Is Zeke Smith going to play Survivor again after Game Changers?

Whether or not Zeke Smith plays Survivor again after Game Changers seems to be up to him, considering the events of this season.

Asking the question about whether or not Zeke Smith will ever return to Survivor seems strange somehow. That’s at least partially because of what happened this season. It feels as though one could make a case for either option here.

Here’s the one for Zeke to return, first off. He has talked throughout his confessionals in both seasons about how he loves the game of Survivor. (After all, he basically had no downtime between the two seasons. That takes some commitment on its very own.) It shows in his willingness to play, whether that be marshaling an alliance against David in Millennials vs. Gen X or trying to flip against Andrea and Cirie in Game Changers. He has some utterly hilarious confessionals and a wonderful way of expressing himself.

Perhaps a few years could turn him from a strategic threat to a strategic and social nightmare for other players. So, from a production standpoint, Zeke is the kind of player that might very well come back sometime.

But here’s where we get to the personal and the opposite case. Take a listen to Zeke’s final words again:

“I will forever be a better person because I played Survivor.” Something about that just sounds final. Granted, what he said just after being voted out and what he may think now could be completely different. This is by no means an effort to say he’ll never play Survivor again, because … well, we just made the case above.

But it seems like he’s gotten something out of the game that, to sound a little clichéd and trite, might be worth more than the prize and that sweet title of Sole Survivor. However, it has to sting to play twice and just make the jury twice. Sure, jury speeches can make for dramatic moments, but it’s not winning.

Next: Andrea could become a Survivor legend this season

To vaguely speculate and by no means intend to speak for Zeke — and it seems important to repeat that more than ever — it seems that he might come back after a few years if he does at all. It might end up that he becomes the next Malcolm, who played back-to-back in Philippines and Caramoan but then didn’t return again until Game Changers.