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. Most importantly, Rizo articulated what he was going to do: "I'm kind of here [at Tribal Council] to put on a show, and just kind of showcase what I'm here to do on Survivor. I feel like this is genuinely where the game is played, and this is where the game's won and lost." And then he did that.

Rizo was already the center of attention at Tribal Council because of his longtime not-hidden immunity idol, and he managed to simultaneously: (1) Still not play it, at the fourth Tribal Council since he publicly brandished it, and even more impressively, (2) came up with a brand-new, inventive use for a fake idol - using it to gauge reactions, which told him whether or not he needed to play his real one. It looked enough like the real one that people probably gave away whether playing a real idol for Savannah would have scuttled their plans. It's somewhat similar to what Rachel did with her Shot in the Dark in Survivor 47, but it's an evolution of the game, nonetheless.

In doing that, we've seen a dramatic elevation of Rizo's gameplay across the past three Tribal Councils. In Episode 8 (the split Tribal Council), he was the person who pushed to target MC, but it was likely that Jawan and Sage were at least partially swayed by an immune Savannah showing up, and announcing she would also be voting (Jawan's exit interview with Mike Bloom confirms this suspicion). That made any kind of MC/Rizo (or Sophie/Rizo) split vote foolish, and the pendulum swung solidly on MC. (Rizo still took credit for it in the next episode, but even he seemed somewhat surprised it went that smoothly.) In the next episode, Rizo put in the hard footwork of turning everyone against Alex, then pushed for his elimination. It went through, but this is just basic Survivor gameplay, even if well-executed. But Episode 10's move really put Rizo and Savannah in the ultimate power position in the game. It's like a Pokémon evolution line: Lv. 1-8: Rizo -> Lv. 9: Rizgood -> Lv. 10: Rizgod. (I know that some people find Rizo irritating, mostly because he's been doing the Rizgod thing all season, but for my money, he's at least starting to get there.)

Having said that, making such a bold move at Final 8 has historically been pretty risky. On the one hand, Rizo still has his idol, so he's probably safe for one more round. On the other hand, everyone else now has a clear-cut reason to vote him out (his fireworks show in Ep.10), and three more votes in which to do that. The person he's most at risk from is his current ally, Sophi, who can steal his idol at either the very next (Final 7) Tribal, or the one after that (Final 6). Rizo currently has no idea she can do that, and from the very beginning, Sophi has listed Rizo's idol as one of her possible targets. Now it's the only one left. (At least until one is re-hidden next episode.)

Where do we go from here? We've been promised a "bananas" endgame, so I'm going to assume Sophi does end up using her Knowledge is Power advantage correctly, and probably against Rizo. After this massive build-up to both the KiP AND Rizo's unplayed idol, it's the only outcome that feels right. We'll probably also see more of the Savannah-(yellow) Sophie rivalry for challenge supremacy, and I'm guessing that'll eventually drive a wedge between their recently hatched alliance. So there's still a path for someone like Steven or maybe even Sage to get to the end. Maybe.

A good ending does a lot to elevate fan opinion of a season. S16: Micronesia has a depressing pre-merge, with a notorious villain like Fairplay and beloved stars like Yau-Man and Penner leaving relatively quickly, dismal weather driving a clear disparity in camp situations (the Favorites had a comfy cave; the mostly anonymous "fans" were just drenched and miserable), and after the swap, one tribe always losing. It was like a mix of S5: Thailand and S14: Fiji, just with Cirie's charm to make it palatable. But all anyone remembers are the Ozzy blindside and the Erik necklace handoff. Two massive Tribal moves, both in the post-merge, both masterminded by Cirie, who is then promptly screwed by a surprise switch back to a Final Two. Triumph and tragedy in the last few episodes, and that's what sticks with you afterwards.

So while most of this season has been generally okay (once we made it past the disaster tribe Kele stage), if it becomes great at the end, that's probably how we'll remember it. So while we only have three episodes left, there's still time.

My kingdom for an all-new challenge

Jeff Probst talked about the "months of planning" before the IC to design and prepare the challenge ... which had a whopping two new elements out of four (teeter-tube, pole with discs - these were the new ones - plus carrying stuff over a see-saw, and a logo puzzle). The reward challenge also had a "brand new" element, the oversized ball-and-cup toy/tetherball mechanism at the end. The new elements were fine (the teeter-tubes look kinda fun, to be honest), but the underlying challenge structure was exactly the same across both challenges, as it has been over just about every challenge: An obstacle, another obstacle, then another obstacle, then a puzzle or a skill test. We've had 11 tribal or team challenges so far this season. Of those, a whopping ten have fit that formula. The only exception was "Chimney Sweeps," a classic individual challenge that was repurposed as a team one. (In a fairly janky way, but thanks for trying, I guess?)

In the olden days of Survivor, there wasn't this homogenized uniformity. Just look back at S16: Micronesia. Tribal challenges ranged from "Smash and Grab" to "Nut Bucket" to the very inventive first IC that had tribes building and breaking down a cart. Individual challenges ranged from classics like "Get a Grip" and "When It Rains" to shooting targets and a Survivor trivia challenge! (Which reminds me: Some variation on the logo-sorting task Hunter failed at in S46 would be a fantastic challenge, or at least element.)

It was nice that the individual IC at least required movement. There was a period (roughly S29: San Juan del Sur to the mid-30s) where almost every individual IC was a stand-in-one-place balance/endurance challenge. That was also boring. But that's the point: there isn't one type of "good challenge" that can just be endlessly repeated, with slight variations. It's the breadth of variety in types of challenges that helps keep things fresh for the audience. On occasion, even the now-standard obstacle-obstacle-puzzle/skill thing is fine, as long as it's not *every* challenge. We don't need every challenge to be a complicated slice-and-dice of four prior challenge elements. Simpler can be better. Old standbys can be brought back, if the problem is "Ugh, but we've already thought up every possible challenge!" How can it be that it's been over 25 seasons since the last "By the Numbers" (a tribe of people passing each other on a beam over water)? You didn't let "but it was on One World, ew" keep you from bringing Colton back. And if all else fails, just steal some of the fun Australian Survivor ones.

Something is broken here, but it's not the players

Kristina's emotional breakdown before the RC - anguish at the combined pressures of being on the bottom and just having been betrayed by people she trusted, all while starving on a game show and still grieving for her mother - was a touching, authentic expression of someone reaching their breaking point. It was great to see the host and all her fellow competitors lift her up and support her in the moment, help her get back on track, and she returned that love with a ferocious effort in the subsequent challenge. Having said that: This was also the fifth time we've seen someone utterly, publicly shattered in the last four seasons. While talking Kristina back into game mode before the RC, Jeff Probst said: "The game of Survivor is the lure, that's what gets you here. But the experience you get while playing the game is the real prize."

This reads like a mission statement for new era Survivor. It's not about the game anymore. It's not about entertaining the audience. It's about breaking down the players such that when they finish the game, however it ends for them, they have a sense that they pushed through something. Which is weird, because that's something every past player already said about the first 40 seasons, but apparently now they've ratcheted up the pressure because production was terrified someone, somehow, might miss out on crashing out.

This has been clear whenever Probst discusses what he likes about the new era. He likes seeing people break down, whether it's Bhanu or Liz in Survivor 46 or Andy in Survivor 47 (to be fair, this was more of a fluke dehydration event) or Eva in Survivor 48 or now Kristina. Probst rates Eva's breakdown (and Joe's stepping in to comfort her) in S48 as one of the best moments in the show's history. You can see why as the showrunner/host he'd feel that way: Extreme emotional outbursts in public are pure, raw human emotion, and as he approaches his 50th season with the show, his grasp on recognizing that seems increasingly tenuous. As a bonus, these moments are also real-time feedback that he's finally pushed enough buttons - taking away the players' food source (rice), taking away their flint, putting in enough rock-draw based randomness that no matter how strategically sound your game might be at the moment, a production twist could flip that on its head at a moment's notice. Way back in S26: Caramoan (I think), I called him (mostly joking?) a "lachrymal vampire," someone who feeds on other people's tears. That was back when he seemed to be drawing some kind of weird sustenance from seeing players weep for joy when greeting their loved ones. With loved ones gone forever now, what's replaced it is something much darker. This is making people hurt on purpose, in hopes of generating ~drama~.

The problem with this "Trust the process, everyone must suffer" mantra is that the group the show leaves out of that equation is the audience. Which is a problem, because the real world is an absolute shithole right now. Our government is calling in missile strikes on random fishing boats, people are being abducted off the streets by masked thugs and sent to torture prisons because of the color of their skin, and the US military is being deployed against its own citizenry. TV is supposed to be an escape from the world's ills, not a grim reminder that everything is terrible. I know Jeff Probst would answer: "Yes, people are broken to their core ... but then they get better!" But that's not the same. I don't like watching people suffer for no reason. I especially don't like the idea that they are intentionally being physically depleted because that might produce some dramatic moment later on that might cause viewers to look up from their phones momentarily. Call me old-fashioned, but I don't think it's a good idea to intentionally starve people, and I don't think it makes it all "worth it" if someone collapses physically or emotionally because of that. Even when they get back up again.

Survivor is a lot of things, but at its most basic, it is supposed to be a fun adventure with big characters. By the nature of the game itself, it's also a devious, paranoia-inducing experience, and that should be *enough* of a test for the participants. As SurvivorAU and SurvivorSA have amply demonstrated time and again, you can have highly entertaining seasons of Survivor even when everyone has food and fire/shelter. If anything, providing those basic needs amplifies the creativity. Taking things away only puts people on edge, poised to break down. And if international Survivor is just too challenging (yikes! ACCENTS!) you could just look back at US Survivor: Twenty years later, S7: Pearl Islands is still really good!

In the past, every season had a "journey player," someone who grew from the experience, found reserves of grit they didn't know they had, but didn't win. And that was great; good for them. But that wasn't the only type of character. Often the winner is someone who seems comfortable the whole way, able to deftly roll with the punches and emerge unscathed. They are often surrounded by noble warriors, hilarious jesters, scheming villains, charming rogues, bombastic hypocrites, or people who are combinations of some or all of the above. New era Survivor, in contrast, seems designed to turn *every* player into a journey player. In the same way that every challenge is now some variation on obstacle-obstacle-puzzle/skill, why would any viewer be interested in seeing every character be a homogeneous blend of 50% pain and 50% perseverance, with no other attributes? Did the COVID pause really cook the brains of everyone in charge of this show so much that they forgot everything they'd learned in the first two decades?

The land of tepid takes

Where nothing extra happens: "For the first time this season, you'll be taken to the Sanctuary" [contestants gasp]. Why? The difference between this episode's "trip to the Sanctuary" food reward and last episode's food reward was ... it was at the Sanctuary. It's not like there was an advantage hidden there. There were no special accoutrements. There were no letters or videos from home. They didn't stay there overnight. It was just a named location, versus some random beach in Fiji. What's the point, apart from it being a place that's been used in other seasons, somewhat more memorably? Jeff Probst: "I don't recall saying 'where good things happen.' That was Kristina that said that. My hands are clean."

Bruh, give it a rest: The price of playing new era Survivor is that you don't get to eat most days, because Jeff Probst is convinced that other people suffering leads to Emmys for him, despite all the available evidence of the past five years. Kudos to the cast for stiff-arming his attempt to resurrect the rice "negotiation." He demanded three sit-outs in an eight-person challenge, in exchange for a very small bag of rice. When the contestants tried to actually negotiate, he refused to budge. Sigh. Apparently he's so disappointed he may not give the contestants rice at all, even in exchange for immunity sit-outs! So many eye-rolling sighs.