S45.E10: How Am I the Mobster?

[Whimsy]

Quote

Castaways must navigate through a maze where they are inches away from disaster or victory to win the reward challenge and earn a night in the sanctuary. Then, castaways need to prove they have what it takes to hold on and win immunity to be safe at tribal council.

Original airdate 11/29/23

[LadyChatts]

I’m amazed that people suspect there’s something with the Reba 4, yet they still don’t seem to realize just how close that group is.  This season was one of the better ones to start, but now it’s basically Reba 4 and 3 people who think they are working with those 4.  Maybe it’ll be interesting next week if Jake wins immunity.  Because the target would have to be Emily or Katurah I’d think.  I’d like to think Probst observed how eliminating half the tribe from either being allowed to vote or being eligible to be voted for on more than one occasion ruined any strategic gameplay at the end.  I don’t know if it would have changed things, but maybe. 

I like Jake.  I can appreciate that he’s trying to forge his own path and play, and trying to keep up with the changing dynamics.  His reads are just very, very bad.  Like spectacularly bad.  I feel sorry for him that he thought he finally had an alliance and was in, only to find out those people were still targeting him.  Maybe good jury management on Emily’s part to tell him his name was being thrown out there, but that might come back to bite her.  

And if anyone has a dark cloud hanging over them it’s Emily.  Not sure if she’s a Charlie Brown, but the girl just can’t catch a break.  I hope she can manage to hang in there, though!  I liked that she took all the ladies on reward with her.  I’m sure the editing team loved being able to make the boys night back at camp resemble some incredibly low-budget 80s college spring break film.

I think the only person I'm rooting against is Drew at this point.  We'll see what next week brings!

Edited November 30, 2023 by LadyChatts

[Carey]

IDK.  Emily lasted this long.  So I think it's doubtful she's in trouble.  Otherwise she would've been gone

[LadyChatts]

2 minutes ago, Carey said:

IDK.  Emily lasted this long.  So I think it's doubtful she's in trouble.  Otherwise she would've been gone

The only thing that might save her is being tied to Drew/Austin.  However, if Jake tells Drew that Emily told him he was being targeted that might turn Drew against her.  Plus, Emily threw out Dee's name as a test to the guys, so if that got back to Dee she might want to target Emily too.  Reba's a strong alliance that so far hasn't seemed to want to turn on each other.  Katurah thinks she's fifth in that group, but if Jake wins immunity next week or finds an idol to save himself, then I wonder who will go.  

Edited November 30, 2023 by LadyChatts

[GenerationX]

The deluge of tears detracted from what was an otherwise entertaining show featuring a (new?) interesting endurance challenge and a sneaky bit of Bruce gaslighting by Emily.

[Haleth]

Ugh, I’m so tired of the gang of 4 getting their way. What’s to stop them from pagoning the others now?  Same old story, the outliers have an opportunity to go in together to overthrow the smug, overly comfortable dominant group, yet they lack the will or the guts to make a bold move.

Why has Austin’s name not come up?

[Carey]

Great points.  Katurah is a total waste at this point TBH.  She'll go from being happy to being pissed to where it'll cost someone the game (if she thinks she's fifth place, which is bad to being with)

To be fair, I'm not sure if I'd bring Austin's name up after winning immunity

[momlyd]

Did Bruce just quit?

 

Or did he really think no one would vote for him?

[Carey]

4 minutes ago, momlyd said:

Did Bruce just quit?

 

Or did he really think no one would vote for him?

Yes.

[dancingdreamer]

I'm so glad Emily won that challenge,  that girl is smart. 
Jake hit the Survivor  wall, they all do. I like him.
I didn't  mind Bruce, I'd rather Drew had gone.

[North of Eden]

What....the...F ?! Why in the world would anyone who is afraid of water apply for SURVIVOR and what kind of screening process is there? That was one of the most bizarre sequences ever presented on this show. Even Probst was starting to lose his patience when she was up on the slide. Man, go apply for BIG BROTHER because nobody forces you to go into that skany shoebox pool in the back yard.

When she was freaking out I was please, why couldn't this be the water torture/drowning challenge.... as I have disliked Katura and her big blabbermouth and Bruce obsession.

A couple quick notes:

Bruce...what can I say...there is no excuse for the stupidity of not playing the idol when you have been killing yourself for three challenges in a row to stay safe and then you go home with a trinket?

Emily looks way better on the island than in her real-life photo.

Dee was basically a walk-on extra this episode...with a fly on her nose.

Silent Kendra is the only good Kendra.

How was "What carnival have you seen this at?!" not the title of the episode?!

The only good thing that ever came out of covid was the end to the schmaltzy family visits. Letter okay I guess but even that was overblown....it hasn't been a month people!

To end on a positive note whatever royalty money they shelled out to make the music video was well spent...that was one of the funniest and most inspired segments in years! Bravo!

Edited November 30, 2023 by North of Eden

[Valerie]

I kind of get the panic at the water challenge. You're high up, pointed down towards the water underneath you. The only thing holding you up is your own strength. At any second you could suddenly drop and slide in. That sort of unexpectedness could easily freak someone out.

She was fine in the water otherwise, so I genuinely think it was just some sort of weird fight or flight response. 

Bruce is a dummy. I think he had given up at that point realizing everyone wanted him gone.

Drew is annoying but I admit I did enjoy the cheesy montage of "boys night."

[Carey]

Overall, I did not like Bruce, but that's as a Survivor contestant.  I think he's probably a great guy in real life.  It's easy for me to separate real people from their roles on television.

He blew it, but that was just for 3 days IMO.  He plays the idol, he's done next time without an IC win.

He came on as smug, was unpopular, but at the end of the day, it's just a game.  People will compare him to Ozzy, Andrea, James, etc.  Nope.  Those people had a chance to win.  Though prior to this episode, I thought his comp was Terry.  Sorta cheesy, had protection in the case of an IC loss, and won several challenges in a row.

Jake lasting this long, BTW, is rather amazing.  As for Emily, imagine if she were in a majority

[jsm1125]

Does anyone else side eye the fuck out of production for delivering Katurah’s mom’s letter to her, when she had previously cut contact with her? I’m convinced that’s why she was in a bad state during that immunity challenge, and don’t buy for a second it had to do with the water or the challenge itself. 

[gesundheit]

10 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

Does anyone else side eye the fuck out of production for delivering Katurah’s mom’s letter to her, when she had previously cut contact with her? I’m convinced that’s why she was in a bad state during that immunity challenge, and don’t buy for a second it had to do with the water or the challenge itself. 

It was definitely an odd choice of letter to give to her. But maybe they don't have a choice and just give them whatever letters the families/friends provide? I don't honestly know. (Tonight some of the voiceovers made it sound like some of them got multiple letters.)

 

If I were her mom I doubt I'd write her that letter, too much risk of exactly what she did -- announcing on television that she cut off her mother. Just seemed like information a little too sensitive to be working through in that forum. I know they talk about personal things on this show all the time, but this felt darker.

[choclatechip45]

I didn't like production giving Katurah a letter from her mom if she has cut off contact. I'm assuming that was the cause of the panic attack at the immunity challenge. 

Emily and Katurah are way too proud of a move that is bad for both of their games. 

[princelina]

26 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

It was definitely an odd choice of letter to give to her. But maybe they don't have a choice and just give them whatever letters the families/friends provide? I don't honestly know. (Tonight some of the voiceovers made it sound like some of them got multiple letters.)

I thought them taking the letters out of the packets made it look like multiple letters - a big sheaf of paper in multiple colors.  My question would be how did they get that letter - Mr P and his father are estranged and if he went on Survivor I doubt his dad would even know about it!

I am here to see if someone can explain Emily's strategy to me - she did apparently convince Bruce to hang on to his idol so I get that, but how did the votes coordinate with that, and who was in on it?  She said if it worked she would get kudos from the tribe for pulling it off.  We in the P household are confused! 😳

[Chicago Redshirt]

37 minutes ago, princelina said:

I thought them taking the letters out of the packets made it look like multiple letters - a big sheaf of paper in multiple colors.  My question would be how did they get that letter - Mr P and his father are estranged and if he went on Survivor I doubt his dad would even know about it!

I am here to see if someone can explain Emily's strategy to me - she did apparently convince Bruce to hang on to his idol so I get that, but how did the votes coordinate with that, and who was in on it?  She said if it worked she would get kudos from the tribe for pulling it off.  We in the P household are confused! 😳

The Reba 4 plus Emily were in on it. Jake could have been looped in, too, but they didn't need his vote so they might not have told them.

The plan was to split the vote so that if Bruce played his idol, Jake goes home.  Jake either on his own or with prompting from the rest of the tribe votes Bruce. Three of the rest vote Bruce, three of the rest vote Jake, Bruce votes whoever.

What I don't understand is that Bruce spent time trying to fool people into thinking he no longer had an idol in an effort to get people to focus on him so that he and whoever he hoovered up could dictate who goes.

Contrary to what Katurah said, not a bad plan. It's sort of basic. 

But the problem with it is you have to commit to it. Once you do, you can't not play your idol. Better to have the idol flushed than to have it be a pocket idol.

What will fill these 1.5 hour episodes without the many Katurah THs about "I hate Bruce with the heat of 10,000 suns"? 

[TVFan1]

Everyone knew Bruce had an idol, and he just doesn't play it? So confused on this. He knew votes were going to be split between him and Jake. Did he really think Julie was going? Play your idol anyway to be completely safe. Oh, well, Bruce did it to himself.

More of the Reba 4 getting their way yet again. Nothing much to say about that. Yawn.

As long as Emily stays on, I'm good.

[Cotypubby]

Right before Tribal I thought to myself that the edit Bruce has been getting the whole season fits perfectly in line with a doofus who leaves with an Idol in their pocket, so maybe it’ll actually happen? 
Woohoo!

I’ve never had such a wild 180° turnaround on someone like I did Emily. I really disliked her the first couple episodes but she is now my favorite player and it does seem like the edit is setting up her to be the winner.

I laughed so hard at Kellie’s head turn when Bruce got his first vote.

[Steph Sometimes]

I know a lot of people aren't too high on this season, but I'm enjoying it. There's a silliness to it that I can't quite put my finger on.

And that boy musical montage was a choice for sure.

We've had a couple of "women talk strategy, guys talk food/silly stuff" scenes this season so a woman has to be winning, right?

I don't really like Drew, but anyone else winning would be fine. I've even come around on Emily. 

I want to give Jake a hug.

[kassandra8286]

1 hour ago, TVFan1 said:

Everyone knew Bruce had an idol, and he just doesn't play it? So confused on this. He knew votes were going to be split between him and Jake. Did he really think Julie was going? Play your idol anyway to be completely safe. Oh, well, Bruce did it to himself.

Yes, it seems Emily succeeded in convincing him that Julie would be the target for the four non-Rebas, and that the Reba 4 would be splitting their votes between Bruce and Jake, in which case, numbers-wise, Bruce wouldn't need to play his idol. Emily said in her interview that was her strategy.

When they showed the votes at the end, 3 Rebas voted for Jake, with Julie voting for Bruce, so if Emily had been sincere and not simply gaslighting Bruce, Julie would have indeed gone home. 

It will be interesting to see if Emily takes credit in the immediate aftermath for her part in Bruce not playing his idol, possibly risking Julie's ire, or keeps that nugget in her pocket for a potential F3 speech.

Edited November 30, 2023 by kassandra8286

[AntFTW]

I went from disliking Emily to liking her and hoping that she wins.

I feel like Bruce was a great shield for the time being. Now that he's gone, they need a secondary target as an option. It was always Bruce and Jake, but Bruce kept winning immunity. Now, it seems like Julie and Jake may be the new options, and it seems like Jake just gets pushed further down the threat list. Someone is always a bigger threat than Jake.

[Lantern7]

I’ve been watching The Challenge for some time. Back during Battle of the Sexes, there was a guy named Blair. The way the game was set up, players earned points during missions. On the men’s side, they had an agreement where the player with the lowest score would be voted out by the high-scoring participants. Blair wound up on the bottom for several episodes, kept in the game because someone had a lower score than him. At one point, he actually compared himself to herpes, in that he kept coming back.

My point is that Jake is Blair. The guy can’t seem to read a room (or a camp), yet he’s survived three Tribal Councils. He probably would’ve been toast had Bruce played his damn idol . . . but Bruce did not. He got voted out, Jake is still in the game, and I reckon he should be the audience favorite now. Of course, he’s had those fainting episodes, so he’s not perfect.

Thank you, Emily, for arranging a gender split for the reward, giving the editors a chance to homage the beach volleyball scene in Top Gun. That turned out downright beautiful.

I feel bad for Katurah, who’s probably going to have a mountain of shit waiting outside her door from asshole “fans.” She just had a panic attack in a season full of breakdowns. At least her white whale has been dealt with.

Bruce is an idiot. Or maybe he’s playing a long game where he figures Probst will ask him back for a future season. Right now, his boot gives me hope that this season can be salvaged.

Drew should never pose while shirtless. Ever.

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, Steph Sometimes said:

I know a lot of people aren't too high on this season, but I'm enjoying it. There's a silliness to it that I can't quite put my finger on.

And that boy musical montage was a choice for sure.

We've had a couple of "women talk strategy, guys talk food/silly stuff" scenes this season so a woman has to be winning, right?

I don't really like Drew, but anyone else winning would be fine. I've even come around on Emily. 

I want to give Jake a hug.

I’m enjoying it too!  Up until it became clear the Reba 4 might run it to the end it’s been great.  I can’t even get mad at the quits.  It’s just helped cap off a great season.  And assuming the Reba’s stay strong, since Emily and Katurah both think they are with them, maybe we’ll get a bitter exit next week again if one of them goes.  
 

I didn’t like Jake at first but I’m kind of rooting for the guy.  I feel sorry for him because I appreciate he at least gets the game and is fighting to hang in there.  He reminds me of someone in a movie that was being used by the popular crowd or thinks everyone is his friend but they are laughing about him behind his back.   

Edited November 30, 2023 by LadyChatts

[violet and green]

Every single time the old Belo remnants has had an opportunity to get the numbers advantage they squander it - and are pleased with themselves. If they'd actually used the fool Bruce decoy plan and got out Julie, then they might have had a fighting chance going forward, but Emily wanted to win brownie points for a move, and Katurah was like the cat that got the cream at getting out Bruce finally, and Jake was just anyone but me... So irritating.

[Haleth]

I like Emily but her being so pleased with coming up with a scheme to either remove Bruce or his idol while also torpedoing her own game makes me like her less.  She's sort of reverting to her original persona of smugly thinking she is smarter than everyone else (except when it comes to math).  She will be shocked, shocked when she gets booted at 5.  She'd better hope she wins immunity with 5 players left.  There is no reason for the Reba 4 to change their plan.

At this point Jake should present himself as the goat.  Unless he goes on an immunity streak he is going to run out of luck.

[violet and green]

2 minutes ago, Haleth said:

There is no reason for the Reba 4 to change their plan.

And by making that move she just gave Austen and Drew even less reason to ditch Julie and Dee for her, as now she has something for her "resume".

[Carey]

While I still think Emily is not in much trouble, I do support the opinion that the opposite is the case.  Forget hoping that she needs to win at Final 5; she might need to win next week.  That can include or exclude Jake winning instead.  Nobody's afraid of Katurah but Reba is not going to ruin their chances at the finals by turning on one of their own in favor of Katurah.  Unless she's immune & have no choice.

But yeah, Emily might have done something great, but in the wrong way & wrong person.  Not sure who's voting for her for seven figures right now, especially with people like Julie & Dee in the game

[Matty]

Bruce, you are now a member of the club that no one wants to be in. Getting voted out with an idol in your pocket.

I have a good feeling about Emily. If she's able to maneuver through the upcoming landmines she may arrive at the final three. If the final three end up being Dee, Emily and Drew she has a chance at the million. I don't think any of the jury members have warm and fuzzy feelings for Drew even though he is a very smart, strategic player. I think Kendra and Kellie have hard feelings towards Dee. Their expressions at tribal council are hilarious. So bitter. Caleb has a soft spot for Emily. She can easily get jury votes. The next few weeks should be good.

Jake is still there which is an accomplishment in itself.

[seacliffsal]

I think that various survivors' dislike of Bruce impacted any strategic planning they may have otherwise done.  Yes, Emily got Bruce to not play his idol, but that only sent him home a few days earlier than if he had played it.  This was a huge opportunity to get a Reba member out-and the way Emily presented it to Bruce would have worked.  Emily and Katura even talked about how Julie could win if she made it to the finale.  But, no, let's not take out someone we think could win it all-let's take out someone nobody likes and has no chance to win at final 3.  

And I don't get all of the tears-they have only been playing for 18 days.  Let's talk about Australia (Season 2) when it lasted 42 days and peoples' hair was falling out, or Africa (Season 3) when everyone got parasites from drinking elephant dung water.  The good old days...I really wish they would go back to the longer seasons as we really saw peoples' true selves and it was a much tougher ordeal to get through (while I watched from my couch...).

[Carey]

Earlier, I said that Emily's comp is Sandra while Jake's comp is Penner.  Of course, Jake having the anyone but me attitude trends toward Diaz-Twine.  However that also trends toward Cirie.

So, for me, there is a comparison between Cirie and Emily.  Not completely since, well, just NO.  However, one thing I thought of is while it wasn't great for Emily to make a move on Bruce, it's okay too.  If Reba decided to spare Bruce since that's an easy win at F3, then Emily would be in trouble.  That also means down the road, that alliance.

Fields had to take out the one person that would get shut out at the Finals since she would've been booted in favor of that worthless cast member.  Emily needed to be in the majority to have better confidence keeping him around.  It might not have been her true reasoning, but it's fair enough.  I'm probably taking out an easy worthless player or else it's me getting voted out

[30 Helens]

I like Jake. The jury likes Jake. I don’t think he’s going to win, but I think he’s a bigger threat in a F2/3 than the other players realize. 

If you’re going to arrange some elaborate lie about losing your idol, maybe don’t tell anyone that it’s a lie. Just saying. I don’t think Bruce is a bad guy, but his cockiness was always going to be his undoing.

Emily is walking a tightrope right now, but I can see a path for her. It was a smart move for her to bring the women to the reward, and I think she has a real possibility of convincing Julie and Dee that they’re better off without Austen and Drew. One or more of them, combined with Jake and Katarah, and she’s got a solid majority. Go Emily!

 

 

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 hours ago, violet and green said:

Every single time the old Belo remnants has had an opportunity to get the numbers advantage they squander it - and are pleased with themselves. If they'd actually used the fool Bruce decoy plan and got out Julie, then they might have had a fighting chance going forward, but Emily wanted to win brownie points for a move, and Katurah was like the cat that got the cream at getting out Bruce finally, and Jake was just anyone but me... So irritating.

The thing that makes it even more so irritating is that the old Belo folks didn't even seem to realize that Reba-strong was a thing, or consider being Belo-strong or Belo+Lulu strong in retaliation/self-defense. They systematically ate each other as much as  allowed the Rebas to pick them off.  Might be wrong, but there has never been as far as we have been shown a serious effort to get a Reba out since the merge. They squandered their 5-4-2 numbers advantage over petty BS and blew up their own spot to the point it's 2-4-1. Now I don't see what the 3 non-Rebas have to offer any of the Rebas to flip, even if they see the danger of the situation they're in. And we haven't seen any signs that they realize they're being systematically eliminated or attempts to play for anything above 5th.

[Chicago Redshirt]

8 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

If you’re going to arrange some elaborate lie about losing your idol, maybe don’t tell anyone that it’s a lie. Just saying. I don’t think Bruce is a bad guy, but his cockiness was always going to be his undoing.

Bruce, clueless to the end, expected Katurah to be his ally. If she was and she kept the lie to herself, it wouldn't be a problem. Alas, Bruce apparently can't read the visceral hatred Katurah has for Bruce well enough to know that of course she's going to blow up his spot. 

So I have to modify my comment earlier. Bruce did make a half-hearted attempt this episode to get a Reba out. But the way he did it was super-incompetent. If he had been, "Look, Katurah, I know I rub you the wrong way sometimes, but it's best for your game if we get one of the Rebas out. And Mama J its the bill. We can do it if we have you me and Jake, and they put all the votes on me. They can't risk a vote split if they have four plus Emily if we are three strong. Because if they pick wrong, they lose 3-2, and even if they pick wrong, they could lose on revote. If you vote with the Rebas, you can't be more than 5th. If you go with this plan, you could get to the FTC." maybe it would have worked.

Bruce also had to at that later point admit to Jake that he'd lied. 

[bunnyface]

It happens every season and every season I laugh and am frustrated at the same time. Which probably says as much about me as these idiots.

Drew:  I'm going to say your name and that's just the way it is and you can't do anything about it.

Jake:  Well, I'm going to say your name. How you like them apples?

Drew:  WHAT?!?!? *HOW DARE YOU?!?!?*

[peachmangosteen]

The really frustrating thing is that Emily and Katurah have both had confessionals stating they know the Reba 4 is together and that they are or potentially are at the bottom of that and yet they continue to just pick off everyone outside of the Reba 4. At least Jake was dumb enough to think he was making in roads there so his game play actually doesn't look as stupid lol.

[KeithJ]

https://ew.com/survivor-45-player-obsesses-beating-bruce-exclusive-deleted-scene-8408150

This article seems a bit off base.  Everyone wanted Bruce out but this article makes it sound like Austin was the only one obsessed with getting Bruce out.  I don't even think he was was as obsessed as Katura or Emily.

[Drogo]

19 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

The really frustrating thing is that Emily and Katurah have both had confessionals stating they know the Reba 4 is together and that they are or potentially are at the bottom of that and yet they continue to just pick off everyone outside of the Reba 4. 

It’s giving “I want the popular kids to like me.”

54 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I like Jake. The jury likes Jake. I don’t think he’s going to win, but I think he’s a bigger threat in a F2/3 than the other players realize. 

Emily is the biggest threat in a F2/F3. She might not be good at mathin’ but she’s articulate AF.  She needs to tuck that 800 SAT Verbal score back in.

[Bazinga]

I am sure he thought he was being brilliant, but Bruce's idol to Kellie lie was pointless.  There are three reasons he had a target on him: 1) he has an idol; 2) he just won two immunity challenges in a row; 3) he is not liked and hard to work with.  The last one, he is only vaguely aware of but the other two, he knows.  So how would the lie about not having the idol serve him?  If he doesn't actually have an idol, the tribe wants to vote him out because he is an immunity threat and has finally lost.  If he does have an idol and he is lying, the tribe wants to vote him out anyway because they want him to use the idol and then be vulnerable going forward or not use it and leave with it.  So his big lie is pointless.  Telling Katurah weakened the lie but the lie could never benefit him or change anything for him.  By winning two ICs, he is a big target; it is too late to remove the 'he has an idol' target.  With the lie or without the lie, he needed to use his idol to at least survive and deflect the vote out onto someone else.  Not using his idol makes no sense.  No longer possessing the idol is setting himself up as the cheese in a mousetrap, he at least has to spring the trap on someone.  No way were Katurah and Emily going to vote out Julie, as they didn't have the votes necessary; it would have been a tie and he has to know from their past histories that Katurah and Emily are not going to risk a tie.  The only way the vote out Julie plan works is if there were a defection from the Reba 4 to break the tie and we didn't have that.  Bruce was ridiculous for creating a pointless lie and for not using his idol when he was vulnerable to being voted out.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Bazinga

[Cutty]

8 minutes ago, Drogo said:

Emily is the biggest threat in a F2/F3. She might not be good at mathin’ but she’s articulate AF.  She needs to tuck that 800 SAT Verbal score back in.

Especially if she's sitting next to two Rebas. There's no way this jury votes for arrogant and annoying Reba scum. So we got that going for us.

[Carey]

1 minute ago, Bazinga said:

Bruce's idol to Kellie lie was pointless.  There are three reasons he had a target on him: 1) he has an idol; 2) he just won two immunity challenges in a row; 3) he is not liked and hard to work with.  The last one, he is only vaguely aware of but the other two, he knows.  So how would the lie about not having the idol serve him?  If he doesn't actually have an idol, the tribe wants to vote him out because he is an immunity threat and has finally lost.  If he does have an idol and he is lying, the tribe wants to vote him out anyway because they want him to use the idol and then be vulnerable oing forward or not use it and leave with it.  So his big lie is pointless.  Telling Katurah weakened the lie but the lie could never benefit him or change anything for him.  With the lie or without the lie, he needed to use his idol to at least survive and deflect the vote out onto someone else.  Not using his idol makes no sense.  No way were Katurah and Emily going to vote out Julie, as they didn't have the votes necessary; it would have been a tie and he has to know that Katurah and Emily are not going to risk a tie.  The only way the vote out Julie plan works is if there were a defection from the Reba 4 to break the tie and we didn't have that.  Bruce was ridiculous for creating a pointless lie and for not using his idol when he was vulnerable to being voted out.

100%.  I still would not his blunder on the level of James, Ozzy, Andrea, and even Erik.  I'd consider betting that Bruce knew he wasn't winning so it's not a big deal.  The guy had no shot at winning the game; everyone else did.  However, it's still being voted out with an idol in the pocket.

FWIW, I would've preferred if he instead announced, "Tonight, I will be playing my idol."  That probably does nothing since they'd split the votes, but it's better than basically requesting to be voted out.  Heck, I'd be thrilled if he gave up his idol to someone realizing that he had no shot, and then really change the game.  For instance, giving it to Emily outta nowhere and wrecking Reba.

4 minutes ago, Cutty said:

Especially if she's sitting next to two Rebas. There's no way this jury votes for arrogant and annoying Reba scum. So we got that going for us.

Gotta be arrogant & annoying (Julie isn't too bad).  Plus, if Reba votes each other off with class somehow, then that might be a problem for Emily.  No to mention the pettiness that someone that was winless for what felt like forever survived.  As mentioned, Kellie was not happy about being booted, but like Tony confessed to Jeremy, she said on the spot it was her.  Everyone else didn't so that could help

[Chicago Redshirt]

13 minutes ago, Bazinga said:

I am sure he thought he was being brilliant, but Bruce's idol to Kellie lie was pointless.  There are three reasons he had a target on him: 1) he has an idol; 2) he just won two immunity challenges in a row; 3) he is not liked and hard to work with.  The last one, he is only vaguely aware of but the other two, he knows.  So how would the lie about not having the idol serve him?  If he doesn't actually have an idol, the tribe wants to vote him out because he is an immunity threat and has finally lost.  If he does have an idol and he is lying, the tribe wants to vote him out anyway because they want him to use the idol and then be vulnerable going forward or not use it and leave with it.  So his big lie is pointless.  Telling Katurah weakened the lie but the lie could never benefit him or change anything for him.  By winning two ICs, he is a big target; it is too late to remove the 'he has an idol' target.  With the lie or without the lie, he needed to use his idol to at least survive and deflect the vote out onto someone else.  Not using his idol makes no sense.  No way were Katurah and Emily going to vote out Julie, as they didn't have the votes necessary; it would have been a tie and he has to know that Katurah and Emily are not going to risk a tie.  The only way the vote out Julie plan works is if there were a defection from the Reba 4 to break the tie and we didn't have that.  Bruce was ridiculous for creating a pointless lie and for not using his idol when he was vulnerable to being voted out.

The reason for the lie would be to get the Rebas to put 100 percent of their votes on him, meaning that he, Jake and Katurah would likely dictate who goes home if they were a solid bloc (which they obviously were not). Lulling the Rebas into a false sense that he was 100 percent vulnerable isn't a crazy plan.

If the Rebas act on the information/belief that Bruce has an idol, the can either put all their firepower on Jake or someone else hoping for a flush of Bruce's idol, or they can try to engineer a vote split where Bruce loses if he doesn't play the idol but the other person they target goes home. The Rebas had the numbers for the latter, since Bruce had zero allies. 

If the Rebas act on the belief that Bruce is idol-less, they might not think to split their votes. But again, for the plan to work, he has to actually play his idol and nullify all those Reba votes. It seems like he abandoned the plan of trying to fool them, because everyone knew he had an idol and he lied about it having gone home with Kellie. But he should have known he had a target for the reasons you said and played it anyway.

 

 

[Drogo]

1 hour ago, bunnyface said:

It happens every season and every season I laugh and am frustrated at the same time. Which probably says as much about me as these idiots.

Drew:  I'm going to say your name and that's just the way it is and you can't do anything about it.

Jake:  Well, I'm going to say your name. How you like them apples?

Drew:  WHAT?!?!? *HOW DARE YOU?!?!?*

I can't fucking stand Drew. I hate his bogus "I'm a Nice Guy" shtick coupled with his outrageous entitlement from his first twenty minutes ever having friends.

Guess what Drew- you haven't been "excluded from Bro'ing out" because you're skinny or because you love Scrabble or wear glasses.

It's because your character blows ass, and you treat people like shit when you're in any position of power and they have nothing to offer you. (i.e. mocking Jake's accent and razzing him about thinking he's a tough guy because he wants to leave ye olde beach of deceit and beratement.)

[Chicago Redshirt]

Has Survivor ever used popular music like they did in this episode's bro'ing out segment? I can't remember any, but I've missed a bunch of seasons and also have a non-encyclopedic memory of things.

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

If you’re going to arrange some elaborate lie about losing your idol, maybe don’t tell anyone that it’s a lie. Just saying. I don’t think Bruce is a bad guy, but his cockiness was always going to be his undoing.

Agreed, Bruce's arrogance is what did him in. You have an idol, everyone knows you have an idol, you play your idol. He should have known they would try to trick him into not playing his idol. But he has such a high opinion of himself he couldn't believe he might be making a mistake. 

He was clearly a production/editor favorite though, so I expected him to go a little further. Which makes me wonder about Drew because he's getting an awful lot of coverage too. I strongly suspect he makes it all the way to the end, damn the luck.

Strange that Probst never once talked to Austin during tribal. And he was the one with the necklace. I think that also says something about Drew vs. Austin.

Is is just coincidence that the four guys outlasted the four girls in that immunity challenge? It seemed designed to rely purely on upper body strength.

You know, I'd kind of like it if they cut away, Big Brother style, to talking heads during the immunity challenge to see what they were thinking during it. Especially if it meant less of Jeff running his mouth non-stop. My God, that's irritating.

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Carey said:

I'd consider betting that Bruce knew he wasn't winning so it's not a big deal.

Everything we have been shown of Bruce suggests that he thinks he is a far better player than he in fact is, so I have 10,000 quatloos that say that he in fact thought he coulda been a contenda, he could have been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what he is. h/t to On The Waterfront.

He seemingly was angling for a third bite of the apple in his exit interview. Please, Survivor PTB, do not cast him in an all-star season. 

Random thought that came up this episode: once Katurah talked about how she had been estranged from her mother, I kind of wanted Bruce to hook up with Mama Katurah and continue her grudge after the game.

**Yes, I know Bruce is married to someone who is going to confirm for him that he's not at all patronizing or overbearing, no matter what pretty much every contestant said. There are other ways to hook up besides hooking up.

Edited November 30, 2023 by Chicago Redshirt

[JudyObscure]

I don't think less of Katurah for her moment of water panic, in fact it reminded me of when Cirie had one and worked through it. Katurah has said she took lessons and learned to swim expressly for Survivor, but that sort of swimming experience will never compete with the experience of people who grew up around the ocean and are used to vey deep water.  I liked that she refused Jeff's offer of being boated back to shore and jumped in with the gang to swim back.

But then I love Katurah and want to be her best friend and go to lunch.  She makes me laugh. I'm going to miss the weekly Wylie Coyote vs Bruce minute.

[Carey]

19 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

But then I love Katurah and want to be her best friend and go to lunch.  She makes me laugh. I'm going to miss the weekly Wylie Coyote vs Bruce minute.

Not me.  By the way, not sure we can call that Road Runner vs Wile E Coyote anymore.  That's just my opinion, due to growing up with a basically winless Coyote opposite the RR.  The only way you're getting Coyote winning is in WWE where it'll be scripted for Road Runner to lose there

[Nashville]

14 hours ago, Carey said:

IDK.  Emily lasted this long.  So I think it's doubtful she's in trouble.  Otherwise she would've been gone

So far as the Reba 4 are concerned, Emily is the equivalent of a Brawny paper towel; strong, useful - and disposable.

 

14 hours ago, North of Eden said:

What....the...F ?! Why in the world would anyone who is afraid of water apply for SURVIVOR and what kind of screening process is there?
 

Katurah’s professed fear of water didn’t confuse or bother me, until we actually saw her in the water.  Katurah didn’t do the frantic dog-paddling one would expect from from an inexperienced swimmer; she executed a crawl-style swimming technique as if she had previously received formal swim training - so I don’t understand why Katurah would be so scared of getting in the water in the first place.

 

14 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Silent Kendra is the only good Kendra.

Yeah - but to whatever cameraman insisted on pointing their camera at Kendra every few seconds to capture every single smarmy facial expression of hers, I would like to extend an invitation to introduce their camera lens to a very nice 2x4 I have out back behind my shed….  🙄