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The Tribes

    Ogakor 
Color/ namesake: green/ "crocodile" in an unspecified aboriginal language
Members: Amber Brkich, Colby Donaldson, Jerri Manthey, Kel Gleason, Keith Famie, Maralyn Hershey, Mitchell Olson, Tina Wesson


  • Animal Motif: Crocodiles.
  • Animal Theme Naming: Their name is an aboriginal word for crocodile.
  • Badass Crew: The first of four tribes to produce two winners, with Tina in this season and Amber in All-Stars.note  Additionally, Tina, Jerri and Colby all go deep into the game in future seasons, with Tina and Jerri both making it to Day 38 and Colby making it to Day 37, thus making Ogakor one of the most successful tribes in the entire series.
  • Never Smile at a Crocodile: Their tribe name is Okagor, which is an Aboriginal translated version of crocodile.
  • Team Spirit
  • True Companions

    Kucha 
Color/ namesake: blue/ "kangaroo" in an unspecified aboriginal language
Members: Alicia Calaway, Debb Eaton, Elisabeth Filarski-Hasselbeck, Jeff Varner, Kimmi Kappenberg, Michael Skupin, Nick Brown, Rodger Bingham


  • The Ace: They won a majority of the tribal challenges, even winning three immunity challenges in a row.
  • Animal Motif: Kangaroos.
  • Animal Theme Naming: Their name is an aboriginal word for Kangaroo.
  • Butt-Monkey: They weren't this in the tribal phase as they won the majority of the challenges. But they did become this come the merge after Jeff is voted out.
  • Dwindling Party: Once Jeff is voted out at the merge, Kucha gets decimated, losing all its members after the Final Four.
  • From Bad to Worse: After Michael's evacuation, the tribe ended up pagonged due to the past votes tiebreaker giving Ogakor the advantage.
  • Kangaroos Represent Australia: Their tribe name is Kucha, which is an Aboriginal translated version of kangaroo.
  • Team Spirit

    Barramundi 
Color/ namesake: orange/ a local fish
Members: Alicia Calaway, Amber Brkich, Colby Donaldson, Elisabeth Filarski-Hasselbeck, Jeff Varner, Jerri Manthey, Keith Famie, Nick Brown, Rodger Bingham, Tina Wesson


Finalists

    1st. Tina Wesson 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_tina_wesson1_8.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 40/ Knoxville, Tennessee/ personal nurse
Luxury item: backgammon game
Tribe: Ogakor -> Barramundi

Tina was chosen to compete on All-Stars and later Blood Vs. Water with her Daughter, Katie Collins


  • The Chessmaster: Tina used her knowledge of Debb's vote against Jeff to have the advantage at the merge.
  • Defeating the Undefeatable: Defeated Colby, the favorite to win and unstoppable challenge beast, in a close vote.
  • Epic Fail: In her audition video.
  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Very well-liked and respected by her tribemates. Oh, and she was blonde.
  • Guile Heroine: She was one of the original strategists in a time where overt strategy was looked down upon by the general fan base, but the clearest example of this would be how she convinced Colby to flip and get Mitchell voted out. She knew that she would be the next to go after Keith, if ever, so she convinced Colby to go after Mitchell to keep the tribe strong. Colby couldn't go against his values, nor could he make the viewing audience assume he was part of an alliance, so he voted Mitchell and the rest was history.
  • Hospital Hottie: She's a nurse in real life.
  • No-Damage Run: Tina was the first winner to not have any votes cast against her.
  • Noodle Incident: Tina somehow got Kimmi (who was from the other tribe) to admit which players had past votes against them during a reward challenge, ensuring that Ogakor had an information advantage that could break ties in their favor over Kucha during the merge. Alas, we never see this exchange on-screen.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Two occasions. On the way to tribal council, she convinced Colby to vote out Mitchell. She also managed to get Kimmi to blab about Jeff having a vote against him, which meant that he would lose the tiebreaker.
  • The Pollyanna
  • Plucky Girl
  • Pre-Mortem One-Liner: She had notable ones for Mitchell and Nick’s ousters.
    for Mitchell’s vote: I didn't come out here to starve myself and face the elements to keep the weakest person.
    for Nick’s vote: You said you were tired of playing the game, and that you weren’t having any fun anymore. So here’s your ticket, buuuuddy!
  • Proper Lady: Tina is almost unfailingly polite to everyone around her.
  • The Smart Girl: To Ogakor.
  • Sole Survivor
  • The Strategist: Definitely overlooked as one due to the edit. Practically everyone from her season described her as the one who made all of the decisions on who to vote out.
  • Supporting Leader: Via being The Woman behind the Man.
  • Team Mom: At one point, she threatens to give Jerri and Keith a time out if they wouldn't stop squabbling.
  • Touch of Death: Whoever Tina voted for at every single Tribal Council in which she participated was the person voted out.
  • The Woman Behind The Man: Colby may have won most of the Immunity challenges, but it was Tina who decided the boot order.
  • Trademark Favorite Food: Her love of Doritos (or "Dur-ee-toes," as she calls them) is mentioned on several occasions.

    2nd. Colby Donaldson 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_colby_donaldson1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 26/ Dallas, Texas/ vehicle customizer
Luxury item: Texas flag
Tribe: Ogakor -> Barramundi

Colby would return for All-Stars and later Heroes vs. Villains.


  • The Ace: Colby set the record for most individual immunity challenges won in a single season with 5, outdoing Kelly Wiglesworth's record of 4 immunity wins. He was only tied five seasons later by Palau's Tom Westman. Only a few have matched this record since, and zero have surpassed it. Not even his later appearances came close.
  • Batman Gambit: He pulled one on the Kucha tribe during the first merge round by pretending to be irritating and annoying to get the Kuchas to vote for him instead of Jerri, who had several votes cast against her previously while he had none (this was back when prior votes broke up ties). His tribe also had info that Jeff had prior votes against him from his tribe, so when there was a 5-5 deadlock between Jeff and Colby to leave, Jeff was the one who had his torch extinguished.
  • Baby Name Trend Starter: As explained by Jeff when he returned in Heroes vs. Villains, he inspired a lot of parents to name their children "Colby".
  • Being Good Sucks: Had he took Keith with him to the final two he probably would have won, but he disliked Keith and was loyal to Tina.
  • Breakout Character: He was viewed as the show's first hero and is one of the most popular castaways of all time.
  • Chick Magnet: Certainly for Jerri.
  • Cool Shades
  • Cowboy: His motif throughout the season, especially given the cowboy hat.
  • Determinator
  • Everything is Big in Texas: Colby brings a massive Texas flag as his luxury item, which doubles as a shelter tarp.
  • Exact Words: Production approved of him bringing a Texas flag as his luxury item. What they didn't count on was Colby having a tarp manufacturer build him a massive weatherized flag with metal grommets, making it an extremely valuable asset in the game.
  • Genius Bruiser: Colby not only won many of the physical challenges but also won two of the memory challenges.
  • Glory Days: Although he has played two more times, this season remains Colby's best showing and cast a long shadow over his future appearances, especially where challenges (his specialty) are concerned.
  • Good Ol' Boy
  • Graceful Loser: Was happy when Tina won.
  • Grease Monkey: He's an auto-customizer.
  • Hard Work Hardly Works: Like Kelly in the first season, he won most of the challenges but still came in second.
  • The Hero: To Ogakor.
  • Heroic Build: He's jacked and a beast in competitions. He is the first person to win five immunity challenges.
  • Honor Before Reason: His Fatal Flaw. He Picked Tina, knowing it would be 50/50 just because he didn't want Keith to even have a shot at winning.
  • Mr. Fanservice: Consistently viewed as one of the Sexiest Male in Survivor History.
  • Mr Fix It: See Grease Monkey.
  • Nice Guy
  • Not Distracted by the Sexy: He shows almost no interest in Jerri's attempts at flirting, and when he does, it's only to manipulate her
  • Patriotic Fervor
    Colby: When I wake up in the morning, there's two things I'm thankful for: I'm thankful I'm alive, and I'm thankful I'm a Texan.
  • Perma-Stubble
  • Proud Warrior Race Guy: See Patriotic Fervor.
  • The Runner-Up Takes It All: The Ur-Example for Survivor, becoming known as the first hero and ending up hosting two reality shows of his very own.

The Jury

    3rd. Keith Famie 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_keith_famie1.jpg
Contemporary age/ home: 40/ West Bloomfield, Michigan/ chef
Luxury item: pan
Tribe: Ogakor -> Barramundi


  • Butt-Monkey: Keith was the main target of Jerri’s torment, but once Jerri is gone he becomes Colby’s target. Even Tina admits they kept Keith around because they needed the extra vote.
  • Chef of Iron: Keith was an actual chef and was one of the few people to give Colby a run for his money in the challenges.
  • The Comically Serious: His tiffs with both Jerri and Colby end up being this.
  • The Friend Nobody Likes: Towards the end of the game, it became clear the Ogakor alliance would never be loyal to him. Tina didn't respect him and only saw his value as an extra vote. Colby outright hated him, and put his own chances of winning in jeopardy just to not bring Keith to the finals.
  • The Lancer: To Ogakor.
  • Non-Action Guy: Compared to the strategically competent Tina, or the badass action hero Colby, Keith had nothing going on for him.
  • Saved for the Sequel: Keith was originally supposed to appear on the first season but was held over for the second season.
  • Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Colby hates Keith for some reason, calling him a bozo.
  • Supreme Chef: Subverted early on, when he couldn't properly cook rice and the tribe found it disgusting. He was not pleased when Jerri made tortillas from scratch and the tribe loved them.
  • Tall, Dark, and Snarky
  • Team Chef: He was an actual chef in real life, but he wasn't actually the team chef early on in the game.
  • The Rival: Besides Nick, he's the only real competition for Colby in the challenges, and he manages to win a few of his own.
  • Wacky Marriage Proposal: To his girlfriend Peas. He proposed to her after losing the loved ones challenge and she said yes.

    4th. Elisabeth Filarski-Hasselbeck 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_elisabeth_filarski1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 23/ Newton, Massachussetts/ footwear designer
Luxury item: headdress she made
Tribe: Kucha -> Barramundi


  • Everyone Loves Blondes: Just about the entire tribe likes her.
  • The Ingenue: Elisabeth was the first recurrence of the Survivor Ingénue archetype, of which Colleen Haskell was the prototype. Elisabeth was portrayed as a very sweet and innocent girl. Rodger referred to her as a daughter figure to him. Alicia also referred to Elisabeth as "meek and mild".
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Rodger.
  • Last of Her Kind: The very last member of Kucha to be eliminated.
  • Nice Girl: Almost unfailingly nice and compassionate towards everyone. Even when dealing with people who could be quite difficult to deal with like Jerri, she still at least tries to maintain her politeness. In fact, it was because she and Rodger were such respectable and likable people that the main Ogakor alliance voted them out later than their own tribemates, Jerri and Amber.
  • Nothing Personal: Said this when voted out Amber.
  • Plucky Girl: The very last member of Kucha, facing off against an alliance of three.
  • Silk Hiding Steel: Though it did not seem like it at first glance, she's the person on Kucha who played the hardest after Varner's boot. She realized Tina's strategy was to take whoever was "deserving" and capitalized on that, allowing her to outlast her other tribemates and Ogakor's own Jerri and Amber. She might have even considered allying herself with Amber had the conditions not decimated her body.
  • Weight Loss Horror: Not weight loss per se, but just a side effect of malnourishment. Her hair started falling off in clumps towards her boot.
  • Worthy Opponent: The reason why they kept her over Amber was that they all liked her better.

    5th. Rodger "Kentucky Joe" Bingham 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_rodger_bingham1_9.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 53/ Crittenden, Kentucky/ teacher, farmer
Luxury item: bible
Tribe: Kucha -> Barramundi


  • Cool Old Guy: A generally calming presence on the show, develops a cute friendship with Elisabeth and is respected enough to outlast other Ogakor members.
  • Face Your Fears: Rodger is afraid of heights AND just learned how to swim right before he came to the Outback. But he still jumps off a large waterfall for one of the earlier challenges.
  • Farm Boy
  • Heroic Sacrifice: Actually requests to go out fifth so Elisabeth Filarski-Hasselbeck can make the final four.
  • Intergenerational Friendship: With Elisabeth. When he gave her a heart-shaped rock to give to her boyfriend.
  • The Leader: Of Kucha, after Skupin fell into the fire pit.
  • Nice Guy: As mentioned with regards to Elizabeth, this is the main reason he and her lasted longer than some of Ogakor's original tribemates despite being outnumbered by them: the main alliance of Tina, Colby and Keith respected them more than they respected Jerri (and to a lesser extent, Amber) because of their likable personalities.
  • Only Known by Their Nickname: "Kentucky Joe", but he was called Rodger just as often.
  • Simple Country Lawyer: He played up his “Kentucky Joe” folksiness, but it was later revealed he was the CEO of a local bank.
  • Team Dad: To Kucha.
  • Worthy Opponent: Following Tina and Colby's desire to keep those deserving, they deemed him much more worthy than either Jerri or Amber.

    6th. Amber Brkich 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_amber_brkich1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 22/ Beaver, Pennsylvania/ administrative assistant
Luxury item: unknown
Tribe: Ogakor -> Barramundi

Amber returned as one of the more questionable choices for All-Stars as a replacement for Elisabeth Filarski-Hasselbeck.


    7th. Nicholas "Nick" Brown 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_nick_brown1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 23/ Steilacoom, Washington/ law student
Luxury item: frisbee
Tribe: Kucha -> Barramundi


  • The Lancer: To Kucha.
  • Lazy Bum: Subverted. He was edited this way, but by all accounts from fellow cast members, this was Manipulative Editing.
  • Mr. Fanservice
  • Out of Focus: He had the least content of any contestant on the season.
  • The Stoic: By far the least emotional player on this season. Even when one of his Kucha tribemates ends up badly burned, his reaction is far more understated than anyone else's.
  • Worthy Opponent: To Colby. Aside from Keith, he was the only real competition to him in the individual challenges.

    8th. Jerri Manthey 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_jerri_manthey1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 30/ Los Angeles, California/ actor, bartender
Luxury item: bongo
Tribe: Ogakor -> Barramundi

Jerri was chosen to compete on All-Stars and later Heroes Vs. Villains


    9th. Alicia Calaway 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_alicia_calaway1.jpg
Contemporary age/ home: 32/ New York, New York/ personal trainer
Luxury item: comb
Tribe: Kucha -> Barramundi

Alicia would return for All-Stars.


Voted Out

    10th. Jeff(rey) Varner 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_jeff_varner1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 34/ New York, New York/ Internet project manager
Luxury item: coloring book and crayons
Tribe: Kucha -> Barramundi

Varner was chosen via public vote to return for Cambodia, and would later return for Game Changers.


    11th. Michael Skupin (evacuated) 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_michael_skupin1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 38/ White Lake, Michigan/ software company CEO
Luxury item: camouflage paint
Tribe: Kucha

Michael would later return for Philippines.


  • Crazy Survivalist: He seriously manages to catch and kill a pig. The editors also had fun portraying him like this now and then with some judicious use of close-up shots and eerie music.
  • Dead Star Walking: The early episodes build Michael up as the undisputed (well, other than Alicia) Large Ham leader of Kucha, with some viewers even seeing him as the second coming of Richard Hatch. He's arguably the biggest character from the first half of this season other than Jerri. And he ends up falling into the fire a day or two before the merge.
  • Fatal Flaw: Carelessness, in a case of Real Life Writes the Plot. Michael was ridiculously nonchalant about getting cut up repeatedly in his first day at camp, but right before the merge, when the game was going to really get underway and he was very set to go far, his recklessness caught up with him and he got injured so badly that Michael had to be evacuated and have his injuries treated by medical professionals and undergo monitoring in a hospital.
  • Foreshadowing: On his very first day as a castaway, Michael gets himself cut and bruised over and over, including getting a gash on his forehead, a puncture in the sole of his foot, and several nicks and slices from mishandling a knife. Tribemates were disturbed and cringing at how many injuries he kept getting and his brazen dismissal of them. Even so, Michael manages to be a strong player up to the looming of the merge. Finally, Michael stumbled and fell into a camp fire, and suffered extreme burns to his hands that were life-threatening and incapable of being healed properly during the game and would prevent him from further participation.
  • Game-Breaking Injury: Falling into the fire after passing out.
  • Gory Discretion Shot: Averted. They show the burns on his hands after he falls into the fire, and they are very, very cringe-inducing.
  • The Hero: Of Kucha.
  • Keet: Michael is a GROWN version of this.
  • Large Ham
  • Non-Gameplay Elimination: The Ur-Example and Trope Maker, and the first medical evacuation in the series.
  • Shocking Elimination: The first castaway to be eliminated by the actual day-to-day life in camp as he accidentally inhaled smoke and passed out, falling into the fire. Not only was this hugely pivotal in how the game played out as Kucha was forced to go into the merge even instead of having a chance to go in with the numbers advantage, but on top of that, it happened to the person with very arguably the strongest survival skills on the show. Was shocking even In-Universe.

    12th. Kimberly "Kimmi" Kappenberg 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_kimmi_kappenberg1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 27/ Ronkonkoma, New York/ bartender
Luxury item: Scrabble game
Tribe: Kucha

Kimmi was chosen via a public vote to return for Cambodia


  • Alliterative Name: Kimmi Kappenberg.
  • Break the Cutie: After Mike caught and killed the pig, Jeff started to mock Kimmi for her vegetarianism. Later, Jeff instigated an argument between her and Alicia over when to cook the chickens. The latter argument is what contributed towards Kimmi getting voted off.
    • Earlier than that, she refused to eat a cow brain because it went against her values.
  • Did Not Think This Through: Signing on to do Survivor as a staunch vegetarian. Did Kimmi not watch the first season, where contestants were so hungry that they literally caught and ate rats?
  • Fatal Flaw: Kimmi is a vegetarian who is on a game show where she might have to eat food made from animals.
    • Honestly, Kimmi's problem is not so much her being a vegetarian as it is her feeling entitled to impose her values on everyone else. No one in the tribe seemed to care what Kimmi chose to put in her own body as long as it didn't cost them challenges - it was when she started calling the rest of them 'sick' for eating the wild hog Mike caught and moping around the chicken coop that they decided she needed to go.
  • Innocent Fanservice Girl: According to her audition tape, she enjoys being in the nude, but only because she enjoys it and she doesn't consider anything sexual about it.
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: She accidentally revealed to Tina during a reward challenge that Jeff had a previous vote against him. This knowledge caused Ogakor to have an advantage during the merge when they manipulated the votes so that Jeff would leave after a 5-5 deadlock tiebreaker.
  • Motor Mouth
  • No Indoor Voice: On the first night of camp.
  • Noodle Incident: There was a montage of Kimmi chatting it up with her tribe during the first night, and the excerpts of what we heard sounded pretty kinky.
  • Spanner in the Works: Kimmi reveals to Tina that Debb’s vote was for Jeff, which ultimately leads to the downfall of the Kucha tribe.
  • Straw Vegetarian: Kimmi’s strong vegetarian convictions almost cause her tribe to lose a challenge and is what leads to her big fight with Alicia.
  • Wall of Blather

    13th. Mitchell Olson 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_mitchell_olson1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 23/ Union City, New Jersey/ musician
Luxury item: songbook
Tribe: Ogakor

  • Didn't See That Coming: The first true blindside of the season. He and Jerri thought their five-person alliance was solid and were shocked at Tina and Colby’s betrayal.
  • The Dragon: to Jerri.
  • Fire of Comfort: Mitchell personally wrote several songs that Ogakor members sang together around the fire every night. The Ogakor members were disappointed that none were shown on-air (though at least one scene appears on the DVD).
  • Hide Your Gays: His Sexuality was not discussed on the show and he was the fourth out.
  • The Load: Considering he's taller than most of the cast, he needed way more food and nutrients than the rest of his tribe. As said by Tina when she votes him out:
    Tina: "This game isn't easy. I didn't come out here to starve myself and face the elements to keep the weakest person."
  • One Head Taller: Than the entire cast - he's seven foot.
  • Straight Gay: Although his sexuality hasn't be talked about on-screen.

    14th. Maralyn "Mad Dog" Hershey 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_maralyn_hershey1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 51/ Wakefield, Virginia/ retired cop
Luxury item: lipstick
Tribe: Ogakor

    15th. Kel(ly) Gleason 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_kel_gleason1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: 32/ Fort Hood, Texas/ US army spy
Luxury item: razor
Tribe: Ogakor

  • Arch-Enemy: Jerri was this to him. On the post-show "Back From The Outback" special, he even had a Dartboard of Hate with her face on it.
  • The Big Guy: Kel was physically bigger than even Colby and was a former Army Ranger. Yet, he was still the first person from his tribe voted out.
  • Fish out of Water: Like Debb below, he had trouble relating to people who weren't from the military.
  • Noodle Incident: The infamous "Beef Jerky Incident" (the question of whether or not he smuggled food into the game) has never been answered, and we never actually saw the footage of Kel chewing on whatever it was that he was chewing on (he claims it was a shard of grass).
    • According to Jeff Varner's AMA from Reddit, he did. Jeff reveals that Kel was caught in front of all the contestants by airport customs for trying to smuggle beef jerky, even having a seam on his pants for it. And later he was caught again for smuggling shoes on game day.
  • Token Minority: He's Quechuan.
  • The Unreveal: As mentioned right above, we'll probably never find out whether Kel was really chewing beef jerky or if Jerri was just making it up to make him seem more unlikable to the other tribemates, or even if Jerri genuinely thought that he was eating that, but he really wasn't, and it was all just a misunderstanding.

    16th. Deborah "Debb" Eaton 
https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/s2_debb_eaton1.jpg
Age/ home/ job: Milan, New Hampshire/ prison guard
Luxury item: unknown
Tribe: Kucha

  • Fish out of Water: Had trouble relating to her tribe, leading to them ousting her first.
  • Humiliation Conga: Not on the show itself, but as revealed on the post-show "Back From The Outback", the prisoners in the prison that she works at have been subjecting her to this by continuously mocking her for being the first person voted off of Survivor. It's pretty hard not to feel sorry for her after hearing about this.
  • Small Role, Big Impact: She was voted off first, but the one vote she cast (against Jeff) ended up being the tiebreaker vote that gave Ogakor the upper hand at the merge, eventually leading to the elimination of the entire Kucha tribe and Tina's victory. Attentive viewers may notice that Kimmi did also vote for Jeff in the episode where she was voted off, it just wasn't tallied in front of the group due to Kimmi receiving the majority of votes before it came up. Even if Debb hadn't voted for Jeff, he still would have had more votes than Colby and been eliminated.
  • Tomboy: A prison guard, and a particularly intimidating one at that.

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