Welcome to Inside Survivor’s 50 For 50, a semi-regular feature highlighting 50 former castaways who we think should be considered for a spot on Survivor 50. In a snake draft, the Inside Survivor team selected ten players each, with the only rule being they couldn’t have played more than twice.
PROFILE
Name: Piper Michelle Yi
Age: 40
Season: Fiji, 2007
Finish: 10th place
HIGHLIGHTS
Any Survivor alum will tell you that the game is hard. Some, like the late, great Keith Nale, may even go as far as to remind you that Survivor isn’t in the least bit fun. While that may be true for a number of reasons, my guess is that there are very few players who had less fun than the original Ravu members, who started the first 15 days of the game dehydrated, starving, and losing every challenge. A situation like that would put anyone in a foul mood during their “adventure of a lifetime.” And yet, somehow, Michelle Yi kept smiling through it all.
Michelle’s game got off to a quiet start in the premiere, where her level-headed personality was overshadowed by the mess that was the Haves vs. Have Nots twist. She found herself on the losing end of that deal, having been sorted into what would eventually become the Ravu tribe or the Have Nots. Michelle was well-liked by all of her tribe members, and her social capital only increased after she was able to make fire in the absence of flint.
Even as the women were being picked off on her tribe one after another, Michelle’s social game and physical prowess ensured she was never a target. When some of her less couth tribemates stated that they needed to vote out a woman, what they really meant was a woman that wasn’t Michelle. This rang true for every tribal council she attended in the pre-merge. In fact, she never received a vote against her until her boot episode.
Her luck began to turn for the better after the tribe swap when Michelle was switched to the luxurious Moto tribe. It was here that we learned that eventual winner Earl Cole saw her as one of his most essential allies, complete with morning strategy meetings and membership in the Syndicate alliance. Even if Moto had lost a challenge in the pre-merge, there was no possible way Michelle would find herself a target.
Unfortunately, a never-before-seen twist brought Michelle’s game to a screeching halt. During the merge episode, the castaways were divided into two teams to compete for immunity, in which one team would be immune and the other would immediately go to tribal council. Think of it as the prototype to mergatory, except there was even less time for any strategy talk. Michelle was swapped onto a tribe with Alex Angarita, Mookie Lee, Stacy Kimball, and Dreamz Herd. While Dreamz toyed with the idea of voting out Stacy, he decided to join her and Alex in voting out Michelle to ensure he would have her spot in the Syndicate alliance.
WHY SHE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
Survivor fans will often debate whether certain players are screwed over by twists or tribe swaps on almost every season. And while most of the time I accept Survivor’s twists as just a consequence of the game, there’s no denying that the execution of Fiji’s merge episode was lacking, and it came at Michelle’s expense. This was mergatory in its earliest form, and it prevented Michelle’s alliance, the one she worked hard to build trust with, from protecting her when she needed it most.
While I commend Dreamz (who was framed as the deciding vote in this episode) for making the best decision for his game, the circumstances surrounding Michelle’s vote left much to be desired. She was an exceptional player from the old-school era whose game was cut unceremoniously short by unprecedented circumstances. While the women of Ravu were being picked off one after another, Michelle stood out as an invaluable tribemate and ally. Her character arc screams untapped potential, as we were barely able to witness how Michelle’s game could evolve once they reached the individual stage of the game.
Outside of Survivor, Michelle has lived a full life of adventures. Despite her being the victim of an anti-Asian hate crime in 2021, she has traveled the world and kept active as a slow resistance trainer. She has maintained an active lifestyle and has an important story to tell, one that is unique compared to other Survivor alumni. Although more than 15 years have passed since Survivor: Fiji, I have no doubt she possesses both the physical and mental capabilities to adapt to the show’s new era. If she wishes to return, production would be a fool not to bring her to the spotlight again.
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