Survivor Ghost Island: Should Jacob Derwin return?

Going in line via the boot order, Survivor Ghost Island’s Jacob Derwin was voted out in 19th place. Do you believe he deserves another shot?

Nobody has made both a bigger entrance and exit in a recent Survivor season like Jacob Derwin. The man had more than a dozen confessionals in the first (and only) two hours of Ghost Island, sticking to the notion that it is better to burn out than to fade away. You don’t need to perform well to get back on the show, so we ask you the same thing we asked of Stephanie Gonzalez; should Jacob return in the future?

Let’s look at him as a player. Jacob did what few (if anybody) has done as a first-time contestant; find one of the fellow finalists online and know who they are before ever getting out to the island. James Lim confirmed his Ponderosa story during his AMA the other day, showing just how brilliant and studious his mind was before the game started.

That said, his overactive mind as a superfan of the show happened to be his downfall. Survivor Ghost Island was the story of Naviti’s complete and under destruction of Malolo, and the irony of him calling his tribe “one of the greatest of all-time” was undercut by his attempts to destroy the unity with his overplaying.

He was playing way too hard, way too early. Everyone searches for an idol, but he made everyone feel uncomfortable in the way he was interacting with others he just med within the first few days of the game. His quirkiness was hilariously highlighted by the washing away of his shoes on Day 2 and searching for hidden clues in the tribe’s rice.

Having been picked for Ghost Island, he couldn’t be voted out right away. The closest person he had in the game, Stephanie Johnson, was only willing to be an open ear, learning his secret Legacy Advantage and how it landed in Morgan Ricke’s lap. She could not save Jacob from himself and helped to send him home.

Next: Vote here for whether Jacob Derwin should return

Jacob Derwin knows Survivor inside and out, presented himself as a sympathetic character and still engages with the community (despite how things turned out). Still, he was a trainwreck in his first time out. That said, do you think he should return in a future season? Vote here in our straw poll and let us know what you think!