With fifteen players switching things up on Survivor season 35 episode 4, a lot of players showcased themselves as players, making for an engaging Survivor edgic.
The first tribe swap is a momentous occasion for Survivor and Survivor edgic, itself. In Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, a three-tribe swap into three different tribes has never been done before, presenting a gameplay (and editing) unfamiliarity with three groups of five players apiece. How did the editing of Survivor season 35 episode 4 turn out? For the most part, a really complex look into the mindset of a majority of players (while burying others in the edit).
Four separate players got a positive edit at a swap; that’s usually a good thing for a player’s edit. It means that the editors want you to care about what happens to Desi, Chrissy, Ryan and Jessica from a story standpoint, setting up either a win or a downfall later on. There are three kinds of positive edits here, of which I’ll dive deeper into as I get to each player.
For now, here is my edgic chart for Survivor season 35, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, in episode 4:
Complex Personalities
Jessica Johnston (CPP5): In this episode, Jessica has vaulted herself into the lower echelon of the top of the winner’s pick pack. She still needs to make more inroads from a gameplay perspective, but this episode set her up on an emotional journey. After prominently featured in the winning of the Reward Challenge, she was elated to learn she won a Secret Advantage.
Things went badly from there, as Cole decided to use that information to tell others in the tribe and secure a partnership elsewhere. Once Cole’s spot was blown up, she was devastated. Jessica couldn’t even be mad at Cole, as she needs him in the game. You can see the heartbreak being sold to the viewer through her words and the musical scoring, making us much more sympathetic while seeing Jessica think strategically about her future in the game.
Chrissy Hofbeck (CPP3): While Jessica had the positive sympathy edit, Chrissy had the uplifting positive edit. As Ryan revealed his episode 1 Secret Advantage play to her, the music swelled to an almost comically level of sweetness, showing Chrissy elated to have received this gift from Ryan.
He even sees Ryan as sort of a child figurehead, thinking he might have wanted to play with someone motherly like her. After weeks of strategic content and an underdog start, getting more character-building moments for Chrissy will only improve her potential winner’s edit going forward. She even got to have the sole pre-swap confessional describing the brand new game, meaning she’s still one of the overall game’s narrators.
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Desi Williams (CPP3): While Jessica’s sympathy positive edit came from someone else acting on her information and Chrissy’s positive edit focuses on an uplifting moment, Desi’s positive edit came from a place of sympathy due to sabotage. Desi finally takes center stage, setting up her tribe by answering Jeff’s question at the swap, then immediately describes the team again in a confessional.
After being mostly MIA for the first three episodes, we still see Desi as a subject of others’ games, not hers. Joe acts like a maniac and tries to draw attention to him, putting Ashley’s name as a voting subject. Inherently, that puts a comparison against her at camp, with Alan and Joe effectively putting her name on the chopping block.
She cries during a confessional where she recalls the event, and Jeff refers to a movie-like plan where, in order to get to the bad guy, they get the bad guy’s wife (implying Desi). She’s very much painted as the victim of Joe’s antics here in a way that kills her winning chances but improves her likeability.
Ryan Ulrich (CPP2): Every single episode we get to see or hear about Ryan’s gameplay, his motives, how his position on the tribe can be affected by what’s going on, etc. That’s partially why we’re set up with his Super Idol reveal, as we get to see Ryan painted as a good kid with a good heart by Chrissy.
It’s a great strategic move by Ryan to solidify that going forward, and it is a sweet moment to see as a viewer. I’m still concerned about just how much we get to see of Ryan early on, as no player like him has done well on his first time playing Survivor with this strong an early-game edit.
Ashley Nolan (CP4): This was a good episode from a story standpoint for Ashley, but not one for Survivor edgic purposes. Joe spent way too long painted her as the weak link in the tribe, but Ashley had the second-most confessionals of Survivor season 35 episode 4, as she directed a big portion of Tribal Council talk and tribe breakdowns.
She worked well to bring Devon into the Heroes fold, although the Secret Advantage block hurt her chances going into the vote. She set herself up well to take down the big threat in Joe alongside Devon, but outside of JP, she has few friends in the game.
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Lauren Rimmer (CP3): I had concerns that Lauren’s fuller edit would focus on taking Patrick down, and had worried she might be set up to fall off shortly after. Instead, we see Lauren take information of Cole’s reveal about Jessica’s Secret Advantage and try to plant seeds of doubt within the Healers of the Yawa tribe.
She notes she wants to take fate into her own hands and use that information to further her game, later trying to bring Dr. Mike Zahalsky into the fold by “revealing” this info to him. This plan didn’t quite work, as he already knew, but this episode showed Lauren constantly playing the game and trying to build relationships. That may push her up into a top 6 player in the Survivor edgic.
Ben Driebergen (CP3): In last week’s edgic, I described the Hustlers as the complex tribe to watch for. Turns out I was right even with Heroes on the Hustlers camp, with Ben navigating his way through the tribe dynamics of a 3-1-1 split. He’s the go-to for Jeff Probst at the swap to describe his chances, saying he’s in a bit of trouble en route to solidifying his “lone soldier” edit.
As Cole comes forward with the errant information, Ben does his best to team up with Lauren and try to get an in with Dr. Mike. Ben’s still well-liked, even on his new tribe, and nobody’s said anything negative about Ben. He’s climbing up my edgic chart after this week’s efforts.
Devon Pinto (CP3): You could argue that Devon could have gotten yet another MOR3 edit this week, but something that’s stood out more is commentary about his game. Ryan being on another tribe may actually be a benefit to Devon’s game, as he’s in a prime spot to build bonds.
Jessica using the Secret Advantage on Devon was probably the best thing for his game, as the entire edit built him up and tore him down. He was the go-to guy for both the Heroes and Healers of Levu; everyone sought him instead of trying to bury him. He doesn’t get as strong an edit due to his poor narrating skills, yet he still gets airtime. That’s an important thing to look out for, as we could soon see a big push for Devon after this dramatic fall from a powerful position that comes with a negative Secret Advantage.
Cole Medders (CPN3): This may be the weirdest negative complex personality edit in recent Survivor seasons. He likes Jessica more than anyone else in the game, but he takes her secret and tells everyone else for personal gain because the last time he told someone’s secret, he got a kiss on the cheek from his dream girl.
He does it from a strategic standpoint; to further both of them in the game. But his reasoning is so profoundly stupid that it borders on immature. The future of Jessicole does not bode well, and Cole’s winning edit chances have been quickly dumped after this doozy of a Survivor season 35 episode.
Alan Ball (CPN4): Despite making logical sense in his countering arguments with Joe, he matched his intensity in a major blowup, and never really backed down when it came to Tribal Council or camp discussions. He threw Desi under the bus to protect Ashley; the woman who would rather anyone else but him be on her tribe. He played strategically here, but did so with an aggressive authority and got outplayed by Joe with a strong Idol play read.
Joe Mena (CPN5): He’s been playing the heel role since Day 1, and he’s been playing it well. Joe is not Tony Vlachos or Jonny Fairplay; he’s playing into the strengths and weaknesses of both. He drags Desi into his Levu alliance once Devon saw through his lie and created as much chaos as possible in order to draw votes against him so he could play an idol to take Alan out of the game.
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He’s playing for himself by playing into others’ emotions to draw out gameplay moves, combining the authoritarian pull of Cagayan’s winner with the self-aware villainy of Pearl Islands’ third-place castaway. In short, he’s playing as Joe would. Hopefully, for him, he can create enough chaos to disrupt the intended path of better-positioned players.
Middle of the Road
Mike Zahalsky (MOR2): Hey look, it’s Dr. Mike again! This time, he’s playing narrator to someone else’s adventures, being thrust into Jessica and Cole’s drama when Lauren and Ben try to create some discord in the tribe. One thing to note is that he knew it was Cole who blabbed immediately, leading to the remark, “Those things can come back to bite you in the butt.”
Mike’s premiere push was fairly strong, but he’s constantly been regarded as a player on the outs with his tribe. He could be put into a position where he has to flip on others, and saying Cole’s antics could cost him may be a hint that Mike won’t be the first Healers player out of the game.
Under the Radar
Roark Luskin (UTR2): Once again, tribes are introduced, and Roark has a say in what goes on from the jump. She described the dynamics of the tribe in a confessional off the bat, but beyond that, didn’t develop much of her character. I still have no idea who she’s aligned with, who is her confidant, how she gets along with others; Roark continues to be a disappointment from an editing standpoint.
Ali Elliott (UTR1): After being so prominently pushed into the forefront in the first three episodes (due to her going to Tribal Council twice in three episodes, including the prior two), Ali gets put on the backburner in this swap episode. It’s not the merge, so it’s not as dire a situation not to see her involved in gameplay dynamics. She did get the post-Reward-Challenge confessional, setting up the post-swap game, putting her in a prime narrator position.
More from Heroes Vs Healers Vs Hustlers
- Most memorable moments from Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers
- Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers DVD set now on Amazon
- Big Brother 21’s cast pre-show ties harken back to Survivor season 35
- Survivor season 35’s Simone Nguyen is now married
- Survivor’s Ashley Nolan is now teaching kids to surf
Invisible
JP Hilsabeck: With the exception of a blurred curse word and strong challenge performances, we didn’t get more “things like that” from JP this episode. He’s perceived to not be too bright by other Heroes, and he provides baseball player-tier responses to questions, so he offers very little from a personality perspective unless Alan’s forcing it from him by making him “unleash his idol.”
Who could still win Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, per edgic?
- Chrissy Hofbeck: Continuously gets good screentime, loved by all, had an early underdog vibe.
- Ben Driebergen: Well-liked competitor with hidden strategic prowess.
- Ali Elliott: We constantly see the game through her eyes, given important editing even in episodes she’s not prominently featured.
- Ryan Ulrich: Prime strategist, a great narrator, positioned well to make/thrive at the merge.
- Jessica Johnston: Set up to rise like a phoenix, given strong likeability in the edit
- Lauren Rimmer: Expresses great personality, immerses into new tribe dynamic well, can show glimpses of strategic play. Her early self-negative edit may be too strong in the long run.
- Devon Pinto: Positioned well, underestimated, attached to a stronger strategic player, slowly building up winner’s edit viability.
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Survivor season 35 episode 5, “The Past Will Eat You Alive,” airs October 25 at 8 p.m. ET.