Survivor 41 episode 7 power rankings: Mergeatory part deux
This is the first time in the show’s history that we got a two-part merge separated by weeks. It throws a wrench into the Survivor 41 episode 7 power rankings.
We are in literally unprecedented times. Last week, I ranked the Survivor 41 castaways at what I expected to be a balanced, standard merge format with a twist involved. That twist, I figured, would represent a power that benefitted a player or two as twelve castaways fought for individual immunity.
Little could I imagine that Erika would become exiled after a Survivor Fiji-esque merge of teams saw the winning team pick Naseer, Jeff Probst would become an island-to-island hourglass salesman, and we would enter the Survivor 41 episode 7 power rankings with only half the players eligible to be voted out this week!
Frontrunner
Shan Smith: We’ve finally reached a point in this game where the creases in Shan’s game are forming into cracks. She will either be Ricard’s downfall or vice versa, but her new merge alliance with the remaining Black players will give her additional options from now on.
Liana Wallace: Though Tiffany has her number, much like Shan, Liana benefits from the commonality she shares with the players of her new potential alliance. Nothing is set in stone yet without a Tribal Council to test it, but she does have Shan’s trust despite the slip about her overpowered idol/advantage steal power.
In the Mix
Tiffany Seely: It’s hard to make clear-cut calls about the merge without a vote to test the waters, but Tiffany is once again doubting a fellow member of the Yase alliance after Liana kept a secret about her extra powers. In each instance, however, Tiffany’s suspicions about her alliance spreading wings without her has been correct.
It’s possible Tiffany could become a swing player in the early stages of the merge.
Middle / Swing Players
Xander Hastings: Being almost virtually guaranteed not to be eligible for elimination this week, Xander gained commonality with Naseer due to his challenge performances and their shared “secrecy” in having a Hidden Immunity Idol. Plus, he’s no longer guaranteed to be the next player of his tribe voted out for the first time since Voce.
Heather Aldret: I cannot recall a time when a player said exactly zero audible lines in a merge episode, especially when it seems as though they’ll have other players talk over her with confessionals rather than have her speak.
Does Heather quite the game? The edit feels almost vindictive at this point.
Erika Casupanan: She might be the “easy vote” accepted as a goner at the merge, but at the very least, she will have the ability to ensure safety for herself and five others for at least one round. Those six would guarantee the numbers from the merge onward if they wanted it, which is enough to make up for Erika being separated from the other 11 players for about 18% of the entire time she’s played up until that point.
In Trouble / Potential Targets
Danny McCray: To be clear about the rest of the Survivor 41 episode 7 power rankings, these players are potential targets purely due to the mechanics of the merge. Erika is 100% for sure, for real sure, going to smash that hourglass, meaning anybody currently safe is going to have to compete for individual immunity this week.
Danny has the athletic ability, the early positioning, and the leveraging of the merge tribe needing a woman to get voted out (somehow, he got that to stick as the merge messaging) to stick around until he quickly becomes a voting target.
Deshawn Radden: The merge alliance of Black players doesn’t quite have the numbers right now, nor the influence, of The Cookout from Big Brother 23, but Deshawn has the best positioning of those players from the Luvu tribe. The burying of Erika won’t see him taking the brunt, and he has cross-tribe carryover with Evvie.
Evvie Jagoda: Speaking of, Evvie seems to be the kind of player to rely on relationships without expressing paranoia. This one round will showcase her influence to whip a vote with a narrow voting target set of options, so it will be interesting to see how this plays out at the merge.
Ricard Foyé: He did not handle Shan’s extra vote request well, playing into her paranoia and being openly petty. I don’t think he will be targeted at the merge, but his need to get credit for moves might put him in a position to step out on his own and make a splashy decision that blows back onto him.
Naseer Muttalif: Who doesn’t love Naseer? I feel like he would be the only player to be sent to Exile Island and not use the Harry Potter time turner device, seeing how loyal he is to those he trusts. However, he is now vulnerable, and seeing how Luvu throws him under the bus consistently, he might be targeted at the merge.
Sydney Segal: It’s hard to have a messy strategy in an episode where nobody was voted out, but Sydney made it possible. She was quick to throw out Erika (and Heather, surprisingly) as merge voting targets, which will undoubtedly come back to bite her without the influence of an alliance outside the original Luvu players.
