S31.E03: We Got A Rat

[ByaNose]

The "experts" have always said returning players can't change their personality or their game. It looks like Kass has or at least she's hiding Kaos Kass really well. Granted, she's been on a winning tribe so that might be helping her act nice. That said, she really is boring so far. Most people had predicted she would be voted out first along with Abi. Shockingly they are both still around.

[wonald]

There are many reasons for invisible editing but in the case of returning players who are considered funny and gives good confessionals like Keith, Kass, and Courtney in HvV, it's because they had little impact on the game.

[princelina]

Monica and Ciera were barely visible even if they got a confessional. We don't know anything about their relationships or their strategies. It's unbalanced. We're basically not seeing Kass, Kimmi, Kelly, Monica, and Ciera at all for the women. For the men, we're not seeing Keith (although we know he's in an alliance). We're not hearing from Joe, but we're seeing a ton of him with his competency highlighted. Woo probably would be invisible if he had been on Bayon or new-Ta Keo/new-Bayon, but since he's been involved in every Tribal Council, we are still seeing him.

 

I'm looking forward to hearing from all of these people, now that they are on (or close to getting on) board.    From what we have seen so far and what I remember - 

1.  Who is Monica?  (I remember Brad C's wife :) but this is not the same lady 

 

2.  Kass, Kimmi, Ciera - We are not seeing them?  At this point they are boring because they are on the winning tribe.  If there is conflict in their time spent on the island, I would be interested in it.

 

3.  Keith, Joe, Woo - we shall see what you are bringing to the table!

[phlebas]

I know we may have to wait a few more weeks, but I'm eager to see Kass when she actually has to start playing the game. I never thought she was evil or anything in her first season, just cutthroat.  Rocking the boat when you're not going to TC and the tribes can switch up at any time might not make sense to her now. But nothing I've seen from her makes me think she's trying to change anything fundamental.

 

 

We'll find out soon, I hope. Once the cameras turn away from Fred Flintstone and his sidekick Over-caffeinated Chihuahua.

[himela]

We'll find out soon, I hope. Once the cameras turn away from Fred Flintstone and his sidekick Over-caffeinated Chihuahua.

 

Hahaha great one :)

[Nashville]

We'll find out soon, I hope. Once the cameras turn away from Fred Flintstone and his sidekick Over-caffeinated Chihuahua.

I want to lick that, it tastes so good.

[Oscirus]

I feel the problem that makes Abi uncontrollable is that she has extreme levels of paranoia that it's impossible to know what will trigger her against you. You can't control that unless you are a mind reader, and to even try to control it would be exhausting.

 

Admittedly, it's exhausting dealing with Abi. But I still think that most of her paranoia was based on her looking for a reason to start some shit with PG. The other part is Jeff doing random shit at the IC and Tasha's histrionics causing just enough chaos to cause his alliance members to start questioning his loyalty.  I do think that Abi's controllable you just have to make sure that you give her a lot of attention.

Hell, she was ready to be Terry's bff last week even after he lashed out at her earlier in the day ( happened off screen according to Shirin) just because he listened to her foolishness.

 

The gender based disparities on TV appear to be focusing more on people who either make good TV or feed into the narrative. People like Kass, Wigglesworth, Monica and Ciera are all trying to stay under the radar and let the big dogs eat each other up. Good strategy, but bad for TV.

[Zuleikha]

The gender based disparities on TV appear to be focusing more on people who either make good TV or feed into the narrative. People like Kass, Wigglesworth, Monica and Ciera are all trying to stay under the radar and let the big dogs eat each other up.

How do we know? We haven't been seeing them. We don't know what they've been doing. Stephen's People article described Wigles as strategizing (both she and Spencer were trying to push the other under the bus. Wigles was also trying to establish herself as a valuable camp provider).

 

Also, I don't buy that Kass doesn't make good TV. In the bonus clips I've seen of her, she's very funny... much more so than Savage!

[Oscirus]

How do we know? We haven't been seeing them. We don't know what they've been doing. Stephen's People article described Wigles as strategizing (both she and Spencer were trying to push the other under the bus. Wigles was also trying to establish herself as a valuable camp provider

 

I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt strategy wise.  If they were doing anything of substance that would have an impact on future boots, then the camera would be on them. As for Kelly,  I believe Dalton talked about Jeff yelling at her for being boring.  So her not getting camera time is likely indicative of her explanations in DR not being considered intriguing enough to put on TV.

 

Also, I don't buy that Kass doesn't make good TV. In the bonus clips I've seen of her, she's very funny... much more so than Savage!

 

You're right, they are which is why they're up on youtube. Like him or not, Savages actions have had an impact on the game, Kass's not so much. I'm sure once her tribe goes to tribal, we'll get more from her, but for now, her best hits unfortunately remain on youtube.

[Zuleikha]

Like him or not, Savages actions have had an impact on the game, Kass's not so much.

Until the tribe dissolution, Savage's actions in the game had exactly as much impact as Kass's: zero. Bayon never went to TC. Savage's screen time was mostly about meeting his supermodel wife (no impact on the game) and his dislike/mistrust of Stephen (no impact on the game at this point). Perhaps there is an epic Stephen/Savage showdown that is going to happen in the future, but it can't happen until merge, which is at least a few episodes down the line. So I'm skeptical that we really needed the continuing Stephen/Savage stuff in ep 2 instead of being able to share that screen time to show us some of what Kimmi, Ciera, Monica, and Kass are doing strategy wise. 

 

Interestingly, Savage/Tasha's survival on Angkor was shown to be mostly Tasha's doing. Yet, Tasha was one of the invisible Bayon women until this episode. So again, I don't buy that Savage's screen time is because it's so game relevant or interesting as opposed to because the largely male creative team shaping the episodes and overall story arcs simply connect to him more than the women.

[Guest]

I think it's because they're selling us a story of "old school vs. new school" and Andrew is typifying what they're calling old school, and Stephen and Spencer new school.  

If they do show men more overall, season across season, it's probably because the men are more visible in their game play, on average.  At least the alpha males are.  They bluster around camp like they're in charge and it does make better tv (arguably) than watching a quieter player slip under the radar, which kind of looks like nothing.  

[Way Wes Jr]

I’ve put this off as long as possible.  For a tribe switcheroo episode, this was a disappointment.  The 4-2, 4-2, 2-4 split should have made this really predictable, but the fact that Abi and Andrew both got what they wanted ruined any sense of enjoyment from the numbers not going the way they should have.

 

I am also willing to pencil in a member of oldBayon as the winner of this season.  Yes, All-Star seasons see a bit more unpredictability than straight number-counting usually does, but - other than Stephen - no one from oldBayon has any incentive to not Pagong off the oldTaKeo tribe.

 

I hope the editors/ camera people are on point for. “You get your first look at the new Angor tribe.  Peih-Gee was voted off at tribal council.”  I want to see how well, (or how badly,) the oldBayon majorities on the other tribes react, and if their minority members notice.  [Also, the potential look of disappointment on Stephen’s face, when he sees Andrew is still around.  Schadenfreude-alicious.]

 

Bayon (pink/purple)

1. Jeremy (2B)  Has an HII.
2. Monica (7B)
3. Kimmi (8B)
4. Stephen (10B) Perhaps Stephen and Spencer could make a play for Monica/Kimmi, but due to the ineptness of the oldTaKeo tribe, we really don’t know where the non-Tasha women of Bayon stand in regards to the Bro-liance.

 

5. Kelly (3T)
6. Spencer (8T) Providing Angor doesn’t Matsing themselves until the next swap/ merge, Spencer is the prototypical pre-merge boot, much too capable of pulling out an immunity run.

 

Ta Keo (blue)

 

Their buffs may be teal, but given the footage we saw this week, we might as well call them Purple Ta Keo.

 

1. Keith (3B)
2. Cierra (5B)
3. Kass (9B)  These three are pretty much interchangeable.

 

4. Joe (4B)  If any oldBayon tribe member is going to get blindsided before the merge, it is Joe.

 

5. Kelley (1T)  She’s doing the right work to throw Terry under the bus, but that, and her HII, only give her two weeks grace.
6. Terry (4T) We weren’t shown him trying to use his newly acquired social game.

 

newMatsing  Angor (yellow)

 

If we have a boring middle portion of this season, it’ll be because Tasha Jedi-mind-tricked the oldTaKeo folk into throwing away their numerical advantage.

 

1. Tasha (6B)
2. Andrew (1B)  Because, if by some fluke Abi and Woo can be made to come to their senses, Andrew is a more typical target than Tasha.  But he’s ranked at two because ... read that “if statement” again

 

3. Abi-Maria (6T) Tasha was able to wrangle J’Tia for a couple of votes; she ought to be able to keep Abi in line for, at least, one.
4. Woo (5T)
5. Jeff (2T) Woo is probably Abi’s target, but Tasha and Andrew should be targeting Jeff.

 

OUT  Peih-Gee (7T)  Jeff made the “too hard, too fast,” mistake, but you paid the price.  Partially because of Abi’s beef with you, and partially because you and Woo didn’t jump on the opportunity to vote out Jeff.  Once you knew Abi was turning on oldTaKeo, you should have gone into Sandra Diaz-Twine mode, instead of trying to save Jeff.  [interesting that this is the same mistake that doomed Shirin last week.]

[rose711]

I’ve put this off as long as possible.  For a tribe switcheroo episode, this was a disappointment.  The 4-2, 4-2, 2-4 split should have made this really predictable, but the fact that Abi and Andrew both got what they wanted ruined any sense of enjoyment from the numbers not going the way they should have. I am also willing to pencil in a member of oldBayon as the winner of this season.  Yes, All-Star seasons see a bit more unpredictability than straight number-counting usually does, but - other than Stephen - no one from oldBayon has any incentive to not Pagong off the oldTaKeo tribe. I hope the editors/ camera people are on point for. “You get your first look at the new Angor tribe.  Peih-Gee was voted off at tribal council.”  I want to see how well, (or how badly,) the oldBayon majorities on the other tribes react, and if their minority members notice.  [Also, the potential look of disappointment on Stephen’s face, when he sees Andrew is still around.  Schadenfreude-alicious.] Bayon (pink/purple)1. Jeremy (2B)  Has an HII.2. Monica (7B)3. Kimmi (8B)4. Stephen (10B) Perhaps Stephen and Spencer could make a play for Monica/Kimmi, but due to the ineptness of the oldTaKeo tribe, we really don’t know where the non-Tasha women of Bayon stand in regards to the Bro-liance. 5. Kelly (3T)6. Spencer (8T) Providing Angor doesn’t Matsing themselves until the next swap/ merge, Spencer is the prototypical pre-merge boot, much too capable of pulling out an immunity run. Ta Keo (blue) Their buffs may be teal, but given the footage we saw this week, we might as well call them Purple Ta Keo. 1. Keith (3B)2. Cierra (5B)3. Kass (9B)  These three are pretty much interchangeable. 4. Joe (4B)  If any oldBayon tribe member is going to get blindsided before the merge, it is Joe. 5. Kelley (1T)  She’s doing the right work to throw Terry under the bus, but that, and her HII, only give her two weeks grace.6. Terry (4T) We weren’t shown him trying to use his newly acquired social game. newMatsing  Angor (yellow) If we have a boring middle portion of this season, it’ll be because Tasha Jedi-mind-tricked the oldTaKeo folk into throwing away their numerical advantage. 1. Tasha (6B)2. Andrew (1B)  Because, if by some fluke Abi and Woo can be made to come to their senses, Andrew is a more typical target than Tasha.  But he’s ranked at two because ... read that “if statement” again 3. Abi-Maria (6T) Tasha was able to wrangle J’Tia for a couple of votes; she ought to be able to keep Abi in line for, at least, one.4. Woo (5T)5. Jeff (2T) Woo is probably Abi’s target, but Tasha and Andrew should be targeting Jeff. OUT  Peih-Gee (7T)  Jeff made the “too hard, too fast,” mistake, but you paid the price.  Partially because of Abi’s beef with you, and partially because you and Woo didn’t jump on the opportunity to vote out Jeff.  Once you knew Abi was turning on oldTaKeo, you should have gone into Sandra Diaz-Twine mode, instead of trying to save Jeff.  [interesting that this is the same mistake that doomed Shirin last week.]

I think the alliances, mostly the pregame alliances, are going to overcome the tribal alliance. There is a long, long way to go until the merge. And people are forming new relationships: why would Jeremy work with Savage over Spencer? Why would Ciera and Joe stick with Keith instead of Kelley?