I'm not rewatching the fucking episode... Even w/ Coronavirus, and even w/ this season being mostly fantastic, I got better things to do. So here's a very hasty, probably very inaccurate Edgic based on a single viewing I did almost a week ago. I just woke up.
Merged Tribe
Michele- UTR3- Uh oh. A curiously reserved, quiet edit for Michele in a crucial merge episode. She's been a big character so far, but her story has been largely about her "redemption," not her shot at winning. With Wendell out (weird choice of ally!), will she be next to go? Her narrative might not have legs beyond the Human Toothpick.
Nick - MOR3- Lots of screen time for Nick here, but not a lot of strategy or personal content. He is considered a threat, and a weasel, and a player who just "shows up" at strange time (cue hilarious montage, which didn't necessarily make Nick look bad... just more a "guy" than a mastermind).
Wendell- MOR2 - I didn't expect for Wendell to go home this episode... It didn't feel like his time. Wendell has been the closest thing to a true villain this season has had, and this MOR conclusion almost wanted to remind us that "hey, he's actually not that bad of a guy." Oh well.
Kim - MOR2 - Kim still getting that good strategy talk, but it's still hard to locate where she is, alliance-wise. I'm thinking she becomes important in a subplot down the line, but doesn't win.
Denise- UTR3 - A curious merge edit for Denise. She's been given full credit for taking out Sandra, which gives her a "resume" and has put her next on the chopping block. (Ungrateful bastards!) You would expect to hear a bit more from her about all of this (she even won the immunity necklace!), but all of the talk about her place in the game came secondhand. This is troubling. I'm wondering if her Winners narrative is essentially done.
Jeremy- CP1 - Jeremy shown as a string-puller this episode, though his string-pulling didn't really work, now did it? He's got a lot of advantages and has never shown to be exactly out of the loop. But aligning yourself with Wendell... now out of the game... is that something winners do? I suspect the target will shift to Jeremy sooner rather than later.
Tony- CP2- Good merge for Tony. It's important for him not to be too big and too loud and Too Tony right now, and he avoided that, while still giving the camera and his tribemates and Jeff a taste of where he's at and how he's feeling. He's showing an impressive ability to generate new alliances on the fly. I still think he makes a deep run... He's probably one of three major winner candidates at the moment.
Sarah- CP2- Given that Sarah was not part of the strategy discussion, did not win immunity, and had no major storylines coming into the merge, this seemed like the way she'd want her edit to go. We're constantly checking-in with her, and she's always got a good read on the game. It's her and Tony and Sophie who I consider the three winner candidates. Oh wait... forgot about one more guy at the end.
Sophie- UTR2- This was not a strong as episode as it was for Sarah. I'm haunted by Wendell's comment that Sophie is "playing the game," though. Is he the only one who realizes just what a strategic force this seemingly quiet and unassuming player is? There's a lot of subtle things going on with Sophie's edit that I think make for a deep run, even if this merge episode didn't have the amount of content she might like.
Ben- CP2- Ben got the first post-merge testimonial, and he seemed to be involved in every strategic discussion prior to tribal. He got some fun secondhand content from Adam, but at the moment Ben is edited to be the savvier player. No one seems to notice how seamlessly Ben seems to integrate into these strategic situations (which contrasts well with Adam). It's tricky to imagine where he might go, especially after his rough start, getting owned by Rob... Though now I'm starting to think that was more an "establish Rob's threat level" scene than a "diminish Ben's game."
Adam- CPN3- Up-and-down Adam! Again with the paranoia, but again, not fully unjustified! Folks seems to want to work with him, until they don't. It's a spastic edit, and I thought it had a slightly negative tone here: we're made to question the guy's decisions and attitude. He still seems like a complex, major character though who I think we can expect in the finale.
Tyson!- CPP3- Some truly positive, borderline corny content for Tyson, who got the EOE comeback complete with strings and rapturous celebration from his newfound tribe. You really couldn't have put together a more stirring and promising episode from a returnee: he's found a way to be a threat in testimonials and a player people "want to work with" in conversations. Definitely a dark horse winner candidate right now. (My reservations have less to do with his edit and more to do with how dumb these people would have to be to sit Tyson in front of THAT jury.)
EOE
Natalie, Amber, Danni, Ethan, Tyson, Rob, Parvati, Yul
Rob got some good strategic content-- much more than Natalie, who made the exact same fire token move. I imagine a lot of that was just to drum up suspense for his final showdown with Tyson.
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