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.
I’m going to do something a little different this season, and for each episode, I’ll highlight each player’s best/most substantive confessional and how it ties into their overall character/arc/story.
NEW CIVA
CHRISSY
So, on my new tribe, I have Sai and Cedrek from Vula. I have Bianca from Lagi. And then I have me and Mitch from Civa. It was a mixed emotion for me, because I was not working with Mitch. We were together seven days, and not once did Mitch talk to me about gameplay. But now we want to stay Civa strong. We’re not gonna get picked off by these other people. We have to work together. And, you know, we’re gonna do what we have to do.
We actually got to hear from Chrissy in this episode, though it was still minimal. She started by narrating the dynamics of the new Civa tribe and her relationship with Mitch. We knew from the OG Civa that Chrissy was working with David, Kyle, and Kamilla, so this helped to reemphasize her lack of connection with Mitch.
Despite not having a working relationship with Mitch, Chrissy expressed her desire to stick with him and work together, staying “Civa” strong. I’m not sure if we’re meant to take this as a good thing for Chrissy’s game, though. We then saw Mitch making inroads with Cedrek, suggesting there could be some push and pull down the line.
BIANCA
I’m just reminding myself, “keep your smile on. Act confident.” When inside, I’m panicking. None of my original tribe members are on my new Civa tribe. And to make things a million times worse, this girl doesn’t have a vote. I lost my vote on the journey. I’m not telling anyone because I don’t want that exposed. So strategy now is that I work them all very, very well and try to figure out the crack.
Another player who has been underedited so far, Bianca, had the unfortunate position of ending up as the lone Lagi on her new tribe and is without her vote. She recapped those things in her confessional before giving a brief insight into her strategy. She told us she was going to work on her tribemates and figure out a crack.
We then saw Bianca doing exactly that, as she found a crack in the Sai and Cedrek relationship. Even though Bianca’s edit has been fairly quiet so far, I thought this was a decent episode for her. She has a potential underdog arc, especially with her number on Thomas leaving this episode, which only adds to her comeback story.
MITCH
He shares with me that, growing up, he used to stutter as well. And it’s, like, man, like, here’s someone who knows what it-it feels like to walk in my shoes. And, yes, Survivor is a game for a million dollars, but it is, like, so much more than that. Like, I really hope our connection as people who s-stutter, like, bonds us.
While Mitch did acknowledge that “at this point, Chrissy and I are working together,” his confessional immediately shifted attention to Cedrek. We saw Mitch and Cedrek bonding over having a stutter, and, already, the Mitch and Cedrek bond appears a lot tighter than anything we’ve seen between Mitch and Chrissy.
I also found it interesting that Mitch said Survivor is about much more than the million dollars. To me, when an edit includes something like that, it hints at a journey edit rather than a winning edit. Mitch could certainly fit that narrative, especially with such a personal story at the forefront of his edit.
CEDREK
When I see Mitch, I see me. And I see all the folks that he’s representing that would never dare to do this. So I see someone that is brave. I see someone that is open to working together. And when I find commonalities, it creates a platform to establish the relationship. I definitely want to work with Mitch. And I think if Sai and I play our cards right, we can take advantage of this swap to help our game. Because what Sai and I have is loyalty.
After that chaotic tribal last week, Cedrek had some making up to do, and, unfortunately, I don’t think he accomplished that. At least, not when it came to his relationships with Mary and Sai. Instead, the focus moved to his bonding with Mitch, which, again, highlighted Cedrek as a player who goes off of emotion and personal connections.
However, the edit went heavy on Cedrek’s misreading of the situation with Sai. At the start of the episode, he was completely oblivious that his actions pushed Sai and Mary together and against him. He continued to be oblivious to Sai’s feelings on the New Civa tribe, stating that he and Sai have loyalty, while Sai was throwing him under the bus to Bianca. I don’t get a good feeling about Cedrek’s longevity in this game.
SAI
Bianca’s feeling me out, and rightfully so, but I’m feeling her out as well. I like working with strong women, competitive women, which, I can tell she’s here to compete. I, truthfully, want to work with Bianca, because she’s a lone soldier and Cedrek’s already looking for his own game plan, I can tell. But I have my own game because of the distrust he’s created between us.
Sai is still one of the season’s biggest characters, even if this episode was a quieter one for her. The main focus here was on her fractured relationship with Cedrek and where she sees herself moving forward. We don’t have a definitive answer to that yet, but this episode was all about Sai testing the waters for potential new relationships.
Not only did she bury the hatchet with Mary at the start of the episode and agree to have each other’s backs, but she also connected with Bianca on the New Civa tribe. “I like working with strong women, competitive women,” she said, which definitely had me wondering if some sort of Sai/Bianca/Mary alliance could be a thing down the road.
In the short-term, though, I suspect the Sai and Cedrek story to have the biggest implications.
NEW LAGI
EVA
I don’t like change. I don’t deal with change well. And this big change about to happen is making me very on edge. Joe is the only person that I told about having autism and how to help me and what to do. And the thought of leaving Joe and thinking about not having him by my side… it makes me scared.
Even though we saw Eva make a new connection with David, and once again throw Star under the bus, her edit continued to be strongly tied to Joe. Her swap confessional was all about being separated from Joe and how that would impact her game. She brought this up again in her second confessional, saying, “Also, Joe and I have been super close since the beginning of this game. And going at it alone is scary and new.”
You could read into this two ways. The first being that Eva’s edit is too linked to Joe, meaning that being away from him is going to cause her to struggle and lead to a downfall. Or, you could see this as part of her growth, that she will face obstacles because of this change but ultimately learn to overcome them. We saw signs of her figuring things out and working for herself in this episode, so I lean towards the latter.
DAVID
I don’t think she knows it, but Charity, I haven’t trusted since day one. She’s playing this game way too hard. And I still don’t trust her out here. Eva really wants to get Star out, but I want Charity out of this game. So, even though she’s part of my tribe, I would take the first opportunity to throw her under the bus and get her out of here.
Right now, David is getting the “hero” edit he dreamed of. He gets a ton of positive comments, including “selfless, “a gentlemen,” and “a kind soul.” He’s told us he wants to play an honest game and work with those from whom he gets an honest vibe. That could ultimately prove detrimental if he’s too trusting, but for now, his approach is working.
The main story beat for this episode, as far as David was concerned, was this somewhat out-of-nowhere rivalry with Charity. We heard Charity talk about how loyal David is and how she can basically boss him around. Meanwhile, David told us he has no trust in Charity and would prefer her out before anyone else. So, I suspect this feud to continue into the coming weeks.
CHARITY
David… he’s just, like, Mr. Loyal and all-for-one, and, like, someone who I can just tell what to do and boss him around, and he’s gonna do it. And so far, that is true. And it’s not that David isn’t a smart person. He’s just not very strategic. So, David needs someone like me and I need someone like David, ’cause he’s a great shield. Nobody is worried about little old Charity who’s, like, mediocre at everything. They’re worried about 68-inch muscles and gonna win immunity challenges.
This was not a good episode for Charity. The edit presented her as out-of-the-loop, unaware, and cocky. She has no idea that David is working against her, nor does she seem to realise how much danger she was in in the original Civa tribe. It screams blindside edit, though there is also a chance it’s a “rude awakening” edit, where Charity takes a hit and has to rebound.
MARY
This tribe switch totally feels like a new life for me. My new tribe is two Lagi and two Civa and me. I kind of feel like I hit the lotto, because I was hitting the opposite of the lotto on Vula. And I was like, “it’s time for my luck to change.”
A quieter episode for Mary, but one that could be the start of her turnaround. It began with her and Sai patching up their differences and agreeing to work together, which you’d think means they’ll be around long enough to reunite at the merge. And then, she shared her thoughts on the new tribe and how it’s a new opportunity for her game.
I feel like Mary has a lot more to give, and her story isn’t anywhere near over yet.
STAR
Poor Star got nothing in this episode, even when there was a whole segment of Eva throwing her under the bus to her new tribe. The fact Star didn’t get to respond to this or share any thoughts on the new dynamics doesn’t fill me with confidence for her longevity.
NEW VULA
SHAUHIN
On the new Vula, I feel as comfortable as you can in this game. I have my California girls alliance, which is crazy to have all three of us on the same tribe. Plus, we have a very well-rounded team. So, I know we’ll bring it home.
Up until now, I thought Shauhin had a solid but steady edit. But, man, this episode really did a number on him. The California Girls alliance was completely outplayed by Kamilla and Kyle, and Shauhi took the brunt of the edit burial. He continually talked up his confidence in the way the vote was going to go, buying Kamilla and Kyle’s ruse hook, line, and sinker and underestimating their ability to pull anything off.
This could be what I talked about with Charity, a rebound edit, where Shauhin will now realise the error of his ways and bounce back. So I don’t want to write him off yet completely. However, this was a bad look, especially compared to his fellow OG Lagi member Joe, who the edit went out of its way to protect.
JOE
This new Vula… we stack up physically and mentally, so we are a force to be reckoned with. But then I see the state of camp.
As I said above, Joe was absolutely protected in this episode. Even though he ended up on the wrong side of the vote, he didn’t take anywhere near as much heat as Shauhin and Thomas. This post-swap confessional also showed him being aware of how the state of the camp could affect their ability to do well as a tribe.
It’s also interesting that Joe didn’t comment on being separated from Eva in the same way Eva commented on losing Joe. This gives Joe his own, individual edit, and, therefore, makes him a stronger contender.
KAMILLA
Coming into this tribe, like, Kyle was one of my closest allies in this game. We’re both Guyanese. Like, we have so much in common. We love video games. We’re both nerds. But we’re both definitely in survival mode right now, because it’s gonna be really hard for the two of us to get alone time out here and talk. You know, if they see both of us walk off, they’re gonna know it’s strategy. And, like, we don’t want them to know that.
KYLE
On this Vula camp, old Lagi, they have us by the numbers three-two. But the good news is, I have the idol, not to mention I got my number one undercover ally, Kamilla. And Kamilla has an extra vote.
I’m putting Kamilla and Kyle together because this episode was all about this duo’s masterstroke of a tribal, with both OG Civas playing things perfectly. The edit had previously set Kamilla and Kyle up as a pair, establishing their personal connection, as well as their strategic working relationship. Kamilla reemphasized their personal bond here while discussing their game plan, while Kyle reiterated that Kamilla was his number one.
Kamilla’s edit has remained strong from the start and is only improving as the season progresses. The question for her now will be, can she avoid the “threat” target that is surely now painted on her back? We have no reason to believe she can’t, especially compared to Kyle, whose edit isn’t as clean as Kamilla’s.
Kyle had a nice bounceback from the previous episode, where he sort of put his foot in his mouth when talking to David. Here, he proved his ability as a player. What’s interesting is that Kyle previously told us he needed Kamilla to be his strategic mind, and it certainly seemed like Kamilla took the initiative first, with Kyle catching onto her strategy and jumping aboard.
Like with Kamilla, the question will be how Kyle progresses after such a bold play. What makes Kyle’s position more precarious than Kamilla’s is that he played an idol and the extra vote, which certainly gives the impression of him being the bigger player. So, while I do think this episode put Kyle back in contention, he still trails Kamilla overall.
EARLY CONTENDERS
Top Tier: Joe, Kamilla
Second Tier: Kyle, Mary
Third Tier: Bianca
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 |
 Bianca |
UTR1 | UTR1 | MOR4 | CP3 | ||||||||||
 Cedrek |
UTR2 | MORP3 | MOR4 | MORM3 | ||||||||||
 Charity |
UTRN2 | OTT2 | MOR2 | MORN2 | ||||||||||
 Chrissy |
UTR2 | UTR2 | UTR1 | MOR2 | ||||||||||
 David |
OTT3 | MOR3 | OTTP3 | MORP3 | ||||||||||
 Eva |
CPP4 | MORM2 | CPM3 | CP3 | ||||||||||
 Joe |
OTTP3 | CPP3 | OTTP2 | MOR3 | ||||||||||
 Kamilla |
CP3 | MOR2 | MOR3 | CPP4 | ||||||||||
 Kyle |
MORP3 | MOR3 | MOR2 | CPP4 | ||||||||||
 Mary |
MOR3 | MOR4 | CPP5 | MORP3 | ||||||||||
 Mitch |
UTRP2 | OTTP3 | MOR2 | OTTP2 | ||||||||||
 Sai |
OTTM5 | OTTN5 | CPM5 | CPP4 | ||||||||||
 Shauhin |
MOR2 | CP3 | UTR2 | MORN4 | ||||||||||
 Star |
UTRN1 | CPN3 | MOR2 | UTR1 | ||||||||||
 Thomas |
CP3 | CPN3 | CPN3 | CPN4 | ||||||||||
 Justin |
MOR2 | MOR3 | MOR4 | |||||||||||
 Kevin |
CPP5 | CP4 | ||||||||||||
 Stephanie |
MOR4 |
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