Survivor season 43 week 5 power rankings: Who could go home next?

Survivor season 43 has put its fifth week into the books. After a somewhat shocker of a vote out the previous week, this one was a bit more by-the-numbers. That said, each tribe has now lost two players, making for an intriguing setup as we seemingly head into the merge. Let’s take a look at how Geo’s boot shook up the rankings this week.

Survivor season 43 week 5 power rankings

Out) Geo Bustamante (Last: 14) – I had Geo ranked last week, so this isn’t surprising. He and Ryan were way too comfortable on Coco beach for seemingly no reason. I don’t want to say that Geo is a bad player, but it’s clear that James, Cassidy, and Karla are much better.

13) Ryan Medrano (Last: 3) – This might seem like an overreaction, but hear me out. Ryan has been so solid in the early portion of the game because he was single-handedly winning immunity for Coco. Over the last few weeks, he’s failed when in the hero spot, which doesn’t look good for the coming merge. He’s such a physical threat that he’s going to be immediately targeted and I don’t think he has the ability to win many individual immunity idols. There’s also the problem that no one sees him as a serious strategic threat, which really hurts his overall chances to win.

12) Dwight Moore (Last: 11) – Dwight is a weird one to slot in because we actually haven’t seen much from Vesi in the last few weeks. He was in a bad spot there from my perspective, but if the merge is actually happening (and the preview makes it look like we might get one more twist before it does), Dwight could make a move. That said, I think everyone else in his tribe is better at making relationships, making him someone that could turn into an easy merge boot if the target wins immunity.

11) Noelle Lambert (Last: 7) –  I’m putting Noelle here because no one is going to want to go with her to final tribal council. Also, her vote steal is much less powerful when the numbers go back up. A merge probably isn’t great for her game. Her best hope is likely to play relatively passively over the next few weeks and hope to go under the radar a bit.

10) Elie Scott (Last: 9) – Elie went so quickly from a spot of power to someone who feels like they’re just barely holding onto a majority on Baka beach. A merge could be good for her, or she could try another spot of gutsy strategy that blows up in her face. Elie has a few ways she could go, but she definitely needs to recover with a few smart moves.

9) Cassidy Clark (Last: 12) – I have been banging the drum for Erika-like vibes for Cassidy all season. She might not be a major strategic player, but she’s constantly getting content even if she isn’t actually doing much. This week, she seemed to take the lead on the Geo vote, which is a great sign for Cassidy fans. With a solid three-person alliance, she could do some damage if she brings in a few players like Jeanine and Sami.

8) James Jones (Last: 10) – Speaking of players sitting a little under the radar, James hasn’t really popped on the screen, but he obviously has a great social game. Everyone seems to come to him for the plan, which is exactly where he wants to be. James will need to work overtime to bring in numbers when the merge happens, but there’s nothing to suggest he can’t do it.

7) Jeanine Zheng (Last: 13) –  I’m giving Jeanine a big bump for a few reasons. Obviously, the big one is her new idol, but there also seem to be a few easy allies for her at the merge. If she and Cassidy don’t link up, I’ll be very surprised, and that potential Coco-Baka alliance could run the game during the early merge. In the words of the great Kat Edorsson, Jeanine is “dateable.”

6) Mike Gabler (Last: 8) – At this point, Gabler only really seems to be going as far as his idol will take him. Expect to see him drop down my rankings quite a bit next week when he’s no longer safe. The one thing he could do is latch onto Sami if he’s able to make a cross-tribe alliance, which could put Gabler in a good spot, especially if someone like Elie makes people mad at her.

5) Jesse Lopez (Last: 5) – Jesse had a relatively quiet night, but that’s exactly what he needed. My big worry about Jesse’s placement on Vesi was that Noelle could use her vote steal to oust him from the game with relative ease. If the merge is actually happening, that goes away and I certainly believe in Jesse’s ability to build relationships. He’s far from a dominant position, but it’s tough to see him leaving any time soon.

4) Sami Layadi (Last: 4) – Every day I ask myself if I’m rating Sami too highly. He hasn’t really done anything strategically in weeks, so he’s simply coasting on being a good social player. I think that carries him for an episode or two, but he’s going to have to start making moves if he plans to stick around.

3) Owen Knight (Last: 6) – I’m jumping Owen up after last week because he continues to excel at playing the middle. I don’t know if every decision he’s made so far has been the right one, but he seemingly hasn’t made any enemies. That’s rare in pre-merge Survivor and something I’m hoping he can continue moving forward.

2) Cody Assenmacher (Last: 2) – Cody still has his idol and should have a solid number in Jesse. The big concern here is that players like Karla could still be annoyed with him from a few weeks ago when he took items from their tribe. However, Cody does seem to make friends easily, so I’m leaving him here until he gives me a good reason to drop him.

1) Karla Cruz Godoy (Last: 1) – Karla has to be the odds-on favorite to win the game at this point. She has been masterful in her strategy and has an idol that no one knows about. Nobody else can say that latter point, giving her the most power heading into the merge.