5 new era ‘Survivor’ castaways who need to return for another season

If you are a Survivor superfan, chances are that the words “drop the four, keep the one” live rent free in your head.

After the hit competition show’s 40th season, Survivor: Winners at War, Emmy Award-winning host Jeff Probst decided to do a full rebrand of the series we have grown to know and love, ultimately kickstarting a brand new era of Survivor. He dished all about it in a tweet back in July of 2021, just a few months prior to the premiere of Survivor 41:

“I just wanted to check in and let you know that Survivor was tough for the players, because think about it, we had an entire year where we weren’t shooting, so all we had was time to think… That’s a dangerous thing, and it led to ask creating a new game that is much more dangerous. You could refer to it as ‘Survivor 2.0.’ You could call it ‘Dawn of a New Era,’ which it is. You could refer to Survivor 41 by saying ‘drop the four, keep the one,’ because this is a brand new game. All of these are true, but here’s the best way to think of this new version of Survivor: Survivor 41 is like the monster in a horror movie, and if you’re a player, it’s coming for you… either you devour the monster, or the monster will devour you.”

Seasons 41 through 44 have experienced more twists and turns than ever before, shortening the game from 39 days to 26 days, removing themed seasons, and adding a multitude of advantages: Beware Advantages, Knowledge is Power, Shot in the Dark, and more.

To top it all off, Survivor is currently in a dry spell when it comes to castaways returning to play another season of the beloved competition series, with this new era seemingly removing the idea of bringing fan-favorite players back for another shot at $1 million and the title of “Sole Survivor.”

Even though it has been years since a contestant has returned to the beach for another season (with the exception of Bruce Perrault), us Survivor fans can dream, right?

While there are dozens of castaways from Survivor‘s new era who we need to see back on our television screens for a second time, keep scrolling to see which five are non-negotiables in our eyes.

Carson Garrett (Survivor 44)

If you watched Survivor 44, chances are that the adorable Carson Garrett stole your heart.

Despite coming in fourth place (losing to Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt in the infamous final four fire-making challenge), Carson is arguably one of the most well-rounded players in Survivor history, playing a social and strategic game that was nothing short of spectacular, with a few immunity wins sprinkled in.

Throughout Survivor 44, the NASA engineering student controlled the game in the middle, forming a strong alliance with two of his Tika tribemates: Carolyn Wiger and Yam Yam Arocho. Making numerous game-changing moves, all while remaining in the good graces of the jury, Carson was deemed a threat going into the finale. Because of this, Heidi made the decision to compete against him in the final four fire-making competition, ultimately defeating the 20-year-old genius.

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly, Carson revealed whether or not he would be willing to hit the beach for a second time:

“Oh, absolutely — I love it. Obviously I would practice fire a little more, but I was thinking in my head the other day: Even if I practice fire for the whole year, I still don’t know if I would’ve beat Heidi. She was so fast. You saw her build it in like 10 seconds. That was legit. It was so quick that I’m just proud I had a flame going next to her. Like, I can’t believe it.”

Taking time away from our television screens to practice his fire-making skills, our fingers are crossed that we get to see Carson compete for $1 million and the title of “Sole Survivor” once again.

Karla Cruz Godoy (Survivor 43)

Every good season of Survivor needs a villain, and Karla Cruz Godoy is truly as evil as they come.

Karla went down in history as one of the most cutthroat players of Survivor‘s new era, playing a major role in the demise of her former ally, Cassidy Clark, at the final tribal council of Survivor 43. Fans of the beloved competition show (and Cassidy herself) think that she would have ran away with the victory if it was not for Karla slandering her name in front of the jury — yikes!

As for Karla’s personal journey on Survivor 43, she aligned with Cassidy Clark and James Jones early on in the game, ultimately maintaining control of the Coco tribe pre-merge. Finding herself in the majority alliance after the merge, Karla outlasted a majority of her former tribemates, prior to being deemed too big of a threat by the remaining castaways. After wasting her hidden immunity idol and falling short during the final five immunity challenge (despite having an advantage), Karla was ultimately voted out unanimously, just days short of the finale.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Karla answered the question that we all have been wondering: Would she play Survivor again?

“Oh yes! Let’s go! I’ve been lifting [and] I’ve been working out a lot more now. I’m stronger than ever. Let’s do it.”

We are hoping Karla gets the chance to return to the beloved competition series and put her newfound muscles to good use — we know she would dominate in challenges!

Cassidy Clark (Survivor 43)

Speaking of Cassidy Clark, she is another castaway that deserves a second chance at playing Survivor (despite dominating on The Challenge: USA as we speak).

After winning the final immunity challenge and sending Jesse Lopez, the frontrunner of Survivor 43, into the infamous final four fire-making challenge against Mike Gabler (ultimately leading to his elimination), Cassidy made a multitude of moves that many Survivor fans viewed as game-winning. However, this was not the case…

Unfortunately, during the final tribal council, Karla reprimanded Cassidy for her decision to put Gabler into the final four fire-making challenge rather than herself, ultimately convincing the jury to vote for the 51-year-old heart valve specialist instead. Losing in a 7-1-0 vote (earning just one vote from her ally, James Jones), Cassidy became the runner-up of Survivor 43, making for one of the most heartbreaking losses that the Survivor franchise has seen.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Cassidy dished about what was going through her mind during the Survivor 43 after-show, which took place just moments after Gabler’s nearly-unanimous victory.

“I think that was one of the hardest things to have to go through, because truly I really felt very confident like I could win this, and for a lot of the game, I wasn’t sure I was going to be capable of that… Whenever it was right there in front of me, and I really felt like I had played the best game considering who I was sitting next to, having to lose that and then go through this whole like, ‘Oh, we’re happy! We’re eating! We’re drinking!’ I honestly drank way too much champagne just trying to deal with the shock, the pain and the loss of it, and then the next day, I remember I was at Ponderosa, I had a really bad panic attack, because it was just so much to go through within 24 hours, and there really was no time to process it… It was difficult. I wish that we had had that time to be able to come back and come together and discuss it, but it is what it is.”

Given how brutal her loss was, we know that Cassidy would return to the beach more fired up than ever if she is given the opportunity.

Hai Giang (Survivor 42)

Hai Giang‘s blindside during Survivor 42 was truly devastating, but we are confident that he has more left in the tank — returning to the beach for a second time would be the perfect opportunity to show Survivor fans what he is truly capable of!

To start off his Survivor journey, Hai quickly aligned with Lydia Meredith, however, the duo was clearly on the bottom of the Vati tribe. Outlasting his tribemates by pure luck (and backstabbing his closest ally along the way), Hai eventually made it to the merge, where he really started to find his footing. Forming his very own alliance that seemed to be picking up speed, Hai became a strategic force that landed on Omar Zaheer’s radar, who orchestrated 6-2 blindside against him at the final eight.

Hai reflected on this blindside during a chat with Entertainment Weekly:

“I got outplayed, right? It’s as simple as that. I think the edit was very spot-on in its retelling of that afternoon. I was extremely comfortable… My reaction at tribal was exactly that of someone who got blindsided, but was understanding to the fact of why I was targeted. I think Lindsay [Dolashewich] said it best when she said ‘We have to even the playing field tonight,’ and as the votes were being read and my name kept coming up and I realized it was me, it was like when you hear about when people die and they see the light. It was literally that. Everything was slow motion. Every conversation that I had that afternoon was rushing back to me, and every subtext of everything that people were saying that Tribal made sense. Lindsay was not talking about evening the playing field to take out Jonathan [Young]. She was talking about taking me out, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, that brilliant.'”

Using his blindside as a learning experience, we know Hai would come back to the beach more alert than ever, ready to make a splash.

Ricarde Foyé (Survivor 41)

Ricard Foyé is unlike any contestant the Survivor franchise has ever seen.

During his journey on Survivor 41, Ricard solidified himself as a true triple threat, playing a phenomenal strategic, social, and physical game during his 24 days on the island. The 33-year-old flight attendant was able to play a cutthroat game while maintaining positive relationships with his fellow castaways, all while dominating challenges along the way, however, one challenge lead to his demise…

Going into the finale, Ricard was seemingly going to walk away with $1 million and the title of “Sole Survivor,” given that he was undoubtedly playing the most impressive game among the remaining castaways: Heather Aldret, Xander Hastings, Deshawn Radden, and Erika Casupanan. After losing the final five immunity challenge to Erika, who found an advantage that gave her a massive headstart in the challenge (specifically in the puzzle portion), Ricard was ultimately eliminated in a unanimous vote.

While debriefing with Entertainment Weekly, Ricard shared whether or not he thinks he could have won the immunity challenge that fateful day, had Erika not found the advantage:

“I would’ve kicked ass in that puzzle, but it’s fine. That is part of the game, advantages, and if I had found an advantage in a different portion of the game, I obviously would’ve used it and whatever outcome would come from that advantage would be just as valid… I have to accept that, but I do believe I would have won that puzzle. I’m good at puzzles.”

With Erika’s advantage causing Ricard to fall just seconds short in the final five immunity challenge, we are certain that he would prevail as successful should he be given a second chance at playing Survivor.