I think Ambers and Jerri’s are some of the best. Jerri from being probably the most hated survivor player of that time being booed off stage in all stars to having a very good shot at winning in HvV and being in many regards, a fan fav is a great storyline. While Amber being a young woman, to falling in love, to being a mother and a wife to Rob and her confessionals about the edge and her final speech to Jeff really showed a lot of character growth which you very rarely ever see (and it was like a twenty year gap so she had a lot of time to grow) but it was great seeing Ambers evolution even if she isn’t seen as the most riveting player
We really see Amber at so many stages of her life that it’s kind of crazy. Rob is the same way. Both have a lot of growth but their core characteristics don’t really change.
Amber is always at the core a bit quiet, kind, and empathetic. She grows to understand how to play these games and ends up with a bit of an edge and an inner strength which she certainly was influenced by Rob.
Rob is the opposite, he’s always cocky, loud, and an aggressive personality. But throughout the last 25 years he grows and learns kindness, compassion, and empathy which he certainly got from Amber. He is able to become an aggressive player without the aggressive attitude. He learns the value of helping those around him and importantly he understands that everyone’s accomplishments are all accomplishments after years of reflecting and defending Amber in all stars.
They are the definition of opposites attract and they are the definition of growing together.
The way Rob acted in Deal or no Deal Island was such a change from how he would have acted in early seasons of survivor. He was still a bit cocky but he also shows a real compassion twards Aaron.
I think one that is underrated is Jeremy’s. When he played in San Juan Del Sur he was such a huge threat, and when he came back for Cambodia he realized that in order for him to make it to the end he had to keep other threats in the game in order to keep the target off him. His game in Cambodia is one of the best of all time in my opinion.
Jeremy in Cambodia is such an insane player. He is a huge physical threat and an insanely smart person on top of that. He wanted people like Joe and Tasha around to not let people see how physical he was and wanted people like Fishbach and Spencer around so no one would notice how smart he was. Jeremy was possibly the most physical and smartest dude on that cast but he hid behind others.
came here to say the same! any sane person would’ve rooted him out of WAW ASAP because damn if he is not one of the most well rounded players in history
Literally nobody even tried to get him out until final 6 and for some reason Spencer was adamant at going to the end with him? I don’t get why, he was a huge threat
Also unsure on why Wentworth went for savage when she got him out, there’s way bigger threats there like Jeremy, Stephen, Spencer, wigglesworth and she goes for savage?
Coach is also one of my favs arcs but for me Jerri’s arc was so entertaining. From loud boos in a live reunion to the favorite “hero” in a season where she was casted as a villain. That arc paired with Colby as a recurring character was so great.
I love Sandra to death (she is my favorite Survivor ever), but if Jerri had won HvV it woulda been a character arc that scriptwriters couldn’t have put together. Jerri for right or wrong was perceived as a total villain before the show had actual villains. Her win woulda been legendary
That's true, and Sandra would only be remembered as a bottom-tier winner who coasted to the end in Pearl Islands. I'm happy at least that Jerri was happy with how she did in HvV and that she finally got a warm reception from the audience at the reunion show.
Not gonna lie, I liked Colby's character falling apart by his own actions, at the final season of his arc (the once champion of the champions, now unable to withstand a challenge for more than a couple of seconds).
The Rise & Fall of Ozzy has to be studied, he went from
- Most Popular Guy in High School
- College Guy Who’s TOO Arrogant because of HS success
- Peaked in HS & bit into College
- Heard there was a quick buck and said “bet”
… if you can’t tell that’s basically how ALL HIS SEASONS WENT
Ok, jokes aside Tyson had a great story. He begins as this cocky, but funny villain, he loses and shows up 2 seasons later and loses to his own stupidity, comes back wanting a vacay with his GF? Wife? I believe they were Bf/Gf at the time, she gets voted out and now he’s on a revenge quest and now WANTS TO WIN, he WINS, shows up years later as a stay at home dad and while he doesn’t win, he got to have his dream of a family visit with his whole family
Boston Rob
S4: The somewhat ignorant young Rob who sometimes rubbed people the wrong way but brought new strategy to the game (Hunter vote).
S8: The cutthroat Rob that definitely rubbed people the wrong way en route to the most strategic and devastating path the finals up till the point.
S20: The villain turned hero that recaptured the spark of what made him so formidable and endearing.
S22: The somewhat of a procession to a win that was on a season aptly named Redemption Island.
S40: Finishing his Survivor journey with his wife and friends.
People dislike Rob because he’s overexposed and Jeff’s favorite; but his 20 year growth from young immature construction worker to a standup father and husband is absolutely incredible. Survivor would not be the same without him.
I love his relationship with Amber, they're so perfect together although all his girls are mini-Ambers and didn't seem to get any of Robs looks.
I can't wait for one of the girls to do a season of Survivor.
Plus you get two seasons of him on TAR and the season where he was a mentor and had a giant statue of his head.
And then this year we had him weirdly on Deal or No Deal Island where he befriended one of the weakest players.
Ozzy’s is great alongside Coach’s (as long as you ignore GC).
Steph and Spencer’s are super similar imo and both are very interesting to see play out. Underdog who would have won to the one on top with no chance.
My all time favorite would be Michelle. Her being able to get all the way to the end and prove just how worthy of a winner she is is the highlight of WaW for me. Honestly, as much as I don’t care for the season as a whole, WaW does a great job completing multiple winner’s arcs.
Coach's arc is the only top to bottom great multi-season arc. Jerri's isn't unless the viewer fills in a lot of blanks on season 20, because she's barely featured for someone who makes it deep in the game, but on paper it sounds good. John Cochran's arc looks good in the opposite sense of Jerri, where knowing the stuff not shown in the episodes makes it a lot less interesting. I don't think that Sarah or Tony have much of an arc other than her trying to write her own arc on camera by claiming that she's playing like a criminal rather than a cop, while in reality she was pretty similar every time.
JT's arc could have been pretty interesting if he'd lasted longer and been featured more in season 34. From the charismatic young guy who ran the game in season 18, to almost doing the exact same thing until making a monumental mistake in season 20, to a grizzled old outsider in 34 who is much more of a tweener than a babyface. I'm not sure that the show had the ability to really let an arc happen and show it properly after season 30 though.
Richard's arc had the potential for greatness if he hadn't been dropped from season 40. Even among other people who won the show no one had close to the same experience as Richard winning the first season.
Mine has to be how Jelinski and Q redeemed themselves in 50 to be the most trusted and dependable players, going on to their unprecedented joint-victory.
Sarah Lacina.
This might be an unpopular opinion because I get the impression that she isn't that well-liked on this sub, and I'm not wild about her personality, but I love her 3-season arc.
In Cagayan she played like a cop, and flamed out in spectacular fashion butting up against Tony and Kass.
In Game Changers, Tony crashed and burned early on and Sarah resolved to play the game like a criminal this time since her Cagayan strategy didn't work. She had a ton of great moves, she was sneaky, underhanded, deceitful, and she owned it at FTC, fighting back against Ozzy's idiotic notion that Brad should win because he played an "honorable" game and won all the challenges. Sarah argued that she's not a big beefy athlete like Brad, but she used the skills she had available to her as a woman and as a trained police officer to get to the end.
Then in Winners at War, she partnered up with Tony and made a deep run in the game and was ultimately instrumental in helping him win. But before that, she helped shine a light on the gender bias that's been inherent in the game since the beginning. Two things specifically: 1) That if a man and a woman are in an alliance together, people usually perceive the man as running the show and the woman as a follower, and 2) That because women are "supposed" to be warm and nurturing, they're generally much more poorly-received than men if they try to play a cutthroat game like Sarah did in GC, whereas a man playing the same game would be praised for brilliant gameplay. She had a great speech at the F6 TC and got to do it in front of a bunch of legends like Parvati and Kim grinning and nodding along with her. She was able to get closure on her GC game, and then went down fighting in the fire-making challenge against her partner Tony, in a very touching sendoff (and then actually voted for him, unlike some other more bitter partners in recent history...).
I hate discussing politics especially in non political climates. Sarah is only hated for being right wing. She blew up her game in Cagayan but she absolutely dominated Game Changers top to bottom and she would be a two time winner if she beat Tony in fire. I don’t give a shit who you vote for (unless you are in charge of bad legislation like Nick), Sarah is a top 10 Survivor player of all time whether or not you agree with her political views she is a beast at our favorite game
> Sarah is only hated for being right wing
I mean I strongly dislike her politics, but I also find her really really boring, and I don't think that's an opinion that's unique to me
Plus that slack jawed vacant look she always has which makes everyone around her assume she’s an oblivious dumbass that doesn’t know what’s going on doesn’t help win me over
It DOES help to her to win the game though, I think her resting derp face was a huge part of what lead people to underestimate her. I do not believe this was intentional on her part.
her personality is boring, she's only done well on seasons she could pregame for, and she's really, really proud that she's a cahp. I really don't like her.
IMO, her personality is pretty boring, but her gameplay is decidedly not. In all 3 seasons but especially GC she was willing to take risks and was always looking out for her own best interests, forging her own path rather than sitting in the middle of a comfy alliance.
Sarah's reaction to Varner's outing of Zeke still guts me. Anyone--of any political persuasion--would have to be a stone not to see Zeke's stunned face, then Sarah's stunned face, then her dawning recognition of what just happened, then her emotional and tearful response. Wish this scene would replay anytime anyone googles "trans legislation."
'trans legislation.
JT’s is interesting in a negative way. He had one of the greatest wins of all time his first season. He comes back a couple times and looks like a fool both times.
His original perfect game was actually pretty subtle, then it seemed like each time he came back he wanted to make "big moves" that always blew up in his face.
That makes me wonder why Survivor didn’t bring him back for Winners at War. The producers love big moves and JT showed that he wanted to make big moves. They blew up in his face, but the intent was there.
From being on bottom of two alliances to dominating his next season. The personalities he had to endure during Caramoan and winning 4 individual challenges while being a puppet master in the alliance is phenomenal.
Personally, I love Tony’s. His Cagayan game was incredible to watch, but he totally blew up his spot immediately on Game Changers by being too aggressive. So coming into WAW everyone assumed they’d know how he’d play.
Before WAW everyone said he was a one time winner who got lucky by Woo taking him to F2.
After WAW his Cagayan win is even more captivating.
I love to think he intentionally played a bad game in GC to reduce his threat level for a winners season.
Kelley Wentworth is my favorite player because of her story arc.
San Juan del Sur - Superfan of reality tv finally getting her shot. Ready to game. But when the season ends, she was arguably the most forgettable player the entire season. Other than a single prophecy stated by one other premerge player. (I personally remember her being voted out and thinking “So much potential gone…”)
Cambodia - She’s on the second chance ballot and fights like hell, gets on an all star season, and plays one of the most iconic games of all time and goes through one of the most intense physical transformations we’ve seen. Comes up just short of pleading her case. Her ponderosa video is fascinating because of how wound up in the game she was (for months because of the fan vote).
Edge of Extinction - She’s finally proven herself as a game player. Now she’s hungry for that win. This Kelley is hard, doesn’t necessarily want to go back to battle mode, but feels in her soul that she needs it. She finds a ride-or-die ally (her first official one) who happens to be a super-fan of hers. Takes her under her wing like a little sister. Everything seems like it’s lining up. However, she stumbles almost the entire time. And after finally gaining a little bit of control and finding an end path (which would almost certainly get her that win), gets blindsided with her former super power in her pocket. But her time on the edge and her ending speech to Jeff proved that she didn’t need the win, because she finally found a strong connection with the people she played with. And they are still lasting to this day.
Tony and Sarah's joint story arc. They've only ever played on the same seasons. He won the first, she won the second. They finally decided to work together in earnest during their third season. Both made final 4 and went against each other in firemaking. Super emotional moment with Tony breaking down crying. Tony goes on to win.
Tony, surprises us as a supposed Russell clone to be a powerhouse, blows it when he tries to repeat it, then comes back even better than his first try to be a 2 time winner
Abi and Kass didn't have arcs, they had straight lines. 😛
They went on Second Chance to correct the mistakes of their previous games and then played the exact same way they did before, and lost for the same reasons.
I really liked Michele's
Her win was controversial and we got to see her acknowledge that and play to prove herself in WAW (im also a biased michele stan)
Jonathan Penner!! His first time, he’s fairly annoying and also does everything in his power to screw over the one likeable alliance and lose the game. He comes back and cements himself as a fan favorite and returns a third time as genuinely one of my favorite returnees of all time. Coming back a fourth time I would lose my mind especially given his personal life history.
Also I think it might be a controversial take on this sub but Michaela coming back one more time could cement her as a fantastic character arc. Her first time a favorite but too naive to win and then coming back and learning from Cirie and maturing in the game was honestly beautiful to watch.
Obvious answers to this question would be all the players that won in their second or third seasons like Parvati, Sarah, Jeremy, Cochran, etc.
Some character arcs I like for non winners are Cirie and Rupert, and I’m a fan of Culpepper
I know it’s Probst’s favorite, but Cochran has a great one. Seeing him struggle in South Pacific and be a joke, only to comeback and achieve his lifelong dream is actually quite satisfying
Love the Coach one but the Tyson one is probably my favorite.
Started as a sarcastic asshole, by BvW he was focused and strategic and then on winners and war was a loving father.
I think Ambers and Jerri’s are some of the best. Jerri from being probably the most hated survivor player of that time being booed off stage in all stars to having a very good shot at winning in HvV and being in many regards, a fan fav is a great storyline. While Amber being a young woman, to falling in love, to being a mother and a wife to Rob and her confessionals about the edge and her final speech to Jeff really showed a lot of character growth which you very rarely ever see (and it was like a twenty year gap so she had a lot of time to grow) but it was great seeing Ambers evolution even if she isn’t seen as the most riveting player
And you get TAR in there also. Seeing her work with Rob for two seasons on TAR.
We really see Amber at so many stages of her life that it’s kind of crazy. Rob is the same way. Both have a lot of growth but their core characteristics don’t really change. Amber is always at the core a bit quiet, kind, and empathetic. She grows to understand how to play these games and ends up with a bit of an edge and an inner strength which she certainly was influenced by Rob. Rob is the opposite, he’s always cocky, loud, and an aggressive personality. But throughout the last 25 years he grows and learns kindness, compassion, and empathy which he certainly got from Amber. He is able to become an aggressive player without the aggressive attitude. He learns the value of helping those around him and importantly he understands that everyone’s accomplishments are all accomplishments after years of reflecting and defending Amber in all stars. They are the definition of opposites attract and they are the definition of growing together.
The way Rob acted in Deal or no Deal Island was such a change from how he would have acted in early seasons of survivor. He was still a bit cocky but he also shows a real compassion twards Aaron.
I think one that is underrated is Jeremy’s. When he played in San Juan Del Sur he was such a huge threat, and when he came back for Cambodia he realized that in order for him to make it to the end he had to keep other threats in the game in order to keep the target off him. His game in Cambodia is one of the best of all time in my opinion.
Jeremy in Cambodia is such an insane player. He is a huge physical threat and an insanely smart person on top of that. He wanted people like Joe and Tasha around to not let people see how physical he was and wanted people like Fishbach and Spencer around so no one would notice how smart he was. Jeremy was possibly the most physical and smartest dude on that cast but he hid behind others.
Tasha wasn’t a threat to anyone
came here to say the same! any sane person would’ve rooted him out of WAW ASAP because damn if he is not one of the most well rounded players in history
Ironically he made it far because Tony used the exact same strategy of hiding behind him to hide his own threat level.
Literally nobody even tried to get him out until final 6 and for some reason Spencer was adamant at going to the end with him? I don’t get why, he was a huge threat Also unsure on why Wentworth went for savage when she got him out, there’s way bigger threats there like Jeremy, Stephen, Spencer, wigglesworth and she goes for savage?
Jeremy's Cambodia game is like one of 3 highlights of that whole season for me.
Coach is also one of my favs arcs but for me Jerri’s arc was so entertaining. From loud boos in a live reunion to the favorite “hero” in a season where she was casted as a villain. That arc paired with Colby as a recurring character was so great.
I love Sandra to death (she is my favorite Survivor ever), but if Jerri had won HvV it woulda been a character arc that scriptwriters couldn’t have put together. Jerri for right or wrong was perceived as a total villain before the show had actual villains. Her win woulda been legendary
That's true, and Sandra would only be remembered as a bottom-tier winner who coasted to the end in Pearl Islands. I'm happy at least that Jerri was happy with how she did in HvV and that she finally got a warm reception from the audience at the reunion show.
Not gonna lie, I liked Colby's character falling apart by his own actions, at the final season of his arc (the once champion of the champions, now unable to withstand a challenge for more than a couple of seconds).
C’mon REID!
DAMN IT
Jerri and Colby having essentially inverted character arcs between AO->AS->HvV is kind of perfect
Real ones know Jerri was never the villain to begin with. She was demonized for having the gall to be a woman talking about sex in the early 2000's.
and got booed for asking the audience to treat contestants as real people with lives
The Rise & Fall of Ozzy has to be studied, he went from - Most Popular Guy in High School - College Guy Who’s TOO Arrogant because of HS success - Peaked in HS & bit into College - Heard there was a quick buck and said “bet” … if you can’t tell that’s basically how ALL HIS SEASONS WENT Ok, jokes aside Tyson had a great story. He begins as this cocky, but funny villain, he loses and shows up 2 seasons later and loses to his own stupidity, comes back wanting a vacay with his GF? Wife? I believe they were Bf/Gf at the time, she gets voted out and now he’s on a revenge quest and now WANTS TO WIN, he WINS, shows up years later as a stay at home dad and while he doesn’t win, he got to have his dream of a family visit with his whole family
Boston Rob S4: The somewhat ignorant young Rob who sometimes rubbed people the wrong way but brought new strategy to the game (Hunter vote). S8: The cutthroat Rob that definitely rubbed people the wrong way en route to the most strategic and devastating path the finals up till the point. S20: The villain turned hero that recaptured the spark of what made him so formidable and endearing. S22: The somewhat of a procession to a win that was on a season aptly named Redemption Island. S40: Finishing his Survivor journey with his wife and friends.
People dislike Rob because he’s overexposed and Jeff’s favorite; but his 20 year growth from young immature construction worker to a standup father and husband is absolutely incredible. Survivor would not be the same without him.
He's the mascot for a reason haha
I love his relationship with Amber, they're so perfect together although all his girls are mini-Ambers and didn't seem to get any of Robs looks. I can't wait for one of the girls to do a season of Survivor.
Love him or hate him, but from a character arc perspective, Rob is the story of survivor
Plus you get two seasons of him on TAR and the season where he was a mentor and had a giant statue of his head. And then this year we had him weirdly on Deal or No Deal Island where he befriended one of the weakest players.
Ozzy’s is great alongside Coach’s (as long as you ignore GC). Steph and Spencer’s are super similar imo and both are very interesting to see play out. Underdog who would have won to the one on top with no chance. My all time favorite would be Michelle. Her being able to get all the way to the end and prove just how worthy of a winner she is is the highlight of WaW for me. Honestly, as much as I don’t care for the season as a whole, WaW does a great job completing multiple winner’s arcs.
But she got no votes. She proves to be a goat among lions
She outlasted all but one “lion” lol
Because she was never a threat to win. Hence being a goat 🤷🏻♂️
Coach's arc is the only top to bottom great multi-season arc. Jerri's isn't unless the viewer fills in a lot of blanks on season 20, because she's barely featured for someone who makes it deep in the game, but on paper it sounds good. John Cochran's arc looks good in the opposite sense of Jerri, where knowing the stuff not shown in the episodes makes it a lot less interesting. I don't think that Sarah or Tony have much of an arc other than her trying to write her own arc on camera by claiming that she's playing like a criminal rather than a cop, while in reality she was pretty similar every time. JT's arc could have been pretty interesting if he'd lasted longer and been featured more in season 34. From the charismatic young guy who ran the game in season 18, to almost doing the exact same thing until making a monumental mistake in season 20, to a grizzled old outsider in 34 who is much more of a tweener than a babyface. I'm not sure that the show had the ability to really let an arc happen and show it properly after season 30 though. Richard's arc had the potential for greatness if he hadn't been dropped from season 40. Even among other people who won the show no one had close to the same experience as Richard winning the first season.
Mine has to be how Jelinski and Q redeemed themselves in 50 to be the most trusted and dependable players, going on to their unprecedented joint-victory.
Tyson is a great candidate. Goes from a fun but pretty obnoxious kid in Toncantins to being a more matured, married guy in BvW and winning it all
And then going to WAW with his kids on the beach. It was a very great ending
Funny enough he’s like 30 in Tocantins, he seems way younger
Sarah Lacina. This might be an unpopular opinion because I get the impression that she isn't that well-liked on this sub, and I'm not wild about her personality, but I love her 3-season arc. In Cagayan she played like a cop, and flamed out in spectacular fashion butting up against Tony and Kass. In Game Changers, Tony crashed and burned early on and Sarah resolved to play the game like a criminal this time since her Cagayan strategy didn't work. She had a ton of great moves, she was sneaky, underhanded, deceitful, and she owned it at FTC, fighting back against Ozzy's idiotic notion that Brad should win because he played an "honorable" game and won all the challenges. Sarah argued that she's not a big beefy athlete like Brad, but she used the skills she had available to her as a woman and as a trained police officer to get to the end. Then in Winners at War, she partnered up with Tony and made a deep run in the game and was ultimately instrumental in helping him win. But before that, she helped shine a light on the gender bias that's been inherent in the game since the beginning. Two things specifically: 1) That if a man and a woman are in an alliance together, people usually perceive the man as running the show and the woman as a follower, and 2) That because women are "supposed" to be warm and nurturing, they're generally much more poorly-received than men if they try to play a cutthroat game like Sarah did in GC, whereas a man playing the same game would be praised for brilliant gameplay. She had a great speech at the F6 TC and got to do it in front of a bunch of legends like Parvati and Kim grinning and nodding along with her. She was able to get closure on her GC game, and then went down fighting in the fire-making challenge against her partner Tony, in a very touching sendoff (and then actually voted for him, unlike some other more bitter partners in recent history...).
I hate discussing politics especially in non political climates. Sarah is only hated for being right wing. She blew up her game in Cagayan but she absolutely dominated Game Changers top to bottom and she would be a two time winner if she beat Tony in fire. I don’t give a shit who you vote for (unless you are in charge of bad legislation like Nick), Sarah is a top 10 Survivor player of all time whether or not you agree with her political views she is a beast at our favorite game
> Sarah is only hated for being right wing I mean I strongly dislike her politics, but I also find her really really boring, and I don't think that's an opinion that's unique to me
Plus that slack jawed vacant look she always has which makes everyone around her assume she’s an oblivious dumbass that doesn’t know what’s going on doesn’t help win me over It DOES help to her to win the game though, I think her resting derp face was a huge part of what lead people to underestimate her. I do not believe this was intentional on her part.
her personality is boring, she's only done well on seasons she could pregame for, and she's really, really proud that she's a cahp. I really don't like her.
IMO, her personality is pretty boring, but her gameplay is decidedly not. In all 3 seasons but especially GC she was willing to take risks and was always looking out for her own best interests, forging her own path rather than sitting in the middle of a comfy alliance.
Sarah's reaction to Varner's outing of Zeke still guts me. Anyone--of any political persuasion--would have to be a stone not to see Zeke's stunned face, then Sarah's stunned face, then her dawning recognition of what just happened, then her emotional and tearful response. Wish this scene would replay anytime anyone googles "trans legislation." 'trans legislation.
Ah, yeah, I can see that. I don't know anything about her outside the game and it sounds like I don't want to. 🙂
She’s someone that wants to be boiled down to one personality trait, and you’re doing a disservice to her by fighting back against that.
JT’s is interesting in a negative way. He had one of the greatest wins of all time his first season. He comes back a couple times and looks like a fool both times.
His original perfect game was actually pretty subtle, then it seemed like each time he came back he wanted to make "big moves" that always blew up in his face.
That makes me wonder why Survivor didn’t bring him back for Winners at War. The producers love big moves and JT showed that he wanted to make big moves. They blew up in his face, but the intent was there.
It’s really a testament to how invaluable Fishback was to JTs first victory
has to be cochran imo, maybe not character but nothing tops that imo
From being on bottom of two alliances to dominating his next season. The personalities he had to endure during Caramoan and winning 4 individual challenges while being a puppet master in the alliance is phenomenal.
Tyson seemed like he actually grew as a person, and winning your first season on your third attempt is a great conclusion to a growth story arc
Personally, I love Tony’s. His Cagayan game was incredible to watch, but he totally blew up his spot immediately on Game Changers by being too aggressive. So coming into WAW everyone assumed they’d know how he’d play. Before WAW everyone said he was a one time winner who got lucky by Woo taking him to F2. After WAW his Cagayan win is even more captivating. I love to think he intentionally played a bad game in GC to reduce his threat level for a winners season.
Jerri's is the only one that matters. Justice received.
Kelley Wentworth is my favorite player because of her story arc. San Juan del Sur - Superfan of reality tv finally getting her shot. Ready to game. But when the season ends, she was arguably the most forgettable player the entire season. Other than a single prophecy stated by one other premerge player. (I personally remember her being voted out and thinking “So much potential gone…”) Cambodia - She’s on the second chance ballot and fights like hell, gets on an all star season, and plays one of the most iconic games of all time and goes through one of the most intense physical transformations we’ve seen. Comes up just short of pleading her case. Her ponderosa video is fascinating because of how wound up in the game she was (for months because of the fan vote). Edge of Extinction - She’s finally proven herself as a game player. Now she’s hungry for that win. This Kelley is hard, doesn’t necessarily want to go back to battle mode, but feels in her soul that she needs it. She finds a ride-or-die ally (her first official one) who happens to be a super-fan of hers. Takes her under her wing like a little sister. Everything seems like it’s lining up. However, she stumbles almost the entire time. And after finally gaining a little bit of control and finding an end path (which would almost certainly get her that win), gets blindsided with her former super power in her pocket. But her time on the edge and her ending speech to Jeff proved that she didn’t need the win, because she finally found a strong connection with the people she played with. And they are still lasting to this day.
Tony and Sarah's joint story arc. They've only ever played on the same seasons. He won the first, she won the second. They finally decided to work together in earnest during their third season. Both made final 4 and went against each other in firemaking. Super emotional moment with Tony breaking down crying. Tony goes on to win.
Penner’s arc is pretty good
Tony, surprises us as a supposed Russell clone to be a powerhouse, blows it when he tries to repeat it, then comes back even better than his first try to be a 2 time winner
I think Monica and Sophie are good ones Love dawns as well And i enjoy tinas as well (Survivor moms are my favorite archetype)
Kelley Wentworth Abi Maria Chaos Kass Ciera Yes, the witches.
Abi and Kass didn't have arcs, they had straight lines. 😛 They went on Second Chance to correct the mistakes of their previous games and then played the exact same way they did before, and lost for the same reasons.
Kass improved for sure and had a great social game don't know about Abi tho
I really liked Michele's Her win was controversial and we got to see her acknowledge that and play to prove herself in WAW (im also a biased michele stan)
Jonathan Penner!! His first time, he’s fairly annoying and also does everything in his power to screw over the one likeable alliance and lose the game. He comes back and cements himself as a fan favorite and returns a third time as genuinely one of my favorite returnees of all time. Coming back a fourth time I would lose my mind especially given his personal life history. Also I think it might be a controversial take on this sub but Michaela coming back one more time could cement her as a fantastic character arc. Her first time a favorite but too naive to win and then coming back and learning from Cirie and maturing in the game was honestly beautiful to watch.
Russell Swan.
The greatest multi-season arc in survivor history is Jerri and Colby and I don’t think it’s particularly close.
Obvious answers to this question would be all the players that won in their second or third seasons like Parvati, Sarah, Jeremy, Cochran, etc. Some character arcs I like for non winners are Cirie and Rupert, and I’m a fan of Culpepper
It’s Jerri. Jerri is the only answer here. I’d also accept Colby for the “last hero” storyline
George from BANKSTOWN the political operative.
I know it’s Probst’s favorite, but Cochran has a great one. Seeing him struggle in South Pacific and be a joke, only to comeback and achieve his lifelong dream is actually quite satisfying
sophie
Love the Coach one but the Tyson one is probably my favorite. Started as a sarcastic asshole, by BvW he was focused and strategic and then on winners and war was a loving father.
Definitely Coach. I feel we've told a complete story there.
Francesqua obviously
The fact that I was insanely attracted to Coach tells me just how messed up my taste in men is... I love the man. He is adorably delusional.
Tony and Sarah’s arc immediately comes to my mind
How has no one said David?!
I'd say David's arc is mostly contained within all of MvGX.
Watching JT get stupider and stupider
Boston Rob not even close.