Review: Survivor, "Knife to the Heart" | Season 50, Episode 4

Reality television is built on the aura of celebrity on two different levels. The first is shows like American Idol that rely on celebrity judges or panelists; the second is shows like The Real World that turned regular people into celebrities by documenting their lives.

Survivor has predominantly been in the latter category outside of some stunt casting (more on that later), and the very existence of all-star seasons is a reminder of how 49 seasons have generated memorable characters who you’d stop on the street for a photo. My local affiliate is holding a Survivor casting call in April, and while I have no desire to go on the show, I do have a desire to know if they’re bringing in any past castaways (Cirie came for a similar Big Brother casting a couple years ago). And although no one seems to be starstruck in their approach to Season 50 so far, there’s no question the reverence for players like Cirie is going to be part of this season’s outcome.

The problem with reality shows featuring actual celebrities is that the reverence is contractually obligated. It means numerous talking heads from contestants talking about their love for the celebrity, even if it seems like they were fed every word by a producer. Often introduced as mentors or judges, there’s a risk of drifting into the show becoming about those celebrities, depending on how the show approaches it. It’s one of the key problems with The Voice, a show that so oriented itself toward its celebrity judges that it has basically given up trying to turn its contestants into celebrities in their own right.

This isn’t necessarily a problem created by Survivor 50 embracing the celebrity guest, given that we already know all these contestants. But the fact we already know them is why the sheer amount of oxygen Zac Brown’s presence takes up in this episode bugs me. There is so much story to be told among these castaways, and yet Brown’s appearance at the immunity challenge forces everyone to buy into the idea that this is the greatest reward in history. I’m not questioning that certain players—mainly Dee and Colby, the only two who understand Probst’s lyric references—are fans, but once a celebrity gets involved there’s no space for someone to be less than enthused. Everyone has to just go along with the idea that Zac Brown performing live after a dinner of the fish he speared out of the ocean is everything they’ve ever wanted (other than maybe an early screening of Jack & Jill), because otherwise the viewers at home might be confused why we spent at least three minutes watching him underwater.