Reality TV Thoughts

The threat of Jimmy Fallon had loomed over Christian for his entire 50 run. Ever since the first look, where Christian infamously said “Jimmy Fallon could decide my fate in this game,” we’ve known that something would go down between David vs Goliath’s nerdy star and the famed talk show host. Every episode where Jimmy Fallon wasn’t mentioned was a sigh of relief for Christian fans. 1 more week of safety. Once he was finally mentioned, though, everyone knew Christian was in deep, deep trouble…

Survivor 50’s episode brought plenty of exciting and controversial moments. Cirie working with everybody, Christian’s downfall, and Jimmy Fallon’s kiss of death. So many things to analyze.

Aubry Branches Out

In her only moment of the entire episode, Aubry is looking for new allies. She now sees Devens and the nerd alliance as a sinking ship after the stunt that Devens pulled at the last tribal council. She needs to pick up her game and ditch those nerds. In fact, she needs to go in the complete opposite direction and work with the jocks. By jocks, of course, I mean Jonathan. Aubry knows that Jonathan may not want to work with her, but he won’t have a choice. He’ll need her, especially now that he’s just lost two of his allies. This is a duo that goes absolutely nowhere after their brief conversation at the beginning of the episode, so we’ll probably see them again, at some point…

Christian’s Downfall Prologue: Devens vs Honesty and Integrity

Jonathan is butthurt that Devens “found” an advantage at tribal council and that his bestie, Coach, was voted out partly because of it. After talking a bit of smack about Devens in a confessional, Jonathan has his eyes set on the nerds. Devens, on the other hand, knows that it’s only a matter of time before everyone finds out his idol is fake. He admits to Emily that the idol was fake, to which she is not pleased at all. He just put a huge target on his back and maybe hers as well.

Rick Devens just does not seem to get along with anyone who talks up a big game about honesty and integrity. His rivalry with Joe all the way back from episode 2 is reawakened, back with a vengeance. Joe talks with Devens and claims that he was never targeting him during the last vote. Devens does not believe a single ounce of this and both are barely able to hide their disdain for each other. Joe says in confessional that Devens was super aggressive at tribal and has an idol, but he didn’t bring any of that up. Even as the two of them hug it out, Joe’s face says it all.

Christian’s Downfall Act I: Everyone Trusts Cirie

Christian’s downfall is a tragic tapestry of errors and unfortunate twists. His first mistake begins with Cirie, one of his closest allies on the original Cila tribe. Cirie considers him to be a solid ally, probably #3 on her list of allies if she were to rank them. Christian reciprocates the trust, so he tells her about his plan for the next vote. Ozzy is trying to play the middle, so Christian tells Cirie that they need to vote him out next. Firstly, great read on Christian’s part. He is correct, Ozzy is playing the middle and he has caught on. Secondly, terrible read on Christian’s part. Ozzy is Cirie’s closest ally, and he just told her how he plans to target him.

Of course, Cirie immediately goes and tells Ozzy about Christian’s plan. Ozzy is not at all pleased and thinks back to when Christian blindsided him during the Mike White boot. Now is finally the time to get revenge on Christian. Things only get worse for Christian, as his partner in crime Devens’ rivalry with the Honesty and Integrity people turns around on him. Christian offers up his shot in the dark again, this time to Jonathan, hoping that this will gain trust with him after ‘backstabbing’ him at the last tribal council. Instead, Jonathan talks with Joe and tells him that he has a plan. If Christian gives Jonathan his shot in the dark, that is a fantastic shot to blindside him. And he’s determined to take it. It only continues getting worse, as Cirie and Jonathan have a meeting where Cirie reveals to Jonathan that Christian said its either him or Ozzy leaving next. So, Cirie, Jonathan, and Ozzy are now all working together to take Christian down.

Jeff Participates in His First Immunity Challenge!

It’s the first part of Jimmy Fallon’s chaotic reign. Jimmy Fallon’s Tonight Show audience voted for Jeff to participate in an immunity challenge. Of course, he’s not just going to participate in a challenge for fun. There’s a twist… involving rice. Five people must wager a bet with Jeff that they’ll outlast him in the challenge. If all five players outlast Jeff, then the entire tribe earns rice. If even one falls, there’s no rice. After the count is lowered to four, Joe, Jonathan, Ozzy, and Tiffany all agree to the bet. Jeff talks a bit of smack to Devens during the challenge, a welcome surprise. There’s even a montage of Jeff’s sassy moments! It was so nice to see that, reminiscent of the iconic “Jeff Probst: King of Sass” compilations on YouTube. Jeff quickly realizes how difficult the challenge is, even thinking someone on the production crew pranked him by making his bucket heavier. He drops out, only outlasting Rizo, Emily, and Devens. After Joe wins immunity, Jeff reveals the final twist. Someone will be going on a journey, and Joe gets to pick who. Joe does an unintentional callback to Maria’s rock, paper, scissors battle for reward on 46 after multiple people volunteer to go. Christian is the most skilled at rock, paper, scissors and gets to go on the journey! Yay!

Christian’s Downfall Act II: Jimmy Fallon’s Wrath

Christian’s journey is a redux of Rachel’s journey challenge on 47. Instead of a ball puzzle, though, Christian must build a Survivor 50 logo puzzle. The pressure is on for Christian. His trio is in deep danger after Devens’ stunt at the last tribal, so he needs this advantage. What even is the advantage? Well, it’s a weird, slightly different extra vote. If Christian completes the puzzle in time, he gets to cast a vote immediately, before tribal council, for anyone he wants. If he loses, he’ll have to take an envelope and make an announcement at camp.

Christian is making slow, but steady progress. Unfortunately, he’s too slow and the puzzle sinks into the ocean as he helplessly watches. After this loss, Christian gives an emotional, but inspiring speech about handling his loss. He could easily berate himself for blowing the puzzle. He won’t, though, because he needs to set a good example for his son. He needs to take this in stride and show his son that even when he falters, he needs to pick himself up and not let that moment define him.

After Christian returns to camp, he has to read an announcement from the envelope to everyone for his punishment. And this punishment is absolutely evil. Christian announces to the entire tribe that he must vote for himself at tribal council. Being forced to vote for yourself is already bad enough, but being forced to announce it completely takes away any leeway Christian could have. He can’t even lie about this, everyone knows he’s at a huge disadvantage. And that just isn’t fun. Jimmy Fallon is a deeply evil, twisted, depraved person. Inviting Christian onto his show is not enough to erase the damage he did.

Christian’s Downfall Act III: Emily to the Rescue?

It’s almost lights out for Christian, and now, he must scramble to save himself. He gives his shot in the dark to Jonathan, since it’s meaningless now that he must vote for himself. The situation’s dire, but luckily for him, Emily surprisingly doesn’t want to throw him under the bus. Instead, she wants Ozzy out, just like Christian had said earlier. What a confusing sage with Emily and Ozzy’s relationship. I have no idea where they stand or why Emily has turned against him after initially trying to cultivate that relationship. Unfortunately for Emily, she is not saving Christian in the way she thinks. Instead, she’s saving him by accidentally making herself the target. It starts when she gets into an argument with Cirie over how much rice she’s cooking. Cirie bashes Emily in confessional, joking that she’ll cook a damn risotto if she wants. Then, when talking with Tiffany and Cirie, Emily tells them about her plan to target Ozzy. Neither is pleased by this, and Tiffany calls Emily out for flip flopping. Tiffany now wants Emily gone. Cirie would prefer for Emily to go, but after a bunch of pre-tribal scrambling, the target shifts back and forth between all of the nerd alliance. Looks like Aubry made a smart decision seperating herself. By the end of it, Cirie really doesn’t care who goes, as long as it’s one of the nerds.

By the end of it all, it’s just too good of a chance to pass up. Christian is blindsided at tribal council and has a pretty devastating reaction. To really rub salt in the wound, Jonathan gives Christian his shot in the dark back right before he leaves. What a tragic ending to the trilogy of Christian’s downfall.

Christian Hubicki: The Main Character

For the first nine episodes of Survivor 50, Christian was by far one of, if not the biggest character and player of the season. A compelling narrator and amazing confessionalist, how could the editors not showcase him at every opportunity? And he attended every tribal council, most of which he played a pivotal role in, so of course he would get tons of screentime. It got to the point that he became grating for a lot of people. Many people thought that the editors were shoving him into the show every chance they could. Despite that, I’m still so glad he was brought back. He brought so much to this season, his dynamic with Rick and Emily, his story about his son, his amazing commentary and reactions. I only wish he didn’t turn on his fellow David vs Goliath castmates so quickly. The rest of the season will not feel the same without him.

Conclusion: Twists Backfire

As much as production is to blame for these terrible twist ideas and celebrity appearances, I have to ask. What exactly did those fans that voted for ‘dynamic’ twists expect? They are a little at fault for not being able to see through production’s con. The Jimmy Fallon disadvantage was brutal and very easily could have been the thing that sealed Christian’s fate. He was already in danger, though, so maybe it was just never meant to be. With the long dreaded Mr. Beast episode coming up next, the final test for Survivor 50 comes. One more terrible twist and this season could be killed, like Big Brother 25 was. If production handles Mr. Beast at least somewhat competently, however, there still could be light at the end of the tunnel.