Hey there, everyone! Welcome back to my blog and to my first week of Power Rankings for Island of the Idols! Today I’ll be covering the AMAZING premiere we were treated to. I thought it was a lot of fun, and we got time to see both tribes start to bond, as well as how Island of the Idols will affect the game! It was also on par with the past few seasons in terms of its cinematography — I mean, Fiji is GORGEOUS (though I wish they’d go somewhere else for a change after 7 seasons in a row now), and its lush environment juxtaposed with the cruel nature of the game is fun to see reflected in the final product of the show!

So, here’s how my Power Rankings work. Each week I’ll rank the Castaways by tribe based on a few factors: How likely I think they are to go home in the next episode, how much ‘power’ they have in the game (whether that’s physical, social, strategic, or a combo of all 3), and how they performed in the previous episode. Starting next week, I’ll also show how far each Castaway moved up or down in the rankings! There’s not a points system and no big prize at the end for me, this is just for fun! Finally, I’m not spoiled in any way, and I intend to keep it that way. So, PLEASE don’t send me spoilers. That’s not cool.

Here we go!

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN EPISODE 1, “I Vote You Out and That’s It”, DON’T SCROLL DOWN PAST THE LAIRO AND VOKAI BUFFS!!! GO WATCH THE EPISODE, THEN COME BACK AND ENJOY! 🙂

1: MISSY

While the majority of the Castaways on Lairo are pretty exuberant, Missy brings a level-headedness that is really refreshing, and I think that her early connections with the women and a brewing all-girl alliance will set her up exceedingly well. She was extremely observant and was one of the driving forces in making that alliance happen. She could totally use Elaine to bring in Tom and Vince and create a fantastic majority crew! She seemed to bond well with her, so that’s something I could see happening. I especially loved seeing her with Elizabeth and her narrating her story about her time in the Air Force. Missy did a great job of filling in Elizabeth after the latter’s return from Island of the Idols, and making sure that the Ronnie vote happened as planned. I think that she’s such a compelling character, and I think that her easy-going and calm nature helped her secure the top spot on Lairo this week.

2: CHELSEA

Chelsea was FANTASTIC in this episode. She had some amazing confessionals, yes, but her most important successes were socially and strategically (never mind the puzzle fiasco in the Immunity Challenge). She played both sides of the tribe really well and set up two pretty solid alliances — an all-women brigade, and a smaller foursome with Elaine, Vince, and Tom. That gives her a lot of leeway going forward for when fractures inevitably form. She also seemed to be a bit hesitant to believe Elizabeth’s story about Island of the Idols, so that also bodes well. The biggest thing that Chelsea needs to do is to make sure that she’s not appearing to be too dangerously social or strategic and to make sure that what happened with the puzzle in the Immunity Challenge doesn’t happen again. Right now I am VERY happy with my winner pick 🙂

3: KARISHMA

Karishma really surprised me this week as she played phenomenally well both strategically and socially. She, like Chelsea, straddled the middle for a while and was torn between her allegiance to the women and her fledgling alliance with Ronnie and Aaron. Thankfully she chose to honor her first alliance and take out Ronnie, securing her a spot in the majority and putting her in the good social graces of her tribe. She seems like she is a well-valued member of Lairo, and especially given that she was one of the initiating forces behind the Lairo women banding together, I think that she’s in a fantastic position right now.

4: DEAN

Dean had a pretty quiet episode, but that means that it’s pretty unlikely that he’s going anywhere. He struggled a bit this week, but he was always kept in the loop and didn’t give anyone a cause for concern. Despite being the only Castaway to not have a confessional in the premiere (Boo! I think that everyone should at least get… like… 5!), he was still a visible presence at camp. I think that we’ll see him develop strategically and socially as his game evolves and as the alliances become a little more set-in-stone on Lairo. Dean’s challenge will be in determining whether to stick with Aaron, who he seemed to be close with, or to jump in with the majority who he voted with (I wonder who tipped him off to the vote being Ronnie?). I think there’s a clear ‘correct’ decision there… so we’ll see what happens.

5: ELIZABETH

Elizabeth, like I expected, had a large presence in this episode mainly because she was the first Castaway to visit Island of the Idols and receive some training from Boston Rob and Sandra. Before that, though, we saw her excel socially (and using the fact that Chelsea recognized her as an Olympian to bond with her, Missy, and Karishma) and strategically, making amazing connections with her tribemates and also being situated in a few different majority alliances. When she went to Island of the Idols, though, things got a bit hairy. She did a great job of learning how to make fire, and hopefully she can use that knowledge along with the flint that Lairo received from Tribal to finally get some fire going for her tribe, but going up against BOSTON ROB in a fire-making challenge was not a good idea. Even if it was for a Hidden Immunity Idol that was good for her next 2 Tribals, losing the challenge meant that she lost her vote at this Tribal, and although it didn’t really matter, it very well could have. I would have loved to see her negotiate more with Boston Rob (though perhaps it wasn’t clear that they could do so in the first place…). If I was out there… maybe I would have tried to swing it so Rob couldn’t use a flint to level the playing field a bit. Though, I could just as easily have been caught up in the fact that I was with two Survivor legends. So, I don’t really hold it against Elizabeth too much. Where I do find some room to criticize, though, is in what she told Lairo upon her return. Basically describing a discount Ghost Island to them was a pretty terrible lie — I think the better move would have been to tell them some of the truth, but I’m not entirely sure what she could have told them that they would believe. Thus, it’s a tough spot for her to be in in the first place, but I think that ultimately her social connections should make up for it.

6: TOM

Tom, like Janet, proved that age can sometimes be but a number, and was a fantastic physical asset to Lairo. He was also a pleasantly-surprising social and strategic player, calming Elaine and Vince down and forming a great trio with them (YES! I LOVE IT!). He held to the ethos that physical strength isn’t always as good as a team that works together, and if he can continue to push that narrative and bond with his tribemates, he can keep his alliance alive and start to maneuver his way through the game. I’m really excited to see where his game goes from here!

7: ELAINE

Y’all, I wish I could put Elaine higher right now, but she’s still got a tough road ahead of her. Everyone did acknowledge that her down-to-earth personality and natural charm made her a great ally — but also a dangerous one to take far in the game. She was a massive workhorse around camp, a great social player (her and Elizabeth discussing what cumin was cracked me up!), and managed to suss out Ronnie’s true motives and take him out before her torch was snuffed. I loved how she was cracking jokes left and right, and that makes her SO MUCH FUN TO WATCH. She had a FANTASTIC episode, but she’s still in the hot seat for now. I know she can pull through and work her magic to get back in power.

8: VINCE

Phew. I was really scared for a bit that Vince was going to go home. Thankfully, he had a lot going for him — a fantastic work ethic, some strong connections within his tribe, and the a little bit of luck. He was a part of the trio that lost the puzzle for Lairo, but I don’t think that that will be much of a factor going forward now that Ronnie is gone, and some of the other players are starting to step more into the limelight. Vince still has some work to do, though — he’s already close with Tom and Elaine, but he needs to work on some more connections… maybe Karishma and Chelsea? I think that he can definitely rebound from this, and I am eagerly anticipating his blossoming into a great player that I know he can be. While he’s not in the driver’s seat right now, that’s a good thing, and he can let others drive their way down the path of destruction.

9: AARON

Aaron was BLINDSIDED at Tribal Council by Ronnie going home. Though at the start of the episode he and Ronnie were commandeering the alliance that formed when Vince, Elaine, and Tom were gathering supplies (and totally twisting it all to make them look shifty), at Tribal he was in the clear minority of the vote, and that doesn’t bode well for him. He’s got a whole lot of damage control to do if he wants to escape these dire straits. However, he is a definitely physical asset, which could be a good thing going for him, but if the majority of the tribe pretty much rejected the physical-strength-means-everything ethos by taking out Ronnie, that might not help his case, especially when it concerns the likes of the people who he targeted like Elaine and Vince. He might just end up guilty by association with Ronnie at this point.

1: MOLLY

Molly lived up to the hype in Episode 1 as she not only was EXTREMELY perceptive in realizing that Jason had ditched the group to go Idol-hunting, but was also a fantastic narrator, a great presence at the Vokai camp, and also had a pretty hilarious encounter with a clam. She was also a great social player, by supporting Kellee during the situation with Dan, and bonding really well with most of her tribemates. She was ALSO a great player in the challenge by blitzing through the final puzzle alongside Noura and Jamal to secure the victory for Vokai. I’m really excited to see how her game progresses, because I think she’s going to be in it for a long time!

2: TOMMY

Tommy is doing a great job right now of connecting with his tribemates (we saw him bond especially with Lauren, Jamal, and Jack), and that helped the first core group of him, Jack, Molly, Kellee, Lauren, Dan (though I imagine he will be replaced with Jamal) form. I worry that if he is too sociable too quickly, it might give people some hesitancy (much like we saw with Elaine on Lairo), but I think that it will pan out for the better for Tommy.

3: JACK

Jack had a great episode! He showed off his playful spirit with Jamal, Noura, and Molly in the water, bonded with Tommy, and proved his physical worth in the challenge with that TOTAL HERO MOVE by going back down the ramp to grab Jamal in an epic scene. He is in a fantastic spot going forward and I don’t see that changing considering the blunders that some of his tribemates made. I can’t wait to see how his game progresses from here.

4: LAUREN

Lauren was a fantastic social force on Vokai this episode, making really strong bonds with Kellee, Janet, Molly, and Tommy. I think that these relationships will prove to be extremely beneficial during the tribal stage of the game, and if Lauren can ride the waves and take advantage of the fact that a clear minority has been established given some of her tribemates’ blunders, she will be in a fantastic position for a while.

5: JANET

CHIEF JANET MADE FIRE WITHOUT FLINT! That’s a fantastic way to prove her worth and show her tribe that her age isn’t everything! She was also a force to be reckoned with in the Immunity Challenge, and she also seemed to bond really well with her tribe, even if she isn’t in the core group that formed early — those sometimes don’t pan out. She also was great at connecting with the rest of her tribe despite her age difference, and that is going to definitely help her socially and strategically. All in all, I’m feeling really good about Janet and I’m beyond pleasantly surprised! 🙂

6: JAMAL

Jamal had a good, quiet episode this week. He made good initial connections with Tommy and Jack, and also seemed to trust Noura. However, by telling Noura that Jason was on the outs, that made Noura tell Jason, so that could potentially come back to bite Jamal. He was also a massive force on the puzzle during the Immunity Challenge, so that is also a good sign! He’s on the lower half of the rankings this week for Vokai, but like usual, it’s hard to rank those who don’t have as much content shown.

7: KELLEE

Kellee’s content this episode really centered around her interactions with Dan, and we didn’t really see a lot from her strategically beyond being a part of the core alliance. So, to talk about what we did see… I have to applaud Kellee on handling the situation with tact and maturity. She was very careful not to ruffle feathers while expressing her discomfort openly, and I think she did that very well. It helped that she had the support of Molly (who was also uncomfortable in the situation), Janet, and Lauren. I definitely think that this bodes well for her strategically and socially, and if she can use the tact she displayed towards the strategic aspect of the game, I believe that she can do pretty darn well.

8: DAN

Oh boy. Dan did NOT have a good episode whatsoever. His biggest blunder was getting way too handsy and personal-bubble-bursting with the women of the tribe, especially Kellee and Molly, and while his intentions were good, it wasn’t a good look and certainly didn’t do him any social favors. He CAN bounce back from this, but I think that it’s going to be very hard to do so, even though he did apologize profusely. Though, I will give him some props for throwing Jason under the bus more before that incident. We’ll see whose blunder is worse in time, I’m sure.

9: NOURA

While we didn’t see a whole lot of Noura in Episode 1, what we did see was… to be honest, concerning in terms of her potential longevity in the game. Though she did a great job on the puzzle in the challenge alongside Molly and Jamal, she told Jason that he was in danger and that everyone thought he had an Idol — now SHE will get lumped in with Jason on the bottom — and also wanted to work with Jason because he reminded her of an ex-boyfriend. Interesting… Noura is just all over the place, and the preview for Episode 2 doesn’t do her any favors. I think that she’s going to destroy her own game before it could even get off the ground, which is really heartbreaking because I like Noura!

10: JASON

Jason made a textbook Survivor mistake in the season that may as well be called Survivor 101: NEVER go idol-hunting alone on Day 1! That’s a perfect way to irreparably alienate yourself from the tribe and come off as extremely untrustworthy and shifty way too early in the game. Though some other Vokais messed up this week as well, I really don’t see Jason surviving Tribal Council should Vokai lose this week. Not only that, but he and Noura are kind of a pair on the bottom, and that also doesn’t bode well for him. He needs to try to do some major damage control, and fast.

And now, to give my thoughts on the first person voted out of Survivor Island of the Idols:

Ronnie was a really great one-episode character who I think just came in guns blazing and went too hard too fast. He had a hard time building trust with Elaine, leading her to be able to use her charisma and likability to flip things on Ronnie and blindside him in a 7-2 vote. Though I had slightly higher hopes for him, I think that Ronnie delivered in his archetype of a poker player (and unfortunately he couldn’t shake off the shifty vibe he gave his tribemates. He couldn’t break the poker player curse (no poker player has made the merge since the very first one, Jean-Robert in Survivor China!), but he IS the first guy to be the first person voted out since Kaoh Rong! Even though his time on Survivor was short-lived, Ronnie is definitely a memorable player!

Catch Episode 2 of Survivor: Island of the Idols, entitled “YOLO, Let’s Play!” on Wednesday, September 25th at 7 PM Central, 8 PM Eastern! I didn’t know people still said YOLO… but hey, in the game of Survivor sometimes you have to just bite the bullet and take a risk. After Elizabeth’s failure on Island of the Idols against Boston Rob, will we see someone else make a similar mistake?

I’ll see you all on Monday, October 7th, for my Power Rankings for Episode 2! PLEASE bear with me as Grad School and life can get in the way, so I might have to occasionally push my posts back a little bit. I hope you all understand!

Also, one last thing if you’ve made it this far. I’m currently looking to re-brand my blog a little bit… I think it needs a better name than “Austin’s Survivor Power Rankings” and definitely needs a better WordPress domain than austinsurvivorstrategyblog. If you have any ideas, please let me know!

Thanks so much for reading, and if you want to stay updated on the goings-on of the blog, ask me questions, or find out more about me personally, follow me on Twitter!

-Austin

PS: I love these gigantic ramp with the tribe logos on them. They are just TOO COOL.