‘Survivor’ 42: Hai & Romeo Have A Falling Out Over Religious Beliefs

romeo escobar survivor 42
Nick Davis

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR SURVIVOR SEASON 42:

The many relationships of Survivor Season 42 have taken a great many turns. Some for the better, and some for the worse. In the case of a player like Hai Giang, fans have seen enemies turn to friends and friends turn to enemies. One friendship that seems to have gone the bitter route surprisingly quickly is his relationship with Romeo.

Initially, they had a bond over their shared experience as minority LGBT Americans. A few episodes back, however, that bond changes drastically, and turns into a bitter rivalry. Both Romeo and Hai had harsh words to share about each other. The rate at which they turn on each other seems a little too quick for many fans following along. Hai recently gave some more context as to how religion actually played a role in their conflict.

Allies Become Enemies

Hai Giang survivor season 42
Hai Giang of Survivor Season 42

In an exit interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hai speaks on Romeo bringing his faith into the game.

“I asked him straight up. I’m like, ‘Did you vote for me?’ ‘No, Hai. I swear on my creator. I did not vote for you.’”

In the interview, Hai states that he’s an atheist and had no intentions of letting any player persuade him with personal beliefs. Regardless of your personal religion, most people consider it crossing a line to tell a lie and swear it on your god. Romeo is a Salvadoran-American. El Salvador, like most of Central America, is a country with deep roots in Catholicism. Their flag even has the word “Dios” (Spanish for “God”) on it.

It wouldn’t be the first time a Survivor contestant has sworn a lie on something many consider sacred. Two-time winner Tony Vlachos swore on his children and family multiple times in his first winning season. Many of his fellow players called him out for it at the final tribal council. Overall, though, he’s a fan-favorite player nowadays. Many respect his frequent lies and chaos as bold gameplay. At the end of the day, if Romeo gets results from whatever he swears on, it’s up to him to reconcile that with himself later. And he should be free of judgment from the rest of us. It is just a game, at the end of the day.

Survivor 42: Hai No More

As of last week’s episode, Hai is officially out of the game. To the surprise of many fans, Romeo actually did not cast one of the votes that sent Hai out of the game. Although, Hai notes in his exit interview that it had nothing to do with them burying the hatchet and was just for security in the event Hai had an advantage. It won’t be the same without Hai, but the season is still going strong.

New episodes of Survivor Season 42 are airing every Wednesday.

 

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