Survivor 49 is officially heading into the merge in episode 7, "Blood Will Be Drawn." And, we know thanks to the synopsis, Next Time on Survivor preview, sneak peek at the episode, and years of experience watching the new era.
With three finalists, which is what we assume will happen in Survivor 49 like all the recent Survivor seasons before it, there needs to be eight jury members. There are 11 players left. The math works. Let's merge!
What time is Survivor on tonight?
We've got another episode to watch this week, and I think, despite the dare-I-say boring start to the season so far, we should all be thankful for that. It's almost Thanksgiving. Survivor is about to get very interesting, and hopefully, that starts in this episode.
Survivor 49 episode 7, "Blood Will Be Drawn," airs at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. C on CBS and Paramount+. We have another 90-minute episode, and I have a good feeling the show is going to need that full hour-and-a-half to break down all of the drama on the way.
Survivor 49 episode 7 synopsis
Heading into the episode, we're officially at the halfway mark, so this is going to be pivotal episode. It seems pretty straight forward where players stand, though, but that has me thinking that this episode will be anything but.
Here's the synopsis for episode 7, via CBS:
"A boat arrives delivering a very important message to the overjoyed castaways. Old alliance members reconvene to talk strategy, as the game has shifted since they last saw each other. Then, the game intensifies when a two-part challenge leads to the season’s first individual immunity win, on SURVIVOR..."
There are a few interesting parts of that synopsis that have me excited for what's to come. I wrote about it earlier this week when I picked the four players most likely to win Survivor 49. The old Hina tribe has seen two major members voted out since the tribe swap, but they're heading into the merge only down one player because Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Jawan Pitts teamed up to vote out Shannon Fairweather. Now, does that mean they are officially out of the Uli alliance, which also seems to include Sophi Balerdi? I don't think so.
If those players know all the information that we know, they should be teaming up with everyone to pick apart Savannah Louie, Rizo Velovic, and Nate Moore's alliance with Sophi, who is also close to Alex. That group seems like the group to beat right now, but beating them is going to require a few things.
First, all of those players have to continue working together. This is the merge; we have no idea which way it's going to go. With so many advantages and a near majority, it's going to take a full coordinated effort to take out that alliance, and I just don't see the other players aligning to make that happen.
I think we're going to see a few 10-1, 9-1 votes to start the merge, and by that time, it will almost already be too late for the rest of the group to take out that alliance.
Sneak peek
In the sneak peek at the episode, we see Alex Moore, Kristina Mills, Sophie Segreti, and Nate Moore finding out the merge is happening, leaving their tribe beach, and celebrating that they made it this far in the game.
We also get an interview with Nate who shares some very important insight into his headspace. Not only is he celebrating the merge, but he's ready to connect with that alliance I was talking about. He's had a taste of life out there on his own, and he's ready to reconnect with his old allies and make a deep run in the game.
I feel like that's so telling! That Uli group has got a lot of screentime so far, and I think that's only the beginning.
We'll find out in Survivor 49 episode 7 and beyond! Stay tuned!