Survivor has proven itself to be one of the most recognizable and beloved reality TV shows of all time, continuing to enthrall and excite audiences from its humble beginnings up until the latest landmark latest season. Part of what has made the show so compelling to audiences over the years is the eclectic and enthralling cast of contestants over the years, with each season's cast having a high number of genuine highlights. A number of these contestants are so energizing on screen that they are given a second, or sometimes even third chance to play the game once again.
However, while there have been many returning players who played great in their original season, and continued to enchant audiences the second time around, the returning season can also be one of redemption. Survivor likes to get creative with its returning players from time to time, bringing back players who were iconic in some way but didn't particularly perform well in their original season. A second chance, however, can make all the difference for a player, able to learn from their mistakes and come out the other side doing infinitely better than their previous outing, sometimes becoming a legend in the process.
Survivor
AdventureReality TVGame ShowA reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
- Release Date
- May 31, 2000
- Cast
- Jeff Probst
- Main Genre
- Reality-TV
- Seasons
- 46
10 Kimmi Kappenberg
Seasons: The Australian Outback, Cambodia
On her first outing in Survivor's second season, The Australian Outback, Kimmi Kappenberg was a notable component of the pre-merge, getting considerable focus, but mostly stemming from the discourse between her and her teammates. This notable stemmed from Kimmi's more open personality combined with her vegetarian beliefs sometimes getting in the way of both camp life and the occasional food eating challenge. She ended The Australian Outback as the fifth person voted out, leaving the game on Day 15.
However, Kimmi received a surprise second chance at the game in Survivor: Cambodia, a season filled with returning contestants looking for a second chance at glory in the game. Kimmi played exceptionally in Cambodia, being a major strategic threat throughout the game, teaming up with other major threats in the season, and playing a part in numerous powerful alliances. Despite having major equity to win the season, she was voted out in the final 6 during a dangerous and high-stakes tribal council, one of the most memorable of the entire season.
9 Kelley Wentworth
Seasons: San Juan del Sur, Cambodia, Edge of Extinction
Kelley Wentworth was a minor player in her initial season, Survivor: San Juan del Sur, playing alongside her father, Dale Wentworth, and was one of many players screwed over by a tribe swap. While initially seeming like a positive swap at first, ending up on the same tribe as her father, this increased perceived threat made them a major target, and Kelley was soon after eliminated in the pre-merge. Kelley may have only been the 5th person voted out in San Juan del Sur, but her unexpected wild card return in Cambodia turned her into a Survivor legend.
Kelley's game in Cambodia was much more flashy, cementing herself as one of the most dangerous and powerful underdogs that the show has ever seen. She orchestrated and performed numerous amazing feats at tribal council, from the previously mentioned high stakes tribal in final 6 to her groundbreaking idol play at final 12, eliminating the most votes of any idol in Survivor history. Kelley was incredibly close to winning the season, being one challenge away, but was voted out at 4th in Cambodia, before eventually returning to play a third time in Survivor: Edge of Extinction.
8 Brad Culpepper
Seasons: Blood vs. Water, Game Changers
A former NFL player and husband of Survivor: One World contestant Monica Culpepper, Brad Culpepper originally competed alongside his wife in the familial-themed season, Blood vs. Water. While his time in the game was relatively short, Brad was easily one of the most notable contestants that defined the pre-merge, acting as the leader of his tribe. However, as his tribe would continue to lose and vote off more members, he would receive the brunt of anger and force from long time Survivor players seeing their family members being voted off, bubbling up until Brad was blindsided early in the game.
However, in his second time playing the game in Survivor: Game Changers, Brad made a more focused effort to play a more patient and collaborative game than his playstyle in Blood vs. Water. This allowed him to soar through the pre-merge thanks to many powerful connections he made throughout his tribe, with this power even continuing following the merge. Combined with his culpable strength in challenges, Brad was able to make it to the final 3 in Game Changers, ending the season as the runner-up in a massive improvement to his original game.
The 10 Most Iconic First Boots from 'Survivor,' Ranked
Nobody wants to be the first person voted off.7 Stephanie LaGrossa
Seasons: Palau, Guatemala, Heroes vs. Villains
One of the most notable and powerful female contestants to ever play Survivor, Stephanie LaGrossa would have her resilience and strength tested in her initial season, Survivor: Palau. In Palau, Stephanie was a part of the infamous Ulong tribe, a tribe that lost so many challenges that they eventually dwindled to a singular remaining contestant, that being Stephanie. As the last remaining member of Ulong, the merge of the season was simply Stephanie joining the other tribe, where she was quickly voted off because of how unbeatable she would be at the end.
However, the story and energy behind Ulong was so powerful that Stephanie, alongside the other remaining Ulong member Bobby Jon Drinkard, returned in the following season, Survivor: Guatemala. Playing alongside a group of new players, Stephanie's experience and inherent strength in the game allowed her to be more strategically aggressive and completely run the show for most of the game. This new cutthroat style of playing earned her a spot in the finals, where she would end up as the runner-up to the season's winner, Danni Boatwright.
6 'Boston' Rob Mariano
Seasons: Marquesas, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, Redemption Island, Winners at War
While now considered to be one of Survivor's most iconic and legendary players, many forget that Rob Mariano was not a game-defining Survivor master from the very beginning. In his first season, Survivor: Marquesas, he was still a considerably powerful strategic player, able to use his strength and prowess to have control over those under him and around him. However, his time in the game was cut short at the merge, as he was the 7th player voted out of the game after failing to shift the power dynamic away from the powerful Rotu Four Alliance.
Rob's true legendary status comes from his gameplay in Survivor: All-Stars, where he executed his cutthroat godfather style of gameplay on the highest level against some of the best players of all time. He would do anything and everything he could, including burning bridges and betraying real-life friends, to further his life in the game, dominating the game of Survivor in a way rarely seen until that point. He would receive 2nd place in All-Stars, losing to his Survivor love and now wife Amber Mariano, but would continue to cement his legacy in multiple seasons since.
5 John Cochran
Seasons: South Pacific, Caramoan
A Survivor super fan eventually transformed into a Survivor icon, John Cochran's first season, Survivor: South Pacific, was far from the greatest showing when it came to exceptional gameplay. He had a relatively lackluster social game when compared to his tribemates, and after being persuaded by Survivor legend Coach Wade to betray his tribemates, left him completely on the outs socially. Soon after, Cochran was voted off during the merge section of South Pacific, getting 8th place while subsequently spelling doom for the rest of his tribemates to follow.
However, Cochran massively improved his game sense in his second time playing the game in Survivor: Caramoan, now as the Survivor legend playing against die-hard fans. Cochran proved himself to be an unexpected challenge beast, being able to combine his now-improved social game with a multitude of individual immunity wins to secure a spot in the final three. Once there, Cochran became one of only two players to complete a perfect game of Survivor, having not received any votes for elimination and winning the season in a unanimous decision.
3:11The 35 Best Seasons of 'Survivor,' Ranked
The tribe has spoken.4 Amber Mariano
Seasons: The Australian Outback, All-Stars, Winners at War
Before becoming one of the most iconic winners in the show's history, Amber was a mostly overlooked member of The Australian Outback, often overshadowed by the many other iconic members of the cast. While she aligned herself with several powerful players, including the likes of Jerri Manthey, Amber simply found herself outnumbered and without allies by the end of the game. However, she still had a respectable placement, earning 6th in one of Survivor's best seasons.
Amber's legacy, however, is greatly attributed to her powerful and amazing performance in All-Stars, where she worked alongside Rob to create an unstoppable duo that took control of the entire game. It's easy to give the majority of credit to Rob, seeing as how he continued to play brilliant games of Survivor in his following appearances, Amber's rise to strength was much more unexpected at the time. Amber's mixing of relationship-building gameplay while still playing as cutthroat as Rob gave her the edge in All-Stars, allowing her to win the season over her partner.
3 Parvati Shallow
Seasons: Cook Islands, Micronesia, Heroes vs. Villains, Winners at War
Parvati Shallow has proven herself to be one of the most deadly and powerful strategic masterminds that the game of Survivor has ever seen, with a great number of amazing performances in multiple seasons. Even in her first outing in Survivor: Cook Islands, Parvati was shown to be an effective strategic powerhouse who ended up on the wrong side of the numbers after the flipping of alliance member Jonathan Penner. She exited the game at the final six, and would somehow find herself performing even better in subsequent seasons.
In her second time playing in the fans vs favorite season, Survivor: Micronesia, Paravati was a founding member of one of the most deadly alliances in Survivor history, the Black Widow Brigade. The alliance, composed of Parvati and other icons including Amanda Kimmel and Cirie Fields, was a part of numerous standout blindsided against some of the biggest threats in the game. Parvati would go on to win the season thanks to her strategic mastery as well as strong relationships and would go down as one of the best players to play the game.
2 Jeremy Collins
Seasons: San Juan del Sur, Cambodia, Winners at War
Jeremy Collins was already a major physical and strategic threat in his debut season, Survivor: San Juan del Sur, where he orchestrated multiple blindsides with his powerful alliance. However, his massive strengths and the threats that he posed to winning the game soon made him a major target during the merge, leading to his own alliance voting him out right after he voted out his rival in the prior vote. Jeremy got out at 10th, but his on-screen prowess all but assured that he would return for another chance.
Jeremy would get this chance in Survivor: Cambodia, an opportunity where he would learn from his mistakes and massively play around his threat level. Jeremy perfectly used a method of using more powerful and dangerous physical threats as allies, such as Andrew Savage and Joe Anglim, who would be seen as bigger targets and voted off before him. Able to use these players to shield his threat level, Jeremy was able to more easily set himself up a pathway to the end of the game, where he was able to win the season by a unanimous vote.
1 Sarah Lacina
Seasons: Cagayan, Game Changers, Winners at War
Sarah Lacina made her debut in one of Survivor's most iconic seasons, Survivor: Cagayan, where she would be an important keynote character for the season during the pre-merge and surrounding the merge. Her alliance with the eventual season's winner, Tony Vlachos, known as Cops R Us, would prove to be one of the most iconic alliances in the show's history, as it would evolve throughout multiple seasons. However, Sarah's Cagayan game would be cut short at the merge, seemingly having too much power in the game and being blindsided by her alliance.
In her second outing, however, Sarah vowed to play a much less passive and a much more assertive and cutthroat game, resulting in a surprising and unexpected powerhouse performance in Game Changers. Sarah would masterfully play around the multitude of advantages that the season provided; in combination with flipping between the two core alliances and forming multiple impactful social connections made her a strategic force in the season. Sarah would go on to win Game Changers dominantly, and continue her strengths by also playing exceptionally well in Winners at War.
