Fans v. Faves II: Episode 8

Sorry, I totally forgot to write up the blog last week!

I love the post-merge chaos, and this season lived up to my expectations. Alliances flip in a heart-beat & only those savvy enough to catch on survive. Or, in some cases, they're just informed by the savvy folks (which doesn't bode well for the others long-term).

Overall this was a fantastic episode for Jessum's Harem! Sure, they lost Corinne, but the rest of them voted on the side that prevailed. The war between Faves & Buff Guys isn't over, but this was a crucial battle for the Faves to win. I expect there to be heavy casualties on both sides with a lot of back-and-forth on who is the majority alliance at any given time, but ultimately I think this first vote was key & the Faves will emerge bloodied but victorious.

Note: I gave Corinne 10 pts for making the jury although I don't think that was officially announced. So I may have to adjust scores later if that turns out not to be true.




Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 87 points
1. Brenda - 25 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
[4. Corinne - 27 pts]
5. Phillip - 19 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 77 points
1. Malcolm - 32 pts
2. Andrea - 25 pts
3. Michael - 6 pts
4. Sherri - 12 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 68 points
1. Erik - 25 pts
2. Eddie - 14 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 23 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamarn't": 48 points
1. Reynold - 19 pts
[2. Julia - 6 pts]
[3. Matt - 6 pts]
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
[5. B. Hantz - 19 pts]


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - Moon is maintaining his #1 spot because Malcolm is still the only one who knows where both hidden immunity idols are. The war is on full steam, though, and I think most of the big blindsides will be hits to Moon's team early on.

2. Jessum's Harem - This episode makes me believe that Dawn has a legitimate chance to win this competition. She's grown very wise with the strategy this season & I think she can fly under the radar very successfully now.

3. The Great White Hope - Congratulations to Cochran for his first individual win! Btw, I think he was right - doing well in the challenge of eating disgusting stuff should improve his status with the ladies. And the Buff Guys wussing out about eating this stuff certainly damaged their reputation more than if they'd just eaten the gross stuff quickly & without complaint. At the same time, my condolences to Doug & Bri for having mindless Erik on their team. Is he licking tree frogs in the forest off-screen, or did they actually use his brain in place of a pig's for the food-eating challenge?

4. Shamarn't - Bag & Leah are out of this game. If my educated guess is correct players are now making the jury, so all the other teams are guaranteed 30-40 points from that alone. Even Reynold can't overcome these odds. Time to start designing a new trophy!


Douche of the Week:

Erik for my DOW this week. It's inexcusable to be on the show for a second time & still have no idea what's going on in the game.

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 7

Not a whole lot of action this episode, but there was plenty of plotting! I'm excited to see the merge next week - that's when things really get interesting. Lies, betrayals & backstabbings get more intense once it reaches an individual competition, and the way alliances are going right now, it's going to be an explosion of treachery coming soon to a TV near you!

I am NOT excited about Malcolm's new proposal for a Tough Guy alliance, primarily because I don't have any of the Tough Guys on my team. There hasn't been a final 4 of all young, athletic men in a very long time (if ever), though, so it will be interesting to see if they can pull it off. I don't think they'll follow through with it though. Eventually one of them will realize that they stand a better chance in Final Tribal against the likes of Phillip or Corinne & hopefully switch things up once they're down to 7 or 8 players. Whatever they do, I hope they don't vote out my favorite narrator Cochran!

Cochran has a very astute perspective on Phillip, and watching their dynamic is the best. He's losing control of his face though - his grin keeps popping up when Phil is in the midst of a serious Stealth R Us speech; fortunately Phillip doesn't seem to notice.




Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 77 points
1. Brenda - 25 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
4. Corinne - 17 pts
5. Phillip - 19 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 77 points
1. Malcolm - 32 pts
2. Andrea - 25 pts
3. Michael - 6 pts
4. Sherri - 12 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 62 points
1. Erik - 25 pts
2. Eddie - 14 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 17 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamarn't": 48 points
1. Reynold - 19 pts
[2. Julia - 6 pts]
[3. Matt - 6 pts]
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
[5. B. Hantz - 19 pts]


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - Moon got lucky that Michael didn't get voted out, because really that was the most logical play this episode, and I thought Dawn & Cochran would be smart enough to go with him. Besides that, though, Moon is still sitting pretty, especially with Malcolm in the best possible position right now.

2. Jessum's Harem - Lost the lead... sort of! My team's in some trouble though. Their alliance may be done with, but if none of them realize it yet that's a big issue. I can easily see one of them getting blindsided before they figure out that Malcolm has ambitious plans that don't include them.

3. The Great White Hope - Are Doug & Bri back in the competition? If so, it's a major come-back from a dire start! With two men in the potential Tough Guys alliance, they could do very well for themselves in the merge. 

4. Shamarn't - This episode was pretty standard for Bag & Leah in that it resulted in bad news for them. It's too bad that Julia wasn't the Next Sophie, but instead was as dull as mud. The fat has been trimmed from this team; let's see what Reynold can accomplish all by his lonesome!


Douche of the Week:

I think this may have been the least douchey episode of the season so far. No one is standing out at a clear winner for me, so I'm going to vote for Phillip based on the finger wagging lecture he gave to Corinne.

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 6

This is a fun mix-up, at least for someone who has all members of Faves alliance. It seemed like everything broke out too neatly though, and Chateau Greenberg is highly suspicious of rigged egg-handing-out-ness. All the young & strong people on one tribe, both tribes breaking 4-3 in the Faves favor (haha), it's just too good to be real. 

The producers are going to have to think of something brilliant to get an even challenge out of these tribes now. The Buff Team is heavily favored for all physical challenges, puzzle challenges, and most likely any kind of intelligence/memory challenge as well. Maybe an endurance challenge would be a little more even...

Gotta love having Phillip on the show again. As it so happens, we actually have matching underwear, thanks to my sister! He's so entertaining, messing things up left & right and being completely oblivious to his effect on everyone around him. They've all gotten really good at pretending to look interested in what he has to say, even the n00bs picked it up pretty quickly.


The Specialist makes this look gooooood

Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 74 points
1. Brenda - 22 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
4. Corinne - 17 pts
5. Phillip - 19 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 64 points
1. Malcolm - 27 pts
2. Andrea - 20 pts
3. Michael - 6 pts
4. Sherri - 9 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 52 points
1. Erik - 20 pts
2. Eddie - 9 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 17 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamarn't": 43 points
1. Reynold - 11 pts
2. Julia - 6 pts
[3. Matt - 6 pts]
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
[5. B. Hantz - 19 pts]


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - As predicted, Sherri & Michael are on shakier ground. But it doesn't seem like a big deal because Sherri looks to be the least targeted on a team that will rarely lose... a team that 75% of his ponies are on. I feel bad for Michael, though. He just lost his best buddy on the show & now is stuck with the Discrimatory Dominatrix.

2. Jessum's Harem - Ugh, my team went from all being on the winning tribe to now being all on the losing tribe. On the plus side, they're all pretty safe. On the down side, Moon has a huge opportunity to take over the points lead now. Let's hope the Harem manages to produce during this dry time anyway!

3. The Great White Hope - Doug & Bri should be chanting "Not last! Not last!" as their victory cry. This was definitely a good mix-up for them, with Eddie & Erik bringing in points on the Buff Team while Cochran controls the crazy folks on the other side. Everyone on this team has an opportunity to leverage themselves into a more powerful position now; the question is, will they?

4. Shamarn't - Out of the frying pan & into the fire for Bag & Leah. First it's a medevac, then a crazy-vac, and then the tribes get switched up in just such as way that the only names being discussed are from Shamarn't. New Orange is completely on to Reynold, so even their Golden Boy is in trouble now.


Douche of the Week:

I stand firm on Phillip. I think he keeps trying to "flip" people just so he can give out more Stealth R Us names.

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 5

What an intense episode! I guess Crazy #1 v. Crazy #2 was bound to happen sometime, I just didn't expect there to be quite so much fireworks. It was really fascinating watching the two talk to each other; Phillip's perspective on Brandon & Brandon's views of Phillip both seemed to be astonishingly accurate & realistic, considering their mental states. Apart from that they're both delusional, and crazy in their very own special way. 

I feel especially bad for the other contestants. They already have it bad enough out there with the starvation  & rain. Throw in the two psychopaths destroying morale & food supplies & it's a living nightmare. There isn't any escape from it either, they're pooping in your only home. 


Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 71 points
1. Brenda - 19 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
4. Corinne - 17 pts
5. Phillip - 19 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 55 points
1. Malcolm - 24 pts
2. Andrea - 17 pts
3. Michael - 6 pts
4. Sherri - 6 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 46 points
1. Erik - 17 pts
2. Eddie - 6 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 17 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamar Good, Shamarn't": 43 points
1. Reynold - 11 pts
2. Julia - 6 pts
3. Matt - 6 pts
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
[5. B. Hantz - 19 pts]


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - If the tribes do get switched up, Sherri & Michael will be on shakier ground. Despite that, I'm still keeping Moon's team ranked #1 because he still has the smartest & most cunning group overall. It's a well-rounded team, too; losing any 1 player wouldn't knock him out of the competition.

2. Jessum's Harem - Looks like a little in-fighting is on the horizon amongst the Harem. I also hope Dawn recovers from this last episode; she & Andrea will probably take it the hardest. I'm sad that Brenda isn't a part of the majority alliance - I hope she can make a move before she gets targeted as a threat. 

3. Shamar Good, Shamarn't - Eeeeee! Well, despite having Brandon on their team, I think Bag & Leah came out of this episode better than they started. Reynold has an idol again, the fans won an immunity challenge, and having the tribe switch-up that the preview for next week hinted at next week has to be good for Shamarnt's MVP Reynold.

4. The Great White Hope - Still not a lot of good happening for this team. I do hope that Cochran sticks around for a while. His commentary is so amusing & insightful; I really like hearing his perspective. 



Douche of the Week:

I'm voting for Phillip on this one. Brandon was douchey, but mostly he was psychotic & mental. Phillip was douchey pretty much 100% of the time he was on screen.

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 4

Great episode! Not for some folks in the pool, but it was very entertaining for fans of the show in general. I really enjoy the competition between these two tribes in challenges. They're always close matches & I like the format of the challenges themselves (which is always the same, at least so far).

Did the fans make the right move in voting out Laura instead of Eddie this episode? There are arguments for both sides, but my personal opinion is that they should have stuck with Loyal Laura rather than Buff Eddie on this one. Reynold & Eddie are going to flip immediately if they're still around when there's a merge. Even if they don't flip, the rest of their tribe won't trust them not to anyways. The merge is still pretty far away though, so the short-term strategy also makes sense IF Reynold & Eddie are still at the bottom of the pecking order. If they target Sherri next, then they messed it up.

I'm excited to see if they actually start winning now! If they don't, then Sherri will prove her "we're not winning with them" point very nicely. Especially because, based on previews for next week that involve mini-Hantz, the fans have to be big favorites to win.


Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- Winner (so far): Moon!
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 65 points
1. Brenda - 17 pts
2. Dawn - 15 pts
[3. Laura - 1 pt]
4. Corinne - 15 pts
5. Phillip - 17 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 47 points
1. Malcolm - 22 pts
2. Andrea - 17 pts
3. Michael - 3 pts
4. Sherri - 3 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 41 points
1. Erik - 17 pts
2. Eddie - 3 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 15 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamar Good, Shamarn't": 24 points
1. Reynold - 3 pts
2. Julia - 3 pts
3. Matt - 3 pts
[4. Shamar - -2 pts]
5. B. Hantz - 12 pts


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - Sherri ran into a huge setback this episode & is probably the only person who ended up worse-off than Bag. I think that Laura & Shamar were the two she was planning on taking the final 3 with her. Which might have been her main problem; these are a dream 2 to take the finals, but it takes a LOT of work to get dregs like that to the finals. This is something faves should be planning, not fans. Still, I think this is more of an inconvenience than a game-ender for her.

2. Jessum's Harem - I lost my weakest player which I normally don't mind, but the dominance of the faves might end as a result of it, so this really could be the turning point in the game for me. Still, my remaining ladies are all physically & mentally tough, and Phillip is... well, Phillip.

3. Shamar Good, Shamarn't - Ouch! Worst possible episode for Bag, moreso than Leah because he likely also lost a bet this episode too. After all, there's a chance Cochran will still be medevacked. Previews for next week don't look like things are going to get any better for this team, either. On the plus side, they are still in better shape than Doug & Bri.

4. The Great White Hope - With Erik & Eddie both in the minority alliance & Cochran likely sitting out more challenges than any other player on the faves tribe, this team is still in dire straits.

Douche of the Week:

I almost gave my vote to B. Hantz based solely on the preview for next week. But instead, I'm giving it to Eddie. He probably scores really low on Emotional Intelligence tests, maybe plain old intelligence tests too. If he thinks the only reason Hope got voted out is because she's hot, he really has no idea what's going on. His bullying of Shamar also pisses me off.

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 3

Too bad I didn't take that bet Doug offered! Moon, where were the "reasonable terms"? The Fans held on to their alliance, but only barely. After that episode I wouldn't take Doug's bet - Shamar is not only difficult to live with, he's also an untrustworthy alliance member. While he doesn't really have anywhere else to turn anymore, what with his talking embargo against Eddie & Reynold, the rest of his alliance doesn't seem super logical & may take him out next anyway. I think this would be a mistake, because E&R are sure to switch over the faves side when there's a merge.

Other ways that the Fans are being stupid: they think they can "flush out the idol" by voting for people who don't have an idol. Not writing Reynold's name down was a HUGE mistake, no matter how helpful he is to them in challenges. If that alliance really knows what's good for them they will split their votes between E&R the next time they lose & then vote out R if they can. But I don't think this alliance actually knows what's good for them, so I don't actually see this happening.

Speaking of mistakes, how dumb was it for Andrea to talk to Brandon about eliminating Corinne so early!? You tell him your strategy & how to vote 30 minutes before tribal, not 5 days ahead of time. I expect that to come back & bite her later.

Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shamar) -- No results yet
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 49 points
1. Brenda - 12 pts
2. Dawn - 12 pts
3. Laura - 1 pts
4. Corinne - 12 pts
5. Phillip - 12 pts

Moon "the Blindsiders": 37 points
1. Malcolm - 17 pts
2. Andrea - 12 pts
3. Michael - 3 pts
4. Sherri - 3 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

JeffCo Cartel "The Great White Hope": 33 points
1. Erik - 12 pts
2. Eddie - 3 pts
[3. Hope - 3 pts]
4. Cochran - 12 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Bag & Leah "Shamar Good, Shamarn't": 29 points
1. Reynold - 8 pts
2. Julia - 3 pts
3. Matt - 3 pts
4. Shamar - 3 pts
5. B. Hantz - 12 pts


Power Rankings:

1. The Blindsiders - Moon's team is still going strong. Despite Andrea's mis-step sharing strategy with Brandon, Malcolm's discovery of the immunity idol makes this team stronger. Although his buddying-up with Corinne is also problematic, but I don't see anyone turning against him soon. And if they do vote out Corinne then that negative attention should dissipate.

2. Jessum's Harem - Laura is depressingly weak in challenges, but she's on the right side of the alliance. I hope that she makes it to the merge because then she could go far! I don't really think she's going to make it that far, though, so what I'm really cheering for is for her to keep sucking so the rest of my team can rack up big points. :)

3. Shamar Good, Shamarn't - Reynold's got a huge target on his back, but there's a lot of things that can happen that would suddenly put in him great shape. Tribe switcheroo, merge, Laura panicking again.... He seems to be staying calm & is a smartie, so I'm not counting him out! Shamar & Brandon are Bag & Leah's biggest problem, that's just a little too much crazy for 1 team.

4. The Great White Hope - Taking casualties right & left, JeffCo is definitely in the worst shape among the teams. It's super early, but I already think they have no chance to win. 3 players v. 4 or 5 players is a huge defecit and I don't see how they can earn enough points in the long run to overcome this handicap.


Douche of the Week:

I've got to go with Shamar again! Can he really be douchier than Philip?

Fans v. Faves II: Episode 2

I'm excited that Allie was voted out because now I'll have a better chance of telling the blonde chicas apart on the Fans' tribe. I still hadn't figured it out who was who, but now I don't have to!

When we did the draft, JeffCo & I both watched the TV Guide "meet the cast" show to prep for our picks. Moon & Bag watched the videos on cbs.com. When we made our picks it seemed pretty clear that the two groups had different rankings of our own. I'm interested to see how this plays out, especially when it comes to Reynold. Moon & Bag liked him & thought he'd be really strategic, but JeffCo & I thought he was a huge skeez. So far I think we're both right. Only time will tell which preview ends up being more accurate!

Side Bets:

- Toothpaste: Pickett v. Bag -- Winner: Pickett
- Med-evac: Bag (Cochran) v. Moon (Shaar) -- No results yet
- Odds on Malcolm hooking up with a fellow castaway - Pickett is taking -500 on him not hooking up with anyone


The Score:

Pickett "Jessum's Harem": 29 points
1. Brenda - 7 pts
2. Dawn - 7 pts
3. Laura - 1 pts
4. Corinne - 7 pts
5. Phillip - 7 pts

Bag & Leah "Shamar Good, Shamarn't": 24 points
1. Reynold - 8 pts
2. Julia - 3 pts
3. Matt - 3 pts
4. Shamar - 3 pts
5. B. Hantz - 7 pts

JeffCo Cartel "Hopeless"*: 23 points
1. Erik - 7 pts
2. Eddie - 3 pts
3. Hope - 3 pts
4. Cochran - 7 pts
[5. Allie - 3 pts]

Moon "the Blindsiders"*: 22 points
1. Malcolm - 7 pts
2. Andrea - 7 pts
3. Michael - 3 pts
4. Sherri - 3 pts
[5. Francesca - 2 pts]

*Note: Moon & JeffCo's team names were assigned by Bag. If you want to change them, let me know this week, otherwise this will be permanent!

Power Rankings:

1. Moon - Moon has a virtual monopoly on the schemers this season. I'm especially impressed by Sherri's strategic play so far. I think Moon has a couple of players who are in it for the long haul. Now it's a question of if they can earn enough points along the way.

2. Jessum's Harem - I'm not sure that any of my players are set up for a deep run yet, but for now they all seem pretty secure. If I can keep all/most of my players while other teams start to drop off, the amount of points I could get would be huge! I do hope that Brenda will step up as a player in the game soon, though, she's been too quiet for my tastes.

3. Shamar Good, Shamarn't - Reynold finding the immunity idol was clutch for Bag & Leah, and despite the crazy folk & divisions among this team, I think they still have a solid shot at being contenders.

4. JeffCo Cartel - JeffCo might be in trouble early on this one. With Reynold holding an immunity idol, Eddie is an obvious target for the Fans' next tribal council, and being down 2 players this early in the season would be devastating. Doug & Bri needed the attractive alliance to pull something special off this week, but for a group of "uber fans" they clearly missed out on the whole strategizing part of the game. Just because someone is obnoxious doesn't mean everyone will vote them out - did they learn nothing from Philip??

Douche of the Week:

Philip starts off strong in the DoW category with an early win in Week 1. Depending on how long he lasts in the game, he'll probably always be a contender for this honor, too. I guess he's a "Specialist" in more ways than one!

My vote this week will go to Shamar. I get why he sleeps most of hte time, but he doesn't need to rub his laziness in everyone's faces. And he certainly doesn't need to be a douche about it.