Yo!
I’m loving this teams twist, how ‘bout you?
Player of the Week
- Emy — 61
- Amanda — 33
- CT — 26
- Bettina — 6
- Big T — 5
Emy essentially volunteered to go into the Lair again, so she could pick her opponent once she had more info on what the game would be. Emerald voted her in so they could protect the sanctity of their team, to keep up their winning streak. And they all got what they wanted!
Emy went down, did work, and now is 3–0 in eliminations. Other people who won 3 on their first season, as u/mtvchallengestats did a graphic for today, are Sarah Greyson, Wes, Casey, Svetlana, Kam, and Adam Kuhn and Brittany B. Impressive no matter which way you slice it. And now she’s on Sapphire, the only team with a champion on it, and they have two of them!
Oh, and she killed it during the mission too, as did Big T, which explains her votes. Some surprising performances during this football/rugby daily!
Amanda avoided getting called out in elimination again despite being one of the smallest women there. You could really see the size discrepancy when she and Emy stood next to each other. As u/jstitely1 eloquently explained, Amanda’s threat to infiltrate Emerald if she won was not the reason they voted in Emy. At least, not the primary reason. Regardless, I loved seeing Amanda flex her political muscles AND still stay safe from elimination. Now she’s on Ruby though… 😬 That’s a downgrade.
Ugh, CT stans and all their votes. Whatever. He convinced Emy to go into the Lair and then join his team, which she did, and now Sapph is Champ CT, Champ Ash, Finalist Kyle, and 3–0 Emy. They are looking lean and mean, and probably better than Emerald at this point, which has anchors Devin & Josh. I guess we’ll see how that plays out tomorrow, but I’m hoping for a switch-up!
Bettina… Tried in her elimination? And showed chutzpah during the mission? I guess that explains her 6 votes. I do like her, so I’m not trying to shit-talk. I just don’t know what she accomplished this ep to warrant any votes whatsoever. But please, tell me what I missed.
Best Political Game
- Amanda — 77
- CT — 50
- Devin — 5
- Emy — 4
- Emanuel, Bettina, Josh, & Tori — 2
As stated above, Amanda exerted political power, made a threat she would’ve gone through with, and missed entering the Lair, where I don’t think she would’ve succeeded over Emy. I don’t think this was pristine politicking — or maybe it was poor social gameplay, or both — because she seemed to piss off Emerald with her threat. So if they win again on a women’s day, girl, you in danger.
CT convinced Emy to join his team without upsetting her. That takes some élan, as we saw how easily she melts down in her conversation with Bettina at the club. So good on him too. And kudos to Emy, who kept her word to Emerald by not joining their team. That for sure garnered trust with the vets, which will be especially important in the long run for Emy, if she becomes a regular. Which I am ALL FOR, btw, and f*ck the haters, sorry you don’t like a young athletic competent dramatic person, literally what else do you want?)
Devin stays one of the political masterminds of his team, along with Kaycee and Josh. Not sure what Emanuel, Tori, or Bettina did politically this ep, but these might just be random throwaway votes, so no need to entertain them.
Best Social Game
- CT & Emy — 30
3) Amanda — 25
4) Tori — 12
5) Nany — 11
It’s defo more social game that allowed CT to pull this move with no blood. Emy keeping her promise to the vets will make her more liked, which is the definition of social game. Nany is the queen of this (but did nothing of note this episode besides DQ in the mission). Tori is decidedly not the paragon of good social game, but this episode, we watched her console Bettina and give her advice — which was nice to see. So I get the votes there too.
And then Amanda, with 25? I’m all for stanning Amanda, but I actually think her moves in this ep were negative social game. She did what she had to, to keep herself safe, but in so doing created antipathy with some powerful players. I’d watch my back if I were she. Which is what the preview suggests she does next week, looking out for herself only to the detriment of her team. You gotta respect it. It might not be ideal in the long run, but you need to focus on surviving this week to even worry about the long run, so go off, sis.
Best Edit
- Emy — 46
- Amanda — 31
- CT — 21
- Bettina — 18
- Big T — 7
Really not much to add here (sorry folks, I just wrote a travel blog post so I’m a bit drained atm, soz). Emy is being lauded as rookie of the year. Amanda has lasted deep into the game when she is perceived as an easy opponent to pick for elimination. Uncle/Coach CT is grooming yet another rookie woman.
Bettina talked about being on the show to represent Sweden and especially the girls, which is admirable. Turns out she was pregnant during filming, actually, which explains why she seemed so checked-out in the Lair. She must’ve sensed it and knew it was her time to go, just like Melissa in the Total Madness final.
@producers — can you PLEASE start giving your contestants pregnancy tests? It’s literally RIDONCULOUS that we’ve had a pregnant player for four straight seasons now (Faith, Melissa, Natalie and Liv, and now Betty). So shtoopid.
Was it this ep where we saw Big T talk to her sister and explain how she’s inspired by her? In that stunning no-wig confessional look? If so, that was an excellent positive edit, and when you combine it with how tough and strong she looked during the mission — yeah, votes for Best Edit make total sense.
Biggest Misplay
- Bettina — 55
- Emy & Nelson — 20
4) Amanda — 11
5) Tori — 8
Poor Betty had an atrocious strategy for the elimination. One of the men commented on it in a confessional — it looked like she was stopping the rocket every single swing, meaning there was NO momentum, and she didn’t reach a single target. It’s been a while since we had such a shut-out in an elimination. Sorry, gal. At least you impressed in your first one!
Amanda burned some bonhomie with her threat this ep. Hopefully it all blows over, but I would qualify it as a misplay, considering she likely wasn’t in danger of being voted in regardless.
What did Emy, Nelson, and Tori do? I have no idea, because I am almost certain they were not one of the many who were DQed / pushed out of bounds during the mission. It’s like, Kyle got rocked by JOSH of all people, but Nelly got four times the number of votes? Tell me what I’m missing.
Back or Buh-Bye?
Oh shit 💔 Only 37 votes for yes to Bettina next season, with a huge 107 for no. I can’t say I’m surprised. When the rookie class is this big, and with such big-impact and high-caliber players as Emy Berna Esther Michele Michaela, then yeah, people like Bettina and Tracy will fall to the bottom of the pile.
With that being said, she did win an elimination, lasted the second longest of all the new women, had a hookup (not shown in the edit), and seemed like a fun and bubbly personality. If Big T can come back and become a fan favourite after leaving in episode 2 (without showing nearly as much), then I won’t be upset with a Bettina return.
However, I’d rather focus my energies on the ladies I mentioned right above, along with other one-timers like Angela, Bayleigh, Morgan, Amber M, Gabby, and Cooke. So beautiful Bettina, thanks for being you, and time will tell if we see ya in the future! 💋
See you next week!
Nova
