Survivor DG: Eps 9 & 10

A couple of big episodes to get into here, and I'm probably not going to do it justice. But we can at least cover the major points:

Episode 9's Tribal Council: Terrible decision-making by the Davids to use the vote steal AND the idol nullifier. If  they had the advantage in votes and knew that Dan was going to play his idol, then just vote out a different Goliath! Dan misplays his idol and Alison or Mike goes home. Everyone wins... except, you know, Dan and Mike/Alison. I think that Carl just couldn't sit on that advantage any longer. It was burning a hole in his pocket and he just couldn't wait to show everyone what a badass strategizer he was.

The idol nullifier is an advantage that is so powerful you really need to hold on to that puppy until you're down to 5-6 players. I might even give you 7 players left. But playing it anytime outside of that range is a misplay no matter the outcome.

Gabby: As soon as Dan went home Gabby jumped at the chance to become the most intolerable castaway left on the island. I agree with Moon that when Angelina went on that sexism rant it was a misinterpretation of the situation. (I also think that Angelina self-perception is MILES apart from how the rest of the world sees her. It's fascinating to watch. I imagine it's hard to live with on a tiny island though.) Gabby is doing the exact same thing now too. She thinks that everyone's just being sexist & labeling her as an emotional blubbering player because she's a woman. Nope. They are labeling you as that because that's exactly what you are.

Alec: I'll miss you man!! If you don't come back for an All-Stars season I will make Bag tweet Probst to complain. And maybe I will too. This is a guy who so truly loves the game of Survivor that he almost passed out rather than risk going home. And the thought of going home when NOT being blindsided was one of the most upsetting things in his life. He's a complete Survivor package and will be at the top of any of my draft lists if/when he returns.

The Blog: Is starting to get hard to keep up with again. (I'm so predictable.) Any chance someone can guest-blog next week? Moon? Also, big kudos to all the comments from the last post. I couldn't agree more (with almost all of them). Patrick Stewart applauds Alec, but also you!

Food Rewards: I appreciate that these people are starving out there. But I think people need to be more cautious around these food rewards. Too much boozing, and far too much barfing in this episode! Maybe winning these challenges isn't actually a reward if you're just going to verbal & literal diarrhea all over the place afterwards....

Moon, if you ever goes on Survivor I'll be cheering for you to lose all these late-game reward challenges. Just looking out for you.

The Ladies: Were outnumbered two to one after Elizabeth was sent home post-merge. Things were looking grim for the #MeToo movement. But now we're all even again with a 4:4 ratio. Count me surprised, I thought it'd be an all-male cast going into the final 5. Does a woman have a decent chance to win the whole thing? Errrm, outlook not good....

Power Rankings:

8. Angelina: the albatross of the season. If she joins your alliance it's a sure thing that it'll all fall apart the next day.

7. Gabby: see above. And even if you believe she'll successfully back-stab Christian per the previews, even that wouldn't be enough for her to earn respect from her fellow castaways. (Also I don't see that happening.)

6. Davie: he's having some good moments & personal triumphs, but this guy is playing far too simple a game to have a chance to win. Would be a decent person to bring with you to final tribal though...

5. Kara: Kara's impressed me over the last few episodes. She's been playing a good social game, trying to see all her options. She's been in a bad position lately but hasn't been marked as a target once. I'm rooting for her!

4. Nick: Not a good sign that he wasn't included in the Carl vote-out decision. His closest allies used to be Christian & Mike, so what happened there? Still, I think he's adaptable & could rally a counter-strike. Plus he's got that idol that only he & Davie know about.

3. Alison: One of the most well-connected players left. I think her challenge prowess is hugely overrated, but her social game may be underrated. I love that "the timing just feels right" for this David/Goliath blurred line (yuck, please stop saying this Survivor) alliance now that Alison is the one in danger. When it was David after David on the chopping block there was no movement. But now... well, now is obviously the right time for Alison to prove her loyalty to Christian & Gabby! How on earth did Gabby & Christian buy that?

2. Mike: Still considering all his options & I'd argue the most strategic player left in the game now that Alec is gone. I think he's playing a little too emotional as demonstrated by voting out Annoying Carl over Alison the Threat. But this could be the result of more than that, including a) thinking through the pecking order either way and/or b) that "trust the threat you know" mentality that the Goliaths have been stuck in all season.

1. Christian: I don't think he's as strategically savvy as everyone thinks he is. But I do think he's playing a stellar social game & I loved his attitude during the 6-hour long endurance challenge. Willpower at this point in the season could be all it takes to win the whole game.


DOW:
Angelina. You sure are a piece of work.

Survivor DG: Episodes 7 & 8

It's a post-merge world in Survivor "and now the real game begins" (said at least 1 castaway on every season of Survivor ever). These were a pretty interesting couple episodes, with a few of my highlights recounted here:

• Elizabeth v. Angelina = what a n00b-fest. Elizabeth told Gabby that she'd save herself by blowing Angelina's secret at Tribal Council and Gabby totally backed that up. If Gabby knows anything about Survivor (and I'm not sure she does), sound advice here would have been to make these kinds of moves on the beach. Vote changes once you're at Tribal Council almost never happen. I'd assumed that Gabby encouraged this because it made her life easier - she supported a friend while also advancing her own plans with her Stealth Force 6 Alliance. But I think I was giving Gabby too much credit.
  
• Alec. Dude's just crushing it. Everyone both trusts & distrusts him at the same time (how is that possible?), he has the most alliances, the most options for game play, a lot of flexibility, etc. Also he's a challenge beast. His current point earnings don't fully reflect how valuable this pony is. That plus his fabulous Probst lip-syncing last episode makes me seriously regret not drafting him. He should be a shoo-in if they ever do an All Stars season again - are you listening Survivor producers??
  
• Gabby is a disaster. But Dan is the wooooorst.
  
• Mayhem! It's a lawless world out there now that the resident Mayor was deposed in a shocking bout of collateral damage. Did not see that coming.
  
• The Davids love each other. Seriously, I'm not sure they're playing optimal game strategy. I think they really bonded during the first week of the show (with the exception of Elizabeth) & are just plain looking out for each other. I'm not saying that Davie's save of Christian was the wrong move -- actually I think it was brilliant.
  
• Trending up. Kara looked like a beast in the reward challenge, and if she finally realizes that Dan is dragging her down I'd be pretty thrilled about her.
  
• Trending down. Not sure Mike fully thought through the implications of turning on Christian & what the consequences would be if he lost. I'm still not sure what those consequences will be myself, but it should be a fun next episode when we watch the fall out!

DOW:

Dan Douchechacho. I just can't stand you, bro. So glad you lost points for that idol mis-play.

Survivor DG: Episode 6

So there I was, feeling like a ge-ge-genius in my analysis of last episode & then it turns out it was all for a coat. Sigh. And back to the ranks of pedestrian Survivor blogger I go...

No time for a full-blown blog this week, especially considering I'm already 5 days late, so please check the spreadsheet for updated scores. You'll be shocked - shocked! - to see that the gap between Bag and MoonBee v. the rest of us has only grown wider. Also got the unnecessary confirmation from producers that Eric doesn't know what he's doing.

Player Rankings, not including those living on Ponderosa (fabulous exit interview though, Lyrsa):


13. Elizabeth - No one likes her and she doesn't do well with conflict. Not seeing a big future here.

12. Carl - This guy is doing nothing & won't likely earn many points from here on out. I like his hat though.

11. Gabby - I think everyone likes Gabby more than me. I enjoy her as a person but I think she's a sub-par Survivor player. The teenager in me is tickled by the Nerd Love storyline though.

10. Dan - Brochacho's going to be a huge target post-merge. He's got his hidden 2nd idol in his pocket, but I think his lips are going to loosen up once he's back with Kara. I'm predicting a botched idol play in Dan's future, though likely not as epic as James the Gravedigger's.

9. Kara - not sure what kind of alliances she has left with that all-female trio crashing & burning. Actually that's pretty much the story of all the women on this season...

8. Angelina - keeping up with the theme of our team, Angelina came in aggressive & arrogant this season. Not advisable, as the casualty toll is proving for this style of play. I think the merge is coming at a great time for her game, though.

7. Alison - I liked her more before she got airtime this week. Her "I'm such an amazingly awesome, better-than-anyone-else doctor because I really feel for the little guy" spiel really fell flat for me. (If you couldn't tell.) Still, at least she's considering all of her alliance options and is clearly thinking strategy without making that abundantly clear to everyone else.

6. Alec - playing a cannier game than I would have ever given him credit for at the draft. However, he's a huge challenge threat & I'm not sure how much people will trust him. Watch out for an early post-merge exit, but if he can survive the next couple episodes he could do very well.

5. Davie - still has potential, though we haven't seen much from him lately. I'm excited to see him in a post-merge world.

4. John - I guess it's time: Ab-raham Lincoln is playing a pretty flawless game. At least provided he can distance himself from the bro-fest that Dan is cultivating. That's going to be dangerous. 

3. Nick - Nick is the dark horse to win this whole thing. Lots of quiet alliances going on, willing to defer to allies when it's not going to cost him too much. Not drawing too much attention as a player, but is definitely scheming.

2. Christian - rumors of his demise (from the "next time on Survivor") are likely to be greatly exaggerated. Guys' got a good set of alliances, is going to have a great character arc story to share if he gets to final tribal, might even leave with a girlfriend.

1. Mike - see all previous posts for more details.


DOW:
Angelina.