People are... divided over Jethro's more sympathetic angle being played up after the team swap.
The readers are divided over whether Ling deserved to make the finale. Some argue that they are a likable, multi-dimensional protagonist and one of the only truly good contestants in the story, which warrants a spot in the endgame to keep the fic from getting too dark. Others argue that they didn't really accomplish anything in the game and only made it this far through sheer luck and through the accomplishments of others; that someone who played the game harder should have made the finale instead.
Edgar. It's reaching Kasimar levels. This is subverted with his elimination, where, despite him being in absolutely no danger, he managed to screw up badly enough to draw a bad rock and get the boot.
Amy. Despite being next-to-useless in challenges, having very little to do in the overall plot and the fact that she is already very well-off, she's makes as far as the final seven, over several much more popular characters, including her fan-favorite boyfriend, Gareth.
Benjamin, the Anti-VillainChessmaster whose extremely complex morality and sympathetic backstory quickly caused him to skyrocket to everyone's top ten.
Bonnie has a very high spot in many readers' favorites lists, due to her mature handling of the herself/Emily/Vinsun/Ranoma/Craig love pentagon, and her epic elimination.
Fan-Preferred Couple: Safe to say people wanted Vinsun/Ramona over Craig/Ramona. However, no-one seems to be complaining.
Jethro had done some pretty screwed up things, ranging from using Zora as a way to tear apart the Bees to framing Dil as the panty thief to save his own hide, and doing it all mostly For the Evulz. However, he ultimately crossed the line when he revealed that he hypnotized Edgar into becoming a monster that tormented his respective team, meaning all of the Snails' suffering as well as Edgar's insanity is his fault.
Bonnie refusing to mind her own business and skipping a challenge for the sole purpose of picking on Edgar.
Molly and Jethro seem to no longer be as hated, thanks to Character Development on her end, and an actual challenge for him to overcome on his end.
Cuthbert gained a lot of fans once he decided to co-host a Cruise of Loss chapter and his antics were Played for Laughs rather than to make him a Hate Sink.
Justin, whose inclusion into the story was forced, though not as forced as him becoming a contestant. Granted, the latter only really occurred for an episode or two, but it annoyed readers nonetheless due to him acting Out of Character and not adding anything to the story.
Strawman Has a Point: Once again, Cuthbert. When his team is set for elimination, he offers the possibility of eliminating Molly, saying that her deafness could hinder the team. His team is quick to deride this as hate speech, despite Cuthbert not saying anything bad about deaf people. He could have been more tactful with how he said it, but a lot of the things he said rang true.
Edgar, after the reveal that Jethro had hypnotized him to turn evil. Yet, even after this, it's Jethro, the guy who ruined Edgar's life who we're supposed to sympathize with.
A lot of readers began to feel sorry for Emily after her Humiliation Conga.
Elvira was meant to be seen as an overbearing Control Freak, but some readers saw her as the Only Sane Woman of her team who just wanted order among all the chaos.
Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Jethro. Despite having done many horrible things to his fellow contestants and has yet to actually apologize for any of them, alongside his WangstyStraw Nihilist attitude, his Deus Angst Machina backstory is meant to try and make the readers feel sorry for him and want him to be redeemed despite him showing no redeemable qualities or a desire to repent for what he's done.
