‘Survivor: Cagayan’ rankings: Who is in the best position after the merge?
The merge episode of “Survivor” is one of our favorites every season, and more often than not, there is a good reason for it. This episode is always insane, and features so many people scrambling and desperate to figure out what move they want to make. This is what doomed Aras Baskauskas last season, and Corinne Kaplan the season before that. While we end up often losing players we like, this is often grade-A entertainment and sets the course for the rest of the season.
So given all we know from this season and historically, who is in the best position to go far now? This the question we asked ourselves when coming up with this list, and the one general consensus we came up with was that most of the guys are not playing very well. They are either trying too hard, or are scattered around in a position where that they are shielding other players. While we don’t necessarily think a women’s alliance will pick them off, we would not be shocked if there is only one guy in the final four or five.
11. Tony Vlachos – We’ve been a card-carrying member of #TeamTV (to reference his Twitter handle) since the start of the season, and we want him on another season. But not only has he made enemies, he has also made it clear even to his own alliance that he can’t be fully trusted. That sounds like trouble is brewing for him sooner rather than later.
10. Woo Hwang – He is not that firmly in an alliance now, and he also is the sort of person you want to take out soon after the merge. The longer you keep a guy like Woo in the game, the more challenges he wins to the point where he could end up making it all the way to the final three.
9. Jeremiah Wood – The biggest problem he has is that he’s a fairly-athletic guy, and there are plenty of people who aren’t the biggest fans of his. Out of the players who are in the game right now, he is one of the targets that needs to be reckoned with just to keep a challenge performer from going far.
8. Tasha Fox – We’ve done a ton of thinking about this (maybe more than some of the players in the game), but if the title for this episode is “Head of the Snake,” we feel like there are only three people this could be referring to: Tony, Tasha, or LJ. Tasha’s a huge social and strategic threat, and with the three Brains members so tight, and with Tasha and Kass really running the show (per what Alexis said to us last week), she has to be the biggest threat of the alliance.
7. Spencer Bledsoe – By the same token, there is also the Cochran effect. Given that this season filmed before the players saw “Survivor: Blood vs. Water,” superfans like a Cochran or a Spencer may be viewed as very dangerous. He’s also pretty good in challenges in this case, and we could easily see him winning the game.
6. LJ McKanas – We’re willing to give LJ the benefit of the doubt a little here since he seems fairly self-aware, and also has as immunity idol. With Tony burning more bridges and being more of the obvious player, LJ may be in a position where he doesn’t have to play his for a little while.
5. Jefra Bland – We do understand that there is a certain amount of logic to wanting to keep someone like Jefra around, since she’s not going to play the game that hard. The biggest thing to worry about here is that someone will learn about LJ’s idol, and she could be eliminated if the votes are split and he plays it.
4. Morgan McLeod – Morgan is not the most well-liked person, and that’s going to make it very hard on her to win. However, she has a knack for just finding a way to stick around, whether it is aligning with a bigger threat, or knowing when to just sit there and not do anything.
3. Kass McQuillen – A player who can adapt to almost anything, and also someone who poses little threat right away.
2. Trish Hegarty – Trish may have one of the worst chances to win the game out of everyone left, but she has great odds to make it all the way. She’s not doing a very good job of endearing herself to her other tribe members, and this, plus her not being the biggest challenge threat there, could help her skate by until the final four or so easily.
1. Sarah Lacina – We were very worried about Sarah during the whole Cops R Us regime, but she’s since established herself better and is entering the merge with a ton of power. While she is in the dangerous “swing vote” position, she seems to have done a good job of ingratiating herself into any environment and coming across as genuine, but also determined. He could see her going very far into this game now, and being an easy choice to win because nobody will target her.
Who do you think is in the best position at this point in the game? Sound off below, and be sure to head on over to this link to watch a preview for tonight’s episode. You can also sign up for our CarterMatt Newsletter to get even more great updates from us via email.
Photo: CBS