S32.E03: The Circle Of Life

[Alapaki]

Alecia, on the other hand, seems to have no ability to read people at all. While she recognizes that she's on the bottom, she keeps trusting Cydney. The minute she shared the idol hunt with her, she was sunk. While Jason was the most obviously aggressive, it was a 3 on 1 battle that Alecia had no chance of ever winning.

 

 

Well, there probably is a reason that Alecia isn't on the Brains Tribe.  But, I think last night was more an example of Cydney playing Alecia very well and Alecia's desperation.

 

As far as Alecia knew, Cydney remained loyal to her at the prior TC when it very well could have gone either way.  Sure, Alecia could've made her HII-search by herself.  But I can't objectively fault her for wanting to pull Cydney in as a partner to try to solidify that "alliance of two".  

 

If anything, I think Cydney may have screwed the pooch by running her mouth (honestly) to the guys.  I understand why she didn't want the guys to start doubting her loyalty to them.  But she should've fed them false info re: the HII-search to leave herself of the option of still finding it without them.  She's got to realize that those two swinging-dicks are never going to even consider sharing a HII with her.

[kakiphony]

If anything, I think Cydney may have screwed the pooch by running her mouth (honestly) to the guys.  I understand why she didn't want the guys to start doubting her loyalty to them.  But she should've fed them false info re: the HII-search to leave herself of the option of still finding it without them.  She's got to realize that those two swinging-dicks are never going to even consider sharing a HII with her.

 

Probably true, but the way the whole situation played out on Brawn makes the Super Idol bit interesting because now more than one player knows about it. While Jason has possession of this half, when the swap comes there is at least one (Scot) and possibly two (Cydney) other players who know about this twist. They can keep it quiet and hope to find the other half, or they could announce it as a reason to flush the other half before it can ever be combined. If they keep quiet, it's certainly an interesting way to insure loyalty to their original alliance mates after the swap -- if they've worked together to conceal the information and get the pieces, they would be a formidable force.

[fishcakes]

I thought Liz was slightly worse than Peter, so I'm fine with her going. He's a smug douche, but she's a self-pitying smug douche and a bit of a hypocrite. "The numbers didn't lie to me; the people lied to me." You mean, the people you were lying to? Yes, the people you were lying to lied to you. And it was glorious.

 

I don't particularly like Aubrey or Neal either, though; they're a little too in love with the Brains label and can't seem to talk without referring to their "analytical minds" or what the fuck ever. I'd take a hundred J'Tia's dumping rice in the fire over these gasbags.

 

At the same time, Brains is my favorite tribe to watch/hate because their dysfunction is fun and Debbie is their nutty queen. Debbie = Sue Sue Heck + 40 years.

[Haleth]

Does anyone have information about the super idol? I was just assuming any two of the three out there would fit together after they merge. Do you all think there's a 4th (or more) that fits with the original three?

[himela]

Jason continues to be the dickhead we know him to be BUT I really don't mind because after all this is a cutthroat game that wins you 1 million. 1 MILLION!, as Penner would say. I like Russel so I like his alter ego Jason's game. Jason is a more rude Tony in my eyes. Tony lied, manipulated, cheated but he was able to cry at the end of the day to show some emotion. Jason doesn't do that. He is there for the money and he can't care less for anyone else.

 

The beauty tribe continues to do good at challenges and keep it together though I still don't know most of the people there. I guess these three girls won't have any impact in the game to not being shown almost at all or if they do after the merge it's unfair that we see nothing of their early game.

 

I find Debbie to be an annoying person but I couldn't not admire her for her under the radar - play dumb and clueless strategy. I would love to see Peter go but I think it's will be funnier to see him beg for his life after Liz left. Liz belongs to Stephen. He can have her. God those eyes though were damn beautiful.

 

Mediocre episode all in all. It seems the producers are only promoting the injuries from this season. I guess nothing more interesting happened in terms of strategy or else we'd see it in the previews.

 

I still think Jason will win.

[pennben]

Speaking of BB I hope a lot of fans are watching because so far Caleb seems to have something of a redemption going on. It's nice to see.

 

Caleb, even on BB, had a really good TV edit.  It's just when watching the feeds that we saw what he did.  I can't forget that now.  I hope he's grown, I hope he's better, but a TV edit is not going to prove that to me any more than the earlier TV edit tried to make me forget what I saw.

[LanceM]

Jason continues to be the dickhead we know him to be BUT I really don't mind because after all this is a cutthroat game that wins you 1 million. 1 MILLION!, as Penner would say. I like Russel so I like his alter ego Jason's game. Jason is a more rude Tony in my eyes. Tony lied, manipulated, cheated but he was able to cry at the end of the day to show some emotion. Jason doesn't do that. He is there for the money and he can't care less for anyone else.

 

The beauty tribe continues to do good at challenges and keep it together though I still don't know most of the people there. I guess these three girls won't have any impact in the game to not being shown almost at all or if they do after the merge it's unfair that we see nothing of their early game.

 

I find Debbie to be an annoying person but I couldn't not admire her for her under the radar - play dumb and clueless strategy. I would love to see Peter go but I think it's will be funnier to see him beg for his life after Liz left. Liz belongs to Stephen. He can have her. God those eyes though were damn beautiful.

 

Mediocre episode all in all. It seems the producers are only promoting the injuries from this season. I guess nothing more interesting happened in terms of strategy or else we'd see it in the previews.

 

I still think Jason will win.

 

We are seeing the early game on the Beauty tribe and that game is that the 3 women are in a tight alliance (they have emphasized this on all 3 episodes) and now they have brought in both Caleb and Tai to be the 4th or 5th. This could be  a pretty formidable force should they make the merge intact. What we are not seeing is any drama or conflict between the tribe members like we have on the other tribes. The reason for this could be one of two things.  There hasn't been any conflict to show or two, the tribe never goes to TC so we never get to see the divisions.  You are right that Jason is playing a very Russell like game which is why in the end he will lose. I see goat written all over this douche.  The winner in my opinion is going to be one of the Beauty women.

[ghoulina]

I am apparently watching a different show than everyone else. I came away from this episode with a newfound love for Debbie, feeling ambivalent about Jason, and thinking that the only reason anyone thinks they like Alecia is because she's an underdog...but that she deserves that status given the fact that she seems to have no idea what is going on around her 90% of the time.

 

I don't necessarily LIKE Alecia. But I just hate her tribe, and their immediate exclusion of her, so much that I want her to take them all down. She may not be that bright, but I think she is the most capable of realizing her flaws and trying to improve. She sucked big time on that first challenge. So what did she do? Came back to camp and tried for hours to make them a fire. She was the ONLY one to look for an Idol. I guarantee Jason and Lurch would not have bothered if she hadn't done half of the work for them. She definitely is still quite clueless and not someone I want to necessarily see win, but I am rooting for her to get far enough to beat out her asshole teammates. 

[Special K]

I don't necessarily LIKE Alecia. But I just hate her tribe, and their immediate exclusion of her, so much that I want her to take them all down.

 

 

There's definitely a Perils-of-Pauline appeal to her.

[Drogo]

Alecia's been called names, betrayed by two tribemates she'd always been nice to, and physically barreled over by a very heavy doofus because she had the nerve to try to obtain the immunity idol she found the clue to.  Hoping she makes the tribe swap to sell them out for having a HII. 

[Eolivet]

He has a sob story? What is it? Is he the least successful bounty hunter in Southeast Michigan? I keep expecting Ralph Garman and Lorenzo Lamas to pop up.

Doesn't he have a child who has autism? I assumed he mentioned it in the first interview because he wanted to garner sympathy for himself. I do remember him pulling out the "I'll do whatever it takes for my family!" card. I'm sure that bear has a sob story attached to it.

 

I guess I'm so used to any mention of a contestant's family is automatically a kind of tragic motivational force. That's always how it is on Chopped, anyway.

[Special K]

Regarding Pete's TC foot-in-mouth problem, I thought it was pretty rich to say that there was an age divide, putting Debbie and Joe in the "older" group. 

 

There is only about 10 years between Pete and Neal's age and Debbie's, and more than 20 between Debbie and Joe. 

 

He is such a narcissist that he thinks "anything older than me" is geriatric.  Of course that's a common problem on Survivor.

[Alapaki]

We are seeing the early game on the Beauty tribe and that game is that the 3 women are in a tight alliance (they have emphasized this on all 3 episodes) and now they have brought in both Caleb and Tai to be the 4th or 5th. This could be  a pretty formidable force should they make the merge intact. What we are not seeing is any drama or conflict between the tribe members like we have on the other tribes. The reason for this could be one of two things.  There hasn't been any conflict to show or two, the tribe never goes to TC so we never get to see the divisions.

 

 

I lean towards this explanation.  Talk about alliances is just that . . . talk . . . until it comes time to go to TC and the players have to back up that talk with votes.

 

Best evidence of that?  The fact that Alecia is still around.  She's clearly been at the bottom of the pecking-order on that Tribe.  But for various reasons the others have found reasons to keep her in favor of players who were ostensibly in their alliance.

 

Even if there haven't been any conflicts amongst the ladies on the Beauty Tribe, wait until they're faced with going to TC and one or more of the guys make their pitch.  

 

I just don't think we've seen enough to be able to predict which way they'll break.  As opposed to the Brawn Tribe, where I think we can say that there does appear to be a pretty solid 3-person alliance between everyone not-named-Alecia.  Whether that will survive tribe-swaps, merges, etc., of course remains to be seen.  But they've come through 2 TCs intact, and that bodes well for them sticking together at least through the early post-merge stage of the game.  Which kind of pisses me off because I don't really like any of those three.

[laurakaye]

Doesn't he have a child who has autism? I assumed he mentioned it in the first interview because he wanted to garner sympathy for himself. I do remember him pulling out the "I'll do whatever it takes for my family!" card. I'm sure that bear has a sob story attached to it.

 

I guess I'm so used to any mention of a contestant's family is automatically a kind of tragic motivational force. That's always how it is on Chopped, anyway.

That's why I don't care to hear any part of his sob story at all, but I'm certain that we will.  Don't try and sell us your soft and tender heart when you go on national television and don't bother to learn the name of one of your tribemates because you think she's a useless airhead.  Guess what?  She's someone's daughter, too. 

[Rowan]

Sweet Jesus! I hate the two guys on the Brawn tribe. I'm going to need to see them go down in flames, and I'd prefer it be arranged by Alecia.

[himela]

I forgot to talk about Cydney and what good of a game she plays. Together with Jason I do belileve she may be the winner. I could see them in a final tribal council where he loses not because of a bad game play but because of a bad social game.

[FineWashables]

Aleicia seems to have woken up and realized she's in the middle of playing Survivor, but she still doesn't seem to know what to do about that.  Like most people here, I really don't like the two guys on that tribe. That said, I don't see Aleicia winning and I just can't root for her. She's the Tito of the Jackson family and sometimes, not being LaToya just isn't enough.

 

Cydney, on the other hand, was playing an amazing game right up until she led the two guys to find the idol. WTF?? I get that she didn't want it to go to Aleicia but why give power away to these douchenozzles?  How does she figure that helps her?  Hope she's got a secret plan.

 

So you're too good-looking to have genuine feelings, Phil Dunphy?  And you're so self-absorbed that you think this is a good thing?  It's possible that I dislike this guy almost as much as Russell Hantz.  Good thing they give him almost no camera time or Hantz would have some real competition.

 

 

[candall]

Oh, I didn't find this episode mediocre at all.  Tribal Council was delicious, and even tastier after I went back with benefit of hindsight and watched all the machinations.  Liz and Nobama were so fucking condescending about keeping it simple for their foot soldiers, Debbie and Joe.  "This way they only have to be able to remember one name:  Neal."  Watching Peter's smug grin DRAIN off his face was a Top Ten Survivor moment for me.  Not in the permanent ranking, but still enjoyable, was Liz going from self-satisfied assurance that "the person going home won't be surprised" to sad little curled shrimp taking refuge in Peter's armpit.

 

Debbie was hilarious in her interviews, HARANGUING us with her message that the best strategy is "KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN AND YOUR MOUTH SHUT!"  She's been the loudest, least self-aware motormouth on the island and yet. . . with the pressure on, she not only kept her own counsel, but deflected Jeff's probing like a boss--way more gracefully than anyone else so far.

 

I have so much respect for Tai.  We've watched dozens of castaways, who probably had considerably less reverence for life than Tai, avert their eyes from the butchering and crowd in for the drumstick.  He honored the sacrifice by not hiding from the hard part. 

 

I'm going to be mad if Tai Trang doesn't make it to one of the money positions.

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

There Are No Holes Balled On Survivor
Idols are found, alliances are formed, and obviously there are a lot of well-handled balls in this week’s installment.

[Special K]

 She's the Tito of the Jackson family and sometimes, not being LaToya just isn't enough.

 

 

Warmest thanks and admiration for that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I want to like Cydney and so far I do.  I don't know why she aligns with those creeps but she thinks it's good for her game to go forward I guess.  She never trusted Alecia from jump and simply never will I think - we'll see what happens come swap. Scot looks bad by association because he's so strongly aligned with Jason but Scot alone doesn't seem that bad.  Just too intense or something, too emotional, too trusting, too EVERYTHING for this game.  It doesn't offend me; I just notice it.  

 

I loved Russell and loved Tony as well but I hate Jason and I won't compare him to those two..... just can't see it.  Hate his gameplay, hate everything about him.  I don't remember Russell and Tony stealing clues from people and finding idols accordingly.  I remember them finding all the idols their damn selves.  (If we're talking about stealing in those seasons, Woo stole a clue from Spencer and Russell stole Jaison's socks -- and burned them).   I just passionately hate Jason and don't think he can or will hold a candle to those two.

 

Interesting to see where Fauxbama goes from here.  It says a lot that I strongly dislike this person.  I'm a big Obama fan and that definitely includes his looks.  This guy.... Buh.  Just smug smug smug -- even walking to Tribal with a big smile on his face.  Who does that?  I loved how the Brains finally going to Tribal ended up this way, with two people who think they're so smart being outsmarted by others.  Brings back memories of Spencer and how he made every Tribal pretty damn interesting.  Much more interesting than dumbass Jason making "go forward" motions with his arms to illustrate to Jen what going forward looks like visually.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[blackwing]

Liz's parting words were pretty funny... "I have no idea why my tribe chose to target me."  Could it perhaps be because she and Peter were lording it over everyone else and acting like they were in control?  Of course it's ok for her and Peter to target Neal but it's not OK for anyone to target her.  They voted out her over Peter because they need Peter for challenges.  For someone who claims she does quantitative analysis for a living, she was either in denial or just making excuses.

 

I don't usually like Jeffy, but I loved his parting words at tribal, something about lack of awareness.  Those words were clearly and squarely targeted at Peter, who seemed to nod in shame.

 

Beauty tribe was largely invisible, other than one of the Mystery Girls pulling Caleb over to their side while Nick looked on suspiciously.  Nick is weird.  And it looks like he shaves his entire body from the neck down.  We got a clear view of his hairless armpits at the challenge.  That's strange to me.  I suppose he is a personal trainer but it's not like he is a competitive bodybuilder.

 

I found it interesting that Brawn apparently wouldn't let Alecia try the puzzle?  I'm not sure if she'd be any good at it, but she at least should have gotten her turn.  Cydney went first and failed spectacularly, and a few tries in, one of the D Bags asked her if she wanted to switch.  Yet they completely minimised Alecia in that challenge.

 

I forgot to talk about Cydney and what good of a game she plays. Together with Jason I do belileve she may be the winner. I could see them in a final tribal council where he loses not because of a bad game play but because of a bad social game.

I don't think her game is good at all.  Her game pretty much consists of doing nothing.  She seems to have no idea that Scot and Jason are the Final 2 in their own minds.  She would have been way better off teaming with Alecia.  If they happened to lose the challenge, vote out Jason.  Then with only 3 members left, there could possibly be a merge next time around.  Instead, she immediately runs to Jason and Scot and tells them that Alecia found a clue and exactly what the clue said "the idol is hidden at the base of this tree".  

 

So Alecia found the clue and shared it with Cydney.  Cydney then told Jason and Scot.  Jason and Scot then find the idol.  Which somehow becomes Jason's because he picked up the key.  Ugh.  If Cydney still thinks they are loyal to her, she is even more of an idiot that I thought.

[kakiphony]

I think Scot may have final 2 deals with both Cydney and Jason. Certainly, Cydney has said several times that Alecia doesn't realize how close she is to Scot. We're just not seeing any of the dynamics over there except in the ways that they relate to Alecia.

[himela]

I don't think her game is good at all.  Her game pretty much consists of doing nothing.  She seems to have no idea that Scot and Jason are the Final 2 in their own minds.  She would have been way better off teaming with Alecia.  If they happened to lose the challenge, vote out Jason.  Then with only 3 members left, there could possibly be a merge next time around.  Instead, she immediately runs to Jason and Scot and tells them that Alecia found a clue and exactly what the clue said "the idol is hidden at the base of this tree".  

 

So Alecia found the clue and shared it with Cydney.  Cydney then told Jason and Scot.  Jason and Scot then find the idol.  Which somehow becomes Jason's because he picked up the key.  Ugh.  If Cydney still thinks they are loyal to her, she is even more of an idiot that I thought.

I think Cydney knows very well she is number three in this alliance - for now. She knows very well that when the merge comes people will target the guys rather than her, a useless woman (as she wants to be shown). Even if a miracle happens and these three get to the final three, she knows she will be the one most likeable of all, for the simple reason the guys are not at all likeable. I have said it before, if she plays it right she can be Sandra only with the advantage that she CAN win individual immunity challenges. Play it dumb and useless until all strong people get voted out and when in final 6 or so start winning IICs. Get to the final three and plead your case. A smart game and boom... she is a millionaire.

[laurakaye]

 

I found it interesting that Brawn apparently wouldn't let Alecia try the puzzle?  I'm not sure if she'd be any good at it, but she at least should have gotten her turn.  Cydney went first and failed spectacularly, and a few tries in, one of the D Bags asked her if she wanted to switch.  Yet they completely minimised Alecia in that challenge.

 

I don't think her game is good at all.  Her game pretty much consists of doing nothing.  She seems to have no idea that Scot and Jason are the Final 2 in their own minds.  She would have been way better off teaming with Alecia.  If they happened to lose the challenge, vote out Jason.  Then with only 3 members left, there could possibly be a merge next time around.  Instead, she immediately runs to Jason and Scot and tells them that Alecia found a clue and exactly what the clue said "the idol is hidden at the base of this tree".  

 

So Alecia found the clue and shared it with Cydney.  Cydney then told Jason and Scot.  Jason and Scot then find the idol.  Which somehow becomes Jason's because he picked up the key.  Ugh.  If Cydney still thinks they are loyal to her, she is even more of an idiot that I thought.

And I may be mistaken, but I believe Bounty replied, "the base of what tree?"

 

Um.  That would be the tree where you saw Cydney and Alecia digging.  And Alecia is the airhead.

 

I too was ticked that Alecia was never given a chance at the challenge.  I wonder if she asked and was told no, or if they just ignored her like they did when they found the idol.  I think that's what bugs me the most about Bounty and Lurch - they ignore Alecia completely because they think she's a non-entity, until she does Survivor-type stuff like make fire and find the clue to an immunity idol.  Both of which no one else could or bothered to do.

 

And here I didn't think it was at all possible to despise a player, let alone two, more than Foley.  Good work, Survivor!

Edited March 3, 2016 by laurakaye

[ljenkins782]

Right? I was really stunned by her naivety, just thinking that whatever people told her she could 100% count on.

I found it interesting that she said Aubry wasn't interested in talking game, but she seemed to have no trouble talking game with Debbie. It's quite possible Aubry just didn't want to work with Liz. But Liz incorrectly assumed that meant she didn't have her head in the game at all.

It looked like more arrogance than naivete, especially coupled with Peter's astounding self assurance in the face of zero evidence. 

 

The edit on those two was so over the top that it seemed like a red herring and both obnoxious blowhards were going to stay in the end. Very glad that wasn't the case, but I got especially nervous when they showed Debbie's talking head about the vote being a total blindside, I thought for sure that meant the vote was turning to her somehow. 

 

I got a giggle out of seeing Joe working out on the raft. It's like, you're on Survivor. You're barely eating and you're exerting tons of energy at challenges and around camp. But you go on and get those crunches in. I know he snapped at Liz last week, but I'm still not certain if I like the guy or not. I tend to have a soft spot for the old curmudgeon types. Maybe he was having a bad day. I will reserve judgment for a while longer.

 

After last week's episode, I posted that I was put off by Liz in that scene and couldn't put my finger on why since on paper, I did agree with her and thought Joe was being condescending to her. But this week's episode shines a little more light on that and that Liz might just be the spoiled, above-it-all person that she struck me as in that scene last week. 

 

I thought Joe might have been talking a bit too much about his skills as a police officer and military vet, but then Peter very foolishly saved him by assuring everyone that because of his age, his word would mean more than anyone else's. He's not ACTUALLY Rudy...and Rudy would have voted Peter off too if he wasn't in his alliance, which Joe does not appear to be. The bizarre certainty that Joe and Debbie must be mush-brained due to age was infuriating. 

 

I can't wait to see the aftermath of this vote since Peter sunk his own ship by voting for Aubry AND insulting Neal in the same TC. Those two were his best shot at rebuilding since he's clearly been treating Joe/Debbie like addlebrained children, but that's done now.

 

I like Aubry and don't mind Neal, he can be a little sarcastic and dismissive but also seems quirky in an interesting way unlike the straight arrogance of some of the others. 

 

The nearly-invisible-save-Tai Beauty tribe seems like mostly nice people and hopefully they'll chop the one jerk (Nick) at first chance. The extreme focus on Tai's idol hunting makes me nervous for him, the whole "this will save me..." thing feels like a setup for someone going home with an idol in their pocket, but who knows? 

 

The Brawn tribe...ugh. Bounty hunter is the worst, obviously, and I'm among those who want to root for Alecia but can't (though I was rooting for her to catch that key as it fell while simultaneously fearing that bounty hunter might actually snap her neck if she did). She's just so vacant and is making every possible mistake. Scot doesn't actually bother me that much, his association with bounty hunter is bringing him down, but he doesn't seem like a terrible guy otherwise. As for Cydney, I'm not sure she has much of a choice in her associations at this point and I can't completely blame her for choosing the guys over Alecia. If these tribes stand for several more TCs, axing one of the guys in favor of Alecia is going to hurt them in group challenges, plus Alecia's going to have the least allegiance to Brawn if they do swap tribes. 

 

Jason has the arrogance of someone who wants to lay ground work as being some sort of ground breaking Survivor mastermind/infamous villain that has future contestants mimicking.  Yet so far he's taking a page out of the handbook of Russel Hantz, has a touch of the Dan Foley asshole persona on him, and even on his twitter he's had quotes that have been uttered by previous contestants.  I don't know, maybe his whole plan is to be unoriginal.

 

Lol. Don't forget the Rupert angle, he's trying (and failing) to push the "I may look like a big scary guy, but I'm really just a teddybear inside..." thing, but there is nothing endearing about this guy. Rupert (much as I can't stand him NOW) was actually quite successful at portraying that image in his first season, this guy doesn't seem to have the humanity.

Edited March 3, 2016 by ljenkins782

[Straycat80]

But of course the best thought of the night was - where did Tai actually hide the idol? hehe

Right!? Mr. Straycat and I wondered the same thing. All he was wearing were those little underwear shorts. WHERE and how did he hide it from his teammates? Inquiring mind want to know!

Edited March 3, 2016 by Straycat80

[laurakaye]

Right!? Mr. Straycat and I wondered the same thing. All he was wearing were those little underwear shorts. WHERE and how did he hide it from his teammates? Inquiring mind want to know!

I thought he reburied it under another tree but I could be wrong.  I did think it was sweet that he thanked the tree for the idol, too.

[KimberStormer]

Haleth, on 03 Mar 2016 - 05:38 AM, said:Haleth, on 03 Mar 2016 - 05:38 AM, said:

I'm not sure how well the super idol will work.  Will someone give up their half to rescue an ally?  Maybe.  But most players are loathe to give up a one shot immunity.  

 

To me the super-idol is so bad because you can always do what Yul did and just be like "you vote for any of us and you go home, that simple" thus basically assuring that the whole group has a free ride to the end, because nobody saner than Phillip Sheppard is willing to fall on their sword for their alliance.  So in a way it makes sense for the super-idol to be shared.  Luckily I think none of these people are Yul-level clever, and (given who has the idols) nobody close as the Aitu 4, so they will probably be selfish and never use this super-power.  I can see it right now in my mind's eye: somehow Scot has gotten another idol.  The votes are read.  It's Scot who will go home.  He turns to Bounty Dick, smiling, excited to pull off the BIG MOVE.  But Mr. Gauges' eyes are cold, his face is stone, he makes no move.  "Jason," says Scot.  "Let's do this."  "I don't know what you're talking about," is the answer.  The Pride of Southeast Michigan has figured out that he can get rid of a rival and an idol, while keeping his, by doing nothing.  Scot realizes he's finished, and with a heavy heart, stands to bring his torch to Probst.

Edited March 3, 2016 by KimberStormer

[Sarahsmile416]

I think the worst part of the ageist angle by Fauxbama and Liz is that half of the duo they think is too "old" to understand their voting maneuvers is only 49!! Guess in 15 years, Fauxbama should just put himself in an old age home since clearly 49 year olds are too addled to be able to do anything of use

[Matty]

Loved the blindside last night. ER Obama was completely taken by surprise since he thought he was playing everyone. Every time I see Debbie I think of Patti Smith. Anyone else see the resemblance? Just me. No offense to Patti Smith.

[iMonrey]

The scramble among the Brawns to find the idol made me very uncomfortable. On the one hand I felt like Jason and Scot bullied the idol away from Alecia. On the other hand, Alecia is sort of the victim of her own stupidity. She did not in fact have to tell Cydney she found the clue (Cydney was nearby, but did not see the clue until Alecia motioned her over). And for the record, Alecia never saw the lock box. She went off to find the key with the map while Cydney stayed behind and dug further to find the box.) I'm struggling between Jason and Scot's arrogant sense of entitlement and Alecia's own naivety. At the end of the day I just don't like any of them I guess.

 

And YES! Debbie looked like the Wicked Witch of the West with her wet hair straggling down either side of her face. Yeesh, she's kind of scary looking.

 

I don't know how I feel about the Super Idol either, and I guess I won't until I see how it's used. But I wonder if all three tribes have TWO hidden idols near their camps, or if two idol-holders from different tribes will have to agree to work together and share a Super Idol by combining their own after the merge.

[Special K]

And YES! Debbie looked like the Wicked Witch of the West with her wet hair straggling down either side of her face. Yeesh, she's kind of scary looking.

 

That TH was the bestest part of the episode, her looking like a crazy, witchy badass not giving a shit, with all her evil glee!

[liqidclark]

So I like that the Brains are so clearly cold and calculating machines who can still laugh about how they are being cold and calculating machines. They're playing hard, but not taking it too seriously.

 

Neal delivered his line about conspirators needing to be "punished" perfectly. I vote Neal for confessional narrator.

 

Peter came off like a complete asshole. I thought he was just snarky. Maybe he was flailing at tribal because he knew he was a goner. I thought that about Jenny last time. Who would do that type of shit if they still thought they had a shot in the game? But still, Peter came off like a complete asshole before TC anyway.

 

Liz came off like she absolutely couldn't process social cues, like a literal robot. I'm trying to figure out what was shown of her that would foreshadow that as such a huge part of her downfall. I thought she seemed observant in the first episode, and tactful in the second episode. In this episode, she's oblivious. That was a good surprise edit. End paragraph.

 

Nick is the Liz of his tribe.

 

Tai is the best. Around. Jeff was never going to keep him down. I didn't get the impression that he was forced to help with  the chicken. I thought he chose to participate to make sure it was done humanely and respectfully, and to sort of honor the sacrifice of life to sustain life.

 

Cydney is hustling like crazy on her tribe. I hope she makes it far just so I can watch her maneuver around a larger group.

[ghoulina]

I don't remember Russell and Tony stealing clues from people and finding idols accordingly.  I remember them finding all the idols their damn selves.

 

This is very true. Love him or hate him (or be indifferent), but Russell was always out there searching, and found an unprecedented number of Idols on his own. Jason didn't want to do anything except lay in the damn shelter until he realized that Alecia had already done half of the work for him. 

[SlackerInc]

Great episode.

 

"It's not your plan" was so boneheaded for Peter to say at TC.  Even though it didn't ultimately matter, if Peter actually did have the numbers on his side he was just making potential trouble for himself in future votes.  Oof, and then "Liz and I are both smart people, we've figured everything out".  Oy, the unwarranted arrogance.

 

Wow, and then Jeff really called Peter out at the end.  It's pretty bad if Jeff can suss out your oblivious lack of emotional intelligence just from Tribal Council (unless he's getting dailies?).

 

I want to officially dissent from all the talk about how the show depicts "animal cruelty", we should get PETA involved, etc.  These are free range chickens, being killed with a swift machete chop to the neck before being eaten.  Give me a break with this.

 

He has a sob story? What is it? Is he the least successful bounty hunter in Southeast Michigan? I keep expecting Ralph Garman and Lorenzo Lamas to pop up.

 

Haha, great Spike TV reference there.  Kudos.

 

If Alecia makes the merge, she can hopefully make herself valuable to her new allies by teling everyone that Bounty hunter has an idol.

Debbie is a strange mixture of obtuseness and perspicacity.

Liz and Cydney are to me two of the most naturally beautiful women to be on the island. Too bad they'll look horrible at the reunion, with the makeup gun set to whore.

 

LMAO at "makeup gun set to whore".  I wonder if they have any say over this, or if it's part of their contract that they have to let CBS's makeup people go to town?

 

I'm gonna assume you know that's explicitly against the rules and that you're joking, yes?

 

To be precise, the part that's against the rules is keeping the idol (stealing it from someone).  They are allowed to rifle through people's possessions to gather intel, although I wish this was against the rules also.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Did Alecia contribute anything during that immunity challenge? And how sadistic was it of the producers to have a bunch of hungry people using that rice as a challenge prop with no opportunity to take it back to camp?? In President Beefcake's season, they used big, heavy fish in a challenge but the winning team got to take it for food. I would've been trying my best to shove rice in any spare pocket or crevice.

That TC was so satisfying I needed a cigarette afterward. I NEVER tire of seeing arrogant assholes have the smiles wiped from their faces.

I adore Tai. Ice cream pants is a fav too. After them, I got nothing.

[Special K]

Did Alecia contribute anything during that immunity challenge? And how sadistic was it of the producers to have a bunch of hungry people using that rice as a challenge prop with no opportunity to take it back to camp?? In President Beefcake's season, they used big, heavy fish in a challenge but the winning team got to take it for food. I would've been trying my best to shove rice in any spare pocket or crevice.

 

Remember the one where they had to tear pieces of meat off of a carcass with their teeth?  <<<shudder>>>

[Ms Blue Jay]

I love how Tai narrates everything, and that all of the elements of Survivor fighting against him to succeed are merely "Jeff".  Like "Jeff is making this very hard for me."  "Jeff is challenging me right now."  Substitute Jeff for God for how religious people speak.  LOL, omg what a character!

 

Can someone recap in entirety what the F* "Ice cream pants" means?  I understand that Neal made his own ice cream business, can someone FILL ME IN ON THE PANTS?  Thanks.

Edited March 3, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[ljenkins782]

Can someone recap in entirety what the F* "Ice cream pants" means?  I understand that Neal made his own ice cream business, can someone FILL ME IN ON THE PANTS?  Thanks.

 

His pants have ice cream cones on them. 

 

Remember the one where they had to tear pieces of meat off of a carcass with their teeth?  <<<shudder>>>

 

Ugh, the hands down grossest challenge to watch. Strings of meat hanging out of people's mouths...disgusting. 

[SuburbanHangSuite]

^^^ LOL Ms Blue Jay, we aren't being cryptic. Neal's pants at TC are an ice cream cone pattern.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hmmm.  I guess my severe lactose intolerance blinded me to those pants.

[blackwing]

Scot and Jason have perhaps the ugliest sets of tattoos I have ever seen on this show.  As others have commented, it's like children drew graffiti in random spots all over them.  Caleb's tattoos, which are extensive, look tame by comparison.

 

But did anyone get a good look at Jason's back tattoo?  Looks to be a work in progress.  Apologies for the poor image quality:  http://prntscr.com/aauc71   I don't know what it is intended to be when it is finished, but I think it looks like two people being burned at the stake.  Nice.

Edited March 3, 2016 by blackwing

[Special K]

Scot and Jason have perhaps the ugliest sets of tattoos I have ever seen on this show.  As others have commented, it's like children drew graffiti in random spots all over them.  Caleb's tattoos, which are extensive, look tame by comparison.

 

But did anyone get a good look at Jason's back tattoo?  Looks to be a work in progress.  Apologies for the poor image quality:  http://prntscr.com/aauc71   I don't know what it is intended to be when it is finished, but I think it looks like two people being burned at the stake.  Nice.

 

I could talk about the ugliness of those tattoos ALL DAY LONG.  That back tattoo DOES look like two people being immolated. Perhaps it's a reenactment of one of his violent, bad-ass perp-catches.  Or a tribute to the Inquisition. Boggles the mind.

 

And Scot's back!  It's just side-to-side thick and full with hideous.  It's like an ugly-tattoo version of Phil Spector's Wall of Sound. 

 

These two make Rodney's armpit words look like they were done by Michelangelo!

Edited March 3, 2016 by Special K

[Sweets McGee]

How was this episode not called "A Snake in Ice Cream Pants"?

[ghoulina]

To be precise, the part that's against the rules is keeping the idol (stealing it from someone).  They are allowed to rifle through people's possessions to gather intel, although I wish this was against the rules also.

 

Yes, agree. I wish all of that were against the rules. 

 

But just this once, I'd love Jason to have the Idol stolen from him, because I just hate the way he went about getting it. 

[RedheadZombie]

I can't even enjoy the show, because I'm

watching for the serious injuries that Probst has bragged about. I even paused on Tai, analyzing his injuries for infection that could cause a meda-vac.

 

As for next week's preview,

the vital signs shown on the monitor could not be more stable, but it's possible the person had been stabilized at that point.

 

I don't understand the Brawn tribe's behavior.  Cydney was bragging about how good it was to make Alecia trust her.  Why?  They were three votes to one.  Alecia is really irrelevant at this point.  They also seem to believe that HII will protect all three of them.  Again - you have three votes versus one.  It seemed like unnecessary over-strategizing and chest pounding.

 

I'm not sure if the four Brain members could have played more perfectly.  It was not only a complete blindside, it was pre-meditated to counter a HII.  Every conversation we saw was handled beautifully.  The ease of lying and pretending to go along with Liz/Peter required a lot of self-discipline.  Not one eye roll or disagreement when they were pontificating about their brilliance and control.  Not a peep revealed at tribal council.  Just really impressive, IMO.

[Rick Kitchen]

^^^ LOL Ms Blue Jay, we aren't being cryptic. Neal's pants at TC are an ice cream cone pattern.

He wears those pants on his website.

[RedheadZombie]

Caleb, even on BB, had a really good TV edit.  It's just when watching the feeds that we saw what he did.  I can't forget that now.  I hope he's grown, I hope he's better, but a TV edit is not going to prove that to me any more than the earlier TV edit tried to make me forget what I saw.

 

I think he has grown, because I'm not sure he's self-aware or smart enough to modify his actions otherwise.  Besides his tolerance of Tai's adoration and attempts to flirt with him, he was patient and kind with Tai's distress at killing the chicken (I'm a vegetarian - that type of consideration is rare).  I also noticed that when Jeff held out the II, Caleb looked at the rest of his tribe before taking it.  I'm from Chicago.  After years of watching Michael Jordan hog and cry over the NBA trophies, it's refreshing to see that.

[aurora296]

Being a loyal viewer of Big Brother, Caleb is a much better fit for Survivor. I don't want him to win, but I have to admit he is a beast in competitions.

 

I almost gagged when Jason mentioned he's from Southeast Michigan. Is that what i smell around here? 

 

The Stepford Model guy? Don't care to look up his name. He basically admitted he has sociopathic tendencies. Uh huh...just fake it that you care. 

 

Debbie is growing on me. I could only take her in small doses, but she'd be a good ally in this game that I'd suffer through to get to the end. 

 

Peter looks like an Obama/ Joker morph face.