S37: Christian Hubicki

[Netta Leven]

Hi.  I'm a robotics scientist and play the clarinet as a hobby.

Kind of dig him for his musical background, and I like that he's a Stephen fan, but I'm wondering how far he could go, because the "nerd" types do go a fair ways.  But could he be the same?

[Bryce Lynch]

He seems like a really interesting guy.  I think I am going to like him.    Maybe he could design a castaway robot for Survivor: Humans vs. Machines.     

[simplyme]

Wait. He plays the clarinet?

Sigh.

The man clearly has no soul.*

------

*My apologies to clarinet-lovers out there. I had a bad experience in high school with some terrible clarinetists. They called it marching band.

[LadyChatts]

Cochran resemblance aside, I liked him episode one.  That puzzle was close and I'm not sure he was at fault.   

[KimberStormer]

He did not resemble John Cochran in the slightest to me (and seems, so far, like a nerd nerd, not a Survivor nerd, and thank goodness for that) but he did remind me a lot of Rory Cochrane.

Edited September 27, 2018 by KimberStormer

[Jersey Guy 87]

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Cochran resemblance aside, I liked him episode one.  That puzzle was close and I'm not sure he was at fault.   

They were behind coming into the puzzle so he made up a lot of ground.  Had they started the puzzle even I expect they would have won.

[ProfCrash]

The Goliath's had all finished the cargo net by the time the David's even got to the pole vault. Christian made up a ton of time with his puzzle ability. They were close to winning that thing.

I don't see any Cochran like traits in Christian. I think Christian is a totally different dude. Cochran was annoying, and whiney and fits Jeff's version of a nerd, the smart kid who wasn't a jock so you could pick on him in high school. He went to the right school to fall into Jeff's definition of a nerd but he is no where near Christian's level of smart. Or maybe it is Christian's type of smart. Cochran screamed outcast, uncomfortable in himself. Christian screams, socially awkward but cool with it and very comfortable with himself. There is a world of difference. Cochran desperately wants to belong and Christian seems to not care if he belongs.

[ramble]

He annoys me a bit but I can’t help but love him anyway. He reminds me of my daughter’s boyfriend. A lot. Even similar speech patterns at times. It’s making me smile. I hope he does well. 

[ratgirlagogo]

On 9/27/2018 at 10:44 AM, ProfCrash said:

Christian seems to not care if he belongs.

Once upon a time that was part of the textbook definition of a nerd.  To me it still is and somebody like Cochran doesn't qualify at all.

Edited October 1, 2018 by ratgirlagogo

[LadyChatts]

I went from liking Christian to hating Christian to liking him again all in one hour.  Thankful he helped save Lyrsa!  Will be curious if he was swayed by Elizabeth/Gabby or if he came to the decision on his own, maybe realizing that Carl/Bi/Jess plus Davie was a solid alliance that needed to get a number out (and that he could be considered weak and get bounced if he didn't keep numbers in his favor).

I'm thinking Christian is playing up the nerd superfan.  Big time.  Hopefully he doesn't overplay his hand, because the way he goes on and on sounding like a smarty pants and using big words might be his undoing.  

[KimberStormer]

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I'm thinking Christian is playing up the nerd superfan. 

He's not coming across as a superfan to me at all.  Maybe a fan, definitely a nerd, but not a nerd superfan.  He's not Zeke or Adam going "19 out of 35 winners had a confessional about food in the third episode, I've GOT TO GET MY FOOD CONFESSIONAL!!!1!"  And thank god, because that's my least favorite sort of player ever.

[LadyChatts]

21 minutes ago, KimberStormer said:

He's not coming across as a superfan to me at all.  Maybe a fan, definitely a nerd, but not a nerd superfan.  He's not Zeke or Adam going "19 out of 35 winners had a confessional about food in the third episode, I've GOT TO GET MY FOOD CONFESSIONAL!!!1!"  And thank god, because that's my least favorite sort of player ever.

I think he's a super fan, but not an obnoxious one.  Maybe I should have said I think he's playing up a part.  After the last few seasons of superfans and talking about evolution of the game and big moves and making a mark, Christian is refreshing.  It's still early, so like some others in the cast, I'm staying a little cautious in case he burns out or goes entirely off the rails.

I loved how wide eyed he got when he came out of the woods and was told by the ladies they wanted to change the target.  He looked like he was woken up out of a dead slip at that revelation.  I wish we could have seen more of the wheels turning with the vote.

Edited October 4, 2018 by LadyChatts

[Koalagirl]

I was watching Jeff Probst's face while Christian was talking during TC and he is eating him up.  I think Christian might be Jeff's favorite this season.

[Nashville]

46 minutes ago, Koalagirl said:

I was watching Jeff Probst's face while Christian was talking during TC and he is eating him up.  I think Christian might be Jeff's favorite this season.

Considering whenever Probst talks Christian looks like he’s committing to memory every word which drops like liquid gold from Peachy’s lips, I expect you’re right.  :>

[MisterBluxom]

18 hours ago, Koalagirl said:

I was watching Jeff Probst's face while Christian was talking during TC and he is eating him up.  I think Christian might be Jeff's favorite this season.

It's not hard to become JP's favorite. All you need to do is talk about how wonderful Survivor is. You will instantly become his favorite.

[Jextella]

On 9/26/2018 at 10:16 PM, simplyme said:

Wait. He plays the clarinet?

Sigh.

The man clearly has no soul.*

------

*My apologies to clarinet-lovers out there. I had a bad experience in high school with some terrible clarinetists. They called it marching band.

I played clarinet in the marching band.  I don't even like the clarinet but it was the best option between it, flute, saxophone, and drums for me!

Edited October 9, 2018 by Jextella

[marys1000]

I like him a lot so far although I suspect he could be annoying.  I'm worried about his overthinking.  I overthink my way into losing at games, office politics etc. all the time.  But I'm no way as smart as he is either but still.  Overthinking can become a problem as can being annoying.  He does seem to have self awareness about though which is good.  

[brilliantbreakfast]

I just love this guy.  He's ferociously smart, quirky, and seems to grok the social aspect of the game.  He's supremely confident for the "nerd"-type.  If I were younger I would find him really intriguing and attractive.  Great eyes, too.  I hope he wins.

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, brilliantbreakfast said:

I just love this guy.  He's ferociously smart, quirky, and seems to grok the social aspect of the game.  He's supremely confident for the "nerd"-type.  If I were younger I would find him really intriguing and attractive.  Great eyes, too.  I hope he wins.

Ditto.  I LOVE this guy and wish I knew him.  He is so great.

[LadyChatts]

Me too!  I loved everything about him this episode.  I especially love his relationship with Gabby.  He seems to genuinely care about her and I loved his pep talk to her about not giving up in this game and fighting.  

[ProfCrash]

I love his relationship with Gabby and I appreciate his enthusiasm but I think he is very tiring. I respect John's patience in answering Christian's questions about Slam Town because it was very clear that Christian was totally clueless. I appreciate that he is working hard to try and fit in but he is just exhausting. Christian reminds me of my 6 year old when he is in one of his question everything periods. That time when I am partly happy that he is curious and comfortable asking questions and really tired of answering his 9,000 (well really 10th) Why question following down some little minutia regarding ants. Except that I expect that from my 6 year old and not an adult. And I get that Christian is a very intelligent scientist who is really just that interested in learning but I expect that adults are better at reading a room and that scientists are more capable of figuring out how to ask questions and participate in a conversation so that it does not feel like a 6 year old who are trying to figure out how ants operate and why we shouldn't kill all of them.

So I fall into the I like Christian but he is exhausting.

I guess it is petty of me, but I am not sure that it is the greatest representation of successful scientist to have effectively cast Sheldon although with a better understanding of human emotion.

[Nashville]

6 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I love his relationship with Gabby and I appreciate his enthusiasm but I think he is very tiring. I respect John's patience in answering Christian's questions about Slam Town because it was very clear that Christian was totally clueless. I appreciate that he is working hard to try and fit in but he is just exhausting. Christian reminds me of my 6 year old when he is in one of his question everything periods. That time when I am partly happy that he is curious and comfortable asking questions and really tired of answering his 9,000 (well really 10th) Why question following down some little minutia regarding ants. Except that I expect that from my 6 year old and not an adult. And I get that Christian is a very intelligent scientist who is really just that interested in learning but I expect that adults are better at reading a room and that scientists are more capable of figuring out how to ask questions and participate in a conversation so that it does not feel like a 6 year old who are trying to figure out how ants operate and why we shouldn't kill all of them.

So I fall into the I like Christian but he is exhausting.

I guess it is petty of me, but I am not sure that it is the greatest representation of successful scientist to have effectively cast Sheldon although with a better understanding of human emotion.

Wow - both of us watched the exact same broadcast, but it’s simply amazing just how 180-degree opposite our takeaways were. :) 

Christian’s questions were not serious; he was joking with John - and what’s more, John was joking right back with him.  The two were actually playing a game with each other; both were totally deadpanning it - having a surface-serious discussion about a totally fictional place (Slamtown) down to its administrative and bureaucratic minutiae (got a comptroller job open, maybe?), all the while seeing which could take the conversation to its furthest ridiculous extreme without cracking up.  

This was the two of them bonding on quite possibly the only avenue of commonality open to them - dry-as-fuck humor - and (to me, anyway) it was hilarious.  My estimation of John’s social capabilities went up 1000% on this exchange, btw, on how deftly he kept up his end of the faux discussion - the comptroller bit would’ve probably cracked me, but John came right back with “you can always put in an application on the City of Slamtown website <pause> - <shrug> - which I obviously can’t access right now....”. That’un hurt.  :D

[kikaha]

A lovable nerdish character with brains, social skills and strategic chops.  Hope he goes real deep.  Could you imagine an FTC with Christian and Elizabeth, and, say, Davie for good measure?  Based on the early game so far, that would be very cool IMO.  

Main concern is that Chrisitian has overdone it a bit.  Everyone knows he's a genius.  Maybe his nerdish-ness compensates, though, and makes him less a target in the others' eyes.  

This last episode was outstanding, and makes me eager to see how the season unfolds.   

[truthaboutluv]

On 10/18/2018 at 2:49 PM, Nashville said:

Christian’s questions were not serious; he was joking with John - and what’s more, John was joking right back with him.  The two were actually playing a game with each other; both were totally deadpanning it - having a surface-serious discussion about a totally fictional place (Slamtown) down to its administrative and bureaucratic minutiae (got a comptroller job open, maybe?), all the while seeing which could take the conversation to its furthest ridiculous extreme without cracking up.  

Yeah that's exactly how I took the whole scene. I think for someone else the joke might have gotten a little annoying but John seemed to be a good sport about it and I think it was helping Christian bond with him, which he knew he needed to do with the Goliaths, since he and Gabby are outnumbered. 

 

Quote

Main concern is that Chrisitian has overdone it a bit.  Everyone knows he's a genius.  Maybe his nerdish-ness compensates, though, and makes him less a target in the others' eyes.  

I can see, if he's at a tribal council before the merge, an argument to get rid of him because he'd be a threat in in the individual challenges. A few years ago with this show that would seem laughable, looking at Christian's scrawny body but the players now all know there is often always some puzzle element to challenges. So I can definitely see an argument and concern being made that he would beat anyone in a puzzle contest (it may not be true but I can see the argument being made) and so better to take him out before the merge. 

Edited October 19, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[LadyChatts]

I'd love it for Christian to go on an immunity run.  The nerdy types usually don't (besides Cochran).

[Tachi Rocinante]

He looks like guitarist Paul Gilbert.

[Mark2]

That endurance challenge pretty much cemented my favorable opinion of Christian.  That said, how has it gone this long and he hasn't gotten any flak (in his own thread) for the Carl vote?

[KimberStormer]

You know, I was thinking today, Christian is just made for TV.  Not only his funny nerd persona but you can just feel the warmth radiating from him through the screen. And I think it would kind of be a shame for him to waste that.  So my proposal is, Christian should become the host of some kind of science TV show on the Discovery Channel or something (does the Discovery Channel still do science shows, or is it all just reality TV now?)  He'd be a star!

[marys1000]

Yes!  Around ep 2 or 3 I was thinking you know, he has great hair, beautiful blue eyes and is pretty muscular and fairly coordinated.  A good hair cut and he'd be sort of hot.  He is also very social, and I don't think he fits nerd at all actually.  Compare to Cochran.  
I guess, what makes a nerd?  Just smarts?  An affinity for sci fi?

Edited December 7, 2018 by marys1000

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, marys1000 said:

A good hair cut and he'd be sort of hot.  

I think it's plenty hot now tbh. He is the most handsome guy this season imo. The island really agrees with him, as it does most people. Once he's voted out/at the reunion though, I suspect his attractiveness will severely diminish as it always does.

[Special K]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think it's plenty hot now tbh. He is the most handsome guy this season imo. The island really agrees with him, as it does most people. Once he's voted out/at the reunion though, I suspect his attractiveness will severely diminish as it always does.

I called it early on, that he would become a hottie.

[Hanahope]

I've noticed there has not been any further slide puzzles in the game, since the first episode (and TPTB couldn't know Christian would be picked).  I wonder if they took them out because Christian has such an advantage at them.

[Mark2]

42 minutes ago, Hanahope said:

I've noticed there has not been any further slide puzzles in the game, since the first episode (and TPTB couldn't know Christian would be picked).  I wonder if they took them out because Christian has such an advantage at them.

Mark my words, the next IC will include a puzzle of some sort.

Edited December 7, 2018 by Mark2

[ByaNose]

On 12/7/2018 at 3:47 PM, Hanahope said:

I've noticed there has not been any further slide puzzles in the game, since the first episode (and TPTB couldn't know Christian would be picked).  I wonder if they took them out because Christian has such an advantage at them.

I can cant recall if they do many slide puzzles in a partseason or not. I know they a lot of word puzzle or phrases but they only really do one (maybe two) slide puzzles a season. IIRC. I think Kass did a large puzzle with blocks but Spencer is the only one I recall doing a small puzzle (which didn’t slide) and a large slide puzzle in Cambodia. He won doing both. Maybe, they’ll do one in the final 2 shows. In general, I don’t think slide puzzles are in their challenges as much as word puzzles are. Maybe, I’m wrong. 

Edited December 9, 2018 by ByaNose

[Eolivet]

On 10/4/2018 at 2:27 AM, KimberStormer said:

He's not Zeke or Adam going "19 out of 35 winners had a confessional about food in the third episode, I've GOT TO GET MY FOOD CONFESSIONAL!!!1!" 

I love you, @KimberStormer -- this cracked me up so hard. (and no lies detected)

One of those recent hated (by me) midseason interviews confirmed that Christian is a huge Survivor superfan (I guess he was quizzing Jeff during the six-hour immunity challenge), and I for one am so thankful we haven't seen that aspect of his persona much.

I wonder if it's because he's accomplished other things in his life, so that his life does not revolve around Survivor. I recently lamented that we need more Survivor C-students on the show, not the ones who get A++ on Survivor tests and ask their teacher for extra Survivor homework. But maybe what we need is more players like Christian -- people who know Survivor well, but don't take it that seriously. "I love Survivor, but my life doesn't revolve around it" players. More of those, please.

[Jextella]

18 hours ago, Eolivet said:

I love you, @KimberStormer -- this cracked me up so hard. (and no lies detected)

One of those recent hated (by me) midseason interviews confirmed that Christian is a huge Survivor superfan (I guess he was quizzing Jeff during the six-hour immunity challenge), and I for one am so thankful we haven't seen that aspect of his persona much.

I wonder if it's because he's accomplished other things in his life, so that his life does not revolve around Survivor. I recently lamented that we need more Survivor C-students on the show, not the ones who get A++ on Survivor tests and ask their teacher for extra Survivor homework. But maybe what we need is more players like Christian -- people who know Survivor well, but don't take it that seriously. "I love Survivor, but my life doesn't revolve around it" players. More of those, please.

1

I would like to see a season of all intellects but from different paths similar to this year.  Christian (science), Gabby (writing), Angelina (business), Nick (attorney), etc.

It would be far too pretentious and would never fly but it would be interesting to see how they play together.

[Jextella]

On 12/7/2018 at 4:51 AM, KimberStormer said:

You know, I was thinking today, Christian is just made for TV.  Not only his funny nerd persona but you can just feel the warmth radiating from him through the screen. And I think it would kind of be a shame for him to waste that.  So my proposal is, Christian should become the host of some kind of science TV show on the Discovery Channel or something (does the Discovery Channel still do science shows, or is it all just reality TV now?)  He'd be a star!

I was thinking the same thing.  I was also thinking that it would be fun to create a show similar to Survivor that incorporates science in some way.  When Christian was talking about his strategy for mapping his idol hunt and the show provided a visual, I thought it could be a great way to get kids (and adults) more engaged with science. :)

Christian would make an excellent host.  

Edited December 10, 2018 by Jextella

[violet and green]

Cracking exit interview:

https://ew.com/tv/2018/12/13/survivor-christian-hubicki-david-vs-goliath-interview/

This was interesting:

Quote

Then, in the aftermath of that now-famous John blindside, he and Nick had a very ugly breakup, where I heard that Mike said Nick was “insulting his intelligence” with his lies and “we’re done.” I thought this would be a good opportunity to swoop in and say, “Mike, we should work together. I know you voted for me, but I have never lied to you, and I won’t start.” Add on top of that, I thought that he may, on some level, not really have his heart set on winning because he’s already a millionaire. Maybe this is a guy who may take me to the end, so I promised him final three.

So I started meeting with Mike on the beach in the middle of the night every single night after Dan went home. It was his idea, and it was brilliant. I would wake up from my edge spot in the shelter, delicately remove myself from Angelina’s warmth-hungry grasp, and tap Mike on the shoulder to chat. We’d talk 80 percent about life and the poignancy of the Survivor experience, and 20 percent strategy. He would be seemingly blunt in his honesty. So I started to put too many chips down on him as an ally. This, in hindsight, was the long con of Mike’s game. He played it well, and he played me.

[LadyChatts]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-david-goliath-christian-hubicki-immunity-challenge-tribal-council-more-1168959

Here's one of Christian's interviews from the Hollywood Reporter.  He made a great point here that this season has been so crazy that some great moments are getting forgotten.  I forgot about Natalia's exit, and Christian's face when Jessica got blindsided.  I've almost forgotten about Natalie at this point!  I feel like next season has big shoes to fill.

He did say he was surprised he got voted off, and was happy that it wasn't just his name getting thrown around last night.  Makes me wonder if Alison hadn't blabbed to Mike who blabbed to Nick if the plan to vote Nick off would have worked (though I like Nick so I'm glad he survived).  

Quote

 

Final question, before I cut you loose: best season ever, or what?

Well, it all depends on how it ends, right? We'll see with that final episode. It looks like there's some juicy stuff, based on that preview! (Laughs.) Man… it's hard not to look at your own season romantically. We had all these votes that were really interesting and awesome that you kind of even forget about. Natalia, who I would love to work with, by the way, she had this awesome exit — "Shut up! Shut up!" — and it's so hilarious, but it's probably not even listed as one of the top five votes of the season. It's almost frustrating to look at the Jessica vote, which I love. I didn't want to see her go, but I had so much fun going into that vote. I talk to people about it: "I just loved that vote." And they go, "Which one was that again?" And I'm like, "You're kidding me!" I know it sounds arrogant to say, but I feel so great about the season. I'm so thrilled I was part of a game where not only did everything work out in an awesome and interesting and complex and fluid way, but everyone was there to play in their own way, trying to make the moves that were best for their game. I couldn't ask for anything more from a Survivor game and a Survivor experience.

 

Edited December 13, 2018 by LadyChatts

[SVNBob]

On 12/10/2018 at 10:40 AM, Jextella said:

Christian would make an excellent host.  

Christian and Gabby as a hosting duo could be even better.  She is a tech writer, so she knows how to translate complex ideas into simpler and easier to understand language.  And we know they have good on-screen chemistry at the very least.

[loki567]

Reading these interviews and I'm legit jealous of the cast and crew that there was apparently so much more entertaining stuff that they got to experience and the audience will never get to see. I think it's a good indication of how great this season has been, I don't want it to end. These people sound so hilarious and competitive, I'd love to just put the entire cast on another reality show or something. Forget the next Survivor All-Stars, just put this entire cast back for season 40. 

I think my favorite bit of information from Christian's exit interviews, apparently Davie had spy shacks all around the island, at random times he'd grab Christian to tell him to trust no one, and then disappear back into the jungle. 

[ratgirlagogo]

10 hours ago, violet and green said:

Cracking exit interview:

https://ew.com/tv/2018/12/13/survivor-christian-hubicki-david-vs-goliath-interview/

I'll say.  This is one of the best exit interviews I've ever read.  Davey's spy shacks!  The multiple verbal signals at Tribal!  The great thing is that he really does seem to regard the whole experience as a game -which everyone is supposed to do, and very few do in reality.  I hope he does come back.

I was puzzled by this, though:

Quote

that robot shirt I wore on the island is also one of Emily’s family heirlooms. That shirt is probably decades old; so old that the cut is extremely long to the point it covers my briefs and it has the tag in the front, not the back like modern shirts. It’s so vintage that I would have no idea where to buy another one.

Wot?   I'm way older than Christian and I don't remember a time when T-shirts had the tag in the front.

[violet and green]

17 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I was puzzled by this, though:

Wot?   I'm way older than Christian and I don't remember a time when T-shirts had the tag in the front.

Me neither. It's very odd. Plus it didn't look that old, anyway.

[ProfCrash]

It might have been from the 80's but I don't remember tags on the front of shirts in the 80s. My 6 year old likes to wear his shirts backwards, sometimes his pants, so the tags are on the wrong side. Maybe Christian's shirt had the print on the back and he thought that was weird so he wore it backwards?

[Nashville]

Probably some cheap-ass factory irregular knock-off someone picked up out of the back of someone’s van at a concert.  I can just hear the conversation now...

Customer (slurred): Dude, why’s the tag in the front instead of the back?

T-shirt vendor: Uhhhhh... it’s vintage, man.  They don’t even make them like that any more.  That one will be, like, a collector’s item someday - in fact, I’ll have to charge you an extra $5 for that one.

Customer: Like, cool!

[MerBearHou]

Last night I got a chance to watch this week's episode.  It was different watching it from the perspective of already knowing the outcome so I kept an even closer eye on Christian.  He seemed to have such a sad, exhausted, quiet vibe about him the entire time -- it was like he knew he was "dead man walking", his best friend Gabby was gone, and he learned she was gunning for him.  There were bigger threats that she could have targeted IMO instead of her best pal and someone who had more than been there for her numerous times.  Though he says he admired her for it, he would be a super-human if it didn't hurt a bit upon reflection during quiet moments. He barely spoke (as far as editing shows) this whole episode and he just seemed like he was feeling so depleted, body and spirit.  His exit interview certainly sounds like he was feeling very, very low.

Christian is quite possibly my favorite player of all of the Survivor seasons.  I just like the combo of his heart, brain, cute/nerdy look, humor, eloquence, physical underdog, awareness.  His exit interview with Dalton Ross was fascinating. 

Edited December 15, 2018 by MerBearHou

[ProfCrash]

Christian said he knew Gabby would target him eventually, he thought it would come at 7 and not 8. I think Gabby would have been better off targeting Mike, Nick or Davie but I get why she aimed for Christian.

[Songbird]

On 12/7/2018 at 11:20 AM, Special K said:

I called it early on, that he would become a hottie.

Christian’s blue eyes are so gorgeous. I literally am mesmerized by them. :-)

[nutty1]

I know this is probably posted somewhere in a different thread....but man, I love this guy. He may be my favorite Survivor player ever!!

 

[Bryce Lynch]

On 12/14/2018 at 3:28 AM, SVNBob said:

Christian and Gabby as a hosting duo could be even better.  She is a tech writer, so she knows how to translate complex ideas into simpler and easier to understand language.  And we know they have good on-screen chemistry at the very least.

Gabby is one of the most annoying and grating people ever to play Survivor.  Christian would by 10,000 time better by himself.