I never really got into Survivor until last season. For my entire life I was convinced it was staged, scripted, and gimmicky. Like when the Bills drafted josh Allen, I’ve never been happier to be wrong. What changed? My girlfriend’s father. He got me into this silly show that I now dream of making it onto one day once I learn to swim. He and I watch it together every Wednesday night. We sit down with our animal crackers, peanut butter filled pretzels, or whatever snack suits us that week. And we watch it like Monday Night Football. I’m excited to see what he thinks of my power rankings, and I’m excited to hear what you think too! Agree or disagree, send me your survivor takes on Twitter. Just click my name (in bold) at the top of the article, and let’s talk tribal!
#1 – DREA
Drea said it herself last week. She’s survivor rich. She’s walking around Fiji with an extra vote, a now activated immunity idol, and an amulet. She also has a pretty strong #1 in Romeo who has already emotionally bonded with her. Ika isn’t the most tight-knit group, but neither are the other tribes, and she managed to find herself from on the outs to in a position of power pretty quickly. Her physical strength, social game, and Survivor currency have her set up for a deep run.
#2 – Hai
We haven’t seen much of Hai since he refused to change his vote from Jenny to Lydia, but that’s just because Vati has only lost one immunity challenge since then, and he spearheaded the effort to vote off Daniel in that tribal council. I’m excited to see how he plays in individual immunity challenges. He has the strongest social game left of anyone on the island, so if he can partner that with some challenge wins, I think he’ll be the most qualified and deserving winner.
#3 – Jonathan
I hate that he’s likely the first person voted off after the merge. He’s already got a huge target on his back as a physical threat, but also a way to break up that tight Taku tribe. But the thing is, he could absolutely coast to the finals by winning every single individual immunity challenge. I’m catching up on my Survivor history and just rewatched Season 2, in which Colby coasted to a second-place finish off of immunity alone. My only knock on his game is that he has to work on his temper just a little bit around Maryanne, who would be very easy to lose it against.
#4 – Mike
Oh, Mike. Mike, Mike, Mike. I have no idea why you proclaimed your love for soccer. Going into the merge with that idol gaining power with no one outside your own tribe knowing would have been an amazing twist that Xander, Naseer, and Shan didn’t even consider last year. I was ready to have him in my top 3, but that, along with voicing his displeasure at the end of last week’s tribal council has me nervous about his prospects this year.
#5 – Tori
Tori is equal parts annoying and manipulative. The way she rolls her eyes is very Brittany Mahomes-esque. But as a therapist, she’s extremely socially aware and was able to turn the tribe on Swati to extend her game. Eventually, Tori will be voted off because someone argues that she’s “smarter than she looks”, and she very much is. I think she can manipulate her way to a deep run, but it won’t be very hard for people to see through it. She’ll need to advocate for her former tribe members to get voted off early if she’s gonna stand a chance. The crazy thing is, I think she pulls it off.
#6 – Lindsay
Being ranked 6th just means that you haven’t rubbed anyone the wrong way. I don’t have a lot of analysis on Lindsay. We haven’t seen a lot from her yet. She’s the lowest-ranked survivor left with an amulet. I’m excited to see if she tries to take an early stab at eliminating Hai or Drea to improve her amulet’s value. But as I said, we haven’t really seen anything come of that yet. Maybe that’ll come into play tonight!
#7 – Maryanne
It seemed like she may get the boot just for being so bubbly and lively. I need to see her settle it down and bit, put that idol to good use, and make friends outside of her tribe. An alliance with the folks below could be pretty interesting, but I feel like she may see her idol as a safety net to the point where she may get overly content with her position. Maryanne and Tori are tied for least likable at this point, but that doesn’t mean they’re least likely to win. That island is a different world than the one we live in.
#8 – Romeo
His social game isn’t up there with Drea and Hai in my opinion, but he’s latched himself to the former, who I believe to be the strongest player in this game. If Romeo can make a deep run and orchestrate a blindside on Drea, that’s the makings of a potential game-winning resume. The only thing that worries me is that he went out of his way to say that it’s his role to make Drea a better player. Romeo. Buddy. You’re not a coach out here in Fiji. You’re a survivor.
#9 – Lydia
Lydia and Lindsay are at very similar points in this game. The only difference is that Lydia had a chance to get an extra vote, perfectly set herself up for it, and blew it. She was lamenting over her position in the tribe and came across as desperate for hope. Rocksroy came across as a fatherly figure even in their conversation where he tried to not give anything away. It would’ve been very easy for her to assume he’d play it safe, seeing her desperation for a boost. She didn’t take the risk, and in Survivor, you need to. I hope that changes because I honestly think she could be really fun down the stretch.
#10 – Chantelle
Risking her vote is what cost the tribe Jenny over Lydia. Then last tribal council she voted for Mike for absolutely no reason in particular. Like Mike, she’s going into the merge without a real alliance. But at least Mike has an idol. Chantelle will have to make friends and make them fast if she wants to make a run to even get to the jury. I think her social game can be strong enough, but she just hasn’t shown us that yet.
#11 – Omar
The luster of our Jonathan/Omar bromance has certainly worn off. Not a physical specimen. Socially awkward. Struggles with puzzles. This is a guy who can make it far as a pawn, but nothing more.
#12 – Rocksroy
It didn’t take him very long to rub his entire tribe the wrong way. I can’t imagine that he’ll fare better socially with any other combination of survivors who are left. Behind Jonathan, Mike, and Drea, he’s the next biggest physical threat, so I feel like he’s a prime candidate for the first post-merge elimination (assuming Jonathan wins immunity).
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