Who's Getting a "Winner's Edit" on Survivor: Winners at War?

SPOILERS for the outcome of Wednesday night's episode of Survivor ahead.

Well, it happened. It's not like "Boston" Rob Mariano has never been voted off Survivor before. It's actually happened twice. And not exactly by the game's best and brightest. Jerri Manthey, God love her, voted Rob out. Neleh Dennis voted Rob out. Zoe Zanidakis voted Rob out. Still, this week's 4-1 ouster, coming after the tribes were swapped into three groups of five, with Rob's former contentious tribemates Ben and Adam joining new tribe members Sarah and Sophie to oust him when he was in full "Robfather" mode, was something to see. As Sophie pointed out at Tribal Council, Rob was using the same tactics he used to win on Redemption Island: intimidation and a total control over his allies at all times. The only difference is, the four other members of his tribe tonight saw how well that worked out for Rob's allies last time. And so, with a 4-1 vote, Rob was sent to the Edge of Extinction.

Up until now, Rob has been dominating this season of Survivor. Not in terms of game play, of course; his allies (including his own wife) have been dropping like flies. But in terms of air time, this season has truly been the Boston Rob show. So was tonight's episode, especially when it looked like Rob was able to corral Ben and Adam into a loose alliance of bros who don't really like one another. But now that's he's gone (or at least on Extinction), it's time to look at who else is looking like winner material. In particular, who's getting that "winner's edit."

The winner's edit is a thing Survivor fans have been fascinated with since nearly the beginning. The idea is, if you've watched this show enough, you start to pick up on which players are being edited to have an ultimately satisfying winner's journey by season's end. That usually means an abundance of confessional segments where they narrate key events of the season. It usually means one or two dips into their personal story (did they leave kids at home? Are they looking to exorcise old demons?). It usually means that big strategic group decisions are credited to them personally. Almost every Survivor winner has gotten this treatment in one way or another.

So which players this season are shaping up like winners as of Week 6?

Sarah Sarah's edit this season has been insanely good. The Game Changers winner re-formed her old Cops R Us alliance with Tony, went on a nighttime raid to acquire a steal-a-vote advantage, and has basically had moments of genuine bonding with everyone on her initial Dakal tribe, either on the show or in the secret scenes CBS posts online. Her social game is astounding, and she's been the focal point to explain to the audience votes that she's not even a major part of, like Tyson's.

Yul The Cook Islands winner is showing no signs of rust when it comes to playing the game. He was edited to be a major player in his original tribe, and he managed to survive a three-way tribe swap with two of his three closest allies still on his tribe. And segments like tonight's heartbreaking update about his former tribemate Jonathan Penner's wife Stacy and her ALS diagnosis are both doing some real good and also giving great insight into Yul as a person.

Michelle What's crazy about Michelle's edit is that her original winner's edit on Survivor: Koh-Rong was so stealthy and probably the exception that proves the "winner's edit" rule. This season, her edit has been a dream. She was totally central to the Ethan vote, she was clearly edited as the protagonist in tonight's episode where she and ex-boyfriend Wendell ended up on the same tribe, and on two separate episodes she's mentioned all the flack she's taken from fans for not being a "worthy" winner of her season. Hello, redemption arc!

Sophie Part of this might wishful thinking on my part, as Sophie's my favorite player. There have been whole episodes where she's been entirely absent, but episodes like tonight's give me hope. Finding an immunity idol is never a bad thing, and she was central in narrating tonight's episode as she and Sarah tried to pry Adam and Ben's votes away from Rob's clutches. She's getting an underdog edit insomuch as she's clearly trying to outsmart some of the game's best. And so far it's working!

Parvati Parvati is in a very tough position, especially if her tribe loses before the merge. But there's one bright spot, besides the fact that Survivor producers love her, and her black-widow-to-mom story is pretty irresistible: she's got a bajillion fire tokens. She started out with one, Ethan left her one, and Rob just left her two more. She's basically guaranteed an idol or an advantage if the opportunity presents itself.

As for the rest of this week's happenings…

Winner of the Week: Sarah and Sophie. Toppling the Rob World Order is a heck of a feather to have in their respective caps. Even on an all-winners season, Rob was a real big fish.

Sub-Winner of the Week: Kim. Her position on Dakal was tenuous at best, but after the swap, suddenly she's got two pairs — Sandra/Tony and Denise/Jeremy — fighting to align with her.

War of the Week: Michelle vs. Wendell. Talk about a cold front moving across Fiji! While Michelle expressed misgivings about being on the same tribe as her ex, Wendell was downright icy when she brought up their relationship to him in front of the cameras. Maybe because of whatever possible-infidelity she refers to in her interviews. Wendell has always seemed like a great guy, but in this particular scenario, he's coming across as not just icy to Michelle but closed off to Parvati. He's currently ensconced in a great alliance with Yul, Nick, and Sophie, but that kind of stand-offishness will end up hurting him sooner or later.

Alliance Report: So many, with the swap and all. Sophie and Sarah seem like an awfully tight two now they they're idol buddies and Rob-slayers. Denise and Kim certainly seemed to it it off nicely. And Michelle and Parvati have been effectively backed into a corner up against the Yul/Nick/Wendell alliance.

Dispatches from the Edge of Extinction: Nothing! With three tribes to check in on in their nascent stages, there was no time to see how Tyson was fitting in with his fellow exiles.

Advantage Report: Okay, let's see …

• Sophie was the winner of tonight's idol hunt! Like the other two immunity idols found on the other tribes' beaches, it had to be shared with someone else before sundown. Sophie chose Sarah, but then got the whole idol back in her possession before Tribal Council.
• Sandra's immunity idol is apparently still good for her first three tribal councils. She's got one more to go.
• Jeremy holds an advantage that will allow him to leave tribal council and return to camp before a vote is held (essentially immunity but you don't get to vote).
• Denise found an immunity idol that exists in two halves, which she initially shared with Adam, but he since returned his half to her, so she is in sole possession of it.
• Kim found the same kind of idol on her beach, sharing it with Sophie, and which we now know Sophie returned to her.
• Sarah holds a Steal-a-Vote advantage.

War of the Weeks Ahead: Rob and Tyson shake up the Edge of Extinction, and it probably has something to do with Rob finding out Tyson betrayed Amber.

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Joe Reid is the senior writer at Primetimer and co-host of the This Had Oscar Buzz podcast. His work has appeared in Decider, NPR, HuffPost, The Atlantic, Slate, Polygon, Vanity Fair, Vulture, The A.V. Club and more.