S30.E07: The Line Will Be Drawn Tonight

[kimbrchick]

Such a lame tribe name. My husband and I were rolling our eyes big time. Am I the only one who thinks there might have been some shenanigans with regards to Will's vote for Hali? I almost think he was told to vote for Hali (from TPTB?) because it wasn't going to make a difference either way and it created the fake out that Hali was targeted instead of Jenn. It was just too perfect that it worked that way. I may be wrong.

[Jal]

There's something about Jenn that bothers me. Most of it is her voice/inflections and attitude towards others. Kudos to her for playing well in the last round, but laughing throughout the reading of the votes was unnecessary. Others did it too, but the vote was about her. Also, she's extremely judgemental for someone who is supposed to be open to new things and easy-going, as evidenced by her one-on-one interviews with the camera.

 

And yes, Dan, Mike, and Rodney all suck too.

 

There are still a lot of moves that could happen. I don't particularly care which "collar" makes it to the finals.

Edited April 2, 2015 by Jal

[Asha124]

Lol at everybody calling Joe a challenge beast after ONE individual win. He looks strong but right now he is nowhere near the Ozzy and Terry level of challenge dominance. I recommend we wait until we start labeling him as a serious challenge threat especially since there are many strong men and women left int the competition.

[Guest]

I just have to add that there seem to be a lot of folks - even here on this forum that seem to not like this show.  I LOVE this show. I found myself a little peeved last night after it was over because I'd have to wait another WHOLE week to see another episode.

 

I'm baffled why people don't like it. This IS the show. Whether the players are sheep or stupid or reckless or cautious - that's what this show is all about. When upexpected things happen some people here say, I'm not going to watch it any more because it's not _________. Wouldn't they be the same people who if the show was moving along predictably would say, this show is so boring they are not doing anything surprising.

 

I know Jeff is a gasbag and I love to point out when he's being a doofus. Like last night at the Immunity Challenge he said, "Losers will go to Tribal." They'll all go to Tribal, moron, they merged! But he's the host, on one of my favorite shows - so I love him.

 

Sorry just felt the need to stick up for this show. I've been watching since Hatch jumped off the boat. Totally addicted.

It's nothing here compared to say the American Idol boards.  You'd think some of those viewers have a gun to their head.  Every season-- same thing... "This crop is so bad compared to prior ones!"  Or maybe you learned to like some contestants by the end of every season because that's the nature of these shows?  

 

But I also get it-- You watch the show, have no strong feelings about it, come here and read 4 pages of various complaints and rants and suddenly you too feel the need to rant on some little things you also noticed.  It's human nature to rant moreso than to rave, I think.  

 

But overall I feel like Survivor fans would rather watch a bad season of Survivor than a good season of any other reality show.  I know I would.  

[blackwing]

I actually don't mind the "Merica" name.  I like that they actually seemed to give it some thought, they wanted a name that called to mind red, white and blue.  Of course they're not going to name it "America" so they cut off that A and made it "Merica", which actually sounds like it could be a tribe name.  At least they didn't do what seems to happen often on Survivor and simply combine the names to get either "Escarote" or "Nagameca".

 

Lol at everybody calling Joe a challenge beast after ONE individual win. He looks strong but right now he is nowhere near the Ozzy and Terry level of challenge dominance. I recommend we wait until we start labeling him as a serious challenge threat especially since there are many strong men and women left int the competition.

I don't think anyone said he was Ozzy or Terry.  But given this level of competition, I do think he is a threat.  I wouldn't say there are many strong men and women left.  Of the men, Dan is fat and out of shape.  Will is fat and out of shape.  Tyler looks like he should be in decent shape but fell off the pole fairly quickly.  Rodney and Mike are strong.  They have more body mass than Tyler and outlasted him.  Of the women, I would say only Sierra, Carolyn and Jen look like they are fit and strong.

[SirCrimsonFox]

This season seems strangely scripted in the sense that every tribal is awesome. Every tribal they do something unexpected. I know survivor has always been OBVIOUS about who is going home before they even get to tribal. But usually the "bad guys" of the episode often end up winning tribal or else the "what you expect to happen" (aka boring waste of time) happens. Every tribal has been glorious including last week's sierra backflip vote onto Jouquin. That realy told me she was a bit smarter than...well...she had been acting. 

Then again she was definitely hurt by her dumbass tribe. I really want to see the blue collars go up in flames. I don't think there's anyone there I really like. Dan is a underdog and for that I'd like to see him go further.

Back to Jenn. Holy Moly! YES! It has been SO LONG since we've seen an idol used correctly! I can't even remember when it HAS been used properly. But I don't think there has ever been a vote where it's made THAT much impact. 

 

Yay! I hadn't been liking jenn much before. Now she is awesome! Love her sarcasm! She doesn't seem to take herself too seriously and the bee thing gave her so many points :)

 

And let's not forget Joe's AWESOME performance in the challenge. SOmeone else here brought up the point about Joe....the fact that people are "SO SCARED OF HIM IN CHALLENGES" when he's only won one challenge. It is obvious that the people who keep saying that (Mike and Rodney most of all) are ALSO huge big threats in challenges and want to get rid of people that can beat them. They also are trying not to have people say that about them. 

 

Rod is probably the stupidest player ever. WAit! Wait for it. Will is probably the stupidest player ever.

 

And now they are going to join forces LOL. I'm half expected Rod and Will to vote out Mike next week with the Reds.

 

 

I HOPEHOPEHOPE that Carolyn and Tyler dump the stupid blues now that their bud Kelly is gone and hang with the reds for awhile.

 

Liking Shirin more. Mike is...yeah REALLY dumb. Mike is the probably the stupidest player ever. okay is there anyone I haven't said that about? really Mike's perception on people has been REALLY GOOD but then he talks to them and starts believing their lies again. I don't know if he truly BELIEVES all of rod's bad lies but really he seems to . Little inlings maybe not as he keeps saying "we need Rodney for these votes". Problem is he thinks he can trust Rod now.

 

Will are you really that stupid. for no reason he jumps ship to be the bottom of the pole in a stacked multialliance .

 

I hope Tyler starts actually making moves. I mean he HAD IT! HE WAS STARING MIKE'S LIES IN THE FACE AND HE REALIZED MIKE HAD NOTHING TO OFFER HIM YET HE STILL VOTED WITH THE BLUES. UGH I'm guessing he was Carolyn's whipping boy there.

 

I like carolyn and obviously that was a tough loss for her. BRAVO to Jenn for ousting Kelly to make Carolyn a complete rogue free agent.

Actually it was shirin who brought up her name altho jenn probably would have anyway.

 

That was so good

[Mocking Bird]

 

Am I the only one who thinks there might have been some shenanigans with regards to Will's vote for Hali? I almost think he was told to vote for Hali (from TPTB?) because it wasn't going to make a difference either way and it created the fake out that Hali was targeted instead of Jenn. It was just too perfect that it worked that way. I may be wrong.

 

kimbrchick, Will was told to vote for Hali by Mike as a (snort) loyalty test.

 

[slowpoked]

I too am puzzled why No Collar wouldn't have sent their votes toward Rodney instead of Kelly.  The vote for Kelly seemed to be purely out of spite.  It was Mean Girl Jen deciding that she didn't like Kelly because Kelly wasn't nice to her.  Voting out Kelly when there are much stronger, harder players like Mike and Rodney made zero sense.

 

I think the vote for Kelly was more for her social prowess than her physical strength. She was the one who Carolyn (and by extension, Tyler) trusted to go over to the BC. I also think, based on the THs, that she's the one who keeps the alpha males in BC in check. So she may not be an IC threat but if you can get the person who is the glue, so to speak, then go for it. I don't think it's that bad of a vote on surface. Plus, the NCs may have thought one of the alphas had an idol, so they needed a surer vote. While Mike may be the vocal one, it seemed like Kelly may be the puppet master.

 

With Kelly gone, Carolyn (and Tyler) can be swayed back to the NCs. Sierra may still be a swing vote. A few convincing here and there and the BC may very well be the bottom tribe in just three days.

 

A little kudos to Shirin after the past two episodes. When she realized that she was on the lower totem pole when Max got voted out, she actually dialed down the annoying behavior and made herself useful to a tribe instead of being the next target. That's some self-awareness right there.

Edited April 2, 2015 by slowpoked

[CoyoteBlue]

At least they didn't do what seems to happen often on Survivor and simply combine the names to get either "Escarote" or "Nagameca".

 

I would have paid good money if one of them could have gotten the group to do that and call themselves "Escrote" (since I don't think they could get away with just 'scrote').

[Brenogan]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Mike.  Can't stand Jen!  She is definitely mean girl personified, whereas Mike is the man we know and like in our everyday lives.  The dude ate a scorpion in the first episode this season and has just as much of a problem with Rodney as we do, but doesn't let that affect his decision making.  The same cannot be said for Jen.  One cannot be an awesome player when their criteria for a vote is who annoys them the most.

[LadyChatts]

I don't know that Jenn has voted for anyone strictly because they were annoying.  She didn't like Vince, but he wasn't the one who was supposed to go-it was supposed to be Nina in a re-vote.  Will flubbed that plan up.  Vince was targeting her and her alliance, so I can't blame her there.  Nina was annoying, but also a weak link.  And she was no doubt going to gun for Jenn/Hali/Joe.  As for Max, I'm sure he was annoying, though it seems to depend who you talk to as to who was worse, him or Shirin.  Joaquin seemed to be okay with Max, but couldn't stand Shirin.  Max was targeting their trio, so of course they had to target one of them.  Max was probably (maybe) a bigger threat, game wise, down the road than Shirin.  Even though she and Hali find Shirin somewhat annoying, they are still willing to include her in their alliance.  They need her vote.  I don't know that there's really been any bad voting decisions.  The former NC should have tried to keep Vince, but he pretty much booted himself off.  And maybe Mike would have been smarter to keep Joaquin over Joe, but I'm glad he didn't.  Otherwise no one vote seems to have been anything but strategic, or common sense, and no tribe really suffered that much as a result.

 

As for Survivor as a whole: I've stuck with this show since day 1.  Even in the worst seasons when I was paying more attention to a picture hanging on the wall than I was the show, I still watched faithfully every week, hoping something exciting would happen.  Or at the very least, the people I despised most would finally get packing, and my pick to win would wind up victorious.  Wasn't always lucky with that.  The show really started to lose me after HvsV.  That time frame from S21-29 was one of my least favorites with the show, minus S27 & S28.  I think it was the contestant recycling of contestants, stunt casting, the fact they had to essentially hand Rob a win that he should have gotten during AS, and the period where having anyone on your show named Hantz was considered a good idea.  And I say that as someone who actually liked Russell his first two outings (by RI, I was over him).  But between Brandon, and was it Russell's brother on Big Brother, I was hoping we'd never see anymore from that family.  I used to think that I preferred even seasons to the odd numbered ones, but looking at Survivor as a whole, it seems to be to opposite for me now.  I'm enjoying this season more than others, though I don't like some of the people left.  I worry my favorites are going to get picked off, and hopefully the very people responsible get outnumbered and get picked off themselves.  The episodes this season seem really rushed and thrown together.  Last night seemed to drag, but at the same time, I couldn't believe when it was over.  It felt like nothing happened.  

Edited April 2, 2015 by LadyChatts

[iMonrey]

 

Why would you target Rodney?

 

Because he's in a solid position to go a long, long way and he's a physical threat in challenges. That's two valid reasons right there. Please he's annoying as hell to live with. You take Rodney out of the picture and that's one less physical threat you have to compete against in challenges. Kelly, on the other hand, couldn't win a challenge that was being thrown to her until she was given five chances. You can take her out any time you want.

 

I can understand Jenn and Hali targeting Kelly if they think she's the "glue" that holds Blue Collar together, but Blue Collar held together just fine last week without her. I see no reason for them to splinter just because she's gone. It really does seem more like Jenn and Hali were focused on her because she lied and said she wouldn't go back to the Blue tribe then turned around and did just that. That's kind of short-sighted of them.

 

I've yet to see anyone demonstrate long-term strategy on this season. Everything seems motivated by gut reactions.

[ProfCrash]

Jenn did not vote based on who annoyed her. Max and Shirin were annoying but also had numbers. Carolyn was willing to vote out Max. Jenn voted for Max. This last vote she did not even entertain voting for Shirin and instead voted out Kelly, the least annoying member of BC.

[Guest]

 

I actually don't mind the "Merica" name.  I like that they actually seemed to give it some thought, they wanted a name that called to mind red, white and blue.  Of course they're not going to name it "America" so they cut off that A and made it "Merica", which actually sounds like it could be a tribe name.  At least they didn't do what seems to happen often on Survivor and simply combine the names to get either "Escarote" or "Nagameca".

 

 

I didn't really get the 'red, white and blue' aspect because the 'collars' were blue, white and none.  But the NCs had red buffs/clothes, I guess.

 

I'm with Shirin on Merica.  But I would've loved Ameriscrote or Hackaloogie or something stupid.  

[kimbrchick]

kimbrchick, Will was told to vote for Hali by Mike as a (snort) loyalty test.

Ahh, that's what happens when you do homework while watching Survivor. I missed that. I don't get why Will would think his chances are better other there though.

[Wings]

I know I'm in the minority here, but I love Mike.  Can't stand Jen!  She is definitely mean girl personified, whereas Mike is the man we know and like in our everyday lives.  The dude ate a scorpion in the first episode this season and has just as much of a problem with Rodney as we do, but doesn't let that affect his decision making.  The same cannot be said for Jen.  One cannot be an awesome player when their criteria for a vote is who annoys them the most.

 

As an atheist, counter culture, left wing, white collar person I, in shock, really like the guy.  

 

He could win this and I would put an umbrella in my rum drink if this happens.  

[scowl]

As an atheist, counter culture, left wing, white collar person I, in shock, really like the guy.  

 

Of course you do! You white collar folks are getting rich off the hard work of blue collar guys like Mike!

 

(That's when the guy lost me.)

[blackwing]

Jenn did not vote based on who annoyed her. Max and Shirin were annoying but also had numbers. Carolyn was willing to vote out Max. Jenn voted for Max. This last vote she did not even entertain voting for Shirin and instead voted out Kelly, the least annoying member of BC.

I don't think Carolyn had anything to do with it.  Kelly was voting with Jenn, Hali and Will, so even if Carolyn hadn't voted with her alliance, they would have had numbers of four over the three White Collars.  Jenn found Max and Shirin both annoying.  She had that confessional where she said that either Max or Shirin were going home, and that the decision was going to come down to who was more annoying.  She said it was a two horse race as to who was more annoying.  Just when they thought one was more annoying, then the other one would come up from behind and be more annoying.  It seems that Max and his warty foot won the annoying race.

 

I think Jenn decided to vote out Kelly because she was annoyed that Kelly wasn't willing to stick with her and Hali, that she immediately went running back to Blue Collar and Mike.  The fact that she chose to vote out Kelly instead of Mike says to me that she is playing emotionally and not strategically.  It seems evident that Mike is a threat but she chooses to take out the relatively weak and ineffective Kelly.  Kelly is just a body and a number.  She wasn't doing any strategising of her own.

[LadyChatts]

From interviews I've read, it seemed Carolyn/Kelly were close back at the Nagarote camp and (according to Kelly) neither of them liked the girls.  I can see the logic in getting rid of Kelly.  It might have been personal, but I don't know that I'd say it was the wrong call.  I do believe that Mike or Rodney would have been a better choice, but I think it may have come down to Kelly's bond with Carolyn.  Without Kelly, can they woo Carolyn over to their side?  Tyler was with the guys and Sierra over at BC, so it may ultimately come down to him and what he thinks is in their best interest.  Without Kelly, Carolyn/Tyler may realize their odds are better off going with the old Nagarote and Shirin.  The trio of Jenn/Hali/Joe may be tight, but I think will ultimately be easier to break than the blue bond.  Of course I'm all sorts of confused if that group is really that tight or if Sierra and Rodney are doing a good job of playing Mike/Dan into thinking they are with them no matter what, and then plan to turn on them.  Mike might have been more of a challenge threat, and he has Dan wrapped around his finger, but Kelly seemed to have more bonds out there from reading her post show interviews.  I believe that is what Jenn meant when she said Kelly was the glue holding them together.  I guess we will see if it was the right decision.  Either way it might have been a lose/lose no matter how they voted.

Edited April 2, 2015 by LadyChatts

[SlackerInc]

Vindicated!  Shirin only gets tagged "annoying" because she's the only cool one in the midst of a bunch of lame-os.  I rest my case.

[scowl]

I think Jenn decided to vote out Kelly because she was annoyed that Kelly wasn't willing to stick with her and Hali, that she immediately went running back to Blue Collar and Mike.  The fact that she chose to vote out Kelly instead of Mike says to me that she is playing emotionally and not strategically.  It seems evident that Mike is a threat but she chooses to take out the relatively weak and ineffective Kelly.  Kelly is just a body and a number.  She wasn't doing any strategising of her own.

 

I like the theory that voting out Kelly isolates Carolyn and Tyler from the Blue Collars. Voting out Mike would more likely draw them into the Blue Collars and make them a more solid threat. 

[slowpoked]

 

The fact that she chose to vote out Kelly instead of Mike says to me that she is playing emotionally and not strategically.

Well, Kelly is also part of another "power" couple. Even with separate tribes last week, Mike has said he is looking forward to reunite with Kelly because they have a final two alliance. So they broke that up, and also took out the BC diplomatic bridge to the other potential swing votes. It's not so bad. 

[Wings]

I like the theory that voting out Kelly isolates Carolyn and Tyler from the Blue Collars. Voting out Mike would more likely draw them into the Blue Collars and make them a more solid threat. 

 

 

Yeah, I like that too..  The editing is different this season and I am not complaining.  I like not being sure.  Well, that may be due to no spoilers too.  Two seasons without them and I am enjoying the show more.   

Edited April 2, 2015 by wings707

[Donny Ketchum]

Will is looking like a sucker right now, yet I can at least understand his position.  He's been with Hali/Jenn since day one, so he knows they're as tight as can be....combined with Joe, they're an even tighter trio.  He knows that if he sticks with them, he's the clear #4 in their alliance, maybe even #5 with Shirin now in the picture.

He could've easily tried to form a tight duo with Joe, then pulled in Shirin as a third.  So I'll have no sympathy for him if the others don't end up trusting him now.

[fishcakes]

Well, Kelly is also part of another "power" couple. Even with separate tribes last week, Mike has said he is looking forward to reunite with Kelly because they have a final two alliance.

 

I wonder if that really existed or if Mike only thought it did because when Rodney was outlining his plan of taking out the NCs first and then him, Will, Carolyn, and Kelly taking out the rest of the BCs, Kelly was there. We didn't see her go back and tell Mike about it, which doesn't mean she didn't, but I think they would have shown it if she had. And if she did, I would think they'd want to get rid of Rodney now. He keeps making non-BC alliances, they don't need him for the numbers, and it pacifies Sierra. Now, even with Kelly gone, Rodney's still in a decent position because he can sub in Tyler for her in his F4 scenario. So the whole thing makes it not clear to me whether her true alliance was with Rodney, or if it was with Mike but either she was too dim to tell him about Rodney's plotting or she did tell him and together they decided to do nothing about it (also dumb, in my opinion; Rodney's a loose cannon, and they need to take him out). In any event, I'm enjoying how boneheaded all of my least favorites are being.

Edited April 2, 2015 by fishcakes

[DJ DAVE]

I guess giving Tyler a good back rub wins his vote.

[peachmangosteen]

I wonder if that really existed or if Mike only thought it did because when Rodney was outlining his plan of taking out the NCs first and then him, Will, Carolyn, and Kelly taking out the rest of the BCs, Kelly was there.

 

I believe there was an extra vid from the last ep with Kelly saying that she would stay with Mike forever and whatnot, so they really were thick as thieves. I imagine she was playing Rodney and that she probably did tell Mike, but since it wasn't particularly relevant it wasn't shown.

 

And really the editing, as usual, leaves a lot to be desired. But if they showed everything we'd never be surprised, I guess. This show is really just about telling the story Production wants to tell.

[fishcakes]

I believe there was an extra vid from the last ep with Kelly saying that she would stay with Mike forever and whatnot, so they really were thick as thieves. I imagine she was playing Rodney and that she probably did tell Mike, but since it wasn't particularly relevant it wasn't shown.

 

I think it's hugely relevant because if either Kelly alone or Kelly and Mike together had had the brains to take care of Rodney now, then Kelly would still be there. And Jenn's idol likely flushed as well. So I really wish we could have seen their (or her, depending on whether or not she said anything to Mike) reasoning on this, if only because it would make her getting blindsided by the idol even more satisfying. Not that I didn't find it completely delightful as it was, but then I never was a Kelly fan.

Edited April 2, 2015 by fishcakes

[LanceM]

For all the "mean girls" comments thrown at Hali and Jenn's way I find it interesting that in her secret scene at the swap episode Hali says how much they all love Kelly and bonded with her and then we find out today that Kellly was putting on an act and really couldn't stand any of the no collar women.

 

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/04/02/survivor-worlds-apart-kelly-interview

 

“I didn’t like the No Collars. I didn’t like their tribe. I didn’t like their fire pit. I didn’t like their shelter. I didn’t like the girls I was with. So I was like ‘Oh yes, this is back home! I made it!’”

[Ms Blue Jay]

Kelly.  LOL.  There is like nothing redeeming about this woman.  Dull player, dull personality.

[green]

With Kelly gone, Carolyn (and Tyler) can be swayed back to the NCs. Sierra may still be a swing vote. A few convincing here and there and the BC may very well be the bottom tribe in just three days.

 

 

Why?  They would just piss off the jury as flip-floppers and not for any good reason either.  You only flip to save yourself or if there is a really REALLY good reason to do so at the time.  There is none now.  It would be a lose-lose mover for them.

 

1. At Blue Collar they could well end up 2nd and 3rd with Mike now that Kelly is out.  Add with Dan as a goat and that is a strong four.  Sierra is the dark horse and Rodney is the monkey wrench with Will still looking to be more than an outlier.  But Tyler especially with Carolyn his secret ally (with idol in tow) definitely are in much greener pastures at Blue Collar.  They could take power when Blue Collar starts to split.  Or at least I imagine they see that as a very strong possibility.

 

2. Meanwhile the Cool Kids Club (no collars) are a tight three with Shirin as the goat 4th.  No room there for Carolyn and Tyler for now.

[Andromeda]

It's "Murika"  Mike.  I'm getting tired of you,

Damn straight. If you're going to butcher the name of your country in the name of patriotism, best go all the way with it. Totally embarrassed right along with Shirrin.

 

I wonder if Tyler and Carolyn went with blue collar just because Carolyn hates Shirrin. Stupid decision. And Will? I cannot for the life of me figure out what he thought he was going to gain. Does he think he'll be going on an immunity run when he's on the bottom of the blue totem pole?

 

Kelly.  LOL.  There is like nothing redeeming about this woman.  Dull player, dull personality.

And really stupid, going by her awful performance at that memory challenge last week. Edited April 2, 2015 by Andromeda

[Hera]

I actually think Rodney's being underestimated. Yes, his plans fall through, but he doesn't have bad instincts for the game. His desire to get Joe out before the merge has been vindicated in this first immunity win and by the fact that Joe went back to his original tribemates as soon as the merge happened. There was at least a possibility that Joaquin would have voted with the Blue Collars. He also made a better pitch to Carolyn and Tyler than Jenn did. Jenn's offer was, "Vote with us and we'll take out the Blue Collars." Rodney's offer was, "Vote with Blue Collar to get rid of the No Collars, and then once we're down to seven, we'll take out Blue Collars who aren't in our suballiance." Rodney's deal promised to get them further in the game than Jenn's deal did, and by making it clear that there were divisions in the Blue Collar alliance that they could exploit (possibly without Rodney, if they felt like turning on him). Sure, Rodney could be lying to them, but so could Jenn. Plus, as others have stated, Carolyn and Tyler probably have a better shot at individual immunities and at the million if they play with Blue Collars.

 

I understand Will's move less well, but it may be that he saw the writing on the wall in terms of how the post-merge alliances were going to be and decided not to stick around to be on the losing end of a 7-5 split. If the alliance of eight (now seven) holds on after this vote, then he doesn't really have the option to switch back; not unless Carolyn and Tyler decide to swing back as well, but if their reasons for going with Blue Collar are the ones outlined above, then they have no reason to do so. The loss of Kelly is unfortunate for that alliance, but they're still up 7-4, and while this may be the end of the suballiance Rodney envisioned, they could try to get a final four of Will + Rodney or ditch Rodney altogether and try to exploit other divisions in that alliance. With that many people, there are bound to be some.

 

He could've easily tried to form a tight duo with Joe, then pulled in Shirin as a third.  So I'll have no sympathy for him if the others don't end up trusting him now.

It's rare for me to disagree with you, @Donny Ketchum, but I have to here. There wasn't any groundwork lain for Will to form a tight duo with Joe. On the original Nagarote, Joe was bonded to Jenn and Hali and while I think it's clear to us at home that the the two remaining No Collar women are each other's closest ally in the game, I don't know how clear that is to Joe. If the No Collars had gone to Tribal Council again before the tribe shake-up, it would have been Will on the chopping block, and I'm sure he knows that. Then Joe was on a different tribe for two votes. There was essentially no opportunity before the merge for Will to become tight with Joe and I think it's too late to try now, especially since the numbers are still not in the favor of Joe/Jenn/Hali/Shirin.

[Mabinogia]

But next week I might really appreciate a great move from the other side. So I'm just kind of enjoying watching how things play out, the back and forth, without necessarily having a favorite group or even favorite person.

 

I actually prefer the show this way rather than having a strong favorite because you can fully appreciate gameplay. It's interesting. I don't like Jenn but I LOVED how this Tribal went down and can't fathom how Jeff thought an early ep was the best ever. This one was way better than that one. WTF? It is just really fun to watch someone think through a scenario, take a chance, because it's clear that she wasn't certain they were picking her over Hali, and have it actually work out. It was great. It was great to see Blue Collar Idiot 1 (I really can't be buggered to tell the two lunkheads on that team apart) test Will's loyalty by lying to him and having that lie so obviously revealed to the point that he has to have lost Will as an ally. I love when people over think the game like that. It was great to see Joe so thoroughly enjoying holding onto a telephone pole in the rain. (Okay, if I have a favorite it's him, but it's not all out love like I had for Yul, so if Joe goes, I'm not going, there are others I wouldn't mind seeing win and only two I don't want to win, Mike and Rodney. Ugh! So, yes, every time they get blindsided, I get happy. lol So this was a good ep for me.

[ihartcoffee]

The warm water trick works, used it on my son when he got stung by jellyfish on his leg. Thank God my husband knew about it.

[awaken]

1)  What???  I was surprised when the merge happened- I had to re-watch to make sure that was what I was seeing.  Didn't we just have them go from 3 to 2 tribes?  All the switching around without a few weeks in between makes it hard for me to understand alliances when they've all been on 3 different tribes.

 

2)  Most ignorant tribe name ever.  Ugh.  I'm embarrassed for America.  For once I was on Shirin's side, and totally agreed with what she said!  Did no one object when Mike made that redneck suggestion?

 

3)  YES!  Rodney's WTF face two weeks in a row at TC!  Love that he keeps thinking he's top dog, but every time he gets burned.  

[jsm1125]

Has the merge ever happened in episode 6? I know that, numbers-wise, it's somewhat normal these days to merge at 12, but it seemed so early from an episode standpoint to merge.

 

I'm surprised that Sierra slipped in the challenge so early.

[blackwing]

I don't think Carolyn and Tyler can go to No Collar now, after she made a huge point to say that "lines will be drawn tonight". Of course, she only said that because she thought she'd be on the victorious side. But it would look horrible to a jury if she flips next week and crosses the line she drew. She'd look very untrustworthy.

[pricklypear]

What bothers me most about the tribe name isn't that it's "spelled wrong" (which it is no matter how you look at it), but isn't 'Murica a kind of derogatory term? Like, isn't it used to describe how rednecks and hicks say "America" or used in place of "Only in America"? I picture it on a meme of thousands of people squished together against the glass of a Walmart on Black Friday, half of them wearing pajamas and flip-flops, and the caption saying 'Murica. So, to me the name is stupid and embarrassing on many different levels.

 

Either Shirin got a totally bad edit in the first few episodes, or she figured out in a big, fat hurry to calm down (which is what she said she needed to do in an earlier episode), but I found myself liking her a little bit last night. Still love Joe and glad he won II. I'm in the "love Jenn" camp. I was glad she played her idol last night, but I'm worried about them for next week.

[green]

 

2)  Most ignorant tribe name ever.  Ugh.  I'm embarrassed for America.  For once I was on Shirin's side, and totally agreed with what she said!  Did no one object when Mike made that redneck suggestion?

 

I personally love the name.  Has a nice ring to it.  Kind of like a blend of America and Mercia (yes I love Vikings).  I was not embarrassed for America.  For failings like slavery and racism and bigotry and stealing the Native American lands in the past, yes.  For this, no way.  I thought it was cool.  And I'm not even a "redneck".

 

Hera, I agree Rodney isn't playing the game that badly.  He seems to grasp the need for numbers and hung on with Blue Collar as well he should.  And I had forgotten his part in "reeling in" Tyler/Carolyn what to speak of Will.  But his social game leaves a lot to be desired and he can't always control his emotions.  It's like for every step forward he takes a step backward.

[kikaha]

IIRC, Shirin (not Jenn) started the "let's vote out Kelly" bandwagon.  Jenn and Hali immediately jumped on board.  I think their reasons made a lot of sense strategically:

 

*  They had seen they couldn't trust Kelly.  After spending six days badmouthing the BCs, the first thing she did at merge was to race back to them;

 

*  Besides being a BC mole, she also was real tight with Carolyn.  Which meant she was tight with Tyler, too.  Kelly was connected, in very influential ways, to both the BCs and the WC: more than anyone else out there she was the glue.

 

So the NC4 (Jenn, Hali, Joe and Shirin) saw a key player, who held together the other two collar groups, who had clearly lied pretty thoroughly to them, and who they couldn't trust.  Sure booting her had personal overtones, but at its heart was a good strategic decision as well. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Right; I'm in the camp that NC + Shirin voting out Kelly is an even better move than they thought it was when they did it.

[Lingo]

I understand why Tyler, Carolyn, and Will would align with the Blue Collars. There are clear divisions in the Blue Collar tribe that can easily be exploited. Sierra does not like Dan or Rodney and would happily vote with Tyler, Carolyn, and Will to vote out Dan and Rodney. Rodney is going to want revenge for the Joaquin vote and is going to target Mike and Dan. I doubt Rodney blames Sierra for that, she is after all a woman and we know how little Rodney thinks of women. The White Collar tribe, without Will, does not appear to have those divisions. Joe, Hali and Jenn seem to be pretty tight. So it would be harder for Tyler and Carolyn to work their way into that group.

 

I actually think that Tyler and Carolyn have a better chance at beating Mike, Dan, Rodney, and Sierra in challenges then they do Joe, Hali, and Jen. Mike and Rodney are more muscle types and that can help in some challenges but not too many. When individual immunity hits then tend to be more random ball/balance type things and events that are meant to be accessible to everyone, not just the strong. So anything weight related is based on a percentage of body weight which levels the playing field. If I am worried about balance events, I am targeting Joe, Hali, and Jenn who are smaller and appear to be in pretty good shape.

 

And then there is Shirin. Tyler and Carolyn might be able to play her as a swing vote. Get rid of the three No Color and Shirin becomes a lone wolf. She has more of a relationship with Tyler and Carolyn then she does anyone else. Tyler was not part of the group who voted out Max so he might be able to approach and work with Shirin.

 

Will knew he was the fourth in the No Collar tribe and probably was not in good enough shape to feel like he could beat the other three.

 

So Tyler, Carolyn, and Will joining with Blue Collar makes sense. There are more factions to work with and there is a better chance at winning individual immunity.

 

I loved how Jenn played the idol. That was perfect. I have no problem with her being giddy when it worked. She was going to be gone and now she is not and Kelly is gone. Kelly was a good target because it was pretty easy to see that she was the glue for the Blue Collar. She could talk to Rodney and Mike pretty easily and would be able to help that group together. Lose Kelly and use lose the voice of reason. That is going to cause all sorts of havoc.

 

 

You took all the words out of my mouth.  In fact, I'll go on to say (and agree with Hera) that Rodney's plan may also be a big factor in the decision to go with the BCs. I can actually see the alliance of 7 take out Joe, Jenn, and Hali, and then Rodney, Will, Carolyn, and Tyler take out Mike, Dan, and Sierra.  Then they vote out Will at F4, and Tyler and Carolyn take Rodney to the F3 as their goat.  Assuming Carolyn and Tyler don't backstab each other before then, because at that point each of them is the other's biggest competition.

 

I despise Jen.  She's just so damn smug.  Have we seen players who successfully played an Idol and negated their votes actually laughing out loud at tribal before?

Basically every single time??

 

Targeting Kelly was also a dumb move. Why the hell is nobody targeting Rodney? Especially after the showing he made in the immunity challenge. He was one of the last four hanging there. Again, idiots. I'm afraid we're in for a Blue Collar final four. 

No he wasn't.  I don't remember exactly when Rodney dropped out, but the final four were Joe, Carolyn, Jenn, and Hali.

 

Oh, I fully understand what the thought process was.  But as I said, I don't get the point because either Will was or wasn't with them.  They all planned to vote for Jen.  If Will was playing Mike and ran to No Collar and told them everyone was voting for Hali, then what was supposed to happen?  Would Mike then vote out Will instead?  But if Will is loyal, he says nothing, and he sees that no one but him voted for Hali so now he's wondering why he's on the bottom and flips next time.

 

The part where Mike's plan failed is that they didn't have a contingency plan for 1) if Will told No Collar that Hali was getting voted out, and 2) what if someone had an Idol, and 3) who would it be played for.  In the end, the only thing on Mike's mind was "let's see if Will is loyal".  He didn't work out the steps far enough in advance.  He wouldn't be a good chess player.

 

That second paragraph is where you lose me, because I think Mike was thinking precisely about the HII.  If Will had told the NCs that they were voting for Hali, then Jenn would have given the idol to Hali to play vainly and Jenn would have gone home.  That would have been perfect for Mike.  As it was, with the WCs on their side they didn't need Will's vote, so it was safer to test his loyalty this way.  This is exactly how Earl and co. handled Dreamz at the Edgardo vote.  Will might be stung by the lie, but he doesn't have many options anyway, and he's a pretty cool-headed player so he may let this pass.

 

I can understand Jenn and Hali targeting Kelly if they think she's the "glue" that holds Blue Collar together, but Blue Collar held together just fine last week without her. I see no reason for them to splinter just because she's gone.

What?? They split the vote last week!!  They had a majority and yet they voted in two separate blocs!!  Plus Sierra told the other guys she's ready to ditch the BC guys.

 

Has the merge ever happened in episode 6? I know that, numbers-wise, it's somewhat normal these days to merge at 12, but it seemed so early from an episode standpoint to merge.

 

 

Well this is really episode 7 you know, since Ep 5 was actually two episodes.  And yeah, it's been pretty common in recent seasons for them to merge in Ep 7.

[LadyChatts]

In listening to Mike and Tyler's conversation about why Tyler/Carolyn should side with the blue collars, Tyler pinpointed why he might be setting up his (or Carolyn's) exit: he said to Mike he was going to talk to other people and see if they could offer him something different.  That type of logic and pretending your undecided is going to get your torch snuffed.  Obviously there was more to the conversation and siding with the blue collars than we were shown, though if it really boiled down to Carolyn/Kelly's friendship and nothing more, next week should be interesting.

[KimberStormer]

Guys.  This episode was amazing.  And it was so necessary for me.  Been having some stress and tough times IRL and thanks to last season's Jeremy/Josh combined fakeout editing I was absolutely sure that I'd totally misread everything and Jenn was going home when it was heading for tribal and her name, but not Mike's, was up for consideration.  I was miserable.  Miserable.  But then the good guys won at the last second and it was amazing.  Felt like an omen of good for me personally, as ridiculous as that sounds.  It was exactly what I needed tonight.

 

The rest of the episode was great too.  I can't remember a season with this many floaters and uncertain votes.  Personally I am feeling for the No Collars (minus Will but plus Shirin) what most people (though not me actually) felt for the Aitu 4 in Cook Islands.  I love them and basically despise those who are not them.  It seems impossible, they are so outnumbered, yet I want them to win so badly, and I feel like they will.  It makes no sense from a game perspective, perhaps.  But I still feel it deep in my reality-TV bones.  It's happened before.

 

Although I don't like them and God knows I don't want them to win, I do think some people are playing OK.  Mike knows what he's doing more or less.  Tyler obviously must have gotten something from playing hardball with him, too.  I think Carolyn absolutely sucks as a person but I guess she's smart enough at the game.  I even appreciate Rodney as a player, although he can't execute, he really is trying to play and think.  He at least has some grasp of how the game works and that he has to play it.

 

But I love Jenn.  "Really, life?" made me LOL IRL.  She's like a Courtney who's actually playing, aware of the ridiculousness.  I feel like the word "robust" was invented for her, full of life and a sort of power?  Like, bossing Dan around to get him to take care of his foot the right way, making it clear that she thinks Probst is a moron, getting so into it when she used her idol right...she's a loud big fun player, my favorite kind.  I love Hali, working quietly and empathetically.  I love Joe and his "what do you think?" about Rodney.  I love Shirin and her ridiculous annoyingness.  I feel like she had exactly all of you in mind tonight when she said "I AM NOT A SWING VOTE" because as a huge superfan she knows how the Internet (and editors) love to crucify a swing vote.  I think that was great, especially with smug Carolyn (seriously how can you call Jenn smug and not Carolyn I don't get it) declaring the lines were being drawn and no crossing possible.  After she bitched Shirin out for no reason last week, it must have felt very, very good for Shirin to be on the right side of tonight's vote, even if only for one tribal.

 

I thought she said she was going to be a criminal defense attorney which means she's "part of the Constitution."  Which sounded even dumber than the tribe name.

 

But criminal defense attorneys are part of the Constitution, Sixth Amendment, right?

[ghoulina]

I wonder if Tyler and Carolyn went with blue collar just because Carolyn hates Shirrin.

 

No, I think they went with BC because there are a lot of fractures there. Jenn, Joe, and Hali are a tight three. You're not going to break them up. But at BC, Mike is tired of and annoyed at Rodney, and Sierra can't stand any of them....so eventually you could weasel your way in there. I think it was a pretty decent move on their part. 

 

What bothers me most about the tribe name isn't that it's "spelled wrong" (which it is no matter how you look at it), but isn't 'Murica a kind of derogatory term? Like, isn't it used to describe how rednecks and hicks say "America" or used in place of "Only in America"? I picture it on a meme of thousands of people squished together against the glass of a Walmart on Black Friday, half of them wearing pajamas and flip-flops, and the caption saying 'Murica. So, to me the name is stupid and embarrassing on many different levels.

 

No, that's exactly what it is. Now, if Mike had done it in a tongue-in-cheek way, like he was poking fun at himself, it could have been a bit funny. Maybe. But he seemed really ignorant of the whole "Murica" thing, which is why I found it so pathetic and embarassing. 

[ProfCrash]

In my neck of the woods Murica is used in a "Hey we are being lazy so Murica" type way. As in, why are Kuerigs so popular when it is just not that hard or time consuming to put in a filter and coffee into a coffee pot. The response in the office "Murica."

 

So yeah, not exactly positive.

[Special K]

I love you guys for suggesting and developing the idea of Rodney = Wiley E. Coyote and Joe = the Road Runner.

 

If anyone with the capabilities is reading this, we would LOVE a montage of Rodney and Joe's faces at TC with Road Runner sounds.  Meep meep!
 

[truthaboutluv]

I too am puzzled why No Collar wouldn't have sent their votes toward Rodney instead of Kelly.  The vote for Kelly seemed to be purely out of spite.  It was Mean Girl Jen deciding that she didn't like Kelly because Kelly wasn't nice to her.  Voting out Kelly when there are much stronger, harder players like Mike and Rodney made zero sense.

 

 

As someone else noted, that's now how it was shown in the episode. When they get back from the IC, we do see Jenn mentioning Mike as a possibility with Hali and Shirin and then they say maybe Kelly and Shirin says that she was definitely thinking Kelly because she believed Kelly was the real power there. And I do think Jenn's question to Joe about Rodney being smart was her gauging how much of a threat Rodney could be in the game. I can't see Jenn being so outraged about Kelly's going back to the BC because I believe it was her (I may be wrong on that) who was expressing doubt in Kelly before the merge happened. I think they all had a very strong suspicion that she would run back to her old tribemates. 

Edited April 3, 2015 by truthaboutluv

[peachmangosteen]

I think it's hugely relevant because if either Kelly alone or Kelly and Mike together had had the brains to take care of Rodney now, then Kelly would still be there. And Jenn's idol likely flushed as well. So I really wish we could have seen their (or her, depending on whether or not she said anything to Mike) reasoning on this, if only because it would make her getting blindsided by the idol even more satisfying. Not that I didn't find it completely delightful as it was, but then I never was a Kelly fan.

 

I mean, I agree with you. I would love to see that. But I think it seems like something production might not believe is necessary to show, so I am willing to believe it happened but just wasn't shown. It's abundantly clear from the eps, the extra vids, and Kelly's exit interviews that she was 100% with Mike.

 

I wonder if Tyler and Carolyn went with blue collar just because Carolyn hates Shirrin.

 

I believe that certainly played a part in it. Carolyn and Tyler both hate Shirin to an unhealthy degree IMO. I hope it fucks them both over.

 

Right; I'm in the camp that NC + Shirin voting out Kelly is an even better move than they thought it was when they did it.

 

This. I think that it actually was a strategic decision for them, but I think it was probably an even better decision than they realized at the time.

 

Personally I am feeling for the No Collars (minus Will but plus Shirin) what most people (though not me actually) felt for the Aitu 4 in Cook Islands.  I love them and basically despise those who are not them.  It seems impossible, they are so outnumbered, yet I want them to win so badly, and I feel like they will.  It makes no sense from a game perspective, perhaps.  But I still feel it deep in my reality-TV bones.  It's happened before.

 

I am loving NC+Shirin a lot, too. I feel similar to them that I did with Aitu 4 in that I don't particularly love some of them individually, but as a group I am really rooting for them. It's the underdog aspect probably for me. I too really feel like they're gonna somehow come out victorious. Which is probably not a good thing because if they don't I'm gonna be so disappointed.

Edited April 3, 2015 by peachmangosteen