This Survivor Season Has Some Of The Best And Worst Gameplay I've Ever Seen

Watch our Snuffing Torches recap of last night's episode above ^ 

*SPOILERS FOR LAST NIGHT'S EPISODE OBVIOUSLY AHEAD*

We're down to the final 8 in Survivor 49. I've mostly enjoyed this season so far and think it's had a likable cast of characters and some interesting votes. But my main takeaway from this season is that we are witnessing some of the simultaneously best and worst gameplay I've seen in a long time. The best is coming from Rizo. The way he's been able to hold onto his idol for this long without being voted out is incredible. He's basically got himself through the last 3 votes by just having the idol and not playing it. It's required huge balls on his part but also is only possible with his really solid social and strategic game. Last night was a great example of that. 

He was able to successfully cast a shadow of doubt on Alex's game, pinning him as a middle man and agent of chaos that was playing all sides. He very impressively saw through Alex's plan to "draw lines in the sand and put himself in the middle." And from there he just basically slandered Alex's name and made people distrust him. It was savvy gameplay from Rizo for sure. But the main takeaway from me was the mind boggling gameplay from Sage, Sophie and Jawan to go with his plan instead of the 3-3 split vote on Rizo and Soph. 

They had a chance to get Rizo and his idol out last week but instead randomly switched it to MC for some unknown reason. And they had another clear chance last night to take him out (or at worst flush idol and then take Soph out if he played it) and AGAIN chose not to do it. Now they no longer have the numbers to split votes on him and Savannah/Soph as it's just 5-3 now (although those 5 are seemingly not even together now since they didn't vote with Steven and Kristina). Now Rizo, Savannah, and Soph are armed with an idol, an extra vote, a Knowledge Is Power Advantage and a splintered faction against them. They are in a great spot. 

Here are some other thoughts I had from last night's episode 

-Kristina giving up her reward to Jawan is just not a move I like. I do believe her that she was genuinely just looking out for Jawan. But I think it's poor gameplay. People will now look at them as a close duo and also look at Kristina as a social threat and jury threat. Just felt like an unnecessary way to draw attention to herself. Although again I do believe her intentions were pure. 

-Savannah is a true old school villain and I appreciate it. She's not like a Russell Hantz or anything but I love her intensity in challenges and the shit talking she does at the end of them to intimidate her opponent into quitting. But my main takeaway from Savannah last night was the hilarious "former reporter" reveal. I always think it's mostly unnecessary for players to lie about their jobs (with a very few rare exceptions). But it felt ESPECIALLY crazy to lie about being a former news reporter. She acted like she was concealing being the second coming of Christ. She wanted to hide it because she thought people would view her as well-spoken, but I feel like they could've just figured that out on their own after talking to her. Overall a harmless lie but was just a funny subplot of her concealing it as if it was some huge smoking gun. 

-End of the road for Alex after he was just a little bit too messy for playing both sides too much. Sort of a fitting end for a guy who works in politics. I think he had potential to be a good player and found him likable and enjoyable to watch. I doubt he'll be on the top of the list for a returnee season but he's someone I wouldn't mind seeing again and think he'd be much approved a second time around. 

Winner Rankings 

This is a ranking of who I think is most likely to win. The person in last shouldn't be viewed as next to go. Just least likely to win. 

8. Kristina - Just don't think she's had nearly enough screen time to be the winner. I also think she will be viewed as too likable with the jury to take to the end. 

7. Sophie - She was invisible early on but has had some more screen time in the last couple of episodes. Still just doesn't feel like enough and she also seemingly has no allies at this point in the game. 

6. Sage - Her and Jawan are in the same boat for me. They've been viewed as the "power players" lately but they don't have anything to show for it. They've now burnt bridges with everyone left in the game and have only made Rizo/Savannah/Soph more powerful by refusing to ever take them out. 

5. Jawan - Everything I just said about Sage applies here. He gets the nod at a spot higher just because I feel like he's had a more well-rounded edit. 

4. Steven - He's been my winner pick all season long and he hasn't really give me a huge reason to move off him. But he's just too much of a background character to be the winner. He's funny and likable but he's not the narrator of the game at all. 

3. Soph - These are the clear top 3 to me and the order could be pretty interchangeable. But I do fear Soph is getting pushed to the background a bit and is more just viewed as the third to her trio instead of as a power player. She's played a great game with a great underdog story but I'm not sure I'm getting winner vibes. 

2. Savannah - I think she's definitely gaining respect from other players with her challenge performances and from her general fight to stay alive. If she can use her extra vote effectively for a big move, that will earn her more jury votes too. 

1. Rizo - He's playing a great game, has a great edit, and still somehow has an idol. He's had cocky confessionals and instead of them coming back to bite him, they're just making him look genius. That's a good sign of a winner's edit. 

Catch up on our Snuffing Torches recap everywhere below.