Charlie Davis Breaks Down Potential 'Bad Blood' Heading Into 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)

Charlie Davis knows all too well that in the game of Survivor nothing is guaranteed. After losing Season 46 in a tight finale—famously short one vote of a tie without the support of his closest ally—the runner-up is returning to Fiji with his eyes wide open.

The Boston-based attorney, 27, admits to having "mixed" feelings about reuniting with Q Burdette and Tiffany Ervin for the milestone season. "There's history there with people you've played with, and there's baggage, and it could go any which way," he exclusively told Men's Journal on set before the game. "I mean, do I need to say much about Q being here? He's indescribable. It's insane that I'm gonna be playing Survivor with him again."

While there could be a New Era versus Old School war looming, Davis argues that the fear surrounding his generation of players is misplaced. "I think there's almost an unfounded fear that these New Era players are magicians and super strategists, which I don't think is true at all," Davis told MJ. "We just played in the game that we were given…if they're smart, they've been watching the show and they should be ready. There shouldn't be this insurmountable gap between any era."

Below, Davis further opens up about the "insane" reality of playing with Q again, what he thinks of the winners, and why he’s looking to form an alliance with players like Cirie Fields.

Men's Journal: So was this a no-brainer saying yes for you?

Charlie Davis: Oh my gosh, of course. How could you ever say no to a season like this? I was like, no matter what I needed to move around in my life, I was gonna be here.

Men's Journal: You're a fan. Seeing these people walk around—how are you feeling? Are you nerding out, or is that not the vibe you want to give off?

Charlie Davis: I am nerding out. The first time we were gathered in our room together was nuts. It’s so different—not only being in the same room as people, but being in the same room as people and about to play exactly with them is totally different. Even if I'd met some Survivor legends in passing, this is a totally different ballgame where we're all being silent, everyone's sizing each other up. It's awesome, but I would say what I feel about it is energized. I feel a lot of energy feeding off of all these big players, and just off of everyone really, and getting ready to play.

Men's Journal: How do you feel about having two other people from your cast here?

Charlie Davis: Mixed. Mixed, especially with who it is. I mean, do I need to say much about Q being here? He's indescribable. And also, I could go on and on about how it's insane that I'm gonna be playing Survivor with him again. Tiffany is also a little bit mixed for me. We worked together, and then I blindsided her, and then she very much did not advocate for me on the jury. I don't know if she was anti-me, but she was definitely not pro-me. And so there's history there with people you've played with, and there's baggage, and it could go any which way. Because as much as it might be a stepping stool to work with someone, it might be really nice for any one of us to be like, "I'm the last one standing from our season." That's happening too. Everyone out here is here to prove something.

Men's Journal: Have you picked up vibes at Ponderosa? What are your observations so far?

Charlie Davis: I think the Ponderosa vibes are so different on a returnee season. On Season 46, there was so much more people trying to shoot you a smile or give you a little whisper. There's the glancing smiles if you make eye contact with someone around the Season 50 Ponderosa, but there's much less of people trying to push the boundaries. Part of that is we don't have any idea what tribes we're on, which is really the only helpful information you could figure out.

Men's Journal: The tribe divisions will be important.

Charlie Davis: I think so much of this whole season is going to depend on the tribe breakdowns because everybody knows who's out here. There's 24 people. We're playing a 26-day game. That's a lot of people to get rid of. That is six more people than they've had to do in any New Era season. If I had to guess, it would be something like two tribes out of three, or however many tribes they're doing, are gonna go to Tribal Council every immunity challenge. People are gonna be knocked out left and right, and it's gonna be insane. I'm pretty nervous.

Men's Journal: Who do you want on your tribe, and who do you not want on your tribe?

Charlie Davis: I don't want Q and Tiffany on my tribe to start. I just think that's too complicated to deal with, especially if the early votes are going to be so crazy and it's like an easy pairing to split up. It's like, "Oh, they played together, let's knock one of them out." I don't want anyone who has their mind made up certainly about me, but really about any type of player that they want to get out of the game. That's the worst thing I'd want to deal with is someone who's just so certain that Person X has to go, especially if Person X is me. I want people who are ready to hit the beach and be flexible with who they align with. If people are flexible, it gives me stuff to work with and I can weasel my way into some alliances and keep the target off my back.

Men's Journal: Is it better that Seasons 37 and 48 also have multiple people here?

Charlie Davis: It definitely helps. The three people from 48—I mean, it's Kyle [Fraser] and Kamilla [Karthigesu] who are a super tight duo. Kyle just won the game, Kamilla barely lost the game. Joe [Hunter] made the Final Three and Joe's also in an alliance with Kyle. That appears way tighter than the Season 46 three, which was very chaotic. I voted Q out at that same Tribal Council Q was trying to vote me out. Me and Q both voted Tiffany out. Neither of them voted for me to win. Nothing really lined up. There's a lot of potential bad blood.

Men's Journal: Does Q have a lot of options? Do you think he's gonna need you?

Charlie Davis: I think if I were in Q’s shoes, I would be scared. I watched the cast announcement on the hotel TV, and Jeff [Probst] called him one of the most chaotic players that they've ever had. And he is. He basically tried to quit the game and all sorts of other crazy stuff—his whole hide-and-seek shenanigans. For God's sake, he voted someone out because they said Aubry [Bracco] was one of their favorite players. Now he's on the beach with Aubry. Who knows what he's gonna do? I don't think he even knows what he's gonna do. I can't get in the mind of Q to save my life.

Men's Journal: What did you think of Jeff announcing your name with all the Taylor Swift references?

Charlie Davis: Oh, it was funny. I was like, did Jeff really do his Swiftie research himself and figure out the perfect song titles, or is there some fan that he knows feeding him lines? But it was awesome. I love that he did it.

Men's Journal: In your season, your closest ally Maria [Shrime Gonzalez] didn't end up voting for you in the end. How, if at all, are you preparing to avoid that situation again if you get to Final Tribal Council?

Charlie Davis: I really like playing the game with a tight duo. I think most people do—you got to have someone who you can try to trust with everything. I'm just going to hope that I'm not cursed to have an epic fallout with whoever I find is my No. 1. Because I think I need it. You need close relationships. You need someone who you can work through the game with. That's what Maria and I did for 90 percent of the game. But hopefully I can find someone who's willing to go 100 percent.

Men's Journal: Who are you eyeing like, "This might be my No. 1"?

Charlie Davis: I think it's more likely for me that I would gravitate toward working with one of the really smart, strategic women that are here. I'd love to work with Cirie [Fields] or Genevieve [Mushaluk] or Dee [Valladares] or Angelina [Keeley]. Honestly, basically all the women I'd be like, "Okay, one of them would be really fun." Really just someone who I feel comfortable working with. It's really important to have a smart ally, especially in this kind of game where there can be a lot of twists like lost votes. You can easily go home if your ally does something silly. That's what I see in a lot of the ladies here who are coming to play.

Men's Journal: Are you feeling like it's gonna be a New Era versus Old Era thing?

Charlie Davis: I really hope not. I'd love to work with some really cool old schoolers. But I feel like for some people, they are thinking that. If that's coming from anywhere, it's going to come from the old schoolers. They watched Winners at War where all the old school legends went out first, which as a fan sucks to see. And I think there's almost an unfounded fear that these New Era players are magicians and super strategists, which I don't think is true at all. We just played in the game that we were given. It’s a different complication. If they're smart, they've been watching the show and they should be ready. There shouldn't be this insurmountable gap between any era.

Men's Journal: What have you observed about these Season 49 players?

Charlie Davis: No idea. Which is a scary thing because they can make up whatever they want and hide whatever they want, whereas everybody else is totally out in the open. I'm interested to see how they deal with that from the jump because if I were them, I would be very scared. People are going to be looking for easy votes early on, and they stick out.

Men's Journal: How do you feel about winners being out here?

Charlie Davis: It’s the same deal—they stick out. They already won a million dollars; nobody else here did. The last thing anybody out here watched on Survivor was Kyle win a million dollars. I was shocked when I saw that he was on the cast, frankly. It’s gonna be tough for him because there's a lot of people who've gotten very, very close to winning, myself included. Kyle seems like an awesome guy, a fellow lawyer, but I'm like, "Man, might be easy to just get him out of here and let somebody new win."

Men's Journal: What do you think people's perception of you is?

Charlie Davis: I think that I'm probably seen in the sorta very strategic type player, and I guess I probably am, but I'm hoping that people see it's like a "good ally" level and not "needs to be gone day one" level. That's probably wishful thinking. I hope it's true. And hopefully they don't hate Taylor Swift or anything. There's always haters.

Men's Journal: Does the fact that you got to the end and didn't win make you less of a threat?

Charlie Davis: I see it more as an area where we can bond together. I think it is a very unique thing to lose at Final Tribal Council. It's a very different feeling than getting your torch actually snuffed. It's because you're being judged by the jury rather than voted out by your fellow players. It can really get in your head.

Men's Journal: What do you make of [Benjamin] Coach [Wade]?

Charlie Davis: I did catch him doing a fancy stretch, I’ll call it. Immediately when I saw him stick his hands out, I was like... he’s got some bravado, some charisma to him. Thinking about Coach, he’s got aura. He comes into a room and he makes you know that he is in the room. I’m really excited to get to know him because I think he’s gonna make it really fun out here. I hope Coach is on my tribe, really. I just want to hear him talk and hear stories.

Men's Journal: Did you prep at all to come out here?

Charlie Davis: Honestly, I prepped way less than I did before. Part of that is knowing what worked. The time I played the first time, I bought this balance block to practice balancing on one foot. I stood on my stupid block for hours. We get to a balance challenge and Jeff's like, "Okay, now go on one foot," and I was the first one out. There's so much that people prepare for that isn't useful, so I kind of cut a lot of the fluff. Still worked on my grip strength, grip strength did pay off. But other than that, just getting my mind right. There's a bit of muscle memory. I know how to walk the walk and talk the talk.

Men's Journal: If you get to the end again and lose, or get voted out early, will it sting just as much?

Charlie Davis: The worst result for me would be to get to Final Tribal Council again and lose again. That would be the worst result. So I don't want that to happen. Again, it’s great to get to the end, but when I get to the end, I want to seal the deal. And if I get voted out en route to playing that kind of game, I can make my peace with that. Now, if I get voted out first—I don't know, I'm sure I'll come up with all sorts of psychological protections if I'm booted first, but I don't want to talk about that right now.

The interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Related: Why Genevieve Mushaluk Feels 'Particularly Vulnerable' Going Into 'Survivor 50' (Exclusive)