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Survivor: Micronesia - Episode 5 (Ratings Watchdog)

Here are my final ratings for Episode 5.

Airai Tribe

Alexis: UTRP2

Alexis was barely shown in this episode except for having one minor confessional about how the Favorite's experience helped with building a new shelter. Still, her visibility was a little bit higher than some of the people who got 1s. I felt like she was *almost* an UTRP, if only for her excitement for having some of the Favorites. That's the impression I got, anyway. EDIT: I ended up giving her the positive even though I know it won't be the consensus rating, but I think the slight positive should be reflected in her average.

Eliza: MOR2

Eliza got only one confessional in this episode, but I believe it was significant enough to warrant a MOR. Her confessional talked about Airai's beach being a disaster compared to Malakal; she compares the conditions at both camps, and she said that going to Airai was a downgrade even though they won the Reward. At the Immunity Challenge, she was also the "caller" who helped lead her tribe to victory in the puzzle portion of the challenge.

James: UTR2

James had one confessional where he said that Airai beach has nothing and the fans should be dead by now. He also called them dingbats. It's amazing how interesting he is when he doesn't have two idols for the editors to justify shoving him down our throats! Definitely eliminated by now and not the least bit entertaining so far.

Jason: MOR2

This episode started with Jason, where he got a confessional about the tribe voting out Mikey and keeping Chet. He hoped the tribe would make the "right decision" and vote Chet out. He also said that he thinks the tribe he's on is destined to keep losing and that he wants to be on the other tribe. This was a bit of foreshadowing of the tribe switch, but except for Jason mispronouncing Parvati's name, we never heard from him at all for the rest of the episode. There were a few little times when he showed up in the Airai scene about their fire being washed away, but he didn't really say anything. Still, I think that his facetime at the beginning of the episode was enough to bump him up to a MOR2. I strongly believe that MOR2 is the right rating, not UTR2!

Jonathan: MOR3

Jonathan got a knee injury in this episode and his entire edit was based around it. I guess he could be considered OTT for some of the comments he made at the Immunity Challenge, but I ultimately think that MOR is fine. He had two confessionals about the knee injury.

Kathy: INV1

On one hand, I'm a little surprised to see one of the best characters get an INV1, but her whole story seems to be based around Exile Island (she hasn't had a confessional at camp since Episode 2), so it's not that surprising after all. Considering the extremes from OTT5s to INV1s, I think it's safe to say that she is eliminated.

Natalie: UTR1

Natalie was the initial leader for the new Airai tribe. She got a quick little confessional in this episode about building the new shelter and erecting the base in an hour, but other than that, there was nothing from her. I definitely can't give her an UTR2.

Parvati: UTR1

As much as I would really like to ease my mind and put one nail in her Edgic coffin by rating her INV1, I do believe that she was memorable enough to earn an UTR1. When Jason mispronounced her name, this was emphasized when it didn't have to be. Also, she was shown for getting a fat lip during the Reward Challenge and it was mentioned/shown a few times. That's all we got from her. Even though I'm not giving her INV1, I think her winning chances dropped a bit after this episode. The fact that we heard nothing insightful from her about the switch or about how the game changed is probably not the best thing; however, when I consider the other contenders, she unfortunately remains my top choice.

Malakal Tribe

Amanda: MORP3

First, let me say that there's no way she actually wrestled that shark like Ozzy described. But I'm sure that the intent of the editors was positive, so I have to be objective and give it to her. She had one confessional about Ozzy having the Immunity Idol and the other confessional was about *finding* the shark in the net. She also had a minor role in the strategy scene with Ozzy and Cirie about booting either Joel or Chet. Overall, I think she was shown enough to warrant a MOR and earn the P tone.

Ami: UTR1

Ami is almost INV1 again, but she gets the UTR1 for saying a few things about cooking the chickens and then for being pointed out during the Reward Challenge for hurting her knee. It was just enough to put her a step about Kathy, who was INV1.

Chet: OTTM4

Well, at least Chet finally got a confessional in this episode. He was once again a target for being booted and he performed very poorly in both challenges. This is becoming a bit of a pattern with him. Anyway, his confessional was about the chickens and the way that chickens can be related to the game of Survivor. His edit was extremely simplified in this episode, which is why I'm confident in giving him an OTT rating. Just look at all the SPV he got: "a sac of potatoes," "he frickin' gave up," "a ball of goo," "spineless," "a wet rag," "a bundle of bananas" etc. etc. It's clear that they were trying to show him as being useless. However, there was also some sympathy created for him at the Reward Challenge with Joel's harsh and inconsiderate treatment of him, which is why I ultimately gave him Mixed this time.

Cirie: CP3

Cirie should absolutely be CP in this episode. Once again, she was responsible for turning the vote around at the end to put herself in a better position. She had a confessional saying that Erik wanted to vote out the weaker people but she would be included in that. She then went to Chet and Tracy about taking out Joel. She also said that Joel didn't help them win in the challenge, and that she had to convince Ozzy and Amanda that Joel was a bigger threat. She then made her pitch to Ozzy and Amanda and it worked out the way she wanted in the end. Her other confessional was about the tribe killing and eating Charlie the Chicken.

Erik: CP4

Erik was one of the few people in this episode who got significant face time. He had three confessionals: one describing Ozzy's amazing abilities in the water, one talking about the strategy discussion between Ozzy and Joel where he calls them both "superpowers," and the other one talking about being on the tribe with some of the Favorites. Why is he complex? First of all, he says "I'm with some of the Favorites, but I'm gonna try to not let that cloud my judgment. They're still people in this game," so that is definitely an insightful thought. He recognizes that his awe for some of the Favorites might interfere with his strategy but he's going to try to avoid that. It shows a degree of self-awareness. He also admits that he can't compete with Ozzy because Ozzy's so great in the water. He was definitely a well-developed character and to top it all off, he had some strategizing.

Joel: CPN5

Since Joel is voted out already, I won't spend that much time trying to justify my rating (he'll probably end up with OTTN anyway), but if you listen to his confessionals in the middle of the episode, they are actually quite strategic in nature. He talks about the "poetic justice" comment where he voted out Mikey B and ended up with Chet on his team, but then says that it can be useful to have some expendable people around. He said "I think it is to a degree Fans vs. Favorites," but one of the sides is going to have to swing somebody over. There was also a whole strategy scene with Ozzy, Joel, and sortof Erik. He then had the confessional after the Immunity Challenge, "I don't know if this can be a Fans vs. Favorites anymore unless we want to just keep losing." This shows that he was willing to get rid of a Fan for the betterment of the tribe. He was definitely a well-developed personality. The only bit of OTT in his edit was the part at the Reward Challenge where he was dragging Chet, but I strongly believe that the CP outweighed it.

Ozzy: CP5

For the second episode in a row, Ozzy was very dominant, but this time all of his presence did not come from Exile Island. He got a lot of confessionals around camp, with some of them being strategic and some of them being more narrative. I won't go through all of them since there are a lot, but basically, I gave him CP mainly because of his last confessional, which expressed some internal conflict about voting out Chet over Joel. He gave some reasons for why both should be voted out.

Tracy: UTR2

I said last week that she would need at least an UTR2 to stay in the running, and I'm giving her that UTR2. However, she had no confessionals so she is quickly dropping on my list and about to be eliminated. I must commend her for what she said at Tribal Council though. It was clearly an effort to place the blame on Joel for losing the Reward Challenge instead of Chet, and I think it worked out really well. It was definitely an effective form of subtle manipulation, but I still think that her edit was UTR, not MOR.

POSSIBLE WINNERS:

1) Parvati (she did dip a little bit for the UTR1, but not enough for someone else to pass her yet - I really hope I'm wrong about her though)

2) Eliza (has been very strong all around, but lacks the opening confessional in Episode 1)

3) Ozzy (good that he didn't get a CPP)

4) Alexis (her story is still tied to the Favorites and she showed her excitement to be with them)

5) Jason (very strong Episode 1 edit that introduced him as a Fan, but weaker since then and a bit too UTR)

6) Tracy (on the brink of elimination due to the INV1 and a weaker Episode 5 edit)

ELIMINATED BY EDGIC:

Chet, Erik, Kathy, Mary, Mikey, Natalie, Amanda, Ami, Cirie, James, Jonathan, Yau-Man