Survivor Edge of Extinction: Should Eric Hafemann return?

His attempt to get out the returnees and leverage the Loved Ones’ visit showed the Survivor: Edge of Extinction superfan tenacity. Should Eric return?

Survivor, as of late, has catered to those who have been with the show forever. We’ve seen 38 seasons of the CBS show air over 19 years of good, to terrible, to excellent television, and those who continue to watch and apply are those who know the game inside and out. Sure, there are Instagram clout-chasers here and there, but for the most part, people know this game.

Eric Hafemann, on the other hand, was just a firefighter looking for adventure in this great game for a million dollars, yet he hit the ground running with a dynamic strategy. He teamed up with the southern gentleman in Gavin, searched for idols on the down low and planned to take out the returning players for a simple reason; this was their journey, not those playing for the third time.

He stayed immune through the first four rounds and even swapped onto Manu with his friends at a 4-1 numbers advantage. He worked well with Gavin and Victoria to blindside Aubry and even proposed standing strong and voting 4-4 deadlocks to go to rocks, forcing David and Kelley’s hands in threatening their legacy. Despite playing from the top, he never wavered.

Arriving at the merge, he had all the cards in his hand. He had an overwhelming Kama majority, key allies in Ron, Gavin and Victoria, and was even able to take out the biggest threat in Joe Anglim without him being any the wiser. All he had to do was keep everyone in line and he could have held strong through the Final 6.

Unfortunately, he and Ron tried to keep the gang together a bit too forcefully, dangling carrots such as the Loved Ones’ visit over the Kama majority and telegraphed wanting to keep voting numbers David and Rick over everyone else. Julia and Gavin (with some guidance from Wardog) saw through Eric’s stranglehold on the tribe and planned to counter with a blindside, sending Eric out at Final 12.

He didn’t win his way back into the game, but Eric Hafemann gave it his all with a humble, workmanlike attitude. Vote here in our straw poll and let us know if you think he should return in a future Survivor season.