So it’s come to this, the final power ranking of the season. Whereas in the past we were trying to find the week’s upcoming boot, this week I am just ranking to find the winner. My top spot will be the person I think has the most chances to take it all home. The scoring will work the same way only from the top-down as opposed to bottom-up.
Ben once again escaped the warm embrace of death this week and cost me a point. Thankfully, Ashley went home instead and she was my second choice so it was only a +1. I’ve managed this season fairly well and enter the finale at +25. Let’s see if I can get my first 0 score of the season on the last night.
It really came down to Devon or Ben as my final winner pick. I’ve been vibing Devon as a winner all season so it would have felt wrong to turn my back on him so late in the game. He’s played a very calm, measured game and if he can just explain his moves to the jury, I think Devon has a very good shot. The key of course, is avoiding being picked off before final tribal council because Ben will definitely be doing his best to take a shot early.
The way Ben’s edit has been ramping up as the come-from-behind, refuse to die, underdog has me thinking Ben is a very legitimate winning threat. Obviously if he makes it into final tribal council, Ben’s story and gameplay will speak very heavily in his favor. Ben’s biggest obstacle by a large margin is getting to that final tribal council because nobody in their right mind is going to want to sit next to him.
Three Healers on the jury would give Mike a lot of help were he to make it to the end. So too would the fact that Mike never pissed anybody off or got his hands dirty as the majority alliance crumbled around him. Mike would certainly not be our most strategic or skilled winner but he certainly would be interesting.
I don’t doubt that Chrissy has played hard and has made some nice moves during her time on the island. I just don’t know that people are going to be wanting to give her the win. There’s something to being a person that the jury wants to see win. Chrissy has antagonized a lot of people on their way out and in exit press, she has been the most criticized player by a large margin. If she makes final tribal council, she’s going to have a lot of ground to make up if she wants to win.
Ryan has become almost invisible in the latter part of this post-merge. I find it hard to see any scenario in which Ryan beats any of the people above him. That said, I can certainly see Ryan putting together a very strong final tribal council and in some rare cases, that has been enough. He’s really going to have to illustrate his game to the jury to give himself a fighting chance against some pretty stiff competition.
