The Greatest Alliance Showdowns in Survivor History

Unstoppable object, meet immovable force.

Music: Silent Partner - New Tires

[bravesfan]

Cochran was smart enough to know he had no chance he would win the game with either alliance, but him flipping ensured they would want him to play again and he used that opportunity to win a million dollars AND he got to be with Debbie on redemption island. He was the winner in the end

[dhxdjskxbskshska]

Ozzy returning for Game Changers might be the only thing I respect him for. If i was bested by a cult led by f-ing Coach I'd never show my face in public again

[drew_breakey]

clearly the best showdown is James vs. his banana etiquette

[kayleighlehrman]

I haven't ever watched Survivor, I just watch vicariously through YouTube analysts and commentators, so I don't necessarily know where and when all the 'big moments' happened, but learning that Skupin and Varner were both from the same season has me reeling.

[Shutterbun]

Coach flipping Cochran is *virtuoso* Survivor play. He really puts on a clinic, reading every card in Cochran's hand, then telling him everything he wants to hear. A lot of people clown on Coach for being annoying or egomaniacal or whatever, but it really is a master class in human interaction and deserves to be mentioned among the best Survivor plays ever.

[seanberrodin]

I’ll never forgive millennials vs gen-x for just dropping the two big alliances of the season on us the episode they show off.

[KeyanCarlile]

It probably doesn't meet the criteria of this video but the Rob vs. Russell showdown in HvV will always be my favorite

[Quetzal]

You bringing up Skupin falling in the fire reminds me how a video on Top 10 Hardest Seasons of Survivor would be really interesting

(Maybe a joke about how everyone + Jeff on 41 kept saying that New Era was the hardest Survivor has ever been included)

[Quetzal]

Me: “Man I got a lot I need to do today.”

*Idoled Out video releases*

Me: “That stuff can wait”

[ThOtherJoe]

always a hilarious bit of irony that the person cheating on her husband has the nerve to say Cochran disgusts her lmfao

[jonathan]

to be honest, I can't blame Cochran, I think he knew he was the kingmaker, and figured he'd rather see the guy who was nice to him win over the alliance that treated him like dog crap. If he sticks with Savaii, and they somehow don't get too cocky, he's gone first, it was a choice between 7th and 6th.

[SpanishFly]

One thing that makes me laugh a bit on the Millennials vs Gen X showdown is hearing after, the reason Will or Jessica didn't flip on the revote is because each of them thought the other would. I do agree in South Pacific that Ozzy probably should've played the Idol on Cochran, but I also think Cochran should've known he couldn't infiltrate a cult that was willing to go to rocks on a disadvantage. Plus, if Savaii gets advantage, Jim probably gets "big-move-itis" which could help Cochran.

[patrickcallahan]

Kind of weird on how David and Zeke lead both their alliances to draw rocks at the final 10 of Millennials vs Gen X and when both of them returned for future seasons they both got voted out at the final 10.

[ArcanineEspeon]

I never understood why Survivor removed the "past votes" rule. It's always seemed to me like a solid, fair tiebreaker. And the strategy of voting for someone you know has past votes doesn't seem any worse than any other repeated strategy I know in the show.

[esinger]

Great video Luke! I truly feel like Cochran flipping on Savaii changed the momentum of the game

[PingPongMan]

Although I don’t mind the more unstable voting bloc based style of play seen in modern seasons. The nail biting edge of your seat nature of showdowns like these is something I miss in Survivor.

[TDRyan]

IDOLED OUT POSTED

(CANCELS PLANS AND PREPARES TO BINGE WATCH 100 VIDEOS)

[stevester]

Ogakor hiding the fact that Jerri was an obnoxious shrew and making all-American hero Colby appear like an unlikable outsider in their tribe was low-key one of the most brilliant moves over.

Or exposed Kucha as one of the stupidest tribes not sure to this day.

[bbbeththedork]

I've always thought that if Savaii had just used their idol on Cochran to make him feel more safe, he wouldn't have flipped. But I'm glad he did, because his tribe treated him like garbage (except for Dawn). And we got to see him come back a second time and dominate!

[MattyD]

So here are a couple of things that came to mind...

In regards to Will flipping immediately after the rock draw, I've heard (though I'm not sure how credible it is) that he was considering flipping on the revote to avoid rocks, but didn't in the end because he was afraid that someone from the other side would also flip, thus negating his own flip and sending them to rocks anyway.

As for Cochran, despite probably not being a good strategic move, I've never really blamed him for flipping. The other members of his tribe/alliance, except for maybe Dawn, never treated him respectfully, and despite their insistence that they benevolently kept him around, the real reason he was still in the game at that point was because Jim saw him as more useful to his own game than Semhar, Mark or Elyse. By staying loyal, Cochran had a random 1/7 chance at going home in 12th place (and the only other Savaii who was risking the rock draw was, ironically, Jim), and by flipping, he had a guaranteed chance at 8th place. He basically said screw it and wasn't going to chance it for those people, and took a guaranteed middle placement.