'Survivor 49' recap: Sage and Savannah seek vengeance as clashes in personalities shape strategy

In the previous episode of Survivor 49, Jawan Pitts and Sage Ahrens-Nichols felt in control of the tribe, skillfully balancing their original Uli alliance with a newer partnership linked to Steven Ramm. Their confidence, however, distracted them from Sophie Segretis intentions. Sophie aligned with Rizo Velovic, Savannah Louie, and Sophi "Soph" Balerdi to blindside Jawan at Tribal Council, which saw Kristina Mills idol played, while Rizos remained untouched.

This week, Sage and Savannah both set their sights on revenge, targeting those they feel betrayed them. The remaining seven contestants at the start of the episode were Kristina Mills, Rizo Velovic, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Savannah Louie, Sophi "Soph" Balerdi, Sophie Segreti, and Steven Ramm. The jury so far consists of Nate Moore, Michelle "MC" Chukwujekwu, Alex Moore, and Jawan Pitts.

Upon returning to camp, Rizo explained the blindside plan to the others. The strategy shifted when they learned Jawan and Sage had turned against the Uli alliance. Kristina was convinced to play her idol for Steven, inadvertently nullifying it without consequence. Rizo used his fake idol to manipulate the situation and solidify his narrative for the jury.

Sophie justified her flip to the Uli alliance by saying that voting out Jawan, who had never been on her side, was a necessary move. She cautioned Sage that her decision left limited options, which prompted Sage to focus on vengeance. Despite feeling loyalty to Rizo and Savannah, Sophie worried about her position in their trio and began scheming with others to plan the next blindside. She suggested to Sage that teaming up might give both of them the best chance to reach the end, though Sage remained uncertain of Sophie's loyalty.

The tribe received a message about a demanding upcoming challenge. Steven volunteered for the task, which involved running around an island to collect a code to unlock a six-digit combination before the tide rose. He succeeded, earning a Block a Vote advantage to nullify another player's vote.

Back at camp, Rizo was frustrated by Stevens success but speculated that the advantage could be used against him. Sophie also saw this as an opportunity to leverage her own Knowledge Is Power advantage. During the immunity and reward challenge, players raced to build spinning towers spelling "immunity." Despite previous exertions, Steven won the challenge, securing his second individual immunity necklace and offering rewards to Kristina and Rizo.

During lunch, Rizo tried to persuade Steven and Kristina to target Sophie instead of using their idols on him or Rizo. Kristina agreed in principle but still prioritized getting Savannah out. Back at camp, Sophie tried to coordinate with Sage and Soph to vote out Savannah, but Sage had committed to targeting Sophie. After discussing the plans, the alliances aligned to vote Sophie out, with no advantages or idols played. The final vote was effectively unanimous: Sophie was blindsided.

In her exit interview, Sophie saw the vote as both a compliment and a sting, becoming "the other Sophie." Meanwhile, Rizo and Savannah felt confident in controlling the game, while Steven believed his advantage could significantly shift the outcome.

Author: Maya Henderson