After 50 seasons, one would be forgiven for assuming that, outside of convoluted twists, there would never be another Survivor first. Most of the noteworthy records occurred during the show’s earliest years, but the Survivor 50 finale boasted something fresh that nobody could have expected.
It was the show’s first live finale since 2019, and host Jeff Probst eschewed a more traditional post-game reunion to occasionally interview contestants throughout the night (a format introduced in 2014’s Cagayan). Though it disrupts the tension of the finale, it’s ultimately a relatively innocuous modification. But in this instance, it led to an awkward premature reveal that, honestly, offered an amusing surprise in an otherwise predictable evening.
Before a firemaking battle that decided whether Rizo Velovic or Jonathan Young would take up the last slot in the final three, Probst brought Velovic onstage for a brief interview. Though Velovic did his best to choose his words carefully to avoid spoilers, Probst instructed him to sit with the rest of the jury. Even on television, it was evident that the vibe in the theater had shifted, with a confused Probst asking what happened as contestants informed him that the competition hadn’t been shown yet.
Ever the professional, Probst returned from the commercial break with a tongue-in-cheek declaration that the mistake was actually the season’s final twist. “We call it a peek into the future, so now we’re gonna watch Rizo lose in fire to Jonathan,” he informed the laughing audience. (In fairness, the challenge itself was anticlimactic, with Young trouncing Velovic quite easily.)
The Only Close Finish of the Night
Between that firemaking battle and the eventual landslide winner vote, the finale was filled with landslide victories, but the episode’s first immunity challenge came down to a single puzzle piece. Young narrowly defeated Tiffany Ervin, who was seen as a top threat to win. A fighter to the end, Ervin pitched that Bracco’s story—going from a “robbed” runner-up in 2016’s Kaoh Rong to learning from her mistakes and playing a crafty game in Survivor 50—would be too good for the jury to resist.
Though her efforts to convince Velovic met a quick dead end, Hunter and Young seemed open to eliminating Bracco, but all doubt was removed at Tribal Council, where Ervin knew she would face the guillotine but continued arguing her case. Called out as a challenge threat, she pointed out that Hunter had won just as many immunity challenges as she had. Left out of the broadcast: Young’s argument that Ervin’s accomplishment was more impressive because she’s a woman. (Oof. He surely meant well, but no wonder he lost.)
Aubry Brings it Home
Once Ervin was eliminated, Bracco found herself competing against a tight alliance of three men determined to get to the end together. Her best hope was to win immunity, and a combination of luck and preparation played in her favor: fans got to vote between three options for the final immunity challenge, and they selected Simmotion, a fast-paced ball-racing battle that tests players’ attention and coordination. Personally, I would have rather seen something else, as Simmotion has been run ten times since its debut in 2009’s Tocantins, including three times in the last four years.
Following the challenge, Bracco revealed that she had purchased a homemade Simmotion model on Etsy before the season to practice in case it showed up as the final challenge. She might want to tip that Etsy seller from her newly minted $2 million bank account.
Once Velovic was officially eliminated, it was time for Bracco, Hunter, and Young to face the jury. (It’s quite unfortunate that fans were not able to vote for the far superior final two instead of yet another blowout final three.) Hunter found himself largely disregarded by the jury, though some members gave him his flowers for managing to always stay in the loop strategically even if he was rarely the one driving moves. There was a curious chorus of supporters arguing on Young’s behalf at the expense of actually asking questions to the finalists, as well as a number of Bracco advocates asking questions designed to help her shine, most notably Christian Hubicki asking the players to tell their “story,” tailormade for Bracco as a contestant who controversially lost her first season.
That story helped propel Bracco to an 8-3-0 victory over Young and Hunter respectively. She won not just $2 million, but a Toyota, while Cirie Fields won $100,000 as the result of a fan favorite poll. Meanwhile, Probst awarded Ozzy Lusth a tacky t-shirt mocking him for failing to play his idol. Maybe the firemaking spoiler wasn’t the host’s biggest faux pas of the night after all.
Coming This Fall: The Open Era
The long-awaited Survivor 50 mostly delivered during its run—it wasn’t perfect, and there were way too many twists that turned the game into a total crapshoot, but the return of characters like Rick Devens, Emily Flippen, and Benjamin “Coach” Wade among many others made for an exciting installment that arguably ranks as the show’s best season since 2018’s David vs. Goliath. (The only recent season that comes close would be Survivor 46, though it loses points for its sluggish start.)
Of course, the machine rolls on, with the already-filmed Survivor 51 debuting this fall. Probst has dubbed it the start of the “open era,” which apparently means that “every advantage, every idol, every twist we’ve ever done” is fair game, “along with dangerous new elements never seen before.” That doesn’t seem altogether different from the show’s first 40 seasons, though perhaps it will offer a breath of fresh air after the largely interchangeable seasons 41-49.
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