Post by treasuredguardian on Apr 14, 2024 22:33:05 GMT
NOTE: As of writing, it has been over 5 months since the release of "Platinum Puppets". Things are subject to change as new episodes will come out and my views are bound to change.
Sometime before the release of "Platinum Puppets", I made a chart speculating on the placements of the remaining contestants. After release, it didn't change all too much. One of my predictions did wind up coming true, however. As there doesn't seem to be other PPT2 predictions taking the latest episode into account, I'm going to change that right now.
This speculation will be a mixture of what I think is likely to happen and what I think would make sense narrative.
PLEASE NOTE that the placements(minus the top) aren't rigid. Some mid game boots have potential to be late game boots, and vice versa.
| Finalists | Treasure Chest(1st) and Chainsaw(2nd) |
| Late Game Range | Bottle, Ukulele, and Slipper |
| Mid Game Range | Cup, Plasma Ball/Knight Helmet |
| Early Game Range | Post-It Note(CONFIRMED),Basketball,Plasma Ball/Knight Helmet |
Yellow has just confirmed on Tumblr that there will roughly 21-22 episodes planned. This gives me more confidence that there will be 2 finalists for the Finale.
Explanations
Post-It Note(NOW ELIMINATED): Many other people have deduced that Post-It Note would get the boot soon, with their reasoning usually being "he doesn't have much going for him now that Journal is gone". While it is true that it was inevitable that Post-It Note would have to get out to later continue his conflict with Journal, I don't necessarily agree with the first part of that statement. If you have been following Post-It Note up to this point, you can see that not only is he a massive threat to the Brackets, but was slowly being worn down with having to manage his team's blunders. Journal leaving was only the breaking point. While Post-It Note does try his best to be understanding and guide his allies on their mistakes, he also has a nasty mean streak towards anyone he doesn't like. Whether it be because the person is a massive prick(Gold Ingot and Chainsaw) or just plain hard to work with(Pan). Post-It Note not only has few friends as a result, but most of them are now eliminated. "Living on the Edge" encapsulates why Post-It Note is a massive threat to the Brackets: he is not only an experienced player, but actively opposes them. It and "Platinum Puppets" also makes clear as to why Post-It Note has been more bitter as of late: He not only has to deal with his remaining teammates, but also find a way to reach out to a friend who is long gone. And to do that, he HAS to secure immunity as much a possible. It was only inevitable that all of these factors would accumulate and be used against the wad of sticky notes. I think the show pulled off his exit pretty decently, but GOD I will miss that little bastard. :'[
Given that Team H already has had enough time on their own, I feel the remaining 2 would be early to mid merge boots. I put them in two ranges because I felt it could go either way for them.
Knight Helmet: As Take 2 is part-Comedy, I wouldn't be surprised if he made it to mid-game if only for providing that. I don't think he'll go pretty far though. He has enough to hold on his own, but he works best with someone to bounce off on. I'm not particularly sure what might happen assuming Plasma Ball gets out before him. Maybe he'll initiate a rivalry with one of the Brackets, or maybe he will band up with some of the other contestants? Or maybe both? Who knows.
Plasma Ball: The more I think about it, the more I feel that Plasma Ball's elimination is imminent. While she is proactive in planning and getting others in line, she is prone to getting caught up in the latter if provoked enough. Team ] has been actively getting on her nerves for the past couple of episodes. And now that they eliminated the person who was keeping the other 2 Hs in check, her irritability has gone to an all time high. Given that the Brackets appear to have a pattern of weeding out threats by exploiting mishaps, it's likely that Plasma Ball will become another victim to this.
Basketball: Let's be honest, he's the most expendable of the Brackets. The other 3 are already directly tied into conflicts with other characters. Some of which seem to be long term. Besides maybe potentially having a conflict with the Hs, he doesn't have much going for him. Regardless of the range, having him be the first Bracket to get out is the safest bet. Basketball himself feels like the "bully sidekick who gets their ass kicked" archetype. Given the plan to usurp the Brackets, I can see Basketball's being out first as a step to losing some of that control.
Cup: Cup's clumsy nature and air-headedness serves as both a detriment and benefit to challenges. Given his ties to key characters, I feel he would go a bit farther, but not TOO far. As with Knight Helmet, I wouldn't be surprised if he made it to the middle given that he's provides comic relief, and Yellow does enjoy writing him.
Ukulele and Slipper: Ukulele standing against Slipper is inevitable. I feel it would either end in Slipper getting eliminated, Ukulele getting eliminated or both. Either way a back-to-back wouldn't be a shocker. I'm REALLY REALLY hoping this won't last for ONLY 3 episodes. Like give us time to see Ukulele be more competitive but also slowly question if its really the right thing to do. You know? Maybe also see more of Slipper's motives be expanded upon as a result? Is she just using Ukulele, or does she genuinely think that her advice is what's best for her? (It's likely going to be the former, but just putting that out there)
Bottle: She is only now starting to break out into her own. I can see her pact with Treasure Chest being expanded upon, with both of them even learning from each other. She is also a returning player, and her role as being a foil of sorts to Chainsaw might get her farther. Not only that, but she is willing to work with anyone as long as they are reasonable. I can see her not only try to band some of the other contestants together to uproot the Brackets, but also struggle with having to deal with the fact that some of her methods can't work anymore due to the new environment. I think she's actually the second best candidate for being the Winner. However, I think there's just one other character who makes more sense on a Narrative basis.
The Finalists
Chainsaw and Treasure Chest
Okay, HEAR ME OUT on this.
While Bottle is definitely a good candidate for a Finalist, I think it makes more sense for Treasure Chest to be one. For one, he and Chainsaw already have a well established rivalry. I also think it makes much more sense if one of the Finalists was a newbie. We have spent a lot of time with the Newbies and their struggles with the returning players and each other. One of the key characters for the overarching plot is a newbie, for crying out loud. And Treasure Chest's actions in particular have SHAPED the course of the competition, one way or another. If Team 47 wasn't as big of a threat, they wouldn't have been broken up. The consequences of this and Treasure Chest's attempts to keep his team together have now manifested in a group of contestants who are picking off contestants one by one. A group that is going to out number the other remaining contestants if left unchecked. It would only make sense that Treasure Chest would have to confront his actions in the form of Chainsaw. Someone who is just as determined to do anything to not lose, to a more extreme degree. All of his failures following him to the very end. A price to pay for escaping his elimination.
Chainsaw is a returning player. He knows full well of his unpopularity and that he could be eliminated at any moment. But he also knows the game like the back of his hand, and isn't afraid to break the rules to get what he wants. He also has allies to assist him on carrying out his plans.
Treasure Chest on the other hand is a newbie. While he does have decent strategy skills, it's clear that he isn't familiar with the circumstances of the competition. He actively strives to do what's right, keep the team in check and claim victory. But he also would do anything to try to secure that position. As long as he sees it as "right" or "doing the best for his teammates". This not only put him at odds with the other teams, but his own teammates as well. Because he ended up being Locked Out of the Loop that Chainsaw is not a good person, he ended up making the mistake of trying to reach out to him(and to a lesser extent, Slipper and Basketball). His allies got stripped from him, and the only contestants willing to work with him now are the ones who wouldn't hold it against him anyway.
Seeing as the finale of the first season was "Friend vs Friend", it would be interesting if instead it was "Rival vs Rival". It would not only compliment the tense overarching plot, but make great use of the events up to this point.
JUST IMAGINE Treasure Chest having to resort to various measures to get the upper hand. Even if it's something he doesn't want to do. Imagine Chainsaw going out of his way to wear Treasure Chest down.
And that's my prediction and hopes for the final 9 of Paper Puppets Take 2. What do you think?
🌤️
