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I can imagine an editors meeting.

"Well, so how's our editing going over."

"Actually, I think we may have a problem. There's some people out there who still think the Kotas are the good guys."

"Seriously?"

"Yes. I think we may have overdone the Fang sucks angle."

"But we wanted the audience to realize just how big of underdogs they were."

"True, but apparently not everyone roots for the underdog just because they are an underdog."

"But surely they see how nasty Randy and Corinne are!"

"They see it but think the Fangs and Susie deserve it. Perhaps a suggestion - let's use the prior episode recap to build Fang up from this point on instead of tearing them down."

"OK, so who do people think wins?"

"They thought Marcus won."

"Yes! It worked then. But honestly, what else could we do with his bland personality except edit him as a potential winner? Pulling the rug out will keep the audience on its toes. So who are they guessing next?"

"There's some division there. Some say Randy, some say Matty, some say Ken."

"Randy? Seriously?"

"Apparently, his early confessionals were full of insight despite his nastiness."

"Well, that's enough of that then. Remove the insight - leave the nastiness."

"What about the cultural reward? It's this next episode."

"Ugh. Alright, give him the cute reward scene, but edit it as funny, not endearing. I suppose we still show Corinne with the little girl, but let's make it clear that's not who she really is. I sure wish the boss didn't always require us to show the players bonding with the locals in the cultural reward scenes."

"About Ken - I think we may be being too subtle. Too many people associate him with Fang's failures. It didn't help that we showed him unable to row a boat at the original switch."

"Well, I've got just the scene to fix that impression. Too subtle, you say? Well, I can be blatant too. I'll give him a confessional where he'll basically say he's going to win, and I'll have nearly everyone comment on what a great guy he is. I'll even show him putting the original Kotas in their place when they whine about Marcus being gone."

"Might that not be a little too obvious? We want to maintain some suspense."

"Well, we still have Sugar. Surely she says something about not trusting Kenny. There's our doubt."

Of course, that's if Ken wins. His blatantly obvious edit tonight could be setting him up for a fall. If he does, this episode didn't exactly improve the odds of the competitors (with the possible exception of Crystal, who I know most people have already eliminated and even I think has been too much of a distraction). Randy's loose ends are being tied up, and he no longer looks like he's always right. Matty gets the joy of being saved by the merge and promptly disappears until next episode. Sugar's still the underestimated player, but an edit as a swing vote loose cannon only goes so far.

I guess I didn't actually give out ratings before:

Matty - MORP. His vulnerability is stressed before the merge, and we're meant to be happy for him when it "saves" him. He also got an appreciative confessional about the reward. However, there's no complexity here.

Sugar - MORP. Normally, the swing vote is CP, but we're just given no insight into Sugar's thinking except that she doesn't trust anybody. CP is about choices, but also understanding the choices made. With Sugar, we've been left to speculate as to why she voted for Charlie instead of Crystal. She's definitely positive though, especially being shown not taken in by either Ken or Corinne.

Susie - UTRP. She's definitely present, if in the background, and it is all P. She backs up Ken's refutation of Corinne's "deserving" comment with emphatic nods. She's part of the happy family scene with Ken and Crystal (and described as beautiful). And of course, she impressively wins the IC, proving that a 47 year old woman can have something on Corinne after all.

Crystal - MORM. I think it is safely apparent that Crystal is edited as one of the good guys in this episode. Again, there's the happy family scene, and the joyful reunion of Fang members at the merge, which she is a part of. I know people don't enjoy her anger at TC, but for Crystal, this was a definite cooldown compared to prior ones, and after a combative start, she lets it go.

Ken - CPM. He's a bit overemphasized this episode, but we definitely got into his head. The happy family scene starred him as the player learning from his mistakes and providing for his tribe, and his challenge to Corinne's take about Marcus was definitely positive. Later in the episode, he showed a bit of cockiness that could get him into trouble, especially since Sugar was clearly not impressed (even if she did vote with him). The presentation as the player to beat is probably not great for his chances, but he's still well ahead of anyone else.

Corinne - MORN. Only not OTTN because of the reward scene, but that only goes so far. Personally, I think the producers like to connect their show to the local culture so it is always shown as a big deal even if it isn't specifically relevant to the game. Perhaps the scene was so they could tell Corinne, "See, we showed one nice moment for you." Otherwise, though, she's thoroughly negative, from her "deserving" comment to her incorrectly labeling Sugar a moron, to her unhappiness that she actually has to care what Sugar thinks.

Randy - MORN. He gets a cute scene at the reward also, but otherwise he's just a grouch, arguing with Matty during the reward and complaining even after they won, complaining about Crystal for no apparent reason (such that people even have to ask who he is referring to), and being someone Sugar can't stand to be around. His "list" at TC was pretty lame once he had to articulate it - mainly he was still mad at GC. There's certainly no insight this episode - he's all about Crystal hate.

Bob - CPP. He finally provides some insight with his explanation of his fake idol, which is CP (if weakly). But mainly, he's presented as someone in a doomed position who gets a new lease in the game with the merge. And unlike the other former Kota, he's not shown as vindictive or fault finding. He shows humor at his position, and he does what he can to improve it. We're meant to root for and admire him, just not his allies.

Charlie - MOR. He remains in the background until the end. Even his boot seems to come out of nowhere.

Charlie was certainly the correct choice strategically for the Fang alliance. Randy and Corinne look to dig their own graves, but Charlie could have potentially found new alliances to save himself. By targeting the least objectionable Onion first (other than Bob, who still seems strategically inert), Ken improves the odds that the Fangs can complete the job. Will he? I still anticipate another shakeup, probably initiated by Randy (although perhaps not) in which Sugar plays a huge role. Ken's path to winning is too obvious right now - he either falls (which could still happen though I lean against it) or he experiences some setbacks along the way. If Crystal leaves at F7, for instance, will we still see Kenny as obvious?

Susie actually has had some development, though certainly not enough to win. She had a scene with Gillian in Episode 2 where Gillian warns her that she'll be next if Gillian is voted out. At the switch, she is shown adapting her strategy to emulate Bob in an effort to win the respect of the Kotas. (That was a scene that I don't think would have been shown if Susie had proven to be a throwaway boot.) The next episode, we see Marcus wonder whether he can trust Susie to have his back, which in retrospect was clearly foreshadowing Marcus' boot. Then, clearly Susie got significant treatment as the alternate boot during Dan's departure. (People saw her as stupid then, but I think the editing intent was more to reflect badly on Corinne than on Susie.) Last episode, she's forced to decide whether or not she has a future with the Kota alliance, and she wisely realizes she doesn't. Surprisingly, there is no Corrinne comment on Susie this episode, but then that was handled with the "deserving" comment before the RC, where we definitely see Susie in connection with Ken's refutation.

She's not in contention to win, but I wouldn't be surprised if she made the finals. She's certainly no Darrah however.