Spoilers ahead for the most recent episode of Survivor 50.
Survivor is one of the best reality shows of all time, and continues to be popular decades after its 2000 premiere. Fans have been watching the 50th season on CBS (and streaming with a Paramount+ subscription), and there's just one episode left. The most recent episode saw the legendary Cirie Fields voted out, with her ally Rizo Velovic even throwing his vote on her. Fans are seriously mad, but two-time player and Survivor know-it-all Rob Cesternino defended the newbie's logic.
The cast of Survivor 50 combined OGs and New Era players, with Cirie forming a tight alliance with Rizo. I'm having weekly chats with Cesternino about Survivor 50, so of course, we had to chat about Cirie's elimination. The founder of the Rob Has A Podcast network offered his own take Rizo's betrayal, telling me:
For Rizo, I understand what he's doing. He said all along 'I want to be a legend. I want to be one of the greats. I don't want to just go and be in fourth place.' And so he's making moves to get to the end, where maybe he's feeling like 'Hey, maybe Aubry is a person I could beat at the end. Maybe Joe is a person I could beat at the end.'
Honestly, I see this. As much as Rizo is a Survivor superfan and clearly adores Cirie, there was basically no way he was going to beat her if they made it to Final Tribal Council. Her gameplay (and social game) in Season 50 was incredible, and she's one of the most beloved players of all time. As such, Cesternino seems to understand why he decided to flip on both her and Ozzy in the last two episodes.
Only time will tell if Season 50 is considered one of the best Survivor seasons, but it likely would have gotten a ton of love from fans if Cirie took home the $2 million prize. Unfortunately, she got eliminated right before the finale, in another tragic twist for the iconic player. Cesternino went on to speak more about why he thinks Rizo took her out, telling me:
And so I think he's trying to set himself up to be in the end of the game with the players who are not as popular as some of these other folks, like a Cirie. And so we'll see if it ultimately works out for him.
I do have to agree here. If Rizo sat in the final three with Ozzy and Cirie, I don't think he was likely to get many votes. So I don't blame him for voting them both off... even if he's getting some hate from fans online as a result of the move.
But can Rizo actually win? Rob Cesternino doesn't think so, even if he understands him flipping on his allies. The Traitors Season 4 cast member told me:
I kind of feel that Rizo, I think he's played a really great game, but I do feel like he's drawing dead. And so he can move around the deck chairs on the Titanic, I just don't think that there's a combination of people that he can win against.
Touche. Rob literally wrote the book on this, titled The Tribe and I Have Spoken, so he knows what he's talking about. You can see our conversation about Rizo for yourself below:
The tension is building ahead of Season 50's upcoming finale, which will air this coming week on CBS. Will fans get a winner they appreciate, or will they continue to mourn another W that Cirie came close to getting? Only time will tell.
New episodes of Survivor air on Wednesdays as part of the 2026 TV schedule. As for Rob Cesternino, his book is out now, and he's touring as part of its release. Visit https://robhasawebsite.com/events for more information!
