Fretful

I don't think we can really call this "flushing the idol" because it wasn't played and Xander still has it. At best, it was an unsuccessful attempt to flush the idol. Unfortunately for them, they didn't get rid of the idol or their intended target. They did protect DeShawn, however, which may prove more important in the long run. Ericka and Heather are cannon fodder at this point, but you're right, they do need allies. Too bad Liana shot herself in the foot, otherwise they could bring her back in. I would grab Ricard and Naseer and vote Shan out.

To me, it's a question of re-thinking the challenges themselves. Stamina-based or organization/logic based tasks would even things out. Being 'Tough" and having brute strength are two different things.

And... another all-femaie overtime and another woman out. I'm not sure why the men did so much better, at the tire task, but all the men finished ahead of all the women except Lia (who was the first to find her tires, but had to carry them 2 at a time). They really need to rethink this show.

She can still take one of those later, and use it for herself.

If Erica turns back time (as she's likely to do), that it makes for an interesting choice at tribal. Danny has noted (correctly) that men seem to have been targeted so far. He realizes that they have to start voting out women to balance that out. That leaves Evvie and Sydney. And with that the prisoner's dilemma advantage might actually come into play. DeShawn has tribe loyalty to Sydney, but has also promised to try to protect Evvie for giving him the extra vote. Lianna is in a tight alliance with Evvie, but also the African American Alliance. If she's smart, she'll convince them to vote Sydney. That way, she can pivot between that and the women's alliance. So it's: Danny, Deshawn, Lianna, Shan, Tiffany, Evvie, and Xander voting Sydney (Ricard will probably go wherever Shan goes) Heather, Erica, Naseer, Sydney, vote for Evvie. Unless Naseer plays his idol for Sydney, Then would Xander sacrifice his for Evvie? Anyway, that's how it seems to me. It's probably completely wrong, which is why I would probably be the first boot if I ever played Survivor (also, I'm old and bossy)

The men are wearing caps in their talking heads. So, something must happen down the line with their hair. Do they dye it blue to support Emy? Do they shave it for a challenge? It's distracting. It reminds me of makeover week on ANTM. I used to really enjoy Tori, but this season she's just annoying. I'm not even sure she's one of the strongest women anymore. I hate to say it, but Jordan might have brought out the best in her. I like Cory more than Nelson, but at this point, they're both just fillers. But they're not the lay up Josh will forever be. Isn't it almost time for trivia? I think there are only 3 non-native English speakers left, and they all seem to have terrific comprehension (unlike Turbo, who really struggled and was painful to watch). I love TJ's love for trivia. I adored Emanuel's coat at the Lair. BTW- I'm old and I do remember the very first Challenge. It was Real World people pretending they were on Road Rules. Puck was the host. There was no winner (or rather, everyone won).

The way they decided the winning team of the challenge was just BS. They won because they fell off faster. It should have been which of the tied teams got along the course the farthest. ETA: or was it that the two people who made the leap of faith did it the fastest?, in which case: Never Mind.

I think one other difference between Prajje's ask and Ken's ask is the garment itself. Prajje's ensemble just wouldn't work as well on the model he had (wearing pants with the year Haiti ended slavery is not the same look on a white person as it is on a person of color), and he wanted a switch this one time, for a very specific reason. It's true he was unhappy with the model he got from the start, but as a designer, not being able to create the look you want can be devastating. I'm glad Christian intervened- and actually the person who switched got a really good model as the result. Kenneth, on the other hand, just wanted to switch for aesthetic reasons. His look would have worked either way. Kenneth did ask too late, and asked Meg to think about it. I think he realized he was being unfair. Frustrated Meg decides to switch and goes over to him. She handles it tersely, and Ken wants to smooth things, but she just wants it over with. This should have been the end of it. If Prajje had problems with Meg, yelling at her while she was doing Ken a favour didn't help. I'm not sure how Ken is the victim in all this. Also, they seem to have really good models again this year. I'm glad they gave up on the whole "this is a competition for the models, too" amateurs, and got people who know how to walk a garment.

This shorter version that forces people to play hard seems even more flawed now that having an advantage or playing a strategy gets you voted out (or plan A if you go to tribal). Rather than the usual medium-rises-to-the -middle winner, I suspect it will be weakest to the top, as they vote out the hard players first, then the strong players after the merge, leaving the hangers-on in the final. However, so much a for the idea that Yasa was doomed and could never win after voting out their two strong men. Maybe this is the year that turns traditional strategy in its head. Nathan seemed cool, but how did he help? He climbed a tree but didn't teach them how to. He cooked a fish (in a coconut?) but when they asked how to actually catch one, he told them try at low tide instead of instructing them on the spear. As rewards go, this was pretty lame. I fall a bit more for Danny every week. As much as I think is time for a woman to win again, I'd be fine with Danny. DeShawn seems to be having a great experience. Win or lose, I have a feeling he's going to be a multiple-time player. Sydney is not as attractive as she thinks she is. I'm not sure she's even in the top three this season (but I'm a middle-aged woman, so clearly not the demographic she was cast for)

It's at the beginning of tribal, while Ricard is speaking

I also wonder about the 3 part idol and a tribe swap. If Xander gets sent to a different tribe at a different beach, he could find another part of the clue. Then, once someone finds the 3rd, he has 2? Also, Evvie, Liana , and Tiffany know the other 2 phrases. They could convince one of their new tribemates to say one, and completely screw Xander. Actually, THAT would be gameplay I could get behind.

I'm actually going to defend voting out Voce (and I liked him, so I'm sad to see him go). The goal of this game is not to move your tribe forward. It's to move yourself forward. One way to do that is by winning challenges which saves your whole tribe (even the ones who aren't you allies). As Evvie said, yellow wasn't winning anyway. Another way is to make sure that no one votes for you if go to tribal. Neither Evvie nor Liana has her name come up yet. And Evvie now has a connection on another tribe. Those two women are playing smart. Personally, I would have voted out Voce over Xander, too. He's really overplaying his hand and if they lose again, he's an easy out as he doesn't have a vote. The only way for Xander to activate his idol is if players from 2 other tribes get theirs. And, Evvie and Liana would know it because those players would have to announce it at the challenge. Worst case scenario, Xander plays his idol and Tiffany goes home. Of course, a tribe swap could throw all these plans into chaos, but then it wouldn't matter whether it was Tiffany gone or Voce gone- your goal would still be to keep yourself safe.

It's better than being "Creepy Uncle Vinnie", which is what they called Johnny's cousin. Also, Ashley: You did not give Berna that advice at deliberations because you were "trying to help her.' You have never tried to help anyone in your life. You were trying to threaten her, and she called you on it. However, I did think that fake hug with Ed was kinda ok/- You were letting him know that you weren't mad at him, while still having your little fit.

Abraham used his last name, too (and look what happened to him). Some people are just more comfortable with it.

Brad looks like John Glover. Not loving the give and take of supplies- they'll figure out how to make fire sooner or later. I don't mind not getting rice, etc, at this early stage, but I don't want them skin and bones at day 18. But if two people go every week, there are only two more episodes then merge anyway. So that'll be, what, day 10? I don't see how they can "punish" the losers with everyone at the same beach. I like Shan, Voce, and (surprisingly) Danny. I can see them going far. I liked Sara. If they have another second chance season, I wouldn't mind seeing her again. Danny should have risked. He handed Xander and JD advantages.

I think it's also worth noting that Eric is not trying to win the final- he has stated several times that his goal is to finish.- so he's not pushing himself too hard. That must be incredibly frustrating when he has a partner who is looking to score points to help them win. One thing I liked bout Darrel carrying Ruthie is how she went along with it so good-humoredly. I think some of the women would have been mortified. It's also interesting to me that Alton's "it's all good" style was irritating to Aneesa, but motivating to Kellyanne. I don't think that the Jisela/Derrick failure is all on her. We heard him several times say that he couldn't figure out how to turn the boat.

I recently started re-watching the first Battle of the Sexes season (still my favorite. Still hate Puck) which has a lot of these people on it. Yes didn't get a ton of airtime, but he everything he says was always very well thought out, even 20-ish years ago. He's a quiet leader.

And just like "that" two of my favorites are gone. If Katie and Yes (who is playing a great strong but UTR game, I think) go soon, I'm going to run out of people to root for. Do we know how many people in are in the final? Was Derek always this intense? I remember him being competitive but nice. Perhaps he's trying to get "good television" BTW-Jisela, running zig-zag from an alligator is foolish. They are faster than we are.

Teck, too.

All the women out except one. Only one man eliminated by a challenge. Last season, 3 of the final 4 were men. Same this season. If Sarah doesn't win this, the producers' really need to look at some of the tasks and rethink what "tough' means

I'm not spolied, so I could be way off, but for the most part- I like these 4 matchups for the final. FESSY AND KAYCEE- Seem the the strongest, and if the final was 100% physical I think they'd take the whole thing. However, there's always much more to it than that. They have so much confidence in their strength that I can imagine them falling apart if they make a bad decision somewhere along the line. CORY AND KAM- These two are really well matched. Cory may be the only guy in the final who has the ability to put his ego aside and let Kam do her thing. They don't seem to have any obvious weaknesses in skills. I can also imagine her getting distracted about Leroy and losing her focus, causing them to fail. LEROY AND NANY- He wants this, and I can see him killing himself to get it. I know Nany wants it, too, and wants it for him, but in the past she hasn't been able to dig deep when she's needed to. CT AND AMBER - They are both strong, and CT can cover the puzzles. I don't think either of them have any quit in them and he knows what it takes to win. The curveball is that, as a rookie, we just don't know what Amber brings to a final. She may not be ready.

EXACTLY. Every time there were 2 people from the other alliance who had skulls, BB should have sent them in against each other. I'm glad they didn't though, because most of my favorites were in the other alliance. Of course, the risk is that if they sent in CT and Kyle, it might be a women's day and then they risk Kam.

They REALLY needed some double eliminations, sending in both team members to compete individually with their same gender counterparts. Winners get each other as partners. Not only would it shorten the season, it would change the strategy, as it was too easy to figure out if it was a male or female elimination. I don't care if he wins, but I want Cory to get to the final. He really didn't have much opportunity to control his own game, and he's still standing (admittedly, he got to sit out a lot of the challenges on "guy" day, but it also kept him from going in to get his skull). I also want CT to beat Fessy, just because.

I am 100% with you on this. His only possible redeeming feature is that he's friends with Katie- and I adore her- so there must be SOMETHING to him, but I don't see it. This seemed like a good first challenge. It combined the physical qualities of the "new" Challenge and the simplicity of the OG. I wonder if some of those people would have been better if the water weren't freezing. I think Aneesa and Darrell have an advantage being both OG and continuing competitors. They're used to the harder challenges. I don't know that I would have called this "All Stars." Seems like that would be a completely different group of people. I agree that Jemmye and Jonna are too new. Loved! that Beth was determined to help the team by not wasting time once she realized she couldn't do it, then swam the wrong direction. Never change, Beth.

I didn't love this as much as I hoped. Probably because they spent a lot of time on the individuals and not as much on the challenges. Perhaps as we move forward, and get to know them better, we'll see more of the competition.