Survivor 42 might have a villain problem.
Through the first two episodes of the season, three people have been eliminated, but no real villain has emerged from the three tribes.
Sure, there are a few candidates, like Daniel Strunk, who seemed like he was working hard to turn on former firefighter Mike Turner when the latter castaway found part of the three-way Immunity Idol.
The situation where Mike lost his Immunity Idol for a bit of the last episode had a lot of Survivor fans asking if someone could steal it from Mike. The ultimate possession of that Idol could get important later on.
Does Survivor 42 need a villain?
So far this season, if we count the medical elimination of Jackson Fox, three people have been eliminated from contention for the $1 million prize. Zach Wurtenberger of the Ika Tribe was the first person officially voted out at Tribal Council, and then Marya Sherron from the Taku Tribe got voted out at the second Tribal Council.
While there were a lot of maneuvers being made and some good gameplay when it came to forming alliances, no classic Survivor villains emerged from those first episodes this spring. For some Survivor fans, that makes it less exciting, as it can be a lot of fun to root for someone to dominate or to root against someone who has surfaced as the season’s villain.
Some Survivor fans might even enjoy a season with no villains, but it can certainly be really entertaining to see someone like Russell Hantz, Jerri Manthey, Richard Hatch, or even Boston Rob Mariano fully commit to being the villain of a season. The backstabbing, blindsides, and gossip have led to some great moments on the show in the past.
Much more to come from Survivor 42
Even without a villain, Survivor 42 has been pretty good television. There are a lot of interesting characters, and the upcoming episodes look pretty good. That includes the next one, where Jeff hinted in a preview that something that has never happened before on the show is about to take place.
There is also going to be a lot of debate about Survivor rules based on the episode clip shared above, with the producers making very sure that Daniel mentioned the “fine print” of the clue that is in Mike’s possession. It might just introduce a new wrinkle to Survivor that we haven’t seen before.
As a reminder, Episode 3 for Survivor 42 debuts on March 23. For Survivor fans who have missed any episodes, they can be viewed on Paramount+.
Survivor 42 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.