First, a
scoring change.
Last week, I
incorrectly attributed Blue Sophi’s (now “Soph” on the show) finding the
Knowledge Is Power advantage to Yellow Sophie. Kat, Angela and Kyle each had
Soph and pick up 7 points each. No one had Yellow Sophie. Sorry about that!
Second, a
look at this week’s rosters
|
Scott |
Alex |
MC |
|
Will |
Savannah |
Sophi |
|
Slater |
Nate |
Savannah |
|
Morgan |
Alex |
MC |
|
Nickole |
Rizo |
Sage |
|
Kat |
Alex |
Rizo |
|
Aly |
MC |
Sage |
|
Stephanie |
MC |
Rizo |
|
Jo |
Rizo |
Savannah |
|
Tom |
MC |
Savannah |
|
Chris |
Jawan |
Sage |
|
Danny |
Jawan |
Savannah |
|
Amy D. |
MC |
Rizo |
|
Amy A. |
MC |
Rizo |
|
Angela |
Alex |
Steven |
|
Lia |
Savannah |
Steven |
|
Melissa |
MC |
Rizo |
|
Kyle |
Alex |
Sage |
|
Blake |
Jeremiah |
Rizo |
Third, 5
bonus points each to Slater, Angela and Melissa for knowing the lyric “I’d
rather clean all the bathrooms in Grand Central Station with my tongue…” is
from the Weird Al song “One More Minute” which aptly describes Sage’s feelings
about Shannon. Give it a listen!.
On to the
update!
Following her
decisive victory in the war against Shannon, Sage feels solidified with Jawan
and Steven (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Sage] to Nickole, Aly,
Chris and Melissa!). Knowing he has true allies leaves Steven in heaven,
and Jawan champing at the bit to flip the script on the Uli/Hina war.
A boat
arrives at Uli and it’s time to drop their buffs! The merge is here, which
gives Nate a sense of relief - he knew
he was in danger but now he can reunite with his former Uli tribemates (1
point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Nate] to Slater!)
At Hina, MC
is excited for the merge because it means she can finally work on her idol,
while Sophi looks forward to stealing someone’s idol with her Knowledge Is
Power advantage.
At Kele,
Jawan, Steven and Sage take the news that everyone is coming to their beach
lying down. Literally. Now a three-person
alliance named “Bottom’s Up”, they talk about how to sell the flip on Sage to
Uli, overthinking every last detail.
When the other boats arrive none of them rush to greet their fellow castaways. “I can feel the fakeness from here”, Sage says. She’s the most quotable player in years, and it’s not close.
Finally,
they make their way to the beach after their absence becomes too awkward and
they sell the story that Shannon started spiraling, that she wanted Jawan out,
was out idol hunting etc. They lay it on
too thick for my taste but with their stories consistent and Shannon at the
Ponderosa, who’s to contradict them?
The first person to flip of the three, that’s who. It’s only a matter of time before one of the three comes clean to gain trust with someone else.
Savannah
buys the story, telling Sage she wants to work with her. Sage wholeheartedly
agrees to her face but doesn’t buy it for a second. She remembers Savannah well
enough from Uli.
Another boat
arrives carrying a chest. There’s a
challenge tomorrow and the key to unlock the advantage in the chest are hidden
in the forest. First person with the right key wins the advantage. Go! Everyone
searches, finding key after key to no avail until Sage comes back with the
winner! (7 points for “Obtain secret advantage” [Sage] to Nickole, Aly,
Chris and Melissa!)
The next morning, Rizo wants to get to work, and Yellow Sophie is his target. He sees OG Uli + Soph as a majority. That’s an interesting take, since it looks like Sage and Jawan are truly ready to break the game open.
Soph reconnects with Alex, and as they talk it becomes obvious that despite the trust they built on Kele’s ashes, this pair is headed in opposite directions. (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Soph] to Will!).
Savannah
continues building her villain resume by naming the chickens Kentucky Fried,
Teriyaki and General Tso. What, no
Parmigiana? Sage tells Sophie she’s being targeted by old Uli, proving her flip
is real as each potentially gains the other as an ally.
At the
immunity challenge, they are officially merged! From now on, each person voted
out will build the jury.
The 11
Survivors are broken into two groups of five. The groups have to dig out a
huge, heavy boulder from the sand and maneuver it through an obstacle
course. At the end, they have to scale
the boulder to reach a platform with a puzzle. First team to finish the puzzle
wins the merge meal (Note: This
part of the challenge is scored as “Win Tribe Reward”). The winning “tribe” will then compete for
individual immunity. Sage’s advantage
means she gets to sit out the first part, eat the merge meal and can compete
for individual immunity. Since she’s not part of a tribe, she will not receive
“Win Tribe Reward” points.
When Jeff
starts talking about how this is the point where you become one of the great
players, Kristina thinks it’s “time to play the game”
The Yellow tribe: Nate, Steven Sophie, Soph,
and Rizo
The Blue
tribe: Jawan, Alex, Kristina, Savannah and MC
In Stage 1,
they are even digging the boulder out, both navigating the obstacle course
well. Blue arrives at the platform first, getting three people up the boulder
before Yellow even starts. With a running leap, Alex scales the boulder without
help, finishing Blue’s ascent to the platform (10 points for “Jeff said
‘That’s how you do it on Survivor” [Alex] to Scott, Morgan, Kat, Angela and
Kyle!).
Kristina and Jawan are on Blue’s puzzle and make some progress, but Nate and Sophie catch up and take a small lead. Sometimes puzzles turn into blowouts as one team falters. This is not one of those times. This time it’s a race on the last couple of pieces and it’s Nate and Sophie that win it! Yellow wins tribal reward!
(3 points
for “Win tribal reward” [Nate] to Slater!)
(3 points
for “Win tribal reward” [Steven] to Angela and Lia!)
(3 points
for “Win tribal reward” [Sophie] to no one!)
(3 points
for “Win tribal reward” [Soph] to Will!)
(3 points
for “Win tribal reward” [Rizo] to Nickole, Kat, Stephanie, Jo, Amy D., Amy A.,
Melissa and Blake!)
Sage joins
them for Stage 2 with a droll “Wow, that looked exhausting” observation. Indeed.
In this
stage they have to stand on a beam while balancing a ball on a disc sitting
atop a long pole. Periodically, they
move down to narrower beams, and their hand down the length of the pole until
only one person remains.
Forget about
completing the challenge – I’m not sure I could even get started. “And this
challenge is on…Scott is out immediately. No shot at immunity.”, I can hear
Jeff saying. Well, at least I’d get to check the loser bench for an advantage
so there’s that.
Rizo is the
first person to drop (3 points for “First out in an individual challenge” [Rizo]
to Nickole, Kat, Stephanie, Jo, Amy D., Amy A., Melissa and Blake!). Despite being well rested, Sage drops soon
after the move to a narrower beam. She’s followed by Nate which leaves Steven
to face off with the Soph(ie)’s. Soph drops and it’s a showdown as they move to
the narrowest part of the beam and the longest part of the pole. They both
struggle, but it’s Steven who loses control first meaning (5 points for “Win
Individual Immunity” [Sophie] to no one!). Looks like she won’t be a target
tonight after all. MC knows that it’s
time to get her idol.
With 2 former Hina (Steven, Sophie), 2 former Uli (Nate, Rizo) and one former Kele (Soph), it’s too mixed a group to talk game at the Merge Meal, but that doesn’t stop Nate from opining that Savannah is probably angry back at camp. I hope she is. She’s got “villain” written all over her. Sage thinks the Uli tribe considers her easy to manipulate and they are in for a rude awakening when she flips on them.
Back at
camp, MC “takes some alone time” to find her idol. She’s searching when
Savannah runs into her in the forest. Side note: While watching Lost, I
always joked that people ran into each other in this big, wide jungle far too
often but…here we are.
Anyway, MC
tells Savannah what she’s doing, deciding the best course of action is honesty.
When they both spot the key at the same time, Savannah dives for it like it’s
hers to find! Heroic MC is faster,
however, and snatches the key before the villain can steal it from her. Oh yeah, she’s easy to root against.
Not content
to let MC find the idol, Savannah follows her to the chest and sticks around
long enough to make it awkward, trying to convince MC she wants to work with
her. MC doesn’t buy it and I’m wondering aloud “If MC opens the chest and
Savannah grabs the Idol…who gets the Idol?”.
Thankfully,
we don’t have to find out what would happen as Savannah decides “to let MC have
her moment”. This is bullshit speak for “I’m gonna go back to camp and tell
everyone MC has an Idol, so they’ll trust me more”, which is exactly what she
does. MC opens the chest, taking possession of her idol (5 points for “Found
A Hidden Immunity Idol” [MC] to Scott, Morgan, Aly, Stephanie, Tom, Amy D., Amy
A. and Melissa!).
The merge
meal winners return to camp. Rizo begins whispering with Savannah, and Sophie
is already tired of them. While she’d love to see one of them go home, she fears
Rizo’s idol and talks with Kristina about going for Nate instead.
A moment
while I dust off my Soapbox: I will never understand this line of thinking. Let’s
say they decide to go for Nate because they’re worried about Rizo’s idol. You
know what happens next time? He still has the Idol, and they are having the
same conversation! MAKE HIM PLAY IT OR MAKE HIM GO HOME WITH IT IN HIS POCKET!
Never play from fear! Ok, putting away my Soapbox
The scheming
takes full flight back at camp.
Sage wants
Savannah out before Uli realizes she and Jawan have flipped. MC has her Idol, but Savannah told everyone
about it so Soph could steal it with her Knowledge Is Power advantage. With
Sophie Immune, Uli switches its sights to Steven. Uli Traitor Jawan debates Rizo, Savannah or
Nate with Steven, and as we head to Tribal Council, Kristina still wants to go
for Nate.
We are 14
days into the game and it’s Kristina, MC and Sophie’s first time at Tribal
Council. Dip those torches in the flame, ladies. When the fire’s gone, so are
you.
Normally,
the merge is a time for people to learn about other Survivors they haven’t met
yet. This season’s already seen several tribe swaps, and Steven sees a lot of
cross-pollination. Jawan sees the merge
as a horror film, finding any way he can to keep his name off the kill list.
Sage is diplomatic, saying they’re just trying to figure out where the lines
truly are.
Rizo agrees
with her. He and his Idol were the talk of today’s town. He shows it to
everyone, saying he plans to play it (1 point for “Mention ‘in this game’” [Rizo]
to Nickole, Kat, Stephanie, Jo, Amy D., Amy A., Melissa and Blake!) and
despite the new tribe colors, he’s still wearing red to signify the blood that
will be drawn tonight (5 points for “Say The Title Of The Episode” [Rizo] to
Nickole, Kat, Stephanie, Jo, Amy D., Amy A., Melissa and Blake!).
Nate’s
thought that this is where uncertainty becomes certainty is echoed by MC who
will know who she can trust going forward. Announcing her lurch toward “greatness”
with all the subtlety of Jason Vorhees, Savannah tells us “People you were with
on Day One or Two may become targets”. Way to advertise that you can’t be
trusted, lady.
At the vote,
Soph is chosen to go first (again) (3 points for “First Person Chosen To
Vote” [Soph] to Will!) and before the votes are read, MC’s Idol burns a
hole through her pocket, and she plays it on herself (2 points for “Play
Hidden Immunity Idol On Yourself” [MC] to Scott, Morgan, Aly, Stephanie, Tom,
Amy D., Amy A. and Melissa!). Despite announcing his plans to play it, Rizo
keeps his Idol in his pocket.
THIS IS WHY
YOU MAKE HIM PLAY IT OR MAKE HIM GO HOME WITH IT!
The votes
come in, and Rizo was wise to hold.
Steven receives four votes from former Uli + Soph, but Nate receives the
other 7 becoming the first member of the jury
(4 points
for “Received Vote Against” [Steven] to Angela and Lia!)
(7 points
for “Received Vote Against” [Nate] to Slater!)
(-2
points for “The Tribe Has Spoken” [Nate] against Slater!)
(2 points for “Jury Member” [Nate] to Slater!)
So, what
does this mean for our scores?
Reward
winning episode-titler Rizo led all scorers with 12 points. He’s
followed by immunity winner Sophie with 11 and “That’s how you do it on
Survivor” recipient Alex who had 10. Savannah, Jawan and Kristina (of course)
put up zeroes this week. Jo bagged 5 points, having drafted the High/Low
combination of Rizo and Savannah, while Danny receives 3 ignominious points for
having drafted the low / low combination of Jawan and Savannah. This isn’t golf
guy. Low scores are bad.
In our game,
Amy D. moves into a slim 2-point lead over 2nd place Morgan, and 3rd
place Angela – the week’s top scorer – is closing the gap! Jo keeps the pace, remaining
in 4th place. Like Alex over
the boulder, Melissa leaps from 9th to 5th, and Amy A.
follows along, moving from 10th to 6th. Will drops from 5th
to 7th and is just a point ahead of both Nickole and Stephanie who
share 8th place this week.
They’re followed by Chris and Slater who tied for 10th. Aly’s plan to use the Wheel of Names to
determine her draft picks returns middling results keeping her in 12th.
I’m not one to talk, however as I’m in
13th and only a point ahead of 14th place Kat, 2 up on 15th
place Kyle and 3 up on 16th place Danny! 17th place Lia
remains comfortably out of the cellar, 23 points ahead of Blake.
|
Overall Player Scores |
|
|
Amy D. |
122 |
|
Morgan |
120 |
|
Angela |
114 |
|
Jo |
97 |
|
Melissa |
92 |
|
Amy A. |
84 |
|
Will |
80 |
|
Nickole |
79 |
|
Stephanie |
79 |
|
Chris |
77 |
|
Slater |
77 |
|
Aly |
75 |
|
Scott |
71 |
|
Kat |
70 |
|
Kyle |
69 |
|
Danny |
67 |
|
Tom |
62 |
|
Lia |
56 |
|
Blake |
33 |
|
Weekly Player Scores |
|
|
Angela |
29 |
|
Kat |
29 |
|
Kyle |
27 |
|
Melissa |
26 |
|
Amy A. |
21 |
|
Amy D. |
21 |
|
Stephanie |
21 |
|
Nickole |
20 |
|
Morgan |
19 |
|
Scott |
19 |
|
Aly |
17 |
|
Jo |
17 |
|
Blake |
12 |
|
Slater |
10 |
|
Tom |
9 |
|
Chris |
8 |
|
Lia |
7 |
|
Will |
7 |
|
Danny |
3 |
|
Weekly Survivor Scores |
|
|
Rizo |
12 |
|
Sophie |
11 |
|
Alex |
10 |
|
MC |
9 |
|
Sage |
8 |
|
Steven |
7 |
|
Sophi |
7 |
|
Nate |
5 |
|
Jason |
0 |
|
Kristina |
0 |
|
Matt |
0 |
|
Annie |
0 |
|
Jake |
0 |
|
Jeremiah |
0 |
|
Nicole |
0 |
|
Savannah |
0 |
|
Shannon |
0 |
|
Jawan |
0 |
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