S41.E03: My Million Dollar Mistake

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, himela said:

2. Why the hell is Shen the one to call the shots???

Well someone has to, and it seems like no one else on her tribe has stepped up to attempt it, although that could be the editing. Whatsherface was seemingly quiet and wasn't shown making any moves. Captain Ricard is too obviously shady to be a shotcaller. In addition to screwing up the reward challenge, getting caught with an advantage put JD in no position to be a shotcaller. Brad tried but others felt better about blindsiding him. So...Shan by default?

It occurs to me that this boot may be the first time in Survivor history that there was a majority-minority tribe that booted a White guy. Can someone more familiar with the game confirm or correct? Not that race had anything to do with why Brad got booted. But it seemed that part of the subtext of a lot of Survivor early boots was "get the old person" or "get the person of color" so it seemed worth pointing out.

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, cowgirlwen said:

Did anyone else think that Shan was talking down to JD for not sharing his advantage details with her?  Almost like a parent scolding a child for doing something wrong.  I find it hard to believe that she would have talked to Ricard, Jeanie, or Brad in that same condescending manner.  

Yea, I hated it. Why in the fuck does she feel entitled to knowing who has advantages? I can't stand her. So, she'll probably win.

[KeithJ]

12 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

So Brad had the idol clue and a steal-a-vote, and both really would have came in handy tonight.

Didn't he say something like he couldn't use the steal a vote because he didn't have a vote?

I still want them to do an old-school season but not tell the players.  No idols, no advantages but still have Jeff say at every tribal council "if anyone has a hidden immunity idol or an advantage, now is the time."

Edited October 7, 2021 by KeithJ

[TVMovieBuff]

8 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

I was just writing that when you posted!  Too Much Fruit!  My stomach lurches just thinking about the results.

On the island they are too often constipated. They might feel good about those "results"

Brad is one of the greatest faces on Survivor. I really will miss him. I wanted to see his journey and wanted it to last longer than this.

12 hours ago, LanceM said:

I am so glad to see Brad get voted off with all his talk about how this is "new era of survivor, you have to take risks, big moves,  blah blah blah."  No you don't. Atleast not all the time.  Sometimes the best play it to play it safe

Part of the reason for all the changes this season, and the shortened time, is so that players can't just coast along "under the radar" lying around like pashas while their alliances keep them safe. 

The producers want them to shit or get off the pot. Do something, earn your win, or go home.

[TVbitch]

Advantages are not, in and of themselves, exciting. Thus, more advantages does not equal more excitement. 

Jeff is reminding me of that episode of Seinfeld where Jerry dated the woman who shifted from looking good to terrible, depending on the lighting. 

[Maya]

It’s season 41. How do these people not know it’s ALWAYS a bad idea to tell other people about your idols and advantages?? 

[peachmangosteen]

18 minutes ago, Maya said:

It’s season 41. How do these people not know it’s ALWAYS a bad idea to tell other people about your idols and advantages?? 

JD did and he got scolded for it lol.

Though to be fair he did make the mistake of not hiding it well enough in his pants.

Which now I’m wondering why in the world would he just carry it around in his pants?

[ProfCrash]

5 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

JD did and he got scolded for it lol.

Though to be fair he did make the mistake of not hiding it well enough in his pants.

Which now I’m wondering why in the world would he just carry it around in his pants?

JD was an idiot and had his paper with the advantage sticking out of his underwear so everyone could see it. the guy has cargo shorts with massive pockets and he stuck the paper in his undies so that it could be seen above the button on his shorts.

Or JD wanted everyone to know he had found an advantage because he wanted people to know he was a gamer.

I am leaning towards idiot.

Shan can treat JD like he is one of her kids because he is willing to allow it. That is how he is used to responding to authority figures, meekly. to be fair, he is young enough that he might not be comfortable enough saying "I am an adult, treat me with respect" because he seems to be pretty recently out of high school. I don't blame Shan for acting that way toward JD, it gets results.

I suspect she booted Brad over JD because she knew she couldn't control Brad as easily as she could JD.

I am fine with how Shan is playing. She clearly has social skills because the only one on the green tribe not kissing up to her is the one womans name who I cannot remember even though she seems pretty cool.

[Melina22]

55 minutes ago, KeithJ said:

Didn't he say something like he couldn't use the steal a vote because he didn't have a vote?

I'm pretty sure that's the case, not because I'm so smart but because they said this exact thing on RHAP (where even Rob and Stephen can't keep track or understand all the advantages, which made me feel 40% less dumb.) 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

11 hours ago, millennium said:

I'm not embarrassed to say I couldn't understand what was going on at that midnight meeting.   Steal a vote?  Tarp?  Everybody gets tarp?  Two people steal a vote?  Or not?  Only Brad gets it?   What?   Who cares.   I was too tired after working all day to try to figure it out.  

This.  This how I feel about this whole season so far.  I used to eagerly anticipate Survivor each week and now I just don't care.  

I feel like maybe Probst is trying to New Coke us by changing a formula that didn't need tampering.  He's going to come out at the Reunion talking about the hatred he got from viewers about this new, weird season and then he'll announce that they're going to return to the original Borneo format for next season:  Vintage Survivor.

[Chicago Redshirt]

4 hours ago, Haleth said:

Poor Shan, talking about how her parents made her choose one over the other.  Good God, what parent does that to a child???

I would imagine most divorcing couples effectively do. I mean, there are basically two options: dictating for the child that they will be living with one parent, or asking the child to make/influence the choice. I'm not sure if one is inherently better than the other.

[watch2much]

Tiffany was so annoying last night.  how she is still there is beyond me.

I hate the whole immunity idol concept this year.  I think it inhibits game play.  not allowing them to vote until all three tribes find one?  as we saw last night, these are not the most observant people to play survivor.  either give them an idol or not, but not this 1/3 idol.

[jsm1125]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

JD was an idiot and had his paper with the advantage sticking out of his underwear so everyone could see it. the guy has cargo shorts with massive pockets and he stuck the paper in his undies so that it could be seen above the button on his shorts.

Or JD wanted everyone to know he had found an advantage because he wanted people to know he was a gamer.

I am leaning towards idiot.

Shan can treat JD like he is one of her kids because he is willing to allow it. That is how he is used to responding to authority figures, meekly. to be fair, he is young enough that he might not be comfortable enough saying "I am an adult, treat me with respect" because he seems to be pretty recently out of high school. I don't blame Shan for acting that way toward JD, it gets results.

I suspect she booted Brad over JD because she knew she couldn't control Brad as easily as she could JD.

I am fine with how Shan is playing. She clearly has social skills because the only one on the green tribe not kissing up to her is the one womans name who I cannot remember even though she seems pretty cool.

Genie is the other woman’s name.

This is such a good position for Shan. She has Genie and Ricard distrustful of each other and JD in her back pocket .

[LadyChatts]

2 hours ago, KeithJ said:

Didn't he say something like he couldn't use the steal a vote because he didn't have a vote?

I still want them to do an old-school season but not tell the players.  No idols, no advantages but still have Jeff say at every tribal council "if anyone has a hidden immunity idol or an advantage, now is the time."

Yeah, because he lost his vote he couldn’t use the steal a vote.  That’s why I say they would have come in handy.  Although Brad seemed blindsided so it’s possible even if he did have a vote, he still would have left with an idol in his pocket and the steal a vote unused.  

I don’t necessarily mind idols and advantages,  but there are just way too many this year already.  And while I appreciate putting a twist on them (like Xander losing his vote until the other tribes find their clue or the merge happens), the rules seem complicated.  I also don’t like that they can talk about what decision each other is going to make in regards to what Brad/Tiffany/Sydney did last night.

[BusyOctober]

All of these advantages and their complex “if-then” logic are making me think the Survivor planning dpt used Ben Wyatt’s “Cones of Dunshire” game as inspiration.  How did they think adding MORE advantages/idols/ hints with EXTRA intricate dependencies was what the Survivor fans have been clamoring for this year? 

It’s still early in the game I guess, but I have no favorite team or player yet.  Plenty of “who is that??”, a few “UGH, STFU already” and mostly “meh”  players for me.
 

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

He's going to come out at the Reunion talking about the hatred he got from viewers about this new, weird season and then he'll announce that they're going to return to the original Borneo format for next season:  Vintage Survivor.

I hope he does exactly this.  If they need to plant advantages literally at a player's feet because they need a player from each tribe to find a clue or the advantage won't work, then maybe there's too many advantages.  And unless I wasn't paying attention, are all of the advantages called Beware Advantages?  What happens if a player finds it and then decides they don't want it (because doesn't it say that you can open it but then you have to do what it says)?  Does the player hand it to the cameraperson, who then tosses it at the head of another player?

Brad reminded me of Ric Ocasek from The Cars.  It was bugging me.

I don't think I've heard Heather say one word yet....unless Heather is not who I think she is, I don't know.

Also, Probst - if this is New Edition Survivor, at least bring back the title sequences so we can figure out who these people are.

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, himela said:

2. Why the hell is Shen the one to call the shots???

Purely because of how circumstances developed.  The 5-person Green team had two primary alliance pairs working (Ricardo/JD and Brad/Genie), and Shan had a foot in each camp - close with both Brad and Ricardo - making Shan the swing vote:

• Whichever pair she chose to side with would be the one winning a 3-2 vote split, all things being equal.
• Of course all things weren’t equal, though, considering Brad had lost his vote - and Shan knew this, which presented her with the following conundrum:

1. Vote with Ricardo/JD, and Brad goes home on a 3-1 vote.
2. Vote with Brad/Genie, and the result is a 2-2 tie vote - and if that voting pattern repeats on a second vote then everybody EXCEPT Brad and JD draws rocks, and one of either Genie / Ricardo / Shan goes home.

So the actual question before Shan was this: Brad obviously trusted Shan implicitly, which made him a valuable personal asset to Shan - but was Brad valuable enough for Shan to risk drawing rocks to keep him?  And I guess we got Shan’s answer.  😉

 

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Technically, [Xander] is only obligated to say it if someone else says their stupid line to activate his idol. I would not say it again until after I heard the other two phrases now.

Correct - but having already trotted out his butterfly phrase fruitlessly at two consecutive ICs, Xander is going to need some help from whatever Blue team member opens the 3-way idol clue to interject it a third time without sending every other players’ WTF radar pinging into overdrive.  Losing Brad isn’t going to help, either.  If I were Xander, at this point I’d wait until I’d heard BOTH other phrases from the other teams before even attempting a threepeat.
Shouldn’t be too difficult, though, for a Blue recipient to throw out something like, “…and everything here is so CRAZY, I’m as confused as a goat on Astroturf!  Like Xander and - Xander, what was that thing you kept saying about butterflies…?”

 

[Haleth]

8 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I don't think I've heard Heather say one word yet....unless Heather is not who I think she is, I don't know.

There’s a Heather?

4 hours ago, laurakaye said:

(literally didn't know there was an Erika)

There’s an Erika?

[Nashville]

18 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

What happens if a player finds it and then decides they don't want it (because doesn't it say that you can open it but then you have to do what it says)?  Does the player hand it to the cameraperson, who then tosses it at the head of another player?

No - if a player finds a Beware but chooses not to open it, then they simply leave it where they found it.

ETA:

Because the strings may make it difficult for some to read, the outside of the Beware says:

”BEWARE ADVANTAGE

If you take it, it’s yours

and you must do what it says.

Otherwise, leave it.”

Edited October 7, 2021 by Nashville

[seacliffsal]

What if NOBODY on a tribe is willing to open an advantage after hearing about the potential consequences?  I would love to see Jeff scrambling if nobody played the advantages.

[Guest]

Just now, Nashville said:

Correct - but having already trotted out his butterfly phrase fruitlessly at two consecutive ICs, Xander is going to need some help from whatever Blue team member opens the 3-way idol clue to interject it a third time without sending every other players’ WTF radar pinging into overdrive.  Losing Brad isn’t going to help, either.  If I were Xander, at this point I’d wait until I’d heard BOTH other phrases from the other teams before even attempting a threepeat.
Shouldn’t be too difficult, though, for a Blue recipient to throw out something like, “…and everything here is so CRAZY, I’m as confused as a goat on Astroturf!  Like Xander and - Xander, what was that thing you kept saying about butterflies…?”

This is what I was thinking...that they could help each other out via callbacks, so Xander (or whoever) has a reason to say it again. But yeah, once he sees that Brad is gone, Xander should absolutely sit on his butterflies and wait for someone else to take the lead.

I did enjoy Xander and Brad bonding over the phrases while they were waiting to go at the challenge, and Brad acknowledging that he said it so badly. Don't worry, Brad. It's a dumb thing to say, however it comes out of one's mouth. You're forgiven.

I kind of like Sydney and her slightly sardonic delivery, and appreciated her sizing up of and reaction to Tiffany. But the way the show is depicting her attitude regarding Naseer is hella inconsistent. Last week it was "we were going to use him for his knowledge and then get rid of him, but now I kinda like the guy!" and this week it's "we were going to keep him because we needed him for his knowledge, but now I can't stand the guy!" or words to that effect. Something's missing there, and I blame the editors.

[Lamima]

2 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

JD did and he got scolded for it lol.

Though to be fair he did make the mistake of not hiding it well enough in his pants.

Which now I’m wondering why in the world would he just carry it around in his pants?

I think he wanted it to be seen. He wanted to tell them but, as a fan of the show, he knew that we fans scream when they spill the beans.

[Chicago Redshirt]

8 minutes ago, Haleth said:

There’s a Heather?

There’s an Erika?

I had to go to the cast page to confirm. I think I first noticed Erika in this episode and thought to myself "who's this cutie?" Heather I literally don't remember seeing or hearing from at all. A new definition of FUTR!

[Melina22]

36 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

All of these advantages and their complex “if-then” logic are making me think the Survivor planning dpt used Ben Wyatt’s “Cones of Dunshire” game as inspiration

This is my favourite explanation so far! 😁

[Hera]

I'm excited because we'll get a comparison of how the game plays out for one person (Shan) who got rid of an ally with a potential advantage vs someone (Evvie/Liana) who didn't.

Brad had nothing to lose when it comes to that tarp/steal a vote advantage since his vote was already gone thanks to having found the idol (although I suppose there was a chance someone on the blue tribe might have found theirs in time). I'm a little sad he's gone, but on the other hand, now someone else is going to have to say the weird broccoli/tree line. And since Brad didn't say it right, whoever finds it doesn't have the option of passing it off as quoting Brad.

I'm not sure how Tiffany thought she had built trust on two tribes by choosing the tarp. All she and Sydney know is that they didn't lose their votes, but didn't get a tarp, so at least one person got the steal a vote advantage. Based on what we were shown, Sydney would have every reason to believe that both Tiffany and Brad went for the steal a vote advantage. If they both end up on the same tribe (either because of a merge or a swap) I'm curious if Sydney will believe Tiffany when they compare notes and Tiffany tells her the truth about her decision.

14 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I have been trying to figure out if [Tiffany] is potentially the GOAT of being a Survivor Goat.

I think that award belongs to Special Agent Phillip Sheppard forever. He alienated absolutely everyone, but voted as he was told every time. The vote he got at Final Tribal Council was essentially a protest vote against Boston Rob. If Tiffany makes enough stupid decisions, her allies might decide she's too big of a liability to keep around.

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I don’t necessarily mind idols and advantages,  but there are just way too many this year already.  And while I appreciate putting a twist on them (like Xander losing his vote until the other tribes find their clue or the merge happens), the rules seem complicated.

This is more or less where I fall as well. In addition to thinking there are too many opportunities for advantages, I also think the way they're getting distributed through variations on the prisoner's dilemma is getting a little stale. But I do like the innovation that there's a potential short-term downside to taking the advantages, and I do like that hidden immunity idols aren't immediately active. I could live without the specific way they're activated this season, but I do like that it's no longer as simple as finding one. I also wonder if the need for activation is all there is to the three-part hidden immunity idol, or if it's going to turn out that any two or all three of the pieces can be combined to make a "super idol", like they did in Kaôh Rōng.

[DEL901]

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I would imagine most divorcing couples effectively do. I mean, there are basically two options: dictating for the child that they will be living with one parent, or asking the child to make/influence the choice. I'm not sure if one is inherently better than the other.

But they don’t usually ask the 5 year old child to choose one or the other. And then make her feel guilty about her choice.   Don’t they mostly work out shared custody?   That said, I think she’s playing pretty hard…she needs to listen more. 
 

eta. Regarding butterflies and broccoli, I thought the instructions were that the finder has to say the sentence in EVERY challenge until the other two phrases are said back and then Wonder Triplet powers are activated.  I wonder if there is a consequence to not saying the words every time. 

Edited October 7, 2021 by DEL901

[iMonrey]

I thought voting out Brad was the right call, strategically. As I said last week, you vote out the person with the advantages while you have the chance. That's how you do it, Yase Tribe.

I don't get why Shan felt entitled to know what advantages JD had. She herself proved it was best to keep that info secret because she voted out Brad, who was open with her about his advantages. 

I don't think JD is long for this game, though. He's a terrible liar and a terrible player.

Quote

Technically, he is only obligated to say it if someone else says their stupid line to activate his idol. I would not say it again until after I heard the other two phrases now.

I don't think he can wait. As soon as Brad said his secret phrase, Jeff pivoted right to Xander and asked him what he thought about that. 

What I want to know is what happens now that Brad is gone. Do Sydney and Tiffany still get their tarps? Is the 3-way idol dead now or do they rebury it?

Also, what would have happened if one of the teams either didn't find this latest Beware Advantage or found it and none of them wanted to use it? Would the other two players still have gotten on the boat and gone to the island for nothing?

Quote

 He's going to come out at the Reunion talking about the hatred he got from viewers about this new, weird season and then he'll announce that they're going to return to the original Borneo format for next season:  Vintage Survivor.

Probst? Admit he made a mistake? Nope, not gonna happen. Ever. Just the opposite. He's going to talk up how exciting and challenging this season was.

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

But they don’t usually ask the 5 year old child to choose one or the other. And then make her feel guilty about her choice.   Don’t they mostly work out shared custody?   That said, I think she’s playing pretty hard…she needs to listen more. 

Again, I would imagine that it's pretty binary: either parents tell the child "We're divorcing and you're living with mommy/daddy but you'll get to see daddy/mommy each week/month." or they say to the child "We're divorcing. You'll still see both of us but do you want to live mostly with mommy or daddy?"

It's unclear if Shan's parents did anything to make Shan feel guilty about the choice other than her dad crying after she made it. I'd imagine it would be hard for a kid of any age to not feel guilty about making that choice, as well as the overall divorce.

[Guest]

Just now, iMonrey said:

What I want to know is what happens now that Brad is gone. Do Sydney and Tiffany still get their tarps? Is the 3-way idol dead now or do they rebury it?

Also, what would have happened if one of the teams either didn't find this latest Beware Advantage or found it and none of them wanted to use it? Would the other two players still have gotten on the boat and gone to the island for nothing?

I doubt the 3-way idol is dead. I'm sure they'll hide the green tribe's clue again for someone else to find.

Brad, Sydney, and Tiffany's "prisoner's dilemma" situation was already resolved before Brad was voted out. Sydney and Tiffany were never going to get tarps, because Brad chose the steal-a-vote option which cancelled out their tarp choice. We saw both women go to the tree mailbox the next morning and find nothing (to neither's surprise). So that was all a done deal and Brad's elimination changed nothing.

The last question is an interesting one. They might still have gone through with it if people from two tribes showed up, but if only one showed up, I guess they'd just say "Sorry, no one else is here. Go home."

Edited October 7, 2021 by tracyscott76

[Chicago Redshirt]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I don't think JD is long for this game, though. He's a terrible liar and a terrible player.

...

What I want to know is what happens now that Brad is gone. Do Sydney and Tiffany still get their tarps? Is the 3-way idol dead now or do they rebury it?

Also, what would have happened if one of the teams either didn't find this latest Beware Advantage or found it and none of them wanted to use it? Would the other two players still have gotten on the boat and gone to the island for nothing?

JD is a likeable guy, though, and that could take him a bit. And to be a little cynical, the fact that he keeps on the "Survivor saved my life" talking points gives the producers incentive to keep him around.

Sydney and Tiffany don't get tarps, period. Brad chose steal a vote, meaning anyone who chose tarp was SOL. They learned this at tree mail the next day. 

My assumption is that they will rebury the 3way idol and hope that it and the blue one get found.

It seems unlikely that the Beware Advantage wouldn't be found since they did everything short of throwing it at a player so that it would be seen. Same with no one being willing to open it. Especially since there hasn't been a "Beware Advantage" before, no one is going to try to evaluate whether it's worth it and they will have tunnel vision for the Advantage part. I would imagine that if one or more of the people somehow didn't make it to the boat, the decision would have been just among the one or two who did. 

[Auntie Anxiety]

“This advantage will only work if there is a gibbous moon, the day of the week has a T in it and the breeze is at a steady 3 mph. At that point, hop around on one leg and use the words ST. VITUS DANCE in a sentence.”

Edited October 7, 2021 by Auntie Anxiety

[iMonrey]

Quote

Brad, Sydney, and Tiffany's "prisoner's dilemma" situation was already resolved before Brad was voted out. Sydney and Tiffany were never going to get tarps, because Brad chose the steal-a-vote option which cancelled out their tarp choice. We saw both women go to the tree mailbox the next morning and find nothing (to neither's surprise).

Thanks, I must have missed that. So they only got tarps if everyone opted for tarps? Did they all get steal a vote if everyone opted for steal a vote? Or did they only get steal a vote if someone opted for tarps and got nothing? Seems to me the logical choice then is to all vote for tarps so everyone gets something.  It's too complicated.

Quote

But they don’t usually ask the 5 year old child to choose one or the other. And then make her feel guilty about her choice.   Don’t they mostly work out shared custody?  

My father's parents divorced when he was little. His father was granted sole custody of the kids, but the judge took him aside and told him he had to let the children choose, otherwise they might run away. I do think that's a lot to put on a kid, though. It wouldn't surprise me to see a parent use their child as a weapon in a bitter divorce. It kind of sounds like Shan's mom was a real shit.

Edited October 7, 2021 by iMonrey

[candall]

4 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

.... 

I feel like maybe Probst is trying to New Coke us.....

Good one.  I would love it if this season became known as "Survivor:  New Coke."

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Thanks, I must have missed that. So they only got tarps if everyone opted for tarps? Did they all get steal a vote if everyone opted for steal a vote? Or did they only get steal a vote if someone opted for tarps and got nothing? Seems to me the logical choice then is to all vote for tarps so everyone gets something.  It's too complicated.

What?? You missed it? But it's all so straightforward! :P

I believe that if they all voted tarp, they all got tarps, but if they all voted steal a vote, they'd all lose their vote (I think just at the next tribal council they went to???). That's the dilemma. Everyone choosing tarp is the safe and logical choice, but if you want the flashier steal-a-vote reward, you have to count on at least one other person "taking one for the team" and choosing tarp (and therefore getting nothing), or else you're all punished.

It IS too complicated, though. I think it would have been cool to do once, but having it happen multiple times, with different options on the table, muddies the waters. Just like needing phrases to be spoken in public by three different people to activate a three-way idol is a cool idea, but the phrases they chose are bonkers.

This season needed a red-penciling in the worst way.

[violet and green]

Also, I noticed Evvie's bizarre codpiece section in the rainbow shorts this episode. Egads! Talk about eyecatching, don't know how I missed that before. (Probably too bamboozled trying to understand the latest disadvantage found.)

[meep.meep]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Again, I would imagine that it's pretty binary: either parents tell the child "We're divorcing and you're living with mommy/daddy but you'll get to see daddy/mommy each week/month." or they say to the child "We're divorcing. You'll still see both of us but do you want to live mostly with mommy or daddy?"

It's unclear if Shan's parents did anything to make Shan feel guilty about the choice other than her dad crying after she made it. I'd imagine it would be hard for a kid of any age to not feel guilty about making that choice, as well as the overall divorce.

Most divorcing parents bend over backwards and tie themselves up like pretzels to avoid asking a child to make such a decision.  If you are a normal responsible person you work hard to keep the child's life as intact as it possibly can be.  Shan's parents sound like anything but normal responsible people.

I'm not going to watch next season if they don't dial back on the idols and advantages.  Why bother with the game at all?   Let them just search the jungle for objects and show up to vote out random people.

[Chicago Redshirt]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Thanks, I must have missed that. So they only got tarps if everyone opted for tarps? Did they all get steal a vote if everyone opted for steal a vote? Or did they only get steal a vote if someone opted for tarps and got nothing? Seems to me the logical choice then is to all vote for tarps so everyone gets something.  It's too complicated.

Yeah, they all would have gotten tarps if everyone said tarps, but if they all said "steal a vote" they would have all lost their vote.

The possible trouble with all going for tarps is that if one person decides it benefits them enough to have the extra vote, they can betray the others and secretly go steal. I don't think personally that makes sense but somebody could figure getting the steal a vote is enough worth pissing off two players who are not currently tribemates and who may or may not make it to the merge.

I think the smartest play is for one person to publicly say "I will agree to take one for the team and go tarp, so both of you can safely get a steal a vote. In exchange, give me X." Such as: if we all get to the merge, we're allies; you will share info/rewards/etc; some day, and that day may never come, I will call upon you to do a service for me, etc. etc. 

I am particularly interested in prisoner's dilemma style problems (with no particular expertise in them, just like the concept), and even I am feeling like this is getting played out.

[Tippi]

I think something had to be done about the idols as used in past seasons.  I got annoyed when (admittedly very strong) players like Tony and Natalie would say "I really need to find an idol now" and seemed to go out and find one easy peasy.  But...what is going on now is just ridiculous.  The situation Xander is in is quite unfair in my opinion.  He's supposed to say that stupid phrase at every challenge?  No one is going to be suspicious of that?  And he has to lose his vote indefinitely?  

I'm looking forward to the merge and hopefully some variation in the challenges.  The tough physical part, then a puzzle part every time is getting old.  Oh, and if they still do separate tribes after the merge, can Ricard and Tiffany please be on the same tribe?

[LanceM]

18 hours ago, GaT said:

 

Maybe if they would feed these people they would be able to find the damn advantages without them being put under their noses. I don't knw how any of them even understand them (I sure don't), why is everything so complicated this season?

Did anybody else wonder about all the fruit from the reward challenge? If these people haven't even been eating rice, aren't they all going to get massive cramps & diarrhea from eating only fruit?

How did everybody happen to bring all the clothes in the correct color for their tribe?

Brad getting eliminated surprised the hell out of me, I didn't see that coming at all. My DVR keeps cutting off before I can see the exit interview, anyone else have this happening?

The producers let the players know ahead of time what color clothing to bring with them.

[GaT]

1 hour ago, LanceM said:

The producers let the players know ahead of time what color clothing to bring with them.

I can't remember how they got into tribes, was it already decided when they got there?

[millennium]

13 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Thank you for joining me in the cynical boat.  I think his cavalier attitude when he messes up reveals a young guy who has talked his way out of trouble with stories about crystals far too many times.  The Shan's of the world fall right into his plan and feel oh so good about themselves for doing it.  He's already told his story about being a nerd in school, and Survivor being his dream, too many times and I want to tell him to look around, that's probably true of almost everyone there.  Brad said it, "He's over confident and under performing."

He also shares similarities with Mr. Potatohead, assembled as it were from snap-on parts of other players, like Ozzy, whatshisname, and Wu ... "Why do you think I have this hair?" J.D. explained as he threw himself on the mercy of Judge Jeff's court. "Why do you think I wear this necklace?  Why do you think I'm always quoting Wu?"

Relying on the wit and wisdom of Wu doesn't seem like smart gameplay -- wasn't it Wu who insisted on bringing Tony to Tribal when he didn't have to?  And then lost?

That aside, I wonder, where is the real J.D.?   He must be under there somewhere.

Edited October 8, 2021 by millennium
misplaced contraction

[ZeeEnnui]

I need one of those TV murder boards with red string to keep track of all of these new game rules and (dis)advantages that the show keep throwing at us. What focus group (no, Jeff not the reflection looking back at you in the mirror) was like, you know what Survivor needs? An insane new rules and rewards structure that no one understands. Cause that's what the people want. SMDH.

Was I the only one that started laughing when Liana was crying about "playing the game." Dude, it's Survivor, it's a game show on CBS try some perspective on for size. Jeez... You should be crying that you voted out Voce to keep the Queen of Delusions in your tribe. 

All work, and no early morning beach party makes Bradjack Horseman a dull farm boy. I will miss his crazy eyes every week. But loose lips break barn doors, Brad.

Okay who is that Bland Blonde extra #1 on Luvu?!? Every time I see her and her visor I'm surprised because I keep forgetting she exists (is she actually a ghost that only the viewers at home can see?) I don't think she's had a talking head, or even interacted with anyone on her tribe. It's bizarre. I don't even know her name (this is why you don't get rid of the opening credits!) If her name is Karen, I will never stop laughing.

How long do we think some poor camera guy had to wait around to get the perfect pooping bird shot? That'll be a real crowd pleaser for the ten-year high school reunion. "What have you been up too? Waiting for birds to poop."

Keep your clue in your pants, JD! He was right the first time. Don't tell people (especially people with their own Looney Tunes villain soundtrack) you have an advantage. Shut up, Shan!

"It's hard to put a crystal back together." BARF. Please stop with this nonsense. My eyes can only roll back into my head so many times before I sprain them. 

 

 

[deirdra]

At the beginning of the show they had closed captions when some people were talking, but not Sydney.  I couldn't understand half of what she said since she swallows many of her words.

[Blissfool]

 

11 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

 Brad acknowledging that he said it so badly. Don't worry, Brad. It's a dumb thing to say, however it comes out of one's mouth. You're forgiven.

Yet Brad's phrase was the easiest to incorporate into Survivor.  He could have said that he was so hungry out here on the island that the trees were starting to look like overgrown broccoli, his favorite food.

Honestly, the phrase about the goats would have been easy for Brad too, being that he's a farmer.

Butterflies and dead relatives, that's a hard one. 

 

[SVNBob]

1 hour ago, Blissfool said:

 

Yet Brad's phrase was the easiest to incorporate into Survivor.  He could have said that he was so hungry out here on the island that the trees were starting to look like overgrown broccoli, his favorite food.

Honestly, the phrase about the goats would have been easy for Brad too, being that he's a farmer.

Butterflies and dead relatives, that's a hard one.

I think the confused goat is the easiest to work into Survivor...doubly so for this season with all the new twists.

Xander may have got the hardest one, but he's managed to say it twice without too much obvious suspicion..

Oh, and last week, I called it that Ua would have the broccoli phrase and that Luvu will have the goat.

 

[Nashville]

11 hours ago, DEL901 said:

eta. Regarding butterflies and broccoli, I thought the instructions were that the finder has to say the sentence in EVERY challenge until the other two phrases are said back and then Wonder Triplet powers are activated.  I wonder if there is a consequence to not saying the words every time. 

According to the wording on the idol scroll, the player is only required to say their phrase under two sets of circumstances:

1. At the very next Immunity Challenge after they find the idol, in the presence of all other players.
2. In response to another player saying one of the other code phrases.

Once all three code phrases have been said at the same IC, the idols are activated for all three players.

 

[Jobiska]

I just thought about it and checked--AstroTurf is a brand name.  I hope they request compensation for every time the word is used!  Heh.

 

[AncientNewbie]

I went with The Challenge again this week and just caught up on Advantage Island. 

I am really trying, Peachy, to keep liking your new version of the game, but I find I can't care about what people are doing with the twists if I don't know the people. This cast seems to have some interesting people, but half the cast is Purple so far and the other half are just reacting to advantages. 

And yet I'll always watch, because even bad Survivor beats no Survivor. 

[Lamb18]

Gimmick Survivor is Lazy Survivor. It's lazy because it's easier to build stories around gimmicks than around relationship development. There are two types of stories Survivor needs to tell: 1) the overall story of why the winner won - there should be an advancement of that story in each episode, and 2) the story of why each voted out person was voted out. Clever editors can also extend the stories across several episodes of why individuals get voted out.

Gimmick Survivor instead depends on the excitement of finding advantages and how they are used (or not used) to fill the episode time, to the detriment of telling the story of the winner and the losers. It's more challenging to tell the stories of the individuals, their relationships, tribal unity or discord, why there is conflict, etc. But when it's done well - as Survivor has done in the past - it makes the show outstanding instead of simply amusing.

[DEL901]

I’m wondering what advantagepalooza means to season 42 which was filmed right after…maybe a full back to basics season for contrast?