Our Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3 edgic is here, bringing forth our first Goliath winner candidate and bumping down a few David players.
Sorry, Survivor edgic fans, for not being able to file our regular feature last week. It’s been a whirlwind in real life, and it continues to be a bit hectic personally, but I did post my David vs. Goliath chart for posterity on Twitter. At that point, it seemed inevitable that a David player would win as there was little unnecessary content coming out of the Goliath tribe to highlight a potential winner.
After now seeing Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3, I’m not any less convinced that David is the complex tribe, as even when they don’t vote we start to see some interesting editing and some triumphant moments mixed in with seeds of doubt and uncertainty. The Goliath tribe, overall, mostly focused on the vote, but there were some standout players to get some credit while staying hidden from the drama.
For now, here is our Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3 edgic chart, with a closer look into our more complex characters after the bump:
Complex Personalities
Angelina Keeley (CP4): This episode showed Angelina backing up her strong words in her first confessional of the season, as the edit showed she almost single-handedly whipped the vote from Natalie to Jeremy based on her ideals. She was very manipulative and charismatic in her approach, but it did seem to be undercut with hints of villainy.
Overconfidence is a slow and insidious killer, and the editing tone right now is hinting at her power being usurped down the line because of it.
Bi Nguyen (CP4): We finally saw some life spring into Bi’s game, as she fought back from her blindside in targeting Gabby and working with those who helped vote against her interests the last time. After the Immunity Challenge, though, Bi’s knees overtook what good came before, suggesting her sprained MCL will be her ultimate downfall as soon as this coming swap.
John Hennigan (CPP4): We had been given sprinklings of John’s introspect into the game but in David vs. Goliath episode 3, we saw how much his tribe truly treasured him. Who he wants to stay in the game stays, he gets to talk about being a person and not a wrestling character, and everyone loves him. Even Christian and Gabby are fascinated with him!
The only question outstanding for him; is he set up for a growth arc, a winner arc or a r.obbed g.oddess arc?
Nick Wilson (CP3): Nick’s had an up and down “is he a villain?” sneaky edit so far, but Christian throwing Gabby under the bus helped deflect some of the editing’s heat. The majority of the tribe wants to work with him, and it shows the strength of his strategic and social game. The next step; does Nick win over Gabby’s interests, or does Christian continue to play in the sand?
Jeremy Crawford (CPM5): Normally, I’d be inclined to give him the standard OTT assignment, but Jeremy is a player of multitudes. He talked personally about his father’s ailment, then pivoted to trying to narrow down strategic conversations, then targeted Dan for having an idol before exploding on Natalie and making an ass out of himself.
He was all over the place, but it originated from a complex starting point. He burnt out quickly before he had the chance to fade away.
Over The Top
Carl Boudreaux (OTTP2): Despite being on the outs of the scheming, Carl was given the hero’s somber edit after episode 2’s Tribal Council, vowing to not give up without a fight as he stares off into the ocean with a staff of biblical proportions. David vs. Goliath is not just a Survivor story, but a biblical story, and combined with Carl’s earlier complex edit in episode 1 could spell the beginning of a long, uphill battle for him.
Natalie Cole (OTTN5): It’s clear that Natalie is still considered the bossy woman who barks orders at her tribe and is the cause of everyone’s negativity. That shone through once again with telling Alec to tie knots and overstretching her bounds in the Immunity Challenge. However, this episode saw a more defensive Natalie, shown as a commanding woman who won’t take guff from anybody as lacking in self-awareness in Jeremy.
Her edit is still one-dimensional, but she wasn’t as pushy or as egregious as it had been earlier to contrast with the outgoing Jeremy. There are hints of complexity going forward, though she’ll need to learn some lessons in communication fast.
Middle of the Road
Christian Hubicki (MORP2): Although throwing Gabby under the bus for the Jessica blindside looks like a bad character mood, the Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3 edgic veered slightly towards positive. Gabby showered unknowing blessings to him, and Nick sees Christian as his go-to ally he can finish the game with if need be.
Most importantly, Christian wasn’t the main voice of this episode for the Davids; that helps cool down his red-hot visibility. I still think he’s too much of a character and not given much of a winner’s edit just yet.
Davie Rickenbacker (MOR2): Davie’s in an interesting spot, too. He had two opening episodes of OTTP ratings, and now he’s given a cooldown where he wonders why Christian and Nick, his “number one guys,” blindsided him. The audience not getting to see that relationship form over the first six days does not bode well, but Nick, Bi, Carl and others talking about getting Gabby out shows he’s in the mix going forward.
He’s still protected from the scheming parts of the David tribe in the edit while being adjacent to their partnership. It looks like he’s not onboard with going against Gabby, which shows him in a very strange light. I’m banking on him being the winner pick right now, but I’ve never felt more uncertain about who can or can’t win to start a season after three episodes than with David vs. Goliath.
Gabby Pascuzzi (MORM3): She got unfairly blasted for being the schemer of the David tribe, and even though we know that’s not the case, perception becomes a reality in Survivor. That negativity was counteracted with a positive moment discussing the logistics of Slamtown, providing a light mix tone. She was in the center of schemes and plots but was blissfully unaware. It turns out, the nerds might not have it as much as she thinks they do.
Mike White (MOR4): I might be giving Mike too much visibility here, but I do think he was appropriately in the middle of all aspects of Jeremy’s roundabout episode 3 journey. He was there to reflect upon his character and heap praise on him, but also there to remind the viewers he’s playing hard and doesn’t want to be dragged down. He popped up on almost every Goliath scene to be the voice of the audience, screaming, “What are you doing, Jeremy?”
Though he didn’t get his way in failing to deflect the vote to Natalie, Mike White had a highly visible secondary character edit this episode. I don’t think he can win the game, but he could stick around for a while.
Natalia Azoqa (MOR3): Speaking of Natalie combatants, Natalia’s entire story has been about getting Natalie out. We know little of her character, but we do know she’s part of a women’s partner alliance that overrode her wishes in a non-hostile debate. The overconfidence of the post-challenge confessional was a distraction, and she remains Natalie’s number one opponent. Considering how well Natalie is poised for a long run, I have doubts about Natalia’s winner chances.
Under the Radar
Alec Merlino (UTR1): Three episodes in a row of being buried with under the radar edits, Alec Merlino is officially getting punished by the editors for breaking his NDA earlier this summer. We saw a bit of his insight about Natalie or Jeremy, but we know nothing about his goals, saw no confessional, his alliance with Natalia is shallow, and I don’t know when that will change.
Alison Raybould (UTR2): Another disappointing player after a middling, but interesting, debut, Alison had one confessional about how Natalie’s failure at the Immunity Challenge was the final nail in her coffin. That’s not the case and the idea of “letting her” earn her stripes at the puzzle stage only for Natalie to fail shows that Alison is not fully in the mix of things.
Dan Rengering (UTR1): A necessary cooldown after a back-and-forth swing from hero to target, Dan was lightly in the middle of things, as this wasn’t his fight to have. He did get targeted by Jeremy due to him having found the Hidden Immunity Idol, but that storyline faded away for the Natalie vs. Jeremy battle. If Dan’s winning edit wants to pick up, he’ll need to make some strategic decisions, and fast.
Kara Kay (UTR2): Kara also received a bit of a cooldown, although she wasn’t pushed forward as unnaturally as other David vs. Goliath players in the first two episodes. Her showmance target seems to have shrunk, with the focus headed Dan’s way, not hers. This plays into her Witches Coven 2.0 strategy, but we’ll have to see if that comes to fruition in a future vote.
More from David vs. Goliath
- Survivor: John Morrison returns to the WWE in multi-year deal
- Survivor: David vs. Goliath DVD now available on Amazon
- Survivor: Bi Nguyen loses ONE: Masters of Destiny fight in split decision
- Survivor submits David vs. Goliath for 2019 Emmys consideration
- Survivor David vs. Goliath: Who would’ve won the Sprint fan favorite vote?
Elizabeth Olson (UTR1): A few lines here and there, plus a strategy session as she fished underwater for the tribe saved Elizabeth from a completely invisible edit this week. Seeing how she was my top winner contender after episode 2, to see her be so completely removed from any part of strategic or personal David camp edits represents a massive hit to her winner potential.
Most importantly, in the “Previously On Survivor” portion, she was completely stripped of all credit for the Jessica blindside despite coming to Lyrsa twice and pivoting from Carl to Jessica. It was her move, and to have that taken away from her send her from first to the middle of the pack immediately.
Invisible
Lyrsa Torres: She had no lines of dialogue in this episode, nobody talked about her, and she got only a close-up or two during the Immunity Challenge; usually a wasteland for edgic purposes. That’s not a death sentence for a female winner, but she was already close to being voted out in 19th and has just one close tie heading into a swap.
At the very least, she’s the first invisible edit after three episodes and 57 edit opportunities. After three episodes in Ghost Island (splitting the two-hour opener), of the 51 edit opportunities, we saw nine (arguably ten) different invisible edits, including two people completely invisible in the season’s two-hour premiere. The David vs. Goliath edit is impeccable, bringing hope for the rest of the season.