XvM: Episode 9

Not a super interesting or unexpected episode. Taylor will not be missed. It'll be interesting to see what kind of fall out might come from tribal council in the next couple of episodes. Will Adam be targeted for both his reward advantage & shady/aggressive game play? It so it's completely justified - serves him right for confiding in Taylor!


The Teams:

Baggadocious "DK Double Stacker" - 75 points

1. Ken (15 pts)
2. David (28 pts)
3. [Figgy (7 pts)]
4. [Taylor (25 pts)]

MoonBee "Hannah & the Homeboys" - 60 points 

1. Chris (13 pts)
2. Adam (16 pts)
3. Will (18 pts)
4. Hannah (13 pts)

Michal & Ben "Sea Dogs" - 45 points

1. Zeke (16 pts)
2. Jay (21 pts)
3. [Michaela (14 pts)]
4. [Paul (-6 pts)]

Doug & Bri "The Real Housewives of Fiji (and Bret)" - 38 points

1. [Michelle (25 pts)]
2. Bret (10 pts)
3. Jessica (6 pts)
4. [Lucy (-3 pts)]

Dregs "Dreggy McBoatface" - 5 points

1. [CeCe (-2 pts)]
2. Sunday (7 pts)

Power Rankings:

1. Hannah & the Homeboys: MoonBee still has all 4 players and Chris and Will are both very capable of bringing in challenge points over the next few weeks. All of these players could get targeted at any point of course, but even if they lose someone next week they'll still have a 1 player advantage against the rest of us. With the diversity of alliances & positions among this group, they are well suited to win this season.
2. DK Double Stacker: David's name was mentioned by Sunday last week, but otherwise Ken & David are definitely flying under the radar. They seem to be the least threatening people this season, except for maybe Zeke. Will be interesting to see how DK does now that one of their stacks is gone.
3. Sea Dogs: Jay not playing his idol was huge for both him & us. We might still have a chance at this if somehow he & Zeke both go deep. But we need to see Hannah & the Homeboys implode & soon if we're really going to have a shot.
4. Housewives: Bret seemed to be keenly observant last episode... also a bit of a lush. It'd be nice to see him start playing the game more - he'd probably be a decent strategist. But he seems content to play second fiddle to Chris and/or anyone else, so I doubt he'll ever step up. 

Douche of the Week:
Taylor.

XvM: Episodes 7 & 8

Ugh, episode 7 felt too painful to blog about, having just watched our team cannibalize itself. Then last night happened. Guess it's all relative.

Michaela was a beast & we are really going to miss her. So much personality & so much heart. I'm not sure her social game/strategy would have survived much longer in the merge, though. It seemed like she would have had trouble adjusting to such a fluid game. With that being said, though, she was willing to align herself with her enemy Figgy in the first episode to take out Mari, so I might be selling her short.

Episode 8 was a showcase in Adam's stupidity. Why on earth would you try to ally yourself with Taylor after you've both spent the duration of the show gunning for each other? I just makes no sense! I was rooting for Adam until this episode, but his absurd strategy & desperate scrambling made me change my mind.

A couple of interesting notes: only 1 dude has been voted out so far this season. The Millenials are crushing the GenXers in overall points scored. And being in the minority going into any vote seems to be the safest place to be! Which leads me to believe that Jay, Will, and Taylor will all survive next week.

In other news, I dove into the blog archives (aka Bloglore) and filled out the "History" tab in the spreadsheet. Please check it out, help fill in the blanks, and add any fun trivia that you may recall!


The Teams:

MoonBee "Hannah & the Homeboys" - 60 points 

1. Chris (11 pts)
2. Adam (16 pts)
3. Will (19 pts)
4. Hannah (14 pts)

Baggadocious "DK Double Stacker" - 53 points

1. Ken (7 pts)
2. David (26 pts)
3. [Figgy (7 pts)]
4. Taylor (13 pts)

Michal & Ben "Sea Dogs" - 46 points

1. Zeke (17 pts)
2. Jay (21 pts)
3. [Michaela (14 pts)]
4. [Paul (-6 pts)]

Doug & Bri "The Real Housewives of Fiji (and Bret)" - 37 points

1. [Michelle (26 pts)]
2. Bret (8 pts)
3. Jessica (3 pts)
4. [Lucy (-3 pts)]

Dregs "Dreggy McBoatface" - 5 points

1. [CeCe (-2 pts)]
2. Sunday (7 pts)

Power Rankings:

1. Hannah & the Homeboys: Geez, this team is crushing it. All 4 players made the merge, which already makes them tough to beat. On top of that they're winning challenges, finding idols, clues, and generally bringing home the bacon. I don't think any of these players will win, but they are a combined strong supporting cast & are definitely a force to be reckoned with. #solidarity
2. DK Double Stacker: Ken is shockingly sucky when it comes to earning points in this pool. David is making up for it, though, and they are both poised for a deep run. Taylor's time is limited, but he's done a great job bringing in points as a dreg. If he holds on much longer he'll probably win Baggadocious the DOW points too. #baglor
3. Sea Dogs: I still think Zeke could win this whole thing, but that means nothing when your team cannibalizes itself! Jay is playing too obvious a game and it's bitten him in the ass. Hopefully he can rally. #cannibals
4. Housewives: Michelle is gone, leaving just Bret & Jessica. Jess performed very well in the first individual immunity challenge, which bodes well for the Housewives. But the "Funeral Director" is flabby & unlikely to win any challenges on his own. And neither can win this game. Doug & Bri are now in the hot seat for making the next tier of the trophy. #notlast

Douche of the Week:
Adam for episode 7 because of the way he repeatedly drove home the point to Taylor that he was the reason Figgy got voted out, that he was the one to blame, that he 100% betrayed Taylor & Figgy, etc. etc. etc. Maybe that's not really douchey, but it's hella dumb. Jay is my runner-up for voting out Michaela largely because he knew she was smarter than him.

Taylor for episode 8 because of the food thievery & blase attitude about it at tribal council.


Dreg Rule:
1) If you could pick up a dreg now & drop one of your current players to dreg status, would you?
2) If you could buy a dreg & add them to your stable without losing anyone, how much would you bid for them?
3) If you are a team who just lost a player, would you be willing to spend 5 points or 10 points to pick up one of these dregs?

1. No
2. 5-7 points -- but let's be honest. I don't blog consistently enough that an auction system is really a viable option. 
3. Interesting - now that the players are guaranteed 10 points, would it be worth paying 10 points in hopes of getting bonus points? Sunday hardly seems worth it, but I supposed I'd be grudgingly willing to pay 10 points for her post-merge. Maybe no dreg pick-ups after the merge?