We begin our overview of the Final Five ahead of the Survivor: Edge of Extinction finale, beginning with a question; can Julie Rosenberg pull off a win?
Welcome, one and all, to our Survivor: Edge of Extinction endgame feature where we look at each remaining player’s chances of winning the season. Julie Rosenberg is first on the docket, as the oldest player in the game is finally on the outs after weeks and weeks of safety. Two big questions remain; can she make it to the Final Tribal Council, and can she win if she pulls it off?
Julie’s chances of making Final Tribal
Before Ron Clark was voted out, I would have pinned Julie as a clear-cut favorite for most designations of players to take to the end. Ever since winning the first individual Immunity Challenge of the season, Julie’s game has been slowly sliding downhill, losing influence in the game.
Her big moments in swaying the vote came at the dismay of her social standing and respect from her peers and the jury. The Julia Carter vote-out is a notable example of this, as she was blindsided in the previous vote and couldn’t put faith in the players who told her who to vote at this tribal. She even vocalized the notion she can’t trust her people and that if they betray her again, she’s willing to move on.
Upon Rick’s suggestion of teaming up and voting out someone other than Kelley, it got people whispering and Julie paranoid. She raised her voice to yells and cried out how she was jumping ship, with others saying she lost her mind. Even beyond then, her closest ally, Ron, voted against her voting interest in Aurora, then later she was blindsided by the others when Ron became the backup target.
Since the entire point of this Survivor: Edge of Extinction finale introspective is to pinpoint if Julie makes it to the end, now I’m not so sure. The biggest targets are Rick, Gavin and possibly Lauren, with the first two winning multiple immunities (via necklaces or idols) and Lauren being in the Manu minority.
If Julie makes it to the end, it’s because she’s dragged to the end as a goat. I don’t see her going on an immunity streak, and without Ron, I don’t see her dictating the votes.
Julie’s chances of receiving votes at Final Tribal
At this stage of Survivor: Edge of Extinction, I don’t think there are many compelling cases for a Julie victory. Her best-case scenario involves a dud making their way back from the Edge of Extinction and somehow being a bigger goat than her, which would mean either Reem Daly or, more realistically, Julia Carter, making to the Final Tribal Council with her.
However, the odds of Julia working with Julie are none, especially when they were at odds in Julia’s elimination and it’s basically Julie’s fault Julia was in that position in the first place. Sure, Julia didn’t help herself, but the two aren’t going to work together to make it to the end. That would mean Lauren, Victoria, Rick or Gavin taking both to the end, and those players would still win over them.
In my eyes, Julie doesn’t beat Gavin, Lauren, Rick or Victoria at the Final Tribal Council, which by default means she couldn’t win a jury vote. However, I do believe that Ron may give her a sympathy vote in the end, and perhaps Reem as older women in the game who have persevered through similar hardships on the bottom.
Verdict
I think Julie Rosenberg is an interesting, compelling character whose fish-out-of-water story befits the journey of a player who makes it far in Survivor: Edge of Extinction against all odds. However, she’s not guaranteed a path to the Final Tribal Council, and if she does make it, I don’t expect more than one or two votes going in her favor.
Everything can change in the finale, but it would take a lot of others tanking their games and Julie making a big splash for her to win.