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
- Josh (18 pts)
- Jeremy (17 pts)
- Missy (4 pts)
- Keith (16 pts)
- Reed (15 pts)
- Natalie (14 pts)
- Rocker (-6 pts)
- Julie (-2 pts)
- Alec (9 pts)
- Drew (2 pts)
- Wes (12 pts)
- Val (-6 pts)
- Baylor (2 pts)
- Jon (9 pts)
- Kelley (1 pt)
- Dale (-1 pt)
Power Rankings:
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.
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.
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.
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!
11 comments:
So I'm voting for Alec for DoW. (I'm not sure my vote even counts, but I'm continuing to make my voice heard!) The way he orders Baylor around and speaks to all the women (except Natalie, for some reason) is just too much. I think Keith was stupid for telling Missy the truth about the vote, but a little truth-telling is refreshing sometimes. Also, I am still unclear how much douchiness includes stupidity.
As far as Jon talking about Jeremy's "compelling story," he was repeating what Josh told him almost verbatim. I don't know why that rationale struck a chord with Jon but I think somehow he thinks that he's playing the long game with great strategy. Why in the world he thinks he and Jaclyn will both get to the final 3 is beyond me! I do wish they'd shown us how Jaclyn finally convinced him. She needed to articulate better strategy also.
I found myself rooting against Josh the past 2 episodes which felt strange because I was rooting for him in the beginning. I also was intrigued by his parting words, "I guess I let too much of myself show" (or words to that affect).
One final comment: everyone's worried about Jeremy winning physical challenges...but the only one he's won so far has been a mental/memory challenge.
well said, Margot!
DoW = Alec. Always.
I'm bummed Josh's alliance didn't come through... I liked him.
All DoW votes count, whether you are in the pool or not. So keep those votes coming!
OK, a final final comment (after reading all of last week's comments), I find it interesting that no one is giving Natalie and Missy credit for their strategizing. Do I smell some sexism here?
If you look at my individual power rankings and comments I have made throughout the season I think you'll realize I consider Missy one of the better players on this season and perhaps the best social player. Michal constantly mentions that Natalie is Q&Fs only hope and has talked about her strategic game several times. I'm not sure what you're smelling but I hope you aren't downwind of Wes.
Grave Wolf: I'll try to stop laughing long enough to say, "You and Michal were raised right!"
Now go play poker!
I also thought Alec deserved the DoW vote this week. Maybe he will realize what a jackass he and his bro were after watching the episodes himself. Probably not, though. Baylor certainly doesn't help the situation by giving into him and then complaining about it later.
I think Margot is correct in that everyone's assumption that Jeremy is going to win individual immunities is not based on facts of any sort. The Survivor challenge setter-uppers have become excellent at mixing strength challenges with some other form of mental or physical element that evens the playing field. Jeremy has not been that impressive in the challenge department so far.
I too find myself rooting for the ladies more and more as the season progresses. Most of the guys are dumb, or crude, or both. Jeremy has been by far the best. I'm hoping the women start to dictate things a bit more and we can see their strategy game play out even more. It will also be funny to watch the guys implode on each other.
The race for 2nd place is still very alive.
Alec for DoW!
Jaclyn has a brain??!? Jaclyn's dumber than a pile of rocks!
Keith knows people. He knows how to interact with people, how to relate to people, how to communicate, how to get them to do what he wants - e.g. work around the camp (unless it's Baylor) or not vote him off. He also knows how groups work, how societies function, how to live in adverse conditions and how to get things done - physically and socially. These forms of intelligence are as pertinent as any others in Survivor.
I don't think Jon's personality is remotely likable. Personally I think coming on Survivor when his dad is terminal should be a negative, not a reason to vote for him.
If J&J wisely link up with Missy & Baylor to form an "inner onion" alliance, Jon might have a real shot. But I'm guessing Jeremy continues to run the show and eventually wins this game.
I was wondering the same thing as Doug about the Douche Brothers. These are two of the tooliest in Survivor history. Alec DoW.
Why is there a vote for Survivor's hottest female Castaway on the main page of CBS.com? They claim it's for #WomenCrushWednesday, which is CBS just trying to force themselves into a trending hashtag on twitter. Bad form in my opinion. This isn't organic at all and is a very forced effort.
Lame on you, CBS. You can do better than that.
Is there somewhere I can vote on hottest male Survivor???
I do smell sexism, Ben, and it smells a lot like being downwind from Wesley!
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