Episode 14: A fitting ending for a fitting winner

Published: December 19, 2024

Damnbueno gives his reactions to what really was the second half of the Survivor 47 finale: A single, albeit historic, immunity challenge win, the most unsatisfying fire-making challenge yet, and a seemingly tightly fought Final Tribal that delivered a (correctly) lopsided jury vote. He then asks: Who will be back for 50?

Episode 13: An early log-on for Rachel?

Published: December 12, 2024

After an In Memoriam for Wardog's log, Damnbueno gets into the Survivor 47 semi-finale two-hour extravaganza, with a whole lot of both big and delicately balanced gameplay from Rachel: immunity wins, idol and advantage plays, surprise blindside and somewhat muted F5 exit. Who is now poised to take the million?

Episode 12: They bought it!

Published: December 5, 2024

Damnbueno gives his real-time reactions to the implausibly well-executed "Operation: Italy" scheme in Survivor 47, Episode 12, as Andy finally pulls off a big move and shatters both the (one episode old) Underdogs alliance and the last remaining strong pair. How did it all go so right?

Episode 11: Perception vs. Andy's reality

Published: November 28, 2024

Damnbueno pushes back on Andy's edit in Survivor 47, with a deep dive on the disparity between Andy's view of his own game vs. how his tribemates describe his game. Then Damnbueno runs through the extremely Rachel-centric events of Episode 11, from a fast-moving journey task to slow and patient immunity win.

Episode 10: Mid-season report card

Published: November 21, 2024

Before getting into the events of Episode 10, Damnbueno assesses the chances of winning of the final nine. Then it's off to the rice-fueled slithering races, and seeing how the numbers realign themselves as Tuku tumbles.

Episode 9: Politely, WTF?

Published: November 14, 2024

Damnbueno tries to assign credit for the last episode's boot, then dives into the chaos of Survivor 47, Episode 9's messy Tribal. (It was Genevieve.) But was it a good move, long-term?

Episode 8: When is unpredictable too predictable?

Published: November 7, 2024

Damnbueno wades through Episode 8's auction, and finds the Survivor 47 version was very long and stubbornly retained all the same flaws found in 45's. But the post-IC maneuvering and a clever Shot in the Dark play elevated the rest of the episode.

Episode 7: An unwelcome return with a championship twist

Published: October 31, 2024

Amid minor distractions from the World Series, Damnbueno rounds the bases of Episode 7 of Survivor 47, an episode that returned the bag of rocks, random-drawn teams, and only six, er, five people voting (ugh), but at least gave Sol something fun to do, briefly.

Episode 6: A nice twist for a change

Published: October 24, 2024

Damnbueno is here for the fireworks of Episode 6's almost-normal merge, with advantages and feasts and burning amulets and one big-talking player finally reaching the end of his soliloquy.

Episode 5: A nice twist for a change

Published: October 17, 2024

First, a detour through past challenge-throwing attempts, then Damnbueno evaluates the big twist of Survivor 47, Episode 5, and how the contestants handled it, plus Gata's big (non-thrown) challenge loss and final pre-merge boot decision.

Episode 4: Shameless self-promotion ... perhaps

Published: October 10, 2024

After another immunity loss (and another lost vote) in Episode 4 of Survivor 47, things get chaotic at Lavo, and Damnbueno evaluates the strategic implications of Genevieve's big move. Was it the right one?

Episode 3: The fast and furiously cocky

Published: October 3, 2024

An Episode 3 journey brings lack of choices back to Survivor 47, but then thrusts power-altering changes into the game that cause the losing tribe to make different choices than they were planning. Damnbueno runs through the choices (or lack thereof), starting with: Never get on the boat.

Episode 2: Buried his own grave

Published: September 26, 2024

As Survivor 47 settles into its regular-sized episode run, Damnbueno examines the overconfidences, oversharing of idols, and overarching men-overplaying vibes of Episode 2. Plus a deep dive into classic Survivor meltdowns.

Episode 1: We're in for a bumpy ride

Published: September 19, 2024

Damnbueno speed-runs through the muddy, overheated capsizings and counter-moves of the two-hour Survivor 47 premiere, everything from key scenes to scenes of keys (and keys, and keys).

Pre-season: Diving in to the Survivor 47 cast

Published: September 16, 2024

With just days left before the 47 premiere, Damnbueno has combed through the pre-game interviews in his attempt to predict how the new contestants will fare in the seventh rendition of the New Era game. Who has the best chance to win, and who will leave with an idol in their pocket?

Pre-season: How to win New Era Survivor

Published: September 3, 2024

As we wait for Survivor 47 to air, Damnbueno has a handy guide to the optimal path to victory in the New Era: The importance of being strategically subtle, having strong alliances, maybe an occasional challenge win, and much more.