OMG, It\u2019s the OGs<\/p>\n
Survivor reached its zenith as a pop culture phenomenon during its first two seasons, and one player from each of those installments is among the competitors in Survivor 50: from 2000\u2019s Borneo, Jenna Lewis, then a brash single mother who later led the charge to expel former winners in 2004\u2019s All-Stars, and from 2001\u2019s The Australian Outback, all-American hero Colby Donaldson, who won audiences over with his picture-perfect grin and selfless decision to prioritize loyalty over strategy by taking and eventually losing to Tina Wesson in the finals.<\/p>\n
Donaldson\u2019s subsequent appearances in All-Stars and 2010\u2019s Heroes vs. Villains were less engaging, with his zeal for the game nearly nonexistent. As a longtime fan of the Colbster, I\u2019m pleased to report that his enthusiasm is on full display entering 50, and he swiftly integrated himself into a majority alliance on his tribe and even offered a fatherly shoulder to the season\u2019s youngest contestant, Rizo \u201cRizgod\u201d Velovic from last year\u2019s Survivor 49.<\/p>\n
Lewis, on the other hand, channeled her eagerness to play into a relentless and premature guns-blazing strike against fan favorite Cirie Fields (who has played in four previous seasons since 2006). Had she waited for after the first immunity challenge, in which Fields\u2019s weak performance cost their tribe the win, Lewis might have gained some traction with her plan, but her boldness had already rubbed too many of her fellow players the wrong way, with all of her tribemates voting her out unanimously.<\/p>\n
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Jenna Lewis and Jeff Probst (Photo: Michael Crowe\/CBS)<\/p>\n
Among those players was Oscar \u201cOzzy\u201d Lusth, also playing for a fifth time\u2014this older, wiser Ozzy finally demonstrating some strategic acumen beyond catching fish and swimming like one. Despite that, though he was far less messy than Lewis, Lusth found himself at the center of drama that promises to linger through at least the second episode.<\/p>\n
Coach Goes Off the Hook<\/p>\n
In 2011\u2019s South Pacific, Lusth faced off against Benjamin \u201cCoach\u201d Wade, one of the show\u2019s most uniquely bizarre players, who professed an earnest code of honor he only occasionally lived up to during his three prior appearances. Wade blamed Lusth for costing him the win that season, a resentment he\u2019s held for 15 years.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Yet on the opening day of 50, the two buried the hatchet, acknowledging that letting go of the rivalry would serve them both well. That gentleman\u2019s agreement lasted all of an hour, as the two competed (alongside 46\u2019s Q Burdette) in an exhausting battle to win supplies for their respective tribes. During a lengthy chase for a key, Lusth vowed not to swipe it if either of his adversaries managed to hook it first. Wade, notably, made no such deal, and when Lusth finally got a hold of the key, Wade captured it from him.<\/p>\n
That could have been the end of it, had Donaldson not unwittingly fanned the flames by asking Coach\u2019s teammate, Mike White (aka the writer\/director of HBO\u2019s hit The White Lotus), how Wade had recounted the incident back at camp. Never one to relax when his ethics are in question, the preview for next week shows Wade confronting Lusth about the affront to his integrity. I only hope the two last long enough for further fireworks.<\/p>\n
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Benjamin “Coach” Wade (Photo: Michael Crowe\/CBS)<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s Do the Twists<\/p>\n
Long gone are the days when a Survivor season could kick off without some new element to spice up the game, and 50 introduced both a new twist and a long-dormant old favorite. The \u201cboomerang idol\u201d\u2014designed, apparently, by Survivor fan Billie Eilish\u2014works like a traditional hidden immunity idol (which allows the holder to cancel out any votes cast against them), but requires its finder to bequeath it to another player with the promise that it will return to them if that player fails to play it. It\u2019s a little complicated, but that wrinkle\u2014do you send it to a potential ally or someone likely to get blindsided?\u2014is a neat one.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As a Survivor purist, I tend to prefer less complicated twists, but I like the social and strategic thought the boomerang idol requires. I was more pleased, however, with the reintroduction of Exile Island, a format that strands one or two contestants overnight.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Achilles\u2019 Last Stand<\/p>\n
During the first immunity challenge, 48 winner Kyle Fraser tore his Achilles tendon while trying to scale a wall. Oddly, the medical team cleared him to continue, but visited him at camp later, where they ran tests and pulled him from the game. Fraser took it like a champ, but his departure left Donaldson\u2019s majority alliance in a precarious position heading into next week.<\/p>\n
Survivor 50 Snubs<\/p>\n
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Jerri Manthey (Photo: CBS)<\/p>\n
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Jonathan Penner (Photo: Monty Brinton\/CBS)<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll conclude each week\u2019s column by spotlighting one man and one woman who were left off Survivor 50 but would have made for excellent inclusions. I already mentioned this week\u2019s contenders: Jonathan Penner (Cook Islands, Micronesia, Philippines) and Jerri Manthey (Australian Outback, All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains). Penner is one of the game\u2019s all-time great storytellers, a charming rogue known for making bold, impulsive moves. Manthey earned America\u2019s wrath during the second season, but eventually won fans over by her third appearance. Each time, she was paired with Donaldson, normally an adversary rather than an ally, but even he admits that it feels strange to compete on Survivor without Manthey.<\/p>\n