Survivor: David vs. Goliath cast assessment: Christian Hubicki is anything but robotic

We’ve seen many Survivor players with jobs demanding a high level of intelligence, but Christian Hubicki raises it to “work in robotics” standards.

Survivor likes to fill its seasons with character archetypes. You need a villain or two, a jock, a strategist, male and female models and, of course, a nerd or two. The nerds, with their self-awareness, sarcastic wit and distressed situations, often provide great commentary on the show’s events, and robotics scientist Christian Hubicki looks to follow that same route.

There have been a number of scientists to compete on the show, including astronaut Daniel Barry during Panama, and Hubicki might be the most jovial of the bunch. As noted in his CBS bio, he seems to have a quip with every answer not restricted to a word count. I found it particularly funny to find one of his biggest pet peeves is the “reckless abuse of percentages.”

He’s a bit older than the nerd character Survivor usually casts, but that only means more life experience. Christian is remarkably talented and skilled, as indicated by his ability to perform in orchestras, code computer programs to help train his dog and illustrate his accomplishments with brilliant eloquence.

In a quick Entertainment Weekly video, there are three factors Jeff Probst offers viewers as a reason to tune into Survivor: David vs. Goliath. The weather and the theme itself were two reasons, while the third was a simple name; Christian. This interview, to my knowledge, was provided after the season finished filming and before the 38th season.

It’s similar to what we’ve seen with Ryan Ulrich and Jeff Probst’s praise for him after Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, and it could be another indication of a player ready for the long haul. He projects to be very much the strategist, and his profession does help translate to the island when it comes to providing design ideas for shelter structure.

If anything, you would think that Christian would be one of those meager types that could, arguably, become a Goliath, and might be poised to make that leap during the season. He knows his role on his tribe and won’t be one of those superfans who spends minute one searching for an idol and painting a target on his back.

At least, that’s the hope with Christian. When listening to interviews with him, especially in First One Out with Josh Wigler, he speaks with intense passion about things, but often does so with a frenetic energy that may cause people to be uneasy. In the early days of Survivor play, anything to paint a target on someone else not yourself is enough, and I believe he could be painted with that “sketchy” tag.

When it comes to Christian Hubicki, he could be one of the more entertaining players of the season just due to his showmanship. That won’t necessarily translate to great gameplay, but I can see him working his butt off to make it to the end. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him voted out third or third-last, as it’s hard to judge with such a dynamic character.