LadyChatts

Maybe the whole "iconic" bit is that the lesser of 3 evils win. This is one of the more uninspiring final groups of 7 I can recall. I'm hoping something exciting happens this week. The six will have to turn on each other, which is why I think Sierra may be targeted (is there a reason Tyler and Will voted for Dan over her? Is Will trying to be Top Goat or something?) But will it be as uneventful as the last few boots have been, or will it actually be edge of your seat, the person didn't see it coming. Mike's behavior early on is why I can't get behind him. And if it's true Tyler made remarks to Shirin about letting him do some of the heavy work at camp because she's a woman, then I really wonder what is going on with the editing this season. Everyone is horrible, but they have to make at least two people rootable. And since Sierra and Carolyn don't seem to have much going on for them, they fade into the background while Mike and Tyler appear somewhat nice-ish. I will say that Mike may have been playing a better game than we were shown as well, so much like Rodney, I may have to give credit where credit is due. Even though in any other season I would totally not be rooting for either guy, but this season there are few options left. I'm actually looking forward to Wednesday, mainly for that very reason: I have no one left I care about, whoever gets voted off with be satisfying, and there at least won't be any more bullying to the degree Shirin got it. Plus, I get to see what would have been my final 4 in the jury.

I wonder if it will click to Dan and Will that the only reason they are being kept around is because no one likes them. I know Dan said last week that if he made the final 3 he would have done something to get there-so I guess being king jackass is something you can argue to the jury. Or maybe he will say he was playing a character all along to get dragged along but he's really not a bad guy and never meant any of it (with Dan it's almost an adventure to hear what he'll say next). I somehow doubt we will be seeing Tyler and Carolyn in the final 3 together, but that is a good point. We know that they are tight, but something else I wish editing would touch on is just how close their bond is. There was an early season of Big Brother that I remember there was a secret 2-person alliance that went to the final 4 together and no one knew that they had been working together that whole time. At this point, though, I think strategy changed for everyone. While it must have seemed like a good idea way back for Sierra to be sitting in the final 3 with any of the blue boys and cruise to victory, now the only one she could actually beat in a landslide is Dan. At Ponderosa, Shirin doesn't seem to have a lot of love for her, and Jenn only said Mike and Shirin were the two she hoped were voted off next because she didn't want to deal with anyone else. I don't know that they dislike her that much, but I don't believe there's a lot of appreciation for her game. Rodney's dialed it back apparently and is more of a gamer than people realized, and Mike has earned respect out there and can use the ultimate underdog line if he makes the final 3. I don't know what exactly Tyler and Carolyn's arguments will be. And The Ponderosa house so far doesn't seem to like Carolyn all that much. In hindsight, Rodney might realize it was better to drag Sierra and Dan to the final 3 and just state why he played a better game than either of them.

I really missed the swimming challenges this year. I had forgotten that was a reason they couldn't do as many of them as they probably would have liked. I hope in their next location they can feature more of them. I like the mix between land locked and water, as well as mixing it up with physical and logical.

I have to say I'm not as excited about some of these picks as I was when they were first announced. Also disappointed about no Natalie or John Cody (I can do without J'Tia). This list basically looks like a 3rd/4th/5th choices when all their first and second picks declined. I could do without Mikayla, Kass, Natalie, Kelley, Terry (ugh), Brad, Stephanie, and Stephen. I am very excited about the possible return of Peih-Gee, Shane, Vytas, and Hayden, and hopeful Kelly W. and Greg are among those on the official list as well. I'm more convinced that Mike is one of the S30 males, along with Joe. Don't know who the 3rd could be. I can't see anyone post-merge that they would pick given the backlash Dan, Will, and Rodney received this season. So I'm sticking with the theory it is in fact a pre-merge male. As for the women, only 2 slots, but I'm still going with Hali, Jenn, or Shirin. I actually prefer Joaquin to everyone left. Going solely on his time on the show, we didn't see much of him aside from his budding bromance with Rodney. Since he said he's never watched the show prior to being on, I would have liked to have seen what he might have been able to do once the game hit the merge. And even in some of his post show interviews, I find what he said mild compared to the crap spewing from Dan and Will.

I try to keep in mind that, however dull a season may be and loosely one may define "reality TV", these are still real people looking for a million dollars. So while it's more entertaining for me as a viewer when the obvious isn't happening, I would probably be doing the same thing if it meant getting me that much further. Putting that in perspective, a lot of these strategies or even lack of strategies make more sense. The only reason I see things starting to shift now is because they have to. Rodney himself said they were going to the 7 together and then he assumed his alliance would be picking the other 3 off. So here they are at the 7, but obviously Mike's idol is one snag, and Dan's extra vote may prove another obstacle. If his alliance holds tough, they could succeed in getting someone out on a re-vote. I credit Rodney for playing a good game. Jenn's move got her on the jury and prevented Kelly from sticking around. Rodney's final 4 initially included her, but Kelly seemed closer to Mike and Carolyn wanted Tyler in in place of Kelly. Something may have came of that if Kelly had made it. Rodney's alliance is reminiscent of the very first 4 person alliance ever born with Richard, Sue, Kelly, and Rudy. No one realized they were a group until it was too late. Of course, this season is also like the old days before idols and twists, in that this is what you did back then-got into a majority alliance and prayed you weren't at the bottom once you were done taking out the minority alliance. There have been some interesting twists, like Jenn's idol play, that kept this season interesting. And we still have 2 idols in play on top of the extra vote advantage. So we will see. This close to the finale, even if things get interesting it is still an overall lackluster season for me. The theme/tribes we started with and the luck of the draw with the swap really ruined it. It's just the lack of interesting play, on top of having uninteresting people, that has made this a boring and terrible season, imo. It's people that know this game maybe a little too well, which may be why there's been a lack of alliance shifting and big moves that have made seasons past more interesting. Which is why I said, maybe a bunch of recruited contestants might have fallen for Mike's bluff or Joe's fake idol and not been 20 steps ahead of where they need to be and cause their own demise. Everything still went according to plan for the majority, despite Jenn's idol play and Mike's bluff. Of course Mike's bluff may have caused cracks, but we'll see what Wednesday brings. It could just be a big 'how dare you' and then they move on.

According to Joe, Tyler claims he choked when confronted by Mike and just told him the whole clue without really meaning to. Frankly, if you're that rattled, it's probably easier to get away with lying and not even realizing your doing it. I don't mind Tyler so I would sort of be sorry to see him go (I think), but that would be poetic justice. And I really want Joe to point at Tyler and saw this is why they should have aligned, the bigger threats should have stuck together. I will be surprised if Tyler goes. He's going to get confronted by Dan and if it finally clicks to him that he's a target, he might go into overdrive at winning immunity.

I'm surprised she thinks Carolyn will win. She doesn't seem popular with the four jurors that are already out, and I don't see what she's really done to justify a win. Again, if she were up against Dan and Will she'd have a clean sweep. Maybe she'd pull of a narrow victory over Sierra, though that would go either way. But I'd see her losing over Mike, Tyler, and Rodney.

Someone asked him on his twitter if he could only use it to a certain point.

Here's the description for next week. Once again nothing too revealing, which might mean a pretty obvious boot. Dan has up until the final 5 to use his extra vote, so maybe he sticks with Rodney's group after all and uses that to persuade people down the road. Mike isn't going anywhere. So I guess it will come down to whether Dan and Sierra go back to Mike and use Dan's extra vote to force a tie with Rodney/Will/Tyler/Carolyn, or if Dan and/or Sierra stays with Rodney's group and assume they are safe. Maybe they target Carolyn, but she uses her idol, and one of them (likely Sierra) gets blindsided. Or they go after the next biggest threat, Tyler, and get him out, which would pretty much confirm Mike has this season won. I would think a moment where Dan's vote is used would get mentioned. ETA: I was thinking the crazy TC was in reference to last week, but I wonder if something does happen this week with Mike playing his idol and/or Dan bringing up the extra vote and it either causes people to flip. I could see Dan attempting to pull a Mike move and say he has but then never follow through on using it, just mentioning it to get people on his side. Maybe that's the whole "Shakespearean" thing Probst was talking about. Since there's been a lot of "flippers never win" coming from Mike and especially Dan, perhaps Tyler and Carolyn turn on Rodney and flip to Mike's side, and at the end one of them is victorious with the win.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't see a lot of playing and strategy this season. It's been a standard, get in an alliance and just eliminate targets, then realize your next but it's too late to do anything about it. Unless it is all cleverly hidden in the editing. But no surprise, I completely disagree with Jeff's statement. I would agree that it doesn't appear to be a lot of sheep, just a lot of people thinking they know what's going on but really have no idea. The only person left that I can see fitting that description is Mike, who is the odd man out and next on the Pagonging list. His idol and winning immunity are the only things keeping him in the game. I don't know if Jeff would make a statement like that about Sierra. And I don't particularly see Carolyn fitting that scenario, either, unless they reference that she was slated to be kicked off first but survived, and here she is. Of course the only way I can see Carolyn winning is being in the final 3 with Will and Dan. I wonder if Jeff regrets all this pre-season hype.

Between that, Joe talking about Mike getting it "from the back rows" (with the impersonations), and Jenn/Hali having a different impression of Rodney and his game, I'm also thinking he falls short of the finals. I won't be surprised if he winds up going this week. Break up his alliance, cut the head off of the snake as Mike said. I'm thinking a final 4 of Mike, Dan, Tyler, and either Will or Carolyn. Maybe throw Sierra in there over the last 2, but I have a feeling they will want to get rid of her for being likable.

I don't know if Jeff will be able to get away with taking the soft approach this time. He and TPTB are catching quite a bit of heat over this season, and if Jeff just lets everyone say their peace and move on, he probably will catch even more flack than he already has. I don't know that there will be a resolution that everyone is happy with, and it is possible TPTB may just tell Dan and Will to apologize so they can move on after saying their peace. I wonder if Dan will give an apology, forget where he is, look at the camera and then start talking about what he really feels thinking it's just him and the cameraman.

That's exactly how I feel, and maybe it is just the circumstances of a crappy season she was dealt. However, I don't know if she would have done any better in a season with strategic gamers. I half wondered if she just talked a big game to people to keep the target off her. She talked about turning on her blue boys, but Kelly said they had never lost Sierra. She talked about a girls alliance, and while she didn't have the numbers to pull it off, Hali I believe said Sierra was never serious about it. Now, she may be realizing that she's screwed. Sierra is just uninteresting and not someone I would really care to see back. I don't really expect her to get an invite to return, unless a bunch of first choices for an AS season decline. It seemed as though her strategy was to drag the BC to the end and be the most likable of an unlikable 3. Sadly for her, she's at the bottom of the alliance, Mike may go on an immunity run, and Rodney's been making side deals. If she makes it to the final 3, she'll be very lucky. She may squeeze into the final 5, but I have a feeling she's going very soon. I would find her win disappointing. Better than Dan, Will, and Carolyn, but I would rather see Mike or even Rodney get the win.

Well that maybe confirms my theory Tyler is the winner. He's gotten little screen time until now, maybe there's a good reason for it. And even now, his screen time is still small compared to some of the others.

Here are a bunch of tweets from our fearless host. He must be done filming the newest installment of Survivor, or CBS told him he needed to pick up the slack on his twitter. He's been MIA for most of the season. Almost looking forward to this, and I don't think Dan or Will will get off the hook so easily. Wonder if he still thinks this is the best cast ever? Or maybe he really did mean best-worst ever, since they have given such a strong response (for better or worse).

If Rodney and Mike find their way to Ponderosa, then I really don't know who Probst could mean as being "iconic". Unless my original theory of him saying that as a way to mock the winner is correct. If Rodney is voted off, that could come as a result of this week (either he's blindsided when Dan and Sierra flip back to Mike, use the extra vote to force a tie, and no one wants to risk rocks so they vote him off). Or someone from his alliance is eliminated this week, thus leaving him at a numbers disadvantage. Who knows, Sierra could go this week, but Mike goes on an immunity run, and Dan and Will are better options to beat in the final 3. Once upon a time, Rodney was the ultimate final 3 goat. How quickly that turned on him.

He criticizes Carolyn, yet she has done better in the challenges than good old Dan. She was the second to last person in the first II challenge against Joe and barely waffled until the end, and she won this week. And Mike is lucky in the challenges? Really Dan? Coming from you, the man who's been applying for 15 years, yet can't spell 'outwit, outplay, outlast'? Dan can do fine in group challenges, but on his own he completely sucks and bombs out. There is no word created yet for this man. My god, he is the worst of the worst. The absolute bottom of the barrell of contestants ever. Yes Colton, you've been dethroned. And Dan just gives me the creeps watching him. How do they sleep out there at night with this creeper? Can you imagine if Dan made the final 3 and someone actually threw him a vote? It would probably be completely silent in the studio when Jeff held his name up. They'd have to go into overdrive with the canned applause to drown out any boos. Not that I expect Dan to get any votes. A small part of me wants to hear his jury speech, just to see him dig that hole a little deeper before he buries himself completely trying to explain himself at the reunion and interview circuit. I know Colton had been asked back, but I really can't see them ever extending an invite to Dan. Not with the reception he and his behavior got.

They've had love letters/videos before and still did a visit (though that makes them getting sappy all the more eye-roll worthy for me). There have been seasons where they haven't, but there's been very few that I can recall. Maybe they just get people on stand by in case? I almost wouldn't mind if they skipped it this season. I would think something like that would be in the previews. According to Jeff's EW tease "It's Rodney's birthday!" So maybe part of the reward is a big fat birthday cake, but Rodney loses again, and that leads to his blow up. Oh, and no presents. Maybe that's part of the reward and the contestants steal his presents, too.

I don't know if Sierra has attempted anything and, like the 3 NC+Shirin before her, she just didn't have the numbers. It is unfortunate the lack of game play going on this season. One person has an idea, the rest jump on the bandwagon and wait until it is too late to ruffle any feathers. Rodney had a solid 4, at the merge Mike, Dan, and Kelly wanted to vote off Jenn. So as some have said, even if she wanted to flip she probably couldn't. But it just seems like there's a lot of talk coming from her about making moves, and then nothing. Even in one of the extra vids from back at the start of the merge, I think she commented she was better off sticking with her blues because they were easier to beat. I said all along, let her get there first. The only 2 I can totally see her beating are Dan and Will. She'll lose against Mike and probably Tyler. She might have a chance against Rodney and Carolyn. But with those 2, if the jury feels they played a good game and actually were productive in getting themselves there, that may come back to bite her. At this point even Dan's extra vote might be for nothing if he doesn't use it next week.

If Mike loses immunity and doesn't play his idol, he deserves to get sent packing. I see the possibility of everyone voting for a different target, but getting Mike's idol out of the way and having him use it for nothing. But why would he want to take the chance when he's the next biggest target?

It's why I'm worried to have anyone from this season there. Joe would need to either get really lucky with a strong pre-merge alliance, or hope that his tribe needs him and doesn't lose to close too the merge where he'll be deemed a threat. On the plus side, there will hopefully be more people up to his caliber that will also be a target. Given his popularity, which appears to be the most popular contestant this season, I can see TPTB doing anything and everything to keep him in as long as possible. Since they are going to be returnees, and possible pre-show alliances are already forming, then I can see TPTB potentially throwing in some curve balls so someone isn't an instant target just because, or shaking up pre-show alliances so they don't dominate out of the gate and we get a repeat of Boston Rob vs Lex with the hurt feelings/ruined friendship. I can see Spencer getting knocked off early, and either the early season castaways leaving early because they have no ties to anyone, or becoming much needed swing votes and wiggling into an alliance. From this season, I'm speculating Joe, Mike, Joaquin, Max, Vince, Jenn, Hali, Shirin as being ones potentially asked back. We know Mike is safe for sure next week, whether he wins immunity or not. And if he doesn't need to pull out the idol, then he's got that going into the final 6. They all seem neutral to Tyler. I'm with you that the next boots could possibly be Sierra (she's one of my picks to go next week), Tyler (another possible boot next week) or Rodney (and yet another I can see getting blindsided-maybe that'll finally be Sierra's big move). They didn't seem to have an issue with Will out there, despite him flipping on them. Hali and Joe were gone when the blow up happened, and Jenn was off hiding in her cave. They didn't see the worst of it until it aired it seemed. However, given the tension with Shirin, I can see Will being a total buzzkill while they are there. Mike may end up just short of the final 3. Jenn herself said in Shirin's Ponderosa vid she was hoping that it would be her or Mike getting eliminated.

So Sierra once again talks about making a move, but then doesn't. Is she ever going to, or is she just all talk? Her moment to strike may have passed. She's at the bottom of her alliance, and if Mike wins immunity, that may seal her fate if Rodney's group of 4 holds tight. She may get a reprieve if Dan and her join Mike and use Dan's extra vote to force a tie and possibly get someone from the other side out. But would that really be her doing or just being very lucky? Shirin seemed to have a harsh response to Sierra's inaction during the Will blow up in her Ponderosa vid. This was a response Sierra gave to someone on twitter asking about her edit (or lack of):

At least Joe and Hali (I think Jenn might have, too) also mentioned Tyler being a potential threat to win. So I really think it's going to come down to those 2. With the edit everyone else is getting, I just can't see how they can win. Unless they wind up in a final 3 with Dan and Will. That's the only way I could see Carolyn or Sierra pulling off a win anyway.

I was thinking a jackass would be appropriate, but Hali might be too nice for that. I wonder if she'll keep making crowns, even for the people she doesn't like. So far everyone voted off has been her friend and ally in the game. I don't think that there will be a repeat of the Ponderosa's where Crystal and Cochran were completely ignored. Jenn and Shirin may gave people the cold shoulder, but I think Joe and Hali will be friendly. It seems like most of them are getting the bigger picture once people are either voted off, or watching the show at home.

I look at the Shakespearean quote as either tragedy or betrayal. Because it's Survivor, I'm leaning towards betrayal and perhaps someone avenging themselves or another. Which is why I think Dan could use his second vote to get Tyler or maybe even his #1 ally Carolyn out. Which to me is completely petty and nothing Shakespearean about it, since we've seen people targeted for revenge before. I'm hoping it is tragedy, in that Dan is such a baffoon that he either misuses the vote or gets voted out without using it and it's such a tragedy to see him look like more of a bumbling fool than normal. A tragic-comedy.