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WINNER #7 - TODD HERZOG (SURVIVOR)

May 10, 2013 by Inky

I think Survivor China overall has the best cast out of every non-Borneo season of Survivor, mostly because I never really hated anyone, even people so irrelevant like Ashley or Aaron. Unlike most Survivor seasons these days, I had a positive opinion on every contestant that was in the season, and that made for a really enjoyable experience to me. However, we can't really split hairs here - there were two major stars of China and two stars only. One came second, the other won. Either of them winning would have been a great end to the season, but ultimately it comes down to the second ever gay winner of the series.

Todd was one of those winners that I really needed to rewatch the season to get a grasp on because before I did I really disliked him. I thought he was stupidly arrogant all season long and I couldn't stand that he was definitely winning because I did not want this guy to win. Like most of the world I was cheering for James, then PG, then Denise, and then Courtney by default so him winning sort of left a bad taste in my mouth. But luckily, I had the luxury of a rewatch so I finally got to bask in the whole Todd Herzog experience.

When you're not watching Survivor China rooting for anyone to win you really see how endlessly entertaining he is. Todd is just a very expressive person and basically everything you could ask for in a Survivor contestant, let alone a flamboyantly gay Survivor contestant. He gave great confessionals ("Boy, has she got some catching up to do!"), had great moments ("BIIIIIIITCH!"), had brilliant ideas when it was called for (such as the idea to get James to vote off Jaime to save himself) and was overall just a really enjoyable and entertaining guy to watch in a season where you really do not expect the mormon gay flight attendant who is absolutely tiny to play the textbook Survivor game. He somehow managed to turn the fight of Fei Long vs. Zhan Hu pre-merge into a really interesting fight for safety amongst numbers and his interactions with everyone were just fantastic. That's a lot of adjectives that all mean the same thing, but that's just how much I enjoy this guy.

Of course, you can't talk about Survivor China without mentioning his partner in crime, Miss Courtney Yates. This was the tale of a girl who was stuck in a place with people she hated and had to somehow put up with it just because of her "friends" (aka the people she hates less than everyone else), and every episode (or nearly every episode) was ripe with one of her gloriously snarky and acidic confessionals. Whether she was talking shit about monks, talking shit about Leslie, talking shit about Jean-Robert, talking shit about the other tribe, talking shit about anyone who pissed her off that day, or even just celebrating the fact that she somehow won an immunity challenge (sidenote: every Survivor season needs a challenge where the skinniest chick benefits by not moving) over Jean-Robert ("Did YOU win an immunity Jean-Robert?"). Courtney was entertainment gold, and the very fact she came back to our screens a few years later and aligned with someone else who is awesome just warms the cockles of my heart.

Of course, Courtney did somehow make the Final Tribal Council where she goat'd Todd the win, but I don't think he dragged her there for that purpose. I mean, he probably thought she was going to deflect votes onto him or Amanda (lol at the thought of Amanda gettings votes though), but they just worked so well together and I'm glad they did make the Final Tribal Council together. It's really hard to think about whether or not Courtney would make a worse, as good, or better winner than Todd because her whole edit was based around being a wordy assassin instead of her gameplay. I would have enjoyed it just as much, but at least we can all agree that they both would have made infinitely better winners than Amanda (once again, lol).

You can't talk about Todd without talking about his game though, so what's my stance on Todd Herzog, supposed Master Strategist and dominant Alpha Player who controlled the game? IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH! That's really all I have. He made the right alliances early, Pagonged the other tribe and voted out who he needed to vote out at the right times. It got him the win, so there's not much else you need to discuss about it really.

So yeah, I love China, and I love Todd. Next!

#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. Zabrina & Joe-Jer (The Amazing Race Asia 1)
#16. Shane & Andrew (The Amazing Race Australia 2)
#17. Vecepia Towery (Survivor: Marquesas)
#18. Benjamin Norris (Big Brother Australia 2012)
#19. LaKisha & Jen (The Amazing Race Unfinished Business)
#20. Rob & Brennan (The Amazing Race)
#21. Earl Cole (Survivor: Fiji)
#22. Celeste Anderson (King of the Nerds 1)
#23. Danni Boatwright (Survivor: Guatemala)
#24. Tina Wesson (Survivor: The Australian Outback)
#25. Nat & Kat (The Amazing Race 17)
#26. Terri Munro (Big Brother Australia 2008)
#27. Natalie White (Survivor: Samoa)
#28. Denise Stapley (Survivor: Philippines)
#29. Jan Moody (The Mole Australia 1)
#30. Sophie Clarke (Survivor: South Pacific)
#31. Beth (Total Drama Action)
#32. Josh & Brent (The Amazing Race 21)
#33. Bob Crowley (Survivor: Gabon)
#34. The Linz Family (The Amazing Race 8: Family Edition)
#35. Aras Baskauskas (Survivor: Panama - Exile Island)
#36. "Boston" Rob Mariano (Survivor: Redemption Island)
#37. Reichen & Chip (The Amazing Race 4)
#38. Parvati Shallow (Survivor: Micronesia)
#39. Tom Westman (Survivor: Palau)
#40. Ernie & Cindy (The Amazing Race 19)
#41. TK & Rachel (The Amazing Race 12)
#42. Richard & Richard (The Amazing Race Asia 4)
#43. James "JT" Thomas (Survivor: Tocantins)
#44. Dave & Rachel (The Amazing Race 20)
#45. Nathan & Tyler (The Amazing Race Australia 1)
#46. Jillian Maclaughlin (Big Brother Canada 1)
#47. Kimberly Spradlin (Survivor: One World)
#48. Steven Cowles (The Mole US 1)
#49. Chris & Alex (The Amazing Race 2)
#50. Brian Heidik (Survivor: Thailand)
#51. Nick & Starr (The Amazing Race 13)
#52. Dan & Jordan (The Amazing Race 16)
#53. Heather (Total Drama World Tour)
#54. Jenna Morasca (Survivor: The Amazon)
#55. Tammy & Victor (The Amazing Race 14)
#56. Jamie Brooksby (Big Brother Australia 2006)
#57. Amber Mariano (Survivor: All-Stars)
#58. Casey Donovan (Australian Idol 2)
#59. Guy Sebastian (Australian Idol 1)
#60. Tyler & James (The Amazing Race 10)
#61. Meghan & Cheyne (The Amazing Race 15)
#62. Yul Kwon (Survivor: Cook Islands)
#63. Owen (Total Drama Island)
#64. Eric & Danielle (The Amazing Race All-Stars)
#65. Freddy & Kendra (The Amazing Race 6)

(Aquamarine HelenCoops MHens Yerg zimdelinvasor )

REMAINING:

- BJ & Tyler (The Amazing Race 9)
- Chris Daugherty (Survivor: Vanuatu)
- Richard Hatch (Survivor: Borneo)
- Sandra Diaz-Twine (Survivor: Pearl Islands/Heroes vs. Villains)
- Uchenna & Joyce (The Amazing Race 7)
- Zach & Flo (The Amazing Race 3)

Next winner is from a season that had Boston Rob.

Comments

Loved the season and I thought it was a really good winner too

Sent by HelenCoops,May 10, 2013

+++. I need to rewatch for Todd, I will definitely consider this write-up as I do so! Right now I'm neutral on him but I hope to appreciate him more.

Chris/Richard/Sandra top three is SO good. Swap out Chris for Tina and you have my top three, but Chris is basically on part with Tina so it's whatever. (Though if Dawn wins this season then it'll be Richard/Sandra/Dawn)

Sent by zimdelinvasor,May 10, 2013

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WINNER #7 - TODD HERZOG (SURVIVOR)

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