Day 29: Best Fight

Survivor 39-Day Challenge

I don’t like this category, I don’t know why. I’m not a fan of fights on Survivor, and I can’t even identify a fight to save my life. I kid, of course. But there’s too many things on Survivor that can be consider a fight — fight over power, fight over control, fight over something mundane?

Okay, the best fight that I could think of is Heroes vs. Villains’ Amanda vs. Danielle over a hidden immunity idol clue.

It was the Final 9, the aftermath of the now-iconic double-idol play which blindsided JT and gave the Heroes a number disadvantage vs. the Villains. At the reward, Amanda, Colby, and Danielle won an overnight resort stay-in watching Treasure Island. Amanda was eager to find that clue to a hidden immunity idol to save her life.

As the night progressed and the movie already playing, Danielle, Colby, and Amanda were on the bed; Danielle and Colby eating popcorn, Amanda looking around the room, not giving a damn being obvious about looking for idol-related stuff.

Luckily for Danielle, and unfortunately for Amanda, the clue was in the popcorn bowl. With Colby’s nonchalance about, well, the game entirely, Danielle was able to pull the clue out of the bowl, which Amanda apparently caught. The next thing you know, a “catfight” ensued.

Amanda snatched the clue from Danielle’s side of the bed, which Danielle furiously wanted back. They went all around the room Amanda resisting, Danielle pulling, dragging each other to the floor. The funniest part of this was them talking to Colby about what to do, which Colby responded with, if my memory serves me right, “I didn’t see what happened, I’m watching Treasure Island.” He constantly then after asked what would be their resolution to this conflict.

Amanda wanted the clue desperately as her game’s only “lifeline” at that point, while Danielle’s argument was that she’s the one who found it. Both made sense. The mind-boggling part was Colby saying it should be Danielle’s, making Amanda give back the clue, left standing in a corner humiliated. It’s mind-boggling because Colby should have defended Amanda as a Hero, but that’s how detached Colby was in the game.

Amanda got the boot at tribal following that whole shenanigan. Amanda still is one of the greatest Survivor players. But that cycle ended her day streak before getting snuffed, the longest consecutive active days on Survivor with 108.

I’ve read somewhere that Amanda and Danielle talked about the incident long after the game and had a good laugh about it. All’s well that ends well, yes?

Runner-up: Alicia and Kimmi Finger-Waggin’ Fight, Survivor: The Australian Outback (2001)