Survivor Edge of Extinction: Breaking down every alliance in episode 2

The pairings are starting to strengthen in Survivor: Edge of Extinction and alliances are forming on both tribes that have the power to blindside a returnee.

With the marooning and shelter building behind us, the second episode of Survivor: Edge of Extinction allowed viewers more time to watch the social dynamics that we’ve come to love. It’s still hard to pinpoint where the lines are drawn on the Kama tribe since they haven’t been to a Tribal Council yet, but we’re definitely seeing that anti-returning player vibe grow as the season goes on. Here are the alliances we saw emerge in the second episode.

Manu Tribe (Blue)

Manu tribe majority alliance (Rick, Lauren, Wardog, Chris, Wentworth, David)

This unit of six formed early in the premiere, and despite the plans to blindside Kelley, all six voted for together. That leaves just Wendy on the outs now. If the Manu tribe lost another challenge, the big question mark revolves around this alliance sticking together to vote off Wendy. Maybe David and Rick will use this as an opportunity to pull off that Wentworth blindside.

Within this six-person alliance, we have the duos of David with Rick, and Kelley with Lauren. It’s still uncertain where exactly Chris and Wardog stand. The fact that they were consulted about the Wentworth blindside suggests that they’re closer with Rick and David.

Rick and David

The strongest alliance in the game might be this pairing right here. Rick and David are two of the most likable castaways and are not playing an aggressive game. Their place in their tribe is solid, and their laid back attitudes will serve them well in a tribe swap situation. The element that makes this duo so powerful is that everyone came to them when deciding on the Keith vote. Since they knew where everyone’s heads were at, they had ultimate control over the vote. They have the chance it make it deep into this season.

Wentworth and Lauren

Their status as a pair is still indisputable, but the strength of their alliance is fading. Lauren proved that she’s playing her own game, not only by finding a Hidden Immunity Idol but also by vowing to keep this info from Kelley. If their tribe loses another challenge, it will be interesting to see if she would help in blindsiding her role model, or if she will use her idol to save Wentworth. I still believe that this alliance can go far, but it’s clear that it has a ceiling.

Kama Tribe (Yellow)

Eric and Gavin

Here is another two-person alliance that is still intact after the premiere. They continued conspiring about blindsiding a returnee and they also spent time looking for the idol together. The fact that the edit has focused on this pairing for a consecutive episode is a good sign. With Aubry’s failed attempts to create a dialog with several castaways, Gavin and Eric might have the fuel they need to make a big move by taking her out of the game.

Victoria, Julia, and Ron

Speaking of Aubry’s dialog; Victoria, Ron, and Julia were able to compare notes and figure out that Aubry was dishing the exact same spiel to everyone. Without going to Tribal, it’s hard to figure out how strong this alliance is, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they joined Gavin and Eric to blindside Aubry. I’m still unsure where Julie stands, but I think she would go along with this plan as well.

Joe and Aurora

This is an alliance that was featured early in the premiere. We haven’t seen much of them since, but there’s no evidence proving that they’re no longer together. Either way, Joe’s social game isn’t looking good so far!