The inaugural season of BigBen Survivor started in a little place known as Hawaii. Coming into the season, I had zero expectations as I had insecurities on the level of activity. However, little did I know this season would provide a pool of returnees and ultimately the foundation of this series.
The first season started off as a "Back to the Basics" season.
PreMerge
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Hawaii started off slow as we saw non-committed individuals in Amanda, William, Jacob, and Zarak proved to be easy votes. The eliminations of Mikayla and Noah proved to be a lot more intriguing. Mikayla didnât put a ton of effort into the game either but in his short stay trolled the eventual Cole where he ultimately lost the battle but got the satisfaction of messing with his sanity. Noahâs boot on the other hand came as a bit more of a surprise as he seemed to be in alright position and was betrayed by one of his closer allies in AndrewWeltner. Itâs safe to say most of the premerge votes were based on activity levels.
Merge --> Final 10
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Entering the merge, we saw future alliances begin to mold. Austyn proved to be the âHunter Ellisâ figure leading his tribe with his closest confidant in Eric right beside him. Their mission was to stay Kahaluu strong by keeping close ties with Andrew, Cole, and Scott and target Connor who was arguably the biggest all-around threat. However, Cole had different intentions as he felt a relatively strong connection to Connor and Scott who was Coleâs tightest ally assessed the situation and realized that if Cole flips, he needed to be on the right side of the numbers. This led to a Manipulation blindside with Austyn and Eric on the outs.
Final Nine
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Eric won immunity putting Austyn immediately on the hot seat. While Austyn and Eric were firmly on the outs against a six-person majority. They did maintain decent relationships with his original tribemates and his relationship with Chris proved to be very significant as he was a crucial swing vote. Ultimately, Chris was onboard to save Austyn which led to Austynâs tribemates wanting to save him in Cole, Eric, and Scott. Not to mention, Daniel who was antsy wanted to make a big move all season joined in with Scott letting him on the plan. This proved to be the inoffensive elimination and potentially detrimental one for Lanai as AndrewWeltner left making original tribal lines to 4-4.
Final Eight
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Youâd think a rock draw would very much be in the cards. The opposite was the case and instead we saw a final four alliance come together between Cole, Connor, Daniel, and Scott that would eventually run the game. Cam won his second individual immunity and was quietly starting to be viewed as a challenge. In the end, Austyn was eliminated as he was the biggest threat to the four-person majority leaving Eric all alone to fend for himself.
Final Seven
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This round, the four-person majority of Cole, Connor, Daniel, and Scott held all the power. Eric being alone and unimmune proved to be a tempting option it provided the least amount of collateral damage. However, Connorâs plan was to go for Chris as it would provide numbers for Lanai instead of 3-3 if Cam were to leave. On the other side, Daniel and Scott wanted Cam out for being good at competitions and numbers wise as he was Connorâs ally as opposed to thereâs where Chris was a bit more malleable. However, their plan didnât fall through as Cole was on the Connor ship. Not to mention, Eric was being targeted by Chris and Daniel needed Ericâs vote to eliminate Cam. Cam was a loner after losing his closest confidant in Chris.
Final Six
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It was a straightforward process with the vote either going to be Cam or Eric were going to be the next boot. Fortunately, Eric won immunity and his underdog status continued to grow. It was a game of duos with Cam & Eric as the outsiders, Daniel & Scott, and Connor & Cole. Cam had been a prime target for the Daniel and Scott duo for a few rounds and they finally got to take their shot. Connor was a bit hesitant but after catching wind Cam was voting him with Eric any chance of him saving Cam evaporated. The four-person alliance despite being a tad unsteady stuck together.
Final Five
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The alliance of fourâs biggest nightmare came true when Eric won immunity. Scott immediately suggested to Connor that they should vote Cole. This made the most sense for both at the time as Daniel was getting a lot of nasty feedback from the jury and were both closer to him. Connor who had played a strong game to this point made his first miscalculation in gunning for Cole as Cole was dead set to flip on Daniel and was willing to take Connor to the end. In the end, Daniel proved to be the swing vote due to Connor's miscalculation and made the biggest move of the season in eliminating Connor the biggest threat to win. Cole and Eric voted with Daniel.
Finale
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This finale was a tad bizarre. Cole came out of nowhere and won the last two individual immunity challenges. Scott received fourth place which was a bit mind boggling but his faith rested in his former duoâs hand Daniel. Danielâs reasoning for the move was that Scott was a bigger challenge threat come final immunity and was a bigger threat than Eric to win who had been the underdog all season. Now, seemingly Cole proved to be in the best spot as Daniel and Eric were each going to take him to the end as he virtually did nothing in their eyes. Final immunity, Cole wins and takes Daniel with Ericâs underdog story reaching its final chapter.
Final Tribal
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Coming into Final Tribal, it seemed to be an open vote. Cole was praised for how he conducted himself socially not making a ton of waves and winning the last two challenges. Daniel was praised for his strategic game playing the pivotal swing vote and managing not to have a vote cast against him all season. In the end, each of them had something the other was missing. Ultimately, Cole won by a vote of 4-3 and a lot had to do with his final tribal performance.
Jury Votes
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Andrew â Cole
Austyn â Cole
Chris â Daniel
Cam â Daniel
Connor â Cole
Scott â Cole
Eric â Daniel
Final Synopsis
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This was the perfect first season. It wasnât a god tier season nor was a season of complete boredom and toxicity. Coleâs win was a lack luster one but understood why he won at the end of the day. The merge had some fun moments and 50% of this cast ended up returning for future seasons as we had future winners in Chris and Scott. The character development was also solid as if it were the real show individuals like Daniel, Eric, Scott, Connor, and Austyn wouldâve taken much of the air time.
DVD Cover
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Daniel - Cole - Eric
Scott - Connor - Austyn
Season Overview
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16th: Amanda ( domarco13) [Lanai] (8-0)
15th: Mikayla ( manalord) [Kahaluu] (6-1-1)
14th: William ( WANJ) [Kahaluu] (8-0)
13th: Jacob ( kekgeek) [Lanai] (5-1-1)
12th: Noah ( noah_kondon) [Lanai] (5-1)
11th: Zarak ( Zkboizzz) [Kahaluu] (4-2)
**Merge**
10th: Andrew ( Manipulation) [Kahaluu/Ahupua] (7-3)
**Jury**
9th: Andrew ( AndrewWeltner) [Lanai/Ahupau] (6-3) *1st Member of the Jury*
8th: Austyn ( Oysterman11) [Kahaluu/Ahupau] (6-2) *2nd Member of the Jury*
7th: Chris ( IRandomal123) [Lanai/Ahupau] (5-2) *3rd Member of the Jury*
6th: Cam ( preznewton44) [Lanai/Ahupau] (4-2) *4th Member of the Jury*
5th: Connor ( cjuddy) [Lanai/Ahupau] (3-2) *5th Member of the Jury*
4th: Scott ( byp123) [Kahaluu/Ahupau] (3-1) *6th Member of the Jury*
3rd: Eric ( awwsum11 [Kahaluu/Ahupau] (1-0) *7th Member of the Jury*
**Final Tribal Council**
Runner-Up: Daniel ( DanielzSnooz) [Lanai/Ahupau] (Received 3 votes to win)
Sole Survivor: Cole ( Cole91) [Kahaluu/Ahupau] (Received 4 votes to win)
