Survivor 50 crowned an iconic winner, and runner-up Jonathan Young has some feelings about it. In an 8-3-0 vote, Aubry Bracco edged out Jonathan and Joe Hunter to take home the $2 million prize. She also scored a new car. Now, Jonathan is sharing his thoughts on the finale and his gameplay during Season 50.
Jonathan Young admits losing Survivor 50 has been difficult
Jonathan, who first competed on Survivor 42, wanted to play a different game. So, he turned to one of the show’s most legendary players, Boston Rob Mariano, for advice. “I did a lot of psychological training with Boston Rob,” Jonathan previously shared. “For four years, I went to his house, trained, sat at his feet, and learned everything I could because my strategic game needed some work.”
However, it wasn’t enough to help Jonathan win the title of Sole Survivor. “I knew that if I took Tiffany [Ervin] or Aubry to the end, I would lose the game. I called it,” Jonathan told Entertainment Weekly. “I could’ve told you who was gonna vote for me and who wasn’t the whole time.”
As for Jonathan’s reaction to Aubry’s win? “It hurt me so bad. ‘Cause I know I did everything I could do ’cause I had thought about Survivor for four years, and I don’t think I could’ve played … I don’t know what I could’ve done different,” Jonathan explained. “I keep trying … I keep going back to: What do I learn from this? And I don’t know yet.”
He continued, “I don’t know what I’m learning because I believe deep in my heart that I played the better game. I know I did. But because Aubry’s played five times, that weighed on a lot of the jury votes.”
Still, Jonathan feels that “jury management” could have been one of his flaws. “The first time I played, I saw a lot of flaws, and I changed those flaws,” Jonathan explained. “I played a different game. I made different relationships.” He added, “But I gave it everything I had.”
Survivor is available to stream on Paramount+.
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