‘Survivor: Blood vs. Water’ finale: Who are the ten best players who have yet to return?

Every season when we get closer to the “Survivor” finale, there are a couple of lists that we like to reintroduce to the world and that includes likely All-Stars from the season we’ve just watched, the top players to never be on a second season, and also our lists of both the best winners and the seasons.

Earlier this week, we published the likely all-stars from “Survivor: Blood vs. Water,” and we’ll have the winner / season rankings come Tuesday when we have a good 36 or so hours to think about it. But for now,  take a look below at who we feel like are the ten people who desperately need to come back at some point before the show ends based on their performance, their entertainment value, and their love of the game.

10. Danni Boatwright (“Guatemala”) – She won the show many years ago, and would probably be forgotten unless there is an all-winners season coming up. But, the good news is that she’d probably be able to come back now and still be really good.

9. Ken Hoang (“Gabon”) – One of our favorite players, mostly because we love the “Survivor” geeks. He is a little like Cochran in that he could be a target before the merge, but could be a good contender after the merge comes if he is still there.

8. Stephen Fishbach (“Tocantins”) – Stephen is probably one of the most underrated players in the history of the show, mostly because JT’s success in his season was largely dependent on what he and Taj were doing. He was one of the best social players and strategists in the game who just fell victim to a guy who the jury all loved more than life itself.

7. Ciera Eastin (“Blood vs. Water”) – It’s a little early for her to come back again, but anytime you have a female castaway who is willing to fight this hard to stay in the game, you have to bring them back.

6. Todd Herzog (“China”) – Anyone who saw “Dr. Phil” recently knows that Todd is going through a hard time right now in his life, but we still remember him fondly as a great player who managed to convince people to stay with him even when it was a bad idea to do so. We’d hope to see him back after he starts to get his life together.

5. RC Sainte-Amour (“Philippines”) – Originally, she was set to be on this season prior to her father being pulled for medical reasons. Thanks to this alone, we have a pretty strong feeling that she is going to be back on a future season to make up for it.

4. Sophie Clarke (“South Pacific”) – She’s not only a strong winner, but we really like seeing people return who love the game and the strategy of it. Sophie is also one of those past winners who we could see coming back and doing well, since she’s smart enough to not get in trouble early.

3. Shane Powers (“Panama”) – One of the biggest characters in the history of the show, and also one of the most entertaining. The fact that Shane has not been on twice yet, and some other people have been on three or four times, is really a tragedy.

2. Earl Cole (“Fiji”) – Did Earl luck out slightly by Dreamz not giving up immunity? Sure, but Earl is still one of our favorite winners and personalities on the show who has disappeared somewhat sense he appeared on the show.

1. Kim Spradlin (“One World”) – She’s pregnant right now, but at some point in the future Kim seems like a no-brainer to bring back. She’s good television, one of the best winners of all time, and a strategist. You can’t ask for much more.

If you want to read more of our finale coverage, there are two ways to do so: Either take a look at the link here, or just see the attached sidebar for some additional updates.

Photo: CBS