Episode 9 & 10 Discussion

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Previously on iSurv1vor

- After Fabian was sent packing from Amman, he faced off against Davis and Jay in the final cemetery duel for a spot back in the game. Jay emerged victorious and joined the remaining Amman and Al-Salt tribe members at the merge which was met with incredibly mixed reception from the Amman tribe who were pinning their hopes on Fabian returning.

- The newly merged tribe competed in their first individual immunity challenge where Travis came out on top, naming the tribe Ala Jabal - the arabian term for uphill. Following his victory, Travis proclaimed that Ricky was the biggest threat in the game and if he made it to the end he would vote him to win, something Ricky found very shady.

- With the merge came the announcement of a Hidden Immunity Idol hidden behind a phrase that when decoded would reveal the location. Nicole and Ricky worked together and at the last moment Nicole handed Ricky the final piece, allowing him to find it - however the Idol must be played during Tribal question period similar to that of Survivor: Guatemala

- In the run-up to Tribal Council the former Amman's regrouped to pile votes on Jay while the Al-Salt's threw their hopes on Steph. Realising their being potential targets in the future, the duos of Dylan and Nicole, Carlos and Jay alongside Patia, Mandy and Travis banded together to weaken Ricky's control and flipped the game sending Steph to the jury.

- Everything blew up post-Tribal with Jay threatening Ricky to play his idol next round, with a seemingly new power alliance in charge will this spell the end for the former Mental coach?

- 12 are left, who will be voted out next?

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Alright so I'm pretty unfamiliar with everything that happened pre-merge, but this merge has been crazy and more craziness is to come im assuming.
Personal Rankings (Final 12):
1) Carlos - His effort in this game is unreal, and he is so entertaining to just watch as a fan of the game. He clearly isn't scared of anybody and is going to go all out.

2) Nicole - How can you not root for her? She's the most innocent person in this game but is constantly in the swing position....hilarious!

3) Patia - My official #WinnerPick, she's incredibly smart and sticks to her guns. I can see her going very far in here!

4) Ricky - When one person is able to piss off half the people in the game, you know he's doing something entertaining! Can't wait to see how the rivalries play out.

5) Jay - The drama he creates at tribal is hilarious, but I'm not sure if he has the connections that he needs.

6) Dylan - I can tell that he is becoming drained from this game, which to a point shows how hard he is trying. Hope he does well.

7) Kate - I want to root for her, and i think her new alliance with carlos will really help, but there will be a time where she needs to make a big move and im not sure if she'd do it.

8) Desiree - Cutthroat Des is here to play and I love it! Just not a fan of the people she's working with.

9) Reynolds - I really like Reynolds as well, but he needs to be aware of the fact that people aren't going to take him to the end, and needs to do something before it's too late.

10) Travis - I think he's an interesting player to watch from his confessional but it seems the other players hate him.

11) Mandy - I have a feeling my ranking of Mandy will go up soon in the future, but as of now she's really laying low.

12) Izzy - WTF!?!

[constance]

Carlos - He is everywhere for me some times. He wants to target Izzy, then he wants to work with Izzy because he is picking at her so he can get her to vote out Ricky or flush his idol, which would be one of the biggest moves in this entire game. If he doesn't target Izzy and keeps her around and since she seems down, everything will go according to plan. The idea of telling Kate during Tribal Council that she should vote for Ricky blocks her from being guilty of the fact that he didn't play it. This alliance of Carlos/Mandy/Travis/Patia/Jay and now Izzy? I think this could turn everything around and dominate this game. I am not sure how he gets through every round, most definitely one of the biggest villains but he seems to have an extensive social game that everyone will just talk to him. Do you all remember when the majority of the people above (Except Patia and Jay) said how they didn't like Carlos? OH THE OLD DAYS.



Desiree - I hope Desiree sticks to her words "I will take anyone out, as long as I stick around to ensure I win" because she really seems so stuck on Ricky that she won't burst out of the phase of being a goat. Izzy already has and if Izzy is able to get Desiree to flip then that will actually show some promise for her. I think Desiree is doing fine, but if she goes on this route she won't get too far into the game, which saddens me. Fortunately, no one is targeting her at the moment but I know Izzy/Carlos talked about if they had to vote her out then they would eventually. Desiree needs to be more in the loop, she is in this same alliance of people who think they know what is all going on because Ricky leads them, but Ricky is not an all-knowing entity. So..



Dylan - Targeting Travis? Interesting. I wonder how he will feel when he realizes that Izzy isn't really wanting to be a part of that 7-person alliance anymore. I still think his confessionals are hard for me to watch since he makes me fall asleep with his always monotone voice. I wonder what he will win during the auction that he can use!



Izzy - She just went a completely different direction. From working with Ricky, to realizing that he is one of the most difficult players in this game moving forward with that she is willing to take him out and do anything it takes to move forward. So now, she is going to be working with Carlos/Jay/Travis in order to try and get Ricky either voted out or the idol flushed out, and in that case, would vote out Reynolds (so coincidental that Steph/Reynolds shared such a strong relationship and then they target Reynolds after taking Steph out). If she does this, I think it will be a huge turning point in her game and people will actually see her as someone to keep around because she wouldn't be opposed to voting any type of way.



Jay - I am so surprised he is around right now, I really wish Steph was here and not him. If he slides by this vote again (he seems to be, considering no one has said his name again, and they switch to Travis) then he will be set if Izzy flips to their side.



Kate - Nothing for Episode 9 yet.



Mandy - It's good to know she is doing what is best for her game and decided to not follow Ricky after all. If they all manage to stick together (the alliance that she was speaking of), then they can actually get Ricky out if they try. I'm trying to figure out what the ploy will be to get Ricky to believe he is safe. Mandy fighting back, which I like because she didn't so much in the beginning and now she is starting to shine. I wonder if Ricky plans on confronting Mandy about what happened during Steph's Tribal Council.



Nicole - So she flipped on them last round and now she wants to go back to working with them again. I never know what she is going to do. I don't see her or Dylan being voted in this round, it would be really weird seeing that happen at this point. I notice that she does not like the way Travis is speaking to her and I hope she eventually puts him in his place. I like the guy, but some times he might come off condescending others and it makes others not feel so nice. I think she is doing better then before, but personally, I would love to see her actually vote Ricky out, lol.



Patia - Nothing for Episode 9 yet.



Reynolds - I think he will start to crack a little bit as he goes forward, with Steph being gone. I think he may get voted out if Ricky uses his idol this round because if Ricky uses the idol, he has to use it before people cast their votes, and what Carlos said regarding Reynolds, they can just message each person and vote for him instead. He is still one of my favorite guys in this game but I think he is so stuck that I'm not sure what to say about him at the moment.



Ricky - I still don't see why he thinks he isn't vulnerable?! If the idea of getting rid of Ricky works, shit is going to hit the fan. I think he is going to be in for a huge awakening if he ever finds out that Izzy flipped on him. Obviously Ricky and Travis are feuding, they don't get along. Ricky should play his hidden immunity this round if he doesn't want to be eliminated but I mean if you feel so good about it, then go ahead, it won't play out so well. He could get screwed over big time if this goes according to plan by others.



Travis - He is so amazing! I love his attitude about stuff and how he is not afraid to say shit at all. Lol. I think he will get far through this game and I love how he explains individually in confessionals on how he feels about people. I personally believe if Travis makes it through this round (if Izzy stays with the plan) then Travis will be pretty solid for the majority of the rounds. Dylan and Nicole flipping back to the main group will cause Travis to get annoyed so who knows what he will have to say! I love him because you never know what he will say.



That is all I have for now.

[Deleted]

Carlos continues to rock the social game. Listening to him talk to Izzy, he knows how to pay her respect and make her feel good about herself and her position in the game. He's also building a friendship, as we can see from his confessionals, and is genuinely liking her.

Izzy is stepping out as a confident, fearless player. We saw hints of it early in the game with the Mental video, the Scavenger Hunt, and now it's leaking into her gameplay. And good for her that she gets to play two games in one: she played the Pet to Master game for a bit, but she kept saying that 'it' was coming ... and now she's slipped the leash and crapping on the neighbour's lawn, making eye contact the entire time. Do it, girl. Run free.

I don't know if it will happen, but I kinda hope people WILL continue to underestimate her and think she's this dummy with just one big move to her name. Because she pulled one over on all of them.

Desiree, on the other hand, seems to be playing the same game as Tibet. She has linked up with a strong leader, and is hiding out in his shadow, unsure of how to step out and make relationships with unapproved people. How active is the Desiree/Jay chat, I wonder? Is she even building 1 on 1 relationships with Dylan and Nicole? Does Desiree/Mandy exist?

Kate, at tribal last night, WHAT ARE YOU DOING. You do. not. ignore. people. In this game, you have to make a connection with EACH and every person, no matter how unimportant or uninteresting they might seem to you. Even if your alliance numbers are all filled up, reach out. Extend a hand. You'll find something to grab. And yes, you have those pointless conversations. You smile lots. You ask Desiree all about Drag Race, let Nicole divulge her stomach cramp woes to you, and you console Dylan about his ear wax. Just open that door, and make it harder for each person to ever write down your name. If you haven't spoken to Patia, it is not going to break her heart to send you packing. She'll be writing it in big bold letters. She probably already has the parchment ready.

Patia received votes, because of her Express Pass and the Bench. #TeamRicky all had their reasons not to vote the others: Some like Carlos, because he talks to EVERYONE and is lovable. Desiree can't vote Jay. Travis might catfish us. Dylan Nicole may not vote Mandy. Which leaves Patia. Patia, are you being like Kate and not talking to people? Because this is why Carlos is slaying - he is spending all day, all night, working it.

Will the votes on Ricky last night scare him into playing his idol in Episode 10? Will he play it only on himself, or will he protect an ally?

Will Nicole's anti-venom push us into another tie-breaker, should she receive votes?

Mandy is back from holiday, I SO want to see more from her. She's been quietly chugging along, but it's time to spread those wings! Everyone likes her, from what I have seen, but she isn't someone a lot of people talk about. She's just that extra vote who is with Carlos but might be useful to Ricky down the road (he thinks) so they don't touch her.

Dylan and Nicole flopping back to Team Ricky. It feels like their rightful place, but it's going to hurt them.

[chrisbrown]

Catching up... eek.

Travis is by far one of the most annoying characters left in the game. Somewhat interesting, but annoying mostly. Interesting as in I'm not sure what fucking wig he's going to have plopped on his head or what tribal council shenanigans we will get the pleasure of witnessing this round. Apparently, I'm "mad at life" and have a problem, but dude, you're just fucking annoying and I'm not rooting for you because that's my prerogative. And I'm not a kid... sorry I'm not fucking BALDING. Sorry... I understand that other people find his shenanigans to be EPIC, entertaining, and amazing, but he's nothing like that, he's nothing of the sort. BUT, he's like head on with his assessment of Dylan lmfaooo.

MOVING ON.

Nicole and Dylan fucked up their entire games by making a decision to vote with the side they only intended to stick with for one round. Like royally fucked themselves. But maybe not. But it's not looking too good for them. But at least they have a Ricky meat shield still. Nicole is definitely in the better position of the two because she's definitely underestimated, which I think will work in their favor. I didn't understand Dylan's play with voting out Steph when ultimately there was a decent enough of a relationship to work with to possibly swing her as a number in his favor when the numbers dwindled to get out Ricky. Steph was a smart player and Reynolds certainly was slimy enough to be aware of a good time to switch shit up to vote Ricky out at the right opportunity. To me it was blatantly obvious that the side they voted with in the first TC at merge didn't give two shits about them and was merely using them to gain the upper hand to then fuck them over, but your perception is so fucked in the game, I guess they can get a pass for that oopsie. 

I think the downfall of Carlos will be Kate for some reason. He has a weak spot when it comes to Kate. She stuck to her word one time and he's like forever in debt to her. It's weird to me. Is she playing him? Possibly... I think Kate is just a little naive and oblivious in a lot of ways in this game, which is still mind boggling to me because she's someone that I perceive as a very intelligent, self aware person in her day to day life based on her profession and the perception I have of her from her meet me video. Carlos' convoluted plans to save Kate are just... risky. I mean, is Kate really his ally? I do like where his head is with getting Izzy to own the ideas and make her feel as if she is the one in charge and coming up with things, since she's really on this power trip and wanting to display all of the great moves she's making. Carlos by far is playing one of the best games of all the people left in the game and I would vote for him in a heart beat at the end.

BRIEF INTERMISSION. Will post the rest of my thoughts on everyone else shortly. <3

[maranda]

I honestly am surprised Travis and Mandy are left still they are both just there and it is extremely disappointing. Carlos is definitely in a good spot socially. I agree Dylan and Nicole going back to the dark side aka Ricky is gonna bite them in the ass hardcore. I don't see why everyone is enamored with Patia I just see her as a goat. If Desi doesn't make some bold moves she will be in the same spot as she was in Tibet. Jay is just fun for the tribals and makes things interesting.