Day 5: Most Underrated Survivor
Survivor 39-Day Challenge
Rafe Judkins of Survivor: Guatemala is the most underrated Survivor.
In a season full of colorful characters, Rafe stood out as the most strategic and socially adept player. He controlled most of the votes alongside Stephenie, a returnee, with whom he bonded real quick. While Stephenie was making enemies left and right by promising them something and then voting them out, Rafe was able to build connections with the same people.
Rafe was also dominant in challenges, surprising given this mishap in one of the tribal challenges earlier in the season:
He’s just short of a one challenge to tie the record for most individual immunity challenge wins by a male castaway. Through these wins, he was not only able to protect himself from crucial points in the game, but was also able to gain traction of power which helped him stir the game in the course he wanted it to go. He catapulted the decimation of the season’s goats. He correctly read through Stephenie that she was dragging these people as options for her to take to the finals. Rafe made sure that none of Stephenie’s goats would be taken to the end. And, whether Stephenie realized this or not, she was the goat that Rafe wanted to take to the end.
However, in the most crucial part of the game, Rafe came up short and did not win immunity. And neither did Stephenie, which was worst case scenario for both. Only one of them would have the chance to plead their case for the million, and that decision was entirely in the hands of the outsider of the twosome Danni. Interestingly, Rafe “freed” Danni from their promise of taking each other to the end had one of them won immunity. Well, I did not think though that Danni would take Rafe anyway. That’s how much of a goat Stephenie had become that season. Too bad.
These two crucial moments — not winning the final immunity challenge as it mattered the most, and “freeing” Danni to take Stephenie to the finals instead of him — are the catalyst to misremembering Rafe as a great Survivor player. And the fact that no one is including him in their list of “best to never win Survivors” speaks largely enough how underrated Rafe is.
It’s a shame that he has not returned yet for a second chance, or any of the Survivor: Guatemala newbies (sans Danni) for that matter.
Runner-up: Erinn Lobdell, Third Place, Survivor: Tocantins – The Brazilian Highlands
