Okay, maybe I was a bit antsy to predict Dan’s elimination, but John’s blindside was just as mega and extraordinary. While I loved John, his elimination was the most exciting one of the season for many reasons. A) it showed just how good of a player Nick is in orchestrating this, B) it shows how good of an actor Christian is for his tribal council acting, C) Dan gave up an idol for Angelina, seeing his best friend go home, D) John got sent home minutes after he said there was going to be a Brochacho blindside, and E) we didn’t get to see John’s name mentioned at camp, so the shock was just as big to us as it was to the castaways. The mix of irony, shock, gameplay, and editing made this the most exciting tribal in a long time.
11. Kara Kay- If Kara is going rogue, she could do some serious damage in this game. But if she sticks with Dan at the end of the day, she could end up getting targeted as a stray vote to weaken Dan again. With John gone, Kara is the next strike at Dan. It could be an obvious vote.
10. Dan Rengering- Dan gave up one of his idols and lost a close ally in John. If Kara truly breaks ties with him like the previews suggest, she could tell everyone about his idol. And if Carl finds out, you can bet that Carl’s going to use that idol negator to cancel out Dan’s idol. The only thing keeping him from the mere bottom spot is the fact that he is a challenge beast (when he’s not being cocky with those freaking sand bags).
9. Angelina Keeley- After wasting the idol on Angelina, I don’t think Dan will have any interest working with her. And she wasn’t an original member of the Strike Force alliance. Does Angelina really fit in anywhere? Nope. Angelina will either be eliminated unanimously since nobody seems to truly have her back, or she’ll be someone they string along as a number while they fry some bigger fish.
8. Davie Rickenbacker- Davie used an idol, so people may be threatened and take a strike at him. I’m worried for this move, but I do think the Davids have leverage to pull over some Goliaths, particularly Alison and Alec. I hope Davie can get the job done, because we truly haven’t had a more likable man on this show in some time.
7. Christian Hubicki- I think people should realize that Christian is only good at puzzles and not a threat right now. He could have easily been sent home, which is why he still remains vulnerable. But I do think Christian needed some sort of wake up call, and this was it, so I expect him to survive a bit longer.
6. Mike White- Mike is no threat to anyone, but he is the one who set the Christian boot in motion. If the Davids don’t trust him after that, he could end up being a target of theirs. But I don’t think that’ll come for quite a bit later down the line.
5. Carl Boudreaux- Carl’s got that idol nullifier and has a great shield in Davie, who made a huge move. He’ll stick around until he uses it.
4. Alec Merlino- Alec has been playing EVERYONE, and nobody has realized. I think he’ll be someone the Davids and Goliaths both fight over, and until he’s caught, he’s as good as gold.
3. Alison Raybould- Alison is most likely to jump ship with the Davids. Remember episode one, when she was arguing Jeff Probst and telling him that she should be a David? It’s obvious that she doesn’t want to work with the Goliaths, and it may end up being her key to finale night. I think Alison is going to be just fine.
2. Gabby Pascuzzi- Gabby is not a threat, but is vocal enough to get people to want to be on her side. She needs to make one huge move to give her a shot at the win, but right now, I think she’s looking likely to secure a seat at final tribal council.
1. Nick Wilson- Nick was the King of the World this episode. He found the vote steal, and he was able to save all the Davids. Sure, he didn’t have the idol, but he came up with the plan to split the vote and target John, and by targeting John, it’s pretty much taking a shot at all the Goliaths collectively. And the best part of it all is that Nick doesn’t look like the mastermind. He’s not devious about it, and keeps it quite low key. I think Nick has had the biggest transformation of any player this season. He was supposed to be the first person voted out had Pat not been medically evacuated…remember? This kid has the best David story of anyone out there. My winner prediction.
I think this was a huge episode for the Davids, and it could truly turn the tide. I think we’re going to see Dan blindsided sooner rather than later, but because of his idol, I really don’t know how it’s going to play out. I may as well predict the next best thing, which is his #1 since day one, Kara.
1. Nick (+1)
2. Gabby (-1)
3. Alison —
4. Alec (+1)
5. Carl (+5)
6. Mike (-2)
7. Christian (-1)
8. Davie (-1)
9. Angelina (+2)
10. Dan (+2)
11. Kara (-2)
Biggest Rise: Carl (+5)
Biggest Drop: Mike, Kara (-2)