User blog comment:Sambarnes/Survivor: Book Smart vs. Street Smart - Original Boot Order/@comment-24526522-20200213024349/@comment-26098956-20200213125032

The merge boot order remained the same because even if this version lacks the Justin/Tim/Molly "fake idol" arc and the Joy/Mei rivalry, I felt that the order I drafted was already timed and adjusted to the story arcs I set up for each character when the season began. When I had moved Bernice to become the last pre-merge boot, I did attempt to change the merge boot order to: But aside from a few points, I couldn't justify or develop a story around the boots.
 * 1) Carrie
 * 2) Carlos
 * 3) Chad
 * 4) Joy (in this scenario, Carrie saves Carlos)
 * 5) Nicholas
 * 6) Ash (still eliminated by default)
 * 7) Dakota (evacuated one episode later)
 * 8) Mei (Joy would've flipped on Mei)
 * 9) Justin (played a more aggressive and flippant game and would've become a target as a result)
 * 10) Tim
 * 11) Jimmy
 * 12) Molly
 * 13) Josie