Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Survivor 50.
Survivor is one of the best reality shows of all time, and it's still going strong over two decades later. We're currently five episodes into Season 50, which is airing on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription). The fifth episode was a double tribal council, with Charlie Davis being voted off following his feud with Rizo. This conflict seemed to be largely about his history with Maria on Survivor 46, and it turns out that he addressed his hurt feelings during pre-game press.
The cast of Survivor 50 is stacked, with OGs colliding with New Era players to delightful results. While Rizo and Charlie originally hit it off, the latter player changed his tune when Rizo claimed he didn't vote for his Number 1 ally at Final Tribal. This triggered his feelings about Maria, and while doing pre-game press with EW Charlie said he knows "how to lose", and opened up about losing Season 46. In his words:
Article continues belowIt definitely stings. I've come to terms with it in a lot of ways. So it definitely still stings, the loss stings. I'll probably in some ways never get over it, although winning Survivor 50 sure would help. Just because of how close it felt and how emotional that final Tribal was and the After-Show was, and then everything after the season and all of that, it still stinks, for sure.
These raw emotions show how personal the game of Survivor can be. And it's also why returning player seasons tend to be so explosive; the players have baggage and are usually grappling with their legacy on the show. For Charlie, that meant his #1 ally Maria turning on him at Final Tribal and voting for Kenzie to win the million over him.
While plenty of fans wonder how much money Survivor contestants make, another big question is how they grapple with the twists of the games... and seeing themselves on TV. Later in his pre-game interview, Charlie spoke more about this dynamic, saying:
But I think in a way it's cleared my head a lot. Coming out onto season 50 or just returning to Survivor, I think it sort of kicked me into gear a little bit is how I feel about that loss.
Of course, these comments were made before he actually hit the beach on Day 1 of Survivor 50. While Charlie was emotionally prepared to win or lose the highly anticipated season, his experience with Maria's betrayal seemed to really influence his gameplay. Specifically targeting Rizo, who got the upper hand thanks to his alliance with Cirie, Dee, and Kamila.
Funny enough, Charlie spoke about changing his gameplay for the 50th season, especially if he was able to make it to Final Tribal. As he put it:
I think it just woke me up. I'm not going to say I'm going to overhaul how I play Survivor, but I think I can be a little more fast and loose. I can be a little more rough around the edges in a lot of ways, just like interacting with folks playing the game and just feel good about it and take some risks, maybe put some cards out on the table here and there rather than holding everything close to the chest until final Tribal Council, if I'm lucky enough to get there.
In the end Charlie was voted out on Day 11, and was the sixth contestant out of Survivor 50. This was his first time getting his torch snuffed, which no doubt must have been difficult. But even if he didn't make it to the merge this time around, he played a strong game on Season 46 and remains an iconic member of the New Era.
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesdays on CBS as part of the 2026 TV schedule. There are still a ton of players in the game, and I have to wonder if more double tribals are on the way. Fingers crossed that we get a live reunion, and the Charlie/Rizo conflict can be addressed there.
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