From the perfect play to the perfect poem, all the way to the perfect blindside, Survivor’s J.T. Thomas turns 33 years old today.
Player: J.T. Thomas
Occupation: Cattle Rancher
Hometown: Samson, AL
Seasons: Tocantins, Heroes vs. Villains, Game Changers
Tribes: Jalapao (Red Buff), Forza (Green Buff) in Tocantins, Heroes (Blue Buff), Yin Yang (Black Buff) in Heroes vs. Villains, Nuku (Blue Buff) in Game Changers
Finished: 1/16 in Tocantins (Perfect Game), 10/20 in Heroes vs. Villains, 16/20 in Game Changers
J.T. Thomas is one of the rarest Survivor players of all time, in terms of his overarching gameplay. With the help of the deeply strategic Stephen Fishbach, J.T. became the first player to ever win a season of the show without receiving a single vote ahead of the Final Tribal Council, where he received each from the jury.
Ever since that moment, J.T. Thomas has been playing as if everyone is trying their best to help him out, even if the player skill level is higher on such returnee seasons. There’s no better illustration of his bold, brazen, ultimately misguided play than by helping a mysterious contestant on a tribe named after villains by giving them a Hidden Immunity Idol.
You see, from the Heroes’ point of view in Survivor Heroes vs. Villains, the women were making an alliance and taking control of the game. In reality, Russell Hantz and Parvati Shallow just so happened to be voting out women player to control voting numbers. That’s when J.T. Thomas gets the bright idea that if he can convince Russell Hantz to idol out Parvati, he’ll swing over to the Heroes’ side when the merge arrives, shifting power to them.
Of course, we all know how that goes, with Russell and Parvati reading out the letter wrapped around the idol like school kids.
But that speaks to the kind of character J.T. Thomas is. He’s willing to trust others implicitly and make big moves on behalf of others. He’s trying this move to help his Heroes tribe, and he just so happened to go up against a force he didn’t even understand was not to be reckoned with.
Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season
J.T. Thomas is one of just two players to play the Perfect Game, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he tried to go out swinging for another one in a future season. We at Surviving Tribal would like to wish him a happy 33rd birthday!