I'm not sure if you were planning on doing a list this time, Aruba but I felt we need to keep this going so here goes:1- Stephanie:
I chuckled when she said: "You want to take me out? you’re going to have to take me out fighting and screaming...”
While it’s an admirable quality in this game, maybe Stephanie is a single mom because no one dares to take her out!
By dissenting to sending Donathan to Ghost Island, Stephanie may very well have changed the course of this game. While Bradley said he understood, what it really did was show the other half of Malolo that she had their back.
I’m not sure if anyone noticed but we had many images of huge waves which could be a good sign for someone who compares this game to riding the waves.
We keep hearing that Malolo is the best tribe ever yet they are far from living up to that claim but what if they control the end game? With the exception of Domenick and Chris, all the players that have been given a significant role up to now have been on the original Malolo. So, I’m going to make a prediction: Like we heard that the winner was standing on the Blue Collar mat at the beginning of Worlds Apart, the winner will come from Malolo to give credence to their claim. It would be quite ironic that the two players to make those claims, Jacob for Malolo, and Lindsey for the Blue Collars’ Escamaca, would not be there to participate in the stretch run.
Stephanie has to be considered a top contender because we keep hearing the game from her point of view. Even when it came to Michael’s idol, we first heard about the need to find it from Stephanie and we saw her and Jenna looking hard for it. Of course, cameras are always going to follow girls in colorful panties running around in the bushes but it was more than that; it showed us that Stephanie and Jenna were working together for the good of everyone that was originally in Malolo. Facing a fractured D-tribe in Naviti, such cohesive game play should be rewarded.
2- Libby:
This episode marked a huge leap in Libby’s role. From obscurity, she became the cute blonde with game, the one that appears to be dumb but is far from it. I’m not sure going along with James plan to target Morgan was the best choice for Libby because Morgan blew her cover in her last words but if she needs to present herself as a real Survivor player then she can point to the vote that started it all. The four Malolo still need to recruit one member of Naviti to secure the next vote and maybe Angela is the easiest one to pluck. If they go that way, we will be able to gauge Libby’s social game. Will she be as forgiving as she will need to be to accept the player who voted against her? If so, we could have a very cute winner this season.
3- Domenick:
With an idol, a legacy advantage and strong character development, Domenick is the original Naviti that is still a top contender. However, his stock fell dramatically in this episode, first when he kept his focus on Chris, calling him a son of a ##### no less, even though we were being shown a softer side of Chris and his love for his sick mother. If that wasn't enough, he was compared to Russell Hantz by James. When we could hand the “Bully” role to Chris Domenick was seen as the underdog that could prosper but it now looks like the roles are being reversed. And while we hear Domenick’s reasoning for showing his fake idol, we cannot call it sound strategy. First Chris and now James clearly saw through his shenanigans. Domenick doesn’t seem to understand that by showing the fake idol he attracts attention to his real one.
4- Michael:
So Michael was a huge fan of James and, just like that, he finds James’ idol. Those built-in scenarios really make me wonder about Survivor’s authenticity. Did production plant James idol right in Michael’s path? Michael can already be considered a strong contender but if they went to that extreme to help him then maybe he’s the “Designated Survivor”. He didn’t have a big role in this episode but since his tribe didn’t go to Tribal Council, it could be enough.
5- Jenna:
By all accounts, Jenna is a marginal player at this stage, yet we keep hearing her point of view and it isn’t strictly narrative. We have to ask why? Is it just because she’s a cute girl who gives good interviews? Jenna’s interviews aren’t that great and we don’t hear from Chelsea so even cuteness doesn’t explain her strong supporting role. Jenna could be a long term player. That would explain everything. Could she be a hidden winner? It’s certainly possible at this stage.
6- Brendan:
With Navity being shown as a D-Tribe Malolo is shown as an N-Tribe and Brendan is presented as their leader. While facing a 5 to 4 disadvantage, Brendan would appear to be at risk. Kellyn’s words that purple will stick together sounded ominous but Kellyn doesn’t look like a tribal leader. In fact both Naviti leaders stayed in their original camp and nothing suggests that Kellyn, Bradley, Sebastian and especially not Desiree or Chelsea will take over Naviti’s torch. In a tribe with only one leader, a leader is likely to win but Naviti has some clandestine players, namely Stephanie, Libby and Jenna, who could easily upset Brendan’s path to glory. For a leader, we haven’t heard enough of Brendan to consider him a top contender.
7- James:
James may have problems in challenges but he’s been in control in each of the first three votes. Controlling the votes is much more important than winning immunity. While he appeared to be just a follower when he was in Malolo, he has taken on the leadership role for the 4 Malolo who were transferred to Naviti. From one N-Tribe, Malolo has morphed into two separate N-Tribes who are still working together from afar! Given his new role, James will benefit by being seen as someone who has weaknesses in certain challenges. Just like Tyson needed to fake an injury to finally reach the end in his third try, James’ poor challenge play could remove the target that would be on the back of a guy that looks as athletic as he does.
Did James make the right decision in voting out Angela? The good thing is that now the 4 Malolos face two fractured pairs so they could easily get one of those pairs to vote against the other. However, with Ghost Island, one of the four could draw the white rock and that could be enough to rally the original Naviti to vote out one of the other three. Had Malolo gotten rid of Angela, they could have easily picked Chris to work against the other three.
8- Donathan:
This was a very quiet episode for the guy that could very well be this season’s “Designated Survivor”. I was expecting an interview about being chosen at first to go to Ghost Island then being saved the trip by Stephanie but we got nothing. Is this a significant hole in his story? I’d say we’ve seen worse holes in winner’s stories lately but it is something to keep in mind. Was Donathan relieved that he didn’t make the trip? Was he worried that he wasn’t safe from the vote? Or, on the contrary, was he glad to participate in it with his three Malolo allies?
9- Chris:
In week one, Chris was clearly seen as a “Bully” but now he has split his personality, turning into a momma’s boy, someone who can show weakness when put in certain situations. If he is able to re-center his game, move past his rivalry with Domenick and focus on the best way to move forward, then Chris could go far. The problem is that Domenick doesn,t seem ready to forgive and forget so Chris’ chances will rest in the hands of the Four Malolo and Angela. It would really have been funny if Angela had been voted out unanimously. On his return from Ghost Island, Chris would have been totally in the dark so they could have told him anything. My favorite: Morgan and Wendell could have told him that they all voted against Domenick but the he used his idol and his single vote to boot Angela. Chris would then think he had everyone on his side against an idol-less Domenick but the opposite would be true.
10- Kellyn:
Like Jenna, Kellyn is receiving an unusual amount of airtime for such a marginal character. However, in this episode she was clearly identified as one of the complainers. She was also the one who was shown still playing for “Purple” when we have serious doubts about “Purple’s” very existence. Is there still a team worth defending? Even if Kellyn thinks so, then the vote revelation at the next challenge could shake that belief. I think the reaction to Morgan’s elimination will be interesting to watch. I’d imagine that if they think some of Naviti have already made deals with their Malolos then maybe they should do the same. Kellyn said it would be epic if Purple eliminated all of Malolo one-by-one but wouldn't it be even more epic, considering the numbers at the start, if the opposite happens?
11- Angela:
What will happen now to Angela who showed loyalty to Naviti by voting against Libby only to be repaid by Naviti putting three votes on her? She certainly has problems with her tribe mates because, when she tried to explain that she wasn’t with Chris, Domenick took that to mean she wasn’t with any of them. Angela will have trouble finding a foothold on the new configuration of Naviti. She doesn’t want to follow Chris, she isn’t trusted by Domenick and Wendell and she voted for one of the four Malolos who could see it as a sign to avoid her.
12- Wendell:
I think it’s important to note the difference between Angela and Wendell: She was ready to pull a rock for Naviti but Wendell didn’t want to draw rocks for Angela. I think more than anything this tells us that Naviti is dead, that the winner will come from an Original Malolo. While he appears to be a smart player, Wendell is reduced to a participation role behind the bigger stars.
13- Sebastian:
While he's a happy, smiley, giggly piece of happy-taffy, it’s easy to imagine that Sebastian won’t stay happy for very long.
14- Chelsea: She's cute.
15- Laurel: She's silent.
16- Desirée: She's there.
17- Bradley: So he's a complainer who also happens to be good in puzzles. Those are good reasons to vote him out.
Booted - Morgan: I'm not sure what she did wrong but I figure she should have talked to all 4 Malolos, not just Libby.
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