#it can't be worse than last week. it mathematically cannot

[venus-is-thinking]

Disventure Camp All Stars Power Ranking (Round 14 - Venus)

Recap: Gabby's Elimination (1/8 pts)

(Total: 9/17 points acquired)

"Anyways, here's my best shot! I fully expect this to be my worst week this season! 1: Gabby"

photos taken seconds before disaster

Okay, in my defense, there was no vote out! I actually initially had Gabby and Grett at 4 and 5 instead of 1 and 2, but I moved them to the top after writing out my logic because I thought it was so impossible for them to be voted out at the current moment. But, surprise, no vote out! So now I lose. Very sad.

(I am losing so hard to @accirax please save me)

The good news is, it only goes up from here! 1/8 is the absolute worst I can do this season from this point on! It's only going up from here, baby!

In all seriousness, I do feel a lot better about power rankings moving forwards, because we actually have plot threads that can lead to eliminations. My guess is that the devs kinda fucked up and left themselves without good grounds for an elimination, so they bought themselves time with the weird twist. Oh well.

Into the rankings!

1: Grett

Haha... surely nothing will... go wrong...

Okay but seriously, if they double elim Grett and Gabby back to back, with Gabby's being kinda BS (and likely being part of why people would eliminate Grett), I'm gonna be, like, mad-mad. Besides, it'd be EXTREMELY fucked up to have Grett finally realize she has a friend in Gabby, have Gabby get eliminated just because, have her say she's finally feeling like herself again in the trailer, and then eliminate her immediately, probably as a stray fire because she's kind of between alliances and has no allies. Like... please don't.

I am choosing to believe that Gabby and Yul were eliminated back to back so that Grett can learn to play entirely for herself and start healing! Be yourself! Maybe be a little villainous again, for fun! Become the finalist we all know you can be!

(Please. I am begging.)

2: Riya

I think Riya's cooking SOMETHING up that goes beyond this episode.

Namely, her alliance with Ally. I think that this episode is where we're going to see that have some plot relevance. I don't really see how that backfires on Riya immediately, unless the plot is just going in the direction of "Ally says no and Riya pays the price for scheming." That's pretty boring, though, and it doesn't leave you many options other than a total decimation of the remaining villains.

I think it's time for Riya to get some payoff! I feel like most of the stuff she's done this season (other than be part of the villains alliance as a second in command to Alec) hasn't gone very far, so I'm excited for her to start having seeds she planted bear fruit.

3: Jake

For the record, I do think Jake is becoming mortal. He's been making enough forward progress that his arc could feel satisfying if it got cut off here. He and Aiden are fully on good terms, and he's pushing Connor to take initiative in figuring things out in his relationship with Riya. That's a sign of major growth.

The major unresolved thread he currently has is with Ally. Given that I think this episode will show Ally flipping on the other heroes, I think Jake could be in danger if she decides she wants to get rid of Jake. It could be some kind of message to Jake about understanding that even if he changes, his past actions have consequences.

Except, I don't super feel like that's the message they're trying to send with Jake? I feel like Jake is going to come out of this decently triumphant, showing that if you really give it your all to change, you'll be rewarded. I'm obviously biased as someone who believes Jake is going to win this season, but I do believe that for a concrete reason.

Either way, I think Jake is still one of the unlikelier boots this episode. The only real reason I can think of to kick him specifically is to make Ally happy, but I feel like if Ally flips, she'd be open to voting any of the other heroes. Even if she has a greater personal distaste for Jake, she literally told us last episode that she doesn't feel like she has particular allegiance to any of the heroes. So, Jake might continue on his winner trajectory, even if Ally flips.

4: Ally

I think Ally getting booted is a definite possibility. Every once in a while, alliances will decide to just cancel a perceived swing voter and move forward on their own.

However, the biggest issue with this is that I don't think anyone in the heroes' alliance currently expects Ally to flip. I don't really get why they'd target her when it seems like they think they have the majority.

The main way I see Ally getting booted is if she makes it REALLY obvious she intends to flip, but Grett "flips" too, making it Ally/Alec/Riya vs. Jake/Aiden/Connor/Grett. Still, I don't know that you target Ally in that situation as opposed to Alec or Riya. Presumably, at least one of the two should be not-immune.

I don't really see Ally going down here, though, because I feel like she's kicking off a new part of her arc. She's been obsessed with how people see her, to the extent that she's been sticking with the "heroes" alliance just so she can have the title of "hero" rub off on her. If she's finally starting to do things for herself instead, like she said last episode, that may mean she's playing to win, including by siding with the villains so that she's higher in the pecking order of her own alliance. Especially considering no one should WANT to take Alec to the end with them, Ally would hypothetically be Riya's late game #1, which is a major shift for her.

So, basically, I don't really think Ally is going home. She's just got too much potential left to explore.

5: Alec

For the record, I'm still a major "Alec has more episodes left in him" truther. I don't think he's going to get eliminated here. I just really think it's gonna be one of the last two people on the list. Pray for me.

But, y'know, all the usual stuff. Alec is a major threat strategically and in challenges, his alliance is in the decided minority at this point, a lot of people would be willing to vote for him, etc. etc.

I don't personally see a lot of reason to boot him this episode specifically (he wasn't especially featured in the trailer and he was kinda quiet last episode too), and I think Alec has been a major enough player this season that they kinda HAVE to give him a proper elimination rather than the players going "oh guess it's time to get rid of Alec." That's just me, though.

6: Aiden

I've BEEN putting Aiden towards the bottom of my power rankings for a while, and I don't intend to stop now. He's still, in my opinion, the more expendable counterpart to Jake this season, and as the numbers thin out, the likelihood we keep both of them for much longer feels low.

Aiden has already been a finalist. He's had a lot less of a character arc, considering he already got so much focus in Season 2. He's the last cyan left; not sure if that's good or bad for him, but it does mean that a lot of the relationships he had prior to Jake this season have been eliminated. It would make enough sense to get rid of him here, and I think it'd feel justified enough.

Riya has been beefing with him all season, which is enough to make him some level of target to her. He's also close enough to Jake that, if Jake wins immunity or something, I could see him being Ally's top pick, too.

It just makes sense as an option to me, so here we are.

7: Connor

I don't know about everyone else, but Connor's speech at the end of last episode was raising MAJOR death flags for me and Accirax. Connor is finally getting that focus I've been waiting for. That means he's mortal!

Connor is still dealing with the consequences of having been the villains' target for a pretty long time. If Ally's flipping means that the villains get to take their shot at whichever hero, it would stand to reason that they'd pick the guy they've been picking for every vote since he reentered the game.

Plus, if Connor gets more focus this episode, I could see him going out here. It's possible he's got more character to arc, but I think a satisfying case could be made for him leaving the game because Riya targeted him and accepting that if he's not comfortable with Riya being someone who acts like a villain to the cameras, no matter how nice she is offscreen, that it might be best to get some space. After all, he joined the game to get her to "come crawling back" or whatever it is Jake said last episode. Maybe that means it's best if he taps out of the game and does some serious soul searching before talking to Riya again (possibly in the losers' motel episode).

I could see Connor going farther, but at the same time, I don't really think they'd want to make him a finalist (or at least a winner) considering he was eliminated. Sure, Survivor did it in Edge of Extinction, but that wasn't scripted, and the audience wasn't very happy about it. If the writers had the option not to let the fifth boot win the season or get super far, I think it's the more satisfying option.