LadyChatts

The editing left a lot out about the decision making process. I really didn't know how it was going to go. It seemed obvious Kelly was the boot, but then when they started bringing it up amongst themselves at crunch time, I wondered if that was a red herring. If there was strategy talk about Will's decision and Tyler/Carolyn's decision, I would have rather seen that than Dan's jelly fish sting. This whole episode seemed to fly by. I remember when the merge episodes seemed to show more camaraderie and a lot more falling down drunk Survivors. This was just merge! build a new camp! challenge! now quick debate and go to tribal! I don't believe Jeff read the last vote, as it wouldn't matter, but there's still that mystery vote for Hali that they are going to wonder about. Maybe they will assume one of the blues did it and not Will, but I still think he'll get found out. I also agree that in that NC alliance, I believe it goes Jenn/Hali at the top, Joe 3rd, Will 4th. If Joe felt in danger from his former tribemates, I don't think he'd even hesitate to turn on them. There seemed to be a lot of talk at tribal about not taking things personally and it being a game. Foreshadowing for down the road when we get to the jury phase, I wonder. I was actually surprised Sierra slid back under the radar, but I'm still wondering if she's waiting until she has to to form a new alliance. I just can't believe she would stay loyal to her formers blues the whole game, unless she really believes she can beat them in the finals.

I wonder if Joe hadn't won II if Jenn would have played her idol for him. He's one of the few people left I have to root for, so I hope he's in this for the long haul. Next challenge he loses he'll no doubt be a target. It could be interesting next week, depending on if alliances shift or if everyone stays where they are and votes along the lines of how they did tonight. Blue/No still have 4 original members, with the Whites having 3. Shirin voted for Kelly tonight, so here's hoping she sticks with the former Nagarote and Will flips back. Extra points to Joe for the face he made when Jenn questioned Rodney's intelligence.

Jenn and the gang were probably prematurely celebrating, especially if next week they start getting picked off. But I figure let them have it. They got a blindside in. Rodney looked more stumped than anyone up there (again). Last week was understandable, but I wonder if he worries that Will will realize he was tricked. Of course Will would have seen that anyway, even if Jen went home. So happy she's still there, at least someone to watch who's playing the game. Kelly was Mike's vote. That was all she was good for. And Survivor is about chances, but what the heck did Will/Tyler/Carolyn think would happen if they couldn't crack the blues in the end? And maybe Rodney really doesn't understand how it works. I wouldn't be surprised if he really thought he could vote Jeff off!

I half wondered if she was being sarcastic at that, but I'm thinking not. Mike and his minions seemed to be the only ones really excited about the name. Most everyone else seemed to go along with it.

I knew Will would flip. However, I didn't expect him to flip this early. Unless that was some sort of strategy to make the blues think he was with them so they'd give him info, but I doubt it. It seems like Rodney is still trying to be buddy buddy with him, but I wonder if anyone that knew he was voting for Hali will blow him in to her, Jenn, and Joe. I don't know if they realized that he voted for her tonight. I figured Will would go with whoever gives him the best chance of getting far in this game. He was on the bottom of the NC alliance, but he'll be the bottom of any alliance he's in. He isn't going to be a challenge threat, but being unpredictable this early in the merge might get him an early exit. He might have been able to slide under the radar if he just stuck with his NC, then maybe sought greener pastures. At some point, people are outnumbered, alliances are falling apart, so his vote would be needed. The blues didn't need him. And now his former alliance may not want or even need to take him back. Who says Carolyn and Tyler won't split their votes or jump over to the other side?

Mike's way too confident. It's why I was hoping they would boot him tonight. Dan and Kelly would be fish out of water without him. I loved Carolyn back at camp, playfully cursing at Joe that he wouldn't let her win for her kids. Glad Joe and his hair are also around another week. Usually I enjoy when they get to the merge, but I really am over this whole collar theme. Praying to the Survivor gods it's a normal, non theme season next time. And I wonder if they overestimated that the viewing audience might have wanted to see what they consider to be a blue collar winning or excelling in this season, because aside from Sierra, none of the blues are popular anywhere online that I've looked. I know online is very small compared to overall viewing base, but I would think there's a lot of others out there feeling the same. Could be I'm way off. Carolyn still has her idol, wonder if she'll get blindsided with it or if she'll be forced to get it out there. I wouldn't get too cushy if I were her and Tyler. Thought I agree with the logic that they were probably hoping they could get Will on their side, and maybe bring over the bottom feeder blues at the end.

Jenn for the win. She saved this entire episode. Girl is a tough, tough competitor and super smart about the game. Plus she's funny. I could watch a full episode of her confessionals. I wish she didn't have to play her idol so soon, but glad she did. I don't even want to get to next week if all it means is everyone re-groups and just picks off the remaining NC because their idol is used.

I really worried that they might have split the vote between Jenn and Hali. Did it really never dawn on them about idols until tonight? Or were they too busy trying to act all blue collar to think about it?

I don't understand what Will or Tyler/Carolyn were being offered, either. Unless it was assuming they would get in with the bottom feeders of the blue alliance. Jenn/Joe/Hali/Shirin are safe this week, but I hope something big happens next week to save them. Unless Will flips back, or just threw his vote as part of strategy to draw Rodney in, they are still really outnumbered. Maybe it'll open Tyler/Carolyn's eyes a little bit? I was really disappointed Carolyn went with the blues. Maybe a good way to not show your a power couple is vote with the person you're in a 2 person alliance with. ETA: I believe Will was being told they were voting for Hali because Mike wanted to see if they could trust him. The plan was to vote for Jenn, but tell Will they were voting for Hali and see if her name came up. Why Will did it, I don't know. I feel like with each passing week, I'm losing more and more people to root for. Right now it's Jenn/Hali/Joe/Shirin for me. On the fence with Carolyn/Tyler/Sierra/Will. Mike/Dan/Rodney can go get stung by all the bees and jelly fish that are out there.

I freaking LOVE Jenn. Bee sting to the honey pot and she still hung on. Laughing and crying while doing so. I'm hoping that her edit is going in the direction of 'winner' rather than getting blindsided down the road. I never liked that particular challenge. Not surprised Will and Dan 'tougher than I look' were the first two to drop. It seemed like a lot of people dropped early. Kudos to Carolyn, who was wanted out early for being old and weak, for hanging in there and not struggling to the end. I actually thought she might win it over Joe, who looked to be struggling early on. And yeah, Mike, he could win them all. It is possible. Why Mike wasn't targeted, I don't know. She must have been more of a threat out there than we were shown, especially for Rodney to trust her. So much for Rodney's big talk about getting revenge. Seeing so much of Kelly in the beginning and the talk of numbers on the blue side, I figured she was the one getting booted. I felt like I saw more of Tyler in the first 5 minutes than I've seen all season. And then the talk of numbers, bringing Will over, Mike's power trip, that was no surprise. Rodney's outburst that wasn't was kind of disappointing, but maybe he actually learned how to dial it back. Loved Will at TC with his 'you might get voted off tonight Jeff'. Did he really turn on his former tribe? Why the hell is anyone siding with the blue collars? After tonight shouldn't it be obvious you aren't breaking them up? I guess since Sierra's no longer a swing vote she's fading to the background again. If Jenn hadn't played her idol, this episode would have been a freaking snooze. And it was, up until that moment. What was with all the graphic cutting, knives, chainsaws, bombs, ice pick references? And how has no one at BC found the idol yet? When Dan was coming up towards Jenn on the beach and warned her about the water, I thought for sure we were getting his underwear story again. He almost seemed annoyed by Jenn's advice, and I expected some snide remark. Hey, you can still be blue collar and show pain buddy. It means you're human. Merica? Really? I agree with Shirin about the stupid name, but she lost points by bringing up Sarah Palin. That woman has said enough stupid things to make up for not using Merica. America's education system at its finest. Maybe that's why no one can spell names on here.

SF is predicting Joe as the II winner, and Kelly as the boot. She was the prediction last week, and since they were off a week with Joaquin, I'm hoping that means they were with Kelly as well. I wonder if Tyler/Carolyn are the actual deciding votes, if Rodney and/or Sierra flip, or maybe idols come into play and Kelly winds up being the boot because of that. Out of all the BC to target, she seems like a surprising choice. I know she's tight with Mike, but I would think Mike would be a target before her (unless he's the one who wins II, not Joe). ETA: Next week's episode is titled "Keep It Real". Could be from anyone, but I would guess maybe Rodney, Mike or Tyler.

I don't know that I see Sierra sticking with Mike/Dan/Kelly. In her case, voting against Joaquin last week may have been more against Rodney than picking a side. Pick the lesser of two evils and side with them for the week. She liked Joaquin, but Rodney must be something else if she voted with Mike and Dan to save Joe. I do agree that if she waffles, and shows it, then she'll no doubt be getting bounced from the game sooner than she expects. People needs votes on their side, but pretending you're back and forth doesn't exactly help your cause. I could see her sticking with Mike and his alliance for the time being, getting rid of Rodney, and then bringing in whoever is left from the former NC/WC group to overthrow Mike/Dan/Kelly. Assuming that those 3 are still intact, and Sierra doesn't wait to long to get numbers on her side. She's the 4th one on the totem pole in that group. That could very well be her argument for turning on them, and she'd be right. Whoever is left would be desperate to stay in the game, and it could be Sierra luring Mike and the gang into a false sense of security. Wouldn't be the first time someone waited patiently for revenge. In saying all of that, I still wouldn't rule out Sierra making some sort of sub alliance or even ditching her former blues this week. I know she has said in extra vids that she likely has a better chance winning against Mike/Dan/Kelly/Rodney in the final 3, but she's got to get there first. And she can't make any guarantees she will make it there. She waits to make a move, others may make one without her. There wasn't anything much in the promos about any blow up of Rodney's, so I'm thinking that's going to be much ado about nothing. Considering it's Rodney he may figure that she's so darn unlikeable that he's got a cake walk to the final 3 because anyone can win against him.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/482429BC-CC4D-7346-C3B2-59CDA5CA3D8F/survivor-the-line-will-be-drawn-tonight-preview-/ Here's one of the promos for this week. Apparently both the blue/no collars want to work with the former white collars, so Tyler considers himself and Carolyn swing votes (I'm guessing Shirin must have picked a side, unless Tyler doesn't count her as being part of the WC). After last season with Jon/Jaclyn's "we're in the middle again!" I'm really hoping I don't have to stomach another season of that. Nothing too revealing about this upcoming episode. And if a big deal is made about T/C being swing votes, something tells me it won't matter. Maybe they'll split the vote between each group to show loyalty. With the 3 former WC, plus Sierra and Rodney, there's 5 potential votes up for grabs. Assuming that Sierra and Rodney turn on their former tribe. It would really be in everyone's best interest to start chipping away at the 5 remaining BC, and get their numbers down (plus try and keep as many of them off the jury). I feel like that 30 second promo is the most I've seen of Tyler this season. I'm cautiously optimistic going into the merge, but somehow I'm getting a bad feeling the season is heading downhill. Hopefully I'm wrong.

It seems like Jenn/Hali/Shirin are really close, though they all live near each other so that's not surprising. Hali looks like a lot of fun in real life. I loved that photo of her on her Honda. I'm enjoying her on the show, but looking at those photos of her and Jenn, I feel like they've got similar personalities. I wish we'd get more of that side of her. In regards to Joe/Jenn-they seem to be having fun with fans with the whole dating rumors. Whether they are or aren't who knows. I love Survivor romances, and it seems like this show has more luck with hook ups than The Bachelor. But I can totally see why they are still so tight, friend-wise or something more.

I almost bailed on it, but I thought once we got to the merge it would get good. That is usually the make or break point of a season for me. The TC were interesting, and I loved some of the blindsides post-merge. Keith was one of the more interesting and bumbling characters we've seen. But in terms of the cast, as a whole, I felt it was one of the weakest ones we've had. I enjoyed the BvsW concept with former contestants and families, but some of the contestants last season would have been better off playing as individuals rather than having someone else in the game to worry about. Considering Jeff's take once the season was over, he must have felt the same way. Which is why I'm anxious to get to the end of this season, to hear what he really thought of it. BTW, does anyone have the finale date?

http://www.survivorfever.net/s30_press_images_ep7.html http://www.survivorfever.net/vc_s30_ep7_3_28.html http://www.survivorfever.net/vc_s30_web_promo_ep7.html So here's some of the promos for this week. Looks like both sides are asking for Tyler's vote, so he considers himself and Carolyn the swings. Nothing much in the first 2 promo links, other than the challenge and traditional merge feast. It looks like they are having to completely rebuild their camp, which I believe is at the old Esemeca. I really hope anyone but a blue, unless it's Sierra, finds their idol. Breaking it down, we have Mike/Kelly/Dan as a tight trio, Joe/Hali/Jenn/Will as a quartet, and Tyler/Carolyn as the swing duo. That leaves Shirin, Sierra, and Rodney on the outside. Even if Tyler/Carolyn joined Mike's group, it doesn't automatically give them a majority. I could see Shirin joining the former NC. So I feel like Sierra and Rodney may be more swing votes this week than anything. I don't know if I'm expecting a surprising episode this week. Jeff didn't go into overhype, and the description was generic; new alliances formed, contestants compete in a classic challenge. So it may be an obvious boot this week, someone on the bottom. Considering how concerned the blues feel about power couples, Tyler/Carolyn may want to watch it.

I did agree with Mike that the caller-challenge was a disaster, although I didn't like his attitude that he would have done better. Once Kelly got injured I feel like it was over for them no matter what. Why Lindsey and Kelly were going under instead of around the obstacles I don't know. Considering Jeff was being Jeff and yelling during the challenge that they were the only ones going under, that should have clued them in. But I'd probably do my best to try and tune Jeff out when it comes to challenges. But did Mike himself decide to sit out? Because he thought immunity was more important to compete in? That's the tone I got from that one video, and I didn't like how it came across that he would have done better than the women. Somehow I doubt it would have made a difference. Sierra's been more of a champion in the challenges for them, imo. I do wonder if BC regrets maybe not throwing a challenge earlier, because Mike and Dan likely would have been long gone by now had they lost the first couple. I half wondered if the show was foreshadowing the downfall of Mike's trio of himself, Kelly, and Dan. When Dan was attempting to give Sierra another half-ass apology this week, I thought I heard Mike say something to the effect of voting her best friend (Lindsey) off, that they were a power couple (I call BS on that line but whatever), and that was the logic in voting for Joaquin and separating him from Rodney. Could we hopefully be seeing the backs of Mike & co coming up? I have thought Mike's edit was improving, which does make me worry he's heading towards the path of victory. Or longevity in the game at least.

I thought it was pretty obvious how Sierra felt about the guys she had been stuck with, since she started right in as soon as she got her new tribe members. Maybe it came across more obvious watching than it did out there, but from Sierra's comments, to even Rodney's comments about how he felt about his tribe mates, I felt like that should have sent up a red flag to Joaquin that maybe he was aligning with the wrong guy (or should have talked some sense into his bro about the dangers of throwing a challenge when you don't need to). And even if Joe made the merge and brought in his 3 NC, if Joaquin had aligned with him Joe might have brought him into their fold. He still had Tyler/Carolyn, and maybe he could have still had Rodney and Sierra on his side at the merge. Also, in a couple of interviews, it sounded like Joaquin didn't even know they were 100% throwing the challenge until they got there and he was sitting on the sidelines. However, the above is one of many reasons I would absolutely suck at Survivor-I'd be as oblivious as the next person as to what's going on out there.

I am enjoying this season, and while I think it's an improvement over S29, it does seem like the episodes are a whole lot of nothing. Sometimes I wish every episode could be 90 minutes just to get more interaction with the players. This past episode was a snooze fest. It was so obvious with all the footage on Esemeca that they were losing and going to tribal. Last week was also a snooze fest, minus of course the Max boot. Week before with Nina? Zzzz. I know there's going to be rough spots in even the best seasons, but it does seem like they're just giving up this time. I'm more interested in the cast this year compared to last, so as long as my favorites hang in there it'll make it worth it. Once they start getting booted, then I'll be half paying attention. I love getting to the end of the season to finally hear what Jeff really thinks of it, and what the overall impression is online everywhere. So far I don't think this season has lived up to its hype, though again, I am enjoying more than I did most of the last few years of Survivor. And I'm bored by the challenges and cushy rewards. I liked the RC this past week, and I loved the very first challenge this season (I love those when there's more elements to them). But I'd like a season with all new challenges that have never been done before. It seems like they run out of creativity.

Yeah, that's kind of what I meant. I still believe it was intentional and not just 'I was going to the bathroom and they caught me!'. To me blaming it on the cameramen is like a cop out. He wanted the attention, but since it came across that way, just completely blame them and say it wasn't your intent to be filmed naked. I don't know if Max would ever be asked back or not (it wouldn't surprise me either way), but as some other posters pointed out, he obviously got what he was after. Legit Survivor cred from being on the show itself, and attention from being a complete doofus.

From Max, I take a lot of what he says with a grain of salt. I had heard that once before, too, regarding the bathroom trips. I don't know if being in the ocean while doing your business is some loop hole, however. From this People article with Max: http://www.people.com/article/survivor-worlds-apart-max-dawson-exit-interview That's pretty much what I took it as, was Max doing things like running around nude for the attention it would get him. Maybe he didn't realize that people at home actually might think he was doing just that, trying to be memorable, and now he's doing damage control. The cameramen made me do it! Of all the people out there that they can catch nude, I just don't see that being such a big deal. I've heard before from contestants that they've been asked to re-do or repeat things that they didn't get on take. But in this case, I do agree that Max seems full of it.

That could very well be. I think my issue with Mike is that he comes across trying to be "the big man"-he kills a scorpion and snake that were both minding their own business on the beach (and acts like a barbarian in doing so), he's got to collect the wood, he's got to build the shelter, he's got to call the shots, he's got to be the hero in the challenges, the girls aren't good enough to handle it themselves, he allies with 2 of the weakest players out there. Mike seemed really nervous for Kelly, so maybe he was in fact playing that bit up about throwing the challenge. After all, it was Rodney's idea so he could just place the blame on him even if he thought it was a great idea. That extra video on CBS where he said his dumbest decision was putting Kelly/Lindsey/Sierra in that calling challenge is what turned my opinion completely negative of him. And then came the Lindsey boot and those stupid smirks on the guys faces. Dan and Rodney are chauvinistic enough that he doesn't have to be, and instead can be the father figure in getting them to stop bullying the girls (or Sierra, in this case). I notice Dan just nods and agrees with everything Mike says. Still, I like him better than about 3 people out there. Also, I noticed this week, we got a confessional from Mike, but then it switched to a voice-over that was obviously Dan, but then it seemed to go back to the Mike confessional. Were they trying to put Dan's words in Mike's mouth?

I don't know that I base Mike winning on who he's friends with outside the game. It could mean they were close in the game. Mike actually seems close to just about everyone. And since Mike lives closer to the West Coast crew of Survivor players, I can see why he's showing up more on their IG and Twitter accounts. However, it could also mean that he got a lot of respect in the game from said players. Joaquin had really good things to say about Tyler, too, which could also point to a Tyler win. I guess whatever happened in the game there's no hard feelings. I'm just thinking I can possibly see a Mike win, if he gets short on allies, and manages to worm his way into some other group that starts picking itself off. He can go to the final 3 with somewhat clean hands if the other 2 people either rode someone else's coattails or backstabbed a good percent of the jury. Who knows, maybe this will finally be the non-bitter jury that gets back stabbed and front stabbed, and the final 3 brags about doing it, and they get respect. I'm still hoping he doesn't win and the sooner he gets voted off, the better I'll feel. Because the other people in the game that I don't want to see win likely have no chance as it is.

I'm still a Carolyn fan. I like Shirin, too, so it'd be nice for them to bury the hatchet and work together rather than what will probably be against each other. Carolyn had been on the outs with Max from the first TC aftermath. I don't consider her deciding to vote him out as being emotional as much as it probably was strategic. She didn't like or trust him, Shirin apparently was his shadow out there, so why not get rid of a threat and earn some credit with other tribe members? Whether it ends up paying off for her after the merge or not remains to be seen. Given that Max's sole purpose was to create blindsides and chaos, I don't think it would have benefited her to stick with him anyway. Since there's so much talk about breaking up "the power couples" this season, I could see Carolyn getting bounced mainly because of her loyalty to Tyler. Of course if Tyler decides to stick with the former BC and he brings her in, that might benefit her for awhile. She may not be happy they got rid of Joaquin, however. Who knows how it will go! It's why I'm excited for next week. There really hasn't been enough of Carolyn or the old WC tribe shown for me to really get a dislike of her. I'm betting there was a lot more to her and Shirin this week. I don't think her game has been so horrible, what little we've seen of it. In regards to the HII-I've never understood the logic of not targeting someone because they have it. Yeah, the worst case is that they play it and someone gets sacrificed. And if you're the one getting bounced because of a risky move, it would suck. But for those still in the game, it'd be worth it getting the idol out of play, at least until someone else finds it.

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/photos/1003748/see-castaways-climb-their-way-to-the-top-after-the-merge/ Here are the photos for the upcoming episode (I'm assuming because they're posted publicly it's not considered a spoiler?)