(just listing a few for now – planning to keep adding to this)

• Alecia Holden – Alecia is a wildly underrated player from Survivor: Kaôh Rōng. It was really, reallyyyy tough to watch 2 grown men (one of whom has a young daughter + should be ashamed of himself for not being a better role model) straight up bully her just because she’s blonde + a woman. Jason and Scot were consistently disrespectful from the very beginning by choosing to call her “Blondie” instead of her name + repeatedly put her down by ridiculing both her mental + physical abilities –– yet SHE IS THE ONE TO MAKE FIRE FOR THE TRIBE. She was the only one unwilling to give up on this task, while the “men” laid in the shelter for several hours. I wholeheartedly believe Alecia not only could have, but would have gone a lot further in the game had she either been placed on a tribe other than Brawn (in the same season) or cast for a different season than Scot + Jason.

• Corinne Kaplan – Corinne is one of the smartest, funniest and most clever + entertaining women to ever play. I think she got too bad of a rap than deserved in the Gabon season for a few ‘harsh’ comments, but to me, she’s easily one of the most relatable players w/ a “tell it like it is” attitude that was really refreshing to see in a game oversaturated w/ subtle manipulation. All I could think while watching her scheme was “I’m not sure if I’d want to play with her (out of pure intimidation), but I 100% want to be her best friend – we’d get along.” (and I really never say that about anyone!)

• Jay Starett – Although I was a Michaela fan as well, the blindside he led against her was a big move, especially considering that they were currently in an alliance, indicating a turning point of the game in the Millenials vs. Gen X season. This move alone would be enough to make his game respectable, but he also won challenges, found an immunity idol + played a strong strategic game. (also, one of the most genuine players to ever play the game in my opinion, or at least came off that way to those watching at home)

• Janet Carbin – As the oldest woman on her tribe, Janet was inevitably going to have a rough time staying in the game, but proved her worth immediately when she was the first person to make fire for her tribe! As if that wasn’t already impressive, Janet absolutely nailed the first few challenges utilizing her lifeguarding skills, when she got her tribe a huge lead by hooking their rope around a target on her first attempt + then showed her extremely strong swimming ability as she kept pace with an Olympian! Janet was also the first person to be wise enough not to take Boston Rob + Sandra’s offer on Island of the Idols because she took the time to analyze all possible outcomes instead of immediately jumping in + blindly agreeing the deal. Janet was able to get along with every person on her tribe + has that special ability to mesh well w/ all types of people in the world – that’s one of the biggest signs that someone has what it takes to be the sole survivor. I love how caring, thoughtful + well-spoken she is – I would feel very lucky to have her on my tribe to weather the storm that this game is with – also, her beautiful tribal council speech about gender equality brings me to tears every time. (begins @ 4:51)

• Clarence Black – yes, he blows his entire game almost immediately (2x) when he 1) takes 2 cherries while everyone else only takes 1 from the can the tribe’s sharing + 2) splits a can of beans with another player who’s not feeling well while the rest of the tribe is off getting water + says he only opened it for the sick person, but really incriminates himself by also eating the other 1/2 of the can. however – had he not been trying to get back in the good graces of the tribe, I think he would’ve beaten Theresa in the challenge where they had to hold their arm over their head or a bucket of water would drop – but he made a deal w/ Theresa/the tribe to let her win immunity for a promise of safety for that night’s tribal + for a food reward right then + there. i think he could’ve gone a lot farther + been a really strong player if he had just held out right at that moment. he’s also one of my funniest Survivor moments (5:40)– “I’ve talked to each of those chickens personally and I’ve informed them that they’re on notice.”

• Dreamz – won the final immunity in Survivor Fiji, which made him the first ever African American male to make it to day 39 in the game. when he went back on his deal w/ Yau Man (Yau Man gave Dreamz a truck he won in a reward challenge in exchange for Dreamz to promise to give Yau Man the immunity necklace at final 4 – if he won), i believe it was Dreamz just purely acting out of self-interest (not selfishly – because he was thinking of his young son + giving him a better life), but who could blame him??? he tells us all about the way he grew up + how he was homeless for awhile, so i think his mindset wouldn’t allow him to give up a shot at the million because any chance > no chance. i think he just lacked social game. i felt that the pain in his face was true, raw emotion that wouldn’t be there if he had been strategizing or calculating – pure human internal struggle all over his face.

What is first important to understand is how Dreamz grew up and the realities that he lived through. Never before had Survivor cast a person who had been actually homeless for parts of his life. Dreamz grew up in legitimate poverty and without many chances to breakthrough those financial struggles that were holding him down. It should be no surprise that Dreamz had never owned a car because in his everyday life, there was no way he could have afforded to buy one when he was more worried about finding food and shelter. For many people a car is just something everybody owns and uses, for someone in Dreamz’s situation, a car is a pipe dream of luxury.

https://medium.com/a-tribe-of-one/boulevard-of-broken-dreamz-38624fd0cfea