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
Rizo Tells a Lie
Christine: Week after week, we’ve seen Rizo scrape by without needing to play his idol. This week, he took it one step further by lying and claiming that his idol expired at Final 6 and not Final 5. The logic here was that since he found his idol pre-merge, it had an earlier expiration date. Not the most cunning lie of all time, but it did the job because, as far as we can tell, his fellow players seemed to buy what he was selling since they let him survive the vote without needing to play it. Should they have been more skeptical? Definitely, but I think the New Era in general has (unintentionally) encouraged conservative gameplay in the face of idols and advantages, so it doesn’t surprise me at all that no one was willing to call Rizo’s bluff.
Alliances Regroup
Gia: Reward challenges can be the perfect opportunity for alliances to strategize, and this episode was no exception. Savannah won reward and chose to take Rizo and Sophi with her, thereby leaving Sage, Kristina, and Steven back at camp. At the Sanctuary, Sophi told Rizo and Savannah about her Knowledge is Power. Meanwhile, Steven told Kristina and Sage about his Block-a-Vote advantage and how they could use it to take out a number on the opposing side. Both sides set the stage for an exciting pre-finale vote; it’s a shame it fell flat in its execution.
Savannah is close to a record
Gia: Savannah’s challenge record is not to be ignored, as she once again came out on top during the immunity challenge. Despite Sage’s pleas to drop out of the challenge, Savannah held firm and refused to lose focus. With this episode, she secures her third individual immunity win. She has two rounds left to win one more, which would officially induct her into an elite club of women who have won four individual immunity challenges. Not to jinx her, but based on the records of all remaining players, I’d say her chances of reaching this goal are incredibly likely.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Gia: Rizo was once again able to survive a tribal council without playing his very public idol. With only one round left to play it, I’d be shocked if he doesn’t make it to the final four. Either way, the idol lives on.
Knowledge is Power
Gia: After much anticipation, Sophi finally chose to play her Knowledge is Power advantage. Sadly for Sophi fans, she picked the entirely wrong person to target with it. After admitting in confessionals that the best person to steal from was Rizo, she backtracked entirely and instead chose to use the advantage against Steven. Even worse, her plan flopped completely after it was revealed that Steven had to play his vote block before tribal council, meaning at tribal council, he had nothing for Sophi to steal. It was a complete miss on Sophi’s part for numerous reasons. Now, an opportunity to completely turn the game on its head is dead on arrival.
Vote Block
Christine: Everything went according to plan for Steven and his vote block: he played it, Sophi tried and failed to steal it, and Savannah’s vote was blocked. The only problem was that Steven’s own allies flipped on him and sent him out unanimously, giving the Savannah/Rizo/Sophi trio the numbers advantage going into Final 5. Steven used his advantage perfectly here to avoid a tie, but it didn’t matter in the end since he was perceived as the bigger fish to fry.
Top 3 Players
Sophi
Christine: Sophi had the most power out of anyone this week as Sage/Kristina/Steven courted her to flip on Savannah and Rizo. And with her Knowledge is Power advantage, she could’ve stolen Rizo’s idol for herself to ensure he went out. Now, Sophi is still in a good spot going into Final 5 with Steven going out, giving her the swing vote in a Savannah/Rizo vs. Kristina/Sage scenario.
Overall, though, this was a rough outcome for Sophi. Yes, she pretty much all but guaranteed herself a spot at the end, no matter which direction she swings next round. But she’s setting herself up for an uphill battle as Rizo and Savannah’s passenger with her failed KIP play and Rizo squeaking by with his idol when she could have stolen it. Sophi holding onto her KIP for so long only for it to fail when she could’ve done something more bombastic by taking Rizo’s idol probably won’t play well to a jury. Sophi has a great story, but the next vote is truly her last chance to put herself in a winning position by voting out one of Rizo or Savannah, which is easier said than done, since one of them has an idol and the other keeps winning immunities.
Sage
Christine: Sage was presented with a few different paths at this vote, and she ultimately chose to take out her ally, Steven, over blindsiding Sophi or Rizo. As I mentioned above, there’s something about the New Era that actually encourages conservative gameplay, so I’m not surprised Rizo was spared with all his idol shenanigans. But Sage’s decision to keep Sophi over Steven baffled me. Clearly, Sage feels she stands no chance against Steven at the end. Fair enough. But this move felt a bit like Sage (and Kristina) were missing the forest for the trees. Yes, beating Steven at the end is potentially a real problem for those two. But when voting Steven out at Final 6 sets Sophi up to be the swing vote at 5, empowering her to work with her long-term trio over you, voting Steven out right this second maybe wasn’t the smartest move.
Who you beat at the end doesn’t matter if you can’t get there. With Steven gone, if Sophi doesn’t flip on Rizo and Savannah, Sage’s only way of surviving Final 5 is to win that immunity necklace. Not an impossible feat since she’s been neck-and-neck in the challenges with Savannah before, but Sage made her path to the end much harder than it needed to be with this Steven vote.
Rizo
Gia: Is Rizo the winner of Survivor 49? After these past few episodes, I wouldn’t be surprised. Just when I thought there was no way he’d get through the round without using his idol, he proved me wrong once again. After successfully lying to the opposing alliance about his idol expiring at final six, he was able to avoid being the target for the opposing side even after Savannah won immunity. His quick thinking kept himself and his allies safe, and they were even able to convince Sage and Kristina to flip in the process. With an idol in his pocket, he’s essentially guaranteed a spot in the final four, so now only fire-making is standing in the way between him and a spot in the final tribal council.
Fallen Comrades
Steven
Christine: I was stunned to see Steven go this week, largely because a Sophi vote felt so obvious once Rizo started spinning his idol expiration date tale. Steven feels like one of those players who just stood no chance of making the end because of how charismatic and good at talking he is; he just feels like a threatening Survivor player. This isn’t to say he wasn’t genuinely a threat. He’s maneuvered well in the game, had his close ally play an immunity idol for him, and had a clutch immunity win. But his target felt outsized here in the face of an actively tight trio taking each other on rewards. It’s hard to pinpoint what, if anything, Steven could’ve done differently, other than be less charming and outgoing throughout the game.
Gia: I did not anticipate having Steven on my list of favorite players from 49, but here we are. Steven felt like one of the last few winner contenders from the Hina faction, so to see him leave right before the finale really kills any momentum the season could have possibly had. Steven was a charismatic guy with an eye for the game, but unfortunately, his threat level was too great for the other contestants to risk taking him any further. I really enjoyed his time in the game and the relationships he formed with his allies. He’s the kind of player you couldn’t help but root for, but sadly, I will now have to root for him on the jury.
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