S40.E02: It's Like a Survivor Economy

[amazingracefan]

2 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Yep, in a darkly-lit place, Adam saw a stain or a shadow or something and thought it was a hole to put his torch in.  Which isn't quite exactly the same as being a shitty Survivor player who gives way information freely to people who are working against him.

 

It's always been darkly lit.

Ben obviously hoped Rob would work with him early on, he gave up on that hope a while back.  Others still seem afraid of a big move, Adam probably one of them.

Edited February 20, 2020 by amazingracefan

[Rachel RSL]

Maybe.  But Adam was the one person who questioned Rob at TC and he also balked at giving the idol to Parvati so, if anything, I'm predicting Adam will be the one who makes the first move to get Rob out.  Whether or not he's successful is another thing.  I think so many people are afraid to make a move on Rob because, if he manages to figure out what's going on, you become his #1 target and he usually somehow makes it blow up in your face.   

(Also, just because a place is always darkly-lit doesn't mean that people can suddenly see perfectly.  If it's dark, it's dark. *shrug*)  In any case, I'm glad it happened because Adam's "I don't know...it looked like a hole." was so funny!

Edited February 20, 2020 by Rachel RSL

[tvgoddess]

19 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I can't get over that post-challenge bit with Rob and Ethan where Ethan was all "you sucked at that" and Rob just grinning. How great to have had the "Hey pretty boy" scene in All-Stars, with two young guys kind of puffing out their chests, and now 16 years later, those same two guys, all grey-haired and full of life experience, just joshing each other and (for now) working together.

Once more, for posterity. They're so darn hilariously cute together.

 

[Cornhusker12]

2 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Agree.  I've never thought Jeremy came across as cocky in any of his seasons.  He's always struck me as pragmatic but not obnoxious about anything.  I didn't get the impression he was boasting or being judgy about the others not knowing the value of the fire tokens, I thought he was simply pointing out the fact that he has a small advantage for now in that he's privvy to information that most people don't know about yet.

I agree and I think sometimes people get the wrong idea from him because he has Resting Intense Face haha

[Growsonwalls]

One thing about Parvati is that shes very well liked among Survivor alumni, even the ones she wasnt aligned with in her seasons. She seems to drop the game as soon as shes off the island. So ppl might keep her around bc they like her.

[jabRI]

21 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I wish Natalie was still in the game. I’m one of the few people who really likes her. Loved her and her Twinnie on TAR too.

Thank you! I didn't see her season of Survivor, but I've never missed a TAR.  Couldn't think why she seemed so familiar.

[amazingracefan]

38 minutes ago, Cornhusker12 said:

I agree and I think sometimes people get the wrong idea from him because he has Resting Intense Face haha

I'm not shallow like that, I just don't think he's indicated he has any sense of humor in the past.

[jabRI]

I don't get why Sandra is so pissed at Rob.  He thinks they are fine, he had no reason to blab he'd be on Season 40.  The 'queen' has to know all? I'm so over her.

[Lady Calypso]

Ok, so I decided to go back to rewatch some of Adam's best moments of the episode, and they're even better than the first time I watched (mostly because I was so busy in the live thread that I missed his actual facial expressions). The look he got in his confessional when he said "Why would you give it to Paaarv?" is gold (especially him dragging out Parvati's name like that). 

And when Adam also said "Good news: Denise found the idol. BAD NEWS: BEN KNOWS." I mean, sure, Ben made a mistake with the Rob thing on the first day, but it's a pretty big whoopsie that completely set up how players look at Ben, and clearly, they also don't trust him as far as they can throw him. Unfortunately for Ben, his loose lips got him in trouble, and it wasn't the last incident either.

I would say that also, during this episode's Tribal Council, just by saying that he helped people find idols, that could be considered a slip. Now, I'll give him credit for not mentioning names...but obviously, the damage was done because everyone figured out that someone could have had an idol. We'll see how the results of that play out next episode, but Ben set himself up to be the Loose Lips Guy, even if he didn't mean to. 

So, for someone like Adam to declare how he's a wild card? It's somewhat understandable. Ben hasn't fully picked a side yet, imo, and that's what makes him dangerous and a liability to certain alliances. His tribe already knows he's untrustworthy because of the move he pulled on day 1/2. Showing that he can potentially turn on an alliance, especially once they merge, just because he gets starstruck? That's dangerous for players who may want to work with him. He got starstruck with Rob; who's to say he doesn't get starstruck by Sandra or Yul or Tony once they merge? 

 That's completely on Ben for opening his mouth and spilling too much. First impressions are everything, and Ben just barely saved himself last week...but really, he could have been the one gone if Danni hadn't have opened her mouth. Honestly, if Danni had kept her mouth shut, Ben would have likely been gone. 

Also, rewatching Tribal Council, I can see why Adam went along with everyone. Rob was whispering to Jeremy, and Parvati was whispering to Michele, so in that moment with the whole "OPEN YOUR BAGS" moment, the majority was the Old Schoolers, Jeremy, and Michele, which left the others in the minority. I'm still not sure why Jeremy/Michele went along with it...especially since they were blindsided with the Natalie vote a few days earlier.

But still, Adam speaking up against Rob was a brave move. It could cost him, but I 100% respected what he did...because it IS ridiculous and nobody should have went along with Rob's power move. It only benefited Rob and nobody else. So, even if Adam goes next, I'll still respect what he did during this Tribal Council, because not a lot of people seem brave enough to stand up to Rob upfront. 

[grandmabegum]

7 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

My favorite thing about the Tony ladder was his "Top that, Yul!" Um, didn't you just see him get the exact same type of fruit down using a much simpler, safer object? And the part where he made everybody else cary the stupid thing while he walked behind them and called marching count? I mean, you just know that most of them were only playing along because they wanted to see him fall on his ass!

The thing that bothered me about this (and you know if his tribemates refused to help him he would have found a way) was that Tony could have really gotten hurt and they're all laughing and helping him out. Even worse was when he stepped on the first rung and it immediately broke -- showing that the ladder clearly wasn't high quality, SHOCKING! -- and Tony's like, "boost me up!" and someone, I think Wendell does. Given we know that Tony is Tony but how freaking bad would they/should they all have felt if Tony did get hurt.

[amazingracefan]

23 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Ben hasn't fully picked a side yet, imo, and that's what makes him dangerous and a liability to certain alliances.

He's tight with Denise and he hopes Adam's with him (I guess he may find out he isn't).  He's clearly against the old school set in the tribe, he set that out clearly.

[Rachel RSL]

16 minutes ago, grandmabegum said:

The thing that bothered me about this (and you know if his tribemates refused to help him he would have found a way) was that Tony could have really gotten hurt and they're all laughing and helping him out. Even worse was when he stepped on the first rung and it immediately broke -- showing that the ladder clearly wasn't high quality, SHOCKING! -- and Tony's like, "boost me up!" and someone, I think Wendell does. Given we know that Tony is Tony but how freaking bad would they/should they all have felt if Tony did get hurt.

Yeah, I was actually really surprised that Production let him do it. Maybe they made some poor PA test it out first. Or maybe it was like Tyson said about waivers. (Also hilarious!)

[Cutty]

Rob: Everyone empty their bags.

Me: Shut up Rob. The nerve of this guy!

*everyone empties their bags*

Me: Oh what the fuck! 

I feel like that was shaping up to be an interesting tribal before Danni imploded. Rob was directing the target to Ben, and that could have been glorious to see. 

[OldWiseOne]

39 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

But still, Adam speaking up against Rob was a brave move. It could cost him, but I 100% respected what he did...because it IS ridiculous and nobody should have went along with Rob's power move. It only benefited Rob and nobody else.

I disagree - it benefited everyone who didn't have an idol or know who had an idol, or it would have been of benefit if they had outed the idol with the bag emptying. The only people who don't benefit are those in possession or those in the know, they lose the power of info others don't have.

[amazingracefan]

I always liked Tony and never understood why some didn't take to his character.  I know it will annoy some of the audience that not everything the contestants do is completely checked in advance but it is meant to be reality tv and contestants should have some leeway at least. 

[grandmabegum]

Okay, the bags themselves bother me cause I find them ridiculous looking. Rob's request is of course also ridiculous. But the thing I found most ridiculous about it is that a lot of the time people have idols they don't put them in their bags cause people look through them, so they put them in their bra or in their bathing suits or still the most creative, in their hair. So to me it was totally just a ridiculous request and he never hoped to find an idol.

Side note: I always feel bad for Jeff when someone pulls an idol out that you know has been nestled by their unwashed junk for days.

 

[amazingracefan]

31 minutes ago, grandmabegum said:

Okay, the bags themselves bother me cause I find them ridiculous looking. Rob's request is of course also ridiculous. But the thing I found most ridiculous about it is that a lot of the time people have idols they don't put them in their bags cause people look through them, so they put them in their bra or in their bathing suits or still the most creative, in their hair. So to me it was totally just a ridiculous request and he never hoped to find an idol.

Side note: I always feel bad for Jeff when someone pulls an idol out that you know has been nestled by their unwashed junk for days.

The bags are really ugly, they don't fit into the dark environment at tribal at all.

And that they complied with Rob's request was ridiculous, you can't just pin that on Ben as they all did it.

Edited February 21, 2020 by amazingracefan

[Jobiska]

I miss about 70% of the chyrons, because I can't focus on those and the images at the same time, which was unfortunate in the days of Debbie when the clever graphics folks kept rotating all her claimed professions.

But I did notice that (like they started a season or so ago) that during one of his talking heads they put next to Jeremy's name "safety no power" (or whatever that advantage was called) so that answers that--he bought it.  

I think Natalie is playing E of E (or Extinction Island as Rob calls it) very well.  Though she didn't get the clue on the sign, she pretended to be amazed by Amber's interpretation, then she went along with climbing up the hill, then kept her eyes open and looked into the bottom of the well.  

Cool that they made a ring toss game.  Maybe that will help keep them sharp for the (admittedly much bigger and longer distance) tossing challenges.  

The flying fish were so pretty.

The bags look like the cloth briefcases that my husband used to get at law conferences so we have a zillion of them and they have stuff printed on them so you can't really give them away easily and they are somewhat handy but not as nice as a non-free one so you feel like you can't just throw them away but you can't really use them either.  

I'm not sure why getting Danni out (even if they would have preferred Parvati or Rob) isn't a good thing for the new school folks--it lowers the old school numbers, at least, and had she stayed she might have been reeled back in to that group.  

I like everyone, yeah, even Ben and Adam!  I cannot get too excited about Michele but I don't dislike her.  So I'm enjoying this.  But I am rooting hardest for the brain alliance of Wendell, Sophie, Yul, and Nick.

[grandmabegum]

26 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

I miss about 70% of the chyrons, because I can't focus on those and the images at the same time, which was unfortunate in the days of Debbie when the clever graphics folks kept rotating all her claimed professions.

I want to meet the person who came up with the idea of those rotating chyrons cause they were hilarious. Wonder what Debbie's up to now with that crazy resume.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

 

23 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Tony is Tony. That is all that needs to be said.

On 2/19/2020 at 9:04 PM, LadyChatts said:

Tony's ladder was the highlight of the episode. 

9 hours ago, Cornhusker12 said:

good god Tony is hilarious

You all have said everything that needs to be said about Tony.  He is a maniac and I am here for it.  Hands down, that ladder mess was the funniest thing I've seen on Survivor (or anywhere!) in a loooong time.    Tony's gonna Tony.

 

21 hours ago, Alice Mudgarden said:

Look, I love Rob. I've always loved Rob. But the fact that he's being referred to as "the godfather" and people are dumping out their bags on his command is why you vote him out.

I know me; the fact that people would be kowtowing to him would be the exact reason I would want him gone. You don't fall in line with that; you vote it out!!

I could understand better if these were star-struck newbies or something, but they've all won. You're all equals (or Sandra). Behave like it, ffs.

So I know it's been said before, but Rob is such a huge asset to challenges and camp comfort that I don't think they feel comfortable getting him out while they're still trying to win tribal advantages.   Short term comfort beats out 2M dollars, I guess.  LOL

 

10 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I am kinda liking Jeremy but it's things like this that remind me why I usually end up not liking him. He is cocky and, right now, he has no real reason to be. Parvati and Rob are acting cocky as hell too but currently they're getting exactly what they want so it makes sense and that makes it somewhat easier for me to handle. But Jeremy just sitting there doing nothing while thinking he's running things is just mind boggling and he always does that lol.  

I'm sorry, I beg to differ, Peach!  Jeremy can bring the cocky all he wants after he showed up and showed out at the Reward Challenge last week!  (Y'all can see I'm still kinda breathless over his Challenge Skills---I can't help it.)

And I love the way he sits and soaks everything in.  I definitely think he's one of the most observant players to ever play and he lays low while taking it all in. I also think he's very much like Rob where his "cockiness" gets confessed to the camera but he limits what he says within the actual game.  Must be something in the water up in Boston.

 

[Lamima]

10 hours ago, CletusMusashi said:

Danni was a good vote choice. I disagree with those who say that she was no threat to win, because the reason she won her original season was by not being a threat. Everyone else on her tribe was voted out instead of her, and she wound up in front of a jury full of her own allies.

And a vote for Rob is kind of like a vote for... I'm not gonna go to recent here, because wounds are still sore, but let's say Ralph Nader. People voted for Ralph, because they wanted to, without really believing he as going to win. If you want to vote for Rob, you can, but you'll do it knowing that other people want him to stay longer because he's usually great in challenges, or useful around camp, or pleasant to converse with, or will be a useful meat shield later, or will bring them to the end as a goat, or they've been hypnotized by him, or even simply because they want to snuggle up to him at night like Ben.

There are some people who you can throw a vote at one day and make things up with them the next. But a lot of Rob's political strength lies in his propaganda. He will figure out who voted for him, because he both interrogates and reads people very well. And then he will tell everyone "I can't believe how untrustworthy he/she is. We had an alliance. And, you know, it they're willing to lie to one person like that then they'll do it to anybody. Do you really want to keep people around who'll just turn on their friends every time the wind blows?" And he'll say it so persuasively that the people he's selling the idea to will agree, just as strongly as if those same exact thoughts are forming in their heads independently. Even if you're immune to his mojo, you're surrounded by people who, for the present at least, want to keep him.

And a lot of what I've said also applies if you vote for Parvati, because she'll have Investigator Rob and weasely street informant Ben looking into who voted where. She's a better target than Rob, though. Despite all the "Oh, Parvati is one of the greatest players out there" schtick, there was only one season in which she (mostly) called the shots, albeit with Cirie also helping, and that was against a cast in which fifty per cent had never even played the game before. In her most recent season, the only person willing to work with her was Russell Fucking Hantz, for christsake. Just go into your Parvati vote knowing that, after she's gone, you will be a target of Rob's propaganda machine. He pretty much has nothing to do out there all day besides condition people to be his minions. 

I wonder if his powers also work outside the game. I mean, I shudder at the thought of raising four kids, but if they all obey him like Survivor players do then it's probably awesome. "Hey, kids, I need some spare change. Go rob a bank for me." And the bank is so honored to be noticed by him that they brag about being "Boston" robbed,

Now, Danni versus Ben, you could debate that one all day. In the end, what made sense for most players was to look at the two probable outcomes and decide which one seemed more advantageous to them personally.

This. Perfectly said!

[Hera]

On 2/19/2020 at 10:12 PM, LanceM said:

So we know Rob considers Parvai to be his #1 but the question I have is do she feel the same?  The show is highlighting those two as the big duo (which is understandable) but if I had to guess Parvati's #1 is Ethan.  For all the talk about players with prior relationships, nobody has really mentioned that Parvati and Ethan have been good friends for over 10 years.

I didn't know that about Parvati and Ethan. I agree that she is Rob's #1, but Rob isn't hers. She did something similar in Heroes vs. Villains. Russell thought he was in a tight pair with Parvati, but when it came to hunting (and finding the idol), she went with Danielle and specifically left him out of the loop about the one they found.

16 hours ago, RescueMom said:

Also super impressed with Ethan, and I adore him now even more than I did in Africa. I wasn't expecting that. He seems to be involved in almost every conversation of >2 people, old school or new school.

I noticed that too. Right now, I think Ethan's is playing better than Parvati or Rob. Granted, he's not considered a major threat the way they are and so has room to be in on conversations that the two bigger threats aren't part of, but still. I have trouble imagining that Rob, in particularly, is long for this game—his edit reminds me of Sanda's in Game Changers: they're showing him while they can. I think the "New School" group went along with the plan to vote out Danni because she wasn't with them and it gets the "Old School" numbers down without tipping Rob or Parvati off that they aren't the ones in charge.

The thing about Rob is that he always has to be in charge and he always has to be visible. Some of that is his own mythos—he couldn't play under the radar now even if he wanted to. But I don't think he wants to. He has a natural sense of entitlement and authority—he feels comfortable giving orders and people are generally willing to follow them. Demanding that everyone empty their bags at Tribal Council was an expression of that.

But as dominant a personality as he is, I'm not sure his grip on his tribe is as firm as he needs it to be. Despite the unanimous vote for Danni, I don't think he actually has the numbers: Jeremy and Michele were not in on the Natalie vote, so I assume they're free agents, while Ben, Denise and Adam are in an alliance around the hidden immunity idol, which Rob may now have an inkling about, but he doesn't have any real information (though I'm sure Ben will tell him all about it in the next episode). Plus, as previously discussed, I don't think he's as tight with Parvati as he thinks he is. I also think Parvati and Ethan both have options for alliances (for whatever reason, Denise seems to want to work with Parvati and people seem pretty happy to have strategy conversations with Ethan) that Rob doesn't, and I don't think either of them will hesitate to jump ship as soon as they need to.

Speaking of the idol, I've speculated in the past that the producers have been looking for a way to make hidden immunity idols interesting again, and I'm curious to see how this new iteration, where you need to give half of it to someone else, plays out. Zeus pointed out that there's a new way you can betray someone now, by refusing to combine your half with theirs when they ask.

12 hours ago, laurakaye said:

So far I don't loathe Extinction Island and the fire tokens as much as I thought I would.

Same here. I don't think I'd like either on a regular season, but what I like about them on this one is their potential they bring all the out-of-game relationships and alliances into the open and make them a bit more legible to the viewer. I suspsect that Danni isn't going to be any better about finding these advantages than Amber was, so Natalie is probably going to keep getting to choose who gets offered advantages to buy.

[EllenB]

I thought Tony's ladder would need someone from the Ministry of Silly Walks.  Tony is hilarious on my television screen, but he'd be a huge headache to be around 24/7.

Spoiler

No spoiler, I just hit the wrong button and can't get rid of it!

 

[SVNBob]

17 hours ago, neece26 said:

Was the advantage Natalie sent him good for any tribal or just the next one?  They never said whether he "bought" it and obviously he participated in tribal last night which would make me think he didn't.

He did.  The chyrons in THs now include any advantages that a player has.  And Jeremy had one that noted he has "Safety Without Power"/

17 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

True, that's why I said he almost singlehandedly lost them the challenge.  But, really, it was pretty much him who tanked it.  They weren't that far behind in the puzzle and Rob is great at puzzles so I thought for sure they were setting it up for a Rob comeback.  I was so baffled when he started organizing pieces instead of just doing the puzzle.  Yes, organizing the pieces is smart when you have all the time in the world but not when you're competing for immunity on Survivor.  That was such a huge miscalculation on his part.  Very unRob-like. I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt and say that his brain was temporarily fried because he was upset about Ambuh.

 

I'm sure that's the way that he does jigsaw puzzles at home with the girls.  And that makes sense in that environment.  But agreed that that is not the best method when trying to solve a puzzle under a time crunch, and while you're already behind.

And also agreed that it was Ambuh being voted off that threw him off his game.

BTW, the reason that the Dakal tribe is having to resort to Yul's (Super)pole(2.0) and Tony's "ladder" to collect the breadfruit?...

 

[amazingracefan]

Also Ben saying at tribal that he doesn't have an idol but that he could give an idol to someone wasn't necessarily a bad move.  Obviously the camerawork focusing on Denise could try and suggest it was bad but the reality is the old school alliance wouldn't really know who he would give it to or if he even has found one or given one to anybody.  So it gives them more of a headache, and maybe less hope for their alliance if they think the idol may have been found.  Ben was strongly allying with the new school group at tribal.

It's clear in this season that some are at an advantage, those who have played more than once could well have other allies on the season who they are even friends with on the outside (either in tribe or cross tribes).  This makes it imperative that those who aren't part of that group create new alliances to combat this.

Edited February 21, 2020 by amazingracefan

[peachmangosteen]

19 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

I do think production gives him a lot of focus, but he also delivers exactly what they want with him gameplay. With the multi-camera challenge sets, he's a physical powerhouse. But his social game around camp is to literally camp out and look relaxed with his ring game and pithy comments. It's easy filming and it's higher quality content because of the sound bites compared to mining hours of conversations for lines as people stroll the beach. 

This is such a good point. In the end, TPTB are just fucking lazy so they show the people who easily give them what they think makes good tv.

18 hours ago, tvgoddess said:

I'd love to see [Rpb] on the jury since he hasn't been in that capacity before.

I wanna see him and Sandra on the jury for this reason. We've seen them both do everything else (many, many times!) so it'd be nice to see them in that role.

16 hours ago, Cornhusker12 said:

I agree and I think sometimes people get the wrong idea from him because he has Resting Intense Face haha

That's a good point. His resting face does always make him look like he's kind of an asshole lol. But when he smiles, oh boy!

13 hours ago, grandmabegum said:

But the thing I found most ridiculous about it is that a lot of the time people have idols they don't put them in their bags cause people look through them, so they put them in their bra or in their bathing suits or still the most creative, in their hair. So to me it was totally just a ridiculous request and he never hoped to find an idol.

Exactly. It was more about him showing off, letting everyone see that he's in control, and making an interesting TC for TV than it was about getting any useful info about idols.

12 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

I'm sorry, I beg to differ, Peach!  Jeremy can bring the cocky all he wants after he showed up and showed out at the Reward Challenge last week!  (Y'all can see I'm still kinda breathless over his Challenge Skills---I can't help it.)

I've been fast forwarding through the challenges so I missed this. I completely agree with you on his observational skills though and that's why I'm still mostly liking him and have hope that he's gonna break up Rob/Parvati soon.

[fishcakes]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

15 hours ago, grandmabegum said:

But the thing I found most ridiculous about it is that a lot of the time people have idols they don't put them in their bags cause people look through them, so they put them in their bra or in their bathing suits or still the most creative, in their hair. So to me it was totally just a ridiculous request and he never hoped to find an idol.

Exactly. It was more about him showing off, letting everyone see that he's in control, and making an interesting TC for TV than it was about getting any useful info about idols.

I don't think he expected anyone to reveal an item, but I don't think it was just a showy "I'm the boss" move either. He's always been about watching who's talking to whom and who's sleeping next to each other, etc., so I think telling everyone to dump their bags, as he's dumping his own bag, was more to see what every person's reaction would be. From this side of the TV, Adam and especially Denise looked guilty. Everyone else emptied their bags right away, but Adam pushed back and Denise just sat there with a panicked look on her face. Finally, she carefully took items out slowly and then held on to the bag with the flap folded in a strange way, then very quickly put everything back in. No idea if Rob noticed it in all the chaos, but he was no doubt looking for it. Even so, he doesn't know that the idol is split in half and that two people are holding two halves that are useless separately, but if he's clued in that either Denise OR Adam has it and votes one of them out, then, unless there's a new twist where you can will or sell whatever advantages you hold when you're voted out, he's neutralized the idol for both of them.

Ben seems like a completely different person to me this time. I remember him as being mopey, but not particularly dumb. Now he seems fairly stupid but happy. The dance was quite the spectacle, but the best part was that the two women standing there were completely ignoring it, so maybe he does it all the time.

I will be mad if at some point this season Sandra doesn't burn Danni's hideous hat.

[ProfCrash]

I think Ben is more comfortable this season. Remember in his first season he was relatively fresh from fighting a war and suffering from PTSD episodes while shooting. This is all speculation on my part. This season, Ben has had a few years to get treatment for the PTSD and I would guess that winning the money probably gave him a certain amount of relief because he had enough money to care for him and his family while he was getting treatment.  I hope that he is in a better place mentally and that is allowing him to enjoy playing a bit more. I am taking it as a sign that he is in a better place. I don't think he is playing with any more intelligence then he played his first season, he just seems to be in a better place.

I agree with what you said about Rob. He is more looking for body language and reactions then anything. I have no clue why Adam or Denise even brought the idol to tribal in their bags. Neither one of them was in any danger, they could have left them buried at camp and then could have emptied everything without any issues.

Denise's poor game play has been a bit of a surprise to me. She seems to be making mistakes I would not have expected.

[Bouffe]

11 hours ago, Hera said:

I didn't know that about Parvati and Ethan. I agree that she is Rob's #1, but Rob isn't hers. She did something similar in Heroes vs. Villains. Russell thought he was in a tight pair with Parvati, but when it came to hunting (and finding the idol), she went with Danielle and specifically left him out of the loop about the one they found.

100% agree. I am confident that Rob is not Parv's #1. I've said in the premiere thread that while I really like the alliance of Rob and Parvati, I hope she's not going to black widowed him, like she has with Russel and the ice cream guy (David?). I hope Rob's eyes are wide, wide, wide open when it comes to Parvati.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

18 hours ago, Cornhusker12 said:

I agree and I think sometimes people get the wrong idea from him because he has Resting Intense Face haha

That's a good point. His resting face does always make him look like he's kind of an asshole lol. But when he smiles, oh boy!

One of the things that always amused me about Jeremy in his earlier seasons was just how very, very tired he seemed to be of other people's antics/stupidity. He often had this look on his face that said "really?...REALLY?"

[ProfCrash]

3 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

100% agree. I am confident that Rob is not Parv's #1. I've said in the premiere thread that while I really like the alliance of Rob and Parvati, I hope she's not going to black widowed him, like she has with Russel and the ice cream guy (David?). I hope Rob's eyes are wide, wide, wide open when it comes to Parvati.

That would be glorious.

[amazingracefan]

22 hours ago, AncientNewbie said:

 

My original point was to roughly agree, but to say that seeming to be in a power position is part of his game. He's become the Robfather character because it largely works for him to stand around and give orders and somehow people always assume he's in charge and gift him the power. 

I do think production gives him a lot of focus, but he also delivers exactly what they want with him gameplay. With the multi-camera challenge sets, he's a physical powerhouse. But his social game around camp is to literally camp out and look relaxed with his ring game and pithy comments. It's easy filming and it's higher quality content because of the sound bites compared to mining hours of conversations for lines as people stroll the beach. 

Originally maybe they had some reasons as above to focus on him, on some appearances (Redemption Island and the Idols season) he was obviously set up to be a focus.  In a season like this they likely think he is popular with the audience and want to give him more focus and positive focus as a result.

[amazingracefan]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

 The dance was quite the spectacle, but the best part was that the two women standing there were completely ignoring it, so maybe he does it all the time.

One of them was laughing quite a lot, the other one wasn't reacting.

[CountryGirl]

I really enjoyed the episode, especially as it showcased, once again, the power of the Robfather.

I may be in the minority, but I think Rob deserves a lot of credit for winning his 4th go-round and it was not just a cakewalk for him.  He made all the right moves at the right time, he came in as a HUGE target and immediately took the leadership role, got trust, eliminated any uncertain variables, and had control of the game from beginning to end. Most importantly, he was able to not be boot #2 (after boot #1, Russell) and he executed on getting not just one, but two goats, whom he knew he could beat (Natalie and Phillip) to the end with him. The argument that it was a bunch of sheep doesn't hold much water with me because often, that can make it that much harder for him to control. He was out there, making relationships with EVERYONE and being a part of EVERY conversation. 

And fast forward to the present season, he's playing with some of the best, savviest, sharpest tools in the shed, and guess what? He's running the game. AGAIN. Because he's Boston Rob and Jedi Ninja Svengali is what he does best. Getting everyone to dump their bags on the spot when they all could have said "No" is just one example of that.

But to add to that, Jeremy, who wants to be the one running the game because duh, says Rob is controlling the game, Adam is calling him the Godfather, he fucked up the puzzle part of the challenge, basically costing them the win, new-school has the numbers advantage and they vote out whom again?

Oh, that's right, Danni. Which as much as it pains me to see another woman go out, she talked her way out of the game. And Amber was voted out solely because she's Rob's wife and they had a chance to take her out early.

Back to Rob, really though, he should have, at minimum, won All Stars but a bitter jury held their nose and gave it to his soon-to-be-wife Amber instead. 

And yes, I'm an unabashed Rob fan and have been ever since Marquesas and his Robfather segment.

[iMonrey]

40 seasons of Survivor, and I have seen somewhere between 30-35 of them. I boycotted a lot of seasons with Hantzes and other returning players but I think I've caught the last several. Anyway, it's astonishing how few of these people I remember, even those whose seasons I watched! 

I had to go look up recaps to refresh my memory on who the hell a lot of these people are like Ben. He seemed vaguely familiar but I did not remember his season or whether I liked him or not. How y'all keep track of these people is beyond me.

Anyway, Danni was one of the very few I remembered, mainly because her greatest claim to fame was beating the "beloved" Stephanie. I recall she was a fairly decent player in her season because she was on a losing tribe and managed to hang on after the merge despite being down in numbers and winning immunity when she needed it most. Sad to see her implode here. But I disagree her problem is that the older players aren't used to all the twists and extra idols and other bullshit gimmicks this show has now. She got paranoid, plain and simple. She was never in a position of power during her original season so she never had a chance to really blow an alliance like this before. 

[Eolivet]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

From this side of the TV, Adam and especially Denise looked guilty. Everyone else emptied their bags right away, but Adam pushed back and Denise just sat there with a panicked look on her face. Finally, she carefully took items out slowly and then held on to the bag with the flap folded in a strange way, then very quickly put everything back in. No idea if Rob noticed it in all the chaos, but he was no doubt looking for it.

Bingo. That's why I can't get on board with the idea of "Adam was smart to push back." No, he was stupid, and it made him look like he had something to hide. Which he did. Whether he was panicked for Denise or himself, who knows, but at least Denise said nothing. You could interpret that as maybe she was shocked and it took her a while to process. But Adam speaking up: instant target. As you said, Rob was looking for information and Adam offered up a huge piece without being asked.

Now if Rob had said directly to Adam, "empty your bag" and Adam was like "this is Survivor, are you actually serious," that could be seen as speaking up for the greater good or whatever. But when everyone else is complying and Adam does his "I'm off to go write my hit song, Alone in my Principles" routine ... it begs the question of why he had a problem with it and nobody else did.

Maybe Adam will be like teflon and Rob won't suspect a thing, but I thought that was a bad move especially where Rob is concerned.

Edited February 21, 2020 by Eolivet

[Hera]

 

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

From this side of the TV, Adam and especially Denise looked guilty. Everyone else emptied their bags right away, but Adam pushed back and Denise just sat there with a panicked look on her face. Finally, she carefully took items out slowly and then held on to the bag with the flap folded in a strange way, then very quickly put everything back in. No idea if Rob noticed it in all the chaos, but he was no doubt looking for it.

I don't know if Rob clocked anything unusual from Denise. I don't think he could see her face from where they were sitting and while the editors made sure to show us the footage of her carefully emptying her bag, I don't know if there was anything suspicious about the way she did it from the point of view of the other players. I don't remember them cutting to Rob looking at her/in her direction while she emptied her bag, which makes me think Rob wasn't watching her at all. If there was a way to ratchet up the suspense by making it look like Rob spotted something from Denise, I don't believe the editors would leave it out.

37 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

Maybe Adam will be like teflon and Rob won't suspect a thing, but I thought that was a bad move especially where Rob is concerned.

Regardless of whether or not Rob believes Adam has an idol, it certainly gives Rob a pretext to rally people to target Adam.

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

One of the things that always amused me about Jeremy in his earlier seasons was just how very, very tired he seemed to be of other people's antics/stupidity. He often had this look on his face that said "really?...REALLY?"

I absolutely love this about Jeremy. I get why some people find it off-putting, but I have a naturally high snark setting and Jeremy reacts the same way that I would to the same people and things.

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Eolivet said:

That's why I can't get on board with the idea of "Adam was smart to push back."

I don't think it was smart I just think it was awesome lol.

[EllenB]

I think the best response to King-in-his-own-mind Rob's demand to dump the bag contents would have been to comply, but to also indulge in some hysterical laughter, just to bring ol' Rob down a peg or two in his own estimation.

[princelina]

On 2/20/2020 at 12:01 PM, Gummo said:

Can't remember ever seeing Rob flustered before. He blew that challenge big-time.

I guess I'm a cold hearted bitch but I don't get this.  It's also why BvW seasons are my least favorite, especially Jeff's favorite part.  If you're playing with a partner one of you is getting voted out at some point.  You are lucky to have two chances to win.  I would 😫VOTE OUT MY MOTHER😫 or Mr. P if it seemed the smart thing and expect them to do the same if I had no chance and they were still in.  Now I enjoy the family visits more than most people here seem to because I like seeing who they brought and what they look like, and can overlook the overwrought emotion because then they have to get into the game and win that visit!  But the Jeff-encouraged breast beating about the loved one being voted off just doesn't compute with me.

11 hours ago, fishcakes said:

he doesn't know that the idol is split in half and that two people are holding two halves that are useless separately, but if he's clued in that either Denise OR Adam has it and votes one of them out, then, unless there's a new twist where you can will or sell whatever advantages you hold when you're voted out, he's neutralized the idol for both of them.

I'd love for them to hide the half-idol of the person voted out, with a note to the finder that they have to figure out who has the other half in order to use it 😀

[amazingracefan]

2 hours ago, princelina said:

I guess I'm a cold hearted bitch but I don't get this.  It's also why BvW seasons are my least favorite, especially Jeff's favorite part.  If you're playing with a partner one of you is getting voted out at some point.  You are lucky to have two chances to win.  I would 😫VOTE OUT MY MOTHER😫 or Mr. P if it seemed the smart thing and expect them to do the same if I had no chance and they were still in.  Now I enjoy the family visits more than most people here seem to because I like seeing who they brought and what they look like, and can overlook the overwrought emotion because then they have to get into the game and win that visit!  But the Jeff-encouraged breast beating about the loved one being voted off just doesn't compute with me.

I don't like the family visits, but I agree on blood v water.  For both, too much crying and over the top hysterics.  I prefer more natural drama arising out of situations.  And Survivor is ultimately an individual game (sole survivor) and not a team game.

[marys1000]

On 2/20/2020 at 1:34 PM, Fallacy said:

but I just can’t image Rob making it deep into this game.

The other side on their tribe already have two advantages over team Ethan, Rob, and Parvati in the form of Denise and Adam’s shared immunity power and Jeremy’s advantage to leave tribal if he needs to. So if Rob’s tribe goes back to tribal council next week, Rob can really only target Ben safely without an immunity idol bouncing him out of the game, and I can totally see Adam and Denise using their idol and their votes to get him out. 

Even if Rob’s tribe doesn’t lose another immunity challenge, he will still get voted out by team red immediately.

Basically, to me, all signs point to Rob being an early vote out. Now I happen to love him so I hope I’m wrong. 

Agreed for sure.  I love all the old schoolers except Parvati and so far I don't hate her yet.  
 

But I'm flip flopping back and forth on whether those two are (1) playing really badly and/or (2) just don't really care so much anymore.  I feel like they were both arm twisted into returning and maybe their lack of enthusiasm is taking the edge off.  They are acting so complacent, like they aren't even trying.  Is that editing?  To give an excuse for when they get voted out, probably pre-merge?  Rob taking time to sort puzzle pieces seemed so like....oh those guys will never solve it we have plenty of time.  Either that or he thought they were so far ahead the only way to win was to be fast when at some point they got really stuck.  And to not be doing what Ethan is doing, trying to draw in new schoolers when you are so low in the numbers.  Are they acting for production?  Making a big deal out of old vs new for the editors?  I'm just flummoxed.  

They are out out out.  So sad.  I love BR!  

I think maybe Adam said something to put Rob's focus on him while Denise tried to figure out what to do with her idol.  And what did Rob mean when he said I know what I needed to know?  Either Adam is a threat because he won't be led and/or was saying something because he has an idol, or he saw Denise furtively trying to manage her bag.  In several scenes he questioned if/who had an idol.  He seemed pretty convinced and wants to know. 

Tony, can you imagine being stopped by him for a ticket?  Would he give you the 15 minute rundown on why he stopped you, life lessons on choices, and all the reasons he either gave you a warning or a ticket.  Motoring his mouth a mile a minute. 

What would it like to be his partner day after day?  Is he the one that is always jumping the bad guys?  Like when you don't even need to?  I can just see him constantly jumping out of the patrol car, I'll get him!  I forgt a donut!  Just constant

Edited February 22, 2020 by marys1000

[treeofdreams]

14 hours ago, princelina said:

I'd love for them to hide the half-idol of the person voted out, with a note to the finder that they have to figure out who has the other half in order to use it

Love this idea!

[LanceM]

4 hours ago, marys1000 said:

Agreed for sure.  I love all the old schoolers except Parvati and so far I don't hate her yet.  
 

But I'm flip flopping back and forth on whether those two are (1) playing really badly and/or (2) just don't really care so much anymore.  I feel like they were both arm twisted into returning and maybe their lack of enthusiasm is taking the edge off.  They are acting so complacent, like they aren't even trying.  Is that editing?  To give an excuse for when they get voted out, probably pre-merge?  Rob taking time to sort puzzle pieces seemed so like....oh those guys will never solve it we have plenty of time.  Either that or he thought they were so far ahead the only way to win was to be fast when at some point they got really stuck.  And to not be doing what Ethan is doing, trying to draw in new schoolers when you are so low in the numbers.  Are they acting for production?  Making a big deal out of old vs new for the editors?  I'm just flummoxed.  

They are out out out.  So sad.  I love BR!  
 

 

Of course they are doing what Ethan is doing except it is not fitting the narrative that the editors are trying to sell us which is that is Parvati and Rob and Ethan (too an extant) on one side and everyone else is on the other.  I am not buying it all. There are other sub-alliances not being shown. I don't think for one minute that is was completely random that Denise thought about giving half her idol to Parvati.  I am willing to bet those two have a connection.  Remember we have had two tribal councils so far and Adam, Denise and Ben have voted the same way as Parvati, Rob and Ethan both times.

[amazingracefan]

I feel Parvati is probably in more danger than Rob. 

And so far all three eliminations have been women.

Edited February 22, 2020 by amazingracefan

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

I feel Parvati is probably in more danger than Rob. 

And so far all three eliminations have been women.

Strangely enough, that’s exactly why I would consider Rob to be in more danger than Parvati.  The tally of current players still in the core game (not counting EoE) stands at 17 - 10 men, 7 women...

• Dakal: 5 men, 4 women.
• Sele: 5 men, 3 women.

...so in any mixed-gender alliances I would expect the female members to apply pressure on the male members to next evict a male - if only to (a) demonstrate loyalty to their alliance over gender loyalty, or (b) prove there isn’t an all-male alliance in the works.

[Rachel RSL]

7 hours ago, marys1000 said:

I'm flip flopping back and forth on whether those two are (1) playing really badly and/or (2) just don't really care so much anymore.  I feel like they were both arm twisted into returning and maybe their lack of enthusiasm is taking the edge off.  They are acting so complacent, like they aren't even trying.  Is that editing?  

I feel like Rob and Parvati expected to be voted out immediately, especially Rob, so it just amuses/surprises them when they aren’t targeted. Like they kind of feel like they’re playing with house money right now. 

[SVNBob]

In case anyone was wondering which tool was better for gathering breadfruit; Yul's or Tony's:

[Cornhusker12]

10 hours ago, SVNBob said:

In case anyone was wondering which tool was better for gathering breadfruit; Yul's or Tony's:

Haha this is hilarious. I want to see a Yul/Tony buddy cop movie.

[RedbirdNelly]

On 2/19/2020 at 8:02 PM, tracyscott76 said:

Well it's a bummer to lose Danni, but I'm glad it went that way given the options because this trio of Rob, Parvati and Ethan is very intriguing to me.

And I just had to laugh at the scene with Sarah and Tony, where she's giving a voice-over about the state of their Cops R Us alliance, while on screen you see her just standing there while he's all hunched over gesticulating wildly in a very Tony way.

the Cops R Us part was hilarious--including the part where Tony goes "this time I mean it." Something about their interaction plus Sarah's voice overs just cracked me.

I also enjoyed Tony's ladder with the snark from Tyson. I love Tyson's asides. Always have. He's hilarious to me. I'm a sucker for sarcasm. I mean we signed a waiver, but. . . 

I only assume Boston Rob is still there because people want his brawn , for now, in the challenges. Otherwise, complete idiots.