Despite the stigma that often surrounds reality television, Survivor can make for some pretty fantastic TV. As is often the case with any prestige drama, Survivor gets by on many twists and turns, and even the elimination of various "beloved characters" (in this case, real people). Sometimes people you love get the ax, and sometimes people you despite end up doing really well.
Part of the Survivor magic comes from the art of the blindside. Blindsides are an integral part of the Survivor DNA, and an expertly crafted one can make even the most emotionless people squeal in excitement. Meanwhile, a horribly-executed one can make audiences laugh at the expense of the wannabe mastermind. Without further delay, these are the five most unforgettable blindsides on Survivor, and five that backfired in embarrassingly spectacular fashion.
ICONIC: Erik Gives Up His Immunity Necklace
There have been many stupid plays in Survivor history. And then there's Erik Reichenbach giving up his own immunity necklace.
The infamous Black Widow Brigade of Micronesia got their claws into poor Erik and tricked him into giving up his immunity necklace to Natalie Bolton. Despite their promises to the contrary, the Brigade immediately turned on the now-vulnerable Erik and voted him out in a unanimous 4-1 vote.
BACKFIRED: Erik Vs. Amanda
To understand the brilliance (and stupidity) of the above Erik elimination, one must understand its intricacies. Erik was coerced into giving his immunity necklace to Natalie, as he was promised that she and Cirie would blindside Amanda if he gave up the necklace.
Unfortunately, Erik trusted Natalie and took them at their word. But it was never the "real" plan to blindside Amanda. It was always going to be Erik.
ICONIC: Edgardo Gets Eliminated After The Merge
Edgardo's elimination from Fiji is an exercise in humility. Edgardo had absolutely dominated the pre-merge, but his game began to fall apart upon the merger. He fell into the minority alliance and was eventually the target of a betrayal that resulted his elimination from the game.
Fellow contestant and alliance member Dreamz Herd ended up betraying Edgardo by telling the other alliance of his plan. They voted for Edgardo, and he was swiftly kicked from the game.
BACKFIRED: Edgardo Vs. Earl & Cassandra
Dreamz Herd, again in Fiji, ended up betraying Edgardo over his proposed plan to blindside Earl Cole. Edgardo's alliance - which consisted of himself, Mookie, Alex, and Dreamz - planned to utilize a hidden immunity idol to blindside Earl (and later Cassandra).
However, they failed to notify Dreamz of said idol, leaving him feeling betrayed and out-of-the-loop. Seeking a more loyal and truthful alliance, Dreamz flipped and betrayed Edgardo, resulting in his eventual blindside.
ICONIC: J.T. Gives Russell His Hidden Immunity Idol
J.T. Thomas is but one of many victims of the diabolical (yet brilliant) Russell Hantz in Heroes vs. Villains. seeing her as a massive threat.
Unbeknownst to him, Russell and Parvati were working together, and they later used J.T.'s idol against him in what is perhaps the most iconic blindside in Survivor history.
BACKFIRED: Tyson Vs. Parvati
Tyson's infamous move in Heroes vs. Villains is widely touted as one of the dumbest moves in Survivor history. The plan was to split the vote on Russell and Parvati, ensuring that at least one of them would be eliminated.
Everyone knew that this was the plan (including Russell and Parvati), yet Tyson planned on blindsiding both his tribemates and Parvati by voting for her instead of Russell (as was planned). This plan went horribly awry, owing to a hidden immunity idol, resulting in Tyson's elimination in a 3-2-0 vote.
ICONIC: Sandra Makes A Bad Deal
Sandra Diaz-Twine is arguably one of the greatest players in Survivor history, but she made the blunder of a lifetime in Winners at War.
She made a deal with Denise: Denise would give two fire tokens in exchange for Sandra's hidden immunity idol, plus her guarantee for voting against either Jeremy or Tony. Denise made the trade for one fire token, promising the other after Tribal. There was no "after Tribal" for Sandra, though, as Denise used her own idol to blindside Sandra. Not only was she blindsided, but Sandra was played into receiving only one fire token.
BACKFIRED: Gabby Vs. Christian
David vs. Goliath saw the brilliant pairing of Gabby Pascuzzi and Christian Hubicki. The two orchestrated the blindside of Jessica Peet, but following the merge, Gabby began fearing that Christian would receive all the credit for their gameplay.
She planned to blindside him, but Christian used a hidden immunity idol on himself, negating the five votes that had been cast against him. It backfired, and Gabby ended up going to the jury on a split 2-1-0 vote.
ICONIC: John Gets Ousted By The Outsiders Alliance
There is perhaps no blindside more satisfying than that of John Carroll in Marquesas. Carroll was the leader of the Rotu Four, the alliance who ended up eliminating Boston Rob. Feeling cocky after Rob's departure, the Rotu Four began acting aggressively arrogant and conceited.
This caused the unaligned players to align themselves (into the suitably-named Outsiders Alliance) and vote out Carroll in a brilliant 6-3 vote.
BACKFIRED: Jean-Robert Vs. James
Survivor: China is full of great gameplay, including the battle of the wits between Jean-Robert and eventual winner Todd. Jean-Robert planned to blindside James in order to eliminate his two individual immunity idols.
Unfortunately, Todd had the exact same idea, and he began seeing Jean-Robert as a serious mental threat. Todd gathered his troops and blindsided Jean-Robert in a 5-3-1 vote.