S32.E08: The Jocks vs. The Pretty People

[needschocolate]

Last week, the Brawns and the Beauties were both trying to get the Brains to join with them.  Then a Brain goes home, so the Brawns and the Beauties decide to team up.  I thought it made a lot more sense for the 4 Beauties to still want to team up with the 3 Brains.  When it gets down to the final seven, the Beauties have a better chance of beating the Brains in a challenge than beating any of the Brawns.  

 

I have my doubts about the financial aspects of the sob stories.  I would think/hope that medical insurance and the public school system would be paying for or providing some of the therapies that Kyle Jason's daughter needs.  Also, there are government agencies that help out with this sort of thing.  I am not saying that it doesn't cost the family something, but he made it sound like they were living in poverty because of the high cost of helping his daughter.  And I can't believe that Scot needs to win a million to help his family and he couldn't help his family with all the money he made int he NBA.  I think Scot was afraid Kyle Jason woudl get all the sympathy and wanted to have a sob story too. 

 

Edited to add: I miss the old opening, when they identified all the castaways.  I'm still not entirely sure of everyone's names, and we're already past the merge.  How sad is that?

 

I am horrible with names - I am surprised that, for the remaining nine players, I can rattle off the former Brawns and the former Brains, but not surprised that I only remember Michele and Julia because I just read their names in these posts.  However, when I was discussing Survivor with dinner companions last night I realized I was doing pretty good this season.  According to my friends, the people on Survivor this season are the little guy, the old guy, the tall guy, the guy with the tattoos who isn't the tall guy, the woman with the muscles, Debbie, and the three other girls.

 

Why is Tai voting for Jason??

 

When Tai mentioned the Super Idol and Jeff pointed out that not everyone knew, I thought Tai's "Hmm, I am starting to wonder if the person who told me about the Super Idol was lying to me" comment was a good attempt at trying to cover up his mistake of spilling the beans.  Then he voted for Jason and my gut reaction was that maybe Tai didn't make up that comment, he meant it.  Maybe Tai didn't read/understand/remember the Super Idol info on his Idol parchment and it was Jason or Scot that told him - and now he really does think they lied to him.  There are holes in my logic, such as I think that Tai has only discussed his idol with Scot (who told Jason, but Tai doesn't know that), I don't think Tai knows about Jason's Idol, and it makes no sense to get back at Jason for lying if you are the only one voting for him.  

 

After reading the theories in the posts above, I have decided that the most likely reason why Tai voted for Jason is that Tai does believe that his alliance lied to him (maybe he already knew about the Super Idol, but maybe the lied to him about everyone else knowing it) and he thought the Brains were voting for Jason.  

 

I would like to think that Tai is more strategically crafty than that, but he just doesn't seem that type to me.  

 

And how did Joe get drawn in? Was that just a lucky vote, or did the ladies pull him in somehow?

 

As far as we have seen, Joe's alliance is with the former Brains.  If his two alliancemates say they are voting for Nick, then Joe votes for Nick.  No one else seems to be trying to have an alliance with Joe.

 

Aubry was too hard on herself taking the blame for the loss of the reward challenge. Noone was really that good in it.

 

I agree.  It seems to me that the real reason Aubry's team failed that challenge wasn't the people balancing, it was the people holding the posts.  Scot was able to hold the post much higher up, making the posts wobble less.

[FineWashables]

I wonder if Jason realizes that if his autistic daughter had been mainstreamed into classes when he went to high school, he would have shoved her in a locker.

[survivinmt]

I really like that RC. I didn't think the team with Scott could win because he would take up too much room on the post. I didn't take into account that he would just be so solid that he would make it fairly easy for them in both parts of the challenge. Jason seemed to be able to keep one pole steady but no one else on the team could hold the other pole steady enough. Maybe if Jason could get the balancing person to the second pole and then HE switch to holding that pole while others moved the back pole to the front? Maybe that would have worked. I agree that it didn't seem to matter which person was trying to balance.

 

My take on the women's alliance thing is that it isn't/wasn't a true women's alliance. Joe has to stick with Aubrey and Debbie - he is faithful that way almost to a fault. For the men (really only 3 of them - Scott, Jason and Nick) to say that the women had 5 to their 5 was erroneous as the women at least had Joe; as well as most likely had Tai too. Maybe Tai wasn't actually with the women but he really wasn't solid on the men's train either - other than maybe Scott's.

 

Here's my thinking on Tai at Tribal Council: He HAD talked with the women on the boat at taking out one of the 3 guys and was trying to get them to take out Jason as he didn't have any bond with him. The women wanted to stick with Nick probably because they all know that even if Jason and Scott make the end - they have a better chance against either of them to win Survivor. Also Nick could go on a winning streak in challenges. So Tai spilled the beans at TC to open their eyes to the danger of keeping around one of those other guys with an idol and voted for Jason to stir the pot.

 

I think this season is interesting and since I don't really care who wins only who loses - I am having fun.

[himela]

Regarding Tai, I think he had such hope for his bromance Scot before the merge that now he is very disappointed in Scot seeing how he acts all manly with the "bros". I also think that Nick has informed Tai that Scot told him Tai has an idol. Both these things and the assumption the brains would be voting against Jason made him vote for him in an attempt to get him out and become the hero. I guess he only had this plan in his own head.

[Jobiska]

I have my doubts about the financial aspects of the sob stories.  I would think/hope that medical insurance and the public school system would be paying for or providing some of the therapies that Kyle Jason's daughter needs.  Also, there are government agencies that help out with this sort of thing.

 

Not going to go into intense off-topic details, but in raising my very-neuro-atypical son, there are various circumstances which can stand in the way of getting help easily, and we paid for just about everything.  It all worked out, but it would have been nice to have even a bit of the type of help you mention.  I don't like Kyle, and I don't want him to win, and I agree that he's shortsighted about how his glee at how to treat "geeks" or people he doesn't tolerate well has strong parallels to how people might treat his daughter, but this rang true to me.  

[candall]

OK, but you clearly have internet access. Go to CBS dot com and watch it. I just did.

 

But there's internet and then there's download speed.   I get to play a game of solitaire while I wait for the ad on this page to buffer.  Bummer, can't be helped.

 

If I miss an episode of something, someone usually takes the time to fill me in, which I really appreciate.   It's a mitzvah!

[Dobian]

I always enjoy an episode where alliances get shaken up.  The super idol will still upend someone's plans though if Tai sticks with the Brawn.  I don't know if the female alliance will be able to keep it together, players in this game always have the compulsion to switch to "something better".

Edited April 7, 2016 by Dobian

[CoyoteBlue]

Anyhow, back to the blindside. Good on Cydney for pulling that off. At first I thought she was being a bit paranoid when she freaked out just because Nick and Julia were talking privately. But I think it must have just dawned on her, the bigger picture. The guys are more loyal to each other, and they each have their little girl pawns that just do what they say (Tai maybe included in this). And she wasn't having it. Good for her. 

 

She was upset because she leaves in a canoe for five minutes and the guys are immediately freaking that she's jumped ship to a "girls' alliance". Then they don't even talk to her about it but obviously pull another girl to the side to ask. Shows how much they trust her and yes, I'm sure Nick becoming their new bestest bud in her place didn't help. 

 

Debbie just can't stop lecturing on things she knows nothing about; although I think she honestly believes she knows it all - no your ice cream reward is not giving you  awesome glucose energy to store for tomorrows challenge, that much sugar with no carbs (especially complex carbs) to balance it gives you nothing but a spike and crash.

 

Also I was thinking "Lactose intolerant, anyone?". Even if your body usually handles it fine, I could see the physical stress and fatigue leading them to a very uncomfortable night.

[Wildcard]

 

Regarding Tai, I think he had such hope for his bromance Scot before the merge that now he is very disappointed in Scot seeing how he acts all manly with the "bros". I also think that Nick has informed Tai that Scot told him Tai has an idol. Both these things and the assumption the brains would be voting against Jason made him vote for him in an attempt to get him out and become the hero. I guess he only had this plan in his own head.

 

According to Nick, the group had planned to vote out Jason, but Joe seemed set on Nick. Tai seems to have misheard the switch from Jason to Nick.

[cooksdelight]

People search for idols every day, they don't show us that unless someone finds one. To production, it's wasted footage.

[Special K]

To me, the funniest part of this episode was when Cydney confronted The Three Stooges all fierce and direct, and they started bumbling and stumbling around trying to figure out how to reply. 

 

The looks on their faces and hand gestures.  I LOLed. 

 

Edited April 7, 2016 by Special K

[Tara Ariano]

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

 

I Scheme, You Scheme, We All Scheme On Survivor
Though the Survivors have merged, things still seem divided along tribal lines. Can an ice cream social and a couple of well-timed fishing trips shake things up?

[poppy-]

Oh my goodness I love Tai.  Greeting the chicken.  Making reasonable tree metaphors while in a pain challenge, then chanting.  He is just a pleasure to watch.

 

 

Not going to go into intense off-topic details, but in raising my very-neuro-atypical son, there are various circumstances which can stand in the way of getting help easily, and we paid for just about everything.  It all worked out, but it would have been nice to have even a bit of the type of help you mention.  I don't like Kyle, and I don't want him to win, and I agree that he's shortsighted about how his glee at how to treat "geeks" or people he doesn't tolerate well has strong parallels to how people might treat his daughter, but this rang true to me.  

Yup.  With very good insurance my out of pocket is about $17,000 annually.  Which adds up.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Nick in Entertainment Weekly, Why Tai voted for Jason:

 

On Tai’s mystery vote for Jason at Tribal Council:

“So this is where Tai melted down, and hopefully he bounces back at the next vote. The thing was, Julia and Michele, they wanted to vote out Jason. So they go to the Brains and they go to Cydney and say ‘Let’s vote out Jason instead of Nick.” And sure enough, they’re open to it. Aubry’s okay with voting out Jason, and Debbie says, ‘No, we can’t vote out Jason because Joe is already locked in on Nick. Joe won’t remember who to vote for so we cant do that now.’ So Tai was in on that talk, thinking they were going to vote for Jason and he just didn’t hear that ‘No, we’re sticking with Nick.’ So he thought the group was voting for Jason, yet it was me in the end.”

 

I am loving this season, and you guys are making me love it even more.  While Nick's face at Tribal was funny, we've seen the smile wiped off the confident person many times before.  What I especially loved this time was seeing Michele, Julia, Cyndey (Who's face read: Whatever), and then Debbie's face.  When Nick was voted off, Debbie had a huge smile and then let an invisible hand wipe it off immediately.  The editing for this tribal was so good.

 

With all the talk of Greek gods (just from Debbie and myself) this episode was really like a Greek tragedy.  No way did Scot or Jason in a million years think Cydney would figure out she's been bumped for Nick and POSSIBLY Tai also -- Cydney is a Useless Female according to them, and therefore whatever.  So Cydney decided to bump off Nick.  YES, Nick is more likeable than Scot/Jason (IMO) but I think this is the best and funniest way this could go down right now.  Survivor loves that pride before a fall thing.  Nick was sacrificed, but watching Scot and Jason being embarrassed is better than everything.  It was so incredibly beautiful to see Jason and Scot's oh So Brilliant "Split the votes and do what I say" plan go up in flames.

 

Lamima, enjoyed your entire post.  All those posters who are seeing Tai as manipulating everyone are thinking several levels above me.  I don't know what to think, but I am really enjoying the speculation.  

 

I really like that RC.

 

I have always loved it too, starting from Cook.  Seeing everyone on that platform is always such an amazing triumph and an incredible visual.  Total goosebumps.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

When Cyndey was questioning the three guys they looked SO scared. It was hilarious! Scot in particular looked sacred shitless. While Nick and Jason were arrogantly trying to pretend like Cydeny was totally wrong, Scot said nothing and actually pointed to the other two as if to say, 'They did it!" I was literally loling.

 

To me, the funniest part of this episode was when Cydney confronted The Three Stooges all fierce and direct, and they started bumbling and stumbling around trying to figure out how to reply.  The looks on their faces and hand gestures.  I LOLed.

 

Edited April 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[How Bout That]

 And I can't believe that Scot needs to win a million to help his family and he couldn't help his family with all the money he made int he NBA

 

Scot Pollard played 11 seasons in the NBA and won, err I mean earned a little over $38 million and got a championship ring (although he road the pine all through the playoffs that year).

I don't think Scot needs to win a paltry $1 million and screw CBS for even interviewing this guy let alone putting him on the show. What's next, "Celebrity Survivor", or "Surviving with the Stars?" 

[Eolivet]

I felt this way after that ep, too. His edit is giving me a Mike in WA vibe. Sigh.

 

I'm not so sure about that, because we've had that cut of Debby saying she really wants a woman to win this year. The editors seem to like to throw things in there that "foreshadow" the winner -- like the blue collar woman (Sierra?) saying that "I'm sure a Blue Collar is winning this" the year Mike won.

 

I'd like to think they're showing a "softer side" to Scot and "Jason" because they learned after Worlds Apart, they cannot have someone get so close to the end who doesn't embrace his villainy, but whose only edit has been "toolbag" (see: Wil). Otherwise, they dominate the post-show discussion and the show doesn't want to deal with it anymore. I think we're stuck with The Most Ineffectual Member of the 2008 Celtics for a while, but I don't think he wins. I could be wrong, though.

[NurseGiGi]

I let Khaleesi know that "Cupcake" has caught on in this forum, and as the titular bounty-clown would say: she was "pleased as punch."

 

As soon as the infections reared their ugly heads early last week, she was "OUTTT KThxByee!" but she returned as the antibiotics kicked in this week.  She had her strategy cap on, which tends to kick in around merge time.  This is the time we get to see the inner-workings of our future President's brain.  Just kidding, she's too smart for that. 

 

Khaleesi's remarks in bold (9 yrs, 4 months old.)

 

Re:  Cupcake talking about his daughter on the spectrum (her little brother is also affected so this was a legitimately disdainful and really real reaction)

How can you say "Yeah, it's pretty bad" about your daughter? Isn't she going to watch this?   Doesn't it seem like he doesn't even know what therapies she's doing?  Or what autism is? 

 

Cupcake on autism:  "It's more popular than people think."

It's more *POPULAR* than people think?!!  It's a developmental disorder, not Maple Walnut ice cream.

 

Tai starts chanting to Buddha mid-challenge (the only context she has is the obese Laughing Buddha statue in our fav hibachi restaurant)

Buddha would have totally forgiven him if he jumped off for pizza and hot dogs.  

 

Cydney publicly slams her alliance for Nick talking to Julia and reporting to Brawn guys

I think Cydney doesn't like Nick in particular because she was BFFs with the guys and now Nick's being BFFs with the guys.  Would it kill one of her "friends" to go sit near her instead of both sitting around Nick?  

 

St. Nick tells Aubry "the plan"

It's like he wants her to know how powerful and in control he is.  Isn't the whole point to have control without people realizing it? 

 

Re:  Nick's false magnanimity

He says "If no one's going to take advantage of her, I will" like that's a cool thing to say. 

 

Re:  Aubry's large bandage

What's under there?  No, stop, I remembered I don't want to know.

 

Re: An intriguing observation of Cydney's "big move"

Wouldn't it be smarter to get all the girls to vote for Jason so the idol would come back to camp for them to find?  He would have never played that idol tonight, but now he's going to be on high alert.  I think Tai would give his idol up to make a Super one and save Scot, but not to save Jason.  And it would make Jason stop talking. 

Your daughter is a genius.

[stillhere1900]

Who was the girl that got off the post when Jeff went to get the food ? Did she not understand that she was suppose to wait until he came back with the food ?

[Ms Blue Jay]

The girl was Julia, and she understood.  I'm pretty sure we heard her say "I can't wait.  I know, I know."  She got off the platform pole thing and went to the bench to sit right before Jeff got the food.  I think her arms actually could not take it/ could not support her body anymore.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[Dobian]

Scot Pollard played 11 seasons in the NBA and won, err I mean earned a little over $38 million and got a championship ring (although he road the pine all through the playoffs that year).

I don't think Scot needs to win a paltry $1 million and screw CBS for even interviewing this guy let alone putting him on the show. What's next, "Celebrity Survivor", or "Surviving with the Stars?" 

 

Eh, if they want to go the celebrity athlete route, they were really scraping the bottom of the barrel on this one.  They had Jeff Kent on a few seasons back, and his name is out there when they do Hall of Fame voting.

Edited April 7, 2016 by Dobian

[Nashville]

Y'all please pardon me while I do a little stream-of-consciousness sorting out what may have been in Tai's mind:

• Original pre-switch tribes: Scot has strong bonds with Cyd and Bounty (btw I still think that tattoo on his chest/stomach looks like Granny Cthulhu). Tai on the other hand is friendly with everyone, but his only (relatively) strong bond is with Caleb, who is medevac'ed out a couple of days before the switch.
• Post-switch/pre-merge: Scot is separated from his alliance and in the interim forms a fairly strong bond with Tai. Tai is thrilled to reciprocate, insofar as his sole strong bond wasn't simply separated, it was severed - which would make it reasonable to assume Tai's commitment to Scot is exponentially greater than Scot's commitment to Tai.
• Post-merge: Tai's commitment to Scot is unchanged, but the inverse isn't necessarily true. Scot still maintains his relationship with Tai; Scot is also rejoined with his initial core alliance, however, and maintaining THAT relationship necessarily dictates less time to invest with Tai.
• Singular as his side of the relationship is, Tai can't help but notice this just as he can't help but notice Scot is spending the majority of his time with Bounty and Cyd. Cyd's very public "spying" blow-up would also communicate to Tai that within the threesome, Scot's stronger bond is to Bounty rather than Cyd (not necessarily the fact of the matter, but definitely the appearance).
• As a Beauty, Tai is aware of the 4-Debbie/3-Aubry vote split plan and his role in it as a Debbie vote.

Given this context - Tai looking at a formerly strong bond with Scot somewhat weakened after the merge by Scot's association with (in order) Bounty and Cyd - what course of action would serve Tai's game best?

Re-strengthening the bond with Scot is an obvious choice, but that can only be done by diluting Scot's relationships with Bounty and Cyd. The Bounty relationship appears to be the stronger of the two, so Bounty has to go - reducing Scot's options and increasing the importance of Scot's relationship with Tai to Scot's game.

So - how go get rid of Bounty? Given the limitations of Tai's relationships, Tai can't do it directly; his approach has to be indirect, casting aspersions AND creating suspicions. Best case is if Tai can get everybody suspicious of Bounty AND Bounty suspicious of everybody else. Problem is, there isn't really a whole lot to throw at Bounty which will stick; in one-on-one conversations Tai will have trouble backing anything up, which in turn would label Tai as "suspicious". Also, word might get back to Bounty, which would result in Bounty's targeting Tai -or (even worse) Scot, which might fracture -perhaps irretrievably - Tai's relationship with Scot.

Question: In Survivor, when is one's best opportunity to cast vague aspersions which (a) reach everyone simultaneously and (b) reduce the opportunity for challenge?

Answer: Tribal Council.

This presents an additional opportunity as well. Since the plan is already in for the Debbie/Aubry split vote, Tai can change his vote with a minimum of blowback; Debbie having an idol means Aubry goes, Aubry having an idol means the same for Debbie, and neither having a HII means a tie, with Debbie losing on the re-vote. So after casting his aspersion mist, Tai can easily amp up Bounty's paranoia without screwing up the plan.

Tai, of course, had no way of knowing about Cyd's own moves behind the scenes a la NickTheDick. Such a move by Tai would be a long-game strategic move, however, and not strongly affected by short-game tactics.

Or maybe Tai just decided to fuck with Bounty because Tai wanted Scot all to himself, and I'm overthinking the shit outta this. Which is a definite possibility.

[Special K]

I think it's pretty rich (ha!) for someone who has clearly made millions to claim financial need.  Unless, like you're a young singer and your manager defrauded you or something. If you're like an idiot lottery winner who blows it all or you put it up your nose or on the horses, then that's on you.  But if Scot really did make $38 million, properly invested that's enough for him, his assisted-living mother, and some family members.

 

Also on this theme, I want to like Julia because she seem scrappy, smart, and resourceful, but the steady gaze of adoration and compassion she was giving Jason when he was talking about his daughter's autism made me hate her a little.  Hopefully she was faking.

 

I do agree that we saw both of these repellent episodes in order to soften the fact that the brotherhood of the ugly tattoos makes it pretty far. 

[threebluestars]

Regardless of whether Tai meant to reveal the super idol or not, I love how he tried to say "or maybe they're just telling me this about a super idol and they're playing me and that's why no one knows" to reinforce that it might mean he's not part of the main alliance. I think he truly figured everyone knew, but I secretly hoped it was on purpose to make everyone freak out lol.

[ghoulina]

I agree.  It seems to me that the real reason Aubry's team failed that challenge wasn't the people balancing, it was the people holding the posts.  Scot was able to hold the post much higher up, making the posts wobble less.

 

Agree. And I was glad that they switched out balancers, because I was afraid Aubree would get blamed by the entire group. But it really was those holding the poles. Not only is Scot super tall, but Nick is of decent height himself and I think those two just had much better control over the poles. 

 

Regardless of whether Tai meant to reveal the super idol or not, I love how he tried to say "or maybe they're just telling me this about a super idol and they're playing me and that's why no one knows" to reinforce that it might mean he's not part of the main alliance. I think he truly figured everyone knew, but I secretly hoped it was on purpose to make everyone freak out lol.

 

Yea, either way I kind of enjoyed it. If it was all intentional, hats off to him. If it was a slip, he covered well. 

[scowl]

Scot Pollard played 11 seasons in the NBA and won, err I mean earned a little over $38 million and got a championship ring (although he road the pine all through the playoffs that year).

I don't think Scot needs to win a paltry $1 million and screw CBS for even interviewing this guy let alone putting him on the show. What's next, "Celebrity Survivor", or "Surviving with the Stars?" 

 

Don't forget that Cliff Robinson from a few seasons ago played in the NBA for eighteen years and earned over $62 million... and declared bankruptcy two years after he retired. 

 

Rich people just go broke bigger than the rest of us.

[piequinn35]

I thought Nick will overthrow the 2 bully idiots but his mouth overthrew him instead.

What was with Tai talking about the super idol and voting bounty? :)) we will see the reactions next week!

I didn't like Cydney's facial expressions...

 

PS: At least Debbie had a chance in hugging Nick in RC before he got voted out. :))

Edited April 7, 2016 by piequinn35

[ljenkins782]

 As far as we have seen, Joe's alliance is with the former Brains.  If his two alliancemates say they are voting for Nick, then Joe votes for Nick.  No one else seems to be trying to have an alliance with Joe.

 

Exactly. Joe's vote was hardly a mystery considering his only allies are Aubry and Debbie, plus who else was he going to vote for?

 

Tai's vote, OTOH, IS a mystery and very interesting. I can't really get a read on him in general. His approach at the IC was quite different than the person we've been seeing so far and I kinda liked to see him fighting/playing harder. He was taking the Probst approach to challenge interference and it worked. 

 

I don't think he planned to give away the super-idol info.  I think it was more he actually thought everyone knew by now.  And since those tribal councils last 2 to 4 hours I could see him spacing out and starting to spill the beans because he seems too innocent to be that scheming.  And he tried to cover it up when he realized what effect it was having.  Not too well but it was funny the way he tried.

 

I didn't get the impression that it was a strategic move either, but good for him if it was. I just don't understand why he even brought it up, to be honest. It seemed like a very long answer to a short question and since Tai's carrying an idol himself, Jason has another and either the third one went home with Neal OR was left with a Brain, the supermodel isn't likely to even be a factor right now. Tai hasn't agreed to join his with Jason's and the odds of Jason joining with a Brain are nonexistent. 

 

It's too bad the ladies didn't make a run at Jason, who knew they'd have an extra vote to help them out? Also, why DIDN'T they try to split up Scot and Jason? If they were afraid of Jason's idol, they could at least take out Scot who doesn't have an idol (much as he seems to believe he does, lol.) 

 

One thing I loved about this episode is that it seems as if the idea of a women's alliance hadn't even occurred (or at least wasn't being taken seriously) by any of the women until the guys brought it up; and in doing so, made it clear that a guys alliance already existed.

 

Why is the concept of an "all-girls" alliance so terrifying to men anyway? Yes, it was very successful in one season but otherwise, gender has never been THAT compelling a reason to align with people. The paranoia about it seems to far outweigh the reality, which is lucky in this case since it swung the game around nicely.

 

I can't figure out Julia. She's so chilled out about everything and just seems happy to be there. I like it, but I also dislike it. Like why is she dropping out of an endurance challenge 5 seconds too soon? That's just dumb, and it makes it tough to cheer for her.

 

I kind of like her cheerful attitude and the fact that it didn't seem to faze her that she missed the food by 5 seconds. For someone so young, she's handling herself very well out there. 

 

Really this tribal was a pretty amazing showcase of women being awesome and men being terrible at the game.  Aubry and Debbie played their roles to perfection--jumping on that super-idol reveal thing even though they knew they were not really on the chopping block is impressive, IMO.  No way Cupcake gets suspicious and uses his idol when they're playing that hard like people who are desperate for some crack to appear.  Whereas the men are just all "WELL WE'RE WINNING TONIGHT HAHAHA SORRY BUT THAT'S HOW IT IS" and Tai doing whatever the hell Tai was doing.

 

Debbie is fascinating to me. She's so annoying and over the top with her verbal diarrhea around camp and in interviews, but she plays tough tribal councils beautifully. 

 

Jason talking about his autistic daughter was nice and all. I felt that it was genuine. But then you look at it in light of him saying shit like, "Shoving geeks in lockers", and you have to wonder who is the real Jason? Because, I'm sorry to say, Autistic kids often get treated as the "geeks" and "nerds" and are bullied in school. So how does he think it's okay to joke about jocks pushing around the nerdier types of people?

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. His daughter is likely in for a rough ride at school because of people just like him. 

 

The musical accompaniment behind his story about his daughter has me nervous, are they setting him up for redemption? I hope not. His interview about not "using" his daughter did nothing be reaffirm that that's exactly what his intentions were. He's just loathsome. 

 

And yes, the word you were looking for there was "prevalent" not "popular," you moron. 

[RockShrimp]

To me, the funniest part of this episode was when Cydney confronted The Three Stooges all fierce and direct, and they started bumbling and stumbling around trying to figure out how to reply. 

 

The looks on their faces and hand gestures.  I LOLed. 

 

I FLoved how Cydney didn't let Jason gaslight her afterwards either by trying to tell her she was the one who had acted poorly. When he said she "went crazy" or whatever and she was just like: I asked a question. And she did. That's not passive aggressive, that's not being an "emotional woman," it's calling someone out on their bullshit. The only thing that could have saved Nick was owning up to it and apologizing. But he was too cocky.

 

I think it's pretty rich (ha!) for someone who has clearly made millions to claim financial need.  Unless, like you're a young singer and your manager defrauded you or something. If you're like an idiot lottery winner who blows it all or you put it up your nose or on the horses, then that's on you.  But if Scot really did make $38 million, properly invested that's enough for him, his assisted-living mother, and some family members.

 

Also on this theme, I want to like Julia because she seem scrappy, smart, and resourceful, but the steady gaze of adoration and compassion she was giving Jason when he was talking about his daughter's autism made me hate her a little.  Hopefully she was faking.

 

I do agree that we saw both of these repellent episodes in order to soften the fact that the brotherhood of the ugly tattoos makes it pretty far. 

 

 

If you check out the ESPN 30 for 30 called "Broke" it's interesting. Talks about how overwhelming majority of pro-athletes (especially in the NBA and NFL) end up losing all their money - for a lot of reasons, such as if you are raised poor and suddenly have millions at age 18-19, you probably have never been taught how to manage your money, and you're not mature enough to realize you need a good money manager.

[JudyObscure]

Jason talking about his autistic daughter was nice and all. I felt that it was genuine. But then you look at it in light of him saying shit like, "Shoving geeks in lockers", and you have to wonder who is the real Jason? Because, I'm sorry to say, Autistic kids often get treated as the "geeks" and "nerds" and are bullied in school. So how does he think it's okay to joke about jocks pushing around the nerdier types of people?

 

It also bothered me when he said he was "naïve," about autism until his daughter got it.  It's been talked about so much in recent years, that he must really be the type who  doesn't care about anything unless it effects him personally.  He said he hadn't planned on using his daughter but the minute someone asked about children he just had to let it all out including how much it costs and how it takes up every cent  -- except for tattoo and Blue Label expenses, I guess.  I think it might backfire on him though, because already Cydney was thinking she couldn't let Kyle and his sad story get to the final three.

 

I have  the same sort of side eye on Scot.  If he made 38 million and didn't put anything aside to care for his mother in her old age then I can't see rewarding him for that.

 

Loved Cydney and Tai in the challenge.  There's strength that comes from mother nature's gifts, like Scot's, and there's strength that comes from hard work-outs like Kyle's and Debbie's and I give them full credit for that, but when it comes right down to it there is nothing like the inner strength that Tai an Cydney exhibited in that challenge.  True grit.

[Hera]

What an episode. Let this be a lesson to future players: no good comes from announcing your plan at tribal council (or really, any other time), no matter how solid you think your alliance is. Jason, Nick, and Tai all reveal far more than any of them needed to.
 

I'm totally convinced that Lantern 7 is onto something with the theory that Tai's comments at Tribal were calculated for effect.  I was thinking Tai screwed up, but I like this idea better.

I want to think that Tai was being strategic, but until I see a confessional where Tai explains why he revealed the information about the super idol, I'm going to think he made an unforced error and tried to bluff his way out with the, "Maybe whoever told me that was lying to me," line. That's certainly how I read that scene. And I wouldn't be surprised if that comment raised people's suspicions that Tai has an idol. He's already a likeability threat at the end, so people may be looking to target him sooner rather than later.

 

I'm also dying to know why he voted for Jason. Someone posted an explanation from Nick, which, if true, means that we're not being given the full story about where Tai fits into alliances. The last we knew, Tai was with Scot (and by extension, Jason and Nick). Now it's looking unlikely that Scot's plan to get deep in the game by using the threat of a super idol is going to bear fruit.
 

Wondering: Now that everybody knows that Neal left without passing on his idol, don't they figure that there's now another idol in the game, hidden around camp?  Isn't that how it always works?  How come nobody's searching?

Given how the vote went down, it's not impossible that the other players might think that Aubry or Debbie might still have it, since neither one of them actually needed to play it at this tribal council.

The general rule of thumb is that there aren't more idols in play than there are tribes (except when people bring idols with them to a merge or a swap). The producers don't always stick to this, and the super idol twist may guarantee that there are always two idols in play for the merged tribe this season (at least until F5 or F6—I can never remember which). But either way, I would bet that there is no hidden idol out there to be found until Tai or Jason play theirs (if they ever do).

 

The musical accompaniment behind his story about his daughter has me nervous, are they setting him up for redemption?

This was my fear, as well. But then they showed Cydney talking about how moving it was and how it would definitely make people want to give him the money at the end, which made me think that they're setting up for an explanation of why she might be so motivated to get him out.

 

As it stands, I'm rooting for Cydney or Michele to win—a Julia win wouldn't upset me either, but we're not getting the insight into her thinking that we are for the other two. I felt sorry for her that she couldn't hang on for the extra 10 seconds so that she could at least have some food.

[How Bout That]

 

Don't forget that Cliff Robinson from a few seasons ago played in the NBA for eighteen years and earned over $62 million... and declared bankruptcy two years after he retired.  

Rich people just go broke bigger than the rest of us.

 

 

I don't doubt that he may be broke now but the point is he already had his time in the sun and made a buttload of money along the way. If he blew it, that's his problem but why give him a second chance? Is there any reason to think he would manage this million any better than he did with the other 38 million. Do we need to watch him piss away another million?

[ljenkins782]

As it stands, I'm rooting for Cydney or Michele to win—a Julia win wouldn't upset me either, but we're not getting the insight into her thinking that we are for the other two. I felt sorry for her that she couldn't hang on for the extra 10 seconds so that she could at least have some food.

 

 

Is it possible that Julia dropped out pre-food on purpose? Jeff made it very clear that anyone who dropped out to eat was signaling confidence that they were completely safe. Maybe she didn't want to look like she was that confident but knew she wasn't going to be able to last very long either. 

 

As for that challenge, did it seem like some people had a more uncomfortable set up than others? Some of them appeared to be straight up and down but Tai and Joe both seemed like their arm bars were lower so they had to be slightly bent in order to fit. 

 

I'm also dying to know why he voted for Jason. Someone posted an explanation from Nick, which, if true, means that we're not being given the full story about where Tai fits into alliances. The last we knew, Tai was with Scot (and by extension, Jason and Nick). Now it's looking unlikely that Scot's plan to get deep in the game by using the threat of a super idol is going to bear fruit.

 

Yeah, Nick's explanation makes things even more confusing to me. Then again, it does seem like Tai was not in on the Scot-Jason-Nick alliance, which was apparently the genuine alliance in that group of 7 (with Michele/Julia as another sub-alliance). 

 

I FLoved how Cydney didn't let Jason gaslight her afterwards either by trying to tell her she was the one who had acted poorly. When he said she "went crazy" or whatever and she was just like: I asked a question. And she did. That's not passive aggressive, that's not being an "emotional woman," it's calling someone out on their bullshit. The only thing that could have saved Nick was owning up to it and apologizing. But he was too cocky.

 

I loved that too. She didn't back down or let him make her think she was ruining their plans by calling them out.

I did like Nick's seemingly self-deprecating laugh when she told them they need to use someone with better facial expressions than Nick. He knew he was caught. 

[Jobiska]

As for that challenge, did it seem like some people had a more uncomfortable set up than others? Some of them appeared to be straight up and down but Tai and Joe both seemed like their arm bars were lower so they had to be slightly bent in order to fit.

 

 

In the long shots you can see that the bars are set at different heights, about level with the contestants' ears if they are standing up straight.  I think any movement or back bending was a matter of them trying to find comfort based on what their backs can take.  I imagine that Joe is not the most flexible of characters--he's sort of sticking his hips out (and hence the bar is "higher"), maybe because the upright position is hard on his back?  Tai kept moving around, I think to ease his back from being in one position.

[fishcakes]

The thing was, Julia and Michele, they wanted to vote out Jason. So they go to the Brains and they go to Cydney and say ‘Let’s vote out Jason instead of Nick.” And sure enough, they’re open to it. Aubry’s okay with voting out Jason, and Debbie says, ‘No, we can’t vote out Jason because Joe is already locked in on Nick. Joe won’t remember who to vote for so we cant do that now.’

 

If Nick is right and this is what happened, then this is the second time Joe has been inflexible about changing his vote. It's kind of scary to think about the guy being an FBI agent, like "well, we have ironclad evidence that Ted Kaczynski is the Unabomber, but Joe is already locked in on Nick, so there's nothing we can do now!"

[sadiegirl1999]

To me, the funniest part of this episode was when Cydney confronted The Three Stooges all fierce and direct, and they started bumbling and stumbling around trying to figure out how to reply.  The looks on their faces and hand gestures.  I LOLed.

 

 

Well I couldn't get the pix to show up but they were also scratching their asses when she confronted them. It was hilarious

[Matty]

Enjoyed last night's episode. The arrogant overly confident jerk, in this case, Nick, getting blindsided never gets old. Never. Cydney, Tai, Aubrey, Debbie, Julia, Michelle and Joe are good to stay. Scott not so much. Jason needs to be voted off soon. His attitude is just awful. Tai killed it on that challenge!

[meep.meep]

Nick was pretty light hearted about being blindsided.  And I think you guys are delusional about Tai  being a great mastermind.  But maybe I'm being drawn in by the editing.

[peachmangosteen]

Or maybe Tai just decided to fuck with Bounty because Tai wanted Scot all to himself, and I'm overthinking the shit outta this. Which is a definite possibility.

 

I gotta say I think this is it! Your reasoning is perfect and makes a lot of sense, but I just can't accept that Tai is thinking that strategically. I feel like if he was we'd be getting some indication of it in the edit.

 

Nick's explanation of Tai's vote and the whole thing leading up to TC is a little hard for me to believe. For one, it just doesn't make sense at all based on what we've seen and, while the editing isn't always great, I don't think it's possibly that bad. Also, it just sounds really convoluted. Plus, Nick wasn't actually privy to any of it so he's probably just taking what he's heard from everyone (which might not necessarily even be the truth) and piecing it together.

Edited April 7, 2016 by peachmangosteen

[AZChristian]

Hubby and I were discussing Scot's sob story about how his mother needed to go into assisted living and he hinted that he helps to support all of his (apparently Mormon) siblings because they chose marriage and religion, but he chose the NBA.  

 

We live in an area with a large population of Mormons.  The majority of them are hard-working people who live in very nice homes.  And they are well-known for supporting each other in business.  Example:  If you need to buy insurance or a car, you're more likely to buy it from another LDS member.  There's nothing wrong with that - most of us DO choose to do business with those with whom we have other relationships or familiarity.

 

IMO, his was a made-up sob story - he's full of hogwash and his family members are doing fine.  YMMV.

[Nashville]

I gotta say I think this is it! Your reasoning is perfect and makes a lot of sense, but I just can't accept that Tai is thinking that strategically. I feel like if he was we'd be getting some indication of it in the edit.

The only reason I think Tai - or anybody else for that matter - might be game-thinking to that degree is, what the hell ELSE they got to do? They're stuck on a beach all day, and I haven't seen any extremely extensive scrambles hunting for food or anything else. There's a helluva lot of empty hours which don't make it to the screen, and nothing ELSE to do all day but eat, sleep, shit, talk game, and think game.

Also why I'm not surprised by the frequent bouts of rampant paranoia, btw.

[piequinn35]

How come they haven't eaten that chicken?

[violet and green]

WOW at this episode, and at that #Blindside.  

 

- Debbie voted against her Dream Man Nick!  (Also -- what was her quote? Thank you)

 

"Overconfidence is a weakness."

 

Occasionally, in the firelight of Tribal Council, Debbie looks absolutely stunning.  What striking features she has. 

 

I agree. I love Debbie in Tribal mode, she so dry and to the point in her delivery. So succinct. And her eyes glow with this amazing human knowledge/wisdom.

 

That was the best Tribal in ages! I had to watch the show straight back to see Nick's face dropping in slow motion. Ha! GORN!

Edited April 8, 2016 by violet and green

[cherrypj]

When they did that same pole-balancing challenge in Cook Islands, not one person fell (that I can remember). However, they had 8 people on each team: 6 to hold the poles and two to balance across (yes, they had to do it twice!). The 8 people made the end "get everyone on the same platform at once" much harder. (They also had to assemble the poles.) There was an awesome moment where Aitu all lifted their feet at the same time.

[cooksdelight]

How come they haven't eaten that chicken?

I think it's become somewhat of a pet for Tai, and a few others. It's like when a neighbor had this big steer named T-Bone.... we all knew what that meant, but we didn't want to think about the hamburgers and steak we'd be having later in the year.

[thejuicer]

Cydney was such a boss bitch this episode. I loved how she handed the three stooges their asses. And the fierce straw hat is icing on the cake. Go Cydney!

[Ms Blue Jay]

When they did that same pole-balancing challenge in Cook Islands, not one person fell (that I can remember). However, they had 8 people on each team: 6 to hold the poles and two to balance across (yes, they had to do it twice!). The 8 people made the end "get everyone on the same platform at once" much harder. (They also had to assemble the poles.) There was an awesome moment where Aitu all lifted their feet at the same time.

 

My description of that challenge:

 

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/8610-past-seasons-talk-the-tribe-has-spoken/?p=1175981

[violet and green]

I think it's become somewhat of a pet for Tai, and a few others. 

 

Best part of the show, other than Tribal: Tai saying to the chicken, "How was your day?"

[Rick Kitchen]

Cydney was such a boss bitch this episode. I loved how she handed the three stooges their asses. And the fierce straw hat is icing on the cake. Go Cydney!

 

I loved that hat she was rocking.

[NutMeg]

While the editing this season is not showing us all strategy talk, at least it is showing us more than we got some seasons, for which I'm very grateful.

 

Cydney was my favorite this episode - not just for her taking things into her own hands (I doubted that Michelle and Julie would be game, which shows what I know), but for her facial expressions - kudos to the cameramen for (maybe doing the equivalent of a copy/paste on film so as to be) showing us - with adequate illustrations - what she was (or could have been) thinking at each stage.

 

Tai is an enigma. Posts about how genius his move was are excellent, but read like fan-fiction at this stage. I hope I'm wrong! It would be so weird (in a good way) if he was this strategic genius while keeping it under wraps in his talking heads. I'd love for that to be true, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

Thank you for those who made me aware of Michelle's edit. She does have a lot of winner quotes, doesn't she?

 

That chicken (should I say chick?) looks so puny that I'm not surprised they haven't eaten it yet - maybe they're waiting for the ranks to thin some more...

 

Lastly, I'm impressed by Debbie's mastery of tribal council (TPTB could add "expert TC participant" to the list!). And Aubry's too.

 

Still amazed at how bad the tatoos are this season :)