Survivor Island of the Idols cast assessment: Jason Linden remaining chill

As one of two personal injury lawyers in Island of the Idols, Jason Linden’s charismatic personality makes him a serious threat win Survivor.

The last time there were two lawyers in the same season, one of them won the million-dollar prize. Not only are there two attorneys on Survivor: Island of the Idols, but they both specialize in the same area: personal injury! There’s been so many lawyers on Survivor over the years that it’s impossible to classify a pattern between castaways with this same profession. Jason Linden’s unique personality is a perfect example of this fact.

Jason is a 32-year-old New York City native who feels like he’s at the height of his career as indicated in his CBS bio. He actually started his own firm, and both Jason and his wife have found success in their respective careers. Everybody these days stresses the importance of a quality social game in their bio, but Jason is someone who can follow through with that claim.

He emphasized his ability to quickly connect with people, and Jeff Probst felt the same way in Jason’s 60-second casting video. He communicates in such a chill and engaging way that allows him to put other players at ease. In that same video, Jason pitched a hilarious but simple strategy he wants to follow.

In the early phase of the game, Jason will be working on his “Shut the Heck Up” strategy. Being a lawyer and a fan of the game, he feels like he has to restrain himself from taking charge or calling out the plays. That’s why he wants to work hard at keeping his mouth shut about the game and just focus on building relationships.

In order to avoid standing out, Jason is planning to hide the fact that he is a lawyer. I’m not sure what his cover story will be, but he’s smooth enough to sell it. Compared to how athletic and buff this cast looks, Jason appears to be on the lower end, but that might actually help him out. With his laid back strategy and lack of an intimidating physique, Jason could take control of the game from the shadows.

I think Jason will have no problem making strong relationships early, but my concern is that other smart players will notice his social presence. Once a few castaways pick up on someone schmoozing their tribe members, they’re in serious trouble.

In my opinion, Jason has what it takes to play a strong game, maybe even win, but his powerful social game could also get him axed before the merge. These castaways are smart, so if Jason’s efforts to form relationships become too obvious, then he might be an ideal pre-merge blindside target. We’ll have to see if Jason will be able to manage his social and strategic games in a way that doesn’t raise his threat level.