S40.E14: It All Boils Down to This

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, blackwing said:

"Natalie, congradulashuns on getting back into the game.  You wuh tough out dair.  But you shoulda chosen to make fiyah against Tony.  It's what I woulda dun.  Sometimes in Survivah, it's not enough to just do what you're doing.  You need to always think about doing mawr.  You shoulda made fiyah.  I wouldn't have voted for you anyway but at least now I can pretend to have a good reason why."

You guys are really nailing these impressions!

9 hours ago, himela said:

By the way, Kim did NOT vote for a woman. That says a lot about her and her whole women power motto she used to win her season.

I always thought it was clear Kim teaming up with the women was purely strategy. She called herself a 'guy's girl' (blech) in episode 1 of One World! It's why I figured I'd hate her but I ended up enjoying her because she just dominated the game and in a much more interesting way to me than Rob in RI or Tony here or in whatever his first season was called.

30 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Tony won $2 million.  How much did the others make?  TIA

I was wondering if the other F3 prizes were raised as well. Does anyone know?

23 minutes ago, skybolt said:

I have a question for everyone. If you were on a 4 hour flight, which of the 20 survivors would you most enjoy talking sitting next to and talking to. 

Jeremy and Sophie so we could talk shit about people, Tyson and Sandra because they're funny, and maybe Adam just so I could ask him what the fuck he was doing this season.

16 minutes ago, skybolt said:

So at least Ben finally shed some light on his situation with Jeremy. Apparently on Day 1, he went up to Jeremy and pitched a cops, fire fighter, soldier alliance. Jeremy initially agreed, but as soon as Ben walked away, Jeremy made a gesture to the camera like who is this joker. 

I wish they would've shown this. I'm sure Jeremy's face was great there lol. 

[Guest]

59 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

I thought once all the "old school" players were gone to EoE that I would not enjoy the rest of the season... But I ended up enjoying it a lot. And I'm happy Tony won.

I feel like this season would be more enjoyable for me on a second viewing. I wouldn't have to be surprised and disappointed as my early favorites kept leaving, and I could better appreciate the games of those who made it to the end. Not that I plan on watching it again, mind you.

 

22 minutes ago, skybolt said:

I have a question for everyone. If you were on a 4 hour flight, which of the 20 survivors would you most enjoy sitting next to and talking to.

My top 3 would be Sophie. That's not a typo.

[skybolt]

26 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

Tony won $2 million.  How much did the others make?  TIA

That is a great question. Typically second place gets $100k, third place $75k, and I believe the jury $50k. I could see these numbers being doubled or at least increased by 50% this season. The are also rumors that players like Rob and Parvati received more money to join the cast.

[Lady Calypso]

2 minutes ago, skybolt said:

That is a great question. Typically second place gets $100k, third place $75k, and I believe the jury $50k. I could see these numbers being doubled or at least increased by 50% this season. The are also rumors that players like Rob and Parvati received more money to join the cast.

Yeah, I could believe that. They also had to pull in some players that haven't played in years, so maybe they received a little more as well (Yul, Ethan). 

[Eolivet]

27 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

It could be that the four just told her that to make her feel better...or there WAS something going on at Edge that led the four to believe that Natalie was gaining votes to win. I think I heard it was Tyson gathering votes for Natalie?

Then I don't understand then what separates Nick, Wendell, Adam and Danni from "I couldn't vote for your little errand boy, so you'll have to do." If that is truly the case, and Michele isn't spinning the truth, then those four are no better than Lex and Alicia and Big Tom, who voted for Amber on All Stars because the idea of a Rob win was too much for them to stomach.

Casting a vote to ensure someone doesn't win, as opposed to voting for someone, is the kind of pettiness I'd have hoped Survivor would be past by now, and certainly not anything I expected from hyper-aware winners who ought to know better.

And, like it or not, Natalie is still a woman of color -- and they can claim all they want that had no impact, but it's a fact that doesn't go away because they want it to. If Michele is telling the truth, they ganged up to ensure a woman of color would not win. Edge of Extinction returnee or not, their intent doesn't change fact.

It's too bad nobody will ask any of them that, because the defensiveness that would ensue would be highly entertaining. But I have to believe this is Michele being tone-deaf, because otherwise those boys (and Danni) look pretty bad in the year 2020.

Edited May 15, 2020 by Eolivet

[peachmangosteen]

I believe Michele is telling the truth in that those people told her that or something similar, but I don't think it's their actual truth. As in, I think they just wanted Michele to feel better about getting no votes but they actually just voted for Tony because they thought he played a better game and/or they just simply didn't want someone from EoE to win.

I have a hard time with the petty,"I just didn't want so-and-so to win/get second," votes. Like, I'm petty, and I love pettiness lol, but I just wish people would vote for who they want to vote for and who cares if that's the person who wins or not. Do what you want! But, if like you don't really care about/for any of the finalists then go ahead and vote so that a certain person gets 2nd over a certain other person. That's probably what I'd do if I didn't feel strongly about any of the finalists.

I also think a lot of jurors want to have voted for whoever ends up winning and that sometimes influences them to vote against the person they actually want to give a vote to.

Basically, there's a lot of strategy even in how people vote for a winner it seems lately as opposed to people just voting for who they want to vote for. I blame fucking F3. End it! Maybe that idea of ranking the F3 would help that, but it'd be a pretty big change in the format. Although, TPTB don't seem to care about making huge changes so.

[skybolt]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I don't think it's fair for Rob to hold it against her that she didn't choose to make fire just because Chris Underwood did.  Natalie was in a very different position from Chris because of the fire tokens and the hard work she did to put herself back in the game.  Would she have been in a better position if she had chosen to take on Tony in fire and eliminated him?  Perhaps.  But then she's up against Sarah in the finals.  I saw an interview with Natalie where she says she is convinced she would have beaten Sarah in a final vote.  But I'm not so sure.  Sarah would have played herself off as an equal co-leader with Tony, and sobbed about how it's not fair that she isn't getting credit for the moves the two of them made just because she's a woman.  It would have been something like "when Natalie said that all of you on the jury thought Tony was running the show, that really woke me up as to how I am perceived.  It's not fair that I am not getting credit just because I'm a woman."  Basically what she sobbed about earlier.  And Tony would have rallied everyone to vote for her.

I definitely understand your take that Natalie played the best she could, but likely had no shot at winning the game against Sarah or Tony. I get that, and this comes from someone who put Natalie in my top 5 when the season started. Her getting voted out first was just bad luck and she did everything possible at EoE, and then gave it all she had when she returned.

I just feel like she had more options to win the game and she ultimately picked the worst ones. Rob never mentioned Chris. His point was to eliminate the biggest threat Tony, since she herself gave him props as the best player in the game. If she had beaten him at the fire making challenge (like Chris did with Rick), while Sarah is sitting there cheering for Tony, it would've been a huge boost to her game. I took out the biggest threat all by myself.

Secondly, even though she got 2 idols and an immunity idol, she played a straightforward game. If she was scared of facing Tony and Sarah, then maybe she could've blindsided Sarah at final 5, while playing her idol for Michelle. That would've been a bang bang move in front of the jury. Then concentrate on winning the final 4 challenge and have Ben destroy Tony in the fire making challenge. She would've crushed Ben and Michelle with these moves at final tribal.

Listening to the jury interviews, most players are not that enthralled with finding idols and winning a challenge. They actually complemented Tony for not receiving votes even though he was vulnerable at final 6 and 7.

[Eolivet]

4 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I believe Michele is telling the truth in that those people told her that or something similar, but I don't think it's their actual truth. As in, I think they just wanted Michele to feel better about getting no votes but they actually just voted for Tony because they thought he played a better game and/or they just simply didn't want someone from EoE to win.

Thanks @peachmangosteen. That makes perfect sense, and actually is the most logical explanation. I feel a lot better now.

[skybolt]

13 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

Then I don't understand then what separates Nick, Wendell, Adam and Danni from "I couldn't vote for your little errand boy, so you'll have to do." If that is truly the case, and Michele isn't spinning the truth, then those four are no better than Lex and Alicia and Big Tom, who voted for Amber on All Stars because the idea of a Rob win was too much for them to stomach.

Casting a vote to ensure someone doesn't win, as opposed to voting for someone, is the kind of pettiness I'd have hoped Survivor would be past by now, and certainly not anything I expected from hyper-aware winners who ought to know better.

And, like it or not, Natalie is still a woman of color -- and they can claim all they want that had no impact, but it's a fact that doesn't go away because they want it to. If Michele is telling the truth, they ganged up to ensure a woman of color would not win. Edge of Extinction returnee or not, their intent doesn't change fact.

It's too bad nobody will ask any of them that, because the defensiveness that would ensue would be highly entertaining. But I have to believe this is Michele being tone-deaf, because otherwise those boys (and Danni) look pretty bad in the year 2020.

So basically Tyson and likely Parvati going around trying to get votes for Natalie is ok, but if someone like Rob asks a question at final tribal or others not wanting an EoE player winning means that they're anti women or racist?!

[peachmangosteen]

I really wish they'd release the final voting so we could see what people said when voting. In particular, I'm interested in what Nick said because he was shown saying something like, "I know what's it's like to play from the bottom," which made me think he was voting Michele. Someone tweet Probst and tell him to release the final voting confessionals!

I don't know where this should go, but I saw that Jeremy retweeted an article about 16 year olds being able to apply now and it made me think maybe Probst is hoping one of Jeremy's daughters will play soon. 

[Bouffe]

On 5/13/2020 at 11:41 PM, BurgersPop said:

From the Survivor 2020 casting FAQ:

What is the minimum age requirement?

Applicants must be 16 years or older to apply.

I would be ok with a 16 yo playing as far as the physical aspect of the game goes. I wouldn't worry about the lack of food, the lack of sleep, the hard challenges, that type of stuff. I'd worry about the mental aspect of this game. Grown ass adults come out of this game completely changed and sometimes messed up. No way is a 16yo mentally equipped to handle this game.

[Jobiska]

Natalie's eyeroll when Ben called her "Miss Nat" was priceless.

Whether or not Sarah's gender bias speech was BS (I think she did have a revelation about her self-image process in the time since she won Game Changers, but then kind of went on and on--I don't think she's good with succinctly describing that whole process), I did think it might have been helpful (probably not enough, but something) for Natalie and/or Michele to say something in their FTC showings about "Hey, remember what Sarah said about the differences between how men's and women's gameplay style and moves are perceived?  I want you to give credit to our moves in the context of the game..." etc. etc. I dunno, just refer back to it partly because Probst made a thing out of his own realizations. 

I'm  a little puzzled by the soundbite they showed during Nick's vote, "I know what it's like to come from behind" (paraphrased), if he ended up voting for Tony anyway.  Perhaps he said something sympathetic like that to N/M but then went on to say "But Tony's gameplay was above and beyond" and they chopped it to be misleading.  (Would they do that?  Shocking, I say!) 😉

I did like Sarah telling (not asking) Probst to call her Lacina.

The oo-OOO call, which I don't remember--was it a Tony thing in his previous seasons?--seemed this season to just sort of come out of nowhere at the end--but it seemed to gain more importance here--Sarah calling it to a dejected Tony as she left, then Tony calling it to N/M as he came to the shelter with the breakfast note.  

Probst did look thinner in his garage--but he didn't have to bulk up first as some do, then lose a lot, then eat everything they get their hands on and fill out by reunion time (I still think of Yul saying he found himself hoarding food after his first season).  So maybe it's just that he's not eating out over working lunches discussing his "amazing" ideas of the silly new song, maybe Tyler Perry has a new great plan, teens doing Survivor....

Speaking of which:  It's been done in Endurance.  That show was actually managed pretty well, I thought, hosted by J.D. Roth who I believe likes and understands kids more than Probst probably does.  I think they got to eat, too.

Sure, let teens of voting age apply, whatever.  I'd still counsel any teenager I have, or even my 25 year old (who loves Survivor, but gives a resounding "no" if I teasingly ask him if he'd want to play) not to go, because one's health is worth more than a million dollars and TV fame.  Daniel(?), first out of Survivor Amazon, coming down with malaria despite the meds; Penner almost losing a limb; etc. etc., not to mention mental health.

Who would I sit next to on a plane?  First of all:  Someone who'd be likely to wear a mask.  I'd definitely pick Yul or Sophie, who are, I believe, my two favorite winners.  Tyson and Sandra because I'd just sit back and enjoy their humor and pithy observations (and Sandra is also one of my favorites).  Before this season I might have picked Wendell as a fellow Philadelphian and a creative type, but I've gone off him.  Natalie, I'd enjoy hearing stuff from her, or if she indeed closes herself off like she did on EoE, I'd also probably like that because I'm an introvert!  

ETA:  Have they ever done that ball rolling thing with a left-handed finalist (like Tyson would have been), and if so is the course reversed?  As a lefty myself, although one old enough to have trained myself to use my right hand for several things that back in the day weren't conducive to lefthanded use, I would be mad if I had to reach across to the dropping place if they didn't, etc.  I also think beams they have to step over, etc., should be the height of their legs, or proportional to their leg length etc.  

 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Jobiska

[skybolt]

12 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I believe Michele is telling the truth in that those people told her that or something similar, but I don't think it's their actual truth. As in, I think they just wanted Michele to feel better about getting no votes but they actually just voted for Tony because they thought he played a better game and/or they just simply didn't want someone from EoE to win.

I have a hard time with the petty,"I just didn't want so-and-so to win/get second." votes. Like, I'm petty, and I love pettiness lol, but I just wish people would vote for who they want to vote for and who cares if that's the person who wins or not. Do what you want! But, if like you don't really care about/for any of the finalists then go ahead and vote so that a certain person gets 2nd over a certain other person. That's probably what I'd do if I didn't feel strongly about any of the finalists.

I also think a lot of jurors want to have voted for whoever ends up winning and that sometimes influences them to vote against the person they actually want to give a vote to.

Basically, there's a lot of strategy even in how people vote for a winner it seems lately as opposed to people just voting for who they want to vote for. I blame fucking F3. End it! Maybe that idea of ranking the F3 would help that, but it'd be a pretty big change in the format. Although, TPTB don't seem to care about making huge changes so.

This is why I wish they would go back to 2 people at final tribal. If they still want to keep the fire making challenge then do it at final 3. Like I mentioned above, if Tyson and Parvati are going around trying to win votes for Natalie, why shouldn't others do the same for Tony, if they liked his game?

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

I would be ok with a 16 yo playing as far as the physical aspect of the game goes. I wouldn't worry about the lack of food, the lack of sleep, the hard challenges, that type of stuff. I'd worry about the mental aspect of this game. Grown ass adults come out of this game completely changed and sometimes messed up. No way is a 16yo mentally equipped to handle this game.

There was a sort of "Survivor for teenagers" about 15 years ago, Endurance, that ran for six seasons. They didn't literally vote people out, but they did pick people to go to the elimination (which was a mostly luck-based rock/paper/scissors, Battle Beasts-style). Those kids were even younger than 16, mostly in the 12-15 range I believe. Certainly not the same thing, since I don't think they were quite as deprived of supplies as they are on Survivor, but similar. No word on if they were scarred from the experience but I never heard any horror stories.

Not saying that I WANT a Survivor played by 16-year-olds, but it might not be as traumatic as it seems.

Or, what @Jobiska said.

Edited May 15, 2020 by tracyscott76

[skybolt]

6 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

I would be ok with a 16 yo playing as far as the physical aspect of the game goes. I wouldn't worry about the lack of food, the lack of sleep, the hard challenges, that type of stuff. I'd worry about the mental aspect of this game. Grown ass adults come out of this game completely changed and sometimes messed up. No way is a 16yo mentally equipped to handle this game.

I also worry about teenage hormones running rampant on the island.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, Jobiska said:

I'm  a little puzzled by the soundbite they showed during Nick's vote, "I know what it's like to come from behind" (paraphrased), if he ended up voting for Tony anyway.  Perhaps he said something sympathetic like that to N/M but then went on to say "But Tony's gameplay was above and beyond" and they chopped it to be misleading.  (Would they do that?  Shocking, I say!) 😉

I'm sure Nick's comment was much like what you said, and they probably included a chopped version to try to disguise the fact that Michele got no votes. Nice of him to hold the parchment without showing the name XD

[peachmangosteen]

From reddit, about Danni's IG live:

Quote

Parvati bought two jars of peanut butter with the 4 tokens from the 50/50 challenge. One jar was to be shared between Parvati, Ethan, and Danni, and the other jar was to be shared between Rob, Amber and Natalie. Natalie and Rob ate all of theirs and they barely gave Amber anything. They then stole Danni, Ethan, and Parvati's peanut butter and ate all of what was left (these three were rationing it fairly). Natalie also had her own jar during this time.

Peanut Butter Gate! Also, they should've shown this. I feel like they left so many interesting things on the editing room floor just so they could show Tony use his spy nest 3 times. I mean, it's not like it affected the game, but then neither did the spy nest. I just feel like what TPTB think is entertaining is so different from what I think is entertaining. And yet, here I am, 20 years of watching lol.

[peachmangosteen]

The other interesting things, to me at least lol, to come out of Danni's IG live:

• Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.
• There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.
• There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 
• Yul had to go the bathroom during a TC and was gone for 20 minutes.
• Yul caught a fish for Danni because she was so skinny and he felt bad that she had her peanut butter stolen.

[mythoughtis]

I think people who steal things ought to at least be given disadvantages for the rest of the game.  No chance to win individual immunity, no chance to use a hidden immunity idol.  Etc.  
stealing in real life is illegal.   Stealing the immunity idols is already prohibited.  The rest of the stealing should be too.  
as should looking in other people’s bags. 

 

[Guest]

6 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

The other interesting things, to me at least lol, to come out of Danni's IG live:

• Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.
• There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.
• There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 
• Yul had to go the bathroom during a TC and was gone for 20 minutes.
• Yul caught a fish for Danni because she was so skinny and he felt bad that she had her peanut butter stolen.

Yul sometimes seems too good to be true. Almost a relief to see that fourth bullet point to show that he is, in fact, human.

[blackwing]

25 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't know where this should go, but I saw that Jeremy retweeted an article about 16 year olds being able to apply now and it made me think maybe Probst is hoping one of Jeremy's daughters will play soon. 

After reading about Natalie saying that rats on the Edge would bite their fingers and toes every single night... yikes.  No way would I send my kid out there.  I agree that mental health would be a huge issue.  And 16 year olds are still growing and I don't think the lack of nutrition and the physical toll is good for the body.  I truly hope that they are encouraging 16 year olds to apply just to keep them in the pipeline for a future season.

[fishcakes]

3 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I get that people don't like Rob, are tired of him, think he's a bully, that he's bitter against Natalie (maybe he just...didn't think she deserved to win, or at least that Tony did more? I can relate) but it's kind of too bad that some of the anti-Rob statements have to repeatedly say that he's old and fat.

I don't get the bullying accusations. Rob asked Natalie why she didn't make fire against Tony and why she stopped talked to several of them on EoE for the last few days. It's ridiculous to call that bullying. Nor did he try to sway jurors away from Natalie; if what we're hearing now is to be believed, it was Tyson who was trying to rally jurors to vote for Natalie. People have hated Rob since he voted off Golden Boy Hunter 20 years ago; back then they called him greasy and fat, now it's old and fat. "Bitter" seems like a stretch too. He's always compartmentalized the game from real life, and sometimes forgets that not everyone does that but then gets raked over the coals for not being sensitive to other people's bitterness. The hilarious thing is that he doesn't care what his detractors think, which seems to enrage them even more. He and Amber are clearly more in love than ever, they've got beautiful daughters, seem to be financially secure because they were careful with their winnings, and get to do fun shit like go on game shows for a month at a time. He's a good example of how living well is the best revenge.

I'm not a fan of EoE, though it might be okay if the returning player came back around merge time instead of at the very end, but overall I loved this season and seeing people I'd given up hope of ever seeing again like ... well, just Yul I guess. As with all returning seasons, I end up with a different opinion of people based on what the editing wants to show us. I couldn't stand Sophie in South Pacific, but I thought she was great here and I'd love to see her return again. I had no opinion of Adam in MvGenX (except that Hannah was better, heh), but I grew to love his constant clumsiness and anxiety here. It helped that he didn't give all his confessionals AT THIS VOLUME this time around. And Ethan, who I've not cared about/semi-disliked since Africa, I now love like he was my brother. On the flip side, I liked Sarah a lot in Game Changers, but there were about five times during this finale alone that I wanted to poke her in the eye.

I'm so happy Tony won. At the beginning he wasn't my pick (really, I figured he'd be out early), but he ran that game like a boss and deserved it. Natalie and Michele were also deserving in their own ways and would have been fine winners, but Tony just deserved it more. He won immunities, worked his butt off to find HIIs, strategized like a maniac, was behind a lot of major and crucial votes, and not only kept Sarah loyal to him after the Sophie blindside, but more important stayed loyal to her. When he beat her in fire and was just inconsolable over it, I thought, and this is where he's just won the game. In a season like this, where the jurors are feeling nostalgic and wanting the winner to be representative of the game as a whole, they want someone who they can feel good about as player and as a person. The game has so many variables and depends so much on luck that I don't believe there's such a thing as a GOAT, but Tony is definitely the King.

[peachmangosteen]

4 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I'm so happy Tony won. At the beginning he wasn't my pick (really, I figured he'd be out early) ...

It seems a lot here expected Tony to be out quickly because not one person picked him in the fantasy game lol. I was so surprised by that because, even if he had went early, he was someone who was likely to get a lot of airtime.

I didn't find Rob bullying in FTC (other times for sure he is imo) but he did seem bitter. He seemed bitter from the moment he didn't win the final EoE challenge imo. Or maybe more like just sad and/or dejected. 

[blackwing]

41 minutes ago, skybolt said:

I definitely understand your take that Natalie played the best she could, but likely had no shot at winning the game against Sarah or Tony. I get that, and this comes from someone who put Natalie in my top 5 when the season started. Her getting voted out first was just bad luck and she did everything possible at EoE, and then gave it all she had when she returned.

I just feel like she had more options to win the game and she ultimately picked the worst ones. Rob never mentioned Chris. His point was to eliminate the biggest threat Tony, since she herself gave him props as the best player in the game. If she had beaten him at the fire making challenge (like Chris did with Rick), while Sarah is sitting there cheering for Tony, it would've been a huge boost to her game. I took out the biggest threat all by myself.

Secondly, even though she got 2 idols and an immunity idol, she played a straightforward game. If she was scared of facing Tony and Sarah, then maybe she could've blindsided Sarah at final 5, while playing her idol for Michelle. That would've been a bang bang move in front of the jury. Then concentrate on winning the final 4 challenge and have Ben destroy Tony in the fire making challenge. She would've crushed Ben and Michelle with these moves at final tribal.

Listening to the jury interviews, most players are not that enthralled with finding idols and winning a challenge. They actually complemented Tony for not receiving votes even though he was vulnerable at final 6 and 7.

I don't disagree... I have been thinking about the things she could have done differently.  I think it was a huge mistake for her to get rid of Denise instead of Sarah.  I read the interview with Natalie where she says she thought Sarah would be more amenable to working with her in getting rid of Tony and that Denise was too loyal to Ben  But if Natalie and Michelle both vote Sarah and Ben and Tony both vote Denise, there's a 50/50 chance that Sarah goes home.  Then at final five, maybe Natalie loses Michelle.  At final four, she keeps Denise and then Ben takes out Tony in fire.

I'm curious as to how a Natalie / Ben / Denise final three would have played out.  The way I see it, Denise made only one move, and the rest of the time she didn't do a whole lot.  Ben truly did nothing.  I think Natalie would have had a much bigger chance.

[fishcakes]

47 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't know where this should go, but I saw that Jeremy retweeted an article about 16 year olds being able to apply now and it made me think maybe Probst is hoping one of Jeremy's daughters will play soon. 

Remembering how all of Jeremy's kids do murder face as well as he does it makes me want one of them to play too.

21 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

The other interesting things, to me at least lol, to come out of Danni's IG live:

• Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.
• There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.
• There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 
• Yul had to go the bathroom during a TC and was gone for 20 minutes.
• Yul caught a fish for Danni because she was so skinny and he felt bad that she had her peanut butter stolen.

Damn, Danni, Yul got her a fish and she has to try to embarrass him like that? When you think someone is off taking a dump, you pretend you don't notice anything. That's just manners. I am also super curious about who the clique was, but since this comes from Danni, who blew up her own game out of paranoia, it might just be something she imagined.

As for who I'd want to sit next to on a plane, I'd say Yul, Ethan, and Sophie because they'd be interesting in an all-around kind of way; Sarah (she's a cop; she's got stories), Adam so we could geek out over Survivor, and Nick Brown from the Outback because, uh, have you seen Nick?

[blackwing]

9 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I don't get the bullying accusations. Rob asked Natalie why she didn't make fire against Tony and why she stopped talked to several of them on EoE for the last few days. It's ridiculous to call that bullying. Nor did he try to sway jurors away from Natalie; if what we're hearing now is to be believed, it was Tyson who was trying to rally jurors to vote for Natalie. People have hated Rob since he voted off Golden Boy Hunter 20 years ago; back then they called him greasy and fat, now it's old and fat. "Bitter" seems like a stretch too. He's always compartmentalized the game from real life, and sometimes forgets that not everyone does that but then gets raked over the coals for not being sensitive to other people's bitterness. The hilarious thing is that he doesn't care what his detractors think, which seems to enrage them even more. He and Amber are clearly more in love than ever, they've got beautiful daughters, seem to be financially secure because they were careful with their winnings, and get to do fun shit like go on game shows for a month at a time. He's a good example of how living well is the best revenge.

To me the bullying is when he made everyone dump out their bags.  And then he made everyone sit in the playpen so he could be in control of who was doing what and who was talking to whom.  I'm astonished that these former winners actually obeyed him.  But that's what bullies do... they are loud and vocal about what they want and people get worn down and just listen to and obey them because it's just easier to get it over with rather than risk upsetting the person.

And I stand by my assertion that of all the jurors, he was the only one that seemed particularly bitter.  Nick and Jeremy called out Tony on his specific betrayal of each of them, which was fine, they hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him and they wanted him to explain why he betrayed them.  It was about themselves and they needed to hear it from him.  But I don't think anyone else displayed as much general overt hostility to any of the finalists as Rob did towards Natalie.  His questions were specifically designed to point out weaknesses in her game and to highlight those weaknesses to others.  He did it not once, but three times.  So yes, I don't know if he just hated her, or if he was just bitter that he didn't make it to the end, but it was patently obvious to me that he was bitter.

I feel bad for Amber.  He's clearly a dominant personality and it's her choice to be with him and they clearly work well together.  But I feel bad for her in that being married to him was probably the chief reason why she got voted out so early.  She sat on the Edge from Day 6 until the end, and while there, she apparently in her own words was there just to be there for Rob.  It's just like with Rupert and his wife in Blood vs. Water.  She was voted out on sight purely because of him and through no fault of her own.

I'd like to see Amber come back again and play in a season without Rob.  I really hope that this season is the last we see of Rob.  He's now been on 6 seasons, playing 5 and mentoring on one.  He said in Redemption Island it was the last time he would play, but I guess the lure of an all Winners season was hard to resist.  But I hope he's done.  I hope this season has taught him that he's no longer competitive, and that his reputation makes winning in a future season untenable.  Like Ozzy and Joe Anglim.  I also hope that he has come to a realization that yeah, maybe he is perhaps too old and that it's time to move on.  Just like when Colby realized in HvV that he was no longer the young buck he used to be and that he just couldn't do it anymore.

[Fallacy]

I don’t think Rob seemed bitter at all. He asked Natalie two questions that were essential in explaining why Natalie lost the game: 1) why didn’t she take out Tony and 2) why did she stop socializing with people out on the edge. Those are the exact two reasons why she lost.

He was giving her a chance to defend her choices in both cases. It’s not his fault that her answers didn’t satisfy the jury. Rob is a very smart guy, and he knew what the jury was thinking about Natalie, so he spoke up and asked the two basic questions that were on everyone’s mind. I also didn’t hear a note of mocking or unkindness when he asked. He just asked them, calmly and cleanly. As with all things Boston Rob, his haters will see one thing and his fans will see something else. 

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

Here's the biggest issue I've found with Edge of Extinction (with this being my first EOE season). It's not really the game of Survivor. I find that it is its own different game entirely separate from the game that the players are playing. I think what this show has gotten the players to believe is that playing EOE is playing the game of Survivor. Adding harsh conditions and challenges make it tough, sure. Yes, part of it is also pandering to the jury and you get that chance on EOE better....but at the end of the day, I don't consider Edge as a true part of the game.

It's kind of too bad they didn't have a reunion because (even though I never think it would happen) I would love to get some thoughts of the jury members on the validity of Edge of Extinction. Especially with all the talk of old school vs new school I wonder if many of the old school players who played really tough seasons might not feel that being allowed to come back is a legitimate way to win the game.

As for the next season how would that work with 16 year olds. Like a 16 year old can't even sign a contract so what happens if one of those kids comes back and spoils the entire season on social media?

[Guest]

46 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Nick Brown from the Outback

Ah, Nick, the first in the long tradition of "Who? There's a [name]?" Why wasn't he on Game Changers? A trend-setter, for sure.

[Bouffe]

On 5/14/2020 at 2:17 AM, Steph Sometimes said:

I don't even really know how to describe this so I hope someone saw this too and knows what I'm talking about. At the beginning when they had the EOE players racing around to get in, there's this shot of Jeremy lumbering past like he's sleepwalking, just completely in a trance. It made me really laugh for some reason.

Yes, that made me laugh too! Jeff was saying something like "Everyone's pushing and really giving it their all!" and they showed Jeremy just walking slowly. LOL

[Kel Varnsen]

1 hour ago, skybolt said:

I also worry about teenage hormones running rampant on the island.

That could actually make it interesting just to see the flirting style of game play (like original season Parvati) come back into play. I just think of my own nerdy self back at 16. If someone who looked like Parv or Sophie (or let's face it just about anyone) was walking around in a bikini all day could probably get me to do just about anything by giving me a bit of attention. Hell the last season that Andrea was on she was so attractive that even on TV it was almost distracting. 

Edited May 15, 2020 by Kel Varnsen

[skybolt]

1 minute ago, Kel Varnsen said:

That could actually make it interesting just to see the flirting style of game play (like original season Parvati) come back into play. I just think of my own nerdy self back at 16. If someone who looked like Parv or Sophie (or let's face it just about anyone) we walking around in a bikini all day could probably get me to do just about anything by giving me a bit of attention. Hell the last season that Andrea was on she was so attractive that even on TV it was almost distracting. 

If I was still 15, this could be interesting. Now that I'm in my 40's I have absolutely zero interest in watching teenage dating drama. Heck, I got over Temptation Island when I was in my 20's.

[fishcakes]

3 minutes ago, Bouffe said:

Yes, that made me laugh too! Jeff was saying something like "Everyone's pushing and really giving it their all!" and they showed Jeremy just walking slowly. LOL

Ha ha. He was walking up to that rope bridge like, "ah hell no, I'm too old for this shit."

[skybolt]

Parvati is one of my top 3 players of all time, however, I'm not sure I like this new version of Parvati who thinks being always genuine and truthful in this game is a positive thing. First of all, this is completely the opposite of the way she played in her first 3 seasons, and the reason why Natalie didn't need to lie to Parvati is because she wasn't worried about being voted off EoE. Guess what, as soon as she got back in the game, she lied to Sarah about not having an idol, which is great game play.

I also hate how some players think that just because they vote you off then all the conversations you've had with them about family, life experiences, etc. are fake. It's like me and my buddy playing chess and having a side conversation. If I try and win the match by disguising my moves and basically deceiving him, then I'm a horrible person and everything that comes out of my mouth is a lie. So in contrast, should I alert him that he's getting checkmated in 5 moves to maintain our friendship? Every season we get the same whine story from survivors. At least in an all winner's season this was not the case.

Edited May 15, 2020 by skybolt

[Meow25]

Michelle deserved better.  Natalie is a beast, but EoE sucks.  Michelle probably wasn't ever going to win, but being friendless on the island and being able to stay to the end is pretty incredible.  

I liked this season, but I could go a few seasons without any returning champions, mentors, or anything resembling it.  No more EoE, and no fire tokens.  No more themes.  I just want to see a game of old school survivor with no gimmicks.  

Tony played a great game, but so did Michelle.  I feel bad that she didn't get any props for what she accomplished.  

[Eolivet]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

• Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.
• There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.
• There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 

TEA! This makes so much sense, in light of what happened. Wow, so Natalie got a sweetheart edit, all things considered. Logic implies she was likely part of this clique (or was in Danni's mind), given Danni's relationship with her. Logic also implies Nick, Wendell and Adam were not in this clique either, or were talked down to at one point, which would add to their anti-Edge sentiment. Adam, in particular, looked checked out most of the time, and Nick was quiet, too.

See, we need this tea, because otherwise, people like me make fools of ourselves and have to eat a huge bunch of crow and rats bite our toes in punishment as a result. Ow!

[ljenkins782]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

I don't get the bullying accusations. Rob asked Natalie why she didn't make fire against Tony and why she stopped talked to several of them on EoE for the last few days. It's ridiculous to call that bullying. Nor did he try to sway jurors away from Natalie; if what we're hearing now is to be believed, it was Tyson who was trying to rally jurors to vote for Natalie. People have hated Rob since he voted off Golden Boy Hunter 20 years ago; back then they called him greasy and fat, now it's old and fat. "Bitter" seems like a stretch too. He's always compartmentalized the game from real life, and sometimes forgets that not everyone does that but then gets raked over the coals for not being sensitive to other people's bitterness. The hilarious thing is that he doesn't care what his detractors think, which seems to enrage them even more. He and Amber are clearly more in love than ever, they've got beautiful daughters, seem to be financially secure because they were careful with their winnings, and get to do fun shit like go on game shows for a month at a time. He's a good example of how living well is the best revenge.

Ha, I was just thinking that he's finally looking more like his old self after being quite round on the last season. Amber probably appreciates his time on EOE, he's almost back to his All Stars weight. 

I can understand any of them being frustrated at spending all that time out there on EOE and then having virtually no shot at getting back in because of the plethora of advantages that were in play due to the stupid fire tokens. Yes, Natalie did have to work for those, but 3 advantages in one challenge is at least 2 too many, IMO. 

Quote

I'm not a fan of EoE, though it might be okay if the returning player came back around merge time instead of at the very end, but overall I loved this season and seeing people I'd given up hope of ever seeing again like ... well, just Yul I guess. As with all returning seasons, I end up with a different opinion of people based on what the editing wants to show us. I couldn't stand Sophie in South Pacific, but I thought she was great here and I'd love to see her return again. I had no opinion of Adam in MvGenX (except that Hannah was better, heh), but I grew to love his constant clumsiness and anxiety here. It helped that he didn't give all his confessionals AT THIS VOLUME this time around. And Ethan, who I've not cared about/semi-disliked since Africa, I now love like he was my brother. On the flip side, I liked Sarah a lot in Game Changers, but there were about five times during this finale alone that I wanted to poke her in the eye.

I'm not a fan of EOE, but I completely understand why they did it this season. If not, so many of the big names/long-awaited returnees would have disappeared from the screen early on.

I kind of came around on Adam too (and LOL at the VOLUME of his confessionals being considerably lower than before). He's still annoying, but it's more endearing now. And my feelings toward Ethan are completely changed, I never warmed to him in his earlier seasons for whatever reason, but I really rooted for him here. Not to win since I didn't think he had a shot, but just to prove something to himself after all he's been through. On the flip side, I'd really liked some people, like Denise and Wendell, and they didn't come across as well the second time around.

There were a lot of elements of this season that I wouldn't normally enjoy, but I did with this crowd. Like their family visits and the whole crowd of EOE folks rushing Probst as a thank you for bringing their families. And even the extended "what Survivor has done for me" segment, I really liked hearing them talk about how it changed their lives. For a significant number of these particular folks, it really has taken their lives in a wildly different direction than it would have ever gone and that's pretty cool.

Quote

I'm so happy Tony won. At the beginning he wasn't my pick (really, I figured he'd be out early), but he ran that game like a boss and deserved it. Natalie and Michele were also deserving in their own ways and would have been fine winners, but Tony just deserved it more. He won immunities, worked his butt off to find HIIs, strategized like a maniac, was behind a lot of major and crucial votes, and not only kept Sarah loyal to him after the Sophie blindside, but more important stayed loyal to her. When he beat her in fire and was just inconsolable over it, I thought, and this is where he's just won the game. In a season like this, where the jurors are feeling nostalgic and wanting the winner to be representative of the game as a whole, they want someone who they can feel good about as player and as a person. The game has so many variables and depends so much on luck that I don't believe there's such a thing as a GOAT, but Tony is definitely the King.

Yeah, like I said above, this season just had a different feel than other seasons and Tonyplayed right into the vibe of the game. Natalie did work hard to get herself back in and she tried to make the most of her return trip, but a second EOE winner is tough. She had to do more on EOE than Chris did, but she didn't have to worry about being voted out since the very first 3 days. Michele winning wouldn't have been my favorite outcome, she did have to work to stay in and won some key immunities, but her profile was so low coming in that she was allowed to get that deep. She was on the wrong side of the vote most of the time and if she'd been more of a threat, she'd have been taken out long ago.

Quote

I feel bad for Amber.  He's clearly a dominant personality and it's her choice to be with him and they clearly work well together.  But I feel bad for her in that being married to him was probably the chief reason why she got voted out so early.  She sat on the Edge from Day 6 until the end, and while there, she apparently in her own words was there just to be there for Rob.  It's just like with Rupert and his wife in Blood vs. Water.  She was voted out on sight purely because of him and through no fault of her own.

If she really was just there for him, I feel less bad for her. If she wasn't out there trying to prove something about her previous win (like Michele was), then this was basically just a month-long break from real life. She did a confessional in one of the recent episodes about how this gave her time to just be, while at home it's always hectic. I can see a mom of 4 finding some value in quiet time to herself, even if it is in less than luxurious settings. Come to think of it, maybe Ponderosa would have been more welcome in her case, lol. 

I know she mentioned the "controversy" around her win, but I don't get the sense that it eats her up the way it does Michele. 

Quote

 

The other interesting things, to me at least lol, to come out of Danni's IG live:

Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.

There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.

There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 

Yul had to go the bathroom during a TC and was gone for 20 minutes.

 

Ooh, I'd like to know more about the clique and the huge fight between Natalie and Yul. Like, of all people to get in a huge fight, Yul is not the first one to spring to mind. 

The bathroom stuff is a bit tacky to bring up, but I'm curious, did they have to put the entire TC on hold to wait for him?

[SuburbanHangSuite]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I don't know where this should go, but I saw that Jeremy retweeted an article about 16 year olds being able to apply now and it made me think maybe Probst is hoping one of Jeremy's daughters will play soon. 

After reading about Natalie saying that rats on the Edge would bite their fingers and toes every single night... yikes.  No way would I send my kid out there.  I agree that mental health would be a huge issue.  And 16 year olds are still growing and I don't think the lack of nutrition and the physical toll is good for the body.  I truly hope that they are encouraging 16 year olds to apply just to keep them in the pipeline for a future season.

Too funny.  I think it was during Jeff's heartfelt chat with the Edgers that I turned to my husband and said, "I'll bet you that we have a 'Survivor: 2nd Generation' season within the next couple of years."   It just makes sense.  These Survivor greats are so revered that CBS would be crazy not to extend the life of their popularity.  Jeremy's girls, Cirie's sons (I know a lot more must have kids that would qualify, those are just the first two that come to mind)  It would be ratings gold.   And then at the end, Jeff mentions having 16 year-olds apply.  We might have that season sooner than later.

 

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Yul caught a fish for Danni because she was so skinny and he felt bad that she had her peanut butter stolen.

I didn't think I could adore Yul more.  I was wrong.

 

[skybolt]

The thing I dislike about EoE the most, especially in an all winners season, is that more than half the people voted off don't believe you should win the game if your torch is already snuffed. I give credit to Natalie for keeping a positive attitude and pushing really hard to gain advantages (heck her second place win likely earned her an addition $100K +). However, if half the players on EoE are just sleepwalking through the last several weeks because they know the majority won't vote for them anyway, it just makes the job of someone trying to get back much easier. A lot of the castoffs were just going through the motions. 

[haje]

the only 2 time male winner i was really rooting for was yul but i don't mind tony winning again and he deserved it. he's a great mix of strategy + ott personality which rarely wins the game. i remember halfway through cagayan no one thought he was going to win because he played too fast too quickly and i don't think anyone really thought he had a chance to make it at merge let alone win this season. i mostly enjoy his game cause yeah he's nuts and he's a big personality and is way overly paranoid but he actually has a social game and he's never come across as mean-spirited like the dude he's constantly compared to (russell *eye-roll). honestly it was a solid top 3, i wouldn't have minded any of them winning although despite loving her natalie would have been my 3rd choice since i think eoe is just a broken system and needs to be abolished. 

 

[Kel Varnsen]

8 minutes ago, skybolt said:

The thing I dislike about EoE the most, especially in an all winners season, is that more than half the people voted off don't believe you should win the game if your torch is already snuffed. I give credit to Natalie for keeping a positive attitude and pushing really hard to gain advantages (heck her second place win likely earned her an addition $100K +). However, if half the players on EoE are just sleepwalking through the last several weeks because they know the majority won't vote for them anyway, it just makes the job of someone trying to get back much easier. A lot of the castoffs were just going through the motions. 

I would argue that EoE works slightly better in a returning players season simple because we already know all the players. In an all newbie season so much show time is spent on Extinction that viewers don't really get as much time to get to know the players who actually still in the game. But in this season I already know Tony Sarah and everyone else (except Michelle and Wendal I skipped their seasons). So in that case the editors can just spend time where the most interesting story is.

[skybolt]

It's interesting that both Sarah and Tony have played 3 times each. All 3 times have been on the same seasons, and one of them has won each of these seasons. Forget about Rob and Amber, people should've been worried about these 2 first and foremost.

Also, I haven't watched Amazing Race in many years, but would tune in if those 2 played together. Can you imagine the bickering as they get lost driving to their destination? Tony, the non traveler, would be funny at the airport trying to get on a flight.

[mythoughtis]

If 16 year olds can apply because they are looking to cast a season down the road after they turn 18 - fine.  

but do not send a Minor to play this game.   Not unless it’s going to be like the Boy Scouts Summer camps with tents, cots, sleeping bags, food, shower and bathrooms.  And everyone being near in age. They are children. 
Do not put them in with Adults.  Skupin and Brian come to mind anyone?  Even without people like them, minors look to adults as authority figures.  That puts them at a disadvantage in the game.  And could seriously ?!’$ the rest of their life. 

[Kel Varnsen]

8 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

If 16 year olds can apply because they are looking to cast a season down the road after they turn 18 - fine.  

Except Probst said they were looking for someone with cool parents and a cool school or something like that. Which tells me they are looking for a kid in high school but they need someone who was going to a school that would be ok with the student being gone for about a month and a half.

[skybolt]

9 minutes ago, Kel Varnsen said:

Except Probst said they were looking for someone with cool parents and a cool school or something like that. Which tells me they are looking for a kid in high school but they need someone who was going to a school that would be ok with the student being gone for about a month and a half.

Welcome to Survivor 42 - Junior island! You must Out-jump, Out-skype and Out-like your opponents in order to win. Go!

[srhall79]

Thinking some more, I wonder what some of these people's endgame was. Sarah could make the case of being 50/50 with Tony and getting less credit as a woman.  But I think she loses if he's at FTC, especially since he had moves she didn't know.

Denise? "When Sandra went a little nuts I kept my mouth shut about my idol. Then I got in the dominant alliance and was a number for Tony."

[skybolt]

2 minutes ago, srhall79 said:

Thinking some more, I wonder what some of these people's endgame was. Sarah could make the case of being 50/50 with Tony and getting less credit as a woman.  But I think she loses if he's at FTC, especially since he had moves she didn't know.

Denise? "When Sandra went a little nuts I kept my mouth shut about my idol. Then I got in the dominant alliance and was a number for Tony."

Denise should've used her idol to align with Kim and Jeremy. Between them they would've had 3 advantages. However, Denise decided to make the splash move and use 2 idols without attempting to pull an alliance together.

[blackwing]

25 minutes ago, skybolt said:

Denise should've used her idol to align with Kim and Jeremy. Between them they would've had 3 advantages. However, Denise decided to make the splash move and use 2 idols without attempting to pull an alliance together.

Wasn't Denise with Kim and Jeremy at one point?  I could have sworn it was the discussion when Kim was talking about how she has no friends, and Jeremy has no friends.  They had a third person with them who also said they had no friends and I thought it was Denise.  Then they talked about who else to bring over and I thought they said Nick and Michelle.

Isn't that when it was 5-5?  At what point did Denise become so firmly attached to Ben and Tony?  Denise really had zero game... she really thought that her big move of slaying the Queen and then bamboozling her out of her idol was going to be enough to win the game.  Delusional.

[Bouffe]

On 5/14/2020 at 11:40 AM, thesupremediva1 said:

Natalie had every advantage going into that last challenge and still almost lost. If she didn't have all those idols in her pocket she wouldn't have made final 3. No disrespect to her at all, she definitely was Queen of Extinction, but I am just not a fan of putting someone back in the game that late. Tyson's entrance should have been the only opportunity to rejoin. 

I don't hate the idea of EoE, in a way. I however really don't like that a contestant can come back as late as Nathalie did this season. She basically avoided all of the social aspect of the game by being on EoE this entire time (and that's why I was glad Rob mentioned Nathalie avoiding the group for a while on Edge). I'm with you - one entry back into the game, and do it at the merge, or somewhere around that time. Not at final 6.

On 5/14/2020 at 3:49 PM, blackwing said:

Rob Mariano was edited to look like a bully - forced everyone to dump out their bags, made everyone sit in the playpen, and clearly influenced the vote against Natalie.  I was surprised because it seems to me that Amber had really bonded with Natalie and praised her for her path.  But in the end she falls in line with her bully of a husband and votes as he directs her to.  For all the talk of growth... it seems to me she was transformed back into Jerri's sidekick from Season 2, ohmigawding her way through the season and doing exactly what someone else told her to do.

16 hours ago, blackwing said:

It was just the excuse for him to rally his troops against Natalie.  It was pretty much his way of saying that she took his spot and therefore didn't deserve to win.  I thought he was going to go into "Survivor Idol" mode and impart his life lesson onto Natalie in his slow pedantic manner.

"Natalie, congradulashuns on getting back into the game.  You wuh tough out dair.  But you shoulda chosen to make fiyah against Tony.  It's what I woulda dun.  Sometimes in Survivah, it's not enough to just do what you're doing.  You need to always think about doing mawr.  You shoulda made fiyah.  I wouldn't have voted for you anyway but at least now I can pretend to have a good reason why."
 

I disagree that Rob was a bitter jury member. And I disagree that he's a bully and that Amber is a little puppy behind him listening to all that he says. But that impersonation! That had me laughing! That was so good. The Tony one was spot on as well, whoever wrote it. 

9 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

I hesitate to say this, but I'm going to anyway.

I get that people don't like Rob, are tired of him, think he's a bully, that he's bitter against Natalie (maybe he just...didn't think she deserved to win, or at least that Tony did more? I can relate) but it's kind of too bad that some of the anti-Rob statements have to repeatedly say that he's old and fat. Similar to how some of the anti-Sarah comments throughout the season took shots at her appearance (I mean, I don't really care for her either, but c'mon).

Anyway. Carry on.

Totally with you. I'm tired of people attacking physical traits on others. It brings nothing to the table. And it's just 100% mean spirited.

4 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The other interesting things, to me at least lol, to come out of Danni's IG live:

• Natalie, Amber and Danni were close at fist but then Natalie excluded them later.
• There was a huge fight between Natalie and Yul.
• There was a clique on Edge who spoke down to the others. (I really wanna know who this was!) 
• Yul had to go the bathroom during a TC and was gone for 20 minutes.
• Yul caught a fish for Danni because she was so skinny and he felt bad that she had her peanut butter stolen.

I am SO curious about that fight between Nathalie and Yul! Hope some details come out.

4 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I don't get the bullying accusations. Rob asked Natalie why she didn't make fire against Tony and why she stopped talked to several of them on EoE for the last few days. It's ridiculous to call that bullying. Nor did he try to sway jurors away from Natalie; if what we're hearing now is to be believed, it was Tyson who was trying to rally jurors to vote for Natalie. People have hated Rob since he voted off Golden Boy Hunter 20 years ago; back then they called him greasy and fat, now it's old and fat. "Bitter" seems like a stretch too. He's always compartmentalized the game from real life, and sometimes forgets that not everyone does that but then gets raked over the coals for not being sensitive to other people's bitterness. The hilarious thing is that he doesn't care what his detractors think, which seems to enrage them even more. He and Amber are clearly more in love than ever, they've got beautiful daughters, seem to be financially secure because they were careful with their winnings, and get to do fun shit like go on game shows for a month at a time. He's a good example of how living well is the best revenge.

3 hours ago, Fallacy said:

I don’t think Rob seemed bitter at all. He asked Natalie two questions that were essential in explaining why Natalie lost the game: 1) why didn’t she take out Tony and 2) why did she stop socializing with people out on the edge. Those are the exact two reasons why she lost.

He was giving her a chance to defend her choices in both cases. It’s not his fault that her answers didn’t satisfy the jury. Rob is a very smart guy, and he knew what the jury was thinking about Natalie, so he spoke up and asked the two basic questions that were on everyone’s mind. I also didn’t hear a note of mocking or unkindness when he asked. He just asked them, calmly and cleanly. As with all things Boston Rob, his haters will see one thing and his fans will see something else. 

I agree with both of you! I think he would have done the same thing to any of the EoE returnee. 

2 hours ago, skybolt said:

I also hate how some players think that just because they vote you off then all the conversations you've had with them about family, life experiences, etc. are fake. It's like me and my buddy playing chess and having a side conversation. If I try and win the match by disguising my moves and basically deceiving him, then I'm a horrible person and everything that comes out of my mouth is a lie. So in contrast, should I alert him that he's getting checkmated in 5 moves to maintain our friendship? Every season we get the same whine story from survivors. At least in an all winner's season this was not the case.

Your chess analogy is spot on. I'm sure it's difficult to deal with a good friend voting you off or deceiving you in a game like Survivor, but one has to soon realize it's just that, a game.

[Bouffe]

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

Well, that's the same kind of interesting approach that some of the Edge players have seemingly displayed.  "I hate the idea of an Edge player winning the game!!! Oh but if it were me (or my favorite Rob) then OF COURSE it's OK because it's not the same!"

That's true! It's difficult to be objective sometimes.