Survivor is a game of social strategy – and players who can’t finesse it often live to regret it. Kat Edorsson made a huge impression the first time she played in Survivor: One World as someone who just couldn’t finesse it. Now, after a decade of time to think it over, the former contestant believes one thing could have changed the outcome of her season.
Kat Edorsson was called a lot of things during her time on Survivor: One World. Her fellow players most often liked to use euphemisms such as “young” and “naïve” to describe the fact that Edorsson could only be worried about herself. With hindsight now though, Edorsson agrees that if she had been a different age, her season might have turned out differently. When asked about any regrets playing Survivor, Edorsson told EW:
[T]he only thing I think about is how much better I would have played if I was my age (now 32) instead of 22.
We can’t exactly disagree with her there. Survivor: One World was marked by a pile-on of “Kat” moments where it seemed that her age and lack of world experience kept her from being a power player – or much of a player at all. I can still see her confused expression when she asked host Jeff Probst, “…What is that?” when he told everyone that Colton Cumbie had been evacuated for appendicitis. When Edorsson decided to not choose Tarzan and his wife on their anniversary for the reward challenge though, it became very clear to everyone that she wasn’t thinking much about moves to help win her the game.
Age certainly has its effect on the dynamics of Survivor. Only a handful of very early 20-somethings end up winning – like Fabio in Nicaragua or Sophie Clarke in South Pacific. And they, in fact, only succeeded because they either had such a magnetic personality or unparalleled strategy. Unfortunately, during her Survivor play time, Kat Edorsson was only interested in having a good time. Though if she did one thing right, it was latching onto season winner Kim Spradlin’s coattails, until she ultimately decided to blindside Edorsson.
Of course, in the heat of the moment on Survivor, when they’re starved and lonely and tired, it’s easy to see how bad moves are made, no matter the age. Must we forget the most naïve move ever made when Eric Reichenbach, at age 21, was convinced by a tribe of older women to give up his individual immunity in exchange for …brownie points? Kat Edorsson recalled that she always “idolized” one of those Survivor: Micronesia women, Amanda Kimmel, and said, “I imaged that is how I would have played now that I am in my 30s.”
She might not think that blindsides are still “fun and exciting” – anymore. But if Kat Edorsson ever plays Survivor again, let’s hope enough life experience has taught her a thing or two about what is and what's not the right time to speak on something during the game.
