Post by benjimcfly on Aug 15, 2020 14:36:05 GMT -5
Last night, we had live night. My lord, did it live up to it's historical significance in XTC. First, I'll talk about the lead up to the first vote, where Austin had won immunity.
There were a lot of alliances and promises being talked about leading up to the vote. Let me mention some key alliances and who they were considering up to an hour before the vote.
CAM (Charlene, Austin, Melody): this alliance was a product from the merge vote, where they formed CLAM with Lauren. Charlene and Melody entertained this alliance, as it gives Austin some agency/a feeling of security. All the while, Charlene and Melody can collectively try to understand what Austin's true intentions are. Austin was passing around Will's name a bit, but really wanted Ben or Robbie out this round, so that's where this group stood.
Minori3 (Melody, Charlene, Jermin): This is the real-est alliance left in the game. They all know that they want to go to the end together, and their plan was to take out Robbie/Ben/Gleason/Austin in something like that order. They want to take Will the furthest, then cut him at F4.
sQUAD (Minori3 + Will): This is the aforementioned plan of minori3 to get tight with Will and pretend that this is the core alliance. The plans are the same as above, without Will knowing they already have planned to take him out.
The End Game (Will, Melody, Robbie and Ben): This alliance was made at the last tribal council, a product of the tribe they were split up into. This is a messy alliance, as Robbie and Ben know that the other two have no true intention to work with them. It was more or less an opportunity to pretend to work with each other. The vote was Austin for this group, until he won immunity. The plan was to take Austin out round 2 of live night and to take out Gleason in the first vote.
Comeback Kings (Ben, Gleason, Robbie): This group was just trying to not be targeted, even though they all know they're the targets. Their plan was either Jermin or Will.
Pemba Takeover (OG Pemba: Ben, Gleason, Robbie and Austin): This group was a mess from the start. I don't think the Comeback Kings trusted Austin coming into this chat, but they had no choice. Austin was getting greedy here, trying to get information from them, but ultimately just made himself a bigger target with it all.
With all of those ideas swirling around, up until tribal, no one really had a solid plan. With 15 minutes before tribal started, alliance calls were happening non-stop. There was nothing of importance mentioned in any of them, other than locking down exactly out everyone was voting. Even then, with players like Austin and Jermin (who was MIA due to this job), we weren't sure who was voting where and how the votes were going to be laid out.
If you were to ask a production member like myself how the vote was going to go down prior to tribal, I would have said Ben was the first vote and Austin the second vote.
At 10:45, Melody and Ben called. This is where the whole scope of the evening changed. Ben knows that Melody found the merge idol... because he gave her the clue and she found it within an hour. Melody confirms with Ben it's either him or Robbie for the first vote. Ben then says directly "will you give me your idol?" Melody stammers but says no at first. Ben continues to push her. All the while, Melody is telling Charlene everything that's happening and Charlene says "Don't give it to him, you can't trust Robbie/Ben. But do what you need to do". After minutes of insisting, persuading and pestering, Melody decides to transfer [one of] her idol(s) to Ben 2 minutes before tribal. She says "Vote Gleason" as a sign of good faith, to save Ben and get rid of someone he is working with. Ben runs to Robbie and says "Vote Jermin, trust me". Melody also asks Ben to promise not to tell anyone where he got it.
Cut to tribal, things are a little tense and Ben is playing up to the fact that he's on the chopping block. Ben plays his idol, claiming he received it from the Edge and proceeds to receive 5 votes, all of which are nullified. Gleason receives one vote and Jermin receives the next two. Ben plays an idol and takes out one of Melody's closest allies.
Ben, this was an amazing move. On a non-live night, I would say this is a winner's move. On live night, you sealed your fate, if you don't win immunity. Blindsiding Melody an hour before the next tribal was a terrible idea. I know you conned her once last night, but to think you could win her over twice in one night, after that move, is absolutely maniacal. I'll give you credit, if you could have pulled it off. The move you should have made was to vote out Gleason, saving face with Melody, and potentially working with her to vote Austin out. You got so greedy for no reason and it ruined the rest of the night for you.
Onward to immunity. We hold the rock/paper/scissors challenge from last season. Ben was randomized to go first, and he chooses to battle Austin. I love this move. Austin takes out Ben in the first challenge, and now Ben's game is all but over. Austin nearly runs the table and makes it to the finals to battle Robbie for immunity. In the end Robbie wins immunity and is safe from vote #2 of live night.
At this point, Ben knows the writing is on the wall, so he runs back to Melody. He tells Melody that she should keep him because they're friends in real life. Why keep Austin over Ben when she's real friends with Ben? Ben really corners Melody and uses every pressure point he can think of to make her vote with him. Melody finally stands her ground and says that if she works with Ben to vote out Austin, she effectively fucks over her game. She would have to hope that Will and Charlene work with her to the end, while Ben would have Gleason and Robbie, two strong allies. After 10 minutes of pushing, Ben finally sees that he can't flip Melody and his game might be over. Spoiler, it is.
Tribal council is a bit tense, as Robbie opens up by calling Austin a rat. Austin owns up to it saying he was willing to take as much information as they were willing to give him. He also sites that Maddie, his number one ally, was booted by them and they expect him to get over that and work with them. This attack feels like a last ditch effort, rather than anything they really feel against Austin. He seems like an easy target to call out, and so that was the plan. Ben engages with Austin some, too. In the end, Ben receives 5 votes, even receiving one from Gleason. Robbie and Ben vote Austin, but it's too late Ben is voted out.
It was an exhausting and emotional evening, and it ended far differently than any of us could have predicted. I never would have though in a million years that Melody would have given Ben that idol... only to vote him out the following round. It could have been a decent payoff, if she gets Gleason out. Ben is a huge meat shield, but girl, he is damn good at challenges. You could have burned you game even worse than you already did. Rough evening for Melody.
This evening was probably best for Austin. Reason being? I don't think he's that threatening. People have discussed that he is a threat at FTC, but do they really believe that? Robbie and Melody are far bigger threats to be in the end. Also, Charlene/Melody's connection is strong and people are starting to notice it. I don't see Austin being targeted for a few rounds. Robbie is the most likely next boot, but he's convincing enough to make someone flip. I think he could go to Austin and get him to vote Melody, if they think that's the path. Now that Jermin is out, Melody is far more vulnerable to a vote off.
Honestly, this is still anyone's game to win.
There were a lot of alliances and promises being talked about leading up to the vote. Let me mention some key alliances and who they were considering up to an hour before the vote.
CAM (Charlene, Austin, Melody): this alliance was a product from the merge vote, where they formed CLAM with Lauren. Charlene and Melody entertained this alliance, as it gives Austin some agency/a feeling of security. All the while, Charlene and Melody can collectively try to understand what Austin's true intentions are. Austin was passing around Will's name a bit, but really wanted Ben or Robbie out this round, so that's where this group stood.
Minori3 (Melody, Charlene, Jermin): This is the real-est alliance left in the game. They all know that they want to go to the end together, and their plan was to take out Robbie/Ben/Gleason/Austin in something like that order. They want to take Will the furthest, then cut him at F4.
sQUAD (Minori3 + Will): This is the aforementioned plan of minori3 to get tight with Will and pretend that this is the core alliance. The plans are the same as above, without Will knowing they already have planned to take him out.
The End Game (Will, Melody, Robbie and Ben): This alliance was made at the last tribal council, a product of the tribe they were split up into. This is a messy alliance, as Robbie and Ben know that the other two have no true intention to work with them. It was more or less an opportunity to pretend to work with each other. The vote was Austin for this group, until he won immunity. The plan was to take Austin out round 2 of live night and to take out Gleason in the first vote.
Comeback Kings (Ben, Gleason, Robbie): This group was just trying to not be targeted, even though they all know they're the targets. Their plan was either Jermin or Will.
Pemba Takeover (OG Pemba: Ben, Gleason, Robbie and Austin): This group was a mess from the start. I don't think the Comeback Kings trusted Austin coming into this chat, but they had no choice. Austin was getting greedy here, trying to get information from them, but ultimately just made himself a bigger target with it all.
With all of those ideas swirling around, up until tribal, no one really had a solid plan. With 15 minutes before tribal started, alliance calls were happening non-stop. There was nothing of importance mentioned in any of them, other than locking down exactly out everyone was voting. Even then, with players like Austin and Jermin (who was MIA due to this job), we weren't sure who was voting where and how the votes were going to be laid out.
If you were to ask a production member like myself how the vote was going to go down prior to tribal, I would have said Ben was the first vote and Austin the second vote.
At 10:45, Melody and Ben called. This is where the whole scope of the evening changed. Ben knows that Melody found the merge idol... because he gave her the clue and she found it within an hour. Melody confirms with Ben it's either him or Robbie for the first vote. Ben then says directly "will you give me your idol?" Melody stammers but says no at first. Ben continues to push her. All the while, Melody is telling Charlene everything that's happening and Charlene says "Don't give it to him, you can't trust Robbie/Ben. But do what you need to do". After minutes of insisting, persuading and pestering, Melody decides to transfer [one of] her idol(s) to Ben 2 minutes before tribal. She says "Vote Gleason" as a sign of good faith, to save Ben and get rid of someone he is working with. Ben runs to Robbie and says "Vote Jermin, trust me". Melody also asks Ben to promise not to tell anyone where he got it.
Cut to tribal, things are a little tense and Ben is playing up to the fact that he's on the chopping block. Ben plays his idol, claiming he received it from the Edge and proceeds to receive 5 votes, all of which are nullified. Gleason receives one vote and Jermin receives the next two. Ben plays an idol and takes out one of Melody's closest allies.
Ben, this was an amazing move. On a non-live night, I would say this is a winner's move. On live night, you sealed your fate, if you don't win immunity. Blindsiding Melody an hour before the next tribal was a terrible idea. I know you conned her once last night, but to think you could win her over twice in one night, after that move, is absolutely maniacal. I'll give you credit, if you could have pulled it off. The move you should have made was to vote out Gleason, saving face with Melody, and potentially working with her to vote Austin out. You got so greedy for no reason and it ruined the rest of the night for you.
Onward to immunity. We hold the rock/paper/scissors challenge from last season. Ben was randomized to go first, and he chooses to battle Austin. I love this move. Austin takes out Ben in the first challenge, and now Ben's game is all but over. Austin nearly runs the table and makes it to the finals to battle Robbie for immunity. In the end Robbie wins immunity and is safe from vote #2 of live night.
At this point, Ben knows the writing is on the wall, so he runs back to Melody. He tells Melody that she should keep him because they're friends in real life. Why keep Austin over Ben when she's real friends with Ben? Ben really corners Melody and uses every pressure point he can think of to make her vote with him. Melody finally stands her ground and says that if she works with Ben to vote out Austin, she effectively fucks over her game. She would have to hope that Will and Charlene work with her to the end, while Ben would have Gleason and Robbie, two strong allies. After 10 minutes of pushing, Ben finally sees that he can't flip Melody and his game might be over. Spoiler, it is.
Tribal council is a bit tense, as Robbie opens up by calling Austin a rat. Austin owns up to it saying he was willing to take as much information as they were willing to give him. He also sites that Maddie, his number one ally, was booted by them and they expect him to get over that and work with them. This attack feels like a last ditch effort, rather than anything they really feel against Austin. He seems like an easy target to call out, and so that was the plan. Ben engages with Austin some, too. In the end, Ben receives 5 votes, even receiving one from Gleason. Robbie and Ben vote Austin, but it's too late Ben is voted out.
It was an exhausting and emotional evening, and it ended far differently than any of us could have predicted. I never would have though in a million years that Melody would have given Ben that idol... only to vote him out the following round. It could have been a decent payoff, if she gets Gleason out. Ben is a huge meat shield, but girl, he is damn good at challenges. You could have burned you game even worse than you already did. Rough evening for Melody.
This evening was probably best for Austin. Reason being? I don't think he's that threatening. People have discussed that he is a threat at FTC, but do they really believe that? Robbie and Melody are far bigger threats to be in the end. Also, Charlene/Melody's connection is strong and people are starting to notice it. I don't see Austin being targeted for a few rounds. Robbie is the most likely next boot, but he's convincing enough to make someone flip. I think he could go to Austin and get him to vote Melody, if they think that's the path. Now that Jermin is out, Melody is far more vulnerable to a vote off.
Honestly, this is still anyone's game to win.
