On this week’s episode of Survivor 50, the game got turned on its head. Cila, Kalo and Vatu underwent their first tribe swap, creating chaos and opportunity alike for our players. On Wednesday, always charismatic Q saw his journey come to an end. Now, only 20 remain in the quest for $1 million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor.
After such a pivotal episode, which names should fans be keeping an eye on going forward? Let’s break it all down with a look at who helped, or hurt, their chances at winning Survivor 50.
Survivor 50 Power Rankings
- 1. Christian
- 2. Rick
- 3. Ozzy
- 4. Colby (+1)
- 5. Jonathan (+1)
- 6. Genevieve (-2)
- 7. Coach
- 8. Aubry
- 9. Cirie
- 10. Mike White (+6)
- 11. Dee (+5)
- 12. Chrissy (+6)
- 13. Tiffany (+2)
- 14. Rizo (-1)
- 15. Emily (-4)
- 16. Stephenie (-4)
- 17. Kamilla (-3)
- 18. Joe (+2)
- 19. Angelina (+2)
- 20. Charlie (-1)
- Q – Eliminated
- Savannah – Eliminated
- Kyle – Eliminated
- Jenna – Eliminated
Biggest Risers
Mike White (+6)
Entering the season, I was a bit skeptical to back Mike. Looking back, that feels foolish. Wednesday’s episode was a reminder of how strategic this guy is, at least when he wants to be. On new-look Vatu, White was reunited with Season 37 allies Christian and Angelina. However, the presence of such a strong three somewhat spooked Emily (more on her later). Despite what looked like a brief crisis, Mike’s name was never even on the chopping block. The initial vote out discussion revolved around Angelina and Stephenie.
Mike began to work his magic by suggesting Q, only to have the latter literally say ‘put my name down.’ The 55-year-old’s ability to sway terrific game players like Christian and Emily is nothing short of impressive, and he did so while remaining subtle. A relationship outside of the game with Ozzy helps as well. Now, Mike is the safest member of a majority tribe on Vatu. That’s without mentioning solid relationships on the old Kalo tribe. Failure to reach the merge would be a shock at this point, barring another swap.
Chrissy (+6)
It was a nice day to be in your 50’s on the beaches of Fiji. Chrissy seemed like an afterthought on Kalo, derided for being too ‘motherly’ by other cast mates. However, the swap brought her onto a brand-new tribe with the chance for a fresh start. To boot, she did a great job during this week’s blindfolded challenge, helping to earn an immunity win.
Coach, an ally from old Kalo, told Chrissy (in rather blunt terms) to stop talking so much as a piece of advice. That led to a vulnerable confessional in which she detailed her battle with breast cancer. While I try to avoid looking too hard into the edit, this doesn’t feel like the kind of content we’d see from a pre-merge exit. If Chrissy makes a better effort to form strong bonds, while maintaining a connection with Coach, she could turn her game around. At the moment, she’s gone from a possible early boot to fringe contender.
Biggest Fallers
Stephenie (-4)
A strong premiere from Stephenie seemed like it was positioning her as a dark horse to go far. Two weeks later, that’s looking like a long shot. In fairness to her, there’s been some bad luck involved. Kyle’s med-evac, Q and Colby losing votes, and Aubry getting an idol have not helped her original alliance. Now, after Wednesday’s vote-out, the old-school legend finds herself on the outs of new-look Vatu.
To make matters worse, Steph’s tribe got unquestionably worse at challenges with the departure of Q. Ozzy is still a beast, and Christian a puzzle master, but those two alone don’t inspire a ton of confidence. It’ll probably require some savvy strategic play, something Stephenie isn’t really known for, to stay alive in this game.
Emily (-4)
Emily, Emily, Emily…what a mess! ‘Did You Vote For a Swap?’ started out on old Cila, with Christian and Rick revealing their Aubry boomerang idol plan to Cirie. Unfortunately, the duo weren’t able to relay that information in time to Emily, a key member of their alliance. In an attempt to get ahead of the curve, Christian whispered it to her in public right before the tribe swap. Emily’s reaction was nothing short of distraught.
On some level, I understand getting paranoid about potentially being out of the loop. Still, Emily’s next move was to blurt important information about Aubry’s idol to Q, Stephenie and Ozzy. Then, she realized her mistake and went back to Christian, essentially begging for forgiveness. Emily has managed to work her way into the David vs. Goliath alliance, but it’s impossible to fully trust her. If I were Christian, I’d have second thoughts about hitching my game to a loose cannon.
