Survivor 29: Finale & Reunion

Victory!! This turned out to be a much tighter race than the early season predictions, but thanks to an extra strong performance in challenges by Keith, the Misfits pulled out the win! I'm extremely pleased to point out that Ben & I have now taken the lead on the most overall wins too!! With Ben by my side we're 2 for 2. Everyone else better step up their game next season. If we take it, I'm declaring a Greenberg Dynasty!

Overall a great game played by Natalie as well, and I think we can all feel satisfied that a deserving player won. I think she had it locked up even if she went to the finals with Missy & Baylor, and maybe would have won in a head-to-head against Keith too. So she may have overplayed things a little at the end, but adding a few final fireworks to what was an exciting season certainly couldn't have hurt.

I can't say it was one of my favorite seasons because I really do love a tribe full of schemers, but I was seriously entertained by all the shenanigans that went down. It was a bold if not brainy season!


Side Bets:

• Reed ftw: Moon v. Ben at 100:1 odds (two bits) - Ben = winner!
• Jeremy v. Keith ftw: Michal v. Moon ($20)
• Missy v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (one handle or bottle of wine $50 or less, 1 drink at Survivor dinner, and 5% of the next tournament they both play $1650 or less)
• Jon v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (see above)
• Josh v. Jeremy ftw: Moon v. Ben

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 134 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (29 pts)
3. Missy (29 pts)
4. Keith (58 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 115 points

1. Reed (36 pts)
2. Natalie (87 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 80 points

1. Baylor (26 pts)
2. Jon (54 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 44 points

1. Alec (25 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (23 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 40 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - It was a strong draft for us, with a standout performance from Keith in challenges sealing the deal. He might not be a schemer but he clearly loves competing & playing games! He's quite the charmer too. Missy also played a strong game I think, although her flaws turned out to be fatal & eloquently if a bit meanly described by Reed.
   
2. Queers & Foreigners - Natalie crushed this season. She didn't play a flawless game, as she noted, but she laid low at the right times and made bold moves at the right times. In the end her loyalty to Jeremy was awesome but it probably worked out for the best that he got blindsided early, otherwise she might have wound up with a tough competitor next to her at final tribal.
   
3. Daddy Issues - Daddy Issues has a strong showing this season, especially with what turned out to be a few lemons on their team. Dale & Kelley's early exits put them behind early, but ultimately it was Baylor's lack of game-playing & challenge winning that did this team in.
4. The Buffoons - They are who we thought they were, as Ben noted early. It was wonderful to watch the Buffoons in action, although maybe not so much fun for Bag & Andrea. They'll get another chance next season, but I fully expect a similar series of drafting mishaps to take place then too. It'll be fun to see what additions they have to make to the trophy!

Douche of the Week

Jon takes the title. It probably should have been Drew, but his Drewchiness was too powerful & he suffered an early exit as a result. Jon is a deserving alternative though. :)


Season 30: Collar-iffic

The "new" and "never been done before" theme of next season is just a re-make of the same theme-based seasons Survivor has done in the past, but it should be interesting all the same. Survivor: Worlds Apart premieres on February 25th and I'm guessing will be very similar to Brains v. Brawn v. Beauty. Just maybe with more offensive stereotypes than we saw in the BBB season. Probst is also hinting at new twists, and so long as they aren't as horrible as the Tyler Perry Idol then I'm okay with that. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

Season 30 will be the first season for Baby Boy Greenberg, and, well, the 30th for me. (Actually I missed 1 season of Survivor, so it's actually my 29th... but I like rounding up.) Will we still all be playing in this pool for Survivor season 60?

Survivor 29: Episode 12

Hurray! A great episode for gamesmanship as well as seeing "the good guys" get a victory. It would have been too painful, for me at least, to see Jon make final tribal. He would have been completely undeserving of the title, but based on who went with him, he might have won anyway. I'm glad I didn't have to see the good name of Survivor dragged down by that situation.

Missy's injury this episode was unfortunate but should be inconsequential to the rest of her game. She never expected that she'd win any challenges, and with her alliance & the short time left in the game she should be able to tough it out. It'll be interesting to hear at the reunion show, though, how badly she injured her ankle/foot and if there are any long-term repercussions for her not having sought immediate medical attention.


Side Bets:

• Reed ftw: Moon v. Ben at 100:1 odds (two bits) - Ben = winner!
• Jeremy v. Keith ftw: Michal v. Moon ($20)
• Missy v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (one handle or bottle of wine $50 or less, 1 drink at Survivor dinner, and 5% of the next tournament they both play $1650 or less)
• Jon v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (see above)
• Josh v. Jeremy ftw: Moon v. Ben

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 87 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (29 pts)
3. Missy (8 pts)
4. Keith (32 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 60 points

1. Reed (36 pts)
2. Natalie (32 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 55 points

1. Baylor (11 pts)
2. Jon (44 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 44 points

1. Alec (25 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (23 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 4 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - Having either Missy or Keith in the final tribal seems inevitable, and if both somehow get there then this season is pretty much locked up for us. But there is still the possibility of of a vote sweep (especially if Natalie makes the finals and Keith doesn't) that keeps the competition alive! It will be super interesting to see how that breaks down, along with how the sliding scale of points based on the order contestants are voted out will affect the impact of final tribal.

2. Queers & Foreigners - Natalie has to be the favorite to win now, right? She has an idol, she's in the majority alliance, she's played a great game, and she's a likable person. Keith is her biggest threat right now since he's also likable and the good ol' boys alliance makes up a huge part of the jury. But I'm pretty sure she knows that & so long as he doesn't win a couple immunity challenges in a row she'll get rid of him. With that being said, Keith definitely has the advantage in the upcoming immunity challenges. There isn't a lot of competition left for him (besides Natalie) to go up against. It'll be fun to watch the Natalie-Keith show-down in the challenges.

3. Daddy Issues - Daddy Issues is now left with Baylor, who really is proving to be a player at this point in the game. Her handling of her mother was very well done, and she's been much more influential strategically at this point than I expected her to be. Unfortunately I don't think most of the jury saw this side of Baylor at all while they were on the island. So it's too little too late for Baylor. Plus, the plan of her going with her mother to the finals - as has been noted by many commenters - means a guaranteed vote for her is lost & any votes giving credit to the pair will be diluted by both of them being there. They need to think that through & vote one of them out before final tribal!!

4. The Buffoons - Wes is representing the Buffoons well on the jury with his coiffed hair & clear ability to follow what's going. However, Alec is representing the Buffoons more accurately with his slack jaw & glazed look plastered to his face. Who he votes for may not be based on any sound argument in the end, it might just be based on whose name he can still remember from among the remaining players.

Douche of the Week

Jon!

Survivor 29: Episode 11

My my, there are now 3 whole hours of Survivor to catch up on, analyze & mock. With 3 players  gone and plenty of strategizing - some decent, some highly questionable - having taken place there is a lot to cover!

First we have to address Episode 10, an episode with probably the most game-play, certainly the most idol-play, and possibly one the most bone-headed moments of the whole season. Reed put forth an admirable effort to bring down the all-so-annoying Jon, only to be foiled by Keith's big mouth & complete lack of understanding of the game of Survivor. The debate - if any was still going on - about whether or not Keith was a smart player has to be over. No one who has even an inkling about what's going on the in the game would have screwed the pooch the way Keith did at that crucial tribal council.

Crazily enough, even after Keith's massive blunder, the blindside still would have worked had Natalie (and I guess Jaclyn, although I didn't catch how) not insisted that Jon play his idol! As someone who has pledged revenge against Jon for taking out Jeremy, this may not have made sense at first, but it was a big play for Natalie to save him in order to maintain her majority alliance. She's prepared to wait for the right time before she makes her move.

Somehow Episode 11 started with Jon trying to alter history by claiming that it was his brilliant decision to play his idol and had nothing to do with his alliance looking out for him. Jaclyn was very understandably upset about this & all her subsequent fighting with him felt completely justified to me. It has to be extremely challenging to date him even under normal circumstances, but in the high-stress environment of Survivor it has to be all but unbearable. I was half-hoping for a Survivor break-up followed by Jaclyn having a revenge hook-up with Alec. Now that would have been entertaining! Fortunately for Jaclyn, she's also not so bright which must make it easier to overlook Jon's stupidity & arrogance, and the two of them eventually made up.

The lover's spat between J&J almost certainly resulted in Reed's doom. Which he pointed out to them, but did he really think they cared enough about him to stop their shenanigans long enough to actually play the game? If Reed were really a good strategist he would have realized getting their attention was a lost cause and should have tried another plan.

In general though this group is terrible about developing back-up plans. It's usually a small miracle that they came up with one plan to start with! This HAS to be the stupidest group of people left this late in game of any season of Survivor. Keith, Alec, Jon & Jaclyn are all idiots. Missy is mostly smart but becomes a psycho tiger mom any time someone criticizes her daughter -- a real Survivor player would be able to hold that in & exact their revenge by getting those folks voted out. Natalie is really the only decently smart one left, and that should probably make her a little worried. Probst suggested in the last tribal council that they were targeting players who were good in challenges, but he was wrong. They've been targeting the smart people -- Josh, Jeremy & Reed were clearly the brainiacs of the season and they were among the first to go post-merge.

I loved that Natalie & Baylor planned to vote out Jon this episode, but when he won immunity... surprise, surprise they didn't have a back-up plan! And what seems like the super-obvious back-up plan of voting out Jon's girlfriend never even seemed to cross their minds. In the end Natalie decided it was better to keep Keith around rather than Alec. This was a decent move, though not as good of a play as getting rid of Jaclyn. Keith is a challenge beast - something I think no one could have expected! - and now Natalie has an ally in Keith, rather than Baylor having an ally in Alec. Still, there are huge negatives to this: 1) Keith is dumb and could easily blow Natalie's plans by talking too much, 2) they should have voted out Jaclyn & removed Jon's closest ally.


Side Bets:

• Reed ftw: Moon v. Ben at 100:1 odds (two bits) -- Ben = winner!
• Jeremy v. Keith ftw: Michal v. Moon ($20)
• Missy v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (one handle or bottle of wine $50 or less, 1 drink at Survivor dinner, and 5% of the next tournament they both play $1650 or less)
• Jon v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (see above)
• Josh v. Jeremy ftw: Moon v. Ben

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 85 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (29 pts)
3. Missy (8 pts)
4. Keith (30 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 54 points

1. Reed (36 pts)
2. Natalie (26 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 44 points

1. Alec (25 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (23 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 44 points

1. Baylor (11 pts)
2. Jon (33 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 5 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - the geriatrics left on this team are doing surprisingly well. Keith may not be the brightest guy ever but he has to be the biggest threat in challenges. He almost always finishes in the top 3! Could Keith actually win this season? It still feels like a long shot, but there are so many despicable players left that he may wind up being the best option left. Missy, despite her insanely defensive & aggressive attitude when defending her daughter, is playing one of the best social games. If she can drop her weird issues/feelings about Jon she'd be an even bigger threat.

2. Daddy Issues - I now think that Natalie has a better chance of winning the season over Jon, which is why I dropped DI to 3rd place last week. DI still has 2 players left though, so there is plenty of potential for them to earn points on the way to the finale! It was refreshing to see Baylor playing her own game, apart from her mother. I don't think she can win, but she's a great option for anyone to take to final tribal with them, so I've bumped them back up to 2nd place. Jon is my most hated player left in the game at this point and I really don't understand how he can get away with all the flip-flopping he's been doing. But somehow the other players still seem to like him and he really could be a threat to win the game. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it winds up being anyone but him.

3. Queers & Foreigners - Losing Reed was unfortunate, but not surprising. All of Q&F's hopes now rest on Natalie, who I think is a real contender. She's a good strategist, she's in the majority alliance, and she's focused on getting rid of the player who is probably her biggest rival. All good things. I just wish she'd voted Jaclyn out in the last episode, that would have made her a clear front-runner in my opinion. She's still a big threat, but J&J are both still in the game, will probably be pissed about how the last vote went, and I could definitely see them coming after her.

4. The Buffoons - The final Buffoon has fallen, but the spirit of buffoonery is certain to stick around for the remainder of the season.

Douche of the Week

For episode 11 I have to pick Jon. My god that guy is getting on my nerves! My vote could be for any number of things he said and did in this episode, but mostly it's because of the way he tried to take full credit for playing his idol at the previous tribal council, even though he absolutely would have gone home without Natalie insisting that he play it. His whole "I'm a wine connoisseur" bit was pretty aggravating too.

Survivor 29: Episode 10

With the holidays there was no time for a real blog, but expect more opinions & a longer blog to account for both this episode & tonight's episode soon. Point update is below.

Side Bets:

• Reed ftw: Moon v. Ben at 100:1 odds (two bits)
• Jeremy v. Keith ftw: Michal v. Moon ($20)
• Missy v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (one handle or bottle of wine $50 or less, 1 drink at Survivor dinner, and 5% of the next tournament they both play $1650 or less)
• Jon v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (see above)
• Josh v. Jeremy ftw: Moon v. Ben

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 75 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (29 pts)
3. Missy (4 pts)
4. Keith (24 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 38 points

1. Reed (25 pts)
2. Natalie (21 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 32 points

1. Alec (13 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (23 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 31 points

1. Baylor (10 pts)
2. Jon (21 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 4 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits
2. Queers & Foreigners
   
3. Daddy Issues
4. The Buffoons

Douche of the Week

You have until next week's episode to vote for the DoW for both episode 10 & 11, but when you comment just please be clear about which episode you're referring to. My Ep 10 DoW vote goes to Keith for blowing it completely at tribal council, resulting in his own flesh & blood going home. 

Survivor 29: Episode 9

Wow, I so did not see Jeremy getting voted out this soon! I do think that Jon needed to vote out Jeremy but it seems like it's waaaay too early. Now the "power couple" alliance of Jon, Jaclyn, Missy and Baylor is on some pretty thin ice. Natalie feels betrayed & Reed voted with them this time, but will he really stand by the people who voted out his boyfriend? They could both easily choose to ally themselves with the good ol' boys now, and there goes the alliance's majority. This seems like way too big of a risk just because Jeremy knew that Jon had an idol. Really that's pretty small potatoes considering Jon then blabbed about it to pretty much everyone else.

This was exactly the time that you whittle down the good ol' boys alliance so that you can nullify the power of Keith's idol. Get that group down to 3 people, then you split votes to get out Keith or Wes, and THEN you blindside Jeremy. Really, I think this alliance will pay for this decision in the long run. And really, the decision that they made was allowing Jon to be the brains of their operation.

On the other hand, this was a great episode for the good ol' boys! The door is wide open for alliance shifts, power plays, and crucial immunity idol saves. Well done by Keith for not playing his idol this episode, it must have been mighty tempting.


Side Bets:

• Reed ftw: Moon v. Ben at 100:1 odds (two bits)
• Jeremy v. Keith ftw: Michal v. Moon ($20)
• Missy v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (one handle or bottle of wine $50 or less, 1 drink at Survivor dinner, and 5% of the next tournament they both play $1650 or less)
• Jon v. Keith ftw: Ben v. Moon (see above)
• Josh v. Jeremy ftw: Moon v. Ben

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 67 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (29 pts)
3. Missy (4 pts)
4. Keith (16 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 25 points

1. Reed (17 pts)
2. Natalie (16 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 19 points

1. Alec (11 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (12 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 19 points

1. Baylor (10 pts)
2. Jon (9 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 2 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - Losing Josh & Jeremy back-to-back was devastating, but Keith and Missy are still strong competitors this season. Keith is surprisingly good at the challenges -- really if anyone is a big challenge threat the record would say that Keith, not Jeremy, is the one to target! Missy is as socially crafty as ever, although at this point I think she'll have a hard time winning jury votes just because of how protective she is of Baylor and how much everyone dislikes Baylor.

2. Daddy Issues - Baylor won Doug & Bri some much needed points, which was shocking considering how useless she's been in the point department up until now. And Jon is turning into a power player this season, as ill-equipped mentally as he seems to be for this role. He's been flip-flopping all season long & doesn't seem to realize that this is a problem! Although maybe it's not. After all, it hasn't gotten him into any trouble so far & everyone keeps approaching him and Jaclyn for their "loyalty."

3. Queers & Foreigners - This new turn of events has the most effect on Natalie's game and I'm really interested to see what she does about it. I think she's definitely capable of making moves, and quite frankly, running circles around a lot of the other players. She'll probably see this as a huge set-back now, but if she plays her cards right, this could turn out to be a huge opportunity for her to get out of Jeremy's shadow, get some power & recognition, and have a strong go at making it to final tribal.

4. The Buffoons - The Buffoons are in a much stronger position after this last episode. They still aren't in great shape by any means, but at least they're headed in the right direction. Potentially with some help from Papa Keith, Wes can go far. And at this point Alec would be my first pick as a dreg to bring with me to the finals. That boy has done absolutely nothing beyond piss people off. He's the perfect compatriot for a schemer to take to the finals! I wonder if anyone is thinking that far ahead though...

Douche of the Week

I can't recall anyone being particularly douchey this week. I think I'll go with Missy for obviously not trying very hard against her daughter in the reward challenge, essentially quitting the immunity challenge so she could cheer Baylor on, and also for betraying Jeremy. Not especially douchey, but definitely aggravating.

Survivor 29: Episode 8

The showdown between the "chessmasters" Josh & Jeremy finally happened! It is pretty amazing that Julie quitting the game really did decide which alliance came out the winner. However, based on the editing, the end result didn't wasn't all that surprising. The whole storyline so far has been leading up to Josh v. Jeremy clash with Jeremy coming out the winner.

The most exciting part of this episode was watching the Jaclyn/Jon dynamic, especially as it related to the good ol' boys treatment of the women on the tribe. I think that nothing else could better summarize the way that most of the people this season are (not) playing the game. In a game that is almost entirely based on the social aspect & getting people to like you enough to vote for you, a group that acts like pigs, bosses other people around and insults them both to their face & behind their backs is clearly not in it for the long haul. Thank goodness Jaclyn took this affront as seriously as she did -- had she not, I would have had very little respect for her.

Hilariously, when Jon rejoined the tribe and Jaclyn outlined what I found to be a very logical argument why they needed to switch back to the Jeremy alliance, Jon only seemed to hear the "I got my feelings hurt" part and tried to blow Jaclyn's argument off as being emotional. So clearly he's not that more civilized/gentlemanly than the good ol' boys alliance. Because seriously, did he not hear the rest of her argument? They have a much better chance of beating the Jeremy alliance group in immunity challenges compared to an alliance of young men & a surprisingly competitive Keith. And why is Jon so scared of Jeremy anyway? It's 1 man in an alliance of 6 people, just vote him out when you're down to final 6 or final 5!! In the other alliance it's already clear that at least 50% of your core alliance (aka Jaclyn) has no sway or pull and will easily be targeted as the first to go when you get down to a final 7. But, as previously noted by me & several commenters, Jon is not a long-term planner. Nor someone who wants to waste too much energy thinking.

Speaking of commenters, Moon said the following in regards to Ben's assessment of Jon v. Keith: "Still think you Greenbergs are too high on Jon and too low on Keith. I'll take the smart guy over the idiot every time, especially if the smart guy has an idol." I'm not saying that Jon is smart - far from it - but where on earth did you get your evidence that Keith is smart?? No less than 2 players in this last episode noted that he has no idea what he's really doing out there. (Actually, it might have been 3 players -- Jeremy, Missy & Baylor I think.) And now Jon has an idol too, so it's Idiot w/ Idol v. Idiot w/Idol on this one. But Jon's loved one actually has a brain, and Keith's loved one is a Buffoon. Jon's in the majority alliance & Keith is about to get thrown under the bus by the remnants of his own alliance. So no, we are not too high on Jon right now.

Additionally, one of the main reasons that we do think Jon is a threat in this game is because he actually has a likeable personality & compelling story, should he make final tribal. The good ol' boys would almost certainly vote for him over any woman left in the game & they'll be a huge contingent on the jury. He's well-liked by most everyone, actually. Also he's on the show in spite of his father being at home with a terminal illness which will get the heartstrings tugging for the jury members who vote based on personal situation rather than adeptness at playing the game.


Side Bets:

Currently the side bets are all still live, although Ben is now free-rolling in an off-the-books Josh v. Jeremy bet he has going with Moon.


The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 55 points

1. Josh (18 pts)
2. Jeremy (17 pts)
3. Missy (4 pts)
4. Keith (16 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 21 points

1. Reed (15 pts)
2. Natalie (14 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 17 points

1. Alec (9 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (12 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 11 points

1. Baylor (2 pts)
2. Jon (9 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 2 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - The final 4 players left in the memory immunity challenge were all Misfits. Amazing! I'm really happy that Jeremy ended up winning the challenge, though we would have gotten the points no matter who of the top 4 ended up winning. But I think not being able to vote out Jeremy at that tribal might have been the little extra nudge that Jon needed to switch alliances. We're down a player, but we high-fived anyway - the Jeremy/Missy alliance has far more point-earning potential for the Misfits than the Josh/Keith alliance ever did.

2. Daddy Issues - Huge congratulations to Doug & Bri who got engaged this weekend! You may not be winning the pool this season, but you have to both feel like winners anyways. :) With Baylor & Jon now firmly in the majority alliance, and Jon with an immunity idol to boot, this team is set up to go deep. The real question is if they'll make points along the way. Baylor is a point-earning dead zone, which is unfortunate, but Jon has potential. He'll need to string a few immunity wins together though for this team to have even a slim chance though. He also needs to continue to rely on Jaclyn to do his thinking for him, otherwise he might do something extra dumb.

3. Queers & Foreigners - Moon & Melissa are almost entirely dependent on Natalie going deep at this point, although previews for next week point to Reed finally stepping up & playing the game. It's probably too little too late for him, though, and starting to make moves now could just put a bigger target on his back. Reed & Natalie are more likely to bring Q&F points compared to Baylor, but it's still a super long shot for this team to pull off a victory.

4. The Buffoons - Still living up to their name, the Buffoons continue to entertain. Wes's binge eating followed by a night of pooping in the woods made for another classic Buffoons moment. I hope that this team sticks around for a little longer so that we can continue to mock them! In other news, though, the Buffoons are pretty much guaranteed not to take the all-time low score title away from me. With 2 Buffoons on the jury they should be in the clear.
   

Douche of the Week

The whole good ol' boy gang seems like they are the obvious pick this week. I'm going to vote for Keith because, as the elder statesman, he really should know better. Also because of the way he talked shit about Baylor to Missy. Poor form, sir!

Survivor 29: Episode 7

Every episode seems like it starts the same way - with a Misfit being the primary target for elimination. But ultimately the contestants get distracted by someone else & a different team ends up taking the hit instead. The same held true for this latest episode, though this was definitely a closer call than any of the others!

The merge & the subsequent alliance shifts & formations were all pretty inevitable. Ultimately this was a predictable episode since we've long known about the quitter. The most interesting part was watching Josh & Jeremy both vying for Jon & Jaclyn's favor. It's a little annoying that Jon is the decision-maker in this relationship (at least for now) as Jaclyn is clearly the smarter of the two. Jon makes decisions and when he tries to explain why they are the right decision the closest he can get is just to say "this is better for us long term." Not really an explanation, sir. Next episode should be much more interesting as we watch the courting of J&J by J&J continue.

Side Bets:

See Ben's comments from last week for a nice summary.

The Teams:

Michal & Ben "The Misfits": 38 points

1. Josh (9 pts)
2. Jeremy (9 pts)
3. Missy (6 pts)
4. Keith (14 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 17 points

1. Reed (13 pts)
2. Natalie (12 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (-2 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 15 points

1. Alec (9 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (10 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 7 points

1. Baylor (2 pts)
2. Jon (5 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 2 points


Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - This team is in great shape. With a 20 point lead already & 2 more players still in the game to earn jury points, it's going to be tough to beat this team. Despite a tough episode this week I still think that Jeremy is the favorite to win the show, but Missy, Josh & Keith are all contenders too. This team pitted against each other, but since it's 2 v. 2 it doesn't really affect us too much which side wins (except of course for side bet reasons) in the Josh v Jeremy showdown.

2. Daddy Issues - Outside of the Misfits Jon probably has the best chance of winning this season. Natalie is a potential contender too, but Jon's story with an ailing father is far more endearing to a jury than that of a chronic reality show contestant. Baylor is proving to be more & more useless as the show goes on. After the first episode I thought she'd be a player but now it seems like she's incapable of being a leader and needs to have a stronger personality telling her what to do.

3. Queers & Foreigners - Quitter Julie was completely devastating to this team. It's a 20 point hit that I can't see them bouncing back from. Reed continues to be a non-entity and I'm predicting he'll get voted out in a collateral damage situation after Josh wins an immunity. Or maybe Reed will win immunity, give it to Josh, and pay the consequences. Natalie is a potential threat, but she's also put all her eggs in the Missy/Jeremy basket. Her fate will depend on those two's ability to keep Jon & Jaclyn loyal.

4. The Buffoons - Wes & Alec seem like the types who could win some points for Bag & Andrea in upcoming challenges. But this has been a season that is almost the exact opposite of a standard Survivor season - the elderly & minorities are running the show & that seems to include old man Keith winning the physical challenges! We'll see if either of these guys produce before their certain demise.

Douche of the Week

I'm assuming Julie is a shoe-in for this one, what with her food-stealing, whining, and quitting for no good reason. At least that's where my vote is going.

Survivor 29: Episode 6

I think it's safe to say that this is not the smartest batch of contestants on Survivor, but it's still super entertaining to watch them bumble their way through a series of mishaps that have never happened on the show before. Lost flint? Check. Weird bartering with Probst? Check. Rice binging? Check. I believe it was just a few seasons ago that Tyson encouraged his team to binge eat their food before the merge, and even THAT tribe didn't run out of rice!  

I predict that next, the merged tribe will lose another flint, or maybe a machete, or some of the fishing gear. I suspect that Jeff's bartering days are over - except for a Survivor Auction that I hope still happens! 

All things considered, losing their comfort seemed like a small price to pay for getting a whole bag of rice. However, my new favorite Survivor op ed writer (http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/survivor-san-juan-del-sur-episode-6/) points out that with an impending merge there's really only so much the producers could do to punish this tribe without getting ridiculous. And if Julie ends up quitting because of the lost tarp then I will have to call it just. 


The Teams:  

Ben & Michal "The Misfits": 33 points 

1. Josh (9 pts)
2. Jeremy (10 pts)
3. Missy (6 pts)
4. Keith (8 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 28 points 

1. Reed (13 pts)
2. Natalie (12 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (9 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 15 points

1. Alec (9 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (10 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 7 points 

1. Baylor (2 pts)
2. Jon (5 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (-1 pt)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 2 points
 

 
Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits -I think this episode soundly proved that Keith is NOT a favorite to win this game. The man had absolutely no idea what was going on in his tribe during the vote & that doesn't bode well considering that his only plan once they make the merge is to join up with his son. Care to bring an alliance along with you, Keith? How about some inside info into the ongoings of your current tribe? No? Too busy napping, I suppose. Jeremy on the other hand got through what will probably be the riskiest time for him in the game -- probably until there are 6 players left. Missy is getting more annoying, but she's laid the all-important social game groundwork to get Natalie to essentially publicly jump ship from her tribe. They are looking really solid.

2. Daddy Issues - Daddy Issues reminds me of the Black Knight from Monty Python.They've had a couple of limbs removed, sure... but it might just be a flesh wound. The real talent & hope for this team is still there, and better yet, they're in an alliance with each other. If the Baylor/Missy/Jon/Jaclyn alliance teams up with Jeremy & Natalie, they'll be in great shape against a Josh/Reed/Alec/Wes alliance. Julie & Keith are unknowns but I'd guess that Keith will join up with his son on the losing side & Julie will stick with Jeremy unless/until she quits. And any alliance that's relying on Wes, Alec & Keith to be well-informed & have a clear idea of what the strategy is doesn't really have a chance. 

3. Queers & Foreigners - Reed finally got some air time! Granted, he was one of two players in a challenge, so it's hard for him to NOT get air time. And while his Spiderman skills were impressive, even more impressive was Natalie's game play. As with everything she does, it's a little too... loud... for my tastes. Still, she's making moves & there aren't that many contestants on this season who are perceptive enough to understand what she's doing. Julie is currently the odds-on favorite to be the quitter, though, so this team is still ranked 3rd in my book.  

4. The Buffoons -It's weird to see the Buffoons currently sitting in 3rd place in the point rankings, but I'm not fooled! The Buffoons are aptly named & disinclined to come up with their own ideas or strategy. With a merge on the horizon they need to be prepared to make moves, understand alliances, etc. I don't think they get any of that. Actually I think that Alec would leave the show happily at any time now that he's outlasted his brother.


Douche of the Week:

If my favorite op ed writer could vote I'm guessing he'd vote Reed for trying to spin sending Julie to exile as a compliment rather than a punishment. Certainly a valid argument! Jeremy is also a strong candidate for griping about his tribe giving up comfort items for food. (Thank goodness he kept his opinions to himself & the camera!) However, I'm going to vote for Jon for believing that Dale's fake idol was real. Thank you, Jaclyn, for pointing out that it could be fake, but Jon immediately disregarded this notion. I sense a chauvinistic streak in him, but maybe I'm overthinking it and he's only just dumb.

Survivor 29: Episode 5

The tribal mix-up has polarized the pool - we now have 3 teams out of 4 whose entire stable is on one tribe. For the next couple of weeks until the merge we should see a lot of spikes in points. The merge is just around the corner, though, so don't count on this lasting for too long!

While I'm sad to see the previous tribe dynamics play out, the mix-up did create an interesting situation for the loved ones. Wes & Keith are the only ones not paired up, and it probably is working to their advantage at this point. After all, Kelley's demise is almost entirely attributed to her forced alliance with her father. 

If anyone has some insight as to 1) why Jon & Jaclyn sided with Missy & Baylor, and 2) why they decided to vote out Kelley over Dale, I'd love to hear it! I'm thrilled for the Misfits that they chose Missy & Baylor, but I'm not sure it makes sense. After all, Jaclyn said right from the start "I don't trust Baylor"... and isn't trust what this game is all about? And if this tribe really wants to challenge the blue team in the next 1-2 immunity challenges, shouldn't they have voted out the elder statesman of the Kelley/Dale alliance?

On the other side of the island, a mass plan of manipulation is being waged on Alec that is sure to be successful because, well, it's Alec. The plan might even be a bit of overkill with this kid, but I like seeing how smoothly & sneakily it's being executed at this point. Could they end up going too subtle? That could potentially be a problem. But overall, stroking his ego by telling him that he's so much cooler, smarter & better than his brother, and cautioning him against the dangers of allying with doubles is a great strategy, especially if given enough time for it to sink in. 

Another question: Now that almost all the loved ones are on the same tribe as each other, how will the Hero's Challenge play out? Will the rock-paper-scissors winner get to choose who they go up against?


The Teams:  

Ben & Michal "The Misfits": 27 points 

1. Josh (6 pts)
2. Jeremy (7 pts)
3. Missy (6 pts)
4. Keith (8 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 20 points 

1. Reed (9 pts)
2. Natalie (9 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (8 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 10 points 

1. Baylor (3 pts)
2. Jon (5 pts)
3. Kelley (1 pt)
4. Dale (1 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 9 points

1. Alec (6 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (7 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Dreg Tracker - Jaclyn: 2 points
 

 
Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - Our biggest issue at this point will be if the blue tribe loses a challenge before the merge. Then Jeremy & Josh will be gunning for each other with potentially disastrous results for the Misfits. However, I could totally see Jeremy's plan working on Alec, but then gunning for Reed instead of Josh since Alec knows & likes Josh better. It'd be a good appeasement/compromise. Missy now seems secure & Keith is flying under the radar with an immunity idol, so things are good for our elderly folks.

2. Daddy Issues - The tribal mix-up resulted in a civil war for this team, and Kelley is the first casualty. She probably won't be the last. Issues over rice & who mentioned Dale's name on Day 1 really shouldn't have been enough to tear this potentially powerful alliance apart, but in the end it did. Now Doug & Bri really need to hope for a couple of big challenge victories from the yellow tribe before the merge, or they could get decimated. Jon & Jaclyn need to start thinking long-term too. If yellow loses the next challenge & they vote out Dale, then J&J could find themselves in the minority of their alliance if yellow loses again. It should be pretty easy for Missy to convince Keith to vote with her & Baylor since they're both parents, similar age group, etc. But, if J&J try to target, say, Baylor next time, then they are suddenly the only allied pair on the tribe moving forward, which would again put a big target on them! Of course I could be overthinking it - they may win challenges or there may only be one challenge left before the merge, so this could all be a moot point. Still, they should start building a stronger relationship with Keith now if they want to try & keep themselves safe.

3. Queers & Foreigners - This seems like a strong team, but I just don't see any winners here. Natalie, perhaps, but her vociferousness could be a problem. Neither Reed nor Julie are proving to be all that great at strategy. Still, they all have the potential to go far & earn a lot of points along the way. With the new point system awarding more points for folks who make it deep in the jury, that could be all it takes to win this season.
4. The Buffoons - Alec is definitely going to be used as a pawn for the remainder of his time in the game. Wes is smarter & a better strategist, but he just may not be in the position to make any big moves. Things might change though once they make the merge.


Douche of the Week:

The level of douchiness has dropped off significantly since the season premiere! With both Rocker & Drew gone, the choices for DOW will be less obvious moving forward. This week I'll give my vote to Dale for freaking out so much about the portioning of rice. Certainly not a major faux pas, but potentially this reaction is what convinced Jon & Jaclyn to vote out his daughter.

Survivor 29: Episode 4

What an episode! I mean really, this is what we watch the show for, right? Scheming, chaos, seriously idiotic plays & people... this is Survivor at its best. I have several comments & opinions on this episode but I also highly recommend this article for some excellent insight & hilarity: http://tvrecaps.ew.com/recap/survivor-san-juan-del-sur-episode-4/. 

Throughout the entire episode I wanted to throttle Drew, he was SO stupid & SO cocky & SO annoying. But he was also fascinating - I couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to live in the universe that he's created for himself. Things must be pleasant in a world where you are king of everything & smarter than everyone - it must be so much better than living in the actual world where you are the exact opposite kind of human being.

In the end it was extremely satisfying to watch him get voted out. Really, he accomplished exactly what he set out to do, which was to eliminate the snakes from the blue tribe. 

The upcoming tribe mix-up is pretty vexing to me, especially after all the excitement of the last few episodes. I want to see the long-term effects of the two most recent votes & how the tribes as they stand now deal with the fall-out & new dynamics! Would the women on the blue tribe take over the game? Would Jon finally pull his head out of his ass? Would the yellow tribe use this victory as the momentum they need to string together a few victories? I guess we'll never know, which is a real shame. 

The Teams:  

Ben & Michal "The Misfits": 21 points 

1. Josh (3 pts)
2. Jeremy (4 pts)
3. Missy (6 pts)
4. Keith (8 pts)

Doug & Bri "Daddy Issues": 13 points 

1. Baylor (3 pts)
2. Jon (5 pts)
3. Kelley (4 pts)
4. Dale (1 pts)

Moon & Melissa "Queers & Foreigners": 11 points 

1. Reed (6 pts)
2. Natalie (6 pts)
3. Rocker (-6 pts)
4. Julie (5 pts)

Bag & Andrea "The Buffoons": 3 points

1. Alec (3 pts)
2. Drew (2 pts)
3. Wes (4 pts)
4. Val (-6 pts)

Dreg Tracker: 2 points
I've started tracking the points Jaclyn would have earned had she been selected to a team. I honestly don't think she would have earned any points before this episode, so this is easy to start tracking now. If you think I'm wrong, though, please let me know! Do you remember her ever sitting out a challenge, perhaps?
Power Rankings:

1. The Misfits - Keith's shenanigans in this episode are enough to get him demoted to the Buffoons. Not only is he an inept clue-reader & idol-hunter, he also has no understanding of how the game of Survivor works. He had one ally (that we know about) and the first chance he gets he threw him under the bus. On the plus side he managed to find the idol... eventually, but I'm not sure he'll have the wherewithal to know if/when he needs to use it. Jeremy & Missy seem to be in good shape for now, but who really knows how things will shake out with the tribe switcheroo. Hopefully Keith & Jeremy will end up on separate tribes, though.

2. Daddy Issues - Baylor didn't come off all that great this episode - anyone who lets themselves get pushed around by a Christy brother loses a lot of respect with me. Plus she tried to insult Alec by calling him a woman which was actually a complement to Alec & a huge insult to women. Jon may also have issues now that his best buddy is gone, but again who can say with the changes on the horizon? Kelley & Dale may both come out for the better, though. Tribe changes are bound to draw attention to higher profile players & these two should be able to fly under the radar.


3. Queers & Foreigners - Reed is still largely absent from all scheming & TV time - time to get worried Moon & Melissa! I really like Natalie & the game she's playing but I can see how her mouth could get her in trouble further down the road - hopefully she ends up on a team with a bunch of allies. Julie will most likely benefit from the tribe mix-up. Her position in the blue tribe was improving but still a little shaky. Now she could play the role of critical swing vote & move herself up a few spots on the totem pole. Or, she could stay true to her current tribe when they need her most & again move up on the totem pole. 

4. The Buffoons - It's just too easy to make fun of this team! OF COURSE Drew was on the Buffoons' team - he actually nominated himself as their coach, captain, manager, starting quarterback, star receiver, and mascot. His stunning leadership skills will probably take this team to having one of the earliest exits, and lowest scores, in survivor pool history. Perhaps Wes will be able to salvage a little dignity for Bag & Andrea, but I have no hope that someone in any way related to Drew will have a positive impact for this team.


Douche of the Week:

I'd like to vote for the enormous bug that crawled up Keith's shoulder during tribal council & horrified me so much I had nightmares about it last night. But alas, that cicada isn't an actual contestant on the show. Although it probably could think circles around Drew. So, Drew "I'm the leader because I say things no one else is stupid enough to say" Christy gets my vote. Every word out of that guy's mouth this episode earns him this honor.