Survivor birthday: Rodney Lavoie Jr. (Worlds Apart) turns 28

No other player has mentioned their birthday on Survivor more than Rodney Lavoie Jr., so let’s celebrate him turning 28 without even making him wash a dish!

Player: Rodney Lavoie Jr. 
Occupation: General Contractor
Hometown: Boston, MA
Season: Survivor Worlds Apart
Tribes: Escameca (Blue Buff), Merica (Black Buff)
Finished: 4/18

There is still a sour taste left in peoples’ mouths even on re-watches of Survivor Worlds Apart. There are plenty of big personalities in this season, but it’s hard to get too attached to the players as they become increasingly hostile towards each other (to a disturbing degree). However, even though we couldn’t be further apart as archetypes of this world, Rodney Lavoie Jr. brought fans an excellent foil to the inevitable winner’s journey to victory.

Mike Holloway and Rodney Lavoie Jr. were once the best of buds on Escameca. However, as the merge came about and Mike started to become the head honcho of his alliance, a shift in power resulted in the end game’s heated rivalry. The problem was that Mike kept winning individual immunity, meaning the two kept firing barbs at each other for days.

Then Day 30 came, with Rodney was sick of losing out on every single challenge since Day 15. What separated this from any other from the previous month was that it occurred literally three years ago to this date; on Rodney’s birthday. Can’t a birthday boy get a damn treat as consolation for going half the game without a victory?

Of course not; Survivor is a cruel game, and Rodney’s team did not win the Reward Challenge.

An unfortunate event for a downtrodden loudmouth became a personal rallying call for Rodney Lavoie Jr. throughout the rest of Survivor Worlds Apart. A million dollars was secondary to the fact that three of the few remaining castaways didn’t throw away the opportunity of a lifetime to personally donate supplies to an orphanage, while also getting a feast, to possibly spite him!

It’s that kind of stick-to-your-guns approach that makes Rodney a hate to love / love to hate character. More importantly, he wore his heart on his sleeve, giving viewers a pleasant distraction from people’s blatantly personal attacks of characters that plagued the late game. Even when he was too busy popping off, he was popping off for all of America to laugh along with.

Next: Survivor Game Changers: Ranking All 33 Previous Seasons

Don’t worry, Rodney; on your 28th birthday, we’ll be the ones doing all the dishes!