The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Hours before the Survivor 49 finale, Savannah Louie, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophi Balerdi, Kristina Mills, and Rizo Velovic looked back on their games in an interview with Entertainment Weekly. Their answers cover alliances and advantages, difficult stretches on the island, friendships, and who they believed could be tough to beat. Those assessments were made before the finale, not after the jury’s decision.
Dalton Ross’s Entertainment Weekly interview, published December 17, 2025, asks the five remaining contestants to revisit their first 23 days. It ranges from strategic decisions to questions about their lowest moments and favorite interactions away from the game. The interview notes that responses were edited for length and clarity.
How the final five described their strategy
Rizo Velovic: using an idol without playing it
Rizo described working with Savannah and Sophi while holding a public idol. In his account, the idol gave him a way to influence targets while keeping it in his pocket. He summed up his position by saying, “I played with house money.” That is his description of how he approached the game, not an independently verified explanation of why votes went a particular way.
Sophi Balerdi: redirecting votes and planning an advantage play
Sophi recalled trying to redirect votes and planning to use Knowledge Is Power. Her account emphasizes social maneuvering as part of strategy: reading relationships and trying to shape where others’ attention went. The interview captures her intended play and recollection; it does not establish that she controlled other players’ decisions.
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Sage Ahrens-Nichols: the social cost of a vote
Sage spoke about the loss of trusted relationships after the Jawan vote. Her perspective points to a tension in the game: a vote can serve a strategic purpose while also changing whom a player feels able to trust. The interview presents this as Sage’s experience of that moment.
What they remembered beyond the strategy
The off-game answers bring out a different side of life on the island. Contestants recalled laughter, sharing food, receiving letters from home, and forming friendships. Those moments sit alongside the strategic accounts rather than resolving them: people could build genuine connections while still making decisions that put one another at risk.
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Their accounts of the hardest moments
Kristina Mills: feeling alone after two votes
Kristina recalled feeling alone after Alex and MC were voted out. Her answer describes the emotional effect of losing people she had relied on, rather than making a claim about how the rest of the tribe viewed her.
Rizo Velovic: hunger and a disappointing reward challenge
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Savannah Louie: the Nate blindside and earlier work experiences
Savannah connected her reaction to the Nate blindside with difficult experiences in previous jobs. She described feeling “alone, misunderstood, and exiled.” Her comparison was personal context for her reaction, not a general claim that the game and workplace were equivalent.
Sophi Balerdi: an advantage play that did not go as hoped
Sophi recalled disappointment when an attempted advantage play did not unfold as she expected. Her answer reflects the gap between planning a move and being able to make it work in the conditions of the game.
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Who did they think could be hard to beat?
The interview includes the contestants’ views of possible endgame threats, with Steven and MC among the names discussed. These were judgments made by players from their own positions in the game, before the finale. They are not an official ranking of the cast or confirmation of how the jury would have voted.
What the interview offers
The five accounts show how players balanced alliances, advantages, and perceived threats with hunger, isolation, and friendship. Because the conversation took place hours before the finale, it preserves what the contestants thought and felt at that point in the season—not a retrospective explanation shaped by the final result. Read Dalton Ross’s interview at Entertainment Weekly.
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