Stop With All The Niceness (S43: Episode 5)

Was I entertained by this episode? For sure. Was I impressed with the gameplay………? Um. I plead the fifth.

^^^Live footage of all of us covering our eyes watching the abysmal display of game awareness from Geo and Ryan during this episode.

I mean… WOOF. I know sometimes the producers warp the edit, but those two really seemed so painfully unaware. And in a FORTY THIRD season of this show, it just feels unforgivable to make such elementary mistakes! I’m trying to convince myself that Ryan DIDN’T actually throw the challenge, and was just embarrassed by his performance so he made that up to make it seem strategic. Wishful thinking.

It seems like the Coco Tribe started too strong with all of their wins, and now that they actually have to play the game, they can’t handle the pressure. BUT pressure makes diamonds and I’m seeing the glow from Queen Karla & King James. So far they’ve managed to ride the middle, stay under the radar, and collect key information from their tribemates. If this duo can continue to keep their cool, I see bright things for their future.

Jeanine has her breakout episode after finding the Beware Advantage, unlocking her Immunity Idol with the beads, and getting sent on the Survivor Summit where she risks her vote alongside Jessie and Geo. What she doesn’t realize is that her entire tribe is aware of her idol (mostly thanks to her ally Elie who also seems to be slacking in the self awareness department as of late), and doesn’t really have an interest in continuing to work with her and Elie.

If anyone this season manages to actually keep a secret, color me impressed.

Let’s check out the league!

Our top 3 haven't budged! Amelia, Josh, and Rachael remain our frontrunners with 164, 159, and 158 points respectively. Producer Jim, Adam, and Nina make the move into the top 10 for the first time this season. Most excitingly, David makes a massive leap from 35th to 7th with 67 points thanks to having this week’s biggest point earners Jessie, Jeanine, and Geo on his tribe.

Jeanine earned the most points for her tribes this week (27 points). Despite his torch being snuffed, Geo still brought in 14 points. Only Maggie and Bri say goodbye to their Sole Survivor this week. Christie’s Merge Bonus player was Geo, meaning she officially is left with only one castaway on her tribe, her Sole Survivor, James. Sam and Bri are also now down to only 1 active tribe member each, but will hopefully see their Merge Bonuses added to their tribes very soon!

Signing Off!

- Tribemasters Liv + Brian