S44.E08: Don't Get Cocky, Kid

[Whimsy]

Quote

A war between old tribes risks creating a shift in power. Then, castaways get twisted and caught up in the immunity challenge.

Original airdate 4/19/23

[mojoween]

Fucking Christ enough with the damn googly-eyes at the jury, Frannie.

Well that fucking sucked.  I don’t like Danny, I don’t like Danny getting his way and I fucking looooooooved Brandon.  Fuck you, Yam Yam!

Although, I don’t understand why Brandon’s pals thought four was greater than six.  I knew when they didn’t show one interview where Brandon was questioning if Karson and them were really with him that Brandon was a goner.

Fuck.  That sucked.

[Guest]

When Lauren won immunity and said "It's a bucket list item", for a second I thought she was going to say something quite different 😆

Oh, Jaime. Everyone else emerges from the twisted net looking half dead, and she, after struggling more than most, pops out with a little half smile and an "ohmygosh" ❤️

Overall that was somewhat better. Everyone voted, only one person had immunity, only one advantage (Danny's idol) was really in play. So lots of talking, lying, trying to out-think each other. More of that, show!

[susannot]

I'm sorry that Brandon was voted out because I liked him.  However, there be karma because there is now a female majority left after the savage six straight vote outs at the beginning.  And all the women left are badasses.  Much better episode than last week's.

Edited April 20, 2023 by susannot

[Carey]

1 minute ago, susannot said:

I'm sorry that Brandon was voted out because I liked him.  However, there be karma because there is now a female majority left after the savage six straight vote outs at the beginning.  And all the women left are badsses.

I guess it's karma, but only 4 consecutive women were voted out.  Not a great sign, but that plus the two people leaving due to injury, the female majority isn't that much of a shocker

[LadyChatts]

I’m glad we got to see some contestants tonight who so far have served as background filler (hello Heidi and Lauren!)  Heidi, outside of potentially blowing up Danny’s plan to save Frannie and letting it be known that he has an idol, is actually pretty decent at the game.  And the idol thing could be on Danny for telling her in the first place.  I’m surprised he kept his word, I was half expecting him to play it on himself.  I wouldn't have cared if he went.  I was sad to lose Brandon, but I'm glad Frannie survived. 

Ratu needed to get knocked down a peg, but I think Tika needs to get knocked down a few more.  Playing both sides could come back to bite them.  Although it seems like no one is taking them seriously, so maybe not.  I still love Carolyn, but Yam Yam is starting to grate on my nerves.  Carson is okay, although I've been back and forth on him.  I am sad that Carolyn is clearly not being taken seriously, and it was made obvious again tonight when Brandon said he knew Ratu could get her as a vote because she followed Yam Yam.  

Also, can we please ban that stupid net challenge?  And challenges that take up half the episode?

[susannot]

I don't know, it was pretty funny that Carolyn was screaming and thrashing like a gutted fish.  Yeah, I'm an asshole.

Edited April 20, 2023 by susannot

[LadyChatts]

9 minutes ago, susannot said:

I don't know, it was pretty funny that Carolyn was screaming and thrashing liked a gutted fish.  Yeah, I'm an asshole.

Well, I admit I did find it funny when Carson meekly said on the sidelines how everyone else managed to get past that part of the net, and she just stopped dead and said "what?"  Sometimes the camerawork and editing on this show delivers a win.

Edited April 20, 2023 by LadyChatts

[Shermie]

Frannie at the beginning of the episode, crying and carrying on like they dragged Matt off to be executed. Calm down, girl. If she got voted off, she and Matt can galavant around in Loser Lodge at their leisure, breaking only for Tribal Council. It’s not a bad gig if they really want to be a couple. But maybe Frannie wants to actually play the game…

That twisted net? Nope, just nope. Even though it’s open air, I’d freak out with claustrophobia.

Carolyn made me laugh, though.

Re: Carson puking up all the peanut butter sandwiches (no surprise that happens getting heavy food after not eating for a long time). I often wonder if they don’t get the scoots from that, or the water, or whatever. I guess any reference to that gets cut for the players’ dignity.

[pennben]

So, Jamie wasn't quite "wearing it well" at the end there!:)  She amuses me, but I think she's getting a tragic edit and am just waiting for her to get her own blindside thinking her idol is real.  The magic wand will ultimately fail her.

How could Ratu possibly have thought with the various splits, this was going to be an easypeasy march for them.  I guess they had no doubt that they had Carson, but even that being true wouldn't have given them an overwhelming undefeatable advantage like they though they had.

Carolyn.  What can I say....she's fantastic!  I thought she looked great with the dark mudstained hair, took me a bit to think of who she reminded me of, but Maria Shriver is who came to mind.  Final thought, if you follow WeRateDogs on twitter there was one today that just seemed so appropriate for Carolyn after this challenge, and I mean this is the very best possible way, down to the breed of dog ultimately revealed at end of video.  Just the best!

possible Carolyn doppelganger pup?

Edited April 20, 2023 by pennben

[Grizzly]

I won't miss Brandon. His shorts made it look like he was wearing a diaper.

Funny how Jamie was back with Ratu when she felt like she fit better at Soka.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Grizzly

[LadyChatts]

4 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I won't miss Brandon. His shorts made it look like he was wearing a diaper.

Funny how Jamie was back with Raku when she felt like she fit better at Soka.

Honestly, no one's game play makes sense.  Brandon had it out for Kane, but suddenly they were a tight foursome?  And what happened to Danny and Brandon's plan to stick together at the merge?  And since when did Ratu and Soka start to hate each other, but no one is thinking about Tika?

Edited April 20, 2023 by LadyChatts

[pennben]

Carolyn happened after their Bro-down …”I’ll see you at the merge”!  Kidding!  I think they perceived correctly the shot fired over the bow in taking out Matt.  Honestly, YamYam might have been the better vote there for both Ratu & Soka (with perfect hindsight vision to keep the war at bay a bit longer until they built a more substantial vote block) last week to reduce number of ‘floaters’ who could wreck either side. That would have reduced Carson’s ability to work as counter agent in both of the larger tribes. 

Edited April 20, 2023 by pennben
Getting names right is important.

[Lady Calypso]

38 minutes ago, Carey said:

I guess it's karma, but only 4 consecutive women were voted out.  Not a great sign, but that plus the two people leaving due to injury, the female majority isn't that much of a shocker

For me, it's the fact that it's 4 consecutive women pre-merge, which means less women on the jury in general. 

I'm totally fine with Brandon going. He bothered me quite a bit; he talked down on people a little too often, especially the women, and it made sense to take him out now while he felt like he was in a power position.

I loathe the mud net challenge. I get that it's obviously doable at some level, and it's tough and yay for tough challenges or whatever, but it really sucks to see all the smaller women struggle twice as much as any of the men. I think if they had less physical challenges in general, I might be fine with it. But all the challenges, especially post-merge, are just physical, either strength-wise or endurance-wise. I'm glad Lauren won, but it's the type of challenge that will benefit someone like her because she has smaller feet. It's why these challenges are not fun to watch anymore. You can pretty much predict how things will go.

I'm glad Tika seems to be in a good position. I'm not thrilled Carolyn seems to be seen as some straggler compared to Yam Yam/Carson, though. 

I'm glad Danny followed through with playing his idol for Frannie but I AM curious to how Tika convinced Soka to let them pretend to be on Ratu's side when they could have all voted Brandon and not had Danny use his idol.

[North of Eden]

Carolyn in the net looked like a clip out of a schlocky 1950's giant spider B Movie with the hapless heroine caught in the spider's web until rescued by the lanterned-jawed hero who just happens to be the world's most handsome scientist.

Not the most exciting episode that ever aired, but I guess credit to a plan actually sticking together long enough for it to succeed, as I thought Carson was going to screw it up.

Jeff looked like he was going to wet himself when the red head guy, whose name escapes me at the moment, appeared as if it wouldn't survive the transition.

Speaking of Jeff....I don't even think he realizes what he's blathering during comps. "Whoever has the necklace is going to sleep good tonight!" Why?  By the time the wearer goes to bed, it has no power and is just like any other necklace in the world. I'm glad someone got a clue because when I was looking at the four finalists, and 3 out of 4 were members of the He-Man's Club, how could you possibly leave them all in the game and go after cannon fodder like Frannie?

I'll close on Frannie...her and Matt's eye f@$king at the end saved the episode. That was all kinds of cute...still rooting for a post-show romance.

Edited April 20, 2023 by North of Eden

[iMonrey]

Quote

I would guess they just told Jeff to start from Frannie’s side if the idol was played on her.

Frannie's side? What does that mean? Are there compartments in that urn marked with the players that got voted for? I assume those compartments aren't pre-marked, unless there are ten of them in there. So someone goes and arranges all the votes into compartments before Jeff reads them? And after the idol is played he pulls out all the votes in the Frannie compartment? That seems less likely than the director yelling "Cut!" as soon as Danny played the idol so someone could pull all the Frannie votes and put them on top for Jeff. One way or another they are clearly pre-arranged for maximum "drama."

I didn't hate this vote, I thought both Brandon and Danny were logical choices to vote out based on their physical prowess. I'm just surprised they managed to pull it off with Yam Yam's big mouth. He seems like an awfully dumb player to me, I don't want to see him anywhere near the final three. Which means he'll probably win.

Quote

I loathe the mud net challenge. I get that it's obviously doable at some level, and it's tough and yay for tough challenges or whatever, but it really sucks to see all the smaller women struggle twice as much as any of the men. I think if they had less physical challenges in general, I might be fine with it. But all the challenges, especially post-merge, are just physical, either strength-wise or endurance-wise. I'm glad Lauren won, but it's the type of challenge that will benefit someone like her because she has smaller feet. 

And even if the final stage in the challenge is endurance or even a puzzle, you have to be one of the strongest four to get there. Look at who made it to the endurance portion versus who was left sitting on the bench. There is a clear bias in favor of the physically strong, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has watched this show long enough to know what types of players Jeff likes best.

[pennben]

5 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

credit to a plan actually sticking together

Slightly off topic for episode thread, but rest in peace Keith Nale, original "Stick to the Plan" survivor. 

[dancingdreamer]

Well done Lauren winning  individual  immunity.  Standing  on your toes  looked torturous. I had a feeling  she would win over the guys.

I enjoyed the net in the mud challenge.

Well done Heidi,  it was her  plan, that came to fruition. I liked Frannie and Matt grinning  at one another. 

I liked Brandon, he wasn't  a sore loser either.

[Scatterbrained]

This week Carolyn gets rid of one picnic partner, next week she goes after the other one!
 

Frannie’s googly eyes may end up getting her voted out, but who doesn’t want some of that joy?  On Reddit , I. The survivor section, there was a recent pic (today?) of Frannie and Matt in a MN coffee shop.  You can google it, for faster finding.

[TVFan1]

The members of Ratu were pretty cocky at the start of the episode, thinking they had the numbers to hold control of the game. I don't like Danny, but good for him for playing his idol on Frannie because I wanted her to stay.

I don't mind the mud net challenge, though. It's grueling for sure, but I think the players can figure out how to get through it. Jaime actually came out of the net looking rather cute to me.

Congrats to Lauren for winning immunity. To be honest, I can only stand Lauren and Jaime on Ratu, so I don't care that Brandon is now gone. Better episode from last week where everyone finally got to vote for whoever they wanted.

[30 Helens]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

So someone goes and arranges all the votes into compartments before Jeff reads them?

They aren’t put into compartments, but yes, the votes are stacked in a particular order for dramatic effect. I don’t remember if Jeff’s the one who stacks them, or if it’s another production person. But the read order is definitely not random.

That net challenge was just cruel. I don’t think Pukey Boy, off to the side, was too upset that Carolyn was taking so long. I wonder if he partnered with her hoping they’d be out early? I don’t know why he even attempted the net, knowing they were already done.

The scheme to get rid of Brandon was pretty clever. Heidi is proving to be quite the strategist, and one of the more interesting players right now.

Yam-Yam’s fake shocked expressions at TC were a bit much. Tone it down, Jon Lovitz Jr. (“ACT-ing!”)

When did they start doing makeup for Tribal Council? I know they have no mirrors, so do they have a makeup artist come and apply the blush and eye shadow for the women? I was getting so distracted by Carolyn’s big black false eyelashes that I could hardly pay attention to the conversations.

[HurricaneVal]

This vote was kind of classic Survivor, in a way.  It used to be that when you got to the merge, you started picking off the strong competitors as fast as you could so they couldn't go on an immunity run to the end in the strength of their, well, strength.  

New skool Survivor has kind of turned that on its head with some different priorities I never could quite understand.  Maybe because there's more gambling you'll either find one of the advantages they apparently pave the path to the well with, or someone else will, so TC will always be shaken up.  I don't know.

Sometimes there's a Svengali type like Boston Rob or Queen Sandra who is inexplicably brought to the end, but that's a very special player.  

Brandon is not particularly charismatic, so the only thing that really surprised me was that Danny actually followed through with playing his idol on Frannie.  Frannie would have been a decent vote too, since she has a guaranteed vote to win from Matt if she makes it to the end, and Matt is likewise an enthusiastic and influential cheerleader for her on the jury.  

Brandon was the classic vote out.  Frannie was also a decent and logical choice.  Unless the groups shake up a bit, I figure she's going to be joining Matt on the jury bench, and we will hopefully be spared the googly eyes at TC.

Edited April 20, 2023 by HurricaneVal
Make grammar more better with words

[Chalby]

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Frannie's side? What does that mean? Are there compartments in that urn marked with the players that got voted for? I assume those compartments aren't pre-marked, unless there are ten of them in there. So someone goes and arranges all the votes into compartments before Jeff reads them? And after the idol is played he pulls out all the votes in the Frannie compartment? That seems less likely than the director yelling "Cut!" as soon as Danny played the idol so someone could pull all the Frannie votes and put them on top for Jeff. One way or another they are clearly pre-arranged for maximum "drama.

I admit, I also thought production prearranged the order of votes read for maximum drama. All the votes were for frannie except the last 3, so do we really believe the last 3 to vote were all writing Brandon's name? Nope, it's all production.

[30 Helens]

12 minutes ago, Chalby said:

I admit, I also thought production prearranged the order of votes read for maximum drama. All the votes were for frannie except the last 3, so do we really believe the last 3 to vote were all writing Brandon's name? Nope, it's all production.

It’s been this way since the beginning, I believe. Arranging the vote read order is not a new thing.

[Chalby]

6 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

It’s been this way since the beginning, I believe. Arranging the vote read order is not a new thing.

Exactly, it's always been read like that to increase viewer's tension

[mojoween]

I always assumed that Peachy saying “I’ll go tally the votes” meant exactly what you’ve all said - rearrange them for max drama.

The more Kane talks, the more I like him, and I’m unsettled by that.

[DEL901]

I won’t miss Brandon and was surprised Danny followed through and used the idol on Frankie…but did he really think things through…does he think he bought their loyalty?  There were at least six votes for Frankie which he negated and who might be annoyed, he no longer has an idol, so nothing to help his allies and he got rid of his meat shield…the one guy more of a physical threat that he is.  

[violet and green]

I am really sad to hear that Keith Nale has died, at only 62. RIP, stick with the plan man. I really enjoyed him on Survivor.

As far as this episode goes, less tricks, so that was a relief. I thought Carson and Carolyn looked especially attractive as mud people. It was boring that Danny (that timed fart! good lord) fell and Lauren won, as it is inevitably a slender woman who wins this sort of challenge due to lighter body weight and smaller feet. But interesting the vote did get swung successfully onto Brandon, after Heidi's astonishing gaffe/betrayal re Danny's idol. I guess some of the Tika 3 convinced Ratu Danny would play it for himself? Interesting Carolyn voted with Soka, but as the last vote wasn't read I guess they can't absolutely prove it was hers...

I am stunned to read some think Heidi is playing well! After the fiasco with her advantage; her blundering attempt to make good with YamYam after putting Lauren's vote onto him and effectively directing the others to vote him out; and then blurting out a secret (he should not have trusted her with) re Danny's idol to Tika, she is not in my view playing at all well. I half-expected her to go tonight.

[mojoween]

Heidi appears to be playing both “I’ll vote for whoever as long as it’s not me” and “I’m going to make a BIG MOVE” and that generally does not work very well.

[cowgirlwen]

Did Danny fart during the Immunity Challenge?  I had to rewind and watch it a couple more times to try to figure out what had happened.  It was a very odd sequence:

Danny:  "Jeff"

Jeff:  "Danny"

(Everyone laughing hysterically)

 

[violet and green]

11 minutes ago, cowgirlwen said:

Did Danny fart during the Immunity Challenge?  I had to rewind and watch it a couple more times to try to figure out what had happened.  It was a very odd sequence:

Danny:  "Jeff"

Jeff:  "Danny"

(Everyone laughing hysterically)

 

Yes. He called out Jeff, got his attention, and then let out a comedy fart. It was quite loud.

[seacliffsal]

I was so glad there weren't a 1003 annoying advantages being played this episode and it was a straight strategic vote with one (and I repeat, "one") idol being played.  However, I could have done without all of the heart eyes between Frannie and Matt (and was especially annoyed at the beginning of the episode when Frannie acted like the Rotu members had executed Matt instead of just voting him out (AND the fact that she had the ability to save him during the previous episode).  I know many like the "young love" aspect of their relationship-now if either one displayed ruthless manipulation to save the other I would be more behind it, but this whole 'I don't care about the game only my own true love' scenario is just boring to me.

And speaking of boring, this whole challenge was just boring to me.  Once players are covered in mud I couldn't really tell who was who during the net portion of the challenge (except for Carolyn who kept screaming).  And, I really don't need 10 minutes of looking at their feet while in the final portion of the challenge (their feet are all grody-saw me the wildlife or something else).  I also feel the editors are going for their 12 year old boy demographic (not that there is anything wrong with 12 year old boys) by showing Carolyn itching, Danny farting, and Carter not only being sick but going on about it for about five minutes when asked what was happening by Jeff-along with a previous episode's title of 'The Third Turd.'  

I think Carolyn is way over-playing her 'kooky, quirky, personality' to the point that it may eventually hurt her.  She is obviously able to keep secrets and things to herself, but with other things she is overly 'quirky.'  When Carter said something to her during the net challenge she immediately quieted down and asked "what?" showing that she wasn't in so much terror that she had no self-control over her screaming.  And I think she really wanted to be his partner so that they wouldn't move forward in the challenge.  I think she is really smart about the game but doesn't want to show it so is over-playing other aspects of herself.

I don't think either Heidi or Jayme (and include earlier Carter in this) is as good as strategizing as they think.  But, we shall see.

[Lamb18]

I kinda think there were two separate stacks of votes in the urn--a Frannie one and a Brandon one. Then if no idol was played, or an idol played for neither, Jeff could just alternate between Frannie and Brandon in reading the votes. Or, if the idol is played for either Frannie or Brandon, he could read all the votes for the person the idol was played on first, then the other votes.

[Taeolas]

Clearly the votes are sorted in the urn so Jeff knows exactly which vote he is pulling out each time. Likely they have dividers put in to separate the stacks, as well as maybe refolding votes to make sure they are stacked neatly. As others have noted, this has been obvious in the game since the very beginning. 

 

Then Jeff can decide how he wants to draw out the drama of the reveals, based on whatever advantages end up being played/not being played.  If the Immunity idol hadn't been played, he probably would have alternated Frannie and Brandon reveals. With the immunity idol played, he did all Frannie first so the Roku group could realize they'd been screwed. 

[JudyObscure]

I thought that was a very satisfying blindside after Brandon informed us all that we needn't worry about any of the women's votes because they were sure to do whatever their men told them to do.

I'm surprised they've kept the net crawl challenge after we all saw how cruel it was to Noelle when she caught her prosthetic leg in the nasty thing.  There's something sort of sadistic in a "woman in bondage," sense about the whole thing.

[Scatterbrained]

While it wasn’t shown, I suspect that once Danny’s idol was a known fact, someone (probably Heidi) soothed his fears by announcing that they would ALL vote for Frannie except for one or two people.  Therefore, both big boys would feel soothed and safe.  Although, at tribal, you could tell that Brandon did not feel safe.  I think Carolyn voted for Brandon specifically because it was personal for her after the picnic.  If he went out she wanted to be one f the ones directly responsible for sending him to the jury.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Scatterbrained

[Shermie]

I wonder if Carson wishes he did the net thing first so he could breeze through it. I’m sure he practiced it a jillion times. 

Carolyn is one of those people who, if given a choice between expressing themself or staying quiet, will always express themself. Whether it’s actual talking or moaning or grunting or just rolling her eyes, Carolyn will let you know what’s on her mind.

[iMonrey]

Quote

They aren’t put into compartments, but yes, the votes are stacked in a particular order for dramatic effect. I don’t remember if Jeff’s the one who stacks them, or if it’s another production person. But the read order is definitely not random.

Yes, but my point is that the idol is not played until after Jeff retrieves the urn from the voting station. So all the Fannie votes could not have been stacked on top by a production person before the idol was played. Unless they're psychic.

Quote

I kinda think there were two separate stacks of votes in the urn--a Frannie one and a Brandon one. Then if no idol was played, or an idol played for neither, Jeff could just alternate between Frannie and Brandon in reading the votes. Or, if the idol is played for either Frannie or Brandon, he could read all the votes for the person the idol was played on first, then the other votes.

That urn isn't big enough to have two side by side stacks. And what if there are votes for more than two people, are there three stacks? Four stacks if there are votes for four people?

There are two possible scenarios here. One, Jeff goes to get the votes and a production person opens the urn and tells him "We put all the Frannie votes on this side, then on the other side of this little cardboard separator, we put the Brandon votes."

Or two, after the idol is played, the director says "Cut!" and then they take the votes off camera and re-arrange them. I'd say that's far more likely, given the variables involved in the first option.

[Meander]

31 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Yes, but my point is that the idol is not played until after Jeff retrieves the urn from the voting station. So all the Fannie votes could not have been stacked on top by a production person before the idol was played. Unless they're psychic.

That urn isn't big enough to have two side by side stacks. And what if there are votes for more than two people, are there three stacks? Four stacks if there are votes for four people?

There are two possible scenarios here. One, Jeff goes to get the votes and a production person opens the urn and tells him "We put all the Frannie votes on this side, then on the other side of this little cardboard separator, we put the Brandon votes."

Or two, after the idol is played, the director says "Cut!" and then they take the votes off camera and re-arrange them. I'd say that's far more likely, given the variables involved in the first option.

third scenario: what we are shown on Camera is not how it happens a TC.  If Jeff picks anti-climatic vote at wrong time he just would put it back in without reading out loud, he always reads before showing, and that is edited out.

 

 

I still think your first scenario is still the easiest, put all votes per person together, sticky notes which is which- Director tells Jeff if a) do this, if b) that, c) ....  . Survivor Franchise has hundreds of TC by now, they have perfected by now 

 

 

[Silver-hyren]

The producers probably watch the footage leading up to Tribal so have a good idea of how the votes will play out so they can arrange them how they want in the urn for maximum dramatic effect even without knowing if the idol is going to be played.  
If the idol isn’t played:  all these votes are for you, probably should have used it!
If the idol is played:  tough luck guys, person you wanted out is safe!

[HurricaneVal]

I can't believe I forgot to mention the fart!  That was perfect.  So many of us here have wondered if any of the competitors in the competitions have wanted to tell Jeff to shut up with his endless shouted blathering commentary.  Danny did us one better--he faked Jeff out with what appeared to be a dramatic "lets make a deal" moment which Jeff breathlessly jumped on, then farted with priceless comedic timing.  It was brilliant commentary!

[MerBearHou]

15 hours ago, North of Eden said:

I'll close on Frannie...her and Matt's eye f@$king at the end saved the episode. That was all kinds of cute...still rooting for a post-show romance.

UO:  I really think they're adorable and I'm enjoying watching this sweet new romance.  

[gingerella]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Are there compartments in that urn marked with the players that got voted for? I assume those compartments aren't pre-marked, unless there are ten of them in there. So someone goes and arranges all the votes into compartments before Jeff reads them? And after the idol is played he pulls out all the votes in the Frannie compartment? That seems less likely than the director yelling "Cut!" as soon as Danny played the idol so someone could pull all the Frannie votes and put them on top for Jeff. One way or another they are clearly pre-arranged for maximum "drama."

I've always assumed that someone on staff goes up to the voting booth and arranges the votes in whatever order they feel will produce the most drama.

Last night was hella boring. Hell.A. I'm over the showmance between Matt and Frannie, enough already. Yam Yam is annoying AF to me. I don't like overly wrought, emotionally erratic players and that's him, more or less. Then sometimes I get a glimmer and think, wait, maybe he IS a good player? And it hurts my head when that happens. Like last night, will he or won't he out Danny's idol to the other side? Then he makes all these dramatic faces when the votes are being read and all I could think is - he KNOWS that Danny was going to play his idol for Frannie, so is he making these shocked faces so the other tribe doesn't think he was in on it? It's so over done. And speaking of overdone, Carolyn, I still fail to see what people love about her but I confess she was less annoying last night, but only because we saw a lot less of her on screen. Thank you editing monkeys.

I thought for sure Kane was going home last night when they gave him so much screen time at the top of the show, but nope, Brandon. Lesson that every contestant should already know, the minute you start crowing about controlling the game, that's pretty much telling Karma to send your ass home.

[dancingdreamer]

3 hours ago, Shermie said:

I wonder if Carson wishes he did the net thing first so he could breeze through it. I’m sure he practiced it a jillion times. 

Carolyn is one of those people who, if given a choice between expressing themself or staying quiet, will always express themself. Whether it’s actual talking or moaning or grunting or just rolling her eyes, Carolyn will let you know what’s on her mind.

I like that about Carolyn. Yam Yam sometimes  does the same thing.

[eel21788]

13 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

 It used to be that when you got to the merge, you started picking off the strong competitors as fast as you could so they couldn't go on an immunity run to the end in the strength of their, well, strength.  

However, are they going to figure out that Carson has practiced all the puzzles and do something about it before he goes on a winning streak? 

[bankerchick]

I thought it was sweet when Carolyn and Carson were eliminated with Carolyn still wrapped up in the mud and a few players came over to help her.  Yam-Yam says, 'let's get you out of there.'  Just like you would to a toddler or a pet.

I have mixed feelings over Brandon being voted out.  He was the typical alpha-male athlete, in that he assumed he was in charge, things would go his way, and the wimmin would do what they're told in service of moving him ahead.  I also think he teamed up with Kane because he thought 2 big guys would probably win the challenge.  But, he was smokin' hot and I enjoyed looking at him.

Not to flog a dead horse (but going to anyway,) I always assumed the votes were stacked in a way that created the most drama.  It just seems really unlikely to me that once Danny played an idol, production yelled 'CUT' then rearranged the votes.  That would certainly send the message that something was up and probably blunt the effect of a blindside, even if they didn't know who would be screwed.  The way the votes came out, the only options were Franny or Brandon.  It seems like it would be easy enough in this situation to have Franny votes on one side of the bucket, and Brandon votes on the other.  Jeff would pull them out in the order that would create the most drama based on whether or not an idol was played.

[eel21788]

11 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

I thought it was sweet when Carolyn and Carson were eliminated with Carolyn still wrapped up in the mud and a few players came over to help her.  Yam-Yam says, 'let's get you out of there.'  Just like you would to a toddler or a pet.

I thought Carolyn had finally made it through, and it was Carson they were trying to free. 

[Skooma]

4 hours ago, Shermie said:

I wonder if Carson wishes he did the net thing first so he could breeze through it. I’m sure he practiced it a jillion times. 

Carolyn is one of those people who, if given a choice between expressing themself or staying quiet, will always express themself. Whether it’s actual talking or moaning or grunting or just rolling her eyes, Carolyn will let you know what’s on her mind.

Actually I think Carolyn is the one person who knows when to keep her mouth shut this season when it comes to the important stuff.

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Yes, but my point is that the idol is not played until after Jeff retrieves the urn from the voting station. So all the Fannie votes could not have been stacked on top by a production person before the idol was played. Unless they're psychic.

That urn isn't big enough to have two side by side stacks. And what if there are votes for more than two people, are there three stacks? Four stacks if there are votes for four people?

It is, as mentioned above, either a system installed at the bottom of the urn where Jeff knows by feel where each vote is or simply a two way system.  Like tonight Frannie votes on bottom, Brandon votes on top.  Idol played?  Just flip the stack over or pull from bottom of stack and read Brandon votes first. 

And yes there is even room for separate stacks on the bottom if placed vertical in little holders.  Even along the sides.  It is a damn big urn and always has been for just this reason.

Saying cut and re-setting removes too much of the spontaneous drama etc from the faces of the players you only get with the one take so you want to make good TV, not ruin it by re-shooting again.  It isn't rocket science to have a urn bottom system in place Jeff can know how to use by "feel."  Now he is no Phil Koeghan but even somebody like Jeff could manage that.

Edited April 20, 2023 by Skooma

[iMonrey]

Quote

It is, as mentioned above, either a system installed at the bottom of the urn where Jeff knows by feel where each vote is or simply a two way system.  Like tonight Frannie votes on bottom, Brandon votes on top.  Idol played?  Just flip the stack over or pull from bottom of stack and read Brandon votes first. 

But it wouldn't work that way. Having a stack of Frannie on top and a stack of Brandon on bottom wouldn't "flip," for one thing. Not unless you literally reached inside, pulled out the whole stack and replaced it upside down. More to the point, if Danny had not played the idol at all, then Jeff would have to pull out one from the top then one from the bottom, then one from the top, etc., and surely the players would notice he's either reaching under a stack or pulling from the top. It would look strange. There's not a lot of room in that little urn to really manipulate the votes when they're in there.

If they are separated somehow I'd really like to know the mechanics of it. Perhaps all the Frannie votes are paperclipped together with a sticky note on them that says "Frannie"? Jeff would still have to really fumble around.

But I'm starting to think Meander is onto something upthread. Maybe there is noticeable fumbling as Jeff is trying to make sure he's pulling out a particular vote, and the show just edits it out.

Sorry I'm so obsessed with this, but it really caught my attention this time for some reason.

[SummerDreams]

I think I will only be happy if Frannie wins because she is cute or even if Carson wins because he deserves it. I don't really care for anyone else. We don't even know much for anyone else to be honest. I miss the introduction videos they used to make for each player so we see them with their families and we know some things about them. Now the only people who get some videos from home are the ones with sob stories.

I think though that we viewers are a little bit to blame for the show having so many idols and advantages and twists; if an episode is kinda boring and predictable we don't like it, we say "pff boring episode, I knew so and so was going to leave". I think it's a reason the producers are trying to create the most anticipation and drama to each episode.