Board Thread:Season Rankings/@comment-24584422-20180611085656/@comment-26485526-20181004180934

Justin "Jay" Starrett aka Saviour of Millennials vs Gen-X aka Underdog Icon - Millennials vs Gen-X aka Awfuls vs Gamebots - 6th Place aka Robbed King

That previous write up just does not do this icon justice as it completely undermines his character and his value in this season. At the beginning, this future king started off as an unlikable frat douche who aligned himself with Michelle and Taylor as the three proceeded to drink their own kool-aid. Little did we know that this seemingly generic asshole character was just his journey in its infancy, and that he would soon grow to be the best this season had to offer.

Some criticize his move for voting out Michaela as "jealousy," blatantly ignoring the fact that she had come out of nowhere and showed just how threatening she was. While anyone with half a brain does adore Michaela, to paint Jay's move as simple jealousy is flat out wrong. This type of blindside, especially in the late pre-merge, has grown to be par for the course in recent Survivor, and as such, Jay felt that he was playing the game, and nipping in the bud a threat before she could dominate at the merge, nothing to do with "jealously," but just an unfortunate side-effect of his character at the time.

At the Tribal where Michaela went home though, we saw something unusual. She confronted Jay about the move as her name was being read out, and he owned up to it, not wanting to take the coward's way out as the true jealous assholes like to do, giving us a hint of the unusual, but fresh, character development that was to come for our rising star.

Some consider Jay's relationship with Adam cringe, and I struggle to understand how that was Jay's fault! Adam's relationship with TAYLOR was cringe, and if anyone was cringe in the Adam/Jay scenes, it was the crybaby gamebot himself, Mr. Adam Klein!!

Despite Adam's constant lies and betrayals, when Adam needed a friend to talk to when dealing with emotions about his dying mother, JAY was there, ready to talk to Adam like a true friend, beyond the game. Jay, unlike a lot of people, was able to put the game aside in order to comfort his friend in his time of need, human to human. We saw an empathetic side to Jay that is so rarely shown, and this is where his true character began to shine!

Even down and out in the minority, Jay didn't whine and complain in confessionals about these people betrayed him, he sucked it up, looked at his position, and he began to fight. Unlike the "underdogs" CBS loves to shove down our throats, Jay's story progressed so naturally, and it was amazing to see this once powerful force fight tooth and nail to stay in the game.

Further, after he misplayed his idol, Jay did another unusual thing, instead of cursing and whining, he laughed at his mistakes and was able to find humour in his position while still fighting his ass off to stay alive. When his time in the game came to an unfortunate end, he was still able to make fun of himself, and he took his elimination with the utmost grace.

Jay is truly one of the most complex and interesting characters the show has cast, ESPECIALLY among the men. Despite not even making the finale, Jay managed to do the unthinkable - transform from an unlikable frat douche to scrappy, likable underdog. His elimination this early is a CRIME and he will be sorely missed because he was truly, truly awesome!