Ed. note: This is the third and final (until we see 49, at least) installment of Damnbueno's Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans cast preview. The first installment included the players who debuted from Borneo through Kaoh Rong. The second part featured players who had made only one prior appearance, starting with the first post-Game Changers season, S35: Heroes v Healers v Hustlers, up to the start of the new era. This third piece wraps up the cast with all the new era players (42-48), minus the two Survivor 49 cast members, who don't yet have a televised game to revisit.

Jonathan fits the profile of the typical Alpha male Jeff Probst loves to cast on Survivor. He’s got muscles on top of his muscles, can dominate the tribal challenges, and is well equipped to survive in the wild. But unlike most Probst-favored alphas (Pilot Terry, Andrew Savage, Brad Culpepper, even Joe Hunter and David Kinne), Jonathan actually played a good social game. He didn’t give orders to others or pass himself off as morally superior to anyone. He endeared himself to others, creating a reason for them to want him around past the merge.

There was no hiding his physicality, so he didn’t bother trying. He volunteered for the first leg of the day 1 challenge against Daniel and Tori and killed it. Jonathan carried his tribe through some challenges. No, I mean LITERALLY carried them. Once by pulling a boat towards the sand with all of them in it, and again in a later challenge, pulling Omar and Maryanne through the water in very rough waves in a challenge the other two tribes were unable to finish. He was also the caller in the blindfolded challenge. His strong social skills were reflected in an early confessional from tribemate Lindsay, who said “Jonathan’s so great. Besides the fact that he’s pure muscle, I just really like him. I vibe with him well ... I think we’re all cohesively great, but in terms of having that advantage edge, he’s it. He’s the heart of our tribe right now.” Jonathan bonded with Omar by teaching him how to open coconuts. He even made a friendship bracelet for Omar. He didn’t get along with Maryanne, but she annoyed everyone early on. Jonathan bonded with others by sharing “annoying” stories about Maryanne.

Jonathan’s first slip-up came after his tribe won a challenge, and Jonathan told Probst “We have such a solid four, Jeff, that I feel very comfortable working with these guys so much.” Maryanne was particularly annoyed that Jonathan would identify their alliance to the other tribes. Jonathan and Maryanne began sniping at each other regularly, even during a challenge while she was working on a puzzle.

At the merge, Jonathan bonded with Mike Turner and Rocksroy. They agreed to stick together as challenge beasts to fight off any moves against them. He also made connections with Lydia and Hai who agreed to align with Jonathan, Omar and Lindsay. Jonathan suggested they vote out Maryanne but was talked out of it by Omar. Jonathan got rattled when he heard Lydia was targeting him, but thanks to Omar’s maneuvering, Lydia was blindsided instead.

After a split-squad challenge, Jonathan won Immunity and came up with a decent strategic plan to blindside Drea, whom several knew was holding an Idol. He even convinced Maryanne to vote for Drea. He thought it would keep his Taku alliance intact, and they’d still have Maryanne’s Idol and Extra Vote at their disposal. He was left dumbfounded when Lindsay told him if Drea played her Idol, they’d lose Maryanne, an Idol AND the Extra Vote. The two argued, and Jonathan’s relationship with Lindsay started to crumble. Jonathan’s Immunity win gave him a false sense of power. In confessional, Lindsay said “Jonathan is impossible to talk with, and he’s not understanding that there’s a lot more relationships he’s not aware of. Being the only man, he feels like he’s the top dog right now, and he’s not listening to me!” Jonathan separately convinced Maryanne and Drea to vote for each other, even though Maryanne was angry about being served up as a decoy vote. However, the entire plan blew up at Tribal Council when Maryanne and Drea saw two black players Chanelle and Rocksroy) sitting on the Jury. They didn’t want to put a 3rd consecutive black player on the Jury, and Tori left instead. Jonathan found himself unable to influence the voting, and on the verge of losing two allies in Lindsay and Maryanne.

Lindsay spread the word about Jonathan’s souring attitude and had several plotting against him. Hai targeted him at final 8 after hearing Lindsay, Maryanne and Mike were all open to booting Jonathan. But Omar flipped the vote and convinced a majority to boot Hai instead. Jonathan was saved through no influence of his own. Jonathan won Immunity again at final 8 when Drea left. Then at final 7 he was left out of the loop, voting for Romeo when Maryanne blindsided Omar. Suddenly nobody was targeting Jonathan, who’d unintentionally positioned himself as a beatable goat. Frontrunner Lindsay left at final 5. Then when Romeo shockingly won Immunity at final 4, Jonathan lost the firemaking tiebreaker to Mike.

Outlook: With so many similar alpha types, it figures that Jonathan could have natural alliance partners in Joe, Q, Ozzy, Colby and Coach. All of them played similar games the first time around, and all need to make similar adjustments. The question for Jonathan is the same for all of them. Can they put their egos and need for control aside and play a strong social game from start to finish? I think Jonathan is most likely of the alphas to have the social skills to make that adjustment.

Dee played in the 26-day post COVID-19 “new era.” To that point, each of the first four winners turned in underwhelming efforts, due in part to Producer-forced twists that inhibited independent decision making. Some of those twists were removed for 45, but the players didn’t know that going in. Just the same, Dee turned in a game that was dominant socially, strategically and physically that rivaled or bested most of the 39-day elite performances. While she didn’t pick the dominant four-person alliance with Austin, Julie and Drew, she easily earned the most trust from them all. Dee had an excellent BS meter which was tested early. She noticed Austin and Drew walking off alone, and/or whispering to each other a lot and speculated they were hiding something. So, when she and Julie passed by Drew digging for an Idol, she didn’t confront him angrily, she asked if he was looking for coconuts. Caught off-guard, Drew confessed he was looking for something but lied and said he’d seen Sifu digging there. A nervous-looking Austin joined them, and Dee asked them to be honest whether or not they actually had anything. This paid off later when Drew was gifted a Restore A Vote Advantage from Kaleb. Drew immediately told Dee about it as a means of securing her trust.

After a swap, Dee found herself in a 4-1 majority over Sean. They decided to search Sean’s bag for an Idol, but it was Dee who insisted they not only examine how he tied it but figured out how to tie it back the same way. She even put his items back in the same position where they found them to avoid detection. Sean never figured out he’d been searched. J.Maya suggested they blindside Sifu, so Dee helped convince Julie to go along. But J.Maya didn’t know Dee already wanted Sifu gone. Dee intentionally let J.Maya think she was leading the conversation. At Tribal Council, Dee was taken aback when Sean said he wanted to quit. Dee still tried to remove Sifu, mouthing his name to Julie. But Julie and J.Maya honored Sean’s request. Dee was the only one to vote for Sifu. Before leaving, Sean told Sifu he didn’t vote for him, so Sifu knew one of the women betrayed him. Despite his questioning, Dee avoided the blowback. Sifu confirmed Dee fooled him in confessional, saying “These ladies deserve an Oscar because I can’t tell which one wrote my name down.” Dee caught a break when J.Maya foolishly decided to tell Sifu she was the one who voted for him as a means of preventing him from playing his Idol should they lose Immunity. But of course, that break wouldn’t happen if Dee had come clean about her vote. Keeping her mouth shut paid off when Sifu immediately suggested booting J.Maya at the merge feast.

Dee strengthened her position at the merge, first reconnecting with Austin and Drew who gave her information about Austin’s Amulets and the dynamics from their swapped tribe. At final 10, everyone wanted Bruce gone. It seemed like a done deal when Bruce lost his vote at the Auction. But then Bruce won Immunity. Dee shrugged it off. When Drew suggested booting Kellie instead, Dee delayed the decision, saying she needed to think about it ... and everyone was willing to wait. Dee was in charge, but nobody recognized it yet, until Kellie was blindsided. Kendra confided to Katurah that she wanted to go after Dee. But thanks to Dee’s relationship with Katurah, she found out about Kendra’s plan before the next day. Dee promptly put a target on Kendra as a backup vote to flush Bruce’s Idol. Emily noticed Dee and Austin were getting closer, and asked Austin and Drew if they’d target Dee, but Austin and Drew promptly shut down Emily’s plan. Then while on a Reward, Julie convinced Kendra and Bruce that Jake was a better target than Dee. Dee had others working to keep her in the game. Dee faced a standoff with Julie at final 9. Dee targeted Kendra again, but Julie pushed to boot Jake. Dee won the battle, and Kendra was blindsided and left the game angry at Julie for misleading her. Kendra went to the Ponderosa telling the jurors Dee was running the game.

Dee’s relationships were so strong, she had Austin, Julie and Drew all saying in confessionals they wanted Dee in the final 3. At final 7, Dee recognized the danger Emily posed since she was so close to Drew. So, when Emily went on a Journey alone, Dee made sure everyone was suspicious of her. Dee’s relationship with Austin, which had turned into a mutual attraction, paid off when Austin warned her of Drew’s plan to blindside Julie. In confessional, Austin said “I truly think the best move for me right now is to get rid of Julie. The scary thing is blindsiding Julie would mean blindsiding Dee. That really hurts me. I don’t know how I’d be able to do that.” Austin was willing to dump a plan he believed was his best move because of Dee. I call that Cirie-level manipulation. That’s how strong her social game was.

Dee was upset about the plan to boot Julie but kept a great poker face and didn’t reveal to anyone that Austin had exposed the plan. Then she warned Julie, simultaneously making sure Julie put on her “acting face” as to keep her cover. Dee ordered Julie to play her Idol, even adding they’d both vote for Emily. Dee had more scrambling to do when she found out Julie was now pitching Austin as the boot. Now Dee had to save Austin. She convinced Julie not to vote for Austin, saying “This is what’s gonna happen. They’re gonna write you. I’m gonna write you too, because we’re gonna hate each other after this. You’re gonna play your Idol, and you’re writing Emily.” Julie did as Dee told her, Emily left, and Dee maintained the most trust from everyone in the final 6. Dee even convinced Julie to pretend they were mad at each other. Julie unwittingly covered Dee’s tracks and Drew took the heat for trying to break up the Reba 4. Dee even feigned disappointment when Julie played her Idol, which fooled some into thinking she didn’t warn Julie.

Dee’s move not only kept her two closest allies in the game, but Austin swore he’d convince everyone else she didn’t warn Julie. Dee found herself in the same position Austin was the previous vote. Should she warn Austin that Drew was in danger? Dee risked Austin giving his Idol to Drew since Austin won Immunity. But Dee maintained focus, and kept her mouth shut. She blindsided Drew, and smoothed things over with Austin minutes after returning to camp. He even admitted he’d have given his Idol to Drew if Dee had tipped him off. Katurah went after Dee at final 5 when Austin won Immunity, but Julie refused to consider it, asking Katurah to boot Jake instead. In confessional, Julie said “Dee has had my back this entire game, and I’ll have hers. Even though I’ve done a lot of cutting, backstabbing and blindsiding, I need to show some loyalty” Dee had multiple players protecting her all game long. When Austin returned from a Reward with Jake, he went straight to Dee and told her Jake had an Idol.

Dee saved a huge weapon to close out her win at Final Tribal Council. She bided her time and waited until the topic of Drew’s blindside came up. She waited until Austin told the Jury he was sure Dee didn’t warn Julie. Dee delivered a back-breaking, game clinching response when she said to Austin “You don’t know this, but I did tell Julie. I’m so sorry. But I knew she had an Idol I told Julie ‘Everyone’s coming for you, but you’re not going home. You’re gonna play the Idol we found on yourself, and we’re gonna blindside Emily. And I still didn’t tell him for the rest of the days we were together. We’re final 3 and he still didn’t know.” Austin couldn’t recover. Dee’s social game was so good, she was able to tell Austin, Julie AND the Jury she had two #1 partners, and none of them worked against her. Dee took the win, playing the best game of the New Era by far.

Outlook: After playing such a strong game as a rookie, Dee has everything to lose and almost nothing to gain. Dee and Kyle have next to zero chance to grab another win unless they turn in a performance more stealth and dominating than their rookie efforts. Why would anyone make them the 3rd player to win Survivor twice against others who’ve never won, or waited much longer than they did to play again? Her best hope is to go out without being embarrassed. Reaching the merge is a realistic goal for Dee.

John Cochran pulled off the best rookie to returning player adjustment ever. He fell on his face in S23: South Pacific by being a neurotic, anxiety-filled player who blindly followed Ozzy and Coach. But in S26: Caramoan, he was the epitome of quiet stability and confidence in taking home the win. Emily almost pulled off a similar feat during Survivor 45.

She opened her game by taking dead aim at Bruce, who was famously medevaced after one day into 44. Players from all three tribes talked about Emily’s unprovoked attack, and feared she’d do it to them. She gave herself instant goat status. Then she made it worse when she, Hannah, and Sean arrived at camp while Kaleb and Sabiyah were doing the Sweat vs Savvy challenge and Brandon was being tended to by Medical. Emily targeted Kaleb and Sabiyah, accusing them of being obvious partners because they volunteered. She even called them out at Tribal Council. The problem here is that Emily hadn’t secured an alliance yet. Her Lulu tribe lost the first Immunity Challenge, and Emily seemed doomed. Kaleb and Sabiyah found out Emily had targeted them both and launched a counterattack. Emily was a goner ... until Hannah decided to quit.

A shocked Emily didn’t know how to adjust. First, she searched for an Idol but when that failed, she gave her Shot in the Dark die to Sabiyah as a symbol of trust. Sabiyah considered booting a defenseless Emily, but the tribe opted to boot Brandon, who was a disaster in challenges. Emily was still the next clear target. Then Kaleb threw her a lifeline and took Emily under his wing. He counseled her on the finer points of the social game. Now Emily knew what to do but still didn’t quite know how to do it, as she proved when she questioned Sabiyah about not having a vote. Kaleb said in confessional “Emily cracked again tonight. Probst was reading the votes, and there was only 2. She was like ‘Sabiyah, do you not have a vote tonight?’ Just immediately picking a fight with the one person she’s not supposed to pick a fight with. The old Emily is just bubbling right there, underneath the surface. She’s not gone, but she is getting better.”

Emily’s tribe lost again, but this time Emily caught a break when Sabiyah shared a plan to blindside Kaleb. Sabiyah even added she had an Idol encased in wax and would activate it at Tribal Council. That’s when Emily’s strategic brain started improving. She trusted Kaleb more than Sabiyah, so she warned Kaleb of the plot against him. Sabiyah got her Idol but opted not to play it and was blindsided. For the first time, Emily was in a 2-1 majority over Sean. Then the tribes were swapped.

Emily now found herself in the middle of two duos after being swapped with Drew and Austin from Reba, and Kendra and Brando from Belo. She recognized she was still in the minority but also realized both sides needed her vote. Drew recruited her first, but she wisely let Kendra and Brando believe she wanted to work with them too. This paid off when they went to Tribal, and Kendra never suspected Emily was about to help blindside Brando. This got her to the merge where she reunited with Kaleb. While she wanted to work with him, Emily read the room correctly and realized the majority wanted him gone. She joined in the unanimous vote against him, but he saved himself with his Shot in the Dark, negating 10 votes. J.Maya left in the revote. At the next split squad Tribal Council, Emily watched Sifu leave primarily because several suspected he had an Idol. Emily depended on Drew for information, strengthening their bond.

Emily thought her position was very strong at the merge as she was aligned with Austin and Drew, who brought her in with their Reba tribemates Dee and Julie. All four Reba included her in the plans to remove Kellie, Kendra and Bruce. But then she unknowingly found herself targeted by eventual winner Dee, who realized Emily’s closeness to Drew and Austin was a threat. In one of Dee’s best moves, she convinced Julie to save herself with an Idol and remove Emily with her lone vote. Emily never saw it coming and was blindsided. Emily became very popular with fans, many of whom believed her turnaround/comeback story could have carried her to a win.

Outlook: The biggest question for Emily entering 50 is can she control her impulses and not be as blunt as she was in her rookie effort? If she can do that, it’s unlikely she’ll be targeted early. Emily has played with Dee before, and since Dee comes in with the more intimidating reputation, Emily could use her as a shield for a while. But her top priority should be to secure a spot in a majority alliance, keep her head down, and watch the bigger threats get taken out as long as she can.

Charlie played a decent game, but ultimately, he suffered the same fate as many other second- or third-place finishers like Stephen Fishbach (S18: Tocantins), Becky Lee (S13: Cook Islands), Sabrina Thompson (S24: One World), Gervase Peterson (S27: Blood vs. Water), Carolyn Rivera (S30: Worlds Apart), Aubry Bracco (S32: Kaoh Rong), and Cassidy Clark (Survivor 43). They all played well enough to win, but nobody on the Jury was aware of their strategic moves. They all depended too much on having a strong Final Tribal Council. Charlie had a good read on his strengths and weaknesses as the game began as he confirmed in this day 4 confessional, saying, “I knew coming in that strategy wise, I’ll be good. But a weakness of mine is the social game. I think it’s so important to connect with people, and I’m gonna have to figure out a way. He connected well, but in the end couldn’t get past Kenzie, who connected better than he did and got the win.

After doing the Savvy Challenge together, Charlie and Ben struck up an instant friendship, which simultaneously identified them as a possible power duo. Charlie even wore Ben’s leather vest around camp. But the vibe on his Siga tribe was so harmonious and cooperative, Charlie avoided being targeted for his obvious partnership. His tribe also won early Immunity challenges, which gave him time to bond with his tribe’s women Maria, Moriah and Jem. They all liked Charlie, who used self-effacing humor to endear himself to everyone. He soon found himself recruited by his group’s men and separately by the women. Charlie was positioned to play the middle and did it well. The women called their alliance “Charlie’s Angels,” and the men were asking Charlie to pull Maria in. That’s exactly what Charlie did…sort of. When Maria suggested they form a sub-alliance, Charlie agreed to it, adding they could be the next Malcolm and Denise.

The Siga tribe avoided going to Tribal Council until day 11, just before the merge. Charlie and Maria had done a great job of convincing everyone they were with them, but now they were forced to pick a side. Maria trusted the women more, and Charlie trusted the men. He got a reprieve when Jem got nervous and started pressuring a few to commit to a decision (she followed Ben around while holding the machete). Jem’s scrambling and suddenly erratic behavior made Maria nervous, so she sided with the men. I wanted to give Charlie credit for convincing Maria to make a move that was clearly bad for her (aka Cirie-level manipulation) but I just didn’t see any evidence of it.

Once they reached the merge, Charlie found himself outside of Q’s “Journey alliance” which included Tim and Maria. He caught a break when Tim’s mistake got him blindsided, and Q pitched Charlie on replacing him at Maria’s suggestion. Charlie did the right thing and said “yes” to Q, but was never really interested in playing with the volatile and unpredictable Q. Charlie laid low and watched others (Tevin, Hunter, Tiffany, Venus) make mistakes to get themselves booted. But at the same time, he didn’t present himself as a significant player, but instead as indecisive and obedient. While others asked his opinion between booting Tevin or Tiffany, Charlie said “I’m not upset, I’m just feeling all the whiplash of today ... Listen, I’ll do whatever y’all want.” After Tiffany was blindsided, Charlie point blank told Kenzie “This was NOT my move.” Statements like these came back to bite him in the end. In confessional, Kenzie said, “Charlie and Maria are super close ... but Charlie has no real résumé moves, and he knows it. He’s been Maria’s jester for this whole game.” Sadly for Charlie, Kenzie’s observation was shared by many jurors. At the next vote, Charlie took dead aim at Q, but couldn’t get it done after Kenzie, Liz and Venus all asked him to help boot Maria. But Maria won the next two Immunity Challenges, so Charlie fell in line and helped remove likely finals goat Venus.

While Charlie still leaned heavily on his #1 partner Maria, he also joined a sub-alliance with those who either lost their #1 or never had one – Ben, Liz and Kenzie. They voted together at final 6 and 5 and Charlie found himself in the final 4. Ben won Final 4 Immunity and took his buddy Charlie to the finals. Then Kenzie beat Liz in the fire challenge, which we later learned earned Maria’s Jury vote.

Charlie put up a great fight against Kenzie at Final Tribal Council but ultimately couldn’t adjust under questioning better than she did. He stumbled when he said Q invited him into the alliance of 6, and Maria was quick to correct him saying, “I just wanted to be clear that I invited you into the 6. You came into the 6 on my invitation.” Five jurors said at the immediate post show discussion that they changed their minds based on the finalists’ answers. Soda, Liz, and Hunter switched to Charlie, and Q and Venus switched to Kenzie. But since Kenzie won by a 5-3 margin, it means she had a 6-2 edge as FTC began, having already locked up Maria, Tiffany and Tevin. In a secret scene from after the merge, Q said “Charlie is a cool dude but hasn’t done anything in this game worth talking about.” That probably sums up why he lost to Kenzie. He didn’t make his game visible enough. And since his #1 partner Maria didn’t vote for him, it likely means she saw herself as the stronger player of their duo (which she was). Maria wasn’t pimping Charlie on the Ponderosa, and I think the jurors noticed.

Outlook: Charlie should be positioned to do well since most will be distracted by the more visible Tiffany and Q from his season. He’d be best off aligning with others who know how to keep a low profile like Aubry, Jenna, Mike and Kamilla. He doesn’t need to make a lot of adjustments, he just needs to raise his profile a little earlier.

When the season began, I was convinced Q wasn’t playing to win but was doing like Phillip in S22: Redemption Island - playing to be memorable, and perhaps to be invited back to play again. In his first confessional he said “I do not like to lose, so I’m gonna play this game full speed from day 1. I’m the quarterback. Put the ball down and say ‘hut.’” Mission accomplished. Q was aggressive from the start and volunteered to do the Sweat challenge with Jelinsky. Q was very pissed off when Jelinsky quit halfway through it, and decided Jelinsky was undependable. Just the same he invited Jelinsky into an alliance with Tiffany and Kenzie. Q showed his stubborn, headstrong side at the first vote. Initially, the alliance agreed to remove Jess, but Q changed his mind and insisted Jelinsky go first. He butted heads with Tiffany and eventually got his way. Q won the battle but bruised his relationship with Tiffany.

Then Q decided he could mentor the very naïve and dangerously honest Bhanu and carry an obedient vote in his pocket. Q decided Kenzie was a dangerous player, and shared his suspicions with Tiffany, who agreed with him and said in confessional she was also nervous about Kenzie. Q learned his instincts were correct when Jess reported that Kenzie had asked her and Bhanu to target Q. But Yanu lost the next challenge and put the blame on Jess. After butting heads with Tiffany again, Tiffany won the battle and Q, Tiffany and Kenzie launched an elaborate (if unnecessary) plot to put a phony Idol in Jess’ hands.

Q was still worried about Kenzie betraying him, so he took dead aim at her, assuring Bhanu they could get it done. But after their next Immunity loss, Q’s game took a bizarre turn. He took the blame for the loss and told Kenzie he wanted to be voted out. Even after Bhanu lost his vote while on a Journey, Q still targeted Kenzie. He lobbied Tiffany hard to blindside Kenzie, and Tiffany was actually considering it. I still don’t understand how telling Kenzie he wanted to be voted out could help Q, but he also said in confessional he was trying to fool Kenzie. It just didn’t make any sense. Both Kenzie and Bhanu were saved when Randen’s medevac cancelled their trip to Tribal Council. Q had no choice but to abandon his “Boot Kenzie” plan when Bhanu admitted he spilled all kinds of tribe info while he was on a Journey. Q realized Bhanu would never learn how to keep his mouth shut.

Yanu won their first Immunity and Q went on a Journey with Hunter and Tim. He pitched the guys on a "Journey 6" alliance in which each of them would invite someone from their tribe into a secret post-merge alliance. Those three ended up being Tiffany, Tevin and Maria. Q and Hunter held up their end and brought Tiffany and Tevin in on the plan, but Tim dragged his feet and didn’t say a word to Maria about it. Q became suspicious of Tim when he spoke to Maria who had no clue about Q’s pitch. Q confronted Tim, who didn’t exactly reassure him. Q thought Tim was more loyal to his Siga tribe than to the “Journey 6.”

This is when Q’s game started to crumble. He started creating reasons for others to want him gone. He frustrated Tiffany and Kenzie by pitching one plan, then inexplicably switching it without getting their input. First, he pitched Moriah, then switched to Venus, only to return to Moriah. Then he pitched Ben and switched it to Tim. The women started to feel like Q expected them to work FOR him instead of WITH him, and they didn’t like it. Then later, when Charlie admitted to Venus that he’d voted for her, Q pulled Charlie aside and scolded him for blowing his cover. Now Charlie wanted Q gone. Later, Q targeted Tiffany, and got mad when Liz switched the vote to Tevin.

Q was able to entertain his tribemates with his “invention” of the “Q Skirt,” and a fun game of “Hide and Seek,” but his aggressive alpha male side continued to rub several the wrong way. Then he totally baffled everyone at Tribal Council when he asked them to vote him out, completely killing his credibility. Among the comments that night: Kenzie: “Dumbest Tribal ever.” Venus: “I have a fucking headache now.” Hunter: “This is the dumbest thing ever.” Tevin: “I don’t know what the hell goin’ on with Q, but clearly you been out of Mississippi too damn long, ‘cause your brain is gone.” Q was lucky Maria embraced him and chose to use him as a shield. She knew as long as Q was around, nobody would go after her. He was even luckier to find an Idol at Final 6. Maria and Q thought they had a majority convinced to boot Charlie, but Q got blindsided with an Idol when the majority sought to weaken Maria by removing Q.

Outlook: I don’t see Q being a serious threat to win in a returning player season. Much like Tony in S34: Game Changers, experienced players won’t have much patience for his antics. If he asks to be voted out like he did twice the first time around, they’ll gladly oblige him. His best chance is probably to align with the other alphas in the cast – Joe, Ozzy, Colby, Coach and Jonathan. Tiffany and Charlie have probably had enough of Q, and don’t want to go down with his ship. They may use their desire NOT to align with Q as a reason to join a different alliance. I doubt Q will be able to resist his tendency to give orders either, and the other alpha males won’t care for that. Q is willing to sandbag, too. He was the first one out of the first Individual Immunity Challenge, then said in confessional “I have yet to show my ability. That was by design. I didn’t want the target on me. So, in today’s challenge, I jumped off on purpose to see if my alliance was really strong.” He was also first out of the next challenge. Don’t be surprised if he sandbags again.

In pregame, Tiffany swore if she found an Idol or an Advantage, she wouldn’t tell anyone about it. Then when she found the Beware Advantage, she immediately told Kenzie, and eventually told Q. That sums up Tiffany’s entire game. She could read the room well and knew what the right move was. She just never made it. Her Yanu tribe was a mess in challenges, losing five of the first seven challenges, and not winning Immunity until just before the merge. Tiffany struck up an immediate friendship with eventual winner Kenzie and joined an initial alliance with Q and Jelinsky. They targeted Jess as a first boot, but Q changed his mind and decided the undependable Jelinsky should go first instead. Tiffany pushed back hard against Q but eventually relented. Tiffany and Kenzie realized Bhanu was just a mess of a player – both strategically and in challenges. Tiffany was taken aback when Q said they should keep a suspicious eye on Kenzie. Tiffany also recognized Kenzie was a gifted social player who could go far, but believed Bhanu or the disconnected Jess were better targets. After another Immunity loss, Tiffany butted heads with Q again but this time she won the battle to boot Jess (with an assist from Kenzie). Tiffany and Kenzie patted themselves on the back when Jess played a phony Idol they’d made even though the move was totally unnecessary as Jess was never really resisting her impending boot.

Yanu lost again. Tiffany and Kenzie thought it was a no-brainer to boot Bhanu next, but Tiffany was left dumbfounded when Q asked her to boot Kenzie instead. Q argued that Kenzie was playing to win, but Bhanu just wanted to make the Jury. Tiffany surprised herself when she actually considered Q’s pitch, saying in confessional “Q was actually making a really valid argument, to the point where I’m even questioning…like damn, maybe he could be right. Because me as a Survivor fan, if I was watching somebody playing with somebody as charismatic and charming and smart as Kenzie, I’d probably be like ‘Hey, maybe you do need to cut that person.’ But Kenzie, Kenzie and I are close. And while she is savvy and smart, I think she’s on my side.” At a minimum, Tiffany was conflicted. She was ultimately spared of making the decision when Randen’s medevac cancelled their trip to Tribal Council. The “Boot Kenzie” plan was permanently killed when Bhanu admitted he’d revealed all sorts of tribe information while on his journey. Bhanu was mercifully booted next. Tiffany agreed to be part of the “Journey 6” alliance pitched by Q, but it was never really clear how committed she was to them. That alliance fell apart before it could be tested when Q interpreted Tim’s hesitation as a betrayal. Then Tiffany, Q and Kenzie made it to the merge, and Tiffany agreed to plans to reduce Siga’s numbers, helping boot Moriah and Tim. But Tiffany was still butting heads with Q when he changed his mind from Ben to Tim. In confessional, Tiffany said, “But Q keeps flip-flopping back and forth. ‘Alright, we’re doing this.’ Then he steps away and comes back ‘No, no, we’re doing this.’ You can’t do that. This is a conversation, you’re not just telling us where to place our votes.”

When Tiffany realized nobody was taking Venus seriously, she targeted Maria as the bigger threat to win. She shared her plan with Q not knowing Maria had already taken him under her wing. Q told Maria that Tiffany had an Idol, and soon everyone knew. Suddenly Tiffany was on the radar and didn’t know it. She also didn’t know Kenzie and Q had launched separate plans to remove her. Tevin got booted next, then Hunter was blindsided while holding his Idol. Tiffany never saw Maria’s move coming and followed Hunter out the door while holding her own Idol.

Outlook: Since Tiffany got voted out while holding an Idol, she won’t have an intimidating reputation entering this season. She probably isn’t viewed by the other players as more dangerous than Charlie, and most know how frustrated she was with Q. Nobody will suspect she’d put up with his antics again. Tiffany is positioned similarly to Michaela and Hali in Game Changers – a free agent, looking to get picked up into an alliance with underdogs. She’s good enough to win late challenges but is smart enough to let others take that spotlight. The adjustment she needs to make is to keep the vow she made the first time around. If she finds an Idol or Advantage, keep your mouth shut about it. And don’t let a Bhanu-type wild card (Coach? Chrissy? Genevieve?) get in a position where they can hurt your game with one of their mistakes. I can see Tiffany playing the middle and making a deep run like Aubry and Sarah did in Game Changers.

Genevieve’s approach to Survivor was curious at best. She seemed to know how to plan and execute a move but had a consistent tendency to weaken her overall position instead of strengthening it. Her first curious move was her choice in alliance partners. When Rome established himself as erratic, pushy and self-involved, Genevieve decided he’d be a great alliance partner. She heard the complaints about Rome from Aysha, Kishan, Teeny and especially Sol, but was still willing to share information with Rome. Genevieve pitched Teeny on a four-person alliance that included Kishan and Rome. On one hand, Rome could be a great shield for her, but on the other hand, Rome was so volatile and sloppy, he seemed doomed to make an early exit. Kishan and Teeny opted to boot the uncooperative Aysha first, which seemingly gave Genevieve a 4-1 edge over Sol. Genevieve made a point of bonding with Sol, who was left out of the vote and being tormented by Rome. In confessional, Genevieve said “Sol is on the outs and is a free agent. I want to nurture that relationship because Rome has ruffled all these feathers, I can only make the case for Rome so many times before it ends up being a case against me.” She was completely aware of how her connection with Rome could blow up in her face and seemed to realize she’d need a new partner.

But at the next Immunity Challenge, Genevieve and Rome worked the puzzle at the end. She passively handed piece after piece to Rome who looked suspiciously lost on the puzzle (I still think he threw that challenge to boot Sol. Could she have been in on this plan)? Rome very clearly wanted Sol gone, and she knew Rome was holding a Steal A Vote Advantage. But then Kishan shared his plan to blindside Rome, adding they could do it even if Teeny lost her vote while on a Journey. Genevieve agreed to the plan and even helped pitch it to Teeny. But then Rome told her Kishan had floated a plan that had Genevieve as a decoy vote to fool Sol (Rome was lying). Genevieve wasn’t happy with that, saying in confessional “Rome going home is Kishan’s plan. I’m a bossy, type-A woman, and I don’t want to be just going along with plans, especially if they’re not in my best interest. Rome is an asset for me. He’s ruffling feathers, but not mine ... So maybe it’s time to stop going along with Kishan’s plan and make Kishan the plan.” Genevieve warned Rome, convinced him to steal Kishan’s vote, and led the blindside on Kishan, leaving Teeny open-mouth shocked.

I still don’t understand this move. Genevieve bonded closer with Rome of course, but she’d already acknowledged he’d eventually be bad for her long-term prospects. Leaving Teeny out of the loop cost her some trust. And her follow-up move was to convince Rome and Sol to work together, which all involved knew would never happen. It still doesn’t make sense to me. The move had an immediate blowback on Genevieve. In confessional, Genevieve said “I learned that Rome has been very naughty and told Sol I don’t want to work with him long-term. I know I’ve said it, we all know I’ve said it, but I don’t want Sol to know I’ve said it.” Genevieve had alienated two of her three remaining tribemates and was being thrown under the bus by the third. She knew it was very likely to happen and did it anyway.

Once the merge arrived, Rome predictably continued scorching the earth, alienating everyone he spoke to, and Genevieve had no choice but to help vote him out. She hadn’t yet bonded with anyone from Gata or Tuku, so when Rome left, she had to stick with Sol and Teeny until she could secure new partners.

Genevieve’s next move was also a head-scratcher. After compromising her relationships with Sol and Teeny, her choice for a new alliance partner was Andy, who strategically shot himself in the foot with a word-vomiting, alliance-exposing meltdown at the first challenge. She’d already seen Andy blow up the game for his first partner Jon, yet he was her first choice. Aligning with someone who identified himself as the ideal finals goat seemed like a losing thought too. Since nobody would want Andy gone, it seemed certain Genevieve would leave before he would. Genevieve watched Tiyana leave, then went with the majority in a split vote plan to boot either Sierra or Sam. In that time, she actually earned some trust back from Sol and Teeny. She also correctly identified Rachel as a threat to win the game.

But then she decided to go after Sol. Again, the move didn’t make sense. Sol was not targeting her and was showing signs he’d still work with her. Sol wasn’t gaining any new allies either. He was far from being a frontrunner. Why target Sol? In confessional, she said “A little bee in my bonnet from the Lavo beach said Sol targeted my ally Rome. We’ve mended fences-ish, but in this game, I’m so petty. I’ve really just been waiting. When can I get Sol?” Even worse, she explained her reasoning to Gabe, adding she’d be burning a bridge with Teeny again. Genevieve hadn’t made any strong connections with the Tuku people, so she was in effect telling Gabe she wanted to strengthen his position while simultaneously weakening her own. Gabe quite literally pointed at Genevieve and said “This is all her” in front of Kyle. It just didn’t add up that Genevieve would abandon her plan to go after Rachel and label herself as a strategic threat, all to remove someone who wanted to work with her. And she pitched this plan while four people were on a Journey and could lose their votes. Genevieve had no idea how many votes were in play. To her surprise, the move worked, but now everyone knew Genevieve was a dangerous player. She made herself a top target. Now she had everyone in the game contemplating voting her out next.

Genevieve survived the next two votes when bigger targets Kyle and Gabe left. Then at final 7 she was part of Andy’s “Operation Italy,” which was designed to remove Rachel. The plan revolved around creating the impression that Genevieve had an Idol, which would force the alliance of five to split their votes between Sam and Genevieve. Then Andy would flip and blindside Rachel. There were two problems for Genevieve here. First, she didn’t actually have an Idol (she made a phony one), so if she got the majority of the split votes, she’d be gone. Second, Rachel won Immunity, taking the prime target off the board. Operation Italy worked ... on Caroline, who was blindsided. Andy talked himself out of the game next, and then Genevieve committed her Bonehead move: The only thing keeping Geneieve in the game was the fear she had an Idol. But when a sobbing Teeny vented frustration about Genevieve’s repeated lies and manipulation, Genevieve felt bad and admitted her Idol was a phony. Teeny reported this info to Rachel and Sue, who eventually helped vote Genevieve out.

Outlook: I doubt Genevieve will be seen as much of a threat with so many higher profile players in the cast. But since so many of her decisions made her game harder for herself, it’s hard to tell if she’s got the strategic chops to outwit experienced players who have little reason to trust her from Day 1. I could see her leaving very early because she just can’t find her footing or earn trust from anyone. But I could also see her making another deep run when carried by others who aren’t worried about her outsmarting them.

Joe’s approach to Survivor was similar to several alpha males who preceded him (Lex, Boston Rob, Andrew Savage, Pilot Terry, Ozzy, and at times Coach). He vowed to “play with honesty and integrity,” and unlike some other alphas, I think he meant it. Joe never realized when he wasn’t living up to that mantra. He was shocked and offended when David accused him of breaking his word. He never caught on to the fact that you simply can’t play a winning game of Survivor without lying. But unlike most alpha male players, Joe didn’t play with a heavy-handed “my way or the highway” style. He didn’t give orders, try to forbid private conversations or intimidate players. Instead, he picked his alliance partners and (mostly) remained fiercely loyal to his core partners Eva, Kyle and Shauhin. Joe’s strategic philosophy was illustrated in this early confessional: Joe “I want to build strong bonds within our team. I do want to be that player that when I walk away, people say ‘Joe’s a good dude.’ It sounds corny, and people have said this before, but that loyalty piece – taking a group to the end? I want to change the game and really try that.” Joe was determined to play a team game, and didn’t seem to realize Survivor is an individual game from start to finish.

Eva approached Joe on day 1 and asked him to be her partner and Joe accepted, calling her his “ride or die.” The next day, he joined an alliance with Thomas and Shauhin they called the “California Girls.” Joe was doing the right things, saying “yes” when presented with a strategic plan. Then something unpredictable happened that changed the course of Joe’s entire game. Later that day Eva revealed to Joe that she was autistic and could at times become overwhelmed in pressure situations and would need someone’s help to calm her down. Joe’s fatherly instincts kicked in. He couldn’t turn his back on her, and in confessional said “This is bigger than the game now and transcended it in a way that changes everything ... She’s with me. I got her ... I’m not gonna let her down, even if that hurts my game, whatever. If I gotta go home early, I’m not gonna let her down.” This commitment would affect Joe’s strategy for the rest of the game. Joe never seemed to realize this would mean he’d have to betray at least one of his three alliance partners. But game circumstances delayed that for a while.

The original Vula tribe couldn’t win a challenge, losing each of the first 5. This led to a tribe swap which separated Joe from Eva, but kept him with Shauhin and Thomas, who outnumbered Kyle and Kamilla. The 5 of them bonded after sharing stories of how their parents all struggled. After losing Immunity, the California Girls stuck together and decided Kyle was the bigger threat and tried to vote him out. What Joe didn’t know was he was strategically overmatched by Kyle and Kamilla, who fooled the guys into believing they weren’t partners. Kyle saved himself with the Idol the guys couldn’t find in his bag. Joe and Shauhin were shocked when Thomas got blindsided with two votes. Just the same, the guys still didn’t suspect Kyle and Kamilla were working together and they ended up embracing and trusting Kyle more than they trusted Thomas. Joe’s conflicting commitments were tested when Eva fell into one of her episodes after an Immunity challenge. Joe was laser-focused on her as she struggled to complete a table maze. He painfully watched as her frustration escalated every time she had to start over. Eva finished the maze, winning immunity for her tribe, but she was overwhelmed and started screaming uncontrollably. Probst gave him the ok to help her, and he rushed to her side to calm her down. Now everyone knew who his true #1 partner was. There was a power couple to be broken up now. Eva explained her situation to everyone, who all admired Joe for his actions. But he simultaneously became the player too well-liked to let reach the finals.

But another unpredictable event bought Joe some safety. Eva helped Star solve her Beware Advantage puzzle, and Star gave her Idol to Eva in front of Charity, Mary and David. When the merge came, everyone knew Eva had an Idol and was willing to use it to protect Joe. Through no intentional strategy of his own, there was now a reason NOT to go after Joe.

Joe entered the merge with a variety of options open to him. He still had his #1 in Eva, he had his swapped alliance with Shauhin, Kyle and Kamilla as they all promised to stick together. And after bonding with David over their love of milk, he had yet another partner. We never saw how it happened, but somehow, Kamilla fell out of favor with this group and was replaced when David brought Mary into the alliance of six. Joe didn’t seem to realize this represented him breaking his word to Kamilla, but he embraced Mary just the same.

The majority booted a few outsiders (Charity, Sai, Cedrek and Chrissy) while Joe pounded his “honesty and integrity” mantra. Much like some of the S37: David vs. Goliath players went to Mike White for advice, this season’s players were going to Joe before finalizing voting plans. In confessional, several players talked about Joe as a clear frontrunner to win, and someone who should be voted out ASAP. Joe was also doing well at the Individual Immunity Challenges, winning once and finishing third in another. But unbeknownst to Joe (and the viewing audience), something turned about Joe’s game as Kyle and Shauhin separately realized they could probably beat Joe and/or Eva in the finals. Maybe they realized they could both outtalk Joe at the end. Maybe they realized Eva was the primary strategist in her partnership with Joe. Whatever it was, both of them started looking at other targets before Joe.

Joe found himself playing referee between David and Kyle when Kyle resisted David’s attempts to boot Kamilla. David accused Joe of going back on his word to boot Kamilla at the previous vote when Kyle got the plan switched to Chrissy. Joe didn’t like David’s accusation, then promptly broke the Final 6 promise he made to David and helped blindside him at Final 9. Joe never suspected he’d been manipulated by Shauhin into turning against David, and still didn’t know Kyle and Kamilla had been working together the entire game. Joe was being outwitted and outmaneuvered. He was angering some jurors too but didn’t know it. Chrissy, David, Star and Mary all had reasons to be upset with Joe. Then at Final 6, Kyle fooled Joe and Eva into helping blindside Shauhin.

Just the same, Joe’s social game wasn’t a trainwreck. Both Kyle and Eva had promised to take him to the finals if they won Final 4 Immunity. Kamilla and Shauhin also wanted to sit next to Joe. How many other players have had so many finals commitments? Joe made it to the finals with Eva and Kyle, winning four Immunity Challenges along the way, but he got rattled just before Final Tribal Council when both Kyle and Eva revealed secrets about themselves – Kyle was a lawyer, and Eva was working on a PhD. Joe realized he was overmatched by two players who could easily outtalk him. As it turned out, Joe never had a realistic chance to win.

Outlook: The fact that Joe fell from a strong position to almost zero-vote goat status probably means he’s got the best shot of the three returning players from 48 to do well in Survivor 50. Most will realize they can outsmart Joe, whose last impression was being shocked that Kyle was a Lawyer and Eva was working on a PhD. There are enough challenge beasts around (Ozzy, Colby, Jonathan, Stephenie, Chrissy, even Devens) that Joe won’t be a standout in that category, either. The only question for Joe is will he make the adjustment that could probably take him to a win: Is he willing to lie to improve his position? He should. At the end of 48, Joe said “I wasn’t willing to just stab somebody in the back to shock and awe a potential juror that might say ‘Wow, that’s so impressive that you were scandalous in that moment.’” He should be as scandalous as possible and lie his ass off every chance he gets because nobody will suspect he’ll do it except maybe Kyle, Kamilla and Cirie. If he tries to play another honest game, he’ll only get fooled again. Joe should also let others know he’s willing to remove Kyle and Kamilla. This cast got on the plane about a week after the 48 finale aired. Joe, Kyle and Kamilla will be fresh on everyone’s minds. Most will suspect they’ll be as close as they were the first time around. Working against Joe is the fact that his “heroic” edit – especially the way he so fiercely looked after Eva, will be fresh in these players’ minds. They know how much Joe is liked by the viewing audience.

I tried to do separate write ups for Kyle and Kamilla, but it just didn’t work. While there were several elements that separated their rookie efforts, there were just too many moves and decisions they made as a duo. 75% of each person’s recap would have the other one in it. So, I’m combining the very successful duo. Like several duos from the past (Tina & Colby, Tom & Ian, Todd & Amanda, Stephen & J.T., Wendell & Domenick), if you could meld Kyle and Kamilla into one person, they just might be the perfect Survivor player.

Kyle and Kamilla spent the entire game in the same camp, first on their original tribe, then on a swapped tribe, then through the merge. They began with separate mindsets. Kamilla couldn’t wait to lie and manipulate people, saying in confessional, “I’ve wanted to do this since I was 9. And finally, I get to run around, cause chaos and have fun while doing it.” Kyle was more interested in playing the middle and focusing on building trusting relationships.

Kyle stumbled out of the gate by volunteering to go on a Day 1 Journey, robbing him of a chance to bond with his tribe. It also gave them a chance to form an alliance without him. Then he rushed through several parts of the challenge trying to win his tribe’s pot and machete. In his haste, he broke a jug he was filling with water and eliminated himself. But he didn’t waste the opportunity. He helped the injured Kevin complete his task. Had Kevin stuck around, he likely would have been open to working with Kyle later on. Kyle passed the first test of his social game.

Kamilla made the smarter move and went to camp with her tribemates. She laid low, sizing up her tribemates while working on the shelter. She watched David (whom she referred to as “Giga Chad”) flexing his many muscles, and Mitch making everyone laugh. When Kyle returned to camp emptyhanded, he and Kamilla bonded immediately over their love of similar movies and their Guyanese roots. She seized her first opportunity to manipulate when Charity told her she might target Kyle because he could have received an Advantage on his Journey and not told anyone. Kamilla went straight to Kyle and threw Charity under the bus. In confessional, Kyle said “I really like Kamilla, I’d love to work with her because as I’ve learned about myself, moreso here, I’m an impulsive guy. Kamilla’ gonna be a very strategic player. She’s gonna know when to strike and when to pull back. I like that and need that around me.” A partnership was born.

Kyle also partnered with David. They even called each other their #1. Kamilla flexed her manipulation muscles early, saying in confessional “I know I’m weak, so I need someone else’s name out there, and I’m doing it by throwing Charity’s name under the bus. I’ve been reversing that bus, running her over and over. My plan to get suspicion cast on Charity worked way better than I thought it would ‘cause Chrissy, David, Kyle and I ended up forming an alliance over this shared mistrust of Charity, which works in my favor so well.” When the foursome noticed how much Mitch liked Charity, he became their #2 target. Mitch pitched a partnership with Kyle and he wisely accepted, giving himself another option. Kyle also found a Beware Advantage and foolishly opened it, knowing he could lose his vote. Kamilla helped him solve his puzzle lock, which bonded them even closer, and gave him an Idol. Mitch went on a Journey and immediately reported he’d won a Block A Vote Advantage. Kamilla also went on a Journey and won an Extra Vote. She wanted to keep it secret but read the room correctly and saw her tribe valued honesty. So, she told everyone about it. Neither Advantage came into play on original Civa because they didn’t lose any challenges.

Kyle and Kamilla’s loyalty was tested after a swap put them in a 3-2 hole with the three-person “California Girls” alliance of Thomas, Joe and Shauhin. In flashback, we learned Kamilla compared notes with Star while they sat out of a challenge. She found out Thomas lied to his tribe about a Journey he’d taken. She threw Thomas under the bus and caused Joe and Shauhin to become suspicious of him. But that wasn’t her best move here. After being caught off guard by the swap, Kamilla told Joe and Shauhin “Only one person came up to me to talk strategy, and that strategy was ‘If we lose Immunity, you and me are on the bottom.’” Kyle picked up on Kamilla’s lie and asked, “I’m guessing it was Charity?” Kamilla nodded yes, Joe and Shauhin bought it, and their partnership passed its first test. The guys didn’t think Kyle and Kamilla were close. Shauhin was so convinced, he had no problem searching Kyle’s bag for an Idol while Kamilla was sitting next to him. She did a great job of concealing her nervousness.

The pair knew how to cover their tracks too. Kamilla learned the guys were voting for Kyle, so she told him to play his Idol. She let him use her Extra Vote too just in case they split their votes. They blindsided Thomas. Kyle told the guys he played his Idol because he realized someone searched his bag, and he filled Kamilla in on the plan at the last second. Joe and Shauhin bought it, continued to trust Kyle, and didn’t think he was working with Kamilla for the rest of the game.

Kyle and Kamilla bonded well with Joe and Shauhin when they all discussed their family histories. This paid off after the merge by keeping Kamilla low on their hit list, and Kyle off of it completely. The merge is when Kyle and Kamilla’s games started to separate a little. While they remained #1s dedicated to working together, Kyle built stronger social relationships with Shauhin and Joe. He reestablished his bond with David, too. This paid off when they convinced their partners Eva and Mary to trust Kyle too. On the other hand, Kamilla fell out of favor with Joe and Shauhin, who didn’t include her in voting plans, and instead embraced David, who brought in Mary. They opted to inform Kamilla of voting decisions after they’d been made instead of asking for her input. But Kamilla didn’t stand still and take it. When Kyle said he’d like to get Joe suspicious of Shauhin, Kamilla augmented Kyle’s idea and made it believable by launching a long con of her own. She convinced David that Shauhin was hiding an Idol. David bought it and reported his suspicions to Joe. While it didn’t get Shauhin voted out, it did create a crack that could be exploited later.

Kyle and Kamilla’s partnership was tested again at final 9. Chrissy was the initial target, but suddenly David started pushing hard to remove Kamilla because he suspected Shauhin was carrying her vote in his pocket. Kyle was of course against this plan. In confessional, Kyle said “I can’t steer votes away from Kamilla without making people very wary of me. But at the very least, I’d like Chrissy out and not Kamilla. So, I try to steer the vote through Joe because I know Joe has a lot of sway in this group.” Kyle kept pushing to boot Chrissy instead. In the broadcast, he appeared willing to let Kamilla go, but as we learned later, he was able to flip the vote back to Chrissy. This strained Kyle’s relationship with David, and now he was determined to remove David’s pocket vote Mary. David picked up on Kyle’s partnership with Kamilla and pushed harder to remove her, which was a direct threat to his own game. Kyle addressed it again by using Joe. Kyle confided in Joe some personal information about his past to explain why he pushed back so hard against David. Once again it worked. Kyle correctly observed Joe would react to an emotional approach. Joe and Eva helped blindside David.

At the next vote, Kamilla tried to flex some strategic muscle by pitching a plan to boot Joe. Kyle agreed not to stand in her way. In confessional, Kyle said “I’m done betraying people’s trust. I owe a lot to Kamilla who I’ve navigated this game with so gracefully. Maybe I try my best to give her a chance to take a shot at Joe. I’m not gonna give her the final number, but I’ll let her pull the trigger. If she misses, that’s on her.” It was on Kamilla, and she couldn’t get it done. Kyle even took Eva and Shauhin on a Reward trip so she could work on turning Mitch and Mary against Joe. She didn’t have the social capital Kyle had. She realized Star was feeding information to Joe and Eva. She couldn’t execute the plan without Kyle’s help, but in the broadcast, we saw Star and Mary pitching Mitch on the plan instead of Kamilla. Kamilla knew Mitch didn’t trust either of them, so this was a curious decision. Why not pitch the move herself? Kamilla was probably the better strategist but couldn’t execute her plans without Kyle’s relationships. Kyle wouldn’t betray Kamilla, but he also wouldn’t sacrifice his own game for her. Star and Mary left back-to-back.

Next came what I think was their best move of the game, at Final 6. Kamilla still targeted Joe, saying in confessional “Now is the time to go after Joe. Nobody wants to sit with Joe at the end because he’s been perceived as the ‘leader’ of the majority group ... Kyle still feels hesitant to get Joe out. He’s playing a game of chicken with Shauhin. One of them needs to make a move first. But now is the time to actually start playing Survivor and not just let Joe and Eva decide who’s going home. We’re at the end. This is our final shot. We have to take it now.” But Kyle read the room better than Kamilla did. He read it better than us viewers too, which isn’t surprising since he was in the room and we weren’t. Kyle (and Shauhin) both realized Joe was beatable. Maybe they’d seen how he’d angered some jurors. Maybe they knew it was easy to outwit him and/or outtalk him at Final Tribal Council. While on a Reward, Shauhin pitched Kyle on blindsiding Eva. He didn’t know it, but he gave Kyle exactly what he needed. Kyle did the right thing and agreed to Shauhin’s pitch. Then he checked in with Kamilla with his idea to flip it on Shauhin. She agreed it could work. Kyle went straight to Joe and exposed Shauhin’s plan, adding he should check with Kamilla to confirm Shauhin showed her an Idol. The plan worked exactly as Kyle planned it. Shauhin was voted out, and Kyle had Joe and Eva thanking him and Kamilla for tipping them off. Like the Thomas boot, this was Cirie-level manipulation. Kyle and Kamilla convinced Joe and Eva to make a move that was bad for their own games without angering them. While Joe suspected Kyle could be playing him, it wasn’t enough for him to compare notes with Shauhin, which would blow up the plan.

After Mitch left at Final 5, Kyle and Kamilla both probably knew their best chance of winning would be if one of them was on the jury lobbying for the other. This is where Kamilla committed a Bonehead move, telling Kyle “If I win (Final 4 Immunity) tonight, you’re making fire.” Kyle may have been thinking of doing the same thing to Kamilla, but when she said it out loud, she gave him permission to do it if he won. That’s exactly what he did when he won Immunity. He put Kamilla in against Eva and carried Joe into the finals. Kamilla lost (never sparking a flame) which sealed a vote for Kyle.

Kyle performed very well at Final Tribal Council, and dealt a death blow to Joe and Eva, cleverly waiting for them to try and own the blindside on Shauhin. Kamilla also sat back and set Kyle up perfectly to embarrass them both. Kyle won by a 5-2-1 margin. Kyle's approach is perfectly summed up by one of his confessional quotes late into the game: “I’ve played this game with little pushes. Everybody expects these big moves, but Survivor is won in the margins.” He also proved my theory on subtle moves.

Outlook: Unfortunately for Kyle and Kamilla, they’re playing a second time just a week or so after the entire cast had a chance to watch their season finale. Their strategy and partnership are fresh in everyone’s minds. They’ll have just seen Kamilla saying “I’m never getting voted out,” and Kyle explaining how he won. Kyle and Kamilla probably have zero chance of working together. It’s even in Joe’s interest to distance himself from them so he can adjust his own approach. Kyle also has the stigma of being one of two winners (with Dee) in the cast. And like Dee he has everything to lose and almost nothing to gain. He could be proud to make the merge. It’s hard for me to see returning players giving anyone a 2nd win when there are 22 others who haven’t had a 1st. I don’t think either of them have a shot at winning unless the other leaves very early. During 48, I speculated Kamilla might be able to square off against Cirie. I didn’t have inside information, and I’m shocked I was right about that. But instead of working against each other, I’d love to see what could happen if they worked together. Kamilla had almost a year off between appearances. I hope she practiced making fire.

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SPOILER ALERT: The rest of this column contains mild spoilers about Season 50. If you don’t want that info yet, please jump to the bottom and leave a comment about the cast reviews.

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  Inside Survivor released the "rumored" tribe designations for 50, and it looks like they made a conscious effort to separate those who played and/or aligned together in their rookie seasons. With 3 exceptions (Stephenie & Colby, Ozzy & Cirie and Charlie & Tiffany), none of the tribes have any pairs who’ve played together before. Two of these exceptions could have been avoided simply by switching Stephenie and Tiffany. But Cirie has played so many times, its hard to find someone she has NOT played with before.

  The biggest beneficiary of this development is by far Kamilla. Being separated from Kyle removes an initial “power couple” threat for her. She can establish her own identity. She has also been placed on the same tribe as Dee, who faces a “former winner” target. That could buy Kamilla some early safety too.

  Purple Tribe – Colby, Kyle, Q, Rizo Velovic (S49), Angelina, Aubry, Genevieve & Stephenie

  Orange Tribe – Christian, Joe, Ozzy, Devens, Cirie, Emily, Jenna & Savannah Louie (S49)

  Teal Tribe – Charlie, Coach, Jonathan, Mike, Chrissy, Dee, Kamilla & Tiffany

  On the Purple tribe, Stephenie and Colby could be suspected of being a natural alliance since they were partners in HvV, but that partnership didn’t last two Tribal Councils, so how threatening could it be? Kyle is an attractive target since his win is fresh on everyone’s minds, and everyone knows he’s a Lawyer. On the Orange tribe, everyone will naturally fear Cirie, but with powerhouses Joe and Ozzy and puzzle master Christian around, I don’t think they’ll go to any early Tribal Councils. Devens is good at all kinds of challenges, and most forget how good Cirie is at puzzles, too. And on Teal, Charlie and Tiffany never really worked together the first time around, so they may avoid that suspicion. Dee is probably in the most trouble here as the only former winner. Even though they have Jonathan, the Teal tribe appears to be the weakest across the board (depending upon which Colby shows up, and what Rizo and Savannah can do). Having the two physically weakest players in Mike and Kamilla is a lot for Jonathan to compensate for.

  The unknown factors of course are Rizo and Savannah. Who knows what their challenge strengths are? They won’t have a reputation to overcome unless they spill info about each other, which probably isn’t in either of their best interests. All we know about them is they did SOMETHING that merited a second appearance. Were they the 4th place “robbed God/Goddess?” Were they entertaining agents of chaos/incompetence? Did they excel in their confessionals? It’s possible they were both finalists. One could even be a winner. Its hard for me to see Producers putting two former winners on the same tribe, so my gut says Rizo doesn’t win Survivor 49. But if Savannah is the winner, that would give each initial tribe a former winner to deal with. Their presence in this cast also tells us at a minimum they both make the merge in 49 too.

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So, there you have it. What do you think? Are the former winners in the most trouble? Do Kyle and Dee have any chance of making it to the merge at all? Can Rizo or Savannah become the first to win after playing in back-to-back seasons? Could Cirie finally pull out a win (I’d love for that to happen, and WITHOUT unofficial “help” from the powers that be). Is it possible for Angelina or Chrissy to play any worse than they did the first time? Who is your pick to fly under the radar into the final 5? Let me know in the comments.

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