Board Thread:Virtual Tribal Council/@comment-26497595-20160222175446

Kaoh Rong Power Rankings 2:

What an exciting premiere to a season we've been waiting for for a year now. The editing was very even-handed and gave us a clear story on each of the three tribes. If this episode is an indication of how the rest of the season will be, I think we're in for a fun ride. Let's start with the surprisingly dominant Brains tribe.

Chan Loh:

'''1. Liz Markham''' - She got herself into a really great position with her alliance with Peter, Neal and Aubry. The only possible hiccup could be Aubry's budding relationship with Debbie, though I think that's a red herring. If something were to Kaoh Rong, Liz wouldn't be the target of the old folks anyways.

'''2. Peter Baggenstos''' - He's the best chance this tribe has in the physical challenges; not to say that this Brains tribe is in any way Luzon-esque. Should Aubry flip, Peter will surely be spared while Neal fulfills his secret-service duties and takes the bullet for his Commander-in-Chief.

'''3. Neal Gottlieb''' - Dandy Neal went to work pretty early. It's all well and good that he put his group together; he simply didn't need to. The alliance he's made is a totally natural alliance that he did not need to spearhead. Now, as a result, he's the de facto leader and the de facto scapegoat.

'''4. Joe del Campo '''- I'm not one of those people that condemns Neal for attempting to put a target on Joe for being old. During first impressions like this, the given circumstances of your life are going to be the main determining factor. Joe IS old! It doesn't mean Neal really BELIEVES he's going to be the weakest link; Neal just used it to bond with Peter and Liz. That said, I have full faith that Joe will be able to avoid sticking out as much once the young'uns get more used to him.

'''5. Aubry Bracco''' - A very poor performance from Aubry in episode 1. It's great that she's stumbled into an alliance for being younger than Debbie, but panicking on day 2? I'm sure she'll be able to bounce back, but these guys are going to pounce on anything that strikes them as off putting. On top of her asking her tribemates to expend THEIR energy to take care of her, she openly expressed gratitude to Debbie in front of the people she desperately needs loyalty from right now. I'm not ready to pronounce her dead yet, but it won't take much for Aubry to be sent packing.

'''6. Debbie Wanner '''- Never in Survivor history has there been a more accurate comparison than Debbie calling herself the new Coach. However, accuracy doesn't matter if the gun you're using has been built to backfire right in your face.

Gondol:

'''1. Anna Khait '''- The only sign I need to know that Anna is a force to be reckoned with is that little scene with her and Julia where she put on that childlike wonderment and excitement and told the girl how much she loved her and wanted to work with her. She knew EXACTLY how to get Julia excited about working closely with her and established a tight bond just with one interaction. She's easily the smartest Beauty and, from what I see, that gives her a hell of a lot of potential to move forward.

'''2. Michele Fitzgerald '''- All we got to see from Michele is her declare her target on Tai, and the guys discuss how she's studying to be a biologist. When I'm given so little information, I have to assume it means she's safe. However, it could spell danger that Nick has been made aware that Michele is an academic person. If she's perceived as being just a LITTLE smart, Nick will do his damndest to make sure everybody else knows it.

'''3. Caleb Reynolds '''- Beastmode Cowboy had a very good first episode. The only person he had even a little bit of tension with was the consensus first boot, Tai. However, BMC is notorious for putting his foot in his mouth, and he may be eager enough to wash the taste of Tai's lips out of it that his foot could easily seem like the best option.

'''4. Julia Sokolowski '''- We got the least out of Julia in this episode. I consider all of the top 4 in this tribe to be completely safe from the vote on Gondol, but I have to place Julia at the bottom; we just didn't see enough from her to know she can beat the stigma of being so young. Who knows how hard she's working or how strong she performed in that challenge. Like it or not, those could be the deciding factors in her longevity.

'''5. Nick Maiorano '''- Anna's got her group of girls, and she's been made fully aware of Caleb's long history of indelible loyalty. Nick's saving grace is that Tai is digging himself under, but unless Nick can bring himself to act like a dumb male-model type (which I doubt he can), he very well could swap out for the overeager gardener on the chopping block.

'''6. Tai Trang''' - It's pretty obvious why Tai is at the bottom of this list. While I never had a lot of confidence that he was going to be an impeccable gamer, he proved me even more right than I thought I was. That's not to say he's a lost cause; I think we can all agree, though, that this is the spot he deserves at this point.

To Tang:

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">'''1. Jenny Lanzetti '''- She definitely endeared herself to her tribe with that earworm thing - which, I might add, made me literally gag. Easily the most discomforting thing I've ever seen on Survivor. She's a natural enough people-person that she was an easy candidate for the power alliance with Jason and Scot, and she clearly has Jason on a tight enough leash that he was willing to flip his vote if she so much as hinted at it. Among the confusion that's going to take over this group of Brawn, Jenny is easily the most levelheaded person and will survive as such.

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">'''2. Kyle Jason '''- Some would say Kyle put his foot in his mouth with his quick flipping of his vote, but I think he's set up well enough with Jenny and Cydney that not even the Wrath of Pollard will be enough to put the bounty hunter under. I like the adaptability he showed, and the loyalty he professed to Jenny and Cydney with the move he attempted.

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">'''3. Cydney Gillon''' - She was on the wrong side of the vote, sure, but she followed her closest allies on the revote at least. If Storm comes out, she's finished. However, I have enough faith in Cyd that she can at least buy herself some safety at the hands of her skinny blonde rival.

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">'''4. Scot Pollard '''- I liked the first 20 minutes of Scot, but quickly began to not appreciate him as much. He's come out of the gate aggressive. Not just aggressive, but also angry too. There's too much bravado behind Scot. He's already got enough working against him, and he's just adding to the list of reasons to vote him out if keeping Alecia continues to drag them down.

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">'''5. Alecia Holden''' - I thought Alecia was going to be boring and terrible at the game. I should've known that somebody so awful at Survivor could never be boring. She made every wrong decision she possibly could and was only kept by the grace of Scot's stubborn disposition. They blundered once and kept her when they had every reason to vote her out; I have to bet that they won't screw it up a second time.

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">Obituary: Darnell Hamilton 

<span style="color:rgb(55,62,77);font-family:helvetica,arial,sans-serif;font-size:12px;font-weight:normal;line-height:15.36px;white-space:pre-wrap;">The Internet has gone through some dark times, but the regicide of King Darnell this early on has got to take the cake as one of the most dreadful events to take place in Survivor fandom history. I just wish we knew why we had to lose our patron saint so early. The world is a cruel and unfair place. Goodnight, sweet King. <ac_metadata title="Kaoh Rong Power Rankings 2"> </ac_metadata>