Welcome to the weekly Survivor: Winners at War breakdown and award ceremony, our second of the year. After another big elimination, most of the old-schoolers have been sent to the Edge of Extinction (and one even left completely). With a merge on the horizon, let’s get into where things stand now. Spoilers below.
Most Valuable Player: Given to the player who contributed the most to this episode
Reims: The clear option here is Michelle, who was in complete control of the vote. She was my pick to head to Edge last week, but, somehow, her name wasn’t thrown out once. Heading into the merge, she survived probably the most dangerous situation she’ll be in for a while and seems to be in a great position. Honorable mention to Tyson because he makes me laugh literally every time he talks (his best this episode was calling Rob “a portly chap”.)
Pant: Considering that there were only four people in the team at tribal council, I feel like we can make an exception here and give the MVP award to someone on the Edge of Extinction and that person is Boston Rob. He showed why he is one of the greatest to ever play this game and why we should all still consider him a threat, despite his departure from the main island. The man managed to trick the entire island that he could not find any Fire Tokens, only to reveal to the camera that he had three himself. He also provided us with arguably the best line of the season: ”We’re in the majors. I’m batting .750. I’m the best that’s ever played.” Through his skill and ability to work the camera this episode, I believe that Rob should be the most valuable player and that Edge of Extinction is now more entertaining than the actual island.
Least Valuable Player: Given to the player who receives significant screen time and performs the worst
Reims: Wendell has been getting such a rough edit over this past two weeks, and it honestly shocks me he’s come out on top in the last two votes. He’s somehow pissed off everyone on his tribe and still managed to survive. He’s also trash-talked Jeff mid-challenge twice this year and lost both, including this week’s, where his lapse in focus cost his tribe the one second it lost by. Although I think the merge will buy him a little more life, it’s only a matter of time until his abrasiveness and me-first attitude rub people the wrong way. Honorable mention goes to Ben, who I think Adam is going to murder at some point.
Pant: Although my prediction was wrong last week and Adam managed to survive for the merger, I still think that he played a terrible game this week. The fact that he is partially wrong in believing that Sarah has the idol, rather than Sophie, was just one of the many blunders Adam has made this year. I think alienating his tribe was a poor decision and it will be interesting to see if he can find any allies when the three tribes merge next week.
Most Improved: Given to the player who boosted their stock most from last episode
Reims: Michelle, similarly to Denise last week, Michelle completely flipped her standing in the tribe and voted out a big name. Unlike Denise, however, who was still definitely in danger, it seemed that by the end of the episode, Michelle was fully the head of her tribe.
Pant: For a second straight week, Nick is the most improved player on the island. By sticking with Michelle and Wendell to eliminate Yul, Nick is proving that he shouldn’t be considered merely an avid Survivor fan, but a man who can make a deep run in the season. He was not considered for elimination at all throughout the entire episode, demonstrating that his kindness towards others is paying off. Nick seems to portray himself as a person that can be trusted and/or flipped, making himself a possible dark horse to make the final tribal council.
Current Godfather: Given to the player who is pulling the most strings and in the best position to succeed
Reims: I’m sticking with Sophie until something changes. She’s played an incredible game so far. She was the one with the idol, yet somehow paranoid Adam came to her with his theory about the others. She has allies on every tribe and is likely to make more post-merge. She has one of the strongest allies in the game in Sarah, she’s in with Kim (who has an Idol) and has an Idol of her own. On top of all of that, she’s someone who’s not particularly threatening. I think she goes all the way.
Pant: After my godfather pick got eliminated this week, I’m gonna play it safe and stick with Kyle’s name. Sophie clearly was running the tribe at this point and was mirroring what Boston Rob did on the Edge of Extinction. She’s giving off Boston Rob vibes and I love it. She is swimming in alliances heading into next week and I think she will be dictating the terms during the wild merger episode we all expect.
Out next week: Given to the player we think will be eliminated next week
Reims: If he doesn’t win immunity next week, I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony is eliminated next week. He’s probably the biggest name left, and as much as his antics make for fun TV, they’ll probably annoy the rest of his tribemates. He’s a good player, but I think he’s going to need immunity to stay alive for more than a few episodes. If he does win, I, unfortunately, think it’ll be Adam, who I have unconditional love for and disagree with everything Jaidev said about him. I think if he can go unnoticed for an episode or two, he can definitely make it far.
Pant: With everyone merging together next week and Wendell at odds with his tribe, I feel like he will be the one eliminated next. At this point in the game, everyone has proved themselves to be some sort of threat just by managing to survive. I don’t think he wins the immunity challenge and I feel at this point Kyle’s most valuable player(Michelle) really wants to get rid of Wendell as her threat-level rises. If he somehow manages to win the challenge, I have to go with Adam, who has yet to really form a strong alliance with anyone on the island. It’ll be sad to no longer have a villain like Wendell on the island, but I can’t say that Survivor Twitter won’t be happy.
Stay tuned next week, when we hit the merge!
