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.
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.
9 comments:
I think Carl is a strong contender for DOW, personally. But since he's now gone, I'll live with Angelina taking that award.
I, too, wonder what's happening with Nick (and Davie). They at least have each other's back, with the shared idol knowledge/awareness that you really should go looking for these things. But Mark/Dad pointed out that Nick has had little air time, so maybe he's not in contention for much. But where were they in that last episode, esp during the strategizing? Have they just been letting Carl and Christian do all the thinking...or are they hanging back until the field is narrowed a bit more? Nick seems savvy enough to me to be a contender.
Did Angelina really think that she started "low" in her bargain? What did they have left to barter? She's lucky Probst came up with a totally different idea, as were we the viewers who did not have to suffer through her brilliant negotiating that she learned at Yale. (Her profs are probably bright red with embarrassment today.)
Every time I watched someone drink a beer or margarita I thought, "Fool. How much drinking do you think you can do on a perpetually empty stomach and 4 week fast from alcohol?" Biggest fool: Carl.
Why is Alison considered Wonder Woman and a physical threat? She bothers me, and not just cuz she's a UNC grad. I totally agree with your assessment of her and your bemusement that Christian and Gabby would trust/like/fall for her blather.
I like Alec, but they made the right move to vote him off. Now there's no real physical challenger left. (And that jury is stocked with dumb jocks [excluding Alec]. I love how they show them saying to each other, "Huh? He just lost me.") How typical is it that ALL the big, strong guys have been voted out at this point in the season?
Yikes! This looks as long as your original post. Sorry..and thanks for letting me ramble and rant.
I know this is going to make her cry... Gabby is DOW.
Angelina DOW. Just for fun Jeff should have tried to talk her down a lot farther in the negotiation after she announced it was her starting point. Or he could have insisted she cut her hair very short.
This is a good season. Everyone is playing hard and the strategy seems to constantly be adjusting. That's the way it should be. Very entertaining!
Since this was a double episode blog I'll give one DoW vote to Carl and one to Angelina. They were both douchey over the last 2 episodes, so each is deserving of a tally there. I can't imagine Angelina not taking this deserving title this season, but per episode, Carl definitely earned his DoW stripes in his Godfather role.
I have a scoring question from the epic advantage plays in episode 9. Davie correctly played his immunity idol for Christian. Despite this taking points away from me, I thought Davie should get the points for that. Davie was the player of the idol. In the spirit of this pool rule, I believe we thought of it as Davie should get the points as he assumes that saving another player with his idol gives him a significant advantage later in the game, thus we awarded points to that idol player. We might not agree with the idol play strategy, but it did negate a majority of the votes that would have sent Christian home and Davie was the ultimate player of this advantage. I think this interpretation of the rule has precedent from past seasons too. But open to other opinions here as maybe I'm remembering this wrong.
Speaking of advantages, how many Survivor Producers were giving each other high-fives when Carl correctly played the idol nullifier against an idol at a tribal council. Almost every new advantage the Survivor Producers introduce in a season gets misplayed the first time. I honestly can't believe that this one worked out. I also agree that the Davids went overboard with their advantage plays during episode 9's tribal.
I'm super happy we are done with Tribal lines. And Jeff needs to spot saying how blurry things are or are not.
Several players on this season could come back for an all-stars season at this point. Christian, Alec, Mike, even Angelina in a "good" vs "evil" season. I'd love to see her get bowled over by Russel H. on his way to another 2nd place finish.
I will be very delayed in watching the Dec. 12th episode (Mexico) so I'll volunteer to blog for next week's episode. Just give me the deets!
C'mon late run for Alison! I'm not sure why the rest of the castaways are calling you Wonder Woman at this point, but living up to that name could really help me out about now.
* stop saying how blurry things are or are not.
Agreed, the blurry lines comments are aggravating at this point.
As others have been saying it looks like a runaway victory for Christian. So much of the footage involves him consoling/supporting his fellow players. I'm rooting for him especially after his take down of overconfident Alec in the immunity challenge.
This is a superb season.
Christian is Littlefinger and Mike is Lord Varys. They work in the shadows and no one except them seems to understand they are the most powerful people in the universe. At times they work together and at times they're adversaries. They are headed for an epic confrontation (actually they already had one) that will decide the fate of the Game of Thrones.
I didn't think Gabby could do it, but the trailer showed she's at least capable of considering a Christian backstab. They must oust him, and oust him soon, to have any chance. He is wildly popular and would obliterate any opponents at Final Tribal. Truly amongst the GOATs. A stone-cold lock for the next All-Stars...which it feels like we're about due for.
Epic immunity challenge, won of course by Christian because he's just that good. Alec will have to live forever with the knowledge he couldn't outlast him when it mattered most.
Carl DoW.
I believe Davie should get points for that "correct" idol play. As should Dan. We will have to create points for future Idol Nullifiers. Agree with others that while the play was "correct" it was a misplay. As usual, Christian was left laughing all the way to the bank as he was able to maintain his idol. It really would be shocking if Gabby & co. were able to upend him. I suspect they may try, but as he is tight with seemingly every remaining castaway, someone will leak the info and he will play his idol or turn the tables.
Agreed Dan’s idol play deserves the points. We will have to make idol nullifier rules for next season. Davie hasn’t yet and I think the points incorrectly went to Christian as the receiver of the benefit of the idol.
Anyone want a side bet of who gets voted out first - Mike or Christian. Push if they both make final tribal? I’d take Mike going out first, despite the Gabby backstabbing preview.
I'd take Christian over Mike.
I'd love to blog next. I promise I'll keep the gloves on.
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