Welcome back 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: Dreamz Herd
Age: 43
Season: Fiji, 2007
Finish: Co-Runner-Up
HIGHLIGHTS
Those who know me are well aware of my love for Survivor: Fiji, a unique season from beginning to end. But what is it about Dreamz Herd’s journey that remains so compelling all these years later? Really, it isn’t one thing that makes him memorable, but the bigger picture of the type of player Dreamz represents. His unconventional gameplay, loyalty to his alliance with Cassandra Franklin and Earl Cole, and ability to rise above the mistreatment from his tribemates will always stay with me. Though he did not win, he remains not only one of my favorite players in Survivor: Fiji, but one of my favorites of all time. For that, he has more than earned a spot on the 50 For 50 list.
On paper, Dreamz appeared to be living the easy life in the pre-merge phase of the game, mainly due to him spending his earliest days at the Moto beach, also known as the “Have” tribe of the season. Dreamz was also a clear physical threat, someone old-school Survivor players made it a point to keep around for challenges. He only had to go to tribal council once while on Moto, a vote that he and his closest ally, Cassandra, both survived.
However, everything was not all paradise in Survivor’s most luxurious camp. The majority alliance of Lisi Linares, Stacy Kimball, Alex Angarita, Boo Bernis, and Edgardo Rivera kept Dreamz and Cassandra at a distance most of the time, to the point where it became glaringly obvious that they were on the outs in their tribe. Despite Alex and Edgardo’s lackluster attempts to make them feel included, Dreamz and Cassandra had already decided to flip on their tribe once the moment came.
That moment did come, and this flip changed the trajectory of the entire game. Dreamz would be separated from Cassandra during the tribe swap but would form an alliance with Alex, Edgardo, and Mookie Lee during his time on Ravo 2.0. Despite outlasting some of his biggest rivals like Lisi and Rocky Reid, he was still at the bottom of this new alliance. He was the last one to know about Mookie finding a hidden immunity idol, and only found out about it due to a spur-of-the-moment decision from Mookie.
Once the merge officially hit, Dreamz solidified himself with the majority Syndicate alliance by voting off their core member Michelle Yi, and taking her place in the group. During the first true merge vote, Dreamz played the middle man between both alliances before finally settling in with the Syndicate. In one of the most explosive votes of the season, Edgardo was blindsided, the Four Horsemen had fallen, and Dreamz took the brunt of the blame for their demise.
Of course, the moment Dreamz would become most known for would come after the Four Horsemen were already out of the game. During the infamous Car Reward Challenge, it was known amongst the players how badly Dreamz needed a car. Yau-Man ended up winning it but wanted to use the car to leverage his own chances in the game. He offered Dreamz the car in exchange for the final four immunity necklace should he win that challenge. Dreamz agreed to these terms, only to quickly realize the deal was a ploy to get him out of the game.
Come the final four immunity challenge, Dreamz does end up winning and makes the controversial decision to not follow through on the Car Deal. Yau-Man was promptly voted out, and Dreamz was guaranteed a spot in the final three. Unfortunately for Dreamz, the bridges he burned with his former tribemates would lead to him being the first man ever to be a zero-vote finalist, and he would share a co-runner-up placement with Cassandra. Despite not receiving any votes to win, Dreamz will always be remembered as one of the undisputed stars of his season.
WHY HE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
Love him or hate him, there is no denying that Dreamz was a once-in-a-lifetime character on Survivor. We never got a player quite like him before Fiji, and we haven’t gotten one like him since. Despite many labeling him as a villain in the show, I believe such a title is too simplistic. Dreamz was an underdog; I’d even go so far as to call him an anti-hero who had the cards stacked against him since the very beginning yet managed to Outwit, Outlast, and Outplay, his greatest adversaries all the way to the final three.
Despite many players on the season underestimating his intelligence and strategic capabilities, Dreamz rose above the naysayers and outlasted every single one of them. It is not discussed enough what he was able to achieve on Fiji. A dark horse from the very beginning, a physical threat like Dreamz would normally be doomed to an early merge boot, likely the moment that he lost an individual immunity challenge. Instead, Dreamz betrayed those who never believed in him and rightfully flipped to the players who valued his game. Many players’ fatal flaws have been their undying loyalty to their original tribe, to the point where it loses them the game. Such unspoken restrictions did not bind Dreamz, and he was all the better player for it.
A contestant who was once labeled as one of the most villainous contestants to ever come out of the game, the strategic progression of Survivor has highlighted his decision with the car deal as innovative and well thought out. Some may still claim this decision was unforgivable, but I believe it was ahead of its time. Had Dreamz given up immunity, he would’ve immediately been voted out. Why should Dreamz be expected to play loyally when Survivor is often highlighted as a cutthroat game where anything goes? The world may not have been ready for the player that Dreamz was in 2007, but after several rewatches of Fiji, I can confirm that his game only gets better with time.
It’s been almost 20 years since Dreamz has played Survivor. Given how young he was when he first played, I think Survivor 50 is the perfect time to bring him back. He is older, wiser, more settled in his life, and has made it clear in past interviews that he wants to play again. He was able to make it to the end in his first go around as a player who wasn’t afraid to make his mark on the season. I would love to see Dreamz take a more nuanced approach to his game during an era that would appreciate his capabilities more. Many did not respect Dreamz’s gameplay the first time around, but with the new diversity initiatives in play, there is no better time to bring him back and prove his naysayers wrong.
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