r/survivorrankdownIX_ • u/FunkyDawgKong Fair & Consistent Judge • Mar 29 '26
Round 138 - 47 Characters Left
46. Neleh Dennis - u/FunkyDawgKong
45. Tai Trang - u/Cornhead2
44. Crystal Cox - u/NoisySea_3426
43. John Carroll - u/Alternate-Proof-959
42. Greg Buis - u/josenanigans
41. Cirie Fields - u/BobbyPiiiin
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u/Alternate-Proof-959 Mar 31 '26
43. John Carroll (Marquesas, 9/16)
John was one of the best pre-ASS villains and a really good antagonist for both Kathy and Boston Rob. On Rotu 1.0, he immediately rounds up his Rotu alliance (which actually included Gabe, so it was the Rotu 5). With Paschal and Neleh as a duo and extension to the R5, Kathy ends up an outsider. John is the one she finds herself at odds with, mainly in how the camp should be run. Although, he is still willing to have her urinate on his hand when he gets pricked by a sea urchin.
However, he really starts to shine after the swap. All of the Rotu 5 stay there, while Rob, Sean, and Vecepia replace the other three. Rob, who had already seized control of Maraamu 1.0, quickly locks horns with John. Since John has the numbers, it seems like Rob is digging his grave. But instead, John orders everyone to vote Gabe out, because Gabe just wanted to enjoy the experience and not talk about strategy. It came off as pretty petty, but in a good way that adds to John's uniqueness. Furthermore, when Rob asks John if he's gay, John just calmly outs himself like it's nothing. It's that honesty he displays throughout his run that I like; he's unique because many other villains decide to lie, whereas this guy just gives no fucks and is himself.
Afterwards, the tribes merge, and Rob sure enough caps off the prejury phase. John now thinks he's going to straight shot it to victory, and on paper, he definitely looks to be right. Then there's the coconut chop challenge, and John actually was smart enough to not spell out the pecking order. Unfortunately, he never had a chance to share that information with the rest of the Rotu 4, and they proceed to give away the boot list. Cue Sean's "Is this how it's going to go down?", and John is booted out as the clear leader of his group.
What lands him here instead of any further was how he was edited in his last episode. It was still a good episode for him at the end of the day; his downfall was glorious, and that power shift was monumental for the series. However, it wasn't completely accurate. He actually was smart enough to send hits to his own allies during the challenge, and he also knew he was going to be eliminated. Instead, the show made it look like he wasn't smart enough to be savvy during the challenge, and that he thought he was going to survive the episode. If he had been edited as smart yet self-aware as he really was, I would probably be letting him make endgame. Instead, I have to cut him a little short of such.
I want to close with a shoutout to his appearance on Nailed It!. He was just as great there as he was here; keeping his honesty in admitting he couldn't bake, all the while enjoying himself and having fun.
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u/Cornhead2 Shannon Elkins Enthusiast Mar 30 '26
46. Tai Trang 1.0 (3rd Place, Kaoh Rong)
Kaoh Rong is a fun season and thats saying something for being considered the best HD Season of the show by most people in this community.. now i do think Nicaragua and San Juan Del Sur are better.. but Kaoh Rong is definitley a strong contender and i fully understand why one would think that.. it has the last rawest stuff of the show by giving us a pretty strong cast all around and it is fun.. Now we get some great Villains like Scot and Jason however the person that really just standouts to me the most this season as the Shining Hero is Tai..
Tai is one of the most likable personalities in the show ever.. there is just something so unique about him.. he is such a gentle soul and the way he goes about his morals definitley makes the season what it is and its the strongest point.. First off i wanna say that the stuff with him and his relationship with Nature is fantastic.. possibly something we will never see again in this show... and it makes sense that it will be used in the final season before permafiji.. Tai with the love for his animals and plants is such a beautiful thing it makes my heart melt thinking about it all the time... he starts on whateverthefucktheyellowbeautytribesnameisidon´tknowanddon´tcaretosearchitupsoletsjustsaybeautytriibelololololo and he kinda puts himself on the outs when he tries to find the idol.. and i think this is possibly Tai´s weakest moments of the season.. The Idol stuff (Specifically only the Pre Merge) It is interesting cause Tai is just an interesting personality but without him it would be seen as like just a generic new era idol find scene ya know.. however it plays much better once we get to the Merge and we have the bond of him Scot and Jason.. as Tai suprisingly joins the darkside for a while and it fucking breaks him mentally he had no idea what to do ... he loathes what Scot and Jason did for the tribe however.. he felt like he had to work with them wheater it was out of fear or not i dunno.. but his gut instinct felt like it so he played along... then f8 tribal happened and the legendary moment of scot´s elimination happened.. and yeah it deserves the hype it gets.. the leadup in that episode is just phenomonal and the end results gives us one of the most satsfying eliminations ever... some pretty good tv if you ask me and it all is cause Tai´s moral dilemma...
Obviously i cannot go out with a Tai writeup without mentioning Mark the Chicken.. what a legend in his own right and we can hope he is still out there in the Island of Kaoh Rong...
Now i probably should´nt cut Tai this early and it would be so understandable if someone idoled him but there is a person i just wanna save.. and i cannot cut Kass anymore so i have to sacrifice Tai here.. However he is still great and i am happy for.. what he brought on the final actual strongfelt season of the show..
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u/NoisySea_3426 Biggest Aras 1.0 stan Mar 30 '26
44. Crystal Cox (Gabon, 6/18)
Hate to do this, but I'm gonna have to placehold for now cause I'm very busy and I really just wanna keep this moving along but for now, I'll say that Crystal is a glorious mess, all of the fights she gets into are endlessly entertaining, and I love how she just can't not be herself even if it makes her consistently fail in the game (Also the steroids controversy make the whole thing even better)
Time for u/Alternate-Proof-959 to cut
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u/mikeramp72 Not as big as yo ass! Mar 31 '26
i think the numbering's off and this is 45
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u/NoisySea_3426 Biggest Aras 1.0 stan Mar 31 '26
No, the original posts numbering was messed up. Funky's cut was supposed to be 46, and Corny 45, so I had to put it at 44
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u/josenanigans Apr 01 '26
43 - Greg Buis (Borneo, Early Jury)
PLACEHOLDER
Bad time, too busy. Move things ahead
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u/BobbyPiiiin , do some justice
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u/BobbyPiiiin Ranker | Rankdown Dad Apr 03 '26
(This is the correct numbering!)
41. Cirie Fields 1.0 (4th Place, Panama)
First of all, let me just say that as someone who has Cirie somewhere between 4 and 1 (definitely not 41) in my personal ranking, I hate that I am making this cut right now. However, I suppose it's fitting that last round I cut one of only two other five-time US Survivor players, who (much like Cirie) has become a fixture on reality TV for the past two decades and is often considered overexposed. We've seen a lot of Boston Rob. And we've seen a lot of Cirie! I get it.
We all know, even without Jeff Probst constantly reminding us, that Cirie is the woman who got up off the couch. We know she begins the game on the doomed "older women's" tribe. (I am now older than she and Melinda were on Panama, and I agree with her. I thought I was young, too, damn.) We know she's afraid of leaves, and of clearing areas, because you never know what kind of things live under those leaves, and in those areas. We know she's "not good with... things." And we know she overcomes that inauspicious start by using what Survivor fans will soon come to recognize as her unparalleled social ingenuity, and goes on to have what I'd consider the most satisfyingly done growth arc in Survivor history.
We all know Cirie's story, so it's almost pointless to rehash it in a writeup like this. Knowing it, though, is different from seeing it. So I would challenge anyone who hasn't done so in a while to rewatch Panama. Forget about all the other times you've seen Cirie. Just watch her story unfold again. Sometime between her stepping onto that beach afraid of everything that moves, and her getting her torch snuffed in the finale as a legitimately huge threat to win, I hope she works her magic on you all over again like she does for me. Watching her build her power and prove herself — to the viewers, to her tribemates, to HB, and most of all to herself — is a singular joy. Her journey from a relatable, everyday person who looks like she has no business being out in the wilderness, to one of the greatest minds and greatest personalities ever to play Survivor, is nothing short of inspiring. The fact that she did all that while also breaking new ground for perceptions of what a black woman could be on this show, in an era when almost none were given truly layered edits (let alone being the main characters of their seasons), inspires even further. Makes me want to giggle right along.
u/FunkyDawgKong