Player of the week: Sherri Beithman
Sherri Beithman (+5) Brenda Lowe (+2), Matt Bischoff (+2), Malcolm Freberg (+2)
Dawn Meehan (-3), Reynold Toepfer (-2), Andrea Bhoelke (-2) Michael Snow (-2)
19.
Allie Pohevitz (Last Week: 19)
I
had her pegged at 19th last time and sure enough, she was voted out
this week. After the fans lost immunity, Allie was always going to be in a bad
position. She was the weakest link of a minority alliance in terms of challenge
prowess. She got far too close to Reynold on the first night. THE FIRST NIGHT! All these factors put together leave her very threatening while not really
offering much to the tribe. Not really a great position to be in, and now
there’s only 3 people sitting at the cool table. That’s really not that cool.
18. Brandon Hantz (Last Week: 18)
Brandon,
Brenda, and Erik were all on the wrong side of the vote in the first week. At
the moment, Brandon could not be taking a worse approach to this
situation. When he got back from camp after the vote, he began berating Dawn
and wallowing in bitterness. I think it’s interesting to see how Brandon’s
responding to being on the outside, because in South Pacific, he was in the
majority alliance from day 1. He always had the comfort of majority. If the
favourites lose this next immunity, I have no doubt that Brandon will explode,
truly going out with a bang as he promised us he will. I can’t entirely explain
but I have a bad feeling about Brandon. I wouldn't even be surprised if he hurt
somebody before leaving this game. Brandon’s only hope for when the favourites
next go to tribal council is if the tribe feels they need to keep the strong
challenge competitors.
17. Hope Driskill (Last Week:
16)
I said last week that if Allie were voted off, Hope would be the
next fan gone for all the same reasons. However, after Shamar has proven to be
such a pain around camp, Hope has a chance to stick around until a little longer. Possibly even until a tribe
switch.
16. Shamar Thomas (Last Week:
15)
I don’t think Shamar understands how survivor works. This is a
game that ultimately can’t be won by unlikable people. Go ahead and look
through every single past winner, not one of them was disliked by the jury. You
can be a villain and win, you can make an enemy or two, but if the jury simply
doesn’t like you, you cannot win. At the moment, Shamar has one friend, Sherri.
If he continues to be as lazy and abrasive as he has been so far, he’ll find
himself quickly on his way out, despite his contribution in challenges.
15. Brenda Lowe (Last Week: 17)
We didn't see much of Brenda this episode, but as far as I can tell, it appears
she’s recovered quite well from the first tribal council. We saw her showing
off some of her moves with Phillip, and we saw her having a few laughs with the
tribe. However, it still looks like she can’t shake this reputation from her
last season of being a big time gamer and a big time strategist.
14. Erik Reichenbach (Last Week:
14)
Another
zero-edit from this week. Erik responded well to last tribal council’s vote, I
believe. When Brandon approached him about wanting to get some revenge, he
listened and entertained him then didn’t act on it, which was the right way to
approach the situation. Frankly, Erik should hope Brandon goes crazy since it
will take the target off his back for the moment.
13. Eddie Fox (Last Week: 13)
Eddie’s
another fan who I don’t feel has watched much survivor. It’s as if he thinks he
can just sort of skate by, have a good time, and then have everything work out
for him. Maybe this tribal council will kick him into gear and get him playing. Maybe he needed to be grounded a little more. I don’t suspect he’ll be gone any
time soon since though since he’s very useful in the challenges and doesn’t
appear to annoy anyone too much.
12.
Reynold Toepfer (Last Week: 10)
Reynold
seems to be full of big plays, both good and bad. In the first episode, he put
together a strong alliance, +1. Then he forgot to recruit enough members for
that alliance, -1. Then he got way too friendly with Allie on the first night,
-1. Then he brought his tribe from behind to win immunity, +1. This week, he
lashed out at Shamar in front of the entire tribe, rather than waiting and
approaching everyone individually and targeting him, -1. Then he found the
hidden immunity idol, +1 then he forgot to hide it properly -1.
11. Julia Landauer (Last Week: 11)
The only player to have a zero-edit two weeks in a row, and I
still don’t really know what to say about her. She’s in the majority, and as
far as I know, she isn't ruffling any feathers, so at least she hasn't made any
clear mistakes yet.
10. Andrea Bhoelke (Last Week: 8)
Andrea didn't do anything wrong to drop two places, it’s simply
that a few others did enough good to overtake her. It seems Andrea’s getting
along well with alliance and she responded well to receiving votes in the first
tribal council. I still maintain that being targeted early isn't a big concern
for Andrea in the near future. Parvati was targeted early in the first Fans
versus Favorites, and if Jonny Fairplay hadn't quit (definitely a quit), she
most likely would have been the first boot.
9. Laura Alexander (Last Week 9th)
What I like about Laura is that she really has her head in the
game. She’s constantly got an eye on everyone, observing and absorbing what’s
happening around her, and that’s a great skill to have in Survivor. I was
impressed when she spotted Reynold’s “bulge”. I’m undecided though whether it
was a good move to bring it up at tribal council. Personally, I think I would
have held onto the information for a little longer, and waited until it
benefited me a little more. Laura’s only real concern in the near future is
physical strength. If she proves to be useless in challenges, her tribe may
figure she’s expendable, but with Hope still around and Shamar still causing
waves, I don’t see this being an issue.
8. Phillip Shepard (Last Week: 7th)
Phillip is a delusional socially unskilled weirdo with an overly
active imagination. He has these bizarre fantasies of spies and secret covert
missions that are reminiscent of recess in primary school. But despite all
this, I don’t think you can deny its helping build unity among his alliance.
As silly as these nicknames are, it’s effective in the way it helps give
everyone from his alliance a purpose, a sense of inclusion, and a shared goal.
It makes Phillip look ridiculous and I still don’t think he can ever win this
game, but I’m thoroughly convinced he can make it to the end again.
7. Sherri Beithman (Last Week: 12th)
Sherri has proven to be a big time player all of a sudden, and I’m
thoroughly impressed. Sherri is the designated older lady of this tribe, and
typically the older lady, will be useless in challenges, not have any strategy,
and possibly have a break down some time in the first week. But Sherri’s done none
of this, she’s thriving out on the island. She’s proven to be competent in
challenges, she’s playing Shamar beautifully, she’s being a leader in her
alliance without dominating anyone, and she’s the only fan getting along well with absolutely everybody.
I think Sherri’s secured her spot for quite some time and at the moment, she’s
playing well enough to be a potential winner.
6. Michael Snow (Last Week: 4th)
Based on what we saw this week, it looks like Michael may not be
the leader of his alliance with Matt. It appears he’s taking just a little bit more
of a passenger seat. Whether this will help or hinder him, I don’t know, we’ll have
to see. Either way, Michael’s in a good position now and I think he’s one of
few fans we can assume will go far.
5. Dawn Meehan (Last Week: 2nd)
Dawn’s little sulk session after tribal was a small reminder of
how emotional she can be. Sure, Brandon was being a little tough on her, but
there was no reason to cry about it. The last time Dawn played, she really didn't make
it that far, which leads me to believe that perhaps she’s not cut out for the emotional strain of 39
days of this game. Nonetheless, I have faith in Dawn, and if she can keep it
together, she’s posed to make it deep in this game.
4. Matt Bischoff (Last Week: 6th)
Wow, this guy has taken me by surprise. Based on his pre-game
interviews, I had him pegged as a potential first boot, but I was so wrong. I
thought his sensitive side, his interests, and his appearance would alienate
him from the rest of his tribe, but so far he’s been received very well from
everybody (except Shamar). Of the 6 ‘misfits’, he’s been the one working the
best with the cool kids, and it looks as though he’s in the driver’s seat of
his alliance.
3.
Malcolm Freberg (Last Week: 5th)
It’s
now clear Malcolm’s very much in the thick of his alliance. I would say he’s
officially past the stigma of Russel. He appears to be getting along swimmingly
with everyone from his alliance. If I were to guess, I’d say he’s trying to
appear as though he was just a popular physical threat from his last season,
rather than a big time gamer. So far, I’d say everyone has taken the bait,
and it really helps that he has the look to go with it. Not to mention, Malcolm
is playing Phillip so perfectly, exactly the same way he did to Russel Swan.
Let him take that leadership role that he wants so badly, and let him take all
the bullets along the way, while Malcolm comes out unscathed.
2. Corinne Kaplan (Last Week: 2nd)
Not much has changed for Corinne since last week. She’s still in
the thick of her alliance, and she still hasn't had any confrontations. Really,
I don’t think there’s much more I can say.
1. John Cochran (Last Week: 1st)
Everything I've just said of Corinne, can be repeated about
Cochran. Still his only real concern is his lack of physical contribution. He didn't do anything wrong to have his number 1 spot taken, but a number of
people are creeping on him.
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