The Reluctant Godfather: The Story of Yul Kwon - Survivor: Cook Islands

[@MorganAtHerLocalCoffeeShop]

i honestly think that yul is the reason the idol was nerfed, so many opportunities to flush it but yul's social prowess and intimidation kept his alliance from trying to go against him. if he hadn't made it to the final tribal i think that in fiji the super idol would be present

[@BilliamMC]

I think if he had used it, it would’ve stayed. It wasn’t used in either of the seasons it was in play (or Cagayan), so it’s not making the game more interesting. Typically just made people scared to vote for them.

[@mattsigmund1400]

@@BilliamMC Well, the reason it wasn't used in Cagayan was because Tony out thought the producers and used the idea of a 'mystery power' to his advantage making it useless at the final 4 but still essentially causing the same effect.

[@alokinale2074]

Naah that idol sucked

[@066kshitizvsingh4]

yul basically used the idol to go, "You know, don't even try to vote against me I'll use it anyway and the instigator will be out next time". If only Cao Boi didn't know Yul had the idol it probably would've been flused out

[@lkcdarzadix6216]

@@066kshitizvsingh4 that's why cai boi got iced

[@zzabbie]

“Well the kiss is nice but maybe if it were love he would have given you the immunity necklace.” I really miss the old Jeff. These snarky remarks were gold.

[@WinByTKo]

Yes, there is a huge difference now between Jeff and Jonathan (SurvivorAU). Jeff says nothing most times, while Jonathan always has something either snarky or cheesy.

[@reginamachamer821]

Ikr nowadays he'd just give her a long weird "inspirational" speech with oddly specific metaphors lol

[@foxloaf8843]

erik must've really loved natalie then lmao

[@teamsteed1]

@@WinByTKo I think I like JLP better.

[@BanditSurvivorContent]

Yul completely broke the expectations of the super idol. He used it not only as an advantage but as a social tool maximizing it's utility and proved it needed to have its mechanics changed.

[@TheDizzleHawke]

And yet Survivor didn’t learn their lesson. They brought the super idol back for Cagayan and Tony also used it as a strategic tool and never played it. They called it Tyler Perry’s brand new idea, completely forgetting about Cook Islands and Palau.

[@TheDizzleHawke]

@Autism Extreme oh yeah. My bad.

[@Ryan-sx2kb]

The addition of the Billy/Candace love story really helped me understand Yul's story

[@gatorcroc7212]

😂

[@Vhstape-le4mr]

Billy is secretly the guy who determines the outcome of this season by sending Yul to find the immunity idol and it took me so long to know that. Respect to billy

[@corticorti4531]

MVP Billy

[@AmaraEmme]

He won love and changed the world

[@3amDayDreamer]

@@AmaraEmme🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@gatorcroc7212]

​@@AmaraEmme😂😂😂😂 found love lol

[@austinemms9772]

In my opinion, he’s one of the top 10 winners of all time. He didn’t win any individual immunity’s but he was a good competitor, he was socially aware of his tribe members and tribal lines and he was a great social player. He also deserved his win because unlike Ozzy, who cared about one part of the game, Yul was able to have a very balanced game and won because he was a jack of all trades instead of good at just one.

[@kingkrelly1315]

Earl, Tom, Yul, Todd, J.T., Tony, Rob, Parvati, Brian, and Kim are my top 10 winners, no order.

[@royalhyena66]

But cochran... Also you kinda just said yul cant do immunitys so how is he a jack of all trades?

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Nah, Yul isn't even even a completely legitimate winner, since he probably doesn't win without the surprise final three. Good player overall, but I think Winners at War really exposed some of the social flaws in his game.

[@shaneg4388]

@@bigbuffguy9589 the only thing winners at war exposed is that its nearly impossible to survive a vote when the only 3 other people on your tribe are all close friends outside the game lol.

[@Atrexiuh]

@@bigbuffguy9589 yul beat Ozzie and Becky or whatever the girls name was received zero votes, Yul still wouod have beat Ozzie. Especially in a final 2 scenario where Becky almost certainly would have voted for Yul

[@LordKeram]

It still always baffles me how great this cast was. Parv and Yul are some of my favorite winners of all time. Ozzy is they guy I wanted to be like when I was little. Candice and Panner are such great characters as well... Cook Islands directly impacts the casting of FvF and that in turn impacts HvV. Without Cook Islands we might not get two of the best seasons of all time...

[@pierreracine8338]

Cook Islands, China and Micronesia saved the show. It might have been cancelled without those seasons.

[@ezzamrahman8711]

YUL is easily one of my top 5 all time favourite winners! As an Asian who watched this season I was rooting for him all along. He is so smart and what a handsome man! He aged so well, a husband and a father. What an amazing role model!

[@flipcamgamer]

Yul: “I’m never going to get a date again.” After the season meets his wife thanks to Brad, gets married, has two daughters.

[@TheDizzleHawke]

Yul

[@brianmitchell9902]

Yul

[@DARKFLAME11roblox]

yul

[@sophiagolingan3351]

whos his wife?

[@snobey]

Yul

[@daariankhan1129]

Yul was a straight up boss and played people like they were chess pieces

[@danWHY]

yul is just so dang well spoken. I could honestly listen to him talk forever

[@DidTheMarinersWin]

Yul is my favorite player ever which causes me to like Cook Islands more than most. I thought Yul being called the Godfather was the coolest thing ever when I was younger.

[@Maw0]

How did you feel about his gameplay in WaW?

[@DidTheMarinersWin]

​@@Maw0 I felt like his gameplay really held up and he had the best gameplay among those who missed the merge. The Yul and Sophie duo appeared to be in total control at original Dakal. He was a bit under edited around the time of the tribe shuffle so it's kind of hard to judge but Yul still cleanly got through the Parvati vote. Honestly though, I never thought he'd play again so just seeing him was great.

[@kingkrelly1315]

'In between the random, inane nonsense there is actually gems and nuggets of information that is actually useful." - Yul, describing Cao Boi 😆😆😆

[@reaperdx1011]

My all time favourite player. Loved him as a player but also as a human he seemed to have the perfect outlook on life

[@xabbitz6148]

It took 19:57 for a dumb to finally appear and it honestly was something completely out of Yuls control. Easily one of the smartest winners ever

[@Helios_808]

“It could be us four caucasians” we just skimming over that LMAO

[@abook2141]

💀💀💀

[@KingsNerdCave]

Yul is one of my favorite players. He isn't perfect, but for a guy who never watched the show, he did great. Finding the super idol and using it to run his social game, he was kind and usually honest when he could, but when he manipulated he did it for the game, not just to do it. He played well socially, he helped his tribe come back form 8 to 4, he earned this win.

[@Living_End]

Yul was such a great player this season. I would really like to see him play again in a season where he has a chance to play. WaW he went too soon. Maybe an old school vs new school survivor?

[@giovanniorellana2200]

Personally, I think they merged one round too soon. It would've helped that whole post swap Sele group out in the long run.

[@TheDizzleHawke]

Yul

[@TheDizzleHawke]

WaW was old vs new school. They even named an alliance the old school alliance.

[@markjackson6431]

@@giovanniorellana2200 if Sandra didn’t leave the Edge, they would’ve merged and i don’t think Tony wins.

[@giovanniorellana2200]

@@markjackson6431 Is that what would've happened? The Return Challenge and merge is a round earlier?

[@markjackson6431]

i always tell people to watch Cook Islands because yul like the winner 🚪🚶🚶‍♂️

[@serbonkers4130]

The only season i was able to watch from start to finish. You cant help but root for the Aitu 4. Ozzy and Hul hard carried that team to victory. Crazy!

[@jolteon345]

I think the sole reason Yul's idol was so powerful was that Penner was kept around. No doubt Penner's a survivor legend but had he gone home pre-merge, I don't see Jenny or Nate flipping. Raro screwed the pooch in the double vote because they put too much faith in a guy who already screwed half the cast.

[@so_obsessed_]

I thought they could’ve had a chance with Nate. Ozzy had a bond with him. The alliance maybe could’ve convinced him or Jenny that the original Raro tribe members Parv, Candice, and Adam were too close and would put him at the bottom of the alliance.

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

Hell had Raro just believed Penner than Sundra or Becky go out at F9 and unless Yul gives Ozzy the idol at F8, a Raro player would have won the game

[@reginamachamer821]

39:10 the way you retell what happened is so hilarious 😂 you're quite the storyteller

[@michaelbuell3711]

I think that every "godfather" type player (robfather, etc) all had the idol. It's probably really difficult to play that way without it

[@brycevogel2525]

Thanks for doing a Yul video, he’s one of my favorite winners of all time. Also I just recently discovered your channel from my roommate who also introduced me to survivor about 6 months ago. Keep up the great work dawg!

[@Nobody-xe9fc]

When I watched Cook Islands the first time, I was actually more of a fan of Ozzy and to a lesser extent Penner, Cao Boi, and especially that total spaz Nate. But as I got older and rewatched older seasons in the run-up to season 40, Yul became a guy I enjoyed watching even more. He brought a Borneo-esque feel to Cook Islands in the sense that we weren't just watching a reality show. Through his confessionals, he moved the season in the direction of, as foreshadowing as it may seem, a PBS-style documentary, or a PBS show like Nature or NOVA. In that way, it was a refreshing take on older Survivor seasons. And there's also the fact that Yul Kwon would later go on to feature or co-direct in PBS documentaries himself. lol

[@coral54hgmb]

I’ve recently started watching old survivor seasons, since the first season I ever watched was season 33, and I didn’t have access to older seasons until now. Cook Islands was for some reason the place I started, and wow it quickly started to rival what I thought was my favourite season previously (season 33). I’ve heard people say that this cast is not very memorable, but I completely disagree. There are so many great characters, even the people who get the early boot are interesting. Never a dull moment in this season, and I just loved how perfectly everything played out for yul. He honestly just seems like such a down to earth guy, and this is kind of random, but I love that he vocalizes his opinion on the game itself. Something I always find annoying on survivor is when people are overly surprised that they got lied to, especially if it was about something that didn’t really matter. In my opinion, you should go into survivor expecting to be lied to and manipulated, because it is almost impossible to win without doing those things. I think Yuls opening speech at the final tribal is a refreshing take on it, and I have never heard another player that I can remember say this.

[@RisitasKEKW]

I never liked Yul until this breakdown, have a newfound respect for him. Now I understand why he received such a high rating by viewers.

[@timothyalarcon9184]

After watching this season a second time, i cant believe ozzy even had a chance. Yul 100% carried this whole season.

[@cloverii3548]

Finally we got a video on Yul

[@VeronicaSlavova]

One of my favorite players of all time, and definitely one of the best to ever win. He's definitely in my top 3.❤️

[@mattsigmund1400]

So I just had a massive big brain moment, at the final 9 when Nate is voted out and Penner switches his vote to join Aitu, it's only a 5-4 vote with Penner being the deciding vote. If he told the Aitu that he would target Nate and they all believed him, but he still voted with the Raro alliance it would've been 4-5 with Yul going home. This would force Yul to play the idol, removing the idol and still sending Penner's target home from his alliance. Imagine if Penner did this 3-D chess move, with only Aitu knowing that he flopped. It would leave the alliances tied at 4-4 still, but now Raro doesn't target Jonathon as well because they don't know he flipped.

[@jacksonfury6031]

Been steadily going through the survivor series and Yul is top 3 if not the best to ever play. Why? Because he maintained his 4 member tribe even after the merge. I've never seen anything like that. We all expect contestants to devour themselves towards the end but he managed to prevent that from happening to his tribe. The guy is truly the ultimate paragon who lived up to his word. The whole time I was thinking he's just like Obama which isn't necessarily a good thing but he has the demeanor of a calm leader. He was very political, very smart, very calm and very levelheaded. I think I actually learned a few things from him in regard to how to maneuver.

[@tammylee9617]

Its been a long time since I've seen this season but Yul is one of my favorite players and winners and I was a huge Ozzy fan at the time

[@kimnull5390]

I'm so excited to watch this because Yul isy favorite winner

[@stevetaylor9752]

We need an updated "where are they now"! Billie should be at the top of the list!

[@rt66vintage16]

Billy is the "all hat, no cattle" type, except with a motorcycle.

[@DameTheHooligan420]

who else was sad asf watching Yul's torch get snuffed on WAW?......

[@l0rdparzival954]

The penner flip secured yul his victory

[@stevetaylor9752]

Yeah, that fire making challenge was "EPIC"!💤💤💤💤

[@Phenrir]

We need the story of that epic and legendary fire making tiebreaker

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

I got you. kzbin.info/www/bejne/m2mQfX6iqaiXbLM

[@Maw0]

@@OnceUponAnIsland Hi!

[@XanderMatthews-nv9zf]

20:50 What would they have done if like Becky and Sundra mutinied too? There’s not a shot in hell they can run half those challenges as a 9-3 or 10-2, and THATS ignoring the fact that if they both flip Yul and Ozzy absolutely have to too, like imagine it’s 11-1 tribe divisions for like 3 episodes.

[@Maw0]

I don't think the race division would fly today. It really is amazing though that they did this twist because it was great to see equal members of each race and to see how people of the same race would work together. It really adds something to new to the table to the social experiment of Survivor. Unfortunate that it could never fly today despite flying 14-15 years ago.

[@hkazu63]

It does have its pros and cons. Cons include that it’s kind of segregation to split it racially and does open it up to accusations of racial caricatures. Pros are that it does put everyone on equal standing by eliminating underlying racial biases and represents more minorities in the game, which it has been sorely lacking over time. There are more, but as a white man, I don’t have quite so much experience to illustrate them and I’m sure black, Asian and Hispanic people would find it easier to illustrate them.

[@antoniomarcos2504]

Becky lee was extremely underrated She was seen as a goat, but if final 2 is Ozzy Vs becky, i would vote becky without a doubt Ozzy played a mediocre game and with no dominance

[@joejoe9163]

There’s no way you could vote for her after that abomination of a fire making contest

[@royalhyena66]

Yeah the firemaking was so awful that she wouldve never gotten votes (if it happened) honestly i would be so mad especially because it was 2-3 HOURS, and around an HOUR while they had Matches

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Doesn't matter who you or I would vote for. It only matters what the jury thinks, and Becky had no shot.

[@so_obsessed_]

The jury didn’t realize she was working so closely with Yul and not just being dragged along. They made their decisions together, and she did have a great social game that led Yul to trust her enough to share information like the fact that he found the idol and to debate every vote with her. She also kept her own threat level down by aligning with Yul and made it to the end by flying under the radar. The jury overlooked her at tribal and I think she could’ve had a good chance to win if the final 2 twist hadn’t happened. I love Yul and I’m glad he won, but Becky played a very similar game and wasn’t given any votes or credit because she wasn’t flashy about it and wasn’t the alliance leader.

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

Yul

[@KingEthanual]

Yul wanna watch episode after episode to see how it ends

[@KingEthanual]

Yul

[@RandomRex6]

Yul

[@applewater5642]

I remember a reddit thread with literally over 1.2k people just saying yul yul

[@TheDizzleHawke]

Yul

[@TheDizzleHawke]

I remember watching this season when it aired, and I totally fell for Ozzy’s decoy winner edit. And it wasn’t the last time that would happen. The same thing happened with Stephanie vs Dani.

[@mikewazowksi7938]

he’s the best player in survivor history to me

[@esdeathisbae9480]

Yul is the only winner to never be in any danger of going home at any point

[@applewater5642]

I bet yul want to support once upon an island on patreon after this video

[@Maw0]

I would but I'm broke.

[@Indomita506]

Yul is my favorite winner i admire his temple

[@Gott510]

I know Yul is still friends with Penney. I wonder if he and Becky are still friends too.

[@bufficliff8978]

I love cowboy and agree with him. There's a difference between a racist joke and a racial joke, and jokes bond and unify people. If you can't make a joke then you're the outcast

[@Chickenleg-hl4le]

I think due to him being an immigrant and most likely always being typecasted, he could genuinely care less about stereotypes as he most likely has been judged based on his accent.

[@rachael8078]

I truly wish Ozzy would have won, he is prideful but at the same time pretty amazing knowing his dad wasn’t there to set an example. His first thought is providing and I respect that. And as someone who’s actually communicated with him directly, I can attest to that character in a small way

[@allyesastewart1396]

Ready for the Jeremy Collins video

[@nomadicprincesss]

This was good but I still adore JT the most so far, I never watched survivor til I found your vids three or four days ago I’m like 35-40 videos deep at this point🤣🤣 I prefer the longer vids

[@applewater5642]

I bet yul enjoy this video whoever sees this

[@evo895]

i honestly feel bad for becky but i understand why no one asked her anything during the final tribal council maybe if she played a bigger/ wasnt yuls side kick people would’ve recongized how she played more

[@harumad]

41:39 The face Jeff gas when he is saying "we are gonna go to matches" is priceless 😂😂😂

[@reginamachamer821]

Yul might be the closest thing to a perfect to player (at least in Cook islands)

[@TheDizzleHawke]

When he went swimming in the ocean, was it during Yuletide?

[@deaganlee2042]

Can you do the story of Natalie White because people still don’t think she deserves to win and I think people need to know how and why she won

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

The patrons pick what story videos I make and right now we are voting season 14's videos!

[@deaganlee2042]

@@OnceUponAnIsland ok thanks for the reply just thought it would be interesting

[@bigbuffguy9589]

Winners always get a video, so Natalie's time will come when he gets to Samoa.

[@KingEthanual]

Yul wanna watch episode after episode to see how it ends

[@Souten66]

I wish we’d seen more of Cao Boi and his interactions with the other members of the Puka Puka tribe and how they see the world as Asian Americans. I mean when Cao Boi was making Asian jokes and boat people jokes and the rest of the tribe were saying it was so offensive and he was like “I WAS A LITERAL BOAT PERSON!” I think it would have been interesting to see more of that. But let’s be real, if we did it would have been SUPER preachy. Also, imagine if Becky had taken up Yul’s offer of the idol? The DRAMA

[@winye385]

My all time favorite player! go Yule!!

[@ryansjl]

Yul is the definition of influencer. 😮

[@MarvinaBigby]

Penner talks I see Alan Alda face dang sounds just like him

[@Sythe5665]

Favorite winner

[@kaiung7542]

Lmao the idol was nerfed because of Yul. Godly.

[@inraviratious6418]

Haha, you love to see a new video!

[@aaronsmith4806]

I thought Ozzy should have really latched into the fact that one player knew he was safe every week because of a power and Ozzy won safety every week because of his powers.

[@StarlaOfAsteria]

Fave season, fave winner

[@klassicalmuzik]

Yul is like Superman

[@ceridden]

😂 I thought I already saw this video, but I mixed it up with the Penner one at the start lol

[@rima7286]

i gotta know: where does cook islands rank in your favorite seasons? i have a feeling its up there

[@snobey]

Yul

[@unclear9000]

I’m very interested in the story of Maryanne

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

That will be on the Patreon this week and it will be an exclusive. I am editing it as I type this comment!

[@unclear9000]

@@OnceUponAnIsland yay!!! I’m so excited

[@fizzy6412]

Im sorry but ANY story about Cook Islands is just overshadowed by the Billy/Candice love story

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

How can Yul ever compare to that real love?

[@turtletcp1598]

Let’s go

[@jacobwilliams1223]

I love Yul as a player and think he played a good game, but I am not a personal fan of his winning season. All Survivor winners have lucky breaks or things go their way, but with the Super Idol, Bottle Twist and the Final 3 Twist it all felt way too convenient and made his path to the end a bit of a cakewalk.

[@jimmyhyun8546]

But the Super Idol wasn't even played.

[@jacobwilliams1223]

@@jimmyhyun8546 Exactly. It was so OP nobody even considered throwing a vote Yul's way cause it would've been pointless.

[@caidenmagill1006]

Why wasn't Cau boy in Game Changers?

[@tylerhaggerty4805]

They waited too long to bring Yul back, or maybe it was always bad timing (like Earl). I personally would've liked to see him in HvV instead of James, but not making him Ozzy's rival in South Pacific instead of Coach was a missed opportunity if it was possible.

[@user-tz9jh6pv2j]

It was so ridiculous that the votes were split almost evenly between Ozzy and Yul. Yul could have won without Ozzy. Ozzy could not win without Yul. Ozzy was a chess piece. Yes, he wasn't a pawn, he was a strong piece. But still a piece, nonetheless. Yul was the grandmaster. If Yul wanted Ozzy gone, he'd be gone.

[@snobey]

Yul wanted Ozzy gone, but immunity streak (both pre and post merge) prevented it

[@aaronsmith4806]

I never liked the idol that can be played after voting. It needs to expire much sooner. Look how easy the game is for the person who has it.

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

I think that's why they got rid of it after this season except for its one time return in season 28 when it only worked till the final 5.

[@RisitasKEKW]

41:35 very pathetic, neither player can start a fire. AND sundra couldn’t even do it with matches, she literally ran out of matches. Neither deserved to make final 3.

[@esdeathisbae9480]

Cou Boi was great TV

[@bornaeshraghi6982]

Does anyone know the song that is used throughout the video?

[@paulmcdonald3431]

It sounds like a raggae version of "What Do You Do With a Drunken Sailor"

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

Which part? If you tell me the time code I can give you the exact title and where to get it.

[@bornaeshraghi6982]

@@OnceUponAnIsland Rising Action part 2 at 20:40 and the climax titlescreens at 38:39.

[@anaaaaaaaaaaaa2093]

So sick of seeing the Candace scene. Done. I don't even want to finish the video 🤣

[@OnceUponAnIsland]

Thankfully KZbin has the option to fast forward videos.

[@ebg3624]

Parvatee will forever be my least favorite survivor contestant

[@peskycritter79]

The way animals are treated on this show is appalling.

[@bossjenkins5875]

He only had 2 dumbs moments tbh

[@isabellaearnhardt6380]

:-)

[@user-tz9jh6pv2j]

If this show happened 10 years later, Yul would have had to give up his Idol to the black tribe because affirmative action.

[@TheBMART62]

I like that guy coa boi he is hilarious and right a joke is a joke, as long as you are not a sensitive 5 year old

[@tyleranspach6653]

Yul

[@TheWesterosiNinja]

Yul

[@rowanmoon]

Yul

[@jberczi6]

Yul