The regions are done, leaving us with representatives of each of the themes that make for a great Tribal Council. These might not have been your personal top four Tribals, but it’s hard to argue that any of them don’t deserve consideration.

Voting criteria:

• You decide what makes a Tribal worthy of your vote. Was it your favourite? The best? Most memorable? Most dramatic? It’s up to you. We’ve organized them by theme, but you’re under no obligation to pick the best blindside tribal to represent the Blindsides bracket (for instance).
• Tribal Council is defined as everything that happened in episode from when the tribe gets to Tribal Council through to the Final Words of the eliminated contestant. Things that didn’t make the air were out of bounds for consideration when putting the list together.
• For Final Tribal Councils, the reveal of the winner is out of bounds (except for the first Final Tribal). This takes place at a different time and place and is aired on a different episode.

Voting ends on Tuesday, April 12th.

In doing the write-ups throughout the tournament, I made sure to not try and push my favourites. Not so much in an attempt to seem impartial, more because I know people don’t like being told what to do and are just as likely to vote the other way. But at this point, I imagine you all know how you’re voting. This isn’t going to change your mind one way or another. Plus, I’m out of ways to describe these neutrally. So this time, I’m letting you in on my thought process.

2. The Black Widows Blindside Ozzy vs 1. Parvati’s Double Idol Play

 
2. The Black Widows Blindside Ozzy – Micronesia, episode 10 “I Promise” vs 1. Parvati’s Double Idol Play – Heroes vs. Villains, episode 10 “Going Down in Flames”

If you’ve been around these parts for awhile, you’ll know that I’m the site’s Micronesia skeptic (some would say hater, but that’s an exaggeration of how I feel about it). NONE of that skepticism applies to the Ozzy blindside. It may very well be the most impactful blindside in the history of the game, and it played out beautifully. Best part of that season.

But what Parvati did at the Heroes vs Villains may very well be my favourite move in the history of the show. I may have come into that season as a bit of a Parvati skeptic, but by the end of that episode, I was standing and applauding. You can say that Amanda made it obvious that the target wasn’t Parvati, that still doesn’t diminish the fact that Parv sacrificed two get out of jail free cards to win right now. Even though it STILL could’ve been Russell as the target. Or her in a double-bluff. Blindsiding Ozzy was amazing. Blindsiding the entire Heroes tribe (and Russell too) was art.

Read more about the Black Widows in our 30 from 30 series.

Read more about Parvati’s double-idol moment in our 30 from 30 series.

1. Erik Gives Away Immunity vs 1. Snakes and Rats

 

1. Erik Gives Away Immunity – Micronesia, episode 13 “If It Smells Like a Rat, Give It Cheese” vs 1. Snakes and Rats – Borneo, episode 13 “The Final Four”

A big part of my Micronesia skeptism comes from the fact that most of its best non-Ozzy-blindside moments are a result of the power imbalance of Fans vs Favorites. Nowhere is this more obvious than when a sweet, emotionally-vulnerable fan boy was manipulated by a group lead by the TV stars he so giddily watched previously. It’s the equivalent of watching Kobe Bryant destroy a Make a Wish foundation kid in a game of one on one, while trash talking him the entire time (note: this is totally something Kobe would do). But while it might not have been the most epic strategy move… can you believe that shit happened? Like, that dude really gave up his necklace. Even the people who got him to do it couldn’t believe it, and that we got to see each and every one of their reactions to it makes this one of the best Tribals ever.

(As a complete aside, you know how the internet loves to denigrate Rob’s win in Redemption Island because he beat a bunch of idiots? Say what you want about his competition, but at least three of them didn’t quit. Two of his main opposition weren’t medevaced. None of them failed to play idols when it was painfully obvious that they were the target. And they sure as hell didn’t hand over immunity necklaces to get themselves voted out. I guess the lesson is if you’re going to win a season beating up on the junior varsity, do it in really entertaining fashion and no one will ever bring it up).

That all said, the finale of the first season of Survivor is probably the most significant Tribal in the history of the show. 50 million people tuned in to see how this new summer obsession would end. Literally, we didn’t even know the process beyond “people will vote for a winner”. You can take Sue’s speech out of this and it’s still an elite 8 candidate. With it? It’s almost not fair to even compare it to the rest.

Read more about Sue’s speech in our 30 from 30 series.