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
Bottoms Up!
Gia: After successfully blindsiding Shannon in the previous episode, the remaining members of Kele felt a tighter bond to one another than ever before. This led Sage, Jawan, and Steven to form the first actual cross-tribal alliance of the season, affectionately called Bottoms Up. They quickly came up with a story to explain Shannon’s elimination to the others, but they weren’t as excited to actually deliver this explanation. It was these events that led to the outcomes of the rest of the episode, so it’s safe to say that this alliance wasn’t just to save face. It was also incredibly funny to see the alliance’s unwillingness actually to greet their new tribemates.
Sage finds an advantage
Christine: As the first traditional merge we’ve gotten in years began, our castaways went on the hunt for a challenge advantage. It was Sage who came out on top, which let her to skip the first part of a two-phase challenge, allowing her a free merge feast and fast-tracking her to the immunity portion of the challenge. Despite Sage’s advantage, Sophie ultimately won the much-needed first individual immunity of the season, protecting herself from the long-touted Uli-Hina war.
MC goes on an Idol Hunt
Gia: MC may have found the Beware Advantage in episode three, but she had managed to avoid tribal council up until this episode, meaning she had no opportunity to find the idol. Now she had made the merge and finally had the chance to claim her prize. Only Savannah was fully aware of what she was trying to do. She tried to dive for the keys right as MC began her search. She failed in her attempt to sabotage MC, and while she tried to repair their potential working relationship, the damage was already done.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Gia: Rizo and MC both had an idol going into tribal council, but only MC chose to play hers. She played it on herself, but received no votes against her. Rizo bet on his allies to keep him safe, and in a way, he was successful, as he also received no votes. However, he lost this battle and his ally, Nate, in the process, as Sage, Jawan, and Alex all voted with Hina.
Knowledge is Power
Christine: No mention of Sophi’s Knowledge is Power advantage this week. With Rizo’s idol being public knowledge, there’s a real chance we see this advantage played this season, but for now, it’s on the back burner. Sophi had a chance to use it here to take MC’s idol before she could even play it on herself, but it got flushed in any case.
Top 3 Players
Sage
Christine: Sage and Jawan made the bold move of flipping on their starting tribe this week, and they did it again this week by taking out Nate with the Hina group. Sage in particular could’ve been in a hell of a lot of trouble here at this merge, since the Uli’s could’ve thrown her to the wolves, and the Hinas could’ve used her as an easy vote since they had no real loyalty to her. But instead, Sage was able to position herself once again to take out another Uli power player without being targeted herself. While she didn’t get her desired voteout in Savannah, Sage has done some smart maneuvering going into this merge to make the game dynamics more fluid.
MC
Christine: MC found and wasted an idol, but I can’t blame her for burning it. She was the decoy name and had just had her own awkward Treasure Island moment with Savannah, so it’s understandable that she felt the need to play it just in case. The vote went MC’s way despite losing her idol, but I worry for her in the future. As the game opens up to be more fluid now that Uli is sufficiently weakened, MC is at a real risk for going sooner rather than later if she’s perceived as one of the stronger OG Hina members. Burning the idol is good for her long-term and will hopefully help her seem like less of a threat moving forward, but she’ll need to fly somewhat under the radar as the rest of the players inevitably try to thin the Hina numbers.
Sophie
Gia: This was a great episode for Sophie. She made the merge, won individual immunity, and was on the right side of the vote. She was also one of the first players to push for Nate to go, as he was the player Rizo was least likely to play his idol on. After a rather quiet pre-merge and having never gone to a tribal council before this episode, it’s nice to see that she has the strategic chops to make it far in the game.
Fallen Comrades
Nate
Christine: I’m not surprised to see Nate go, unfortunately. Once Shannon got sniped before the merge, Nate seemed like the obvious contender to be the Uli perceived as a leader who gets cut immediately to thin the herd. Nate ended up being an enjoyable character, especially at the swap when he was so indignant his name was thrown out there, and the way he approached his journey with MC. It’s a shame all of our “older” players this season got cut so early. Even if we didn’t get to see his full potential in this merge, Nate at least made it far enough for us to have some fun moments with him and learn more about who he is as a player.
Gia: I am so sad to see Nate go this early in the game. He was one of my absolute favorite players this season. Despite being the oldest player on his tribe, he seamlessly integrated into the majority alliance and was well-liked by his entire cast. He provided some of the funniest moments in the pre-merge with his struggle to keep up with modern lingo, but wasn’t afraid to be cutthroat when he needed to be. I will miss him as a player in the game, but I look forward to seeing him take on the role of the Mayor of Ponderosa.
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