This has been a poor season thus far. An uninspiring cast, habitual buff drops, and the elimination of some of the season's more charismatic castaways have all served as snooze buttons to the meat of this season, which will be post-merge. At that point, unburdened by boringly strong tribal alliances, we will see the mettle of this season's cast revealed. This is Survivor, a foolproof formula, and the season will eventually pay off with plenty of legitimate drama. Empathetic characters are starting to overcome the narcissists, in game power and screen time. My power rankings of the remaining castaways are mostly based on how I believe they will perform in the eventual post-merge world, tempered with consideration for the small tribe they're currently with.
Player Power Rankings:
1. Laurel is a talented athletic and social player. She’s
cruising, and she landed on a tribe that seems perfect for her.
2. Jenna was desperate for a tribe swap and got it. Now she’s
on a super-athletic tribe that could go on a run of challenge wins.
3. Wendell was a strange choice for #1 overall, but he’s
outlived his brethren first rounders and sits amongst the points leaders.
4. Kellyn is playing an excellent social game, displaying
empathy for those she’s assassinating. This isn’t the strongest strategic crew,
so she might be able to play an Axis of Evil game with Bradley if she chooses. Kellyn’s
problem is that she’s scored negative one points so far.
5. Michael garnered heroism points with his idol giveaway right
before the swap appeared to bail him out. But he landed in another bad spot and
immediately lost the immunity challenge. Now he’s next on the chopping block. He’s
a strong, hungry player with a lot of game, but has to be docked for his position and that he has yet to score a point.
6. Bradley showed some humility by quickly admitting he
underestimated Michael. “I was dead wrong,” he said. Cocky, yes. Egomaniac, no.
7. Dom got a lot of attention early in his feud with Chris, but
has since been less involved. That’s for the best for him – he needs to lay low
and make his move late.
8. Donathan is making emotional connections with players. There’s
not really much reason to vote him out, so he could last quite a while. He’s off
to a nice start in points.
9. Libby is a dangerous player, but her reputation is that she’s
a dangerous player, making her less dangerous.
10. Sebastian isn't bright or aggressive, but he doesn't attract negative attention and landed on the athletic tribe.
11. Angela is viewed as a maniac, especially by Kellyn, but
seems misperceived by her fellow castaways. She generally seems pretty calm and
rational.
12. Chris is an impressive athlete. If he’s brought along by
smart players who know no jury will vote for him, he could pile up a huge total
through challenges. He should also win Douche of the Season.
13. Desiree survived an immunity challenge choke, but doesn’t
appear to have many strong connections going.
14. Chelsea isn’t distinguishing herself. That doesn’t mean she
can’t hang around for a while, but Final Tribal seems unlikely.
Standings:
A to Z: 46 points
Stephanie(-4 pts)- Wendell (13 pts)
- Libby (12 pts)
- Laurel (13 pts)
- Donathan (12 pts)
Michal & Ben: 31 points
- Wendell (13 pts)
- Jenna (3 pts)
- Laurel (13 pts)
- Sebastian (3 pts)
- Desiree (-1 pts)
SuperDreg: 28 points
- Chelsea (-1 pts)
- Chris (5 pts)
- Chelsea (-1 pts)
- Chris (5 pts)
Phil: 25 points
Brendan(-5 pts)- Dom (13 pts)
- Dom (13 pts)
- Bradley (2 pts)
- Bradley (2 pts)
- Michael (0 pts)
- Michael (0 pts)
- Angela (10 pts)
- Angela (10 pts)
- Desiree (-1 pts)
Doug & Bri: 17 points
Stephanie(-4 pts)- Sebastian (3 pts)
- Donathan (12 pts)
- Kellyn (-1 pts)
James(7 pts)
MoonBee: 16 points
Brendan(-5 pts)- Libby (12 pts)
- Kellyn (-1 pts)
- Jenna (3 pts)
James(7 pts)
