Survivor: David vs. Goliath cast assessment: Alec Merlino breaks the rules

The charming, charismatic bartender enters Survivor: David vs. Goliath already tipping his hand at part of how the season goes down. What an idiot.

There are some people in the world who think the rules don’t apply to them. No matter what a group of people agrees to as fair, the most egotistical, selfish, inconsiderate people will risk it all for the fleeting ability to show off your prowess and standing. Alec Merlino is one of those people, willing to break an NDA and get banned from the Survivor: David vs. Goliath reunion for an Instagram selfie with another player from his season.

That alone doesn’t suggest that Alec Merlino is going to be a bad Survivor player, but considering he will reportedly not be with his cast in December, that doesn’t bode well for his chances. It seems like Alec will try to use his charisma as a tool for gameplay according to his CBS bio, as it appears as though being good looking is enough to be a Goliath on a tribe filled with champions of industry.

He models himself after Jay, Joe and Malcolm due to their charming likeability and strength in challenges within the game. You certainly need to work people over socially to make your way to the end of the game, but Jay, Joe and Malcolm each have vastly different levels of social and strategic strength. Joe is a challenge beast, Jay beasts late when he needs to and plays socially early, and Malcolm is a well-rounded mix.

It does mean that Alec does have knowledge of the game outside of the Fiji-only seasons, which may help him a bit on a recruit-heavy tribe. He does seem to know the basic strategy of not playing too hard out of the gate, as indicated by his intro video, where he does lay down an easy, chill, laid-back kind of vibe.

He would be perfect for the Millennial tribe in Millennials vs. Gen X, as his vlogger lifestyle of clickbait videos left him with a self-described bank account of zero. He did so without the requisite 1,000 subscribers required to get paid as a current YouTube, speaking to the testament of his efforts to work at his passion despite the return.

It’s hard not to reconcile his “f— it” couple post on Instagram as an indication of his Survivor: David vs. Goliath standing, but it does bring some things into question. For one, Alec and Kara are both starting on the Goliath tribe, but at what point will they come into a relationship? For reference, despite spending some time together on tribes, Sea Bass and Jenna from Ghost Island bloomed sitting on the plane home, not in the game.

Gameplay wise, Alec and Kara could enter into a quick romance and one/both quickly get booted because of it. Both of them seem disinterested in having a romantic engagement bog down their gameplay, but we all know how that works out! Even Jeff Probst knows his social skills might be too much of a beacon early, giving him a perfect target.

We’ll have to see if SEG retaliates with a purple or over-the-top villain edit or if Alec Merlino can somehow charm his way through to the merge.