Poody's Perspective

[Jeff Probst]

DAY 1

So far I've been far more intrigued with Ovambo. My favorite thing about Stranded that I strive for and I think that separates it from other series is the interaction of new players to ORGs and seasoned vets. We are getting to see that first hand with Kristina/Ralph and Matt. In any other game Matt wouldve been pegged as a known troll and probably thought to be hilarious and entertaining. But to people who are completely green to ORGs he's annoying, and they don't understand him. Which is so much more entertaining and makes his trolling 1000x more effective.

I'm loving Kristina and Ralph's interactions. Ralph's such a loveable goof and Kristina is a try hard n00b who thinks seh's a mastermind but is so loveably naive it's hilarious. They remind me so much of Matt and Butch from the amazon. Blind leading the blind? Hilarious! To boot they have amazing grade A personalities. I just hope they don't become a savvy player's sheep and float their way through the game. Who will be the Rob and take advantage of that? IF we remember though Matt got the better of Rob in the end. Could we see the same thing here? Something tells me there's more going on than just a newbie floater thing and the further they get in the game the more they will learn and the more dangerous they will become.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 05 - Ovambo

So we're five days in, heading into our first Tribal Council and I have to say this is a very promising group. Already they've started to deliver. Slowly, but surely. I have a feeling once they get warmed up and really start getting into things they will go nuts. That's what we're hoping for anyway.


I think the biggest problem with the game so far has been explaining things. First with the twist, taht was a huge cluster fuck. We knew it was kind of confusing ahead of time but it was just a mess trying to explain that to everyone. That being said, I think it has been very successful so far. First we were scared that it was going to be too obvious who the most trustworthy players were, it hasn't. Then we were worried that the moles would ignore the twist completely and not communicate with the other tribes, they didn't.

What's really interesting is that this has allowed many players to make some stupid moves. Most noteably: Papa Bear. Being called out from the other tribe for being a boob and lurking on a forum WHEN PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT A MOLE, is just hilarious. That in itself made this opening challenge iconic.

Which speaking of the challenge, was going so smoothly, maybe the smoothest ever of an opening challenge, until the dreaded ruling of hte horizontal/vertical debacle. I feel so badly for Rick because he's right, the correct way of doing it will take much longer than the incorrect way. But I couldn't overrule David on those vague rules that were posted. It was my fault for not being clearer and he already posted all the puzzles in the correct order so to go back on it would have been unfair given that nama could've just copy/pasted his answers.

We'll start with Ovambo since i've been following them a bit more closely, In particular:

Kristina/Ralph. I've mentioned it in my previous post but I love these two loveable buffoons and now that Ralph is the mole I definitely foresee an all-stars in his future. Right now he is the single most interesting person in the game and also the one in the most powerful position. I just love that he and Sophie are so very different and their approach to the mole shows that. What i love most of all is that Ralph is just going for it and you can tell he's genuinely having fun with the game. Sophie is a bit more reserved and I think that's going to bite her whereas Ralph is not calculating at all and could easily float through despite being a mole.

The ONLY person who seriously suspects that Ralph is the mole is David. Which says a lot about David's gameplay. Maybe he's not hte most strategic, or maybe he's not the best challenge competitor (with his painfully slow posting of puzzle pieces) but i still think David will be a force in this game. He's very very perceptive. Of course he's quick to tell you that, but the guy's not wrong. The interesting thing is tha the's not picked up on the fact that he was late to the party for the Steph/Julie/Ralph/Kristina alliance. He thinks he's number one with Ralph/Krsitina. Not htat it matters because I don't think Stephanie or Julie are too keen on Ralph/Kristina anyway.

Julie's an interesting one, she's such an oddball. I really loved her feistiness in the challenge though. I mean calling out Papa Bear as the mole? GENIUS. I hope her hag ways intensify as the season moves on... although that schtick is so old, no pun intended. She's not really blogging much herself so I can't tell her true intentions. I just view her as a wildcard player who despite making alliances seems pretty unstable and willing to flip on them if the right person gets into her ear.

Stephanie's another slow burn, but what's interesting is her relationships with EVERYONE in the game and most interesting is Mike who is quickly becoming one of the more interesting players on Ovambo. It's funny Mike and Grant were kind of wildcard castings in that we went back and forth on if they should play and then when we did decide we wanted them we couldn't place them. I think they are really making the characters their own though and both are becoming very strong players in the game. Mike came in like a bat out of hell and really dominated his way into the game. Which is so odd for someoen who was two days late, he was like a bull in a china shop. For stephanie to take a liking to him is interesting because I'd love to see those two do some damage like Russell Hantz and... Stephanie.

Grant's the other one. He's an incredibly smart player. Infact I'd say he's easily the most savvy player on Ovambo and I don't think they'r eaware of that. He might be the most savvy in the game. You can tell by the way he analyzes each situation and he can kind of read everything, not as naturally as David, but he's a smart guy. I would really be surprised if Grant nad Mike ended up working together because I just think the game is not big enough for the both of them. I'm hoping for a showdown eventually and hopefully a good one. They are alignedf for now, but I don't see that lasting. Also interesting is that Grant knows he's on the bottom. I could read his walls of text all day. I see Grant and Mike as good cop bad cop. Both very strategic, one more aggressive than the other. We'll see which wins out.

Ashely's a disappointment. Matt was amazing when he was first here. Hell I thought he would be legend status with the way he was riling up Krsitina, Ralph and the rest of his tribe. But he's gone missing since then and that's a real shame. I don't see him lasting much longer on his current path which I think sucks. I hope he shows up today and really puts in the effort to get to know some people because he could be great in this game.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 05 - Nama

Christine and Whitney are on the chopping block. Whitney's more in the forefront of that boot, which I'm disappointed in. Whitney and Christine were two people that I immediately cast in their positions and that means I had high hopes for their characters. Both of them have had activity problems. I don't know which one I want to stay, but I hope whoever does does not waste this opportunity.

Sophie is a good player, but a bit gamebotty to me. I was hoping to see a bit more of her struggle this early on, but so far she's skating. She seems really agitated with a lot of the game. Like she was annoyed with having to rank people on trustworthiness and now she's annoyed that she's the mole. It's like... I would have more respect for her if she would just see that this is the game and hse has to play in it. If she continues to ignore the game I think that will catch up to her and we'll see her go bye bye after a hwile. If, however, she starts using the game to her advantage, she could definitely win. I'm just bored with her as of now. The fact that she's phoning in confessionals and alliances doesn't help.

Let's skip all that and get straight to the meat of the situation. PB and J, easily my favorite alliance in a looong time. They're so fucking odd and I love that they have bonded. First of all Papa Bear is a hot fucking mess, but oddly enough not a terrible player? I mean he's bad, but he's got multiple alliances and seems relatively safe, at least from hsi perspective. The only problem with that is that he's a fucking moron. I mean logigng into Ovambo for hours on end when you know they are trying to figure out who the mole is, is just stupid. Him getting called out in the challenge as he and Jim are fumbling around with the last Giraffe was HILARIOUS. Which brings me to Jim, who is probably my second favorite on Nama after Papa Bear. I mean he just has personality for days .I could watch him play this game every season and never get bored. The pairing of PB and J is clearly the most interesting thing Nama has to offer and i hope they make it far together.

Then you have Semhar who is a fucking goddessa. She reminds me the most of Sarah. Just playing ballsy and fun for the heck of it. She wants to do something in the game and wants to use the mole to her advantage. So smart. Risky, but smart. I really want to see Semhar make it far in this game becuase i know she can do some interesting things given the opportunity.

Rick's kind of the "straight guy" to the comedy act that is Papa Bear. He's like an old veteran tired of the new crazy players shit but playing along anyway. I love it. He was amazing in the challenge and I genuinely felt bad for him because he was so far ahead. Let's face it, Rick's going to be here for a long time, let's just hope he has to do some maneuvering or he will be very boring if this is handed to him.

New Elyse seemed very good at first, but then she slowly went back into obscurity. Although, did anyone notice how fucking aggravated she got during the challenge?! I was fanning. She was such a train wreck I really hope we get to see more of THAT Elyse before her inevitable early departure.

I think tha'ts all I have to comment on. OH COCHRAN! I love Cochran. I think he's a great player and I love that he's like subtly sneaky. He's like the cat who got the canary. Reminds me of the coconut bandits or yau man painting fake idols. Infact he's a lot like yau man, he's just adorably conniving in a sweet way. Perfect for Cochran. Very unassumaing, but actually pretty smart. I can see him doing some damage in the game. hopefully he steps it up personality wise though or he can't win.

[Jeff Probst]

Quck Ranking!

Top favs:

1. Ralph
2. Papa Bear
3. Jim
4. Kristina
5. Julie
6. Sophie
7. Rick
8. Mike
9. Grant
10. Cochran
11. Semhar
12. Stephanie

I struggled after that...

[Jeff Probst]

Day 07 - Episode 02 Recap

So we're starting to get a better picture of how this season will shape up. I'm really starting to get invested in the characters and that's the mark of a great season. All that's left is for there to be some exciting tribals, some blindsides and some hard gameplaying and I think this could be one of the best! Of course, it could be a predictable bootlist, but even still I think this cast is aces and it wouldn't matter (knock on wood).

So before I go through both tribe's I'll just recap the twists that occurred in this episode, or that were supposed to occur. We introduced the mole getting a vote which is something I would bet on us reintroducing, but at the very least we wanted to give the mole something to talk to the other tribe about. Secondly, we're introducing a second hidden immunity idol that can only be played pre-merge.

This is purely to shake things up and make people unsettled. We've already set up this precedent where everyone is a bit mistrusting of each other because the mole could literally be any one of them. Now we're going to layer on top of that and play with that notiion. Okay so you already don't trust your tribemates, and now will any of them take a clue to the hidden immunity idol? Who will the mole vote for? Can you trust the mole to tell them who you want them to vote for?

Expect more of that out of this twist because the best part of it is the paranoia that it creates amongst eachother.

---

Nama

I'll start on Nama because they had the biggest events occur being that they lost their second challenge in a row. And wow what a stomping they received. I mean they didn't just lose it was embarrassing.

I honestly attribute a big part of their losing to Rick not being around. Rick's a great player, a strong challenger, and I think without him the tribe is in trouble and that was evident tonight. In other news, I'm really starting to like Rick. He's confident but not too much, at least not yet. I could easily see him going over the deep end later in the game especially if he gets comfortable in an alliance, but let's hope that doesn't happen or if it does that he gets blindsided because of it because that's boring.

It seems a bit rude that I didn't mention this first, but there was no other place i could fit Rick in this recap without retroactively adding him at the end and that seemed odd, so I'll tackle the most awkward part of this.

Jim. If anyone has been reading these recaps and everything else they'll know that I was in love with Jim the minute he accepted the application. I knew he would be a great character and would become an all-star and I still stand by that. The most unfortunate of things happened though and he received news that his ill father took a turn for the worst and he of course had to drop everything and rush to his bedside. I totally and completely understand that and I hope he doesn't even think about the game for a second. I'll give Jim his second chance for sure because I believe he was going to do amazing things in this game. He was poised to win it all, he had great alliances, everyone really liked him and I knew no one even wanted to vote him out tonight despite knowing he probably wouldn't return. I still maintain that he is one of the best characters in Stranded history, despite only playing the game for seven days. Love that guy and I can't wait to see him dominate a future season and I wish him all the best with his father.

This segues horribly into an unrelated topic but I have to get back on track somehow... Sophie is really starting to grow on me. She's starting to come out of her shell and show some real personality. I get her now. She's paranoid. She's an amazing player, she's dominating, in no danger it seems, has alliances and friendships with most players on her tribe... yet she's always afraid that the game will fall out from under her. Frankly, she should be, because it's hard being at the top. But I will say this, she's got to start accepting the game as it is and playing with it instead of trying to avoid it and play around it. It will never work. The good news for Sophie is that she's becoming more and more comfortable with those parameters and is starting to play with the game. She's talking more as the mole, She's opening up more in her confessional. She's venting and showing she's more than a gamebot and that's what I like to see in Stranded. This is an emotional series and a journey and I like to watch people throughout it change their opinions and show their feelings. It's what makes Stranded a special game. I like it when players embrace that and I hope that Sophie continues to open up and embrace it because she is so compelling when she does.

Alright I can't avoid it any longer, the fucking elephant in the room (no nama pun intended) that is Papa Bear has to be spoken about at some point. He may literally be the most big headed, bullish, controlling, manipulative, insane, trainwreck of a player that Stranded has ever seen. AND IT'S DAY 6. That means he has 20 more days (we can only pray to the stranded gods) of insanity to unleash on us and I will eat up every single solitary second of it. For some reason, Papa Bear has made it his mission to bully the truth out of people as to who the mole is. He is convinced tha the can force someone to tell him and let me tell you, watching him try is the most hilarious thing I may have seen . He was sure that he was going to get Elyse to squeal so much so that he bullied her for hours only to have her give him nothing because... SHES NOT THE FUCKING MOLE. Then he subtly adds into every other conversation with everyone else "are you the mole? you would tell me if you were the mole right, becuase you can trust me!?" I mean the guy is an ass, he's abrasive at best and the mole twist has literally consumed him. Possibly the most fascinating thing about Papa Bear is the fact that he is certain that he will make the merge. Infact he flat out told rick “I don't care who goes home. As far as I'm concerned I'm not getting voted out until merge so whoever goes doesn't really matter to me" WHO SAYS THAT?! Even if you are thinking that or it's true (which it may just be) you don't fucking tell someone that!!! I mean he's broken every single rule in the Stranded handbook and probably some common social rules as well I'm sure. He's even gotten to Ralph via the Nama Mole and has made an alliance with him. He's openly bragged about having alliances with every person on his tribe as if that's a good thing? I think there's a general mistrust when it comes to Papa Bear, because how could there not be he's a fucking hantz if I ever saw one... but interestingly enough the one person that has expressed this more blatantly and may just be his undoing is the least assuming member of the tribe... Whitney.

Whitney is slowly becoming one of the my favorites because as of right now she is the biggest underdog story. I mean ,some might say Elyse, but really I have a soft spot for whitney for some reason I just cant put my foot on. Maybe its because this is just a bad week for her and she's going to improve afterwards if she can make it through, or maybe it's just that she's a cute blonde and that makes her seem more vulnerable, I don't know. But for whatever reason I really really like Whitney and I'm secretly rooting for her to pull out a miracle and get her way back into the game. I also am a sucker for underdogs and she's a first time player, kind of screwed up at first and is now clawing her way out of a hole. The best part about it is that Whitney is the one who seems to be most on to Papa Bear's shit. She's already figured out that he's lying, she's cut straight through his bullshit and I cannot wait to see what Whitney does with that information. She's much more engaging than her fellow low man on the totem pole and counter-part Elyse.

Now I'm probably being overly harsh on Elyse seeing as she really did get screwed in coming in two days late, she really is new to gaming and hasn't found her footing totally, but there are also some plus sides to her. First of all she is an amazingly aggravated player and that is really fun to watch. ESPECIALLY when Papa Bear is trying to bully information out of her that just doesn't exist . I don't know if Elyse would thrive if she had started from the beginning, but I do know that almost every replacement player who has come in late has bounced back and worked their way into the inner circle with no problem and so in that aspect, I can't feel too sorry for her. She needs to step it up or she will go home next. If anything, she's provided a funny counterpart to Papa Bear as the aggro person dealing with his bullshit.

Semhar is another person who seems fed up with Papa Bear's shit. I'm kind of waiting for Semhar to explode but for right now she's MUCH more conserved and demure than she led on in her application and definitely more so than the first few days. i think maybe the dynamics of the tribe have caused her to take a back seat and i'm hoping that changes before the end of the game. She's a tough cookie and may just be the most real player here. I don't have much to comment on now because i just haven't seen that much from her, but I greatly look forward to what she will bring in the later stages of the game which it seems like she is poised to be apart of.

Lasty there's Cochran. Again he's kind of under the radar but like Sophie, he's slowly coming out of his shell and he's such a sweet kid it's hilarious to see him try to be devious. I love his alliance with Papa Bear. He seems to believe that he's his #1 ally which... everyone is Papa Bear's #1 ally. If he can get over that and maybe someone can inform him that he's making deals with everyone, I think this will set Cochran off. I think this early betrayal will be enough for him to really start taking things into his own hands because right now just relying on Papa Bear won't get him far.

---

Ovambo

Ovambo is a different story from Nama. They have yet to go to Council and they have an inactive to boot incase they do so things are understandably more tame on their side. That doesn't mean that it's boring though. In fact, I think of the two, Ovambo has more interesting characters which makes it a great thing that they are winning so much. It means more good characters will make the merge and it allows some dead weight on Nama to be cut before then.

I do want them to start losing at least twice though before the merge because I don't want to see Ashley outlast Whitney or Papa Bear or anyone else on Nama for that matter since that's not cool.

I'll dive right in with the star of this particular round: Grant. Grant has pleasantly surprised me as a real serious gamer. I mean I knew he was smart, but really I assumed he would just kind of be a nice guy floater. He has been anything but. He's got an alliance wiht everyone in the game, he's a huge threat in challenges as made evident by that challenge where he completely dominated. He's a likable person and he's poised to do very very well. There's not a whole lot else to speak on, but this round was definitely all about Grant. I would be worried if I were him because I think players on his tribe and maybe even the other tribe will start looking at him as a huge thread. Rightfully so.

Similar to Grant, is the person he's most closely aligned with, and that's Mike. It's funny because we went back and forth on which rep would be mike and which would be Grant between the two and I almost took them back and swapped them. I'm glad I didn't though because it really wouldn't have mattered and it might have caused them to target one another. Now they're BFF's. I don' t know if that can last because they're both so dominant and such cutthroat and savvy players. We've never had that dynamic where two male reps who were both extremely masculine players teamed up and ran things, but we just might here. Mike's really impressed me and he's very savvy. I love that he came in late and was able to turn it around like that and I think he's a crucial part of that tribe's dynamics. I get him and Grant mixed up but I believe they're both speaking to david and agreeing that Ralph is the most likely mole.

Kudos to David for sussing that out. Speaking of I'm really unfamiliar with what David has done in this game, but he's been the tribe leader twice now and everyone seems to have a general respect for him. I'm hoping when they go to a few councils David's loyalties are tested and he makes some moves rather than just floating through.

Julie and Stephanie are both aligned I believe, don't know how closely. It's hard to follow the two of them because they're both comfortable and safe as of right now so nothing too exciting going on there. Julie's interactions with the other tribe and the mole in particular have been hilarious to watch though so I hope that becomes an issue in coming rounds.


Kristina came back on a little paranoid after missing so much the round before. I think she's okay since there's still an inactive Ashley, but she's rightfully nervous that she's next in line. I know it's played out but I still find the relationship between Kristina and Ralph endearing. I'm upset that Ralph seemed okay with having to cut her loose though :'( I hope he only said that thinking she was inactive.

That brings us to the big man on campus: Ralph. Ralph is fucking hysterical. He provided us with this amazing quote at his time on Nama spoken to none other than Papa Bear: "Okay Man I'm with you.. At merge I'll talk to you and Ill give you this word to clarify that it's me. Baboon” I literally laughed out loud at that. Fucking hysterical. I really hope that they both make the merge becuase A. that would be the most amazing alliance ever and B. I cannot wait for Ralph to PM Papa Bear with "Baboon." Ralph is not totally ignorant though. The kid is sharp despite being a goofball and seemingly stupid, he's vastly underestimated. I mean, he came up with the genius idea of telling Kristina to tell the alliance she's the mole and if anyone guessed her out of spite they would know they were a liar and they would be sent over to the other side. That's fucking brilliant. And now he's sussed out that Kristina's next after Ashley and that means he's not in a good spot, which is really great. I mean the kid is not a complete character, he is a player as well. So kudos to him. I think that's all i can remember from this round on Ralph... Baboon.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 09 - Episode 03 Recap

So not very much happened in this episode. Nothing noteworthy anyway. I'll touch on the key points with Nama and then there were very few things going on over at Ovambo with half the tribe being inactive since they keep winning.

What I will do though is lump in what happened with the swap into this episode to build that up for Episode 4.

---

Nama

The first thing i'll comment on is Sophie's remarkable ability to keep her moleyness under wraps. She's managed to convince everyone that by voting out Elyse they will have eliminated the mole. I mean they all truly believe that Elyse was the mole. Of all the rankings everyone suspects Sophie as the least likely to be the mole, which probably has something to do with her being the most trustworthy. Phenomenal game being played. What else is interesting is her dislike for her tribe/alliance which all seem to adore her? Weird...

Semhar wasn't around this episode and neither was Rick, but we'll get to him later.

I'll talk about Papa Bear first and that will smoothely transition into the others. He's continued his goal of pissing everyone off by making alliances with them all. The difference is that now people have spent enough time with him and listened to his bullshit for long enough not to trust him. I mean pretty much everyone knows he's full of shit, but they don't seem to want to get rid of him, I think because he's so transparent? It's kind of a Russell Hantz situation going on where I think players like Sophie and Semhar are willing to tolerate him knowing that he's still a number and he will be a really obvious target later on in the game. It's fine by me because it's hella entertaining.

This brings me to Whitney, because of everyone she has made the biggest comeback this week and has pretty much endeared everyone to her and was able to eek out an extra week over Elyse whereas Rick thought htey were voting for her. That just shows how far on the bottom she was and how quickly she jumped up. That takes some talent. She's easily my favorite underdog story THUS FAR, but there are some more coming that I'll talk about as we go into Episode 04. And everyone knows i love a good underdog story.

Cochran is growing in this game as we predicted pregame. It's really fun to watch someone new to the game come in and learn quickly, that's always what we look for in Stranded and I love to see it happen. The one thing Cochran needs to do is grow some confidence and i'm hoping come the merge and if he's invited in on a few blindside schemes, he will have that.

---

Ovambo

Again not much to go over here but I'll gloss some things.

David is starting to reconsider whom he's aligned with. I think becuase Mike has been on and talking more with everyone, he's grown to have a liking for him and wants to start an alliance with Mike, Grant and Stephanie. That's a dangerous alliance in the game that could easily be the final 4, not that Stephanie would allow it. David's an interesting one, definitely a thinker... I think he sussed out Ralph as the mole, he's one to watch out for. Maybe a sleeper in the merge?

Ralph confided in Kristina that he was the mole and that changed their dynamic a lot I believe. Although we didn't see to much of it, Honestly I haven't followed it that closely but I believe that is what's going on there? Ovambo was dead this week.

Everything else remained pretty much the same as last week, so I'll skip the boring summation. The tribe won Immunity, there's nothing to talk about.

---

The Swap

So for whatever reason the game was getting stale. Nama kept losing, they had several boots that they could get rid of before they had to actually worry... People were dropping like flies. Like seriously look at the list of quits/inactives that i've replaced this season: Matt, Jim, Christine, Elyse.

But that doesn't mean this hasn't been an amazing season, i think it was just time for a mix up so luckily this mix up came at the right time. It just so happened that both tribes had inactive members in Ashley and Rick (not to be confused with Rick Astley) and it also just so happened that we had two plaeyrs who really wanted in the game. So for the first time in Stranded history we brought in two new replacements with only 14 people left.

I just think it's been a breath of fresh air, it's a great way to segue into a merge and it's added some really interesting dynamics to the game. On top of that it's given players like Julie and Semhar a shot in the arm to get their asses back into the game! It's a whole new ballgame!

The swap happened and how it shook down was that nothing changed except Grant and the two new replacements swapped .

I'll tell you why this is amazing. It gives all three of those characters a HUGE underdog story. Grant is now fucked unless he can somehow jump ship with the mole twist. Ashley and Rick are the odd ones out on their tribes, but theyre both really interesting players.

Ashley is taking this game on by storm. She's already sussed out that Papa Bear is full of shit and has sent him a false idol and it's only her first day in the game. She's getting used to the forums and talking to all of the players. I honestly think she might have a shot in this if Nama manages to win. If not, she'll be voted out most likely :'( unless she can start something devious with a few of the players.


Rick's probably more fucked than Ashley, BUT he's got a shot because Ovambo has not had to break that core 7 the entire game. They could feasibly take in rick and boot some of their dead weight when things start going down.

All interesting things, We'll see what happens in the next recap!

[Jeff Probst]

Day 13 - Episodes 04 & 05 Recaps

I'm going to knock out both swap rounds in one blog since they both kinda happened quickly. I'm not going to do a tribe rankdown like the last few blogs because there's just not an equal amount that happened for All players and there were definitely a few key players that stepped up and shined.


The first of which was quite obviously our newest member, Ashley. Wow what a fucking godessa. She OWNED Nama. I mean I gave her some odds, but did NOT think she would make it out alive, but she pulled it off.

Unfortunately, her counterpart Rick was not so lucky. :'( He'll get another day, but poor bastard didn't even really get the chance to play before Ovambo decapitated his ass.

It all started when Grant was the sole Ovambo member (aside from the newly replaced Ashley) to end up on New Nama. He seemed proverbially fucked, until it danwed on everyone that all he had to do was guess and at best he would get an idol and out the mole, at worst he would just switch back to his old tribe and they would boot Rick (poor Rick :( ).

The interesting part was that we really finally got to see Grant play and he was phenomenal. Not that we didn't know he would be because we did, but it was fun to watch.

The other really impressive play during this time was Sophie who was able to convince everyone she was the least likely mole. So much so that Grant really didn't even want to waste his guess on her. This was the first time Sophie really had a lot to lose because had Grant guessed her as the mole, she would be gone and it would abruptly end her game. So good on her for stepping up and being able to convince him that she wasn't hte mole.

The interesting thing was that she wasn't so convincing with Ashley who is proving to be a huge HUGE threat in this game. She almost instantly sussed out the inconsistencies in Sophie's story and knows that she is infact the mole. That's pretty good for someone who hadn't been here nor really understood the twist when she first arrived to be able to suss out the mole so accurately and quickly. She's dangerous I tell ya. DANGEROUS.

Aside from putting Sophie on blast, Ashley went on to make inroads in all of Nama and was able to save herself the following round over someone who had been with Nama since day one. Infact she wasn't even in danger, if it wasn't Semhar it would have been Cochran and if it wasn't Cochran it wouldve been whitney.Fucking amazing.

Another interesting dynamic is Grant and Ashley working together as outsiders. The fact that Grant went back and shared this with Ovambo really endeared ashley to them all. That is going to be so interesting to watch play out now that we are at the merge.

And that's all I have to talk about, but the merge i think is going to be fantastic. So many great characters and storylines coming to a head and of course...


BABOON.

More on that in my next update when I recap the merger :o

[Jeff Probst]

A catch up on the current alliances going into the merge from what I know (which may not include some other things):

Ovambo's dynamics were a bit scattered, but at the core there was an alliance of Grant, Mike and Stephanie calling the shots. Ralph and Kristina have always been a pair and initially worked with Julie and Stephanie, although I think they both found greener grasses in Grant/Mike. David also stepped into the mix because apparently there was an alliance from a long time ago since before Mike showed up with David/Grant/Stephanie/Julie and he pushed to get Grant included and formed a new alliance with Stephanie/Grant/Mike/David.

So that's where we are over there.

On Nama... Papa Bear has a final 2 with literally everyone. Sophie is kind of calling the shots and has taken Whitney under her win, but since Ashley has arrived, Ashley and Sophie are bff's at least she's Sophie's fav. It seems that the core three are Sophie, Papa Bear and Ashley. Cochran and Whitney are of course aligned with them but not integral parts.

Cross-tribal there is an alliance between the Nama Mole and Papa Bear, which they have outed as Ralph and Papa Bear via the word Baboon. (the code word that the nama mole (ralph) was going to tell Papa Bear in the merge to signify that it was him).

Since them Kristina and Ralph have been talkign to Papa Bear and Sophie about joining up and going to the end with Kristina/Ralph/Sophie/PapaBear/Ashley. Seems like Kristina is iffy on this though and mad at Ralph for spilling the beans about being the mole to Papa Bear.

[Jeff Probst]

Quick Ranking of my favs!

1. Papa Bear
2. Ralph
3. Ashley
4. Sophie
5. Grant
6. Mike
7. Whitney
8. Kristina
9. Cochran
10. David
11. Julie
12. Stephanie

[Mia]

Ouch poor Steph.

So the whole tribe knows that Ralph was a mole?

[Jeff Probst]

Ouch poor Steph.

So the whole tribe knows that Ralph was a mole?

They don't know for a fact, but david was the first one onto it and everyone else pretty much guessed that it's true. Ralph has only confided in Kristina though, that he is the mole.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 16 - Episode 06 Recap

So the merge kicked off and it was off and running! The greatest part about the merge was that it really re-energized a lot of players and there was a level of activity we haven't seen in the game in a long time. The result of the merger, the booting of Cochran, was kind of disappointing, but not entirely too bad. Cochran was someone who was probably the least interesting person on Nama, only because he hadn't really gotten the chance to prove himself. I still maintain that he is a really smart kid and after a few games he will be SOOO dangerous, but for now I don't think he was every going to make a move on his own just out of lack of confidence that comes with it being his first game.

The unfortunate storyline is that Ashley has completely overshadowed Whitney in the underdog department, but that doesn't mean Whitney can't make a strong showing in the merge, it's just that Ashley's ties to Grant and Sophie make her one of the most powerful players in the game and i don't think anyone realizes that. She has inroads to both leaders of both alliances and is doing a very successful job of playing both sides.

Speaking of Grant, he has reunited with Ovambo and has continued his domination but now he's also an underdog. It's almost as if the whole game revolves around Grant and no one seems to realize just how dangerous he is YET. The problem for Grant will be when people finally do wisen up and see that he is the one they need to get rid of... will he make a move before they can? Or will he pin himself in a corner where he is the only threat left and the obvious boot if he loses immunity? I hope not for his sake.

Julie finally reared her ugly head and actually it might be a good thing, because i really see her as the only one paranoid enough to make some moves from Ovambo. Can she pull it off? I don't know, will she try? I would bet on it. She could instantly become a huge character in the game if she starts to panic and pull some crazy stunts. This game kinda needs that right now to be honest.

The biggest storyline obviously comes from Papa Bear and Ralph and the moment we have all been waiting for...

Baboongate.

This might be the funniest thing I've ever heard in Stranded. "Does the word Baboon mean anything to you?" "I'm going to try to get Mike to say Baboon to PB" Papa Bear and Ralph is the most hilarious pairing I have ever seen. They're both so trainwrecky. One is borderline retarded but also hilariously good at the game in a clusterfucky type way? The other is borderline retarded, but bullies people, and tries way too hard but is so fucking entertaining. I'll let you try to figure out which is which, i kinda forgot when I was typing it and realized i was almost describing the same pesron. The difference is that Ralph is kinda a loveable buffoon, or baboon if you will, and Papa Bear just thrives on chaos and stirring up as much shit as possible. How PB Is still around I will never know, but I'm so fucking thankful for it.

He is the star of the season 1000% and I really hope he can figure out a way to keep Nama going even if he is signle handedly tanking their chances.

So Papa Bear and Ralph form an alliance together and they each bring in their closest allies of Kristina and Sophie. They all seem on board 100% as they bring in Ashley, but they wanted to boot a Nama first, thus Cochran's name gets thrown out.

Then you see Kristina furious with Ralph that he outed that he's the mole to Papa Bear and hating joining forces with Nama and I think that's where they both kind of backed off of the plan to flip the game up. I think that is so stupid because Kristina shouldve gone with Ralph, as crazy as he seems, and flipped on Ovambo who would boot her first. She's gonna need to wake the fuck up despite loathing Papa Bear to see what's in her best interest and that's to take out the power alliance of Ovambo. Will she do it? Survey says: no, but there is still a chance. I think she will look back on this and kick herself for not doing it... but time will tell.

I think they could still do it with 4 nama and 2 ovambo and take everyone out, or at least start taking out some power players on Ovambo before they wrap up the final 4.

I just hope shit starts flipping or we're headed for a Redemption Island/South Pacific redux and that's really not a good thing despite some great characters, we need some good blindsides.

As I said though: The game is still young and Cochran was not a huge loss in terms of drama or intrigue so onwards and upwards!

[Jeff Probst]

Day 19 - Episode 07 Recap

So the game has finally ramped up into overdrive. Finally some of the Ovambo members, namely David and Mike, have started to entertain using Nama to their advantage in the game. I feel like they originally wanted to flip and just take out Ralph, but after closer consideration, and probably some poo-pooing by mastermind-at-large Grant, they came up with a plan to split the votes and get rid of a Nama anyway.

To me that's kind of pointless because they might as well just gone through with that plan and not given up the hopes of Nama and pissed them off completely. BUT at least it was SOMETHING outside of a boring pagonging that will surely lead to a Grant/Stephanie victory.

All this was seeming well and good until the Immunity Challenge came along and really started to get people thinking. It really outed Grant/Stephanie as the frontrunners who had everyone under their thumbs, and it didnt help that Grant went on to win Immunity for the second time in a row. #threat.

I really think this was the wake up call Kristina, Mike, Ralph, Julie and David needed to realize, oh shit we're being led to the slaughter and we're really not in control like we thought we were. If they don't act on it after being handed this gift then they're just lazy players who deserve to lose to Grant or Stephanie, who have been playing phenomenally by the way.

The best part about this whole turn of events was that Sophie ended up winning despite being a target for the blindside to try and flush her idol. This led to her calling out "blue bleeders" in a truly fierce and righteous manner that has not been seen in a while <333 She was by and large the STAR of this episode and this was her coming out party. I was there waving the flag with the rest of the hosts watching her tear into Ovambo. The other great thing about this was that she developed a hatred for Grant for shooting down her ideas and really being condescending and unnecessarily aggressive towards her when she was being innocent the entire time. He feels attacked for no reason, which is odd.

I think at this point everyone is rooting for Sophie. I don't think she can win because they'd be insane to let her near the final, but each day she slips by is a miracle and SUPER fun to watch. I'd like to think that she can turn this game around and it seems like that challenge was just the catalyst to do it.


.... Now let us take a moment of silence as a true Stranded Legend in the making has fallen ...

Papa Bear, he gave us final two alliances with everyone, annoying everyone and bullying them into fake alliances... he bumblefucked his way through the game in a glorious fashion which had everyone laughing for hours on end, he was the STAR of the pre-merge and much of the merge as well with his outright lunacy and it's for that reason I wanted to see underdog Whitney go before him. Papa Bear will surely be missed, but not for too long

.. We now continue this regularly scheduled blog post ...

I actually think Papa Bear leaving might be the best thing that has happened for Ashley, Sophie and Whitney because now Kristina is much more willing to work with them and they don't have him making multiple alliances and outright fucking up their plans of a comeback.

I predict exciting things are to come as paranoia is at an all time high and no one wants to be the natalie tenerelli to the Boston Rob of the game.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 20 - Episode 08 Recap

So... everyone legitimately lost their ever-loving minds this episode. I've never seen so much scrambling in such a short amount of time. I think the two challenges really woke everyone up to the fact that... going to the end in an alliance will probably just result in the leader of the alliance winning the game, so now everyone is either making moves or trying to make it seem like they are, which is HELLA entertaining.

The biggest development is now Kristina is trying to work with Nama AND Ovambo, but she seems oblivious to the fact that Stephanie is not on board with this. Ashley seems to be as well as Sophie, however.

I'm loving this merge because challenge by challenge we're seeing Grant slowly losing it. From control, to his composure, to his gameplay, he's just falling apart in front of our eyes. That being said, he's really owning. He's spot on in challenges, he's won everyone one so far, in fact i think he might have won every single challenge in the game so far? He's sitll in a really powerful position albeit more vulnerable now that people are onto him. Probably the greatest thing about Grant's gameplay is the fact that he's so paranoid, but it almost works to his advantage because he's able to call every alliance and every move that people might want to make against him. It works to his disadvantage when he kind of lashes out at people when they don't even make a move against him *couch* Sophie *cough* and that could really set him out as an even bigger target and even if he were to make it to the end, that could make him be seen as unlikable to the jury.

Ralph was drunk so that was hilarious and he ended up going home :'( star. I really loved watching him the entire season and i think he will return and will be a huge star in Stranded lore. Good night sweet baboon.

Onwards and upwards.


OH!!! Before I forget, we're finally starting to see the beginning of a tangled web that Stephanie is weaving. She will get caught up eventually since hse has an alliance and suballiance and sub sub alliance with everyone in the game. I still think she can be a bit of a borewhore but, she's starting to develop a storyline as the one who everyone trusts and really shouldn't. I should've casted her as Dawn, damn...

Whitney finally showed back up and i think she can be more active now, she'll start making moves as well as Julie, but... tehy really have to step it up in a really big way if they want to make it to the end. Julie's already thrown her Ovambo members under hte buss <3

[Jeff Probst]

Day 21 - Episode 09 Recap

So if you're looking at this season on paper, the pre-merge was pretty good despite a lot of inactive/quits, but the merge has really ramped things up and created a lot of Stranded All-stars, in my books. Just the last three boots alone, each was a really epic player. Which brings us to Grant.

Grant going was what this season needed, but don't get me wrong, I'm sad to see him go. He was a powerful force of a player. He was an immunity beast, he had everyone under his lock and key and was very good at figuring out what moves the other players would make next, which is not only a rare quality for a new player to possess, but a rare quality for any player in ORGs to possess. Sure, he made some mistakes, but this was his first game, and he played it like a veteran. He was far too arrogant and too perturbed by the thought of people screwing up his plans, or the twists screwing up his plans, that he didn't go with the game. He'll learn that, but I hope he doesn't lose his ability to control people and situations to his advatnage, he just needs to learn the best way to do it without making himself a huge target post-merge. Kudos to him though on a great game and i'm sure we'll be seeing plenty of him in the future.

That brings us to Sophie and Ashley which may be one of my favorite pairings of all time in Stranded history. Both huge underdogs, both clawing their way from the bottom to the top, both very entertaining players. It's funny you know I keep thinking of who THE strongest characters of a season are, the Mia's, the Sarah's, the Frank's... but that keeps changing. At first i thought it was Ralph because he was hilarious pre-merge, then it shifted quickly to Papa Bear who dominated much of hte pre-merge and the early stages of the merge. Then it was Mike on Ovambo and then it quickly shifted to Grant who is now out. Now it's looking more and more like Sophie and who knows, if Sophie leaves it could be Ashley, and if Ashley leaves it could be Kristina.

I think that's the mark of a great season when one huge character leaves and another steps up to replace them. It's what's making this season become a very solid season which at first we weren't sure about. The characters are all developing and the storylines are coming together and it's a beautiful thing to see especially when a season is riddled in doubts and inactivity, I love it when it all comes together and we get some great stories and new characters.

Julie's starting to make a comeback for me a little bit. I mean she knows she can't win, but at least she's not blowing this opportunity COMPLETELY. I mean she'd be lucky to be apart of a second chance season, but really she's doing okay now that she's starting to play. I'm loving the alliance between her and Sophie/Ashley/Whitney. I don't know how long itll last but it's great to see a big shake up in the game and for Sophie/Ashley to finally get a big "win" at a council where they've been mostly just surviving up until now and not really playing the game. I don't mean that in a bad way because they've been clawing and fighting their asses off, but they haven't been able to make any moves because Ovambo wasn't budging... until now.

Kristina I think could step up and be a great player in this season or future seasons if she would just take her head out of her ass a bit. I mean it probably goes along with being new, but she was completely snowed by Grant and Stephanie who are not on her side and never were and that's really hindered her from making the right moves. She should have switched with Ralph to Nama when she had the chance and she didnt. Now she's kind of watching that happen to her instead of being the one to do it. I think it's a confidence thing that she lacks, or maybe she's too confident in the wrong things. She needs the foresight to see who is lying to her and who has her best interest in mind. Granted (no pun intended), that Grant was a really close ally of hers and did speak highly of her, want to work with her. But that doesn't change the fact that he was working with EVERYONE and had a core foursome that did not include her.

I'm sorry because I love Stephanie outside of the game as a person and i know a lot of the co hosts do as well, but in the game, she's just boring to me. Sure she's a good player and sure she's got deals with everyone, but is it entertaining? no. It's not even entertaining in a "oooh, she's playing great" kind of way. She's just boring. She's not really stepped up in my eyes. BUT the good thing is that being aligned with everyone can only backfire eventually and I'm anxious to see how that pans out. Didn't work out so well for Papa Bear, but that's not really a fair comparison. We'll see if it's any different if you're more cunning. My guess is it'll be the same outcome regardless.

David and Mike are kind of the Linda/Gabriel's of this season. I love them, don't get me wrong. I think they are smart smart players who WANT to be the masterminds, but they just aren't. I think they will get there in a couple more games they play in, but for now they're just sheeple and it's sad because it's almost like they want to make moves and talk about it at great lengths and then someone or something talks them out of it and back into just being sheep. They keep talking about Ovambo and Nama, and they need to wake the fuck up, there is no more Ovambo and Nama, it's HIMBA and you need to start playing it for yourselves, boys. I don't even think their leader Grant being blindsided will wakt hem up into playing for themselves, they're still trying to organize an Ovambo vs. Nama... Get over it!!! It's done, start playing for David and Mike. I had such high hopes for Mike too, he started the game really strongly, talking about all the people he was going to backstab and lie to and all the plans he was going to enact. I think a big part of this was the foundation that Grant laid down and he really brain washed these people into being loyal to the point where even after he's gone, they're still loyal to his alliance?!?!?!? Good job grant, Mike and David, please take this as a lesson going forward: You cannot win the game by EXPLAINING to people what you did, you have to SHOW them. Seeing is believing and in Survivor when anyone can lie about anything, you really have to PROVE your game and what you've done and if that means making public displays and being corny, honey... corn it up. At the end of the day I'm much more likely to believe a corny over the top jury ploy than something behind the scenes that I didn't get to see...

[Jeff Probst]

Day 23 - Episode 10 Recap

Well I had written up a really long recap of the game and the final 7 but it fucking got deleted because I timed out of being logged in after writing so god damn much, so I guess I'll just have to do it al over again. DEDICATION I TELL YOU.

Well, where should I start now. I guess I'll start from the beginning. This season was kind of concerning me after we had some tragic early departures and some people outright quitting, not giving it their all, and it was just a cluster fuck of a beginning. The good thing is that there was always the potential of great characters to come, and luckily we had some strong story lines already developing. That has been the saving grace of this season because this season is very story heavy and has become extremely entertaining to watch.

I think we had some big early disappointments in Christine, Matt and Ashley1 in that they had such huge potential but just didn't bother showing up, and then we had one of our biggest stars, Jim, leave early due to a family emergency and that really was a downer for the season, both as a host and I'm sure as players.

Then again, the pre-merge was dominated in a large way by Ralph and Papa Bear and their storyline was nicely wrapped up in the early merge with them going in 11th and 10th places respectively. It came to a very entertaining head with the Baboongate and the cross tribal alliance imploding and Ralph being target numero uno.

Then the storyline of the swap with players like Ashley coming into the game and really revitalizing it in a way and forming a friendship with fellow outcast at the time Grant. The thing about being in a bad position and coming out of it is that it really made Grant and Ashley targets in the merge, because their stories are amazing underdog stories. Unfortunately for Grant he continued winning the first three challenges of the merge and his core four alliance really set him up as the largest threat in the game.

It's really been a story of underdogs the entire season, and that really makes the best stories anyway. Going back to Ralph and Papa Bear, they were the underdogs when they formed an alliance with Kristina. This is really where Kristina's storyline began because she thought she was in the core of Ovambo, where she was sadly mistaken. It was because of this fact that she then dragged Ralph back into the Ovambo alliance when he wanted to flip mainly because she believed she was with Stephanie and Grant was very telling. It was probably her biggest mistake in the game.

The other big storyline leading up to this episode is that of Sophie being an underdog. She started the merge on Nama and thanks to Papa Bear a lot of the other tribe members in Ovambo did not flip. He was really the one intercepting a lot of the plans Mike and David had spoken to them about and because of that they just didn't trust Nama enough to flip. The greatest part of the merge has been hands down her "blue bleeder" crusade against a pagonging from Ovambo. So fucking fierce... Sofierce. Her constant calling out of people in Tribal Councils, her winning of challenges, her idol play, her strategy has all been amazing and I'm just long for the ride. Early on she was a silent leader in terms of strategy. She was the Grant of Nama. She's had to fight claw and scrap her way to this spot and I don't think anyone gave her a second thought in terms of making it past final 9.

Another huge underdog story that has been developing is Ashley. She came in midway through the game, the latest replacement ever in Stranded. She immediately ingratiated herself into the Nama group and revitalized the game in a lot of ways. She bonded with Grant early on in that time as they were both the outsiders and that relationship has come into play in the merge as she waffled back and forth between the Nama and Ovambo alliance. She's just now starting to come into her own and really become a huge threat. The dynamic duo that is Sophie and Ashley is one of my favorite of all times in Stranded history. Starting from the bottom and being outcasts on Nama and managing to eek their way to this point is just amazing and so fucking entertaining to watch.

In the previous episode Kristina was talking to Ashley and Stephanie about going into an alliance with Grant and Sophie. She was unaware that Stephanie and Grant were closer with eachother than her. She was also unaware that a separate alliance was forming between Julie, Whitney, Sophie, and Ashley. When they successfully blindsided Grant after the Ovambo alliance decided to split their votes, Kristina was shocked. She came back to camp and immediately was shocked that they wouldn't let her in on the plan. This split set us up for an amazing Tribal Council with two alliances of four going head to head in what looked like it would be a deadlocked tie... until something unexpected happened.

First of all, Ashley found the new Hidden Immunity Idol and played it on herself cementing her as a huge threat in this game. Secondly, David caved on the revote and decided to boot out Kristina. Poor Kristina, she was just becoming the most dangerous person in the Ovambo group which meant she HAD to go and David was too afraid to draw rocks, not that I can blame him.

The amazing part was that he finally started to make moves for himself and not for the Ovambo alliance, and the fact that that had to come at these high stakes so late in the game was amazing. It was a great shocking moment.

More on David's developments and Stephanie's new role going foward in Episode 11

[Jeff Probst]

Quick Ranking!

I'll do my favorite characters and who I think would make a good winner:

Winner Ranking:

1. Ashley
2. Sophie
3. Stephanie
4. David
5. Mike
6. Julie

Personality Rankings:

1. Sophie
2. Ashley
3. David
4. Mike
5. Julie
6. Stephanie.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 25 - Episode 11 Recap

This episode was a big coming out story for two of the most dormant characters of the season. The first of which was David who finally made a move. Unfortunately for him, it was probably one that cost hi the game? Either way it turned him into the biggest double crosser of the season when he immediately flipped and went to Sophie and Ashley and abandoned his crew because he did not want to draw rocks for Kristina. Granted, I can't really blame him, BUT it made him look really bad to everyone and pissed off Stephanie and Mike to the nth degree. It was glorious to watch.

He immediately started talking with Sophie, Ashley, Whitney and Julie and had appeared as though he flipped alliances over to their side. This prompted Stephanie to be even more pissed off with David. Thus her starring role was born.

Stephanie on the run is infinitely more entertaining than Stephanie silently controlling everyone and phoning it in most of the season. That's not to say that I find her entertaining now, but at least she is doing something in this game instead of just lying dormant. Has the volcano finally erupted? well not entirely. The biggest thing going into this episode was that she declared she would slash and burn the competition from this point forward. After fizzling in the immunity challenge and Sophie dominating it, i thought she was full of shit.

She did however find a Hidden Immunity Idol guaranteeing herself a spot in the final 6. We'll spare you the boring parts nad skip forward to Tribal Council where we finally saw a bit of feistiness from Mike as he and Sophie argued very publicly about whether they were kissing David's ass or not. David remained completely silent during this whole transgression mind you.

With what should have been an easy boot of one of the Ovambo's, Mike or Stephanie, some very odd things happened at Tribal Council. The first of which was Whitney forgetting that the game does infact take place on Sunday despite being the third sunday of the game thus far. The second of which was David switching back on his alliance and joining the former Ovambo members in voting for Ashley. This resulted in a 3 on 3 tie. The third of which was Julie/Sophie/Ashley turning their backs on David and voting for him. GLORIOUS.... all three of these unexpected and hilarious events caused for one of the most karma induced bouts of comeuppance in Stranded history:

When just 24 hours ago David had caved in a tie breaker and voted out his alliance members because he was not willing to go to rocks for them, he was now in a situation where he was literally BEGGING his allies: Stephanie and Mike to go to rocks in order to save him from elimination. This not only was hilarious to watch and was a solid dose of instant karma, but solidified David's character in this game. He now may be the most despised character of the season and the biggest weasel we've seen in a long time. GLORIOUS. I say kudos to David. This is much better than being a coat tail riding natalie tennerelli which was his certain fate. He's finally making moves for himself in the game and although it's sleazy and downright despicable, at least he's making a name for himself albeit that of a rat.

Well it turns out David lucked out and Mike and Stephanie were willing to go to rocks for him. Mostly Mike since Stephanie played the idol on herself. Julie, Mike and Whitney (not present) all pulled rocks and as luck would have it Whitney drew the purple rock by default and was sent packing without even being there. If that's not proof of Karma I don't know what is.

Also made for a fantastic episode and solidified this season as a great one! Going forward we're left with yet another deadlock involving the same people. Amazing! Cannot wait to see what happens next episode.

[Jeff Probst]

Day 26 - Episode 12 Recap

All I can say is that this season has become legendary and it is producing some legends. Some that I despise, some that I adore, but my opinions are firmly planted and that means this season is doing something right.

I hope when David re-reads this he doesn't think I'm picking on him, I'm sure he will have a lot of ~soul searching~ after it's all said and done, but I think that even he knows he's screwed up and kind of tanked his own game and acted in a really unlikeable way so this should come as no surprise to him. I really think that David after Grant is THE villain of the season. Kudos dude! I really mean that, I love a good villain as much as if not more than the protagonists. With each passing episode David digs himself further and further into villain-hood and I love it. I much prefer this to the David that was in the shadows not doing much of anything waiting to be beaten in the final 3. Believe it or not his moves I think have given him a better chance because at least he can now point to things that are remarkable about his game instead of not doing much of anything. I'd say he'd beat Mike in the finals and could give the others a run for their money. Right now there's a lot of anti-Sophie going on in the jury house and if David plays his cards right he could just walk away with this thing. And honestly, at this point, I think David would make a pretty great winner. Only because his storyline is so all-over the place and he's trying so hard to play well and just completely fucking it up. It's kind of endearing. One of the best things that's happened in his storyline was his very public fight with Sofierce. I mean she's just killing it in Tribal Councils and this time it was David's turn. Their fight was so epic, it's just another thing that has made this season great.

That brings me to Sophie. It's no secret that I fucking adore Sophie. She's feisty, fierce and completely owning this game so far. I mean who gave her a shot at top 9? Really... She was kind of doomed from that point and she's still fucking here at the final 5. It's unbelievable. I love that she's not afraid to speak her mind and call out everyone when she's pissed. She is far and away the focal point of the season and the star of the season. She's kind of the anti-hero in that she's not overly likable, she's very in-your-face and that is rubbing people the wrong way. There are mountains of text in the jury house (holla Grant) just on why she shouldn't win. I think she will have a hard time winning with this particular jury despite the remarkable game she has played. Of everyone here I think she probably deserves it the most just from how hard she's had to fight to get to this point. If she can make it to the final 3 it's nothing short of a miracle and if she doesn't get the win, it will be the biggest upset since Lill in season 3.

So the most amazing thing happened after Sophie and David's fight, We end up in our third tie in a row. That has to be some kind of record. Of course, an idol is played and this time Stephanie opts to play it on herself again, kudos girl. Then of course since Stephanie has won Individual Immunity she gives it to Mike. Yet again, Stephanie is killing it in terms of idols and immunities so far. The votes come down and it's David and Sophie in a deadlocked tie. Amazing after they both have fought all Tribal Council to come down to this and they are both safe. Rocks are drawn and for the second time in the game we luck out and Julie is voted off.

I just want to say that Julie really has redeemed herself in my eyes. I know she was double dipping in a lot of other games and she wasn't really present for a majority of the game, but she really stood up for who she LIKED instead of just going with the flow and that takes balls regardless of if you were playing to win or not. That being said, I don't know if she'll be getting a callback any time soon, or if she does it will be with a very tentative thumb, that's not to say it's unlikely.

Stephanie has really stepped up her game and of course she's a great player, but it's just too game-botty for my liking. Had she been a bit more invested in the early stages of the game then I probably would be rooting for her hard core at this point, but she just kind of floated her way here. Don't get me wrong, she did a great job surrounding herself with players who she kept loyal and talking to everyone, but that doesn't excuse it from being boring, sorry girl. I think she would be a deserving winner with that said, she just wouldn't be the most exciting winner if that makes sense. She's played a great game and she's proven herself though with multiple Immunities, Hidden Idols and coming back from a 4-3 deficit in the game.

I've saved the best for last: Ashley. She really REALLY deserves some props here. While Sophie has played the most impressive game in terms of underdog status, Ashley has played the BEST game overall. She's really been likable to everyone, she came in late and she's proven herself time and time again. She's put in the effort in so many ways and that really has shown. She probably DESERVES the win the most. Hell, the bitch has paid $130 just to play teh game the past two days, I don't see anyone else putting their money where their mouth is. That's fucking dedication and she might be the most dedicated player in the history of Stranded just for that fact. She would win hands down over anyone in the finals, which is why it might be a hard road for her to get there, but I hope she does. She really deserves it. On top of being one of my favorite players ever along with Sophie. That's a bold statement coming after 20 seasons of Stranded Legends, these two girls have really stepped it up and have made an impressive showing. No matter what happens they both have something to brag about and be proud of.

I hope the jurors who were bitter towards them can read this and appreciate the great games they have played. Going into the final 5, I cannot wait to see what happens.

[Jeff Probst]

Episode 13 - The Finale (Part 1)

So wow, can't believe this is finally it. After one crazy roller coaster ride that lasted for a month we are down to just three. Probably the three that I expected would be there, but completely not the road I thought it would take.

First We'll recap with the two amazing women that went out in 5th and 4th places respectively.

The Final 5 was a fucking doozy. First off Ashley and Sophie had convinced David that his best move was to flop with them and vote out Stephanie. And even when Stephanie won Immunity they were still able to convince David that his best move was to vote out Mike. This solidified David's character as a traitorous rat <3333 First of all, I really think that David is a start this season and has come a long way. He's dictated the entire game and I don't think he'll win now, but he's definitely decided who won and he's been treating this as if he was on the jury and who he'd like to see win. After some berating from Mike and Stephanie during a VERY heated Tribal Council, David caved and switched his vote back to Sophie with just minutes to spare. Very fucking exciting. Even though Sophie ended up going, it was a pretty epic way to go out and she goes down as one of the biggest underdog stories that Stranded has seen. Not to be outdone by...

Ashley. I really think that Ashley might be one of the biggest sweethearts in the history of the game. There's no one that wouldn't love to see her win. She gave it her all, she had a big personality, she was a hard player, and she definitely would have deserved a win here. It was so sad to see her go out in a tie breaker, but hell the fact that she even had that opportunity (thanks to David <3) was a remarkable feat. She is for sure an All-Star that I think will go down with in Stranded history with some of the greats like Brenda, Teresa. You could say the same with Sophie. Again I think even Mike was willing to team up with Ashley and vote out Stephanie if she hadn't won Immunity.

The fascinating part has been David's turmoil throughout the whole season. He's like a lost lamb that WANTS SO BADLY to be a great player but just knows he's really fucking it up in a big way. The good thing though is that I actually don't think David's played poorly. He's explored every option and made moves independently and that's more than I can say for 50% of the players in this game. I actually think that David's biggest and only mistake was not voting with Sophie and Ashley in the final 5, because I think the jury was so bitter towards them that with him being the only Ovambo he would've stood a good shot at winning the game. That being said, I understand his move to stay with his tribe and it made more sense than when he previously wanted to stay with them. Honestly he and Mike will probably go back to that final 9 vote when they were entertaining voting out Ovambo and decided to stick with their alliance. That was their chance to shake things up and really make a go at it.

That being said I'd love to see David play again and I think he will learn the most from this experience. He will have much more confident the second time around, he'll know that he needs to make some moves and not be so hesitant when it comes to it. He's probably the most fascinating character because of his inner-turmoil and I've loved every second of it. He's a big part of what has made this season so great and for that he should be proud. He'll be given a hard time but he should know that this was his first game and he will have plenty of opportunities to correct that and when he does i think he'll be a great player.

The same can be said for Mike, but of all the players here I think he deserves to win the least. At least David attempted to make moves and actually voted on his own, Mike knew he was on the bottom and still decided to go along with Stephanie and Grant and that's not something I respect. Again I think this is a case where this is his first game and after losing in the final three I think he will regret not doing more in the game and having more fun because it would've been more impressive. Speaking to him early on he really wanted to be devious and he just has not been. Aside from wanting to flip around the final 10/9 he really hasn't done anything and he should have gone with those gut instincts. But that gives me hope that in the future Mike will learn to have more confidence in his abilities and his gut and will probably try to make some bigger moves and will be a better player because of it.

Now I'm going to dedicate a large portion of this to someone who deserves it because I've been overly harsh on her the entire game. I misunderstood Stephanie. I thought she was just a gamebot who was probably in other games and just going through the motions not really giving a fuck about this season or the story behind it. I was wrong. She proved to me that she really really wanted this in that final Immunity Challenge. No one can deny that that was fucking impressive and didn't have anything to do with skill, luck, or anything else. It was totally how much heart she had for the game. She owned and i think even set a very impressive record. That alone makes her deserve the win. It's why I love that challenge. It's a fucking bitch, but it really shows the jury and everyone in the game how badly you want it. Stephanie wants this and she has earned it. She is the perfect example of what making moves really means. It's not the person that flip flops the most but the person who has a pulse on everything and is ready to pull the trigger at any time. She would have flipped had she felt in danger, but she had such control over everyone in her alliance that she didn't need to. It was boring as fuck to watch her in particular, but you cannot deny the girl played a phenomenal game and definitely deserves to win.

This has been an amazing season and I'll write more over the weekend describing that, but wow, so proud of this cast, and I'm so glad to reign in a new era of Stranded with some really great players who I just know will go on to do great things in ORGs and hopefully will return to Stranded and make an even bigger name for themselves in this series.

I've enjoyed it so much and I'm so happy for every one that's helped and to the players for dedicating their time and efforts into this. I hope everyone's enjoyed it and enjoyed my hosting as much as I have enjoyed hosting for them.