Welcome to Inside Survivor’s 50 For 50, a semi-regular feature highlighting 50 former castaways who we think should be considered for a spot on Survivor 50. In a snake draft, the Inside Survivor team selected ten players each, with the only rule being they couldn’t have played more than twice.
PROFILE
Name: Angelina Keeley
Age: 35
Season: David vs. Goliath, 2018
Finish: 3rd Place
HIGHLIGHTS
Placed on the Goliath tribe to start the game, the ambitious Angelina Keeley was a clear power player from the get-go who was conscious and vocal about the challenges women face when playing Survivor. It wasn’t until she swapped to the Jabeni tribe that we saw Angelina’s full potential as a Survivor character. At the swap tribe’s first Tribal Council, Angelina asked the question that would catapult her to Survivor stardom: “Natalie, can I have your jacket?” Angelina didn’t ever get that jacket, but a star was certainly born that night.
Angelina is all gas, no brakes from the moment Jacketgate happened until the end of the season. There’s at least one hilarious Angelina moment in every single episode: leaking the Elizabeth Olson vote and having it blow up in her face at Tribal Council, begging Dan Rengering to play his idol on her, flipping on her alliance to join the Davids, giving up immunity for rice (and never letting her tribe hear the end of it), and crafting a bizarre and ill-advised plan to trick her former ally Alison Raybould into playing a fake idol. And who could forget her historic ladder climb to find an idol in the finale while a wine-drunk Mike White looked on?
Despite (or perhaps because of) all the chaos she was involved in, Angelina made it to the Final 3. Her unique but ultimately very messy gameplay caught up to her here – as well as her repeated reminders that she gave up immunity for rice. She failed to win a single jury vote, winning instead the hearts and minds of Survivor fans all over and securing her spot as one of the most iconic zero-vote finalists in the show’s history.
WHY SHE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
When I selected Angelina as the overall first pick of our draft, I was met with a sea of “She was my first pick too!”’ messages in the Inside Survivor group chat. This response speaks to Angelina’s enduring legacy among superfans and casual fans alike as the most memorable Survivor character of the 30s, an era of the show where truly standout characters were few and far between.
Angelina delivered some of the most entertaining gameplay the show has ever seen. Her return feels so obvious. We know how much entertainment she delivered the first time around; who wouldn’t want to see what she cooks up a second time around in the New Era?
Despite how outrageous her David vs. Goliath gameplay could get, at every step of the way, it was always rooted in a strong desire to win it all and to be a positive role model for girls and women by challenging perceptions of the kind of gameplay women can pull off on Survivor. And while she didn’t secure the win, Angelina stayed true to this sentiment all the way to the Final 3. These sincere motivations behind her gameplay would no doubt return with her for Survivor 50, but would she be able to learn from what went wrong the first time around and channel all of her loveably chaotic energy into a winning game strategy?
Finally, we can’t forget that she pioneered the rice negotiation that we now see every New Era season. How many Survivor players can boast that they created a twist? Put her back in the game, let her negotiate with Jeff again, and see what happens. It’s what both Angelina and the audience deserve.
Written by
Should be a lock for Survivor 50, just like Chrissy. Bring them back