Hello all, welcome back to the Edit Bay! This weekly feature takes a dive into the edit of the latest Survivor episode, analyzing the key stories, main characters, and top winner contenders.
For those new to The Edit Bay, it is a condensed version of Edgic, highlighting some of the stand-out story beats from the most recent episode. It also includes my weekly Edgic ratings for each castaway at the end of the article.
OVERVIEW
Hey all! First of all, apologies for skipping a week of The Edit Bay. I was on holiday for a week in Seattle, but I’m back home now. I’ve added Episode 3’s Edgic ratings to the chart at the bottom of the article, along with Episode 4’s, so feel free to check those out.
In the meantime, to catch things up, I’m going to post a little about each character remaining and see where their stories are heading and their potential to win the season.
ANDY
Taking the first four episodes as a whole, I still firmly believe Andy is our major journey edit of the season. Right now, he’s still in the early “out of his element” stage, with montages of him being a goof, losing his Shot in the Dark, falling off the hammock, etc. He’s painted as someone out of his depth on the island and not quite fitting in with the vibe of his tribe.
However, the edit takes time to give Andy strategic moments, so I’m not so eager to write him off as a pre-merge flameout. He explains his moves, even if they don’t always have the desired results. His plan to sell himself as the bottom feeder of his tribe so as not to reveal any tribe dynamics during the journey was astute thinking. Plus, he’s set up as the middle man between two potentially conflicting pairs in Sam & Sierra and Anika & Rachel.
In addition, Andy had the all-important premiere mat chat, he’s had a solid mix of personal and strategic content, and we understand his relationships within his tribe. Could this be another Gabler-style character-based winner edit? It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but I lean more towards the journey edit. I suspect Andy will end up making a deep run and end the game much more confident than when he started.
ANIKA
Anika’s third episode established a conflict with Sam, as we saw them butting heads over ways to rebuild the shelter. What stood out here, though, is that the rivalry was all told from Sam’s perspective. We didn’t hear Anika’s thoughts in confessional, and there was no follow-up from her in Episode 4.
What does that tell us? Well, it suggests Sam is a more important character, and Anika is an obstacle in his game rather than vice versa. So, that leads me to believe if the Sam and Anika feud does come to a head, Sam will likely come out on top.
That’s not to say Anika’s edit is terrible. She did have an intro confessional and a pretty solid premiere episode. We also know she is in an alliance with Rachel. Plus, having an early feud is a recent staple for Survivor winner edits. I just think there is a lack of depth and insight.
CAROLINE
Caroline’s edit is an odd one. She has these moments that appear to be the start of something, but then it fizzles out into nothing. For example, in Episode 3, she was involved in the post-tribal celebration, where we saw her and Sue delighting in the TK blindside. It felt like this could have pushed Caroline into a more prominent position; however, she still feels secondary to both Sue and Gabe.
Her fourth episode was a quiet one, with her only real content tied to the journey. Nothing she said about the journey was particularly insightful. Instead, her closest alliance partner, Sue, got the bulk of the content on the Tuku tribe this week.
The positive for Caroline is that she is in an established duo, even if she is playing second fiddle right now. It wouldn’t be unusual for Survivor to under edit a female winner in the pre-merge in favor of her more colourful alliance partner. That said, with her late introduction in the premiere and overall lack of content so far, it would be an uphill battle for Caroline.
GABE
Even though his fourth episode was fairly quiet, Gabe is one of the more prominent characters in the pre-merge. However, I don’t feel good about his chances. There is a negative tone running through Gabe’s edit, with a strong focus on how he underestimates others, particularly Sue.
Take this past episode, for example; Gabe talked about how the Survivor Gods had delivered Sue to him on a silver platter and how he’s confident she tells him everything. This was undermined two-fold. Firstly, we found out Sue was lying about her age, with Gabe present in the scene where she told him and Kyle she was 45. Secondly, Sue found an idol and did not tell Gabe about it.
There is a recurring theme of “underestimating” in this season, and Gabe, in particular, is shown to be underestimating his allies, especially Sue but also Caroline. I suspect Sue and Caroline will give Gabe a rude awakening somewhere down the line, whether that’s in the form of a blindside or beating him at the Final Tribal Council.
GENEVIEVE
Genevieve finally arrived with a huge splash in Episode 4. She was presented as the strategic mastermind of the episode, emerging from the shadows to pull off the biggest blindside of the season so far. But does that change anything about her overall edit? It’s tough to say.
On the one hand, you could view this as Genevieve’s big coming-out episode. Perhaps she was intentionally underedited across the first three episodes to emphasize how she operated out of the shadows to pull off an unsuspecting move. If that’s the case, though, Genevieve’s edit will need to continue being a focus from this point on. If she gets a strong follow-up this week, I’d be more confident in her chances.
The other side of the coin is that this was purely circumstantial; Genevieve masterminded a fantastic vote-off, so the edit gave her credit and presented it as such. It could very well be a one-off episode focus, and she will fall right back into the shadows. Either way, it’s hard to look past her first three episodes as the most under-edited played, with a terrible premiere to boot.
KYLE
Kyle is a difficult edit to place. He had an intro confessional, and he’s had these small positive moments. Plus, he was shielded from TK’s negativity despite being TK’s closest ally. He also has a (one-sided) rivalry with Sue. Yet, he’s barely visible. In fact, the only thing saving him from an INV rating for Episode 4 is his conversation with Sue in her age-lying scene.
I’m really not sure where Kyle’s story is heading. Having the intro suggests he’ll probably be around for a while and make some impact because we haven’t seen it yet. But a pre-merge this quiet for a male player? That doesn’t scream winner.
RACHEL
Rachel is perhaps the most underdeveloped character in the Gata tribe, but she does have these moments of insight. In Episode 4, she was given credit for the Breadwinners name, and talked up her loyalty to the women on the tribe and how Anika is her number one. So, on the one hand, we understand her position in the game and where she sees herself.
On the other hand, the whole Breadwinners thing became a point of contention and primarily served as a source of tension between the Sam/Sierra/Andy group, which, at this point, is more fleshed out than the women’s alliance. We also saw that Sierra considers Sam her number one over the women (despite the tension), which suggests Rachel’s loyalty to the women might be misjudged.
With Gata on a winning streak, I give a little more leeway to players like Rachel being underedited. However, she does need an uptick in content soon to remain viable. I still suspect the Sam & Sierra duo will come out on top over the Anika & Rachel duo, but I lean towards Anika being the one to take the hit. If that happens, it could kickstart an underdog arc for Rachel, but right now, that remains a hypothetical.
ROME
The biggest edit of the pre-merge, Rome is clearly the villain of the season. His edit is so OTT and filled with negativity. Yes, he does have moments where he explains his moves and reasons behind his decisions, but it’s all framed in an OTTN package.
Take the fourth episode, for example, his attitude towards Sol, following him around and then threatening him. This all came off super negative, with even Rome’s allies commenting how it wasn’t cool. And while Rome did later apologize, it came after he found out he was a target, so he didn’t particularly feel genuine.
Whether Rome is taken out next week or makes it deep into the game, there is no doubt he will be one of Survivor 47’s most memorable characters. But I would be stunned if he won. Even Gabler, the last shocking winner, had moments of positivity to offset the negative elements. Rome, so far at least, has none of that.
SAM
Outside of Rome, Sam is the other big presence of the pre-merge. He’s consistently highlighted each episode, always has complex content, and explains his relationships and strategies. We know that he considers Sierra his number one, that he wants to use Andy, and that he has a rivalry with Anika (which is told from his perspective).
In the pre-new era, Sam has all the hallmarks of a winner’s edit. However, in this day and age, I feel like it’s too clean. He should still definitely be considered, but I’d be cautious about making him the frontrunner. To me, it feels like Sam is going to be a big “resume move” for someone down the line. I could even see a story where his keeping Andy around comes back to bite him, given how much talk there was early on of Andy being a detriment if brought further into the game.
SIERRA
Sierra’s edit has improved over the past couple of weeks, with her fourth episode being her most prominent. We heard her insight into the tribe dynamics, her relationship with Anika and Rachel, her alliance with Sam, and her distrust of Andy.
There has been a continued focus on the Sierra & Sam pairing, which suggests they’re an important duo. Perhaps they make a deep run, or, maybe the more likely, they are targeted because of their perceived working relationship. Interestingly, Sierra is aware of this perception and is working to give herself options. Part of me wonders if there is a world where Sierra could end up voting out Sam for the sake of her own game.
On the other hand, maybe there will come a point where Sierra has a chance to make a killer move but decides against it. This could have been foreshadowed in the Episode 4 scene with the chickens, where Sierra was against killing the chickens, whereas her alliance partner Sam was ready to do the deed.
SOL
Sol finally got an uptick in content in Episode 4, but the majority of his screen time still revolves around Rome. On the plus side, I definitely think the audience was meant to sympathize with Sol, and he received positive comments from Teeny and Genevieve about how he’s a good person.
That said, there just isn’t enough to Sol’s edit to sink our teeth into. It’s all about Rome or in reaction to Rome. We don’t know how he feels about the rest of his tribemates or his overall plans and strategies for his game. So, it’s hard to invest in Sol as a contender or major character when his content relies so heavily on another player.
SUE
Sue remains one of the top characters and contenders of the season with a running thematic thru-line. Her whole story is about being underestimated and proving others wrong. In Episode 4, she told her tribemates she was 45 — a lie which, as far as the audience is concerned, was believed. This tied back to Sue’s intro confessional about how she plans to reveal her real age (59) at the Final Tribal Council.
Her idol find was definitely played up for laughs, but it also fit into her underestimated theme. Gabe had previously said how Sue would tell him everything, but we received no indication that Sue shared the knowledge of her idol with Gabe or anyone. She did receive some suspicion from Tiyana, though, which could be a story worth keeping an eye on.
Overall, it’s hard to pick a fault in Sue’s edit. She has all the key elements — an into confessional, relationship scenes, consistent theme, strategic and personal moments, an established duo, etc. These are the things we look for in a winner’s edit.
TEENY
Teeny’s fourth episode started with this positive-toned scene where they opened up about not taking pleasure in betraying people, even though it’s a necessary part of the game. This felt like a set-up for the betrayal they would suffer later in the episode during the Kishan blindside. Perhaps this will be the license for Teeny not to feel bad about betraying others now that it happened to them.
Teeny remains a contender, and it’s obvious they were shielded from Kishan’s negative tone in the fourth episode. They had the intro mat chat, plus a bunch of CP content and strategy talk. Perhaps, like Sam, it’s a little too clean and lacking in edge, but with the way Episode 4 ended, this could provide Teeny an underdog arc moving forward.
TIYANA
After the TK blindside, I was expecting a lot more from Tiyana, but it just hasn’t manifested. She didn’t get to comment on the TK vote at all, and her fourth episode was similarly quiet. Yes, she did clock Sue as acting suspiciously during the idol scene, but it felt very circumstantial.
Since the TK vote, we have no real idea where Tiyana stands or who she considers her closest allies. There is a lack of personal and strategic content. And given her previous betrayal of Kyle and now her suspicion of Sue, Tiyana could be a potential target should Tuku return to tribal.
EARLY CONTENDERS
Top Tier: Sue, Teeny, Sam
EDGIC CHART
| Name | EP 1 | EP 2 | EP 3 | EP 4 | EP 5 | EP 6 | EP 7 | EP 8 | EP 9 | EP 10 | EP 11 | EP 12 | EP 13 | EP 14 |
 Andy |
OTTN5 | OTTN4 | CP2 | OTTN3 | ||||||||||
 Anika |
MOR2 | MOR3 | MORN4 | UTR1 | ||||||||||
 Caroline |
UTRP1 | MOR3 | UTR1 | MOR2 | ||||||||||
 Gabe |
CP5 | CPN4 | CPN2 | UTR1 | ||||||||||
 Genevieve |
UTR1 | INV | UTR2 | CP4 | ||||||||||
 Kyle |
UTR1 | UTR2 | CP4 | UTR1 | ||||||||||
 Rachel |
MOR4 | OTT2 | UTR2 | UTR2 | ||||||||||
 Rome |
OTTM4 | OTTN3 | OTTN5 | OTTN5 | ||||||||||
 Sam |
CP3 | CP5 | OTT3 | CP4 | ||||||||||
 Sierra |
UTRP2 | MOR2 | MOR2 | CP4 | ||||||||||
 Sol |
UTR1 | UTR1 | MOR3 | MORP3 | ||||||||||
 Sue |
MOR2 | MOR4 | MORN2 | CPM3 | ||||||||||
 Teeny |
CP3 | MOR3 | CP4 | CPP4 | ||||||||||
 Tiyana |
UTR2 | CP4 | UTR1 | UTR2 | ||||||||||
 Kishan |
UTR1 | UTR2 | MORP3 | CPN4 | ||||||||||
 Aysha |
MOR4 | UTR1 | MOR3 | |||||||||||
 TK |
MOR4 | OTTN5 | ||||||||||||
 Jon |
CP5 |
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