And So We Arrive, Starving And Exhausted, At The Defector ‘Survivor 50’ Finale Questionnaire

After 26 days of gameplay and almost three months of real time spent arguing and crashing out online, Survivor 50 has finally arrived at its endgame. From a starting count of 24 iconic (and, well, "iconic") players down to a Final Five, the supersized season has been ... let's call it "polarizing." At its best, Season 50 was a real celebration of Survivor lore and 26 years of characters: The premiere was wonderful, the emotions on exhibit—particularly from the players who know this is their last chance to play this incredible game—were raw and touching, and it has been pretty reliably funny! This is all good.

Unfortunately, it has not all been good. At its worst, Season 50 has been a demoralizing harbinger of what Survivor is becoming as it inches closer to whatever endgame it has in mind for itself. More than any already-twist-heavy New Era season, Season 50 was a disaster of production interference, and the celebrity cameos that made my blood run cold in the season's trailer didn't help matters. (Christian truly did have his fate decided in the game by Jimmy fucking Fallon.) The game became less about who could navigate the tumultuous relationships of a lunatic tribe and more about who could get fucked over the least by twists, advantages, and whatever Jeff Probst thinks makes for Good Survivor Content. Figuring that out has been a grim exercise for fans; this Variety interview with Probst ahead of the finale is worth a read to see how out-of-touch he is with the game he has become inextricably intertwined with over the last quarter century.

But! There's still a finale to be watched, and though our Defector Survivor Jury (Luis Paez-Pumar, Kelsey McKinney, Alex Sujong Laughlin, and Normal Gossip producer Jae Towle Vieira) appear to be united in expecting no surprises from the final episode of Season 50, a Survivor finale is a Survivor finale. And, thanks to the one fan vote this season that hit on the correct result, there's a live finale for 50. It'll be fun to see everyone glammed up and in the same place again for the first time since the opening beach scene way back in the first episode.