‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’: Fans Believe Tony Vlachos Had the Greatest Single-Episode Performance Ever
With 18 confessionals, the most by a single player in an episode, and his impressive gameplay, Tony Vlachos dominated Survivor 40: Winners at War Episode 11. In fact, many fans believe the 46-year-old New Jersey-based police officer had the greatest single-episode performance in the show’s 20-year history.
[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information revealed in Survivor 40: Winners at War Episode 11.]
Tony Vlachos on ‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’
Initially placed on the dominant Dakal tribe, Tony Vlachos returned with a completely different gameplay from his known chaotic ferocious style. Instead, he put himself on “probation” and resisted the urge to look for idols so he could work on his social game.
Tony bonded with his tribemates over his hilarious ladder stunts, and they came to love him. Once Tony made it to the merge, he had his solid alliance with Cops-R-Us partner Sarah Lacina and her Yara allies as well as Jeremy Collins and their former Dakal 2.0 tribemates.
For the merge boot, the Cagayan champ sided with Sarah to eliminate Jeremy’s buddy, Wendell Holland. Again, he chose his partner’s side at the following Tribal Council and sent Tyson Apostol back to the Edge, unbeknownst to Jeremy as he left Tribal, thanks to his safety without power advantage.
Because Tony had been patient for so long and won his first individual immunity challenge, he decided it was finally time to do some “damage.”
Tony Vlachos’ performance in ‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’ Episode 11
After realizing how hard everyone slept after Tribal Councils, the police officer arose early in the morning to look for idols. Nick Wilson interrupted him, but Tony expertly directed him to an area where he already searched before secretly finding the idol under a tree trunk.
Then, he began playing “double agent” and “infiltrated” his fake alliance with Jeremy, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Denise Stapley, and Michele Fitzgerald. While Jeremy and Michele fell for his antics, Kim and Denise weren’t convinced.
Over on the Edge, Natalie Anderson and Parvati Shallow found an extortion advantage that allowed them to force a player to meet their fire token demands, or they could not participate in the upcoming immunity challenge or vote.
They targeted Tony as they felt he would do anything to accumulate the necessary currency so he could compete. The police officer approached his fake alliance first and received a fire token from his target at the time, Jeremy.
Then, he went to his real allies, Nick and Ben Driebergen, who also gave him a token, giving him the requested six. Tony won his second individual immunity and decided it was time to revert to his trusted flip-flopping game.
Knowing his alliance planned on placing two votes on Michele with three on Jeremy, the police officer realized he could eliminate Sarah’s right-hand woman and “hyena,” Sophie Clarke, with only three other people.
Therefore, he approached Nick, Jeremy, and Michele only minutes before Tribal Council to switch the votes. Even though it took a bit of convincing, the plan worked, and Sophie was sent to the Edge, with an idol in her pocket.
Fans believe Tony Vlachos had the greatest single-episode
After the episode, many viewers took to social media to share their opinion of Tony’s incredible performance in Episode 11. One fan on Reddit pointed out how he went back to his old ways by finding an idol and used the social connections he worked on to receive tokens as well as persuade three other contestants to vote with him, “without any suspicion by another player.”
They also applauded Tony for pulling off a 4-3-2 blindside and compared his strategic acumen to Survivor legend, Cirie Fields. Another user noted they have “never seen one player dominate an episode like that” and believe his gameplay surpassed Russell Hantz, who ran Samoa.
Many believe Tony completed a season-long resumé in only one episode and are convinced this proves the New Jersey-based police officer will win the historic $2 million prize.
Survivor 40: Winners at War airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
