S48.E11: Coconut Etiquette

[seacliffsal]

I have long denied various conspiracy theories related to earlier seasons of Survivor, but I really do think the producers have made it known to the contestants that Eva is off limits for now.  Why else wouldn't they target her?  She has the back story that Jeff loves and two advantages.  Flush them out, weaken her standing.  Why are they choosing her for every reward?  There has to be some reason for her status as untouchable.

However, I do disagree with some of you about Joe ruining his game in order to give her the win.  I think his kids are constantly on his mind and at some point he is going to prioritize them over her.  He does have a dangerous occupation (my father was a firefighter) and it may be essential to him to try to build up his family's fortunes if he is able, just in case (hopefully this would never happen).  

IMO, this season could spell the eventual end of Survivor.  It's boring (IMO, and there is no real strategy.  What with all of the carnival games, the actual end of any type of surviving (and I think they are now given their cocoanuts and don't even have to go look for them anymore [as they have filmed there countless seasons and there may not even be any more cocoanuts growing there], just as they no longer have to cut bamboo or palm fronds), and being out there for less than a month, this version of the show does not represent the version with which I fell in love during its very first season.

[LizBug]

Jeff touts the game as a "great social experiment".  Well, this season, the experiment is bombing.  If what we're being shown are the most interesting aspects of this experiment, it must be excruciatingly predictable and boring to the actual contestants.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Let me get this straight.  They're bitching about coconuts but the guys finally decide to try fishing 20-some days in?  And Kyle successfully catches fish on his first try?  WT actual F?!!  And what happened to the cassava that one tribe was eating earlier in the season?   I don't recall the last time I was so ready for a season to be over.  And James' lack of Banana Etiquette was so much more egregious than Mary's Coconut Etiquette.  Those mofos were sitting there with burgers still on their breath talking about "that's the last of the coconut."  FOH. 

 I hate all of these people. 

 

[Carey]

24 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

IMO, this season could spell the eventual end of Survivor.

It's not just this season; it's the era.  They're fine up until 50, but then that's it.  There's not going to be a great reason to tune into the show afterwards.  A 51st season is worthless and a major drop

[LadyChatts]

3 hours ago, Haleth said:

I certainly agree in the spirit of the game that this was the time to take out Joe, but as someone who wants to see him win I was very happy the idiots missed their chance.

I realize I’m at a table for one in my admiration. 🙂

I actually wouldn’t mind if Joe won, it’s just head-banging levels of frustration that he’s deemed a threat, his #1 ally has an idol and said she’d play it on him if the circumstances are right, and he’s had an impressive challenge record so far so there’s a decent chance he’ll go on an immunity run…yet it seems like he’s getting carried in the game because he’s a nice guy and no one wants to cross him.  In exit interviews Chrissy and David referred to him as the Godfather and said no one made moves without Joe being involved or getting his approval.  In another season Joe would likely be toast by now.  But of the people left, my top 2 for winners are him and Kyle, with Kamilla rounding out the top 3.  I wouldn’t mind Shauhin making the final 3 just to hear him explain how he’s playing the best game of anyone out there and have the jury Fozzie Bear his arguments by throwing tomatoes at him.  Because I have zero idea what Shauhin is even doing other than following the pack.

[fishcakes]

My first choice for winner is: none of them. My second choice is anyone but Eva. Other than that, I do not care.

[Lamima]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

 

I watched the word association exit interviews from Sei onwards and there were a couple Godfathers, a couple 'like a father' and a few aggressives. So i guess they all see him as the firm daddy figure that nobody wants to cross. Not a good winner in my book. Like, as mentioned, he isn't very strategic or brainy. Just kinda bullied them into submission along with having Eva that nobody wants to look bad by evicting. If Joe wins it will be the most let down I'll have been in a winner since Michele, with one L.

Edited May 9 by Lamima

[blackwing]

20 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

I actually wouldn’t mind if Joe won, it’s just head-banging levels of frustration that he’s deemed a threat, his #1 ally has an idol and said she’d play it on him if the circumstances are right, and he’s had an impressive challenge record so far so there’s a decent chance he’ll go on an immunity run…yet it seems like he’s getting carried in the game because he’s a nice guy and no one wants to cross him.  In exit interviews Chrissy and David referred to him as the Godfather and said no one made moves without Joe being involved or getting his approval.  In another season Joe would likely be toast by now.  But of the people left, my top 2 for winners are him and Kyle, with Kamilla rounding out the top 3.  I wouldn’t mind Shauhin making the final 3 just to hear him explain how he’s playing the best game of anyone out there and have the jury Fozzie Bear his arguments by throwing tomatoes at him.  Because I have zero idea what Shauhin is even doing other than following the pack.

 

8 minutes ago, Lamima said:

I watched the word association exit interviews from Sei onwards and there were a couple Godfathers, a couple 'like a father' and a few aggressives.  So i guess they all see him as the firm daddy figure that nobody wants to cross. Not a good winner in my book. Like, as mentioned, he isn't very strategic or brainy. Just kinda bullied them into submission along with having Eva that nobody wants to look bad by evicting. If Joe wins  it will be the most let down I'll have been in a winner since Michele, with one L.

 

One of the things I find ironic about Joe is that I thought he didn't even put together the alliance.  I think he had Eva, and that's it.  Wasn't it David who was actively promoting the idea of all of the physically strong people getting together?  It was the Strong Five.

It flabbergasts me that everyone is afraid to cross him.  And that everyone knows that he will be upset if anyone makes a move on Eva, and because of that, it doesn't even occur to them to try.

[iMonrey]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I don't understand Kamilla repeatedly saying she doesn't trust Mary.  Mitch had said the same thing the week before.  What is there not to trust?

I don't get this either. Do they think she's trying to trick them into voting for Joe so she can go to Joe and tell them and then she, Joe and Eva will vote out them instead? Because they'd have to be dumb to believe that. I mean, even dumber than they already are. Plus, Mitch and Kamilla know they are numbers five and six in the six person alliance and they are going next. Their only chance at NOT going out five and six is to vote with Mary, not against her.

[LadyChatts]

7 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I don't get this either. Do they think she's trying to trick them into voting for Joe so she can go to Joe and tell them and then she, Joe and Eva will vote out them instead? Because they'd have to be dumb to believe that. I mean, even dumber than they already are. Plus, Mitch and Kamilla know they are numbers five and six in the six person alliance and they are going next. Their only chance at NOT going out five and six is to vote with Mary, not against her.

Kamilla seems to think her day 1 super secret alliance with Kyle is going to give her the powers to push her through.  And Mitch has been on the wrong side of the vote in this game more than once, yet it seems like he’s about voting off people he doesn’t like even though they could help him make a move and then talks about making moves after the fact.  You think he would have been clued in a while ago but now he’s just hanging on for dear life.

Edited May 8 by LadyChatts

[Chicago Redshirt]

At least for the first time, it was shown that the Survivors contemplated ousting the obvious physical threat. social threat with a great backstory and  who was part of a strong duo, even if they were too stupid to pull the trigger and run the risk of Joe going on an immunity run.

How I long for a blindside of either Joe or Eva that would knock the Edgardo blindside out of its GOAT position.

But sadly, I don't think that it will be something this group of castaways will be able to deliver under these circumstances.

I would say Joe has about a 40 percent chance of winning individual immunity any given challenge. Between that and Eva's idol, I think that they get to 5 fairly easily. I don't think Mitch is able to initiate anything but being a goat and he seems content to be 5th or 6th rather than to try to make a move against Joe or Eva. I think Shauhin, Kyle and Kamilla have dithered too long wondering about the right time to backstab and missed their window.

[iMonrey]

I commented on this in the live chat thread but I'm so sick of the daily food feasts. The way Jeff describes it. "Sushi! Chicken Teriyaki! Chocolate cake!" And the players stand there and OOH and AAH over it like they didn't just have a feast yesterday. Then we have to watch them shovel the food into their faces while they make orgasm noises, like, OMG, I haven't had a feast like this since the day before yesterday!

These people are not starving. They shouldn't even be hungry enough to act like the food Jeff is describing is mana from heaven. I half wonder if production isn't prompting them to react more. "More excitement, please! Act like you're really, really hungry!"

[Carey]

Meh...it's nothing new.  They've been doing that for quite a long time.  Fortunately the mute button works on my remote

[LadyChatts]

16 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I commented on this in the live chat thread but I'm so sick of the daily food feasts. The way Jeff describes it. "Sushi! Chicken Teriyaki! Chocolate cake!" And the players stand there and OOH and AAH over it like they didn't just have a feast yesterday. Then we have to watch them shovel the food into their faces while they make orgasm noises, like, OMG, I haven't had a feast like this since the day before yesterday!

These people are not starving. They shouldn't even be hungry enough to act like the food Jeff is describing is mana from heaven. I half wonder if production isn't prompting them to react more. "More excitement, please! Act like you're really, really hungry!"

We’ve come a long way from the days when the reward was a simple chocolate bar they had to divide between 5 of them.  These people are so hungry yet no one wanted to take Jeff up on his offer to negotiate for rice at the last challenge (and let’s be real, there was less than a handful of people who really needed to compete in that challenge).  Last night reminded me of Survivor Africa, when there was a dispute over getting an equal share of cherries from a can and when everyone went crazy on Clarence for opening up a can of beans and splitting them between him and Diane.  Except coconut gate wasn’t as funny as bean gate, and Mary proved her point when Eva got picked for yet another reward. 
 

But in all seriousness, these folks are well fed, and I swear they must be shuttled somewhere overnight to go sleep somewhere comfortable and get their clothes laundered, and must be getting complimentary teeth cleanings because I still can’t get over how white everyone’s smiles are.  It used to be jarring to see the jury walk in and how much cleaner they looked than when they were voted out.  Now I can’t tell the difference.
 

 

Edited May 8 by LadyChatts

[cowgirlwen]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

Joe's weakness is that he is not particularly intelligent.  His first attempt at the the "word" was a three word phrase.  I thought Jeffy specifically said it was a "word".  Joe's attempt was something like "Get on betrayal" and he had "betrayal" spelled wrong.  He had absolutely no clue what the word was.

Once Jeffy made Kyle say his word out loud, he turned the task from an actual puzzle that required some degree of intelligence into a simple test of skill.

I say it every season, but I wish they'd put up barriers between the contestants when they do puzzles like this.  I don't think Kyle, Joe, or any of the others were even remotely close to solving "UNFORGETTABLE" until Kamilla had it solved, but dropped her pieces while trying to insert the very last block.  She could have easily built her rainbow back up again before anyone else was even close to solving, if they hadn't looked over and copied her word.   I mean, what's the point of having a puzzle if only one person has to figure it out, and everyone else can just copy them and assemble it faster?

Edited May 8 by cowgirlwen

[lilysmom]

2 hours ago, Cheyanne11 said:

Eva's going to be the only contestant to ever gain weight on the show.  Honestly, has she missed one reward challenge?  

I swear I'm not a conspiracy theorist about this show, but the number of advantages she's gotten out of 'sheer luck' has me side-eyeing.  

My thought was that Eva already had that purple rock in her hand before anyone reached into the bag of all white rocks.

[LadyChatts]

2 hours ago, Carey said:

It's not just this season; it's the era.  They're fine up until 50, but then that's it.  There's not going to be a great reason to tune into the show afterwards.  A 51st season is worthless and a major drop

I really hope there’s a re-set after 50 and they change the formula.  Everything has pretty much stayed the same since 41, and it’s getting worse.  But considering how stubborn Probst can be at taking feedback (or even a hint) and wanting Survivor to be drama and villain free and a barrel of sunshine and camp fire songs, I’m guessing it’ll be more of the same.  It’s unfortunate he’s in charge of so much related to the show and there’s no one to really override him besides the network heads themselves.  

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

We’ve come a long way from the days when the reward was a simple chocolate bar they had to divide between 5 of them.  These people are so hungry yet no one wanted to take Jeff up on his offer to negotiate for rice at the last challenge (and let’s be real, there was less than a handful of people who really needed to compete in that challenge).  Last night reminded me of Survivor Africa, when there was a dispute over getting an equal share of cherries from a can and when everyone went crazy on Clarence for opening up a can of beans and splitting them between him and Diane.  Except coconut gate wasn’t as funny as bean gate, and Mary proved her point when Eva got picked for yet another reward. 
 

But in all seriousness, these folks are well fed, and I swear they must be shuttled somewhere overnight to go sleep somewhere comfortable and get their clothes laundered, and must be getting complimentary teeth cleanings because I still can’t get over how white everyone’s smiles are.  It used to be jarring to see the jury walk in and how much cleaner they looked than when they were voted out.  Now I can’t tell the difference.
 

 

Yep.  I remember when they went apeshit over Mountain Dew and Doritos.  That's it.  Soda and chips.  And they were thrilled.  No "friiiiiiiiieeeedddd chiiiiiiccckkkkennnn.  With ALLLLLLLL the fixxxxxinnns!"  I remember when they actually had to supplement their bag of rice with food they foraged.  I still can hear Sue Hawk's nasally voiced "tapioca" in my head. 

The controversy over Clarence and the can of beans.  This was Season 3 when the producers decided it was too dangerous for the contestants to go and forage for food, lest they be eaten by lions.  So they got a crate of canned food.  So much fighting over a single CAN OF BEANS and people saying it was unfair that an entire CAN was shared by two people.

It's gotten to today where contestants are fighting over coconuts that they didn't even have to obtain themselves?  Gone are the days when someone would have to scale a 20 foot high tree to shake down a few coconuts.

I can't believe it's been 20 something days and this is the first time we have seen anyone fish.  The food rewards are ridiculous.  It used to be that some guys would pack on 20 extra pounds knowing that they would lose lots of weight.

As for clothes, it used to be that contestants had nothing but "the clothes on your back".  There were many years of "underwear seasons".  Angelina Keeley was so cold and famously asked someone who she was voting out if she could have her jacket.  Now not only do they get swimsuits, but each contestant seems to get clothing for all types of weather.  Everyone gets at least one warm item, like a jacket or hoodie or sweatshirt.  I swear some of these people have multiple outfits.

So ridiculous.  How come David's grungy tank top looks like it's on its last legs, while Joe and Mary show up in outfits that look like they were freshly delivered by Amazon Prime that morning?

I don't know if all these changes are because they shortened the competition time so therefore have more budget for food and clothing, but it's out of control.  I bet they don't even have to poop in the ocean anymore.  I would not be at all surprised if there is a fancy toilet trailer (the kind you see at concerts and food festivals complete with sinks) just steps away from camp.

[KeithJ]

15 hours ago, iMonrey said:

"When the timer ends, if you do not have at least four levels completed, you lose your vote at the next tribal council. "

But Eva knocked down all the tiles on her way out and there was clearly more sand in the hourglass. So technically she did not have four levels when the timer ended.

I would guess you're allowed to say "I'm done" and walk away. I don't know how long the timer is but let's say it's 10 minutes and you finish in 3.  Do you really have to sit there just looking at your tower for 7 minutes?

[KeithJ]

13 minutes ago, blackwing said:

As for clothes, it used to be that contestants had nothing but "the clothes on your back".  There were many years of "underwear seasons".  Angelina Keeley was so cold and famously asked someone who she was voting out if she could have her jacket.  Now not only do they get swimsuits, but each contestant seems to get clothing for all types of weather.  Everyone gets at least one warm item, like a jacket or hoodie or sweatshirt.  I swear some of these people have multiple outfits.

So ridiculous.  How come David's grungy tank top looks like it's on its last legs, while Joe and Mary show up in outfits that look like they were freshly delivered by Amazon Prime that morning?

On the topic of clothes, does Eva only have the one pair of slides for her feet?  I have a pair and pretty much the only time I wear them is when I have to walk down to the mail box to get the mail. I don't see how someone can wear them daily with no other shoes.

[LadyChatts]

54 minutes ago, blackwing said:

It's gotten to today where contestants are fighting over coconuts that they didn't even have to obtain themselves?  Gone are the days when someone would have to scale a 20 foot high tree to shake down a few coconuts.

I can't believe it's been 20 something days and this is the first time we have seen anyone fish.  The food rewards are ridiculous.  It used to be that some guys would pack on 20 extra pounds knowing that they would lose lots of weight.

As for clothes, it used to be that contestants had nothing but "the clothes on your back".  There were many years of "underwear seasons".  Angelina Keeley was so cold and famously asked someone who she was voting out if she could have her jacket.  Now not only do they get swimsuits, but each contestant seems to get clothing for all types of weather.  Everyone gets at least one warm item, like a jacket or hoodie or sweatshirt.  I swear some of these people have multiple outfits.

Aww Angelina, with the iconic “Natalie can I have your jacket?” and it falling on deaf ears.  I know there was quite a bit of controversy from the women especially about having to run around in their undergarments and not being allowed to have a bathing suit.  I know in the very early seasons that contestants could pack a select number of garments that had to be approved by staff, but it was still the bare minimum.  And the clothes definitely didn’t look like new when they were eventually voted off.  

And in terms of fishing, remember the macho men of seasons past who would hog the fishing equipment so they could play provider and feed their tribe so they wouldn’t vote them off?  Or when some tribe members would complain about others not pulling their weight by looking for food, building shelter, working on fire, etc?  We are seriously one “expect the unexpected” away from becoming Big Brother: Island edition 

Since I’ve been reminiscing about seasons past, I also miss when Survivor was more of a social experiment and people did come from all walks of life and views.  Rudy vowed he wouldn’t vote for or work with a gay person, yet was one of Rich’s closest allies and voted for him.  Brandon in Africa refused to work with Frank and in turn sacrificed his game because Frank was homophobic.  We had people from all different backgrounds of work and education and around the country.  Now everyone seems the same in that regard, too.

Edited May 8 by LadyChatts

[Nashville]

7 minutes ago, blackwing said:

So much fighting over a single CAN OF BEANS and people saying it was unfair that an entire CAN was shared by two people.

Shades of S2 Kel getting voted out for the mere suspicion he might’ve smuggled in some beef jerky….

 

7 minutes ago, blackwing said:

It's gotten to today where contestants are fighting over coconuts that they didn't even have to obtain themselves?

This is what got to me about that entire situation: absolutely nobody is willing to commit to anything with Mary - but they’re getting pissed Mary has the unmitigated gall to actually eat coconuts SHE personally gathered, without offering to share?  For what incentive?  Because so far as I could determine, every other player has telegraphed - rather loudly, IMHO - their willingness to gorge themselves on anything and everything Mary has to offer, right up until they vote her ass outta here.

[Duke Silver]

Just throwing in with many others here...  Fuck it.  Let Joe/Eva (who I liked at first, but like many others, grew tired of them) get the win.  The rest of these lame fuckers are just gonna let it happen til it's too late.  They don't "deserve" it any more than Joe/Eva.

[PhoneCop]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I really hope there’s a re-set after 50 and they change the formula.  Everything has pretty much stayed the same since 41, and it’s getting worse.  But considering how stubborn Probst can be at taking feedback (or even a hint) and wanting Survivor to be drama and villain free and a barrel of sunshine and camp fire songs, I’m guessing it’ll be more of the same.  It’s unfortunate he’s in charge of so much related to the show and there’s no one to really override him besides the network heads themselves.  

This season does have me seriously wondering about the longevity of the show for the first time in a while. Even the diehards I know have largely checked out, at least with 48, so I feel another season like this could nudge the show dangerously close to life support. I find myself hoping Uncle JP thinks 49 sucks, since we know he lives in Oppositeland, where he's the Bestest Storyteller ever.

Not really a spoiler about future seasons per se, but just in case:

Spoiler

CBS reportedly overriding Jeffy on some of 50's casting decisions gives me hope that they're not ready to put the horse out to pasture just yet and will take action if the ratings collapse. And, more importantly, they're fully willing to put him in his place. 

[bunnyface]

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

 

As for clothes, it used to be that contestants had nothing but "the clothes on your back".  There were many years of "underwear seasons".  Angelina Keeley was so cold and famously asked someone who she was voting out if she could have her jacket.  Now not only do they get swimsuits, but each contestant seems to get clothing for all types of weather.  Everyone gets at least one warm item, like a jacket or hoodie or sweatshirt.  I swear some of these people have multiple outfits.

 

I had wondered about this but didn't exactly know which forum would be the right place to ask.  But which season was it where they stopped making the women wear bikinis/underwear and nothing else all the time?  Even when it's dirty and worn (not this season) at least it actually covered them.  But I couldn't remember when that started.  

[30 Helens]

2 hours ago, KeithJ said:

I would guess you're allowed to say "I'm done" and walk away. I don't know how long the timer is but let's say it's 10 minutes and you finish in 3.  Do you really have to sit there just looking at your tower for 7 minutes?

This is what I thought. I don’t recall anything that said the blocks had to be up there until the timer ran out, it was just there to show her time limitations. I’m sure an offscreen producer told her the stack was acceptable before she toppled it.

58 minutes ago, Nashville said:

This is what got to me about that entire situation: absolutely nobody is willing to commit to anything with Mary - but they’re getting pissed Mary has the unmitigated gall to actually eat coconuts SHE personally gathered, without offering to share?  

And if they’re so worried about coconuts, why not just go gather more? I’m sure there were one or two more on that giant island. Are they really that lazy that they can’t forage for their own food? Or.. never mind, just answered my own question.

Another thing that bugged me about last night is why was nobody even talking about booting Eva? She is a physical threat, just like Joe, and she’s the one with all the advantages. Blindside her now and they flush the idol and remove everything else. Leave those in place, and both Joe and Eva are practically guaranteed a final seat. 

[IdEatThat]

Count me in calling BS on Eva saving her vote.  She did not have her four levels standing when the time ran out.  She knocked it down and walked away while there was clearly still sand in that timer.   CBS standards and practices should take a look at that.  Completely unfair to the others that it was acceptable.   If I lost a million bucks because of that you can bet I’d be taking action.  
 

I have watched every episode of every season and I have never been so bored and disgusted with the “gameplay” at the same time.   Someone (Joe) will win a million dollars but they are all friggin losers and an embarrassment to the game. 

[Wildcard]

I keep wishing Thomas would have it to the merge. His personality may be too much at times- but at least, he would have tried to shake up this season.

PS. I've watched every season of Survivor since S1, but this is the first one that I read the recap and then decide whether to FF to certains parts.

[Straycat80]

9 hours ago, Haleth said:

I certainly agree in the spirit of the game that this was the time to take out Joe, but as someone who wants to see him win I was very happy the idiots missed their chance.

I realize I’m at a table for one in my admiration. 🙂

I will join the table too. I’ve liked Joe from the beginning. I like the strong players and I’m not seeing the arrogance in him some are seeing. I’m just afraid he’ll blow his chance to win by somehow giving into Eva because of his emotional attachment to her. 

[iMonrey]

1 hour ago, 30 Helens said:

This is what I thought. I don’t recall anything that said the blocks had to be up there until the timer ran out, it was just there to show her time limitations. I’m sure an offscreen producer told her the stack was acceptable before she toppled it.

I think it's really a matter of semantics. I played it back and paused on the instructions. The second paragraph read, verbatim: "When the timer ends, if you do not have at least four levels completed, you lose your vote at the next tribal council." I think Eva satisfied the directive in spirit, but the way the instruction is worded could technically be used to take away her vote, were the show so inclined. She completed four levels before the timer ran out, but there were no levels completed when the timer ran out. And the instruction says "when" not "before" or "if." 

And yeah, production probably told her she was good to go but maybe they should have told her not to knock it all down because that sort of blurs the line.

[surfgirl]

8 hours ago, Tango64 said:

I don’t think that’s even nitpicking. According to the rules, she lost her vote. 

It would have been a delicious twist for her to find out afterwards that she lost her vote. But the producers can’t have that happen with Eva. No, not our dear Eva. 

OMG, YES to all of this! She knocked down her tiles BEFORE the sand timer ran out so technically she LOST, but nope. The producers want her to win so that Peachy can crow about how AMAZEBALLS his show is, when it's actually been circling the drain since this whole 'New Era' schmaltz began being touted as 'a thing'. I'm afraid that Joe will get himself and Eva to the finals and he will throw the fire challenge or worse yet, tell the jury to give her the money, simply because he thinks it will make him more noble and his kids will be proud of him. Speaking of which, what the heck is it with all these grown ass adults going on about how they need their kids to be proud of them? Do your parenting job and let nature take its course. Deliberately doing shit to make your kids feel proud of you is so forced and so lame. IMO, YMMV.

[30 Helens]

8 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

And yeah, production probably told her she was good to go but maybe they should have told her not to knock it all down because that sort of blurs the line.

Probably. Mostly because at this point, people seem to be looking for anything that might support the conspiracy theories. Not that Production would have known that at the time…

I for one do not buy into the theories. Eva has been lucky, but there are a lot of people over the years who have lucked into multiple advantages. The show is highlighting Eva because they like her backstory. But they aren’t stupid and reckless enough to rig the game. Besides, they don’t need to hand Eva any advantages. The other players are doing that for them. 

[Haleth]

18 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

Besides, they don’t need to hand Eva any advantages. The other players are doing that for them. 

Aside from the one in her designated bowl of tortillas. 

[Nashville]

41 minutes ago, surfgirl said:

She knocked down her tiles BEFORE the sand timer ran out so technically she LOST

But do we actually know the timer had not already run out?  It certainly appeared that way on what the broadcast showed us, true - but:

1. I believe Production’s occasional (frequent? constant?) restaging of parts of a comp after completion - for use in the editing room, to flesh out the broadcast bits - has been public knowledge since Season 2 (Australian Outback).
2. We have no way of truly knowing how many “filler” shots Production may have staged after Eva’s completion of the original task, nor how many times the timer may have been reset/flipped over during this process (to maintain the illusion the task was still in progress).

So, yeah - even though the timer may still have been running when we saw Eva knock over the tiles, that doesn’t necessarily mean the timer’s initial run had not already expired well in advance of her exit scene being shot.

(I would also strongly suspect Eva’s  knocking over of the tiles was at the suggestion of Production, but that’s another discussion topic entirely….)

Also, just wondering: when Eva got selected to go on this latest reward meal, was I the only one to say “Oh god, not again….”?  Because if I’m not mistaken, Eva has participated in every post-merge reward of this season.  Does someone - ANYONE - think Eva looks particularly underfed?  Because to me this level of cushiness is fuckin’ ridiculous.

[Rodney]

2 hours ago, IdEatThat said:

Count me in calling BS on Eva saving her vote.  She did not have her four levels standing when the time ran out.  She knocked it down and walked away while there was clearly still sand in that timer.   CBS standards and practices should take a look at that.  Completely unfair to the others that it was acceptable.   If I lost a million bucks because of that you can bet I’d be taking action. 

I think that once Eva had made it to the fourth level and declared that she was just going to save her vote, she was done, regardless of the hourglass still having sand in it.  As long as she'd made her declaration to the camera, then it was okay to knock them down afterwards.

[Blip]

Eva mentioned that she would lose her vote if the tiles fell down while trying to build to level 8. If it doesn't matter if she knocks them over with time still on the clock, why not try to build 8 levels?  Even if she has to verbally concede, she could still trying reaching level 8 and if it starts collapsing, quickly yell, "I am done, and will just keep my vote!"

As is typical in building challenges, there is some rule for how long it must stand as a demonstration of it being a viable structure, sometimes it is 3 seconds. In this case the rules made it sound like the guideline is that it should be standing when the hourglass runs out, although the wording was not perfectly clear.

Since the Knowledge is Power was the reward, which the producers know would be useless to Eva, this demonstrates it wasn't totally rigged in Eva's favor. She had nothing to gain by getting the purple rock. If it was rigged, they would have had a better prize available to her, and might have even had two islands prepared with different challenges and rewards depending on who got the purple stone.

[Tango64]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

So, yeah - even though the timer may still have been running when we saw Eva knock over the tiles, that doesn’t necessarily mean the timer’s initial run had not already expired well in advance of her exit scene being shot.

With that reasoning, we can’t trust anything in the show. If they are staging key scenes in such a way as to make the stated rules superfluous, there’s no point in watching. 

I rewatched the tile stacking and freeze framed on the rules. They are slightly ambiguous in saying your vote remains safe if you complete four levels but also saying you lose your vote if you don’t have four levels when the timer ends.

I could understand her thinking her vote is safe once she has four levels. But the other part is very clear that the end of the timer determines that.

Eva knocking down the tiles is like a running back dropping the football on the 2 yard line instead of carrying it in for a touchdown. An act of ego and showboating that costs you.

Unless you’re Jeff’s chosen one. if it were anyone else, Jeff would be giddy with delight in telling her at the next tribal council, “You know when you knocked over those tiles? Well….”

[surfgirl]

3 hours ago, Nashville said:

So, yeah - even though the timer may still have been running when we saw Eva knock over the tiles, that doesn’t necessarily mean the timer’s initial run had not already expired well in advance of her exit scene being shot.

(I would also strongly suspect Eva’s  knocking over of the tiles was at the suggestion of Production, but that’s another discussion topic entirely….)

Also, just wondering: when Eva got selected to go on this latest reward meal, was I the only one to say “Oh god, not again….”?  Because if I’m not mistaken, Eva has participated in every post-merge reward of this season.  Does someone - ANYONE - think Eva looks particularly underfed?  Because to me this level of cushiness is fuckin’ ridiculous.

You bring up good points, thank you! As for Eva going on pretty much every food reward, I cannot watch this girl eat anymore, the food goes everywhere. Also gross is how freaking dirty they all look. What is it with this group? Lastly, I want to see behind the curtain. I want to know if they're given a latrine and toilet paper. Do they brush their teeth? Is there any hygiene products whatsoever? How do women with periods deal with that? I want to know, man, I want to know. Because honestly? That's more interesting to me at this point than the actual show, which blows right now.

[violet and green]

On 5/8/2025 at 11:46 AM, Lamima said:

Also, what was with David standing up like that? I thought he was going to say something about how dumb they are being leaving the king and queen in. I guess it was something standing ovation to Mary.

I kinda liked it. He honored her game. I appreciate that he is not some gamebot or some summer camp attendee working on their audition for Glee.

---

These people suck. That was the time to make a move. 

[violet and green]

22 hours ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

And I really do hate Eva and the production for giving her yet one more advantage (which she went back and proudly pissed on because she didn't need it and she needed to let everyone know the advantage they needed desperately she had no use for nanny nanny boo boo).

That heroic music playing as she was stepping off the boat coming back from her "journey" and the voiceover of her saying she did it for her team...

The show has done triple-twisting double-somersaults over the shark now.

[srhall79]

Had several survivors drop in my rankings tonight.

I've liked Eva, felt sympathetic, felt some kinship with multiple neurodivergent people in my life. But, she's kinda awful. Oblivious and arrogant. If not for the strong people alliance and the lack of any real opposition (and her apparent force field that keeps anyone from voting for her) I didn't think she gets any where. Also, "I still think we're an US." US can't win the game, vEva!

I thought I was good with Joe. Like, yeah, no strategic sense, but physically strong and he's done well socially. But damn, Mary tells him she's voting for him and he freaks out. Like the same sort of reaction that got David booted. "What if she had an idol, let's throw a vote on someone." Who's that going to be? Kamila is immune, do you let Mitch know he's barely in the alliance?

 

Freaking Kyle. "These guys are my number 1s, we've shared so much, I can't betray them. Oh, and then Kamila is my #1 with or super secret alliance that has... Sent Thomas home?" He could have done something last week, he could have done something this week, he's going to be over of those guys pulled along until he's voted out, or makes it to the end and he can only bring up all the times he could have pulled off a big move. "There's no 'outloyal'" indeed.

Voting Mary was stupid, but she didn't do herself any favors. Getting into Joe's head was fun, but the rest of her behavior might have convinced others that she was too chaotic to keep around, "is it worth voting with her if I have her being a goblin for three more days?" Though I think her behavior makes sense when she's been getting the Dread Pirate Roberts treatment: "Good night Mary, good game, sleep well, most likely vote you off in the morning."

There's a bit of Blackadder I think about when the game gets here: 

Baldrick: No, wait. We do nothing... until our heads have actually been cut off.

Blackadder: And then we... spring into action?

Six is definitely the place to pull off that move you didn't at seven or eight 

[SVNBob]

On 5/7/2025 at 8:46 PM, Lamima said:

Also, what was with David standing up like that? I thought he was going to say something about how dumb they are being leaving the king and queen in. I guess it was something standing ovation to Mary.

Jury is forbidden to speak to the active contestants until FTC, and I don't think David is dumb enough to break that rule.  (Other rules, maybe; but not that one.)  So he'd say it was honoring Mary.  But like his mean-mugging while on the bench, it's more "spotlight hogging" than anything else.

Though the "honoring Mary" part goes against all the slagging off of her he did in all his post-game interviews.

[violet and green]

31 minutes ago, SVNBob said:

Though the "honoring Mary" part goes against all the slagging off of her he did in all his post-game interviews.

Not really. In the moment, he felt one way. Then as time passed, he brewed up a head of bitterness about how his game fell out and decided to cast blame on her.

[SVNBob]

56 minutes ago, violet and green said:

Not really. In the moment, he felt one way. Then as time passed, he brewed up a head of bitterness about how his game fell out and decided to cast blame on her.

Fair.  But really, that's just the interim steps between the two contrasting points.

 

Meaning, I think we're on the same side of this argument and were just looking at different scopes.

[Nashville]

6 hours ago, Tango64 said:

With that reasoning, we can’t trust anything in the show. If they are staging key scenes in such a way as to make the stated rules superfluous, there’s no point in watching. 

So long as TPTB don’t violate the “portions of these contests which do not effect the outcome have been edited” boilerplate disclaimer, I don’t see why it should really be an issue; the edit doesn’t make Survivor any less believable than your average game show - which, historically speaking, the show has always taken pains to point out it is not. 😁

[cowgirlwen]

11 hours ago, Blip said:

ince the Knowledge is Power was the reward, which the producers know would be useless to Eva, this demonstrates it wasn't totally rigged in Eva's favor. She had nothing to gain by getting the purple rock. If it was rigged, they would have had a better prize available to her, and might have even had two islands prepared with different challenges and rewards depending on who got the purple stone.

One could argue, however, that it was, in fact, rigged for this very reason.  If anyone else had gone on the journey and won, Eva would have been in danger if they'd later used the "Knowledge is Power" advantage against her.  (Who else would they have used it on?)  Although Eva wouldn't directly benefit from the "Knowledge is Power" advantage, she did indirectly benefit by drawing the purple rock and being the one to go on the journey over someone else, making it all a moot point.  It was a way for TPTB to create a little excitement for the episode (journey), and make it look like a fun challenge/reward, without putting their darling contestant at risk.  All smoke and mirrors, so to speak...

[cowgirlwen]

9 hours ago, surfgirl said:

Lastly, I want to see behind the curtain. I want to know if they're given a latrine and toilet paper. Do they brush their teeth? Is there any hygiene products whatsoever? How do women with periods deal with that? I want to know, man, I want to know. Because honestly? That's more interesting to me at this point than the actual show, which blows right now.

I've noticed more this season than ever before the number of Band-Aids on all of the contestants' bodies.  Obviously they're getting regular medical attention.  Long gone are the days of seeing open wounds and hundreds of bug bites that I remember from the early seasons.  I'm assuming that along with the medical, they're also given at least basic hygiene care as well.  

 

[thesupremediva1]

Glad to see I’m not alone in my hatred of this season and what is left of this pathetic cast.

Joe has become an insufferable King in his own mind. At this point I think even if he did win the million, he would give it to Eva.

Speaking of Eva, I started out really liking her, and now I cannot stomach her. How dare she question Mary for eating food and framing it as a problem for those who would be left until the end! On what planet should that be Mary‘s concern? Eva‘s entitlement is truly off the charts. Get your own damn food, honey. It’s not like you don’t get picked for every single reward anyway.

I’ve liked Mary since the beginning. I am sad to see her go and with it, the last person I could possibly have rooted for. I will be sad to see any of the jokers left with $1 million. At least Mary played as hard as she could until the end.

Camilla has no backbone or follow through and she’s a simp for Kyle.

Kyle is two-faced and mealy mouthing and I really don’t wanna see him win at this point. 

Mitch is absolutely useless and he has now failed on two occasions to make a move which could have brought him to the final three. No respect for that (lack of) gameplay.

Shauhin could have been a great player. But instead, I think he’s fighting for third place or possibly fourth. His deference to Joe and Eva is just mindblowing.

I’ll say it again: I cannot believe we are at this point in the season and no one has bothered to make a move. The state of this season is embarrassing enough that I applaud David’s weird stand-up at the end.

Edited May 9 by thesupremediva1

[violet and green]

The only interesting thing Shauhin has done all season is that little eyebrow move when Joe was whining about his name being thrown out by Mary.

[blackwing]

19 hours ago, KeithJ said:

On the topic of clothes, does Eva only have the one pair of slides for her feet?  I have a pair and pretty much the only time I wear them is when I have to walk down to the mail box to get the mail. I don't see how someone can wear them daily with no other shoes.

I think she is about 22?  My teens live in their slides.  Unless it's some kind of athletic event, they prefer to wear slides everywhere.

17 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Another thing that bugged me about last night is why was nobody even talking about booting Eva? She is a physical threat, just like Joe, and she’s the one with all the advantages. Blindside her now and they flush the idol and remove everything else. Leave those in place, and both Joe and Eva are practically guaranteed a final seat. 

15 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

I for one do not buy into the theories. Eva has been lucky, but there are a lot of people over the years who have lucked into multiple advantages. The show is highlighting Eva because they like her backstory. But they aren’t stupid and reckless enough to rig the game. Besides, they don’t need to hand Eva any advantages. The other players are doing that for them. 

At this point, I wouldn't put it past the show to promise everyone a "bonus" in their reward payments if certain events happen.  I know it sounds ridiculous, but I feel like with all the producer and Jeffy manipulation, we have gotten to that point where it might not be as ridiculous and appalling sounding as it once was.

15 hours ago, Nashville said:

But do we actually know the timer had not already run out?  It certainly appeared that way on what the broadcast showed us, true - but:

Yes.  When she is shown in slow motion walking away and dramatically hitting all the blocks, we can clearly see the hourglass in the background and it clearly had black sand still in the top half.

11 hours ago, violet and green said:

I kinda liked it. He honored her game. I appreciate that he is not some gamebot or some summer camp attendee working on their audition for Glee.

I didn't mind David standing up.  I took it as several meanings: 1) honouring Mary; 2) frustration that she got voted out; and 3) sending a message to the weaklings that at least one jury member doesn't approve of their cowardice.

9 hours ago, srhall79 said:

I've liked Eva, felt sympathetic, felt some kinship with multiple neurodivergent people in my life. But, she's kinda awful. Oblivious and arrogant. If not for the strong people alliance and the lack of any real opposition (and her apparent force field that keeps anyone from voting for her) I didn't think she gets any where. Also, "I still think we're an US." US can't win the game, vEva!

1 hour ago, thesupremediva1 said:

Speaking of Eva, I started out really liking her, and now I cannot stomach her. How dare she question Mary for eating food and framing it as a problem for those who would be left until the end! On what planet should that be Mary‘s concern? Eva‘s entitlement is truly off the charts. Get your own damn food, honey. It’s not like you don’t get picked for every single reward anyway.

Agree completely.  She has admitted to having trouble making friends.  She may not have ever felt popular before.  Now she's on this island and people love her, she is in a position of power, and she is lording it over everyone with arrogance.  Her interviews confirm this attitude.

She was lucky to have glommed on to Joe early on.  She was lucky that David wanted to ally with Joe and formed the Strong Five.  She was lucky that nobody targeted either her or Joe after their "special bond" was revealed during the Very Special Uncontrollable Crying Episode.  No idea what people were thinking.  Neither of them should ever have been allowed to get to the individual immunity phase.

She was protected by the show and protected by the alliance.  She isn't a strategic mastermind.  She should feel lucky she has gotten so far.

Her vitriol over Mary eating a coconut makes my blood boil.  As Mary said, she hasn't eaten much at all.  She doesn't get picked for rewards.  Whereas Eva wins or gets picked for every single one.  Eva sitting there with her full stomach complaining about Mary eating a coconut is just unreal. 

If Eva was so concerned about fairness, how about offering to give up her spot at the reward for Mary?  Why is it ok for Kamilla and everyone else to feel sorry for Mitch because he hasn't eaten?  Everyone gushed in acknowledgement that Mitch deserved to eat since he hasn't eaten much.  Yet they also know that Mary hasn't eaten either.  But she apparently deserves to starve since she is playing the game and "causing trouble".  Screw all of these people.

Edited May 9 by blackwing