3. Stephenie LaGrossa
Back-to-Back Seasons: Palau, Guatemala
I discussed Stephenie a bit on Bobby Jon’s entry, as the two played together in Palau and were the final two members of the doomed Ulong tribe. After she beat Bobby Jon in fire making, Stephenie had to spend a night alone on Ulong, but was later absorbed by the Koror tribe.
Obviously Stephenie was the odd woman out, but the original Koror members targeted Coby first. Stephenie was the next target, but cried at tribal council because Janu wanted to quit and here she was fighting for her life. Janu agreed to quit so that Stephenie could hang around, but Steph was voted out at the next tribal council, ending her game on Day 30.
As noted earlier, Stephenie was so popular and so beloved that Survivor created the captains twist for Guatemala in order to bring her back as soon as possible. It seemed pretty obvious that the other contestants on Guatemala didn’t want Stephenie or Bobby Jon to win, but Steph was still a very popular contestant that season and controlled things nearly the entire way through.
She made it to the end, but lost in a 6-1 vote to Danni. Stephenie’s game in Guatemala probably is better perceived in the new school era, but because this was season 11 and old school Survivor was a much different game, she didn’t walk away with the win.
Still, she proved she could play the game well her second time out and made it all the way to the end. Not bad for someone who came from the Ulong tribe.