[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 49 Episode 11.]
Idols are ceasing to matter in Survivor 49. What matters more now is revenge. Two players had it out for a certain player in Episode 11. One of them wanted to come for their biggest competition. The other was determined to avenge their fallen ally after last week’s elimination. Only the former player was bold enough to say that revenge is their strategy. The latter said they were serving their game. Jeff Probst reacted to these methods and the resulting elimination on the On Fire aftershow podcast (embedded below). He says that the player they voted out, who auditioned several times and was an alternate on a previous season before finally making it on, was “a legit threat to win.”
Jawan was voted out last week in a crushing blow to Sage, his No. 1 ally. She was brought to tears when talking about him in Episode 11’s Tribal Council, where he sat on the jury for the first time. At the beginning of the episode, Sophie apologized for lying to Sage about how she was voting, but wouldn’t say sorry for protecting her game. Sage was out to get her before she even said sorry. Steven won a block-a-vote advantage and the immunity necklace in this episode. Rizo wanted him out before that, but he pivoted to working with Steven to set his sights on Sophie.
Sophie was the only player remaining who had been on the right side of every vote so far. That, paired with her physical challenge prowess, made her a clear target for tonight’s elimination. Rizo offered her name, and everyone agreed. In Tribal, Kristina used the public knowledge of her dislike of Savannah to pretend that she was voting for her and make Sophie feel safe, and Savannah played along. In the voting booth, Savannah cast her vote for Sophie, calling it sweet revenge after multiple episodes of being at odds.
In the end, Sophie voted for Savannah, and everyone else voted for Sophie. As the votes trickled in and the results became clear, Sage gave a victorious look to Jawan in the jury, and he cheered her on. Sophie was impressed by the blindside, as was the jury.
Probst said on On Fire that Sophie applied and almost made it onto the show multiple times before 49. He said in his 49 casting notes that “she is even hungrier now.”
“Sometimes that hunger, when it percolates, you’ve got a little chip on your shoulder because we didn’t pick you, and you think you did something wrong. Sophie was a legit threat to win,” Probst said. “And unfortunately, when you have those qualities, you become a target, and you have to figure out how to survive the vote. It’s not unfair, it’s the game. Your job is to manage all of these things, and that’s why we jokingly say it’s impossible to win this game.”
He added that “today’s jury does a really great job” of expecting to be impressed. Probst said they walk in feeling, “Oh, I have a little power. You are desperate to know what I’m thinking.”
“If you’re really a fan of somebody that’s still in the game, you might wink at them and let ’em know, ‘I still love you,’ like Jawan might do that to Sage,” Probst explained. “If you’re savage and you want a little control, you might make [a player] work for it. I don’t want you thinking you got my vote for sure. Show it to me, my friend.”
The host explained to co-hosts Jeremy Collins and Jay Wolff why they needed Sophie on Season 49, revealing that she was one of the first players cast in the season.
“She’s been in our wheelhouse for a while, but I really like her a lot. She really pops, great personality, very likable, and she goes for it,” Probst shared, adding, “She was an alternate, which I think was probably an advantage for her. Then we have our Zoom in 2025, instantly took charge. She’s fantastic. I want her on the show. Then [he wrote in] capital letters, ‘Must be on the show.’ The clue to me was, we’re not missing this again. We didn’t have a spot last time. We’re going to start with her, and we are going to have a spot. She was a home run.”
Learn more about the creation of this episode in the full On Fire below.
Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS
