Aidan

**Aidan** is the Sole Survivor of Tropic Survivor: Kauai.

## Cast Assessment

Aidan is a determined and charismatic individual with a strong sense of humor. Looking to take more of a social approach, Aidan’s game plan revolves around building tight relationships with as many people as possible while playing the game from a middle position. With a personality like his it’s very likely he’ll find success in this strategy. As one of the younger castaways in this season many will probably underestimate Aidan, but he believes he’s knowledgeable enough in the game of Survivor to inflict the damage he knows he’s capable of. If he manages to secure the proper footing, he very well could end up being one of the more dangerous players this season.

## Kauai

In a season filled with underdogs it’s hard to justify not seeing Aidan as the biggest. It’s even harder to justify not rooting for him. As a member of the 5head alliance on the Lā tribe Aidan started off the game with important connections that set a solid foundation for his game. More specifically, it was his position within the core trio of the 5head alliance that gave him the freedom and safety needed to control his game. Additionally, the three challenge losing streak that the Lā tribe opened up the season with gave him the opportunity to gain trust with his allies in a consistent manner. The first two tribal councils were relatively simple as Jaysia and Dani were both voted out due to not being as socially integrated into the tribe as everyone else. But while these tribal councils seemed like they weren’t impacting the game much, Aidan had no idea that one of his stronger allies was already starting to slip away.

The third tribal council opened up as an easy vote with Saturn being the only remaining member of the tribe not in the 5head alliance. But a second potential plan turned the vote into a legitimate discussion. Saturn and Velma had been contrary to Kaden since day one and had started pulling Logan in the same direction. But when the plan to blindside Kaden was brought to Aidan and Brandon’s attention it was immediately stopped as they both preferred keeping him over Saturn, and Logan didn’t want to cause any tension by being more aggressive about it.

After winning the fourth immunity the game shook up as the tribes swapped. Aidan remained on the Lā tribe with Logan and Velma as they were joined by Raini, Shaun, and Tris from the original Kai tribe. Despite living in the lesser camp with no fishing gear and less rice portions remaining the new tribe excelled in challenges, winning the remaining three tribal immunities before the merge. Due to the evenly divided state of the tribe it’s unclear what would’ve happened had the tribe attended a tribal council, but thankfully they never had to worry about it. The new relationships Aidan formed with Raini, Shaun, and Tris that never got tested would later play a huge part in both hurting and helping him in the merge.

When the merge came things weren’t looking too good for Aidan and his allies Logan and Velma. While they were up according to swapped tribe numbers, they were down based on original tribe lines and few people had any idea where Kaden stood. More likely than not, after surviving three tribal councils with them despite entering the swap in a 4-2 minority, Kaden had some kind of deal with Alyssa and Jacob. With very little influence over the tribe, Aidan’s trio tried to target Alyssa but were very unsuccessful in doing so. Logan became the merge boot in a 6-3 vote, reaffirming the suspicions that Kaden was no longer on board with the Lā tribe, and securing Logan and Velma’s spots on the bottom of the tribe.

With Logan now gone and the odds stacked severely against them Aidan and Velma just needed to focus on surviving. After Jacob won immunity again, their options seemed pretty limited. Then their luck turned around as Shaun and Tris told them about their concerns with Kaden, giving them an opportunity for new life in the game. The foursome was solid but needed one more vote to truly turn things around. But the trio of Alyssa, Jacob, and Kaden was even tighter at that point, and Raini decided to stick with them. The votes tied, which would’ve caused a revote. But after Kaden played his idol to eliminate Shaun Aidan fell back to the familiar bottom. Now at the final seven they had gained an ally in Tris, but that wouldn’t change the trajectory of the game. The new foursome had solid intentions of reaching the late game together, which made Velma’s vote easy. But the final six tribal council is what turned the game around for Aidan.

After being blatantly lied to Alyssa was starting to have a change of heart now that her trust in Jacob and Kaden was receding. So she went to Aidan and Tris to form a new gameplan. With Raini still confident in working with Jacob and Kaden the votes tied 3-3. Aidan and Tris had been trying to make this move work for three tribals now, but at this point it was up to Alyssa. On the revote Alyssa was very conflicted. She wanted to take out Kaden, but she also didn’t want to risk going to rocks. So After being fed more lies from Jacob she flipped back on her own plan and voted out Tris, leaving Aidan completely in the dark yet again.

By this point Jacob and Kaden were clearly considered the biggest threats left in the game. Neither Alyssa or Raini were oblivious to it which is why they decided to work with Aidan. While the prospect of working with Alyssa and Raini felt promising, nothing was going to get Aidan to ease up on his performance in challenges. As long as he was in the game with four people who all contributed to him perpetually being on the bottom of the tribe Aidan was never going to feel 100% safe. Immunity had quickly become Aidan’s strongest ally in the game and he had full intentions of keeping it that way. After he secured the final five and final four immunities, Aidan was finally successful in voting out Kaden and Jacob with the help of Alyssa and Raini. His biggest targets in the merge were finally off the island and on the jury, but none of that mattered if he didn’t reach the end of the game. After a very narrow victory in the final immunity challenge, he did. After careful consideration and a quick outburst from Raini, he decided to take Alyssa with him to the final tribal council.

Up until the final tribal council Aidan was the clear underdog of the season, but now the tables had turned. After being in the minority for most of the merge, Aidan had only voted for three of the seven people on the jury when they got eliminated which left him with more allies on the jury and stronger overall jury management. However, Alyssa was more strategically involved throughout the season than Aidan was and she had voted in the majority far more times. While many jurors were conflicted throughout the final tribal council, some were turned off by Alyssa’s jabs that she took at Aidan’s game when answering questions and even though it meant resorting to constant immunities for safety many jurors respected Aidan’s ability to survive the majority for so long and still be able to make a few last minute moves with others to secure a little bit of strategical competence on his resumè. With the jury’s respect, Aidan became the first Sole Survivor in a nearly unanimous 6-1 vote.

### Voting History

**^1**  In "The Obsession Honestly", the vote ended with a 4-4 tie between Kaden and Tris, forcing a revote. Aidan did not change his vote on the revote.