The most recent episode of “Survivor 49” has been praised as the season’s best installment to date following a jaw-dropping, nail-biting blindside that sent castaway Jawan Pitts packing as the fourth member of the Jury.
While the chaotic Tribal Council ceremony also saw castaway Savannah Louie successfully use her extra vote to pull off the unpredictable elimination, as well as Rizo Velovic’s masterful fake Idol play, which allowed him to hold onto his very real, very public Immunity Idol for yet another week, CBS has since revealed additional information about the November 26 episode showing that contestant Sophi Balerdi was instrumental in helping her alliance blindside Jawan while simultaneously flushing Kristina Mill’s Immunity Idol.
Sophi Balerdi Carries Out ‘Invasion of Privacy’ in Deleted Scene
During the episode, contestants Sophi B. and Sophie Segreti were seen having a discussion ahead of Tribal Council wherein Segreti admits that she thinks Kristina might have an Idol in her possession.
Robert Voets/CBSWhile the episode showed viewers the moment where the two women informed Savannah and Rizo of their suspicions about Kristina’s potential Idol, a deleted scene released by CBS after the episode aired showed what happened in the moments after the quartet’s conversation.
In the deleted scene, Sophi B. hatches a plan to search Kristina’s bag while she’s away from camp to confirm whether or not she has the Hidden Immunity Idol in her possession. While Segreti keeps watch, Sophi B. rifles through Kristina’s belongings, leaving no sock, stone, or secret unturned until she successfully locates the Idol.
“When Sophie gives me the information that Kristina might have an idol, I thought it was a good idea to do a little snooping,” Balerdi says in the deleted scene. “I go into her bag, I look everywhere. I’m like, throwing her pants around.”
While searching through another player’s bag isn’t technically against the rules on “Survivor,” Balerdi admits to Segreti that the action feels like “an invasion of privacy.”
Sophi’s Snooping Ultimately Led to Jawan Pitts’ Blindside
After discovering that Kristina did, in fact, have a Hidden Immunity Idol stashed in her bag, however, Balerdi amends her statement, saying, “It was an invasion of privacy, but it was an invasion that had to happen.”
Though Balerdi, Segreti and their allies Rizo and Savannah were unable to confirm the Idol’s authenticity, they claimed that the knowledge gave them “enough room for suspicion to alter our plans for tonight.”
While the quartet had originally planned to cast their votes for Steven Ramm, whom Kristina ultimately played her Idol for at Tribal Council, they used their knowledge of Kristina’s advantage to shift the votes to Jawan instead, sending him to join castaways Nate Moore, MC Chukwujekwu and Alex Moore on the Jury.
Check out the full deleted scene here, and find out which of “Survivor 49”s seven remaining castaways joins the jury next when the season returns to CBS on Wednesday, December 3 at 8:00pm ET.
