S32.E13: With Me Or Not With Me

[scowl]

I'm just glad the doctor didn't arrive and put on a latex glove.

[JudyObscure]

38 minutes ago, scowl said:

I'm just glad the doctor didn't arrive and put on a latex glove.

Heh!  I was actually kind of hoping for that, an enema and a catheter bag and back in the game, but it just dawned on me they couldn't possibly have done anything like that on Sepsis Beach.

[candall]

I can understand Joe noshing down the beef kabobs.  He was so proud of his physique, I'm sure he puts quite a bit of effort into adjusting his protein/fat/carb intake at home.  He was pretty freaked out (in a TH) about how much his muscles were wasting away, so I think he said  "Ah!  Protein!  There's the ticket!" 

I also subscribe to the theory from ProfCrash that he probably had more subliminal cravings for nutrients he was missing. 

And not to be controversial, but my most radical vegetarian friend says that sometimes the smell of a grilling steak makes her mouth water in spite of herself.

Bottom line:  nom nom nom.

 

Sorry to see Joe go out that way, partly because I liked Agent McGruff and the oldsters never get this far, but mainly because that was shaping up into another nailbiter of a TC.

Edited May 12, 2016 by candall

[riverheightsnancy]

I eat a more Paleo/Bulletproof diet, so the "survivor" diet would probably have me pretty sick most of the time (all the fruit that is, except the coconut). I would be fine with all the beef! Even if Cyd said anything to Joe, I highly doubt he would have stopped eating or necessarily eating. After all, he is an adult man. It is likely that he will do what he wants. It was a binge due to starvation. His before pic and leaving the pic, he has lost a lot of body fat and muscle. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Oh gawd, enough of the Tai Show already

I'm glad I'm not alone. I'm sick of the sight of this overgrown man-child. I know a lot of people find him sweet and endearing, but that baby-talk and the way he bursts into tears like a five year old makes me want to puke my guts out. I seriously think there's something wrong with this guy, like he never matured into adulthood. 

Unfortunately the editors and/or producers seem to find him fascinating rather than creepy as hell like I do and I had my fill of him several weeks ago. I'm praying he's voted out at the next tribal council so I can spend the rest of the finale without being subjected to his endless talking head sequences, as if he ever has anything insightful to say. All he does is blather about his feelings and how hard this is for him emotionally. Gah. 

I'm hard pressed to root for anyone at this point but I can stomach Aubrey, Cydney or Michelle winning. I think by default Aubrey has had the toughest road to the final four, having been screwed twice now by medical evacuations, been in minority alliances, and targeted by bullies. The fact that she's still here is a bit more impressive than either Cydney or Michelle still being here. (Not a lot, but a bit more.)

[LanceM]

Aubry was not screwed by the Neal evacuation. She was most likely saved by his evacuation as she was the one being targeted by the Brawns and Beauties because they thought Neal had an idol.

[Jersey Guy 87]

1 hour ago, ljenkins782 said:

But it's not forcing people to pause to let others catch up, it's saying that if you want to win, you better place those bags on the first try. I don't see how that's any different than any other challenge. It's not like if someone falls off a balancing pole first, they get to clamber back up there and try again. You had one shot, if you blew it, you blew it. Joe got his on the first try, the others could have done the same but failed. 

 

This was a race - first to land all a beanbag in each of the compartments win.  The idea that if you use up all of your beanbags first you have to wait for everyone else to use up all of their beanbags was different.  The balance challenge you gave as an example is different - it's who can last longest.  A better comparison would have been the immunity challenge last week.  If your tower of blocks topples you have to wait until everyone else's tower of blocks has toppled until you can try again.  I thought it was an odd twist (having to wait for the others) but it's a reward challenge so not as big a deal.

[How Bout That]

Quote

There is an interview on CBS where Probst says that Michelle reminds him of Parvati. Michelle is nothing like Parvati, I can only imagine he might think something like that because he knows Michelle made FTC.

See, told you.

I bet she wins.

[blackwing]

I agree that Cydney isn't to be blamed for not saying anything.  Why should she have said anything?  Joe is a 71 year old man and only he and he alone is responsible for taking care of his own body.  Since the second season of Survivor, when I saw Colby Donaldson frantically running into the woods to find a place to take a diarrhea dump after eating lots of food at a reward, I have been aware that if your body hasn't eaten a lot of rich fatty food for days, it might not be a good idea to suddenly introduce a lot of it all at once into your system.

Not to mention that Joe has shown that he is a crotchety old man who is very bossy and hates being told what to do by people younger than him (see the girl who wanted to boil the water and bossing around Cydney and Aubrey about getting water and making the fire). I don't blame Cydney for not saying anything.  If she had said something to Joe, he probably would have bit her head off.

I agree that I didn't like how this challenge was set up.  Joe's slowness was not strategic.  It was just because he is simply very slow.  He lucked out that the others missed and were stuck waiting for him.  I think there should have been continual re-supply of bags.  Maybe at an even farther station that before.   To me, Joe goes down in Survivor history as one of the worst and most useless players ever.  He never thought for himself, he was terrible at challenges, and he was merely an extra vote for his alliance.  There was one vote several episodes ago where they were discussing who to vote for and they said something like "no, we already told Joe to vote for ABC, and if we change our minds, he will get confused."  That statement made it seem like he really wasn't all that with it.

I thought Tai was terrible last week, but I was impressed this week that he reached out to Michelle and cleared the air.  I think Michelle gets it too.  It is a game, and they are all trying to get to the end.

I don't agree with Aubrey that Cydney is a huge threat and is well liked.  I can't see her getting many votes from people on the jury.  Scott, Kyle and Nick all blame her for their ousters, and I think they will hold grudges.  Aubrey's biggest threat is Michelle... Michelle is likeable, never betrayed anyone (except for Julia) and can argue that she survived despite the odds against her.

[candall]

Quote

There is an interview on CBS where Probst says that Michelle reminds him of Parvati. Michelle is nothing like Parvati, I can only imagine he might think something like that because he knows Michelle made FTC.

Aw, maaaan.  No higher praise from Probst, at least for women.  Get ready to see Michelle popping up Suvivor-adjacent forever.

 

 

13 minutes ago, How Bout That said:

 

Edited May 12, 2016 by candall
CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE AN EMPTY BOX?

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Hell, put a fricking Go Pro on Mark the Chicken and let us see the game from his POV. That would have been far more entertaining.

I've just about had my fill with the Pro-Mark faction on this board but this is one of the most damn creative ideas I've ever seen here.  Mark coming upon secret alliances, can you imagine?

Something I don't care about losing is the family visitors challenge

Something I super-duper hate is the gross foods challenge.

I guess an auction would have been cool though.  Or that one where they break people's facemasks to see who hates what player the most.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[LanceM]

I still think Jeff made that Parvati comparison because Michele is a charming attractive brunette who wore a yellow bikini on the show (much like Parv did in HvV).  Parvati herself was asked about this on her appearance on RHAP last week and she didn't see anything in Michele's game play that reminded her of herself either.  She actually picked Julia as the one woman this season who she thought played similar to her.

[Special K]

In his "cast assessment" video Jeff said something like this about Michele, "People are just drawn to Michele and they don't know why.  It's always been that way, and she knows how to use that to her advantage." [emphasis his] 

Which may be true, but damnh we haven't seen any evidence of that charisma or that effect on others. Only Julia ever seemed to be in her thrall and they actually seemed like equals, equally fond of each other.

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, Sentient Meat said:

I kept wondering why I didn't really want Cydney to win... especially right after she immediately read the Tai/Aubry situation, and then it dawned on me.

She's aesthetically pleasing to look at... she has great survival instincts... but she seems cold and emotionally aloof.

Cydney is a cat.  and I am not a cat person.

But even dog people have their limits and after listening to Tai rambling incoherently about Michelle... and watching Aubry flip flop against Tai, I am happy with the cat winning this one.

Michelle is a cat too.

I like Cydney and I don't even like cats.  She's like the prettiest cat in the world I guess.  A Cheshire with that grin.  And Aubry is Alice!  Tai is the Mad Hatter.  (I don't know the fable well.)

Michelle is good-looking so I guess she "attracts" people in that way, but we have not seen literally ANYONE being magnetically drawn to her except for aforementioned Julia.  It took me a few episodes to see that Michelle is physically attractive, too. Tai apparently was frightened by her (and by Debbie, and by Peter, LOL!)   We've seen Cydney looking like some sort of Sun Goddess, we've seen Tai being called "just a wonderful, wonderful person" by Julia and having Scot and Debbie immediately take a liking to him, even Peter trusted him, and we've seen Aubry at being good at maneuvering between different factions.  But Michelle......?  I think that both Stephen and Jeff want to date her (I don't care if they're taken married or not, please don't even tell me) and this is just their stupid way of complimenting the hot cheerleader on the show.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[candall]

3 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

And Aubry is Alice!  Tai is the Mad Hatter.

One guess for Tweedledee & Tweedledum.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Except it's Tweedledum and Tweedledumber!

[Special K]

5 hours ago, Tara Ariano said:

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

Elimination (And The Lack Thereof) Is Crucial On Survivor

Survivor contestants have always battled the brutality of the elements and the duplicity of their teammates, but this week, the most frightening enemy is bodily functions.

Gotta love this part: " The back half of this episode is basically an extended tour of the geriatric excretory system..."

[Cynna]

13 hours ago, InfiniteMystery said:

Why didn't Aubrey let Tai in on the vote last week?

She had, but he said he wanted to vote Jason out, no discussion. Seriously when he was whining that no one had told him how they were voting and he wasted his advantage - THEY TOLD HIM - he just was in my-way-or-the-highway mode.

12 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

He was cruel enough to have Liz in tears and not give a shit about it. But even that isn't why I don't think anyone needs to save him from his own stupidity. 

Meh, I think Liz was in tears over general frustrations - many were in the first few days. Joe just didn't give a shit about people being emotional.

7 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

... I doubt if he knew that, beef, unlike other sources of protein requires a special enzyme for easy digestion that is lost after a period of beef-abstinence.

I did not know that, and as someone who goes long stretches without eating beef...this explains so much, lol! Thank you for the info! :)

2 hours ago, scowl said:

I'm just glad the doctor didn't arrive and put on a latex glove.

 

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Heh!  I was actually kind of hoping for that, an enema and a catheter bag and back in the game, but it just dawned on me they couldn't possibly have done anything like that on Sepsis Beach.

Aha - have the remaining contestants pumping the enema bag? That could have been the IC right there!  I'd love to hear Jeff narrate that!  ;)

57 minutes ago, candall said:

Edited 46 minutes ago by candall. Reason: CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE AN EMPTY BOX?

Either position after the box and hit 'backspace' or before it and 'delete'.

[backformore]

I think Joe had been feeling sick already, before the reward.   He had been somewhat more active earlier in the season, but these last couple of episodes he had slowed down a LOT.   My guess is that he was having symptoms, probably pain, that explained why he was always SO FAR behind everyone else.   The reward did him in by putting extra stress on his prostate.   And as soon as his symptoms got severe, he knew he was done for.  Joe is smart enough to figure out that once your bladder isn't working, you need medical attention. 

Just saying that it wasn't sudden.  the reward exacerbated a problem he had been having for a while.  Without eating all the beef, he probably would have had the same issue, maybe a day or two later. 

[fishcakes]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Something I don't care about losing is the family visitors challenge

Something I super-duper hate is the gross foods challenge.

I guess an auction would have been cool though.  Or that one where they break people's facemasks to see who hates what player the most

I don't care about the family visits either, mainly because it's all "I love you!" "I love you too!" "I love you so much!" "I love you so much too!" So boring.

The gross food challenge isn't bad when it's food that's actually been eaten by people who live in that particular country, like the fafaru in Marquesas or the cow's blood mixed with milk in Africa, but when it's cockroaches or a big spoonful of bees or whatever, then I don't need to see that.

I do like the food auction and any version of the coconut chop challenge. And I love that challenge where you have to answer questions about the other players and then guess how the group as a whole answered those questions; it always deflates the pompous jerks who think they're the greatest ever.

 

20 minutes ago, Cynna said:

13 hours ago, InfiniteMystery said:

Why didn't Aubrey let Tai in on the vote last week?

She had, but he said he wanted to vote Jason out, no discussion. Seriously when he was whining that no one had told him how they were voting and he wasted his advantage - THEY TOLD HIM - he just was in my-way-or-the-highway mode.

They didn't tell him; in this episode, Aubry even talked about how they didn't tell him and how she was worried that it would come back to bite her.

 

1 hour ago, candall said:

Edited 42 minutes ago by candall. Reason: CAN ANYONE TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE AN EMPTY BOX?

If you're on a laptop, hover your cursor inside the box, hold CTRL and right click, then select "remove quote." If you're on a tablet, I don't think it can be done, but I don't know.

Edited May 12, 2016 by fishcakes

[Cynna]

7 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

They didn't tell him; in this episode, Aubry even talked about how they didn't tell him and how she was worried that it would come back to bite her.

 

If you're on a laptop, hover your cursor inside the box, hold CTRL and right click, then select "remove quote." If you're on a tablet, I don't think it can be done, but I don't know.

I'm on a tablet and can do both. Definitely can backspace/delete it.

As for the Tai thing, unless my memory is bad they did tell him while they were all in the water, right after he said to vote Michelle. I think Aubrey is regretting not going back and making it really clear that she was sticking with the Michelle plan, as he probably figured they'd all just do what he wanted. But who knows how much time goes on between what we see and TC, and what other conversations they may have had.

[candall]

16 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

If you're on a laptop, hover your cursor inside the box, hold CTRL and right click, then select "remove quote." If you're on a tablet, I don't think it can be done, but I don't know.

Apologies for taking up the thread time, but thank you!  Good to know.  I can usually backspace/delete/highlight/rightclick until I stumble onto a magic combination, but it takes forever and some of them are extra stubborn.

 

P.S>I don't care about the loved ones either.  Bonus points if we skip the fallen comrade memoriam.

[Cynna]

14 minutes ago, candall said:

I don't care about the loved ones either.  Bonus points if we skip the fallen comrade memoriam.

Oh god yes, this! 

[Alapaki]

I'm sure no one would've chosen it as a strategy, but I do believe that as it turned out Joe had an advantage by being able to toss his last sack of sand-bags at his own pace and time, without having to rush to beat the others.

I think it would've made more sense to just have each player take a turn throwing one sand-bag at a time.  It didn't make sense to me for there to be a "race" component only to have them stop to allow others to catch up.

[needschocolate]

9 hours ago, Special K said:

Cydney suspected that Joe would have GI issues, but she could in no way anticipate that his distended bowel would impinge his already prostate-compromised urethra.  And yes, to someone upthread who asked, pretty much all men his age have an enlarged prostate, and many men start seeing the signs of this, such as slowing of their urine stream, etc., in their 50s.

I know someone who had a similar prostate issue (without the constipation) and he went into kidney failure pretty quickly.  After hospitalization, he recovered only 30% of his kidney function, and something like 10 years later had lost pretty much all kidney function and had to begin dialysis.  So you don't mess around with or wait on a bladder that doesn't empty.  (Jeff!)

All Joe needed was a catheter to empty his bladder and something to get the blockage out.  If his kidneys haven't been compromised, he should be pretty much good to go.

I have a friend who is a nurse.  One night, she had a patient, an elderly man, who hadn't peed in over 12 hours.  He looked pregnant.  The doctor tried repeatedly to insert a catheter, and could not get it in far enough.  His prostate was in the way (he was even using a special catheter that is shaped to go around an enlarged prostate).  Finally, our of desperation, he asked for a scalpel.  He jabbed the man's abdomen with the scalpel and urine shot into the air.  

I wonder how bad Joe would have been if his prostate was a normal size.  It seems that the doctor was primarily concerned about the amount of urine in his bladder and the possibility of it causing kidney damage, and not worried about the constipation (although the constipation contributed to the inability to pee.  

[Lamima]

My thoughts are that Joe was having medical issues for a while...as noted above, he had been slower the past few episodes and not very sharp thinking either (spelling Immunity) and I even mentioned somewhere, here or another forum, that he was useless. So I wonder if this episode was more scripted/contrived. Like they knew he had to leave the game for medical resaons and they devised that challenge so he could win (and boy did it go all too perfectly) and go eat all that meat and blame his exit on that and then he pretty much took away the TC (where Tai would use his II) and someone would get voted off. And Cydney pointing out that he would be hurting after eating all that meat. Either extremely coincidentally foreshadowing or scripted. Just MOO! And he did seem way more sharp and peppy in his Ponderosa after his medical treatment.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Lamima

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

All of the evacs have held the season back. 

I really like this season, but this is very true. It's just not fun or interesting to watch the game be changed so significantly by people being med evacced.

4 hours ago, Bouffe said:

For many reasons, but the biggest being Scot and Jason wanted to get rid of Tai ASAP because they didn't have a chance sitting next to him at F3. Tai knew he was on the bottom of that alliance.

I think this is just spec. I don't think it was made clear at all in the edit whether or not Jason and Scot planned on going to the end with Tai. Personally I would spec that they would have gone with him. What they did do was make Tai feel like he had no voice in their alliance. Which coincidentally is what Tai then did to Cydney and that's pretty much why he got screwed in the last vote.

4 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

As for the family visit, it has been happening later in recent seasons and at inconsistent times so it's hard to say that it's too late now. I can't imagine they'd do away with it altogether, that's been a staple of the show since the beginning.

Has there been a family visit in every single season? I seem to recall some that didn't have one. Personally I'm OK if there isn't one. Usually all it does is make people on the internet whine about players crying over seeing their family after only 30 some days. And it's just a pretty pointless event anyway.

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Or that one where they break people's facemasks to see who hates what player the most.

This, the "answer questions about the other players and then guess how the group as a whole answered those questions" challenge @fishcakesmentioned, and the challenge where they have to answer questions about the other players are ones I really wish they'd bring back. They're always so interesting. The WA cast finding a way to get around the 'breaking masks' one seemed to really piss Jeff off though so I bet we never see it again.

I get Jeff's Michele/Pavarti comparison but I think with Michele that whole allure thing is maybe on a much smaller scale.

[Matty]

At the beginning of last night's episode it seemed like it was all falling into place perfectly for Aubrey. Aubrey takes Joe and Tai to the final three and wins the million dollars then Joe has to go and gorge on all that food at the reward and get so sick he had to be medevaced out of the game. Joe! He was so stupid for eating so much meat after 35 days of near starvation and the fact he rarely eats meat at home. What did he think was going to happen? It's not Cydney's responsibility to tell him what's going to happen in a few hours. I think he wanted to eat like a man possessed and then suffer the consequences which he thought was probably going to be a little gas. Idiot! I hope Tai and Aubrey make it to the final tribal and duke it out in front of the jury for the win. Between  Aubrey and Tai I really have no idea who the two stooges, Jason and Scot, will vote for to win the million. It's a toss up. It's going to be a good finale. Maybe they'll let Tai take Mark home as a pet. 

Edited May 12, 2016 by Matty
typo

[Wandering Snark]

8 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Then there was the ever painful long ass segment

Heh, sorry Prof to chop your post down out of context, but I had too...

7 hours ago, TaraS1 said:

ITA, Mojoween.  It breaks my heart when there's no auction, it's by far my favorite Survivor challenge!

True, two regular staples of Survivor! Even if the Auction has been pretty bad in recent seasons.

What is up with no loved ones visit? Too cheap to fly people in now? Would have loved to see Mark meet his namesake.

Another thing I missed was no challenge where people had to chop ropes or break tiles or whatever where people could 'take out' who they didn't want to win. That one always gives a great view of the pecking order. ETA: Whoops didn't see that part of your post Ms Blue Jay, ITA!

Edited May 13, 2016 by Wandering Snark

[violet and green]

19 hours ago, Rowan said:

Cydney owed Joe nothing, IMO. She'd actually been putting up with his being bossy for some time. It kinda surprised me how emotional she was over his departure. 

Given the situation spelt out, that he could end up with kidney problems for life - aside from the fact that the tough old guy was pretty well begging for pain relief - that her mean and/or strategic silence could in a way have killed him, she would have to have a heart of utter stone to not weep at the sadness of that medivac.

I'm surprised people (in general) are surprised Cydney kept her trap shut in the situation. She's the woman who kept her trap shut while those tattooed uggs verbally abused Alecia fairly well non-stop the first X episodes.

I have enjoyed her turning on the thugs and some of her wry observations in talking heads, but to my mind she's not a very pleasant person.

[KimberStormer]

6 hours ago, Lamima said:

 So I wonder if this episode was more scripted/contrived. Like they knew he had to leave the game for medical resaons and they devised that challenge so he could win (and boy did it go all too perfectly) and go eat all that meat and blame his exit on that and then he pretty much took away the TC (where Tai would use his II) and someone would get voted off. And Cydney pointing out that he would be hurting after eating all that meat. Either extremely coincidentally foreshadowing or scripted.

I can't agree that this is likely but I do so enjoy these conspiracy theories you guys come up with.

6 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

 Usually all it does is make people on the internet whine about players crying over seeing their family after only 30 some days. And it's just a pretty pointless event anyway.

I get Jeff's Michele/Pavarti comparison but I think with Michele that whole allure thing is maybe on a much smaller scale.

I'm on an island of one in that I enjoy the family reunions (and the Fallen Comrades!  How I love it!) but I certainly wouldn't miss the whining.

If Michele really has that Parvati charisma, I have to agree with others that we haven't seen it on TV.  I know even Parvati's magic power doesn't carry through the airwaves for a lot of people, but at least we could see its effects (and hear it described by Coach and Jerri and Randy in an episode that turned her into some kind of epic, mythological being more than a human playing the game...I loved that so much.)  Michele seems more under the radar than Parvati could ever be, just because Parvati's presence takes up so much psychological space.  Even in Cooks, if you look for it!  I guess Nick seemed drawn to Michele in some sense but I didn't even feel like Julia was really, more like Anna drew both of them together with her.

[Knuckles]

I know that Tai's back story is one that should make the viewer sympathetic to him, but I cannot wait to see this jerk voted off and sent to Ponderosa. His endless whining is irritating and infantile. I enjoyed watching him waste his advantage and his idol..because I remember the little grub following in the wake of the tattooed thugs and pouring water on the fire, all to stay on the right side of the power team. Tai had every advantage in this game...a personal story to garner sympathy votes from the jury, an extra vote advantage and immunity idol...and what do you have to show for it all? Bursting into tears and waiting for Aubry to mother you and tell you what to do next. Please. Just. Go.

Enjoyed watching Aubry hustle Tai, cleverly echoing his "I'm so confused" with her own "I'm confused too" buying herself a little time to figure out her next sentence. I've seen enough of the mechanics of her game play to be put off...sure, go right ahead and tell Joe who to take on the reward challenge. Cyndey should have figured out that Joe was in the bag for Aubry with that display, anything Joe said during the meal was just reinforcement. 

Michele is playing an interesting game, and she may have turned Tai...who is about as steady as a windmill...and Cyndey is a tough competitor...would be happy to see either of these women win.

[riley702]

Interesting everyone talking about all the "evacs" this season when this last one was from not being able to "evac". Sorry, I'm 12.

17 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

...but I doubt if he knew that, beef, unlike other sources of protein requires a special enzyme for easy digestion that is lost after a period of beef-abstinence.  

I've made it to 55 without knowing this! Very interesting little tidbit. I knew that in general, gorging when you aren't used to it, like on holidays, can make you very sorry several hours later. 

9 hours ago, Cynna said:

Either position after the box and hit 'backspace' or before it and 'delete'.

Thank you! I swear I've tried that without success before and ended up copying my answers, refreshing and going back to re-tag the posts I want to respond to. I will definitely try this in future.

8 hours ago, needschocolate said:

I have a friend who is a nurse.  One night, she had a patient, an elderly man, who hadn't peed in over 12 hours.  He looked pregnant.  The doctor tried repeatedly to insert a catheter, and could not get it in far enough.  His prostate was in the way (he was even using a special catheter that is shaped to go around an enlarged prostate).  Finally, our of desperation, he asked for a scalpel.  He jabbed the man's abdomen with the scalpel and urine shot into the air.    

I've seen them use a big needle attached with a stopcock to a giant syringe before. It's a little less messy. :)

I'm not sure who I'm rooting for - I guess either Aubry or Cydney, although both have been shown pissing people off as well as making moves - that seems par for getting to the end of this game, though. It just depends how they handle the jury. Tai? He has been all over the place and he doesn't do well with impromptu speaking, so I don't think he'll win. I would have the most problem with Michelle winning, because I don't feel as though she's made any big moves that were hers alone. She's not offensive, but she hasn't been this mastermind either, from what I've seen.

Edited May 13, 2016 by riley702

[himela]

If Michelle wins only cause of Joe being sick and leaving the game I'll be pissed. In my opinion she didn't do anything in this game compared to Cydney, Aubry and even Tai. She is the most useless of the four and I don't want to see her win but she has at least 3 secure votes in the jury - Scot, Jason and Julia. Maybe even Nick. I would hate if that happened.

[Lamima]

14 minutes ago, himela said:

If Michelle wins only cause of Joe being sick and leaving the game I'll be pissed. In my opinion she didn't do anything in this game compared to Cydney, Aubry and even Tai. She is the most useless of the four and I don't want to see her win but she has at least 3 secure votes in the jury - Scot, Jason and Julia. Maybe even Nick. I would hate if that happened.

Honestly, I think Cydney and Michele, both, have done very little. Cyd's laying low does not equate strong game play to me. Aubry and Tai have really been playing hard the whole time. Cyd and Michele are not as useless as Joe was. They have done some and aren't really goats but Aubry and Tai have really been going hard. Aubry was on the outs early on and should have been sent home many times but she worked it and worked it to stay in the game. Back when Neil got evacuated, she was looking like a lost cause (and was crushed that Neil didn't slip her his idol). I thought she was getting the boot then. Cyd and Michele haven't been on anyone's radar or short list (until Tai recently with his Michele votes). And Tai was loved by all for a while so not on anyone's radar either until he made a bold move to get Scot the boot.

[azshadowwalker]

On 5/12/2016 at 10:36 PM, Cynna said:

 

 

15 hours ago, LanceM said:

Aubry was not screwed by the Neal evacuation. She was most likely saved by his evacuation as she was the one being targeted by the Brawns and Beauties because they thought Neal had an idol.

Agreed.  Besides that, everyone loses allies. Michele has lost three, and there's no guarantee that Neal hangs around too much longer or sticks with Aubry throughout, anyway. She was relying on his idol, but that’s a weakness of the game these days. Idols are more important than game play. Even if they aren't played, they keep people in the game just by existing.  I really wish the damned things would go away. 

14 hours ago, Cynna said:

 

Meh, I think Liz was in tears over general frustrations - many were in the first few days. Joe just didn't give a shit about people being emotional.

Meh, I think Liz specifically mentioning that it bothered her makes it pretty obvious what caused it. Joe doesn't care about other people's feelings because he's an asshole. I don't find "crochety" endearing, especially since it's generally  an excusefor old white dudes to treat people like shit and get away with it.

13 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I think this is just spec. I don't think it was made clear at all in the edit whether or not Jason and Scot planned on going to the end with Tai. Personally I would spec that they would have gone with him.

It’s just spec. There was more reason to believe that they were sticking with Tai than that they were sticking with Julia. At the very least, there's no proof either way. 

[SnarkKitty]

21 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Exactly. Aubry is not impressing me with her gameplay the last couple of episodes, and she seems to do a lot of projecting. She claimed Debbie was an emotional not a logical player and that Tai is emotionally needy, but this describes her as much as if not more than them. For the reward, she chooses Cydney because she says Tai feels like she betrayed him (uh, maybe because she actually betrayed him?) and so now she needs to lock down F3 with Cydney and vote Tai out. Then Joe says a few nice things about Cydney during the reward and Aubry immediately panics about what a threat Cydney is and how she needs to lock down Tai for F3 and vote Cyd out.  

Thank you for this. Aubrey isn't playing like a boss, she's playing emotionally and scared. It's kept her in, no doubt, but IMO her gameplay isn't necessarily better than Tai's or Michelle's or Cydney's. Because they're all still in it, and they're all still making moves in their own ways, not just being dragged along like Joe was. 

11 hours ago, violet and green said:

Given the situation spelt out, that he could end up with kidney problems for life - aside from the fact that the tough old guy was pretty well begging for pain relief - that her mean and/or strategic silence could in a way have killed him, she would have to have a heart of utter stone to not weep at the sadness of that medivac.

I'm surprised people (in general) are surprised Cydney kept her trap shut in the situation. She's the woman who kept her trap shut while those tattooed uggs verbally abused Alecia fairly well non-stop the first X episodes.

I have enjoyed her turning on the thugs and some of her wry observations in talking heads, but to my mind she's not a very pleasant person.

Now what now?? Without any proof at all that she didn't lightly chide "be careful with all that beef Mr. Joe, you could end up with a stomachache" ... Cydney is now a stone cold wannabe killer? If merely not speaking up means you're responsible, then the producers of this segment are really going to hang. I mean, it WAS their mean and strategic serving of meat to an old man who couldn't be expected to be responsible for himself that set in motion the plot to kill old Joe. 

Still perplexed that Aubrey hasn't drawn any fire for not being responsible for her second vote's overindulgence. Even though she was there too. And also had to know that much meat to a non-regular meat eater who hadn't eaten in days wouldn't end well. Interesting that she'd want to kill Joe off too by not warning him.

I may be forgetting some of the episodes, but I just can't remember a single one where ANYONE stood up for someone against bad or bullying treatment. And that includes Joe's rude verbally abusive treatment.   

42 minutes ago, Lamima said:

Honestly, I think Cydney and Michele, both, have done very little. Cyd's laying low does not equate strong game play to me. Aubry and Tai have really been playing hard the whole time. Cyd and Michele are not as useless as Joe was. They have done some and aren't really goats but Aubry and Tai have really been going hard. Aubry was on the outs early on and should have been sent home many times but she worked it and worked it to stay in the game. Back when Neil got evacuated, she was looking like a lost cause (and was crushed that Neil didn't slip her his idol). I thought she was getting the boot then. Cyd and Michele haven't been on anyone's radar or short list (until Tai recently with his Michele votes). And Tai was loved by all for a while so not on anyone's radar either until he made a bold move to get Scot the boot.

Aubrey has had the benefit of two votes for a long time. Prior to that she did a lot of crying and scrambling to stay in and was lucky when the merge happened and others were targeted. Effective, but not exactly controlling the game. Cydney flipped on her alliance and rallied the girls to vote together, until Julia played both sides. And then she and Aubrey began to work together to control the rest of the game, Cydney via Michelle, and Aubrey via Tai. And Cydney HAS been on the radar; she was mentioned to be voted off several times by the Bully Brigade but each time they went after someone else. IMO they are playing equally strong games in different ways. Of the three women, Michelle has been the weaker player, but still deserving of a win. Aubrey has also benefited from almost twice the interviews focusing on strategy. In reality, Tai has played a little harder than all three of them.   

[candall]

I think Aubrey and Tai have struggled the hardest to play.  I'll be disappointed if it's Michelle--I probably still wouldn't be able to pick her out of a lineup of bikini-clad brunettes.

[Wandering Snark]

28 minutes ago, candall said:

I probably still wouldn't be able to pick her out of a lineup of bikini-clad brunettes.

True, but I wouldn't mind trying, heh.

Anyhow, I do feel she's the distant fourth from the other three unless this 'siren's song' theory about her social pull comes to fruition with the jury... but I'm still hoping it's a final two with Cyd and Aubry.

[How Bout That]

Quote

What is up with no loved ones visit? Too cheap to fly people in now?

They probably don't mind flying them in but MEDEVACing them all out can be expensive.

[How Bout That]

Quote

I'm hard pressed to root for anyone at this point but I can stomach Aubrey, Cydney or Michelle winning. I think by default Aubrey has had the toughest road to the final four, having been screwed twice now by medical evacuations, been in minority alliances, and targeted by bullies. The fact that she's still here is a bit more impressive than either Cydney or Michelle still being here. (Not a lot, but a bit more.)

You shouldn't get points just for being there besides the others are there too so it's a wash. The other three have all won individual challenges and so far Aubry has done nothing. She is inept at anything that involves moving. She also wanted to tap out the first day and I have zero respect for that, zero.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Quote

 4 HOURS AGO, LAMIMA SAID:

Honestly, I think Cydney and Michele, both, have done very little. Cyd's laying low does not equate strong game play to me.

Where the heck did this idea come from?

I do not think Cydney has just 'lied low' the whole game.  Very much the opposite.  She lies low when it's right, and she strikes when she thinks it's right.

(1) Post Merge, Cydney's biggest allies, Scot and Jason, cozy up to Nick.
Cydney did not lie low.
Instead, she worked with a bunch of other women to vote out Nick!

(2) Post Sabotage, Jason-Scot-Tai have the Super Idol and want revenge on the women.  Cydney works with a bunch of women to vote out Scot!  Aubry works her magic on Tai, and Tai does not do the Super Idol, and Scot goes home!

(3) Post Scot, Tai wants to get rid of Michelle because he sees her as a viable threat.  He's willing to use TWO VOTES for this.  Cydney does not "lay low".  She works with Michelle, Aubry, and Joe to take out Jason!

As KimberStormer once said about (Ciera?), somebody else defend Aubry, I'm too tired.  I can't even believe I have to point these things out about Cydney!  I really hate being the person to do it too, because I'm the kind of person where my memory immediately deletes after every episode and I have to rely on Wikipedia.  All I remember is Cydney look very much the smug bug at Tribals, and I know she orchestrated a lot of shit.  

For the first part of the game, Cydney stuck with Scot and Jason.  For whatever reason, she couldn't connect with Alecia, couldn't trust her, or simply thought her game would go by the wayside if she tried.  Her early partner in Darnell was voted out.  I appreciated how she adjusted her game by finding someone kind of like-minded in Aubry and working with her, (Bossy Joe Barnacle, and Tai thinking he was Aubry's Number 1 out of nowhere), and all.  

Tai relies so much on chemistry and instinct I think he honestly thinks that if he puts you number 1, you do it back, hence his confusion with Aubry.  Meanwhile Aubry is very malleable, which I appreciate in her gameplay too.  Her number 1 I guess was Joe, and I *THINK* she worked alongside Cydney in every vote.  Tai may not even be 3 to her, he's just there.

I think Aubry wins.  The editors are painting this entire season as a story from her perspective.  I'm fine with Cydney and Tai winning and I hate to even judge Michelle's game because I don't even know what I'm looking at.  But just because the editors don't delve far into Cydney's brain and neuroses like they do with Aubry does it mean she "laid low".

Edited May 13, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[gunderda]

I don't even understand HOW Joe could have eaten all of that meat.  Logically their stomachs should fill up very fast.   They are not used to eating large meals. So I'm not surprised that it caused Joe major problems, not to mention with his stomach not even used to eating beef.  

And if Michelle wins then it's a total bitter jury.  Michelle has done nothing.  She's always lowest on the totem pole but not enough of a threat to go home.  She's never included in the plans. She may be 'loyal' but there's nothing else for her to be because she's not essential to anyone's game.

 

I would love for Aubrey to win.  

Even though Michelle is still there I'm not totally bummed about that.  I do like this final 4.  I loved Tai at the beginning but now I hope he gets booted before F3. I just need Aubrey to get to the finale.  

[candall]

My main problem with Cydney is that I think she's very quick to taking offense.

For example, when Joe wanted more firewood, she got up and went to get some but she was furious about why couldn't she just rest for a few minutes.  I don't think it would have hurt her game or reputation to simply stay put.   "Joe, are you feeling a chill?  'Cuz we're good on water and it's about a thousand degrees right now."  Do it, or don't do it, but why so pissed off?

This might even be the incident which made someone above refer to Joe as "verbally abusive,"  which . . .??  It's one of the few times I can think of when Joe even spoke.

 

Anyway, long fuse is way better for Survivor than short fuse--and it's a factor for lots of people.  (Not getting over a grudge is the thing that would doom me.  Well, and the fact I'd be several miles behind Joe in the challenges.)

Edited May 13, 2016 by candall

[Guest]

20 hours ago, Special K said:

In his "cast assessment" video Jeff said something like this about Michele, "People are just drawn to Michele and they don't know why.  It's always been that way, and she knows how to use that to her advantage." [emphasis his] 

Which may be true, but damnh we haven't seen any evidence of that charisma or that effect on others. Only Julia ever seemed to be in her thrall and they actually seemed like equals, equally fond of each other.

Tai said the opposite... That he's drawn to some people and Michele is not one of them.  

19 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I don't care about the family visits either, mainly because it's all "I love you!" "I love you too!" "I love you so much!" "I love you so much too!" So boring.

If you're on a laptop, hover your cursor inside the box, hold CTRL and right click, then select "remove quote." If you're on a tablet, I don't think it can be done, but I don't know.

I can't imagine anyone would consider this a spoiler at this point in the game but just in case (about the family visits)-

Spoiler

Didn't Michele let slip on social media that her brother makes an appearance this season?  

I'm on a Surface, which is kind of a tablet/laptop hybrid and I noticed a tip somewhere on the site that said to find the little black box in the upper left corner of the quote box (maybe you have to click on the quote box?), then click on that and hit delete.  I think.  

[LanceM]

Here is what Jeff teased for next week. I am guessing the "tears" refers to a family visit.

 

Okay, your 32nd finale is but a week away. Tease us up for three-hour finale/reunion extravaganza.
It’s a very exciting finish. The drama is definitely not over. There will be more surprises, another Survivor first, tears, and a very fulfilling final Tribal Council. This should be a really good conclusion to what fans are telling me has been a really entertaining season. And as always, Mr. Ross – I’ve enjoyed our weekly chats!

[Lamb18]

Although Aubry hasn't been playing like a mastermind, I still think she's been playing very well. A lot of times masterminds get too locked into their strategy and aren't flexible in unforeseen circumstances. To me Aubry is scrappy; she makes plans but is able to adjust on the fly. All she has to do is survive from tribal to tribal. What I see is that she's proactive in moving herself along instead of waiting for other people to make decisions or come up with ideas.

Regarding Tai talking "baby talk", I doubt he sounds like a baby when speaking Vietnamese.

[laurakaye]

Count me in as someone who really wants to see the March of the Fallen Comrades or whatever it's called.  I want to see the Final 3 saunter up to Scot and Bounty's snuffed torch, look at one another, wondering who is going to give the best soundbite, only to have all three shrug their shoulders and wander off to the next torch.

I guess for Bounty's eulogy, they could stand there and try to identify his horrible back tattoo, that'd be fun too.

[Special K]

16 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Count me in as someone who really wants to see the March of the Fallen Comrades or whatever it's called.  I want to see the Final 3 saunter up to Scot and Bounty's snuffed torch, look at one another, wondering who is going to give the best soundbite, only to have all three shrug their shoulders and wander off to the next torch.

I guess for Bounty's eulogy, they could stand there and try to identify his horrible back tattoo, that'd be fun too.

Great image!  There's always the benefit of being reminded of contestants I've already forgotten about.  And........forgot again!

[himela]

Aubry may not be the best player ever, she has surely made mistakes, but I do think she is the best one from the four remaining players. She has had the ability to adjust her game based on what is best for her and managed to go from next voted out early in the merge to final four. She has been unlucky losing two allies but she has changed that and I hope she wins if she makes it to ftc.