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It’s unclear what direction this week’s episode is going to take. You’ll remember that last episode ended with a Next Time On Survivor that teased a move against Tyson. However, the weekly promos are on a very different tack, scarily highlighting Ciera’s “betrayal” of Laura? and how no one can trust her any more.

Anyway, this is game week for the newbies. I give them credit for being a lot more patient than most Survivor players, even a lot of players who have played the game. They’ve waited a long time for the right time to make a big move, and if they pull it off they’ll be the first newbies to outwit a bunch of returning players. And if not, they’ll seriously look like a bunch of chumps.

Here are the power rankings for this week:

1. Tyson

Tyson is still #1 as he is nominally in control of his alliance, he has a secret immunity idol that supposedly no one knows about and most important, he’s apparently the one everyone would like to get rid of. I am not-so-secretly hoping he’ll arrange an immunity idol surprise at this week’s Tribal Council, just so the end-game stays interesting.

2. Hayden

The editing suggests Hayden will be the one to galvanize the four newbies into a functional alliance to take on the returning players, even though they’ve probably all been talking about it for the last week or two. Maybe this means Hayden will redeem some of his potential. Or maybe he’s just a big dummy who can count to four.

3. Gervase

Gervase is either in a really good position, or a really bad one. If the returning players are able to keep running the game, he’s well-positioned to make the final three and (I think) win it from there. If there’s a blind-side against Tyson, he’s obviously the next one to go.

4. Ciera

I think Ciera missed her opportunity last week, but from reading her post-show tweets, it turns out that Hayden and Caleb didn’t trust Laura? at all, so maybe that opportunity never existed. Anyway, with her mother gone, she has less power in the game, and on top if that she'll be getting some passive-aggressive blowback for her decision. “Vote for your mother if you want to make it further in the game.” “I’m totally fine with that.” “You voted off your own mother! How can we trust you?”

5. Monica

We haven’t seen much Monica-panic lately. As the people still in the game get fewer and fewer, it’s going to look more and more tempting to go to the end with Monica.

6. Caleb

Invisible Caleb is still invisible, even when he gets a couple of interviews.

7. Katie

Katie is still on the bottom rung of whatever. Even if she may be part of an alliance by the end of this next episode, she’s just a tag-along vote for now.


Meanwhile, on Redemption Island:

1. Laura?

Laura? has proven herself on Redemption Island before, so I wouldn’t expect her to disappear from the game soon. I may even have to stop using her question mark - especially if she wins her way back into the game and then immediately gets voted out by Ciera again. I'm sure I'll remember that for many a season.

2. Vytas

Vytas has the emotional catharsis of staying longer in the game than his brother, but the downside for him is that Aras doesn’t seem to care very much and is actually happy for him. That bastard!

3. Tina

Tina did better than I thought at last week’s challenge. But do you really fancy her chances against Vytas and Laura? Didn’t think so.



There are the power rankings for this week. Tune in Wednesday to see if it’s doom for Ciera and then come back here on Thursday for the recap, which will seem a lot funnier if you're doped up on Beaujolais and tryptophan.