We're headed for the merge in Survivor 46! On Wednesday, April 3, all the members of the Yanu, Nami, and Siga tribes will become one tribe during episode 6, titled "Cancel Christmas."
We recently shared a few contestants who are in good positions to win the game heading into the merge. On the flip side, we shared five castaways who might be in danger of being voted out when all three of the tribes come together.
Let's get the list started with Venus!
5. Venus Vafa
Venus has been on the bottom of the Nami tribe since the beginning of the game. It was apparent from the first few episodes that Venus was going to be on the chopping block if Nami lost an immunity challenge, which they did not. Venus also formed a bond with Randen, but he was removed from the game because of an injury.
The merge could be a huge turning point in the game for Venus. There's going to be people willing to play with her and use her votes, so it's possible she could form a strong alliance. As with some of the other contestants on this list, I get a little nervous with people who are on the bottom because it's easy for the majority to take control and pick people off one by one. Venus, if she can't work into a stronger alliance, could be picked off for just being on the wrong side of the numbers and not having the best relationships with Tevin and some of the other more charismatic people who look to be in control of the game so far.
4. Charlie Davis
Charlie is a huge threat in the game from a social and strategic perspective, and the relationships he's developing within the Siga tribe have a chance to take him to the end of the game. He and Maria are a Day 1 alliance that's already shown how well they work together with the latest tribal council vote. Over time, Charlie and Ben have become really close, as well. If they're able to work together, that group of three Siga members could make a run to the end of the game, especially if the more physical players start getting picked off.
This is the new era of Survivor, though. After the last tribal council when Maria used two votes to save Ben and vote out Jem, things are going to be different for Charlie, Maria, and Ben. It appears that they have a solid three, and at this point of the game, that's a huge target! A voting block of three people could swing any vote. I think the other players will see that and try to vote out Charlie, Maria, or Ben. Maria seems the most safe because she's a liability in challenges, but Charlie and Ben might be targeted.
Speaking of Ben...
3. Ben Katzman
No one likes to see their name written down at tribal council, but Ben was basically a Maria and Charlie flip away from being eliminated. I didn't love how easy it was for the Siga tribe to throw Ben's name out there. I feel like, along with some of the other castaways on this list, Ben is good vibes and everyone starts to become skeptical of the good vibes person after the merge. No one wants to compete against Ben in the Final 3 when he's friends with everyone on the jury. That could be one reason why Ben is targeted after the merge.
Right now, Ben is in a pretty solid alliance with Tim, Charlie, and Maria, but just how strong is it? Tim already has something in the works with Q and Hunter. If that's real, that's not good news for Ben, who would find himself on the outside of Maria and Charlie's initial alliance.
Ben isn't a huge threat in challenges, so it's possible that he could be overlooked to take out some of the other threats. That's good news for him, but I don't love where he is heading into the merge. Obviously, there's much more game to be played, so we'll see how it turns out!
2. Moriah Gaynor
Moriah is the odd person out at Siga after episode 5. Siga lost their first immunity challenge during the episode, and they had to vote someone out for the first time in the game. Maria and Charlie chose to side with Tim and Ben to save Ben and blindside Jem. Ultimately, it was a great move to make, but Moriah thought that Maria and Charlie were voting with her and Jem to vote Ben out of the game. Oh, how the turn tables!
Moriah is now in a very bad position. It doesn't look like she knew that Maria was going to use her extra vote and vote out Jem. Moriah appears to be on the bottom heading into the merge, which isn't a good spot to be in. It's possible that we could have three or more groups voting during the first tribal council after the merge, and Moriah, with few allies right now, could be the vote.
It's also possible that Moriah could use the merge to ally with some of the Siga member again or join forces with others to stay in the game. She could go all the way to the end, but it's tough to be without an alliance you can trust heading into the merge. You never want to be the odd person out.
1. Soda Thompson
Soda Thompson is one of the most charismatic and well-liked players on the Nami tribe, and that's the exact reason why Soda could be in danger after the merge. You would think that Nami, with the most tribe members remaining, would be in a great spot to take control of the game, but we know that there's a lot of tension in the Nami tribe. Venus is ready to flip. Tevin is targeting Soda before they've even been to tribal council. And, Hunter just allied with Tim and Q.
There are always two types of people who get targeted after the merge. Of course, we all know about how physical players in the new era are often on the wrong end of the votes at tribal council, and that's because everyone is terrified a contestant can roll off five wins in a row to get to the end of the game. That's going to be really interesting this season because there are three major physical threats left in the game.
The other group that's often targeted around this time is the more socially savvy players. Everyone is worried about the charismatic, people person who is going to form a majority alliance and pick everyone else off one by one. Soda is definitely in that second group. No one has anything bad to say about Soda aside from Tevin's comment about needing to get her out of the game because she is a threat. That's how I see most of the other castaways viewing Soda at the merge, but we'll just have to see what happens!