Me, DumbGinger, Solinne64, adamsel, and BigBrother_78 took the liberty of ranking each member of the cast of Game Changers based on strategy, and we combined all the rankings. If two castaways received the same score, longevity in the game determined who got the higher spot on the list.
Well, if you couldn't tell by the picture, #17 is JEFF VARNER.
BigBrother_78 - Varner wasn't playing a bad game at all... until that damn tribal. It sucked to watch his whole game crumble down because he asked one question.
DumbGinger - Ok, so, Varner. What did Varner do well? Well I think he's pretty good at forming quick bonds. People find him very likable and charming upfront. He played a simple, lowkey kind of game. He didnt do too much, and he didnt really need to. Once the swap hit, there really werent many openings to help himself or Sandra, yet he still did a good job with the small amount he had to work with. But. Ya know. Let's be real, we know why Varner is this low. Let's put aside the moral implications of outing Zeke like that, I can rack my brain for HOURS and not be able to come up with a "good" outcome of doing that. I think it's actually one of the worst moves in recent history. Like, JT's stunt at that double tribal. You can see his thought process, you can follow his logic and be like "ok well I can see his goal, had it worked that would have been great", but you can't with this outting thing, there's just no sunny side. Horrendous move, one bad enough to bump him much lower than he would have been without it.
Solinne64 - I'm surprised Varner is that low. Yes he was controversial with the transphobic attack but he played a good game. He was safe quite a few tribals, putting himself in the majority and did everything he could to stay in the game. However, being voted out 3 times pre-jury shows he's not a good player, making him deserving of his 17th place in this ranking.
Me - Well, Jeff Varner has to have made the dumbest "move" in recent Survivor history. I mean, believing Ozzy and Zeke when they said they were getting rid of Tai over Sandra?!?!?!? No just kidding, it was when he outed Zeke. There's absolutely nothing good that could have come of that. Like, none. Best possible scenario was that everyone else was an ultra-transphobe and voted Zeke out, but imagine the hell Varner would have to face when he got back. I could go on and on about how scummy he acted afterwards and during that tribal, but I'll try to focus on his game beforehand, because I know we've all heard everything there is to hear about that godforesaken tribal. Beforehand, he didn't play an awful game. He made bonds that he needed, and he was put in a rough spot due to the swap. The 5 already swore on blindly voting Sandra out, which was, in my opinion, their best possible move. The thing that frustrates me the most, is that his plan to oust Ozzy could have worked.