Pre-season: Survivor 50 pre-game power rankings

Survivor 50 Pre-season analysis

By Ryan Kaiser | Published: February 23, 2026

Ryan returns to rate the 24 returning players' respective chances of winning Survivor 50. Who does he see as having the juice to slither through the Hands of the Fans?

Pre-season: Playing in back-to-back seasons

Survivor 50 Pre-season analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: January 5, 2026

With Survivor 49 now complete and Savannah and Rizo headed right back out to play in Survivor 50, Damnbueno looks at how contestants have fared historically playing in back-to-back seasons, then tries to assess the S49 alums' chances in the context of their starting tribes.

Episode 13: The comeback

Survivor 49 Episode 13 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: December 22, 2025

The finale of Survivor 49 capped the comeback of the three members of the Tres Leches alliance from a disastrous merge vote. Similarly, their improbable post-merge rise elevated the season as a whole, after an extremely rough start. Also, the two players coming back for Survivor 50 were finally officially announced.

Episode 13: Okay, I did see that coming

Survivor 49 Episode 13 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: December 18, 2025

The season finale of Survivor 49 ended with the winner everyone expected going in, but it still had some highlights and surprises, with a few more revelations in the Aftershow, and of course, the segue to Survivor 50, the season that spoiled its antecedent.

Episode 12: No advantage gettin'

Survivor 49 Episode 12 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: December 14, 2025

We finally reached the expiration dates of two advantages in Episode 12 of Survivor 49, and both were played, with mixed results. It was an entertaining set of plays, even if nothing really worked as intended.

Episode 12: I didn't see that coming!

Survivor 49 Episode 12 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: December 11, 2025

A lot happened in Episode 12 of Survivor 49, just not the things we were hoping to see. Damnbueno has a recap of the events that did happen, after a brief history of various (New Era-weighted) season winner stats.

Episode 11: The calm before the storm

Survivor 49 Episode 11 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: December 7, 2025

There was not a lot of "bananas" gameplay in Episode 11 of Survivor 49, but that's fine. We advanced to final six by taking a challenge beast off the board, while adding a third idol/advantage into the mix for what promises to be a consequential vote in Episode 12.

Episode 11: Not bad for a set-up episode

Survivor 49 Episode 11 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: December 4, 2025

Damnbueno runs his way around the action of Episode 11 of Survivor 49, from a strenuous journey task, to a big-ish move with multiple authors, all setting up a much bigger battle to come next week.

Episode 10: The evolution of a Rizgod

Survivor 49 Episode 10 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: December 1, 2025

Finally, in Episode 10 of Survivor 49, everything clicked. We had a Tribal Council where it looked like all the idols and advantages that had been building up all season would all be played, in a massive blaze of firepower... and it was still surprising.

Episode 10: Pick a side already!

Survivor 49 Episode 10 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: November 27, 2025

As Episode 10 of Survivor 49 finally delivers on the promised postmerge power moves, Damnbueno recaps the action, from tipping tunnels to near toothpick impalement to fake idols as voting guides.

Episode 9: Alex vs. Rizo (reprise)

Survivor 49 Episode 9 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: November 23, 2025

So far, the allegedly 'bananas' postmerge of Survivor 49 has mostly been a series of peels on which various players have slipped, taking themselves out in the process. But Episode 9 at least had a plausible link to a contestant as the peel-placer, rather than the standard deus ex machina procedure of Jeff Probst's bag of rocks.

Episode 9: (Lack of) subtlety will get you nowhere

Survivor 49 Episode 9 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: November 20, 2025

Damnbueno examines the history of new era minority players sticking together, then recaps Episode 9 of Survivor 49, which featured a number of players either overtly or covertly playing both sides. Who achieved their goals (or failed to) most subtlely, vs. brazenly?

Episode 8: How to flip a vote without getting your (producer's) hands dirty

Survivor 49 Episode 8 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: November 15, 2025

Episode 8 of Survivor 49 gave the audience a feel-good, playing-from-the-bottom narrative, or at least it might have if the path to that outcome didn't feel like it had the heavy hand of production on the scales. An exploration of the many ways the outcome felt less contestant-driven, and more pre-ordained.

Episode 8: Wait for sundown, dammit!

Survivor 49 Episode 8 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: November 13, 2025

Damnbueno revisits the history of playing up from the bottom after being left out of the new era merge vote, then recaps the odd split-team reward/immunity challenge, Savannah's advantage, and the shifting dynamics of the random-drawn team vote in Episode 8 of Survivor 49.

Episode 7: Who's the monster now?

Survivor 49 Episode 7 recap/ analysis

By Jeff Pitman | Published: November 10, 2025

The alleged "bananas" postmerge of Survivor 49 did not appear to start with the Episode 7 merge, but we did get to revisit the horror-movie monologue from the premiere, as the narrator flipped the script on his old allies. But is he the "monster," or is someone else?

Episode 7: You remind me of Edgardo

Survivor 49 Episode 7 recap/ analysis

By Damnbueno | Published: November 6, 2025

It's finally the merge in Survivor 49, and Damnbueno evaluates everyone's games so far, then recaps the events of Episode 9, from advantage scrambles to back-to-back challenges, to a secret alliance, to shifting Tribal targets.