S23.E25: Eviction #8, HOH #9

[Melina22]

13 minutes ago, HurricaneVal said:

I don't think this is Azah's game.  I don't think she's cut out for it, but everything I've seen and heard make me think I'd want her to be my friend in real life. 

This is exactly how I feel about her too. 

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

I wonder if Tiffany's vote for Sara Beth wasn't for two reasons:

A) Sara Beth went to her and said "I know I'm a goner but I don't want it to be unanimous" (SB more or less confirmed this during her exit interview).

B) Tiffany wanted to make sure Kyland wouldn't have a Perfect Game* (Yes, she really is that petty).

Meanwhile: Is Derek F. really struggling that much to say "I vote to evict," or did he genuinely mess up the first time or two and now considers it his "trademark?"

Did Britini actually threaten to punch out a statue???

I wondered at first why they were making such a big deal out of a bee, but it was a pretty funny turn of events (Derek gets spooked and bails out of the hammock, leading to Hannah hitting her head, leading to everyone running outside to see what happened, leading to unattended cooking food catching fire and almost burning the BB house down). Benjamin Franklin would've LOLed.**

The only chance for Alyssa or Claire is to become the only non-CO player left and worm their way in with whoever wins HoH that week. At that point, the CO members may adopt an attitude of "She's no threat, and we can vote her out anytime we want" while the focus turns towards eliminating each other. Survivor 9's Chris used that exact strategy to win the whole season against the odds.

*A Perfect Game is when someone wins BB unanimously without having any eviction votes cast against them during the season. Cody did it last year, but it's only happened three or four times total.

**Benjamin Franklin once said "For want of a nail, the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe, the horse was lost. For want of a horse, the rider was lost. For want of a rider, the message was lost. For want of a message, the battle was lost. For want of a battle, the war was lost. For want of a war, the kingdom was lost." In this case, a stray bee nearly led to an inferno.

17 minutes ago, LoveLeigh said:

At the end of this episode when they began the comp for the new HOH, was Tiffany allowed to play? Wasn't she last week's HOH? I missed something. 

Claire used that "Coin of Destiny" thing to secretly overthrow Tiffany as HoH. Since Tiffany wasn't the official HoH afterwards, she could play in the new HoH comp. Claire also played (as nobody knew she was the HoH), but production told her beforehand that she was required to throw it before the end.

[woodscommaelle]

10 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

This is exactly how I feel about her too. 

Maybe she was a 'hot recruit.'

 

[watch2much]

Tiffany may be annoying at times, but she's keeping the CO together.  she watches everyone like a hawk and steps in immediately if she sees something amiss.  I wouldn't mind her winning.

I have to wonder how X really feels about being there with these people. clearly, he didn't like being wakened to have a group chant...

[Cozytea]

5 hours ago, Cherry Cola said:

SB reminds me of Lisa Loeb

Yes, now that you say that, I see it. 😁

[iMonrey]

It never ceases to amaze me just how utterly clueless the evictees remain even after that fact. It's almost cruel of Julie to ask them why they think they were evicted because it's always some delusional variation of "they thought I was too big a threat." They were only a threat in the sense that they weren't part of the majority alliance. Nobody ever seems to walk out of there and tell Julie "Well apparently there's a huge alliance that I'm not part of." I don't necessarily feel sorry for any of them, because they signed up for this. But it's embarrassing when people like Sara Beth try to make a last minute pitch to save themselves like strategy talk will make a difference. 

Are SB, Claire and Allyssa all recruits? Haven't they ever seen this show before? There is always a big alliance of 6-8 people. Always. So if you are not in a big 6-8 person alliance, your ass is out the door. It's not rocket science. I don't know how these idiots can't see the light of day, season after season., This show has been on the air 20 years now. Do these morons actually sit around and go "Gee I guess this is the one year there is no big alliance"?

I still think it's dumb and unfair the "secret" HoH can't win the next HoH. The fact that they have to throw it is just as much of a giveaway as just telling everyone they were the "secret" HoH. 

 

Edited September 3, 2021 by iMonrey

[leocadia]

2 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

Did Britini actually threaten to punch out a statue???

Even better, she threatened to punch out a statue for the egregious sin of "staring at her" when the statue was clearly gazing upward and not at Britini at all.

[Nashville]

11 hours ago, icemiser69 said:

Now Nashville has an idea of what he can get his wife for their anniversary, a vintage "Swaggy C." t-shirt.

Or not.  We’ve made it 35 years so far, and I would kinda like to make it to 36.

9 hours ago, Never Again said:

She’s not like a regular host, she’s a cool host 

IT IS NOT A “HOST”.  

IT IS THE CHENBOT.

THE CHENBOT WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ESTABLISHED CHENBOT PROTOCOLS.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE CHENBOT OPERATE CONTRARY TO ESTABLISHED CHENBOT PROTOCOLS.

ATTEMPTS TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN CHENBOT MAKING YOU ITS CHENBITCH.

THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY CHENWARNING.

 

5 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

My takeaway from all that was how calm and cool headed in an emergency Azah proved to be.  I think she was the one who originally noted the food (steaks?) burning in the oven.  Whoever that was opened the oven door, peeked in and saw the burning, shut the door and made some joke about "that's why I'm a vegetarian ."  But that one door opening gave the smoldering fire a good drink of oxygen, so when the next person (Alyssa?) opened the oven door only moments later, there was a fire.  And Azah immediately sprung into action.  She located the fire extinguisher (which...uh...wasn't located in the kitchen?) brought it to the scene, and calmly directed Alyssa to open the door--after she pulled the pin and got it ready--then did short bursts from the extinguisher to put the fire out.  Just enough to put the fire out, and not so much that there is a ginormous mess.  She did good.

Okay… I appreciate you’re an Azah fan and all, but parts of this description don’t really correlate well with reality. 😆  I went back and checked, and the sequence of events was more along the lines of this:

1. Azah and Claire were the primaries on dinner; we were not shown who initially started the steaks - but Azah was shown opening the oven door, checking the steaks (which were on the top broiler rack), saying “I am going to let these roast a little more and put them on the timer”, closing the oven door, and setting the oven timer.
2. The Dreaded DerF/Beetle Conflict (DDBC) then ensued, resulting in Hannah getting a probable concussion.  This was also apparently when the steaks actually started their burn - or at least was presented as such by the broadcast edit, with the close-up camera shots of the smoke starting to seep out of the oven - but the DDBC commotion in the BY presented a certain degree of distraction.
3. Claire opened the oven door, either to check the steaks or because the smoke seep caught her attention (not clarified in the broadcast).  At the point the oven door was opened there was some degree of illumination within the oven; that illumination may have been from fire, but was more likely from a light within the oven which came on automatically when the door was opened.  In any case, Claire instantly caught a a face-full of smoke roiling out of the oven which appeared to blind her temporarily.
4. Although blinded, Claire still had enough presence of mind to immediately close the oven door - after which she stepped a ways away from the oven while wiping at her eyes.
5. Azah re-opened the oven door, revealing that at that point the top-rack tray containing the steaks was fully engulfed in flames; Azah re-closed the oven door and made a dash to retrieve the fire extinguisher (from the SR, I think?).
6. As Azah came back with the extinguisher (a few seconds), Claire appeared to have succeeded in clearing her vision.  After the two took a moment to coordinate, Claire opened the oven door and Azah immediately sprayed the steaks with the extinguisher.

A few additional notes, purely as an FYI:

• Claire’s “I’m a vegan” quip came from a DR session Production inserted immediately after the fire had been successfully contained; it had no part in the actual real-time progression of events.
• I’m sure at least part of the reason Azah had to run for an extinguisher was Production (a) going cheap on basic safety equipment and/or (b) wanting to keep “unsightly” clutter out of camera shots.  While it’s always advisable to have an extinguisher in the kitchen, though, it’s not necessarily a good idea to have one immediately next to likely primary points of involvement - reason being if a fire does break out from that source, then the flames may cut you off from access to the extinguisher.  I think the general recommendation is something like five feet away from a potential ignition source or sources, but I’m not sure.  
• Even considering how cramped for space the kitchen set is, though, there are plenty of options for closer placement than the SR.  Back when the HGs used to have a gas grill in the BY, didn’t they used to keep a fire extinguisher beside the refrigerator, by the glass doors to the BY? Either that or beside/behind the LR couch would seem to be better options.
• The condition of the DDBC beetle after this series of events remains unknown.

Edited September 3, 2021 by Nashville
Formatting

[JudyObscure]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

I’m sure at least part of the reason Azah had to run for an extinguisher was Production (a) going cheap on basic safety equipment and/or (b) wanting to keep “unsightly” clutter out of camera shots.

If only they could find an extinguisher that would blend with classic BB decor, like one in  clashing, garish colors covered in geometric shapes and cartoon characters.  

[HurricaneVal]

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

Okay… I appreciate you’re an Azah fan and all, but parts of this description don’t really correlate well with reality. 😆  I went back and checked, and the sequence of events was more along the lines of this:

To be clear, I was only half-watching (though after the flames were visible, my attention was riveted) so I conflated Claire's and Azah's actions.  You obviously have the receipts.  😉  But I thought it was the boys who were standing by the stove, who then ran out to see what the excitement was?  I think I need new glasses....  But I still think the fire extinguisher was an unreasonable distance from the kitchen where it would be needed the most.  Unless....maybe BB production knows a little something about shoddy wiring in the BB house so they put the extinguisher closer to a potential trouble spot?  🤣😆

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, HurricaneVal said:

To be clear, I was only half-watching (though after the flames were visible, my attention was riveted) so I conflated Claire's and Azah's actions.  You obviously have the receipts.  😉  But I thought it was the boys who were standing by the stove, who then ran out to see what the excitement was?  I think I need new glasses.... 

Initial Thursday Havoc starting positions for everybody were:

• X in the kitchen with Azah and Claire, washing dishes while they were preparing dinner.
• DerF and Hannah in the hammock, with Tiff sitting on a Ottoman-style cushion alongside.
• Alyssa and Ky on the lounge chairs beside the pool.

When the DDBC escalated to its maximum level of death and destruction - that is, it got loud - X went outside to see what was going on; with the exception of Azah and Claire, though, everybody else was already in the BY.

Quote

But I still think the fire extinguisher was an unreasonable distance from the kitchen where it would be needed the most. 
 

Oh, I absolutely agree -  and given the decrepit state of this House, I don’t think more than one extinguisher would be TOO far out of line.   I was just pointing out that while having an extinguisher immediately beside the stove might not be the best idea, there are still plenty of places TPTB could put one where it would be handier than, say, the damn storage room…?

Quote

Unless....maybe BB production knows a little something about shoddy wiring in the BB house so they put the extinguisher closer to a potential trouble spot?  🤣😆

That would be called “the House”.

 

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

If only they could find an extinguisher that would blend with classic BB decor, like one in  clashing, garish colors covered in geometric shapes and cartoon characters.  

I’d be happy so long as it didn’t have the word ”ACME” printed on it, and wasn’t being toted around by a deranged coyote.

[Rosebud1970]

DerekF and his BlusterThreats in the Diary Room: who is he kidding? He lost a battle with a bug! He’s no kind of threat to anyone, much less anything.

His mouth keeps writing checks his brain can’t cash.

On another note, I’m having a hard time understanding why the last white girls standing aren’t looking around and thinking, ‘which of these things are not like the others?’ Has it not dawned on them that The Cookout exists? And what happens when the CO is going to have to come after each other? Interesting.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

On another note, I’m having a hard time understanding why the last white girls standing

In the interests of accuracy, that would be “last white girl” – i.e., Claire.  Alyssa is Hispanic.

Edited September 4, 2021 by Nashville
Typo

[JudyObscure]

4 hours ago, Rosebud1970 said:

On another note, I’m having a hard time understanding why the last white girls standing aren’t looking around and thinking, ‘which of these things are not like the others?’ Has it not dawned on them that The Cookout exists? And what happens when the CO is going to have to come after each other? Interesting.

It is interesting!  This whole season has been fascinating to me.  I think the  white people not noticing demonstrates what we (white) folk mean when some of us say we're colorblind.   We simply don't think about race as much and don't jump to it as a reason for things not going well for us -- and yes, I know that's because we haven't had to and it's part of our privilege.

[Cherry Cola]

I thought Tiffany was terrible by kind of comforting Hannah when she hit her head, but blaming Bid D the whole time. Shut up woman! Just comfort.  Blame never helps in those situations. While Hannah was in,pain. I doubt she cared how or why it happened, until she relaxed a bit. Tiffany also blaming D for running away, but she was the first to stand and run! Yeah, we see you, Tiffany!! 

[Blissfool]

5 hours ago, Nashville said:

In the interests of accuracy, that would be “last white girl” – i.e., Claire.  Alyssa is Hispanic.

Hispanic is white. 

[UniqBlue69]

Julie: ::earnestly trying to drum up suspense:: Hey guys! Stay tuned for an epic battle between the CO and Alyssa! Who will win?! Stay tuned!

-Back from commercial break and a shot at Alyssa morosely sitting to the side as she just dropped out SECOND in the competition-

If that doesn't perfectly encapsulate this dull af season lol

[Cherry Cola]

35 minutes ago, Blissfool said:

Hispanic is white. 

Since when? 

[Blissfool]

8 minutes ago, Cherry Cola said:

Since when? 

Well I've known that my whole life since that's what I've been told and that"s the race I check on government forms, but I'm sure it's been since before I was born. 

Hispanic is not a race.

[Cherry Cola]

1 hour ago, Blissfool said:

Well I've known that my whole life since that's what I've been told and that"s the race I check on government forms, but I'm sure it's been since before I was born. 

Hispanic is not a race.

When I see forms there is always Hispanic and White listed, separately. 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Cherry Cola

[peachmangosteen]

I usually see ‘white, non-Hispanic’ or ‘white, Hispanic’ on forms.

[Cherry Cola]

54 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I usually see ‘white, non-Hispanic’ or ‘white, Hispanic’ on forms.

I've never seen that in my life! Not saying it's not true. Just haven't. Weird. 

[Melina22]

4 hours ago, Blissfool said:

Hispanic is white. 

That may or may not be, but in this episode Alyssa told Claire she was the last white girl left, so apparently Alyssa doesn’t consider herself to be white. (This isn't a discussion I feel qualified to comment on, I just wanted to point this out.) 

[Blissfool]

1 hour ago, Cherry Cola said:

I've never seen that in my life! Not saying it's not true. Just haven't. Weird. 

In most government forms race and ethnicity are listed separately.

This is how the questions are presented in the US Census.

This is the the question in the drivers license application I just helped my son fill this year:

That being said, Alyssa probably doesn't realize the difference. She wouldn't be the only one.

Sorry to harp on this. It just always stings a little when I hear people deny me my race. I do hear, however, in the future Hispanic might be listed as a race. It hasn't yet, though.

[Cherry Cola]

53 minutes ago, Blissfool said:

In most government forms race and ethnicity are listed separately.

This is how the questions are presented in the US Census.

This is the the question in the drivers license application I just helped my son fill this year:

That being said, Alyssa probably doesn't realize the difference. She wouldn't be the only one.

Sorry to harp on this. It just always stings a little when I hear people deny me my race. I do hear, however, in the future Hispanic might be listed as a race. It hasn't yet, though.

I'm sorry If I made you feel that way!!! 

 

[Ms Blue Jay]

People can see race and understand race and still not think that the 6 Black people in the house have aligned.  It's obviously possible and what is actually happening.  I'm sure Derek X. thinks about race and he seems very smart to me and he didn't put it together.  Claire is some kind of engineer so she's obviously book smart too.  She's smart enough to know her race and others' race but that doesn't mean they're going to automatically think - wait, 6 people are aligned and I'm not involved.

The Cookout has been very smart about the alliance.  To say that they've never been in a room together alone (until they woke up X) and still kept the alliance strong all this time.  That's remarkable.

Honestly, it never occurred to me that Alyssa was white until I went to read up on it after reading this thread.  I thought she was a POC but I was entirely wrong about what her background was.

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[Blissfool]

7 hours ago, Cherry Cola said:

I thought Tiffany was terrible by kind of comforting Hannah when she hit her head, but blaming Bid D the whole time. Shut up woman! Just comfort.  Blame never helps in those situations. While Hannah was in,pain. I doubt she cared how or why it happened, until she relaxed a bit. Tiffany also blaming D for running away, but she was the first to stand and run! Yeah, we see you, Tiffany!! 

I totally agree. I expect Tiffany to act mature in these type of situations. The blame game was not it. It was an accident. Nobody meant for that to happen. I was glad to hear Hannah tell Big D it wasn't his fault afterwards.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I guess I'm a baby because I was shocked that Hannah wasn't checked out by paramedics.....  Do they have them in the house?  What if there's a real injury?  Christmas hurt her foot in the house, right?

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[linthia]

4 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I guess I'm a baby because I was shocked that Hannah wasn't checked out by paramedics.....  Do they have them in the house?  What if there's a real injury?  Christmas hurt her foot in the house, right?

I think she was. She was immediately escorted to the diary room by several house guests and came back out sometime later with an ice pack on her head.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Just now, linthia said:

I think she was. She was immediately escorted to the diary room by several house guests and came back out sometime later with an ice pack on her head.

Oh, thanks!  I feel better now.  They should have shown that more deliberately. Head injuries can be serious.  

Edited September 4, 2021 by Ms Blue Jay

[JudyObscure]

3 hours ago, Blissfool said:

In most government forms race and ethnicity are listed separately.

This is how the questions are presented in the US Census.

This is the the question in the drivers license application I just helped my son fill this year:

 

I'm glad to see bald is a hair color now. 

What hair I have left after Covid is currently blond and I have blue eyes, but I checked "unknown" on the race section when I got vaccinated and will continue to do so.  I'm done with all that.

Edited September 5, 2021 by JudyObscure

[Halting Hex]

Variation on an old baseball joke:

Q:  What could be better than watching Xavier crow in the DR about how close the Ra6 are to achieving their goal?
A:  Anything up to and including a kick in the [redacted].

*************************************************

The Buffy the Vampire Slayer crossover that never happened:

Quote

CLUELESS CLAIRE:  Wow, all the other white people have been evicted and none of the black people.  What are the odds of that?

CORDELIA CHASE:  Now, let's be clear.  The brain damage happened before I slapped you, right?

************************************************

What makes this even more "fun" is that only Xavier and Kyland have any real chance of winning.  Azah and DereF are prototypical goats who'd be lucky to lose the final vote by 7-2.  Hannah probably won't be respected by the Jury if she's up against X or Ky and Tiffany thinks she's big news, but will probably be disillusioned.

Yawn.

Edited September 5, 2021 by Halting Hex

[Never Again]

On 9/3/2021 at 5:27 PM, Nashville said:

On 9/3/2021 at 8:20 AM, Never Again said:

She’s not like a regular host, she’s a cool host 

IT IS NOT A “HOST”.  

IT IS THE CHENBOT.

THE CHENBOT WILL CONTINUE TO OPERATE IN ACCORDANCE WITH ESTABLISHED CHENBOT PROTOCOLS.

DO NOT ATTEMPT TO MAKE CHENBOT OPERATE CONTRARY TO ESTABLISHED CHENBOT PROTOCOLS.

ATTEMPTS TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN CHENBOT MAKING YOU ITS CHENBITCH.

THIS WILL BE YOUR ONLY CHENWARNING.

I think becoming its Chenbitch is my destiny destiny destiny

On 9/3/2021 at 5:27 PM, Nashville said:

The condition of the DDBC beetle after this series of events remains unknown.

I think that beetle is going to dine out on this story for years and years with his beetle friends.  Or for however long it is that beetles live

[iMonrey]

Quote

Azah and DereF are prototypical goats who'd be lucky to lose the final vote by 7-2.

Both are prime candidates for a double eviction. They never win anything and they're an easy vote-out in a pinch when you don't have time to strategize. 

[JayDub1987]

On 9/4/2021 at 3:31 AM, Rosebud1970 said:

 

His mouth keeps writing checks his brain can’t cash.

 

His brain is bankrupt.

[Nashville]

17 hours ago, Never Again said:

I think becoming its Chenbitch is my destiny destiny destiny

God knows that’s been one of my personal fantasies for the past couple of decades.

[Nashville]

On 9/2/2021 at 10:44 PM, Nashville said:

Right as the comp started up the camera did a close-up on DerF; all of FIVE SECONDS into the comp, and he’s already struggling!  And I swear to god this conversation happened in my house tonight:

Me: Oh gawd.

Wife (glances at TV screen): He’s not going to last ninety seconds, is he?

Me: Don’t be mean; he might go as much as two minutes.  Maybe.

<Break for commercial; comes back to DerF sitting on the sidelines>

Wife: Wonder which of us was closer?

And y’all wonder how we’ve stayed married for 35 years.

FYI: DerF dropped at 1:42, so she was closer - by 3 seconds.