Survivor 50 Fans Are In Mourning After A Fan-Favorite Player's Elimination

Don't even attempt the immunity challenge if you haven't watched "Inconceivable," the penultimate episode of "Survivor 50." Spoilers about the double elimination ahead!

The landmark all-star season "Survivor 50" is about to come to an end, and on the May 13 episode, "Inconceivable," a "Survivor" legend fell for the final time. No, I'm not talking about Rick Devens; honestly, I bet that guy is texting (sometimes controversial) host and showrunner Jeff Probst as we speak and begging for another shot. No, I'm talking about Cirie Fields, widely regarded as the best player to never win "Survivor," who was voted out by a majority of players for the first time across her six seasons of play.

Fields, who debuted in "Survivor: Panama" (the show's 12th season) and lost a fire-making challenge that left her in fourth place, became a part of the infamous Black Widow Brigade in "Survivor: Micronesia" and came in third, was ousted from "Game Changers" due to a total fluke (everyone had an Idol or advantage except for her), and came in fourth place a second time on the crossover event "Survivor Australia v the World," where she reunited with her "Micronesia" ally and real-life friend Parvati Shallow. So, what about "Survivor 50?"

Honestly, Fields lasted a lot longer than I thought she would, which she says herself in a post-mortem interview; more on that shortly. As one of the most cunning strategists in "Survivor" history (as her "Survivor 50" competitor Joe Hunter said of Fields in a confessional, "I've never seen a human manipulate a room [so] that it even twists my own mind"), Fields would have easily won $2 million from an adoring jury. That's why she got ousted; she was too powerful to bring to a final tribal council. Long-time "Survivor" fans, though, are grieving. 

Some people on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter) got right to the point about Cirie Fields' ouster from "Survivor 50," like @PhonyReality: "Today we mourn the loss of Cirie Fields from Survivor 50. She is one of the best to ever play the game and a true mastermind of 'Survivor.' We will never see a player as amazing as Cirie on 'Survivor' again."

Ultimately, Fields' legacy is secure, which users like @RileyMcAtee confirmed. "Cirie came into 50 with such an ironclad resume that it was almost impossible to imagine that she'd put in a performance so impressive that it would actually raise my estimation of her and, yet, she did it," they wrote. "Easily the best to never win, of course. Proven yet again."

As @ConnorLounsbury put it, rooting for Fields felt like a fool's errand ... but it was still worth the ride. "As soon as we heard Cirie was back, we all knew she couldn't win. Who would be dumb enough to let her get far?" they said on X. "But with each passing episode, we let ourselves hope. And even tonight, when we saw the writing on the wall, it still hurt so viscerally. That's the beauty of 'Survivor'."

Then there's Fields' final moment, where she thanked Jeff Probst for her "Survivor" tenure and he let her utter the phrase "the tribe has spoken." As @Connorreality said, "The difference in tone of Cirie announcing 'the tribe has spoken' is very evident at least she's ending her 'Survivor' journey on a more positive, less twist heavy note. At this point I'm just happy to have watched this masterful icon play this game on my tv in real time."

While some "Survivor 50" players repeated history in embarrassing ways, Cirie Fields cemented her spot as one of the most beloved "Survivor" players in the show's history with her strategy this season ... and she thinks it's her best outing. After her ouster, Fields spoke to Dalton Ross, the resident "Survivor" expert at Entertainment Weekly, and when Ross suggested that this was Fields' best game yet, she agreed. "Oh, I definitely think it's at the top of the ladder, because of the target that I had, like you said, and the fact that they were after me," Fields said, noting that other contestants became targets before she did ... which allowed her to keep strategizing and scheming and stick around until the final six. (Frankly, the fact that she got as far as she did is genuinely astounding and speaks to her sheer talent.)

Fields also confirmed that she's done playing "Survivor" and added that, when she told Ross last summer that "Survivor 50" would be her swan song, that still stands. "I absolutely feel that way. I'll be 56 in July," Fields noted. "I have received so much more than I bargained for from this 20, 21 year experience, Dalton. I don't really need to prove anything."

Fields continued: "When I get the title of the best to have never won,' all I hear is those first two words, the best. And that's good enough for me." There's no question that Fields has earned her place on the proverbial "Survivor" Mt. Rushmore, and fans are right; we may never see a player as shrewd as her ever again. 

"Survivor 50" will crown its winner — and Fields will vote for them from the jury — on May 20.