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: Christa Hastie
Age: 45
Season: Pearl Islands, 2003
Finish: 6th Place
HIGHLIGHTS
Survivor: Pearl Islands is nothing but stand-out characters, many of whom we have already seen return at least once. However, I must admit that of all the hidden gems on this cast, there is none I would love more to get a second chance than Christa Hastie. Despite being the lesser-known member of the iconic trio of herself, Rupert Boneham, and Sandra Diaz-Twine, Christa brings her own liveliness and flair to an already iconic season.
Christa began the season on the Drake tribe, who dominated the earliest stages. During this time, her friendship with Sandra and Rupert would be her most valuable asset. Nowhere was this clearer than in the fourth episode, when Burton proposed a plan to Rupert to throw a challenge to get rid of her. Proving her and her allies’ adaptability, Christa, Sandra, and Rupert sprung into action, using this opportunity to pull in Jonny Fairplay and Trish Dunn to blindside the seemingly untouchable Burton Roberts.
With her alliance, Christa remained in power for the rest of the pre-merge, consecutively voting out Michelle Tesauro, Trish, and Shawn Cohen. Despite the controversial Outcasts twist proving to be an obstacle to many players, it did not slow down Christa’s game or her plans to make it to the end.
Christa’s game was still going strong at the start of the merge, with Andrew Savage and Ryan Opray becoming the next two victims of the Drake alliance. However, her stance on the tribe took a turn when Rupert was blindsided without her knowledge. Even worse, she was blamed for ruining the fish he’d caught earlier in the day, which was actually her closest ally Sandra’s doing.
Even with most players now against her, Christa never gave up and fought to stay every step of the way. She came close in several immunity challenges and was willing to vote out anyone, Sandra included. While she benefitted from the tides turning against Tijuana, siding with Burton and Jon proved to be the final nail in her coffin. After failing to win immunity again, Christa was voted out at the final six, though she would eventually vote for her bestie Sandra to win the million dollars.
WHY SHE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
Pearl Islands is filled with iconic characters and moments, most notably Sandra, Rupert, and Fairplay. But it would be a mistake to underestimate Christa, who was holding her own against players who are remembered as titans of the game. Her dry delivery in her confessionals was the perfect contrast to her louder, more outspoken tribemates. Drake is undisputedly one of the most iconic tribes in the show’s history, and Christa is a part of why this is the case.
Even in the game’s earliest era, Christa wasn’t afraid to pull off some cutthroat strategy, such as throwing a challenge or assisting in a blindside. While some players would accept their fate as a presumed challenge liability, Christa refused to take her tribemates’ misconceptions of her. It was her side that came out on top when Drake pulled off the inconceivable and threw a challenge, in part due to Christa’s resilience as well as the company she kept.
An understated part of Christa’s game is her ability to remain calm under pressure, even while constantly being targeted. It seemed like every other episode, someone was trying to throw her name on the chopping block, yet she proved to be the player with nine lives as she continued to survive. This isn’t even the greatest of her milestones on the show.
The fact of the matter is that Christa remains a bit of a game changer herself, as she still holds the record for the heaviest amount of weight held by a woman in the water torture challenge, a whopping 160 lbs. Her emotional and physical strength knew no bounds on a show that was still figuring out what the limits of this social experiment were.
On a practical level, Christa joining the Survivor 50 cast is not out of the realm of possibility. She’s currently only 45 and still fairly involved with the Survivor community. Most recently, she was interviewed on RHAP’s Talking with T-Bird, where she made it clear that she would love to play again. She also joined Sandra and Rupert on a video call to a Pearl Islands superfan who was in hospice, and she has collaborated with other Survivor players in the past on various projects. Based on her website and social media presence, she’s proud of her time on the show and how it’s shaped her career and life.
With a season as well-regarded as Pearl Islands, it can be easy to forget some players who haven’t already returned to the game. This is all the more reason to bring Christa back for another go. She’s in tune with the show enough to know how the game has evolved over time, has a unique personality, and is connected to two of the most popular contestants of all time. Many players from Season 7 would make excellent returnees for 50, but Christa is a wealth of untapped potential for an old-school player in a new era of the game.
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Great write-up about someone who would be extremely fun to see play again!