‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’: Why Max Dawson is worthy of your vote

Other than maybe his own “Survivor: Worlds Apart” cast member Shirin Oskooi, we’re not so sure that anyone knows as much about the game, at least in terms of quantitative data, as Max Dawson. That is why we were so interested to have him on the game, as the former “Survivor Professor” is one of the few people we had actually heard of (not including celebrities) prior to being on the show.

Unfortunately, Max’s undoing the first time around was tied to many things, but the biggest one was his own hubris. He could not help but make himself a target by not gauging the social needs of those around him. Yes, it is still bizarre that talking about “Survivor” on “Survivor” can be viewed negatively, but that is what happened to him in the game … and at times even in the edit. He’s an interesting inclusion in the list of people to return, mostly because of the variety of things he has going both for him and against him.

Past experience – “Survivor: Worlds Apart” (14th place)

Why you should vote for him – Because you like underdogs, or you are curious to see what a guy with his brainpower does after being humbled in the way in which he was. A Max return would be fascinating TV, and if you enjoy the meta-game, he seems more winning to cross those lines than some other players. Also, he would be surrounded by other people all knowledgeable about the game in their own way, so he may feel a little more at home.

Why you wouldn’t vote for him – Maybe you are voting for three or four other players from his season already, and want to see some more classic characters. Or, maybe you weren’t a fan the first time, or you think that he could be a sitting duck. If people are looking for reasons to get rid of people early in a more passive game, it could be easy to say “let’s just target Max since he already knows what being a pre-merge boot is like.”

Our prediction – Max is tricky. We like him and find him on the game to be fascinating television, but at the same time we don’t really think this season is the right spot for him. Maybe it never happens, but we’d rather have him on a season with pre-merge boots. He’d stand out more as a character, and it wouldn’t be so heavy on any one season. Because of recency, though, we’ll at least give him a slight shot of coming back.

If you want to see the rest of our “Survivor: Worlds Apart” voting articles, head over to this link! Also, sign up now to get some other TV updates on all we cover, courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)