"Rizo and Savannah's season": Survivor's Sage shares insight on show's editing

Survivor Season 49's Sage appeared for an interview with Mike Bloom on December 19, 2025. The finalist discussed how the show was edited and her experience at Tribal Council.

Sage noted that the recently concluded finale belonged to Rizo and Savannah. According to her, the show's final edit revolved around their storylines. She also talked about the final votes, jury members' decisions, and more.

Sharing more about the final edit of Survivor Season 49, Sage shared:

"We all went into this season or at least, well, let me speak for myself. I think, and I hope most people went into the season knowing that this was Rizo and Savannah's season. Like it was going to be edited around their storylines and that's...I mean...that's okay, right? Like, they go on to play (Season) 50. I think that's been announced, right?"

Sage added:

"There's so much like, of the game, not just my game, like, of everyone's like, individual game that just wasn't going to be shown for the sake of time, and like, the plot."

Sage opens up about the show's final edit, the final Tribal Council, and more

In her latest interview with Mike Bloom, Sage opened up about her experience on Survivor. She was asked whether it was any different from what was portrayed on television.

In response, she noted that she went into the latest season thinking that it was Savannah and Rizo's season. She was referring to the final edit that was shown to the audience. She felt that everyone's individual game wasn't shown because of the time limits and plot constraints.

"But yeah, I think there's a lot that didn't line up. But that was...that didn't...the inconsistency isn't what led me to stay quiet off of social media. For me, like, I really value self-control," added Sage.

Further, she talked about her OCD and how she struggled with control over many things, including the final edit.

"I had pretty crippling OCD for a large portion of my life, and OCD is all about like, a lack of control. Like, you're trying...you're going through these compulsions through this idea that it will give you some sort of control that is just not real. And the reality is that OCD has control over you."

Survivor's Sage shared that self-control had been a really important journey for her. She noted that there were incidents that didn't make it to the final cut. However, no one had any control over what was shown and what couldn't make it to the final edit.

She noted that despite the final edit, individuals would choose to believe and interpret certain things through their perspectives.

"And like, even though there's some conflicting feelings with this cast, I don't wanna downplay their story or their narrative or their experience because I'm not them. I wasn't in their shoes."

Sage stated that she didn't have any strong opinions on how anybody should have played their games.

She added that it was done and that there was no control over the final edit of the show. Further, Sage talked about how things unfolded at the final Tribal Council and whether any of the jury votes surprised her. She noted that, aside from Jawan, Steven saw the "extent" of her strategic gameplay.

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Paramount+ now streams the recently released Survivor Season 49 Finale featuring Sage, Savannah, and Sophi.

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