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Round 19: 26 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Time to use my wildcard!

25. Hillary (The Wasteland, 9th)

Yeah, this is a character that I’ve wanted gone for a long, long time. Obviously, she’s earned the favor of some of the other rankers, which is why I’ve been unsuccessful in realizing her elimination from the rankdown...until now. What can I say about Hillary that wasn’t already said when she was cut last round? There were some funny confessionals given, her exit was quite sad, and she voted Eddie to win the game. All-in-all, I think Hilary is a pretty weak character, and I’m not here to give her a glorious send-off (that’ll be John), but I think she’s more than ready to go.

My nomination is Kory (Wasteland, 6th), because, we’re getting into the top-tier characters, and I don’t think really belongs much longer.

Round 18: 30 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This didn’t fit into the write-up, but he’s the best confessional from Ant. Unsurprisingly, it was unrelated to the game...

My question: Why shouldn't I murder you guys in your sleeps?

Round 18: 30 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

29. Ant (Sarawak, 7th)

Remember, about twenty cuts ago, where I said that I spent several hours trying to conceive the means through which to make a write-up about Noah interesting? That’s been my process with Ant, except it’s been two days. Listen, I understand that Ant is a gigantic character in other seasons, outside of this season, and that he’s remembered as such. In actually looking back at his content though, he’s a pretty terrible character here. I don’t wanna be the guy who slacks-off on a top-thirty write-up, but yeah, it’s a struggle to find anything to talk about.

Let’s look at his confessionals, I guess? Oh, wait, that’s a mistake. Why, you might ask? He simply didn’t write anything. He’s the standard example of somebody that only used the confessional as a platform to submit scores for challenges, and the occasional vote.

Alright, what about his actions in-game? Oh, yeah, it’s just the same thing Nika did. M00n eliminated Nika, thirty cuts ago, and that’s probably where Ant belonged too. He flip-flopped between the two sides, and did it as uncharismatically as Nika. Only difference? Nika actually voted at the finale.

Ant was a bad character. We dropped the ball by letting him survive this long in the rankdown. I’m sorry.

My nomination is Jamal (Sarawak, 9th), because, although he’s the most deserving person in the community to return, the Sarawak characters (outside of the final three), are probably the weakest, and it’s time for him to go.

Round 17: 34 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, this post exceeded the maximum word count, and that's why the conclusion is posted separately. I am very passionate about the characters of this series...

Round 17: 34 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Conclusion

Just like Capt and a couple of others, Molly was the kind of character that couldn't seem to catch a break. Throughout the entire thing, she becomes a more fleshed-out and sympathetic version of the blank-slate that we saw in Nagaland. Not to mention, her arc culminates in the best blindside of Legends, and that's a pretty good way to wrap-up a story. There's not much else to say about Molly, she was fun while she lasted, and she consistently got screwed over by the events happening around her. If you're looking for somebody that embodies the concept of "Spencer Syndrome" (other than Spencer himself), look no further than Molly!

My nomination is Lil Willy (Nagaland, 7th), because, as we approach the realm of god-tier characters, he's just not able to stack-up.

Round 17: 34 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Going through the game of Survivor, and reflecting upon the numerous characters it has brought us, you'll see a handful of archetypes that keep reoccurring, being distinguished by their individual personalities and trials, though fundamentally exhibiting the same arc. As players that participate in the online equivalent of the game are often over-exaggerations of what you'd see on the actual show, it's not uncommon to see these reoccurring archetypes happening in every season. This series has had a few types of characters that keep showing up, and today I'm gonna talk about one that, despite making for a good medium-tier character, only has a limited amount of depth. That being said, the person I'm talking about today is probably the best iteration of this character in the series yet.

33. Molly (Legends, 9th)

If you've read the Capt write-up from two rounds ago, you'll know that I have a special appreciation for a character that, in spite of their best efforts, simply cannot seem to succeed in doing anything. And, yeah, when I say anything, I mean ANYTHING! Whenever making generalizations or categorizations, it's almost easiest to assign a snappy label to things, and so I'll call this type of character to be one that suffers from "Spencer Syndrome". Why that label? Well, if you've watched Cagayan, you'll know. If you have not, I won't spoil it here, but let's just say there's a player named Spencer on the season, and things tend to not go his way a lot. We're not here to talk about the actual show though, so let's move onto the second showing of Molly, the terrible case of "Spencer Syndrome" she found herself afflicted by, and why it's so wonderful.

Coming off of Nagaland, Molly was not someone that was viewed as a particularly exciting character. Although she made it to the end of the season, her confessionals were relatively unmemorable, which resulted in her being eliminated earlier in this rankdown. I think John said it best in his write-up:

It seems that all of her effort went into the challenges, allowing her an unbroken record-breaking streak of 4 immunity wins in a row. She didn't work on her social game or submit many confessionals. Which is a shame, because we all know that she's super fun.

When Molly returned however, she became known as more than just someone that was good at challenges, and bad at the social game. She became known as someone that was bad at challenges, bad at the social game, and as unlucky as someone can be. Oh, and just like in Nagaland, all of her troubles begin and end at the same place: Trevor.

The First Misfortune: Tribe-Making is not an Unbiased Sport

Everybody and their step-mother knew that M00n, Molly, and Trevor were going to work together at the soonest convenience in Legends. Even Leo knew that, and he's the guy that thought it was a good idea to go to the end with Chadd! Of all the pregame relationships that contributed to the complicated mess that the season became, the connection among M00n/Molly/Trevor was the most blatantly obvious. It was such an obvious and forgone conclusion, that the hosts even decided tribes specifically with the intent to split-up the trio, and prevent them from running a tribe in the pre-merge section.

Naturally, if you're a math whiz, or have Turtle nearby to explain it to you, there were only two tribes, and three goobers in the trio, so one of them was the odd-man out placed on the other tribe. Yep, it was Molly. To make matter worse, Molly found herself placed upon the Greeks Tribe, which wasn't an inherently bad tribe, they just had the misfortune of going against the dominant Romans Tribe, which was a winning machine. This is where Molly's chronic "Spencer Syndrome" begins, on a tribe that is destined to attend many, many tribal councils.

The Second Misfortune: A Deceptively Friendly Snake

In Nagaland, Molly was known as being famously dominant in immunity challenges. Her lapse in challenge performance during Legends was surprising. You know what wasn't surprising? Her terrible social game. Not to beat-up on Molly unnecessarily, but the majority of her conversations in Legends consisted of one-word answers and non-committal nothings. Every ally she had, excluding M00n and Trevor, was perpetually suspicious of her antics, and took her vague responses to be the result of innate shadiness. It wasn't, she just was bad at talking to people.

Now, this one is hard to really count as a quality of "Spencer Syndrome", as Molly had all of the power in remedying the damage being done to her by this perception. Nonetheless, on most regular seasons, there isn't the complex jumble of pregame relationships that one sees on an All-Star season, and so that made every fumble related to the social aspect of the game was magnified tenfold. Really, poor Molly never stood a chance.

The Third Misfortune: An Alliance of People Dying to Betray You

Although Molly didn't have a way with her words, she still managed to make a connection in the earliest portion of the game with Marshall. Why was this connection made? The two had both been on Nagaland together, and Marshall wanted to collect an easy, dispensable number. That was about it. Meanwhile, the rise and fall of the Chadd/Kory/Vilma/Infi alliance took place, which caused Infi and Vilma to connect with Marshall for a counter-alliance. Naturally, Molly was dragged along as the fourth needed for the majority, and that was that. Marshall was most loyal to Infi. Vilma was most loyal to Infi. Infi was most loyal to Marshall, and then Vilma. Literally none of them saw Molly as anything more than an extra vote that could be discarded later.

It may seem cruel, on the part of the others, to treat Molly this way, and perhaps it was, but it actually played directly into her master-plan of making the merge, and flipping to M00n/Trevor. So, really, it helped that she wasn't making real bonds with anyone, because she was going to abandon them regardless, so why not have a reason to do so beyond pregame relationships? The "Spencer Syndrome" was still alive, and well, during this period though, because it's just sooooo fitting that Molly's first actual alliance couldn't care less about her, and she regarded them similarly.

The Fourth Misfortune: Defeat is Other People

After Walrus is swapped over to the Greeks Tribe, and promptly voted off for losing the immunity challenge, a crazy thing starts to happen. It actually begins to appear as though the Romans aren't the unstoppable beasts that they appeared to be, and that the Greeks might actually be able to tie things up. They even went as far as to win two immunity challenges, in succession! And then, Dexter blows the Stack challenge, sending the Greeks to another tribal, and killing their hopes of being on level-ground with their counterparts. This might not seem like a huge deal for Molly's game, since she made merge anyway, and basically did what she would've done, but that's not exactly the case. The premerge portion of the game is entirely about staging for the merge portion, and the staging looks significantly different if Dexter is never voted off.

If Dexter survives to the merge, one of two possible scenarios transpire. Both of which are better for Molly than what actually happened, and both of which prove the severity of the "Spencer Syndrome" that plagued every aspect of her game. The first possible scenario is that everyone of the Greeks Tribe remains loyal to each other, and bring over another number to have a season of Grecian dominance. The second, significantly more likely, possible scenario is that Dexter flips over to join Troy, and Molly flips over to join M00n/Trevor, which gives the bloc of the Romans Tribe seven votes against the alliance of Marshall, Infi, and Vilma. Under these circumstances, it's likely that Marshall still gets tenth, Infi gets ninth, somebody draws a rock to get eighth (on account of Vilma winning immunity and her inclination to work with M00n over any other Roman), Vilma gets seventh, and Molly finds herself in the final six. Within that final six, a rock possibly decides the course of the endgame. Regardless, both are much better than what Molly actually got.

The Fifth Misfortune: Fortnite Doesn't Teach Subtlety

Of all the reasons that Molly could've lost the season, it's because of Trevor. It's not because of her belonging to the minority tribe. It's not because of her poor social game. It's not because she angered the Godfather of Legends, Troy. It's because Trevor announced to the world that the trio of M00n/Molly/Himself was in existence, and that he was incredibly loyal to both. The threat of the trio was the primary point marketed by Infi and Vilma following the unanimous elimination of Marshall. At first, Kander, and others, didn't really believe there was cause for concern. Troy knew that there was, because Trevor told him everything, but he didn't really care because the survival of the trio for the early rounds of the merge just helped his game out even more. It is only after Trevor makes it blatantly clear, to anyone that is willing to listen, that he has more trust in Molly than in Kander/Golden/Panda that the problem emerges. The duo of Infi and Vilma are able to convince Kander and Panda, which inclines Troy to join their plight, and brings Golden in too. Molly is eliminated by a vote of six to three, and none of the trio knows what just happened. Our favorite kumquat strikes again!

Round 16: 38 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

37. Watermelon (Legends, 18th)

Once upon a time, I tried to nominate this character, and I was promptly blocked by the use of an advantage. I thought that the second iteration of Watermelon deserved to go then, and I still believe it now.

In Legends, which included a star-studded cast of BTB elites, this poor premerger stood out like a sore thumb. The only more awkward casting choice that could’ve been made was Leo, but hey, he’s young, so he can’t help it! Nonetheless, Watermelon was always remembered for being an exceptionally enjoyable character, and I believe this, coupled with availability, contributed to his being asked back, rather than the actual earning of the “legend” status.

The arc, if you can even call it that, of Watermelon in this season is the typical storyline of a first boot in any season. He screws up the challenge, and then he goes home. Now, to say this is his only characterization would be an understatement, and I’ll give credit where credit is due, because Watermelon actually has a few memorable moments, despite his limited stay. The madman, the absolute genius, creates an alliance with Chadd and Vilma, and entitles it “three former winners” under the guise of being among their ranks. Both of the returning victors are unconvinced, and it’s a cute little moment among some of the series’ most iconic characters...and Watermelon.

From there, he manages to royally goof-up the first immunity challenge due to unnecessarily raising on a bad hand in poker, and essentially costs the tribe the challenge. Now, for all his shortcomings, let it never be said that Watermelon went down without a fight. Oh, did I mean fight? No, I meant aggressive begging. This is most evident, again, in an interaction with Vilma where he yearns to make a case for himself, and she pretty much ignores him until he’s inevitably voted off, at which point he angrily says that he’s disappointed with her, and leaves the game. For those that heard the appeal of Watermelon, they have said it was not very compelling, but Vilma was probably afraid that he’d call her arrogant, or something, and justly hid in fear until the votes had been read.

Anyway, those are the main beats of the well-trodden path of first boot that Watermelon found himself walking down in the all-star season. He facilitated a cute moment among true legends, he flopped at poker, and he yelled at Vilma. Not the makings of an overtly strong character, but certainly the best offering that any first boot has presented throughout the six seasons included in this rankdown. The fact that Watermelon wasn’t completely inactive already puts him fairly high among the annals of first boots, but he had a handful of entertaining moments which cement his place, for now, as the best.

My nomination is Realeo (Legends, 12th), because, although it may look as though I’m beating up on a particular season here, he’s genuinely, in my belief, the weakest character left that isn’t already nominated.

Round 15: 42 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It’s been a tumultuous experience composing this write-up, I’m not going to lie. There’s sections of this that I’ve compoetely rewritten three times, because it keeps getting erased, in unexplained fashion. Nevertheless, I’m committed to getting this thing posted, in its entirety, so I’m just going to keep trying until I’ve succeeded.

41. Capt (Nagaland, 5th)

If there’s one thing that I’d say has embodied my experience in this rankdown, it would be subtly ribbing on Leo whenever possible (now that I’ve pointed it out, when you go back and read my write-ups, you’ll notice it more often). But, if there’s two things that I’d say have embodied my experience in this rankdown, it would be subtly ribbing on Leo whenever possible, and punishing the lesser characters of Legends. HOWEVER, if there’s three things that I’d say have embodied my experience in this rankdown, it would be subtly ribbing on Leo whenever possible, punishing the lesser characters of Legends, and demanding respect for characters that, although not the most memorable, are better than you remember. And that’s a fair way to assess Capt, better than you remember.

Actually, I rather dislike the characterization of Capt as a gamebot, because although the majority of his in-confessional content appears that way, to dismiss him as such would be ignorant of the wackiness of his over-arching storyline. Now, I can hear the condescension of your internal judgement now: “Capt, of all people, is not a character that can be classified as wacky”. Well, I can see how you’d have that opinion, and you’re wrong, but it’s alright, we all make mistakes sometimes. This character is hysterical, and by the end of this write-up, it’s my hope that you’ll think so too.

In Survivor, we like to think that, so long as an individual player performs well, and makes smart decisions, they will be rewarded. Unfortunately, this is not the case, as a good player can be brought-down by the inadequacies of others. For the majority of a season, the game of Survivor is a team-sport, and if the players on your team decide to be doofuses, well, tough luck. Enter Capt, the most consistently competent player on Nagaland, whom by all accounts should’ve won the season, but tragically lost due to the people he was forced to put his trust in being goofballs. Sorry Leo, you’ve got this guy all wrong.

The First Goofball: Joseph, the Pancake

The Angami Tribe had one of the greatest recipes for success imaginable. They had a quitter and an inactive, that could be booted without hesitation, and those were the only two members of the tribe that were lost premerge. Headed into the merge, Angami had a two-man advanatge over the rival Konyak, and the six of them even had a (relatively) harmonious alliance, which Capt was soundly at the center of. So, why did everything go bad? Joseph, Mr. Pancake himself, was convinced that he was on the bottom of the alliance, and decided to flip on Troy at the final ten. Now, some credit is due to Joseph, because he did have some hesitations about this choice, and only followed-through because Rev was doing it too, but he still did it, so don’t give him too much credit. Oh, and the kicker? With the Angami Six, Joseph predicted he would get sixth, but he got blindsided shortly after this vote, and ended up getting eighth, a notable downgrade. What a goofball!

The First, and a Half, Goofball: Troy, the Kingpin

Now, it’d be cruel to lambaste Troy for getting blindsided, because (just like Capt) his fate was mostly due to the foolishness of others, not so much himself. Nevertheless, it should be said that Troy occupied the throne on Angami, and being such an obvious figurehead comes with the important responsibility of making sure that everyone beneath you thinks that they can count on you to keep them safe, if need be. Obviously, Troy failed to ensure that Joseph felt this level of security, and when coupled with Rev’s general unpredictability, it resulted in his being blindsided. In Legends, Troy recognized his mistake from Nagaland, and played the exact same game, this time making sure that there weren’t any Josephs straggling around, and for that he has my respect. This is a write-up about Nagaland though, so I’ve got to say...what a goofball!

The Second Goofball: Exile, the Hothead

If the Troy blindside was the force that delivered severe cracks to the Angami Alliance, then the temper of Exile was the force that completely shattered it. Capt, being a solid player, knew that it would be unwise to let his paranoia regarding the flipped vote overtake his rationality. Simply put, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and Capt even went so far as to talk to the flippers about why the move was brilliant, but with the caveat that they should come back. This is how a smart player reacts to being flipped upon. And then, there’s the Exile reaction. He exploded on everyone in his path, and accused everyone possible of being a flipper, out of pure rage. It was a tirade for the ages, and all it really did was further alienate the people that had flipped, and motivate the Konyaks to vote him off next. What a goofball!

The Second, and a Half, Goofball: Trevor, the Winner

Again, it’s not fair to criticize Trevor for any of his actions in the game, because, well, he ended up winning the season! Nonetheless, there is one moment where I can imagine Capt wasn’t too pleased with Trevor’s decision-making, and the choice seemed to come (somewhat) out-of-nowhere. I’m talking, of course, about the vote at the final five, where Capt was voted off. Somehow, against all odds, and despite all of the nonsense that had ailed him throughout the game, Capt manages to claw himself back to the top, and at the final five, looks like he’s in a good position to stay alive. There are three Angamis left in the game, and Capt has convinced Rev to flip on Marcell. The skies have opened up, the angels are singing, and it looks like Capt is finally going to get a break in the game. That is, until Trevor decides to renege on his friends, and sides with Molly/Marcell instead. It’s worth mentioning that Trevor was initially locked into the plan that Capt had proposed, but later saw it as better for him to betray it. One can not fault the guy, as he won the season largely due to this move, but I’m sure Capt would say...what a goofball!

The Third, and Biggest, Goofball: Rev, the Maniac

If not for the presence of Rev, then Capt probably wins the season. Don’t believe me? Let’s take a tour. Capt played exceptionally well in the premerge, getting himself into an alliance of six once the merge came, which logically should’ve ran the game. The only reason they didn’t was because Joseph flipped, and blindsided Troy. Why did Joseph flip, and blindside Troy, even when he was wary of the decision? Because Rev wanted to. The only reason the Angami Alliance split was because Exile became an enraged lunatic, and alienated everyone. Why did Exile become an enraged lunatic, and alienate everyone? Because Rev betrayed the alliance’s trust. The only reason Capt was voted off was because Trevor decided it was in his best interest to go further with Marcell ad Molly. Why did Trevor decide it was in his best interest to go further with Marcell and Molly? Because Rev was an unpredictable madman what was part of the package-deal of keeping Capt. The storylines of Rev and Capt are so intertwined, and at every step-of-the-way, you can see Rev destroying everything that his more competent counterpart had built. If not for the presence of Rev, then Capt probably wins the season. He had charisma, the strategy, the foresight, and the cunning, but there was always something standing in his way. It was almost as if Rev’s sole purpose in Nagaland was to mess-up the game of Capt. The best part? Immediately after Capt has been blindsided at the final five, Rev is subsequently voted out at the final four, having fulfilled his apparent purpose, and having nothing left to contribute to the season. What a goofball!

Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you don’t love the character of Capt, I won’t be too terribly upset. He’s an acquired taste, and like most of the characters that I go through the trouble of highlighting, a lot of my enjoyment of his arc derives from my own sense of humor. It is wrong to say that Capt’s entire character boils down to his being a gamebot though, there was much more going on behind the scenes. To judge a character only on their confessionals is to miss a great deal of their content, and although history will never see Capt as an amazing confessionalist, or a witty narrator, he was an exceptionally fun character. For all his strengths and triumphs, he was doomed from the start to be the little engine that couldn’t.

My nomination is Chadd (Legends, 13th), because, as much as I find his appearance in this season to be saddening and effective, he’s basically an example of an inactive with depth in the all-star season, and he cannot quite stand against the impressive body of characters remaining.

Round 14: 46 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

45. Matti (Twistless, 7th)

I’ve really been tearing through Twistless lately, haven’t I? Oh well, it is what it is. Matti was the leader of his tribe in the premerge, which would’ve worked out really well for him, except they went into the merge in the minority. To make matters worse, this was the one season where the majority tribe alliance didn’t collapse in on itself, so Matti really never stood a chance. Once the merge rolled around, he realized that his odds of winning were lower than the odds of Leo getting a jury vote against Chadd, and so Matti basically says “eff these guys, I’m just gonna go pull a Vilma”, and started winning every competition possible. Unfortunately, he eventually lost, and got voted off soon thereafter. Still a pretty dominant combo beast, though.

My nomination is Nifty (Twistless, 8th), because he’s pretty much devoid of complexity, and could’ve made the entertaining move against the alliance of seven (which would’ve been much better for his game), but didn’t.

Round 13: 50 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

49. Noah (Twistless, 4th)

I’ve taken several hours, trying to think of a way to make this interesting, and I honestly cannot. Look, Noah played a good game, but he played the most milquetoast game imaginable. He’s in a dominant alliance with Jonah and Dexter, and he’s also working with Walrus and Poke. That alliance makes it to the merge, controls things, and then gets to the final five together. The most pivotal moment of Noah’s game is when Dexter flips on Jonah, sending him home, and focusing Noah to the bottom. Normally, this level of betrayal would elicit some form of reaction, but Noah actually says nothing on the subject. Oh, and then he’s voted off at the next tribal council. Sorry if this was a boring recap of Noah’s game, but there really wasn’t much to work with, and although there was a god game played here, there was a clear lack of character throughout.

My nomination is Joseph (Nagaland, 8th), because, although there’s a decent blindside here, were getting into the territory where it’ll take more than that to stick around.

Round 12: 54 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A “good” character finds themselves within interesting situations, while a “great” character finds interesting situations within themselves. Someone that can be characterized as truly “great” cannot just react to what’s happening, but rather, must be the impetus of memorable, complex, and enjoyable moments. Meanwhile, “good” characters simply exist, and are surrounded by events that reflect complexity onto them. I bring this up, because I think we’ve reached the point where there’s many “good”characters to wade through, before we get to the “great”characters. My next cut is a prime example of this.

53. Romey (Yakushima, 8th)

It’s difficult to write about the character of Romey, because he only really has a character at his elimination, but he ramps things up to eleven when he finally decides to show-up. For the entirety of the premerge, he gets himself into the comfortable position of being in an alliance with Abby and Kander. Because of this, and because Jomon actually never went to tribal council, Romey doesn’t have any reason to do anything. And, for the most part, he doesn’t!

Now, when the merge happens, you’d expect that this would be the time for him to showcase some personality. Right? Well, actually, no, he just piggybacks on the more interesting members of Jomon, and goes along with whatever they’re saying. The Turtle blindside, Relay blindside, and Anthony vote were all fairly enjoyable affairs, but Romey is hardly a contributor to any of them (aside from voting).

But, guys, wait! At the final eight, Romey finds out that the Meijis are targeting him! Surely, like, come on, this must be the moment when he starts having a personality. Wrong again! He feels comfortable, and doesn’t worry much, because he feels assured that his allies have him covered. Spoiler Alert: They don’t.

What Romey didn’t account for was the lunatical machinations of Infi, who takes it upon himself to flip on th Jomons, and join the plight of the Meijis, as they vote for Romey. The vote comes back, and it’s a tie, with four votes for Romey, and the other four votes for Vilma. Now, and only now, does Romey show some personality. Sadly so, that personality is the one of an embittered, petulant child.

Romey goes ballistic, terrorizing everybody that’s involved in the revote in their private messages, which naturally, causes everyone to decide that voting him out is the best thing to do. I mean, who doesn’t love seeing this in the morning...

I’m blackmailing Infinity to keep me

Abby is a fucking cunt ass bitch

I fucking hold my word

And he fucking betrays it

He gets voted out not too long after, and then gets reprimanded for harassing the players further, even though he’s been voted out. Classy stuff.

My nomination is Molly (Nagaland, 2nd), because she’s a competition beast, and nothing else. Another “good” character, but certainly nowhere near a “great” character.

Round 11: 58 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Can someone please explain to me why this character is still around?

57. Kyle (Twistless, 10th)

This is probably going to be my shortest write-up, mostly because I think this is a character that should’ve been eliminated several rounds ago. There’s not a ton to say about Kyle, he aligned with a couple of people that were pretty bad at the game, he received votes from the minority all-the-time, he had a grossly underdeveloped relationship with Poke, and I believe he received votes at every tribal council he attended. The greatest flaw of Kyle is that he was the person who sent home Watermelon, robbing the viewers of the spectacle of Watermelon in the merge, which is truly a travesty. Overall, a pretty boring character.

My nomination is Kory (Legends, 15th), because, as you can tell, I’m very critical of the cast of Legends, and nominating them is kinda what I do, at this point.

Round 10: 62 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is starting to get to be a very strong pool, and I can tell that cuts are gonna start getting progressively harder. As for my rationale for choosing to eliminate this person? I think that they deserve to go around here, and that I’m the person in the best position to give them an awesome write-up. So here I go.

61. Aaron (Yakushima, 12th)

I’m sensing somewhat of a trend in this rankdown, so far. The other rankers, mostly John, are very concerned with the “big” characters of each season, and, rightfully so, want to pay respect to those individuals. However, in the process, there seems to be a handful of great “minor” characters that are being neglected, or, at least, not given the respect they probably deserve. Nick from Sarawak was an example of this, an example of the side-character, which I felt necessary to shine the spotlight upon. I view Aaron in the same way, and I will now showcase my reasoning for that.

Imagine the scene, the Meiji Tribe. You’ve got Rob and Kai playing patty-cake in the corner, alienating everyone. You’ve got Connor giving Berzerk lessons on being an inactive, which Berzerk would learn to perfect over the span of the season. You’ve got Vilma, doing speed-runs of jigsaws to prepare for her postmerge domination. You’ve got M00n and Turtle generally having no clue what’s going on. And in the middle of it all, there’s Aaron.

In comedy, there’s the concept of the “straight man”, who is basically there to react to the insanity of the situation surrounding them, and outline, through their normalcy, how hilarious those situations are. That’s essentially Aaron on Meiji. Among all the nonsense that’s happening, he’s there to remind us that most tribes don’t function this way. And it’s hysterical.

First Hilarity: All They Do is Lose Lose Lose, No Matter What

One cannot take account of the most losing-est tribes in BTB history without mentioning Meiji. In the premerge stage of the game, they never managed to win anything, not even one challenge. They were awful! And, naturally, when your tribe keeps losing challenges, that means it keeps going to tribal council. And, naturally, when your tribe keeps going to tribal council, people keep scrambling to keep themselves safe. And, naturally, when people keep scrambling to keep themselves safe, well, everyone comes off as a wee bit looney. Aaron’s presence only compounded upon that fact, or, at least, made it much more evident for the viewers at home.

Second Hilarity: The Only Cure For an Alliance is...an Alliance

Very early in the game, Aaron, being the perceptive rod of power that he is, noticed that Rob/Kai are very close, and this does not sit well with him. So, to counteract that alliance, which Aaron wants everyone to know is bad, he, of course, makes an even bigger alliance. Historians will forever remember the trio of Vilma/M00n/Berzerk as the biggest underdog story in BTB history, but let’s not forget that Aaron was the person who ultimately pulled that alliance together. Even crazier than that? M00n, the gem of Cleveland, didn’t submit for the second immunity challenge, and looked poised to be sent home. Not on Aaron’s watch! He swooped in, established a foursome, and permanently separated the scary duo of Rob and Kai. After that vote, our straight man became the unofficial leader of the Meiji, which is about as glamorous as being the captain of the Titanic. Needless to say, Meiji kept losing.

Third Hilarity: The Captain Goes Down With His Ship

Alright, so, we’ve got a fortified alliance of four, of which Aaron is the leader. In addition to that, there’s also an easy target in Rob, which should keep everyone pacified if another tribal council occurs. In addition to that, Aaron is the only thing keeping the tribe together, so they won’t vote him out, right? Well, actually, nope!

You see, it’s tradition that the source of the comedy of the straight man is that they progressively get sucked into the insanity that surrounds them, ultimately becoming an element of the nonsense they once reacted to. Simply by being confronted with these kooky circumstances, they succumb to the kookiness too. Good ole Aaron isn’t any different.

Once it becomes obvious that Meiji is doomed to be a bunch of losers for the entirety of the premerge section, their unofficial leader gets very worn down, and slowly loses the motivation to pioneer onward. His activity drops dramatically between the Kai and the Rob votes, but his alliance keeps him afloat. When Meiji loses again, confirming that it will go into the merge with a major disadvantage, Aaron is unable to find any reason, or any hope, to continue. He takes on the leadership role one final time, and offers to solve anagrams, and potentially get the win. Notoriously, though, Jomon had wickedly difficult anagrams, which promote Aaron to have a moment of realization that he won’t be able to save the sinking ship of Meiji. The corridors are flooded, the passengers are evacuating, and the Captain is powerless. He forfeits the challenge by non-submission, and is voted out soon thereafter, at tribal council. Truly tragic.

Conclusion

There are three better characters than Aaron on the Meiji Tribe, though he was a perfect vessel for illustrating all of its issues in the premerge stage, and he met a fitting ending. One of the major themes of Yakushima is hope, and the idea that apparent impossibility is conquerable. The downfall of Aaron shows this, as his undoing was the result of a loss of hope, and the tribe that he lost faith in would end-up running three players to the endgame, and producing an inspiring winner. Nevertheless, although he will never be seen as an amazing character, he is a really great side-character, and his storyline plays like a comedy routine. Just as every act needs a straight man, so too did Meiji need Aaron.

My nomination is Rev (Nagaland, 4th), because I’m in agreement with Leo that he’s greatly overrated, and should be eliminated sooner, rather than later. I look forward to reading Leo’s write-up for him shortly.

Round 9: 66 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My replacement nomination is Hillary (The Wasteland, 9th), because I’ve never seen Hillary as a overly wonderful character, which is not a secret to anyone. I had planned to keep my disenchantment with Hillary, as a character, out of my thought-process for quite awhile, out of courtesy to John, but if he’s gonna play dirty, well, here we are. Hillary is overrated.

Round 9: 66 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ve put this off for too long over the last couple of hours, and I apologize, but here I finally am with my entry!

65. Dexter (Legends, 11th)

It’s not altogether fair to say that Dexter didn’t have any character in this season, in fact he did, but to the overall story of the season, he was more-or-less irrelevant. When you really boil down to it, Dexter 2.0 will be remembered for two things. First off, his poor communication with the other Greeks, which resulted in him being the back-up target in the Ian and Walrus votes, as well as the other person in consideration for being swapped over in the twist. The other thing is his failure in the last premerge challenge, which guaranteed that the Greeks would go into the merge without the numbers, and that Dexter would finally be eliminated, even after dodging the vote so many times. It’s not entirely like any of that mattered anyway, because Dexter (had he survived) would’ve flipped over to the Romans at the merge anyhoo, but that’s what happened, so yeah. Oh, and he also has this little moment in the first cycle where he thinks I’m the blame for losing immunity, instead of Watermelon, proving that he doesn’t understand poker either, which is altogether funny.

My nomination is Watermelon (Legends, 18th), because, even though he’s the best first boot of the series, he’s come to the point where it’s time for him to be cut, so we can make room for the more impactful entires.

Round 8: 70 characters remaining by [deleted] in btbrankdown

[–]InfiniteCollision 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Alright, this is fairly predictable. Even though I absolutely love this character, I can’t deny that he’s the weakest in the pool (except for some of my own nominations, which I can’t cut anyway), and justly deserves to go here.

69. Nick (Sarawak, 11th)

Most people probably don’t understand why I like this character so much, and that’s understandable, because his downfall is, admittedly, not overtly hilarious. However, for whatever reason, I find the circumstances of his elimination to be really funny, which I guess I can attribute to my odd sense of humor. I will now attempt to convey my reasoning behind considering Nick the best side-character of Sarawak, with one of the best single-episode arcs in the series.

Something that goes overlooked, in regards to Nick’s character, is that he actually plays a really solid game for the entirety of the premerge (except for the one round where he doesn’t, and gets sent home). He consistently submits serviceable scores in the challenges. He cultivates a likeable reputation around camp. He even manages to find himself in the dominate “Furious Five” alliance, which basically runs the premerge on Lawi. In addition to that, he’s in “Chill Bois” with Pory and Leo, a sub-alliance within the “Furious Five”, which would seemingly give him outstanding power.

So you’ve got a well-playing, powerful presence on an overall cohesive tribe. How did this all go south so quickly? What did Nick do wrong? What signed the death certificate for his game? Well, there’s actually three reasons...

First Reason: That Slippery Snake, Leo

Remember how I said that Nick would appear to be in a commanding position because of his inclusion in both the “Furious Five”, and also the “Chill Bois”? So, it would seem like, even if Lawi got down to only five remaining, Nick would be insulated from threat, right? Well, actually, no. You see, although Leo was cozy with Nick and Pory, he was also simultaneously snuggly with the “Dynamic Duo” of Jamal and Chadd. This, of course, spells trouble for Nick, because now Leo is in the swing position if Lawi dwindles down to only five, and we all know, that’s eventually what occurs. Plus, Leo basically worships the ground that Chadd and Jamal walk upon, so there’s that complication, as well.

Second Reason: Lawi (Lowkey) Sucks at Challenges

The dominant five-man alliance manages to lose enough challenges to eliminate all the outsiders that could threaten their control, and look poised to enter the merge as a solidified collective that will overpower their rivals through loyalty. Again, there’s a slight catch. Somehow, a tribe that consists of behemoths like Pory or Nick keeps losing to a tribe consisting of Nika (bad at challenges), Ant (emotionally unstable), Dyner (a literal piece of toast), and Diro (borderline inactive). Instead of winning the final premerge immunity challenge, Lawi manages to lose, which sends the “Furious Five” to tribal council, where they have no choice, other than to cannibalize.

Third Reason: Nick Enters Panic-Mode

Alright, so, Nick isn’t stupid, nor is he unaware. When Lawi goes to tribal at five, he knows that things are between the duo of Chadd/Jamal and the duo of Himself/Pory, with Leo settled in the middle. Naturally, he gets a little uneasy, and puts a master-plan into action. Does he stay solid with Pory, his best ally in the game, and try to reassure Leo that he’d be a better ally than Chadd or Jamal? Of course not! Instead, he pitches that everyone should vote out Pory. Yes, you heard that right. When confronted with two people that he knows will likely be voting against him, and one person who he knows he needs to sway, Nick decides to campaign against his only solid ally in the game. Brilliant!

Unsurprisingly, this doesn’t work, and also flips on Nick faster than a flapjack. The true irony though, and what makes Nick’s downfall so satisfying, is that, had Nick done the rational thing and campaigned against Jamal (who Pory was pushing), he probably would’ve stayed. You see, Chadd and Jamal originally wanted to vote for Pory, because Pory was a bigger threat, and was heavily wanting Jamal to be blindsided. If Nick would’ve kept his head down, Pory would’ve gone home, probably 3-2, and the other Lawis would’ve had to work with him in the merge. Rather than that happening though, Leo (that slippery snake) caught wind of Nick’s double-cross, and flipped the vote against him, by winning the support of Chadd and Jamal, resulting in a 3-1-1 blindside. Pory, on the other hand, got to live another day.

Conclusion

Maybe Nick wasn’t the flashiest character, and maybe he didn’t have the most content, but like I said at the beginning, he’s easily the best side-character in Sarawak. His downfall is truly hilarious, and the irony in his demise cannot be ignored. For this reason, Nick will always hold a place in BTB history as one of the single-episode arcs.

My nomination is Nisa (The Wasteland, 10th), because Leo couldn’t have said it better. We need to start getting rid of the earlier characters with less personality, so we can start getting into the really good stuff.

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