Turtle

Will refusing to apologize to Shirin because he really thinks what he said about her was both true, and appropriate to say, was almost unbelievable. Is it a pride issue, he just can't admit he did anything wrong, or is he maybe a little crazy, or what? Cruel asshole, obviously, but something else weird is going on there. I remain confused about why everyone hates Shirin so much. I see how she could be annoying, but I cannot imagine what she's done to invite such vitriol. I am also still confused about everyone turning on Mike. Tonight someone said that he flipped, but I have absolutely no memory of there be any drama over any of his votes before last week (although it's entirely possible that I just forgot). Also confused about why everyone thinks Tyler is this masterful strategizing and is almost guaranteed to win. I don't disagree with them because I do think he's playing a good albeit quiet game, but that's because of his talking heads, not anything we've seen with the others. Which brings me to my main point: What is up with the editing this season? Generally, I think the show does a pretty good job of leaving some suspense about the vote each week, while still giving us a sense of what contestants are thinking or how they're strategizing. This season is a mess. The vote is predictable pretty much every week, but I have no idea what is actually going on with most of these people, or what their long-term plan is, or why they're voting the way they are, other than "I hate Shirin." It seems almost unanimous that these people are all terrible and so I'm curious: how would you rank them all, on a scale of "Not un-terrible" to "So terrible that terrible isn't a strong enough word"?

I'm a few podcasts behind but planning to catch up tomorrow, and I'm looking forward to the ones y'all mention. I'm one of the ones who commented on Rob's occasional sexist comments, and I absolutely agree with you. It proves to me that my suspicions that he didn't mean to offend and that he is a decent guy were accurate, and I appreciate him taking the time to try to address some of the sexism that has always been a part of Survivor.

I really liked this episode, certainly more than the rest of them this season. Tribal council was fantastic. I don't think Mike was bluffing to try to get them not to vote Shirin out, and I'm glad he didn't use it on her; had he used the idol for her, he *has* to win immunity next week or he's gone. I think his real intent was exactly what he got - forcing at least one member of the six (Tyler) to vote for another member. He even got a bonus with Dan getting *two* votes, which seemed to surprise him. I'm pretty sure Shirin knew about the plan, and knew he wasn't going to give her the idol; as she said, it would have been dumb of Mike to give it up. Even if Shirin stays, Mike is still number one target and seriously outnumbered. Now, the six will have to turn on each other next week, and if Mike wins immunity next week or week after, all of a sudden Mike is in the final four, instead of going out at eight. Stirring up dissent and showing who is low man on the totem pole, while still keeping the HII, was brilliant. And it had the added benefit of giving us some great tribal council facial expressions. Jury loved it too. Just all around a great move, I think. Dan is quite possibly the absolute worst person ever to be on this show, and I watched both Russell Hantz seasons. His talking head about Shirin was disgusting, especially after he had just been pretending to be friendly-ish to her. I know manipulating people is part of the game, and I love it, but much like Will, his manipulation was all personal. The adoption thing? Shirin: because of physical and verbal abuse in my past, I am not close to any member of my family, and instead rely on my boyfriend and his family for support. Dan: that's rough, really but I was adopted, and I only have my adopted family, my wife, my kids, friends, and my wife's family. So I totally get it. Jeff: those two things are in no way similar, and it's outrageous that you think so Dan: you're right, there was no violence in my family, but did you hear when I said I was adopted by a loving family? Twinsies. A little tip for Shirin: when you're trying to sway people to support you, you might have better results if you don't start with "You are completely stupid if you do the thing you're planning to do." She was right, but that's not a great opening line. Gotta say, I was pleasantly surprised to hear such solid Survivor strategery from both Mike and Shirin tonight.

This exactly how I feel, on both counts! It wasn't my favorite episode ever, but I don't recall disliking any of it either, which is a new and strange feeling with regard to this show. It had several scenes with people I like (that includes Nik, who I've been finding interesting lately, ELQ crap aside), Carly was doing something I liked for a change, and most of the dialogue was actually pretty dialogue-y. In retrospect, I know they've been mentioning the nurses' ball a lot recently, but I guess it didn't really register with me because I was really surprised to hear them say it was "today." Weird.

During the scene from yesterday with Morgan trying to convince his parents to not tell anyone they had Avery, I was all "Hell, even Carly and Sonny aren't going to go along with Morgan's latest lame-brained undeveloped ridiculous plan." And then they were going along, and I was all "Turtle, you will never fucking learn." I was worried about Michael softening toward Sonny, but after today I think what we're seeing is Michael letting go of some of his white hot rage (which can be so self-destructive) and instead settling in to his new status quo - he's going to have to deal with Sonny and Carly on occasion, all the screaming and yelling is exhausting and distracting and ineffective, he can't change who these people are, he needs to figure out how to stop them from manipulating him and to start learning how to play them. I really enjoyed it, because it seemed like Michael was able to play their game, and that he has actually emotionally disconnected from them in a significant way. I thought his comments about prison and Morgan showed that he isn't some revenge-seeking asshole (ahem, Morgan), he's just pissed and over all those idiots who have destroyed his life six ways to Sunday. I really really really want Michael and Dante to start hanging out and double dating and going to games or whatever. Michael and Dante v. Morgan, Carly, and Sonny = No contest. The Dante of today is the Dante that I love and adore. More, please! This needs a Breaking News banner alert.

With regard to the judge, assuming that Michael only asked his grandmother to talk to the judge and didn't bribe him, what Michael did was not illegal. The judge violated the rules of professional conduct, but those only apply to him, not to Michael. And as far as I'm concerned, Michael didn't *do* anything at all to Morgan - that baby was not in Morgan's custody (and, for the baby's sake, I hope she never is!). Arguably he *did* something to Sonny, but I don't see it that way, especially because I tend to think that while the AJ murder was the catalyst for Michael to actually take action, Michael 100% meant what he said about Sonny being dangerous to his kids and Michael wanting to protect his sister.

I liked it. I think they're the only ones who had any kind of chance to get through to Morgan, because they're the reasons he is doing any of this. Carly was right (what??? Who am I???)- Morgan wanted to hurt Michael, but I don't think Carly realized exactly why, that Morgan so desperately wants to be the favored child instead of Michael. Morgan's main motivation is to please his parents, Sonny more than Carly. I imagine he figures, hey, making Michael look ridiculous will make Dad happy because he's furious with Michael, and getting Dad's baby back will make him even happier, and Mom will totally support me because she's a big fan of destroying people's lives to get what she wants or to get revenge. Hearing their outrage at what he's done could be the only thing that makes him realize what a terrible idea all of this was. And as mentioned, it's not like they could just not say anything, and them approving of his behavior would be even worse! Val was totally over the line. How can a grown adult not realize that talking about how hot and wonderful someone else's husband is, especially right after she's been rubbing all up against said husband just recently? I thought Lulu handled it all pretty well - I don't think I could have stopped myself from saying "Whoa, girl, slow your roll!" Michael and Sabrina were nice. I definitely saw some chemistry, but it wasn't smoldering hot, and I think that's good for Michael. His whole life is is such a mess right now (and has been for a long time) that a nice easy relationship with someone he cares about and who supports him could be a good balance. Plus, I kind of like Sabrina now, even though I thought she had some shady looks on her face a couple of times today.

Did we ever ask Johnny's guys what was going on with all the Legion of Doom stuff during that ridiculous year? That was awfully stupid of us - they could have cleared it all up for us in a snap and saved us a lot of confused frustration.

More importantly, Shawn is *terrile* at mobster-ing! He realy should just put his many other skills to use and leave the potted-plant-shooting to someone more competent.

I did purchase them from RHAW. An help would be appreciated! Can they go into my Podcast app? Or iTunes or something? Thanks so much.

I forgot about how much he hated her today! Through that whole scene I couldn't stop wondering why Carly is so set on "helping" him since he so obviously does not care for her. Them I remembered, it's Carly, so of course.

Rob was in Vegas this week for the podcast awards or some such thing, and has probably been slammed. I want to listen to the Evolution of Strategy, but I guess I'm dumb because I can't figure out how. I could only get them on a browser window on my phone and had to re-download them every time. I finally gave up. I really want to listen to them like I do podcasts.

I'm ready for the secret to come out. I'm interested in the fallout, so I'd like to get to it, but I'm also over everyone talking about it All The Time. Brooke's voice has always annoyed me, and today I figured out that it's at least in part because she whispers the last word in every sentence. It's weird, and I don't like it.

I'm not saying that I want a bunch of shoot 'em up mob wars, but if we *have* to have them, could they at least lead somewhere, like a dead Duke and Jordan? No, instead we're going to be treated to a conflicted Duke over this tuition ridiculousness. Yay. New Kiki is a terrible actress. I wasn't thrilled with MB today either because I know he can do better with rage, but Michael and Morgan were great. Michael, no more talking about Sonny's code, and no caring about how Sonny feels.

Not ready for it. Although I am really interested to see the fallout with Morgan, Michael, Sonny, and Carly (couldn't care less about Kiki). I think all four actors have the ability to make those scenes great, and I'm looking forward to it. I want all of Morgan's daddy issues to come out, I want Michael to stay angry at Carly and Sonny even as they take his side against Morgan, I want so much.

I'm glad Shirin didn't agree to let Will have his letters, but not because he was so mean to her and he deserved it. Rather, he was asking for a special privilege, and in this game, I think it only makes sense to do a favor like that for someone in certain situations: they're in your alliance; you're trying to sway them to join your alliance or at least vote with you; you want another favor from them; you need to reassure them; etc. For Shirin, doing a favor for Will accomplishes nothing because all of those bridges were burned (and then swept downriver), and it might even benefit her to keep him on edge as a happy Survivor could be a harder-to-beat Survivor. I'm not saying I think that's why she did it, I think she was just (rightfully) pissed, but that's why I support the decision. I don't mind Tyler, but I also don't really have a sense for who he is. Being a quiet shit-stirrer is a valid strategy, and he seems to be doing a good job of it all while otherwise staying completely under the wire. If he gets to the finals and can weave a good story out of it, he could have a chance. Other than that, I think Shirin is the only other person left who I don't actively dislike. I frequently hate on Jeff for being a jerk, but I don't fault him for his reaction to Shirin tonight. He really shouldn't have shown an emotional reaction to her story, especially if it could be seen as him taking her side, and I'm guessing he wasn't prepared for her to share all of that and so was caught a bit off guard. Honestly, I wish he could manage to keep his reactions more neutral more often. That said, I'm sure it's tough to direct tribal council without letting some of your own thoughts coming through. This is definitely not the best season ever.

That's what infuriated me most. I hated what Will was saying at camp, but I was,hoping it was a case of his mouth running away from him while he was pissed (on top of all the other stress out there, emotional and physical). But no, he stood by his statements, insisting that no one likes her and that he didn't personally attack her (which, what???). I think Will is the one with some issues that need to be addressed. I still don't get how Mike fell so far so fast. Did I miss an episode or something?

I almost laughed at Duke plotting to kill Shawn's lover while Shawn was standing right framing there. The storyline itself is so ridiculous, and it just got sillier with the conversations today. I can't take Mob Boss Duke seriously at all. Francie- thanks so much for the t-shirt list! Someone needs to buy some silk screening equipment. Ulkis, I was the one who made the comment you were replying to, and I meant it tongue in cheek, just because *I* would prefer Luke dead at this point. I don't really fault Lulu for not feeling the same way. After all, she was spared the "I am Luuuuuke Speennnccerrrr!!" jailhouse screaming.

I've always been back and forth on Lulu, with no strong feelings either way, but there days I am firmly against her, and in a pretty strong way. All that Justifying Luke's shit got it started, and her attitude toward Valerie certainly hasn't improved my opinion of her. Sure, Valerie almost killed her dad, but why can't Lulu see that murdering Luke is a *good* thing? Please, god, do not ever even mention Spinelli stripping again. It took days and days of eye bleaching and a partial lobotomy to forget that image, and I cannot possibly do it again. It seems fairly obvious to me that Spin/Ellie and Maxie/Nathan is the long term plan, and I am not looking forward to hijinks we are going to have to endure to get there. Nothing with Spinelli will ever be interesting- it'll be tolerable at best- so why must I suffer through this? Oh, I assure he has not given up on Milo. Magic Milo wasn't mentioned this week for nothing. Shut your mouth. Wouldn't you be?

What is wrong with Brooke? She was so much more entertaining when she was drunk. When Deacon first came back, wasn't she really not thrilled to see him and kind of wishing he would leave? This trajectory of hers has been all over the place. First, she hates him, then she barely tolerates him, then she wants him back, then she trusts him as a friend because he hauled her back from the pits of her two weeks of alcoholism, and now she's his mother? She's annoying me. Deacon and Quinn seem happy, why not just them alone? If you can't do that, how about at least not manipulating your child? If nothing else, stop tempting the wrath of the woman you keep saying is unpredictable and dangerous. What??? Not the Rick *I* know!

I've really been enjoying the podcasts the last couple of weeks. Rob and Stephen seem to be a bit freer talking about Jeff, which is always a good time, I have a love/ hate relationship with Penner, so that was fun. The Know It Alls and Penner casts shed a lot of light on what happened this week, thank god, because much like Tyler, I had no idea what was going on. They especially did a great job explaining what might have been going on with Shirin, which helped me. And what they said made a lot of sense, which I really appreciated because for some reason the episodes themselves are leaving so much of the strategy out.

I didn't really mind anyone this week. Jenny was Jenny, but pretty toned down. Blair and Hayley are amusing me with their seemingly mostly successful attempts to stop being asses to each other, even though we all know it won't last. I even found myself enjoying the hairstylists for the first time all season. I don't mind having detour tasks limit the number of teams that participate at one time. What I do mind is all teams wanting to do one task over the other, every single week. It tells me that either the tasks are poorly planned in that one is obviously easier/ faster than the other, or that the descriptions are written so poorly as to make one task seem easier/ faster. It usually happens once or twice a season, but it's been almost every episode this season, and it takes a lot of suspense and fun out of it.

I maybe wanted Alexis to kiss Michael? Kiki was deplorable, and I hate when Julian makes me love him less. At least he called Alexis. I, holding out hope that he gives her some sort of heads up. How much longer is it going to take Felix to get that pill tested? Angry drugged Michael is making me sad.

If Silas wanted to take Avery to see Ava or to test if she's a match, couldn't he just say "We need to keep her overnight" or something, and then spirit her away and bring her back, with no one the wiser? Flat out kidnapping seems extreme.

What the fuck did I just watch? TG's poorly written and poorly acted vanity project apparently wasn't torture enough - we also have to endure him tongue-batheing Sonny? I am apoplectic. I'm so blinded by rage that I don't even remember the rest of the show.