Welcome back to another “Survivor 49” episode recap. The war between Hina and Uli is heating up!
Players settle into their swap tribes, Shannon starts scheming with everyone and Jawan keeps bothering his tribemates! First, I’ll recap the episode and then provide updated betting odds for the remaining castaways. Finally, in the words of the great Tony Vlachos, I will highlight “our top five, baby” – the five players who not only made a significant impact this episode but are also set up for future success.
Let’s get back to Fiji.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
“Survivor 49” Episode 5 Recap + Castaway Betting Odds
Episode Recap
Camp Life
On the Kele tribe, Shannon continues her scheming. She pitches a potential merge alliance of two players from each starting tribe for all of them to look out for each other. This is similar to what Q pitches in “Survivor 46,” and that quickly fell apart. Steven leaks this group, even after Shannon tells him she feels best with him and Kristina from the original Hina tribe. Alex and Steven say that Shannon is playing “really hard,” and Sage calls her a shark.
Over to the Hina tribe, Jawan is agitating the group yet again. He uses Savannah’s water battle after previously using her clean bag to collect firewood. Jason is seen integrating into the group. Savannah and Nate discuss how Jawan has been grating, as well as their willingness to vote him out if they lose the immunity challenge.
Back to Kele, Sage leaks that Rizo found the Beware Advantage on the old Uli beach. She also mentions that she is open to taking a shot at the old Uli tribe. Shannon, meanwhile, thinks that Sage is out of the loop. Sage gives us the line of the episode. When describing Shannon, she exclaims, “I’m a wolf baby; I’m ready to eat her!”
The Journey
A boat pulls up to each respective camp, and players are selected to go on a journey. Jason volunteers for Hina, but ultimately, Nate is picked after Jawan rigs the rock draw in favor of his original tribemate. The old Uli tribe members were all uncomfortable with Jason potentially getting an advantage. MC is picked for the Kele tribe.
To complete the journey, Nate and MC must carry sandbags one at a time across the beach and drop them at an endpoint to retain their votes. However, midway through the journey, they uncover a plaque among the sandbags. The plaque notes that there is an advantage hidden in the woods.
MC and Nate make good time with the sandbags, and agree to look for the advantage once they have one sandbag left. However, Nate doesn’t want MC to have an advantage, and doesn’t want one for himself either. Nate misleads MC and tells her that her time is almost up and that she needs to return from the woods to finish off the sandbags. The two of them then agree to complete the journey, and neither loses their vote.
Immunity Challenge
The castaways compete for both immunity and reward this week. Much to their delight, the reward this week is chickens – an upgrade over last week’s fresh fruit.
In the immunity challenge, the castaways swim up to a bamboo cage, climb into it, and carry the cage up to the beach. Once the cage makes its way up the beach, a tribe member shoots balls into three respective baskets. Kristina sits out for Kele and expertly looks for an advantage on the sit-out bench.
Kele takes an early lead in the challenge, while Hina appears exhausted, specifically Nate. Alex gets a head start on the ball shooting and makes his third basket before Rizo can make it there for Hina. Kele wins immunity again, sending Hina back to tribal council.
Tribal Council
Hina returns to camp, and Sophi is exhausted. This is her fifth tribal council in a row, and she is worn down. Savannah states that Jason is an obvious vote, but she is seriously considering writing Jawan’s name down. Jason is seen as the bridge to the old Hina tribe members on the Kele tribe, so keeping him could be beneficial come merge.
Savannah tells Jason that’s what he should pitch to the old Uli tribe, and Jason does so. Meanwhile, Jawan and Jason discuss being on the bottom and a potential Rizo vote. Rizo mentions that he feels decent with Jawan, despite Savannah’s discontents with him.
At tribal, Rizo reflects on how “Survivor” has messed with his brain. Jawan mentions how much he and Jason have in common. The edit makes it unclear here who will go home between Jawan and Jason, but ultimately, Jason goes home 5-1, with Jason voting for Rizo. Curiously, Jason did not play his Shot in the Dark, so he must have felt his plan had a chance.
“Survivor 49” Castaway Betting Odds
Each week, I’ll rank and pair the remaining “Survivor 49” castaways with betting odds to win the game. These odds are subject to change after each episode. When castaways are eliminated, edits become clearer. As a result, win equities will diverge, and odds will become more favorable to some and less favorable to others.
I have ranked players with a poorer edit, with much lower odds. This week, there were minimal changes, except that Alex’s stock increased, while Shannon’s and MC’s decreased.
Shannon’s odds decrease again, as her fellow tribemates notice how hard she is playing. Alex is viewed in a heroic light and provides multiple personal anecdotes in a confessional. MC is tricked by Nate and receives more of a growth narrative than a strategic narrative. I am slightly lower on her this week, and see her more now as a player who could win some immunity challenges but ultimately fall short.
- Sophi (+325)
- Savannah (+375)
- Rizo (+475)
- Nate (+650)
- Alex (+750)
- Steven (+850)
- MC (+1000)
- Kristina (+1800)
- Shannon (+2200)
- Sage(+2200)
- Jawan (+2500)
- Sophie (+3000)
The “Top Five, Baby!”
“Top five, baby!” The phrase coined by the great Tony Vlachos in “Survivor Cagayan” rings true here and will throughout the season. The five most impactful castaways this episode and moving forward, in my eyes, are as follows:
Sophi
It was a quieter episode for Sophi, but she remains connected within the new Hina tribe. The edit shows her as tired this episode. I am curious if this is just making her seem multi-dimensional, as she has been well-connected and in the know throughout the entire game, despite constantly losing.
Savannah
Savannah yet again does not send her ideal target home, but continues to provide us with consistent strategic content. Jason leaving this week is a positive outcome for her, but Jawan may become a thorn in her side if she does not send him home soon.
Rizo
Rizo sends home his ideal target again this week, but receives a vote from Jason. Rizo is firmly in control, even though he does not have an apparent duo like Savannah does with Nate. One concern for him is Sage leaking his Beware Advantage to the other swapped tribe. I am curious if that will be impactful or not later in the game.
Nate
It was a strong episode for Nate. He prevents MC from getting an advantage, doesn’t lose his vote and votes in the majority against Jason. He is seen strategically with Savannah and still has a strong relationship with Rizo. He is still a strong winner contender for me, and this episode improved his odds a bit.
Alex
It was also an excellent episode for Alex. He cements his place back in the top five. Alex catches a crab for the tribe on the Kele beach, wins the immunity challenge for the tribe, kills/prepares the chicken and gives us a confessional stating how he is doing things out on “Survivor” that people in his day-to-day life would not expect. He bounces back big after misplaying his idol in Episode 3 and having a quieter showing last week.
Thanks for reading my “Survivor 49″ Episode 5 Recap + Castaway Betting Odds.” For more entertainment content, check out our other blogs here at In-Between Media (IBT). And be sure to follow me on Twitter/X @robbrereton for more “Survivor” content.
