8 Iconic Women We Want To Outlast The Rest on Survivor 50 *Guest Post by Tobi Tella*
Tobi 8 That, a guest post by the wonderful Tobi Tella
Substack readers ready? Go!
I’m Jonny’s boyfriend Tobi, interrupting your regularly scheduled programming to talk about one of my great passions, Survivor. It’s been stated many times before that if The Real World is reality TV’s grandfather, Survivor is the daddy. The show has been a cultural phenomenon since its debut in 2000 and really invented the “competition reality” genre: whenever the audience gets rid of your winner pick on The Voice or RuPaul chops your favorite queen on Drag Race, they’re following in Survivor’s footsteps.
The show’s deceptively simple concept of stranding a bunch of unlike people together and forcing them to rely on each other while simultaneously voting each other out has paid dividends in entertainment, and as the 50th season just kicked off two weeks ago, we felt compelled to write about the girls (sorry Coach and Q!) who we’re rooting for in this milestone season.
1. Cirie Fields
It’s an anecdote Jeff Probst loves repeating, and while it’s cliche at this point it bears reiterating: Cirie getting off the couch changed everything! Debuting in 2006’s Survivor: Panama, Cirie was one of the first true everywomen and audience surrogates on the show. For a self-proclaimed chubby couch potato who feared leaves on Day 1 to depart on Day 37 as the most respected and strategic player of the season demonstrated a core tenet of the show: average people can really surprise you. She’s become a Survivor and general reality TV veteran since, with her legendary Fans vs Favorites run granting us an all female Final 4, managing to last over 80 days in the Big Brother house on Season 25, and earning the accomplishment of the first ever US winner of The Traitors. Cirie is effortlessly likable and one of the best strategic players of all time, proving looks can be deceiving. While she may never be a challenge beast (the rope throwing in the premiere was painful), finally getting the title of Sole Survivor would be one of the best possible endings for a legendary season.
2. Genevieve Mushaluk
I love an underdog as much as the next person. But sometimes you just want to see a strong type-A woman take charge with no remorse, and that’s exactly how corporate lawyer Genevieve played Survivor 47. Her mercenary nature was immediately on display during her breakout episode, managing to wrangle two men who hated each other onto the same side to vote out her biggest threat, Kishan. She continued to play a cutthroat game, cutting and blindsiding multiple tribemates throughout her run on the season. One day you’ll be in on the vote, Teeny, I promise! It all culminated in one of the the most memorable New Era episodes, “Operation: Italy”, where she broke down upon receiving her letter from home and realizing despite excellent strategic gameplay, she hadn’t made any real friendships with her tribemates. Seeing her craft real bonds with Sam and Andy towards the end was lovely, and it says something that eventual winner Rachel saw her as the clear biggest threat. Genevieve’s story is a reminder that the intersection between Survivor strategy and morality can be difficult, and we can only hope she merges two worlds and manages to make some friends on Season 50 while slaying some bitches!
3. Aubry Bracco
When on the topic of underdogs, Aubry stands out as one of the most memorable ones returning for Season 50. Labeled as a Brain on Survivor: Kaoh Rong, she went from an anxiety attack on Day 2 to becoming the strategic engine of the season, surviving the medevac of her closest ally and turning the tables on the seemingly impenetrable Brawn + Beauty alliance. She remains the only Survivor to outplay the overpowered Super Idol in history, and her controversial loss to Michele in the final 3 is still a topic of discussion to this day (this is not a space for Michele haters, btw!) Her two return appearances are less impressive; she managed to make it all the way to the final 5 on Game Changers and seemingly had a great shot at winning, but spent most of the season out of the loop and hanging on by a thread. Her Edge of Extinction appearance was even more disappointing, not even surviving one Tribal Council before her blindside at the hand of new players. Aubry’s return on Season 50 feels representative of every player who lost some of their mojo on their 2nd/3rd seasons. We can only hope she brings back some of that fire from Kaoh Rong and makes some friends on her tribe. Let Genevieve into your life, sister.
4. Tiffany Nicole Ervin
Survivor scholars know that the biggest threat in an All-Star season isn’t the former winner or player with the biggest reputation: it’s that person that makes you think “oh, them?” In the legendary cast of 18 that was the original Survivor: All-Stars, the eventual winner Amber Brkich was best known as Jerri’s under-the-radar minion. Even Survivor’s ultimate queens Sandra and Parvati didn’t earn their massive reputations until they won their returnee seasons. Tiffany is the lowest-placing Season 50 castaway, but don’t let that placement convince you she’s not good TV. She was on the hot mess Yanu tribe of Season 46 (Challenge ability: 0/10, Entertainment value: 10/10) and quickly established herself as a strong player. She found an idol very early on and was well-liked by the whole tribe at the merge, finding herself in the majority and even surviving having her idol publicly blown up by Q. Sadly her luck ran out when 46’s queen of allergies Liz got over her Applebees related trauma to join in her blindside. Tiffany is strong in the physical, strategic, and social aspects of the game, not to mention a great confessionalist. Her only challenge might be her complex relationships with her seasonmates, the whitebread Charlie and chaotic Q, but any smart superfan would have her high on their list of winner contenders.
5. Chrissy Hoffbeck
From the tribe swap to the hidden immunity idol to the medallion of power to the beware advantage to separating tribes by race, Survivor is not afraid of a controversial twist. Still, there’s an argument no player has ever been more fucked over by a twist than Chrissy Hoffbeck, who had won the final immunity challenge of Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers and was all set to eliminate her biggest threat Ben when she received an “advantage” that said there would be no vote that night and a firemaking challenge instead. Guess who won that challenge and eventually the game! Despite the deeply silly name, HHH is a pretty entertaining season, and Chrissy is a big part of that. A shrewd strategist, Chrissy’s social game wasn’t the best and her beef with the myriad women on her season, along with her postmerge rivalry with Ben gave the show lots of entertainment. That’s not to mention her being a physical beast, tying the record for most immunity challenges won by a woman despite playing in her 40s. Chrissy may have flaws in her game, but she’s great TV and undeniably badass. Hopefully she makes it far and gets to hold someone’s loved one hostage again!
6. Dee Valladares
The initial winner slate of the New Era was different both in demographic and gameplay than Survivor’s 30s. While we mercifully escaped the era where only men could win, seasons 41-44 felt like the game was moving away from dominant players coming out triumphant, with Erika and Maryanne playing more subtle strategic games and Gabler and Yam Yam winning primarily on the basis of their relationships and social games. Enter Dee Valladares, a Miami Cuban who is nothing if not dominant. Forming her Reba 4 alliance from very early on in 45, Dee stayed strong and determined in her mission to take everyone else out, from voting for Sifu even while one of her other tribemates was actively trying to quit to expertly playing the Belo tribe against each other. Her game got even more impressive towards the end, not only using her closest ally Julie’s idol to get rid of a big threat towards her, but playing her “showmance” Austin into trusting her as she took out his closest ally. Even in the notably whiny Survivor fandom, her win was non-controversial and agreed upon as deserved. Her deep run on The Challenge proved her physical, strategic, and social strength wasn’t a fluke, and while there may not be many eligible men for her to fauxmance with (though we are very intrigued by the concept of an “alliance” between her and Ozzy--do your thing, tribe swap!), her tight grouping with fellow new era women Kamilla and Tiffany proves her game is adaptable. With Kyle and Savannah gone (RIP), she’s carrying the torch for the winners, so let’s see if she can recreate Sandra’s legendary run.
7. Emily Flippen
Emily Flippen!!!! Hi friends, Jonny back to talk about my favorite this time ‘round. Emily stands out for being nerdy, smart, sweet, and sensitive. She came through with a bit of an overanalytical, making folks at home think she maybe wasn’t more than the financial analyst before them. But Ms. Flippen proved on her season, and now again in 50, that brains and empathy are two of the strongest resources when out surviving. The way she intakes information is more relaxed this time around, she seems to be gelling with everyone on her tribe, and the stars could be aligning right above Fiji to crown Emily the winner of Survivor 50. She just seems like someone who would check in after you got your wisdom teeth out, and would share a link about how to clean out the mouth-holes properly. Seeing her and Cirie on the hammock together was pure joy to my boy heart, and we need these two divas in the end pronto.
8. Angelina Keeley
While many watch for the strategy, the mess is what keeps me coming back to Survivor season after season, and 10+ seasons after her debut Angelina still stands out as one of the most gloriously messy players of all-time. Both intensely smart and deeply high-strung, she felt like a very unique Survivor archetype. We’ve seen take-charge women before, but there’s something both endearing and infuriating about Angelina’s super perky and determined affect. She has the same energy as the high schooler who runs her student government like the Navy, and it was always a treat to see her antics throughout David vs Goliath, from begging Natalie for her jacket upon her elimination to accidentally blowing up the plan at the merge and almost getting herself voting out to sitting out for the tribe to get rice and NOT letting anyone forget it. And now the rice negotiation is part of every season--influential legend! She’s one of the rare non-winners to peak in the finale as well, with one of the most comical idol finds of all time involving a Republican politician, a ladder, and Mike White drinking wine. While her blatant transparency and opportunism rubbed her castmates the wrong way and resulted in her finishing with 0 votes, we’re optimistic that Angelina has learned (at least a little) from her mistakes and is coming into Season 50 with a better social game. Even if she flames out, we’ll be grateful for every second we get with her and her newfound jacket!
All eight of these women are deeply different, which speaks to one of the core elements of Survivor. They would never be in the same room without this show, speaking to the cross-section of the country the producers regularly manage to cultivate. We’re thrilled for the rest of the season and to see who comes out on top (as long as it’s not Rick Devens, don’t @ me).