S40.E05: The Buddy System on Steroids

[Prower]

19 hours ago, OutOfTheQuestion said:

when it's like, uh, you're both part of a select group of 39 Survivor winners

Aren't there only 38? There have been 39 seasons before this one, but Sandra won twice.

17 hours ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

They all have been returned to the finder who can play them at their will. The only twist seems to be they have to decide who to temporarily trust with the other half by sundown.

That is how it played out so far, but somebody could betray you and not give it back. If you are in a really bad spot, they could even blackmail you, to give them your half. So the original finder gets screwed over.

It is an interesting twist that doesn't do much yet, but could be fun in the individual half of the game.

16 hours ago, PhoneCop said:

Like Sandra with her Anybody But Me MO

I mean, that is what Sandra will tell you to your face, but behind your back, she will scheme, cheat and spread rumors to get specific people out. I don't get how people still buy the "anybody but me"-line.

Rob on the other hand is actually a one trick pony and production had to work really hard to make his one trick work out that one season.

[Daisy]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Thank the Lord, indeed. Notice there was no EoE segment, because the show needed to spend as much time on Rob as possible. Next week there is sure to be an extended EoE segment when Rob reunites with Amber. Maybe the whole show, who knows?

I find it delicious that Rob got voted out much the same way he did in his original season on Marquesas. He was initially an a power position until the tribal swap (the first time the show ever did one of those) then got screwed. The difference is that back then the show had no trouble portraying him as a villain. They didn't start giving him a hero edit until All-Stars because they saw something developing between him and Amber, and Survivor loves nothing more than an island romance. But he was a jerk on Marquesas and I've never seen him otherwise since.

Maybe I'm just inclined to be cynical that way but I thought Wendell came off as kind of a jerk too. It must have been awkward for Michelle to even broach the subject of awkwardness between them and he just wasn't having it. I tend to believe her assessment that this is a guy who just thinks he's hot shit, but I don't want to turn this into a #meToo moment or anything. I'm just not the type to get the vapors over some guys because he builds stuff.  

2nd time. The first ever swap was in Africa when they traded  Silas, Frank and Teresa for Ethan, Lex and Blonde Kelly. smokes went Silas. But had Marqueaes had the first full tribal swap.


(and the fact that I remember this, and their names - and I still can't really remember Ben or Michelle and they won speaks volumes). 

 

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Rob gone, Ben there = conceptually incorrect. Not surprising, but still wrong.

I agree. Rob's strength has always been schmoozing. In All Stars and Redemption Island, the other players all said they trusted Rob because he made each of them feel special. He'd talk to them and make them feel like they were his number one. They'd know he was telling everyone the same thing, but each thought it was him- or herself he was telling the truth to. Ironically, his downfall this time was honesty; he never should have acknowledged that he and Ben and Adam don't trust each other and instituted the Buddy System so they could ostensibly all keep an eye on one another. Instead he should have had a big fake Hey Guys Let's Bury the Hatchet and Start Fresh Together! talk, and maybe also worked Sarah and Sophie in a similar way. Instead he indicated that he didn't trust Adam and Ben, which made them know they couldn't trust him.

And even though taking out Rob is something that needed to happen for Ben or Adam to win the game, this was the worst possible time for them to do it. It was really a stupid move on their part because if and when their tribe loses again (and just looking at them ... yeah, that's going to happen), who do those two idiots think is getting voted out? Not Sarah with her Steal-a-Vote and not Sophie with her immunity idol. Not that they know about those advantages, but even without them, at best all they can hope for is a tie and a rock draw. I look forward to the demise of each of them.

Yeah - and this is why Rob + Grant really fell out because Grant was basically the lex of that season and felt all of this ❤️ and what not - and then just felt like Rob wasn't sincere.  Even in Heroes vs. Villians, i think if Tyson had stuck with the plan to vote out Russell, it shakes out a bit differently because Sandra, etc were all "yeah. let's go. 

I don't think Rob really had the heart in it and I think it showed for the majority of the time he was out there. I will say though even if he did I don't think he would have been very long for the game either. i think most people would have realised he needed to be booted before the merge. 

[AlleC17]

58 minutes ago, Prower said:

I looooooooove that Rob's stupid buddy system backfired on him. Not so easy when you aren't playing against handpicked Noobs that are only there to give you an easy win, is it?

Agree!  Also am I the only one who was annoyed by him demanding if Amber's vote was unanimous?  Its a game Rob, deal with it.  Amber getting voted out is fair, and she took it better than he did.  I thought he would be a little more lighthearted about his ouster, since he seems to understand most of the time that this is a game, but nope:  pretty sour for his torch snuffing.  Very glad he is gone (sort of gone, anyway) and I do not think he is going to win his way back, fingers crossed. 

[ByaNose]

13 minutes ago, Prower said:

Aren't there only 38? There have been 39 seasons before this one, but Sandra won twice.

That is how it played out so far, but somebody could betray you and not give it back. If you are in a really bad spot, they could even blackmail you, to give them your half. So the original finder gets screwed over.

It is an interesting twist that doesn't do much yet, but could be fun in the individual half of the game.

I mean, that is what Sandra will tell you to your face, but behind your back, she will scheme, cheat and spread rumors to get specific people out. I don't get how people still buy the "anybody but me"-line.

Rob on the other hand is actually a one trick pony and production had to work really hard to make his one trick work out that one season.

Yeah, Rob played the game as he’s done in the past. It works great with dumb newbies but it doesn’t work with smart WINNERS! Basically, he’s a one trick pony. I was never a huge fan of him but it was always amazing that people listened to him and didn’t think twice about. He has some sort of power within the game of Survivor but it didn’t last this time. That said, it was a great episode. 

[LadyChatts]

Saw this on Twitter and couldn't resist

 

[EllenB]

What's interesting to me is that in a season of all winners, there aren't any obvious goat choices.  It changes the strategy.

[Morrissey]

As much as I have enjoyed watching Rob in previous seasons, this episode is definitive proof that he is a one trick pony - or in the words of the great Dmitry "a one way monkey". 

How did he fail to schmooze Ben and Adam - two players who should be easy enough to manipulate? And how did he not consider that his tight leash approach would backfire? Survivor is a game of adaptability and he should have been smart enough to know that his Redemption Island tactics could never work in a season of only winners. 

I hope Sarah and Sophie wipe the floor with the two remaining idiots.  

[Nashville]

20 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

No, after fiddling with the urn lid, Adam also scanned around the whole voting kiosk as he was turning to leave. He was a-huntin', for sure.

That, or Adam was taking his “one last look” in case he got blindsided by yet another vote and sent to Extinction - a not-unreasonable concern on his part. 😉 

 

18 hours ago, Quilt Fairy said:

Can someone explain to me how those half & half idols work?  How do they get played?

1. Player 1 finds/gets an idol which disassembles into two halves.
2. To “activate” the idol, Player 1 must give one of the halves to another player (Player 2) before sundown of the day in which the idol is found/received.
3. After sundown, the idol may be actively played - once the two halves are re-attached to each other.

See, #3’s where it gets tricky because Player 2 doesn’t have to give their half of the idol back to Player 1 if they don’t want to - or, to put it another way, Player 2 can’t be compelled to return their half of the idol.  So Player 1 better be pretty damn persnickety about which Player 2 they pick, or they’re liable to get screwed.

 

6 hours ago, Josh371982 said:

If Michelle has any sense Parvati has to Go ASAP. Not be her Stooge

Given there’s a great big Wendell-shaped distraction running around camp, do you really think Michele’s going to be focusing on Parvati?

😆

[LadyChatts]

 

50 minutes ago, Morrissey said:

As much as I have enjoyed watching Rob in previous seasons, this episode is definitive proof that he is a one trick pony - or in the words of the great Dmitry "a one way monkey". 

How did he fail to schmooze Ben and Adam - two players who should be easy enough to manipulate? And how did he not consider that his tight leash approach would backfire? Survivor is a game of adaptability and he should have been smart enough to know that his Redemption Island tactics could never work in a season of only winners. 

I hope Sarah and Sophie wipe the floor with the two remaining idiots.  

I feel like Rob wasn't into this season, especially when he saw Amber was gone and the way the old schoolers were getting picked off.  While I don't believe he and Sandra were actually roughing it last season, doing two of these back to back still had to take a lot out of him.  And since it was rumored he was a last minute hold out made me think they really had to pull out all the stops to get him here.  That said, I think Rob is very much an old school player, and can't adapt to the new school way.  In addition, I don't think Rob knows how to play from the bottom.  He said last night he was running the show in Marquesas on his tribe until the swap, and then was on the bottom.  Which, he's not wrong, but it's easy to run the show when you have a majority, even though you are always losing, and the people getting voted off your alliance didn't like in the first place.

I agree about Sarah and Sophie.  I don't think it'll be too hard to take down Ben and Adam.  I feel like those two will turn on each other in a heart beat.

[Valerie]

I know Rob wouldn't last, but I adore him so I'm sad he's out on the Edge for the rest of the game. Hoping for a sweet reunion between him and Amber.

[LanceM]

32 minutes ago, Nashville said:

That, or Adam was taking his “one last look” in case he got blindsided by yet another vote and sent to Extinction - a not-unreasonable concern on his part. 😉 

 

1. Player 1 finds/gets an idol which disassembles into two halves.
2. To “activate” the idol, Player 1 must give one of the halves to another player (Player 2) before sundown of the day in which the idol is found/received.
3. After sundown, the idol may be actively played - once the two halves are re-attached to each other.

See, #3’s where it gets tricky because Player 2 doesn’t have to give their half of the idol back to Player 1 if they don’t want to - or, to put it another way, Player 2 can’t be compelled to return their half of the idol.  So Player 1 better be pretty damn persnickety about which Player 2 they pick, or they’re liable to get screwed.

 

Given there’s a great big Wendell-shaped distraction running around camp, do you really think Michele’s going to be focusing on Parvati?

😆

Michele should stick with Parvati who at the moment is a free agent given the fact that her top two allies (Ethan and Rob) were both voted off. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, AlleC17 said:

Agree!  Also am I the only one who was annoyed by him demanding if Amber's vote was unanimous?  Its a game Rob, deal with it.  Amber getting voted out is fair, and she took it better than he did.  I thought he would be a little more lighthearted about his ouster, since he seems to understand most of the time that this is a game, but nope:  pretty sour for his torch snuffing.  Very glad he is gone (sort of gone, anyway) and I do not think he is going to win his way back, fingers crossed. 

I guess perception and preconceptions are everything, because I didn't see Rob demand anything. He asked, in a calm voice, if the Amber vote was unanimous. He's allowed to ask, they didn't have to tell. He didn't say that Amber being voted out wasn't fair. He even acknowledged that it was the game and he got it at the first challenge after Amber was voted out. I didn't see a sour exit, either, more of a low-key, quiet one.

But I suppose if you don't like Rob, you see things one way, and if you do like Rob, you see them in another. He invites strong opinions.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

I was too bummed to post last night because I kept hoping that Rob would work some magic and remain in the game.  Sigh.  Now I can only hope that his new tribe loses every single challenge and get picked off one by one.   The fact that a bunch of grown ass winners sat around in camp all day just because Rob told them to, was sending me.  

11 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Nick telling Parvati he had a crush on her in high school was way too cringeworthy for me. And for Parvati as well it seemed!

Another sigh.  I like Nick so I was screaming at the TV, "Noooooooo!  Don't tell her!"  And then he did.  And she flashed her 82 teeth at him and all I could think was that we are witnessing, "Erik The Sequel."

 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Another sigh.  I like Nick so I was screaming at the TV, "Noooooooo!  Don't tell her!"  And then he did.  And she flashed her 82 teeth at him and all I could think was that we are witnessing, "Erik The Sequel."

Parvateeth 

In Nick's defense, he said he told her because he didn't want her to hear it from someone else first, which I can understand. But let's be real: part of him REALLY wanted to tell her just cuz he totally hearts her.

Edited March 13, 2020 by tracyscott76

[fishcakes]

7 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Another sigh.  I like Nick so I was screaming at the TV, "Noooooooo!  Don't tell her!"  And then he did.  And she flashed her 82 teeth at him and all I could think was that we are witnessing, "Erik The Sequel."

I loved that so much. She's been so low-key and sedate this time around, and then all of a sudden, there was the Parvati we knew from before. It reminded me of a story some journalist (I can't remember who) told about how he interviewed Marilyn Monroe and she demonstrated that she could walk down the street unnoticed, but then she somehow let her inner movie star out and people stopped in their tracks to gape at her. Parvati has that same kind of charisma.

[Never Again]

23 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

 

On 3/11/2020 at 9:35 PM, LadyChatts said:

On 3/11/2020 at 9:19 PM, Rachel RSL said:

[...] WTF was Adam doing after voting? Looking for an idol or something? [...]

Read more  

You mean at the actual voting station?  I don't think he could get the top on the urn.

No, after fiddling with the urn lid, Adam also scanned around the whole voting kiosk as he was turning to leave. He was a-huntin', for sure.

 

That’s funny, I took it as Adam knowing there was a chance he was getting voted out (can’t trust what people say and he did lose the puzzle challenge) and so he was looking around trying to drink it all in just in case it was the last time he ever was voting at tribal again.  I don’t know why I thought that but that’s how it read to me.  Seeing your comment though maybe you had a better read.  Now I don’t know!

[LabScientist]

4 hours ago, Prower said:

Aren't there only 38? There have been 39 seasons before this one, but Sandra won twice.

 

There are 40 Todd Herzog won Survivor: China in 2007, but he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. I don't know if he wasn't invited back or if he declined.

[ProfCrash]

9 minutes ago, LabScientist said:

There are 40 Todd Herzog won Survivor: China in 2007, but he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. I don't know if he wasn't invited back or if he declined.

This season 40, so there were 39 seasons to choose from but Sandra won 2 seasons so 38 total winners.

[mythoughtis]

I agree with the opinion that Rob really wasn’t into playing once Amber was gone.  Plus he was gone from his family for season 39.  I thought I  saw a smile on his face when he was voted out.   
The switch to smaller tribes dIdnt do him any favors either.  

[TVbitch]

Never a Rob fan, so I rather enjoyed seeing him blindsided. When he can't control things, he gets all mopey and pouty. And he's still interrogating people about Amber's vote! Dude, let it go!

Do we know how many people will be coming back into the game? 

[Guest]

59 minutes ago, Rbonnie said:

That’s funny, I took it as Adam knowing there was a chance he was getting voted out (can’t trust what people say and he did lose the puzzle challenge) and so he was looking around trying to drink it all in just in case it was the last time he ever was voting at tribal again.  I don’t know why I thought that but that’s how it read to me.  Seeing your comment though maybe you had a better read.  Now I don’t know!

When they had their champagne toast in the first episode, they showed Adam looking on the bottom of his glass for a clue. So he's been on high alert from day one. It's kind of endearing, even if he isn't one of my rooting interests. Although I'm rapidly running out of rooting interests, so his odds in that respect are improving XD

Edited March 13, 2020 by tracyscott76

[Steph Sometimes]

My mom decided to watch this season knowing only 4 players (Ethan, Rob, Amber and Sandra). She did watch part of Adam's season and possibly Nick's but apparently doesn't remember them. Anyway, after every episode she would basically only talk about Rob. How he was playing, how he was doing in challenges, etc. I'd tell her there were so many more players than him and ask if she liked anyone else and she didn't really have opinions of anyone.

She watched this episode tonight and she thought it was good. I asked her, now that Rob's gone, who she would be rooting for.

She replied: I like the guy with the hat.

Ugh. Freaking Ben.
 

[SVNBob]

14 hours ago, cherrypj said:

18 hours ago, Kelda Feegle said:

I don't understand why Jeremy looks like a challenge beast but is an epic fail in challenges.

I think it's deliberate. Lowers his visibility. 

It is.  He's played that way before and said as much.  It's part of his "Meat Shield Alliance" strategy: Ally with the big physical threats pre-merge while not appearing to be one yourself.

 

14 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

I think Rob got screwed by the swap.  Yeah, his old tribe had the numbers in the new tribe going in 3/2, but the two other tribemates that got swapped in with him were probably the two worst ones for him.

Really, all three of those men got screwed in the swap.  They all acknowledged that they were the most unlikely of trios.

4 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

When they had their champagne toast in the first episode, they showed Adam looking on the bottom of his glass for a clue.

According to BTS reports from Day 1, like Dalton Ross's, Adam wasn't the only one who did that.  All of them did.  They even needed to stop the shooting for a bit, to tell the cast there wasn't anything hinky going on so they could actulayy do the toast.  Which is why it's even funnier to me that other BTS report said TPTB had originally intended for there to be something going on at the toast, but changed their minds and decided not to after all.

 

On 3/11/2020 at 11:26 PM, Fake Jan Brady said:

They all have been returned to the finder who can play them at their will. The only twist seems to be they have to decide who to temporarily trust with the other half by sundown.

It seems odd that they don't have to decide to play both halves together.

I guess complications arise if the trusted player decides not to return their half [like Sophie indicated when Kim entrusted her with half] or are separated [again, like Sophie and Kim would have been if Sophie hadn't returned her half offscreen before the swap].

I think that TPTB anticipated there would be more of the bolded happening.  Or dramatic moments at TC surrounding the idol holders (like David and Rick both pulling out their half-idols in EoE, or Tai choosing not to in KR.) They just didn't anticipate all the secondary holders returning their halves almost immediately.

 

8 hours ago, Nashville said:

1. Player 1 finds/gets an idol which disassembles into two halves.
2. To “activate” the idol, Player 1 must give one of the halves to another player (Player 2) before sundown of the day in which the idol is found/received.
3. After sundown, the idol may be actively played - once the two halves are re-attached to each other.

See, #3’s where it gets tricky because Player 2 doesn’t have to give their half of the idol back to Player 1 if they don’t want to - or, to put it another way, Player 2 can’t be compelled to return their half of the idol.  So Player 1 better be pretty damn persnickety about which Player 2 they pick, or they’re liable to get screwed.

#3 is actually even trickier.  According to the note with the idol Sophie found, there is confirmation that a complete idol can actually be formed from any two idol halves; not just the original two.  Which means, for example, if Sophie had  kept the half Kim gave her, she would have had a complete and fully-powered idol of her own once she gave away half of the idol she found, whether or not Sarah gave it back.

 

When I was updating the Tracker thread, I noticed something kind of funny.  Other than Sophie's idol and Sarah's Steal-a-Vote, nuDakal Tribe is now where all of the advantages lie.  (nuSele has no advantages whatsoever...unless Parv chooses to buy one in the near future). Everyone currently there except Tony has something.  Denise and Kim have standard idols, Sandra has an idol with a TC limit, and Jeremy has Safety Without Power, which grants a form of immunity.  So technically, if they were to go to TC as is, Tony could go out in another Idolgeddon.

Edited March 13, 2020 by SVNBob

[Josh371982]

12 hours ago, LanceM said:

Michele should stick with Parvati who at the moment is a free agent given the fact that her top two allies (Ethan and Rob) were both voted off. 

Lol and give Parv the chance to screw her over ? NOPE. So what if Parv has no allies people need to get wise and get her gone 

10 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I loved that so much. She's been so low-key and sedate this time around, and then all of a sudden, there was the Parvati we knew from before. It reminded me of a story some journalist (I can't remember who) told about how he interviewed Marilyn Monroe and she demonstrated that she could walk down the street unnoticed, but then she somehow let her inner movie star out and people stopped in their tracks to gape at her. Parvati has that same kind of charisma.

LOL oh please not IMO. Parvati is vastly overrated comparing her to Marylin? LOL No

[Rachel RSL]

On 3/11/2020 at 9:57 PM, vb68 said:

Yul got a golden edit. Not saying he's gonna win, but that was one of the best edits in the past few years.  

The thing is, it's basically impossible to give Yul a bad edit, even if they wanted to.  The editors can only work with what they're given and Yul is an all-around awesome human being.

 

 

[AUJulia]

The first 20ish minutes of the show were obliterated in my time zone by a news alert about something (I can’t recall what but it’ll come to me) so I finally was able to watch the missing stuff last night, with the benefit of having absorbed the comments here first. I have two observations: one, I thought Michele was actually pretty low key, humorous and undramatic about Wendell. Two, someone in production went out of their way to show Kim repeatedly chewing food with her mouth gaping open. Please, please, no more. Please. 

[Guest]

11 minutes ago, AUJulia said:

Two, someone in production went out of their way to show Kim repeatedly chewing food with her mouth gaping open. Please, please, no more. Please.

Perhaps it's a metaphor for how she's going to messily devour the competition. Winner's edit!

[cheetahchirps]

On 3/11/2020 at 9:24 PM, tracyscott76 said:

Probably. They've shown him doing that before but this instance went on awhile. I can't decide if it's foreshadowing, or just more of this hapless waif story they've got going for him.

Part of me wonders if Rob himself was a little relieved to go, deep down. I'm sure he wanted to win and didn't sabotage himself or anything, but losing Amber and Ethan via vote-outs and Parvati via swap made the tall order of surviving that much taller.

His heart didn't seem to be in it once the tribes swapped. Where he landed was the worst possible outcome for him, other than being in Sandra's.  He had no cover on that new one. Forcing his old tribemates to stay near was a Draconian measure that was bound to alienate them. He had to know he was doomed.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I think Rob got screwed by the swap.  Yeah, his old tribe had the numbers in the new tribe going in 3/2, but the two other tribemates that got swapped in with him were probably the two worst ones for him.

And why is that? Isn't Rob supposed to be a master manipulator? He had the numbers on this new tribe and yet his former tribe mates turned against him. One of whom really wanted to work with him, initially anyway. 

I concur Rob doesn't know how to adapt. All he knows is how to boss people around and he expects them to fall in line. 

[ByaNose]

I am curious how EoE plays out now that Tyson and Rob are there. Before they showed up I was thinking Natalie was a given to get back in the game. I know it was way too early to think that but it's what I thought. Now, I'm really curious to see how it plays out. I don't want any of those people voted out to win like Underwood but I want to see who does return.

[Prower]

22 hours ago, LabScientist said:

There are 40 Todd Herzog won Survivor: China in 2007, but he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. I don't know if he wasn't invited back or if he declined.

@ProfCrash already explained the winner count to you.

I'd like to add that there are 38 winners, but only 20 contestants on this season. So not sure why you picked out Todd Herzog specifically. There are a total of 18 winners not on this season.

They probably went by order of popularity. Reportedly Rob was a holdout till almost the very end. If he hadn't done it, they would have slotted somebody else in.

[marys1000]

On 3/12/2020 at 7:21 PM, LadyChatts said:

 

I feel like Rob wasn't into this season, especially when he saw Amber was gone and the way the old schoolers were getting picked off.  While I don't believe he and Sandra were actually roughing it last season, doing two of these back to back still had to take a lot out of him.  And since it was rumored he was a last minute hold out made me think they really had to pull out all the stops to get him here. 

Exactly how I see Rob.  He hasn't been that engaged the whole season.  Stands around swinging his little game thing, doing the minimum and seeming really irritated.  I really don't think he wanted to play again. 
If it wasn't for Sarah he might have tried a different strategy by trying to bring someone else in or work with the other two but Sarah really had it out for him so he didn't have much choice.  I think he knew he was going and there wasn't much he could do about it. 

[Nashville]

20 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

The thing is, it's basically impossible to give Yul a bad edit, even if they wanted to.  The editors can only work with what they're given and Yul is an all-around awesome human being.

This gets to a point which has been brought up repeatedly over the years; every person coming off badly on the broadcast invariably plays the “bad edit” card at some point, but they all miss the core point - TPTB can’t broadcast you doing bad shit if you didn’t do bad shit.

[SVNBob]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

they all miss the core point - TPTB can’t broadcast you doing bad shit if you didn’t do bad shit.

The wisdom of Heather B. still rings true.

[cherrypj]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

TPTB can’t broadcast you doing bad shit if you didn’t do bad shit.

You can edit Elf to look like a horror movie. Have you seen that? 

“If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.” -Cardinal Richelieu

Back to the point, I know the Dans, the Will, the little troll, they’re all shitty people. But I also know Stephanie got a hero edit one season and a shit edit the next. Colby got a golden edit one year and a Fat Ass edit another. 
I think Danni’s strategy—“give them nothing, NOTHING”—is the way to go. Michelle did that last time; she’s not this time. 

[Guest]

4 hours ago, cherrypj said:

You can edit Elf to look like a horror movie. Have you seen that? 

“If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.” -Cardinal Richelieu

Back to the point, I know the Dans, the Will, the little troll, they’re all shitty people. But I also know Stephanie got a hero edit one season and a shit edit the next. Colby got a golden edit one year and a Fat Ass edit another. 
I think Danni’s strategy—“give them nothing, NOTHING”—is the way to go. Michelle did that last time; she’s not this time. 

Gotta love a post that uses both Cardinal Richelieu and Elf to make the same point XD

[princelina]

On 3/12/2020 at 3:08 PM, candall said:

P.S.  Can you still be cast on Survivor if you understand object pronouns?

You actually can not be cast on ANY reality show once you understand them 😄 

On 3/12/2020 at 8:03 PM, tracyscott76 said:

But I suppose if you don't like Rob, you see things one way, and if you do like Rob, you see them in another. He invites strong opinions.

And this is why he's a Survivor star - everyone loves him or hates him, but we all know who he is.  No one was wondering who he was in episode one ("There's a Sophie?")

[Jextella]

On 3/14/2020 at 11:54 AM, cherrypj said:

You can edit Elf to look like a horror movie. Have you seen that? 

“If you give me six lines written by the hand of the most honest of men, I will find something in them which will hang him.” -Cardinal Richelieu

Back to the point, I know the Dans, the Will, the little troll, they’re all shitty people. But I also know Stephanie got a hero edit one season and a shit edit the next. Colby got a golden edit one year and a Fat Ass edit another. 
I think Danni’s strategy—“give them nothing, NOTHING”—is the way to go. Michelle did that last time; she’s not this time. 

The Elf video is hysterical!

 

[Nashville]

On 3/14/2020 at 11:54 AM, cherrypj said:

You can edit Elf to look like a horror movie. Have you seen that? 

IMHO most Will Ferrell movies ARE horror movies - intentionally or not.

[loki567]

On 3/14/2020 at 8:52 AM, Nashville said:

This gets to a point which has been brought up repeatedly over the years; every person coming off badly on the broadcast invariably plays the “bad edit” card at some point, but they all miss the core point - TPTB can’t broadcast you doing bad shit if you didn’t do bad shit.

I'm not sure I agree. Obviously Dan's a special case of bad behavior. But I think it's quite easy for the editors to create a reaction to someone that doesn't necessarily fit their personality. 

"So-and-so is an asshole!" A couple mean reaction shots. The general audience thinks that the person sucks. 

You can do to that to make somebody look smug (I am running the game), stupid (Nick's definitely getting that edit this year), bland, etc. 

You can also make someone look better than they deserve. I'm reminded of the Amazon cast saying that Christy was a LOT more disagreeable than show and the winner of that season got torched because she didn't get along with her. 

[HeShallBMySquishy]

I wonder what Michele-with-one-L thinks of all of this being aired? She was throwing around words like "boyfriend" and "relationship," and when Michele-with-one-L shared with Parvati, that's why we broke up ("he's thinks he's such hot shit"), it seemed about right. Somewhat disappointing, because part of his attractiveness comes from being the nice guy, but he came across like such a tool, dismissively reducing Michele-with-one-L to someone he "kicked it" with.

Then again, I really don't care who's dating who on this show, unless someone's trying to sink their meathooks into Adam.. (I jest.)

I'm so glad the Boston Rob show is over! But with our misfortune, he'll likely arrive at Edge of Extinction, find some advantage that will not only allow him back into the game, but allow him to bring One Other Person with him, and choose whichever tribe he and Other Person wants to join, where there will not only be an idol waiting for Rob, but it'd be an extra-special idol that would also allow him to save One Other Person when played. I wonder who One Other Person would be...

I was coming around on both Rob and Sandra last season, but from the first episode this season, I knew S39 was tolerable because they were barely there and didn't really affect the outcome. But right away, it was Boston Rob and Sandra's The Boston Rob and Sandra Show, starring Boston Rob and Sandra, written, produced and directed by Boston Rob and Sandra, soon to be a major motion picture starring Boston Rob and Sandra.

Yes, I realize how unfair that is, due to editing and production, but as someone who finds both irritating enough already, the seemingly constant focus (moreso Rob than Sandra) on them has been maddening. And it doesn't help when fools like Adam and Ben immediately cave and let Rob in on their plans.

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, HeShallBMySquishy said:

he'll likely arrive at Edge of Extinction, find some advantage that will not only allow him back into the game, but allow him to bring One Other Person with him, and choose whichever tribe he and Other Person wants to join, where there will not only be an idol waiting for Rob, but it'd be an extra-special idol that would also allow him to save One Other Person when played. I wonder who One Other Person would be...

Ugh.  Are you reading Peachy's mind?  🙂 

[RedbirdNelly]

On 3/12/2020 at 9:56 AM, laurakaye said:

 

 

I loved Michele's pretend texting between her and Wendell...

Wendell: U up?

Michele: New season, who dis?

She does have that vocal fry thing going on but she's still my winner pick, and her teaming up with Parv was another duo I didn't know I wanted until it happened.

not a big Michele fan but the pretend texting part was hiarious

[Superpole2000]

On 3/14/2020 at 8:51 AM, marys1000 said:

Exactly how I see Rob.  He hasn't been that engaged the whole season.  Stands around swinging his little game thing, doing the minimum and seeming really irritated.  I really don't think he wanted to play again. 
If it wasn't for Sarah he might have tried a different strategy by trying to bring someone else in or work with the other two but Sarah really had it out for him so he didn't have much choice.  I think he knew he was going and there wasn't much he could do about it. 

And the harsh truth: Rob was physically out of shape, which likely affected his mentality. It's tough to keep youthful energy when you let your body age with the years. That buddy system was almost necessitated by his tiredness and unwillingness to try anymore. And yes, I think you can attribute at least some of that to the fact that he suspected the other four people were all against him.

But I'm also of the opinion that luck determines most of your outcome on Survivor. If you are in a group of five and four people want you gone then you are powerless. On the other hand, you can do virtually nothing (ex. Sandra) and make it further in the game than Rob. Now with idols involved, almost the entire game is luck-dependent. Whoever wins this season will have to be 95% lucky and 5% good.