Cast Assessments

[Host Lex]

A brief rundown of our thoughts on each of the cast members this season. Some people we know quite well, others we're just meeting for the first time, so the detail will vary.

Reminder to keep any sort of aliases or secrets you learn in here to yourself!

The thread will be locked so that everything can be discussed in the game thread instead. Makes it neater.

We'll start with the Fans, one batch at a time.

[Host Lex]

"But seriously, don't get offended over this. And if you do, well... lick my balls."

Ace Gordon

Ace is played by KC, who is the host of a popular series called URTV.

He focuses on hosting and hasn't played in well over a year. He admits that he hasn't had a tremendous amount of fun in a game in quite some time, but something compelled him to get back into it, so here he is.

I always really like when fellow hosts play. I think they have interesting views on the game after running so many themselves. He was a very, very last minute casting choice, but I couldn't be happier that we chose him. In fact, he's one of my early favorites.

As a player, I know nothing about him other than what he's told me. He hates early game talk, he's made that very clear. His comments on socializing I find to be very amusing and accurate.

He decided to drop his alias right away, seeing as pretty much everyone who knows him already found him out anyway. This led him to reveal a past connection with J.T., and I expect those two to stick together as long as they're both in.

He told me he typically plays as Ace and that he's a perfect fit for him. So far, I'd say he's very much right. Something about the way he speaks and his attitude goes very well while behind Ace's face.

I expect him to do quite well, and he's already off to a good start. Most people seem to like him, and he got himself into what seems to be the first true alliance on the Fans tribe. Himself, JT, Kourtney and Wanda.

Overall, a very observant, no nonsense player who I expect to do well. He'll be down to make big moves in the game whenever he feels like he needs to, and he doesn't seem to care about cutting anyone's throat.

Bonus: Audio confessionals! The first of the series. This excites me

[Host Lex]

"Most people are very friendly and good to me! Im sure that will change during the course of the game"

Mary Sartain

Mary is played by someone that I played a game with quite some time ago. The two of us were against one another at the start. It became clear early on that she was rubbing just about everyone the wrong way and most wanted her out. I decided to use this and strike a deal with her, which she accepted, and we ended up as the final two.

That was her first game, and she's hardly played since. She's very new to the ORG community and very inexperienced, which is what I like to look for in players a lot of the time. Somewhat of a risk to cast, but I'm glad we did

Her choice to play as Mary is very funny to me. She picked Mary based strictly on...appearances.

So far, she's playing the flirt card the hardest that I've ever seen. She has a tendency to annoy people, but doesn't seem to care that much, and as flirty Mary I expect this pattern to continue.

Most seem annoyed with her already so far, and I think it's mostly due to the flirting. Much like her character choice, everyone seems to see her as a big question mark.

She's so new to this, but I'm glad she's at least getting out there and communicating with people. If she wants to be anything more than an easy early boot, she needs to wiggle her way into a good alliance. I think she's at least observant enough to know her place on the totem pole, so I'm interested to see if she can find a way to climb higher.

[Host Lex]

"I'm the nice guy that everyone likes and trusts. But I am in fact playing for myself. So I have a knife...and I sure as hell am not afraid to use it."

J.T. Thomas

J.T. is someone who I feel is really here to play. He's one who has been eagerly waiting for his chance to play in the series, and I think it shows. He's very excited to be here and wants to desperately prove himself, which is very good.

I don't know anything about his history or gameplay apart from what he's told me. He pushes the idea that he's very similar to J.T. in a lot of ways. Despite being a nice guy, he's not gonna stop at much to further himself in the game.

His social game seems to be the aspect he enjoys working on most. He says it's his number one priority, and it's showing so far. He connected immediately with Kourtney, and the two already have an alliance. He sniffed out Ace's alias quickly and the two have a connection from a game a long time ago. They worked together there, and it seems they trust each other enough to work together here. They also pulled in Wanda, and with that, J.T. created the first large Fan alliance we've heard about so far.

Seems to be off to a good start. He says he needs to work on his challenge strength a lot, but if his social game is good enough, he won't need to worry.

As far as his strategic game, he told me that if he doesn't see his alliance being all too successful, he'll happily jump ship for greener grass. He's out for himself first and foremost, which is always fun.

[Host Lex]

"I'm a mega fan of this series, along with being a pretty decent to good player. It's really surreal to be answering the questions that so many other amazing players have answered as well. I feel like Erik on Micronesia when he saw Ozzy and all the other favorites, honestly."

Kourtney Moon

Kourtney is without a doubt, not only the biggest fan here, but probably the biggest fan of our series that exists. It's crazy how happy she is to finally be here. Circumstances prevented her from playing last season, but she's perfect as a fan. The weeks leading up to this game, she eagerly watched the board as it began to update, and got more and more excited as the date got closer.

Because of all of that, you know she's here to play. She's not gonna fuck up her chance to do well in this series, and she'll likely stop at nothing to get into All Stars. She's extremely driven to impress us, which I like a lot.

I don't know much about her background prior to this game. She's been talking to be about the series for a couple of months now, and seems to be a very excited, quirky girl. Kourtney was a good choice for her.

She considers herself a strong strategist and a villain, so I'll be interested in seeing that. Right now, I think her social game is fantastic. For my money, she's starting off on the best foot. Everyone who has spoken about her in their confessionals has praised her and their conversations.

She's definitely a player to look out for. It's crazy how much she knows about the series. She knows everything about each of these Favorites and will use that to her advantage. The other day, she asked me to unlock past season TC boards so that she could go through and read each of them. And she did.

She's very prepared, and already in a solid alliance with JT, Ace, and Wanda. However, she has no idea that Wanda hates her guts (more on that in Wanda's assessment). Apart from that, I'd say she's off to a very good start.

[Host Lex]

"Oh, I'm the homely old lady, who would possibly want me out? And if they do, well I'll fuck them in the ass with a spiked baseball bat! ..in a motherly and hospitable manner of course!"

Wanda Shirk

Wanda is played by someone known as swinubble. Originally, she was cast in season 3, but went away on a last minute vacation as we were finalizing the cast. We couldn't wait for her, and unfortunately had to choose someone else. We promised her a Fan spot in this season, and since then, she's been quite eager and excited for it.

She IM'd me a lot the weeks leading up to the game, which is a good sign. She came up with the idea to play as Wanda and sing the entire time, which I loved. She would IM me randomly and start singing in character to me. I knew she'd be a good addition to the cast.

I know relatively little about her gameplay. She says she'll be villainous. Always fun. Especially behind a singing Wanda mask.

She told me her social game will be strong, and so far she's proving to be right. Just about everyone that she's talked to finds her endearing and fun so far. She seems to have found the perfect balance between posting as a gimmick character, and being a serious player, which the other characters may be lacking at this point.

She was invited into an alliance consisting of JT, Ace, and Kourtney. Little does anyone know, Wanda has some very bad history with Kourtney, and Kourtney has no idea. Wanda told me that the two have played in games together spanning 5+ years, and that Wanda always sets up her elimination. Kourtney has apparently threatened Wanda's family or something before. My goodness!

That feud will be really fun. Right now, everyone loves both Wanda and Kourtney, and the two found themselves in an alliance together. She wants to attempt to take Kourtney out. Gonna be really fun to watch that unfold.

Other than that, she seems to be getting off to a good start. Both Fans and Favorites alike enjoy her, which is very good.

[Host Lex]

"The reason i function out here so well is that i have long ago accepted the fact, that the "civilized" world we live in is nothing but a jungle really. my mind is set and i'm in tune with the spirits that guide me through the lion and the gorilla in me."

Phillip Sheppard


Phillip is incredible. He is without a doubt my favorite cast member in any Sausage season. I mean no offense to anyone else! Some will hate him, call him a troll, and not understand why I like him, others will love him. Let me explain him to you.

Phillip is played by a crazy conspiracy theory nutcase foulmouthed pothead from Germany named Henry. He is prone to fits of rage and ranting and can/will blow up at any moment. He won't ever hesitate to share his feelings or tell you what he thinks of you. Despite never playing in an ORG before, never watching Survivor, and not knowing how to work AIM, we decided to cast him in season 1. The end result was hilarious.

We decided that Phillip was the perfect role for him to play for obvious reasons, so he started watching Phillip clips on youtube. He embodies the character in the funniest way. I get so much enjoyment from watching him attempt to play it based on the small clips he has seen.

In season one, he never fit in well at all. His social game will always be quite bad. I don't expect that to change here. However, despite never seeing the show, or playing any of these games, he was surprisingly aware of what was going on around him. He sniffed out well hidden alliances around him, but no one believed him when he brought them up, and he always knew when people were conspiring against him.

I don't expect him to do very well in this game. I would be pleasantly surprised if he did. So far, his social game isn't off to a great start. He isn't annoying anyone yet, but isn't talking much either. When it's time for challenges though, despite his timezone difference, he tries as hard as he can for his tribe. If he can show his tribe that he can be helpful, he might be able to stick around for awhile. His problem will be getting in with a tight alliance that will trust his loose cannon personality. I'm very excited to see if he can.

[Host Brett]

"I can't help but feel that some of these people don't take me very seriously. They shall in due time."

This guy is incredible. By far my favorite during casting, ever since I saw the words "Should I do the interview in character?" flashed on my screen.

Coach is going to be one that you'll likely either love or hate. I can't imagine anyone having anything less than a strong opinion on him.

When casting, we really don't usually go for people just for being good players. We like to pick people who stand out in other ways, like playing a character, and we really enjoy giving newer players a chance to shine when possible. Coach manages to fall into all of those categories.

Coach is playing... Coach. He's about as steadfastly committed to playing a character as anyone in this series has been with the possible exception of Brandon in SI2. He's arrogant, delusional and always pushing for 110% from his tribe. He's not willing to surrender or compromise, and he takes himself far too seriously. He refuses to break character.

Everyone is gonna hate him.

Underneath that, Coach knows full well that he's pissing off everyone. It isn't that he doesn't care. He knows he's compromising a lot by playing it up, but he's here to enjoy himself. That doesn't mean he doesn't want to win, however. I think out of everyone I've talked to about the game, Coach has had the most ideas and schemes, and he's got a pretty good sense of what is going on around him.

I have no idea if he's going to last. I hope he does, and I feel like if he does, he'll probably find a better fit amongst the favorites, and being dismissed as a nutjob may very well ultimately fall into his favor. While the Coach on the surface is a goofy guy, underneath that is a dragonslayer more than capable of doing whatever it takes to win.

[Host Brett]

"ahh then again, I think I'm more of villain because I'm too selfish and only think of myself for the most part of the game."

Natalie Tenerelli

In true fan fashion, this is Natalie's third attempt to play in this series, every other attempt failing before the games began due to IRL circumstances. As a result, Natalie was basically a guaranteed cast member.

I haven't seen Natalie play too much outside of a few games we've been in together, but she's an extremely likable player, and her social game is usually very good. Strategically is probably where she tends to falter a bit.

PWing for 2 seasons as Andrea has prepared Natalie pretty well for the task of working with and dealing with the favorites. In that regard, she may be one of the most well-equipped Fans. Natalie's weakness will probably be her fellow fans, however. Because Natalie hasn't started playing yet in a cast of somewhat overly enthusiastic players who have already made bonds and alliances.

So far, Natalie hasn't offered much, because she hasn't begun playing yet. Instead, she's managed to attract the cross-hairs of a few people as a potentially easy boot, or in Coach's case, a worthless nemesis and eternal enemy.

I'll be interested to see how Natalie fares once the game begins and she starts to play. Right now, things aren't really looking great for her, but I would like to see her 8-some-month long journey to finally playing pay off.

[Host Lex]

"sekou"

Sekou


Who is he?

Is he a troll? Is he really like this? Could this all actually be apart of some sort of strategy? Is he planning at all? Where did he come from?

Sekou raises many questions, and only few know the answers. The truth is, the answers don't really matter. Sekou is Sekou. It's not worth figuring out who he might be.

Sekou shows up every few weeks, posts a picture of himself, says his name, likes or dislikes his own posts, votes for the wrong person, and then leaves. And somehow through doing this, he has made himself into one of the most infamous and talked about players in the series. I find it to be hysterical.

Whether he brings some game this time or not is entirely up in the air. He says he truly wants to. He wants to surprise everyone by secretly being the mastermind of the season and making it to the end. I know he can, but his attention span is short.

Many will hate him and not understand him. They'll be annoyed that he doesn't take the game super seriously. The rest will love him. He was a controversial casting choice and I got some shit for it, but the majority of people last season wanted to see him back, so here he is. A player talked about that much should always be brought back.

Last season, against everyone's predictions, he managed to sneak by week after week and made it to the merge, where he was finally taken out. It got him surprisingly far last season, but I'm not so sure it'll work again, and neither is he. Whether he does something about it or not is the question.

[Host Lex]

"So here I am again, back to try and play a game on a level playing field with not too much already stacked against me from the start and hopefully I can do better this time!"


Jay Byars

Jay is a player who unlike pretty much everyone else, I'm not sure how happy he actually is to be here. I don't mean that in a bad way against him, but it's interesting to me. He tends to complain about challenges, challenge times, and game breaks quite a bit. He happened to be stuck on the tribes that continued to win week after week, so his time in the game was never as exciting as most others'. I'm surprised he was interested in coming back to be honest.

He's made sure to mention whenever he can that he was screwed over by a big pregame alliance last game, but I don't think that's really the case. Last season, he was smart enough to know that his best move was to turn on the heads of his alliance, Chelsea and Sydney, but his plan leaked and he was blindsided by his own alliance.

This time around, he might actually be driven by that. He seems to be a smart, observant player who likes to take risks. He was never afraid to try to make moves last season, and I expect it to be the same case this time around.

He's shown an interest in working with his fellow Season 3 favorites, mainly Mike and Semhar. As far as I know, he has no enemies on the favorites tribe.

At this point, he doesn't seem to be making a splash at all. He's very middle ground to me right now. I haven't heard many people bring him up in alliance talks, but I also haven't heard anyone talk about booting him. At the same time, he seems to be socializing.

I think he plans to just chill out and glide by for a bit, then figure out where to go and who to work with from there. I wouldn't say he's in a good position or a bad position yet. I don't think he's in much of a position at all, but I have no doubt that will change.

[Host Lex]

"I'm here to stay and I'm a force to be reckoned with. Keep your eyes on, y'all!"

Eliza Orlins

Eliza is someone who never got to make a huge impact on her original season, season two. Not nearly as big as she wanted to. She was the last cast member to join, never got in with a tight alliance, and was always at the bottom of the pecking order. She was eventually betrayed and voted out despite performing well in challenges and remaining active. She was sent to RI where she eventually lost to Christa.

Her time during her season was quite tragic and cut short. Some people question why we cast her, but I think she was a nice choice for the favorites. Many of the PW's were rooting for her since she was such an underdog from the get-go. Her elimination was a sad day.

So, we decided she deserves another shot, and this time she really wants to bring it. She knows where she went wrong last season and is looking to correct it, so I wouldn't count her out at all.

This season, she's definitely focusing on her social game. Despite not having any tight connections on the favorites (John and Judd were on opposite tribes her season), she still seems to be doing well socializing and connecting so far. She's very driven to make an impact.

I see her doing whatever she needs to this season. She'll play more cut throat this time for sure. She's vocal when she needs to be and won't be one to shy away from a fight. She knows what she needs to change about her game and is prepared to do it. The only thing that can end up biting her in the ass at this point is her constant paranoia.

[Host Lex]

"I guess we have a story, we have characters and soon enough we will have a war where The Poet shall come out as the Victor."


Semhar Tadesse

Semhar holds the record for most times a player has played in a Sausage season, with three. She was Shambo in season one, where she had to leave the game due to real life commitments.

It's interesting to note that she was the only player in that season who could tolerate Phillip, and the two formed one of the most unlikely and humorous alliances in the series. Now they're both here again, and on the same tribe.

When season three came around, despite not accepting past players, we decided to allow it since she was forced to leave the game.

One thing that Semhar have in common is that we both really enjoy character players and story arcs. Before most games she plays, she chooses her character very wisely and determines a story for herself before the game begins. I really enjoy players like that. She's playing a character, but is still herself at the same time. She doesn't let it effect her game too much. She's found a nice balance between the two.

As Semhar in season 3, she was nearly an early boot but caught a bit of luck a couple of times. She survived for awhile and found herself in the Power Rangers alliance with Mike and others, where they were eventually picked off by their rival alliance. Semhar went out fighting the hardest. Not physically, but socially. However, she didn't go about it the best way. She spoke to each player at the bottom of the alliance and called them mindless zombie bottom feeders, and told them that they need to flip. It did not work.

Still, she's quite bold, and she's already proving that here. She has very strong opinions on people and won't be one to back down or shy away from vocalizing at all. She's perfectly fine with getting in a few public fights, which is already showing with John.

Her biggest problem will be her dedication. She always seems to be ridiculously busy outside of the game. It's why she had to leave as Shambo in season one. When she can stay dedicated though, she's always one to write very detailed, lengthy, creative confessionals.

Apart from that, she desperately wants to make All-Stars. This will be her third and likely final try, and she wants in badly.

[Host Brett]

"I would describe myself as a Hero! I believe in doing what is right and what is right is normally what I think it is "

Frosti Zernow

Frosti is an interesting case.

He's a smart guy and a very dominant player, but that hasn't really come to light yet. Frosti plays with a certain air of arrogance. Whether he knows what he's doing or not, he plays like he has the authority of an expert. This really doesn't end up counting against him from what I know of him.

Frosti is in a different timezone than most of the other players, and between that and assuming the game wouldn't be active before the start, he missed out on the first day or so of the social game.

But Frosti is also nothing if not adaptable. He realized he was on the outs immediately and sprung into action, and I think he's done quite well for himself since. He knows how to spot an openning, and he knows how to fill them. I think Frosti may be involved in the most alliances and pseudo-partnerships on the Fans, and I don't think most are on to him. Yet.

The problem is that some are on to him, and I don't think he expects that. And with the tangle of connections that exist on his tribe, I don't think he can go more than one round at tribal council before he's exposed. Whether he can recover is the question. Personally, I think he can.

No matter where he places in the game, Frosti will always be at least 16th in our hearts, and the true Red King of Sausage Island.

[Host Brett]