What a crazy week it’s been, huh? Ebola is taking over the nation, people are actually talking about Major League Soccer, NPH is hosting the Oscars, and the Royals are in the World Series?! WTF? But none of that matters right now because there’s only one thing on our minds; and that is Survivor. Let’s get right to it…
As the tribes continue to eliminate the dross, I think we all need to start thinking about who has the best chances of making the merge and going deep in the game. Of course, the game is always turned on its head when the tribe swap occurs (remember how that screwed Sarah last season?) and do you recall how the tribal switch spelled doom for both Kat and Vytas on Blood vs. Water 1, so you know things will get a bit more interesting in the coming weeks.
Yet, that’s all just a precursor to the merge, which is when the show really takes off. And assuming that’ll happen with about 10 players left, that means we need to eliminate 5 more superfluous castaways, who will drift into obscurity. Because we all know that if you don’t make the merge, you haven’t left any real impression on the season, and you don’t get a good seat at the Reunion Show.
Who knows what will happen, but here’s my take on each player and how the season is shaping up:
Coyopa:
Dale – seems to be one of the next to go, simply due to his age
Alec – looking good to make the merge, assuming he can stick tight with his new alliance
Josh – also looking pretty good. Good be a dominating force after the merge
Jaclyn – the girls’ move against Rocker moved them up the totem pole a bit
Wes – another guy who’s looking good. Could be a dark horse…
Baylor – would have been the next to go until her move against Rocker. I see her game turning around at the tribe switch
Hunahpu:
Kelley – one of those “harmless” girls who could simply attach herself to an alliance and stick around for a while. However, since she’s not distinguishing herself, she could be considered expendable
Drew – looks to be rubbing his tribe the wrong way. His time may be up soon
Jeremy – Everyone’s pre-season favorite is playing the game, but let’s see if he can keep it up without a SO (Significant Other)…
Julie – being without a SO may strengthen her game a bit. Let’s see who she aligns with now
Reed – Looking good for someone who never speaks…
Jon – I like his chances because he seems to be playing AND thinking. His next big move could decide his fate
Keith – seems to be in pivotal positions too often. What will be the collateral damage from those situations? Could be a sooner than later exit…
Missy – aligning with people, communicates well, listens, and doesn’t rile anyone up. Could be another one to watch…
Natalie – eventually, that mouth will be her downfall. She’s too transparent to make it deep, I think
At this point, I wouldn’t presume to think I know who’ll make the top 2 or 3, but assuming it’ll be somewhat similar to BvW 1 where all “couples” are eliminated and then it gets down to newly formed alliances, I’ll make the following prediction for top three:
Missy, Alec, Josh
Truthfully, I’m just pulling names outta my ass since there’s no way to predict how each season will play out. If you go back and review all the seasons, I’d say there are only a handful of times where you could have predicted who could win. That discussion is for another column, because we have far too much to get to tonight. On a season like this, where players are making more bone-headed decisions than good ones, we could end up with 2 or 3 of the weakest players making the final tribal; simply because they aligned at the right time and the tide turned against everyone else. Season 29 could give Caramoan, Vanuatu and Marquesas a run for their money for being the worst Final Tribals ever. We’ll see how it all played out in a couple months, but let’s focus on tonight’s episode.
Entitled, “We’re a Hot Mess,” we know something dramatic is going to happen tonight. Did you see the preview video where Jon and Jaclyn are battling it out at Exile? I did. And I’m wondering who’s going to win that challenge. That result could dictate a lot of what’s going to happen tonight, so let’s get to the show proper, so we can start peeling this onion…
Jeff’s recap of last week provides us with a few storylines for tonight:
-Keith thinks he’s sitting pretty since he helped Jeremy’s wife and Jeremy says he “owes him”
-Drew is a lazy piece of s**t
-The blindside on Rocker also blindsided Dale
-Rocker’s really bad decision constituted a “well-played” move on Coyopa’s part (Rocker’s words, not mine. And no, it was just dumb…)