‘Survivor: Cagayan’ castaway spotlight: Will chess master Spencer Bledsoe be king?
Spencer Bledsoe is, by far, one of the most interesting players on “Survivor: Cagayan.” He’s a guy who has already proven that he is a master of game strategy … just of a different game. He’s a chess master, and despite being one of the youngest players this season, he has a surprising amount of self-awareness when it comes to how to use his intelligence and skills in this game.
There are really two different ways to go about spotlighting him … as a contestant, and also as a personality for the show. We have almost no doubt that he is going to be perceived by some as a villain, and he may even embrace that. He’s a big fan of the show who is insanely smart, but he is not going to go into this like John Cochran and rely on his sense of humor and his people skills. He’s got to find a different way to defuse his fellow players who look at him and see “guy who needs to go right away.”
Name – Spencer Bledsoe
Age – 21
Tribe – Luzon (a.k.a. the Brains tribe)
Location – Chicago, Illinois, where he is an economics student at the University of Chicago.
Occupation – We kind of already said it in that Spencer is a college student. But, as teased in the introduction, he’s at least won a nice amount of cash over the course of his life as a chess master … though not clearly enough to call it a living.
What he brings to the show – Entertainment value. This is not a guy who is going out there to prove something to other people, or to dominate challenges and act with integrity. He doesn’t really want to be a role model to all America, unless you aspire to be someone who plays the game hard and tries to have a winning strategy. He brings to the show someone who wants to make blindsides, but is smart enough to know that he can’t just do them without motivation. He has a gameplan to make himself appear like less of a smartypants and a superfan early, and try to actually get to know and relate to the other contestants.
What he will struggle in – Challenges. There are even people on the Brains tribe who look like bodybuilders compared to this guy. He’s one of the least-physical players based on appearance, and if you are already on a tribe not known for physical might, that’s like waving a huge target above your head before the merge. Also, his appearance alone is going to make it look like he’s the resident Cochran of the season … he is really going to have to sell himself to not be a huge target almost right away. Remember that this season was filmed in the summer, when Cochran’s win was still very fresh in everyone’s minds.
Past “Survivor” comparison – Spencer claims he is a combination of Stephen Fishbach and Marty Piombo, and that is something that we’ll actually agree with. Like Stephen, he may be better in some challenges than people think (but still weaker than the other two tribes), and he has a similar sort of demeanor and feel for the game to Marty. Plus, remember what Marty talked about all the time on “Survivor: Nicaragua”? Chess … or at least to Fabio.
Prediction – Our brain tells us that Spencer will be one of the first people out … but our gut is telling us that he makes it far, because we really like him as a player. It is completely contradictory to do this with someone on the brains tribe, but we’re going with our gut! We’re going to say that he has a similar sort of trajectory this season to Kenny from “Survivor: Gabon,” where he manages to get enough people together to make some big moves, and surprise the dominant players; but, he’s not going to make it to the end. The guy will have way too strong a case, and he would just put them all in a checkmate situation.
What’s your take on Spencer this season? Is he going to be a villain? Share some of your thoughts below.