Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "Tiny, extra large, medium!" -Christian Hubicki What's this!?  Survivor has a brand new, game-changing twist that I actually liked!?  This is madness!  In all seriousness, I actually did dig the new "double duo demise" twist or whatever it's called.  Yes, it's a new mechanic that really shakes up the game and maybe screws over some players, but, unlike other big twists, this one is primarily a social twist.  There are so many new layers to the vote here and the connections to other players becomes even more important.  The more I think about it, the more I like this twist and I would like to see it again.  For now, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Taking out Coach and Chrissy was absolutely the right move for the majority of the players.  Both of them were alleged members of this pre-game alliance and pillars in this honor and integrity group.  If the other players didn't make a move here, the honor and in...

 "Did, like, a massacre happen?" -Rizo Velovic Oh, Coach.  How I missed your self-righteousness and hypocrisy.  No one does it quite like Coach.  I'm a little worried his honor and integrity alliance could take over the whole season.  I'd prefer if that didn't happen, but I'm fascinated by how this dynamic is going to break out next week.  Before we get to next week though, we have to talk about this week and who played well and who sucked! Who Played Well: I'm not putting Coach or Jonathan in this section, but I will say that taking out Dee was a great move for the other members of their alliance.  This worked out the best for Stephenie, Aubry, Chrissy, and Joe.  It benefits all of them, gets their alliance further, and takes out a dangerous player in Dee.  Plus Stephenie managed to get a Vote Steal on the Journey, so it was an especially good episode for her.  I predict that Vote Steal is going to doom someone as soon as the next episo...

 "I feel like a spicy pickle!" -Rick Devens While I don't know if I would call the Blood Moon the biggest twist in Survivor history, it was certainly impactful.  Since this was a much larger cast than usual, the Blood Moon simply feels like a natural extension due to the math of the season.  That said, this was a massacre and we lost three people that I was really hoping to see continue on.  It sucks, but that's Survivor.  So, let's take a look at who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start with Aubry.  She finally took out her arch-nemesis in Genevieve, which might free her up to play the game in a stronger capacity.  I also like that she told Christian and Devens that she was going to play her Idol, but didn't.  Rizo proved last season that this is a possible strategy to pull off long term.  I still wouldn't want that level of attention, so if I were Aubry, I would play it sooner rather than later, but I like that she didn'...

 "I am starting Operation: Bad Blood." -Rizo Velovic My biggest takeaway from this episode is that Charlie needs a hug.  I hope he gets some therapy and takes a nice, long break from Survivor .  I really like the guy, so watching him break down at the end of the episode was hard to watch.  The gameplay and the drama of this episode were interesting and compelling, but this was a good reminder that these aren't characters, but people, and this show can take a toll.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Starting on the Cila tribe, Cirie, Dee, Kamilla, and Rizo all made smart moves in getting together to take out Charlie.  Dee and Cirie are massive threats due to their reputations and Rizo is such a question mark that it makes sense they would work together.  Threats protecting other threats.  And Kamilla went to the Final 4 in 48  with a bunch of athletes in Eva, Joe, and Kyle, so it makes sense that she would...

 "I'm pissed!" -Charlie Davis To any celebrities that want to get involved in Survivor  in the future...don't.  It's one thing if you want to play the game.  I'm fine with that, but beyond that, you aren't needed or wanted here.  Once we got past the Zac Brown stuff, the final chunk of the episode was great!  But the Reward dragged badly, especially for those of us who aren't Zac Brown fans.  Maybe if they had brought some My Chemical Romance out to Fiji, I'd feel differently lol.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Starting on Cila, tribal challenges are usually a team effort.  I don't factor them in much unless someone does something on their own to win the challenge or lose it.  I just wanted to quickly mention Jonathan flipping the boat over on his own to get the water out.  It didn't get them 1st place, but it did help Cila win Immunity. It wasn't anything he did in this episode, but Rizo...

 Snap. I never thought I would see Jeff Probst rap on Survivor .  I still can't believe I witnessed such a thing.  Is he going to leave Survivor to pursue a rap career?  And then there was a whole episode of interesting social strategy to go along with it!  This was a really great episode with no production B.S. to get in the way, so let's get into who played well and who sucked! Who Played Well: Starting on the the new Cila tribe, Cirie really has an incredible social game.  She's gotten into an alliance with Christian, Devens, and Emily and gotten close enough to them to learn about Aubry and the Boomerang Idol.  Her social game might also save her if she can work her magic on Dee in upcoming episodes. The only other person I have here from Cila is Kamilla, who dominated the Immunity Challenge.  She put herself in the hero position and delivered with a fantastic win. Moving onto Kalo, Chrissy managed to secure Immunity for her tribe with her com...