Survivor Edge of Extinction cast assessment: Kelley Wentworth will make it count

One of the toughest grinders in Survivor history, Kelley Wentworth enters Edge of Extinction with just one goal left to accomplish; winning the game.

It’s hard to rate tenacity inSurvivorwhen everyone is starving just as equally as one another. However, I’d argue the people who have been playing from behind for most of the game are amongst the most tenacious players. Denise and Malcolm at least had each other for the majority of the game; Kelley Wentworth’s story, for a large segment, saw her fighting for her life with few backing her corner.

Though she played for a cup of coffee inSan Juan del Suras part of a father-daughter duo in a Blood vs. Water season, she swapped into a tribe where the numbers weren’t in her favor and she was voted out just before her father. It was inCambodia – Second Chanceswhere she truly thrived, as Kelley became one of the season’s best storylines.

Kelley burned some bridges early on Ta Keo, unsuccessfully trying to vote out Spencer as Shirin took his place in a 5-4 vote at their second tribal. She did manage to find a Hidden Immunity Idol in the first challenge (aSurvivorfirst to bury an idol in a challenge) and maintained relationships with the Bayon women causing trouble to pick up future partners at the merge.

As Kelley was deemed too much of a strategic threat and Ta Keo’s merge numbers dwindling, she was deemed the second merge vote threat. However, nobody knew she had a Hidden Immunity Idol, allowing Jeff Probst to read “Wentworth, doesn’t count” nine times in a row to enter into theSurvivorrecord books.

Though she hustled and bustled all the way until fourth place, Kelley Wentworth’s determination and ability to findtwoHidden Immunity Idols is her biggest legacy entering the game. She has done everything short of winning and has said as muchin her ET Canada interview,and I think thatEdge of Extinctionmight be the setup she needs to win.

Kelley Wentworth is a strategic threat and a challenge threat inSurvivor,but she also knows how to whip an alliance together or vote in voting blocs on the fly. She’s very adaptable, which is perfect for a game where the literal rules of the game are being thrown out the window without anyone’s knowledge.

She’s not alone, either, as she has the potential to reconnect with Joe Anglim if a tribe swap occurs. The two have played inCambodiatogether and even competed as a team in theshort-livedCandy Crushgame show.They split a $100,000 prize together; a fact that may be lost onSurvivorfans that only remember her voting Joe out.

Whether she will want to work with David Wright remains to be seen, but I do think it’s in her best interests to do so.Edge of Extinctionis based on maintaining good relationships and if you’re voted out, scratching and surviving on a deserted island with nobody telling you what to do. Should Kelley get voted off, she has a history of tenacity and struggling from the bottom and can get herself back into the game.

The only problem I see with Kelley is that she may have a huge target on her back. Returning players in anySurvivorseason have a huge leg up on the competition and have historically made it to the finale in mixed-player seasons, so Kelley will need to flex her social skills first over strategic skills if she wants to lessen her target and push it towards other returnees.

If there’s a woman inSurvivormost uniquely prepared forEdge of Extinction,it’s probably Kelley Wentworth. It kind of makes you think about how this season idea came up in the first place, but regardless; it’s great to see such a fiery, bombastic, entertaining character return to the game.

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