S30.E09: Living On The Edge

[enlightenedbum]

Sloth for next All-Star season.  Definitely more appealing, probably smarter than whatever yahoos production brings back.

[Special K]

Sloth for next All-Star season.  Definitely more appealing, probably smarter than whatever yahoos production brings back.

 

Not to mention more sexually attractive.

[Miss Scarlet]

I think Jeff got a boner during the first round of the reward challenge where Rodney and Mike were competing against each other.

[Alapaki]

Mike may have been a little "too cute by half" by telling Jeff that the validity of the HII that Joe handed him "might affect who goes home tonight".  The mere fact that Joe handing Mike a HII will be seen by the others as evidence that Mike went further than merely entertaining Joe's pitch for survival but actually planned something with Joe.  But coming out and saying that your vote was potentially still up for grabs, after you've directed everyone else how to vote, should've been a real red flag for the players who are already paranoid about Mike's position in the game and will give them ammunition to go after his sooner rather than later.

[Guest]

That totally baffled me, too.  What on earth was the point? 

Of the phony idol?  Didn't we see him offer to give it to Mike if they voted someone else out this week?  Mike kept saying, "Give it to me first."  Joe was trying to get him to agree to take it after.  If Mike had believed it was a real idol and went for Joe's deal, it would've been a huge play for Joe.  

 

But it appears that Mike gave Joe no choice in the matter in the end and made him give it to him if he wanted any hope at all.  And also either didn't make the deal at all, welshed on it, or told Joe he only had a deal if Jeff proved the idol was real before the vote.  

[hincandenza]

This has to be one of the worst edited seasons of a TV show I've ever seen.  Last week was a letdown, and this week too.  It was 59 minutes of entertaining TV, and then 1 minute of "Ugh, why bother?".  Given how the votes are lining up- information the editors know ahead of time, all the way to the end, before they start working- why are we not seeing so much of the actual gameplay and strategizing?  Why are so many actions, votes, and alliances thoroughly confusing?  Why aren't we at least seeing more of the people explain their own delusions as to why they are cruising to final 3 as part of a loosely allied group of 7?

 

And why is Joe so stupid?  Man, I was so excited when he made that fake II, because I love when people do that but especially because from his dialogue it seemed he had been quietly gathering bits and pieces from challenges and camp- like a bird building a nest.  Then he made an amazing, totally convincing II... and had a) the bad luck to show it to the one guy who already has the one Joe was "searching for" (even though Mike TH'ed that he still suspected Joe of having a different one), and b) having literally no idea how to use a fake II.  You don't give it up, you moron, it's valueless and suspicious to do so!  You instead show it to a swing voter- or Mike himself- and say "I'm voting for you, and my alliance is too, unless you work with me", or some other nuclear threat.

 

The thing is, if the editors weren't such jackasses, this could be much better.  I was actually hoping with the fake II, that we might see a truly epic blindside of either Mike or Carolyn.  Imagine if this happened:

• Joe agrees to give Mike the fake II if Mike agrees to ally with him (which is dumb, and Mike knows it's dumb)
• Joe and others manage to get 5 people to vote for Mike (Joe, Jenn, Shirin, maybe even Rodney or Will or Tyler, by flashing the II before tribal and threatening to target them)
• Mike gets up after the votes are cast, plays the fake idol for himself- or for Will- and Jeff says "Not an Idol"
• The votes then reveal that Mike has 5 votes, and he goes home having jokingly played a fake Immunity Idol... while having a real one still in his pocket.

 

I would have jizzed my pants if that had happened.  A little less so if it had been Carolyn, as Shirin suggested; Mike even agreed he had suspected that "secret" alliance existed, and taking her apparently catatonic butt out of the game (also with an II, not that anyone but Tyler knows) would be such a shock vote, it would shatter the alliances further, leaving a lot of these people asking "Wait, so which alliance am I in now?".  Alas, the editors are telling a different story (poorly) while we all are confused at what's actually happening on screen.

 

As much as people act as if Rodney or Dan or especially Shirin are inherently "bad people", the truth is editing can do a lot.  Imagine if most of the scenes we got with Rodney's edit was stuff like his admittedly dead-on Mike impersonation, and they edited out the "Rodney's Rulez for Ladies" speechifying; we'd all probably love the dude!  As for Shirin, we all should know how easily a group can turn on the designated hated one, because it keeps the tribe off your back.  Shirin doesn't seem annoying to me at all, just smart and not used to dealing with some of the "brain trust" they cast this season.

 

So why are these editors making us actively hate the people who seem to be going the furthest, while also failing to tell a coherent story about the hows and whys of each alliance and tribal vote?  They can still keep the season suspenseful as to the end result, or keep tribal up in the air between 2-3 people each week even in a Pagonging run, while still making us feel we know how we got there when the votes are shown.  It's possible these last 5 are a chaotic mess of splintered alliances, and a truly epic series of blindsides/twists now that Joe is gone, maybe even built off that conversation that Mike, Sierra, and Shirin had.  But if that doesn't happen, if the next boot is Jenn or Shirin... it might be one of the worst seasons they've ever had. 

 

It's frustrating watching each week and feeling like the editors have no more idea what is going on than either Rodney or Tyler do.

[Miss Scarlet]

In the corner of the screen you could see Dan picking up Sierra after they won the reward. I get the feeling he just uses challenge celebrations as chances to be pervy. I bet Sierra was a lot less excited for the chocolate after that.

 

I don't like the non-existent edit she is getting. They do this to one or a few women every season and it's horrible. I can tell from her secret scenes that she is just as articulate and interesting as other people who are getting confessionals, so she should be getting a few each show too.

Edited April 16, 2015 by wudpixie

[green]

"I have no idea what's going on."  For me there was just something in the delivery and Tyler's look that got to me.  Made it for me the funniest moment of reality TV since Colin broke his ox a decade ago.  Maybe it is because Tyler kind of reminds me of a red-haired version of Stewart, the awkward, always out of the loop comic book store owner from The Big Bang Theory so I kind of saw Stuart delivering that line last night cause that is what Stuart would say about half the stuff happening on that show.

 

Speaking of which maybe Shirin should watch more of The Big Bang theory and less of Survivor.  Paraphrasing Sheldon's mother to Sheldon, "It's okay if you're the smartest person but it isn't okay to keep telling other people you are."  It's getting to the point that Shirin should seriously consider taking social etiquette lessons from Dan and that's not good.  Still the Shirin vs Dan edit says she will get the last laugh on him in the socially inept sub-plot we have going on.

 

Glad Golden Boy is finally out.  Sad to see the grovel edits at the end in TC and over the credits where he is pleading with TPTB to bring him back.  Sadder yet that they will since their whole edit of him is all Ozzy 2.0 and we will have him back every other Survivor now.

 

I'm liking this season a lot.  I think Tyler is in the catbird seat.  He and Carolyn can go with either faction now.  And he and he alone knows about Carolyn's immunity idol.  I also suspect he knows or assumes strongly Mike has one too since: (1) he told him the clue (2) Mike told us he spent hours and hours looking for it before he found it (3) I doubt Mike is NOW spending hours and hours looking for it to fool people he doesn't have it and (4) Tyler is extremely observant in this game.  Sometimes knowing where those idols are is more important than having them.

 

He is also quick on his feet when he had to deal with Mike seeing him talking to Golden Boy and managed to remove suspicion from himself and prove his loyalty to Mike in one move when he used the sneakiest of all tactics in Survivor, tell the truth when it helps you, by giving Mike the idol info.  That was a brilliant move.  I think Tyler has been playing the heck out of the game all along.

 

I still like Mike but I'd be okay with Tyler winning too.  I like the cast we have left a lot.  One of the most interesting in a long long time.  Maybe it is because most of the mactors are gone now so it feels more like real people on this show for a change.  Yeah Tyler is a casting agent so that equals failed actor usually but he neutralizes that for me with the Stuart thing he has going on. 

 

Anyway I wish Survivor casts were more like this every season.  I give this one a grade of A for sure.  (Also helps this cast that The Amazing Race has one of the worst casts -- and gimmicks -- in it's history.  First time I ever liked a Survivor season more than it's Amazing Race counterpart).

Edited April 16, 2015 by green

[Way Wes Jr]

Blah.  Perhaps the conversations I’ve read that try to split the difference between Jiffy Pop saying this was one of the best casts ever, and whether or not that means he meant to promote this season as one of the best ever, have had the question answered.  Unless the remaining episodes knock our collective socks off, this is one of the worst seasons in recent memory.  So, since Jeff couldn’t use his usual hyperbole about how great the season was, he instead promoted the cast.

 

[This is the flip side of the One World coin.  While that season was full of people I hated, I enjoyed watching how effortlessly Kim ran the season.  Worlds Apart has (what appears to be,) an obvious runaway winner, but he seems almost frantic (Vlachos-ian,) in his demeanor.  [And add the fact that Mike lost me with his sexism during work-gate and after the Lindsey vote.]  Maybe Survivor should stop subtitling seasons with the word “World.”]

 

An additional nit-pick:  last weeks previews ruined this episode.  While I was hoping Jenn would win the Immunity Challenge, we hadn’t seen all of the stuff we were shown in the preview - so I knew she was going to lose.  And then, I still don’t think we saw it all!  Some of those clips are probably from next weeks episode.  It would have been glorious to see her hand Joe the idol at tribal.  Who would Mike have wanted Shirin to vote for to prove her loyalty then?  (Answer: Jenn, obviously, but still.)

 

Anyway, no changes to the rankings.  Pagong, pagong, pagong.

 

‘Merica (purple)

 

1. Mike (1)  It seems like his Paranoia is pinging on Rodney.  Or at least that’s my take-away from the Shirin scene.  At the very least, his concern over Carolyn/Tyler/Will was confirmed by Shirin.
2. Dan (2) Nahh - nahh, hey, is that a tin can?
3. Rodney (3) You want to wait until seven to strike - is Mike going to take out one of your four first?  (Even if Mike suspects Rodney, I think he wants to take as many original Escamacas as far as he can, to play the Blue collar loyalty card at FTC, so Carolyn or Tyler may be the surprise boot.)
4. Tyler (4) Winning immunity makes you more of a threat, but if Shirin is campaigning against Carolyn, pointing out that she’s the glue between you and Will, (and Rodney,) she’s in greater danger.
5. Carolyn (5)  Souvenir in pocket.
6. Sierra (6) Inaudible, but seen listening to Mike and Shirin.
7. Will (7) Invisible.
8. Shirin (8) Mike may  use you for a vote, but he’ll cut you loose in an instant.  I’d wager that Hali and Mike bonded over her #1 favorite thing, (Jesus,) and he not only voted for her, he was suggesting her.
9. Jenn (10) I over thought the Joe ranking last week.

OUT Joe (9)  Fantastic fake idol construction.  Horrible fake idol play.  (Show it to Mike if you must, but tell him you’ll give it to him after FTC, not before/during.

[ghoulina]

This has to be one of the worst edited seasons of a TV show I've ever seen.  Last week was a letdown, and this week too.  It was 59 minutes of entertaining TV, and then 1 minute of "Ugh, why bother?".  Given how the votes are lining up- information the editors know ahead of time, all the way to the end, before they start working- why are we not seeing so much of the actual gameplay and strategizing?

 

I totally agree with you. I feel we are seeing a LOT less strategizing this time. I mean, I suppose people just aren't playing as hard this time, but it really does feel like an editing failure. Last night I felt like it was - 2 challenges, candy party, impressions, and sloth! 

[Special K]

I'm not sure where to discuss the bonus clips as a whole, so I'll put it here and spoiler tag it just in case.

 

If you look at all the bonus clip THs for this episode, which I just did, it's kind of appalling.  There are like 6 clips of male players, all show them discussing strategy or the competition or the social aspect of the game. The two clips of women, one each for Carolyn and Sierra, consist entirely of them rhapsodizing about chocolate for minutes on end. As if that's the only thing these silly women can contribute. Editors, really?

[Miss Scarlet]

I'm really surprised at the slack people are giving Jenn. I get that she's playing with a horrible cast of people and they just voted her best friend out, but she's not the only person to have ever had that problem on Survivor. Sierra had the same thing happen to her earlier in the season (and it was probably worse for Sierra, because everyone on her tribe was horrible, whereas at least Jenn has a few sane people to talk to) and we didn't hear about her wanting to quit.

 

What Jenn tried to do was quitting. I actually laughed when she told Jeff that what she was doing wasn't quitting because it absolutely was. And I think her trying to quit in this way was all about continuing to try and look "cool" (like I don't even care if they vote me out man) and in-control (no one voted me out, I chose to get voted out, it was all me). She should stop being so concerned with her image and just play the freaking game.

 

Here's the deal: Jenn likes to complain a lot about things that suck. You know what sucks? Her attitude. She gloats and is very arrogant when things go her way and then is totally immature and bratty when things don't go her way. There's a secret scene from this week's episode where she talks about how she's mad because "1) they voted my best friend off 2) I didn't get chocolate and 3) they're trying to take my pets away". Honestly, those sound like words that are coming out of a 3 year old's mouth. I don't even remember thinking that Jenna and Heidi were at this level of immaturity.

 

And frankly, I don't think she should get to complain about how annoying other people are, when she's probably the one of the most annoying people out there. All of this stuff, combined with her horrible tweets (which I posted about in her thread) makes me dislike her almost as much as I dislike Dan and Rodney. But she is awfully close to that level of dislike.

Edited April 16, 2015 by wudpixie

[hyukx3]

Just let people complain. Don't turn people's complaining into a justification of how they are, like she's bratty, entitled, yada yada yada. You never hanged around at the water cooler and just yap it up? What Jenn was doing was like a confessional. Put one more person in, and it'll be yap yap yap, it's harmless.

[hacman00]

You know what, Joe?  Maybe instead of spending all your time gathering supplies to make a fake idol you should have LOOKED FOR THE REAL FUCKING IDOL WHEN YOU HAD THE CLUE!

 

 

[sadiegirl1999]

Just let them see you find the idol then. It doesn't matter at that point, if you have people tailing you. It's still a plus that you have the idol, so you can't just give up the search.

 

 

But when you let people see you search for the idol, you run the risk of them finding it IMO.

 

My memory is fuzzy but hasn't that happened to at least 2 people? They searched in the same spot and found it before the person with the clue? Didn't Woo do that to Spencer?

[Eggman]

No collar made their fatal mistake long ago, when they split the vote to get the deaf woman out.  That forced Will out of their alliance.  All this time he's known they are 3 he couldn't work with and hasn't.  If they had taken the risk and all voted for the deaf woman regardless of idol risk then they would have gone into the merge a solid 4.  Now look where they are.  Jenn has 2 friends on the jury, so we'll see her go next regardless - they would be crazy to let someone with such solid jury votes stay in the game.   Given that the jury will probably have those 3 NC on it, Shiri is more of a threat and will go soon as well.  Will becomes an attractive goat - not a challenge threat, not in the loop or driving the bus, and no friends on the jury.  Beyond that I think we'll see BCs flipping like landed fish - I give Tyler and Carolyn a pretty good chance at FTC and a win if it weren't for Mike's domination of the show right now.

[hyukx3]

That's just how the cookie crumbles sometimes. But if you don't search for it, it's 100% chance of no idol. So which options are better? Still, you should go find that idol.

 

Just find it, then play it, then everyday its idol hunting day. It'll be so much fun to watch people scramble for the idol.

 

I think the deaf woman woulda stayed loyal to the NCs. Now Will has flipped. Oh well.

Edited April 16, 2015 by hyukx3

[Guest]

I used to think we didn't see footage of fruitless idol searches because it'd be dull.  Now I think we don't see it so that viewers have someone to call stupid and feel smarter than.  

[Special K]

I used to think we didn't see footage of fruitless idol searches because it'd be dull.  Now I think we don't see it so that viewers have someone to call stupid and feel smarter than.  

 

No lack of such opportunities this season, it seems.

[hyukx3]

Joe, stop doing yoga and go look for the idol, you buffoon.

[Gummo]

I really enjoyed the first half of this season, but....

 

Kudos to the producers and editors for making such a predictable conclusion entertaining, but they did it at the expense of coherence.  That's not a great trade-off for a game that's all about the strategy.  It's kinda like showing an entire football game in extreme close-up - you get a lot of great moments but absolutely no context and you really can't follow the game at all.

 

I don't know Rodney's background, but he's got to have some acting training to be able to turn off his accent like that.  I call shenanigans.  That said, it was the most entertaining he's been all season.  Also, he gave a confessional at the very beginning of the show that displayed actual thought!  What universe is this again?

 

Have we ever seen Dan talk to one of the women in a way that ISN'T patronizing and smarmy?  Jeez, he's disgusting.  Kudos to the female contestant who said (last week?) that she'd leave her child with Rodney before she'd leave it with Dan.

 

Okay, Burnett, we get it.  The big macho Jesus-freak superpatriot is the winner.  Considering how Burnett's been producing those ridiculous Biblical miniseries for cable, this must be his dream season.  For the rest of us, not so much.  Not when they telegraph the winner half a season in.

 

Almost forgot to add this:  Hanging out in the background with an idol in her pocket is great game play for Carolyn, but damn lousy television. 

[enlightenedbum]

 

What Jenn tried to do was quitting. I actually laughed when she told Jeff that what she was doing wasn't quitting because it absolutely was. And I think her trying to quit in this way was all about continuing to try and look "cool" (like I don't even care if they vote me out man) and in-control (no one voted me out, I chose to get voted out, it was all me). She should stop being so concerned with her image and just play the freaking game.

I mean yeah it's quitting, but she also absolutely kicked ass at both challenges.  She started her leg of the reward challenge at least a  half leg down and ended it with her team leading.  Someone who was actually quitting doesn't try that hard for the assholes she hates.  Which makes her an interesting character which is more than I can say for literally every other person on this cast, though I strongly dislike her defeatism.

 

Anyway, the more I think about things the more I think that if everyone is behaving rationally, the blue collar alliance absolutely sticks together.  Because I think all of those people think they have a clear path to victory at 4.

 

Mike: win immunity at all or just have Sierra NOT win immunity and convince the two sexist jackasses to vote off Sierra.  He wins easily.

Sierra: Mike doesn't win immunity at 4, convince Dan/Rodney that Mike would definitely win and she would never, which I think they both believe but are wrong

Dan/Rodney: Mike doesn't win immunity, dismiss Sierra because I don't think either of those dudes would ever think a woman could beat them, and I think they both think they'd beat the other head to head (Rodney is right, I think).

 

Rodney could just not behave rationally and let his ego force him to make a move against Mike earlier I guess.

 

I'm trying to think of ways that this season ends up as not a disaster and basically coming up empty.  This might be worse than Nicaragua.

[Calamity Jane]

Of the phony idol?  Didn't we see him offer to give it to Mike if they voted someone else out this week?  Mike kept saying, "Give it to me first."  Joe was trying to get him to agree to take it after.  If Mike had believed it was a real idol and went for Joe's deal, it would've been a huge play for Joe.  

 

But it appears that Mike gave Joe no choice in the matter in the end and made him give it to him if he wanted any hope at all.  And also either didn't make the deal at all, welshed on it, or told Joe he only had a deal if Jeff proved the idol was real before the vote.  

I couldn't see any reason to play it.  You find out it's real, for no purpose, or you find out it's fake, for no purpose.  If you don't want others to have it/know about it, keep quiet about it!  It seemed to serve no strategic end other than to satisfy his curiosity.  And together with his nattering about "who will go home tonight" could make people suspicious about what he's up to.  Just couldn't figure his reasoning.  

[Guest]

It's really hard to tell when we're shown so little of what must've went on.  I'm guessing Mike probably told his whole alliance Joe offered him/them his idol to give him 3 more days.  So he wasn't spilling any deal beans they didn't know about.  The deal could've been to send Jenn in his place.  But Mike figured the idol was fake but gambled on asking Jeff.  Worse case scenario- Jeff won't say.  Best case, Jeff says it's real, Mike now has two real ones, so he cues his alliance to switch to Jenn in 'payment' for the real idol.  

[hyukx3]

No matter what happens with the idol, Joe would still get voted out. Thank you for the idol, now git!

[Miss Scarlet]

I don't buy that Jenn's plan is to pretend to want to quit, in the hopes that it will have the reverse effect. And I also don't buy that her trying hard at the challenges shows that. I'm sure she wanted to eat the chocolate that the winners of the reward got and I think she did want to get the immunity to give to Joe because she thought it would be hilarious (and probably also get her a lot of attention). The editors are not tricking us. If this was all part of Jenn's master plan we would know.

 

Besides being unpleasant, this season has been boring so far. I guess in comparison to the other guys Joe looks good, but I don't understand him as a fan favorite type. He's boring and he was poor player. It's interesting that players like him don't really get to do much, but be mildly pleasant I guess and become fan favorites. When was the last time a female player was a favorite, despite doing very little and being a poor player?

 

In his ponderosa video Hali tells him he was voted out because he's the best player in the game. I think players need to start re-thinking what "threats" in the game. It's just always assumed it's these big buff guys. Why? Because they're seen as athletic? A lot of them do poorly at the post-merge challenges. Because they're seen as strategists? A lot of the time there is very little evidence of that. As soon as people merge they want to get the big guys out, without even knowing if they have strategic mindsets. Joe may have been likable, but he couldn't use that likability to get people over to his side. People make a lot of these "threat" assumptions based on dumb sexist stereotypes. Jenn is a much bigger strategic threat than Joe (which Shirin confirmed at tribal).

 

I think Jenn and Shirin are going to go far. They wouldn't have been given such big edits this whole season if they were the next 2 to go. I think they'll join up with Mike's alliance to take out Rodney's 4. Maybe that's where Probst's Shakespearean twist comes in. I think it was a good move for Shirin to solidify an alliance with Mike, except for the fact that now she's stuck working with Dan. Ew.

Edited April 16, 2015 by wudpixie

[hyukx3]

Well, someone from the NC has to go. Might as well be Joe.

[kstar821]

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.

 

 

 

I've loved him, too, from day 1.  You said this perfectly.  Mike all the way, indeed.  (It doesn't hurt that he's easy on the eyes, either) :)

Edited April 16, 2015 by kstar821

[hyukx3]

Yeah, no, no, no. This is like a dance. Even physics; if there's an action, there must be a reaction. Mike is in the majority and calling the shots. That's the action. The reaction is that Tyler and Carolyn is just lying low, let them do whatever at Tribal as long as its not them out. Rodney been scheming since the merge to usurp Mike. If Sierra want to make a move, she could try next episode. There's a lot of waiting involved. First step not even complete yet; boot out the NCs.

 

Plus, when it's a numbers game and nobody flips and everybody sticks to their script, it's hard for the minority to win. So saying someone is steps ahead strategically just b/c they have the numbers, is giving too much credit.

 

The playoff starts when someone decides to go off script and messes up everybody. Then you have to rely on your sub-alliance, the flipping, the lies, then that's the good stuff.

Edited April 16, 2015 by hyukx3

[Miss Scarlet]

To everyone who said "Jenn, those are not your chickens" ITA. She won them in a reward challenge with Joe, Will and Hali. So if you want to look at it that way Joe and Will have as much a say about what to do with them as she does. But really once the tribes merge everything belongs to everyone (unless you're Boston Rob).

 

From exit interviews it seems like Joe doesn't remember that fake idols have been made before. Bob in Gabon made a pretty convincing one by also taking beads and twine off his torch.

 

From Joe's exit interview with EW

 

We all kind of ignored Will, and Will became close with Rodney.…I’ve heard some things. We’ve talked about it around the circle and it sounded like he just didn’t want anyone under the age of 30 to win the game. He just was wanting to play with an adult crowd, if that makes any sense.

I don't get why in Hali and Joe's exit interviews they keep blaming the Will flip on him not wanting to play with a young group. It's not as annoying as hearing "so and so didn't want to work with me because they were like so totally jealous of me", but it's dumb. They should just admit they didn't do a good enough job keeping him or bringing anyone else in. Because they did a horrible job with that. I mean, in this very interview Joe says they ignored him. And saying they were too young doesn't make sense because they also point out how close he became with Rodney and Rodney is almost the same age as the NC. 

Edited April 16, 2015 by wudpixie

[hacman00]

 

I think Jenn and Shirin are going to go far. They wouldn't have been given such big edits this whole season if they were the next 2 to go. I think they'll join up with Mike's alliance to take out Rodney's 4. Maybe that's where Probst's Shakespearean twist comes in. I think it was a good move for Shirin to solidify an alliance with Mike, except for the fact that now she's stuck working with Dan. Ew.

 

I really hope we get this situation.  There are some clues pointing to this.  We have Shirin and Mike discussing that they know Rodney's "secret" final is him, Tyler, Will, and Carolyn on last night's episode.  

 

I haven't given up on this season yet.  There's still potential for it to be really entertaining if it's Mike, Dan, Sierra, Jenn , and Shirin vs. Rodney,  Will, Tyler, and Carolyn.

 

Imagine Mike and Carolyn playing their idols at the same tribal council?  Have two competing alliances in a post merged tribe each had an idol before?

Shirin, Jenn, and Sierra loathe Dan and no doubt we'd get a ton of arguments and nasty THs but they'd still have to be voting "allies" ala Sandra and Hantz.

[hyukx3]

No, they did not discuss whose Rodney's top 4 are. Mike just thinking that he can be a target, so he might need Shirin in the future. They don't know about Rodney's plan.

[peachmangosteen]

So why are these editors making us actively hate the people who seem to be going the furthest, while also failing to tell a coherent story about the hows and whys of each alliance and tribal vote? 

 

I have been wondering this for quite some time and I still do not understand this editing. I mean, I guess they still have 5 eps left to make me understand it, but I don't see how they can accomplish that.

 

You know what, Joe?  Maybe instead of spending all your time gathering supplies to make a fake idol you should have LOOKED FOR THE REAL FUCKING IDOL WHEN YOU HAD THE CLUE!

 

THIS. Joe was truly a terrible player.

 

My memory is fuzzy but hasn't that happened to at least 2 people? They searched in the same spot and found it before the person with the clue? Didn't Woo do that to Spencer?

 

Woo 'stole' a clue from Spencer which lead to everyone in Tony's alliance following Spencer around and watching him like Mike and his cronies did with Joe. But Kass looked away briefly during her turn at babysitting and Spencer pocketed the HII. Now that was a fun idol segment. The one this season was not.

 

Jenn did have a confessional that supports the idea that she is pretending (or at least overplaying the desire if not 100% pretending) to want to be voted out of the game. The iTunes version of the episode put the confessional at 19:35: "The more I ask to leave, the less likely I am to leave."

 

I heard this and I got real excited that Jenn was pretending the whole time as a plan to get herself farther, but everything afterwards kinda dispelled any of those thoughts. So now I have no idea what the hell was up with her. Jenn is a very intriguing person to watch.

Edited April 16, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[hacman00]

No, they did not discuss whose Rodney's top 4 are. Mike just thinking that he can be a target, so he might need Shirin in the future. They don't know about Rodney's plan.

 

Can't remember if Shirin was there but I definitely remember Mike calling them out.

[hyukx3]

I love Spencer, such a good kid. Everybody was ripping into Tony at the final tribal. Then Spencer just came up and said Tony backstabbed everybody, fooled everybody, lied to everybody, and that's why Tony deserves the million. They need to bring him back. Another individual challenge beast that was on the wrong side of the numbers. More strategic than Joe though.

 

Mike was naming everyone in his alliance might backstab him. It's just paranoia. He doesn't really know that Rodney's gunning for him.

Edited April 16, 2015 by hyukx3

[Miss Scarlet]

I know a lot of people (fans and Survivors in their exit interviews) have been saying that they like Rodney because he's so funny. For me, doing accurate impressions isn't enough to overcome horrible misogyny.

[hyukx3]

Spencer kept looking for the idol even though others were tailing him. That's the way to do it.

[LadyChatts]

I have been wondering this for quite some time and I still do not understand this editing. I mean, I guess they still have 5 eps left to make me understand it, but I don't see how they can accomplish that.

 

 

THIS. Joe was truly a terrible player.

 

 

Woo 'stole' a clue from Spencer which lead to everyone in Tony's alliance following Spencer around and watching him like Mike and his cronies did with Joe. But Kass looked away briefly during her turn at babysitting and Spencer pocketed the HII. Now that was a fun idol segment. The one this season was not.

 

 

I heard this and I got real excited that Jenn was pretending the whole time as a plan to get herself farther, but everything afterwards kinda dispelled any of those thoughts. So now I have no idea what the hell was up with her. Jenn is a very intriguing person to watch.

 

I know Joe's gotten a lot of flack for not looking for the idol, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he was looking.  Unfortunately for him, everyone else was watching him.  If he found it, great, even if everyone knew it.  It could be he just couldn't find it.  It sounded like only Hali was helping from his allaince, but if anyone else got any sort of sight where it was, they might have beat him to it.  Which, I know everyone in the un-magnificent 7 is feeling comfortable, but since the clue was shared with the world, why is no one else bothering to find it?

 

I could totally buy Jenn pretending she wanted to throw in the towel to make herself less of a threat.  That's the Jenn I miss from the beginning.  I think she was mentally checked out and ready to leave, but I hope this renews her drive.  She and Shirin need to be careful what side they flip to.  Once either Rodney or Mike's side loses enough people, they might be on the chopping block again.  I feel as though we are quite possibly headed for an all blue collar final 3, or almost all blue collar.

 

The Cagayan idol hunt is how I was hoping this year's would go down.  Everyone focuses on Joe, and he sends Jenn and Hali to the actual idol location to find it.  Whether they were honest and gave it to him could have been yet another fun plot point.  But this isn't the fun Cagayan, it is the boring Worlds Apart, where everything is being left on the cutting room floor for whatever reason.  Count me in as another that doesn't get the editing, as I've stated before.  It seems even that people doing recaps and interviews are confused as to why so much is being left out.  There's 5 episodes left, so we'll see.  Not a bottom 10 season for me so far, but getting close.

[hyukx3]

Cagayan was one of the seasons where I catch all the confessionals and interviews. Even that season, I felt some important bits were left out. The editors gotta do their jobs, right?

[neece26]

 

The Cagayan idol hunt is how I was hoping this year's would go down.  Everyone focuses on Joe, and he sends Jenn and Hali to the actual idol location to find it.

 

Well since Joe shared the entire clue with Tyler who in turn shared it with Mike, there was no chance of him pulling anything like this off.  Joe seemed like a nice enough guy who was decent in challenges, but not a good Survivor player at all.

 

This season started off promising for me but I'm only half watching at this point.  I hated last season with all of the nonsense like volunteering to give up rewards and having to ask Jeff for more food, etc. but this season isn't much better for me but for different reasons lol

[hyukx3]

Somebody posted something somewhere about Will but left out the top part. I guess we're playing survivor on the boards here as well.

 

“Me and Will aligned day 1, even before I met him. We were a little mini-family, but as soon as we hit the merge, I told Will & the girls, ‘Hey, I’m going to ignore you a lot and not really talk to you, I don’t want them to think we’re as close as we are.’ So I just kind of ignored Will. We all kind of ignored Will, and Will became close with Rodney.…I’ve heard some things. We’ve talked about it around the circle and it sounded like he just didn’t want anyone under the age of 30 to win the game. He just was wanting to play with an adult crowd, if that makes any sense.”

 

Bold part was missing.

[Guest]

We've heard in interview after interview that people are out there looking for idols for hours and hours, and it's not shown.  Is it that hard to believe that the 60 seconds or so we see of their week isn't an exact representation of their whole week? 

[JudyObscure]

"I have no idea what's going on."  For me there was just something in the delivery and Tyler's look that got to me.  Made it for me the funniest moment of reality TV since Colin broke his ox a decade ago.  Maybe it is because Tyler kind of reminds me of a red-haired version of Stewart, the awkward, always out of the loop comic book store owner from The Big Bang Theory so I kind of saw Stuart delivering that line last night cause that is what Stuart would say about half the stuff happening on that show.

 

Speaking of which maybe Shirin should watch more of The Big Bang theory and less of Survivor.  Paraphrasing Sheldon's mother to Sheldon, "It's okay if you're the smartest person but it isn't okay to keep telling other people you are."  It's getting to the point that Shirin should seriously consider taking social etiquette lessons from Dan and that's not good.  Still the Shirin vs Dan edit says she will get the last laugh on him in the socially inept sub-plot we have going on.

 

Glad Golden Boy is finally out.  Sad to see the grovel edits at the end in TC and over the credits where he is pleading with TPTB to bring him back.  Sadder yet that they will since their whole edit of him is all Ozzy 2.0 and we will have him back every other Survivor now.

 

I'm liking this season a lot.  I think Tyler is in the catbird seat.  He and Carolyn can go with either faction now.  And he and he alone knows about Carolyn's immunity idol.  I also suspect he knows or assumes strongly Mike has one too since: (1) he told him the clue (2) Mike told us he spent hours and hours looking for it before he found it (3) I doubt Mike is NOW spending hours and hours looking for it to fool people he doesn't have it and (4) Tyler is extremely observant in this game.  Sometimes knowing where those idols are is more important than having them.

 

He is also quick on his feet when he had to deal with Mike seeing him talking to Golden Boy and managed to remove suspicion from himself and prove his loyalty to Mike in one move when he used the sneakiest of all tactics in Survivor, tell the truth when it helps you, by giving Mike the idol info.  That was a brilliant move.  I think Tyler has been playing the heck out of the game all along.

 

I still like Mike but I'd be okay with Tyler winning too.  I like the cast we have left a lot.  One of the most interesting in a long long time.  Maybe it is because most of the mactors are gone now so it feels more like real people on this show for a change.  Yeah Tyler is a casting agent so that equals failed actor usually but he neutralizes that for me with the Stuart thing he has going on. 

 

Anyway I wish Survivor casts were more like this every season.  I give this one a grade of A for sure.  (Also helps this cast that The Amazing Race has one of the worst casts -- and gimmicks -- in it's history.  First time I ever liked a Survivor season more than it's Amazing Race counterpart).

You make a great case for Tyler, Green. I've been wanting to root for him but I didn't think, "He has a great body," was reason enough. I see the Stuart comparison, too.

Go Tyler!

Edited April 17, 2015 by JudyObscure

[LadyChatts]

Well since Joe shared the entire clue with Tyler who in turn shared it with Mike, there was no chance of him pulling anything like this off.  Joe seemed like a nice enough guy who was decent in challenges, but not a good Survivor player at all.

 

This season started off promising for me but I'm only half watching at this point.  I hated last season with all of the nonsense like volunteering to give up rewards and having to ask Jeff for more food, etc. but this season isn't much better for me but for different reasons lol

 

Yeah, I was still onboard with this season and was defending it when people were giving up early on.  But I'm over it at this point.  With 5 episodes left, I have a hard time believing that a lot will happen to redeem it.  If it turns into a Mike vs Rodney where one alliance gets picked up, and some predictable flip flopping, I'm over it at this point.  I know people are praising Mike's game, but I don't really see what he's done that's been so great other than to get very lucky.  No one out there appears willing to challenge him.  Everyone is just following Mike.  They should have named this season Survivor: Who's the Biggest Goat?

Edited April 17, 2015 by LadyChatts

[ratgirlagogo]

 

Mike's minute-long rhapsodizing on the glories of a Snickers bar is the reason people do not like product placement.

From Dalton Ross's EW recap of the show:

 

 As a well-educated student of the game, Mike knows the way to guarantee extra camera time is just to wax ecstatic over whatever it is that needs to be advertised, and he goes into overdrive: “I’ve been dreaming about Snickers since day 1 out on this island, and we got Snickers,” he says. Later, he informs us that “Opening that Snickers and smelling that caramelly, peanut, nougat goodness really brought me back to my childhood.” Holy crap, did someone script that for him?  Caramelly, peanut, nougat goodness? Who the hell talks like that? The in-episode advertisement gets so ridiculous I half expect Mike to hand grumpy, argumentative Dan a Snickers bar and watch him magically transform into Ozzy after taking a single bite.

Oh man, Dan turning into Ozzy.  I've been laughing about that visual  all day.

 

 

Sloth for next All-Star season.

I'd go for Sloth, Pelican, Howler Monkey, Millipede Infested Iguana, Crab, Python, and of course Heroic Pregnant Sea Turtle.

Edited April 17, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[uoflfan]

So much pretty gone. #joeforallstars.

[hacman00]

We've heard in interview after interview that people are out there looking for idols for hours and hours, and it's not shown. Is it that hard to believe that the 60 seconds or so we see of their week isn't an exact representation of their whole week?

Totally see where you're coming from but historically if someone has a clue as specific as the one Joe was given they eventually find the idol.

[Wings]

You know what, Joe?  Maybe instead of spending all your time gathering supplies to make a fake idol you should have LOOKED FOR THE REAL FUCKING IDOL WHEN YOU HAD THE CLUE!

 

 

And don't show the clue to anyone, especially a non alliance member.  And Tyler, this is for you; don't tell anyone else what the damn clue said!   That idol was handed to Mike on a platter.  

[NutMeg]

I wish we had seen how the schoolyard pick went. That would have been much more interesting for me than the long close-ups of M&Ms sorted by color in their glass containers.

[Rubberrevolver]

Am I the only one who noticed the fake necklace reappearing on Mike's neck after he already gave it to Jeff and then it disappearing again as they are getting up to leave? It's hanging on Mike's neck as they are waving goodbye to Joe. Why didn't Jeff throw it in the fire like he has every other time a fake was presented?