6. Michele Fitzgerald
Excluding evacuations and quits, Michele Fitzgerald is the only player who hasn’t been voted in Survivor’s history! After a somewhat controversial win in Kaoh Rong, Michele returned to show with plenty of doubters. Although she was blindsided by the vote on Day 2, she formed a bond with Jeremy and Natalie that would become critical in her path to the end.
She got back on track during the Danni vote and started to gain traction. When Boston Rob and Adam were trying to take charge of the vote, Michele and Jeremy formed a voting bloc to shock both sides and blindside Ethan. Michele was able to convince Ben and Denise to change their vote, pulling off a brilliant move against Survivor legends.
Following that pivotal vote, Michele never really had that same level of control. Several times she found herself on the wrong side of the vote, struggling to understand what went wrong. It also felt that besides Jeremy, she didn’t have any beneficial connections. Staying true to her route in Kaoh Rong, Michele turned it on towards the end of the season. She kept herself alive despite being in the clear minority and was able to win two crucial Individual Immunities that allowed her to make the end.
Her initial relationship with Natalie came in handy, as the two formed a tight bond once Natalie made it back in. Although Natalie made a splash with her idols, Michele’s ability to survive through so many more Tribal Councils made her the more deserving finalist. She wasn’t on Tony’s level in terms of controlling votes or game awareness, but Michele had a solid outing. She was clutch when she needed to be, performed well at Final Tribal Council, and proved why she was worthy of being a part of season 40.
Highs:
– Making the Ethan vote happen and changing the whole trajectory of the season in the process
– Receiving Fire Tokens from several different people
– Making use of her tokens by purchasing the coin flip advantage from the Edge
– Fighting from the bottom both after the tribe swap and towards the end of the merge
– Winning two Individual Immunities when she was likely going to receive votes
– Making it to Day 39 in her first two seasons
– Delivering a great performance at Final Tribal Council
Lows:
– Being on the wrong side of the vote several times
– Lacking meaningful alliances in the post-merge phase
– Not having the same control over the vote she had before the merge
– Being unable to takedown Tony before Day 39