‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’ rankings: How Carolyn Rivera, Jenn Brown, Hali Ford are entering the merge

Finally, merge time is here on “Survivor: Worlds Apart“! That means a giant feast, a new buff color, and hopefully some secret twist that Jeff Probst has hyped up as the greatest thing since the last thing that he hyped up. (That was probably “Survivor: Caramoan,” which actually wasn’t that great at all.)

The merge also means that we’re ranking all of the season’s players together for the first time, and this picture looks a little different than it probably will in a few weeks. Nobody knows how this all will shake out for now, and we’re going here mostly based on the number of allies entering the merge, their chances to win the game, whether or not someone has an immunity idol, and traditional post-merge practices. While they don’t always go home, physical or social threats are some of the people targeted right away.

12. Rodney Lavoie Jr. – There is a benefit to bringing someone to the end who has zero chance to win. The problem is that you have to live with them until that point. Nobody on the new tribe will be so desperate, especially after he goes nuclear on his former Blue Collar tribemates.

11. Tyler Fredrickson – We love Tyler’s demeanor and the way he reads the game, but this is not looking like a great spot for him. He and Rodney were both against the Joaquin vote, and so he’s in the minority there. Also, if Joe goes back to No Collar, is he going to want to work with someone who voted for him?

10. Joe Anglim – Taking out a strong guy at the merge is a great move. Joe’s the sort of guy who wins in a shutout if he makes it to the end. Even though Blue Collar sided with him this past episode, it didn’t feel so solid that they would never turn on him.

9. Shirin Oskooi – Things could go one of three ways now for Shirin. Either she is voted out within the next couple of weeks as an outsider, she makes it far as an obvious jury goat, or she turns her whole game around and becomes the comeback story of the year. We’re giving her some benefit of the doubt here, but she needs to win us over.

8. Mike Holloway – He’s incredibly likable, but he also ticked off Rodney and Sierra still doesn’t seem to love the idea of being in an alliance that also contains Dan. Mike’s going to need to make some moves, and rather quickly.

7. Dan Foley – This is mostly a reminder that he has almost no chance to win the game, so even if he lasts for a while (which he could), he’s going to have a tough time being relevant as a major strategic threat.

6. Will Sims II – Will is similar to Dan in the chances-he-wins department, but we’ve seen some reasonably strategic thinking from him with the Vince vote. Do we think it was the right move? It’s hard to question it, given that he is still in the game.

5. Sierra Dawn Thomas – Slightly better odds of winning than either Will or Dan, but probably not going to win the whole thing given that her reputation as the perpetual swing vote may irk some.

4. Hali Ford – If she makes it to the end with Will and Dan, give her a million dollars. The problem for Hali is that she can’t beat Tyler, Joe, Mike, Carolyn, Kelly, or Jenn. That’s a pretty hefty list.

3. Kelly Remington – Ultimate Blue Collar, very likable, and has a great shield out there in Mike. Unfortunately, the most memorable moments of her in this game are her being completely unable to win a challenge Mike was throwing to her without help, and getting knocked on the head in another challenge.

2. Carolyn Rivera – She’s got an immunity idol, inroads to No Collar, and maybe she can convince Joe that Tyler still is a good person to work with despite the vote. Carolyn’s a fighter, and she is far from the first person who will be targeted after the merge.

1. Jenn Brown – Winner winner chicken dinner? Right now it feels that way. She’s got a great two-person alliance with Hali, a larger one surrounding that, and an immunity idol seemingly no one knows about. Let’s also not discount that she knows the game very well, and is fairly strong in challenges. Nobody’s coming after Jenn for a few weeks, and by the time they do we’re not going to be shocked if it’ll be too late to do anything about it.

Now, we turn this over to you. Vote who you think has the best chances in the poll below, and head over here to get some other TV updates on all we cover sent to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter.

Also, if you missed it, check out our recent interview with Joaquin. (Photo: CBS.)