They say you never get a second chance to make a great first impression. But how about a fifth?
Though he’s long-beloved by much of the audience, Oscar “Ozzy” Lusth has never been one of my favorite Survivor players. His challenge prowess during his inaugural appearance in 2006’s Cook Islands was undeniably impressive, but I favored the more cerebral eventual victor, Yul Kwon. When Lusth returned two years later in Micronesia and then again in 2011’s South Pacific, he was arrogant and entitled, aghast that his status as a provider wasn’t enough to keep him from getting voted out. By 2017’s Game Changers, he was the worst thing any Survivor contestant can be: downright boring.
That’s why I considered Lusth one of the most unfortunate inclusions on the Survivor 50 cast. It was hard to imagine him offering anything new, but I’m happy to be proven wrong. This new 40something Ozzy possesses a newfound maturity and self-awareness that make for his most compelling appearance to date.
But it was one particular moment this week that won me over.
Coach vs. Ozzy: The Rivalry Continues
The 1979 “No Nukes” concert featuring Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, James Taylor, and other 70s superstars may not be as legendary as other benefit shows like Live Aid or the Concert for Bangladesh, but one backstage anecdote has amused rock lovers for decades.
Jackson Browne gave Petty a heads-up that, if he thought he heard the audience booing him, rest assured, it was only the sound of Springsteen fans cheering, “Bruuuuuuuce!”
Deadpanned Petty: “What’s the difference?”
The highlight of last week’s Survivor 50 premiere was the renewed rivalry between Lusth and Benjamin “Coach” Wade, 15 years after appearing together on South Pacific. To recap: the two competed (along with Q Burdette) in a challenge for camp supplies, and after Lusth finally snagged the key needed to win, Wade snatched it away from him. Lusth felt the move was a low blow.
When the tribes assembled for this week’s reward challenge, host Jeff Probst sadly informed them that Kyle Fraser had to be evacuated due to an injury. Lusth sympathized, saying that he feared he might get pulled from the game due to the back spasms he experienced in that prior challenge against Wade. When Probst asked Wade if he could relate, Wade did what he does best: make the moment all about him.
“I really want to get as far in this game as possible with just a shred of dignity,” Wade began, as we saw Lusth shake his head. “And so I might blow up my game for discussing this, but I want to set the record straight about the challenge. There was a key, we all fought hard for it. At one point, Ozzy said to Q, ‘Hey, if it drops, I’m gonna let you have it.’ In my mind, I said, ‘Screw that. It’s every man for himself.’ So as soon as that key dropped, I speared it and I pulled it out. So I want everybody to know, this is the same old Coach that you’ve always seen. I’m playing this game with as much honor as possible.” Lusth countered that there was no way Wade would have ever gotten the key on his own.
“I just want to set the record straight,” Wade maintained. “I’m playing this game like I’ve always played it for 101 frickin’ days.”
“Yeah, I think he is playing the game like he’s always played it,” Lusth conceded with an exasperated sigh. That’s when he bent the knife: “At least, the last time I played it with him.”
In other words: what’s the difference?
“An Unexpected Evacuation”
Three minutes and 20 seconds.
That is the exact amount of airtime a national broadcast network in the Year of Our Lord 2026 dedicated to a man pooping his pants.
Robotics scientist Christian Hubicki became a fan favorite in 2018’s David vs. Goliath for his endearing nerdiness and intelligent, socially savvy gameplay. But even the smartest among us are not immune to embarrassing bathroom failures, and CBS devoted 200 seconds to Hubicki’s.
“This is not the first time that the bowels have created problems for survivors,” he recounted—indeed, in the past, two players were evacuated due to, err, blockage issues. “And now I have entered the pantheon, the history of people whose pants became unexpectedly colored.” He hypothesized that his wife might even divorce him as a result, though as of this writing, it seems their marriage is intact.
It’s in the Bag…or Not
When Genevieve Mushaluk observed that her tribemate Aubry Bracco was being especially protective of her bag, she wondered if Bracco might have been the recipient of the “boomerang idol” Mushaluk herself found last week. (To recap: this type of idol requires the finder to gift it to a player on another tribe.) Mushaluk then led the charge to search Bracco’s bag to see if her theory was correct.
“If someone goes through your bag outside of Survivor, that just breaks every rule of decency there is,” Colby Donaldson said. “All bets are off when you come on Survivor.” (Incidentally, Donaldson was present for the first instance of bag searching on Survivor all the way back in season 2, when his tribe suspected Kel Gleason of smuggling beef jerky.)
The tribe came up empty-handed, but later on, Hubicki found the boomerang idol and gave it to…you guessed it, Bracco. But Hubicki didn’t stop there. He and Rick Devens used the note that accompanied his boomerang idol and planted it at Tribal Council for future use. Hubicki once again sacrificed his dignity by pretending to fall to distract his tribemates, and for once, “I meant to do that” was actually true.
Honor and Integrity and Rigidity…and Cirie
Wade isn’t the only player this season with a reputation for an unflappable code of honor. Joe Hunter built his game around “honor and integrity” in Survivor 48, and it worked with that cast, getting him all the way to the final three. His tribemates this season, however, find his rigidity a frustrating barrier to play around. Tensions are already brewing, especially with Devens, who experienced more than one awkward, uncomfortable encounter with Hunter this episode.
That made Hunter an unexpected early target, but Lusth also remained on the chopping block from last week. However, Cirie Fields was not about to let her closest ally get sent home. Fields is one of the game’s most cunning and socially gifted players ever, and she made it look effortless as she worked her magic and led the charge to take out Savannah Louie, who won last year’s Survivor 49. She was voted out unanimously.
Survivor 50 Snubs
I’ll conclude each week’s column by spotlighting one man and one woman who were left off Survivor 50 but would have made for excellent inclusions. This week, two of the most hilarious contestants the show has ever seen: Rob Cesternino (The Amazon, All-Stars) and Courtney Yates (China, Heroes vs. Villains).
When Cesternino first played in 2003, his game was revelatory. Nobody before him had treated alliances with such flexibility, frequently switching allegiances while maintaining constant control and making witty comments behind everyone’s backs. Probst dubbed him the show’s greatest non-winner up to that point, a title that unfortunately didn’t come with a million dollars and painted a huge target on Cesternino’s back when he returned for All-Stars a year later. Following his short stint on that season, he launched Rob Has a Podcast, which has since begun a reality TV empire of its own, and recently appeared on The Traitors.
Yates may not have quite the same strategic pedigree, but she’s another veritable quote machine who serves as the audience’s snarky best friend. She rarely takes the game seriously, but she was savvy enough to make it to second place in China. Survivor 50—or any season—would only benefit from her hysterical soundbites.
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