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Wow!

The king is dead, long live the king! I suppose this makes Ken the front runner, but then he had the "kiss of death" confessional in the promo. Oh, well. (Actually, I'm not going to give up on him that easily - let's see the confessional in context.)

With Marcus out, it is time for a re-evaluation of what his edit actually was intended to mean. Basically, it does not look good for any original Kota. Corinne, Charlie, and Bob were robbed of the insightful comments that were given to Marcus. Their lack of development suggested the Onion Alliance would not make the end intact (though I never would have guessed Marcus would be the first to leave). It is not any more likely now that the remnant makes the end. Charlie is especially bad off since his only story was his admiration for Marcus, which now appears irrelevant except perhaps in a short term revenge arc. Corinne is shaping up as a late season villainess, an obstacle for the others to get past, and Bob is merely given the sympathetic elder edit - he could be gone next or he could be the last of the Onions to go in an outnumbered situation. I don't see any of these players making the endgame.

Then again, there's Sugar, the last of the original Kota. She could make the endgame, but I still don't think she'll win. Her edit is that of the naive heroine - she could get close, but she'll cut off before the end.

The original Fangs are where the winner lies, in my opinion. First of all, there's Ken, who I made the Edgic case for after last episode. As long as he doesn't get too overconfident, as suggested by next week's promo, I do think he wins, but he's certainly no lock.

I don't really care for Matty's edit - it seems far too flat and impersonal - but he may have the next best edit for winning.

The two players I've felt are distractions - Randy and Crystal - still are far too visible for my comfort, but grudgingly I'll reopen the door a crack for both. When the perfect Edgic profile gets booted, my confidence in my ability to read the editing gets shaken a bit. I'd still say they are longshots at best, but note that they get more SPV than just about anybody else, which could be important in front of a jury. (And game logic wise, Randy could well win if he makes jury - the Onions would all vote for him most likely, and Matty might tend that way as well, and whichever other players he faces will probably have to betray people to get there.)

That leaves Susie, who I'm sure does not win, but she could well face the jury. With Marcus the first member of the jury, it looks like another F3 (ugh!), and Susie would be perfect for the honorary Becky role. We've already been told why she wouldn't get a vote. Position wise, she should coast there now. I can't see the merge being after F8, and Susie is safe if the newest Kota tribe faces another vote (Bob would leave). Post-merge, she should not be targeted no matter who is in control as she's the weakest player in challenges out there. The only way she gets targeted is if Corinne tries to follow through on her revenge plans, and I doubt Corinne will be in position to push for that. Again, she'd be the perfect goat for players to drag to the end so the closer the end gets, the safer she becomes.

The battles are definitely being drawn up. We have Crystal v. Randy and Susie v. Corinne. We have Matty and Sugar in the ambiguous middle, unhappy with Ken and Crystal, yet reasonably concerned about the Kota alliance. My prediction is that the Fangs prevail, knocking out Charlie, Corinne, and Bob. Randy survives long enough to shake things up prior to the endgame, but who makes the endgame isn't all that clear.

Ratings:

Marcus - CP - weighed his newfound connection with Crystal against his alliance, and explained his ironic plot to remove the idol from the game.
Crystal - CP - weighed Marcus' offer of a place in the new Kota 6 against her alliance with Ken
Ken - CP - particularly so regarding the idol at the feast with first the clue and then the idol - was less so with regard to the vote
Susie - CP - weighed her path with the Onions against the possibility of making her move against them
Bob - OTTP - admirable challenge performance and 100% loyal

Randy - CP - we saw most of the feast portion of the program from his eyes - mostly it is narration, but there's enough there to push him CP
Corinne - MORN - other than pledge revenge against Susie before there was reason to, there wasn't much except general reaction to the new tribe
Charlie - MOR - ditto with Corinne without the threatened revenge
Matty - MORP - takes Ace's departure pretty well and saves himself in the challenge - his pendulum tone swings again
Sugar - OTTP - cries about betraying Ace and agrees to help Matty - awww!

Very little tone this episode and heavy on CP gameplay. It was basically a showdown of wits between Marcus and Crystal, and Crystal pulls the upset.

The clean slate and Sugar's remorse counter each other - it is left up in the air how Matty and Sugar will align once the merge does take place. However, I tend to agree with you, CL, that they'll put aside their differences long enough to boot Corinne and Charlie and probably Bob (if he's not already gone).

Next episode, if Kota goes to TC, I'll expect a reluctant and respectful vote off of Bob. If Fang goes to TC, I'll expect the idol to be played, but any of Charlie, Matty, or Sugar could go (in that order of expectation). If there's a merge, Charlie is again the most likely victim.

Perhaps Matty was complex too? I guess he had a confessional about the idol at the feast also, tying it to the Eden theme, but he otherwise just seemed more about reacting than sharing insight. Then again, I know we're not always talking about the same thing when we say "complex".

Nah, Marcus was toneless, but calculating, and he really did appear to consider including Crystal in his plans. Marcus was brought low by overconfidence - he removed the idol because he felt safe without it, and he felt he could mollify both Susie and Crystal enough to keep them on his side. Keeping your options open is great, but it is a luxury Marcus shouldn't have entertained in this situation. Either stick it out with Susie and stick to her like glue to keep her away from Crystal (and certainly don't give Crystal ammunition with which to persuade Susie away) or break with Susie and vote her out, which Crystal and Ken probably would have gone along with. Ironically, whether editing or not, Bob and Marcus each gave statements at TC that let Susie know exactly where she stood.