S32.E12: Now's The Time To Start Scheming

[Alapaki]

Aubrey, Tai told you he isn't playing his HII tonight!  With Cydney, Joe and Michelle you have the votes to get him out, regardless of what Tai, his extra vote and Jason do.  Why don't you take that?  It gives you game-play cred with the jury, and if you're worried your shot at $1 Million comes down to how Tai casts his jury vote you weren't winning anyway.

You would still have a majority of 3 to get rid of Jason or Michelle next week (my vote would be for getting rid of Michelle then).

By the same token, there was no reason for Tai to insist on knocking out Michelle this week when the votes would be there to get her out next week.  Just awful social game there.

[LanceM]

8 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Well, they fooled me good. When Joe suddenly started getting screen time and confessionals I figured it was sloppy editing telegraphing his boot. In retrospect its probably just planting the seeds for Cyndey to get him booted....unless EVERYONE now believes he is the ideal goat to bring along...which he is I suppose.

I really want Cydney to win...but I just don't know if she has it to wrangle everyone sucessfully if she's a hot head. On the other hand I do not want Michelle swooping in for a victory this close to the end...when she really hasn't done anything of note for the entire game up until now.

Not sure why Aubrey feels compelled to swim with a vest on  when its just going to get sodden and slow you down.

RIght back at you Probst for derisively shouting out "Cydney is out of it!" When her slow and steady approach was literally made of win.

Was this season filming the first time someone had an extra vote because Julia seemed positively agape about it?

 

Yes. The extra vote was first used in Season 30 which was airing when this group was out in Cambodia.

[Rick Kitchen]

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Scot's eye roll was precious.

"If I could I would get off this bench and throw all of your torches in the woods!  But I cannot, because the bench is where I live."

Exactly.  Scot knows all about riding the bench.

Jeez, Joe is worthless.

Probst needs to shut his pie hole during the challenges.

"Jason dumps."  That could be said often.

That was a great IC.

Tai has become a bully.  I'm through with him.

[Wandering Snark]

6 minutes ago, Rick Kitchen said:

Tai has become a bully.  I'm through with him.

Yeah, I guess we are seeing how he "got himself involved with" such bullies in his joining Scot and Jason, they actually have more in common than we were lead to believe. Makes that fire dousing he did make more sense.

[zscore]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

Of the remaining players only Joe has not won immunity.   But stranger things have happened!

Aubry has not won immunity either.

[cooksdelight]

50 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Was this season filming the first time someone had an extra vote because Julia seemed positively agape about it?

No, they've used it before. I guess Julia missed those episodes.

[DrScottie]

The Tortoise and the Hare. Slow and steady wins the race. Remarkable poise by Cydney to just stay at her own pace. Great job!

[ByaNose]

It looks like the people on the island thought was a flip flopper and less trustworthy. Whereas the viewers totally fell in love with him via his charm & edit. I wonder if he makes the Final 2 & loses. I was always under the impression if he made the Finals he would automatically win. Now, I'm not so sure. It looked like most of the jury isn't to thrilled with Tai. It will be interesting to see how he's greeted at Ponderosa if he makes the jury or how he's treated if he's in the Finals. Only, 2 episodes left. So exciting.

[princelina]

2 hours ago, NYGirl said:

Wasn't the last week Tai could use that advantage?  I'm not sure I remember.

He was right to try and get Michelle out because she is a big threat.  Joe is now the goat I guess. 

I love that we have no idea who's being voted out every week.  It's very enjoyable.

I do too!  It's a weird season - I always hate certain people but usually it's "that one or the other" at tribal - with this season, other than the non-brawny girl placed on "Brawn", it's anyone's guess each week once they get to TC.

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

It appears that Jason voted for JOE LOL.  Why?  LOL.  Idiot!  That's a waste of a vote when you could be going home!

He said during the ep that Joe would be his choice - I'm assuming that no one would talk to him so he just voted with his preference.   Or maybe with whom he thought he had convinced the others to vote.   Speaking of which - it annoys me when a contestant whines about "no one playing" - because they are on the outs.  Boo hoo, fucker!  When he was doing that I thought of Tasha in her first go-round - crying that no one was "playing" before they ever had a chance to be in the position to play. (I know it was totally different in her case but still . . . wait around and you'll get a chance to play.)

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

Now, I'm back on the Michelle Winner edit train. LOL!!! I'm pretty much sure a woman will win. LOL!!!!

I told Mr. P tonight that I hope they go with an Aubry/Cyd/Michelle final 3!  Which those women will have to actually DO to make it happen.  I find it hard to root for the womens' alliances in Survivor because they never seem to make it work, but if these 3 women try it I will be totally on board!  I know it will be easier for most of them to take Joe to the finals, and Tai could be the perfect winner OR the perfect goat, so they will have to just decide on it and make it happen.  Go female alliance!

32 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

Well, they fooled me good. When Joe suddenly started getting screen time and confessionals I figured it was sloppy editing telegraphing his boot. In retrospect its probably just planting the seeds for Cyndey to get him booted....unless EVERYONE now believes he is the ideal goat to bring along...which he is I suppose.

I really want Cydney to win...but I just don't know if she has it to wrangle everyone sucessfully if she's a hot head. On the other hand I do not want Michelle swooping in for a victory this close to the end...when she really hasn't done anything of note for the entire game up until now.

 

We thought that Joe was for sure the "bossy" one being unpopular tonight!  Until Tai started being that guy.  And for the record, Cydney is on my nerves with the whole "No one tells ME what to do!" BS.  But she redeemed herself:

31 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

May I chime in about Cydney being a Goddess like I do every week and I'm also on the team that says Jeff shitting on her gameplay was ANNOYING throughout the entire Immunity Challenge and that he looked stupid when she won.  I swear, if a guy was doing what Cydney was doing I bet he'd be complimenting the strategy the whole time.  At least it made the challenge a total nail-biter because Jeff turned out to be so, so, so wrong.

Having watched every Survivor ep ever, I was pretty sure that her "slow and steady" approach was going to win.  However, listening to Probst carry on is part of the challenge - I thought that tonight she was as she always is - firm and cool, ignoring JP, and while she usually blows it, tonight she finally brought it home!  Go Cydney!

[Paws]

Do we know if there will be final two or final three? If you're Aubrey (who I want to win) do you take Joe and Tai or do do you take Cydney? I love Cydney as well  and wouldn't mind her winning but Aubrey is playing the best game in general.   

 

So glad Cydney won the IC. shut up, Probst.

[backformore]

Best moment for me -  Jason is excited about interacting with animals, because his daughter loves animals.  Yeah, she loves animals, so she'll be super-excited that her DAD gets to play with animals.  That's so much better than doing it herself!   Oh -  and Jason tells us that animals provide his daughter with   important STIMULIZATION.   huh? That's not a word!

[LanceM]

6 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

No, they've used it before. I guess Julia missed those episodes.

 

She missed them because she and the rest of the cast was in Cambodia.

[sadiegirl1999]

what were the vote tallies?

Did Jason vote himself out by voting for Joe?

[Jaye]

Aubry, Cydney, Joe, and Michelle all voted for Kyle.  Tai cast two votes for Michelle.  So even if Kyle had voted for Michelle, it wouldn't have made a difference.

[Rick Kitchen]

Tai cast two votes for Michele, Jason voted for Joe, and everybody else voted for Jason.

[cooksdelight]

11 minutes ago, LanceM said:

 

She missed them because she and the rest of the cast was in Cambodia.

 

Dan had one in the Worlds Apart season, were they gone to Cambodia by then?

[Bryce Lynch]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Of the remaining players only Joe has not won immunity.   But stranger things have happened!

He can't even SPELL immunity.  Carrying on the proud tradition of the "brains" tribe. :)

[LanceM]

1 minute ago, cooksdelight said:

 

Dan had one in the Worlds Apart season, were they gone to Cambodia by then?

Yes. They left in March of last year which was in the middle of the worlds apart season.  Dan hadn't got the advantage by then which is why everyone seemed to assume that Tai had another idol or a clue to another idol.

[azshadowwalker]

So much lol and fuck yeah. Kyle goes home. Tai acts the same way he whined about when it was Scot dictating, and gets shown where he stands. Michele lives to fight another day. And Cydney wins with her facial expressions. 

At least Tai played tonight, even if he showed why he fit so well with Scot and Jason. Not only did he engage in their sabotage, but when he thought he had power, he continued acting exactly like they did. 

Go, Michele! Go, Cydney! 

Edited May 5, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[Bryce Lynch]

I thought Tai was very foolish tonight.  His stubbornness caused him to alienate the tribe,  waste his extra vote and reveal to everyone that he had been lying about having the super idol.

I could see why he wanted Michelle out, but it wouldn't have worth anything near what it cost him, even if his plan hadn't failed miserably.

Cydney for the win!  

[ByaNose]

It is interesting how the out of order filming schedule played a role in this game. Dan use of the advantage was airing when they were filming and no one would have even thought of it. Of course, it was used again in 2nd Chances which was filmed after Koah Rong but aired before. I think I got that straight. LOL!!! Will they use it this summer? I guess we (and, the newest Survivors) will have to wait and see this September.

[blackwing]

Well, I had high hopes for Tai after he helped in ousting Scott.  But tonight, ai yi yi.   He is just a BAD player.  He complained when Scott and Kyle were minimising him.  So now that he is in power, he decides that now he is going to minimise everyone else and dictate who goes home.   Why?  Get rid of Kyle first.  Then worry about the rest later.  He was adamant about getting Michelle out but wouldn't even listen to Aubry about what she wanted to do.

He deserves to leave next.  He voted against his own alliance and he is not trustworthy.

So happy I don't have to listen to Kyle again.

Joe is one of the most useless Survivors ever to make it so far.  Props to him for doing this at 71.  But he pretty much singlehandedly lost his team the reward challenge.  And his "you're not listening" to Aubry and Cydney on the maze reminded me so much of a 72 year old guy I work with.  Very bossy and crotchety and perhaps a bit senile.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On Michelle versus Jason being a bigger threat.

I thought a good point was made by one of the cast that Michelle had pissed no one off.
However, Jason seems to be a bigger Immunity threat.
I'd personally much rather bring Jason to final 2/3 than Michelle.
I think Aubry does a lot of voting to placate people -- not that I think that that's necessarily a bad idea.  I guess she did this vote to placate Cydney?
I love Cyd, but I feel like her vote was fueled by revenge?
I agree with Aubry and Tai that Michelle is a bigger threat to win the game than Jason.  While Jason certainly has Scot's vote, Michelle certainly has Julia's.  Debbie would in no way vote for Jason.  

As a threat to win, Aubry and Tai seem above those two, but I don't know how or what the jury thinks of Aubry's gameplay - I just assume from Julia's interview that everyone on the jury seems to like Tai.  I assumed Julia did not like Tai AT ALL but apparently she does.

[azshadowwalker]

I didn't like Joe from the beginning because of how he bossed people around and treated Liz so poorly. It looks like that behavior has continued, but the edit has focused on other things. Worthless player and a jerk to boot. 

[Pazlovejoy]

I've been rooting for Cydney from the beginning so I'm very glad that she did not go along with Tai's plan to oust Michelle. If she had, she definitely would have been next. And the bonus -- no more Kyle Jason. 

This has been a surprisingly enjoyable season. It's been very suspenseful. And I'm glad the health problems seem to have been dealt with.

[ForeverAlone]

Next vote should be interesting. I can see Tai wanting to target Cydney, because she is the main reason his Michele vote plan was foiled, though I could see him turning on Aubry, for making it happen. 

In theory he SHOULD be safe with his idol to get into the final four, but you just never know with this season. I didn't expect them to get rid of goat Kyle just yet, and fully expected (okay, hoped), they would turn on Tai and blindside him. Granted, Cydney, Kyle and Michele didn't know what his advantage actually was, but Aubry did, so she could have proposed Tai as a target, but she clearly wasn't ready to turn on him just yet. 

At this point, it is nearly anybody's game (other than Joe's) to win, and depending on the configuration of the FTC (I still think it will be a final two), it could make for an interesting FTC. 

[kikaha]

Some pretty bad game play tonight, IMO, by four players... good play by one... and more non-play by the last. 

Bad play:

Tai -- how could he screw up more?  He might have had his target (Michelle) firmly in his net.  But he messed up tribal so badly, Aubry moved decisively against him.  And that was after Tai messed up the discussion in the water with Cydney and Joe.  So despite having the right idea, his execution was so bad, he achieved the exact opposite of what he wanted.  No one trusts him, and he's losing more of the goodwill he built up earlier in the seasons. 

Jason -- played well most of the episode, but his vote at tribal plants him solidly in the bad play camp .  Actually, his vote probably didn't change things.  Even if he had voted for Michelle, that would have left four votes Jason, three votes Michelle.  Even so, voting Joe was a complete waste.  Especially when he had enough support earlier in the day (Tai and Aubry) to survive that night.   

Aubry should have trusted her instincts.  Michelle is way more dangerous at this point.  BIG mistake to boot Jason in her place.  I also think breaking out in tears over a game choice is a sign that the season is taking a big toll on her. i.e. she's reverting back, somewhat, to what we saw early in the game. 

Cydney -- not for the first time, I feel she made emotional choices instead of strategic.  She's booted weaker players and kept strong players: all the players left except Joe have a great shot at winning.   Maybe she feels secure enough in her alliances.  Seems to me something's got to give though.  

Good play:

Michelle had another excellent episode.  I'm astonished Cydney, Joe and Aubry are standing by her.  Especially Aubry, who clearly sees the threat Michelle poses as they near the end.

Non-play:

Joe again is mostly a waste of a competitor. 

Edited May 5, 2016 by kikaha

[Katesus7]

Jason was such a horrible player, I'm glad he's gone just for that. Sure, he should be suspicious when Tai came to him about the Michelle vote. But when he hears all this crap in tribal council, and still feels the need to vote for Joe? JOE? Dude, please go home, you have no clue as to what is actually happening. Also, you're a complete asshole who loves to dictate to others when you feel like you have the power, and loves to play the victim and make life miserable when you feel like you don't have the power. And yet you feel like your family will be "proud" of the asshole, losing game you played? All right. Asshole. 

I feel this season is coming down to the women, and I could not be happier. I felt bad for Aubry, because I do think Michelle is a huge jury threat, Aubry knows this, but there was nothing she could do. I loved Cydney winning immunity and only wish she could explain to Probst all the ways he could completely shove it in his "commentary". He was so insufferable during that IC. 

Tai is very likable to watch, but very bad at playing this game. I will be looking forward to when his idol no longer matters. 

Liked tonight, but am nervous about my favorites. Hey, at least Joe finally got to speak! 

[GaT]

Tai got too full of himself when he blindsided Scot. He did the usual Survivor "I'm in control" crap & got bit in his ass. Hubris, a Survivor staple.

[Ms Blue Jay]

29 minutes ago, Katesus7 said:

I feel this season is coming down to the women, and I could not be happier. I felt bad for Aubry, because I do think Michelle is a huge jury threat, Aubry knows this, but there was nothing she could do. 

Nothing Aubry could do?  I don't understand.  She could vote with Tai / Joe  to vote out Michelle.  Counting Tai's votes as 2, that's 4 whole votes against Michelle.  (Are you worried about this move alienating Michelle and Julia when they're on the jury?)

Cydney would vote for Jason.  Cydney would be mad after Tribal Council, but what is she going to do about it?

I think this season is kind of unique in that we don't see clips of Aubry explicitly promising Cydney Final 2 or promising Joe or Tai Final 2 either.  She just kind of sticks with Cydney and very much did not trust Julia.  Joe is like .... I'm not good with analogies but he's like a barnacle stuck to Aubry's whale.

Aubry's good at managing people.  She has weird ass Joe on the left side and Cydney, who does not like being told what to do, on her right.  I don't fucking blame her for crying in private one iota.  So what?  I don't think she's regressing.  She's (literally) Surviving.  It cannot be easy out there for a multitude of reasons.  

Edited May 5, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[ForeverAlone]

So far, this show hasn't really shown anyone making FTC deals, so we don't know what their preferred configurations are. Aubry was in an interesting spot this week, because two of her closest allies were at loggerheads, so she was forced to choose a side. Since she stated that she thought voting Michele was the better move, I wonder why she chose to go with Cydney. I can only assume she didn't want to burn Cydney just yet. Tai is likely to be angry after this vote, but he might go for Cydney before he goes for Aubry. The voting certainly has been somewhat unpredictable at times, so it will be fascinating to see how this all shakes out as the larger alliance will now cannibalize itself down to a FTC configuration. 

[calico]

They should have a gross food challenge and let Mark participate.  

Jason thinks the time to make a big move is after all his alliance has been voted off.  Genius.

Someone needs to steal Tai's underwear, burn them and then bury the ashes.

[InfiniteMystery]

I have no problem with older players on Survivor, but Joe is such a waste of a space. Does he actually think he is playing? And then his pontificating about Kyle who yeah is an ass, but, what has Joe ever done, ever?

Also, it seems to me every week Cydney is ticked off by anyone who supposedly bosses her around, yet she bosses everyone around, goes off and gets her way. It is her way or the highway as much as it was pinned on Tai.

Tai went about it wrong, but he was right that Michelle was the one to boot. Aubrey agreed, but wouldn't oppose Cyd.

I still would like to see Tai and Aubrey in the finals, but I'm not overly impressed with anyone who is left.

[Dobian]

I've thought Tai was a little weasel almost from the start.  I was glad his little display of control bombed at tribal.  He'll play his idol next week so he's a lock for the final four.  But if he doesn't win immunity the following week he's likely to go, no one is going to want him in the final three.  The only lock for the final three right now is Joe, everyone wants him in the final three.

[RedheadZombie]

3 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Well, they fooled me good. When Joe suddenly started getting screen time and confessionals I figured it was sloppy editing telegraphing his boot.

I thought it was building up for a pending medevac.  He seemed like he was really struggling this episode.  The physical part of the reward challenge really got to him - he was actually crawling in the water, rather than walking at one point.

2 hours ago, princelina said:

We thought that Joe was for sure the "bossy" one being unpopular tonight!  Until Tai started being that guy.  And for the record, Cydney is on my nerves with the whole "No one tells ME what to do!" BS.  But she redeemed herself:

I've gone back and forth on Cydney.  I really didn't like her when she was allied with the Neanderthals.  I didn't see much difference in how she treated "Blondie", as compared to how the guys in brawn treated her.  I've liked her with Aubry, and thought she was doing some good work.  But she really irritated me tonight.  To vote emotionally and keep the more dangerous player just to prove, "You're not the boss of me!", seemed short-sighted.  And it wasn't even the first time or the first person in the episode who she complained about ordering her around.  Editing is always questionable, but it seemed silly to immediately run and tattle to Michelle, rather than simply telling Tai she wasn't happy with his choice and wanted to talk options.  In no way am I implying she should simply obey orders instead of having her own voice.  But she voted emotionally rather than strategically, and she's potentially made an enemy out of Tai - who will be safe next week.

I think Aubry chose the wrong side. 

1 hour ago, blackwing said:

Joe is one of the most useless Survivors ever to make it so far.  Props to him for doing this at 71.  But he pretty much singlehandedly lost his team the reward challenge.  And his "you're not listening" to Aubry and Cydney on the maze reminded me so much of a 72 year old guy I work with.  Very bossy and crotchety and perhaps a bit senile.

In retrospect, Joe stated he performed like "a six month old", so he seemed to realize he was to blame.

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I love Cyd, but I feel like her vote was fueled by revenge?

I thought to myself - when you're sitting at home without the million dollars, keep telling yourself, "well at least no one's telling me what to do". Guess what Cydney, everyone hates being bossed around.  Aubry hated it too, but she managed to work with it rather than voting emotionally, or being a doormat.

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What is Michelle's accent?

I don't hear an accent, but she's an uptalker, which drives me absolutely crazy.

[Trick Question]

5 hours ago, Archery said:

I cannot imagine that Cydney could look any more gorgeous at the finale than she does on Day 36.  Seriously, it is so unfair!

My Survivor-watching crew (two men, two women) had a long discussion tonight about whether Cydney was the best-looking woman in the show's history.  Two votes were ultimately yes, one vote was for Brenda Lowe, one vote was for Andrea Boehlke (this one wasn't without some bias since my friend's wife looks quite a bit like Andrea Boehlke).

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I think Aubry does a lot of voting to placate people -- not that I think that that's necessarily a bad idea.  I guess she did this vote to placate Cydney?

I love Cyd, but I feel like her vote was fueled by revenge?

Cydney is actually playing a pretty straight-forward game that makes for a decent "didn't backstab anyone" jury case.  Cydney pretty clearly makes it known when she doesn't care for someone, and might vote along with them for a round or two but clearly has them targeted.  It's a bit Sandra-esque.

[Cynna]

5 hours ago, Archery said:

Why did Jason vote Joe?! Dumbass.  For a minute there, I thought Joe forgot how to spell "Jason" and wrote "Joe" instead.

Ahhhaa - this made me laugh and snort so hard! :)

4 hours ago, Wandering Snark said:

I'm sitting here puzzling who is "playing" a worse game right now, Joe the Challenge Giant or Tai the Little Terror.

ETA: "I didn't flip last time..." is not a compelling argument for your loyalty Tai...

I really think Tai was just in a rush to talk about voting out Michelle, and didn't realize how others might take that. Cydney does get a bit hard-headed when she thinks she's being disrespected and isn't great at seeing others' viewpoint. As for TC, I think Tai just sucks at arguing and is bad at the TC discussions.

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

What is Michelle's accent?

It's smack between Valley Girl and Totally Stoned.

Edited May 5, 2016 by Cynna
Spelled goddess wrong.

[Lingo]

OH MY GOD Jason's Ponderosa video. Just watch it.

[KimberStormer]

I'll never understand how Survivor players' minds work.

You're Cupcake.  Tai says, "let's vote out Michele."  What do you do?  Sit around and vote for Joe?  WHY?  In my opinion, what you do go straight to Michele and tell her everything.  She's on the bottom.  It should be absolutely clear to her that she's on the bottom.  Tell her her name is being floated, even if it's just a decoy.  Make the case that she needs you next week--she needs you the week after--she can beat you at the final, and she needs you to get there.  Tell her Tai is after her already, and next week whichever of the two of them, Cupcake or Michele, is left, will be all alone...

You're Michele.  Cydney tells you Tai is after you and she's annoyed with him.  What do you do?  Sit around and vote for Cupcake?  WHY?  That doesn't help you at all.  Cupcake needs you; once he's gone you have exactly nobody.  No, you tell Cydney, let's blindside Tai like we talked about last week.  Try to get Aubry on board.  Play up his advantage, his idol.  Play up his jury threat and his unpredictability.  Say now is the time.  It's the exact moment for that blindside.  Next week is too late--he will surely use his idol.  You want to get to next week with no Tai, no idol, no advantage, and with Cupcake to be your ace in the hole.

But weak players of Survivor always target each other, whining to the power players to keep them because they're loyal, blah blah blah.  Fuck being loyal, fuck begging for your life, even if you do it strongly and well like both Michele and Cupcake did this week.  Do something.  Be in charge.  Make it happen.  Don't vote against each other, for God's sake, that's the last thing you should do.

3 hours ago, Alapaki said:

Aubrey, Tai told you he isn't playing his HII tonight!  With Cydney, Joe and Michelle you have the votes to get him out, regardless of what Tai, his extra vote and Jason do.  Why don't you take that?  It gives you game-play cred with the jury, and if you're worried your shot at $1 Million comes down to how Tai casts his jury vote you weren't winning anyway.

The only reason I can see for Aubry is that she knows Tai is a huge goat.  I wouldn't want to vote him out either if I were her, tbh.  (That doesn't mean I don't think Michele should have tried this though, obviously.  Frankly, I think Aubry is pushable--you can get her to vote against her best interests, as indeed we saw with this very vote.)

1 hour ago, kikaha said:

Some pretty bad game play tonight, IMO, by four players... good play by one... and more non-play by the last. 

I like your analysis for the most part but in the end I have to say everybody played badly tonight!

Except the challenge designers--that immunity challenge in particular was amazing.  I screamed out loud when Cupcake's pieces fell.  Absolutely amazing challenge.  Similar to the dominoes challenge that Julia won--they've really found a couple of challenges where anything can happen and nobody just takes the lead and keeps it.

Just now, Trick Question said:

My Survivor-watching crew (two men, two women) had a long discussion tonight about whether Cydney was the best-looking woman in the show's history.  Two votes were ultimately yes, one vote was for Brenda Lowe, one vote was for Andrea Boehlke (this one wasn't without some bias since my friend's wife looks quite a bit like Andrea Boehlke).

Cyd and Brenda are my two picks as well!

Finally, I absolutely adore that so far the extra vote has never been successful.  It's a beautiful thing.  Perhaps they will give up on it, but I sort of hope it continues, like the car curse, for a good long while.

[Cynna]

13 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Cydney...To vote emotionally and keep the more dangerous player just to prove, "You're not the boss of me!", seemed short-sighted.  And it wasn't even the first time or the first person in the episode who she complained about ordering her around.  Editing is always questionable, but it seemed silly to immediately run and tattle to Michelle, rather than simply telling Tai she wasn't happy with his choice and wanted to talk options.  In no way am I implying she should simply obey orders instead of having her own voice.  But she voted emotionally rather than strategically, and she's potentially made an enemy out of Tai - who will be safe next week.

I think Aubry chose the wrong side. 

Totally this!

Quote

I don't hear an accent, but she's an uptalker, which drives me absolutely crazy.

It sounds almost as though she's inhaling rather than exhaling when she talks...and slow talking. I find it *really* hard to listen to her testimonials.

[Cynna]

19 minutes ago, Lingo said:

OH MY GOD Jason's Ponderosa video. Just watch it.

He thinks the weight he lost was all muscle? Um...nope. And for a terrified moment I thought Scot was naked. :barf: Sounds like Julia's the only one who enjoys them both being there.

[Gweilo]

I liked both of the challenges in this episode.

Cydney continues to be absolutely gorgeous.

I love Michelle's 'formal' headband that she wears for tribal council.

[EvilApplesauce]

I hear a lot of Jersey Shore in Michelle's voice, just to add to the conversation about her accent. She's almost a dead ringer for Sammi Giancola, lol

[millennium]

Tai way or the highway, huh?   Funny how one little man can go from hero to Nero in just a few days.   His hubris was unattractive.   I'm glad his "alliance" threw it back in his face.

My only regret is that Michele didn't plant a seed of doubt at tribal to make Tai think he might be the target.   She might have flushed his idol at the same time.

Pouty Jason was a thing to behold.  "I wanna play the game but nobody wants to play with meeee ..."   Did I miss the rule that says if there's any downtime tribe members must continue to strategize and form new alliances with the condemned man? 

[thehepburn]

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I don't hear an accent, but she's an uptalker, which drives me absolutely crazy.

Yup, annoying upspeaker. Also, there might be some "vocal fry" in there.

[sigmaforce86]

They should have voted Tai.  They're not being strategic; take the chance that his advantage was immunity and he ends up staying.  Take the chance because it's not certain that's what the advantage is and because what is certain is he has an idol he's playing next tribal.  The other uncertainty is could Jason win immunity next week.  It's still worth the chance.  Otherwise what isn't uncertain is you're taking Tai to the end or at least F4 and he could win immunity and be in the final especially if it's an endurance challenge.  

It would have been better to try and get Jason out next week but I agree with those who said he's not a goat and they don't want to take him to final - despite all his other boasting he is quite a talker and that plus revenge votes from Scott and others could push him to a win.  They shouldn't chance that but they should have at least chanced it long enough to boot Tai now.

Once the first blocks fell and we realized Cydney had the right strategy from the start we were cheering her on; slow and steady was much better than start over.  And yes, if Jason or Tai had started out that way Jeff would have called their plan strategic; but she does it and she's just "slow" and falling behind.  On the other hand Joe repeatedly misspelling his word will never not be funny - After he did it the first time I don't know why he didn't take 10 seconds to line up the blocks in the right order so he didn't have to think which one to pick up next; sure it takes a little time but not nearly as much as going back and forth because you screwed up the letters.

[Haleth]

9 hours ago, zscore said:

Aubry has not won immunity either.

Well, shoot, I would have sworn I remembered her wearing the immunity necklace early on, but you are correct.  Maybe it was wishful thinking. ;)

[ghoulina]

Best moment hands down - Mark snatching up that grub! And Aubry's subsequent chicken puns. "Fowl play", "getting cocky". Damn, I love that girl. 

I really liked the human maze concept for the reward challenge. We've seen the smaller version many times, this was a good way of keeping things fresh. As much as I dislike Jason, he really nailed it. He seemed to understand the mechanics of it right away, and the other two were good teammates in that they just listened to him. It worked out very well for them, and I was super jealous of their visit to the wildlife sanctuary. So so cool. 

As for Jason's softer side, and maybe he's putting on a front, etc. I don't really think so. He seems very genuine when he talks about his daughter. And having a child on the spectrum myself, who adores animals - I can relate. But, that doesn't make me rethink every other thought about him. People are multi-faceted, and it's very possible that he can be compassionate and devoted to his daughter, but a total ass with other people. Personally, I think Jason is kind of insecure. I don't think he was a cool jock in high school OR one of the geeks (who have their own cliques). I think he was probably more of a loner outcast. So when he's around those former jocks (Scot) he instantly gloms onto them and acts like a total jackass. He tries very hard to be this macho guy, but he needs someone else to validate him. But outside of all that, he's also very immature and hot headed in his own right. Glad he's gone. 

It doesn't surprise me that Joe is incredibly bossy and talks to the girls like their his daughters, or even granddaughters. He just has that air of an older person who's lived a long life and thinks they know everything. I think Aubry handles it well. You're never going to change someone like that, but it's just ignorance. I wouldn't even let him get my tussled. 

I've been saying Joe is useless this entire game and then he almost went and proved me wrong at the IC. Thank God he immediately forgot how to spell after his tower toppled, and I could keep my pride in tact, knowing that is absolutely useless. 

LOVED seeing Cydney win! Very teachable moment for my kids, about how slow and steady wins the race. I really wanted Probst for apologize for his condescending "Cydney's completely falling out of it!" commentary. 

You know, I could see both sides of the argument for TC. Jason and Michele are both threats in their own right. Jason is pretty good physically, and he almost beat Cydney last night. But Michele is no slouch herself AND she's very well liked. But, then again, taking Michele out BEFORE Jason might sour people on the jury. So I don't think it was a horrible move. I kind of laughed at pompous Tai using his second vote and STILL not getting his way. He really has gotten too full of himself. He JUST defected from the boys and already think he's running shit? Okay. Also, it was partly due to Jason's dumbass voting for Joe instead of Michele. For that alone, he deserved to go. 

I couldn't take my eyes off of Scot at TC last night. He looked so weird. Like a Circuit City employee and had sex with an Amish person, and he was the result. Just so so weird. 

[Lamima]

So I feel like the 3 girls are tight. They went on the reward in the helicopter together and maybe they have a super tight pact. I felt, from early on, that this would be a girls alliance season. When Jeff said, at the end of TC, that they just got rid of the last man swimming alone and now there's too many for the lifeboat so who will be left out (or something like that). I feel like Tai is also swimming alone. Though previews for next week were interesting so we'll see.I guess the girls could have a plan to play Tai...maybe get Michele to allign with him and make him think she's getting voted out so he'll use the idol on her (to keep her to help him the following week) and they really vote for Tai

Edited May 5, 2016 by Lamima

[SnarkKitty]

Jeff annoyed so much with the "Cydney, not even in this!" I had to mute him until he had to acknowledge some strategy. Totally agree with others that if it had been one of the guys Jeff would have been calling out "Jason, with the slow and steady approach! This is classic tortoise vs hare!"

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Cydney is actually playing a pretty straight-forward game that makes for a decent "didn't backstab anyone" jury case.  Cydney pretty clearly makes it known when she doesn't care for someone, and might vote along with them for a round or two but clearly has them targeted.  It's a bit Sandra-esque.

 I disagree with the premise that Cydney's vote was emotional or out of anger because Tai was dictating. She already wanted to vote Jason, and while she didn't appreciate Tai's disregard, it wasn't a "he won't listen, so now I'm going to vote someone else just to show him." If it was out of anger because nobody tells Cyndey what to do, her vote would have gone to Joe.

It's pretty clear to me that she was voting to keep HER best interests around. Aubrey very clearly has Joe and now Tai. If Cydney votes out Michelle, who she has some sway with, she really does give up all recourse. Plus Jason was doing much better at challenges than Michelle, so getting him out accomplished another benefit. Now Cydney has given herself some options - get Michelle and Tai to vote with her, since she and Michelle have more loyalty to one another than they do Aubrey; or stick with Aubrey and Joe.

Cydney had the best game tonight, followed by Michelle. Got immunity, gave Michelle the heads up about her vote so she could fight and gained loyalty points with her, and got rid of a threat for winning not just challenges but the final. That she looks glowingly amazing at this point is just wrong, though.