Bryce Lynch

When I saw the 4th manila envelope behind Phil's back, I figured all 4 teams would continue. I have mixed feelings. I like the scientists, but 2 straight NELs makes me feel like I have wasted my time watching the last 2 episodes. Maybe they will end up calling it a 4 way tie and give each team $250K each.

I agree to a point. I think Jon seems like a decent guy at heart, who cares about other people and what they think about him. I just think he doesn't realize when he is coming across badly and annoying people, like with all the wine talk and the PDAs with Jaclyn.

When does Natalie's HII expire? I think she needs to use it in the next TC that takes them from 5 to 4 castaways. If that is the case, she would automatically play it next TC and then would need to either win immunity or survive a vote to make it to the final 3. (assuming it is not a Final 2). I wonder if she would try to get Keith out next, as he is good in challenges. Unless the immunity challenge for the 4 to 3 TC is totally non-physical, Missy has no chance due to her injury, and Jaclyn has been pretty useless in challenges, so Baylor would be her only real competition, and she would have the edge over her as well.

Great job by Natalie, first selling the "I voted for Alec by accident" story (ROTFL!) and then orchestrating the blindside. Jon is really clueless. Jaclyn, who isn't that much sharper than him, warned him that Natalie might have been lying and that a blindside was possible, yet he went to the jury with an idol in his pocket. While I find Jon very annoying, I don't think is he is a terrible guy, just not very self aware (that is an understatement). He seems to want to be a good, likable person, but he seems oblivious about the things he does that annoy people. If he understood these things, he would probably try to change some of them. Maybe watching the series and the reactions to him by others will be helpful to him. I started out hating Missy, but I have grown to respect her a lot more. She is far from perfect, but she is tough. Her injury is far more cause to quit the game than many others who have quit. I also admire that she truly, didn't want to break her word to Jon, but came around to realize that it is part of the game and did what she had to do. I have been on the Natalie bandwagon for quite a while now after growing to hate on on TAR (after initially liking her and Nadiya). I also wouldn't mind seeing Missy or Baylor win. Of the two, I think it would be best if Baylor won and had control of the money as Missy would almost certainly lose half of it in her 4th divorce. :) Keith winning wouldn't upset me either. Anyone but Jaclyn at this point. Even she might be able to redeem herself, now that Jon is gone, sort of like Reed started to come alive and really play once Josh was eliminated.

I'm not sure it should be considered "gross sexism". What percentage of auto mechanics are female? A 2009 Dept of Labor survey put it at 1.8%. I think it is great when women pursue non-traditional occupations for females, but acknowledging that some fields are male dominated is not "sexist" in my book.

I didn't really have a problem with the honest comments most of the racers made about the smells/water quality, etc. I do think it would have been nice if they included some nicer sights in Manila (never been there, but I assume there must be some). The race design gave the impression that the whole place was a dump.

I totally agree about telling the cab drivers, "Drive fast! We're in a race for a millions dollars!" If I were the cabbie, I'd reply, "Really? Do I get half and the 2 or you share the other half, or do we each get a third?" I wouldn't mind seeing a rule against telling anybody you are in a race, though it might be hard to enforce. Disagree about Jim and Misti. Jim was bragging a little in the talking head, but I think that is just his way of getting motivated and thinking positive. Misti saying, "Thank you, Jesus" when the found out about the HOO bunching was no big deal and fine with me. I agree about Brooke. She and Robbie are my least favorite remaining team, but I actually find all of her complaining (while she does pretty well at the tasks despite it) sort of amusing in an unintentionally funny way. Agree that Bethany was smart to let Adam do most of the assembly task. Acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses of you and your teammate is helpful.

I can't believe that anyone would be offended by Misti and Jim being moved with compassion by the sight of children living in poverty and toddlers sitting in the middle of busy streets. The same goes for Bethany not wanting to immerse herself in filthy, polluted water, teeming with pathogens.

So was TAR Asia "fixed" to help a one armed Asian surfer? :)

I don't think she was exercising. I think she was helping provide electricity for the facility. The guinea pig can't do it all on his own, you know. :)

For those who see a racial aspect to Dawn wanting to keep Noah, I don't think that was it at all. I think she was desperately trying to show the other cops that she was still "in control" and thought demanding Noah would make her look "strong", when in fact it made her look like a reckless idiot.

I don't think there is any rule against one teammate doing all the work on a joint task. In the past, I believe some racers have done all of the beer drinking and eating tasks. It would just take longer for Adam to do most of the work himself. That is assuming Bethany couldn't use her feet. It sounds nasty, but, over the years, the racers have been forced to eat things even nastier than "foot crabs". :)

I agree. I also think that it is ridiculous that they would keep the wards as slaves, meaning they would consume precious food, water, power, etc. I could see the sick,rapist cops keeping a couple of the women as sex slaves, but other than that, and the doctor, I don't think any of the other wards provided any services nearly valuable enough to justify "wasting" resources on them. I would think they would be more often throwing wards out on the street, against their objections, rather than keeping them imprisoned to "pay off their debts".

It also seemed unnecessary. I don't think Dawn's crew, who were already turning on her, were going to get into a gunfight over Noah. The prisoners had already been exchanged and Noah was with Rick's group. If Rick had simply said in his badass voice, "We're leaving, and Noah is coming with us!", Dawn would have backed down and if she didn't, one of her own people, probably would have put a bullet in the back of her head.

And flinging the game board and pieces in the air. :) Also, obviously the cyclists didn't think that A&B had such a huge "unfair" advantage or they would have left as soon as they saw it was a surfing challenge, or at the least, as soon as A&B arrived. The cyclists didn't need to finish ahead of A&B, they only needed to beat at least one of the other 3 teams. That reminds me, the cyclists' timing for abandoning the FF seemed a bit odd. IIRC, they started to leave while A&B had about 30 seconds to go. The 30 seconds they saved by baling early would not mean a thing, but if by chance A or B (most likely A) had fallen in those last few seconds, it would have given them another shot to try the FF, which could have meant the difference between 1st place and elimination. Also, there hasn't been much said about how nasty the cyclists were to each other when they saw the FF slipping away. If Jim had talked to Misti that way, some people would be calling him a wife abuser. To be clear, I understand the cyclists being frustrated and venting at one another a little, as most normal human beings will sometimes do. I just don't like the double standard, where the slightest sigh or look from one racer is blown out of proportion, but far worse behavior from others is ignored.

So why didn't you give up on TAR earlier in the season when they "unfairly" had not one, but two cycling challenges that favored the cyclists? As others have stated, it is likely that the surfers had not yet been cast when the surfing challenge was created, and in every race there are challenges that favor certain teams.

Glad to see the obnoxious cyclists gone. Truly stupid move doing the FF. They already had a lead and have done well in most tasks. Why risk everything on a task they knew the surfers would ace? As for calling the surfing FF "unfair " that is nonsense. There have been at least 2 tasks involving cycling so far, and the surfing task was totally optional.

I don't think the cyclists were at all obligated to call a cab for the wrestlers, but saying they would and then telling the driver to cancel the call was dirty play, IMHO, and just another reason why they are IMO the least likable team. They should have just said, "Sorry, we can't help you, we're in a RAAAAAACE!" What they did might be legal, but it is also good cause for other teams to U-Turn you, if they get the chance. IIRC, another team asked Adam and Bethany, who were returning from a task (the Knight's table, maybe) and Adam gave some vague answer like "far away". That is totally fair, IMO. But, if Adam told them to make a left and go 2 miles, when it was really straight ahead, I'd consider that dirty play.

I think Michonne was left at the church, because they wanted to leave at least one badass zombie/bad guy killer there to protect Judith, Gabriel and to a lesser extent Carl. Tyrese could have handled walkers, but not necessarily living bad guys.

If walker Eugene was as weak and useless as living Eugene, Maggie could take him out unarmed, with her hands tied behind her back. :) I had a DVR malfunction in the final minute of the episode. Did they actually show Eugene as a walker?

I actually get a kick out of Brooke. Her constant defeatist whining, while completing every task rather competently is amusing. It almost seems like her bizarre way of motivating herself. Tim and TJ should not have switched when they did. At that point their only hope was a lucky run up the flag pole.

As for all the "Bethany is awesome!" talk, it is totally appropriate, IMHO, as she IS awesome! Well, she doesn't actually "inspire awe" as Jane Margolis (may she RIP) would point out, but she is amazing and I think it would be odd if the other racers weren't commenting on it. Deal with it, folks! :-) I would have liked to see A&B try the flag task at least once. If anyone could have done it, it would have been them with their surfer balance. Amy's (Cream's) injury probably helped them survive, as it caused them to abandon the flag task very quickly. They were also fortunate to drop the wine and glasses right at the restaurant a few times, rather than when they were almost to the Knights table. Maya, I mean "Cookies" is a little over the top with her antics, but I like her a lot. The armored chest bump was brilliant.

My feelings about the cyclists were reinforced by them isolating themselves and by the other teams' universal dislike for them. Funny that the cyclists scoffed at the other teams for wondering why that sat by themselves saying, "Maybe we just needed a minute!" You mean like maybe the other teams needed a minute earlier in the race when they didn't want to spend the night partying with you. Their, "We're New Yorkers." comment was dead on. I am a New Yorker and their arrogance is all too typical of my state (or at least the population centers in the Southern part of it). Also, telling their cab driver to cancel the cab for Brooke and Robbie was slimy. If they told them no, fine, but lying to them was playing dirty. They are excellent racers and not nearly as obnoxious as teams from past seasons, but I don't like them.

Grrr! I am done with this season. I now despise every remaining contestant except Natalie.

Well, I guess we just see it differently. It seemed clear to me that everyone, including Probst and Missy saw Missy's head butt as a cheap shot. That, in my opinion, is why there was a pause in the battle to allow Baylor to regroup. Head butts are even illegal is professional boxing and blows to the head of helmeted NFL players now bring penalties fines and suspensions. I think Missy got carried away and was shocked at what she had done to her own daughter, and was like a deer in the headlights after that and had lost her will to fight, and I think that reflects better on her than if she had continued unfazed. I can only imagine how bad I'd feel if I head butted my son (much less one of my daughters) and drew blood. As for line drives to the mouth, those are always accidental and generally not done by the girl's mother. And just for argument's sake, let's assume Baylor was being manipulative after the head butt. I'd say good for her! It is Survivor, being manipulative is a huge part of the game. If she did con her Mom to win the battle, it was probably her best piece of game play so far, as she hasn't shown much ability to manipulate or deceive since then.