Welcome to Inside Survivor’s 50 For 50, a semi-regular feature highlighting 50 former castaways who we think should be considered for a spot on Survivor 50. In a snake draft, the Inside Survivor team selected ten players each, with the only rule being they couldn’t have played more than twice.
PROFILE
Name: Danny McCray
Age: 36
Season: Survivor 41, 2021
Finish: 6th place
HIGHLIGHTS
Survivor 41 was ground-breaking for a plethora of reasons. It was the first season aired during/after the pandemic; it didn’t have a secondary theme on which to fall back except for a so-called ‘monster’; the mergatory was born, and viewers were horrified to see the infamous twist (which is now thankfully retired) called the hourglass advantage. If people at home were mad about the latter, no one was more vocal than Danny McCray.
Danny’s game began on the Luvu tribe. As Luvu won every immunity challenge until the merge, Danny was safe until then. In the meantime, he formed a close relationship with Deshawn Radden and Syndey Segal. Danny’s alliance was tested at the mergatory, as even though his team had initially won immunity, they were left vulnerable after Erika Casupanan decided to use the hourglass advantage to have immunity instead. After Sydney was voted out, Danny set his sights on Erika, though he also knew he needed numbers on his side. Alongside Deshawn, Liana Wallace, and Shan Smith, the foursome created an all-Black alliance to ensure one of them won the game.
Unfortunately, the alliance fell apart when Danny and Deshawn flipped and voted out Shan. This was followed by Liana’s elimination, leaving Danny and Deshawn to fend for themselves. At the final six, Danny once more tried to paint the target on Erika and her closest ally, Heather Aldret, but it was to no avail, as the votes were split on him and Deshawn at the next tribal. After a revote, Danny was sent to the jury, where he later voted for his friend Deshawn to win.
WHY HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
There’s one disadvantage players face when they don’t go to tribal council too often, especially in the pre-merge phase, which is that their games are not as fleshed out as the others. This is Danny’s case, as he got the edit of being a physical asset for his tribe, having a close bond with a couple of his tribemates, and having a rough time on the island due to the lack of food. However, Danny participated in another show, The Challenge: USA, where, during its first season, the edit showed how strategic, physical, and social he truly is, and Danny even ended up winning alongside Survivor winner Sarah Lacina.
Danny repeatedly proved that he had the charisma to back his social capital, the physical prowess to back winning challenges, and the ability to form multiple alliances that would better fit his game. Danny’s journey on Survivor could’ve ended entirely differently without any imploding advantages such as the hourglass, and it would be highly intriguing for many fans to test that theory.
As appealing as the hourglass idea might have sounded on paper, it turned Danny’s game upside down for no good reason. Danny mentioned in several post-show interviews how unfair he thought the situation was and how this tainted his experience. Survivor isn’t always fair as it is in life, but if Danny ever decides to come back, he might set this wrong right.
Written by
I’ll never understand the fascination with this guy. He was one of a less interesting and prominent characters on a season that had quite a strong (though underrated) cast. He was more prominent on The Challenge: USA (though I would argue he wasn’t that much of a standalone character there either), but like if he shines on another show, let him shine there and bring back players on Survivor that were actually memorable on Survivor, not on other shows (same goes with Desi btw).
Also, while his vocal frustration with the hourglass twist is relatable and likeable, it’s also a reason why production probably never invites him back and why he personally doesn’t want to come back.