Worst twists in Survivor history

Worst Twists in Survivor History – Number 8: First Impressions

• First Appearance: Tocantins (Season 18, 2009)

While the inaugural appearance of First Impressions wasn’t that bad, the version used in Blood vs Water is the reason it appears on this list, but first – Onto what the twist itself entails.

Shortly after the game is officially underway, Jeff has every contestant write down who they want to vote out of the game. In Tocantins, the two contestants “voted out” weren’t actually voted out, but instead got to ride to their tribe’s camp in a helicopter while the rest of their team had to hike there. They also got an opportunity to find an idol while their tribe was making the trek to their camp.

In Blood vs Water, however, the two contestants picked were actually voted out of the game, but there was yet another twist. Blood vs Water implemented Redemption Island (don’t worry – more on this in a bit), so those two players went there instead rather than being fully eliminated.

Candice Cody was voted out by the returning players while Laura Boneham was the pick for the loved ones team. Rupert Boneham – Laura’s husband – had the choice of stepping in for his wife and taking her place at Redemption Island, which he did. In doing that, this version backfired on production because it took fan favorite Rupert out of the game immediately.

Fortunately, when Survivor used this twist again the very next season, it was back to those players getting a ride to their camps and getting a jumpstart at finding the idol.