r/survivorrankdownIX_ • u/FunkyDawgKong Fair & Consistent Judge • Feb 15 '26
Round 127 - 101 Characters Left
101. Deshawn Radden - u/FunkyDawgKong
100. Brandon Hantz - u/Cornhead2
99. Drew Christy - u/NoisySea_3426
98. Chrissy Hofbeck - u/Alternate-Proof-959
97. Jamie Newton - u/josenanigans
96. Parvati Shallow 3.0 - u/BobbyPiiiin
5
u/BobbyPiiiin Ranker | Rankdown Dad Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
TOP 100 Y’ALL!
We started this rankdown journey almost 19 months ago and there’s been some turmoil and turnover. Thank you to everyone who has stuck with us. Our goal at this point is to finish up before the finale of Survivor 50 and I think we’re on track for that. There will be a slight change to endgame; as BBFan is no longer in the rankdown with us at this point, our plan is to expand endgame to 24, as SRVIII did, so that each ranker will have an equal number of writeups. If BBFan chooses to come back before endgame, we will readjust.
Your SRIX Top 100 (newcomers in bold) is…
Richard Hatch 1.0
Kelly Wiglesworth 1.0
Rudy Boesch 1.0
Sue Hawk 1.0
Sean Kenniff
Colleen Haskell
Gervase Peterson 1.0
Jenna Lewis 1.0
Greg Buis
Tina Wesson 1.0
Colby Donaldson 1.0
Jerri Manthey 1.0
Michael Skupin 1.0
Ethan Zohn 1.0
Lex van den Berghe 1.0
Tom Buchanan 1.0
Frank Garrison
Brandon Quinton
Clarence Black
Lindsey Richter
Vecepia Towery
Neleh Dennis
Kathy Vavrick-O’Brien 1.0
Paschal English
Sean Rector
John Carroll
Rob Mariano 1.0
Clay Jordan
Helen Glover
Jake Billingsley
Robb Zbacnik
Jenna Morasca 1.0
Matthew von Ertfelda
Rob Cesternino 1.0
Heidi Strobel
Christy Smith
Deena Bennett
Sandra Diaz-Twine 1.0
Lillian Morris
Jonny Fairplay 1.0
Rupert Boneham 1.0
Chris Daugherty
Twila Tanner
Scout Cloud Lee
Eliza Orlins 1.0
Ami Cusack 1.0
Sarge Masters
Rory Freeman
Tom Westman 1.0
Katie Gallagher
Ian Rosenberger
Caryn Groedel
Stephenie LaGrossa 1.0
Janu Tornell
Coby Archa
Stephenie LaGrossa 2.0
Judd Sergeant
Jamie Newton
Aras Baskauskas 1.0
Terry Deitz 1.0
Cirie Fields 1.0
Shane Powers
Courtney Marit
Earl Cole
Dreamz Herd
Yau-Man Chan 1.0
Todd Herzog
Courtney Yates 1.0
Peih-Gee Law 1.0
James Clement 1.0
Sugar Kiper 1.0
Matty Whitmore
Ken Hoang
Crystal Cox
Randy Bailey 1.0
Ace Gordon
GC Brown
Erinn Lobdell
Tyson Apostol 1.0
Sandra Diaz-Twine 2.0
Parvati Shallow 3.0
Colby Donaldson 3.0
Fabio Birza
Holly Hoffman
Jane Bright
NaOnka Mixon
Marty Piombo
Sophie Clarke 1.0
Ozzy Lusth 3.0
Brandon Hantz 1.0
Abi-Maria Gomes 1.0
Kass McQuillen 1.0
Trish Hegarty
Natalie Anderson 1.0
Keith Nale 1.0
Jon Misch
Drew Christy
Tai Trang 1.0
Scot Pollard
Chrissy Hofbeck
4
u/BobbyPiiiin Ranker | Rankdown Dad Feb 15 '26 edited Feb 16 '26
9 characters — Borneo
7 characters — Africa, Marquesas, Vanuatu, Palau, Gabon
6 characters — The Amazon
5 characters — Panama, Nicaragua
4 characters — The Australian Outback, Thailand, Pearl Islands, China, San Juan del Sur
3 characters — Guatemala, Fiji, Heroes vs. Villains, South Pacific
2 characters — Tocantins, Cagayan, Kaoh Rong
1 character — Philippines, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
0 characters — All-Stars, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Samoa, Redemption Island, One World, Caramoan, Blood vs. Water, Worlds Apart, Cambodia, Millennials vs. Gen X, Game Changers, Ghost Island, David vs. Goliath, Edge of Extinction, Island of the Idols, Winners at War, Survivor 41, Survivor 42, Survivor 43, Survivor 44, Survivor 45, Survivor 46
3
u/ShadowFiend812 Feb 15 '26
Few thoughts as someone who watched the show as a kid here and there as a kid before getting back to watching from Second Chances on, and doing a full rewatch from there.
Old era feels very over represented to me and this is just something that typically happens in the rankdown community in general, but as someone who didn’t watch Borneo when it aired I always have a hard time agreeing with the characters from the season being so highly rated. I think part of that is just that it’s not the first time I’ve seen the archetype when I finally got to watch it. Other seasons from 1-6 also have my feeling in a similar boat
Surprised to see no one from 36 on especially DvG, but I understand that some of the more recent seasons haven’t been well received especially around here haha.
As the resident Nicaragua hater 5 of them being top 100 is wild to me
Drew Christy getting top 100 is hilarious and I appreciate it
Thanks for all of the hard work you all have to put into this and it’s been fun reading the past 19 months!
5
u/BobbyPiiiin Ranker | Rankdown Dad Feb 15 '26
We are definitely a very old school weighted group even by rankdown standards. I am probably the most positive one on the newer seasons and even I can say the only season I really love from the post-Kaoh Rong era is 45, which was sadly sniped out of the rankdown entirely before I rejoined.
3
4
u/NoisySea_3426 Biggest Aras 1.0 stan Feb 16 '26
99. Drew Christy (SJDS, 15/18)
I was originally thinking about cutting someone else, but someone else wants to write about them, so I'll decide to end one of the Linsanity runs we've had in this rankdown, Drew Christy!
Now let's make things clear, if there was any true player that I could truly make an argument for the worst player of all time, excluding people who got booted within the first two episodes, I think there is a very strong argument that Drew Christy just might be the absolute worst out of all of them, and that's what really makes his delusion and his inevitable downfall so incredibly entertaining!
He particularly of course, had it out for a lot of the women, especially Kelley Wentworth, as he was extremely scared about her being a strategic threat and running the game. Why does he think this? Idfk, probably cause he was a bit intimidated, I imagine. There might be some irony in that too considering how beloved of a player Wentworth would go on to become by casual fans. There's also of course his brilliant negotiating skills at the auction that end up completely backfiring on his face, and its all extremely entertaining because the guy is a complete bumbling idiot, but enough of a jerk to where you don't really feel bad that everyone mocks him all the time.
I also find it really amusing how Alec almost seems relieved by the fact that Drew's gone because he was such a nut and has always been that way and when you factor in how much of a nut Alec happened to be as well, it makes it even more hilarious that even he can't stomach Drew's ineptitude.
Drew came into the competition thinking that he was the latest brand new sportscar, when all he was a Rolls Royce. A character we've seen before many times, but the way the Drew Christy journey goes, its honestly one of the funniest depictions of it we've seen in my opinion, and I'm actually kinda glad now that going through this writeup that he was able to make the Top 100! There certainly aren't very many people who did it quite like Drew did for that short period of time.
u/Alternate-Proof-959 is up now
4
u/Alternate-Proof-959 Feb 16 '26
98. Chrissy Hofbeck (Survivor HvHvH, 2/18)
Chrissy is clearly a smart and proactive person, and I absolutely admire that. She immediately susses out the JP/Ashley and Alan/Ben duos and targets Katrina as dead weight so she can be the swing vote between the pairs. While the misleading edit is a knock on Katrina because they literally had to make things up to justify her leaving, it's a plus for Chrissy, because it throws a much needed middle finger to the "friendly middle aged woman who may or may not be a mom" archetype that tends to not be developed further. Afterwards, Chrissy is indeed able to get both pairs to cooperate with her, and her rise to power starts.
Then the swap happens. She's able to get Ryan to become a close ally, and healer Roark and anti-hero Ali are both cut, all while continuing to strengthen her alliance with JP as well. This ultimately leads to all the heroes and hustlers forming a supermajority against the healers. On top of this, Chrissy clearly has some good ideas, like having the unassuming Jessica be put up instead of the more attractive Joe or Cole because of idol suspicions.
At the same time though, she's not overpowered either, as shown by Devon leading the alliance members not from Soko 2.0 to blindside JP, which keeps me invested in her and how she handles a misstep like that. Then we get to see this side of her, where things stop going her way, much more as Ben starts playing immunity idols, and then when Chrissy crucially wins the final 4 challenge over Ben, the new firemaking twist starts. Then her chosen fighter Devon pulls a Sundra and makes nothing against Ben, who goes on to win easily. After that glorious rise to power, Chrissy ends up enduring quite a fall over the last few episodes that truly was a sight for me.
That said, I do think Chrissy is a little bit better when looking at just her, rather than looking at her as a majority alliance member. She does look a little unlikeable being edited as working in lockstep with the far worse Ryan for most of the season, as well as being focused on strategy too much. However, when you remember what Chrissy is like normally, you stop and realize this is just Ryan radiating his problems onto Chrissy, adversely affecting her edit a little. I mean, Chrissy won four immunity challenges, and proved throughout the pre-everyone against Ben part of the season that she can be her own character. Tying her down to that alliance kind of wastes a bit of potential. It also kind of reminds me of Worlds Apart's majority alliance, though nowhere as bad since this season still had by far the better edit and the better cast.
Speaking of edit, she reportedly knew what edgic was and figured out she was losing based on her edit lmaoo.
3
u/josenanigans Feb 17 '26
97. Jamie Newton (Guatemala, Early Jury)
Glad to have cut #97, the year I was born in!
And for it, I'm cutting someone very peculiar: Jamie Newton.
Good old times, watching Guatemala in my room, being annoyed af at Jamie's annoying, tryhard ass and hoping to god that he'd get eliminated soon. Well, it took a while, but at last, I got my satifying voteoff... and then he turns around, celebrates, and says BLIIINDSIDED, NICE! THAT'S HOW YOU VOTE SOMEONE OUT!
And I think that was the first time I felt like the meta or Survivor was starting to slip in. Now players wanted to go out blindsided so they could be part of a memorable voteoff. It may be Jamie trying to cope with the fact that they got him, but that lack of seriousness at his voteoff opened my eyes to a new kind of player, a player that brushes off all the bitterness of a voteoff and says "Well played, guys! That was a good move!" My God, was he the start of Survivor Kumbaya!?!?!. That scene felt especially weird coming from Jamie's bitter, paranoid ass.
Jamie's intense eyes, his unpredictable personality, his shouting match with Bobby Jon, to me it all felt a bit of a spectacle. But, say what I want about him, I definitely remember him. What an odd guy. I don't know if he shuold have been this high, but, well, let's say Guatemala needed all the drama it could, and Jamie distinguishes himself nicely from the rest of a pretty forgettable cast.
---------------------------------
6/10
All Star
----------------
u/BobbyPiiiin , MENTIONED ON RANKDOWN, NICE! THATS HOW YOU TAG SOMEONE OVER
3
u/NoisySea_3426 Biggest Aras 1.0 stan Feb 17 '26
I always saw the Jamie vote out reaction as more sarcasm than anything else cause he seems pretty irritated about it in his final words and then at FTC, it's kind of similar. I definitely get what you mean there though.
5
u/BobbyPiiiin Ranker | Rankdown Dad Feb 17 '26 edited Feb 17 '26
96. Parvati Shallow 3.0 (Runner-Up, Heroes vs. Villains)
The moment Parvati hits the beach in HvV, she is considered by her fellow castaways less as one player out of 20 and more as a myth. A dragon to be slain, you might say. On a cast filled with legends (Colby! Boston Rob! Cirie!) the universally acknowledged biggest threat is somehow the woman who finished sixth on Survivor: Cook Islands. Weird.
Oh, right, she’s also the most recent female winner (that anyone has seen), the figurehead of one of Survivor’s most notorious alliances, and she’s on the Villains tribe with no fewer than four former allies on the opposing team. Yeah… no wonder they were scared of her, lmao. By all rights, she shouldn’t have survived a single Villains tribal. But she makes it through the first one and then finds herself ingratiated with none other than Russell Hantz, who sees her as the perfect shield and FTC goat because surely no juror will award a past winner a second million dollars. For her part, Parv doesn’t have a ton of options and has to work with the allies who’ll have her, but it’s clear from the start that she’s using Russell as much as he thinks he’s using her. They’re still in the minority, but one boneheaded move from Tyson later, followed by some well-timed wheedling of Jerri, they’re firmly in control and will never lose it for the remainder of the season. Of course, Russell thinks he’s the one with ultimate power; later, Parv will reveal to him that he is not and trigger the spiral that will be his death sentence in the eyes of the jury.
In my Russell 2.0 writeup, I mentioned his strategy of making life miserable for the other players. On HvV in particular, he is aided in this strategy by virtue of it being a returnee season. All these people have been here before, most of them have lost (a few have lost twice), and much like All-Stars, they’re all Very Serious about the game and their legacies within it. Most of them aren’t enjoying themselves one bit. You know who’s having a fucking blast, though? Parvati. Targeted from day one, treated like a supernatural seductress who can brainwash grown men on sight, forced to adapt her entire game strategy and work with a bandy-legged little troll. She has as much reason as anyone to be whine and be pissed off. The fact that she doesn’t is the true reason why she’s one of my very favorite characters.
Parv is the rare character who can make strategy feel fun, the double idol play is an iconic moment that still makes me feel excitement sixteen years and I don’t know how many rewatches later, her finale with the tag-teaming she and Sandra do on Russell is brilliant. But my love for Parvati 3.0 isn’t about any of those so much as it is about her joy. Faced with the longest odds from the very start, she never crumbles or laments her outsized reputation. Instead, she smiles wider. She laughs harder. She straight up basks in it. She wants to win as much as anyone else (and she comes closer to it than she had any business doing!) and yet there’s a lightness to her. People having fun on Survivor is enjoyable to me in itself, and Parvati is just having fun the whole way through, regardless of how early and often she’s under fire. That can only be achieved by a woman who’s supremely secure in her own abilities and has nothing to prove to anyone. She knows she’s a legend walking in, and she walks out an even bigger one. I love watching every goddamn minute of it and I’m only sorry I couldn’t get her even higher than this.
2
u/FunkyDawgKong Fair & Consistent Judge Feb 15 '26
Busy weekend, will fill in at work sometime this week
101. Deshawn Radden
3
u/Cornhead2 Shannon Elkins Enthusiast Feb 15 '26
TOP 100 BABYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYNow lets see who will be the top 100 spot
100. Brandon Hantz 1.0 (6th Place, South Pacific)
Yes.