‘Survivor: San Juan del Sur’ rankings: How Jon Misch, Jeremy Collins fare in first edition

Many seasons ago, we used to do “Survivor” rankings for an entire season, and then realized not too long into the process just how impossible it really is. After all, we don’t really get to know every player until at least after the merge!

The top ten seems to us like a good place to start now, since we’ve got a feel for how many of the players are around camp, in challenges, and with the edit that shapes this whole story. We consider all of these plus strategy the biggest factors in our rankings; with all of this being, a good general rule here is that if you’re not getting presented to us with an opinion very much in the game, you’re probably not going to win. Maybe there are a few exceptions to this, but we still define it as the rule.

10. Reed Kelly – He has the unfortunate drawback of being the one strategist on an alliance devoid of them, and that overrules the fact that Wes / Keith are a pair that could vote together. We at first thought that Wed would be a target first, but Reed’s scrambling highlighted in the promos for tomorrow’s episode suggest he is swinging for a home run.

9. Wes Nale – He’s a physical threat in theory, and he apparently has a lot of gas. Neither one of these make him an appealing option to take down the road. Plus, he’s not even getting remotely a significant edit.

8. Alec Christy – Before too long, Alec’s going to have to start ordering around the men and women at Ponderosa rather than Baylor. He has the ego of his brother, and also his cluelessness when it comes to basic common-sense practices in this game.

7. Jeremy Collins – Much like Tony last season, Jeremy is probably not someone we’ll ever rank too highly, mostly because he is so good at the game that any logical person would want to target him. Luckily, he may be so good that he can continually find ways to save himself, and there may not be a ton of logical people out there.

6. Keith Nale – The immunity idol probably helps him right now, as does the fact that he’s not looked at as a strategic player or a major challenge threat. He’s probably going to be the last of the “this ain’t the Hilton” alliance to stay in the game.

5. Jaclyn Schultz – Finally, a woman on this list! Jaclyn is someone making moves, given that she and Jon have been the swing vote multiple times. However, we don’t see her as someone doing it in a way that will get her jury votes in the end. Regardless of whether or not it is merited, Jon is the one seemingly getting the credit around camp.

4. Natalie Anderson – We really like Natalie, and we’ve been impressed by so many of her moves this season. However, since when is a twinnie under-edited on this show? It doesn’t bode well for her odds of winning.

3. Missy Payne – She’s clearly getting the edit of the main strategic force of her alliance other than Jeremy, and she’s made both good moves (getting Jon and Jaclyn twice) and bad moves (alienating Keith). We just don’t think she has made enough friends outside her alliance to win if she makes it to the very end.

2. Baylor Wilson – She’s probably not going to be in a stick situation (look it up) for a while this season, simply due to having the numbers. We’ve also thought that Baylor has received a very positive edit despite some of the complaints against her by the other players; when was the last time a player in her Natalie-from-Redemption-Island archetype had so much airtime throughout the season, with specific confessionals about her gameplay?

1. Jon Misch – We were given a reason to root for Jon early after hearing about his father, and while he hasn’t been shown to be a strategic force by any means, he’s likable, athletic, and not even the biggest target in his alliance. We wouldn’t be shocked if it is him and the other four ladies mentioned above him in the final five, and then he just wins his way to the finale and wins against anyone.

Who do you think is in the best spot right now? Share with a comment or in the poll, and head over here to preview tomorrow night’s new episode further! Also, sign up today to get some further TV scoop on all we cover via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo via CBS.)