Survivor 50 is finally heating up after the merge in episode 6 and the epic Blood Moon twist that saw three players eliminated in one night for the first time in Survivor history. With 14 players remaining, the gameplay should begin to speed up.
With every merge in Survivor, the biggest threats seem to be targeted first. It's not always the case, but most of the good players will start to think about the path to the end, how they can get to Final Tribal Council, and who they want sitting on the jury.
As we've seen in every season of the series, Survivor 50 has a few players who have quietly flown under the radar to this point in the game. I've identified five players who are very dangerously not causing much commotion this season. And, that's right where they need to be.
Emily Flippen
Emily Flippen is one of the most intriguing Survivor 50 players in the game right now. She's in a seemingly strong alliance with Christian Hubicki and Rick Devens. The trio, if they play their cards right, could completely take over this game, but I'm not so sure that Emily isn't playing a strong game of her own right now.
Angelina Keeley tipped fans off to Emily and pointed to her as the reason Angelina thought she was safe at Tribal Council in her exit interview with Entertainment Weekly. We've seen a lot of Emily this season, too, when you look at the number of confessionals she's had. Overall, I'm starting to connect the dots on Emily going far this season, based on who she is allied with and how the edit has been going. She's going to send some people out of the game; I can feel it.
Tiffany Ervin
Tiffany Ervin has barely been on-screen so far in Survivor 50, but that's only pointing one direction for me. She's going to go far in Survivor 50. I would not be surprised if she's part of the Final Five at this point. I don't think she's going to win, just based on her non-existant edit so far, but she's allied with Aubry Bracco, who has an immunity idol. From what we've seen, it just seems like Tiffany is just not being recognized by the other players as the threat she is.
For me, I just like who Tiffany has allied herself with so far, even if one of them, Kamilla Karthigesu, was blindsided in the Blood Moon episode. Aubry and Kamilla are two of the most dangerous strategic players on this season, and Tiffany working with both of them tells me that she is not playing around this season. She's there to make a deep run, and I do think we're about to see her leave her mark on Survivor 50 in the very near future.
As we saw in the episode 7 preview, Jonathan Young and Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick messed up by playing the game the way they played. Tiffany will get her revenge before the season's end.
Cirie Fields
Somehow, some way, Cirie Fields is playing Survivor 50, and she's flying under the radar. I don't think anyone in the game is treating her as seriously as they need to be treating her right now. She's the single-most charismatic person left on the island. I don't know if it's just who she is or her reputation, but you have players basically lining up to work with her.
I've been saying it since the beginning of the season, but if Cirie continues to just stick around and keep on keeping on, she's going to win Survivor 50. There's not one player out there who deserves a Survivor win on this season, and the way it's going, I think she's probably going to get it.
The way Cirie can swing a vote or disarm a threatening player is basically unmatched in Survivor history. I think the only other players who you could say do it as good are probably Parvati Shallow, Sandra Diaz-Twine, or Tony Vlachos. They do it in different ways, but Cirie has that ability to just make people do things that are not exactly good for their game.
Rizo Velovic
Where Cirie disarms people with her charm and wit, Rizo Velovic has a similar effect on other Survivor players, but he does it with energy and vibes. I can't explain it; I don't understand it. We've just seen it for a season and a half, though, and somehow, it keeps working.
Rizo is so friendly and can basically talk circles around anyone. That constant barrage is disarming to some of these players. I don't know if they believe it exactly, but I think they just learn to tolerate it, which has allowed Rizo to basically play two seasons of Survivor without causing too much fuss. It's like this bravado on top of sincerity that the other players just learn to live with. It's so interesting to see it happen again on Survivor 50. Rizo is the dark horse to win Survivor 50 right now.
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick
Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick came into Survivor 50 as one of the all-time legends of the game, but I don't know if we've really seen Stephenie's best gameplay in Survivor since Guatemala so long ago. She has an opportunity to make a huge splash this season. She's in what seems like a pretty strong (possibly pregame) alliance, and now, it's time to see just what Stephenie can do this season.
Overall, she's played a really solid game so far, especially after ending up on a tribe where she could have easily been the first person voted out after the initial tribe swap. She's made it this far, and I don't think anyone, until the Kamilla vote, was really concerned about Stephenie as a threat. That will likely change!
We'll see how it all plays out in Survivor 50, but I have my eye on these players to start to make some big moves and put some of the other players on the jury. A few of these players could definitely win Survivor 50 if a few moves go their way!