Thursday, April 20, 2017

Game Changers: Episodes 6 & 7

Episode 6 was notable for obvious reasons. Varner solidified his WOAT status and also locked up a DOW vote that we don't need to take since it's so obvious. (Bag suggested cleverer wording than this, but I can no longer remember it.) Good riddance! Zeke handled the situation better than I could have imagined possible, and I like how the whole tribe seemed to unite behind him and just going through that tribal together.

What I don't like is that he suddenly became a target the next episode. He was named as the red herring vote because "his story couldn't be beaten at final tribal" which is so obnoxious. Even if they didn't mean it (which they always actually do when they name a red herring vote), it's still super shitty to use his unwilling outing against him just a couple days later.

It wasn't the most exciting merge ever, but it felt like a good set-up for intrigue later on. There's definitely a flow and dynamism to the group that will be hard to keep up with. Debbie & Sierra thinking they are calling the shots was easily the most laughable part of the episode. But good on them for getting rid of Ozzy!


The Teams:

Michal & Ben "Try Harder" - 96 points
  1. Tai (45 pts)
  2. [Caleb (-3 pts)]
  3. Sarah (17 pts)
  4. Troyzan (21 pts)
  5. Brad (16 pts)
MoonBee "Steel Magnolias" - 69 points
  1. Michaela (13 pts)
  2. Cirie (18 pts)
  3. Andrea (25 pts)
  4. [Ciera ( -5 pts)]
  5. Hali (18 pts)
Doug & Bri "Original Manbun" - 63 points
  1. [Malcolm (5 pts)]
  2. Zeke (19 pts)
  3. Aubry (13 pts)
  4. [Jeff (9 pts)]
  5. Sierra (17 pts)
Baggadocious "Legends of the Fall" - 57 points
  1. [JT (11 pts)]
  2. [Tony (-4]
  3. [Ozzy (31 pts)]
  4. [Sandra (6 pts)]
  5. Debbie (13 pts)

Power Rankings:

1. Try Harder: Tai continues to rake in the points, and the rest of our players are in a strong position. I like that Sarah seems to be keeping her options open. Brad's leadership was pooh-poohed a little this last episode, but Sierra really seemed to draw all the attention, so even he should still be safe for a little longer. He might lose his leadership position, but I don't think that'll be a bad thing.

3. Steel Magnolias: The Magnolias are one big alliance, and while it doesn't look great for them now, a lot can change in a few days. This could end up being a powerful alliance, so long as Andrea doesn't lose her cool over Zeke's betrayal. I like that Michaela has found a new mother bird to cling to. First Sandra, now Cirie. She certainly has good taste. Let's see if it's enough to keep her around for a while longer. She seems to be doing a good job of heeding.

2. Original Manbun: Aubry continues to disappoint and Zeke made a pretty massive mistake this last episode. Sierra's strong but she's outmatched by the beasts this season. Hopefully she'll get a little more humble soon or she could be in trouble. I'm not sure how Zeke will regroup from that blunder, though. I think he could be the next to go.

4. Legends of the Fall: As predicted, Baggadocious' last remaining player is Debbie. Bagdrea made a risky draft that absolutely didn't pay off. Now they're stuck with a woman who thinks that pretending to be drunk and foolish is a strong strategic move.


Douche of the Week:
Ozzy for threatening to not fish if he didn't win the pole-clinging challenge. Honestly him saying that may have lit a fire under Tai's ass and gave him the victory, so I should be thankful. All the same, what a douche.

8 comments:

Bag said...

Marshalls® for DoW.

Unknown said...

Personally I think Zeke was DOW. Also, I expected him to be seen as a threat because of his "great story." Someone who got that much sympathy from everyone is a threat in the long game. He would've done well to lay low for a while because he was not only gaining sympathy but respect for how well he handled the whole "outing."

More props for Cirie who I never saw as a strong player until this week. I hope her advice helps Michaela well beyond this game.

Doug said...

All DoW considerations are good for the reasons stated (except Zack didn't provide any reasons). I also considered Sierra for her "There is a new sheriff in town" comment, followed by the double shooter. SMH. That fits the douchey definition.

My ultimate DoW vote for this week goes to Andrea for her particularly maliced tribal commentary while casting her vote for Zeke. I don't remember it exactly, but it was something like "“Terrible game. You suck at this game. I hope I see you never”.

Zeke was pushing the pace in a direction he thought might work best in his favor. I hate it when these players take such offense to someone actually playing the game. The person you are voting for should get at least some respect from you because, if they really did suck, you would want them to stay in the game, as it should be easy for you to control them or, at least, for them not to affect your game because of their lack of skill. Andrea voting Zeke out really meant that he was screwing up her plan and thus she had to try to get him out. The nonsensical commentary is what makes Andrea my DoW.

As for Varner exiting team manbun: Good riddance. I hope I see you never.

GnightMoon said...

It seems like Zeke is making the same mistake he did in his first go-round: overexposing himself as a power player too early in the game.

Tai is in great shape right now.

Sierra DoW.

Boring double-episode overall. Perhaps that's why they made it a double.

TheGraveWolf said...

On a scale of Goat to Woat

Bagdrea's draft: whoa(t) man

Michaela as WOAT #1 pick: whoa, no. It was Aras. New head coach needed? Move to LA not helping this franchise.

Tai as a competitor: Goaty AF. Takes down the legend in his own challenge.

Varner: WOAT

Dow: Andrea. Sierra close 2ND. Auburn 3rd.


GnightMoon said...

All things should be graded on a scale of GOAT to WOAT.

Michal Greenberg said...

Margot - disagreed about Cirie. She's been laying low because she had to, and her track record proves that she's a major strategist. Also, she was the only person who hadn't attended a tribal council before the merge, so there wasn't really an opportunity for us to see her game-play until now.

Unknown said...

I'm not disagreeing with you, because I don't remember how people played in past seasons, as I've mentioned before. I was just saying I was impressed with her. She's like the reincarnation of Sandra for me! I like the strong, more mature women! Represent!