As exciting as it is that Cirie Fields is getting to compete during Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, her return could have quickly turned into a nightmare that brought her greatest fear to life. After all, given how respected she is as a player, Cirie's tribe mates taking her out immediately would make sense, even though that would be a shame since she may be retired from the reality show now.
Cirie leaving Survivor behind after being voted out early would be a wildly disappointing end to her career. However, while her past could be exactly why she could be doomed during Survivor 50, it also may reveal why she could actually triumph during the season. The way that one of Cirie's former tribe mates spoke about her after she ruined his game proves that she had the ability to actually win the upcoming season.
How Erik Reichenbach proves Cirie Fields might win Survivor 50
If I imagine how I would react to getting on Survivor and learning I was on a tribe with Cirie Fields, I think I would react in two ways. First off, I don't think I would be able to stop myself from telling the Survivor icon how much I admire her intelligence and warmth. After that, I like to think that I would make some attempt to get her taken out of the game early, because I wouldn't want to be another player on the list of people Cirie has gotten voted out of Survivor.
However, the reality of what it would be like to compete on Survivor alongside Cirie would almost certainly be anything but that simple. The scenario I imagined doesn't factor in the likelihood that Cirie would be able to influence me into not targeting her. After all, looking back at Cirie's history with Erik Reichenbach proves how amazingly charming she can be.
During Survivor: Micronesia, Cirie and the other members of the legendary Black Widow Brigade alliance conned Erik into giving up his immunity necklace and then promptly voted him out minutes later. It was so shocking that Erik fell for the ruse that his mistake is still regarded as one of the dumbest moves in Survivor's history. In February 2017, Erik spoke to Inside Survivor and unabashedly praised Cirie as a player and person. even though she helped convince him to humiliate himself like that.
"I thought I knew a great deal about Cirie prior to Micronesia because of what I saw of her in Panama, which I watched before playing. I was so misinformed. After actually meeting Cirie, playing alongside her, and knowing her after the show aired, I had a great deal more appreciation and respect for her gameplay and ability to read players. Regardless of how that gameplay affected my success or failure in Micronesia, Cirie is one of the nicest and funniest people I’ve had the pleasure to play with on Survivor."
When Survivor 50 started filming, everyone in the game would have known that Cirie is an intimidating figure who should be feared by anyone who wants to win a season she is part of. As a result, they should have done everything they could to resist her charms but that doesn't mean they would have been able to do that.
After all, when Erik praised Cirie in no uncertain terms, it would have been understandable if he resented her, but he still seemed to adore her. If Erik still saw Cirie's heart of gold after everything, that gives me faith that she could still be charming enough during Survivor 50 to make it to the end and win.