It’s almost that time again! Survivor returns on September 24th for its 49th season. After finishing Survivor Australia vs. The World, I’m feeling a little scared to return to the American franchise, but at the end of the day, I can’t stay away so I’ll be following along!
I’ll be handling Survivor 49 a little differently than last season. I’m taking over the commissioner role for my elimination pool this season, so I don’t want to commit to doing episode-by-episode Edgic. Additionally, we already know that two players from Survivor 49 will be on Survivor 50, which could perhaps give us another odd edit on the heels of Survivor 48.
My plan is to post after the premiere, right before the merge, at the midseason, and after the finale. It’ll be more of the “Edgic Lite” that I did for Survivor Australia vs. The World; less in depth analysis accompanied by more vibes commentary.
I’ve finally been able to listen to the pre-season press conducted by Mike Bloom, so here are my impressions of the cast:
Kele Tribe
Alex - Political communications director from Washington DC. Alex is ready to do whatever it takes to win this game. He hopes to leverage his skills in diplomacy and communications to get along with diverse people and keep them together. He says he’s a feeler and that he can be manipulated if you play on his emotions. He’s not above being sneaky and is out on the island to have fun, but does have a tinge of “my way or the highway.”
Annie - CEO of a running biomechanics company and drummer in a band from Austin, Texas. Annie is aware that she is probably one of the oldest players on the season and anticipates being underestimated. However, she seems savvy, creative, and like a self-starter. Annie comes from a tough background and made things happen for herself by taking on challenges that scared her. She says she trusts easily and is a bad liar, and knows she needs to be wary of bringing too much “boss energy.” Overall she seems like an interesting person who is probably easy to get along with if she’s not in “boss” mode.
Sophi - Business owner from Miami. Her goal in life is to own a McDonalds so that’s kind of hilarious. She says she’s an adaptable person who was able to connect with all types of people while in business school. Sophi hopes that her ability to make genuine bonds with other people will make it more surprising when she votes you out. She knows she’ll need to reign it in because she can be confrontational. She’s ready to play a cutthroat game, and hopes she can pick up a meat shield along the way. Sophi also elected to have Nicki Minaj as her celebrity loved one, so that’s also pretty hilarious.
Nicole - Financial crime consultant from Philadelphia. She hopes to rely on her ability to make the people around her feel comfortable and like they are having fun to make strong connections. She seems chill but funny, while not being over the top. She hopes that her humor may mask her intelligence. Growing up with hearing loss, Nicole understands body language and can read lips at a distance. She may have the inclination to make decisions too quickly, and needs an alliance member who is pragmatic.
Jeremiah - Global events manager from Ontario. He hopes that between his intuition and experience managing varying expectations and lots of moving parts will get him far in this game. Jeremiah is looking for someone he can trust and collaborate with because he needs to speak his ideas outloud. He’s expecting to be seen as ditzy but is ready to play and isn’t afraid to get rid of physical threats early.
Jake - Correctional officer from St. Alberta, Canada. He has a lot to play for, making his debut on the small screen so he can be on the last season of Survivor his father will ever see before losing his vision, as well as bring home the bacon for his newborn son. He seems nice and fatherly, but also seems to be the strong alpha male archetype who wants to play with honor and integrity. He’s okay with letting other people take charge and hopes that his magnetic personality will get him far in the game. He is all about the strong have to stay and the weak have to go.
Overall vibe: This tribe might be interesting. I think the lines seem to be that maybe Alex and Jake would stick together and Annie, Nicole, and Jeremiah would stick together. I could see Sophi going either way depending on how the actual vibes shake out on the island. If Jake is the kind of person who can put the team on his back for a challenge over and over again then I don’t know if this group will go to Tribal Council a lot. However, if they do, he might actually be the most vulnerable. This group is already wary of him, doesn’t care about strength, and don’t seem to be keen on the “honor and loyalty” game. He might be such a great guy that it doesn’t matter, but it does seem like, besides him, other players on this cast were rubbed the wrong way by the Honor and Integrity alliance from Survivor 48.
Hina Tribe
Matt - Airport ramp agent and former finance guy from St. George, UT. A white man with dreadlocks. Matt seems like a pretty happy-go-lucky kind of guy, jokester, and he’s very much himself. He’s hoping that his childhood growing up outdoors will give his tribemates a reason to keep the oldest player on the cast around. Matt has a self-depreciating sense of humor and hopes that his whole vibe will allow him to go a bit under the radar. He worries that he may be too trusting in a game of deception, but maybe being “everybody’s buddy” will take him all the way to the end.
Kristina - MBA career coach and former engineer from Edmond, Oklahoma. Kristina seems very warm and kind. She’s looking for ride or die allies to play this game with. Living as a Black woman in Oklahoma she has had to connect with people of varying backgrounds. She wants to use her ability to get people to trust and want to protect her to her advantage on the island, but she’s worried about getting caught off guard in a situation where she needs to lie.
Jason - Law clerk from Santa Ana, CA. He seems like a nice, genuine, nerdy guy. He’s clearly smart and loves building community around shared interests. There is something very earnest about Jason, and he hopes that his vulnerability will be a superpower for him. He knows it could be a weakness too, but he’s ready to be brave and scrap his way to the top.
MC - Personal trainer and sales associate from San Diego. MC is a new fan of the show, and she seems really down to earth and has a good sense of humor. Former Division I athlete, she’s strong and competitive. She understands that she may be perceived as intimidating, but hopes that she can win people over with her good vibes. Self-identified as a recovering people-pleaser she has a hard time saying no, but she also knows that on the flip side, she can make others feel tightly connected to her easily.
Steven - Rocket scientist from Denver. He seems like a very sweet, golden retriever type. Growing up with hearing loss meaning he’s had to rely on reading body language and energy shifts. Steven feels he has a good mix of “right brain” and “left brain” skills. He’s very analytical but also very artistic. He hopes that his varying interests and skills will allow him to get along with and connect with many types of people. However, his analytical nature may cause him to overthink.
Sophie - Strategy associate from New York. Sophie was an alternate for Survivor 48 and she’s ready to make this dream a reality. She seems like a very smart, analytical person. She does worry, though, that she won’t be able to hide her true emotions on the beach. Sophie hopes that her ability to read other people and connect with individuals to form a productive group.
Overall vibe: This group has the strongest “vibes tribe” energy. Sophie and MC, and Steven and Matt (might be misremembering on that one) seem to have clocked each other in the pre-game as possible allies. However, on the surface, it just seems like there are the fewest barriers between all these people getting along for the most part. Of course, they are all ready to play but I’m not seeing any obvious divisions right off the bat.
Uli Tribe
Nate - Film producer and dad from Hermosa Beach. He seems like a nice and interesting guy who is out on the island for the love of the game. Nate feels that one of his greatest strengths that he’ll bring to the game from his working experience is listening to many people's ideas, making them feel heard, and executing a collective vision. He seems pretty even keel but he says that if he loses his temper it could get ugly.
Shannon - Wellness specialist and entrepreneur from Boston. Shannon talks a lot. Maybe it’s just the forced social isolation of Ponderosa, but she had a ton to say with Mike Bloom. She wants to connect with people and play a social game. Authenticity to herself seems to be a core tenant for her. She is very into spirituality and yoga, but also AI Jesus..? I don’t know, this one is going to be interesting.
Jawan - Video editor from Los Angeles who moved across the country during the pandemic. Jawan seems like a very sweet, nerdy guy who is very online. He wants a trustworthy, collaborative ally and if he finds that, it sounds like he is willing to put that relationship above all else to get further in the game. He is hoping his friendliness and ability to read the room will get him far in the game.
Rizo - Tech sales guy from Yonkers, New York. Son of immigrants, Rizo had to learn to essentially be an adult and a parent at a young age to support his younger brother with Autism while his parents were working. He claims to be good with people thus pivoting his career from a hopeful sports broadcaster to eventual salesman. Along with sports, he is a big fan of Survivor. Rizo seems to take himself seriously, but has some sense of humor about him. He hopes his people skills and “never give up” attitude will help him play a hard, fearless game, but knows he needs to be wary of getting overconfident.
Sage - Clinical social worker and Army veteran from Olympia, WA. Sage seems like a nice, quirky girl who has had a lot of interesting life and work experience. She was an alternate for Survivor 47, so she may be worth keeping an eye on due to the strong track record of alternates over the past couple of seasons. She hopes that her ability to connect with others and face emotions head on will help her in this game. Hopefully her impulsivity won’t get in the way!
Savannah - Former news anchor and reporter turned marketing specialist from Atlanta. Savannah wants to play a creative game with an ally she actually likes, and isn’t afraid to cause a little chaos. Her experience in the newsroom familiarized her with being around high information flow, assessing the usefulness of that information, and deciding what to do with that information. She wants to be a social, but also physical player.
Overall vibe: I think the most likely breakdown for this tribe is into either 2v2v2 or 4v2. Without a doubt, Shannon is the odd one out and she feels like she would be an easy first boot from this tribe. She seems like she would most likely get along with Sage, but even that might be generous. It’s hard to imagine that Nate and Jawan won’t connect at least somewhat based on their similar interests and career paths. If Rizo and Savannah get along, I could see them being a powerful force. If nothing else, I could see them aligning with Jawan and Nate to simply get as far away from Shannon as possible.
It was interesting to see that the two players from this season that are rumored to be on Survivor 50 are on the same original tribe. Already knowing that they’ll be playing again, I found their interviews to be two of the most interesting. I look forward to seeing if they were allies or adversaries on Survivor 49 or if they just have big personalities. Based on their interviews I could see it going either way. It seems like it’ll come down to whether they can actually get along or not because their approaches to the game do feel relatively aligned. Is one of them the winner of the season? Only time will tell.
All in all this cast still seems super fan heavy, but I appreciate this turn toward fans that have maybe watched for a long time but in a more casual capacity, or watched in a discontinuous manner. The more online fans among them seem to dislike the New Era, so they have that going for them. Most seem like fans but not necessarily “Game Bots.” A lot of the players seem like interesting people. Let’s hope they give us some entertaining TV!
During pre-game at Ponderosa a lot of players noticed Kristina and Annie as people with “good vibes,” while people are wary of Jake and MC for their physical strength.
Personally, I think that The Disaster Tribe™ is born out of a combination of physical disadvantage and poor teamwork. A lot of times I actually feel like communication is actually the make or break factor. Just from the eyeball test, the Hina tribe looks to be the most physically balanced, but the Kele tribe has Jake who might be able to singularly get his tribe over the line. This leads me to feel like Uli could be in trouble. We can’t really know though until we see the players interact with each other.
Knowing that two people from this cast are going to be on Survivor 50 makes it hard to really know how these people stack up in terms of being contenders for this season. It’s clouded a lot of my approach to this season. I’m kind of inclined to think that either Rizo or Savannah actually win this Survivor 49, but my thoughts on that may change when I watch the premiere. As of now, I just feel like in a New Era, three starting tribe format, it would be weird to have only two winners in the cast of Survivor 50. Who knows though. Jeff Probst be doing whatever he sees fit. All that is to say, I’m just going to leave it until the premiere before I really start assessing players’ contender potential.
Survivor 49 is just around the corner. Let’s see what this season brings!