LadyChatts

Shirin does seem likely, though I had also thought Sierra or maybe even Kelly, since she was the swing vote this week. The preview only focusing on the blue team made me roll my eyes that it's probably a red herring, and that nothing exciting happens next week. Maybe that's why Jeff hyped this week's episode so much, because he knows it'll be a boring and predictable time until the merge. There's speculation that Shirin does go far, though not sure what the sources are on this other than social media connections and people analyzing the edit. I do think we're in for one more pre-merge surprise. It's why I'm hoping SF was off by a week with the Joaquin pick.

Will's actually in a good spot. Even if they lose next week, the merge is around the corner. Physically he's no threat, and that may spare him. Loyalty-wise, I would keep an eye on him. If he sees a better opportunity or feels a double cross coming on, I'd be worried he'll flip. Will doesn't strike me as the type that will jump to the land of beef with the boys at blue collar, so I'm hoping he stays with the ladies of red. Hopefully Joe joins them at the merge, and they can bring the outsiders from the other tribe into their fold. I enjoy him.

That whole TC episode, between her and "why are you giving me that look, Jeff?", to Max's blindside. The expressions on everyone's faces when she said that to Jeff was worth a few rewinds. And of course, going into it so confident that she had orchestrated Will's blindside was epic. Made up for an otherwise somewhat dull 2 hours. Sadly, there's no one on the current red tribe that I want to see go. I think they're all great, fun, and schemers (yes, even Will, who is a wildcard with the votes). I wish they weren't so outmatched physically, because that'll make for a very dull week next week should they lose. Shirin dropped a little bit for the overconfidence, but in the end that's what makes Survivor all the better when you get ousters like that. I still do like her, though, and wouldn't underestimate her to pull something out of her hat. From a CBS video I watched with Tyler, it sounded like Shirin was on the outs with him as well. That may actually benefit her, since she could be someone's swing vote and secure herself into an alliance.

I believe in Hatch's case they had swapped tribes and were down to 2 at that point. Jeff had a different tone at tribal tonight I thought (the second one). He loves characters first and foremost, but maybe he got wind of what was happening at blue collar with Rodney/Dan/Mike and did feel like the show was going to be screwed if those 3 went the distance. Of course they could have left all the sexist remarks on the cutting room floor, so there's no doubt good reason they showed it. Still, I tend to agree he loves the bros on here a tad too much. I'm still enjoying this season, and not ready to throw in the towel on it being a wash. I really liked the first IC tonight. I like those that are just as much about luck and skill vs being all physical.

First memory of Kelly on this show will be the fact that she was the one who was injured. We already knew someone was going to get hurt, but if we didn't, Probst made it obvious when he kept telling everyone to be careful with the drops that something was coming. I am glad she was okay, and am glad she was able to continue. I hate to see anyone have to leave the game for medical purposes. That said, I hope she's got more to her game than just following an alliance around. It's not the worst strategy in the world, but she could have made a big move with Sierra and Lindsey in voting Rodney out-especially if she made the guys think she was going to help force a tie. Then at the former no collar tribe, going along with the majority so as not to stand out. I do wonder where her loyalty will lie once the merge comes, if she's still around. Which I fully expect her to be, because I think she's got some people ahead of her on her current tribe to go before her. And to be fair, following an alliance is probably the only Survivor strategy I would have, since they'd totally be able to read me. It just makes for boring TV when it gets done all the time. But there's always at least one floater in the group. Maybe being with a group of strong women will bring something out in Kelly.

Since the merge is coming up, I'm going to sincerely hope that's not the case. He'll no doubt make it there, but hopefully be gone first after the tribes come together. And I hope his ouster is as good as Max. Just seeing people so arrogant and sure of themselves getting the boot is gold.

Obviously Lindsey made no impression on me, considering she was voted out this very episode lol So 4/5 people voted off made fatal (and stupid) mistakes, mainly due to their big mouths. Which again makes me wonder, when will Dan get his turn to go?

Somehow I have a feeling there's a lot of people out there that can tell you just how punchable Rodney's face is. Normally I root for whoever I like, male or female, but this season it's almost hard not to root for the ladies. I know it's still early, but I'm a little nervous about why this season is Jeff's favorite so much. There's golden opportunity with the women, and women who are actually playing, but I worry that the men will end up taking them out. Of course, if I was nice guy Joe or Tyler, I'd probably want to be sitting in an all male final, too. Easy million. I'm glad Max went, mainly because he'd probably (maybe) be better at coping in this game without Shirin at his side. I don't know how much of a player Shirin is. Obviously tonight is the first time I feel like we've seen a ton of game play coming out. And I think you are right re: the tribes. ETA: Even though this wasn't entirely a fantastic episode for me, I guess I can see why Jeff liked it so much. The look on his face between Shirin and Max during the last TC was priceless.

I'll mention again how much I love Carolyn. I was iffy on her at first, but I'm so glad she's still in this game. In a CBS video with Tyler, he mentioned he was glad he was with Joaquin but had been close to Carolyn and was disappointed when she went to the other tribe with Max/Shirin. It'll be interesting once the tribes merge, how the dynamics shift. I hope she doesn't go running back to Tyler and do whatever he decides, but after tonight she's got a little game play going on. I don't think it was a bad move at all to vote against Max.

I'm liking Joe, Will, Jenn, Hali, Sierra, Kelly, and Carolyn. I'm on the fence with Tyler. He's okay, and for the guys he obviously comes out above the other 4 I didn't mention. I was Team Shirin but not so much after tonight. I appreciate her love of the game and care free attitude at enjoying it all. But it was epic seeing her get blindsided tonight. I just cringe to think at another NC (whatever their tribe is) loss. I'm hopeful that since we saw nothing of them in the previews that's a good sign that the other tribe (again, can't remember the name) ends up losing. I don't know if Mike/Dan/Sierra would actually throw a challenge to break up the bro-mance of Rodney and Joaquin. That IC was so lop sided tonight I really hope we don't get a replay of next week. Could be the lack of preview also means a really boring episode next week. Which considering this was supposed to be the "best episode of the season" with a lot of stuff happening, wouldn't be too much of a downgrade.

I didn't like Lindsey but never has a verbal meltdown been more justified. The look on the 3 men's faces like they pulled off the greatest Survivor play ever made me wish Jeff had given them a more a bigger verbal beat down about playing a good social game. I really wish Kelly hadn't helped cause a 3-way tie and voted with the other 2 girls to blindside Rodney.

Sierra, you're my only hope of getting rid of what's left of your tribe. Please don't go to the dark side with them. Now I finally know who she and Kelly are. I think Sierra might have a little fire inside of her. I enjoyed the fact that the tribe swap may have screwed up the 3 amigos bro-fest. Here's hoping, if they end up at TC before the merge, she votes with the other 3 guys. And then flips to the remaining ladies at the merge.

I feel like all 4 people voted out so far have broken some simple Survivor rule that resulted in their ouster. First and foremost being way too overconfident, but loose lips seemed to sink everyone thus far. Or big mouths in Max's case. For a die hard Survivor expert, I find it amusing he couldn't even tell that Carolyn was flipping on them before the swap even happened. I'm still just amazed at Max's boot. Even though I hated the thought, seeing the Survivor professor win seemed like some sort of story line this show goes for. I wonder if Max was still so giddy about losing.

I had never thought that, either, and I sort of hope that isn't the case there. Mainly because a lot of the people who seem the closest are also some of my favorites in this game. The thought of them going out over others nauseates me a little. Since it looks like more of a boys club, though, that might make sense since one tribe is basically just that. Thanks! I figured it was okay, but some forums I've visited through the years always asked that boot spoilers be put in tags. I guess it was considered too spoilery for a spoiler thread for their liking. So Survivor Fever missed Joaquin, but did correctly predict Lindsey. I had a guess that Joaquin was just a good guess anyway, given the swap. Since BC was the only tribe we saw in the promo next week and there's talk about breaking up the new bro-mance, I wonder if they were off with Joaquin's boot by a week. Though I've seen it speculated that Joaquin makes it far. Next week's title is "Odd Woman Out", which I assume means Shirin.

It's why I'm hopeful for an all woman final again! At least these women, for now, are women I really like. Much more than the men. I still love Joe and Will, but the rest can go. Unlike last season, these women seem to be actually playing the game now and not getting dragged along (so far).

I didn't have an opinion on Max other than I just didn't care for him, and he seemed a little too cocky. For a guy that actually taught a class on Survivor and knows every star sign of every player, you'd think he'd be a little better at actually playing the game. I missed Carolyn's eye roll at TC when he pretended to go for an idol, so I thought maybe she double crossed the others and handed him her idol. The look on Shirin's face was priceless. Max was just too cocky for his own good. Would have gotten along fine on the BC tribe. The former no collar tribe has an interesting set of dynamics. With the lop sided tribes I expect them to go back to TC next week. We'll see if anything else shifts.

I don't even know what their actual names are, so they are basically "the tribes formally known as blue/no collar". I don't get it, either. And seriously, by the time Jeff gets through saying " # person voted off of White Collar vs Blue Collar vs No Collar", that person is already pigging out at Ponderosa.

I love Jenn. I hope she makes it far. I want to see an epic girl alliance form between her, Hali, Sierra, Carolyn, and Kelly. Because those girls have more of their head in the game than the guys do. The guys are way too over confident and just expect to get it handed to them. I know that the likelihood of this happening is about zero, but a girl can certainly dream.

Has a Norman Bates thing going on with his mom. Not surprised he doesn't have a girlfriend. Didn't think I'd find a guy that looks more in love with himself than Joaquin. His ouster is going to be classic (I refuse to believe any other outcome than him getting blindsided). I hope we get a Max style blindside with him. I really hope that Joaquin/Joe/Tyler don't end up siding with this trio of meatheads over at BC come merge time. I like Joe, and Tyler's okay. But I couldn't stomach a full season of Rodney. In Boston Rob's first season, he made a similar remark about being in charge and everyone doing what he wanted. Hopefully Rodney enjoys the same fate.

I liked how Jeff called Rodney out tonight, as though he couldn't believe Rodney would be going off on the very people who might vote for him for the winner. Maybe Rodney's just trying to ensure he gets airtime at the reunion or asked back for Survivor: The All-Star Douchebags season?

Max probably wasn't the smartest choice for physical purposes, but NC can keep their numbers and get rid of a physical threat down the road (not to mention annoying voice). I think telling them what a mess they were as a tribe as thought he was scolding him like a principal. Really can't wait to read his exit interviews. I worry Joe might get targeted at the other tribe for being the lone NC left, but hopefully Rodney puts a target on his and Joaquin's back. The ladies seem to be playing a lot smarter, hopefully the egomaniacs of testosterone and chauvinism don't pick them off.

I think So picked the wrong people to align with. Carolyn's got game. I had a feeling it was going to be Max and Shirin, but given Jenn's talk earlier about scriewing up someone's game, I figured it could be her. That was about the only suspenseful, good thing about that episode.

I can't really say this is going to be "the best season ever", which is no surprise since I rarely agree with Jeff. My like for a lot of people went down tonight. I half wondered if Max/Shirin purposely threw the challenge at the end, though given how horrible their tribe is, they didn't need to try hard. Was Will really a blindside? And what was the point of a tie vote at the first TC? Just to throw around how cocky they are?

Dan reminds me of every geeky sidekick on any sitcom that is basically friends with his group because he makes the rest of them look good. I really want heads to roll (namely his, Mike's and Rodney's) at the first TC when the tie was revealed. He'll be dragged along for the vote, but hopefully gets booted when no one wants to play with him anymore. He's better in challenges than Will, if I have to give him a positive.

I hate that the red team lost by such a landslide, but maybe that's a good sign long term that they got players. Rodney, Mike, and Dan should take note. If this is the "best episode ever", then I cringe what the rest of the season holds. Still onboard, but it was hard after tonight. I love the former NC tribe, thank you Carolyn for being a player. I never expected the "survivor expert" to go so early. And you'd think for being such a fan, he'd know a little better. I'm hoping all the chauvinism shown tonight means a guy isn't winning this season. I feel sorry for Joe being on that tribe of meatheads. Hopefully Sierra makes good on her promise that her old tribe is dead to her.