‘Survivor: Cagayan’ rankings: How the Brains are now shining bright

It was not long ago that the Brains tribe on “Survivor: Cagayan” looked like it was going to be dead in the water. Now, they suddenly have a sense of power! One of the great things about this game is that sometimes, all you need is an in … and a little bit of luck for Tasha, Spencer, and Kass, coupled with some skill on their part and dysfunction of some other players, has put them in a great spot in the game moving forward.

Now, it feels like we could see all members of the Brains tribe around for quite a long time. We’re back with the rankings now that we’ve seen everyone interact in their new tribes for a week, and these are based on strategy, edit, and also overall effectiveness at camp or in challenges.

7. Morgan McLeod – The smartest move for any of these tribe members right now would be to get rid of the one person who clearly lied to everyone. The Brains did this to Garrett, so why not do the same thing to Morgan? She’s just going to screw you over later.

6. Jeremiah Wood – The logic behind getting rid of Jeremiah is a little different. He didn’t lie about an idol, but this is the time where you think about the merge. He could be a threat there, and the other Beauty tribe members could clue the others into his bond with LJ.

5. Alexis Maxwell – The truth here is that we have a hard time seeing anyone in the top five going home on this tribe before the merge. Alexis could theoretically get thrown under the bus, but she seems to be the most strategically competent Beauty tribe member on this group.

4. Sarah Lacina – Sarah could have been an easy target on this tribe, given that she is the only person from the Brawn in this group. But, her managing to stay safe is just a testament at this point to how good of a social player she is. Now that she’s away from Tony, that can only help her.

3. Spencer Bledsoe – The irony here is that we see Spencer having a better shot of winning at the end of the show than Kass, but he will also be more of a threat in the weeks ahead. He’s at least decent in physical competitions, and has a strong strategic game to boot that allows him to be pretty malleable.

2. Kass McQuillen – Kass has already gotten through the part of the game in which we worried about her, and you have to salute her ability to being able to jump from one alliance to the other in the early going. She’ll need to stand out and make moves to get votes at the end.

1. Tasha Fox – We picked her to win the season before the premiere even aired, and we have no reason to change that up at all now. She’s a physical competitor, has a good alliance, and somehow can be a leader without being a target.

Who do you think is in the best position right now on the new Aparri? Share your thoughts with a comment, and visit the link here to get a glimpse at what is coming up on “Survivor” moving forward. You can also sign up if you want to get some more news and updates via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Photo: CBS