Welcome back 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: Cydney Gillon
Age: 32
Season: Kaôh Rōng, 2016
Finish: 4th Place
HIGHLIGHTS
Bodybuilder Cydney Gillon unsurprisingly started Kaôh Rōng on the Brawn tribe. Despite their physical strength, they attended three pre-swap tribal councils, during which time Cydney formed a key relationship with Kyle Jason and Scot Pollard. Her game nearly came to an end in the pre-merge when she was treated for heatstroke at the same time that Caleb Reynolds was medevaced from the game. She was able to recover and make it to the swap, where she ended up on Chan Loh with her ally Jason and managed to evade the last two tribals of the pre-merge.
Cydney’s game really started to shine in the merge when she pushed for Nick Gottlieb’s blindside on Day 22, solidifying her critical relationships with Aubry Bracco and Michele Fitzgerald. The move marked the betrayal of her Brawn allies Jason and Scot, who tried to turn the vote against her at the very next tribal council, but a narrow 4-3-2 vote saw Debbie Wanner eliminated instead.
Cydney was able to safely coast from this point on until the Final Four—although Scot and Jason were none too pleased with her as they left the game. With Cydney and Aubry seen as the major strategic forces behind the Dara majority alliance, the vote tied 2-2 and sent them to fire-making (wow, remember when we used to vote at Final Four?). Cydney tragically lost the challenge, culminating in an emotional exit as her dreams were cut just short of Final Tribal Council.
WHY SHE SHOULD BE CONSIDERED
Fans have called for a Cydney return pretty much since the second her season ended, and Cydney herself has expressed a desire to play again. However, with her successful bodybuilding career and the physical strain that even the 26-day version of Survivor would put on her body, it was unclear when the timing would finally be right for her to come back.
This past October, Cydney announced her retirement from bodybuilding—just in time for her to compete on Survivor 50, should casting decide to give her the call. The timing couldn’t be more perfect. A return from Cydney now feels more possible than ever, and she would be a strong choice of a one-time player from the 30s to compete in this historic season.
Cydney’s a true triple threat: not only does she bring obvious physical strength to the table, but she has proved herself to be a competent strategist while being incredibly likable and charismatic on top of it all. She’s frequently name-checked by fans when the topic of “one-time players you’d like to see again” rolls around, and her loss in the fire-making challenge leaves a lot of lingering questions about how different the end of Kaôh Rōng would’ve been had Cydney burned through her rope faster than Aubry.
She was only 23 when she first played, keeping her on the younger side of the cast while still giving us some “Old School” (a.k.a., non-New Era) representation. Plus, she already competed on one of the most physically demanding seasons of Survivor, so a trip to Fiji for the shortened 26 days should be a breeze for her.
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