Survivor 50 "In the Hands of the Fans" Discussion Thread

[rd805]

I think that Cirie is a dangerous dark horse. If she makes it to the final three (I hope there is no fire making!!!), she could have a chance to win.

Cirie, Ozzy, and Rizo are getting the most well balanced winner edit right now IMO - but all the rumblings and sour grapes from the voted out contestants has me thinking that Jonathan, Stephanie, or Chrissy could pull it out.

Christian was also being spoken about in what appeared to be such a jealous way from voted out contestants, that I could see a win there too.

 

[dmw]

Cirie, Ozzy, and Rizo are getting the most well balanced winner edit right now IMO - but all the rumblings and sour grapes from the voted out contestants has me thinking that Jonathan, Stephanie, or Chrissy could pull it out.

Christian was also being spoken about in what appeared to be such a jealous way from voted out contestants, that I could see a win there too.

I don't care for the podcasts, social media posts, etc. from players voted out. Something will slip out, and I don't want that to spoil the season.

 

[mysto]

I think Christian, Ozzy, Rizzo and Cirie will all be voted out as different kinds of threats and/or playing too hard. Of the others I give Jonathan the nod for "focusing on relationships this time", (note his involvement in Dee's demise), however there's a chance he can be seen as a challenge threat even though he really isn't. Ozzy has to go on an uninterrupted immunity run from here which is unlikely, one slip and he's out.

 

[rd805]

I don't care for the podcasts, social media posts, etc. from players voted out. Something will slip out, and I don't want that to spoil the season.

I'm trying to stop listening to it too- but when work is slow, i see the reddit headlines. I'm not listening / reading to player interviews this time around though, as they seem to be spilling WAY too much.

 

[PUSH]

I don't care for the podcasts, social media posts, etc. from players voted out. Something will slip out, and I don't want that to spoil the season.

It does seem like the players are either being given a longer leash this season, or they just don't care. However, I haven't found anything to be spoilers that would ruin my enjoyment of the show. I only really pay attention to RHAP, though, and he does a great job of keeping the spoiler-type stuff out.

 

[twilgor]

Hi all!
I'm new to all this forum stuff, so please be patient!
I've been watching Survivor since season one, episode one. I was in active labor with my second child the night Richard Hatch's win was televised (have to admit, I REALLY wanted Rudy to win, but sigh...), and prayed my child would wait until after the winner was announced to make their debut (BTW- she did ).
So, needless to say, I was beyond excited to see so many of my favorites coming back for season 50! It made me so nostalgic, watching, that I started watching from the very first show again. I'm having a great time watching season 50 and season 1 at the same time.
Here's something I thought of today: I'm LOVING watching the original challenges, so many of them are, IMO, much more inventive than what's been put forth for the last 20 seasons or so. Seems like we're seeing a lot of challenges repeated from season to season now.
Does anyone else think it might be fantastic if they, starting with season 51, went back and repeated the challenges, rewards, etc, as they were done from season 1 on? In other words, "restart" the show by repeating the shows as seen from season 1 on, but with new players.
Just a thought... anyone agree?
Teri

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Hi all!
I'm new to all this forum stuff, so please be patient!
I've been watching Survivor since season one, episode one. I was in active labor with my second child the night Richard Hatch's win was televised (have to admit, I REALLY wanted Rudy to win, but sigh...), and prayed my child would wait until after the winner was announced to make their debut (BTW- she did ).
So, needless to say, I was beyond excited to see so many of my favorites coming back for season 50! It made me so nostalgic, watching, that I started watching from the very first show again. I'm having a great time watching season 50 and season 1 at the same time.
Here's something I thought of today: I'm LOVING watching the original challenges, so many of them are, IMO, much more inventive than what's been put forth for the last 20 seasons or so. Seems like we're seeing a lot of challenges repeated from season to season now.
Does anyone else think it might be fantastic if they, starting with season 51, went back and repeated the challenges, rewards, etc, as they were done from season 1 on? In other words, "restart" the show by repeating the shows as seen from season 1 on, but with new players.
Just a thought... anyone agree?
Teri

I recommend Australian Survivor if you like challenges, as they tend to be more creative with trying new things at the moment.

With the tighter timelines for modern Survivor, with the 26 day game, I think they really have to keep challenges shorter just to ensure everything happens on schedule. That's why even endurance challenges tend to move players to the difficult section relatively quicker.

For that reason it would be difficult to repeat all challenges, but I think they should do some throwbacks. This season proves that there is an appetite for some nostalgia.

The final immunity challenge from Borneo is still iconic and would be an obvious one to bring back.

 

[artvandelay]

Hi all!
I'm new to all this forum stuff, so please be patient!
I've been watching Survivor since season one, episode one. I was in active labor with my second child the night Richard Hatch's win was televised (have to admit, I REALLY wanted Rudy to win, but sigh...), and prayed my child would wait until after the winner was announced to make their debut (BTW- she did ).
So, needless to say, I was beyond excited to see so many of my favorites coming back for season 50! It made me so nostalgic, watching, that I started watching from the very first show again. I'm having a great time watching season 50 and season 1 at the same time.
Here's something I thought of today: I'm LOVING watching the original challenges, so many of them are, IMO, much more inventive than what's been put forth for the last 20 seasons or so. Seems like we're seeing a lot of challenges repeated from season to season now.
Does anyone else think it might be fantastic if they, starting with season 51, went back and repeated the challenges, rewards, etc, as they were done from season 1 on? In other words, "restart" the show by repeating the shows as seen from season 1 on, but with new players.
Just a thought... anyone agree?
Teri

Welcome! I wish they’d go back to some older challenges, but it seems like Jeff wants to keep using the same ones. Probably a financial decision. They might be able to keep most of those challenges built and make a slight adjustment season to season.

 

[PUSH]

Hi all!
I'm new to all this forum stuff, so please be patient!
I've been watching Survivor since season one, episode one. I was in active labor with my second child the night Richard Hatch's win was televised (have to admit, I REALLY wanted Rudy to win, but sigh...), and prayed my child would wait until after the winner was announced to make their debut (BTW- she did ).
So, needless to say, I was beyond excited to see so many of my favorites coming back for season 50! It made me so nostalgic, watching, that I started watching from the very first show again. I'm having a great time watching season 50 and season 1 at the same time.
Here's something I thought of today: I'm LOVING watching the original challenges, so many of them are, IMO, much more inventive than what's been put forth for the last 20 seasons or so. Seems like we're seeing a lot of challenges repeated from season to season now.
Does anyone else think it might be fantastic if they, starting with season 51, went back and repeated the challenges, rewards, etc, as they were done from season 1 on? In other words, "restart" the show by repeating the shows as seen from season 1 on, but with new players.
Just a thought... anyone agree?
Teri

Welcome to the forums!

Your thoughts are common amongst fans. I feel like the challenges now are repetitive, and I just wish they'd either rotate through old ones or make new ones, rather than recycle what they've done the past several seasons. The film all seasons in Fiji now (for many reasons), and they have a "graveyard" of props that they reuse season after season.

In general, I feel like modern Survivor still provides good TV, but it's been pretty infrequent where it's been great TV. There have only been a handful of moment that I can say are truly peak television. Part of that is budgetary, but I also think part of it is production (Jeff included) being stubborn and inflexible. The thing I liked about old Survivor was they always tried to keep it new and fresh. They took swings. And while they didn't all always work out, every season was something new. You never knew the number of tribes, how many times they'd swap, how many cast members they'd have, when they'd merge, how many people would go to the Final Tribal Council, what challenges they'd run, etc. Now it's pretty much laid out for us as a script.

I do think seasons 51 and 52 are going to be really big in determining the longevity of the show. If they continue on the trajectory that the 40s were on, I don't think it will be a "forever" show. If they can reinvent themselves a little bit and get rediscover what made the show so intriguing in the first place, this is a format that could go on indefinitely.

 

[PUSH]

So I missed some little bits of the episode, because we've been having lots of severe weather this week, so they broke in with that a couple times. However, I saw most of it.

Let's just get right to the big twist. I absolutely hated this twist when Jeff first announced it. But in the end, I actually didn't mind it. I thought it offered an interesting dynamic that we haven't seen before. And it didn't take the player's agency out of the game. They weren't dead men walking. Now, maybe there are some certain scenarios where it could happen, but this one actually worked out. It still came down to Devens being a better player than Coach or Chrissy.

The fact that Aubry played her idol last Tribal Council was really bad. She should have never even considered playing it. I really think she fell apart after losing her first season. She was so good, but she's making so many poor decisions this season, and she just happens to get by. If she had agreed to work with Genevieve, I think she would be in a very powerful position right now. And then she gets rid of her idol, just because someone said to.

All that said, Aubry playing her idol was perfect for Devens to use his fake idol. A Billie Eilish idol was used, and this must be the thing that came back into the game. Devens is so smart with these things, saying that it's not active until next Tribal, because he needs to sneak it from Tribal Council. I really think he flipped the votes onto Coach and Chrissy, because I don't think everyone would have piled on them. But the fact that Coach used his SitD makes me think it was a foregone conclusion. Hopefully the exit press will clarify that.

I also just have to mention how absolutely masterful Cirie is. She misses the bulk of the strategizing, and within 5 minutes of her being back, she's turned all the votes around to save her allies. When she told Ozzy that it should be Coach and Chrissy, he immediately folded and told us how dumb he was. She makes it look so effortless, like she isn't lifting a finger. She is in with everybody, and nobody is looking at her. It's so amazing.

I also have to give a nod to what could very well be Coach's last time playing Survivor. He's such a great character, and he really is a legend of the game. You can't write Survivor history without him. It did seem like he was in on it a bit this season, and it wasn't the true Coach from Tocantins. However, it was still fun.

Here are my updated winner rankings...

Winner Watch
Christian
Cirie (previously in High Upside)

High Upside
Rick
Jonathan
Rizo

Possible Victories
Aubry (previously in High Upside)

Unlikely Victories
Emily (previously in Possible Victories)
Stephenie

Shot in the Dark
Joe (previously in Unlikely Victories)
Tiffany

 

[artvandelay]

So I missed some little bits of the episode, because we've been having lots of severe weather this week, so they broke in with that a couple times. However, I saw most of it.

Let's just get right to the big twist. I absolutely hated this twist when Jeff first announced it. But in the end, I actually didn't mind it. I thought it offered an interesting dynamic that we haven't seen before. And it didn't take the player's agency out of the game. They weren't dead men walking. Now, maybe there are some certain scenarios where it could happen, but this one actually worked out. It still came down to Devens being a better player than Coach or Chrissy.

The fact that Aubry played her idol last Tribal Council was really bad. She should have never even considered playing it. I really think she fell apart after losing her first season. She was so good, but she's making so many poor decisions this season, and she just happens to get by. If she had agreed to work with Genevieve, I think she would be in a very powerful position right now. And then she gets rid of her idol, just because someone said to.

All that said, Aubry playing her idol was perfect for Devens to use his fake idol. A Billie Eilish idol was used, and this must be the thing that came back into the game. Devens is so smart with these things, saying that it's not active until next Tribal, because he needs to sneak it from Tribal Council. I really think he flipped the votes onto Coach and Chrissy, because I don't think everyone would have piled on them. But the fact that Coach used his SitD makes me think it was a foregone conclusion. Hopefully the exit press will clarify that.

I also just have to mention how absolutely masterful Cirie is. She misses the bulk of the strategizing, and within 5 minutes of her being back, she's turned all the votes around to save her allies. When she told Ozzy that it should be Coach and Chrissy, he immediately folded and told us how dumb he was. She makes it look so effortless, like she isn't lifting a finger. She is in with everybody, and nobody is looking at her. It's so amazing.

I also have to give a nod to what could very well be Coach's last time playing Survivor. He's such a great character, and he really is a legend of the game. You can't write Survivor history without him. It did seem like he was in on it a bit this season, and it wasn't the true Coach from Tocantins. However, it was still fun.

Here are my updated winner rankings...

Winner Watch
Christian
Cirie (previously in High Upside)

High Upside
Rick
Jonathan
Rizo

Possible Victories
Aubry (previously in High Upside)

Unlikely Victories
Emily (previously in Possible Victories)
Stephenie

Shot in the Dark
Joe (previously in Unlikely Victories)
Tiffany

I think it was a foregone conclusion that Coach/Chrissy were the targets. Everything else was theatre.