It was either Sarah or Tai that was heading to Survivor Ponderosa as the final member of the Survivor Game Changers jury. Tai sealed two fates that night.
When Brad Culpepper won the Final Immunity Challenge, he and Troyzan had a huge decision to make. Their combined votes would decide who went home or, at least, who would be picked to test their luck in a fire-making challenge. Brad chose Tai to exit Survivor Game Changers and head to Survivor Ponderosa in fourth place and Sarah, knowing that trying to knock Troyzan out would put a vote for Brad on the jury, followed suit.
By doing so, we were deprived of a unique situation. According to the players at the Survivor Game Changers finale reunion last night, the vote would have ended at 5-5 for Brad and Tai, with Troyzan then conferring with the jury to become the deciding vote. Tai still wouldn’t have won, but he could have been $90,000 richer.
Tai was that close, but in the end, he ultimately headed to Survivor Ponderosa blissfully unaware of what could have been. He certainly didn’t seem too bitter about it, though, as he was even nervous about how well his reception would be. The other nine members of the jury welcomed him with smiles, with Ozzy even comparing himself to Tai’s style of gameplay.
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He really spoke up for himself at his elimination Tribal Council, and him being the last jury member to reach Survivor Ponderosa, the video is a lot more gameplay-centric than others. Tai does lament about what could have been, but even in his advanced age, you could see him grow as a person from the feedback and the experience of Survivor Game Changers.
Tai even mentioned how close the jury was in this season compared to his season, and he’s absolutely right. When Cydney hit the Kaoh Rong version of Ponderosa as the final jury member, Scot, Julia and Jason wouldn’t even look or talk to her. That speaks to a profound level of bitterness
With all these returning players gathered together after a season full of twists, everyone (Tai included) opened up their hearts. Tai reading his letter from Mark the Human (his husband, not the chicken) showed just how the game of Survivor breaks you down, as Tai was a day or two from seeing him once again.
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His Survivor Ponderosa experience encapsulated everything that made Game Changers unique.