Why I haven't written my weekly power rankings for the past three weeks
To anyone who’s wondering,
for the past three weeks I’ve stopped writing my weekly power rankings for two
reasons. Firstly, I began to feel as though writing these rankings weekly was
somewhat pointless considering that for some many players, we’ll see very little
of from week to week. Secondly, I recently returned to University for a new
semester and for a few weeks, I was slack as I was adjusting to my new
schedule. In summary, now that my favourite part of this game, the merge has
finally come, I will return to writing my weekly power rankings. And now for
the part that some people actually care about:
Player of the Week:
Gif of the Week:
The Rankings
12. Corinne Kaplan
Since the tribe swap,
we’ve seen the feud between Corinne and Phillip reach fever pitch. It was clear
that once the merge came, these two would be going after each other soon enough.
Corinne did a fantastic job this week of getting herself voted out. She made
two huge mistakes that sealed her fate. Firstly, she tried to convince Phillip
not to split the vote between the big fish, Reynold and Eddie. She should have
recognised it was possible some recruits of the “Brolliance” may have been
playing both sides, and if “Stealth R Us” were to split their vote, the “Brolliance”
would still have the numbers to get rid of Sherri. Secondly, she let Dawn in on
the plan. She knows Dawn has a close bond with Cochran and she should have
known that Dawn would repeat this information to her number 1 ally.
11. Eddie Fox
Eddie and Reynold have
been attached at the hip this whole season. The two are more or less in the
exact same position within the tribe’s social structure. The preview for this
week’s episode is hinting at a showmance between Andrea and Eddie but the
previews can be so misleading. Frankly, I wouldn’t really have paid any
attention to it if Jeff hadn’t previously stated there’s a showmance within
this season. If ‘Stealth R Us’ notice a budding romance, it could help Eddie
get in their good graces, but it’s much more likely to just put a big ol’
bullseye on his back. Eddie, you have Rob & Amber to blame for that.
10. Reynold Toepfer
Reynold is your archetypal
early merge boot. He’s a huge immunity threat, he’s on the wrong side of the
numbers, and he’s a pot stirrer. He does have a few things going for him
though. He has a hidden immunity idol, and he is very capable of winning
individual immunity. However this merged group is one of the most physically
capable ever to be seen I believe. Considering the size of this merged group
and the competition he’s up against, an immunity run is near impossible.
Reynold’s only real hope of making it deep is a polarizing rift within the
majority alliance. Considering how fragile and malleable the majority alliance is,
the mental state of Phillip, and the budding romance of Eddie and Andrea. There
are a number of possible avenues for recovery but Reynold will have to be extremely
perceptive if he is to capitalise on any of them.
9. Phillip Shepard
Phillip’s in the majority
alliance and simply should not be this low in my power rankings but I believe
he’s the only person in the game who already has lost any chance of winning.
Socially, he has played so poorly that I believe there is no final 3 or final 2
scenario where he can win. At this point, he has already made too many enemies
and lost the respect of too many players to ever receive enough votes to win
the game. Of course, we’ve seen enemies become great friends in this game, and
people have regained respect from their tribemates in very short time spans,
but Phillip’s idea of damage control leaves much to be desired, and I don’t
believe he has any chance of navigating his way into a winning position.
8. Michael Snow
Of the four members of the
‘Broliance’, Michael is perceived to be the least threatening because he’s the
smallest physical threat and he’s the least ‘bro-ish’. Furthermore, with Corinne, Julia, and Matt now
gone, he has no allies left and therefore no power left. For now, he is extremely
unthreatening. I also believe he’ll be able to work his way into favour with a
number of members of the majority alliance. His relationship with Sherri was
always positive, he can appeal to Dawn and Andrea’s sensitive side, and he can
appeal to Cochran, Brenda, and Phillip’s intellectual side. His biggest concern
is how much Phillip, Cochran, and Dawn will take it to heart that he
effectively flipped on them. I suspect that with enough time and damage
control, Michael may be able to repair those relationships. In summary, Michael
is the best situated of the minority alliance to be taken along for the ride.
7. Malcolm Freberg
If Malcolm’s plan had
worked and his core had come out with the numbers, Malcolm would be sitting so
clearly at number 1 in my rankings without any signs of anyone looking nearly
as golden as him. But instead, he’s in a minority alliance and he’s lost his
closest ally, Corinne. Malcolm could be targeted next if ‘Stealth R Us’ are
feeling particularly vengeful and hurt by his betrayal, but I don’t suspect
they will because he can place a great deal of the blame on Corinne and I don’t
think they can deny he was on the outside of that alliance. I believe the
majority alliance will target Reynold and Eddie before Malcolm simply because
they know Malcolm better and would feel they have a better relationship and a
better read on him. Combine this with his idol, his knowledge of Reynold’s
idol, his social charm, and strategic acumen, and Malcolm may just be able to
wheel and deal a new majority alliance with whatever cards are left in the
game. Malcolm has a lot of recovering to do now, but I believe he’s the best
suited to forge a comeback like this of anyone out there on the island.
6. Sherri Beithman
Sherri was in a terrible
position going into the tribe switch and she should consider herself very lucky
to have been put on a switched tribe that was so strong at challenges. Now that
the merge has come and she voted with the majority, we can suspect she’ll be
safe for a few more weeks at least. However, I doubt she’s in anyone’s final 3
plans and she has no close ally within her new alliance. She has bought herself
a little more time in the game now though and perhaps she’ll be able to weave
her way a little closer into the fold.
5. Erik Reichenbach
Erik turned out to be a
swing vote last night and I think he made what was probably the right decision
for him personally. He had the opportunity to go with the other athletes but
ultimately chose to stick with ‘Stealth R Us’. Though Erik may not have any
strong alliances with anyone, I believe he’s well situated to go deep in this
game. If they allow him to get anywhere near final 3, he has a very good chance
to go on an immunity streak when his competitors include Cochran, two old
ladies, an injured Brenda, and a tubby lunchbox.
4. Brenda Lowe
Brenda recorded her seventh
consecutive episode without a confessional this week, setting a Survivor
record. The Survivor production crew have turned her into a non-entity out
there and frankly, I don’t understand why at all. In Nicaragua, she was a total
schemer with a great social game. Brenda is very perceptive and very
intelligent. I’m certain she’s had a lot to say about the game so far, and I’m
certain she’s been calculating and planning too, but for some reason, we haven’t
seen any of it. In turn, I don’t really know where she stands and how people are
perceiving her. I believe all the members of ‘Stealth R Us’ have some trust in
her but to what degree, I have no idea.
3. Dawn Meehan
Dawn’s is playing a subtly
cut throat game this time. Everybody seems to feel they can trust her and give
her just a little too much information, and then she goes behind your back and
uses that information to get you booted out. We saw it first with Francesca,
again with Julia who had only known Dawn for a few days, and now again with
Corinne. Not to mention, the preview for next week seems to suggest that
Malcolm may fall into the exact same trap. Dawn’s previous season, her motherly
demeanour, and perceived mental weakness has left her in a great position
socially. Almost everyone feels they can trust her and rely on her. I only
wonder how long she can continue to have everyone’s trust.
2. Andrea Boehlke
So far, Andrea has done a
great job straddling the fence and keeping herself in the middle which is where
you ideally want to be in this game. As much as you want to be a threat to win
the game, you never want to be the biggest threat, and as much as you want to
be able to win immunity, you don’t want to be the best at winning immunity.
This extends into almost every facet of the game. The great risk in playing the
middle is that it might not be enough in the end to get you the win. Great
examples of this are Amanda Kimmel and Stephen Fishbach. Both these players
could have won this game had they flipped at the appropriate time. I suspect
there will come a time (final 7 or 5) where Andrea will have an opportunity to
flip and take out Cochran or Dawn or whoever’s left that may beat her in a final
tribal council. For her sake, I hope she recognises this and makes what is the
correct strategic decision.
1. John Cochran
Socially, no one could
ever dream of being in a better position than Cochran right now. After winning
individual immunity, he gloated and paraded around the kind of way that would
get anyone else voted out the very next opportunity, but because he’s lovable
unthreatening Cochran, everyone thought it was funny and was actually happy for
him to win. We’re seeing a whole new Cochran this season. Ostensibly, he’s
still the wide eyed self-deprecating kid that no one’s threatened by, but
behind the scenes, he has this new found confidence that is absolutely vital to
win this game. Last time, he was perceptive and very aware of the social
dynamics around him but he never had that confidence or focus to act and take
control. In South Pacific, he was still watching Survivor, in Caramoan, he’s
finally playing.
Written by Robert Milner.
Credit: CBS
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