S45.E10: How Am I the Mobster?

[Bazinga]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

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.

I don't agree making himself vulnerable by not having the idol has that result; I think his lie has the opposite affect from his doing nothing and allowing the others to think he has the idol.  If the Reba 4 think he doesn't have the idol, then they do not need to split their votes, and they put their four votes on Bruce, the immunity challenge threat.  This might lead to a tie with his four person bloc (him, Katurah, I assume, as he was trusting her with the lie, maybe Emily and maybe Jake, who he was lying to) voting for Julie.  I don't even think the Julie part was part of his original plan.  Going after Julie was Emily's idea or Emily's lie to lull him into a false sense of security and I am not sure he was even planning on forming a voting alliance to use the lie in any way.  I don't think he had a grand plan beyond look at my lie, I am soooo strategic.  If he wanted Jake out, he could say nothing and just use his idol and vote out Jake himself with everyone else splitting their votes between Jake, the other player most on the outs, and himself with votes against him being nullified.  From history, Katurah and Emily, who are safe, are not going to vote themselves into a tie situation.  Bruce would have benefited from the others thinking he had the idol, splitting their votes on him and someone else and then forming a voting bloc to vote someone out while using the idol.  Instead he did the opposite, making himself more of a target.  The idol and using it was his protection and would have saved him for one vote allowing him to possibly win immunity going forward.  That's my opinion: a pointless lie that probably hurts him more than helps but makes him feel like he is a great player. 

Edited November 30, 2023 by Bazinga

[Tango64]

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? That was one of the most bizarre sequences ever presented on this show.

I was confused by the whole thing because I thought surely she's been in the water already by this point in the game. But maybe not? At first I thought she was concerned because her muscles were so wasted from the exertion that she wouldn't be able to swim. But then she doesn't want to swim back to the boat. And then she swims back to boat looking pretty strong. Wierd. What went wrong with screening this season's contestants?

[Nashville]

Did anybody else notice the first four to drop out of the IC were the same four who had just returned from The Sanctuary - Where Good Things Happen™ ?

Curious, that….

[Haleth]

They did other challenges that started from the water, didn’t they?  And Katurah was fine?  I think her panic attack was her own “hit the wall” moment, combined with the swirling thoughts about her mother.  Good for her though for overcoming that to jump in and swim to shore. 

[HurricaneVal]

I didn't see it so much as a fear of the water, but a fear of falling into the water.  I suspect that as someone who learned how to swim specifically for Survivor, she didn't grow up with a casual and easy relationship to water by spending time at the beach, lakes, or swimming pools.  She probably has a respect for water, and wants to meet it on her own terms.

I can relate.  I can swim, not well, but I can certainly bob about and float forever and have fun.  What I cannot do, is plunge into the water.  I can't dive in from the side--forget a diving board--and if I'm snorkeling from a boat, I gently lower myself in from the swim steps in the back.  I don't like water slides, I don't like not controlling my water entry.  So I can totally sympathize with Katurah here.  That may or may not be what she was feeling, but I found it understandable.

Especially if Katurah was still reeling from the letter from her mother.  I could see entering a challenge like that, still a little emotionally upset, and then suddenly confronting another emotional fear would snowball to a panic attack.  

Speaking of that, do they have the person who used to book Dr. Phil's show working in casting and production of Survivor now?  First we have Kendra, and her weird adoption backstory, and now we have Katurah's estranged mother suddenly getting back into contact on national TV.  I call shenanigans, and I don't like it.  Keep this crap outta my show.

[KeithJ]

3 hours ago, Bazinga said:

I am sure he thought he was being brilliant, but Bruce's idol to Kellie lie was pointless. 

I think he was thinking that if he could get every single player to vote for him, his vote would then control who went home.

[Bazinga]

7 minutes ago, KeithJ said:

I think he was thinking that if he could get every single player to vote for him, his vote would then control who went home.

Wouldn't they be doing that anyway?  He just won two immunity challenges in a row and is a immunity challenge threat; he was getting their votes, how does not having the idol get more votes?  He needed to do nothing, allow for a Bruce/Jake split and use his idol to get Jake out and survive.

[KeithJ]

Just now, Bazinga said:

Wouldn't they be doing that anyway?  He just won two immunity challenges in a row and is a immunity challenge threat; he was getting their votes, how does not having the idol get more votes?  He needed to do nothing, allow for a Bruce/Jake split and use his idol to get Jake out and survive.

If there was a split in votes, he wouldn't be controlling who went home, the people splitting the votes would.  He probably had a target other than Jake in mind.

[Chicago Redshirt]

58 minutes ago, Bazinga said:

I don't agree making himself vulnerable by not having the idol has that result; I think his lie has the opposite affect from his doing nothing and allowing the others to think he has the idol.  If the Reba 4 think he doesn't have the idol, then they do not need to split their votes, and they put their four votes on Bruce, the immunity challenge threat.  This might lead to a tie with his four person bloc (him, Katurah, I assume, as he was trusting her with the lie, maybe Emily and maybe Jake, who he was lying to) voting for Julie.  I don't even think the Julie part was part of his original plan.  Going after Julie was Emily's idea or Emily's lie to lull him into a false sense of security and I am not sure he was even planning on forming a voting alliance to use the lie in any way.  I don't think he had a grand plan beyond look at my lie, I am soooo strategic.  If he wanted Jake out, he could say nothing and just use his idol and vote out Jake himself with everyone else splitting their votes between Jake, the other player most on the outs, and himself with votes against him being nullified.  From history, Katurah and Emily, who are safe, are not going to vote themselves into a tie situation.  Bruce would have benefited from the others thinking he had the idol, splitting their votes on him and someone else and then forming a voting bloc to vote someone out while using the idol.  Instead he did the opposite, making himself more of a target.  The idol and using it was his protection and would have saved him for one vote allowing him to possibly win immunity going forward.  That's my opinion: a pointless lie that probably hurts him more than helps but makes him feel like he is a great player. 

Maybe I'm not clear or maybe I'm misunderstanding you.

Scenario A: Status quo of everyone knowing Bruce has an idol still means that the Reba 4 can either do as they did (target Bruce AND an alternate target in a vote split) or they decide to put 4 votes minimum on someone. Bruce won't necessarily be able to predict who, and would be ill-advised to loan the idol to protect that person. 

Scenario B: If Bruce's lie is accepted that he gave his idol away, the Reba 4 likely put all 4 votes on Bruce (rather than choose an alternative target or split their votes. They may even get Emily/Jake/Katurah to come along for the ride. Bruce can then nullify their 4 votes (and anyone else who comes along for the ride) through his playing the idol and ideally pick who goes home from Reba with his allies. (There is some possibility that the Reba 4 either disbelieve Bruce's lie or get paranoid that he has found/will find a reseeded idol anyway, and vote split.)

Bruce explicitly said to Katurah his plan was Scenario B. Katurah said in a TH this is a dumb plan.

I think in a vacuum, it's a fine plan if it is not blown up by Katurah's complete willingness to cut off her nose to spite her face and her burning hatred of Bruce. Katurah's own self-interest should have led to her keeping her mouth shut. But her burning hatred of Bruce led her to blab and allowed the Reba 4 to make the right play of weakening Belo further regardless of whether Bruce played the idol.

The realistic best case result in Scenario A for Bruce is he plays the idol and is safe for this tribal, but one of his potential allies against the Rebas gets voted out. Going forward, he still has to win individual immunity or he will most likely get voted off since he has won 2 and almost won a third.

The realistic best case result in Scenario B for Bruce is he plays his idol, he makes a Big Move(tm) resulting in equalizing the Belo/Reba split. While he still probably is going to face a vote off if he doesn't win individual immunity, at least under this scenario it's plausible he could have the numbers.

I think the ceiling on Scenario B is far higher than Scenario A.  

[eel2178]

5 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

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. 

Also, season 1 when the reward was a night on a luxury yacht instead of the dumb "sanctuary" that isn't anywhere near as posh as they try to make it sound.

Did they at least get to eat their mashed potatoes with utensils last night?

[fishcakes]

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

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.

All of this. The problem for Bruce and everyone who isn't in the Reba 4 is Katurah. She hates Bruce and, by extension, anyone who might even potentially work with Bruce so much that whenever she gets any information that will hurt him, she runs it back to Dee. The thing is, if she wants to kill her own game just to kill his, then that's a choice, I guess, but she actually thinks she's playing well. I was floored when she said last night that she had to win this game because of all the people who are not winning this game, she is currently not winning it the hardest. AFAIC, she's a bigger waste of a player space than Hannah, Brandon, and Sean were.

Drew: We're having a boy's night. Bro-ing out.
Austin: Ooh, pork is so fatty.

[Chicago Redshirt]

8 minutes ago, Bazinga said:

Wouldn't they be doing that anyway?  He just won two immunity challenges in a row and is a immunity challenge threat; he was getting their votes, how does not having the idol get more votes?  He needed to do nothing, allow for a Bruce/Jake split and use his idol to get Jake out and survive.

As we saw, they split the vote knowing he had an idol as a precaution.

If they thought he didn't have an idol, they might not have bothered to split the vote and just gone 4+ votes on Bruce, all to be nullified by the idol.

Also, they might not have had the votes to split. As it worked out, they were able to convince Jake and Katurah to vote Bruce. If Jake and Katurah had bought into Bruce's plan, they could have voted for whatever Reba and that person would have gone home 3-1 or 3-0 depending on how Emily voted. 

Having the 4 Reba votes plus Emily's makes a vote split risky. If all 3 Belos vote united, they could win 3-2, if the Rebas made Bruce the primary target, counted on votes from Emily, Katurah and Jake that they don't get and Bruce plays the idol.

[SummerDreams]

The women during the reward confirming that Bruce or Jake (the only two  players who would get zero votes in the final tribal council) will be voted out and the men burping and fishing while they could be talking strategy represents perfectly this season; stupidity and lack of strategy.

[eel2178]

4 hours 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.

He also seemed to think that Keturah was his ally when all she has expressed towards him was venomous hatred the entire season.

Read the room, man!

[paul4295]

I had a little chuckle at the interview with Emily where she is holding the glass of wine.  I can't remember ever seeing anything like that before on Survivor, and it made it look so casual, like she's just out to lunch with a friend telling a funny story.  It also answered a question that I always wondered about--are those interviews happening "in the moment," hours later, or even the next day, reflecting on what happened earlier?  Clearly that one was happening in the moment.

[SummerDreams]

12 hours ago, AntFTW said:

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

I'm sure that's what the editors want us all to do. I guess the reason is that she wins and we are happy.

[Chicago Redshirt]

10 minutes ago, SummerDreams said:

The women during the reward confirming that Bruce or Jake (the only two  players who would get zero votes in the final tribal council) will be voted out and the men burping and fishing while they could be talking strategy represents perfectly this season; stupidity and lack of strategy.

In fairness, Bruce and Jake are (seemingly) dead men walking. They have nothing strategic to offer Austin and Drew, no information to give them that could be believed, nothing that could further either of their games.

By contrast, each of the women stands to benefit from bonding and strategizing with the rest.

[Lady Calypso]

I think, at the point where they are in the game, I understand Emily deciding to ultimately get Bruce out instead of a Reba member. She's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place; work with a solid four and hope they start flipping on each other, or work with three other people who suck at the game and hope they can find the brains to stick together for more than a Tribal. 

Also, with how the remaining tribe cheered when Bruce was voted out, I do think part of it was simply the fact that Bruce has been hard to work with and him going was better for everyone. And with how good he's been at the challenges, it's not terrible to take him out the first chance you get. Bruce had the opportunity to keep himself safe; he decided to risk it by not playing his idol, probably hoping Emily, Katurah and Jake were solid with him and would keep him safe. It may not pay off for Emily, but I really think she was in a bad spot, no matter which way she went. And if she solidified the plan to vote out Julie with Katurah, Jake and Bruce, she's the one in the hottest water with Reba, and Katurah/Jake were already hesitant to flip on Reba, and Katurah's hatred for Bruce would have never allowed her to work with him past that Tribal, anyway. 

Poor Emily. At least she had a girls night and got wine. 

 The women ARE better than the men this season at this game, so at least there's that. Austin/Drew were so ready to believe Bruce's lie (as if he'd ever give his idol to someone else), and Dee/Julie were laughing at the thought. Now, granted, they knew right away it was a lie and Austin/Drew didn't but I feel like Dee and Julie would have questioned it more. 

I admire Jake for trying to play the game as hard as he can, but oh boy is he in a really bad spot. He's got the sympathy from the jury, at least, and Emily at least tries to talk to him like he's more than a number (though she still considered him a number for her). 

Now that Bruce is gone, what is Katurah gonna talk about now? Her MIA mother? Which, by the way, I'm fully side-eyeing Survivor production on that shady ass letter shit. Katurah said she hadn't talked to her mother in over a year and production, what, went out and hunted down her mother, OR a relative of Katurah's got her mother to write her a letter, all for entertainment purposes? I haven't liked Katurah's game but I felt bad for her that her personal shit was being aired out on TV like that. If someone is no contact with a family member, DON'T HAVE THEIR FIRST POINT OF CONTACT BE ON TELEVISION. I hate when reality shows do that; people have to agree to that happening and it seemed like Katurah was totally blindsided.

Part of me wonders if that contributed to her panic attack in the immunity challenge. Like, having to deal with emotions stemming from family stuff and then facing a challenge where you slide into the ocean seems like a lot. 

Speaking of the challenge, it's a cool new immunity challenge but boy oh boy does it favour men. Upper body strength is a must in that challenge, it seems. 

I am glad Bruce is gone, though. Now if Drew could only go away. Speaking of, that Drew/Jake fight was hilarious. Team Jake, for sure.

[Drogo]

1 minute ago, Lady Calypso said:

I think, at the point where they are in the game, I understand Emily deciding to ultimately get Bruce out instead of a Reba member. She's kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place; work with a solid four and hope they start flipping on each other, or work with three other people who suck at the game and hope they can find the brains to stick together for more than a Tribal. 

The thing that keeps me from being disappointed in Emily for her choices here is that TH where she acknowledges: "Bruce has no interest in playing his idol strategically."  (aka he only wants to use it if he has to, to save himself directly.) Couple that observation with Bruce's TH where he quite literally says to us "I'm going to play my idol tonight so I can be here next week" then doesn't play the fucking idol because he's so confident he has 3 other votes for Mama J...?  Ok. Bye Bruce.  

[Fretful]

With Bruce, I think we may see the end of the bitter, pissy-faced jury at tribal.  I just don't think he has it in him to hold a grudge over a game.  However, I can imagine its return if Dee or Drew get voted out next week.

But unless something drastic happens soon, Dee or Austin wins this season.  Both are playing excellent games.  I think Dee has a stronger post-merge resume, but Austin still has those 2 idols...

 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

3 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

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.

I don't remember it either but this instance was LOL amazing.  A-MAZ-ING!  

 

3 hours 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.

We can be three besties because I love her too.   Her mission is accomplished.  Winning a million might be anti-climatic vs. getting Bruce out. 

And I really, really, REALLY love Jake.  I was so touched by him last night because a lot of that emotion had to be wrapped up into his pre-Survivor insecurities and the stress of the game just amplifies it.  I want him to find an idol or win immunity and get his swagger back.  He's not at all who I thought he was at the start of the game and he's definitely one of my remaining favs. 

[Nashville]

In all the back-and-forth of why Bruce wouldn’t play his idol, I haven’t seen one other person mention what (to me, anyway) is clearly the primary factor: for all his braggadocio, Bruce is an incredibly insecure person who cannot think strategically without someone he COMPLETELY trusts as “His Person” reinforcing his thought processes on every move.

• Kellie was Bruce’s original His Person - despite her clear irritation with him - but he lost her.
• Bruce tries to replace Kellie with both Katurah and Jake in turn, but neither appears to measure up; Jake as a player is subpar and untrustworthy, while Katurah remains as confrontational and difficult to communicate with as ever (for Bruce, anyway).
• Emily, however, appears to Bruce to be a dream come true; Emily tells Bruce what other people are thinking about him, and is willing to talk strategy and make plans with him.  As a result, Bruce immediately and wholeheartedly gloms onto Emily to an almost embarrassing degree.

Bruce’s buying into Emily’s schtick 100% is the only explanation I can think of for Bruce not playing his idol - and his near-pathological need for a His Person is the only reason I can see why.

[bankerchick]

16 hours ago, choclatechip45 said:

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.

Granted, I am not afraid of water, nor did I ever cut off contact with my mother, but this comment makes no sense to me.  So, she got a letter, then the next day, everything appeared to be fine but she suddenly thought to herself, 'oh yeah, I got a letter from my mother yesterday.  I'm afraid of water now!?'

4 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I liked that she refused Jeff's offer of being boated back to shore and jumped in with the gang to swim back.

OK, this appears to make more sense to me.  I thought everyone was swimming to a boat but Jeff offered to have the boat come over to Katurah, and in the pan-out shot, the boat was nowhere to be seen!

Perhaps it's because there are fewer players now, and Reba clearly has control, which nobody appears to want to break up, but 90 minutes is starting to seem like too long per episode.

[violet and green]

I can see why someone who has only recently learned to swim would be afraid of swimming in relatively deep ocean water far from the shore. And there could be sharks!

[Chicago Redshirt]

1 hour ago, Fretful said:

With Bruce, I think we may see the end of the bitter, pissy-faced jury at tribal.  I just don't think he has it in him to hold a grudge over a game.  However, I can imagine its return if Dee or Drew get voted out next week.

But unless something drastic happens soon, Dee or Austin wins this season.  Both are playing excellent games.  I think Dee has a stronger post-merge resume, but Austin still has those 2 idols...

 

Although I have a perception of Bruce being one to believe "All's fair in love and Survivor," I would not be shocked if he does end up being bitter. Of the remaining contestants, I think that at least a couple have fairly strong potential to be bitter jurors (Drew and Dee) and about the only one I would be surprised if she turns out bitter is Julie. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

23 minutes ago, Nashville said:

In all the back-and-forth of why Bruce wouldn’t play his idol, I haven’t seen one other person mention what (to me, anyway) is clearly the primary factor: for all his braggadocio, Bruce is an incredibly insecure person who cannot think strategically without someone he COMPLETELY trusts as “His Person” reinforcing his thought processes on every move.

• Kellie was Bruce’s original His Person - despite her clear irritation with him - but he lost her.
• Bruce tries to replace Kellie with both Katurah and Jake in turn, but neither appears to measure up; Jake as a player is subpar and untrustworthy, while Katurah remains as confrontational and difficult to communicate with as ever (for Bruce, anyway).
• Emily, however, appears to Bruce to be a dream come true; Emily tells Bruce what other people are thinking about him, and is willing to talk strategy and make plans with him.  As a result, Bruce immediately and wholeheartedly gloms onto Emily to an almost embarrassing degree.

Bruce’s buying into Emily’s schtick 100% is the only explanation I can think of for Bruce not playing his idol - and his near-pathological need for a His Person is the only reason I can see why.

Occam's Razor: Bruce simply and overconfidently jumped at the chance to have his cake and eat it too (i.e. work with his perceived four to vote off Julie, keep his idol and remain safe on Emily's say-so.). There's no need for a deeper psychological profile of him than that.

[Chicago Redshirt]

15 minutes ago, bankerchick said:

Granted, I am not afraid of water, nor did I ever cut off contact with my mother, but this comment makes no sense to me.  So, she got a letter, then the next day, everything appeared to be fine but she suddenly thought to herself, 'oh yeah, I got a letter from my mother yesterday.  I'm afraid of water now!?'

I'm assuming the thought is that Katurah was so shaken by hearing from her mother that it affected her performance. But either she sublimated that panic at hearing for her mother into a panic attack over the water, or she consciously lied about/exaggerated her fear of the water to cover the real reason for her panic. 

I have a deep-seated fear of drowning and can barely swim. People who have posted in Survivor threads from previous seasons may remember me not liking the "hang on to the grate mostly submerged for as long as you can" and seeing that as non-entertaining and quasi-torture. But my reaction to Katurah here was, shall we say, less than sympathetic.

Putting aside the notion that there are clearly safety measures that would prevent her from drowning in all but the most freakish of circumstances (both Survivors and safety swimmers nearby), not only is the water calm enough so that there's no reason to think that an accident might happen, but as Katurah eventually chose to do, she could simply step off the rack onto the platform without going to the water. Again, I'm watching this from the comfort of my couch with a full belly. But no matter what tricks her mind might be playing on her, I don't see how the circumstances could be so scary to her in that moment. And then assuming they were, it doesn't make sense to me that she wouldn't take Jeff up on the offer to get in the boat from the dock. 

It struck me more like some acting to garner sympathy for herself and to give herself a talking point should she get to FTC because right now, her Survivor resume reads: 

FINALLY voted Bruce out with my Acme-brand parchment.

[dancingdreamer]

22 minutes ago, violet and green said:

I can see why someone who has only recently learned to swim would be afraid of swimming in relatively deep ocean water far from the shore. And there could be sharks!

I can as well. I suffer  with panic attacks,  once one hits you, you cannot settle quickly. I think this happened  to Katurah,  my heart went out to her. Struggling  with the challenge,  and anxiety.  She swam well after that. I thought  Jeff felt for her, and was very kind.

[30 Helens]

34 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Although I have a perception of Bruce being one to believe "All's fair in love and Survivor," I would not be shocked if he does end up being bitter. Of the remaining contestants, I think that at least a couple have fairly strong potential to be bitter jurors (Drew and Dee) and about the only one I would be surprised if she turns out bitter is Julie. 

I expect Bruce’s state of mind as a juror will directly correlate to the amount of control he has over the other jurors. If they don’t appoint him foreman, and follow his lead in determining who is the most deserving* winner, then he will be a bitter juror indeed.

*second to Bruce, of course

[iMonrey]

5 hours ago, Nashville said:

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

I have to believe at some point the Reba four are going to turn on each other. I think most likely the girls will go after the guys and vice versa. Emily is a potential number for either side. 

That said, now that Emily can claim responsibility for getting Bruce out, both sides might be less willing to take her to the final three. They might see Katurah or ever Jake as a better goat.

Edited November 30, 2023 by iMonrey

[Haleth]

Now I really wish we could see Ponderosa with Bruce there. 

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, dancingdreamer said:

She swam well after that. I thought  Jeff felt for her, and was very kind.

He was  kind.  Everyone else was caught up in their own little world and he seems to be the only one who noticed Katurah wasn't just shaking from muscle strain, but was going through something serious. Even after it was clear she needed help he had to tell Emily to give her a hand. 

We complain about Jeff a lot but he really does love the game and invests himself in all the players in a way you seldom see in other  hosts.

[Cotypubby]

5 hours ago, Nashville said:

Did anybody else notice the first four to drop out of the IC were the same four who had just returned from The Sanctuary - Where Good Things Happen™ ?

Curious, that….

They were also all the women. This challenge was solely based on upper arm strength.

[Guiaoshi]

I said it for weeks and I say even more now: Watch out for Emily....  Yep, she could make the move of get rid of one of the Reba (with a very concerning group of people to work with tho) but she decided to make a move herself on take out a contestant that both jury and other players wanted out so bad, that almost won a third immunnity challenge in a row and had a idol wanting to keep it for one more week and while risky It might pay of big time. Yep, Reba strong but lets see after all this talk about Mama J be unbeatable If Drew and Austin wont feel the need to change plans and same as Mama If she finds out they might go to get her...And once again, Emily might play right in the middle. Shes quite the oposite of Jake: She is in the right side of every vote, people are not writing her name/or even considering vote her ... Just watch....

Edited November 30, 2023 by Guiaoshi

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

[Jake]'s got the sympathy from the jury, at least, and Emily at least tries to talk to him like he's more than a number (though she still considered him a number for her). 

This reminded me of Emily telling Jake that the the others aren't actually working with him/are lying to him/are using him while she admits in the confessional she too is doing all of those things.

You make good points about Emily's choice to continue to vote out non-Rebas, @Lady Calypso. I also think the Bruce hate is pretty strong for everyone, including Emily, and I do understand just wanting someone gone because you just can't deal with them lol.

I think it's inevitable at this point that at least 2 Rebas make F3 but I'm hoping that Emily's strong edit is leading to her being the other person there and getting the majority of the votes. 

I am no longer afraid Austin wins at least. His edit doesn't give him credit for any real moves and in this episode he won immunity and we barely heard from him. Which, keep that up please, editors. I wish to not hear from him ever again.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Looking ahead, I am curious if the women bonding over the reward challenge might lead to a realignment in which Jake gets voted off next, and then the four women decide they want to try to turn on Austin/Drew to oust them.

When will the Reba 4 decide to turn on each other, and how? And can Emily and Katurah (and Jake if he sticks around) take advantage on prompt the sudden but inevitable betrayal by Rebas to happen sooner?

[Guiaoshi]

30 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

 

I am no longer afraid Austin wins at least. His edit doesn't give him credit for any real moves and in this episode he won immunity and we barely heard from him. Which, keep that up please, editors. I wish to not hear from him ever again.

IKR? Emily's reward challenge victory was way more highlighted. The Immunnity challenge ended up being more about Bruce finally losing and Kathura overcoming her fear that Austin winning.

[choclatechip45]

3 hours ago, bankerchick said:

Granted, I am not afraid of water, nor did I ever cut off contact with my mother, but this comment makes no sense to me.  So, she got a letter, then the next day, everything appeared to be fine but she suddenly thought to herself, 'oh yeah, I got a letter from my mother yesterday.  I'm afraid of water now!?'

OK, this appears to make more sense to me.  I thought everyone was swimming to a boat but Jeff offered to have the boat come over to Katurah, and in the pan-out shot, the boat was nowhere to be seen!

Perhaps it's because there are fewer players now, and Reba clearly has control, which nobody appears to want to break up, but 90 minutes is starting to seem like too long per episode.

I've suffered from panic attacks and for me they come out of nowhere. Either way I don't think production should have given her a letter from someone she chose to cut off contact with. 

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, Cotypubby said:

They were also all the women. This challenge was solely based on upper arm strength.

Maybe, maybe not.  Jiffy flat-out told everybody the trick to the comp, which I thought was pretty obvious before Probst even opened his mouth; wedge your heels up against & a little under your ass with your feet flat on the board, and the load-bearing shifts from your arms to your heels and feet.  If you can’t figure that’un out even after somebody done told you, then maybe the problem ain’t the comp….

[lawrbk]

13 hours 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. 

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!

 

 

I think Emily knows she’s 5th. Hence her questioning of drew and Austin about voting off Dee. They hemmed and hawed a LOT. But she has a bond with them and has been building connections with dee and Julie. At 5 she could easily be asked by a set of pairs to go with them. I don’t see Katurah (except as a goat) or Jake being #5. 

[JudyObscure]

8 hours ago, Nashville said:

Maybe, maybe not.  Jiffy flat-out told everybody the trick to the comp, which I thought was pretty obvious before Probst even opened his mouth; wedge your heels up against & a little under your ass with your feet flat on the board, and the load-bearing shifts from your arms to your heels and feet.  If you can’t figure that’un out even after somebody done told you, then maybe the problem ain’t the comp….

That was exactly how Dee had her legs and she was doing fine, until the part when they all were ordered to straighten out their legs, at which point Dee's long strong legs became a liability pulling against her arms and she immediately dropped.

[Lady Calypso]

10 hours ago, Nashville said:

Maybe, maybe not.  Jiffy flat-out told everybody the trick to the comp, which I thought was pretty obvious before Probst even opened his mouth; wedge your heels up against & a little under your ass with your feet flat on the board, and the load-bearing shifts from your arms to your heels and feet.  If you can’t figure that’un out even after somebody done told you, then maybe the problem ain’t the comp….

I mean, to be fair, that trick only works for part of the comp, until the last rung. Plus, it IS the first time they're doing it, so it's trial and error for many of them. Emily fell immediately, Katurah had a panic attack that caused her to drop out (she probably could have held on longer) and Julie did decently well but couldn't hold on. Dee did great until she couldn't use her legs, in which case, it favoured the men since she struggled to even get in position on the last rung, and then dropped seconds later. Sure, the women could have used their feet for the first three rungs, but the last rung would have had them drop, anyway. I think the steepness of the platform didn't help, either.

It's an interesting immunity challenge, though. You really DO need that upper body strength once you get down to the last rung. 

[Nashville]

47 minutes ago, Lady Calypso said:

It's an interesting immunity challenge, though. You really DO need that upper body strength once you get down to the last rung. 

Yup; once a player lost their ability to wedge, they had little to go on besides hand strength and flat-body friction.  Shucking your shirt (and long pants if you were wearing them) before the start of the comp would be a definite advantage in the home stretch, if you thought to do so.

Have any of the players ever mentioned any experience in rock climbing?

[iMonrey]

12 hours ago, Nashville said:

Jiffy flat-out told everybody the trick to the comp, which I thought was pretty obvious before Probst even opened his mouth; wedge your heels up against & a little under your ass with your feet flat on the board, and the load-bearing shifts from your arms to your heels and feet.  If you can’t figure that’un out even after somebody done told you, then maybe the problem ain’t the comp….

I'm not sure how much friction your feet can actually give you in that situation, or for how long. How tacky are the bottom of your feet, and how slippery is the platform? How steep is the angle? I think it would depend on the person, and I think arm strength is still at least half of it if not slightly more, even in the first stages.

[Drogo]

It's almost as though these Survivor challenges aren't things people are typically skilled at or used to doing! 

That said, I'll take my chances trying to stay on an oceanic Trivial Pursuit piece or gasping for air through a grate over a slide puzzle any day. Talk about scary shit. 

Edited December 1, 2023 by Drogo

[Chicago Redshirt]

4 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

That was exactly how Dee had her legs and she was doing fine, until the part when they all were ordered to straighten out their legs, at which point Dee's long strong legs became a liability pulling against her arms and she immediately dropped.

It is not mere coincidence that once Dee could not use her Quentin-Tarintino-worthy, self-described freakish feet to her advantage she was out. :)

[millennium]

I haven't finished watching the episode yet, so haven't read any previous posts.  Forgive me if I am repeating things that may have already been said.

For a show that went to ludicrous extremes to show how "woke" it was about gender, gender roles and pronouns -- "C'mon in, guys" -- it was a grotesque hypocrisy for Survivor to create two outlandish vignettes that were so incredibly offensive in their stereotyping of men and women, i.e., men are disgusting creatures that revel in farting and burping, while women are emotionally delicate flowers that weep and hug at the slightest emotional provocation.

It wasn't fun or funny and both felt like they would never end, especially the guys version with the obnoxious 80s-movie soundtrack.   Never before with this show have I cringed so much.   Please go back to the standard one-hour format.   The extra time is only giving the production people excuses to show their asses.

[Diana Berry]

On 11/29/2023 at 9:45 PM, Haleth said:

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?

Because he’s nice , cute, has great teeth and gorgeous cheekbones.

[jaigurudeva]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:00 PM, Nashville said:

 edge your heels up against & a little under your ass with your feet flat on the board, and the load-bearing shifts from your arms to your heels and feet

The problem is in that position your legs will get quickly start to feel Not Great from the compression in your nerves and blood vessels. It's like intensive kneeling, all of your bodyweight squishing your thighs and your calves together with a ton of leverage pressing on your knees, that's just as tough to bear for an extended length of time as using only your upper body, which is why all the contestants were constantly wriggling trying to balance between the two positions in the first rungs. Not only did that completely go out the window anyway in the last rung of the challenge, but all the platforms seemed identical, yet the men have longer arms, so they had not only the advantage in upper body strength, but in reach and leverage in their arms as well.

I don't know how Survivor seeks out these personal letters, but even if it wasn't an intentional ploy for drama and just an honest mistake from Survivor production, I sincerely hope that moving forward Survivor production specifically ASKS contestants who they'd want a letter from, or at least who they are and aren't in contact with. Going no-contact with close family is incredibly difficult and often a last-resort just for your own mental/emotional survival. Of course that would shake anyone to the core to get a letter like that, it's a violation of your privacy and the safety you created away from that person, on top of that in a stressful situation and broadcast on national television. It's completely understandable that she'd be emotionally fraught going into the challenge.

I'm pretty disappointed in this season overall, between the quitters, the terrible play (or lack thereof) of idols, the overall lack of really any alliance working or strategy as the Reba 4 (and their coattail-riders) coasts through each vote while the rest of the players just sat and spun on their thumbs. I'm not holding my breath that there will be any significant shakeup, no matter what they promise us for every "next week" vignette. Even Caleb saw the completely predictable vote outcome this week, as Kendra and Kellie were first "shocked" (why?) by the Jake votes and he was like "Lol wait, it's never the first votes that get the boot."

Edited December 3, 2023 by jaigurudeva

[iMonrey]

13 hours ago, jaigurudeva said:

I'm pretty disappointed in this season overall, between the quitters, the terrible play (or lack thereof) of idols, the overall lack of really any alliance working or strategy as the Reba 4 (and their coattail-riders) coasts through each vote while the rest of the players just sat and spun on their thumbs. I'm not holding my breath that there will be any significant shakeup, no matter what they promise us for every "next week" vignette.

I've been increasingly indifferent to the show since the addition of so many idols, advantages, twists, etc. It's all so random so I think maybe that's why it's tough for me to find someone to root for. I think overall the cast is just fine, but if I'm pressed I can't really say that I care who wins at this point. Who winds up in the final three is more or less a crapshoot these days, and the winner is decided on the whims of the jury. It's really not necessarily about who played the best game, it's about who the jury likes best - or resents the least - of the three who manage to stumble-bum their way to the end.