The order in which players left the game, and the impact they left behind:
- Rupert (Galang; Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains) Played with his heart this time. Very plainly sacrificed himself as the first victim of the season's theme.
- Colton (Galang; One World) Quitter (x2). Should not be allowed to play again, no matter what he said at the reunion. He's really good at making himself sound better there.
- Rachel (Tadhana; Tyson) By his own admission, a huge part of why Tyson eventually won.
- Marissa (Tadhana; Gervase) Probably the most tenuous and superfluous loved one of the season, and her fate played out accordingly.
- Candice (Galang; Cook Islands, Heroes vs. Villains) Got sent immediately to Redemption Island Arena, and just never made it out.
- Brad Culpepper (Tadhana; Monica) A classic case of strategizing himself right out of the game, although to his credit was the first one to do so this season. Monica was competing against him all season, too, at least in her own mind.
- Kat (Galang; One World) Not as memorable this season as her first one, probably thrown off by the loved ones gimmick.
- John (Tadhana; Candice) Got tangled up in the loved ones affair and never really recovered.
- Laura B. (Tadhana; Rupert) On the plus side, probably did about as well as Rupert ever managed on his own, making this a Boneham tradition of coming up well short of the prize, although they both remain one of the classic pieces of Survivor history.
- Aras (Galang; Panama) Needed to be eliminated so that other people (read: Gervase and Tyson) could make it further, although his basic gameplay ability was definitely validated just in case anyone is still doubting that he deserved his Panama victory.
- Vytas (Tadhana; Aras) Proved he was every bit the match for his brother's gameplay. In any other season probably a viable contender for the title of sole survivor.
- Caleb (Tadhana; Colton) Still trying to figure out what he sees in Colton (the reverse is obvious enough), but made a surprisingly competent contender although one without a real chance of winning.
- Katie (Tadhana; Tina) One of the real surprises, and one of the better strategists in the game, the last best victim of the loved ones affair.
- Hayden (Tadhana; Kat) Learned that there is a big difference between Survivor and Big Brother.
- Laura M. (Galang; Samoa) The subject of the season's biggest strategic move, although I'm not sure if it made a real difference other than in that family.
- Ciera (Tadhana; Laura M.) The loved one with the most gumption, although not the best strategist; even voting out her own mother didn't amount to everything she thought it would.
- Tina (Galang; The Australian Outback, All-Stars) Perhaps the biggest surprise of the season was a former winner who actually played better this time than when she won, a much bigger threat somehow and therefore a target to be eliminated.
- Gervase (Galang; Borneo) Moreso than Tina, a hugely remarkable turnaround from his earlier gameplay, although to be far he was one of the last two Tagi that first season so perhaps there was always indication that he could do well given another chance. And so he did. Not the most impressive in the challenges, but he did what was necessary at camp strategically to secure himself a worthy place in the finals and a good argument for winning if his ally Tyson hadn't done it better.
- Monica (Galang; One World) The classic case of an emotional argument speaking against its own chance of success, no matter how good it can sound, the feel-good argument of playing to believe in herself, creating her own legacy. She achieved that her first season, and making it to the finals without really having done anything herself to get there (and deep down she knows that; she was the third man, and in the three-way final tribal, no matter how the votes actually shook out, that one never wins) was its own statement as well. But she never had a chance to win, to be clear.
- Tyson (Galang; Tocantins, Heroes vs. Villains) A player who greatly benefited from a second and especially third chance, always memorable but never a clear threat to win until this season, and he did everything he needed to in order to do it, including clever usage of the hidden immunity idol. Very happy with this result, a total deserving winner. In a season heavily dominated by strategists rather than any one truly strong player, he still stood out. Surprising for a season with a gimmick geared toward emotion, but it was Tyson who managed to strike the right balance, and so here he is.
