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
In this week’s shorter edition of The Edit Bay, I want to focus on the four main stories coming out of last week’s episode. These are the narratives I feel will carry the remainder of the season.
ANDY & RACHEL
The excessive focus on the Andy and Rachel relationship in the season premiere always felt intentional. It received so much airtime despite not having a great deal of follow-up in the pre-merge that it was like we were just waiting for it to circle back around. That was what happened last week.
Andy and Rachel received an entire segment dedicated to their relationship, including flashbacks to the premiere and a recap of all the things that kept them apart in the pre-merge. Now, they’re finally looking to work together after numerous setbacks. Interestingly, neither Andy nor Rachel undermined the other in confessionals here. Both acknowledged the history of their relationship and how they hoped to repair that and work together moving forward.
The editors might as well have been flashing a giant red beacon to tell us, “This is the key relationship” of the season. I believe the Andy and Rachel dynamic will carry the narrative for the remainder of the season. And it’s not just because of the focus on them as a duo, but their individual edits, especially in the post-merge, are extremely strong.
Before the bonding/flashback segment, both Rachel and Andy had the opportunity to reflect on the last tribal council and their position in the game moving forward. Rachel explained her play with the Shot in the Dark and how her strategy now is to be open to anyone who comes knocking. Andy, meanwhile, explained why he flipped on Gata, focusing on his transformation from the paranoid outcast to a mover and shaker.
Now, it should be noted that Andy’s confessional there felt very “journey” edit. I’ve said from early on this season that Andy’s edit screamed journey/growth edit rather than winner, and this episode didn’t do a lot to change my mind on that. However, I can now see a world where Andy makes the final tribal council, most likely beside Rachel, and receives some game credit, even if it doesn’t result in a victory.
The Andy and Rachel story also has multiple possible conclusions. They may stay on the same page and carry it through to the end together, calling back to their first episode bond. Or, they could ultimately turn on another before the end. If Andy flips on Rachel again, there has been foreshadowing for that, and it would prove Rachel was right never to trust Andy. Or, vice versa, if Rachel turns on Andy, it would play into her post-merge revenge story.
Whatever happens, I expect the Andy and Rachel dynamic to dominate the end-game narrative.
SAM, THE AGENT OF CHAOS
Sam’s edit has taken an interesting turn over the past couple of episodes. In the pre-merge, he was a character very much in control. He had his alliances, pretty much knew where everyone stood, found an idol, and swayed Andy over to his side. However, his post-merge game has blown up in his face, as he was unable to maintain those relationships.
Now, Sam is out of control and hellbent on causing chaos. As he said in his opening confessional in the past episode, “It’s every man for himself.” He lived up to that motto later in the episode when, despite saying he didn’t want to blow up Rachel’s spot, he took the info she gave him and used it to stir up drama.
“Maybe I shouldn’t blow up her spot right after I tell her, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna blow up your spot,’ but I have to be able to look out for myself. And so, it’s time to cause chaos. It’s time to blow this thing up,” he said in confessional. And that’s exactly what he did, as he tried to launch a counterattack against Sue, leading to a hectic scramble before tribal.
Once again, though, Sam’s plan failed. And worse, everyone knows he was trying to flip the vote. So, Sam’s story is in an interesting place right now. He’s a man without a flag, looking to cause chaos. And I expect him to continue stirring things up from this point forward.
Also, it’s worth noting his relationships with his old Gata tribe members. He described Rachel as the one person he could trust, but he potentially harmed that trust by taking her info to Sol. So, how will that dynamic play out from here? Then there’s Andy, who went from friend to frenemie. Sam told us he has revenge on his mind but is also willing to place nice for now. I expect Sam will attempt to strike at Andy before all things are said and done.
GENEVIEVE’S ‘PETTY’ MOVE
This was a huge episode for Genevieve and one that I have mixed feelings about. Ever since the Kishan vote, Genevieve has had the edit of a super strategist, one that has only grown in the post-merge. She’s game-focused, always looking for an angle, and this past episode was her most daring move yet.
Genevieve’s decision to target Sol was a strange one, especially looking at it from a game point of view. Sol seemed to trust her, and making a strike against him this early required juggling lots of moving parts. But edgically speaking, it wasn’t so clear cut. Now, her stating, “In this game, I am so petty,” as her reason for targeting Sol wasn’t the best look. It could be a sign that Genevieve is missing the forest for the trees.
That said, the edit didn’t bury her choice to target Sol, which felt like it could have had it wanted to. We’ve seen how Sol has ingratiated himself post-merge, and we saw him throwing out Gabe’s name. We also heard Genevieve acknowledge that this would be a “complicated” plan to pull due to various conflicting elements and potential missing votes.
So, when it all blew up before tribal and sent everyone scrambling, we knew Genevieve was aware of such a thing happening. It didn’t come as a blindside or even as if it was undermining her. She knew the dangers, and she pushed ahead anyway and ultimately got her way.
But where does Genevieve’s story go from here? I still think she is in contention due to the way she was presented here. However, I’m also starting to see her as the killer strategist that the ultimate winner needs to take down on the path to victory.
Also worth noting is Genevieve’s relationship with Teeny. Given the focus on Teeny’s reaction at tribal, we know she took the Sol vote heard. Again, Genevieve was shown to be aware of this potential backlash.
“I am fully aware that lying to Teeny and voting out Sol is going to burn my bridge with Teeny,” she said in confessional. “She is someone I have a complete relationship with in this game. I care deeply about her. I believe she cares about me. But I still think that this is the right move for me.”
Genevieve’s story from here will be about how she handles the fallout with Teeny, whether they can patch things up and move forward, or if this will push Teeny away to new relationships.
TUKU HOLDING ON
Finally, we have the remaining four Tuku members: Caroline, Gabe, Kyle, and Sue. A significant part of the post-merge has been about Tuku trying to keep their numbers together, and despite the Tiyana boot, they’ve managed to achieve that. But how much longer can this last?
Last week, we saw multiple players throwing out Gabe and Kyle’s names as potential targets. Then, at the end of the episode, Sam tried to turn the vote on Sue, who he called the “most insulated player” in the game. Sam also correctly pointed out how Gabe is tight with Caroline and Sue, proving that Gabe hasn’t done as good a job as he thinks with keeping his alliance undercover.
But more than people pointing fingers at Tuku, the bigger issue is how their edits as a whole have fallen off. Sue went from being one of the more prominent pre-merge characters to almost an afterthought in the pre-merge. Gabe has dropped off in complexity and only pops up to have these cocky confessionals. Kyle is painted as a mostly one-note challenge guy. And Caroline continues to have the quietest edit of the lot.
It really feels like Tuku’s days are numbered, both game-wise and Edgic-wise, as we head into the final stretch.
CONTENDERS
Top: Rachel
Middle: Genevieve
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 | |||||
 Caroline |
UTRP1 | MOR3 | UTR1 | MOR2 | CP3 | MOR3 | CP3 | MOR3 | MOR2 | |||||
 Gabe |
CP5 | CPN4 | CPN2 | UTR1 | MOR3 | UTR2 | CPN4 | MOR3 | MOR3 | |||||
 Genevieve |
UTR1 | INV | UTR2 | CP4 | CP3 | MOR3 | CP2 | MOR3 | CP4 | |||||
 Kyle |
UTR1 | UTR2 | CP4 | UTR1 | UTR1 | CP4 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MOR3 | |||||
 Rachel |
MOR4 | OTT2 | UTR2 | UTR2 | UTR3 | MOR3 | CPP5 | CP4 | CP3 | |||||
 Sam |
CP3 | CP5 | OTT3 | CP4 | CP4 | MOR3 | UTR2 | MOR4 | CP4 | |||||
 Sue |
MOR2 | MOR4 | MORN2 | CPM3 | MOR2 | MOR3 | UTR1 | UTRP1 | UTR1 | |||||
 Teeny |
CP3 | MOR3 | CP4 | CPP4 | CP4 | UTR2 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MOR3 | |||||
 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 |
Written by
Rachel or Genevieve winning would be the worst. It would give us a third horrible winner in a row that didn’t deserve it, and ruins an otherwise great season. I still think Andy, Sue, and Teeny are the only possible winners; nobody else makes sense. And, I think Rachel feels more like the ‘journey edit’ than Andy. Andy has been an important character all season long, while Rachel has been completely pointless until the merge.
I guess nothing I say matters, since my comments keep being deleted for no reason. Thanks moderation! Don’t know what the point of this area is if you’re not allowed to say what you want.
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