Winner Edit vs. Loser Edit: Discuss Amongst Yourselves

[ByaNose]

16 minutes ago, NutMeg said:

If anyone is getting some kind of hero edit, sitting on top of rocks and gazing in the distance, it's people on EoE. There were some shots in last week's episode that felt very reminiscent of the kind of on-top-of-a-mountain shots winners used to have during a number of seasons. It may have been either Chris or Eric. (I had just gotten out of hospital after fracturing bones and was in that state where watching was a welcome and fun distraction but when the pain was also distracting from the watching, hope that makes senses.)

Yeah, the EoE people are getting the hero/winner edit with their confessionals moreso than the actual people in the game. I don't know if that's because one of the EoE come back and win or it's just they have time to do with them since it's all they have to talk about. Getting back in the game.

[LadyChatts]

I'd say Joe, Aubry, and Eric strike me as winners if one comes from EOE.  Joe's spiel about losing is pretty much the same he had the last two times he lost, but we didn't get the single tear down his cheek the last times (he just cried in his Ponderosa videos).  I also think they are probably more likable than Reem, and I don't feel like Chris has gotten much of an edit to justify a win.  

[peachmangosteen]

Eric hasn't got much more of an edit that Chris imo, but last week's 'I might quit but no my daughters must see me persevere' or whatever felt like the possible beginning of a come back and win story.

Edited April 15, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[LadyChatts]

Yeah, that's kind of why I'm leaning towards him being more of a winner than Chris.  Just because of that quote.  I don't think Chris or Reem have had anything like the other 3 have.  

David is the only one still in the game I feel is getting a good edit.  Kelley kind of has the negative edit turned underdog arc going for her.  At this point those two would be my picks in the game.  With Julia now out on EOE, we'll see this week what we get from her and the others. 

Edited April 15, 2019 by LadyChatts

[KimberStormer]

On ‎4‎/‎11‎/‎2019 at 7:07 AM, peachmangosteen said:

The only thing I feel sure of is that Kelley will not win. She was getting too bad of an edit for too long imo.

I don't feel sure of this.  I don't know what's going on with Kelley's edit, but it doesn't feel like total no-go to me.  Aurora does.  Julie does.  Even Joe does -- if we didn't know Joe from past seasons, I think all of us would be like "Joe who?" by now, he's not even doing anything on THE EDGE OF EXTINCTION, he's a big nothing and always has been this season.  Really only Aubry seems possible to me, of those on THE EDGE.  But I feel like Kelley is still in this.

Not that I think she's got it on lock or anything.  Her edit is super weird.  I feel like (until this week) it's never been about What Kelley Is Doing, which is definitely a bad sign; it's like she's an object in the field and not a person making moves.  But I still think she was never in any danger in the early game and that was all an editing concoction, and so I wonder what else is phony baloney this season.  I certainly don't think her edit was too negative to win -- negative is not anywhere near as damning as invisible.

I feel like Kelley, David, Rick, and Victoria are the only people with edits.  Maybe Lauren.  Ron might have but I just can't see it happening.  On the other hand Wardog seems like a game possibility but not an edit possibility, really.

But like I say I'm always wrong, so don't listen to me.

[peachmangosteen]

In the beginning it really felt to me like they were trying to make us all hate Kelley. All the eyeroll shots, the shots of her being miserable, never really showing her be positive, never showing her be any kind of force in the votes, etc. They seem to be veering now though, so we might be in for a 'come from behind' type victory for her. I don't really think so though.

Edited April 16, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[Eolivet]

On 4/15/2019 at 11:14 PM, KimberStormer said:

I feel like Kelley, David, Rick, and Victoria are the only people with edits.  Maybe Lauren. 

This. After last season, I learned no matter what the game is telling you, we have to like the winner, feel a connection to the winner, even if the winner seems impossible based on the game. And they completely ignored Kama to the point of parody in the early edit (with the exception of Aubry and Joe -- neither of whom have gotten big Edge of Extinction edits), meaning I have to believe the winner is on Manu/Lesu.

I agree Victoria is playing a good, solid game, but I feel no connection to her personally. I know nothing about her, and I don't feel I'm meant to sympathize with her. She's like the Kara Kay of this season so far.

[LadyChatts]

I'd argue Wardog is playing the best game, but his edit doesn't really support a winner.  Gavin was pretty invisible pre-merge, and only really became visible with the Eric vote, but still doesn't seem to be getting much of an edit of any kind.  I also wonder if Victoria peaked, because she isn't getting much either.  Julie probably can't decide on her own whether she wants to win or not, Ron is too unlikable to win, Lauren hasn't done much in the game other than being tied to the Lesu 3, and I don't think Aurora has gotten much in terms of edit or has enough allies to make it to the end.  I guess of those left in the game, though, I'd say she and Rick would stand the best chance.

I'm sure my opinion will change next week.  Again.  I think Rick has been an ass some weeks, but this week he was likable.  It's not like it was hard to accomplish though.  

Edited April 18, 2019 by LadyChatts

[TVFan1]

I can see a winner in Rick, even though I really don't like him. The thing is, he was voted out, and I don't want to see someone win that way. Oh well, if he wins, I would guess he would deserve it in a season based on this stupid twist.

[peachmangosteen]

Yea, I think Rick is getting the most winner-y edit. Victoria is probably the only other person I could see winning. I mean, I could see David/Kelley/Aubry winning, but I don't see any of them making it back into the game tbh. Maybe Aubry, which is why Aubry is probably #3 on my picks to win.

Edited April 18, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[Eolivet]

To me, Edge of Extinction has been providing editing clues about the winner. It has been like a player in and of itself, and its post-merge edit has gone down considerably. I wonder if that says a lot about who was there pre-merge, and why it was important.

Edge of Extinction is going to be like those Edgic (ha ha) "second person POV," where they add up all the good/bad confessionals about another person. And the only reason the Edge of Extinction showed up last night was for an advantage for another player. If it becomes nothing but an advantage-haven to help current players, I think we can rule out anyone currently on Edge of Extinction as a winner themselves.

[Eolivet]

If Rick isn't winning this thing (by going on a ... three immunity win run?), they'd better start ramping up some of these people's edits. I think they've seriously underestimated how likable or interesting the rest of these people are.

[ProfCrash]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

If Rick isn't winning this thing (by going on a ... three immunity win run?), they'd better start ramping up some of these people's edits. I think they've seriously underestimated how likable or interesting the rest of these people are.

Or they realize that this season is a giant cluster fuck and no cares and nothing that they could have done would save it. EoE is too big a change. No one is voted out, the jury is totally different then it was in the past, and there are advantages being handed out by people who should be on vacation or at Ponderosa.

On top of that, the players this season are not particularly savvy players. Kama was fine as long as they were winning and Joe was feeding them. The first blindside for Kama led to a complete meltdown on Julie's part.

Ron thinks he is a mastermind, with his "Let's all get to the family visit" brilliant strategy (that failed) and his inability to see that his place in the middle means that he is seen as a floater and not a threat. He bitches about Aurora wanting to be in control when all he wants is to be in control.

Dan actually understood the strategic situation but had no social game.

Lauren allied with Kelly because she liked watching Kelly on TV and then the two seemed to get along. She has brilliantly hidden her idol and held on to it perfectly. But that is all got for her.

Wendy was strong in challenges and I think joined the game thinking she wanted to win it all but then realized she didn't actually care about trying to dig her way out of a hole when she was on the bottom of her alliance. Wendy went crazy.

Aurora is a solid competitor in challenges and I think has a good read on the strategic situation but has almost as bad a social game as Dan. Aurora does seem to be a bit more approachable then Dan was but that is about all that she has got.

Joe was Joe. Fish, win challenges and suck at the social game.

Aubry played poorly, using the same rhetoric with everyone and not getting how to make herself more valuable in an alliance.

Victoria is a mystery. We see glimpses of her game but not enough to know what she is doing. She has been on the right side of every vote and led the blindside of Aubry, so I think that she is a good player but I can't really tell.

Rick has won a few challenges and seems to get what he is suppose to do socially but doesn't seem to have had much success in doing it. He was voted out once as Manu dwindled in numbers, was totally opposed to working with Manu when he got back into the game, and seems to be all over the place since the Eric blindside. His only plus is that he spent more time with people on the jury and might have their votes.

David was in the same position as Rick, dwindling numbers and being on the wrong side of the alliance in those dwindling numbers. But no real room to move and with Kama's clear dislike of returnees, no shot at the merge.

There are a lot of non-entities that we really don't know, Gavin, Eric, and Chris come to mind.

There just isn't much to work with. There are no real villains, some annoying people, one off the wall person, and a lot of socially clueless people. Oh, and returnees that I am suppose to care about but don't.

Just a horrible season and I don't think the editors had much to work with.

[Eolivet]

I don't know for sure if Rick is going to win, but in addition to his outsized focus, two things still stick out in my mind:

--the tribal council where he was voted out was unusually somber for the ... what ... third or fourth one voted out? The editors made a point to show how difficult it was. I remember laughing when David said, "this is the most emotional tribal council I've ever been a part of" (only because he was there at the final tribal council about Adam's dying mother, and the fact this one was more emotional ... heh). But it seemed odd at the time. Who cares who's the third or fourth boot? Unless we were supposed to care.

--that the Edge of Extinction has pretty much vanished into thin air since the merge (except for the purpose of advantages and for returning players to get their last words in), and we had an outsized focus on it earlier in the game. How difficult it was, how much people were struggling. Big, neon signs that seemed to indicate it was hard and you had to work for everything. Which also makes no sense ... unless the eventual winner was on the Edge of Extinction, and now no longer is.

Also, it's two weeks (right?) until the finale, and I still don't really know who Julie, Gavin, Victoria or Lauren really are. And the family visit sort of did nothing to clarify that -- more like "these nobodies you know nothing about have people who care about them."

I'm prepared to be wrong again, but unless we're supposed to completely overlook Gavin's complete lack of air time and mealy-mouthed confessionals because he never got a honeymoon, the family visit did nothing to illuminate any of these characters for me.

It's Rick and the Purple Kamas. No wonder the casting director was fired.

[Bryce Lynch]

48 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

I don't know for sure if Rick is going to win, but in addition to his outsized focus, two things still stick out in my mind:

--the tribal council where he was voted out was unusually somber for the ... what ... third or fourth one voted out? The editors made a point to show how difficult it was. I remember laughing when David said, "this is the most emotional tribal council I've ever been a part of" (only because he was there at the final tribal council about Adam's dying mother, and the fact this one was more emotional ... heh). But it seemed odd at the time. Who cares who's the third or fourth boot? Unless we were supposed to care.

--that the Edge of Extinction has pretty much vanished into thin air since the merge (except for the purpose of advantages and for returning players to get their last words in), and we had an outsized focus on it earlier in the game. How difficult it was, how much people were struggling. Big, neon signs that seemed to indicate it was hard and you had to work for everything. Which also makes no sense ... unless the eventual winner was on the Edge of Extinction, and now no longer is.

Also, it's two weeks (right?) until the finale, and I still don't really know who Julie, Gavin, Victoria or Lauren really are. And the family visit sort of did nothing to clarify that -- more like "these nobodies you know nothing about have people who care about them."

I'm prepared to be wrong again, but unless we're supposed to completely overlook Gavin's complete lack of air time and mealy-mouthed confessionals because he never got a honeymoon, the family visit did nothing to illuminate any of these characters for me.

It's Rick and the Purple Kamas. No wonder the casting director was fired.

I don't think Rick's edit says much about his chances of winning.  I think it just says that he has been involved in a lot of big moves, advantage play and drama, and has been on the chopping block a lot.

The relatively small edits of the other 5 who are still in camp might be more of an indicator.  But, there have been winners in the past who didn't get big edits, like Natalie, Jud, Sophie, Michelle (I'm sure there have been others).  

I also think Victoria and Julie have gotten decent edits that have painted pictures of who they are, or at least who we are supposed to think they are.  I think the same is true of Aurora.  

[LadyChatts]

The only thing that is holding me back from saying Rick is a sure fire winner is Christian's edit from last season.  He probably had more focus than everyone last season, was likable, fun, strategic, and a narrator.  Nick had a very interesting edit-supposed to be the first boot, got a lot of pre-merge focus due to his alliances, but after the merge, I thought he got a more quiet edit, especially after the big play at the TC where Dan went home.  Rick's in an underdog position.  He's still there, so I can see why they'd have to play that up, and want people to root for him (rather than a majority alliance).

That said, I think Rick is a Ben and Mike Holloway type.  Mike didn't have idols and advantages falling from trees; he had one idol, and had to keep winning immunities.  They want Rick gone, but they also recognize there's other people they can target if not Rick.  The others seem to be making strategic moves (look at Victoria last night).  I think it's possible it'll be Rick, Victoria, or outside chance Aurora.  

[Nashville]

When the hell is the Final EoE Challenge supposed to take place?  I’m tired of waiting on it.

[cherrypj]

I've heard there will be two chances for a player to win their way back into the game – at the merge and then around Day 35/36.

[Eolivet]

My dark horse candidate for the win remains Lauren, as I maintain she was the only other one who got any kind of pre-merge edit. She was part of the downtrodden Manu/Lesus, and presented as the "nicer" alternative to "prickly" Kelley Wentworth,. Watching back this week's tribal council, the edit gives her the second most credit (after Rick) for the Ron boot -- she gets a big smile, captioned "that felt good." She's also managed to claw her way back into the majority (similar to her hero, Kelley, on previous seasons?). To say nothing of her memorable fainting episode at the immunity challenge. After Rick, she's the biggest underdog there.

If any of these Kamas are the winner, then all the editors should be fired, because there was no excuse for showing All Joe All the Time, pre-merge, and not taking that opportunity for us to spend more time with the winner. Which is why I don't think they are.

But Lauren is my second pick.

[TVFan1]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

My dark horse candidate for the win remains Lauren, as I maintain she was the only other one who got any kind of pre-merge edit. She was part of the downtrodden Manu/Lesus, and presented as the "nicer" alternative to "prickly" Kelley Wentworth,. Watching back this week's tribal council, the edit gives her the second most credit (after Rick) for the Ron boot -- she gets a big smile, captioned "that felt good." She's also managed to claw her way back into the majority (similar to her hero, Kelley, on previous seasons?). To say nothing of her memorable fainting episode at the immunity challenge. After Rick, she's the biggest underdog there.

If any of these Kamas are the winner, then all the editors should be fired, because there was no excuse for showing All Joe All the Time, pre-merge, and not taking that opportunity for us to spend more time with the winner. Which is why I don't think they are.

But Lauren is my second pick.

I totally agree. Lauren does have a certain story going on, and I'm rooting for her every week to remain in the game. Would make this season a perfect end for me if she makes it to the end and wins this whole thing.

Edited May 3, 2019 by TVFan1

[Nashville]

My take: if Rick is evicted, then the winner will be either (a) the person credited by the Jury for evicting Rick, or (b) the last EoE returnee - who by now will have far deeper ties with the majority of the Jury than any of the non-EoE players.

[peachmangosteen]

12 hours ago, Eolivet said:

To say nothing of her memorable fainting episode at the immunity challenge. 

I've been struck though by how she got no confessionals after that. They didn't give us any of her thoughts on it which I think is so bizarre and why I just don't see her as the winner. But you make some good points. I would love to see Lauren (or Victoria) win.

8 hours ago, Nashville said:

My take: if Rick is evicted, then the winner will ... the last EoE returnee - who by now will have far deeper ties with the majority of the Jury than any of the non-EoE players.

I just don't see any of the current EoEers winning because the edit over there has dropped off significantly in the last few eps. And, in general, the only people there who have gotten any type of edit are the returnees and that could easily just be because they're returnees. Well, Reem has quite an edit but not one of a winner lol. 

[Nashville]

8 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I just don't see any of the current EoEers winning because the edit over there has dropped off significantly in the last few eps. 

By that standard, nobody other than Rick is being telegraphed as a potential winner.

[peachmangosteen]

47 minutes ago, Nashville said:

By that standard, nobody other than Rick is being telegraphed as a potential winner.

Yea, exactly!

[peachmangosteen]

I wanted to see just how much Rick is being shown as compared to the other since sometimes I think maybe I exaggerate how much more I see him than the rest. I looked at the confessional count and so far Rick has 41, Julie has 23, Lauren/Victoria/Gavin have 18, and Aurora has 11. So Rick has almost double what the next highest current player has. 

This is like Dom all over again. I liked Dom and I even preferred him to Wendell, but the fact that he got 28 more confessionals than the winner was so utterly ridiculous. I mean I guess the same is true for Russell vs. Natalie W. And Aubry vs. Michele. And surely others. 

Anyway, why must they pick one person every season to feature so fucking much? Was it like this in the earlier seasons? I can't remember.

[SVNBob]

37 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Anyway, why must they pick one person every season to feature so fucking much? Was it like this in the earlier seasons? I can't remember.

There's always a Narrator of some sort.  Rick got the slot this time.   It could just be because of his regular job; news anchors do have to narrate the stories they're presenting to some degree, even if they're eventually tossing to someone else.  So he came into Survivor with a skill that fed into something that the editors look for.

Whether or not there's another reason for him getting lots of focus has yet to be seen.

[NutMeg]

22 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I wanted to see just how much Rick is being shown as compared to the other since sometimes I think maybe I exaggerate how much more I see him than the rest. I looked at the confessional count and so far Rick has 41, Julie has 23, Lauren/Victoria/Gavin have 18, and Aurora has 11. So Rick has almost double what the next highest current player has. 

This is like Dom all over again. I liked Dom and I even preferred him to Wendell, but the fact that he got 28 more confessionals than the winner was so utterly ridiculous. I mean I guess the same is true for Russell vs. Natalie W. And Aubry vs. Michele. And surely others. 

Anyway, why must they pick one person every season to feature so fucking much? Was it like this in the earlier seasons? I can't remember.

Maybe then it's an attempt to trick us into thinking he wins the season?

[Special K]

On 5/4/2019 at 10:38 AM, peachmangosteen said:

Anyway, why must they pick one person every season to feature so fucking much? Was it like this in the earlier seasons? I can't remember.

It's always this way.  They feature people who are entertaining, funny, insightful about the game, articulate, etc.  Think of Penner, Cochrane, etc.  Or also wacky -- if I recall, nutty Debbie got lots of confessionals.

[Eolivet]

I'd absolutely believe Rick wasn't going to win if literally any other person of the ... seven remaining had anything resembling an edit.

If Rick does not win, this song parody (from the Rob Has a Podcast "Wandoff") sums it up very well for me:

[peachmangosteen]

Are there 7 left? I've been thinking there are 6 lol. I can only think of Rick, Gavin, Victoria, Lauren, Julie, and Aurora. Who am I missing?

On topic, exactly, literally no one else has an edit at all, let alone a winner's one. I could have seen Aubry, Kelley, or David winning several eps back since they're the only other players we've seen a decent amount of, but they've been invisible for a few eps now so I just don't see it happening.

[SVNBob]

4 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Are there 7 left? I've been thinking there are 6 lol. I can only think of Rick, Gavin, Victoria, Lauren, Julie, and Aurora. Who am I missing?

Whoever comes back from EoE.

[peachmangosteen]

Oh, do we know definitively that someone is coming back in tonight's ep? I thought we weren't sure when exactly it was happening. I mean, it's likely tonight, but it could just as easily be next week in the finale at F5. I don't recall anyone in the show making it clear that F6 was when the final EoE comp was.

[ProfCrash]

Didn't the preview last week show the EoE crowd getting a special box? I suspect that is the invite to participate in the challenge to get back into the show.

[violet and green]

11 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Oh, do we know definitively that someone is coming back in tonight's ep? I thought we weren't sure when exactly it was happening. I mean, it's likely tonight, but it could just as easily be next week in the finale at F5. I don't recall anyone in the show making it clear that F6 was when the final EoE comp was.

When is day 35? I have no idea, as I thought it was day 29 weeks ago, and clearly it wasn't. But they are getting their chance to come back on day 35.

[Bryce Lynch]

I am not big into reading edits.  But, Devens is the only won who seems to have a clear winner type edit.  Of course, it could also be "guy who wins lots of immunity challenges, finds lots of idols, mugs for the camera a lot, and loses" edit.

Gavin, Victoria and Lauren have prominent enough edits that it wouldn't come totally out of nowhere if one of them won.  

The people on EOE (except Reem) are getting such invisible edits, that I would be pretty surprised if one of them won.  I would think we'd be getting a more of them.  That said, I fast forwarded through the sappy letters to themselves.  Was there anything in that segment that might have set someone up as a possible winner?

[peachmangosteen]

29 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Was there anything in that segment that might have set someone up as a possible winner?

I don't think so, although I was intrigued by the shot of Chris sitting atop that little mass in the ocean. He is so invisible though so there's really no way he wins. It would be kinda funny it it happened though.

[peachmangosteen]

7 hours ago, himela said:

Tommy is clearly getting the winner's edit. In the first episode everyone talked about how much they like him and in the second he seems he was the one to make the choice between Noura/Jason and Molly. The story is seen through his point of view. Plus the obvious winner's line that he has to throw 4th grade teacher Tommy out the window and bring in Survivor Tommy. This is a line we'll hear in the finale. Pff so obvious, it makes it boring ... It's unfair and wrong that some have like 10 confessionals already and some have none.

It's only been 2 eps but the confessional counts are actually pretty close right now. Tommy, who I agree has some 'winner's edit' stuff going on, is tied for 4th most confessionals at 5.

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

I've been watching since Season 1 and I never really can tell by the edit who is going to win. 

Same. I've only ever accurately predicted the winner early on a couple times. 

[Matteo]

I feel like Chelsea has been getting a pretty solid edit so far for the women.  I'm expecting and hoping for her to do well in the game and go far.

I think she might have been one of the first people to speak or get a confessional too, if I remember correctly?

Edited October 6, 2019 by Matteo

[Bryce Lynch]

I don't really believe in winner'edits, but I am pretty sure Karishma, Noura, Dean and Jamal are getting loser edits.   I can't possibly see any of those 4 winning,   

I don't really put that much stock in confessional counts.  But, this season the counts are distorted by IOTI.   The counts for the IOTI visitors, in the episode where they went there, have been:

Elizabeth - 10

Kellee - 9

Vince - 10 

Noura - 8  

[Eolivet]

After rewatching this episode, I feel like Elaine has the winner's edit. She was shielded pretty much from the sexual harassment discussion (she actually went with Missy and Elizabeth in that night-time discussion with Dan, but was never identified). I think that's the reason for her "golly gee, aww shucks" edit early on. Production (mistakenly) thinks that her hard luck, triumph of the underdog story is going to absolve them of their failure. "yay a woman wins! aren't we all happy now? we love women! yay women!"

No man was made to look like a hero during the episode. Aaron was a negative edit, and Dean and Tommy were silent. Knowing this episode, if a man wins, they'd have to paint him as this close to sainthood. And nobody got that edit.

So, I think it's Elaine. She's on the right side of the merge vote, and she got a glowing pre-merge edit. She also disappeared from the most negative episode of the season. Janet's edit has trended towards angelic (and when the halo appears, the end is near). I also don't think she has the numbers to win/go on an immunity run.

Hasn't Elaine been pretty quiet about this episode on social media? She'd definitely have a motive to keep her mouth shut if she wins.

(With the caveat that I was sure Rick Devens was winning last year and my winner pick track record is pretty terrible ... that's my pick as of now.)

Edited November 17, 2019 by Eolivet

[LadyChatts]

The people who I think have no shot in hell in winning are Dan (obviously-can you imagine if this went down and they had to edit it all out if he won?)  But there's no way they would have shown all of this, and then have him as a winner.  I've been thinking all along Aaron won't win-way too cocky and overconfident, nothing really screams likable or even a good strategist.  Dean is okay, although I'd be surprised if he won.  He's barely gotten any screen time, was part of a big blindside, was shown the next episode showing he's a poor man's Sherlock Holmes as he tried to figure out who was behind it, and then back stabbed Kellee after she stuck her neck out for him.  I wouldn't even consider that a good game move on his part, because what did he really gain?  I also don't think Elizabeth, Lauren or Noura (although that would be hilarious) have any chance of winning.

I suppose there's a chance, however slight, that Missy wins, even with all the backlash she received this past week (and is continuing to receive, although as some noted production may not have known it'd be that severe).  While I think she, too, has become overconfident and arrogant, they could paint her in some sort of redemption edit.  Similarly, I'm starting to wonder about Karishma.  Her edit early on was that of being a bungler of challenges and an outcast on her tribe, to getting a second chance at the tribe swap, and now I think she's coming across more likable and almost had a sympathetic arc to her.

Elaine and Tommy are wild cards to me.  Both didn't come off bad this past week during the Dan incident.  In fact, we didn't hear anything from them.  Elaine seems like she's gullible in that she really thinks she's in with her group, so maybe that's something that makes her relate-able to people trying to belong to the cool kids.  Her edit is weird.  On the one hand, I thought she was a really smart, savvy player that was doing a good job of hiding behind her shtick.  But the last few weeks, I don't know.  She clearly can't read the people she's with that well.  And her edit has kind of disappeared, but maybe it's because she wasn't relevant to the story this past week.  In addition, while I think Tommy has had his moments of being overconfident and cocky, it's not as bad as Missy and Aaron.  I don't think his look this past week in the first hour ('Kellee and Janet won't do what I want to do', 'I have all the power'), but he's coming off better than most of those left.

Janet I hope got the start of her winner's edit this past week.  This season needs a winner like her.  At this point, I think it's between her, Elaine, Tommy, and Karishma, with a small outside chance of Missy.   

[Eolivet]

As others have pointed out, would they really give their presumed winner, Tommy, a confessional that was like "guys, that sexually harassing pervert was a huge part of my game. Now what am I supposed to do?" Because: yikes.

I have a lot of dumb reasons why I'm now leaning towards Dean, one of which is he had this gorgeous confessional location last episode -- seriously, it was like this backlit beach view at sunset, and I swear, they find the prettiest locations for their winners and give everyone else like ... rocks and trees. So, that's my dumb reason. And I was wrong about Elaine!

But a mediocre white dude would totally be the winner this season deserves.

[himela]

32 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

As others have pointed out, would they really give their presumed winner, Tommy, a confessional that was like "guys, that sexually harassing pervert was a huge part of my game. Now what am I supposed to do?" Because: yikes.

If production had seen Dan as a "sexually harassing pervert" they would probably had ejected him long time ago. In their eyes, with Missy and Elizabeth using Kellee's problem with Dan as a strategy, it seemed like Kellee was exaggerating. I think they just saw him as a guy who didn't have boundaries, but the fact that after Dan's apology nobody discussed this matter again shows me that they really thought they had resolved it.

On topic: the reason I said from episode 1 that Tommy is getting the winner's edit was because 3-4 people said they liked him a lot. The same thing was also said about Elaine but it was used in the context of "lets vote her out cause she is likeable and she is gonna win" while there was no story reason to throw out there the fact that Tommy is liked by most people. Tommy had confessionals throughout the season even when his tribe had won and they would not go to TC. If Tommy isn't the winner the only person with a seemingly winner's edit is Lauren; but I think she  leaves at final 4 after making fire with Tommy.

[Hera]

Resurrecting this thread in order to respond to a comment in the episode thread:

On 2/20/2020 at 1:34 PM, Fallacy said:

Heroes versus Villains also had a ridiculous amount of Rob time in the first five episodes, but if the people who hate Rob waited it out, then they got to watch a great season unfold. I think the same will happen this season. I really think the red tribe has the advantage and Rob will be out before the merge. I haven’t read any spoilers because I hate spoilers with this show in particular, but I just can’t image Rob making it deep into this game.

I agree that Rob's edit this is season is reminiscent of the one he had on Heroes vs. Villains. It feels like the editors are showing us as much of him as they can now because they know there won't be much to show later.

I also think the fact that they are showing us Yul, Tony, Sarah, and Tyson even when there's no gameplay happening (Dakal didn't have to go to Tribal Council and none of those four were part of the Kim/Sophie idol split) seems to suggest that those four are going to go far.

[tvgoddess]

I guess I'm in the minority, because I don't think Rob has gotten a lot of screen time. If anyone is getting a lot of it, it's Ben and Tony.

[cleo]

I don't think Yul and Sarah have gotten a ton if time. Yul more than Sarah.

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, tvgoddess said:

I guess I'm in the minority, because I don't think Rob has gotten a lot of screen time. If anyone is getting a lot of it, it's Ben and Tony.

Based on confessionals alone, which as we all know isn't the end all be all it maybe used to be but it's at least a quantitative way to measure air time, Adam has the most confessionals of the players remaining in the game so far with 9 and Tony/Rob are tied for second with 8. They're all pretty close though tbh with a lot of them having between 5 and 7. Natalie actually has the most overall though with 12. 

[Eolivet]

Wow, Adam has more than Rob?! That's interesting, because I thought the torch mishap was Adam's editing death knell last episode. It made him look ridiculous and there was no reason to show it otherwise (and it apparently happened more than once, according to media reports).

I don't know who's winning, but making a contestant look ridiculous through editing is not a good sign (see also: Ben).

See also: the caveat that I am absolutely horrible at calling a winner based on editing and continue to do it anyway, because it's fun and it gets me out of the house.

[Josh371982]

The scene they showed between Tony and Sarah gave me fears that I'm gonna hate Sarah this season. The thought of  Her keeping Tony in the game and both going far with a secret deal makes me wanna vomit 

[Hera]

4 hours ago, Eolivet said:

See also: the caveat that I am absolutely horrible at calling a winner based on editing and continue to do it anyway, because it's fun and it gets me out of the house.

Same here. I'm pretty good at ruling people out based on edits, but aside from that, I never guess the right one as the winner—at least not this early in the game.