Board Thread:Virtual Tribal Council/@comment-1294345-20160922075848/@comment-27729333-20161216002529

I have a strict opinion that David was the best player of the season, and I'll go down the list of reasons why.

1. Transformation

David has one of the most touching stories and one of the most that actually affects him inside the game and not just on the outside (His anxiety and inexperience to the outdoors has evolved throughout the season). Unlike players like Adam who tried their best to keep their name on the down low, David has been able to grow the confidence to not be afraid of his name being mentioned, and it's something you see more often on Big Brother (Chilltown shoutout) then on Survivor.

2. The idol play on Jessica

This was probably the first tribal council in HISTORY where someone used an idol on someone that wasn't their ally at all, even voting against them, and David still used the idol on Jessica. Not only was it a smart move to take out Lucy at the time, but it gained a game-long ally in Jessica. It was as well one of the most shocking tribals all season and probably among the top 20 ever in my opinion. Had David not used the idol, Jessica would have been voted off, leading to David and Ken soon after, even with a tribe swap, due to the even more massive minority.

3. Manipulating Hannah

I think strongly that one of the biggest reasons David wasn't eliminated earlier in the merge was because he was able to manipulate Hannah's vote. Getting to Hannah meant getting to Adam, which the two had a decent amount of influence when it came to voting. Had Hannah and David not been allies, he would of been 5th, and he would of placed even lower when considering other situations. One of the situations would of saved Jessica from being #RockedOut and eliminating David, leading to Zeke becoming the top dog and most likely leading him to final tribal council with a win.

4. The last tribal councils

David has gotten a vote every single time after the elimination of Zeke (excluding the vote against Jay, which gives most thanks to David with the fake idol. Adam and David get most credit for the blindside). However, David has managed to get his name off the chopping block by allying with the right people, whom campaigned for his safety. Though these people may have been rivals later on, he managed to get people to trust him at certain times to advance him one more spot, rather then two, which is why he was able to survive more tribals.

Summary - David has been able to not only prove strong loyalties to his main alliance of Jessica and Ken, but he was able to become the most feared player, although he was at one point the weakest and most underestimated player at the beginning of the game. His pre-merge and merge loyalties (permanent or not) have been able to benefit him and let him survive one tribal after another with his skills of manipulating key players like Hannah and Adam. David has also won multiple immunities, which makes him a decent threat to win competitions. David is all-around one of the best newbie players we have seen in a while, and can hold himself on an All-Stars cast. He deserves it.

David is in my opinion one of the best non-winners in the history of the show. Nothing can change my opinion.