Finally getting around to writing out my thoughts.
One thing I loved was that there was a lot of craziness at Tribal all without anyone leaving their seats. That feels old school. That feels like how it should be. Another thing I love is that Jeff is trolling like crazy. Him calling that Venus/Liz/Quitavius were gonna finish last in front of everyone and daring them to prove him wrong and then bringing the seat cushion and popcorn to Tribal were the kinds of things we haven't seen from Jeff in quite some time. This feels like the "They will be taken and executed" Jeff from Nicaragua. And it's great.
This cast really doesn't love each other and the season is way better for it.
Contestants ranking right now:
Venus - Why do some of you not like her? I get that she's cocky and has absolutely zero self-awareness, but that's what makes her unintentionally hilarious. Her thinking the Tevin move was hers at all, when it was Liz doing the legwork, is just good TV. She's just great to watch. That and, yes, she's hot, so there's that. But this season wouldn't be even half the same without her.
Quitavius - Honestly, the only reason he's not #1 is because he threatened to quit multiple times, and I can't in good faith put someone like that in my top spot. His chaotic energy is something else, and it's just destructive to the game. It's a big part of why this group is fed up with each other. He's added a lot to the season.
Ben - "This does not rock, Jeff" is a fun catchphrase, and his breakdown at camp that one night was one of the most relatable things I've seen on this show in a long time. He's fun, likable, and easy to identify with... but is lacking in the airtime.
Tiff - Her responses to Quitavius got me to like her a LOT MORE. Which is something, since she had been very much in the back seat for a while.
Liz - A trainwreck, but one we haven't seen enough of. This episode, we got her "Quitavius overshadowed my move with his insanity!" (great stuff) and... then she disappeared until Tribal. Par for the course with her. It may be because she's famished since she can't really eat. At least the preview gives us her dishing the dirt I wanna see.
Kenzie - She took the biggest hit this week with her wanting to blindside Tiff for the sake of a blindside. That always hurts. And she wasn't exactly likable to begin with, given how she treated Jess and Bhanu. That said, her mockery of Quitavius was fantastic. And she foreshadowed Jeff's popcorn at Tribal.
Charlie - His obsession with T-Swift has given us several fun moments, and I'm sure she'll eventually write a song about breaking up with him. His song-off with Ben, him shaking off the "Shake It Off" joke... stuff like that is good. I also am very impressed with things like wanting to let Kenzie make the Tiff move so he could put the heat on Kenzie instead of taking it himself.
Hunter - Got nothing for ya. Head back to camp. At least I remember his "Hunter and Hunted" line from the challenge.
Maria - She's well more of a total nothing than she has any right to be. All I know about her is that she's a mother and is from Lebanon but that's it. Her game is essentially being in Charlie's shadow.
This cast is great. Lots of emotional players. There's also the dichotomy of the three starting tribes: The hot mess that was Yanu vs. the "Vibe Tribe" Siga vs. the winning locker room of Nami constantly devolving into arguments. This is the best cast Jesse Tannenbaum has assembled, unseating 42's.
(Winner contenders are Charlie, rising stock Tiff, dwindling-stock Kenzie, and upset pick Venus.)
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Help control the pet population. Have your pets spayed or neutered! RIP Bob Barker (1923 - 2023) - and thanks for all the memories.