Survivor season 42 episode 5 power rankings

Survivor season 42 is deep into the thick of things.

We’ve had all kinds of surprises happen over the first four weeks of the show and episode 5 is no different. Sure, it didn’t have any massive idol plays, but we were treated to a captivating vote that felt like a throwback to classic Survivor gameplay.

On top of that, we know that the next episode is going to be something resembling a merge or a tribe switch. That throws our power rankings into a bit of disarray as contestants who have been major players on their tribe could suddenly turn into targets.

Let’s take a look at how our power rankings shook out after a topsy-turvy week.

Survivor season 42, episode 5 power rankgins

Out) Daniel Strunk (Last: 8) – We really thought Daniel could turn things around and put the target firmly on Chanelle Howell. It almost happened, but Daniel just wasn’t able to pull in enough numbers. We think this is probably a mistake long-term for the tribe, but who can really say in a game as dynamic as Survivor. It really does stink for Daniel to go out like this. After all, it was Chanelle risking her vote that ultimately put him up against a wall in a terrible situation.

12) Rocksroy Bailey (Last: 13) – Rocksroy was completely left out of the vote and we already know that Tori Meehan is ready to flip on him. He probably isn’t the first to go in a merge (there are bigger targets), but he can’t be long for this game. At this point, it seems like Rocksroy’s best bet is to be the season’s goat and play for third place.

11) Chanelle Howell (Last: 12) – Chanelle is dangerous. We’ve seen that multiple times over, but she hasn’t quite shown the strategy to match up with her cutthroat gameplay. Her vote for Mike Turner at the last tribal council was questionable, as it puts Mike on the defensive heading into a merge. Maybe she’s become super tight with Lydia Meredith and Hai Giang, but we have our doubts. She’s playing a puzzling game that we just can’t get behind.

10) Tori Meehan (Last: 11) – Tori can’t help but make waves. She’s always being talked about and always seems to be scheming. If she can come into this merge or tribe switch and quiet her game down a bit, that could really help her. That said, she hasn’t really been able to do it thus far, which makes us wonder how much longer she can hang around.

9) Lindsay Dolashewich (Last: 5) – This is the point in our power rankings that we have to take into account idols. Look, Lindsay hasn’t really done anything wrong besides being somewhat over-talkative. That said, three people just got idols which inherently makes them a bit safer than someone like Lindsay. We aren’t saying Lindsay fans should be worried, we’re just waiting to see how some of these idols shake out.

8) Lydia Meredith (Last: 7) – You can essentially copy/paste what we just said about Lindsay, but add that Lydia is part of an incredibly strong duo. That gives her a little bit more security even though neither of them has the idol. Lydia and Hai Giang’s top priority, regardless of what twist takes place, has to be keeping Mike in their good graces. They need to keep their trio together and make use of Mike’s idol going forward.

7) Jonathan Young (Last: 1) – This is not a fall from grace. Think of this more like a realistic interpretation of Jonathan’s chances. The man is essentially a Greek god out there on the island with a bunch of normal humans. As soon as this game shifts to the individual stage, he becomes the number one target. Hopefully, his alliance is strong enough to keep him around, but we’ve already started to see hints of that not being the case.

6) Maryanne Oketch (Last: 10) – Maryanne is also probably a big target because she’s so loud. However, she also has that idol now, which gives her some leeway that players like Jonathan don’t have. We’re not completely sold on her long-term potential but having that idol in her pocket is a major boon.

5) Mike Turner (Last: 9) – Again, having an idol is huge at this stage of the game. Mike does potentially have to deal with a rat in his alliance in the form of Chanelle, but he seems to be in a good spot with both Lydia and Hai. If that trio can stick together, they could make a deep run.

4) Omar Zaheer (Last: 3) – We really love how under-the-radar Omar has been this season. While he’s not getting a ton of material, we’re always seeing that he’s in the know. That’s a good place to be in the early stages of the game. If his strategic game can start to really come alive over the next few weeks, we could have a winner on our hands.

3) Drea Wheeler (Last: 6) – Picking up that idol was huge for Drea heading into whatever’s coming. Now, her alliance with Romeo is incredibly solid and they have some tangible power that gives them the leeway to make any moves necessary. We’re still worried she might overplay her hand, but she unquestionably has the tools to make some noise.

2) Romeo Escobar (Last: 4) – Romeo was already in a good spot before Drea picked up that idol. Now, he has most of that power without much of the downside. His social game has been incredible all season, so we would be surprised if he doesn’t handle the merge well. Romeo is in a great spot at this point and could easily be playing a winning game.

1) Hai Giang (Last: 2) – Hai doesn’t have the idol, but he’s battle-tested and has two solid allies heading into this new twist. With Lydia firmly on his side, he has a ton of bargaining power and has shown the ability to play well socially and strategically. You can consider him basically tied with Romeo in terms of long-term potential at this point. Either player has what it takes to make a very deep run.

Survivor season 42 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Stay tuned to Hidden Remote for more Survivor season 42 coverage!