‘Survivor: Philippines’ rankings: The pressure’s on for Russell Swan
We do hope that there will be a day soon when we don’t have to talk about Russell Swan so much in our “Survivor: Philippines,” rankings, but at the moment we can’t think of a castaway in more trouble. Considering how much his tribe has been losing, we’re surprised that he is honestly still there; and at this point, one more loss means his goodbye.
Unfortunately, the lack of airtime for some of the other tribes means that the movement in the other two tribes is more or less fluid, and it’s really hard to know for sure where anyone stands.
Matsing tribe
3. Russell Swan (last week: #4) – Russell has not played a good game in any shape or form. However, even if he had played a good game at this point he would still be in the same situation if his tribe had lost three straight challenges. Thanks to the alliance between Malcolm and Denise, one more loss will send him packing.
2. Denise Shipley (#3) – We really like Denise as a player. She’s not only smart and savvy, but she is also a surprisingly good challenge player. We really don’t think it’s a huge loss if Russell is gone from the tribe before her, and she is an enormous social threat in our eyes to go deep in this game given she lasts past the next week or two.
1. Malcolm Freberg (#1) – We’re not as confident in Malcolm’s post-merge game as Denise, but he’s probably a lock to make it that far. Who doesn’t want a physical guy who is also knowledgeable in survival skills?
Kalabaw tribe
6. Katie Hanson (#4) – This is a hard tribe to figure out, and Katie being last here is not a death sentence by any means. Our major problem with this group is that save for Jeff and Jonathan, we haven’t seen any of them much … but if these two men make an alliance, they could all be in trouble.
5. Jeff Kent (#5) – Yes, he and Penner did form an alliance, but we’re still not that confident that the former player is going to honor that as soon as he finds out that Jeff is still working against him. Unlike Jonathan, Jeff does not have an idol to back him up.
4. Carter Williams (#2) – Who? We still have no idea who this guy is, but feel as though he could still be in some trouble as a strong guy against another alliance that just so happens to have an idol.
3. Jonathan Penner (#6) – The biggest concern for Penner is that, even with an alliance, he may be so over-confident that he could go home with it in his pocket. It’s possible that he may not find out what Jeff’s plans are at the moment with his “four-finger handshake,” mostly because he doesn’t seem that interested in talking to anyone.
2. Dana Lambret (#3) – We don’t have much to say here, but she is a pretty hard worker. She may just be enough of a threat, though, to go home over our #1.
1. Sarah Dawson (#1) – As long as Sarah does keep Jeff’s baseball past a secret, she has power that she could use to get her very far in this game. Granted, it would be nice to get to know her soon.
Tandang tribe
6. RC Saint-Amour (#4) – How quickly the tables have turned on RC! Really, there was just one move that hurt her game in her decision to show Abi-Maria the immunity idol clue. Unfortunately, this was enough to destroy what was otherwise a pretty solid game.
5. Michael Skupin (#2) – At the moment, Skupin is being targeted with the alliance of Pete, and it also turns out that Artis doesn’t like him for breaking the mask in the last challenge. His one saving grace is that Lisa has looked out for him, and this could end up turning around in his favor.
4. Lisa Whelchel (#6) – She has made some inroads with Pete, and Michael already seems to like her. However, is all of this really enough to make up for two episodes of being the social outcast of the entire tribe?
3. Abi-Maria Gomes (#5) – Just for having the idol alone, we have to give Abi some credit. Unfortunately, we also have to take some credit away for being a very emotional player who seems more into rubbing it in that she has the idol than actually knowing what to do with it.
2. Artis Silvester (#3) – The one thing that Artis has going for him? That he’s not in the way. No one is talking about getting rid of him, so his anger at Skupin aside, we can’t see him leaving from this interesting tribe anytime soon.
1. Pete Yurkowski (#1) – Do we think that Pete is a little too in love with Pete? Sure, but he is playing a smart game. He knows that Abi and RC will go at each other before him, and he can control her to use the idol for his bidding. So long as he can keep targeting Skupin a secret, he should be fine and game to be in this game a long time.