S40.E04: I Like Revenge

[festivus]

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Castaways are on the edge of breaking down when faced with a grueling opportunity at the Edge of Extinction. Also, Survivor veterans begin to target each other.

Original air date 3/4/2020

[mojoween]

The googly eyes on the Immunity Skull are creepy as fuck.

Holy moly Sarah was super extra tonight.  A little of that goes a long damn way.

Jesus Sandra is going to sit her ass out of every challenge and weasel her way to the end.  It’s good if it works, and also gross.

Ok and I still don’t like her, but I too would like two million dollars more than revenge.

Hey did you know Nick did that puzzle once and won?  Weird it never came up.

[Daisy]

Okay show, I need to see who voted who out . Semipose it or something. but i need to know what happened. 

[Guest]

That was a good one. It feels like there was a ton packed into that episode: insights into dynamics of both tribes, a full challenge, scrambling post-challenge, and still time for the epic log-hauling on EoE. And one of my least favorites got voted off! (Although I've come around on Tyson this season. A little.)

So, when Rob announced he was going to lie and throw Adam under the bus...in the little snippet we saw of him talking to Jeremy and Michele, did he actually lie? I just heard him say "Adam's been talking to me and I don't know what to do about it." Either way, it seemed to work. Again XD

[PaperTree]

1 minute ago, mojoween said:

The googly eyes on the Immunity Skull are creepy as fuck.

Holy moly Sarah was super extra tonight.  A little of that goes a long damn way.

Jesus Sandra is going to sit her ass out of every challenge and weasel her way to the end.  It’s good if it works, and also gross.

Ok and I still don’t like her, but I too would like two million dollars more than revenge.

Hey did you know Nick did that puzzle once and won?  Weird it never came up.

They'er fire tokens that can't be removed.

Yep, money beats revenge.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Daisy said:

Okay show, I need to see who voted who out . Semipose it or something. but i need to know what happened. 

In this case, you could infer it by the votes they showed: Tyson voted for Nick, Nick voted for Kim, and those were the only non-Tyson votes that Jeff read at the end. So you can tell that everyone else voted for Tyson.

[LadyChatts]

Just now, Daisy said:

Okay show, I need to see who voted who out . Semipose it or something. but i need to know what happened. 

This is a guess, but I'm going with:

Tyson-Nick; Nick-Kim (we saw them write those names down), and everyone else Tyson. Why Nick voted for Kim I don't know.

[Growsonwalls]

I know the IC's are heavily edited but anyone think Yul and his group threw that IC to get rid of Tyson? It was just too weird how they all of a sudden couldn't get anything right when they had such a big lead.

Sandra sits out again. "The Sandra Sit-Out Bench." Heh. But to be fair I think it's well known that survivor actually has some small food and prize challenges that they don't televise anymore since they televise so much EoE stuff? So it's possible Sandra isn't sitting out as much as it looks on TV.

As for the TC can't complain. I think Tyson is amusing but that was probably the best choice for the whole tribe. Confused as to why Nick voted Kim when he seemed to know Tyson would be going. 

[EllenB]

Ew, Tyson referred to himself as Nick's hero?  Hope he falls in a volcano in exile.

[Eolivet]

I can't believe they've saved the patented "remember me? I played Survivor for my mom" Adam confessional for ... him jumping into the water a bunch of times to retrieve a key in a challenge?

Oh, Nick was so charming at tribal council. "Parvati was my high school crush." So glad he was saved.

[Guest]

1 minute ago, LadyChatts said:

This is a guess, but I'm going with:

Tyson-Nick; Nick-Kim (we saw them write those names down), and everyone else Tyson. Why Nick voted for Kim I don't know.

He said it was because he was afraid Tyson had an idol. Just insurance to make sure the vote didn't bounce back on him (although it would have been a tie).

[Rachel RSL]

I know this won’t last but all my faves are in a good spot right now and every time Sandra survives a TC, it both astonishes and delights me. I love her! She proudly sits out challenges and she openly says she’ll vote for anyone as long as it isn’t her yet they all love her. Her social game is killer!

Other than watching Natalie continue to be a beast, I could do with 95% less EoE. I mean, I really like him, but I didn’t need the epic saga of Ethan going up a hill. 

At least Rob’s wizard puzzle skills finally kicked in. WTF? He put that thing together like he knew instantly where every piece went.

 

 

[PaperTree]

2 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

He said it was because he was afraid Tyson had an idol. Just insurance to make sure the vote didn't bounce back on him (although it would have been a tie).

Yet they had enough votes to put two on Kim just to make sure.  Hmmm??

[Guest]

1 minute ago, Rachel RSL said:

At least Rob’s wizard puzzle skills finally kicked in. WTF? He put that thing together like he knew instantly where every piece went.

 

Third time's the chahm. 

[LadyChatts]

5 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I know the IC's are heavily edited but anyone think Yul and his group threw that IC to get rid of Tyson? It was just too weird how they all of a sudden couldn't get anything right when they had such a big lead.

Sandra sits out again. "The Sandra Sit-Out Bench." Heh. But to be fair I think it's well known that survivor actually has some small food and prize challenges that they don't televise anymore since they televise so much EoE stuff? So it's possible Sandra isn't sitting out as much as it looks on TV.

As for the TC can't complain. I think Tyson is amusing but that was probably the best choice for the whole tribe. Confused as to why Nick voted Kim when he seemed to know Tyson would be going. 

I said the same thing in the live chat, but unless Nick and Sarah totally froze and spaced out, I can't believe they were pretty far ahead and then suddenly were taking the puzzle apart.  Especially when Sele was catching up fast.  

Sandra looked surprised at the Kim vote.  The only thing I can think is Nick wasn't told about Tyson, or did Kim in case of an idol.  It would have been a Nick-Kim tie, but I assume Kim would have went?

[PaperTree]

The voting list:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_Winners_at_War#Voting_history

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

Yet they had enough votes to put two on Kim just to make sure.  Hmmm??

Two possibilities:

1. Perhaps Yul/Sophie/Wendell knew the Tyson vote was in the bag and didn't feel the need to put more votes on Kim, but let Nick do it since his neck was on the block.

2. Perhaps Yul/Sophie/Wendell weren't sure the Tyson vote was in the bag and didn't want to dilute the Tyson vote with Kim votes, but let Nick do it since his neck was on the block.

I didn't say it made sense, just that it was the reason Nick gave for his Kim vote XD

[zscore]

Guess Sele was right last week to keep Rob for the challenge.

[Lantern7]

Well, we get a decent ending with Tyson’s dumb ass voted out. I still can’t believe he actually won a season. I mean, he’s smarter than JT, but who isn’t?

I’m not saying EoE needs to stay, but at least we have more action, as well as finding out at least one tribe can see them. Having players go up the mountain twenty times does seem a bit sadistic. On the other hand, maybe the producers really didn’t want Natalie to be the only one scoring tokens. Anyway, I think everyone broke down afterward, and Ethan needed medical attention. That was painful, especially he comes off as a nice guy not deserving of the pain.

Is there a list on what stuff could be bought with fire tokens? Natalie’s gone four-for-Four, but that’s doesn’t seem like enough.

Massive mission breakdown from Dekal. Probst must have changed his shorts immediately after Sele won. I guess that’s why a mercy rule doesn’t exist. I was thinking that should be a thing watching Pavarti and Adam suck so loud trying to get the rings, but Dekal came back.

Nick = Adam? They both seem socially hapless; their best case scenarios being making it to the end as goats.

I hope somebody from the show clarifies how Sandra gets to sit out so often. I like her, and it hurts to hear grumbling about it.

@PaperTree . . . For years, I’ve been saying that a hidden idol should be fitted into the tribal idol. I didn’t think tokens could be under the googly eyes. That’s gotta be why the idol looks so dumb . . . like the local artists phoned in the effort.

[LadyChatts]

I feel like all we've gotten from Michele so far is that her win was controversial.

I loved how Rob lied to Jeremy/Michele about Adam and they believed it, and Tyson told Sandra/Tony something that was true about Yul and Sandra thought he was lying.  

I was kind of glad to see someone exit and be bitter at least.  

[Guest]

1 minute ago, LadyChatts said:

I feel like all we've gotten from Michele so far is that her win was controversial.

 

I actually enjoyed that conversation between her and Rob, and his response of "if you win, you win, the end", given that his win AND Amber's win over him are both controversial as well.

[Growsonwalls]

I must say Nick for a guy who is a defense lawyer and who has had a pretty rough life does a good job seeming young, puppyish, and not really a threat. 

[susannot]

All the cast have connections to each other except my favorite alliance The Unconnected.

[Guest]

I just really enjoyed all the hustle this episode. Yes, some people got duped, but everyone's thinking, everyone's present, everyone's trying their damnedest. Both in the "real" game and on EoE. It's what you would expect from a season like this, so it's nice to see it playing out that way so far.

[jsm1125]

Genuinely impressed that 5 people have been voted out already, and none of them are Parvati, Rob, Sandra, Tony or Kim!

[Growsonwalls]

So I like Yul a lot but found out he worked in the "Privacy Development" department of Facebook for many years. Uh ... isn't that an oxymoron?

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, susannot said:

All the cast have connections to each other except my favorite alliance The Unconnected.

The Unconnected has more of a ring of mystique than "The Poker Alliance". And Nick didn't even have to name it himself!

[susannot]

Does anyone else think that Sandra orchestrated Tyson's ouster?  She was gunning for him though she pretended to go along with Tony and the others.  SOMETHING convinced the tribe to do a near-unanimous vote.  Sandra was wearing a sly expression throughout tribal council.  It is just the kind of thing that she would do.  My sneaky gal.

[Guest]

3 minutes ago, susannot said:

Does anyone else think that Sandra orchestrated Tyson's ouster?  She was gunning for him though she pretended to go along with Tony and the others.  SOMETHING convinced the tribe to do a near-unanimous vote.  Sandra was wearing a sly expression throughout tribal council.  It is just the kind of thing that she would do.  My sneaky gal.

I mean, her idol had expired (I guess?) and she wasn't even breaking a sweat. Wasn't even mentioned as an option. Jiminy.

[truthaboutluv]

32 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

So, when Rob announced he was going to lie and throw Adam under the bus...in the little snippet we saw of him talking to Jeremy and Michele, did he actually lie? I just heard him say "Adam's been talking to me and I don't know what to do about it." Either way, it seemed to work. Again XD

He did lie but was subtle about it. He didn't come up with an elaborate story and over complicate it. He kept it simple, saying that Adam's asking him if they're good and what's happening now and he doesn't know what to say because he doesn't trust Adam. That was enough to plant the seeds in Jeremy and Michelle's head that Adam may still be looking for ways to work with Rob and weasel into that side. 

[Guest]

Speaking of Adam, I was glad for him that he got that last key (and they ultimately won). What a nightmare that was, where he was the only one who had had ANY success grabbing one, so he had to just keep going and going and going. Like Dodgeball in gym when all the stronger kids have gotten knocked out while you were hiding in the back, and now you're the only one left and they're all on the sidelines waiting for you to catch the ball so they can get back in.

Or am I projecting?

[LanceM]

So Sandra likes 2 million dollars better than revenge but then votes for revenge? lol. Yeah she is not winning and I think Tyson is right the big targets will slowly keep getting picked off.

Did all the short women end up on Sele?  I don't think Parbati and Denise ever had a chance of grabbing those keys.

What an epic choke job on that puzzle by Dakal

[OutOfTheQuestion]

1 minute ago, LanceM said:

Did all the short women end up on Sele?  I don't think Parbati and Denise ever had a chance of grabbing those keys.

That seemed like a tactical misfire from Sele.  Looked like they just put all the lightest people in the boat without realizing that some height was a big help in grabbing those keys.  Worked out in the end, however, though I agree that it really seemed like Nick and Sarah were intentionally tanking that puzzle.

[kav]

40 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

I know the IC's are heavily edited but anyone think Yul and his group threw that IC to get rid of Tyson? It was just too weird how they all of a sudden couldn't get anything right when they had such a big lead.

Rob C and Fishback were talking about this on Know It Alls.

40 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

Sandra sits out again. "The Sandra Sit-Out Bench." Heh. But to be fair I think it's well known that survivor actually has some small food and prize challenges that they don't televise anymore since they televise so much EoE stuff? So it's possible Sandra isn't sitting out as much as it looks on TV.

She will not be able to sit out next week.

40 minutes ago, Growsonwalls said:

As for the TC can't complain. I think Tyson is amusing but that was probably the best choice for the whole tribe. Confused as to why Nick voted Kim when he seemed to know Tyson would be going. 

 

[LadyChatts]

While I didn't get the reaction I was hoping for from Adam, I did like the comparison Jeremy made to him being a kid that got in trouble, and now he was trying to make up for it.

[vb68]

7 minutes ago, LanceM said:

So Sandra likes 2 million dollars better than revenge but then votes for revenge? lol. Yeah she is not winning and I think Tyson is right the big targets will slowly keep getting picked off.

To be fair, I think she really did see him as a threat. it's hard to know how much of that was for revenge. I'm thinking it really wasn't.

The Queen's Bench sounds much better. Just saying.

So it was Parvati's turn to take the mantle from Rob and look cpmpletely inept in a challenge. 

[susannot]

Sandra is still in the running for the 2 millions AND she got her revenge.  Well played, Queen.

[LanceM]

3 minutes ago, vb68 said:

To be fair, I think she really did see him as a threat. it's hard to know how much of that was for revenge. I'm thinking it really wasn't.

The Queen's Bench sounds much better. Just saying.

So it was Parvati's turn to take the mantle from Rob and look cpmpletely inept in a challenge. 

Parvati wasn't really inept. she can't help it that the she is like 5'3" and can't jump high enough to reach the key. lol

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, LanceM said:

Parvati wasn't really inept. she can't help it that the she is like 5'3" and can't jump high enough to reach the key. lol

I can just imagine Rob, Jeremy and Ben floating in the water helplessly watching Adam, Parvati and Denise struggle, thinking "Yeah, we really didn't think this through."

[vb68]

2 minutes ago, LanceM said:

Parvati wasn't really inept. she can't help it that the she is like 5'3" and can't jump high enough to reach the key. lol

They didn't have to go out of their way to edit it the way they did, though.

[Lamima]

1 hour ago, Daisy said:

Okay show, I need to see who voted who out . Semipose it or something. but i need to know what happened. 

You know if you google Survivor US wikipedia and click on S40 they list it out. Scroll towards bottom (Nick voted Kim and Tyson voted Nick and all others voted Tyson)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survivor:_Winners_at_War

Edited March 5, 2020 by Lamima

[truthaboutluv]

So an interesting thought just occurred to me. Anyone else think that scene with Rob and Michelle discussing how her win was controversial and essentially people didn't think she should have won, was totally random and out of place in the episode?

Dear God, could this have been foreshadowing a Michelle win? Interestingly, as much as I'm one of those who called bullshit on her win during her season, no joke, I'd laugh my ass off if that somehow ended up happening. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, vb68 said:

7 minutes ago, LanceM said:

Parvati wasn't really inept. she can't help it that the she is like 5'3" and can't jump high enough to reach the key. lol

They didn't have to go out of their way to edit it the way they did, though.

Did they, though? I thought they just showed her taking her turns and missing, same as they did with the others who missed. I didn't think they drew excessive attention to it; they just showed how the challenge was progressing. I don't think Jeff even went on and on about it.

[Growsonwalls]

Parvati seems different this time. She’s still in it but more subdued. I guess being a new mom she might miss her baby. IDK. But the gleeful scheming so far hasn’t shown up ... yet. Also I didn’t realize she was so tiny until tonight when she was trying to jump for the key. But she’s very petite.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Growsonwalls

[Alice Mudgarden]

That Parvati snark about the "Sandra Bench" would have been so much better if she said to rename it the Queen's Throne.

Loved Sandra being all I LOVE IT, I'M DOWN. Like lol, you're trying to take a dig but NOPE.

Tyson rolling his eyes at Nick going on about his crush on Parvati was everything. And even though I'd generally much rather see the vote breakdown in the credits, I liked Tyson dead panning about pina coladas and then being all "YOU HAVE SO MUCH FIREWOOD" while the other four were like "YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW."

[Wandering Snark]

1 hour ago, Rachel RSL said:

Other than watching Natalie continue to be a beast, I could do with 95% less EoE. I mean, I really like him, but I didn’t need the epic saga of Ethan going up a hill. 

About half way through that I was thinking "Okay, so how many exhausting trips up and down the hill do we need to see?" Nice moment for Ethan but the entire segment could have been pared down significantly. If I was Ethan I'd have said at the end "Okay I earned that firetoken dammit and I'm cashing in for the beer."

[Lamima]

14 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

So an interesting thought just occurred to me. Anyone else think that scene with Rob and Michelle discussing how her win was controversial and essentially people didn't think she should have won, was totally random and out of place in the episode?

Dear God, could this have been foreshadowing a Michelle win? Interestingly, as much as I'm one of those who called bullshit on her win during her season, no joke, I'd laugh my ass off if that somehow ended up happening. 

Yep, I was thinking that too. And I was same (called BS when she won). But am digging seeing her playing more this go 'round.

Um, nobody has mentioned Tyson telling Tony (or was it Tony telling Tyson?)  that they were the biggest threats/targets and then Sandra.  Really...them and THEN Sandra???? No, Sandra is THE biggest. IMO. Her and Rob and then Pavarti and then those guys.

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Lamima said:

Um, nobody has mentioned Tyson telling Tony (or was it Tony telling Tyson?)  that they were the biggest threats/targets and then Sandra.  Really...them and THEN Sandra???? No, Sandra is THE biggest. IMO. Her and Rob and then Pavarti and then those guys.

That was part of Tyson's pitch to Tony for keeping him around. I think Tyson phrasing it that way was partly his typical snarkiness, but also intentional for his pitch: one, it flatters Tony, thus making him more likely to listen, and two, by painting himself as the biggest threat, Tyson makes himself a more attractive shield.

...nah, it was probably just Tyson's snarkiness.

[bamlou]

1 hour ago, Growsonwalls said:

I know the IC's are heavily edited but anyone think Yul and his group threw that IC to get rid of Tyson? It was just too weird how they all of a sudden couldn't get anything right when they had such a big lead.

It seemed legitimate to me. I think it just appeared like they were further ahead with solving the puzzle than reality - there are a couple shots where it looks like one side of their puzzle is fitting correctly, but the back side has swiss cheese holes in it and they couldn't seem to see how their remaining pieces fit in, so something was off, and they were stumped what was wrong because what they had in place did look correct from one side. Hence why I think they began to take some of the pieces off. Now I'm not totally sure why they started taking off the very bottom ones which did seem right, but it was a circular design that could have made the orientation deceiving so maybe they thought they needed to flip it around somewhat. Add on to that panic and pressure from Sele and Wendell trying to dictate from the sidelines, and I could see how they could blow their lead.

[ljenkins782]

4 minutes ago, Wandering Snark said:

About half way through that I was thinking "Okay, so how many exhausting trips up and down the hill do we need to see?" Nice moment for Ethan but the entire segment could have been pared down significantly. If I was Ethan I'd have said at the end "Okay I earned that firetoken dammit and I'm cashing in for the beer."

Yeah, I was watching it and then it slowly dawned on me just how much time they spent showing people who are no longer in the game. They need to tighten up the editing on the EOE stuff. 

It was nice of them go with him though and seemed like a good idea just for safety's sake. That was an excessively physical task for people living on nearly no food.

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Parvati seems different this time. She’s still in it but more subdued. I guess being a new mom she might miss her baby. IDK. But the gleeful scheming so far hasn’t shown up ... yet.

I think she's lacking both a female companion and a blindly loyal hanger-on. Rob is the closest ally she has, but she knows better than to make him her long-term plan. Maybe she'll perk up in the swap or merge when she identifies the person she can tuck under her wing. My money would be on somebody like Michele, who clearly has an enormous chip on her shoulder about her win. I could see Parvati weaving her spell around that theme to pull Michele in tight. 

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Genuinely impressed that 5 people have been voted out already, and none of them are Parvati, Rob, Sandra, Tony or Kim!

I don't see Kim or Tony as that huge a threat in the context of the rest of the players, but Sandra, Rob, and Parvati are definitely doing well so far considering the size of the targets that should be on them.

Honestly, I'm okay with that too. I'd rather lose some of the lesser knowns and let the big dogs fight it out at the end. My worst nightmare would be that the big targets all get taken out and we're left with a final 3 of Adam, Michele, and Sophie or something. An endgame that included Rob/Parvati/Sandra would be really interesting to watch just to see whose strategies held up.

Tyson giving his token to Nick was interesting. Not sure if it was a desire to see the world burn kind of move or if maybe he has an interest in preserving the people he feels less threatened by in the event that he returns to the game. If they can give their tokens to anyone at all, he could have helped his "poker alliance" buddies on the other tribe, but chose not to. Would be curious to hear his reasoning on that one.