Survivor Winners at War: Ranking all 20 performances from season 40
10. Natalie Anderson
It’s true that Natalie was the Winners at War runner-up, but it’s also true that she only attended four Tribal Councils the entire season. The San Juan del Sur champ kicked off season 40 of Survivor with her old friend Jeremy on her side. They also brought in Michele, but that wasn’t enough. Adam was able to deflect the crosshairs off of him and point them on Natalie. She became the first person voted off of Winners at War.
If we awarded an MVP for the Edge of Extinction, it would have been Natalie. She absolutely killed it in finding advantages, receiving Fire Tokens, and winning mini-challenges. She even played a good social game as the four jury votes she earned were all tight with Natalie on the Edge. The three advantages she bought helped her to win her way back into the game at the Final Six.
She then proceeded to play two idols and win the Final Immunity Challenge to make it to Day 39. However, that wasn’t enough. She wasn’t able to control any of those final three Tribal Councils to her benefit. Natalie also wasn’t able to take out the clear cut favorite from the jury’s point of view.
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I’m not hating on Natalie or the Edge of Extinction twist. All I’m saying is that Natalie simply didn’t use her time in the game as well as the next nine players. She missed a golden opportunity to take out Tony, played her idol incorrectly at the Final Five, and had to settle with sending Denise home at the Final Six. Natalie killed it on the Edge but she simply didn’t do enough in the game to deserve a higher spot on this list.
Highs:
– Finding advantage after advantage on the Edge, and receiving plenty of Fire Tokens in return
– Winning her way back into the game thanks to her determination on the Edge
– Playing a Hidden Immunity Idol correctly, blocking four votes
– Finding another idol the following day
– Winning the Final Immunity Challenge and securing her spot in the Final Three
– Going from the first person voted out to receiving four jury votes at Final Tribal Council
Lows:
– Becoming the first person voted out of the season
– Coming just short in the first return challenge
– Not being able to get Tony out before the Final Tribal Council despite her pleas
– Sarah getting the credit for the Ben vote
– Playing it safe by not choosing to go up against Tony in the fire-making challenge