S46 Ep. 12 "Mamma Bear"

[LadyChatts]

Quote

“In one of the most emotional reward challenges of the season, castaways fight for their chance to win letters from home.  Alliances begin to crumble and individual plans emerge after players compete in a race of balance, speed, and puzzle skills to earn immunity and a spot in the final five.”

 

[Lantern7]

I mistook this thread for the live one. Sorry about that.

Edited May 16 by Lantern7

[Lantern7]

. . . aaaaaaaand I did it twice. 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Edited May 16 by Lantern7

[Carey]

I'm trying to find the comp toward tonight's Tribal Council.  I'll do my best.

 

Someone exited, but not before that individual found an idol.  Roses are red, violets are blue, most grapes are purple, the sky is blue, the grass is green, corn is yellow, oranges are orange, coal is black, snow is white, my hair is gray, Christmas is December 25, Valentines Day is February 14, if Super Bowl 61 is delayed, St Patty's Day is March 17, Halloween is October 31st, July 4th is easy, Memorial Day is the last Monday in May, Labor Day is the first Monday in September, Turkey Day isn't always the last Thursday in November, but it is always a day everyone outside of Dallas can root against one team, Jeff is peachy, Survivor is worth playing for, the tribe has spoken, accurate spelling is possible, the Micronesia members officially look like the smartest players in the history of reality TV, and cookies are...just that damn good!

[Rodney]

Jem, Hunter, Tiffany, Venus, and now Q.  FIVE hidden Immunity Idols go out in the pockets of their holders!  Wow!

Oh, well!  At least Q is gone!

[mojoween]

Dumbass.

[LadyChatts]

4 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Jem, Hunter, Tiffany, Venus, and now Q.  FIVE hidden Immunity Idols go out in the pockets of their holders!  Wow!

Oh, well!  At least Q is gone!

Oh I forgot all about Jem.  So that's gotta be a record, right?

[Lamima]

Maria has some splaining to do. Ha ha.

Lame bunch with going to Ponerosa with an idol. Stupid. Worst season ever.

[Carey]

Just now, LadyChatts said:

Oh I forgot all about Jem.  So that's gotta be a record, right?

The record hit long ago.  It just extended it.

[Rodney]

1 minute ago, LadyChatts said:

Oh I forgot all about Jem.  So that's gotta be a record, right?

It is.  Venus broke it last week.  Q was just the icing on the cake.

[Brown44]

6 minutes ago, Rodney said:

Jem, Hunter, Tiffany, Venus, and now Q.  FIVE hidden Immunity Idols go out in the pockets of their holders!  Wow!

Oh, well!  At least Q is gone!

That has to be a record for going home with an idol in there pocket. 

[LadyChatts]

I thought for sure Q was playing his idol.  It seemed way too perfect of a plan, and I can’t believe he was arrogant enough to believe he had Liz of all people wanting to work with him.  Unless he thought that was all Maria’s work.  I’m glad Charlie survived, I like him, and I loved the look of awkwardness on Maria’s face.  Guess she spoke too soon when she said she’s been on the right side of every vote.  Though she can add another blindside to her resume, but this one was on herself.

I’d like to see Kenzie or Charlie win at this point.  I’ve really come around on them, since I couldn’t stand them early on. 

I like how Charlie rubbed it in that he was picking the people for the reward that didn’t get to eat the pizza.  Even though Maria said her and Charlie agreed to never pick the other if they won a reward, she sure seemed bitter over not getting picked. 

And dang, Liz has a BM and gets picked for the reward and it's like a whole 'nother person.  I can only imagine what Applebee's would have done for her!

[Brown44]

Another blindside another contestant just happy go lucky.

[seacliffsal]

I really enjoyed the segment in which they intercut scenes of Charlie and Maria both talking about it was time to vote out the other along with the scenes of them declaring their friendship to each other forever.  I thought it was excellent editing.

Maria just displayed that she isn't always aware of what is going happen and was (finally) on the wrong side of the vote.  Now Charlie can vote her out without any regret, hesitation, or justification (not a spoiler just an assumption).

I though Liz had a million allergies, yet she ate fried shrimp (gluten) and, presumably, soy sauce (gluten) along with noodles (they could have been rice noodles, but, if not...gluten).

Oh, and editors?  I don't need to hear about Liz's bathroom activities...

[mojoween]

 But the editors were quite cheeky when they cut from Charlie talking at the sanctuary (where good things happen!) about how he and Maria agreed not to pick each other and he knew she would understand, to a cut of Maria sobbing at camp by playing like a horror music riff before the camera focused on her.  It was funny.

[Rodney]

What gets me is that Q said that he was playing the idol no matter what, depending on who lost between himself and Maria.  Kenzie and Liz must've really made him feel comfortable enough not to play it.

[Carey]

This might be the first time I ever considered respecting the move for Jeff Probst & company to be fired.  Or CBS casting.  Or the person that will double down on the decision for two Survivor seasons similar to this nonsense while just half as many for a former 10-time Emmy winning program.

I should be happy for Q going home.  And that move was great more at the expense of Maria and less at Q.  The latter still sucked, but things escalated for everybody and everything else to where it was just very good, but not great to see him going home.

Television programming has been a thing longer than Peachy has been alive.  You have to know that you shouldn't need people getting voted off in record fashion, and from there, the victims feeling happier than a 10 figure Powerball winner. 

That's not Survivor.  Each of the last four people getting kicked out would've been fine without an idol.  Maybe either ditch it or go back to the rules that were in place in 2006.  Of course, if they did that, each of those last four cast offs would have simply left a super idol on the damn beach, which would have been worse than Reichenbach's exit 16 years ago.

[bunnyface]

I didn't think anyone could out drama Liz but in swoops Maria at the last minute to take the win!  I hope her other win tonight is the last one.

[tvfanatic13]

Praise all that is holy! Q is finally gone!!!

[Carey]

I hate to say so, but I might reach the max level of being a pathetic tv watching human being, if someone in the next TC gets voted out with an idol in the pocket.

[Chicago Redshirt]

Are you kidding me? I understand the impulse to keep an idol in your pocket, but this is beyond ridiculous.

If Maria wanted to be a master strategist and to get rid of Charlie, why didn't she just say "Q, play your idol. It's the only way to be safe. We can't trust any of the other people. Liz hates you for Applebee's. Kenzie doesn't want to work with you. Ben has beefed with you. Even if they tell me that they're down to blindside Charlie, there's too much of a chance that they'll be coming for you. And this way, we 100 percent get rid of Charlie. If you burn your idol, you burn your idol. That's a small price to pay for blindsiding Charlie and being a legend."

I don't particularly like Maria, but I respect that she has till now done so well and that she's been on the right side of every vote. I hope that she or Charlie takes it down. If Kenzie gets it by sobbing about how she pushed her wedding back to be on Survivor, or worse, Ben gets it by having literally not accomplished anything in the game, or still worse if Liz gets it despite her rampant incompetence in the game, I'll be super disappointed.

Speaking of which, I owe an apology for last week. I thought the writing of Kenzie was a strategy play in case Venus played an idol. I never would have dreamed someone would be so incompetent at the game of Survivor that they meant to write another name  down and they just brainfarted. I think that should be a DQ-able offense.

[North of Eden]

Unbelievable. Simply unbelievable!

Yet another person that could have saved themselves but pockets their idol when they KNOW people have been gunning for you for days. Why would you believe anything they say?!

Now for the rest.

Liz announcing dropping a deuce on the jungle floor could only serve as a metaphor to what the casting director has done to the fans with such questionable casting as boring Ben and a host of dullards going home with idols for souvenirs.

I'm assuming PF Chángs wasn't interested in sponsoring the episode or we would have gotten a neat soliloquy from Liz about how her and her daughter eat there every Thursday before they go home to watch the live eviction episode of BIG BROTHER.

My cold dead heart will never understand antics like Maria freaking out over the letters from home. It's not even 39 days in the much touted 'New Era' and besides these are same kids you're going to be angrily grounding a week after she got home from the jungle for spilling grape juice on the beige living room rug. It'll be tears of frustration then!

Speaking of Maria....she's in a box that only one more immunity win can get her out of.

Just for the sheer entertainment value I am desperate for a Kensie, Ben and Liz final 3 just for the sheer spectacle of the worst assembly of finalists ever and the mental gymnastics the jury would have to go through to pick a winner from those three losers.

But of course, that fun will never happen, and it will be either Charlie or Maria and it will be like shooting fish in a barrel at that point.

[LadyChatts]

7 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

Speaking of which, I owe an apology for last week. I thought the writing of Kenzie was a strategy play in case Venus played an idol. I never would have dreamed someone would be so incompetent at the game of Survivor that they meant to write another name  down and they just brainfarted. I think that should be a DQ-able offense.

I actually thought the same thing.  Charlie mentioned throwing a stray vote, so when I saw Ben was the Kenzie culprit vote, I was convinced Charlie had Ben do it to create further chaos.  And when Ben said it was an accident, I kept waiting for a TH of him saying 'it was no accident'.  But nope.  Apparently Ben couldn't think of any other name to write down but Kenzie's.  If he gets on the jury and has to vote for the winner, I hope he doesn't have the same brainfart.

[AntFTW]

I would have assumed that Maria told Q that his name was being floated and that he should play his idol. Maybe she did and Q stubbornly thought he had Kenzie and Liz on his side for this vote. I completely expected Q to play his idol. I was expecting a surprise... and I didn't get it.

Ok, so... Liz at the FTC taking it all? You guys are seeing the vision, right?

She's the last one on my list of annoying people that would actually make a hilarious and entertaining win.

1) Venus

2) Q

3) Liz

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, Carey said:

I'm trying to find the comp toward tonight's Tribal Council.  I'll do my best.

 

Someone exited, but not before that individual found an idol.  Roses are red, violets are blue, most grapes are purple, the sky is blue, the grass is green, corn is yellow, oranges are orange, coal is black, snow is white, my hair is gray, Christmas is December 25, Valentines Day is February 14, if Super Bowl 61 is delayed, St Patty's Day is March 17, Halloween is October 31st, July 4th is easy, Memorial Day is the last Monday in May, Labor Day is the first Monday in September, Turkey Day isn't always the last Thursday in November, but it is always a day everyone outside of Dallas can root against one team, Jeff is peachy, Survivor is worth playing for, the tribe has spoken, accurate spelling is possible, the Micronesia members officially look like the smartest players in the history of reality TV, and cookies are...just that damn good!

I'm on the floor laughing.  Thank you! 😎

[Jodithgrace]

I know that Liz is allergic to most fruit, coconut, and chicken, which is why the survivor diet pretty much hits all of her buttons. However, as far as I know, she has never said anything about gluten, which is why the Chinese food was no problem for her, and she was eating beef, not chicken. 
I think that Ben has become so dependent on Kenzie, that her name was the only one he could think of when he was “drunk on pizza”

I just knew , when they showed all the votes, that Q wasn’t going to play his idol.

Also, Charlie, word to the wise…when your BFF, Maria, starts wearing a Q skirt, it means she’s made a choice, and you aren’t it!

[Maya]

I think this blindside was the best thing that could have happened to Maria. Now she is on the outs and Charlie is seen as the mastermind. 

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

Oh, and editors?  I don't need to hear about Liz's bathroom activities...

I'm sorry, it makes me laugh😎She could possibly be the worst suited person to play this game ever (and I've watched them all but, most fade into the ether), yet she's F5.

Best person to take to the end

[MerBearHou]

1 hour ago, seacliffsal said:

I though Liz had a million allergies, yet she ate fried shrimp (gluten) and, presumably, soy sauce (gluten) along with noodles (they could have been rice noodles, but, if not...gluten).

Well, I think the answer to that is… Liz is full of sh*t.  

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

Oh I forgot all about Jem.  So that's gotta be a record, right?

Actually, I believe this makes for two records:

1. Most pocket idols in a single season (5)
2. Most consecutive pocket idols in a single season (4)

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

f Maria wanted to be a master strategist and to get rid of Charlie, why didn't she just say "Q, play your idol. It's the only way to be safe. We can't trust any of the other people. Liz hates you for Applebee's. Kenzie doesn't want to work with you. Ben has beefed with you. Even if they tell me that they're down to blindside Charlie, there's too much of a chance that they'll be coming for you. And this way, we 100 percent get rid of Charlie. If you burn your idol, you burn your idol. That's a small price to pay for blindsiding Charlie and being a legend."

The play to make.  Not as clever as she thinks she is.

Q's smugness got him.  I hope Maria's smugness gets her next

[Nashville]

So, I guess Q’s Christmas got cancelled.

When Jiffy announced Q’s eviction, did it look to anyone else like Q started to dig around in his pocket as if he were going to pull out his idol then???  Honestly, for just a second there I thought Q was going to start waving his idol around and say, “Oh, uh, wait a second - I meant to play this….”

[Carey]

Looking back, one could be surprised that someone hadn't given up immunity as an obvious target according to the folks at home, or went home with 2 idols.

Until they bring the entire cast back as the next returnee season.  Nothing spells Survivor better where Jelinsky wins immunity, gives the necklace to Kenzie, doesn't play a regular idol, gets the most votes, has a chance to play a super 2006 HII, except he forgot it at camp.

[Brown44]

It's time to end idols if people aren't gonna play them. And if Maria, Charlie or Kenzie gets to final four and win immunity they would be fools not to take Ben with them, him and Liz has down absolutely nothing to get a vote.

[TVFan1]

Thank God Q is gone. Quite surprised he didn't play the idol. He must have felt very comfortable and confident Charile was going to not play it. Anyway, it's about time and to have Maria get blindsided as well is icing on the cake. Voting Charlie off would have been the smarter move, everybody seems to like him. 

I liked the scene where Kenzie helped Ben through another anxiety attack and walked and talked with him. Still enjoy Kenzie and her kind nature. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

16 minutes ago, Brown44 said:

It's time to end idols if people aren't gonna play them. And if Maria, Charlie or Kenzie gets to final four and win immunity they would be fools not to take Ben with them, him and Liz has down absolutely nothing to get a vote.

The question is which would be the better goat, Ben or Liz? My answer would be Liz. Ben may have done nothing, but he's a likeable doofus who gets along with everyone. No one as far as I can tell actually likes Liz, and even if her gameplay was slightly better than his, no one is going to give a million dollars to a whiny, entitled to-hear-her-tell-it already-millionaire who doesn't need the money. Or at least, I hope not.

Also, I think there is no world where the boot at 5 is not whichever of Maria and Charlie fails to win immunity in that order. (I give no credit to Kenzie, Ben or Liz possibly winning immunity...they have generally been worthless at challenge all season long.) I think there is such a high disincentive to vote Ben or Liz off at this point because they are such non-entities, and Maria/Charlie need to realize that they don't want to go head to head at final, and the other three should realize they are best suited to win a FTC with neither of them in, second best suited in a FTC with only either Maria or Charlie, and have zero shot in a Maria/Charlie/them FTC.

So I'm not looking forward to next week. 

Edited May 16 by Chicago Redshirt

[Steph Sometimes]

47 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

Well, I think the answer to that is… Liz is full of sh*t.  

Not anymore! Didn't you hear her big announcement? I was half-worried she was going to announce it to Jeff at the challenge or the jurors. 

2 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Just for the sheer entertainment value I am desperate for a Kensie, Ben and Liz final 3 just for the sheer spectacle of the worst assembly of finalists ever and the mental gymnastics the jury would have to go through to pick a winner from those three losers.

I would personally enjoy that final 3 more than seasons 38, 39 and 43. But to each their own.

This season was so meh at the beginning, and I even remember writing that I hope it picked up. It did. I'm so onboard with this trainwreck now.

And finally, I love Malcolm and Denise so much more than these two.

Edited May 16 by Steph Sometimes

[dancingdreamer]

The Q man was voted out, and didnt  play his idol. He was keeping  it until the F5. 
Charlie  would have gone if Q had played it. I like Charlie,  but Marie is a friggin  comp beast. 
Kenzie has grown on me.
Oh ,and Liz finally  had a BM, literally  her biggest  move in the game!

[Lantern7]

Once again . . . why do I watch this show? Yeah, I like snarking on this forum, but the mediocrity is up to eye level at this point. Probst would realize the series is in dire straits, but I’m convinced he’s too busy getting off on all the suffering to notice that.

Next week is gonna be a shitshow, and I’m not thinking about Liz’s movements. At least four jury members will be bitter about misplaying their idols, and they’ll take it out on the finalists, most of whom couldn’t hack being in a season where the average contestant IQ is in triple digits.

[Rodney]

42 minutes ago, Brown44 said:

And if Maria, Charlie or Kenzie gets to final four and win immunity they would be fools not to take Ben with them, him and Liz has [done] absolutely nothing to get a vote.

I get that people hate Liz, but she does have something.  She has Tevin's blindside under her belt.

Now, Ben, OTOH?  Definitely has nothing.

[ByaNose]

8 minutes ago, Rodney said:

I get that people hate Liz, but she does have something.  She has Tevin's blindside under her belt.

Now, Ben, OTOH?  Definitely has nothing.

Yeah, Ben has nothing to offer. He didn’t even get along with everyone like Charlie does to fall back on. Nice guy but he didn’t do anything, didn’t win any immunities (yet) and, got more personal issue content than game related content. Liz and especially Kenny have slightly more to offer over Ben.

[Skooma]

We are going to end up with the worst final three ever, aren't we?  Night Terrors Ben, Cry Baby Liz and Tattoo Lady Kenzie.

I mean these three must know they can't win against EITHER Maria or Charlie, right?

I hope Maria wins immunity next week and wrecks Pop Idol Groupie Charlie's plans.  She did all the heavy lifting for him and I'd hate to see him win as a result. 

Her triumph smiles remind me of Boston Rob's but it was okay if he smiled when he pulled a move cause he was a man.  But a woman smiling when she makes a big move and is happy about it apparently isn't allowed. 

Go, Maria.  Win immunity or find that immunity idol since it is suppose to be good through the next tribal council.

[LadyChatts]

Also, what was up with them showing the votes tonight when everyone was casting them?  Was it meant to be a fake-out?  I know in the live chat thread many of us thought Q was going to play his idol, so I guess it worked.  But just really odd.  

I missed this part during the first viewing, but Jeff said during TC that he watches a lot of police interrogation videos.  I don't know why but I feel like that just explains a heck of a lot about why Probst is the way he is when it comes to talking with the contestants.

[Brown44]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

get that people hate Liz, but she does have something.  She has Tevin's blindside under her belt.

That was one thing like 5 episodes ago. Since then all she's done is wine about not eating and announcing that she's taken a $h!+.

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, Rodney said:

I get that people hate Liz, but she does have something.  She has Tevin's blindside under her belt.

Now, Ben, OTOH?  Definitely has nothing.

Ben is nice but seriously he is such a waste of a casting spot.  Either Probst must really like Metallica or Ben brought out another side in the auditions that he didn't bring to the show.  I mean he's the perfect person to sit next to in the final 3 because he'll probably just tell the jury to vote for whoever's sitting next to him. 

But given his issues with anxiety and panic attacks, I guess maybe they went for him because of his story.

2 hours ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The question is which would be the better goat, Ben or Liz? My answer would be Liz. Ben may have done nothing, but he's a likeable doofus who gets along with everyone. No one as far as I can tell actually likes Liz, and even if her gameplay was slightly better than his, no one is going to give a million dollars to a whiny, entitled to-hear-her-tell-it already-millionaire who doesn't need the money. Or at least, I hope not.

I feel like Liz would be the better goat because she'd be a more chaotic goat.  I mean Ben has nothing and I'm not even sure what his argument would be as to why he should win.  But Liz made moves, or at least thinks she did (whether anyone's willing to give her credit will probably be argued about), she's had meltdowns, and she'll probably fall back on the mommy/daughter bonding time when they went to Applebee's on Wednesday before they watched Survivor together.  Ultimately, I can picture Liz being the person in the final 3 that everyone's talking over, and no matter how loud she gets everyone keeps ignoring her because they consider her arguments irrelevant.

Edited May 16 by LadyChatts

[Brown44]

16 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Either Probst must really like Metallica or Ben brought out another side in the auditions that he didn't bring to the show. 

I think that happens alot when casting for reality game shows. They show a great personality in the casting process that the producers like then they get on the show and the personality that the producers saw never show up in front of the camera.

Edited May 16 by Brown44

[kassandra8286]

I have nothing much to add that hasn't been said. I was on pins and needles hoping Q wouldn't play his idol. I'm happy he's gone but now I'm worried Maria will pull a Kelly Wigglesworth or a Mike what's his name (from whatever the name of that terrible season was) and win all the remaining challenges. I respect her strength, agility, steadiness of hand and puzzle ability, but that doesn't mean I have to like her.

Call me OCD but the episode title spelling of "Mamma" Bear looks odd and rubs me the wrong way. 

 

 

[LadyChatts]

26 minutes ago, kassandra8286 said:

Call me OCD but the episode title spelling of "Mamma" Bear looks odd and rubs me the wrong way. 

 

 

It did to me too but that’s how it was spelled in the press release and episode description on my guide.  The spelling drove me crazy but I would have been equally going crazy if I didn’t spell it like they had it-for me it was lose/lose lol 

[JudyObscure]

1. Don't  go on Survivor if you're allergic to fruit and coconut.

2. Don't go on Survivor if you can't stand to be away from your kids.  Particularly if you're going to be all sobbing and angry about it and blaming other people.

The first few minutes of next week's episode is going to be good.  Maybe Maria will tell Charlie that Ben wrote his name down because he couldn't think how to spell Q.

I hope Charlie wins, but I wouldn't mind if Kenzie does.  It takes a lot of kindness for a sleep deprived, starving person to get  up with Ben every night.  I hope he's going to be okay after all this is over and wont suffer some sort of PTSD.

[Chicago Redshirt]

OK so here goes my best, non-sarky pitch for each of the remaining Survivors:

Maria: She won three individual immunity awards. She's a 40-something mother, and for her to be that competitive is almost unheard of. Nobody would have said going into the merge that she would have more individual immunities than the mighty Hunter. She managed to keep herself safe against efforts that would have surely led to blindsiding her. She had orchestrated most of the votes up till Q's ouster. It was because of her that a player who was as chaotic as Q got kept around despite others really wanting him gone. She really could use the money because she's a loving mom.

Charlie: He won two individual immunity awards and was just as much of a driver of the votes as Maria. But he had a way better social game. Nobody really tried to vote him out until this last time. And (assuming he makes it to the F4 by booting Maria) he immediately managed to deal with the people who threatened him. 

Kenzie: She's the underdog who started off on a tribe of losers, missed out on having the benefits that most everyone else had on the early phase of the game to still make it to the merge. Once there, she didn't just rely on the Yanu three as a voting bloc, but made bridges to the other tribes. She formed real bonds with the other Survivors and was saintly in helping Ben with his night terrors even after he wrote her name down. She loved Survivor so much that she postponed her wedding day, and it was a tough experience that transformed her.

Ben: He was a lighthearted guy around camp who pretty much everyone enjoyed having around. People slept on his being a threat to win. Though he didn't win any of the competitions along the way, he won a bunch of friendships. The fact that he had to overcome his night terrors showed a lot of growth and for that he deserves the title of Sole Survivor because he symbolizes resilience and has undoubtedly inspired some viewers to know that if Ben can overcome his mental health challenges while playing this crazy game, they can face down what is going on in their lives. Winning would rock.

Liz: She came on this show as a super-underdog, not because she necessarily needed the money but because she wanted to prove something to herself. And she did. Even though she was allergic to most of the food, even though she can't start a fire or really do anything the game asks of a contestant well, she made it to the end. She was the one who got Tevin out. She was on the right side of most votes. She played an honest, hard-fought game. She did it all without an alliance, without an advantage, without an idol. 

I suppose with the right/wrong jury any of the above could be a winning pitch. But I hope it's not any of the last two for sure.