Survivor Ghost Island: Should Domenick Abbate return?

Domenick Abbate played perhaps the greatest losing game in Survivor, coming in second place on a tie-broken vote. Should he get another chance to win?

Sometimes, a season of Survivor doesn’t shape itself around the story of a player winning a million dollars, but how they lose that chance. Ghost Island could arguably tell that tale of defeat, as Domenick Abbate provided an entertaining story of how you can make a series of great choices, but just one small mistake can haunt you forever.

Domenick is an abrasive, opinionated player. You can’t argue that; not after he started out the game, in the opening minutes of the season, outwardly calling out the Naviti tribe leader. It set himself up in a position where he needed to claw out of the hole he made for himself, forcing him to play aggressively from Day 1.

The first half of Survivor Ghost Island was a story of a proxy war; Domenick vs. Chris Noble. It even culminated in a quick montage of the two bashing each other and rolling their eyes at one another in a brilliantly edited moment that didn’t overshadow the honesty of their butting heads. Chris proved to be Dom’s most compelling rival, keeping him on his toes.

Perhaps the reason why he felt comfortable playing aggressively was that he had protection in case things went south. Domenick Abbate looked for advantages like no other, finding immunities, granted advantages and even found a fake idol he used to save himself at the Final Six. Furthermore, he worked with his closest friend, Wendell, from the start and with Laurel and Donathan on the down low on Naviti 2.0, flipping the switch and revealing their alliance at the Final Seven.

From Day 3 on, Ghost Island was Domenick’s game to lose. Unfortunately, the brazen way he played the game (including the perceived nastiness facing Sea Bass on his way out the door) was both his upside and his downfall. The first five jurors voted for him in the Final Tribal Council, but the final six jurors (including Laurel) voted for the eventual winner, Wendell.

Next: Vote here for whether Domenick Abbate should return

Domenick played a hell of a game and offered up the strongest narration of the season. Vote here in our straw poll if you believe he deserves another chance at winning a million dollars.