I love the Cirie compliments thrown out in Episode 1.

Tom Westman called her the strongest strategic mind around, and that she ran the game twice.

JP repeated what he said in the pre-game interviews, that she's his biggest threat.

I do find something ironic: Most people who don't like Cirie are down on her because she is not a physical threat, and these same types are more attracted to the physical, active gameplay of Tom & JP. However, Tom and JP are VERY intimidated by someone their admirers would call useless... Can't blame them, Cirie was right in that the best move would be to take out Steph - dismantle a strong 2-person alliance, but not cripple the team.

I'm happy Cirie made is past the first vote. In her past 2 seasons, she started on shakey ground, and ended up doing very well once the alliances were in place. Maybe tonight's misdirection for a Cirie vote is foreshadowing?

PS - this ep was amazing. I love/hate these guys.

• RE: Cirie is Awesome,iltarion, 03:52 AM, 02-12-10
  • RE: Cirie is Awesome,michel, 08:19 AM, 02-12-10
• RE: Cirie is Awesome,MizJazmine, 05:34 AM, 02-12-10
• RE: Cirie is Awesome,Belle Book, 11:23 AM, 02-12-10
  • RE: Cirie is Awesome,garcor, 09:19 AM, 02-13-10
    • RE: Cirie is Awesome,Belle Book, 11:26 AM, 02-13-10
      • RE: Cirie is Awesome,iltarion, 07:02 PM, 02-13-10
        • RE: Cirie is Awesome,Belle Book, 08:01 PM, 02-13-10

LAST EDITED ON 02-12-10 AT 03:53 AM (EST)

I can almost pull for Cirie this time around, which is also surprising. Her reputation makes going UTR nearly impossible for her now; so she will have to play a great strategic game to advance, and the fact that she has ties to Amanda and James also seems to make her a target.
Tom's exact words were "one of the smartest strategic players in the game" and then in confessional right after "a brilliant strategist." These are great compliments from certainly one of the greatest players of the game, but he never went so far as to say she was the "strongest" or "smartest," just one of them.
Ironically, by targeting Cirie, Tom showed his own strategical acumen in the game. Yet for Tom, the rest of his game is so strong, his strategy is typically overlooked.
Also, it is JT, not JP, which means Jeff Probst or Johnny Fairplay to me.

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LAST EDITED ON 02-12-10 AT 08:28 AM (EST)

"Ironically, by targeting Cirie, Tom showed his own strategical acumen in the game"

Well, maybe a smarter move would have been to align with her. That's what I would have done. Knowing she'd help me and that she couldn't beat me in individual ICs makes for a great ally. Ask Aras and Danielle and Amanda and Parvati.

I'm right there with ya MattyMax. Cirie is my girl and you know what? Tom is right! If I were playing, I would take Cirie out! I would not let her stay in the game. The woman is dangerous! Her social game, the way she reads people, and how in the past she kept her finger on the pulse of the group...Tom knows what he's talking about. Not to mention the fact that people in the game like her. She's not really an "offensive" person even when she's putting people out of the game. For a minute there I thought she was a goner, but she made it this time. It's funny to me though how she's eyballin' Tom & Stephanie and they're eyballin' her lol. I agree also that the right move would have been to get rid of Stephanie. Hurry up and break up that alliance!

LAST EDITED ON 02-12-10 AT 05:14 PM (EST)

I loved Cirie in both her seasons! Unfortunately, this time she's got a harder task -- Tom's smart enough to realize she's a threat to him in the endgame. And Cirie's smart enough to realize that she should get rid of Stephenie. I would do the same thing if I was her -- next time the Heroes go to Tribal Council, that is.

LAST EDITED ON 02-13-10 AT 09:35 AM (EST)

Potential problem for Cirie is her lack of strong challenge play. If keeping the tribe strong for challenges is the most important rationale for early jury votes, she is a sensible early target. And based on what was shown last night it looked like Tom/Stephanie might have enough votes (possibly pulling in JT, Colby, Candice to outvote Cirie/Amanda/James.)

Moving out Cirie could have the added attraction of bringing Amanda and James into a Tom dominated alliance. Both James and Amanda have come across as among the more loyal players to their allies. Remove a very strategic ally of theirs early, work to win them over, and you might have their votes for a long time. And Amanda seemed suseptible to falling under the shadow of a strong, male player, based on her relationship with Ozzy last time out. I think she's claimed she'd play differently this time, but who knows.

On another subject, noted that Jeff described Tom as the strongest winner ever. Not that Jeff is always impartial.

Yeah, that's another good reason why Cirie could be a good early target for Tom & Stephenie. I could see Colby & J.T. going for it as well. Candice and Rupert are the wild cards here. If they go with Amanda, Cirie & James, then Stephenie's gone. If they go with Tom, Stephenie and possibly Colby & J.T., then Cirie is gone.

LAST EDITED ON 02-13-10 AT 07:02 PM (EST)

michel, Tom is no fool. Any alliance with Cirie would only buy him time until Cirie got the opportunity to get rid of him.

I myself wonder how strongly aligned Amanda and Cirie are. It is a curious pair. Amanda took Parvati over Cirie to the Finals, which Cirie claimed in confessionals cost her a million dollars, and Cirie wasn't exactly complimentary of Amanda's game afterwards. Amanda on the other hand has to remember Cirie gave her vote to Parvati. The editing specifically made sure we saw Parvati's comment about Cirie and Amanda not necessarily being together. Is that because Parvati is trying to hide the alliance, or because she is doubtful herself that they would work together. Amanda's MO is to align with the strong while Cirie's MO is to work from a swing position; so, their games are hardly similar. Strange circumstances make strange bedfellows though. It was interesting to watch Cirie trying to talk Amanda into making a big move right off the bat. Ultimately, she deferred to Amanda though, which is also revealing.

I don't believe even the Heroes will stick with the "vote out the weak" strategy beyond that first vote. They already showed a desire to vote strategically. Ultimately, I think they just went with the easy vote because they are still too splintered into groups of two and three to make a big strategical move. That can change as quickly as it takes for Colby and Candice to pick a side.

It appeared Candice might have already worked an in with Amanda and Cirie. That would give them 5 and control if Colby is on board. Of course, Colby would probably prefer to keep the strong; so I don't know that he would be down with voting for Tom or Stephanie. We will see.

Regardless, don't expect the Villians to do the same. I imagine one of the strong will likely be the first to go.

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LAST EDITED ON 02-13-10 AT 08:02 PM (EST)

You're right about Tom & Cirie. Those two have very different MOs -- Cirie likes to work from a swing position, and I don't think that's Tom's style. He also realizes that Cirie isn't afraid to target the strong. So he'd never work with her.