Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On

 "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...

 "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...

 "My wife is gonna divorce me." -Christian Hubicki You know, for as annoyed as I've been with all the celebrities being involved in season 50 , Billie Eilish's Boomerang Idol may have been worth it just for the expression of Christian's face when he read the note out loud.  This was a a really fun episode and this cast of cartoon characters is making it a blast to watch, even if they don't always make the best strategic moves.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked. Who Played Well: We'll start on Cila.  Christian managed to find the Boomerang Idol and I think he made a wise decision in giving it to Aubry.  She's been voted out with an Idol in her pocket before, she's an odd nerd, like Christian, so they should be able to work together, plus she played with Christian's number 1 ally, Devens, on Edge of Extinction , so there's an addition connection.  He also was one of the main people pushing to take out Savannah.  Telli...

 "We want your blood!" -Jeff Probst Survivor is back, baby!  I've made it a personal rule to keep my expectations low for all-star seasons.  Though I love Cambodia and Winners at War , I found All-Stars, Heroes vs. Villains, and Game Changers  all to be disappointing seasons.  Season 50 made it easy for me to lower my expectations thanks to that awful trailer of celebrity cameos.  I'm still dreading Mr. Beast's arrival, but I do like the Boomerang Idol.  This episode had highs and lows, but I really enjoyed it overall and I'm ready for whatever ride 50 has in store.  Now, let's take a look at who played well and who sucked. Heads up, I'm treating this premiere as two separate episodes.  Everything through Jenna's boot is Part 1 and afterwards is Part 2, so I'll be giving out two Best and Worst Players of the Episode. Who Played Well: We'll start on Cila.  I love, love, love the alliance of Christian, Devens, and Emily.  I'd be total...