Survivor's Most Talked-About Moments Ever

In 39 seasons, Survivor has had its fair share of drama in the name of the game.

Some of it has been simply some wild gameplay, like creating a fake idol, or claiming your very much alive grandmother is dead in order to win some sympathy points, and some of it has been deeply troubling, like when Jeff Varner outed Zeke Smith as being transgender as a last ditch effort to stay.

This week, as the tribes merged, things took a turn they've never quite taken before.

At the beginning of this season, Kellee Kim had complaints over the way Dan Spilo couldn't stay out of her personal space. She talked to him about it, but those interactions continued until they ended up on different tribes in the tribe swap.

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Most Iconic Survivor Castaways Ever

When the tribes merged last night, Kellee and Dan were reunited, and the touching resumed. Kellee complained, prompting producers to even step in during her interview to ask if she wanted them to intervene.

She hoped to deal with it personally in the game, and even told fellow player Missy Byrd about it. Instead of being a sympathetic ally, Missy and Elizabeth Beisel concocted a story about Dan being inappropriate with Elizabeth as well in an effort to get him voted out.

CBS

Eventually, it was Kellee who was blindsided with two idols in her pocket, and she was forced to sit silently on the jury at the next tribal council while Jeff Probst questioned Dan over the situation.

While fellow players and fans are left to discuss Missy and Elizabeth's questionable gameplay and Dan's answers to Jeff's questions, we're looking back at some of the more talked about moments of the series, ranging from the most serious to the more ridiculous, and everything in between.

CBS

#MeToo

Survivor producers broke the fourth wall while interviewing contestant Kellee Kim about her feelings regarding Dan Spilo and what she felt was inappropriate touching and invasion of her personal space. Kellee confided in fellow contestant Missy Byrd about the situation, who then came up with a fake story about Elizabeth Beisel and Dan in an effort to get players to turn against him, which was definitely not a popular move. Things got worse when it was Kellee who was voted out in a blindside...with two idols in her pocket.

CBS

Wendy Clucks Up

Oh, Wendy. The Survivor: Edge of Extinction player made it her mission to keep any tribemates from eating the chickens they had won, even though she's not even a vegetarian. She first even stole the flint, so they would have trouble making a fire to cook the chicken. Then, when she got an entirely new tribe in a switch-up, she followed through on her plan to set the chickens free in the dead of night. She was positively gleeful about having done it, and we were positively confused about this move in terms of strategy.

CBS

Dan Gets Nullified

The David vs. Goliath dynamic finally evened out several weeks into the merge when the Davids, with three advantages on their side, outwitted and outplayed the Goliaths to send Dan home with the help of a stolen vote and the first ever use of the Idol Nullifier by Carl, which rendered Dan's precious immunity idol totally useless.

The look on Dan's face was incredible, and Carl proved he might be a dark horse in this competition as he celebrated with a jubilant, "Bing!" No joke, we were clapping.

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CBS

Storm's A-Comin'

Season 37 tortured the castaways with some of the worst weather ever, forcing them to compete in torrential rains and even causing a game-ending injury for one contestant during a boat ride on choppy waters. Every single contestant had to be evacuated during a cyclone in the fifth episode, which meant they had to be sequestered in simple comfort-free tents with no talking amongst themselves allowed, to preserve the game. The weather also resulted in one of the funniest episodes to date...

CBS

Jacket Racket

OK, this wasn't shocking at all, but we may never stop thinking about it, so we're memorializing it here anyway.

You see, in season 37, the weather was very bad, and everyone was very cold. Angelina was especially cold, and all she wanted was a jacket. First, she wanted Lyrsa's jacket. Then Natalie tried to get Nick to give up his jacket to keep him from going home, and it all ended with Natalie going home, jacket in hand.

"Natalie, is there any way I could have your jacket?" asked Angelina.

Natalie didn't respond, even after Angelina started timidly calling, "Natalie? Natalie?" as she got her torch snuffed out.

Natalie then put her jacket on to say her last words and declared that if a jacket was part of the reason she was leaving, she wasn't going to be giving it up.

Maybe you had to be there, but we promise it was highly entertaining.

CBS

It's a Tie?!

Everybody knew something wild was happening at the end of season 36 when Jeff started reading the final votes while everyone was still on the island (and not waiting until the live finale reunion, as usual), but then it became clear: he knew it was a tie! Never before in the history of Survivor had the final vote for the winner resulted in a tie, third place finisher Laurel was forced to choose between Domenick and Wendell. Obviously, she chose her buddy Wendell.

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Survivor, Jeff Varner, Sarah Lacina, Zeke Smith, Debbie Wanner

Jeffrey Neira/CBS Entertainment

Game Changer, Indeed

Two-time contestant Zeke Smith was forced to reveal himself to be transgender during Game Changers, after fellow tribe member Jeff Varner decided to out him in front of the other contestants.

"There is deception here. Deceptions on levels Jeff that these guys don't even understand," Jeff said during the tribal council, just before he was eliminated. "Why haven't you told anyone that you're transgender?" The other contestants were outraged, as were viewers, with most calling it the ugliest move in the game's history.

Monty Brinton/CBS

Snakes and Rats

Truly one of Survivor's most iconic moments was Sue Hawk's speech during the final tribal council in season one, directed at Richard Hatch and Kelly Wiglesworth. Richard was a snake, and Kelly was the rat, with Sue advising the other voters to let the snake eat the rat. It was chilling and epic.

CBS

A Major Mistake

Back in season 16, Erik Reichenbach had made it to the final five and had individual immunity—a very good spot to be in. But he squandered that good position when he handed over his individual immunity to Natalie and was immediately voted out. Viewers even got to see each and every vote before Jeff read them, because it was just so obvious.

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CBS

Trivial Troubles

Oops! During a trivia challenge on Survivor: Africa, Lex van den Berghe failed to win immunity...even though he actually had the right answer to a question. When the cast reunited later prior to the live finale, everyone realized the error, with CBS later paying Lex, as well as Tom Buchanan, who also was voted out due to the error, a settlement of $100,000.

Monty Brinton/CBS

NSFW (or the FCC)

Survivor: Gabon got off to a revealing start when contestant Marcus Lehman's genitals were briefly shown, uncensored, during the premiere. This happened again during Caramoan, when Brenda Lowe's nipples were briefly aired uncensored in the third episode. Both instances were later removed from the airing by CBS.

Monty Brinton/CBS

Stick Happens

In arguably one of the saddest and most hilarious moments, Survivor: Micronesia contestant Jason Siska believed he had a hidden Immunity idol in his possession...but it turned out to be a stick. A STICK.

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CBS

The Grandmother of All Lies

Jon "Johnny Fairplay" Dalton lied about his grandmother passing during season 7 in order to win the episode's challenge and gain sympathy from the other contestants. He was soon banned from all future Survivor events by Jeff Probst, but returned for season 16.

Michael Skupin, Survivor: The Australian Outback

Monty Brinton/CBS

First Evac

The show's first evacuation ever came when Michael Skupin fell into his camp's fire in The Australian Outback. After diving into the river to quell the burns, he was helicoptered out of the game. He would later return to compete during Survivor: Philippines.

Another shock related to Skupin came later on, when he was found guilty of four counts of child pornography in 2016.

Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen. X, Season 33

Monty Brinton/CBS

Full Cast Evac

For the first time in season 33, the entire cast had to be evacuated from Fiji due to a dangerous cyclone that was heading straight toward the camps on just the second day of competition.

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Survivor: The Australian Outback, Colby Donaldson

Monty Brinton/ CBS

Coral Reef Thief

Fan-favorite Colby Donaldson found himself in international legal trouble with the Australian authorities after he broke off pieces of coral from a protected reef to bring home as souvenirs during Australian Outback. Fortunately, an apology from the show's producers was enough to keep him out of major trouble.

CBS

"Most Frightening" Moment

Caleb Reynolds collapsed due to heat stroke in season 32, with his temperature rising to 110 degrees. He was quickly evacuated and host Jeff Probst called it one of the "most frightening" moments in his time on the show.

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.

Survivor's Most Talked About Moments Ever

Watch

#MeToo

Wendy Clucks Up

Dan Gets Nullified

Storm's A-Comin'

Jacket Racket

It's a Tie?!

Game Changer, Indeed

Snakes and Rats

A Major Mistake

Trivial Troubles

NSFW (or the FCC)

Stick Happens

The Grandmother of All Lies

First Evac

Full Cast Evac

Coral Reef Thief

"Most Frightening" Moment

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