Did Survivor 51's Carter Krull begin his winner's edit on Wednesday's episode? Or is he just midwestern nice, and the vocals that remind us of J.T. Thomas (and his rise in Survivor: Tocantins) are all a red herring?
Carter, situated at the bottom of Savu, received an open door from the Survivor Gods when given the chance to learn about the goings on at Toka, potentially mutiny if he preferred their encampment and camaraderie, and also steal an advantage from within the oars while he was on the beach.
Escaping from the bottom rung of a tribe's ladder and transforming from somebody's easiest vote to an integral member of an entirely different unit is a tale as old as time. But the 24-year-old Carter, a farmer in a sea of farmers this season, is very much his own player, rather than a J.T. knockoff (as much as he may sound like the OG).
Leave it to Stephen Fishbach, J.T.'s running mate, to push back on the similarity on this week's recap edition of Rob Has a Podcast.
Stephen Fishbach pushes back against J.T. Thomas comparison for Carter Krull in Survivor 51.
"Is every sweet-talkin' rancher guy gonna be compared to J.T.?" Stephen began dismissively, with a head of sarcastic steam.
"He seems strong. He's got an accent. Strategically, I wouldn't compare him to J.T.," he emphatically continued.
It doesn't take someone with Stephen's experience, though, to point out the obvious first strategic fracture. J.T. may have seemed happy-go-lucky and nonchalant, but he always had a ticking metronome underneath the surface during his winning time on Survivor: Tocantins. He never would've been cavalier, trusting, or aloof enough to leave his backpack in harm's way, leading to an all-out surge to snap an oar and steal an advantage that was placed in his lap.
(Side Note: Did anyone else think, "Oh my gosh, how STUPID are they that they actually think the advantage is INSIDE the oar instead of wrapped around it?" only to be immediately humbled? No? Just me?)
When Stephen raised the point, though, Rob Cesternino pushed back somewhat facetiously, dripping with irony and noting that J.T. would never let an advantage fall into the hands of an enemy, referencing his bold assumption in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains when he thought Russell Hantz was the next target of the women on his tribe and flat out handed him an idol at a challenge. Stephen noted that he handed the idol to Hantz on purpose, but the point was made.
The bottom line is that Carter's potential rise feels both heavy-handed and plausible after he triggered Survivor's escape hatch, and that while he carelessly failed to complete his mission, he did flip the game and renew his own shot at control. J.T.'s first appearance on the show was borderline flawless, though—often referred to as the only perfect game in history after reciving no votes against him and every jury vote for him to win—and his path to the top wasn't facilitated by a production trick or narrative wrinkle. He charmed his tribemates and rode a strong strategic partnership to the finish line, sparkling the whole way and deftly avoiding the dirt. Carter, in order to match him, will need to display renewed focus and find a running mate, possibly Lewis Kelly after they acted as swing votes together this week.
As of now, he sounds like J.T. if you close your eyes—but also that's exactly what he did with an advantage in the balance on an unfamiliar island. He's got work to do.
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