Charlie Davis’ Emotional Homecoming on ‘Survivor 50’ Revealed

The Unexpected Turn of Events

Charlie Davis thought he knew exactly where the vote was going on Survivor 50—until the exact moment he saw his name come up on parchment at Tribal Council. What he expected to be a straightforward vote for his self-appointed rival, Rizo Velovic, quickly turned into a blindside he could only piece together in real time.

The Season 46 runner-up believed he was in a solid position with his previous Kalo tribe, working particularly close with Dee Valladares and Kamilla Karthigesu, and by extension, Jonathan Young. His main target was Rizo, in part because of lingering trust issues tied to his previous season. But while Charlie thought the plan was locked, Dee teamed up with Rizo and others to push the target on him instead.

In his exit interview, Charlie breaks down the moment he realized he was in trouble, what he thinks led to the vote flipping against him, and why he didn’t see it coming. He also gets into the tribe dynamics viewers didn’t fully see in the edited show.

Reflections on the Episode

Men’s Journal: How are you feeling after watching the episode? What surprised you the most?

Charlie Davis: I was able to piece together what happened as the votes came out. Going into Tribal, I thought it was basically going to be unanimous Rizo. I also was pretty sure Rizo was going to play his Shot in the Dark. As soon as the votes were cast and Rizo didn’t play it, I was like, “Oh no. Something is going on.” I was either being left out of the vote or I was the vote. As soon as I saw one name come up for me, I was like, “I’m cooked. I’m done.” From that point, I was trying to gather what little information I could. I looked around and Jonathan and Rick Devens were both going, “No.” They didn’t know what was going on. Then I went to Dee and said, “This was you. You did this.” I could tell from her expression. I knew the four people who voted for me. It wasn’t a surprise; I had already pieced it together. I guess I was surprised by the comment Dee made where she said I was the most dangerous but actually the dumbest. That was a little out of left field, but it’s whatever.

Understanding Tribe Dynamics

Men’s Journal: We didn’t see much of your tribe. How close were you with Dee and Kamilla [Karthigesu]? Did you consider someone might flip?

Charlie Davis: I felt solid with them. Frankly, I was closer strategically to them than I was with Jonathan—which, allegedly, I’ve heard after the fact that Kamilla was actually pitching to do Jonathan instead of me. I think it was really Dee who pushed for it to stay on me. There was not a moment where I was like, “Let’s get Dee out.” I never came for her. I thought I was working with her. The dynamics on Kalo were the three women, and then they wanted me to be the fourth person in their alliance, which I was down for. Then Mike [White] was the fifth. Chrissy [Hofbeck], Coach [Wade], and Jonathan were on the other side. Chrissy was targeting the three-woman alliance pretty hard, and they were targeting Chrissy. Me and Mike were good with both sides. I think Dee thought I was playing things a little too close to the chest and trying to be too cute, whereas Dee was much more like, “I’m out there with my alliance and my enemies, and that’s going to be it.” She maybe didn’t like how I was playing. We were just playing different games.

Behind the Scenes of Kalo

Men’s Journal: It’s interesting because we didn’t see any of that background from Kalo beach.

Charlie Davis: There’s not much background. I don’t think there was any one specific moment where I’m like, “Oh, it went really wrong.” I just don’t think Dee and I really synced up that well. That happens on Survivor. It was just surprising to me that they wanted me out that badly when I wasn’t coming after them.

Navigating Past Trauma

Men’s Journal: Regarding the Survivor 46 trauma—was that something you were personally bringing up a lot, or were you asked about it?

Charlie Davis: Both. I don’t think they were prying it out of my mouth. I for sure brought it up. It’s not an instance of them pushing a narrative on me. There were a lot of other strategic reasons why I wanted to target Rizo. It was not just, “I hate this guy. Get him out of here.” I enjoyed hanging out with him. We had some great moments. I gave confessionals talking about how it was complex. It was not a dishonest storyline; it was just a clear narrative and they went for it.

Honesty and Vulnerability

Men’s Journal: I do want to commend you for being vulnerable about that. People’s feelings do get hurt in this game, and it was nice to see that honesty.

Charlie Davis: That’s why it’s been on for 50 seasons, right? It’s not just an emotionless game. I was definitely not beside myself out there. I’ve seen funny comments where people say I need to go to counseling or therapy. I promise you, I’m fine. I’m all good. You guys saw a couple confessionals. It’s not that deep.

Learning from Others

Men’s Journal: When you got to Ponderosa, did Savannah [Louie] catch you up on everything that went down in 49?

Charlie Davis: Almost immediately. At that point, it was already ridiculous. I knew it was going to be so confusing for the fans. People are DMing me asking what I thought when I saw Survivor 49, but obviously, I didn’t see 49. I learned from Savannah immediately after I was out of the game.

Perspectives on Other Players

Men’s Journal: Did playing with Savannah and Rizo change your perspective on them once you actually saw their season?

Charlie Davis: I don’t think it changed my perspective that much. It was cool to watch them have their big moments. The strategic reasons I wanted to target Rizo made a lot of sense to me. He would be a target in 50 because he’s an unknown player and you don’t know how he played. That makes him threatening. I viewed the pre-merge as having as little blood on your hands as possible. No matter who you target, you’re going to make people mad. I viewed Rizo as someone who is much less connected, so you get less blood on your hands by flipping on him. They were not thinking about the pre-merge the same way I was. They were willing to take a shot, and they took it.

Future Aspirations

Men’s Journal: Is there anyone you wanted to work with that you never got to see out there?

Charlie Davis: Angelina [Keeley] is one. We met for the first time on the boat back to Ponderosa. Angelina immediately pops to mind. I said in my pregame press that she seems so fun. That’s an underrated thing to look for in an alliance member. Luckily, we had a great time at Ponderosa, so I got that a little bit. Genevieve [Mushaluk] is someone I wanted to work with a lot. But I’m grateful for the people I did get to meet.

Insights from Watching the Show

Men’s Journal: Watching the show back, did anything surprise you that you didn’t see while you were out there?

Charlie Davis: They didn’t show much of Kalo. There wasn’t even really room for me to be surprised there. I think stuff going on with Christian [Hubicki] and Devens hiding the idol at Tribal, or Ozzy [Lusth] passing his advantage around—I didn’t know all that exactly, so that was cool to see.

What Could Have Been Seen More

Men’s Journal: Is there anything from your game you wish we saw more of?

Charlie Davis: I wish we saw more on Kalo. I think I was in a great spot and pretty insulated. I think eventually Dee or Kamilla started to get wary of me. But I really think if we had gone to Tribal, Chrissy or one of those three women—probably Chrissy—goes ultimately. I don’t think I would have come up in a conversation at all.

Relationships and Reactions

Men’s Journal: I was surprised Tiffany [Nicole Ervin] was on your tribe. How were you two out there, and what was your reaction to Q [Burdette] leaving?

Charlie Davis: As far as I know, we were working tight out there together. It was a little wary because I obviously voted her out on 46, but I really like Tiff as a person and I consider her a good friend. As for Q, I was bummed. I know what he brings to a season and he’s such a fun person to hang out with. I had so much anticipation of getting to play with Q again that it felt like the rug was pulled out from under me.

Future of Survivor

Men’s Journal: Are you open to doing Survivor again in the future, or do you need a break?

Charlie Davis: I’m always open to it. I don’t think they’re going to be calling me immediately, so I don’t have much to worry about. It’s such a thrill to be out there. You always learn something about yourself. It’s so cool to be a part of a franchise that fans absolutely love. It feels like a great way to give back to the show that I love. Crazy things come out of this, like getting to go on Jimmy Fallon. It’s been really special. I think there are probably some fun season themes they could bring me back for. We’ll see!

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.