The big move we were waiting for finally happened in Survivor 49. Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Jawan Pitts betrayed their former Uli allies to vote out Nate Moore in the seventh episode of the season.
Now, there are a few players who are in more danger than others heading into episode 8, which airs on Wednesday, Nov. 12, on CBS and Paramount+.
There are nine players left in Survivor 49 after Nate was voted out, which means we have five players left to be voted out — and another by losing the Fire Challenge — until the Final Three. And, three of those players are more likely to be voted out in the next episode
Savannah Louie
Savannah Louie is obviously in trouble heading into episode 8. She was the target of the last vote for a while before it switched to Nate right before Tribal Council. Savannah is playing hard and to win, and that makes her a huge threat and a target.
In the sneak peeks at episode 8, Savannah and Rizo Velovic are eating a nice piece of humble pie after Nate got voted out. Now, they have to figure out a way to get up off the bottom, but the good news is that they are just one person from flipping to their side in the next vote to make things interesting. An strong alliance of three (Savannah, Sophi, and Rizo) can still make major moves because that alliance of the six remaining players is barely a voting block at this point. There are cracks all over the place, and if those three are as savvy as I think they are, they will make some big moves.
That doesn't mean Savannah can get out of this, though. She's in trouble, and there's no doubt about that.
Sage Ahrens-Nichols
Sage pulled off a massive blindside in the last two Tribal Councils, and she was the catalyst. Had Sage not been interested in voting out Shannon Fairweather, I don't think Jawan Pitts would have rocked the boat. Together, they totally changed the course of the season. Great power brings greater responsibility, and I don't know if Sage is is prepared to handle that.
I'm not saying Sage was wrong for making the moves that she did, but I don't think you can justify her position this early. She might have overplayed her hand before having the loyalty of those around her. For instance, does Kristina Mills really care if Sage gets voted out instead of Sophi Balerdi? No, so if the vote moves off one of the minority alliance, Sage could be in trouble.
On top of that, she's playing a big game! Steven Ramm knows Sage lied and pulled it off. He can see how hard she is playing. If Sage starts stacking moves, who wants to sit next to her at the end? Usually, the players who start making big moves right now, without the allies to back up those moves over time, get voted out sooner rather than later.
MC Chukwujekwu
MC is in a decent position, but it looks like she's still trying to find her footing with her allies. It doesn't appear that she's in a solid alliance. And, she definitely did not have enough trust in her allies to protect her in the first Tribal Council after the merge.
MC is the most physically dominant player left in the game. She's carried her tribes through a lot of challenges, and she didn't even lose a challenge until the merge, basically. Often, those physically strong players are targeted quickly after the merge because no one wants to compete against a player that rolls off four or five immunity challenge wins to win the game.
If MC doesn't get in with some other strong players, she's going to be targeted, and it might be sooner than people think.
That's who I think is in trouble in Survivor 49 episode 8! We'll share more news and analysis about the new season as the season continues.