Survivor Ponderosa: Winners at War jury closes most of their stories

The legends of the game have likely closed the book on their Survivor juries, as the Ponderosa series offers an exhaustive look at the exit from Winners at War.

The Survivor Ponderosa series will showcase behind-the-scenes videos of the players eliminated from Winners at War on Day 35, as well as the individual videos of players who exited on Days 36, 37, and 38.

Heading into the premiere of the Edge of Extinction, there was a legitimate concern that we would be completely devoid of Survivor Ponderosa videos. Since there were no exit interviews throughout the season and no telling what the season would produce, it was a small relief to get a burst of content at the final moment after the winner had been crowned.

Not only did we get the same thing treatment of Survivor Ponderosa for Winners at War, but there was an extra video just for Sandra Diaz-Twine where she got to share her journey from “anybody but me” to “the queen stays queen. Adios.” There are six videos in total, so check out video one both here and embedded below, with videos two, three, four, five, and six to follow the love story of Amber and Boston Rob Mariano.

The giant collection of players arriving at Ponderosa makes for interesting comparisons between groups of players. Some wanted to pig out first, while others wanted to clean up, shower, and change first. The living arrangements, the surprise bonds players formed with specific others, the funny banter between legends who have gone through this song and dance before, the debates of which tier they’re on; it’s like a gigantic party.

Latter videos in the series were the real treat, as we got to see confessionals from the loved ones at Ponderosa reflecting on the gigantic lovefest that came out of episode 10. It was especially touching to see Adam get further closure, as well as former Survivor players like Rachel, Nadiya, Val, and John Fincher offer up their perspectives once again. Plus, getting closure on Rob and Amber’s intertwining destinies was a heartwarming experience.

The latter series of Survivor Ponderosa videos showed the various mentalities of the final players voted out of Winners at War, starting with Denise, followed by Ben, and ending with Sarah Lacina. The flow of these videos felt a bit more pointed, with Denise even feeling like her first dinner was pretty aggressive akin to a family going through tension.

There was a bit of tension relieved when Ben showed up, and due to the seemingly typhoon-like storm that took over Day 39, Sarah’s video was cut short. Still, it’s a hearty assortment of content to enjoy overall, providing a small consolation for a formerly weekly tradition I hope returns when (or if) season 41 airs this fall.