I'll try & cover the last 2 episodes in this blog since I ran out of time to do a post worthy of the awesomeness of episode 8. Episode 8 was probably my favorite episode in a fantastic season. Before the episode started, Ben told me he expected this to be a fairly dull episode as it seemed inevitable that Ciera would be voted out. Oh how wrong he was! As the commenters noted, Wentworth's idol play was nothing short of brilliant, the majority alliance's decision not to split votes nothing short of foolish. This was easily the biggest misstep of the season, apart from Shirin & Spencer's early arrogance... or maybe even including that.
Seeing Savage go home was positively delightful for me. That guy's been rubbing me the wrong way this whole season. I'd had my fill of him when in this episode he was sitting in his hammock throne while everyone else sat in the dirt around him. I definitely got the impression that he was feeling comfortable in this game with his alliance & I'm oh-so-pleased he got punished for that.
My only real question about this episode is around Joe. Did he tip Wentworth off that they would be voting for her? If not, her instinct is spot-on. If so, I feel a little bad for him that he wasn't included in the new "voting block" in the next episode.
Which brings us to episode 9. Super interesting alliance shifts that happened here. I wasn't surprised that Stephen made a move to switch things up. I was surprised that he beat Spencer to the floating buoy though! I hope he uses his advantage well & that he doesn't sit on it too long & suffer the fate of Dan last season.
Kimmi calling Wentworth, Abi & Ciera the "witches coven" was pretty rich in my book & definitely gives Abi more credit than she deserves. (Although, I have to give Abi credit for making it this far - no way did I think that was possible!) Stephen has been looking to mix things up for a while & finally decided to take the plunge. I'm impressed that he was able to convince Jeremy that he was on the bottom of their alliance. That really didn't seem true to me, but my perception of the game is dictated by the producers, so I could be wrong. In any case, I love that Spencer, Stephen & Jeremy are a voting block. It's just such a great group to cheer for! And I'm really happy that Spencer brought in 2 allies when he sided with the witches - they are now evenly matched against each other should they end up being enemies again next episode.
This leaves Tasha, Kimmi, Joe & Keith on the outs... at least temporarily. There doesn't seem to be much unity between these folks, but that doesn't mean much right now. Being a swing vote could be a powerful position this season.
I suspect the one thing that would unite everyone is if Joe doesn't win immunity finally. It seems like sure thing he'd be voted out in that case.... but of course that means that someone will undoubtedly pitch it at the perfect time to blindside another player. Hopefully they actually vote Joe out though, I'm sick of that guy winning. Plus, he's just not at the strategic level of the other players, except probably Abi & Keith. I'd much rather see those guys go home before Jeremy, Spencer, Tasha, or Stephen.
The Score:
Michal & Ben - Contrarian Ninja Stack: 118 points
- Tasha (21 pts)
- Kelley (28 pts)
- Stephen (18 pts)
- Kimmi (20 pts)
- [Kass (31 pts)]
- Spencer (9 pts)
- Joe (45 pts)
- [Shirin (-4 pts)]
- [Terry (9 pts)]
- Ciera (21 pts)
- Jeremy (27 pts)
- [Jeff (0 pts)]
- [Monica (12 pts)]
- [Kelly (20 pts)]
- Abi-Maria (7 pts)
- [Vytas (-5 pts)]
- [Woo (8 pts)]
- Keith (25 pts)
- [Savage (29 pts)]
- [Peih Gee (-3 pts)]
1. Contrarian Ninja Stack - Our lead is still sizable, though MacGyver is closing the gap. Now that they are individual immunity challenges, the 6 points gained from winning that makes a huge difference. I love that Wentworth is still the game for us, and that Stephen is making some waves. I'm also definitely not counting Tasha out - she's been quiet lately, but I think this last vote will be a big wake-up call for her. Overall still a very solid team we have here.
2. Survivor MacGyver - Joe is simply crushing it when it comes to immunity challenges. He's not doing much else, but that's all Doug & Bri need from him right now. And while he's making up a big point deficit, Spencer seems to be maneuvering himself into a strong position for a deep run. Ciera is still in this thing too, and could be a good person to bring along to the finals since everyone seems to dislike her. Overall this team has a lot of potential.
3. Ghost Coaster - Jeremy is a beast, there's no denying it. With 2 idols in his pocket he needs to be truly blindsided to go home at this point. I hope he follows Wentworth's lead & doesn't share the info with anyone unless strictly necessary (e.g. to save someone in his core alliance). I'm wondering, though, if he'd get a lot of votes should he make it to the finals. He's looking impressive from where I sit, but from the jury he might not be seen as making enough/a lot of moves. There's still time for that to change, of course, but I think he could lose against Tasha, Stephen, Wentworth & Spencer should he stay the course he's on.
4. Woofully Inadequate - this team is clearly out of the running & very appropriately named. Still, we can all keep cheering for Keith! He has to be the biggest competitor in his age group in the history of Survivor -- he hasn't beaten Joe yet, but he's always right there behind him! And his entertainment value is fantastic - I hope he continues to go on rewards & live it up!
Douche of the Week:
Gonna go with Kass. Moon's right in that her flicking off the castaways at each tribal council really is douchey. Plus, there just aren't many douches this season!
