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Last week, we saw the continued success of Stealth R Us, which is continuing to meet its weekly targets, fulfill its core values of commitment, loyalty and teamwork, and show outstanding perseverance in the field of excellence. Look for more of the same this week as we are likely to see some predictable vote-splitting, followed by a predictable elimination.

Here are the power rankings:

1. Andrea

I’ve given Andrea the dubious promotion to #1 in spite of her insecurities last week because she convinced her tribe to change its plan and vote for someone else. Obviously there were logical reasons for doing this – Michael being a safe vote as he definitely did not have an idol – and things worked out anyway – Malcolm burned an idol. But getting your alliance to change its vote when they are dead-set on targeting another player and are you are over-reacting is not easy. I wonder if her alliance will give her any credit for playing it safe?

2. Cochran

Cochran is #2 because he and Andrea seem to be the strategic core that is running Stealth R Us. They are the ones we see discussing who to vote out. I also think at this point in the game, Cochran is in a good position to win the eventual battle between him and Andrea. His alliance with Dawn seems solid, and he has worked hard at building a relationship with Phillip, who in turn will “bring” Sherri along. Andrea’s sub-alliances look less strong.

3. Dawn

This week’s promo is urging us to watch because Dawn suffers from an epic meltdown. This is not quite as bad as the shameless promotion of “Here’s Brandon’s meltdown which may include actual violence! Please don’t give up on this season!”, but it’s up there.

Anyway, assuming Dawn’s meltdown occurs in the first ten minutes of the show and has no further impact on the game – because face it, that is what usually happens with Survivor promos – she is still the one everyone trusts. If anyone else is foolish enough – and I am not naming anyone, Reynold – to approach someone on Stealth R Us with a pitch, they will approach Dawn.

4. Malcolm

Big set-back for Malcolm last week, losing an alliance member and an idol. Bright-side is that he still has an idol no one knows about. Maybe he can leverage that to build a future in the game, but I doubt it. If there is one thing we have seen Stealth R Us do with absolute comfort, it is splitting the vote to flush idols. And now they are up 7-3, they won’t hesitate to do that. What I’d like to see is for Malcolm to somehow be targeted by everyone, and then actually play his hidden idol that no-one believes he has, causing someone on Stealth R Us to be voted out. We haven’t seen that in a long, long time.

5. Phillip

We haven’t seen Phillip call any shots lately, but I wonder if for all his Stealth R Us bluster he realizes he is down on the pecking order. In the last couple of episodes, we’ve seen him put more effort into building a relationship with Sherri than anything. It could just be favor-currying for an eventual juror, but I think it has more to do with keeping safe during the final stages of the game. Anyway, he’s essential to the endgame of everyone else on his alliance, so don’t count on him going anywhere.

6. Sherri

Sherri claims that while she is on the bottom of the alliance now, eventually she is going to turn Phillip and run him. Maybe she’ll stick around for a while. She’s certainly disliked enough by the other fans to be a valuable commodity at the final Tribal Council.

7. Erik

Erik continues to be a non-entity in this game. (I have this sense of déjâ-vu, like I’ve written exactly the same thing before. This is not unlikely.)

8. Brenda

In Brenda’s own words, “..........................”

9. Eddie

I wonder if Eddie realises that he screwed up everything for his alliance last week? I don’t mean in the show. I mean, does he know now, having watched the actual episode on Wednesday night and read all the tweets about himself.

10. Reynold

Reynold is looking especially vulnerable this week after he over-estimated his own smarts for the 4,237th consecutive time this season, taking only about five seconds to decide it was worth giving away his hidden immunity idol to someone who turned out not to be the voting target. Look for Reynold to be voted out tonight, because everyone knows he now doesn’t have an idol. But I’m sure his parting words will be as optimistic as ever.

If you haven’t given up on this season yet, or if you have but you still would like to read more put-downs of easy targets like Reynold while you still can, come back on Thursday for the recap.