RescueMom

I honestly don’t think Chris has a malicious bone in his body, I think he just lacks the ability to see how he comes across to people. I think he really was trying to bond with Donathan over their moms earlier this season, and probably thought he was successful. I actually feel a little sorry for Chris right now - it has to be a pretty harsh wake-up call to see that others viewed you in a completely different light than what you imagined. Chris reminds me a lot of someone I know, which might be why I feel a lot of sympathy towards him. I am glad he was voted out just because I didn’t want to watch the Chris and Don show all season, but I never hated or even really disliked him.

Agreed, and I think the fact that they are unknowns makes them more likely to be an easy first target, as unknowns are something you want to control as much as possible in this game. Although now that I type this, I can't remember that actually happening in reality, but it gets talked about a lot by the contestants.

I think they should just let Ozzy "audit" Survivor every season. Just let him hang out and fish and swim and do the challenges alongside everyone else for the whole season without being in the running to either get voted out or win. Kidding, of course. But it does seem like he cares more about the experience than winning, and it seems to me like when he gets voted out he is more disappointed that the adventure is ending rather than being disappointed that he didn't win. And I enjoy watching someone who truly seems to love the experience as much as he does.

I've been reading these forums for years and have never been spoiled by anything anyone has posted in the non-spoiler threads.

I did miss that - thank you!!

Did EI yacht have a name? They missed an opportunity by not christening her The Sugar Shack, at least for her time on the show. Also, was it just me, or does Sarah have a ridiculously beautifully fit, athletic body? I didn't really notice before this episode, but there was a shot of her in a bikini in one of the challenges that made me think, "Damn girl, nice work!!"

I think the plus to having Cochran there was not so much that he could give her advice on how to win, but just to have someone to talk to about the game without paranoia. Every season they talk about that with the loved ones visit - what a relief to talk things out with someone who isn't in the midst of it. And honestly, Cochran would be a good one to talk to in that situation, as he really does know the game inside and out. Too bad the visit was wasted on Debbie, who already knows everything...

Thank you for linking that, it was so interesting! She seems like such a kind and lovely person. I have really enjoyed her as a pro - her partnership with Calvin is one of my all-time favorites.

I've read a lot of speculation that Ken's advantage could be booting someone out of the game. Has that ever happened before, where one player simply gets to basically throw someone out of the game? (I didn't start watching until the first FvF season.) I just can't see them giving that kind of power to someone. I suspect the advantage is similar to the advantages people have won in the Survivor auctions, especially since they didn't do an auction this season. Something to help them at the final immunity challenge.

They reminded me of Reynold and Eddie as well, and you phrased it perfectly - good-natured dopes rather than soul-crushing jerks. (Reynold is someone I'd actually like to see play again.) I hope these two keep that vibe going, because while I'm unlikely to start rooting for either to win, right now they aren't unpleasant to watch. I also really liked Michelle, which surprised me - right now she's on my short-list of potential favorite players for this season. So much can change as the weeks go on, but she seems smart and savvy and ready to play the game without us having to watch her ostensibly grapple with a huge moral/spiritual dilemma while doing so.

I am pretty sure I saw a tribe name printed on a tribe's flag, but don't remember what it was.

That was my read as well. Unrelated to the quote: last minute addition or not, the crowd sure liked Vanilla Ice. He seemed to get the loudest cheers both during the intro and after his dance.

Did Scot just leave with Jason's idol in his pocket? Because that would make this even more delicious!! Edited: yes he did, I posted before he said he had it. YAY!!!

It does to me, but then again I voluntarily rowed a little over 5K meters today, so we clearly feel differently about it! :)

Wow, I like Ponderosa Nick! I also like just-blindsided Nick. I like players who can get up from being voted out, smile, and say "that's the game." I wasn't expecting him to be so positive and have so much perspective, and I am really happy that he ended up being the first one at Ponderosa even though Neal was out of the game first, given the fact that Neal wanted to be a jerk to people coming in and Nick immediately put the kibosh on that and said nah, we're going to be nice to everyone. I wish we had been shown more of this Nick in the game rather than cartoon villain Nick. After that video, I'd rather see Nick play again than Neal. Nick's looks must not translate well to the TV camera, because everyone who meets him in person just swoons over his appearance. I know people like that - gorgeous in real life, but pictures/videos don't do them justice.

I hope you are right, but I remember them showing Jud (Fabio) peeing in the pool during a challenge.

Most animal rescue work is volunteer work. Do we still get to add it to the list of it doesn't pay? I vote yes...

I would be super bummed as well. I'm 47 and discovering that even if I pretend I can still go like I'm 21, my body is older and managing injuries and limitations is just part of the deal. I mean, it is for everyone, but it becomes a much greater factor as we age. So I've done my best to get into the mindset of figuring out what I can do and focusing on that. I have a shoulder injury that can't be fixed; I've had to drop bench presses and push-ups from my repertoire, and have found a few other things I simply can't do because it will cause the joint to degenerate more quickly. A while ago I thought I might have to stop lifting heavy completely due to a different issue and I was really upset because heavy lifting is my absolutely favorite thing to do right now. I still have one specialist to see to confirm I'm OK to keep going, and I'm overly worrying about it because it would be so depressing if I do have to give up heavy lifting - but if that is the case, my plan is to give myself a day to have a pity party and then figure out what I can do. Do you have access to a rowing machine? I'm not sure what your back allows and what it doesn't, but that is one of my favorite things at the gym - it gives both cardio and full-body strength benefits. Swimming is also one of those things that almost anyone can do and it burns tons of calories. And I love-love-love bike riding! Hopefully you'll find a way to keep doing the stuff you love to do, but if not, there are so many different fitness options out there. I'm not sure if you've ever worked with a PT or a trainer, but it might be worth spending some time with someone good (good is important) - it is possible that a professional would be able to help you get stronger in ways that would allow you to keep doing what you love doing without injuring yourself. Good luck!!!

No kidding! It's like he turned into a different person this episode. I think the dynamic on brawn was awful, and he and Kyle bring out the worst in each other (I'm not excusing the behavior). This episode, he showed a surprising amount of strategy & knowledge of the game, and I thought him fessing up to his man-crush on Tai was adorable. Then I felt all icky for Scot making me smile inside, because he was so awful to Alecia. And I was really impressed at him in the challenge - comparing him to Nick in that challenge to me epitomized the difference between real strength and gym muscle. Certainly some people have both (I think Cydney does), but I don't think Nick is one of them. Tai right now is reminding me of JT - he is so well-liked by his fellow players that he should be giving everyone huge red flags, but they all want to keep him around. Tai also has shown that he knows the game, and also that he can step up and do things that you know are against his character (killing the chickens, lying and deceiving) when he has to. And he does it well. I really like him and hope he goes far. And I love that even he thinks Dr. Peter is an ass. I don't think voting out Anna was necessarily a bad move for Tai and Scot for a couple of reasons. First, in the last episode Tai had a comment after Caleb was evacuated that now the girls had the control, and it would either be him or Nick going home. He recognized that he was fourth at best with the three beauty women. Aubrey and Joe clearly hate Peter, so it is possible that Tai/Scot/Julia will be able to exploit that. If not, they still have Tai's idol, and if they use it next week to get rid of a brain, they have the numbers for another 2 votes (and this would be worst-case scenario if they go to tribal 3 times before the merge). I'm not saying it was a great move, but I don't think it was terrible and I can see ways it could work out for them. I'm clearly in the minority here, but I am enjoying this season for the most part. I think/hope Peter and Nick are being given the Drew edit, and we will see some beautiful downfalls in the upcoming weeks. I don't necessarily like a lot of the players but I'm not getting a visceral "make it go AWAY" reaction like I was with Dan and Will from any of them. And for me, almost any Survivor is better than no Survivor.

Hey everyone! I've been MIA on this thread for a while - life got crazy busy and so I started minimally lurking on just 1-2 threads and rarely posting. It's been fun to read this thread and hear what everyone else has been doing for fitness! I joined a gym last summer with no intention of doing anything but using the treadmill and pool - we mainly joined for my husband, but the discounts are through my work, so I joined by default. Best thing that could have ever happened to me. I started working with a trainer and have discovered a ridiculous amount of love for weight training! If you would have told me a year ago that I would be voluntarily heading over to the "big boy" section of the gym and tossing around free weights, I would have laughed in your face. Well, I'm down 40 pounds of fat and have managed to build quite a bit of muscle - I still have a way to go to be where I want to be, but I feel (and look) better than I have in years! I'm a 47-year-old vegan woman, so building muscle is a little harder for me than it would be for, say, a 20-year-old guy - but it hasn't been nearly as hard as I expected. So these days, I do targeted work with weights about 3 days a week, try to do HIIT/crossfit/cycle/row/run/whatever 3 days a week, and take one full rest day each week. I've also signed up to ride the MS 150 this June, which is a 150-mile bike ride to raise money for MS. 75 miles/day for 2 consecutive days. So I'm just starting to really ramp up training for that now that it is nice outside.

I don't think it would ever work out logistically, but I always thought it would be fun to have the entire cast from a past season play together again. I think it would be really interesting to see how the dynamics between everyone would change (or not change).

I'll be the one person who agrees with you!

Tasha is doing a great job of Abi-wrangling right now, and she seems to understand the dangers involved. I'm very impressed that she and Savage started out at a 2:4 disadvantage in the new tribe and managed to turn that around. From what we can see, Tasha did most of the social work on that. She's also handling being on that god-awful desolate beach with no food or supplies really well. She was dealt a really shitty hand but is making it work - I'm impressed!

I didn't start watching Survivor until the original FvF season, so this is my first introduction to Savage. I like him, especially this episode - I was impressed as hell that he pulled that reward challenge win with no food for so many days. I thought his mention of college football was meant in a "I never imagined I'd do anything physically harder in my life, but this is way beyond that" way, not bragging. He looked ready to collapse several times but he's still busting his ass. Also, he and Tasha should have been dead in the water at a 2:4 disadvantage in numbers, but they are still in the game.

I finally was able to watch the episode, and add me to the list of people who hate that one of the tribes has nothing. I get that luck is a major element of Survivor, but forcing 1/3 of the players to live on a beach with no supplies and no resources to find goes way beyond luck of the draw. I'm honestly surprised none of them have keeled over yet - no food for four days? Other than that piece, I really loved the episode and the season so far. Oh, I did also hate the "somone is going to get hurt bad" challenge - you can make them hard without making them dangerous, you know? I like the new Kass ("I read Dale Carnegie!") and the new Spencer ("I'm going to try to have feelings!"). Loved Varner and am sorry he's out, but from the way it sounds he was in pretty rough shape physically. I didn't hate Abi as much in this episode as earlier ones - most of the time she really did seem to be trying to figure out her best move, and I do think she really was torn between keeping someone she liked or someone who could help them win. Woo gets prettier and prettier...