posturing for power. It seemed like, at the whim of Sierra and Brad, everyone was going to go after Michaela. However, that all seemed to change when Cirie reached out to Michaela and helped coach up the young gun a little bit with some veteran savvy:

The first Immunity Challenge of the day was a grueling one. Players were asked to balance on their tip toes to keep a board atop their head wedged between a board over top of them. The former players did not envy the Survivor Game Changers castaways:

Obviously leading up to the first vote, there was plenty of scrambling between who was going to be voted for. It seemed at first that Sierra was calling all of the shots and that Michaela might be on her way out. However, Cirie started her power play after being in the weeds much of the season and it was a big-time move. Her move led to Hali being shown the first seat on the jury:

There was then a grueling reward challenge that involved swimming for puzzle pieces, carrying the pieces and then doing the puzzle. That was ultimately won by the team of Debbie, Zeke, Ozzy, Troyzan, Tai and Andrea:

For the second Immunity Challenge of the evening (the one for episode 9, for those keeping track at home), it was an old favorite for Ozzy. Hanging on the pole had been won by him in his two previous times competing in it. However, he was usurped by Tai in this round, but it roused the former players throughout:

With Ozzy not having Immunity, Debbie concocted the plan to blindside them. There was also a strong contingent looking at taking out Zeke, also. In the end, though, Debbie used the extra vote she earned from her yacht visit on Exile with Cochran to take out Ozzy:

Next: Survivor: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season

Now we’re down to 11 players in the game. If nothing else, Survivor Game Changers has prove that we’re about to see an absolutely mad rush to the finish. Buckle up, former players and fans alike.