Survivor Ghost Island: Should Brendan Shapiro return?

One of the two official tribe captains of Survivor Ghost Island, Brendan Shapiro was first to go down with the Malolo ship. Should he return in the future?

Following in the footsteps of Gonzalez, Derwin and Ricke, we are now looking at the return viability of Survivor Ghost Island’s Brendan Shapiro. Many aspects of the season’s creation were overlooked or abandoned after the introductory episode, including the idea of tribe leaders. Both Brendan Shapiro and Chris Noble were selected by their tribes to represent them at the very first challenge, and Brendan’s win helped set the tone.

At camp, he became the go-to guy. As Jacob Derwin’s game imploded, it was due to him being on the outs with Brendan, as he dictated the pace of play and the decision-making of Malolo. As the oldest male in the game, he stepped into that fatherly protection role, working his butt off to build the worst shelter in the history of Survivor (well, Bradley seemed to think it was that way).

The problem with being an early tribe leader is that you place a huge target on your back. As soon as Malolo lost two tribe members in a row to start the season off and the tribes swapped, Brendan being a figurehead of the tribe became a problem. As he and Michael Yerger frantically searched for a Hidden Immunity Idol (successfully), Bradley and Kellyn were plotting his downfall.

After Malolo failed the fourth Immunity Challenge (failing these challenges became a constant), the conversation for old Naviti players focused on who to throw their votes towards. Brendan seemed like the obvious decision, but the mind games of who’s the right pick should an idol come out came into effect.

Brendan’s elimination was more in tune with Michael’s story, as he made a brilliant idol lie using one of James Clement’s Hidden Immunity Idols. Saying he could double its power, the lie looked to position both him and Brendan as safe, leaving Stephanie on the outs. With the votes counted, Michael hoped his plan worked by playing it on the “safe” vote, but the tribe leader was the target all along.

Next: Vote here for whether Brendan Shapiro should return

Brendan Shapiro presented himself as an old-school player with a renewed sense of purpose in a very moment-to-moment modern Survivor game. Vote here to let us know whether or not you believe he should return in a future season.