Survivor 50 episode 6, "The Blood Moon," just made Survivor history. For the first time in 50 seasons, three players were voted out in one single night, although they were in three different Tribal Councils of five players each.
But, the night actually started with 17 players, so why weren't Ozzy Lusth and Rizo Velovic part of the Blood Moon twist in Survivor 50? Well, they were, but it was a different part of the twist, and it actually worked out in Ozzy and Rizo's favor.
If you were watching Survivor 50 episode 6 and were confused about what happened to two of the biggest players of the season, please allow me to explain. Before I start, no, Ozzy and Rizo were not voted out of Survivor. They are still in the game, just on a different island for the time being.
What happened to Ozzy and Rizo in Survivor 50 episode 6?
Immediately after the merge, a note found in tree mail tells the players that something is hidden in the jungle that they must find. The group splits off and starts running around looking for whatever this is in case it's an advantage. After a while, Ozzy finds the scroll, which reads that he is headed to Exile Island for the second time. The twist is that he gets to bring someone with him, but he only has five minutes to make the decision.
Ozzy chooses Rizo because he's unfamiliar with Rizo's game. He's basically the odd person out of the group because no one has seen him play Survivor. He also had very few ties to the other players, so it was a low-risk for Ozzy to take Rizo.
Then, we see Ozzy and Rizo on the boat to Exile Island. We see a few snippets of their time there, but with three players getting eliminated in three Tribal Councils in one night, there's little time for Ozzy and Rizo in this episode. We don't know what exactly happened on Exile Island, but that's where they are when the episode ends.
How this works in Ozzy and Rizo's favor
Ozzy and Rizo are the big winners of this episode for a few reasons. First of all, they have immunity idols. Some people know about those idols. They were most likely not in jeopardy of going home because of those idols, but depending on how the groups were divided, they probably were going to need to play their idols to stay in the game.
The other players, if they are actually playing the game, would have forced Ozzy or Rizo to play their idol to put another idol back into the game, get one out of their hands to stop future moves, and to save themselves from harm later in the game.
Now, Ozzy and Rizo are two of the 14 players left. They made the jury, officially, and they still have their immunity idols.
On top of that, the person who gifted them each Boomerang Idol, Genevieve Mushaluk, has been voted out. That means the idol remains with Ozzy and Rizo until they leave the game. No one can benefit, as Genevieve could, if they are voted out of the game. Genevieve was going to be going at both of them, but now, they have a clean slate, aside from the other players who know they have an idol.
Perhaps even more importantly, Ozzy and Rizo were also safe from all of the drama that happened in the episode. Although there were a few clean votes with Genevieve and Colby going home, there was a blindside with Jonathan Young on Kamilla Karthigesu.
You could argue that Ozzy and Rizo missed an opportunity to solidify a potential alliance, but I think they just found another one in each other. They seem to be ready to play together after this bonding experience at Exile Island.
Had they had to go vote, they could have been in the terrible position of voting out an ally, aligning with players outside of their alliance to their detriment, or antagonizing the wrong person by voting out their potential No. 1 or part of their alliance.
Now, they have entered the real part of the game with their hands virtually clean after a terrible night at Tribal Council for a lot of players. There is real bad blood after three players were voted out. The game has just changed, and Ozzy and Rizo will immediately benefit from that change.
I'm assuming that Ozzy and Rizo will jump right back into the action when they return from Exile Island in episode 7. I can't wait to see how it plays out!