I'm not sure what the general consensus is on Chris here, but what matters to me is that I placed him as high as I logistically could on this list without upheaving my favourite contestants of each franchise. So yes, to all who haven't been paying attention, Sandra "The Queen" Diaz-Twine is my favourite Survivor contestant of all time, and BJ & Tyler, aka "The Hippies" are my favourite Amazing Race team of all time. But Chris got as far as he could possibly go in this ranking, which is a testament to how damn awesome Chris Daugherty is.
Chris's story to grab the win is easily the Top 2 best winner stories of all time. He's one of the funniest Survivors of all time. He's one of the best confessionalists of all time ("YOU QUESTION A WOMAN'S CHARACTER, SHE'LL /SNAP YOUR NECK/!" < 3). And he's easily one of the most compelling characters of all time, and easy Top 3 placement on this list.
I was engaged with every moment Chris was on screen, from him screwing up the immunity challenge in the premiere to him letting out an F-Bomb once he won the game at the finale. He's the most expressive person of the season probably ahead of just Eliza and JP. Every time he spoke was just captivating. I wanted to hear more out of this guy.
I haven't gotten into his story yet, so I will - Chris was part of the majority alliance on the gender-divided season, and it became clear from the start this guy, as long as he didn't get voted out first, was going to be someone to watch. For example, he'd like to let you know after single-handedly losing your tribe immunity, that if he had wings, he'd be able to cross the balance beam. He was a little low-key until around the merge, but he always had some sort of awesome confessional to add in with some awesome descriptors or just something awesome just for the sake of it, because this guy was a guy worth showing.
He, using Sarge as a figurehead, was calling the shots all throughout the pre-merge. It was his word that sent JP home, that sent Brady home, that sent John K home, and he was all set at the merge, even with one of his old alliance mates having eliminated himself over on Yasur (because of being an effing moron - god dammit Bubba).
They thought they had Twila and Julie locked up and ready to take on Scout/Eliza/Ami/Leanne. However, Julie was just using them - she jumped ship on them, forcing Twila to jump ship to avoid tying the vote and ostracizing herself from her tribe. Chris was stuck on the bad end of a Pagonging thanks to Julie and Twila jumping ship on him, Sarge, Rory and Chad. And thanks to this, and only 3/4 of them being on the jury and therefor irrelevant, the women could treat them like crap. They could withhold food from them, laugh in their faces, and vote them out because who cares?
But the seeds were sewing on Yasur thanks to Scout knowing she was on the bottom of the tribe. She was trying to form a coup on the other women, but her attempts were thwarted when she was ratted out. But at the Final 7, with only Chris left, she had enough. When Ami won immunity and Chris, then Eliza, was set to go home, she confirmed her doubts that she and Twila were never making the Final 3 with Ami. So she did what any good person who has seen Marquesas does and she got Twila, Chris, and then Eliza to vote out Leanne, shifting the tide of the game towards the new alliance of four. And without Chris, it wouldn't have happened. Chris was no longer the dead man walking he was after he lost the F7 immunity challenge - he was now a power player, with two women who needed him to make the finals, and now with the axe hanging over the head of the women who wanted him gone.
Leanne left, then Ami left after her, and now he was stuck in between two alliances. Twila and Scout weren't going to vote each other out, and Eliza and Julie weren't going to vote each other out. Chris promised to Julie that she was safe and voted her out on Day 36. And there was no strategic value to this - he just wanted revenge. Because all of Chris's story up until this point had been working towards the revenge story - he was at their mercy before, but now he had the power and was calling the shots. He made the same promise to Eliza and voted her out as well. And then he handily won the Final Immunity Challenge against the two remaining women, Twila and Scout, and voted out Scout, being the bigger jury threat who was his only competition on the jury.
And this is where Chris's major skill comes into play - his bullshitting. See, Chris isn't just a great character, a fantastic confessionalist and the recipient of one of Survivor's many great power shifts. He's also the holder of the greatest Final Tribal Council performance in Survivor history. He sewed again so much bullshit, telling every single finalist what they needed or wanted to hear in order to get their jury vote. He was kissing so much ass on that jury his lips are still to this day probably still wedged in Ami's sphincter.
And. It. Was. GLORIOUS.
Never has a story of a season felt more complete than when Chris Daugherty won Vanuatu. A season set up for the women to be out for blood only for a possibly misogynistic guy who sounds like Bill Paxton in a red wifebeater to come in, make each woman look like a complete idiot on national television, and steal a win that he so righteously deserved after everything he went through on his season. He fought hard, he worked hard, and he did almost more than most could ever dream to have done on one season alone for that win, and his win just makes Vanuatu so much better. It defines the season.
I love Vanuatu. I love the cast. I love Chris Daugherty most of all, because he's my favourite non-Sandra Survivor winner of all time.
But now, it's all come down to this.
#3. Chris Daugherty (Survivor: Vanuatu)
#4. Richard Hatch (Survivor: Borneo)
#5. Zach & Flo (The Amazing Race 3)
#6. Uchenna & Joyce (The Amazing Race 7)
#7. Todd Herzog (Survivor: China)
#8. Julia Morris (Celebrity Apprentice Australia 1)
#9. Tanedra Howard (Scream Queens 1)
#10. Judson "Fabio" Birza (Survivor: Nicaragua)
#11. Karise Eden (The Voice Australia 1)
#12. Chip & Kim (The Amazing Race 5)
#13. Ethan Zohn (Survivor: Africa)
#14. Jun Song (Big Brother USA 4)
#15. Bates & Anthony (The Amazing Race 22)
#16. Zabrina & Joe-Jer (The Amazing Race Asia 1)
#17. Shane & Andrew (The Amazing Race Australia 2)
#18. Vecepia Towery (Survivor: Marquesas)
#19. Benjamin Norris (Big Brother Australia 2012)
#20. LaKisha & Jen (The Amazing Race Unfinished Business)
#21. Rob & Brennan (The Amazing Race)
#22. Earl Cole (Survivor: Fiji)
#23. Celeste Anderson (King of the Nerds 1)
#24. Danni Boatwright (Survivor: Guatemala)
#25. Tina Wesson (Survivor: The Australian Outback)
#26. Nat & Kat (The Amazing Race 17)
#27. Terri Munro (Big Brother Australia 2008)
#28. Natalie White (Survivor: Samoa)
#29. Denise Stapley (Survivor: Philippines)
#30. Jan Moody (The Mole Australia 1)
#31. Sophie Clarke (Survivor: South Pacific)
#32. Beth (Total Drama Action)
#33. Josh & Brent (The Amazing Race 21)
#34. Bob Crowley (Survivor: Gabon)
#35. The Linz Family (The Amazing Race 8: Family Edition)
#36. Aras Baskauskas (Survivor: Panama - Exile Island)
#37. "Boston" Rob Mariano (Survivor: Redemption Island)
#38. Reichen & Chip (The Amazing Race 4)
#39. Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Micronesia)
#40. Tom Westman (Survivor: Palau)
#41. Ernie & Cindy (The Amazing Race 19)
#42. TK & Rachel (The Amazing Race 12)
#43. Richard & Richard (The Amazing Race Asia 4)
#44. James "JT" Thomas (Survivor: Tocantins)
#45. Dave & Rachel (The Amazing Race 20)
#46. Nathan & Tyler (The Amazing Race Australia 1)
#47. Jillian Maclaughlin (Big Brother Canada 1)
#48. Kimberly Spradlin (Survivor: One World)
#49. Steven Cowles (The Mole US 1)
#50. Chris & Alex (The Amazing Race 2)
#51. Brian Heidik (Survivor: Thailand)
#52. Nick & Starr (The Amazing Race 13)
#53. Dan & Jordan (The Amazing Race 16)
#54. Heather (Total Drama World Tour)
#55. Jenna Morasca (Survivor: The Amazon)
#56. Tammy & Victor (The Amazing Race 14)
#57. John Cochran (Survivor: Caramoan)
#58. Jamie Brooksby (Big Brother Australia 2006)
#59. Amber Mariano (Survivor: All-Stars)
#60. Casey Donovan (Australian Idol 2)
#61. Guy Sebastian (Australian Idol 1)
#62. Tyler & James (The Amazing Race 10)
#63. Meghan & Cheyne (The Amazing Race 15)
#64. Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands)
#65. Owen (Total Drama Island)
#66. Eric & Danielle (The Amazing Race All-Stars)
#67. Freddy & Kendra (The Amazing Race 6)
WHO WILL WIN THE WINNER RANKING?
SANDRA DIAZ-TWINE, THE LIPPIEST MOTHER SURVIVOR HAS EVER HAD?
OR BJ & TYLER, THE FUNNIEST TEAM THE AMAZING RACE HAS EVER HAD?
WHO WILL WIN, SURVIVOR OR THE AMAZING RACE?
STAY TUNED.
(Aquamarine HelenCoops MHens Yerg zimdelinvasor )
Comments
YES BJ AND TYLER FOR THE WINNNNNNNNN
I bet you'll pick Sandra though.... but cmonnn I don't think I've ever been as excited to see a team win as I was when I saw BJ and Tyler. It was the best finish ever (it probably helped that Eric and Jeremy were sexist pigs though, cause it made me happier to see them lose)
CHRIS DAUGHERTY - SURVIVOR: VANUATU
I bet you'll pick Sandra though.... but cmonnn I don't think I've ever been as excited to see a team win as I was when I saw BJ and Tyler. It was the best finish ever (it probably helped that Eric and Jeremy were sexist pigs though, cause it made me happier to see them lose)