Survivor Edge of Extinction episode 10 edgic: From scratch

With the returning player “storyline” disregarded by the remaining “superfans,” Survivor: Edge of Extinction episode 10 edgic resets the clock.

Survivor seasons with mixed newbie and returning players are hard to predict when it comes to edgic. Seasons where you can come back from elimination like Redemption Island and now Edge of Extinction compound that difficulty due to ongoing storylines from the players “out” of the game and the edit showing love for fan favorites.

Those kinds of questions start to fade away with the Survivor: Edge of Extinction episode 10 edgic, as now we content with a world where there are no returning players left in the active game. More importantly, with the most focused, repeated edits voted out of the game, you have to wonder what happened for some of the women I was sure would win this game.

Either way, let’s take a look at our Survivor: Edge of Extinction episode chart with what we can only accept as our possible winner contenders at this stage.

Winner Contenders

Rick Devens (MOR4): Rick Devens! His OTTN4 episode refusing to vote with the people who betrayed him looks a lot more logical based on the current storyline. Staying Lesu strong doesn’t look so great after Wardog was responsible for the elimination of both his closest ally (David) and Wardog’s own closest Lesu ally (Kelley).

Of all the players still in the game, Rick’s provided the most logical story for a winner. You can even excuse his negative episode as one Adam Klein had at roughly the same time in Millennials vs. Gen X. Plus, he still has people he can approach strategically to form alliances at any time, which makes his story as an adaptable player willing to break through the wall like the Kool-Aid Man logical.

Wardog (CP5): Dear god, this is what it’s come to; Wardog’s messy edit as this season’s mob boss leading to a potential win. All of my Survivor: Edge of Extinction episode 10 edgic winner contenders are sloppy, but it’s in no small part thanks to an edit that makes Wardog so villainous to the masses in a way that doesn’t yet redeem himself.

I looked back to some of Tony Vlachos’ individual challenge performances as a “there’s no way he can win” edit, but they don’t come close to the level of Wardog stumbles. Yet, he’s one of the few in the game who consistently speaks the message of getting returnees out, has dictated the vote and narrated the season’s story. I still think he is taken out soon, but the edits of Lauren, Victoria and now Kelley make me wonder who else can really compete.

Julie Rosenberg (CP4): At this point, I’m practically thinking of Julie as a 3rd-place Edge of Extinction finalist, but I cannot disregard her impact on this season’s story. She’s an integral part to keeping who she wants safe (Rick), put her foot down in getting her way in a chaotic mess (Julia), but now has seen her closest ally vote behind her back (Ron voting out Kelley).

Her first half more than established her importance in the story despite not going to Tribal Council and the second half is partially through her lens. I do think the jury will not be impressed by her Julia tribal antics, though, but we’ll have to see if she can scrape together an impactful resume by voting out the remaining big players.

What happened to their winner chances?

Victoria Baamonde (MOR3): Ever since the Joe vote-out, Victoria’s story has been pushed back behind the scenes. Though she still has a healthy amount of content, she’s much more of a secondary player instead of the primary Kama newbie she once was. Her status as a player on the bottom who will listen to gameplay ideas but rather go with the flow places her as a passenger, not a pilot, of the Survivor: Edge of Extinction story.

Lauren O’Connell (UTR1): Seriously, I’m so disappointed in the arc of Lauren’s narrative. What looked to be one that hinted at a newbie emerging from the shadow of her hero has become one where she seems to be a bit player in the ongoing narrative. She will undoubtedly be the focus of this week’s upcoming episode due to Kelley’s departure, but the fact that she hasn’t been asked a single Tribal Council question since the merge, I feel like she’s getting the Kara 4th place edit.

Kelley Wentworth (CP4): Just like Aubry, Kelley acknowledged she was in too easy a spot, acknowledged that she knows being comfortable is the death knell of a Survivor player, acknowledged that she had the safety of a Hidden Immunity Idol and still didn’t do the thing most logical to the situation (as dictated by the edit). We’ll have to see how impactful her Edge of Extinction edit is to know if we can close the book on a winner edit just yet.

David Wright (CPM5): David looked better in defeat than he did during his final moments in the game. He had the quirky upside of an underdog until the other players finally saw through one of his persuasion checks with the “my brand is loyalty” bit. However, he was also the only player on the Edge of Extinction who had his head in the game searching for the advantage, setting up his optimism as the possible second Edge of Extinction returning player.

All but out

Gavin Whitson (UTR1): Though he did mention that he wanted to get out David for the longest time (before getting his way), he seemed to be on the outs of all other critical strategic conversations. He’s the sixth of the “strong six” alliance that folded within the hour.

Aurora McCreary (CPP4): The entire pre-merge saw Aurora as one of the most purple edit players of all time, but now we know that Aurora is a foster child who never knows when to quit en route to her second immunity win. She has enough upside, but it came way too late for a winner’s edit to make sense.

Ron Clark (CP4): Ron has burned way too many bridges for him to get the respect of the jury. He blindsided his closest ally to start the post-merge jury, he betrayed his closest ally to vote out Kelley, and he even contemplated using his extra vote to keep and vote out Aurora. He has the villain edit of a Survivor goon equivalent, not the mastermind he thinks he is.

Chris Underwood (UTR2): Despite not being the main character of the Edge of Extinction easter egg hunt, he did get part of the focus. He’s definitely on the fringes as a character to root for, and I don’t see him having a winner’s story. Maybe he’s the second returnee?

Other Edge of Extinction players (Joe and Reem = INV / Julia, Eric, Aubry = UTR1): For various reasons, they haven’t had a sustained story on the Edge of Extinction. Maybe Aubry or Eric can win their way back, but that much isn’t clear right now.