‘Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites’ rankings: A swap helps Malcolm, Reynold

Malcolm FrebergWe’re in a mysterious part of “Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites.” We don’t know where any of the alliances stand now thanks to a tribal swap happened on Wednesday night, and thus we’re presenting our rankings all within one article this week. It’s too hard to know who stands where in their new tribes, and thus we would be so stressed out trying to rank them that we’d need a good massage from Jeff Probst.

We’ll return to our two-tribe ranking system next weekend, and for this article we’re following a simple rule: if you are physically strong, and you have an immunity idol, you’re probably more prepared for anything right now.

The rankings

14. Phillip Sheppard – After what happened with him and Brandon Hantz, is anyone on the Fans willing to get rid of him? The only way we see him not being a potential target is if he winds up on a new tribe where the majority is still in his primary alliance. Otherwise, the Specialist needs a backup plan.

13. Corinne Kaplan – While we don’t necessarily think that the Favorites are going to cannibalize themselves, these two do appear to be the people with the biggest targets on them right now. We still have no idea why anyone wants Corinne out of the game, but it’s happening.

12. Julia Landauer – Julia seems destined to be the Purple Kelly of the season: someone who gets no airtime at all until the episode that they leave the game. She’s the easiest target for the Fans in that she doesn’t have much of an alliance, and we foresee either Eddie or Reynold bailing on her to avenge what happened to Hope and Allie.

11. Sherri Biethman – If you want further explanation for this, just look above. Who is going to align with Sherri? The only reason we give her an edge over Julia is because we have seen more of a strategic mind, so she may be able to work her way out of this.

10. John Cochran – Oh, Cochran. You had a good alliance, but where do you land now? If he ends up on a tribe without Dawn, and where his physical liabilities are exposed, we smell trouble for the show’s favorite narrator.

9. Dawn Meehan – Dawn is not nearly the physical liability that Cochran is, but she is a threat after the merge. She seemingly could beat anyone in the final three, and thus given the makeup of her tribe she could be someone to take out sooner rather than later.

8. Eddie Fox – While we’re pretty high on Reynold right now (see below), that is due to his immunity idol. The Favorites are not so likely to keep someone just because you are a strong physical player. The only thing going for him is that he and Reynold could turn his back on the Fans thanks to their past with them.

7. Matt Bischoff – The good news for Matt is that he seems to be on paper the perfect guy to have around even if he is not in a majority alliance: he’s a solid performer who is seemingly useful around camp. If he gets voted out, it will strictly be alliance-based.

6. Andrea Boehlke – Getting a new tribe has to help Andrea, who has probably been criticized surprisingly in exit interviews more so than any contestant this season. She’s not someone that will likely be targeted right away, and the only thing that could hurt her if the Fans that are on a new tribe with her are Corinne, Erik, and Brenda (who could team up with the Fans to get her out).

5. Michael Snow – He seems to be the fan who is probably the most malleable, and that will probably help him. The only way that Michael’s in trouble is if he is on a tribe that loses a number of challenges, and then he is the last person outside of an alliance.

4. Erik Reinchenbach – Now that the tribes are re-organized, is anyone going to get rid of Erik right now? We doubt it. He’s too strong of a player physically, and he has possible allies everywhere he turns.

3. Brenda Lowe – If there is one person who wins big from this swap more so than anyone, it is Brenda. She is a physical player who will perform will, and she is in a position now where she can go with any alliance she chooses without breaking someone’s word.

2. Reynold Toepfer – A tribal swap changes things, especially when you are ranking contestants prior to it happening. What we really can go on at the moment is that tribes need to still emphasize strength with there potentially being as many as four tribal councils before the merge, and this plus having an immunity idol may keep Reynold safe until that point.

1. Malcolm Freberg – Everything that we said about the immunity idol argument with Reynold is true here yet again, and the other thing Malcolm has going for him is pretty simple: he already has more allies, and people seem to genuinely like them. There has to be a reason Reynold found himself on the outs early.

Who are your favorites right now? We always want to hear from you below! Also, be sure to head over here to watch a video preview for Wednesday night’s episode.

Photo: CBS

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