Television

Law School Student Goes From Frontrunner To Voted Off Survivor

Goodbye, Wardog.

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So are you still watching the reality show classic, Survivor? I… may have a bit of a problem when it comes to competition-based reality TV and yes, I still find myself watching it some 38 seasons later. Anyway, if you haven’t been watching the latest iteration, Edge of Extinction, you’ve missed the debut of Dan “Wardog” DaSilva.

Wardog (the more you watch this guy, the less the nickname seems like an artifice for TV and the more apt it becomes) isn’t the first law student to appear on Survivor. And last year a lawyer, Nick Wilson, won the David v. Goliath season. But the 38-year-old law student at Pepperdine — who has finished his second year there and is former Army who has deployed to Afghanistan — is really one of a kind.

Wardog came in hot this season, and it was easy to be turned off by his aggressive style. But as a member of the Lesu tribe that just seemed cursed in immunity challenges, his strategic thinking was put on display. He formed a tight alliance with returning player Kelley Wentworth and NCAA athlete Lauren O’Connoll, and even though the Kama tribe had more members once the tribes merged, the trio had wheeled themselves into a strong position.

That was until last week. That’s when Wardog orchestrated the move that was slated to be the crowning achievement of his Survivor résumé. He managed to blindside Kelley — who was sitting there with a hidden immunity idol in her pocket. It was clearly a power move, but also one that let all the players in the game know he was a threat.

In Survivor, threats are often eliminated quickly, and that was exactly what happened when he was voted off the island on last night’s episode (aided by a surprise immunity win by Rick Devens, another potential power player many want to eliminate). In elimination, Wardog was definitely betrayed by new alliance member, Ron Clark, but it wasn’t exactly a blindside. As he himself said, eliminating Wardog was a smart move:

Ultimately it came down to Ron tonight. Ron did well, because I would have voted me out too.

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But if you were really counting on a law student to be the ultimate survivor, all hope is not lost. As a twist this season, eliminated players have the option to continue to the Edge of Extinction (which Wardog did), where one player may have an opportunity to re-join the game.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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