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.
With all the Survivor 49 and Survivor 50 news, plus life in general, this will be a quick version of The Edit Bay this week. I’ll round-up my thoughts on the final five and their story arcs heading into the finale.
MITCH
Mitch is essentially drawing dead going into the finale. To stand any chance of winning, he needed to make a move at least two or three episodes ago. Instead, his story became the boy who cried wolf, always promising to make a move and never following through.
In last week’s episode, a move was finally made against the majority, but Mitch had no real relevance to the plan. All the credit was given to Kamilla and Kyle, who used their trickery to convince Joe and Eva to blindside Shauhin. Mitch was merely a number.
Yes, Mitch has had these small moments of fun and positivity throughout the season. But those now seem to have been included because he made the final, and the edit wanted to give him some rooting interest. However, he just isn’t relevant to the overall narrative; even if he makes it to the Final Tribal Council, we haven’t been given a reason to expect Mitch to convince a jury to hand him the victory.
EVA
Eva played a background role in the latest episode as the focus remained primarily on Joe and Kyle. Would it shock me if Eva ended up winning this season? Not entirely, but I’d be a little surprised. Her story has been about overcoming adversity and being a team player. She has repeatedly told us how she wanted to make it to the end with her alliance.
But that honor and integrity stuff has turned Eva’s edit one note at times. And it’s also blinded her to what has been really going on. She was played at the David vote-off and again in this past episode. “I could very well be played here. But it’s just in my gut I feel I can trust Kyle,” she said. Now, Joe took more heat on this than Eva, so that could have been the edit protecting her. However, it wasn’t the best look heading into the finale.
I’m not sure exactly where Eva’s story ends up. But I still see it more as a journey edit than that of a winner. She came into the game worrying about making connections because of her autism and also struggling with the pressure of early challenges. But she overcame those setbacks, performed well in challenges, made a close bond with Joe, and formed a tight-knit group. I think the edit is saying Eva is a winner regardless where she finishes in the pecking order.
JOE
This was a big episode for Joe, but not all of it was positive. The first half was really strong, especially everything surrounding the loved ones’ letters. We heard more about Joe’s family, reemphasized the bond he has with his children, and then learned about the tragic passing of his sister from domestic violence. Joe had a really emotional scene where he sought closure for his sister’s death.
However, in the second part of the episode, Joe was snowed once again by Kyle and Kamilla. Even though he aired his concerns, he ultimately fell for their lies about Shauhin and voted out his ally. And this wasn’t the first time; he was similarly duped by the Kyle and Kamilla duo at the David vote and the Thomas vote back in the pre-merge.
Now, one saving grace here is that we did see Shauhin throwing out the option of voting for Eva. So, Kyle and Kamilla weren’t entirely lying. Therefore, Joe has some leeway in his decision to cut Shauhin. He recognized that it could be a lie but also realized Shauhin was likely thinking about making a move sooner or later.
I think the big question for Joe is whether or not a jury will hold his honor and integrity talk against him should he make the FTC. We heard a lot this past episode about how big of a threat Joe is and how nobody has a chance sitting next to him at the end. But we’ve also seen signs of his poor jury management over the course of the post-merge, most specifically in that scene with Mary a couple of weeks ago.
A Joe win wouldn’t shock me, but I have to narrow down my choices at this stage, so I’m leaning more towards Kyle and Kamilla than Joe. I think Joe’s story is more about being the hero and protector, especially in his relationship with Eva, which was tied nicely to his family story in this past episode.
KAMILLA & KYLE
Then we have Kamilla and Kyle, who I’m tying together because I think either could be the winner. I’m leaning more towards Kyle because his edit has been more prominent in the post-merge. A lot of this season’s narrative has been told through his eyes, and this move against Shauhin was primarily credited as his move (with Kamilla’s assistance).
The way Kyle has navigated his conflicting relationships has driven the story over the past few episodes. We’ve been given emotion and depth to his thoughts and his moves. While Joe has been talked up as the big threat, Kyle’s move against Shauhin wasn’t painted as a mistake. He explained himself perfectly well, plus this Kyle & Kamilla versus Shauhin battle was set up way back at the swap.
Kyle told us the move against Shauhin was a way to undermine Joe and Eva at the end. So, if Kyle does end up sitting next to that duo, we know he has an ace up his sleeve. This episode could end up being his crowning moment when all is said and done.
The issue here is whether Kyle and Kamilla can both sit at the end. I don’t think so, and I believe last week set the stage for one of the pair to drop before the FTC. We heard Kamilla and Kyle agreeing that they want at least one of them to sit at the end and how a win for one is basically a win for them both. That suggests one will fall short of the FTC and the other will go on to win, which, editorially, we’re told is a victory for both.
So, if Kyle is voted out before the end, I have to believe Kamilla is the winner. She has the outsider underdog story going for her, and with all the focus on her “hidden” duo with Kyle, plus her recent speech after her immunity win, Kamilla could have a case for herself in front of the jury. She could prove especially successful if she is against a resume-less Mitch and an “honor and integrity” Joe or Eva.
The issue I have with Kamilla’s edit, though, is how she’s pretty much taken a backseat to Kyle in the post-merge. Now, that could simply be because Kyle found himself in the majority. Therefore, he had more information and a more narratively interesting position in the game. But even in this past episode, Kyle received most of the credit, even from Kamilla herself, who said she’d never have thought of such a move. That’s why I’m leaning more towards Kyle as the winner, but a Kamilla victory against the right combination wouldn’t surprise me either.
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 |
 Eva |
CPP4 | MORM2 | CPM3 | CP3 | OTTPP5 | MOR4 | MOR2 | CP3 | CP5 | MOR2 | MOR4 | MOR2 | ||
 Joe |
OTTP3 | CPP3 | OTTP2 | MOR3 | OTTP3 | MOR3 | MORP3 | CP3 | MOR4 | MORN3 | MORN3 | OTTP | ||
 Kamilla |
CP3 | MOR2 | MOR3 | CPP4 | MORP3 | UTR2 | UTR2 | CP3 | UTR2 | MOR3 | CPP4 | MOR3 | ||
 Kyle |
MORP3 | MOR3 | MOR2 | CPP4 | MOR3 | CP3 | CP3 | CP5 | CPP4 | CP3 | CPP4 | CP4 | ||
 Mitch |
UTRP2 | OTTP3 | MOR2 | OTTP2 | MOR3 | UTR2 | CPP5 | MOR2 | MOR2 | CPM3 | UTR2 | UTR1 | ||
 Shauhin |
MOR2 | CP3 | UTR2 | MORN4 | MORP3 | MOR3 | CP4 | MOR3 | CP3 | MOR3 | MOR3 | MORM4 | ||
 Mary |
MOR3 | MOR4 | CPP5 | MORP3 | UTR2 | UTR2 | UTR1 | UTR2 | UTR1 | CP4 | OTTM3 | |||
 Star |
UTRN1 | CPN3 | MOR2 | UTR1 | MORP3 | MORP4 | MOR2 | UTR2 | UTRP2 | CPM4 | ||||
 David |
OTT3 | MOR3 | OTTP3 | MORP3 | OTT2 | CP4 | MOR3 | CPN4 | OTTN4 | |||||
 Chrissy |
UTR2 | UTR2 | UTR1 | MOR2 | MOR3 | UTR1 | MOR3 | OTTM3 | ||||||
 Cedrek |
UTR2 | MORP3 | MOR4 | MORM3 | CPN3 | MORP3/td> | MOR3 | |||||||
 Sai |
OTTM5 | OTTN5 | CPM5 | CPP4 | OTTN4 | OTTN4 | CPM5 | |||||||
 Charity |
UTRN2 | OTT2 | MOR2 | MORN2 | UTRN2 | CPN4 | ||||||||
 Bianca |
UTR1 | UTR1 | MOR4 | CP3 | CP5 | |||||||||
 Thomas |
CP3 | CPN3 | CPN3 | CPN4 | ||||||||||
 Justin |
MOR2 | MOR3 | MOR4 | |||||||||||
 Kevin |
CPP5 | CP4 | ||||||||||||
 Stephanie |
MOR4 |
Written by
Joe the protector. Any chance he is forced to do fire against Eva and throws it? He is mention in the past as well he wanted to protect her. I hope not but it would kinda fit
It’s got to be either Kyle or Joe at this stage. I just can’t see Kamilla being edited the way she has been most of the season – as a number two to Kyle who hasn’t had much agency in her own right – if she won. Both Kyle and Joe have had both good and bad episodes recently, so it’ll be very interesting if they end up sitting next to each other at FTC.
They didn’t post my Eva won. They never post spoilers she have actually won.