Have you ever seen a Survivor cast get along this well? I’m not saying there weren’t the occasional disagreements or differences in perspective during Survivor 44, but in general, the cast was almost exclusively populated with warm and kind people who seemed to genuinely like each other a lot. That was clear in what made it to the air, and it’s been clear since the cast got home thanks to a stream of delightful social media posts.
Once the finale officially ended, the Survivor 44 contestants were able to open up in a way they couldn’t mid-season, and the results have been an absolute delight. You could run down the list and find fun content from basically everyone who was on the island, but I think my favorite so far has been a picture of the cast dressed up as each other. That’s right. Apparently they threw a costume party, and everyone picked out a fav Survivor player to dress up as. You can check out the madness below where you’ll probably notice a recurring theme: everyone loves Yam Yam.
I can’t get enough of Claire, Helen and Maddy dressed as Yam Yam, but I’d also like to point out a few other favorites. Carson as Claire is pretty good, especially with his hair pulled up, but my absolute favorite has to be Heidi as Carolyn. Heidi may not have been as eccentric of a personality as the Tika 3 who she shared the final four with, but I thought she was a ton of fun in her own way. This picture is a good reminder of that.
But of course all Survivor 44 content, at least for most fans, starts with the Tika 3. Carson, Yam Yam and Carolyn were the three breakout stars of the season, as they navigated their messy and ultimately faithful alliance, and not surprisingly, they’ve been dropping a ton of fun social media content too. Their unusual and loveable vibes somehow clicked perfectly with each other on the island, and that’s continued on the mainland.
In fact, Carolyn posted a video about the three (plus Frannie) all getting lip fillers together, and the clip shows off their dynamic perfectly. You can check out the goofy and infectious energy below…
So when we got back. We were like screw it… we’re getting lip injections! 💜👁️🫦👁️ @CarsonGarrett_ @itsyamilpr#tika and Frannie too pic.twitter.com/aIfTaeo7qqMay 27, 2023
The above video has been viewed more than 1.3 million times, and the comment section is filled with people arguing about whether the lip fillers are injections, implants, a fake filter or some kind of machine that temporarily puffs up your lips. Regardless, the end result is the same: they’re obviously having the most fun possible together. Carson and Frannie both followed up Carolyn’s video with help me tweets and all have mentioned how much they were laughing and having a great time while hanging out together.
It’ll be interesting to see whether this dynamic continues into future seasons, as the show brings on more players. Many fans were very vocal this season about how much they loved the cast and the shared positivity, but there were many others who complained about this season not having more traditional villains and being too positive. Ultimately, the show is going to need to decide whether it’s going to prioritize those good vibes or adding a little more chaos. We’ll see. Until then, I just may rewatch Survivor 44, which, despite some producer meddling and medical problems, will go down as one of my favorite seasons ever.