SPOILER ALERT!!! This article will contain spoilers for Episode 3 of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans,” including the identity of this week’s eliminated castaway. Read on at your own risk!
On the most recent episode of “Survivor 50,” an early-game tribe swap forced our remaining 21 castaways to rethink their strategies, form new alliances and hone in new targets.
While the swap worked out swimmingly for some of the newly formed tribes, like Cila and Kalo, who were able to rely on the strength of their new makeups to secure Immunity this week, the new Vatu tribe was not so lucky.
After losing the Immunity challenge and earning themselves a date a Tribal Council with Jeff Probst, the new Vatu Tribe — composed of Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Emily Flippen, Ozzy Lusth, Q Burdette, Angelina Keeley, Christian Hubicki and Mike White — spent the remainder of the episode scrambling to decide who they should vote out first.
In a shocking yet eerily familiar twist, however, Q made the decision relatively easy by asking his new tribe mates to vote him out.
Burdette, renowned for his chaotic gameplay, tried to pull off a similar stunt on his original season (“Survivor 46”), though the bluff ultimately resulted in his 6th place finish on the 2024 installment.
This time around, history – as it always does – repeated itself.
While Q never actually intended on being voted out, despite literally asking his tribe mates to write his name down, he’s since revealed the method to his madness in a new interview with Parade’s Mike Bloom.
Q Burdette Wanted to Force a Tie Vote at Tribal Council
CBSGoing into Tribal Council, clear lines had already been drawn on the new Vatu Tribe, with “Survivor: David vs. Goliath” alumni Mike White, Christian Hubicki and Angelina Keeley on one side and Ozzy Lusth, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Emily Flippen and Q on the other.
In an attempt to undermine the power of the opposing trio, Burdette hoped to throw them off by putting his own name out there for elimination.
“My expectations were for Mike, Angelina and Christian to vote for me,” Q told Bloom. “Or even one or two of them; it didn’t really matter. But if all three of them voted for me, it was the perfect scenario for me in the game.”
“At that time, I didn’t have a vote,” he explained, having lost his vote during an earlier Exile Island duel against Ozzy and Benjamin “Coach” Wade. “If Ozzy and Emily stick with Stephenie, there’s three votes on Angelina and three votes on me. In a re-vote, Angelina doesn’t get to vote again, but Ozzy, Stephenie and Emily would.”
How Q’s Master Plan Fell Apart at the Seams
In theory, it was a great plan. The math checked out. Unfortunately for Q, however, people tend to be more complicated than numbers.
“What I did not calculate…was Ozzy flipping and then Emily flipping,” Burdette admitted. “But again, I should have thought that. I felt like Emily gave me some information at that time, and we had another conversation that was kind of genuine and nice. And I’m thinking like, ‘Okay, maybe I can play with her at least for a vote or two.’ And the fact that I’m offering up one of my original tribe members [Angelina], typically, they say, ‘Hey, that’s the crack that we need.’”
In the end, however, it was Flippen who ultimately flipped on Q, teaming up with Ozzy and the “David vs. Goliath” trio to send Burdette packing in 21st place.
Q Says He’d Play ‘Survivor’ Again ‘In a Heartbeat’
CBSIn spite of his lackluster performance on the milestone season, Burdette revealed that he’s already ready to get back on the horse and take on the challenge of “Survivor” all over again.
“Listen, you get the opportunity to play this game once, and you’re lucky to get to play it twice. But when you’re asked a third, fourth time, like some of these returning players that came back, it’s an honor,” he said.
“Personally, I would play again because I truly, truly enjoy playing I have fun!” he continued. “These three episodes, it just shows you the fun and joy that you can see in me when I’m playing, and what I bring to the fans of the game. I’m fun to work with, and I understand that, and I know that, but that’s just the type of person I am. I would play again in a heartbeat.”
Be sure to catch the continuation of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” when the milestone season returns to CBS screens nationwide next Wednesday, March 18 at 8:00pm ET.
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