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
Water Bottle Gate
Gia: If anyone is wondering, Savannah and Jawan being swapped onto the same tribe together has not improved their relationship. In fact, it has given Savannah the opportunity to become even more annoyed by Jawan’s antics. Her distaste reached a head this episode, when Jawan accidentally drank from her water bottle and was caught eavesdropping on her conversation with Sophi. She even considered voting him out after Hina lost immunity, but ultimately went with the more obvious choice: Jason. Perhaps this second tribe swap and brief separation will do both of them some good.
Nate and MC Go on a Journey
Christine: This week’s Journey saw Nate and MC work together to move a bunch of heavy sandbags in order to protect their votes at their next tribal council. But there’s a twist! Halfway through, MC uncovered a note revealing that a mystery advantage was hidden in the nearby jungle, one that only one of them could win. They could either continue working together, or one of them could bail and get the advantage and their vote back, leaving the other person to finish the sandbags on their own. Nate proposed a deal where the two would work together until the last bag and search together for the advantage. MC took him up on the offer, but when it was time to look for the advantage, Nate sabotaged MC’s efforts by telling her they were almost out of time when there was still plenty of sand left in the hourglass. So the two finished the sandbags and both recovered their votes, and the mystery advantage remained uncovered. As far as Journeys go, I at least appreciate that this one gave us some insight into who MC and Nate are as players, even if the outcome turned out to be a real nothingburger.
Kele Kills a Chicken
Gia: Some would say that Kele won the jackpot with their latest immunity win, securing live chickens as their reward. The downside to this victory, of course, is that someone was going to have to take on the task of killing the chickens or continue to starve on coconuts. Steven and Alex volunteered to be the ones to do the job no one wanted, while the rest of the tribe waited it out on the beach. It was an emotional time for everyone, but it resulted in some good eating for the new blue tribe.
Tribe Breakdown
Kele
Gia: Despite having won both immunity challenges they took part in and a pretty predictable tribe hierarchy, Kele is not without some drama of their own. Alex appears to be making some headway with the OG Hina members, but whether this is out of necessity for survival or actual loyalty is yet to be seen. MC shone in the advantage journey, and Steven, Sophie, and Kristina each got their own moments now that they are consolidated into two tribes. That being said, the one-sided rivalry between Sage and Shannon was definitely the most entertaining part of the episode, particularly when paired with Sage’s commentary. Based on what has been reported, it appears that Sage and Shannon have been swapped onto the same tribe of four in the upcoming tribe swap. If we have nothing else to look forward to in the next episode, let it be that this rivalry can continue.
Hina
Christine: This week’s tribal was basically just a continuation of last week’s, as Jason struggled to break into the majority and was essentially a sitting duck, much like Matt was. With Savannah and Jawan’s silly rivalry heating up a bit more in this episode, there was the real possibility of Uli imploding. Still, no such intrigue occurred beyond Savannah doing her best to get Jason on the right path to saving himself. It’s a shame we didn’t see Kele at tribal this week instead, as their dynamics were a lot more intriguing than Hina’s, where it very much ended up being Jason vs. everyone else.
Top 3 Players
Sage
Gia: Sage was, without a doubt, the star of this episode. Her situation initially seemed hopeless while on Uli, but the swap breathed new life into her game. She’s slowly but surely working her way into Hina’s good favor, which will come in handy during the merge, should she make it there. She’s proven to be adaptable, while also remaining under the radar to her adversaries. Shannon has no idea just how easily she’s been thrown under the bus, and she’s running out of opportunities to make it to the merge and be reunited with old Uli. My one concern for Sage? The fact that she told the old Hina members about Rizo’s idol. It may have saved her from potentially being voted out during the first tribe swap, but it may put a target on her back once the rest of old Uli finds out. Hopefully she can find a way around this obstacle.
Savannah
Christine: Savannah’s beef with Jawan continued this week, and although it didn’t have an impact on the vote, Savannah still explored her options. It’s no secret that Savannah was in a power position on OG Ul, and that positioning continued on Hina 2.0. The way she handled Jason impressed me, as she had the idea of using him to get the outcome she wanted (Jawan going), but she was also savvy enough to know it was way too risky for her to push that vote herself. So instead, Savannah chatted up Jason to try to give him the guidance he needed to stay in the game and make something else happen that could benefit her. The vote ultimately still landed on Jason, but Savannah made the right call by testing the waters to see if she could make a different outcome happen.
Nate
Christine: Nate played the advantage journey very well, making a real effort to connect with MC while also preventing her from gaining an advantage. He made sure they worked together, but also slyly prevented MC from claiming the mystery advantage by lying about the amount of sand left in the hourglass. Even if MC suspects he intentionally stopped her from getting the advantage, he handled it in such a way that there’s enough reasonable doubt about his intentions. It was basically the perfect way to play this twist: build a relationship, save your vote, avoid the target of getting the advantage yourself, and prevent the other player from getting power in the game without making an enemy of her.
Fallen Comrades
Jason
Christine: Jason (and Matt) unfortunately played this swap poorly, so this week’s elimination was not a surprise to anyone. To be fair, Jason was put in a bad position by being swapped into the minority within a dominant tribe. But between his hesitancy to write Matt’s name down last week, needing Savannah to pitch him on how he should pitch himself as an ally to Uli, and his decision not to use his Shot in the Dark, Jason didn’t exactly set himself up for success. You don’t have control over the numbers you swap with in Survivor, but you do have control over how you respond to being put in the minority swap position.
Gia: From alternate to full-fledged cast member, Jason cherished every moment he had in the game. He was made for a tribe like Hina, where his puzzle-solving skills and loyalty were held in high regard. He was a genuinely sweet guy, perhaps too sweet for what Survivor entails. Unfortunately for him, he was never able to recover from being swapped into the minority of his new tribe, with his loyalty to his original tribemates ultimately being his undoing. I’ll remember Jason fondly as a kind-hearted puzzle expert, but man, he should’ve played his Shot in the Dark.
Written by