On the most recent episode of “Survivor 49,” which aired on Wednesday, November 5, the competition heated up as the remaining 11 castaways officially entered the Merge, signaling the start of the individual portion of the game.
While the episode ended with former Marvel Studios executive producer Nate Moore becoming the eighth person voted out of the game – and the first member of the jury – rumors online are now suggesting that two more players could be joining him this week, as some fans believe a dreaded double elimination is set to cut the cast to its final eight castaways on Wednesday, November 12.
Why Do Fans Think a Double Elimination is Coming to ‘Survivor 49’?
Rumors of the supposed double elimination began after CBS dropped the official synopsis for “Survivor 49” Episode 8 earlier this week.
According to the network, the episode – titled “Hot Grim Reaper” – will see the season’s players “set out on a ‘defensive’ idol search” as “one of the game’s toughest antagonists breaks down and shares a side of vulnerability with their tribe mates.”
“Then, the stakes of this week’s individual immunity challenge are raised when group immunity is on the line,” the episode description concluded.
The latter half of the synopsis had led to some disagreement amongst fans, with some believing the group immunity challenge will result in only five of the ten remaining players being eligible for elimination on Wednesday night’s episode.
Meanwhile, other viewers think that the split immunity challenge could be signalling back-to-back Tribal Council ceremonies, with one player from each group being eliminated by the end of the episode.
Are the Double Elimination Rumors True?
While we won’t know which camp of fans is correct until the episode airs on November 12, double elimination episodes have been a staple of “Survivor”s new era.
Earlier this year, during the airing of “Survivor 48,” a post-Merge double elimination saw castaways Sai Hughley and Cedrek McFadden voted off the island after competing in split Immunity Challenges and attending split Tribal Council ceremonies.
The precedent has led some fans to believe that a similar situation will occur on this week’s episode of “Survivor 49.”
Meanwhile, other fans believe that a double elimination is off the cards for the remainder of the season following contestant Jake Latimer’s shocking medical evacuation during Episode 3.
“The number count is thrown off with only 10 people left,” wrote one fan in the comments section of a TikTok video addressing the double elimination speculations. “Only one of the groups is gonna go to Tribal. The other half will be safe.”
Which Castaways Could be in Danger if the Rumors are True?
Despite warring speculations as to whether there will be one or two Tribal Council ceremonies during the upcoming episode, Reddit leaks have (unofficially) confirmed the two groups that will be competing against each other in this week’s Immunity challenge.
The first group will reportedly feature Rizo Velovic, Jawan Pitts, Sage Ahrens-Nichols, Sophie Segreti and Michelle “MC” Chukwujekwu.
CBSIf this group is at risk during Tribal Council, it seems likely that fans will finally see Rizo play his Immunity Idol, especially after Sage and Jawan flipped on their original Uli alliance to eliminate Nate in the last episode.
Alternatively, original Hina members Sophie and MC could be in danger if the Uli alliance is able to mend their differences for a 3-2 vote against either of the women.
Meanwhile, the second group will reportedly contain Savannah Louie, Sophi Balerdi, Alex Moore, Steven Ramm and Kristina Mills.
CBSIf this group is vulnerable at Tribal Council, Alex will likely cast the deciding vote on who goes home. While Savannah has allied herself with Sophi, Steven and Kristina remain close allies from their original Hina tribe. Alex, alternatively, is allied with both Sophi and Steven.
Will Alex honor his original Kele alliance with Sophi? Or his newly formed “Bottoms Up” alliance with Steven? The results, of course, remain to be seen.
Find out what happens when “Survivor 49” returns to CBS on Wednesday, November 12 at 8:00pm ET with Episode 8: “Hot Grim Reaper.”
