S45.E02: Brought a Bazooka to a Tea Party

[Whimsy]

Quote

One person from each tribe hops on a boat, where they make a big decision that could impact their game. Then, tribes find the key to victory in the immunity challenge to unlock the fishing gear reward.

Original airdate 10/4/23

[dizzyd]

So who brought a bazooka to a tea party?  I expect Lulu to not be a TC next week now they’ve lost their weakest link.

[LadyChatts]

Not sorry to see Brandon go, especially since I like Emily.  But Brandon was such a liability, and I'm glad his tribe recognized they were probably going to keep struggling.  I like the twist with the idol being encased in wax and it needing to be melted, so I wonder if that was a motivator for Sabiyah to try to win flint so they can get fire.  I wonder if Austin's idol will also be in wax or something different, since the two first clues were.

Katurah and her comments on Bruce won the night for me.  I liked her 'does no one get this but me' when it came to him and his act.  She must be protected at all costs, especially because Kellie is already ditching the girls for the guys. 

Drew can go anytime.  He thinks he's just way too smart at this game and I'm hoping he has a miraculous downfall.

Was nice to see 'previously on Survivor', and the return of Probst's snarky comments.  And I don't know if we'll see these down the road, but I haven't missed the backstory segments in the episodes.  This is feeling more like traditional Survivor, right down to everyone being super banged up early on (seriously, what the heck is everyone doing to their knees out there?)   

[Straycat80]

I think even with Brandon gone Lulu is still a weak team. Emily is playing with Kalebs head. Sabiyah and Sean don’t trust Emily. 
The other two teams seem more together (no secrets on the red team). Plus they have some physically strong players and good at puzzles. 

[jsm1125]

I wonder if Sabiyah would be allowed to her tribal council torch to melt the wax?

[choclatechip45]

Glad Brandon is gone. I found him annoying.

[LadyChatts]

33 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

I wonder if Sabiyah would be allowed to her tribal council torch to melt the wax?

I'd be curious to know if she strictly had to do it at their camp, but I'm guessing she probably didn't want Emily to know she has the idol.  So even if this was an option, I wonder if she would have done it.

[GenerationX]

It's wonderful that Brandon had a good time on the show.  It's a shame the rest of us had to watch it.

[dizzyd]

11 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

It's wonderful that Brandon had a good time on the show.  It's a shame the rest of us had to watch it.

He sounds like a kid who always got rewarded for participation rather than excellence. He had absolutely no strengths than “loyalty” which means little this early. Also Bruce declined the journey puzzle because he’s bad at them! I’m not sure what show these guys think they’re on. I wouldn’t mind Belo going to tribal next week to eliminate Bruce. Unfortunately like kathurah said, his tribe mates see him as the 2nd coming of Cirie who at least earned her reputation, what has Bruce done besides unclesplain at them!

Edited October 5, 2023 by dizzyd

[North of Eden]

At the start of the episode, I was torn. Emily can be a pill but I really HATE it when everyone gangs up on one person. So I was happy when Caleb came around. I have to wonder if they are setting up some big redemption arc for Emily. At the end I was rooting for her and  not liking the truck driver one bit. She seems petty. 

I think Brandon was ready to go but he was smart enough not to just outright quit.

Candle Idol was a new twist and was appreciated.

As for the rest:

There is nothing in the man who would be king to me that suggests other castaways would follow him as some sort of natural-born leader. Do not like him.

Also do not like the civil rights attorney. I get a vibe from her that she has issues with someone like Bruce back home in real life that is carrying over to the game because her hatred is alternatingly pathological and pathetic.

Who knew there was an (Egyptian?) girl Jay or Julie?! I'd swear they weren't on last week.

Jeff had a good night. He probably has been waiting two decades to trot out the waterboy story. And then there was the gem of him throwing shade on the kid from last season about the puzzle. "It's brand new! No one is going to know how to do this!"  I felt last game it bugged him about the 3D printing puzzles because one it gave somewhat of an unfair advantage and secondly drew attention to how repetitive and stale the puzzles were.

Finally, for the season presumably shot during the strike which would be next season there should be no excuse not to have reward and immunity separate as the episodes are now supersized.

[MerBearHou]

55 minutes ago, choclatechip45 said:

Glad Brandon is gone. I found him annoying.

I wanted him to tie his hair back during challenges with a buff or hair tie or something!  Drove me bonkers.  Not sad he’s gone but I do fear that I’m stuck with Emily for much longer than I’d prefer.

Edited October 5, 2023 by MerBearHou

[TVFan1]

First off, thank God they brought back "Previously On Survivor" and the opening theme. 

Emily was tolerable this episode, so it's better that Brandon was voted out. He was the weakest on the Lulu tribe. They are still weak, but they might have a greater chance of actually winning a challenge now, although Reba and Belo are 2 strong tribes.

I noticed that Reba and Lulu have a clue to their idols, but Sabiyah has the wax idol. Belo has no clue to theirs, do they?

Oh, yeah, and Drew thinks he's smarter than he is. I can't stand him. Would love it if he'd be booted sooner than later.

Edited October 5, 2023 by TVFan1

[princelina]

22 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

And then there was the gem of him throwing shade on the kid from last season about the puzzle. "It's brand new! No one is going to know how to do this!"  I felt last game it bugged him about the 3D printing puzzles because one it gave somewhat of an unfair advantage and secondly drew attention to how repetitive and stale the puzzles were.

They may have been stale and repetitive, but only one person ever bothered to figure out how to do them.  Just like Joe Anglim gave me my favorite Survivor quote ever: "When I found out I was cast, I googled how to make fire and practiced until I could do it" - it's been over 10 seasons since he's said it and as far as we know, no one else has bothered.  If anyone had maybe Lulu could be melting that wax statue.  In addition to learning the puzzles, Carson also put on 40 pounds of mostly muscle before coming on the show, whereas Brandon apparently spent all of the time since he was cast weeping for joy over fulfilling his dream whilst eating wings in beanbag chairs with his friends. I guess my point is I don't believe anyone has an "unfair advantage" - we're all different of course, but no one is yanked from a work desk and plopped down on Fiji - I have nothing but respect for those who decided work for those advantages!!

[mertensia]

Glad to see the end of Brandon. 

I don't think I could have made it across that 3 tier balance beam.

 

[hendersonrocks]

I actually yelped out loud and doubled over in sympathy pains when that pelvis hit the beam. That looked and sounded wildly painful.

Mostly, though, I still have no idea who anyone outside of the deeply sad yellow tribe is. Except for Bruce, who is giving serious Wannabe Main Character energy. I love the woman on his tribe who is side eyeing the entire affair. Same girl, same.

[Lantern7]

It's hard to imagine anyone else having a tougher five days than Brandon. Great that he could spin something positive about it, but you'd have to go back to friggin' Osten in terms of awful performances. He couldn't do the challenges, passed the Beware Advantage to Sabiyah (a move that I had been waiting to see from anyone), lost the challenge to get an advantage, lost his vote, and then he couldn't help assemble the puzzle. He jumped from the tree of failure and hit every branch on the way down. I feel bad for the guy since I see a lot of myself in him, but he was painful to watch. And you just know Probst will badmouth him, even though a. he didn't quit, and b. Probst probably gave the OK to cast the "superfan."

Aside from Sabiyah and Kaleb, I hope there's no "Lulu Lemon Redemption" arc. Sean bugs and Emily's attitude will probably flare up again. Just because they're out two misfit toys doesn't mean their problems are over. I bet Sabiyah thought about quitting when she found out that she had to melt wax to get her idol, what with Lulu not having any flint. I'm thinking they were close to journeying to Tribal Council, or that she tried to melt the wax.

Not much else to add. Bruce is overcompensating for missing out on S44, Sifu is pushing his angle too hard. Drew is hella-tall, but he's basically "What if Ian was a young tool?" Like I said in the live thread, Drew looks like he interns under the Please Don't Destroy guys from SNL. And we got to hear about Probst failing to make the basketball team, which . . .  did we need a lukewarm story for him to look sympathetic?

[Chicago Redshirt]

Not going to lie, I was LOLing when Brandon was talking about how he was strong at puzzles and there needed to be a segment where Ron Howard as Arrested Development narrator said "Brandon was NOT strong at puzzles."

I am wondering if Emily is neuroatypical and that's why she came out the gate so hard and so oblivious to social cues, or if she is the r- word and knowing that her fate was in the hands of three people of color figured she better change her tune. 

I wonder if they are going to disperse Team Lulu among the other tribes. I think there's little chance that they could avoid another Tribal when they are up against the best four of the other two tribes.

The guy convinced of his own cleverness reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite.

[Steph Sometimes]

Emily was more tolerable this week. So I'll give her that. She also looks a lot like a high school friend of mine, but you'll have to take my word on that.

I hope Kellie stays with the girls. Or does Bruce or Jake also have a September birthday? That would make it a really tough decision.

I don't like Drew.

Did anyone else catch the advantage being misspelled? I think it was SAFTEY.

Bruce is a lot. I did laugh at him name-dropping Kane, one of the more forgettable players last season.

[30 Helens]

I felt bad for Brandon. To have a dream for so many years, and then fail at that dream so badly, must be a completely demoralizing experience. But good on him for trying.

That said, I don’t blame the other Lemons for voting him out. They have a dream too, and it doesn’t involve letting a Brandon-sized anchor drag them down.

As I said last week, I’m glad for the super sized episodes. But I really wish the editors had spent a little more time watching Australian Survivor’s 90-minute episodes. There, the early emphasis is on characters and relationships, and by the third episode I have a very good grasp on who the players are. Here, the early emphasis remains on challenges and advantages, and I still don’t recognize many of the players. I’ll take what I can get, but they’re not using the extra time to it’s best advantage and that’s a bit frustrating.

Edited October 5, 2023 by 30 Helens

[Sunnykm]

Brandon was not alone on the Immunity challenge puzzle--Sabiyah was right there with him not solving it as well.  I was hoping her attitude --she won't let Emily try and redeem herself and she did not acknowledge her deficit in the puzzle challenge--would blind side her in the vote tonight and that the tribe knows she potentially will have an idol and her vote back.

Emily noted Kaleb and Sabiyah as close cuz they went on the first "away" and chose each other to do it.  Why does this mean the "r" word?  She is analytical and noticed two people who chose to pair off.  Emily went too hard with the mouth but it takes a lot of humility to take the advice of Kaleb.  

I am rooting for Kaleb!  Then Emily then Drew at this point.

[jsm1125]

3 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I felt bad for Brandon. To have a dream for so many years, and then fail at that dream so badly, must be a completely demoralizing experience. But good on him for trying.

That said, I don’t blame the other Lemons for voting him out. They have a dream too, and it doesn’t involve letting a Brandon-sized anchor drag them down.

As I said last week, I’m glad for the super sized episodes. But I really wish the editors had spent a little more time watching Australian Survivor’s 90-minute episodes. There, the early emphasis is on characters and relationships, and by the third episode I have a very good grasp on who the players are. Here, the early emphasis remains on challenges and advantages, and I still don’t recognize many of the players. I’ll take what I can get, but they’re not using the extra time to it’s best advantage and that’s a bit frustrating.

Err as much as I like Australian Survivor, I’d hardly consider it balanced in the edit. Production  usually purples/gives practically no screen time to at least 1/4 of the cast. 

[violet and green]

Now I feel quite bad for disliking Emily so much after episode one. I was holding my breath by the end of tribal hoping to god they would vote Brandon out, and keep Emily.

I really thought that the Lemons had a chance with that challenge; just painful to watch Brandon bungle yet another thing. I feel bad for him, that this is is legacy as a Survivor player and that he didn't get the chance to somehow turn it around and leave on a higher note, but it was a mercy kill to vote him out.

7 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

Emily was more tolerable this week. So I'll give her that. She also looks a lot like a high school friend of mine, but you'll have to take my word on that.

Oddly enough, especially in episode one, she looked almost identical to a high school friend of mine. Bad memories!

8 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I actually yelped out loud and doubled over in sympathy pains when that pelvis hit the beam. That looked and sounded wildly painful.

Likewise, I still feel queer in my chest. Poor Kendra. That was absolutely awful.

Fingers crossed the Lemons don't go to tribal again next week and we can get a closer look at the other two tribes.

 

Edited October 5, 2023 by violet and green
wrong name

[Haleth]

Wow.  That was not good.  In fact it was painful to watch the yellow tribe fail even more due to Brandon's uselessness.  Is there anything he can do?  The social aspect will only get you so far.  Waterboys don't help you win the game.  I was going to quit watching if the other yellows didn't vote him out.  Maybe.

The only interesting thing was watching Emily reboot herself.  Whether or not she is sincere about being better socially?  Well, time will tell (and usually not for the better).  At least she seems self aware enough to play the game.  

Also good game play?  Kaleb making nice with the outcast.

Kudos to the Survivor team for encasing the idol in wax.  Makes it useless for a team without fire and very difficult for a player to get to it unseen by others.  Frustration abounds.

6 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

Bruce is a lot. I did laugh at him name-dropping Kane, one of the more forgettable players last season.

Yeah.  I was thinking who???

[Fake Jan Brady]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

Waterboys don't help you win the game. 

Probst's basketball tryout is the origin story for his ongoing hard on for alpha male contestants.

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 minutes ago, Fake Jan Brady said:

Probst's basketball tryout is the origin story for his ongoing hard on for alpha male contestants.

"Peachy Begins."

[violet and green]

So good to have the full opening theme back on, and the previously on segment as well.

[Matty]

Brandon - another cast member, like Hannah, that robbed a worthy competitor from being selected for this season. His speech at Tribal Council was over the top. Not even upset about being voted off and having to leave the competition.  No fire in the belly. Everything, according to Brandon, was unicorns and rainbows. "Gee, willikers! I made it to Survivor. My dream came true." Now that he's gone let's get back to the real competitors.     

Edited October 5, 2023 by Matty

[seacliffsal]

I was right there with Sean wondering 'what are you good at?' after Brandon convinced them that his strength was puzzles after which he failed at every single one.  Then Brandon tried to tell them he would be good at a future physical competition, but no matter what he told us, the viewers, that it was the social game that he was a self-proclaimed master.  I think Brandon represents the 'if you can dream it you can do it' generation.  No, if you want to do something you have to work hard at it...

I really like Kaleb at this point-he understands the value of reaching out to 'outcasts' and that people are looking for a way to be part of a group.  Hopefully Emily is able to make adjustments.

Bruce, however, seems to be reveling in some type of 'celebrity' which I don't think he actually has.  He is very camera hungry as when the tribes were sent back to camp after the challenge he purposefully looked for the camera and then did a 'humorous (to him)' dismount from the platform.

And, I am super happy that Jeff told them that one may not sit out back-to-back challenges and that the 'tribal council' reset is gone.  I never knew it was a tribal council reset rule, but I am so glad that it is gone.  Now the tribes will have to be more strategic about the sit-outs.

[Guest]

Just now, seacliffsal said:

He is very camera hungry as when the tribes were sent back to camp after the challenge he purposefully looked for the camera and then did a 'humorous (to him)' dismount from the platform.

And Jeff looked at him as he did it with this "ok then..." smile before turning to the losing tribe with the same smile, like "and now that the showboating is over with, back to business."

[jsm1125]

I hardly think Brandon and Hannah “took someone else’s spot.” They applied for the show and went through the same level of pre-game Ponderosa stuff as the other 16 contestants.

Whether you like them or not, challenge performance isn’t the end all be all of a player. Otherwise, casting would just pick 18 athletes/gym rats.

[Straycat80]

11 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

I wonder if Sabiyah would be allowed to her tribal council torch to melt the wax?

Did the instructions  say the candle had to be melted? Why couldn’t she have just bashed the wax off on a rock to get to the idol? Don’t they have a machete? That would have done the trick too. 

[Skooma]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Katurah and her comments on Bruce won the night for me.  I liked her 'does no one get this but me' when it came to him and his act.  She must be protected at all costs, especially because Kellie is already ditching the girls for the guys.

I'm the exact opposite.  The young people in camp are sitting on their butts not doing any work and Bruce is walking on egg shells trying to get them focused.  I'd go nuts with that crowd not finishing the shelter etc.  They expect to text someone to bring in firewood for them? 

So he tried to "clown" them into working some though nothing seems to make them do anything.  Also clowns aren't threatening unless you have that clown fear thing going on with you.

Katurah is like the Emily of this tribe to me. Super judgmental and thinks she know more than anybody else.  Hope she is first out.

Also I like that Kellie is pragmatic and knows upper body strength is needed in the first part of the game the way the challenges are always structured.  The "our gender only" alliances I hate so much whether male or female.  Discrimination is discrimination in any form to me.  Judge and choose by the individual; not their race, gender, religion etc.

 

9 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Also do not like the civil rights attorney. I get a vibe from her that she has issues with someone like Bruce back home in real life that is carrying over to the game because her hatred is alternatingly pathological and pathetic.

I don't know if it is something that deep or not but yeah it does seem way WAY over the top unhealthy.

1 minute ago, Straycat80 said:

Did the instructions  say the candle had to be melted?

Yes it clearly did.

[gesundheit]

8 hours ago, Steph Sometimes said:

I hope Kellie stays with the girls. Or does Bruce or Jake also have a September birthday? That would make it a really tough decision.

Hee! Ugh, the astrology stuff annoys me so much. 

10 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Finally, for the season presumably shot during the strike which would be next season there should be no excuse not to have reward and immunity separate as the episodes are now supersized.

I was bummed when I heard about the 90-minute episodes, but the one silver lining was that I was sure it meant going back to separate challenges. No such luck thus far.

 

58 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

And, I am super happy that Jeff told them that one may not sit out back-to-back challenges and that the 'tribal council' reset is gone.  I never knew it was a tribal council reset rule, but I am so glad that it is gone.  Now the tribes will have to be more strategic about the sit-outs.

Must've been in the kitchen stirring my frozen dinner when he explained that -- what was the tribal council reset rule?

[Gummo]

Thank Jebus Brandon was finally put out of OUR misery. His ongoing failure at every aspect of the game was painful to watch.

I'm a softie so I WANT to believe the Emily redemption arc, but a person doesn't just change their entire personality in one day....

Bruce can leave yesterday, as far as I'm concerned. His antics are soooo tiresome. I can't imagine living with him 24/7. 

The idol encased in wax was a funny new twist.

[Skooma]

4 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

I was bummed when I heard about the 90-minute episodes, but the one silver lining was that I was sure it meant going back to separate challenges. No such luck thus far.

The thing is this Survivor was already filmed and in the can way WAY before the writers strike and the panic rush of the networks to fill in all the extra minutes in their fall schedule. 

That is why both Survivor and The Amazing Race expanded to 90 minutes this fall.  Survivor didn't plan for 90 minute episodes going into filming this season thus they couldn't make immunity challenges separate on purpose for the extra time they didn't know they would have.

[gesundheit]

1 minute ago, Skooma said:

The thing is this Survivor was already filmed and in the can way WAY before the writers strike and the panic rush of the networks to fill in all the extra minutes in their fall schedule. 

That is why both Survivor and The Amazing Race expanded to 90 minutes this fall.  Survivor didn't plan for 90 minute episodes going into filming this season thus they couldn't make immunity challenges separate on purpose for the extra time they didn't know they would have.

Ah thank you for that, I hadn't realized it was decided after the season was shot!

[Lady Calypso]

I did like Brandon, feel bad he's had such a poor experience in terms of challenges but the tribe made the exact right decision. Emily may be a pain to get along with, but she is more likely to help get them the wins. Brandon's arguing during the puzzle was far from his first blunder. 

Emily's a tricky one; she seems genuine in wanting to change her attitude but she said it herself; can she change something like that? Kaleb may think he has some award-winning strategy with bringing in Emily to "teach her" how to be a person, or whatever, but does he not see that, since Emily operates on facts and logic, she is less likely to remain loyal if she sees better opportunities elsewhere? I like Kaleb, but his whole "saviour" aspect with Emily is more than likely going to backfire on him. 

Katurah's great. I get Bruce's annoyance with the tribe not being 100% on with the campsite tasks, but since we don't know if the tribe is constantly lax on that or if they just took more breaks than usual, I can't fully decide if Bruce was being unreasonable. What I can be sure of is that Katurah's right on Bruce feeling like he's better than his tribe. He kind of admitted it IN his own confessionals. He's trying so hard to be Fun Uncle because he knows he's Strict Dad. But Katurah can see through that. 

I love Katurah for clocking Bruce for that. That being said, I really do get Bruce's attitude toward his tribe, since we keep cutting to Kendra/Kellie/Katurah doing silly things, bringing Brando in, and then seeing Kendra talk a lot about astrology and not enough about the game. Kellie seems to be a bit more aware of the tribe dynamics, which also makes me like her a lot. I totally get her realizing she might have to work with the men over the women. I hate it, but I get it.

Jake still annoys me. He points out the girls bonding, which....same old, same old, men being intimidated by the women banding together and the men banding together is always no big deal. I get the first half of this game requires tribe strength, but the women ALWAYS get clocked immediately by the men and the men feel like they HAVE to band together against the scary women, or whatever. It happens every season.

Not a lot of Reba Tribe this time around, except Austin figuring out his first task and J Maya figuring out there's a tribe cypher. Oh, and a silly Big Toe Dee segment.

[Vikitty]

1 hour ago, gesundheit said:

Must've been in the kitchen stirring my frozen dinner when he explained that -- what was the tribal council reset rule?

Previously for challenges, you could sit out back to back immunity+reward combined challenges, you just couldn't sit out back to back separate challenges (reward on day 1, immunity on day 3). Because there are so few separate challenges, you could theoretically sit out a lot more often with the old rules. Basically in the episodes with one combined challenge, the "counter" reset at tribal council so you could sit out during the next challenge again.

Now you cannot sit out back to back challenges regardless of what/when they are.

[Guest]

I like Katurah and get her frustration with Bruce, but I question her incredulity that no one else on the tribe sees through him. Have they actually had conversations about it where everyone else is all "nooo he's just a fun guy!" and she tries to make them see the light? Because I swear that one of the other women in the first episode (I believe Kendra) also had a snarky confessional where she talked about how Bruce said he didn't want to be the lecturing dad and then promptly acted like the lecturing dad.

So maybe the others are just as aware of his game as Katurah, but they're keeping it close to the vest like she is.

[iMonrey]

Despite Sabiyah's insistence that she could trust Brandon to be loyal, it was Brandon who went off to the Advantage Challenge and promptly spilled everything he knew about his tribe to Bruce and Drew. So much for his loyalty, Sabiyah. He's not even capable of that. 

Speaking of Bruce, when he was talking to Brando, he said he was 46. But according to his CBS bio he's 47. I suppose he turned 47 since that scene was filmed but I see a lot of this on reality TV lately.

(I also wonder if anyone really calls Brandon "Brando" outside of this game. They probably just didn't want two Brandons.)

It seems like Sabiyah got a much better Beware clue than Austin. Sabiyah's clue led her right to the tree. Austin doesn't even know where the tree is.

Jeff Probst: "The last tribe to finish . . . otherwise known as the losers . . . " Uh, thanks for clarifying that Jeff. God what an asshole. And what was the point of lying about Hannah being "voted out at the last tribal council?" It's not as if the LuLus are going to keep that a secret.

Finally, and I know I harp on this every time, look at how banged up and scabby everyone's knees are. On top of all the other injuries we see regularly. Enough with these American Ninja Warrior style obstacle courses already. I know the show thinks we all love to see people fall down and hurt themselves like we're all Benny Hill devotees, but enough is enough. Eventually someone's going to break their neck or worse.

[dancingdreamer]

I think Emily  is a little snark, I can't  stand her. But Brandon  was a huge liability,  so I would have voted him out as well At least  he said he'd  had fun.

[Skooma]

19 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Despite Sabiyah's insistence that she could trust Brandon to be loyal, it was Brandon who went off to the Advantage Challenge and promptly spilled everything he knew about his tribe to Bruce and Drew. So much for his loyalty, Sabiyah. He's not even capable of that. 

...

Finally, and I know I harp on this every time, look at how banged up and scabby everyone's knees are. ...  I know the show thinks we all love to see people fall down and hurt themselves like we're all Benny Hill devotees, but enough is enough. Eventually someone's going to break their neck or worse.

Yeah I forgot about that.  Way to spill the beans, Brandon.  Not only can he not do physical challenges nor can he do puzzles but he can't keep his mouth shut either.  Loose lips sink your tribemates' game.

And I never was into Benny Hill at all but I admit I do love seeing Survivors banging into obstacles on the blindfold challenge each season.

[meep.meep]

12 hours ago, dizzyd said:

He sounds like a kid who always got rewarded for participation rather than excellence. He had absolutely no strengths than “loyalty” which means little this early. Also Bruce declined the journey puzzle because he’s bad at them! I’m not sure what show these guys think they’re on. I wouldn’t mind Belo going to tribal next week to eliminate Bruce. Unfortunately like kathurah said, his tribe mates see him as the 2nd coming of Cirie who at least earned her reputation, what has Bruce done besides unclesplain at them!

Bruce did manage to make fire really fast.  But his antics in the boat were baffling.

If the episodes are going to be this long, throw in some reward challenges!

[Tango64]

"You can be the waterboy!" is the most pathetic inspirational speech ever. 
 

[Skooma]

1 hour ago, meep.meep said:

Bruce did manage to make fire really fast.  But his antics in the boat were baffling.

If the episodes are going to be this long, throw in some reward challenges!

I posted why they couldn't do that above but will copy here again for you:

The thing is this Survivor was already filmed and in the can way WAY before the writers strike and the panic rush of the networks to fill in all the extra minutes in their fall schedule. 

That is why both Survivor and The Amazing Race expanded to 90 minutes this fall.  Survivor didn't plan for 90 minute episodes going into filming this season thus they couldn't make immunity challenges separate on purpose for the extra time they didn't know they would have.

[eel2178]

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 He couldn't do the challenges, passed the Beware Advantage to Sabiyah (a move that I had been waiting to see from anyone), lost the challenge to get an advantage, lost his vote, and then he couldn't help assemble the puzzle.

If you lose your vote, are you not allowed to use your shot in the dark, too?

I don't remember ever hearing that was a rule, but it is the only reason I can think of from him not to have used it (other than pure stupidity, of course).

[eel2178]

4 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

Did the instructions  say the candle had to be melted? Why couldn’t she have just bashed the wax off on a rock to get to the idol? Don’t they have a machete? That would have done the trick too. 

The word "melt" was definitely used.

I do wonder if "melt" strictly means lighting the wick and letting it burn down. It would be hilarious if the idol itself was flammable so chucking the whole candle in the fire to get it to melt faster meant that the idol would be destroyed as well.

[seacliffsal]

26 minutes ago, eel2178 said:

If you lose your vote, are you not allowed to use your shot in the dark, too?

I don't remember ever hearing that was a rule, but it is the only reason I can think of from him not to have used it (other than pure stupidity, of course).

Yes, if someone uses their SITD they lose their vote so he didn't have a vote to lowe and therefore could not use the SITD.  Losing their vote is the risk for using the SITD (along with only having a 1/6 chance.

[eel2178]

1 minute ago, seacliffsal said:

Yes, if someone uses their SITD they lose their vote so he didn't have a vote to lowe and therefore could not use the SITD.  Losing their vote is the risk for using the SITD (along with only having a 1/6 chance.

Got it! Thankx.

[Nashville]

One comment regarding Brandon: I get that participating in Survivor may have been a dream of his since childhood - but as Brandon made his TC plea, I was reminded of a dialogue in the movie Gross Anatomy between a med student and his instructor: the med student’s roommate had just been “invited to leave” med school (he had been eating speed to keep up with the pace and had crashed rather spectacularly) and the student was sounding off at the instructor, saying something to the effect of “He did what he thought he had to do because he wanted to be a doctor more than anything else in the world.”  I don’t remember the instructor’s exact words, but her reply was (to me) rather stunning in how succinctly it summed up the reality of the situation: just because the other student wanted to be a doctor more than anything, didn’t necessarily mean he should be a doctor.

And that’s how I regard Brandon: just because he WANTED to be on Survivor more than anything, doesn’t necessarily mean he was suited to actually BE on Survivor.

 

14 hours ago, North of Eden said:

There is nothing in the man who would be king to me that suggests other castaways would follow him as some sort of natural-born leader. Do not like him.

If you’re talking about Napoleon Dynamite, I agree wholeheartedly.

 

14 hours ago, princelina said:

They may have been stale and repetitive, but only one person ever bothered to figure out how to do them.  Just like Joe Anglim gave me my favorite Survivor quote ever: "When I found out I was cast, I googled how to make fire and practiced until I could do it" - it's been over 10 seasons since he's said it and as far as we know, no one else has bothered.  If anyone had maybe Lulu could be melting that wax statue.

Swear to gods, I thought it was practically Survivor canon that you BETTER know how to make fire before your feet hit that beach - but I don’t think we’ve seen any of the Lulus so much as even try. 🤯

 

14 hours ago, hendersonrocks said:

I actually yelped out loud and doubled over in sympathy pains when that pelvis hit the beam. That looked and sounded wildly painful.

You and me both; my YEOUCH woke up my wife.

13 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

[Brandon] jumped from the tree of failure and hit every branch on the way down.

Saving that’un for later.

 

13 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

I am wondering if Emily is neuroatypical and that's why she came out the gate so hard and so oblivious to social cues

I said to my wife last night I was wondering if Emily might not be a shade Asperger-ish, because of what significant problems she apparently has reading how her remarks hit others.

 

13 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The guy convinced of his own cleverness reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite.

Damn, you beat me to it. 😄

 

11 hours ago, Sunnykm said:

Brandon was not alone on the Immunity challenge puzzle--Sabiyah was right there with him not solving it as well.  I was hoping her attitude --she won't let Emily try and redeem herself and she did not acknowledge her deficit in the puzzle challenge--would blind side her in the vote tonight and that the tribe knows she potentially will have an idol and her vote back.

One thing came through loud and clear in this episode: Sabiyah knows how to hold a grudge, and once she has a grip on it she doesn’t let go - which doesn’t bode well for her as the season progresses.

 

7 hours ago, violet and green said:

Now I feel quite bad for disliking Emily so much after episode one.

I don’t; Ep1 Emily was a TOTAL noodge.