SURVIVOR CAGAYAN Episode 9 Ranking

So basically at this point of Survivor Cagayan, the remaining episodes would be great only if someone from the Brady Bunch flips to Tasha and Spencer. I'm saddened by this thought because this season has been great.

I'm a huge Tasha/Spencer fan that's why even though I appreciate what Tony/Woo/Trish bring to the table, I just can't wholeheartedly root for them. But oh well... I should be used to this as my favorites don't always go to the end anyway.

This will surely affect my opinion of Cagayan when it ends. But I'm still holding on for my favorites so stay hopeful, Jay.

Trish wins this week's Plummy. She's playing the best game right now and I can already see her winning with her chances in the game. Find out why in this ranking:

8. Jefra

She's just irredeemable at this point in the game. She's the duddest of all duds and it's a shame because she's part of a great cast. She had so much promise since the previews last episode. Even Parvati was rooting for her to be amazing. And she was becoming amazing as the episode progressed until she proved to be a weak follower again when Trish consoled her. It was her time to shine, it was her time to change the game. It's in her hands just like how Dawn's denture was in Brenda's hands. But she blew it. Hard. So I just can't at Jefra right now. It's probably good for her longevity but it's not good for her chances of winning.

I am suddenly reminded of Ciera's move last season. I was a huge fan of Ciera until she blew the chances of the loved ones (Hayden, Katie, Caleb, Ciera), but when she realized that she made a mistake, she redeemed herself by putting herself in danger by picking rocks. What I love most about it is her reason behind it. She's right when she said that she'd probably go to the end with Tyson, Monica and Gervase but there's no way she'd win in it. In fact, she's at the bottom of that alliance and there's no way they'll allow her to reach the end. With the risk that she took with Katie and Hayden, her longevity would crumble but if it would work and she goes to the end with the two, her chances of winning would have been huge. As she took the game by her own hands and I just know that it was worth it even if she ended up being 5th instead of 4th/finalist. 

Same with Cagayan, It doesn't matter anyway. They're almost at the end. It was the right time for Jefra to flip it and put a huge move in her resume. But anyway, I doubt Tasha/Spencer/Jeremiah would include her in the finals unless a power struggle strikes them. Still... ugh Jefra doesn't deserve this writeup. 

7. Kass

Kass just doesn't have a chance of winning the game. No one believes her anymore. No one trusts her. No one considers her a great gameplayer. She's just a number for her allies. She's right when she said that Tasha/Spencer are threats, but she'd be one of them if she sticked by them. I should have realized this a long time ago but I was still in denial that she completely flipped on the Brady people because I used to like her, love her even.

6. Woo

Woo continues to be a fun presence this season. From his papaya butt scene and confessionals, I appreciate what he brings to the table. But he's just a sidekick right now and I can't support that further.

5. Spencer

Nothing spectacular with Spencer this episode. His idol was impotent. But I'll remain on team Tasha/Spencer. I wish they pushed harder for Jefra to stay to their side though. I think they could have blackmailed her with the HII (I don't know if that would work), I wish he'd talk to Jefra at least if they're voting for her or worked with Jeremiah to find out who the other side was voting, I wish he gave Jeremiah the idol. But I understand why all of those didn't happen. Spencer was also looking out for himself. It'd be a great risk if he gave the idol to Jeremiah and yes, it would have worked wonders but if it didn't, then Spencer was a fool for doing it. I really think they could have turned the table though. It's possible. Hard but possible.

4. Tony

Tony is having a massive number of haters right now but I just don't hate him for having the special idol nor for receiving a lot of airtime. It was not his fault. It's the editors or the people who tipped him about the idol. LOL. I refuse to believe that it was rigged for him though even if it's possible. But even without it, I love his energy about the game. I love his aggression. I love when he taunted Spencer at Tribal. Who does that? He's playing! And he's playing to win! He's doing all things he can for him to go further and even if he kind of humiliated Spencer at last Tribal by talking about his inexperience and all, look at what's going to happen next episode. It seems like the two will work again. Previews have been misleading for the last couple of episodes though so.. :/

3. Jeremiah

I've grown to be a fan of Jeremiah for the past couple of episodes. I've always been Team Morgan ever since they voted separate ways during Brice's boot but ever since the tribal shuffle, he turned into this likable, smart human being that there's no way you'll hate him. He's probably the nicest player to play on Survivor. Yes? I laughed at his "headbutt" confessional. It's such an extremely nice gesture. Like what I mentioned in Spencer's writeup though, he could have swayed Jefra more especially that he's game was on the line. But I feel like he just sort of surrendered and didn't want to beg nor scramble. Oh well, google him guys. "Jeremiah Wood model"

2. Tasha

I never would have expected for Tasha to be a fierce challenge competitor. 9 or 10 episodes in or whatever, but she's still surprisin me. I still remember the time when she surprised me about her social and strategic skills. She's now considered a triple threat and Jeff Probst likes that and I'm happy because if she doesn't succeed in this season, she'll surely be contacted for a returnee season. Unfortunately, I don't think the editors are Tasha's fan. It's such a shame because they could have made Tasha a legend right now by putting a little more airtime for her but they continue to focus on others and Tasha's one of the sacrificial lambs. But oh well, she could have been completely invisible this episode but because of her balancing skills, she didn't let her edit become invisible. Gotta love Tasha and I hope she makes it to the end. With where things are heading though, I think she's toast in the next episode or two. This brings me back to Kass. She's the person to blame for all of these. :(

1. Trish

Trish is not the biggest threat. Trish is not a goat. Trish has a shield in Tony/Woo. Trish has an alliance with two main targets in Spencer/Tasha. Trish is in an alliance with two goats in Kass/Jefra. So her chances among these players are huge. Lindsey is not in the jury. Trish didn't make enemies with the jury so far. What more could she ask for? Plus, last episode proved more what I already saw in her before. She can filter the hell out of her words depending on who she's talking to. She's also not playing with her heart. It was proven when she didn't stay mad at Tony for keeping her out of the 'vote out LJ' plan. In fact, she sticked with him even though one of their allies, Jefra already wanted to flip. And when their alliance was in trouble because of Jefra, she convinced her to stay by badmouthing Tony and she did that with so much damage control in case Tony finds out about it. And when Tony talked to them, Trish immediately handled the situation without addressing that it's Jefra who's having concerns. She just told him that all of them were wary of him and it worked wonders for the alliance. She was the glue and she's always been the problem solver ever since the merge. I even though she's gonna fix the LJ problem in last week's episode. Trish is playing a great game right now. I wish she's my favorite but I've always been a fan of underdogs and Trish is on top of all things. I recognize her game, though. I think she has this in the bag.

WINNER PREDICTION:

Trish

She is winning. For the next four Tribal Councils, it's going to be either Tasha/Spencer first or Tony/Woo or any of this combination. Trish will be with Jefra and Kass in the Final 3 and she'll beat any of those two.

I gotta say I'm not a fan of that final 3 that I predicted but we'll see. There are a few episodes to come and if those 3 prove that they're fierce competitors then I might have a change of heart.

Trish has already proven that she's great but I want more. Kass, I want more from her too because no more #ChaosKass since President Sarah's boot.

All I know is though, that Jefra is irredeemable.

NEXT EPISODE: I'm just not thrilled anymore. There'll be an auction so let's hope that it'd be fun. It seems like Tony and Spencer will be working together but I won't get my hopes up. I think we're going to say goodbye to Spencer/Tasha next episode. :(

Twitter: @jaynormouskid

The Grand Budapest Hotel

Director: Wes Anderson
With: Ralph Fiennes, Tony Revolori, F. Murray Abraham, Edward Norton, Mathieu Amalric, Saoirse Ronan, Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Léa Seydoux, Jeff Goldblum, Jason Schwartzman, Jude Law, Tilda Swinton, Harvey Keitel, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson

The only movie I've seen directed by Wes Anderson was Moonrise Kingdom and he immediately enticed me with his distinct style of direction--marvelous production designs that seem like straight out of a children's story book, sweetest color palettes that triggers allurement to the screen, quirky characters wearing neat designed costumes and a great ensemble to give justice to them. The Grand Budapest Hotel is nothing short of these aspects. In fact, it's way more extravagant and a way better experience than the former.

It's a thrilling ride that follows the story of a previously young lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) who worked under Gustave H (Ralph Fiennes), a charismatic yet strict concierge of a grandiose hotel called 'The Grand Budapest Hotel'.

The film consists of well-known actors and actresses but Budapest's storytelling is so fast that it swallows these actors' prominence and instead focuses on the characters they're playing. Anderson's characters are so quirky and distinct to each other that even though the film boasts of a number of heroes and villains, everyone remained memorable.

Everyone worked their characters very well and while all of them delivered, Ralph Fiennes stood out the most as the primary carrier, or should I say 'concierge' of the film - both as an actor and as a character. Gustave H is undeniably likable, a stubborn hero, a nefarious protagonist, he's an unsung hero reminiscent of classic playful Old Hollywood characters. It worked for him that he's not playing a kind-hearted goody goody hero because we knew him as an actor who played iconic villains. He was Lord Voldemort and he was monstrous. He was Amon Goeth and he was despicable. But Ralph Fiennes redeemed himself for playing this character that's just so ironically likable, even touching at times. Honorable mention is Willem Dafoe. As one of the characters with a brief role, he notably injected himself as the bulldog-looking scoundrel who's funny and awful at the same time.

In my viewing experience of Moonrise Kingdom, as much as I was highly fascinated by Anderson's work, there were times when it felt a little lethargic. But the slowness of the former, he makes up for the bold and quick pacing of Budapest. It never rests in entertaining the hell of its viewers. What made it more fun is that it's a movie with a world straight from a creative and unconventional imagination, youthful in its colors and execution albeit containing mature stories and characters.

I also just want to mention how Alexandre Desplat scored the hell out of this movie. It's kind of funny because it seems like he's scoring every other movie I watch this year. No complains here because he's a fantastic musical composer and he made Budapest more whimsy and playful.

Its humor is both verbal and visual. Its pacing is something most movies should have. I'd give this film 5 plums in a New York minute for its richness, creativity and astounding viewing pleasure but I just wish it connected more emotionally.

Even then, The Grand Budapest Hotel is a must-see film that somehow will remind you of the fulfillment one earn in watching quality movies.

Transcendence

Director: Wally Pfister
With: Johnny Depp, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, Kate Mara, Morgan Freeman, Cillian Murphy

Transcendence, the movie that marked Christopher Nolan's resident cinematographer Wally Pfister is not as bad as its trailer implied and not as weak as what most critics are saying. Although far from being perfect, its concept is rather absorbing. It's just the narrative that falls short in a deep deep grave.

Think of Transcendence as a scifi action version of Spike Jonze's Her. Like Her, it tackles love (it is part of the movie's depth) but it focuses on the negative effects of artificial intelligence machine that Will (Johnny Depp) and his wife Evelyn (Rebecca Hall) planned to establish in which Will called it as 'Transcendence'. Things went wrong and the suspense happened.

Except not really.

What's lacking in this movie is the tension that viewers expected in the film. It lacks action even if the scenes involve explosions, guns and canyons. It lacks the grip even though the concept is interesting. The unremarkable storytelling and the lame conflicts and climax pulled down the capability of its premise. Even worse, the film contains annoying and somewhat idiotic characters that just makes you not want to root for any of them.

Most especially Rebecca Hall. I liked her in Vicky Cristina Barcelona and The Town but she didn't deliver well in this film. It doesn't help that she's playing an irritating character. No one stood out in this film. Everybody's just okay. Johnny Depp can't catch a break.

Pfister maintained his cinematographic talent as it's very palpable in the film but not enough to carry the whole movie especially with the excessive head scratcher ideas in its plot. With a weak screenplay that most of the time, doesn't know where it is headed, I doubt there's a way for Pfister to improve it. A different approach and a sharper plotting to the artificial intelligence concept would have made it better.

Even then, I expected it to be extremely horrible. Johnny Depp's face with nail-like screws and wires on his head looked ridiculous and don't get me started with his facial expression. Didn't plan on watching it because of how terrible the whole thing looked but I did anyway as I had a lot of time to waste before catching the first schedule of Budapest Hotel. Luckily for me, it ended up being below decent and tolerable. But yes, it's a movie I wouldn't care if I skipped it.

Heaven is for Real

Director: Randall Wallace
With: Colton Corum, Greg Kinnear, Kelly Reilly, Thomas Haden Church, Margo Martindale

I had no idea that this movie exists until my sister told me about it. It was the same day when she told me that they're going to watch it on a Black Saturday. They invited me to go with them but was kind of hesitant because of my foot injury (that's been keeping me from travelling for months now). But then I went with them because I was already rotting at home and I could use an exercise.

I gotta be honest the trailer didn't impress me but with its material and the Lenten season, I said to myself, why not?

So I willingly watched it. Heaven is for Real. The title is something...

Heaven is for Real started with Greg Kinnear's character, Pastor Todd Burpo asking this question--"Is heaven for real?, or just a place on Earth?".

He's saying it to his fellows but I'm pretty sure that it also made all the people in the movie house think. I'm guilty. So let me tell you a story. I'm not the most devout person you'll know but I have faith and I Believe. I'm quite skeptical about supernatural stories but there are some stories that I choose to believe.

10 years ago or so, my grandmother was rushed to the hospital. She had a heart attack and we were told that her chances of living was slim. My aunts and uncle from other countries immediately went back here in the Philippines. Our relatives in Masbate, my lola's hometown, already prepared for her loss. They bought pigs and cows to kill for food for the inevitable funeral.

We've already expected that my lola's time had come. Her heart beat already stopped for a minute and some seconds. But she survived it and was revived by the doctors. She went to live for a couple more years until her death last year.

During her borrowed time, she told us a story that during her days in the hospital, she saw herself sleeping. Whether it was a dream, hallucination or her soul wandered while she's sick, I am not sure but it sure sound like a near death experience. She told us that she saw her family and everything was white. She also saw a light through a doorway and I can only interpret it as heaven.

I never believed these kind of stories until my Lola told us her experience. I just know that there's no way my grandmother invented it. My lola has always been a strict and disciplined woman, from my mother's stories. I don't see her telling fantasies because it's just not in my lola's personality. So I believe my lola.

That's why when I was watching Heaven is for Real, I can't help but be contemplative so I affirmed its goodness, its content. Because it's a story affirming that heaven is real. And many doubt it, even the believers in the movie. Even Pastor Todd Burpo who wrote the book about his son who experienced heaven. It's a film with a powerful subject and this writeup could never ever change everyone's beliefs so thanks for reading and I'll just move on to technicalities.

I must say that I didn't like Randall Wallace direction style. He made this movie with a vision. The downside is, his vision is more of like a vision of a child. Can't blame him because the visions of Heaven according to the movie is from a child. So..yeah. But he could have made it less cartoonish. It's obviously a film with a subject matter that's hard to adapt into a film so I guess it's acceptable. But aside from that, it also had tonal inconsistencies. I sound like a nitpicker here after affirming the content of the film but that's just how it is.

It's not preachy but it's also quite slow sometimes. It could have hit its jackpot in portraying that heaven is real but it's too safe in adapting it.

Its strongest aspect is the actors, especially Greg Kinnear and the one who portrayed Colton, the child who had a heavenly experience, literally. He's the main source of cuteness and entertainment. Can't help but compare him to Santino of May Bukas Pa. lol. He delivers punch lines so naturally like he does it his whole life.

I wish I could say that it touched me more than it intended its viewers to be but it's a good enough film that it effectively made me reflect on a personal level.

Labor Day

Director: Jason Reitman
With: Kate Winslet, Josh Brolin, Gattlin Griffith, Tobey Maguire

I've mentioned in my Top film rankings for 2013 how I'm fond of sugars in films. I expected to like Labor Day because of that, but it didn't have the sugar that I was looking for, more like flour. Literally.

Labor Day is a drama about a mother and son who met a fugitive and asked them to hide him into their home. Throughout this long Labor Day weekend, the mother (played by Kate Winslet) falls in love with the fugitive (Josh Brolin) and as days progressed reveals their lives in their previous relationships.

It's actually more of like a melodrama because Kate Winslet's character is super lonely and sad, but it's a story that I couldn't even call melodramatic because there's nothing 'melo' about its drama. It's insufficient of all of its aspect, including the storyarcs.

But that's probably because Reitman remained loyal to the book. Watching the film, even though I didn't read the book, Jason Reitman's screenplay felt very faithful to it. Don't get me wrong, I have no idea about the book. Zero. LOL. But what I saw in Labor Day looked like an imagination straight from reading the book. I give Reitman that. But I'm kind of nonplussed of why Reitman chose to adapt this book. It's very different from his past works, Up in the Air, Young Adult and Juno. I guess he's trying to explore his talent. Unfortunately, I think he needs to stick with directing more modern and comedic films. But who am I to say that, right?

It has at least a graceful cinematography which captures the humidity of its setting. That's one thing I like about Reitman's direction, you'd always expect to see artistic shots and he'll most likely deliver. I still remember the birds eye view shots of fields in Up in the Air. He delivers in Labor Day. Those moving shots in the beginning, the peach crust that looks so yummy, the green pastures in their area, the simplicity of the town, the everything.

I am not crazy about Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin's performances but both are good, quite effective in portraying their roles. Their roles which I find dull. Yes, Labor Day is quite dull. It's not boring per se, but geez, the characters need some happy pills. Movies with dull characters don't always translate to being bland but this one is just that, pedestrian.

It's such a shame because I consider myself a huge fan of Up in the Air and Young Adult and those two are two consecutive great films by Reitman, but following those two with this, it seems like Reitman is still finding his niche after all and everyone who watched the film will probably agree that he needs to leave the dramatic love story genre asap. It's not for him. Although kudos for trying.

SURVIVOR CAGAYAN Episode 8 Ranking

I'm so fucking happy!! Just when I thought I was losing my interest for this season because my favorites were dropping like flies, then another FLIP care of one of the players I used to despise the most happened.

This is indeed a season of flips! And Tony did the best flip so far, in my opinion. And for that, even though I'm leaning more towards giving the Plummy to Tasha who hasn't received one so far, this episode is clearly an episode of Tony Vlachos. So Tony receives this week's Plummy!! #TeamTV

9. LJ

Good riddance! I know he's one of the players I predicted to win but you can't blame me, he's got a fantastic pre merge game. I knew that he started to kind of dwindle after the merge and you can tell that his chances went down in my winner prediction order but I still didn't see him leaving tonight. Gotta give the editors props for providing lots of tricks from their promos to the episode. I was pretty sure the boot was going to be either Woo/Tony/one of the NuAparris, and when while I was watching the episode, I thought Trish convinced Tony to stick with their alliance that's why I was so shocked to see LJ biting the dust. But it's just so apt. He completely blew his game by being too comfortable with Tony. He's already showed wariness towards him before they merged, but I guess Tony earned LJ's trust so much when Tony played the idol for him. It completely blew his game. Also, even Morgan addressed this in her post game interview that LJ completely ignored talking game outside of his alliance. It's more evident when he snubbed Tasha's invite to talk game with him. And that is why this episode is so fucking juicy. First, Tasha and LJ are the final 2 in the Immunity challenge, second, Tasha had the last laugh by voting out the person who snubbed her. Everything about LJ's boot is delicious!

8. Kass

Tony upstaged Kass' flip fo sho! Kass completely baffled me when she had a confessional about staying intact with her 6-person alliance and it would be stupid to make a big move when they're already in a comfortable position. It baffled me so bad because that's the exact thing she did with her NuAparri alliance. Well, I guess I won't blame her that much now because if she didn't do it, Sarah is probably the person with the most power right now and we don't want that. Oh well, isn't it quite satisfying to see Kass blindsided even if she wasn't voted out?

7. Jefra

I could easily put her in dead last again because she's probably the most boring left in the game, but next week seems like a breakout episode for her. I really hope that the alliance of NuSolana is no more and Jefra doesn't want to do anything with it. I hope she befriends Tasha and start to vote with them. To be quite honest, I don't think there's no more NuSolana or NuAparri alliances that next week would be dysfunctional. Let's hope Jefra keeps it unpredictable and surprise us please!!! :) "Did you flip?" "WOW" :)

6. Trish

Before Tribal Council, when I thought one of Jeremiah or Spencer would leave, I was set into giving her the Plummy because I really thought she effectively convinced Tony not to vote against them. I was ready to say good things about Trish keeping her alliance intact and even though her game plan is the most boring thing, it's great strategic game. But I'm just ecstatic that she failed to discipline and gather her alliance because the result is way much better. Still, Trish is still not in danger in my opinion. Woo is still there, Tony is still there and Trish is in a very comfortable position.

5. Jeremiah

Jeremiah actually had a decent edit this episode. Indeed he's not receiving the praise that he deserves but I think he's very aware about the game and his position. He's not as stupid as other people painted him to be. Having said that, Jeremiah's not that entertaining either so I guess it's the dealbreaker factor for the fans.

4. Woo

Woo is like Jeremiah. I think he knows the game but what's different about Woo is that he's great TV. His confessional after the Reward Challenge was hilarious and even though it's his only portion in this episode, he still made a mark. Plus, he voted against LJ and that's a plus!!! wooh Woo! I hope he doesn't get medevac'd next episode though. :( If he does, this season could follow Micronesia, in which James was medevac'd and the game ended up with a Final 2. We shall see! ;)

3. Spencer

The editors didn't shove Spencer to us this week and voila, he's much more tolerable and the episode is 5,000,000 miles better than last week's Spencer Island. It's a blessing that he ended up with Tony and Jeremiah in the Reward challenge because it opened his, Tasha's and Jeremiah's chances of going farther in the game. So thank goodness Survivor destiny. Spencer is a Survivor Destiny's child. Also, I reacted the same victory celebration gesture when LJ was voted out.YEAHHHHH!!!!

2. Tasha

IN YOUR FACE LJ INDEED! ^_^ Even though Tony outshined everyone in this episode, it's also clear that this is a Tasha episode. Even though her portion in the episode wasn't that long, it still proved that it's a vital scene for the delicious LJ blindside. LJ was such a douche for ditching Tasha's offer to talk game with him, #STOODUP (Survivor hashtags are so random and funny sometimes) so when Tasha won Immunity against him, which turned out to be a crucial Immunity for both players, his walk of shame towards Jeff became much sweeter because it felt like a magnificent Tasha victory. I'm so happy for Tasha that it rejuvenated my interest for this season. I hope her winning streak continues and I really hope she wins the game. She's absolutely my no. 1 to win the game. But every episode is such a struggle and I guess it's also the reason why I love this episode so much. She's not in the majority but there's still a glimpse of hope towards the end of the tunnel. Episode per episode, we'll survive. I'm so ready for a TASHAVICTORY.

1. Tony

I'm not in Tony's side from the beginning to last week but here I am now ready to bow down to this new Survivor God. Tony had come such a long way and I felt like he's already ditched so many people in the process. I felt like he's everywhere in the episode. Heck, I feel like he's all over the place throughout the game. Premerge, he's running the camp at Aparri, postmerge he flipped on Cliff and stabilized his position with a new alliance including LJ and Jefra. He's solid in it and then poof, he got paranoid and instantly flipped against one of them, it was the horsewhisperer, LJ. Is it a good move? it's debatable but I definitely see the good in it. He felt like he's the most visible threat in NuSolana and it made more apparent when the NuAparri minority voted him last Tribal. What do you do when you're in his position? You talk to the minority about it and sway the target from you and because Tony's already clearly in the NuAparri's chopping block, he did what he had to do. That's a good thing about it. On the other hand, haha, let's face it, his move was also fueled by paranoia. He almost nabbed Jamie Newton's Most Paranoid Award but Tony showed that paranoia is not always a bad thing. Well, at least for me and my favorites and for him as well hehe. Because he could easily stick with his 6-person alliance and he's still in a good position. But I guess the idol factor also poked his paranoia so I really see why his move was logical. It's debatably logical but it's definitely a likable move. For sure. Thank you Tony! Thank you so much for sparing my favorites even for one episode. I don't know where his head at next week though. One thing's for sure, Tony is and will be one of the most memorable players of Survivor Cagayan. #TEAMTV

WINNER PREDICTION:
1. Trish
2. Spencer

Next episode: It seems like next episode will be the first episode that I'll like Jefra. If she's the reason of Tony's demise then hands down I'll have respect for her staying in the game, robbing some of my favorite's spot. Also Woo, please don't be medically evacuated. But if it means that Tasha, Spencer and Jeremiah's chances of winning the game would increase, then go ahead. LOL

Ahh, I love this season. So much that you should follow and tweet me if you love it too! :0) @jaynormouskid

SURVIVOR CAGAYAN Episode 7 Ranking

There's no doubt in my mind that this week's episode is the worst episode of the season. Some suggest that Brice's boot was actually worse but I actually like Brice's mainly because the Brains tribe experienced their first win.

Oh well.

Woo receives this week's Plummy. He wasn't successful in finding Spencer's idol but his #NINJASTEALTHMODE moment was fun. Gratz Woo!

And to this week's ranking...

10. Jefra

She just doesn't bring anything to the table aside from being cute and nice. Just not exciting.

9. Spencer

I think one of the reasons why the episode sucked is that it's very Spencercentric. So Spencercentric that the editors completely ignored 2/3s of the cast. Not good. I also didn't like Spencer's rage against Kass. The "estrogen" comment was uncalled for. Spencer is 21-years-old? and in such a young age, I'm afraid that he already resembles some of the older misogynist players from Survivor's past. Let's hope he doesn't become one of them. I'm currently reading Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl and the moment he mentioned Kass' estrogen as Kass source of game decisions or something, it immediately reminded me of Nick Dunne's father. Well, at least he apologized. Also, yes, he was lucky to get the clue, careless for not hiding it, lucky again for finding it, and kudos for winning the challenge. I think he has a great shot of winning or he could be this season's Malcolm. He's already starting to tweet like him.

8. Tony

Crazy because I thought Tony had a lot of airtime this episode but for some reason, I don't remember much about what he did. His confessional about figuring out if Morgan is a person or a pillow and his confessional about Kass' stone face cracked me up but other than that, he's not that entertaining this episode.

7. Trish

I don't recall much about Trish either but I remember loving her approach to Kass regarding their next target. She's really a smooth operator as they say. I guess the episode overall was just so forgettable that I really don't remember much about it, especially Trish.

6. LJ

LJ is giving Eliza and Boston Rob a run for their money as the best puzzle solver on Survivor. He aced the Reward challenge.

5. Jeremiah

Jeremiah continues to be a loyal member of the NuAparri. Before the episode, I thought the NuSolana was going to target him because he's the fittest compared to Tasha and Morgan but I guess he's doing something great on the island that they spared him from being voted out.

4. Kass

I'm waiting for the next episode to declare if I officially hate Kass flipping on the NuAparri 6, despite the fact that I don't like that it caused Morgan's elimination. But Kass continues to make the game interesting. She's still somewhat the star of this episode--her conflict with Spencer, with Morgan, and then being the free agent who can still flip from any side that she wants. She's sorta predictable yet she's also unpredictable. I don't know but obviously, she's so complex that I really don't know what's up her sleeve for the future episodes.

3. Morgan

Morgan was epic this episode. Everything that came out from her mouth was quote worthy. I also really like that she lasted this long because she would have been an early boot in other seasons. I'm disappointed with her edit though. I really thought she's going to be a force in the game. A player who will avenge Brice by being the last Beauty standing. Oh well... Morgan had a great run.

2. Tasha

Tasha was almost invisible last episode. But she did great in the challenge. It would have been better if she won the Immunity but I'm just happy that the NuSolana tribe spared her even if she lost. I really hope Tony and Woo fight next week to make way for Tasha's safety. I miss Tasha being the boss so I really hope we get to see more of her next week bossing her minions to follow her lead ala Tasha back in Luzon Tribe. Out of the remaining contestants, she's my number one to win. With her edit though, I'm starting to become pessimistic.

1. Woo

This cast is amazing. Just when I thought Woo's just gonna coast through the game ever since Cliff was blindsided, there he was garnering his own Survivor hashtag. #NINJASTEALTHMODE. I appreciate when players make effort to usurp the chances of their competitors. It's also a pleasant surprise when Woo revealed that he's actually a huge fan of the show. I thought they just recruited him and he doesn't have a clue about the game. But I was so mistaken. He's playing the game. And from the looks of it, his star is going to continue to shine next episode. I really hope him and Tony start to distrust each other and Woo wins their battle. Because from the boring NuSolana alliance, I find Woo as the most likable. Please flip Woo!

WINNER PREDICTION:
1. Trish
2. Spencer
3. LJ

Next week: All I can say is please flip Woo. I don't want to see another Pagonging. This season's potential to be one of the best would be a waste if this ends up having a Pagonging. But I trust this cast to be awesome and I believe that they'll deliver. Haha this is just me being hopeful. Kass, do your magic. We don't want Jeff Probst and co to believe that newbies provide boring seasons.  For what its worth, this season has been fun already but we can't judge a whole season just by its first half so... we'll see!

SURVIVOR CAGAYAN Episode 6 Ranking

Where do we start with this episode? Oh yes, it's all about #ChaosKass. LOL. What an epic episode. Even if the result dwindles the chances of my favorites, it definitely made for a great episode, great Tribal Council and blurrier or more unpredictable future.

Of course a Pagonging is possible but I'm optimistic that it won't happen especially with these crazy players but if it does, then, lame. But so far, so good and I trust that there's going to be more crazy flip flopping in the future.

Let's go straight with the Plummy. This episode reminds me of the Premiere, where I'm giving the Plummy not necessarily to the player who made the best moves, but instead I'm giving it to the player who earned her spot in an All Star season. It's none other than Chaos Kass!

11. Jefra

People find her adorable and she really is adorable but c'mon.

10. Woo

Wooh! Congrats on winning Immunity!

9. LJ

LJ had a weak merge episode and that's not a good thing for his chances in winning the game. In his alliance, it was Trish and Tony who did the damage and LJ didn't do much. I think it would continue to be like that unless he flips on Tony, Trish and Woo somewhere along the merge. It would be logical for him to flip because those three are all Brawns and him and Jefra are in the minority in that alliance. Fortunately, I think LJ is smart enough to think about that. He already stated his wariness for Tony so I guess we'll have to see. I can see him pulling Morgan and Jeremiah to his side, possibly Spencer and Tasha too but I don't know. Anything can happen. Also, I forgot to mention his idol show with Tony at Tribal. Can't say I'm impressed because he wasted it, but I think he just did his best to save his alliance. It's just disappointing because both promised that they won't tell the idol to anyone. I thought that's gonna work well for him but it ended up to insignificancy.

8. Spencer

There's nothing exciting about Spencer this episode. In an episode where everyone showed themselves being interesting, Spencer paled in comparison because he's all about strategy and serious mode. Not good TV. Also, his remark to Kass after Tribal Council was kind of abrasive, lol but definitely understandable. I still wish him and his alliance good luck.

7. Morgan

I was definitely surprised that she's one of the top 3 in the Immunity challenge. I hope she wins one in the next couple of episodes because it would be hella  attractive. But other than her impressive challenge performance and amazing pilates posture, she didn't do much aside from reading tree mails. Can't wait for her feud with Kass next episode though. I wanna see some claws.

6. Jeremiah

I'm really starting to like Jeremiah. From being an untrustworthy player, he's now earned to be a loyal player to his alliance. That's a plus especially that I'm rooting for his alliance. I wish he serves as peacemaker between Kass and Sarah though. He was there when Kass and Sarah argued about targets. It maybe a good thing to stay away from it but the fact that they need to be united, he should have fixed the issue rather than delaying it. And see what happened? Kass flipped. lmfao. Oh well..

5. Tony

I'm still anti-NuSolana but I can't help but give Tony some props for providing so much energy and passion about the game. He likes scrambling and sometimes, as annoying and unnecessary his moves and lies can be, he adds up to the excitement factor of the show. Watching him play is like watching someone who really likes what he's doing and I'm glad he's having the time of his life in the island. I think I've mentioned before that he's sort of like a low budgeted Russell Hantz. I take that back now. I think there's a lot of goodness in him despite playing a devious and manipulative game. Also, even if he's an airtime hogger, he's way more tolerable than the past season's token hoggers.

4. Tasha

I'm rooting for Tasha so much and I'm hoping that she flips the table around on the NuSolana alliance. I trust that she will. She's adorable even after being blindsided by Chaos Kass' flippage. All the players on her side kind of had a negative reaction to Kass but she still managed to smile. Graceful. I hope that continues and I hope she reserves her frustration and try to win Kass back to their side. I'm starting to become skeptical though because of their exchanges in Twitter. :/ But I hope they just do that per episode. :/// Also, I hope she finds the Tyler Perry idol and I hope she has more airtime in the coming episodes.

3. Trish

Trish is back in the winner radar. Her edit last episode hints that she knows how to play the game. It's sort of subtle or Tony's just a more overwhelming presence than her but let's not kid ourselves. Aside from Kass' hatred for Sarah, Trish was one of the main orchestrators of the Sarah blindside. Woman's got game. While having pilates sessions with the ladies which is a plus to her social capability, Trish didn't drop the strategic aspect by observing on what's happening between Kass and Sarah. She's the only one who figured out that there's a feud between them which lead her to convince Kass to go to their side. Unlike Sarah who kept on demanding that they follow her plan, Trish used the reverse psychology tool to lure Kass and it magically worked.  Like I said, I'm still team Tasha and the NuAparri in general, but if Trish continues to be fierce in the game then I wouldn't be surprised if she wins this whole thing.

2. Sarah

We need more players like Sarah. President Sarah. Queen Sarah. Sandwich Sarah. You don't mess with Sarah, according to Sarah. What a delusional player that instead of being frustrated about everything she said in the episode, I just learned solely from last episode to just enjoy everything that comes out from her mouth. She's basically the girl who was wrong about everything except for figuring out that Tony's a cop. LOL Seriously, the reason why I kind of understand what lead Kass to vote Sarah's ass out of the game is because she really was annoying as an ally. She kept on demanding the wrong things for the NuAparri alliance and I just can imagine how frustrating that was for her allies, especially Kass whom Sarah called a bully. It's frustrating when a person villifies you for the wrong things when actually that person you're villifying is just looking for the betterment of her people. Sarah's crazy but I appreciate what she brought to the game. For someone who I thought was going to be a dud, a boring monotonic player, she exceeded my expectation. And as much as I would rather see her feud with Chaos Kass extend, it ended quickly but beautifully.

1. Chaos Kass

After being sort of under the radar for the past two or three episodes, Kass emerges as a villainous, chaotic character that triggered a lot of haters and fans in social media. I could compare her stardom to J'Tia's level but What's more interesting about Kass is that unlike J'Tia, she doesn't have an over-the-top personality but she still managed to become a polarizing character. In fact, she's very laidback, laidback with a mix of acerbic sarcasm and misanthropy to people. One of those people is Sarah. LMFAO. I rewatched the episode and everytime Sarah speaks the opposite to what Kass was thinking, the cameras pan to Kass' face and we can just see that she's trying to cover the frustration from her face. I find that very funny especially when she said that she wanted to punch Sarah's face sometimes. For the record, I'm obviously team Chaos Kass in this feud. But both are hilarious in this episode. Anyway, people are now comparing Kass to Cochran. I get why but Kass' personality is way different. Kass is remarkable and she actually owns her move and she's not being a pussy about it even after her allies reacted negatively to her after the votes were revealed. There's no way Kass is a pussy. Whether Kass' destroyed her chances and my other favorites' chances, no one knows yet but right now, she builds up the enthusiasm of fans - diehard or casuals and I definitely give her a lot of credit for that. People say that a better result would have been if Jefra left the game and Kass didn't flip, but the feud of Sarah and Kass would end up being anticlimactic if the perfect thing happened. Don't get me wrong, I would rather see Jefra leave last episode because the Sarah-Kass feud is just entertaining to watch and let's face it, Jefra's the most boring contestant left but like I said, this episode wouldn't be this huge if Kass didn't flip. I don't know what's gonna happen next and I'm certainly hoping that there won't be a dark Pagonging in the upcoming episodes. I'm hoping that Kass' life in the game goes on and continues to destroy the games of others. Please flip flop your way to the end Kass and I hope you don't follow the direction of J'Tiamazing.

Winner Prediction:
1. Trish - Lindsey's out and there's no more player who would defame her. She's already built trust with her alliance (see LJ), she's working her social game well (see pilates), and she's proven that she can play the game strategically (see convincing Kass to vote with them), I think she has the right ingredients to go further in the game. She's also not a visible threat so far. She's gonna go far.

2. LJ - Weak episode this week but one weak episode doesn't mean he's not going to win so he's still one of my picks to win the game.

Next week: It's Morgan vs Kass! WAHHH I don't know which side to be in but I'm just gonna enjoy the ride. I'm also really hoping that the people from the NuAparri finds the Tyler Perry idol and Kass stick with them for the upcoming vote. They seem dysfunctional though so I don't know what's next. :////

Follow me on Twitter! @jaynormouskid