‘Survivor: Philippines’: Are Malcolm Freberg, Lisa Whelchel likely all-stars?

Now that we are just one week away from the finale to “Survivor: Philippines,” this is the time where we start to take a look not only at the season as a whole, but start to look forward to the future of the franchise. With that, we come to an annual tradition as valued as the family visit or Jeff Probst making double entendres during immunity challenges involving balls and poles: trying to figure out who are the potential new players from the season who could be coming back for more later on.

There’s no real criteria in figuring this out, mostly because it is really just up to who Jeff Probst and the casting directors want to see on the show ago. Therefore, this is merely opinion-based, but we’re trying to judge this without bias based on edit and a players’ strength in the game. Luckily, there are plenty of candidates on what has been a comeback season for the show.

Locks to return (or at least be asked)

Malcolm Freberg – A young, strong guy with a strategic mind? Say it’s not so. He’s not as great of a physical competitor as Ozzy, but he combines his athleticism with a better knack of how to play under the radar and work other people. This is basically the player that Probst dreams of.

Lisa Whelchel – Lisa may be getting on our nerves at this point, but there is no doubt that the former “Facts of Life” star has exceeded any expectations for being a character on the show. The scary thing here is that while her lack of decision-making is maddening, she would probably fare well again on a future season since she is fairly trustworthy and also is not a threat in the slightest.

Abi-Maria Gomes – Every show needs a good villain. She is basically the character that you need, even if she is not the character that you want. The best way to describe her is the female Phillip Sheppard, expect that she replaces being wacky with being obnoxious. Somehow, this attitude makes her a villain while Phillip was just more of a character.

Strong possibilities

Denise Stapley – A few weeks ago, we would have considered Denise to be a lock to be back for more in this game. However, something strange has happened since then. Jonathan Penner doesn’t seem to like her based on the fact that he wrote “Denies” on his parchment as he tried to vote her out, and we are worried that she could fizzle in the endgame.

Jeff Kent – He’s an alpha male who is also a celebrity; plus, he’s open to coming back again in the future. Had he lasted a little longer past the merge, we’d consider him to be a lock, as well. But Jeff is great TV, so it would not be a shock at all to see him at least get an invite in the future.

Fringe candidates

Pete Yurkowski – He was a decent villain, but was largely overshadowed by Abi-Maria all season long. The biggest thing going against him here is that his alliance worked against his own ability to return for a future season.

RC Saint-Amour – For whatever reason RC this season really reminded us of Eliza Orlins in “Fans vs. Favorites,” complete with the giant-eyed facial expressions while sitting on the jury. If somebody could be asked simply from Ponderosa videos alone, she would be a lock in our book.

Who do you think should return to the show this season? Be sure to share some of your thoughts below, and you can check out our official contestant rankings over at the link here.

Photo: CBS