Survivors Savannah Louie on Why You Dont Need a Sob Story to Win

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It’s OK to playSurvivor for yourself. So says Season 49 winner Savannah Louie, who delivered a standout answer to Jawan Pitts‘s question about her “why,” her reason for playing the game in the December 17 finale. Jawan wanted to hear Savannah’s emotional reason for competing on the show, the thing from her life back at home that was motivating her to win. Savannah gave her answer, but then argued that it shouldn’t matter. She explained why people don’t need a “sob story” to play in our finale interview.

Jawan asked the Survivor 49 Final Three, “What is your why, and do you think your why should play a role in my decision tonight?” Savannah answered first, revealing that she got laid off from her news anchor job one year before going on Survivor. That motivated her to “start living life for [herself]” and chase her dreams, which included applying for the CBS competition show.

“When I’m out here, I’m doing this for myself today, I’m doing this for myself in the future, because I’m hoping to genuinely win tonight so I can set up my future for success,” Savannah said. “I also think about doing this for my past self, too. I picture that 7-year-old girl before every freaking challenge that I do, and I think about what she would say. So my why, Jawan, is I’m out here for myself. And I know that might seem selfish, and I know other people have better whys than I do. But you don’t have to have the right why in order to be the Sole Survivor. So, should my why impact your decision tonight? Honestly, I’m going to say, I hope not. And I’m just being real with you.”

Sophi Balerdi said that she was playing for her grandmother, but that she didn’t want that to factor into Jawan’s voting decision. Sage Ahrens-Nichols said she was playing for her late friend and their family, as well as her partner.

Savannah told TV Insider that it’s enough to want to play and winSurvivor just for yourself and explained why a player’s emotional motivation wouldn’t necessarily factor into her judgments as a juror.

“As a viewer, I love seeing the stories that people who go on the show, who are so inspirational, who are fighting for their families,” she said. “My two closest allies, Rizo [Velovic] and Soph, had these amazing stories that are family-related about their why. I’m sitting there, and I’m like, I don’t have that. I really just want to do this for myself because it’s been a dream of mine since forever. I think oftentimes, especially as adults, we look for excuses not to fulfill a dream, especially a childhood dream. There [are] always things that are going on. We have responsibilities, we have bills to pay, children to take care of, and we can so often forget about our dreams we had as kids.”

“I know I’ve seen people discuss before, ‘I want to play Survivor, but I don’t have a sob story.’ You don’t need one. Go out there, be selfish. It is OK to be selfish, especially in the game of Survivor,” she continued. “I hope in that moment, I could help encourage people to own their truth and say, ‘It’s OK. You don’t need a why.’ The game, ultimately, for me at least, isn’t about who has the best story off the island. I know that can be a great motivator for some people, but for me, personally, what I would look for as a juror is the performance of [those] 26 days. If your why does come into play in those 26 days, absolutely, I can hear you out, but I don’t think it necessarily has to be that way.”

Savannah and Rizo will return in Survivor 50 in February. The season started filming less than two weeks after filming on Survivor 49 wrapped. Tune in to see how this mindset impacts her game, if at all. See our full finale interview with Savannah above.

Survivor 50, Season Premiere, Wednesday, February 25, 8/7c, CBS