The first 3 episodes of Survivor 49 were definitely action-packed, but solely for the Kele tribe. Both Hina and Uli—while both having conversations to form alliances—were still in sleeper mode, not having to worry about Tribal Council or voting anyone out.
But now that the tribe swap has shaken things up, all our castaways have jumped into a new level of gameplay, and it almost feels like the start of a new season.
It's a complete game reset that has some players stepping forward and others crumbling under the pressure.
The tribe swap dominoes fell a little too perfectly for some
This season has felt almost too easy for some of our players, and the tribe swap didn't necessarily shake up the game as much as it could have. With two fully in-tact tribes and the scrap remains of Kele, the fact that a random draw somehow distributed the two new tribes to each have 4/2 majority and one Kele player seems almost planned. While it would have been much crazier to see both tribes perfectly split 3/3 with an added member of Kele, somehow they landed in a spot that continues to allow a handful of our players to not have to play the game.
The best example of this was at the start of the immunity challenge when the king of slicing rice bags, Jeff Probst, presented a gorgeous tray of fruit as the reward, and Hina's Sophie Segreti complained about it. There's no doubt that Hina's winning streak has kept them in comfort—as far as Survivor goes—but to say food in any form isn't a good reward when there are people who genuinely haven't eaten in days was frankly shocking and says a lot about the state of the game and where our players currently sit.
We saw the other side of that same coin in Jason Treul when the new Hina tribe was preparing for Tribal Council and approached him about voting with them against Matt Williams. Rather than just agreeing to whatever the old Uli players asked—at least to their faces—he made a non-committal statement about being fine with it now, but still being Hina strong come the merge. The fact that Jason felt so safe in the game because of his time with Hina that he was willing to make a public statement like that and risk getting voted out that night made it seem like he thought he was just chatting and not having a game-changing conversation.
From what we can see, only a few castaways are truly taking the game seriously
Savannah Louie: Savannah's been in game mode since before she stepped foot on the marooning beach, and she's not letting up on the gas any time soon. In fact, she's been in the middle of the action with the Uli tribe, secretly working her social strategy to hype up her fellow alliance members to really think about the game and be prepared for battle without being anything but charming and relatable. She has the whole game in the palm of her hand at this point.
MC Chukwujekwu: From the get-go, MC was the only member of Hina who truly seemed to have her player eyes on. Everyone else seemed to be setting up building blocks for the future, while she was in the trenches ready to fight. While this had potential to alienate her from her tribe, she's done a great job of smiling and being agreeable, so no one around her thinks her mind is anywhere but at the beginning of the game with the rest of them. But in reality, she's already passed "Go" multiple times.
Rizo Velovic: In the Survivor 49 sneak peek at the end of last season, Rizo fell victim to an edit that left him looking less than appealing to most fans. But after this week, it's clear he is not only playing, but he's a player who knows how to navigate the board before it's even been set up. The biggest surprise came in a statement he made at Tribal Council regarding Jason's desire to stay Hina strong despite no longer being with his former Hina members. He reminded Jason that the original Hina never even voted together, so how does he know they're even aligned at this point in the game?
Next Time on Survivor...
For the fourth week in a row, the torch that was snuffed was the person who underperformed in the challenge. While both Matt and Jason were unable to prove any loyalty to Uli the way Sophi Balerdi did, ultimately, it's was Matt's poor performance—and additional desire to blindside Nate Moore—at the challenge that led to his elimination.
Lines have been drawn in the sand from the beginning, but it's clear the original Hina members aren't grasping just how hight the stakes are and the strategy-centric Uli might be coming for them from every angle—even on the new Kele tribe where Hina has majority. After last week's vote, the game is on and we're about to see a major social and strategic massacre and possibly our first true blindside of the season.
Find out what happens next when an all-new episode of Survivor airs this Wednesday at 8pm ET on CBS and Paramount+.