Just watched episode 10, Penny's boot, in my Thailand rewatch.
Another kind of slow episode, though not nearly as slow as the prior one, because this one had a lot more character stuff -- Brian being scared of elephants, Clay's strategy, and more focus on Jake/Penny than on Ted/Brian made it an episode I enjoyed much more. Still kind of a filler one, but one that actually taught me about the players rather than building up suspense for an event that didn't occur.
- Man, I know Brian wins at the end, but I'm still almost doubting it and thinking Clay wins. This episode, we saw him talk a /lot/ about his strategy to win the jury vote: he talked about making sure he was the one to bring food back so he'll look better in the end, and he talked about how he's dealing with the Sook Jai members before they go home so that he'll get their votes in the end (which he ultimately does.) The season definitely feels like it's setting up for Brian or Clay to take a fall. Since they don't and since Brian is the more obvious winner, it really feels like they're setting up Clay to sweep in and blindside Brian by winning at the end. In any case, I really enjoy Clay more than I thought on the rewatch. He's funnier than I thought but he's also a lot savvier than I figured he was. I think I'll add him to the very small list of runners-up I wish had won over the winner.
- The other person I'm most invested in is Jake. Watching him keep fighting as the underdog creates at least some kind of week-to-week suspense, and I admire him not giving up even though it's pretty blatant that a Chuay Gahn will win the game. He's also just a likable guy in general. He was (probably?) the leader of the tribe that was dominating early on, but now that he's in an underdog position, he's adapting to that perfectly too. He's another character I'm enjoying much more this time around.
- When Brian and Clay brought back stuff from their reward, we got a flattering shot of Jan getting drunk and saying in a confessional that she didn't like having to share the beer. < 3
- Penny, being a member of Sook Jai, got a really minimal edit, and out of her/Ken/Erin, I think she's the one who most could have delivered in some other season or with some other edit. I think it's kind of hilarious how prior to this episode, we never actually saw her doing any manipulating, but we constantly got confessionals to the effect of "PENNY'S MANIPULATING EVERYONE! SHE'S USING HER CHARM TO GET AHEAD! DON'T TRUST HER!" Meanwhile I just sat here like... wait, /Penny/? The one who hasn't said or done anything other than have a cute accent? /She's/ the one everyone hates? Why? Pretty inexplicable and entertaining storyline. But in this episode, we did see that she actually had a somewhat conniving streak to her; she seemed to be a sweet girl on the surface, but also was cunning enough to try to take out Jake in an era in which you typically didn't turn on your allies or openly manipulate people like that. She had more fight in her than the edit showed and I would have liked to see more from her, but I guess it wasn't meant to be. She can be one of the classic "What if..?" characters who could have shined a lot brighter if things had been a little different.
Ted, Brian, and Helen didn't do anything worth noting this episode. I mean, Brian was visible, but other than being scared of elephants it was the typical stuff we expect from Brian at this point.
Clay
Matthew
Ozzy
Courtney for the lulz
Cirie she counts okay
Susie
Stephen
Natalie (as much as it hurts to say that)
Chelsea lol
Dawngel
Monica