S29 Ponderosa

[KimberStormer]

Yeah when Jeremy said that I thought, 'now that's a real superfan.'  I wonder what percentage of Survivor watchers have seen the Ponderosa videos.

 

I like it when Ponderosa has, for lack of a better word, some plot.  A sense that time is passing, rather than just the cycle of 'weighing, greeting, eating, off to tribal'.  So I actually like it when people like Josh or Jeremy are first jury members--charismatic people who sort of keep the focus, even if that means stealing the limelight of the new people who come in.  God knows I would have preferred to watch more of The Coach 'n' Courtney Show rather than Rupert ponderously (I see what I did there) speechifying to the camera about his usual Rupert baloney.  Josh and Jeremy are no Coach and Courtney of course, but they're not RC and Jeff Kent either, thank heaven.

[ByaNose]

It's also interesting to see Ponderosa time versus Survivor time. Both games are still being played every 3 days. The jury never know what's going on until tribal council and they get their first look at who won immunity. The people who are still in the game get to see if the recent juror is angry or sort of happy at them. If you can't be a winner you want to be on the jury and not come in 3rd. If it's not a Final 3 that person doesn't really get any jury time to relax and also is a loser since they can't win. Of course, they win more money then the other jurors, right? It's a Million for the winner $100,000 for runner-up and then maybe around $70,000-$80,000 give or take a thousand for 3rd place.

[Wings]

Wes at Ponderosa was interesting in that Jeremy spoke about having a twin brother who is gay.  He and Josh had a good conversation about that and we saw a small clip of it. 

[ProfCrash]

Weird, I don't see Wes at Ponderosa yet

[deSchenke]

I had to do a google search to find it:

http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/MWahkFGT4jcT3vZntwpG_n8jzSTmLRt2/survivor-san-juan-del-sur-wes-at-ponderosa/

[Wings]

I watched it on youtube.  

[ProfCrash]

I found the Ponderosa video. It is in the bonus clips and not in the Ponderosa section. Weird.

 

I love Jeremy and Josh and their greeting of Wes. There is going to be a good vibe at Ponderosa and that is nice to see.

 

Wes was done with the game before he was voted out. He could have taken the idol but left it with his Dad which makes me think that Wes was done playing. Then when Josh and Jeremy are trying to get info on what had been happening all Wes could think of was food. He was done.

 

The scene in the pool was interesting. I don't think that Josh took Wes's comment correctly. During the conversation about homosexuality, Wes made a comment that God made a mistake. Josh said really and Wes said something about himself making it sound like God made a mistake in how he made Wes. I am not certain that Wes wasn't saying that God made a mistake when he made Josh gay. Not important because Wes seems to get along fine with everyone and outside of being rude in his burping, farting and not saying things like excuse me, Wes seemed to get along with folks. I get the feeling that Wes is a follower and goes with the flow easily enough. He was happy to hang with the Neanderthals but seems great at Ponderosa with a totally different crowd. So who knows.

[truthaboutluv]

As wings707 noted, anyone can find the Ponderosa videos at YouTube by simply searching for Survivor Ponderosa. 

[Special K]

I thought what Wes said was that "God doesn't make mistakes."   Of course, those who think homosexuality is a sin think it is just that, a sin, and not something in how God made you.  Wes seemed to be embracing the "born this way" idea vs. the notion of a "lifestyle choice."

 

TBH, I don't think Wes really thinks that much about things like this, and is just happy to be in, and contribute to, friendly company.

 

Josh persisting in calling Wes a redneck in light of this conversation didn't show him (Josh) in a very good light.  Plus, you'd think that being a broadway performer was like being another (advanced) species or something.  Maybe I've lived in NYC too long for such nonsense.

 

What is it about the magic of Ponderosa that makes me like people so much better once they get there? Wes seemed sweet, kind, and (gasp) even attractive.  Another guy (like Jeremy) who didn't show off what now looks to be a banging body.

 

And he totally won me over by gaining 11 pounds in 8 hours!

Edited December 1, 2014 by Special K

[Hanahope]

And he totally won me over by gaining 11 pounds in 8 hours!

 

I'm sortof curious about the timing.  He went to exile island and returned right before the IC.  Jeremy talked about how taxing exile island is and it really knocked him out.  Wes did eat/drink during the IC.  Did they go to tribal that night?  Could his dramatic weight gain be from losing a lot of water weight with exile island?

[ProfCrash]

I could have misheard Wes because Josh was totally on board with what Wes said. I listened twice and didn't hear the "not."

 

Jeremy had been at exile two days, longer then Wes, and didn't gain 11 pounds when he first arrived at Ponderosa so I don't think that Exile is the explanation. I do wonder how much of it was water gain but then again, Wes was shown going through everything fattening at Ponderosa and Jeremy specifically called out that Wes was eating cookies and all sorts of other junk. We know from that taco episode that Wes is more then capable of packing away a large amount of food in a short period of time.

 

I am thrilled that this years Ponderosa is so chill.It is nice to see the people getting along and talking about important stuff. Wes was doing some journaling and had some nice thoughts to send to his Mom. Yes, Josh's hick thing is a bit old, he has fallen back on that a few times but Wes and Keith really do seem to fit the stereotype and I don't think either one of them are offended by it.

Edited December 4, 2014 by ProfCrash

[KimberStormer]

I think the confusion is that Wes was not super articulate about it and the editing was kind of choppy.  He said "God made a mistake?!" meaning, "God doesn't make mistakes and it's absurd to suggest so."  I got what he was saying because I've heard that argument several times, but I'm not surprised it was hard to catch his meaning.

[ProfCrash]

Alec's Ponderosa video is amazing. He is all happy that he beat Jeremy and actually comments that Jeremy was seen as a threat while he hid how good he was at things or actually "Not being that good at the game made me be good at the game" so he was a better player then Jeremy. He really doesn't get it. He is so happy that he did better then Jeremy and that it annoys Jeremy that he doesn't see that his cluelessness, Neanderthal behavior, and general being an idiot got him further because he wasn't a threat.

 

You actually want to be voted out sooner and because you are a threat. Your vote out position in the game doesn't mean squat, well more money, but it says nothing about your skill. And Jeremy wasn't bragging about beating Josh, another real threat in the game. Or Reed but he does Jeremy. Probably because Jeremy is still annoyed about being voted out before Alec. And Jeremy is annoyed. His comments about people without clues screwing up the games of people with clues is telling. It eats at Jeremy. But realistically speaking, Jeremy needed to be able to adjust his game to deal with the clueless players. So Jeremy had a strong game but not strong enough. That happens pretty frequently.

[Wouldofshouldof]

Alec's vs Jeremy's perceptions of how Alec played the game had me laughing!

[truthaboutluv]

"Not being that good at the game made me be good at the game" so he was a better player then Jeremy. He really doesn't get it.

 

 

Just saw the videos and that quote is definitely one of the top ones of the season. "I was so bad that actually it made me good..." Oh Alec, clueless, lacking self-awareness Alec. I do agree that placement in the game is not necessarily a testament to a person's ability to play the game, especially when the show can throw curveballs that the players can't control. I mean tribal swaps happen, people leave the game, etc. I remember even Spencer from last season made that argument. Even coming in fourth he didn't think he played as good a game as he could and I loved his comment in an interview that Philip Sheppard of all people came in second in Redemption Island, so really, placement is not equivalent to game ability.

 

That being said, at the same time, that's what makes this game so fascinating and awesome in my opinion. Because there is no set road map to playing it and there are so many factors and elements to consider. Because a person can argue that Jeremy and Josh for example made themselves too visible as strategists which is why the others felt the need to get rid of them and that was the weakness of their game. And I think Josh actually had enough self awareness to realize that. After he was eliminated he said he thought maybe he showed people too much of himself and some interpreted it as his referring to his sexuality. But I don't think that's what he meant. I think he meant that people realized he was strategizing a lot, all the votes he orchestrated at Coyopa, etc. and that bit him in the end. 

 

That said I did like the two videos. Alec actually didn't come off as douchy as I expected which I know isn't saying much but still. I could have done without Jeremy going back to side-eying and looking pissed off at people but it was kind of hilarious seeing the two opposing observations between him and Alec. Reed's video was really nice. I liked how genuinely happy and okay he seemed with everything and he and Josh were cute. Josh's birthday was also really nice. Honestly watching the videos almost made me feel like if I ever played this game (never going to happen but still...) I'd work to make the jury so I could go to Ponderosa as quickly as possible. 

Edited December 4, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[cooksdelight]

Will Alec and his brother's parents show up at the finale? If so, will someone please flog them? :)

[ProfCrash]

I thought Alec was pretty douchy. Jeremy has been great at Ponderosa so for him to revert back to pissed off Jeremy tells me that Alec was being, well, Alec.

[lilly6]

Josh likes to act like he was born in Times Square wearing tap shoes and singing "Give My Regards to Broadway," but he's just a guy from Michigan trying to get a break in New York theatre just like a million other guys trying to do the same thing.  One would think he'd won multiple Tonys the way he describes himself and yet he's never worked on Broadway.

 

I think Wes and Keith are fairly open-minded and chill for Josh to be continually tagging them as "rednecks."

 

Still wish Jeremy would have won.

[Special K]

I think we might see Jeremy back in another season.  Which would be fine with me.

[Haleth]

Why am I not surprised that even on a fishing excursion, with all the equipment they could use, no one could catch a fish?

 

Everyone looked like they were having a good time before Alec arrived.  I wish the editors had chosen something other than Alec vs Jeremy to show us.  I can only speak for myself but I'd rather see everyone talking about the game without bitterness.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Haleth

[Lamb18]

Why am I not surprised that even on a fishing excursion, with all the equipment they could use, no one could catch a fish?

 

Everyone looked like they were having a good time before Alec arrived.  I wish the editors had chosen something other than Alec vs Jeremy to show us.  I can only speak for myself but I'd rather see everyone talking about the game without bitterness.

I guess they need Rocker at Ponderosa to catch a few.

Edited December 4, 2014 by Lamb18

[KimberStormer]

Watching two Ponderosas right after two episodes made me probably more annoyed than I would otherwise have been.  (I don't know how people binge-watch shows the way they do.)  Jeremy still, to me, comes off as more clueless than savvy when he dismisses Josh as having a "pretty good" grasp of the game and Reed as having none at all.  (Alec of course is a different story.)  I like Jeremy, and of course I completely agree with him that placement means almost nothing in terms of how good you are at the game, but his conviction that nobody else knows what they're doing is annoying.  Reminds me of Russell a bit.  (Or Boston Rob, though at least Rob has the ability, so rare in Survivor, to see things from other people's point of view.)  But maybe it just takes time--he was more dismissive of Josh at first than he is now.

 

I am glad though to have some indication, finally, that Reed had a bad first couple days and that's why he's been struggling the whole game through.  And the birthday party was nice.  But it wasn't till Alec mentioned it that I realized that there are no women at all in the jury so far, and if there's an all-female final 3 (like Baylor/Missy/Natalie) then there will be only one!

[peachmangosteen]

Jeremy thinks far too highly of his own game. I mean he wasn't Keith/Wes/Alec/Drew level bad at it, but he's no Survivor scholar. I enjoy how angry he is about how stupid Alec is though.

 

I liked Reed for the first time in his Ponderosa video. He didn't annoy me nearly as much as he normally does. Still kinda had a bit of Resting Smug Face going on though. Him and Josh both seem to be afflicted with that.

[ProfCrash]

I think Jeremy would have done better on a season with more people who were playing like Josh. How the heck do you play with any type of strategy with Alec, Wes, Keith, Drew, Baylor and others in the game? They seemed to cast enough people who were clueless about anything social and strategic that it makes it very hard for anyone with a strategy to play because you cannot predict how others are going to react to behave.

 

Josh was torpedoed by Julie's quit and Wes, Alec, and Keith's inability to understand basic decorum (ie don't fart and burp and not say excuse me or spit where everyone is standing).

 

Reed has owned up that he was a spaz in the first bunch of days and screwed up his social game with his original tribe. He has also said that he ramped up his game after Josh left, so it is hard to take Reed's game seriously. When Reed decided to play, he did a good job but was torpedoed by the same idiots who torpedoed Josh.

 

I would like to see Josh, Reed, and Jeremy back with different people because I do think they were screwed over by most of the rest of the cast being idiots. For gods sake, Jon needed Natalie to tell him to play the idol to stay in the game and then bitched at Jaclyn for having the temerity to give credit to Natalie for telling him to play the idol.

[peachmangosteen]

Josh was torpedoed by ... Wes, Alec, and Keith's inability to understand basic decorum (ie don't fart and burp and not say excuse me or spit where everyone is standing).

 

I'd like to know if Josh ever tried to do anything with regards to that. Like let those 3 know that was dumb or apologize to Jaclyn/the other women for it. Because if he didn't then he has himself to blame for his part in it, IMO. Now, I highly doubt he could've really done anything to change the situation, but he's an idiot if he didn't even try.

 

I think a big reason for Jeremy and Josh's downfall (and this be will true for Jon too, if he does get booted) is that they thought real damn highly of their abilities and they were flat out wrong about how much control they had.

Edited December 5, 2014 by peachmangosteen

[truthaboutluv]

I actually don't think Josh thought he had so much control, particularly once the merge happened. That's why he was scrambling as soon as they merged. He was definitely confident in original Coyopa and I do think he had solid hold over his alliance in that tribe. But once the merge happened, Josh stated clearly in his TH that the numbers were not in his favor and he knew he had to get others to come over to his side or he was done. That's why he took his elimination very well and was not the least bit surprised. 

 

Seconds after his torch was snuffed he said he was never comfortable with the numbers and that he came into the tribal council nervous. Jeremy was the only one truly shocked by his exit and who clearly thought he had more control in the game than he did. No one else at Ponderosa at this point was surprised by their exit - not Reed, Josh, Alec or Wes. Reed pretty much confirmed he knew he was on borrowed time since Josh left and he did well enough to last those two more tribal councils. 

Edited December 5, 2014 by truthaboutluv

[peachmangosteen]

I am surprised by how easily Josh let go of the game. He seems perfectly content at Ponderosa and I appreciate it. It'll probably be even easier now with Reed there for them to just move on.

 

Meanwhile, IMO, Jeremy is still holding on and will probably always be bitter about it. He comes off so curmudgeon-y to me. I hated it at first, but he's kinda grown on me. I find him hilarious now.

[ProfCrash]

Jeremy was the only one surprised and I think that was because he technically had the numbers so he should have been fine. He did not have a good read on Jon and Jaclyn and got complacent. I think he has said that.

 

Josh and Jeremy are not Survivor masterminds. I would not put them on the Survivor Know It Alls with Rob C and Stephen. But they are above average players. I do think that they would have done better on a season with more players who are playing with a strategy in mind and who had a clue. But when you are playing with someone like Keith who honestly did not understand the concept of a sub alliance or Drew and Alec who thought they were great players destined to rule everything or Wes who remains a blank slate, you are screwed.

 

The Blood Vs Water thing screws the game up. It forces people to come with others that might not be as into the game. Julie quit, Wes never seemed to be too into playing, and I am not certain that Jaclyn would have wanted to come on the show. Jaclyn has made a solid effort to playing the game but I think she has hampered Jon's game play. She would be a loose cannon in a season she played by herself. Kelly was hurt by Dale. It is simply too hard to find pairs that are going to work well and were both people really want to be out there.

[choclatechip45]

 

Kelly was hurt by Dale. It is simply too hard to find pairs that are going to work well and were both people really want to be out there.

To be fair the edit showed us she was hurt by Dale, in her exit interviews she said her mistake was trying to get rid of Jon on the old Blue tribe because Missy had told him.

 

I'm not really all that interested to see Josh play again. Josh's exit interviews he pretty much blamed everything on editing and did not admit to any of his own mistakes. Reed Jeremy and Kelly (not that she would ever be asked back) at least admitted to some of there mistakes. I feel like if we saw Josh again he would play the same way again.

ETA

 

and I am not certain that Jaclyn would have wanted to come on the show.

It wouldn't surprise me if they recruited Jaclyn & Jon for The Amazing Race due to Jaclyn's beauty pageant connections and switched them over to Survivor. I know Kelly & Dale mentioned in an article they both originally tried out for The Amazing Race awhile ago and was switched over for Survivor.

Edited December 5, 2014 by choclatechip45

[NutMeg]

I think Jeremy would have done better on a season with more people who were playing like Josh. How the heck do you play with any type of strategy with Alec, Wes, Keith, Drew, Baylor and others in the game?

 

I think it is an added difficulty to play with people who don't understanfd the game and play a random game at best. Is is in poker that people find it harder to play against amateurs/bad players? or chess? Still, like Jeff's taunting during challenges, etc., I think this IS part of the game and should be taken into account. 

[Nashville]

I think it is an added difficulty to play with people who don't understanfd the game and play a random game at best. Is is in poker that people find it harder to play against amateurs/bad players? or chess? Still, like Jeff's taunting during challenges, etc., I think this IS part of the game and should be taken into account. 

 

A chess master almost never makes a move which is not part of a larger strategy, and expects an opponent to do the same.  If the opponent is a novice who is doing little more than "pushing wood" (making moves with little or no strategic significance), however, the master can fake himself out looking for - and attempting to counter - strategies which do not exist, and dig himself into a hole setting up "trap" strategies the opponent is, quite frankly, too ignorant to fall into.

[peachmangosteen]

I agree with all this, but at the same time, I think a very important part of being a good player is understanding that not everyone thinks the way you do and that that doesn't make them stupid or terrible.

 

Obviously, in this case, Keith and company are fairly stupid in the game sense, but still!

Edited December 7, 2014 by peachmangosteen

[ProfCrash]

I think Jeremy, Josh, and Reed understood that not everyone would play that way. But they cannot plan for how to play with someone who does not understand the concept of a sub alliance and who was told that specific negative things were going to be said in his direction and to not respond and then responds "Stick to the plan." Keith was given a freaking script for what Reed was going to say and told by Reed, Wes, and Alec to not respond. Say nothing or do not indicate anything other then the inevitable being voted out and he still says "Stick with the plan."

 

I am sorry but there is no way to try and predict what he is going to do or how he is going to behave. Drew and Alec both have massive egos and would only tolerate working with folks when they were in the power spot. Kass might have been annoying last year but there did seem to be some idea that she was making moves for more then just chaos purposes. I got the feeling that you could legitimately go to her and make an argument and she would listen. I don't get that with Alec, Drew, Keith, Wes. I am not really all that certain about Baylor, although she is showing some signs of independent thought. Jaclyn was making decisions based on who pissed her off most frequently. I think that the only reason she and Jon voted for Reed was because they did not have a chance to talk out another move due to their fight.

 

So I can understand Jeremy's being annoyed with Alec at Ponderosa. I can see Alec running around talking about how he played this great game and was better then the others at Ponderosa and pissing off Jeremy. Josh and Reed shave each other to spend time with and decompress. Wes is so chill it is nuts. He had a shot at staying in the game and didn't take the idol for gods sake. That leaves Jeremy wanting to strangle Alec with his silly comments and complete lack of understanding of the game.

[peachmangosteen]

So I can understand Jeremy's being annoyed with Alec at Ponderosa. I can see Alec running around talking about how he played this great game and was better then the others at Ponderosa and pissing off Jeremy. Josh and Reed shave each other to spend time with and decompress. Wes is so chill it is nuts. He had a shot at staying in the game and didn't take the idol for gods sake. That leaves Jeremy wanting to strangle Alec with his silly comments and complete lack of understanding of the game.

 

I can understand it too and I feel for Jeremy because I bet you are 100% right on how Alec is behaving at Ponderosa. On top of that you probably have Reed and Josh acting all lovey dovey all the time, which would also annoy me and I'm pretty sure it'd annoy Jeremy. The poor guy probably wants to tear his hair out! 

[ProfCrash]

I wonder if Wes and Alec are working on burping the alphabet....

 

I do like the overall vibe at Ponderosa though. It seems like people are getting along and no one seems to be overly bitter. I don't mind people being upset that they are no longer in the game, I want that from players. But they don't seem pissed off enough to be stewing in resentment.

[Lingo]

So the very interesting thing in Jon's Ponderosa video is that he and Alec, at least, think that Missy is the mastermind of the women's alliance and orchestrated Jon's ouster! First off, Jon stupidly repeats the claim that Natalie mistakenly voted Alec out, and everyone laughs at him.  But they, or at least Alec, seem convinced that it was Missy who persuaded Natalie to flip the vote!  Then Jon says that "Missy and Natalie" did a great job of gaining his trust, and he's particularly mad at Missy for "using" his faith in God against him, as they had had conversations about putting their faith in God and each other and not being backstabbers like everyone else.  So they seem to think that Missy is the mastermind, and I wonder how embarrassed they were to find out that Missy was the last person to know about the plan to vote out Jon!

[pennben]

I just watched that!   So, if it is Missy/Natalie in the finals do they reward Missy for being the mastermind?  Do they punish her?  This all makes next week even more interesting depending on who gets to the finale.

 

It was Alec saying that, though, do the rest really believe it?

[cooksdelight]

I have a feeling Alec won't be the only guy with his mouth hanging open at upcoming tribal councils. Jon is really, really dense. I bet Jacklyn has to lay his clothes out for him each morning.

[Lingo]

I just watched that!   So, if it is Missy/Natalie in the finals do they reward Missy for being the mastermind?  Do they punish her?  This all makes next week even more interesting depending on who gets to the finale.

 

It was Alec saying that, though, do the rest really believe it?

 

It's true, I'm not really sure what the rest of the jury think, but the problem is that Natalie has been playing so sneakily that Baylor is really the only one who is aware of what she's been doing.  And since Natalie was out of the loop when Jeremy was voted off, Missy and Baylor are the only ones who can say that they've been in the loop for every vote (even before the merge).  And everyone believes that Missy controls Baylor.

[ProfCrash]

Another rosary wearer. Ugggghhhh You are not suppose to wear the rosary.

 

I think this is the first time I have seen in game clips shown with Ponderosa. Someone will correct Jon on the Missy thing soon enough but I don't think she can overcome the trust/God stuff with Jon and Jaclyn. Alec is an idiot and his mistake won't last long.

 

Jeremy is coming off worse and worse with each Ponderosa. He cannot get over the small things. Jon voted you out, deal with it. He discussed it briefly but was not disrespectful. Let it go Jeremy. I am not sure that this season has a villain.

 

I do like how the Jury is getting along and is pretty supportive of each other. The bringing the brownie, the drop ins. It is nice to see people be good to each other.

[Haleth]

Note to Jon:  God is in the bathtub.

 

I'm not minding Jeremy's comments since they are producer driven.  I love how at TC he grabbed Josh's shoulder when it was apparent something big was going to happen.  The two of them are enjoying the dynamics and appreciate good gameplay.

Edited December 11, 2014 by Haleth

[truthaboutluv]

Jeremy is coming off worse and worse with each Ponderosa. He cannot get over the small things. Jon voted you out, deal with it. He discussed it briefly but was not disrespectful. Let it go Jeremy. I am not sure that this season has a villain.

 

 

I will say that based on what he was wearing and the location of that comment, I think that might have been a comment from when Alec came to Ponderosa and so Jon was still in the game. I think he might have been commenting on who he thought might make it to the end and how these people would come off to the jury. Because if you think about it, Jon being seen as the villain no longer matters even if it is true because he's out of the game and no longer in the running for the million dollars. 

 

But I do agree that Jeremy has to quit with the side-eyes. He and Josh hitting each other and loving the drama of tribal council was cool but his eye rolling when Jon talked about trust was a bit much. Yes you were blindsided Jeremy but enough already. I guess what gets me is that he always at the same time talks about how he gets that it's a game and he can respect that people made moves but then he's side-eying, rolling his eyes and looking annoyed. Still he seemed friendly and pleasant enough when Jon got there and all the other guys as well. I like that no one is ignoring people, still being pissy, etc. 

 

I did laugh when all the guys were like "wait she said she got confused and you believed her" when Jon was still buying that story Natalie sold him about not being sure who to vote for. And I do think it is interesting they, or Alec, seem to think it was all Missy. Hopefully Natalie has a hell of a jury performance if she makes it to the end to clear that up because while Jon might be too angry at Missy for using his faith to manipulate him as he believes, people like Josh, Reed, Jeremy, maybe even Alec and Wes will vote for Missy if they believe she masterminded everything. 

[Special K]

One of my favorite parts of Survivor is seeing how much weight people lost.  I am morbidly fascinated by it.

[Pattycake2]

The more I see of Jeremy, the less I like him. He admits that he told his tribe lies about Reed on the very first day in order to neutralize Reed who he perceived as a threat.  Wish they had showed us that instead of painting Jeremy as Mr. Trustworthy.  And he still cannot let go of the game at the Ponderosa.  I wonder if Nat is going to kick herself for not seeing through him.

[truthaboutluv]

He admits that he told his tribe lies about Reed on the very first day in order to neutralize Reed who he perceived as a threat.

 

 

Hmm, that's interesting because so far all I'd heard was how people from original Hunahpu, well mostly Kelly and Drew, stated that Reed was just causing unnecessary drama in the first few days. And Reed himself alluded to this during his Ponderosa video by saying how he had a rough start to the game and felt like he spent the rest of the game trying to overcome those first few days. But I guess to be fair he didn't say whether those rough few days was his own doing or him not getting along with someone. I wonder why Jeremy perceived Reed as such a threat considering he was on a tribe with Jon and Drew, two fairly athletic guys and in Jon's case, one who seemed to get along very well with everyone.

[choclatechip45]

Compared to most players from past seasons at Ponderosa, Jeremy comes off pretty well. I remember R.C., Kat and The Onion Alliance who refused to talk to people even though the game was over for them. Jeremy came off pretty well in his exit interviews which I hold more stock in he was able to admit to his mistakes when someone like Josh couldn't and blamed everything on editing.

 

Hmm, that's interesting because so far all I'd heard was how people from original Hunahpu, well mostly Kelly and Drew, stated that Reed was just causing unnecessary drama in the first few days. And Reed himself alluded to this during his Ponderosa video by saying how he had a rough start to the game and felt like he spent the rest of the game trying to overcome those first few days. But I guess to be fair he didn't say whether those rough few days was his own doing or him not getting along with someone. I wonder why Jeremy perceived Reed as such a threat considering he was on a tribe with Jon and Drew, two fairly athletic guys and in Jon's case, one who seemed to get along very well with everyone.

 

From Reeds Exit Interview:

 

What ended up happening, and I think some of the people who were in the game earlier and went out don’t even realize at this point, is that Jeremy and I were… initially, I spoke with Jeremy, I spoke with Natalie, and I think I spoke with Kelley, and said, “Why don’t we just casually get some numbers together, in case we need to go to a Tribal? Just to have a majority.” They were all down for that. But then Jeremy went back to those people and said, “Reed just told me he wants to take you out. He wants you to be the first two gone.” He tainted that well immediately.

Later, Jeremy and I talked about it, and he said, “Dude, you and I were both out there doing the exact same thing. You were doing exactly what I was doing. I couldn’t have two of us doing the same thing.” So I applaud him for doing that, but it made everything much more complicated. I think that’s what ended up happening. Missy jumped on board with that. “Reed’s trying to create a girl’s alliance!” There was a lot of misinformation being spread, when in fact, I said the same thing to three different people. It really ended up being a rumor mill that got going, and I became this target of “Anyone But Me.” That’s what Kelley was referring to.

 

Here is the linkhttp://parade.com/357570/joshwigler/reed-kelly-turns-off-the-dark-on-his-survivor-experience/

Edited December 11, 2014 by choclatechip45

[KimberStormer]

Boy oh boy Jon is going to be an annoying jury member.  I found him pretty insufferable at Ponderosa and I have been a pretty consistent supporter of Jon's game.  I am not looking forward to the diatribe if Missy makes it to FTC.

 

Jeremy, I don't know.  I agree he was probably prompted about the "Jon will be a villain" comment and it could have been said at any time.  But on the other hand, if Jon lied alot, good!  That's Survivor!  And the "look me in the eyes" thing is also annoying.

 

Did they ever show that conversation with Missy and Jon during the show?  I don't remember it.  Perhaps they've responded to the viewers saying "please no more God talk on Survivor".

[peachmangosteen]

Boy oh boy Jon is going to be an annoying jury member.  I found him pretty insufferable at Ponderosa and I have been a pretty consistent supporter of Jon's game.  I am not looking forward to the diatribe if Missy makes it to FTC.

 

Oh, I am! I love a good/bad "How dare you play the game?!" jury question.

 

They didn't show that Jon/Missy convo on the show. Or really any God talk between them, I don't think. Maybe they have toned it down in editing. Thank you, editors!

 

Jeremy is a real curmudgeony guy, IMO, but I've grown to find it hilarious. And I find his overestimation of his own game play and his hypocrisy pretty entertaining.

 

I hope Alec is the only dumb dumb that thinks Missy is running the game. Now I'm afraid she's gonna get the votes over Natalie!

Edited December 12, 2014 by peachmangosteen

[ByaNose]

So, Jon lost 30 pounds! That's got to be most anyone has lost during their run on Survivor. Of course, I can't remember last week let alone every season but it sounds like a lot compared to others. I always remember when Katie from Palua never lost any weight and this was when they never fed you. Natalie looks like she hasn't lost much and Jaclyn seems to have lost the most out of the woman. Although, I don't think she started with much from the getgo. All in all, it's partytime at Ponderosa. I so want to be on the jury. The heck with coming in he 3rd. LOL!!!!

[Mooncake76]

All the posts about Jeremy having to play with people who don't know how to play and how it affected his game is interesting.  I think playing with people who don't know how to play is part of the game.  I remember from the first season I started watching (Cook Islands), that Yul and Jonathan seemed to want to play with other "rational" players.  IIrc, Yul was into game theory and he wanted to get rid of all the unpredictable elements.  I think he would have targeted the Keiths from the get-go because they're wild cards.  At least playing with other "rational" players (i.e. someone who knows how to play the game), you can predict to some degree what their moves will be.  He wanted to get rid of Cao Boi and that other girl whose name escapes me, who was there just for "the experience", before the more strategic players (Jonathan, Candice).  Unfortunately for Yul, Candice did something based on emotions that he didn't see coming!   

 

ETA: Everything is season specific obviously.  Jeremy didn't want to play with people who were also strategizing; based on the interview with Reed, the reason he didn't want him as an ally is because he knew that Reed was doing exactly what he was doing.  This idea of getting rid of the strategists first is very Boston Rob-esque.  He didn't like others out there thinking for themselves.  I think both paths can be taken depending on the mix of people.  

 

I'm not minding Jeremy's comments since they are producer driven.  I love how at TC he grabbed Josh's shoulder when it was apparent something big was going to happen.  The two of them are enjoying the dynamics and appreciate good gameplay.

 

I also liked that little gesture, and after watching Ponderosa, I think it's because he sees Josh as his equal.  He trusts Josh's perception of what happened, but he said something like he'll have to wait to know what is really going on because he doesn't trust Reed and Alec's take on what was happening.  I don't blame him.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Mooncake76