CBS 'Survivor: Island of the Idols' mentors Sandra Diaz-Twine and Boston Rob Mariano
“Survivor” fans recently had a discussion on social media about overrated players. Boston Rob Mariano was a divisive choice and there were several other surprises as well. Read on to find which players the fans think are overrated and why.
Boston Rob Mariano Caused Some Heated Debate
A lot of people on Reddit voted that Boston Rob is absolutely the most overrated player, with the main argument being that it took him four times to win and then when he finally did win, it was against a very weak, all-newbie cast.
As one user wrote, “There’s no correct answer other than Boston Rob. Took 4 attempts to win, finally got his win against an all-newbie tribe, and is somehow seen by many as one of the greatest of all time, instead of a bunch of winners who won in only 1 or 2 attempts against casts with equal experience. He’s definitely well above average, but nowhere near greatest of all time.”
Another added, “He is seen as this god of the game, but he sucks, it took 4 tries and he finally got it with the weakest cast of all time, he is a good dude and a good character, but he is a slightly better than average player who honestly was in the bottom 5 on [‘Winners at War’].”
Of course, many people argued that his run on “All-Stars” was very impressive and he should have won that season over his now-wife Amber Brkich. Some fans also observed that he is “one of the best puzzle solvers the game has seen” and “a great physical challenge threat too.”
Many See 2-Time Winner Sandra Diaz-Twine as Overrated
One fan wrote that Sandra Diaz-Twine played “a decent-enough winning game” in “Pearl Islands” and while she’s “very fun to watch and to root for,” she “fail[ed] at every turn” in “Heroes. vs. Villains” and only won because the jury hated Parvati Shallow more than they hated her.
However, many took umbrage with arguing she didn’t play a good game on “Heroes vs. Villains.” One user laid it out thusly:
It’s baffling how Sandra consistently tries to get the heroes on board, then pre tribal realizes they’re not and then she has to stay the course so she doesn’t reveal her true plan and blow up her game. All the while telling Russell to his face that she’s against him. Russell just never took her at her word. And by doing that she just stacked the jury with people who feel like dummies for not seeing the truth AND sat next two the two people they wouldn’t save from drowning. Sandra’s not my favourite player because I don’t love the “anyone but me” style but damn you have to respect that game.
But one user said that too many uncontrollable variables have helped Sandra do well, saying, “In both of her winning seasons, she benefitted from being on the stronger pre-merge team without any swaps. Then post-merge she avoided scrutiny since she’s a non-threat at challenges. Then at final tribals she’s won primarily because the jury hated the other option they had, not because she played a great game. Any time she’s actually taken a risk or tried to play, she gets voted out quickly.”
Parvati Shallow, Tony Vlachos & Cirie Fields Were Other Controversial Names Tossed Out
Parvati Shallow is largely considered one of the best castaways to ever play the game (even Jeff Probst thinks so), Cirie Fields is largely considered the best player to have never won, and Tony Vlachos is the second two-time winner after Sandra, yet some people still think they are overrated.
As far as Tony goes, a lot of people think his winning seasons were good but not great, and his “flop” season was horrendous. One fan summed it up with:
Sandra, Cirie and Parvati’s performances on their “flop” season are incomparable to Tony’s game changers performance. Sandra made a mistake but played well up until that point, Cirie had the numbers and was idoled out, Parvati ran the first two boots and would have made merge despite being a MASSIVE threat had she not been so horribly swapscrewed. Tony literally played one of the worst games ever played in game changers – he ran into the woods minute one announcing he was looking for the idol, went a mile a minute, isolated the big threats alliance, spent 99 percent of his time with Caleb, threatened Sandra… and got himself booted in 19th place.
A lot of people think Parvati wouldn’t have won “Micronesia” without being bailed out by the game, but one user pointed out that Parvati’s resume as a whole is “stacked” all the way through:
Across THREE entire seasons her average placement is 3rd, across 4 her average placement is 5.5 – that is the record for both by a LOT. Out of her first three seasons alone, she literally won once, and came incredibly close to winning both other times (most likely wins Cook Islands if not for the bottle twist and god idol, and lost HvV by two votes despite being the single biggest threat heading in). The only times she has ever been voted out were because of twists outside her control (god idol and bottle twist in Cook Islands, horrendous swapscrew in WAW). She has the record for most votes cast at tribal council. She has some of the GOAT moves under her belt (Ozzy blindside, Erik blindside, Tyson blindside, JT blindside, etc.). She is the creator of the single most iconic alliance in the history of the show.
As far as Cirie goes, some fans think because she has never won, she’s overrated, but one fan pointed out that the difference here is that “Cirie got screwed by twists twice rather than losing [because] of her own gameplay.”
But others pointed out that she can’t win a challenge “to save her life” and that’s a problem. As one fan wrote, “If she had any ability to find idols or win challenges she could be a two-time winner.”
Other names tossed out there include Sarah Lacina, Rupert Boneham, Tyson Apostol, Ozzy Lusth, Aubrey Bracco, Tom Westman, and Kelley Wentworth.
For us, the argument about Boston Rob is pretty compelling. His “All-Stars” performance is the only thing that has us hesitant to name him. Sandra is also up there, but we might have to go with Tony. We haven’t ever been overly impressed with his gameplay and as several people pointed out, his “flop” season was an epic fail.
What do you think fans? Who is your most overrated “Survivor” player?
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern and Pacific times on CBS. The 42nd season will air in the spring of 2022. Seasons 43 and 44 are casting now, so if you’ve always wanted to apply, now is your chance!
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