My Survivor 45 Power Rankings After Episode 3
17. (Brandon) - Poor Brandon. His love for the game was palpable if not downright inspiring, and although he clearly had the social acumen to theoretically do decently he just couldn't cut it in the physical aspect of the game. That made him too large of a liability early on.
16. (Sabiyah) - Before this season started I was very bullish about Sabiyah, and her gameplay, social skills, and intelligence all came to light in her short run. Unfortunately, she got stuck on an all time disastrous tribe and she made a miscalculation that ruins so many people's games: misplaced trust. Oh well.
15. J. Maya - She seems nice, and I listened to some of her music on Spotify and it was actually quite enjoyable, but her overall quiet demeanor and lack of strong relationships up until now has made her mostly a nonentity in the game. She'll likely quietly float her way for a while longer, but unless something drastically changes I don't see her making a significant impact.
14. Sean - With Sabiyah's ouster and Sean being blindsided in the process, and with LuLu essentially being in shambles, Sean has no real relationships in this game and is most likely positioned to be an easy vote after a tribe swap. It's possible that, as a lone player, he could be a number for someone for a while... but he hasn't shown anything other than a genuine kindness yet that suggests he'll be able to outplay the unfortunate position he finds himself in.
13. Brando - Brando is unquestionably a sweet, funny young man who is good at bonding with others. Positioning himself within the women's alliance on Belo (him wearing the Buff as a shirt is an all-time delightful Survivor moment) is smart, but with the pending swap I don't necessarily see an easy path forward for him. Is likability enough? We'll see!
12. Bruce - Bruce. Bruce! Who knew Bruce was such a silly guy? Is it all a put on to avoid being a bigger threat considering he is technically a returning player? His more calm demeanor in his confessionals suggest that, however his "Drunk Uncle" antics clearly haven't won everybody over (more on Katurah later.) He does have physical and social prowess, and seems likely to make it to the merge... but not much farther.
11. Sifu - Is Sifu the hybrid of Coach and Phillip we never knew we needed? Or wanted? The jury is still out on Sifu, but he's undeniably a very strong man which will likely get him to at least the halfway point of the game. I don't have a good read on his strategic or social abilities yet... and it seems that the cast doesn't either. He's a wildcard!
10. Kendra - Kendra is well positioned in this game and it seems that the Belo women's alliance of her, Kellie, and Katurah is strongly positioned to go far in the game. She's also taken the time to get to know Jake and build relationships with other members of her tribe. Her social game is clearly strong, but I'm not sold on her going all the way... yet!
9. Kellie - Another member of the Belo women's alliance, Kellie seems shrewd and observant. She seems likely to evolve as a strategic threat, and if she's able to keep herself slightly under the radar she has a lot of upside. We haven't had a ton of focus on her in any of the episodes yet, however, which leaves me uncertain of just how far she can go.
8. Kaleb - Kaleb may be too good at Survivor, which is such a funny thing to say. He's incredibly social, he's smart and strategic, and he seems great at the physical challenges. He's also strongly bonded with Emily (more on her soon) and they're exactly the kind of opposites attract duo that can make a deep run in the game. The question becomes... can he manage his threat level well enough to not become an immediate target at the merge? If anyone can do that it seems like Kaleb, but regardless of what happens he is an absolute joy to watch play and an early personal favorite.
7. Drew - Drew is fascinating because both on paper and visually he seems like the perfectly archetypical nerd. And it many ways he is! But he's also far more confident and physical than that archetype usually is (compared to, say, Brandon or Brando this season) and his social prowess, coupled with his intelligence, are a potent combination. His alliance with Austin (not to mention Julie and Dee) reads as very promising to me, and he also has multiple advantages to his name. Drew is positioned very well - although his blunder upon being discovered digging could come back to bite him later.
6. Jake - Jake may be the most unassuming lawyer I've ever seen, and that makes him oddly charming. We know how Survivor loves its Boston folks (Rob! Jeremy!) and perhaps Jake is next in the line of Boston Survivor greats. His weight loss and personal story show a level of dedication that is promising, but I think it is his social game that is impressing me thus far.
5. Austin - Other than Kaleb, Austin is the most clear challenge threat, but I think his partnership with Drew (and Dee and Julie) has him anchored in a very strong position in this game. He's not as obvious of a threat as Kaleb (at least as of now) but he reminds me a lot of other past players that have done very well, and barring unexpected occurrences I think he's going to do just that.
4. Emily - Emily. Emily? Yes, Emily. Emily, who I just about hated in episode 1. Emily, who everyone on the island seemed to hate in episode 1. Emily, who needlessly called out Bruce before the game had ever really started (from another tribe!) and whose irritability and cynicism made her a social liability? Yes, Emily. In just 3 episodes we have already witnessed what I think is one of the most potent social turnarounds we've ever seen on Survivor. Her partnership with Kaleb is fascinating and genuine, and Emily seems to have the wit, intelligence, and observational skills to make a deep run - as long as she can keep her personality somewhat muted. Even if she doesn't... look at how far Kass went. I hesitate to call Emily a villain (have we actually had villains in the traditional sense in the new era? hmm) but I just get the feeling that she has the ability to subvert everyone's expectations and potentially even win this game.
3. Katurah - Katurah had me with, "So what's it like to be a lawyer?" Considering she's hiding the fact that she's a lawyer... this struck me as not only hilarious but incredibly shrewd gameplay in just a single simple question to another player. She's incredibly intelligent, has a strong grasp on the game's strategy, and has shown social acumen too. I feel like I'm beating the drum on the Katurha/Kendra/Kellie alliance, but they seems so well positioned and I think Katurah is the most savvy of the 3. Her one-sided vendetta against Bruce may be her downfall, but I think that will end up going Katurah's way as she has the ability to make it all the way to the end.
2. Julie - The only currently existing alliance I could argue is stronger than the Belo women is the Reba 4, and Julie has the inalienable "Mom of the tribe" quality that can be very successful in this game if played properly. Like Katurah she is hiding the fact that she's a lawyer (a late in life lawyer, in fact!) which shows an ability to lie and strategize smartly. Coupled with her clear social game and the strong bonds she's forming, the upside on Julie is very high.
1. Dee - Dee is awesome. Her ability to read the other players is wildly impressive, she has incredibly strong bonds with Julie/Austin/Drew, and her confessionals have often served as the audience surrogate in these first 3 episodes. Dee seems like the full Survivor package, but not necessarily in a way that will make her too obvious of a threat too early on. She doesn't seem easily rattled, and I think she'll be able to navigate anything the game throws her way. As of now, she's my pick to win it all.
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