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The Tribes

     Bayoneta 
Color/ namesake: blue/ Bayoneta island and thus Spanish for "bayonet"
Members: Courtney Marit, Danielle DiLorenzo, Misty Giles, Sally Schumann

The younger women's tribe.


     Viveros 
Color/ namesake: green/ Viveros isle and thus Spanish for "nursery"
Members: Aras Baskauskas, Austin Carty, Bobby Mason, Nick Stanbury

The younger men's tribe.


  • The Artifact: Viveros and Bayoneta were removed at an early swap, but didn't actually lose any members.
  • The Big Guy: All members were physically capable men who were well built to match.
  • Dwindling Party: When the men started getting voted out, Viveros was quickly reduced to one member.
  • Female Gaze: An all-men tribe of fit men? Yes.

     Casaya 
Color/ namesake: purple/ Casaya island
Members (start): Cirie Fields, Melinda Hyder, Ruth Marie Milliman, Tina Scheer
Members (swap): Aras Baskaulas, Bobby Mason, Bruce Kanegai, Cirie Fields, Courtney Marit, Danielle DiLorenzo, Melinda Hyder, Shane Powers

The older women's tribe.


     La Mina 
Color/ namesake: orange/ La Mina island and thus Spanish for "the mine"
Members (start): Bruce Kanegai, Dan Barry, Shane Powers, Terry Deitz
Members (swap): Austin Carty, Dan Barry, Misty Giles, Nick Stanbury, Ruth Marie Milliman, Sally Schumann, Terry Deitz

The older men's tribe.


  • A House Divided: The original members post-merge.
  • The Artifact: Stopped being so much about "older men" and more about "the tribe that's outnumbered by a person, but is at least not constantly fighting" once the swap hit.
  • Cool Old Guys: The original lineup.
  • Dwindling Party: Starting in the third episode, La Mina would go on a losing streak and ended up in the minority in the merge, and get picked off one by one. The reason the tribe wasn't completely pagonged post-merge was Terry's immunity streak.
  • The Quisling: Shane and Bruce post-merge.

     Gitanos 
Color/ namesake: Spanish for "gypsy"
Members: Aras Baskauskas, Austin Carty, Bruce Kanegai, Cirie Fields, Courtney Marit, Danielle DiLorenzo, Nick Stanbury, Sally Schumann, Shane Powers, Terry Deitz
The merged tribe.

Finalists

    1st. Aras Baskauskas 

Aras Baskauskas

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_aras_baskauskas.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 31/ Santa Monica, California/ yoga instructor
Tribe: Viveros -> Casaya -> Gitanos

A yoga instructor from the original Viveros tribe, and the de facto leader of the newly formed Casaya tribe. Despite being seen by his tribe as somewhat of a ditz with questionable methods at times, Aras was perhaps the only thing keeping the most dysfunctional tribe ever put together in Survivor from splitting apart. Whether it be through mediation of the bigger personalities or a general tough challenge performance, Aras can be credited with dragging his tribe into the merge with the majority, where he then faced the problem of Terry Deitz and his impressive challenge performance, which threatened the chances of a Casaya member winning the game.

Despite having numerous close shaves, and an immunity win at the Final 4 being the only thing keeping him from going home, he was saved by Danielle at the Final 3 after she won immunity and booted his arch-rival from the game. After yet another close shave after badly injuring himself during the Day 39 feast, he went on to face the jury where despite accusations of being a Lazy Bum, he went on to beat Danielle 5-2 in the jury vote and become the twelfth Sole Survivor.

Seven years and fifteen seasons later, Aras later returned to play again in Blood vs. Water.


  • Berserk Button: After Terry suggested that a person's spouse is more important of a loved one than one's parents (in order to justify why he picked Cirie to see her husband over Aras seeing his mom during the Reward Challenge), we get to see up close how much Aras really dislikes Terry.
  • Cloud Cuckoolander: Especially his method for trying to start a fire on the original Viveros tribe; it's likely that all his... eccentricities were overlooked thanks to being on the same tribe as Courtney and Shane (who were both even crazier than he was).
  • Cool Teacher: He even taught Parvati Shallow yoga.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Broke Terry's immunity streak.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: His journey to the end was certainly not a smooth one:
    • First: He started out fine on Viveros, but the tribes were shuffled after only one total elimination. Aras ended up on Casaya, the most dysfunctional tribe that the show had ever seen. Just about everyone there was out of their mind, unable to deal with the chaos, or both. Even though he was the youngest contestant this season, he had to reign them all in and lead them in challenges. This got them on a decent winning streak, despite La Mina being the more cohesive and stronger tribe on paper.
    • Second: When he got to the merge, the success of Casaya meant he became a threat. He had rival Terry Deitz breathing down his neck the entire time, and suffered defeat after defeat from him in challenges. Even the prospect of Terry losing was undermined by the threat of a MacGuffin that could kick Aras from the game any time Terry wanted to use it. He obviously didn't get sent home, but his alliance fell apart after Terry proved too strong to simply work around.
    • Third: The Casaya Alliance collapse meant he also had to deal with Cirie and her Gambit Roulette. The only reason she got out of the picture was because Aras managed to win immunity at the final four, forcing Terry and Danielle to vote for Cirie as a plan B.
    • Finally, he had to convince the jury that he deserved the money over Danielle in spite of accusations from the jury that he was generally nothing but a Lazy Bum on the show and in Real Life. And this was all done after sustaining a surprisingly brutal injury to his finger on the last day at camp.
  • Fingore: Aras slipped on a bottle on day 39 and cut his finger.
  • The Hero: Of Viveros, and eventually Casaya.
  • Hot Teacher: He teaches yoga, granted, but it still counts.
  • Humble Pie: Aras stated that, between the days spent on Exile Island, the constant losses to Terry at Immunity Challenges, and getting cuts on his body from tripping on the rocks on Day 39; his ego was crushed over the course of the season.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Cirie.
  • Kid Hero: By comparison, since he is the youngest player in the season.
  • Last of His Kind: In addition to being the Sole Survivor, once Austin was voted out at the Top 9, Aras was the last remaining member of the original Viveros tribe.
  • The Leader: Of Casaya. Without him, they probably would have fallen apart within days.
  • Only Sane Man: Of the Casaya Four. A recurring theme in the early episodes is one of the other members (usually Shane or Courtney) doing something ridiculous or fighting with another member of the alliance, with Aras just watching in disbelief and trying to smooth things over. In particular, Aras is the one that held the Casaya Four together by persuading Shane not to quit on Day 6.
  • The Rival: To Terry, to a huge degree.
  • Sole Survivor: The winner of Survivor: Panama.
  • Spiky Hair: So pronounced that, at the reunion, Jeff Probst asked Aras how he managed to keep it up throughout the entirety of his duration on the island. Aras said that Cirie and some of the other girls helped him out in maintaining it.
  • Surrounded by Idiots: Technically "surrounded by crazy people".
  • Team Dad: Despite being the youngest person on Casaya, he usually came across as the most mature and authoritative members of the tribe, often resolving conflicts.
  • Wham Line: Aras told Danielle he was done with Shane. He elaborates on this further in a confessional.
  • Worthy Opponent: Terry's words while voting for him says it all.

    2nd. Danielle DiLorenzo 

Danielle DiLorenzo

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_danielle_dilorenzo.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 31/ Boston, Massachussetts/ medical salesperson
Tribe: Casaya -> Gitanos

A medical sales representative from the original Bayoneta tribe, and one of the reasons Casaya was such a dysfunctional tribe. A competitive and aggressive person by nature, Danielle fought with Shane on what seemed like a daily basis, and it was only thanks to the efforts of Aras that she didn't actually kill him. After the merge, when the possibility of her alliance being torn apart by the challenge-dominating Terry seemed imminent, she made several decisions that saw her voting out her own alliance, including Courtney, Shane, and eventually Cirie after voting with Terry at the Final Four. However, after winning the final immunity challenge, she backstabbed Terry and saved Aras from almost certain elimination, where she went on to lose to him in the jury vote 5-2.

Danielle would eventually return as one of the more questionable choices for Heroes vs. Villains.


Jury

    3rd. Terry Deitz 

Terry Deitz

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_terry_deitz.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 42/ Simsbury, Connecticut/ pilot
Tribe: La Mina -> Gitanos

A fighter pilot from the original and switched La Mina tribe, Terry was lauded by almost everyone for his incredible physical prowess, which saw him win several key immunity challenges both pre-merge and post-merge. After La Mina went into the merge in the minority and his fellow three tribemates Nick, Austin and Sally were all voted out in succession, it was only thanks to continuous immunity wins and an over-powered Hidden Immunity Idol that he managed to worm his way far into the game, where he made an enemy of almost the entire Casaya tribe (most notably Aras), thanks to differing world views, values, and general attitude. Thanks to a late-game team-up with Danielle, he seemed almost destined to be in the finals. However, he ended up losing the final immunity challenge to Danielle, who despite promising him she would take him, sent him to the jury in 3rd place.

Terry was eventually chosen to compete in Survivor: Cambodia


  • The Ace: Won many immunity challenges and outlasted all the other La Minas. His streak was so overwhelming that he managed to break up Casaya's alliance by the time he got sent home.
    • Ace Pilot: Bonus points for once being this. He also befriended Dan Barry for also being one.
  • Always Someone Better: Especially to Aras.
  • Crippling Overspecialization: Terry is arguably the most dominant challenge competitor the show has ever seen, but he is decidedly lacking in the social and strategic components of the game.
  • Determinator: You gotta hand it to the guy who outstays his old tribe's Pagonging by continuously winning immunities.
  • Fish out of Water: Once his former tribe is gone and he's stuck living with the Casaya tribe. It doesn't help that Casaya is not only absolutely crazy, but their political beliefs are also diametrically opposed.
  • Failure Hero: Though he dominated in challenges, every single attempt of his to take over the game ended up falling apart. With the numbers not on his side at the merge, Terry tried to lure away several of Casaya's fringe players (Bruce and Danielle, for example) by pointing out they were likely at the bottom of the tribe's hierarchy once La Mina was eliminated. It didn't work, and the rest of his teammates were pagonged while Casaya's alliance held firm. When Casaya was finally forced to turn on each other starting at the Final 6, Terry felt out people who might be willing to work with him, but the ones he wanted to take to the final 2 (Courtney and Shane) were each swiftly eliminated by Aras, Cirie, and Danielle. He finally got Danielle on his side at the Final 4 to force a tie vote against Aras and Cirie and it paid off, with Cirie going home and Aras left alone to compete against Terry and Danielle. Come the final immunity challenge, Danielle actually won, and Terry assumed that meant he had a spot in the finals. But it turned out to be his undoing, as Danielle worried about which of the two guys she had the best chance against at final tribal council and ultimately picked Aras to take with her, leaving Terry voted off just before the end.
  • Grumpy Old Man: Being on the outs with a tribe of crazy people can do that to you.
  • Last of His Kind: The last remaining member of La Mina (of both carnations).
  • Meaningful Echo: During the 12th episode, Danielle and Terry agreed on the person who comes in last in the Final Immunity Challenge would be voted out. Guess what happens.
  • The Neidermeyer: Comes of as this to Casaya towards the end of the game.
  • Never My Fault: At the final four reward challenge, Terry freaked when Aras won and tried to protest the latter's win. Terry was overruled.
  • The Rival: To Aras.
  • Showy Invincible Hero: Though he turned out to be not so invincible by the end.
  • Team Dad: On La Mina.
  • Took a Level in Jerkass: As the game goes on, presumably out of frustration with constantly being on the chopping block.
  • Villainous Underdog: Despite being on the outs for the entirety of the merge, he is arguably the season's main antagonist.
  • You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Courtesy of Danielle. She assumed Aras would be much easier to beat in the final vote.

    4th. Cirie Fields 

Cirie Fields

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_cirie_fields.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 42/ Walterboro, South Carolina/ nurse
Tribe: Casaya -> Gitanos

A nurse from the original and switched Casaya tribe, many thought Cirie would be one of the first people booted thanks to having little to no outdoor experience (even being afraid of leaves), and her initial position as one of the outsiders of the new Casaya tribe seemed to confirm this. However, after surviving into the merge, her adeptness of the game began to show - she managed to win a social reward challenge based on knowing her tribemates, and she even managed to orchestrate the elimination of a former tribemate at the final six by making sure every single person in the tribe voted the way she wanted them to vote, splitting the vote 3-2-1. After tucking Aras under her wing, she almost seemed like a surefire lock for the finals; however, the only thing that could possibly have screwed up her game happened at the Final 4 - Aras winning immunity. With Terry's hidden immunity idol in play, Cirie was forced into a tiebreaker with Danielle, where she narrowly lost to her former tribemate and was sent to the jury in 4th place.

Being one of the fan favorites of the season, she was invited back for Fans vs. Favorites, and also for Heroes vs. Villains and Game Changers.


  • Badass Adorable
  • Big Beautiful Woman
  • Breakout Character: Cirie easily became one of the most popular and respected castaways to play the game and won the fan favorite award at the reunion.
  • The Everyman: A female example, personality-wise. This is especially apparent once the tribes swap and she's surrounded by extremely eccentric people on Casaya.
  • Genius Bruiser: Is clearly a very smart player, but her being chubby doesn't help in the physical challenges. The exceptions are challenges that involve brawling, in which she easily demolishes all other female players.
  • Guile Heroine: She was far outclassed in any physicality, survival skills, pre-established alliances and had to weevil her way forward.
  • Happily Married: As seen in the loved ones visit and the reunion.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: To Aras. They both reined in the uncoöperative Casayas enough to give them a winning streak.
  • Last of Her Kind: She was the last remaining member of the original Casaya tribe by a great margin. Not only did Tina, Melinda, and Ruth Marie not make the merge, they were respectively the first, second, and fourth contestants voted out.
  • Mighty Glacier: If a physical challenge is about brawling, not running or endurance. See Genius Bruiser.
  • Only Sane Man: For a relative definition of "sane", given her cutthroat playing style and (contemporary) aversion to nature.
  • The Smart Girl: And how. She's considered one of the most brilliant mental players in Survivor history, and her Triple Play move is also considered one of the most brilliant moves in the history of the game.
  • Spanner in the Works: Completely changed the face of the game and screwed up both Terry and Shane's plans by getting Aras and Danielle to join her in voting Courtney out.
  • The Strategist:
  • Team Mom: To the new Casaya, and held them together despite a severe clash of personalities.
  • Took a Level in Badass: One of the storylines of the season was Cirie going from being totally clueless as to how to survive in the wild (she was scared of leaves), to ending up perfectly capable of handling herself in the outdoors and being probably the most strategically sound player in the game.
  • Verbal Tic: Has a habit of bursting out into laughter at the end of her confessionals. Sometimes she can't even hold out that long, particularly if she's talking about something ridiculous a member of the Casaya Four has done.
  • Worthy Opponent

    5th. Shane Powers 

Shane Powers

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_shane_powers.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 34/ Los Angeles, California/ marketing executive
Tribe: La Mina -> Casaya -> Gitanos

A marketing executive and single dad from Los Angeles, California. Having just stopped smoking the day before, Shane struggled with nicotine withdrawal. This was made worse by not only him ending up with Casaya, but Shane making an alliance by swearing on his son's life with the crazy people of the tribe. Shane wanted to quit, but Aras talked him out of it. Despite entering the merge with numbers, Terry's immunity streak along with an last minute change up made by Cirie at the last tribal council sent him packing at fifth.


    6th. Courtney Marit 

Courtney Marit

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_courtney_marit.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 31/ Los Angeles, California/ fire dancer
Tribe: Bayoneta -> Casaya -> Gitanos

A fire dancer on the original Bayoneta. Minutes after stepping on Bayoneta, she would establish herself as quite weird. When the first four tribes collapsed into two, she went to the notoriously dysfunctional Casaya, and became a strong reason for its reputation. Courtney soon aligned with Shane, an equally odd fellow, with whom she would often butt heads with. Although the merge was initially smooth sailing, Terry's immunity streak would force the former Casayas to turn on each other. Courtney decided to align with Terry. However, Cirie, deeming her the biggest threat because she would go to the final two, arranged for her ouster and Courtney got voted out in 6th place.


  • Belligerent Sexual Tension: Her tribemates openly suspected that her tempestuous relationship with Shane was covering for a crush. Although in this case, it's the guy who has the sudden mood swings. When Courtney and Shane were left all alone, with Terry on Exile Island, Bruce evacuated out of the game, and everyone else on a reward, it sure seemed like they would get it on eventually. Instead it ended with Shane threatening to drive to her "shitty" apartment and kill her.
  • Butt-Monkey: Exemplified in The Touchy Subjects challenge. See The Pawn below.
  • Cassandra Truth/Dumbass Has a Point: In her argument with Aras, Courtney points out if Terry has the idol he would not give it up. Considering the idol at the time was used after the votes were revealed, this was a reasonable assumption. Plus, she was right in the end as Terry did not use it on anyone.
  • The Chew Toy: Gets mocked by most the rest of the cast.
  • Cloud Cuckoo Lander: Her somewhat oblivious nature combined with her focus on alternative spirituality gives this impression.
  • Comically Missing the Point: After one of Shane's rage fueled tirades against Courtney, which included a death threat, Courtney was only upset that he belittled her apartment.
  • Cute Bruiser: She's a very good athlete.
  • The Ditz: Not necessarily stupid, but certainly oblivious to how she’s perceived.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: As seen at the final 7 reward challenge.
  • The Gadfly: Occasionally needles Shane for fun.
  • Granola Girl: Frequently explains spiritual energies, animal signs, and other “alt” concepts.
  • Ms. Fanservice: She’s a pretty, young, athletic woman with a red and black swimsuit.
  • The Pawn: Courtney was the final two option for almost everyone on the merged Gitanos tribe, except perhaps for Cirie, who saw her as a challenge threat. She annoyed EVERYONE, and was pegged as a "goat" that could easily be beaten in a popularity contest.
  • Plucky Comic Relief: She's often the odd woman out, but her interactions make her quite humorous.
  • Tomboy and Girly Girl: Girly girl to Danielle's tomboy.
  • Unwitting Pawn: Was the victim of the Cirie/Aras/Danielle vote off, headed by Cirie, to prevent Courtney from reaching the finals to fulfill her destiny as a final two goat.

    7th. Bruce Kanegai (evacuated) 

Bruce Kanegai

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_bruce_kanegai.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 57/ Simi Valley, California/ art teacher
Tribe: La Mina -> Casaya -> Gitanos

A martial arts instructor and art teacher placed on the original La Mina. After the elimination of Melinda, he was placed on Casaya, where he was pegged as an outsider. He was nearly voted out in episode five due to a conflict with Aras, but was saved by Danielle's lobbying. When the tribes merged, the former La Mina attempted to Bruce to flip, but he didn't budge. He kept steady rather far into the game, before being evacuated due to severe constipation.


  • Badass Bookworm: An old schoolteacher who held his own until sickness forced him out.
  • Butt-Monkey: Bruce was exiled twice consecutively and was eventually removed from the game in a painful way.
  • Cool Old Guy: Mostly liked and respected by the tribe, despite his occasional crabbiness and wine-stealing.
  • Cool Teacher: Both a martial arts instructor and an art teacher.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Danielle and Bobby. His friendship with the former is what saved him from eliminated at his first tribal council. Coincidentally, his daughter's name is Danielle.
  • Non-Gameplay Elimination: The second person to be evacuated from the show in almost five years and ten seasons.
  • Not So Stoic: Even with his eccentricities, he's generally pretty laid-back and patient. But when Aras asked him if it was appropriate to work on his rock garden when they has having trouble making fire, Bruce bluntly told him to "get more fire". This caused the two men to argue and nearly got Bruce out of the game.
  • Sixth Ranger: To Casaya.

    8th. Sally Schumann 

Sally Schumann

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_sally_schumann.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 26/ Chicago, Illinois/ social worker
Tribe: Bayoneta -> La Mina -> Gitanos

A social worker on the Bayoneta tribe. Once she became on La Mina, Sally would become an outsider with Misty's blindside. She was exiled in the sixth episode, which saved her from certain elimination. When the merge happen, Sally's luck didn't improve and she was eventually voted out in 8th place as part of Casaya's pagonging.


  • Born Unlucky / Butt-Monkey: Sally was consistently in the minority since Day 8.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Well-liked by all her tribemates.
  • Girlish Pigtails: Her general hairstyle.
  • Ms. Fanservice: A very pretty young woman with Zettai Ryouiki.
  • Shout-Out: She wears her hair in Princess Leia buns during the Final Tribal Council.
  • The Smurfette Principle: Sally very quickly became the last woman standing once Casaya started their winning streak.
  • Tempting Fate: On her first fishing trip, Sally claim she should have practiced with the spear more. This would come true as she lost the spear on her first use on it.
  • Those Two Girls: With Misty on La Mina, who were both on the outs.
  • Throw the Dog a Bone: Sally was at the bottom of the La Mina tribe and all set to go home if they lost the last pre-merge immunity challenge. When Casaya won it, they had the choice to send one La Mina member to Exile Island and sit out that tribal council and landed on her. As a result, she made the jury phase by the skin of her teeth, as Dan was voted out in her stead and Nick and Austin were immediately much bigger targets than her once the tribes merged.
  • The Unfavorite: Sally revealed her divorce made her one to her parents.

    9th. Austin Carty 

Austin Carty

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_austin_carty.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 24/ High Point, North Carolina/ writer
Tribe: Viveros -> La Mina -> Gitanos

A writer on the Viveros tribe. When switched to La Mina, Austin would join Terry and Dan to form a men's alliance. However, La Mina's losing streak cost them the numbers advantages. Because of Terry's immunity streak and not using his hidden immunity idol, Austin was voted out in 9th.


  • American Accents: Austin sports a strong southern accent.
  • Informed Attribute: Austin claimed he can't help but flirt with women. We don't see that and he even chose to be in a men's alliance over one with two beautiful women.
  • The Lancer: To Terry during the merge.
  • Nice Guy: His comforting of Sally over her rough relationship with her parents stands out.

Voted Out

    10th. Nicholas "Nick" Stanbury 

Nick Stanbury

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_nick_stanbury.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 25/ Tempe, Arizona/ finances salesperson
Tribe: Viveros -> La Mina -> Gitanos

An accountant on the Viveros tribe. When transferred to La Mina, Nick was on the men's alliance. Unlike his friend, Austi, Nick was much quieter a contestant. However, La Mina entered the merge without numbers in their side and no alliance to support them. When Terry won immunity, Nick was voted out for being the next-biggest threat.


  • The Big Guy: To La Mina.
  • Heroic Build: Nick might not be a full blown Mr. Fanservice but he has some amazing abs.
  • Last Words: Instead of the usual pleasantries or bitter rants people give when they are voted off, Nick gives a quite possibly epic final words dovetailing his experience on the show with his (what appears to be libertarian) political beliefs.
  • The Stoic: Best example is when Sally lost the spear. He kept calm and told the panicky Sally that everything is going to be okay.
  • Those Two Guys: With Austin.

    11th. Dan(iel) Barry 

Dan Barry

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_dan_barry.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 51/ South Hadley, Massachussetts/ retired astronaut
Tribe: La Mina

A retired astronaut who was originally placed on La Mina. He immediately befriended Terry based on flying backgrounds. After the switch, Dan was in a comfortable men's alliance. In the last pre merge immunity challenge, Dan fouled up, costing his tribe the win. With the usual target, Sally, on Exile Island, Dan was voted instead.


  • Cool Old Guy: He's almost universally liked by his tribemates.
  • Graceful Loser: Accepts his vote-out and states he was just grateful to have another adventure.
  • Number Two: To Terry.
  • Retired Badass: He's a former astronaut. His tribe certainly respected him enough to think of him as this.

    12th. Bobby "Bobdawg" Mason 

Bobby "Bobdawg" Mason

Age/ home/ job: 32/ Los Angeles, California/ attorney
Tribe: Viveros -> Casaya

An attorney from the original Viveros tribe and the newly formed Casaya tribe. Bobby, or "Bobdawg" as he's better known outside of the show, is best known outside of Survivor for his commentary surrounding the show and how early boots such as himself are portrayed. Unfortunately for him, he was also stuck on Casaya, one of the most dysfunctional tribes ever assembled, where he was forced to deal with people who not only wanted to vote him out; but also some legitimately crazy people. After going off on Courtney for annoying him over a bottle of wine that he drank with Bruce, plus the possibility of him flipping over to La Mina at the merge looming, he was voted out by the women of Casaya in 12th place.


  • Ascended Fanboy: He was barely shown during his season, but absolutely a textbook case. Check out his thread on Survivor Sucks where he speaks about his experiences on the show and why the editing screwed him over. It's surprisingly insightful.
  • Badass Boast: Describes his starting tribe (the younger men) as the "young beefcake crowd," and describes himself as the charter member and president.
  • The Big Guy: To the new Casaya.
  • Genius Bruiser: A very strong man and an intelligent attorney, though his intelligence was not shown much on camera.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Bruce, who had the same tactic of avoiding the hassle of dealing with Casaya.
  • Knight in Sour Armor: Because he was stuck on what was possibly the most dysfunctional tribe ever. His coping mechanism was avoiding them whenever he could.
  • Lazy Bum: Was seen as one by his tribe.
  • Only Sane Man: Besides Cirie and Aras.
  • Out-Gambitted: He had intended to adopt an unstable, vapid persona to get people to underestimate him. But then he got sent to a tribe where people acted even worse and were not faking it.
  • Out of Focus: Doesn’t get much attention, and most of the attention he does get is negative.
  • Shout-Out: In his first confessional, He called Casaya to the The Golden Girls and Bayoneta The Spice Girls.
  • Tattooed Crook: After he and Bruce steal the rest of the tribe’s wine.

    13th. Ruth Marie Milliman 

Ruth Marie Milliman

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_ruth_marie_milliman.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 55/ Greenville, South Carolina/ property developer
Tribe: Casaya -> La Mina

Real estate agent from the original Casaya tribe and the newly formed La Mina tribe. While she was initially branded as a strong competitor by her tribemates thanks to winning the first reward challenge, she was less well-received on La Mina thanks to the prominence of the all-guy alliance, and was sent home in 13th place after being perceived as weak.


  • Cool Old Lady: She was one who won the older women the first challenge. The tribe respected her judging by the voting confessionals.
  • Full-Name Basis: Always "Ruth Marie", never "Ruth".
  • Girlish Pigtails: Very feminine and wears her hair in two small braids.
  • Graceful Loser: In her post-elimination interview during the recap episode, she says she was lied to and deceived, but she doesn’t blame anyone because that’s the name of the game.
  • I Was Quite a Looker: According to her Pre-Game Profile, Ruth Marie was a former beauty queen in the 70s.
  • We Hardly Knew Ye: Voted out fourth.

    14th. Misty Giles 

Misty Giles

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_misty_giles.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 31/ Dallas, Texas/ missile engineer
Tribe: Bayonetta -> La Mina

A missile engineer and former beauty queen from the original Bayonetta tribe. The first person to ever be sent to Exile Island, Misty was sent to the newly formed La Mina tribe after the swap, where she ended up being the first target of the all-guy alliance and sent home in 14th place.


  • Brainy Brunette: Misty is a missile engineer, after all.
  • The Charmer: Attempted to work the younger men and failed.
  • I Coulda Been a Contender!: Terry's explanation for getting rid of her is that she was too intelligent to keep around. In addition, her elimination arguably contributed to beginning La Mina’s losing streak.
  • Ms. Fanservice: A very beautiful woman, and she tried (and failed) to use it to her advantage.
  • "Shaggy Dog" Story: She is eliminated because Terry and Dan fear she will be too dangerous at the merge and because they don’t want to break their previous pact with Ruth Marie. Her elimination, however, contributes to La Mina’s losing streak, which leads to the Ruth Marie alliance being broken the very next round, Dan being eliminated before the merge, and Terry entering the merge with a terrible numbers disadvantage that essentially requires him to win every immunity.
  • The Smart Girl: What led to her elimination. Terry and Dan recognized her intelligence and feared she would be a threat post-merge.
  • The Tease: Not that it saved her from elimination.

    15th. Melinda Hyder 

Melinda Hyder

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_melinda_hyder.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 39/ Sevierville, Tennessee/ singer
Tribe: Casaya

Singer from the original and new Casaya tribe. The variety of people from different backgrounds and beliefs coming into the new tribe made it hard for her to fit in, and once they lost the first immunity challenge she and Cirie were told outright one of them would be leaving. While they both rallied to have Shane voted out after expressing a desire to quit, Melinda was ultimately voted out in 15th place.


  • The Cassandra: Melinda more or less predicted her elimination her in her first confessional after the tribe switch.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Was seen as a kind lady by most of her tribemates, though it wasn’t enough to save her.
  • The Load: Was viewed as this by Aras, and it's what led to her elimination.
  • Out of Focus: We don't really get to see her interactions with the rest of the reformed Casaya. There's hints that she has trouble relating to most of them.
  • Surfer Dude: Talked like this in her Elimination Statement and stated she didn't want to be like this.

    16th. Tina Scheer 

Tina Scheer

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s12_tina_scheer.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 51/ Hayward, Wisconsin/ logger
Tribe: Casaya

A logger and the leader of the original Casaya tribe. Tina was originally supposed to be in the preceding season, but her only son died in a car accident shortly before filming, and Amy O'Hara replaced her. After initially taking charge and running a tight ship, the death of her son only a few months earlier was too much for her, and Cirie was able to take her lack of focus on the game and her perceived bossiness as an excuse to vote her out.


  • Cool Old Lady: The women was an lumberjill and was the one who made Casaya hospitable.
  • Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Stated this in the rites of passage.
  • History Repeats: Tina later competed on another reality show called Ultimate Survival Alaska where her team was the lowest performing of the season. Her brother Rob also competed on The Amazing Race and didn't fare much better than she did.
  • Large Ham: Especially win banging on her chest and yelling.
  • Mercy Kill: Casaya generally felt sorry for her as they sent her home.
  • Mood Whiplash: Her son died only a few months before the game. This is revealed (to the Confession Cam) rather abruptly midway through the episode.
  • Outliving Ones Offsping: Tina's son died in a Car accident just months before she was supposed to went on Guatemala. This was mentioned after the original Casaya lost the first challenge of the season.
  • Wild Hair

 
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