Survivor Season 49, Episode 2
"Cinema"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, MC Chukwujekwu, Annie Davis, Shannon Fairweather, Jeremiah Ing, Jake Latimer, Savannah Louie, Kristina Mills, Alex Moore, Nate Moore, Jawan Pitts, Steven Ramm, Sophie Segreti, Jason Treul, Rizo Velovic, Matt Williams
How nice to see history made on Survivor. In the most recent episode, titled "Cinema," I think we may be truly witnessing the worst tribe put together in the history of the show. Maybe I’m being hyperbolic. We likely haven’t seen them be quite as bad as Ulong, Matsing, or Lulu, but it sure feels like they’re on the road to getting there.
We open back at Kele after Nicole’s elimination. In perhaps the most upbeat portion of the episode for Kele, Jeremiah digs up worms to eat. Annie leans into it, declaring herself perfectly comfortable being uncomfortable. She sees herself as the puppet master of the tribe, pulling strings on the rest of the tribe. The problem? No one else seems to be buying it. Alex describes her as a "one-man band," and Jeremiah and Sophi mock her bossing around.
We get a tremendous look at the Uli (red) tribe as Nate navigates the younger generation ("vibes," "fire," "lit"), which isn’t how his generation spoke, and he sometimes feels out of step. He worries that when he says things like "rad," it makes him sound old and out of touch. But his self-reflection is tuned in, and he bonds with Rizo, who says Nate reminds him of his own dad. That bond helps solidify the "Core Four" of Nate, Rizo, Shannon, and Savannah, a group that seems to get along and will be a powerful force in the game.
While things are tremendously poor at Kele and seem pretty rad at Uli, things are a little more in the middle at Hina (Yellow). The tribe has supplies, fire, and early challenge success, so on the surface, everything looks steady. But beneath that, cracks are forming. Steven is feeling good, confident that the game is starting to click, and he’s quietly laying groundwork with Matt and Kristina. Matt takes the lead in bringing MC into the fold, though he does it in a clumsy way that makes her question her standing. Instead of making her feel like part of the plan, Matt essentially announces that the alliance has already been formed and she’s being tacked on. MC wonders if she’s just an afterthought. She runs and tells Sophie that her name has been floated as an early target. She admits she’s terrified and suddenly hyper-aware that the game is moving faster than she expected.
With a solid four having formed at Uli, it becomes clear that Jawan is on the outs. Savannah thinks she clocks onto a new idol finding strategy from the video editor. He brings his bag with him and collects sticks, though she thinks it’s there so he can stuff an advantage in it if he finds one. Things get worse for Jawan when he accidentally uses Savannah’s bag for wood collection duty. She’s annoyed and in Survivor, sometimes the littlest things can get you voted out.
However, Jawan bounces back. The tribes are asked to send a player on a journey. It ends up being Matt (Yellow), Jake (Blue) and Jawan (Red). They compete in a challenge to fill up the other player’s baskets with coconuts. The last player remaining will remain behind at the challenge and potentially earn a reward. While he feels like he's out-manned by the others, Jawan ends up winning the challenge. The losers are relieved to learn that they won't lose their votes (typical for a journey). Instead, Jawan is given an option of an advantage for himself (a steal-a-vote from either of his opponents) or giving an entire tribe a disadvantage at the next immunity challenge. He opts for the later and seems to buy a lot of good will from Savannah. Or perhaps more likely, he won’t be voted out at the next tribal council if his tribe doesn’t lose immunity (cue the "you can't x if you x" meme).
At Kele, Jake may have lost the challenge, but his bromance partner Alex stumbles into a different kind of win. He picks up a Beware Advantage sitting at camp, and just like that, his game changes. The note tells him he's lost his vote until he can complete the instructions to find an idol. The catch? He won't even learn the next step until Kele loses a future immunity challenge, which, given this tribe’s track record, feels less like "if" and more like "when."
Side note: even as a Canadian, I feel like Jake's Canadian accent is so strong!
At the Immunity Challenge, Jawan reveals that Hina will be saddled with the disadvantage. And this isn't some minor setback. It's one of the nastiest punishments the show has ever handed out. Each Yellow player has to run the course carrying twenty pounds of coconuts, and when they reach the gate, they're stuck with nine extra keys to sift through before finding the right one. It's brutal.
And then, in what might go down as an all-time poor performance, Blue somehow finds a way to fumble the bag. Kele gets to the puzzle first by a mile, well ahead of both other tribes. But instead of closing it out, the tribe stalls. The irony is delicious: the tribe that should've sunk pulls off the win. Yellow not only survives but takes home the big fishing kit. Red follows in second. And Blue, despite having every opportunity to redeem themselves, leaves empty-handed yet again — another immunity loss and another Tribal Council on the horizon.
Things seem cut and dry. Sophi, Jeremiah, Alex, and Jake will vote out Annie. She suggests voting out Sophi after a miserable puzzle performance, but the others aren't having it. In fact, they have other matters at hand — find the idol. The Beware Advantage sees Alex and Jake dig up a ball and chain attached to a key that will unlock the idol. Sophi is soon looped into the hunt, but when she finds the chest, she's eager to keep the idol for herself. Soon, Jeremiah shows up and is now aware of Alex's potential idol. Sophi can't quite convince the group to give up in time, and Alex finds the chest.
With a bit of power in his hands, Alex considers making a move. He vents to Jeremiah that Jake and Sophi might be too close, and then proceeds to share with Annie that he found the idol. Bro, rule #1 is don't tell people about your idol, especially not the person you're about to vote out!
At Tribal Council, the mess of Kele is on full display. Sophi displays some brain fog, as does Jeremiah. Jake delivers a message about keeping the tribe strong, stating that if they don't win and get to eat, they'll die (a bit dramatic). Annie tries to say there is no trust in Survivor, which prompts Sophi to disagree. In the game, you have to trust some people! Annie tries to defend herself, but only ends up repeating what Jake said before about not eating or dying. The votes are cast and Annie is blindsided. She hugs Alex and he tells her he had no other choice.
Looking back on the episode, this was unquestionably the right move for Kele. Annie was overplaying, convinced she was a puppet master and the most likely to flip on anyone left. That said, Alex flashing his idol knowledge and Jake and Sophi tightening their bond could still create complications down the line. For now, this was the only logical vote. At least Kele did something right tonight.
