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

[Jobiska]

Obviously I am an Army of One on here when it comes to being happy Shane isn't returning.  Watching him gives me the same feeling I had when I saw a clip of Anna Nicole Smith's reality show: "Put down the camera and get this person some help!" Clearly, YMMV.

 

No, you're not alone.  I had a strong negative memory of him but not of specifics; I did remember the Blackberry and didn't think it was all that funny, just sort of a "heh" moment.  I was starting to be swayed by his current ET profile just saying he would "smile more," and by attitudes on this board, but the clip posted upthread ("Shitty apartment") brought back to me why I didn't like him and didn't "love to hate him" either.  I'm now glad he didn't make it.  I'm pretty pleased with the selection; I think Joe is someone who (if given the right circumstances) can learn from his previous experience to strategize better, and I think he is a fundamentally kind person and a good observer of others, and yeah sure the pretty too.  Woo on the other hand I feel maybe won't learn to strategize better, but I was kind of resigned to him getting in due to the recency/pretty factors.

Terry--bleh.

[Bryce Lynch]

How pathetic was the fire building contest? I had never seen one before and I assumed they would have to do it from scratch, using sticks to create friction.

They had flints, knives and husks and advice from Probst and it still took them about an hour.

I think the rule should be that if neither person burns through the string in 30 minutes, BOTH get eliminated and they have only 2 at FTC.

[Wings]

How pathetic was the fire building contest? I had never seen one before and I assumed they would have to do it from scratch, using sticks to create friction.

They had flints, knives and husks and advice from Probst and it still took them about an hour.

I think the rule should be that if neither person burns through the string in 30 minutes, BOTH get eliminated and they have only 2 at FTC.

 

 

I think they should supply cots for the jury.  

I was just wondering if something had changed in regard to when you can post?  Typically the topic is closed until the show is over, so that there isn't the ongoing during episode chatter.  Perhaps this one was handled differently for some reason?

 

 

Mods often allow posting during the show on finale night. 

Edited May 21, 2015 by wings707

[mojoween]

At least Jeff didn't have to say "we're going to matches" which actually disappointed me.

That was bull on the extra flint though. You break it, too bad.

[riverheightsnancy]

How pathetic was the fire building contest? I had never seen one before and I assumed they would have to do it from scratch, using sticks to create friction.

They had flints, knives and husks and advice from Probst and it still took them about an hour.

I think the rule should be that if neither person burns through the string in 30 minutes, BOTH get eliminated and they have only 2 at FTC.

I actually thought that Mike calculated this as a strategic ploy. In my view, it took both of them forever because they had never started a fire the entire time there. Meaning, that other people were doing the work of getting fire and starting fires. I thought that perhaps it was a subtle dig at saying, "Hey, there two never really helped with the one most important aspect of tribal life".  For myself, it took them so long, and I started to think, there is no way that i would vote for either or these two because they didn't do anything around camp!  I liked Jenn's big yawn though. 

[alexa]

Mods often allow posting during the show on finale night.

 

Thanks for the clarification.  I had never seen it done here before so was confused.  Appreciate the info.

[choclatechip45]

I wonder how much nerves have to do with not being able to start fire for the tiebreaker fire making challenge.

[Haleth]

About the F4 tie, I thought Mike was doing that to ensure Carolyn would vote for him if she ended up on the jury.  Putting her fate in her own hands.  Surely no one thought it would take nearly an hour for either of them to win, but perhaps their incompetence made an impression on the jury.  Is either a deserving winner if he or she could not perform the most basic task of fire building?  Loved Jenn's yawn.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Haleth

[Jobiska]

I have to say that compass maze was one of the prettiest challenge setups I remember.  Also, I liked that they had the black tie-on blindfolds which were then covered by the buffs.   I remember other times in past seasons where posters were sure X, Y, or Z player was able to peek under their blindfold or buff a little bit.  I don't think that happened here.

Even though Mike and his mom were disappointed they didn't get through the maze during practice,  I think it did give him a huge advantage.  He got an idea of the layout and knew that the tables with the medallions were nowhere near the actual maze walls and at certain places you had to strike out into nothingness for several paces.  It took the others a long time to learn that.  There were at least two and possibly several more times when players were in the correct little "corral" for the medallions, but had no idea, because they were hugging the walls.
 

Edited May 21, 2015 by Jobiska

[candall]

He was justified only because someone had to win it.   "Powered through" individual immunity challenges?  He had no competition!  He was up against idiots and lardasses.

 

And don't disrespect the word "honorable" by applying it to what Mike did at the auction.   He did an asshole thing, then chickened out only when he saw it was going to blow up in his face.   There's nothing honorable about that.   

 

Why not just say, "I'm happy the flag-waving, Jesus-pimping white guy won!" instead of trying to repackage Mike as something he isn't.

Well, Mike's the only one who knows his thought process at that moment.  I think he had a change of heart based on ethics.  You think he chickened out.  Maybe Jeff saying "Whoah!" gave him pause or he had some flash of insight that the advantage wouldn't outweigh making everyone mad.

 

In any event, please try to disagree with me without the insult of putting stupid/racist words in my mouth.  Thanks.

Edited May 21, 2015 by candall

[Guest]

About the F4 tie, I thought Mike was doing that to ensure Carolyn would vote for him if she ended up on the jury.  Putting her fate in her own hands.  Surely no one thought it would take nearly an hour for either of them to win, but perhaps their incompetence made an impression on the jury.  Is either a deserving winner if he or she could not perform the most basic task of fire building?  Loved Jenn's yawn.

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?  

[laurakaye]

Funny. Me and my wife referred to Joe as Dollar Store Ozzy.

I am currently laughing so hard at this, I think I hurt myself!

[ProfCrash]

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.

 

White corporate (millionaire) executive Shirin accused Will, an African-American man, of lying about his bringing back all the food he won as a secret reward (which he had honestly admittedly to receiving and honestly brought back). Will understandably overreacted upon hearing about the rich white executive's accusations that he was stealing from the all-white (except him) tribe. Survivor portrayed Will, the black man, as the evil one. Survivor's editing portraying Shirin as the victim of the black man's aggression. That decision was racist. This is not to say that Will was not a goat or should have won. It is to say that Survivor should be boycotted by anybody that cares about racism.

 

Then Dan. I felt Dan came across in the reunion as credible. He frankly admitted that his comments about "slapping" Shirin were inappropriate. As he should. Shirin never admitted that a white millionaire falsely accusing a black man of stealing from the all-white tribe was inappropriate. That is to her and Survivor's shame. I can understand how a blue collar man like Dan wouldn't get along with an elitist like Shirin and might be provoked to say extreme things about her. We were not shown how a corporate executive like Shirin managed to annoy every single person on the island to hell. Why is that?

 

It should be added that it is not exactly controversial that being adopted creates certain trauma and psychological issues. The idea promoted by Survivor that Shirin's alleged witness to domestic violence somehow automatically trumps Dan's status as adoptee is disgusting (and, I can only assume, borne of classism, i.e., favoritism to a Yahoo executive).

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."

 

Shirin was shown as being annoying and eccentric. We saw the Joaquin interaction where she was goading him. We saw the howler monkey sex talk. We saw the constant game talk. We saw Carolyn and Hali tell Shirin that she is annoying. I don't think Shirin got a wonderful edit.

 

We saw Dan make ridiculous comments towards Lindsey, Kelly, and Sierra when they were building the shelter. We saw Dan berate Sierra after the Lindsey vote out. We saw Dan's comments about how to talk to a woman. We saw Dan's awful apology. We saw Dan tell Sierra, with Mike there, to sit down and be quiet. We saw Dan tell Shirin how awful she was at the game. We saw Dan and his fake apology to Shirin. We saw Dan completely disrespect Shirin and Mike at various points when they were trying to discuss the game. We saw Dan get his panties in a wad and pretty much yell at folks that he would vote how he wants and make his own fate.

 

I will believe that we did not see Dan crying about his wife and juggling as much as he did.

 

I also think that Dan gave the editors some type of negative saying, phrase, or behavior pretty much every freaking episode. So, I don't think Dan's edit was to protect White, corporate, rich Shirin. Because I don't think Shirin got a great edit and I don't think Dan's edit was all that off for who he was. Listening to his interviews, Dan reinforces his edit with his confrontational approach to interviews and his inability to look at what he did and give more thoughtful answers. We saw Dan as Dan.

 

Should Lindsey, Kelly, and Sierra apologize to Mike and Dan for accusing them of lying about food on day one? Should Carolyn, Shirin, Max, and Tyler apologize for not believing So and Joaquin regarding food? Oh, wait they were lying. Oh my god, do people lie about food on Survivor. And if we are going to have people apologize for lying on the show, should Will apologize to the No Collars for lying to them about voting for Hali and Shirin for lying and saying that she voted for Hali?

 

So yeah. Will called someone soulless and said no one loved her and spent a good amount of time yelling at her and bullying her (being nice and calling it bullying instead of verbally assaulting her) which is totally ok because Shiring, Mike, and Jenn all suggested that Will had not shared all of his food.

 

Again, if we are going to try and defend Will could we please move to something better then they questioned his integrity. Will lied in the show. He lied to Vince and voted him out on day 6. Will lied to the No Collars and voted for Hali and then helped to vote them out. Will lied and questioned Shirin's integrity when he said Shirin voted for Hali when Shirin did not. And all of that was before the food. So Will had a track record of lying. Just like other people playing the freaking game. So kindly come up with something better.

 

At least Jeff didn't have to say "we're going to matches" which actually disappointed me.

That was bull on the extra flint though. You break it, too bad.

Per Jeff's interview with Dalton Ross on EW, they were close to pulling out the matches.

[SlackerInc]

I wonder if there will be a lot of sour grapes from the dirty30 tomorrow over how the reunion went, and lack of time spent on everyone.  Did they even talk to Sierra? 

 

Yeah, this reunion was kind of weird in that it was free of a lot of the superfluous nonsense we've seen in recent seasons (like talking to random kids in the audience), but due to the introduction of next season's cast, it was just way too short.  I still like the days when they'd talk to everyone, at least briefly.

 

Jeff was at a peak tonight.

 

No doubt!  He has richly deserved a lot of the crap he's gotten, but he really redeemed himself here.

 

Sucks for Carolyn; she lost in the votes twice tonight.  Maybe Survivor fans/audiences just really didn't like her and couldn't warm up to her.

 

::raises hand:: I certainly disliked her, so much so that I was actually rooting for Rodney in the firemaking challenge.

 

I don't know why everyone thinks Mike outwitted anyone when he pretty much had to rely on immunity wins to get to the end.  That's not outwitting or outplaying.  That's just kind of outlasting.

 

I like that Survivor, like all high quality games of strategy, has different approaches to get to the end.  Mike got there like Kelly Wigglesworth: winning a series of challenges while the dominant alliance was forced to eat their own.  I loved Kelly's game, but though it was very close, the jury did not decide to reward it with the million bucks.  Mike's jury made a different call, which is totally legit IMO.

 

So glad Max didn't make it. Jeff was talking to Shirin and Joe and Max is there going all "what about me"???? What about you, Max? America seems to hate you. Haha

 

I like Max, and I'm part of America, but I knew he wouldn't make it.

 

I think this seasons Ponderosa, at least with the first 3, would have been fun to have more footage of.

 

Yeah, the weird thing about this season's is that it was filmed with much higher production values than in the past, but it ended up consisting primarily of single interviews with each of the bootees in succession.  I wondered what happened to the days they'd go on excursions and do other activities together?

 

Shirin's whole existence seems to be an ongoing bad moment.

 

The people who slag on Shirin, IMO, just aren't hip and intelligent enough to appreciate her.

[Cousin Larry]

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.

 

White corporate (millionaire) executive Shirin accused Will, an African-American man, of lying about his bringing back all the food he won as a secret reward (which he had honestly admittedly to receiving and honestly brought back). Will understandably overreacted upon hearing about the rich white executive's accusations that he was stealing from the all-white (except him) tribe. Survivor portrayed Will, the black man, as the evil one. Survivor's editing portraying Shirin as the victim of the black man's aggression. That decision was racist. This is not to say that Will was not a goat or should have won. It is to say that Survivor should be boycotted by anybody that cares about racism.

 

Then Dan. I felt Dan came across in the reunion as credible. He frankly admitted that his comments about "slapping" Shirin were inappropriate. As he should. Shirin never admitted that a white millionaire falsely accusing a black man of stealing from the all-white tribe was inappropriate. That is to her and Survivor's shame. I can understand how a blue collar man like Dan wouldn't get along with an elitist like Shirin and might be provoked to say extreme things about her. We were not shown how a corporate executive like Shirin managed to annoy every single person on the island to hell. Why is that?

 

It should be added that it is not exactly controversial that being adopted creates certain trauma and psychological issues. The idea promoted by Survivor that Shirin's alleged witness to domestic violence somehow automatically trumps Dan's status as adoptee is disgusting (and, I can only assume, borne of classism, i.e., favoritism to a Yahoo executive).

 

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.

 

Yes, Survivor is totally classist. So classist that they made Mike the blue-collar hero look like a total loser.

[Bryce Lynch]

About the F4 tie, I thought Mike was doing that to ensure Carolyn would vote for him if she ended up on the jury. Putting her fate in her own hands. Surely no one thought it would take nearly an hour for either of them to win, but perhaps their incompetence made an impression on the jury. Is either a deserving winner if he or she could not perform the most basic task of fire building? Loved Jenn's yawn.

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.

Last week, I saw a group of 9 and 10 year olds learn how to build a fire. It took about 10 minutes for them to learn.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Bryce Lynch

[Cousin Larry]

I'm sure Mike would annoy me in real life, but I did kind of swoon at 1) his challenge prowess 2) his besting of the "6 strong" asshole gang 3) how he stepped up for Shirin. MOST of these people would annoy me in real life--Shirin certainly--but that's fine with me. Being irritating is not a fatal character flaw.

 

I thought that my girl crush for Jenn could not grow any larger, until that jury speech. I laughed with delight. Please bring her back for another season! (And go get Michelle Yi while you're at it, TPTB!)

[Guest]

They know how to start a fire, heck, they knew two methods...they just aren't all that great at it.   Your odds of going to fire building seem pretty low, really.  30 seasons, 600ish players, and how many of them needed it?  Maybe 6?  

[Cousin Larry]

Anyone else really creeped out by Rodney Sr.'s lack of affect when Rod Jr. got emotional about his sister's death?

[JudyObscure]

How pathetic was the fire building contest?

 

Rodney has shown himself to be such a bumbling doofus in challenges, I was seriously worried that he was either going to cut his fingers off or catch his face on fire.  I was also worried that Will was going to have a heart attack going up those stairs at the challenge.  Irritating as these people can be, I don't want to watch them die.

[BigRedCheese]

"The people who slag on Shirin, IMO, just aren't hip and intelligent enough to appreciate her."

 

I'm not hip or super brilliant, but I adore her personality, I think she would be an amazing girlfriend, or just a fun friend to have.

[ShadowSixx]

Rodney is just ridiculous and just proven over and over that he's just useless in challenges. He got all his puzzle pieces in the IC 2nd and still couldn't put a puzzle together while others who got all their pieces after him were able to get at least one piece on, he couldn't even untie knots the fastest. Only thing Rodney has working for him is speed when running since he was able to make up time by scaling up them stairs. His muscles don't mean jack shit because he never put them to use. 

 

So fumbling at the fire making challenge was no real surprise to me. I don't know what's going on in his mind when he's doing challenges. Him keep calling Mike a redneck was just ridiculous. 

Edited May 21, 2015 by ShadowSixx

[Daisy]

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?  

 

 

Cook Islands. I giggled so hard because i was like OH! Sundra/Becky still suck because it took Rodney and Carolyn less than an hour. 

 

You know - i would hope - if i were on the jury, i would take 'performance anxiety' into consideration. I know i would be freaked out if i had to make a fire for a chance for a million dollars. I would chalk it up, basically to test anxiety. you know how to do it, you see the things that you have to use to do it, and your mind goes horribly, horrendously blank. And it doesn't help that you have Jeff mocking you about it. 

 

(I swear, i would be the best/worst Survivor player out there, because I'd be all Sandra in challenges, but my mouth would get me into so much trouble if Jeff started with me, starting with and forever ending with "Shut up")

 

regarding the show. I was really kinda hoping Carolyn would win. Like i had mentioned, she didn't bug me. Didn't (and never will) like the Love, and I thought we were blessedly going to avoid it. these advantages are really elaborate now. (I think i don't like it. I rather like the whole "you miss a leg, you get a do over, you get 2 balls to none lead) more of - you actually get to practice it for as long s you need (keith) or you get 30 minutes (Mike) irks for some reason and i don't know why. 

 

Jury Speeches... I don't know if i like this whole Dave approach to "HEY THIS IS WHY YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR THE GUY I LIKE AND HERE IS WHY." that job should be for the people at the jury. if they can't speak up for themselves, the jury members shouldn't be "watch me try to save your game." 

 

Also cutting out opening/closing remarks need to stop, Show. we need them

 

Not sad that Mike won, but just disappointed Carolyn didn't step up for the win either.

 

Quite frankly - I would be happy never to see Dan again. like go away. seriously go away. its not about you. (which is why I wish Mike had just stuck with his guns and took the advantage). like. honestly. (but then we wouldn't have seen Dan basically vote himself out, so it's all good)

[lonerafter]

I honestly don't know how to feel about Mike winning, I'll admit when they announced it last night I did a little cheer, but after reading through some of this topic (I honestly can't read 11 pages on Survivor in one sitting, I'm a bad fan, I know) I'm kind of doubting that happy feeling I had last night.

I think the issue is Mike isn't necessarily a great person, and he did act like a jerk at earlier points in the season, but if the majority of people are more like me, the casual viewer, than the dedicated fan who has an awesome memory when it comes to all things Survivor, they only remember this past 1/3 of the season or so where he's become an underdog. While I probably wouldn't want to go make best friends with Mike, I think he fulfilled the outwit, outlast, outplay motto in his own way. I feel like some people, both players and viewers, act like there is a checklist that if you hit every point on it you're guaranteed to win, stuff like winning a few challenges, being nice and social, and making probably at least 2-3 big moves. However, I feel that out of himself, Carolyn, and Will, Mike fulfilled the 3 O's best. You don't necessarily have to be social to outwit (the one I see as signifying making a big move/blindsides), you can outplay buy winning almost every immunity challenge, and IMO outlast means get to the end. I think maybe since they emphasized the Survivor catchphrase, motto, whatever you want to call it, so much at the FTC, that's kind of the rubric we were supposed to use to figure out who should win.  Also, there's not just one way to win Survivor. I'll admit I haven't seen every season (probably never will unless Netflix finally supplies the DVDs for each one), but I'm sure that there are some who relied more on their social game to win it for them, and some who relied more on how many challenges they had won. That said, I would have been alright with a Carolyn win, too, even though I feel like she had an easier time due to her social game and her alliance, as well as that top secret idol all the other players were so surprised by! I think the fact that Mike essentially got to the end on his own, without an alliance to fall back on after like 2/3 or so of the game, is what made him win the votes.

 

I'm actually kind of curious, since they didn't show the votes, were all the votes except for that one Carolyn and one Will vote for Mike? I'd assume so, otherwise I'd think they would pull them out when they read the votes to create more suspense. 

 

Okay, that was more than I really meant to write about Mike winning, now onto the episode. 

For the most part I found the episodes boring, I really thought Carolyn was going home both times, if I'm honest. I was kind of annoyed that instead of getting rid of Rodney or Will that Sierra went home, but once they showed that Mike wasn't going to take two goats to the final with him I was alright with it. As for the tribal council where they got it down to the final three, that fire making challenge was a nail biter. I was so sure Rodney would win and I'd have to just shut the TV off, but she pulled through! Also, Dan's facial expressions during the 2 regular tribal council's were great, he was so annoyed that Mike had the necklace both times, and he looked mad when Carolyn's fire won. I thought it was hilarious how, when Rodney finally got a fire started, someone in the back row of the jury shook the person in front of them to wake them up (I didn't see who, I was too focused on how much I wanted Rodney to lose).

Am I the only one who thought it was weird the actual final three didn't do a speech? I'm 100% okay with them cutting out the tribute to former tribe mates thing they used to always do in the final episodes, but I actually like the jury speeches, it seemed like all they did was answer questions.

 

The reunion show was kind of boring to me, I feel like they spent too much time on Dan and Will, which would be okay if they had been more apologetic and said it was an eye opener to their behavior or something, but they really weren't. I guess Will apologized, but idk, I've never seen "I apologize" as a real apology? I just remember this one time in school a kid had a giant fit over something minor the girl next to him did, and got really nasty while he was yelling. The teacher made him actually say why he was sorry and take some time before the apology to put some thought into it, I guess it doesn't mean it is more sincere, but it at least feels more sincere. Shirin seemed 100% annoying in those earlier episodes, and I understand getting fed up with someone's behavior and blowing up, but IMO that's not what happened, he blew up over a specific situation, made it personal, and then did not apologize afterwards. Maybe it's just me but when someone I know does something that's just like the tipping point when I'm already having a bad day, I go back and apologize as soon as I calm down, and it's not just "I apologize." And this is kind of just a general thing, but when people say "I don't act like that, that's not me" I mean, maybe you don't think you act that way, or you don't usually act that way, but you do act that way sometimes, obviously, and I'm very sure that they didn't hire some kind of impostor to go take your place on Survivor for the sole purpose of making you look bad.

I know that Dan's piece at the reunion wasn't meant to be funny, but it just was to me. All of the backtracking, I understand not remembering things exactly as they happened, I know I learned about how people can make memories in like a high school psych class, so it isn't that shocking. However, maybe if you're on a TV show where you say something bad like that, don't tell everyone that it was "your mama jokes" unless you're like a million percent sure that it was. Either he does have an absolute horrible memory, or he didn't think they'd really pull the raw footage, good thing he works for the post office because from talking to our mailman it seems almost impossible to get fired. I actually thought his shirt was amusing, mainly because I love puns too much, but I feel like maybe he isn't the best to be wearing it, since, as Jeff basically said, he doesn't really come off as funny when he makes those kinds of jokes. Plus, Dan said about his slapping Shirin comment that if he had known her past then he wouldn't have said that, but then either a few minutes before or after that (unlike Dan I don't posses a perfect memory) he complained about how 'PC' the world was now? Political correctness is basically a negative way to portray being sensitive to others, I believe the statistic is something around 1/4 of women and 1/7 of men in the US have been abused by a partner, now I guess that doesn't include like parental violence, but that's definitely a lot of people, so it's best to just assume that in your group of like 10 or however many Survivors were left, at least 1 of them has experienced violence in that way, and to not be rude about it. I feel like he also owed many different people apologies, because it seemed like he was so negative the entire time, it seemed like almost any time he was alone with someone he wasn't 'bros' with, he would be so rude. Like at that little watering hole/pond with Shirin one time, then Sierra the next, I mean, what happened to if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it? I get that it's Survivor, you can lie, steal, betray, get into people's heads, but that was just a whole other thing.

Finally, next season. To be honest I've only been watching live for the past few years, and other than the past few seasons, I've only seen the previous seasons that Netflix has on DVDs. So I was really surprised that I knew most of them, as they were from newer seasons, I guess maybe that's what voting does. I bet after that million dollar comment Shirin goes home fast, if any of those people can remember it long enough. There are reasons besides money to play Survivor, yeah, but I doubt even if she made it to the end that she'd win based on that. I loved Woo, he was so happy and fun, not looking forward to Kass or Spencer, I found them pretty annoying, they were okay players I guess? I wonder if the people from this season that are going on to next one are at a disadvantage, as people just watched them and are more familiar with them, or if they're maybe better off because no one really had time to analyze their footage and see what their gameplay was throughout the entire game (I guess Joe and Shirin got out soon enough you could do it, but you'd have less time to). I bet Shirin will be very annoying on this next season, as she was a superfan. Also, why is Keith there? Didn't he say he didn't even really want to play the game, he was just there because of his son?

[dolphincorn]

 

It is to say that Survivor should be boycotted by anybody that cares about racism.

 

You go first.

 

[FineWashables]

Wow I was surprised that Carolyn didn't get more votes, based on how Final Tribal went.  It looked like she had it sewed up.  I was even more amazed that she wasn't voted in for next year's season.  I would have been okay if she won last night but I had to root for Mike, even though he's a douche, just because he did outwit, outlast, and outplay.

 

Shirin smelled the marker at Final Vote, just like Johnny Fairplay.  I'm already bored with her for next season.

 

I want to know how come Mike's voice keeps changing between cartoon bear and cartoon mouse.

[peachmangosteen]

Never seen a winner get less screen time.

 

I'm fairly confident almost every female winner got as little as or less screen time at the reunion as Mike did. At least Mike got a glorious edit. He was shown like 50 times every ep.

 

I think this season was great for Jeff. I mean the guy was calling out sexism left and right! I feel like maybe he finally got it. Now, I wish he'd have gotten into it more and maybe not acted as if Dan, Will, and Rodney were the only offenders. Almost every man in this season made at least one sexist statement or perpetrated some sexist behavior. But there wasn't time and besides most of these people aren't intelligent or enlightened enough to get it anyway so it would've been a waste of time.

 

I gotta give the editors props for FTC because I honestly thought Carolyn had a chance of winning. I thought it was gonna be close. Made what was a really obvious and predictable outcome since at least the merge ep a bit more exciting for a couple minutes.

 

I loved Shirin's speech. I thought I was gonna love Jenn's, but it turned into the boring 'I've been designated to tell everyone how great this one guy is and why you're bad if you don't vote for them,' and I was just like meh. 

 

Tyler's speech honestly might have been the worst. Like get off your high horse, asshole. He has such an inflated sense of self. Bitch, Mike was right in his paranoia and you know it! Not to mention the fact that he said he was going to vote off Carolyn, so he can take his 'I'm so hurt' shit and shove it. I swear I hate him more than all the other men this season. Probably because he never got any backlash and in fact got a lot of love and 'he's a great player' comments. HATE!

 

By the time FTC rolled around, I was content with either Carolyn or Mike winning. Neither of them really played that well and they were both not as awful as human beings as Will, so I was mostly meh on the whole thing. With my criteria for playing a good game, I probably would've voted for Carolyn though.

Edited May 21, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[gunderda]

I'm glad Mike won - i was rooting for him once he had to fight for his life. 

to be honest I don't think I liked him at the beginning

 

I loved Shirin's speech at the final tribal council. 

 

Will's wife....stay classy.............

And Rodney is a delusional IDIOT!

[laurakaye]

 

I want to know how come Mike's voice keeps changing between cartoon bear and cartoon mouse.

Thank goodness, I thought I was the only one who kept being weirded out by that...he goes from Patrick Starfish to an almost effeminate voice, sometimes in the same sentence.  I can't say how many times I had to focus hard on my television when Mike spoke in his non-bear voice because I didn't recognize it.

[cooksdelight]

I think Mike might be one of those people who suffers from vocal chord strain. I've got a friend who's voice will fluctuate like that after he's been to a trade show talking non-stop for several days.

Was Dan's wife there, gazing adoringly at him from the audience? I don't remember seeing her pointed out. Or maybe she was hiding from embarrassment.

Will's wife, on the other hand, let the world know what she's all about.

I'm hoping that the players who were watching this last episode and last finale/reunion got on that bus and plane with the knowledge that we're depending on them to not do the same stupid stuff. Play hard, have fun, give us some great moments but for the love of all that is Survivor.... do not emulate Dan, Rodney or Will.

Oh, and be sure you heard right.... Shirin is a millionaire. And she's going to talk to you non-stop about her life and how you should be in your life. I told Abi to empathize but get her out early. I can see Abi rolling her eyes and saying "Here we go again..... talking non-stop, laughing like there's no tomorrow... remind you of anyone? It does me!"

[Bryce Lynch]

I'm glad Mike won - i was rooting for him once he had to fight for his life.

to be honest I don't think I liked him at the beginning

I loved Shirin's speech at the final tribal council.

Will's wife....stay classy.............

And Rodney is a delusional IDIOT!

I hated Shirin's speech. She rambled on and on and quoted Sue Hawk, like she was Abraham Lincoln or something.

Plus, she got Will wrong. Will was more or less dead weight as he was useless in challenges, but he didn't seem to be hard to get along with in camp.

Shirin was the "dead fish" whose vile taste the other contestants were willing to put up with for a month to improve their chances at the million dollars.

She was also a howler monkey, annoying the tribe with loud, irritating noises.

[laurakaye]

This season seemed to be cobbled together by a new bunch of producers who weren't very familiar with Survivor.  No pre- or post- Final Tribal statements to the jury was a glaring omission - this is what Final Tribal is all about, for crying out loud - letting the final 3 have their say, which may or may not sway the jury into their decision as to who deserves the million dollar prize.  Less significant but still bothersome to me was Jeff's casual interacting with the cast right before a reward/immunity challenge, when the camera would pan away and we'd hear Jeff say something like, "Let's go!" or whatever.  It seemed odd and out of place.

 

As for the reunion, I wouldn't have minded if Jeff had tossed Mike the check and spent the rest of the hour jumping all up in Dan's business, showing him footage of Dan clearly trying to lie his way out of his own stupid behavior.  For Dan to think that he can mess with the institution that is Survivor and call out everyone for his "bad editing," he deserved every single second of Jeff's wrath and more.  Shut your trap forever, Dan.  You will be remembered as the single biggest moron this game has ever seen, and that is saying something.

 

That said, as much as I disliked this season, I will once again be counting down the days until the next season.

[Eolivet]

Aww, the Men's Rights Activists found the Survivor board. So, to sum up:

 

1) It's the woman's fault

2) It's not the man's fault, because (racism/classism/editing)

3) If it is the man's fault, the woman deserved it.

 

Ding, ding, ding! You hit the MRA trifecta!

Edited May 21, 2015 by Eolivet

[riverheightsnancy]

This season seemed to be cobbled together by a new bunch of producers who weren't very familiar with Survivor.  No pre- or post- Final Tribal statements to the jury was a glaring omission - this is what Final Tribal is all about, for crying out loud - letting the final 3 have their say, which may or may not sway the jury into their decision as to who deserves the million dollar prize. 

I was wondering about that too and maybe the statements made it really obvious who won? I have to say, I wanted Mike to win, but the editing made me think that Carolyn had it in the bag based on the jury comments and that Mike had (based on the comments) screwed the social aspects so much that he lost. Perhaps, the statements showed Mike killing it and the editors believed that it would have ruined the count at tribal? Or they ran out of time, or they just plum forgot! ;)

[nkotb]

I wonder how much longer Mike will remain celibate? All the girls will be coming out of the woodwork now!

I said those exact words to my husband after he won (I don't think he had to win to get that, though, I'm sure girls are already lining up for him)!

Edited May 21, 2015 by nkotb

[riverheightsnancy]

Aww, the Men's Rights Activists found the Survivor board. So, to sum up:

 

1) It's the woman's fault

2) It's not the man's fault, because (racism/classism/editing)

3) If it is the man's fault, the woman deserved it.

 

Ding, ding, ding! You hit the MRA trifecta!

 

Hee, it's classic No MA'AM thinking right there (from Married with Children) -National Organization of Men Against Amazonian Masterhood. 

[Wings]

 I wanted Jeff to show the clip of Dan insisting that bamboo would not hold him because it is hollow.  I wanted Jeff to say, bamboo has a higher compression strength than wood, brick or concrete and a tensile strength that rivals steel.  You were wrong and being very nasty and disrespectful.  Why did you think that was a good way to socialize on your first day on the island?  And why, as a super fan, did you not know this?   There was so much more to nail Dan on!  I would have loved to have seen more.  I cannot stand the guy.  

 

I didn't care that Mike got little time, Jesus was responsible for his win and not present to give his strategy and logic.  I don't care about Will or Shirin, much ado about nothing.  If you run into an asshole on Survivor, out wit them or ignore.  Small potatoes.  I am not looking forward to her angst on the next season.  I have had enough. 

[peachmangosteen]

I'm wondering if they just edited out the opening statements for time. I think I read an interview with Jeff yesterday that said the FTC was really long and they had to ask for more time on the broadcast to show it or something. Maybe they still had to edit out a lot of stuff. They haven't done closing statements in the last few seasons though. Which I hate. The FTCs never feel complete anymore.

 

Eolivet, LOL to your last post. Also, Dan is like a walking MRA advert. So embarrassing.

Edited May 21, 2015 by peachmangosteen

[dolphincorn]

 

...he goes from Patrick Starfish to an almost effeminate voice, sometimes in the same sentence.  I can't say how many times I had to focus hard on my television when Mike spoke in his non-bear voice because I didn't recognize it.

 

It was like I was watching one of Tyra's voiceovers on America's Next Top Model.

[Wings]

 

I wonder how much longer Mike will remain celibate? All the girls will be coming out of the woodwork now!

 

 

I didn't know this until just now.  Oh boy.

[Bryce Lynch]

Aww, the Men's Rights Activists found the Survivor board. So, to sum up:

1) It's the woman's fault

2) It's not the man's fault, because (racism/classism/editing)

3) If it is the man's fault, the woman deserved it.

Ding, ding, ding! You hit the MRA trifecta!

You are right, men should have no rights and women should never be held partially or fully responsible for their actions.

Will was wrong to brutally beat Shirin the way he did. Oh wait, he didn't lay a finger on her or threaten her in anyway. He merely insulted her after she insulted him.

Was he over the top? Sure. But if he said the same things about Rodney or Dan, nobody would care much...including me.

[TresGatos]

Will's wife, on the other hand, let the world know what she's all about.

 

Does anyone know what was printed on Will's wife's shirt?

[ghoulina]

Was Dan's wife there, gazing adoringly at him from the audience? I don't remember seeing her pointed out. Or maybe she was hiding from embarrassment.

 

I still believe his version of "wife" is a woman he has locked up in his basement. 

[eskimo]

My niece pointed out that it seems as if Rodney's trying to look like Joaquin.  I just thought he looked like a used car salesman until she said that. 

[ShutUpFlanders]

In that confessional where Mike said that he wanted to put all the people on the blue collar tribe who broke the alliance with him on the jury once he truly was on the outside (Rodney can lie all he wants but he had his sights set on Mike before Joe was gone and set up F4s all with the intention of dragging Will to the end), I thought that would've been a really interesting argument. Would it have alienated Dan, Rodney, and Ciera? Yes, but he only ended up with Dan's vote anyway because Dan's self-delusional sense of victimhood was stroked. God, Dan is the worst type of moronic asshole that this show manages to unearth every once in a while.

 

The FTC was really boring as hell and the end was predictable, though I was surprised Tyler didn't vote for Carolyn. I was shocked that Rodney voted for Will; what a bitter little baby. Apparently he's allowed to vote everyone out but no one can vote for him?

 

I liked Shirin's speech, even though it was overbaked. Will totally was a dead fish.

[Nutjob]

 

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.

Those were my thoughts exactly. And when his (oh so klassy) wife was yelling from the audience that he doesn't treat people like that, I was like, "But he did! On (inter)national television!" I recommend Will go read John 13:35 over and over and over again, because he still doesn't really show remorse or repentance for what he did, and that makes me sad.

 

 

You are right, men should have no rights and women should never be held partially or fully responsible for their actions.

Will was wrong to brutally beat Shirin the way he did. Oh wait, he didn't lay a finger on her or threaten her in anyway. He merely insulted her after she insulted him.

Was he over the top? Sure. But if he said the same things about Rodney or Dan, nobody would care much...including me.

I sure would. It's one thing to bring up things that happen inside the game, but berating someone and making things personal using their life situation back home is the lowest of low in any game you play. It would be like Will repeatedly bringing up Rodney's dead sister as a means to put him down, and I certainly would have an issue with it. I also say that as someone who never warmed to Shirin as a personality, and who would probably be annoyed if I had to spend any amount of time with her.

 

Mike wasn't my favorite person out there, but I'm glad he won this. I just never could warm up to Carolyn (her sitting by watching Will berate Shirin didn't help, either) and I've already given my feelings about Will (plus he was dead weight everyone dragged along). I'm also pretty happy with the S31 cast--I'd swap out Terry for crazy Shane and Kass for T-Bird, but otherwise I think I can live with this group. No Culpepper or Max makes me happy.

Edited May 21, 2015 by Nutjob

[laurakaye]

My niece pointed out that it seems as if Rodney's trying to look like Joaquin.  I just thought he looked like a used car salesman until she said that. 

Rodney and Joaquin....I can so picture them heading to the clubs after the reunion to "get some."  Rodney's hair and electric blue suit had me rolling.

[riverheightsnancy]

Wow, look at the most recent press release I stumbled upon from CBS! 

 

 

I know the cropping is horrific, but I just couldn't resist. It really is Dan, from Twitter. 

Edited May 21, 2015 by riverheightsnancy

[Nutjob]

One more thing: Rodney is gross. I could barely look at him during the reunion, because he was the physical embodiment of everything that a man could do, physically, to turn me off--greasy, mulleted hair, ill-fitting, ugly suit, frat boy behavior... it was a whole pile of NO.

[BigRedCheese]

"Was he over the top? Sure. But if he said the same things about Rodney or Dan, nobody would care much"

 

That's kind of a pointless thing to wonder about because he would never act like that toward a man, at least not one that wasn't a lot smaller than him. Even when he did say something to Mike, he made sure to sit down first and from a distance, and what he did insult Mike about was being friends with Shirin, not about the food comments, which is supposedly what set him off anyway. But we know even that was a lie, because during his tirade, he whispered to Jen that he wasn't mad at her for "questioning his honor."