Survivor: Kaoh Rong - Power Rankings
Week 10
by Jim Van Nest
April 20, 2016
BoxOfficeProphets.com

Is there anyone here worth playing the game with?

Hello, good people! Are you in for a treat today (and the next few weeks, actually). Our good friend Ben is off gallivanting around the world and has given me the keys to the Survivor Power Rankings. So - as if you're not already sick of my verbose recaps every week - now I get to give you three consecutive weeks of verbose Power Rankings!

Let's see - we've lost Nick and Debbie in the last couple weeks, and the power in this season seems to be ever shifting. from one alliance to another, as this season's strategy has been all over the board. These tactics have ranged from Scot's brilliant move several weeks back to stop Tai from saving Anna with his idol to Scot's horrible move last week to pour water all over the fire. The only person who we can count on for solid strategy week in and week out is Aubry - and no matter what she does, plans, or works out, something always foils her plans. But her plans are the right ones. And eventually, some people are going to realize that, but it'll be too late. She'll be sitting at the final Tribal with a super compelling argument for why she deserves to win the game.

So, let's get to the rankings - and I want to preface everything by saying that my rankings are based on who has the best chance to win the game. They are not based on who is most likely to go home this particular week.

Here are the Power Rankings for this week:

1. Aubry - Aubry is really playing a great game. She's been an underdog most of the season and she always has the right read on a situation. She has the best strategy in the game and is trying her best to make the right moves. She's been smacked in the face with horrible luck, including Neal's med-evac (with an idol), Joe's refusal to ever switch things up and being saddled with Debbie, who couldn't see past her blind hatred for the guys last week. All that aside, Aubry has still been on the right side of every single vote. I think she definitely has the best shot to win this game. Further, she's been our narrator for several episodes now - can you say "winner's edit?"

2. Cydney - Cydney is really playing a heads up game out there. She's also seen by others as playing a heads up game. She and Aubry are working hand in hand for most everything at this point, but if you were to ask around, the rest of the cast would give more credit to Cyd than to Aubry. The only reason I have Cyd below Aubry is because the guys are gunning for her. They had no chance of getting her out last week, but their chances improved with the Debbie vote. The split vote is pretty much off the table now, so the Super Idol could very easily spell doom for our girl Cyd. I'm still not convinced the guys are smart enough to pull it off, though. Hence, Cydney sits at #2.

3. Michele - Michele had a couple great episodes a while back but has faded into the background a little bit lately. She has been with Cydney and Aubry all the way when it comes to Tribal Council voting. She has a solid relationship with Julia, which kind of puts her in a spot where she can either stay with the girls or flip to the guys. And as it stands right now, Julia is taking all the heat for playing both sides and Michele can just coast while watching Julia take the heat for whatever moves they make. If the guys can actually pull something together to take out Cydney or Aubry - Michele could easily flip to their side and be seen as the best-case scenario in a final Tribal next to Scot and Kyle.

4. Kyle - I don't know why, but something tells me he has a lot more game in him. While he and Scot are seen as bullies and villains, Scot is really taking the brunt of this since he's the one out there pulling this crap in front of everyone. I have to think Tai will give Kyle his idol back, which gives him a real good chance of hanging on for a while. And if he can keep Scot and Tai with him, I can see a scenario in which Kyle could get the votes necessary to win. Granted, the entire jury would be holding their noses as they voted, but it could happen.

5. Tai - Tai has an idol. He has an alliance. He has millions of fans throughout the Survivor universe. He also doesn't have much of a shot to win the game, I don't think. He's too wishy washy. He doesn't like the way the guys act, but sticks with them anyway. He wants to play his own game, but every time he gets the chance to do it, he backs down and falls in line. He has an idol, but he's shown that he can't keep his mouth shut, and he doesn't really understand how to leverage it. He's letting Kyle and Scot dictate to him how to play right now. At some point, his wishy washiness is going to irritate people. I can see him getting tired of Kyle and Scot's crap, but never fully committing to the girls. That will leave him in the Debbie spot where the alliances would rather remove the wild card then try to rely on him for a vote.

6. Julia - I really like what Julia's been doing. She has herself aligned with both factions in this game. She didn't vote with the guys last week, but she also didn't vote against the guys. The guys saw last Tribal as a win and I can definitely see them welcoming Julia back into the fold of their alliance. She proved her loyalty to the girls by casting the Debbie vote. I have a feeling Aubry will still not trust her, and rightfully so, but Michele already does and Cydney might, now that she has proven it with a vote. The problem for Julia is that there is only so long you can play this type of game before you have to actually choose a side. And I think she's in danger of waiting too long to do that and she could end up the target of both alliances.

7. Joe - Joe has no shot at winning this game. Even if he sits next to Kyle and Scot - Joe has no shot at winning this game. He's loyal to a fault and that has caused his own alliance to move on with other plans without him. He has no strategy whatsoever and he has no presence in challenges. Joe seems like an amazing person who probably has fantastic stories. I'd love to hang out with Joe, but come on. He has done nothing worthy of being called the sole survivor and nothing to earn the million bucks that comes with it. At some point, he'll just be a thorn in someone's side and he'll be sent to the jury. Now, I will say, he does have the potential to be a stellar bitter juror. I could totally see him tearing into Scot and Kyle in that final Tribal.

8. Scot - The only person with less of a chance to win than Joe is Scot. Despite making some solid early game moves, his transition to the Hantz-side is complete and there's no coming back from that. The only final three he would win would be with Wil Simms and Dan Foley, and even that would be a battle. Scot has very much made himself THE villain this season. Dousing the fire was the final straw in that transformation. He is going to be the target of the girls for several episodes to come. He might get idoled back into the game this week, but they'll just come for him again next week. And the next week. I think Scot's days are numbered, and while he probably won't go home this week, I think his downfall is upon us and we'll see him on the jury soon.

And there you have it, kiddos, my lame attempt at some Power Rankings. I would love to hear what you think. Who do you think has the best shot of winning? Who's going home next? Hit me up on the Tweet box and let me know: @vannestjc (no spoilers please - that takes all the fun out of what I do). Thanks! And if you haven't had enough of me yet this week, look for my recap of Episode 10 coming up soon. 'Til then, take care!