Last week on Survivor 49, we saw Savannah The Savage show off, as she not only saved herself from elimination with an immunity victory, but she caused chaos on the old Uli beach, leading to the elimination of MC.
Episode 9 started right where we left off last week. The four members who did not attend Tribal Council that night are shocked that Rizo and Sophie are both in the game and that MC is not. In a confessional, we see that Sophie notices her “alliance” in Kristina, Alex, and Steven are trying to keep their distance from her, so she starts bonding with Savannah, Rizo, and Sophi.
At this point, we learn that Kristina, Steven, Sage, and Jawan want to split the votes between Rizo and Savannah and at least flush out Rizo’s idol. At the same time, Steven is starting to feel vulnerable, and he shares with Sage that Kristina find the idol during their search. He tells her he wants to solidify the Bottoms Up Alliance, but he also tells Sage to not tell Jawan yet, or his name will be on the block.
We then go to our second reward challenge of the season. For this challenge, two teams of four each had to roll a medal cube to a spot. Then, one person had to stand on that cube to retrieve a sandbag, then climb through a maze with that sandbag before having to use the sandbag to knock off three rings off of a large pole. One team member then had to shoot those three rings back on the pole for the victory.
The winning team received a fried chicken and fries reward. The teams were decided by a schoolyard pick. The teams were:
- Rizo, Steven, Jawan, Sage
- Savannah, Alex, Sophie, Kristina
Sophi did not get picked, and she had to choose a team to cheer for. She chose Rizo’s team, which was the wrong side, but Kristina gave up her spot for Jawan, as she was concerned for his well-being after not eating for 16 days in a genuine sign of respect.
At the reward, all four players say they’re on the bottom and are willing to make a move with one another, except for Jawan, who still, alongside Sage, want to blindside Savannah and Rizo.
Back at camp, Kristina and Sophi have a conversation, and Kristina tells Sophi about their plan to split the vote between Rizo and Savannah. Once everybody is back at camp, Sophi relays this information to Savannah, Rizo and Sophie. Savannah and Sophi also have a private moment where Savannah reveals her former role as a news anchor to Sophi to further solidify their alliance.
For the immunity challenge, players had to hold their feet on a disk until it falls. One man and one women had the opportunity to win immunity, and it came down to Steven and Jawan for the men, and Sophie and Savannah once again battling it out for the women. Steven (while telling rocket science stories) ends up winning immunity for the men. Meanwhile, Savannah is telling Sophie she will not drop, as they remain the final two. Savannah wasn’t lying, as she eventually pulls out her second immunity challenger win of the season.
Back at camp, now that Savannah is safe, the plan from Kristina, Steven and Alex is to flush Rizo’s idol. They think they have the numbers with Sophie, Jawan and Sage. Sophi is the backup plan in case Rizo plays his idol.
Meanwhile, Rizo is trying to throw Alex under the bus, saying he’s put out the names of Sophie, Jawan and Sage, trying to get them to vote with his group, so he doesn’t have to use the idol.
At Tribal, all the talk is whether or not Rizo will use his idol, but that is all for not, as Rizo’ plan works. RizGod, plus Savannah The Savage, their two former Uli members in Jawan and Sage, as well as their two new allies in Sophie and Sophi, vote out Alex. Steven and Kristina put their votes on Sophi while Alex is the only one voting for Rizo.
Pre-merge, Alex had a lot of screentime on the old Kele Tribe. Along with Jake and Sophi, they were the three key figures on that Tribe. Once Jake left the game due to the snake bite, Alex and Sophi bonded as the last two Kele members with no food. However, once the Tribe swap happened, and then once the merge hit, we saw that moment where Alex and Sophi realized they could no longer work together, and Sophi found an alliance that’s more trusting.
Earlier in the season, I thought Alex could be a darkhorse pick, but he was playing the middle too much in the merge cycle, ultimately causing him to be sent to the jury as its third member. Meanwhile, RizGod and Savannah The Savage, alongside Sophi, are now running the game. Rizo has an idol, Savannah has an extra vote, and Sophi has the Knowledge is Power Advantage. It’s rare in Survivor that we see a group of three acknowledge on camera they could be the Final 3 and actually get there, but I think there’s a chance here.
This episode wasn’t the greatest. It didn’t have a lot of memorable moments, but it set up consequences in the future, potentially for Jawan and Sage. They thought they were on top. They had an opportunity to take out one of their former Uli members, and they didn’t take the swing. Both have gotten a lot of screen time the past few weeks, but their winners’ edit is slowly fading. Sage was a main character in the Shannon vote. Now, it feels like she’s playing a backseat to Savannah, Rizo, and Sophi.
Grade: B-
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