Winners At War: The Draft & Episode 3

Michal has ceded control of the blog to me. She's caught in a maelstrom of coronavirus concerns, toddlers and grad school. So it's understandable. It feels wrong to see someone else running the pool for the most anticipated season in Survivor history, but I'm taking the responsibility seriously. I watched the preview trailer five times in a row when it debuted on last season's reunion special. I'm beyond fired up for the season. I'll do my best.

Speaking of last season, Michal and the blog, we never got a final post on that one. I note this because 1) Phil has mentioned like four teams that his team surged in the finale and he wanted to see where they wound up (add it up yourself if you're so desperate to know) 2) the Greenbergs made fun of me for never posting a Bachelor finale blog one forgettable season and 3) Bag actually won the pool and that should be celebrated with the same surprise and amazement we reserve for sightings of Halley's Comet.

Here's how this is going to work: I'm generally going to lead the blog off with a graphic of the Standings. Then I'm going to power rank the teams, wherein I'll talk about some of what went down in the last episode. I'm gonna do my best to score the players each episode, but I'm probably going to make mistakes. Some points I'll just miss and some I won't understand properly. Fortunately responsible Doug is double-checking and interpreting these points. He even did so unprompted last night. Cheers Doug! I also recommend tracking the points yourself if you want to make sure your players are receiving all the points they should.

A few notes on points:

• I gave Ethan -3 for his "finish" yesterday. My understanding is that players are supposed to get -1 pts for each spot short of the jury they fall. Since we don't yet know how many players will make the jury, this -3 is a placeholder. When we actually know, I'll go back and give players their true negative score.
• This is further complicated by the Edge of Extinction. I propose we consider Edge players to be "voted out." So while a player like Ethan is technically still alive, he's going to get a -3 for getting voted out.
• Ethan got an additional -1 for getting voted out before a dreg. We have one true Dreg this season: Kim (an excellent, balanced player who should have been drafted twice, let alone once). Kim is going to haunt us all. Any player voted out before her is going to get saddled with a negative.
• Players who sit out challenges do receive points if their team wins the challenge (fortunately for Eric, who has Sandra Squared).
• If this challenge is a dual reward/immunity challenge (which I expect most pre-merge challenges to be), it counts as both and therefore 5 points for the victors.
• All token activity garners a point. If a player buys something that costs X tokens, that player gets X points. If a player sells something for X tokens, that player gets X points - not to mention the tokens which they can later spend. Natalie (hilariously below Danni on Eric's list) got a point for this last night.

Holler in the comments if you have an issue with any of these rules and rulings.

Standings

Power Rankings

  
If you'd like to name your team, do so in the comments. Until then, I get to name the teams.


1. Yul Live and Yul Learn (Greenbergs)

Parvati drew an early target, but escaped thanks to Adam's loose lips. The longer the game goes on the better for crafty vets like Parv, who sticks out like a sore thumb on the Greenberg team. The rest of these castaways are tough, even-keeled grinders currently on the other tribe. Until further notice, that's the preferable tribe.

Yul is the only other old-schooler on the team (though he's more of an ancient-schooler). He's picked up right where he left off in dominating Cook Islands. Meanwhile, Sarah and Tony have forged a cautious-but-solid cop alliance. They're ultra-wary of each other but recognize the advantage of a little common ground in an earthshaking season.


2. Vytas 2.0 (MoonBee)

Though we weren't confident about it, Melissa & I decided the appropriate strategy for WaW was to avoid the Big Guns. We elected to steer clear of ultra-powerful players with dominant reputations. Every WaW is actually a powerhouse, but some are more known for it. The thinking: there will be no sheep, goats or other farm animals this season. Thus it will be harder for dominant players to assemble and maintain alliances. Further, the superpower players will likely be aggressively targeted by their savvy competitors, each a former winner versed in championship protocol.

This ruled out the likes of Rob, Parvati and Tony. It also gave a demerit to Tyson, whose dominating run spearheaded one of our championships. The key decision was whether to double down on Adam or get Tyson coming back in round 4. I decided to square Adam over Melissa's objection. Adam instantly nearly went down in infamy as Vytas 2.0, stupidly spilling the beans on a blindside to the blindsidee's top allies. Adam talked about how selective honesty endeared him to key voters during his season, but that was the kiddie game. That shit ain't gonna fly in WaW. Adam and the MoonBee are very lucky he escaped episode three, but he's now in hot water with his entire tribe. Nobody trusts him and there's nobody he can rely on. That's not the kind of player you want to have two of.


3. Yul Regret That (Bri & Doug)

I got a glimpse of Doug's famous spreadsheet at Post the other night. The man doesn't mess around. It has it all. It led to what I thought was a sterling draft. But Bri & Doug have to be regretting the Ethan pick. He displayed little during the first two episodes other than an appreciation for life and a brown nose for Rob. And now he's going to wilt away on the Edge.

Why did Jeremy, Michele and company knock him out? They explained how imperative it was to break up the old-school Rob/Parvati/Ethan alliance. Fine. Why slaughter a foot soldier when you could assassinate the king? Was it necessary to abandon the Parv Plan just cause Adam spilled it? We know Adam wanted to weaken Rob without angering him, but it wasn't Adam who called the shot. (It appeared they didn't even tell Adam and he cast the one vote for Parv). It was almost as if they feared repercussions from the Godfather, even from the isolation of the Edge.


4. The Edge of Extinction: Turning 40 (Phil)

I think Phil drafted a terrific team. We had Wendell, Jeremy and Sarah in the top tier and Michele may be the most underrated player to ever play the game. She fits the precise profile of who I expect to win this battle of beasts: a below-the-radar player with sneaky athleticism, strategy and social skills. Watch for her to make a deep run and dunk on the other five of us for not taking her.

Phil's problem is the same as Bri & Doug's: he already finds himself 15 points behind the Greenbergs and down a player.


5. The Godfather Part III (Bag)

Bag went with classic old-school legends: Boston Rob, Parvati, Tyson and Tony. Strong players all, but not the motif I expect to control this game. Bag annoyingly veered from this strategy to snag Sophie, preventing us from doubling her. It's a team that could conceivably catch fire if a post-merge old-school alliance seizes power, but it seems more likely they'll be persecuted and Bag will finish last.


6. Big Eric: Big Fish (Eric)

Eric has established that he's really bad at this. He doesn't seem to be improving, as this could be his worst draft yet. Eric doesn't deserve full blame for this debacle, as he didn't intend to draft Sandra twice. This request was lost in the transfer of Eric's proxy draft due to The Post's scanty WiFi. Apologies to Eric, but these are the vagaries of proxying your picks.

Double Sandra deepens Eric's dependence on the Old School. Two problems with this stratagem: the inclination I mentioned earlier that the Old School will struggle this season, and the possible feud between Rob and Sandra. If both manage to last to a merge or realignment, perhaps they'll realize they need each other to hang in the game. Until then both should be viewed as unsafe players with low challenge upside. 

Survivor Episodes... oh, a lot

There's a few episodes to cover, but I'm actually going to start by going back to Ye Olde Mhost Upsetting Episode. There was a lot of anger directed at Missy and Elizabeth. I spent a lot of time thinking about why they might not have seen the line the crossed, when it seems so obvious to us. I am not them and I'll never really know why they made the decisions they did.

I have a theory all the same.

I think it's because they are super competitive/professional athletes. (I'm not sure if Missy is a full-fledged a professional, but she's clearly on a high level.) And I think female athletes might just live in a world where there is unwanted/unasked for touching, particularly by older males. If that's what your reality has been for most of your life, I have the sense that maybe that line just isn't so clear. So I'm not going to rage about them. Their behavior was disappointing, but I'm thinking this is more symptomatic of American sports culture than it's about these two women being horrible people.

Moving on. Karishma was my MVP of the next episode. She spent an hour finding an idol and raised no eyebrows because she simply pretended to be sick. She has had no allies, rewards aka food, or immunity wins all season long. And yet she's still fighting and looking for a way in. I don't imagine that I would be Karishma's friend. But I respect the scrappiness. Or, to put a silly poker analogy out there: she's been the short stack the entire season, and she's been forced to play that kind of strategy. It's not pretty & it's not fun. But she's really good at it and is "leveling up" nicely.

I loved the double tribal where they split up and voted out Aaron and Missy consecutively. It was the correct play made all the sweeter by the fact that neither of them saw it coming.

And moving on again...

Elizabeth unremarkably went home in the episode after that - you know, the one where Dean glommed on to the phrase "goat army" and seemed to think he'd made some kind of groundbreaking revelation. I could make a goat/woat joke here, but that's sooo 2018, so instead:

Dean, in case this wasn't clear: me and baby goat are on the same page.

Highlight of this episode was Lauren's epic rise and fall in my estimation of her. She did really well with her IoI challenge and ability to read people. Then she insta-blew the advantage she'd earned by frantically playing her idol at the slightest whiff of danger. She might be cleverer than most people left in this game, but she's no match for type of game-play we should see in Season 40! (Note: I could not get my "i'm so freaking excited" meme to paste correctly. But believe me I am.)

Side note: is there any doubt that this season has had by FAR the most idol misplays (or lack of plays) in any Survivor season ever? It hurts to watch. Not literally though. And it certainly makes me question the quality of the castaways this season (well, that and the whole Karishma obsession... see below).

And now we're back to real time and this latest episode full of mishaps and buffoonery. A couple of highlights:

• Dean just about joined the Goat Army. Maybe that's why he bailed on the plan at the last minute. Not because he couldn't trust Noura to follow through on the plan. But because he mentally and emotionally couldn't imagine himself to be a goat. But you are, Dean. You really are.
• Noura's inability to do math properly on this one was unsurprising to me. She can't slow down enough. It's probably partly due to the sleep deprivation, starvation, and paranoia that comes with the game... but it's likely largely due to this being the way she is all the time.
• It's just sad that Karishma got voted out. I mean, why? Watching this "core 4" strategize is like watching my 3 year old playing that card game memory. When she doesn't get a match she obsesses over it. Picks the same 1st card every time and won't move on until she gets that match. It's a terrible strategy and it drives me nuts - both for memory and Survivor. And these are adults, not toddlers whose brains are still developing basic functions. There is no chance that Karishma wins (though I had a theory she could win in a final tribal that was Dean + Karishma + Noura... but even that was probably wishful thinking). So why on earth are you so obsessed with voting her out?
• What makes it worse is that literally no one is talking to her during the tribal council frenzy. The utter lack of respect that they show her is upsetting and insulting. Noura's rant after the reward challenge included a line like "they think I'm as useless as Karishma?!?!" (or something to that effect) in front of Karishma. And she just had to sit there and take it. That really sums up the kind of treatment she's been receiving for 30+ days. No wonder she was a blubbering mess when she saw her husband - his was the first kind face she'd seen in a month.
• Kellee says "these are the dumbest plays" to Jack as they wrap up tribal council and I couldn't agree more. Kellee, should you ever return to this game you will be my #1 draft pick. I heart you. 

Power Rankings:

I think Bag's got this one. 

Survivor Episode 8+9, and NOT 10

It took me a while to watch this mega episode. Maybe it's because my obsession with the new series Watchmen has transcended TV and now I'm devouring the graphic novel as well. But mostly it's because I had an inkling of what was in store and didn't want to have a shitty night.

In what has felt to me like an overwhelmingly supportive and positive season, there were absolutely no feel-good moments this time around. This could have been a momentous episode for far more lighthearted reasons. End Boss Kellee v. End Boss Missy is a fight that I wanted to see. What we got instead was Survivor gameplay at its worst.

I'm skipping any attempt at a recap because I really have just summary points to make:

Who were the winners here? 
No one.

Who were the losers?
Let's hit the highlights: all women, particularly the women on this season of Survivor. Which in itself is also particularly unfair. Somehow a man making a woman/women feel unsafe/uncomfortable has resulted in all the women coming out looking like bad guys. How is that possible?

Let's get into the really nasty stuff first, though, and then maybe we can end on a high note (though no promises):

- Dan.  In Tribal #2 his a refrain of "Why won't you let this go?" reeks. Kellee has been thinking the same thing for 20+ days. She TOLD YOU to back off. You did not. His response in imitating someone being uncomfortable as he accidentally brushed by someone around a crowded fire belittled Kellee's experience in their interactions. And he partially defended himself by claiming to come from the industry that produced the MeToo movement, while blatantly ignoring the fact that the same industry also produced Harvey Weinstein. I get that I am watching a TV show and that I clearly don't have all the facts. But I also find it hard to accept his response to what happened as being remotely close to acceptable. Whether he's a real sketchball or not, I'm not sure. But  that's the point. As Moon noted: "I don't believe his touchiness is sexual or nefarious. But it obviously disturbs his tribemates. They told him to stop and he hasn't." That's the point.

- Aaron. Aaron is such a fucking douchebag that I'm removing him from my team. Seriously. Touchy Dan too for that matter. Aaron: you are an ass hat. "I have a mom and sisters so I'm clearly sensitive to this issue" is a bullshit stance. Fun fact: we all have mothers, it comes as a package deal with human existence. Doesn't mean women have been treated fairly or respectively through human history. Jamal actually defends Aaron in his exit interview, which I think attests to Jamal's character. But if Aaron really didn't have enough real info to recognize what was going on then maybe he should pay more attention, listen more closely, and start considering that maybe he's not the king of the universe.

Okay, and here are some highlights:

- Kellee. Kellee played a fantastic game up until she trusted Lauren in the 11th hour of tribal council. She spoke her truths and anticipated what would happen if she made a big deal out of what was happening. And she was right. Hopefully Survivor history will recognize her as a kick ass player and not because of what happened. Because if you remove all the harrassment/uncomfortableness/gender biases that went down here, what we're really looking at is a showdown between Kellee and Missy. And Kellee wasn't going to have the numbers, or at best it would have been really close. So she should have played an idol.

- Janet. This is the sort of leadership that we need more of in this day and age. She's playing a game where people are expected to lie, manipulate, and back-stab each other. And she still knew exactly when a line was crossed, and stood behind that even though it was going to cost her. When she said "This has become a moral issue" then maybe she shouldn't have tried to address that issue via the avenues of the game. Maybe she should have had a more serious conversation with the producers at that point. But that's not a detail to get too hung up on. Janet did was she believed was right, and then got villified for it afterwards.

- Jamal. Say what you will about Jamal, the man has character. He may be bossy at times, but he is also compassionate, eloquent, intelligent, and sensitive. I really think what Jamal said during Tribal #2 is about as good as it gets when it comes to difficult issues like this. (Side note, though: he really needs to work on his meta game. The way he used that IoI advantage was a D+ effort.)

- Survivor. After finishing this episode I was left with intense feelings of anxiety, sadness, and anger. And for that, Survivor, I thank you. Survivor producers forced us all to experience and process an emotionally challenging situation that is all-too-common in today's society. I think they easily could have reframed this in a way that diminished what happened to Kellee and how Missy and Elizabeth behaved. I did not have fun watching this episode. But it certainly gave me a LOT to think about, and I'd like to think that most viewers of the show will be able to at minimum recognize how complicated these kinds of situations can be. Survivor definitely made mistakes on this one, but I appreciate that they didn't shy away from showing these events anyway.

Survivor 39: Episodes 6 & 7

Despite my bold claims in my last post, Dean is somehow still in this competition. Guess I'm maybe not as good at this game as I thought... and our team's score backs that up!

Episode 6 was super interesting. I love the dynamic of the Vokai 4 starting out thusly: "We're totally going to rocks, we have no doubts at all. We're so strong. And by the way we think we're smarter than you, cooler than you, and our farts smell like roses." And then Elaine pulls out her secret advantage, and they be like:



Okay, my attempt to find Lauren actually crying on the show was a bust. But this gif from what I can only assume is from Breaking Bad is a close 2nd. Plus, the upside is that I found this gem of an article: https://ew.com/recap/survivor-season-39-episode-6/.

Except that I disagree with everything this writer says about Aaron. First, and obviously most importantly, Kevin Bacon only won in his Footloose game of chicken because of a shoelace entanglement. Not because he was brave and bold.

Second, I think Aaron should had stuck with original Vokai and screwed over his original alliance. Maybe I'm on a self-destructive kick here, but that just made more sense to me. He seemed to get along with them really well, he could assimilate during the chaos of the impending merge, and come out the other side on the majority alliance and feeling pretty comfortable.

Instead, he's back-stabbed potential alliance by bold-faced lying to them and anchored himself to a minority alliance who just got the "beyond the grave" message from Jason of "don't trust Aaron."

But I do applaud this article's deep dive into the durag incident, the history of Survivor, and any mention of Probst being a great host. Because let's all admit it, the man is a great host. One of the best in my opinion, along with this guy:

But back to social awareness: Jamal and Jack had a really important and meaningful conversation where they both came out looking like stand-up guys. When does that ever happen in reality TV? I may throw a lot of shade Survivor's way, especially ever since they introduce that horrifyingly bad fire challenge when down to 4. But this show really does have its moments.

Okay, I could go on, but quite frankly the article linked above will do it better. Plus I have a whole other episode to get to... and it's a good one too!

Keeping in theme with this post (but not, I promise, for the whole season) here's another Not-My-Recap that's totally worth reading: https://ew.com/recap/survivor-season-39-episode-7/.  There's a deep dive into the "claims of women's alliances are sexist" theme of the tribal council that's super interesting. The author also really loves Kellee, and so do I. So we're clearly meant to be besties. Except that this guy's blog is so popular that Survivor pays for him to go on site and gets to test-run the challenges, so maybe this is more of a #frenemies situation. How has this blog not become internationally renowned, I ask you!?!

In any case, the talk of the town has to be Kellee's saving Dean and ousting Jack. To what end, Kellee? To what end? I'm all about the resume builder, but can she really trust Dean? And is it really a good idea to subvert your own majority alliance right before diving into a post-merge world? Am I opposed to this move just because I'm salty that Dean is still in the game? And if I keep asking questions and not blogging about the pool will you still read on?

Probably not, so let's get to it:

Power Rankings

1. Baggins - Tommy and Missy have been impressive all season, but even more importantly, Elizabeth is looking much savvier than her inaugural visit to the Island of the Idols. This team is poised to win individual challenges as well as drive many of the upcoming votes.

2. MoonBee - Another really good team, with Janet who continues to prove herself wise, crafty, and brazen.

3. Eric - Eric has Kellee and she's not on my team, which means there's hope! There's a nice mix of strategy and physicality on this team that I like. Plus Elaine is a dark horse that can't be ignored. I think this team has a shot, despite the Two Toms setback.

4. Phil - Has 5 players that made it to the merge which is huge... but 2 of them are Dean and I just can't help but feel like things aren't gonna end well because of it. Maybe it's just that this team feels like it's lacking in cleverness.

5. Michal & Ben - It feels like this season couldn't have gone worse for us, and yet we're somehow not the worst....

6. Doug & Bri - Will things turn around for this team now that we're merging? Karishma may end up earning them mad points via coattail riding. But I just don't think that will be enough to get this team a victory, and I don't see them earning a lot of points from challenges or idols either.

Survivor 39: Episodes 4 & 5

I have so many thoughts about the last couple episodes, and not enough time to share them. Regrets for not posting sooner? A few, but then again... too few to mention. So here's a few highlights:

• I loved the "this is Plan Z" speech by Missy. That _____ (I need your help finding the perfect word for it, please vote on the options below, or provide your own!) quickly elevated her in my power rankings. Well strategized, defended at tribal council, and then somehow perfectly concealed from Dean in the next episode
• Choose from the following nouns:
1. soliloquy
2. closing argument
3. monologue
4. diatribe
• Why did Missy really do it though? Wouldn't Karishma have been a better option? Or any dude? Maybe this was just a really good opportunity to build her resume, I'm not sure.

Episode 5 begins with Dean's unsuccessful attempt to uncover the mastermind behind Chelsea's demise. Then they do a tribal swap and a new gang of misfits is presented with the same dilemma that Orange, aka Lairo, has been battling all season long. Keep worthless Karishma around who you know you can beat post-merge, but lose every challenge between now and then? Or cut your anchor and see if you can compete in the next couple challenges?

Aside: my personal favorite moment in the episode is during the reward challenge when Probst describes Noura dragging an exhausted and non-participatory Karishma through the sand as "great teamwork."

My theory on this decision is that the Vokai majority decided that they have sufficient fodder in the original Lairo minority that it doesn't matter if they win. They can lose every challenge, remove the threat of an Original Lairo Alliance, and strengthen their own original alliance.

In the end, Tom gets voted out. While his early demise seemed inevitable, his unbelievable gracious and respectful exit interview was not. Tom does not have the instincts necessary to succeed at Survivor. But he is clearly good people.

Power Rankings:

1. Baggins - 3 players are quickly emerging as the biggest threats to win this game: Missy, Tommy, and Kellee. Missy and Tommy are both on Baggins' team and his supporting cast looks to be a pretty big physical threat too. Great for raking up the points in this league.

2. MoonBee - see above, but note the small hiccup of having drafted Vince. Also the bottom half of their team mirrors mine, which is ominous....

3. Eric - I like Eric's team, despite his double-Tom dinger. Kellee and Aaron I think are both doing really well. Jamal is over-performing considering when he was drafted.

4. Michal & Ben - our players aren't just dropping like flies. They are doing so with idols in their pockets. Stupid flies. And despite that, I have hope for our team. A hope that rests solely on Kellee and Aaron's shoulders as any solid performance from Jason or Touchy Dan will help MoonBee just as much as us.... But you gotta have hope, right? (Note that I am similarly delusional about my 3-5 record in my fantasy football league - brace yourselves for the greatest comeback ever!)

5. Phil - It's kind of insane and completely indicative of the strength of Phil's team that he still has all his players in the game, and yet his total score is abysmal. There is little hope for Dean surviving the next vote, barring some kind of deux ex machina move from Boston Rob & Sandra.

6. Doug & Bri - The only things worse than a double-Dean are a double-Noura or a double-Karishma... and one of those is real! Not a great start to their season. At the same time, I said probably literally the same thing around this time last season. And we know how that went. So I'm not writing them off completely. But it is pretty hard to see a path to victory right now for this team.

DoW:
I've got a perma-vote on Noura going for now. I'll let you know if/when that goes away.

Goodbye Survivor 38, G'day Survivor 39!

I know I owe a season finale post for Survivor 38. I must admit, I'm still a little salty about that season's format...

I hated everything about the Edge of Extinction. Except for you, Reem. You were a real peach.

That being said, Doug and Bri made a dramatic comeback to claim victory. Moonbee's hopes and dreams were crushed by a stacked Chris who might qualify as one of the least-deserving Survivor victors. I hope that he returns for the highly-anticipated and soon-to-be overly-hyped-by-this-blog Season 40... the season of all Victors! Or, as Ben called it, the Quarter Quell. And then I hope that Chris is the first to be sent to the Edge of Extinction and NOT be named the Sole Survivor at the end. He'll just slowly devolve into a Gollum kind of character, muttering about how he just wanted to play a perfect game.

But to you, Doug and Bri, I say:

And now, on to Season 39: Island of Probst's Future Replacement

Hmmm, that doesn't sound quite right. Oh yes, it's the Island of the Idols. But it doesn't appear to provide much of an advantage, does it? Even if you get an Idol you have to use it to save your skin, and if you don't get an idol... well, folks probably won't believe that and then you get voted out.

The draft was surprisingly pleasant and professional. I think we can all agree that none of us really know what to expect with this cast of castaways, nor with the twists that this season includes. I'm pretty excited about it, I see a decent amount of potential to this season.

Power Rankings:

18. Vince - his entire alliance had a conversation with Karishma except for him. And that didn't make him nervous enough to play his idol? I think he might have deserved to be sent home.

17. Karishma - insists on isolating herself, complaining about no one "playing the game" when it's clear that everyone is playing like a pro. It's pretty clear she has no idea what she's doing.

16. Noura - If they switch up the tribes, Noura and Karishma might make a fun pair. I hope they contrive to put this potential odd couple together to wreak havoc on the tribes.

15. Dean - Dean was much higher on my rankings list when I had no idea who he was. So far his only air time was of him making a huge blunder, and then trying to look cool by imitating Tyrion Lannister in a moment when he was decidedly not cool. "As someone once infamously said.... split the vote" .....  you are derivative, Dean, and I am not amused.

14. Touchy Dan - and I suppose that's enough said.

13. Tom - is clearly not playing the right game. I love watching athletes who've spent years being team players come on this show and do everything they can to keep their tribe united and victorious in challenges. That's not actually the point, unfortunately, but it is endearing.

12. Elizabeth - questionable 2nd overall pick from Phil imo. What a great athlete, but I'm afraid she's just not crafty enough.

11. Jamal - does not seem to handle setbacks all that well. I like that he's still playing the game hard, though it's not good that his name is already being brought up.

10. Lauren - I like her, but she's not getting enough air time. I'm taking that to mean she's not contributing much in the way of strategy.

9. Aaron - this aggro jock may make it fairly far. Not because he's good at this game, but because they'll use him for his muscle and he's one of the only one of those types left.

8. Elaine - has the backstory to win, but I'm not sure she's going to get to the end.... probably because of the backstory.

7. Missy - I think she's doing a great job, but her leadership role on the tribe might just be a bit too obvious. I'm worried she's putting a target on her back.

6. Janet - represented herself well against Elizabeth in the swimming part of this last challenge... though she's evidently not great with knots. I think she's doing great overall. Holding her own in challenges, has a good relationship with most people in her tribe, open to blindsides, etc. But she also needs to be prepared to drive the train at some point too.

5. Jack - I just loved how he bounced back from that blindside - what a champ! I think he's going to be that lovable doof that no one wants to get rid of, even when they know they should. #FabioJunior

4. Jason - I think he's being crafty. Laying low for now, but clearly capable of making big moves.

3. Kellee - I don't know why I think she's going far in this game. She's done fine, but I wouldn't say exceptional. And yet something tells me she's going to be around for a while.

2. Chelsea - it definitely feels like she's driving the train of her women's alliance, and I think she's making smart decisions. I'm sorry to see Vince go, but that keeps her on good terms with the 3 remaining bros on her tribe, which will be critical should they do a tribe mix-up soon.

1. Tommy - first one to mend the bonds after Molly's blindside. People are approaching him to discuss strategy. All signs point towards Tommy as an early favorite to win the whole thing.


That's all I've got for now. Would love to hear other's opinions on the Pool's power rankings, though!

Edge of Extinction: Ep 12 & 13

Welly welly welly well...

We're 2 days from the Survivor finale, 6 days from the GOT series finale, and I can think of nothing better to do than fill this blog post with random pop culture references and occasionally relevant analysis of a mediocre season of Survivor. Bottom 10 seasons of all time? Undoubtedly. Bottom 5? Perhaps, but honestly Reem's stellar performance on the Edge as the Ghost of Christmas Past might be saving it for me.

Is he dead? Did she kill him using only her words?

Speaking of finales, here are my top 5 fave TV series finales of all time:

5. The Office -- hahhahaha, just kidding, this show should've wrapped when Steve Carrell left
4. Friends
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
2. Breaking Bad
1. Battlestar Galactica

...and speaking of Battlestar: that thumb-up-to-the-sun-to-find-the-airborne-enemy-honing-in-on-your-location move that Euron Greyjoy pulled in S8E5 of GOT was a complete rip-off of Starbuck's move in S2E15 (aka "Scar") of Battlestar and it wasn't nearly as powerful a moment. #CommunityAin'tGotNothingOnThisPopCultureGame #QueenStarbuckNoWaitIMeanSansa

And now, this:

Okay, should we throw some Survivor in here? Here's the thing: there's no one left in the game who I'd truly be happy to see win this thing.



Let's belabor this point and do a full-on Survivor/GOT comparison:

• Julie = Theon. The weepiest of them all. 
• Lauren = Harry Strickland, Captain of the Golden Company. This casting screams physical threat, but what have they really done besides fail at the thing they should be best at?
• Victoria = Osha. Just something about the way she hunches over a fire... it just speaks Osha to me.
• Rick = Euron Greyjoy. Thinks he's funny but really isn't, thinks he's powerful but really isn't. Thinks he's sexy, but... well, you get the point.
• Gavin = Davos. I mean the guy's lovable in his own right, but would you really want to see him sitting on the Iron Throne in the end? I mean I guess he's better than the others, but really? Davos? 

What's lacking here? A main character. A hero. Someone to cheer for & believe in. Someone who's going to make the right choices for their people:

No, not you - get the fuck out, Jon Snow! See below, you asshole.

This is more like it:

You made a choice Brienne, and you chose wrong!

And on to the Survivor Pool scores:

5. Michal & Ben - 116 pts

4. MoonBee - 130 pts

4. Baggins - 130 pts

2. Eric - 154.5 pts

1. Doug & Bri - 181.5 pts

Power Rankings:

5. Michal & Ben - my Survivor team may be terrible, but at least I have a fighting chance in my Game of Game of Thrones pool! (Long live King Drogon?)

4. Baggins - this team had a seriously strong start followed by a dull & meandering middle, and will likely finish in a forgettable fashion. It's the Walking Dead of this season's Survivor Pool. Or, I suppose to more appropriately theme to this post:

Is this how you're getting to Storm's End too?

3. Eric - Best performance in Survivor Pool by Eric yet, but it won't be enough to get him that top spot. I'm so happy you achieved a lifetime goal of getting top billing in the Blog, but unfortunately this blog is fickle and unreliable, and now you're stuck with a middling ranking. 

but then.... you know...

2. Doug & Bri - Doug & Bri had a seriously rough start, followed by a massive comeback, with the potential for a very disappointing 2nd place finish. They need one of their bench players to be put back in the game, I think, to have a real shot at the trophy. (Speaking of, where's that trophy gotten itself to?) #JonStarkaeryan

1. MoonBee - In a powerful position with 3 players left and a high ceiling for point-earning potential. This was a well-drafted team that deserves to win the pool this season, unlike the castaway that wins Survivor this season. #QueenSansa #TheQueenTheyDeserve