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[00:01:11] Hi everybody and welcome back to the Survivor 50 Wish List Podcast. An off-season series where we're trying to figure out who could and should come back for the upcoming season of Survivor 50. My name is Mike Bloom and even though we're seeing 90-minute episodes on Survivor with this season,
[00:01:29] Survivor 45 will hopefully keep this to less than 90 minutes as we have quite a crop of contestants to pick from. A season that is for the birds in a manner of speaking.
[00:01:41] We'll see which five people are going to take flight and who's going to be added in the penultimate edition of the Wish List. Now, of course, I am not alone here. He is not Batman. He is the Canadian.
[00:01:55] And I'm so excited to be playing with the boys with this guy today. It is the great Pliazza Ampicchili. Hey, I'm so happy to be here, Mike. This is going to be a good time. This is arguably my favorite season of the new era.
[00:02:10] So happy to be able to talk on it and see who we end up shoving onto that wish list there. Yeah, I mean, 45 and 46, I've said this considerably and spoiler alert, I'll say tomorrow as well,
[00:02:21] really does feel like from being inside the fandom, almost like an injection of energy that I think 41 through 44, there are certainly characters and moments that a lot of people liked. But I think certainly by 44, fatigue was settling in from a popular opinion perspective.
[00:02:39] People were feeling like the new era was starting to get played out, whether it was, you know, the same structure to things, whether it was too many twists and advantages getting thrown in, whether it was from their perspective,
[00:02:50] which again, I continue to disagree with that all the cast felt the same. But it does feel like this sort of magical combination of increasing the length of episode without necessarily then throwing in a bunch of additional stuff as well,
[00:03:05] combined with getting that extra time to get to know what ends up being a really interesting past. And you have a very good season. And tomorrow we are going to talk about the absolutely incredibly entertaining show that is 46.
[00:03:21] But I've said it before, like 45 has a good amount of unhinged aspects to it as well, as much as we might sort of broad brush the season as, oh, that's the one where the Rebuff 4 and D dominated from beginning to end.
[00:03:32] There is so much stuff with personalities here that does come from the additional 30 minute run time to each episode that it allowed us to see so many of these players that makes us want to warn a second time for some of them.
[00:03:45] Yeah, no, honestly, I feel like, you know, despite the Rebuff 4 really taking the whole game over by pretty much when we get to the merge, I feel like the parts that for me were fun. We had a couple healthy blind sides, which was delightful.
[00:04:01] We had some really great characters that whether or not they had a full season arc doesn't matter. They had a couple of really good moments, which is worth highlighting. We had boys night. We had the return of the auction, which I think was one of the biggest surprises.
[00:04:16] And one of my favorite things that has happened in the new era was to find out that the auction isn't dead and gone. It's still somewhere out there. And we will we can now ask for it to come back more because it came back relatively recently.
[00:04:28] It's not a it's not a pipe dream anymore, which I'm happy about as well. So all of that and a returnee in the new era, our first returnee, which was nice. To see now this is the season really brought all of it.
[00:04:42] I think packaging with the 90 minutes was great. And ultimately, for me, the other side of it, too, is at the very least during when the show was airing because I can't speak on on things now,
[00:04:55] assuming it's still the same. But this was a cast that clearly were all like they loved each other and were very much like a united front,
[00:05:04] which is refreshing to see. And I do like I know that people like the drama and they like the ooh, what's the beef? What's the gossip? I was very OK with not having that.
[00:05:13] And just seeing a cast of people who love the game, have love for the game and champion each other, whether or not they were blindsided by somebody, whether or not they had problems on the island. It was nice to see. It was.
[00:05:26] And that's the thing as well, is that I wouldn't necessarily call this a season that people lump in of like nobody feels any sort of animosity towards each other. It's all good game once they're voted out.
[00:05:37] I mean, we'll talk about what the hell, guys, of it all that there was a lot of emotions flowing on the island. How one of the conversations they have in these first few tribal councils, right, is like the difficulty in divorcing your emotions from gameplay.
[00:05:51] And we see that play out in multiple ways, including, you know, we had the Franny and Matt stuff going on last season. But this was one of the like, you know, longest lasting and most impactful showman's is on the show since Robin Amber,
[00:06:07] something that gets invoked where our final two once again are D and Austin. And that was a really interesting dynamic to see. Clearly, they were dealing with a lot of growing emotions for each other.
[00:06:18] But at the same time, they both had very clearly different approaches as to how to use that relationship to inform their gameplay.
[00:06:25] I think where the season benefits from as well, as I know that Shannon Guss has said this, that the season essentially functions in three parts based on like visibility and who's at the center.
[00:06:34] The first part is, of course, the destruction of Lulu, one of the most show tribes in Survivor history. The middle part is kind of the destruction of Bellow, where this tribe never goes to tribal council pretty much in the premerge.
[00:06:48] And once they finally get the chance to turn on each other, they do. And then the final part is kind of the destruction of Reba that once they get to the final seven, theoretically, they could steamroll their way to the final four.
[00:06:59] But then they start eyeballing taking each other out. And then you have someone like D being able to take advantage and laying waste to all the opponents that lie in her wake. So that does allow for a lot of visibility as well from a lot of these players.
[00:07:13] It doesn't really feel like that people might get more understated edits compared to others, but this is one of those tasks where it doesn't really feel like anyone was purpled.
[00:07:21] And maybe again, instead of the extended runtime, but I definitely feel like we got to know at least a little bit about all 18 players.
[00:07:27] Yeah, which I think is a very difficult task to achieve on Survivor with the fact that no matter what happens on the island where we are left with 42 minutes of airtime, obviously 60 if you count commercials, 90 if you count that season.
[00:07:43] I feel like we had a good spread, a decent spread of about everybody here. Like I think everybody we talk about, I can name one or two moments that really stuck out to me. And that includes people who may have taken themselves off the game.
[00:07:57] Yeah, which then makes our job even tougher because this is not necessarily an argument we can lead on of like, well, they weren't really on the show, so they probably won't be brought on.
[00:08:06] This is going to be one of the harder casts in my opinion, just because there are a lot of standouts.
[00:08:11] And I also am wondering, I think back to when they were casting for Survivor Second Chance and like the popularity of Blood vs. Water and worlds of Kagaian, I should say, were so at the forefront of the producers' minds.
[00:08:27] So they brought in a good amount of people for the ballot. And I certainly feel like 45 and 46, whichever dog you pick in that race, regardless, I think a lot of people say those are the top two seasons of the new era so far.
[00:08:38] And again, I think it had a lot of enthusiasm around it and even after the fact. And so, yes, we do have three more seasons technically ahead of us before 50 comes around.
[00:08:48] But I really do wonder that our Survivor producers looking at one of the more recent popular seasons to pull maybe a good amount of people from in 45.
[00:08:58] Which that is why and you know, this conversation about 50 has been pretty much since we heard the little rumor has been running rampant. And that's kind of why in my head I've basically decided for myself that I think it's going to be an all new era returning season.
[00:09:17] A big chunk of that has to do with the fact that I truly do think through the first six seasons now you can make a nice cast of 18 or even 20 people and it'll be an all star caliber cast.
[00:09:30] I really think there's enough people in the new era alone and we don't even have 47, 48, 49 to look at yet. And I definitely think there's validity to that. So that's why I think it's entirely possible. I think 45 and 46 have been very character heavy, have been very fun.
[00:09:46] There's been chaos. There's been personality. There's been strategy. There's been social acumen. So I don't think you could go wrong by doing this. But also if the door is true, like Jeff Brooks has said, is truly open to all the seasons.
[00:10:02] Your job just got even more hard because I mean, even on 45, I know we're going to talk about our list. I think for me there was like three people that were kind of locks. But even then you could talk me out of it.
[00:10:17] And that just made four and five even harder to look at and think of because there's so many people you could put in their spot. Yeah, completely agree. I really, really love this cast. It's a really strong group. And so it's a tough job ahead of us.
[00:10:29] But much like a wanton rights back, let's take a stab at it. Much like Jeff probes and get into this cast starting, of course, as we always do with our final three. We have our zero vote finalists and some would argue the biggest Charlie Brown in Survivor history.
[00:10:45] Oh, and a lot of James and Mike Renegers says I just lost my title for the biggest Charlie Brown ever in Jake O'Kane. And then we have our final two here in the form of a kindling showmance in Austin and our eventual winner.
[00:10:59] D I want to start with D here because I mean, D has been talked about at the time. And I think, again, still a little bit under a year later as one of the most dominant players in new era,
[00:11:13] if not one of the most dominant winners we have seen from the show in quite some time, maybe since Tony and winners at war. It's rare sometimes that you find this person that is able to kind of be at least pretty good at from our perspective,
[00:11:26] every portion of the game, whether it comes to the social aspect. Again, she was someone that got in good with so many different people that there was really only one opportunity where she wasn't safe.
[00:11:37] And even there, she was able to skirt by due to the chaos that was happening at the final five. Obviously, the strategy is on lock, how she was able to weaponize those relationships,
[00:11:47] take in that intel and then singularly make the moves that she wants to make to guarantee the person that she wants gone is gone. I got so many confessionals right of like, Oh, Caleb was pointing out my alliance.
[00:11:59] He's got to go up. Kendra said she's gunning for me. She's got to go. And he was able to check them off her list. And then there's the physical aspect. D was a crossfit beast.
[00:12:10] She wins three individual immunity challenges this season and clearly maintains a fantastic shape that I think would make her definitely someone that to look out for in terms of the physical aspects of the game as well. And so she really is the total package.
[00:12:25] The question would be, OK, since she's won the game, would she have any sort of, you know, unfinished business to come back to? This is not like a Michelle or a Sophie situation in Winners at War where it's like, I need to go back and prove something.
[00:12:40] Yes, she did win by a surprisingly narrow margin, but like she still won. She's been heralded understandably by a lot of the Survivor fans. I think all that would be largely obfuscated from the fact that the show clearly loves you.
[00:12:53] You just got to listen to your podcast feed to indicate that. Yeah, I don't think that is a debate at all. I think D is loved, and I think for good reason.
[00:13:02] Everything you just mentioned about her capabilities in the game and the way she portrayed them on the season.
[00:13:07] One of the most underrated things about D is that she was able to basically from where I'm standing, rule with an iron fist without coming off like she's ruling with an iron fist.
[00:13:16] I feel like often enough we see players who have a lot of control really, really control it in a way where people start getting turned off by it and kind of not liking that maneuvering. I never got that vibe from D.
[00:13:30] So even when people were wisening up to it, it was too late for them already. D was on account. We've talked about a cast of very capable players.
[00:13:39] And even if the players were doing the right things and gathering numbers that could work for them later on, she was knocking them down before they could see it coming. And it was absolutely incredible to see to the point of does she have unfinished business?
[00:13:53] I don't think so. I think D was very clear that her why was come here, win that money, provide for the family. So more money for the family is good. We like that. And also, I think she's just a fan of the game.
[00:14:08] And if you're a fan of the game and you get the second ask, why not? Not many people can say they've gotten the second. Some can say they've gotten five asks. OK, some some can say they've got an ask. But I think for D, you love the game.
[00:14:21] Might as well try it again. Why not? The other thing that I love about the new era is that obviously we're in an era now where there are watch parties everywhere. There are opportunities to mingle with fans and alumni everywhere.
[00:14:33] And I feel like a lot of these new era players have met each other, have become friends. 43. You love this person from 44, this person from 45. So I'm very intrigued at the prospect of 50 because and this isn't a side to D completely, but y'all are very tight.
[00:14:50] What happens when you're on that island? How does that play out? I mean, you see? Yeah, we did see this 20 years ago in a manner of speaking with the first all stars. Right.
[00:14:59] We're like, that was a tight knit group of people that, yes, there were what, like probably close to 80 individuals that have played Survivor up to that. Right. Like they ran in the same circles.
[00:15:09] Some of them have become friendly with each other and it all kind of broke apart on the island. I mean, that's another question that I want to ask is if D were to come back, do you think she can recreate that magic?
[00:15:20] Or has her game been revealed so recently that you think if people go out to play next year, she immediately gets clocked of like, yeah, she's buttering me up right now. But does that make me the piece of toast that's going to get gobbled down by her?
[00:15:33] It's incredibly difficult to say because it depends on the player in front of her and how they see her and her win. Because, you know, some people could see it and be like, well, she had a whole group surrounding her. That was convenient for her.
[00:15:47] Some might think five three wasn't that dominant. And that would be perfect for D, honestly, because I think D played a unanimous level game to get five three is good for offsetting the target moving forward.
[00:16:00] And I also think getting to 50, we don't know what these other results are going to be. These other games are going to be.
[00:16:07] And the further away you go, the better it is for you, I think, especially if you're not at a level where your game is going to be touted and talked about that highly.
[00:16:16] We've said and I and I fully think D is the best winner we've had in the new era, followed closely by Jam Jam, in my opinion.
[00:16:24] And I feel like even then I could see people underestimating D, which would be a huge mistake because I think D is the most complete player we've seen in quite some time. So let's talk about I would say probably in order of their likeliness to get asked back.
[00:16:41] I'm going to move over to Jake here because Jake, obviously huge presence, big comic character has an underdog story pretty much for the entire merge after he kind of blows up his game because he keeps trying to make rocks happen.
[00:16:55] And as a result, gets caught a little flat footed, but is still brought along despite the fact that he's the perennial target that doesn't stop him from trying things, at least even if they don't work, kind of culminating in that final five maneuver where he plays the idol on Katora.
[00:17:11] But then it turns out that the votes just completely go sideways for so many reasons because she is unnerved by the way that he was approaching her.
[00:17:20] And so Jake was coming in, probably not necessarily a factor, but you wouldn't be able to see it from just the tenacity and unique personality that he brought the things. I brought this up on the 43 podcast, but I'm intrigued to hear from your perspective.
[00:17:36] Do you think Jake and Owen are competing for the same spot? I don't know if I would necessarily say they're competing for the same spot. I think they've had similar journeys, right?
[00:17:48] You know, not just placement, but also storyline of being the Charlie Brown, but both being the Charlie Brown that that will never stop trying. I think the passion is very visible in both of them.
[00:18:00] The try was very visible in both of them at no point that either say, you know what? I'm clearly not going to win. Just take me to three. Like it felt like at any every given point they gave it their all.
[00:18:12] So in that regard, they're similar, but I don't think they share the same spot. I think that if anything, both of them having the similar storyline or similar, you know, we talked about how is the story done? Is there anything else left to prove?
[00:18:27] Both of them have a lot to prove. And I think I see a world where both of them are on and you give both of them a shot to see how they work. Hell, who can be the bigger Charlie Brown between the two?
[00:18:38] Right. And also Survivor consists of nowadays three tribes, sometimes two tribes. They don't have to be on the same tribe, but I can certainly see them on the same season, you know?
[00:18:47] Yeah, I think that as well against Jake and Owen are just like two very different personalities as well.
[00:18:54] But I think, listen, Owen was able to be be angry, getting his feelings when he wants to, but like not on the level of Jake breaking a challenge like he does at the final four. But again, this is an absolute extroverted personality.
[00:19:11] He's a theater kid to that point. And who knows? Maybe if he is able to come back for a second, try this former tree and can grow into like a forest of a game.
[00:19:20] I would be intrigued to see how Jake would do if he was given a little momentum that, again, the majority of his game, since he didn't vote in the first half, was pretty much like the first vote he gets.
[00:19:30] He tries to make this big move and it lands on his face. And then he's pretty much just like trying to outrun the monster for the rest of the season.
[00:19:37] I would be intrigued to see if that changes his approach to the game or even just putting him in a different situation, how that could inform how we play for a second time.
[00:19:46] Yeah, because I mean, that's one of the fascinating things about games like this is that someone can come in with the knowledge. They can come in with the audacity, the energy, the power to want to do something.
[00:19:59] And if they miss, that can just change up everything they were doing coming in. So I would be intrigued to see a Jake with a little bit more agency or a Jake that successfully masterminds a move and how that goes. Does Jake become very cocky?
[00:20:15] Does he become very confident? Does that cause this downfall? Because where his downfall here was caused by you touch the burning stove, you back down, then you went to touch it again. And last second, someone removed the pot and you put your hand on the stove again.
[00:20:29] So it's just it's fascinating to watch. And it's storylines like that that do definitely intrigue me. I'm intrigued about Austin. I really go back and forth here because I would say from like an edit and a story perspective,
[00:20:45] I think Austin had probably the smallest edit out of the final five, which is again a bit of a high bar, considering that it was a very even edited, strongly edited season. But Austin's sort of story for 45 was the entire thing with the sandwich,
[00:21:01] which was hilarious and petty in only the ways that could be expressed in Big Brother 26. And then, of course, his relationship with Dee and how it ends up screwing his closest ally over in Drew when he ends up sharing so much information in her and trusting in her.
[00:21:15] I could see the appeal to bringing Austin back. Obviously, there is this unfinished business of like he got so close to winning. And, you know, should he have cut Dee at a certain point? Is that a lesson that he's going to take with him into the next game?
[00:21:30] The on the other hand, this is when we have to start looking into like the archetypes of it all. And I talked about this on 41. Pooey, do we feel like Austin and Xander are sort of two sides of the same coin here? Well, Xander was let's see.
[00:21:46] So Xander from the outside for a lot of people, you know, the casuals certainly were like, that's our winner. He was robbed. But a lot of the players kind of had discounted him. Like, oh, you know what? We don't care that he's got these powers.
[00:22:00] It don't matter if we don't if we say that don't matter. They don't. And they certainly did not. Do they share the same spot? I don't think I would agree.
[00:22:10] But also, I would say that if we were to put them on a power ranking of who's more likely to end up getting the call between the two, I think Austin gets the call over Xander.
[00:22:18] But I also don't think Austin has is high on the on the list for getting the call from where I'm standing. I feel like from this season, I think D is your winner. D is the one you want. If D says, I'm good. Do you go Austin next?
[00:22:36] I don't even know if that's Austin D at home. We have D at home. Right. I don't know, because that's the thing. I feel like Austin story, like you said, smaller edit, but very small edit, considering that he's one vote away from a tie to a vote.
[00:22:52] So if I'm winning the whole thing. That being said, I don't know. I don't know. And personally, Austin is very nice. Oh, he's great. The sandwich arc was hilarious. It was one of the funniest things that season for me that stood out.
[00:23:08] But I don't know if I if we see Austin being reached out to for this 50 season. I'm not saying that he's off the list forever by any means. But I don't know if it's for this milestone 50. I don't think his I don't see his name coming up here.
[00:23:25] I mean, we have talked about this with previous new era seasons. We will talk about it tomorrow. Sometimes returning seasons do like to bring in pairs, whether it be like rivals or close allies to see how things shake out a second time around.
[00:23:40] And it's not necessarily on the level of Ricard and Shan or Jesse and Cody. But could there be something in a universe where they bring D and Austin back together to see how things shake out?
[00:23:53] I think there's a different pair I could see being brought back from this season. The other thing, there's quite a few pairings in this season that you could bring back for a will they work together? Will they fall apart?
[00:24:04] Was this one going to exact revenge on that one? I think there's a lot of those on this cast that you could be pointing at and looking at. So I don't necessarily think so.
[00:24:13] But I mean, again, it's very tough because outside of and let's quickly puzzle this together outside of Franny and and Mr. Blankenship are Austin and D the only other showmans that has been on the new era? Yeah.
[00:24:32] I mean, at least something that was as underlined as on TV. Yeah, you never know. Like you might get a ghost island situation where like Sebastian and Jenna were dating for a brief portion of time, but it wasn't shown on the show whatsoever.
[00:24:44] But yes, from what we've been told and what's been expressed on social media, those two pairs have been by far the most visible showmans. Yeah.
[00:24:52] So that's a that's a curious thing, because if they do want to bring up a pair that was in some way romantic, then that's a high on the list because there's not a lot on the list.
[00:25:03] But then also if it's not on the list yet, no high is not on the OK, gotcha.
[00:25:07] No. But then on the other side of the coin, when you look at the when you if it is open to all 49 seasons, there are more pairings like that that could get asked, which then could push Austin lower. So it's possible. I'm not saying it's impossible.
[00:25:25] And I'm not saying that I would be upset at the sight of a Austin 2.0, but on likelihood, I don't have it ranked high at the moment. All right, well, let's move into our jury here. Working our way up.
[00:25:41] We have the aforementioned Batman slash Kennedy, who had nine lives in the game as shown by that little guy in his pocket in the form of Caleb. What the hell, guys? The biggest stunning blindside of the season in Kelly.
[00:25:54] We have our free spirited bartender in the form of Kendra, our first returnee of the new era who caused quite a stir and surprise in many ways. And Bruce talk about another person who surprised the fan favorite of the season and financial analyst Emily Flippen.
[00:26:11] We have the self-proclaimed smartest person to play the game, putting his money where his mouth is and laying waste on Jeopardy and Drew Basile. Or if you want to use him, Drew Basile.
[00:26:21] We have the resident mama of this season who is able to get by despite being labeled as the biggest threat before going out in that absolute calamity of a final five vote in Julie.
[00:26:32] And we have, of course, our fallen angel, one that was not afraid to start some conflicts on the island with a couple of people in the form of Katora.
[00:26:41] Puya, it brings me no satisfaction to start with this person, but I need to say it at the top because basically ever since she first stepped foot on that barge and pushed back on what Bruce was saying to everybody during the match at a lot of people wanted to see Emily back.
[00:26:58] She's undergone more than most like explicit transformational processes over the course of Survivor as she essentially learned like how to play more from a social perspective to not be so brazen about, oh, these two people are going off. Let's target them.
[00:27:14] And she learned how to play the game more tactfully, honestly.
[00:27:18] And it got to a point where she ends up getting taken out, going from someone that probably would have been the odds on person to go first had Hannah not quit to the person that was considered one of the bigger threats to win because she was the one that convinced Bruce not to play his idol.
[00:27:32] And she is idled out with only one vote to her name. It is an awesome story. The sad news is that story has come to an end. In her interview with Dalton Ross after her boot, when asked if she would play again, she said, probably not. I apologize.
[00:27:50] This whole experience. I'm happy I did it. And if I could go back in time, I would do it again. But I cannot recommend reality TV as a generally positive, positive experience for people. I think I've been very fortunate. But this whole experience has just been so crazy.
[00:28:03] I'm not clamoring to go back right now. Now, is there a money I would compete for? Probably there could be a check begging up. But right now, my answer is probably no.
[00:28:13] I have confirmed with a number of sources as well that as recent as last week, yesterday, Emily still does not want to go back. So I think unfortunately, Emily is going to be in this rarefied category of new era players that would not want to return.
[00:28:30] Yeah, which is unfortunate. As a Emily flipping fan. I come from an Emily flipping household here with Liana also being a massive fan of Emily. The reality is Emily got to experience every side of perception and fandom, right?
[00:28:48] Because by episode one's end, there were pitchforks out there for Emily. People were big mad about Emily. And then by the end, as soon as end of episode two, it was a whole different world for Emily.
[00:29:03] And she is and she ends the season following that energy of being loved, being appreciated. But that's someone who's seen both sides and has gone through mentally what both sides have to offer.
[00:29:14] And, you know, she speaks to one of the main reasons why I have pretty much extinguished any thoughts and dreams or fantasies I've had of going on reality TV.
[00:29:25] It's that it's that getting that negativity injected in your life from people who don't know you outside of the 42 minute edited show or in her case, the 60 minute edited show is not a place you want to be.
[00:29:38] It's a very tough thing to burden to hold and a very tough thing to deal with, especially if you suffer from something you and I may suffer, Mike, which is I need to explain my POV itis.
[00:29:52] Where not say not saying that everyone needs to see it from my point of view, but I have one of my biggest struggles as a human is when people don't understand me. I want them so badly, too. So I will try and explain it.
[00:30:05] And you don't need that energy. And then having to talk to people who may already have their minds made up about you.
[00:30:11] So I cannot say I say I sad for us, but also I get it like reality TV is a very, very it's like a bull at one of those bulls at the mechanical bull. At the bar, I said bull for a second.
[00:30:24] No, a bull would be great of something cereal. Maybe that's what I meant. Yeah, I don't know. I I'm sad, but I fully get it. You know what I mean?
[00:30:34] It pains me, but I'm not going to run a campaign of let's convince you why you should go back because I fully understand it's not going to be for everybody.
[00:30:41] And it's going to be very taxing on the mind, even if it goes very well, it might be taxing on the mind.
[00:30:47] So you don't want you don't want to, you know, you don't want to open that Pandora's box and get more of the negative than the positive or, you know, whichever way you look at it.
[00:30:56] Yeah, basically what it came down to, or at least what she expressed to me when I got the chance to interview her after her boot was that like when she applied for the show, she did not realize nearly the depth of the fan base.
[00:31:07] She was like, oh, watching Survivor. Hey, I watched Survivor. I want to be on this show and didn't necessarily realize the almost like second life that exists after you play.
[00:31:17] And as the season is airing, like you said, it was a bit of an up and down roller coaster, though.
[00:31:22] Again, it is so interesting that to see like where she goes from episode one to even episode three, where she is able to help engineer Sabaya's boot and basically saves Caleb is even such an interesting arc in and of itself, let alone like the big arc that she has.
[00:31:36] Finishing in seventh place. But I've talked about this basically from the very beginning. I'm not going to drag people onto this list if they don't want to be. I guess the the silver lining here is that that does allow one more spot for somebody else.
[00:31:52] But I would also imagine like, you know, without any of this, there's like a Mount Rushmore to me of people from the new era who would have been locks to ask. And I think Emily would have been on that list. So it's unfortunate.
[00:32:05] But if she is happy being one and done, then I'm happy to have her protector piece. Same. And if she wakes up tomorrow and says, you know what I want in, she's in. I definitely think she's in. I think it's in her hands.
[00:32:19] And that's kind of like the biggest compliment in the world where you are wanted, but you don't want it. But if you want it, you can have it. She's playing hard to get.
[00:32:29] Well, I want to talk about someone who I think is probably the next biggest lock now that Emily is sort of out of the picture.
[00:32:36] And we're not going very far because we're talking about the same yellow buff here, Caleb, because on paper, you would probably say Caleb was the first juror. He went out in a split tribal council. How would Caleb be considered? But the show absolutely loved Caleb.
[00:32:53] The fans loved him even more. I mean, this was a guy who obviously was one to look out in the preseason. Everyone had something to say about this guy who was smiling and palling around and trying to make connections with everybody.
[00:33:06] And that's what something that gets him targeted from the very beginning where his own closest ally and Sabaya is like, well, this guy is dangerous. Did he just go hop on a boat to talk with Reba for the entire afternoon? Yeah, I'm going to cut him right now.
[00:33:18] Like that basically determines Caleb story for the rest of his time on the season, which is this underdog clawing his way through it. He luckily doesn't go to tribal council after that. But even then, he's very much regarded on the bottom of his swap tribe.
[00:33:31] And then when the merge hits, if you thought Sabaya was clocking Caleb's charm, Bruce was doing it tenfold to the point that he does sort of like what Gaebler did to Ellie. He tries to rally everybody to be like, all right, let's all unify on this one vote.
[00:33:46] We can put down our weapons right now and all focus on Caleb. Let's send the Northmen's game south. Luckily, that one out of six shot ended up working. Caleb creates this incredibly exciting moment.
[00:34:00] I would say like one of the defining moments of the new era, which was again bringing all these new elements in. And Caleb was able to showcase like, no, this is why this exists.
[00:34:11] Because when you're down and out, you're able to play this and beat Kelly Wentworth's record for votes nullified. And then it kind of comes to an odd unceremonious end the very next episode when again, it looks like Caleb is on the outs.
[00:34:24] He's on a tribe with Dee, with Julie. And we think, OK, he's basically dead in the water. And you have Jake working with him to try to flip things, to cause a tie vote and try to get one of Dee or Julie out. And it just doesn't work.
[00:34:40] Caleb's time is finally up. But I do think the popularity of him from both a fan perspective and a production perspective and how they look back on the season has really endured. I agree. I think this is the number one lock on the cast for me.
[00:34:56] I mean, obviously for me personally, but I think just generally the fact of the matter is.
[00:35:00] The fact of the matter is the new era has brought some new mechanics into the game that they are keeping and they want to be a part of the ecosystem of Survivor now. Shot in the dark being one of them.
[00:35:12] Caleb is the poster for shot in the dark now. Yeah, it doesn't matter who else comes in and does it. He was the first one to nullify first while breaking the record, knowing that many votes.
[00:35:23] I think that reaction moment, that clip will be on many seasons to come. Every person is like a Sistine. Every person on that on that cast on that at the tribal had a reaction worthy of looking at.
[00:35:38] I did take a snapshot of that and it was on my Twitter. It was incredible. That moment will live in infamy. So I think off of that, the back of that alone, I could see him being brought in for that marquee moment being highlighted once again.
[00:35:51] But then you look at the player and I feel like Caleb was a very dynamic and fun player. Very charismatic, good personality, physically capable.
[00:36:01] He does one of the things that that I really appreciated this season, which is he took Emily, someone who could have just been easily the second boot on the outs.
[00:36:10] He takes her under his wing and tries to help her back up into a social standing that ends up paying big dividends when him and Emily blindside Sabaya, who was going to go for him that night. So without that moment, you don't get that moment.
[00:36:26] That blindside was huge. And someone who I've had the pleasure of meeting. Very nice. Very, very, very easy to talk to. I picked him first in the draft for 45 for good reason.
[00:36:39] Now, I may have I wisened up and maybe feel a little bit skeptical on his winning odds. Yes, I think it's very clear as you talked to him for five minutes. You know what's going on.
[00:36:49] But also, am I willing to have him on only to get Malcolmed a la Game Changers for my sake where I was rooting for Malcolm only to see him go? Yes, because I would get more Caleb on the screen.
[00:37:03] I just I don't see a world where you don't see Caleb on the cast unless he says no B. It's open all 50 seasons and they really are going to go for like big name legend status, which then maybe new era would have a lot less slots.
[00:37:19] And then maybe he loses out because of that. But I just I don't know. I feel like we're going to see him. Yeah, I think as well. I want to see him honestly play on a tribe that holds water and challenges that can win some.
[00:37:32] I mean, Lulu does win one reward challenge. But yeah, when it when it really counted, they unfortunately got blown out multiple times. And so I do think we saw also a different form of Caleb when his tribe starts winning as well.
[00:37:45] And I do wonder, you know, hopefully if he's in a situation where he's in a bigger tribe as well as he able to hide himself a bit more where he almost immediately had to step up as like the most physical person. On Lulu as a result.
[00:37:57] And so obviously that drew even more eyes to him. Plus, it's interesting in that like if you're looking at, OK, what did they do in the game and does that brand them a threat again? Caleb finishes in 11 plays.
[00:38:09] It kind of goes out with a whimper after this big shot in the dark play.
[00:38:13] And even then you could say like, oh, his most memorable thing he did was he got that shot to pay off, which doesn't I mean, I guess it speaks to his skill and that like he was able to clock.
[00:38:22] Thanks to Emily that all the votes were coming his way.
[00:38:25] But I do think that Caleb could be someone that honestly would be underestimated just due to I think the things that people remember about him and then who knows, maybe that charm offensive is able to work for a second time.
[00:38:37] I think the other thing to factor in is that on a cast of full of attorneys, a lot of them are going to be charming. A lot of the charmers are going to be on that cast.
[00:38:45] So your threat level by default could go down or it's just a hierarchy of charm of who do who do people rank as the most charming and do you end up landing there? Certainly has the capability.
[00:38:57] But if you're there with like four other people that are as charismatic as you, then you don't look as threatening as a result. Also, being on a winning tribe to be able to just make solidify alliances and not have to play from the bottom could help.
[00:39:10] You know, we thought we talked about how if things go different for a Jake to lead off the season, where does his game plan acumen go?
[00:39:19] Same thing can be said about somebody like Caleb who literally had to watch three people from his tribe leave back to back to back and then see someone else from his tribe leave once he was on the other side as well right after.
[00:39:32] I want to talk about the guy who Caleb once infamously nicknamed Lanky Blanky.
[00:39:36] We got to talk about Drew because I think coming out of this season, I'd be of a couple of minds if you asked me what drew return because on the one hand, you could tell the show really loved drew hell.
[00:39:49] Jeff threw it to drew to say drew use a literary analogy to describe why people should apply to be on Survivor. Jeff absolutely loved anytime drew opened his mouth and spoke so eloquently about the game or his life.
[00:40:04] But on the other hand, again, people kind of typify a lot of new era castaways as sometimes being in that similar archetype.
[00:40:12] And I've talked about it for 44 and I'll talk about it for 46 as well that some people had speculated like, okay, Carson, Drew, Charlie, how many of them would get asked back?
[00:40:24] Because again, they do kind of fill that that similar font that you might be using when writing a casting story about these contestants.
[00:40:32] But if we talk about a second life after Survivor, Drew has made one of the most impressive and headline making plays that we've seen from a contestant in quite some time. Drew becomes the first Survivor contestant to parlay his success into a spot on Jeopardy.
[00:40:52] And he killed it. He went several days as the champion, I believe won over $100,000. So over the price, he would have won for second place.
[00:41:03] And I have to imagine that is such an extra boost to make production feel like this is a guy they need to see back on their screens.
[00:41:12] Yeah, I think it's one of those things where if you were off the radar of being brought back, this was kind of the perfect way to put yourself right back in the conversation.
[00:41:23] Yeah, you hear that new era players, if you feel like there might not be a great chance for you, get it, God, go into Jeopardy. Yeah, well, I mean, listen, not just go on because if he was a one and done episode on Jeopardy would have been forgotten.
[00:41:35] He made a splash. He put Survivor back on the radar for some Jeopardy viewers, potentially. And we're talking about Jeopardy viewers who only watch Jeopardy and do not know or watch Survivor. That's not a bad place to, you know, put some people onto the show.
[00:41:49] I feel like that's a good way to get your name out there. I also think that given how much narratively they gave him confessional time on the air, I feel like this is someone they do trust to to thread the needle on the show.
[00:42:03] And I feel like I could very well see Drew being put on the cast for 50. You mentioned two other names in that conversation in Carson and in Charlie. I haven't thought about them really because I've been focusing on my this season, but off rip.
[00:42:21] I think Drew beats Carson in the. I would agree with that. Yeah. And I think that.
[00:42:27] And I think, again, not to spoil too many things tomorrow, but I do think there is a world where both Drew and Charlie could be on because Charlie also has obviously this huge story of just missing out and losing controversially that obviously I think would make him a shoe in to come back.
[00:42:42] And Drew is a very different path. The other thing is, I think that Drew is a very different personality from those other guys, too.
[00:42:49] I mean, this is a guy who gives the first confessional of the season saying, I'm one of the smartest people you've ever had on Survivor. Now, I don't say that to brag. I say that factually.
[00:42:59] And there was even argument during the season as to like is drew a villain because this was someone that was very cocky that talked highly of himself and his position, but also sometimes had the tendency to get a little emotional and throw fits much like he threw that that lid to the rice container at a certain point.
[00:43:18] Yeah. Again, having the capability of showing us a range of emotions, I think is always great and I do enjoy. And we've really seen it all with Drew. He gets very close to the end. He gets blindsided at the end. That is always great to see.
[00:43:35] We do love a good blindside. And then how do they pivot back from that moving forward? I'd be intrigued to see it. All right. I want to go back to the top of the jury here because I want to talk about Kelly.
[00:43:47] Now, again, I think you would look at the cast and be like, well, Kelly finished in 10th place. I don't know if she wore in a spot over some of these other people, but it cannot be stated how big her blindside was.
[00:44:00] Hell, Entertainment Weekly just did an oral history of that episode. Pooeya, you and I got to attend a viewing party for that episode.
[00:44:08] And maybe it was the return of the auction or maybe it was because they knew that there was going to be like the stamp of the re before. This was their move. This was going to signify their dominance, basically for the rest of the game.
[00:44:21] It is definitely one of the most memorable exits we have had in recent memory with What the Hell, Guys. And it certainly was surprising. I mean, Kelly, very popular winner pick myself included.
[00:44:31] She also like D kind of seemed to be someone that had it all together, had this career that was all about interpersonal skills and obviously was able to please people on the island.
[00:44:42] Found herself her and Brando were in the center of this like growing gender gap on Bellow. She was someone who was able to to make some plans, and that's the reason why she's targeted. She was physically capable. She ends up winning.
[00:44:55] Get a grip alongside D and all that leads into her getting cut off at the knees here at the final 10. So, again, it'd be interesting to see like is D arguably taking her spot as an archetype for that reason?
[00:45:09] But I do think what makes her unique from D is the fact that, again, if we're talking about unfinished business, such a memorable way of going out, I think really buoys her chances of getting ass back.
[00:45:21] Yeah, I think Kelly was right up there as far as a lot of people's winner picks, and it was very easy to see why I felt like she like by midseason. You know, I typically will whittle off people off my shortlist up until literally her torch gets enough.
[00:45:38] She was on my list and someone I was looking at to win. It was a blindside that night. We definitely did not see that coming at all, which made it even more incredible to see.
[00:45:48] I think Kelly is someone who is very firmly on that list, if not the very least, not on that bubble for the season. I think this is someone who looked like a winner winning contender, was playing like a winning contender, and then gets clipped out of nowhere.
[00:46:07] I think this is someone whose story is very much unfinished or could be seen as unfinished. So I could definitely see Kelly being brought back, and I would like to see it. I would like to see how Kelly does on a season.
[00:46:18] Someone who's I for me personally in these games, these social strategy games, so to speak. I love the social more than I do the strategy. I'm always curious and keen on the social, which is why Jam Jam is one of my favorite winners.
[00:46:31] That being said, I think Kelly is someone who has both, but I also think is very strong in the social. So I would like to see how she plays on a season with returnees, with people that she's friends with or people that she's met once or twice.
[00:46:46] I think she's someone who can who can set up some really good groundwork on a season like that. Let's talk about Katora because Katora has such an interesting edit on the show where, to be frank, for the majority of the season,
[00:47:01] a good amount of her content was about these kind of fractured relationships with some of the Bellow men. I mean, a lot of her content, especially in the pre-merge, was about her derision towards Bruce, which while hilarious and gives fantastic reactions like her confessional,
[00:47:17] where it's just her silently sitting there almost in reaction to the malarkey that Bruce is pulling for the umpteenth time,
[00:47:23] it does obfuscate I think a lot of stuff that she was doing so that when it gets to the point where Jake is trying to do this rock draw
[00:47:30] and she flips over to the rebuzz, it comes a little out of nowhere because it doesn't necessarily show that like she feels like she was being ostracized by the Bellows and that she didn't feel necessarily on the top there.
[00:47:43] So that is going to then sort of inform the rest of her post-merge where she's going to work alongside the rebuzz and then Jake and her are going to be able to sort of mend fences a bit, try to work together towards the end,
[00:47:56] but it doesn't work. That fence can be rebuilt, but it's still always going to be at least a little weak to pressure and that pressure comes in the form of Jake approaching Katora with this like last minute plan,
[00:48:07] I've got an idol, I'm going to play it on you. Katora is really confused about all this and as a result does not vote with Jake and that sends Julie home in the process and kind of spells doom for the two of them
[00:48:18] and the fan reception behind her has largely been reflected in that and that I think a lot of people were feeling like we don't need to see Katora back. She made one of the worst moves in Survivor history in the finale,
[00:48:31] but I do think there's some appeal to me. Maybe it's also because Katora obviously comes from an incredibly complicated background, something she ended up getting into on the show, but I do think and maybe it's colored by the fact that
[00:48:43] she did explain a lot of her game in postseason press that didn't make the Island edit. There was a lot of thinking going into the moves that she was making and again, if you're looking for someone who could use an opportunity
[00:48:54] for redemption to prove the medal that they feel they deserve for their gameplay, I think Katora could find that opportunity. Yeah, I don't subscribe to you have to make good moves to be required to be on a returning season.
[00:49:10] I don't think you have to be a good player to be asked to be brought back. If you can provide entertainment, you can provide complex relationships. I'm kind of here for it and I think Katora really embodies that
[00:49:21] and that's not to say that Katora made like like awful moves, awful player. I don't really subscribe to that either. I think that narratively speaking, it was a very fun journey watching her and Jake not get on the same page.
[00:49:35] Jake making her feel very suspect to the point where she doesn't vote to keep in. I'm sorry, not vote to keep in Caleb causing Caleb to go out, but then also seeing what the false feeling we got of like,
[00:49:50] oh, they patch things up only for that to go sideways again was phenomenal. I think, you know, earlier we talked about the prospect of wanting to bring back an Austin and a D as a duo, as a returning duo with a connection and how that would play out.
[00:50:04] I think Katora is in a position where I can see Katora being a very good in a very good spot to be brought back because I think she has a couple of those herself that could definitely work or you bring no one else back in those connections.
[00:50:18] But her, I still think it's a very fun pick. And I would be very curious to see where that goes, because I think Katora is also someone who, when the season started, a lot of people were very high on the odds of winning.
[00:50:28] Yeah. Yeah. And who's to say that like if she's given a new group of people, maybe she might find a new rival there as well. But I do think especially her and Jake playing together would be very interesting considering like how their game ended.
[00:50:40] You know, we're about to get into Bruce and as much as the Bruce Katora dynamic was such a big part of her story, Bruce's game didn't necessarily end because of Katora.
[00:50:50] You know, it was more so an Emily thing and like everyone kind of piling on that Bruce is finally gone. Katora and Jake, that was one of the spiciest ways to end their dynamic.
[00:50:59] Right. That at the end of the day, despite Katora really trying to push forward this D plan, she couldn't trust Jake to go through with it. And so she ends up kind of swapping her vote and incidentally ends up voting out Julie alongside Austin here.
[00:51:14] And so that is a dynamic that I think is kind of underratedly one that I would like to see back for a second time. I would I would not be mad at it.
[00:51:23] So how about Bruce here? Because we're talking about a lot of possible second chance candidates and Bruce has already got one. You know, he has this really unfortunate ouster in 44 where he lost a grand total of 11 hours in the game.
[00:51:37] And so now we finally get to see, OK, what would Bruce Perrault do if he got the chance to truly play survivor? And the results speak for themselves. I mean, again, there's a lot of debate as to whether or not villains existed on this season.
[00:51:50] I would say Bruce was maybe an antagonist more than a villain in that his behaviors just really rubbed people the wrong way. Whether he was crazy Uncle Bruce, dad or any member of the family.
[00:52:03] He was doing stuff that just got on people's last nerves to the point that one of his closest allies, Kelly, before Survivor 46 made it popular, was ready to cut him almost immediately.
[00:52:13] What's also interesting, though, is that Bruce was able to survive twice over by winning these clutch immunity challenges as well. So, you know, I think there could be some ground paved to bring Bruce back for a third time.
[00:52:24] I think the question is, has that question been answered enough of what Bruce looks like? Or do you feel like there's more to the story?
[00:52:33] I think there certainly could be more of the story served the survivors past, I feel like we is littered with people who have gotten more than two chances to play. And some of them, I would argue, have their story done by the first time.
[00:52:46] And I also think it's unfair to look at Bruce's first time as a first time. It was 40 minutes. Yeah, it's more like like a one point one seasons played than two. Yeah, I Bruce was fun to watch.
[00:53:00] It was fun to watch people root against him off the island on the island. It was fun to watch a route for him off the island on the island. Very fun character.
[00:53:08] I'm glad they gave him the chance so we could see what we would have missed out on on 44. That being said, 44 played out perfectly because Jam Jam won. So I think I'm fine with that result. However, I was happy to see him here.
[00:53:23] Bruce also, whether he realized it or not, one of the few people who really have orchestrated and begun the let's go home with idols in our pocket team. We had a few of those here and we continue to have a lot more in 46.
[00:53:40] So I think that there's a lot of different ways you can look at a story and see the what if and see the story continuing. What if he played that idol? You went home with an idol on this part. We know this.
[00:53:51] They love playing a highlight reel of this person went home with an idol in their pocket. This person gave up immunity. He already has that.
[00:53:57] He had a feud, but it could be overshadowed by to your point, the five other people in the season that followed who did the same thing. I mean, if we talked about these two were the Charlie Browns, do they take the same spot?
[00:54:10] Do the people that went home with idols in their pockets take the same? So like, yeah, no, we only got two of those available. It's a good question, though. Like, could it be like Bruce or Q?
[00:54:19] You know, because I feel like both of them, they were kind of similarly regarded on the season, especially towards the tail end of 46. That and right now, I think you ask anybody Q is the front runner in that in that debate.
[00:54:31] So I feel like personally, I would like to see it. But I feel like if I'm being objective and honest, I don't think it's as likely as what my list may look like. Just briefly talking about the other two members of the jury here in Julie and Kendra.
[00:54:48] I mean, Julie, I think kind of starts what we'll see with Maria in the next season, which is for as much discourse as there has been in Survivor history of like moms are unfairly maligned when they make it to the finals.
[00:55:00] Nobody wants to be voted out by their mom. And so they're not going to vote for them to win a million dollars.
[00:55:04] It does seem like Julie was built up as should she have gone to the end, she would have won a million dollars, which is why everybody turns on her at the final seven,
[00:55:13] which is why she somehow just hangs on to Austin's idol and is able to play it for herself to protect herself. And it's why she again ends up going in this very scattered boat at the final five.
[00:55:24] Kendra, I love the fact that, yes, she does have, again, this very natural, easy, free spirit nature, but like was also feisty AF.
[00:55:34] I always loved the auction episode when she just has a confessional of like, well, Bruce won horrible that it cuts to Bruce laughing with the immunity necklace in his hand. So she has some personality as well.
[00:55:45] I think my concern with these two would be, again, I'm going to keep saying with this new era, it comes back to archetype. I think someone like Maria would get cast over Julie. I think someone like Carolyn would get cast over Kendra. I cosign both of those.
[00:56:02] I definitely do. Again, I think both Julie and Kendra were very fun parts of this season for me. They both provided a lot of entertainment, which I enjoyed.
[00:56:13] But if you're looking at archetypes and you're boiling it down to some of these things that we have seen them do in seasons past, I definitely think the two names you mentioned are more likely to get put on there.
[00:56:26] Then if they say no, does that open the door for specifically Julie and Kendra to get that? Even then, I'm not 100% sure, which I think works against them. If it was a clear like if no, then go to this person, then it's a better situation.
[00:56:40] But I don't necessarily know that would be the case. All right, well, let's get into our pre jury group here. What a group. We have someone that absolutely changes the course of the premiere episode with her sudden quit at tribal council in the form of Hannah Rose.
[00:56:56] We have dear friend of the podcast and previous wish list appearer, Brandon Donlan. We have one of the first stunning blind sides of a season full of them in Sabaya, who goes out with like a freshly charred idol in her pocket.
[00:57:10] We have, of course, our other quitter of the season in Sean. We have our pun champion turned a middleman, turned voted out. Unfortunately, you know, left out in the cold wearing a buff bandeau at the swap in Brando. We have someone who ends up.
[00:57:28] Yes, well, it's such an exciting moment for Caleb to play a shot in the dark and nullify all the votes against him. It comes at the cost of poor J. Maya. And at the end of this group, who voted for Sifu?
[00:57:40] A good amount of people did throughout, but that's the guy that closes out this group.
[00:57:45] I will keep saying it, that I do think it will be a bit tougher for premergers in the new era to get consideration with a select few exceptions, just because by and large, the groups that make it to the jury stage have both memorability, personality and strategy to boot.
[00:58:00] But I would imagine for me, if there was one person to pick out of this group, that would be most likely it would probably be Sabaya.
[00:58:07] I co-sign a hundred percent feel the same way because we have seen it on on returning seasons where there's one sometimes two of like, how did you get on here? I didn't expect that or I we didn't see a lot of you.
[00:58:19] But I think of this cast, I would also co-sign and say Sabaya Sabaya obviously had the candle idle that ended up not happening. It was out by a vote of two to one.
[00:58:30] Had she not sacrificed her vote, it would have been a two to two and something else could have happened there. I mean, there were there were so many, so many sliding doors that she should have used before she proceeded to walk into one of them. Yes, yes.
[00:58:43] Because if I and refresh my memory, this was a she could use her idol right then and there. However, if you sacrifice her vote, you could use it later. She could use it. It was sacrifice your vote once. It works for the rest of the premerge.
[00:58:55] Sacrifice it twice. It becomes a fully powered idol. Right. So the fact that there were a lot of outs there and it came down to a very close two to one vote when there are there's just four people.
[00:59:08] I think that that's a story that you could see playing out longer. I think that's somebody is someone who the first couple episodes in, I was like, oh, my God, so I is going to do really well on this game.
[00:59:18] Only did I go out in the fashion that she did. I would say of the seven on the board, Zabiha is the most likely for me as well of the preachers.
[00:59:29] Yeah. For the others, just to briefly doubt on them, I would say as much as I've been talking about an even edit, see if it was maybe the most purple out of all of them. Where is he? So he's a little enigmatic.
[00:59:39] And Leona and I talked all the time on the BNB about like the random scene where he's just in the bath background sitting on the beach, just the waves lapping at his feet. And nobody really knows why he's there. J.
[00:59:51] Maya, I think, has a lot of second chance appeal because, again, we're not for something that has only a one six chance of working. She would have still made it through the game. And then who knows what happens from there?
[01:00:03] But again, I would also say someone that like kind of pop in fits and starts.
[01:00:07] Brandon was someone who, especially if you've heard about what happened with him at the swap where he like had this advantage in his buff and he chose not to use it right there, right then.
[01:00:15] And I guess he was supposed to like that Jane, that game could have changed. Brandon, I absolutely love and I think really walked out with his head held high.
[01:00:25] He also told me in our exit press that day after he was voted out that like he is more than happy to just go back to being a fan. And he does it with aplomb if you see his social media.
[01:00:34] I don't think he would say no to coming back. I don't think this is an Emily situation, but I think he is more than happy to to observe season 50 from afar.
[01:00:42] And I think, to be frank, the way that Jeff left season 45, I think there is next to no chance that he would bring back any quitters, let alone Sean and Hannah. No, I do not think either Sean or Hannah are getting a second opportunity here.
[01:00:59] I agree about Brandon, someone who got to live out his dream of being on the show, got to watch it, watch his boot episode with fans, which is a very, very fun way to do that.
[01:01:13] And I think he's kind of, you know, ending the game where it ended for him. I think he's kind of just like, yeah, that's it. They're not going to ask me and that's fine. I'm just grateful for what I got.
[01:01:25] But if they ask him, he'll be he'll be at Home Depot climbing every ladder there practicing to get another chance in. I think he would fully do it. I don't think he expects it.
[01:01:36] And I don't even think he would go to be like, I'm going to win necessarily. I think he would still do it for the experience 10 out of 10. And I applaud that 10 out of 10. Yeah. Any thoughts about the other three in the top row? Listen, J.
[01:01:50] Maya, the story of the voting history of the season doesn't reflect on J. Maya. She did end up going out with the most votes received in this season with 10. But that obviously happened because of the shot in the dark.
[01:02:04] I'm so curious what her game would have looked like if that shot in the dark didn't land and where she would find herself. That would have been very interesting to me.
[01:02:11] Like you said already, I think you've already spoken on Sifu purple, but a Sifu big energy living his best life making his music. You want to know father? Congratulations. Yeah, congratulations. And then there's this child Brando who is also here.
[01:02:28] I mean, Brando storyline was intriguing to me because obviously the whole thing with him was him and Kelly are in the middle. And where are they going to go? Only for him to unceremoniously get taken out in a swap. I don't know.
[01:02:43] I've had multiple interactions with Brando, but I don't know if he would want to do it. I'm not 100% there. I don't know. I don't know. I don't want to leave you. I don't know.
[01:02:54] It's a great statement because that applies to this cast in general and who we're going to put on the list. But the time has come. We've got some decisions to make here. Now, I would say it seems like there are a couple of locks.
[01:03:07] I think you and I are both in agreement that I would imagine D and Caleb are probably both making the list. Correct? We can lock them in. Yeah, I think those two are good. So 40% down 60% to go. Yes. All right.
[01:03:21] So then where do you want to go next? Is there anyone else that you feel like very good about to lock in? I think we can. It's debatable. The rest of them. I think it's kind of do it. I think you ask a different person.
[01:03:33] They'll give you a different reason why blank is locked. Why blank locked? Why? Oh, yeah. What a time. Here's the thing. I think for me, I think Kelly is a lock as well. I would agree with that. And I would say, I think Drew is a lock.
[01:03:52] I think now. Yes. If you asked me four months ago, I would have said no. Yeah, I agree with you there. Yeah. So that's the thing is we have D we have drew. We have Kelly. We have Caleb.
[01:04:04] I mean, then the names really are up for grabs here because I think you have Jake. You have Bruce. You have a Torah. I think you have Austin as well to a certain extent. Are you leaning any which way for any of those names? I'm interesting.
[01:04:25] I think for me, Bruce. Keturah Jake is kind of the order. I'm looking at them right now and the order. I'm thinking Austin is four out of four. Again, no disrespect to anybody here that I'm speaking on just kind of how I'm feeling and thinking at the moment.
[01:04:46] Yeah, I would probably go interesting because I probably go like Jake Keturah Bruce. I don't know. Maybe just for me. It's just this thing of like the idea in my head of oh, this is this might be a
[01:04:56] second chance this season and like Bruce already got his second chance. You know, it could production think of it as well. We already got that story from him. All these other new era people haven't had that opportunity to come back and prove themselves.
[01:05:08] I mean, what a second chance to season have a winner on it though. That's a good point as well. So yeah, so I feel like some combination of Bruce Keturah and Jake has to fill out this one slot that's left. Damn it, Drew.
[01:05:21] Why'd you have to go and be clutch on Jeopardy? It's all at the end of the day. It's all the seal. So okay, so then so for you said Jake Keturah Bruce. I said Bruce Keturah Jake.
[01:05:37] I mean, that's awful because that averages them all out to two like they all average the same number anyway. Yeah, it's like I mean we could make the argument will be both ranked Keturah second. So should it be Keturah?
[01:05:50] I don't know because I think I mean I would be very okay with seeing Jake despite having him three on the list here and listen me and my my lovely wife Liana. We discussed we discussed Bruce because we both knew we were doing the back-to-back Bruce seasons.
[01:06:07] Yes, we're like we're gonna stump for Bruce now if I if I know correctly, Bruce did not make the ballot for 44. I mean it wouldn't really make sense for 44. It would not 45 there's validity to it. Yeah, I still think Bruce is my number one here.
[01:06:27] I think I'd be very intrigued with the Keturah second chances and I would actually be intrigued with the Jake second chances. So how do you want to break this? How do you want to I mean, I you know what I will I will leave it up to you.
[01:06:38] You are the guest. So so I will say yeah, cuz I don't know do we flip a coin? Do we fight for it? Cuz that's the other thing like it's not just two options. It seems to be all three would be up for grabs here.
[01:06:49] And that's the other thing with this entire wild card thing that we threw in here. I think there is a good chance that the one that we pick at least one of the other two wouldn't make it anyway by popular demand, but you're the guest here.
[01:07:01] I will give you the right to pick the fifth person here. All right. Fire up the I'm on a new level meme. I'm putting Bruce in you mean there we go. Bruce has made it on the ballot.
[01:07:15] So those are our five last thing we usually do on these podcasts. Puya if you could pick someone from this season to appear on a show outside of Survivor or I guess Jeopardy, who would it be? That's a hard one.
[01:07:30] This is a hard cast to do this with. I can see so many of them doing so many things. Okay. Okay. In the interest of spreading the love, I won't pick anyone from the five we've put on the wish list. Okay, that sounds good.
[01:07:43] Even though I would love to see all five on on many of these shows. Okay. Give me. Jake and Katoora on the traders. I was literally about to chime in with that exact same thing.
[01:07:56] Whereas I sympatico is Jacob Gatora were not of just not only the fact that they are both frequent to call things out when they see them and have big reactions to things that happen. Imagine Jake at a roundtable when someone reveals their faithful, but also
[01:08:11] the fact that almost like what happened with CT and Trishel were like, they do come in with a little baggage and trepidation towards each other could also be a great way to inform how they would play alongside each other. Exactly.
[01:08:22] I would love to see I want to see Emily on something. I guess the tough thing is that seems like she's swearing off all reality TV. Yeah, but I mean, I guess if it's no, yeah, reality is reality TV. I guess I put Emily flip in on CNBC.
[01:08:39] Give her her own show there. Give her like a Jim Cramer mad money thing. She's on my screen. Am I going to complain? No, absolutely not. I'd be very okay with this arrangement as well. Yeah, I'm going into the pics we made.
[01:08:51] I also think D via Dara should have been on the challenge yesterday. Like I think one survivor is gone and like whether she's on the cast or not. I think if she wanted to, she would be like a shoe in as a lock to proceed
[01:09:04] forward considering how much she brings the physicality, the high-level gameplay and a little bit of messiness as well. I think also somebody who could be good and fun on the challenge. I think Austin could be a fun pick for the challenge. Have you seen those arms?
[01:09:20] Oh my God. Oh my God. And especially his story as well. Right up like from geek to chic. Exactly. And and final one, a serious one for Brandon Donlan. Put him on the circle. I think he would be wonders there. Brandon would kill it on the circle.
[01:09:35] I mean, if you've seen any of his social media stuff, you know, and listen, you and I are you and I are big fans of the circle. We know how much like sometimes having that knowledge of social media
[01:09:44] curation actually does help in terms of knowing the way that you come across and promoting your brand to other people. So I think that's a really great call. Yeah, I think that would be a very fun, fun.
[01:09:54] See, and I think that could really show, show people that, you know, yes, yes, chops in some departments. All right. So looking at the five we are putting on today, it is D via Doris age 27. It is Drew Basile age of 23. It is Kelly and now bandian 30.
[01:10:16] It is Bruce Peralta, who is, who is 47 and then it is Caleb Gaborwald, who is 29 and that's going to do it for 45. It was a tough one. My heart goes out to both Jake and Katora, but something tells me that we're going to be seeing them on the
[01:10:36] ballot no matter what. Oh, 100%. Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised and I would love that actually. Well, our jobs don't get any easier tomorrow. As we mentioned it several times, if you will, we are going to survivor 46 a season. I adore a cast.
[01:10:54] I adore, which makes these problems even worse. And that we have to pick only five from that cast for now. And especially with a cast that was absolutely chock full of personalities is going to be a very tough job, but put it up from your perspective.
[01:11:10] Do you have a short list of people from 46 that you want to see back on 50? Okay. Venus first and foremost, my Persian on the cast. I will always back also very fun. So I would say Venus for me. I would say I think Tiffany is another one.
[01:11:29] I would personally like to see Q obviously another one. I'm looking at the list right now. I'm like, oh, wow. This could get tough real quick. That's three, right? That's three. You don't need to go up to five if you don't want to. No, no, I will.
[01:11:43] You said I can. I think Maria is another one that could be intriguing to see with her story and how her story came to a close, which leaves a fifth spot open. I mean, you want to anger people, but I would love it.
[01:11:58] You put bond bond would be hilarious to bring back. I'll get 2 million hearts. Yeah. But I could see Tevin could be another one I can see, but also in true, honest meme pick, you put Jalinski. That would be the meme is of meme picks for that spot.
[01:12:14] Well, for a meme of a season, we'll see how many of those Mimi picks end up on the list. And I will be closing out the seasonal coverage part of the wish list with a big one. Of course, we are going to be talking with the one,
[01:12:29] the only Taryn Armstrong tomorrow. He has taken a brief sojourn from his time in the big brother trailer. Trenches to step on the island with me. It's supposed to be really fun because Taryn did not do any coverage of survivor that season.
[01:12:42] And I'm sure he has a lot of thoughts about 46 as do we all. So it should be a really fun time. Make sure you don't miss it. This was awesome. I know it was an unenviable job for us to talk about, you know, the, the Achilles heel,
[01:12:56] the double-edged sword of covering such a well-regarded season with such a well-regarded cast. But I think it's going to be a fun time. I'm going to be talking about the, the Achilles heel of covering such a well-regarded season with such a
[01:13:06] well-regarded cast is that cuts have to be made with that sword, but you did so dutifully. What would you like to plug right now for the listeners? If they're looking for me, they can find me on Twitter at Puyoism. They can find me on Twitch,
[01:13:17] twitch.tv slash Puyo, which is where I am when I'm not podcasting. And if you're looking for me on my other podcast work, I cover 90 day fiance on the network. I cover the traders. Any franchise of the traders can get it on the traders for half up.
[01:13:28] And also I'm talking big brother Friday mornings when the season is going on, you can catch me. They're talking live feeds and you'll still find me doing a recap here and there as well. All right. So we'll be back for one last time from the seasonal perspective and
[01:13:42] then the polls open and truly the game begins there. This is the game within the game in a manner of speaking, but tomorrow I'll be back to cover survivor 46 with Taryn Armstrong and add another group to the short list.
[01:13:54] Let us know your thoughts on who from 45 should get added as well. In the wild card spot, because we'll be doing those pretty soon after the 46 cast shortlist picks are determined and then the polls will be open. Thank you all so much for listening until tomorrow.
[01:14:10] Everybody take care. Bye-bye.