When fans of Survivor compare seasons of Jeff Probst’s beloved reality show, something quickly becomes clear. Since fans who are figuring out which seasons to watch first focus on the great players, the best winners, and the medical evacuations, they don’t realize Survivor has changed a lot. That is because Jeff has introduced a lot of twists and changes over the years, including one change that was inspired by Survivor’s official podcast.

Many of the biggest fans who realize that the show has gross rules know that some Survivor twists have been cruel. While most fans don’t want the show to be unnecessarily mean, there is one cruel Survivor twist that needs to be brought back soon.

Why Survivor Needs To Bring Back The Public Vote

Since Survivor’s so-called “New Era” has begun, there haven’t been any returning player seasons. As a result, when it was announced that Survivor 50 would feature all returning players, there was a lot of excitement among the show’s fans.

As has always been the case when fans learn there will be a returning players season, that early excitement very quickly transformed into something else. The most passionate Survivor fans quickly become focused on debating which former players should be cast.

While debating over who should return, Survivor fans tend to have extremely strong opinions about who should make the cut. With that in mind, it seems very clear that there should be another public vote around casting a returning players season.

In 2015, the season known as Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance aired on CBS.

Before that season was filmed, players got to vote about which players would join the cast.

As the previous season, Survivor: Worlds Apart, was airing, fans were given the chance to vote on Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance’s cast. Fans were given 32 players to choose from when they voted, 20 of whom got the chance to play.

At the end of Survivor: Worlds Apart’s reunion, Jeff revealed the results of the fan vote live. That allowed viewers to see the cast of Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance getting told they made the cut before they got on a bus that began their journey to play.

Aside from the fact that it shortened Survivor: Worlds Apart’s reunion, which was sad for that season’s cast, the reveal was great television. Fans got to see the results of the vote that many of them cared about so much live. That is one of the two main reasons why the public vote should return.

The second reason why the public vote should return is how great Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance was.

After the first public vote, Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance became so fantastic largely because it had such a stellar cast. Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance featured players like Jeremy Collins, Tasha Fox, Spencer Bledsoe, Kelley Wentworth, Keith Nale, Abi-Maria Gomes, and Stephen Fishbach.

If a public vote could result in another season with a cast that stellar, and it likely could, it seems like a no-brainer to bring it back.

What Makes The Public Vote Such A Cruel Survivor Twist

For the most passionate Survivor fans, getting to vote on which former players would get to return was a thrill. After all, that gave the fans the power to put together a cast they would enjoy watching and Survivor’s main goal should be to entertain its fans. However, that doesn’t change the fact that the public vote caused a lot of heartache for many people.

When each season of Survivor premieres, fans don’t think about everything that the players have to do to be there. For example, Survivor players have to spend a long time going through the casting process to get their chance to play the game. Once people get cast on Survivor, that is only the beginning of what they have to do to make their dream a reality.

Next, Survivor players have to put in the hard work to make themselves available to play the game. Since Survivor players are gone for weeks, they have to make arrangements to put their normal lives on hold. That process can be extremely difficult, and some Survivor players have spoken about having to leave jobs and give up things to go on the show.

All the people who were in the running to join the cast of Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance had to make those arrangements. Keep in mind, that also means that those people’s loved ones also had to emotionally and practically prepare themselves for the players to be gone. After going through all that, the people who were rejected from Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance realized all their effort was a waste.

Worse yet, the sad truth about the public vote is that it forced many people to suffer humiliation on national television.

When the cast for Survivor: Cambodia — Second Chance was announced, it was fun for fans to find out live who would be included in the season. The reveal also seemed like it was a lot of fun for the players who were chosen to be part of the season’s cast. However, that same moment felt cruel to the players who didn’t make the cut.

Looking at images of the public vote reveals how awful it was on those who weren’t chosen. The process was that Jeff would walk over to a group of former players who were in the running. Jeff would then announce if those players were chosen or rejected by the fans.

After the announcements, the chosen players stood up and made their way onstage. That left the rejected players still in their seats surrounded by empty seats and the luggage they carefully put together to prepare to get a second chance at their dream.

Not only did the rejected players have to mourn that they’d lost something they cared so deeply about, footage of their anguish was broadcast to the world.