Episode 01

Well well well, we have a full house almost, with the exception of John, who coincidentally is the new tribe leader of Guatuso!

The game hasn't really begun yet and neither has challenges and voting, but in a lot of ways it has begun. Moreso on Guatuso, so we'll start there.

Ami – I've never actually seen brightside play and he's never played for me before. I think I've even played with him in a game before, but again I never interacted with him to the point of knowing how he plays. What I can see so far is that Ami's really level-headed, the voice of reason if you will. Ami so far has an alliance with Brooke, Chris and Dolly. The Alpha-bits. Love it. I love that Chris and Brooke may bet he most duplicitous players in the game and Dolly seems to be one of the sweetest. I think Ami will be a force in this game, that's for sure. She's playing the most solidly right now. I do worry about her being too far in the lead too soon. We'll have to see.

Brook – I'm most interested in Brook. I think he's a loose cannon and I'm hoping that that shows up throughout the game. I think he's a solid player, I do. I just think he's trying too hard to show boat about it. That's going to cost him for sure. But it will be awesome to watch. Hope he's available for an all-stars!

Chris - Now Chris is a different story. He's cutthroat and strategic, but goood. Sure, everyone will see that he's an asshole and that he's playing hard, but I don't think they'll do anything about it.

Dolly - Seems really sweet, someone everyone can root for. I think she's got a little naughty side to her that I can't WAIT to come out. Should be interesting. All I know is the ABCD alliance is a ticking time bomb since not a one of these players is one to be overlooked.

Mia - I love Mia as a character, she was the first to apply, she waited nearly 2 months to play and she's got an amazing attitude. I hope she goes far so that she can be the character I know she can be.

Julie - I put Julie and Mia in the same boat. Julie will be a sheisty mother fucker on the scale of Theresa if she can get her bearings and tear this game up I would LOOOOVE to watch that.

Chad - I haven't seen enough of Chad to gage his character, no knock on Chad, I just haven't paid close enough attention to him although he's been around a lot and very active. Will talk about him when I can really focus on him.

Lisa – Same as above, just arrived today and I haven't seen enough of her.

Chorotega.

I LOOOVE Chorotega. I don't know if it's because they're new, or what, but they are really easy to follow and for that reason i have been very invested in them as players.

Jolanda - She is incredibly active and she seems to be playing very well. She could surprise a lot of people here. I like her personally, she's definitely the epicenter of Chorotega.

Ibrehem - What a sweetheart and a level-headed player. I've been pleasantly surprised by Ibrehem. I wasn't expecting much based on his bio but he has really stepped up. I'm fully invested in him and I can't wait to see how he fairs.

Tom - LOVE Tom, everyone loves tom, he's a natural leader. I think he will do well just based upon that. Likeability. The same could be said for Bobby Jon, who I also think is very likable.

Wanda - I had higher hopes for wanda than she is delivering. I think she will be the first to go and for good reason, she just isn't active enough.

Gregg - Another player that has played in EVERYTHING but never for me. I don't know what to expect but I do know that I have to expect something. I wanted him to know that it was a big deal for him to play for me so I gave him someone I know he would like. Hopefully he shows me all he's got :) Welcome to stranded, my friend!

Caryn - I am so rooting for Caryn. I think she will start so much shit if she can last long enough. Her, Mia and Julie all in the same boat. Maybe when the swap happens they can all align.

Is this... comprehensive? To date?

Alpha-Bits: Amy, Brook, Chris, and Dolly
MACC Daddies: Ami, Chris, Chad, and Mia
ABC+1: Ami, Brook, Chad, and John
AnAl: Ami and Mia
Brook's Revival: Brook, Lisa, and (tentatively) Julie

They're Running Shit: Jolanda, Ibreham, Gregg, Bobby Jon, Tom (although Tom doesn't know he is a part of it)
Running Shit Core Group #1: Jolanda, Ibreham, Gregg
Running Shit Core Group #2: Jolanda, Ibreham, Bobby Jon
Running Shit Unspoken-Side-Deal #1: Jolanda, Tom
Running Shit Unspoken-Side-Deal #2: Ibreham, Tom

I am so confused between this and the other thread. I thought we hijacked that one to be Episode 1?

Anywho.. I've managed to take a better dip into PMs today and Guatuso is certainly more fun to watch right now. Over on Chorotega, the spotlight has shifted off of Wanda's social inadequacies, and onto Jeff's admission that he probably won't make it here for any challenge ever, due to his timezone, so if they lose it's now a no-brainer. Which he seems to be fine with?

What I do like over there is the progress BJ has made since arriving in a little late, he's got a damn fine grasp on the full dynamic now, and is making sure he gets closer to Tom than anyone else, to compensate for his correct spotting of Ibe & Jolanda as a pair. I just love watching a capable player at work and he's probably my favourite over there right now. Quick runthrough of the rest in the lead-up to the first challenge;

Tom - love how he's managed to turn the initial "let's pick a leader who can be a scapegoat" plan into making the leadership his plan. He doesn't know yet that's he's on the cusp of the majority and there is a very endearing side to his um.. naivety(?) about the lack of larger alliances and how they are just all a united front. He's no way in a bad spot at all though. He has one-on-ones with all the right people. He's coming across as very straight-up and noble in nearly everything he does, and is a big part of the reason Chorotega seem to be this Season's sunshine and sweetness tribe.

Kim - Another latecomer who's climbing the social ladder, albeit a little more slowly than Bobbi-Jon, but definitely above the bottom three right now, even if she's not cracked the majority alliance yet. My only worry here is that she is setting herself up for a fall by claiming challenge prowess. She'd be far better off to play humble then wow them, rather than play up her skills then possibly disappoint. I've seen Kim in action before too, and she really ain't all that in a challenge.

Caryn - Caryn is just a little crazy, and everyone seems to know it That little tib about talking to Jolanda lots has grown legs, and has become the butt of a few jokes over there. Her confessionals and her future plans are in stark contrast to what is actually happening over there in any shape or form. The best part is, with the others aware of her kookiness they have no reason to boot her - better the devil you know - and with Wanda & Jeff lined up ahead of her, even if they lost both the first two, she can carry on delusionally into the shuffle. Interesting to note though that Bobbi-Jon want's her wildcard nature cut out of the equation, but I don't think he's fully confident in his position to start throwing his weight around over whether she's second boot or third.

Ibrehem & Jolanda - I have not much new to say on these two since the last update. Jolando continues to be a little headstrong and blunt, and has laid out a deeper web of smaller deals within the majority, while Ibrehem continues to be the most socially adept player, although he's losing his grasp on that particular title to both BJ & Tom by the hour.

Gregg - took his foot off the gas a little since opening day, but yeah, that was expected. He'll lay low for quite a while yet for sure, just popping up with some quality humour every now and again.

This thread is light now since everything from Ep 1 is in Helen's SoC thread, so new post for Guatuso!

Curse Tom's nobleness! icon_shakefist He jumped on the Nash Equilibrium play about three rounds faster than Helen did in Greece

I'll go more into the individuals of Guatuso post challenge, but as a group they are great to watch. In contrast to the sunshine and lollipops of Chorotega, you have the darkside of Guatuso, where everyone is power hungry and cackling in corners at potential blindsides coming up. Just look at how they reacted to the clues, three so far have opted for it and counting Their overall dynamic is lot more fluid and changeable and unpredictable, and I was commenting to Jeff earlier how I'd nearly rather see them win out for the first two times, because there is no way they stay unified even if they get the majorities come shuffle - despite all their intertwining alliances and attempts to keep everyone from feeling like they're at the bottom (which Chorotega seem to be paying no attention to btw), someone over there will slip up, and someone will figure out they are in major danger.

John's seething negativity seems to be easing up now he has found a niche with Ami/Brook/Chad - and kudos to John for being first to utilise the group PM feature, now if they could just remember to group reply to it too .

Damn challenge starting. More on this later.

Also, Dolly is just the cootest thing!

Based on their general abilities as evidenced through this challenge, Chorotega is lucky to have an early switch (unless Guatusu's penalties literally kill them). Guatuso is the new Tandang/Casaya. They're going to be jumping at the bit once they actually see a TC.

You are underestimating just how bad John is in a challenge. They can still lose this.

Let's throw John, Gregg, and Caryn in a spontaneous elimination challenge to see who can solve a 1x1 puzzle the fastest. (jk)

OMGOMGOMG Gregg is ridiculous for doing this (and thinking it will work, not revealing to the other tribe that he's a blatant weakness) without consulting with his tribe first. Then tells them "don't worry, I'm negotiating a deal." LOLOL Hey Ibe&Jo, how you doin' with your #3?

But he's all kinds of hilarious, that line about doing it by shape and texture cos of his colourblindness is cracking me up.

Based on their general abilities as evidenced through this challenge, Chorotega is lucky to have an early switch (unless Guatusu's penalties literally kill them). Guatuso is the new Tandang/Casaya. They're going to be jumping at the bit once they actually see a TC.

You are underestimating just how bad John is in a challenge. They can still lose this.

You so called it though it could go either way now. Who'd have thunk that Caryn would be MVP tonight for solving a 4x4 puzzle in 90 minutes. Wonder if Tom is already prepped with everything to post just missing those 16 image codes.

Just when I thought this round couldn't get any funnier;

"Gregg and Caryn lost that challenge for us tonight. And one of them will go home for it."

OH MY GOD THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO GO IN MY CONFESSIONAL NOT IN THAT TOPIC SHIT!!!

So just an update for later. No doubt that Gregg would have left last had they gone straight to TC. Illogically IMO, since there is unlikely to be a second image slice anytime soon, whereas Jeff is a guaranteed no-show for every single challenge. But Tom srsly wants him gone, as does Kim, while Caryn is cutting the cord as hard as possible to prove her competence and loyalty.

Today Tom upped and asked Jeff flat-out whether he can make challenges. Jeff shrugged and said meh, probably not. So the consensus to boot Jeff gathered momentum, even Tom is ceding the point. But now Jolanda has arrived and is throwing her two cent in too, and the plan to boot Jeff is gathering speed BJ & Ibe want Jeff out, but are less willing to rock the boat than anyone else. Lets see who prevails.

I really want Gregg to say just to see him betray all of chorotega XD

Can i just take this moment to point how much I love that BJ is the only person in Tom's top tier of trust, but also the person who took the clue

I can't remember who, but someone (was it Kim?) listed off everyone they think may have taken it in order of likelyhood, and BJ didn't even make the list.

Im loving this season!!! There are some great characters and I think when the tribes swap so early shit will hit the fan.