South Pacific: Ep 7

HAHAHA!!! I could NOT be happier about the way that this last Survivor episode went. Even though nothing seems to go Cochran's way, in reality EVERYTHING goes his way! He's either the luckiest player I've ever seen in the game of Survivor, or he's SO crafty that even the producers are missing it. Not only did Cochran get saved and one of his biggest threats volunteered to go to R.I., but I also got saved & had my biggest threat in the pool suddenly be put in a perilous position.

No matter how this epicness turns out, I win. If everything works out to be a "best case" scenario in Ozzy's mind, he wins & returns to the game & Savaii is up in numbers, and Cochran remains safe. If Ozzy's plan turns more into a "worst case" situation, then Ozzy goes home, leaving Cochran with the immunity idol and likely still even at 6-6 since Christine despises her old tribe. The "worst case" is actually my best case, but I'm fine with the outcome either way. Either way this is one of the ballsiest plays ever made in Survivor.

The Standings: 

Team Top 3: Moon - 62 pts
1. Ozzy (27 pts)
2. Sophie (18 pts)
3. Jim (17 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 57 pts
1. Cochran (17 pts) 
[2. Elyse (12 pts)]
3. Coach (28 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 53 pts
1. Albert (18 pts)
2. Rick (18 pts)
3. Dawn (17 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 47 pts
[1. Mikayla (13 pts)]

2. Christine (18 pts)

3. Edna (16 pts)

Team ICRWYNISTB: Dachui - 43 pts
1. Keith (17 pts)
2. Brandon (18 pts)
[3. Stacey (8 pts)]

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 26 pts
[1. Papa Bear (7 pts)]
2. Whitney (17 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]


Power Rankings: 

1. Top 3 - Moon remains atop the leader board, but his position is precarious. Christine has a drive in her that I can't help but cheer for, and I'm guessing that in a "build a pole to get a key" challenge they will be pretty evenly-matched. In the Savaii Alpha Male War, the score was Jim: 2, Ozzy: 1... and I'm not really sure how to score martyrdom... thoughts?

2. Baseball, Belts & Bibles -What I like about this team is that all three of these players are in good alliances, but at least 2 of them have proven that they have no problem going against their alliance when the disagree. Baseball & Bibles at least have given me faith that they won't play this game afraid and that they'll be willing to take risks to win the ultimate prize. I think post-merge this is the most dynamic team in the pool.

3. Dungeons & Dragons - Johnny "Bullet Dodger" Cochran remains my favorite player, especially after Coach revealed what an incredible sell-out he is. It's pretty disturbing how quickly he led his tribe into cultdom, knowing full well that he's using others' faith as a way to cover up his earlier deceptions. Sophie's comments on the matter summed it up pretty well. I hope she's the one who takes Coach out.  

4. ICRWYNISTB - If I was Keith I'd be pretty pissed that Ozzy gave the idol to Cochran and not me. Seriously, did Ozzy not think that through? If he doesn't come back, does he really want to arm the weakest player on their team with the biggest advantage, or would he rather help out his closest ally in the game? I guess at that point Ozzy doesn't really care either way, but he should still consider these things.  

5. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife - Christine's rage comes through big time on RI! Keep it up, Christine! I hope she comes back at the merge & makes some real waves among the alliances. I also hope Edna goes out soon, she's starting to bug me. Losing Mikayla was a devastating loss for this team, and I think Bag's out of the competition, but Christine may have a chance for fan favorite if she gets past Ozzy.

6. Country Bears - ummm.....

South Pacific: Ep 6

I guess I should be happy that Rick sided with Coach & the Crazies over Al & Sophie, but I'm not. What a terrible decision! It's really disappointing that both Brandon & Rick are hiding behind "loyalty" when playing this game. Brandon's speech made me want to vomit & the fact that he doesn't see what Coach is really about is a terrible mistake. Plus, they talk about loyalty like Mikayla doesn't have any. Which makes no sense - she hasn't done anything to hurt the team this whole time. She's only not a part of the alliance because she wasn't awake that first night while they were sitting by the boats.



Ozzy is just a whiny baby, which is really saying something - isn't he into his 30s at least now? That guy needs to grow up, or at the very least shut up. His assertion that "I was telling you I had the idol last night to try and unify us as a team" was ridiculous. I was pretty impressed by Dawn & Cochran that they didn't laugh in his face.


The Standings: 

Team Top 3: Moon - 57 pts
1. Ozzy (27 pts)
2. Sophie (13 pts)
3. Jim (17 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 52 pts
1. Cochran (17 pts)

[2. Elyse (12 pts)]

3. Coach (23 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 43 pts
1. Albert (13 pts)
2. Rick (13 pts)
3. Dawn (17 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 39 pts
1. Mikayla (13 pts)

2. Christine (15 pts)

3. Edna (11 pts)

Team ICRWYNISTB: Dachui - 38 pts
1. Keith (17 pts)
2. Brandon (13 pts)
[3. Stacey (8 pts)]

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 26 pts
[1. Papa Bear (7 pts)]
2. Whitney (17 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]


Power Rankings: 

1. Top 3 - In the Savaii Alpha Male War, the score is Jim: 2, Ozzy: 1. I'm not that surprised that Jim's doing so well anymore... at least now that I've discovered his secret identity! Jim is actually Chief from Battlestar Galactica! I think he's underestimating Ozzy though, which is a big risk.

2. Dungeons & Dragons - So long, Elyse, we will not miss you! Now it's time for me to look out for my boy Cochran, who isn't out of the woods yet! I hope keeping Edna hurts Upolu so that Cochran remains safe again next week. 

3. Baseball, Belts & Bibles -I'm so happy that Albert made the move that he did. Even though he and Sophie lost that battle, I think they've made some good moves to help them go far in the game. If Mikayla wins her way back into the show, then she'll definitely be an ally for them, and they're obviously both good analytical thinkers. Possibly my new favorite duo on the show.

4. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife - Bag on Bag violence is coming soon to a television near you! Mikayla definitely brings a higher level of physicality, but Christine's rage & general feistiness may still give her a chance! 

5. ICRWYNISTB - Stupid Keith was way too quick to welcome Ozzy back into the fold. With an upcoming merge & an immunity idol in his pocket, now is the best time to vote him out! I'm hopeful that Keith is just acting friendly so that Ozzy will let his guard down so they can blindside him, but I'm pretty sure that's just wishful thinking. 

6. Country Bears - Whitney is a forgettable player, making this a fairly forgettable team. Maybe post-merge she'll start doing something, but I doubt it. 

South Pacific: Episode 5

Hurray! I lost a player, but it's totally worth it when it's an episode like this one. FINALLY, people have actually started playing the game. This is why I watch the show - for the backstabbing, bright ideas, and intrigue. For the underdogs to come through & take out Goliath... or at least Goliath's girlfriend.

Ben thought that it would be better for my team if Elyse had stayed instead of Cochran. That may be true, but I'm happy to keep him in the game - I like his personality and attitude. It's much more fun for me to support a doer than a clinger.

Overall, I'd say the biggest losers of the Savaii vote were Keith & Whitney. In an effort to not appear to backstab Ozzy, they voted for Dawn instead of Elyse. Ozzy isn't going to be fooled by that. If they didn't vote for Cochran they were obviously backstabbing him, no matter whose name they wrote down. This was a stupid idea & only puts bigger targets on their backs & also makes it look like an incohesive new alliance. Not a good way to make a good impression with your new best friends.


The Standings: 

Team Top 3: Moon - 47 pts
1. Ozzy (22 pts)
2. Sophie (13 pts)
3. Jim (12 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 47 pts
1. Cochran (12 pts)

2. Elyse (12 pts)

3. Coach (23 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 38 pts
1. Albert (13 pts)
2. Rick (13 pts)
3. Dawn (12 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 36 pts
1. Mikayla (13 pts)

2. Christine (12 pts)

3. Edna (11 pts)

Team ICRWYNISTB: Dachui - 33 pts
1. Keith (12 pts)
2. Brandon (13 pts)
[3. Stacey (8 pts)]


Team Country Bears: Courtney - 21 pts
[1. Papa Bear (7 pts)]
2. Whitney (12 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]


Power Rankings: 

1. Top 3 - Moon's team is a force to be reckoned with, especially now that Jim is coming into his own. In the war of the Savaii Alpha Male, the score is now Jim: 2, Ozzy: 1. Will the team implode though & take each other out? That seems like the biggest danger at the moment. I'm also eager for Sophie to make a move. I think she's laying low now, which is smart, but she's currently in a position to pull some major upsets, which will hopefully be entertaining.


2. Dungeons & Dragons - I'm keeping myself ranked 2nd because of Coach & his new bling. A big thanks to Team Baseball for giving me the 10-point assist on that one! I think Elyse will get crushed in the next RI challenge. On the other hand, I think Coach is currently the favorite to win this season. I can't remember this - did Coach tell Albert & Sophie that he found the idol? Or are they still looking around for it?


3. Baseball, Belts & Bibles - Albert & Dawn are making some moves... and Rick is our newest ghost of the show. Cactus Rick? If Al & Dawn keep their wits about them, they may go far in this game. Ben also pointed out that CBS is announcing a new romance; whenever they show Albert's talking head they also say that he's "Dating Coach." What a cute couple!


4. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife - Bag's team is the scrappiest of the season. Christine is clawing her way through Redemption Island & probably bringing in more points there than she would have by remaining in the game. Mikayla is crushing by the skin of her teeth - her grab of Rick's dropped meat in the immunity challenge essentially won them the game. Edna's annoying, but safe.


5. ICRWYNISTB - Dachui's team may get renamed "Shootin' Myself in the Foot" depending on how the next episode goes. Their guys make ALL the wrong moves. Sometimes that's an advantage; after all Phillip made all the wrong moves & made it to the finale. However, having an entire team of wrong-movers is never a good thing.


6. Country Bears - Courtney doesn't have a chance to win this game, but she does have a chance to break the "lowest score ever" record! Good luck with that one. ;) Also, congrats on the busting of the guy who stole your purse! "Bad Shad, bad Shad, whatcha gonna do? Whatcha gonna do when they arrest you?"

South Pacific: Episode 4

It was a fairly ho-hum episode this week, I thought. I liked the challenge, but the players' strategy was so terrible they ruined it. If a guy is holding 200 lbs already & is trembling & looking like he's about to fall over, why would you bother adding another 20 lbs to his load? He's going to fall in a couple minutes anyways. They should've started loading up the ladies way sooner than they did. 

I was also disappointed in both tribes' strategy for voting out players. Let's start with Upolu: Stacey is obviously already on her way out, and has no manueverability within the tribe. Sure, you want to get her out before the merge, but in the meantime she's a strong competitor who's going to lay low for a while. So what's the rush? There's no need to get rid of her now. Why keep someone as shady as Brandon around who's an obvious threat to the tribe's unity? Sure, he's claiming he's "reformed" now and trying to make amends, but all he's really doing is making things worse. He told Edna that she's the 6th person in their alliance - but did he tell the rest of his alliance that he told her that? Seems pretty doubtful to me. If he was really trying to play this game honorably, he would've told them what he'd said.

Now on to Savaii: I like that Jim & John are gunning for Ozzy already, but let's cut through the collateral damage crap. Vote out Ozzy! Dawn has it right - they need to get rid of him soon or he's going to run over this game. I'm also seriously disappointed in Ozzy & Elyse. They should know better than to cuddle up like a couple. It's the fastest way to get your name written down in tribal council. Even if they do actually like each other they should hide it a lot better.

The Standings

Team Top 3: Moon - 42 pts
1. Ozzy (22 pts)
2. Sophie (8 pts)
3. Jim (12 pts) 

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 32 pts - 28 pts

1. John (12 pts)
2. Elyse (12 pts)
3. Coach (8 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri

1. Albert (8 pts)
2. Rick (8 pts)
3. Dawn (12 pts)

Team ICRWYTNISTB: Dachui - 28 pts
1. Keith (12 pts)
2. Brandon (8 pts)
3. Stacey (8 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 23 pts 

1. Mikayla (8 pts)
2. Christine (9 pts)
3. Edna (6 pt) 

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 21 pts
[1. Papa Bear (7 pts)]2. Whitney (12 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]

Power Rankings

1. Top 3 – In the war of the Savaii Alpha Male, the score remains Jim: 1, Ozzy: 1. But if Jim really does take out Elyse, this battle will really begin! How will this happen? So far it's John, Jim & Dawn v. Ozzy, Elyse, Whitney & Keith. Who will be their swing vote? Maybe it'll be easier to convince Whitney & Keith to swap sides since they know Ozzy has the hidden immunity idol. If they tell the others that I hope they have the sense to go straight for Ozzy; if they take out his closest ally instead they'll be stuck in the "will he play his idol tonight?" conundrum and probably lose their nerve.

2. Dungeons & Dragons – So Cochran dodged his bullets, but suddenly Elyse is in danger. I'm strangely okay with that. I'd rather have Cochran than Elyse stick around - he's far more interesting. Coach is doing okay but he's started to get a little too controlling... and also obvious about his controllingness. He should back off for a little bit & let his alliance choose the next to go.

3. Baseball, Belts & Bibles – Rick's face when he was asked to say something negative about Albert was priceless. I've never seen a man so scared by such an easy question. He powered through it okay and gave a reasonable answer. I'm getting more and more impressed with Dawn. I like that she took on the weight challenge, and she's obviously not afraid to make moves. Keep it up lady!

4. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife – Bag's team is a really fun one to watch. They all seem to be in danger all the time. I don't think a single Upolu tribal council has passed where one of his team was in serious danger. But somehow they're holding it together & could actually do well. Christine is winning me over with her determination on Redemption Island. I hope she wins a few more!

5. ICRWYTNISTB – Stacey on Redemption Island doesn't really change Dachui's situation too much. They were already in a bad spot. Everyone knew Stacey wasn't going to make it much longer, so this was rather inevitable. Brandon continues to be the main excitement of the season, but he's a poor man's equivalent of Phillip. Phillip was awesome crazy, Brandon's just creepy crazy.

 

6. Country Bears – Well, Courtney's pretty much screwed here. Whitney will probably hang around for a little while, but she's not a contender & now she's all alone. I'm sad Papa Bear didn't make it longer.

South Pacific: Episode 3

Not enough time to post a deep analysis, sorry! But here are the rankings, and a quick summary of my thoughts: 


- Brandon = YIKESSSS!
- Please blindside Ozzy soon, that'd be awesome
- Papa Bear's running form is one of the worst I've ever seen

The Standings

Team Top 3: Moon - 32 pts
1. Ozzy (17 pts)
2. Sophie (8 pts)
3. Jim (7 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 23 pts
1. Albert (8 pts)
2. Rick (8 pts)
3. Dawn (7 pts)

Team ICRWYTNISTB: Dachui - 23 pts
1. Keith (7 pts)
2. Brandon (8 pts)
3. Stacey (8 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 22 pts

1. John (7 pts)
2. Elyse (7 pts)
3. Coach (8 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 20 pts 

1. Mikayla (8 pts)
2. Christine (6 pts)
3. Edna (6 pt) 

 

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 16 pts
1. Mark (7 pts)
2. Whitney (7 pts)
[3. Semhar (2 pts)]

Power Rankings

 

1. Top 3 – Sophie is growing on me, and I hope that she manuevers Brandon out of the game. It'd be a good move for her. In the war of the Savaii Alpha Male, the score remains Jim: 1, Ozzy: 1.

2. Dungeons & Dragons – Cochran needs to keep dodging these bullets! Man, I could use a Savaii victory next week pretty desperately. Happily my other 2 ponies seem to be out of harm's way. And Coach is still looking solidado.

3. Baseball, Belts & Bibles – Again, this team seems to lack a stand-out player. Since nothing's really happened with them I didn't feel like they should move down in the power rankings, but I think that Bag's Mikayla & Dachui's Keith both have better chances of a deep run than Albert, Rick, or Dawn.

4. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife – Bag's team isn't out of the woods yet, but I think that Mikayla's in a better position now than she was before. Brandon is a lunatic, and the more he reveals it the more it helps Mikayla's cause. Plus, with the change in rules, having a player on RI isn't as bad as it was before, so Christine can still be a moderate point producer.

5. ICRWYTNISTB – Brandon and Stacey are still in bad spots, but Keith made some good moves last nights, so I'd say that Dachui's team is looking up! Fingers crossed that he'll make a move against Ozzy sooner rather than later - it seems like the longer they wait the harder it becomes for the tribe to pull the trigger.

 

6. Country Bears – With Semhar gone & Papa Bear heading towards his "slow death" Courtney's team's in some serious trouble. I'm going to miss Papa Bear! I hope he wins at least a few RI challenges so we can keep watching him.

South Pacific: Episode 2

Last night's episode definitely brought the entertainment factor into the show. My favorite moment was probably the way that the Upolu women destroyed that maypole! They actually looked like they'd been practicing for that exact challenge! I have a particular fondness for maypoles as we celebrated May Day when I was a kid growing up in Vermont. So I remember winding & unwinding those giant ribbons myself, and how much fun it was.


What I'm still not completely grasping, though, is how the Upolu men could have blown such a huge lead on that puzzle. Do they lack puzzle-solving skills? We're they lackadaisical, like Christine believed? I think it has to be the latter, because that puzzle really wasn't very difficult. Hopefully they'll learn from that and FAST, because you can't win Survivor if you're going to get lazy. I'm really happy that they blew it though, otherwise Cochran was probably going home.


Obviously the biggest drama of the night was Brandon's creepy obsession with Mikayla. Coach's summary of "Brandon has demons" is probably the most succinct way to explain Brandon's issues... but I'm still not sure what's really going on. He complains that she walks around in her underwear to other people as they all stand around in their underwear. He accuses her of being slutty, when I haven't seen her make a single play in that direction. Mikayla clearly came into this game thinking that her physicality would be her greatest strength, not her flirtatious nature. I don't want to get into it too much more because I could go on for a long time. Plus, I already talked with Ben & Moon about it for about 30 minutes last night, and now I'm sick of thinking about it. However, I'd love to hear other people's opinions! Ultimately it probably doesn't bear thinking about for too long because Brandon will probably be out within the next 3 episodes anyways.




The Standings

Team Top 3: Moon - 27 pts
1. Ozzy (17 pts)
2. Sophie (3 pts)
3. Jim (7 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 17 pts

1. John (7 pts)
2. Elyse (7 pts)
3. Coach (3 pts)


Team Country Bears: Courtney - 16 pts
1. Mark (7 pts)
2. Whitney (7 pts)
3. Semhar (2 pts)

Team ICRWYTNISTB: Dachui - 13 pts
1. Keith (7 pts)
2. Brandon (3 pts)
3. Stacey (3 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 13 pts
1. Albert (3 pts)
2. Rick (3 pts)
3. Dawn (7 pts)

Team Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife: Bag - 7 pts

1. Mikayla (3 pts)
2. Christine (3 pts)
3. Edna (1 pt)

Power Rankings

1. Top 3 – Moon is getting his wish and is moving to the top of the power rankings board. Ozzy did himself & Moon a favor by finding that idol in almost no time. As Moon said, if Ozzy makes it to the merge he'll have a good chance to win a decent number of challenges, and he has a safety blanket. Still, he does have a huge target on his back, and if word gets out that he does have an immunity idol, they'll start gunning for him. My guess is that Sophie will actually outlast both Ozzy & Jim. In the war of the Savaii Alpha Male, the score's now Jim: 1, Ozzy: 1.

2. Dungeons & Dragons – I can summarize my reasons for placing myself 2nd in the power rankings with two words: Dragon Slayer. Coach is playing a crafty game, and I think he's doing a great job of controlling his team. I expect him to drop Brandon from his alliance within a couple episodes, and then bring in either Edna or Mikayla for the New Final Five. He's not being super dominating like Boston Rob was, but he's definitely still getting his way. I think Coach has a real chance to get far in this game if he can keep it up!

3. Baseball, Belts & Bibles – Doug & Bri's team is decent, but none of them seem to be stand-out players. Even if they all make it to a merge, I don't see anything of them racking up a lot of points. It's only 2 episodes in, so this could definitely change, but that's the vibe I'm getting right now. I've gotta say, though, that I was really impressed with Albert's smooth-tongued diplomacy. That guy can probably talk his way out of trouble if it starts coming his way.

4. Hide Yer Kids, Hide Yer Wife – Bag's team is aptly named, although that wasn't intentional. His team o' ladies really should hide - from Brandon! I'm really happy that no one on the Upolu tribe wanted to go along with Brandon's "get rid of the Jezebel" plan. I like Mikayla, plus Bag would've been essentially knocked out of the game without her.

5. Country Bears – Papa Bear and Whitney got almost no air time this week, so I can't really change Courtney Bar's power ranking. But we'll be cheering for Semhar in next week's "Battle of the Useless" on Redemption Island!

6. ICRWYTNISTB– Dachui's team is getting worse and worse and creepier and creepier! Brandon now has tattoo issues as well as women issues. Stacey is definitely the most disposable on her tribe. Keith's in a good spot, but 1 out of 3 is not enough strength to win the Survivor pool.

Survivor South Pacific: Draft & Episode 1

It’s time for another season of Survivor, and therefore another Survivor pool! I mean really, what’s Survivor without the pool? It’d be like jelly without peanut butter, Oreos without milk, Jersey Shore without Sammie & Ron screaming at each other. It just wouldn’t be the same.

We had a successful draft last night, and I took a bunch of notes… which I then left at the restaurant. So I won’t go into as much detail in this post as I’d hoped, but we’ll still get the essentials in there.

Overall, I was impressed with the first episode. This seems like a canny bunch that won’t get completely owned the way Boston Rob owned everyone last season. I think it should be entertaining, even without Phillip coming back! To me, Coach seems like he’s in a more secure position right now than Ozzy. Ozzy actually pissed me off in the first episode with his attempts to be “easy going.” These people are looking to you to organize them not be the tribe’s social committee! Coach understands better what his role needs to be to keep in him the game. He’s playing the “wise veteran, but not leader” role that works well with his personality.

The Rules

The rule changes were fairly minimal this season. We increase the Redemption Island win from 1 to 3 points. Our only other change is that we’re no longer awarding standard amounts to 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place finishers. Beginning this season, the players who make the Final Tribal Council will earn a baseline of 25 points, and then they’ll get 5 points for each vote they earn.

Placement Points
Making Final Tribal Council: 25 + 5 points per vote received

Jury: 10

Challenge Points
Win team reward challenge: 2
Win team immunity challenge: 3
Win individual reward challenge: 4
Win individual immunity challenge: 6
Invited to share reward challenge: 1
Sit out a challenge: -2

Hidden Immunity Idol Points
Find the hidden immunity idol: 10
Play hidden immunity idol (success v. fail): 10/-5
If you play hidden immunity idol unsuccessfully during the last tribal council you can play it: 0
If you don't play your immunity idol on the last day you can play it (whether necessary or not): -5
Plays a fake immunity idol: -10
Creator of fake immunity idol, if played: 5

Redemption Island Points
Win battle on Redemption Island: 3
Get back on the tribe from Redemption Island: 3
Miscellaneous Points
Buy bad item at auction/don't buy an item at auction: -2
Buy good item at auction: 2
Fan Favorite: 5
Quitters: -10


The Picks

Again, I lost my notes, so if I put the wrong players on your team, please let me know! Definitely a lot of differing opinions on who’s going to be valuable this year, but I think we all agree that Bag won the “worst value” award by taking Christine in the 2^nd round. I’m giving myself the “best value” award for getting Coach as the 2^nd pick in the 3^rd round.

Team Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife: Bag - 9 pts
1. Mikayla (3 pts)
2. Christine (3 pts)
3. Edna (3 pts)

Team I-Can’t-Remember-What-Your-Team-Name-Is-Supposed-To-Be: Dachui - 8 pts
1. Keith (2 pts)
2. Brandon (3 pts)
3. Stacey (3 pts)

Team Baseball, Belts & Bibles: Doug/Bri - 8 pts
1. Albert (3 pts)
2. Rick (3 pts)
3. Dawn (2 pts)

Team Top 3: Moon - 7 pts
1. Ozzy (2 pts)
2. Sophie (3 pts)
3. Jim (2 pts)

Team Dungeons & Dragons: Me - 7 pts
1. John (2 pts)
2. Elyse (2 pts)
3. Coach (3 pts)

Team Country Bears: Courtney - 6 pts
1. Mark (2 pts)
2. Whitney (2 pts)
3. Semhar (2 pts)

Power Rankings

1. Baseball, Belts & Bibles – Doug & Bri jump into an early lead on the power rankings board simply because they have 2 out of the 5 players who made an alliance in Upolu on the first day. This has put them in a secure position… at least for now. Also, bonus points for Dawn not getting booted in the first episode even though she had an emotional breakdown.

2. Top 3 – Moon got is top 3 choices, mostly because he had the first pick & took Ozzy, and no one else wanted to touch Jim or Sophie because their videos on CBS made them both look like giant douches. Giant douches they may be, but so far they’re hiding it pretty well. Sophie’s in a good alliance, and Jim did some good work getting Semhar out instead of John like Ozzy wanted. In the war of the Savaii Alpha Male, the score is Jim: 1, Ozzy: 0.

3. Hide Your Kids, Hide Your Wife – Bag may have picked horrible Christine way too early, but he does have Mikayla – my early favorite to win it all. Edna is a bit of a dark horse too. I think she could go far, but for some reason I see her getting voted out in one of those “we can’t take out the guy we actually want to vote out, so we’re going to pick on this rando player instead in his/her alliance” moments. Edna: my early pick for collateral damage.

4. Dungeons & Dragons – I think I could do well this season, but I need to dodge a few bullets in the first 4-5 episodes. My team is set up to do really well in a merge, but until then they could be easy targets. Keep dodging those bullets, Johnny boy!

5. Country Bears – I like Courtney’s team, and Mark is one of my favorite players on the show so far. Semhar wasn’t a choice; she was dumped on Courtney as the final dreg, so it’s not her fault that she’s on her team. Still, being down to just 2 players this early can be crippling, which dropped her in the rankings. And no, Semhar doesn’t have a chance of getting back in the game. RI is going to destroy her.

6. I-Can’t-Remember-What-Your-Team-Name-Is-Supposed-To-Be – Dachui gets last place because 1) they have Brandon who is so paranoid about his tattoos that he’s already made it super apparent to everyone that he’s hiding a big secret, and 2) Stacey can’t see a hidden immunity idol clue that was literally inches away from her hand. Also, negative points assessed for Brandon’s creepy stalker behavior & dislike of Mikayla after spending 1 day with her. This team has problems. Hopefully they’ll resolve them quickly!