Round 3 - Off their high horse

[Ricky]

Round 3 Begins!

Short recap of where things stand...

DREYFUS

The JetSetters alliance got kicked off their high horse. All three newbies thought they were controlling everyone and were VERY cocky about it. Iqra and Spencer decided to switch things up and coordinated a last minute attack against them. The time Iqra put in to create real relationships with Torry, Kyle and Chioma paid off. I am sad we lost Ryan but SO SO happy we kept Iqra, our Pakistani Princess. 

Chioma has an extra vote, which she decided  to not tell anyone about nor use in the Ryan blindside. She also beasted Chris in the Gomoku challenge. Chioma is coming out of her Survivor shell and I'm excited to see where she goes. 

Sam got a slap in the face with that Ryan vote. I think ultimately this will be good for her, her confidence and power were getting the best of her. This strengthen her relationship with Brandon and hopefully will push her to start making real connections with people. Reminder, she has an idol. 

Spencer finally got his move. I love where Spencer is right now in the game and I still think he has what it takes to make a deep run. Her final 2 alliance with Torry is going to prove to be very helpful. 

Torry is still my winner pick. Love her. 


SLYVAIN

Not much happened in this tribe since they didnt go to tribal. Elyse saved them from tribal and they all recognized it. 

Devon laid low. He was not around much, which I think helps him in this tribe. 

Jason and Grace: SMH. Basically, if this was BB, they literally spent the whole weekend out in the hammock canoodling and whispering sweet nothings to each other. 

Jessie was MIA.

Alex played the big brother role with Grace, while subtly flirting with her. 

Chris kept serving us middle school coach and we love him for it. He did put a target on Ryan's back when he met up with Torry at Devil's Island. 

Kristine was Kristine. 


also...SWAP IS AROUND THE CORNER

[michaelbrady]

Dreyfus:

R.I.P Ryan. Ugh. So sad to see him go, he was one of my favorites pre-game and he had SO much potential. I really hope someone from Prod encourages Ryan to try another ORG because he's the type of player who will win one. 

1) Torry - Nothing has changed here. Torry is still my favorite player in this cast, she's got a great personality that shines in her confessionals and she's not arrogant or full of herself like some of these other players. She turned a bad round into a really good one and she's in a great spot on this tribe. She hasn't been blamed for "overplaying" like some of the others on her tribe and thus shouldn't be someone who is targeted for being a big threat anytime soon. Winner winner!


2) Brandon - Tough luck. Losing Ryan was not good for his current situation, but long-term it could be best not being so tightly paired with someone. I hope that he takes this blindside of Ryan as a wake-up call that he needs to A) Not underestimate anyone and B) Spend more time developing/focusing on other relationships rather than being reliant on Sam. Brandon is still one of my favorites in the game and I really want to see him go far! His confessionals are great and he's a very likable player...just needs to branch away from Sam.

3) Iqra - Whew. She got a little lucky this round. From previous experience of playing with Iqra, I understand why people get paranoid about her. She was going home this round but a combination of luck/help from spencer/and her great relationships with Kyle/Chioma saved her life. I think this was the perfect wake-up call for her as well, and hopefully from this point forward she's more aggressive with her gameplay because she's better at being a leader of an alliance than being a trustworthy vote. Overall, great round for her.

4) Spencer - If anyone killed this round, it was him. Absolutely perfect move on his part. He got closer to Iqra and by proxy has inroads with Kyle/Chioma now. His final 2 with Torry is awesome and he was able to convince the jet setters that iqra voted kyle out instead of him. Great gameplay! He's someone I see going very very far in this game. He has good self-awareness of where he stands on the tribe and what the perception of him is, and that's likely something that comes from experience in these games.


5) Sam - Not gonna lie, I've got mixed feelings about Sam. Pre-game, LOVED her. These first couple rounds? Not as much. She just has been very cocky thus far and that resulted in one of her closest allies being blindsided. I want to root for her but I just want her to be more humble and realize these players are NOT STUPID. They made the jet setters alliance so fucking obvious with all the group chats etc. and they should've realized that people like Torry and Spencer who had no say in the last vote weren't going to just sit back and let them control everything. Moving forward, I still see Sam making merge because she has the idol and I feel like she's a good enough player to make some moves.


6) Chioma - Chioma went from completely irrelevant to just absolutely slaying everyone. Her confessionals don't provide a ton of insight but after seeing screenshots of her in tribe chats/what production has said she's been doing..I love it! She's stepped it up. She got an extra vote and did the smart thing in telling no one! I thought Chioma was fucked on this tribe at the beginning since she doesn't know the game she's playing, but I think she's starting to learn and if she can just make it to the merge she will go deep. Possibly a FTC goat.

7) Kyle - It was nice to put a face to the name this round. Kyle is smarter than what people are giving him credit for. Several have mentioned him being a FTC goat/inactive/whatever else but after watching him breakdown the dynamic of his tribe and knowing where he stands...I'm willing to give him some credit. Is he my favorite player right now? No. But who knows...I could see him pulling off a blindside in the future.

Slyvain

1) Grace - Still slaying this tribe. She's good with basically everyone at this point, but her closeness with Jason is becoming more visible to others. I am proud of her though for realizing Jason is undoubtedly loyal to her and that it's in her best interest to keep him in the game. She's going to have a tricky job to do if they go to tribal because it'll be hard to convince Devon/Elyse to not vote Jason out. I'm interested in seeing how that goes, but so far Grace has impressed and put herself in a good spot before a swap.

2) Jason - Oh poor Jason. I am watching his game implode right in front of me. This is sad news, and his only real shot at surviving the next tribal is Grace, his showmance who has a boyfriend, saving his ass. The good news is, I think Grace WILL infact go out of her way to save him, and Jason DOES have an idol. But at this point Jason is once again overestimating the game he is playing. Devon/Elyse/Kristine all want him out. That's 3 out of 8. And that doesn't even include Jessie and Chris who are complete wild cards. The problem with Jasons gameplay is that he is very obvious about where he stands and who he's with. The other issue is that he made a day 3 enemy in Devon who is very manipulative and is slowly turning people against him. I hope Jason can survive this tribe without using his idol so he has it for a swap.

3) Chris - This guy is hilarious lol. Whoever said he should be a middle school basketball coach was spot on. Is he the most strategic player in this game? No. Is he the best social player in this game? Hell no. Is he amazing at challenges? (After witnessing him get crushed by Chioma)...unlikely. BUT he has a decent mix of all three, and at this point he's one of the most underrated players in the game. I can tell he wants to be here and my bold prediction is that he goes far (despite a slow start). He doesn't have really any close ties on this tribe (from what I've seen) but I just got a gut feeling he's going to just keep getting better. Lets get this motha fukin bread!


4) Elyse - Her choosing Devon over Grace is an interesting dynamic, but for her game it's probably the right call. She realizes that Grace has Jason and Alex up her ass and for Elyse this could be dangerous in the long-term. If I were her, I'd still see Grace as a great ally and work with her rather than against...but I'm interested to see if Devon is able to get in her head about it. Overall Elyse is doing well....but I'm still a bit over her arrogance.


5) Jessie - Jessie is so pure and innocent, it's refreshing especially on a tribe full of arrogance and drama. With that said, Jessie isn't in a great spot. She could easily be the next boot on this tribe and I don't think she even realizes that she's lacking in the social aspect of this game. I hope she can figure out a way moving forward that doesn't come at the expense of Grace or Jason.


6) Kristine - Cracked. She is literally XTCs version of Noura on Survivor. She's a hot mess but at least she's entertaining! She's playing Jason to a fiddle right now which I guess is good on her? But I don't like how she's basically telling Devon everything she knows and quickly becoming one of his sheep. I enjoyed Kristine a lot more the first round when she was making her own decisions! I just worry that will change moving forward.

7) Alex - Not much new to say here. Alex is still in a great spot on the tribe and I feel confident in saying he will make the merge. Very likable, very charming and he's close with Grace which is good. As far as long-term game, I feel like he will eventually become someone who people are threatened by, but for now he's sitting pretty.

8) Devon - Ahhhh so cocky. He makes Sam seem humble. But even while he is still someone I do not root for... I can admit when he's playing well. He's turned his game around and now he has a couple really close allies in Elyse and Kristine. Both seem to tell him everything and Devon is clearly going to be a power player in this game however long he lasts. Will he make the end? Fuck no. But a merge appearance is looking more and more likely as the days go by. If only his confessional weren't so damn long...maybe I'd watch them.

[Benji]

Update on Benji's thoughts

Grace wanting to keep Jason (Slyvain):

I don't know where Grace is going to go with Jason. If he becomes a target, does she try to save him against all efforts? Imagine blowing up your game with EVERYONE ELSE to save Jason. Not that Jason isn't a great guy, but he's playing carelessly. The only person who is privy to this whole "Save Jason" plan is Alex. They're both talking right now about how Jason is unaware how much in danger he is, but they don't know how to save him. I'm not sure they can do it without using an idol and/or burning bridges right before a swap. 

Everyone else on Slyvain hasn't really progressed from the previous round. Winning immunity will do that to ya.


Brandon and Sam (Dreyfus):

I think it will greatly benefit these two if they get swapped apart. They're both likable and cunning people, but right now they're just a pity party of two. Sure, they were cocky going into the vote, but it's over.

If they would have survived that vote as the Jet Setters, they would be the biggest targets in the game and Sam would probably fall victim, as the leader. She's still in it and is my Winner pick from this episode on. She's not that personable, but I don't see that deterring anyone, yet. Grace will probably see through it, if they meet each other.

Brandon is such a likable dude and we never would have saw that from his high horse on Jet Setters. Now that he has been humbled, he can go back to winning people over with his humor. He needs to focus on reestablishing his game and being open to working with other people. I truly think he saw Jet Setters as his way to the end, which is never that easy. I hope he can see the end, through a different path. 

Chioma (Dreyfus):

I am truly holding out on Chioma being a low key assassin. I never thought I would be writing that. She really gained some attitude and gusto after the first vote. Her + Iqra = a dream. Please let them swap together. 

Torry (Dreyfus):

There's some worry about Torry. I can't tell if she's putting on a show or if she truly feels as bad as she has expressed when talking about voting out Ryan. She has many more people to cut along the way to the end and she needs to saddle up. She will need a steely heart to survive to the merge. I *want* her to win, but I honestly don't see it. I see Sam taking some revenge on her later in the game.

[michaelbrady]

Also, I’ve decided to start picking a SBTF of the round. If you don’t know what that stands for, google bob menry and you will find out.

The round 1 SBTF was.........Devon. He was cocky, villainous and just not very active.

The round 2 SBTF was.........Sam. Got too overconfident about her position in the game and it blew up in her face with Ryan leaving.

Excited to see who wins this prestigious award this round!

[Jay]

Dreyfus loses sadly. Really would like to see only Kyle leave here. He is not bringing anything at all