Survivor Island of the Idols cast assessment: Molly Byman is Boston Strong

Rob Mariano won’t be the only Bostonian to graze our TV screens on Survivor: Island of the Idols, as Boston native Molly Byman is ready to make an impact.

A common theme many have noticed among the cast of Survivor: Island of the Idols is the fact that there are so many people in a transitional phase. They’re either entering a new stage of their life or in the process of changing careers. Molly Byman is a perfect example of this.

We learned from her CBS bio that for five years Molly was a middle school teacher. Although we’ve had plenty of Survivor contestants who were teachers, based on her bio, she comes off as one of those passionate teachers that would actually make you enjoy attending class. Being a good teacher definitely develops leadership skills, adaptability, and the art of subtly getting people to do what you want them to do. Those skills will be key to her success.

That said, Molly isn’t a teacher anymore. She made a big move in changing her career path and is now a law student, hot on the heels of Wardog! She’s been a long-time Survivor fan and understands the type of game she needs to play in order to win.

At first glance, Molly gives off that sweet, caring teacher vibe, and that’s something I can see her using to her advantage. Out of all of the castaways who compare themselves to Parvati, Molly actually fits the description to a degree, especially the Cook Islands version of Parvati. She has the potential to get overlooked by other players, and use that time to gain control over the game.

In her 60-second cast video, Molly explains her gameplan to lay low and build relationships with each person before committing to a strong alliance. Almost everyone these days talks about developing a good social game, but most of the time it’s just talk and no action. Molly’s strategy is a little more specific than that. With her likable personality, I could see her fitting in with the tribe to the point that people will come to her to propose an alliance.

In addition to her social game, Molly wrote about her love for running, hiking, skiing, and biking, so we shouldn’t underrate her ability to perform in challenges. For those Day 1 under the radar players like Molly, there’s always the concern that they won’t make that one or two big moves to validate their game.

So finding that opportunity to act will be crucial for Molly to make it deep into this season, but I believe her easy-going personality will at least help her get through the early stages of the game. She’s already my early winner pick solely for finding a way in her bio to say that Lindsay Weir from Freaks and Geeks is her favorite TV protagonist! I’m Looking forward to seeing who she ends up aligning with from the Vokai tribe.