‘Survivor: Kaoh Rong’ episode 5 rankings: Where Kyle Jason, Anna Khait, more stand entering tribe swap

We’re one day away now from the latest episode of “Survivor: Kaoh Rong” coming on the air, and it is fair to say that this one is a little bit different than any that has come before it. For one, we’ve got a tribe swap! That’s a chance to really see how some of the shifting sands of the game ultimately play out.

Unfortunately, the bad news that goes along with this is that it makes our rankings a little more complicated. Since we don’t know where anyone is getting placed at present, we’re using our criteria (challenge ability, screen time, edit, strategy, effectiveness around camp, and threat level) and expanding it outward to include all 13 castaways. Given that the merge often happens at 12, it’s possible that we may only have this format for a single week.

13. Scot Pollard – At this stage in the game, what’s the incentive to keeping Scot? It’s too early to start thinking about people you bring to the end, he’s a huge physical threat, he doesn’t have many allies, and Jason seems to be the one who led the strategy talks at the Brawn tribe.

12. Peter Baggenstos – The one advantage we see for Peter entering a tribe swap is that he may find a group who need him as a swing vote. If he does that, he’s golden for a while; however, if he doesn’t we’re not sure once again what the point is of keeping him around since he’s smart and capable of winning challenges down the line.

11. Nick Maiorano – You can echo some of what we said above, but also this: If the women on his own tribe don’t seem to get along with Nick, who’s to say that a group of new people would? We do think he’s got more strategic chops than Scot or Peter, but we’re not sure who will want to work with him.

10. Aubry Bracco – At this point, the questions that we start to wonder are whether or not a given player can win, and given the uncertainty that is here going into a swap, it’s hard to really speculate on anything further. Aubry could be around for a while, but simultaneously we haven’t seen much of an edit for her as a winner.

9. Julia Sokolowski – We feel the same way here about Julia, who we think could easily make it to the final three; however, can she win? It would take her being there against some people who are viewed as incredibly unlikable for it to happen, and for the time being, that feels unlikely.

8. Joe Del Campo – For Joe, we think that he could win in the finale on the basis of his story alone … but he’s going to have a tough road. He may not be a huge threat now, but he could be after the merge. Also, we’re not sure he is strategically flexible enough to handle shifting alliances.

7. Neal Gottlieb – Neal is one of the few people on the season right now we really have little to no read on in terms of his standing of the game. We know he’s capable of making moves and he’s close to most of the Brains tribe other than Peter, but his edit has been almost invisible to date.

6. Michele Fitzgerald – Michele’s shown to be reasonably capable and savvy game-wise, but as with Neal, we haven’t seen a whole lot of her. We just think she’s a little more capable of going under the radar than he is.

5. Debbie Wanner – To say that Debbie is a little unpredictable would be an understatement. She showed with the Liz vote that she does have some game-smarts, but what we worry about here is mostly that we’re not entirely sure what she is going to do at any given moment.

4. Kyle Jason – Did Kyle exhibit some lousy behavior towards Alecia this past episode? Sure, but the majority of it wasn’t seen by anyone other than his allies. It’s hard to ever rank someone who plays so aggressively super-high, but his immunity idol plus a possible human shield in Scot should help him stay safe for a while. If he and Scot are on separate sides, he’ll be probably thought of as a challenge asset.

3. Cydney Gillon – While her game has been somewhat under-the-radar, it’s also been impressive. For example, look at how she made Scot and Jason feel like she was with them, even while still stringing Alecia along. She’s very good at being diplomatic, and that is great come tribe-swap time.

2. Tai Trang – Lay out a situation now where Tai gets voted out after a swap. He’s so inherently likable that nobody’s going to target him. If they do, he has an immunity idol that he can use. He’s shown that he can get along with people, and he won’t be perceived as someone who has to be taken out right now.

1. Anna Khait – Sure, Anna may not have an immunity idol, but she’s shown some strategic prowess and should be safe no matter how things go from here. If she is with Michele and Julia on a new tribe, she just needs one other person for a majority. If she doesn’t have them both, she’s savvy enough to find a couple more people. She’s effective enough to be valuable in challenges, but won’t be perceived as an enormous threat just yet.

Who tops your ranking? Vote below, and head over here to preview Wednesday’s episode further! Also, sign up over here to get some more TV news on everything we cover, sent right over to you via our official CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: CBS.)