This last round was CRAY. It reminded me of the episode that just happened on Survivor because so many people who went to TC misplayed in one way or another.

Add me to the list of people who thought that this move was very premature for Erik. There were still a ton of chances to get rid of Kim down the line and now he showed his hand before it was necessary. I also think the amount of control over the game is going to be heavily diminished now that he is relying on Sierra to the degree that he is. I think he is one of the few people that would have actually benefitted from keeping Kim around.

I do think it was very smart for Sierra and Garett, but they could have been better about how they went about it. On the plus side, Erik is now pretty much forced to work with them. But Sierra really painted a target on her back by pursuing this move so aggressively, and it would have been much better if they found a way to do it that didn't have the side effect of alienating Sue and Vytas.

Stephen impressed me once again, and I am actually starting to see him as a bit of a front runner! I think he played this round really well because not only did he manage to integrate himself in with Erik/Sierra, he also built good bonds with Rory. He really did not stand to benefit at all from Kim sticking around so getting rid of her made a *lot* of sense for him. I think Yve and Monica are both going to regret keeping him in the long run.

Austin is still playing a very strong game and I think he is my overall pick to win. I think he benefits quite a bit from how this round played out - a strong player that he didn't have a real connection with ended up leaving. He has an accurate read on the game and he also is realistic about the way he fits into it. After this round, Katie has less options with Kim being gone and more incentive to remain loyal to him. And both the Sangoma and Y'mar S'bor alliances were a giant mess this round and there will probably be some serious fallout. I could easily see the Sangoma tribe continuing to win immunities based on Caryn's challenge strength and the fact that Marehemu just lost their strongest competitor.