‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’: Fans Believe Captions Have Made Whispering Tribal Councils More ‘Enjoyable’

Whispering or live Tribal Councils have recently become an almost common thing in Survivor in recent seasons. In Survivor 40: Winners at War, they’ve nearly become a staple as castaways have gotten out of their seats to whisper their plan into their allies’ ears at almost every Tribal Council since the tribes merged.

The constant whispering has started to bother some viewers who want to understand what is happening. However, the recent addition of captions to Tribal Councils have made it more “enjoyable” for many fans.

Survivor 40 tribal council
Jeremy Collins, Sophie Clarke, Nick Wilson, Sarah Lacina, Tony Vlachos, Kim Spradlin, Ben Driebergen, Michele Fitzgerald, Tyson Apostol and Denise Stapley | CBS

What are whispering or live Tribal Councils?

After the immunity challenge, the tribes or merged tribe must decide who they want to eliminate that night at Tribal Council. Sometimes there isn’t enough time before the elimination for the castaways to deliberate.

Therefore, they do it right at Tribal Council as host Jeff Probst asks his expected questions. In more recent seasons, the whispering has become more prominent. However, in Survivor 40: Winners at War, several Tribal Councils have been live.

According to Dalton Ross, who reported live from the premiere episode, the Sele tribe had a live Tribal Council as several castaways got up from their seats and whispered their plan into someone else’s ear.

The live Tribal Councils stopped until Episode 9 when Ben Driebergen and Adam Klein had a full out argument while others gathered in the corner to formulate their plan.

In the following episode, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe almost immediately leaned over to whisper something to Michele Fitzgerald, prompting Sophie Clarke to invite her alliance to huddle up nearly offscreen.

Because viewers cannot hear what the castaways are whispering to each other, they have started to become irritated with the live Tribal Councils. 

Fans have become annoyed with the whispering Tribal Councils

Many viewers have suggested Jeff Probst ban whispering to each other during tribals as they don’t find it “interesting” anymore. Additionally, it’s impossible to understand what the castaways are saying, which usually results in a confusing elimination that fans have to figure out themselves.

While some blame Probst for the chaotic Tribal Councils, he believes it’s “their game,” so he allows them to strategize. In a December 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, the executive producer and showrunner said he “enjoys” the whispering from a “fan standpoint because it keeps the game alive until the last second.”

Additionally, he noted he’s “all for less rules and more freedom” when it comes to the gameplay in the reality competition series.

Fans believe captions have improved whispering Tribal Councils

In Survivor 40: Winners at War Episode 12, the whispering between the castaways were captioned for the viewers to understand, and many were elated.

While some could do without the live tribals entirely, many, including two-time contestant Stephen Fishbach, believe the subtitles greatly “improved” them.

For example, viewers were able to understand what happened during the Tribal Council as the last few ones have left fans confused. Therefore, they heard Tony Vlachos successfully persuade his initially reluctant allies Nick Wilson and Ben to switch their vote to his target, Kim.

The subtitles also helped shape a popular fan theory that Sarah Lacina and Tony swayed Ben’s vote by convincing him that the other castaways were voting for the Game Changers champ.

Survivor 40: Winners at War airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.