S31.E04: What's The Beef?

[Primetimer]

Jeff Probst brings the double entendres to a unique new spin on a reward challenge as the Survivors continue adjusting to their new tribes.

Read the story

[ProfCrash]

hehehe

 

 

Sarah Lacina ‏@sarahlacina
@KassMcQ is that book the one @_morganmcleod and I gave to you as a present when you came to ponderosa? Jk much love!

Kass McQuillen ‏@KassMcQ
@sarahlacina @_morganmcleod I think you gave me '100 Ways to Die"

I had to share because I thought the exchange was funny.

 

And more...

 

 

Spencer Bledsoe ‏@SpencerBGM
Time to try again to have feelings!! #Survivor

Kass McQuillen ‏@KassMcQ
@SpencerBGM They are statistically overrated.

I really am liking Kass this season. I did not vote for her, same reasons I didn't vote for Abi, but I am enjoying Kass. Her tweets have been pretty fun. I like that she takes the game seriously but that she seems to have a sense of humor this season.

Edited October 15, 2015 by ProfCrash

[peachmangosteen]

Can anyone explain to me the appeal of Ciera from her first season?  My memory is that she did almost nothing, but somehow got spun as this really canny player.  Did I miss anything?   

 

It's been covered, but I'll just add that I really don't see how Ciera can be looked at as a 'do nothing' player. It might not have been stuff you (the general you) like or respect, but she certainly didn't sit around and do nothing.

 

Go, Abi!  Screw over Savage next!

 

YES! Or, better yet, Tasha! I was almost to this point in the last ep and now I am definitely there. I hope Abi continues to reign terror over all the people I hate. The sucky thing is she will inevitably fuck over all the people I like instead.

 

Monica speaks! Now if we could just hear something, anything, from Kimmi.

 

These past two eps were really boring. I hope it's not a trend. I think it's mostly because of the very stupid decisions to have one tribe be so lacking. It doesn't make for interesting episodes at all. I hope they go back to two tribes next week.

[Dewey Decimate]

I liked Tasha on her season, but her "Not Probst" addition to her vote aside, I am already tired of her. Her whole perception of Jeff causing all the "drama" was bad enough, as was her whole "we should have gotten Varner out" (well, then you should have done it then rather than complaining about it now!). But the worst was the whole nauseating "he did it for his love of the tribe" BS she spouted about Savage after the RC. My eyes were about the roll out of my head at that one. Ugh.

Funny, it's a tomayto/tomahto situation: I loved that Tasha put "not Probst" on her ballot. And I thought her "love of the tribe" was hilarious, overwrought bullshit. Totally rolled my eyes too, but I figured it was a great way to inflate Savage's ego.

 

I'm finding this whole season to be peculiarly OTT with peace, love, and happiness (with the obvious exception of noxious Abi) - nuSpencer now with feelings (batteries sold separately), CuddlyKass, and the bizarre cry-fest of Savage's wife-love speech in the first or second ep. When he was telling that story, tearing up about marrying his wife, I just assumed he was going to divulge something awful like "and then she died two days later." Maybe I'm a stoneheart, but when there was no tragic ending, I thought, what the fuck is he crying about? He's been away for less than a week!?! I understand the emotions by the time you get to the family visits - stress and deprivation have taken their toll - but it's the first few days and you're crying about how much you love your wife? Seriously?

[laurakaye]

When did the rule that you can't sit players in back-to-back challenges fade away?  Has Ciera played in any challenge yet?  That doesn't seem fair.

 

And when did the "bench" become the "sit-out bench?"  I keep waiting for Jeff to say, "Take a seat in the naughty chair."

 

If Varner is gone, we need a new narrator.  I want Sandra.

 

I watched Savage's season, but I don't remember his every talking head turning into a whispery, emo confessional.  It's annoying.

 

And if I haven't eaten in four days, greasy sausages might be one of the last things on my food list.  They would've been better off with crackers and a huge jar of peanut butter.

[peachmangosteen]

If Varner is gone, we need a new narrator.  I want Sandra.

 

I wish they'd allow Sandra on every season just to provide commentary about how dumb and awful everyone is.

[preeya]

"Woo was sooooo getting on my nerves."

Didn't like Woo in his first appearance and I like him less this go around.

Edited October 15, 2015 by cooksdelight

[Jersey Guy 87]

Why did they even need to convince Abby of anything? Woo was willing to vote Jeff....Woo + Savage + Tasha = Majority.

 

I can't stand that crazy Abi has so much power.  I'm amazed people voted for her to come back this season.

 

I can't stand Abi either, but they voted with Abi because they were afraid otherwise she'd team with Varner and Woo and vote one of them out.  In a small tribe like they have crazy Abi has way too much influence.  Everyone has to walk on eggshells the entire time because there's no telling what will make Abi decide you are a target.

 

Chaos Kass has turned over a new leaf..that's fun to watch. I wish we got more time with the other tribes, besides lowly, starving, Angkor. 

 

I am definitely in the "wait until she's actually in trouble" camp regarding Kass.  She'll go crazy when given the chance, right now there's no reason to show her crazy.

 

I agree, I have several of the Survivor buffs. You can see through the fabric if you have just one layer of fabric in front of your eyes, not all layered over.

 

It was a double-blindfold though.  Underneath the buff was another piece of cloth covering the eyes.  I think it was legit.

 

I wonder if the reason they decided no to use Woo and Joe in the RC was because they were concerned that they might have to sit out the IC (as the extra person from each "over" tribe).

 

That might be true for Joe but it wasn't for Woo - his tribe was already down a person so there was no extra person to sit out.

 

I was wondering if Varner was going to sell his reasons to stay so well during tribal that Woo voted himself out.  He's been completely befuddled every other tribal council.

[ProfCrash]

Heck, replace Jeff P with Sandra. Now those would be some fun tribal councils. I would say that would a skip 90% of the rest of the show and give me 40 minutes of tribal.

 

Tasha is playing a smart game. She is stroking the right egos. She is all about tribal love. Bullshit and we all know it. I suspect that her tribemates know it but it is something that Woo and Savage are huge into and Abi desperatly wants to be a part of something. So playing up the love of her tribe feeds into three of the four remaining members core issues. She stroked Andrew's ego with the whole you feed us all thing. She spent a good amount of time stroking Abi and talking to Abi so that Abi stayed happy. She even played with Abi's insistence that she talk about Woo in front of Woo and why that annoyed Abi. She knows that Woo is serious about loyalty and alliances and that Jeff wasn't. She also knew that keeping someone who has a good bond with Abi is bad for her bond with Abi.

 

I laughed my ass off at the Jeff Not Probst vote she cast. I thought that was funny.

 

I don't remember Andrew's first season all that well. I remember the personalities and the Outcast twist but I don't rewatch seasons so I am always a bit fuzzy. I honestly don't have strong feelings toawrds Andrew after his first season. I didn't vote for him because I generally don't like the Alpha Male stereotype but I havn't found him all that annoying this season. He is the stereotype and he appears to be 100% comfortable with that. Just like Terry is comfortable with it. I am actually more annoyed with Terry and his pride in being nice to Abi at the right moment then I am with Andrew and his teary eyed story of how he met his wife.

 

OK the story was a bit ridiculous and I don't see it as that much of a tear jerker. I laughed at how it caused Kass and Jeremy and others to be so worked up. I suspect that there was a lot more going on before the story and that what we saw was far more disjointed and out of context. I suspect that many people were telling similar stories and that Andrew's love for his wife was palpable and that the overall moment hit folks. I actually think the larger problem was Stephen's more pragmatic questioning of why Jeremy was missing. Stephen was right but it was the wrong time to say that. Just like Mike was right last season, there was an active plan to get rid of him led by Rodney but confronting Rodney about it when everyone was reading their letters from home was awful timing.

 

So far, Andrew seems to be playing a good game. He made a solid alliance, he is touching base wiht his alliance mates, he doesn't seem to be pushing his opinions on folks and he is doing well in challenges. He has that air of someone who has it all and knows it but I don't see that as a bad thing. He loves his life and he is comfortable, there is nothing wrong with that.

[rose711]

Funny, it's a tomayto/tomahto situation: I loved that Tasha put "not Probst" on her ballot. And I thought her "love of the tribe" was hilarious, overwrought bullshit. Totally rolled my eyes too, but I figured it was a great way to inflate Savage's ego.

 

I'm finding this whole season to be peculiarly OTT with peace, love, and happiness (with the obvious exception of noxious Abi) - nuSpencer now with feelings (batteries sold separately), CuddlyKass, and the bizarre cry-fest of Savage's wife-love speech in the first or second ep. When he was telling that story, tearing up about marrying his wife, I just assumed he was going to divulge something awful like "and then she died two days later." Maybe I'm a stoneheart, but when there was no tragic ending, I thought, what the fuck is he crying about? He's been away for less than a week!?! I understand the emotions by the time you get to the family visits - stress and deprivation have taken their toll - but it's the first few days and you're crying about how much you love your wife? Seriously?

I can see two reasons for the positivity:

1. The network, the viewers and everyone involved with Survivor hated the continual negativity of last season. I thought that season was edited terribly and really sucked any joy out of the show.

2. There is a clear family- relationship theme to the edit of the show. I think that is the only reason that weirdly edited story of Savages was included.

[Mreid]

I thought about that too kev89 even if they hadnt done the 3 tribe swap i think Bayon would have kept winning those immunity challenges either way. As sad I was to see Jeff Varner leave this soon after I watched Rob C's podcast video I understand that strategy wise Tasha and Savage had to get rid of him because there was no way Varner would have stayed loyal to them come the merge. Here is a secret scene that we did not see from the Bayon tribe though I cant believe they left this out check it out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mq0Hdjl4mA

[HaymakerHattie]

I love Varner more than anybody (which I would guess is evident from my fairly bitter recap) but I can definitely see this from Tasha's point of view. It's clear that Varner's playing the game hard, and that he's hoping to reconnect with former tribemates later on. Regardless of whether or not he is the primary instigator of drama, someone like that isn't someone you can control. Abi-Maria is volatile, but she can be manipulated in the short term. Now that Varner's gone, they can easily scoop up Woo (with whom Tasha has a previous connection, and who has been so blindly loyal in the past that he torpedoed his own game the first time out to take his alliance partner to the end instead of a definite goat) and jettison Abi.

The only tricky thing here is keeping Abi mollified until the next Tribal Council, and also they need to hope things don't go back to two tribes next week, because Abi can dodge bullets more easily when there are more attractive targets. Tasha really impressed me this week with her ability to keep Abi in line. I think she's one to watch.

[rose711]

I completely agree with you. Those early years had a whole other element to them that just made it more interesting, IMO. But yea, it's only fair when ALL tribes have the same disadvantage. To start, at least. I'm not opposed to tribes winning advantages at challenges. But to just throw one of the tribes onto a new beach with no food or anything, for no real reason - it just seems really unfair.

I think the early years at least got rice or beans. I remember Tina in Australia swimming to save their rice, and there was a swap where Jeff gave them more rice in exchange for a tarp.

I don't think any of their challenges were as physical as the one last night.

I could be remembering incorrectly.

[Skeeter22]

I really appreciated Woo and Jeff's performance at tribal council. Neither of them gave up and both gave great arguments to keep them and get rid of the other guy. Abi said on Twitter the only reason she voted Jeff was because of his injured foot. He did a decent job of keeping Abi in his corner, considering how volatile she is.

I think Jeff did enough in these four episodes to merit a return, but I worry that his health might prevent it. I'm surprised they let him play at all, and I can't help but think if this hadn't been a fan vote, he would have been cut at the last minute during the pre-game eval in Cambodia.

[laurakaye]

I wish they'd allow Sandra on every season just to provide commentary about how dumb and awful everyone is.

I am reading summaries of her first season on Brilliant But Cancelled.  She is such a badass.  

 

I'd also like to give Eliza a permanent throne on the jury at Tribal Council, but I fear I ask too much.

Edited October 15, 2015 by laurakaye

[ghoulina]

When did the rule that you can't sit players in back-to-back challenges fade away?  Has Ciera played in any challenge yet?  That doesn't seem fair.

 

Hmmmm, yea, I don't have the best memory for this game, but I do seem to recall there being a rule that if you sat out the last challenge you couldn't do it again. Weird. 

 

I laughed my ass off at the Jeff Not Probst vote she cast. I thought that was funny.

 

I loved it too. And then I was pondering whether Probst could have actually been voted off if no disclaimers had been made. Ha, well, one can dream!

[susannot]

I am reading summaries of her first season on Brilliant But Cancelled.  She is such a badass.  

 

 

I've seen reference to this before.  Where is Brilliant But Cancelled?

[Ms Blue Jay]

I never understand why someone in Woo's position doesn't say, "Of course I'm loyal.  I was being loyal to Peih Gee wasn't I?"  

 

It was so funny after the Immunity Challenge when they all took off their blindfolds and Woo screams "It's so bright!"

 

I thought Jeff was smart enough to be the type of person to win the entire game.  He was so manipulative and for people like Abi it works very easily.  So I guess that shows you how good Tasha's game is.

 

Was Jeff being sincere about his injury?  I thought it could be a manipulative tactic to seem nonthreatening versus Woo, but it seemed to work backwards, to get Jeff out of the game instead.  Then Jeff was shocked to be voted out.

 

The editing worked masterfully on me.  I'm a big Woo fan, so when the 3rd Jeff vote was revealed I screamed and screamed.  The editors really played me.

 

. All (Kass) seemed to do was scream, "Gooooo!" over and over.

 

LOL, what?!  I thought she was screaming "Joe".

Edited October 15, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[cooksdelight]

It was a double-blindfold though. Underneath the buff was another piece of cloth covering the eyes. I think it was legit.

Unless a sly finger pushed the interior blindfold upwards, unbeknownst to fellow competitors and Probst. It was too obvious how Joe was walking directly toward a piece of the puzzle, picking it up and walking it back... without his hands out, no stumbling, no hesitation.

[ljenkins782]

I'm not sure why Savage is even putting up with Abi. He's such a macho guy I thought he would side with Varner, Woo & Tasha. It's weird tha Abi wasn't even a thought to vote out. Granted, Varner was injured he has some strength.....I think.

 

Nah, Varner's not his type of guy. Overweight, has COPD, and is more effeminate than the macho men Savage favors. His treatment of Skinny Ryan proves that he's not necessarily pro-men, he's pro-strength/appearance (as judged by him, which is not always sound...as his love for the useless Osten proved.) 

 

He seems to think Abi has some challenge strength, which I'm not even qualified to judge. She was injured in her season and utterly useless and I honestly haven't noticed her in challenges this go-around. 

 

I loved Jeff calling Abi a little bitch.

 

It seemed halfway playful (though I wouldn't have actually minded if he were totally serious, lol), I thought it was funny. 

 

Varner and Woo are fighting to stay over the other but at no point did I see either consider convincing Abi that voting another original Ta-Keo could be horrible for them come merge and that they need to get rid of Tasha or Savage. I have to think that was attempted and it just didn't work so they didn't bother to show it because otherwise these people are idiots.

 

For as much as he may have been overplaying earlier, I feel like Varner way underplayed this vote. Woo had no shot at swinging Abi's vote through private conversation, but Jeff could have done it. Based on the fact that the only at-camp conversation we saw between Abi and Jeff was that exchange at the water well with Tasha present, I'm going to guess that Tasha glued herself to Abi's side and/or kept tabs on Varner's movements all day to prevent those 2 from talking alone. 

 

Almost seemed like Probst was trying to talk them into voting out Woo, because Varner is fun TV.

Lol, that's what I was saying from my couch. Watching a slack-jawed Woo gaze around without comprehension is a lot less fun than Varner's bitchy delight at everything. 

 

Abi's been annoying me all season, but darned if I didn't find her kind of adorable today - especially when she quietly added "Twice" to Jeff's reminder that Woo voted for her (yes, Abi, we all know he voted for her twice), and again when she said "You're welcome" with that Miss Piggy magnaminity.  I'm sure it'll pass and I'll find her annoying again next week, but this week she wasn't so bad.

I still find her annoying and being around her IRL (in the game) would drive me around the bend, but at this point, I'm almost rooting for her to stick around. It was entertaining to watch Tasha's careful strategizing teetering on the brink of oblivion because Abi didn't feel Tasha was putting Abi's safety and security ahead of the good of the tribe. She's so crazy, but given that I'm not invested in Tasha and can't stand Savage, I kind of like her keeping them off balance.

 

I'm going to start using "Sure, no hard feelings but how do think that made me feel?" in my own arguments. That was like a little nugget of gold from Abi. If you're trying to totally confound someone, use phrases like that. It's a certain kind of mad genius that I'm enjoying because you just never know what Abi will say/do depending on what direction the wind blows her emotional flags.

 

That made me laugh too, it was basically "I'm not taking it personally, but what about MEEEEEEEE???" Total contradiction. 

 

I guarantee Joe could see during that IC. No way he could run straight to the puzzle pieces and back to the pile and drop them in the right spot with no directions while blindfolded.

 

I think he could see at least a little bit, he was moving entirely too confidently. 

 

As for the puzzle portion, can we please have a challenge without a puzzle soon? I usually like a puzzle as an equalizer because it's not reliant on brute strength (althought this one was arguably about strength given the weight of the pieces, which left Angkor in the dust from the get go), but with Joe the puzzle savant on this season, it feels like a foregone conclusion.

 

The last few ICs have just had a very same-y feel and I'd like to see something different.

 

That's what you get for playing so hard Varner. His desire to try and GOAT his way to the end via Abi backfired hard and I hope it comes back and bites Tasha and Savage as well. Tasha is sitting there clearly annoyed by Abi, admits that Abi is unpredictable which is dangerous and yet never considers going to Woo and her, Savage and Woo voting out Abi. And now it looks like we will never get rid of that obnoxious asshat.

 

I don't know, I think Abi would have been a decent goat/ally for Varner if not for the way the tribal swap shook out. (Which granted, twists are part of the game, but given his original tribe situation, I can't blame him for keeping Abi over the likes of Shirin.) It was just unfortunate that he got stuck on a tribe where Abi hated one member of the original tribe (PG) and was suspicious of the other (Woo.) 

 

That said, from a strategic gameplay point of view, ditching Varner makes a lot more sense.  During his whole pitch to stay, if anything he was digging himself a bigger hole --- showing how charming and sweet-talking he can be, which makes him a bigger threat in the big picture than Woo.  Varner also has demonstrably made ties to others, as shown by his blunder in the previous episode.  Tasha/Savage probably suspect or know by this point that Woo is flying solo and he actually will stick to them, so they can cut Abi loose as their third if she gets too out of control.  If the three-tribe format continues next week and Angkor loses again (as I suspect they will, since it's getting unfair by this point), I really think Abi is done.

Yeah, there were several things wrong with Varner's pitch. A.) this was not the time to highlight your physical weakness B.) if you're already on thin ice after trying to reach across tribal lines, you've lost your ground on the loyalty front and C.) Woo is not nearly enough of a challenge monster to try to pin him as an enormous immunity run threat post-merge. You've got golden boy Joey Amazing who looks well-positioned to win tribal immunity all the way to the merge, Terry, Savage, Jeremy, etc all standing in Woo's path once they merge. I doubt he's going to be able to run past every single one of those people every single time. 

 

If you're the green tribe, I'm sorry, how the hell is Joe not your pick for ANY solo physical challenge?  Was there some unofficial "your champion must be a 30+ man so Probst can get his rocks off" rule in place?

 

 

I think Joe is still trying to pull his not-quite-working strategy of flying under the challenge radar, so I'm not surprised that he seemed to defer to Terry. But I agree, I think Joe probably would have smoked the others on the water run and hit those plank tosses on the first try, he has that freakish ability to do everything. 

 

[yamashinaryu]

How I wish Woo voted for Abi again just to make her more paranoid. That would be hysterical.

I am afraid of Kass' edit. She may be voted out soon. And I think Kelley's idol will come into play.

Since Jeff is gone, I hope Abi will follow. Two of them dominated the confessionals. Time for others to shine.

[cooksdelight]

Tasha seemed hellbent on getting rid of Varner due to his trying to sneak a message to the other team. She let that blind her to ever thinking of gathering the troops to vote out Abi. Savage would have gone along with that, so would Woo. Slam dunk, Abi is gone and no more having to handle her.

[Joseph Finn]

Oh, how happy I am that creepy weirdo Varner is gone.

And Kas faking out Kelley like that was kind of brilliant, because I think she's making a fake idol within two or three episodes.

[ghoulina]

I never understand why someone in Woo's position doesn't say, "Of course I'm loyal.  I was being loyal to Peih Gee wasn't I?"

 

Right? It seems the only "loyalty" Abi cares about is loyalty to HER. Never mind the fact that there are 4 other people on her tribe. It really bothered me that no one called her out on that narcissism and entitlement. 

[blackwing]

 

-----------

 

I get that Jeff is manipulative and sneaky, but he is a known quantity.  Abi is overly dramatic and a thorough pain to be around.  Tasha said multiple times that Abi was unpredictable.  I don't understand why Tasha and Andrew would have even considered keeping her around.  At least with Jeff, they knew he was against them.  Abi changes her mind like the wind, depending on who offended her last.  Woo is as much of a dim bulb as ever.

 

So Tasha and Andrew could have told Woo that they need to get Abi out, and the only way it would work is if Woo goes with them.  I guess that would have depended though on Woo not running to Abi and telling her right away, and he probably would have.  He has absolutely zero game.  He is an open book that is so easy to read.  Or they could have gone to Jeff and said that this tribe needs to win challenges.  Woo is stronger than Abi who may or may not be stronger than Jeff, so the obvious implication would be that if Jeff wanted to save himself, he would go along with them and vote out Abi.

Edited October 15, 2015 by blackwing

[ProfCrash]

Oh, how happy I am that creepy weirdo Varner is gone.

And Kas faking out Kelley like that was kind of brilliant, because I think she's making a fake idol within two or three episodes.

Joe was making the fake idol earlier in the season. Just like he did in his last season. Which is why Kass's comment that she is not a jewler was beautiful. It subtly pointed ot Joe and should remind folks that Joe had made a fake idol gathering stuff from camp.

[Jersey Guy 87]

I never understand why someone in Woo's position doesn't say, "Of course I'm loyal.  I was being loyal to Peih Gee wasn't I?"  

 

 

The other answer is "I have to vote out someone, and Varner told me you were the target."

[ProfCrash]

That would require Woo to be able to think strategically. I didn't come up with that one sitting at home on a full stomach and I think I am smarter then Woo. Woo has not shown himself to be the sharpest Survivor player. Toss in four days with a few sausages at one meal tossed in and the exhaustion after an insane challenge and the fact that Woo was able to make a pretty decent argument was impressive.

 

Yeah, I have a very low bar for Woo.

[Joseph Finn]

"Which is why Kass's comment that she is not a jewler was beautiful. It subtly pointed ot Joe and should remind folks that Joe had made a fake idol gathering stuff from camp."

Oh wow, that's an excellent point!

[fishcakes]

Bored with the Abi show now. Watching someone inflict their emotional problems on other people wasn't entertaining when Randy, Shamar, or Brandon did it, and it's not entertaining now. She doesn't need to be on TV; she needs counseling and a nice big glass of It's Not Always About You.

 

Spencer and Kass are pretty entertaining, though, what with Spencer trying to have feelings and Kass having read a book on how to seem sincere.

 

Savage is also entertaining, in a ludicrous way. Win the RC and it's, "Vindication! I'm the King of the World!" Lose the IC and it's "This is the worst moment of my entire life. P.S. I played football in college."

 

I feel bad for Varner and wanted him to go further, but now knowing that he has COPD, it's probably better for him to leave now. His face was so red after the IC that I don't think he was getting enough air. I know Medical came in and bandaged his foot, but my guess is they checked his oxygen levels as well. COPD is a hard enough disease to manage when you're eating and sleeping well; being in those conditions and then trying to do physical challenges on top of it could have killed him.

 

Varner and Woo are fighting to stay over the other but at no point did I see either consider convincing Abi that voting another original Ta-Keo could be horrible for them come merge and that they need to get rid of Tasha or Savage. I have to think that was attempted and it just didn't work so they didn't bother to show it because otherwise these people are idiots.

 

Woo made a half-hearted attempt at it at the beginning of his conversation with Abi, but she immediately started talking about how he voted for her twice and so he got sidetracked into defending himself.

 

 

Go, Abi!  Screw over Savage next!

 

YES! Or, better yet, Tasha! I was almost to this point in the last ep and now I am definitely there.

 

Me too. I was never much of a Tasha fan (although I did admire her tenacity in challenges), but I've grown to detest her pretty quickly this season. I didn't think her "Jeff (not Probst)" vote was funny, only because it wouldn't surprise me if she doesn't understand she can't vote for Probst. Based on her post-Cagayan responses to people asking why she voted for Woo at FTC (her responses being irrational anger, refusal to answer, and blocking people on Twitter), I'm about 90% convinced that when she voted for Woo, she thought she was voting him out. I also want to snatch that fucking fake flower off her head.

[NutMeg]

Now if we could just hear something, anything, from Kimmi.

When we heard she was the caller for her tribe, my son said "At last, we'll hear her voice!".

 

Voting off Jeff was a no brainer but still I was surprised by the vote. No brainer because he kept stressing how loyal he was to Abi (a couple to split off asap), he had friends on the other tribes, and he was injured. Abi is not going to win and voting her out can wait - this time (I'm sure if this tribe goes to TC next week, she's out - which means I will be rooting against this tribe or any other tribe switch next week :) ). Woo is the most loyal person on that tribe, tied with Savage and maybe/or before Tasha. These 3 have that in common and should work well together.

 

I was so sure Abi was going to turn on Tasha and the begining of the episode seemed to be going that way. Why is she mostly vicious towards women and ending up giving men a pass? 

[ToastnBacon]

 . Why is she mostly vicious towards women and ending up giving men a pass?

Rhetorical question, right?

[NutMeg]

Eh... ;)

[Special K]

First of all, the word is crestfallen. I am crestfallen that my Jeff got voted out.   I will so miss his spirit and snark.  I really wanted him to be on the jury/Ponderosa. Hopefully somebody else will come up to the plate as unofficial narrator.  Kass?  Spencer? Jeremy?  Please not an asshole.  Please God, not Savage.

 

The good:
 
- Fishcakes said it so good, I can't compete:
 

Savage is also entertaining, in a ludicrous way. Win the RC and it's, "Vindication! I'm the King of the World!" Lose the IC and it's "This is the worst moment of my entire life. P.S. I played football in college.

- Jeremy!  Good lord that man's beautiful.

- Jeff lovingly saying, "You little bitch" to Abi and kissing her cheek.  Now that's the kind of sweet nuthin' I can get behind.

 

The bad:

 

- Tasha. Boy do I dislike her smugness and haughtiness.  I hope she goes down hard.  By her own petard, that is.  Petard, thy name is Abi. And I hate that flower headband.  That's the kind of thing they put on newborns so people know it's a girl.  Newsflash, Tasha:  You've got an enormous rack.  We know you're a girl.

 

- That IC. I really thought there would be more injuries. Spencer had something fall on his foot and Tasha got her thigh/knee compressed between two blocks.  Why was it necessary for the blocks to be so heavy?  It would have been fine with lighter blocks.  More idiotic challenge planning.  When Jeff turned to Angkor at the end, I thought he was going to say, "Losers, I've got nothing for ya, but the medics will meet you back at camp."

 

- The unfairness of the tribe split.  Others have said it better.  Just no, producers.  Just sad and upsetting.

 

- I'm not sure why Varner, in his TC fight-for-life,  didn't point out that he did a great job of calling during the challenge.  Angkor was the first to gather the puzzle pieces.  Not all challenges are about brawn, especially as we get further in the season.  I want to see Tasha and Abi's heads explode when the next IC is one of those memory contests and they lose.

 

- Loyalty schmoyalty.  I am so over loyalty as a reason to do stuff on Survivor.

 

 

The funny:

 

- Kass reading Dale Carnegie! HAHAHAHA.  I'll have to see if she seems to use people's names overmuch when addressing them.  Carnegie said that people like best the sound of their own name.

 

- Jeremy as Stephen's JT.  Also ouch.

 

- Woo's constant befuddlement.  It never gets old.

 

- "No hard feelings.  Except I really have hard feelings!"

 

 

Edited October 15, 2015 by Special K

[Way Wes Jr]

While I agree that Joe seemed to be operating w/o the blindfold there, I think that it is just as reasonable to infer that he was the only one who could discern Kass' voice out from under Kimmi and Jeff's.  At some point, if I'm the caller, and only one person seems to be following my instructions, I'm only going to call out to them.  Extra bonus that that person happens to be Golden Joey.

[NutMeg]

Yes, that. Or they were able to see the challenge before being blinfolded and he has good visual/spatial memory. 

[laurakaye]

I've seen reference to this before.  Where is Brilliant But Cancelled?

It's the new name of what used to be Television Without Pity.  Search "Shows," and "Survivor" and you'll find every season's episode recaps up until season 27.  I passed many long weekend shifts reading Survivor recaps on that site.  I don't know why, but it went out of business a couple of years ago.

[JoannKB]

It was too obvious how Joe was walking directly toward a piece of the puzzle, picking it up and walking it back... without his hands out, no stumbling, no hesitation.

 

and at one point was RUNNING towards the pile of puzzle pieces with a piece in his hands, and slowed down just before he ran into the pile so he could drop his piece on it. There's no way he wasn't seeing through that blindfold. 

[laurakaye]

While I agree that Joe seemed to be operating w/o the blindfold there, I think that it is just as reasonable to infer that he was the only one who could discern Kass' voice out from under Kimmi and Jeff's.  At some point, if I'm the caller, and only one person seems to be following my instructions, I'm only going to call out to them.  Extra bonus that that person happens to be Golden Joey.

Good point, as Kass was screaming herself raw.  And I like "Golden Joey."  Or do I like "Joey Golden" better?

 

Yes, that. Or they were able to see the challenge before being blinfolded and he has good visual/spatial memory. 

I wondered that as well - the moment they find out what the challenge is, do they start trying to memorize the playing field?  If not, they certainly should.  It was the moment when he turned around after dropping a puzzle piece, as if to see where it landed, that looked suspicious,

Edited October 15, 2015 by laurakaye

[NutMeg]

One thing I like about this season is that, because of the returnees, we have a different demographic that we would have otherwise. And the 40+ are not voted out first nor invisible. Small pleasure but a nice change from the "people in their 20s + some random older dudes" seasons :-) 

[blackwing]

- Tasha. Boy do I dislike her smugness and haughtiness.  I hope she goes down hard.  By her own petard, that is.  Petard, thy name is Abi. And I hate that flower headband.  That's the kind of thing they put on newborns so people know it's a girl.  Newsflash, Tasha:  You've got an enormous rack.  We know you're a girl.

Although I like Tasha, I am laughing so hard at this comment.  I have a particular loathing for those headbands with the enormous fake flowers.  Never understood why so many parents seem to feel the need to put these on their bald babies.  I have a friend that does this to her baby.... every picture I've seen of the baby features the same headband with the enormous fake gerbera daisy.  If they are so worried, why not dress the baby in pink or obvious girl clothes?

[Zuleikha]

I suspect Joe has amazing good visual/spatial memory. Because he's Joey Amazing. :) 

 

In a small tribe like they have crazy Abi has way too much influence.  Everyone has to walk on eggshells the entire time because there's no telling what will make Abi decide you are a target.

Not anymore she doesn't. We'll see what happens, but Tasha/Savage don't need her anymore and she's not enough for Woo. If Angkor goes to TC again, the smart move is now to vote Abi out. Woo's more of a physical threat, but there are multiple physical threats and no telling what IC comps will be. Much better to gamble on Woo losing immunity than Abi being controllable. Abi will initiate a flip; Woo won't. 

 

I'm actually glad that Varner's out. Serves him right for his refusal to save PG last week. He had been playing well, but that was such obvious short-term thinking. If he'd held solid with PG and Woo, Tasha/Savage almost certainly would have voted out Abi rather than risk rocks and then he, PG, and Woo could have run the show until merge.

 

I was prepared to hate on Tasha for her "ask for forgiveness" later line because I hate that type of "it's okay to do something I consider wrong because I can just be forgiven for it" thinking, but she's playing really well. I respect that. I also love big hair flowers. 

[NutMeg]

Zuleikha, I'm not a fan of big hair flowers (lol), but I agree with you for the rest!

 

One thing I've LOVED this season is that each eliminated person starting from episode 2 voted to eliminate the previous person voted out. Sweet Shadenfreude :-) this must make for interesting coulda, shoulda, woulda talk at Loser Lounge. First time ever I wish we could see it (please, CBS...). 

 

So who's next? Abi? (one can hope....)

[ProfCrash]

I so happy to have a son because I didn't have to deal with all the cutsie pink, dresses, and flower headbands for a daughter. Uggghhh

[Jersey Guy 87]

 

 

Not anymore she doesn't. We'll see what happens, but Tasha/Savage don't need her anymore and she's not enough for Woo. If Angkor goes to TC again, the smart move is now to vote Abi out. Woo's more of a physical threat, but there are multiple physical threats and no telling what IC comps will be. Much better to gamble on Woo losing immunity than Abi being controllable. Abi will initiate a flip; Woo won't. 

 

 

Yep, things have shifted now at Angkor.  When they had 5 Abi could dictate the vote, or at least had to be catered to because she could easily flip and go to the other two.  But now that they have a solid Tasha/Andrew and a disjointed Woo/Abi Abi becomes an unneeded part.  It would be in the best interest of Woo, Tasha and Andrew to get rid of Abi when (not if) they go to tribal again.  Because realistically they're not winning immunity given their lack of food and lack of physical capabilities.

[NutMeg]

I so happy to have a son because I didn't have to deal with all the cutsie pink, dresses, and flower headbands for a daughter. Uggghhh

 

You and me both. I didn't know it was going to be a son, but I was going with red, yellow, white and - horror of horror - grey and black clothes anyway. I don't like pink but I'm sure my in-laws would have found a way to insert some there (I did get tons of baby blue...and the only pastel color I like is lavender).

 

Sorry. completely off topic.

[cooksdelight]

Regarding the flowery head accessories, I'm pretty sure Abi had a hand in making some of those.

[ProfCrash]

You want to give me another reason to dislike Abi? (grins)

[Tigershark]

I don't get why Abi's original tribe didn't vote her off in the first tribal council.  She is not any help in challenges.  As it has been said, she is so needy and paranoid, that keeping her happy is draining her tribe's energy.  Tasha admitted that Abi is easily manipulated, so you definitely don't want her in an alliance, because she might flip.  She is over emotional and any little thing might set her off, and something that may be perfectly normal or innocent might send her into a tailspin.  I have a friend like that.  She interpreted something I did that had nothing to do with her, as all about her, and in her eyes it was a horrible mean thing.  For the next couple of months our only communication were a series of insane emails where she angrily told me all the things I did that were horrible to her.  (And I mean completely insane- she told me one of the horrible things I did was going to New York without inviting her first.  Because SHE likes New York, so if I go, I MUST invite her.  I actually had to explain to her that if I was going to New York with my mom, it's a mother-daughter thing, and not a personal attack when I don't invite her.)  While IRL, I you can ignore people like this for a few months while they calm down, you can't do that on Survivor.  The living conditions on Survivor are stressful enough, the last thing you want is a crazy person draining all of your energy.   

 

I think the problem with the "strategy" of some of these players (Tasha, I'm looking at you) is that they are thinking too many steps ahead.  While it's good to keep the long-term in mind while playing, you have to keep in mind that before you can get to point D, you have to get to points B and C first.  The tribes seem hell-bent on getting rid of people that will be threats post-merge, but they forget that you are in a much better position if you go into the merge with numbers.  You will have the numbers if you win challenges, so it makes the best sense to keep the players around who will help you win the challenges.  In the early stages, you want to get rid of someone who is weak and is causing a lot of tribe dissension.  

 

This is reminding me of the Brains v. Brawn v. Beauty season, where the "Brains" tribe got rid of the alpha males because they were future "treats" and kept around some lady (her name escapes me) who was dead weight in challenges.  She was so bad in challenges that another tribe tried to throw a challenge, but were unable to do so because the one lady dragged her team down so much.  

 

The only reason I could possibly see for keeping Abi around is that she is a person you want to still be there if you are one of the final two.  But you will never get to the final two with her, because you will do something that Abi won't like, and she will go crazy and turn on you.

Edited October 15, 2015 by Tigershark

[Special K]

This is reminding me of the Brains v. Brawn v. Beauty season, where the "Brains" tribe got rid of the alpha males because they were future "treats" and kept around some lady (her name escapes me) who was dead weight in challenges.  She was so bad in challenges that another tribe tried to throw a challenge, but were unable to do so because the one lady dragged her team down so much.  

 

I liked your post in general, but got a big kick out of this misspelling.  Possibly referring to the men who get hotter the longer they are out there.  :)

Edited October 15, 2015 by Special K