Survivor Island of the Idols cast assessment: Kellee Kim hides her strength

Having switched from one prestigious career track to another, Kellee Kim knows what perceptions of her might be and is trying to counter them on Survivor.

East Asian women have had a categorically awful time playing Survivor lately. With Simone being the second boot in HHH, Rachel, Mari and Lucy representing the first, second and fourth boots, respectively, of Millennials vs. Gen X, and So Kim being the first boot of Worlds Apart, the last time a new player of that heritage made it far was Christina Cha in One World.

The odds are not in their favor, and Kellee Kim knows it heading into Island of the Idols. She’s currently an MBA student at Wharton University but has previously studied for a career path in medicine while playing varsity soccer at Harvard as noted in her Parade interview. She knows she has the smarts to navigate the game.

The problem is she’s aware of the preconceptions players (and people) have of Asian women being smart and anti-social compared to the rest of the players. Her outgoing personality, as shown in her Twitter video, will helpfully showcase that she might not need to worry as much as she should be, rationally, as she seems like a self-aware laugh riot.

The read from Probst that the game will come to Kellee, not the other way around, is slightly concerning. The idea that “she makes you work for everything,” including her interest in conversations or what people bring to the table, is a pretty big red flag in a game dominated by socially-driven relationships.

That gives me pause about her strategy because the very little I’ve seen from her makes me think she’ll be anything other than an aloof player. She wants to play with people who can laugh and make her laugh, and feeling good while playing the game is a key factor in deciding who stays and who goes very early on. It’s counter to what Probst sees in her, which is interesting to note.

She is entering Survivor: Island of the Idols with a game plan, as indicated in her CBS bio. She aims to mix both luck and working with a meat shield to propel what in her mind is a winning game, so look to her to get into a working relationship with some of the stronger men on the Vokai tribe and seeing where the game goes from there.

I’m not sure if Kellee will find herself tested early due to the strength of the Vokai tribe. If she finds herself in with a good group of strong men and women (there are plenty of both), then she can be the strategist in the middle and help be a voice in taking care of the dead weight (if there is any) early.

Kellee’s personality, conflicting with Jeff Probst’s assessment, means her character on the show will be portrayed in a variety of possibilities. Regardless, she has the smarts to know how Survivor is played; it’s only a matter of the chips falling where they may. Because of that, a mid-game prediction seems only fair.