Survivor 49 is heating up with only 12 players remaining in the fight for the million-dollar prize. Last week, castaway Jason Treul became the island’s sixth sacrifice after he failed to form connections within his new tribe. Jason’s elimination was a lesson in adaptability. Before the tribe swap, he was positioned quite comfortably. The former Hina tribe performed well in challenges, protecting Jason from the more challenging aspects of the game. He didn’t have to develop a strong social game because he was never in danger of going home.
The swap presented a challenge for Jason. He and his former Hina ally, Matt Williams, were in the minority on a tribe that didn’t perform well in challenges, making his position in the game precarious. He could no longer rely on a majority alliance to save him. It was time to kick his social game into high gear, but he didn’t. To the dismay of fans, Jason didn’t become a savvy social player. He was more like a sitting duck, hoping to scrape by until the merge. Survivor is a constantly evolving game, and those who fail to change with it often find themselves on a one-way trip to Ponderosa.
How the first five eliminated players on Survivor 49 could have turned things around
The five castaways voted out so far all made errors, some larger than others. Survivor is a tricky game that requires players to act intentionally. One small blunder could ruin a castaway’s path to victory. Let’s take a look at the players who have been voted out and discuss where they went wrong.
**For this list, we will not be discussing Jake Latimer as he was medically evacuated, not voted off the island**
Nicole Mazullo
Nicole Mazullo was the first castaway sent to Ponderosa on Season 49. She became a prime target after she and Annie Davis performed poorly in the Kele tribe’s first Immunity Challenge. The first few days on the island are challenging, and one little mistake is enough to seal your fate. The Kele tribe viewed Nicole and Annie as deadweight that would prevent them from winning challenges. Nicole’s job was to convince her tribemates that it was advantageous for them to keep her over Annie. Unfortunately, she didn’t make a good enough pitch, and it cost her the game.
Annie Davis
Annie Davis’ lack of athleticism put her under the spotlight. The Kele tribe kept losing challenges, leaving them without flint or supplies. They were starving, and they wanted someone to blame. Jake felt Annie was the reason the tribe was falling behind, and he wanted his alliance to write down her name at Tribal Council. However, not every player agreed with his plan. Alex Moore had a vested interest in protecting Annie, his day one ally. He wanted to change course and vote out Sophi Balerdi, whom he viewed as a bigger threat to his social game.
While it would’ve been difficult for Alex to get the numbers to save Annie, it wasn’t impossible. Sophi also doesn’t perform well in challenges, but she is a savvy social player. Alex had a shot of convincing the Kele tribe that she is too big a threat to keep around. If Annie were smart, she would’ve allowed her ally, who had much more social pull on the tribe, to do her dirty work. But she couldn’t resist getting her hands dirty. She wanted Jake out, and she made the mistake of divulging that information to Sophi, his number one ally.
Jeremiah Ing
Jeremiah Ing faced a difficult challenge after Kele lost their third Immunity Challenge. They were down to three people after Jake was medically evacuated, making it impossible to slip under-the-radar back at camp. It was kind of like that three Spider-Man pointing meme. The situation was made more complex by the presence of an Immunity Idol, which was sitting in Alex’s pocket. Jeremiah had two choices. He and Sophi could attempt to blindside Alex by making him feel safe enough not to use his Idol, or Jeremiah could turn on Sophi in an attempt to save himself. In the end, Jeremiah wasn’t able to outsmart Sophi or Alex. He voted out Alex, which was nullified when he used his Immunity Idol. Sophi teamed up with Alex to vote out Jeremiah. His best route would’ve been to convince Alex that Sophi is more of a liability, but it felt like he lacked the motivation to fight for his game.
Matt Williams
The tribe swap didn’t fall in Matt’s favor. He found himself in the minority, surrounded by former Uli members, who appeared to be a united front. After his new tribe lost the Immunity Challenge, Matt searched for cracks in Uli’s foundation, hoping to find one that could save him and his ally Jason. It wasn’t a bad plan, and fans at home applauded his efforts, especially after watching Jason tank his game in the spirit of loyalty to his former tribe. Matt’s downfall was a matter of misreading tribe dynamics. He correctly perceived that Jawan Pitts was at the bottom of the Uli tribe, so he cozied up to him with a plan to vote out Nate Moore. Unfortunately for Matt, Jawan is loyal to a fault. He had no desire to flip on Nate. Matt’s plan got back to the Uli tribe, and he became the more desirable target over Jason.
Jason Treul
Matt’s elimination left Jason with no allies on his new tribe. His position was undesirable, but not completely irreparable. The Uli tribe would’ve been willing to flip on Jawan if Jason came up with a convincing pitch to save himself, but he didn’t. He appeared isolated and disinterested in the social aspect of the game. Fans felt he went down without a fight in Episode 5.
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TELL US – DO YOU THINK ANY OF THESE PLAYERS DESERVE A SECOND CHANCE? WHAT ELIMINATION SURPRISED YOU THE MOST?
