Cagayan Episode 5: Bully For You

Coming back from a bomb-dropping tribal council, Trish tries to explain herself to Lindsey, but she's having none of it. The two women bicker for a while, before Lindsey actually goes to get away from her horse-mouthed nemesis. After a while, the tribe worry about whether Lindsey is even coming back.

We see Lindsey alone, and Jeff walks up to ask what's going on. Lindsey calls Trish a bully and says she will "flip out on her" if she stays. So then Jeff goes into the Solana camp to tell them that Lindsey has decided to quit the game. Tony is happy with this revelation, seeing it as "two for the price of one". Woo also maintains an awfully optimistic outlook for someone who just lost his entire alliance. However, he is fully aware that he's probably in trouble if they have to go to tribal again.

Sarah gets a shock

At the challenge, Aparri's reaction to seeing two members gone is priceless - and Trish's fistpump is pretty funny too. Alexis talks about how glad she is her Beauty allies are safe, which might not have been the smartest move. Anyway, this challenge is the one from Philippines where you have to knock down your opponents idol. Spencer steals Skupin's kamikaze trick to beat Woo. Tasha tries the same against Trish, but fails. Jefra and Jeremiah both lose their match-ups by dropping their statues accidentally.

Tony goes up against Morgan in the most one-sided match-up of the round. They both crash into eachother and Tony predictably wins. Woo then wins the final point by beating Spencer in his rematch. Solana get to send two people to raid Aparri's camp and choose the two matchwinners Tony and Woo.

Raiders of the lost tribe

Woo and Tony are over in the enemy camp preparing to raid, and Tasha senses it's going to be tough to part with some of their comfort. In their instructions, they find a clue to the idol and Tony senses a great opportunity to put a target on somebody's back. He tells the group that the idol clue is for one of them and singles out Jeremiah to give it to. Jeremiah instantly realizes that it's the same clue he got on Solana, but everyone else's minds are racing.

Trish says it with sand

So the raiders bring their spoils back to their home camp, and Tony tells the rest of the tribe about his idol clue stunt. There's also a shot of a message Trish has written to Lindsey in the sand. Feeling a lot more comfortable with his new tribe than his old one, Tony decides to open up and admit to being a cop. He might regret this though, as LJ and Jefra are both wary about how hard Tony seems to be playing the game.

Alexis goes to Spencer and tells him she doesn't trust Jeremiah. Unfortunately Spencer doesn't trust Alexis, thinking she's kinda phony and smarter than she lets on. Jeremiah tries to clear up the confusion over the clue, even pointing out correctly "we lost - why would we get a clue?", but it seems nobody believes him either.

LJ gets stuck in the mud

The immunity challenge sees the contestants have to take on a staircase, two obstacle courses, and a puzzle. Aparri are first to do their staircase after Solana are all over the place with their poles. Tony and Jeremiah take on the second obstacle course to retrieve the key, and Jeremiah maintains the lead. The puzzle comes down to Sarah and Spencer against LJ and Woo. Even though Solana have some pieces upside down, they manage to pull into the lead, aided by Tony's cheating. Solana win immunity when they complete their puzzle, get their code and unlock their flag. Tony jumps up and down in the celebrations, shouting "top five!" - which Sarah seems to take notice of.

Back at camp, Jeremiah points out how dumb Tony was for being so cocky when they still have the numbers. Alexis starts to wonder if this confidence is because they think Jeremiah is with them, and lets the others know. The three Brains decide on who they want to vote out, Kass fully enjoying the amount of power they have.

At tribal council, Probst comments on old tribe lines. Morgan shatters the perception that the old Beauty tribe are tight and relishes putting some more heat on Jeremiah. Kass says the Brains are more solid and the fractures are a good thing for them. Spencer has a different idea - he wants to heal the fractures and make the most cohesive tribe he can. Question is, who is the more likely flipper - Jeremiah or Alexis? Probst asks Sarah to weigh in, and she's just happy the heat is off her.

Heartbreak for the twerking girl

Alexis and Jeremiah both vote for eachother, each saying the other one is gonna flip. The rest of the tribe votes out Alexis, which she does not see coming. Alexis struggles to hold back tears as she walks off, whilst Morgan gives a smile. Well, next episode should see the tribes merge into one...then we'll see who can be trusted.

STAR OF THE WEEK: TONY VLACHOS

Tony is far from the most subtle player in the game, but he's definitely playing Survivor on a higher level than most of his competition. His scorched Earth policy is yielding some mixed results, but it's undeniable he's a fun player and one to watch.

Cagayan Episode 4: On The Flip Side

Spencer is in need of a hug after surviving such a close call at tribal. They're hopeful they can start a comeback, although Kass correctly points out "how my team has played this game is ridiculous".

Free at last!

Brains head to the challenge, as Tasha talks about how her decision to keep Spencer will be put to the test today. At the challenge, Probst tells them to drop their buffs - it's a swap! The Brains all end up together (what are the odds?) along with Morgan, Jeremiah, Alexis and Sarah to form the new Aparri tribe. The other Brawns are swapped to Solana with Jefra and LJ.

The new tribes immediately get into a reward challenge for snacks, and it's one that involves pulling people off poles. Morgan and Sarah try to pull off Lindsey, whereas Trish and Jefra are going after Tasha. Morgan uses her boobs to try and get Lindsey off, but Lindsey fires back with her feet. Tasha refuses to budge to win the first point.

Girl-on-girl action

The next matchup sees Spencer and Jeremiah taking on Cliff, whilst LJ and Trish take on Alexis. Cliff the giant barely moves whilst Alexis is dominated and quickly dragged over the line to make it 1-1. Cliff goes again for the final round, and Spencer and Jeremiah do a little better this time. Whilst Sarah doesn't make it easy for Solana, eventually Tony drags his fellow cop to the line to win his tribe reward.

Boston Strong

Back at camp, Jefra and LJ get to know their new tribemates...and LJ and Trish quickly realize they're both from Boston. LJ works that connection to try to charm Trish to his side, and it appears to be working. Lindsey talks about how embarrassing it is to see Trish flirting with someone much younger than her. Cliff is comfortable with how the swap turned out, although he does have concerns about Trish.

Triumphant Tasha celebrates the swap

Going back to camp, Sarah doesn't really seem happy being the lone Brawn. That might be the best position for her though, as Beauty's cracks become apparent very quickly. When asked about their extra rice, she manages to out Morgan on having an idol clue when she reveals Trish had told them what the choice was. Alexis immediately jumps ship and tells the three Brains she wants to work with them. Jeremiah is also looking for new allies as he feels Morgan will probably backstab him. Tasha can't believe her luck. Could it be the Brains are actually in a power position?

Jefra and Trish talk by the well and Jefra is pleased to learn that Trish isn't exactly happy with her old tribe either. Maybe she's found the crack she needs. Jefra says she thinks Cliff is "shady" but their conversation is cut short when the big guy walks up on them.

At the immunity challenge, Jeff takes back the idols and retires the cute little one for good. This challenge involves smashing down gates with a battering ram, and then moving the ram through a table maze. Both tribes have to sit someone out, and Solana pick Trish. Alexis beats Morgan at rock/paper/scissors to get to play.

"How did that happen?"

Solana smash down their first gate well in advance, but Aparri manages to catch up by the second. They go into the maze pretty much neck-and-neck, where both tribes make the same mistake. It's Aparri however who get their log out first and ring the gong to win immunity. What an upset!


Solana realize they should have won, and Cliff wants to break up Boston by taking out LJ. But Trish offers LJ some hope when she tells him that she wants Cliff out. Lindsey is worried that Trish is going to flip, but Woo assures her they'll be fine. When Trish tells Tony her plan, he seems pretty apprehensive and thinks it's too early to make a move. LJ talks to Jefra, feeling very alone, where he admits he's not sure what Tony is going to do.

At tribal council, LJ talks about how awkward it is having someone else move into their home. Cliff takes a thinly-veiled shot at Trish, and makes a basketball analogy. Lindsey and Woo both plead for their tribe to stay strong. but Jefra is hopeful for a move.

Jeff brings back the votes and LJ decides to roll the dice and hold onto his idol. That must have taken balls. It was the correct move however, as Cliff ends up blindsided. Lindsey and Woo are left with shocked expressions and one ally down. This game just changed again!

STAR OF THE WEEK: TRISH HEGARTY

There's something about her intense tone and evil cackle that's endearing to me. Whatever the reason, personal or strategic, Trish got her way tonight and has scored first in her epic feud with Lindsey. The heart wants what it wants.

Cagayan Episode 3: Throwdown Showdown

Morgan is mad she didn't get her way at tribal council, and decides to call out Jeremiah in front of the group for wanting Alexis out. Alexis doesn't totally believe her, but is definitely more wary of Jeremiah than she was before.

Brains get the treemail and it indicates a blindfold challenge is coming up. They decide to practice again, and J'Tia in particular is hungry for a win as she knows it's her fault they have no rice. Jeff explains the challenge: one caller will direct a blindfolded pair out to collect items, and then three of them will hoist the item up to the caller on a pulley. Tasha takes the caller role for Brains, Cliff for Brawn and Alexis for Beauty.

Alexis flies the flag

Cliff decides to start from the back and have his team do the hardest items first. LJ takes multiple crotch shots to the point where I'll be surprised if he can still have kids now. Beauty are the first to complete the challenge and get their flag up to Alexis. Brains get their flag back faster than Brawn, but J'Tia has trouble with the pulley. Tony and Lindsey get their flag back, with Lindsey having an entertaining wipeout, and manage to get it up to Cliff really fast. Spencer throws his buff on the floor in a huff. Beauty tribe win chickens, whereas the Brains are last again.

The Beauty tribe take their chickens back to camp. Jeremiah finds the idol clue and reads it aloud in front of everyone. Somehow we get into a bizarre chicken/egg argument that doesn't look very flattering for Alexis or Jefra. It's no mystery why they're not on the Brains tribe. Jeremiah rips the head off the chicken, startling the girls again.

That's not the only thing Woo wants to pound

Lindsey and Cliff continue to bond, which concerns Sarah. Sarah goes to Woo and asks if he'd be down with voting out Cliff. Does she really think he's going to turn on his buddy? Well actually he is, I suspect mainly because he's just a go-with-the-flow kinda dude. She then goes and tells Tony that he's in, and Tony is happy that his lie has worked and turned the game around.

Can't lose this one

Treemail indicates a basketball challenge, so Cliff is expecting everyone to look to him to win it. But Sarah doesn't even want to win and tells Trish and Woo that they should throw it. It's not something she feels fully comfortable with, but she doesn't want to risk someone she thinks is coming after her making the swap.

The immunity challenge is to swim down and untie buoys, which they will then throw into a basket. J'Tia couldn't get a buoy on her go so backstrokes back to the platform to let Tasha go. Sarah is slow as well, putting her plan into action. Kass and Tasha both come back without buoys, leaving Spencer to do all the work. Beauty get their 5 buoys first and Jeremiah wins the challenge.

Spencer fearlessly takes on the pro

The race for second place is an extremely tight contest between Cliff and Spencer. It goes back and forth, with Spencer getting frustrated that J'Tia isn't retrieving his loose throws fast enough. Cliff wins the challenge for Brawn and Sarah laments about how they tried so hard to throw it and were unable to. Brains really just sucked that much.

Still got some of those nine lives?

Back at camp, Spencer feels he doesn't deserve to be going to tribal council and makes the case to the girls that he's a challenge asset. Kass agrees but wants J'Tia to feel safe to avoid a repeat of the rice incident. After talking with J'Tia, the girls admit they trust her a lot more than Spencer...which is actually making Tasha second-guess her decision now, as she knows J'Tia will be loyal.

At tribal council, Jeff's extended silence says it all. J'Tia's poor performance in challenges is brought up and Tasha outright admits that it's often a case of finding the role for her where she can do the least damage. Tasha and Kass whisper back and forth during tribal council, making it clear their minds are not yet made up! Spencer says he would be devastated to go out this early and brings up the rice incident again.

Spencer nervously awaits his fate as Jeff brings the votes back, and gets a huge relief when it turns out to be J'Tia going home. I feel J'Tia may have got a bad rap over the rice-throwing incident...it's clear that was more of a heat-of-the-moment thing rather than an indicator of her real character. Spencer promises Tasha that he'll prove to her she made the right choice...but time will tell if he's really just waiting for a place to stick that knife.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SPENCER BLEDSOE

Getting humbled by the Garrett blindside certainly made this guy a lot more likeable. Spencer was a challenge star this week (or at least compared to the rest of his tribe). I really felt bad for him being in the spot that he is, and I'm glad he survived because I think he's got a lot of game left in him.

Cagayan Episode 2: When It Rains, It Pours

The Brains get back from that crazy tribal council, and it appears to have been a last-minute decision on both Kass and Tasha's parts. Although Tasha is still mad about J'Tia's rice antics, her plan is to do the girl power thing and see that Spencer goes next.

Over in the Brawn camp, Tony admits to Sarah that he's a cop and the two form an alliance. He feeds Sarah a lie about Lindsey and Cliff turning on her and she appears to buy it. She's putting an awful lot of faith in the "blue blood" thing, and that might end up being her downfall.

Welcome to Hell

Rain starts coming down hard all through the night, and it hasn't eased up at all the next day. The wind is really wrecking havoc on the Brawn beach, but Woo remains in good spirits regardless. Jefra finds it a bit more of a struggle. After repairing his tribe's shelter, LJ decides to brave the storm to go out looking for the idol. He doesn't have a clue but he figures that the reef he saw Morgan come from on day 1 might be a good start. He manages to find it, and is keeping it to himself.

Brains read the treemail for the challenge, which indicates a tarp is at stake. Tasha wants to practice, although the rest of her tribe don't seem to be as enthusiastic. They have a little splash around in the end, which seems to go well.

Right in the face!

Being able to do it when it counts is another matter however, and the three tribes arrive to find they will be transferring water via buckets to release a ball for their vertical maze. Brains are really poor at it, particularly J'Tia (again). The Beauty tribe start pulling away and Morgan releases the ball first. Brawn are next and Brains end up having to come

It all ends in J'Tears

from behind again. Woo and Cliff work the maze for Brawn, and gradually manage to get the hang of it to win the challenge. Spencer uses a lot of hard yanks to start a comeback for the Brains however, and the four of them react ecstatically when they get their ball out and realize they'll be avoiding tribal council.

Strategy is haard

The Brawn tribe put their reward to good use, as Sarah ends up breaking the hammock. Meanwhile, Beauty are now stressing about who to vote out. LJ is more worried by Brice than Morgan, so decides to make him his target. Brice and Morgan's plan is to get Jeremiah and Jefra to vote out Alexis. But after the two talk privately, it becomes apparent Jefra doesn't want to vote out Alexis, which kinda ties Jeremiah's hands.

So now Alexis wants to split the vote, with the boys voting for Morgan and the girls voting for Brice. Jefra reacts to this plan as if she's never seen an episode of Survivor before. With the numbers so tight, Jeremiah is now the swing vote and able to decide for himself who goes home. But he knows it also means someone is inevitably going to be disappointed by whatever decision he makes, and as a simple country boy, he hates hurting people's feelings.

Butterfly Brice brings the sass

At tribal council, Brice throws everything out in the open and names the alliance of four that's against him. Alexis looks terrified when Brice names her in particular as someone he thinks is gunning for him. Jeremiah tells Jeff he's confident he knows what is going to happen, but he might be the only one. Time to vote.

When the votes are revealed, it looks like Brice's faith in Jeremiah turns out to be misplaced, as it ties between Alexis, Brice and Morgan. The three people revoting all send Brice out, earning them an eyeroll. I actually enjoyed Brice's short stay on the show more than I thought I would. His final words are just as hilariously catty as you'd expect. "I hope Morgan does really well. And to the rest of the people, I don't even remember their names."

STAR OF THE WEEK: LJ MCKANAS

LJ is a little too arrogant for my taste, but I can't deny his game has been pretty good so far. Finding the idol just based on educated guessing was pretty impressive, and he's also got out his biggest threat. I'm still not convinced he's winner material though, just because he seems too obvious right now.

Cagayan Episode 1: Blood, Blow-ups And Blindsides

We're back in the Philippines again as Jeff Probst unveils the new gimmick - sorry, twist - for the season: splitting castaways by their personalities. On helicopter are the Brains tribe, where Spencer and Kass both seem to be competing for the villain role. On a speedboat are the Beauty tribe, where the narcissism of the hot girls is already shining through. And in the rickety old truck are the Brawn tribe, full of the competitive and surprisingly violent people like Sarah and Trish.

Jeff tells them the theme for the season, and they figure out pretty quickly which tribe is which. Now the tribes have to select a leader, and the three lucky ones chosen are LJ, Sarah and David. But now Jeff tells them that the leader will have to select the weakest member, and Sarah's face drops.

What, you think we'd vote someone out day 1?

LJ chooses Morgan as the weakest, whereas Sarah picks Trish. David without hesitation selects Garrett, which Jeff notes as an odd choice, but David is seeing him as a big threat already. He might come to regret that move, as the three "weakest" are just getting a fast ride to camp in a helicopter. Classic psych!

Morgan looks for the idol...and the audience looks at Morgan

So the first ones at camp get the option to either secure an extra bag of rice or take a clue to the hidden immunity idol. Garrett takes the idol clue without thinking twice, and soon finds it in the lake. Morgan goes looking for the clue as well and she is less successful. The tribe arrive on the beach whilst she's still searching and she's forced to tell them her choice was just to pick out fishing gear and camp stuff. LJ doesn't really believe her, and still prefers the other "cuter" girls. Brice however quickly schmoozes Morgan and builds a bond, as he thinks the other girls and guys have already broken off into pairs.

Trish tells the rest of the tribe she got them some extra rice as a way of hopefully winning some ground back, and she is heralded as a hero. Tony commends her, but says it's not the choice he would've made. Cliff is quickly outed as a basketball player by virtue of Woo being a fan of his. Not that there was much chance of keeping it secret, I mean, look at him! The good news for him is nobody really cares.

Good cop, bad cop?

Sarah has outed the profession of another member of her tribe in Tony, asking him straight up if he's a cop. She's correct of course, but Tony is telling everyone he works in construction. He should know better than anyone that you can't fool the police. Since Tony clearly isn't being open with her, Sarah now wants him gone.

On the Brains tribe, J'Tia wants to work on the shelter. Well, she wants to tell everyone else what to do anyway. Her plan is to have it raised off the ground I guess, but it doesn't work and Tasha breaks it when she sits on it. The rest of the tribe are beginning to be rubbed the wrong way by their physicist, particularly Kass and David.

And this is supposed to be the smart tribe

The immunity challenge is to retrieve keys from atop a tall pole that will unlock chests containing puzzle pieces. Then put the chests on your cart, and get them through an obstacle course to the puzzle...which involves dissassembling and reassembling your cart. The Brawn tribe work together very well and make it through the obstacle course quickly, Cliff's height making collecting keys very easy. The Brains tribe don't get their chest on very well and it causes them problems. The situation escalates when their chests end up flying open and losing their puzzle pieces, generally causing a huge disorganized mess. 

On the puzzle section, Lindsey and Sarah take on LJ and Alexis. It's close between the two but Beauty pull it out. Sending the message loud and clear not to underestimate them. Unfortunately the Brains could not use their intellect to catch up, and are the first to see tribal council.

Kass wants J'Tia out as the least valuable member, but David is still fixated on Garrett. Kass is honest with J'Tia and tells her straight to her face that she wants her out, and it's enough to make her break down and cry. Garrett wants to turn the tables on David, still mad over his stupid decision on the opening day, and wants to pull together Spencer and the other girls to make it happen. Only Spencer is cautious, worried that David might have the idol.

Brains face the rain

At tribal council, J'Tia is the first to bring up the elephant in the room as she knows Jeff is gonna get to it soon. Talking about her idea for the shelter, she admits her plan didn't work. She throws out however that David should be the one to go, which surprises him. He gets another surprise when we get to the vote as 4 votes ensure the Marlins president is the first person taken out of the game. Let that be a lesson to you: stop thinking about day 39 so early, or you won't even make it to day 4. 

Garrett has vanquished his nemesis, but he doesn't seem to be having much fun in the game. They don't have fire, don't have food and the elements are kicking their ass. Garrett and Spencer decide to make a deal with Kass to be their third, but she was still blindsided by the David vote-off, and is considering her options as the swing vote.

Batman had Robin, and Cliff has Woo

Cliff is struggling with the boat and topples it, even with Woo as his wingman. Tony sees that Cliff has amassed quite a fan cub and is starting to get annoyed about it. On the Beauty tribe, Jeremiah is getting flirty with Morgan, and her and Brice are starting to see him as an extra vote. Their target right now is Jefra. I'm really impressed with how well Brice is playing the game.

Lindsey and Trish have started to clash after Lindsey feels she's being badgered about firewood. We see them both doing mean impressions of eachother behind eachother's back. Tony reassures Trish to stay strong, and he has a plan. That plan, rather hilariously, is to build a spy shack. Yup.

LJ is the workhorse for the Beauty tribe

The next immunity challenge is to dive into the water and retrieve fishtraps full of puzzle pieces. The Brains are slowed down by J'Tia's swimming but are the first to come out with their traps. Brawn and Beauty both suck, but Beauty are left miles behind. J'Tia really struggles with the puzzle whilst Sarah makes good progress with a cut finger, and beats her to the finish. LJ finally gets to the puzzle and flies through it. Now J'Tia really starts to crack under the pressure. The Beauty tribe win immunity. Much to everyone's surprise, the Brains have faltered again...on the part that they're supposed to be good at.

The Brawn tribe go back victorious with their fishing stuff, shrugging off their injuries like the warriors they are. Tony decides to look for a clue to the idol in the stuff, and he finds it. The clue tells him it's in the lake just outside their camp, and this is enough for him to be able to pull it up. He's not letting anyone know he has it for now, as he doesn't want a "sneak attack".

Tony finds his plunder

Back at camp, Garrett decides to have an "open forum" about who should go, and declares J'Tia. His intent is to get Kass to prove her loyalty to the guys, but it mostly just causes Tasha to get annoyed with him for preventing her from strategizing. When she does get a chance to talk to Kass, she tells her that they can flip the game and take out the dictator. Garrett comes down to monitor their conversation, leaving J'Tia alone at camp. Big mistake, as she ends up tipping out the tribe rice. This gives Kass second thoughts about aligning with her.

At tribal council, Spencer talks about the stupid open forum idea, and J'Tia criticizes Garrett's tactics. Most bizarrely, Kass seems to blame Garrett for J'Tia dumping the rice. Garrett reminds Kass that they had a final three deal, which shocks the other girls. Garrett insists that they need to keep the tribe strong tonight, but Kass and Tasha both say they don't feel good about their position.

You're not the only one who can make big moves

We get to the vote, and a shocked Garrett is voted out 3-2, leaving Spencer pretty surprised as well. "Who wants to welcome me to the bottom?" he asks, and Kass tells him "eh it's not so bad". I love this tribe! Just when I was ready to welcome Garrett as the new power player, he ends up following his victim out the door. This season is off to a great start.

STAR OF THE WEEK: SARAH LACINA

With one of my winner picks having bitten the dust already, and another turning out to be a lunatic, I'm just about ready to go all-in on the Sarah train. She's already being seen as a leader and took a commanding role on the second challenge. I can see her putting her detective skills to good use.

Cagayan cast preview

Brawn vs brains vs beauty - can you guess which is which?

The concept of Cagayan is to find out which quality is most important to winning Survivor - physical strength, strategic acumen or social skills? Odds are someone with a combination of all three will be the one who goes all the way and I'll tell you who I think that is shortly. But overall, what I'm expecting from this season is some people who let their label go to their head, some people who will have to retool their strategy completely and some people who'll prove everyone wrong - or right - about the stereotypes associated with them.

BRAWN TRIBE

CLIFF ROBINSON - NBA star
Brawn: 10 Brains: 7 Beauty: 7

Holy crap, Cliff TOWERS over everyone! Famous former athletes have a mixed track record on Survivor but as long as he came to play like Jeff Kent and not to be a tourist like Jimmy Johnson, I'll support him. He seems like a cool guy.



TRISH HEGARTY - Pilates instructor
Brawn: 9 Brains: 8 Beauty: 6

Trish's level of focus impressed me. She reminds me a little of Denise and I think she has the maturity and self-awareness to be able to pull off the win.

TONY VLACHOS - Jersey cop
Brawn: 9 Brains: 6 Beauty: 7

Is this guy really a cop? He looks more like an ex-con. Tony talks about "the streets" a lot, and seems to think Survivor is gonna be exactly like his job. I can see him playing aggressive though and that's what I like to see.



SARAH LACINA - Cop/MMA fighter
Brawn: 9 Brains: 8 Beauty: 8

It seems like a Tony/Sarah alliance is inevitable based on the cop connection and the video pretty much confirmed that. I like her odds of going far. She's going to be a challenge beast but not as big of a threat as some of the guys.


YUNG "WOO" HWANG - Surfer/martial arts expert
Brawn: 10 Brains: 9 Beauty: 8

Is he really going by "Woo"? Yikes. Anyway, this guy seems very well-rounded and fulfills enough Asian stereotypes that it's a surprise he wasn't on the brains tribe. But I don't see him winning. Others are going to be intimidated by his athleticism and target him, and he's too laid-back to be able to stop it.

LINDSEY OGLE - The tattooed lady
Brawn: 8 Brains: 7 Beauty: 6

I love Lindsey's hair, I think it looks really cool. Lindsey was kinda cute in her video and I think she's gonna be a loud character. In fact, she might end up being too outspoken or letting her emotions get the best of her. And if she's the weakest female on her tribe, that's reason enough to get rid of her right away.



BRAINS TRIBE

SPENCER BLEDSOE - Chess master
Brawn: 5 Brains: 9 Beauty: 6

Spencer was exactly what I expected him to be - the guy who thinks he's smarter than everyone and fancies himself as a villainous mastermind. He does seem to be a big fan so I'll give him a chance, but his arrogance is a major turn-off.

J'TIA TAYLOR - Model/scientist
Brawn: 6 Brains: 10 Beauty: 8

J'Tia has a heck of a career behind her...going from modelling to nuclear engineering, and it's that kind of life experience that's going to help her in the game. She definitely seems like a strong woman and will be a force to be reckoned with.

GARRETT ADELSTEIN - Poker player
Brawn: 8 Brains: 8 Beauty: 8

I had high hopes for Garrett after seeing he was the surprise choice for the brains tribe but then I read his bio. If he does have intelligence, he's hiding it well. Which is not impossible considering he's a poker player. Jean-Robert did a lot to disprove the theory that poker players will all be stealthy strategic badasses, can Garrett rebuild that?

KASSANDRA MCQUILLEN - Lawyer mom
Brawn: 5 Brains: 9 Beauty: 5

I thought Kassandra's bio was pretty funny. She doesn't take herself too seriously and has a realistic assessment of her own skills, which helps immensely on Survivor. Providing she doesn't slow her tribe down too much and get booted early, she could go far.

DAVID SAMSON - Baseball club owner
Brawn: 7 Brains: 10 Beauty: 7

This guy bailed on his club during the baseball season, which gives me asshole vibes straight away. But I'm not gonna lie, I actually find him pretty funny. In his bio, he talked about the "inherent insecurity" the brawns and beauties will face. Anyone who can throw shade that effortlessly is gonna be entertaining.

TASHA FOX - Religious cheerleader
Brawn: 8 Brains: 8 Beauty: 9

She's very cheerful and lovely, but she could end up getting walked all over. Tasha is someone who could've been on any of the three tribes, but less because she's a "jack of all trades" and more because she doesn't stand out. Here's a fun stat though, you'd have to go back to Cook Islands to find the last time two black women were on the same tribe.


BEAUTY TRIBE

ALEXIS MAXWELL - Glam Latina
Brawn: 6 Brains: 6 Beauty: 10

I feel bad calling Alexis stupid, because you obviously have to have some smarts to study at Northwestern University. But listening to her talk, she does seem woefully delusional and out of her depth. She's gonna be fun, though. When asked about her luxury items she chose...more bikinis! Hey, all the better for shaking that perfect ass in.

JEREMIAH WOOD - Southern model
Brawn: 8 Brains: 6 Beauty: 9

Hopefully he's not as dumb as his accent makes him sound, or the beauty tribe is gonna have a tough time shedding their reputation as the airheads. It looks like there's going to be a lot of big egos in this cast, but I don't think Jeremiah will be one of them. His easy-going charm could take him far.

MORGAN MCLEOD - Cheerleader with the rack
Brawn: 7 Brains: 6 Beauty: 10

Morgan is the wild child of the cast...total bitch, full of herself and not afraid to use her looks to get ahead. Although willingly comparing herself to Natalie Tenerelli is concerning, she did have the best line of any bio: "Just because I have huge boobs and a pretty face does not mean I am dumb, it just means I look better when I am winning."

L.J. MCKANAS - Boston horse trainer
Brawn: 9 Brains: 7 Beauty: 8

LJ is from Boston and that automatically means he wants to emulate Boston Rob. And like Rob, he loves puzzles. His strength will make him too indispensable to get rid of pre-merge, but there won't be any hiding place for him once the endgame starts.

JEFRA BLAND - Pageant girl
Brawn: 7 Brains: 7 Beauty: 9

Based on her occupation and last name, you'd be forgiven for not taking Jefra seriously. But she doesn't seem vapid at all - she refreshingly claimed she's NOT here to flirt, and she has all the enthusiasm and adorableness of fellow Miss Kentucky and reality star Mallory Ervin. Her Southern girl roots will give her the edge over the other girls in terms of challenge ability.

BRICE JOHNSTON - Fahionable gay guy
Brawn: 6 Brains: 7 Beauty: 7

Brice definitely brings the sass in his video, and the part where he talks about being unable to control his facial expressions is hilarious. It certainly seems like he's going to be a big personality, but I don't think he's long for the game at all. Summing him up in one word - delusional.