Survivor

If Fei Long ends up winning Thursday's immunity challenge, they will turn Survivor: China in to a full on rout.  It would be seven on four at that point, Fei Long boasting three of the four strongest males and the strongest female.  If they lose, things will get interesting.  The funny thing is, Fei Long might actually benefit from an immunity loss if it allows them to relieve themselves of some dead weight (Courtney or Denise).  It all depends on when the Survivor: China merge goes down and whether the Zhan Hu members band together or splinter.  My rankings of Fei Long took a fair amount of thought.  There are two power alliances in Fei Long, both with their own strengths and weaknesses.

#7 – Courtney Yates

Courtney has no alliance to speak of, is clearly the weakest competitor in the tribe, and weighs roughly 12 pounds.  She has to be the next to go, right?  The only way she can salvage an entry into the merge is if she decides to align with one of the groups.  If I were her, I'd reach out to Jean-Robert and James and try to skate further along in the game.  I know she dislikes both of those dudes, but it might be her only shot.  If Fei Long loses immunity tomorrow, Courtney's the overwhelming favorite to go home.

#6 – Denise Martin

Again, I don't know.  She doesn't say much, we haven't seen her interact with anyone, she doesn't have an alliance, and I have absolutely no opinion on her challenge abilities.  She seems alright, I suppose.  She's going to have to make some plays at some point.  If not, she may be a default contestant to vote off sometime in the very near future.

#5 – Todd Herzog

Even though Todd is in the alliance with Aaron and Amanda, there's a couple of things I don't like.  One, he appears to over think the game and I wouldn't put it past him to turn on his alliance.  Also, Amanda and Aaron are clearly stronger players in challenges than Todd and he'll eventually become expendable.  It's a strong possibility that his three-headed alliance makes it to the end, but I also see no way he beats either of his alliance mates in a final vote.

#4 – Jean-Robert Bellande

Bellande had a hugely important last episode, going from being in the dog house of most of his tribe to becoming a sympathetic character.  At least, that's how I see it.  He's a professional strategist, and he'll be doing a lot of endgame pondering as the merge approaches.  He's aligned himself with the physically strongest person on Survivor: China and he's no pushover himself.  The only reason he's not higher are the numbers: his alliance has two members, the other in his tribe has three.

#3 – James Clement

The same things apply for James, but with this added bonus:  If James makes it to the merge (and it looks like he will) there's no reason he can't win every single immunity challenge.  It's been done before.  Even if he can't win the mental challenges, his alliance member Jean-Robert might. 

#2 – Amanda Kimmel

Amanda is the strongest female in the game and she has the strongest alliance.  What more do you want?  Frankly, there's not much separating her and Aaron.  Consider Amanda as 1B, Aaron as 1A. 

#1 – Aaron Reisberger

Aaron has proved to be a great leader, dodging the bullseye while forging a great alliance and performing well in the challenges.  I can really envision him and Amanda taking this thing to the end.  If both remain strong in their alliance and resist the urge to change allegiances, they have to be the favorites going forward.

-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of CBS)