Hi everyone! I hope you all enjoyed this week’s episode as much as I did!!! If it could, my jaw would have hit the floor so many times. Both challenges were riveting to watch, and the strategic plays being made on both sides of the losing Tribe were really great.

As usual, I’ve provided the deviation in each Castaway’s ranking from last week — that is, you can see how far they’ve fallen or risen from last week!

SPOILER WARNING: IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LATEST EPISODE, “Trust Your Gut”, DON’T SCROLL DOWN PAST THE MALOLO AND NAVITI BUFFS!!! GO WATCH THE EPISODE, THEN COME BACK AND ENJOY! 🙂

1. SEBASTIAN (+4)

Sea Bass is back on top for three reasons: If ANYONE will flip to the Malolos, it’s him. Looking at next week he gets in really good with Jenna, so that combined with what went down at the last Tribal where Michael tried to put into his head that he was one of Bradley’s targets, I see it happening. Two, he’s strong, and now that Brendan is gone *cries* Malolo will need a boost, even with strong players like Michael and Stephanie. My worry is that the Malolos won’t want him, and target him because he tries to flip Jenna to the Navitis, but we’ll see. Will Sebastian make a splash, or be dragged down to the depths of the Survivor abyss?

2. KELLYN (+4)

A resounding resurgence for Kellyn, because she has the numbers with the old Navitis and is one head of their strategic hydra (the other two being Bradley and Des). I think that Kellyn is safe because at the moment she is really unassuming, plus with her Ghost Island trip she played that really well — not risking losing the numbers for personal gain. Will that come back to haunt her later? Perhaps, but for now I see Kellyn as safe.

3. CHELSEA (+5)

CHELSEA GOT A CONFESSIONAL!!!!! PRAISE THE SURVIVOR GODS!!!! BUT, we know very little of her strategy. I think she’s playing a more social game right now, making connections with the old Malolos and still staying Naviti strong to make sure she’s in the best position possible. I think that’s great for now, and those connections should help in the long run.

4. DESIREE (+3)

Not a whole lot from Des this week except being AWESOME in the reward challenge, and being the one to first throw out Brendan’s name for elimination. We also saw her deal with the seed planted by Michael that she is Bradley’s target, which I think that if she starts to suspect him, she could totally flip. It’ll be interesting to see if she trusts what she’s got right now, especially now that the Navitis are up by TWO, or if she’s open to flipping.

5. JENNA (-1)

Another quiet but important force on Malolo, Jenna was present and involved during the machinations of Malolo with James (Clement)’s China Idol. Although things didn’t go her way, she seems to be getting a potential break by getting closer to Sebastian given next week’s preview. That could lead to a bevy of potential paths for Jenna to follow. She could flip to Naviti, the other four Navitis could target her for trying to get Seb to flip, she could be successful in getting him to flip, the Malolos could target her for trying to flip… the reason why Jenna is around the middle of the pack is that she has a lot of options. She could either totally screw this up, or get the Malolos back on track.

6. MICHAEL (-5)

Bro, that was BALLSY. I LOVED IT. And I’m PISSED it didn’t work out. Had you read the situation a little better, Brendan would still be here! However, I have to give you credit where credit is due for the amazing ploy. Now comes the tricky part, though — will your challenge strength outweigh the massive threat you are to the Navitis on Malolo? For your sake I hope you get another Idol and play it for yourself this time! For an 18-year-old I am SO impressed and rootin’ for ya!

7. STEPHANIE (-4)

Man, Stephanie is so awesome to root for. She wants this so badly and you can feel that from her emotional scenes. You see it on her face during the challenges, at Tribal, while strategizing… and that’s why she could be a perfect target for the Navitis in power. I don’t wan’t this to happen, but ESPECIALLY after her dragging Bradley through the mud last Tribal, he could be out for blood. If Stephanie goes pre-merge I’ll be devastated. I know that’s what I had happening pre-season, but I have grown to love watching Steph so much that I want her to go as far as possible!

8. BRADLEY (+1)

Can we rename Bradley to Joffrey? He’s got all of the makings of a perfect love-to-hate villain. The smugness, the complacency, the cold and calculating persona… and now that it’s pretty obvious that he’s the Malolos’ target, should someone like Sebastian, Des, or Chelsea flip? He’s done for. Though there are merits to keeping someone unlikable in the game as a Final Tribal goat, I think that Bradley is too dangerous and needs to be taken out sooner rather than later. Plus, he took down Brendan and I want him to go down for that! (Side note: I’m sure Bradley is a perfectly nice person irl. Remember this, don’t give these guys excessive hate for an EDITED version of the events out there!)

1. LAUREL (+5)

Laurel proved once again that she’s a force to be reckoned with in the challenges and strategically. Bonding with Domenick is perfect, and now that she knows he has a real Idol, she has options. She can betray him and try to pull what Sarah did to Sierra in Game Changers (probably not knowing Dom has the Legacy Advantage, but same gist), or work with him to get Chris out. We’ll see how things play out, but I’m rooting for Laurel.

2. DOMENICK (+1)

Domenick has an Idol, the Legacy Advantage, and the support of all but two of his Tribemates for getting Chris out. What could go wrong? Well… a lot. But, I think that at this point with a potential second swap coming up as well as the merge drawing closer, Dom can get something going — he just has to be careful that he doesn’t overdo it.

3. WENDELL (+1)

Wendell was pretty quiet strategically this week, but once again he proved his prowess with throwing balls at things in challenges when it counted. That comeback in the Immunity Challenge was absolutely FANTASTIC. I think that buys him some extra brownie points with the rest of his Tribe, which won’t hurt.

4. JAMES (-3)

James’ fall this week shouldn’t be too worrisome… if I could I’d have Wendell through Libby tied for third. But, he did pretty well in the challenges, and that should help keep Naviti away from Tribal. Plus, with the bonds he has with his old Malolo buddies, he could be in a fantastic spot. On a side note, happy 25th birthday, James! It’s crazy to think that you’re only five years older than I am (soon to be four, I’ll be 21 in a few months)!

5. DONATHAN (+1)

Donathan was pretty quiet this week, but we did see him bond with CHRIS of all people. Will that bond make it hard for Donathan to cut him, sooner rather than later? I’m not entirely sure, but perhaps it buys Donathan a reprieve from being targeted by Chris? As with a lot of people this week, there are many options that will have drastic ramifications down the road.

6. LIBBY (-4)

Like James and Donathan I think Libby is in a good spot should the target remain squarely on Chris and Angela, but given her blindsiding Morgan, she could be a prime revenge target for those two to try and take out. Libby needs to be careful, but I think she’ll get through this.

7. CHRIS (+1)

Chris was (thankfully for his game) a bit more quiet this week, given there was more focus on Malolo. He’s still a massive target, but his valiant success alongside Wendell in coming back in the Immunity Challenge should, in theory, be a very strong reason to weigh keeping him over Angela who has really not been a big help strategically or physically given what we’ve seen so far.

8. ANGELA (-1)

I think I said pretty much all I needed to say about Angela in Chris’ space. Though, I will say, that right now Angela would really benefit from a swap, especially if she is separated from Chris, especially if it’s via his ouster. I think she’s got some more fight left in her, so if she tries to pull something out of the blue I won’t be super surprised.

NOOOOOO!!! NOT BRENDAN TOO!!!! Bloody hell, really? Three of my faves gone (though Brendan was the only one I had in my top 4) in a row? AGAIN? Man, the Survivor gods have it out for me. Though, it was really riveting to watch and see if Brendan and Michael would be successful. The deception was exceptional, but the execution and result were abysmal. We’ll see if the Malolos can pick up the pieces next week. Brendan was a fantastic addition to the cast and I would wholeheartedly throw my support his way should he play again (some time in the future we need another Second Chances season!). If you’re reading this, thank you, Brendan! It was a pleasure to watch you!

With that, I’ll see you guys next Sunday (most likely depending on how crazy my schedule gets… if not, look out for an update on Twitter!) for my Power Rankings for Episode 4, “A Diamond in the Rough”! Ooh, is this an Aladdin reference? Someone finds an Idol that has odd yet situationally awesome powers? Is someone strategically a diamond? We’ll find out!!!

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

-Austin