Matt Liguori ranks the players each week with his own guest in RHAP’s Survivor Power Rankings. This week Matt is joined by RHAP superfan and occasional Survivor podcaster, Adam Rida!
- Note: If reading on a cell phone, rotate your device horizontally to read the rankings side-by-side. However, this may not work for some devices with smaller screens.
RHAP Survivor Power Rankings Week 4 with Adam Rida
Nothing like a “drop your buffs” to keep things interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever been too unhappy with a swap; it’s always fun seeing the deck get shuffled. We’ve got our three new tribes, featuring some early favorites and some new underdogs. With the merge a few weeks away, we’ll see how things shake out and who will fall just short of becoming dateable.
This week, I’m joined by Adam Rida! For those of you who don’t know Adam, he’s an RHAP / Survivor / Reality TV superfan who often gets behind the microphone himself for the Australian Survivor Community Podcast. Make sure you’ve checked out all of their coverage of this past season of Australian Survivor, especially if you’re playing catch-up with the season now that it’s over. Follow Adam (@adamrida) and myself (@mattliguori) on Twitter. Tweet us what you think and leave a comment below!
- For those who have yet to catch up on ‘Australian Survivor’, you may want to skip ahead past the questions but we will NOT be spoiling any game results. Twists, however, are mentioned.
- I’m afraid to ask you anything about the most recent season of Australian Survivor because we both know how great it was and how it’s going to be hard for this season (or any season) of U.S Survivor to match it anytime soon. How was your experience covering the season and attending the finale?
- The last season of Survivor AU was one of my favourites! I think it’s so hard to compare U.S. and AU in terms of all-time rankings because one has double the length to play with, but with all that being said, I really like what season 2 brought to the table.
My experience covering the season was incredible; the cast was really receptive and positive to the coverage that Ryan Brink (you may have heard of his incredible work on the Know-It-Oz podcast on Post Show Recaps) and myself in a very small role had put out. Being able to attend the finale was honestly a dream come true and it was great to be in the room to witness such a cool moment with the winner and the 23 other players and Jonathan!
- The last season of Survivor AU was one of my favourites! I think it’s so hard to compare U.S. and AU in terms of all-time rankings because one has double the length to play with, but with all that being said, I really like what season 2 brought to the table.
- What are your thoughts on Alan overall? Was there anything he and Ashley should have done differently in that Tribal Council?
- I was really high on Alan before the game started, his pre-game coverage made me think he was going to be an interesting character and someone who was going to surprise a lot of people and rebut the ‘athlete’ archetype we’ve seen compete in the past. Unfortunately, his execution in the game was entirely different. I thought his social and strategic game just got the better of him. Him and Ashley played the best they could but they just got outplayed by Joe in that Tribal.
- Australian Survivor has introduced a few different twists and challenge ideas over their past two seasons that have really been fun to see incorporated into the game. Are there any, in particular, you’d like to see added into the mix for U.S. Survivor?
- This is such a tough one for me because I’m a pretty vocal critic of the main twist that Survivor AU has used for two seasons being non-elimination tribal council where someone gets voted off to the other tribe because I think it messes with the game too much. My thoughts on the remove a juror twist are also not positive (Damn BBCAN3!) as I think it such a reductive thing to do and it doesn’t excite me to see someone who has played hard all season to make jury lose that ability. I think there are some other twists that could definitely see some use though; I enjoyed the moral dilemmas, and the mutiny and kidnap twists could come back for future use with some tweaks.
- Who was your winner pick, and how are you feeling about them so far/how did you feel about them if their game has already ended?
- My winner’s pick is Roark. I was really looking forward to seeing her play and still enjoy the very little screen time we’re getting of her. I’d like to say she’s in with a shot to win, but at this point she’s just not part of any of the action! I’m very worried for her moving forward in the game and I think she will end up being collateral damage as two sides go to war in the merge.
- Finally…. Jeff Probst or Jonathan LaPaglia?
- I think I might have to hand in my passport here because I have to go with Jeff Probst despite meeting JLP! I love both but you can’t go past the icon that is Jeff and his passion and enthusiasm in hosting the show is unmatched. I’d love to see JLP continue to host AU and I think he’s done an incredible job!
Rapid fire!
- Who is looking like the merge boot?
- Cole– he’s such an immunity threat.
- Next person to find an idol will be…
- Joe again. Once you find one…
- Anybody you think is a lock to make it to the final 3?
- Ali– she’s very much in the driver’s seat this season.
- Any pre-merge boots so far you’d like to see get a second chance?
- Simone– she has some spice and as someone who isn’t afraid of a hot take, I appreciate that.
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Adam
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1. Ryan 
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The swap couldn’t have gone much better for Ryan. His connection with Chrissy and relationship with Ali combine to give him a comfortable majority. In order for Ryan to be in a bad spot, JP and Roark would need to come together and pull in Ali or Chrissy for a vote… so yeah, no shot in hell Ryan’s in trouble.
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1. Ali
Despite not seeing too much from Ali this week, I really like the position she’s in post-swap. Should Soko go to tribal, I think she’s going to link up with Chrissy and Ryan to have her pick of Roark or JP to go. She’s also playing a really under-the-radar game where everyone seems to trust her.
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2. Ali 3
As I said above, Ryan, Chrissy, and Ali should easily have the numbers. Ali’s also arguably the second strongest physical competitor on the tribe. I can’t imagine any scenario where Ali goes home before either another swap or the merge rolls around.
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2. Ryan
Ryan played the admission of the Chrissy idol perfectly and has maintained his relationship with Ali going into this swap. He’s in a great position to survive these next few votes and once he makes the merge, no one is going to waste a vote on him because he’s no immunity threat.
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3. Chrissy 
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It was looking like Chrissy couldn’t decide whether to stick with JP and Ashley or Alan. Luckily, that decision has been made for her. Alan is now gone and Chrissy’s making new friends. I’m hoping she still has her head in the game and doesn’t move forward thinking too much with her heart, seeing how touched she was by Ryan’s gesture.
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3. Chrissy
Chrissy might be my favourite Survivor Mom to play the game. She’s incredibly smart and has such an ease about the way she plays the game. Ryan wants to trust her and I think this relationship will pay dividends as we head into the merge.
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4. Dr. Mike 11
We’ve seen swaps completely rip apart any given player’s game in the past (hey Kelley!). But a swap can also send you from the bottom of the totem pole straight to the top. Mike has become the swing vote on his new tribe. He just spent nine days with Jessica and Cole, but if he’s lost any trust with Cole and sees greener grass with Ben and Lauren, he could easily send one of the showmancing pretty people out of the game.
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4. Joe
I’m incredibly excited by what Joe brought to tribal. He has an innate ability to read people and that is such an important skill in the game. Should Levu go to another tribal, I think he’s in the position where he can find another idol and secure his place after any rock draw. I think we’re in for some fireworks with what will happen next on Levu!
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5. Ben 4
Ben’s placement this week is purely based on my confidence in him. Ben was in a great spot on his last tribe; everybody wanted to work with him. If you look at the breakdown on paper, right now he’s outside the numbers. Cole, Jessica, and Mike may be all former yellows, but they’re far from a solid three. There are cracks. All Ben needs to do now is show some loyalty and play his game and he’ll be just fine to hang on until he reunites with Chrissy.
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5. Desi
She was very much shown by the edit as being second fiddle to Joe’s plan but I still really rate her chances to make it far in the game. We haven’t seen too much of her but she strikes me as someone who’s personable enough and not too much of a threat in this pre-merge stage.
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6. Joe 
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I’ve got no clue where Joe will finish this season but I’m so happy he’s there. What made Tony so entertaining was how wild and unpredictable he was. So far, you could use those same words to describe Joe. Joe’s been one step ahead of everybody else and I see no reason why that would stop now.
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6. Ben
This swap was not ideal for Ben–lost one of his biggest allies in Chrissy and he is one of two on the bottom against the obvious 3 Healer pairing on Yawa but with all that I still think he’s going to be okay. This week showed that as much as Mike is with the power couple, I honestly think that could change on a dime and I could see Mike aligning older and saving Ben.
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7. Devon 4
Devon’s been doing so well so far this season because he made such good connections with his original tribemates. That comfort has been stripped and now it’s time to play the game. (Cue Triple H entrance music..). And really, the lifeguard and the surfer… could Devon have asked for a better new friend from this swap than Ashley?
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7. Lauren
Lauren’s no nonsense social game has definitely helped her get this far. Despite being on the clear bottom on Yawa, I think she will find a way to last these next few votes and go deep in the game.
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8. Lauren 1
I think it’s time to start giving Lauren more credit for her social game. I began pushing that wagon up the hill after seeing her work in the hours before Patrick’s boot, but now that we see she’s getting along well with Ben (and Mike?) and has Cole spitting out information in her direction, I hope everyone can agree that Lauren’s got game. Like I said earlier, I don’t think the former yellows are unbreakable.
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8. JP
JP’s not really giving me much and things like that. He doesn’t have seem to have a strong bond with Chrissy and I could see her flipping to the Ryan/Ali pair and that could place JP in big trouble as people will want to get him out before merge.
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9. JP 4
I’m pretty sure JP made it to the swap and got a new tribe. I can’t confirm, but I do think it happened. If so, I think JP needs to put a little bit of work in to make sure he’s seen as loyal rather than an easy out that nobody will miss.
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9. Dr. Mike
Mike has probably benefited the most from this swap. He is the clear swing vote in the new Yawa 5 and neither pair is going to go after him. I have every confidence he should play this right and similar to Adam from Season 33 when he went after Figgy and Taylor. I predict he will swap over and break up the showmance.
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10. Ashley 4
I still can’t quite figure out what Ashley’s role on this season is going to be. Since the beginning, she’s been a key part of the story for both of her tribes. She really seems like someone to keep an eye on heading into the merge, if she can make it there. The idea that Devon would be willing to go to rocks to stay tight with Ashley is impressive on her part, but we’ll have to see if that preview was misleading or not.
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10. Jessica
I wasn’t a fan of her move to tell Cole about and also target Devon with the advantage, and if Mike chooses to go with Ben and Lauren then I could see her being an easy vote off before the merge. Even if she makes the merge I think if she stays with Cole that they will be seen too much as a threat and go one after the other.
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11. Jessica 1
Poor girl. Jessica seems to be trying her best out there only to have it blow up in her face every time Cole opens his mouth. To be fair, she chose him as an alliance partner; nobody forced her to work with the guy. But they’re a tight duo now and she knows she has his full loyalty, so the idea of cutting him loose can’t be too appealing.
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11. Cole
Cole has a certain naivety about the game at the moment and I don’t think it’s going to work out for him. He’s shown that he’s way too giving of information and information is currency in the game. We haven’t seen too much of Cole’s in-game alliances besides Jessica and Joe and I think the relationship he has with Joe is not a long-term thing at all.
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12. Cole 1
The closer we get to the merge, the less your tribe will need your physical strength for challenges and the more your big mouth will get you into trouble. With Mike, Lauren, and Ben all comparing notes, it would be super easy for them to decide to cut out a physical threat that is also half of a power couple.
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12. Roark
I feel that the Chrissy/Ryan link is too strong for Roark to be the swing-vote that gets courted by either side and that means that she probably will be voted out because she’s the odd woman out. I really like what little we’ve seen from her and hope she can find a way out because I think her social game is great.
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13. Roark 6
Safe to assume Roark is in major trouble if her tribe loses this week? Usually, somebody in Roark’s spot would be the swing vote (see: Devon) but given Roark’s entire original Healers tribe is all still in the game and she swapped pretty terribly, Roark’s torch may go out much sooner than we expected.
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13. Devon
Devon is in massive danger after he basically backed the wrong horse and was unable to vote. I’d be interested to see if he can find a way out but I just have a feeling he’s determined to stick with Ashley and that it will ultimately be to his detriment.
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14. Desi 6
Not to go all edit-talk on everyone but a quiet edit followed by a huge bump in screen-time never makes you feel comfortable about a player. Desi has been lurking in the background of the Healers camp for the first 9 days, but now with a smaller tribe and only one ally (aligned by default), she’s got nowhere to turn.
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14. Ashley
Clearly the next piece of fodder if Levu lose two in a row. This swap has left her all out of options. She is left with no allies on her tribe and is on the clear outs. I’ve been pretty unimpressed with how she was so stringent in keeping JP in the early stages and now that they’re separated I don’t think there’s many other links there for her to stay.
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Matt’s Power Rankings By Week
