Twenty-six years and 50 seasons later, one “Survivor” returnee just walked away with a $2 million check and the title of Sole Survivor.
That player was Aubry Bracco, who after returning for her fourth lap around the “Survivor” sun, bobbed and weaved her way to the Final 3 seats and ultimately won over the jury. “Survivor 50” was Aubry’s third time making it to finale night which, as she says in the episode, means she had to have been doing something right. This time around, it was playing the middle, forging new connections, and exposing secrets at just the right time that helped her fight and crawl her way to the finish.
While Joe, Jonathan, and Rizo had the plan of going to the Final 3 together, that was disrupted when Aubry cinched the win at the legendary Simmotion challenge. Had she lost, her game was 100% cooked. But with the win came heaps of emotions for the four-time player, who was overwhelmed when Jeff announced that she had once again secured her seat at the Final Tribal Council. Only this time, it was hers to lose.
Other killer moments from the Survivor 50 finale
* Tiffany really is a new “Survivor” giant. The Season 46 vet lost the Final 5 immunity challenge by one. single. puzzle piece. Heartbreaking. Tiff had one hell of a season, forming alliances that carried her deep and winning three post-merge immunity challenges that kept her safe at Tribal Council. But there was nothing she could do to convince the gents that Aubry was the bigger threat. Not even Aubry’s “robbed” history could sway Joe, Jonathan, and Rizo from sending Tiff out of the game. If we’re making a shortlist of players who might become new school legends of the game, look no further than Ms. Tiffany Ervin.
* That Final 5 challenge, itself, was an absolute specimen! Tons of new elements — a fishing line? — helped the challenge feel fresh and new, and the twisty mud crawl? We always love to see it.
* One more thing about Aubry’s Simmotion win: It was the one and only challenge she practiced before filming. You can order a Simmotion on Etsy?! Who knew? (Not this guy.)
* OK, people. Show yourselves! Who voted for fire-making to return? We had one shot to rid ourselves of that pesky twist and the fans went ahead and botched it! Sure, that’s just one guy’s opinion here, but I was hoping we’d see one more fiery vote. One that forced the guys to eat each other up. Alas, Aubry rightly selected Jonathan and Rizo to go to fire, hoping that Jonathan would knock underdog Rizo out of the game for good. And that he did. The R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod, Baby lost in fire for the second time, putting an end to his very solid back-to-back run. But falling just shy of the Final 3 seats twice has gotta sting.
* Speaking of Rizo: Jeff Probst committed a serious blunder during the live show when he revealed that Rizo lost the fire-making challenge and would be the last juror… before the fire-making challenge even aired. Whoops!
* The return of the loves ones visit was perhaps the night’s biggest surprise. On Tuesday night at the “Survivor” FYC event in Los Angeles, Jeff Probst spoke about the possibility of the loved ones visit returning to the screen. He said he wasn’t against it and that they were, in fact, considering bringing it back. Sneaky, sneaky, Mr. Probst! Watching Aubry’s mom, Jonathan’s brother, and Joe’s wife hit the shores of Fiji was such a blast from the past, which elicited loads of emotion from the already spent finalists. Well done, “Survivor.”
Take that, Edge of Extinction!
At the final Tribal Council, the jury seemed to put respect on players whose games reflected a mix of old school and new era trains of thought. While Stephenie and Chrissy went to bat for Jonathan, Cirie and Tiffany seemed to lean Aubry’s way — especially Cirie who pinpointed Aubry’s playing the middle and staying fluid as a key component to her game. As for Joe? He seemed to be falling out of it as the final portion of the episodes unraveled. And once Cirie brought up the “Joe-tation” element of the season — the fact that everyone on the jury had to babysit Joe through votes — well, let’s just say it was too hard to come back from that. He did admit to cutting Cirie and lying to Tiffany’s face, so he didn’t go down without a fight.
Despite Jonathan’s sturdy performance, it wasn’t enough to withstand Aubry’s underdog, robbed queen story. Stephenie voted for “total package” Jonathan (as did Chrissy), while Cirie wrote down “Aubry.” And Aubry will no longer carry the moniker of “‘Survivor: Kaôh Rōng’ runner-up.” Now, she’ll forever be known as the winner of “Survivor 50.”
Which player were you rooting for? Are you happy with Aubry’s win? Vote in our polls below, then go Full Tilt Boogie for the last time in the comments! Thanks for following along with all of our pre-game coverage, recaps, interviews, and more. You can always click here to read all of my on-location/Fiji content, and there’s more to come! Check TVLine Thursday for our winner interview with Aubry, and visit our YouTube channel and Instagram page soon for our full Q&As with the rest of the Final 5, plus loads of finale red carpet goodies!
