While the episode-to-episode trappings of Survivor Ghost Island have been decidedly one-sided, episode 6’s edgic made some interesting long-term moves.
Another swap, another chance for Survivor Ghost Island to showcase what these players are all about. For the first time in the season, Domenick and Chris are not on the same tribe, giving the editors an opportunity to explore these players as individuals working their own games and not playing defense against each other.
More importantly, we’re starting to see the top contenders pull away from the rest of the field while others start to fade away in the edgic. It’s not like Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers where it’s anyone’s game; there are a few players that have been either straight buried or unusually protected by the edit.
Before we go to the (probable) last vote before the merge, let’s take a look at the Survivor Ghost Island edgic chart for episode 6:
Winner Contenders
Domenick Abbate (CP4): I’ve finally giving Domenick the respect he deserves for the “Tony Vlachos 3.0” edit he’s been given so far. With Naviti staying strong thanks to Kellyn Bechtold, she connects well with Bradley, who values Domenick as his closest ally in the game. That part represents the logic half of the edit, while his storyline suggests a continued presence in the game as a dominating force.
Most prominently, the He hasn’t been getting the deadit curses that his opponent, Chris, has received.
Michael Yerger (MOR3): At this point, I have the feeling that Michael Yerger is either going to scrape his way to the end or fall short as the 4th-place boot (knowing the Final Four Twist is still in effect). The last two edits have been overtly hiding his negativity, as his blindside of James was protected in the edit as a betrayal of Angela, not him. It’s clear the edit wants to make us care for Michael more than anybody else on Malolo, though his chances are slim with dwindling numbers.
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Kellyn Bechtold (CP4): I feel like I’m getting into the trap I fell into last season, feeling Devon was going to win. At this point, we know that she’s a social butterfly and a puzzle/strategy god, but we don’t see her making alliances; we just know she has them with most of Naviti. Thankfully, she has both Ghost Island and non-GI personal content to keep her in contention.
Wendell Holland (MORP2): Finally, we get another really good episode from Wendell! His handling of Sea Bass’ shell, Chris showing him support and him pulling off great leadership in the Immunity Challenge has elevated Wendell back into winner contention. If he wins, he could be one of the most low-visibility players of a Survivor pre-merge. However, in a season of big moves, we’ve seen how smaller, smarter plays prevail.
Scraping By
Donathan Hurley (UTR1): Besides a few lines at the swap, Donathan was mostly invisible in this episode. He did serve to set up Libby’s possible downfall at Naviti, and he’s been getting a ton of personal content mixed in with a small bit of complexity. As noted above, anybody not an outright winner contender has a chance of scraping by into the finals per the season’s edgic to this point.
Laurel Johnson (CP3): Even though she’s on the bottom, we saw a lot of authoritative talk come from Laurel’s confessionals this episode. She’s saying the right things that highlight a player who can weave between alliances, and that’s something crucial in the late-game stages of this dynamic era of Survivor. Plus, she’s the one who is planting the seeds of Chris’ demise and saying he needs to be taken out.
Jenna Bowman (MOR2): She thankfully has Sebastian’s approval to get her further in the game, and she’s finally in with a good group of players who will actually win a challenge. The fact that she’s foreshadowing this as Yanuya establishes themselves as a new tribe bodes well for her edit, even though she’s still taking a back seat to Sebastian and now Laurel.
Mission (Almost) Impossible
Bradley Kleihege (CPN3): It’s clear that Bradley is the mustache-twirling villain of the season, but I consider his portrayal in Survivor Ghost Island episode 6 a negative-lite due to his cockiness, not malice. He still portrays himself as the heir apparent of the game, and that’s where his negativity comes from. However, he’s still in a good position to work with many of the power players of Naviti, and can even hide behind them as meat shields as he sends them down the river.
Chris Noble (OTTN3): Chris is one of the boldest personalities left in this game. One minute he’s spitting hot fire on the mic, the other he’s bragging about himself. He’s just a half-step behind his self-awareness in the game, but he’s been getting buried by edited sound effects and looney toons music. He’s still the only player not to visit Tribal Council, and that alone gives him noticeable win equity alone.
Deadits
Angela Perkins (CPM4): Angela finally received some extended personal content, but in reality served as the chance to make a straightforward vote look more complicated than it was. Her betrayal comes across more as a bash against Naviti, yet she’s such a zeroed-in soldier that she’s willing to take away any chance of making a move in order to maintain her status as eighth in succession.
Betsided
Chelsea Townsend (UTRP2): Yay, you cried over coffee! The fact that this is her most character-defining moment on Survivor Ghost Island after six hours of televised content tells you all you need to know. This show doesn’t bury winners like this.
Desiree Afuye (CPM5): Desiree finally becomes a central character in the episode’s plot, and the camera cuts to her when Jeff Probst talks about goats. No winner has ever been labeled a goat, and previously in the episode, James Lim was highlighted when Jeff talked about players fading away. The editors know what they’re doing.
James Lim (CPP5): Once again, a Malolo player gets a heroic farewell on the way out of this game. James’ story about making it on his own as a Korean immigrant complemented his fight to stay in this game, and the Malolo efforts mostly centered through his perspective. However, his head cocking to the side in reaction to his blindside served to slight Angela when he was truly looking over to Michael, highlighting his service to others’ edgic.
Libby Vincek (UTRN1): The fact that she was so quiet as a player but talked so negatively as an object impeding Domenick and Bradley’s path to victory indicates just how low Libby’s insight or standing in the game is treated by the editors.
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Sebastian Noel (MOR3): I probably should have rated Sebastian OTT in the previous episode, but he’s been balancing his goofy lines with contextual conversations about camp. That said, he’s the only character left in this game (outside of Chelsea) who hasn’t had a complex episode yet. Six hours in, that’s an impossible track for a winner. Even Natalie White had a CP rating by her fourth hour!