Bianca seems very proud of her New Jersey roots. So proud, she mentioned Jersey several times in the short video I saw of her first. Public relations consultant Bianca says she makes her living persuading people to do things. When I hear “PR,” I think of the word “hype.” If she’s good at her hype, she could be good at Survivor. But bad hype could mean a quick exit. Bianca hit me as a little pushy like Anika was last season. That didn’t work out so well for Anika.

Bianca says she’ll play like Dee, Kenzie, Maryanne and Michele, but didn’t say if she admired their social, strategic or physical games. Dee had the full package, so for Bianca’s sake, I hope Dee is her first option. Kenzie, Maryanne and especially Michele relied more on dumb luck breaks to stay alive. She cited Stephenie as her favorite non-winner. Stephenie was a solid player but the hype about her outweighs the reality a little bit, so I guess it’s appropriate a PR person would pick Stephenie.

She also says “I’m a natural born leader, but I don’t want to be Bruce (44, 45). That’s an encouraging sign, but I think her instincts will kick in. She won’t be able to help herself, just like Anika couldn’t, and will act like the “leader” and annoy or alienate her tribemates because of it.

Eva started watching Survivor as part of a college drinking game. Let me guess, you do a shot whenever someone says, “It’s a game,” “In my real life,” “I’m in a good spot,” “I’m going with the majority,” or “This is an easy vote.” Eva is autistic but is earning a Ph.D. in Engineering and also played on the men’s Hockey team in college. I say she should keep her mouth shut about the Ph.D. part. How can you not want to give money to an autistic Ph.D. who reaches the finals? Eva is currently working as an NCAA Hockey official. She probably SHOULD talk about that. There is zero doubt she’ll be able to handle the physical challenges well, and that should help her stick around early. She won’t have a problem getting along with the men, but I wonder if she’ll connect with the women.

Eva Cites Lindsay D. from Survivor 42 and Denise Stapley as her Survivor inspirations because they were both good in challenges. Eva should be aware that in recent seasons female challenge beasts (Maria, Frannie, Drea) have been getting themselves targeted for their performances lately.

I fear Eva will underestimate the importance of the social game and will focus too much on the physical game. Eva says she won’t know when people are lying to her. That tells me she’s a blindside waiting to happen, but it also says someone might put her vote in their pocket and carry her pretty deep. Eva says she’s gonna sandbag her intelligence and present herself more as a physical player. She wants to align with other physically strong-looking players. That’s a smart plan.

She described a ‘strong looking black man (Kyle?)” and a “strong, smiley Asian man (Kevin?)” she’d like to work with. Unfortunately, neither of them are on her tribe. She also described a black woman (Star?) who is already annoying her. Star IS on Eva’s tribe. She’s also reluctant to work with some of the women who were still wearing earrings and makeup in the pregame portion (Mary? Charity?). Eva’s pet peeves are lazy people and wet socks. She’s probably gonna come across both this season, so it’ll be fun seeing how she handles that. Eva also described what parameters the jurors should be using. That could be a recipe for failure if she makes it to the end and expects her jurors to use HER voting criteria instead of their own.

Joe says he doesn’t want to be a challenge beast because they’re always targeted. Ok, cool. But he says he wants to be a challenge monster who hides under the bed and stays hidden. He’s a muscular, athletic-looking Fire Captain so to me that means he’ll be labeled a beast no matter what he does. That also happened to Sam last season, and he was only average in challenges. Kyle ended up being the initial beast but people still feared Sam because of his build. Joe is playing because his late sister encouraged him to do it after wanting to play herself. Again, he shouldn’t tell that story to the other players.

Joe says he relates well to Cody from Survivor 43. Cody was full of charisma and was good at challenges. He easily could have won the game, but he failed to realize he was overshadowing his partner Jesse who was a much better strategist.I don’t see any similarities between Joe and Cody, but it will be interesting to see how Joe plays like Cody if that’s his plan.

Joe is much more soft-spoken than the outgoing, charismatic Cody, and reminds me more of Jeremy. Joe stops to think about what he’s gonna say before he answers a question, so he probably won’t accidentally reveal his strategy at Tribal Council. But Joe also says he admires Gabler’s game (but couldn’t remember his name, initially calling him “Diggler”). That set off all kinds of alarms in my head. While I respect Gabler as a person, and know his heart was in the right place, his strategic game just wasn’t impressive to me at all. Joe cited an “older woman in a blue top (Stephanie?)” and “the guy with the full beard” as someone he’d like to work with. That’s probably Shauhin. Guess who’s on his tribe?

Maybe it’s his beard. Maybe it’s his delightfully festive personality, but Shauhin immediately reminded me of Yam Yam’s likability. I don’t see him getting into a fight with anyone. But I didn’t see Yam Yam’s sense of humor in Shauhin. That sense of humor probably saved Yam Yam twice when he was close to being voted out. Shauhin is a Speech and Debate Teacher, which means he should be good at adjusting how he communicates to other people because he’ll recognize the signs when he’s NOT getting through to someone. Shauhin says he relates to Jonathan Penner. If that’s true, he’ll be a great in-game narrator, but won’t see it when someone is moving against him. He also says he relates to Yam Yam. I already said I could see that. Shauhin’s observational skills have already passed my test.

Shauhin was an alternate for 46 and took many notes on how that season’s players were sizing each other up. He’s playing with the knowledge of how those players fared in the game. Shauhin picked one player who’d either be his ride or die, or the first person he wanted gone. He picked Charity, or as he said “the woman with the tattoo sleeve”. He thinks she’s suspicious of him but will be completely loyal to him if he can get her on his side. That reminded me of how Caroline was sketched out about Gabe last preseason but ended up being his loyal partner. Shauhin thinks Charity could be his voice of reason. Too bad Charity is starting on a different tribe. He also picked out Mary by the initials he saw on her things. Mary is on a different tribe too.

If Shauhin makes it to a merge or swap with Mary or Charity, he could be in very good shape. Shauhin says he has too many ideas in his head and needs a strategist to help pick the right plan. He also got good vibes from Joe (who he called “The Rock), because of the meticulous way Joe folded his shirts. Shauhin says he doesn’t want to hold an Idol or an Advantage but wants to know who has them. He’ll know who to trust depending on who tells him they’ve got it. I think Shauhin will be able to play the middle pretty well, but will he know which side to pick when he has to make a choice? Will he know how to placate the side he doesn’t pick? That’s what I’ll be looking for from him. Shauhin ended his chat by saying he wants more fire challenges. Sorry dude, I’m out on that one.

Star is the female version of Rome. She talks very fast, is confident to a fault, and will provide absolute gold in every confessional she records. She’s very animated, demonstrative and is bursting with energetic catch phrases. Yeah, I got the feeling Star is playing to make herself famous, or perhaps to be invited to play again in Survivor 50. She binge-watched every season, and says she relates to Maryanne and Sandra, which is curious to me. Sandra was always hyper aware of her situation, and Maryanne was very often in the dark. I don’t think Star will play like either of them. She realizes she’ll be underestimated because of her goofy demeanor, but I don’t think she’ll know how others are perceiving her because she spends most of her time in her own head.

Star got hooked on Survivor while staying up late with her newborn baby while her wife was sleeping. Her favorite Survivor moment was when Chris Underwood won his way back into the game on Edge of Extinction. There’s nothing wrong with that, but will she realize most Survivor superfans don’t care for that moment? She also admits she hasn’t practiced making fire at all. Star can’t sit still, she’s in constant motion, rocking back and forth regularly. She’s a motormouth who talks with her hands too. It will be exhausting to be around her, just like Rome was.

Star said she hoped “Captain America (the man with all the muscles)” is on her tribe. She could be describing Joe or David. She says she didn’t get good vibes from “the woman with the braids” (probably Sai) because “she looks like she’ll have to be carried through challenges,” and “she doesn’t get up to throw her stuff away. You’re two feet from the trash can.” Her family advised her “Don’t give Jeff too much information.” I think she’ll try but won’t be able to help herself. She just loves to talk too much. I don’t think Star has any idea how to win Survivor, but she’ll be fun to watch for a while. Star will be noticed and memorable, but probably for the wrong reasons. Star ended her video by saying “I haven’t even started and I’m ready to come back.” Yeah, she’s playing to be noticed, but won’t have a chance of winning.

I’m not sure what to make of Thomas. He looks like an athlete but acts more like a theater nerd. He says he’ll be able to stay under the radar, but I think he’ll stick out as a sore thumb. His saving grace is he’s starting on a tribe with fellow oddballs Shauhin and Star, so he might fit in just fine. Thomas gave up alcohol and caffeine while preparing to play Survivor, which was smart. He anticipated the mood swings that would accompany his withdrawal, and didn’t want that to happen while he was playing. He says if he wins a coffee reward, he won’t take a sip. Thomas knows he can get close to people quickly, which will help him earn trust, but he’s also aware that being too close to people could cause resentment if he has to backstab them. Being aware of those risks gives him an edge if he’s able to balance those qualities.

He also says, “I have no patience for fools.” That makes me wonder how he’ll get along with Star or Shauhin if he thinks they’re fools. Thomas got good vibes from Stephanie (who’s starting on another tribe), so look for him to gravitate to her in a swap or merge. Thomas watched 42 seasons of Survivor in 9 months. That’s not quite the power binge-watching sessions many recent players have done, so Thomas might have absorbed some of the more subtle strategic elements of the game. Sophie is his Survivor role model. That’s a very solid pick. Sophie always got accurate reads on the other players and knew how to use that information to help her the best ... except when going against Tony. He also cites Mike White as an inspiration, which is again, a very solid pick. Thomas has the same calm, steady-burning demeanor as Mike, and that should help him know how to deal with more frenetic people like Star and Shauhin.

Thomas works in the Music Business (which is close to my heart because I did the same thing), so that should also be helpful. He should be used to being around creative, extreme personality types. Thomas says, “I don’t want a Beware Advantage, but I want to know who has it, and I want to be the one to tell everyone about it.” This dude must have been reading Screaming at the Screen. I like him already. Thomas has the “stay in the middle” mindset I’ve been preaching, so I’m hoping he'll make a deep run. He’s got what it takes to convince people to work with him or give him money at the end. He’s not the type who’ll create a reason to want him gone.

The first thing I thought about Cedrek was how many times I was gonna have to fix my column when I wrote “Cedrick.” I had nightmare flashbacks of misspelling Randen’s name from Survivor 46. Cedrek is a surgeon. Survivor seems to like casting doctors. I thought Kishan was showing great promise last season until Genevieve blindsided him. Cedrek’s demeanor reminds me more of Kishan than the self-absorbed Dr. Peter from Kaoh Rong. Cedrek struck me as soft spoken and humble. He won’t get into fights, but I wonder if he’s got what it takes to blindside someone while keeping his cover. I fear he’ll feel too guilty about it. He’s the type who might warn someone they’re being targeted.

Cedrek says he identifies with Earl and Cirie. They’re both top 5 overall players in my book, so he’s got a lot to live up to if he wants to play like them. But several of this season’s players said he gave them good vibes, which is a standard Earl quality. Cedrek comes off as very grounded and humble. I doubt he’ll stand out as any kind of a threat, but I also wonder if he’ll be taken seriously as a winner threat. Cedrek is open to working with everyone, which is smart, but he pointed out Stephanie and “one of the muscular white gentlemen” (Joe? David?) who gave him good vibes. Cedrek believes Charlie was “robbed” of a win in Survivor 46. That tells me Cedrek doesn’t quite understand that the Jury can cast their votes for any reason they want, and for that reason can never get it wrong. If he makes the finals and believes the jurors will have to use HIS criteria when voting, he probably won’t be telling them what they want to hear.

Justin went to Yale and studied Political Science but makes his living running his family pizzeria. Justin seems to have the right mix of intelligence and stealth that should add up to a deep run. Justin reminds me of Devon from HHH, who came off as a dim surfer dude, but was actually that season’s smartest player, who kept his education (he had a degree in Economics) a secret. Justin can sandbag his intelligence by convincingly talking about Italian food all season.

But he should avoid the trap Gabe fell into. Gabe kept a good cover in camp and during challenges, but he set off alarms when he gave intelligent, articulate answers to Probst’s questions at Tribal Council. When Prost asks Justin a question, he should just smile and say, “That’s amore, Mr. Probst!” They’ll never see him coming. Justin cites Tyson as his inspiration. Sure, Tyson has one win, but he needed three tries to get it because of 1) his tendency to take unnecessary risks and 2) his often insulting social game. He got blindsided twice before he won, won in Blood vs Water, then was blindsided again in Winners At War. Hopefully Justin will be more socially aware than Tyson usually is.

He also relates to Fabio, which makes me very nervous because Fabio never knew what was going on in his entire season. But maybe Justin’s long hair will help him remain stealth because people will mistake him for the real Fabio. He also relates to Malcolm’s honesty. Malcolm is a solid player. Justin should emulate Malcolm more than Tyson or Fabio. Justin says he got good vibes from “an older gentleman with glasses (Cedrek?),” so maybe they’ll be natural alliance partners. He also mentioned he liked seeing Eva’s hockey shirt, so he’d probably gravitate towards her at a swap or merge.

He also says “I gotta watch out for the guy with the beard (Shauhin). He looks like he’s here to play.” I picked up on Justin’s humility in the first minute of his video when he said, “I got a degree from a really great institution.” He didn’t mention Yale by name. Doing so might put other players off, so this tells me Justin has good instincts. He took over the pizzeria when his mother got sick. That’s something he shouldn’t mention to other players until he’s in the finals.

Kevin cites Yul as his inspiration, so that tells me he’s starting out on the right note. He has worked in Engineering, Business and Finance. But unlike Yul, Kevin has a frenetic energy about him. He’s very excitable and enthusiastic. One of Yul’s strengths was his ability to keep a calm, cool demeanor at all times. Yul was a rock of stability. Kevin is bouncing off the walls, and that could easily annoy his tribemates to the point where they won’t want him around. However, Kevin also says he admires Kaleb from Survivor 45 because of his social charm. Does Kevin realize that’s exactly what got Kaleb voted out? He also says he’d like to play like Christian, Nick and Davie from David vs Goliath. Something tells me Kevin will have trouble staying focused.

He speaks very fast, and that tends to push some people away if they don’t have the patience to keep up with his babbling. Some may tune him out when he uses 300 words to say something others would say in 30. Kevin started watching Survivor with the sound down because he didn’t want to wake up his parents who thought he was sleeping. I often turn down the sound while Probst is announcing the challenges because often what he says doesn’t match what’s actually happening. He likes the David vs Goliath season and hopes to unite some smaller players against the “muscleheads” he saw in this season’s cast. He probably won’t gravitate towards David or Joe.

I get the feeling Kevin has overestimated his ability to play Survivor, but I also think he’s aware enough to know when he’ll need to make an adjustment. He said he got good vibes from “one of the older women (Stephanie? Chrissy?) who he thinks is a great final 3 partner already. Kevin thinks it would be best to go to the merge after attending two Tribal Councils so the other tribes won’t unite and target his majority. While I agree that attending at least one pre-merge Tribal Council can be an advantage, I don’t know that hoping to lose two members is a smart plan unless those members are unpredictable wild cards like Andy, Abi-Maria or Bhanu. His statement makes me wonder if Kevin would try to throw a challenge if he thinks he’s safe.

Kevin talked a lot about the importance of making a “Big Move.” That tells me he’ll take an unnecessary risk that will end up getting him voted out like what happened to recent players like Genevieve, Tevin, Emily and Danny Massa.

The first thing Mary said was “I want to play like Ben Driebergen. He was a spy.” I was out immediately. Ben got fooled by Devon into playing double agent. He had no idea Devon had set Ben up to anger members from both opposing alliances when his cover was inevitably blown. She also relates to Kaleb who got booted after being too socially aggressive. Mary started watching Survivor during the COVID-19 crisis, and acknowledged seeing Heroes vs Villains, but didn’t make it clear how many prior seasons she’d watched.

Mary hitchhiked around the Mediterranean, then became a drug counselor. Working on a crisis hotline gave her the ability to earn trust quickly. That could be very helpful on Survivor because she’s used to dealing with different personality types. Mary says she wants to play Survivor “Because I was looking for a way to make money ... and I also love the show.” That set off an alarm in my head. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to make money, but why would that be the first answer you come up with? She also says Survivor is “so much like my normal life and exactly opposite.” Naah, there’s nothing contradictory about that. She wants to be pushed to her limits, which tells me she’s probably not prepared to play a game that so often requires restraint.

Does she really know what she’s getting into? She strikes me as a “there for the adventure” player. She’ll likely volunteer for journeys, aggressively hunt for Idols, and tell everyone when she finds something. Mary says “I don’t care what people think about me, I do my own thing. I’m gonna do what I want, when I want to.” Unfortunately for her, Survivor is a game in which you need to be hyper-aware of what people think of you because you may need to change their perception. Will she get herself voted out when she refuses to vote with a majority like Aysha did last season? Mary is also a singer who cites Erykah Badu, Amy Winehouse and Lana Del Rey as her musical inspirations. But she also says, “I don’t like Taylor Swift,” which is enough for me to start cheering for her instantly.

Mary says she got good vibes from “the taller black guy who says, ‘Thank you’ when people bring his food (Cedrek?),” and “’the gay guy with the moustache (Thomas).” Since Cedrek is on her tribe, look for her to gravitate towards him. Mary says “I can’t have an alliance partner poppin’ off at someone we need for numbers thereby alienating them.“ Mary will probably be the one alienating people, and wondering why they don’t see things her way. She’s gonna be the unpredictable wild card on this tribe. My only question is this: Will Mary be voted out first from her tribe, or second?

The season hasn’t even begun, and I’ve written “Sia” three times. Sai and Cedrek are gonna wear down my back space button. Sai describes herself as a strong woman who doesn’t deal well with emotional people. She says, “I didn’t grow up around a lot of soft people.” That could be a problem if she’s surrounded by emotional tribemates (Mary? Kevin?). She’ll have to adapt to them, but I think she may expect them to adapt to her. She has a chip on her shoulder about being doubted too. While it’s admirable to want to prove people wrong in real life, in Survivor, allowing people to underestimate you is a strength ... if you know how to change that perception towards the end like Sandra, Natalie Anderson and Todd did when they won.

Sai is a superfan and has watched every season, starting when COVID-19 hit. The players Sai admires most are Maryanne and Drea. Drea found a lot of trinkets then got herself voted out by telling people about them. Maryanne had a lot of luck in her win. She never even knew how close she came to being the merge boot. Sai likes the way Maryanne embraced her weirdness and wants to fill her pockets with Idols and Advantages like they had. Sai will need to be more aware than Drea and Maryanne were.

Sai strongly embraces her race and is proud of her accomplishments, but I wonder if that has caused her to miss some of the stronger strategic achievements made by non-black players. Does she know about Sandra’s excellent BS meter? Can she calm down the crazy players around her like Aras or Cochran? Can she pull the strings behind the curtain as well as Jesse and Dee did? Sai says, “Malcolm is overrated, but he was good at challenges.” That tells me she totally missed his excellent social and strategic games as well as the sandbagging he did in the Philippines challenges.

I don’t see Sai making good reads on the other players. Sai says she has a Resting Bitch Face which might inhibit people from talking to her, but I didn’t pick up on that at all. She was engaging, enthusiastic and smiling when she spoke. This makes me think she won’t get an accurate read on how she’s being perceived. That’s a bad sign. Sai got good vibes from “the guy with the long, mohawk curly black hair.” My best guess is that was Justin. She didn’t care for “The woman who always has her hair pulled back (Charity?), or “The blonde who’s artsy but wants you to know she’s artsy (Stephanie?), and is always looking for applause.” That’s a bad sign, because guess who’s on her tribe?

Stephanie is sending all kinds of good vibrations around this cast (except to Sai). Joe, Thomas, Cedrek, Kevin, Mary and Kyle all complimented her on visual impression alone in pregame, so Stephanie is already doing something right (except with Sai). Since three of those “good vibes” people are on her tribe, Stephanie’s initial outlook is good. Stephanie talked about her successful career and how she was making pitches to multi-million-dollar companies. But she didn’t come off as an egomaniac or overconfident at all, even though she describes herself as an Alpha. She says, “There’s a way of being an Alpha that also involves warmth and humor.” That’s an excellent way to approach Survivor.

The first thing she mentioned was how much she loved being a Public School teacher for 8 years. She also talked about getting used to not being in charge. She says “I’m gonna sit on my hands and let others take control.” That’s a tough transition to make but if she can do it in Survivor, she could make a very deep run. Stephanie watched the early seasons of Survivor as a child with her parents, was gone for a while, then returned during the pandemic, starting with Cook Islands. She got hooked again and caught up on every season. She misses “the challenges where players have to talk shit about each other (aka “Touchy Subjects”).”

Stephanie says, “There isn’t anybody white like me who plays the way I want to play,” so she chose Tyson as a player she relates to because “he’s able to hold an alliance together.” That tells me she watched Blood vs Water, but didn’t pay much attention to Tocantins, Heroes vs Villains, or Winners at War. And of course, Tyson is white. But she also likes the fierce way Natalie Anderson shot back at John Rocker in SJdS.

Stephanie got good vibes from “the kind-looking guy with the glasses (Cedrek).” She got bad vibes from the “less smiley” players like “the one who jumped in front of the food line,” but didn’t say who that was. Stephanie wants nothing to do with Advantages, so don’t look for her to open a Beware Advantage. There was one huge warning sign for me. Stephanie says, “I desperately don’t want to play Dee’s game.” I think Dee played one of the 3 best games of Survivor ever. Dee’s game is something to shoot for. If Stephanie doesn’t want to play like Dee, she probably doesn’t have a winning plan.

The first thing Charity said was that she’s here on a business trip, not for a vacation. She’s here to play the game and comes off as a very no-nonsense kind of person. But she started to loosen up after a few minutes. She’s a flight attendant turned fitness instructor, so she should be used to dealing with all different types of people on more than just a surface level. But how will Charity do when she’s also depending on those people for food, shelter and game safety? She says "I’m 100% in, and you’ll see me at the finish line."

Charity talks about her religious upbringing and how she feels it caused her to miss out on a lot as a young adult. Playing Survivor represents making up for lost time for her. Much like Jake from Survivor 45, Charity lost 100 pounds before playing Survivor. I think that’s a great story ... that she should never tell the other players. If she’s too open with her background, she’ll end up like Kyle last season. Nobody will want to sit next to her in the finals because her story is just too compelling. Watching Survivor was an escape for her. She’s not here on a whim.

She started watching Survivor online in 2015 and has seen every season. Her favorite Survivor players are Tony and Jane. I was pleasantly surprised to hear Jane’s name come up. She played a great game in Nicaragua and was voted out because she was too well-liked to sit next to in the finals. Jane isn’t very well-liked by fans, but Charity liked Jane’s kindness. Tony of course is a Survivor unicorn. I don’t think anybody can play like Tony except Tony. But Charity also says her game will be her own. Charity says “I’m not intimidated by anyone, not even ‘Jersey muscles’ (David? Joe?) over there.” She loves “the tall blonde with curly hair (Stephanie). We could mesh together.” She also like “The older man with tattoos on his forearms (Joe). “There’s something solid about him.” There’s one person who “won’t make eye contact with us, but totally changes when giving interviews.”

Who knows who that is, but I was intrigued by the comment. She’ll go all out looking for Idols, Advantages or Journeys. She loves Russell and thinks he should have won in all three seasons he played. She wants more villains on Survivor. Charity also says, “I speak my mind, I’m a no BS person.” That can easily get her into trouble in this game, but she’s aware of it. Can she hold her tongue to make sure she doesn’t screw up a voting plan? I think Charity will have trouble reading how others perceive her, which makes her a blindside waiting to happen. She should be interesting to watch.

Much like Sue last season, Chrissy succeeded in a traditionally male-dominated field. She’s a Fire fighter and Paramedic. She’s also a nurse. She rose to be a Lieutenant, but wisely says she wants no part of being a leader on Survivor. I like her already. Chrissy says the Survivor player she relates to Carolyn because she wasn’t afraid to be herself. I’m gonna assume she’s talking about 44 Carolyn and not Worlds Apart Carolyn. Both of them made the finals. S44 Carolyn was wildly entertaining but never earned enough respect to get a win. Worlds Apart Carolyn played a game very worthy of a win but lost to Mike.

The winner she likes is Yam Yam because of how well he could relate to others and his perception – specifically how he could read people’s quirks when they were truthful and how they changed when they were lying. She’s been watching Survivor since the first season aired, she didn’t binge watch like most of the cast, so Chrissy may have absorbed more of the game’s valuable subtleties. That might help her develop a BS meter as good as Yam Yam’s. Carolyn says “I run into burning buildings with 65 pounds of equipment on my back, so crawling through mud with nothing on my back should be easy.”

Chrissy is full of energy and enthusiasm but is aware she can often talk too much. Hopefully she won’t be annoying. She’s not worried about being the oldest member of the cast because she relates to all the younger Firefighters she’s in charge of. Chrissy gets good vibes from “bearded guy” (Shauhin), and the “African-American guy with glasses (Cedrek) who smiles a lot.” She gets bad vibes from “the blonde girl (Stephanie) who seems a little snooty because “she jumped, I said ‘Don’t hurt yourself,’ and she shushed me (because we’re not supposed to talk). That’s the funny thing about Survivor. One shush, and I’m gonna vote your ass off.” None of those 3 are on her tribe, but she was clear that everything could change after everyone can talk to each other.

She can’t wait to find an Idol or Advantage, even if it’s a Beware Advantage, saying “You’d be an idiot not to open it up.” She won’t volunteer for a Journey but will go if chosen by others. I’ll admit it. I like Chrissy a lot and hope she does well. I’ve been pulling for an older woman to win Survivor for a while, and Chrissy would be a great addition to the list of firefighter Survivor winners Tom and Jeremy.

Stunt performer David says the easiest part about Survivor is the challenges and he intends on winning more than anyone else. Didn’t he watch Joe Anglim try (and fail) with that strategy for three seasons? He calls himself an adrenaline junkie, adding “I don’t want to say I’m a little fearless” as he’s saying how fearless he is. He says, “living under pressure is just part and parcel of my life…everything I’ve ever done in my life has prepared me for Survivor, so I had to apply to see if I’m as good as I think I am.”

David says he’ll play like Austin because he was kind. David doesn’t know Austin probably lost because he was kind enough to leak a blindside plan to Dee, who promptly killed it. But he did say “Dee also played a pretty good game.” David says people compare him to Jonathan Young from 42. Jonathan had no choice but to embrace his challenge beast appearance but didn’t have the social skills to get to the end. Then again, David says he wants to play a better social game than Jonathan did. David says he’ll be able to chisel away at people who don’t like him. He strikes me as the type who won’t know when somebody doesn’t like him and won’t find out until he sees his name on a parchment. David says it’s better to be too confident than to be too humble. Yeah, he knows nothing about Survivor.

He got good vibes from Chrissy “The older woman who smiles a lot” and Cedrek “The man with glasses who smiles.” He’ll gravitate towards Chrissy, who will figure out the best way to blindside David is to smile at him.

David is the exact Alpha Male type Jeff Probst loves. He’s very full of himself and likes to brag about his accomplishments. He says “I’ve got it all. It’s not ego, it’s history. I just come out ahead.” He admits he hasn’t watched much of Survivor and applied on a whim because it looks like a good challenge. He didn’t start really paying attention to Survivor until he got a response from his application. He didn’t even recognize Jeff Probst by name until the Casting Department called him. That tells me he won’t know much about the social or strategic elements of the game.

David’s abrasive personality and lack of Survivor knowledge probably means he has no chance of winning. But that’s exactly why he’ll probably make a deep run. Why vote out someone who won’t know how to talk himself into a win? The only reason to boot him is if he goes on an Immunity winning streak like Kyle last season. Even though I got the feeling he was hamming it up a little, I can’t wait to see him fall on his face.

Kamila comes off as very self-effacing with a good sense of humor. She reminds me of Elaine from Island of the Idols and Teeny from 47. She can keep people laughing however she describes herself as “intentionally annoying and impatient.” That’s a recipe for failure. Kamilla discussed her many life failures (missing out on her preferred college, an internship program, and getting a job in her field), but is proud of her unfailing determination. Kamilla started watching Survivor “when people were getting naked for peanut butter (The Amazon),” then fell off for a while. She returned when her brother told her about Tony in Cagayan. That same season she says she was also intrigued by Spencer’s intellectual nerdiness, but she couldn’t apply because she was a Canadian.

Kamilla cites winners Maryanne and Erika as inspirations, and I can see the similarities between Kamilla and Maryanne. But Kamilla will need an Omar to watch her back. The 5-foot 1 Kamilla has the advantage of being diminutive on her side, which has historically been a plus. But I think she’s playing more to become famous on TV as opposed to playing a strong game. If Kamilla was starting on a different tribe, I’d say she’d probably make a deep run but won’t be taken seriously enough to get a win. But she’s the obvious physical weak link on a tribe full of Alphas. She’s also the quirky oddball on the tribe, and I don’t think she’s savvy enough to invent a reason to keep her over anyone else ... unless people think she’s got an Idol.

Kamilla got good vibes from Charity and thinks she can use Charity as a shield. She also says “I hope giga-chad (David?) is on my tribe so he can Jonathan Young us through all the swimming challenges. Kamilla will likely approach them for an alliance, but I don’t think the feeling will be mutual. She also says “If giga-chad is on my tribe, I’ll look for an open a Beware Advantage because we won’t be going to Tribal Council.” If Kamilla can make it to a swap, she might be fine until deep into a merge. But if this tribe loses early, she’s an obvious first boot.

Kyle is a lawyer and the first thing he said in his video is how he’s dedicated to helping those who can’t afford a good defense. That’s probably the kind of lawyer who can avoid being targeted for his profession but is also the kind who other players won’t be concerned about. Think Jake and Katurah from 45. He has no intention of revealing his occupation, so he’s gonna tell people he’s a teacher, which is something he did before becoming a lawyer. That cover story worked well for Sabrina in One World. He also started watching Survivor during the pandemic, and got hooked while watching Winners at War.

Kyle says he relates to winner Wendell, who has a diverse background like he does. He says Wendell beat Domenick because he came off as more caring. While that’s true, I think Wendell took votes away by nudging Dom into being more confrontational. Kyle also relates to Jay Starrett from MvG. Jay was a solid player who played better on Survivor than he has on a few seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, but he’s also a good pick to emulate. Kyle bulked up while preparing to play Survivor but then put on a lot of fat just before getting on the plane so he’d have some reserves. I’m not sure if that will work, but it intrigued me.

Kevin was a teacher at a Juvenile Detention Center, and that will help him keep calm in a stressful environment. I agree. Trying to teach kids wondering when/if they’re gonna get out of jail requires a lot of patience and flexibility. Those qualities are valuable in Survivor. He also taught at a very affluent school. He’s used to dealing with different types of people. Kyle has the right steady-burning personality to make a deep run. He won’t get into fights, he’s more likely to be the peacemaker. He’s wary of being “too social” like Kaleb was and will keep an eye on how he’s being perceived. He doesn’t want to be seen as the social butterfly.

Kyle got good vibes from “The taller blonde woman (Stephanie)” because “she looks like she’d be fun to work with.” He also likes “Superman who looks like Clark Kent” (Joe? David?). He can’t get a good read on “the gentleman with the beard (Shauhin).” Kyle is well equipped to play the middle very well and can make a good adjustment when he picks a side. He should easily make a deep run if he doesn’t fall on the wrong side of a swap.

Mitch is a P.E. coach, which makes me feel great since I also coach Little League baseball. This tells me he’s probably a good communicator, because coaches need to find several ways to send the same message to people who receive those messages differently. It tells me he’s got the patience to listen to and learn different personality types. Mitch cites Spencer, Joey Amazing and Cochran as his Survivor inspirations. That’s mind-boggling to me because I’d be hard pressed to come up with three players who are strategically more different from each other than them. Joe is great at challenges, but lousy at everything else. Spencer is a strong strategist but burns bridges with his social game. Cochran made a great rookie-to-returning player adjustment going from neurotic to rock solid dependable and confident. Which version is Mitch gonna emulate?

Mitch got hooked on Survivor during season three, Africa. He relates well to Todd Herzog from China because of his strong strategy and ability to stroke the other players’ egos. Todd is a top 10 player in my book. And like others in this cast, Mitch was inspired to apply by Kaleb. He got good vibes from Charity and likes the confidence she projects. He also feels good about Shauhin. He’d love to use Jeremy’s “Meat Shield” strategy, which means he’ll gravitate towards David. He got bad vibes from a couple of the “quiet women who avoided eye contact (Mary? Sai?),” but didn’t say which ones they were.

Oh yeah, and Mitch has a speech impediment. He stutters, hesitates and speaks slowly at times. He relates to Christy from The Amazon. Christy was deaf, and made a decent run. She got voted out because she was an indecisive swing vote who held opposing alliances at bay and didn’t realize they decided to vote her out instead of waiting for her decision. Will Mitch’s impediment affect his game if he has to communicate something quickly during a challenge? Will others have patience with Mitch if they’re whispering a strategic idea to him while their blindside victim is approaching? In a way, a stuttering person might be a great liar because others could misread a deceptive hesitation for his impediment. I really have no idea how this will affect his game. In Edge of Extinction, Wendy had Tourette’s Syndrome, but it wasn’t a factor in her game at all. She created a plethora of other reasons to vote her out.

It all depends on how the other players receive Mitch, and Probst will have something to do with that. If Probst shows great patience or frequently goes to Mitch with questions, that might translate to the other players who’ll follow suit. But if Probst stays away from Mitch with questions, others may have less patience. But with an older-skewing cast, I think (hope) nobody will make a snap judgment and view his impediment as a negative. Everyone on his tribe is 30 or older. That could be helpful to him. I hope this doesn’t happen, but I could easily see Mitch leaving early just because others have difficulty communicating with him. I also don’t see Mitch winning the game because his story is too compelling. Why would anyone want to sit next to Mitch in the finals? How hard would it be to take shots at his game. Nobody will want to take that chance.

• Screaming at the Screen - S47 index
• Pre-season: The best Survivor winner's moves ever
• Pre-season: Two Jeremys, a Devon, and another Rome?