Pregame:
18. Joe
17. Tyler
16. Hali
15. Mike
14. Joaquin
13. Sierra12. Will
11. Max
10. Rodney
9. Lindsey
8. Nina7. So
6. Carolyn
5. Jenn
4. Kelly3. Vince
2. Dan
1. ShirinEpisode 1:
18. Rodney 17. Hali
16. Tyler
15. Joaquin14. Max
13. Will
12. Joe
11. Sierra
10. Lindsey
9. Mike8. So
7. Kelly
6. Nina
5. Dan4. Vince
3. Jenn
2. Shirin
1. CarolynEpisode 2:
17. Rodney16. Tyler
15. Joaquin 14. Max
13. Sierra
12. Kelly11. Hali
10. Joe
9. Will
8. Lindsey
7. Mike6. Dan
5. Jenn
4. Vince
3. Nina
2. Shirin
1. CarolynEpisode 3:
16. Rodney15. Joaquin
14. Tyler
13. Sierra12. Max
11. Kelly
10. Joe 9. Will
8. Hali
7. Dan6. Lindsey
5. Jenn
4. Mike
3. Shirin
2. Nina
1. CarolynEpisode 4/5:
15. Rodney14. Tyler
13. Joaquin
12. Dan
11. Max10. Joe
9. Mike
8. Shirin
7. Will6. Kelly
5. Sierra
4. Hali3. Carolyn
2. Jenn
1. LindseyEpisode 6:
13. Rodney (He continues to be unbearable in terms of airtime and personality, but I did manage to laugh at his failure of a bromance with Joaquin and how douchey they were about the whole thing, verging on homoerotic. The best thing about it was their synchronized arm-swinging that only meatheads do when they get uncomfortable talking about their feelings. )
12. Tyler (Oh my god, he's so boring. He definitely isn't the blandly CP competent guy we all thought he'd be, but he's still bland.)
11. Dan (Managed to be a bit less unbearable this episode, and I liked him saying to Mike and Joe "I groveled to Sierra so much. I don't know what more I can do" but then acknowledging to the camera that he fucked up. Still, he continues to be a camera-hog in the worst way possible with his reactions to things. "YEAH, BABY!!!" "ABSO-LUTE-LY!" No shut up.)
10. Joaquin (His journey seems kind of enigmatic, and I really don't know how to feel about it. He wasn't exactly the MORNdouche early boot we all expected him to be, but he was still kind of douchey. I'm very glad he left early to keep in some people who are much better than him, but overall he didn't add too much to the story itself. I guess I can appreciate parts of his story like being an outcast at the first vote, being trolled by Shirin while trying to look for the idol, his stupid bromance with Rodney, etc.)
9. Joe (Still a nice guy! Did anyone actually think he would go home, though, considering he got almost zero airtime besides SPV and a confessional this episode, and zero airtime for episodes 4/5 as well?)
8. Will (Still a nice guy! Didn't do anything this episode. Interested to see whether he'll stick with No Collar as a fourth, or look for alternative options.)
7. Shirin (I really appreciated that the editors gave her more depth this episode as opposed to the last couple, where she was basically a caricature. She was pretty much all of Nagarote's screentime, but I didn't mind it too much because it gave her more depth. Shirin being bullied </3 Oh, and taking down Dalton Ross on twitter was fucking awesome.)
6. Kelly (I loved her being so BAFFLED by Mike at the challenge, and almost single-handedly ruining it for him (ala Denise Martin) by being fucking awful at memory challenges. <3)
5. Mike (Again, that challenge sequence cracked me up, and I appreciate him for turning on Rodney. I feel like Mike has multiple-personality disorder, mainly because of him switching back and forth between a high-pitched gravelly voice, and a deeper-pitched gravelly voice. It would also explain the contrast between his lizard-and-snake-eating doofy persona, his wood-gathering commandeering persona, and his decent-at-strategy persona.)
4. Hali (Being Shirin's guardian angel. <3)
3. Sierra (Upset that her anti-Blue collar men alliance didn't work out, but I'm pleasantly surprised that she still managed to survive while being the obvious swing vote who hated her former tribe members. The Blue Collar men could have easily been like "She doesn't trust us. Let's get rid of her" but thank goodness they didn't! "I hate Dan." <3 Can she continue to wreak havoc at the merge? Let us pray.)
2. Jenn (Her random confessional about how the chances of a baby turtle surviving are less than the chances of her winning the million. <333 #GivesMeHope! "So, that's cool.")
1. Carolyn ("I can even tolerate Shirin now." <3 So glad she made the merge! Please dominate!)
I have no idea how these merge dynamics are going to work out! We have potential outcasts in Sierra, Rodney, Shirin, and even Will, Tyler and Carolyn to an extent. They could be roped in by anyone. This is why I love the three-tribe dynamic and I'm so glad modern Survivor has continued to implement it. Should be very interesting to see how things work out, especially with this cast! I want tears, I want backstabs, I want dramatic arguments. This season better not fizzle out.
Oh, and I'm not liking the fact that the preview was all about Rodney but maybe it'll be some kind of Sarah-or-Roger-esque dancing-on-their-grave type merge boot edit? One can only hope.