Survivor Ghost Island edgic episode 7: ‘We game’ no more

With the Survivor Ghost Island merge episode just around the corner, let’s sum up the individuals left in the game as team-based play disappears.

When it comes to edgic, there’s no more important moment in a Survivor season than the merge. Alliances are formed, players break out, non-winners start to fade away, and we start to see more compelling stories for potential winners. In Survivor Ghost Island, the merge will undoubtedly be the story of Chris vs. Domenick, but who will be the supporting characters calling the shots as lines are drawn?

Concerning our edgic chart, thankfully we’ve only had to remove one winner contender; Stephanie Johnson. Even then, she got a heroic, Viking-esque sendoff with her own uniquely sad, triumphant music, bucking tradition we’ve seen in most pre-merge boots. For the most part, it’s been the same five players in contention all season, making this next episode a possible lockdown just to two or three names.

Here is our Survivor Ghost Island episode 7 edgic chart, followed by the edit types:

Complex Personalities

Chelsea Townsend (CP4): I couldn’t help myself in what may be the only time Chelsea, the EMT, will ever get a complex episode all season long. Here, she was whipping the vote and conferring with Domenick about the decision they needed to make heading into the merge while handling herself at Tribal Council. She’s been given too much of a purple edit before now, however, to win.

Wendell Holland (CPP4): This episode was not only important in getting him back into winner contention, but it immediately sealed the fact that he will make the Loved One’s visit. No way does his tribe sing “Happy Birthday” for his girlfriend, and that makes it into the show as he snatches a Hidden Immunity Idol. Wendell’s been well-liked, protected by Domenick’s influence, cheered by all and now needs to make some moves; he’s the top winner contender right now.

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Domenick Abbate (CP5): For the first time in the game, Domenick steered a vote, and it went his way! Granted, it’s his second Tribal Council before the merge, but right now he can protect himself against Chris with the Legacy Advantage and possibly sway more votes down the line alongside Wendell.

Kellyn Bechtold (CP4): Ever since episode 4, Kellyn’s been on the downslide in my Survivor Ghost Island edgic charts due to one thing; we don’t know much about Kellyn, the player, beyond “Naviti Strong.” We’ve seen that fracture heading into the merge and may bode the same thing with Chris and Dom taking swipes at each other. After securing the extra vote, the camera lingered on the “One bad decision can haunt you forever” sign, and I’m starting to get the sense that it could be the case before her season is done.

Over the Top

Bradley Kleihege (OTTN5): Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer in Survivor, and Bradley’s demise is emblematic of Malolo’s brief victory heading into the merge. I didn’t even know you could call yourself a d–k uncensored on CBS, yet it got him in trouble to the point that his closest allies voted him out right before the merge. Is Malolo now on the rebound?

Michael Yerger (OTTP4): The only player left in our edgic who hasn’t had an under-the-radar edit, Michael seems to be the face of the underdog Malolo. However, he is at risk of being the Ryan Ulrich of this season; visible pre-merge, falls to the background from the merge onward. His role at the merge will help craft his future, although him finally breaking the Malolo curse is heroic in of itself.

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Desiree Afuye (OTT2): Despite being safe for the first six days, Desiree’s story has been Kellyn’s sidekick in the “Naviti Strong” mantra and “let’s burn this damn flag down”these past few weeks. She was adamant that the curse had to be reversed, and to her credit, she got it done! Still, her yelling still peeks through in the edit during the challenges, which doesn’t help her long-term edit.

Middle of the Road

Donathan Hurley (MORP3): At this point in his Survivor Ghost Island play, after flirting with a strategic edit paired with the sadness over his meemaw, Donathan’s reverted back to a growth edit. Whereas David Wright used the show as a testament to his evolution as a player, the edit can’t help but paint this as a trip of discovery for Donathan, even though I’m certain he’s played hard to make the merge. His Reward Challenge performance showcased his confidence, but that was served to highlight Bradley; not great considering he’s gone from the game.

Libby Vincek (MOR3): The only times Libby has been highlighted as a player with an input on the game is when her tribe goes to Tribal Council. The first time she took the blame for Morgan’s elimination; the second time she was the fake target of Naviti. Both times (and her sole UTRN episode) paint her in a negative light; essentially killing her winning chances before the merge.

Under the Radar

Chris Noble (UTR2): The previous episode was setting himself up as a possible target at the merge. This episode of Survivor Ghost Island served more to elevate Wendell, and beyond strong challenge performances and a line or two here and there, Chris took a step back to a sub-3 visibility for the first time all season. Don’t expect that to last, as the merge’s story is who falls where between Chris and Dom

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Laurel Johnson (UTR1): There are few games that see Laurel winning with this kind of edit, and the only contingent I see that happening with is in a scenario that she wins Final Four Immunity and sits with Domenick and Wendell/Sebastian at the Final Tribal Council. But has Laurel given off a Natalie White type of vibe so far? I severely doubt it, but it would take a Herculean merge edit to save her winner chances now.

Sebastian Noel (UTR1): Speaking of, this is the second episode where Sebastian is with Jenna on Yanuya, and we see no continuation of their showmance. Could it become a reason why he or her is targetted after the merge following Chris or Domenick? Could one of them be the “safety” vote to avoid idols? Sebastian’s position in the game is tenuous at best, especially as a challenge threat.

Angela Perkins (UTR1): Angela is the other strong target votes can be thrown to if Chris isn’t targetted at the Survivor Ghost Island merge. She wavered on voting out James, Naviti already stabbed her in the back; Domenick might throw the votes to her in case an idol is played by Chris (which the opposing side can’t confirm at this time).

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Invisible

Jenna Bowman: Did she actually say anything at all this week? Even incidental? I must have missed it if she did say something, but her absolute silence right before the merge tells you all you need to know about her edgic winner chances.