Pre-Show Cast Assessment (Palena - Second Chancers)
Jolanda - Palena TribeJolanda is a returning player from Season 17: Stranded in Costa Rica and apparently the only female member of Palena.
Probst seems to be wearing his rampant sexism on his sleeve once again. I'm not sure this will be an issue for Jo, however, as she is somewhat of a guy's girl. Having played the game with Jolanda, I have more intimate knowledge of her game than the cast members from other seasons. I really like Jo personally and I hope she does well the second time around. There really were some flaws in her game that I think she needs to tackle and improve upon if she wants to make it farther than she did last time. I felt Jolanda's biggest mistake in Season 17 was her bluntness and her... well, I guess, honesty. She formed an alliance Day 1 and come hell or high water she was sticking with it. She also didn't make any attempt to hide this fact from the others and I felt it really hurt her in the game. Not only was she pretty open with everyone in revealing who her alliance was and that she was sticking to it, but she also somewhat isolated people that she wasn't working with and made it very clear that working with her was not an option. As she was the perceived leader of her group, this made her a very easy boot. Jo also was a little bit too confident that the people she was working with were as loyal as she was and that came back to bite her in the bum because she was completely blindsided. I'm hoping this time around she tones down the bluntness a bit (the day of her boot she outright told Ami that old Guatuso was going to get Pagonged
) and maybe tries to play the manipulative angle a little more.
Pre-Show Prediction: Jolanda is good at challenges, is fun to have around camp, and easy to talk to. If she doesn't make the merge I will be shocked. But she's really going to need to step it up and work on her social game with EVERYONE, including those outside of her alliance, and possibly even scheme and backstab a bit, if she is going to make it far. If she makes it to the end, she will have a stellar chance at winning based on her likability, I'm just not sure she can get there unless she changes her game up from last season.
Brook - Palena TribeIt pains me to write this. IT HURTS. ARRGGGH. I am forced to relive and talk about my experience with Brook.
Only a few minutes and it will be over.
Brook is also a returning player from Season 17. What I should really do is copy and paste my confessional entries regarding Brook from that season and move on to the next cast member. I won't do that though. I'm not exactly sure what the deal with Brook was during Season 17, because apparently he has played other ORGs and been quite good at them and well liked. Perhaps he went on a bender for about 2 weeks whilst playing in Stranded Costa Rica. Or he could have had a brain tumor which hopefully has gone away. I have no fucking idea but Brook was a fucking hot mess. I'm not going to write a novel about this, because most people reading this are probably intimately aware of the story. But Brook essentially decided, after a tribe swap and being on a tribe that could not win an IC to save their lives, that it was a good idea to vote out pretty much his #1 ally (John) because he sent what Brook perceived as a condescending PM. And then Brook got voted out at the next TC. Utter fucking brilliance if I ever saw it. I personally spent a large portion of the game being POed about this because it put me in a horrible position in the game (in hindsight I'm not sure that's actually true). Even though my feelings of rage have worn off, I still cannot fathom what was going through this dude's head and how he could be anything other than one of the biggest fucking idiots to ever appear on Stranded. But apparently he doesn't always play like that. So I am extremely anxious to see what we get from Brook this time around. What's even more interesting is that he is back in the game for Round 2 with John. I should actually say Round 3. I'm pretty sure Round 2 was the 30+ page war they had in the Loser's Lodge where, after reading, I was able to add about 30 expletives to my vocabulary that I had never before heard. It was pretty fucking awesome reading. And I expect that the Brook/John dynamic will not disappoint in Season 18.
Pre-Show Prediction: As I said above, I am biased. I just have a hard time believing that Brook will be any kind of contender if he plays in a way that remotely resembles his Costa Rican performance. I just hope he sticks around long enough to do something crazy for the spectators.
John - Palena TribeOh John. John is also a returning cast member from Season 17 and the one I knew the best. John was my plus one until he got blindsided by Brook and voted out. I'm not really sure what to say about him. I really like John and I'm certainly rooting for him to win the game. But for some reason he really rubbed other people the wrong way. I think part of it may have been because he was our tribe leader, whom we elected before he had even logged into the game, and he was at times acting like the leader. John doesn't really hold anything back and he'll tell you what he's thinking, and some of what he was thinking was not what other people wanted to hear. I suspect that John will try to tone it down this time around knowing that he was offputting in Season 17. Or maybe not. He did make up some pretty dumb lies that would have come back to bite him if he had lasted until the merge. And post-game he seemed to think that it was a good idea, so I'm not really sure what to expect from him. He was made out to be a huge villain in Costa Rica, but a lot of that was playing telephone after the fact and those in the game blaming everything on him once he was gone. He could go either way - the cantankerous villain everyone hates or the lovable BFF. I'm excited to watch it play out and I hope he can pull it off.
I think the biggest question for me going into this season.... WILL JOHN AND BROOK TEAM UP OR WILL THEY CONTINUE THEIR FEUD INTO A NEW SEASON????
Pre-Show Prediction: As much as I want John to succeed, unfortunately I can't see it happening. Besides some of his brash personality traits that could possibly annoy people, John is really really horrifically bad at challenges - to the point that he's a liability. If Palena loses any challenges pre-merge, and doesn't have anyone go inactive, I will be shocked if John's name isn't on the table for elimination. He may be able to form close relationships to work around that, but if they are making decisions based on challenge performance, I think John will be in trouble. There is also the risk that the rest of Palena looks at the three from Season 17 as a threat because they could be working together and targets them. If John makes the merge, he may have a good shot at going far, I think it may be difficult for him to get there though.
*************This is where I just start guessing and making wild uninformed assessments****************
Jake - Palena TribeJake originally played Season 15: Stranded in Greece. I am actually familiar with the Sucks poster behind this character, so I know a little bit about him from that perspective. From what I've read, Jake was just a really sweet and loyal player that struggled with the moral aspects of playing the game. That is consistent with what I know of him. It sounds like Jake formed an early alliance that he planned on sticking with and got screwed over by a misunderstanding and one of his alliance members (Ted - see below) being a borderline lunatic, so he went out early. I'm picturing a Lisa type of player from Costa Rica. Players like that usually go far, as long as they can hold their weight around camp, but have a hard time winning. I'm curious to see if Jake, Ken, and Ted from Greece all team up, or if there are still bitter feelings about the apparent blow up of their alliance over a misinterpreted PM. Hopefully we will see some good strategy mixed with the sweetness and loyalty, but if Jake really does struggle with hurting people's feelings and voting others out, I'm not sure how much.
Pre-Show Prediction: As long as nothing crazy happens, Jake will probably go far and possibly even make it to FTC. However, if his gameplay is solely based on being nice and loyal, his chances of winning are probably small.
Ted - Palena TribeIt seems like Season 15 was "The Ted Show" and he was a huge character that made a lot of crazy moves that dictated the flow of the game until the players caught onto him and figured out that he was playing both sides. What I found interesting reading about Ted, is that he was uber sketchy, but it took everyone a while to figure it out. He's probably not going to get away with that this time around. The hosts are obviously enamored with Ted and it seems he brought a ton of excitement to the game. I would think he will have to play a little differently this time, however, with at least two of his tribe mates knowing that he is probably not to be trusted. I'm probably most excited about Ted this season, because it looks like he's sure to bring the lulz. I hope he can last a while and make some crazy moves.
Pre-Show Prediction: It could go either way. He could be the first boot or he could go far. Ted seems to be a fantastic player, but because some players are aware of his MO of the past, he may be an early target. At this point I'm going to guess and go with Ted makes it far into the merge and in the process becomes one of the big stars of the season.
Ken - Palena TribeKen is also a returnee from Season 15. I also am familiar with this poster from Sucks, but I'm not sure I can translate my knowledge of him as a poster to an ORG character. Ken was the first boot of his tribe and it sounds like he was new to ORGs and just didn't really know how to proceed. Brenda said that he's played nine games since the Stranded in Greece and has really developed as a player and even won one. It sounds like Ken's problems in Greece were: 1. Ted and 2. His lack of social game. Playing several games now, I'm sure number two will not be an issue any longer. But what about number one?
Ken will be playing with Ted again and it's really going to be interesting to watch how both Ken and Jake decide to approach the Ted situation.
Pre-Show Prediction: From what I've read, it seems like Ken, now a seasoned player, is more of a level-headed social type of player. That will probably bode well for him in a cast of big characters returning from other seasons. I'm not sure why, but I just have a gut feeling right now that Ken is a serious contender to take it all home.
Fabio - Palena TribeFabio is a returning player from Season 14: Stranded in Malaysia. He did very well in both the US and Aussie versions of Stranded and Brenda described him as "the male Kim" - meaning he plays UTR but forms enough relationships that he is not perceived as a threat, and has the ability to play both sides without looking shady. That's not exactly my favorite type of gameplay, but it definitely works. But unlike Kim, Fabio didn't win when he made it to FTC. I'm not sure what the reason behind that was because I wasn't there. It could be, that like Kim, a lot of people thought he was just coasting along and wasn't really playing the game. It sounds like Fabio won't be one of the bigger more exciting characters of the season, but his game should be interesting to watch.
Pre-Show Prediction: If he plays the same way that he apparently did in his two other Stranded appearances, Fabio will most likely make the merge and go pretty far. It really depends on what happens and what the dynamics are, but his shot of actually winning may be small if there are other perceived stronger players around him.
Chase - Palena TribeChase (Chaste for some reason) is also returning from Season 14 of Stranded. From reading about his last time playing, it seems that Chase was an excellent player that got screwed out of the game by aligning himself with a fucking idiot. I know THAT feeling. *cough* Brook *cough* It sounded like he had control of the game, wasn't afraid to make BIG MOVES, and was really playing to win. If his alliance member hadn't pulled a bonehead move by not playing the idol he gave her, Malaysia would have played out differently and it sounds like Chase had a good shot at the finals. I'm excited to watch Chase play because he sounds like my kind of player - strategically running shit and fun to watch. He could also be perceived as a bigger threat, and less trustworthy, than some of the other faves in the bunch if his game play is obvious, so that may hurt him.
Pre-Show Prediction: Chase will probably make the merge, however if he plays the same kind of game as last time, I can see him going out early post-merge for being seen as a big threat.
Russell - Palena TribeACK. Russell is a second chancer from Season 13: Stranded in Cambodia. I'm going to have a hard time rooting for him, simply because looking at Hantz's face is going to make me dislike him. There was not a whole lot of information on him from his past Stranded appearance, but according to Brenda, his tribe went into the merge up in numbers, yet he was still an early merge boot. That says something. Brenda also noted that this player has played 26 ORGs and never won. That says something more. Brenda also said that he has a thing for "schticks", which if he attempts a Hantz "schtick", I can't see that ending well. And it has to say something about his style of game that he was even given the Russell character in the first place. I don't think I'm going to like Russell. And I'm not sure the rest of the players will either.
Pre-Show Prediction: Russell is one of the first boots in the game.
Mikey B (or Erica) - Palena TribeMikey B is the only player returning from Season 9: Stranded in Trinidad and Tobago. None of the hosts really have much information on him nor can they remember much about his first time in Stranded. Jeff described him as a "wildcard". So.... ummm.... I have no fucking idea?
Edit: Mikey B may be replaced with Erica. No one seems to know fuck all about Erica either, so same assessment applies.
Pre-Show Prediction: Mikey B will probably win the game. It's as good a choice as any, right???
Jimmy T will probably play like a crazy person, annoy the fuck out of everyone, and think he's badass and hilarious while doing it. Whatever. If that's how he enjoys passing his time, who am I to judge? Even though I think he's an assclown just from reading his application. If he's happy being an assclown, I am happy for him. I guess. Whatever. Jimmy T looks like he will bring some craziness to the game. I'm just not sure if it will be of the annoying troll type of craziness or the type that makes me crack a giggle every once in a while. I'm leaning towards the former.
)
They find her annoying and bland. Which I guess I understand with this cast of vets and big characters, but it's disheartening. 
I am so in love with Jane. I just wish Jane was revealing some of her awesomeness to the rest of the tribe. She was active the first day and then stopped PMing people. This grand master plan of hers to set up the “hated goat” doesn't seem to be winning any favors with her tribemates either. They are perceiving it as pushy and shady – obviously seeing through it. That, combined with the fact that she hasn't really talked to anyone and developed any kind of relationship, is making her an easy first boot. 
Wendy Jo was a bit late to the game (I think she logged on late the first night) however she is quickly shimmying up the social hierarchy of Atacama. She is now being considered for the sixth position in The Playground Bullies (WJ PLEASE FTLOG change that name when you get there. Typing it makes me feel retarded). If I were a betting man, my money would be on Wendy Jo nabbing the spot over Marty. Of course this only matters for another day, but it is a testament to her quickly making connections and endearing herself with her tribemates. What is also interesting, is I can’t see Wendy Jo having an issue with dropping the newbs and forming bonds with some of the vets come the swap, considering she already knows a lot of them. So things will most likely get interesting. She and Yve are forming a late night scheming power alliance from which only good things can come. And Wendy Jo’s open disdain for all things Tyrone makes me 