Survivor Winners at War episode 9 power rankings: Challenging times

8. Michele Fitzgerald

Though there was a smirk to offer when Wendell was voted out, the video evidence suggests that she was telling the truth; she had no idea her ex-boyfriend was about to go home. While it may be a bit of a relief to have that baggage out of the game until at least Day 35 (and potentially voting for her on the jury), being incorrect on a merge vote outside of idol plays has only produced one winner in 20 seasons; Sarah Lacina.

Playing the middle might be Michele’s best available strategy to win Survivor: Winners at War, and she has the social capital to pull it off. She even has shared targets among the tribe and has the capabilities to lead the group of the outsiders without rustling too many feathers among the big threats.

Her being left out of the vote, paired with the fact that we saw barely anything of her perspective at the merge, are the most ominous parts of her edit, especially seeing how we saw little to no closure on the Wendell vs. Michele dynamic. It’s like it served to be an artificial narrative point to make someone a villain for voting out Yul and less about establishing Michele’s character.