Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 50 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the latest episode.
Top 3 Moments
The Blood Moon fallout
Christine: Despite being a bad twist overall, I’ll give the Blood Moon this: it gave us some great drama this week! Tiffany came into this episode feeling frustrated after being blindsided by the elimination of her ally Kamilla at the hands of Jonathan. She gave us one of the more memorable post-tribal confessionals in years, and reminded everyone at home why she was a good choice to return. Then, it’s Dee’s turn to be pissed at Kamila’s voteout, leading to a (very entertaining) fight between her, Coach, and Jonathan. The fight is mostly between her and Jonathan, with Coach sulking in the hammock between them. It was refreshing to see some real anger about a vote rather than just taking it in stride. We’ve gotten fun fights in recent years, mostly during Survivor 46, but they’ve been few and far between in the New Era. I hope this cast keeps delivering on that front!
Stephenie takes a journey
Gia: The camp drama was just starting to get juicy, so clearly this was the perfect time to take away screentime from that and focus on one player’s advantage journey. This time it was Stephenie who was chosen, and she was tasked with holding her arm above her head for an hour over a water tower. She was successful, and received a Steal-a-Vote advantage for her efforts. However, she was less successful in convincing others that her only reward was being able to keep her vote, and Cirie was able to get her to reveal her advantage pretty quickly.
Coach is totally chill about a split vote
Gia: Now who let Coach be in charge of a vote?! After the initial fight between Jonathan and Dee, Coach used Dee’s status as a winner against her and conspired to vote her out. He decided the best way to make this happen was to split the vote between Dee and Tiffany with a 7-4 vote. The only problem? He was adamant that the 11 players involved in the plan did not tell the 4 players that were left out about it. When that did not happen (because it obviously would never work), Coach threw a huge temper tantrum about how everyone is not playing how he wanted them to. Despite all of this, he still got his way and Dee was sent to jury, but it was still fun to watch him struggle.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Christine: Aubry’s idol was the talk of the town this week. Christian and Devens were livid that she “forgot” to play it last week – which was a hilarious excuse from Aubry, by the way – and she felt backed into a corner and forced to play it this week. It would’ve been even funnier if she had “forgotten” to play it again this week, but I understand that she needed to play it this week to save face with her allies. Meanwhile, the fact that Dee had leaked Rizo’s idol to Emily played a major role in her elimination this week. With Aubry’s idol out of play, we can assume Rizo and Ozzy’s idols will become a hot topic moving forward.
Extra Vote
Gia: Cirie is still in possession of the Extra Vote that Ozzy gave her, and has not yet indicated that she will be using it anytime soon. However, her alliance will need to make a move against the opposition soon, and this advantage may just be what they need to get ahead of the game.
Shot in the Dark
Gia: Dee played her Shot-in-the-Dark this round in hopes of preserving her game for a little longer, but she was unfortunately unsuccessful in her attempt. This makes the second episode in a row where a player used their Shot. Every player left in the game still has theirs.
Steal-a-Vote
Christine: As her reward for winning the Journey challenge, Steph earned a Steal-a-Vote. It’s worth noting that since its introduction in Cambodia, a Steal-a-Vote has never determined the outcome of the vote. It’s hypothetically very powerful in a smaller tribe scenario, but in practice, we’ve yet to see it pay off in a big way in US Survivor. We’ll have to see if Steph is able to finally use this advantage in a big way, but I’m not holding my breath.
Top 3 Contestants
Coach
Christine: For better or worse, Coach was the star of this episode. From his feud with Dee to his many haikus, a big topic of the episode was whether or not Coach’s tribemates would get fed up with his antics enough to blindside him here. He survived with only one vote against him, and for now he’s seemingly got enough people on his side to keep him safe regardless of how crazy he drives everyone. But Coach is going to really need to turn it down a notch or two for his own sake. Yes, his antics make him an appealing person to keep in the game because he’s unlikely to win in a jury vote, but they also make him an appealing person to blindside if his tribemates get fed up with his insanity.
Rizo
Christine: This was a phenomenal episode for the RizGod. He still has his idol, his alliance with Cirie and Ozzy was further solidified, and he was brought in as the replacement number for Colby in Coach’s alliance. Rizo is sitting pretty in the middle with an idol to protect him and some old school legends willing to go to bat for him. He’s living the superfan dream in one of the best possible positions in this merge, but there’s still a lot of game left to play. It’s only a matter of time before his idol becomes a hotter topic, especially now with Aubry’s idol out of play, and I’m not sure an all-returnee cast would tolerate his idol shenanigans from 49 if he were to try to repeat that.
Cirie
Gia: It’s always a good time to talk about Cirie, and this episode proved more than ever that she has not lost her touch. From the way she has been navigating the Cirie’s Rizard of Oz alliance, to how she was quickly able to decipher Stephenie’s lie, her winning equity has never looked better. While Dee was considered an ally of hers, I’m thinking that her decision to comply with the plan to vote her out is testimony to how she is investing in her long-term game. It may be frustrating to watch in real time, but I have faith that she knows more than me. Here is hoping that her faction of the merge tribe comes out on top.
Fallen Comrades
Dee
Christine: I’m sad to see Dee go this week after she brought some much-needed drama by fighting with Coach and Jonathan – we need more players like her on returnee seasons who are willing to throw down in camp when they’re mad! But it’s not shocking to see her go as the first jury member. She’s considered one of the most dominant New Era winners and she’s no slouch in challenges either, so it’s no surprise to see her floated as an “easy” boot here especially after the loss of her ally Kamilla.
In retrospect, the blindside against Charlie ended up being a game-ending move for Kamilla and Dee. Or, at least, it was a profoundly game-damaging move that, combined with the Blood Moon twist, put them in very bad positions. Despite her early merge exit, Dee remains one of the stronger players of the New Era, and it’s impressive she lasted as long as she did despite her sky-high threat level.
Gia: Diva Down? No, Dee-va Down! I’m so sad to see Dee go just as the merge has officially started, as it feels like we’re losing some of the most entertaining opposition to the “Honor and Integrity” alliance. While I knew that her target going into 50 was too big to hope that she would secure a second win, she still brought some-needed excitement in episodes dominated by outdated morals. As the newest Mayor of Ponderosa, I’m she’ll prove to be an excitable juror. However, it’s never been more clear that Dee is made for TV, so I’m certain that we’ll see her reappear on our screens in no time.
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