Monday, December 16, 2013

Blood v. Water: Finale

Good battle everyone!

Despite some last-second intrigue, Tyson maintained his iron grip on this game & came through as the clear winner of Survivor Season 27: Blood v. Water.

 

Final Scores:

MooMe: 189 pts

Vytas: 27.5 pts
Tyson: 102 pts
Monica: 58 pts
Brad: 1.5 pts
Rachel: 0 pts

AhhhhFUCKthat: 119.5 pts

John: 6 pts
Laura B: 16 pts
Candice: 4.5 pts
Gervase: 59 pts
Ciera: 34 pts
 
51st State: 107.5 pts
Aras: 38 pts
Rupert: 0 pts
Marissa: 3 pts
Caleb: 26 pts
Laura M: 40.5 pts

Mind Under Matter: 99 points
Katie: 22 pts
Hayden: 27 pts
Colton: -2 pts
Kat: 14 pts
Tina: 38 pts

Final Thoughts:

I think that each team has a player than nicely represents their own story arc this season:

- MooMe = Tyson. Sneaky & strategic, laying low at first but soon showing everyone who is really in charge & ultimately winning the whole shebang.

- AhhhhFUCKthat = Ciera. Terrible at first, but proving to be the most improved by the end of the season. Valiant battle!

- 51st State = Laura M. In the mix early, then had to deal with a huge setback, but never really out until the very end.

- Mind Under Matter = Katie. Pretty clueless the whole time, usually did better when she was neither paying attention nor invested in what was going on.


Season 28:

Survivor: Cagayan (aka needed another name for Philippines) will have 3 tribes based on Brawn, Brains, and Beauty. No returning castaways that I'm aware of. Premieres February 2014 and will start with 18 contestants. For more info: http://insidetv.ew.com/2013/12/15/survivor-cagayan-jeff-probst/.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Blood v. Water: Ep 13

I was happy to see that Ciera didn't regret her decision to swap alliances after tribal council didn't go their way. It actually seemed like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders -- I don't remember seeing her so animated and happy before this episode! I also like that she & Hayden got to have some nice bonding time before he left.

It seems that if Ciera makes final tribal she'll have at least Laura M, Hayden, Tina & Katie's votes. Possibly Caleb & Vytas's votes as well out of spite for Tyson/Gervase, though I'd guess that Aras would vote for Tyson (if uninfluenced by others).

What do y'all think? I'm guessing Ciera & Tyson are really the only 2 who have a chance to win right now. If Gervase was really thinking things through he should try to form a new alliance with Monica & whoever comes back from RI, vote out Ciera first & then Tyson. Monica should be thinking along the same lines, but I think her body only works to supply energy to her muscles & not her brain.

AndBag is making such a great comeback that this is going to be a close one at the finale! Less than 3 points separate AndBag from MooMe and they both have the same number of players still in the game. I think they're both going to get at least 1 of those players into the finale too, so the real question is, who ends up being the third?
 

The Teams:

51st State: 97.5 pts
1. Aras (38 pts)
2. Rupert (0 pts)
3. Marissa (3 pts)
4. Caleb (26 pts)

5. Laura M. (30.5 pts)

MooMe: 92 pts
1. Vytas (22.5 pts)
2. Tyson (35 pts)
3. Monica (33 pts)

4. Brad (1.5 pts)
5. Rachel (0 pts)


AhhhhFUCKthat: 89.5 pts
1. John (6 pts)
2. Laura B. (16 pts)
3. Candice (4.5 pts)

4. Gervase (39 pts)
5. Ciera (24 pts)


Mind Under Matter: 73 points
1. Katie (22 pts)
2. Hayden (17 pts)
3. Colton (-2 pts)
4. Kat (14 pts)

5. Tina (22 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. MooMe - Monica is all but guaranteed a spot in the finale & Tyson is certainly favored to get there over Ciera or any of the RIslanders. Still, anything can happen, and it's going to be a close finish! Ciera's proven that she can win immunity challenges & if the upcoming challenges are puzzles & endurance challenges she's probably a slight favorite to win them. Tyson needs to stay on his toes & not assume that he's got it in the bag quite yet. Winning immunity challenges is his top priority now, and probably trying to assuage Monica's hurt feelings too.


2. AhhhhFUCKthat - Ciera's strategy with Monica to tell her how much sh*t Tyvase talks about her was sooo transparent that I thought Monica would just get mad at her for playing such a childish game. Ciera clearly knew what she was doing though, since they were pretty close to getting her to switch! She may not be a subtle player, but Ciera is suprisingly effective.

3. Mind Under Matter - I'm consoled because my team is at least still trying. Tina beat her daughter, Hayden went down throwing punches the whole way. They all underperformed but at the end at least it wasn't from lack of effort.


4. 51st State - Laura M. continues to dominate RI. It's just too bad for her that Survivor is primarily a social game rather than a puzzle/challenge game. Should be a good battle to get back on the island next episode, and Laura has to be the favorite to come back. But can she really make any waves if/when she returns? I doubt it.


Douche of the Week:

Monica

Friday, December 6, 2013

Blood v. Water: Ep 12

Holy bananas! What an episode!!

This has been quite the season for last-minute vote changes. I don't think that happens very often, but now we've seen Caleb switch votes at the last second to take out B. Culpepper, and now only the second "let's draw rocks" tribal ever. They sure aren't afraid to throw caution to the winds and jump into new alliances.

I wonder how much Tyson was kicking himself when they got to the draw rocks moment. If only he'd played his newly-found hidden immunity idol! I'm also really bummed he didn't get karmically punished for not playing it. It would have been an astonishing finish to the player who's been the puppet master all season.

I wonder if Ciera considered the Mom Factor when she made the decision to change her vote. Everyone on RI at the moment would definitely side with the minority alliance if they returned to the game at this point. Do the contestants have an idea for when that might be? Was this more of a calculated risk than I thought while watching the show?

I'm extremely interested to see what happens next episode. Losing Katie over Hayden is a huge boost to the minority alliance, but at the same time they are still in the minority. Will they really be able to sway the votes of 3 people who are all but guaranteed a spot in the finals if they stick together? Will someone FINALLY talk strategy with Monica?


The Teams:

51st State: 96 pts
1. Aras (38 pts)
2. Rupert (0 pts)
3. Marissa (3 pts)
4. Caleb (26 pts)

5. Laura M. (29 pts)

MooMe: 92 pts
1. Vytas (22.5 pts)
2. Tyson (35 pts)
3. Monica (33 pts)

4. Brad (1.5 pts)
5. Rachel (0 pts)


AhhhhFUCKthat: 79.5 pts
1. John (6 pts)
2. Laura B. (16 pts)
3. Candice (4.5 pts)

4. Gervase (39 pts)
5. Ciera (14 pts)


Mind Under Matter: 60.5 points
1. Katie (12 pts)
2. Hayden (16 pts)
3. Colton (-2 pts)
4. Kat (14 pts)

5. Tina (20.5 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. MooMe - While this was a potentially devastating episode for MooMe, they didn't actually lose anyone. We'll have to wait & see how it plays out next week to actually measure the level of devastation. Both players are contenders & have either the idol or the muscle to have a couple of immunities going into the upcoming tribal councils. I suspect that they both end up at final tribal despite this

2. AhhhhFUCKthat - This episode certainly proves that Gervase doesn't have much self-awareness. I was shocked to hear him say he thinks he can beat Tyson at final tribal. Is he paying attention at all? This team might have been renamed to Willfully Oblivious had Ciera not switched votes. Still, AndBag has 2 players in the game, both of whom are making moves & strategizing (aka Anti-Katies).

3. Mind Under Matter - Go Hayden!! He finally made a move & it saved butt! I've been happy to see him continue to try & take control of the game over the past couple of weeks. He's had a couple of fails that have taken out his buddies, but he's still in the game & looking to be Tyson's biggest threat in the game right now. Keep it up, man! And Tina, please do NOT wuss out & not compete against your daughter. You are better than that, lady.


4. 51st State - Laura M must come back from RI if Doug & Bri are going to have a chance in this game. But it'd be awesome if she did & saved Ciera et al just at the crucial moment. If that happens they should all start calling her SuperMom.


Douche of the Week:

Hard to pick a DOW this week, but I decided on Ciera for not figuring out that she couldn't ride coattails to the finale sooner.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Blood v. Water: Ep 11

Vacation & the Broncos game are going to make this a score update only post. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!


The Teams:

MooMe: 85 pts
1. Vytas (22.5 pts)
2. Tyson (29 pts)
3. Monica (32 pts)
4. Brad (1.5 pts)
5. Rachel (0 pts)


51st State: 84.5 pts
1. Aras (38 pts)
2. Rupert (0 pts)
3. Marissa (3 pts)
4. Caleb (16 pts)
5. Laura M. (27.5 pts)

AhhhhFUCKthat: 69.5 pts

1. John (6 pts)
2. Laura B. (16 pts)
3. Candice (4.5 pts)
4. Gervase (29 pts)
5. Ciera (14 pts)

Mind Under Matter: 59 points
1. Katie (12 pts)
2. Hayden (16 pts)
3. Colton (-2 pts)
4. Kat (14 pts)
5. Tina (19 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. MooMe  


2. AhhhhFUCKthat 

3. Mind Under Matter

4. 51st State 


Douche of the Week:

Vytas again.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Blood v. Water: Ep 10

This was one of the most interesting episodes all season. It really focused on the dynamic that having a loved one on the show has created. I'm glad they spent some time on that. Ciera & Laura's conversation was so complex, emotionally charged, and could easily have led to a "bad break-up" sort of situation between them. The fact that it went so well is a testament to both their maturity levels and the strength of their relationship. It's a sort of situation I don't think I've ever seen before, at least not with a happy ending & no hurt feelings. I found it fascinating to watch.

The rest of the tribe continues to do nothing. Hayden & Caleb especially need to put together some kind of plan for themselves, rather than going along with whatever Tyson tells them to do. No is going to vote for them if they make final tribal the way they're playing right now.


The Teams:

51st State: 83 pts
1. Aras (38 pts)
2. Rupert (0 pts)
3. Marissa (3 pts)
4. Caleb (16 pts)
5. Laura M. (26 pts)

AhhhhFUCKthat: 69.5 pts

1. John (6 pts)
2. Laura B. (16 pts)
3. Candice (4.5 pts)
4. Gervase (29 pts)
5. Ciera (14 pts)

MooMe: 74 pts
1. Vytas (12.5 pts)
2. Tyson (34 pts)
3. Monica (26 pts)
4. Brad (1.5 pts)
5. Rachel (0 pts)

Mind Under Matter: 57.5 points
1. Katie (12 pts)
2. Hayden (16 pts)
3. Colton (-2 pts)
4. Kat (14 pts)
5. Tina (17.5 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. MooMe - With Monica turning out to be a challenge beastlette MooMe is making strides in overcoming the point differential between them & the 51st State. Love that Probst blew Tyson's cover a bit by pointing out how good he was at the grip challenge with "a torn rotator cuff." This is the Probst we all know & love!


2. AhhhhFUCKthat - Moved up in the rankings! Ciera & Gervase are both proving to be canny & tough in this game. Hopefully they'll form a temp alliance to blindside Tyson. It's in both of their best interest & then they can fight it out for the crown after he's gone. Go Anyone-But-Tyson-Because-Man-That-Guy's-Arrogance-Drives-Me-Crazy!

3. 51st State - Aras' departure from the game was a surprise for me, he wasn't ever really competitive in that challenge. Now the 51st State is left with Caleb, whose presence is minimal both around camp, in strategizing, and in challenges, and Laura M. Laura's departure was predicted, but will she come back again? Wouldn't that be awesome: she goes to RI twice, comes back twice, gets voted out by her daughter twice.

4. Mind Under Matter - Katie survived this week, and while she could get voted out at any point now just because she's an easy target, I think the alliance will forget about her for a little while. They have their own house that needs some cleaning, and Katie may skate through to the finals because of her cluelessness. Don't actually start playing the game, Katie! That would be your death knell.


Douche of the Week:

Vytas, for his vitriol.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Blood v. Water: Ep 9

Watching this season makes me feel more & more confident that I am the worst player left in Survivor pool. Most of my predictions are wrong, my team is terrible, my analysis should is questionable at best. How I miss the days of Dachui & Alia!

Love that they brought the food eating challenge back. If the definition of "good television" is when a show gets you physically & emotionally invested in what's going on, then I have to call this good TV. I was gagging right alongside the people who were actually eating those insects! Will they do a survivor auction too this season? Am I hoping for too much?

Vytas and Tina both came off as big train wrecks this episode, and I'm wondering how much of that was calculated or not. I feel like Tina's outburst at the beginning was certainly not planned, but perhaps everything she did afterwards was to draw attention away from her daughter. And Vytas... well I thought he was one of the smartest guys left, but that bitter diatrbie at tribal council just seemed like the nail on the coffin for both him & Aras.


The Teams:

51st State: 71 pts
1. Aras (28 pts)
2. Rupert (0 pts)
3. Marissa (3 pts)
4. Caleb (15 pts)
5. Laura M. (25 pts)

AhhhhFUCKthat: 67.5 pts
1. John (6 pts)
2. Laura B. (16 pts)
3. Candice (4.5 pts)
4. Gervase (28 pts)
5. Ciera (13 pts)

MooMe: 65.5 pts

1. Vytas (11 pts)
2. Tyson (33 pts)
3. Monica (20 pts)
4. Brad (1.5 pts)
5. Rachel (0 pts)

Mind Under Matter: 54 points
1. Katie (11 pts)
2. Hayden (15 pts)
3. Colton (-2 pts)
4. Kat (14 pts)
5. Tina (16 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. MooMe - Vytas is gone but Tyson stands strong. With the amount of attention he's getting now, do you think anyone will plan a blindside? It seems like the obvious next play - after all, ANYONE could beat Monica & Katie at final tribal - but this seems like the kind of group that won't bother thinking that far ahead.


2. 51st State -  Right now I think Aras is favored to get back in the game over Vytas & Tina (who is probably only capable of beating either of them in a game of chance), and may find himself in the position of "crucial swing vote" when he gets back. There's life yet for this team, though previews of next week don't bode well for Laura M.

3. AhhhhFUCKthat - Ciera may be the most interesting person left in the game. I'm looking forward to her potential back-stabbing of her own mother. I think she's playing the game the best that she can, considering the hand she's been dealt. Hope she gets far, but it'll be a tough road ahead to really have a chance to win. Gervas is pretty comfortable right now, but I don't see him beating Tyson in final tribal.

4. Mind Under Matter - They're falling to pieces, and not really worth thinking about. I'd like to see Katie start selling herself as something that other people could beat, but I imagine instead she'll just fade away with little fuss. Hayden needs to start playing the game harder. You can only lay low for so long in this game. Now is the time to start making moves.


Douche of the Week:

Tina.