simplyme

My mother calls her Princess Amber. 😂 Queen Elizabeth (and whoever else has to approve it) never elevated Prince Philip to King, so I guess Rob never elevated Amber?

Um, there are also a lot of fans who tuned in to see the newer players, though. I realize that a lot of people were excited to see the older players (I was really excited to see Yul. I mean really excited.), but all fans are not the same. The entire Simply family is utterly sick of seeing Boston Rob and Sandra, for example, even if we actually like and usually enjoy both of them. For my family, we like to see different people play. So seeing people play for only the second time is really awesome for us. Seeing someone play for the fourth time? Not so much. This wasn't just new school, though. In fact, Dakal wasn't even divided up into new school and old school and never used those terms. Dakal mostly seemed to put people into "threat" and "non-threat" categories. It was Sele that had the four old schoolers cluster up. (The new schoolers mostly worked together by default.) That said, the first person voted out at Sele wasn't an old schooler, and from what we saw Kim was heavily considered as the first vote out for Dakal. And I'd argue that the new school players are playing the game. Almost every single person pretty much identified who they felt were the biggest threats to them that they wanted gone first without handicapping the tribe too much, which is strategic. Most people (except Adam) tried not to make Big Moves!! too early unless they had to so they didn't raise their profile and acquire a target, which again is strategic. In fact, Yul pointed out during one TC that the entire Dakal tribe was coming to a consensus on who to vote out before the actual vote so that the vote would be unified and alliances would remain somewhat fluid rather than being exposed and lines between them hardened. Dakal was an entire tribe working together to vote a person out without creating breaches. (Although it did appear that Sandra and Yul, two old schoolers, wielded a lot of influence in the final decision.) So... yeah. I was really not happy to see Yul go to EoE, especially when it could have been Wendell, who is just Mr. Personality this season *eyeroll*, but I kind of feel like the newer players are being blamed for playing the game mostly intelligently and right along with the older players. It suuuuucks to lose people you like, but I'm also hoping that having the people who have played a combined 8,042* times on EoE (plus Natalie, Yul, and Danni) will mean we do get to see more of the actual strategy of the non-EoE folks. *Slight exaggeration.

Been there, done that. Ah, Oregon Trail. An important part of my youth.

A watery tart essentially threw Excalibur at King Arthur, but I think his reign had already started by then. Also... Are most queens other than prom/homecoming queens elected? It seems to be a matter of birth or marriage in most cases. I should definitely go to bed. 🤦‍♀️ This made me laugh and think back appreciatively to someone (was it Natalie?) telling Rob she was pretty sure Amber would tell him if she'd found any tokens.

My first thought on seeing this was that this was alternate world Yul as an evil vizier.

I'm really enjoying this season, minus the awkward Michele-Wendell scenes. I still hate EoE. I could do with less Rob. I probably just made it onto like 6 people's ignore lists. 🤦‍♀️

You misremember. I know because I've recently watched or rewatched the first nine seasons and that was something I made a point to look for since people kept talking about "Remember when the whole tribe got one can of soda to share?" That never happened except pre-challenge to whet their appetites for a rewards. Just like today. (The one slice of pizza reward that people remember was actually an individual reward of a call home and a slice of pizza. The phone call was the big reward. Gervase won and chose to share the slice.) Anyways, yes, the food rewards were smaller, but not that much so, and some of those seasons they started with a bunch of food and supplies. (Others they started with very little.) That said, the Survivor food auction in Australia was pretty lame: rewards started with something like 6 Doritos. Of course there is no auction anymore now... Personally, I think having to watch Jack and Jill and pretend to enjoy it (except Sophie, who I will always love for not bothering to pretend) was the worst reward ever, even if it did come with movie theater treats.

Fair enough. 😊 These boards are big enough for both opinions!

I think both Sandra and Ethan's responses are perfectly in line with what we've seen of their personalities and experiences. This is how I sort of look at them and why they might have made the decision they have so far: Sandra is extremely pragmatic. She's about the money. No chance for the money any more? Then there's no point to her staying. It would be wasting time for no income when she could be doing something else. Ethan really wanted to come back and play Survivor once more. This is a man who fought to live now getting a chance to relive something he did when he was young and pre-cancerous. Quitting for him would be ending his dream of playing Survivor again prematurely. So two very different people. Two very different motivations. Raising the EoE flag means very different things for the two of them, so of course they made different decisions.

Actually, the old schoolers got voted out because they turned on each other. They were originally outnumbered 6 new school to 4 old school on each tribe, but that wasn't insurmountable in any way. On Sele, Natalie was voted off first, and it wouldn't have been that hard for the 4 old schoolers to pull in one more vote had they stuck together, but Danni went rogue and targeted Parvati. On Dakal, Sandra teamed up with Tony and Sarah (technically two new schoolers). Yul teamed with Sophie, Wendell, and Nick (three new schoolers). Yul and Sandra talked about who to target, and once Tyson heard his name, he threw Amber (who he'd kind of been allied with) under the bus. As to the new schoolers being much closer to each other... Do you have any proof of that? I had the opposite impression, that the old schoolers overall were closer and knew more people. Ethan, Rob, Amber, Parvati, Tyson, and Sandra all have pretty looooong-lasting relationships, plus friendships with the older new schoolers like Tony, Sarah, Jeremy, and Kim. It was really only Yul and Danni who were out of the loop. I mean, sure, clearly Wendell and Michele knew each other, and I'd guess maybe had met Adam and Nick? But that's still nowhere near the years and numbers of connections most of the old schoolers had. And this is why I can't get upset about all the old schoolers being on EoE: because they pretty much did it to themselves. I don't think adding another 2 people from the first 20 seasons would have changed that. They still would have targeted each other. Also, whoever asked, Sophie is now the earliest winner not on EoE. She won season 23.

An exit interview with Parvati (posted to reddit): https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/fm39e0/winners_at_war_parvati_shallow_exit_interview/

Not sure where to put this, so... Yul posted to Reddit asking the Survivor community there directly to donate to the ALS charity. His explanation is incredibly moving. The link in case anyone here is interested: https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/fjg638/im_asking_the_reddit_community_to_help_jonathan/

An exit interview with Sandra (posted on Reddit): https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/fm3nmo/winners_at_war_sandra_diaztwines_exit_interview/

Maybe, maybe not. It's one of those things that I think could go either way. Denise's specific problem was that Jeremy (and Kim and Tony) undervalued her. Jeremy didn't really want to vote against Denise, but given that it was her or him, he pragmatically saved himself and didn't feel real bothered about it. It's not like they were close. By playing an idol for Jeremy, Denise may (or may not) have increased Jeremy's attachment to her. He may be a bit more willing to fight for her and less willing to lose her since she has gone to bat for him. And Denise definitely raised her threat profile with that move, which most of the time I think is a bad thing but in this specific case may help her out with Jeremy. She's no longer the obviously disposable one in the tribe. Denise doesn't really seem to have anyone. If she can start to get Jeremy to see her as his non-EoE Natalie this season, then she's gained an ally. That (probably) puts her in a better position. I know! I thought you fell off the Earth or got trampled in a Walmart somewhere or something. Glad to know you're still kicking. 🙂

I think new school vs old school is kind of a false narrative. Honestly, it's the same way it always was in later returnee seasons: They target based on perceived threat status. Sometimes they'll opt to take out an ally of a threat instead of the bigger threat him/herself, so you end up with Ethan going before Rob and Parv. Simply because they've been around forever (or played in the game's infancy), the old schoolers have a bit more lustre than recent winners, imo. I'd also add that the more focus a winner got during their season(s), the more they appear to be seen as a threat. So the biggest personalities seem to end up with that label first. Tony? Biggest character his season. Spencer and Kass were his only real competitors, but you could not miss Tony. By comparison, Sophie won on a season with Ozzy, Cochran, Coach, and Brandon Hantz. There's a reason no one remembers her. They were too busy showing the Melodrama. Denise won on a season with Malcolm, Abi-Maria, Penner, Skupin, Lisa Whelchel, and former baseball star Jeff Kent. Again, while I thought they did a good job showing her game, she isn't who gets seared into your memory. 😛

Speaking of this... Could someone please explain to me why Tony is considered such a threat that he's a shield? I've even seen him referred to on boards as a challenge beast. That's some revisionist history right there. I don't recall Tony winning a single individual challenge, and it was not because he wasn't trying. He's terrible at them. He's strong, but that's about it. His record in tribe challenges is only so-so, and I'd mostly attribute that to other members. So Tony won one season where he had 5,000 idols (including the Tyler Perry idol) and a couple village idiots, then got himself voted off first the second time he played when he should have been secure. I do recognize that Tony is fun to have around (if unpredictable) and in his first season displayed an ability to read some people as well as intimidate and manipulate others. But it seems to me like the respect he gets is somewhat inflated simply because he's muscled and in-your-face compared to, say, a Sophie or Denise or Adam.

Urgh. It took me a bit to remember who is what color now. All three of my non-EoE players switched colors. *shakes a fist in the air*

Agreed. As soon as I saw who was on that tribe, I literally said, "Uh, bye, Rob" to my TV. He had to have had that horrible sinking stomach feeling getting worse as he saw each member. I think Rob certainly would fall into the category of great (or master) Survivor players. He's not perfect, but no one is. I'd also say that every single game is unique with different personalities who bring their own preferences and biases and strengths and weaknesses, and that luck plays a significant role in how someone does. So while I'm maybe not a huge Rob fan, I feel he should be given his due. He wasn't bad as a first-time player in Marquesas, showing charisma, strategy, and challenge prowess. After Marquesas he matured as a player and maybe as a person (YMMV). He built on what he had shown in Marquesas, often taking the mantle of leadership and being a workhorse around camp and in challenges, but his relationship-building was really top notch. (In some cases, so was said relationship imploding, but eh. Lex.🙄) He was also very good at realizing when others were considering allying against him and breaking that up by causing a fight between them. Actually, my biggest issues with Rob are: 1. How boring Redemption Island is to watch (excruciating, made worse by the existence of Natalie Tenerelli. I know that's harsh, but omg. There's a difference between "young" and "budding cult member.") 2. The fact that in a game where players are absolutely forbidden from making any deals to share prize money, he and his wife are both playing. They and they alone are automatically immune from that rule via shared marital assets. This isn't Rob or Amber's fault, but it is why I don't think they should be allowed to play on the same season.

Unfortunately, imo, there are a lot of people out there who think Russell played an amazing game and the jury was bitter and that Natalie White did nothing and never should have won. I would say that compared to some other places I've occasionally wandered, people who post on this site tend to have a bigger belief in the importance of the social game and players moderating the attention they draw instead of Making Big Moves and thus acquiring a giant target. That might be why you haven't seen it mentioned.

And in Survivor, if you do make it to the final tribal council it's the people you played with who will judge you and hold you accountable for how you played it. So there's often a price to be paid if one's behavior is seen as over the line. Example: Russell Hantz

Heh. I'm the opposite. I'd hate to see all the lesser knowns taken out. I mean, one of the reasons Rob, Parvati, Sandra, and Tyson are so well known is that they've all played at least four times now. I want to see what the people I've only seen once can do. (I like the big dogs, and I don't think they all need to be eliminated, but I'd hate an F3 of Sandra, Rob, and Parvati.) My assumption was that he felt slightly betrayed by everyone else, so they wouldn't get it. Nick he at least had a weird grudging respect for. Kind of how sometimes you end up respecting the enemy, but allies who turn traitor you don't. I'm having trouble figuring out how to say what is mostly a gut feeling. 😝 This. For the love of Pete, yes.

The part of the above article that alarmed me the most, copied and pasted to share the terror (emphasis added by me): Hantz is out for “real redemption” and promised he would not have a physical altercation with anyone. Additionally, he shared that he and his wife are both concealed weapon owners and passed an FBI background check, which, in his eyes, should suffice for Survivor.

Having just watched Season 2 for the first time not too long ago, she was godawful selfish and vain. It was really painful to watch. She was better in season 8 (finished last night), though still had her moments. From what I remember from season 20, which I've now seen twice but it's been over a year at this point, she was practically delightful by comparison. Almost a kinder, gentler Jerri. That said, I'd still take her over Dan Foley, but that might be because I'm not Colby. It's like she and Rupert took opposing paths on the "annoying the Simply Family" arc.

One thing that might explain the old schoolers looking like they're having more fun is that Rob, Parvati, and Ethan have known each other a loooong time. The others? Not so much. So those three are going to be much more relaxed with each other than anyone else in the tribe. One other thing I keep in mind when one tribe looks like the "fun" tribe (or occasionally describes itself that way *wince*) is that usually that happens when a tribe is winning. It's hard to be cheerful when you have to keep plotting who of your tribemates you should axe.

I started showing my mother Survivor seasons as a bonding thing a while back. At the time I had access starting with season 12. As we watched, my father would wander through. Then he started watching with us, which was a bit of a surprise to me but awesome. Now I subscribe to CBS All Access and we went back and started with the first season. We just finished All Stars (8), which we all disliked intensely. (For me, still disliked.) But the highlight of the early seasons for all three of us has definitely been Pearl Islands (7). That was the first season I ever watched, so I was happy to see it held up. What was particularly amusing to me is that my father immediately recognized Rupert from later seasons and groaned. However, none of us found him quite as grating his first season (though the longer the season went, the more entitled, preachy, and self-righteous he got.) So there is that. He's the best of all the possible Ruperts you could be watching, I'd say. I found Fairplay less horrible than I remembered him. I mean, he was still clearly an a-hole (especially when drunk), but he is smart and will certainly admit that he's a jerk. (He also actually worked around camp.) That made him slightly more tolerable to me than, say, the Dan Foley types.