[Cochran]

Hope messaging a lurker

I like Jed getting frustrated with the people he's supposed to be aligning with. I like Aurora and Stephanie arguing. I like UB stressing about being on the outs DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Though that team is almost definitely challenge winning for the first little bit.

Erik has shown up and that team is a little slower so if anyone is going to make some headway there it's him. I can see him getting up over Hope, Laura, Allie though I would prefer if he leaves over Allie cause I love Allie. Hope hasn't talked to Reynold at all. I know he doesn't have any agency but if he got his way he should axe her. Bitch didn't answer my confessional Q and posted in there so fuck him though!! I'm interested in hearing who he thinks he's closest with since people (Sherri and Liz) Have noted he's good with them and I want to see him push things that way. I can see Sherri trying to scoop up a pocket ally, and Liz too potentially though idk how much liz wants to throw her dick around seeing as she's already a big name?

[Cochran]

Micheal and Matt are talking about keeping Brandon and Erik as side pieces and I'm about it. Those guys are very proactive over there and will be likely the best equipped to handle the swap if there is one. I would prefer an Erik boot here because he just hasn't been kicking and I'm starting to dig Reynold more but we will see.

[Cochran]

Allie realizing she isn't in the alliance is good. I don't think she can find any real footing here but she is going to be well off on a swap if she knows she isn't in the in and it SOUNDS like she's not offensive enough to be got like some of the others. Erik tanking his game so she may live, I'm all for it.

[Cochran]

Michael is so good trying to bait Allie in to thinking he's on the outs. Whenever she does try to put something together she'll likely bring him in though he's already deathly loyal to the buffet. She seemed to be interested in Laura too and I'm all about a counter alliance forming there to go against the Buffet so that when they do swap those people have some agency.

[Cochran]

I don't give a shit about Hope yet but I'm so fine with the Erik burn here since he is likely to do more damage long term and I would prefer Hope to be another buffer for Allie and Laura.

[Cochran]

Shamar is a god but he has to be careful pushing too much shit like that or it will definitely catch up to him.

[Cochran]

Rough re: Alexis. as someone who has messaged the wrong person I sympathize.

Erik can't survive now and the worst part (for him) is that it's not even his fault really. Shamar threw him under for Hope, and then Alexis spilled the beans so there's no way. I like that everyone is here and kicking though sans Reynold who is probably going to follow him out the door if he doesn't show the fuck up and do something. Damn.

[Cochran]

Round 2

What's up team? Partners is fun. I think that it's going to affect the early merge a lot more than we expect and I'm hopeful that it ends up giving some of the power pairs a little bit of something to worry about. Highlights from that are obviously Rocker and Brandon and then Stephannie getting stuck with eddie (the poor get poorer). The rest of them seem pretty base right now but I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Sherri+Stephanie get the necklaces.

The one thing that these groupings did was almost ensure that the two top alliances from both teams work together. Sherri/Steph, Michael/Jess (the other duo I can see winning) Will likely get to talking and want to keep each others allies safe. At least I think.

Pukaroa
This has 5/6 of the majority alliance, and a 3/2 split of the other team where Hannah and Aurora are on the outs of things if Stephannie gets her way and taints the new people on them. The problem with that strategy is going to be the connects to the other team. In order to keep everyone happy I wouldn't be surprised if they axed someone like a Tai or something. The one thing NN has going for her is that she's not seen as a Garrett fan the way that Tai is. So I hope she can make something happen cause I really do not care for that whole alliance on OG Te Poto. Also no idols to worry about. Good for them.

1.Matt- Kid has the absolute most game ever, Has his main guy in Michael and also Sherri roped in tight. He is already noting that Shamar is being shady and that Alexis is over connected and I'm all about it. Definitely going to succeed here.

2.Stephannie- Love her being frustrated with the old team being bore whores but more importantly wanting to DO something about it. DO IT. I think that she can swing things against her old team/will be more likely to than Hannah/Aurora here so hopefully they can make some shit happen and ax one of them.

3. Rocker- I don't know why but he's super low key and I kind of like it for him? Right like it's the thing Garrett needed to do but didn't. Lol at him telling people he's bi, he's pretty obviously trying to win this and I'm here for it. Glad he's potentially getting some new footing.

4. Sherri- Definitely the second most well poised here I feel and also correctly calling poods and you guys out for already throwing four twists at the I know she will continue to do well here, this is going to be a good team for her to pick up a few more allies and she's in it with her boy Reynold too so yeah, good for her.

5. Michael- He's going to continue to be a tiny bit devious just for fun and I like that a lot. Some light lying and shit, I'm all about it and he was doing a slightly less good job getting connected than Matt was but will obviously be fine. He also got a very reliable partner (or so it seems) so good for him.

6. Shamar- He thinks he's the smoothest guy out here but he's already on everyone's radar. You can't push for something that early so aggressively and then try and be the soft guy, you know? Will probably want to align with Aurora, Hannah, and NN because they're women which was funny at first but I'm kind of over it.

7. Alexis- Oh how the mighty have fallen for me. She is still heavily entertaining and a big presence but she's trying not to be. Her slip up yesterday doomed Erik (even though he was doomed anyways) but instead of that weighing on her I think that she is going to use that to be more careful which is good. I'm just not roped in to her yet. This team will undoubtedly be good for her though. I just see her enabling the bores on Te Poto and do not want that.

8.Reynold- He probably should not be this high but I have a random soft spot for the kid. He needs to confess a little more but he's been good and I think is on the team that is most likely to keep him around. Sherri likes him, so if he can start making some similar inroads elsewhere he'll be pretty alright. He just needs to talk to everyone dude wtf.

9. Aurora- She honestly deserves better and has been doing very well. I think this team can be good for her in having some new important connections. I also am heavily invested in her because she's Allie's partner and I love Allie.

10. Tai- He was looking to be an Erik light but just hasn't been yet. He has the potential to be alright around here but I need a little somethin somethin more from him, honestly. Give him some time I'm sure he'll go up. Just read he's targeting Aurora already and got caught lol he's so fucked.

11. Hannah- Main face of the borewhore alliance IMO and hasn't done much anything to stick out to me personally. I don't think I like these types too much in games and while I get along with them? I think she needs to be a little bit more bitchy publicly or something for me to really get behind. I am bitter about them voting out Garrett

Te Poto-

This team is a little bit more hectic. Two idols, Elizabeth and Missy together, Eddie probably not trusting shit all from anyone on the Te Poto. I think Garret would have succeeded here so hopefully at least is able to keep some sort of fun around with him. I can see people getting frustrated with him not know what he's doing and I'm sort of living for it honestly? He can be entertaining if he doesn't smarten up. This team hasn't confessed as much so I'm less aware of what they're doing but that'll come with time.

1. Allie- New lease on life. Keep up that gamebot bullshit. Love it. She will likely be the foil to the main alliance on her team which I am all about. Mostly because it's not something that has to be dealt with yet, you know? She's correctly identified everyone in that alliance (and added Brandon which is semi accurate) And I think that if anyone can actually bring some fight to them mixing up with the bores on Te Poto it's going to be her. She's going to mix with them too though? Aurora is a good pick up for her partner wise.

2. Elizabeth- Easily the most connected person in the game here and she's just getting richer and richer. A partners connect to Alexis who she loves, a whole crop of new allies to make but also connections to Allie and other old people on her team, I mean yeah she's got it all right now and she's doing very, very well with it. I think eventually it will catch up to her but there's no way she doesn't coast to the merge here.

3. Stephanie- I feel like she rose a lot? Not a fan of her alliance but I like her specifically. She seems to have her head in the game and is playing and understanding her tribe pretty well. Plus she's interested in keeping Allie around over Eddie or Brandon and I'm all about that. She's my favorite of the kill Garrett alliance and I expect her to do well. Plus her getting paired up with Sherri will undoubtedly do her some favors later on.

4. Wardog- I know I said this already but I see a lot of me in this guy lol, kinda feel sorry for him. But he's definitely being proactive, telling people what he wants, and I don't think there's any way that he gets got here which is good since he got swapfucked last time right? He's calling himself crazy in confesh but he seems like the most sane person around right now, and also correctly called out getting rid of Eddie which just made the most sense given the idol so... Yeah, I want to see him succeed and have some of the crazy seep through.

5. Jessica- Despite the boot Garret agenda I like her a good bit. You can tell she's playing hard and wants to be here, and she's not afraid to make stuff happen. She already ratted out Tai to some friends and is looking out for her allies. She'll be good at making new friends around here. Her partnership with Michael will almost definitely be good for her long term. She's a contender.

6. Missy- Waiting for her to confess but she already is attacking people for her vote and also will undoubtedly cause some friction with Liz. I wonder how much. I think that will boil up and if this tribe can win an immunity or two until the next swap then she'll be very, very entertaining to see navigate. But if this team starts losing a few there's no way she makes it out alive idt

7. Eddie- Give this kid a fucking break man. He's figuring it all out. He is actually not in the best spot because he won't figure out how or when to play his idol, is likely overwhelmed, but if there's anyone who should want to make something happen it's him. NO ONE on Te Poto gave him safety or anything like that, no one made any relationship with him and he's almost definitely not going to go here because they'll be afraid to split, and he still won't play his idol. I think I like what's happening around him more than him but he's fascinating to me.

8. Brandon- Still quality shitposter but he's been noted as not in the in here and everyone on his old team he got swapped with are not people he loves so I wouldn't be surprised if he's thrown to the outs here. I think he ended up doing alright being in everyone's pocket but that's just not how it goes here and I think that they could eventually try and split on him and Eddie of these guys lose a lot, where he would end up leaving.

9. Laura- She's fine! New lease on life here with all the madness that happened on the old noobs team and I think that she can actually make something happen with it here if she shows up and is proactive? I don't think she gets got on this team because there's just other fish to fry over her and she also doesn't have Alexis breathing down her throat to get her out. She might though, I mean she hasn't done herself too many favors in connecting but her and Allie are close so I want them to succeed.

10. Hope- Good for her getting out of that team alive because Shamar likes women. I don't know if she's going to have more success here or not because she barely squeaked by on the other team and I don't think she even knows that. There are other relationships here that will be more prevalent and will likely cause the boot over her which is good and hopefully she can make something happen with these new connections.

11 Jed- Lol I thought I was going to love this dude but he's just been hitting me as kind of boring? I've talked ad nauseum at this point about his alliance and I think that until one of like he or Hannah goes I won't be happy. He will be fine here, he's got the connections and the stuff to make it happen but if there was a flip up and he got pushed out I would in no way be upset.

[Cochran]

Tai's is supposed to say garrett light idk what crack I'm on.

[Cochran]

Lmfao now Allie is too loose lipped and passionate? These people need to pick one, god damn.

[Cochran]

I think we all figured that the returnee's were going to fall apart but Aurora is absolutely out of her fucking mind and I love it. I mean Tai is after her but you can't just melt down when you were someone who was in the know on that last vote and you KNOW he isn't. I think that Hannah will probably identify that as a problem and I wouldn't be surprised if she pushed her out in front of the fire here rather than go for Tai if she keeps melting down like this. I want them to lose and cut out one of the non Stephannie favs over there because they split vote so Eddie plays his idol sucks man. I think that they're angling for Brandon too which is fair because he takes some time to make in roads. If he had a little more time he may change that. One win over there could change everything up, especially with Missy and Liz playing nice for now? That could change. Props to them both for identifying that they may not trust each other but at the very least can use each other here to get out of this swap alive.

Love Rocker being frustrated with Brandon lmfao.

[Cochran]

Wardog's reaction to living past round two is so fucking relatable and why people come back to play this more and more. I really like him a lot because of that.

As much as I hate Jed for throwing the challenge, he kinda made the right call, right? Hannah would have been gone over there and he correctly identified that and wanted to push her out. The split of more vets than noobs here kind of fucking sucks cause if it were some of Liz's friends she might want to do something but they aren't so she doesn't. They are going to lose every premerge challenge at this rate. I hope there's a swap inbound at like 20 or 18 or something because it'll be very, very sad if not. Praying for Brandon.

[Cochran]

Rockers post about Alexis' confessional is hilarious. I feel like people are sleeping on him? I expected him to be a little crazier but he seems to be doing alright as well as not being too offensive which is what he needs to do with a face like that.

[Cochran]

ROUND 3

Pukaroa

I tried ranking this team this round but I really just can't. I love the dynamics over here and I think that things are already getting hairy if they even go to one Tribal Council. Hannah is still likely the target but tbh she's kind of stepped up for me a bit here and it sounds like some people don't even want her to go. I think that her going would be the best thing for the later game if these people do lose because it takes away from the big alliance that is potentially taking over the game but a lot of the people involved in that don't even like or believe it. The noobs especially. I think that the people who are sitting on the outside of it (Stephannie/Sherri/Rocker) are going to be more picked up to make some stuff happen rather than just picked off one by one. That being said, I do love the Hannah/Aurora drama and I hope that it continues to blossom as Aurora continues to lose her mind.

The best part of that is that Tai is still around and kicking whether she likes it or not. He may get split on here because Alexis is against him and Hannah but whatever, he isn't the main target or anything and I wouldn't be surprised if these guys close to win out. Speaking of Alexis, she has risen in my eyes once again, a lot. That last confesh was very spot on about her own position and what she may need to do moving forward. She's almost higher key than Liz is right now and I hope that her deep seeded trust issues (can definitely relate) force her to continue to be in the power spot because she's doing a pretty decent job of navigating it. I would hate for her to take her put off the pedal right now when she has the potential to be huge going in to the merge, which she definitely makes. How did she become Rockers number one here? Insane.

Sherri finding the idol is fucking awesome too. The issue is that the other one is in the hands of War Dog who was willing to give literally all of his coin to Eddie just to get his. Sherri has some good calls I'm obviously behind, Alexis being someone who is playing hard being one of them. I think she is putting too much trust in to Matt because Matt is going to prioritize Michael over her but it really doesn't hurt her to give him information because he trusts her too. Matt is still incredibly well positioned and no one seems see it the way they do with Alexis. I don't know how he's managing but the dude has some serious game, probably knows where half the idols are at, and is just killing it all over the place. Excited for his update this round.

Michael too is incredible. He's talking about throwing to save Brandon which I don't think is that smart but I wouldn't be against it against it if they don't ever lose again besides it. His plan to split the vote on to Rocker will probably be met with some dissension here, I wonder if he gets told Sherri has the idol half by Matt or something? I like him going out of his way to keep Tai around and hurt some people that are trying to rely on him. You don't get to ax a noob right in front of his face and then not have retaliate. Kid is looking long term already and I hope it gets to his head a little bit but I like where it's at. Him locking down Reynold with Sheri and Matt is also gold since they really need to rope that guy in. Reynold is still sort of on his own island here but at least he's picking up steam. He feels very inoffensive and is here playing, I hope he starts getting met with some issues soon because it would be fun to see him react.

Shamar is a fucking nut dude lol. The social game is there but he's just not reading things too correctly and also starting to seem a little bit like a liability. I hope that he gets a little slack cut for being bad at the challenge/seeming nooby but multiple people have said he doesn't seem very reliable and it's kinda true. He's just looking out for Shamar which I like a lot. Will he be able to make that work for him?? STAY TUNED!!! Stephannie I don't think I hit but she's easily the vet with the most agency on this team. She knew she wasn't in the in on the old team, made the right inroads here to get herself in the best spot, and is killing that. Even if they lose a bunch I think some people would want to keep her/make some moves to have her be in over a noob potentially. She's killing it.

Te Poto

I don't care about these guys as much lol. I think the Eddie boot had to happen, and now that it has there's really nothing that can happen besides Brandon getting booted so they're all going to coast through that. I liked Jed's update a lot and I need to stop being mad at his alliance being "boring" because they actually aren't anymore. He is the sane in the sea of crazies like I thought he would be and hearing him talk like that while others are banshee's is pretty good stuff. Still not his biggest fan but he's moved up for me for sure. Missy and Liz being friendly is interesting and will hopefully only last so long. Michael already realizing they were playing it up Love it. But I think Missy is taking the backseat and letting Liz get the target here which I'm all about. I'm ready for her to stab her in the back and front here in a little bit but part of me feels like it might not come. Unless it's late because Liz is still the uber threat. She's got a quality confessional and the Brandon being a clown meme got me good but yeah she's still killing it over there.

War Dog is my top Vet over there. He is losing it a little bit for no reason but it really isn't hurting him. I think the fact that everyone sort of knew he was nutty is definitely helping him there but good on him for finding the idol and then subsequently freaking out. At least he identified it was an issue and will hopefully calm down but he seems to be on top of the team there so no worries on him. Jessica and Steph are both playing hard here and doing the right things, Hope is cozying to the right people and I'm sort of not sure what's up with Laura but she doesn't seem in immediate danger the way Brandon is. His only hope is that the other team throws it here. No one here cares about him at all or is willing to give him the time. It's pretty sad but that's what you get for having a shtick in stranded. If that's just him then it's hard for him not to stick out which is why we like him but also why the fans find him hard to connect.

Gonna give Allie her own paragraph because she is ever evolving here and I'm pretty heavily roped in. I don't know how many friends she's making here. On both teams she's been called out for either playing too hard or being game botty lol and I think that her sheer activity keeps her above everyone else out of the noobs sans like Hope for some people but the pukora noobs are all pretty much not really giving her the time of day which she's already identified. Her boot list is insanity, it's very Vet enablist but she identified that she's not in the in on her old team and wants them all to die because of it. I think that she's pretty all over the place though she really hasn't done anything to warrant the picture being painted of her besides playing the game? I am living for her continued survival being a thorn in everyone's side while she's just gaming her heart away, which she's obviously doing cause her confessional is super in depth.

Brandon </3 is gone gone tonight if they lose, which they probably will. Rough.

[Loveita Adams]

Speaking of Alexis, she has risen in my eyes once again, a lot. That last confesh was very spot on about her own position and what she may need to do moving forward.

I thought the same thing - love a player who has a lot of awareness about how people might perceive her. She knows she's in good with people, but can already tell other people also know that, which could be an issue down the road. I'm worried that she tries to back off to compensate, but some people already think she's in better with other people than she is with them.

Her boot list is insanity, it's very Vet enablist but she identified that she's not in the in on her old team and wants them all to die because of it. I think that she's pretty all over the place though she really hasn't done anything to warrant the picture being painted of her besides playing the game? I am living for her continued survival being a thorn in everyone's side while she's just gaming her heart away, which she's obviously doing cause her confessional is super in depth.

OMG Allie's boot list 5 new players as preferred boots, and 6/7 of her top keeps being veterans. Like sure, I get why she's pissed having figured out that group of people and how she's on the outs from them, but I don't know how this type of bootlist gets her anywhere in the game. Living for her perspectives though, and rooting for things to work out for her.

[Danni Boatwright]

Allie's delusional bootlist is the best part of this round so far

[Cochran]

I am all about Laura and hope in an alliance rn. I didn't think they were doing much but they're really pushing now and I love the strat. DIG UP girls you can do this shit!!

Liz saying she wants a returned out. Wardog maybe?? Things can blow up over there right now.

[Cochran]

ROUND 4

Cooldown for Pukaroa. They're still doing the same stuff as last round. Highlights though are Aurora freaking the fuck out :<3 . Shamar is losing more and more agency by the day and he doesn't even see it. I just think he's comfortable a la Jed and when he gets less comfortable he'll start digging up again. But yeah no one seems to completely trust him. His plan to only get rid of boys is really working for him though, go him!! Love Sherri getting the idol here. She is doing a good job of connection with her partner and identifying who she doesn't trust seeing as Alexis doesn't trust her.

Alexis' last video confessional was golden. She's definitely playing the hardest here it seems, and it's going noticed but I think that she is less seen as an immediate threat than her partner. Tbh she probably should not have bid to snag Liz because she's just making that target on her back larger and larger which she really does not need. Back to Aurora dude girl is so fucking crazy here. Calling out Tai is not smart but someone noted she was less connected and also didn't get along with Tai so that's doing her some favors. I think she's playing hard but it's just making her lose it which I'm all about. I think I'm liking Hannah being a stank bitch more here too. I still want them to lose one of the next two before I think they swap and boot her but if they don't it won't be the end of the world.

Rocker detailing his plan of being in everyone's pocket is actually pretty good if he can pull it off. He's names someone off from every faction so that's good for him. The issue is the next swap where he could get targeted if he ends up with the wrong group.

Te Poto

This is the team to watch this round. I like the juxtaposition of Allie slowly integrating herself in to the old vets alliance as Stephannie does that with the noobs on the other side. I think they all sort of see her as a loner or a pet here but the thing is that she's already figured out the plan that they haven't told her about yet lmfao. I really do love what she's bringing here though she really is managing to piss off every fan along the way. Hope is over her though she just made an alliance with her and Liz and Jess? Which, go those girls for being proactive here. Sucks for Laura being left out but whatever, that's fine. I'm excited for Allie to meet back up with the old noobs because that will definitely become a headache for Liz and that girl needs some adversity.

Speaking of, getting out Missy is smart for them. She is going to be volatile and untrustworthy for Liz and Jess also feels that way. Missy hasn't been updating us so idrc about her right now either. I know she's a firecracker and would be fun but whatever I can't see it and want a change up that isn't noobs so if it has to be her then it's her. The thing that's stupid is filling people in last minute. That never goes over well. Allie will jump on it because she's groveling right now but Hope and Laura both like Missy if I remember correctly? So best case they feel forced in to a vote they don't want to do and worst case they rat it out to Missy and we see some fireworks and some other pissed off faces in Wardog. Actually if they rope in Steph too which I think is the plan then it really won't matter. But that is good for the dynamics over there.

Hope is kinda savage and I feel bad for sleeping on her in the beginning. Now that she has some footing she is very entertaining to watch navigate and she can definitely do some damage here. Her shitting on Allie for being like "I saved you" more or less lmfao. I love Allie for saying it but love Hope even more for being like fuck you I can save myself which is so so true. I like that Hope is willing to link back up with the noobs because it's pretty obvious that that ship has sailed for Allie (which is stupid ofc). Laura is a little bit more lowkey but she's being included in some stuff and honestly if this team does lose only one more time then she has another lease on life here. Good for her.

Jed posted an alright update. I hope he doesn't get his way this round. I like him noting he needs to be flexible because it's easy to put blinders on and that may lead to him making some stuff happen later. Also love that he has f2's and one of them even noted they won't go to the end with him. He's becoming more likable on my end. Wardog is just kind of here right now which is fine. Stay low key for now and survive brother you can start being crazy later.

Brandon and Eddie leaving had to happen (sorry) for this game to get more interesting strategy wise, so lets see it.

[Cochran]

Also part of the reason I'm less upset at all the vets for being shitty is because they really are not very cohesive. They all don't trust each other and any large alliance will not dominate a merge because they are telling their counterparts what to do like they aren't playing their own games.

Like Michael has every right to be pissed off at Jessica for telling him how to play. I like that he isn't just falling in line.

[Cochran]

Laura and Tai are one of the few pairings actually working together and I like how they're both on the fringe of both of their teams/the game. I hope they keep using each other moving forward because as a duo I would want them to succeed.