Hey Survivor fans!

A swap, a new Ghost Island twist, and lots of variables heading into this week’s episode! Obviously all of this varies on the tribe swap and it’s really difficult to anticipate who will be safe and who won’t. It’s like playing Russian roulette…except it’s a reality TV game for a million dollars. But after watching some of the previews for this week’s episode, we can kind of get a good idea of what the tribe setup might look like.

In the preview on CBS Survivor’s YouTube page, we see that the challenge is set up for just 2 tribes, which I think dispels my initial idea of the swap being 3 tribes of 5. I think they’ll do two tribes of 7 with one person drawing an odd-man-out situation and being sent directly to Ghost Island without an initial tribe. The other option that I see potentially happening is that there WILL be 3 tribes, but one of the tribes will be sent to Ghost Island prior to the challenges since Jeff says, in the scenes from our next episode, something akin to that it will be a “Ghost Island first”. Ghost Island has been a little underwhelming thus far, so I’m anticipating that “first” to really amp up the excitement behind this theme and the powers behind the spirits of the bad Survivor decisions.

I’m really hoping that certain pre-swap #2 dynamics that have been built up during the first 5 hours of this season remain. I’m hoping that Chris and Dom end up on the same tribe again and that their battle continues, but with new people being brought onto both sides. I really hope the remaining 6 original Malolo members get a good draw because it would be really unfortunate to see them go further down in numbers pre-merge, giving us pretty much a pre-merge Pagonging. It’ll be interesting to see what the majority alliance of Malolo does in this swap, since they might not have the numbers to rely on like they did for the past few votes.

Gotta love pre-merge swaps!! Anyway, with so much uncertainty, here are my very rough power rankings going into this week’s episode, of which I am not totally confident:

Domenick – He’s got an idol and he’s not dumb enough to go out with it in his pocket. If he ends up in a precarious situation at the swap I think he’ll be safe no matter what, even though this Chris/Dom battle is still being played up in the preview. Kellyn – She’s made good relationships with her majority alliance in the Malolo tribe and might be able to forge new ones depending on the swap. I don’t think she’ll be targeted if she ends up in a majority. Donathan – He’s a person whose edit is making it seem like he at least gets to the merge, and he’s been making good connections with everyone in the Naviti tribe on all sides, so he has lots of options. Wendell – He’s too likable to go out now and I think people will want to play with him. He’s been making connections with former Malolos on his tribe and can link off with old Naviti folks, and that can set him up nicely in the swap depending on where he lands. Laurel – She has set herself up to work with whoever she wants in the Naviti tribe, similar to Donathan, and in the swap will likely be able to survive until the merge. Bradley – Cocky, arrogant, and not my favorite, but he’s got a good alliance for now. Heading into a swap I think that he’ll be able to keep people on his side and get through the scramble of the pre-merge days. Sebastian – He’s not really posing any threat right now and doesn’t seem to be playing any sort of strategic game. We know that he and Jenna are flirting (and they’re currently dating in real life CHECK IT ) so I think an alliance like that might make its way to the merge. Des – She was the one who made the call to switch the vote to Stephanie, but otherwise really hasn’t done anything yet besides search through Stephanie’s bag, which makes me think that she’s good for at least another few days. Jenna – She voted out Stephanie to keep herself safe, and is working with Sea Bass, and if they end up on the same tribe after the swap I think they’ll both be safe. If they get split up, hopefully she ends up with other Malolos, otherwise it might be difficult for her to operate. Michael – We’ve seen him as a smooth operator and a really articulate dude- he was saved by Bradley and Co. last tribal when he could have easily been the next to go instead of Stephanie. With a swap as a “second chance,” hopefully Michael isn’t booted pre-merge because he’s an all-around threat. Chelsea – She is still a total goat right now in my opinion, and at a swap she could be an easy vote off if she doesn’t end up in a majority. James – My hope for James is that he finds himself on the right side of the numbers and if he’s not, he forged bonds with other people to get through. But being a former Malolo who’s good physically and really smart, I think he’ll be a target. Libby – We haven’t seen much of Libby since the Morgan boot, which could be a good thing for her longevity, but I think as another former Malolo she could be left without a viable alliance. Chris – His battle with Dom will hopefully ensue depending on the swap, but may include new people. He’s a serious physical threat and might be a pre-merge target prior to the individual portion of the game. Angela – Angela is just Chris’s pawn right now and if the Chris/Dom battle ensues, she could be collateral damage if they end up on the same tribe. If she gets split from Chris, I think she’ll be an easy target.