Survivor Caramoan: Week 3 Power Rankings

Last Week's Power Rankings

Though it was another interesting episode, I think it didn't reveal a great deal of new information about either tribe. Rather, I feel it reassured things we sort of already knew, such as, Shamar doesn't get along with anybody, Malcolm and Corinne are tight, and Reynold is a vain douche. Some of the highlights and new developments would be Malcolm finding the idol and Andrea trying to replace Corinne with Brandon in their alliance, but other than this, not too much has changed.


GIF of the week:

Line of the week: "It's not normal for me to be surrounded by all these beautiful women who half the time are just wearing their underwear. That's some sort of Freudian picnic I think", John Cochran.

Player of the week: No one really. I suppose I could give it Malcolm for finding the idol.

High Jumps of the week: Brandon Hantz (+3), Dawn Meehan (+2)

Free Falls of the week: Matt Bischoff (-2), Corrinne Kaplan (-2)

18. Hope Driskill (Last Week: 17^th)

As soon as the fans lost that immunity challenge, you had to know things weren't looking good for Hope after the last vote. The only things that could truly save her was Shamar proving to be completely unbearable. While Shamar did his absolute best to make that dream a reality, it just wasn't enough for anyone to want to join the cool kids.

17. Shamar Thomas (Last Week: 16th)

I think you could argue Shamar is the worst social player this show’s ever seen. I've never seen someone on this show so aggressive, antagonistic, impatient, and just plain rude. I suspect a tribe switch or a twist of some sort is coming soon, but if this particular group of fans loses immunity again, it’ll be very hard for Sherri to keep Shamar in the game, because of Reynold and Eddie’s challenge prowess. I think the only way Sherri could keep Shamar around would be to target Laura, but I still don’t see it working. I can’t help but feel that Survivor’s psychologists must be getting more lenient. Shamar touched on some issues he’d been struggling with when he returned from Iraq, but I think it’s very clear he’s still dealing with them. He simply doesn't know how to communicate with people or how to control his temper. And personally, I don’t think Brandon should ever have been brought back, considering how he responded to the game the first time. Brandon was a complete roller coaster the first time and he really struggled with the game, despite spending his entire time in a rather cushy alliance. If he struggled mentally and emotionally as much as he did in South Pacific, how do you think he’s going to respond when you bring him back with a whole bunch of returnees who are ready to play hard?

16. Brenda Lowe (Last Week: 15^th)

I have no idea where Brenda’s head is at. Since voting on the wrong side of the numbers the first time round, we’ve practically heard nothing from her. Weave certainly seen her plenty but we haven’t heard a peep out her. Zero confessionals in these last two episodes, I believe. I predicted in my pre-season analysis that no one would want to work with Brenda because of her reputation as a schemer, and I believe this has turned out to be the case. However, I absolutely could be completely wrong since she’s been a complete enigma these past two episodes.

15. Brandon Hantz (Last Week: 18^th)

Brandon’s stock has definitely gone up this week. Firstly, he had a strong performance in this week’s immunity challenge, Secondly, Andrea and Cochran decided to bring him a little more into the fold and have begun trying to induct him into Stealth R US. If he can keep quiet and not make waves for a while, Brandon may stay around for quite a while.

14. Eddie Fox (Last Week: 13^th)

The clock’s ticking for Eddie. He has to hope Shamar stays volatile and unbearable, because if they don’t get rid of him, Eddie is the most likely player to go next for two reasons. Firstly, because he’s slightly less useful in challenges that Reynold and secondly, he doesn’t have an idol.

13. Erik Reichenbach (Last Week: 14^th)

Erik is very much in the same boat as Brenda. Received no edit and was in the wrong side of the numbers. The reason I have him above her on my rankings is because of his strength in challenges and his more appealing reputation.

12. Reynold Toepfer (Last Week: 12^th)

A man with an idol in his pocket should not be this low in my power rankings, but I feel Reynold has made a number of questionable decisions, most of which seem to come from a lack of patience and his outspoken personality. After Reynold returned from tribal council, he gave his tribe a speech reminiscent of Ozzy, where he told the majority alliance he’s not their friend but they better not get rid of him because he’s so valuable. It was completely unnecessary to tell anyone they better not get rid of him because he's good in challenges, they clearly already know this. When the tribe lost the immunity challenge, he again felt the need to approach Shamar. He’s clearly not going to get along with Shamar, and bickering with him in front of the entire tribe is not an effective way to target someone. He should be approaching people individually and employing a little bit of subtlety. However, Reynold really doesn't seem to be a very subtle guy.

11. Andrea Bhoelke (Last Week: 10^th)

I think Andrea made a big mistake in targeting Corinne this early. She at least should have waited a while longer. The favorites weren't going to tribal council, there was no reason for her to be in such a hurry to rock the boat. And then she went ahead and told Brandon about her plan which I thought was just terrible. You never trust Brandon with information, the man has no filter. When Andrea first played in Redemption, she was viewed as another one of Boston Rob’s “Sheep” and it appears this is affecting her game this time. She’s trying too hard to shake that reputation and all it’s doing is putting her at risk. She nearly got voted out first after playing a little too hard right out the gates, and she clearly didn't learn from that mistake. This was not the time for Andrea to try make a move.

10. Julia Landauer (Last Week: 11^th)

We saw very little from Julia this week, but still more than the past two episodes. I think we can expect Julia to be getting the Purple Kelly/Rick/Whitney/Carter edit this season. The only thing we've learnt about Julia is that she isn't exactly best friends with Shamar, she’s in the majority, and Laura believes they’re tight.

9. Phillip Shepard (Last Week: 9^th)

We didn’t learn much about Phillip this week, other than that he has moves like Magic and Bird. He’s still just being the same goof ball out there.

8. Laura Alexander (Last Week: 9^th)

Laura seems to be one of those people who never has her head out of the game. For many players, this can be a bad thing because it leaves them short sighted and disconnected from their tribemates. Some notable examples would be Eliza Orlins, from Vanuatu and Micronesia, Jamie Newton from Guatemala, Terry Deitz from Exile Island, and Peih-Gee Law from China. Laura however doesn't seem to suffer from this because she’s very perceptive and observant. Also after the majority alliance found out Shamar blabbed to Hope, there was a fear she would vote for Eddie and ruin their plan. I believe Laura was misleading Reynold into aiming their three votes for Shamar so Hope wouldn't save herself and vote Eddie. I believe this because we never saw Laura discussing this possibility with Julia and this would be a logical scene to use as it would help make the vote less predictable. Furthermore, in Rob Cesternino's exit interview with Hope, she says she believes this was Laura's intention. (Interview can be found here)

7. Sherri Beithman (Last Week: 7^th)

If the fans have to go to tribal council again, things are going to get interesting for Sherri, because it will be the first time she’ll have to vigorously campaign for Shamar. Personally, I think it would be in her best interest to get rid of him and try rebuild tribe unity with Reynold and Eddie. In the last Fans versus Favorites  we saw the fans floundering, scrambling, and then ultimately turning on one another. This is why the favorites dominated in Micronesia. Sherri and the other leaders of this tribe need to be encouraging an “us versus them” mentality in the hope of creating greater unity among the fans. Rule 1 of Survivor, There's strength in numbers. The fans simply have to have all their numbers unified going into the merge if any of them want a chance at winning.

6. Matt Bischoff (Last Week: 4^th)

We didn't see much of Matt this week, other than a couple fights with Shamar but that certainly isn't rare. Matt hasn't really done anything wrong for me to put him down two spots, it’s more that after reassessing, I've changed my opinion on the relationship of Michael and Matt. Matt was coming across as the leader of their relationship, but I now think this is more just a result of him being a little more vocal and outspoken.

5. Michael Snow (Last Week: 6^th)

Michael seems to be the only person other than Sherri that’s not getting the Shamar smackdown. This can be attributed to his ability to take a step back and absorb the situation, rather than dominate it like Reynold or Shamar. Many people don’t realise how well versed Michael is to play this game. He’s a real fan with knowledge of the show, He’s physically strong enough to keep around but not too strong that he presents as a threat, he has a career in Public Relations in New York, the most social city in the world, and he grew up on a farm, increasing his value around camp. Some people may disagree with me, but I think being a gay man can really help you in this game. Yes, it can alienate you from the other men, in some scenarios but it almost always brings you closer with the women. The women are almost always more trusting of a gay man, for no good reason. Look at how Todd Herzog used it to his advantage. In the early stage of the game, all the women were very trusting of him very quickly, even though he gave them no reason to trust him.

4. Corinne Kaplan (Last Week: 2^nd)

Things are suddenly looking a lot worse for Corinne, thanks to Andrea. I really don’t know why Andrea feels threatened by Corinne. In Gabon, Corinne proved to be incredibly loyal and in the end was far too willing to go down on a sinking ship. You could see her being close to Malcolm as being an advantage since he has the idol, but I really don’t see him giving it to her, and frankly, he probably shouldn't.

3. Dawn Meehan (Last Week: 5^th)

This possible shake up of Stealth R US would be in Dawn’s favour I believe because she obviously has a better read and a better relationship with Brandon, the person she’s played with before, than with Corinne. As long as Dawn can hold strong, there’s no apparent reason for her to go home for a long time.

2. Malcolm Freberg (Last Week: 3^rd)

It was a very mixed week for Malcolm. Finding the idol is absolutely huge for Malcolm because he proved last time how good he is with it. In Philippines he used this constant threat of his idol so well that in the end, he never even had to use it. On the flip side, His closest ally in Corinne got targeted, and may see a premature elimination. I doubt we’ll see her go any time soon, but nonetheless, it’s never good to be targeted.




1. John Cochran (Last Week: 1^st)

I think replacing Corinne with Brandon in the Stealth R US alliance would hugely benefit Cochran. Both Dawn and Brandon are very close with Cochran yet they are not particularly close with each other, thus putting Cochran in a great position of power. Phillip, Andrea, and Corinne all also seem to be very close with Cochran and ultimately trust him for some bizarre reason. Cochran is one of the most memorable flippers in Survivor history, yet Malcolm seems to be the only person who remembers this. If Cochran can continue to ostensibly be a goofy self-deprecating clown on the surface while quietly analyzing from his brilliant rock throne, he should be able to go very far.

Written by Robert Milner

Credit: CBS

Survivor Caramoan: Week 2 Power Rankings

Last week's power rankings

Player of the week: Sherri Beithman

High jumps of the week: 

Sherri Beithman (+5) Brenda Lowe (+2), Matt Bischoff (+2), Malcolm Freberg (+2)

Free falls of the week:
Dawn Meehan (-3), Reynold Toepfer (-2), Andrea Bhoelke (-2) Michael Snow (-2)

19. Allie Pohevitz (Last Week: 19)

I had her pegged at 19^th last time and sure enough, she was voted out this week. After the fans lost immunity, Allie was always going to be in a bad position. She was the weakest link of a minority alliance in terms of challenge prowess. She got far too close to Reynold on the first night. THE FIRST NIGHT! All these factors put together leave her very threatening while not really offering much to the tribe. Not really a great position to be in, and now there’s only 3 people sitting at the cool table. That’s really not that cool.

18. Brandon Hantz (Last Week: 18)

Brandon, Brenda, and Erik were all on the wrong side of the vote in the first week. At the moment, Brandon could not be taking a worse approach to this situation. When he got back from camp after the vote, he began berating Dawn and wallowing in bitterness. I think it’s interesting to see how Brandon’s responding to being on the outside, because in South Pacific, he was in the majority alliance from day 1. He always had the comfort of majority. If the favourites lose this next immunity, I have no doubt that Brandon will explode, truly going out with a bang as he promised us he will. I can’t entirely explain but I have a bad feeling about Brandon. I wouldn't even be surprised if he hurt somebody before leaving this game. Brandon’s only hope for when the favourites next go to tribal council is if the tribe feels they need to keep the strong challenge competitors.

17. Hope Driskill (Last Week: 16)

I said last week that if Allie were voted off, Hope would be the next fan gone for all the same reasons. However, after Shamar has proven to be such a pain around camp, Hope has a chance to stick around until a little longer. Possibly even until a tribe switch.

16. Shamar Thomas (Last Week: 15)

I don’t think Shamar understands how survivor works. This is a game that ultimately can’t be won by unlikable people. Go ahead and look through every single past winner, not one of them was disliked by the jury. You can be a villain and win, you can make an enemy or two, but if the jury simply doesn’t like you, you cannot win. At the moment, Shamar has one friend, Sherri. If he continues to be as lazy and abrasive as he has been so far, he’ll find himself quickly on his way out, despite his contribution in challenges.

15. Brenda Lowe (Last Week: 17)

We didn't see much of Brenda this episode, but as far as I can tell, it appears she’s recovered quite well from the first tribal council. We saw her showing off some of her moves with Phillip, and we saw her having a few laughs with the tribe. However, it still looks like she can’t shake this reputation from her last season of being a big time gamer and a big time strategist.

14. Erik Reichenbach (Last Week: 14)

Another zero-edit from this week. Erik responded well to last tribal council’s vote, I believe. When Brandon approached him about wanting to get some revenge, he listened and entertained him then didn’t act on it, which was the right way to approach the situation. Frankly, Erik should hope Brandon goes crazy since it will take the target off his back for the moment.

13. Eddie Fox (Last Week: 13)

Eddie’s another fan who I don’t feel has watched much survivor. It’s as if he thinks he can just sort of skate by, have a good time, and then have everything work out for him. Maybe this tribal council will kick him into gear and get him playing. Maybe he needed to be grounded a little more. I don’t suspect he’ll be gone any time soon since though since he’s very useful in the challenges and doesn’t appear to annoy anyone too much.

12. Reynold Toepfer (Last Week: 10)

Reynold seems to be full of big plays, both good and bad. In the first episode, he put together a strong alliance, +1. Then he forgot to recruit enough members for that alliance, -1. Then he got way too friendly with Allie on the first night, -1. Then he brought his tribe from behind to win immunity, +1. This week, he lashed out at Shamar in front of the entire tribe, rather than waiting and approaching everyone individually and targeting him, -1. Then he found the hidden immunity idol, +1 then he forgot to hide it properly -1.

11. Julia Landauer (Last Week: 11)

The only player to have a zero-edit two weeks in a row, and I still don’t really know what to say about her. She’s in the majority, and as far as I know, she isn't ruffling any feathers, so at least she hasn't made any clear mistakes yet.

10. Andrea Bhoelke (Last Week: 8)

Andrea didn't do anything wrong to drop two places, it’s simply that a few others did enough good to overtake her. It seems Andrea’s getting along well with alliance and she responded well to receiving votes in the first tribal council. I still maintain that being targeted early isn't a big concern for Andrea in the near future. Parvati was targeted early in the first Fans versus Favorites, and if Jonny Fairplay hadn't quit (definitely a quit), she most likely would have been the first boot.

9. Laura Alexander (Last Week 9^th)

What I like about Laura is that she really has her head in the game. She’s constantly got an eye on everyone, observing and absorbing what’s happening around her, and that’s a great skill to have in Survivor. I was impressed when she spotted Reynold’s “bulge”. I’m undecided though whether it was a good move to bring it up at tribal council. Personally, I think I would have held onto the information for a little longer, and waited until it benefited me a little more. Laura’s only real concern in the near future is physical strength. If she proves to be useless in challenges, her tribe may figure she’s expendable, but with Hope still around and Shamar still causing waves, I don’t see this being an issue.

8. Phillip Shepard (Last Week: 7^th)

Phillip is a delusional socially unskilled weirdo with an overly active imagination. He has these bizarre fantasies of spies and secret covert missions that are reminiscent of recess in primary school. But despite all this, I don’t think you can deny its helping build unity among his alliance. As silly as these nicknames are, it’s effective in the way it helps give everyone from his alliance a purpose, a sense of inclusion, and a shared goal. It makes Phillip look ridiculous and I still don’t think he can ever win this game, but I’m thoroughly convinced he can make it to the end again.

7. Sherri Beithman (Last Week: 12^th)

Sherri has proven to be a big time player all of a sudden, and I’m thoroughly impressed. Sherri is the designated older lady of this tribe, and typically the older lady, will be useless in challenges, not have any strategy, and possibly have a break down some time in the first week. But Sherri’s done none of this, she’s thriving out on the island. She’s proven to be competent in challenges, she’s playing Shamar beautifully, she’s being a leader in her alliance without dominating anyone, and she’s the only fan getting along well with absolutely everybody. I think Sherri’s secured her spot for quite some time and at the moment, she’s playing well enough to be a potential winner.

6. Michael Snow (Last Week: 4^th)

Based on what we saw this week, it looks like Michael may not be the leader of his alliance with Matt. It appears he’s taking just a little bit more of a passenger seat. Whether this will help or hinder him, I don’t know, we’ll have to see. Either way, Michael’s in a good position now and I think he’s one of few fans we can assume will go far.

5. Dawn Meehan (Last Week: 2^nd)

Dawn’s little sulk session after tribal was a small reminder of how emotional she can be. Sure, Brandon was being a little tough on her, but there was no reason to cry about it. The last time Dawn played, she really didn't make it that far, which leads me to believe that perhaps she’s not cut out for the emotional strain of 39 days of this game. Nonetheless, I have faith in Dawn, and if she can keep it together, she’s posed to make it deep in this game.

4. Matt Bischoff (Last Week: 6^th)

Wow, this guy has taken me by surprise. Based on his pre-game interviews, I had him pegged as a potential first boot, but I was so wrong. I thought his sensitive side, his interests, and his appearance would alienate him from the rest of his tribe, but so far he’s been received very well from everybody (except Shamar). Of the 6 ‘misfits’, he’s been the one working the best with the cool kids, and it looks as though he’s in the driver’s seat of his alliance.

3. Malcolm Freberg (Last Week: 5^th)

It’s now clear Malcolm’s very much in the thick of his alliance. I would say he’s officially past the stigma of Russel. He appears to be getting along swimmingly with everyone from his alliance. If I were to guess, I’d say he’s trying to appear as though he was just a popular physical threat from his last season, rather than a big time gamer. So far, I’d say everyone has taken the bait, and it really helps that he has the look to go with it. Not to mention, Malcolm is playing Phillip so perfectly, exactly the same way he did to Russel Swan. Let him take that leadership role that he wants so badly, and let him take all the bullets along the way, while Malcolm comes out unscathed.

2. Corinne Kaplan (Last Week: 2^nd)

Not much has changed for Corinne since last week. She’s still in the thick of her alliance, and she still hasn't had any confrontations. Really, I don’t think there’s much more I can say.

1. John Cochran (Last Week: 1^st)

Everything I've just said of Corinne, can be repeated about Cochran. Still his only real concern is his lack of physical contribution. He didn't do anything wrong to have his number 1 spot taken, but a number of people are creeping on him.

Survivor: Caramoan - Week One Power Rankings

20. Francesca Hogi

Francesca made the exact same mistakes as she did last time. She played way too hard right out the gate. I said in my pre-season assessment that if the favorites lost the first immunity challenge, she would be in a very disconcerting position. She should have approached the scenario with a calm and collected demeanour and tried to fly under the rader, a la Malcolm. Instead, she targeted Phillip, which was clearly a decision motivated by personal feelings. Moreover, she then began talking about splitting the votes in case Phillip has an idol. She should have approached the other favorites and told them, “I don’t know why they brought me back, this might as well be my first time playing, you know this game better than me, you call the shots and I’ll follow your lead”. Instead, She caused way too many waves for someone who was clearly on the chopping block. Essentially, her fear of being the first boot, was what caused her to be the first boot, yet again. Well, Francesca, I’m waiting…

(Credit: CBS)

19. Allie Pohevitz

Things are really looking bad for Allie, and I don’t think she knows it. Not only has she formed a minority alliance, but she’s now been getting involved in some “jungle love” with the tribe’s most alpha of alpha males, Reynold. She’s the least physically equipped of the entire ‘cool lunch table’/’mean girls’ alliance who are seemingly yet to comprehend basic arithmetic. Perhaps they believe they’re cool enough to get two votes? Unless Michael and Matt decide to swing to this alliance, Allie and Hope are sure to be picked off. Eddie and Reynold however, are arguably the tribe’s best physical competitors and would definitely be safe for some time. I don’t think Michael and Matt will align with  the cool kids though because they would always be at the bottom of that alliance.

18. Brandon Hantz

(I will be talking about next episode’s preview in Brandon's ranking so read on at your own risk)

This man has no hope now that he’s on the wrong side of the numbers. He would never have gotten so far last time had he not lucked into a day 1 alliance. Considering how early it is in the game, and how malleable the current alliances appear to be, you would think Brandon has plenty of wiggle room to seed his way back into this game. However, if you saw the preview for the next episode, it appears Brandon has taken the single worst and most childish approach imaginable. As the tribe returns to camp after the vote, Brandon tells Erik how he’s feeling “a little revengeful” and how he feels like going “Russel Hantz style”. I’m not going to explain why this is a bad move, I don’t need to.

17. Brenda Lowe

I felt as though Brenda was in a bad situation going into this season, and first impressions suggest no differently. She found herself on the wrong side of the numbers, and as far as I could tell, it seemed as though no one was interested in playing too closely to her. In her first season, she was a dangerous player, reminiscent of Parvati, and there isn’t much in the world of Survivor that is more dangerous than Parvati playing Fans versus Favorites. If Brenda can continue to play a smart low-key game, she’ll be able to outlast Brandon, and perhaps Cochran or Corinne, depending on how badly the favorites feel they need challenge strength. That may be long enough to survive the merge or a tribe switch. However, when there is a change in tribes, that target on her back isn’t going to magically disappear.

16. Hope Driskill

If Allie is the Fans’ first boot, expect Hope to follow right after. She may be able to save an extra vote based on her physical strength but frankly, I really don’t know who the weak links on the fans tribe are just yet. It is definitely in her best interest to not get too close to Eddie.

15. Shamar Thomas

Shamar came out of the gates exactly the way I expected him to. He’s a real hot-head, far too honest and aggressive, and most importantly uncompromising. In Survivor you need to be willing to compromise, take a step back and observe for a moment. Shamar does none of this, he has no filter, and ultimately I can absolutely see this being his demise. However, if he can recover, and learn quickly, he may be able to make it far.

14. Erik Reichenbach

Of all the favorites in the minority alliance, Erik has the strongest chance to survive until a merge or tribe switch. Firstly, he’s not going to self-destruct like Brandon. Secondly, he’s more valuable in challenges than Brandon or Brenda. Thirdly, Erik has a lot of experience with being on the wrong side of a vote, and he has quite a talent for damage control.

13. Eddie Fox

So far, Eddie has shown very little knowledge of how survivor works. It seems he’s either naïve enough to believe this game is easy and he’ll just stroll his way to the end, or he’s not particularly concerned with how well he does and this is more of an adventure for him. Personally, I’m inclined to believe it’s the latter, which frustrates me to no end. I have no real quarrel with people who are bad at survivor, you can’t fault people on that, but I can’t stand people who don’t try their hardest when they’ve been given this opportunity. Eddie needs to realise this isn’t ‘The Real World’, this is ‘Survivor’.

12. Sherri Beithman

Invisible player #1. I can’t really say much about Sherri, and that’s why she’s very much in the middle of the pack. She’s a very big fan, and she understands the game, but frankly I haven’t heard a word from her. All I know is that she’s begun to work an alliance with Julia, Laura, and Michael.

11. Julia Landauer

Invisible player #2. Again, I really can’t say much about Julia for all the same reasons as Sherri. The only reason I’ve put her ahead of Sherri is because she seems physically stronger, and Sherri is the designated older lady for this tribe, though she does seem to be somewhat young at heart. Funnily enough, Julia strikes me as somewhat old at heart, which may be to her advantage seeing as she’s only 21 (20 at the time of filming).

10. Reynold Toepfer

Reynold is clearly a smart, likable, well-spoken, natural leader. He should be higher on this list, but I feel uneasy about him. I think he’s stepped too much into the leadership role too quickly. He’s putting a big target on his back for when the merge comes. Moreover, I think his ego is going to stop him from ever even seeing the danger he’s in. I suspect Reynold will be blindsided early in the merge, possibly even with an idol in his pocket.

9. Laura Alexander

Laura seems very perceptive and very aware of the social dynamics surrounding her. She also seems to be well spoken and likable enough. It’s hard to go into any great deal about how competent a player she is because she also recieved a somewhat invisible edit this first episode. Her biggest concern in the imminent future is her challenge competence. It’s still too soon to say how good she is in challenges but as long as she can avoid any woeful challenge performances, she should be able to go far.

8. Andrea Boehlke

I don’t see the votes Andrea received last night being too big an issue. She escaped the tight vote, and now she’s sitting in what seems to be quite a stable majority alliance. I really think Andrea has a much better head on her shoulders this season. She came in and immediately played strategically albeit a little too aggressively. Hopefully this scare in the first tribal council will remind her to play a little bit more poised.

7. Phillip Sheppard

I really don’t know what to say about Phillip. Some people say he played very well this first episode. I however, think he was playing way too hard to begin which was why Erik didn’t want to work with him. I really do feel his alliance would have flipped on him if he wasn’t the goat to end all goats. Nonetheless, since they have not flipped on him, he’s undeniably sitting in a good spot for now.

6. Matt Bischoff

I was most thoroughly pleasantly surprised by Matt in the first episode. I’ll willingly admit I misread him based on his pre-game interviews and bio. It’s just when someone shows up on survivor covered in ink, claiming he looks up to Rupert, and has a rather phallic beard, I don’t get the best first impression. However, Matt has been most impressive. He’s proven to be a hard worker and he’s done a better job of connecting with his tribe mates than I expected. I thought he would have trouble bonding since he does come across as a bit of a misfit. Perhaps most impressive was how well he handled himself when Shamar was attacking him. I believe Matt and Michael could become a most unsuspecting force to be reckoned with.

5. Malcolm Freberg

He is the new kid on the block, shrouded by the stigma of Russel. Malcolm found himself in a very unique and precarious position heading into this season. I think he managed it absolutely perfectly though. For a big time player, he flew under the radar seamlessly, gave the tribe no additional reason to fear him, and showed just how valuable he was in the challenges. If he can keep cool and not Russel anyone’s jimmies, he should be golden for quite a while. I’ll see myself out now.

4. Michael Snow

I expected Michael Snow to be most impressive of all the fans and thus far, he has not disappointed. Much like Laura, he’s very perceptive and aware. However, Michael seems to have his head a little more in the game so far. He’s seeing things from both sides and analysing the information. I expect him to lay low for some time, and then be willing to make that decisive move to put him in a very strong position. Timing is critical in Survivor and as a big fan, he seems to recognise this. I see a bright future for Michael. Am I the only person getting a Richard Hatch vibe from him?

3. Corinne Kaplan

So far, Corrine has been one of the most impressive returnees. The self-proclaimed bitch has been very friendly and personable early on. Along with Cochran, I think she may be one of the most well received players within the tribe. I think the dominatrix has fit herself most comfortably within the new STEALTH R US alliance. Her only concern is if the favorites continue to lose immunity, she’ll quickly become expendable.

2. Dawn Meehan

(I will be talking about next episode’s preview in this ranking so read on at your own risk)

One half of what is currently the strongest alliance this season. It seems as though Dawn and Cochran are inseparable when it comes to survivor. The two found themselves wonderfully in between two alliances of 4 and ultimately decided to join  Phillip, Corinne, Malcolm, and Andrea who now hold a 6-3 majority over Erik, Brenda, and Brandon. My only concern in regard to Dawn is that in preview for next episode, we see her crying and possibly having a breakdown. The preview was unclear as to the context of the event, but luckily for Dawn, it would appear she was crying in private. Never cry in public in Survivor. Never.

1 . John Cochran

I never would have suspected, but Cochran has a little swagger this time around. Just a little though. Last time, Cochran’s biggest problem was his lack of confidence and insecurities. This time around he seems to be using his self-deprecating humour to his advantage. He’s appearing to be the same old jester who’s just along for the ride, but behind the scenes, he has his head in the game, and ultimately put that final nail in Francesca’s coffin. He has cemented himself very well within his alliance. He is Corinne’s and Dawn’s closest ally, and is definitely getting along favourably with the other members. Much like Corinne, Cochran has to hope his tribe can pull together for a few wins, otherwise, his tribe mates will quickly realise he’s the weak link.


Robert Milner.

References:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/cast/