Survivor: Worlds Apart Power Rankings
Week 8
By Ben Willoughby
April 7, 2015
BoxOfficeProphets.com
My prediction of a No Collar-White Collar alliance against the Blue Collar was 100 percent backwards. It turned out that Carolyn (and Kelly) didn’t like the No Collars, and that maybe Tyler and Carolyn saw more opportunities from an alliance with the players who have poor strategy and regular personality clashes. So without numbers, a No Collar was sure to be voted out, right?
No! Jenn played her hidden immunity idol so that all votes against her did not count, and my favorite Blue Collar Kelly was sent home. I think Kelly’s big mistake was not keeping up appearances with the No Collars. After the merge, she basically went back home to the Blue Collars, and may have been targeted as a result. The Blue Collars are really intolerant when it comes to pretending.
But for those still in the game, it’s seven votes - Mike, Rodney, Will, Tyler, Carolyn, Sierra and Dan - against four - Joe, Jenn, Shirin and Hali. The outcome should be predictable, but the large alliance also has the numbers to start thinking about “who on our side is expendable?” Here are the power rankings for this week.
1. Tyler
Tyler and Carolyn have put themselves in the swing position, which should keep them out of danger for the next couple of episodes. And – especially with Kelly gone – there are plenty of fractures in their alliance of seven that they can work with down the road. Sierra doesn’t trust the other Blue Collars, Rodney is raring to make a move against Mike and Will is just out there on his own. Tyler probably has better connections with the Blue Collars than Carolyn, especially now that Kelly is gone,
2. Carolyn
It was Carolyn’s turn to break out a Rodney accent this week. Rachel Dratch has had more impact on American culture than I expected. At the beginning of the episode, Carolyn was wanting to work with the No Collars, but by the end of the episode, Tyler had convinced her that Blue Collar was the way to go. I wonder how long their “secret” alliance is going to be secret if they keep sharing the same swing votes.
3. Sierra
Sierra has gone into silent mode again, so it’s hard to tell whether she has decided to actually ally with the other Blue Collars, or is just biding her time. With Kelly gone and Rodney all over the place, keeping Sierra’s vote just became vital to Mike and Dan.
4. Mike
Mike is busy taking everything too seriously. Mike is excited about the merge, and the chance to come together as one people with the responsibility to build a new society! Mike is even thrilled by the choice of tribe name, Merica! For Mike, irony is one of those things that happens to other people. I can’t wait until Probst announces a reward challenge where the winning castaways will deliver baseball gear and apple pies to a local village and teach the kids the Pledge of Allegiance.
Rodney aside, my take is that Mike’s alliance is made up of people who are happy to let him be the leader. That’s a good medium-term position, but not a great long-term one. Mike has to worry about getting cut loose.
5. Dan
Dan is still wearing that stupid hat to Tribal Council. I realize that Probst is a Just For Men posterboy, but Dan shouldn’t be shy about his baldness.
6. Rodney
Rodney felt “extremely disrespected” by the fact that his blind-side plan resulted in his new, secret-yet-obvious alliance partner being blind-sided. So he decided to put together a rag-tag group comprising himself, two people he has never played with and the closest alliance partner of the person who most wants him gone (and who has now been voted out herself). I’m sure they’ll all go along with his plan!
Anyway, Rodney’s a loose cannon who wore out any reserves of patience he had four episodes ago. I’m not sure anyone really wants to work with him, but maybe he’ll shake things up by being voted out before the last No Collar.
7. Jenn
Jenn is idol-less this week, but the good news for her is that next episode the attention should be all back on Joe. Maybe that will give her some breathing room.
8. Hali
Hali likes her tribe name so much because as a future criminal defense lawyer, she is part of the Constitution! A couple of years working in the criminal justice system should knock that naiveté out of her.
9. Will
Will is either dumb enough or desperate enough to buy into Rodney’s plan and flip to the Blue Collars. Neither option suggests Will is in a strong position. Expect some Will management this week along the lines of “you passed the loyalty test.”
10. Joe
Joe is on the losing side of the numbers, is seen as the main threat by the majority alliance and doesn’t have a lot of options to shake the vote up. He’d better win immunity again, or find a hidden immunity idol.
11. Shirin
Shirin is voting with the No Collars, as they are all going with the “let’s put up with Shirin” strategy. The available vote strategy is the only one Shirin can play, but as no one in or out of her alliance seems to like or respect her, she has no chance in the game.
There are the power rankings for this week. Watch tonight to see what Rodney hijinks the Survivor producers decide to show us to distract from the inevitable No Collar Pagonging, and then come back Thursday for Jim’s recap.