Pagonging

Pagonging
Survivor Gameplay
Description	An alliance voting strategy in which members of the opposite tribe or alliance are eliminated in succession.
Appearances	Borneo The Australian Outback Africa Marquesas Thailand All-Stars Panama Cook Islands China Gabon Samoa Heroes vs. Villains Redemption Island South Pacific One World Blood vs. Water Worlds Apart Millennials vs. Gen X Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers

Pagonging is a fan-made term used to describe a post-merge strategy in which one tribe systematically eliminates members of the rival tribe one at a time. The term was coined in reference to the Tagi Alliance's elimination of all members of the Pagong tribe in Survivor: Borneo.

The term applies to situations in which one tribe or alliance purposefully eliminates the other in rapid succession. It does not refer to situations where all members of one tribe or alliance happened to be voted out one after the other due to plain coincidence, such as the consecutive elimination of the original Rarotonga members in Survivor: Cook Islands, five Timbira members in Survivor: Tocantins, the post-switch Gota tribe in Survivor: Caramoan, the consecutive elimination of original Solana members on Solarrion in Survivor: Cagayan, the consecutive elimination of post-switch Hunahpu members in Survivor: San Juan del Sur or the elimination of four Ikabula members in Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X.

This is similar to, but not the same as, Ulonging where a tribe is decimated before the merge, not after.

History

The strategy was first employed in Survivor: Borneo by the Tagi Alliance, eliminating the Pagong tribe in succession.

In Survivor: The Australian Outback, the Ogakor Alliance voted out the last remaining members of the Kucha Alliance in the final five by voting out Rodger Bingham and Elisabeth Filarski.

In Survivor: Africa, the last four members of the original Samburu were eliminated consecutively by the Boran Alliance, after Samburu failed to vote as a group at the final eight Tribal Council.

In Survivor: Marquesas, after Rob Mariano was voted out at the final ten, there were five remaining contestants who had been on the Maraamu tribe at some point in the game. The so-called Outsiders Alliance turned on the previous majority Rotu Four and voted them in succession until only the "outsiders" were left.

The delayed merge in Survivor: Thailand allowed the Chuay Gahn Five to gain a 5-3 numbers advantage. The remaining three Sook Jai Alliance members were ousted.

In Survivor: All-Stars, the post-absorption (pre-switch) Mogo Mogo Alliance was pagonged by the Chapera Alliance. The last standing Mogo Mogo, Shii Ann Huang, managed to outlast one Chapera member by winning immunity before being voted out herself.

In Survivor: Panama, the post-dissolve La Mina Alliance was pagonged by the Casaya Alliance. The last standing La Mina, Terry Deitz, won five consecutive immunities and possessed the Hidden Immunity Idol, but was voted out by Danielle DiLorenzo the next time he was vulnerable.

In Survivor: Cook Islands, the minority four-person Aitu Four alliance managed to systematically eliminate all members of the Rarotonga tribe after the merge, with the help of Jonathan Penner who reneged on the Raro Alliance. Once Jonathan's vote was no longer necessary, the Aitu Four voted him out, followed by the last remaining Rarotonga members.

In Survivor: China, the Zhan Hu Alliance was pagonged by the Fei Long Alliance, though the pagonging was temporarily halted at the final nine for a blindside of Jean-Robert Bellande, and for James Clement at the final seven. Following their eliminations, the remaining Fei Long members still held the majority and completed the pagonging.

In Survivor: Gabon, the once dominant Onion Alliance was pagonged by the Fang Alliance after the second swap. However, due to the last standing Kota, Bob Crowley winning three consecutive Immunity Challenges and Sugar Kiper turning on the alliance, Bob managed to overcome the pagonging and advance to the Final Three, and won in a 4-3-0 vote.

The minority Foa Foa Four alliance of Survivor: Samoa managed to overcome an 8-4 numbers disadvantage to pagong the entire Galu tribe, thanks to a strategic use of a Hidden Immunity Idol and their exploitation of the distrust within Galu. The pagonging was briefly halted when Brett Clouser won immunity at the final five, forcing the Foa Foa Four to eliminate Jaison Robinson. However, Brett was eliminated at the next Tribal Council to complete the pagonging.

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, the tribes merged with five Heroes and five Villains. After J.T. Thomas, a member of the Heroes Alliance, was eliminated, the Villains Alliance gained a 5-4 majority which they never relinquished. There was one blindside in the middle of the pagonging, at the final seven, when Russell Hantz and Jerri Manthey temporarily teamed up with the remaining Heroes to vote out Danielle DiLorenzo for her closeness with fellow Villains tribe mate Parvati Shallow.

In Survivor: Redemption Island, the dominant Stealth R Us alliance eliminated the remaining members of the Zapatera Six after first booting swing vote Matt Elrod. The Redemption Island twist allowed Mike Chiesl to outlast two former Ometepe members, but he fell short of returning to the game.

Survivor: South Pacific saw a 6-6 tribal split at the merge. To avoid picking rocks, John Cochran flipped to vote with The Family, allowing the Upolu alliance to pagong the remaining members of the Savaii Alliance, including Cochran. Redemption Island allowed Ozzy Lusth to re-enter the game at the final five and outlast three members of Upolu (plus Cochran), but after failing to win the Final Immunity Challenge, he was permanently eliminated.

In Survivor: One World, the Salani Alliance gained control of the merged Tikiano tribe, eliminating every original Manono castaway one-by-one. The complete pagonging stopped one vote short, when alliance member Kat Edorsson was unanimously blindsided at the final seven. However, the last remaining Manono, Tarzan Smith, was eliminated at the next Tribal Council. Both Alicia Rosa and Christina Cha, who were on Manono post tribe switch, were also eliminated, as the remaining post-Switch Salani members continued to pagong Manono.

In Survivor: Blood vs. Water, after the Singles Alliance had to turn on each other, the original Galang tribe picked off the original Tadhana tribe after Ciera Eastin flipped against them and voted with Galang to vote out Caleb Bankston. However, she flipped back to Tadhana and forced a rock draw, but it didn't work out in her favor and sent alliance member Katie Collins home, allowing Galang to pick off the remaining Tadhana members until they reached the Final Tribal Council.

Survivor: Worlds Apart witnessed at first a 6-6 post tribe swap split at the merge. However, two members of the opposing tribes flipped backed to their original alliances and the Escameca Alliance formed a 7-4 majority after Carolyn and Will flipped with Tyler Fredrickson. The Nagarote Alliance managed to use Jenn Brown's idol to blindside Kelly, but afterwards every member of the alliance including affiliate Shirin Oskooi were pagonged.

In Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, David's Vinaka Alliance managed to take control of the game after Will Wahl flipped to their side. The alliance proceeded to systematically take out every member of Zeke's Vinaka Alliance, with the final four being entirely comprised of members of David's alliance.

In Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, after the original Soko tribe came into the merge with five members as opposed to Levu's four and Yawa's three, both the Levu and Yawa tribe members formed the 7-5 majority alliance in order to eliminate all of the Soko tribe members.

Trivia

• The term "pagonging" came from Survivor: Borneo when Tagi started eliminating members of the rival tribe, Pagong.
• Shii Ann Huang was the first contestant to have used the term during a confessional in "A Chapera Surprise" of Survivor: All-Stars.
• Candice Woodcock is the only castaway to fall victim to Pagonging twice in two different seasons.