The best episode of the season

Happy holidays, everyone! May your Thanksgiving be filled with friends, family, and copious amounts of stuffing — the ultimate Thanksgiving dish. Don’t even try to hit me with that brussels sprouts nonsense! Get your cranberry sauce out of my face! Mashed potatoes and gravy? Okay, that comes close, I’ll grant you that. And yes, mac and cheese is a strong contender. But still, stuffing remains the king and queen of turkey day dishes, and if you come for the king or queen, you best not miss.

Just ask Jawan how that worked out for him this week on Survivor when he took a shot at the queen. The dude got so disoriented, he took someone else’s torch to get snuffed on his way out. Speaking of which, if fire truly represents life in the game and when the fire is out, so are you, then shouldn’t Rizo technically be out of the game since Jeff Probst apparently snuffed his torch by accident? Did Jawan inadvertently pull off the most genius move in Survivor history by getting the Hostmaster General to snuff someone else’s torch, thereby eliminating Rizo and keeping the horror movie metaphor fanatic in the game?

Seriously, I think we need to get the CBS standards and practices department to weigh in on this. If Jawan’s torch still burns, then so does his life in the game. It’s like he somehow just built his own Redemption Island or Edge of Extinction out of thin air! And I love how he played the long game, pretending to accidentally use Savannah’s bag and water bottle earlier in the season to set up the epic con of then grabbing Rizo’s torch to get his game snuffed instead. GENIUS! Can’t wait to see Jawan just chillin’ at camp when the others arrive back from Tribal Council, and to then see what Rizo wears on the jury.

While this all may be highly unlikely, at least under those circumstances, the first four jury members would then not all be Black, which is, to quote Mad Men’s Pete Campbell, “Not great, Bob!”

Okay, I know everyone wants to get back to prepping or eating your Thanksgiving scoop of the crispy, so let’s get to our annual deal, and go through what else made us thankful this week when it comes to the best episode (so far) of Survivor 49.

I am thankful for Sage busting out one of the smartest things I have ever heard on Survivor

After having a strategy sesh with Jawan, but not wanting the others to realize they were having a strategy sesh, Sage told him, “You can tell them I have terrible gas and am just farting, but it’s just the bad kind so I want to give everybody space.”

That may come off as another wacky Sage-ism (which is kind of like ageism, only less prejudicial and more focused on #gastrointestinaldistress), but it’s actually brilliant. Jawan immediately came back and told them that Sage was passing stinky gas, and who was even going to question that? Now, you might ask yourself, “Just how stinky can it be out in the open air, and especially down by the beach where you catch a nice breeze?” But it is still such a bizarre thing to say that it makes for the perfect cover story.

“Does it look like they’re talking game or does it look like they’re talking farts?” Sage explained to us. “And hopefully I gave the impression that I was talking farts.” I love that woman so much. I would say she is such a breath of fresh air, but perhaps that is a poor choice of words in this particular instance.

I am thankful for raw emotions laid bare

Survivor is the ultimate emotion amplifier. Life is hard enough, and then you throw starvation, seclusion, lack of sleep, and 24/7 mental warfare into the mix and you can completely lose it. Kristina probably never envisioned herself breaking down at a reward challenge about her mother who died three years prior, yet here she was in the middle of the South Pacific crying and telling Probst, “I want my mom, I want my mom so bad right now.” And then watching that sadness turn to anger and yelling, “It’s not fair! It’s not fair!”

It was raw and it was real and offered a window into Kristina as a person. I have no idea how she feels about that vulnerable moment playing out on national television, but I’m sure it made her a person that viewers — especially anyone who has lost a loved one — could empathize with much more than at any other point over the season.

Also got to give a shout out to Probst for how he handled this. I know some of you have taken issue with how he has leaned into the softer, gooier side of the show over the years, but I really feel like what he did here was not intentionally leading the witness to bear her soul, but rather using prompts like “Tell me about your mom,” and “If your mom could be here, what would she whisper in your ear?” to smartly get her back into an emotional space where she was ready to compete.

Think about it: You can’t have this woman totally losing it right in front of you and then suddenly just cut to “Okay, for today’s reward challenge…” Probst had to transition Kristina from that emotional low point to a place where she was ready to compete, and did so relatively seamlessly. For a hosting perspective, that’s a lot harder than it looks, and he once again made it look easy.

I am thankful for water challenges

Now, if you want to say Probst laid it on too thick as he urged a fallen Kristina over the tri-level beam during the reward challenge and then said, “Never seen anything like that!” I won’t argue with you. He probably could have dialed that down about, oh, 16 percent. But you are never going to hear me complain about anything related to a water challenge. There are no sweeter words in the Survivor language than “Bring in the boat!”

Jawan will have to file this challenge under T for tough noogies as he lost yet another reward competition, but congrats to Sage who nailed the last shot to win her first reward contest. She appeared to get pretty emotional about it too, but the edit cut away from that quickly. Maybe producers decided one contestant tearfest per challenge was enough, or perhaps they were worried she was about to start farting so wanted to give her some space. Regardless, we missed out on what appeared to be another big emotional moment.

I am thankful for a Survivor soundtrack     

I mean, “I Got Sand in All the Wrong Places” is a pretty great song title. Respect is due. But when it comes to Survivor super groups, 3 Boys on a Bench simply can’t compare to the greatness of the Dragonz. Perhaps they can crisscross the country together along with Trashy Annie, Ben Katzman, and Sekou Bunch on the Reality Rox tour, which I will document courtesy of an oral history coming your way some time in 2026.

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I am thankful for immunity challenges where people actually move

I enjoyed watching players push through the pain the past two weeks in their battle for immunity, but it’s also nice to see folks racing through an (albeit inconsequential) obstacle course. We know it’s inconsequential because anything that ends with a puzzle is all about the puzzle, but it’s still fun to watch. And this immunity challenge was fun to watch.

Of course, the star of the show was the “teeter-tunnel” in which contestants got thrown to the ground within a net tunnel. How great was the teeter-tunnel? So great that they showed us every single player getting slammed down via cameras strategically placed inside of the net. Awesome.

Also awesome was Yellow Sophie, who dominated the puzzle to win her second individual immunity contest of the season, proving she is more than a mere swimming and endurance beast. But Sophie played an even more important role in the episode moving forward.

I am thankful for camp chaos

The thing that plagued the pre-merge portion of Survivor 49 more than anything was super predictable vote-offs, which sapped Tribal Council — and often the post-challenge segment leading up to it — of any real drama. Obviously, that has turned around since the merge, and it was on full, brilliant display this week.

The person with all the power was Yellow Sophie. She could side with Sage, Jawan, Steven, and Kristina to take out Savannah, or go with Savannah, Rizo and Blue Sophi to get someone from the other side. In a lot of situations like this, editors would have left that decision in doubt to keep the mystery alive heading into Tribal Council, but there was no need, because even in showing us Sophie siding with Savannah and Co., there was still so much happening.

Sophie told Rizo and Savannah that she was the target and he needed to play his idol for her while they all voted out Steven. Meanwhile, Kristina told Steven she would play her idol for him and that they could throw one vote on Rizo so if the idols canceled each other out, Rizo would go home. Then, Savannah had a change of heart and decided they should just vote out one of the flip-floppers instead, saying they should just all go for Sage. But then Yellow Sophie preferred Jawan. And then Yellow Sophie just asked if they could just keep it on Steven instead.

All the while, you also had Savannah doing crazy awesome Savannah things like messing with Jawan by making him promise he wasn’t voting for her even though she knew he was, and being uncomfortably direct with Kristina by peppering her with questions like “Who are you voting for?” and “Who are you considering?” This led a rattled Kristina to literally step back, ask for a minute, and reply: “I don’t like that.”

The best part about all of this was that as the players left for Tribal Council, there were five legitimate potential options to get voted out: Steven, Sage, Jawan, Savannah (if Rizo did not play his idol for her), and even Rizo (if he did play it for Savannah). The only ones who appeared 100 percent safe were the two Sophi(e)s, and for once, that tingling feeling I had leading into Tribal Council was not merely Milwaukee’s Best coursing through my veins. It was legitimate excitement for what was to come. (Okay, that and a few Milwaukee’s Bests. A little from column A and a little from column B is what I’m sayin’.)

I’m thankful for an interesting Tribal Council

Let’s face it — even in the best Survivor episodes on the best new-era Survivor seasons, Tribal Council is often the least interesting part of the show. At least before the votes. Probst doesn’t go nearly as hard on the contestants anymore, and after seasons of film study, players have learned how to effectively parry the host’s questions without actually revealing anything of any substance. And I’m not just talking about revealing their strategic plans. I’m talking about even revealing how they actually feel about anyone or anything, Instead, it is all just metaphors and analogies. Honestly, it sometimes feels like filler.

So kudos to the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod Baby for acknowledging exactly that. “Jeff, I will be honest, I love this game,” he said at this week’s Tribal. “This is all just hoopla to me. It’s just everybody going out there and saying what they want to say.”  He’s right. It’s hoopla! I mean, I’m not even entirely 100 percent sure what hoopla is, but I at least think he’s right. It’s all nonsense! And if the players themselves don’t even think it’s worth listening to, why should viewers?

Rizo understands this, which is why he came in hot out of the gate, proclaiming, “I’m kinda here to put on a show and showcase what I’m here to do on Survivor.” You can find that annoying and self-serving and that’s fine, but at least he is acknowledging what we all have been saying about snoozy Tribal Councils in the new era, and he’s actually trying to do something about it! Would you rather have him sit on his wildly gesticulating hands and bust out a space or Super Bowl metaphor and call it a day, like pretty much every other player does in the new era? I appreciate the effort. And his efforts were far from over.

Rizo could have just played his hidden immunity idol and handed it to Probst and sat down and then seen how it all played out. But instead, he did not do any of those things. First, he gave a big speech, saying “Jeff, let’s have a little bit fun here” and then asked if he could say a few words to the class. Then he made a big show of playing his idol for Savannah. But…

… It wasn’t a real idol! This was as confusing for viewers as it was for players, but with Yellow Sophie in the fold, and Savannah having an extra vote, and them putting the votes on someone Kristina would never think to play her idol for in Jawan, Rizo didn’t even need to play his idol for Savannah. So he apparently made a fake one. And then the producers correctly determined it would be more dramatic to not reveal this fact, thereby creating an even bigger WTF moment at Tribal Council.  

It’s kind of cool they did this, because it effectively put the viewer in the position of a player, in that we were just as surprised and confused as those sitting next to the R-I-Z-G-O-D RizGod Baby at TC. You want to know how it really feels to be blindsided by something at Tribal Council? Now you do.

But perhaps the best performance of all has to go to Oscar nominee Savannah Louie. After her second vote read against her — and knowing she was perfectly safe — Savannah put all her Strasberg Institute method acting training to use, opening her mouth a mile wide in shock and inquiring “Did you vote for me?” to Jawan, who shook his head no.

Then, after a third vote against her was read, she again dropped the jaw and incredulously asked “Did you do this?” Jawan switched up his response this time, nodding in the affirmative while looking semi-pleased with his badass self. “Oh my gosh, Jawan,” Savannah sighed, acting like her fate was sealed. Yet with the next vote reading Jawan, she finally dropped the ruse and began laughing. Diabolical.

Was it unnecessarily poking the bear? Absolutely. Was it also hilarious? One hundo P. And keep in mind, Jawan had been lying to Savannah’s face the entire time as well, up to and including his negative nod, so no one was innocent in this situation. Any chance for Tribal Council fireworks and grandstanding, I will gladly take.

Same thing with Rizo leaping to his feet immediately after the vote to claim credit for the move in front of the jury, announcing, “You flipped on me once, I wasn’t going to let it happen again.” Although his moment was neutered somewhat by Jawan ignoring him to ask people to raise their hands if they were in on his elimination. (Also somewhat lost in the moment is the fact that Steven initially tried to vote-off Shannon, crossing out her first four letters before writing the correct name of Savannah. This is what happens when you cast five different women in the same season whose names begin with the latter S.)

Throw all of it together and you get the best episode of the season, and you know I am thankful for that. Speaking of which, it’s probably time to get back to the family I have been ignoring to jot down these irrelevant musings, but before you go and do the same, keep in mind we’ll have Jeffrey Probst weighing in on everything that went down, along with an exclusive deleted scene from the episode. The Jawan exit interview will be delayed until Monday due to the holiday, but make sure to subscribe to our free Survivor newsletter to have all the news and interviews straight from the island sent directly to your inbox.

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone, and enjoy your holiday scoop of the crispy!