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
We are now down to eight players, so it’s time once again to take stock of each castaway and see where their edit fits into the story as we head into the last few episodes.
RACHEL
Rachel has become an Edgic front-runner in the post-merge, with her underdog narrative picking up steam and her relationship with Andy given renewed focus. In addition, she’s received a lot of second-person visibility about being a threat and a strong player, setting her up for a potential final tribal council victory.
This latest episode was a mixed bag for Rachel. In the first half of the episode, Rachel again touched on her relationship with Andy and how it’s “ironic” that he has “become her guy right now.” We saw the two of them discussing game and, by all accounts, Andy seemed on board with this partnership as he didn’t undermine or throw Rachel under the bus.
The reward scene was also a great look for Rachel. Firstly, she referenced her pre-merge rice-stealing scene, which always stood out as an unusual thing for the edit to focus on. To callback to that moment here suggests some level of care was taken to Rachel’s edit. Secondly, she had a really solid scene of patching things up with Sam and detailing how she is still open to hearing his plans but is also cautious of him.
As for the bad stuff, well, Rachel wanted Genevieve to go in this episode, and that didn’t end up happening. “I do think that Genevieve going before Gabe would be better for my game because everyone will still have their eyes locked on Gabe after that, and no one will be looking at little old Rachel,” she said. “And so, I would love to convince a player like Kyle to go after someone like Genevieve because if Gabe goes, he’s next, full stop.”
This could be read a couple of ways. You could take it as Rachel not getting her way, or you could take it as foreshadowing that Kyle will go next now that Gabe is out of the game. If the latter happens, then that’s a positive for Rachel, even if she didn’t get her desired outcome with this vote.
Perhaps her most important confessional of all, and maybe her most important of the season, was her final one of the episode. In this confessional, Rachel provided a metaphor for her game, one that gave her some leeway with the Genevieve vote not going how she wanted.
“I came into the game saying that I don’t want to be the captain. I want to be the ocean. Like, I want to just turn the ship in a direction I want. I don’t need to be holding the steering wheel,” she explained before adding, “But I’d prefer Genevieve goes home next.”
This confessional provides reasoning for Rachel’s passive gameplay in this episode. It was basically an elaborate way of saying, “I’m going with the flow.” While yes, she “preferred” to see Genevieve go next, she didn’t guarantee it or stake her entire game on it. She saw which way the tides were turning and adapted.
That said, it’s never great when a player doesn’t get their desired outcome, so we’ll have to see how Rachel bounces back in this episode. Will she address the Gabe vote and explain why she voted him over Genevieve? Or will it be promptly swept under the rug?
ANDY
Andy’s edit continues to be one of the biggest of the season. He’s always a key presence who gets to explain his thoughts on the game. However, while he appears to be in a strong position on paper, there are parts of his edit that are starting to spell doom.
This episode, in particular, was heavy on Andy as a player in everyone’s ears, someone playing multiple sides and sort of growing cocky. He described himself as a “smiling assassing,” “a slithering snake… whispering different things in people’s ears” and “a pendulum, swinging this way and swinging that way.”
He described his strategy as “What I really try to do is play people off each other because I’m in so many conversations right now.” For now, Andy’s strategy appears to be working. He told Rachel about Genevieve throwing her name out, which got Rachel set on Genevieve, and he stoked the flames between Sue and Kyle.
But it’s hard not to see the signs of cockiness. “I’ve built a web of different alliances that no one really sees the full picture except for me,” he said in confessional. “And it’s very sticky, and everyone’s caught up in it… all I got to do is crawl over here and decide who my next victim is, bite their head off and crawl over here and decide who my next victim is after that. I’m a lethal player in this game.”
Again, for now, Andy’s plan is working. The three people it showed in his web (Gabe, Kyle, and Genevieve) were all targets in this episode and could remain targets in the coming episodes. But how long before Andy gets tangled in his own web and becomes a victim of his own meddling?
Overall, I think Andy’s flip-floppy game will come back to bite him, whether that’s in the form of a blindside or a berating from the jury at the final tribal council.
SAM
Sam has now fallen into an underdog role, something which was played up heavily in this episode, most clearly during the giving up the Shot in the Dark scene. In the previous episode, he talked about causing chaos, which led to the messy scrambling before the Sol vote. Sam wasn’t as chaotic in this episode, but he was still shown to be a mover and shaker.
He patched things up with Rachel at the reward and put forward his preference for the next vote. “I would love, love, love to get Gabe out of this game,” he said. “He’s somebody who is a massive strategic force. And it doesn’t hurt that he was part of the reason why Sierra and I got split up. Get my revenge a little bit and twist the knife while I’m at it.”
The revenge streak continues to be a part of Sam’s edit, as we’ve previously heard him talk about wanting to get payback on Andy. And he hasn’t forgotten about his beef with Andy. He noted how he established some trust with Andy and Teeny for the Gabe vote but made it clear, “I might burn ’em tomorrow. In fact, I probably will. So, they can’t trust me, but I want ’em to.” So, we know that chaotic side of Sam still exists.
I’d started to rule Sam out as a winner after his edit fell off in the early post-merge, but I could see a world where he blazes a path of fury to the end. However, to do that, it would surely mean he has to follow through on burning trust, and that might not sit well with a jury.
GENEVIEVE
Genevieve’s winner chances dropped a little last week as the Sol vote came back to haunt her. Not only was her move painted as ‘too much, too soon,’ but it severed her ties with Teeny, who was emotionally impacted by the Sol blindside. It showed us Genevieve as a player trying to play a game without emotional attachments but realizing it’s impossible to separate the personal from the strategic.
For the first time this season, we saw Genevieve on the back foot. The heat was on her due to the previous tribal. The positive was that Genevieve was self-aware. She knew she’d put herself in a tough spot and attempted to sit back and let the target float to the four remaining Tukus. She scraped through, and now the question becomes whether the target stays on her or she can find a new opportunity to move forward.
What’s worrying for Genevieve is how many people have her in their crosshairs. She was one of the faces in Andy’s web, Rachel is clearly out to get her, and Teeny is biding her time to get revenge. I think it’s the relationship with Teeny that could prove the most crucial here, and, to her credit, Genevieve recognized this.
“Teeny and I had a very honest discussion, and we both kind of acknowledged there’s an end coming for us, and it’s not sharing a million dollars,” she said in confessional. That suggests one or the other (or maybe both) will target each other soon, and only one will come out on top.
TEENY
I thought this was a strong episode for Teeny. The post-tribal content was from their perspective, as they talked about being blindsided by Genevieve. As we’ve seen throughout the season, Teeny is a player who struggles with the emotional toll of the game. The betrayal by Genevieve was the hardest on Teeny yet, and it set the stage for a highly personal episode.
Teeny’s struggles in the game led to them opening up about their real-life identity issues. It gave the audience a greater insight into who Teeny is as a person, making them a rootable character. In addition, it acted as a sort of reset, particularly the scene where their bag caught fire. “I’ve been kicked while I’m down, but it does light another fire under my ass to get this game moving in the direction I want it, and… I think it’s a sign of a new life in this game for me,” Teeny said.
We now have to wait to see if Teeny can turn things around. Already, in this past episode, we saw them operating with more awareness. They said they wanted to trust Sam but acknowledged, “I don’t want to be too trusting because my attachments to people in this game have been a kryptonite for me.”
They also showed patience in not immediately seeking revenge, noting that the timing wasn’t right to get Genevieve. Revenge has been a recurring theme throughout the season, with some players immediately seeking retribution and others biding their time. Given this latest episode, I’m now thinking it’s highly possible Teeny outlasts Genevieve and ultimately gets their revenge.
SUE
Wow, if Sue’s edit hadn’t fallen off before, this was surely the final nail in the coffin. The edit absolutely buried her in that maniacal montage of her hating on Kyle. Sure, it was funny, but it also made Sue look terrible, especially as we’ve been given no reason to dislike Kyle. The rivalry has been portrayed as entirely one-sided, therefore making Sue look insane.
In addition, she lost one of her closest allies, Gabe, and her other closest ally, Caroline, voted against her. And her mortal enemy Kyle survived due to another immunity win. I expect a big episode for Sue coming up this week with the fallout of the Gabe vote. Will she turn against Caroline for betraying her and be another player hellbent on revenge? Or will her focus remain on Kyle? Either way, I expect Sue on the warpath.
KYLE
Kyle is still primarily the good ol’ boy archetype who is a challenge beast. That said, we did start to see Kyle’s strategic side emerge in this episode. He explained why now was a good time to make a move against Gabe, acknowledging that Gabe would likely strike at him sooner rather than later. So, we know Kyle isn’t solely focused on challenges.
However, we also heard him talk about how taking out Gabe could make him stand out even more as a threat, giving him fewer places to hide. Rachel tried to point that out to him, and it seemed like he agreed. Yet, he ultimately voted out Gabe. Will this prove to be Kyle’s fatal mistake? Or will this be the start of a more cutthroat, strategic Kyle?
CAROLINE
Caroline has some nice little moments each episode, but they’re always so minimal or late in the episode. It makes her edit seem like an afterthought as if the editors remembered at the last minute that they needed to include her.
In this past episode, Caroline didn’t show up until late into the pre-tribal scrambling. On the positive side, she pushed for Gabe to be the vote and ended up on the right side of the numbers. She also explained her reason for targeting Gabe, saying, “While I love the honesty I have with Gabe and I love our relationship, with the track record right now of the merge votes, he’s played a better game than me.”
She added, “So, while Genevieve is a big threat, I’m starting to feel like if I vote out Gabe, it means that I can really start my game.” But is it too late to start your game at this point? History would suggest so. In addition, Caroline noted how the move could also “ruin” her game.
“Targeting Gabe means targeting Sue and betraying her trust and potentially destroying our alliance,” she stated. “And my alliance with Sue is so important to me. So, I’m still figuring out exactly what the right move to do is here because it could ruin me in this game.”
After what we saw with Genevieve and Teeny and the fallout of the Sol vote, plus previous betrayals like Andy/Sam, one would be led to believe this will not end well for Caroline. If Sue does go on the warpath, Caroline could very well be caught up in flames.
CONTENDERS
Top: Rachel
Middle: Sam
Bottom: Teeny
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 | CP4 | MOR3 | CPM3; | OTT3 | CP4 | CP3 | ||||
 Caroline |
UTRP1 | MOR3 | UTR1 | MOR2 | CP3 | MOR3 | CP3 | MOR3 | MOR2 | MOR2 | ||||
 Genevieve |
UTR1 | INV | UTR2 | CP4 | CP3 | MOR3 | CP2 | MOR3 | CP4 | CPM4 | ||||
 Kyle |
UTR1 | UTR2 | CP4 | UTR1 | UTR1 | CP4 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MOR2 | ||||
 Rachel |
MOR4 | OTT2 | UTR2 | UTR2 | UTR3 | MOR3 | CPP5 | CP4 | CP3 | CP3 | ||||
 Sam |
CP3 | CP5 | OTT3 | CP4 | CP4 | MOR3 | UTR2 | MOR4 | CP4 | CP4 | ||||
 Sue |
MOR2 | MOR4 | MORN2 | CPM3 | MOR2 | MOR3 | UTR1 | UTRP1 | UTR1 | OTTN2 | ||||
 Teeny |
CP3 | MOR3 | CP4 | CPP4 | CP4 | UTR2 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MOR3 | CPP4 | ||||
 Gabe |
CP5 | CPN4 | CPN2 | UTR1 | MOR3 | UTR2 | CPN4 | MOR3 | MOR3 | CP4 | ||||
 Sol |
UTR1 | UTR1 | MOR3 | MORP3 | MOR2 | MOR3 | MOR4 | CPP3 | MOR3 | |||||
 Sierra |
UTRP2 | MOR2 | MOR2 | CP4 | CP3 | UTR2 | UTR2 | MOR3 | ||||||
 Tiyana |
UTR2 | CP4 | UTR1 | UTR2 | MORN3 | MOR3 | CPP4 | |||||||
 Rome |
OTTM4 | OTTN3 | OTTN5 | OTTN5 | CPN3 | OTTN5 | ||||||||
 Anika |
MOR2 | MOR3 | MORN4 | UTR1 | MORN3 | |||||||||
 Kishan |
UTR1 | UTR2 | MORP3 | CPN4 | ||||||||||
 Aysha |
MOR4 | UTR1 | MOR3 | |||||||||||
 TK |
MOR4 | OTTN5 | ||||||||||||
 Jon |
CP5 |
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