‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’: Why Fans Are Calling Adam Klein the ‘King of Confessionals’

Millennials vs. Gen X champ Adam Klein returned a second time for Season 40’s Winners at War to compete for a $2 million grand prize. Despite receiving a “doofus” edit for much of the season, many fans believe he will go far in the game. Additionally, some love his presence on the show and have begun calling him the “king of confessionals.”

[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains information revealed in Survivor 40: Winners at War Episode 8.]

Adam Klein returned for ‘Survivor 40: Winners at War’

Nearly four years after Adam Klein unanimously became the Millennials vs. Gen X Sole Survivor, he returned to compete against 19 former champs in Winners at War.

Initially placed on the doomed Sele tribe, Adam began voicing his plan to blindside Parvati Shallow early in the game. He seemingly got Denise Stapley, Ben Driebergen, Jeremy Collins, and Michele Fitzgerald on board, but then exposed the plan to Parvati’s closest allies in an attempt to play both sides.

Her number one ally, Boston Rob Mariano, immediately confronted Jeremy and Michele about it, who became upset with Adam for spilling the beans. They decided to blindside both Adam and Rob and eliminated Africa champ, Ethan Zohn.

Afterward, he became the next target for almost everyone. However, his tribe pulled out a rare win, and he barely escaped another Tribal Council. Then, they switched tribes, where Boston Rob was the apparent threat.

After they eliminated the five-time player, Adam appeared to be on the outs, but back-to-back wins and a merge saved him. When deciding who to eliminate next, Nick Wilson and Wendall Holland were on the chopping block.

Adam became paranoid because the tribe seemingly couldn’t choose which one, and he thought they were going to send to him to the Edge instead. While the Millennials vs. Gen X champ did receive three votes, the majority went toward Wendell, who was voted off the island. 

Fans are calling Adam Klein the ‘king’ of confessionals

When holding up the piece of parchment he wrote Wendell’s name on, Adam told the camera, “It’s me or you tonight. I know that, but do you?” Many fans took to Reddit to share how much they loved the “iconic” and “epic” line.

One user noted it was “perfectly delivered,” while another called it “gold” and a “reminder that cold voting confessionals have become an underused part of the show lately.”

Someone else thought it was the “most iconic” since Wendell’s for “Chris [Noble] the rapper.” One fan called it one of their “favorite voting confessionals in recent memory” and think it was a “savage” comment delivered with the “right amount of dramatic tone.”

Another viewer agreed and noticed his voice in the confessional had “quite a change from his frantic sort of commentary” and claimed it “gave them chills.”

Several viewers called Adam the “king of confessionals” and an “iconic confessionalist in his own nerdy neurotic way.” They feel he’s “amazing with words” and a “great narrator of events that are happening around him.”

Additionally, many don’t understand why people talk badly about Adam as they find him “hilarious” and are convinced he’s going far this season. Winners at War airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.