S44.E09: Under the Wing of a Dragon

[Whimsy]

Quote

Castaways must negotiate to earn a big pot of rice for the entire tribe. Then, the castaways will need to put their best foot forward to earn immunity at the next tribal 

Original airdate 4/26/23

[Guest]

If there was one good thing about this episode, it's that it solidified who my least favorite player of the season is. Danny can check out any time he likes (but he'll probably never leave). I found myself being more or less cool with everyone else (except possibly Yam Yam, who's nearing his expiration date with me), so that is encouraging.

Another good thing is that poor Jaime's fake idol was removed from the game, so I don't have to worry about her trying to play it.

Kane wasn't my favorite or anything, but he was harmless and seemed pretty chill, so that was a bummer.

[Carey]

I'm sorry, but Yam Yam is the latest example of why I hate the Final 3 format.  BTW, if I'm actually right, please let me know.  I did not read any spoilers, and you know I would never post actual spoilers.  That would be petty.

As mentioned, people might think he's a mastermind, but I'd think they would've targeted him somewhat by now

[LadyChatts]

Carolyn or Frannie for the win!  Seriously, it’s so frustrating that they are making very valid observations and are simply dismissed because one guy has a grudge over his name being written down, the other one more concerned about idols than people playing the middle.  If Danny stopped for a minute and thought, maybe Frannie’s words would actually stop in his head somewhere and make him wonder if he really can trust Tika.  I’m equally annoyed that Yam Yam has to be such a baby about people writing his name down so he wants to get them out.  In what universe was Kane really a threat?  I barely now anything about Lauren’s game and I’d say she’s a bigger threat than Kane.

I hope production doesn’t do fake idols next season.  They were a bust this season, but I don’t think it’s fair game play.  If contestants hide it that’s one thing, but production is intentionally manipulating the results.  I said in the chat thread that someone who feels confident that they have an idol probably won’t also play their shot in the dark, and that could potentially tank their game and that of their allies.

Speaking of allies, I’m guessing Ratu might pay for Brandon being stubborn in not wanting to split the vote last week.  Pretty bone headed move. 

And I was expecting something big at TC.  Instead we got just a vote with 4 different people having their names read.  All that build up for a not-so-shocking elimination.

Edited April 27, 2023 by LadyChatts

[susannot]

5 minutes ago, tracyscott76 said:

If there was one good thing about this episode, it's that it solidified who my least favorite player of the season is. Danny can check out any time he likes (but he'll probably never leave). I found myself being more or less cool with everyone else (except possibly Yam Yam, who's nearing his expiration date with me), so that is encouraging.

Another good thing is that poor Jaime's fake idol was removed from the game, so I don't have to worry about her trying to play it.

Kane wasn't my favorite or anything, but he was harmless and seemed pretty chill, so that was a bummer.

What?  I thought I watched the episode very closely and followed the live chat, but how was Jaime's fake idol taken out of the game?

[Carey]

100% on Frannie FTW.  BTW, I think she's become more of game than relationship.  It's been a minute and a half since Matt's ouster.  She beats Danny (days after Brandon), and then she thinks outside of the box.  It didn't work, but that might be a good thing with Carolyn still in the game

[susannot]

6 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Carolyn or Frannie for the win!  

 

YES!!!

[jsm1125]

1 minute ago, susannot said:

What?  I thought I watched the episode very closely and followed the live chat, but how was Jaime's fake idol taken out of the game?

I thought Kane held it for her in case there was a Knowledge Is Power in play this season. And Kane left with it in his pocket

[susannot]

Just now, jsm1125 said:

I thought Kane held it for her in case there was a Knowledge Is Power in play this season. And Kane left with it in his pocket

Thanks!  It's hard to keep track.

[MerBearHou]

So what was the reasoning on Kane holding it for Jaime?  Could he have played it for himself?  Then we would have seen Jeff say “this is NOT a real immunity idol”.  And from Kane’s last words, he has no idea he has a fake idol in his sock.

Edited April 27, 2023 by MerBearHou

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, susannot said:

6 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

I thought Kane held it for her in case there was a Knowledge Is Power in play this season. And Kane left with it in his pocket

Thanks!  It's hard to keep track.

Yes, they showed Kane holding it up and talking about it in his final words as the credits played, saying the only thing worse than leaving with an idol in your pocket is leaving with an ally's idol in your pocket.

The reasoning, @MerBearHou, was to avoid a possible Knowledge is Power advantage, where someone could ask a person for any idol or advantage they held. Lauren gave Jaime her extra vote for the same reason, and they showed Jaime voting twice for Heidi. In theory he could have played it for himself, but he seemed pretty clear that he would give it back to Jaime at TC if she wanted to play it for herself.

Edited April 27, 2023 by tracyscott76
Because this is confusing!

[susannot]

I'm glad Kane didn't embarrass himself by playing it on national TV.

[Carey]

1 minute ago, susannot said:

I'm glad Kane didn't embarrass himself by playing it on national TV.

Meh.  Kane wouldn't have been Top 5 in terms of one's humiliation in terms of HII and TC

[susannot]

1 minute ago, Carey said:

Meh.  Kane wouldn't have been Top 5 in terms of one's humiliation in terms of HII and TC

True.  Would be fun to list the top 5 but I think we all know what they are.

[cdnalor]

When Jeff mentioned the tarp they have at camp during the rice negotiation, did anyone else think he might be hinting that they could trade it in lieu of a fourth person sitting out?  It's been done before.

[LadyChatts]

4 minutes ago, susannot said:

I'm glad Kane didn't embarrass himself by playing it on national TV.

Well, at least he didn’t fall for a stick as an idol.  But I am glad no one played the fake idol.  It was a bust, so I hope to doesn’t come back next season, but it probably will since production is persistent (they’ll probably have strings attached to make sure it gets played next time).  

[mojoween]

This is really the editors fault, but I am not feeling Heidi.  She was invisible for the first seven episodes and then all of a sudden it’s like she thinks she’s running things.

SO embarrassed every time Jaime talks about her idol.

Danny has gotta go, his perma-smirk is obnoxious.

[Grizzly]

Danny was so contemptuous of people sitting out a challenge for rice. I thought he should have made his point by not eating any but there he was with a big scoop. Danny, you missed your chance to go 30 days without food.

[dizzyd]

So besides the HII Heidi just won and Carolyn’s cage idol, are there any more active idols and advantages still in play? Aren’t all the fakes eliminated, so I’m glad that concept failed. And the other 2 cage idols have already been used. Also Lauren used her extra vote. 

[dancingdreamer]

We had no idea who was going, I love a good TC. Carolyn  was right  Danny was more of a threat than Kane. I felt cold watching  them..
Carolyn  or Frannie for the win. I still like Yam Yam as well.

 

[Guest]

Just now, Grizzly said:

Danny was so contemptuous of people sitting out a challenge for rice. I thought he should have made his point by not eating any but there he was with a big scoop. Danny, you missed your chance to go 30 days without food.

I was thinking the same thing. Pretty much everything he said or did this episode made me twitch.

Also making me twitch was Jeff. Even more than his annoying play-by-play at the challenges, I am irritated by his over the top reactions at TC, acting like what they are saying is SOOO insightful and dramatic and meaningful and important. "WOW" 🤢 Let the players sell it themselves, dude. They don't need a hype man.

[North of Eden]

Okay, I want to lead with my once-a-season complaint about the lack of the Gross Food Challenge. When Carson was talking about being so hungry, I thought that would be a perfect segment into a GFC instead of "bartering for rice". But as I've said, I've long suspected in the touchy/feely world we live in now, CBS is worried about offending some Fijian by presenting their local delicacies as part of the challenge. It really was a simpler time in the good old days of the GFC, but they have gone the way of the counterbalance, which was to visit a local community and interact with the native in some form.

Anyway....I was so happy for Frannie's win and knew Matt would be featuring a mile-wide smile. I know she can't win the game, but I'll be rooting for her all the way to pull off one of those miracle wins. It's good to have someone to root for.

I didn't even realize Kane left with the fake idol until the end credits. I'm sure Jeff was despondent that he didn't get a chance to humiliate Jamie if she ever played it for herself since they actively went out of their way to plant fakes.

Here is a twist for you, TPTB...when an idol is played, it is DEAD...not reburied...DEAD...it's over, finished, done.

I thought Carolyn was leaving tonight when we got her tragic backstory.

To close the voting was crazy, but I'll take that any day over the block voting that's ruined many a season.

[KeithJ]

I am so tired of Yam Yam, Jam Jam, dum dum, or whatever his name is.  “If you vote for me, you go home.”  He says it like he’s responsible for them going home.  It’s all been coincidence (and luck) that those people have gone home.  He had nothing to do with it.

[dancingdreamer]

1 hour ago, tracyscott76 said:

I was thinking the same thing. Pretty much everything he said or did this episode made me twitch.

Also making me twitch was Jeff. Even more than his annoying play-by-play at the challenges, I am irritated by his over the top reactions at TC, acting like what they are saying is SOOO insightful and dramatic and meaningful and important. "WOW" 🤢 Let the players sell it themselves, dude. They don't need a hype man.

But Jeff does  the play by play, because  it screws with their concentration, they've  said it at the final reunion. He can be OTT, but I think he does an excellent  job. Jmho.

[GenerationX]

Showing subtitles as Yam Yam asked for subtitles was more entertaining than the whispering itself.

[TVFan1]

Frannie continues to impress me. First, she wins her second immunity challenge this season, and then realizes that the Tika members are playing the middle. She wanted to split the votes on Yam Yam and Carolyn and then send Yam Yam home on the revote. Great idea, until Danny shuts that idea down. Go home anytime, Danny. Frannie for the win.

I don't know why Kane was seen as a threat. There are bigger threats in the game.

Edited April 27, 2023 by TVFan1

[Lantern7]

Good episode. Could have gone without Probst sticking himself in the middle of the game for the umpteenth time, but what are you going to do?

I'm still convinced Yam Yam makes the final as a goat. I don't think he has a shot . . . and yes, I thought that about Gabler last season. YY is a goat . . . .  or maybe a satyr. You remember Danny Devito's character in Hercules? That's YY.

I'm always surprised to see Heidi. I don't think she's gotten much camera time.

2 hours ago, susannot said:

I'm glad Kane didn't embarrass himself by playing [the fake idol] on national TV.

One blessing about tonight's vote is that a fake idol was taken out of the game. Once again, there hould be some sort of way to identify it's bogusness. Otherwise, you have the potential of Probst declaring a fake to be real (or vice versa) in order to influence gameplay. If it's a coin, etch in poor Erik getting bamboozled by the Black Widow Alliance. Or Jason Siska proudly holding a stick. Give us something.

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Carolyn or Frannie for the win!

I'm down. Frannie has the adorkable thing going that Maryanne had last year. Carolyn hasn't gotten much attention compared with earlier in the season, but her BTS story of overcoming addiction was illuminating . . . . both as an insight towards her and as an indication that she'll win.

[Cheyanne11]

Ugh, Frannie makes the astute argument that they need to get one of the Tika 3 out and Danny mansplains to get why she’s not being “logical.”  Shut up.

Then there’s Yam Yam acting like his personal grudge list is the only way to vote.  So insufferable.

Team Frannie or Carolyn.  

[pennben]

Hahahahaha! I've got pay respect to the Danny reply at tribal that "I'm not a scout!" Hysterical, love hm/hate him, absolutely. hysterical defense similarly to as if someone tried to enforce pinkly swear!  Loved it!

Jamie is wearing it less and less well after she told who was it that she needed to wear confidence better last tribal, then her face dropped at end of last week & now very much not wearing it well this week! Delicious!

Most amusing, basically most pre-merge shenanigans are now out of the game! mostly without the effect they wanted! Biggest laugh of episode was that production wanted to humiliate someone when they played manufactured fake idole & boom, their plans were just blanks and players moved on without damage.

In sum, delightful episode for many unexpected reasons.  Annoyed by Jeff trying to pitch that whack-a'-mole like this season is better than traditional Survivor focusing a bit more time on player than trinkets, don't like the whispering at tribal (was that part of Tika confusion strategy?) 

End of day, loved the Carolyn exposition about her issues and how she has overcome to build a good life.  Winner or not, she deserved a standing at the top of a rock hero shot from the show, because it is extraordinary for her to be there.. 

 

[princelina]

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Well, at least he didn’t fall for a stick as an idol.  But I am glad no one played the fake idol.  It was a bust, so I hope to doesn’t come back next season, but it probably will since production is persistent (they’ll probably have strings attached to make sure it gets played next time).  

 

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

SO embarrassed every time Jaime talks about her idol.

I'm glad Kane wasn't embarrassed by it, but I was really really hoping to see Jamie do it!  She bugs me 😄

2 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Okay, I want to lead with my once-a-season complaint about the lack of the Gross Food Challenge. When Carson was talking about being so hungry, I thought that would be a perfect segment into a GFC instead of "bartering for rice". But as I've said, I've long suspected in the touchy/feely world we live in now, CBS is worried about offending some Fijian by presenting their local delicacies as part of the challenge.

 

I thought that was already established as being true!

[Haleth]

Frannie is a warrior without the weight of Matt and his puppy eyes.  She is a good example of why you fight to make it through any tribal council; because you never know what will happen in the next 3 days.  Keep fighting, Frannie!

Like other posters I thought the focus on Carolyn's backstory along with photos and sad music meant she was a goner.  I'll still be disappointed if she doesn't win.  I love that she still has an idol in her pocket and nobody even suspects!  It would be crazy if she makes it to FTC and shows the jury her idol that she never needed.  (Didn't someone else do that once?  And didn't that person win?)

[Lady Calypso]

I really wanted to like Yam Yam and it's not like I dislike him (he's mostly fine in small doses), but he definitely bothers me with how much he believes he's been in total control of the merge vote-outs thus far when it's been all of Tika who have been in control. I mean, good for him for admitting his votes are petty and personal, but still, I was hoping Carolyn would get her way this time. And it looks like Tika is sticking together, no matter what. They did control the votes this time (thanks to people wanting to split votes, as well).  

Carolyn's segment was nice. After the last few episodes of people ignoring her, I'm glad we got a segment of people actively listening to her.

See? Now that Rebound Matt is gone, Frannie's showing that she has some real potential to be great at this game by noticing Tika's strategy and rightfully calling it out as dangerous to leave in the game for too long. But is it too little too late? I'm not sure, maybe. She's won two immunities so far, so she may be in some danger soon.

 A fine episode overall, a tad on the dull side because of the fake idol/KIP crap, but a short challenge and more time to see them talk on the beach was great. A downside is a longer Tribal that ultimately led to something not that interesting, but at least it was explained WHY Kane went.

[violet and green]

That was frustrating, as Kane had shown Carson he was ready to work with him since the first tribe shuffle, and is no threat. They could have got out Heidi or Danny and had a Tika 4 alliance. YamYam's obsession with whoever put his name down will bite him at some point, surely.

I agreed with Danny that Franny's plan to target a Tika now was "illogical", as they were and are working with the Soku three, and it would be premature to burn that bridge.

Very disappointing to miss out on Jaime playing her fake idol. All that build-up for nothing.

Carolyn continues to charm. I hope Carson stays loyal to her. Everyone else can go, in whatever order.

[violet and green]

Mind you, I am glad Danny is still there. Tika and Danny are the only players bringing a bit of energy to the show, and thinking on their feet.

[MissR2424]

This episode was definitely setting Carolyn up as the winner. 
REALLY obvious 

[Drogo]

8 hours ago, TVFan1 said:

Frannie continues to impress me. First, she wins her second immunity challenge this season, and then realizes that the Tika members are playing the middle. She wanted to split the votes on Yam Yam and Carolyn and then send Yam Yam home on the revote. Great idea, until Danny shuts that idea down. Go home anytime, Danny. Frannie for the win.

I don't know why Kane was seen as a threat. There are bigger threats in the game.

Episode summary: Biggest threats in the game (Danny and Frannie) worry about people who haven’t done shit in challenges (Kane and Double Yam.)

[seacliffsal]

55 minutes ago, MissR2424 said:

This episode was definitely setting Carolyn up as the winner. 
REALLY obvious 

I had the opposite thought as during the highlight on Carolyn she stated that she was glad they all view her as 'confused' as part of her game play.  So, I thought the highlight was lovely but that within it Carolyn gave the reason she won't win even thought she didn't realize she voiced why she won't win.  She was glad people went from 'I can't play with her' to 'I could play with her' but still emphasized how she was glad they thought she was confused about what was going on.

Okay, it probably means that I'm a bit mean (or a lot) but after Jaime claiming all season that she was the one who was the MVP because she knew everything that was going on, I wanted her to try to play her fake idol.  Oh well.  Again, the players have 'broken' another production gimmick by handing around all of their idols and advantages in order to not lose them to the 'knowledge is power' gimmick.

And, although I like and generally support Jeff, he can just lose it with his 'wouldn't you rather play chaos survivor than quiet survivor?'  What are they going to say Jeff?  If they disagree with you, they know they might get the 'purple Kelly' edit.  Who (outside of Jonathon Penner or Boston Rob) is going to disagree with the host and executive producer?

I do love watching the alliances that think they are running the show start to realize that they aren't.  Carson is probably due for an epic fail soon as he keeps thinking he's the mastermind.  Am over Yam Yam even though I really liked him at the beginning of the season.

And, just to remind everyone of how shallow I am, I really enjoyed seeing Brandon at TC-he is very good looking.

[violet and green]

1 minute ago, seacliffsal said:

Who (outside of Jonathon Penner or Boston Rob) is going to disagree with the host and executive producer?

Kane! He opted for quiet survivor.

2 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Okay, it probably means that I'm a bit mean (or a lot) but after Jaime claiming all season that she was the one who was the MVP because she knew everything that was going on, I wanted her to try to play her fake idol.  Oh well.  Again, the players have 'broken' another production gimmick by handing around all of their idols and advantages in order to not lose them to the 'knowledge is power' gimmick.

I was yearning for her to play it. I am so mean I wanted to see her big smile fade... But it wasn't production's fake idol, it was the one that medivacked shoulder injury Mathew made and hid and pointed out the hiding spot of to her, which was somehow sweeter. Going out in Kane's sock is not bad, though. 

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Episode summary: Biggest threats in the game (Danny and Frannie) worry about people who haven’t done shit in challenges (Kane and Double Yam.)

Worrying about Kane was a little odd, but Frannie identifying Yam Yam as a threat is very legit. It's not all about how they do in challenges; he's a bundle of personality with the ability to make people laugh (even if he annoys some of the audience with his confessionals). That's very dangerous as well.

9 hours ago, dancingdreamer said:

But Jeff does  the play by play, because  it screws with their concentration, they've  said it at the final reunion. He can be OTT, but I think he does an excellent  job. Jmho.

I should clarify that it isn't the play-by-play itself that annoys me - that's part of the game. It's his overly dramatic pronouncements where he loses all perspective: "You've gotta dig!", "THAT'S how you do it in Survivor!", and from this episode "You are warriors!" No Jeff, they're not warriors. They're people standing on a block to try to stay in a GAME for a million dollars.

Just now, violet and green said:

Kane! He opted for quiet survivor.

But then he said he was just kidding and talked about how he loved chaotic Survivor.

[JudyObscure]

28 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Episode summary: Biggest threats in the game (Danny and Frannie) worry about people who haven’t done shit in challenges (Kane and Double Yam.)

Yes, and as usual there are people like Heidi, who, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, will look at Kane and say, "He's big so he's a huge threat in challenges."  What show has she been watching?

I can't stand people like Danny who lie through semantics and act like it's clever.  He's the type who would swear to his wife that he never slept with that woman, while saying to himself, "Because I kept my eyes open all night."  I liked Carolyn admitting that she wanted Danny out just because she couldn't stand him anymore.  Me too.

It would be fine with me if the three men went next, Danny first,  then Yam Yam for all his "aren't I adorable?" mannerisms, then Carson who seems to think he's the only one who's hungry and we should pity him accordingly. 

Then Jamie, the fount of wisdom Yogi, who's wrong all the time and can't balance on a block for 15  seconds.

[sugarbaker design]

11 hours ago, North of Eden said:

I thought Carolyn was leaving tonight when we got her tragic backstory.

Tragic?  Carolyn is thirteen years sober, happily married, gainfully employed helping others, has a son, and is a Survivor fan favorite.  Tragic is not the adjective I'd  use.

[KeithJ]

1 hour ago, Drogo said:

Episode summary: Biggest threats in the game (Danny and Frannie) worry about people who haven’t done shit in challenges (Kane and Double Yam.)

Frannie had a valid point and we've seen it before where players on opposite sides got together to vote out the players in the middle playing both sides.

[Nashville]

12 hours ago, North of Eden said:

I thought Carolyn was leaving tonight when we got her tragic backstory.

TPTB had me wondering a wee bit with that little slice of reality pie myself; at this stage of the season a backstory deep-dive usually means the featured player is either going home that night, or on a glide path to F3.

 

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

Yes, and as usual there are people like Heidi, who, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, will look at Kane and say, "He's big so he's a huge threat in challenges."  What show has she been watching?

THANK you; anybody who thinks the Brutus Beefcakes have a natural physical advantage in Survivor-style competitions hasn’t been paying attention since, oh, about Season 7 or so.  Past history has repeatedly demonstrated the musclebounds - particularly musclebound males, with their correspondingly higher center of gravity - have a distinct DISadvantage on endurance and/or balance comps.

 

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

then Yam Yam for all his "aren't I adorable?" mannerisms

Then Jamie, the fount of wisdom Yogi, who's wrong all the time and can't balance on a block for 15  seconds.

Both of these cannot get out the door quickly enough to suit me:

• Y^2 can just shut the fuck up for the rest of the season any day now; for me, the ingratiating self-satisfied whine of his voice has become the audio equivalent of fingernails scraping down the side of my balls.
• The worst thing about Kane going to Jury with Jaime’s fake idol in his sock is we don’t get to see Jiffy totally destroy Jaime’s unwarranted sense of superiority by telling her the idol she just played, isn’t one - and I was really looking forward to seeing that.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Episode summary: Biggest threats in the game (Danny and Frannie) worry about people who haven’t done shit in challenges (Kane and Double Yam.)

Yes, this seemed like a really dumb move to me. Kane is a threat to nobody, and has no alliance to speak of. It was just a continuation of Ratu going after Soka, and it looks like Soka is winning. Meanwhile Tika stays intact. Frannie had the right idea - target the people who are playing the middle because neither Ratu nor Soka should be trusting them. Meanwhile, Lauren, Jamie and Kane targeted . . . Heidi? Why, exactly, and not Danny? Is Carolyn the only one who sees Danny as the biggest remaining physical threat?

These people don't see the forest for the trees. And once again, paranoia about an advantage that's not even at play drove a lot of the decisions. Not that it isn't hilarious none of the production-planted fake idols came to naught this season, or that Lauren's extra vote was wasted. (And did they even show Lauren giving it to Jamie? It was Jamie who used Lauren's extra vote, I didn't even realize it until they showed voting over the closing credits.) But what passes for "strategy" is based more and more on production driven shenanigans than pure game play.

Quote

And, although I like and generally support Jeff, he can just lose it with his 'wouldn't you rather play chaos survivor than quiet survivor?'  What are they going to say Jeff?

Nothing makes me sicker than watching Jeff with his shit-eating grin while they all start scrambling and whispering at TC. And it's all prompted by him. He's literally telling them how they should be playing now. It's just gone too far.

Honestly I don't know that this game is salvageable anymore, it's so manipulated at this point.

[Guest]

9 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Meanwhile, Lauren, Jamie and Kane targeted . . . Heidi? Why, exactly, and not Danny? Is Carolyn the only one who sees Danny as the biggest remaining physical threat?

Lauren, Jaime, and Kane thought Danny might have found a re-hidden idol since he was searching so aggressively. So they put most of their votes (Lauren, Jaime, and the extra vote) on Heidi, but Kane put one on Danny just in case Heidi had the idol or had it played for her. (And they thought/hoped that Carolyn/Carson/Yam Yam were voting with them)

9 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

And did they even show Lauren giving it to Jamie? It was Jamie who used Lauren's extra vote, I didn't even realize it until they showed voting over the closing credits.

They did show Lauren giving it to Jaime. As they were explaining in voice-overs their fear of a possible Knowledge is Power advantage, they showed Lauren explaining that she'd been keeping it tucked in her shorts, and Jaime doing the same. Then, when Jaime went to vote, they showed her getting out an extra parchment.

Edited April 27, 2023 by tracyscott76

[North of Eden]

2 hours ago, sugarbaker design said:

Tragic?  Carolyn is thirteen years sober, happily married, gainfully employed helping others, has a son, and is a Survivor fan favorite.  Tragic is not the adjective I'd  use.

Her admitting to having been a drunk who needed a drink before they could pull themselves together to function sounds pretty tragic to me.

[Haleth]

As fun as it would have been to see Jamie play the fake idol, it’s also fun to think how pissed off she must have been watching her idol sail off to Ponderosa with Kane. Bon voyage, idol!

[Fretful]

Were Carolyn and Yam Yam on the same giant rock that attacked Matthew (I can't keep all the beaches straight in my mind).  I'm sure there's a metaphor there.

I always wonder what would happen if EVERYONE sat out the immunity challenge for the rice.  That way, they all make the same sacrifice for the same reward.  I'm sure it would make Jeff's head explode, and whoever came up with the plan would get the worst edit ever.  

I liked this episode.  A nice balance of camp, strategy, and challenge.  Very little Matt/Franny smitten smirks- although I am rooting for them outside the show- it bothered me that in previous episodes,  every time she said something they cut to his reaction.

Has Carolyn ever been on the wrong side of the vote?  How fun would it be if she went on an immunity run?!

Carson is probably playing the smartest game right now,  but I can't help but think that down the line he overplays and makes a major blunder that causes his demise.

Smiling Jaimie could get dragged to the end where she is shocked, shocked, shocked that she doesn't win.

[RedbirdNelly]

I don't hate Danny but I thought it very odd that he tried to convince all not to go for the rice. If it were me, I'd quietly decide "I'm not stepping down for rice" but be more than happy for other people to do it--(a) I get rice and (b) I compete against fewer people. There is no advantage to me to convince everybody to compete and it just gives people who want rice to be annoyed with me.

[fishcakes]

9 minutes ago, Fretful said:

Were Carolyn and Yam Yam on the same giant rock that attacked Matthew (I can't keep all the beaches straight in my mind).  I'm sure there's a metaphor there.

I always wonder what would happen if EVERYONE sat out the immunity challenge for the rice.  That way, they all make the same sacrifice for the same reward.  I'm sure it would make Jeff's head explode, and whoever came up with the plan would get the worst edit ever.  

I was thinking it was the same rock too, until they went to a wide shot. Matthew's rock was almost a straight vertical climb; the one they were on had a much gentler grade. I still wouldn't have risked it barefoot and bare-legged though.

There's some rule about how you can't sit out a challenge for no reason (although they did make an exception for Special Agent Phil one time because he almost drowned as a kid and it was a particularly heinous water challenge), so I think once four people agree to sit out, then everyone else has to compete. A few times they did that sadistic thing where any number of people could sit out for burgers or pizza to eat during the challenge, but not everyone would sit out because some players felt like they needed immunity more than food. Theoretically they all could sit out for that and then I guess no one would get immunity that week, but I can't see that working because you know they'd all agree beforehand and then one person would figure they could snake their way into immunity by just not sitting out when the time came. In this group, that would be Danny for sure.