The twelfth season of “Survivor” is known for its dynamic and colorful cast, which included a mentally unbalanced Shane Powers, a challenge-dominating Terry Deitz, and the genesis of “Survivor” legend Cirie Fields. 24-year-old yoga instructor Aras Baskauskas ended up winning the season, though not without facing some tough competition, and, like any other season, the outcome could have been entirely different had any little thing been different.
Recently, third-place finisher Terry Deitz conducted a Reddit AMA in which he revealed whether he and Cirie indeed would have won in any final 2 scenario, and that the notorious Shane was actually quite underrated.
Here’s what you need to know:
Terry: Shane Powers ‘Didn’t Get Enough Credit’
In season 12, “Survivor: Panama – Exile Island,” then-35-year-old Shane Powers was known for his colorful personality, mostly as a result of the mental breakdown he was suffering due to nicotine withdrawal. This withdrawal led to such iconic moments as threatening to “find and kill” his tribemates if they were to turn on him, many violent and sporadic outbursts, pretending a rock was his BlackBerry, and getting Cirie, a nurse, to investigate his genitalia when he suspected there was an issue down there.
Although this bizarre behavior led to many seeing Shane as a “goat” who couldn’t possibly have been respected by his castmates, Terry revealed that the reality was not quite what you would expect.
When asked by a fan in his AMA who, from his season, didn’t get enough credit for how good they are as a player, Terry responded, “Shane. Shane, for sure.” Though he did not elaborate much in the comment on why Shane was underrated, he also spoke of how he regretted not giving Shane his immunity idol at the final 5, so that Shane could have avoided his blindside and the two could have gone to the final 2 together. Through this, and a number of other post-game interviews, it is clear that Shane was likely far more strategic than the show portrayed him to be.
Terry Says He Would Have Won in Any Final 2
GettyTerry Deitz at the “Survivor: Panama” reunion show in 2006.
Though the “Survivor: Panama” final 2 ended up being Aras and 24-year-old Danielle DiLorenzo, there has been much speculation in the “Survivor” community as to whether fan-favorites Cirie or Terry would have won had they made it to the final 2. In reality, Terry was one immunity challenge away from making it to the final 2; he was eliminated in third place when Danielle won and chose to take Aras to the end instead of him, breaking the promise she had made the day before. So, would Terry have won if he made it to the final 2? According to Terry, the answer is unequivocally yes.
In the AMA, Terry said that he would have won in any final 2 combination, including against Cirie. “After hearing Shane’s speech at the final tribal, I think no matter who I was up against, I would have won,” Terry explained. “I didn’t know Shane was gonna get up there and say what he said, but I’m thankful he did – it made me feel better.”
The speech by Shane which Terry is referring to took place in the season finale, at the Final Tribal Council, in which he expressed disappointment in the final 2, and expressed his wish that Terry would have been sitting there in their stead. “I believe that Terry is the most deserving person of the 16 to win the million dollars,” Shane said at the time. He ended up voting for Danielle after getting the two to pick a number at random between one and a million.
GettyCirie Fields at the “Survivor: Panama” reunion show in 2006.
Although he said that Cirie likely would have beaten anyone in the final 2 (apart from himself), he also mentioned that he would have voted for Aras as a juror over Cirie, which might come as a bit of a surprise to some fans, given their rather combative relationship while on the island. He said of the season’s winner:
I would have definitely voted Aras. Aras did a lot of what I did as far as helping around camp, getting water, going fishing, getting food… now granted, Cirie got a long way, but she wasn’t the performer that Aras was.
“Survivor” airs Wednesdays 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS. The two-hour premiere of season 42 will air on March 9.
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