Survivor Ghost Island cast: Wendell Holland is Probst’s pick to win
Not too big, not too strong, not too awkward and not too flirtatious; Survivor Ghost Island’s Wendell Holland looks to be just right and ready for the W.
We’ve already talked about how Survivor players should not be someone who audiences most suspect or least suspect to win the game. Becoming the most medium suspect is an identifier I’ve already given Morgan, but as we approach our Survivor Ghost Island cast assessment for Wendell Holland, you can see how he can carve a path on the way to victory just by maintaining his chill, low-key status early.
Wendell’s centrality within the cast shines in a multitude of ways. By being 33 he’s technically on the higher age of the median, but he’s youthful enough to hang with the 29-33-year-olds and reach out to the Brendans, Domenicks and Angelas of the game. He’s got a strong enough build, but not strong enough to be a target like Brendan, Chris or Michael. He’s sociable, and he seems chill enough to make friends with everyone but not in a compelling way that becomes a narrative. He’s strategic, but is a self-admitted superfan from season 18 and beyond in a game with many hardcore superfans like Laurel, Jacob, Kellyn or Donathan.
“Average” seems like too harsh a descriptor, and “good” seems only mildly complementary. However, in Survivor Ghost Island, I could see him fitting in as a player who is not the best at any particular thing, but more than just competent at everything, as both a leader and a follower. Depending on how overpowered the twists could be, I think Wendell is in the best situation to win the game from a preseason perspective.
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Jeff Probst seems to think so, too, going so far as to chose him as his winner pick. Granted, Probst has about as good a track record as you or I going into a season, but it goes to show you exactly why he fought to bring him on the cast.
As indicated in his CBS bio, he’s another player who might emulate his real life by taking risks. He was a legal clerk in Philadelphia after going to a Top 10 law school, worked at the district attorney’s office and worked for some judges before pursuing his passion by making his own furniture company.
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He models his game after officers playing like criminals, actively playing like Sarah Lacina and Tony Vlachos in the way he can observe the game. However, he knows not to be too villainous like Russell Hantz, understanding the risks of annoying people or betraying their trust and not earning their jury votes. He’s proven to be calm under pressure and serve as a follower and a leader in real life, and knows to take an L and carry on.
While Jeff Probst believes that Wendell Holland will win Survivor Ghost Island, I believe he does so with the idea that the new Final Four rules will allow him to compete for a chance to get to the final Tribal Council. However, much like how with the Final Three forced players to remove big threats in 4th place instead of at 3rd place for a Final Two, I could definitely see Wendell getting cut at the Final Five due to his creeping position as a potential winner of the late game.
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Wendell looks to be everyone’s friend in Survivor Ghost Island, and that’s exactly what he’ll need to rely on in order to hide how much a threat he truly is to other players.