Episode 8 MERGE

[Charity]

Post thoughts below!

[Charity]

First merge thought - Kari and Marcellino being a duo is soooo unexpected but it's going to be fun to watch?

[jordan]

Kilby-He's riding his high horse into merge feeling like he's the bee's knees. He plans to keep his trio with Taylor and Gaston on the down low, somehow...Kilby also wants to offer a final two deal to Kari, that he has no intention of following through with. Then he'll make sure everyone knows Kari is his 'endgame' so they clip her and not the real final two which is most likely Taylor, although Kilby seems to believe Antoinette might be a good option for final two because he has been led to believe she is a goat. Mentions Ben and Alexander as people he might want out first.

Gaston- Likes working with Kilby and Taylor and believes Kilby is much more likely to get targeted out of the trio, but knows he will have to take out Taylor before she gets too far. He's been separated from his Zaxxon crew for a while and they are not as United as they once were. But perhaps the homework club can stick it out for a few votes together, but someone is bound to get clocked before the final three and Gaston looks like the prime candidate.

Spitzer- Is glad to make it to merge but was hoping for one more tribe challenge to throw to get Ben out. He's such a slimeball character….please someone take him out. He needs a slice of humble pie and we need to see him get his comeuppance!!! So much preseason potential 🤦🏻 D level villain vibes at best.

Kari- She's been drained from dealing with the personalities and egos left in this game. But seeing Ben again might be just enough to pick up her spirits and charge to the end. Hopefully she realizes that Marcellino is someone she can trust right now because he has the arsenal to blow a path for the XEVIOUS reminants to make a run for the endgame or at least more hope than they have had nearly all game.

Ben- After believing he was going home, Ben has new life in the game. Would love to see Antoinette, Spitzer, or Gaston be the merge boot, but he does not plan to push a narrative because he finally thinks he's in a good spot. Although he really needs to win the immunity challenge because there are still players that don't think Ben should be here.

Marcellino- Miraculously cracked the mastermind code and now he has two idols!!!! Everyone and their mother knows about the first one, so he better play it this round then surprise everyone when the time is right with the second one. He had Kilby in his sights before will he make a move on King Kilby?

Taylor- Was feeling kind of high on life coming into the merge in a great spot and she has very good reads on the players, but maybe Kilby and her are a little too confident. It's not going to be a complete cakewalk after all. Taylor is the second to crack the mastermind code, but she now knows someone found the merge idol. Hopefully that is the reality check she needs to see that there are people ready to play fast and hard now.

Ryan- He was fast to form a group of five, but I don't believe the relationships in that five are necessarily loyal to him. Kilby wanted him out based off tales Spitzer spun. Kari was annoyed at him from the last challenge. He's been apart from Ben and without Gina I just don't see the bond really intact. I've been hard on Ryan all game, so if his group of five works, I'll eat my words...but there's a zero chance this group is the final five.

Alexander- He has climbed the ladder for superior connections in the game. Antoinette trusts him instinctually based on being with him for the entire game to this point. Spitzer has past game loyalty. Ben believes their IRL meet-up has forged a deep bond. I doubted Alexander's authenticity at the beginning of the game, but here he is at merge as a big threat, but still with loyal allies that trust him. He could definitely make a dash to the end if he can manuver correctly.

Antoinette- She had a good run being on the top of her game throughout the premerge, but once she actually had to face some challenges, we saw the chip in the armour. She lied when it rationally did not make sense, she panicked at the first news of her name, and she let emotional moments dictate her decisions. Despite late game fatigue, Antoinette made it to this spot because her allies know she is blindly loyal and her enemies know she's kind of transparent. Now is Antoinette's chance to rehabilitate her image before she gets taken to the end by a group of players who think she will be an easy beat.

[Charity]

I will post my full thoughts and analysis of everyone in a couple hours... but I can’t believe that we’re about to see Alexander’s winner’s journey unfold before our eyes. Nobody is playing on the same level he is right now - I think by burning Ben tonight his chances only skyrocket. How has nobody clocked how protected he is? Sigh.

[jordan]

Gaston- Keeps getting early merge boot placements in games and doesn't know why. Alexander told him that Marcellino is coming for him and he knows that Kari and Ben are with him too. He might still be an early merge boot later, but looks like things are going his way this time.

Kari- Doesn't trust Kilby, but he said she's his number one. So she's going to let him prove it to her this round. She now considers Marcellino her little hidden gem in the game. Ben is still her true number one, but she is trying to sell it to Taylor that Ben can beat her(Kari) and Kilby can beat Taylor, so the girls should stay close as options for each other. Although she doesn't have the most trust in Taylor's loyalty since she isn't actively vocal as Kilby is. Thinks either Kilby, Alexander, or Gaston found the merge idol. Kari still wants the vote to be Gaston for Taylor and Kilby to prove their loyalty.

Ryan- Ryan realizes by missing out on a lot of tribal councils due to winning, he hasn't been able to forge the bonds of trust that come from voting with a group of people. That's his best read on the game so far because it looks like he's about to be left out of the real vote.

Taylor and Kilby- Currently, they are choosing to burn Kari and Ryan, by voting out Ben with Spitzer, Gaston, Antoinette, and Alexander. Once again this seems like a game defining bad move for them, just like the Nicholas vote. They are succeeding so much power to original Zaxxon plus the hanging chad that is Spitzer.

Marcellino- He's planning to play his first idol for himself. If he really wanted to shake things up he could play it on the target which is Ben, but I understand wanting to self preserve the first round of merge and he still feels like he has options and power with the merge idol.

GAAS- Gaston, Alexander, Antoinette, and Spitzer. Much like the acronym I have dubbed for them, they are ready to hit the gas pedal and speed to the end. But also like their acronym, it stinks and I am not looking forward to it.

Ben- I've had my ups and downs with Ben's game since the very beginning, but honestly he was one of the more rootable underdogs at this stage in the game. I definitely thought he was toast before, but this is really looking like his final hour unless someone zigs instead of zagging. There's a chance, but it's slim.

[Charity]

ALRIGHT! Now time to discuss what's happening this round, and what that means for the rest of the game.

Like I said in my earlier post, it looks like Ben is going to leave tonight. This is the inferior move to taking out Gaston or Alex for players like Taylor and Kilby. Taylor and Kilby's MO seems to be taking out players who "look" like threats, and they seem to be under the impression that working with the 6 of Gaston, Spitzer, Alexander, and Antoinette + them is better than working with Ben, Kari, Ryan, and a potential Marcellino. I understand this rationale if they're picking from two alliances starting on the same level, but they are not on the same level at all. This 10000% is not the right move for a few reasons -

-The second they blindside Kari, Kari is NEVER going to trust them again. Marcellino will continue to be a wildcard with little allegiance, and who knows how Ryan will react since we haven't seen Ryan experience a blindside. This extremely limits Taylor/Kilby's options down the line, since Spitzer/Antoinette/Gaston all have a ton of loyalty towards Alexander and Alexander is doing a great job holding things together. If they were to blindside the Zaxxon+Spitzer side, however, these players would NEVER choose to work with Kari (they should be seeing if there's a way not to blindside a large group but that's a whole other story). This would increase their odds of being able to play the middle.

-The side they're siding with just has superior players. Alexander is literally a mastermind, Gaston is a great social player, Antoinette is a great social player, and Spitzer has shown a ton of flexibility. Alexander and Spitzer have also proven to be total game villains. On the flip side... Ryan would be so so so so so so loyal to Kilby assuming Kilby continued his work on Ryan, Ben will always be a target due to his challenge prowess, and too many people are threatened by Kari to work with her. And.. Marcellino's two idols make him a bad thing to make mad (though I don't blame them for not knowing this). Who's better to work with?

-Assuming Alexander continues what he's been doing, there is no way that anyone will be better than a top 4 position with the group succeeding this round.

Kilby/Taylor have a lot of work they need to do now in order to succeed. If things go chaotic then clearly they have a chance, but who wants to bank on chaos to succeed? I haven't heard either express a feasible plan to succeed with this group down the line. This means that they don't know how bad of a position they are in. Okay... rant over regarding that topic.





Here's the overall thoughts on everything else happening in the game -

Kari: Is pretty fucked, which is sad. I hope she keeps a level head once Ben leaves but I am pretty sure she's gonna blow up LMAOOOOO. She is the likable underdog that we all hope does well

Alexander: Villain mastermind, is totally winning this game. He has Spitzer wrapped around his finger, Antoinette/Gaston's loyalty, and nobody who has called him out for his game. He's either gonna fall hard or have a clear path for the end.

Antoinette: Great social game - could actually have a solid run assuming A. She doesn't blow up in the same way she blew up the round Gina left and B. Alexander leaves prior to making the end. She's not calling the shots, which could work in her favor the second idols come into play. Her problem in terms of potentially winning/losing, however, is that her game is hard to distinguish from her allies.

Gaston: Will likely be in trouble in the mid jury, but will be in the majority this round which should set him up to do well for a few rounds. He has working relationships with everyone who isn't Kari.

Marcellino: He is going to be a fun floater this season, PLUS he has two idols!!!!! He is a wildcard that people are going to come to if they want to make a move, I am excited to see Marcellino's story continue to develop.

Ben: Strong competitor cockroach king, sad to see him in trouble tonight (

Spitzer: Is actually in a strong position to make it to the end of this game, he is such a crazy villain which I didn't expect. He just needs to work on his jury management if he even wants a chance to win because... lol I haven't seen it.

Kilby/Taylor: I have already discussed their pitfalls in the huge write up above... which is sad because they have the makings to be playing well this season. Kilby's idol will hopefully come into play and hopefully they realize the loyalties that are going to pose a challenge to their game moving forward.

Ryan: I am curious how he is going to react to being blindsided by his allies - he has not had the chance to build trust with many other people so I worry for his long term game at this point. I will have more to say about him once I see how he reacts to this vote.

[Charity]

Current power rankings, in terms of how each player is set up as a result of this round.

1. Alexander
2. Spitzer
3. Antoinette/Gaston
4. Marcellino due to his 2 idols
5/6. Kilby/Taylor
7-9. Ryan/Kari
10. Ben