Survivor Winners at War: Why _____ was sent to Edge of Extinction eleventh

In this week’s episode of Winners at War, another unfortunate winner became the eleventh player voted out and sent to Edge of Extinction. Here, we discuss the rationale behind this player’s vote-out.

Last week, we saw Wendell voted out by the newly merged Koru tribe. We went in-depth on his elimination here, and in this episode, we see similar group-think patterns leading to Adam’s vote-out. To best understand what happened this week, let’s take a step back and cover what we were shown in the episode.

In the wake of last week’s 9-3 Wendell vote, we see Michele and Nick (who, with Wendell, were the three minority votes) feeling bitter and left out. Nick says he’s done being Mr. Nice Guy, and Michele reminds us that she could have been trusted with the Wendell vote since she’s wanted him gone since Day 1. At first glance, Nick and Michele are in trouble this week, and they know it.

But since this is Winners at War and few things play out as first glance would have us believe, Nick and Michele are safe this week. While Koru does seriously consider Nick for the vote, Michele is hardly mentioned.

Instead, the tribe juggles just about every other option. Adam, Nick, Sarah, Sophie, and Tyson are all offered up in the span of 30 seconds of screen time as all players double-, triple-, and quadruple-check the plan for Tribal Council. We are told twice that “all hell broke loose” as the tribe scrambles for consensus on the upcoming vote.

In unison despite seeming anything but united, Koru decides on a victim: Adam. Survivor: Winners at War’s eleventh Tribal Council is a lively one, but once the entire tribe gives Adam the silent treatment, it’s clear that he’s in deep trouble.

At this point, Adam fans are praying that he is right about the immunity idol hidden in plain sight in Jeff’s podium. And what an epic Survivor moment that would have been. Desperate, with no allies and nothing to lose, it would have been truly iconic for Adam to step forward and seize the fleur-de-lis idol to secure his safety.

Alas, the moment is not meant to be. After Jeff speaks on how incredible it would be for production to hide the idol in such a place (really building the tension because that is exactly how he would play up such a moment, if it were legitimate), he reveals that no, it is just decoration. The super-fan goosebumps fall flat, and Jeff hardly needs to read the vote. Adam is doomed.

Of all the players left in the game, why Adam?

First of all, Adam perfectly exemplifies the “hyena” player type that the so-called “lions” of the game (relatively big threats like Tony or Jeremy) want to eliminate. Also, some of his allies are closer to one another than with him (see Sophie, Sarah, and Ben). As a final nail in the coffin, his Day 1 alliance with Denise holds no water according to her, and this speaks to Adam’s crippled social game at this point in the season.

Similar to the Wendell vote last week, Adam is sort of right in the middle of the intricate multi-circle Venn diagram detailing each alliance’s targets. He is an acceptable option to everybody, and this is what a tribe of 11 different players with 11 different agendas needed this week.

The episode’s narrative may have offered up several alternatives for the tribe’s vote, but make no mistake: Adam needed a miracle to survive this episode, but he ended being the eleventh person of the season voted out of the game. Thankfully for him, he has one more shot to come back through the Edge of Extinction. As always, it was worth a shot!

“Adam, the tribe has spoken.”