Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Survivor 49 Players

 

This post is going to be a bit different from the rest of my posts about the cast of Survivor 50 because we have not seen the 49 players play. I want to preface this by saying that I am completely unspoiled on Survivor 49. Anything I say about the players is purely speculation. I will, however, spoil the names of the players competing on Survivor 50, so if you've managed to stay unspoiled on that and want to keep it that way, this post isn't for you.

I'm completely cool with Savannah and Rizo competing on 50. I've seen some discourse where people don't like that players we haven't seen are coming back, but that isn't a new thing. Russell, Malcolm, Zeke, and Michaela all played for a second time before their original seasons aired. I like when returning player seasons represent the newest season, as I like to see how the "new kids" interact with the "seasoned vets." Additionally, I think that both of them probably had notable enough runs to return. Rizo called himself "the Rizz God" in the season trailer, so I imagine he'll be a big character. Savannah is an interesting case because, if you look at the tribe divisions, you'll see that Savannah is on the only tribe with no other winners. Additionally, I've heard that she took Maryanne's spot on the cast (which is a shame, I would have loved to see Maryanne on this season), so I believe that Savannah is going to win Survivor 49. A big character and a winner are notable enough to bring back, assuming my speculation is correct, so I think they deserve to come back.

Now that I've said what I needed to say about Rizo and Savannah, I feel like I should talk about the future of this blog. I will not be posting as frequently now that I've gone through the cast of 50, but would still like to try to post weekly. What will I write about? Reality TV, obviously, and primarily Survivor, but I don't really know otherwise. I'll figure out specifics as I go, as it will really be things I want to write about. I'll also eventually write individual posts for Rizo and Savannah like the rest of the 50 after their runs on 49, so stay tuned for that. In the meantime, thank you to anyone who has read any of these posts, I've really enjoyed going through 50's cast (and talking about casts for other shows), and hope you enjoy whatever I write in the future!

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Kyle Fraser

Previous Season:

Survivor 48 (2025) - 1st Place

I'm happy to see Kyle come back. As I said on my post about Dee, I wish there were more winners! Maryanne should have been on the season, I would have liked Yam Yam, and there are plenty of other winners who would have been good additions too (I do think there's one more on the cast, but I'll get to that in my next blog). Kyle was also one of the few redeeming players of 48. He was actually playing a dynamic and self-interested game, and I thought for the longest time he'd be the runner-up. His edit reminded me so much of Sam and Charlie, the previous runners-up, and Austin to an extent as well. It wasn't until Final Tribal Council where I realized Kyle was actually going to win, and I was really excited about that, because I really liked Kyle. Do I think he'll do well on 50? No. His win will be so fresh in everyone else's minds, the 48 finale aired literally a week before the cast flew out to Fiji. There's no way he even makes merge, but that's the tragedy of winners on All-Stars seasons. Sometimes they'll go far, like Sandra and Parvati on HvV, other times they'll go early, like all the winners on All-Stars, it's hard to say. Better to have loved and lost than not loved at all, and I'll take the risk of heartbreak seeing winners go early, over not having winners come back at all.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Joe Hunter

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 48 (2025) - 3rd Place

I definitely could have gone without Joe on this season. 48 was, in my opinion, easily the worst season of the New Era, and did not need three representatives, let alone the guy who was responsible for that. Joe's "honor and integrity" preaching created such a boring alliance that steamrolled its way through the season. The only saving grace was that Joe and Eva lost to a player who, while in their alliance, played a much more self-interested game. Joe does seem to be a pretty good guy though. His moment with Eva was truly touching, and I see why production did likes him so much. As I said, I do not need him on the season, but since he is there, I really hope he ditches the honor and integrity thing. Do I think that is likely? No, but maybe he learned from his mistakes and saw that it did not work out for him the first time around. Not likely, but it would make for a much more interesting run than his 48 stint.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Kamilla Karthigesu

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 48 (2025) - 4th Place

I'm happy to see Kamilla come back, though I am a bit surprised. She kind of got a quiet edit, so I was not sure how much production wanted her back, though I am happy they did. She was super funny, her Olympic confessional was one that I will remember for a long time, and she also had a good strategic mind for the game. I do think it was kind of insane that she went out of her way to tell Kyle she wouldn't take him to the end before they even competed for final immunity, since that then gave me an easy out to not take her (he probably would not have anyway, but she did limit her options, as trying to guilt him into taking her to the end was no longer an option), but thought she was very solid otherwise. I do think her and Kyle are gonna have targets on their backs on 50 as the new hot duo in town, but I think Kyle's will be bigger. If Kyle is voted out early, Kamilla may be able to skate by for a bit, as no one would have to worry about them reuniting at the merge. However, I could also see her getting taken out early, so it really is hard to say how she will do.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Genevieve Mushaluk

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 47 (2024) - 5th Place

I'm pretty excited for Genevieve's return. After a quiet first couple of episodes on 47, she ended up being one of the stars. Her gameplay was fun to watch, and I really enjoyed her from a character standpoint too. Her turning off her emotions after her guilt from the Kishan boot, but learning that emotions are part of Survivor was a really good arc. I would have liked more 47 representation alongside her, but if I had to pick only one player from that season to come back for 50, it would probably be her. Rachel's a close second, and Sam and Andy are up there too, but a Genevieve return interests me more than any of them. Her husband is also pretty funny on Twitter, so I'm looking forward to his tweets during the season.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Charlie Davis

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 46 (2024) - 2nd Place

Charlie's return was inevitable, as he was the "you should've won" guy who got "screwed over" by Maria's bitter jury vote in the eyes of a decent chunk of fans (and probably Jeff). Do I personally think Charlie was robbed? Not necessarily, every juror is within their right to vote however they please, and Kenzie is a deserving winner. With that being said, would I have voted for Kenzie if I were on the jury? No, I would have voted for Charlie, and I think Maria in particular not doing so is pretty lame. Charlie has something to prove, so I'm happy to see him come back. I thought he played a pretty solid game on 46, and am interested to see how he navigates the game with the "you should've won" target on his back. I think all of his Taylor Swift mentions are honestly pretty funny, and people who hate him for that specifically are weird. I wouldn't call myself a Swiftie, but hate for her is so forced, and Charlie catches a lot of that hate from that part of the internet that watches Survivor. I'm sure he'll get along with Coach, since Coach is good friends with Ben, who was one of Charlie's closest allies. Would like to see them talk music like Charlie did with Ben. With all that said, I think Charlie earned his spot on the season, and I'm looking forward to watching him play again.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Q Burdette

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 46 (2024) - 6th Place

If it hasn't been clear from my previous posts, I am ECSTATIC for Q to be back on Survivor. I thought he was hilarious on 46, and knew he was a lock for the next returnee season (granted I also thought Jesse and Carolyn were locks, but I was right in Q's case). Will he become self aware and overuse his catchphrases? Almost certainly, but I don't care. If he doesn't show up to the marooning wearing a Q-Skirt it'll be a BIG MISTAKE and they'll have to cancel Christmas. I don't think he'll do super well, considering that everyone will know what a chaotic player he is, but I don't care. Any amount of Q time will be such a fun ride.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Tiffany Nicole Ervin

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 46 (2024) - 8th Place

Tiffany is a weird pick. I liked her fine enough on 46, but would I have cast her for 50? No. It was initially consensus that she was mainly cast due to her contentious relationship with Q, but now that we know the tribe divisions, we know that they aren't even on the same tribe. Either production was really confident that they'd both make merge, or they just really wanted her back. As I said, I liked her, but the cast of 50 feels like it should be a higher caliber. The rest of the cast are either extremely notable as players or characters. Tiffany was a fine player, and a good character, not above and beyond in either category. Every returnee season has at least one WTF returnee pick (with the possible exception of WaW), and I guess it's Tiffany this time around (and potentially the 49 players, though we haven't seen them play yet, so it's hard to say whether their inclusions make sense). The thing about 50, though, is that it feels like a season that shouldn't have WTF picks. It's the FIFTIETH season of the show, every pick should make sense. Maybe Tiffany will play a game akin to Sarah in Game Changers and justify her inclusion, but we'll have to wait and see.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Dee Valladares

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 45 (2023) - 1st Place

I am very excited to see Dee play again. I know a lot of people are against the idea of winners playing again, but I'm not one of those people. In fact, I wish there were more winners on the cast. One of the fun parts of returnee seasons is getting to see how players navigate the game when everyone knows how they play, and that extends to winners, who typically come in with the largest targets on their backs. Having just Dee and Kyle (and maybe one of the 49 players, we don't know how they placed) makes it pretty hard for them to go under the radar. I think four winners is a good number to have. In a traditional two tribe season, that allows for two winners on each tribe. This season is three tribes, but I still think four would be a good number (honestly with 24 players on the cast there may even be an argument for up to six). Even with only two winners, I'm glad Dee is one of them. In my opinion, Dee is the best winner (and probably player) of the New Era, so I'm really excited to see if she can pull off another good game. On top of that, she's a really fun character. If Dee goes on to win the season, I think she's definitely in the GOAT conversation, but even if she doesn't win, but still manages to play a really solid game, she has the potential to become a legend, not just a New Era legend. If she plays poorly, she was one of two winners on a 24 person cast and had one of the largest targets on her back. Dee has the chance to boon her reputation, but, in my opinion, cannot really harm it. With this season likely starting shortly after The Challenge 41 ends, there will be a lot of Dee on Reality TV, which I am excited for.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Emily Flippen

 

Previous Season:

Survivor 45 (2023) - 7th Place

I am SO excited  for the return of FINANCIAL ANALYST EMILY FLIPPEN! Emily was probably the name I was most surprised to see on the cast, since she had been so adamant about not wanting to play again. She had such a fun arc on 45, from her start as a social outcast, to bonding with Kaleb, to being the last remaining Lulu and having genuine connections in the game. While the Reba Four dominated the game, it still felt like Emily was THE player of the season, and I am so happy she's coming back. Will she do well? I don't know, but I think she's learned from her mistakes the first time around, so I'm really looking forward to seeing her gameplay style on attempt 2.

Big Brother 27: My Thoughts on the Season Premiere

 

So this is my first post that I can't even pretend is Survivor adjacent. Oh well, Big Brother 27 premiered last night, so I thought that I would write a blog post to talk about it. Additionally, I didn't write a cast reaction blog post, so this will include that. I will give my general thoughts on the episode, then I'll go through the cast and give brief thoughts on each of them, based on the premiere as well as the pre-season.

General Thoughts:

I thought it was a good premiere. With BBCAN being dead, I've been enjoying the way BBUS has been embracing their themes, and the murder mystery theme is a very fun one. Having Julie actually be in the house behind the door when she was "kidnapped" was pretty funny. I like that the BB Blockbuster (aka AI Arena) is back, but didn't love Julie's use of the word "permanent" when telling the players it was back. While it worked out really well on BB26, I'm not sure I'm ready for a permanent format change, especially if it ends up sucking this season. Regardless, I'm happy to have it back for now. Also, I think it's insane that basically the entire cast didn't want to play in the first HoH. Being the first HoH gives someone the opportunity to create a power structure around themselves, if I were in the house I'd have been begging Jimmy to let me play. I also have no idea who the accomplice is, but wish it wasn't a twist. I think someone getting evicted because of something they had no say in is dumb, so, whoever it is, I hope they go undetected and get to stay in the house.

Specific Thoughts on the Cast:

Adrian Rocha: Adrian seems like he'll be fun. I think he's gonna play way too hard way too fast and flame out in a glorious fashion. Anticipating a pre-jury finish, but I think it'll be a fun ride.

Amy Bingham: Amy seems fun. She mentioned in the pre-season that she wants to work with the women. I worry a bit that the men will catch on to this and take her out as the "figurehead" for this.

Ashley Hollis: Ashley seems like a solid player. She was almost my winner pick, but I ended up going with someone else. Still, I'm looking forward to seeing her play.

Ava Pearl: Ava seems like a really fun character. I'm looking forward to her DR's.

Jimmy Heagerty: Jimmy is the player I ended up picking as my winner pick. He said a lot of things in the pre-season that I liked (other than needlessly lying about his job, but a bunch of people are doing that). After the episode, I still feel decently high on him. He leveraged his power pretty well and made sure no one playing in the first HoH will be targeting him. I think he'll probably be part of the power structure, so good on Jimmy. However, I do have a small bone to pick with Jimmy, and it's because now I'll never be able to claim to be the first triplet to play Big Brother. I definitely emphasized that point when I auditioned, but I guess Jimmy did it better.

Katherine Woodman: Katherine surprised me in a good way. In the pre-season I thought she came off a bit boring, but I liked what I saw in the premiere. Loved that she's a proud feminist.

Keanu Soto: Keanu seems like he'll be fun. It's pretty funny that production is choosing to advertise his job as Dungeon Master when he's literally a personal trainer.

Kelley Jorgensen: I'm not super high on Kelley. She seems to know almost nothing about the show and, instead of putting in research like Taylor Hale, she decided to insist it'll give her an advantage? Okay Kelley.

Lauren Domingue: Lauren being only slightly older than me is kind of wild. Watching BB for the last 10 years, everyone was much older than me to the point where I couldn't really contextualize it. However, Lauren is 22, and I'll be 22 in less than a month. It will be the first time that I'm the same age as a houseguest, which is pretty insane to me. Anyway, Lauren seems fine. Was a bit surprised by how much of a fan she is, figured she was a recruit, but it seems like she applied.

Mickey Lee: Mickey either feels like she'll do very well or go pretty early. No where in between. Don't really know why, just vibes.

Morgan Pope: Morgan seems fine, but I need her to stop talking about being a gamer girl. She used the phrase "gamer girl" SIX times in her pre-season interview, and has already been talking about it in the house. I love that you play video games (I actually talked about that in my application too), but I need some more depth. It's still very early on, and if Morgan sticks around I'm sure there will be depth, but if she's an early boot I think "gamer girl" is all she'll be remembered for.

Rachel Reilly: I love Rachel, but why is she here?? She's an all time great character, but why are we bringing back a past winner against a cast of first time players? It's not even like she's a recent player like when Paul came back for BB19, it's pretty random. I personally would have liked to just have a cast of newbies, but since Rachel is here, I might as well strap in and enjoy the ride.

Rylie Jeffries: Admittedly, most of my opinion of Rylie comes from stuff I've seen on social media about his personal life. I haven't loved what I've seen, and I'm gonna leave it at that.

Vince Panaro: Like Jimmy and Morgan, Vince embodies another thing I emphasized in my audition. I have a mustache, and am currently unemployed (just graduated college and haven't found a job yet), so he's another player who took my spot on the cast. Jokes aside, I'm very excited for Vince. He gave very solid DR's, so I think he'll be a good character, and I have high expectations for him as a player as well. He seems to know the game very well and, as the first HoH, has the opportunity to create the initial power structure.

Will Williams: Will seems like he'll be a fun character. I'm not sure how he'll fare as a player, but I'm looking forward to seeing him play.

Zach Cornell: My first thought was that Zach felt like productions attempt at getting a second Matt Hardeman. They both have similar backgrounds, are both conventionally attractive guys, are both pretty religious (at least I remember Matt being religious), and both very family-oriented. After the premiere, I'm less worried that Zach will become another Matt. The money he won will put a target on his back, but his emotes by Julie were pretty funny.

Zae Frederich: Like Kelley, Zae's lack of game knowledge worries me. However, Zae is good friends with Sami from Survivor 43 (Survivor blog, still haven't written a post without mentioning Survivor), so probably has at least some knowledge of social strategy games. Sami, I hope you've prepared your boy, because he seems pretty fun and I'd like to see him stick around. His background as a cheerleader, as well as having left the Mormon church are things I wouldn't have guessed by just looking at him, so I'm looking forward to seeing more.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Jonathan Young

Previous Season:

Survivor 42 (2022) - 4th Place

Am I excited for Jonathan to play again? No, not really. I'm sure he'll be fun to watch in the challenges, but I don't see him bringing anything to the table outside of that. However, I'm not up in arms about his inclusion. Like I said about Rick, his return was inevitable. After he carried his team through that water challenge on 42, he secured himself a spot on the next returnee season. Since then, I've been expecting to see Jonathan again, so at this point it's just the result of a forgone conclusion. I feel like he'll have a pretty middling run, I don't see him being taken out pre-merge (or at least early pre-merge) since he's such an asset in challenges, but will probably be taken out once he's not safe post-merge.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Rick Devens

 

Previous Season:

Edge of Extinction (2019) - 4th Place

I'm excited to have Rick back. I know a bunch of Twitter stans aren't because he was so prominent on EoE, but I don't care. Rick was super entertaining and I won't be convinced otherwise. This was also so inevitable, that it would be kind of wild to be upset about it, in my opinion. Even if I didn't like Rick, I would've made peace with the fact that he'd be back long ago. He was the biggest character of his season, and Jeff absolutely adores him. Jeff wanted him to run an advantage store when 41 was being conceptualized, he brought him on as a co-host for On Fire (kind of funny that 3 of the 4 cohosts will be on this season), and he talks about him all the time. As excited as I am to see him back, I don't see a deep run. I think because of his aggressive gameplay style on EoE, he'll be a MASSIVE target. Heck, he was a massive target on that season, but the existence of the Edge and him finding a bunch of idols allowed him to make it as far as he did. I'm sure Rick will be a fun character on 50 that I am looking forward to seeing again, even if that is not for very long.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Mike White

 

Previous Season:

David vs. Goliath (2018) - 2nd Place

Of everyone on the cast, Mike was one of the more surprising returnees. That is not a bad thing, as I liked Mike a lot on DvG and thought he deserved to win (and this was before Nick's politics were well known). I was surprised because I honestly thought he'd be too busy to come back, with The White Lotus being as popular as it is. Mike is now known WAY more for that than arguably anything else and it will probably play a role on 50. I know the joke has been beat to death at this point, but some people honestly might try to score a cameo while out there, considering that multiple of his DvG castmates, including both of the others on 50, have appeared on the show. I still need to get around to watching The White Lotus, and Mike being on 50 gives me more motivation to do so.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Angelina Keeley

 

Previous Season:

David vs. Goliath (2018) - 3rd Place

I'm very excited for Angelina to come back. Angelina was super entertaining and has iconic moments with the jacket and rice. Part of me thinks she may be a bit self aware, but I'm actually okay with that. I think it would be hilarious if she shows up with the warmest jacket ever seen on Survivor. PLEASE let Angelina make it to the rice negotiation. While I think it's typically a dumb new era gimmick, it would fit right in on 50 with THE rice negotiator. I actually think she'll do pretty well in the game too. Most people are going to come into the season and remember the jacket, the rice, and the ladder. They won't remember that she had some good reads, and I think she's learned from her mistakes. I expect a deep and fun run from Angelina.

Survivor 50: My thoughts on the inclusion of Christian Hubicki

 

Previous Season:

David vs. Goliath (2018) - 7th Place

I am SO excited that Christian is coming back. He was wildly entertaining on DvG, and I've been waiting for his return since seeing his season. I was honestly a bit worried that we may have missed the opportunity as it has been so long. I thought at one point he had said he was no longer interested in playing again, but either I was mistaken or he changed his mind. Regardless, doesn't matter, Christian is coming back! I worry about his chances, as I feel like he's going to have a large target on his back. He's one of the most popular players from one of the most recent seasons (pre-new era), and was a big target there. I think that's gonna carry over, and I honestly have a hard time even seeing him make merge. I really hope I'm wrong though, as I would love to see a deep run from Christian.