Survivor Season 50, Episode 2
"Therapy Carousel"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Angelina Keeley, Aubry Bracco, Coach Wade, Charlie Davis, Chrissy Hofbeck, Christian Hubicki, Cirie Fields, Colby Donaldson, Dee Valladares, Emily Flippen, Genevieve Mushaluk, Joe Hunter, Jonathan Young, Kamilla Karthigesu, Mike White, Ozzy Lusth, Q Burdette, Rick Devens, Rizo Velovic, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Tiffany Ervin
So far on Survivor 50, the biggest loss we’ve had was Kyle, but he went out to a medical injury and that felt very different. Granted, I like Savannah, but she won Season 49 and Jenna was gunning for Cirie, so she had to go instead. But losing Q in the third episode is genuinely devastating to me. I think he’s a top tier New Era player, so for him to just be gone so quickly hurt my heart a bit. So how did we get there?
The tribes predict a swap is coming. Since Aubry has been given an idol from Christian, he wants to add a layer of protection to it’s safety, so they must tell the others that she has it. They loop in Cirie, but can’t quite find a moment to break the news to Emily. So, just as the players are —
Wait, hold on. Jeff Probst is rapping. I must honor how shocking it was to see by breaking up my review of the episode. While we all had to bear witness to it, at least we didn’t have to snap along.
Okay, so the players drop their buffs and Christian whispers to Emily that Aubry has the idol. She doesn’t really know what to make of it, feeling like he blindsided her. She is thrown off that he didn’t tell her before. This could come back to bite Christian.
Our new tribes look as follows:
The new Cila is Charlie, Kamilla, Dee, and Jonathan along with Cirie, Rick and Rizo from the former Vatu.
The new Kalo is Joe (the only former Cila) with three Kalos in Tiffany, Chrissy and Coach, and three Vatus in Aubry, Colby, and Gen.
The new Vatu is a singular Kalo in Mike White with three Cilas (Emily, Christian, and Ozzy) with three Vatus (Q, Angelina, and Stephenie).
At the new Kalo tribe, it’s all about honor and integrity. Joe is very glad to be with Coach and Colby, who can also bring Gen and Chrissy along with them. That leaves Tiffany on the outs if they lose. Coach, who had spotted that Chrissy was rubbing people the wrong way on their old tribe, gives her the heads up. It hurts her a little. She knows people don’t always like her, but it hurts to actually know it. It’s pretty amazing to see Coach, who had to be told to relax by Tyson back in Survivor: Tocantins, that’s he now on the other side of this interaction. Chrissy talks about the fact that she’s been beaten up by this when she didn’t let surgery that would help prevent cancer (which she was at high risk of getting) get her down.
Kamilla was worried about being on the tribe without flint but saw that they had made fire. This situation is not like the one in her last season. Meanwhile, Cirie’s progress has been demolished as she and Rick are in the minority. Dee has to remind herself, or at least be reminded that her friend from home told her to vote out Cirie. Who cares what Mel thinks Dee! Don’t do it!
On the new Vatu, we have a full David vs. Goliath reunion with the three returning players from that season. Mike worries he might be screwed but everyone he knew from before the game is on his tribe. Beside Angelina and Christian, he also knows Ozzy. He has people he can trust. As a Mike White fan, he’s in a good spot.
Q tries to get to work, especially since he lost his vote. He lets Ozzy know that he got the idol from him. I think it's bad news for him. He does tell him it’s a boomerang idol. Q tries to bring in Emily, who immediately spills the beans about Aubry’s idol. If they add in Stephenie, they’d be a majority (though not without Q’s vote). However, the more Emily talks to them, the more she realizes that she isn’t in control. However, she gets good vibes from Angelina. She lets her know that Q and Stephenie would have voted her out. Angelina also gets emotional realizing she’s been lied to, but she feels she has found a genuine connection with Emily. I LOVE THIS PAIR!
Okay, so good news/bad news. Emily tells Christian she told the others that Aubry has the idol. It’s rough for Christian, but at least it’s not his idol. Christian knows he has to forgive her, especially since Emily could have been fearful the David vs. Goliath trio, but she actually needs them. They can run this tribe.
At the new Kalo tribe, Gen makes in-roads. She believes that the first person to make you feel secure is who you get attached to. So she quickly offers safety to Chrissy, Joe, and Coach. They all seem pleased. There’s just one person she doesn’t make a connection with, and that’s Aubry. However, when she tries to loop in Tiffany, it’s her first misstep. Tiffany wants to take this crack and spread it apart. Aubry is thankful to have her gut confirmed. Loving these female friendships blooming on Survivor 50.
I feel like Survivor has always wanted to curate it’s history. But one of the most fun things about Survivor 50 so far is seeing all of these random moments in history become fodder for drama. Who knew South Pacific and Maria Gonzalez would be such big parts of this season? The latter happens when Rizo tells his tribe that his closest ally last season was Sophi, but he didn’t vote for her to win. Charlie, whose closest ally did not vote for him to win, does not love this revelation from Rizo and is determined to get him out. Charlie seems like he’ll be telling Rizo Look What You Made Me Do later this season.
The tribes compete for immunity. Once again, only one tribe is heading to tribal council, which seems shocking considering how many players we have left. Let’s all pray to the Survivor gods that we aren’t getting some random purge twist later this season. Christian is the caller for his team, but can’t guide his team to victory. The new Vatu is headed to Tribal Council.
Q and Stephenie try to start a campaign against Angelina. Mike tells them that he likely can’t vote for them and he might need to vote for Stephenie instead. Q hates this idea, because the math won’t work if Mike White doesn’t vote with them. With the threat level of the David vs. Goliath trio, Q and Stephenie believe that Mike and Christian will be okay with Angelina going. But instead, Mike sets the trap for Q, though he’s worried that if he finds out it will blow up. Thank the Survivor gods that Q comes up with a plan that is music to Mike’s ears: just vote for Q. Q thinks he’s doing this to save Stephenie, but instead, he sets himself for a blindside.
The only real hiccup could be Ozzy as he is worried about getting rid of a strong player. Here’s the old Ozzy showing up! It seems that they are able to convince him though, as it’s a 5-1 vote against Q. We lose a modern legend. I’m sad we didn’t get a more dynamic Q this season, but I’m glad we at least got a little Q.
If you haven't already, consider supporting worker-owned media by subscribing to Pop Heist. We are ad-free and operating outside the algorithm, so all dollars go directly to paying the staff members and writers who make articles like this one possible.
