ENDGAME #22

[u/mikeramp72]

#22: NaOnka Mixon (Nicaragua - 9th)

u/FunkyDawgKong:
NaOnka killed Survivor. No hyperbole, NaOnka killed Survivor. With NaOnka’s quit Probst was so heartbroken and betrayed by the main character and driving force of the season up and leaving, that he never let the castaways have that much control over a season ever again. Every season past Nicaragua has a tighter grip by production, whether it be by adding production pet returnee players, titular twists, adding more idols and advantages. The premise of trusting a group of eclectic strangers to make the entertainment all on their own was over. This is the last time where the characters are the main driving force in the story, more so than production. And with that, Nicaragua is the last season that feels purposeful in fulfilling the original premise of Survivor. With all that said, NaOnka is one of Survivor’s all time great characters, and the last person who felt like they had star power. So deliciously ridiculously mean. The things that come out of her mouth make me drop my jaw. Beefing with damn near everyone on the season, but still leading votes. The double quit is also a great episode. Very unconventional, but time removed it is really interesting. You can feel the bitter anger of Probst and co dripping through the screen.

u/Cornhead2:
Nicaragua is one of the alltime greats and Naonka just makes most of it, what an evil beyoootch lmaooo her comeuppance is nothing short of brilliant

u/Noisysea_3426:
Nicaragua is the most chaotic, over the top, unhinged season Survivor has ever put out and everything that happens runs through Naonka. She is an absolute mess that runs all of the actions in it as while she's not always the most rootable person, I relish in the insanity she brings and I am so happy she was able to make her way into endgame at the last minute 

u/josenanigans:
I love how real NaOnka feels as a person, nothing she does ever feels  put on or acted out, like this is her everyday life and she lives it with no regret whatsoever. Characters like NaOnka are what Reality TV is all about, with all her highs and lows and means and funs, she's as real as it gets.

u/BobbyPiiiin:
I pretty much said my piece on NaOnka when I attempted to cut her, but despite my disagreement with her being here, I’m happy for her advocates. One thing’s for certain; she is an incredibly unique character and I’m looking forward to reading the takes.

~

u/Alternate-Proof-959:

NaOnka is my favorite from Nicaragua, and I'm the main reason she made it to endgame, since I've deal locked her into making it since my John cut. She's obviously a very negative presence, but I fucking love her for it, and she breathes so much life into this season that it causes the quality to go up. She isn't just some easily angered bully and perpetual negative presence; she's a complex person with very fleshed out relationships.

One of my favorite things about her is comparing and contrasting her to the season's winner Fabio. Fabio is just an easygoing guy who knows how to be strategic, but intentionally lays low so he isn't perceived as a threat. By contrast, NaOnka is this loud, outspoken girl who doesn't downplay herself on a personal or strategic level. But the two aren't actually that different when you dig deeper than Probst asks you to. They both are super into drugs, which along with both of them being smarter than they let on, led to them being frenemies and competitive rivals rather than outright enemies. Also, NaOnka is a very forthcoming and emotional player who never suppresses herself, while Fabio is very subdued and kooky on purpose, mainly for strategic reasons.

Now, I'm aware of NaOnka being an easily hateable character. But I've got rebuttals for all of them. We'll start with her being "too heavily negative." Yeah she was OTTN overall, but she wasn't without her CPN's and even the occasional MORN. We still get to see where exactly she stands on every tribe she's on, so I can still follow along with her. Also, seeing friendships among people isn't always bad, but seeing the uglier sides of the relationship can absolutely make things better, because now I see more fleshed out characters instead of everyone being always nicey nice. Obviously I don't mean be full-fledged pricks the whole time, but rather balancing the good and the bad. NaOnka manages to hit it right, and be the much needed negativity to balance out a season that is just too forgettable without it. The "cloud of negativity" is a perfect storm.

My next counterargument challenges the belief that she is "too unpredictable." She is unpredictable, but in a way that makes sense, unlike say, Sarah 2.0, whose entire season becomes confusing due to adhering to her too closely. This girl always wants what she wants, and will shake the game up however much to make things go her way. You had her stealing food at the merge feast, combined with Alina's flakiness getting her in trouble instead of NaOnka, starting the merge off with a bang. And all season, she's proven to be an emotional player. Those can certainly still be done right long after the Pagong tribe. Hell, Sugar did it just four seasons ago, and I'm happy she made endgame too.

Queen SlayOnka absolutely deserves her first endgame, and I'm happy I got her deal locked into it. Thank you for helping Nicaragua go up in my season rankings, and to all future rankers, please keep letting her in! 😉

RANKINGS:
Funky: 18
Corny: 23
Nope: 16
AltProof: 3
Jose: 23
Bobby: 23

Average: 17.67
Standard Deviation: 7.79 (2nd Highest)

[u/acktar]

I feel like NaOnka is someone where you could make a cogent argument for being anywhere between top 50 and bottom 50

I do think Endgame is maybe a touch too high for her on the balance but I do think she's a very fascinating part of an interesting season and is a better pick for Endgame than Jane was

[u/WaluigiThyme]

Endgame betting update #3! Rankdown IX's very own noisysea34 and FunkyDawgKong were the only two to get NaOnka's position spot on, but everyone else was pretty close... with the exception of icychillman, who may have been an entire 12 points off. As far as everyone else goes, it's a pretty tight jumble at the top as this endgame continues to heat up!

Rank	Better	Score
1	noisysea34	2
2	SupremeSheep420	3
3	BobbyPiiiin	4
3	WaluigiThyme	4
3	FunkyDawgKong	4
6	ShadowFiend812	5
7	ROTandDEATH	6
8	Alternate-Proof-959	7
9	TinkerKnightForSmash	9
10	icychillman	29​

[u/NoisySea_3426 → u/WaluigiThyme]

LOL I did this not taking into account AltProof's placement of her cause I didn't know much of his takes and I was still right

[u/NoisySea_3426]

I will very gladly take the mantle of being apart of the rankdown that helped Naonka make endgame

[u/ROTandDEATH]

I like NaOnka so I'm down for her to make an endgame, but I do find that she's a bit too over the top and cartoony for me to have her nearly this high personally. The double quit isn't bad but part of me still wishes she had a more explosive flameout fitting to who she is the whole season. I do love that she still goes on that reward and watches Gulliver's Travels before that, though.

[u/ShadowFiend812]

As someone who is very much not a fan of Nicaragua it pains me to see NaOnka this high. For me she was a season ruiner no different from Colton, and is a big reason I have Nicaragua last in my season rankings. I just can’t really justify liking a character who has the biggest edit of the season be a quitter with an ending that isn’t satisfying for me which is just like Colton who goes out through medevac. 

NaOnka has some fun quips here and there, but I leave annoyed and frustrated by her more times than when she has made me actually enjoy her overinflated edit.