S30.E03: Crazy Is As Crazy Does

[CletusMusashi]

Wow. No collar over-think everything! 

What does an alliance with a girl mean?

How do I just vote for someone that everybody else is? 

Is the rest of the tribe taller than me because I'm deaf?

[viajero]

The part when Hali and Jenn were surfing was gorgeous and seemed like great fun. But where did they find these boards?

 

 I really enjoyed that scene as well.  I'd rather see people try to have some fun rather that just lay around camp scratching their bug bites.  As for the boards, they looked for the flattest pieces of driftwood they could find.

[CletusMusashi]

I can't help thinking that maybe production sort of helped those pieces of driftwood find their way to the hot surfer girls.

[LadyChatts]

I can't help thinking that maybe production sort of helped those pieces of driftwood find their way to the hot surfer girls.

 

Probably won't be long before they just supply them with surf boards.  They give them everything else.  I feel like the house guests on Big Brother are more deprived.

[viajero]

I can't help thinking that maybe production sort of helped those pieces of driftwood find their way to the hot surfer girls.

 

Not necessarily.  My kids did the exact same thing at a beach in Guanacaste, Costa Rica, just a few miles down the coast from San Juan del Sur.  I guess that's one of the reasons why I liked that scene so much.

 

It's also nice to see someone enjoy that beach while they can, because if the Chinese ever actually build that canal through Nicaragua, that area is bound to be affected (not that I think that canal will ever actually get built).

Edited March 13, 2015 by viajero

[SlackerInc]

I thought it was  great episode, yeah the boot was obvious but they are doing great job showing the dynamics of each tribe. I think this format of only having one challenge per episode is the key to that.

 

I had already "liked" a post complaining how boring the episode was; so it's kind of weird that I "liked" this one too.  But mulling your point, I think it was actually only boring starting with a bad challenge (and a pathetic performance by the losing tribe), leading into an obvious boot.  But you're right: the look at how dynamics were shaping up in the other two tribes earlier in the episode was actually decent.

 

I really wonder about that Yahoo executive: are those people being too picky and unwilling to vibrate at her frequency?  Or would I really find her annoying if I were around her for hours and hours?

[KimberStormer]

Boooring,

 

Thanks,editors, for desperately trying to create suspense in this episode.

 

Agree. Boring episode.

 

I guess I'm a weirdo because I loved it.  At some point I was like "there hasn't even been a challenge yet, this episode is great!"  Because there was so much craziness.

 

I sort of agree with people that hardly anyone comes off very well so far, but I disagree that it is boring and a terrible cast.  That said, I was not into Cagayan at all, and that was everyone's favorite or something, and I liked One World, so I'm an outlier.  I'm interested to see if Probst's hype is lived up to--I find when he's excited it's either "Yes Jeff, this is the best" (Micronesia) or "No Jeff, this is the worst" (Redemption Island).

 

Blue Collar tribe, everyone is wrong!  Mike is an idiot as well as an ass for making such a huge deal of the supposed laziness of his tribemates.  Lindsey had a good point and I was with her, but her God thing was just essentially childish.  (I think she's pretty and I am not against face tattoos.)  Sierra was better, though I think I should abandon my hopes for her to emerge as a new Kim (these hopes were probably entirely based on her being tall, anyway.)  Rodney continues to be fucking scary!  I had a dormmate in college who was a nice guy who had a weekly D&D session with a bunch of dudes who were all exactly like Dan.  I could always hear them through my door no matter what I did, and I can say that the out-of-nowhere "yeah well your mother's a whore" line is exactly the kind of thing they'd say.  But Dan, this isn't D&D, it's Survivor.  Kelly survives intact by adopting the ultimate Survivor camoflage, the name Kelly, which renders you invisible.

 

I found Shirin endearing but also terrible at the game this week.  Hopefully she will manage to join up with her No Collar soulmates in a swap or merge.  Tyler I admit is playing well but I can't stand the dude.  Same with Carolyn.  I still like Jenn and Hali, and while Joe is clearly not the Malcolm they want him to be, he seems like a nice kid.  Why did Hali vote for Will??  I thought it might be Joe, since the two girls seem to be a tight duo, but no.  Idol fear? 

 

The challenge seemed pretty basic. I was distracted when Jeff was explaining it and so I kept thinking there was another element after filling up the bucket. I was so surprised when it was over.

 

Me too!  But I love a simple challenge.  The simpler the better to me. 

 

Hali: Surfing is the third most important thing in my life.

Khaleesi (8): You don't say something like that and not tell people what #1 and 2 are.

 

I look forward to the Khaleesi Report like I look forward to Ponderosa clips, the perfect dessert to my Survivor meal!

 

Have they ever cast a hairdresser that doesn't look like fright-night?  And I mean not considering the roughing-it aspect.

 

Erinn is gorgeous and no face tattoos or whatever makes people think Lindsey looks horrible.

 

 Yeah as a married guy I can understand

 

truthaboutluv is a dude, mind blown.

[truthaboutluv]

I'm not, lol, I just phrased that very badly. What I meant was I understood why Tyler, as a married guy, would feel uncomfortable. Nope, definitely a woman.

[JudyObscure]

Gathering up mind scraps, putting them back together.

[Wings]

Tyler does not have to look at a woman's naked body if he feels uncomfortable.  He can walk away.  It is not like she is sitting around camp with her bottoms off.  

Gathering up mind scraps, putting them back together.

 

 

This is hysterical.  

[marys1000]

I feel a little bad for the losing 3 on the No collar tribe.  The losing 3 maybe didn't play the smartest and wouldn't necesarily gone far anywhere else,  but I think the makup of that tribe, and the bad luck of being on it are also factors.  I'm not seeing very good game play from those 3, more like a freaking car crash everyweek but they will likely survive to the merge and get a whole new life and chance at the game, not having done anything particular to earn it.  Joe certainly doomed them in the challenge this week.  I can't believe he's said in interviews that he knows deaf people when he asked her that question, and then couldn'tfigure out a better plan for the challenge. 

From Cochran's interview with Nina

Cochran: Throughout your time on Survivor, you seemed frustrated that your tribemates were alienating you, but we didn’t see many attempts from you to ingratiate yourself with them. Did you view it as a lost cause? And what do you think the reason for your “outcast” status really was?

Nina: Well, the thing you don’t see as the audience is that I did try to work my way in with them. There were several times when I would talk to Hali and Joe and offer to help them around camp, and they’d just say they didn’t need my help. I’d go into the ocean to strike up a conversation with some of them and try to be social, but they would look at me and walk away. And it happened right from the start. When we first got to the island, Joe asked me whether I would even be able to participate in Survivor challenges, and I said “Yeah.” Then he asked, “But what if we have a challenge that involves calling out?” I told him I’d be the caller. I was never able to recover from that — he put the seed in my head that he doubted me, and that it was because of my hearing. Even going into the game, though, I figured they either weren’t going to like me because of my hearing, or they’ll vote me out because they’re afraid I’d get sympathy because of it.

Cochran: You mentioned Joe’s uncertainty about your value in challenges; this obviously calls to mind last night’s immunity challenge, which Joe had you sit out. What was your reaction to being told you shouldn’t participate? And was there a reason why, once you saw your tribe struggling, you didn’t hop in and try to make the best of the situation?

Nina: When Joe first suggested I sit out the challenge, I actually thought his plan might work. When I saw it wasn’t working, though, I kept telling Joe, “Let me help you! Let me help you!” But Joe and Jenn just told me to “Go over there” on the sidelines. I tried helping, but figured that — since I’m already on the outs — I might be better off just doing what they say and following their orders. When they finally said I could come over and help them plug the holes, it was too late.

[ProfCrash]

Nina said the same thing in RHAP.

[Special K]

Wow that Nina interview puts a whole different caste on the situation, if what she says is true.  Makes one wonder why TPTB might not want to show Jenn and especially Joe in such a bad light....

[cooksdelight]

Wow that Nina interview puts a whole different caste on the situation, if what she says is true.  Makes one wonder why TPTB might not want to show Jenn and especially Joe in such a bad light....

People never believe me when I tell them that So-and-So got a really bad edit, they aren't like that. Whathisname is getting a really good edit when they were really a dick around camp. It's been like that from the beginning of this show. We always see Joe in a very good light, even in this episode he came across as sincere when he said he didn't mean to exclude Nina.

[Guest]

I didn't see anyone plugging holes and I wondered if they were specifically told not to insert any digits for obvious safety reasons (they'd be easily broken).  Covering holes with your hand while also carrying the bucket would be too hard, so it's probably better to just forget the holes and hightail it over, which they all seemed to be doing.  So again, how Nina being on the rim of that barrel would've helped, I just don't know.  

 

And if Joe could psych out her game confidence that easily (though I kind of doubt he meant to at all) then that's good Survivor game play.  

[Gentian root]

I can't help thinking that maybe production sort of helped those pieces of driftwood find their way to the hot surfer girls.

Yet they kept their bikinis on to surf.  I guess No-Collars can't take direction, even from me sitting here in the future.

[KarateKate]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant

 

It is a long read but a cochlear implant is not even close to glasses for a person with bad vision. I can put on my glasses and gain 20/20 vision. A choclear implant does not give a deaf person perfect hearing. The article is very long, and gets into the controversy regarding their use, but there are a lot of different parts that have to work for the implants to work. [snip]

 

So yeah, she is deaf and the implants help but do not give her perfect or even near perfect hearing. They help her to function but she is not able to participate in the same way a hearing person can and that is a disadvantage.

Disclaimer, I am not deaf. But I have a friend with cochlears and this is the explanation he used that clicked it for me:

It's like Geordie La Forge's visor.

Hearing aids HELP you hear. Glasses HELP you see. The cochlears don't HELP you hear, they do the hearing for you and transmit it into your brain. Georgie's visor didn't help him see... it SAW for him and transmitted it into his brain.

Cochlears bypass the ear. It's at your ear, but it transmits straight into your brain a totally different way of processing "audible sound" than a hearing person would hear it using their ears. 

It probably says a lot about me that *this* is what made it make sense for me, but maybe it will help others, too. Other nerds, obviously.

 

Edited March 13, 2015 by KarateKate

[peachmangosteen]

Tyler I admit is playing well but I can't stand the dude.  Same with Carolyn.

 

I'm glad someone else doesn't like Carolyn. I really want to like her, but she just annoys me so much.

 

That Nina interview gives me some reasoning for my kinda irrational Joe hate so yay!

 

Since there's been a lot of talk about cochlear implants, I thought I'd link this vid that has a simulation of them.

[ProfCrash]

Carolyn seems to have disappeared since the first episode. She was sitting back laughing while others were searching for the idol but I think that is about all that we saw of her. Sierra is also invisible. Which explains why I didn't discuss either of them in my like, dislike post.

 

I hope that Shirin ends up on the same tribe as Hali because I think the two of them will work well together.

 

ETA: Thanks for posting that video. Just a heads up, there is no sound for the first minute or so. Then you get the different sounds based on the different type of hearing loss and what electronic signal is sent.

Edited March 13, 2015 by ProfCrash

[NutMeg]

I hope that Shirin ends up on the same tribe as Hali because I think the two of them will work well together.

 

Mileage varies, etc. but I don't see them working together easily - part of a same alliance, maybe, tight, no. Hali seems very observant and able to read the room, while Shirin seems unable to sense the mood around her or unwilling to accommodate her tribemates for the sake of her long term game. In that respect, and as different as they are in terms of personality, Shirin seems to me closer to Nina in terms of gameplay than to Hali. 

 

Or, in other words, at this stage I view Shirin as a "character" and Hali as an emerging "player". 

Edited March 13, 2015 by NutMeg

[ghoulina]

I just have to say I'm kind of disappointed that we haven't seen any more challenges like the first one, where teams could choose something different based on their skill sets. I thought that was a unique twist, and hoped it would continue. 

[himela]

What a boring and predictablle episide. It's like watching the first seasons of Survivor where there were no twists and almost no strategies and people were just existing there. I don't remember when it was the last time I saw Survivor players know that little of the game. I mean, Will had NO excuse whatsoever for deciding to vote out Vince by himself. Above that, the rest of his alliance accepted it without getting mad or suspicious. Then Mike creates a huge drama about Rodney not cutting wood the moment he ordered him to and Rodney starts acting like a jerk totally forgetting that Survivor is not real life and one should make compromises in order not to create enemies around them. Then Joaquin saying to Shirin in her face he doesn't trust her. What? Are we playing Survivor 1 or something? Don't people know by now true feelings should not be discussed? Survivor playing is wearing a mask, it's not real life. I don't believe the producers chose these people who seem to have no idea of the game to be in its 30th anniversary season. Even Jeff seemed angry at how bad the red tribe did in the challenge and that they had to be in tribal council once again. What I see is people who have no clue of strategy, no social skills and no intention of making some compromises at their personalities in order to move further in the game. I have no other comment for this episode other than it was really boring and vanilla survivor.

[Miss Scarlet]

I had an issue with the way Shirin nudity was dealt with because the way Joaquin made it sound seemed like because Tyler's married, Shirin shouldn't be naked. It just reeks of all the time men have cheated on their partners and then blamed the other women for being too attractive. Or like how there's been some craziness recently about how women shouldn't wear yoga pants because their bodies look too alluring in them. I can't even believe that this kind of bull**** exists.

 

I don't care for the Golden Joe edit and I don't like it when they do that with any of the contestants. I liked Malcolm, but he didn't need to be shoved down our throat. And I never believed Spencer's edit. Even with the golden boy edit I still saw that he was annoying, entitled and rude (especially to Kass, who I didn't even like). And the edit tried to make Joe looked so sweet when he was apologizing after the challenge, but it was a dick move and I don't think the apology made up for it.

 

Like I said last week, all the No Collars dealt with the problematic tribe dynamic poorly. But there is something weird about the alliance of Joe/Hali/Jenn claiming that they don't exclude Nina right after completely excluding her from the challenge. I'm not sure how they can really claim otherwise. Maybe they were referring specifically to camp life and saying they don't exclude her around camp, but exclusion is exclusion. And I remember Nina falling down once or twice in the first challenge, but I don't think she performed so badly that she should have been dismissed from this challenge. 

 

I thought this part of her EW interview shed some light on her problems with Jenn/Hali (http://www.ew.com/article/2015/03/12/pissed-nina-survivor-unloads-her-team-and-says-she-was-wrong-tribe)

 

 

 

On the other women in her tribe:
“Jenn hardly ever talked to me. She couldn’t look me in the face and talk to me. Hali, she approached me and tried to be nice and everything, but if Jenn was around, Hali wasn’t nice to me either. She ignored me.”

It also sounds like maybe she felt excluded from the very beginning because of things that Vince told her, which may or may not have been true. So the whole exclusion deal may just have started because of Vince being dishonest/gossiping/miscommunication (http://cartermatt.com/156514/survivor-worlds-apart-exclusive-nina-poersch-on-vote-immunity-idol-plan-difficulties-with-jenn-hali/)

 

 

There was one point when Vince told me that we were all going to sit down and have dinner, but I wasn’t there. He said ‘Nina’s not here, should we wait for her,’ and Jenn said ‘no, why should we? She’s not part of the tribe.’ As for whether she said that I don’t know, but that’s what Vince told me.

Also, apparently she got on the show because she goes to the same hairdresser as Natalie Tenerelli and Natalie recommended Nina to Benry, who works for Survivor casting. I cannot believe they gave Benry a job in casting. *shudders*

[truthaboutluv]

I had an issue with the way Shirin nudity was dealt with because the way Joaquin made it sound seemed like because Tyler's married, Shirin shouldn't be naked.

 

 

Joaquin's words were essentially "I could tell Tyler was doing everything to look anywhere but at Shirin." In other words, it was simply an observation by him that Tyler, who is married was clearly uncomfortable and trying very hard not to look at Shirin's half naked body. I fail to see the implication in that, that somehow Shirin has no right to be naked in front of married Tyler. It was merely an observation that this woman was half naked and it was weird and uncomfortable for them. Much as Shirin has a right to be naked, others have a right to be uncomfortable by it and not want to look at her nakedness. 

Edited March 13, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Guest]

Thanks for those links, wudpixie.  Vince, Nina and So can blame whoever they want but I think all three got voted out because all three made disastrous moves.  So all the complaining about, "I was on the wrong tribe/season" and "mean people were mean to me", is irrelevant.  Because they didn't understand the game.  

[himela]

These people in the red team are really clueless. They should have gotten at least irritated that Will made the decision about voting for Vince by himself and should have voted Will out this tribal council, creating a very grateful and loyal ally, Nina. Then the four of them would be really tight when a merge would happen. But what they did was follow their real life feelings (finding Nina annoying) and they let her go, keeping Will who is just a loose cannon and selfish, like he has shown. Omg, have these people ever watched survivor before?

[ProfCrash]

Mileage varies, etc. but I don't see them working together easily - part of a same alliance, maybe, tight, no. Hali seems very observant and able to read the room, while Shirin seems unable to sense the mood around her or unwilling to accommodate her tribemates for the sake of her long term game. In that respect, and as different as they are in terms of personality, Shirin seems to me closer to Nina in terms of gameplay than to Hali. 

 

Or, in other words, at this stage I view Shirin as a "character" and Hali as an emerging "player". 

I see Shirin as a better fit on the No Collar tribe then Nina. She is happy to be out there enjoying the environment. I could see Jenn and Hali being interested in watching the monkey sex or discussing it then anyone on the White Collar tribe. Shirin would have been fine with the skinny dipping and probably would join in on the body boarding. She is deemed White Collar because she is an exec at Google but that is not the same as being an exec at another business. We saw that she and Joaquin don't get along all that well but I don't think we have had heard from Carolyn, Max, or Tyler about wanting to get rid of Shirin. She was having fun poking at Joaquin, maybe not the best game play but she was pretty up front with her comments.

 

Hali is well spoken, well read but young. She made an effort to get to know Nina but it does not sound like she was willing to sacrifice her relationship with Jenn, and the spontaneous fun that comes from it, for a more serious Nina. Shirin is a nice middle ground. She is a bit of a free spirit but someone who is a bit more grounded and successful. Personality wise, I think she and Hali are pretty similar.

 

There is a real difference in Nina's inability to connect with the younger members of the tribe and Shirin's picking at Joaquin. Nina got upset and emotionally because she was excluded. Shirin matter of factly asked Joaquin what his problem was with her and listened. I doubt she will change her attitude but she didn't seem bothered by Joaquin's not liking her. I suspect that Shirin has more game savy then Nina and that Shirin is closer to Carolyn and Max then we think. Shirin doesn't strike me as the type of burn bridges and not try to mend them with the people who she thinks are important to her survival.

 

But that is based on very little air time. I think the Shirin/Joaquin stuff was tossed in so that we would see something from White Collar and to give Shirin a bit more flavor. She didn't get so much time that it looks like she is gone soon but enough so that we can see where she is going down the line.

[KimberStormer]

I'm not, lol, I just phrased that very badly. What I meant was I understood why Tyler, as a married guy, would feel uncomfortable. Nope, definitely a woman.

 

Phew!  Things make sense again.

 

Mileage varies, etc. but I don't see them working together easily - part of a same alliance, maybe, tight, no. Hali seems very observant and able to read the room, while Shirin seems unable to sense the mood around her or unwilling to accommodate her tribemates for the sake of her long term game. In that respect, and as different as they are in terms of personality, Shirin seems to me closer to Nina in terms of gameplay than to Hali. 

 

Or, in other words, at this stage I view Shirin as a "character" and Hali as an emerging "player". 

 

To me this kind of complimentary/contrasting style could work well.  Just because they're different doesn't mean they wouldn't work together perfectly.

 

Unfortunately I have learned not to get too attached to young women I like, but honestly, if we imagined that only the women were in this season -- Jenn, Hali, Shirin, Kelly, Sierra, Lindsey, Carolyn, So, and Nina -- it suddenly becomes a much more likeable but still wacky and interesting cast, to me.  C'mon girls, let's get rid of these bossy/slimy/psycho/jerkish dudes and have a good game.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

What I see is people who have no clue of strategy, no social skills and no intention of making some compromises at their personalities in order to move further in the game. 

But people like that who aren't familiar with Survivor always make entertainingly disastrous decisions.  They don't know any better and I like the way it stirs up the show.

[Special K]

But people like that who aren't familiar with Survivor always make entertainingly disastrous decisions.  They don't know any better and I like the way it stirs up the show.

 

Honestly, I suspect TPTB think the same way.  They love bone-headed moves, especially when they mess up "smart" or returnee players' plans.*

 

ETA footnote: *except if it involves Boston Rob

Edited March 13, 2015 by Special K

[himela]

But people like that who aren't familiar with Survivor always make entertainingly disastrous decisions.  They don't know any better and I like the way it stirs up the show.

I totally don't like it. I find it unfair that people who have no clue of Survivor strategies are in there playing the game and people who are really good at it don't get the chance to play it for reasons like they are not cute enough or not interesting enough or characters enough etc. I liked Cochran winning so much and it showed how the game is meant to be played. I am someone who thought Russell was a great player as well and I hate Boston Rob's arrogant game. What I find an ideal strategy is when you can use people to get you to the final and then they adore and admire you and your gameplay so much (even when this gameplay is having used them) that they just hand you the million dollars. Clueless people in my opinion take the position of really smart players and I find it unfair.

[ratgirlagogo]

We can agree to disagree in that case, especially about Russell.  While I don't hate Boston Rob I think he's overrated, most of all by Probst.

[truthaboutluv]

What I find an ideal strategy is when you can use people to get you to the final and then they adore and admire you and your gameplay so much (even when this gameplay is having used them) that they just hand you the million dollars.

 

 

But then by your definition, wouldn't Russell be a bad player because that was always the problem for Russell. He'd get to the end sure, but everyone hated him. 

[LanceM]

Survivor is not a game played by emotionless robots. it is played by human beings with emotions and different personalities forced to live together outside in the elements's, with little food and little sleep. Of course personalities are going to clash and people are going to make dumb decisions because of it not because tthey don't know the game but because they are human. It is what makes the game great and it has been this way since day one. The best lplayers are usually the ones who can keep their emotions in check but not always as Sandra has proved in both games she won.

Edited March 13, 2015 by LanceM

[himela]

But then by your definition, wouldn't Russell be a bad player because that was always the problem for Russell. He'd get to the end sure, but everyone hated him. 

Yes you are right, Russell only lacked the social game because he didn't know how to compliment people and make them feel at ease.

[Jersey Guy 87]

No Collar is so ridiculously and ironically pretentious about their collar.

 

 

In other words, they are classic hipsters.

 

I'm no stranger to crossing lines, and I don't consider much if anything to be off-limits when it comes to sarcasm and comedy.

 

But even I would strongly presume that calling someone's mother a "whore" will not be well received until pretty damned-well proven otherwise.

 

Agreed.  That's a line some people will cross, some will not.  You don't cross it until you're sure about the other person.  Dan screwed up royally.

 

The three tribe dynamic is interesting.  I think being on the tribe that gets decimated is actually an advantage (assuming you're not part of the carnage, obviously).  At some point there will be a reshuffling - probably from three tribes to two.  You become a swing vote/vote for sale on your new tribe.  Then there's the merge to one tribe - your other one or two surviving tribemates should also be still in the game so you're now in a position to pick an alliance and ride it.  The blue collar tribe is chock full of crazy, and the white collar tribe has divisions as well.  Depending on when the first shuffle happens Joe, Jenn and Hali could be in a good position.

[Guest]

Yes you are right, Russell only lacked the social game because he didn't know how to compliment people and make them feel at ease.

I feel like Russell lacked way more than that, socially.  He had zero social game at all.  I'd say he had an anti-social game even.

 

Maybe they are trying to weave in Survivor-idiots with Survivor-superfans like how they've always admitted they like casting a mix of high and low-IQ people.  I kind of agree with you, though, himela.  I guess it's sort of fun to shake my head at Nina exploding her own alliance and then seeing her get voted out but it'd be more fun to see good players play well, like in any game.  

[viajero]

What I find an ideal strategy is when you can use people to get you to the final and then they adore and admire you and your gameplay so much (even when this gameplay is having used them) that they just hand you the million dollars.

 

 

By this standard, Kim is one of the all time greats at this game.  I have no problem with that, particularly as she did it on her first try (unlike say, Boston Rob).

[iMonrey]

 

Carolyn didn't use the clues, though.  She went looking on her own and found hers.  Anyone on either of the other two tribes could've gone looking by now.

Carolyn saw So looking around the water well, so she knew it was somewhere around there.

 

That said, in the past we've seen people just find idols clear out of the blue with no clue whatsoever (hello, Russell Hantz), so it's actually unfathomable at this point - if you watch the show at all - that you wouldn't spend every spare minute searching your campsite. They're just barely hidden anymore.

[LadyChatts]

I guess I'm a weirdo because I loved it.  At some point I was like "there hasn't even been a challenge yet, this episode is great!"  Because there was so much craziness.

 

I sort of agree with people that hardly anyone comes off very well so far, but I disagree that it is boring and a terrible cast.  That said, I was not into Cagayan at all, and that was everyone's favorite or something, and I liked One World, so I'm an outlier.  I'm interested to see if Probst's hype is lived up to--I find when he's excited it's either "Yes Jeff, this is the best" (Micronesia) or "No Jeff, this is the worst" (Redemption Island).

 

Blue Collar tribe, everyone is wrong!  Mike is an idiot as well as an ass for making such a huge deal of the supposed laziness of his tribemates.  Lindsey had a good point and I was with her, but her God thing was just essentially childish.  (I think she's pretty and I am not against face tattoos.)  Sierra was better, though I think I should abandon my hopes for her to emerge as a new Kim (these hopes were probably entirely based on her being tall, anyway.)  Rodney continues to be fucking scary!  I had a dormmate in college who was a nice guy who had a weekly D&D session with a bunch of dudes who were all exactly like Dan.  I could always hear them through my door no matter what I did, and I can say that the out-of-nowhere "yeah well your mother's a whore" line is exactly the kind of thing they'd say.  But Dan, this isn't D&D, it's Survivor.  Kelly survives intact by adopting the ultimate Survivor camoflage, the name Kelly, which renders you invisible.

 

I found Shirin endearing but also terrible at the game this week.  Hopefully she will manage to join up with her No Collar soulmates in a swap or merge.  Tyler I admit is playing well but I can't stand the dude.  Same with Carolyn.  I still like Jenn and Hali, and while Joe is clearly not the Malcolm they want him to be, he seems like a nice kid.  Why did Hali vote for Will??  I thought it might be Joe, since the two girls seem to be a tight duo, but no.  Idol fear? 

 

The episode was good, up until the challenge and NC falling apart.  The only thing that might have made it slightly less predictable is if Nina did survive over Will.  But even then, it was obvious the vote was going to be one of them.  But even the best seasons of Survivor have episodes here and there that aren't good compared to the rest of the season.  I'm also curious if Jeff's pre-season hype comes true or not.  Right now it's too early to tell.  I like this cast a lot, and am really curious for the tribe swap to happen and to see what ends up aligning with who.  I just hope Rodney and Lindsey get the boot soon.  I don't care to see them make the merge and be on the jury (or worse, make it to the end and possibly win).  I agree with those who say that even if NC loses another IC and goes into the swap with 3 members, they are still in a good position.  Numbers don't always matter like they did once upon a time, especially later in the game and with idols, blindsides, and twists happening.  The whole numbers thing and tribes sticking together until the other tribe was completely voted off made for some boring early seasons.  I liked when contestants actually made a move and shook things up.

 

I enjoyed seeing more of the team dynamics this week, especially over at BC.  I felt like up until this week, I only remembered Dan from that tribe (and not for reasons I wanted to).  They're another tribe that intrigues me, since this week it was Rodney/Lindsey vs Mike/Dan, and next week Lindsey goes off Rodney.  I don't have an impression on Sierra or Kelly yet (has Sierra even had a confessional?)  Kelly is barely on the radar.  I have a feeling, though, that BC goes into the merge with the most numbers.  Shirin, I'm trying to figure out if acting like a crazy person is just her or strategy.  Either way, I like her.  Her social game isn't that great, but I wonder if calling Joaquin out has more to do with the fact that she feels in a good position on her tribe.  I'm assuming she and Carolyn think he's the next to go if they lose a challenge.  Could just be her personality, too, which I can admire.  Joaquin comes off as a grade-A douche.  His first confessional about women and boozing it up makes me think he'll blow his money just like Fabio did after Nicaragua.  In a tribe swap, I think Jenn/Joe could be targets from NC though I believe Hali and Will could skate on through the merge.  Hard to say with BC, but a tribe swap could be what Mike and Dan need to survive.  Much like Will, no one will consider Dan a physical threat.  Unlike Will, Dan doesn't seem to have much game and shoots his mouth off.  But why not have someone sitting next to you in the end that's managed to offend the entire jury?  WC it's hard to say.  I wouldn't mind losing Max, as I think he's more about building some everlasting character that Survivor fans will forever reference, especially when they are making comparisons with new players to old ones.  Carolyn has the idol and may need to use it during a tribe swap, but I'm sticking with she goes pre-merge and is blindsided.  I like Tyler, and he might be being underestimated as a player.  No one has really done or said anything yet that's overly offended me or turned me off.  At least, the people still in the game.  The people I didn't like have already gotten the boot.

Edited March 13, 2015 by LadyChatts

[ratgirlagogo]

 

By this standard, Kim is one of the all time greats at this game.

Kim Spradlin is one of the all-time greats at this game by virtually ANY standard - except Jeff Probst's standard, of course.

[Paws]

 

Rodney -- General Contractor. Would anyone here hire a GC who said "Get off my back, I'll do it when I'm good and ready, right now I'm eating lunch?"

there's nothing wrong with saying that to somebody who did not hire you 

[ProfCrash]

Kim Spradlin is one of the all-time greats at this game by virtually ANY standard - except Jeff Probst's standard, of course.

Jeff listed her as one of his top ten winners when Josh Wiggler interviewed him for Parade. I was shocked. Off the top of my head, Jeff had Sandra, Parvati, Kim, Richard, Yul, Tom, Cochran, Tony and Boston Rob. I can't remember the tenth person

[fishcakes]

I find it unfair that people who have no clue of Survivor strategies are in there playing the game and people who are really good at it don't get the chance to play it

 

I don't think it's unfair; it's just part of the game that a good player needs to take into account when crafting his or her own strategy.

 

Jeff listed her as one of his top ten winners when Josh Wiggler interviewed him for Parade. I was shocked. Off the top of my head, Jeff had Sandra, Parvati, Kim, Richard, Yul, Tom, Cochran, Tony and Boston Rob. I can't remember the tenth person

 

Denise from the Philippines season was the other person.

Edited March 13, 2015 by fishcakes

[truthaboutluv]

Also, people have been not so great at the start of the game and gotten better while in the game. Isn't that what happened with Kathy and Neleh during Marquesas? They were pretty much on their way to being pagonged until they got a clue and turned things around for themselves. 

[BigRedCheese]

 

Wow that Nina interview puts a whole different caste on the situation

 

The Vince interview was even more enlightening, he was really trying to turn Nina against the two young girls so that Nina would feel he was the only one she could trust. He said he really exaggerated what they were saying about her, and personally, I think he was probably outright making things up. Really, it seems that Nina got screwed by Survivor by being put on a tribe that was supposed to be free spirits, even though she wasn't one, then got screwed by Vince lying to her (although, that's part of the game, it just seems skeevy to lie to a deaf woman about what people are saying about her), and I know some think screwed over by Jenn (although, I don't think so myself). I think she also screwed herself over with her overall attitude, but she was going by what she thought her was her closest tribe mate was telling her. I really feel sorry for this woman. 

[truthaboutluv]

The Vince interview also calls into question Nina's interpretation of things. Not to say that she's lying but just that he might have played into her head and her insecurities so much that it led to her perceiving everything as some criticism and attack against her for her disability which only frustrated the other players even more because then it was like "she says she doesn't want to be treated differently but she makes everything about her hearing loss." That's what always tricky about this show and this game and why as they always say it as much a social game as a physical one.

Edited March 13, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[Guest]

In this Nina interview she uses the term "100%" or "110%" eight times.  

 

http://parade.com/382506/joshwigler/survivor-worlds-apart-episode-3-exit-interview-my-experience-out-there-was-supreme/

 

I feel like she'd be more believable if she'd be less emphatic.  

[peachmangosteen]

Unfortunately I have learned not to get too attached to young women I like, but honestly, if we imagined that only the women were in this season -- Jenn, Hali, Shirin, Kelly, Sierra, Lindsey, Carolyn, So, and Nina -- it suddenly becomes a much more likeable but still wacky and interesting cast, to me.  C'mon girls, let's get rid of these bossy/slimy/psycho/jerkish dudes and have a good game.

 

Oh, I wish! That would be delightful. I don't find a single man this season (or any season for that matter!) to be that interesting. Well, maybe Tyler, because I think he's got game, but I hate him so.

[truthaboutluv]

I'm as much of a feminist as the next person but I have found many female contestants equally annoying as I've found some male contestants. Case in point, Mike may have been annoying in his demanding people work when he wants but Lindsay in making her case went from having a good point to being as equally obnoxious as Mike. As someone else noted, whatever faults Survivor has, it's the one show one can't say there's been a main prototype of winner - we've seen women, men, gay, straight, black, white, Asian, Hispanic, young, old, etc. 

Edited March 14, 2015 by truthaboutluv