[Danni Boatwright]

We made it to page 2! Thank you to my 2 fans for coming on this journey with me, it means the world. Be sure to hit the like and subscribe button so i can get sponsored and do this full time!!

Another night in Tanzania, another wasted idol, and a blindside with a correct idol play! Unfortunately it cost us Lauren, and we're slowly dwindling down to the boring players. At least we'll have another night of Alison and Dean's 50 shades of catfishing

So I'm gonna be honest, I don't think there were many people who played well last night. The whisper feature has emboldened players to constantly message during tribal and switch their target up until the last second, almost as if we never turned the message feature off. Now, this makes for an entertaining tribal on the viewers end, but it leads to so much information being leaked by the players, and the ultimate plan hardly winds up being beneficial to anyone.

1-John: In a normal season of Stranded, I think John would be an endgame player, but in the cast of nutjobs he is clearly a major threat, and he proved why tonight. John is one of the few people who leverages his relationships he's made at the merge to gain information, rather than just to sext. His connection with Jack as well as with Tommy allowed him to get the heads up that the plan had switched to Alison, and that he should use his idol. It's unfortunate to see him and the rest of the Poroto tribe in such hot water, but John kept a level head and took out Lauren, who he had fought with just the night before when she accused him of lying to her. He may not be long for the game, but I'm glad John got to make a big play at the merge and confirm his all-star status on this cast.

2-Aaron: Aaron is definitely the best positioned player out of the douchebros at this point, and somehow he and dean are coming of pretty clean after attempting to blindside Dean's showmance. Now, we can spend all day yelling about how their boneheaded strategy of taking out someone who actively feeds them information is terrible and wrong, but you have to admit that they pulled the vote together nicely. I also think it makes more sense for Aaron to take out any of Dean's sidepieces to ensure loyalty in the endgame, which is the one redeeming quality of the move. Aaron seems to be in a pretty safe spot for the rest of this week, depending on what the blowback will be tomorrow from Nick/Tommy who seem to be looking to flip. If they do, i think Aaron is pretty low on their list of targets

3-Dean: mostly the same writeup as Aaron, but he gets a lower placement because targeting someone who is actively feeding you their plans is stupid, especially when their plan is to take out Dan, who you were already planning on blindsiding. It's like Alison handed you your hopes and dreams on a silver platter, and then you just knock them away. Whatever. The only reason he's being ranked is because the fallout seems to be missing him and is focused more on the betrayal from Jack and the info leak from Tommy. If dean can skate by for the rest of this week and get his way at another tribal, I think we're gonna be stuck with him for a while.

Losers:

Lauren: watching her fall to a last minute vote switch was depressing. We love you queen

Alison: Almost voted out by the guy she's cyber banging. Sucks to suck

Carl: Blew and idol, and even if you had played it on Dan like you considered it was still wrong. Also a lot of people want to blindside him. SAD!

Dan: You're basically just playing Carls game and if you don't realize you're expendable, you deserve to lose.

Angelina: The only one to vote for Dan? who is she even aligned with? LOL

Jack: Revealed to the Porotos that he wants to be with Dean, and then ghosted right after tribal. Blew up his spot for no reason.

Tommy: Leaked the plan and got Lauren removed, now a major public enemy

Did OK, but not great:

Kara: On the right side of the blindside but Aaron now knows shes pushing his name, and Poroto is now in a dire spot

Nick: Wrong side of the numbers but didn't tank his game in any way. Possibly looking to flip on carl? idk hes still such a non entity

DANNI'S CONTENDERS: 4/5 REMAINING

[Gary Hogeboom]

Angelina voting for Dan all by herself is the best microcosm of her impact out there. Entityn't

[Danni Boatwright]

Angelina voting for Dan all by herself is the best microcosm of her impact out there. Entityn't

And yet both of the players who went to Jury are rooting for her. The key to jury management is to be blindsided along with the boots all season, apparently

[Elizabeth]

I could have been a contender

[Loveita Adams]

Angelina voting for Dan all by herself is the best microcosm of her impact out there. Entityn't

And yet both of the players who went to Jury are rooting for her. The key to jury management is to be blindsided along with the boots all season, apparently

Duh. Then you just win out for the rest of the season. I've read this story.

[Danni Boatwright]

Our most boring tribal council yet ends in another blindside, with the Douchebros finally reaping their reward for being insufferable. To say my nipples were hard as diamonds is quite the understatement. As a viewer, theres nothing I like more than when people in the majority realize that they're on the bottom and flip over to play with my faves. So despite Tommy and Nick being on my shitlist for a few rounds now, they're gonna get some love this morning

Reminder: the rankings below are who I think had the best round for their game: my contenders were locked in at merge so don't @me if you don't like nick and tommy. thanks in advance!

1-Nick: our resident strandedcoin hoarder had a great round last night. He's been hinting at a flip to take out Carl since the merge, and when Tommy started getting the blame for the Alison vote, he jumped at the opportunity and found someone to flip with. Teaming up with the poroto players to take out the glue between Dan/Aaron/Dean not only gives you favor with John and co, but it also frees up the other bros to work with down the line. If Nick can play this position well (and lets be clear, hes already telling people he was the one who flipped despite kinda getting away with it..... i don't have faith he can play this spot), he'll be in the prime position to hop back and forth to take out the threats to his game. OH ALSO Angelina and Nick searched for the idol together and Angelina found it. Not as good as having your own idol, but she told Nick about it so thats cruicial information for his game.

2-Tommy-We've been pretty hard on Tommy for being really out of the loop a lot this season, but i think tonight showed us that he's capable of playing strategically and getting a step ahead of his opponents. Much like Nick, Tommy was alerted to his position in the majority when he started to get thrown utb for the Alison boot. He correctly assumed that the douchebros were going to give him false information again today, and as soon as his name became the decoy vote his decision was sealed. Joining with the Poroto tribe at least gives Tommy some agency in the game, and i'm interested to see how he moves forward from here. He is the only OG Miombo in this new group and lacks a close relationship with any of the others he voted with. I'm hoping he can make some good inroads with one of the 6 so he didn't just flip to be the bottom of another alliance.

3-John: lol I loved John calling out Dan last night. Watching them have their dick measuring contest in public while they both thought they had pulled one over on the other was so funny to me. Anyways, John is still in the most precarious spot of the group of 6 who flipped the vote last night, but we're going to recognize him for being the sheep hearder and making it happen. Without John organizing with Kara, Angelina, and Alison, I don't think this flip materializes. I also believe it is john's relationship with Tommy/Nick that made them feel comfortable enough to flip on their allies. John really is the keystone of that group, and I'm very interested to see if he can make it to the end in that position.

Losers:

Dean/Aaron: Everyone needs a wake up call. I hope this is theirs.

Dan: lost the dick measuring contest. SAD!

Jack: Burned Poroto one too many times and had the audacity to be mad at John for not telling him the plan. lol.

Eulogy for Carl: Carl was a great antagonist for the season. He played hard, was constantly planning ahead for the next votes, and was not afraid to make the moves he needed to advance his game. He was a great foil to John the hero, and is def someone I'd like to see get a second chance.

DANNI'S CONTENDERS: 3/5 REMAIN

[Danni Boatwright]

A unanimous vote! Puking children! Supervillain dan goes out with a whimper as we enter the single digits. It was a rather uneventful day, capped off with a fun challenge and some decent game talks. I'm very interested to see where tonight leads us, because i think this weekend we'll see people hammer out their endgame plans as we head to our final week of the game.

1-Nick: I really think Nick is in the optimal position on the tribe. His relationship with Angelina is going to be very important moving forward, especially because she shared news of her idol with him. The two of them dictated the vote tonight, leaving Nick the option of swinging back over to play with Dean and Aaron if needed. He also finds himself in a "core 4" alliance with John/Angelina/Alison. He's one of Tommy's lifelines. Nick has a lot of key relationships heading into the endgame, and sometimes thats enough to make it to the end and win. He doesn't seem content to just coast to the end either, as evidenced by his flip. Hopefully he can take this next week to show us a bit more character development so he can be remembered as more than just a gamebot.

2-Angelina: lol what a mess. Angelina almost singlehandedly forced that Dan vote after he turned on her at merge. With an idol in her pocket, she's starting to be a bit more ballsy in her conversations with other players, feeling confident in her ability to dictate votes. After a close tribal, no one wanted to rock the boat and force a Dean vote despite knowing it was the better choice for them. She has a clear plan of who she wants out, and she formalized a F4 alliance. Not sure what Angelina's win equity will be without some kind of idol play or move to make herself known, but she does have a few fans on the Jury which is more than we can say for some other players. Definitely get "crazy finalist who steals one or two votes from the winner" vibes from her

3-Kara: I was between ranking Kara and John here, as I think they both had a similar approach last night. They realized that Dan wasn't a threat and didn't really need to be dealt with just yet, but they also realized that Angelina was pretty set on her target, and they allowed her to call the shot in order to keep their majority together. I believe Kara has recognized that she's more of a middle of the road player this season, and is very determined to cut some of the big guns remaining in the game to better her chances at a win. I'm not sure what her ideal endgame is, because if she decides to sit at the end with the likes of Alison (Who the Douchebros think is some strategic g.oddess) I think she'd be hard pressed to find the 6 votes for a win. I'm hoping she can clear up what her ideal endgame scenario is this weekend so we can see if she has the strategic chops to pull it off.

Losers:

Dan- Hope your kid is feeling better, but i kinda wanted a more iconic exit :(

Dean/Aaron: Agreeing to just be Angelina's bitch and vote out your allies to last 2 more rounds is a lame move. I wanted more from them, especially since they bitch in confessional about the Porotos all sticking together. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT

Danni's Contender: 3/5 Remain (although no longer confident in any of them lol)

[Gary Hogeboom]

Angelina's coming out party hit hard. Stay out, girl!

[Danni Boatwright]

We're getting down to it folks! Touchy subjects and a fake idol play made for an exciting night, and we lost our resident gaslighting bad boy Dean. We're gonna miss you babes.... well, maybe not. But Alison sure will.

I'm gonna make an effort to talk about all 8 remaining players today, starting with the three that impressed me most last night.

1-Angelina: I cannot lie, I never thought I would rank angelina for playing a good game, as I have always felt she has been a little disconnected from what's going on. But after touchy subjects and watching her implement her "no bullshit, I tell the truth" plan during the scramble last night, I actually think Angelina could be a dark horse contender. With the makeup of this early jury, I almost feel as if she'll be the most palatable option in a F3 because they despise the porotos, and they're mad at Tommy and Nick. Not to mention, Jurors love to pull the "Well, this player was HONEST with me" card when they get on their soapbox at final tribal. Idk. With an idol in her back pocket and a penchant for doing her own thing despite the plans of her majority alliance, Angelina could be the wildcard player who takes home the W.

2-Alison: Our thirsty queen <3 There were a few things I loved about Alison's game last night. First and foremost, getting ranked the most strategic player during touchy subjects? Personally I think Alison plays so much more with her heart, but her perception among the other players seems to be one where she gets way more credit for the strategic game of her alliance then she deserves. But, at the end of the day it's what the jury believes that matters, and apparently Alison = gamebot who just needs to get her rocks off. On top of all of this, I think Alison played the Dean vote smart. She has wanted him out ever since she found out he tried to blindside her, and she worked well with her alliance to make it happen. I loved this quote from her at last night's tribal:

The lack of anyone important replying speaks a little bit of volume wouldn't ya say?
How about you Alison dearest? Didn't you just love having me around?

i didnt light the fire but i sure as hell fueled it.

Letting the Jury know she was a part of Dean's downfall further fuels their perception that she's playing hard. I think I've been underestimating her chances for too long, and I'm excited to see where it goes.

3-Tommy: Tommy makes the list tonight for winning touchy subjects. I still think it will be hard for him to pull off a win, but he clearly has a good read on the game, and what the players think about one another. He's definitely in a position to make some moves here in the final week, I just wonder if he has the killer instinct to cut the people he needs gone in order to have a shot at winning. Honestly his best bet is going up against Jack and Kara, but I wonder if he bothers trying to keep jack around. Only time will tell

The rest of them!

Nick- Probably would have ranked him higher after his great performance during touchy subjects, but there were a few missteps that I think he made last night. First he spilled the beans about angelina's idol. thats not good for him at all. Second, he was really cagey with Dean and Aaron all day. The Jury being made up almost entirely of the alliance Nick betrayed is going to be tough for him, and the last thing you want to do is send them there being extra mad at you. I wonder if his management of that Nyiri alliance on the jury is going to cost him a win, especially because I think he's going to be around until ~ final 5

Aaron- Aaron and Dean's gameplay today was so weird to me. I mean between those two and Jack, they voted for 3 different people? And they knew where the idol was? The vague answers Aaron gave at tribal instead of just calling out John/Alison/Angelina/Kara doesn't really do much. Imo, when your back is up against the wall, thats when you need to say fuck it and just lay it all on the table. Spill who has the idol. Call out alliances. Do whatever you can to fuck up the game because if you don't you're just getting voted out next so who cares?

Jack: See Aaron's writeup except I dislike him more. At least he's self aware and knows hes the biggest goat. People would be dumb to drag him though because the Nyiri bros will probably think its so funny to give the win to Jack over Alison or Nick. and thats an end to the season I won't be able to stomach

Kara: Ugh. I think tonight tanked Kara's chances at the win, and it also brought to light the fact that the jury and other players have no idea what she's doing in the game. Personally, I think that the perception everyone has of Alison (strategic threat, cutthroat) probably applies more to Kara, but clearly she hasn't done anything to show that to the other players. She needs something big, and I just wonder if it may be too late. Disappointing because up until now i really thought she was doing great :(

John: King John surviving this week is probably the most impressive thing we've seen this season, which makes me very excited to see what he tries to pull off next week. He's clearly the biggest threat left in the game, but he's aligned with so many people that I think he makes it one or two more tribals at least. Touchy subjects was not good for his chances, and I'm sure this weekend we're going to see a lot of confessionals about people planning to make their big move by taking him out. Regardless, the story of the season is going to be the porotos + angelina overcoming the douchebro alliance and that's all thanks to john.

Danni's Contenders: 2/5 remaining and neither is winning!

[Danni Boatwright]

It's the final week of the game, and after losing our King John Hennigan, it's anyone's game. Or is it? I think the endgame is always a tossup, and so much depends on immunity wins and whether the jury woke up on the wrong side of the bed. I'm going to start talking about who last night's move benefitted the most, and then I'll rank the final 6 on likelihood to make the end vs likelihood to win. That will be it for my blog for the season, and I look forward to being put on blast for being wrong all season <3

1-Tommy: I think last night's move cemented Tommy a spot in the F4. if he moves ahead with his plan to take out Nick and go to the end with Aaron and Jack, I think Tommy is positioned for the win. His biggest obstacle here will be getting the Douchebros to vote for him over Aaron, although I think his merge game has been much more impressive. He's definitely the person fighting the hardest to bring Jack the goat to the end, and I think that will be necessary if he wants to secure the votes on finale night. Best news for Tommy is that he is currently in a F3 deal with pretty much everyone in the cast. Aaron, Kara, jack all have finalized F3 deals with him. He and Nick have one with kara as well. Not sure just how solid these deals are, but it's more than we can say for the rest of the cast. I would go on record now and say that pending an idol play from Kara tonight, Tommy is THE most likely person to be sitting at final tribal this weekend.

2-Kara: Kara has been talking about turning on John for over a week now and she finally pulled the trigger. I don't know if this move is enough to remove her label as a goat, and I wasn't going to rank her except she ALSO FOUND AN IDOL! The idol is only good at tonight's tribal, and I think if she plays it correctly she would have a real case for a win if she can make the F3. Kara's biggest challenge is going to be playing a visible game so the jury starts to respect her more, while also not coming off more threatening than Alison, as the remaining miombo boys probably don't want any of the porotos sitting at FTC with them if they can help it.

3-Aaron: I was ready to count Aaron out on Friday, but I think last night he showed that he was more than dean's paranoid side chick this season. When Tommy approached Aaron about taking Nick out of the game, he revealed way too much information (namely that it wasn't going to be unanimous, and that Kara was next on the chopping block after Nick). Aaron was able to use that information to cause paranoia about John with Nick/Kara/Tommy, and flip the majority of votes back onto John, who paid the price for giving valuable information to the people on the bottom. Aaron's biggest strength in the endgame is the makeup of the Jury. almost everyone on the bench is one of his allies from early in the merge, and no one in the game is really seeing that as a threat. If he manages to sit at the end, I think that the rest of the cast will struggle to come up with 5 votes for the win, As Dean/Carl/Lauren are most likely locks for Aaron.

Break

Alison: Losing John is a huge hit for her, although it's definitely better for her win equity to be at the end without him. I don't know how she makes it there without him in the game though, as after Nick she's a prime target.

Nick: Probably the only person on the cast that doesn't benefit from John's departure. He is now the biggest threat in the game, and probably needs to comp out in order to win.

Jack: I mean hes calling himself a goat at tribal councils. No win equity here, just a question of whether people are smart enough to drag him into their F3. Currently only Tommy plans on it, but more people should be looking at him. Good news for us if he isn't sitting there though.

Based on likelihood to be at the end AND win equity, I would say we're probably headed for a Tommy win, with Kara and Aaron giving him a run for his money if they're at the end. It's definitely not going to be a blowout final tribal by any means with the remaining cast unless someone has an impeccable final week.

Danni's Contenders: 2/5 Remain

And thats all she wrote. Thanks to my fans for humoring me this season

[Gary Hogeboom]

I'm really happy that 5/6 remaining players would be good winners. None would be great, but still overall a balanced f6 for lurkers to enjoy. They should all be lauded for their showmanship regardless of how the game turns out.

Thanks for your analysis all season, MILFY. 'Twas enjoyable to read.

[Danni Boatwright]

At every turn, this cast manages to make the weirdest decisions.

I think Kara is off the board. girl. what where you thinking lol

Nick needs to comp out

OMG TOMMY IS DOING JURY MANGEMENT HOW DARE HE

Aaron = unsatisfying UTR winner

Jack admitting he's a goat and munching grass during tribal wasn't funny the first time and now its just annoying

[Courtney]

Jack's bits are lame. That is all.

[Danni Boatwright]

I know I said I was done like 3 posts ago but I can't stop laughing at the predicament we're in here. Tommy/Kara somehow have thrown away their chances at winning to empower the one remaining member of the douchebro alliance if all goes to plan tonight, and they don't realize it. Even while talking out where jurors are voting, they acknowledge that Aaron has the most votes locked.

Aaron being allowed to go from the F7 all the way to F3 untargeted is literally the dumbest strategy for everyone left in the game. It's impressive that he was able to go from the last potential target in a pagonging to biggest F3 threat, while also having Kara/Tommy/Jack all fighting to have him in their F3. Note to future players: if you're gonna take out an alliance back to back to back, FINISH THE JOB! Taking the straggler to final tribal basically ensures that the rest of that alliance will vote for their comrade.

Aaron: if you win, congrats on convincing people to make the worst move for their game at every step of the way this last week.

but also if u win, thanks for making me look less stupid with my merge winner contenders <3 LYLAS