u/Live-Run-6745

I just love this arc of being such a last minute alternate to ultimately winning. We do know that she was never an "alternate." She was called at the beginning of casting and interviewed but was full on cut in March. She was than called in April and asked if she wanted to be on. Devens claims he was an alternate before that day (he was never cut) and was added to the cast after Aubry. So the concept of "alternates" was in play in some way in Survivor 50 yet Aubry never was one.

I do remember reading somewhere recently that Aubry, Cydney, and Danielle DiLorenzo were the only three who had medical up to date at that point and therefore those were the only three to choose from for replacing Amanda. No clue where this rumor came from but I did hear it.

I'm honestly not sure how much his ultimate goal was to win. I actually honestly do think he wanted to play the game with "honesty and integrity" (even though he never said those words) and whatever position that ended him up in he was happy with. Hence why he said he wouldn't play his idol at the first tribal because he didn't think it was fair he just automatically got immunity despite screwing up on the puzzle or him wanting to take Jesse to the final 4.

I will say I think his social game was top tier though in just how well-liked he was out there, and he did execute the Elie blindside pretty flawlessly. Makes me wonder just how solid of a player he would be if his ultimate goal was to win by any means possible.

Basically, I looked at this post and added up the rankings: https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/1ujj399/where_do_you_rank_the_season_50_winner_amongst/

If they were ranked the best, they got 1 point, if they were ranked the second best they got 2 points. So on and last place got 10 points. The lower their score the better the winner they were.

These were the results:

1. Dee: 13

2. Kyle: 16

3. Erika: 41

4. Savannah: 44

5. Yam Yam: 51

6. Rachel: 69

7. Kenzie: 70

8. Maryanne: 71

9. Aubry: 78

10. Gabler: 95

Definately the biggest shock for me is how high Erika is. I've always considered Dee, Kyle, Savannah and Yam Yam to be the new era winners who played "impressive" games and theo ther six not so much. I probably would have had Erika in the bottom 3 or so but clearly people disagree.

I feel like the home economics departments of high school now are kind of outdated from their original function of "teaching a person how to be a successful homemaker." Back when you were in high school did you feel like they actually did teach you how to be one/were practical?

Devens and Ozzy likely both play idols.

I think its Aubry or Emily but not sure which one?

Apparently Rizo very much wanted Emily at the end as he viewed he as the ultimate goat/a big reason he didn't vote for Jonathan at the end was because he thought getting rid of her was such a dumb move. So Rizo very well may have been pushing the vote towards Aubry.

I always love to hear the stories of people who have been auditioning since Australian Outback (there have been a decent number of people who made the show in much later seasons who this was true for). This is including a person rumored to be on Survivor 51.

I'm friends with somebody who this is true for (they've actually gotten very close a couple times, they'll get on eventually I'm sure (: ). Curious if that's the case for anybody on here?

For me its pre-season:

- Love: Jenna, Colby, Cirie, Ozzy, Emily, Joe, Charlie

- Like: Savannah, Christian, Stephenie, Tiffany, Rizo, Jonathan, Aubry, Kyle, Coach

- Neutral: Mike, Angelina, Genevieve

- Dislike: Devens, Dee, Kamilla,

- Hate: Q and Chrissy

Post-season its:

- Love: Jenna, Colby, Ozzy, Emily, Joe, Charlie, Rizo, Kyle

- Like: Savannah, Tiffany, Jonathan, Coach, Stephenie, Aubry

- Respect: Cirie

- Neutral: Mike, Angelina, Genevieve, Chrissy, Dee

- Dislike: Kamilla, Q

- Hate: Devens and Christian

IDK if that's actually what they called it but its rumored Colby, Coach, Steph, Jonathan, and Chrissy were actively pre-gaming with one another. As in, they were having full on zoom calls with each other to discuss strategy. Chrissy just feels like such a random person to be part of this lol. The others make perfect sense, Stephenie and Colby were good friends post-HvV, and it definately makes sense why they'd link up with Coach as him also being old school and physically good. Plus, advertising as having the "honor and integrity" mindest which Steph and Colby try to play with.

I can also see how Jonathan would be pulled into that by them given how physical he was/physical strength is very important to these people. I could see them specifically recruiting Jonathan for it pre-game.

But how on Earth did Chrissy become part of this lol? The way she played the game was not at all one of "honor and integrity" or claiming to be in 35, she was known as a hardcore gamer. She was good at individaul immunities but that was more her puzzle ability than her physical ability. Even on this season her first confessional was about how "she wanted to be diabolical." An alliance based on honor and integrity seems like the LAST thing she'd want to be part of.

Her being included in this pre-season just feels so random lol.

Joe wasn't part of this pre-game alliance apparently, if I had to guess that was a timing thing/not having enough time to connect with him before going out there. As they clearly had their eyes set on recruiting him the moment they got out on the island.

He just seems so sweet and quiet, in a season that seems to thrive on giving us sound bytes of people talking negatively about one another, I feel like the little bit we do get from him is mainly talking positively. My guess is he's not getting a ton of airtime because he's not talking negatively. He also refused to entertain the idea of using the voting mechanism as strategy and said he would only vote for the look he truly thought was the best one regardless of the competition they may present

Andrea also seemed beyond sweet, I noticed that whenever they showed the segment of the eliminated contestants ripping apart the current designers we never saw her say anything negative. Again, probably isn't giving them the soundbytes we need, she had such sweet, quirky energy to her though

Half of the contestants who won it include those who are generally deemed to have played some of the most dominant games in Survivor history:

1. Jeremy

2. Sarah

3. Tony

On the flip side, half of them are considered to have some of the biggest "fall ass backwards into a win" type games with a lot of luck and little to know skill of their own:

1. Amber

2. Sandra

3. Aubry

1. Joseph (safe): Damn, did he come back with a vengeance. His looks last season never did anything for me but I thought he nailed this first challenge and kept the signature motif that makes his designs his.

2. Jude (win): I was shocked also how well he did but I adored this. The construction and tailoring was impeccable, the look was adorable and gave very European vibes, really the only look the judge's loved that I agreed with.

3. Naheim (safe): These top 3 looks really were neck and neck and I had no complaints on their looks. Very well-done men's streetwear outfit.

4. Aaron (safe): Its funny because usuually I'd HATE something like this and by all means this should NOT have worked. And yet it does, the fit is bizarre but you know what, it doesn't take away from the look. Somehow, even though I feel like everything about this look is wrong, I loved it.

5. Yangyang (safe): Caught my eye the moment it hit the runway. One small nitpick is Iwish the pattern was a bit more vibrant/wasn't so hidden by the top piece. Other than that though, great!

6. Bi (safe): Clearly my favorites were the ones the judges just thought were okay. Maybe not the most original design on the runway but I thought it was a very successful piece, perhaps the arm holes were a bit awkward on the outfit but nothing too bad.

7. Andrea (bottom): I actually loved this look and the one person in the bottom I was really upset by. The blue leggings, and possibly the blue heels as well, were not good. That being said, I loved everything else about it. I loved that she wasn't afraid to mix and match different patterns (something that honestly very few designers I find in PR are willing to do) and I thought overall created a very classic look.

8. Jennifer (bottom): Definately not the worst look on the runway but it wasn't fantastic for sure. I actually like the fact she went kind of a "Poison Ivy" route but the piece wasn't a showstopper by any means and ultimately fell under the "nice dress" category, also the construction could use a bit of work. I will say it is interesting one of the judge's main criticisms was that they'd already seen this look before. I felt that way about some fo the other looks, not this one.

9. Bao (safe): Sadly, I think Bao's model hindered her quite a bit here. That model's coloring was not the right one for this outfit. That being said, it still IMO caught your attention when it hit the runway and was intriguing. Maybe not the most original outfit and I do think probably on a different model I would have ranked it higher.

10. Anna (safe): This dress reminds me of Michelle's in that you'd think a Poison Ivy dress or a dress such as this would leave a big impression on your mind, whether it be great or awful or just memorable. Yet both are kind of just forgettabel IMO. The outfit was made with unconventional materials and definately a bit provocative and yet for some reason it just kind of was forgettable to me oddly enough but it was still a nice outfit/I can't complain about it.

11. Octavius (safe): Crazy that one of two male models has probably the most forgettable outfit on the runway. Nothing wrong with the outfit but just nothing about it stood out.

12. Dani (bottom): This one is so hard for me to rank. On one hand, I give her props for REALLY committing to it, this outfit really was very cohesive and a statement piece. That being said, the taste level IMO is very in question here, it kind of came off cheap stripper/prostitute. But I'm torn because like I said every element compliments each other so well here, ugh, I don't know how to rank this one lol because IDK abotu the taste level.

13. Andriy (win): This outfit had A LOT of elements so I commend him for that. That being said, I'm not sure I really saw the vision/it came together. I wasn't a fan of him mixing the two fabrics together. I did LOVE the back and the workmanship on it was masterful but too many ideas.

14. Bobby (win): Again, too many ideas, The dress was beautiful but its like I got "goddess" from the neck up and a totally different story with the dress itself, wasn't cohesive

15. Chloe (win): Now this is an outfit I could see the criticism of oalready being seen all the time. I just saw little design here, it was cute I guess but very underwhelming

16. LRE (low): I'm torn because I got like athletic wear almost from the bottoms and the top gave me a very different vibe, kind of futuristic maybe?. I did LOVE the shape of the top but it wasn't cohesive at all with the bottoms

17. Plain Jane (low): So hard to rank this one as the model wasn't a drag queen. That being said, overall, I didn't hate the outfit, but it was just hard to rank a costume outfit like this. Had it not been for the butt spikes I probably would've had it a bit higher

18. R'Bonney (low): Another outfit that I could for sure see a critique of "I've already seen this before." It wasn't horrible but there was very little design here and the leggings IMO brought this outfit down/made it look kind of tacky

19. Jeffery (low): Again, hard to rank the more drag clothes but also in general not sure I love this outfit even as a more costumey outfit. Cool idea but the material used IMO kind of makes it look cheap

20. Bryan (win): Very hard to rank as this had SO MUCH potential and there are parts of it I absolutely love, like the bodice. I think he was like one step away from a winning look but sadly the execution of the bottom and where he put the "bulk" of the outfit was not at all flattering

21. Veronica (win): I think the idea was great and she had the PERFECT model for it. That being said though, the execution was ROUGH. Looked like it was so half-hazardly done and made from material from a party store

22. Robert "Q" (low): Really the only one I saw no redeeming elements to. Looked like a cheap middle school dance outfit to me, if it was a single elimination he sadly would've for sure been my choice

How much nicer and complimentary he seemed of the women than of the men. Basically at the tribe swap when he's talking about the women on his tribe, in particular Christy, he actually talks about how impressed he is with them. Particularly the fact that Christy has been able to do as well as she has out there despite being deaf.

In his original tribe, it seemed like he felt like the other guys could do nothing right and he was always ragging on them.

The reason this is so shocking is because later he gets voted out partially because he's viewed as "sexist" by the others. Obviously there's stuff we didn't see but sexist is not the word I'd use to describe him. I can definately see how he was off-putting but he seems to also be the only guy out there (along with Butch and sometimes Dave) who really had anything positive to say about the women other than they were airheads with nice bodies. I'm also curious what happened to cause Christy to not like Roger as it seemed like at first those two immediately hit it off.

Looking at some of my all-time favorite seasons (Amazon, PI, Vanuatu for example) and I'd say all these seasons have one amazing tribe and one tribe that's kind of a dud. And yet I find the post-swap of these seasons as amazing because the one tribe that is solid is AMAZING. I can kind of just sit through the other parts of the other tribe and kind of half pay attention even if the dynamic is pretty boring but the dynamics of the solid tribe alone make it an A+ viewing experience.

I will also say that seasons where both the starting tribes are entertaining (like Marquesas and AO), I don't necessarily find the pre-merge/pre-swap any more entertaining than seasons with only one tribe.

Really, at the end of the day, I think what dictates how entertaining a two tribe episode is is just how entertaining the more entertaining tribe of the episode is rather than the combined entertainment between two tribes. Not sure if this makes any sense lol.

I was trying to figure out what happens in different FTC situations for KR and I feel like he constantly says different things about how he would've voted. In one interview he said that if the final 3 is Aubry, Joe, and Tai that nobody votes Joe. Than in another interview, he says he would vote Joe in that situation and Scot would have as well.

He's also all over the place in saying whether he'd vote for Cydney to vote or not.

I feel like he has to be trolling at this point. Which honestly kind of makes it impossible to really tell who the biggest jury threats were between Aubry, Tai, and Cydney as who knows when he's being truthful and not and his vote could be a deciding vote.

Edit: Kyle Jason, I forget he went by Jason during the season

Honestly her winning game story really is about as good as you can get. She was on the bottom since the day 1 and was constantly on deathrow and yet somehow was never voted out until eventually she ended up winning. It was honestly kind of a great winner's story handed to them on a silver platter. Like as if Kathy won Marquesas or Taylor Hale's winning game in BB24, I'd say very comparable to both of those.

And yet... it was fine... but something about the way they edited it definately made it seem not nearly as amazing of a story as it was on paper. I think possibly where the editors dropped the ball was giving her a really poor premiere and the way they edited her in the post-merge as constantly teasing about making a move, which was a storyline that never had a pay off.

I think this was done to make it seem like Aubry had agency in the game (which she didn't really). I kind of wish the editors would've just fully committed to an "Aubry keeps being saved by the Survivor Gods storyline." In that way it kind of differs from Kathy in that her big move at 9 was a big reason she was able to solidify a chance at possibly winning the game. Although Taylor's storyline in BB24 was really just always being on the bottom and somehow the BB Gods always delivering and it was a great storyline still.

People would probably rank Aubry at bottom of winners but honestly who cares, I rank Taylor as one of the worst winners from a gameplay standpoint but her winning game is also my favorite/I love her as a winner.

I may be in the minority but I absolutely love this kind of storyline and I feel they had this handed to them with Aubry this season and they didn't really take advantage of it.

Another thing is that Aubry's post-merge "big move" storyline had no pay-off. In fact, she literally completely contradicts it all in the auction episode when she says "I've been lying low this whole game like Michele did in my first season and that's how I plan to win the game."

The person they eliminated, Naomi, was basically declared the best performing of the week. Best walk, sense of style, and personality. The judges didn't really critique the photos the first week and just said they loved all the girl's photos.

And yet... Naomi gets eliminated. Because she's 5'7". Its just ridiculous to me and a lot of people defend it with "Australia's Next Top Model is a more serious modeling competition and that's why it happened." Nothing about that makes me think its a serious competition, actually quite the opposite in that to me it shows very lazy casting. I would've completely understood if they just didn't cast Naomi all together but to cast her and have her perform the best and still eliminate her was just ridiculous. Why did they cast her in the first place lol?

I also will say for what its worth her photo that week was my least favorite photo but the judge's loved her photo so that had nothing to do with it.

Looking through the contestants and it absolutely blows my mind that Celia is from Kentucky. And a small, agricultural town in Kentucky. I just assumed she was from a very boujee, upper middle class area. Where on Earth did she get all those clothes from lol. Any other surprises?

For reference, the options that were given to vote on was the bubble runway challenge (cycle 16), laser posing challenge (cycle 8), and posing as mannequins challenge (cycle 3).

The possible photoshoots were posing with spiders (cycle 3), crying (cycle 6), and crazy hair (cycle 7).

For photoshoots, I feel like crazy hair and crying were nowhere near the most iconic. I probably would have chosen snakes (cycle 1), bald (cycle 6), and spiders (cycle 3). I'd even go as far as to say I think that crying may have been the least iconic/most forgettable photoshoot of cycle 6.

Challenges is a bit harder as I'm not sure really any challenge except go-sees was iconic. The bubble runway is a solid choice. Also, I'd probably pick the running up the flights of stairs in cycle 3 and maybe the interview challenge from cycle 6.

Kind of an ironic fact is that all challenge and photoshoot options were from pre-All Stars seasons and all cycles that weren't represented on All Stars (cycles 3, 6, 7, and 8) had options. While only cycle 16 had a possible option, as well as a contestant on All Stars.

I honestly don't really know. My first thought was that this almost certainly would be the case. But than I realized that the challenge was set up for 4 people so unless production demolished a lane, I'm not sure the challenge was ever set up for 5 people to do.

I always thought it was speculated for example in WAW that the first EOE challenge was originally supposed to happen after Parvati was eliminated but because Sandra quit and the challenge was set up for 7 people to run that they extended the pre-merge by one week.

I do know they create some challenges that go unused (like the challenges that are present when the contestants walk in and find out they're switching tribes/not playing in a challenge).

So it very well may be a dumb question but I guess really what I'm asking is can production easily just "demolish" a challenge lane or do you think the final 5 immunity challenge was just scrapped in its entirety for that season.