What a great episode! Lots of meta-game going on and a nice variety of strategies coming into play right now.
Dawn to me was the most impressive player this episode. Somehow word must not have made it to Malcolm & Co that she's the reason their first blindside failed, otherwise I have no idea why they'd talk to her again. But when they did she played it brilliantly. She's certainly a better actor & strategist than anyone is giving her credit for. I wonder how much of her weeping with Andrea at the end of the episode was an act too.
I'm second-most impressed by Malcolm's last-second plea/demand for Reynold's immunity idol. The fact that Reynold gave it to him was foolish, but this was insanely effective for Malcolm because 1) he saved his own idol, and 2) no one will believe that he has another one in his back pocket now. He can easily knock out a member of the majority alliance with that. However, that won't be enough for him to survive, so really what he needs to do next is figure out how to leverage his idol into more than just 1 casualty.
I wonder how much the Fave alliance calculates their plans around how likely it is that Phillip will blow them at tribal council. I think you'd have to because there's no way to control what he says. Or maybe they encouraged him to give his speech to get Reynold or Malcolm to play the idol? Now THAT would be an amazing strategy!
Right now Eddie is the only one in the Buff Guy alliance who is playing a good strategy. Trying to get Faves to switch into their alliance is a lost cause, which they should have figured that out after the last episode. Trying to wheedle your way into the majority alliance is definitely a better way to go right now. I expect Eddie to outlast Reynold at this point.
Side Bets:
- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone
The Score:
Moon "the Blindsiders": 84 points
1. Malcolm - 27 pts
2. Andrea - 25 pts
[3. Michael - 20 pts]
4. Sherri - 10 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]
Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 83 points
1. Brenda - 31 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
[4. Corinne - 17 pts]
5. Phillip - 19 pts
JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 80 points
1. Erik - 29 pts
2. Eddie - 18 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 27 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]
Bag & Leah "Shamarn't": 52 points
1. Reynold - 23 pts
[2. Julia - 6 pts]
[3. Matt - 6 pts]
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
[5. B. Hantz - 19 pts]
Power Rankings:
1. Jessum's Harem - That's right, I've declared myself as the strongest team! I'm probably seriously jumping the gun on this based on previews for next week, but at this time I think that Dawn is playing the best game, Brenda is earning me points, and Phillip is annoying to the point of virtually guaranteeing himself a spot at Final Tribal. Dawn, Phillip & Cochran for the Finals!!
2. The Blindsiders - Moon has the two big guns on his tribe and there's no way they're both making it to Final Tribal. And while Andrea is a great schemer, she's prone to really intense panics which I think will ultimately be her undoing. For these reasons, even though Moon has the sole lead for the first time this season, I'm dropping him out of the top place. Losing Michael was a blow too. Better to lose him than either Andrea or Malcolm, but still, he could've brought in more points.
3. The Great White Hope - I loved watching Cochran's reaction to the Buff Guys' invitation to join the big balls club. It really proves to me how much of an asshole & idiot Reynold is. He only thinks one way so he assumes everyone else will think the same way as him. And he definitely doesn't think women are as smart as men. If he did, there's no way they could have fooled him as often as they do. Erik is still off in lala land (or beyond it) and while Eddie is finally playing a smarter game, I think it's too little too late. He also needs to be prepared to backstab Reynold which he doesn't seems to be willing to do.
4. Shamarn't - Reynold needs a new idol & a new plan fast. This guy lost everything but his lit torch this episode.
Douche of the Week:
Phillip for DOW. I almost gave it to Reynold for handing over his idol & being a misogynist, but then remembered that Phillip decided to take credit for uncovering Malcolm's betrayal. Maybe the spirit of Jessum Herring whispered it to him in a dream, but otherwise he just happened to be sitting nearby while everyone else made the plans, gathered evidence, and tricked the other players.
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9 comments:
Malcolm for DoW. He got pwned.
Wow is that your first DoW vote that's not for Bag??
I think I only voted for Bag the first two weeks. ;)
Did you watch the previews? It looks like Dawn has a nervous breakdown...and I don't think she was acting!
That was like a Game of Thrones episode. Malcolm for DoW, though I wish I could retroactively vote depending on whether he gives Reynold his own idol next week.
The question is -
Should Malcolm lose points for a "failed" idol play?
Pretend for a second that Malcolm wasn't legitimately terrified of being voted out, that he was completely "playing" Reynold. Would he then lose the five points?
In this instance Malcolm even had his own idol that he could have used, but instead played Reynold into giving his up. Where do we draw the line?
So seriously, if we don't discuss this, I'd have to protest a potential Harem win if those points made the difference.
This is the reason why we wrote the rules the way we wrote the rules... which you can see by checking the spreadsheet fyi. Failed idol play is defined as playing an idol that does not save your survivor life in that tribal council. We have adhered very strictly to these rules, to the point that in the past I've subtracted points from my own team because someone played an idol on the last day that they could, even though they were not in any danger. (We added the "no penalty" rule for cases like these the season after.)
Even if the hypothetical situation that you suggested had happened - and I think it's ludicrous to suggest that Malcolm 1) betrayed his original alliance, and then 2) betrayed his new alliance just to oust another idol that he clearly had a ton of control over - then the scoring still would have been the same. Bad beat? Sure, but that happens from time to time. That happens, and so do ant bites, appendicitis, bark in eye, and massive dehydration that force (sometimes) really competitive players out of the game.
Changing my vote. Moon for DoW. :)
Agree with Pickett. Bring your rule changes to the next draft, even though Malcolm didn't do it on purpose and this situation will likely never happen.
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