Chelsea Walker, a professed Survivor super fan, has enjoyed the type of flawless start that all of us hopeful contestants watching intently at home can only dream of having. In the first episode, she worked her way into a five-person women's alliance that crafted a blindside of Ronnie Bardah. She followed it up in week two by star-ting the fire and finding the hidden immunity idol, all within the span of single scene.
It's really been only a matter of time before Chelsea wound up on our television screens. She's applied enough times to make a feature film out of her audition tapes and filtered through the casting process nearly enough times to stop trusting the process altogether. But the 26-year-old Los Angeles resident remained undeterred, even going to the great length of buying Jeff Probst a drink when she spotted him in a restaurant. The gesture didn't work at the time; clearly, though, it made an impression. And now, here Chelsea is: an idol-wielding, fire-star-ting force to be reckoned with who just might go on to win the whole damn thing.
When Chelsea ignited the flames on the Lairo tribe, damaging poor Tom Laidlaw's male ego in the process, she told the cameras, "I'm the one that star-ted the fire. Great feeling. Especially as a super fan. I'm so happy I did it. I'm so proud of myself." If you, a Chelsea stan, were at a watch party high-fiving your friends or in your living room taking a victory lap once the 26-year-old New Jersey native made fire, you likely missed her reaching into a tree and scooping out a hidden immunity idol. Upon reading the sacred piece of parchment, Chelsea spoke for super fans around the globe when she said, "My heart is just thumping. I've dreamed of this moment and I can't believe it happened."
Chelsea returned to the unsuspecting group and said stealthily, "Got some wood." This one-two punch of Survivor bucket list triumphs was not only a coup for Chelsea or the super fan community. It was a win for women, who have historically been outnumbered in the fire-star-ting and idol-attaining department. As someone who has watched the show since she was 8 years old, Chelsea was aware of this discrepancy when she claimed that the women were outplaying the men on the tribe. She said in her confessional, "The game has started and they're behind."
Now, the beauty of Survivor is that everything can change at the drop of a buff. By way of a swap - or meddling from mentor/producer duo Boston Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine - Chelsea could shift from a position of power to being in the minority. Even if the trend of strong players getting eliminated early continues and Chelsea exits pre-merge with an idol in her pocket (please no), she's already made her footprint - and flint-print, if you will - on this game.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.
Source: Rob Has A Podcast, Chelsea Walker