The more I think about Survivor 50 and theorize on all the possible new twists that could come with it, the more I can't help but wonder if I might be getting amped up for a movie I've already seen before.
History is known to repeat itself, my friends. And if you remember, Survivor: Winners at War presented us with a very clean sweep of old school players being wiped out by the new school players, like dominoes falling in a line.
There's a reason for that. And based on the likely numbers and the circumstances, the new schoolers are going to be gunning for the more old school players this time around, too.
Old school Survivor is known for large personalities
Set in the time when reality shows were cast with people who wanted to be on reality shows, these players looked to make big moves whenever they could. And let's be honest, there's a reason Cirie Fields and Ozzy Lusth have never won Survivor.
They're too well known. They will always be targeted because everyone knows their threat level.
New school is a cast of super fans
The seasons when people auditioned to be on Survivor because they loved Survivor. Most of these players redefined the show entirely, burning scripts that players had been following for over a decade to draft a new way to win. They are savvy in ways you didn't think possible, because they forge the history themselves, not waiting for something to happen to them.
New era is playing a totally different ballgame
With a completely different format and shorter timeline, they will never truly be able to get into the old or the new school player's heads because they've never been in their exact shoes. Their games are also so much more recently exposed, so, just as the old school, their relevance will put a target on their backs.
And with a cast of fewer new era players—there's 20 old school seasons, 20 new school seasons, and 8 new era seasons, it just makes sense there will be less of them playing—it's likely they will start on the outs. This could put them in a good swing position as the old school and new school players battle it out, or it could make they easy targets from the get go.
If we keep with the new era trend of three starting tribes, I'd guess the latter.
All this to say, I loved Winners at War. It's one of my favorite seasons of Survivor, and I've rewatched it on more than one occasion. So, I'm still so excited for Survivor 50, and I can't wait to see if things go as I predicted or if an old school or new era player takes control and drives the game home.
Because that's what we love about this game. Who knows what's going to happen next?