Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "I could get through a human foot." -Brady Booker Another day, another banger episode from Survivor 51 !  I was a little worried that the merge episode might be a dull, straightforward Mike boot, but thankfully Mike won Immunity and shook up the entire game like a snow globe.  This was so much fun and what I think was a legit Live Tribal.  I think a lot of the "Live Tribals" we are shown aren't really live.  The vote isn't actually up in the air, but someone is nervous or it's a last ditch effort of someone trying to save themselves.  I don't know for sure, but this one felt live.  The only bad news is we won't be getting anymore intense stare-downs between Mike and Brady.  Their confrontation was the highlight of the episode for me.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked! Who Played Well: Cristian ended up being on the right side of the vote and it's much better for him for Brady to go out over Eric.  I do think it's weird t...

 "Good luck putting clothes on me!" -Devin Way This episode wasn't a flashy one, but it was interesting due to the emotional dynamics on Savu.  It was fascinating to watch this incredibly unusual scenario play out.  It just goes to show;  Survivor doesn't always need to be flashy to be engaging television.  I will admit that I wanted more fireworks from the Dina tribe after Linnea's elimination.  I was hoping for a crazier fallout, but what can you do?  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: I really liked how both Cristian and Lewis handled the game after Linnea's elimination.  Cristian had his eyes opened and realized he couldn't just stay Savu strong all the way to the end.  He needs more dynamic relationships than that.  And Lewis didn't hold a grudge against Cristian, Eric, or Sharonda for voting for him.  He got right back to work and was open to working with any of them.  I think the stra...

 "Homeboy ain't Aquaman." -Danny Kilby You know when we get to the Immunity Challenge about fifteen minutes into the episode, something crazy is going to happen.  And when there is still twenty-five minutes left of the episode and we're starting the second Tribal Council, you know we're about to go off the rails.  If you were watching the clock at all, you got to enjoy the building of the tension and that made this episode so much fun to watch.  I love it when I know something insane is going to happen, but I'm not quite sure what it's going to be.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Starting over on the Dina tribe, I'll give Kilby and Lewis credit for trying to break through Savu.  Kilby made some great bonds that would have saved him over Lewis and Lewis tried...something with his Blood Ring idea.  But once Maggie came in with a pair of Extra Votes for them, they kicked it into high gear.  They went for the tie, whic...

 "Wah!" -Eric Macksoud I never thought I would see the day where my favorite video game character, Waluigi, would be mentioned on my favorite TV show.  Am I thrilled that Eric is our Waluigi fan representative, not really, but I'll take it!  I'm rooting for Eric slightly more now because of this.  Oh yeah, I suppose there's an episode of Survivor to talk about here.  I would have liked one more episode before going to three tribes, but I like the format of going from two tribes, to three, and then merging, so I hope that's what we do here.  Anyway, with these new tribes, lets get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start on the new Dina tribe.  I'm really enjoying the bromance between Eric and Kilby.  I'm glad I'm not living on the same beach as them, but it's fun to watch for a few minutes on TV.  Kilby came into this tribe in a terrible position and I think he did a phenomenal job finding a way off of the bottom....

 "The friendly vampire needs some new friends." -Eric Macksoud Wow, if Survivor 51 was a bowling match, call it a turkey because that's three strikes in a row.  I loved this episode.  I didn't even mind the quit because it was kinda funny.  After that, we had the long-awaited return of the Mutiny to absolutely stellar results.  Plus I was genuinely blindsided by the vote.  I didn't think there was anyway that the 6 was going to be able to lock it in, but they did it and it was excellent.  Season 51 is definitely in the conversation for having the best first three episode run of the show.  I'd throw Cagayan in there as well.  Does anybody have any other nominees?  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start over on newly decimated Savu tribe.  I can't believe they managed to pull out the Immunity to win and they can thank Cristian and Kristin for their clutch performances on the puzzle. I also ...

 "I'm missing a quarter of my thumb." -Brady Booker A castaway literally cut off part of their thumb in this episode and that didn't even manage to be the craziest part of the episode.  Just...wow.  The hits keep on coming in Survivor 51  and I'm digging it.  This cast is a mess and I hope the implosions keep rolling.  Pure absurdity.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Starting on Savu, there was a lot of eavesdropping going on, some more accurate than others.  Alexis learned that Ana was not someone she could trust and immediately threw her under the bus to Linnea and Sharonda.  They were all still willing to take out Eric to keep tribe unity, but then Linnea misunderstood Carter, but even though she didn't hear what she thought she heard, it led her into making the right move and I don't think they even know how good this move was.  The three of them took charge and led the vote against Ana, who they not o...

 "We're gonna take this game by the cojones!" -Eric Macksoud It's the Open Era!  Anything can happen at any time!   I can't wait for the return of the Medallion of Power, the greatest twist in Survivor history!  But, while we wait, let's talk about this premiere, which I found really fun.  I'm liking the cast and there's a couple of people who I can't wait to see go down in flames.  The Tribal Council in particular was a blast.  This premiere just felt very refreshing after the last 10 seasons.   It's nice to see them mix things up.  I wish Jeff had put the fire-making vote up to a real, anonymous vote, instead of making it public.  I think a lot more people would have voted to get rid of it.  It's garbage that it had to be a unanimous vote.  That's higher than what Congress needs to do stuff!  Make it a majority vote!  You're a coward, Probst!  Anyway, let's talk about who played well and who sucked. Who Pl...

 "These people are here to chop my head off." -Joe Hunter Well, that was a fine enough Survivor finale, I guess.  The main problem was that it was extremely predictable.  That said, I think the Final Tribal Council was good due to the solid performances of all the finalists and Jeff Probst accidentally spoiling the fire-making challenge is one of the funniest things to ever happen on this show.  I'm not a big fan of any of the finalists, but the finale was fine.  I think it's the 3rd best all-star season.  Behind Cambodia and Winners at War, but ahead of Heroes vs. Villains (hot take, I know), Game Changers , and All-Stars .  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked in the Final 5! Who Played Well: I'm putting all of the surviving contestants in this category as they all made the right move in voting out Tiffany.  It sounds like she could have beaten everyone else and was more of a challenge threat than Aubry.  The most credit go...

 "I gotta go back to school." -Joe Hunter Well, this sucks.  We lost the last two players I was actually rooting for this season.  I don't really want any of the Final 5 to win.  I don't really dislike them, but I'm not rooting for them either.  I'm just kind of...whatever...on the finale, I suppose.  I get why Devens and Cirie were voted out.  It makes sense, but I don't have to like it.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Starting with the Final 7... Who Played Well: Getting rid of Devens was a good move for everyone.  He was probably the biggest threat to win at this point, so I get why it was a unanimous vote.  It was especially good for Joe, who helped take down his biggest adversary in the game by winning Immunity. Jonathan did his part by babysitting Devens while he was out looking for an Idol.  I wish we would have seen some of the other players have this level of initiative.  I love the babysitting ...

 "I feel kind of evil right now." -Aubry Bracco When Jeff announced there was going to be another new twist during this episode, I groaned, but I have to admit, I thought the Power Broker twist was actually fun.  I enjoyed Jonathan's back and forth strategizing.  This is a twist I wouldn't mind seeing again, but I am ready to be done with twists for this season.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start with the Power Broker himself, Jonathan.  He won Immunity, which got him through two votes and gave him the Power Broker advantage, he blindsided Ozzy, and helped flush Devens' Idol.  However, I do think he missed a golden opportunity.  After Devens played his Idol and we went to a revote between Emily and Cirie, I think he should have flipped on Cirie.  It would have been a case of two birds, one stone, and Cirie is an infinitely bigger threat than Emily. Cirie did the best she could do with this twist....

 "I need to sit down." -MrBeast I think MrBeast got incredibly lucky.  I'm not a fan of his Super Beware Advantage twist, but I think it worked out about as well as it could have.  But imagine, if you will, the alternate universe where Cirie has to flip the Beast Coin and gets knocked out of the game on a bad flip.  Riots.  Let's never do this again.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: Obviously, we have to start with Devens.  I like that he revealed his fake Idol.  I don't think he would have been able to get much more milage out of that and it served its purpose.  Plus, this way Emily can't use that information against him.  He also did a nice job of blowing up Jonathan and Stephenie's spot.  It feels like he contributed to Stephenie getting voted out.  Finally, it seems like he was the primary target going into Tribal Council, so I think flipping the Beast Coin was the right call for him ...

"Who made this challenge!?  This is barbaric!" -Jeff Probst Jimmy Fallon sucks.  And his idea for Survivor 50  was also bad.  I enjoyed most of this episode.  I loved Jeff competing in a challenge and the puzzle being yoinked into the sea was wonderful.  If only Jimmy Fallon hadn't helped take down one of my favorite players.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked...besides Jimmy Fallon.  Who Played Well: Both Aubry and Jonathan did a good job in taking out Christian, though I do think Devens should have been the primary target of the split vote instead of Christian.  However, Christian was still a huge threat and taking him out is a good move.  The two of them could really help each other out and I like how Aubry is distancing herself from Devens. Devens' play at last week's tribal council had some nasty blowback, but I still think it was a move he had to do.  Now he just has to weather the storm and he did that thi...

 "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...