Survivor Philippines Episode 9 Power Rankings

It has been two crazy episodes back-to-back for Survivor Philippines and we are down to the Final 8. And hurray, no Thanksgiving recap episode this season! I was dreading that because it would be such a bummer to wait a whole week for a recap episode. But since the CBS web promo clues in on a new episode, I’m pretty sure most of us are excited to watch the final 8 slug it out once more.

Here are my power rankings following episode 9:

8. Pete – Pete narrowly escaped the vote a couple of times in tribal council. With Skupin’s flip last week, it puts him in a highly vulnerable spot. He is left with Abi as his only true ally at this point. But knowing that she has the idol and that she could keep it to herself, Pete is not looking good at this next episode. He has dulled in the past episode and is having less control of the situation, despite what he thinks. That is another thing that could work against Pete’s game right now – he does not know exactly what is going on!

7. Abi – Abi is currently enemy #1 in the world of Survivor: Philippines. However, she still has the idol in her pocket so she's not in as bad a position as Pete is. Her position in the power rankings might improve, though, because she’s everybody’s dream to take to the finals.

6. Jonathan – A couple of episodes ago, Jonathan was on the brink of being sent home. He got saved by his hidden immunity idol the first time, then he won an immunity challenge next. Jonathan is still not off the hook because there are three twosomes in this game (Abi & Pete, Lisa & Skupin, and Denise & Malcolm), which makes him and Carter the odd men out. He has to work doubly hard to improve his placement in the game.

5. Carter – The moment Jeff Kent was voted out, Carter seemed to have lost one of his legs. Him and Kent were a duo. I immediately started to feel panic for Carter – I even thought that he was going to be sent home right after Kent did. I had no faith in Carter’s ability to come up with his own strategy. But he is currently holding up and found a new alliance that he can work with. This should give him a new lease on life in this game but can he take full advantage of it?

4. Lisa – Lisa has been getting the most airtime in recent episodes as the audience got to see her struggle between two alliances. Lisa is likable and charming. And as a fan, you got to appreciate her willingness to play big. But it could be a case of playing it too hard. She is straddling along two alliances and we’ve seen it before – the swing vote ends up getting the axe. And the dangerous thing about Lisa is that she’s too out in the open about it.

3. Mike – Mike flipped his vote last tribal council to get rid of Artis and cripple the Axis of Evil alliance. Some might consider it as a bad move because he went from being possibly 4 or 5 to a 5 or 6 with the former Kalabaw. However, I don’t think Mike is in danger in the next episode because he can still go either way. His choice will determine how far he can go.

2. Malcolm – A couple of episodes ago, Malcolm had to reveal to everyone on the tribe that he has Matsing’s idol. This might be a smart move for him at that time, but it does put everything out in the open that Malcolm is a huge threat in this game. He is already a power player in his own right, but with things out in the open, people are going to start targeting him soon.

1. Denise – She is in the best position in the game right now. She is a strong social player with a strong alliance with Malcolm. She is a tough competitor in challenges, which gives her a good shot at winning immunity (while Malcolm has an idol). And despite of her competitive performance, she manages to fly under the radar. Good formula to go to the end and win!

What did you think of my power rankings? Any violent reactions/comments? I’d love to read them!