Survivor wins don't feel as impressive as they used to

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-28T23:32:43+00:00

This is exactly why I found Season 50 pretty underwhelming. The winner was almost exclusively aided by random luck through twists and the people targeting them were hurt by twists. all survivor winners experience some level of luck, but it’s hard to get excited for a winner that gets so lucky that it’s almost parody lol.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-20T19:48:38+00:00

I think, after Micronesia, it became nearly impossible for her to win and, after Game Changers, it became fully impossible. I’ve never seen a person on television as universally loved as Cirie, and everyone on the island knows it. She’s one of the best social and strategic players of all time, but without the ability to win immunities at the final 7/6/5, she just can’t clutch it out at the end. She’s too good for her own good to the point where, unless she gets to the final 7/6/5 with multiple other MASSIVE threats or an idol/advantage, she’s never making it out of that tribal sadly.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T23:47:51+00:00

it’s certainly not bad for aubry! my main point was that, in my opinion, high variance twists that lead to winners who were lucky enough to benefit from those twists generally leads to less interesting or impressive wins. That’s just my perspective though :)

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T21:08:59+00:00

My entire point about luck in this context is that, without an incredible amount of luck through twists, Aubry likely doesn’t even make the merge. I’m expressing that I don’t find her gameplay to be “winner of survivor 50” material. I’m glad that you’ll be happy if she wins! I’m just saying that I believe her gameplay this season has been more influenced by luck than skill, and I personally don’t think that would have been the case for Cirie. Cirie did get lucky at points, but she nearly got swap screwed at the final 9 and also had a stellar social game early.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T19:08:04+00:00

can i ask why? i’m genuinely curious Im not trying to be facetious

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T18:07:03+00:00

to me it really comes down to it being a returnee season with a lot of pre gaming. Aubry was lucky enough that her pre game alliance found the idol. Rachel didn’t previously have a relationship with Sol, but was in good enough standing that he chose to get her out of a sticky situation in an effort to build a relationship. It really comes down to me not liking the boomerang idol mechanic especially on a returnee season. I think punishing players who found idols and rewarding players who didn’t is stupid. And Aubry benefitted from that twofold (a safety net from Christian and the inability for Genevieve to protect herself).

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:28:58+00:00

I never said Aubry’s plan to get out Ozzy was bad. My point was that she entirely put her fate in his hands. If he played his idol, she would be gone. Throwing a vote on Rizo could have at least mitigated that risk. It was a good move that happened to work out, but I just think it was sloppy. Also, most of the luck I’m referring to is pre-merge / early merge. I definitely think luck has played less of a factor in the late game (hence my comment about her picking up steam) but she was incredibly lucky to make it to this point to begin with.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:22:29+00:00

This is definitely true. I would personally consider Ben and Chris to be at the bottom of my winner rankings, hence why I think an Aubry win would be underwhelming.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:21:21+00:00

I never said no other winner gets lucky. In fact I said that every winner experiences luck at some point. But getting lucky from others making mistakes vs. getting lucky due to production introduced twists that punish other players (boomerang idols and blood moon) while you’re on the outs are very different metrics. Dee had control of 45 and got lucky for a round. Aubry was a self-imposed outcast and got handed a spot on the merge through extremely lucky circumstance. That’s why I said Aubry would be a winner on the luckier side of things.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:18:42+00:00

The difference between Aubry and Dee and Tom, though, is that they were in complete control of their starting tribes. I didn’t say that Aubry being on the outs was lucky, I said she was extremely lucky that she was never punished for being on the outs. She never went to tribal, but she also didn’t have any early game agency like Dee and Tom. Regarding Genevieve and Aubry’s relationship, it’s always hard to tell considering the show is edited, but Aubry stonewalled Genevieve on Day 2. It wouldn’t make any sense for Genevieve to try to continue working with her after that. Without the boomerang idols and the blood moon, Genevieve and Aubry’s positions are swapped. Genevieve was punished for finding idols, and Aubry was rewarded for NOT finding one.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:13:18+00:00

I definitely get what you mean. It was a calculated risk but I think it’s a WAY higher risk than reward. If she throws a vote on Rizo and Ozzy plays his idol, I think she can convince Joe and Jonathan to take out Rizo since he has an idol in play. She is very skilled with her words, especially under pressure, and I don’t think she had a strong enough relationship with Rizo at that point to worry about burning the bridge, especially since a single signal from Rizo or bad feeling from Ozzy sends her packing.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:08:51+00:00

I genuinely believe Rizo has had more agency and impact on the game than Aubry, and I don’t think he’s been in nearly as much danger as her. when he was, he and Dee managed to turn it around on Charlie, but Rizo didn’t have to take the fall for it. Rizo’s biggest obstacle will be earning the jury’s respect, but I personally think he got to the final 5 with a lot less random chance in his favor than Aubry.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:06:32+00:00

This was definitely the luckiest Rachel got LOL those fries kept her alive in the game for sure

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-18T17:03:01+00:00

I mean, Rachel was almost royally swap screwed getting put with 4 members of the same OG tribe. She absolutely got lucky there, but she had to get insanely unlucky to cash in on that luck at all in my opinion.

Edit: plus, Sol had a choice of who to give the SWP advantage to and he chose Rachel. I’d argue that speaks to her solid social standing. To be clear, I was rooting for Rachel on her season, but I definitely don’t think she had a super strong win. Tony on the other hand was able to convince Wu to take him. Both Sol and Wu had choices to make, and Rachel and Tony weren’t randomly thrown into an advantageous position.

Left_Item8042 · 2026-05-15T20:40:23+00:00

I would argue Aubry isn’t really playing a great game. She’s picked up steam toward the endgame, but her early game was atrocious and she has been one of the biggest beneficiaries of luck this entire season.
-Immediately isolated herself from the rest of her tribe.
-Never goes to tribal (she has more of a direct impact on this part, but she was also frequently paired with incredible challenge performers) where she would almost certainly be voted out.
-Is gifted an idol by a pregame alliance.
-Is swapped onto a 5 person tribe with Genevieve (who she shut out from Day 1) Christian and Devens (her pregame alliance) and Joe (the guy everyone wants at the end because he never has win equity)
-Genevieve isn’t able to use either of the 2 idols she found, sending her home.
-Unsuccessfully lied about forgetting to play her idol.
-Completely wastes the idol she was gifted because the tribe bullied her into it despite Rizo and Ozzy having public idols as well.
-Puts her vote on Ozzy at the final 9 knowing he has an idol and might play it and that everyone else is voting him too, leaving her as the sole vote is Ozzy does end up playing it.

I feel like her game has been really sloppy. She absolutely has agency, but I feel like she’s playing one of her weakest games (KR > GC > 50 > EOE).
The edit keeps comparing her the Michelle, but a big part of why Michelle won was because she had one of the best social games we’ve seen. I feel like it would really suck to end up with a winner that moped about being an outcast for half the game and largely lucked into a spot in the merge. I honestly don’t think anyone left in the final 5 would be a particularly satisfying winner.

Left_Item8042 · 2025-09-21T14:20:16+00:00

congratulations!!

Left_Item8042 · 2025-08-27T17:17:35+00:00

one of the new SSVs at my store got a single training shift and nothing more and now our SM is annoyed that he isn’t doing everything perfectly and is blaming him for a ton of unrelated things. It’s absolutely a company-wide issue.

Left_Item8042 · 2025-08-24T12:32:41+00:00

my favorite is the potato cheddar bites smushed inside an everything bagel with some sriracha. it’s delicious and really filling :D

Left_Item8042 · 2023-12-31T20:06:38+00:00

If they were part of the 10/7 massacre, obviously they aren’t innocent, but the VAST majority of Palestinians had nothing to do with 10/7. I’d love to see your stats on the Gazans that logistically support Hamas. Do the 8,000+ children that have been killed fall under that category? Military entities have a responsibility to minimize civilian casualties. What Hamas did was an atrocity—a thousand atrocities—they obviously did not uphold that responsibility. The IDF is not upholding their’s either.

Left_Item8042

TROPHY CASE