‘Survivor: Philippines’ rankings: Will Jeff Kent’s big move be a blunder?

Generally on “Survivor,” we love it when a castaway opts to make a big move … even if it is not one that works to their own benefit. These sort of decisions keeps us from ultimately watching the same show week after week, and hinder the sort of predictable eliminations that are customary in the post-merge game.

Within the lens of “Survivor: Philippines,” the move made by Jeff Kent and Carter Williams to try and get Penner out was one that was surely entertaining, even though it remains completely baffling. Why go from being at the top of an alliance to the bottom of a new one, especially when the person leading the way for you  had an immunity idol in tow? While Jeff and Carter likely bought themselves one more week of safety in this game, they also potentially sank their own ship after that thanks to the baseball star’s own paranoia about returning players.

Note: Since the tribes are now merged, we’re not including the rankings from last week since the comparison would really be a moot point.

The rankings

10. Jonathan Penner – Without an immunity idol, the three-time player’s back is now completely against the wall. The only options that he has left are to either win an immunity challenge (or two), or make a new all-new alliance that he will be able to hopefully trust a little bit more than his old one. For some people (namely Skupin, Lisa, Malcolm, and Denise), there could be some value in keeping him around. The question now is just if they will be smart enough to know this.

9. Michael Skupin – In the event that Penner wins immunity, the person who is likely to be targeted next is the only other returning player in the game. Jonathan is surely going to be unhappy about getting betrayed, and he may not want to work with him; meanwhile, both Jeff and most of Tandang will also want him out of game. As with Penner, the only refuge Skupin may have is with Lisa, Malcolm, and Denise.

8. Jeff Kent – What a ridiculous move for Jeff to make in bestraying Penner. In his new alliance he has already been shown to be a traitor, and he is at best sixth on a pecking order behind Pete, Abi-Maria, Artis, Lisa, and Malcolm. Unfortunately for him, all five of these people would probably prefer keep both Carter and Denise before him, so that drops him to eighth. This guy could have been in at least the final four, but now he’s in deep trouble.

7. Pete Yurkowski – In the event that Tandang for whatever reason does fall apart, he’s already proven himself to be the most vulnerable. He’s running the show, does not have an immunity idol, and his own arrogance could make him unable to see a blindside that is coming right at him.

6. Carter Williams – The one saving grace for Carter is that he is so completely unaware of everything that is going on around him. Basically, he is the Rick or Purple Kelly of the season in that he is a pretty terrible strategic player, and will probably be dragged along for a while until he is no longer of use to anyone.

5. Artis Silvester – We have seen so little of Artis all season long that there is really no evidence that this guy even has a remote idea of just how to play the game. His edit suggests that he is just a number for Abi-Maria and Pete, and that suggests that he will be gone, like Carter, when his services are no longer needed.

4. Denise Shipley – The challenge for Denise is that she may have actually established herself as a threat courtesy of the last immunity challenge, and she, unlike her alliance partners, does not really have the luxury of spending time with most of Tandang. It’s unclear where her allegiance lies with Jeff and Carter at the moment, but thanks to there being so many other fish to fry, it’s hard to see her being in trouble in at least a few weeks.

3. Abi-Maria Gomes – If Abi was actually likable, the odds would be much higher that she would be #1 or #2 on the list. She has an immunity idol, after all, and a pretty tight alliance. The issue here is that she comes across as condescending, and like Pete, her arrogance is going to make someone want to get rid of her in an epic and embarrassing blindside.

2. Malcolm Freberg – Not since Boston Rob has such a smart male player been in such a good position. Malcolm has the luxury of an immunity idol, the ability to win challenges, a great alliance with both Tandang and Denise, and the good fortune to be around some people crazy enough to actually want to keep him in the game.

1. Lisa Whelchel – The facts of life here are simple: Lisa’s got herself in a spot to go very far in this game. She’s on nobody’s radar, and every single person left will want to take her to the end based on the fact that she does not have much of an argument to win … especially if someone opts to reveal the secret from her past.

Who do you think is now in the best position to go far in this game?