Board Thread:Fourty-Two Iconic Moments/@comment-7785749-20150104060828

From twenty-one seasons of our ORG, forty-two of the most iconic moments in its history have been brought together and ranked. Starting at #42, another entry will be posted each day until completion.

"Moments" is a loose term to include any individual moment, overarching storyline, or any other source of notoriety, infamy, or notice.



#42 - Côte Can't Merge (Various Seasons)

#41 - Andrei's Immunity Run (Papua New Guinea, Episodes 8-11)

#40 - Savanes Sucks (Côte d'Ivoire, Episodes 1-7)

#39 - Ashes to Ashes (All-Stars, Episode 6)

#38 - Beyoncé's Divine Intervention (Madagascar, Episodes 12-13)

#37 - A Random Idol Play (Cuba, Episode 7)

#36 - An Anarchic Advent (Anarchy, Episode 2)

#35 - Uspekh (Kamchatka)

#34 - An InZane Tribal Council (Sardinia, Episode 12)

#33 - The Askja Cockroach (Salvation, Episodes 3-9)

#32 - Put a Nail In That Coffin (Peru, Episode 8)

#31 - Uli Quits (Heroes vs. Villains, Episode 9)



<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">#30 - A Feminine Touch (AKA The All-Female Final Three) (Indonesia, Finale)

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">The first all-female final three in the ORG's history was big, and it was big for a lot of reasons. First off, there's the shocking statistic of male players to female players.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">(Spoiler: That statistic being that a shit ton more males have played this game than females.)

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Let's look at how many females played the game before Indonesia:

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Clove (?), Kyle Gober (?), Gerda, KJ, Julie, Courtney, Lucy, Hoenn, Ash, Charley, Courtney 2.0, Samiah, Chandni, Taylor, Molly, Kacey, Maya, Val, Ash 2.0, Gerda 2.0, Emma 2.0, Chandni 2.0, Taylor 2.0, Charley 2.0, Sam, Ellie, Alexandra, Jessy, Domca, Natalie, Kara, Marco, Jennifer, Julia, Cali, Alexandra 2.0, Jessy 2.0, Sam 2.0, and Natalie 2.0.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">That's a listing with some very accomplished winners. We've got three winners, three runner-ups, ten returnees, and one of only two Redemption Island returnees. Keep in mind that this is all true only as of Indonesia.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">You look at this list, though, and only see 39 spots, one for each day of a regular season. And up to Indonesia, how many spots had been played?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">346. Which means only 11% of players in the entire ORG, prior to Indonesia, were female. So females have a huge deficit when it comes into this; the fact that there is so few of them in contrast to the vast sea of males is one of the factors that makes an all-female Final Three all the more impressive.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Another reason why the first all-female final three was so big is because it was groundbreaking. Who would've thought it actually would've ever happened??? It was a long time coming in this ORG community, and it was a historic moment as Casey, Laure, and Sarah emerged as the only contestants left standing at the end of it. Even though there was still one Tribal Council left to go before the finals, there were no males left in the running. GG girls.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">And the biggest reason why this historic final three makes the countdown?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">The fact that it happened in Indonesia.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Indonesia was a fun season, and if the ORG were an actual show, I think the best way to describe it would be a cult favorite. Maybe not the best or most dynamic that's ever been produced, but still really damn good and with a huge following behind it. Indonesia also had its own fair share of controversy. However, it also is the only season with the distinction of producing winners of different genders (Casey, who won, and Steve, who would go on to win Salvation) which is random but cool.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">So it's time to set the scene from this magical and feminine journey. Let's get down to it.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">                                INDONESIA: BRIEFLY AND PROBABLY INACCURATELY SUMMARIZED BY THE WRITER OF A COUTNDOWN

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">The game starts with twenty contestants, four tribes, and seven "females", which, I believe, gave it the record at the time for most female contestants playing. So u go Indonesia, four for u.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Some of these females are playing very well right off the bat (*cough*Jamie*cough*) while some aren't (*cough*Purry*cough*). Purry becomes the second boot of the game, leaving six "females" against twelve guys. Who would've guessed that, despite having double the numbers, all of the men would be gone before half of said "females" were?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">These six "females" last until there are eleven contestants left in this game and thus have officially become the majority gender in the game. This is ground-breaking. Alison, Casey, Claudia, Jamie, Laure, and Sarah have outnumbered the males for the first time in the ORG's history. This is important. By this time, people have definitely started to think that a female winner was a safe possibility. But with the females having a majority, some radicals would begin to think that an all-female finale was within grasp as well. Who knows how many more guys would fall before the next "female"?

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Zero. Zero would fall before the next "female", as "Alison" is voted out, and then the truth surfaces that she was a sockpuppet of Claudia and a former player who signed up as a female but was actually a male. That might be a bit hard to follow.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">But anyways, we're now merged and at the Final Nine, and there's five men to four women. But by eliminating Rex, Lucky, and Topaz in succession, the women have once more outnumbered the men, with a four to two majority. If Indonesia were to be a Final Three, a female was guaranteed a seat at the Final Tribal Council no matter what.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">Aaaaaaand then Jamie, potentially the strongest case for a female winner, gets voted out, leaving the game open for Jake and Julian to by whatever circumstances occupy the two seats at the Final Tribal Council. But they don't, because Julian quits immediately afterwards, and Jake fails to win Individual Immunity, leading to his boot.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">And now we've only got Casey, Laure, and Sarah. We only have females left in the game for the first time in the ORG's history.

<p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:6px;font-size:14.4444446563721px;color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">                                                   Sarah: Kind and hard-working, Sarah was a huge threat to win the game not only because of how likable she was but because of how much she had put into it.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">                                                         Laure: An underrated strategist, Laure was able to maneuver her way to the end not just because she was arguably a goat but because she had a decent strategic grasp of the game, in spite of the shortcomings in her social game.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">                                                         Casey: Casey, who ended up winning the most Individual Immunity challenges of the season and walking out with the most jury votes in the end, joined the hall of winners thanks to the way she was able to smartly compose herself and her position in the game moving forward, surviving targets and playing well to earn the title of Sole Survivor.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">These three girls ended up being the last contestants remaining in Indonesia, and not only is that great because of everything they offered to the season and to the  ORG as a whole, but because of the season that they did it in. The season was filled with females who stood in the way of such history from happening, contestants who ended up altering the game in unforeseen ways, a thirteen-to-seven gender minority from the start of the game, and very capable opposition, but yet somehow in the wonderful hot mess that was Indonesia, history was made.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">And every second of it was thanks to the three females who made history. U go!!

tl;dr: There had been a lot more male players than female players in the game. Several seasons were even impossible to have an all-female final three in. But despite the odds that they had to overcome, in Indonesia, Casey, Laure, and Sarah outlasted the twists and turns of the game, the controversies and disqualifications of their opposition, and statistics in order to make history. Nice.

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<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">P.S. -  From the moment I conceived the countdown, I knew that the final three of Indonesia deserved their own entry for making history. It was a big moment in this ORG and I'm happy to have been around to have seen it. Two other entries cracked the list partially due to their historical significance.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">P.P.S. - Unfortunately, this was the only moment from Indonesia that made the list. Sorry to the players and the hosts that I couldn't include more. #r.i.p.Jessy2k14

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">P.P.P.S. - Remember in the last entry when I said that the Uli-centric entry was the closest we would get to a character entry? That was wrong. Two spoilers about what's coming next time: a), it was hinted at during a previous entry, and b), it so deliciously ties in with a particular contestant's multi-season arc that I decided to throw in a bit of a character entry because it worked out so well.

<span style="color:rgb(20,24,35);font-family:Helvetica,Arial,lucidagrande,tahoma,verdana,arial,sans-serif;line-height:21.466667175293px;">P.P.P.P.S. - Girl Power!!! Indonesia rocks. <ac_metadata title="#30 - A Feminine Touch"> </ac_metadata>