Philippines: Episode 4

Sorry for my delayed post! I updated the scores & then completely forgot to add my own opinion to it! =)

If you watched this episode in Colorado you probably missed most of the immunity challenge because of a breaking news report. I read up on what happened & the summary is: blue team started off strong, but Denise was slow on the obstacle course & Malcolm messed up the part where you swing a ball at the pots & that's how they lost.

The Standings:

I'm on Dregs! - Michal: 9 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)
2. Dana (5.5 pts)
3. Dawson (3.5 pts)
[4. Russell (0 pts)]

The Clap - Bag/Leah: 18.5 points
1. Pete (7.5 pts)
2. Carter (7.5 pts)
[3. Angie (0 pts)]
4. Lisa (3.5 pts)

Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Doug/Bri: 18.5 points
1. Penner (7.5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)
3. Artis (7.5 pts)
4. Katie (3.5 pts)

Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon: 29 points
1. RC (5.5 pts)
2. Skupin (7.5 pts)
3. Jeff  (7.5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (8.5 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. Love Line: Old Balls & Tiaras - Apart from having the creepiest name among a very questionable group this year, Doug & Bri probably have the only team with 2 legitimate prospects to win the season. Who knows what will end up happening in the long run, but Penner & Denise both appear to be powerhouses.

2. The Clap - I think Pete could do very well for himself, but he may get distracted by having too much fun manipulating his teammates & forget that he's playing for $1 million. Too much of what he's doing now is a sure way to get backstabbed right after a merge.

3. Giant Bloody Brazilian Cola - Moon's team is crushing right now, but is on the edge of a bloody civil war that could take down his entire stable. I also have concerns about what's happening this week with Jeff's knee. He can't stay in the game if he gets a knee brace, right? That just doesn't seem fair to me.

4. I'm on Dregs! - I'm not earning points now & it seems really unlikely that I'll start earning points if I make it to a merge. Hoping the Red Ladies will do some serious backstabbing to get me back in this game!


Douche of the Week:

In a weak week of voting Abi-Maria took it down last week. Your vote actually counts here, please do it! I'm going to have to go with Abi-Maria again... right now she's setting herself up for the DoW sweep for the season I think!

Philippines: The Draft & Episode 3

Wednesday was the Survivor draft followed by the third episode of Survivor: Philippines. There was some debate watching mixed in there too, but it didn't take much politicking before we were ready to watch a much more entertaining form of competition. That being said, the group generally agrees that the next presidential election should mimick the Survivor format more. Each candidate would be on a tribe & Americans could evaluate their effectiveness at getting along with others, being a good leader, etc. all while watching them starve & fend off the connivers on their own tribe. Wouldn't you want to watch that too?

Without knowing very much about many of this season's contestants, we all feel like the draft went well. None of us feel like we have a bad team... at least not yet! Only time & TV editing will reveal how good we are at analyzing cast videos, making inferences from the previous episodes, and following our gut.

The Rules:

We made very few rule changes - we only added a med-evac penalty, and then changed what the prize was for the winning team. This year we're bumping the monetary prize up to $15 per team & we're also adding a trophy! That's right, Survivor Pool now comes with memorabilia. Here's how it's scored:

Placement Points
Final Tribal Council: 20 + 5 pts per vote
Jury: 10

Challenge Points

Wins a team reward challenge: 2
Wins a team immunity challenge: 3
Wins an individual reward challenge: 4
Invited to share a reward challenge: 1
Wins individual immunity challenge: 6
Sits out a challenge: -2

Hidden Immunity Idol Points

Find the other tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 10
Find your tribe’s hidden immunity idol: 5
Plays hidden immunity idol at tribal council (success v. fail): 10/-5
If you play hidden immunity idol unncecessarily 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: -5
Plays a fake immunity idol: -10
Creator of fake immunity idol, if played: 5

Miscellaneous Points

Douche of the Week (overall player who wins the title the most): 10
Buy bad item at auction/don't buy an item at auction: -2
Buy good item at auction: 2
Having the fan favorite: 5
Quitters: -10
Med-evackers: -5
Cost to trade a player during the draft (charged to each team involved in the trade): -2


 The Teams:

Michal: 8 points
1. Malcolm (0 pts)

2. Dana (5 pts)
3. Dawson (3 pts)
4. Russell (0 pts)


Bag/Leah: 7 points
1. Pete (2 pts)
2. Carter (5 pts)
3. Angie (0 pts)
4. Lisa (0 pts)

Doug/Bri: 10 points
1. Penner (5 pts)
2. Denise (0 pts)

3. Artis (2 pts)
4. Katie (3 pts)

Moon: 14 points
1. RC (2 pts)
2. Skupin (2 pts)
3. Jeff  (5 pts)
4. Abi-Maria (5 pts)


A couple things:

1) We didn't think about the fact that 2 tribes kind of win, but only 1 gets the real win. As a compromise, I gave the top 2 tribes points for winning a reward, but only the top finisher the points for winning the challenge. That being said, the rule does state "winning immunity" so I didn't really follow the rules on this one. Please everyone voice your opinion on how we should deal with the 3-tribe-dilemma & I will adjust the points accordingly.

2) Please also tell me your team name! Team names are due by Wednesday, otherwise I will make a bad one up for you

3) Don't forget to vote for your Douche of the Week, aka best rule ever. My vote this week goes to Skupin for telling Artis not to dive in face-first or he'd break the mask & then doing that exact thing 2 seconds later. Slow clap for you, Skupin - keep up the douchey work!

One World: Finale

I thought this was one of the strongest seasons in a while, and certainly included one of the strongest strategic players we've seen! My ranking of the top 10 strategic players in the game:

1. Parvati (Cook Islands, All Stars & Heroes v. Villains)

2. Boston Rob (Marquesas, All Stars, Redemption)
3. Kim (One World)
4. Earl (Fiji)
5. Yul (Cook Islands)
6. Evil Russ (Samoa, Heroes v. Villains, Redemption)
7. Colton (One World)
8. Yau Man (Fiji & All Stars)
9. Amanda (China, Fans v. Favorites & Heroes v. Villains)

10.  Rob C (Amazon & All Stars)

Some memorable moments from these players:
- Parvati giving away 2 immunity idols to Sandra & Jerri in Heroes v. Villains to protect her alliance & subsequent owning of the Heroes
- Kim's streak of 4 immunity wins in a row

- Earl's alliance taking out Edgardo in the best collateral damage blindside I've seen
- Yul's alliance repeatedly sending Candace to Exile Island
- Yau Man - the first person to create a fake immunity idol
- Rob C - convincing Matthew to throw the final immunity challenge on the basis that it would make him look better to the jury
- Colton convincing his tribe to go to Tribal Council for no reason


The Standings:

Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 114 pts
1. Kim: 94 pts
2. Leif: 17 pts
3. Colton: 3 pts

Untouchables: Doug/Bri - 104 pts
1. Jay: 30 pts
2. Troyzan: 38 pts
3. Alicia: 36 pts

The Sycophants: Moon - 70 pts
1. Jonas: 11 pts
2. Sabrina: 44 pts
3. Tarzan: 15 pts

Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 60 pts
1. Chelsea: 44 pts
2. Monica: 2 pts
3. Christina: 14 pts

All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
1. Michael: 22 pts
2. Bill: 1 pt
3. Kat: 29 pts


Thoughts on the Season:

Congratulations to Bag & Leah!! They had two really strong players, but in the end they only needed 1 to take this one. In a season filled with backstabs, medical evacuations, insanely stupid people, and really bizarre decisions, the one thing that remained constant throughout was Kim's complete dominance of the game. I'd love to see her in an All-Stars season where she'd really be tested by other great connivers.

Speaking of stupid people & top 10 lists, Kat is definitely making it onto the top 10 dumbest people in Survivor history list, along with Robb With Two Bs, Dreamz, and Erik (the guy who gave up his immunity necklace on his bday & then got voted out). This is a different list than the "top 10 dumbest moves" in Survivor history list, which I should actually write sometime.


Thoughts on Next Season:

I like that they are bringing back med-evacked people; I've been hoping for that for a while. I do NOT like that they are only bringing back 3 of them. Surely there have been enough med-evacs over 24 seasons to fill the whole cast, right? I'm getting tired of them bringing back just a handful of repeat castaways and a bunch of n00bs. All repeats or all n00bs is the way to go. That being said, I really hope that Colton & Michael from Season 2 (burned hands guy) are 2 of the 3 who come back.

I am pleased that they are finally leaving Samoa though! We need more variety!

One World: Episode 12

The bloodbath has begun! And in such a fun way too! This season the contestants really like to drone on about how they are safe & blindsides are fun right before getting voted out. I find it extremely satisfying to watch, and hope that trend continues.

All things considered, this was a hugely important episode for Moon & my "underdog" teams. Kim stood on the brink of loyalty v. cunning and really wanted to leap onto the cunning side. But her loyalty alliance of Sabrina and Chelsea dragged her back to their side, ensuring that their alliance will last at least a little bit longer. 

My biggest disappointment with this season is how most people are deciding not to give the challenges 100% of their effort. Strategically it makes sense, but only in the short-term. The ladies don't want to reveal themselves to be a threat. But these women need to recognize that Kim will use "I've won almost all the challenges" as a very strong argument for the jury to give her a million bucks (on top of all the rest of it).


The Standings:

Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 78 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (10 pts)

Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 57 pts
1. Kim (37 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]

All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 52 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
[3. Kat (29 pts)]

The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)

Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. Pride of Chucky - Kim is a genius & we all know it. But why don't the other women in her alliance know it? Shouldn't they recognize at this point that Kim's the master puppeteer who's most likely to get jury votes? I guess maybe the smartest people left are in her inner alliance & value loyalty, and maybe the rest are just too dumb to figure it out. Tarzan seems to be the only one in the know, and he seems happy to keep quiet about it... for now. Bag & Leah's current ideal final three is Kim & any two other females.

2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - Alicia continues to suck. Lucky for her a bad personality is actually an attribute right now, and I think she knows it. We'll see how she works the game now after losing her closest ally. Doug & Bri's current ideal final three is Alicia, Christina, and Tarzan. I really can't see her beating anyone left besides Christina, but Tarzan's a good match here because Moon's team doesn't have many points.
 
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Convincing Kim to do what everyone else wanted was a crucial move for Chelsea, even if she didn't fully realize its importance. This move solidified Chelsea's alliance and should empower her more. I hope she finds it in her to starting making tough decisions and putting herself first. Hopefully my team will start to earn points soon! I've only earned 1 point over the last 3 weeks. My current ideal final three is Chelsea, Christina, and Sabrina.

4. The Sycophants - Moon dodges a close one in this episode. I hope Sabrina's name doesn't get brought up again. Tarzan is comfortable now, but I can't imagine that anyone will let him make it to the final 3. There are too many men on the jury, many of whom would probably vote his way. Previews indicate that next week Tarzan will try to make a move though - I'm excited to see how that goes! Moon's current ideal final three is Sabrina, Tarzan, and Christina. Unfortunately this seems like the least likely scenario out of all my "ideal final three" combos.

5. No Brains - Goodbye, dumb Kat! I will not miss you. I can't believe how many mistakes you made in this game - you should've been voted out long ago. Kat will probably be one of the biggest wild card jury votes since I suspect she'll act like a huge brat about getting blindsided & vote on spite rather than for an actual good reason.
 

Douche of the Week:  
 
Voting for Kat this week. Selfishness & immaturity do not a millionaire make.

One World: Episode 11

With Troyzan gone, I'm excited to see the craziness that starts to happen in camp. I'm hopeful that there will be lots of politicking and new alliances formed, but the logical part of my brain says that's really unlikely. Like many seasons the part that always surprises me the most is how unwilling the dreg people are to form alliances with the other dregs. There are enough people on the outs that they could overthrow the General, but they don't like the people they'd have to align with, so instead they go out 5th & 6th.

The dumbest part of the episode by far was when Sabrina told Christina that they were putting her name down in case Troyzan played his idol. Sabrina tried to say that it was okay to share this info because Christina is just that stupid, but I don't think that's the case. I think Christina knew the risks but also knew that she didn't have sway with anyone in her alliance, so there was nothing that she could do. Which should be a signal to her that she needs to start talking to other people to try & build relationships & alliances. Maybe that's the part where Sabrina's right & that she's too dumb to figure that next step out.


The Standings:

Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 77 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
[2. Troyzan (38 pts)]
3. Alicia (9 pts)

Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 50 pts
1. Kim (30 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]

All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 38 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
3. Kat (15 pts)

The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)

Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 26 pts
1. Chelsea (20 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. Pride of Chucky - I think Kim's now past the most dangerous point in the game for her with the recent elimination of her biggest nay-sayer. Her reign is pretty much locked up, and they are low enough in numbers now that it'll be really tough for anyone to pull enough people together to blindside her. I also just remembered that she still has a hidden immunity idol, so I'm thinking that her spot in the finals is all but locked up.

2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - I'm keeping the Untouchables in 2nd place largely because I think Alicia is more capable of blind-siding Kim than almost anyone else. Doug & Bri's large point lead doesn't hurt either. I think she's probably ranked lower in the girl-alliance hierarchy than she knows, otherwise the mutiny might have already happened.
 
3. Ladies of Ephesus - Again, I'm really only placing myself higher than Moon because I think my players are more capable of winning challenges than his. Their long-term viability is probably on par with mine, I just think I can earn more points on the journey.

4. The Sycophants - I love Tarzan's strategy right now. I think he's fully aware that the last member of a destroyed alliance often gets ignored for a while while the dominant alliance turns on itself. The last couple of women's alliances ended up with a male straggler for a few episodes for this reason. In Survivor: Vanuatu the man even ended up winning the whole thing! I hope Tarzan gets far.

5. No Brains - Geez, Kat sure did a good job of "making her own decisions" and "being a leader" when she decided to jump off the Kim bandwagon & switch over to doing what Troyzan told her to. And her timing couldn't have been worse; she essentially saw a sinking ship & jumped on board just as the water was coming up over the sides. I think one of the reasons that she was so upset by what Troyzan was telling her was because she was incapable of understanding the metaphor/symbolism of the reward. When Troyzan said "it's not about the food, it's about what the food represents" I could see the cogs in her little brain kicking into overdrive, desperately trying to understand what he meant.
 

Douche of the Week:  
 
My vote goes to Kim this week for her major mistake of taking Chelsea on the reward & not Kat. She knew better & at least realized that this could end up being a critical error for her long-term.

One World: Episode 10

THIS was the episode we've all been waiting for, season after season, holding onto the faint hope that some day this moment would come. The Survivor Auction!! We've had Auction rules around for years and have never had the opportunity to use them. Sadly there were no "bad" items at the auction, but I'm willing to forgive that.

Random side-note: I just took a look at who has been eliminated from the competition in comparison to how we drafted them. 3 out of 5 1st- & 2nd-round picks have already been voted out, but only ONE dreg has been claimed, and he was eliminated by karma, not by the tribe. I think this is noteworthy because a) I think it's a direct result of how quickly they merged, b) it reflects on the not-so-bright nature of these contestants, and c) it's probably one of the reasons this season is so entertaining!


 

The Standings:

Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 66 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
2. Troyzan (28 pts)
3. Alicia (8 pts)

Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 40 pts
1. Kim (20 pts)
[2. Leif (17 pts)]
[3. Colton (3 pts)]

All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 38 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
3. Kat (15 pts)

The Sycophants: Moon- 29 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (13 pts)
3. Tarzan (5 pts)

Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 25 pts
1. Chelsea (19 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (4 pts)


Power Rankings:

1. Pride of Chucky - Kim was smart and laid low after two weeks of pretty intense outwitting. I think she's doing a good job of maintaining a low profile - as best she can in a situation where she's running the show - but this could be destroyed by Troyzan running around shouting her name all the time. Will the ladies turn on her once Troyzan is gone? How loyal are Sabrina & Chelsea?

2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - I wonder if Troyzan really thought through his crappy attitude today. Did he do that intentionally, to try & seem like less of a threat for getting votes in a final tribal? I doubt it. I think he just cracked and really easily, imo. And "being really competitive" is not an acceptable reason for being a sore winner. Most people I know are extremely competitive & none of them (well, almost none of them) do a "haha, in your face" dance after a victory. Grow up, you giant baby.
 
3. Ladies of Ephesus - At first I thought Christina was being really smart at the auction, but I clearly overestimated her. It would have been perfect to hesitate to go after the challenge advantage so that she didn't look like she wanted it for herself, since that would imply that she doesn't trust her alliance. But then when they said "buy it for the alliance" it would have shown that she was a team player & was determined to help take out their biggest threat. Instead, she completely wussed out & now will probably be their primary target after eliminating Troyzan (and maybe Tarzan, but I doubt it). Doh!

4. The Sycophants - This team is swing-vote central right now. I hope they find the gumption to make big moves once Troyzan is eliminated. They could change the game with an underdog alliance and take out the bigger threats in the game. But I don't think Tarzan is going to make plays on his own, so someone will need to approach him to make that happen.

5. No Brains - I think Kat's actually in the safest position in the game right now, but you can't play it safe & win this game. You have to make moves & be able to argue your case articulately to win votes at Final Tribal. I don't think Kat has a chance to win, but there is a tiny part of my mind that hopes that her ignorance is just one amazing act & she'll blindside everyone at the end.


Douche of the Week:  

Troyzan was unbearable in this episode for a number of reasons. He really won my vote after winning the 2nd round of a 3-round elimination challenge and shouting that it was his island. It's behavior like this that brought the DoW rule into fruition in the first place.

One World: Episode 9

Hurray! Finally, the Untouchables take a hit! And what a blow it was - one strong player out of the game, and another that's been declawed. Things could not have worked out better, all thanks to Kim's brilliant strategic mind. It's pretty amazing that she's as good at this as she is, considering how her all-woman alliance appears to be trying their hardest to ruin her schemes every single week. Chelsea nearly blows it last week, Alicia's blatant confidence in her own safety set Troyzan on guard this week... next week I expect Sabrina or Kat to do some unusually foolish as well. 

I think that one reason the women have been so successful this season is also because the men are none too bright themselves. Jay should never have felt comfortable this week, not after what happened last week. Until now I thought he'd done a good job of being really adaptable any situation - like when he switched from Rooster alliance to Outcast alliance on the men's tribe with barely a blink of the eye. I think he got too comfortable, which is a place you should never be in Survivor.
 

The Standings:

Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me: Doug/Bri - 56 pts
[1. Jay (30 pts)]
2. Troyzan (20 pts)
3. Alicia (6 pts)

All Balls, No Brains: Dachui - 34 pts
[1.Michael (22 pts)]
[2. Bill (1 pt)]
3. Kat (11 pts)

The Sycophants: Moon- 25 pts
[1. Jonas (11 pts)]
2. Sabrina (11 pts)
3. Tarzan (3 pts)

Ladies of Ephesus: Me - 25 pts
1. Chelsea (17 pts)
[2. Monica (2 pts)]
3. Christina (6 pts) 

Pride of Chucky: Bag/Leah - 24 pts
1. Kim (16 pts)
2. Leif (5 pts)
[3. Colton (3 pts)]


Power Rankings:

1. Pride of Chucky - General Kim does it again. She is working this social network so masterfully that it really is impressive to watch. To me it looks like she's developed a great system where her "sergeants" each are in charge of passing info along to their select group of people. Sgt. Alicia is in charge of the Manono rejects, Sgt. Chelsea was her Troyzan/Jay liaison, and Sgt. Sabrina holds all the ladies together. And all three of them are so thrilled to be a "higher rank" than the others on the tribe that they're happily going along with all of Kim's schemes. Brilliantly played.

2. Untouchables - Seriously don't touch me - Troyzan is in a lot of trouble next week, and I think he'll have a lot of trouble trying to crack the women's alliance. It's gone SO well so far that I don't think the women will see any reason to switch over. He doesn't have an immunity idol and he's too big of a threat to go against in a final tribal to make it worthwhile. Alicia is actually in a pretty good spot - she seems to be in a good alliance with the women, but is definitely the type of player who will keep her options open & is likely to be the first to flip. Although if Kim knows that (and she probably does) that may actually put a bigger target on her back.

3. Ladies of Ephesus - Christina's a ghost, which is only a good thing. I think Chelsea may have a hole to dig out of after her erratic behavior the past couple of weeks, but I think winning that immunity challenge (both through strength & guile) will really boost her confidence going into the next few weeks. I'm optimistic that her missteps may make her seem like less of a target once the ladies start to turn against each other, too.

4. The Sycophants - Sabrina & Tarzan aren't major players right now, but laying low may be a good strategy to have at this point. Sabrina seems really unlikely to be blindsided by anyone, and Tarzan's just happy to vote however he's told, so he's making himself useful. These two could be potentially powerful swing votes once the bigger threats are eliminated, although I don't see Sabrina turning on Kim anytime soon, so it may end up being too little too late.

5. No Brains - I was most surprised by Kat's smooth talking slyness in this episode. Way to go Kat! She lied to Jay better than any of them except Gen. Kim, and seems very focused on their alliance & long-term goals together. I still don't think this team has a chance to win, but I am starting to root for Kat more now.


Douche of the Week:  

Tarzan takes Week 8's DoW for the first repeat DoW win in Douche of the Week History! (Trumpets blare triumphantly) 


This week I didn't really feel like there was a DoW, but I'm going to vote for Alicia who should have known better than to bow out of a challenge when she's supposed to act like she's worried about being eliminated. And because she's just generally a douche.