Round 6: It's not like it was a part of some master plan

[benjimcfly]

This round was a bit of a mess for Unguja. Both leading up to and after. Let's unpack leading up to tribal.

On Unguja...

Gleason/Robbie/Lauren/Leanna all concoct a plan to get rid of Sam. Leading up to the vote, Charlene had even agreed with Leanna that both Sam and Gleason are fine targets for her (even though Sam was the planned future vote). It always gets messy when people blindside a close ally, when he has no observable threat. The first mistake: the majority is basically voting out someone that had no current plans to work against them and was amicable with the rest of the tribe. The second mistake was leaving out ANOTHER ally in Charlene on this vote. 

If this plan works: Sam gets blindsided for no reason, which sends a message to Jermin/Will/Melody that Leanna/Lauren are already burning their previous relationships. Charlene gets blindsided being on the wrong side of the vote for no benefit to ANYONE and with no good reason other than to flex over her, I guess. Leanna had promised she was going to tell Charlene before the vote. 

Leading up to the vote, Lauren is drunk, Leanna and Robbie join a call with her just before tribal in their new alliance (Mean Girls) and Leanna neglects to warn Charlene. Not only that, she half asses "don't bet all of your tokens" as the only warning, and says nothing else. 

Tribal comes. They all ham up the fact that it's going to be Robbie or Gleason. Lauren decides to abstain her vote to gain her extra vote. This would have worked if they told Charlene, as I had to awkwardly state that there were only five votes this round. The vote is 3-2 (Leanna/Gleason/Robbie v Charlene/Sam). Lauren acts VERY surprised at the vote. Sam has six fire tokens and splits them up to Lauren, Melody and Charlene. Lauren tells Leanna that she got 2 fire tokens from Sam, which pisses off Leanna since Lauren was acting surprised. 

So. Leanna gets rid of someone who was going to vote with her (Sam) and burns an ally (Charlene) and is now in deep with two OG Pemba (Robbie/Gleason), who have no interest in really keeping her around. As a matter of fact, Robbie and Gleason are ready to vote out Leanna, as she has given them the power to take over this tribe. Leanna now has some ire with Lauren, with the fire token drama. Leanna wants to target Lauren if she goes to tribal. 

Leanna went from having Charlene, Sam and Lauren in the swap to voting out Sam, blindsiding Charlene and wanting to vote out Lauren. Lauren is in an even worse spot, losing the only player who genuinely liked her and wanted to go far with her, while getting her next closest ally mad at her. At least Leanna has a connection with Robbie and Gleason, even though they want her out. 

At this point, Robbie and Gleason can pit Lauren and Leanna against one another, since both girls are giving them all the tea. Charlene is the swing vote (LOL) and secretly got 2 tokens from Sam. I would see Charlene working with Leanna, if push came to shove. Leanna is convinced that she has Charlene come merge, but GIRL, Pemba has different plans for Char-queen.

What. A Clusterfuck.


On Pemba, Will, Melody and Jermin are working very closely with one another. Hannah wants to work with them. Austin wants to work with them. Kelsey just doesn't want to be next. It's easy to say, unlike on Unguja, Will/Melody/Jermin are in complete control if tribal council happens. 

Melody is putting in overtime, as usual, making sure she talks with everyone on Pemba. Lately, I would say her closest ally on Pemba is oddly enough Austin. He is most valuable to her and they click the best. Not only that, but his ideas/strategy most aligns with what Melody wants. Melody wants Hannah out, which would be best for her game. Will and Jermin originally entertained the idea that Hannah should be next, if they go to tribal. 

First time around, when Hannah approached Will, Will said "I know how Hannah is going to play this and I am going to work her, then vote her out". After their first call, he held strong. One 2-hour conversation later, and Will is 100% on board to work with Hannah until the end. He got misted by the player he said he wouldn't get misted by. This climaxes when he calls Melody afterward and says "Hannah wants to work with us! She's a better option than Austin. Oh, and Hannah said you're the most dangerous player in the game and you'll need to be voted out soon, BUT DON'T WORRY! That won't happen " and Melody does everything she could to not reach through her computer and try to shake Will. She pleads with him that Austin is the better move and that they should talk with Jermin. 

I'm honestly not sure why Will allowed himself to get played by Hannah, when he made it very clear he wouldn't. Austin is positioning himself to be the level headed player of the group, surprisingly. I see him making merge and being a swing vote/auxiliary player for whomever needs his vote. He's wise to this game and is making great calls on lots of players. When I do my tribe rankings, Austin will definitely be moving up. 

It all comes down to how these tribes do in challenges. Pemba originally considered doing poorly or throwing it, but they nixed that idea. Unguja is such a mess, I wouldn't be surprised if they tank the challenge and wind up at tribal. Stay tuned!

[benjimcfly]

Current Rankings:

PEMBA

Melody

She is close to everyone and is getting information from all angles. What's most dangerous: Kelsey said she would want to take Melody to FTC because she "hasn't done much". She's only on Hannah's hit list, but Hannah is in a bad position if Pemba loses this challenge that will be done in an hour. Melody will cruise to merge and her options will become more plentiful (if that's even possible).

Austin

I honestly can't believe I put him here, but he has done a lot of work to improve his position. He isn't anyone's target this round, is in the good graces of Kelsey, Melody, Will, and Jermin. Will/Melody/Jermin want to work with him on the next vote. Kelsey wants herself and Austin to take out Hannah. Hannah has hardly mentioned Austin, because his early game threat level was so low. He's in a great position to get far in the game.

Will

Will is well liked by all, but his threat level, perceived by Hannah and Melody, is very high. Both girls want to get him out, come merge. He thinks he has control of Pemba, when in reality, most people have him clocked. He thinks his fake idol clue is confusing/keeping Jermin and Melody busy. Neither of them think it's a real clue because he misspelled swapped (swaped). Sigh. He has huge potential, but not in a favorable position currently.

Jermin

Honestly, Jermin is protected by his alliance with Melody and Will. Not to mention, he will be able to work with Charlene and Melody in Minori3, once they're merged (which looks very likely). Other than that, he's not seen as a threat, and has been talked about as the most dispensable member of the Melody/Will alliance.

Kelsey

Kelsey is late to the game, but she's not down and out. Last night, I saw the first glimpse of fight inside of Kelsey. She went to Austin and pushed that they need to make a big move in the upcoming round. Her suggestion is Hannah, which was already the plan for Will/Melody/Jermin/Austin. At least she will be in on the vote, if it happens.

Hannah

Hannah is about to get blindsided. The only way she survives this round is if Unguja does terrible on the challenge (which is what I am predicting). If/when she makes it to merge, her position is going to change, positively. She's a great player with the right connections. She just needs to survive this round.

UNGUJA

Robbie

Robbie is running things on Unguja. Leanna thinks she's running things, and Lauren thinks she is making huge moves. This helps mask Robbie's puppet strings, because he has ALL OF THEM MISTED. He has a group chat with Lauren and Leanna. The girls are pushing a Gleason vote, and girls, you are in for a surprise if you have to go to tribal. Robbie has made it clear that he plans to transfer his idol to Gleason (stripping the opportunity to play it in front of everyone, keeping up with the facade) and voting out Lauren. King Robbie is here to stay.

Charlene

Charlene is well liked by everyone, not seen as a threat and Jermin/Melody/Will are foaming at the mouth to merge with her and use her vote. Everyone knows she's playing the middle, and I think she's just waiting for the right moment to make the moves that will benefit her game. My growing concern for Charlene is the volume of people who want to be calling the shots. She won't be seen as a big player and might get a goat tag on her name come the later rounds. Either way, we stan.

Gleason

Gleason is only in this spot due to his connection with Robbie. Robbie is dragging Gleason to the next round and will continue to work with him throughout. Gleason is playing well, but will need to recognize that Robbie will be in the way of him winning. Gleason needs to find a stronger bond, rather than Robbie. He might have some potential at the merge. I'm honestly excited to see his late game.

Leanna

Leanna needs to recognize that she put herself into a terrible position. She removed Sam (an ally and a vote) and she's leaning on Lauren (someone who just cut her closest friend) and Robbie (someone who considered taking her out, then reconsidered). I don't think she will have as many allies at the merge as she thinks. Matter of fact, people see her as a social threat and she won't have anyone to help her get out of that spot. She will survive this round, but she's on life support.

Lauren

Lauren, much like Hannah, this round is contingent on whether you win this challenge. I don't think your tribe will and I don't think you're going to survive tribal. Voting out Sam was the worst possible move for your pre-merge game and it's showing .

Winner pick as of Today: Melody Spradlin. 

[teddy]

MELODY SPRADLIN!!!

[ashley]

Leanna bequeathed all nine of her fire tokens to Melody and Melody bought an idol! <3