1. Chelsea - Chelsea has to be one of the few archetypal country girls that I actually liked on the first episode. She seems to be safely set as a member of the core female alliance, seems levelheaded in her confessionals, and caught the first two chickens of the game. I completely understand the chicken debacle. She's the one holding them in her hands; might as well try to bargain with them. If it succeeds, great. If it doesn't, well, at least she tried.2. Sabrina - However dysfunctional Salani is as a tribe, they also seem to have the more interesting characters. Sabrina looks like she's got a good grasp of the game and is seen as an asset in challenges. I just wish she had kept the idol for a couple more days before giving it to Colton, at least long enough to see if he actually is the best recipient. The "Colton is a virus" confessional worries me a little bit.
3. Christina - As Sandra would have said, "I can get loud too!". She and Monica deserve credit for trying to steal fire, but we all know what happened to Prometheus I'm glad she had the balls to try and go up against Alicia, and while it made her a target, I think it could also expose Alicia as the complete loudmouth that she is.
4. Jonas - Probably the most levelheaded of the male players, just based on his confessionals. True, he's boring as a player, but we've had a number of boring winners anyway, including Yul.
5. Troy - There's bad annoying (Alicia), and there's Troyzan annoying. Troy is this season's entertainment and I think he knows it.
6. Michael - Michael gave his tribe their first huge advantage in the game by stealing supplies from Salani. He's a strong guy, and if the weaker men don't band together, it looks like he'll be staying in the game for quite some time.
7. Jay - Manono's second big advantage came from Jay in the form of fire. He's sitting pretty in the middle of the frat boy alliance, and as with Michael, I think his longevity in the game will be determined by the older, weaker guys if they get some sense and band together.
8. Leif - Is he already trying fly under the radar? The lack of focus on him is worrying, especially since he's the one who should be sticking out in the first episode.
9. Monica - Not much to say here, but she deserves a mention for stealing fire from Manono with Christina.
10. Kim - Kim and Monica are the ones I'm not sure how to place in my list. While she did have her share of screen time, she just doesn't seem to be that interesting.
11. Greg - he guy who claims that they're "all mature men" calls himself Tarzan. Yeeeeah.
12. Kat - Survivor finally had the sense to try and introduce us to as many characters as possible. Unfortunately, Kat and Bill are the ones whose confessionals all found themselves on the cutting room floor. I'm ranking her here as she hasn't really showed enough to rate her with, except for her association with Alicia.
13. Bill - With no confessionals, it's pretty difficult to judge Bill and Kat. He's here for being not (yet) annoying.
14. Nina - You know you're not good TV when the only thing you're remembered for is a fat lip.
15. Colton - Colton's biggest mistake is his eagerness to show solidarity. With the people from the opposing tribe. It's a good thing Sabrina found the Manono idol this early in the game, or this guy would be the first person out of his tribe.
16. Matt - And I had such high hopes for this guy. I get it, it's a competition. You just don't have to be a douche while playing.
17. Alicia - I thought from the moment I laid eyes on her that 1.) She was trouble, and that 2.) She was going to annoy the carp out of me. Last episode proved me right on both counts. Survivor somehow has a penchant for casting at least one obnoxiously loud person who never lets other people talk. I really wish the women would get over the "strong female" facade and give Alicia the boot.
Out:
Kourtney - I have to say that I loved her "Om Nom Nom" hat. That said, I don't think she would have made a big difference in the game even if she had stayed. She stuck out within her tribe, was considered one of the weaker girls, and didn't seem to have a voice within the group.