‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’ castaway spotlight: Is Hali Ford really ‘No Collar’?

For the majority of the tribe designations on “Survivor: Worlds Apart,” we have to say that we are on board with them. It is hard to really find the right way to fit everyone into a certain box, especially since we’ve heard now that the basic strategy here was to cast people, and then figure out a theme for them later.

For Hali Ford, we feel almost like she was just stuck on the No Collar tribe because the show wanted her on the season, but had no real place to actually put her. She could be an interesting person and a potential force throughout this season. She’s clearly smart, and wants to make plays over the course of the season. For her, the only thing we wonder is if she perhaps covets the target a little too much.

Name – Hali Ford

Age – 25

Occupation – Law student

Location – San Francisco, California

Tribe – Nagarote a.k.a. No Collar. How is a law student not White Collar? The only reason we can think of is that she has some specific viewpoints on why she is becoming a public defender (not the highest-paying attorney gig; we just watched “Better Call Saul”), and she also loves to surf. That’s really it.

Strengths – She’s smart, she’s driven, and she seems perfectly okay with not everyone knowing that there is more to her underneath the surface than first meets the eye. She is tougher than she seems, and she promises that she will compete very hard to win every immunity. Of course, it is easy to say that before the game, but we get the sense that she can probably back it up. She’s also apparently even scoping people out (is she referencing Joe in her casting video?) to figure out who she wants to work with.

Weaknesses – She has to be careful with scouting people. While it can be a strength, you don’t want to also tie yourself to someone who turns out to be a jerk or a bad player. It’s a balance. Also, she seems to almost be a tornado when you may want to at times be a gust of wind. She could be one of those players who wants to prove herself so much that she ends up actually having it blow up in her face from time to time.

Past “Survivor” comparison – We’d say that there’s a little bit of Candice Cody and a little Natalie White here. Yes, she compares herself to Parvati in her bio, which to us is our #1 pet peeve since everyone does it. At least she seems to have a little more in common with her than the majority of the people who do. Were it not such a cliche, we’d actually buy into it.

Comparison – We feel like the Candice comparison may be the best pre-game, or maybe even another “Survivor” with a law background in Eliza Orlins: Both were extremely driven women in the game, and they had most of the tools to win. They just made a few mistakes that kept them from getting there. We envision scenarios where Hali could get to the end and even win, but the more likely scenario is that she overplays her hand and goes out in around seventh place.

What do you think about Hali? Vote in our poll below, and head over here to get some other updates on the show! You can also sign up to get more scoop on everything we cover at CarterMatt via our newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)

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