Boston "Survivor" fans meet castaways Bhanu, Charlie at watch party
BOSTON - Fans were lined out the door in Boston Wednesday night for a "Survivor" watch party featuring castaways past and present.
A lot of folks were here for 26-year-old Charlie Davis. The Harvard grad and Boston College Law student grew up in Manchester-by-the-Sea and is still in the game in Season 46.
"This is the best. I can't put it into words," Davis said. "The Boston Survivor community is, I was a fan before I was a player. I was coming to events like this. The community is amazing."
And it was clear fans were here to see him. It took Charlie five cycles to get on the show. On Wednesday night, this Taylor Swift fan showed America - "about his hips and thighs - and his whispered sighs."
For a show filmed six months ago he says watching it is a wild ride down memory lane.
"It's like watching a past version, or an AI generated version of yourself," Davis said. "It's really cool. You remember certain things but it's so amazing. It's like the ultimate life journal."
Bhanu Gopal was voted off last week, but he "won a million hearts."
"I feel so blessed to be here," Gopal said. "So blessed."
Gopal lives in Acton and applied to be on "Survivor" the day he got his citizenship.
"I envisioned myself on the island and when I saw myself on television on the island, and I was like 'that's really me.' I manifested that. It was surreal," Gopal said.
And true fans will remember Jeremy and Val Collins. Jeremy won his season in 2015. The couple lives in Foxboro where Val serves as a police officer. Jeremy is a firefighter in Cambridge.
"A lot of competition between us when it comes to that. So, Survivor was perfect for that. Everyone loves a firefighter as he says, but we are the hardest working," Val Collins said.
As for Charlie, this watch party in his hometown is a dream come true with a show that's changed his life.
"It's incredible and you know in that moment that this is a special, special adventure and the most intense experience you will have," Davis said.
Charlie lived to see another week on the island and he's another step closer to that million-dollar cash prize.
"Survivor" airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on WBZ-TV.
