In areality televisiongenre filled with different tropes and archetypes, there are few that audiences love to watch as much as a good old-fashioned villain. These are the characters who spice up their respective shows by sowing discontent and causing the drama that has made this medium so famous. And while there are many series with some great people viewers love to hate, not many are as iconic as the ones fromSurvivor; thisCharlie ParsonsCBSprogram has astounded for more than two decades with its stories of people surviving both the elements and one another in the fight for $1,000,000.Each season usually has at least one contestant ready to play a little dirty to get ahead in the game,with the show’s latest installment shocking audiences with the many people who seemed ready to do this immediately after stepping foot on the beach.
The past few episodes have seen a hit in villainyas the season’s resident stream of chaos,Rome Cooney, was eliminated pre-merge,with his unique brand of stirring the pot going out early and making viewers wonder who would fill his shoes — luckily, they wouldn’t have to for long. Because immediately in the episode after,Gabe Ortisshowed clearly what eagle-eyed viewers have clocked since the premiere:this man will backstab anyone to get to the end, and he’ll do it all with a smile.
‘Survivor’ Is Known for Its Iconic Villains
There are many different brands of villain onSurvivor, with the program’s antagonists showing the different ways to play a cutthroat game. Fans will remember the legendary ones like the Black Widow herself,Parvati Shallow,or the infamously discriminatoryRussell Hantz, playerswhose villainy was so popular that many modern antagonists are devoted to playing exactly like them. Cooney was one of those devotees; originally on the red Lavo tribe, the man’s outbursts and shady dealings had both his tribe mates and the audience labeling him as the season’s biggest villain early on. He was a huge character, which made his elimination in the sixth episode so shocking (we’d become so invested in this villain, and now he’s just gone!?).Yet many fans had begun to notice that Cooney’s blatant villainy was acting as a kind of editing smokescreen, as many other insidious acts were going unrecognized because they were much more subtle— with many of them coming from Gabe Ortis.
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From the blue Tuku tribe, Ortis doesn’t come off as your typical villain; with his bright smile and jovial demeanor, he quickly gained the affection of most of his tribemates, developing a tight bond with Sue Smey in the premiere and being recruited into a powerful alliance (that he’d later backstab) in episode two. Yet a closer look at the man’s words reveals a darker side to him, particularly in the way he boasts about being better than his enemies in the game and his tendency to refer to Smey and their other ally,Caroline Vidmar, as two “little birds” who need him to do everything.
This cockiness culminated in episode seven which saw the man relaxing on a swing while dictating his plans to every other player, telling them exactly what they were going to do and expecting no refusals (and, in his defense, he received none). This was followed by moments like him smirking at the camera while huggingRachel LaMontafter attempting to delude the woman into thinking she was safe and, after LaMont actually saved herself, expressing toKyle Ostwaldthat he should save Smey over the cryingTiyanna Hallumsat tribal councilbecause “she’ll do whatever the f**ck we want her to.” It’s an arrogance that fans have seen before in players like Hantz — another man who crassly called the women around him dumb and easily controlled — though Ortis mixes it up by masquerading these feelings behind a bright demeanor you can’t help but smile at.He seems like a nice guy, but as any fan knows well, nothing is as it seems onSurvivor.
Gabe Ortis Is a Modern ‘Survivor’ Villain
Despite these actions, it’s unfair to label someone being confident onSurvivoras being villainous. Many of the best players are secure in their actions and aren’t afraid to express in confessional how proud they are of their abilities. But it’s in the way that Ortis revels to the camera about how much better he is than those around himthat makes him appear like the many devilish villains fans have been missing.He takes this classic playstyle and hides it behind a modern awareness of what to say and when, recognizing that cocky players are often the most targeted — just look at Rome — and that it’s better to save his cutting words for the camera rather than the people deciding his fate.It’s a tactic that defines him as a thoroughly modern villain and, if Ortis plays his cards right, it could win him the title of “Sole Survivor.”
A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
Survivor is Available to Stream on Paramount Plus in the U.S.
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