Survivor legend Cirie Fields drops bombshell about her strategy to win $1 million grand prize — And fans didn’t see it coming
“I’m not here to make friends.” It’s an age-old reality TV adage, specifically for a series like “Survivor” where backstabs, blindsides and deceitful gameplay are (almost) always necessary for players hoping to walk away with the title of “Sole Survivor” and the $1 million grand prize that comes with it.
It’s also a mantra that soon-to-be five-time castaway Cirie Fields, widely considered the greatest “Survivor” player to never win the game, will adopt as she prepares to appear on the cast of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” later this month (Feb. 25).
Cirie Fields Sets Her Sights on Finally Winning on ‘Survivor 50’
CBS“My ‘Survivor’ journey is not over!” Cirie told TV Insider in the days before the milestone season began filming last summer, adding that her Season 50 run will act as her “swan song” from the long-running reality show.
“This is graduation. I need to walk across the stage with the cap and gown and the diploma,” she said. “I haven’t received that yet, so what better time to get it than Season 50.”
Despite being considered one of the most strategically savvy players the series have ever seen in its 26 years on the air, Fields has never managed to secure a seat at Final Tribal Council, though she has come close on multiple occasions.
During her debut run on 2006’s “Survivor: Panama,” Cirie wrapped up a respectable fourth place finish after losing a tie-breaker fire-making challenge to Danielle DiLorenzo.
Two years later, on “Survivor: Micronesia – Fans vs. Favorites,” Fields came even closer to winning the competition, dominating the game with her all-female “Black Widow Brigade” alliance before a last-minute format change revealed that the season’s Final Tribal Council would consist of a Final Two instead of a Final Three.
After a lack-luster performance on 2010’s “Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains,” Cirie once again returned to the competition for 2017’s “Survivor: Game Changers,” where she made it all the way to the Final Six before the so-called “Advantageddon” debacle resulted in her elimination solely because she was the only player without Immunity.
Last year, Fields once again proved her mettle as she wrapped up a fourth place finish on “Survivor: Australia vs. the World,” with the “Sole Survivor” title ultimately going to her former “Black Widow” ally Parvati Shallow.
Cirie Outlines Her ‘Cutthroat’ New Strategy for Season 50
CBSNow, as Cirie joins the cast of Season 50, she’s adopting a more “cutthroat” approach to ensure that she can finally claim the show’s $1 million grand prize after 20 years of trying.
“I ain’t excited to see nobody!” Fields told TV Insider, despite the fact that she’ll be playing alongside a number of her former co-stars, including Benjamin “Coach” Wade (“Heroes vs. Villains”), Ozzy Lusth (“Micronesia”), Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick (“Heroes vs. Villains), Colby Donaldson (“Heroes vs. Villains) and Aubry Bracco (“Game Changers”).
“They’re all jury members to me,” she added. “I mean, I gotta get through all of them to win the million dollars, so excited? Eh, relative.”
Being one of the few castaways to have competed on five separate seasons won’t be the only challenge Cirie faces on the upcoming milestone installment, however, as she’ll also have to adapt her “old-school” gameplay style to fit the season’s “new era” format.
“I think the tweaks I made to my game is…no one is dead to me,” she revealed. “My major adversary could be my best friend for the next vote. I need to be more fluid and adaptable in that aspect. Before, if I heard you mention my name, that was it, you were dead to me, there was no game that we could play together, there was nothing you could offer me, sandwiches included. I would turn it down. But now I’ve realized everyone is a potential opportunity to get to the next day no matter what happened today.”
“I need to be able to put my big girl panties on, get over it, move on, utilize them appropriately, and then get rid of them when I have to,” she continued.
Cirie Thinks ‘Old-School’ Players Will Have the Advantage on ‘50’
Unlike her fellow “old-school” players, Fields’ experience on “Australia vs. the World” has given her a taste of the “fast and furious” strategy it takes to succeed in a shortened “new era” game.
“I’m pretty well-versed [in the new era]. I know the faces that I see, but I think being an old era player, we have an advantage over the new era players. We’re used to a harder game. We’re used to a longer game. It could be an advantage or a disadvantage,” she told TV Insider. “The new era players, they only know this way and God forbid the fans are thinking like I’m thinking, and let’s go back to the old way and take away all the advantages and all of this and that, and make them really show what they’re made of. Then we’ll see what the new era has to offer.”
Regardless, Cirie’s exemplary “Survivor” career could place a major target on her back heading into the all-star season.
“We’re all here with threat levels,” Cirie countered, explaining that she’s far from the biggest threat on the island this season. “Kyle [Fraser] won yesterday. Dee [Valladares] won before. You have a challenge king who’s about to break the record (do we want to give him that opportunity?) in Joe [Hunter]. There’s so many perceived threats that should be perceived higher than me. I should be low on the totem pole threat level.”
“I’m just a grandmother,” she added, knowing full well that she’s actually a grandmother with a historic “Survivor” career and several other reality TV successes under her belt, having emerged victorious from competition series like ABC’s “Snake in the Grass” and Peacock’s “The Traitors.”
Cirie Reveals How She Wants to be Remembered After 20 Years on ‘Survivor’
In the end, even if she’s once again unable to walk away from the competition with the title of “Sole Survivor” in her grasp, Cirie said that she wants “to be remembered as the lady who got off the couch 20 years ago, grabbed life by the balls, and never turned it loose and continued to push herself. Just gave it everything to experience all of this and not miss out anymore.”
Fans can catch Cirie Fields as she sets on one last “Survivor” journey when “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” makes its historic three-hour CBS debut on Wednesday, February 25 at 8:00pm ET.
