Looking at both the editing of an episode and using logic to make a determination, Survivor edgic returns with the Ghost Island premiere!
Welcome, one and all, to the return of Survivor edgic! Essentially, this exercise is determined to look at the editing and logic behind the season’s storytelling in order to determine a winner ahead of time. Sometimes it’s easy to spot (such was the case with Worlds Apart’s Mike Holloway), while other seasons are twisty, convoluted and try out new storytelling techniques (Cagayan’s Tony Vlachos comes to mind).
Last year was our first year attempting edgic, and we learned a lot of harsh lessons in doing so. Personal content (or lack thereof) is key when determining a winner, no matter what, which should have tipped us off to Devon’s ultimate fate. However, nobody could have foreseen a Final Four twist that fundamentally changed the dynamics of play, which makes it harder to know who gets cut right at the end.
Will all that said, let us begin our look at Survivor Ghost Island edgic after the season premiere last week. To start, because there are so many players with bad introductions, we will break down this week’s edgic piece by looking at those in the best position to win early, those in the hunt, those trailing behind and those completely out of it already.
Early Frontrunners
Wendell Holland (CP3, UTR1): What’s great about Wendell’s debut is that we didn’t need to hear from him, but we did. We got to see where his head’s at entering the game, what he wants to do as a figurehead within Naviti and we saw him try to influence minds while also making friends with Domenick.
The fact we get to see Wendell’s motivations and his strengths on a tribe that didn’t go to Tribal Council twice makes me think Survivor wants us to keep tabs on him going forward. He’s not getting blood on his hands, he’s friends with everyone and others are trying to take each other out around him; that’s a great position to be in early.
Kellyn Bechtold (MOR3, INV): Because Domenick and Chris took up the majority of Naviti time in the second hour of the Ghost Island premiere, I’m not too concerned about her lack of screen time there. What I do like is the respect she commanded in the Immunity Challenge en route to victory, how much personal content she gave about her recent life struggle and how she offered the first confessional of the season, setting the stage for what Ghost Island is about to the audience.
It seems like Kellyn is set up for a post-merge run based on what we’ve seen so far. Whether it’s a journey edit or a winning edit remains to be seen.
Domenick Abbate (CPM4, CPM5): Boy, are we ever getting subdued Tony Vlachos vibes from Domenick! Whether he’s speaking his mind off the bat, looking for (and finding) idols in the middle of the night, talking about his past mistakes and how he’s “bringing home the bacon” to support his family, he’s certainly giving off a slightly bad boy winner vibe right now.
My only concern is how much he’s being targetted by Chris and Sebastian early. Although the tribes will swap in the next episode, that’s certainly a storyline being set up in the first two hours, with Domenick’s actions being the center of focus for Naviti so far. With Chris not falling for Domenick’s fake idol plan, he might flame out before, or at, the merge if he doesn’t get some cooldown content.
Stephanie Johnson (CP3, CP4): Though I’m willing to overlook her lack of personal content in the same way I did for Devon Pinto last season, I certainly learned my lesson and will keep tabs on it going forward. Stephanie, by far, was the most strategy-oriented player of the Survivor Ghost Island premiere, with viewers being shown her mindset and decision-making behind who stays and who is voted out in both episodes.
We also saw her maintain sub-alliances within Malolo and showed how she could have pulled it off if she wanted to. The viewer wants to see how much Stephanie is a superfan who knows how to play this game without crashing and burning, which is key in a season where one mistake can bury your game.
Up in the Air
Brendan Shapiro (MOR3, CP3): Right now, we see Brendan as the Malolo leader. He commands respect, he leads his troops into battle and he’s directing their whims at camp. However, he’s doing so alongside his troops, not from the front (unless he’s marching into a challenge, as seen above), meaning he’s not taking flak from anyone right now.
More importantly, even when he wasn’t in true danger, he saw the possibility of being set up at the second Tribal Council, illustrating his supreme game awareness. He could be the most level-headed player of the game right now! It will be interesting to see how he handles being usurped of his role at this tribe swap.
Michael Yerger (MOR3, CP3): Despite being very ho-hum in his confessionals, we’re still seeing them early over four players who got no confessionals. Factor in his split vote strategy and we have a case of one of the game’s youngest players projecting an even keel; something rare in teenagers on this show. His input on the tribe’s first vote being shut down in the process is concerning, though.
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Morgan Ricke (UTR1, MOR2): Having been gifted the Legacy Advantage, Morgan was thrust into the story out of circumstance. She talked a bit about Naviti’s Ghost Island strategy, but the rest talked about her Legacy Advantage and how she’ll need to staple her mouth shut about it. While some may be concerned, Jacob’s reasoning for giving her the power shows an inherent interest in others wanting to work with her based on her positive energy.
Sebastian Noel (MOR3, UTR1): Though he looks to be Chris’ minion at this stage, there’s a bit more to Sebastian outside of being a right-hand man. We’ve seen his ability to make friends quickly, we’ve seen him interacting with those outside his core alliance, we’ve seen him thrive in challenges and we’ve seen people clamor to him as Sea Bass. He may be given the “fool edit,” but who knows right now if it’s a Fabio Birza fool edit or not.
Outside Chances
Chris Noble (MOR3, CP3): Right now, we’ve seen Chris as a level-headed figure within Naviti. His main opponent is the edit-backed Domenick, which does not bode well for his story going forward. One shot from the second hour showed a crab pouncing on a dead crab and pulling it away as Domenick tried to trick him with the fake idol. Is edgic telling us Chris being pounced on by Domenick? Only time will tell.
Betsided
Jenna Bowman (UTR2, MOR3): Despite being another right-hand person in a tribe’s sub-alliance, Jenna showed her allegiance to a strong player in Stephanie, which shows her prominence in the game’s hierarchy at this stage. However, painting herself as a follower and going with Stephanie’s decision even though it meant working with Jacob (an exiting player) doesn’t do her any strategic favors.
Laurel Johnson (UTR2, UTR2): At this stage, Laurel is serving the stories of others. Her friendship with Donathan was highlighted, although more to highlight Donathan’s exploration of people he’d never get to meet in Kentucky. She did highlight her concerns about “the strong and the beautiful” running things in the second episode but didn’t want to pull the trigger and make a flip then. She’s here to play, but how long will that take?
James Lim (UTR2, MORN3): While he’s not on the outs with Malolo, he was the alternative vote in a vote-split scenario due to his diving performance in the tribe’s second Immunity Challenge. He brought a ton of negativity towards himself, even if he does some humbly and with optimism he can progress from this. Who knows where he’ll be come the swap.
Donathan Hurley (CPP4, OTTP4): While I like Donathan a lot, it seems like we’ve been forced the majority of a journey edit in the first few episodes. We got to see a lot of positivity surrounding Donathan, whether it be a forced hero edit in the second challenge, heroic music during Ghost Island, deeply personal content about being an openly gay man in Kentucky in the first episode or anything else.
He still has a long ways to go before he has a good standing in this game (if he even gets the opportunity to get there).
Desiree Afuye (UTR1, INV): We didn’t see much of Desiree in the Survivor Ghost Island premiere except for a confessional proclaiming she’s not good at puzzles. It shifted more of the blame on Chris for choosing her (even though he couldn’t have known), protecting Des more than hurting her. That’s an interesting editing choice.
Already Drawing Dead
Jacob Derwin (OTTN5, OTTN5): Good lord, Jacob! That may have been the worst crash and burn of a Survivor superfan I’ve ever seen! It’s like he was playing an online game but in front of everyone, in reality, making it look awkward when he played too hard, too early. Almost every instinct he had in the game was wrong, but the majority of the Ghost Island premiere was dedicated to his downfall. He garnered sympathy for just how hard he bombed.
Stephanie Gonzalez (MORN3): Unfortunately, Stephanie sought too much power without being in that proper position. She looked to control the tribe, but it was the tribe who controlled her. Plus, she called Jacob “special.” What the hell was that about?
Libby Vincek (UTR1, UTR1): When you make it to Tribal Council twice and we don’t get even a confessional out of you, the chances you can win are astronomically slim. With all these superfans, twists and turns happening, even if people are having conversations with you on the beach, your relative importance in the game is next to nil.
Bradley Kleihege (UTR1, INV): Who is Bradley? What does he do? Why is he here? We know he may be inclined to vote with Domenick and Wendell, but that’s about it right now.
Angela Perkins (INV, INV): She sat herself out of the second Immunity Challenge. That’s her character right now. She’s also looking in a tough spot come the swap due to her age and strength difference compared to the 17 other players in the game.
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