Survivor: David vs. Goliath cast assessment: Carl Boudreaux and the long haul

The second-oldest man in Survivor: David vs. Goliath, Carl Boudreaux has a laid back personality and a family back home that will propel him forward.

Survivor once pitched itself as a social experiment where 16 Americans from all walk of life came together, voted each other out and melted cultures together in a pot. Sue Hawk, a truck driver, became one of the most vocal contestants on the show, never being afraid to share her views on others. She even offered the most famous speech in the show’s history with her admonishment of Kelly Wiglesworth.

Carl Boudreaux, like Sue, is a truck driver with blue-collar roots, and his demeanor harkens back to the melting pot perspective; even though these players are all from the same country, each has their own perspective. Carl doesn’t portray himself as an outspoken, opinionated player, but a person with pensive thought and willing to do anything to support his family.

Per his CBS bio, Carl is a very reserved person. I’ve already written more words in this piece than himself in his bio, writing more than one sentence per answer just once in the entire breakdown of his character.

One word jumped out to me concerning each of his answers: safe. The biggest offense someone can have for him is smacking gum. He’s inspired by his dad’s hardworking attitude, wants a picture of his family to bring to the island, and wants to win the money to put his family in a better financial situation.

Everything he offers to the table is about putting others in front of himself, projecting a very reserved personality. That’s the perfect mentality to have early in the game when players are trying to nitpick to their heart’s content to find reasons to knock people out.

Reading his bio, however, shows the incredible mildness of Carl, the Survivor player. I can’t say he’s not going to make moves later down the road, but I also can’t see him wheeling and dealing behind the scenes, making alliances or even shifting partnerships enough to make a compelling case to get screentime throughout. I don’t see anything creative in him that would convince me otherwise.

Regardless of his placement, I have already slotted in him as the player most likely to get little/no screentime unless he wins the game. That or a Final Tribal Council finish would be the only things that might prevent him from having a lot of his confessionals and comments hit the cutting room floor. He could even beat out Chelsea’s low placement/confessional ratio record to cement purple status!

Much like JP or Chelsea, Carl seems like a good dude who comes from a great place, and he’s ready to play the game of Survivor how others tell him. Followers have won the game before, but that doesn’t erase the fact that I find it hard to believe Carl will offer any zig or zag down the narrow path.

Players have surprised me before. Lauren was a breakout character and one of the stars of Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, and she seemed destined to go out way too early in the game. Hopefully, Carl can break out of his shell, too, and prove the world wrong.