Top Ten Tragic Heroes

It might be a bit difficult to explain what a tragic hero is in terms of this blog post. Then again, it might not be too hard to explain. You see, a lot of heroes in Survivor struggle and don’t ultimately prevail and win the game. Some of them make mistakes which lead to their defeat. All of the people that I have on this list are people that I consider heroes who made some sort of tragic mistake or somehow just could not turn the tables around and lost as a result. This might include people who were not heroes in every season that they played, so I hope that it makes sense still. Now let’s get to the list.

#10 Caleb from Blood versus Water- He might only be on here due to his death after his season. One might debate whether or not he was a hero when he played and his game inexplicitly ended when he was voted out for reasons that I don’t understand. His death was tragic and is more of the reason that I think he belongs on this list.

#9 Rudy from Borneo- The first tragic hero, he had a lot of game going for him and could have easily won it if only he had stayed focused just a bit longer. Instead, his game ended and Jeff Probst thought that the show wouldn’t last if he didn’t win. Thankfully, Jeff was wrong. But poor Rudy just lost focus and he lost the game because of it.

#8 Ian from Palau- While there was some villainy left in him, he left by heroically sacrificing his place in the game in order to secure his friendship with Tom. Many insist that it was a dumb mistake and those people are right to think that. At least he did what he thought was right.

#7 Sierra from Tocantins- I still hate that the horrible twist that affectively put in her a no win situation had happened. She even helped set up camp, but no one cared and her tribe hated her for the rest of the game. She struggled throughout the game even if she seemed heroic to me.

#6 Spencer from Cagayan- In his first season, he struggled to make it far in the game. He was on a weak tribe and was a threat to be voted out many times before it actually happened. He could have won this season if only he could gain control of the game, but he never did.

#5 Michael from Ghost Island- Some of us could have sworn that he got an edit that would be given to the underdogs who eventually win the game. But, sadly, he didn’t. He tried as hard as he could, but he just couldn’t take control of the game.

#4 JT from Heroes versus Villains and Game Changers- He keeps making dumb moves. The second time he played, he made a risky move that sought to benefit his place in the game, but it didn’t. Instead, it got him voted out with an idol that he used to have. The next time, he caused a dumb move that got his friend voted out and later got voted out after not using an idol he had on himself. People tend to take advantage of nice people and that’s why his stories the second and third around always ended in such a tragic way all the time. One can be surprised that he won the first time.

#3 Stephenie from Palau- She was able to outlast her old tribe and became the only person in the whole show’s history to outlast every member of her starting tribe. She then struggled to last in her new tribe and was voted out for being a threat. She was always struggling in the game.

#2 Rupert from any season he played- He’s so likable that he stood no chance of people letting him get to the end. But he also struggled far too much such as the third time when he was injured and had to play that way for the whole game. The fourth season was the biggest of his struggles because he had the potential to do good, but gave it up to let his way play again. He is going to get so much grief for that. Even if he hadn’t lost the very first duel, then it wouldn’t have been a wise move and is just an example of a hero who would fall on his sword.

#1 Matt from Redemption Island- If only he weren’t so honest, then he might have lasted. He made one of the dumbest moves of all time and certainly the worst move of the season. He spent a record amount of time on Redemption Island and fell short at the final duel. He probably couldn’t win Survivor because nice guys often do finish last in this show.

That’s all that I can think about for this post. I hope that I didn’t miss anyone and I hope that you and me understood why I mean by tragic hero. They are all heroes who had some sort of tragic element to their game in some way. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.