After two hours of ups and downs, Survivor superfan Jacob Derwin was voted out in agonizing fashion to conclude the premiere of Survivor Ghost Island.
Jacob’s journey of Survivor Ghost Island Ghost Island was a total roller coaster, despite the ride only lasting six days. While it seemed like Jacob might find a way out of his tough position, the 22-year-old was voted out at the first Tribal Council he attended. One of Jacob’s fears coming into the game was being voted out entirely due to the old-school “keep the tribe strong” mindset. However, despite the tendency for early boots to be weak, the reasoning for his elimination was not solely based on his physique.
Jacob began the game extremely eager to play. He was far too anxious, but a superfan may understand his initial overplay. Jacob identified himself as a potential first boot and got scared. He wants to play so badly but should have calmed down.
His initial panic led him to go searching for an idol. But he did not just search for an idol; he announced that he would be “exploring.” Simply doing nothing would have been far better for his game. If you think your tribe is plotting against you, do not prove them right by immediately announcing an idol search!
Even if Jacob did find an idol, isolating yourself is never going to work in the long run. Sure, a tribe swap could come, but all of his original Survivor Ghost Island tribemates are not going to trust him moving forward.
Watch Survivor on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels (including CBS) with a 7-day FREE trial!
The Malolo tribe wins the challenge, and then we get the best moment of Jacob’s game. Jacob starts running his mouth in an attempt to get sent to Ghost Island, and it works. He should have then shut his mouth, and brag about his move via confessional. Instead, he announces that Naviti has fallen into his trap.
I can understand that superfans want to make sure the viewers know they made a great play, but this wrecked his game in the long run. I feel like everyone would be raving about Jacob’s gameplay right now had he just kept his mouth shut.
At Ghost Island, he gets the Legacy Advantage, which has to come as a disappointment. He needs something that will save himself now. Jacob believes his Survivor Ghost Island game will be in peril when he arrives back at Malolo beach. His next decision is the one that sends him home.
Must Read: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 34 Sole Survivors By Season
He makes a fake idol, which does not seem like a bad idea at first. Jacob may be correctly anticipating a swap at 18, and a new buff could give him new life. But he does not think the move through.
Jacob announces to the entire tribe that he will be playing his idol at the next tribal council. But Jacob seems like a smart dude; it does not seem believable that he will throw away an idol’s rule paper. A huge fan like him will want to use it properly, and the only reasonable explanation is that the idol is fake.
Brendan asks where the idol instructions are, and this just about seals Jacob’s fate. I completely agree with Brendan’s reasoning that a player like Jacob would never forget the instructions. I feel like if Jacob says nothing about an idol, there is a slight chance that his tribemates shift the target in fear of him having one.
Betsided
After another challenge defeat, Jacob is visually disappointed at not being selected for Ghost Island again. But I do not think he should be surprised; he straight up told Naviti that he wanted to go there, so they are surely not going to send him again.
Back at camp, it appears that Stephanie Johnson might be giving Jacob an out. She might actually have the numbers and considers making the first big move of Survivor Ghost Island. She considers Jacob as a more trustworthy number than Michael but ultimately decides against it. This is not before Jacob spills the beans on all of the Legacy Advantage details. Jacob was willing to throw everything at the wall to stay in the game, and Stephanie certainly noticed this.
In the end, Jacob is just far too big of a wildcard. Although his physique is not the exact reason he is sent home, it is what causes his paranoia. The paranoia causes the idol hunting, and the idol hunting puts a target on his back. Jacob told his tribe that he was idol hunting, and told the opposing tribe that he tricked them. If these moves are quietly done, they make perfect sense, but Jacob’s short stay on the island was anything but quiet.
You have to feel for a guy like Jacob that is the biggest superfan on a season full of them like Survivor Ghost Island. Everyone waits so long to play, and this hurt him in the end. He clearly wanted it so much, and this is part of the reason his tribe opted to send him packing. Superfans fear nothing more than an early exit. The short-lived rise and fall was the overall narrative of the first two-hour episode, and although his time on the island was less than one week, he still had an impact in the end.
Next: Survivor: Ranking 34 seasons
He was a great character, but unfortunately for Jacob, he was a pre-merge character.