S03.E04: I Will Bury You Under the Sand

[DEL901]

4 hours ago, ladle1 said:

I'm not that keyed into the Survivor universe, though I'd heard of Boston Rob. The way the contestants on Traitors discuss him, I thought he must be some insanely great game player. So I looked at his Wiki, and it... does not read like the bio of someone who is an insanely great game player? 

Folks more familiar with him, am I missing something here? 

Wikipedia: "He placed tenth in the show's fourth season Survivor: Marquesas, finished as the runner-up to his eventual wife Amber Brkich in the show's eighth season Survivor: All-Stars, came in 13th place in the show's 20th season Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, won the show's 22nd season Survivor: Redemption Island, returned for the show's 39th season Survivor: Island of the Idols as a mentor for the new players alongside Sandra Diaz-Twine, and came in 17th place in the show's 40th season Survivor: Winners at War. Mariano is the first contestant to appear on Survivor six times, and play five times. He also competed on The Amazing Race twice alongside his wife, where they placed second and eighth."

I always though the should have won All Stars.  But he fell hard for Amber and was ruthless getting her to the end which led to those he burned voting for her.  On the positive side, it wasn’t a fling. They celebrate their twentieth anniversary and have 4 kids.

[tvfanatic13]

I laugh every time Robyn throws out a theory because she is wrong every single time. 

[AntFTW]

3 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

I laugh every time Robyn throws out a theory because she is wrong every single time. 

...and she's confidently wrong every time. Every traitor needs a Robyn to get far in this game. 😂

[gorgy]

the editing makes it feel like Carolyn is going to win this whole show by being overlooked in all matters of the game. She's Keyser Soze

[Soapy Goddess]

6 hours ago, SourK said:

IMO, he's not insanely great, but he is unusually cool-headed in his game play. He's the rare person who doesn't go out of his way to be mean and dramatic but would also backstab his best friend if he thought that was the right move, mechanically.

There are usually a lot of social politics in these kinds of games where people are like, "Hold my hand and stare into my eyes and say we're allies forever," and that doesn't work on him, so that might be why people think he's intimidating.

Exactly! And for the most part, he remains a likeable person after the backstabbing because those folks understand that it's just a game.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, gorgy said:

the editing makes it feel like Carolyn is going to win this whole show by being overlooked in all matters of the game. She's Keyser Soze

I would love this.

[RedbirdNelly]

11 hours ago, tvfanatic13 said:

I laugh every time Robyn throws out a theory because she is wrong every single time. 

I've been calling her Always Wrong Robyn

As for Boston Rob, I enjoy watching him because he plays hard. He won't go on a show and just sit there hoping he skates to the end. He may mess up and won't necessarily win but you'll get some interesting moments. He won't play scared. 

[DEL901]

7 hours ago, gorgy said:

the editing makes it feel like Carolyn is going to win this whole show by being overlooked in all matters of the game. She's Keyser Soze

 

40 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I would love this.

She made it to the end on Survivor, but didn’t ultimately win.  Hopefully she can make it all the way here.  

[elizacat]

15 hours ago, DEL901 said:

I always though the should have won All Stars.  But he fell hard for Amber and was ruthless getting her to the end which led to those he burned voting for her.  On the positive side, it wasn’t a fling. They celebrate their twentieth anniversary and have 4 kids.

He only lost by 1 vote and it was undoubtedly a bitter jury - that said managing the jury is part of the game. (Although given he me his wife am guessing he thinks he won)

I’ve seen some interviews with people from the season he won say he puts in a lot of time getting to know people in his alliance and makes them all feel they are his number 1 ally. Rob doesn’t play a subtle game and he does have a big reputation but for me I enjoy watching him play.

[ichbin]

16 hours ago, SourK said:

20 hours ago, ladle1 said:

I'm not that keyed into the Survivor universe, though I'd heard of Boston Rob. The way the contestants on Traitors discuss him, I thought he must be some insanely great game player. So I looked at his Wiki, and it... does not read like the bio of someone who is an insanely great game player? 

Folks more familiar with him, am I missing something here?

IMO, he's not insanely great, but he is unusually cool-headed in his game play. He's the rare person who doesn't go out of his way to be mean and dramatic but would also backstab his best friend if he thought that was the right move, mechanically.

There are usually a lot of social politics in these kinds of games where people are like, "Hold my hand and stare into my eyes and say we're allies forever," and that doesn't work on him, so that might be why people think he's intimidating.

But, no, it's not because he wins.

In fairness, after the first couple of times his reputation precedes him and other players look to get rid of him based upon that alone.

 

Edited Monday at 05:03 PM by ichbin
double post

[DEL901]

47 minutes ago, elizacat said:

He only lost by 1 vote and it was undoubtedly a bitter jury - that said managing the jury is part of the game. (Although given he me his wife am guessing he thinks he won)

I’ve seen some interviews with people from the season he won say he puts in a lot of time getting to know people in his alliance and makes them all feel they are his number 1 ally. Rob doesn’t play a subtle game and he does have a big reputation but for me I enjoy watching him play.

I think he would have done a better job with the jury if it wasn’t for Amber.   Lex never forgave him, for one.   

[AntFTW]

 

[peachmangosteen]

5 hours ago, DEL901 said:

Lex never forgave him, for one.   

Good lol.

[elizacat]

On 1/20/2025 at 5:11 PM, DEL901 said:

I think he would have done a better job with the jury if it wasn’t for Amber.   Lex never forgave him, for one.   

Lex was a bitter hypocrite who was very unlikely to take Rob to the end, I do find in those days of Survivor they appeared to take it far more personal and I guess that was the first returning players season.