David Genat is simply far too good to ever make it all the way through any season of Australian Survivor, but he would run roughshod right through a US season. He belongs there. He must be given a spot.
[jwplayer QjDVn3hn]
On last night’s episode of Survivor: Champions vs Contenders, 39-year-old Brooklyn-based model Genat was voted out of the game with an idol in his pocket thanks to probably the most well-executed blindside in the history of the Australian version of the long-running series.
Every single part of that move, sparked by the virtually untouchable duo of Pia and Janine, had to be executed perfectly. 8 different people had individual parts to play in order to remove the greatest Survivor player Australia has ever seen. And they pulled it off, because Australian Survivor is still played at a level that is deeply suspicious of power and wary of bullshit.
The US version, the original and the king, has evolved far beyond that after 38 seasons into something else entirely. And David is a perfect fit for it.
The main is a pure Survivor triple threat: Conniving, convivial, and a pure challenge beast.
He sniffed out idols like he was born to do it. He dug the first one up for Luke with his bare hands, conned another out of Shaun with a remarkably good fake idol and a skerrick of intel, and got the third by manipulating Daisy’s emotions into stupidly letting him at a reward feast first.
David is untethered and his rage knows no bounds! #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/kXniVj92mx
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) August 13, 2019
More to that, he exploited minor tribal annoyances to shatter the previously air-tight Athlete’s Alliance in the original Champions tribe, and then post-tribe swap he managed to turn a 2 on 7 disadvantage on its head, peeling apart the original Contenders tribe with surgical precision and excising three of them before the merge without breaking a sweat.
In between, he won challenges, played a wildly strong social game, executed blind sides, and exhibited a ruthless game style that not only lends itself beautifully to the US version, but lends itself beautifully to winning the US version.
Just David conceptualising the idea of David #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/gVWNGejReT
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) August 26, 2019
A master strategist and challenge competitor with additional Australia charm would run roughshod over an unsuspecting US cast.
Jeff Probst, please. I beg of you. With season 39 already shot and season 40 being a Winners Only anniversary series, I put this to you: Season 41 of US Survivor wants – nay, NEEDS – David Genat in it.
You really want to shake things up? Get this devious Aussie, now battle-hardened and more the wiser from his first stint, into the damned game.
Do it, Probst.
Do it now.
