Gretchen Cordy was, for the first few weeks of Borneo, the closest thing the new show had to a sure-thing winner — a former Air Force survival instructor and the calm, capable mother figure of the Pagong tribe whom seemingly everyone respected. Competent at camp, well-liked, and a natural leader, she looked untouchable.
Which made her exit the moment Survivor announced what it really was. Richard Hatch's Tagi alliance engineered her stunning blindside in tenth, and a nation of first-time viewers learned that being the obvious frontrunner could get you killed. One of the most important early votes in the show's history.
