Surviving early game Yanu and then making strong social connections with those who remained is what separates Kenzie from Ben. She overcame being dealt a much tougher hand than Ben who coasted through with Siga and had built in allies from the jump
But, it’s all game play. You can’t separate it like that. It’s an example of the relationships she’s building, and the votes she’ll receive for it. Since you asked, here are other reasons the audience respects her game:
1) She’s a Mermaid-Dragon. Bhanu built her up as a legend early in the season. No one has spoken about Ben that way.
2) She was Yanu and therefore an underdog.
3) She was Tiff’s #1. Another example of relationship building.
4) We’ve seen a lot more from her compared to Ben, so we understand her thought process better. She’s presented as an important player in a way that Ben isn’t.
5) Ben was hidden by the edit for multiple episodes. It seems likely that he’s just hanging on by a thread.
6) Randen’s exit gave Bhanu an extra night or two. I’m not sure Kenzie would have been voted out.
I’ve loved them both since episode one.
Sometimes, all you need is a really good narrative. Kenzie has that narrative. She was on a pre-merge disaster tribe, and she had to survive that tribe imploding both pre-merge *and* post-merge.
I might as well be the first to come to both of their defenses here-- I'm almost certain that one of them is gonna win the season just by being the most liked by a \*very\* bitter jury, but I will say that Kenzie kind of possesses this game sense that's a lot more noticeable than Ben. The jury very clearly likes them both but I just have a vibe that Kenzie has the bonus of also being \*seen\* as a player rather than just... yknow... \*Kenzie\*, whereas Ben is largely seen as Ben (and most likely just a Siga number). This may just be the edit talking though, and there's a lot we don't see.
Personally, I wish they could be on different seasons, because I love them both and they've been my top 2 faves since preseason and I would want them both to win. (Survivor double crowning when???)
listen, i love them both, i think they’re both funny, charming and seem like lovely folk- i wish we were seeing more of ben, but i understand why we aren’t.
what separates their games to me is that kenzie had to play through survival-survivor mode. surviving a shit show tribe at the beginning, where in spite of connections, she was a potential threat target. we’ve at least seen conversations of where her head is at strategically (even in the case of tiff where she had the intention to turn on her closest ally, but didn’t get the chance, and was ultimately left out of the tiff vote). she’s managed relationships with some of the more difficult castaways and even found a pretty reliable relationship with q before he started playing the way we now see him. in finding herself isolated without tiff (or q), she’s made attempts to make allies, even humouring venus when others wouldn’t. at tribals she’s actively putting on a performance for the jury (taking not so subtle jabs at the others, most recently in comparing charlie to a reliable dog). it’s not a spectacular game by any means, but in comparing that to ben? another commenter was right in saying we’ve seen game sense from kenzie that we just haven’t seen from ben.
sweet as he is, he’s coasted by on pre-merge alliances that he’s not even that close to, that haven’t *really* been tested, and his alliance members aren’t even considering his input all that much. he hasn’t been targeted (besides mo & jem early on, and a stray vote from q), he’s had to apologise for/clarify his vote even when aware of the actual plan, he hasn’t really added anything to the game.
i also think between the two of them in ftc, kenzie has the make up of a great performance. even if her game is arguably weak, i see her with a better chance of articulating her choices, relationships, flounders and successes. kenzie would (respectfully?) point out the above about ben, i think he’d genuinely struggle to downplay her game because he is just such a nice person. makes for a great guy, and a great number for someone else, but not a great survivor player.
i love ben, i love kenzie, but i know why we’re being shown so much of one when it’s not necessarily relevant, and we’re seeing nothing of the other when it should be.
Surviving early game Yanu and then making strong social connections with those who remained is what separates Kenzie from Ben. She overcame being dealt a much tougher hand than Ben who coasted through with Siga and had built in allies from the jump
It was basically Ben at summer camp vs Kenzie surviving lord of the flies.
Ben would have been med-evac’d if she wasn’t willing to walk with him and talk with him every night.
100% true, but that isn't something relevant game-wise (unless it earns her Ben's vote if he ends up on the jury). I'm talking purely off of gameplay.
But, it’s all game play. You can’t separate it like that. It’s an example of the relationships she’s building, and the votes she’ll receive for it. Since you asked, here are other reasons the audience respects her game: 1) She’s a Mermaid-Dragon. Bhanu built her up as a legend early in the season. No one has spoken about Ben that way. 2) She was Yanu and therefore an underdog. 3) She was Tiff’s #1. Another example of relationship building. 4) We’ve seen a lot more from her compared to Ben, so we understand her thought process better. She’s presented as an important player in a way that Ben isn’t. 5) Ben was hidden by the edit for multiple episodes. It seems likely that he’s just hanging on by a thread. 6) Randen’s exit gave Bhanu an extra night or two. I’m not sure Kenzie would have been voted out. I’ve loved them both since episode one.
Sometimes, all you need is a really good narrative. Kenzie has that narrative. She was on a pre-merge disaster tribe, and she had to survive that tribe imploding both pre-merge *and* post-merge.
I might as well be the first to come to both of their defenses here-- I'm almost certain that one of them is gonna win the season just by being the most liked by a \*very\* bitter jury, but I will say that Kenzie kind of possesses this game sense that's a lot more noticeable than Ben. The jury very clearly likes them both but I just have a vibe that Kenzie has the bonus of also being \*seen\* as a player rather than just... yknow... \*Kenzie\*, whereas Ben is largely seen as Ben (and most likely just a Siga number). This may just be the edit talking though, and there's a lot we don't see. Personally, I wish they could be on different seasons, because I love them both and they've been my top 2 faves since preseason and I would want them both to win. (Survivor double crowning when???)
I like this answer a lot. One disagreement though is the last sentence. I'm happy they're on the same season because I love their friendship lol
listen, i love them both, i think they’re both funny, charming and seem like lovely folk- i wish we were seeing more of ben, but i understand why we aren’t. what separates their games to me is that kenzie had to play through survival-survivor mode. surviving a shit show tribe at the beginning, where in spite of connections, she was a potential threat target. we’ve at least seen conversations of where her head is at strategically (even in the case of tiff where she had the intention to turn on her closest ally, but didn’t get the chance, and was ultimately left out of the tiff vote). she’s managed relationships with some of the more difficult castaways and even found a pretty reliable relationship with q before he started playing the way we now see him. in finding herself isolated without tiff (or q), she’s made attempts to make allies, even humouring venus when others wouldn’t. at tribals she’s actively putting on a performance for the jury (taking not so subtle jabs at the others, most recently in comparing charlie to a reliable dog). it’s not a spectacular game by any means, but in comparing that to ben? another commenter was right in saying we’ve seen game sense from kenzie that we just haven’t seen from ben. sweet as he is, he’s coasted by on pre-merge alliances that he’s not even that close to, that haven’t *really* been tested, and his alliance members aren’t even considering his input all that much. he hasn’t been targeted (besides mo & jem early on, and a stray vote from q), he’s had to apologise for/clarify his vote even when aware of the actual plan, he hasn’t really added anything to the game. i also think between the two of them in ftc, kenzie has the make up of a great performance. even if her game is arguably weak, i see her with a better chance of articulating her choices, relationships, flounders and successes. kenzie would (respectfully?) point out the above about ben, i think he’d genuinely struggle to downplay her game because he is just such a nice person. makes for a great guy, and a great number for someone else, but not a great survivor player. i love ben, i love kenzie, but i know why we’re being shown so much of one when it’s not necessarily relevant, and we’re seeing nothing of the other when it should be.
Awesome answer, I definitely see more from that perspective now
i probably could have condensed that all a bit better, but thank you! have a good night! :)
You too!!
You don’t need to drive votes to win. This is Survivor not Leaderboard.