Warning! The following contains spoilers for the Wednesday, December 13 episode of Survivor Season 45. Read at your own risk!
Strategic Survivor superfan Emily Flippen, who memorably applied for the show because she was mad at Mike Gabler, has been one of the most talked-about personalities on Survivor Season 45, making a name for herself as much for her social miscues and blunt game strategy on the island as for her meme-worthy facial expressions during key moments of the game. And those classic Emily reactions were on full display during the show's Wednesday, December 13 episode, the competitor's first since being voted off last week.
Now back as the fifth member of the jury, the 28-year-old investment analyst from Laurel, Maryland joined the rest of this season's previously cast-off castaways, including Kaleb Gebrewold, Kellie Nalbandian, Kendra McQuarrie and Bruce Perreault on the jury bench. And fans were loving how hilariously stone-faced Flippen was as she watched this season's dominant Reba alliance splinter apart.
One Twitter user joked about how seriously the former tribemate "took the assignment" of serving on the Survivor jury:
I think Emily took the assignment of "jury duty" literally #Survivor pic.twitter.com/cgGUd49YdyDecember 14, 2023
Another compared her cold-faced expression during the dramatic 90-minute episode of Survivor to a comedic clip of the late, great Betty White mean-mugging it for the camera in the 2010 movie You Again:
Emily during jury🤭#Survivor45#Survivor pic.twitter.com/IL6dDXrd4vDecember 14, 2023
One Survivor fan quipped that Flippen looked like she was sitting "at the DMV" rather than at a high-pressure Tribal Council:
I’m literally crying at Emily sitting there like she’s at the DMV hahahaahhaahDecember 14, 2023
Another commented that Emily was "staring into [the] SOULS" of her former Survivor castmates, including Julie Alley, who ultimately got her voted off the island during last week's episode:
Emily is staring into their SOULS #Survivor #Survivor45December 14, 2023
Given that Emily Flippen wasn't happy with how she was eliminated from the island, it's not a shock that her facial expressions during her first episode post-expulsion wouldn't exactly be enthusiastic. She disclosed during a December interview with Entertainment Weekly what happened following her torch-snuffing and how she had hoped for a more "epic" exit than what ultimately sent her packing from the competition. She said:
It was absolutely crazy. I mean, I was not obviously blacked out, but that all just happened so quickly. I really wish that I went out in some more epic fashion, but you're just kind of on autopilot — hugged people, grabbed the torch, put it down ... But it was really nice to eat some real food, and luckily the people on the jury that I got to go back to are just some of the kindest, most fun people. So while I was disappointed, they kind of made the experience way more palatable.
She also revealed how she was "really unprepared for the game of Survivor" before going into the season, having real-world pressures including work and buying a house weighing on her before joining the rest of the secretive Survivor Season 45 cast on the island.
I wish I could say yes. I was really unprepared for the game of Survivor. It happened so quickly from when I applied to when I ended up being on the show, and so much was happening in that time period. I was buying a house. I was trying to get five weeks of work done before I left, to me trying to learn how to make fire. So I really did not put as much thought into a lot of the elements of my gameplay, including what I would say when I was sent home as I think other people may have.
The last episode showed Reba allies Dee Valladares, Julie Alley, Austin Li Coon, Drew Basile and Julie Alley working together to keep Alley in the game and thus casting Emily out. However, this week's edition saw that alliance break apart, with a blind-sided Drew ultimately voted out of the competition and left to join Emily & Co. on the jury bench. No wonder her facial expressions were so iconic.
Now, much to Emily's chagrin, we're down to a final five that sadly doesn't include her. You can tune into the big Survivor finale live on Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS's Fall 2023 schedule or with a Paramount+ subscription to see who wins and more of the jury member's fantastic facial expressions.
