Survivor Season 49, Episode 5
"I'm a Wolf, Baby"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, MC Chukwujekwu, Shannon Fairweather, Savannah Louie, Kristina Mills, Alex Moore, Nate Moore, Jawan Pitts, Steven Ramm, Sophie Segreti, Jason Treul, Rizo Velovic
Well, if last week I said we were in a new chapter of Survivor 49, this chapter is looking a lot like the old one. While we get some genuinely fun moments this episode, the trend of a tribe being out of gas and a rather obvious elimination votes rolls on.
We pick up this episode after Matt was voted out last time. Jason, who I give some credit for voting with the majority, knows that if the tribe goes to Tribal Council again, he’s on the chopping block. His game plan is to see where he can make inroads, which he does by trying to bond with Jawan.
We continue to see things through the eyes of Savannah. At this point, she has been getting the best edit of anybody out there, and I’d argue she has the best odds of winning the game. I actually think this ended up being her best episode yet, too. I’ve criticized her reactions to the game so far as feeling vindictive and ruthless, but she shows some real game sense and clarity this week.
On the opposite end of things is Shannon, who is seen playing extremely hard. My favorite bit of this week’s episode is, without a doubt, the back-and-forth between Sage and Shannon. The storyline of Sage feeling like Shannon is laying it on thick but not knowing if she has enough social capital to call it out is my favorite of the season so far. I know I’ve personally been in similar situations where you’re not sure if everyone is placating the person getting on your last nerve.
Shannon’s mistake is primarily that she has no power over her tribe. When she wakes up Steven and begins organizing a 2-2-2 alliance (two Keles, two Ulis, two Hinas), it sounds great in theory until you realize that Steven has no reason to agree to such a thing (at least admit to such a thing; he does the right thing and tells Shannon it’s a great move). Shannon seemingly has good connections with Alex and Kristina, but both are gut-checked by Steven and MC.
The moment when Sage learns that Shannon isn’t fooling the rest of her tribe is a delight. In what I think is a great move, she also tells the former Hinas that Rizo found the idol. It works because Sage was already on the outs with the other Ulis, but also because it proves that Shannon should be the first to go if their tribe loses immunity. After all, Shannon has been “connecting” with the others, but she didn’t divulge any information about the idol.
We get a journey challenge this episode. This week, Nate and MC are forced to move about 100 sandbags from one location to another before a sandtimer runs out. If they fail, they lose their vote. Pretty harsh! Midway through the challenge, there is a twist. One player can go find a hidden advantage, and if they do, it’s up to the other person to finish the challenge on their own. Double harsh! While I don’t love the journeys in general, I did like getting to see more from both Nate and MC.
After completing the challenge, MC shares that she was emotional after the task. When she was younger, she was often bullied and made fun of for her appearance. She was a muscular child and felt like it made her a target. But completing the strenuous challenge made her feel better about owning who she is. While I can’t relate to being extremely muscular, I found her confessional to be rather endearing.
On the other side of the challenge, I find Nate to be a compelling strategist. Realizing that he could never beat out MC to find the advantage, he had to find a way to save his vote from being lost. Initially, he convinces MC to nearly finish the challenge, knowing that if one of them finds the advantage, the other (see: Nate) could still finish moving the sandbags. He then convinces MC to come back early to make sure they don’t lose their votes, saving himself but also making sure an advantage doesn’t get into the hands of a Hina member. MC seems to think there might have been enough time left, but ultimately, she doesn’t fight Nate’s suggestion. Consider me impressed by Nate.
The tribes face a genuinely exhausting challenge: moving a giant cage from the water to the beach (that sounds sarcastic, but it’s not). It’s a tight match, but ultimately, Kele pulls out their second win, sending new Hina back to Tribal Council. A tired Savannah opens up to Jeff about how depleted they all are. He notes that even he is pretty tired at the end of the day, and he’s well-fed.
Survivor is always in an interesting dilemma when it comes to the “how hard is it” game. I genuinely don’t really care how “hard” it is, but it probably should be a little hard! The condensed 26-day game makes it feel like the show is hyper-defensive about how tough it is. I’m sure it is, but I watch the show for many reasons other than whether people are hungry and tired.
Then we get to Tribal Council. While there’s a bit of fakery with whether Savannah might be fed up with Jawan, it ultimately never goes anywhere. The real tell was that Jason was gunning for Rizo. We get very little of the guy this episode, and it never felt like a boot episode for The Rizgod. The real drama was whether Jason might play his Shot in the Dark. He doesn’t, and he goes home.
Jason was a last-minute alternate this season. In his final words, he says that any time out there was a gift. If the tribe swaps shake out differently, Jason likely goes a lot longer in the game than this. But alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Onto the next one!
