S30.E14: It's A Fickle, Fickle Game / S30.E15: Worlds Apart Reunion

[Guest]

Sierra voted for Carolyn.  But I think those answers earned him the votes of Joe, Tyler, Dan and Hali.  Didn't Hali say she was voting for Carolyn during her questions?  Or was that Sierra.

I don't recall what Hali and Sierra said but Shirin strongly implied Carolyn was getting her vote, then she voted for Mike.  

 

The only bitter votes were the last two out- Sierra and Rodney.  Which is odd because Mike didn't even backstab them, he just plain beat them.  Or I guess it could be argued they didn't vote from bitterness but voted for their closest friend left, not for the best player.  

[NoirDetective]

I don't find Joe very attractive, but to each her own.<br /><br />If Carolyn couldn't get voted in with this ultra weak field of second chancers, while her own season was airing, we are never going to see her again, which makes me happy. There's been someone like her in literally every office I've had the misfortune of working in. If people aren't being paid to be around her, no one wants to be. <br /><br />Last season was awful, this season was awful, and the next season promises to be awful. Show is done, I think.<br /><br />Won't there already be a bunch of alliances set up now, before the game starts, since they know who's going to be there. Tina/Aras/Gervase tried to do that on BvW and I'm not a fan.<br /><br />No Brad! Yea! I'm sure Monica needs help recovering from her latest cosmetic surgery, anyway...

[needschocolate]

I think it should be noted that the person who first posted about racism and white corporate Americans and who tried to justify Will's behavior by making it all Shirin's fault, joined Previously about a month ago and has posted 3 times.  This makes me think that this person is Will, Will's wife, Dan (no major mistakes so probably not Rodney), or just a shit-stirring troll.  I suggest we stop feeding him/her.  

Edited May 21, 2015 by needschocolate

[Rick Kitchen]

Glad to see Mike has kept up the streak of having a sucky winner every other season.  Well I guess the streak has really only been the last four seasons starting with Tyson (Sucky winner), Tony (Good winner), Natalie (Sucky winner), Mike (Good winner).  That being said I would have been happy with a Carolyn victory as well because I thought she played a pretty good game and even a Rodney victory would not have been that bad.

 

I detested Tony and tuned out halfway through that season when we knew he was going to win.

 

 

So this season has the accomplishment of making me doubt Survivor's editing more than any other. I'm convinced now that Survivor is a classist and racist show and that Dan and Will are its victims. Both of those individuals were portrayed negatively in light of Shirin (who I mistakenly sympathized with due to the racist and classist editing of the show). Turns out, Shirin is a white person who earned millions in her twenties. She is a Yahoo executive. Nobody seemed to like her while there. Since she's a corporate executive, that's to be expected. She probably is intolerable.

 

 

Shirin is Iranian. And Dan is white, isn't he?

[diggle]

That Mike was able to stay on when the entire island was against him (assuming a fairly honest edit) clearly makes him the winner.

Yes, to win by Immunity Challenges "only" is not a three-way thing, but the others wanted him off and that was the only way to stay on, and he nailed it.

And it wasn't "only" - he worked the game, and he worked it well.

Carolyn played a good game, and had no lack of execution herself. She simply came up short. I wouldn't mind seeing her again.

Will.... Yeah. There was a reason everybody wanted to go FTC with him.

I am not a big Jeff fan, but I love, love, loved, how he showed up Dan to be a liar and called Rodney out on his "worst birthday ever." (Bro!)

Speaking of Jeffs, my most exciting thing though is that once again we will be able to see "Jeff, who's not gay!" tell us how gay he is not! Over and over again! And his mother will again as well! (Or has he come out since - can't find any confirmation.)

But we spent that entire season calling him, "Jeff who's not gay."

[laurakaye]

Agreed.  And to add: To me, a sincere apology is one done privately, person to person. Not under duress on national TV.  Not on social media.  Not via text.

This is why I don't think Dan's apology to Shirin was real.  I think he said what he said because he felt like he had to in an attempt to save face.  If he was truly sorry, maybe he would've said something to Jeff along the lines of "we've discussed it privately, and Shirin knows how I feel," with an accompanying nod of recognition from Shirin.  That didn't happen.  And if I recall, Shirin remained expressionless during Dan's apology.  I don't think Dan is sorry at all, he's just sorry Jeff made him apologize on national tv to a person he clearly does not like.

[fishcakes]

Well, he outlasted them because he outplayed them. Maybe he wasn't a master strategizer (arguments could be made either way), but he won 5 individual immunities in a row when he was a sure boot without immunity - not sure how that isn't outplaying. And to quote Meatloaf, two out of three ain't bad.

 

I would also say he outwitted them, not that that was a huge feat. The strategy for each of them seemed to be, "vote Mike out, [something happens], win the title of Sole Survivor." Every single week, none of them had any contingency plan for what would happen if Mike won the next immunity, and at some point you would think it would occur to them, given that he was up against Rodney (inept), Will (inept), Carolyn (strong, but slow), and Sierra (fast, but weak). Stupid Carolyn gets votes from every single person in her alliance and her strategy for the next vote is still: "gotta get Mike out." I think Mike completely deserved this win, but more than that, I think everyone else deserved to lose.

 

Anyone else totally giggling at Mike fanning his arms in the air trying to find stuff?

 

It was hilarious how every time he'd go back to the center marker to check the pointer, he'd then do a squat lunge in that direction before heading out.

 

I'm glad Jeff called Dan on his bullshit and wish he'd done more of the same with Will, but at the same time, I hate that so much of the reunion had to be devoted to those two wastes of space. I almost wish Jeff had deliberately talked to everyone except them, maybe even spending twice as much time with So and Nina and Vince, and simply refused to acknowledge that Dan and Will exist.

Edited May 21, 2015 by fishcakes

[Andromeda]

Jen potentially voting for Rodney is puzzling. I remember her being impressed by his impressions, but nothing else. Were they really that good?

[blackwing]

I don't think Shirin's "I made my first million" is going to hurt her on the next season.  There have been plenty of Survivors who have been very wealthy.  Not since the early seasons (Brian in Thailand, OMG did you see that grand piano in his wife's video!?!?!?!) has money seemed to come into people's voting decisions.  There were several seasons with Rob, after he married Ambuh and her million and they had the reality show and all that, weren't there?  Famous sports figures (Cliff Robinson, Jeff Kent)  On the returning players seasons, I recall the first time, Tina was voted out first because of the "get out the winners first" mentality.  But after that, there didn't seem to be any of this talk on the subsequent all stars seasons.  

 

There are also some players who are likely equally wealthy - Andrew Savage for one, a successful lawyer and Yahoo counsel.

 

I'm glad Jeff called Dan on his bullshit and wish he'd done more of the same with Will, but at the same time, I hate that so much of the reunion had to be devoted to those two wastes of space. I almost wish Jeff had deliberately talked to everyone except them, maybe even spending twice as much time with So and Nina and Vince, and simply refused to acknowledge that Dan and Will exist.

He wasted so much time on Dan and Will that the Rot got off easy.  Why even cater to Dan?  Dan made it clear in interviews that he thinks he was wronged by the show.  Why give him a chance to explain?  Just continue to let him look like a delusional ass.  But I really wanted the Rot to explain why he felt so entitled to the rewards because it was his birthday.  Instead, Jeff runs out of time and just gives the Rot a cake.

 

But we spent that entire season calling him, "Jeff who's not gay."

So gay, and I too remember the constant denials.  Also, he has aged very poorly.  He's really porked out over the past 15 years.  Some of the others (Kimmi 15 years, Teresa 14 years, Andrew 12 years, Peih Gee 8 years) still looked good. Edited May 21, 2015 by blackwing

[Waldo13]

I didn't watch until the jury questions because I didn't have a dog in the hunt and thought there was no deserving winner. As I thought, the jury questions and comments were very entertaining. Jenn and Shirin couldn't be better.

I found the reunion show very disappointing. Too much time was spent on revealing the new cast. I would have loved to hear more from Jenn. When Jeff was asking Joe about being a sex symbol, I would have loved to see Jenn lean over and give Joe a kiss and proclaim that he's mine. I have to say that Sierra really cleans up well.

Both Will and Rodney got off easy because of time restraints. Rodney also had a lot to apologize for his comments. To me, Will was really very unapologetic and his wife had no business butting in. she was not there and only had Will's side of the story. Both Dan and Will are ass hats because, unlike Big Brother contestants, they had a lot of time to think about being on live TV to redeem themselves for their comments. They chose to continue to be ass hats and I would imagine, that given time, Rodney would have continued to been an ass hat also.

[bafleyanne]

That was my first comment-- it's going to take them over an hour.  What season was it where it went on for an hour or two and Jeff finally gave them matches?  

 

I think their fire in camp must burn the whole time they're out there, at least in embers, barring any quick, unpredicted deluges of rain.  So there's not a big need for the skill?  

 

Me too! As soon as they started I said to my husband "We're gonna see 'Elapsed time: 1 hour'." Not too far off at that!

[ShadowSixx]

Tyler did come off as entitled during TC as someone mentioned upthread and  he really can't be mad at Mike during it because Tyler's little blunder, not little blunder, big fuck up was telling Mike the exact clues to the HII that Joe had. Everyone is a little paranoid in Survivor especially when you're the main target and you know everyone wants you out of the game. For these people that go on Survivor to say they're fans, they audition to be on the show, yet get all hot to trot when someone actually plays the game.

[Jersey Guy 87]

I would also say he outwitted them, not that that was a huge feat. The strategy for each of them seemed to be, "vote Mike out, [something happens], win the title of Sole Survivor." Every single week, none of them had any contingency plan for what would happen if Mike won the next immunity, and at some point you would think it would occur to them, given that he was up against Rodney (inept), Will (inept), Carolyn (strong, but slow), and Sierra (fast, but weak). Stupid Carolyn gets votes from every single person in her alliance and her strategy for the next vote is still: "gotta get Mike out." I think Mike completely deserved this win, but more than that, I think everyone else deserved to lose.

 

 

The one counter to that is Mike won, and I think everyone recognized he was going to win if he made it to FTC.  Sure, Carolyn would have been voted out if she hadn't played her idol, but she knew she could beat any combination of Will/Rodney/Sierra so Mike had to go.  Had Mike not won immunity then he was going to be voted out and Carolyn would likely have won.  So I can't fault her for saying  she was gunning to get Mike out.  It was her best path to victory.

[MMLEsq]

There's no such thing as 150,000 percent.

 

Off-topic, but...   I respectfully disagree.  A percentage is simply another way of writing a fraction with a denominator of 100. For example, 16% = 16/100. Just as you can have an improper fraction (a fraction whose numerator is greater than the denominator), such as 4/3, you can also have what might be called an "improper percentage" like 120% or 300%...or 150,000%.

 

Back on topic.  Yay for Mike winning!  I wish the reunion would have been more about catching up or talking to all (or most) of the cast, rather than just the few that got to speak.  I did like the raw footage coming out....I don't think Dan was expecting that. 

[slowpoked]

The only bitter votes were the last two out- Sierra and Rodney.  

 

I don't think Sierra was a bitter vote. She did say "I truly believe you played the best game out there, and so I'm voting for you." If she thought Carolyn played the best, who's to say that's wrong or right? Compared to "keepin it real, bro" Rodney vote.

 

 

Natalie (Sucky winner)

Really, she was sucky winner?! I thought she played great. But to each his own.

[blackwing]

Mike even warned Carolyn to go practice, and since we didn't see any clips of her doing so, I'm assuming she didn't?  What I don't get is why Mike was telling her that she has to win the fire building challenge so she can prove to the people on the final jury that she belongs there.  Huh?  Why was he helping her craft her argument to them?  

 

Since he couldn't bring himself to willingly bring the Rot to final 3, he would have been better off not reminding Carolyn about the fire, forcing the tie, and hoping she fails.  That way he could say her boot was all on her, and that he did his best to save her.  Then she would vote for him in FTC.

[ghoulina]

Jen potentially voting for Rodney is puzzling. I remember her being impressed by his impressions, but nothing else. Were they really that good?

 

I just didn't think it made any sense in light of her big "Mike is the best player!" speech. I even entertained the idea that she was fucking with people.

[mojoween]

Rodney must have another sister because Dan said he met her. And Rodney didn't correct him.

Hey! I thought I heard that Cliff Robinson was eligible again. Now I'm bummed he's not coming back.

[ghoulina]

Mike even warned Carolyn to go practice, and since we didn't see any clips of her doing so, I'm assuming she didn't?

 

They showed her practicing. She was in tears because she couldn't get the hang of it.

[Special K]

I just didn't think it made any sense in light of her big "Mike is the best player!" speech. I even entertained the idea that she was fucking with people.

 

Was she drunk?

[CletusMusashi]

"So, Will, how would you like to be more like Carolyn and Mike?"

"Well, it might be nice if I wasn't stupid and lazy."

"I think you just figured out two reasons I'm not voting for you."

 

"So, Mike, besides winning immunities, what did you do in this game?"

"Well, remember that idol you had a clue for?"

[blackwing]

They showed her practicing. She was in tears because she couldn't get the hang of it.

Ah thanks, I must have missed it.  Honestly though, it just goes to show that she never learned to light a fire either.  I got the sense that Mike or Dan were always the ones to keep the fire going.

[scowl]

Although this was a lousy season and I barely watched the last few episodes, Jeff of all people was great this season. I loved his "botox" comment about himself. I liked how he said he says the same two hundred words every season and is therapy for it. Jeff's interviews this season have been unusually entertaining and he seems to like to respond to the snarky comments he gets. It looks like he gets that Survivor is a silly kind of competition and often that's the best thing about it. 

[CletusMusashi]

They shouldn't have given them replacement flints. two hours in, Rodney would have quit anyway.

With unlimited reloads, it should have been easy. Scrape off as much magnesium as you want; if it runs out, just break your flint and say "oops."

[Cousin Larry]

Tyler did come off as entitled during TC as someone mentioned upthread and  he really can't be mad at Mike during it because Tyler's little blunder, not little blunder, big fuck up was telling Mike the exact clues to the HII that Joe had. Everyone is a little paranoid in Survivor especially when you're the main target and you know everyone wants you out of the game. For these people that go on Survivor to say they're fans, they audition to be on the show, yet get all hot to trot when someone actually plays the game.

 

I completely forgot about that!! At the time, I was just annoyed on Joe's behalf because I didn't care for Mike...but how different the game would have been if Tyler hadn't shared that detail!

Edited May 21, 2015 by Cousin Larry

[CletusMusashi]

Rodney must have another sister because Dan said he met her. And Rodney didn't correct him.

Yes, but Rodney also has a very young-looking beautiful mother, who he calls "sis." So there could have been some confusion. Actually, I'm starting to wonder a little bit about Rodney's whole gene pool. Maybe his father really is his brother?

[90PercentGravity]

I don't find Joe very attractive, but to each her own.

Me either. I think he's only attractive in the context of this season, where he was grouped with a bunch of trolls and troglodytes.

 

When Jeff said he had the unedited footage of Dan's comments it sounded like Rodney said something like "don't throw me under the bus," but I couldn't figure out how he thought he was being thrown under anything in that moment.

Edited May 21, 2015 by 90PercentGravity

[Andromeda]

 

Natalie (Sucky winner)

 

Really, she was sucky winner?! I thought she played great. But to each his own.

I loved the Natalie win. It redeemed a really boring season for me. I detest the blood vs. water concept, because you get instant pair alliances that very seldom are broken (Ciara voting out her mom being an exception). That eliminates a ton of strategery potential right off the bat. Plus it was really, really weepy and corny. Which is one reason I loved that Natalie -- who was alone after the first vote -- pulled out a win (that, and she played a damned good game.) 

Edited May 21, 2015 by Andromeda

[blackwing]

When Jeff said he had the unedited footage of Dan's comments it sounded like Rodney said something like "don't throw me under the bus," but I couldn't figure out how he thought he was being thrown under anything in that moment.

I thought that was Dan.  I thought he said something like "ah, you're gonna throw me under the bus".  Earth to Dan:  you already drove the bus over yourself.  Multiple times.

[mojoween]

I'm pretty sure Dan said he was going to get thrown under the bus. What Dan doesn't understand is you can't get thrown under the bus if your own mouth puts you there.

One thing Jeff did that made me laugh and laugh is when they were all blindfolded he said "Survivors ready!" {raises arm up} "Go!" {lowers arm} They can't SEE you, silly.

[Pepperminty]

Did Rodney get even one piece of that lighthouse puzzle? Poor guy.  He looked good in his suit tho.

[RedheadZombie]

I think they should supply cots for the jury.  

 

Each time the camera panned back to the bored jury, it became increasingly funny.  I was expecting a shot of them all laying down on the benches and taking a nap.  If Mike hadn't told Carolyn to practice, I really don't think she would have won.  She had hours of practice, and the psychological edge of expecting the fire challenge.  Rodney was completely shocked.

 

She does not look white, I know I could not place where she was from but I knew she was not white. She is Persian. I believe her family is from Iran and I believe they are Muslim. I have difficulty seeing CBS being like "We need to step up and make the Persian woman who is hyper and kind of annoying with her non-stop Survivor talk look like she is so much better then the other people on the show."

 

Will belongs to the overwhelming majority religion in our country.  And it's a very vocal majority.  The likelihood of CBS demonizing an Evangelical Christian to lionize a Muslim, is laughable.  Yes, Will is black, but Shirin is a woman.  It's a coin toss to determine which group has been more slandered by this show, but as a guess, I would say the latter.

 

Shirin isn't white.

 

Actually, the fact that she's Middle Eastern makes me rankle even more at Will's comments. I feel like it was implied that he thinks she has no soul because of religious reasons. Even if I'm wrong about that, he's a nasty, nasty person.

 

Exactly.  This has been my thought since the beginning.  Will wears a look of utter disdain when dealing with Shirin.  When she broke down in tribal, every person there was upset or uncomfortable - except Will.  He felt not even an ounce of remorse for hurting her.  Last night, he could barely look at her while "apologizing" (proselytizing - which since she apparently doesn't believe in Jesus, was another slam), and his face still had a complete "I don't give a shit" look.

 

I can't comprehend how anyone would go on Survivor without learning how to build a fire. It is like going on TAR without knowing how to drive a stick shift.

 

Yep.  And at least two people from this season's TAR couldn't drive stick.

[laurakaye]

Ah thanks, I must have missed it.  Honestly though, it just goes to show that she never learned to light a fire either.  I got the sense that Mike or Dan were always the ones to keep the fire going.

Reminded me of Cook Islands - didn't Yul tell Becky to practice lighting a fire as well?  And she could barely do it with a set of matches.  The stress must be enormous - it's a potentially million-dollar fire!

[slowpoked]

I loved the Natalie win. It redeemed a really boring season for me. 

Plus, her playing the idol for Jaclyn (who was on the outs of their alliance), to take out the last remaining blood-relative players was still one of the best moves I remember in recent Survivor history.

 

I missed those kind of moves this season. Every TC has been predictable until the strong alliance was forced to cannibalize each other. I guess the only surprise was Jenn playing her idol when the strong alliance didn't plan for that. 

[JudyObscure]

Jen potentially voting for Rodney is puzzling.

That just sums up Jenn for me. Right after impressing me so much with her FT speech she raises her hand as a Rodney vote.  To me  she alternated all season between cool Jenn and not-cool Jenn.  She could do a Heroes vs  Villans season all by herself.

[LadyChatts]

Jonathan Penner ‏@SurvivorPenner

#SurvivorFinale Joe's Precious man bun? How about my precious man bald spot?!

 

This from Jonathan last night.  Can I just say, I would never, ever get tired of having him back.

 

When it came to the fire making challenge last night, Joe looked so ready to just in there and get both fires started for them.  There's someone who would have had that done in minutes.  Carolyn wouldn't have even had time to break her flint.  Joe said he practiced making fire before going out there, every day.  I guess the idea of 'someone else will learn it, why do I have to' must play through people's minds.

Edited May 21, 2015 by LadyChatts

[Haleth]

Was she drunk?

Ha!  My husband usually has no interest in Survivor but was watching with me last night.  He asked if the jury had been drinking.  I told him they do have all the alcohol they want at Ponderosa.  Maybe they were drunk.

 

I wonder if Hali and Joe (or others) were coached by the producers to not give away that they were solid Mike votes.  Implying that Carolyn was still in it amped up the suspense.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Haleth

[SHOgirl]

In a season stacked with arrogant misogynistic a**holes, my preferred ending would have been an impressive female winner. But I could not have called a Carolyn win impressive, and I can live with a decent, flag-waving Jesus-loving guy who stands up for people who are being verbally assaulted. Mike isn't perfect. I live with someone who is overly proud of his work ethic and know how annoying that can get. And my favorite winners have done a little more outwitting and a little less surviving by defeating incompetent people at physical challenges. But this was the best possible ending to an otherwise painful season, with the "protector" defeating the bullies.

I agree with your description of Mike as "decent." I'm not a flag-waving Jesus freak myself but living in Georgia, I'm familiar with the species. He may have an insane work ethic that he expects others to emulate, he may have wavered on the occasional strategic act, but I do believe that Mike is a kind and empathetic man. And I will never root against that.

[fishcakes]

 

 

This pretty much sums up that entire season. 

 

I love that scene so much. Especially how the part of Shane's "I'll kill you. I'll drive over and I'll kill you in your shitty apartment" that Courtney takes issue with is that he insulted her apartment.

[Cousin Larry]

Ha!  My husband usually has no interest in Survivor but was watching with me last night.  He asked if the jury had been drinking.  I told him they do have all the alcohol they want at Ponderosa.  Maybe they were drunk.

 

I wonder if Hali and Joe (or others) were coached by the producers to not give away that they were solid Mike votes.  Implying that Carolyn was still in it amped up the suspense.

 

Penner Tweeted something last night about how the jury is often blitzed. With a fun-loving trio like Jenn, Hali, and Joe, I wouldn't be surprised. Maybe it's a little shady handing or denying someone $1M when you're wasted, but if you've made up your mind beforehand, it probably won't make a difference.

[Nutjob]

 

Will belongs to the overwhelming majority religion in our country.  And it's a very vocal majority.  The likelihood of CBS demonizing an Evangelical Christian to lionize a Muslim, is laughable.  Yes, Will is black, but Shirin is a woman.  It's a coin toss to determine which group has been more slandered by this show, but as a guess, I would say the latter.

Mark Burnett is also a devout Christian (he produced the A.D.: The Bible Continues series that's currently airing on NBC), so I don't think he's going to allow the editors to go out of their way to make someone like Will look bad if the footage isn't there to back it up.

 

 

That just sums up Jenn for me. Right after impressing me so much with her FT speech she raises her hand as a Rodney vote.  To me  she alternated all season between cool Jenn and not-cool Jenn.  She could do a Heroes vs  Villans season all by herself.

You know, yeah... I totally agree. There were times I loved Jenn and times I thought she was lame. It's kind of hard to parse out if she's really awesome in a Courtney Yates kind of way and just better at hiding it, or if she's kind of two faced.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Nutjob

[candall]

I completely forgot about that!! At the time, I was just annoyed on Joe's behalf because I didn't care for Mike...but how different the game would have been if Tyler hadn't share that detail!

Ooh, yeah, good point!  In retrospect, that one clue put the whole game into a centrifuge and spun it off in a new direction.  If Carolyn had liked the flavor of that beverage and finished the bottle, if Tyler hadn't spilled every last detail bean to Mike, if Joe hadn't taken time out for a refreshing dip in the water. . . .

 

There's still a lovely unpredictability factor to Survivor.  (Paging Andy Cohen.)

[Cousin Larry]

I'm glad that this finale was last night because I really don't want to do my work this afternoon!

 

I haven't watched a ton of the seasons, so I don't think I've seen a deadlock during the course of the game (the "regular season")--just during the finals, as with Carolyn/Rodney, Becky/Sundra. If there's still a tie after a revote earlier in the game, they don't make fire, do they?

[scowl]

Each time the camera panned back to the bored jury, it became increasingly funny.  I was expecting a shot of them all laying down on the benches and taking a nap.

 

Thumb wrestling matches broke out in my living room. 

[RedheadZombie]

They showed her practicing. She was in tears because she couldn't get the hang of it.

 

And she told Mike she had practiced for two hours.

 

Yes, but Rodney also has a very young-looking beautiful mother, who he calls "sis." So there could have been some confusion. Actually, I'm starting to wonder a little bit about Rodney's whole gene pool. Maybe his father really is his brother?

 

Well, Rodney's mom is "HOT", and all the guys would want her - per Rodney.

[Cousin Larry]

Ooh, yeah, good point!  In retrospect, that one clue put the whole game into a centrifuge and spun it off in a new direction.  If Carolyn had liked the flavor of that beverage and finished the bottle, if Tyler hadn't spilled every last detail bean to Mike, if Joe hadn't taken time out for a refreshing dip in the water. . . .

 

There's still a lovely unpredictability factor to Survivor.  (Paging Andy Cohen.)

 

If Tyler had fudged a bit or omitted info when blabbing about the clue to Mike, he might have ended up with the million dollars.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Cousin Larry

[blackwing]

I'm glad that this finale was last night because I really don't want to do my work this afternoon!

 

I haven't watched a ton of the seasons, so I don't think I've seen a deadlock during the course of the game (the "regular season")--just during the finals, as with Carolyn/Rodney, Becky/Sundra. If there's still a tie after a revote earlier in the game, they don't make fire, do they?

Fire is only during Final TC.  At other points, ties are broken by revotes, and everyone except the two people tied votes again and they can only vote for one of those two.  If there's still a tie after that, everyone else who doesn't have immunity and who wasn't one of the two people have to draw rocks.

 

The aim of the rock drawing is to encourage people to switch their vote to break the deadlock.  People aren't going to want to let it keep tying if they themselves are going to be at risk.

[RedheadZombie]

I agree with your description of Mike as "decent." I'm not a flag-waving Jesus freak myself but living in Georgia, I'm familiar with the species. He may have an insane work ethic that he expects others to emulate, he may have wavered on the occasional strategic act, but I do believe that Mike is a kind and empathetic man. And I will never root against that.

 

I'm a Chicagoan transplanted to Georgia.  I'm familiar with the species, too.  The "Merica" thing makes me insane, and I'm always a little skeptical about Texans.  But Mike grew on me - slowly.  I agree he seems kind and empathetic, and I imagine he's the exact type of good old boy who stops and helps a stranded motorist.  He probably pulls over when he encounters a funeral procession, and respectfully removes his hat.  He calls all women "ma'am", and puts his mama on a pedestal.  There's worse people in the world, that's for sure.

[fishcakes]

The one counter to that is Mike won, and I think everyone recognized he was going to win if he made it to FTC.  Sure, Carolyn would have been voted out if she hadn't played her idol, but she knew she could beat any combination of Will/Rodney/Sierra so Mike had to go.  Had Mike not won immunity then he was going to be voted out and Carolyn would likely have won.  So I can't fault her for saying  she was gunning to get Mike out.  It was her best path to victory.

 

True, but it's not as if they went straight from the auction to the F4 and there was never a time that any of them could have come up with an alternate plan. Instead it was

 

Episode 10

Strong 6: We're voting Mike out.

Jeff: Mike! Wins immunity!

Strong 6: D'oh!

 

Episode 11

Strong 6: We're voting Mike out.

Jeff: Mike! Wins immunity for the second time in a row!

Strong 6: D'oh!

 

Episode 12

Strong 6: We're voting Mike out.

Jeff: Carolyn! Wins immunity!

Strong 6: Ha ha! We're definitely voting Mike out.

Mike: Here's the Hidden Immunity Idol, Jeff.

Strong 6: D'oh!

 

Episode 13

Clueless 5: Okay, this time, for sure. We're voting Mike out.

Jeff: Mike! Wins immunity for the third time!

Clueless 5: D'oh!

 

Finale - 1st Immunity Challenge

Idiot 4: We're voting Mike out.

Jeff: Mike! Wins immunity for the fourth time!

Idiot 4: D'oh!

 

Finale - Final Immunity Challenge

Sub-cretinous 3: Finally! We're going to vote Mike out.

Jeff: Mike! Wins immunity for the fifth time!

Sub-cretinous 3: Yay! We're so happy for you, Mike! Let me put the necklace on you! NO LET'S DO IT TOGETHER BECAUSE WE ARE A FAMILY.

 

They had almost two weeks to figure out that visibly sticking together and letting Mike know he was Public Enemy #1 was not working for them. If they (or some subgroup of the -gag- Strong 6) had instead brought Mike back into the fold and made him feel more secure, even if they were lying -- or especially if they were lying -- then maybe once his back was no longer against the wall, he would have relaxed a bit and biffed a challenge. Instead, they maintained their ridiculous delusion that they were heroes and Mike was a flipper/Satan and since Good Conquers Evil, he would obviously lose. The Strong 6 combined had the strategic acumen of a paper napkin. Mike was no strategic genius either, but he was ahead of the rest of them by miles.

[SHOgirl]

I'm a Chicagoan transplanted to Georgia. I'm familiar with the species, too. The "Merica" thing makes me insane, and I'm always a little skeptical about Texans. But Mike grew on me - slowly. I agree he seems kind and empathetic, and I imagine he's the exact type of good old boy who stops and helps a stranded motorist. He probably pulls over when he encounters a funeral procession, and respectfully removes his hat. He calls all women "ma'am", and puts his mama on a pedestal. There's worse people in the world, that's for sure.

Hi RedheadZombie! I've noticed before that we are neighbors. I think we post on some of the same shows, maybe Walking Dead too?

Edited May 21, 2015 by SHOgirl