‘Survivor: Cagayan’ castaway spotlight: Can Trish Hegarty make it far?

After doing several of these “Survivor: Cagayan” castaway spotlight articles already, we are now at the point where we can discuss the first member of the Brawn tribe! Trish Hegarty may be the oldest person on the tribe, but there is no doubting that she is in the physical shape needed to do well on this show. She teaches pilates, has an extreme work ethic, and has been a fan of the show long enough that she knows there are very easy ways in which to fall on your face while on the island.

Just how well do you feel that Trish is going to fare with this group? That is what we’ll spend the next little while trying to figure out. We would sit here and go on and on about how she has the whole physical part of this game figured out … but so do a ton of other people on her tribe. She is going to need to figure out some other way to break out from the norm, and allow herself to be a major force to be reckoned with in this game.

Name – Trish Hegarty

Age – 48

Tribe – Aparri (otherwise known as the Brawn Tribe).

Location – Needham, Massachusetts

Occupation – Pilates Trainer. We’ll be honest that we still have no real idea what Pilates are, other than something that you use to get in really good shape. We’d make the joke about them sounding like a fancy pastry, but that has already been done a number of times already.

What she brings to the game – Spirit! She name-drops Danni Boatwright in her bio online, and we therefore imagine that there is probably not a contestant onboard the Brawn Tribe this season who is a bigger fan of the game. She brings some knowledge to the table, and also some determination and even a willingness to lie here and there in order to get further in the game. On this tribe in particular, that could be a really big asset. Many of these people may just try to play with honesty and integrity all the time (especially the two cops), and that may cause them to be manipulated easily.

What she will struggle in – Her video below makes Trish sound like a very positive, exciting person … but also someone who could rub people the wrong way if they were on an island with her for a long span of time. Trish may need to reign just a little bit of that enthusiasm in if she wants to make it far on the season, and she also has the disadvantage of being the oldest person on her tribe. Ageism is a thing in this game sometimes when people tie that directly to challenge performance, and early in the game, people are practically looking for a reason to vote people out.

Past “Survivor” comparison – Personally, we see Trish as a combination of three people: Denise Stapley (in terms of physical shape), Sherri Biethman (in terms of determination), and Betsy Bolan (in terms of perception of the game). The good news for her is that two of those people made it to the finale and one of them is a winner; the bad news for her is that Betsy was one of the early casualties of Russell Hantz.

Prediction – Here is what we can’t get around for Trish, as much as we think she would perform well on a different season. Big, buff guys tend to align with other big, buff guys early, since their strategy typically revolves only around winning challenges. They will eventually implode, but not before a few tribal councils. The three big guys and the female cop will all likely team up, and that makes her a sitting duck to be an early boot. It’s a bummer, and the best hope she has at lasting could be if her tribe goes on some sort of insane immunity run.

What is your take on Trish, and her chances in this game? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below! Click here if you want to read some more of our “Survivor: Cagayan” castaway spotlights, and we will have more very soon.

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Photo: CBS