Survivor Extinction: Ep 4, 5, and 6

"I go to rocks for my people." - David

With a 2 hr extravaganza & a belated blog there's much to cover! But I'm probably not going to because all I want to talk about is the utter dysfunction that is the Edge of Extinction. I'm fascinated by the bitterness and vile [cit. Battlestar Galactica] combined with the mental... fragility, shall we say? There's a reason that losing chefs castaways have not been invited back before. Previous seasons are the better for not including this twist. All the same, I'm excited to see it in action.

Next week we get to see what happens with these Losers, right? Do you think they'll weed out all the current Losers (I'm seriously just going to call them that from now you. And you can't say I'm wrong....) and then start with a fresh batch & then bring 1 person back one last time maybe when they're down to 4-5 players? How will know the Edge of Extinction exists change the way the merged players will compete?

The Teams:

Baggins "Using My Rage Over Last Season to Draft Like a Pro" - 58 pts

• Joe (16 pts)
• Eric (7 pts)
• Lauren (4 pts)
• Ron (14 pts)
• Julie (15 pts)
• Aubry (2 pts)

Eric "Eric" - 57 pts

• Eric (7 pts)
• David (4 pts)
• Gavin (7 pts)
• Wentworth (9 pts)
• Julie (15 pts)
• Aurora (15 pts)

Michal & Ben "The Hammer" - 53 pts

• Joe (16 pts)
• Lauren (4 pts)
• Wentworth (9 pts)
• Victoria (6 pts)
• Julia (14 pts)
• Wardog (4 pts)

Doug & Bri "Well, That Sucked" - 49 pts

• Rick (2 pts)
• Chris (2 pts)
• Chris (2 pts)
• Ron (14 pts)
• Aurora (15 pts)
• Julia (14 pts)

MoonBee "Nerdy White Dudes" - 25 pts

• Rick (2 pts)
• David (4 pts)
• Gavin (7 pts)
• Victoria (6 pts)
• Wardog (4 pts)
• Aubry (2 pts)

Power Rankings:

1. Eric - David might be literally shaky standing on Wardog's shoulders but I think he's a beast heading into the merge. His quote above gave me shivers. Perfection, man. Lesu members might look like they're in trouble but I have a feeling these veterans have a couple tricks up their sleeves. Gavin & Eric are great competitors too. 

2. Baggins - Losing Aubry early with an idol in her pocket is a big blow to this otherwise beastly team. But could she make it back onto the show? If so will she be able to bring back her idol & extra vote too? A burnt Aubry full of secret advantages could be a dangerous & exciting twist to the game if she can get back into the thick of things.

3. Michal & Ben - Victoria impressed me a lot this episode. She might not have come off like a very nice person, but being able to play Aubry like her own personal fiddle was a huge coup and I think is a testament to her potential to run this game. We've got a lot of Lesu players & veterans, but they've been able to overcome some pretty tough odds up to now, so I think this team still has a good shot. 

4. MoonBee - MoonBee is probably down 2 players & despite having  a team I really like, I think they won't be able to overcome their current point deficit. Too much overlap with Hammer/Eric teams to likely be able to cobble together a winning combo of castaways. 

5. Doug & Bri - If Chris gets back in the game then this team could have a chance. But it looks like Keith will do everything he takes to prevent that from happening, so..... tough luck this season guys.

DoW:

Are Edge of Extinction players eligible? Because it's Reem all the way for me. 

Survivor Extinction: Draft & E3

Survivor Pool Season 38 aka The Edge of Extinction is already being touted as potentially the most well-drafted and competitive season of the pool yet. I'm excited to see how things pan out! Here's some early press/quotes:

"I have no shit to talk." - Moon

"Having fewer blondes this season helped me remember who was who during the draft, and focus on what's really important; drafting players with my name." - Eric

"Seriously? Survivor is still making new seasons?" - Random Co-Worker

"Jeff Probst & I use the same anti-aging hyperbaric chamber company. I highly recommend them to anyone attempting to stop the aging process." - Mike Krzyzskewski

"Wendy is my kind of crazy." - Mark the Chicken

The Teams:

MegaDregs "The Undraftable" - 4 pts

• Keith (0 pts)
• Keith (0 pts)
• Reem (0 pts)
• Reem (0 pts)
• Wendy (2 pts)
• Wendy (2 pts)

Michal & Ben "The Hammer" - 13 pts

• Joe (3 pts)
• Lauren (2 pts)
• Wentworth (2 pts)
• Victoria (2 pts)
• Julia (2 pts)
• Wardog (2 pts)

Doug & Bri "Well, That Sucked" - 13 pts

• Rick (2 pts)
• Chris (2 pts)
• Chris (2 pts)
• Ron (2 pts)
• Aurora (3 pts)
• Julia (2 pts)

Eric "Eric" - 16 pts

• Eric (3 pts)
• David (2 pts)
• Gavin (3 pts)
• Wentworth (2 pts)
• Julie (3 pts)
• Aurora (3 pts)

MoonBee "Nerdy White Dudes" - 18 pts

• Rick (2 pts)
• David (2 pts)
• Gavin (3 pts)
• Victoria (2 pts)
• Wardog (2 pts)
• Aubry (7 pts)

Baggins "Using My Rage Over Last Season to Draft Like a Pro" - 20 pts

• Joe (3 pts)
• Eric (3 pts)
• Lauren (2 pts)
• Ron (2 pts)
• Julie (3 pts)
• Aubry (7 pts)

The Draft:

There's not a lot to criticize, really. The draft was quick, professional, and kind of badass.

• I think Doug & Bri were the only team to double-draft a player, Chris. Survivor Gods insta-punished this decision by ousting Chris & effectively eliminating this team from contention. (Unless this Edge of Extinction twist gets people back in play much faster than I'm anticipating...)
• I'm a little surprised no one drafted Wendy just to go against the chalk (am I using that phrase correctly?). Before last night's episode I was regretting the decision not to do so myself. Then I saw the "next time on Survivor" and slept like a baby.

Power Rankings:

1. MoonBee - I think the nerdy white dudes are in the driver's seat this season. MoonBee stacked the Rick/David duo while I stacked their competition with Wentworth/Lauren. Should be an interesting & exciting show-down!

2. Baggins - I'm also a fan of Bag's draft. Ron & Julie could both go really far - those were savvy late-round pick ups. Aubry coming in strong with an idol find in her dreg position doesn't hurt either.

3. Michal & Ben - We themed toward drafting returning players, which might seem risky but they do tend to last longer than what the early threats against them would indicate. Not sure if it'll pay off, but I like the combo of returnees/muscle & (hopefully) crafty new chicks.

4. Eric - Eric doesn't know who Aurora is, and I don't know who Eric is. I might have been confusing him with Chris? I'm looking at his pic right now & can't remember him, which isn't a great sign. I also think Gavin went a smidge high in the draft (but seriously not by much), which is another reason I'm ranking this team a little lower. Overall still a really strong team.

5. Doug & Bri - Doug & Bri were probably watching last night & feeling pretty great. Chris played the role of Hero in the reward challenge, he's building connections with everyone. The only names being tossed around are Wentworth  & Wendy. And then that dope decides he has to play a game honestly where the entire strategy  is based on deception. They still have a sliver of hope, though - there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of overlap with their remaining team & anyone else's, so you might still have a magic combination of players.


Douche of the Week:

Wendy. I can't even