Survivor season 35: Lauren Rimmer is a fisherwoman out of water
This down-to-earth North Carolinian, Lauren Rimmer is ready to tell a little white lie or two in Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.
When you look at the full cast of Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, it looks as if Jeff Probst dipped into the well of Millennials tribe alternate and sprinkled in a Gen X or two in the mix. Most of the players are young, high-energy and ready to yap their heads off in confessionals, especially the Hustlers tribe. That’s why the calm, cool, collected and reserved Lauren Rimmer stands out like a sore thumb.
There’s a reason why she’s a Hustler, through and through. Being a single mother in the commercial fishing industry is no small task, as she has to get up so early that it’s not even bright out so she can catch what she needs to sell to provide for her family. Her mother has retired twice, her 77-year-old grandmother still substitute teaches, she changes up what she catches; she has to hustler to earn a paycheck in a small town with little job availabilities.
Of course, these skills are absolutely crucial in the early days of Survivor, but Lauren isn’t going to play up her expert survival fishing skills. “My knowledge of knowing how to do those things will help, but I almost want to make it somebody else’s idea,” she tells the Hollywood Reporter. “My goal is to throw it out there but let someone else take the credit.”
Facilitating the egos and needs of others without getting the credit is a smart play from Lauren Rimmer, especially as she can feed into the egos of younger individuals on her tribe. As bad as certain players get when they’re hungry and tired, having a tribe filled with people 26 and younger might mean having to make them feel good enough to keep you in.
Her age difference can work as a bonus or a hindrance, depending on the respect of her Hustlers tribe in her work ethic. She repeatedly mentions hating lazy people, including in her CBS Bio, while many of her fellow castaways like her calm demeanor and reserved way she carries herself. If she can keep a workmanlike attitude while other members of her tribe strive to command the power dynamic, she should skate by a few rounds.
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That said, there are a ton of red flags about Lauren Rimmer, some of which can’t be helped. The fact that she’s built like “a damn linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys” (her own words) can work well when it comes to push-pull aspects of tribal challenges, but compared to the other five slender, similar-in-age players on the Hustlers, she has an early target on her back as a vote to “strengthen their tribe.”
That’s not to say that players of Lauren’s type can’t win Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, but usually, they have a rocksteady social and strategic game that is flexible. The fact that she notes people will have to be “extremely flexible” to work with her, she’s “stuck in her ways” and that she’s “always been called stubborn” suggests that she may not be able to lower her ego when push comes to shove, especially if her tribe doesn’t conduct their shelter-building in the optimized organization she builds on in her day-to-day life.
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I hope to be wrong about Lauren Rimmer, as she seems like the kind of player fans would love to get to know better as she breaks out of her shell. However, Survivor is a quick game, and the ability to adapt and build relationships on Day 1 is crucial to making it all the way to Day 39.