Survivor Season 49, Episode 9
"If You're Loyal to All, You're Loyal to None"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, Savannah Louie, Kristina Mills, Alex Moore, Jawan Pitts, Steven Ramm, Sophie Segreti, Rizo Velovic
Episode 9 of Survivor 49 showed the season’s strongest trio tightening their grip on the game. Rizo, Savannah, and Sophi continue to operate as a unified force, and at this point it feels far more likely that they’ll reach the end together than get cracked apart. Each of them also holds an advantage, which only adds to the sense that the rest of the cast is playing catch-up. This episode was all about whether they could avoid burning any of those advantages while still steering the vote.
That starts the moment the five players from Tribal Council return to camp on Night 15. Kristina, Savannah, Sophie, Steven, and Alex are stunned to see Rizo still holding his idol and MC gone instead. Sophie especially bristles at the realization that she narrowly avoided being the target.
We also get an idol reveal when Steven shares with Sage that Kristina found one. He asks that she don’t share this information with Jawan, though. Not much comes of that this episode but seems like it is a seed for a future episode.
Meanwhile, Sophie turns to Savannah and Sophi after feeling like the others were disappointed she’s still in the game. She’s looking to make new friends and these two might just fit the bill.
Then, Rizo begins painting a target on Alex, accusing him of playing the middle. He tells Jawan that Alex has been coming to Rizo with info about Jawan, leading the latter to reconsider his connection with the political aide. Rizo’s ability to stir the pot seems to top tier.
The tribes arrive for a reward challenge. They’ll have to collect some hoops off a pole and then throw them back onto the pole, essentially. While Rizo’s team gets out to an early lead, Alex helps his group of Sophie, Kristina and Savannah win. Kristina gives up her reward so that Jawan (who’s had very little food thus far) can have it instead. While he’s initially reluctant, he ultimately agrees to swap places. It’s sweet and in a confessional later, we learn his reluctance to accept gifts is because he’s primarily a provider for his younger siblings at home.
Back at camp, Kristina is dead set on voting out Rizo. Steven also clocks that Rizo has felt very comfortable not playing his idol and the next vote would likely not be any different.
While it’s important for Rizo/Savannah/Sophi to develop bonds outside of their their trio, they also continue to strengthen their core. Savannah reveals to Sophi that she’s a former news anchor, something she hasn’t told anyone else (not even Rizo).
For some reason, the others don’t think that Sophi is in with Rizo & Savannah, which is odd because later in the episode, they’ll use her as split-vote fodder. Regardless, Sophi spills the beans to her allies that a split vote might be coming. Rizo continues to hammer home that Alex is the one in the middle and therefore the most dangerous. Jawan seems to be hesitant about keeping Alex in the game.
At the immunity challenge, Jeff offers up two necklaces instead of one. One man and one woman will earn their safety by holding up a disk with their feet. Steven is the last man standing and in another Sophie vs. Savannah showdown, Savannah edges out the competition.
This was a necessity for Savannah. The others can no longer split votes on her.
While we get a narrative that implies that it’s either going to be Rizo, Sophi (depending on whether Rizo plays his idol) or Alex, it never really feels that dangerous for Rizo this episode. We know he likely won’t play his idol and so he might go home with it in his pocket, but the votes to cast a split vote never really seem there. Sophie, for one, seems like she might have flipped and will vote out Alex.
And most importantly, Jawan & Sage seem undecided. The former does tell Alex that his name is being floated. Even after telling him, Jawan seems unsure about which person is better to vote out. That’s the dilemma heading into Tribal Council.
Ultimately, Rizo doesn’t play his idol and receives a singular vote from Alex. Sophi gets two votes from Steven and Kristina, likely the split votes. But Jawan and Sage join Sophie, Sophi, Rizo and Savannah to vote out Alex. As he gets up to leave, he acknowledges that he was playing in the middle rather poorly and understands being voted out.
I liked Alex and am sad to see him go. He felt like someone who had such a tough draw in the early game but could bounce back, but that narrative solely belongs to Sophi now. While Rizo, Savannah and Sophi are the underdogs, it doesn’t really feel like they are because they have so many advantages. Regardless, next week offers a turning point where Sage & Jawan will have to figure out how to secure Sophie back if they want to hold onto any semblance of winning the game.
Overall, it wasn’t a bad episode of Survivor, just perhaps a little more straightforward than we’d like. There can be some value in an episode like this but at this point, it feels like bigger moves are (hopefully) coming down the line.
If you haven't already, consider supporting worker-owned media by subscribing to Pop Heist. We are ad-free and operating outside the algorithm, so all dollars go directly to paying the staff members and writers who make articles like this one possible.
