When Survivor brings back returning players, it’s not uncommon for them to carry with them baggage from prior appearances. In the original All-Stars, Jerri Manthey was eager to get revenge on Colby Donaldson for how he treated her in The Australian Outback three years earlier. Stephen Fishbach was brought to tears in 2015’s Cambodia, determined not to lose to the “golden boy” again like he did in 2009’s Tocantins.
The latest contestant confronting past Survivor trauma is Charlie Davis. The Survivor 46 runner-up, perhaps best remembered for his unapologetic Taylor Swift fandom, lost the game when his top ally, Maria Shrime Gonzalez, shockingly cast her jury vote for Kenzie Petty. It single-handedly cost Davis the win and the pair their friendship. Losing a million dollars is already a difficult wound to heal in just two years, but it especially stung here because the two had been so close—Gonzalez had gone so far as to say her kids would refer to Davis as “Uncle Charlie.”
So when Rizo Velovic told Davis that he didn’t vote for his number one ally to win Survivor 49, Davis was furious.
“It made me want to send him home,” Davis said furiously. “I do not want him within an inch of a jury seat. As far as I’m concerned, he’s lost that right.”
Hell hath no fury like a Swiftie scorned.
Emily Flippen Flips Out
Tribe swaps were the very first twist ever introduced on Survivor, all the way back in 2001’s Africa. In recent years, they’ve been frustratingly reserved only for situations in which a tribe’s numbers dwindle to the point they can no longer compete in challenges. But fans were allowed to vote on whether Survivor 50 should feature a reshuffle, and host Jeff Probst announced, via rap, that there would indeed be a swap. (Eminem need not worry that Jeff Probst is coming for his white guy rapper crown.)
Though some players were irritated by the news, most wound up satisfied with their updated arrangements. One less thrilled player was Emily Flippen, who was flabbergasted when Christian Hubicki told her right before the new buffs were revealed that he and Rick Devens had gifted Aubry Bracco an idol. The bombshell revelation caused Flippen to question her alliance with Hubicki, and wound up being for naught when the two wound up on the same tribe anyway, along with both of Hubicki’s fellow David vs. Goliath players, Mike White and Angelina Keeley.
With her faith in Hubicki shaken, Flippen shared the information with others on her new tribe before freaking out about her freakout. She confessed to Hubicki, who panicked but felt confident he could do damage control.
Emily Flippen Flip-Flops
Flippen is a reality TV producer’s dream contestant: a competitive yet indecisive player who weighs every option thoroughly, guaranteeing maximum suspense. With the David vs. Goliath trio needing one more vote to secure the majority, they courted Flippen to join in voting for Q Burdette. Their job was made easier when Burdette told White to vote for him to avoid piling votes onto Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick. Flippen’s newfound ally Ozzy Lusth was concerned about a David vs. Goliath bloc, hoping to vote out Keeley. Ultimately, he and Flippen joined the trio in booting Burdette, much to Kendrick’s shock.
The Intro is Back!
The Survivor opening credits are one of the most iconic and recognizable theme songs of all time. They were consistently featured in the show’s early seasons, but were eventually phased out. When Survivor launched supersized 90-minute episodes in 2023, the theme returned, but was not included in the first two episodes of Survivor 50. It thankfully reappeared this week, and I’m happy to report for fellow nerdy superfans that tradition held true: Colby Donaldson had appeared first, last, and first in the intros for his three previous seasons, and the pattern stayed intact with him appearing last here. Chalk up a win for the “things that nobody else cares about” category.
Survivor 50 Snubs
I’ll conclude each week’s column by spotlighting one man and one woman who were left off Survivor 50 but would have made for excellent inclusions. This week, the honor goes to the pair that allegedly got cut at the last minute for the two Survivor 49 players.
While most of my picks will be players from older seasons—it’s simply more interesting to watch people who didn’t play recently—Andy Rueda had such a compelling growth arc in Survivor 47 that it wouldn’t feel like watching repeats to see him again so soon after. He stumbled at the beginning of the season, a socially awkward outcast who had a meltdown during the first challenge and lamented that his tribemates didn’t give him proper accolades for opening a coconut. He eventually integrated himself and was a key player in “Operation Italy,” one of the most exciting covert plans ever concocted on Survivor.
Maryanne Oketch was similarly underestimated at the start of Survivor 42. Her big personality and emotional outbursts made it easy to overlook her strategic skills. But she was a consistently crafty player, and her revelation at the final Tribal Council that she had secretly held onto an idol without anyone knowing was enough to secure her victory.
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