Kassandra "Kass" Clingan McQuillen is a contestant from Survivor: Cagayan and Survivor: Cambodia.
In Cagayan, Kass initially found herself on the floundering Luzon tribe, which eventually rose to power after a favorable tribe switch. Following the merge, she sensed that she was at the bottom of the majority Aparri Alliance, causing her to flip on her allies, in the process earning herself a reputation for being unpredictable at Tribal Council, which prompted the others to label her "Chaos Kass". Though she was widely disliked for her aggressive and polarizing strategic gameplay, her steely sarcasm, analytical thinking, tense exchanges with various tribemates, and opportunism carried her to the final three with Tony Vlachos and Woo Hwang. However, she was voted out the night before the Final Tribal Council when Woo infamously chose to take Tony over her to the end.
On her second chance in Cambodia, Kass resolved to play more sociably. She found herself on the dominant tribes from the start, only going to Tribal Council once before the merge. After the merge, Kass and her Witches Coven alliance found themselves in the extreme minority. Due to her ruthless character and the majority's wariness of the possible re-emergence of her "Chaos Kass" persona, Kass became the first person voted out of the Orkun tribe.
Profile[]
Retrieved from CBS.com
Name (Age): Kassandra "Kass" McQuillen (41) |
Survivor[]
Cagayan[]
Kass was originally placed on Luzon, the Brains tribe, where she immediately formed a bond with David Samson. After the tribe lost the inaugural Immunity Challenge, Kass and David planned on voting out J'Tia Taylor, but Garrett Adelstein hatched a plan to vote out David for targeting him at the First Impressions twist. At Tribal Council, the tribe blindsided David, leaving Kass on the outs.
The following morning, Garrett and Spencer Bledsoe approached Kass about making an alliance in order to ensure a majority should the tribe go to Tribal Council again. Kass agreed, but did not see it as a binding agreement. After Luzon lost the next Immunity Challenge, Garrett conducted an open forum for the tribe to agree to vote J'Tia out for costing them the challenge. Tasha Fox did not approve of this and pushed to have private conversations. She later approached Kass in private and lobbied for her to vote with the women. At Tribal Council, Garrett claimed that it was Kass who had approached him and Spencer for an alliance in order to replace J'Tia and Tasha. This prompted Kass to vote against Garrett, blindsiding him and unknowingly flushing his Hidden Immunity Idol.
Though Luzon had a brief period of respite after winning immunity on Day 8, they found themselves at Tribal Council yet again after losing the Immunity Challenge on Day 11. The vote came down to Spencer, who was needed for challenge strength, and J'Tia, whom Kass and Tasha considered to be more loyal. The two decided to keep Spencer for future challenges, voting J'Tia out.
The next day, a Tribe Switch occurred, sending the three remaining members of Luzon to the new Aparri tribe. They found themselves in a position of power due to fractures amongst the old Solana members. At Aparri's only Tribal Council, Kass joined the rest of the tribe in voting out Alexis Maxwell.
On Day 18, The two tribes then merged into the new Solarrion tribe, with the post-switch Aparri members holding a 6-5 majority over the post-switch Solana members. However, Kass began to conflict with Sarah Lacina, who was torn between voting with her original Brawn tribemates (all of whom were on the opposing Solana Alliance) and the new Aparri Alliance. Kass, feeling shunned by the Aparri Alliance, was approached by Trish Hegarty, who offered to vote out Sarah if Kass joined the Solana Alliance. At Tribal Council, the Aparri Alliance targeted Jefra Bland. Kass, however, decided to join the Solana Alliance in voting out Sarah, making her the first member of the jury, promoting Spencer to angrily remark "Kass, zero chance of winning this game".
Now allied with the Solana Alliance, Kass aided in the eliminations of her former allies. However, she was deliberately excluded in Tony Vlachos' plan to blindside LJ McKanas, along with Jefra and Trish. Despite this, Kass decided to remain allied with him and continued to vote against the Aparri Alliance. But when Tony again turned on the Solana Alliance and blindsided Jefra on Day 30, Kass grew irritated with Tony's constant double-dealing. She got into a confrontation with him the following morning, forcing Tony to reveal that he had found the Hidden Immunity Idol with "special powers", prompting Kass to plot against him.
After winning the following Reward Challenge, Kass and Spencer proposed to Woo Hwang to vote with them and Tasha in splitting the vote against Tony and Trish. Though Woo had agreed to the plan, Kass later changed her mind, believing Tony to be the perfect opponent at the Final Tribal Council due to his mismanagement of the jury. Because of this, Kass and Woo proceeded to rejoin Tony and Trish in voting out Tasha.
The next day, Woo confessed to Tony that he had considered aligning with Spencer and Tasha the previous night, noting that Kass was also in on the plan. Tony later confronted Kass, though he claimed to forgive her and noted that he planned on going to the end with her and Trish. Kass, unsatisfied by this, revealed this to Woo, causing him to doubt his own alliance with Tony. This angered Tony, and led Kass to conspire once again to break up the pair of Tony and Trish. In the midst of her plotting, Kass mentioned that she believed that Trish was a "goat," angering her and leading to a heated confrontation between the two women. At Tribal Council, Kass was spared due to Woo flipping and pulling Tony in with him, causing Trish to become the next member of the jury. After Trish's torch was snuffed and she walked away, Kass gave her the middle finger, shocking the jury.
The next day, the final four were surprised by a visit from their loved ones, including Kass's husband. At the Immunity Challenge, Kass initially fell behind but managed to stage a comeback, winning herself immunity and sealing Spencer's fate that night. Upon returning to camp, Kass and Woo realized that there would be a Final Two and agreed that voting Tony out was both in their best interests and agreed to take each other to the end. At the Final Immunity Challenge, Woo narrowly beat Kass by half a second to win immunity. Back at camp, both Kass and Tony pleaded with Woo, with Kass stressing her being less than popular with the jury after her move at the merge. At Tribal Council, Woo shocked everyone by voting Kass out, making her the ninth and final member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Kass questioned Woo for his decision to take Tony instead of her, stating that it would have been the better move to make. Kass cast her vote for Tony, whom she felt was more deserving to win the title of Sole Survivor.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luzon | Draggin' the Dragon | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost |
| Phish Farm | Reward/Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| 2 | Mazed and Confused | Reward/Immunity | No | 2nd | |
| 3 | Haulin' Oats | Reward | No | Lost | |
| Octopus Garden | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Switched Tribes, Day 12 | |||||
| 4 | Aparri | Kicking and Screaming | Reward | No | Lost |
| Gate Crasher | Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 5 | Idol Hands | Reward | Yes | Lost | |
| Styx | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Tribes Merged, Day 17 | |||||
| 6 | Solarrion | Bermuda Triangles | Immunity | Lost | |
| 7 | Rise and Shrine | Reward | Lost | ||
| Keep on Your Toes | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 8 | Supertramp | Reward | Lost | ||
| Living Color | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 9 | Rove, Rove, Rove Your Boat | Reward | Lost | ||
| Hard to Handle | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 10 | Survivor Auction | ||||
| Inside Track | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 11 | Challenge Pitch | Reward | Won | ||
| Combo Platter | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 12 | Mud Run | Reward | Lost | ||
| Jacob's Ladder | Immunity | Lost | |||
| 13 | Vertigo | Immunity | Won | ||
| Roundabout | Immunity | Lost | |||
| Voted Out, Day 38 | |||||
Cambodia[]
Kass was one of the twenty castaways chosen by the public to compete on the Second Chance season, Survivor: Cambodia.
Kass was initially placed on the Bayon tribe, which enjoyed early success in Immunity Challenges. On Day 7, a Tribe Switch occurred, sending Kass, along with Ciera Eastin, Joe Anglim, and Keith Nale, to the Ta Keo tribe. During this time, Kass resolved to play a more social game than her previous outing in Cagayan, starting with making a birthday present for Kelley Wentworth. She aligned with Ciera, Joe, Keith, and Kelley in targeting the tribe's outsider, Terry Deitz. Any plotting was put on hold, however, as Ta Keo won the next three Immunity Challenges. On Night 13, however, host Jeff Probst arrived at their camp to announce that Terry was being pulled from the game due to his son's medical condition at home.
The next day, another Tribe Switch occurred, with Kass and Ciera remaining on Ta Keo, along with their original Bayon tribemate Andrew Savage and four original Ta Keo members: Abi-Maria Gomes, Kelly Wiglesworth, and Kass' fellow Cagayan castaways Spencer Bledsoe and Woo Hwang. After losing the next Immunity Challenge, Andrew targeted Spencer for elimination, but wanted to tell Spencer that Ciera was the target. Ciera was not pleased with being the decoy and plotted with Kass and Abi-Maria to vote Woo out because he was too closely aligned with Andrew. Despite wanting Spencer out, Kass realized that Woo was a bigger threat, so the three of them pulled Spencer in and blindsided Woo, leaving a shocked and angry Andrew vowing revenge.
On Day 17, the tribes merged into the Orkun tribe. Kass attempted to strategize with another former Cagayan castaway, Tasha Fox. However, Tasha was still wary of Kass' betrayal in their previous season and lied to her about the Bayon Alliance. Kass caught on to Tasha's deception, and tried to patch things up the next morning. Tasha admitted that she did not trust Kass, and the two discussed their feud in front of the rest of the tribe. After the Immunity Challenge, Kass and Ciera were targeted by the Bayon Alliance because of their differences with Andrew and Tasha, leaving Kass in the minority with Abi-Maria, Ciera, and Kelley. The four targeted Tasha, knowing that the Bayon Alliance would split their votes between Kass and Ciera. Thus, Kass talked to Spencer and pitched voting out Tasha, pointing out that she and Ciera had saved him at the previous Tribal Council. At Tribal Council, however, only Kass and Abi-Maria voted against Tasha, as both Kelley and Spencer voted with the Bayon Alliance, eliminating Kass in a 6-4-2-1 vote. She thus became the first member of the jury.
At the Final Tribal Council, Kass recalled when Spencer told her in Cagayan that she had "zero chance of winning the game" for betraying their alliance, and asked him why she should reward him for playing that same way; Spencer answered that it was not hypocritical as he had matured from his time in Cagayan, and Kass wished him well. Ultimately, she voted for Jeremy Collins, who won in a unanimous 10-0-0 vote.
| Episode | Tribe Affiliation |
Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out? | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayon | The Marooning | Reward | No | Lost |
| Quest for Fire | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | ||
| 2 | Yank Yer Hank | Reward/Immunity | No | Won | |
| Switched Tribes, Day 7 | |||||
| 3 | Ta Keo | Draggin' the Dragon | Immunity | No | 1st |
| 4 | Stomp-ede | Reward | Yes | 2nd | |
| Blind Leading the Blind | Immunity | No | 2nd | ||
| 5 | In the Barrel | Reward | Yes | 1st | |
| Air Raid | Immunity | No | 2nd | ||
| 6 | Slip n' Slide | Reward | No | Won | |
| Cambodian Catering | Immunity | No | Lost | ||
| Tribes Merged, Day 17 | |||||
| 7 | Orkun | Hard to Handle | Immunity | Lost | |
| Voted Out, Day 19 | |||||
Post-Survivor[]
- At the Stand Up to Cancer Auction, Kass purchased the puzzle from the individual Immunity Challenge that she won.[3]
- As of 2022, Kass has been representing herself in a years-long medical malpractice lawsuit.[4][5]
- In the fall of 2023, Kass co-taught a Survivor course at Texas Tech University.[6]
Trivia[]
- Kass revealed in a Survivor Oz interview that she applied for The Australian Outback, Africa, and Marquesas, but was redirected by Mark Burnett Productions to the casting process for another CBS show: The Apprentice. She turned down the offer.[7]
- Kass is the first person in Survivor history to be the ninth member of the jury and vote between a Final Two at the Final Tribal Council.
- Kass is the only returning player from Cagayan to never make it to the Final Tribal Council at any point in their Survivor career.
- Kass lost 22 lbs. (10 kg) during her time in Cagayan[8] and lost 8 lbs. during her time in Cambodia.[9]
- Kass won the The Ozcars for best new villain in 2014[10] and best interview in 2015.[11]
- Kass revealed that her favorite season with an original cast is Pearl Islands, while her favorite with returning players is Heroes vs. Villains.[12] Kass also revealed that her favorite season after Heroes vs. Villains is Philippines.[13]
- Kass claimed that her least favorite season of Survivor was Redemption Island because she did not like the advantage that returning players had over the new players.[14]
- Kass believed that Teresa Cooper, who did not get enough votes to make it to the final cast, would be the winner of Cambodia, viewing her as likable and cunning.[15]
- Kass is the oldest woman to compete on Cambodia.
- Kass is the first castaway to place 13th and be a member of the jury.
- Kass is the second person, following Lex van den Berghe, to be the last and first jury member in the two seasons she played.
- On both her seasons, Kass was on a green and orange tribe.
References[]
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20230209130252/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/214792/
- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20230205164218/https://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/215116/
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/204270006433759/photos/a.206912209502872.1073741828.204270006433759/241836562677103/?type=1&theater
- ↑ https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/seventh-court-of-appeals/2022/07-21-00125-cv.html
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KassMcQ/status/1524412036880478208
- ↑ https://twitter.com/KassMcQ/status/1644147197166927873
- ↑ "Kass McQuillen Interview". Survivor Oz. November 4, 2014. http://survivoroz.wordpress.com/2014/11/04/kass-mcquillen-interview/. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32A7ZTrUgTM
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xooWA2RLimA
- ↑ http://survivoroz.com/2014/06/11/ozcars-201425-biggest-new-survivor-villains/
- ↑ http://survivoroz.com/2015/06/16/ozcars-2015-top-25-best-survivor-oz-interviews/
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/33ndpm/kass_ama/cqmjkj9
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/33ndpm/kass_ama/cqmjwbd
- ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/33ndpm/kass_ama/cqmk8u2
- ↑ Ross, Dalton (August 26, 2015). "Survivor: Cambodia—Second Chance players reveal who they are surprised did NOT make the cast". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/08/26/survivor-cambodia-second-chance-cast-video-shane-powers. Retrieved August 27, 2015.
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