Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 49 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the latest episode.
Top 3 Moments
Kristina finds an idol
Christine: With MC’s idol out of play so early in the merge, our castaways knew that it was likely rehidden. A search was launched to prevent the Uli minority from getting it, and Kristina turned out to be the lucky winner of a hidden immunity idol. Kristina landed on the right side of the tribe split this episode and didn’t have to attend tribal, allowing her to hold onto her newly found idol at least for now.
Savannah wants revenge
Gia: Losing Nate right as the merge was beginning threw his alliance members for a loop. No one was more upset about his elimination than Savannah. Being on the outs reminded her of her career as a journalist and the unhealthy work environment she struggled with, adding another layer to how she processed this predicament. Now she has a new perspective on the future of her game. She vowed to take out all of the Hina members as revenge for the merge. She got her way this time with MC, but let’s see if she outlasts all the other yellow tribe members.
A split tribal…with a twist
Gia: Surprise! Episode 8 brought our regularly scheduled split tribal council, but only the losing team would go to tribal council. Savannah won for her team, which meant that Sophie, MC, Rizo, Sage, and Jawan would be voting among themselves. But that wasn’t all… in addition to winning immunity, Savannah also attended the tribal council with the option to cast a vote there or save it for a future round. She chose to bank her vote for another day, and MC was voted out unanimously.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Gia: Kristina became the latest owner of a hidden immunity idol, one that she found with Alex and Steven. Even better, she didn’t have to even consider playing it, given that she was on the winning side of the challenge. Meanwhile, Rizo’s idol played a big factor in the outcome of this vote; he ultimately decided not to play it. With no votes being cast against him, I’d say it was the right choice.
Knowledge is Power
Christine: With Sophi being immune and not present at tribal, her Knowledge is Power didn’t come into play. But now with Kristina finding the re-hidden idol, there are two potential targets for a Knowledge is Power play. With Rizo, Savannah, and Sophi still technically in the minority together, I’d say that if we see this advantage used at all this season, it’ll be against Kristina.
Extra Vote
Christine: As part of the twist that allowed her to attend the other group’s tribal council, Savannah had the choice to vote and play a role in the outcome of this tribal, or not to vote and save it as an Extra Vote for a future tribal. Savannah chose the latter, giving her just a little bit more power in the future.
Top 3 Players
Savannah
Christine: This was a big episode for Savannah. Her personal journey and story dominated the edit, and the advantage she won placed her in the middle of the action with an immunity necklace around her neck. This episode gave her both reward and immunity, an Extra Vote to use in the future, and the safety of her ally Rizo, who was also able to hold onto his idol through the chaos. Being safe this week was crucial for Savannah after being on the wrong side of the vote last time, and MC going out significantly weakens the Hina-strong coalition and their satellites. A more fluid game bodes well for Savannah, who was in desperate need of a shake-up.
Rizo
Christine: Rizo survived this tricky round thanks to some Hina infighting and just general messy gameplay from multiple parties, but I have to give major props to him for holding onto his idol through it all. This is a scenario where nine out of ten players would play their idol, and even if it turned out to be a waste, it would be a totally understandable, logical decision. The fact that he held onto his idol in this small split tribal is impressive, and with Savannah also getting an extra vote, things are looking up for the two of them after being in the minority at the Nate vote.
Sophie
Gia: This episode was full of highs and lows for Sophie. Good news, she survived the vote. Bad news, her ally, MC, threw her under the bus after she planned to throw a safety vote on Jawan, which ultimately ruined the whole plan to blindside Rizo. However, she proved her ability to think on her feet with how quickly she was able to pivot to targeting MC. The next few rounds will be an uphill battle for her, but if she’s able to survive, she could be a serious contender for the win.
Fallen Comrades
MC
Christine: MC is one of those solid, well-rounded Survivor players who, if you put her on any beach with any combination of people, is more or less guaranteed to succeed socially, thrive in challenges, and get herself on the right side of the numbers early in the game. Unfortunately for her, this split tribal really threw a wrench in her game plan. While it wasn’t shown in the episode, her personal concern about potentially having the first two jurors both be Black was at the top of her mind when approaching the vote.
With this being a split tribal, it’s also a well-known trend that Black players are often voted out at this phase of the game. MC tried to prevent that trend from playing out again by approaching Jawan, but she inadvertently set in motion a chain of events that led to her being voted out. It’s an unfortunate outcome that really highlights how challenging it is for players to navigate these issues in the context of the game. It’s a shame those conversations weren’t shown, as they would’ve added meaningful context to help viewers understand MC’s thought process.
Gia: Losing MC so early in the merge is nothing short of devastating. I really enjoyed her perspective while on Hina, and looked forward to seeing what she could do at the individual stage of the game. Even though this is technically the merge, I was hoping she’d survive the split tribal council and be given the opportunity to really shine. Sadly, this wasn’t the case for 49, but she’s at the top of my list to return for a Second Chances season.
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