Michael Skupin and Jonathan Penner (CBS)
XFinityTV is blowing up their coverage of “Survivor: Philippines.” Every Monday Jeff Probst and I will tackle a wide variety of topics with the “Survivor” Question of the Week. Every Tuesday I’ll be squaring off against “Survivor: One World” favorite Kat Edorsson in this season’s Power Rankings challenge. Every Wednesday briefly after the show we’ll have a full episode recap and every Thursday we’ll have an interview with the latest eliminated player. Follow me on Twitter (@gordonholmes) for all the updates!
The Rules: Each week Kat and Gordon will create separate Power Rankings. The ranking of the person who is voted out of the next episode will determine the number of points the two players will earn. For example, if Artis is voted out this week, Kat will receive 10 points and Gordon will receive 8 points. The person with the most points at the end of the season will be crowned the ‘Survivor: Philippines’ Power Rankings champion!
Last Week: Blam! Kat and I called it as we both had Katie in spot twelve. The current score is Team Kat: 80, Team Awesome Thunder: 85.
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| Kat’s Current Score: 80Any advice for Kat? Drop her a line on Twitter: @KatEdorsson | Gordon’s Current Score: 85
Any advice for Gordon? Drop him a line on Twitter: @gordonholmes |
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| 1. Malcolm: This guy might not be the almighty sole Survivor, but I’ll tell ya in this crowd he sticks out like a sore thumb! Malcolm I believe is still in the best position as of right now in Tandang. His idol, Denise in his back pocket, and Pete`s loyalty give me reason to believe his chances on winning the million only multiplie each day. At the immunity challenge the man was a BEAST! I’m assuming he learns well from “Mama Bear” (Denise). |
1. Malcolm: I seriously don’t know how to act. I’ve never had my pre-game pick be in such a good position at the merge. Much like Jessie Spano after she took too many caffeine pills, I’m both “So excited” and “So scared.” Excited because Denise and Malcolm can team up and be the likable part of the constantly feuding (yet dominant) Tandang alliance. Or, they can snag RC and Skup and bounce over to the Kalabaw Crew. Scared, because what they do this next episode will have a huge impact on how they finish. Fingers officially crossed. |
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| 2. Lisa: Again my beautiful “Lamb” is strictly on “CRUISE CONTROL.” When I see this strategy it dawns on me how some of our finest “Survivor” legends love playing this role. I refuse to mention by name the following who favor this, but it is a fantastic strategy. Ultimately this is what I would like to call the “Why should I play ‘Survivor’ when I’m having too much fun watching these bozos play it for me?” Keep it up, Lisa! | 2. Penner: Penner’s another one who has a ton of options at the merge. If he sticks with his buddies in Kalabaw, he could work on the Matsingers. He also might have a previous relationship with Skup (all the former “Survivor” players meet each other during charity events and other get-togethers). Best of all, he’ll have a little longer to figure out his plan thanks to his idol. The question is; would he use it to save Kent or Carter? I’m thinking no. |
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| 3. Abi-Maria: God, I hate this…. Okay, Okay, Okay, I’m just kidding. That was mean. But seriously I’ll tell ya this; I don’t care for taking players like Abi to the final three just because you know there’s a 100% GUARANTEE that nobody will vote in their favor. No offense Mamasita, but have you played in a challenge yet? Lisa is understandably on “cruise control” but she still killed it in the last challenge. I would really like Abi to step up, chill out, and give someone a hug or someone hug her for crying out loud. Strategically she is playing and Pete is on her side but once “Jeff Prosit” starts to call you out, that’s usually a sign to GET IT TOGETHER! |
3. Abi-Maria: If I’m Malcolm, I’m trying to come up with ways to get to the end with Abi-Maria. If that’s the direction he chooses, then known Abi-haters RC and Skupin are probably destined for the jury. Add her ability to go off on people at a moment’s notice and her lack of challenge prowess and you have the perfect goat. |
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| 4. Pete: Hi Pete, I enjoy watching you manhandle Tandang and you’re putting the work in, I’ll give it to ya. But, I only have two things; #1. They always chop the head off the snake. #2 Take off my sweater! |
4. Pete: Pete’s been playing a pretty solid game up to this point. The only thing I’d question is how quickly he gave up all of that info to Malcolm. If the Tandang alliance sticks together through the merge, it probably won’t hurt his game. But if Malcolm swaps sides it could be a disaster. |
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| 5. Penner: Come on Bud, I think someone was really hungry during that reward challenge. Do you think it was really worth it? I am no all-star and I’m probably one of your biggest fans, however…#DUMBMOVE. In “One World” the ladies and I lived solely off rice because catching fish was never a guarantee and when you know your challenges are so many days apart how could you possibly think that was the best idea? I mean the real question is, since when is Jeff Probst stopping a challenge? I’ll admit, I totally understand you guys would have been there for hours, people really will never understand how much energy it takes to open a coconut, let alone sit up in the morning when you’re starving. I just hope this doesn’t decimate Kalabaw based on this decision. |
5. Denise: Alright, so does Malcolm join Denise with the Kalabaw guys or does Denise join Malcolm with the Tandangers? Malcolm swapping alone won’t put Kalabaw in charge, they’d have to turn some other Tandang folk. The call with the least number of variables is Denise swapping sides, then trimming people like RC and Skup when the numbers support it. This isn’t ideal for Denise as this will put some Kalabaw people on the jury, but in her defense, she wasn’t aligned with them for very long. |
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| 6. Carter: Sweet Carter is making a breakthrough after all! He doesn’t seem too intimidating so I believe he should be safe. But, I don’t recall Penner and Kent telling Carter they have an idol so ultimately I believe he is still on the outs in his own alliance. But, if he makes it to the merge he looks strong enough to hold his own. Well, if he stops complaining about his stomach! Poor kid, you could tell he was against Penner’s decision about the rice disaster but we will see how things unfold. |
6. Lisa: Is it going to blow everybody’s minds to see Blair Warner sitting at the final Tribal Council? Now that Lisa has made the merge, it feels like she’s going to be able to coast for a long while. If she can do it without making too many enemies, she could find herself with that million-dollar check. It’ll be weird… |
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| 7. Jeff Kent: My three amigos seem to be as strong as they can be for the situation at hand. But if you ask me, I think Kalabaw was just “Low Balled.” Did anyone believe the immunity challenge was MADE FOR KENT!! Catching slingshot balls in the outfield??? Come on! I was really pulling for Kalabaw, after losing the rice and the immunity I hope they can still stay strong. |
7. Jeff Kent: Kent has a little bit of wiggle room, but only because I don’t see him being the first Kalabaw boot after the merge. However, he’s in some serious trouble if things don’t change soon. Every member of Tandang has seen Upolu and Ometepe stick together to get to the end. Maybe it’s time to out himself as a millionaire? That’d make me think twice about voting him out. |
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| 8. Denise: Not too much to say about Denise this week. She busted her ass in the challenges. Her + Mud X take down Lisa = “Survivor” Gold. Denise might be the one to go if Kalabaw loses but I’m hoping for the best. |
8. Artis: A good rule of thumb on “Survivor” is to ask yourself “What do I have to gain from this?” Whenever you do something, think of the consequences. What did Artis have to gain from blowing up at Jeff Kent at the reward challenge? It shows Skup that he doesn’t approve of the move and shows everyone else that Artis is hot-headed. He belongs in the same category as Abi. They’re both going to make too many enemies. |
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| 9. Michael: Angel Face Skupin! Don’t be down in the dumps because Artis is picking on you. He’s just grumpy and hungry. If the challenge was going to be ending that way anyway, you made the right decision. Taking their rice will make them weaker and adding…let me rephrase…“fixing” your problem that ultimately looked like the excuse why the rest of the tribe was targeting you about cooking all the rice, YOU FIXED! You added more rice to your tribe and you’re handling all of this tension very maturely. Wish I knew how to do that on the island. You’re down this low on the totem pole because the odds are against you. Fix this problem and you’ll sail to victory! |
9. Michael: I’m going to stand by my belief that the food swap was a good move for Tandang. They traded something they didn’t have for something that Kalabaw did. Not only that, but it could have crippled Kalabaw if the merge took longer than expected. That being said, I’m not sure if it was a good move for Skupin. RC and Artis seem to be hanging on to every reason they can find to send the Australian Phoenix home. |
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| 10. Artis: Dude, we need to lighten up! I love your background, I love where you came from and what you have been through. That’s where people like you and I strive, from what we have overcome! But now you have shown Kalabaw your aggression at the challenge and no one will work with you with that attitude. Please try to work with your tribemates. You don’t have to be angry if you’re in the majority, they will probably go home anyway. Right now you need to work on your social game like asap! | 10. RC: Nobody needed a merge more than RC. Abi and Pete have been trying to get rid of her for what seems like a couple on months now. Maybe her and Skup can make something work with the Kalabaw guys? |
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| 11. RC: Wahh…sorry RC, but I think it might be one of those days. It looks like Abi and Pete are after you and it seems like Tandang is shaken up a little. I would rather lose points against Gordon knowing you would be safe this week then me be right and see you sent packing! Sometimes things just don’t work out the way they are planned. I still think you’re awesome though! |
11. Carter: Things never turn out well for challenge studs that are on the tribe that is down numbers when they get to the merge. Combine that with the fact that Carter was clearly rubbing some of the Kalabawians the wrong way and you have a recipe for disaster. Carter is going to need an individual immunity run if wants to stick around. |
Watch ‘Survivor: Philippines’ every Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
Tags: jeff kent, jeff probst, jonathan penner, kat edorsson, Lisa Whelchel, michael skupin, survivor, survivor philippines
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