S30.E04: S30.E04: Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner / S03.E05: We're Finally Playing Some Survivor

[dizzyd]

So a day later, as lopsided as these tribes are, I am still flummoxed as to why Peachy and Burnett think a male winner indicates a great season that they can even air comments that insinuate women are airheads and followers.  But most of the best seasons have had female winners: Heroes v Villains, Pearl Islands, Micronesia, Aussie Outback, Cagayan, All Stars to name a few.  By this point of the season, I usually have at least one person to root for and in these slim pickings of buffoons, I think its going to have to be Jenn, guess what, another woman.  The men here, including a self-proclaimed superfan, couldn't find a HII, even Russell Hantz could do that. Now Rob Cesternino was a great superfan and a male. Sorry if I'm being too bitchy about the generally underlying tones of condescension towards women that usually govern this show, but this episode was rife with blatant misogynistic sentiments that it needed to be said.

 

And they need to retire that rewards challenge, it was a recipe for disaster.

[KarateKate]

I don't understand the problem with Shirin having learnt to kill something. Is it because most Americans don't eat rabbit? Or are just squeamish about realizing that what they eat comes from something that was once alive?[...]

Emphasis mine, and that's it in a nutshell. I have some friends that have chickens and rabbits - both raised for food - and you would think they were worse than Cruella DeVil when people realize that they kill and eat their rabbits.

Even MrKate seemed to not really realize (normal, modern) people eat rabbits when we were watching.

I say it's because they don't sell it at Kroger.

Edited March 20, 2015 by KarateKate

[ProfCrash]

The WHite Collar tribe is all kinds of annoying. Joaquin is a douche, Max was arrogant, Shirin is always on, and Carolyn so wants to make moves for making moves sake. Tyler is still a blank slate to me.

The Blue Collar tribe has three mysogynysts, an awful player in Sierra and Kelly.

The No Collars are ok. Jenn is brash and will lose because of it. Hali seems decent but has had a few not so great moments. Joe is being given a good edit but his treatment of Nina rubs me wrong.

I want Kelly to be the anti-Tony and be a strong player who uses her cop skills to navigate the collected nut job

[fishcakes]

I'm a meat-eater, so I have no issue in general with slaughtering animals for food, but I don't like that Shirin killed a chicken and a rabbit simply in order to practice killing. Going by past seasons, the likelihood that anyone on Survivor is going to kill a chicken is very low and the likelihood of killing a rabbit is non-existent. The most I think anyone who wants to prepare for the possibility should do is read up about what the most humane way to do it is, given that they probably only have rocks and dull machetes to get the job done. But to kill something just so you can say you know how is a little gross.

Edited March 19, 2015 by fishcakes

[Miss Scarlet]

So now we know why Probst is so high on this season - it has the most sexism of any season that I can remember.

 

Does Survivor specifically look for disgusting, sexist men? Or is it just coincidence that they always find awful ones?

 

Lindsey: "The winner is going to be from this tribe"

Me: "I hope not because if that's true then I will never watch another season of this show"

Edited March 19, 2015 by wudpixie

[Donny Ketchum]

But most of the best seasons have had female winners: Heroes v Villains, Pearl Islands, Micronesia, Aussie Outback, Cagayan, All Stars to name a few.

Sadly, Cagayan was won by a man, though there was a woman I was rooting for in it: my girl, Tasha.  And as popular as All-Stars is, and even though a woman did win it, most of the strategy was still driven by one of the most overrated men in Survivor history.

[dizzyd]

Oops, I meant Natalie in San Juan :-)

[Miss Scarlet]

The Blue Collar tribe disgusts me. This episode made me enraged.

 

Rodney - STFU. He is an idiot and Lindsey and Sierra were absolutely correct in calling out his misogynistic bullshit. And trying to rationalize it by saying it's okay because his mother is the most important person in his life? He is the worst. I wanted to reach into the screen and hit him over the head.

 

Dan - STFU. It was really amazing when his response to Lindsey's complaints about Rodney's misogyny was to give a confessional and be just as misogynistic as Rodney was. He has a mind-boggling lack of self-awareness and social skill. It would almost be comical, if it wasn't so offensive. Oh and saying that women like to empathize and men like to solve problems? Yes, because clearly women don't like to solve the problems and don't have to ability to. *sarcasm* Lord, I feel sorry for his wife. And his constant over-the-top way of mansplaining everything and attacking Sierra was gross. In the first episode I felt a bit badly for him when Lindsey and Sierra were making fun of him, but I can see now why they would have been at their wits end with him on the first hour of day 1. 

 

Mike - Yes, women want apologies and to be told they're right all time because women are just so emotionaaaaal. No man has ever wanted to be told he's right.

 

I hate the fact that, unless they throw a challenge, these 3 guys are likely to make it to the merge. I do not want to see them on the jury. Oh and it doesn't surprise me in the least that Rodney and Joaquin are going to "bro down". Gross. I hope Sierra orchestrates all of their blindsides.

 

Jeff's constant degradation of the white collars is gross. I'm sure he's absolutely delighted that Shirin and Max struggled out there. To quote Linda Holmes on twitter, has there ever been anyone on TV more resentful of people who are considered to intellectuals than Jeff Probst? He has a serious inferiority complex. His laughing and enthusiastically nodding his head when Mike was saying that white collars just take whatever blue collars build was so dumb. And I think he would have agreed with all the sexist crap being thrown around at the Blue Collar TC, but he is too aware of the "millions of viewers" that he referenced and said would hate Rodney. 

 

I thought the Nina stuff was painful, but this episode was worse. 

Edited March 19, 2015 by wudpixie

[HurricaneVal]

I say it's because they don't sell it at Kroger.

 

My local QFC (a Kroger "brand" now that I think about it) occasionally sells whole rabbits in the meat section.  They........look disturbingly like skinned pets (a cat or small dog), so I can see how folks would find that rather off-putting.  Now, I've eaten rabbit myself, and it is good, but even at that I still would not have bought one of those whole rabbits to take home and cook.  The visual was too much for me.  Now, if the butcher had cut it up like a chicken, then that is a different story!

 

The daughter of a good friend is profoundly deaf, and my friend and I were rooting for Nina and were dismayed at how her tribemates treated her--as in neglecting to face her when speaking, or bring her attention to something she may not be aware of happening, or making fun of her not being "in the know" of the tribe happenings.  Excluding her because she didn't hear them saying they were going for a swim for instance, was kind of mean with the whole "well, you could have come along!" excuse.  Except she didn't know what they were planning, so how could she "come along"?

 

But Nina did seem to be rather universally hated in her tribe, which made us wonder that maybe she was kind of an asshole, but got a good edit because of her handicap.  Even so the "got what she deserved" comment from Hali was a little over the line for me.  Nina would have had to have been really, really awful for that comment to have even been applicable, but there was no inkling of that in her edit.  End-of-her-rope frustration and lashing out because of that?  Yes, that was very apparent in her story arc.  But nothing egregious (again, maybe it was left on the cutting room floor) enough to warrant that remark.

 

Now Shirin seems to be the new "mean girl" target.  When she's gone, will it be Carolyn?  I want to like Jenn, but these flashbacks to Junior High aren't helping.

[Ms Blue Jay]

The men here, including a self-proclaimed superfan, couldn't find a HII, even Russell Hantz could do that.

 

"Even" Russell found an HII?  You mean the King and innovator of finding HIIs constantly without clues??  :)

[Miss Scarlet]

It is interesting to me that the last two seasons, the sexism inherent in a lot of Survivor seasons has been a lot more out in the open, story-wise. I actually think it's a positive sign that more women seem willing to call it out. 

I remember Rocker getting called out by Natalie for being racist and homophobic. I'm blanking on anyone getting called out for sexism. What happened? I think I've deleted San Juan Del Sur from my memory.

 

This sexism from this episode is the kind of stuff the makes people stop watching the show forever. I was absolutely repulsed. 

Edited March 19, 2015 by wudpixie

[Vicky8675309]

Wouldn't the pupils be dilated no matter what, from the blindfold?

 

I haven't finished reading all the comments but in case it hasn't been answered: normal pupil response is constriction when exposed to light. Take off blindfold and the dilated pupils constrict to the sunlight. Then shine a light in them and they both constrict more (get smaller). If one or both don't constrict then it is a red flag that something is wrong. A more complete evaluation should have been done rather than a medic just looking at the laceration. I'm glad she was ok.

 

Random observation: So Tyler is the guy who quit the ball maze competition which Max finished for him

[enlightenedbum]

"Even" Russell found an HII?  You mean the King and innovator of finding HIIs constantly without clues??  :)

/being pointed to them by cameramen.

[Miss Scarlet]

As a few other posters have mentioned, I don't know why Hali was getting mad at Max for sticking his feet in the pot. Jenn told him to do that and brought the pot over to his feet so he could stick them in. Between that and the unnecessarily rude way that she spoke about Nina at the beginning of the episode, I am starting to like Hali less and less.

 

I don't think Carolyn made a good decision to work with the NC people. She kept saying that Max and Shirin were annoying. Suck it up and deal with it. I get that she felt they were w power couple and would never turn on each other, but she was at least 3rd in that alliance. With the NC alliance she'll be 5th after you add Joe back in.

 

It is unfortunate Shirin and Max are being so socially tone-deaf. They'll be used as examples that superfans are nerdy losers who can't do well on this show and that's why the show has to cast mactors instead. Never mind the fact that players like Malcolm and Andrea were big fans of the show.

 

The editing on the episode was weird. When Dan was talking to Sierra about how she was mean to him was he referring to that incident where he was mansplaining the shelter to her and she laughed in his face? Because he deserved it and I would have done the same thing. I'm glad Sierra recognizes her tribe for the crappy people they are instead of thinking there is something wrong with her and she should internalize their misogyny. Oh and as for Dan criticizing her performance on the challenges? That's ridiculous. She's been awesome. And I don't care how many shots she missed that were edited out of the basketball challenge. She was still awesome. It's sad too, because last week we were complimenting the fact that the BC tribe had enough faith in her to let her do that part of the challenge. They had to go and ruin that.

 

Oh and Joaquin? STFU about Shirin being a sociopath. She said she killed the rabbit to practice for Survivor. Not because she thought it would be fun. But as we know Joaquin hates "paranoid, panicking WOMEN".

 

I'm glad Lindsey pointed out that she was voted out for insulting a man's ego in her final words. She didn't play the best social game either, but that did have a lot to do with it. And I'm glad she doesn't regret it. We need less bible belt contestants and more Lindseys (but with better social games).

 

The blood on Kelly's buff grossed me out. Could they not have given her a clean one for the rest of the challenge? Between that and the heat, it must have smelled disgusting and it was covering her whole face.

[jay741982]

They don't need to worry about Sierra for a while I believe...... when will they be at tribal?

The merge to one tribe likely happens when they get to 12 left: their are 13 left after last night

[Brookside]

I'm a meat-eater, so I have no issue in general with slaughtering animals for food, but I don't like that Shirin killed a chicken and a rabbit simply in order to practice killing. Going by past seasons, the likelihood that anyone on Survivor is going to kill a chicken is very low and the likelihood of killing a rabbit is non-existent. The most I think anyone who wants to prepare for the possibility should do is read up about what the most humane way to do it is, given that they probably only have rocks and dull machetes to get the job done. But to kill something just so you can say you know how is a little gross.

 

Perhaps I missed something, but I assume that she ate whatever she killed, which wouldn't be any different than buying and eating a creature with a face that someone else had slaughtered.  (And I can read up on all sorts of things - boxing, being a lawyer, making pate de foie gras, flying an aeroplane, and it doesn't mean I'd be able to do it in reality.)

[fishcakes]

That might be true, but my point was that it's unlikely that she would have had to kill anything, so practicing killing something was gratuitous.

[Brookside]

That might be true, but my point was that it's unlikely that she would have had to kill anything, so practicing killing something was gratuitous.

Still not sure why it was gratuitous if it was then eaten (if anyone can tell me that Shirin threw the rabbit away after slaughtering it , I will totally change my mind).  This week we saw a lizard, a snake, and a hen killed.  If I were ever foolish enough to apply for Survivor, never mind appear, I'd like to hope I'd have the foresight to practice some of the necessary skills. Who knows when rabbits might be the next live protein?

[Miss Scarlet]

 

I really hope Jeff was just puffing about this being the best episode of the season (although I doubt it).  Because, if he's serious, he's even worse than I previously thought.

How does he not understand that there's something wrong with thinking an episode rife with some of the worst sexism on that's ever been on this show is "the best of the season"??? And he can pull the "well, Survivor is great at starting conversations about important issues" crap, but we all know it's because he agreed with every horrible misogynistic word that was uttered. This show really, really needs a new host. Probst's biases are totally insufferable.

 

We never got an explanation for why Kelly went with the men, as opposed to Sierra/Lindsey. Maybe for challenges, since they didn't know a swap was coming? It was surprising to see that her and Mike are so tight, because all we've ever seen from that tribe is that Mike and Dan were tight, but were fighting with the others.

 

I'm pretty the reason Rodney and Dan are so sexist is because they're bitter that most women can't stand to be in their presence for more than a second. So of course instead of looking inward at their own behaviour (which would take too much self-awareness and intelligence for them) it's all "women suck!!" And then Rodney pulls the "I'm just saying women should respect themselves" and his thinking is so warped and he's such an idiot that he probably thinks he's amazing for saying this about women or is doing us all a huge favour. Disgusting. I called out his Napoleon complex last week. Seems about right. I also love that his mom is still worthwhile because men will still want to hit on her. Of course women are only useful if they're attractive. UGH.

 

 

Thinking that all three and a half billion of us are just alike is my pet peeve and when it comes from these prizes, none whom have probably been close enough to more than a dozen women combined to voice theories, it's particularly hard to tolerate.

True. It's really amazing how people can stereotype and say horrible things about a group of people when they barely know any of the people in those groups! Dan and Rodney have probably learned everything they know about women from TV and the internet because I seriously doubt women in the real world would have anything to do with them. (I'm going to believe that Dan is only pretending to be married until convinced otherwise).

 

I don't get Carolyn's utter disdain for Max and Shirin. They might be annoying, but at least they're not hateful. Basically what I mean is, at least they're not Rodney.

 

Based on the preview I think Rodney's legitimately in love with Joaquin. He looked at him with incredible infatuation.

 

The only way this season will be at all redeemable to me is if the women completely run the game from here on out. I cannot deal with seeing these horrible "bros" on my screen all the way until the end.

[enlightenedbum]

 

I don't get Carolyn's utter disdain for Max and Shirin. They might be annoying, but at least they're not hateful. Basically what I mean is, at least they're not Rodney.

Be fair: she doesn't know Rodney yet.  In a vacuum, those two (especially Max) could easily be the most obnoxious characters in any given season.

[Drogo]

Nothing he says makes any sense to me. That would imply that he thinks when a woman becomes newly single, men are falling all over themselves to get on that. So is it the reverse? Newly single men aren't beating women off with a bat? Because, then that WOULD imply that women are holding themselves to these "higher standards" he keeps prattling on about, right?

I think I just confused myself all over again.

What he means, ghoulina - is that women should save their virtue... unless Rod's in the vicinity feeling frisky.

Because certainly the whole of female America salivates at the prospect of Rodney breathing vanilla creme Muscle Milk all over them while stinking up their apartment with Axe body spray and forcing them to tape-measure his flexed bicep. "I said measure at the WIDEST paht!"

I don't get this shit some men have about what they deserve and how a woman should act if she wants the privilege of his affections. I've never met a woman who didn't "deserve" way more than most men could hope to offer her, least of all these toolbags.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Drogo

[JudyObscure]

This sexism from this episode is the kind of stuff the makes people stop watching the show forever.

 

And yet ... that's one of the things I love about the show, because, unlike in real life where sexist men go happily along for years, never paying consequences, often totally unaware that they're even being offensive, here we get to watch and wait for that wonderful moment when women vote them out. Snuff. The tribe has spoken.

 

Rodney has probably been spouting his inane viewpoints all his life and never been called on it.  Now he gets to go home and read what we think of him on the internet and probably get hate mail and hear remarks made by strangers.  I'm almost feeling sorry for him just writing this.  The valuable thing is that thousands of men like him, or borderline like him, will hear how they sound to others and maybe learn something.

 

I honestly think this is a socially valuable show and that the viewer's tendency to pick it apart is a good thing that helps us learn about ourselves.

[Miss Scarlet]

I don't think he meant it in a sexist way. I just think that he was frustrated with Dan and he was (unsuccessfully) trying to make him say that he was sorry without looking like an ass.

 

I think that sometimes Americans tend to be a little too oversensitive about comments like that. Most of us probably said some pretty dumb things too we just didn't do it on national TV.

 

Uh, no. It doesn't matter if he was or wasn't thinking "I want to say something sexist". His statement was sexist. And it wasn't just "some pretty dumb thing" he said. It was indicative of the way he thinks about women in general. Talking about how women want apologies and want to be told that they're right in a way that was completely dismissive of women and basically being like "we have to do this because women are so emotionaaal and irrationaaal" is wrong. Just because he's not as awful as Mike and Dan doesn't mean it's okay. And viewers (both men and women) have a right to be offended by that. It's not over-sensitivity to not like it when someone puts down an individual or a group of people, especially when that person or group of people is constantly being shat on. 

Edited March 20, 2015 by wudpixie

[viajero]

Now Shirin seems to be the new "mean girl" target.  When she's gone, will it be Carolyn?  I want to like Jenn, but these flashbacks to Junior High aren't helping.

 

 

I don't get Carolyn's utter disdain for Max and Shirin. They might be annoying, but at least they're not hateful. Basically what I mean is, at least they're not Rodney.

 

 

Which brings up the interesting question of whether a "mean girl" can be the target of "mean girls". After all, when it comes to Shirin, Carolyn (and Joaquin) were the original mean girls. Jenn, Hali, and Will were relatively late comers to that particular game. Or is it that only women under a certain age can be called mean-girls?  When men and older women engage in the exact same behavior, it somehow isn't the same?

 

In any case, I've long gotten flashbacks to Junior High when watching Survivor.  The very nature of the game encourages the formation of cliques, who have an incentive to isolate and denigrate opponents to get ahead.  Boston Rob was one of the masters of this game, particularly in his last season when he took it to the extreme of the total exclusion of anybody who was not part of his clique.  He wouldn't even allow his minions to talk to the rest of the survivors.  I never got flashbacks to my school days more than during that season. The fact that he had strategic reasons for doing this just makes my point.

 

As a few other posters have mentioned, I don't know why Hali was getting mad at Max for sticking his feet in the pot. Jenn told him to do that and brought the pot over to his feet so he could stick them in.

 

 

Perhaps because Hali didn't know that Jenn had told him to do that?  After all, Hali was not present at the time (the camera panned around and you could see who was there when Jenn was helping Max).  Just because they are allies doesn't automatically mean that Hali is going to immediately know everything that Jenn does when she's not around.  She may have found out about it eventually, but we don’t know for sure if she did or whether this was before or after her confessional criticizing Max.  While the way this went down wasn't exactly fair to Max, I doubt its the main reason they voted him off.  I still think that's primarily on Carolyn.

[Lingo]

Honestly I can't blame the callers for much as I blame Survivor for having dangerous challenges like this one that rely on some random person to direct their teammates to safety--all the while they are distracted by trying to hurry so they can win the challenge.  It makes no sense to me, and I think the calling job is never as easy as it looks.  Trying to yell at your teammates while other teams are doing the same thing is just a set up for disaster.

 

Oh gosh, remember in Fiji when Michelle was so distracted with her calling that she fell off the calling platform?  That was classic.

 

My first thought was, why did the show give them a rooster?  Then I realized that the rooster was the one they could eat.  Do you think maybe they didn't realize that hens would lay eggs without a rooster?  I cannot imagine why you would eat one of the egg-layers otherwise, just baffled me.  Keeping the rooster seems dumb, too.  You'd have to feed it, right? Without getting any eggs in return? I'm guessing these are not people who have lived on a farm or know much about animals.  

 

Who live on farms these days?  The only reason I know this is because I watch this show.  And I had grandparents who raised chickens.

 

LOL at how awful these eps were. The best of the season, Probst?! Really?! This season is gonna be rough. Although, as has been mentioned, at least now we know why Jeff is so in love with this season.

 

I still don't know.  I still think the theory that he loves it is because all the dudes are on one team is laughable.

 

I understand that "test" these challenges.  But the way Dalton Ross from EW explained it, they basically use visiting journalists for the dry-runs.  That may help determine how easy a challenge is.  But I doubt it gives a true picture of how safe a challenge is, because those "testers" probably aren't playing with the intensity (and potentially recklessness) that players in the real game do.

 

 

Well, they used this exact same challenge, with the platforms going up and down, on the Brains-Brawn-Beauty season, and no one got hurt.  But yeah, they should avoid lifting heavy objects in these blindfold challenges from now on.

 

I remember Rocker getting called out by Natalie for being racist and homophobic. I'm blanking on anyone getting called out for sexism. What happened? I think I've deleted San Juan Del Sur from my memory.

 

Well there was Keith and his son and those two idiot brothers Alex and Drew.  The brother who got voted off pre-merge was blatantly sexist, and the other three guys kept ignoring the women in their tribe and expecting them to clean things.  John's fiancee (I can't remember her name) complained about them a lot and that's why they switched alliances.

 

About Carolyn, I see both sides of her choice here.  She may have been a little too quick to dump Max.  But we saw that Tyler and Joaquin seemed to be fine with dumping him and Shirin (esp. Shirin), so it's not like she's turning her back on the whole White Collar tribe.  Plus by dumping Max she only angers Shirin, but by dumping Will she would have pissed off both Jenn and Hali, and she's desperate to make new alliances because she can't stand M/S.  If she had stuck with Max and Shirin this episode, she may have been forced to stick with them for the long haul, and she didn't want to be stuck with them.

[Miss Scarlet]

And yet ... that's one of the things I love about the show, because, unlike in real life where sexist men go happily along for years, never paying consequences, often totally unaware that they're even being offensive, here we get to watch and wait for that wonderful moment when women vote them out. Snuff. The tribe has spoken.

 

Rodney has probably been spouting his inane viewpoints all his life and never been called on it.  Now he gets to go home and read what we think of him on the internet and probably get hate mail and hear remarks made by strangers.  I'm almost feeling sorry for him just writing this.  The valuable thing is that thousands of men like him, or borderline like him, will hear how they sound to others and maybe learn something.

 

I honestly think this is a socially valuable show and that the viewer's tendency to pick it apart is a good thing that helps us learn about ourselves.

Those are definitely good points. Unfortunately, when it comes to Rodney it seems like he won't be learning anything. 

 

He wrote on Twitter: Rodney Lavoie Jr. ‏@Rodney_Boston

7 Billion people in the world, and Some of You Won't Like me..Do I need to Finish the rest?! #HatersGonnaHate #HavingFunbaby #Survivor

 

So...let me see if I have this straight. We're haters because we all want to be misogynistic and unintelligent bros and we're just jeeealoooooous of Rodney? That seems like what his "logic" would be.

[Lingo]

I don't remember Mike saying anything sexist in this episode, but his fight with Lindsey about how he never thanked the girls for their work likely indicates a sexist attitude toward them.  Plus if I remember correctly, in an earlier episode the BC women were complaining that the men sat around and expected the women to do all the cooking and laundry.  I do think Mike is probably less sexist and a better player than Rodney and Dan, but not by much.

[fishcakes]

What he means, ghoulina - is that women should save their virtue... unless Rod's in the vicinity feeling frisky.

 

In between all the bleeping, I think what Rodney said was that only the women who want to marry him need to save their virtue. Frisky Rodney prefers women who hold themselves to a lower standard, which coincidentally works out pretty well for him.

[Miss Scarlet]

I don't know, I listen to (and respond to) the men in my life differently than I do to the women in my life.

I don't know that I would apply those methods to strangers, though. And I'm not a patronizing dick about it like Dan.

Or we could just listen and respond differently to people based on how they are as individuals. Not because of anything having to do with "men are like this" and "women are like that".

 

It's horribly sad how many Survivor contestants make sexist remarks. I liked Malcolm enough and he was super popular, but he also had that gross confessional in Caramoan where he talked about "being an accomplished liar when it comes to women". And it seemed like part of the reason he said that was just to look "cool" and because his mind went all bro-y after spending so much time with Reynold and Eddie. Yeesh. At least he apologized for it post-show.

 

It would be nice if we could go just one season without these types of comments. But it will probably never happen because casting loves the jerks. 

[dolphincorn]

I can understand your frustration with the casting, but the three Blue Collar guys came off as total idiots last night. I wanted to kiss the editors for putting together that scene where Dan and Mike discussed how to talk to Sierra, and then followed up with Sierra looking at Dan like he had just dragged his knuckles out of his cave. That was comic gold!

 

As long as these shows exist, they're going to cast for conflict. Burnett once made a comment about ensuring that one half the cast was really smart and the other half was really stupid. Mission accomplished.

[Miss Scarlet]

From one of Lindsey's exit interviews (http://realitytvmagazine.sheknows.com/2015/03/19/survivor-worlds-apart-interview-lindsey-cascaddan-sacrificing-my-beliefs-was-not-worth-1-million/)

 

Ryan Haidet, RealityTVMagazine: Was your dispute with him primarily about his comments about women or was there more to it?

 

It’s really hard because they can’t show you everything. I’m sure they wish they could. But with 39 days and 24 hours a day, obviously, it’s a family show, so a lot of what comes out of Rodney’s mouth is not even airable. I think dealing with that every day, and once you’re stripped from food and sleep and it’s a nagging thing over and over and over, you just get pushed to the edge. I’m the type of personality where I am gonna stand up for what I believe. Hearing about how he hates kids, he hates women and he hates gays, he hates all these people that aren’t himself. It just got to me.

Edited March 20, 2015 by wudpixie

[Donny Ketchum]

Yeah.  I can believe Rodney was probably that bad on the island.

[hacman00]

Ok now I know why Probst called this the best Survivor Cast ever.  All male jury?

 

Tribe split was so unfair.

[needschocolate]

I don't blame Carolyn for switching.  She probably figured that they would merge before she would be on the chopping block.  And there have been plenty of people that dumped their old tribe after a shuffle or a merge and went quite far or even won the game.  I can't remember the names of any of those people, but Max and Shirin are such students of the game that I am sure that they could name them, even though the thought that someone from their old tribe would flip never occurred to them.  They were like people that could tell you the origin of every letter of the alphabet and know all the different types of fonts, but they can't read.  They knew details but somehow couldn't apply them to their own game. 

 

I thought it was interesting that Dan's mantra when dealing with a woman who is upset with him is to say "I don't disagree with that"  - Not "I agree with you."  There is a difference and I presume that, in his head, he is thinking "I don't disagree with that because then you will be more upset."

 

I'm guessing that for Mike and Dan, their "proven method" of dealing with "girls" is based entirely on what works with the main woman in each of their lives.  Dan says "I don't disagree with that" to his "girl" (which could be his mother or sister) and she has decided that it is just his way of apologizing.  Mike probably gets away with saying "I'm sorry" and nothing else, not because his "girl" only want to know she was right, which is what he thinks, but because his woman doesn't want to hear him talk all the time.  I am pretty sure that whatever "proven method" Rodney has has never actually worked outside of Rodney's small mind. 

 

On the other hand, I do sort of wonder if Mike really believes that all woman just want the man to say he is sorry and nothing else - perhaps he just told Dan that because he was afraid Dan was going to say too much and dig the hole deeper, which he had already done (it was what he was apologizing for). 

 

As for the Men from Mars, Women from Venus thing - I am not saying it is a universal truth, but I have noticed that, among my friends and relatives, the men give answers and the women start a discussion by giving opinions or asking more questions .  If someone says "what color should I paint the living room?" the men would be likely to say "Blue" or "Green" or "Beige" and  the women would probably say, "well, are you planning on keeping the same furniture?" or "Do you want something trendy, or are you planning on keeping this  color for a long time?" or "My sister painted her house this lovely greige color, and uses orange for accents.  then again, my neighbor's house is north facing like yours and she painted it a very light yellow to brighten it up."  This answers vs opinions thing is not as extreme as " woman don't want to solve problems or that men don't want to discuss things" but is more how women solve problems differently then men do. Then again, it could just mean that none of the men I know care what color the room is painted. 

Edited March 20, 2015 by needschocolate

[LadyChatts]

If that's the case I really hope they continue to call Rodney out for what he is.  He deserves to have all his racist, bigoted, and sexist remarks out on display if he's so proud of himself (and loves the haters, as he's currently proclaiming on his Twitter).  I guess on the plus side there's no possible way he wins.  I suppose when his time comes to do the post-show interviews, he'll probably do a lot of grand standing over those remarks and not back down.  I'm wondering if maybe Rodney was just a tad too close to his mama growing up, and maybe didn't realize we're not in the 18th century anymore.

 

If Mike/Dan/Rodney end up in control and go the distance, this season is dead to me.  But they seem to be some of the very characters Probst likes, so now all this pre-season hype is making sense.

[SlackerInc]

Be fair: she doesn't know Rodney yet.  In a vacuum, those two (especially Max) could easily be the most obnoxious characters in any given season.

 

I don't understand this at all.  I sort of get why people dislike Shirin, because she natters on and on about this and that and is a little bit vulgar (though I enjoy her patter); but Max?  What's the problem there?

 

What he means, ghoulina - is that women should save their virtue... unless Rod's in the vicinity feeling frisky.

Because certainly the whole of female America salivates at the prospect of Rodney breathing vanilla creme Muscle Milk all over them while stinking up their apartment with Axe body spray and forcing them to tape-measure his flexed bicep. "I said measure at the WIDEST paht!"

 

Oh shit...this had me literally LOLing.  What an image!

[Lantern7]

Probst really was high on this episode? And Worlds Apart in general? Yikes. So what . . . rampaging sexism, a couple of oddballs out, and a woman gets clocked in the head? Sounds about right.

 

BTW, I can see that the first reward challenge had Nina in mind, what with the one blindfolded person whose mere job was to help raise the lift. At least that's where my mind went when I saw it.

[viajero]

As for the Men from Mars, Women from Venus thing - I am not saying it is a universal truth, but I have noticed that, among my friends and relatives, the men give answers and the women start a discussion by giving opinions or asking more questions .  If someone says "what color should I paint the living room?" the men would be likely to say "Blue" or "Green" or "Beige" and  the women would probably say, "well, are you planning on keeping the same furniture?" or "Do you want something trendy, or are you planning on keeping this  color for a long time?" or "My sister painted her house this lovely greige color, and uses orange for accents.  then again, my neighbor's house is north facing like yours and she painted it a very light yellow to brighten it up."  This answers vs opinions thing is not as extreme as " woman don't want to solve problems or that men don't want to discuss things" but is more how women solve problems differently then men do. Then again, it could just mean that none of the men I know care what color the room is painted.

 

I think it kind of depends on the topic.  I can remember a Thanksgiving where a bunch of my younger male relatives spent half a football game discussing what sound system one of my nephews should install in a beat up used car he´d just received as a birthday gift.  The conversation wasn't really all that different than what you describe.

Edited March 20, 2015 by viajero

[kikaha]

Peachy and Burnett think a male winner indicates a great season that they can even air comments that insinuate women are airheads and followers. 

 

Where have they said male winners indicate great seasons?  I know Jeff said Aras was the most boring winner ever.  And he also said that women make better leaders on Survivor -- i.e. the exact opposite of followers. 

[ozlsn]

And there have been plenty of people that dumped their old tribe after a shuffle or a merge and went quite far or even won the game.  I can't remember the names of any of those people, but Max and Shirin are such students of the game that I am sure that they could name them, even though the thought that someone from their old tribe would flip never occurred to them.  They were like people that could tell you the origin of every letter of the alphabet and know all the different types of fonts, but they can read.  They knew details but somehow couldn't apply them to their own game. 

 

Yeah my first thought after Max's comment about which star sign has won the game the most was "you apparently study this and that's what you're taking away...?"  My second was hoping he was joking.  Unfortunately based on his complete lack of social game I think it was the first - he can remember details and every little twist but not the big things like social game and listening gets you a long way whereas irritating the hell out of the rest of your tribe on a constant basis... doesn't.

[hincandenza]

As long as these shows exist, they're going to cast for conflict. Burnett once made a comment about ensuring that one half the cast was really smart and the other half was really stupid. Mission accomplished.

They clearly aren't paying whoever recruits the smart people enough, since I'd debate those 50/50 numbers... :)

In the Big Lebowski sense, I don't think Dan/Mike are wrong... they're just assholes. It's not a gender thing, it's an empathy thing: sometimes people just need to vent, and don't want you micromanaging their life choices. Other times they need specific assistance, or just want to spitball a problem (like the car stwreo example above). I do think some men are conditioned to never vent (and to see it as weakness) and to just fix problems, so some men and women internalize that social and cultural bias as an actual biological gender difference.

As we become more mature, we get better about detecting which a person- male or female- is seeking in a given case... and better at just asking for help when/if we need it, or being clear when we just need to blow off some steam.

As said above, it's not about men and women or other "classes", it's about dealing with the individual in front of you.

Uh, and then there's fucking Rodney. Christ, what an asshole.

Edited March 20, 2015 by hincandenza

[Andromeda]

So that's Rodney, Dan, and Mike that I absolutely cannot root fort. The former two are sexist jerks, where the latter totally lost me with his "white collars live off the backs of the hard-working blue collars" bullcrap. Hey Mike? I'm white collar, raised by blue collar parents, and I work just as hard as you do in a job you would never be intellectually equipped to do. Jerks, all three of 'em.

THAT's why I don't like Mike. Thanks for reminding me! I also come from a blue-collar family -- though my dad owned his own auto repair shop, so that makes him a "boss." The whole idea that blue collar are the worker bees while white collar bosses them around is ridiculous -- I'm white collar, but I don't have any employees. Also silly to rate who is working harder based on their jobs -- is the "barrel racer" really working that hard? She really has more of a no-collar job. And the hairdresser also could have been no-collar -- but she has plenty of tats and attitude, so they put Lyndsey with the BCs. I just roll my eyes at the assumptions and chest-beating self-aggrandizement -- from all the "collar" tribes.

 

Jeff's constant degradation of the white collars is gross. I'm sure he's absolutely delighted that Shirin and Max struggled out there. To quote Linda Holmes on twitter, has there ever been anyone on TV more resentful of people who are considered to intellectuals than Jeff Probst? He has a serious inferiority complex. His laughing and enthusiastically nodding his head when Mike was saying that white collars just take whatever blue collars build was so dumb. And I think he would have agreed with all the sexist crap being thrown around at the Blue Collar TC, but he is too aware of the "millions of viewers" that he referenced and said would hate Rodney.

I used to love Probst, but I lost that somewhere during my many years of watching this show. I will never forget his stupidity during the racial tribe episode -- an interview in TV Guide where he said he was surprised to learn that the Asians had roots in different countries. He apparently thought "Asia" was a single country! And he was especially amazed that these various countries that make up Asia haven't always gotten along!

So, that's just an example of the mental power we're talking about with one Jeff Probst.

Edited March 20, 2015 by Andromeda

[KimberStormer]

Well I feel a bit alienated from the group after reading the thread; I thought it was a good solid couple episodes.  I wouldn't call them 'great' or 'best' but I could see why Jeff might like them--they seemed to me to be season defining episodes.  I felt like I was getting clear who is who and what is what, who is good and who is bad, who I am rooting for and who I am rooting against.  I guess we'll see how it goes, but I feel like the season has a solid base now finally.

 

Rodney, still scary, still awful in every way.  But could I hate Dan the most?  I guess I manage to avoid the Rodneys in life pretty effectively.  But there are Dans hiding around.  I feel like Dan's got that geek misogyny thing going which I encountered a lot in college and is more insidious and far-reaching than Rodney's barely-coherent nonsense.  Like, I don't use the word misogyny lightly--a lot of times I feel like "sexism" is the right word when it's used--but I feel it coming from Dan and his self-satisfied condescension for us women, a sort of disgusting alien race that lives amongst the real human beings, the men.  Dan is like the Reddit of this game.  I can't stand the fucker.  Mike, I feel like, has yes, a gross generalizing 50's-TV-show idea of women, but at least--at least!--he has some kind of sense of how the game works.  He knew not to needle Sierra when she was upset after tribal.  He knew that it was important to get her back.  He knew to just apologize.  I guess it's a sign of how horrible the other two Blue Collar dudes are that he came off looking good in comparison.

 

At any rate, I feel deep in my bones that these are villains being edited as villains, that they are going nowhere in this game except to a highly satisfying takedown.  I do not get, not even slightly, the sense that this is going to be a male-dominated season and that's why Probst likes it.  I find the idea absurd, honestly.  A man could win--maybe Joe, maybe Tyler--but I cannot see any prospect of anything but humiliating loss for these jackasses.  Nobody can get such clear "look at this asshole" editing as Rodney got this week and win the game, not even Russell Hantz, and Rodney is no Russell Hantz.  Nor Dan.  Mike has gotten something of a "red state hero" edit I guess but I can't see him winning either.

 

Personally I found Probst rather OK this episode and I think people might be seeing what they expect to see.  He gave Rodney the business at tribal and seemed genuinely disappointed in their choice to boot Lindsey, like he often does when they vote out a strong dude (a Marcus or whatever.)  His parting words were exactly the kind of "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed at you for FUCKING UP SO COMPLETELY" speech that he gives in those situations.  He didn't seem delighted at the tribal split at all to me; he seemed if anything to be sort of apologizing to the red tribe for the challenge during it.

 

On to better matters: Jenn seems to be the Rob C of this season and I am absolutely loving it.  We'll see how much game she has, but right now I feel like she is killing it, and gets to be the comedy narrator, which is wonderful.  If she wins, which I see as a good possibility, her "winner winner chicken dinner" will make quite the million-dollar quote.  I would like to see her, Will, Joe, and Hali dominate this game.  I don't see any way they don't all make the merge, so it could work.  I want to see Sierra stick it to her horrible tribemates, I'd like to see Kelly break the Wigelsworth Curse and be a factor.  Carolyn was not terribly annoying this time, though I don't know if her choice was a good one (I was happy with it, though, because I like the No Collars and I like Shirin better than Max.  I feel like Max probably prompted Shirin's showing off her Survivor knowledge.  Max is like an even worse Cochran in spouting Survivor trivia!  I'm a Survivor nerd too Max, but I don't talk about that shit outside this board, because I know it won't go over with most people.  And I'm not playing for a million bucks.)

 

I am hopeful.  I feel good about that hope.  I think the shitheads are going to lose, and someone good (according to me) is going to win.

 

 

12. Mike - You are gross.  Go home sir.  The icing on the douche cake was the trying to be all nice to Sierra while obviously having gloated on your vote card to her friend.

 

 

That was shitty of him indeed, the gloating card thing.

 

I'm not calling shenanigans either, but it wouldn't be difficult for Probst to avoid this disparity.  The women and men are evenly distributed in the original tribes, why not split them evenly when they switch up the tribes?  Things could still be uneven, but not like it is now - all men plus a very tall athletic woman, versus all women plus a fat asthmatic man and a professor.

 

When they tried to do that you still got people screaming OMG THERE WERE TWOOOO BOWLLLLS IT'S SO RIGGED To me it's obvious that it's random when these crazy splits happen.  And I do not believe this is anything like as bad as Caramoan's post-swap split was.

 

So a day later, as lopsided as these tribes are, I am still flummoxed as to why Peachy and Burnett think a male winner indicates a great season that they can even air comments that insinuate women are airheads and followers.  But most of the best seasons have had female winners: Heroes v Villains, Pearl Islands, Micronesia, Aussie Outback, Cagayan, All Stars to name a few. 

 

Is that a spoiler?  Anyway Probst loved most of those seasons and called out Rodney; I don't think he's as bad as people are making him out to be, honestly.  I think Probst is sexist in a certain way.  He's a sports guy, essentially.  He likes Survivor as a physical sport.  He thinks men are generally better atheletes than women, ergo he thinks men are better than women.  But it's much more subtle than WHOO YEAH RODNEY AND DAN ARE TELLIN IT LIKE IT IS or whatever.  Probst has had a lot of women he's liked as characters, more than even he realizes, I think.  He loves Sandra, Cirie, Courtney, etc as much as the rest of us and loved e.g. Lisa Welchel much more than anyone in the audience but me.  A lot of times he thinks that the audience is worse than it is, which leads him to make bad assumptions about what is going to make good TV, and that's a big issue, but somewhat different from his personal feelings.  Like I think he liked Kim and Denise but thought the audience was going to hate them and was surprised they didn't.

 

I definitely don't think that the sexist comments from the assholes were the reason he thought this was a good episode.  He seemed shocked at Rodney and even more that Rodney was kept around.  I think these guys are headed for a big fall and that's great TV to him, easily hateable villains who go down hard.  I think it's much better to show these assholes as assholes than to edit out the sexism and present them as good red-blooded American men as you can tell he was expecting to treat the Blue Collar tribe.

[Kromm]

The thing about the chickens is that it doesn't matter which one you kill. A rooster isn't needed for the hens to lay eggs, but it functions as the alpha in the social order. If you have three egg-laying hens and a rooster and you kill the rooster, then one of the hens will become the alpha and stop laying eggs. So whether you kill the rooster or a hen, you'll still end up with only two egg-laying hens. It makes sense to kill the rooster if you're a late sleeper because it's noisier in the morning, but it has no effect on total egg production.

That's interesting, although I doubt any of these folks knew that.  

 

Although I would add that even if that's so, since chicken brains aren't exactly that big, I doubt that behavior change happens overnight. Logically it's got to take the chickens a little while to realize the rooster is gone. Or rather, if it's pheromonal (no more male chicken smell) and hormonal (to stop the eggs laying), there's bound to be an adjustment period.

 

But yeah, no matter how you fry it... it still means less eggs!

I mean even if the "extra" hen kept laying for a few extra days before it stopped... it would stop, and the game is what?  A third over?  That's still a few weeks of lost eggs.

Ok now I know why Probst called this the best Survivor Cast ever.  All male jury?

 

Tribe split was so unfair.

Probst sure likes his dicks, doesn't he?

 

And I mean that in both senses.

 

EDIT - Aw come on!  Get your minds out of the gutter!  I meant "he likes people who act like dicks" and "he likes male players over females".  I didn't mean "he likes dicks in his sex life" (fine if he did, but there's no indication he does--his strong well-observed bias for male players is entirely based in chauvinism, not sexuality).

Edited March 20, 2015 by Kromm

[KimberStormer]

Oh yes, I meant to say, they're in good company at least because I don't think I've ever seen a season of Survivor where they kill the rooster first.  I've gotten over it by now.

[Andromeda]

As we become more mature, we get better about detecting which a person- male or female- is seeking in a given case... and better at just asking for help when/if we need it, or being clear when we just need to blow off some steam.

As said above, it's not about men and women or other "classes", it's about dealing with the individual in front of you.

Well said, hincandenza. Edited March 20, 2015 by Andromeda

[enlightenedbum]

Oh yes, I meant to say, they're in good company at least because I don't think I've ever seen a season of Survivor where they kill the rooster first.  I've gotten over it by now.

There was definitely one, thought I can't remember which season.  I want to say Penner was involved, but that could be my enjoyment of Penner.

[LadyChatts]

Well I feel a bit alienated from the group after reading the thread; I thought it was a good solid couple episodes.  I wouldn't call them 'great' or 'best' but I could see why Jeff might like them--they seemed to me to be season defining episodes.  I felt like I was getting clear who is who and what is what, who is good and who is bad, who I am rooting for and who I am rooting against.  I guess we'll see how it goes, but I feel like the season has a solid base now finally.

 

Mike, I feel like, has yes, a gross generalizing 50's-TV-show idea of women, but at least--at least!--he has some kind of sense of how the game works.  He knew not to needle Sierra when she was upset after tribal.  He knew that it was important to get her back.  He knew to just apologize.  I guess it's a sign of how horrible the other two Blue Collar dudes are that he came off looking good in comparison.

 

At any rate, I feel deep in my bones that these are villains being edited as villains, that they are going nowhere in this game except to a highly satisfying takedown.  I do not get, not even slightly, the sense that this is going to be a male-dominated season and that's why Probst likes it.  I find the idea absurd, honestly.  A man could win--maybe Joe, maybe Tyler--but I cannot see any prospect of anything but humiliating loss for these jackasses.  Nobody can get such clear "look at this asshole" editing as Rodney got this week and win the game, not even Russell Hantz, and Rodney is no Russell Hantz.  Nor Dan.  Mike has gotten something of a "red state hero" edit I guess but I can't see him winning either.

 

I am hopeful.  I feel good about that hope.  I think the shitheads are going to lose, and someone good (according to me) is going to win.

 

To touch on this part of your post, I am hopeful, too.  I guess it's the worst case scenario that I tell myself will happen, so it won't sting so much if it does.  And I am more than happy to be proven wrong, of course.  I just don't have a ton of faith in Probst & co.  I don't know if Jeff's words at tribal sunk in to Mike or if he's just more socially aware than I thought, but I did think it was smart of him to realize that maybe you need to at least pretend to be nice the very people that hold your fate in their hands.  Dan just reminds me of the annoying sidekick who idolizes "the star", follows him around, hangs onto his every word and nods in agreement.  And then tries to pretend the plans they come up with were also his doing.  Dan doesn't have much game, I think when Mike is out he won't be far behind, if he didn't already get the boot.  After this past episode I realized that I don't even begin to know half of what was going on out there, especially reading post boot interviews and watching the extra CBS vids.  So maybe there's a silver lining in all of that and we do end up with a good season.  In the majority of cases, the even numbered seasons of Survivor have always been among my all time favorites, with the odd numbered ones being my least favorites (give or take).  We shall see where this one falls in the end.

 

I am liking this season more than others seem to be, and don't think it's a horrible cast.  The men are horrible, except Joe and Tyler (heck, even Joaquin isn't looking too shabby next to Rodney and Dan).  Joe's the only one I want to see as last man standing, but I won't be surprised if his boot is on the horizon.  But I'm all about the ladies this year.  I equally hope that Sierra sticks it to the men and doesn't just go along with the majority, because she's a long way from the final 3.  And there's never a guarantee that people will vote for you.  Kelly, I'm also hopeful being away from the 3 men will do her some good and make her realize she's got better options out there.  Sometimes, though, hype is its own worst enemy.  Obviously Probst can't go out and say "this season sucked but watch it anyway" or "yeah, dull episode, but don't forget to watch!"  I think the more hype he throws on something, the more of a letdown it can seem.  I can totally see why he liked this episode, though calling it the best of the season...well, I still think the premiere was the best so far, but that's just me :)  The first hour seemed to fly by.  The boot wasn't a surprise.  The tie vote was, but was that more in case of an idol or because the men thought they were big s**t for pulling off a tie that didn't need to be?  At any rate, glad Jeff seemed to scold them a bit.  I was happy to see Jenn take the opportunity to find the idol, and hope it does work out how she's hoping (I love Jenn and that would be gold).  Happy to see the Max blindside, that TC was the best so far, but the rest of the episode was meh.  

 

I do wonder if we'll ever see that blindfold challenge again.

Edited March 20, 2015 by LadyChatts

[himela]

Huh?

 

In my opinion Will was doing the smart thing by hiding his feelings on it and just giving straight Poker face.  That's exactly what he did at that first Tribal Council and that seems to be his method of playing and he seems very smart for it.

How is the Sierra play ever the good play --- almost never, in my opinion.

When you know you are the 4th person in an four people alliance so you are the next to go, you got nothing to lose so the best thing to do is create drama and stir things up in the camp with the hopes the rest of your tribe turns to each other and you come clean. By saying "oh cool, I'm next to go, thanks fr filling me in" what exactly is your gain? Sierra created drama and she made the other players feel guilt about this and as you saw she almost had Dan and Mike argue about this matter. Plus I really don't think Will is that smart to play with poker face. He was just weak about making a big deal out of it and he just let it go. He did say though that the only sollution for him to stay would be if he would convince Joe to vote one of the girls off. But how exactly was he expecting this to happen? He should have created drama, make some fake accusations (he told me - she told me etc) and hope Joe and the girls would fight with one another.

 

[allthatglitters]

I'm glad Lindsey pointed out that she was voted out for insulting a man's ego in her final words. She didn't play the best social game either, but that did have a lot to do with it. And I'm glad she doesn't regret it. We need less bible belt contestants and more Lindseys (but with better social games).

 

Count me as someone who was upset with Lindsey getting voted off. Nice of the woman cop to stick with the misogamist dick club, something she must be used to and felt no qualms about.  Lindsey was a great team leader, always seemed to fight for the team and was positive around camp. She just genuinely let her emotions get the best of her and couldn't shut her mouth and stop from defending herself and all women it seemed, from the onslaught of ignorantly spewed insulting sexist nonsense from no less than three big domineering men. Are these men really all this show could find? Or did Mark Burnett actually want this kind of onslaught.  Its really disturbing that the tribe would actually keep such an ignorant  asshole after hearing what he said. But then again it seems like this season should not be called what it is, but instead Smart Women vs Dumb Men.  (exceptions for Will and Joe). 

 

What a disaster of a merge outcome.  Why don't they mix up the women separately from the men? There would still be the danger of the strongest men on one team, but at least it would be somewhat fairer with more equal distribution of muscle. Most challenges always include one physical part to it. Its just not fun to watch this. A gang of misogynist assholes bulldozing their way to the final merge.

 

Or how about after the challenge, the losing team is the one that is split up. The winning team gets to chose first, and the second winning team chooses second. Then back and forth until all the losing team is gone.

 

And what a stupid time to have the Chickens reward. Right before a merge, where they weren't even given a clue that it was happening to prepare themselves…or their chickens.  Seems like this kind of award would have been better at the beginning of the show so a tribe could make use of the eggs and chickens, not to mention chickens in camp and hilarity will ensue for the camera. They might as well have butchered the whole lot and stocked up with a feast. Wouldn't a reward of a getaway relaxation and food be a more appropriate at this particular time for a tribe to bond one last time and feed and strengthen themselves for the merge?