Both very opinionated, smart, outspoken women, Survivor’s Eliza Orlins and Corinne Kaplan have strengths and weaknesses entering The Amazing Race 31.
Having representatives from three CBS reality shows is no easy task. Casting needed to tap into the generational representatives in order to get multiple perspectives and tap into multiple fanbases. Survivor’s representatives for The Amazing Race 31 are interesting representatives from the old school, mid-generation and new school, with Eliza Orlins and Corinne Kaplan proving to be the most electric of the bunch.
Of all the teams who are used to hanging out on an island as their means of reality television competition, Eliza and Corinne’s connection might seem the loosest on paper. As Survivor players who wouldn’t say no to another shot at the game, the two are part of the greater community of players who keep in touch. Additionally, both have worked with tvParty to live chat with fans during Survivor.
As hard as it is to explain their friendship’s origins, Eliza and Corinne are going to be two peas in a pod in The Amazing Race. Both players are very analytical and are great strategists, using their knowledge of how the game operates to keep themselves self-assured and motivated. Eliza, more so, is reportedly a huge fan of the great race, which gives this team a huge leg up on the other Survivor teams.
However, both players are much more renown for their personalities, as if there’s going to be an early team that owns their villainy, it’s this one. Corinne Kaplan once said to Sugar in Survivor Gabon the most brutal thing I’ve ever heard anyone say to anybody else in earnest.
"Sugar, you are an unemployed, uneducated leech on society and the only thing I would vote for you is to give you a handful of anti-depressants so that no one else has to be subjected to your constant crying anymore, and maybe if you got some it would seem a little more sincere when you are crying about your dead father."
Though Eliza is by no stretch of the imagination on that same level of villainy in Survivor: Vanuatu or Micronesia, the pair will likely have a hard time maneuvering the subtle social game of The Amazing Race. U-turns are a strategic give and take in this game, and Eliza and Corinne are the kind of players who would likely use it as a tool for revenge (basically) to those that wrong them or use it early against others and find themselves creating enemies that will last throughout the race.
It’s not all rough patches and proverbial roadblocks ahead of Eliza and Corinne; they’re the most physically fit team of all the Survivor players. Though knowing directions is key in this game, players also have to run around a lot getting to and from points of interest, as well as in individual roadblocks themselves. They are versatile enough to compete well in the challenges ahead.
Furthermore, though it’s not as important as you would think, both Eliza and Corinne are fairly worldly in their travels. The Amazing Race sees players traveling up to a dozen countries in a full race, and having basic knowledge of how many cultures operate in an architectural and urban design sense will help in knowing what to say or how to ask locals for help.
I’m certain that The Amazing Race teams have too strong an advantage heading into this reality TV mashup not to win it all, but Eliza and Corinne are easily the best-prepared Survivor team tasked with taking on the legends. If they can reserve their quips at other teams for the inside of taxis and in post-leg confessionals, they may have a shot at running deep this season.