SEASON 40: WINNERS AT WAR (Episode 3)

Ok. I think we can all agree ONE HOUR IS NOT ENOUGH! I'm appreciating the fact that they're showing us goofy camp life and EoE edits - but unfortunately it's at the expense of only getting one challenge each week! CBS really should have pushed harder to get us a 90-minute time slot because this season has no weak links. I want to hear confessionals from everyone!! 

Also in normal seasons I love them, but now I find myself yelling at the television throughout the episode like, "IF YOU'RE NOT GIVING US 90 MINUTES, CUT THE DUMB NATURE TRANSITION SCENES!"

...I digress.

LET'S BREAK DOWN EPISODE 3:

• I KNOW IT'S SKIPPING TO THE END...BUT ETHAN!!!!! ETHAN?!??!? COME!!! ON!!!!! This was a major loss. I'm bummed. And honestly I thought for a tiny, glimmering moment Rob/Parv/Ethan had done the impossible in convincing Michele/Jeremy to flip and vote Adam out. Damn. I love everyone on the season but as these episodes progress I find myself really rooting for the old school players!! But as Ethan said on his exit interview, if he could survive cancer, he can survive extinction! LEEEETTSSSS GOOOOOO!!!

• THE SHARK. This entire scene (although it was teased last week) was television GOLD. Waiting for Tony's rendition of "Baby/Sandra Shark" to drop on iTunes/Spotify/Tidal(lmao).

• Natalie is quietly building her resume on EoE - the interesting thing that they don't show is ok: so Natalie appears to have kept her advantages a secret from Amber and then from Amber and Danni - do they all just keep looking/using those old clues or do you think they give up eventually?? I WAS low-key rooting for Amber to solve it - I thought she was really on the right track with the crates - but once again, Nat has this game on LOCK. It was, however, interesting that she didn't give the advantage to Jeremy. Was it because she knew Sarah would bite because she had played the steal a vote advantage correctly in Game Changers? I guess maybe she's planning OTHER long-term potential alliances once she gets back into the game? Either way, I feel like it's a risky move because the more you end up spreading the wealth, the greater the chances EoE's "secrets" and advantages will be revealed.

• Danni is just.....there. Glad she caught her .......fish. BYEEE IT'S SURVIVOR! (Once again proving my point that I wish Stephanie won Guatemala).

• The CopsRUs "strategy" to cover Sarah's face in ash was just insane. I don't necessarily understand the thought process: Why did she tell Tony in the first place?? I guess to prove her loyalty(?)...but also whyyyy did they think it was a good idea to use the ash! I'm sure Sarah got way more spit on her face than ash "camouflaging" her skin. Anywayssss, these "covert camp raids" always stress me out - maybe it's because it's shot in night vision with the creepy eyes but it was exciting that Sarah got the advantage (and Nat is one fire token richer!)

• COME ON IN GUYS.... Sandra takes the bench (again) because "I can't do that...."

• Those damn tree puzzles. UGH! Boston Rob and Michele realllllyyyy closed the gap at the end and I thought that Sele was actually going to pull out a win (and was kinda rooting for it to happen! - I want that chaotic Sandra vs Tyson showdown to happen!)

• ADAM YOU DO NOT TELL ROB YOU'RE GUNNING FOR HIS NUMBER ONE ALLY. And now he's very clearly on the bottom of the tribe. I'd imagine it's going to be hard for him to regain some of that trust he built.

• Michele taking CONTROL of her game and not being 'hoodwinked." She learned from Monica Culpepper's "strategy(???)": Michele is playing for Michele.

Above: Monica. Playing for Monica.

• It was devastating to find out that taking "control" of her own game meant losing Ethan- weakening the Old School players once again, with another clear jab at Boston Rob and Parv. And although I hated the move itself, it does push Jeremy and Michele into the power position on the tribe(PLUS ALL THOSE ADVANTAGES FROM NAT!). They'll be able to choose whether they want to play out with Rob and Parv or stick with the Denise/Ben/Adam clusterfuck of I don't even know what's going on....
  

HOW DID WE DO?!

MayKisco (47), DMC (41), and Casey (40) were this week's top point earners thanks in part to Officer Sarah tapping into her CopsRUs stealth skills and bringing home the hidden advantage! Although they were the top point earners, our top three players in the league remain unchanged: Matt (156), Brian (154), and Joyce (151).  Adam, Amanda, and Rachael once again each brought in the least amount of points this week (18) as a result of having mainly Sele members on their tribes and losing a league favorite (and our league's most drafted "SOLE SURVIVOR" pick), Ethan. For a second week in a row, this leaves them all at the bottom with 95, 94, and 102 points respectively. But again, it's still really early!! And if Sele keeps losing, I sense a tribe swap v soon!!