CBS' Survivor changed the TV world when it premiered back in 2000, and it's still going strong today. Arguably one of the best reality shows on the air, generations of fans have been tuning into season 50 on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription). The fandom is still in mourning over Cirie Fields being betrayed by Rizo and voted out on Day 23, and Rob Cesternino spoke to CinemaBlend about how it was Ozzy's blindside that ultimately tanked her game.
The cast of Survivor 50 included both legendary players and New Era contestants, and the results were pretty explosive. Ozzy not using his idol during the split vote resulted in his elimination, and two-time player (and founder of the Rob Has a Podcast Network) Cesternino spoke to me about how Cirie's game was ultimately sunk as a result of her #1 being voted out. In his words:
If Aubry goes home at that split tribal council instead of Ozzy, this is a very different Final seven. Where there's Ozzy and Tiffany and Cirie, and that's kind of a three that's not going anywhere. Is Rizzo flipping against Ozzy and Cirie at this point? And so I think that maybe they're gonna still vote out Rick Devins at seven, and now you get to the final six where it's Ozzy, Cirie, Tiffany and Rizzo. Who's defecting, who's leaving?
There's a reason he's a Survivor know-it-all and the show's premiere voice in podcasting. This assessment definitely makes sense, and might explain how Cirie once again was robbed of Survivor's prize money. It's just too bad that she and Ozzy were kept separate during the split tribal; she was shown helping to inform his strategy a number of times throughout Season 50.
I've been speaking with Rob weekly about each new episode of Survivor, and back in April he predicted that Cirie might be vulnerable in her alliance with Ozzy and Rizo. Ultimately the latter betrayed her, likely because he never would have been able to beat the Traitors winner at Final Tribal. Later in our chat, Cesternino shared more about what he thinks would have happened if Ozzy stuck around, telling me:
So is Rizzo gonna jump to go vote with Jonathan and Joe? I think that Rizzo is kind of still locked in with them, and I think that either Jonathan or Joe go out at the final six. And this is a much better situation for Cirie in terms terms of how it's gonna play out. And I think that really, that it might be Rizzo versus Tiff for who's gonna sit in the final three with Ozzy and Cirie.
Is anyone else's FOMO through the roof right now? There were plenty of fans hoping that Survivor 50 was finally Cirie's time to pull out a W, but she was voted off in the season's penultimate episode. And it seems quite plausible that she could have made it to the end if Ozzy hadn't been voted out on Day 21 during the split tribal council. No wonder Rizo has been getting so much hate from fans online.
You can check out my conversation with Rob Cesternino below:
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The final five will face off this week on Survivor 50's 3-hour premiere, and it should be fascinating to see who pulls out the W. I'm personally hoping to see either Aubry or Tiffany take the title of Sole Survivor, but all of the returning players are hoping to make their way to Final Tribal. We'll just have to see what goes down, and how spicy the live reunion is.
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesdays on the 2026 TV schedule. As for Rob Cesternino, his new book The Tribe And I Have Spoken is out now, and he's even touring around the country to promote the New York Times Best Seller. Go to https://robhasawebsite.com/events for more information!
