How did they lose?!

Survivor is all about those “what if” moments that castaways go home thinking about for months on end. In this post, especially coming out of Ghost Island, I want to take a look at my top 10 favorite second-place finishers who most definitely have the best arguments for why they should have won their season.

This list is not meant to say that they should have won their season, because in most of these cases the person who actually won played a great game. I also believe that every winner is deserving and worthy no matter the situation, because that’s the name of the game. However, all ten of these castaways played incredible games that could have been rewarded in another situation.

Let me know your thoughts or who was left off this list that you think should have been included!

10. Coach – South Pacific

If I could sum up getting through South Pacific on a rewatch it would be:

Had Coach truly owned his game in the FTC instead of apologizing the whole time, we could see the Dragon Slayer as a Survivor winner. Tell me that after Tocantins and I would have called you crazy. Sophie’s game wasn’t incredibly impressive, but her final tribal performance was. Coach did everything he had to do for a returning player to get to the end by leading a strong alliance to five and flipping Cochran. I think the South Pacific final tribal was certainly live like Ozzy said it would be when he addressed the finalists.

9. Hannah – Millennials vs. GenX

Probably the look on your face because you see Hannah on my list! Yes, I think Hannah was a second place finisher who had a good argument to win. Adam played a great game and I am a MASSIVE Adam Klein fan, but I think Hannah had a great Final Tribal Council and also made some under the radar strategic decisions that the other castaways didn’t attribute to her. The flipping mentality has been something that’s so difficult to master and bring to perfection because you end up pissing off so many people, and Hannah wasn’t able to bring it to fruition.

8. Colby – The Australian Outback

You also ain’t no millionaire!! If I was old enough to have watched Australia when it first aired, I would have thought that Colby Donaldson was being set up to win the whole way. However, I had the pleasure of knowing what happens and seeing the demise of Colby was so disappointing. His Final Tribal Council performance might be one of the worst of all time and his decision to take Tina over Kieth was also horrible. However, Colby’s game in Australia was amazing to watch, and by early Survivor standards certainly deserved a win. Had he stood up a little for himself in FTC, I think he could have swayed one vote his way.

7. Aubry – Kaoh Rong

I hope this was Aubry’s inner reaction when she saw 5 Michele votes at the reunion show. The Survivor internet community pretty much collectively agree that Aubry got robbed and I tend to agree. Michele did play a great social game, and Aubry wasn’t able to articulate how in control she was for the entire post-merge portion of the game. It didn’t help that Jason and Scot probably slandered her to the jury. Her performance in Game Changers was less appealing, but hopefully she’ll be able to make her final stretch in season 38!

6. Ozzy – Cook Islands

Ozzy and Yul were Survivor’s original Wendell and Dom. Those two owned the whole game from start to finish, bringing the Aitu four back from the brink of complete extinction. Ozzy dominated the game physically while Yul dominated the game strategically. There was no wrong answer in regards to who should win between those two, and I think if Ozzy had even a slight iota of strategic or social significance, he would have won.

5. Chrissy – Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers

I imagine this is what Chrissy said to production when she opened up that final four “advantage.” Talk about being put between a rock and a hard place. She played a virtually flawless game with the exception of keeping Ben around for too long. The final four fire-making challenge might be a mainstay for a while, which is really unfortunate, but framing it as an advantage in the game was comical because it was anything but an advantage. Had Chrissy, Devon, and Ryan been the final three, I think we would certainly have seen a Chrissy win. Freakin fire-making challenge…

4. Russell – Samoa

Stand up, Russell Hantz, your number has been called. The self-proclaimed “greatest player to ever play the game” did indeed deserve to win his season. I think Natalie White’s win is the product of a bitter jury and Russell’s inability to not be a total asshole all of the time. He totally revolutionized what it meant to be cutthroat in Survivor, led an alliance to overcome an 8-4 deficit, and manipulated and put fear into people. Although I don’t think Russell’s the best to ever play, I do think he deserved to win Samoa.

3. Parvati – Heroes vs. Villains

I think Parvati’s performance in Heroes vs. Villains was better than her winning game in Micronesia. She had a target on her back from Day 1 and had two of the biggest moves in Survivor history in blindsiding JT and being the benefactor of Tyson’s mistake. She knew that by aligning with Russell he would be seen as the bigger villain and antagonist to the other castaways.

#NeverForget “You know what, Jeff…”

2. Rob – All Stars

Rob’s game play was way before its time in All-Stars. He was so cutthroat that it rubbed all his friends and jury members the wrong way enough times. I think he should have been rewarded for how revolutionary his game was; it’s not like he’ll ever get another chance to win Survivor… Anyways. At least he got to put an “A” on his arm, while the jury got to put “Amber” on the parchment at FTC.

1. Domenick – Ghost Island

Probably what Dom wanted to do when he realized Laurel was going to break the tie. Ghost Island as a whole was such an up and down season, but the finale and tie vote was absolutely riveting as a life-long Survivor fan. Dom wins Survivor had he played that game and gotten to the end in any other season. He and Wendell controlled that game in a way that hasn’t been seen in so long. Like in Season 35, the fire-making challenge changed the outcome of the game, and where some people might see that as the game evolving, I see it as a detriment to strategy. The tie vote was the only way that season could have ended because choosing between him and Wendell was far too close. I think Dom is the castaway who came in second who most deserved to win the game. I hope we get to see him play again, even though he’ll be targeted so early.