S44.E06: Survivor with a Capital S

[Whimsy]

Quote

The game is about to change as tribes pack their bags and prepare to meet each other on the same beach. Also, one castaway risks getting caught up in their own web of lies.

Original airdate 4/5/23

[hendersonrocks]

Josh is like human xanax. Even in that exit interview! Just...nothing.

Carolyn is whatever upper is the most opposite of xanax, but the kicker is she's not wrong about anything going on in the game. And no one gives her the time of day. It's going to be fun to see if that changes, or if her tribe mates are just realizing it now that the show is airing.

Mostly, though, this was an exceedingly boring episode.

[mojoween]

I hope Josh is married because we all know you can’t get a boyfriend if you don’t make the merge.

[Guest]

This might be heresy, but I'm kind of over Carolyn's "ugh I'm so over these people" thing she's got going. Not that I'm really attached to the others (except possibly sweet, naive, doomed Jaime), but it's still starting to grate. I was totally with her when she was talking about struggling to fit in with a large group of new people - I feel that completely. But then at the merge feast when she got irritated that they didn't believe her about Josh's fake idol - well why should they believe you, Carolyn? They don't know you! They're allowed to still talk things out!

Jeff at tribal council: "When you're watching at home, you have all the information."

Everyone who watched last season: "Oh really?"

I could be totally off base, but that scene with Lauren and Heidi discussing options gave me "they make it far and have a hand in things going forward" vibes. That would be fine with me, because I liked Lauren in the premiere and have seen precious little of her since.

Edited April 6, 2023 by tracyscott76
liked not like, vibes not vibe

[susannot]

I feel badly for Josh.  He has been through a lot.  Plus I was looking forward to the GURRL alliance between Josh and Yam Yam.

[princelina]

16 minutes ago, susannot said:

I feel badly for Josh.  He has been through a lot.  Plus I was looking forward to the GURRL alliance between Josh and Yam Yam.

If it makes you feel any better I don't think it would have gone far because Josh seemed bent on holding that grudge 😄

[LadyChatts]

Carolyn for the win!  I'm probably jinxing her, but I love her.  I hate that she's being underestimated and I hope that means she's heading for victory, and everyone realizes how wrong they were about her and her knowledge.  I hope the time comes when she plays her idol and she surprises the heck out of everyone.

I feel like this season is a mix of 'who's that', people who are such Survivor nerds they make challenges at home for practice, a couple of people who have hurt feelings over their name being written down, and the rest that think they know what is going on (but really don't).  Josh falls into the latter.  Next to Jamie his reads were bad.  On the outs with Soka (but didn't know it), pretended to have an idol (which I think was ultimately his undoing), and trying to team back up with Yam Yam despite despising him (and the feeling being mutal).  Jamie's another one that I think is being set up for a comical yet disasterous downfall with her "I'm the MVP!" and saying she's in the know about everything.  People are blind to how good Carolyn is, yet Jamie thinks they are all blind to how well she's playing the game. 

Heidi seems cool, I wish they'd show more of her.  I wanted to like Brandon, but he's disappointing and has a serious attitude (I really can't stand the people who hold a grudge because someone wrote their name down).  Especially because Kane wasn't purposely out for Brandon, he was just going with the numbers.  Carson makes me long for the days when we got a bunch of boring 20-something recruits who had no idea what they getting into.  And I'm I the only one that thinks Matt is more into this showmance with Frannie than she is?

Lastly, I can't keep track of who has what for an idol or an advantage anymore.  I hate earn the merge, just let everyone merge.  And I hope Carson and Matt lead to production modifying challenges going forward so people can't prepare years in advance.

[Skooma]

So glad Josh is gone and Yam Yam made it to the merge.  Yam Yam is right.  He didn't "betray" Josh.  He wasn't in an alliance with him.  Josh sure was the prickly type.

Carolyn continues to be the star of the season.  I swear it was the giant mace and not the gargoyle in the voting booth she alluded to having one like that as a kid.  Or I want to believe it.  Either way that was the funniest moment of the episode.

Loved how Carson showed up Jeff et al and their endless, boring in the same old rut "challenges" by practicing at home then whipping through the puzzle at warp speed. 

Go do something different and stop with these endless re-runs of boring obstacle courses to get to a puzzle crap there, Jeffy Boy!  Because what the hell do jigsaw puzzles have to do with survival on a tropical island in the first place.  Have them build huts, row canoes, collect coconuts.  Anything but damn puzzles!!!

And I just cannot stand the two "lovebirds."  Hate "couples" on Survivor.  In this case it is mainly him.  Don't know his name but I want him out next.  Then maybe she can actually start playing the game. 

Also want him out because he instantly started with a bunch of conspiracy theories that messed with everybody's heads when Carolyn told them about Josh's fake idol.  He just dismissed what she was saying as likely to be totally untrue. Instead he should have asked for more details and even gone to Josh to ask to see his "idol" in person.  But no he was just another "bro" ignoring what a mere woman said.  Hope the other side of this couple runs far away from him.

Edited April 7, 2023 by Skooma

[dancingdreamer]

No wonder  Carson  was good at that puzzle, he made a 3D version at home.

Carolyn told them Josh didn't  have an idol, and that Yam Yam said it was from tree mail

so start listening to her!. Nobody else stands out to me, except Carson, Carolyn  and Yam Yam. I'm rooting for one of those three.

Edited April 6, 2023 by dancingdreamer

[GenerationX]

Carson said in the first episode that he wouldn't reveal his very detailed pre-show preparation work to the other competitors.  He can't plausibly hide that now.  He did the puzzle way too quickly to write it off as just being good with puzzles.

[Shermie]

Kudos to whoever said Carolyn is a doppelgänger of Kristen Johnson. Loved her “squirrel” moment when she spotted some voting booth decor and declared she had one at home.

Wide-eyed naive Jamie reminds me of Mary Ann Somers from Gilligan’s Island. 

I kinda like that I can’t keep track of who has what idol or advantage; makes tribal a surprise for the viewer too.

So who voted for Kane? I didn’t catch that.

Why does Carson look so different with/without glasses? It really is a Superman/Clark Kent thing. I’ve never seen someone’s face look so different when they remove their glasses; it’s so strange. And kudos to him for pre-learning that puzzle.

[North of Eden]

And the merge! Congratulations to the castaways...all of them, save Josh, are now officially date-worthy.

The team split worked out perfectly for this fan. Almost everyone I liked was on the purple team, and almost everyone I don't like was on orange. With that said, Jamie had a right to cry as her performance could have put her in real jeopardy if they lost.

As Orange was losing the puzzle, all I could think was...who the hell is this Heidi, and has she been here all along?

Production absolutely loves Carolyn. You could tell from the segment where she was observing everyone in "level 1" mode. Still, later on she needs to hide the type of disdain of her fellow castaways we were seeing from her at the feast. She needs to build relationships and avoid alienating people or she will become an easy vote.

Was so very ready to say goodbye to Yam Yam and his "ain't I so cute" schtick. Oh well.

No commentary, no follow-up from Mathew's teammates on his decision to leave...cutting room floor, I guess.

Matt and Frannie are so charming as a couple...I'm very sad that the fake idols is a ticking time bomb that will likely split them up at some point if it goes off and Matt has to go to jury.

[LadyChatts]

Just now, Shermie said:

Kudos to whoever said Carolyn is a doppelgänger of Kristen Johnson. Loved her “squirrel” moment when she spotted some voting booth decor and declared she had one at home.

Wide-eyed naive Jamie reminds me of Mary Ann Somers from Gilligan’s Island. 

I kinda like that I can’t keep track of who has what idol or advantage; makes tribal a surprise for the viewer too.

So who voted for Kane? I didn’t catch that.

Why does Carson look so different with/without glasses? It really is a Superman/Clark Kent thing. I’ve never seen someone’s face look so different when they remove their glasses; it’s so strange. And kudos to him for pre-learning that puzzle.

Carolyn voted for Kane (I don't know why she was the only one-maybe she just wanted to be safe and not pick a side between Josh and Yam Yam?)  To be honest, the way Josh was going on and on about having an idol, and when he looked in his bag after Jeff asked if anyone had an idol an advantage before reading the vote, I thought we were going to be surprised and he was actually going to have one after all.

Jamie's an interesting one.  I mentioned in the chat thread that I will somewhat feel sorry for her when she realizes how out of the loop she's really been all this time (it's probably not fun watching it back in the edit, either).  But who knows, maybe she finds herself out of the loop but regroups and ends up doing well.  

Agree about Carson, he looks like an entirely different person without his glasses.  I also like your comparison of Carolyn to Kristen Johnson-I loved her in 3rd Rock from the Sun, and Carolyn could totally be a Sally type!

[Guest]

7 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Jamie's an interesting one.  I mentioned in the chat thread that I will somewhat feel sorry for her when she realizes how out of the loop she's really been all this time (it's probably not fun watching it back in the edit, either).  But who knows, maybe she finds herself out of the loop but regroups and ends up doing well.  

Jaime still seems to be posting away cheerfully on her Instagram, and even shared a story that was gently poking fun at her “I know everything!” speech, so she doesn’t seem overly bothered by it. I can’t help but feel fondness toward her and root for her, dubious claims of knowledge and importance aside.

[knitorpurl]

I have no idea how Josh thought telling people two versions of the idol story was going to help him seem trustworthy. Guess he has a tree mail bead souvenir. 

Carson should have certainly slowed down the puzzle solving- they are in the individual phase now and he just grabbed that spotlight as a puzzle beast.

If Matt can't stop gushing about Franny, can production please stop showing it to me. We get it- you have a seriously nerdy, giggling crush. Play the game of move out of the way so she can!

[TVFan1]

I really think Frannie is a good player, but Matt is holding her back and we don't get to see it. Always about the showmance. I don't need to hear about their stupid shomance every episode. Yawn. It always seems to come from Matt more than Frannie. Matt should go so we can see Frannie execute good game play.

Yam Yam never bothered me, so I'm glad he survived the vote, and that Josh is now gone. Didn't like him much and his grudge.

[Steph Sometimes]

Another person that Carolyn now reminds me of:

[PhoneCop]

I'm officially paying more attention to the live thread than the actual show these days. Tedious, predictable challenges. Excessive idols that take the game from chess to crapshoot. And nuSurvivor elements like Earn the Merge that already feel tired. Too many ingredients don't make for a better recipe, Jeff.

Felt bad for Josh as a person because he's been through so much, but as a player, it was a mercy killing.

[LadyChatts]

20 hours ago, TVFan1 said:

I really think Frannie is a good player, but Matt is holding her back and we don't get to see it. Always about the showmance. I don't need to hear about their stupid shomance every episode. Yawn. It always seems to come from Matt more than Frannie. Matt should go so we can see Frannie execute good game play.

I feel the same way about Frannie and Matt.  I hope that this doesn’t hurt Frannie’s game, but we  already know they are on people’s radar.  I said above I feel like this showmance is more one sided, and the show is just thrilled to have a showmance again that they are eating it up with the edit. 

20 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

Jaime still seems to be posting away cheerfully on her Instagram, and even shared a story that was gently poking fun at her “I know everything!” speech, so she doesn’t seem overly bothered by it. I can’t help but feel fondness toward her and root for her, dubious claims of knowledge and importance aside.

Aww that’s cool.  Maybe she just has a good sense of humor lol Even if she is totally out of the loop and getting herself set up, at least her naïveté is getting her air time.  Lauren posted on her Twitter tonight ‘how many confessionals do you think I’m getting tonight’ followed by a meme that says ‘I should receive more confessionals’.  Maybe she needs to go Jamie’s route and say she’s an MVP, too.  

Edited April 7, 2023 by LadyChatts

[30 Helens]

6 hours ago, tracyscott76 said:

But then at the merge feast when she got irritated that they didn't believe her about Josh's fake idol - well why should they believe you, Carolyn? They don't know you! They're allowed to still talk things out!

Of course they are. But they didn’t even consider what she was saying. They just tuned her out like she was nothing, which seems to be par for the course. The benefit for her (currently) is while they’re dismissing her, they’re also not seeing her as a threat. I hope this continues until it’s too late… for them.

I think I want to start a business selling backyard replicas of Survivor challenges. Apparently there’s quite a market among aspiring contestant nerds who want to impress/ paint their own targets. (Honestly, the only things I would practice pre-game are fire building and endurance: how to stand on tiny ledges or pointy sticks for hours on end. These are the individual skills that can make or break a person’s end game. Being a ringer on team challenges feels like more of an ego thing, and I’m not sure how it benefits to show your hand so early.)

[mojoween]

I hope Survivor got that footage of Carson putting together the 3D tree puzzle *after* the season was over, and they weren’t sitting on that footage but made that challenge anyways.

In addition to walking around the ocean with sand backpacks they need to bring back Story Time with Jeff.

Danny was super dismissive with Yam Yam in the ocean and Yam Yam made it off like it was his fault?  

[JudyObscure]

7 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Jamie's another one that I think is being set up for a comical yet disasterous downfall with her "I'm the MVP!" and saying she's in the know about everything.  People are blind to how good Carolyn is, yet Jamie thinks they are all blind to how well she's playing the game.

Jamie's bio says she thinks she's most like some player who was "brilliant" and her occupation is yogi, so I guess she's in the seventh level of enlightenment from years of meditating on a mountaintop in India or some such, so she would know if Josh has an idol or not!

I can't stand Jamie with her "aren't I adorable" smile  and I love Carolyn who is just the opposite, that rare Survivor with a tiny bit of humility.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Lauren posted on her Twitter tonight ‘how many confessionals do you think I’m getting tonight’ followed by a meme that says ‘I should receive more confessionals’.  Maybe she needs to go Jamie’s route and say she’s an MVP, too.

She needs Jaime's wand! BING! There's a confessional!

[Haleth]

8 hours ago, Shermie said:

Loved her “squirrel” moment when she spotted some voting booth decor and declared she had one at home.

That was hilariously random.  I love Carolyn.  She's such a goofball yet also pretty perceptive about the other players.  Had she not been on the show or voted out early, the big story arc would have been the showmance.

5 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

the show is just thrilled to have a showmance again that they are eating it up with the edit. 

Yeah, but Frannie seems to be cooling to it as she realizes it's not good for her game.  In a way they really are like Romeo and Juliet; she's the sensible one and he's bounding around like a love struck puppy.  It won't end well for this couple either.

There's a Heidi?  

[violet and green]

I like the little group of three, Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Carson. Here's hoping they blend into the palm trees and everyone focuses on getting out the 'big threats' for a few episodes. Soka are quite dim to chuck away their numbers advantage, even if they weren't mad keen on Josh.

[seacliffsal]

It was one thing last week when the bromance ignored Carolyn at the feast, but when the mixed group of the winning team ignored her at the not-quite merge feast it indicates to me that there is something else going on.  I think Carolyn might be getting a great edit and we're not seeing her eccentricities to the degree that those playing with her 24 hours a day are seeing.  The episode opened with her singing and that alone would get me to vote her out (many people who sing all the time don't sing well and that makes me go grrrrr).  I was not happy when people ignored her telling them that Josh's idol was fake, but after thinking about it for a while I think there is way more to this than we are seeing.

As I recall, they started putting in more puzzles to "level the playing field" thereby assuming women would be better at the puzzles.  But this is getting crazy.  So many teams that are in the lead when they get to the puzzle end up losing because someone on the other team is better at the puzzles.  Bring back other challenges.  I can see that once they have the puzzles made they can just repaint them and reuse them, but it does get boring.  Oh, and I guess it favors those who can afford a 3D printer.

However, Carson proved he's not as good at this game as he thinks when he told Kane about his name being out there and then Kane (stupidly) told Brandon.  Of course, that's on Kane as he could have said he heard his name was out there and not mention Carson by name.  Oh well.   

[Scatterbrained]

I have a feeling Carson will get himself voted out, but he will help Carolyn and Yam-Yam get further in the game while he lasts.  

The cast seems to be a mix team of people who primarily live in the real world, and people who primarily live in a virtual or fantasy world.  

The editing seems to be doing a good job of showing the characters’ foible and the reasons why they will get voted out, IMO.

[AncientNewbie]

I have twisted myself into a meta circle about Jamie. At first I think the editors want us to laugh at her, then I start to wonder if maybe the joke is on us and maybe she really is pulling all the strings and we aren't being shown anything...either due to poor storytelling or a Big Reveal yet to come. 

I'm okay with the showmance stuff, really, because it's an unexpected variable (like anything here is a real experiment) that changes the way people might play. It's interesting to see how the involved and their tribemates react. I don't get the idea that either of them are faking it for the tv time, which is where showmance originally seemed to get it's name. Plus, they've both made the merge, so they are datable. 

[knitorpurl]

8 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

Another person that Carolyn now reminds me of:

This post reminded me of one of my favorite moments of the episode- Carolyn's pronunciation of "bag". We lived in Minnesota for 9 years while my kids were going through elementary school. My daughter and I would have that exact conversation about the words bag, flag, etc and she was sure I was pronouncing it wrong by using the short "a" sound 😁

[Guest]

15 minutes ago, AncientNewbie said:

I'm okay with the showmance stuff, really, because it's an unexpected variable (like anything here is a real experiment) that changes the way people might play. It's interesting to see how the involved and their tribemates react. I don't get the idea that either of them are faking it for the tv time, which is where showmance originally seemed to get it's name. Plus, they've both made the merge, so they are datable. 

I don't really mind it either, and I feel like the way this showmance is being presented is different from past ones because they're really hitting the "we should be hiding this" thing a lot more than they usually do. It seems to be foreshadowing...something...in a way that past showmances haven't, really.

And I agree with what others have said in that they seem to show Matt talking about it a lot more than Frannie (at least recently), but I'm not sure I agree that he seems more into it than her or that he's the anchor dragging her down. He was the one who said that he wouldn't take her on a reward for appearances' sake, while she was all "no, I don't agree with that hypothesis!" I don't know that she was really serious about that, it might have just been some teasing/flirting. But to me it shows that she's pretty invested in it, too.

[Shermie]

I haven’t watched Survivor for several years and started again with this season. Noticed that Jeff talks a lot to the men at tribal council but not much to the women; has it always been that way and I didn’t notice before? I don’t think Frannie and Heidi (?) said one word at tribal. 

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, Shermie said:

I haven’t watched Survivor for several years and started again with this season. Noticed that Jeff talks a lot to the men at tribal council but not much to the women; has it always been that way and I didn’t notice before? I don’t think Frannie and Heidi (?) said one word at tribal. 

I remember Heidi gave a rather lengthy, labored analogy about picking people up in cars as a metaphor for hearing different plans from different people, but I don't recall if Frannie (or Lauren or Jaime, for that matter) were shown saying anything at Tribal. In fairness, the three targets this week were all men, so it makes a certain amount of sense that those three, at least, would get more attention.

Kind of "funny" though, that it took until the merge to have a man finally voted out.

On a related note, I found it odd, as they were drawing rocks for the "earn the merge" challenge, that Jeff launched into a little speech about how important this was while looking right at Danny, even after Danny had drawn his rock and Jeff had moved on to the next person. Danny wasn't saying anything back to him, so it's not like they were having a conversation. Don't do stuff like that, Jeff. It's weird.

[BusyOctober]

This show is boring.  This season is boring.  The most exciting thing for me has been changing my mind about a player.  Usually, I form an opinion over the first 2 episodes and it sticks.  I gave Carolyn major side eye at first.  Now I am actively routing for her, and embracing her disdain of the other players.  I want her to win.
 

Admittedly, I haven’t watched very closely this season, but has every challenge been “crawl under something- climb up something - unlock something -do a puzzle”?  I don’t have an encyclopedic recall of all seasons’ past challenges, but this time around it feels exceptionally repetitive.  
 

 

[30 Helens]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

 I love Carolyn.  She's such a goofball yet also pretty perceptive about the other players.  Had she not been on the show or voted out early, the big story arc would have been the showmance.

Had she not been on the show or voted out early, there would be no reason to watch this season. Overall, this has not been a great cast.

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

It was one thing last week when the bromance ignored Carolyn at the feast, but when the mixed group of the winning team ignored her at the not-quite merge feast it indicates to me that there is something else going on.  I think Carolyn might be getting a great edit and we're not seeing her eccentricities to the degree that those playing with her 24 hours a day are seeing. 

Agreed. There is something strange going on with editing, and Carolyn. I keep going back to Episode 1, which opened with a confessional with Carolyn. And how odd everyone thought it was to open the season with some random confessional with some seemingly goofy lady who laughed and said she didn't know how to do a confessional.

Is the show really telegraphing that hard that Carolyn won? Or are they trying too hard to prop her because they like her best? It does seem like the other players are seeing something we're not seeing. They didn't believe she could possibly have found the idol despite the fact that she was the only one left back at camp. Nobody since has even discussed the possibility that she might have an idol. To us, she seems like the best, most insightful and observant player. To the other players, she's someone they seemingly dismiss. There's a disconnect between what we are seeing and what the players are seeing in real time.

[Matty]

Regarding the Survivor "showmances" it always grosses me out when the couples hug each other tightly and snuggle together. I'm in my living room thinking how bad they must smell and how bad their breath must be. Yuck.  

I think what the editing is showing us regarding Carolyn is that the other folks are underestimating her. They think she's this spacey, annoying, older lady that can't possibly have a read on what's happening. It's a bit of misogyny, ageism and condescension all rolled into one. Yam Yam and Carson actually listen to Carolyn when she speaks and don't talk over her and cut her off.

 

[RedbirdNelly]

I'm neutral on Carolyn. I think she's in a pretty safe spot for a while since most players will be more focused on physical threats.

I didn't have an issue with the merge feast people not jumping on Carolyn's info as the driver of their plan. They (1) don't know her; maybe she just made this up and Josh his her close ally; (2) should know that idols and advantages are all over the place. Even if the idol Carolyn is talking about is fake, whose to say Josh hasn't found one while they were eating? or any other time? Given they had plenty of numbers it still made sense to split votes just in case. To me Carolyn seemed overly sensitive.

[blackwing]

I guess I never noticed Josh's chryon before, but I saw it in this episode.  He's a "surgical podiatrist".  Which to me is a podiatrist who does foot surgery.  And he's going around calling himself a "surgeon"?  Sorry, when I hear someone describe themselves as a surgeon, I'm thinking heart or brain or internal medicine.  It's odd to me that he would call himself a surgeon instead of a podiatrist.  OB/GYN, opthalmologist, ENT (ear nose throat), and many other medical specialties all will perform surgery at times.  But I don't think my opthalmologist would introduce herself to others as a "surgeon".  She's an opthalmologist that happens to occasionally do eye surgery.

I get that podiatrists and chiropractors are technically doctors, as they are Doctors of Podiatry and Doctors of Chiropracty, but they have their own educational and training system and aren't MD medical doctors.  I recall one of my parent's friends who would proudly go around telling everyone her son is a doctor, and when someone asked her what specialty, she would just say "foot" and try and change the topic.

Seems to me that if Josh is going around calling himself a surgeon instead of a podiatrist or a surgical podiatrist, that maybe he has a chip about not being a medical doctor.

14 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Jamie's another one that I think is being set up for a comical yet disasterous downfall with her "I'm the MVP!" and saying she's in the know about everything.  People are blind to how good Carolyn is, yet Jamie thinks they are all blind to how well she's playing the game. 

6 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Jamie's bio says she thinks she's most like some player who was "brilliant" and her occupation is yogi, so I guess she's in the seventh level of enlightenment from years of meditating on a mountaintop in India or some such, so she would know if Josh has an idol or not!

I can't stand Jamie with her "aren't I adorable" smile  and I love Carolyn who is just the opposite, that rare Survivor with a tiny bit of humility.

I can't stand Jamie, she is by far my least favorite contestant.  Her voice is irritating, her arrogance is irritating, everything about her is irritating.  I really hope she tries to play that fake idol and goes out spectacularly.

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Matty said:

I think what the editing is showing us regarding Carolyn is that the other folks are underestimating her. They think she's this spacey, annoying, older lady that can't possibly have a read on what's happening. It's a bit of misogyny, ageism and condescension all rolled into one. Yam Yam and Carson actually listen to Carolyn when she speaks and don't talk over her and cut her off.

Part of this may be true, but Carolyn isn't much older than most of them. She and Jaime are the same age (35), and Yam Yam, Brandon, Lauren and Danny are also all in their 30s. The only ones younger than 25 (of the ones who are left at this point) are Frannie and Carson.

Certainly what we're seeing in confessionals and Carolyn's private moments indicates that they are underestimating her to a certain degree, but she does act like a space cadet a lot of the time, with the random noises and movements and so on. I can't really blame them for not taking everything she says seriously.

And, like some others, I suspect these moments where people are ignoring her are being edited for effect - they happened, but not as blatantly as was presented.

[mojoween]

Peachy may very well speak to each Survivor for a lengthy period of time at each TC.  Past contestants have told us that TC can go on for hours.

So really, for this one, we can blame the editors for deeming what they find worthy to show us.

Josh went to med school and got a medical degree to operate on feet.  That makes him a medical doctor, podiatrist and/or surgeon to me.  He’s a one stop shop to diagnose your plantar fasciitis, and then operate on it.

Edited April 6, 2023 by mojoween

[cdnalor]

3 hours ago, Shermie said:

I haven’t watched Survivor for several years and started again with this season. Noticed that Jeff talks a lot to the men at tribal council but not much to the women; has it always been that way and I didn’t notice before? I don’t think Frannie and Heidi (?) said one word at tribal. 

Supposedly tribal council lasts for much longer than what we get to see so maybe it's the editing that's to blame.

ETA:  Whoops, someone else already said this.  Never mind.

Edited April 6, 2023 by cdnalor

[Lady Calypso]

It's unfortunate because I CAN see why people are rubbed the wrong way by Carolyn. I can see that her social game isn't strong and that she's very awkward, even just onscreen. I totally get why people dismiss her, in a sense. That being said, it DOES suck that she's clearly very intuitive and strategic but players can't get past her social behaviour. Yes, she can be odd and says and does weird stuff but it doesn't mean there isn't an intelligent person behind all that. And, just from what we're shown, it looks like very few want to get past that aspect to see that side of her. Carolyn seems to do well in a smaller group, as well. 

I think it's frustrating because she can't seem to fit in with the group in terms of small talk, but if these players actually sat down with Carolyn to discuss game with her, they WOULD see that she has a better knack for it than anyone else this season. But it seems like they can't get past that. And yes, the game of Survivor includes the social aspect and that's on Carolyn. I still feel bad that she's still being underestimated because of her personality.

I think the only way Carolyn can get people to take her seriously is if she makes a solo big move on her own. I'm just really worried they still wouldn't take her seriously.

But even so, I get why this episode had people not really listen to Carolyn, as there's still that "what IF Josh has an idol" moment. Last week with Brandon/Danny was more blatantly rude. Here, I think people were still just too paranoid to listen to reason. I mean, we ARE in a season where fake idols exist left and right. Even though only a select few know about the fake idol aspect, we'd be calling these people fools for not considering simple game aspects such as a hidden idol. But the edit did make it seem like nobody listened to Carolyn at the feast, which does suck.

The episode was very straight forward. It was clear Josh was going, so it was more of a question of who the Plan B was. Yam Yam IS slightly growing on me, and I don't hate The Three Stooges (even if I don't like Carson much). At least we're getting that alliance to make up for the Gabler alliance last season that was basically hidden in the edit. 

Also, good on Carson for practicing that tree puzzle before the season. I hope everyone starts doing that so production can finally shake up the challenges.

Jaime's getting a clown edit. She really has zero clue what's going on. Or maybe she has more of a clue than Josh did.

Matt/Frannie need to do SOMETHING in the game that's not cuddling with each other and saying how secretive they're being with their plain as day showmance.

[Lantern7]

S44 still feels like The Carolyn Show for better and worse. I don’t think she’s bad, but like I’ve said before, she seems a little “much.” Also, I feel she’s getting fatigued from carrying this season on her shoulders.

I agree with the poster who liked the live thread. Even though I’m confused AF, watching the show with friends is fun. It’s basically Carolyn, a few other characters, and those that are unfortunate not to be Carolyn. I didn’t know there was a Heidi before the IC.

Dream Team needs to fix their games and puzzles. For some reason, it doesn’t bug me when American Ninja Warrior hopefuls build obstacles to train on, but Carson making 3D puzzles is troubling. Guy probably could have done it blindfolded, he’s that big of a fan.

I think Yam Yam makes it to the end as a goat. Like Carolyn, he is “much,” but I don’t think he’s got her head for the game. He even came into the game with a full beard, which any goat would bleat in approval. I figured that I should stop searching for pics and GIFs of a blown-up Yamcha from Dragonball Z for when YY is voted out, because it’s not gonna happen. Also, it’d be a lame joke only three people would get.

Speaking of jokes, Erik’s back with the fast response to “Josh’s Last Stand”:

At least Josh can be happy knowing he’s not the worst Josh on a reality show. I still roll my eyes at the thought that Josh Martinez won $500K on Big Brother, because he followed that by being a putz on The Challenge.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Lantern7

[laurakaye]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I feel the same way about Frannie and Matt.  I hope that this doesn’t hurt Frannie’s game, but we have already know they are on people’s radar.  I said above I feel like this showmance is more one sided, and the show is just thrilled to have a showmance again that they are eating it up with the edit. 

Didn't Matt say early on that he was starting Survivor on the heels of a painful breakup with his girlfriend back home?  When I see him snuggling and giggling with Frannie, I keep wondering if she's aware of that.  

 

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Agreed. There is something strange going on with editing, and Carolyn. I keep going back to Episode 1, which opened with a confessional with Carolyn. And how odd everyone thought it was to open the season with some random confessional with some seemingly goofy lady who laughed and said she didn't know how to do a confessional.

Is the show really telegraphing that hard that Carolyn won? 

I want to think that Survivor would never telegraph a winner that blatantly, but the fact that season 44 began in such an unusual way makes me think that she has to have gone pretty far in the game, like final 3.  There has to be a reason they started the show with her - or maybe, she was just the most colorful character in a group of bland people and they were trying to grab viewers with her quirkiness?  She's like a mixture of Debbie Wanner and Eliza Orlins with her physicality and facial expressions.

At least this season, unlike the past 3 seasons, I know who everyone is but I definitely don't know who has what idol/advantage/fake idol/etc., so it makes it extremely frustrating to follow.  I don't want to have to think that hard when I watch this show.  It's been hard enough since they axed the intro with the players' names to remember who is who, but throw in 37 idols and I would need to take notes to remember all of it.  I'm just not that invested anymore.

[blackwing]

42 minutes ago, mojoween said:

Josh went to med school and got a medical degree to operate on feet.  That makes him a medical doctor, podiatrist and/or surgeon to me.  He’s a one stop shop to diagnose your plantar fasciitis, and then operate on it.

I googled, he went to Kent State University's College of Podiatric Medicine and thus got a DPM and is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine.  There's a big difference between a traditional medical school and a podiatry school.  People who go to medical school get MDs (Doctor of Medicine).  He's very specifically NOT a medical doctor.  He's a doctor of podiatry.  The fact that he goes around calling himself a surgeon makes me think he is purposely trying to make himself look like a medical doctor.

I have to wonder why he would tell his tribe he is a surgeon and then fret about them thinking he is a big threat.  If he was trying to downplay his job and make himself be viewed as non-threatening, he should have called himself a podiatrist or a physical trainer from the start.  He seems to have a real need for people to acknowledge him, and he has a definite petty streak.

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I googled, he went to Kent State University's College of Podiatric Medicine and thus got a DPM and is a Doctor of Podiatric Medicine.  There's a big difference between a traditional medical school and a podiatry school.  People who go to medical school get MDs (Doctor of Medicine).  He's very specifically NOT a medical doctor.  He's a doctor of podiatry.  The fact that he goes around calling himself a surgeon makes me think he is purposely trying to make himself look like a medical doctor.

I have to wonder why he would tell his tribe he is a surgeon and then fret about them thinking he is a big threat.  If he was trying to downplay his job and make himself be viewed as non-threatening, he should have called himself a podiatrist or a physical trainer from the start.  He seems to have a real need for people to acknowledge him, and he has a definite petty streak.

Sure there's a difference between "traditional" medical school and podiatry school, but both involve many years of study, training, residency, etc. (And by the way, you can be a "traditional" doctor and not have an MD - there's a very common type of doctor called a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine or DO which involves the same kind of training as an MD and serves the same role). The main difference is that a DPM is focusing specifically on matters relating to feet. They do perform surgery, which involves working around bones, ligaments, blood vessels, etc., so there's a high degree of skill involved. I mean, an oral surgeon isn't always an MD either, but who else would you want extracting impacted wisdom teeth?

To bring this back to Josh, granted that his attempt to hide his job was clumsy and maybe unnecessary (as many are on this show),  and his gameplay in general was suspect...but he has every right to call himself a surgeon. Just because he doesn't have "MD" after his name doesn't mean he isn't a highly-skilled doctor.

Edited April 6, 2023 by tracyscott76
Clarifying whether or not oral surgeons are MDs

[Kenz]

Maybe Josh specializes in podiatric surgery, so he has every right to call himself a surgeon. If I had a problem with my foot that needed surgery, he would be the kind of doctor I would want. Why make it sound as if he is trying to deceive anyone?

Edited April 6, 2023 by Kenz

[mojoween]

53 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I still roll my eyes at the thought that Josh Martinez won $500K on Big Brother, because he followed that by being a putz on The Challenge.

Oh he was ABSOLUTELY a putz on BB too.  He won because people hated his opponent.

On topic, Jamie is clueless because of what we all know that she doesn’t yet, but I can’t figure out why Kane seems so flabbergasted by what is going on around him. 

[eel21788]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

It's unfortunate because I CAN see why people are rubbed the wrong way by Carolyn. . .  Yes, she can be odd and says and does weird stuff but it doesn't mean there isn't an intelligent person behind all that. 

I'm wondering if she is or has been on some psychiatric medication that caused tardive dyskinesia. She really looks like a textbook case. If so, I feel bad for being so annoyed by her.

[Scatterbrained]

1 hour ago, Lady Calypso said:

ETA: the quote somehow got cut off.  Lady Calypso basically said Carolyn’s inability to connect socially is on her.  
 

My opinion is that it’s on all the other players as well.  I suspect we will see this play out this season.  Rudeness will equal lack of loyalty, lack of information, being targeted for eviction, etc.

Edited April 6, 2023 by Scatterbrained