Survivor: Will there ever be a good twist for players to re-enter the game?

Survivor: Edge of Extinction marked the fifth time a twist allows eliminated castaways to return in the same season. Will there ever be a perfect formula?

No matter how production tries to spin it, any Survivor season that gives eliminated players the chance to return will be met with plenty of scrutiny. The final result of Edge of Extinction intensified these worries. That raises the question: will there ever be a successful and fair way to allow players to re-enter the game?

My initial response is no, but let’s dig deeper than that. What exactly makes these twists undesirable to watch and what components would be essential to produce the best possible formula?

Edge of Extinction twist

What’s wrong with it? There are a few elements of the Edge of Extinction that makes this twist hard to swallow. First of all, there’s the fact that someone could be eliminated on Day 3 and then return on Day 36 at the Final Six. That’s way too much gameplay to miss and goes against the original purpose of Survivor.

The fact that a player returns at the Final Six and is still given a type of idol just makes this twist even more unbalanced. Also, out of the three twists, this is by far the easiest route to return. The Edge of Extinction residents are virtually stress free from the anxiety going on in the game, plus they only have to win one challenge to get back in.

Redemption Island twist

What’s wrong with it? The biggest problem with Redemption Island is that it continues post-merge, just like the Edge of Extinction twist. The fact that someone can re-enter the game with only four other castaways remaining is quite unfair.

I do like how the Redemption Island residents have to earn their were back by winning duel-style challenges. The extra twist in Blood vs. Water helped make Redemption Island more palpable. That said, challenge choices definitely favored certain players, providing less of a balanced playing field.

The Redemption Island seasons and Edge of Extinction suffered from wonky edits. Nearly every episode featured scenes away from the game to focus on eliminated castaways. This prevented us from getting to know each player in the game and sometimes led to confusing Tribal Councils because we didn’t get a chance to see where everyone’s head is at. The only twist of this nature that worked with the edit is the next one.

The Outcasts twist

What’s wrong with it? The main concern of this twist, which was featured in season 7: Pearl Islands, revolved around the way it was handled. The viewers weren’t shown how the eliminated castaways lived, and how their eating habits and shelter compared with the players still in the game. That could dramatically improve their health and their performance in challenges.

That’s said, there’s a lot to like with this twist. The eliminated players that formed the Outcasts tribe had to literally earn their way back into the game. If they didn’t beat the other two tribes in a challenge none of them would have returned! It was also reassuring that they re-entered the game at the merge and that’s it. No one came back at the Final Six or Final Five.

The verdict:

The entire premise of Survivor is once the tribe has spoken the decision is final! Once you play with that theme, you’re just asking for problems. So I don’t think there will ever be a perfect way to allow players to re-enter the game.

However, if production combined the best parts of each twist, they could formulate a decent way to bring players back. The criteria would have to be:

• No one returns after the merge episode
• The eliminated castaways must have the same or worse living conditions
• There should be limited contact between the players who were voted off
• The returning player has to rightfully earn their way back
• The edit shouldn’t dwell on this twist beyond the necessary scenes

I’m still not a fan of eliminated players returning, but if production would follow this criteria to produce an effective twist, I think it would work out alright. Yes, someone will still re-enter the game, but it would be well-deserved and have less of a direct effect on the end result of the season.