S44.E05: The Third Turd

[Whimsy]

Quote

Tribes must weave their way through the reward challenge to earn power in the game. Also, one person from each tribe is chosen to go on a journey, but there’s a catch.

Original airdate 3/29/23

[LadyChatts]

It seemed like they were cutting it close for a TC, even if it was a boring one, so I wondered what was up.  I can’t feel too sorry for Matt, though I can be sad that he’s clearly a fan and had to go out this way (even if it was his own fault).  Interesting way to send him off though, they left it as a cliffhanger after the RC.  
 

Brandon and Danny’s bro-down was both nauseating, yet comical (mostly because of Carolyn giving her two cents on the matter).  I love Carolyn and really hope she wins this season.  She’s playing the game and clearly being underestimated, yet she’s not being obnoxious about it (like Carson “I’m a strategic mastermind and no one knows it” or Jamie “I’m the MVP of the game because I have more information than anyone!”). 

[hendersonrocks]

I hope Brandon and Danny can watch this episode and sit with what absolute assholes they were to Carolyn, and hopefully have a modicum more respect for the women in their lives than what they showed her. Like I said in the live chat: what dicks.

Speaking of Carolyn: I hope she keeps raising hell. And I see that Minnesota necklace, girl!

Matthew seemed like a talented enough player whose adrenaline and ego got the best of him. I appreciated the show made it clear enough that it was HIS decision to leave, however, and not medical's.

[mojoween]

It’s nice to see that Matthew has a sense of perspective about the whole thing, since it was his own damn fault.

Note to future Survivors - no climbing!

[vb68]

It was kind of an anti-climatic ending.  "Oh by the way, yeah he (Matt) left." 

Carolyn is still very much the star of the season. With her edit from the trek, she absolutely has to win. It kinda reminds me of Maryanne times 10.

I think Josh got very, very lucky.

Bearded Matt's Idol is back in play. 

Edited March 30, 2023 by vb68

[Haleth]

I’ll be very disappointed if Carolyn doesn’t win. Her narrative and facial expressions make this a more entertaining season than we’ve had for a while. 

[willco]

Fairly obvious when it got to be 8:45 and they weren't heading to tribal that Matthew was leaving. Too bad for him, but I'd feel a lot more sympathy if he had hurt himself in a challenge or something. He really had no business climbing on that wicked looking rock, he's lucky he wasn't hurt really badly, imagine if that had torn into his liver or kidney ? Hopefully, he's learned a lesson.

 

Carolyn is getting an amazing amount of screen time , are they setting her up as the winner, or are they just trying to bluff ? Guess we'll find out.

[Tango64]

Hate that episode name. 

[awaken]

8 minutes ago, Tango64 said:

Hate that episode name. 

Entirely too much poop talk from Carolyn. 

[Skooma]

As soon as they cut away from the Matt decision scene and ended it as a "cliffhanger" (not) it was a given he decided to leave.  The fake-out was to make viewers think that the rest of the episode would lead up to the usual tribal council which obviously wasn't going to happen. 

But hey they had an half hour of air time to fill.  And fill it they did with The Carolyn Show which is the main reason to watch this season.  Imagine how dull this season would be without her.

[North of Eden]

Okay, first up...Josh has no stomach? How is that even possible?

Five minutes in, you could see Matt talking himself into self-eviction. Since it cost him his dream, the one thing I would like to know was what was the point of climbing to the top of the barren, rocky knoll....it's not like there was going to be food up there.

If I'm wrong, I stand corrected but haven't there been many times that a player got med vacked out and tribal was still held? Tin foil hat tells me production didn't want to take a chance of losing their breakout character Carolyn with a one-in-three shot of that happening, so it was decided to cancel the tribal. (For the record, I don't want to see her go so I'm fine with that...she's got a wonky appeal)

This was a bad episode....my mind was actually wandering when we were getting all the character-building stuff with Carson, and then the rest of the show was literally Yam, Yam Palooza, and a little Yam Yam goes a long way. At least we got a glimpse closer to what the real man in when he isn't playing a cartoon character to the camera.

Can't help it but I'm rooting for those crazy kids Frannie and Matt to be the next great reality post-show romance.

Some people didn't even get speaking parts tonight like the African American girl whose name I forget, and for a moment I thought Carson was a player I hadn't seen before when he didn't have his glasses on....seemed like a different person, so maybe the whole Clark Kent/Superman thing isn't as preposterous after all.

Edited to add: That was poor etiquette on Yam Yam's part stealing Jeff's thunder by flat out saying that Probst was there to say Matt left the game. Many times in my life I've known the answer to something but I let the person say it and act surprised so as not to deflate them...but Yam Yam lacks basic awareness because as we know...he is the center of the universe and the rest of us just revolve around him.

Edited March 30, 2023 by North of Eden

[choclatechip45]

I really didn't like this episode felt very slow. 

[vb68]

29 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

If I'm wrong, I stand corrected but haven't there been many times that a player got med vacked out and tribal was still held?

You mean like the season premiere a couple of weeks ago?😄

[GenerationX]

Josh's backstory makes me want to root for him; Josh's gameplay makes me want to root against him.

Playing the game is pretty much an afterthought for Matt and Frannie at this point.

[TVFan1]

I was wishing there was going to be a tribal council because it was obvious that Josh was going. Yam Yam and Carolyn knew that Josh had a fake idol, so of course, he was the target. 

Since the time was getting short, I knew that bearded Matt was going to decide to take himself out of the game. It's his own fault. He climbed the rocks which was dangerous to begin with, he's lucky his shoulder was the injury and not broken bones or worse.

Clearly in the minority, but I still don't care for the showmance. Frannie and Matt act like they are still in junior high gushing about their crush.  Enough.

[LadyChatts]

56 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Okay, first up...Josh has no stomach? How is that even possible?

Five minutes in, you could see Matt talking himself into self-eviction. Since it cost him his dream, the one thing I would like to know was what was the point of climbing to the top of the barren, rocky knoll....it's not like there was going to be food up there.

If I'm wrong, I stand corrected but haven't there been many times that a player got med vacked out and tribal was still held? Tin foil hat tells me production didn't want to take a chance of losing their breakout character Carolyn with a one-in-three shot of that happening, so it was decided to cancel the tribal. (For the record, I don't want to see her go so I'm fine with that...she's got a wonky appeal)

This was a bad episode....my mind was actually wandering when we were getting all the character-building stuff with Carson, and then the rest of the show was literally Yam, Yam Palooza, and a little Yam Yam goes a long way. At least we got a glimpse closer to what the real man in when he isn't playing a cartoon character to the camera.

Can't help it but I'm rooting for those crazy kids Frannie and Matt to be the next great reality post-show romance.

Some people didn't even get speaking parts tonight like the African American girl whose name I forget, and for a moment I thought Carson was a player I hadn't seen before when he didn't have his glasses on....seemed like a different person, so maybe the whole Clark Kent/Superman thing isn't as preposterous after all.

Edited to add: That was poor etiquette on Yam Yam's part stealing Jeff's thunder by flat out saying that Probst was there to say Matt left the game. Many times in my life I've known the answer to something but I let the person say it and act surprised so as not to deflate them...but Yam Yam lacks basic awareness because as we know...he is the center of the universe and the rest of us just revolve around him.

I'm sure Matt will tell all tomorrow-but I really hope he has a good reason for climbing those rocks, and not "I just wanted to take this whole experience in and see things from the highest point possible."  I wouldn't be surprised if he does say that he was looking for food, though.  I also wonder if they determined his shoulder injury was more serious because it hadn't been properly treated.  I'm also not so sure Carolyn would have gone.  Josh got caught with the fake idol, and it was actually Carolyn who made him reveal it (Yam Yam had only seen the paper).  Once they saw the idol, and the way it fell apart, plus the paper which Carolyn had already seen, he was done.  I don't think they trusted him to begin with, and with what went on at the journey, I think he was done for.

Someone in the episode thread mentioned that Lauren and Brandon were virtually ignored this episode, while they focused on other things that seemed trivial-and I had to actually go look up who Lauren and Brandon were because I forgot they exisited (hey, there's also a Heidi this season too!)  Of course had I waited a few more minutes, I would have seen Lauren's big line after the challenge when she said the name of the Soka member her tribe decided would go on the journey.  And of course Brandon went, and after his bro down with Danny, I wish he had stayed invisible a while longer.  But in all seriousness, did we need another meditating session over at Soka, followed by more googly eyes from Matthew and Frannie?  And hey, I'm not saying their romance isn't genuine, but something about the way it's edited feels kind of shoe horned in.  I mean, Matthew seems more head over heels for Frannie, while Frannie sort of seems more cautious (maybe because her head is still sort of in the game).  I just feel like Survivor hasn't had a serious showmance in a long time, and is getting lapped by Big Brother when it comes to the staying power of romances. 

And in terms of Yam Yam stealing Jeff's thunder, I didn't really look at it like that, though it was funny he immediately thought of that scenario before Jeff could say it.  I don't know if anyone else  has picked up on it in challenges, but sometimes Yam Yam is talking in 3rd person and calling the play by play on his own performance.  So I guess I'm not surprised he'd beat Jeff to the punch here.

Edited March 30, 2023 by LadyChatts

[Lady Calypso]

Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure if they were gonna have Matthew self evict or have medical pull him from the game, and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen this episode or next, but they made it clear early on that he wouldn't be able to continue. They just dragged out the result until the end. 

It WAS his own fault but I do feel for him. He knew it was on him, he knew he screwed his own game up by his stupid mistake on day 1/2, and he seemed to be enjoying the game. I wasn't a huge fan of him, but I thought he might have had some potential to go far. He didn't have a great strategic sense, but he had some real potential. 

I felt so bad for Carolyn on the journey. Brandon and Danny were showing their true colours there. They were absolutely ignoring Carolyn (thanks to the show not cutting the footage much and we actually see several instances of Danny staring at Brandon without looking over at Carolyn, and of course Brandon's own comments). Carolyn calling it out is what made the entire segment more tolerable and slightly less frustrating to watch. But man oh man, I started out a huge Danny fan and these last two episodes made me root for his demise. 

I really like Carolyn, but I feel like they're telegraphing the idea that nobody is taking her seriously, everyone is underestimating her, and if she gets to the end, her FTC performance has to be better than Maryanne's was. 

At this rate, she's the only one I'm rooting for. Everyone else is either up their own ass, praising their shitty gameplay, or they're just....boring. 

This episode was fine. I DID say I wanted more character building and, technically, that's what we got. There was less advantage talk (thank god) and more strategy with a shorter challenge segment (again, thanks) but a weirdly anti-climatic ending. So, this episode was a step in a direction I like, but not quite there yet. 

[LadyChatts]

30 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

Yeah, I wasn't entirely sure if they were gonna have Matthew self evict or have medical pull him from the game, and I wasn't sure if it was going to happen this episode or next, but they made it clear early on that he wouldn't be able to continue. They just dragged out the result until the end. 

I felt so bad for Carolyn on the journey. Brandon and Danny were showing their true colours there. They were absolutely ignoring Carolyn (thanks to the show not cutting the footage much and we actually see several instances of Danny staring at Brandon without looking over at Carolyn, and of course Brandon's own comments). Carolyn calling it out is what made the entire segment more tolerable and slightly less frustrating to watch. But man oh man, I started out a huge Danny fan and these last two episodes made me root for his demise. 

I really like Carolyn, but I feel like they're telegraphing the idea that nobody is taking her seriously, everyone is underestimating her, and if she gets to the end, her FTC performance has to be better than Maryanne's was. 

I felt like they were building up to a Matt medevac next episode.  I saw a situation where he tried competing in a challenge, but was in too much pain to continue.  I think if it hadn't been for the journey they would have padded the episode more with tribe footage.  It really made the strategizing at Tika seem pointless, although Josh's fake idol got discovered, and Carolyn was able to throw him under the bus by way of Danny.  

In regards to Carolyn, this is why I'm worried she won't stand a chance in the end if she makes it.  Both Helen and Sarah said in exit interviews they didn't think Carolyn had the idol because they expected her to act a certain way if she found it, Yam Yam just expected her to fall into line and do what he tells her to when it comes to voting, and Brandon pretty much dismissed her as being a non-factor going forward.  I wonder what the cast thinks watching the season back so far and seeing how well Carolyn was doing in playing the game.  I also started out as a Danny fan, and at first I thought he was trying to play up some character (I saw people comparing him to trying to be another Tony, which I think is accurate).  But after tonight I'm off the bandwagon.  Carolyn seemed excited to be there with them.  I felt bad for her that they just ignored her.

I really didn't understand Jamie tonight.  Where did that sense of confidence come from?  She's really getting played.   

[DeleteMe]

Josh is a DPM, Doctor of Podiatry Medicine, a foot doctor. Calling himself a physician is laughable, like a dentist, DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, calling themself a physician. I respect that he went through many hardships and beat the odds, but he should be proud to be a podiatrist and not try to pass himself off as something he's not.

[30 Helens]

Loved Josh’s pouty face while Yam-Yam and Carolyn made fun of his fake idol. He was so proud of his treemail beads, too.

Everyone really is underestimating Carolyn. I can’t totally blame them; I did the same thing at first. And they don’t have the benefit of her confessionals like we do. But that’s ok— underestimated + savvy can be a winning combination.

It’s definitely possible to live without a stomach. Food just passes directly to the intestines, and is broken down there instead of the stomach. What really caught my attention was the mention of immunosuppressants— certainly he wouldn’t be cleared for the game if he’s still on them?  Being in this game without a fully functioning immune system sounds very dangerous to me.

I felt bad for Matt. Hell, we’ve all done dumbass things. But they don’t usually cost us our dreams. And was it just me, or did Matt look like he’d aged about 20 years? I guess extreme pain can really do a number on you.

 

[Cotypubby]

Wow Danny and Brandon are dicks. It really was disgusting how blatantly they were ignoring Carolyn because she’s a just a woman and why does she matter?

“People like us never make it to the end. Strong athletic types… Oh, right Carolyn you’re also here. Well not you. You’re weak and pathetic.”

(paraphrased)

And sorry but I really don’t have any sympathy for Matthew. He didn’t injure himself playing the game (Jeff!), he was being a dumbass showing off for the cameras. He wasn’t in a challenge, or climbing a tree looking for coconuts, or building something. There was absolutely nothing on top of the rocks, I don’t even know how he planned to get down had he made it up there. It was just a rocky point.

[30 Helens]

14 minutes ago, DeleteMe said:

Josh is a DPM, Doctor of Podiatry Medicine, a foot doctor. Calling himself a physician is laughable, like a dentist, DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, calling themself a physician. I respect that he went through many hardships and beat the odds, but he should be proud to be a podiatrist and not try to pass himself off as something he's not.

He is also a surgeon. If anything, I think he was downplaying his credentials. (According to the AACPM- national podiatry association- podiatrists are also known as podiatric physicians, so his comment is not without precedent.)

[Fake Jan Brady]

2 hours ago, DeleteMe said:

Josh is a DPM, Doctor of Podiatry Medicine, a foot doctor. Calling himself a physician is laughable, like a dentist, DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, calling themself a physician. I respect that he went through many hardships and beat the odds, but he should be proud to be a podiatrist and not try to pass himself off as something he's not.

Like a physical trainer?

[violet and green]

5 hours ago, DeleteMe said:

Josh is a DPM, Doctor of Podiatry Medicine, a foot doctor. Calling himself a physician is laughable, like a dentist, DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, calling themself a physician. I respect that he went through many hardships and beat the odds, but he should be proud to be a podiatrist and not try to pass himself off as something he's not.

His occupation is listed in his bio here (and under his name on the show) as Surgical Podiatrist. He must see some gnarly feet.

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, North of Eden said:

for a moment I thought Carson was a player I hadn't seen before when he didn't have his glasses on....seemed like a different person, so maybe the whole Clark Kent/Superman thing isn't as preposterous after all.

I know!  I was wracking my brain trying to think who he was until he put his glasses on again.  Oh, him.

8 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Josh's backstory makes me want to root for him; Josh's gameplay makes me want to root against him.

Omigosh.  That poor kid went through the wringer.  So glad he's physically well enough to play Survivor.  I had to laugh though at his attempt to pass off his fake idol as real, the one that literally and figuratively fell apart in Yam Yam's hand.  Definitely an "it's a fucking stick" moment.

7 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

there's also a Heidi this season too!

There is? 

 

[MsMalin]

Hey Jeff: Matt did not get his injury playing the game. He got it showing off.

Thanks go out to Brandon and Danny. I was on the fence about how I felt about Carolyn. Thanks to their totally asshole behavior I am now rooting for Carolyn. Were they really that unaware of their behavior???

[Matty]

The moment when Josh pulled out the fake immunity idol he made with tree mail beads and showed it to Yam Yam and Yam Yam knowing instantly it was fake was hilarious. That little giggle in the confessional was hysterical. Yam Yam and Carolyn are still a team. Don't let them fool you. Thank you to the producers that put these two together on the same team. I really like that they are not muscular, athletic "bro" types but are playing with other skills than physical ones. They have smarts and they are amusing to watch. 

[jsm1125]

Something was off about the way they showed Matthew’s medical evacuation. We don’t get to see the moment that he either decides to leave or that production officially pulls him from the game? We don’t get to see his own tribe’s reaction to him leaving the game? 
 

Danny, with how well he’s played on his green tribe, wasn’t smart enough to hide the bromance in front of Carolyn? Didn’t see that one coming  

Edited March 30, 2023 by jsm1125

[peachmangosteen]

Carolyn is a fucking star. She is literally the only person worth rooting for this season. She better win!

[Cheyanne11]

44 minutes ago, Matty said:

The moment when Josh pulled out the fake immunity idol he made with tree mail beads and showed it to Yam Yam and Yam Yam knowing instantly it was fake was hilarious.

That cracked me up--as did Josh trying to convince them it was real when it was so obviously not.

Danny and Brandon proved themselves to be total assholes with the way they were treating Carolyn.  I really hope she outlasts them both.

Jeff, Matthew didn't hurt himself playing the game unless you literally take everything they do from the second they step on that boat as game, which I guess he does. 

[Taeolas]

I suspect even though they were told "No idols, no advantages, just comraderies and a good snack", they still spent a long time searching that gazebo for idols and advantages; it just wasn't shown to us. (Like someone else mentioned a few threads back, how one survivor spent a long time at the Tribal Council vote searching the voting booth for possible idols/advantages).

 

As for Carolyn's chances in the final; I'd say she has some pretty good chances so far. Just getting to the final with her 'crazy' persona mostly intact will probably impress a lot of people, and once the merge happens and the jury starts to fill, she'll be exposed to the rest of the contestants so she can play them. The people already voted out are irrelevant, but can probably be used to show how she played the early game of course. So it will probably ultimately come down to how she presents her game to the jury in the end. 

[dancingdreamer]

I felt sorry for Matthew,  he had wanted to play for a long time, even building  puzzles in his backyard.  At least he admitted  it was stupid to climb that rock.

Carolyn  is winning me over, I hope she teams up with yam yam when they merge, he seems to understand  her, and I like his humor.  Poor Josh , when he showed yam yam his fake idol, it fell apart, and I love the laughter,  there's never enough  of that for me.

[cdnalor]

Brandon and Danny looked like total dicks ignoring Carolyn like that, but let's not forget Carolyn was going to tribal council in a group of three.  They probably thought she was a goner, so no point in making plans with her.  Still, it did look like a ridiculous bro-down with the guys.

 

 

 

[lilysmom]

9 hours ago, DeleteMe said:

Josh is a DPM, Doctor of Podiatry Medicine, a foot doctor. Calling himself a physician is laughable, like a dentist, DMD, Doctor of Dental Medicine, calling themself a physician. I respect that he went through many hardships and beat the odds, but he should be proud to be a podiatrist and not try to pass himself off as something he's not.

A "physician" is defined as "a person who is qualified to practice medicine., especially one who specializes in diagnosis and medical treatment." How does Josh not fit that description? 

Why would Josh calling himself a physician be "laughable?"

Sorry, I didn't see the other responses before I posted!

Edited March 30, 2023 by lilysmom

[AncientNewbie]

This was the Yam Yam and Carolyn show. Everything that happened revolved around their game. And I really didn't mind...I have widely different feelings on them as players/characters but it makes for interesting tv. 

I suspect we'll be more on Bearded Matt next week, as his cliffhanger this week was used to tell the story of the other tribe. Or, editing monkeys that they employ, maybe we won't...I want to give them credit for some non-linear storytelling, but they may just have forgot to show those other people. 

Like someone said above, Josh's story makes me want to root for him and his gameplay has me wishing him well at Ponderosa and in life. 

Overall, solid ep. Not amazing but progressing some stories. 

[Lady Calypso]

36 minutes ago, cdnalor said:

Brandon and Danny looked like total dicks ignoring Carolyn like that, but let's not forget Carolyn was going to tribal council in a group of three.  They probably thought she was a goner, so no point in making plans with her.  Still, it did look like a ridiculous bro-down with the guys.

I agree that's what they thought, but it's also why they were so very wrong. Neither Brandon nor Danny know the dynamics on Tika. Carolyn is telling them that she's kind of on the outs, but they don't know that for sure. They don't know if she has an idol or not (all three are the ones who opened the birdcage and have/had the idols, which is ironic), so they can't treat her as someone who's already gone.

Because, lo and behold, she's staying, she passed off information to Josh and Yam Yam that they could have used against them, and she's able to still utilize that information the longer she sticks around.

So no, they shouldn't have assumed Carolyn was gone. That could be their demise, and it'll be 100% on them if that happens. 

And it was a bro-down, for sure. Note that they brought up working with Josh (aka, the other person on Tika that could be going) and talking about strength in challenges, showing that they view tribe strength in a very specific view. I guess, for me, it was very easy to read between the lines with these two bros and what they were saying didn't disprove my feelings. Brandon/Danny will likely pair with the stronger men if they make it to merge and dismiss everyone else. We've seen hints of this with who both have aligned with on their own tribes, at least according to the edit (Danny paired off with Josh initially, Brandon paired with Matthew). Which is fine, they can pair off with whoever they want, but it does show that they both prefer to pair off with stronger players.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Clearly in the minority, but I still don't care for the showmance. Frannie and Matt act like they are still in junior high gushing about their crush.  Enough.

I thought Carson and Kane nerding out over Lord of the Rings and Jedi was even more absurd and childish. And I say that as someone who's kind of Sci Fi nerd myself. I just don't run up to other nerds and go "When are we going to talk about the Jedi??!!" The conversation seemed kind of forced, perhaps prompted.

Quote

Carolyn is getting an amazing amount of screen time , are they setting her up as the winner, or are they just trying to bluff ? Guess we'll find out.

I think it would be strange if Carolyn won this season. Think back, the season premier opened with a confessional by . . . Carolyn. Acting all goofy and not understanding how to do a confessional. It was so random and odd for a season to open on one particular player like that. If the show is willing to blatantly telegraph the winner in the opening moment of the season premier, it's going to be a real head scratcher why.

[HurricaneVal]

Not only do we have the nerdy showmance but we also now have the nerdy bromance.  I mean, I'm a nerd, but that all was a little much.

I had to laugh at the Brandon/Danny/Carolyn retreat when Brandon--arguably the largest, strongest, and most alpha male in the game--had to play dominance games at the table.  He wasn't sitting like Carolyn and Danny, he was up on his knees so he was taller than everyone there.  That made it look to me like he is insecure if he has to play games like that.

I take back what I said about the editors disliking Carolyn.  Or at least the editors for the retreat scene like Carolyn, because the way that was edited made Carolyn seem to be the most self-aware and with-it person there, while making Brandon and Danny look like obnoxious, oblivious, idiots.  Which is all probably true, but it was edited in a fun way for comedic effect. 

Carolyn is growing on me.  I think general weariness is slowing down the s****** weirdness she was exhibiting early on, so now she's mainly a big expressive personality unafraid to say things out loud.  I really do hope that she and Yam Yam are holding a tight and secret alliance. 

The whole stealth bearded Matt medivac is weird.  Either something went down that got ugly, or they're saving it up for a big Very Special Farewell Tribute to Bearded Matt episode next week. 

[tvfanatic13]

Unlike week 1, where there was both a medieval and a tribal, they had no choice but to cancel tribal this week because they need a certain number of players next week when they "play to make the merge". At least that is my take on it. 

Count me in on those who like Frannie and Matt, had no idea who Carson was without his glasses, still have no idea who this alleged Heidi is and blame Bearded Matt for his own demise in the show. 

And, sorry, every time Jeff says "come on in" I shout GUYS at my TV. And I am a woman. LOL

[fishcakes]

Has there ever been a season where so many mediocre players considered themselves the mastermind?

[Lantern7]

Once again, the series seems to star just Carolyn, and anyone else is an afterthought. She’s probably a nice person in real life, but her craziness has been tugging this season along. And you can’t blame her nuttiness merely from being in Tika, a tribe that just can’t win.

I’m also wondering if Yam Yam and Josh had an advantage having their lab . . . labri . . . their maze in the shade, or if they were set up to fail. Their loss and subsequent maneuvering were rendered moot after Matthew finally tapped out. I’m thinking thirteen is the official magic merge number, and Tika would’ve been forced into Tribal if Matthew had bailed in an earlier episode.

Matthew will be back. You can just tell Probst loves him, and getting hurt doing something stupid was just the whipped cream on the sundae. We’ll probably see him and Bruce return like that one season with Penner, OtherRussell, and one of those guys we no longer talk about. You know which one.

If Carolyn gets bounced in the next few weeks, the show becomes less exciting. She might get injured as advantages are flung directly at her face.

[BusyOctober]

Didn’t Danny give us some rhapsodic tearful declaration of the love he has for his daughter?  Would he like to see his little girl so blatantly dismissed, and ignored and ridiculed and insulted like Carolyn was?  What an asshat.  He can take his meditation and faux Eastern philosophy and shove it in his measured breathing hole.

[30 Helens]

I wasn’t getting any hints of more to come/ backstage shenanigans vibes from Matt’s exit. I just think they withheld the decision to leave until the end so they could orchestrate a dramatic moment of Jeff arriving on the beach to drop a bombshell and save the quivering lambs from slaughter.

And while Matt didn’t fall while “playing the game”, he did fall while playing the game. Because everything they do from the moment they step on the boat— every whisper, every decision to nap or gather wood, everything that defines their personalities or reveals their weaknesses— is all part of playing the game. Including impulsively climbing up a big rock like a clumsy fool.

Farewell, Matt. See you again in a season or two.

[Silver-hyren]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

 I just think they withheld the decision to leave until the end so they could orchestrate a dramatic moment of Jeff arriving on the beach to drop a bombshell and save the quivering lambs from slaughter.

With Jeff delivering that bombshell in the most awkward looking half-kneeling position he could possibly come up with.  Seriously Jeff, what was that?  Just sit normally, dude.

[tvfanatic13]

And another thing… I noticed last night that so many of their faces are completely broken out. They can’t ALL have acne. It must be either the sand or sand fleas or something like that. 

[CraftyHazel]

I guess I’m in the minority here, but I’m really bored with the Carolyn & Yam Yam Comedy Hour.  I just can’t get myself into this season, at all.

[violet and green]

I was wondering if during his time of consideration between medical assessment and deciding to leave Mathew gave his idol to someone, and they are saving that scene for the next episode... Anyway, poor fellow, injured like that after such a foolish move early on in the game.

[DEL901]

8 minutes ago, violet and green said:

I was wondering if during his time of consideration between medical assessment and deciding to leave Mathew gave his idol to someone, and they are saving that scene for the next episode... Anyway, poor fellow, injured like that after such a foolish move early on in the game.

He apparently never had the chance because he didn’t go back to the tribe, according to interviews.  

[HappyDancex2]

Carolyn is teetering on the edge for me…on one hand she’s the only interesting character given much airtime so far….on the other hand her personality and facial expressions make me feel like I’m watching someone do one armed cartwheels on the edge of a cliff.  (Enter your own bugged out Carolyn facial expression here along with a high pitched scream)

I’m torn.

[ratgirlagogo]

On 3/30/2023 at 12:27 AM, 30 Helens said:

It’s definitely possible to live without a stomach. Food just passes directly to the intestines, and is broken down there instead of the stomach. What really caught my attention was the mention of immunosuppressants— certainly he wouldn’t be cleared for the game if he’s still on them?  Being in this game without a fully functioning immune system sounds very dangerous to me.

Well, TIL you can live without a stomach.  But I do know that  you're on immunosuppressants for life when you get an organ transplant.  I know that Survivors are always provided with necessary medications but still - I'm also shocked Josh got cleared to play.  And yet with all that, there have been TWO medical evacuations so far from Survivors who didn't come in with anything close to Josh's health challenges!