S30.E02: It Will Be My Revenge

[Donny Ketchum]

Joaquin made the episode for me tonight.

 

The conversation between him, Tyler and Shirin on the beach was pure comedy gold. The visual of the three of them was hilarious- Tyler in a pair of jeans and plaid shirt; Shirin "ass-naked", clad only in a bikini top; and Joaquin in a white Brooks Brothers button-down neatly tucked into his tailored pants with a nice belt on.  Then there's ass-naked Shirin bending this way and that way discussing what pot or cups need to be cleaned with poor Tyler uncomfortably doing his best to avert his eyes without being offensive and Joaquin just focusing on something/ anything just so he doesn't have to look at her naughty bits (he first focused on a pot on the beach while she was bending over and then just stared off into the distance when she got up).  Awesome.

 

Also loved how he kicked butt in the challenge but didn't come off as a raging alpha male.  In fact, even though his tribe was in third place, he just sat there calmly waiting on the platform for his turn to come up while the other teams were doing the requisite "we're still in this!", "we got this!" type screaming. And when his turn comes up, he kicks ass during the swimming portion and then shoots all five baskets for the win without acting like a total douche.

 

I'm officially a fan.

And that's supposed to make up for him acting like a douche last week?  For me . . . I think not.

[woodscommaelle]

Hali looks like a cross between Jinger and Jessa Duggar.

Edited March 5, 2015 by woodscommaelle

[cuphead]

And that's supposed to make up for him acting like a douche last week?  For me . . . I think not.

 

For me, I was fairly neutral about Joaquin last week so he didn't need to make up for anything this week.

[Calamity Jane]

I realize reaction shots can be edited six ways from Sunday, but nonetheless, I think Hali (sp?) should never, ever, ever play poker.  I was laughing loud enough to scare the cat at how her face showed every emotion during tribal council.

[Wings]

Joaquin made the episode for me tonight.

 

The conversation between him, Tyler and Shirin on the beach was pure comedy gold. The visual of the three of them was hilarious- Tyler in a pair of jeans and plaid shirt; Shirin "ass-naked", clad only in a bikini top; and Joaquin in a white Brooks Brothers button-down neatly tucked into his tailored pants with a nice belt on.  Then there's ass-naked Shirin bending this way and that way discussing what pot or cups need to be cleaned with poor Tyler uncomfortably doing his best to avert his eyes without being offensive and Joaquin just focusing on something/ anything just so he doesn't have to look at her naughty bits (he first focused on a pot on the beach while she was bending over and then just stared off into the distance when she got up).  Awesome.

 

Also loved how he kicked butt in the challenge but didn't come off as a raging alpha male.  In fact, even though his tribe was in third place, he just sat there calmly waiting on the platform for his turn to come up while the other teams were doing the requisite "we're still in this!", "we got this!" type screaming. And when his turn comes up, he kicks ass during the swimming portion and then shoots all five baskets for the win without acting like a total douche.

 

I'm officially a fan.

 

 

Loved all of that, too!  thumbs up on the beach scene. Joaquin, not so much. 

Edited March 5, 2015 by wings707

[Lamb18]

I think Nina is being a manipulator. That big blowup at the girls--that was a contrived emotional scene meant to induce guilt and put the others on the defensive. It's hard to explain but I think she's making herself a victim in advance (pre-victimization) so that people will feel mean about considering voting the deaf woman out. She's accusing her teammates of being bad guys before they've actually done anything. I also think she meant to get Will upset at Vince when she told Will about Vince's concern for his health. I don't know why she'd want to do that unless it was just to exercise some power. I just don't think she's making good decisions about how she's using her deafness as a tool for her game. (I don't mean to minimize her real-life difficulties and frustrations. This is about what I'm seeing on the show.)

 

Another more subtle manipulator is Max. He's creating intentional discomfort to others by his nudity. I also think it's a distracting mechanism. When he's nude people become focused on not looking at him and on their discomfort, so that they may entirely miss what he might be doing. For example, if he gets an idol clue and searches in the nude, no one's going to follow him. I don't know if Shirin has any purpose behind her nudity but she could have an idol sticking out of her bikini top and no one would notice because they're not looking at her. But don't bugs bite your tender parts? Max better not bend over those little crabs! 

[viajero]

I was glad to see Vince go.  I know crazy can bring the entertainment, but Vince just made me want to turn off my TV.

 

So far I’m liking Joe and Hali on No-Collar, the three women on Blue Collar and Tyler on White Collar.  Joaquin redeemed himself somewhat in this episode, so the only people left I’m actively disliking are the three men on Blue Collar.

 

When No Collar loses again.I think Nina is next to go. She may be a bit annoying, but she committed the ultimate unforgivable crime of being over 25. Same thing for Dan on Blue. Why does Survivor even bother to cast "older" contestants?

 

 

Nina well deserves to be next to go.  Her crime is not her age, or even her hearing impediment.  Her crime is that she is lousy at Survivor.  She's bad in challenges, even worse at the social game and truly horrendous when it comes to strategy.  As for Dan, he’s also proven to have a horrible social game.  There are several other contestants who are in the same general age cohort as Dan who are doing quite fine so far, beginning with the two skinny dippers on White Collar.

[cuphead]

Loved all of that, too!  thumbs up on the beach scene. Joaquin, not so much.

 

Ha. Not expecting much Joaquin-love on the boards. Seems like he made a very strong, bad first impression last week.

I find him pretty entertaining, though. He kind of cracks me up in the same way Boston Rob made me laugh.  

[MarquisDeCarabas]

I really hope we get a confrontation scene between Nina and Will and she asks him why and he pretty much tells her you told me I couldn't trust him.

 

I think Will voted Vince because he knew if Nina went first he was next.  I think he also figured if Jenn went he might be next.  Vince being closer to Nina and that he'd probably be considered weaker than Hali.  It's short term thinking but I figure he's hoping for a tribal mix up before it gets to his turn.

 

 

I'm in the mindset that you never want to weaken your tribe in the beginning. You keep your strongest players until the tribes merge and then you get rid of the threats.

I generally agree, but usually when teams are split like this they tend to do a tribal swap before the merge so you might be okay getting one strong player out  because there's a good chance you might not see him after a while but it's still very risky

 

 

There are several other contestants who are in the same general age cohort as Dan who are doing quite fine so far, beginning with the two skinny dippers on White Collar.

Not sure how well Max is actually doing on White Collar I think the other two dudes are on okay terms and really So seemed to be the one doing all the antagonizing.  If Joaquin keeps hi mouth shut and does well on challenges maybe he carefully makes a case that the girls they need him more than Max

 

Which was a smart play by Joaquin, once he convinced So they should deceive he let her do all the lying, so 90% of the heat for that fell on her

[Turtle]

 

Hali looks like a cross between Jinger and Jessa Duggar.

 

That may not be kind, but it is so very accurate.

 

I think Nina is being a manipulator. That big blowup at the girls--that was a contrived emotional scene meant to induce guilt and put the others on the defensive. It's hard to explain but I think she's making herself a victim in advance (pre-victimization) so that people will feel mean about considering voting the deaf woman out. She's accusing her teammates of being bad guys before they've actually done anything. 

 

...

 

Another more subtle manipulator is Max. He's creating intentional discomfort to others by his nudity. I also think it's a distracting mechanism. When he's nude people become focused on not looking at him and on their discomfort, so that they may entirely miss what he might be doing. For example, if he gets an idol clue and searches in the nude, no one's going to follow him. I don't know if Shirin has any purpose behind her nudity but she could have an idol sticking out of her bikini top and no one would notice because they're not looking at her. But don't bugs bite your tender parts? Max better not bend over those little crabs! 

 

 

I think Nina's blowup was real - she was feeling excluded because of her age and deafness, which fulfilled her biggest fear about coming in to the game, and so it probably stung even more.  Was it good gameplay?  No.  But I don't think she planned it as a way to make her seem like a victim.  The vibe I get from her is that the last thing she wants is to feel like a victim - she'd rather be able to play the game just like anyone else.  And her tribemates *did* do something, in my opinion.  Hali and Jenn were talking badly about her and getting visibly frustrated with her and leaving her out of things like Girls Gone Swimming.  Plus, they were talking about voting her out.  

 

I agree with you about Max, and I think he basically admitted it - he said that if they were focused on him being naked they would be less likely to pay attention to his gameplay.  Tyler even had a talking head about it, saying that he knew what Max was up to.  As for Shirin, you could see the bug bites all over her back just above the waist/ panty line, and it looked absolutely painful.  If those bugs migrate south, ... well I don't even know.  Don't even want to imagine!

[GaT]

Not sorry to see Vince go, you could see the crazy in him rising to the top.

 

I think Nina is being a manipulator. That big blowup at the girls--that was a contrived emotional scene meant to induce guilt and put the others on the defensive. It's hard to explain but I think she's making herself a victim in advance (pre-victimization) so that people will feel mean about considering voting the deaf woman out. She's accusing her teammates of being bad guys before they've actually done anything. I also think she meant to get Will upset at Vince when she told Will about Vince's concern for his health. I don't know why she'd want to do that unless it was just to exercise some power. I just don't think she's making good decisions about how she's using her deafness as a tool for her game. (I don't mean to minimize her real-life difficulties and frustrations. This is about what I'm seeing on the show.)

 

 

Nina is absolutely manipulating people. I think she came on the show expecting that people would take care of her, & it's not happening so she's playing the poor little me card.

[lilabennet]

For those of you who weren't sure how the vote turned out the way it did, I think that everyone was following "the plan" except Will.  Vince and Nina voted according to their plan to get rid of Jenn.  Jenn, Hali, and Joe voted according to their plan to split the votes between Vince and Nina, but they were expecting Will to also vote for Nina and they would then vote her out on a re-vote.  Will went rogue and voted the way that he thought would be in his best interest.  I think that his thinking was short-sighted, and I like him, so I wonder what he will say to appease everyone next episode.  I think his best bet may be to tell Joe that he found out Vince was plotting to get both Joe and Will out at some point soon (kind of true from his perspective) and he didn't have time to talk with Joe about it before tribal council, so he decided to just switch his vote and get rid of him when he could.  Right now Will is 4th out of 5, but I think that he has time to get into Joe's ear and to build up that relationship so that it is less of a given that Joe, Jenn, and Hali are a threesome and Will is definitely 4th.  I think there is more room to maneuver with Joe for Will, because based on what we have seen so far Jenn and Hali are bonding.  If Will frames his vote as an effort to protect not just himself but Joe as well, then he could gain some trust with him.

[wonald]

 

Nina is absolutely manipulating people. I think she came on the show expecting that people would take care of her, & it's not happening so she's playing the poor little me card.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who got that whiff of entitlement from Nina.It was almost as rancid as Vince's smelly armpits.

 

Nina is such a failure at all aspects of the game and a waste of a slot that I am kinda angry. If a survivor is that bad at the game, they need to be as least batshit and entertaining as JTia.

[scowl]

Vince just wanted to be loved! Is that so wrong?

 

The way he did it sure was.

[Yogi Nomad]

Yahoo lady made me uncomfortable. If you want to lose your clothes why not all of them. Walking around bottomless was just weird. Walking around with your shirt tied around your waist is also weird but I appreciated that he did that. What a weird dude.

Vincealot. So glad he's gone. Dragon slayer was kinda semi entertaining and I didn't think he meant to do harm with his bullshit spewing but Vince? I got this stalker, serial killer vibe from him that I can't explain. Maybe it's his intense stare, possessiveness and other creepy things that he did.

Nina sank her own ship. She's basically useless in all aspects of survivor. I did feel bad for her a bit but I don't think it was intentional from at least Hali But I don't know about Jen who reminded me of "blindside is fun!!" Kat.

I'm not rooting for anyone yet. Maybe the survivor professor and maybe Hali too. Time will tell. But I do love 3 tribes dynamic. So much easier to remember people this way.

[Turtle]

 

For those of you who weren't sure how the vote turned out the way it did, I think that everyone was following "the plan" except Will.  Vince and Nina voted according to their plan to get rid of Jenn.  Jenn, Hali, and Joe voted according to their plan to split the votes between Vince and Nina, but they were expecting Will to also vote for Nina and they would then vote her out on a re-vote.  Will went rogue and voted the way that he thought would be in his best interest.  I think that his thinking was short-sighted, and I like him, so I wonder what he will say to appease everyone next episode.  I think his best bet may be to tell Joe that he found out Vince was plotting to get both Joe and Will out at some point soon (kind of true from his perspective) and he didn't have time to talk with Joe about it before tribal council, so he decided to just switch his vote and get rid of him when he could.  Right now Will is 4th out of 5, but I think that he has time to get into Joe's ear and to build up that relationship so that it is less of a given that Joe, Jenn, and Hali are a threesome and Will is definitely 4th.  I think there is more room to maneuver with Joe for Will, because based on what we have seen so far Jenn and Hali are bonding.  If Will frames his vote as an effort to protect not just himself but Joe as well, then he could gain some trust with him.

 

 

Thank you!  This really helped.  I think that because the plan was so convoluted Will could easily claim confusion or just outright lie and say he followed the plan and try to put suspicion on someone else.  I'm confused about something else though - didn't two groups think Will was with them?  If so, that could make it easier for him to wiggle out of it, but could also make it harder.  I hope Will sticks around for a while, because I like him and I think he might have some grasp of the game.  On that tribe, I think Joe has a clue and that the tribe will want to keep him to win challenges, Jenn and Hali have the potential to get too caught up in popularity/ mean girl stuff to really strategize but won't be a big target right away although probably only one will make it to the merge, and Nina may not be a target after one of the younger women go because Will won't want to vote her out and Joe may realize that the younger women will be attractive potential alliance mates to others after the merge.  Could just be wishful thinking on my part, though, because I'd like to see Joe, Will, and Nina stick around until the merge.  Mostly, I think that tribe is a mess!

 

Joaquin is, in my opinion, the douchiest douchebro to ever douche.  Or to bro.  

[millennium]

I think on some level Vince was attracted to Joe and could only express it as animosity.

 

I don't like Will.   He still hasn't made any sandwiches and he's a big fat wuss for trying to shift the blame for screwing up the challenge to the people throwing the balls.

 

Why in the world did they all start thinking Nina had a HII? 

 

Is "manties" a real word?   I had to keep hitting rewind on the DVR to figure out what they were saying.    Too bad a shark didn't swim up and bite him in the ass while he was "doing his business."   What a moron.   Well, they're not buying me as Bossy Guy, or Old Fat Guy, so I'll just borrow a move from Philip's playbook and make it all about my underwear.

[cujo]

The vote:

Vince, nina: Jenn

Jenn, Hali, Will: Vince

Joe: Nina

It was all "to plan" accept Will who was told to vote for Jenn by group one and Nina by group two. Nina is his closest ally so he was against dropping a vote for the tie then revote sending her home. He was voting Jenn till Nina opened her mouth. He voted Vince as it sends the guy targeting him home, doesn't make him vote his closest friend and still goes along with group two and he can play it numerous ways: thought guys were voting Vince, he was targeting us, etc

[rozen]

Enthusiasm for the game or no, I find both of the younger no collar women to be fairly heinous. When they give their snark commentary I just want to punch them in the boobs. Shut up. You've not shown that you're good at anything other than presenting your assets to the alpha males in charge. It could be the editing, but it doesn't even seem like Nina is actively looking at people to make sure she's not missing anything. Half the time she's gazing into the distance, admiring the view or something.  If she really wanted to play, her head needed to be on a swivel to check for conversations going on nearby.

 

Dan killed that challenge like it owed him money. Also gave Will no excuses for his own performance. I think Dan will actually make it pretty far because he'll be an assumed dump vote while the "top" game players go after each other. 

 

I kind of dislike every single person in this game so far. No one's jumping out at me for entertainment potential. Maybe Joaquin will step up if he's done twirling his metaphorical mustaches. And least he's not crowing about how he's a game expert all the time. I don't know why people even say that while still playing. Say you're an expert after you win, anything else just makes you look like a chump.

 

Vince is A) creepy and B) not older and wiser at thirty-freaking-two. Mentally he's probably around 15 anyway. He must peddle coconuts at some type of retirement home where there's no young lad competition, because he is not all that.

Edited March 5, 2015 by rozen

[Turtle]

.

 

The vote:
Vince, nina: Jenn
Jenn, Hali, Will: Vince
Joe: Nina

It was all "to plan" accept Will who was told to vote for Jenn by group one and Nina by group two. Nina is his closest ally so he was against dropping a vote for the tie then revote sending her home. He was voting Jenn till Nina opened her mouth. He voted Vince as it sends the guy targeting him home, doesn't make him vote his closest friend and still goes along with group two and he can play it numerous ways: thought guys were voting Vince, he was targeting us, etc

 

 

Very helpful, thank you. Assuming I understand: if Will goes with group one and votes for Jenn, she leaves unless she plays an idol, and if he votes with group two it's a 2-2-2 tie, forcing tie breaker?  In that tie breaker, only Will, Hali, and Joe could be voted for, and Will would likely be the one to go.  If Will wasn't 100% sure that both Vince and Nina were voting for Jenn (and I wouldn't be surprised if he thought Vince was a wild card and might for Joe), or if he thought Jenn had an idol, then his vote for Vince was a smart move.  And if he thought that Nina might have an idol or realized the likely outcome of a three way tie, not voting for her was a smart move, and he keeps Nina as an ally.  Not saying he actually knew or suspected any of this, just saying that if he did, his vote for Vince was the right move.  

 

But maybe I'm totally wrong.  It happens. 

[enlightenedbum]

Only Will, Hali, and Joe would vote, and they would all vote for Nina.  At least, that was the plan.

 

It's if they can't break the deadlock on the re-vote that it would go to the rocks of doom among the untied players.

[vb68]

 

and if he votes with group two it's a 2-2-2 tie, forcing tie breaker?  In that tie breaker, only Will, Hali, and Joe could be voted for, and Will would likely be the one to go

 

 

I'm pretty sure the tiebreaker would mean they had to vote for Vince, Jenn, or Nina without those three voting.    Now if there's a second tie, the above scenario would be the course of action (I think).

 

Eta: What enlightenedbum said.  And I must learn to refresh.

 

Now why they were so concerned about splitting the votes this early, I'm not really sure.   Vince was too occupied staring at and wanting acknowledgment by Joe to even think about looking for an idol.  Likewise Nina being too concerned about being accepted.  I would have cheered if she even thought to channel that insecurity into looking for one.  But that's what even a mediocre player would do.

Edited March 5, 2015 by vb68

[mertensia]

I am no huge fan of Nina's but I wanted to smack the woman who was all *eyelash flutter* "Golly I've just never been around someone disabled before! Gosh! I have no idea how to interact with a disabled person" *giggle *

Vincent helped sink his own boat by going to Nina and worrying about Will's health publicly. Not that I will miss Vincent. Creepy stalkers belong on Criminal Minds, not Survivor.

[Sentient Meat]

Joaquin is truly deserving of his douchebag reputation... he clearly established that with his sociopathic game play that caused the early demise of his ally So.  However, what we saw in episode 2 is that he may also truly be deserving of his cutthroat white collar success, because he managed to regroup, tone down his douchiness... and not only win over his tribesmates a little... but from some of the comments, he's managed even win over some of viewer audience as well.  There is no real debate that he is an asshole... he openly admitted it in the first episode... so if you admire him, make sure it comes from either pure physical lust, or that admire like his possibly strong Machiavellian gameplay.  However, do not, I repeat do not mistake him for a decent human being.

 

Nina and Will are both idiots... She's now the designated first boot, and the only way he's staying is if they go on a long unbeaten streak or the three end up in a twisted love triangle.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Sentient Meat

[LizBug]

Glad to see white collar win the challenge.  I was afraid that they were going to be the group losing again and again.  Funny, though, that even with the flint they had trouble making fire.

 

IMO, Will wasn't the one who lost that challenge for the no collar team.  Vince was.  He kept shooting and missing and wouldn't relinquish the ball to anyone else, especially not Joe.  

 

I'm tired of seeing people in their underwear or less.  And, I don't recall anyone on blue collar or no collar looking for an idol.  If they're familiar with the game, they should know that many times idols are hidden near their water supply.

Edited March 5, 2015 by DallasGypsy

[pennben]

 

Will made a huge mistake with his vote, making his tribe weaker puts everyone at risk.

 

I think it may end up being a bad move.  But, would they vote out Will over Nina?  And will they be together long to vote out both of them.  I can see why he was concerned when Vince talked about wanting Joe out but going for a weaker person, Jenn.  Next thing he hears is that Vince thinks that he is a potential weakness.

Edited March 5, 2015 by pennben

[cooksdelight]

 

Another more subtle manipulator is Max. He's creating intentional discomfort to others by his nudity. I also think it's a distracting mechanism. When he's nude people become focused on not looking at him and on their discomfort, so that they may entirely miss what he might be doing. For example, if he gets an idol clue and searches in the nude, no one's going to follow him. I don't know if Shirin has any purpose behind her nudity but she could have an idol sticking out of her bikini top and no one would notice because they're not looking at her. But don't bugs bite your tender parts? Max better not bend over those little crabs!

If Max is off searching for an idol in the nude....and finds one....where's he going to hide it????

I'm afraid of the answer.

[poppy-]

I laughed so much at fully clothed men looking at ANYTHING other than the mostly-naked lady.

 

And I say good for her for not caring that her body isn't perfect (beard guy certainly buffed up before coming on the show).

 

I wonder how much of Vince's crazy act was an act. I mean, "admit you steamrolled me" had zero strategic advantage and was dumb, but, at his final confessional, he was lucid and so normal.  Hard to know what's real.

 

Will is an oddball, normal enough guy, turns into a clown at tribal? He made me laugh, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't seem like his real personality. I wonder if he was overcompensating because he was planning a  blindside.

[phlebas]

If Max is off searching for an idol in the nude....and finds one....where's he going to hide it????

I'm afraid of the answer.

The sound guys have that pneumatic tube "shoomp" sound they've been dying to use.

 

There hasn't been a lot of talk about idols these first two episodes.  Maybe they are waiting for the inevitable tribe-merge into two tribes before bothering to hide them? 

[ProfCrash]

Thrilled to see that Vince is gone. His interactions with Jenn and Joe demonstrate that he has to be in control and acknowledged as beingthe alpha. Jenn and Hali's comments about Vince not understanding personal space were telling. Dude is selling coconuts not because he is a free spirit but because he is lacking social skills.

Max is running around nude ala Richard Hatch. He likes it and wants to make people uncomfortable. Shirin just likes being nude. Cool. The beach scene was great. Taylor and Joaquin were so uncomfortable. I have no idea why they wanted to have that conversation at that moment but the result was golden.

Dan is lacking social skills but I don't think he is a dick. He can't read the room and sort of blunders about.

[waving feather]

I laughed so much at fully clothed men looking at ANYTHING other than the mostly-naked lady.

 

I hardly laugh out loud when watching television but I couldn't help myself here. The body language and the stance of the guys were hilarious. And Tyler kept losing his train of thought and couldn't even complete his sentences. Frankly speaking, I don't mind looking at nude blurred out Max because dude is toned as heck.

[pennben]

 

Thrilled to see that Vince is gone. His interactions with Jenn and Joe demonstrate that he has to be in control and acknowledged as beingthe alpha

 

Yep.  When he decided to target Jenn who "betrayed" him in his delusional mind by interacting with Joe, I thought here we go again (Caleb punishing Amber in BB for him being crazy).  Nice to see that storyline nipped in the bud (despite the best efforts of Joe/Jenn/Hali to screw it up).

 

 

There hasn't been a lot of talk about idols these first two episodes.  Maybe they are waiting for the inevitable tribe-merge into two tribes before bothering to hide them?

 

Carolyn on the White Collar tribe already found the idol for that tribe.

Edited March 5, 2015 by pennben

[BigRedCheese]

 

her tribemates *did* do something, in my opinion.  Hali and Jenn were talking badly about her and getting visibly frustrated with her and leaving her out of things like Girls Gone Swimming.  Plus, they were talking about voting her out.

 

I think the point is that they didn't do anything personal to her, talking about voting somebody out is just playing the game, it's what they're all out there for. There is a huge age gap, and these young girls didn't get a vibe from her that she would be interested in hanging out with them. She could have doffed her clothes and ran into the water and joined in, if they ignored her, then she might have a reason to admonish them, still a dumb thing to do in the game though.

[cooksdelight]

Will is an oddball, normal enough guy, turns into a clown at tribal? He made me laugh, don't get me wrong, but it doesn't seem like his real personality. I wonder if he was overcompensating because he was planning a blindside.

He's a professional actor, so expect anything at any time.

[JudyObscure]

The last time I saw a Survivor be mean to deaf a woman it was Jenna M. who went on to win the million. I sure hope this won't be a repeat. Jenna used almost the exact words that Jenn used, something like, "This is Survivor and I don't have time for that." As if they don't have endless hours of time and all that's needed is just a tiny bit of extra effort, like making sure they are where Nina can see them when they talk to her. Also, leaving someone out and then saying, "We didn't think you'd be interested," is so transparent. They sounded thirteen.

So I really wanted to see Jenn go home. I wanted to watch her excitement over being at tribal fade off her face in one of the greatest blindsides ever -- but, it turns out, Nina is the worst player ever and likes to sabotage her own dreams at the last minute.

On other tribes, we had the tired old thing of getting naked. Why, why? Max put me right off my snacks and then here came Shirin. Honestly there's something about a woman, naked only from the waist down that is more naked than naked.

[Haleth]

Nina shot herself in the foot, but Joe was way overthinking things with the split vote.  He's lucky that Nina was so bad at reading the situation and ended up scuttling her own alliance.

I think Nina is being a manipulator. That big blowup at the girls--that was a contrived emotional scene meant to induce guilt and put the others on the defensive. It's hard to explain but I think she's making herself a victim in advance (pre-victimization) so that people will feel mean about considering voting the deaf woman out. She's accusing her teammates of being bad guys before they've actually done anything. I also think she meant to get Will upset at Vince when she told Will about Vince's concern for his health. I don't know why she'd want to do that unless it was just to exercise some power. I just don't think she's making good decisions about how she's using her deafness as a tool for her game. (I don't mean to minimize her real-life difficulties and frustrations. This is about what I'm seeing on the show.)

Another more subtle manipulator is Max. He's creating intentional discomfort to others by his nudity. I also think it's a distracting mechanism. When he's nude people become focused on not looking at him and on their discomfort, so that they may entirely miss what he might be doing. For example, if he gets an idol clue and searches in the nude, no one's going to follow him. I don't know if Shirin has any purpose behind her nudity but she could have an idol sticking out of her bikini top and no one would notice because they're not looking at her. But don't bugs bite your tender parts? Max better not bend over those little crabs!

 

I think that's giving Nina more credit than she deserves.  But in either case, the last thing you want to do is make your tribemates uncomfortable.  That goes for Mike too, with his workaholic attitude.  Good way to get yourself booted.

Edited March 5, 2015 by Haleth

[le bordel chaud]

I found this episode sort of disappointing. Vince was sure to provide the kind of entertainment you just can't script. I would have much preferred to see Will or Nina go. They don't amuse me nearly so much, and they are both pretty lousy players to boot.

Unfortunately there is a dearth of likeable players this time around. I liked So, and she was promptly booted. The only ones I do like at this point are Mike and Joe. I like Survivor best when there are strong female players to root for, so hopefully one emerges in the next few weeks.

[ghoulina]

I'm really not liking Lindsey from Blue Collar. I am not a huge Dan fan, but I feel like she just decided right off the bat she doesn't like him and is now going to target him for everything he does. I really did not think the story he told about losing his "manties" was made up. I mean, who would WANT to walk around with their shirt fastened as a diaper???  

 

And Mike needs to chill. I understand where he is coming from - he's the older, serious one on the tribe. He might very well BE the one doing all the work. But it's too early to start throwing fits about it. Lose an IC and you may very well be the one to go. Just do what you can do and keep your opinions under the radar. 

 

The same could be said for Nina on No Collar. I did feel for her. It sucks feeling excluded. But I really don't think it was intentional. Could the younger girls have made more of an effort with her? Maybe. But I don't think they were trying to purposefully leave her out or be mean to her. Even if Nina wasn't deaf, Jen and Hail are around the same age and were probably going to naturally buddy up anyhow. So yea, I'm not going to judge her for being upset, but I definitely think it was a bad game move to call them out like that. You really have to check your emotions at the door and let a lot of stuff slide in this game. 

 

As for the vote, I understand why Will did what he did. I think he was all set to blindside Jenn....until he heard that Vince was questioning his longevity in the game. I'd want to snuff that out too. He couldn't trust Vince anymore at that point. Better to stick with the other semi-pact that he'd made. And really, Vince going was better for everyone, because that dude was creepy. He was invading personal space and have ego strokes about everything Joe did. Bye-bye. Really, that was another dumb game move by Nina, though. She should not have told Will what she and  Vince talked about, because now she's basically next on the chopping block. 

 

On the White Collar tribe we have a lot of nudity. They're going to give No Collar a run for their money. But, Shirin, Seinfeld called and naked dishwashing is definitely a no-go. 

[phlebas]

Carolyn on the White Collar tribe already found the idol for that tribe.

Oh, you're right.  Sorry, that was a pre-coffee comment.

 

I liked the Immunity Challenge, too. Mostly I liked how overstimulated Probst got during a close race.  Lots of fun.

He's a professional actor, so expect anything at any time.

OMG Will is being played by Forest Whittacker.  I knew it!

[Puffaroo]

Will was awful at that swimming challenge as I figured he wasnt a strong swimmer just by looking at him. 

 

Dan appears to be at least in as bad shape as Will, maybe even worse, and he did fine.  Looks can be deceiving.

 

Hali I don't think meant to at all.  She said something like "I honestly didn't think she'd be into it?"  And I believed her.  I find her beautiful and quite appealing so far.

 

We're all attracted by different things -- when she sat down at tribal, jutted her jaw forward and smiled, all I could think of was, "Whoa, snake!"

[Lamb18]

The vote:

Vince, nina: Jenn

Jenn, Hali, Will: Vince

Joe: Nina

It was all "to plan" accept Will who was told to vote for Jenn by group one and Nina by group two. Nina is his closest ally so he was against dropping a vote for the tie then revote sending her home. He was voting Jenn till Nina opened her mouth. He voted Vince as it sends the guy targeting him home, doesn't make him vote his closest friend and still goes along with group two and he can play it numerous ways: thought guys were voting Vince, he was targeting us, etc

I think Nina deliberately told Will that in order to get him to get him more firmly allied with her and to make the odds more in her favor that Vince would be sent home instead of her.  She and Vince were in the competition for last place. And she also would have seen Will talking with the others - she didn't know what was being plotted but she probably figured they weren't scheming to keep her in until the end.  Next episode, if No Collar loses again, I expect Nina to start talking about Will's health to the others, planting seeds of doubt about Will's endurance.

 

Vince is A) creepy and B) not older and wiser at thirty-freaking-two. Mentally he's probably around 15 anyway. He must peddle coconuts at some type of retirement home where there's no young lad competition, because he is not all that.

Funny because I was getting a gigolo vibe from him after the first episode, selling his tale as a lonely misunderstood coconut vendor to vulnerable middle-aged/older women.

[Primetimer]

It's hard to tell what's more blurry this episode -- the lines between the shifting alliances, or the pixillation over all of the Survivors' naked parts.

Read the story

[BigRedCheese]

 

The last time I saw a Survivor be mean to deaf a woman it was Jenna M.

 

 

That's the last time I saw it too, and it's still the last time, unless it happens again this season. That was a much different situation, Christy was in the same age group as Jenna and Heidi, and actively made an effort to join in with them and was shunned, Jenna even said her beauty was a handicap. Nina is much older, and standoffish, she's putting it all on them to be social. That's what I took Jenn to be talking about not having time for, and frankly, in the game of Survivor, none of them should have to be worrying about trying to pull a shy person out of their shell, deaf or not.

[JudyObscure]

Oh I agree that Nina seems to be doing little to nothing to help herself blend in and yelling at others for leaving her out is something she should have learned not to do many years ago.  I just don't think any of  Nina's faults  excuse Jenn and Hali's rudeness. To me, it's simple good manners, when three females are bored on an island and one of them gets an idea to have a women's skinny dip, you look at both of the other women and ask them if they want to go.  While it's true that one of the other women may not be as cute, the same age, wearing the right kind of nail polish or whatever, you still invite her and leave it up to her to say whether she's interested or not.  Again, it's true that in the game,  or in life, no one has to consider the people around them who have special needs, it's only decent if they do.  We're not talking about someone who needs to be fed or pushed through the sand in a wheel chair, Nina just needs a little slower speech and not to be treated like she's invisible, whether  because she's deaf or old. It's pretty bad when Vince of all people, says something like, I thought we were supposed to be the sensitive tribe.

[Special K]

To paraphrase Seinfeld:

 

Good naked = frolicking in the waves

Bad naked = squatting on a rocky shore scrubbing pots

[Boilergal]

 It could be the editing, but it doesn't even seem like Nina is actively looking at people to make sure she's not missing anything. Half the time she's gazing into the distance, admiring the view or something.  If she really wanted to play, her head needed to be on a swivel to check for conversations going on nearby.

 

This is exactly what I was thinking.  It's a social game first - you do what ever you have to do to be social. 

 

They did show situations where people tried to talk to Nina and she seemed to make it difficult.  They may have given up putting that much effort into including her - I mean if you feel like you are working that much harder than a stranger to build some kind of rapport you give up.    When the girls were walking and they were talking about Nina's blister they had to keep repeating themselves to the point where they just didn't care to say it again.

 

 At tribal when Nina said that she hears things but she doesn't want to be the person that says what what all the time.  In that case she needs to find a way to position herself in a way that she can hear what is going on - she can't count on the other people playing her social game and making sure she is in conversations.

 

I was super happy when Nina told Will about Vince - that is when I knew Joe would be staying. 

 

I can't imagine running around naked in front of people I met 4 days ago - and I would have expected it more on the no collared team than on team corporate.

[Special K]

Will is funny:

 

"black man's Kryptonite"

 

Jeff:  What are you going to do now Will?

Will:  I'm going to go back to camp and let the bugs have a little more of this chocolate.

[ihartcoffee]

To paraphrase Seinfeld:

 

Good naked = frolicking in the waves

Bad naked = squatting on a rocky shore scrubbing pots with bug bites all over your arse

 

I added a little extra to bad naked...

 

I thought of that episode too!  You can relate so much in life to a Seinfeld episode!

 

I'm trying to figure out why she'd pick the time she's doing a squatting and bending over task to go commando.  Maybe while swimming I could see it.  

 

The tribe mates need to return the favor and stare and stand awkwardly close when they are naked, don't let them get what they want... seclusion to plot. 

[ihartcoffee]

This is exactly what I was thinking.  It's a social game first - you do what ever you have to do to be social. 

 

They did show situations where people tried to talk to Nina and she seemed to make it difficult.  They may have given up putting that much effort into including her - I mean if you feel like you are working that much harder than a stranger to build some kind of rapport you give up.    When the girls were walking and they were talking about Nina's blister they had to keep repeating themselves to the point where they just didn't care to say it again.

 

 At tribal when Nina said that she hears things but she doesn't want to be the person that says what what all the time.  In that case she needs to find a way to position herself in a way that she can hear what is going on - she can't count on the other people playing her social game and making sure she is in conversations.

 

I was super happy when Nina told Will about Vince - that is when I knew Joe would be staying. 

 

I can't imagine running around naked in front of people I met 4 days ago - and I would have expected it more on the no collared team than on team corporate.

I briefly dated someone who was deaf.  It was really hard to interact and build a relationship.  We take for granted the ease we are able to communicate with our hearing and speech (He was completely deaf, no hearing device to help).  He also was very insecure and had anger issues.  I totally got why, how frustrating it must be to not be able to hear or convey your thoughts, especially since I knew very little sign language.  

 

With that said, I'm not sure what Nina wants them to do.  I imagine this insecurity she has comes from this happening to her before.  She can't expect them to make all the effort though, this is Survivor after all.  She must display strength to show her disability makes little difference.  The other players are always looking for what they feel is the weakest link in the tribe.  Sometimes it's based on skills at challenges, and sometimes it's based on the players social game.  If you are annoying but good at challenges..... you may still go home.  Just ask Vince. lol

If Max is off searching for an idol in the nude....and finds one....where's he going to hide it????

I'm afraid of the answer.

 

He has a place to hang it down south that no one will look at.  He could walk around camp with it dangling and no one would notice.  

[peachmangosteen]

This epidoes was straight up hilarious. The Tyler/Joaquin/Shirin scene was one of the funniest things I've see in awhile.

 

I felt for both Nina and Hali/Jen at first, but by the end of it I only really liked Hali. Jenn is awful. I don't remember Hali being anything but kind to Nina. Did I miss something because she is being lumped in with Jenn as having no compassionate and being a mean girl but I didn't see it at all. She was very patient with Nina in the first clip when she was trying to tell her about the blister. She was very nice and open to her when she was talking about her bra top. And then she genuinely tried to comfort her after she blew up. And I don't remember any confessionals from her about how Nina's a crybaby or a TC monologue how how she just doesn't understand disabled people. That was all Jenn.

 

I like Will. He's funny and I have him to thank for sparing me the Vince vs. Joe/Jenn story.

 

Lindsey and Sierra seem very overly paranoid already. Like I don't think Dan is as smart and strategic as you think, guys. Also, they are much more awful towards him than Jenn is towards Nina. Jenn mostly kept her rude comments to the confessional, but Lindsey/Sierra openly laughed at Dan to his face. That being said, I loved that Sierra killed the IC and that her tribe trusted and respected her enough to let her do it.

 

I liked Mike in the first ep, scorpion eating and all, but he was insufferable in this ep. Like you really don't need to be collecting firewood 24/7, Mike. It'll be OK! Also, his voice is so strange. I feel like any minute he's just gonna lose it.

Edited March 5, 2015 by peachmangosteen