Wow! What a crazy episode! I enjoyed watching the evolution of this vote so much. It was pretty amazing how flexible everyone acted in changing their votes. And I loved how at tribal most of them had given up on secrecy and were completely willing to share hidden immunity idols, key strategic options & decisions... pretty much nothing was left undiscussed at this tribal.
This was definitely one of the most entertaining strategic episodes, however, I still believe that the Earl/Yau Man season's episode where they blindsided Edgardo still sits at #1. Also in the running is when Evil Russell & Parvati owned all the "heroes" in the Heroes v. Villains season. And Parvati again, when she and Amanda pulled off a major blindside in the Fans v. Faves season. Being in the company of these legendary players really says something about this season.
I really respect Lisa's strategy in this game, if not her execution. Her realization that she needs to ally herself with the people she least gets along with in the game is next-level play. Actually following through with it though wasn't nearly as impressive. Jeff was also impressive, up until he was king of the island. So often the problem is that once made king players relax. But that's when they need to be most on guard. This was a classic example.
The Standings:
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 71 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]
2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
[3. Jeff (21.5 pts)]
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 56.5 points
1. Penner (21.5 pts)
2. Denise (10 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 44.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (13.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 14 points
1. Malcolm (15 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Penner lives to see another day! And I he'll probably barely be on the radar next episode, if he continues to play the savvy game he's known for. Penner's greatest strength is probably his adaptability. He was in command of the game but when that fell through he didn't despair - he came up with a new strategy. He didn't dwell on a lost opportunity (at least not for too long), he moved on to finding a new way to survive.
2. The Clap - Probably the team that benefitted the most from this episode. Taking Jeff out is a huge boost to Pete's life expectancy in this game. And while Lisa made some mistakes, she's also proven that she's capable of making moves, and that has to make Bag & Leah proud. Keep up the wily-ness Lisa!
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - This episode was the death knell for Moon. He needed Jeff to come out on top this episode to have a chance to dictate how the rest of the season plays out. Now, while in the lead, he's depending on a sorry lot of dregs that are unlikely to earn him many more points. And with Abi-Maria's unnecessary reveal of her idol, he now has 2 players with pretty large targets on their backs.
4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm sooo happy my pony is still in this game. Keep hope alive Malcolm! I hope he's learned something from Penner - his strategy has to change now that he's revealed his idol. I hope he's successful at adapting.
Douche of the Week:
Pete's gotta get it! It's unbelievable that he barely gave Lisa's revelation about Malcolm's idol a second thought. If he was really the mastermind that he thinks he is, he would carefully evaluate every piece of info that he's given.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
Friday, November 2, 2012
Philippines: Episode 7
I'm so excited at how the alliances played out this week! It was pretty unique I think that two alliances could unite so unanimously over voting out the veterans. While technically they didn't succeed at this due to Penner's craftiness, they are well on their way to getting rid of the returnees. It would've been easy for both alliances to try & win over RC & Skupin but this was so much better and done so much less often!
I think that the overall average intelligence level of the competitors is higher this season than it's been in recent seasons. I also think that the producers have done a good job of mixing things up enough so that players are forced to play outside the "formula."
The Standings:
FYI: Your scores may look a little strange. This is because I forgot to subtract out the "sitting out a challenge" penalty last week. This has been fixed now though!
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 59 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 46.5 points
1. Penner (19.5 pts)
2. Denise (8 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 42.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are going to stay at the top of my power rankings until Penner gets voted out. He had a spectacular idol play in this last episode & now he has 3 more days to either find a new idol or make new alliances. This man is clever & I'm not going to count him out until he's actually out. Denise & Artis are doing very well for themselves too, and I could see both of them getting far.
2. The Clap - I don't expect Carter to win many more individual immunity challenges. Honestly I didn't expect him to win any! That was a nice point boost for a competitive team. I think Lisa could be a real threat too, especially with her multi-alliance options. Pete is probably the figurehead that will be turned on once the riffraff have been eliminated, but he could still bring in some big points before then. Overall I think this team benefitted the most from the outcome of this episode.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - It was inevitable that Moon would lose someone soon, but Jeff is probably his MVP right now & he doesn't seem to be in any danger quite yet, and losing RC isn't a big deal. It's always risky though when you tell people "I just want to outlast so-and-so" though. There some kind of bad karma that immediately puts you on people's radars once "so-and-so" is gone. Plus in this new alliance Jeff could easily be singled out by the Yellows as a threat & get the boot. Moon should be hoping Jeff still has some moves in him!
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm seems to be in a secure position right now & I'm happy he didn't win this immunity because I don't want people to view him as a huge threat yet. Still, I need him to start bringing in some major points pretty soon if I'm going to have any chance. Really glad that it was Lisa who found his idol & not anyone else! She's the only one where that situation could have played out like it did. I hope this "forced" alliance goes far; Denise, Malcolm & Lisa are all my favorite players right now!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for RC this week because she annoyed me SO much at final tribal. Her weird fake fight with Abi-Maria while maintaining this creepy smile & staring at Jeff the whole time was extremely uncomfortable to watch.
I think that the overall average intelligence level of the competitors is higher this season than it's been in recent seasons. I also think that the producers have done a good job of mixing things up enough so that players are forced to play outside the "formula."
The Standings:
FYI: Your scores may look a little strange. This is because I forgot to subtract out the "sitting out a challenge" penalty last week. This has been fixed now though!
Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 59 points
[1. RC (21.5 pts)]2. Skupin (13.5 pts)
3. Jeff (9.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (14.5 pts)
Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 46.5 points
1. Penner (19.5 pts)
2. Denise (8 pts)
3. Artis (13.5 pts)
[4. Katie (5.5 pts)]
The Clap - Bag/Leah: 42.5 points
1. Pete (15.5 pts)
2. Carter (15.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (11.5 pts)
I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 12 points
1. Malcolm (13 pts)
[2. Dana (-4.5 pts)]
[3. Dawson (3.5 pts)]
[4. Russell (0 pts)]
Power Rankings:
1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug & Bri are going to stay at the top of my power rankings until Penner gets voted out. He had a spectacular idol play in this last episode & now he has 3 more days to either find a new idol or make new alliances. This man is clever & I'm not going to count him out until he's actually out. Denise & Artis are doing very well for themselves too, and I could see both of them getting far.
2. The Clap - I don't expect Carter to win many more individual immunity challenges. Honestly I didn't expect him to win any! That was a nice point boost for a competitive team. I think Lisa could be a real threat too, especially with her multi-alliance options. Pete is probably the figurehead that will be turned on once the riffraff have been eliminated, but he could still bring in some big points before then. Overall I think this team benefitted the most from the outcome of this episode.
3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - It was inevitable that Moon would lose someone soon, but Jeff is probably his MVP right now & he doesn't seem to be in any danger quite yet, and losing RC isn't a big deal. It's always risky though when you tell people "I just want to outlast so-and-so" though. There some kind of bad karma that immediately puts you on people's radars once "so-and-so" is gone. Plus in this new alliance Jeff could easily be singled out by the Yellows as a threat & get the boot. Moon should be hoping Jeff still has some moves in him!
4. I'm on Dregs! - Malcolm seems to be in a secure position right now & I'm happy he didn't win this immunity because I don't want people to view him as a huge threat yet. Still, I need him to start bringing in some major points pretty soon if I'm going to have any chance. Really glad that it was Lisa who found his idol & not anyone else! She's the only one where that situation could have played out like it did. I hope this "forced" alliance goes far; Denise, Malcolm & Lisa are all my favorite players right now!
Douche of the Week:
I'm voting for RC this week because she annoyed me SO much at final tribal. Her weird fake fight with Abi-Maria while maintaining this creepy smile & staring at Jeff the whole time was extremely uncomfortable to watch.
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