We’re only two episodes into Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, and the game is about to change!
Following the second episode, titled “Therapy Carousel,” which saw Survivor 49 winner Savannah Louie voted out of the Cila tribe after losing the first two challenges, CBS dropped it’s Next Time on Survivor preview for episode 3.
In the clip, Jeff Probst tells the players to drop their buffs because a tribe swap is imminent.
Survivor 50 episode 3 is even titled “Did You Vote for a Swap?" and it airs on Wednesday, March 4, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+. We should have known that we were headed for a tribe swap early in the game.
Survivor 50 tribe swap arrives at the perfect time
Honestly, I’m quite happy that there will be a tribe swap in Survivor 50. I want to see these players pushed to the limit strategically, and one way to do that is to manufacture a little bit of chaos. We’ve had two episodes and a few days in the game for these players to get used to each other, make connections, and get annoyed with each other. Now, it’s the perfect time to change the game, give some players some fresh air, and make some action happen.
On top of that, you clearly have one tribe, the Cila tribe, that is just overmatched by the Kalo and Vatu tribes. A random tribe swap doesn’t mean equity, of course, but it does put players in a different positions, and that adds a little bit of intrigue and drama to the game.
I was expecting at least one tribe swap this season. There are so many players in Survivor 50, so it makes sense to change them around at least once to even the numbers. Now, with 21 players left in the game, we should have three tribes of seven players in episode 3.
There's also been some precedent on recent Survivor seasons for an early tribe swap. We didn't have a swap in Survivor 47 because we had three evenly matched tribes, but we did have swaps early in the game in Survivor 48 and Survivor 49. In those instances, we had one tribe that lost every immunity challenge to start the season. Last season, we also watched Jake Latimer get bitten by a snake and pulled from the game.
This season, the Cila tribe is overmatched, but the Vatu tribe lost Kyle to a torn Achilles in the first episode. So, it's not like the tribes were that uneven, numbers-wise.
Overall, I'm definitely in favor of this swap because I think it's going to make the game a lot more interesting when these players have to deal with adversity. I don't want to see anyone getting too comfortable over there.
Now, I have one more week to hope by the grace of the Survivor gods that Ozzy Lusth and Coach end up on the same tribe. That would be absolutely iconic.
Stay tuned for more news about Survivor 50 episode 3!