Survivor: Game Changers reunion: tiebreaker rules; Jeff Varner, Zeke Smith reflect

While it was clear that the Survivor: Game Changers reunion on Wednesday would touch on many subjects, one was clearly going to be addressed before Jeff Probst even announced it: Jeff Varner’s outing of Zeke Smith before the merge.

This moment made headlines all over the world, and it’s been a subject of so much discourage already. Varner apologized for his actions in so many different forms (including here at the site). Meanwhile, Zeke said that what happened with the outing severely hurt his chances of winning the game. Both of these things are probably true.

Before we go to that, let’s focus for a moment on the big rule reveal that took place tonight: What happens in the event of a tie at the final three. It turns out that Tai and Brad would have each received five votes, and Troyzan would have moved over to the jury and broken the tie. It’s a smart little twist, and it’s probably what so many people assumed was going to happen in the event we got to this point.

In getting back to the Zeke – Varner discussion, obviously they both knew that it was coming. The show didn’t really to remind us of that as many times as they did, right? It was obviously traumatic for Zeke in that moment, and it feels like it could’ve been contained to a single second rather than being hyped before commercial breaks. This really isn’t the sort of thing to be “hyped.”

Nonetheless, as the segment itself unfolded as you would expect, and everyone handled themselves about as well as you would have expected. The discussion was certainly less controversial, and more full of messages about finding the confidence within yourself. Both Zeke and Varner moved forward from the situation positively, and each seem ready to move on the next part of their lives. In the end, they are the ones who will deal with the consequences, both good and bad, of what happened. They went through the moment on the show and after the fact, so hopefully both try to make the best of the situation they are in today.

Did you get anything more out of the segment, and are you happy that Survivor: Game Changers touched on this further? Share in the comments below.

Meanwhile, head over to the link here to get some further news when it comes to the show and the finale. (Photo: CBS.)