‘Survivor: Worlds Apart’ rankings: Shirin Oskooi’s surge; Will Sims’ fall

Wednesday night’s “Survivor: Worlds Apart” episode has the potential to be magnificent. This is the first real tipping point we’ve had in weeks. With Joe Anglim gone, the obvious threat is gone! What happens now? You can make the easy move and vote Jenn off, or you can try to use her to take a big swing at someone else left in the game. We don’t think this season is going to be as cut-and-dry as getting rid of her and Shirin, and then starting the game over at seven.

As you will see below, the new state of flux in the game is leading to some very different rankings … even though we’re sticking with our #1 choice yet again based on the spot they are in at the moment. If this is your first rankings article, take note that we’re basing these on strategy, screen time, edit, challenge ability, and ability to potentially win in the end.

9. Jenn Brown – We like to weight a few different things in these articles, from the odds of someone going out next week to the odds of someone winning the game. There’s a good chance Jenn survives Wednesday’s episode, but to quote Jeff Probst talking about Spencer Bledsoe pre-“Cagayan,” she has almost zero chance. Given how publicly she talked about wanting to quit, the idea of voting for her to win seems completely insane unless she turns things around and becomes a “Survivor” legend overnight.

8. Mike Holloway – In talking more about “Cagayan,” if you go back and look at our rankings for that season you’ll see that we never had Tony Vlachos high. We loved Tony (he still may be one of our top 3 favorite players ever), but it felt like such an obvious move throughout to take him out. The same goes here. Mike, like Tony, may prove himself to be so good a player that he defies the rankings, but on paper he seems like the obvious target with Mike gone. Even with an idol, there’s no guarantee he will play it right.

7. Will Sims II – We’re basing a lot on the previews here, but seeing him go off completely on Shirin completely takes away from Will what was his greatest asset: Sitting around and doing nothing. If he just stayed quiet, he’d be guaranteed a spot in the final five! Given how important Shirin and Jenn could be to the next few episodes, this may be part of what dooms him.

6. Dan Foley – We don’t feel much better for Dan right now, either, mostly because he seems so disliked by some people that they’d target him even before Mike. He is not as big of a threat, but he feel like editing-wise, he is totally being set up for an epic fall.

5. Sierra Dawn Thomas – Sierra’s not playing a bad game at all. She doesn’t have any major enemies, and she has a good alliance. We’re just not seeing any of her narrative at all. Given how much hype has been bestowed upon this season, we feel like we’d be seeing a whole lot more of her if she was meant to be a major force to be reckoned with this season.

4. Rodney Lavoie Jr. – Maybe we are completely crazy for thinking that we can envision scenarios with Rodney winning, but we can. What if he’s at the end with Dan and Will? Depending on what Sierra does the rest of the game, he may even have a chance against her. What we saw with Jenn this past episode helps to explain why he’s not always the #1 target; he may be obnoxious and offensive at times, but he also seems to be a source of entertainment for people around camp.

3. Carolyn Rivera – Carolyn’s name was brought up for really the first time since the premiere last night, as Shirin and Mike discussed making a move on her in the future. Given that much of her game lately has been avoiding danger, there is a tiny reason for her to start sweating … but she does still have the idol.

2. Shirin Oskooi – We’re given Shirin a huge surge here, mostly because we’re starting to get behind some of the moves she’s making. She has chosen a great moment to get close to Mike, and if she can orchestrate a few big moves in the home stretch here, how would a jury member not respect her underdog story? Also, it feels like everyone left is so busy spitting venom at her that they are not realizing how much of a threat she could be.

1. Tyler Fredrickson – We are sticking with Tyler at the top of the rankings still, mostly for one reason above all others: He has the total package. He’s got a great majority alliance, an alliance within that alliance, he’s a decent physical threat, but he is not the biggest physical threat. He’s almost like the Varys of this season, to use a “Game of Thrones” analogy. Other than the Joaquin vote, he’s known where the bodies are metaphorically buried almost the entire season.

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