Survivor 49 Episode 10 Recap: Alliances Crumble in a Game-Changing Vote
A nail-biter Tribal Council salvages another rinse-and-repeat Survivor hour, as Lewatu Rizo, Savannah, and Sophi ignite a late scramble that finally crackles.
Big finish, mediocre hour. That was this Survivor 49 outing in a nutshell. The back half finally woke up, but we waded through a lot of familiar setup to get there. I’ll still take a good payoff, though.
Where things stood after last Tribal
- Rizo still had his idol, unplayed.
- Savannah held onto her extra vote.
- Sophi’s Knowledge Is Power advantage stayed completely under wraps.
- Steven and Kristina realized they had slid to the bottom, with Steven painted as the next easy vote thanks to being likable and good in challenges.
Loose lips, test lies
The morning after, Sage told Jawan that Kristina has an idol — info Steven shared with her in confidence. Jawan immediately probed Steven by floating that Kristina seemed shifty and was the most likely person to have something. Steven stonewalled and lied to his face.
Steven clocked the obvious: if the tribe needs a name, it’s his. He and Kristina cooked up a counter: use her idol on him (or on her if he snags immunity) and flip the target to Savannah.
Reward: first Sanctuary trip of the season
We finally got a Sanctuary visit on the line. Two teams of four ran a water obstacle relay and then had to land swinging buoys into targets. Teams shook out like this: blue had Sophi, Sophie, Sage, and Steven; yellow had Jawan, Kristina, Rizo, and Savannah. Tight race, blue edged it.
At the Sanctuary, Sophie and Sage checked in. Sage pitched taking out Savannah, noting she’s getting comfy — which, on this show, is exactly when you should be nervous. The hope: make that plan happen as long as Savannah doesn’t win immunity.
Back at camp: two-faced and fine with it
Publicly, the target stayed on Steven, and Sage and Jawan went along with Savannah, Sophi, and Rizo to keep appearances tidy. Sage circled back with Sophie, not realizing Sophie was actively playing both sides. With eight left, Sophie wasn’t the decider on her own (unless Savannah’s extra vote came out), but she was the piece everyone wanted.
Immunity and the rice standoff (again)
The challenge was a teeter tunnel into a disc-and-pole release, then ferry puzzle pieces across a rickety beam to finish a logo puzzle.
Then came the rice offer that refuses to die: if three people sit out, the tribe earns enough rice for the rest of the game. For the second straight season, nobody took it. Jawan tried to bargain it down to two people for half a bag. No dice. This twist is cooked — either up the food, change the math, or shelve it. With a week left, no one with sense is sitting out now for a little extra rice.
Sophie won immunity — her second necklace of the season.
Pre-Tribal scramble: lines drawn, then redrawn
Rizo and Savannah felt solid that Jawan and Sage were sticking with them to boot Steven. Sophie wasn’t sold. She told Savannah and Rizo she believed Sage and Jawan were flipping. She wanted Savannah around as a challenge shield, asked Rizo to be ready to burn his idol on Savannah, and said she suspected Kristina might have another idol in the mix. The plan she laid out with Sophi, Rizo, and Savannah: all four vote Steven.
Meanwhile, the other side aimed to split: three votes on Savannah and one on Rizo, just in case.
After Savannah confronted Kristina and Jawan, she started eyeing her extra vote. She and Sophi tossed around a cleaner move: pile five votes on Sage to make any idol play irrelevant. The catch was keeping Sophie happy, because that plan needed her. Sophie said she preferred Jawan as the hit — she saw Sage as dangerous too, but wasn’t ready to abandon the Steven option completely. Also, she clocked the risk: if everyone knows Steven is the name, that’s where an idol is most likely to land. Going for Sage or Jawan would be both smarter and splashier.
Tribal: idols, a decoy, and the actual blindside
Kristina played her idol on Steven. Rizo stepped up like he was saving Savannah... and handed Jeff a fake idol. It was a read test to see if he needed to use the real one, and he nailed it by keeping his pocket full.
The votes revealed the real plan: Jawan went out. Savannah’s extra vote would’ve made it five, but it wasn’t necessary — the opposing four stuck to their split and tossed a safety vote on Rizo. The math likely ended 4-3-1: four on Jawan, three on Savannah, one on Rizo.
New Survivor 49 episodes air Wednesdays at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS. Streaming hits Paramount+ on Thursdays.