Episode 3 – The Edit Bay

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

The third installment of Survivor 46 stalled the narrative of the season, which can often be the case when an episode ends with a medevac. But even outside of Randen’s unfortunate departure, this episode didn’t particularly advance new ground. Instead, it reemphasized previous plot points and character arcs.

This repetition is in large part thanks to Yanu’s consistent challenge losses. When one tribe visits tribal council that often, it takes up most of the episode’s focus. That ends up making the cast feel much smaller than it is, as our time is spent with the same handful of characters while others shrink into the background.

It can also make the edit harder to read in terms of contenders and key characters. Right now, Bhanu, Kenzie, Tiffany, and Q are eating up all the air-time, but is that simply due to circumstance, or do they have an importance to the over-arching story?

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the stand-out characters and their stories after Episode 3.

BHANU

Bhanu was all over this episode, with a staggering 13 confessionals. Some of that is to be expected, given that he was the target and went on the episode’s journey. He’s also a huge personality who wears his emotions on his sleeve, therefore providing ample content for editors.

Also, since the episode ended without a tribal council, it made sense to frame the narrative around Bhanu. The story was told from his perspective, about how he was in danger and nothing was going his way. It all seemed to be leading to his inevitable elimination. But he was reprieved thanks for Randen’s medevac causing tribal to be canceled. His relief and elation at the end gave the episode a cathartic conclusion.

That said, nothing here made me believe Bhanu is long for this game. If anything, it felt like the show squeezing all they can out of him while he’s still there. Besides Q’s promises to take Bhanu to the end, his edit is very much of the now. There is very little looking forward in Bhanu’s edit, as opposed to, say, Tiffany and Kenzie, whose edits are full of foreshadowing. Bhanu is just trying to survive the inevitable.

KENZIE

What’s interesting about Kenzie’s edit is that even though Bhanu received most of the screen time, her story was the one highlighted at the episode’s conclusion. “Kenzie got lucky. She has no idea how close she came to going home,” Q said in the episode’s final confessional.

We touched on this theme last week: ominous foreshadowing, specifically regarding players who could become threats further down the line. There’s been a ton of talk so far about how dangerous Kenzie is and how much of a threat she could be at the end. That continued in this episode, with Q targeting her and Bhanu referring to her as a “mermaid dragon.”

“Kenzie is a threat. A threat can never be used to your favor. At some point it’s gonna come up and bite,” Q said in explaining why he wanted Kenzie out over Bhanu.

But, just like last week, Kenzie made it through, though under different circumstances. And so now we have to wonder, will Kenzie become this huge threat that makes it deep and ends up biting Q and potentially the rest of the Yanu members? The groundwork has certainly been laid.

The concern, though, at least in terms of Kenzie’s winner chances, is that it’s A LOT. The edit is laying it on thick when it comes to having others talk about how she’s this “mastermind” with killer social skills that can manipulate others to do her bidding. I don’t think the producers would underline the winner to that degree so early in the season. But, given Yanu’s constant losses, it’s a possibility.

Q

Q’s part in the narrative is intriguing because he does have some signs of longevity. He’s talked about his plans, concerns, and ideas of how to put himself in a winning position (specifically, with Bhanu as his “Phillip”). He’s also one of the main voices pushing the “Kenzie is dangerous” agenda.

However, Q laid out his story in his first confessional of the premiere when he said, “I do not like to lose.” That is his character type, which we saw in this latest episode. He took the challenge loss hard, blaming himself for not delivering and seemingly willing to send himself home because of it.

“As a former Division I athlete, I’m built for moments like this. I’m very, very tough on myself because I understand that I can do better,” he said in confessional, noting how he felt “horrible” about the loss.

We’ll never know how genuine Q was with this self-sacrifice, especially as he did begin plotting to vote out Kenzie. But the fact the edit showed it (along with Kenzie calling him a “martyr”) without any rug-pull or turn about face suggested it was legitimate.

So that’s how I view Q’s edit; he’s the player who is super competitive but doesn’t know how to cope with loss. And I suspect there will be more losses to come before all is said and done.

TIFFANY

I thought this was a pretty solid episode for Tiffany. She might have had the least screen-time of the Yanu members, but what she said mattered. We heard her thoughts every step of the way regarding her fellow tribemates and potential moves. And each time, she explained where her head was at.

We knew she wanted Bhanu out next because of his inability to keep a secret. Those worries were validated when Bhanu spilled all the Yanu gossip to Ben and Liz during the journey. Her read on Q as someone who doesn’t “handle losses well” and puts an “invisible pressure” on himself was also spot on.

Most importantly, we heard why targeting Kenzie might not be in her best interest despite everyone talking about how big of a threat she is.

She acknowledged that Q made some “valid arguments” and even noted, “As a Survivor fan, if I was watching somebody play with somebody as charismatic and charming and smart as Kenzie, I probably would be like, ‘Dang. Like, maybe you do need to cut that person.'”

But she then highlighted the difference between being a “fan” and a “player,” which came up throughout the episode. (Kenzie said of Bhanu: “He loves the game, he loves to watch it, but it’s different to play it.” Q later added, “[Bhanu] has a passion for the game, but he doesn’t understand the game.”).

Speaking on the Kenzie situation, Tiffany said, “Being a Survivor player and actually having a relationship with Kenzie, I feel like Kenzie and I are close. And while she is savvy and smart, I think she’s on my side.”

We understand Tiffany is keeping Kenzie around for her own benefit. And so far, we’ve seen Kenzie and Tiffany working closely together. However, there was that moment in episode two where Kenzie suggested an alliance with Bhanu and Jess to take out Q and Tiffany. Again, it’s hard to know how genuine that was, but it’s worth considering.

There’s every chance Tiffany’s sticking so close to Kenzie will cost her in the long run. But there’s just as much a chance Tiffany will use Kenzie to her benefit and make a deep run because of it.

VENUS

Moving away from Yanu, the Nami tribe primarily revolved around Venus and her story. Even Randen’s premature exit was framed from her point of view and what it meant for her game going forward. She reminded us that Randen was her only ally, that she’s on the bottom, and “pretty much screwed.”

However, her final line showed a glimmer of hope. “But honestly, at this point, I’ve realized, in Survivor, you can’t predict anything,” she said, which suggests Venus will find a way to turn her fortune around.

Venus is clearly a main character, given that the only other Nami content outside of Randen’s injury and Liz’s journey (both highly circumstantial) was her scene about Hunter. As we’ve seen previously, Venus is self-aware and perceptive. She clocked that Hunter is putting on a facade and is more dangerous than he lets on, which we know is accurate because Hunter told us much within the same segment.

This could be setting up a Venus versus Hunter showdown, or maybe it’s another case of noticing a threat but missing the opportunity to take them out before it’s too late. Either way, I expect Venus to continue playing a pivotal role in the season.

JEM

After a quiet episode last week, Jem received the main Siga scene in this episode due to finding the beware advantage. In fact, as the edit showed us, this actually happened days earlier but was held back until this episode. That tells me there isn’t much going on in Siga, the season’s resident happy-go-lucky, always-winning tribe.

It’s hard to say if this means anything significant for Jem’s edit, as, again, it was mostly circumstantial. However, one moment gave us a hint about Siga’s future. “In the event your tribe never loses, there’s further instructions,” Jem read from the parchment, a line we never heard when Yanu and Nami found their clues. That suggests Siga won’t be losing a pre-merge immunity challenge.

If that’s the case, then Jem and the rest of her Siga buddies are guaranteed to make the merge (or, at least, mergatory). That puts them in good stead, purely on a numbers basis, and they’re a seemingly tight group. This means we probably need to strongly consider the winner coming from this tribe. Most likely are Jem, Maria, Charlie, and possibly Ben.

Jem has the interestingly placed premiere confessional and potential winner quote, plus the kind of under-the-radar start many female winners have had in the past. Maria had an excellent first episode with a solid follow-up last week in her side alliance chat with Charlie, though she was barely present in this episode.

Charlie had a decent premiere and a strong second episode, where he showed off his social and strategic chops. Meanwhile, Ben has been the mascot of good vibes so far but he began to show his gameplay in this episode with how he approached the journey and the aftermath.

If the winner is a Siga member, those are the four I’m keeping my eye on to see how they progress in the weeks ahead.

THE OTHERS

Hunter/Tevin/Soda — This was a really quiet episode for Tevin and Soda, who had no confessionals. We only heard about them in relation to their alleged alliance with Hunter. Speaking of Hunter, he got some nice camp scenes where he talked about his strategy of playing the good ol’ country boy. But the fact he got clocked by Venus damages his chances.

Liz — Liz is what I call the wildcard edit. She’s the one I’m having the toughest time placing at the minute. Sometimes, the edit makes her seem clownish, with all the money talk and speaking in the third person. But she’s obviously in well with her tribemates, or, at least, in better than Venus, who we’ve been shown as an outcast. Hopefully, Liz’s character will be fleshed out in the episodes to come.

Moriah/Tim — Very little from Moriah and Tim in this episode outside of basic idol-hunting narration. With Siga constantly winning and the dynamics remaining the same, there isn’t much to show game-wise. It would be nice to get some personal content from these two should Siga keep winning, though.

EARLY CONTENDERS

Top Tier: Tiffany, Maria

Second Tier: Kenzie, Hunter, Jem, Charlie

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

Ben

OTTP3

OTTP3

MOR4

Bhanu

MORP4

OTTN4

OTTM5

Charlie

CP3

CPP4

UTR2

Hunter

CP2

UTR1

CPP2

Jem

MOR2

UTR1

MOR3

Kenzie

CP4

CPM5

MORM4

Liz

UTRN2

OTTN2

MOR3

Maria

MORP3

MOR2

INV

Moriah

MORP2

UTR1

UTR1

Q

MOR3

CP4

CPM5

Soda

MOR3

MORN3

INV

Tevin

CP4

MOR2

UTR1

Tiffany

MOR4

MORP5

MOR4

Tim

MOR2

UTR1

INV

Venus

MORN3

CPM4

MOR3

Randen

UTRN1

CP3

OTTP3

Jess

OTTM4

OTTM4

Jelinsky

OTTN5

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