The Survivor 49 Kele tribe had a historically rough start to the season. They lost the first five challenges, which left them without flint, survival supplies, and safety. Their hunger was evident to viewers who witnessed them forget names, struggle to recall questions at Tribal Council, and resort to eating worms for sustenance. The core four of the group attempted to strengthen their tribe by voting out the players they perceived as weak. Nicole Mazullo and Annie Davis were the first two castaways sent to Ponderosa, leaving the Kele tribe with only four members. The remaining castaways felt confident they could make a comeback, but an unfortunate incident put the nail in Kele’s coffin.
Jake Latimer, who was carrying the group in physical challenges, got pulled from the game after he was bitten by a venomous black-banded sea krait, an extremely rare event according to Fijian locals. Although it was a dry bite with no venom released, medical felt the psychological impact of the event was enough to end Jake’s journey. After his elimination, Kele lost another Immunity Challenge, diminishing their numbers even further. With only two members remaining, production had no choice but to implement a tribe swap after only three episodes.
Our dream tribe swaps for Survivor 49
The swap will take place in the Wednesday, October 15 episode. We don’t know what the new groupings will be, except that it will be two tribes of seven. While we wait, let’s fantasize about what we would like the new tribes to look like.
Tribe #1
- Shannon – Former Uli
- Savannah – Former Uli
- Sophi – Former Kele
- Alex – Former Kele
- Matt – Former Hina
- Kristina – Former Hina
- Jason – Former Hina
I began this process by thinking about my current favorite group– The Uli tribe. The tribe is currently made up of six members. Shannon Fairweather, Savannah Louie, Rizo Velovic, and Nate Moore are the core four. Sage Ahrens-Nichols and Jawan Pitts are on the sidelines, hoping to increase their position in the game. I’m a fan of all the players on the current tribe, which leaves me with complicated feelings about them being broken up. On one hand, this could be very bad for the core four, who have spent days building loyalty and trust with each other. On the other hand, a swap makes it more likely that all these players will see the merge, which is enticing.
I think the best case scenario is that the core four is broken up into pairs. Ideally, keep Shannon and Savannah on Uli, and send Nate and Rizo to another tribe. Although I would like to see them both make the merge, I sense some brewing tension between Shannon and Savannah, which could be fun to watch. Send Kele castaways Sophi Balerdi and Alex Moore to Uli. I think staying together is their best shot. I want Hina’s Matt Williams on Uli because selfishly, I don’t care about him in the game. He could be an easy boot for them if they lose an Immunity Challenge. Hina castaways Jason Treul and Kristina Mills will round out the tribe. Jason is a beast on puzzles, which will keep them safe from Tribal Council. Side note: Keep Sophi and Alex away from a puzzle at all costs!
Tribe #2
- Sophie – Former Hina
- MC – Former Hina
- Nate – Former Uli
- Rizo – Former Uli
- Jawan – Former Uli
- Steven – Former Hina
- Sage – Former Uli
My dream second tribe is made up of three Hina members and four Uli members. I think Nate and Rizo will stay loyal to each other, but Sage and Jawan may want to form new bonds with Hina. They know they are at the bottom of the Uli tribe. The swap offers them a new life in the game. It was important to me to keep Hina castaways Sophie Segreti and MC Chukwujekwu together. In Episode 3, they had a conversation about working together, and I would like to see that play out. They are both strong competitors, and I believe they could be a great duo in the game. The current dynamic may leave Steven Ramm a bit on the outs, but I think he has potential to carve a new path. I could see him making an alliance with Nate and Rizo.
Survivor is available to stream on Paramount+.
TELL US – DO YOU AGREE WITH OUR DREAM TRIBE SWAP LIST? WHAT DO YOU WANT THE NEW SURVIVOR 49 TRIBES TO LOOK LIKE?
