'Survivor: Winners at War' Season 40: With Wendell out, fans blame producers for teasing drama with Michele
Wendell Holland gets voted out at the first tribal council after the merge and fans are upset that that's the ending to the arc between him and Michele Fitzgerald.
'Survivor: Winners at War' Season 40 returned for an all-new episode on Wednesday night, and we finally made it to the merge. The 11 castaways — Sophie Clarke, Jeremy Collins, Ben Driebergen, Michele, Wendell, Adam Klein, Sarah Lacina, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe, Denise Stapley, Tony Vlachos and Nick Wilson — were joined by the first contestant to make it from the Edge of Extinction.
Tyson Apostol made his way back into the game after winning the Edge of Extinction challenge. While fans assumed he would be the target this week because he's back from EoE, they were surprised to see Wendell get sent home.
Fighting for individual immunity, each contestant had to cling to a slippery pole. There were two immunity idols up for grabs in today's challenge. One for the winning woman and the winning man. They each get one fire token as well. Dennise and Jeremy won immunity today marking them safe from tonight's tribal council.
This week, the target prior to tribal council falls on Wendell after Sophie notices the strong bond between him and Jeremy. Arriving at tribal council, the votes are between Adam and Wendell. Gaining seven votes, Wendell gets voted out and sent to the Edge of Extinction.
Though some fans are glad the tribe finally got rid of Wendell, some are upset and are questioning the producers about the edit they gave him. Over the past couple of episodes, we have seen the arc between Wendell and Michele's relationship develop. We got to know that the duo dated outside the game. Back this season, the duo received an edit that teased Michelle might still have feelings for Wendell.
Seeing Wendell get eliminated during this arc, fans wonder if the producers stirred the pot and gave the duo that edit just for them to witness Wendell get eliminated a few episodes later. Taking to Twitter a fan wrote, "I'm just flabbergasted that that's the ending to the goddamn three-episode Michele and Wendell arc. Bad editing."
"I haven’t been this pissed off about #Survivor in a long time. First that fabricated pre-merge edit and then he goes home it’s complete bulls**t Wendell deserved so much better," a fan shared. Another said, "What was the intention of giving Wendell that awful edit, only for him to get voted out now? Lame. #survivor."
"Honestly feels like CBS wasted a lot on Wendell-Michele storyline the last couple of weeks just so they can make Wendell merge boot as dramatic as possible. Wish they have showed something else instead. #Survivor #winnersatwar," a fan said. Another added, "So you're telling me all that drama-bs with Michele and Wendell was for nothing ?!?!?! #Survivor40 #SurvivorWinnersatWar #survivor."
"SORRY I'M STILL HUNG UP ON THE FACT THAT PRODUCERS MADE US SIT THROUGH THREE WEEKS OF 'THE REAL WORLD: MICHELE AND WENDELL' ONLY TO HAVE IT NOT AMOUNT TO ANYTHING IN THIS EP #Survivor," a fan wrote.
Are you as upset about the bad edit? Let us know in the comments below.
'Survivor: Winners at War' Season 40 airs every Wednesday night only on CBS. Check your local listings for more information.