LadyChatts

Tonight was the first time I thought Victoria had a good shot to win, and I can see the social game she's playing, especially after reading David's comment about it. Julie has absolutely zero chance. Lauren and Gavin may get a vote or two, but I'd say their chances are better than her. I do wonder, with someone coming back from EOE next week, if Kelley blabbing about Lauren's hidden idol ends up backfiring on her in some way. I'm Team Reem all the way. I think Rick has an advantage having been on EOE and winning his way back in, and it seems like the group out there has bonded. I kind of want someone from EOE to win, just to hear Probst justify the twist and having everyone out there bonding.

Tonight, on the Rick Devins show: Everyone not named Aurora is an idiot. Of course, Lauren wanted her out and Gavin wanted to side with her, so this can be an excuse to get the deed done. But for real, they can not call themselves super fans, because if they were, they would have known that Mike Holloway pulled this same move during WA when he pretended he was going to save Shirin (in that case, she did end up going home). So sorry Ricky boy, but you aren't original. You're a Ben/Mike mash up. I wonder if Julie realizes she’s only there because she’s absolutely useless and is the only one left that has zero chance to win. Oh, and real super fans know that advantages, twists, and idols aren't done until TPTB say they are done (which is when their favorite is safe in the final 3). I have no one left I’m rooting for. I guess whoever comes back from EOE (yes, even Wardog or Ron).

http://insidesurvivor.com/cast/survivor-season-39-cast-revealed First 8 castaways of S39. This is our first cast that wasn't casted by Lynn Spielman, and is the first Canadians were allowed to apply to.

This is exactly why I think they wouldn't bring Hatch back. More due to bad blood that might have developed than over what happened with him and Sue. Redmond has so far debunked a lot of rumors out there (or has said no one so far has an accurate list). In fact, one person has posting pics on a private IG page claiming to have a source. Redmond said he didn't think their list was right, and suddenly they said someone surprising was not going after all. I think a lot of these "spoilers" are just guess work. It's obvious who will likely be back, with some surprises added in. We could probably all come up with lists that end up being close to the real thing.

Don't forget we have to waste time promoting some CBS summer show and potentially have Sia crash the stage to give someone money. And have the "random" kid in the audience cast their vote for who they think will win (which, shockingly, those kids are always accurate!) I think that's why Probst has taken to talking to some of the contestants during the finale breaks because he knows he won't have time at the reunion. And he probably likes hearing himself talk, so win for him.

Kelly to this day remains one of my all time favorite Survivor players. And it's frustrating that she's nearly returned 3 times, only to be an alternative to someone who quit (no offense to Jenna but I never thought she should have played AS in the first place with her mom being that sick), being replaced for HvsV (after she gave up a job I believe), and then not finding anyone to play with her for BvsW. I don't know if she was in consideration for SC or not. Last I heard she was working at a university and was married with young kids, so maybe SC wasn't in the cards for her. I'd love nothing more than to see her return.

The "Rick has gone crazy" reminds me of how Mike Holloway (also a man at the bottom) was described as such by the cast when they were trying to vote him off.

In case anyone wondered what happened when Wardog arrived at EOE.

Oh, so that must be what we saw on the preview on EOE this week-telling them they are returning to the game. I figured it was a hunt for them to find an idol/advantage to give to Rick. Guess he must magically find something at camp, given what we saw in the preview.

I think at the final 6.

The only thing that is holding me back from saying Rick is a sure fire winner is Christian's edit from last season. He probably had more focus than everyone last season, was likable, fun, strategic, and a narrator. Nick had a very interesting edit-supposed to be the first boot, got a lot of pre-merge focus due to his alliances, but after the merge, I thought he got a more quiet edit, especially after the big play at the TC where Dan went home. Rick's in an underdog position. He's still there, so I can see why they'd have to play that up, and want people to root for him (rather than a majority alliance). That said, I think Rick is a Ben and Mike Holloway type. Mike didn't have idols and advantages falling from trees; he had one idol, and had to keep winning immunities. They want Rick gone, but they also recognize there's other people they can target if not Rick. The others seem to be making strategic moves (look at Victoria last night). I think it's possible it'll be Rick, Victoria, or outside chance Aurora.

Yeah, this is getting into Ben territory at this point when it comes to Rick. He's a producer pet whose completely at the bottom, so let's just have him magically start finding idols and getting every advantage sent to him from EOE. Those jurors are going to lap this up even more after tonight. I'm rooting for Aurora at this point. Finally someone who isn't afraid to just put it out there and not hold back. Everyone else was awkwardly silent when Rick came back and discovered the bag search. Except Aurora, whose all 'yep, I did it, it's allowed but I still love you!' I guess Victoria and Gavin would round out the final 3, but I wouldn't completely object to Lauren being there.

Yeah, when they were talking about the family visit at TC, and Gavin said he hoped no one held it against him for being picked, I was kind of nervous for Aurora. That was almost like saying 'I'm screwing you over because this guy helped me out today.' Gavin is an interesting one. He's like Victoria, in that I never really know where their head is at or what they are doing. We saw Victoria say after the RC in a TH about not trusting Ron or having the relationship she thought they had; then it wasn't mentioned again about voting Ron off until after the IC. I was still nervous everyone would just play it safe and split between Aurora and Rick, and let Ron deal with the aftermath next week. The way Ron was edited this episode (telling his husband that he was in charge, had Julie in his pocket, was manipulating and lying) I couldn't believe he was going to survive. If he squeaked through after all that bragging and trying to trick Rick, they were clearly setting him up as a final 3 goat. Dare I say I missed Wardog tonight and how he would have messed up the challenges. My guess is during the RC he would have somehow kept throwing the bucket of water on himself instead of to his loved one.

This. I 100% disagree with allowing people to go through each other's possessions, but Aurora wasn't the only culprit (was it even her idea?) I appreciate that she at least made it seem like it was for the game and made no apologies. Lauren was probably thanking her lucky stars that her idol is buried somewhere on the beach. I really didn't want Aurora to go tonight, but I'm especially glad she didn't go because Ron got exposed and didn't get his own way. Though it would have been very interesting to hear him explain himself back at camp. I'm curious why Aurora would give her extra vote to Gavin, and not one of the girls. And that jury box is way too crowded.

That was a fun leg. I loved the karaoke and the dancing (anytime Rachel melts down is a good time). I feel like there's a good Colin twin and an evil Colin twin, the latter of whom ran the race 15 years ago. I just can't get over how different the man is! It's great seeing him and Christie really enjoy themselves, and not be super competitive (I'll probably be eating those words soon). I still find Leo/Jaamal annoying, and don't see why they feel the need to lie all the time. I also would think that if they want you to practice (even for karaoke), there's a reason. If it wasn't a NEL I was going to be disappointed they survived. I even find Corinne to be a more mellow version of herself compared to her Survivor reputation. Eliza is still annoying as ever. I can see what people are saying about Chris/Bret. I'm disappointed they didn't get more screen time during their initial Survivor run. They seem like some fun guys. I'm glad they are still in it.

So am I. I know that the logical explanation would be an animal or something, but I can't believe no one heard anything and didn't just check. I was hoping Rick would get stuck up there. He already had the idol, what could they have done?

All I could think was Ron was probably more concerned about looking bad in front of the jury than he was with what he did to Rick. I also noticed that Lauren took over the constant eye rolls to fill the void left by Wentworth. This was probably the first episode where I really liked her. I'm glad we finally have some strong ladies working together. I would never want to win the family visit, or get picked for it. I'd probably ask one of my friends to come or some relative I don't care for so I wouldn't get picked.

And then saying this is why he never gets dates. The family visit had such a weird vibe this year. I thought it dragged on longer than normal. The only thing I look forward to is to see how different the loved ones look from the visual I had in my mind of them. Usually about half of them are total opposite of what I was expecting.

I was so disappointed that Reem gave Ron a warmer welcome than everyone else (probably helps they were never on a tribe together). She's supposed to be bitter at everyone. That's the highlight of her being there! Looks like Rick's gonna get something from EOE next week to save himself *eye roll* I still think he's an arrogant little weenie. I'm worried that Aurora's time is finally up next week. Surprised we didn't see any of Julie in the preview. Perhaps she was melting down off in the jungle, first for losing Ron, and then for getting called out by Ron? I have to give her credit that she didn't lose it at TC.

I don’t know if I’ve ever had so many conflicting emotions during a TC. I wanted Ron to choke on a chicken bone. I wanted Rick to be voted out if he was that stupid for believing Ron was generous in giving him an advantage this late in the game. Yet I wanted him to play his idol and for Ron and Julie to be blindsided. I screamed at the TV when Aurora said she was giving her extra vote to Gavin, who was letting his emotions get in the way of the game over Ron strategically picking him for the family visit. I screamed even louder when Ron and (bonus!) Julie got called out by Rick in front of everyone. I don’t care if TPTB were shoving Rick and his underdog status down our throats, that was a beautiful idol play. God I love this show. Bad season or not I’m sad it’s ending in two weeks. And Aurora and her gives no shits attitude lives!

So with Rick not winning immunity, there goes the 'someone wins 3 challenges in a row'. For now, it could still be done. There was a spoiler that said only one idol would be found by a male this season, and that came out true. After tonight I can definitely see Rick winning, and that would go along with the controversial outcome of someone being voted out early, returning, and winning. If it's not him, whoever does win is getting a Natalie White/Michele Fitzgerald edit. I think the rumor of Victoria is a solid choice, as she's been one of the only ladies shown making game moves, even if her edit has been quiet. I'm still not sure what to make of her lol Julie doesn't have a chance, especially after Rick's performance about the expired advantage. I really am up in the air with Aurora, Lauren, and Gavin, but I think their chances are very slim.

Island of Idols?! And it sounds like this is another way to take attention away from the cast and focus on returning players.

TC aftermath. Ron's strategy is to make everyone think he's working with them, because that means they never vote you out. Given what we've seen by Ron being blindsided, flip flopping, and people outright saying they don't trust him, I think this is another attempt by TPTB to make fun of Ron's game play. In addition, trying to make it seem like you're working with everyone usually catches up to you at some point. And not in a good way. So it would appear he gives Rick the expired advantage to gain his trust back. We'll see how that works out for him when Rick realizes it's no good.

I posted about a secret scene the shower Ron talking about using his advantage to trick someone (either into working with him or thinking it was real). Because it was a secret scene, I figured it wasn’t something that was going to happen. Given Ron and Wardog believing they are playing the best game, and the edits they have gotten that have contradicted that, I have to think this will blow up spectacularly in Ron’s face. Unless that preview is totally misleading, he tells Rick it’s fake, and they plot to make people think it’s real.