S30.E09: Living On The Edge

[PaperTree]

Oh right, a mystery from this episode: how were the five who won the reward not absolutely livid at the other five assholes who fucking killed and ate a chicken while they were on their reward?

I was wondering that, too.  I thought it was a brilliant move.  They got twice as much chicken each while the reward winners got a lot of sugar.  I would have been stripping the peanuts out as best as I could for the extra protein.

 

If there was no drama about the killing after the winners got back, this gang is even lamer than we thought.

[kelnic86]

I still like Jenn and I still have hope that she and Shirin can turn this game around. Now that Joe's gone, the majority alliance can use them as swing votes since they are not threats to them. I just think her edit could've been way worse since she wanted to quit, instead of making it partly about her wanting to save Joe. I don't know, I just want her to get back her will to go on because she's one of the few that I've liked this entire season.

Edited April 16, 2015 by kelnic86

[Lantern7]

Notice that we didn't see Probst throw Joe's idol into the fire. I may have been wrong about him crushing on Joe, but I think he wanted to keep the fake. Amazing what Joe could do with a little time and a secret stash of supplies.

 

Rodney was funny. That was a bit jarring. Nice impressions of Mike and Dan. As far as Bostonian realty folks go, he's still not as fun to watch as CT or (ugh) Rob.

 

I can understand where Jenn is coming from. I hope she finds motivation to not check out. Is there a penalty for outright quitting?

 

Still pulling for Shirin. Maybe she can get invited back. Hey, if Tyson could get to play three times . . .

 

Anybody else cringing about the reward? I have a nut allergy, and most of the products either have nuts or are produced in places that handle nuts. I would've been miserable at the "candy bar."

[Arkay]

I love Mike and I am absolutely rooting for him to win. He won that reward challenge by hooking all the rings for his team. He is 20 steps ahead of everyone else strategically. He forced Joe's hand by insisting on seeing the "idol" in advance, and he had to know immediately it was a fake or Joe wouldn't have handed it over. He also lasted a long time in that endurance challenge. Mike all the way.

[LadyChatts]

Notice that we didn't see Probst throw Joe's idol into the fire. I may have been wrong about him crushing on Joe, but I think he wanted to keep the fake. Amazing what Joe could do with a little time and a secret stash of supplies.

 

Rodney was funny. That was a bit jarring. Nice impressions of Mike and Dan. As far as Bostonian realty folks go, he's still not as fun to watch as CT or (ugh) Rob.

 

I can understand where Jenn is coming from. I hope she finds motivation to not check out. Is there a penalty for outright quitting?

 

Still pulling for Shirin. Maybe she can get invited back. Hey, if Tyson could get to play three times . . .

 

Anybody else cringing about the reward? I have a nut allergy, and most of the products either have nuts or are produced in places that handle nuts. I would've been miserable at the "candy bar."

 

There never used to be, but during Survivor Nicaragua, 2 contestants quit after the merge in the same episode.  There was a lot of uproar that they were still allowed their prize money and to cast their votes for winner (which ultimately decided the winner that season).  So during the reunion show that season, Jeff said a new policy was in place that if anyone willingly quit the game TPTB had the right to decide whether to allow them to be on the jury and collect anything they had coming to them.  So it would be up to their discretion as to whether Jenn could have been on the jury or not.

 

TBH, I didn't think the reward was that big of a deal.  They've had better rewards this season than that.

 

If Shirin were to return, I would hope she could be on a season where people were nicer to her.  Even if she talks a lot, I don't see that as being any reason for the vitriol she's getting.  Especially from the people it's coming from!  And, since she is unlikable to some of her cast, it would be fitting that she got asked back or voted back in by fans over some of them.  I like her.  I was impressed with her tonight.  I hope she outlasts Carolyn, Will, and Dan especially.  I wonder if Carolyn is just too pig headed to want to work with her.

Edited April 16, 2015 by LadyChatts

[cooksdelight]

I can understand where Jenn is coming from. I hope she finds motivation to not check out. Is there a penalty for outright quitting

From what I know, they now get nothing. And are pretty much ignored at the reunion.

I bet Probst kept the fake idol. And will bring that out at the reunion to show people how it's probably one of the best fakes ever.

[awaken]

Color me shocked- this was the first time I've seen a spark of smart gameplay from shirin and Rodney, and a bit of- gasp- intelligence from Rodney!

[PreBabylonia]

I didn't know what was going on the whole episode. I was especially confused when I found myself liking Rodney for about two minutes.

That was a pretty long, brutal reward challenge, all for some fucking candy. I would think that scarfing so much processed sugar when you're starving would just make you sick. And I never liked Snickers, so none of it really looked appealing.

 

I could see being tempted by those little foil wrapped chocolate Easter eggs or a really good chocolate like Belgian champagne truffles or even a Crunchie or Mirage bar, but Snickers and all those junky types of treats wouldn't entice me at all, not in that kind of situation. I miss former seasons of Survivor, when one of them said the tent was going to smell like ass, after they'd just enjoyed a reward feast.

I still like Jenn and I still have hope that she and Shirin can turn this game around. Now that Joe's gone, the majority alliance can use them as swing votes since they are not threats to them. I just think her edit could've been way worse since she wanted to quit, instead of making it partly about her wanting to save Joe. I don't know, I just want her to get back her will to go on because she's one of the few that I've liked this entire season.

Me too. I've liked Jenn since the beginning and I was really disappointed in her this episode, between bouts of thinking it's a ploy she and Joe have cooked up to present herself as a non-threat. With such slim pickings, I still have to root for her. And Shirrin. I too would find her annoying but I just don't understand the very nasty things the men all say to her, especially Dan. I know the bullying term does get tossed around too much, but in her case I think it's completely justified. Playing the game ruthlessly is one thing, trying to destroy someone's self esteem and tell them that nobody likes them is another. I hate Dan with the power of a 1000 suns. As a former postal worker myself (long long ago and in a former galaxy), I am horrified and ashamed that he is another one of that rapidly shrinking group. Although sadly, I have to admit that I met lots of jerky postal workers and letter carriers in my day.

[cooksdelight]

I'd have been stuffing those Dove chocolates into whatever clothing I had to bring them back for a midnight snack.

[SnideAsides]

Was there any reason at all that that reward challenge had to be in the water? Like, none of the obstacles were typical water obstacles and they've all appeared in land-based obstacle courses multiple times in the past, and it's not like players aren't already in bikinis and swimsuits.

[awaken]

I'm not interested in any of these people which makes me sad because I love survivor!

No real standout alliances, barely any strategy. I can't even follow who's with who.

[riverheightsnancy]

I was shocked, shocked I say, when I saw how chubby Dan still is. He doesn't look like he has lost any weight at all. By this point you usually see some type of weight loss on everyone.  He must retain everything! 

[cooksdelight]

I was shocked, shocked I say, when I saw how chubby Dan still is. He doesn't look like he has lost any weight at all. By this point you usually see some type of weight loss on everyone.  He must retain everything!

I'd say they might want to do a headcount of monkeys and birds around there....

[awaken]

No strategy talk shown at all on the reward. Disappointing.

Wait, why did shirin vote for Joe? I thought the plan was for them to vote Jen to keep Joe in, even if she and Shirin are friends.

Edited April 16, 2015 by awaken

[Rick Kitchen]

Nice commercial for Mars products.

 

Shut up, Jenn, the chickens don't belong to you.

 

I still don't understand why Joe wasn't looking for the real idol.

[cooksdelight]

I still don't understand why Joe wasn't looking for the real idol.

It's almost as if Joe was told by someone, somehow, that someone had already found it. Because he had the clue, he knew where to go, yet he didn't (that we saw).

I'm really pissed at the editors this season.

[mojoween]

I think Shirin sacrificed Joe so she didn't lose her in with Mike. If Joe stayed because of a hinky vote, Mike would have known she couldn't be trusted because she didn't vote how she said she would.

[sadiegirl1999]

Ugh, this was a shitfest, and not just b/c of that reward coming back to haunt them.

 

Joe sure brings the pretty but he is NOT smart. He's like Ozzy 2.0 (or is it 3.0 b/c Malcolm is/was Ozzy 2.0?)

 

Again, I have not been spoiled but I truly think they are setting up a Mike win.

 

I feel like "epic blindsides" are of people who are villans or hated. I think for the most part, Mike is well liked. Or the editors are setting him up to be.

 

I am STILL waiting for this fabulous, turn the show on its ear "twist" that Peachy hyped.

[North of Eden]

Jenn continues to be a vile person. I've hated her since episode two where she was gleefully talking smack about Vince. She comes on here purporting to be a fan of the show and then goes through all these gymnastics and contortions to try and get HERSELF voted out.

No, way, no how would anyone who is a REAL fan of this show ever do that. I think she just wanted out to be able to go and slam down drinks with Hali at loser's lodge.

 

In other news Joe's fake idol was pretty damn good...and who knew that if Rodney dropped his whole "gumba" schtick he would make a pretty good heir apparent for Rich Little.

 

Sharin for the win? I'm starting to think in some crazy universe this could happen.

[enlightenedbum]

No strategy talk shown at all on the reward. Disappointing.

Wait, why did shirin vote for Joe? I thought the plan was for them to vote Jen to keep Joe in, even if she and Shirin are friends.

Because this way she's the eighth member of an eight person alliance with nine left.

 

For all her talk, I'm not impressed by her actual strategy.  Like a less cocky Shii Ann.

[LanceM]

It would have been stupid for Shirin to vote for Jenn. She absolutely made the right move to vote out Joe.  Now with Joe gone the game can actually start. Had Joe stayed and won immunity next week, than Shirin is most likely gone.

[Eolivet]

Mike's minute-long rhapsodizing on the glories of a Snickers bar is the reason people do not like product placement. Even if it was genuine, it comes across as fake. I don't believe he's a truly terrible person, like some people (cough, Dan), but his earnestness is grating to watch. When he performs an ode to a candy bar with all the gravitas people usually reserve for more important issues, it's like...lighten up a little, buddy. Yeesh.

 

Dan continues to irk me merely by continuing to exist on my screen.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Eolivet

[90PercentGravity]

Joe's better strategy would have been to tell Mike that none of their votes would count so he was going to get his alliance to vote against him.

[riley702]

Was there any reason at all that that reward challenge had to be in the water? Like, none of the obstacles were typical water obstacles and they've all appeared in land-based obstacle courses multiple times in the past, and it's not like players aren't already in bikinis and swimsuits.

So they wouldn't hurt themselves?

[Wings]

On vacation and no time to read this thread. Sorry.

 

Best part.  Tyler saying on his vote for Jen, "I don't know what is going on."  I am in love. 

[enlightenedbum]

It would have been stupid for Shirin to vote for Jenn. She absolutely made the right move to vote out Joe.  Now with Joe gone the game can actually start. Had Joe stayed and won immunity next week, than Shirin is most likely gone.

Short term maybe, but if she wants to win she has to actually flip the game.  That gets harder with every person voted out.

[Katesus7]

I always DVR this show because I tend to fast forward the challenges, because they are a) boring to me, and b) too stressful to watch live (yeah, I know, total contradiction). Sometimes when I think the show is taking a turn I don't like, I'll turn to the end to see if I want to watch. Well, deleted it immediately tonight, and from the comments I'm not upset with my decision.

I should've known that when Probst said it was a great season, I would personally hate it. I'll check in to see if my nightmare final three of Dan, Rodney and that older woman who I suddenly found to be kind of a bitch make up my least favorite final three.

[Artsda]

Well that sucks loved Joe and thought he deserved to go far. I have no doubt he'll be back on another season.

 

"I have no idea what's going on" made me laugh out loud. 

 

Jenn may mentally not care or not want to be there, but she's shown by how much she gave in both the challenges tonight that she isn't a quitter. She was fighting to win in both challenges.

Edited April 16, 2015 by Artsda

[Ms Blue Jay]

I feel like Shirin and Jenn have become a big disappointment.  Shirin bragging the whole goddamn time she knows this game better than anyone.  Puh.  You can't get literally one person to like you.  The no collars HAD to adopt you.  

 

Big disappointments.  What a sad episode.  I agree that Joe is likeable and gorgeous but if he likes the game so much why is his strategy so bad?  Even Ozzy managed to get to the end, goddammit!  

 

I don't know.... the Blue collars are tight but they are not smart.  They even got Will to join them... GAH!  More game playing should have been done.

 

Natalie from last season makes these guys all look like idiots.....  only Mike and (GASP) Rodney seem to know the score.  Mike is puppeteering goddamn everyone, including people not in his alliance... what the fuck?!

 

At least when Tony controlled Cagayan I could totally understand why....

Edited April 16, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[viajero]

Well at least they made Joe's inevitable ouster somewhat interesting, though this was mostly thanks to Joe, Jenn and Shirin.  But otherwise, the only change in the status-quo in this episode is that Jenn actually gave herself a small shot at making the final.  I think if she survives one more week, she has a chance.

 

I'm not sure to what extent this was intentional.  Jenn may have been speaking the truth at TC when she said part of her was ready to leave and part of her was still enjoying the game.  She may very well have had a Plan A and Plan B - either set it up so Joe stays or alternatively improve her own chances if she stays.  The reasons why I'm not convinced that she was dead set on leaving include:

 

1 She didn't just quit, even when Jeff almost encouraged her to do so (and since when does Jeff ever do that?)

2. People who have mentally checked out of the game simply don't put out that kind of effort at trying to win immunity.

3. Though she turned to Joe and said "Damn it" when Jeff read the final vote, she didn't actually look all that upset.

 

Of course another explanation is that since it seems that Joe and Jenn are now dating (if Jenn's instagrams are to be believed), it makes me wonder to what extent they already had a connection out there that could explain why Jenn would go out of her way to try to save him.

[Vicky8675309]

Joe is pretty but not very intelligent. The first thing I thought when he showed Mike the HII was "how can he explain showing it to Mike and giving it to him be better than playing it since the votes are going his way". Mike seems smart enough to have that question which is why, I suspect, he wasted it on Will (I hope he spins a story to get more of Will's loyalty). Bye Joe! You were cute and good at challenges but not that good at strategy. His fake HII was nicely made but it OBVIOUSLY wouldn't of worked with Mike…even if Mike didn't already have a HII--no logical reason for Joe to give it to Mike instead of playing it.

I don't get the hate for Mike. He's playing a good game and has a huge target on his back. I guess he's my "favorite" since either the others SUCK (quitter Jen, misogynistic Dan, annoying Rodney). I guess Sierra and Will are playing a good game since they are low key. Caroline and that guy bore me but at least the guy won the immunity challenge. If I were Mike I would now target that guy (tyler?) or Rodney but keep an eye on Shirin and Sierra. Actually he needs to target Rodney unless he finds out about Caroline's HII. Does Mike know how close Caroline and Tyler are?

Rodney was funny for a minute but that in no way makes up for how horrible he has been all the rest of the time. No one is horrible all the time. I'm sure Dan has been tolerable for a minute but he was sleeping so they edited it out.

I guess I like Mike for playing the game and now Shirin for finally doing something. I can't stand Jenn and her tossing the toys out of her pram since the game isn't going her way. Girl, wake up and start playing the game. What did she sign up for? Some group loyalty test? Girl, get your ass in gear or get out of here. Joe may not be the brightest guy but at least he wanted to play the game and not just whine, complain, quit but not quit, pick on deaf people and claim to want to create chaos then go into a sulk when it's not going one's way. I started out disliking Jenn then thawed to her a tiny bit with her idol play and now am back to disliking her (but dislike Dan more).

[Vicky8675309]

Nice commercial for Mars products.

Shut up, Jenn, the chickens don't belong to you.

I still don't understand why Joe wasn't looking for the real idol.

Well, Joe isn't very bright so he probably didn't think about looking for the idol. Plus Mike is playing a good game and is following Joe.

Because this way she's the eighth member of an eight person alliance with nine left.

For all her talk, I'm not impressed by her actual strategy. Like a less cocky Shii Ann.

Shirin notices that the main alliance has sub alliances so it is better to be # 3 with Mike and Sierra and she can flip to others if needed

Joe's better strategy would have been to tell Mike that none of their votes would count so he was going to get his alliance to vote against him.

Maybe but he wasn't bright enough to think of it. However he didn't know that Will was working with Mike and that Shirin had flipped to Mike's team. Regardless, even with the split he thought would occur he didn't have enough numbers to feel safe so he should have searched for the HII even if Mike followed him.

[Dewey Decimate]

Consarnit, I just can't help it - still loving this season!

 

- Joe's lovely idol fake. I forgot he's a jewelry designer and squealed a little when they ramped up the suspenseful music while he assembled.

 

- Sloppy, painful RC. I rewound a moment of it when Mike was pulling that bearded tubbalard out of the water (I still have a big crush on Mike; sue me) and got a second take of fat ass and Will belly-flopping and biting it. Can't help but laugh.

 

- Rodney's frighteningly, disturbingly perfect impressions of fellow BCs. Holy shit, where did that come from? Doesn't make up for his previous douche-baggery, but at least now I don't mind him still being there. That was legit one of the funniest Survivor moments I've ever seen.

 

- I'm not sure this makes sense coming from a straight woman, but Joe's head-tousling of Mike as they heard about the choco-reward, and then their close-up convo after the fake idol assembly had me all Ho-Yay! For half a second I imagined them as the only two on the island.

 

- Who said Joe ain't got no game? He wisely chose the ego-maniacal asshat Dan to whom to pitch a last-ditch alliance attempt. Who else would have strutted back to camp, puffed up from self-importance (and apparently a secret stash of Doritos and Ding Dongs judging by his non-weight loss), completely oblivious to Joe's flight?

 

- Pretty bird eating yellow berries, and a freakin' fish in a translucent wave! WHAT? AWESOME!!

[Omega Mu]

Fun with night vision camera:  Joe wearing his buff around his forehead with his curly hair billowing out looked like Bozo the Clown.

 

And one more shallow comment, does Sierra have eyebrow tattoos or did she smuggle in a Sharpie?

[GaT]

I'm at the point where the only thing I can pay attention to is Sierra's eyebrows. I think she had them tattooed on, & I can't stop staring or thinking about them. They're scary.

[kikaha]

If that was a real hidden immunity idol, Joe would have played it, and not given it away.  Thus, dooming himself.

Yes, a better way would have been to let someone 'accidentally' see the idol.  Not easy to arrange, but possible, I think.  Then the majority alliance would target someone else, and Joe could even get its benefit at future tribals. 

 

I thought Joe gave a terrible pitch for himself at TC.  Same with Shirin.  She is trying to show how loyal she is to Mike, and she talks about how much she loves strategizing with Jenn? 

 

Sierra comes across to me as total nonentity.  Does she strategize at all?  If so, it's behind the scenes. 

[millennium]

Mike's minute-long rhapsodizing on the glories of a Snickers bar is the reason people do not like product placement. Even if it was genuine, it comes across as fake. I don't believe he's a truly terrible person, like some people (cough, Dan), but his earnestness is grating to watch. When he performs an ode to a candy bar with all the gravitas people usually reserve for more important issues, it's like...lighten up a little, buddy. Yeesh.

 

Dan continues to irk me merely by continuing to exist on my screen.

 

I hate Mike to begin with.   But that ... display.    I had to fast forward through it on DVR.   It's a fucking candy bar!   Get over it you ass-kissing fucking phony.   The rest of them were almost as bad, swooning over one M&M.   "It's chocolate on chocolate, baby."   Sure it is, Will.   Why is he still on the show?   I hate how these so-called survivors play at starving.   Even with the restrictions of this game, they are still better fed than people in some other parts of the world.   I had that thought as they all became tumescent at the sight of the chocolate and suddenly the whole reward just seemed obscene to me.   I know it was a commercial, but it was gross.  Like propaganda.

 

Joe deserved to be sent home.   He had no game.   Good at challenges, a flop at everything else.

 

I think Jenn has no intention of leaving and was just being an attention-whore.   If you really don't want to be there, how do you sit by and watch as someone you profess to "love" -- someone who desperately wants to keep playing -- gets sent home?  It does not compute.

[Eggman]

In an ideal world (for Joe) he would have just strung the fake HII around his neck and dared them to vote for him.  He knows that someone else has an HII, and they'll know that his is a fake - it wouldn't survive the light of day.   His gambit with Mike was his best bet. 

 

Mike is totally getting the Winner Edit.  Go back and listen to the music they played when he found the HII.   I rest my case with that.

 

Shirin could see that her alliance with the NCs was over.  She has to play the game with the people who are still there.  Hally (?) and Joe were voted out because along with Jenn they formed a very tight triplet that HAD to be broken up.  Now that that's the case, the obvious triplet is Rodney/Dan/Mike.   Everyone else is going to start trying to find a way to break up that group  (including themselves, hah.)

[LadyChatts]

I feel like Shirin and Jenn have become a big disappointment.  Shirin bragging the whole goddamn time she knows this game better than anyone.  Puh.  You can't get literally one person to like you.  The no collars HAD to adopt you.  

 

Big disappointments.  What a sad episode.  I agree that Joe is likeable and gorgeous but if he likes the game so much why is his strategy so bad?  Even Ozzy managed to get to the end, goddammit!  

 

I don't know.... the Blue collars are tight but they are not smart.  They even got Will to join them... GAH!  More game playing should have been done.

 

Natalie from last season makes these guys all look like idiots.....  only Mike and (GASP) Rodney seem to know the score.  Mike is puppeteering goddamn everyone, including people not in his alliance... what the fuck?!

 

At least when Tony controlled Cagayan I could totally understand why....

 

Yeah, well, Shirin needs to remember that Max also thought he knew the game, and they thought they had a tight alliance with Carolyn and Tyler.  We see how well that worked out for him.  I feel like Shirin is getting some sort of underdog edit, which is why I possibly see the final 3 for her.  She could never win with this group.  But for whatever reason, no one out there seems to like her.  At best they tolerate her.  Why?  They aren't showing us.  So she's the calm, cool, collected David to the bully Goliath.  Being yelled at, picked on, told she has no chance to win, and she outlasts them all.  Maybe she'll even be given pity votes so she'll get second over the third person in the final 3, like Jaclyn did last year.  And tonight, we actually see her strategizing.  She's on a sinking ship, so I can't blame her for reaching out.  She and Jenn need to strike, and hopefully they do, and hopefully someone listens.

 

I think even Jonny Fairplay could make the guys this season look like idiots.  I do wish we had a couple of Sandra's out there.  I'd love to see Dan try to ridicule her.  Considering I expect Dan to blame the editing on his portrayal, I wonder how many others will blame the editing on the fact that they were invisible and seemed to lack strategy.  Carolyn has pretty much disappeared, just like Sierra.

 

Joe's strategy sucked, but it did seem like his group all tried to get people to flip and no one wanted to.  Going back to even the tribe swap, the younger guys wouldn't work with him.  I'm still curious why that was, but I don't think I'll ever know.  Coming into the merge, Carolyn wasn't fond of the NC, and while I hate admitting it, Sierra was probably smart not to flip on her BC.  So I don't know what he did out there, strategy wise, but people were after him from the word go.  Even his own alliance thought he was screwing it up for them.  Why one person mattered over 9 others I don't know, but that's no excuse to say the game couldn't start until the Golden Boy was gone.  I hope Joe gets another chance to prove himself.  He at least recognized that his social game was crap, so I believe he would improve on that.

Edited April 16, 2015 by LadyChatts

[NurseGiGi]

I remember Joe saying some time back that he didn't like the way the other guys were acting toward the women so maybe he was unable to hide his dislike for them. Or maybe the editors picked that short segment so the audience would like him and would welcome a return visit.  Who knows?

 

I don't dislike Mike and think he's playing a good game.  The thing I hold against him is that he is the reason Dan and Rodney (especially Dan) are still polluting my TV.  I want Dan gone.  ASAP!

[kikaha]

Because this way she's the eighth member of an eight person alliance with nine left.

 

An eight person alliance that could splinter apart any moment.  When it does, I don't think Shirin will be at the top of anyone's list to boot. 

 

I thought she did just the right thing.  Her only mistake was talking at TC about how much she loves to strategize. 

[JudyObscure]

 

Was there any reason at all that that reward challenge had to be in the water? Like, none of the obstacles were typical water obstacles and they've all appeared in land-based obstacle courses multiple times in the past, and it's not like players aren't already in bikinis and swimsuits.

I think if it had been over land, Dan and Will would have had to have been taken out by the medics.  I don't like them but I don't want them dead.  I want them to live to see Shirrin last longer than they do.

 

That chocolate reward made me long for the Dorito and Mountain Dew rewards, at least that was a little bit like food.  Chocolate is at the very top of the list of foods that cause acid reflux, I couldn't have eaten any of it, and on their empty stomachs, I imagine it made most of them sick.  The chicken would have been so much better.

 

I've wanted to see Jenn voted out since the first episode, so it's just a series of disappointments for me.  She truly is a no-collar, she loves to play and is naturally  good at all games, laughing and gloating when she's winning, but when the kids she likes go home and it's not that much fun anymore, it's pouting time.  I wish Rodney had done her voice, she sounds a lot like a female Mike to me. I have a bad feeling she's going to mope her way to the end.

 

Maybe the reason Jeff likes this season is there is so much time spent on challenges with Himself front and center.  I would prefer no reward challenges and a chance to hear Shirrin being  "annoying," Carolyn being superior, and Tyler being whatever he is. 

[blackwing]

Joe is not bright. He should have told Mike that he found the idol and he was going to play it on himself. After all, everyone thought he had it already. However, everyone also saw Jenn's idol so they know what they look like. Mike and Carolyn also have one of their own and they know it looks the same as Jenn's. Joe should have told Mike he found the special idol.

Mike was right to be suspicious and not accede to Joe's demands that he turn it over the next day. Then he forced Joe to give it over. Tried to verify it with Jeff. And in the end, voted for Joe anyways. Good playing by Mike.

I too am disappointed there was no payoff over Rodney selfishly deciding to eat a chicken. "We're eating better than them tonight." Ass.

Also curious as to why Joe didn't look for the idol. Mike said he was going to watch Joe constantly. Of course Dan loses him. Instead of making a fake idol he could have spent more time looking for the real one. Or how about looking when people are sleeping?

[Blinkoshuman]

 

Joe could market fake immunity idols. That was impressive.

Look for them on Etsy. ;)

 

I'm going to miss Joe's pretty hair and eyes.  He's so pretty to look at.

[BigRedCheese]

Love Jenn, but I hope she gets over the vapors and starts kicking butt again.

 

Surprised by Rodney, he was really funny with his impressions, I wish his personality was closer to that all the time.

[cooksdelight]

Mike and Carolyn also have one of their own and they know it looks the same as Jenn's. Joe should have told Mike he found the special idol

Yes, that would have kept him there at least for a little while longer. Telling them he had an idol that would allow him to play it after the vote....but alas, he's pretty -- not smart.

[IslandGirl]

I think Hali looked better before she got cleaned up and got access to makeup and hair products. What does that say about me?

 

It says you have good taste! ;-) Hali looked WAY better au natural, as do many of the women.  When you're pretty to begin with, make-up does no favors and usually makes good looking people look worse...

[ProfCrash]

(sigh)

 

It was inevitable but still sad. Bye bye Joe. You were pretty to look at and fun to watch but you had to win every challenge to win this game and that is near impossible.

 

I think Mike is screwed in the very near future. He is a huge target and, unlike Tony, I don't think anyone thinks that Mike is a potential goat. No one wants to go to the finals with Mike because he will win hands down.

 

I don't think Mike is complacent. He is talking to Shirin about working with her. He had Sierra standing next to him when they had that conversation. So either Mike is simply working to get one more vote for Joe to be gone or Mike and Sierra are aware that they cannot trust Carolyn, Tyler, and Will, who are not Blue Collar. Technically, Mike doesn't need Shirin's vote to get rid of the non-Blue collar members of the tribe, there are four Blue Collar to the three. It is more then possible that Mike knows that Rodney is still working with Tyler and, by default, Carolyn. Shirin gives him a bit of cushion at best and could help protect him at worst. It does appear that Mike strongly trusts Sierra because he has that entire conversation with her next to him. Or does Sierra feel safe with Mike and she brought Shirin to Mike?

 

Rodney is strategizing, working with folks, and has now been shown as being funny and a good guy. It explains a lot of what we have heard in interviews. Lindsey was really negative but Hali was pretty much Rodney is an ignorant knucklehead who is funny and smart. We see Rodney working with the non-Blue Collar folks and it seems like he has a good bond with Tyler and Will.

 

Based on what we have seen, I think the winner has to be Mike, Dan, Rodney or Shirin. They are the only people we are actually see play the game. Tyler, Carolyn, Will, and Sierra are rarely seen or heard. I don't think Dan will win, his edit has been far too awful. Shirin is getting the obnoxious but underdog edit. Mike is getting the Kim type edit, he is the kingpin and he is playing exceptionally well. Rodney is playing the upstart roll and has gotten a negative edit early on but a much more positive edit later in the game.

[Haleth]

Hate to admit it but Rodney was right about the RC losers eating better than the winners.  I doubt the winners got any benefit from eating all that chocolate.  

 

Maybe Jeff likes this season so much because the blue collar alpha males are dominating and their alliance as a whole is rock solid (at least till they eliminate the NCs).  As a viewer I don't think it's particularly interesting to be teased each week that someone will shake things up, only to go to TC and see the obvious play out.

 

When you look at the season so far it's been BC vs NC.  The WCs have been pretty much non entities and except for Carolyn's HII there is no reason to think they will do anything.  (Tyler's win is probably a fluke.)  It sure looks like that prediction (from Lindsay? one of the BC girls) that a BC would win is pretty spot on.  And it sure seems like that winner will be Mike.

[Boilergal]

Was there any reason at all that that reward challenge had to be in the water? Like, none of the obstacles were typical water obstacles and they've all appeared in land-based obstacle courses multiple times in the past, and it's not like players aren't already in bikinis and swimsuits.

Adding the swimming aspect to obstacle course made it more of a challenge - especially for Will and Dan - I liked it.