The days of CBS and Mark Burnett allowing immunity challenge dominance on
Survivor appears to be over. I was all set and ready for James to begin asserting his physical presence after the merge, beating down all comers in the immunity challenges. This has not happened. There has not been one totally physical individual immunity yet, with likes of Courtney and Peih-Gee (arguably the most two physically weak players left) taking home immunity victories. I suspect that the physicality of the challenges will increase soon, but who knows? Mark Burnett could have made a conscious decision to steer the competitions away from the purely physical. I'm reluctant to let this effect my power rankings, but it's something to think about.
#7 – Peih-Gee Law
Peih-Gee will probably be the next target of the five strong alliance, because I for see her trying to mix things up. She may not be a physical threat, but she;s more motivated than Erik is to stay in the game. She has a chance to stick around if she can somehow bring Courtney and Denise into a four pronged alliance. Unlikely, but possible.
#6 – Erik Huffman
The only reason Erik might stick around is that he's a nice guy. The ladies dig him and he gets along with everybody. As we saw with
Jean-Robert Bellande, sometimes how much you enjoy someone's presence can trump strategy.
#5 – Courtney Yates
I have no idea what Courtney's game plan is right now. She seems content to be the fourth or fifth member on an alliance where she is clearly the weakest link. Game play-wise, she probably should have attempted a coup with Frosti. But, I did like that whatever infatuation she had with Frosti didn't blind her. The next couple episodes are massive for Courtney.
#4 – Denise Martin
Denise could float on into the top three or two. I've said all along that James, Todd and Amanda should all be figuring out a way to bring either Denise or Courtney into the final two with them. Denise, therefore, could be a default entrant in the final two. She has no chance of winning the million, but the $100,000 second place prize isn't a bad consolation.
#3 – Todd Herzog
Todd has to watch out before he becomes known as the mastermind. Amanda is definitely content with Todd being known as their alliances leader, but that's not a target Todd should want. Regardless, Todd is also going to have to think about getting James to burn his immunity idols at some upcoming tribal councils before the big man secures a place in the final two or three.
#2 – Amanda Kimmel
If it weren't for James' immunity idols, I'd have Amanda in first place. For being such a power player, Amanda has remained under the radar, which is an impressive feat. Her and Todd need to worry about a coup this week. If they can make it through that, then the issue becomes James. Expect to see Amanda in the final three, at least.
#1 – James Clement
He's the physically strongest player left in the game, he has two hidden immunity idols, and he's not an idiot. How could James not be number one?
-Oscar Dahl, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image Courtesy of CBS)