‘Survivor: Cagayan’ rankings: The crazy eight
This has not been the best streak for us when it comes to “Survivor” rankings. The week we had Sarah #1 going into the merge, she was eliminated the next week. Meanwhile, we had LJ at #2 last week, and he was blindsided. Let it be known that so long as we get great television, we have no problem being wrong. With that being said, we feel bad for who is #1 now this week for jinxing them!
As always, we base our rankings off of strategy, overall effectiveness, and the edit (which has been for the most part delightfully deceptive this year).
8. Woo Hwang (last week: 8) – The guy falls out of a tree in tonight’s episode. Just from the standpoint of him being a possible medivac, he has to be at the bottom of the list.
Still, consider this when weighing the possibility of Woo leaving. If tonight takes us to 7, next week takes us to six, the May 7 episode to 5, and the May 14 episode to 4. If all that happens, we’re already starting the May 21 finale with 4 people, which is a person less than recent seasons. There’s no real room for a double-elimination to happen, so if Woo does go out tonight, we cannot see there being a tribal council unless there’s a final two rather than a final three this season, and the show starts the finale out with three people and then just drags it out.
7. Tony Vlachos (7) – As a supporter of Tony and the immense entertainment value he brings to the show, we’re hoping that all these teases about him being in trouble are red herrings. Sadly, though, it’s not looking good. He’s a huge threat in the game thanks to his strategy, and he’s managed to make all his moves in such a way that he never comes across as a jerk that people will shun if he makes it to the end.
6. Jefra Bland (3) – Without LJ, Jefra is exposed and a big target for Tony to take out. Previews show him spying on her while saying she wants him out, and that doesn’t bode well for her chances since she doesn’t seem like the sort of strategist that is going to out-maneuver anyone.
5. Jeremiah Wood (9) – You have to consider still the possibility that somehow Tony does convince Trish, Jefra, and Kass to work again with him and Woo, and this five together could easily get rid of Jeremiah. As said in the past, he’s the perfect target in that he’s a physical threat, and Spencer’s not likely to play his idol for him. Could he be easy to beat at the end? Sure, but we don’t feel like everyone is thinking that way.
4. Tasha Fox (6) – Tasha is a smarter player than Jeremiah, but we haven’t seen enough of her to really know if she is going to be a big schemer, or if Spencer would burn an idol on her if the moment came up where he had to. She’s a good competitor, and needs to just focus on winning challenges.
3. Spencer Bledsoe (4) – What’s great for Spencer is that he still has the idol, and he may also have numbers now … with the emphasis on “may.” Even if he doesn’t go this week, he’s not playing an under-the-radar game that will allow him to hide. Everyone knows that he is capable of winning in the end, so when that idol is used up, he becomes an instant target.
2. Trish Hegarty (1) – For weeks, we’ve felt like Trish’s game has been somewhat under-appreciated, and she made a curious move next week in not letting LJ know that he was in trouble, but still voting in his favor (even if she didn’t know everything). This puts her in an interesting spot in that she hasn’t really angered anyone, and can listen to all scenarios presented to her. Trish can win this game, and we don’t think anyone is going to target her until it’s almost too late.
1. Kass McQuillen (5) – We never thought we’d have Chaos Kass listed as #1, but who is getting rid of her right now? She’s a valuable number no matter where she lines up now, and everyone knows that Sarah and Morgan on the jury hate her. Kass seems like a perfect jury goat, and getting to the end is half the battle. Who knows? Given that she’s an attorney, maybe she can make a strong enough argument to convince everyone other than these two to vote for her.
Photo: CBS