The Challenge 42 is premiering in just over a week, and four Survivor players are joining the cast. While this isn’t a huge percentage of the participants, all of these cast members have some experience on The Challenge.
Michele, Chris, Cassidy, and Sydney are all coming onto this season in different positions, but Michele feels the Survivor alumni have an alliance. As we know, The Challenge can be divisive, and each player enters the game in a different position.
Michele Fitzgerald
With five prior seasons under her belt, Michele is the most-seasoned Survivor participant on Cutthroat. Last we saw, she had the second-best performance in the Battle of the Eras final, and it feels like her performance on The Challenge has gotten progressively better with each appearance.
At this point, Michele is an established competitor, and veterans like Bananas and Tori understand her value in the game. She has strong political intuition, but she’s also proven that she won’t leave the game without a fight. So, she’ll likely be a popular player on Cutthroat with multiple alliances she needs to maintain.
Verdict: Well protected and a serious contender to make the final.
Chris Underwood
After winning The Challenge: USA 2, Chris has established himself as a tough competitor, and fans are excited to see him return. He feels like the x-factor that we’ve been missing on the show, especially because he can clearly outperform some of the super vets. On USA 2, he defeated Wes in the Arena and beat Bananas in the final.
Chris’ abilities aren’t a secret, and this could make him a target in the game. No one will want to see him in the final, but at the same time, facing him in the Arena feels like a death sentence. He almost fills a Jordan-type role; people will want him to get eliminated, but a swing and a miss could have serious backlash.
Verdict: Huge threat, likely to be central to the plot.
Sydney Segal
After Vets & New Threats, Sydney has a reputation on The Challenge. She’s cocky, and she’s not afraid to take control. In fact, she probably would have won Vets & New Threats if the girls ran the final race individually; Turbo held her back.
Sydney also had a clear alliance on Vets & New Threats, and she worked with people like Bananas, Dee, Nany, and Leroy. The problem: Only Bananas is returning this season, and a lot of the New Threats she wasn’t aligned with are on the cast. Sydney will likely need to work to build her group this season, because she doesn’t seem to have a super close group coming into the game — the Survivor group is likely her best bet.
Verdict: Big target, will need to earn her cocky reputation.
Cassidy Clark
On The Challenge: USA 2, Cassidy filled the lovable underdog role. Challenge viewers tend to gravitate toward people in this position, but it doesn’t guarantee her success on Cutthroat 2. However, she did eliminate Michele on USA 2, so she has a reputation that some competitors will respect.
It’s been a few years since USA 2, so Cassidy is likely disconnected from most of the people on Cutthroat. This puts her a step above the rookies, and she’s still expendable to the veterans. Her best bet is to rely on her relationship with Chris and lean into her connections with her Survivor/CBS family.
Verdict: Lovable wild card.
Stop Being Polite 