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Another day, another update. Several people have been wondering why Spencer is still in this, especially over people like Joe and JT, so I guess it's time to find out.....





































#10
Played by: Kate
7th place in the game

….later. If you got tricked, then you obviously don't know me very well.

Anyway, on to Stephen, played by Kate, one of my favorite people in the ORG community. This was only her third game and I was really excited to have her play. She had previously gotten 2nd place in her first game ever (Nepal, a very intense game at that) and then won her second game, which was Franklin's Arrested. This was her chance to prove that those high finishes weren't flukes.

Like the past few entries in this thread, Stephen was on Jalapao, and was thus able to ride out the immunity victories until the merge. While on Jalapao, he was never quite in the core of the tribe, despite being well-liked by all. Unfortunately, Kate was prepping her move across the country to California, so she didn't have quite the time for this game as she normally does. However, her social instincts and strategic mind were good enough to keep Stephen afloat and out of danger.

Stephen knew who the power players on his tribe were, and he knew he wasn't one of them. Spencer, meanwhile, was planning a coup against these power players, starting with Taj, and Stephen was totally onboard with it. The plan never came to pass as alliances fell apart, and Jalapao booted Spencer out of the game.

Now he was really on the outside of the tribe. After Carolina's mutiny, he was told that Sandy was next. Likewise, Sandy was told Stephen was next. They eventually shared this information with each other, leading to the biggest blindside of the game.

While the plan to dispense lovable Jerry at the merge was in place, Stephen worked it, and worked it hard. Now, it's still not 100% clear to me who started this massive power shift, as I was away that weekend and really only had to go by the confessionals. But from everything I had heard, Stephen was at the center of a lot of what happened for Joe's blindside. Not to say that others, like Sandy, weren't involved, but Stephen really did play a key role.

He pulled in Sandy, the fellow Jalapao outsider, and trigger-happy Brendan, who knew a good power shift when he saw one. All that was left was bringing in Tyson and Erinn, which was simple because they were the Timbira outsiders at the final 9.

So the beautiful Joe blindside went off at the final 9, but sadly, that is the last time Stephen ever held any real power. Despite his efforts to promise Brendan a long-term plan, the constant mutineer flipped once again, voting out Tyson due to his past votes. With seven players remaining, Stephen was a huge threat and in the minority. He was great at challenges and was a key member of a huge power shift. He had to go, and went out as the third juror.

Despite not playing a schtick or a big character on the forums, Stephen certainly had an impact on the game, as I just discussed. I sincerely believe that had Brendan booted Sydney instead of Tyson at the final 8, Stephen could have definitely won the game. Due to no real fault of his own, though, Brendan turned against his alliance right after he helped them.

Like many others, I love a great underdog story. Stephen was perhaps my favorite underdog in Tocantins, as he not only wanted to see a big change in the power structure, but he actively worked towards it. From a host's perspective, those kinds of players are keepers.