Beauty Tribe: Who's the fairest of them all?

Next week, on February the 26th, the 28th season of survivor Cagayan: Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty is finally kicking off. After a ‘meticulous’ and closer inspection of respectively the Brawn  and Brains tribe, we still have one more tribe to go: the Beauty tribe. So let’s not waste anymore time and get speculating!

Every season we’re presented with contestants who are not there to be big power players or tactical master minds but are just there as eye candy. This season the people of CBS did us the courtesy of presenting us an entire tribe of six people brimming with sexappeal (depending on your personal flavor offcourse). Offcourse that doesn’t mean each member of the Beauty tribe is doomed to lose. Every once and a while, we see a player with good looks taking the one million dollars and title of sole survivor. Think about the likes of Fabio (Nicaragua) or Natalie White (Samoa). The question offcourse is if we will see a similar player rise up amongst the next six players.

                                                                     

First up is Alexis, a 21-year old student from Chicago. At first glance she’ your typical survivor eye candy being young, kinda bubbly and beautiful. After listening to her biovid she seems smarter then your run-of-the-mill eye candy. She seems to be betting on an alliance with the girls which isn’t a bad idea. Despite that I still don’t see her playing a big part this season. If she does get into a majority alliance, she will be playing under the radar hoping for the leader of her alliance to take her to the final 3.

 Jefra Bland is next, a 23-year old pageant girl from Kentucky. Each season it’s easy to spot what kind off profile each of the ‘eye candy girls’ are. Alexis is the college girl, Morgan whom we’ll take a look at a bit further, is the model/babe and Jefra is the farm girl with farm hat and everything. Now I’m sure Jefra is a perfectly lovely girl who’s fun to be around but when it comes to survivor she’s basically cannon fodder. Unless she can ride the coattail of some powerplayer and keep quiet, smile and live up to her last name,  she ‘s an early boot for me.

Number three is Brice, a 27-year old social worker/shoe salesman from Philadelphia. I know beauty is a subjective feature but well…let’s just say Brice looks ‘Unique’. Brice is the kinda personality that you either love or hate, there’s no middle ground but I think most people will rather dislike Brice. Luckily for him, he’s on a Beauty tribe. If he were on a normal tribe I would say Brice is doomed to be an early boot, if not the first boot. But with this Beauty tribe he might have a chance to get in good with the girls. Despite that I’m guessing Brice will not last long in this game. 

Next up is boobs… I mean Morgan. Morgan is a 21-year old student from California and is the postergirl for an eye candy player, albeit a very nice poster. She might as well have a big sign with her shouting out ‘Help me, I have no clue what i’m getting into!’ She has no clear strategy, no life experience and she’s to her own words ‘outspoken’. This not only spells but screams early boot for me. Her only upside is that she realizes she’s in this predicament. Sadly, unless she can get into a majority alliance and stay quiet as a mouse, she’s out of this game faster then you can say ‘boobalicious’.

Last but one is LJ, a 34 year old horse trainer from Boston. In this rather sad (in survivor terms) bunch of players, LJ is the only one that give a glimmer of hope for his tribe. He’s laidback, cool (how could you not be when you’re name is LJ) and a clear leader. He seems to have this natural charm over him that can unite  a group of people. He also seems to be intelligent enough for this game. The only chance fort his tribe not tob e doomed is LJ. Under his leadership this group of misfits might have a chance.

Last is Jeremiah, a 34 year old model from North Carolina. Jeremiah seems like most of his tribe very bland. There’s just not much in this player to tell me he’s gonna do good in this game. If you listen to him, his only strategy is using his ‘southern charm’. That will only take you that far until you’re gone. I don’t think he’ll be the first one gone as he’s an asset in challenges but I don’t see a merge in his future.

The Beauty tribe seems to be the most boring tribe compared to the other two. This tribe has only one hope and his name is LJ Mckanas. Not my prediction but my hope is that LJ takes this tribe by the leash and leads it to it’s destination like it was one of his horses. In that situation I see Brice as the odd one out and the first boot fort his tribe.

That’s it for the three tribes. Next Wednesday survivor Cagayan is premiering you can expect a detailed review of the premiere on Thursday. Don't forget to check out the 'meet the cast' vids if you're interested down below. Enjoy the premiere and I will see you soon.

   

Brains Tribe: Nerd Alert!

Survivor 28 Cagayan is still 2 weeks away from premiering.  But in the meanwhile I’m giving you guy’s a preview of each of the three tribes. This season the 18 contestants are divided by brawn, brains and beauty.  Last week we took a closer look at the Brawn tribe, today it’s time to see what the brains tribe is made of.

Brains has been the qualification that has historically produced the most survivor victors. Although it can also hurt, as lawyers, high-educated players always raise a red flag with the other contestants. They’re pegged as possible powerplayers which can lead to an early exit or at the least make it very difficult to hide for the brainiacs. Subsequently, it’s not surprising that many of the brains tribe members will be trying to downplay their intellect.

  

First up is probably the most polarizing and hyped up player this season: Spencer Bledsoe. Spencer  is a 21-year old student in Chicago and is tagged as this season villain. But although his last name sounds ominous (First time I heard his last name, it sounded like ‘bloodsaw’.), I don’t really seem him living up to those expectations as I think his tribe mates will quickly see what’s spencer is all about. I definitely don’t see him as a next Russel Hantz. Spencer’s biggest opponent will probably be spencer himself as he comes over as very arrogant in his pregame interview. Luckily for him he does realize that which leaves Spencer as a question  mark to me as to how far he will go. In the end, I think we’ll mostly remember Spencer as more of an entertaining player to watch then as one of the great survivor winners.

Next up for the brains tribe is Kass, a 40-year old attorney from California. Kass reminds me of a lot of Kathy from Survivor Marquesas and the first All-Stars. And although I’m sure she has the potential and the skills to be as good as Kathy, I’m afraid she’ll never get the chance. In this group of odd ducks, she seems as the odd one out and that’s saying something. As such I expect her to be the first person voted off, the second this tribe has to go to tribal. Her only chance might be to align with the older people in her tribe like David. But in the end I don’t have high hopes for Kass.

Number three is Garret, a 27-year old poker player from California. On paper this guy is perfect. If you would look up in the dictionary what It takes to win survivor,  you would see this guy’s picture next to it. He has the brains, the profession, the abs and the social swag this game requires to win it. But offcourse that doesn’t mean he destined to win this season. If his tribe recognizes his skillset as easy as I just did, which isn’t so unlikely, he could become an early target. Nevertheless, in this tribe that has a lot of favorites, he’s my big favorite to go all the way.

Next in line is J’tia a 31-year old nuclear engineer/ model from Chicago, Illinois. Despite her unlikely combination as a nuclear engineer and a model, she seems to me as the most bland and uninteresting character in this tribe of brainiacs. There isn’t much to tell about J’tia as I don’t see her getting far at all in this game unless she can latch herself onto a majority alliance. J’Tia chances to win this game are as laughable as her statement that she digs nerds.

Last but one is Tasha Fox, a 36-year old CPA from Missouri.  Tasha seems like a very enjoyable and gitty person who does well in any group.  As such, I don’t see her having troubles getting into a majority alliance. But when it comes to her chances to actually win the game, I don’t see them as high. People will quickly see her as a jury threat and vote her out the moment her usefulness has run out.

Last is David Samson,  45 years old, lives in Florida and is the president of Miami Marlins Baseball team. Next to Cliff, David (or Samson which I’m calling him by from now on) is the other semi-celeb this season. As long as he can get into the right alliance, I can see him getting far. He seems laidback, wise and as he has already accomplished and experienced much in his life,  he shouldn’t be to nervous for something like this. If he can bring that over to his tribe mates, people will perceive him as trustworthy and will want to align with him. I don’t see Samson winning this game but I do see him getting far.

The brains tribe is by far the most interesting tribe of the three with many of my personal favorites in it. In that way it’s kinda of a shame that we might lose some of them pretty early on. As to my predictions for this tribe, I expect an alliance between, Garret, Spencer, Samson and Tasha. Leaving J’tia and Kass on the sidelines being the first targets. Garret is my big favorite. He has it all but will that be enough? Survivor can be ironic like that from time to time.

That wraps it up for the brains tribe. You can find the 'meet the cast' vids below. Next week it’s time for a closer inspection to what beauty has in store for us.

Brawn Tribe: Time to put up or shut up!

Freshly entered into a chilly February, it’s already time again to prepare for a new season of the most difficult and groundbreaking show on television for the past 14 years and 27 seasons. Heading into season 28 we’re presented with a fresh batch of 18 Americans going for the title of sole survivor and the additional one million dollars. No returnees, no redemption island and I must say it’s refreshing and I’m excited to see what this new group has in store for us.

As a matter of fact there’s only one big twist this season. The players are being divided into 3 tribes: brawn, brains and beauty. With this, they’re going back to the format they last used in season 26: Philippines. Personally I’m glad they’re going back to the 3-tribe format. Past seasons with 2 tribes have learned us that people often lock into a 5-person alliance that lasts almost the entire game. This  makes for predictable and boring seasons. With 3 tribes this is almost impossible as proven by season 26 which was very successful, as the game knew different alliances that  turned the game upside down on multiple occasions.

The theme of the season feels a bit obligatory to me. They needed a theme to divide their players so they chose a bit random for brawn, brains and beauty. But very similar to Heroes vs. Villains multiples contestants fit into multiple tribes this season, as will become apparent during the preview of the cast.

              

We’re about 3 weeks away from the premiere on February 26. For the next 3 weeks, starting today, I’ll be giving you a preview of each tribe. Who are they and what are their chances according to my humble opinion? That being said, let’s get started with the first tribe on the menu: Brawn.

As for the three qualifications a survivor winner is considered to have (according to Jeff Probst), brawn is the one that carries you through the first phase of the game until the merge. But after that brawn usually makes you more of threat and therefore not many players (actually none that I can remember) have won survivor purely on brawn. 

First up for the brawn tribe is 39-year old Tony, a police officer from New Jersey. He’s the poster boy for the brawn tribe as he’s strong, broad and walk and talks like a cop. But how will that affect his chances in this game because nobody likes a cop… right? I guess it all depends on how big his ego is and if he can downplay that ego which will be really important in a tribe that’s called ‘Brawn’. His luck could lie with his fellow police officer Sarah. If he can connect with her and they find two more kindred spirits, that might be the start of something good for Tony.

Next up is Lindsey, a 29-year old hair stylist from Indiana. In her own words she’s very good at reading people and making them her ‘puppets’. Every time I hear this kind of thing an alarm bell goes off because you’re never as good as you think you are. Add to that she says she’s a slave to her emotions and I don’t have high hopes for Lindsey. Emotions as a guideline is never a good way to go in survivor. Subsequently, unless Lindsey can get into a good alliance and stay off the radar, she’s an early exit for me. I definitely don’t see a big time strategy player in her as she sees herself.

Next is Sarah, a 29-year old police officer from Iowa. Sarah seems to be a very laid-back and down to earth women.  She doesn’t seem the type to let her ego get the better of her and will definitely go as far as the merge. If I was her, I would form an alliance of 4 and be the leader behind the screens but let someone like Tony or Cliff be the leader in front of the screens to stay out of the heat. If she does this I give her good chances to get far.

Next for the brawn tribe is Woo, a 30-year old martial arts instructor from Ohio. Woo is the kind of player everyone wants in their alliance: laid-back, not a clear leader and seems trustful and loyal. I see Woo getting in the majority alliance of the brawn tribe pretty easily. From there on, he can stay off the radar and get far. Physically he seems like an Ozzy-type to me with the swimmer body type and fishing survival skills. He could become this season’s challenge beast.

Last but one is Trish, a 47-year old pilates instructor from Massachusetts.  Although she’s clearly a strong women, she seems to me as like the mom type of this group. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a bad thing as those type of player have gotten far in the past before. The only problem is, who will she be a mom to in this group as there’s nobody  below 29 in this group.  Therefore I don’t see Trish getting far, as she’s one of the oldest in this group and she will probably annoy people more then anything else.

Last but definitely not least is Cliff Robinson a former NBA-star, now 46. As in every season there’s always that semi-famous contestant. Here it is Cliff Robinson. But as far as those semi-famous contestants go, they don’t really have a good track account when it comes to Survivor. I’m afraid Cliff won’t fair any better. He’s a very intimidating person in stature and I alsowouldn't be surprised if he turns out to have the biggest ego in this bunch of brawn. Something you can’t really blame him for as how can’t you have a massive ego if you spend the better half of your life in the world of blitz and glamour of the NBA. I see him rubbing his tribe mates the wrong way pretty quick and therefore being an early boot. I also wouldn’t be surprised if he disappointed in the brawn department.

That’s it for the brawn tribe. My prediction for this tribe is that Sarah and Tony will team up as their fellow cops. They will form an alliance with Woo and Lindsey as they are from the same age as Sarah. This will leave the two oldest Cliff and Trish on the outs and I see them as the 2 persons voted out first. I see Sarah getting the furthest and therefore she’s my favorite in the brawn tribe.

You can check the 'meet the cast' vids for the brawn tribe below. Next week, we’ll have a look at the brains tribe.