CBS announced the full Survivor 50 cast earlier this week, and there was one name on the list that I did not expect to see at all.
After multiple Instagram posts about why he IS NOT going to be on Survivor 50, Benjamin "Coach" Wade, also known as The Dragon Slayer, is, in fact, going to be on Survivor 50!
I was honestly shocked to see Coach's name among those playing Survivor 50. And, it's not because I don't think he's a good player or anything like that. It's because he told fans multiple times that he was not coming back for Survivor 50!
Like, look at this dramatic video announcement from Coach. He basically says there's no way that he's going to leave his family to play Survivor 50. His legacy is set in stone, he said!
There's another post from Coach that says "I'm retired" in the video with the caption "#survivor50." That was only two months ago. Around that time, we were also learning that many other former Survivor players were cut from the cast.
Coach is returning to the game for the fourth time. His best finish was in Survivor: South Pacific when he finished runner-up to Sophie Clarke. I'm interested to see how Coach's perspective has changed or evolved. There are a lot of big threats in the game. I don't know if I would consider Coach to be one of them, but we'll have to wait and see.
I also don't think I'm alone in wondering what happened. Was Coach pulling everyone's leg? Or, did he tell casting that he wasn't interested until he was interested? Perhaps, we'll learn more about Coach's involvement. Right now, though, he's off in Fiji filming Survivor 50 as I'm writing, so it's not like we can just go and ask him what the deal was.
My working theory is that Coach was always in contention to return. Based on how many players who got cut in the last few months, there were more than enough players who didn't need any convincing to return for Survivor 50. It's obviously great to have Coach in the mix. He's one of those players who can be this kind of enigma among a tribe that provides ample opportunity for conflict, friction, and story. That's what Survivor is all about at the end of the day, too. It's about the story.
There were more than a few surprises in the Survivor 50 cast list, of course. It was meant to be a big surprise for fans who have been watching for more than two decades. Clearly, Coach is one of the biggest surprises to be heading back to play Survivor for the 50th season.