S33: Justin "Jay" Starrett

[Michel]

Hi.  I want to play like Russell and Woo.

Neither of those sound like good signs to me.  But real estate agents are generally good at pitching and selling, so let's see how he does with strategy.

[simplyme]

This guy's bio made me dislike him already. I'm hoping that's just the usual "My God, these Survivor bios are stupid" thing.

[Nashville]

On 8/22/2016 at 3:54 PM, Michel said:

Hi.  I want to play like Russell and Woo.

Neither of those sound like good signs to me.  But real estate agents are generally good at pitching and selling, so let's see how he does with strategy.

So - his goal is to make it to the end, then crash and burn in Final 2? 

I guess it's A strategy, of sorts....  :>

[Lamb18]

If you aren't looking too closely, his name can read as "Austin Scarlett" at first glance. (It did for me - had to take a second look.)

[simplyme]

His head shot on the Survivor site was very androgynous to me. Great cheekbones and jawline. I think it was the lips that made me unsure. With a full body shot or if the the buff were holding his hair differently, he probably would come off very masculine. (I mention this because I actually did read the bio after seeing the picture to make sure it was a guy.)

[LadyChatts]

In his video, he talked about instigating arguments between other people, then denying he had anything to do with it if he's called out.  We'll see how that goes.  Reading his bio, I'm kind of hoping he's an early boot, just because of his gloating about being a manipulator and being the "final Survivor."  I think he means Sole Survivor, but whatever.  I don't dislike him, but I'm sure that's going to change once the season starts.  

Should we start a drinking game for every time a millennial says 'bro, dude, or gnar?'  Or will we all be passed out drunk within 5 minutes?

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

Should we start a drinking game for every time a millennial says 'bro, dude, or gnar?'  Or will we all be passed out drunk within 5 minutes?

If we are, let me know in advance - I'll need to stock up on some of the cheap stuff.

[Hera]

I'm trying to figure out what Russell and Woo had in common (aside from coming in second) that someone could claim to be like both of them.

He'll start off on a tribe with Will, so maybe the two of them will test their famed manipulation skills on each other while the rest of their tribe plays Survivor.

[azshadowwalker]

I am pleased to say that I have never heard the word "gnar", despite the fact that I raised a kid born in 1992. 

[Lamb18]

Short for gnarly?

[azshadowwalker]

That's my guess, which means that they are just stealing a word that was common in my "Gen X" youth. 

[Oholibamah]

Also stealing words that were invented by Urban culture, which irks me. But I won't be too harsh since the whole theme is ridden with issues to begin with. 

[Nashville]

Surfing is urban...?

[LanceM]

Yeah whenever I think of gnarly, I think of this...

[LadyChatts]

On ‎8‎/‎29‎/‎2016 at 2:22 PM, azshadowwalker said:

I am pleased to say that I have never heard the word "gnar", despite the fact that I raised a kid born in 1992. 

Snowboarding is one of my favorite sports to follow, so that's as common as the word 'the' in their language.  Along with the aforementioned 'bro' and 'dude'. 

Though I guess we'll see if they overplay using those words so they can sound more millennial.

Edited August 31, 2016 by LadyChatts

[JudyObscure]

While he was raving on and on about the stupidity of a showmance and how dumb Taylor was to be hooking up with Figgy, I kept thinking, yeah, Michelle rejected you, didn't she?

He also seems a little old to be avoiding having a woman in his life for fear she wont let him go bowling with his friends.

[LanceM]

 

He does seem to be a little enamored with Michelle, or Namaste, as he calls her. Well atleast enamored with the way she was ripping through that puzzle.  Interesting to note that he is very happy they won because that means Zeke wasn't going to get voted out. Huh?  Those two must be closer than what we are being shown Between this and Michelle saying she wants to work With Adam I wonder if the two of them are going to flip on their cool kid alliance which would be hilarious because that would essentially mean he chose the girl (Michelle) over going bowling with his bro Taylor. 

Edited October 6, 2016 by LanceM

[ForeverAlone]

Well, Michelle did say that she didn't trust Figgy, so I can easily see both Michelle and Jay dumping #Faylor when they stop being useful to them. Based on these scenes, it seems like they don't particularly love Figgy and Taylor, but they are useful numbers/meat shields for the time being. 

I'm not TOO surprised about Zeke and Jay being closer than we thought. Last week Zeke did tell Jay the future voting pattern, and this week Zeke said in a secret scene that he thinks Jay is playing the best game, the sort of game he wished he was playing. 

[KimberStormer]

I would kind of love a Jay/Zeke team-up.  An unlikely duo indeed.

[LanceM]

Jay is doing something right out there as this week it is Hannah in her secret scene talking about what an amazing game Jay is playing. 

[KimberStormer]

I believe it.  Really impressed by his managing to trash-talk Chris in such a friendly way that he got a fist-bump out of it.  This kid seems to have a killer social game.

[KimberStormer]

Look how sweet this kid is!  How can you guys not like him!

[LadyChatts]

I don't really dislike Jay.  As I said in the episode thread, I think I'd like him better if he wasn't in a bromance with Taylor (who I also don't completely dislike).  From a game perspective, I think he's got good perception and strategy going on.  I just hope he doesn't ultimately fall on his sword for his bro.  I know he wouldn't on purpose, but trying to save his alliance when those two are so stupid at putting a target on their backs, I hope he doesn't end up getting caught in the crosshairs.

On the plus side, Jay seems to be a likable guy, and strikes me as someone that would be easy to bring into your confidence and think you can trust.

[ljenkins782]

He reminds me a bit of first season Greg with the voice and the squinty eyes. I think there's someone else he reminds me of as well and it's going to bug me until I figure it out.

He's one I had to watch and hear about in the extra scenes to get any appreciation for. I did like him with Chris at the one immunity challenge, but otherwise, he didn't make a big impression on me and suffered for the Triforce thing and the fact that he seems to give the most confessionals about the theme itself. 

But he does seem like a likable guy and I could see him going far. 

[peachmangosteen]

I just watched that video of Jay talking about Micaela (I still don't know exactly how to spell her name and I'm too lazy to go look) and my goodness how adorable!

[laurakaye]

The scene of Jay talking about how it's not true that all millennials are lazy dreamers kinda swung me over to rooting for him.

I can't help thinking that the cut of him saying "I'm going to win Survivor" was put there for a reason.

He seems like a good kid, and while he got swept up in the FigTayls/Michelle foursome right at the get-go, I think he's more than made up for it in realizing that Tayls was acting like a moony goofball and it wasn't going to be good for their game going forward.

[LadyChatts]

When Figgy mentioned she wanted to play like Parvati and get the guys in her back pocket, I really think she underestimated Jay.  I think we're all underestimating Jay.

Also, it kind of warms my heart a little that, to Jeffs face, his beloved Millennials play along with the stereotype he's cast on them.  But away from him, I hear a lot more 'happy to be with the older tribe', 'more a GenXer than a millennial', 'we aren't all lazy', 'I've worked hard for what I've got'...etc

[LadyChatts]

I appreciate that Jay is playing the game, and got two of the dumbest guys out there in his alliance (because regardless of what Jay does in this game, who the hell would vote for Will or Taylor in a final 3?)  However, I'm not sure his move in eliminating Michaela tonight was the right time for it.  As I put in the episode thread, unless there was more that we didn't see (like Michaela openly telling Jay she would be gunning for him-but that's extremely doubtful), I think he might have been smarter to eliminate Bret or Sunday.  From a numbers stand point at the very least, but maybe he's counting on the Millennials running the show at the merge, or being able to use his idol to his advantage (whether on himself, or do like David and save an ally).  

Michaela was a physical threat, and did nothing to downplay that.  Considering this show can vary when they merge and when they tribe swap, getting rid of her when they still might need her for challenge purposes wasn't the greatest idea.  In addition, she'd be a pretty good shield at the merge because she is physically a strong player, doesn't hold back on her feelings (so could easily have gotten herself voted out by having no filter), and she seems willing to work even with people she doesn't like, and wanted to keep the Millennial numbers strong.  Bret and Sunday had nothing to lose by voting out Michaela, but does Jay think they will automatically work with him going forward?  I see Bret as being eager to re-join GenX, and Sunday will go where the numbers are.  And what about Hannah, left completely out of the vote?  Or Zeke and Adam when they merge, who were left out of the Mari vote?  Zeke seemed close enough to Jay at the time to say they were targeting Figgy then, but now?  Probably not.  Jay may have overplayed his hand.  Good for him owning the vote to Michaela's face, but again, overconfidence and cockiness may be his downfall.  Right now, his alliance is very small in numbers in the bigger picture.  And on his current tribe, he really only has Will at this point. 

Edited November 3, 2016 by LadyChatts

[laurakaye]

I wonder if he was swayed by the fact that the other two tribes' majorities were voting out one of their own (CeCe when Gen X had a majority, and Figgy when the Millennials had a majority).  I can see that kind of getting into his head, and causing him to realize that other bonds were being formed that had nothing to do with original tribes.  Or it could've been that he was constantly nervous that Michaela would out Jay's idol, and Jay knew that he had the numbers at that very moment, with Bret and Sunday willing to vote anyone who wasn't named Bret or Sunday.  Michaela's glee at Figgy being voted out might've set off a warning to Jay as well...Michaela professed to be Team Millennial, but only where certain people were concerned.

It was an interesting and huge move, and I really hope we get some insight next week into how it all went down.  I need to know.

Edited November 3, 2016 by laurakaye

[Guest]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

And what about Hannah, left completely out of the vote?  

I feel like Hannah has kind of shown them that when push comes to shove, she's going to re-side with her alliance even if they spring some things on her at tribal instead of letting her in on all the planning stages.  I suppose she could decide she's tired of being surprised and wants to go work with Ken and Chris or something but I bet she sticks to her remaining people. 

[LanceM]

This may shed some light on why Jay made this move when he did:

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/exclusive-michaela-bradshaw-survivor-interview-if-i-made-final-4-i-dont-think-anyone-could-win-million-over-me-20865.php

Michaela Bradshaw: I don't think it was a form of revenge. I think that it was because Michelle was going to be my first target after the merge, and I made the mistake of revealing that. So if Jay has a solid five, and I took out -- well, Adam took out one of them, but I was 100% down for it -- and now, going into the merge, the first person I'm talking about getting rid of is Michelle." No. 1, I'm talking too much. I should've kept my mouth shut. 
 

[LadyChatts]

I still think Jay may have an uphill battle, numbers wise.  He has a solid 4.  I don't know if he'll get people swayed to his side.  And frankly, Will and Taylor don't strike me as very intelligent, so I could see a scene at TC where they blurt out they have nothing to worry about because of Jay's idol-forgetting that there are more numbers not in their alliance that could split the vote and still get one of the 4 of them out.  And whose to say Michelle will join back up with them?  Would be ironic, that Michaela was told by Jay in the Figgy vote that they'd be gunning for her once Figgy was gone.  Then he turns around and votes Michaela off, potentially because she was going to go after Michelle.  And then have Michelle turn on Jay/Taylor/Will.

Maybe this season will get exciting for me after all.

[waving feather]

I can't really understand why Michaela would reveal all her strategies and plans to Jay, especially those that may not be aligned with his own self interests. That's foolish and she deserved to be voted off for that. Given this new info, she may not have stayed loyal to Jay after the merge as well because she's essentially going to take out his core alliance member.

Watching the secret scenes with Jay on the CBS website made me appreciate Jay even more. For someone who talks in the surfer dude manner, he has a way with words. "Pure happiness tear", in particular, in which he was talking about the time Michaela made fire was very nice.

[NutMeg]

I think that Jay has this 'thing' - is it charisma, charm, empathy? - that is so difficult to convey on TV but that every contestant was already seeing in Parvati in her first season (they didn't really articulate it, but some, such as Sundra and Becky, wanted to keep her around even if it was not in their interest, and Yul was afraid of her).

Here we have Sunday wanting him to stay for no reason that we know of, Zach talking about how he charms everyone and therefore is dangerous, and Jay himself having a good fun time at TC, while being a potential target, and still having fun with it all. He interacts with and charms everyone, regardless if they are or not in his allince or possibly useful down the road (which is why it is so powerful), he is just enjoying the game. I'm calling it, he's the male Parvati. If he doesn't win on his first try, he'll win next/another time.        

[waving feather]

I think he's the type that talks to everyone and is friendly with everyone. Michaela said he's one of the two that actually talked to her in the beginning on the Millennials tribe. Before the Mari blindside, I was wondering why Zeke and gang were plotting to vote out Figgy in front of Jay and why was Jay included in that little pow wow. 

In the last episode, I also found it funny that Zeke and Hannah jumped to agree (probably to make him feel better) with Jay when he was saying that Adam was being an asshole. So he does have some influence on people. As I've probably mentioned before, Jay does not really have a strategic game, but he's good at the social game. It would be a hard road ahead of him to get to the end but if he manages that, he would probably win because people like him enough.

[SimonHumboldt]

Quote

He reminds me a bit of first season Greg with the voice and the squinty eyes. I think there's someone else he reminds me of as well and it's going to bug me until I figure it out.

To me he looks like Scorpio, the killer from the the first "Dirty Harry" movie

 

[ljenkins782]

On November 22, 2016 at 11:15 AM, NutMeg said:

I think that Jay has this 'thing' - is it charisma, charm, empathy? - that is so difficult to convey on TV but that every contestant was already seeing in Parvati in her first season (they didn't really articulate it, but some, such as Sundra and Becky, wanted to keep her around even if it was not in their interest, and Yul was afraid of her).

Here we have Sunday wanting him to stay for no reason that we know of, Zach talking about how he charms everyone and therefore is dangerous, and Jay himself having a good fun time at TC, while being a potential target, and still having fun with it all. He interacts with and charms everyone, regardless if they are or not in his allince or possibly useful down the road (which is why it is so powerful), he is just enjoying the game. I'm calling it, he's the male Parvati. If he doesn't win on his first try, he'll win next/another time.        

Yeah, he seems like one of those people who everyone thinks is their friend. It's a powerful quality in life and definitely in a game like this. 

Quote

Watching the secret scenes with Jay on the CBS website made me appreciate Jay even more. For someone who talks in the surfer dude manner, he has a way with words. "Pure happiness tear", in particular, in which he was talking about the time Michaela made fire was very nice.

His secret scenes are great, he's very expressive. I also liked his interview about agreeing with Hannah that Bret seems like a cop, it was something like "take away the accent and that's the guy I'm running from down in Florida every time I make a bonfire on the beach..." 

[stcroix]

13 hours ago, SimonHumboldt said:

To me he looks like Scorpio, the killer from the the first "Dirty Harry" movie

 

My husband and I have been saying that for a few weeks now!  lol!  At times (I blush to admit) I even do the wide eyed 'ooooooooh!' scream Scorpio did when he got the knife to the thigh and hubby laughs at me.  We're weird now that I think about it......

[LadyChatts]

Doesn't this happen pretty much every season?  Someone's alliance starts getting picked off, they are the last ones standing, and suddenly everyone decides it's a good time to turn on each other, rather than finish that last lone alliance member out?  Anyway, I'm happy it worked out for Jay.  For now, he seems to be in a great position.  I have a feeling it will get ugly back at camp next week, so he may be able to slide through again with his idol.

[waving feather]

7 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Doesn't this happen pretty much every season?  Someone's alliance starts getting picked off, they are the last ones standing, and suddenly everyone decides it's a good time to turn on each other, rather than finish that last lone alliance member out?  Anyway, I'm happy it worked out for Jay.  For now, he seems to be in a great position.  I have a feeling it will get ugly back at camp next week, so he may be able to slide through again with his idol.

Yes, it does happen nearly every season. I will say that it tells something about Jay that he is not the first targeted from his alliance, people don't mind being around him. He seems to be a hard worker at camp too.

[laurakaye]

I'm on the Jay bandwagon now.  He got to me back when he mentioned that he wanted to win because he needs to take care of his mom and sister.  He made me smile when he carefully closed the door to the cage before heading to the slide puzzle (I wonder if he did that because he didn't want to risk the person next to him seeing the diagram of his maze, but it was adorable).  He REALLY won me over when he was able to read TC enough to know that he could keep his idol safe.  I think, for the moment, he's playing the best game of any of the remaining Millennials.  Hannah, Adam, Will and Zeke have all been prone to freak-outs and sharing too much information in an effort to save themselves.  Jay is playing it low-key, which is exactly what he needs to do.

[waving feather]

Talking about dissolving the Taylor food stealing situation after the tribal council. He's a sneaky fella.

Talking about using his HII at the right moment. Seems like he's using his brain about it.

This is my favorite because it's him describing the reward challenge where they had to crawl on their stomachs. He's funny and a great story teller. I like his confessionals because he's always so candid and expressive.

[LadyChatts]

I hope Jay gets another chance at this game down the road.  I'd be curious how he would play a second time.  I don't know if everyone realizes what a threat he is.  It'd actually be to his benefit to try and make a move, while Ken/David/Adam/Hannah are outnumbered, and he still has his idol.  Adam has his, so if they could all work together, he could possibly get the upper hand.  If he could make a move at tribal to topple King Zeke and his army, Will would probably come running back to his side, since that's what Will seems to do best.

Edited November 25, 2016 by LadyChatts

[pfk505]

I am 100% team Jay. I'll go so far as to say that his reaction to the Michaela boot is one of the greatest things I've ever seen on this show, and I've watched it since the beginning. If he never does another thing in his life he'll have that to look back on.

[Jextella]

Jay is smart - and he has a good social game.  I wouldn't be surprised if he goes the distance.

[ljenkins782]

On November 24, 2016 at 7:09 PM, LadyChatts said:

I hope Jay gets another chance at this game down the road.  I'd be curious how he would play a second time.  I don't know if everyone realizes what a threat he is.  It'd actually be to his benefit to try and make a move, while Ken/David/Adam/Hannah are outnumbered, and he still has his idol.  Adam has his, so if they could all work together, he could possibly get the upper hand.  If he could make a move at tribal to topple King Zeke and his army, Will would probably come running back to his side, since that's what Will seems to do best.

What did I miss with regard to Will? He was Jay's right-hand man one minute and then suddenly voting against him and not working with him at all the next. Did they show how that came about? I admittedly sometimes multitask while watching so maybe they did. 

[Rachel RSL]

I think it was just that Jay's alliance had dwindled down to nothing so he needed to move on. I believe he had a confessional where he said something like: "It's time to jump off a sinking ship and on to a liferaft. And that liferaft's name is Zeke."   So I don't think there was a big blow out or anything. Will just needed to find new allies to save his game.

[cleo]

I think I'm rooting for Jay to win. I liked how he owned the Mikaela vote. He seems smart and I also liked how he managed Will at Tribal.

Also maybe no one else seems super deserving or appealing, I range from neutral to dislike.

[LadyChatts]

I'm happy Jay won the family visit.   I think he's arrogant at times, but for whatever reason, I can't dislike him.  He seems to own it.  I love the close relationship he has with his sister.  He seemed to tear up worse than some of the others tonight when it came to the visit.  I wouldn't mind seeing him win.  I liked that he was the one who told Will to vote his gut.  He probably knew Will already had his mind made up at that point anyway.  I hope he can bounce back.  Glad he still has his idol, because now he might really need it.

[simplyme]

I like Jay. I think he's still my favorite. I guess one viewer's "smug and entitled" is another's "They've been stuck on that island 24/7 with those people for over two weeks with little food or sleep and the way that guy talks is clearly making his eye twitch." I don't think there's anyone in the cast who has come off perfectly to viewers because, well, they're human. I think aside from any ramifications from backstabbing Michaela and his friendship with Tayls, he's played a good game and the other players like him.