Every Time David Genat Almost Spilled His Survivor Australia Secret on DONDI
During DONDI's eleventh hour, the "Golden God" was finally forced to come clean by none other than Dr. Evil himself.
Australian Survivor star David Genat has led a ferocious game on Season 2 of Deal or No Deal Island. While David has delivered a grand slam of an American reality television debut, what's most impressive is that he managed to hide his status as a Survivor champion from most of his DONDI competition.
Applauded overseas as the "Golden God" of Survivor: Australia, David knew that his physical strength and reality television prowess would make him an instant threat on the island, inspiring him to enter the game undercover. While keeping his past of winning Survivor: All-Stars on the down low, David soared through the competition thanks to his brute strength and powerful alliances. David rode the waves of his ruse until DONDI's March 18 episode, when a suspicious Dr. Will Kirby stood in the way of David earning the coveted final game against the Banker. To succeed in the Banker's Excursion, David was forced to reveal his history of winning Survivor, a grand reveal viewers had been waiting for since the Season 2 premiere.
That isn't to say it was always breezy for the covert Survivor star; there were a few times when it seemed like David's secret would come to light, but David expertly dodged the reveal until the eleventh hour.
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So, how many times did the Golden God of Survivor almost let it slip? We're looking back on some of the biggest moments when David's Survivor champion status came up on Banker's Island.
David Genat entered the game as a covert Survivor star
Because he didn't want to be seen as an instant threat on Banker's Island, David refused to get into the little details of his occupation while chatting with his fellow players in the DONDI Season 2 premiere. Since Survivor: Australia isn't widely available to watch in the States, David managed to avoid any major suspicion.
"What do you do?" Sydnee Peck asked him on the boat toward Banker's Island.
"I do some YouTube stuff," David explained with a shrug.
"Am I in the presence of, like, a star?" Sydnee teased, closer to the truth than she realized.
There was one DONDI player who recognized David
As one of the biggest stars of Australian Survivor, David quickly recognized Survivor legend Parvati Shallow on the boat toward their tropical getaway. Unlike David, several players recognized Parvati from TV. Still, she effectively manipulated their knowledge into an air of exclusivity: she'd work with the select few who knew of her gameplay, successfully silencing the Survivor-privvy players with kindness.
However, even viewers remained unaware of David's pre-DONDI credentials until his conversation with Parvati, where he admitted that he was blindsided to see the Survivor icon had joined him in the game. Parvati chuckled and revealed that some people had recognized her already, but no one seemed to recognize him.
"I'm so happy you're here. I don't think anyone knows who you are," Parvati said. "Except for me; I'm the superfan."
"I'm the 'Golden God' of Australian Survivor," David admitted in his talking head interview. "A very niche part of the internet considers me the greatest Survivor player of all time."
RELATED: C.K. Jokes About Wanting to Be in Parvati & David's DONDI "Throuple" in Deleted Scenes
"I know it's early, but I think we could take this all the way to the end," David pitched to Parvati.
"Definitely," she agreed, forming what would grow into Season 2's strongest alliance, The Family. Just like that, David turned a potential threat into his most trusted ally and kept his secret safe until another day.
David Genat feigned cluelessness while getting a Survivor crash course
After Dr. Will Kirby arrived on the island, he quickly sowed chaos among his competition, instantly targetting fellow reality TV titan Parvati and exposing her history as a Survivor star. Despite the Parvati-induced paranoia that commenced following the shocking exposé, David managed to fly under Will's radar. During his chat with The Family's adoptive daughter, Maria-Grace Cook, she tried to caution David of Parvati's ability to go all the way.
"Did I tell you that I knew who she was and that we made an alliance from day one?" M.G. asked.
"Oh my god, are you serious?" David said, feigning ignorance. M.G. confirmed it was the case, saying she'd allied with Parvati after agreeing not to share her Survivor history with the other players.
"But I don't even know how worried I should be about it," David shrugged, surprising M.G., who proceeded to try to "help" her friend understand.
"I'm gonna tell you about Survivor," M.K. schooled him. "Survivor is known to be the most difficult reality TV show ever. Because they have two big groups of people… you have to get down to halfway…"
RELATED: DONDI's David Genat Reveals His Real Family's Reaction to the "Family" Alliance
"Maria Grace is giving me a lesson on Survivor, and what it's about, and who Parvati is," David recalled with a laugh during his talking head interview. "And I'm like, 'Oh my goodness, tell me more!'"
"So, if you win [Survivor], you are basically like the gold standard?" David asked M.G., likely stifling a laugh.
"Everyone who wins Survivor is known to be insanely intelligent," M.G. said earnestly. "It's a big thing. So, for her to be on it four times — and she won, she won one time!"
"I am deep, deep undercover right now," David told cameras. "So I gotta play the dumb guy card. I just can't help myself; I love playing that card."
Dr. Will Kirby smelled a Survivor winner, but David stuck to his story
Dr. Will led a truly maniacal game on Banker's Island, and after catching wind of David's high-level gameplay, savvy social connections, and physical dominance in Excursions, he smelled a powerhouse in his proximity. However, since Will suffered the same streaming setbacks as most American television viewers, he didn't recognize David from winning Survivor: Australia. When Will eliminated M.G. from the game, he made a big enemy, and David didn't waste time letting Will know the next day.
RELATED: Why Parvati Shallow Avoided "Arrogant" Dr. Will on Deal or No Deal Island
"That was cold-blooded with M.G.," David told him point-blank. "Like, I can't have that, so you know I'm coming for you today."
Will chewed on David's threat, leaping on the opportunity to ask him about his winners-worthy performance. "What show did you win?" Will asked.
"What do you mean?" David asked, pulling out the reliable dumb guy card.
"You're really good at this," Will pressed.
"I mean, I've done a bunch of commercials and the whole thing... I watched, like, a bunch of stuff."
"I want to believe you, but I have the feeling that, like, when this is over, they're 'gonna be like, 'Ohh, [David] won Survivor: Australia —"
"Is there an Australian: Survivor?" David asked him.
"I have no idea," Will said with a shrug.
"I find it hard to believe that David is not some sort of reality television veteran," Will told cameras during his talking head. "He just seems exceedingly knowledgeable about how the game is constructed, his social game is A plus, everyone really likes him. The accent helps a lot."
"You're too good to have this been your first time," Will told David, leading the Survivor alum to shrug helplessly.
"No, first time," David lied, not convincing Will very much.
"I can't let him blow my spot; he's got to go," David said in his talking head interview. He carried through on that promise; in the very next episode, David eliminated Will from Banker's Island after leading a successful game against the Banker.
The jaw-dropping moment David revealed his big Survivor secret
During Season 2's penultimate episode, David and his fellow two finalists faced a formidable final Excursion that brought several recently eliminated players back to Banker's Island. The challenge was simple yet dire: They'd all cross a bridge over the ocean with a series of three challenges behind three doors. At each station, the players would grab the highest-value suitcase and complete a physical challenge to head toward the finish line. The twist? Their former rivals or allies had the power to help or hurt the player's performance on their way to the finish line, but they'd need to hurry; the player with the worst time was going home instantly.
Remembering the mystery he failed to solve and his David-led elimination, Dr. Will demanded that David reveal which show he was on if he wanted help building a bridge to proceed. The jig was up, and the clock was ticking. If David wanted any chance of winning, he needed to come clean.
"I'm the king of Australian Survivor," David confessed with a huge grin. "You called it, man. You called it."
Thankful for David's honesty, Will agreed to help him build the bridge, but true to his Dr. Evil roots, he threw a plank into the water at the last minute to make it a little challenging for the Survivor star. After the other players heard the commotion from afar, David provided an eleventh-hour confession to his former colleagues. No one could be too mad about the bamboozle, a testament to David's outstanding social game.
After weeks of hiding as an island-savvy wolf in sheep's clothing, David finally disclosed his Survivor champion status to the competition. But will David gain the chance to bring his A-game to that final game against the Banker?
Find out by watching the Season 2 finale of Deal or No Deal Island on Tuesday, March 25 at 9/8c on NBC, streaming the next day on Peacock.
