S40: Ponderosa

[peachmangosteen]

The jury:

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6 (A 9 minute rehash of Rob/Amber's love story for some reason.)

Sandra 

Denise
Ben
Sarah

I found Denise's vid so perplexing. I would love to know why she was getting so much heat. It felt out of nowhere from the vids of the jury arriving. And then when her, Sophie, and Kim were talking, Sophie talked about this season being so much nastier than the first time she played and I'm just like wow. That wasn't shown at all. And then Ben and Sarah seemed to get a great reception, so what was the problem with Denise? So odd and I need to know more about what went down this season that we didn't get to see.

Also, fucking hell a whole video about Rob and Amber. We've already seen their journey! Give me a vid on the nastiness we didn't see or about the relationships we didn't get to see like Wendell/Danni. Not another one about people we already saw enough of for like 15 years!

[LadyChatts]

13 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I found Denise's vid so perplexing. I would love to know why she was getting so much heat. It felt out of nowhere from the vids of the jury arriving. And then when her, Sophie, and Kim were talking, Sophie talked about this season being so much nastier than the first time she played and I'm just like wow. That wasn't shown at all. And then Ben and Sarah seemed to get a great reception, so what was the problem with Denise? So odd and I need to know more about what went down this season that we didn't get to see.

Also, fucking hell a whole video about Rob and Amber. We've already seen their journey! Give me a vid on the nastiness we didn't see or about the relationships we didn't get to see like Wendell/Danni. Not another one about people we already saw enough of for like 15 years!

I'll have to watch these later, but I'm surprised everyone was so nice to Ben since it sounded like he took kind of a beating out there.  Maybe they were just glad he got voted off?  

I actually thought everyone seemed weird this season.  Like, the tone was just strange.  I didn't feel like everyone was enjoying it.  I'm sure it was hard for some of the players to be voted out early, or voted out solely based on previous reputation (like Parvati said, her former reputation and contestants saying for years they wanted to play like her probably hurt her, and Amber was clearly at a disadvantage being associated with Rob out there).  But even that aside, it just seemed like no one was really playing or having fun.  And Natalie especially sounded kind of nasty by some of the things I've heard in exit press, plus she seemed bitter at her loss (even though she said she expected it).

[Lamima]

I watched most last night. And I too thought the Denise welcome (or NOT so welcome) was very odd. Why so harsh? And then when Ben arrived they were all welcoming and fun times. So strange. We missed something big.

[LadyChatts]

So I just watched Denise's Ponderosa.  I liked how Nick asked her who blindsided Sophie, and when she said Tony, Nick tried to say he blindsided her, too.  Like, your out of the game now-who cares lol  

It did seem like they were really grilling her for info and about her game.  

Also, thank you for the heads up about the video that was Rob/Amber's love story.  I don't know if people remember this, but during Rob's original season, he played kissy face with a castaway that season (Sarah).  Had she not been a forgettable pre-merge boot maybe she could have been the future Mrs. Mariano and been a two time ex-Amazing Racer and done all the things Amber did.  But seriously, other people on Survivor feel in love and got married.  We get it.

Edited May 16, 2020 by LadyChatts

[Guest]

22 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Also, thank you for the heads up about the video that was Rob/Amber's love story.  I don't know if people remember this, but during Rob's original season, he played kissy face with a castaway that season (Sarah).  Had she not been a forgettable pre-merge boot maybe she could have been the future Mrs. Mariano and been a two time ex-Amazing Racer and done all the things Amber did.  But seriously, other people on Survivor feel in love and got married.  We get it.

Well I ate it up *shrugs*

Obviously understandable that some would be tired of Rob and Amber, but there are others who love their story. Seeing those clips of them as practically babies interspersed with their older, wiser selves was awesome to me. So I'm glad they included that video, for those of us who wanted to see it. And for those who don't? It's clearly labeled "Rob and Amber: A Survivor Love Story", so it's easily avoided.

[Growsonwalls]

Well I enjoyed it. About the Ben vs. Denise reception, Parvati said in an interview that Ben in person is "like a little kid, really sweet and very sensitive." So much so that she had to constantly watch what she said around him. I kind of got the feeling he's a rather fragile person myself. So maybe the Denise reception was because they feel (rightly) that she's a tough lady that can take some grilling, but Ben might need some therapy?

I was interested that Danni and Parvati were like joined at the hip in the Ponderosa segments. They obviously had a really strong relationship that we didn't see.

I also enjoyed Amber saying that at first she hated Tyson and Rob teasing Tyson as being his daughter's "playdate." Heh.

Yul and Ethan seem also to have a nice bond.

[peachmangosteen]

 

8 hours ago, Growsonwalls said:

I also enjoyed Amber saying that at first she hated Tyson and Rob teasing Tyson as being his daughter's "playdate." Heh.

I loled when she said that was the one time Rob was right and she was wrong.

I also loled because it looked like Danni was bored as hell about Amber yet again talking about Rob.

[fishcakes]

I just watched all of these and the first four are so great and fun. Everyone was happy and celebratory. Things that stuck out to me are that Wendell, much like Chris from his first season, should never rap again; otherwise, he was very likeable and more like the Wendell we saw on Ghost Island. Jeremy is so funny! Why have we never seen that side of him in the game? Adam's normal weight is 137 LOL. Ethan worrying about his lack of ass, as if he's usually Mr. Badonkadonk. Rob looking slightly embarrassed and feeling as if he had to explain why he was eating spaghetti and shrimp for breakfast. And my very favorite part: the women all in a group drinking champagne and toasting each other and then Nick sidling into the group and clinking his beer bottle with their champagne flutes. Even at Ponderosa, he's a sidler!

Part 5 is an extended loved ones visit, which I liked a lot, and as mentioned Part 6 is Rob and Amber's story, which I also loved, but I've always been a fan of those two together.

Sandra's video was kind of boring? I get why she didn't want to stick around EoE, but it's sad that she missed out on Ponderosa because that looked like a blast, at least until the non-EoE people got there.

19 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I found Denise's vid so perplexing. I would love to know why she was getting so much heat. It felt out of nowhere from the vids of the jury arriving. And then when her, Sophie, and Kim were talking, Sophie talked about this season being so much nastier than the first time she played and I'm just like wow. That wasn't shown at all. And then Ben and Sarah seemed to get a great reception, so what was the problem with Denise? So odd and I need to know more about what went down this season that we didn't get to see.

I think it's probably that she was the first one there who hadn't been at EoE with the rest of them. It was a break in the game those first couple (?) of nights when it was just the EoE people, but then Denise arrived and it felt like game on again. For my part, I've decided that I really don't like Denise at all. I never warmed to her in Caramoan or here, and listening to her talk in a more extended way in that video was just irritating. For one thing she says, "like" as much as any teenager. Like, she throws at least two likes into, like, every sentence. Second, "Mama needs a beer," "Mama's gonna take a shower." "Mama lost some weight." Third, "it's all goood." She says it all the time and she says it like Michael Scott. Finally, her empathetic listening comes across as really phony to me. On the plus side, at least she gives us a good idea of what Nick Jonas will look like when he's 60.

Ben and Sarah, whatever. Though it was funny when Sarah asked the doctor how his urine was and he said, "too far."

 

Edited May 16, 2020 by fishcakes

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I think it's probably that she was the first one there who hadn't been at EoE with the rest of them. It was a break in the game those first couple (?) of nights when it was just the EoE people, but then Denise arrived and it felt like game on again. For my part, I've decided that I really don't like Denise at all. I never warmed to her in Caramoan or here, and listening to her talk in a more extended way in that video was just irritating. For one thing she says, "like" as much as any teenager. Like, she throws at least two likes into, like, every sentence. Second, "Mama needs a beer," "Mama's gonna take a shower." "Mama lost some weight." Third, "it's all goood." She says it all the time and she says it like Michael Scott. Finally, her empathetic listening comes across as really phony to me. On the plus side, at least she gives us a good idea of what Nick Jonas will look like when he's 60.

+1. I borderline hated Denise in her first season (I think she gave one of the best FTC performances ever though so I ended up being ok with her win.) and she reminded me why in that Ponderosa ep. All the things you said are just spot on. She's insufferable. Also, fucking hell at that last sentence!

[OutOfTheQuestion]

Wow, I came away with the exact opposite impression of Denise.  She is one of all-time favourites, and nothing about her seems phony to me.  She's just a very smart, level-headed "normal" person doing a great job of the constant plate-spinning that is Survivor. 

I like Tony well enough, but after that scene of Denise, Kim, and Sophie all hanging out, it made me sad that THEY weren't the power trio running the season.

Edited May 17, 2020 by OutOfTheQuestion

[AncientNewbie]

I ate this all up, and I mirror a lot of what was said above. Except the Denise stuff, because she's still sort of an enigma to me. Nick sidling, funny Jeremy, playdate Tyson...there was just a lot of genuine warmth.

I'm not sure if it's isolation and friendlessness or if I've finally started drinking the Kool-Aid CBS has been offering for 15 years, but...I was okay with the Rob and Amber segment. If anything, I was more bothered by clips of All-Stars Amber being competent in challenges and then they cut to Current Amber sounding like she was just there to be a second vote advantage for Rob. But following on the family visit clip, both of those really felt like a goodbye edit for some of the major names and a look into the history of the show.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, AncientNewbie said:

But following on the family visit clip, both of those really felt like a goodbye edit for some of the major names ...

I agree and I fucking hope it sticks. I never need to see any player more than 3 times and honestly even 3 times is a bit much!

[Lamb18]

Denise wasn't in Caramoan, she was in Season 25 Philippines.

[fishcakes]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

Denise wasn't in Caramoan, she was in Season 25 Philippines.

Yes, you're right. Caramoan and Philippines were filmed in the same spot, but Denise was in the one called Survivor Philippines. Caramoan was another fans vs. favorites season that Cochran won.