S31.E05: A Snake In The Grass

[Special K]

You're funny! Of course there's no man that Probst thinks has no shot. They're men dammit, they always have a shot. It's the dumb women that can never win. Probst is such an idiot.

 

The last time Probst said a man had no shot, it was Spencer and as we all know he got pretty damn far against huge odds. And Probst ate some crow.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Now that I actually know who the 3 tribes are, I'm gonna spew my opinions on them!  It's super easy now to figure out who to cheer for.  Obviously Angkor, because Woo is on that tribe and they're the underdogs.  I almost cried when they got 2nd place in the reward challenge.  What a wonderful episode for them.  Second place the Jeremy/Spencer tribe, that's incredibly easy, because I love those two.  And then last place is obviously the tribe with Golden Boy (Joe) and Golden Oldie (Terry).  I have nothing against Joe but it's really annoying how good those two guys and their tribe seem to be at everything.

 

Re:  Immunity challenge

 

Angkor wouldn't have won without Stephen's help (ha)

 

Going to disagree here.  Angkor finished the Immunity Challenge AGES before any other team.  I still think they would have been fine.

 

Bye, Monica.

 

Reminded me of Bye, Felicia!

 

This week, in "Dealing with Abi Faces"

 

 

 

 

Spencer's face when he realized Monica had gotten a vote (after trying in vain all episode to "Play it Cool"):

 

Edited October 22, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[Mreid]

In my opinion that was the best episode of this season so far! First of all I wanna talk about Kimmi Kapenberg! Wow! That was the best gameplay I think we have seen from her in her Survivor career. She was able to keep her cool when Monica told her to take it easy on the clams, though I know she wanted to give her a piece of her mind. She orchestrated that blindside beautifully I mean did ya see the look on Monica's face heres an instant replay 

Monica had no idea that was coming! I love me a good blindside! The editing was very well balanced this episode we got see just enough from everyone. And good old Stephen giving Angkor that extra point during the immunity challenge he's such a generous person isn't he gotta love Stephen  It was just nice to finally see Bayon go to tribal council Angkor needed a break. Now if I were in Tasha's shoes I would cut Abi Maria loose. She should convince Savage they need to keep Woo around going into the merge it would be great for Tasha if guys like Woo, Savage, Joe, Jeremy and Spencer are all still around all those physical threats will keep the target off of her. I am glad that Monica is gone though I didnt like her on Samoa and she sucks at the challenges. I thought I was going to be sad with the absence of Varner but it was the exact opposite great episode! Now Im not looking forward to next weeks episode though because as you saw in the preview someone is leaving the game early and I know exactly who it is. That is the one and only spoiler I was aware going into this season I just wasnt sure when it was going to happen. So yeah next week will be sad

[meep.meep]

That was cold blooded!

 

Loved the little shot of Abi opening the clam, poking around inside, and then leaping away in horror shrieking that "it's alive!"

[Bryce Lynch]

I hope Monica didn't get whiplash the way whipped her head around when her name was read. That was a blindside!

Abi Marie. Holy moley, has there ever been a bigger narcissist? Woo's mom needed a new heart? Pfft, what about her tendon? Geez. What a piece of work.

I get why Abi thinks a heart transplant is not such a big deal. She has been getting by without a heart for 36 years. Edited October 22, 2015 by Bryce Lynch

[Guest]

But as Jeff pointed out at tribal council, you can say that same thing about Spencer and Wigglesworth. This is a woman who held the record for years with immunity challenge wins by a woman. Hell she immunity challenge won her way to the Final 2. 

From what we've seen so far, though, Spencer is the one bailing them out at the challenges lately.  I haven't seen Kelly do much and her challenge run was a lifetime ago.   Though I also don't watch that closely and might've missed her killing it this season.  I saw Spencer land three skee-balls in a row and thought DAMN.  He was also good at all the slingshot type challenges they've been having.  

[Bryce Lynch]

All I wanted after the vote was for Monica to turn around, stamp her foot, and yell, "And I hope you run out of CLAMS!"

I so rarely get what I want.

I kept expecting Monica to do a play on the old Seinfeld line and say, "Hey Kimmi, the ocean called. They're running out of clams!" Edited October 22, 2015 by Bryce Lynch

[blackwing]

I agree that it was obvious within a few minutes of the show starting that Monica was going home.  1) The episode didn't spend the first 20 minutes on Insane Abi Maria.  Must mean Angkor doesn't lose immunity.  2)  Oh look, we are moving so fast to another tribe.  This tribe must lose.  3)  Is that the Monica that I think is on the show?  Wow, she's actually speaking!  And she's causing trouble by complaining about the clams!  She's out.

 

Monica must hate her edit on the show this season.  She was mostly invisible, and when she was finally featured, she was shown as incompetent at the reward challenge, and complaining about taking too many clams.  Then she was shown smugly proclaiming that the vote was locked up.  Yes it was.  It was locked up to vote her out.

 

What I want to know is why Fishbach wasn't an option.  He is physically weak and incompetent.  Spencer isn't that strong either but he at least gives it his all in challenges and has often done well.  Spencer and Kelly could have approached Jeremy and appealed to him that Jeremy needed them to win challenges, and that Monica and Stephen in particular were deadweight.  Why didn't they try harder to save themselves?  It was just like, oh well, write the other person's name and hope for the best.

 

To be fair to Monica, I don't think she was saying that they were depleting the ocean by harvesting (is that the word?) the clams.  She was worried that their little area would be depleted, if they stay at that beach for the whole 39 days and take that many clams every day, which is certainly a possibility.  Although, on Survivor, the best strategy might be eat when you can and deal with lack of food if/when it comes to that.

I agree with you that she was concerned that their little area would be depleted, but I think her concern wasn't justified.  1)  Clams do move, as Kimmi said.  2)  They could just swim out a little further than they have been going.  Angkor had a giant clam that looked the same size, so I'm thinking these things are all over the place.  3)  They need to eat.  If they don't eat well, they will be tired and hungry and perhaps lose challenges, so no sense planning for Day 39 if you won't last past Day 12.

 

Again with the green screen slow motion beanbags -- only this time in many colors?! It's like the interns are just mocking me now.

 

Abi's comments were beyond the pale, I'm sorry. Someone shares a story about their mother having a heart transplant, and your first response is "Well, my grandmother had one, too and my auntie!" I know that Savage got a lot of (deserved) heat for his story about his wife, but Abi's comments, to me, were the equivalent of one of the castaways going "Well, my wife was a porn star and got her doctorate in mechanical engineering and we got married two weeks after we met!"

 

Hey, Abi -- if your grandmother and aunt's heart transplants were really that important to you, you would've shared those stories, unprompted -- as it seems Woo did. Not kept your relatives' illness in your back pocket in case someone you hate looks like they're garnering (gasp!) human sympathy from the human beings on their tribe.

 

And then to go to Tasha and complain about it, putting her in the position of having to be like "I know, right -- the nerve of that guy to talk about his mother's heart transplant!" Take several seats, Abi -- in fact, take the whole arena.

 

The slow motion beanbags has been done before.  I wouldn't be surprised if they just re-used the clip from last season when this challenge was done and CGI'd the colours.  The bags flying slowly through the air remind me of that Fruit Ninja game.

 

Abi is a piece of work.  She is the gold standard in manipulation, so I couldn't believe she had the nerve to complain to Tasha that Woo was emotionally manipulating them with his story.  These people sit on a beach for at least 12 hours a day with nothing to do.  We see maybe 20 minutes out of a three day period.  I imagine that it is natural for people to share stories about themselves.  I don't think Woo is bright enough to use that story to manipulate people.  But even if he was, I can't believe Abi had the gall to complain about it.  She has absolutely zero self awareness.

 

The best part was that she didn't even recognise that Tasha was pandering to her.  It was so obvious that Tasha was going a "oh, totally, I know!  uh huh, you're right, uh huh" while nodding her head and smiling and thinking to herself about how quickly she could back away from the crazy.  I loved Tasha's eyerolls and glances.

[Dominii]

 

"I had someone else's part of their body inside me too." -Abi-Maria Gomes

But he pulled it out as soon as he realized it was you!

Can Abi please, please, please get sick or something so that she has to leave the show?  Maybe she'll hurt her other tendon...

Edited October 22, 2015 by Dominii

[barbedwire]

I agree that will not internet or tv, and 10 hours or more a day to kill, you are going to learn everything about everybody.  So no, Abi know-it-all, Woo was not manipulating you with the story about his mom.

 

Love a good blindside.

[ghoulina]

Spencer and Kelly could have approached Jeremy and appealed to him that Jeremy needed them to win challenges, and that Monica and Stephen in particular were deadweight.  Why didn't they try harder to save themselves?  It was just like, oh well, write the other person's name and hope for the best.

 

I'm not sure about Kelly, but Spencer said he wanted to try and come off as low-key as possible. He felt like part of his problem last time was being too much in his head all the time, overthinking every move, and appearing very anxious to others. So he tried to just act like he was confident with the fact that the guys told him the vote was for Kelly and keep his mouth shut after that. I think he was afraid that if HE approached THEM and started offering ideas, he'd be gone in an instant. Instead he's been trying to build this bond with Jeremy and work hard at challenges and hope that's enough to keep him. 

 

 

The best part was that she didn't even recognise that Tasha was pandering to her.  It was so obvious that Tasha was going a "oh, totally, I know!  uh huh, you're right, uh huh" while nodding her head and smiling and thinking to herself about how quickly she could back away from the crazy.  I loved Tasha's eyerolls and glances.

 

Tasha's faces were great and that scene really highlighted how unaware Abi is. If it were me, I would instantly know Tash was telling me what I wanted to hear. Her words were "yes", but her face was all, "No, girl. No. You crazy". But Abi just lives in her own little Abi world and as long as she hears what she wants to, she's good. 

[poppy-]

But I have to ask... that tribe was nearly dead last week.. how did they suddenly have so much energy for these challenges??

 

On another site - AV Club or EW? - Probst said in an interview that they didn't realize how far gone the tribe was until they completely fell apart at the puzzle challenge. I think they were given some food.  Which is fine.  Because having them starve really, really wasn't fair, or fun to watch.

[FineWashables]

Monica's auf wasn't about the clams.  It was about her feeling so comfortable and so secure that she chose to boss everybody around about those clams. Unless your name is Russell Hantz or Boston Rob, you do not tell other people what to do on Survivor.  Doesn't matter if you're right or not. Contestants are there because they actually believe that they can outwit, outlast, and outplay everybody else -- that is not the profile of someone who wants to be told what to do, how to do it, and why his/her ideas aren't good enough.

 

Wigglesworth and Spencer are keeping their mouths shut and taking a back seat.  It's kept the target off them even when it seemed inevitable that they'd be voted out.

 

Remembering Season 1 (so fondly), I wonder if Kelly Wigglesworth has already made a secret alliance with someone that no one suspects.  I do hope so.   

Edited October 23, 2015 by FineWashables

[kassa]

Not letting the two people who thought they were on the chopping block know about the blindside was also a way to flush out an idol.

[Way Wes Jr]

I want to like Kimmi, but it's a pet peeve of mine when somebody cites "she is playing for herself" in a confessional as a reason to vote somebody off.

Seriously, the "winning tribe," doesn't get a check for a million dollars, the winning player does.  Really, what it comes down to is that Kimmi didn't like Monica for whatever reason, and jumped on "Bayon loyalty," as her argument to Jeremy/Stephen.  (And to the confessional.  Heck, maybe even to herself.)

 

Monica... the ocean is full of clams, if you take two dozen from that small cove, the clam population will not be affected. I get the impression she talked incessantly. Every tribe has one. :)

Monica was planning for the future, rather than the next day.  And while I think Kimmi was in the right - eat what you have now; if you are voted out it doesn't matter, if there is a merge/swap you'll have to share with your competition - it does make me wonder ... We saw Angkor eating a clam, but what if one of the reasons their beach sucks so much, is because the tribe that had that beach in Season 32 stripped it nearly clean of food?

 

So either Kimmi tells the guys "I don't like Monica" and risks looking catty and disloyal, or she says "Monica wants a women's alliance!" and makes Monica look disloyal and shows the guys what's in it for them if they get rid of her. She may not even consciously realize she was doing it but I'm sure that's what it was about.

Over on the "Know it alls," podcast at RHaP, Rob and Josh conjecture that Kimmi wants to play the "Cool Aunt," role while aligning with a bunch of guys.  So yeah, I think it's the second conjecture.

 

3. I really can't stand people who want to form "Girls Alliances" just because. This isn't Big Brother. You have a tribe and other things to consider. 

 

I can't stand reality contestants who get all hot and bothered about the possibility of a "girl's alliance."  None of these players ever seems to be dismayed at all of the "boy's alliances," that inevitably form on these shows.

 

Re: Women's Alliances:

like there aren't really a lot of instances that the WA is a thing - but people always want to shut it down. but if there's a Guys Alliance, it's ho hum. (or even a male/male pair. woman/woman pairs are also 'seek and destroy). like. Kimmi shut it down so quickly, it was crazy. (and yes because she didn't like (maybe she didn't remember) Monica), but still).

 

I was so busy saying shut up to Abi - I didn't get this one at first:

"I had someone else's part of their body inside me too." -Abi-Maria Gomes

Twelve year old me approves.

[Jersey Guy 87]

Bayon wasn't thinking at that reward challenge. They needed a tall person in the barrel, not short little Monica. Her height slowed her down in unwinding that rope. I wish Angkor could have won first but at least they have the tarp. They worked pretty well together and Woo was a beast. Tasha and Savage are nuts if they keep Abi over Woo. They need him to win challenges until the merge.

 

The tarp was the real reward - the cushions on the chairs are going to be disgusting and soggy within a day at the most, the tarp will keep you dry for a good long while.

 

To be fair to Monica, I don't think she was saying that they were depleting the ocean by harvesting (is that the word?) the clams.  She was worried that their little area would be depleted, if they stay at that beach for the whole 39 days and take that many clams every day, which is certainly a possibility.  Although, on Survivor, the best strategy might be eat when you can and deal with lack of food if/when it comes to that.

 

That is actually the best strategy in general - when you are uncertain what your future food supply will be eat everything you can get your hands on.  You'll build up reserves that will help you if you run out of food and have more energy now.

 

Regarding Kimmi eating clams: I don't know what her diet is, but some vegans do eat bi-valve shellfish... creatures that do not have a central nervous system and eating them doesn't impact the environment. There was one shot of Kimmi with bit of a belly that I really appreciated. She looks good for a middle aged lady who is not a gym rat, and I'm glad she's not afraid to wear a bikini.

 

If you're a real vegan you don't eat animals or anything that comes from animals.  There are varying degrees of "vegetarians" who justify eating certain animals (usually seafood), but they are not vegans.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

ElleryAnne:Chairs with cushions?  Hammocks?  Refreshments?  I feel like I'm watching Survivor: Mall Experience.  It wasn't enough to give them kerosene and wood chips along with the flint this season, or to give them BBQ stuff.  I'm even used to them getting blankets and tarps occasionally.  Now they get furniture.  I miss the days when a "reward" was making twelve of them split a Snickers bar.

Guess you must have missed the Fiji season where the Haves tribe had chairs with cushions, an actual wooden bed with sheets and quilts, a couch and a French press coffeepot.  With coffee.

 

What I miss are the days when the food rewards always included booze and there was always at least one winning Survivor who'd get completely tanked.

 

 

North of Eden:Speaking of Kelly I have to make an "Emperor Has No Clothes" comment. Her much vaunted return has been a dud...not an Epic Fail..but still a fail. It probably was an idea that sounded good on paper but so far its not panning out. To wit: She was one of the prime candidates for the boot and we got NOTHING from her...we didn't see her do any strategizing...zero...you wouldn't even know she was in the episode if people weren't talking ABOUT HER. When she finally surfaces at TC she would have likely remained mute if Jeff wasn't prodding. Assuming Sonya's (first SURVIVOR boot ever)still alive they should have brought her back from season 1 for all they are getting out of the first ever runner up.

At least according to Dalton Ross http://www.ew.com/recap/survivor-cambodia-second-chance-season-31-episode-5, you have hit the nail on the head.  Apparently she is just not someone who can give good interviews - she went on the original season because she's an outdoorsy person ( a whitewater raft instructor wasn't she?) as opposed to an aspiring performer.    Of course as it turned out wilderness skills were not what was really needed to win the game, and after season two we stopped getting Survivors like Kelly.  It's probably the reason why she HASN'T come back before.  

 

Although for someone who isn't good at delivering soundbites, it's so funny to remember that she is quite literally the FIRST person to ever go on a reality show and say that she wasn't there to make friends.  I guess it  helped that she was  one of the first people to ever go on the very first reality show.  And you know if Spencer hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have remembered that.

 

In any case apparently production feels her interviews are SO poor that they thought it preferable to telegraph that she was not going home (by not having her do any interviews) than to show what a boring talker she is.  

Edited October 22, 2015 by ratgirlagogo

[Guest]

They don't eat their rice on day one, or pick all the coconuts and eat all those on day one.

 

I think the chairs might be fine.   Most outdoor furniture is made of fabric with some water repellent properties.   As for disgusting, I don't think they care about dirty.  It's got all day in the sun to dry out.   But the tarp was the best part, I agree.  

[poppy-]

If you're a real vegan you don't eat animals or anything that comes from animals.  There are varying degrees of "vegetarians" who justify eating certain animals (usually seafood), but they are not vegans.

 

So says Jersey Guy 87.   I learned the tidbit about bivalves & veganism reading a book by Peter Singer, a very influential animal rights ethicist.

I am not a vegan, I got no dog  in this race.

Guess you must have missed the Fiji season where the Haves tribe had chairs with cushions, an actual wooden bed with sheets and quilts, a couch and a French press coffeepot.  With coffee.

 

What I miss are the days when the food rewards always included booze and there was always at least one winning Survivor who'd get completely tanked.

 

At least according to Dalton Ross http://www.ew.com/recap/survivor-cambodia-second-chance-season-31-episode-5, you have hit the nail on the head.  Apparently she is just not someone who can give good interviews - she went on the original season because she's an outdoorsy person ( a whitewater raft instructor wasn't she?) as opposed to an aspiring performer.    Of course as it turned out wilderness skills were not what was really needed to win the game, and after season two we stopped getting Survivors like Kelly.  It's probably the reason why she HASN'T come back before.  

 

Although for someone who isn't good at delivering soundbites, it's so funny to remember that she is quite literally the FIRST person to ever go on a reality show and say that she wasn't there to make friends.  I guess it  helped that she was  one of the first people to ever go on the very first reality show.  And you know if Spencer hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have remembered that.

 

In any case apparently production feels her interviews are SO poor that they thought it preferable to telegraph that she was not going home (by not having her do any interviews) than to show what a boring talker she is.  

 

I remember season 1 of Survivor.  Last episode,  Richard honed his speech to the jury by talking to the camera.   Kelly closed her eyes, turned her back to the  camera and put her head down. You could see she was mouthing words-- practicing her speech I'm sure -- but she wanted privacy.  I can respect that.  But, certainly doesn't make for great tv.

[Hera]

I did laugh when Andrew was like, "Great story, Woo". He was probably thinking, "Damn, that was much better than the one I shared about being a hotshot lawyer who fell in love with a supermodel".

I was thinking it was more like, "Great story, Woo...but it needs MOAR hot models. Try to make it more like mine next time."

 

Hey, Abi -- if your grandmother and aunt's heart transplants were really that important to you, you would've shared those stories, unprompted -- as it seems Woo did. Not kept your relatives' illness in your back pocket in case someone you hate looks like they're garnering (gasp!) human sympathy from the human beings on their tribe.

 

And then to go to Tasha and complain about it, putting her in the position of having to be like "I know, right -- the nerve of that guy to talk about his mother's heart transplant!" Take several seats, Abi -- in fact, take the whole arena.

I laughed when I saw Tasha's face during that segment. It's the same face I've seen countless people make when cornered. I'm pretty sure it's the face I make whenever someone decides to monologue at me about their life story and/or political beliefs on public transport.

 

And I thin Abi would have been booted if they didn't win.

That's the sense I get as well. I think Tasha would rather work with Woo than with Abi—she pretty much gave a list of reasons in this last episode. She did, however, point out that Abi was the reason she was still in the game. Still, if you can get her out pre-jury, then it doesn't matter if she feels betrayed.

 

I think Fishbach's scoring for Angkor didn't matter so much since Angkor got first first. I think if he had put up a point for Ta Keo or if Angkor had come in second, his team would have been a lot angrier with him.

 

As for Bayon's decision to vote out Monica—I'm not sure it was the best move they could have made, but I will give credit to Kimmi. If you're going to rat out someone who wants to work with you, better to remove them from the game altogether rather than let them stick around knowing they can't trust you. Kelly and Spencer both thought they were the ones on the chopping block, so I think they're probably relieved to have made it through and aren't too concerned that they weren't brought into the vote against Monica—well, Spencer might be, but I don't think he's in a position to complain about it to anyone. And he wrote Kelly's name down, like he said he would, so at least Jeremy, Stephen, and Kimmi know they can trust his word about who he'll vote for.

[Jobiska]

They don't eat their rice on day one, or pick all the coconuts and eat all those on day one.

 

The rice (and to an extent the coconuts) are a known quantity that don't move away under their own agency or via the movement of the ocean or whatnot.  

[Special K]

I was thinking it was more like, "Great story, Woo...but it needs MOAR hot models. Try to make it more like mine next time."

 

Hera wins!

[ghoulina]

I can't stand reality contestants who get all hot and bothered about the possibility of a "girl's alliance."  None of these players ever seems to be dismayed at all of the "boy's alliances," that inevitably form on these shows.

 

If I heard one of the guys say, "Don't vote off Spencer we might need him for our all guy alliance", I'd roll my eyes just as hard. I just don't like the formation of alliances based on one identifying thing about yourself, with no real thought as to whether the people involved are good for you game, have the same goals as you, are easy for you to work with, etc. 

[needschocolate]

The tarp was the real reward - the cushions on the chairs are going to be disgusting and soggy within a day at the most, the tarp will keep you dry for a good long while.

 

I agree that the chairs are not all that important, but the winning tribe also got snacks and refreshments.  Second place only got a tarp, which is very important, but I was hoping second place would at least a bag of Fritos and a Pepsi (need to have product placement).

[Jersey Guy 87]

So says Jersey Guy 87.   I learned the tidbit about bivalves & veganism reading a book by Peter Singer, a very influential animal rights ethicist.

I am not a vegan, I got no dog  in this race.

 

Dictionaries (OED, dictionary.com, Merriam-Webster, thefreedictionary.com,etc.) all define a vegan as someone who does not eat or use animal products.  It is the accepted definition by a large percentage of reference sources.  I'm aware of Peter Singer but I disagree that it's all right for vegans to eat oysters and call yourself a vegan - another term is needed (just like pescetarian was created to describe someone who eats seafood but not other animals).  I'm not a vegan either, but I find it useful to have words mean something.

That aside, I never was under the impression that Kimmi was a vegan on her first season, just a vegetarian.  I don't remember if she ate seafood on her first season, she did eat a worm so she's apparently not a strict vegetarian (or willing to eat a worm to try and win a million dollars, at least).

[blackwing]

Not letting the two people who thought they were on the chopping block know about the blindside was also a way to flush out an idol.

 

I suppose.  But Jeremy knew they didn't have it, because he has it, and I think at this point in the game, it is the only one available for that beach.

 

If he was going to play along and act like Spencer or Kelly had it and they were really concerned about flushing out an idol, they would have discussed splitting the vote.  2 for Kelly, 2 for Spencer.  I suppose Kelly and Spencer could have both voted for the Monica.  But then I think there is a re-vote with only Jeremy, Stephen and Kimmi voting, and the alliance still controls the vote.  They didn't even discuss splitting.  Monica said she didn't think they had it. 

 

 

I did appreciate how Kimmi was all irritated with Monica but didn't say anything directly to her and kept it under control.  She saved all her frustration for the confessional.  I thought it was great that she said she is older and wiser.  This is what Second Chances is all about, it's about learning from the mistakes you made the last time you played the game.  I guess Monica and Kimmi were allied, so Monica wouldn't have had a confrontation, but sometime before Kimmi goes, I want to hear "I will always wave my finger in your face" from somebody.

 

What this show is missing is clips of those "moments" from seasons past.  As the contestants talk about things they did last time wrong, a brief clip would help to put things in context for new viewers or those who may have forgotten some details.  I guess that would take away from the pacing of the show and maybe there's not enough time, but I just really would like to hear Kimmi addressing "finger in your face".  I don't believe she was asked about it in the first episode.

Edited October 22, 2015 by blackwing

[Way Wes Jr]

If I heard one of the guys say, "Don't vote off Spencer we might need him for our all guy alliance", I'd roll my eyes just as hard. I just don't like the formation of alliances based on one identifying thing about yourself, with no real thought as to whether the people involved are good for you game, have the same goals as you, are easy for you to work with, etc. 

 

Ah, but, while it may not have been directly stated as such, Jeremy, Andrew, and Joe all very clearly have stated that they want to be in an alliance with "people who will be seen as a bigger threat than me," and none of them are talking about strategic threats.

[cooksdelight]

The winning IC team got the chairs, etc. AND a tarp also. They could use that tarp as a carport-style cover for the chairs if they want to.

[kikaha]

Ah, but, while it may not have been directly stated as such, Jeremy, Andrew, and Joe all very clearly have stated that they want to be in an alliance with "people who will be seen as a bigger threat than me," and none of them are talking about strategic threats.

 

Jeremy, though, is in an alliance with men and women.  So are Andrew and Joe.  They are smart to do so.  e.g. one of Andrew's alliance mates -- Tasha -- has played fantastically, to keep both them in the game when by all rights they should have gotten booted. 

 

Saying you want some bigger targets in your alliance does not exclude everyone else.  Saying you want an all-women's alliance (or all men's alliance, or all-blondes alliance) leaves everyone out who does not meet the criteria.  REAL bad play by Monica IMO. 

[pennben]

I suppose.  But Jeremy knew they didn't have it, because he has it, and I think at this point in the game, it is the only one available for that beach.

 

 

Jeremy knows he has the one from this tribe, he didn't know whether Kelly or Spencer had one from their original tribe.

[RedheadZombie]

Stephen looked pretty damn good shirtless.  Why in the world is he still playing the ninety-pound weakling?  I realize muscles do not prevent you from being clumsy and awkward, but there's no excuse for that pathetic hacking at a coconut.  He must be playing the part of "no threat".

 

To me, the women who are playing the smartest game so far are Tasha, Ciera and Wentworth.

 

Have we seen enough of Ciera to make this judgment?  Other than crying at supermodel stories and raising her hand to sit out of challenges, what have we seen her do?

 

But I have to ask... that tribe was nearly dead last week.. how did they suddenly have so much energy for these challenges??

 

If Probst is going to come out and acknowledge that they were provided food, why the ploy to make it look as if they were hunting and gathering coconuts and clam?

 

On another site - AV Club or EW? - Probst said in an interview that they didn't realize how far gone the tribe was until they completely fell apart at the puzzle challenge. I think they were given some food.  Which is fine.  Because having them starve really, really wasn't fair, or fun to watch.

 

Gee, who knew starvation affected people's ability to, you know, live.  Asshole.

[Oscirus]

Any survivor  with a brain in their head knows that Kelly and Spence would play the idol if they had it. They did the 3-2-1 vote to avoid having spence or Kelly get smart and try to force a tie with Monica's help.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Survivor Kicks It New-School
The Second Chancers learn many new and fascinating facts about marine biology, basic math, and of course a heaping helping of Survivor history.

[Nutjob]

I guess Monica and Kimmi were allied, so Monica wouldn't have had a confrontation, but sometime before Kimmi goes, I want to hear "I will always wave my finger in your face" from somebody.

Me too! I was hearing Alicia say it in my head every time Kimmi was on screen.

 

 

Saying you want some bigger targets in your alliance does not exclude everyone else.  Saying you want an all-women's alliance (or all men's alliance, or all-blondes alliance) leaves everyone out who does not meet the criteria.  REAL bad play by Monica IMO.

Exactly. Other than "OMG! GIRRRRRRLPOWER!!1111!!!1!" I'm not sure what Monica was thinking even bringing that up at this stage. She had a strong four with Jeremy, Stephen and Kimmi--to suggest at this early stage that she might want to throw the guys over later on, without knowing Kimmi's feelings on it, was just bad game play for the sake of... well, I'm still trying to figure that out. Unless you know a bunch of men have allied specifically to ditch the women, trying to form alliances based on estrogen is pointless, especially at this stage when you still need strength in challenges and you weigh 90 lbs. soaking wet like Monica.

[Bryce Smith]

I liked the episode a lot.  Very entertaining.

 

Gameplay-wise, I'm most impressed with Tasha.  She's doing the best job wrangling Abi.  Shirin, Peih-Gee, and Jeff all tried to wrangle her, and they failed.  But Tasha seems to know the right things to say, and the right buttons to push.  I think she'll be fine till another swap or the merge.

 

Also impressed by Jeremy.  He's managed to allay any suspicions that he has their tribe's idol, and everyone on the tribe seems to come to him for anything regarding strategy.

 

I know people think Kimmi was emotional in how she dealt with Monica, but I don't see it that way.  I just think that Kimmi wants to be very loyal to her alliance at least during the pre-merge stage and will maybe consider other options once the merge hits.  But for now, she wants to stay loyal to the original Bayons and not change up unless it looks like the situation calls for it.  As much as I'd have loved to have seen another successful women's alliance, this wasn't the time for one.  Monica had a tight foursome and should've kept it that way.  Had she reached the merge, then she could've maneuvered things for a women's alliance.  But for now, being in an alliance in which the men and women had equal power made more sense.  I can see why Kimmi went after her.

 

Since I've always hated Terry and still can't for the life of me see why anyone would like him, I'm glad he's officially on the bottom of nuTa Keo.  Guess Kelley worked wonders on Kass, Keith, Ciera, and Joe by throwing him under the bus to them.

 

I still don't see why everyone is so sure Spencer's playing that good of a game.  He's at the bottom of his tribe, is not trusted very much, and was left completely out of the loop for Monica's blindside.  Sure, he does well at challenges, but that's about all he has.

 

Nonetheless, he's damn lucky that Monica shot the wad well before she should've, or would definitely be alone on nuBayon.

 

That said, very good episode.

[peachmangosteen]

I just think that Kimmi wants to be very loyal to her alliance at least during the pre-merge stage and will maybe consider other options once the merge hits.  But for now, she wants to stay loyal to the original Bayons and not change up unless it looks like the situation calls for it.

 

Apparently not since she pretty gleefully and quickly turned on a member of original Bayon. I think Kimmi is loyal to Stephen and Jeremy (and maybe other members of Bayon, it's hard to tell), but she pretty clearly wasn't loyal to Bayon as a whole. Which is fine, tribal loyalty for the sake of tribal loyalty is kinda dumb, but it does annoy me that Kimmi was trying to act like that was her reasoning when imo it definitely wasn't. She just hated Monica. Which again, is basically fine by me, but just own up to the fact that you were voting purely emotionally.

 

But I guess maybe Kimmi has more going on with others, like potentially Spencer or even Kelly, than we're being shown right now. If so, this whole thing might make more sense. But as we've been actually shown, it basically seemed to boil down to Kimmi not liking Monica because she dared to express opinions different than Kimmi's and that being reason enough to vote her out.

[looksee]

That aside, I never was under the impression that Kimmi was a vegan on her first season, just a vegetarian.  I don't remember if she ate seafood on her first season, she did eat a worm so she's apparently not a strict vegetarian (or willing to eat a worm to try and win a million dollars, at least).

Her season was around the same time I became a pescatarian, so I remember her comment "it's not a mammal" when she ate that worm. I'm guessing her diet is anything that's not a mammal.

[truthaboutluv]

I still don't see why everyone is so sure Spencer's playing that good of a game.  He's at the bottom of his tribe, is not trusted very much, and was left completely out of the loop for Monica's blindside.

 

 

I haven't really seen any comments about Spencer playing a good game. I think some believe he is getting an underdog = winner's edit so far. Not sure I necessarily agree because as I said, I think it would take a miracle for him to win seeing as he has no one really but who knows. I think some just like him and want to see him stick around but I wouldn't say that so far Spencer is playing a great game. 

[LanceM]

Jeremy, though, is in an alliance with men and women.  So are Andrew and Joe.  They are smart to do so.  e.g. one of Andrew's alliance mates -- Tasha -- has played fantastically, to keep both them in the game when by all rights they should have gotten booted. 

 

Saying you want some bigger targets in your alliance does not exclude everyone else.  Saying you want an all-women's alliance (or all men's alliance, or all-blondes alliance) leaves everyone out who does not meet the criteria.  REAL bad play by Monica IMO. 

 

So was Monica. Her alliance was herself, Kimmi, Jeremy, Stephen and Keith. But like any good player she was thinking of other options later i the game. But that doesn't mean in any way whatsoever that she was ready to abandon this group at the first chance she got. The mistake she made was sharing her strategic thoughts with the wrong person.

[Bryce Smith]

peachmangosteen, on 22 Oct 2015 - 7:27 PM, said:

Apparently not since she pretty gleefully and quickly turned on a member of original Bayon. I think Kimmi is loyal to Stephen and Jeremy (and maybe other members of Bayon, it's hard to tell), but she pretty clearly wasn't loyal to Bayon as a whole. Which is fine, tribal loyalty for the sake of tribal loyalty is kinda dumb, but it does annoy me that Kimmi was trying to act like that was her reasoning when imo it definitely wasn't. She just hated Monica. Which again, is basically fine by me, but just own up to the fact that you were voting purely emotionally.

 

But I guess maybe Kimmi has more going on with others, like potentially Spencer or even Kelly, than we're being shown right now. If so, this whole thing might make more sense. But as we've been actually shown, it basically seemed to boil down to Kimmi not liking Monica because she dared to express opinions different than Kimmi's and that being reason enough to vote her out.

Except that Kimmi was going to stay loyal to Monica in spite of not liking her until she found out she was considering changing things up too soon.  As much as she may not have liked her, I think she still trusted her just enough not to turn on her until she went and did that.  And the fact that Jeremy and Stephen joined her in doing so tells me they no longer trusted her, either.  Kimmi really did nothing wrong here.  In fact, if anything else, she did the right thing by getting rid of someone who might flip on them later on.

[Guest]

I like Dalton Ross's remarks on Spencer and his edit.  His whole recap this week was good.

 

I feel like producers are being about as subtle as a Kim Kardashian plunging neckline when it comes to the Spencer redemption arc this season. For weeks now we’ve been force fed this narrative of Spencer becoming less of a robotic strategist and finding a way to connect with people on a personal level. This is always done with sweeping, soaring music in the background, as if Spencer has just had some huge breakthrough in his life that will make him not only a better player, but a better person as well.

This week was no exception as we get an expansion of said narrative with Spence going on about how he used to feel like the geeky kid but now he’s actually out there doing it! He’s fishing! He’s contributing to the tribe! He’s living the dream! And I’m having déjà vu to the exact same story arc presented for John Cochran in Survivor: Caramoan. Seriously, it’s the exact same story line, recycled and repackaged from season 26 to now.

Oh, also, when exactly did Spencer become some pathetic wallflower needing to come out of his Survivor shell? I’ve met Spencer and watched him for two seasons now. The dude always struck me as super self-confident and bordering on cocky (“Kass, zero-percent chance of winning the game”). Now they’re trying to sell us some story about him being a pathetic loser who couldn’t fit in? I’m not buying it. Spencer is better than that. He’s no wallflower. It’s why I picked him before this season even started to win the game, and judging by the sweetheart edit he has gotten so far, I may be right.

 

[LanceM]

Except that Kimmi was going to stay loyal to Monica in spite of not liking her until she found out she was considering changing things up too soon.  As much as she may not have liked her, I think she still trusted her just enough not to turn on her until she went and did that.  And the fact that Jeremy and Stephen joined her in doing so tells me they no longer trusted her, either.  Kimmi really did nothing wrong here.  In fact, if anything else, she did the right thing by getting rid of someone who might flip on them later on.

 

There was no indication that Monica was going to change things up soon. None.  Not to mention the fact that the whole idea of a changing things up to a possible womens alliance included Kimmi herself.  Rather than keeping that option in her back pocket Kimmi decided to throw all her eggs in one basket with Stephen and Jeremy (and by extension Andrew, Joe and Spencer since Jeremy is keeping that alliance as an option)

[calico]

I get why Abi thinks a heart transplant is not such a big deal. She has been getting by without a heart for 36 years.

 

 

When she started on her 'Woo is being manipulative' bit of manipulation I said to Mr. Calico "Forget the tendon, Abi should have gone for the heart transplant".   That was some cold shit right there.

 

Fischbach haplessly scoring a point for the other tribe was the highpoint of the season for me so far.

[yamashinaryu]

I felt it was a wrong move and I will be very happy if their decision will bit their asses soon.

I really hate the speeches of Spencer.

[KHenry14]

Dalton Ross also mentioned how pissed Probst is with Wigglesworth. She is giving them nothing in response to repeated questioning and Jeffy doesn't like it. Evidently there has been screaming and yelling about how lame her answers have been. Which has resulted in very little face time for her. They had planned to make Wiggles one of the focal points of this season and she is not helping in the slightest. What up with that?

 

And nothing's like a good old fashioned blindside. C-ya Monica. 

[Zuleikha]

I'm very amused at the idea of Wigles thwarting all of the producer's plans by being boring in confessionals. Was Wigles bad at talking heads in s1? I don't remember that, but I barely remember any specifics of that season.

 

Except that Kimmi was going to stay loyal to Monica in spite of not liking her until she found out she was considering changing things up too soon.  As much as she may not have liked her, I think she still trusted her just enough not to turn on her until she went and did that.

Monica didn't turn on Kimmi. Monica confided in Kimmi. That is the opposite of turning on her.

[Jextella]

I have to watch a day late..just saw the episode and loved it.  Monica's expression at tribal was priceless.  Getting rid of her was the right move, IMO.  She demonstrated disloyalty to half of her alliance of 4 but more importantly, she did so to Kimmi.  The Kimmi's of the world don't take to that kind of thing well.  That was the 3rd person she demonstrated disoyalty to.  She would have been nothing but trouble come merge time.

 

Reg. Kelly W....I recall season 1 she was also very quiet.  I don't mind it. I believe she is playing now the same way she did her season.  For better or worse.

 

Reg. Spencer, I personally think he's playing an awesome game thus far.  What Stephen F said at tribal was so amazing...that strategy is based on emotion.   I have a son who is a lot like Spencer.  I totally get where he is coming from.  I enjoy his speeches and seeing him tap into reveal layers he didn't know he had.  At such a young age, that is a priceless gift.  If he doesn't win, I'd be ok with it for that reason only.

[North of Eden]

Guess you must have missed the Fiji season where the Haves tribe had chairs with cushions, an actual wooden bed with sheets and quilts, a couch and a French press coffeepot.  With coffee.

 

What I miss are the days when the food rewards always included booze and there was always at least one winning Survivor who'd get completely tanked.

 

At least according to Dalton Ross http://www.ew.com/recap/survivor-cambodia-second-chance-season-31-episode-5, you have hit the nail on the head.  Apparently she is just not someone who can give good interviews - she went on the original season because she's an outdoorsy person ( a whitewater raft instructor wasn't she?) as opposed to an aspiring performer.    Of course as it turned out wilderness skills were not what was really needed to win the game, and after season two we stopped getting Survivors like Kelly.  It's probably the reason why she HASN'T come back before.  

 

Although for someone who isn't good at delivering soundbites, it's so funny to remember that she is quite literally the FIRST person to ever go on a reality show and say that she wasn't there to make friends.  I guess it  helped that she was  one of the first people to ever go on the very first reality show.  And you know if Spencer hadn't pointed it out, I wouldn't have remembered that.

 

In any case apparently production feels her interviews are SO poor that they thought it preferable to telegraph that she was not going home (by not having her do any interviews) than to show what a boring talker she is.

Thank you for alerting us to that link rat girl.Good to see its being picked up on what a misfire Kelly's return is becoming.

[Oscirus]

Producers have nobody else but themselves to blame. Season one was filled with regular joes playing a game.  The only mactor from season  was Gervase. Rich and Greg were also standouts and Colleen became a star more for her girl next door qualities then anything else. 

 

Kelly's storyline ironically enough was that she and Stacey attempted to build a girl's alliance, failed after twice getting backstabbed by Susan, became bffs with Susan then decided she didn't want to play the game and started doing what she wanted oh and had a huge public falling out with Susan.

[Shelby]

Don't expect one person to agree with me, but I am Team Clam. Good gawd, they were on day 6 or something? It possible to live an entire lifetime without cruelly killing it.

But certainly going vegetarian, even under Survivor conditions, is not going to be the death of anyone.

If I were on the show, I'd be the one getting up in the middle of the night, setting the chickens free.