Worlds Apart Episode 6: Players And Haters

Shirin is looking for new allies in the wake of Max's departure but it seems Carolyn isn't interested. Hali gives it to her straight that she can be annoying sometimes, which for her brings up memories of her bullying in childhood. Aww, stay strong girl, you're not out of this yet!

The ultimate bromance

Rodney is tired of stories about Dan's underwear (aren't we all?) and is happy the swap has given him a party boy he can relate to, unlike the celibate church-going Mike. He was looking for a bromance, and he's found it in Joaquin. Probably the douchiest pairing we've seen in a while, but luckily they're more hilarious than infuriating. "We're like apples and oranges" Rodney says - uh, I don't think he quite gets that expression.

The reward challenge is to race to the top of the platform and use a slingshot to hit targets on the ground. When six targets are all hit, the winning tribe is promised some great food and a magical evening with turtles. Rodney races through the course and it's him and Jenn shooting for the first target. Jenn scores first! Then Kelly is able to get one. Sierra overtakes, and then Shirin ties it up 4-4. I'm so glad they found something that could be close. Tyler and Jenn are the last to shoot, and Jenn wins it for Nagarote. And their subsequent celebration dance is pretty cute.

Finally, something to shout about!

So the winning team is now gelling a lot more, they're even "tolerating Shirin" now, in Carolyn's words. Shirin is working hard to do damage control by making fun of the other tribe. Come nightfall, they watch a turtle emerge from the ocean to bury eggs in the sand. Their nature guide tells them that only one of the eggs is likely to survive...which Jenn sees as somewhat analogous to her quest to become the sole Survivor.

Joaquin works on Sierra, and gives her a glowing endorsement of Tyler. But it's when he tries to sell her on Rodney that he truly loses her. Rodney wants to throw the challenge to get Joe out...he's a strong player and this could be their last chance. Mike isn't fully on board with it, but does want to make sure Kelly is safe.

Give this dude the Oscar

And we're given...a memory challenge for immunity? That's very unusual - but a good way to ensure it stays competitive with the difference in strength. Carolyn beats Rodney in the first matchup to get Nagarote on the board. Hali scores as well, meaning Will can win it if he beats Joe. Unfortunately Joe is lightning-quick in arranging his objects, pulling back a point. Dan then beats Shirin to even it up. The last matchup is Mike vs Kelly - and both want Kelly to win. After neither are successful on the first two tries, Mike starts getting more and more blatant with his hints. Eventually he is able to successfully lose, giving his cop buddy immunity.

Heart over head?

Mike wants to split up power couple Rodney and Joaquin, who are convinced they're sending Joe packing. One potential snag is that they need Sierra's vote to do it, and she's still really mad at Dan. Dan offers her another apology that goes a hell of a lot better than his last one, but it's Joe getting in some time to talk that really helps.

At tribal council, Dan admits

Suddenly, Sierra's the belle of the ball

there's a lot of dysfunction in the Blue Collar tribe and that they're not necessarily all sticking together. Sierra says she feels like she's been treated better by her new tribe members than her old ones. Rodney talks about how he has tons of options now, something that might get disproved pretty quickly.


The vote comes down to Joaquin vs Joe, with Sierra as the swing. Joaquin ends up voted out and Rodney's face is priceless. Tyler meanwhile has a completely stone-faced reaction, despite also being caught off-guard.

Alas, Rodney's bromance is a short-lived one as another pair is separated. But will they regret passing up on the opportunity to get golden boy Joe out? And how big will Rodney's explosion be? With so many people in the middle going into the merge, there's plenty of room for ups and downs.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SHIRIN OSKOOI

One week ago, Shirin coming out of this episode with her torch still lit looked the ultimate longshot. But now she's made the merge and is bound to be a valuable number to somebody. She got a very sympathetic edit tonight, so maybe her redemption starts now.

Worlds Apart Episode 5: Fan Friction

Blue Collar decide to have an airing of grievances, where Dan explains to Sierra why they left her in the dark. Really this just pushes Sierra further away, which concerns Mike. Arriving at the next challenge, Jeff tells them they're switching the tribes, which couldn't have come at a better time for our horse racer.

Sierra's freedom is short-lived however, when she ends up back on the blue tribe with Rodney, Mike and Dan. But they also get the additional muscle of Joaquin, Tyler and Joe. Only Kelly swaps to red, with the three remaining White Collars and the three remaining No Collars.

The first challenge is to launch balls with a slingshot across the beach, where the other tribemates will catch them with nets. They're playing for food and all the White Collar

Instant domination

reward items. Rodney and Shirin act as the launchers, and Max scores the first point...duh, he's tall. But then Joe and Tyler both pick points for Escameca to take them into the lead. Joaquin scores as well, and then Mike gets the winner. Easy win for the tribe with all the muscle!



Tyler and Joaquin are very impressed when they see their new camp, as it's so much better than the White Collar shithole. Mike is happy to have a Blue Collar majority, but knows that Sierra flipping is still a big risk. Once the boys go off, Sierra immediately blabs to the others that she hates her old tribe...and Tyler sees this as great news.

Shirin plays us a tune

Kelly seems to think being between two voting blocks might work out after all, and Shirin tries to pull her in. But maybe Shirin should concentrate on not alienating her current allies, since her whistling around camp is proving to be very annoying. Max causes a stir too when after getting stung by a stingray he sticks his warty feet in the tribe drinking water. This does not impress Hali, but to be fair, Jenn told him to.

Mike berates Dan for how he handled Sierra after the last tribal, and instructs him to apologize. Dan doesn't want to take Mike's advice and claims to know what he's doing, because he's older and has talked to way more women than Mike has. Dan goes in for the apology...and it does not go well. He wants her to admit that she was mean to him also, which is not what an apology is.

This rift is not repairing

The immunity challenge is to drag pots though an obstacle and then smash them with a wrecking ball. Joaquin and Tyler leave Jenn and Hali in the dust. Kelly and Carolyn struggle too, whilst all of Escameca's duos are breezing through it. Shirin and Max do their load relatively fast, but Dan is already smashing pots and he does a pretty good job, winning the challenge. Max says he's secretly glad to be going to tribal council...if that's not an eat-your-words confessional, I don't know what is.

Carolyn distances herself from the weirdos

Max reels off some Survivor stats no-one cares about, which just further alienates him from Jenn. She talks with Hali about who is less annoying, and Hali says to vote off Shirin as Max is better in challenges. Max and Shirin talk to Kelly and tell her they're going for the No Collars weak link, Will. But Kelly isn't actually the swing vote, Carolyn is, and makes it clear to Jenn that she's not with the other two.

The teacher gets a harsh lesson

At tribal council, Shirin continues to be weird by trying to gauge Jeff's reaction to an answer she gave. Max drops more references, comparing this tribe swap to the one in One World, where all the weaklings ended up on one tribe. Right before the reading of the votes, Max trolls Jeff by telling him to "hold up bro". He then ends up on the receiving end of the blindside, and this finally shuts him up.

Max is happy to have played the game he loved so much, even though he went out early. Let that be a lesson to all aspiring armchair superfans: tone down your enthusiasm, dammit.

STAR OF THE WEEK: MIKE HOLLOWAY

I gotta hand it to Mike, he did everything right and might be the only one of the former Blue Collar guys seeing the big picture. After a disastrous start, he's actually showing some potential at last.

Worlds Apart Episode 4: Worlds Collide

No Collar return to camp to find embers still in their fire, which they see as a sign of hope. Hali explains to Will he got two votes in case Nina had the idol...why would you ever tell someone that? At any rate, he knows he's done if they lose again.

Mike kills a snake and skins it with Kelly's help. He'll eat anything. He also shares it with Rodney...is a friendship forming at last?

That blood-soaked buff will make a good souvenir, at least

The reward challenge is bringing back items whilst blindfolded and using a pulley to get them up onto the platform...the exact same one from Cagayan. Carolyn, Sierra and Joe are the callers. No Collar are the quickest off the mark, but both No Collar and Blue Collar are reckless with the platform. Kelly takes a hard hit when the platform clonks her and Probst has to bring medical in. Doctor Ben bandages Kelly up whilst she's still blindfolded and tells her she's OK to continue the challenge. Once we resume, No Collar maintain their lead and the chase for second is tight. White Collar struggle to get and item up, not to mention Carolyn and Sierra shouting opposite directions gets confusing. No Collar get a victory again at last, and Blue Collar taste their first defeat.

Jenn bonds with the bird

No Collar have won chickens, and Joe wants to cut one up for Will's birthday. Jenn steps away as she's a fan of animals (it's humans she doesn't have compassion for, remember?). The time away from camp serves her well, as she finds the idol under a tree. Now she's hoping to "mess up the game" with it.

Tough girl Kelly is fine now she's got some stitches, and she's earned Mike's respect over it. But other tribe members are drifting apart, since it wouldn't be Blue Collar without some fights, and the ones butting heads are Lindsey and Rodney. Their point of contention: Rodney's views on women, which are unsurprisingly pretty sexist.

Feminist icon Lindsey doesn't take shit from misogynists

White Collar are preparing their eggs when Shirin casually talks about how she killed a rabbit in preparation for Survivor. Joaquin calls her a psycho. Max proposes to Carolyn that they don't sit Shirin out because it might hurt her feelings, and that really pisses Carolyn off. She tells Tyler and Joaquin she wants to vote Max out next, calling him a cult leader. Oh shit, definitely didn't predict Max's game unravelling this fast.

Puppet master

The immunity challenge sees the castaways tied up and running to posts to unwrap themselves. Joaquin flies through it, but the other White Collars fumble. Will slows No Collar down, but Rodney is also making mistakes. Now they just have to pull ropes to get a ball up through a very hole-filled maze. Mike and Joe are first to take it on, with Mike trying a ridiculous launching strategy that just loses his ball. Joaquin and Carolyn both get a ball, leaving White Collar with one left. Tyler sucks so Max has to take his place. Hali closes for No Collar to give them the win. Just White and Blue now, and Kelly falls when she almost had the last ball. It's now Rodney vs Max, and Max saves himself by getting it in. Tense challenge.

Rodney picks his troops

Blue Collar are pretty bummed out that the winning streak is over, and Lindsey says she loves them all no matter what happens. Sierra and Lindsey are both gunning for Rodney, and tell Dan as much, who keenly listens. But Rodney thinks he's got a good group that has his back in Dan, Mike and Kelly, and they're sending Lindsey home. Why did we not see any of this before now?

At tribal council, Sierra and Lindsey admit they don't like the way Rodney treats women. Rodney says he's not sexist because he has a mother...lame defence, dude. Mike makes it clear that he thinks Blue Collar is the best collar and that Lindsey was a big part in building that camaraderie by declaring on day 1 the winner was on their mat.

After the votes come back, it seems her pep talk doesn't save her that much, as the vote ties between Lindsey, Rodney and "Ciara". Took me a while to figure out who that is. The shocked girls know one of them is doomed, and Lindsey takes a walk in her sparkly pants. Rodney waves her off with a smirk.

So now Blue Collar have a pissed-off Sierra on their tribe, not good news with a swap on the horizon. Luckily we won't have to wait a week to see how the next phase of the game shapes up.

STAR OF THE WEEK: KELLY REMINGTON

Despite barely existing before this episode, I have to give Kelly props. She's making connections with her tribe mates to stay in the in-crowd, and took that injury like a champ.

Worlds Apart Episode 3: On Deaf Ears

Well, Joe is not quite happy that Will went rogue and decided to further his own agenda, but it could've been worse. Nina is already throwing herself a pity party, saying she's the next to go, and Jenn isn't impressed with it.

Monkeying around

Shirin witnesses two monkeys getting it on and immediately runs back to the rest of the tribe to let them know. They don't seem as enthused as she is though. Rodney and Dan are having some banter in their camp, but it turns a little nasty when Dan hits below the belt. You don't insult Rodney's mama!


Jenn and Hali decide to go surfing (without inviting Nina again). Surfing is Hali's #3 passion in life. I hope we get to find out what 1 and 2 are at some point. Joe touches base with Nina to let her know that she's not out of the game. But she's not really helping herself when she refuses to eat the lizard like everybody else.

Babes on the waves

White Collar are all out looking for the idol, minus Carolyn, who doesn't need to. Shirin wants to call a truce, but Joaquin refuses. He knows he's on the bottom and isn't afraid to let Shirin know he isn't a fan of her. Tyler knows who has the idol, but appreciates that Joaquin trusted him enough to show him the clue. Right now it seems like he's the person that people tell things to.

Here's your wood, Captain

Mike is cracking the whip on Rodney, trying to get him to do a firewood run. Rodney wants to eat first and says he'll do it in his own time. The Boston boy aggressively throws down the wood after collecting it and insults the whole state of Texas in his frustration. Mike also gets into it with Lindsey saying he doesn't get enough respect. Lindsey claims she works just as hard as anyone and takes a jab at Mike's faith. Wow, everyone on this tribe is taking cheap shots. Mike keeps saying that if his mouth gets him voted out so be it, and Lindsey is almost happy to oblige.

White power!

The immunity challenge is to bring water back in a bucket full of holes. Lindsey sits out, but that doesn't stop her being annoying from the sidelines. No Collar have the strategy to send Nina ahead and out of the way. It doesn't work, but maybe their pouring is just bad too. They run into more problems when Will tires again, and it seems to be a close race between the other two for first place. Blue Collar outrun White Collar to fill up faster and take the reward: some comfort items. No Collar are going back to tribal council, with Probst openly questioning their strategy.

Not here to make friends

Joe offers an apology back at camp, because he feels like he blew the challenge by making the call to exclude Nina. Will tries to reassure him it's just a game so he shouldn't feel too bad. Hali and Jenn are actually talking about voting Will since he's blown two challenges now and has shown he can't be trusted. "I think Will and Nina suck equally" says Jenn - blunt as always!

At tribal council, Jeff berates Joe for the approach he took in the challenge once again. Nina blames her deafness, and her tribemates insist that has nothing to do with it. Hali appeals to Nina that if she wants to stick around, she's gotta make an effort to fit in. It's hard for Nina to hear, but she takes it on board.

The votes are in. There's two votes for Will...but 3 votes for Nina, making the outcast's worst fears come true. Right call in my opinion, you gotta get rid of the person who knows they're on the bottom. Now the four of them are all on the same page, and are easily the tribe with the least drama right now.

STAR OF THE WEEK: RODNEY LAVOIE

Don't sleep on Rodney, he's doing surprisingly well in this game, firmly in control of his tribe with the girls behind him. His street smarts have served him well, and he's definitely shown he can bite back when people push his buttons.

Worlds Apart Episode 2: The Naked Truth

Those of you complaining about Dan's underwear, good news! He apparently lost them. So now he's wearing a shirt around his waist instead. Lindsey thinks it's part of his strategy (a pretty bad one if it is) and is still waiting for a chance to get rid of him.

Just as nature intended

Max strips down to go for a swim as a tribute to Richard Hatch. But he's also doing it to get away from the others. Knowing Max, everything he does has a strategic element to it. Shirin gets in on the trend too, trying to carry on a normal conversation with Tyler completely bottomless, which he finds awkward.

Nina is having trouble fitting in with her tribe because of her deafness, and thinks the girls aren't including her. Jenn and Hali go skinny dipping (NOW we're talking!) without her and she gives them a piece of her mind when they get back. Whilst Jenn doesn't handle it the best, Nina's explosion seems like a massive overreaction.

Nina and Jenn have a failure to communicate

Work hard, play hard: that's the Blue Collar motto

The Blue Collars are playing basketball, but Mike would rather do work. Rodney doesn't understand as they already have more than enough firewood. There's also conflict on No Collar as Vince is feeling underappreciated around camp and decides to have a go at Joe. Joe didn't even realize there was a problem. Projection much? A clear division is forming on the tribe between the young people and the old people.

Pretty spry for a fat guy

The immunity challenge is to dive into the water, and transfer a buoy along a rope from one platform to the other. Then they have to throw the buoys into a basket. Probst seems surprised that Dan doesn't sit out, but he proves him wrong by taking Blue Collar into the lead. Hali overtakes Sierra and then Jenn extends the lead. No Collar fall behind once again once Will hits a snag, and are the last to get to the toss. Joaquin is on fire for White Collar and takes them from worst to first. Sierra also does well and gets Blue Collar 2nd place. That basketball doesn't seem like such a waste of time now, huh?

Will is exhausted back at camp, and Vince and Nina have noticed this. But they don't want to pass up the chance to get a power player like Joe out. Will throws out Vince's name, but Joe prefers to target the weaker Nina. Joe plans to split the votes with Will, which could just be handing power over to the counteralliance. Was the risk of Nina having the idol really that great? Will confirms with Nina the plan to bamboozle the young people and vote out Jenn...but then Nina brings up that Vince has been concerned with his health, which changes everything.

At tribal council, Jenn doesn't deny that she's close with Hali and Joe. Vince claims to be the glue in the middle, which is not really an accurate description of the tribe nor is Vince really stable enough to be glue. Will says he's a little worried after his challenge performance (calling water "the black man's kryptonite") and that he's talked about making it 3-on-3 but it's not necessarily gonna happen.

Feathers rustled

Now let's see what happens as we go to the vote. We get Jenn, Nina and Vince all written down, but the final and deciding vote is for Vince, which is a surprise to everyone but Will. Production must've been PISSED to see him leave so early...you don't find people like Vince everyday. How does such a colorful character leaving change the vibe? Guess we'll see.

STAR OF THE WEEK: WILL SIMS

Aside from being hilarious, Will is getting in good with all the people on his tribe. It might seem like a weak move to just go with the numbers, but the fact is Will was the only one to get his target out tonight and should easily ride it out until the swap.

Worlds Apart Episode 1: The Neutral Option

Even Probst is getting his feet wet

It's Survivor's 30th season and the tribes roll in on trucks, with Vince clearly enjoying the ride. The No Collar introductions are all fairly aloof, from Jenn rattling off one-liners about jetskis to the coconut vendor calling himself a truth seeker. White Collar also live up to their billing, with So confirming she's the Devil and Joaquin talking about his luxury lifestyle. Probst calls them to their mats and explains how they've been divided, and everyone seems to embrace the theme. Dan especially is beaming with blue collar pride.

Will's sandwich shop - opening soon

When it comes time to choose a leader, Student of the game Max knows it's always a bad idea to volunteer - good thing Joaquin is an idiot, then. Dan puts himself forward as well. Will is the chosen one for No Collar, and Jenn says it's because he promised sandwiches. Probst questions the feasibility of such a claim, and he doesn't back down. The leaders then have to pick someone else that will help make a decision for the tribe. Being a ladies man, Joaquin obviously picks hot girl So. Dan buddies up with Mike and Will picks Jenn.

The pairs have two options to choose from - a big bag of rice, or a small bag of rice and an idol clue. Jenn chooses the big bag pretty much instantly. Mike is tempted by the clue, but Dan persuades him it's too early to play deceitful. However, when they bring the bag back to camp, Sierra still thinks they shortchanged them. Joaquin goes straight for the clue, barely even entertaining the thought of being honest. That means So is now stuck with him, which unsurprisingly she seems to have reservations about.

Trick or treat?

Joaquin and So come back to camp with the cover story that they had three choices and they chose "neutral"...which absolutely nobody on the tribe believes for a second. The other White Collars are already concerned about how close So and Joaquin are, and Shirin works to make an alliance of her own with Carolyn and Max.

Rodney and Lindsey are showing off their tattoos, and Rodney shares the story of his dead sister, hoping to tug on the heartstrings. Mike decides to eat a scorpion. Why? Your guess is as good as mine. He ends up regretting it though when he's soon puking his guts out.

Vince goes full Travolta

Vince tries to make an alliance with Jenn, but it's clear that he's a lot more into it than she is. And he is way into her. The feathered romantic then clashes with Joe over the building of the shelter. Joe wants to take the reigns since he actually knows what he's doing, but Vince sees that as an affront to the No Collar way of life.

Blue Collar's shelter-building is not going well either. Dan gets himself in hot water for snapping at Lindsey, and now pretty much everyone wants him gone. Mike is his only friend left, and tries to make him see the positives.

Joe makes himself the hero when he starts fire (based on a technique he got from YouTube), but Vince is starting to grow jealous of Joe's relationship with Jenn. Pulling Jenn off to the side, he asks if she has feelings for Joe, but she denies it. The conversation gets progressively more awkward until ending with the longest hug ever.

The White Collars have a very average shelter and have been unable to make fire. Joaquin and So are both off looking for the idol, which Carolyn has noticed. Man, they are just not subtle at all. Seeing the sorts of places So is looking at, Carolyn concludes it's probably in a tree...and manages to beat them to the punch when she pulls out the idol herself. Oh shit, didn't see that coming. And the other two probably won't either.

Roll in the hay?

The first immunity challenge of the season involves making choices. After the initial obstacle course (which results in a spectacular Lindsey faceplant), you have to free a ladder either by untying knots or picking the right keys. All tribes start with the keys but switch to the knots before long. White Collar pull away, thanks mainly to So's efforts. Vince has to hand off to Joe (bet he hated that) who takes them to second, whilst Mike is still lagging behind.

Shirin too deep

Once the tribes are through the ladder maze, they have to choose between a 5-piece, 10-piece or 50-piece puzzle - all of varying degrees of difficulty. No Collar opt for the 10-piece, whereas White Collar go for the 50. Blue Collar struggle to even work the ladder. Joe blows through the tree puzzle whilst Shirin struggles on the "easy" one. No Collar win immunity, and although Blue Collar have only just started, Shirin has made little progress and has Max tag in for her. It comes down to Max vs Mike and although both are working hard, Mike only having 10 pieces means he finishes much quicker, marking an epic comeback. White Collar are devastated, and So is pointing the finger at Carolyn and Shirin.

Back at camp, So is actually campaigning for Carolyn to go, saying that she doesn't step up. Carolyn senses her name is out there, and tries to get reassurances from So and Joaquin she's not going home. Joaquin is an absolutely hopeless liar and gives a very unconvincing answer. Tyler eventually confirms to her that she has been discussed, making her even more pissed at So. Max and Tyler aren't sure what to do since So is much stronger, but Carolyn telling Tyler about the idol shows him she can be trusted.

White Collar get ready to make an executive decision

At tribal council, Shirin calls BS on So and Joaquin's "neutral" story, forcing them to come clean. Max says he's not mad, he just thinks they should've lied better. Joaquin reveals his alliance with So, Max and Tyler. This starts an argument between So and Carolyn, and in keeping with the spirit of full honesty, So admits she wants Carolyn to go, as she's the weakest link. Carolyn questions how valuable knot-tying ability really is, and lets her know the feeling is mutual on the lack of trust front.

Time to vote, and the tribe say so long to So Kim. She seems very disappointed and shocked that her journey has ended this soon, and predicts voting her off will turn out to be a mistake. Probably not as big a mistake as she made in taking the bait on the opening twist, though.

Well it wasn't the orgasmic, life-altering episode that Probst promised but it was solid enough. There's plenty of compelling personalities and enough players showing promise that it's hard to tell how the season is gonna pan out.

STAR OF THE WEEK: JENN BROWN

I feel ya, Vince - I'm a little bit in love with Jenn myself. Everything that came out of her mouth was gold and I think this little heartbreaker is gonna find herself in a secure spot for quite a while.

Worlds Apart cast preview

No all-star extravaganza here, but it seems oddly appropriate for Survivor to go back to its roots for its 30th season, and focus on what the show was originally about...pitting together people from different walks of life. Jeff feels very good about this season, and explains the divisions as thus: the White Collars make the rules, the Blue Collars follow the rules, and the No Collars break the rules. Can't wait!

"We're the money makers"

(WHITE COLLAR)

Max Dawson: Nobody has ever been as prepared for this game strategically as Max...he taught a freakin' class on Survivor. But we've seen before that theoretical knowledge doesn't really mean shit out on the Island. He's also active in the Twitter community and I've always enjoyed his hilarious(ly mean) commentary, but now he has extra pressure to do well.

So Kim: I'm very excited for So, who is finally making her Survivor debut after being cut from San Juan Dul Sur last minute. After seeing how fun, cute and chill she is, I'm sure it'll be worth the wait. A contestant whose name is an adverb is a recappers nightmare, by the way.

Shirin Oskooi: It's hard not to root for someone as quirky and excitable as Shirin, but I could go either way with her. She seems like a big fan, so there's a chance she can integrate well, but it's just as likely she ends up an early boot. The first Persian on Survivor...may the show continue to open the door to unrepresented ethnicities.

Carolyn Rivera: Carolyn's a family woman with a lot of business experience. That says to me she's level-headed and good with people, and has a good chance of going all the way. Hopefully she won't be boring, and we get to see the tough New Yorker come out.

Tyler Fredrickson: I initially wrote Tyler off as the pretentious intellectual just from his glasses, but after watching his video, I now think he's just a big goofy dork. And he has a football background - hopefully he's the new Jon Misch.

Joaquin Souberbielle: If I didn't have a mancrush on him before, I did once I heard his accent. With his model looks and cutthroat personality, I have high hopes for him to be this season's douchey villain...in the best way.

"Blood, sweat and tears, callouses on our hands, sore at the end of the day"

(BLUE COLLAR)

Dan Foley: Dan has been trying to get on the show for years, so kudos to him for finally making it. I don't see him lasting long, though...will he really be able to hang with a tribe that's in much better shape than him? I see Dan as someone whose enthusiasm and big presence is charming in small doses, but probably not something you want around you constantly.

Rodney Lavoie: Boston Rod! He seems to have a lot of confidence, but I'm not sure he's as smooth as he thinks he is. He better hope the rest of his tribe see hard-working contractor and not sleazy car salesman.

Sierra Thomas: Don't let the model looks fool you, this cowgirl is tough. Definitely someone who went way up in my estimation after watching her talk and seeing how level-headed and prepared she is. I hope she can prove her worth whilst still being underestimated.

Lindsey Cascaddan: How did they find another tattooed single mom hairdresser named Lindsey so soon after Cagayan? Lindsey is nuts and probably would've been a better fit for the No Collar tribe. I'm not just saying that based on her Cruella De Vil hair either - my gut says she'll be too bubbly and extrovert to fit in. I hope I'm wrong though because she's very likeable.

Mike Holloway: Oil driller by trade, Mike embodies blue collar. Not sure what to expect from Mike, but generally the people who gleefully talk about wanting to be the villain end up sucking at it.

Kelly Remington: Tomboy female cop who is worried that she's too trusting? Sounds like Sarah to me, and doesn't exactly fill me with hope that she can break the Survivor cop curse.

"I live my life not governed by anybody else's rules"

(NO COLLAR)

Vince Sly: Coconut vendor? Coconut vendor?? I don't know how they found this wacko, but I'm getting major Coach vibes already. This feather-wearing free spirit is gonna be something else, as you'd expect from the No Collar tribe.

Jenn Brown: Hilarious hottie sailbot instructor? Count me in. I really want her to do well because she has so much potential, but I could easily see her becoming a tragic early boot or getting lost in the shuffle.

Nina Poersch: I have a lot of respect for Nina for overcoming deafness, and she immediately strikes me as likeable. She says she's a manipulator but not much of a liar...sorry Nina, you need both to make it to the end.

Will Sims: Will lists his people skills as his main asset and claims "nobody can outplay my social game", whatever that means. He's charismatic, fun, probably not that game-savvy, but I give him points for trainwreck potential. And I haven't even seen his karaoke skills yet!

Hali Ford: I actually think Hali has a good chance in this game - she comes off very smart, should be able to beast it in challenges, and likely won't be seen as a threat. The Southern Sophie, but not as smug.

Joe Anglim: Let's finish off with someone who I think has all the skills necessary to win. He's a laid-back surfer type, but very likeable and athletic. Probably a lot smarter than he looks, too. I can already tell he's gonna be the guy people regret letting get far.