Episode 01 - Poody Ponders
So overall I'm super excited about where this season is going. I feel like Episode 01 was a really slow start, but set up some good things to come for the explosion that was the Faroe Islands Address. Now that this round is over, I feel like we are in full Stranded mode and this game has finally begun in a HUGE way. Something about an early swap is great. It really gives new life to people who previously were in a tough spot as well as making everyone super focused on the game because everyone is in immediate danger. We really needed it and it totally jump started what I think will become a really really epic season.
How this will work since I usually give a rundown of everyone is, I'll start with the most influential people and try to get everyone in, but sometimes there's just not much to say about certain players who are either laying low or didn't impact much.
If we're starting on Mykines and talking about the most influential players... You have to talk about Cassandra. Wow what a powerhouse. She's controlling... manipulative... micromanaging and somewhat of an elitist bitch but GOD DAMNIT IS SHE AMAZING. I mean THAT'S what I want to see out of a first time player and ESPECIALLY out of someone we waffled on casting. It's just a reminder that anyone can surprise you and prove that they are amazing even if they were on-the-fence casting choices. She's a star already and I would be very disappointed if she doesn't make merge. I just cant see this season without her. And the beauty of that is that i was totally not expecting it from her. I love her alliance of bitches, with Liliana and Jessica, I love that she was so evilly wanting to vote out the active members of the inactives, like... who does that? Ew... She's a supervillain but she's AMAZING at it. Love her. Definitely one of the early standouts.
Which brings us to the other end of that spectrum, the completely adorable Jessica. Wow she is giving this her all, she's made huge connections with everyone and everyone is loving Jessica. I mean she scored a whopping 20 percentage points over everyone in the entire game in that ranking, it wasn't even close. She earned it to because she's so likable. On top of that, I think she has serious game too. She's in all the alliances, she's non-threatening and ultimately she hasn't gotten caught yet, even though her alliance member is looking to set her up as the big threat. She's already potentially planning on cutting Cassandra loose. I love it. Cass and Jessica were definitely the early stars of Mykines and the game as a whole, both aligned and opposites in approach. Jessica was more easy-going and Cassandra was all about having it her way.
Yau Man was the first person in this game to make an impression when he immediately grabbed the Public Immunity Idol within the first hour of the game thus setting himself up as target numero uno. Love it. What else I love was that his entire tribe was planning on booting him and he seemingly had no idea. In fact he's so confident that he would be safe he's declared he would not use the idol and would rather use it as a bargaining chip to gain trust. That's good in theory and all, but dude, everyone knows you have it, what are you going to bargain wtih? Ditch the idol, Yau!!! I love this guy though, he's so over the top, arrogant and ridiculous. On top of this he proclaims that he will be the best at challenges, which lol... fail. And believe me, EVERYONE was waiting to see you fail. He's the Coach of this season and I hope his storyline continues. I'm glad he wasn't the first out and made it into a swap situation where his idol decision actually isn't looking too bad anymore. What a character.
Rocky was a star thus far in the episode. I expected a lot from him and I didn't get exactly what I expected, but I got something that's probably better in the long haul for his game. It shows that he's an experienced player because he's doing exactly what I said he should do and using his over the top personality as a distraction from his gameplay. He's actually playing the game incredibly well. He's not in the forefront of every alliance like Cassandra is, but he's somewhere in the middle and apart of everything, which is where you want to be ideally, at least I think. I love his personality and i love that he's laying low but also a huge personality and if you can manage those two things you're golden. I'm hoping for the best with him even in this sticky situation of a swap.
Mookie is someone who reminds me a lot of Rocky, but he's more serious. I like Mookie a lot because unlike Rocky I think he's growing and adapting to the game whereas Rocky already has it figured out. It's fun to see someone new who has a ton of potentially actually get it and start to work on things. There are a couple of players like this but I really think Mookie is one to watch out for. I love his sarcasm and I don't think he's a bad player either, he's going to need to step up the activity a bit, but he seems to be doing just fine for now and will hopefully be with us for a while longer.
The rest of the players on the tribe, if I'm honest, have not made a huge impression on me. They all have great potential, but they have either activity issues or are completely hiding in the background. I think Anthony needs to step up his confidence a bit, I mean it plays into the reason why we casted him in the first place, but he's going to be in trouble quickly on these smaller tribes. He was doing fine on the large tribe, but when there's no where to hide you kind of have to make an impression of some kind on people and he hasn't done that. Papa Smurf is a big disappointment so far. I feel like he's not delivering at all on his initial promise of chaos and he's totally lost here. I don't see him lasting long in this and it's really disappointing because I had high hopes for him coming into this. I hope that the low ranking and swap can help him turn it around, but as of right now, I just don't see it. Liliana is obviously talking to everyone nad playing well, but she's so under the radar that I have no actual opinion of her. That's not a bad thing because it's good gameplay but she's going to have to start asserting herself and showing her cards a bit if she ever hopes to win or make it far. Again, I also think she has a lot of potential as does the rest of the cast. Stacy is someone who was a last minute replacement, but I still had hopes that she would pull this out and do well given her gaming experience and enthusiasm. Unfortunately she seems lost here and willing to just accept her role as background player. It may end up working out for her and I hope it does, but for right now there's not much to talk about here.
As for Rita, Sorry to see her go. We all thought she was going to be an absolute star in this and I think she wanted to be as well, but sometimes timing just doesn't work out. Oh well, everything happesn for a reason and this was not her season to shine. Maybe another time.
On Svinoy, the tribe dynamics were so different but at the same time equally delicious. I love this tribe. I think they have the best mix of personality and hardcore gamers. I would say of the two, it's the more serious tribe. I think the first person I'll talk about on it is Candice who is a veteran to these things, but most importantly the ultimate Candice in my eyes. I'm not sure why but I just see her as an underdog here. I'm nto sure if it's her age or her experience, but either way I really think she's someone I'm rooting for. It's not that she isn't capable because lol, she's a better player than most people out here, but something about her inability in challenges and difference from the rest of the cast just sets her apart and I absolutely adore it. She's my favorite this season and there was no other option for Candice even though some people were trying to get me to pick someone else *ahem*. She is Stranded's Candice in my eyes. She's going to do well here and i'm rooting for her all the way.
Likewise, another person destined to play a part in Stranded history is Penner. Wow what a legend. Already this guy is a huge force to be reckoned with and I think far and away the smartest player we've had in a long time. He's brand new to the game and is already doing a pretty damn good job of controlling it. Plus I really like the way he describes everything and he's just a really smart smart guy. I think he's an absolute star in the game so far and he's going to do really really well here, I hope anyway. He is Penner and now I cannot imagine anyone else being him.
Oh boy, now that we've gotten the two huge brilliant strategists out of the way... Cecilia. Cecilia is already a legend in my eyes, I might be over inflating this but the girl is absolutely insane and i'm loving every minute of it. I mean right out of the game, making alliances with everyone, she has an adorable personality that's fun to talk to. But she's also kind of nuts. Like she's way over the top with all her opinions and totally overplays this, but I really love that. I love that it comes in the package of a brazilian hot tamale that is just here to destroy everyone. Like, she's a host's wet dream and I'm so glad she is thriving in this as I had hoped she would. She will be a star. I hope she doesn't overplay herself out early and can at least make the merge. Here's hoping anyway...
Another huge trainwrecky character is Flicka, but she's an entirely different train-wreck from Cecilia. She's kind of clueless in this and that stems from being entirely new. It's hilarious how much she's annoyed everyone on her tribe by being overly friendly and having no substance in her PMs. It's like the socially awkward kid that means well but really annoys the fuck out of everyone. Similar to Eliza without the strong game to back it up. I can't help but love her though. She's adorable and i'm rooting for her to make a comeback and bumblefuck her way through the game. I kind of liken her to Ralph in that way, kind of doofy, maybe not the best player but someone you root for because they're genuine and likable. I absolutely ADORED her relationship with Candice and Candice's ability to coach her on how to improve her game and it seemed to have worked out well so far! Bummed they were split up, hopefully they both make it far enough so we can get some closure on that budding friendship.
Rebecca's someone that I don't think people give enough credit. She's hilarious first of all, but secondly she's actually playing a really solid game and I htink as time goes by she'll gain confidence in her ability and really shine through this cast. Humor alone is enough to make me love her. Her confessionals are top quality rivaled only by Cecilia (whose are amazing btw). The biggest problem is that she wasnt active during some critical moments, but seems to have her head in the game now and going into the swap was very active and was hilarious during the pickem. I think she's being unfairly judged by her rep and I think as more time goes by we'll get to really like her.
Nate was a last minute replacement that we really waffled on and didn't want to cast, but now that we have, he's totally delivering. I mean he was amazingly focused and into the game and it kind of shows that if someone wants this badly enough, you can't totally go on their past game experience. He played in a previous game and was kind of a borewhore, but now he's out to prove that he can do better and really wants to. I love that about him. Add that to the underdog factor of him entering the game late and we have a solid character on our hands. Not to mention he very quickly sussed out that Cecilia was at the head of a majority alliance. This guy has game and i think we're going to see him do very well this season which I would love.
Stephannie is someone who hasn't done extremely well in the past but is doing very well here... so far. I just am not particularly invested in her. Like I love her character, she's super nice, but nothing interesting is going on there yet. I want to see her step it up and start playing a bit harder and i haven't seen that. Good news is it's very early and she has a lot of time to do that. Adam is funny but kind of in the same boat as Stephannie for me. I don't know... I just see him floating his way through the game by just being a nice funny guy. Nothing wrong with that but... move out of the way for the serious players or start playing harder. JP is someone who has a ton of potential and seems to be playing well. We just haven't seen a whole lot of him because he's been in the shadows. I suspect we will see more out of him now that we've swapped.
And finally, I'm super bummed to say goodbye to Ozzy because I think he would have been an absolute legend in this. I'm hoping we get the opportunity to see how he does on a future season because this was really sad to see him go so soon.
With that said, we have an amazing cast all of which seem to be improving. I would say Day 05 solidified this as a promising season and was infinitely better than Day 04's showing. The entire cast showed up, everyone was interacting and super excited about the swap and we look like we have 3 very entertaining and interesting tribes that will give us all a season's worth of entertainment. I cannot wait to see whats in store for these guys.
. I think they slayed the other tribes, obviously... their counting wasn't the fastest, but they were the first to nail the timing of the first portion of the challenge and they were able to pull out their first victory. So proud 
