Turtle

Not proud of it, but watched and loved the premiere episode.

I hate myself for how much I’m enjoying this.

They still do the HOH room reveal each week but they don't usually air it unless they need something to fill time in an episode or the reveal somehow plays in to the "story" for the week. I think we see it regularly later in the season as the number of people gets whittled down and the paranoia gets ratcheted up. I'm glad they don't air it all the time because I think it's usually boring and pointless.

Yeah, his boringness took an unfortunate turn.

For anyone who is interested, that thread is where feed watchers answer questions about the feeds without spoiling competition wins, etc. So if you just want a little more info about what led up to stuff on the episode or whether someone is as insufferable as they seem, it's a safe place to ask questions.

He certainly does. And talks a lot about his very hot coworker with a thin frame and juicy lips. He's sort of a mess. #NotGayCorey has been trending on Twitter. If he is confused about or hiding his sexuality, I feel for him and hope he figures it out. In the meantime, I can't help but speculate, because it's the most interesting thing about him. So boring.

So is Corey. I like Frank so much more this season than in 14. Confirms my theory that Mike Boogie ruins everything. Edited a second time because we all talked about Episodes v. Feeds at the same time.

Jozea and Paul are HORRIBLE. And everyone seems over them both, and several people look pissed, especially at Paul. Fingers crossed for early boots.

I thought there were two yellow chairs there before. Is the new power going to let someone nominate a third person?? Or are they finally bringing a shrink into the house full-time?

Apparently, someone said that people died to protect our freedoms and Jozea said "nobody asked them to do that." There might have been kore but that's all James repeated. I really need Corey to blink more often. It's disturbing.

When the feeds first came on, someone in the bedroom asked if the feeds had started and they all seemed pretty sure they hadn't. James is already planning where he can hide to scare people. Current plan is the trunk in the safari room. So, riveting stuff so far.

I'll agree on Nicole but not Tiffany! Is my hate irrational? Yes. Is it real? Also yes. Actually, Tiffany hasn't done anything to bother me, but her voice and mannerisms are just so similar to Vanessa's, and Vanessa really got on every single of my nerves last year. Which was a shame because I liked some of her game moves but her personality really rubbed me the wrong way and I just couldn't get past it. I like Bronte a lot, so it's possible that my sense of things is skewed.

I've got my avatar within arms reach and am ready to go.

Dead. I doubt the show lets Paulie leave this early. He's got to be a big draw and I'm sure they want him around for at least a few weeks. Or maybe I'm just hoping because *I* want to keep him around for a while. I'm so nervous about whatever this brand new challenge that's going to give someone a lot of power might be. Unless it goes to someone I like, of course, because I'm a hypocrite with this show.

I liked that Sean talked to the crew before doing the firing, because they are the guys dealing him on the deck and, most important, they are the ones who will have to do more work. It showed respect for his crew and they seemed to appreciate it (and to be supportive of Sean). I think it was a terrible idea, however, for him to tell the guy that everyone wanted him out. Getting the crew's input is good people management; not owning your decision as the boss is not. For reasons I can't really explain, I think Sig might be more likely to give Mandy the wheel than either Jake or Edgar. Maybe it's that to me, Sig has always seemed to think substance abuse and addiction are a weakness and he struggles to respect someone who's battled those issues? Or maybe he's just a dad who thinks his baby girl can do no wrong!

Pauline is a pawn that Nicole hopes can beat Jozea in the PoV. It's such a risky move, especially if the other newbies suspect he's throwing in with the vets. I can't with Tiffany. Vanessa gave me about 763 rage blackouts last year - hearing that voice say "my strategy for the challenge was to ..." made me apoplectic. Remember how she said she and Vanessa are very different people? Not buying it. At all. Both think they're smoother/smarter than they are, both with the crying, the BANDANA, everything. Paul is also way up there on the vitriol list. I only hope that people realize how hard he's playing and boot him early. God help me, I swore I wouldn't because I have so much to do tomorrow, but I know I'm staying up u til the feeds come on.

I agree with all of this. And, I wish shows would acknowledge that sometimes people go through heavy drinking phases but aren't alcoholics. Sometimes, especially during high stress situations, people drink too much, and it doesn't always mean alcoholism. I'm not even sure that I would think Grace has a drinking problem, if it wasn't for the hidden booze. The other shitty decisions, including driving, I can see as her drinking too much because her life has been totally uprooted and she's "handling" it by numbing the pain. But when you have booze stashed all over the house (and kayak), your drinking has turned the corner from temporary self-medicating to something more serious. That said, it drives me crazy that on tv, whenever someone goes on a bender after a tragic event, they're an alcoholic. Sometimes depressed/ stressed people drink too much, eat too much, sleep too much, whatever- doesn't mean they're an alcoholic, or addicted to food, or suffering from narcolepsy. I'd love to see a story line on tv in which someone suffers tragedy or chaos, drinks a shit-ton for a while, and then has to deal with the ramifications of that, without going to rehab and never drinking again.

Everything? Just guessing.

I was kind of liking Julia and so was sorry to see her go bit I agree it was probably the right choice for Michelle and Cydney. I've been struggling with whether or not I think this season is good. We've had some great blindsides for sure, but I just haven't really been that excited about it and couldn't figure out why. It hit me last night when Cydney and Aubrey chose Michelle for reward: I always think through whether those choices are strategically smart ones but last night I realized that I had no idea! I don't think I've seen enough of the dynamics between most of these people to get invested. Two other examples: when everyone was talking about voting out Julia in front of Michelle, I was so confused because I thought Julia and Michelle were tight and thought they were dumb for discussing that in front of Michelle; and, at tribal when they were all talking about how close Aubrey and Joe are, which I don't think has been shown to us but that clearly has been discussed around camp. Hell, I'm still not 100% sure why Scot and Jason turned on Cydney. This got longer than I intended, but my point is that while it's always fun to see people get surprised at tribal, I'd enjoy it so much more if I had a clue about the dynamics between and among these people, and the show usually does a much better job of that. Analyzing their motivations and choices not made and whatnot is part of the fun for me, and I'm missing that this year because I have no idea who they are!

I haven't been paying much attention- fill me in on the deal with them spoiling things/ having their social media monitored? Thanks!So happy to see Scot leave, but I would have preferred Jason's ridiculous smug, "aren't I great?" face headed to Ponderosa. Next week maybe. For now, I'm trying to think how the alliances shake up next week. Do Julia and Michelle (who?) try to work their way back in with the others, abandoning Jason? Or do they stick with Jason and try to keep Tai (as mentioned, he would have gone on a re-vote if he gave Scot how idol and they might understand that), or try to reel in someone else? Could depend on who wins immunity but it might be interesting to watch. ETA: excellent point, LanceM. It didn't seem like Jason and team realized that Tai voted for Scot while at tribal, but they should after they have a chance to think about the votes. There aren't that many other candidates, after all. Maybe Michelle, but that's about it.

I realize I'm probably delusional, but all the talk about how dangerous this Carlos mission is, and how Carly doesn't want him to go and won't be able to stand watching him get hurt again, and Michael looking after the family sort of got my hopes up that maybe they're going to kill Sonny. I know, I know, ridiculous. But it seemed awfully anvillicious. There is something seriously wrong with me - I loved Nik/ letter opener and Hayden/ ice pick all going to bed together. Not like it was so romantic, I'm not that weird, but something about it was interesting and funny.

I think Gus has some of that woe is me, fake nice guy thing going on, but I find Mickey so much more intolerable. She's demanding and insensitive and seems completely unaware that the universe doesn't revolve around her. Her obliviousness seems at least partially intentional and it wears me out. She takes advantage of people, and when she gets called on it she either brushes it off as unimportant or goes off on them. I find her exhausting, so much more than so than Gus (and Gus is pretty exhausting).

I am both amused and horrified by this scenario.

Oh my god, please go outside, turn around three times, and spit to prevent this terror you've just put in to words from becoming a reality. I hadn't noticed that they were keeping the baby's sex a secret but now that you guys have mentioned it, I can't get the horrifying idea that they might try an intersex story. And I. Just. Cannot.

I'm pretty sure that Fishbach or others have said that they are allowed water during challenges but that we never see it because drama. Maybe that's just during stamina challenges that have built in phases or something. I also could be wrong. In this case, though, even with occasional water breaks, they needed to stop all activity and get in the damn shade for a few. But, I can also see how people watching the challenge, even the medical staff, might not have realized how bad the situation was because the digging probably looked like not too much strenuous, or at least not constant, activity, compared to some of the challenges when they're running up stairs nonstop or something. It was a disaster, though, and I think the show was irresponsible in letting it happen. Up thread, someone reminded me of Joe and Keith collapsing last season, and seeing this episode makes that episode seem even worse. Show runners had JUST seen people have serious issues with staying out in that heat, on that same beach, and still weren't attuned to the signs that Keith and especially Joe were in trouble. I can't hate on Peter for not acting more doctorly in the moment (although I have other reasons!). We didn't see everything that happened or if he was told to stand back, we don't know how he was feeling, we have no idea if he's a competent doctor, and I think it is possible that his employer/ insurer expressly forbade him from practicing medicine on the island. Committing malpractice on camera is a big no-no.