Each week during this season of Survivor, I’ll be ranking the castaways in terms of best chance to win the game. Last week, Katrina was voted off after being ranked No. 6 of 18 in the preseason rankings.
Week 2 Power Rankings:
1. Ben (Last week: 1): I liked how he played in Week 1 and he has potential to go pretty far, but his alliance with unpredictable Alan seems like it could be a concern.
2. Ryan (Last week: 9): I really liked this dude! Yeah, he’s quirky — but he obviously pays attention to details (found the Super Idol) and knows the game very well. He could make a Cochran-like run by relying on his social game if things fall his way.
3. Devon (Last week: 15): The surfer dude linking up in an alliance with Ryan was really cool (“We’re going to cause chaos together”). It made me feel positive about his prospects going forward, though he doesn’t seem like a strategic mastermind in the long run.
4. Chrissy (Last week: 7): She made a surprising — but correct — move in not using the Super Idol to save Katrina, which would have alienated her from her remaining tribemates and still left her in the minority. Hopefully she can make inroads with someone on the tribe before the next visit to tribal council.
5. Mike (Last week: 3): He was a bit geekier than I expected, leaving me a bit uncertain about the long-term prospects of his social game. Still, he’s obviously a very smart player and I think he’ll make good moves if given the chance.
6. JP (Last week: 10): Alan blew up whatever budding connection he had with Ashley, resulting in an awkward strip search for the idol. But JP stayed pretty calm about it, so maybe he can get past this if he can target Alan first.
7. Ashley (Last week: 11): She got caught up in being targeted by Alan, so I don’t know where that leaves her long term. But she handled it well, considering the circumstances.
8. Ali (Last week: 16): I was pleasantly surprised by her. She seems to be a better player than I thought after reading her preseason bio.
9. Lauren (Last week: 17): The fisherman seemed to be leading the way at the Hustlers camp. That could either keep her safe or turn her into an early target, and I’m not sure which.
10. Patrick (Last week: 4): The redhead linking up with Ali seemed promising, though there’s something about Patrick’s game I don’t totally trust.
11. Cole (Last week: 5): It was hard to get much of a feel for his game in the first episode. We need to see more, but a budding showmance with Jessica could be worrisome.
12. Roark (Last week: 8): She had one confessional, but overall that didn’t leave us with many clues about how she’ll play. Hard to say.
13. Jessica (Last week: 13): Showmances never work on Survivor — you don’t want to be looked at as a duo of any kind — so her potential relationship with Cole is trouble.
14. Desi (Last week: 14): I strongly disliked her preseason bio, so I’m not going to suddenly get on the bandwagon just because she had a quiet episode.
15. Joe (Last week: 2): Whoa. Way too aggressive, dude! Seeing him bully Mike into admitting the idol search was not a good way to start the game. That style won’t serve him well in the long run if he keeps it up.
16. Alan (Last week: 12): Dude! Just no. Freaking out in Week 1 and trying to blow up someone else’s game is playing wayyyyy too aggressively at the start. And that never works. Alan needs to be careful or he’ll get booted in the next few weeks.
17. Simone (Last week: 18): I don’t remember seeing her much in the first episode, so my opinion hasn’t changed.
Eliminated:
Week 1: Katrina (ranked No. 6 of 18)
LOL loved the ranking on Alan