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S33.E13: I'm Going For A Million Bucks / S33.E14: Reunion


Tara Ariano
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43 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

And he was rubbing her back as they were reading the votes. *swoon*

I hated Zeke's stupid question about how they helped the game evolve. WTF does that even mean? What does Zeke think he did that was so revolutionary?

Ugh yes. If possible, Zeke annoyed me more than Chris with that stupid question. First of all, what about this season was "revolutionary" - I personally saw the same style and type of game I have always seen.  And Hannah, I love you, but stop trying to make "trust cluster" a thing. 

Maybe it's my love for Ken talking but it just seemed like another way to bring Ken down. And by the way, Zeke, on some seasons, a player like Ken who succeeded in challenges, was very loyal but did the right move when he needed to (getting David out) might have given him a win.  And hell, maybe in some ways playing the old school game in a new school season is somewhat revolutionary...

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8 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Good call from Jessica on the question to Ken.  He talked about loyalty and then turns on his closest ally.

Man, I don't know - Ken was going to get raked over the coals no matter what he did.  Vote out David?!  What about your stance as a loyal person?  Not vote out David?!  You moron, you just handed him a million bucks!

I thought Probst did a better job at keeping the conversation to the players, but I am incredibly upset that we didn't get to see Michaela giving Jay the death-stare again.  I was hoping Probst would ask, "Jay, what was going through your mind as Michaela was trying to blow up your head with her eyes?"  That was the best moment IMO.

How did David get that fake idol inside the coconut?

Oh, Jay!!  Oh, my poor sweet Jay!  Forgetting to cover the numbers (stupid on the designer's part IMO to make all the combinations the same) and then the fake idol...but wow, did he take it in stride!  No bitterness, and that's kind of awesome.  Would love to see Jay get another chance.

Adam's win - I'm okay with it.  Adam wasn't playing Survivor so much as he was narrating it for the viewers at home.  I found that super annoying, but hey - I hope he takes the money and changes people's lives with his Foundation.  He seems like a good soul.

I got the strong vibe that Hannah and Ken were a couple...could this be?!  

Edited by laurakaye
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I'm glad this season is over. Not exactly looking forward to returnees again. Tony?? Please, no....

I find it interesting that Ken used Jay's legal/real name, "Justin" when writing down his name. Classy.

I wonder if David is still kicking himself for using an idol to save others?

Adam.... sorry you lost your mother. I've lost loved ones to cancer. But damned if I'd keep it a secret the entire time then whip it out at the end to gather sympathy votes. I don't think Adam played the best game. Looking back on episode summaries on Wikipedia, Ken deserved the win (in my opinion) not for his looks but for his heart. He played "old school" and that's what I love about him. I remember the good old days of this show and how much fun it was. Not so much now, for me.

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26 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

And I thought maybe a few people would respect Ken's final move of voting out David - which SHOCKED me - but I guess not.

THIS! I didn't expect Ken to win but I definitely thought he'd get at least a couple of votes, and I honestly thought voting out David was a game move the jury would be impressed with.  I'll never understand why some people get rewarded for making smart strategic moves but then other people are expected to be loyal and get blasted for doing the exact same thing. If Ken hadn't voted out David, they would have called him an idiot for taking a threat to the final TC but then they all penalized him for not being loyal to David. That was really a no-win situation for Ken. 

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5 hours ago, backformore said:

There was something very weird going on with Dave's cheek/face at the end.  I didn't watch the last hour, but was anything mentioned?  Like he had an impacted tooth, or an infection of some sort.

I didn't want Adam to win.  I don't like him, and I don't think he played better than Hannah, Ken, or David.

I think he may have had skin replacement surgery. There was a definite line I could see, reminded me of Coach Beamer at Va. Tech (football) who had cancer and had to have a skin graft on his face and neck.

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9 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

 

Quote

How did David get that fake idol inside the coconut?

He had that plan from before the game. He had been looking for the right coconut with the right size hole in it for him to squeeze the fake HII.

Quote

I got the strong vibe that Hannah and Ken were a couple...could this be?!  

Hannah confirn that there is no Kennah. 

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At the end, when Probst brought out the players for next season, I saw Ozzy smile and nod at someone, and I'm assuming that person was Adam.  That was nice, and I'm sure as a superfan, Adam was happy to be acknowledged by the Oz.

Tony, go away.  Or get voted out first.  Either/or.

Edited by laurakaye
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6 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 

I don't know if everyone's issue with Adam is the exploitation thing. For me personally, it's the not waiting a year and just doing it next season thing.  That's the part that's "harder" for me.  

 

But his mom TOLD him to. She didn't want him to wait. She wanted him out there while she was still alive and it could give her something to be glad and hopeful for. From the way the whole family talked, his just BEING out there did a lot for her morale. She seemed to be the type of woman who lived in the moment and I don't think she wanted him to wait on this big of a dream. If he'd have waited, it would have got an entirely different cast, and may not have done as well as he did this time. 

 

4 hours ago, SlackerInc said:

Poor Jay.  No clue at all.

I thought that Idol David made looked silly; not a real Idol at all. David is no Bob from Gabon, when it comes to making fake Idols. HE will always be the master, to me. 

 

1 hour ago, Ellee said:

 

For some reason I'm pretty sure the jury already knew about Adam's mother.  We will see if Jay spilled the beans or not during the days to come. 

 

Yea, I thought there was a noticeable lack of surprise or empathy on their faces. I wouldn't be surprised if they knew either. 

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I loved this season! The Final Three didn't represent the savviest of the group, but they were all very palatable personalities, which is a nice change.

My two cents: Adam's tearful admission at FTC was probably planned, especially with the gentle leading question by Jay. I don't think that it was a matter of not being able to hold it back anymore; he knew that his story would be most impactful if it was revealed for the first time right before the vote. Also, had he revealed it to the group earlier on in the season, somebody would have seen this sort of thing coming and seen him as a bigger threat. I'm guessing that was his plan from the jump, probably encouraged by his mom, before he ever stepped foot on the island.

If that's true, I have even more respect for him. If life gave me that kind of kick in the ass, I would be happy to use the reveal strategically. I think there are really obnoxious ways to tug at jury's heart strings, and that wasn't one of them. The tragedy of the situation was real, and the tears were real, so if he planned the timing of the moment, good on him. Well-deserved win.

Kinda bummed that neither Hannah nor Ken got a single vote; they played pretty well too and had some good points to make at FTC. Just glad to see Team Anxiety repped, though! We're here, we're worried we're about to start hyperventilating in the middle of Target, get used to it!!

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My question about Adam's reveal, as someone who didn't find it overly distasteful, is: is there an idea that he wouldn't have won without it? Or did it seem like "running up the score" when he was going to win anyway?

I remember many sob stories from many players who haven't won. Every "I'm doing this for my family" pitch -- even some that I think were revealed during final tribal council. I truly do not believe that jurors reward an odious person (or even a goat) with a sob story. I think it pushes them over the top, but I believe anyone who's shared something personal and won, would've won anyway.

Which begs the question: Could a goat with a sob story win? Is a sob story an automatic key to victory or is it just piling on an already certain win that leaves a bad taste in people's mouths?

I suppose I've respected both Adam and Jeremy because I've seen them both as deserving winners, with the personal story just the icing on the cake, as it were. I can't recall a season (or a winner) where someone has shared something personal and they've gone from a perceived loser to winning the game (then again, it has been 33 seasons, and I very well could've missed something).

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Would *you* award the win to the best sob story?  I believe very few people would.  I don't know if any of the hundreds of past jurors have explained their vote as being due to that, have they?  

I think Adam was the clear winner going in.  Which means Ken and Hannah were pretty stupid to take Adam and not Bret or Sunday.  

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9 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I lost my non-smoking, physically fit mother to lung cancer at age 55. I lost my former smoker grandmother (my mother's mother) to lung cancer at age 70. The smoker outlived the non-smoker. Can someone hand me a million fucking dollars? I'll squeeze out some tears for a camera!

Seriously. I'm sorry for Adam's loss, and I know how it feels, but since when is a single father playing for his daughter NOT an honorable and admirable thing? How is doing all the grunt work at camp, basically honoring your word, and winning four fucking immunity challenges to make it to the end, NOT WORTHY OF A SINGLE FUCKING VOTE? Piss off, jury. 

In some seasons, it would have been worthy of more than a few votes, and maybe even a win, just not this season.  Though I still think Adam would have won, I think the story said when it did whether planned or not was what clinched the clean sweep...and that's what pisses me off. Adam might have deserved to win but he did not deserve a clean sweep of the votes. Sorry. His game was just not that worthy of that.

Ken, you are a winner in my book any day ❤️ 

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1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

Man, I don't know - Ken was going to get raked over the coals no matter what he did.  Vote out David?!  What about your stance as a loyal person?  Not vote out David?!  You moron, you just handed him a million bucks!

Agreed. If he had gone to the end with David, like JT and Stephen, where many people thought Steven was so dumb for going to the end with his close buddy. So, I don't know. It's a hard situation. From Will's remarks during FTC, I actually thought he, at least, would vote for Ken. 

 

11 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

Just glad to see Team Anxiety repped, though! We're here, we're worried we're about to start hyperventilating in the middle of Target, get used to it!!

I really loved the type of people we had in the finals. Nerds. Insecure people. Introverts. Anxiety-ridden social pariahs. Not just one. It was great! 

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Ugh. Watched that whole season only to have Adam the weasel win?   I so wanted Ken to win.  He earned it more than Adam.   Also,  using your mom's sickness is wrong.  And my mom died from cancer.  Still don't like when people emotionally manipulate like that to win.  

It was an interesting season.  Just didn't like the result.  

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2 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

I really loved the type of people we had in the finals. Nerds. Insecure people. Introverts. Anxiety-ridden social pariahs. Not just one. It was great! 

The only introvert out of Ken, Hannah and Adam is Ken (to my eyes anyway). Adam is definitely NOT an introvert. He broadcasts his feeling and opinions to the sky. I don't think Hannah is an introvert as well. Anxiety-ridden, maybe but not an introvert.

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2 minutes ago, waving feather said:

The only introvert out of Ken, Hannah and Adam is Ken (to my eyes anyway). Adam is definitely NOT an introvert. He broadcasts his feeling and opinions to the sky. I don't think Hannah is an introvert as well. Anxiety-ridden, maybe but not an introvert.

Yes, Adam is definitely not an introvert. Ken is a classic introvert...and seems to have true social anxiety to boot.  How he explained waking up in the morning and wanting to go back to sleep instead of having to talk and deal with social interactions really spoke to me. 

Though I then wonder why he applied to begin with...though I am glad he did!

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8 minutes ago, waving feather said:

The only introvert out of Ken, Hannah and Adam is Ken (to my eyes anyway). Adam is definitely NOT an introvert. He broadcasts his feeling and opinions to the sky. I don't think Hannah is an introvert as well. Anxiety-ridden, maybe but not an introvert.

Well, when I was talking about the finals, I was thinking of the entire episode last night - all those in the final 6. I think David was probably a bit of introvert as well. I just thought it was nice to see that there weren't a bunch of confident, super athletic men at the end - and one really hot chick. It was a nice mix up, just my opinion.

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23 minutes ago, ChicksDigScars said:

I'm sorry for Adam's loss, and I know how it feels, but since when is a single father playing for his daughter NOT an honorable and admirable thing?

That line about Ken being a single father really irked me, and I love Ken, but how on earth is he a single father? (And I'm aware it was the show that used that line, not Ken himself so I don't hold it against him personally) He didn't even know he had a kid for 4 years. Did the mom dump the kid on Ken and disappear? Then, no, he's not a single parent. Maybe this is a personal bias because my mom actually was a single parent, raising 2 kids on her own, but it really really bothers me when someone gets out of a relationship and automatically starts referring to themselves as a single parent. Being a single man/woman who has a child is not the same as being a single parent. A single parent means there is only ONE parent involved in the child's life and you're doing all the parenting (financially, emotionally, etc.) yourself.  Sorry, like I said, personal bias maybe but it just always really bugs me.

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I'm sure my thoughts on this FTC vote, like the show itself (fuck you, Zeke!) will be "evolving".  But here goes.

As a trial lawyer, I firmly believe that jurors, including Survivor jurors, make decisions that make them feel the best about themselves.  The advocate/finalists' job is to figure out what will do that, and craft their argument accordingly.

That being said, I'm a bit baffled by the unanimous vote, and specifically with Hannah pulling a goose-egg. [note, I don't necessarily disagree with Adam winning or Hannah losing, but I think their games were much closer qualitatively than the jury-vote panned out].

I think that although this was not an overtly "my question is you suck!" bitter jury, that the jury was, in fact, extremely bitter in a more stealthy, possibly passive-aggressive, way.

Ken's goose-egg doesn't surprise me.  His two arguments were his IC-run and his "loyalty".  He gave up the latter with his F4 vote.  And I'm not sure the former was all that powerful an argument because I don't think Ken was really seriously targeted for elimination post-merge.  His winning certainly deprived other targets of immunity.  But I didn't ever have the sense that if Ken didn't win the IC in a given week that he'd be toast.

I think both Adam and Hannah kept themselves in the middle of two competing alliances, trying to convince themselves that being the "swing vote" gave them power instead of meant that they were on the bottom of the pecking order.  Hannah seems to have gotten tagged as a "flip-flopper", while Adam was recognized as "playing the game".  And, for that matter, Hannah ended up on the majority side of more votes than Adam.  

And, other than with Jay, I didn't see Adam develop any particular strong friendships or execute any particular adept social-game.  

So, I'm kind of left with the conclusion that either Adam's sob-story motivated votes, or some of these jurors were just not going to reward a woman (and a not-conventionally-blue-eyed-blonde woman at that) for the game-play as a man.

Again, I'm not saying Hannah should have won.  But a 6-4, 7-3 or even 8-2 vote would've made a lot more sense to me than the 10-0 vote.

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2 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

Well, when I was talking about the finals, I was thinking of the entire episode last night - all those in the final 6. I think David was probably a bit of introvert as well. I just thought it was nice to see that there weren't a bunch of confident, super athletic men at the end - and one really hot chick. It was a nice mix up, just my opinion.

I agree about the nice mix up, in terms of different characters and personalities.

Jay and Bret are classic extroverts and life of the party types. David is somewhere in between. Ken is a classic introvert. Hannah and Adam... They may look kind of "nerdy", but they are not socially awkward like Ken. So I do feel for Ken in general and believe him when he said this stuff is hard for him.

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Other reunion thoughts:

Jeff is still such a biased, misogynistic dick (and maybe he doesn't even realize it).  That question to Sunday about what it's like to play Survivor "as a wife and mother"?  In 2016-going-on-2017?  Really?  Fuck you, Probst.

And his gushing about what a great cast (made up of total newbies with few if any classic alpha-males) this was (which happen to agree with, but which I know Burnett & Co. don't) rings fairly hollow when he proceeds to announce the next cast which is the very antithesis of this season's cast.

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1 minute ago, simplyme said:

There are types of introverts who come across as extroverts. (I know this because I am one.) Just sayin'.

He could be an ambivert (people who are a bit of both)...that's what I am as well.  Even people who know me are often surprised to hear that I think of myself as an introvert. 

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I think Adam had this game won before the final tribal.  I just don't buy that the jury makes up their minds before going in.  I think it was pretty clear from the questions and the attitudes that they were giving Ken and Hannah that they just didn't have a ton of respect for either.  Whether it was true or not the jury perceived that Adam got out Dave and this was the move they waned to reward.  I think the only vote Adam may have swayed was Michelle who seemed to be trying to help Hannah with her question. I think Adam had that won handily even before he brought up his Mom.  Same way I think Jeremy had it won long before he brought up his pregnant wife.   

Edited by Clare
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4 minutes ago, simplyme said:

There are types of introverts who come across as extroverts. (I know this because I am one.) Just sayin'.

Same. I can be very chatty and come across extroverted, but I need my space and time alone to decompress and re-charge so to speak.

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I liked when Ken said at the reunion that people look at him and expect him to have a certain type of life.  I feel like Ken's social anxiety was kind of swept under the rug by some of the players - possibly because of what he looks like - while David and Hannah's anxiety issues took more of a front seat role and were subsequently praised by the other players as them having a strong redemptive story arc.  It doesn't seem quite fair to me.

During FTC, I remember Bret heavily rolling his eyes during one of Ken's answers.  Not sure what the animosity was there, but I don't understand the basis for it.  It made Bret come off like a jerk.  I too am very surprised that Ken didn't get any votes.  Adam said something to the effect that Ken's style of play might have won him the game in the early seasons of the show, but Survivor has "evolved" since then.  I don't really get how loyalty, providing, and winning crucial immunity challenges doesn't add up to a couple of votes.

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If I was a juror, I would not want to be seen as the insensitive asshole who did not vote for the kid whose mother was dying from cancer on national TV. Even if I was inclined to vote for someone else originally, which I woulda been. 

Adam is a bright kid. There was no doubt in my mind and thruout the season that Adam was going to use the cancer bomb if he ever made it to FTC. Maybe one of the many reasons why I never warmed to this season.  I can recognize that technically it was a good season with good characters but there was noone that I rooted for. Not even #kendoll, altho he sho is purdy.

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Watching some of the Jury speak videos before they voted. Yeah Adam had this thing won before the FTC.

David calling Hannah saving him an irrational move, yeah he wasn't going to vote for her. And he call Ken a goat that wasn't playing the game.

Edited by gator12
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16 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

That line about Ken being a single father really irked me, and I love Ken, but how on earth is he a single father? (And I'm aware it was the show that used that line, not Ken himself so I don't hold it against him personally) He didn't even know he had a kid for 4 years. Did the mom dump the kid on Ken and disappear? Then, no, he's not a single parent. Maybe this is a personal bias because my mom actually was a single parent, raising 2 kids on her own, but it really really bothers me when someone gets out of a relationship and automatically starts referring to themselves as a single parent. Being a single man/woman who has a child is not the same as being a single parent. A single parent means there is only ONE parent involved in the child's life and you're doing all the parenting (financially, emotionally, etc.) yourself.  Sorry, like I said, personal bias maybe but it just always really bugs me.

We had that discussion here during the show, too.  My teen daughter asked, 'Ken is a single father?  Seriously?  How?'  I said, 'Well, technically your dad is also a single father.  Any unmarried man with a kid is.'  Her:  'No.  That's not a single father'.  She was less impressed when I told her Ken didn't know he was a father til the kid was four, so she must have a very involved mother in the picture.  

Funny aside:  My daughter had to write a short 'who I'm thankful for' paper on Thanksgiving in English.  One of the sentences is:  "(My mom) basically raised me herself, but it never felt like one of those single mother sob stories like on American Idol."  Heh.  

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11 hours ago, JaggedLilPill said:

After such a good season, (even with an admittedly mediocre finale) honestly, my thoughts at the moment are...

...do we really need to see Tony again? Thanks for reminding me why I hated him. Yeah, dude, hiding in the bushes is so innovative. Nobody has ever thought about that before. 

Maybe someone will talk llama to him. 

There's also something about Cirie that bugs that shit out of me. Ugh.

I love this post!

4 hours ago, anthonyd46 said:

At least 4 jurors said Adam made bad moves, moves that didn't work, didn't make sense, but he gets their vote because making moves and failing is better than not making moves at all.

Yet Hannah, who also made moves that ultimately failed, gets literally zero credit for anything and basically gets disrespected by a bunch of people she played better than. Damn, it is hard to be a woman!

42 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

I really loved the type of people we had in the finals. Nerds. Insecure people. Introverts. Anxiety-ridden social pariahs. Not just one. It was great! 

Me too! That's probably the biggest reason I loved this season.

26 minutes ago, Alapaki said:

So, I'm kind of left with the conclusion that either Adam's sob-story motivated votes, or some of these jurors were just not going to reward a woman (and a not-conventionally-blue-eyed-blonde woman at that) for the game-play as a man.

Yep. And since it does seem pretty clear based on the 'Jury Speaks' videos that Adam was likely to win without his story, I think it's more likely that the fact that Hannah was a woman/Adam was a man that really got Adam the win. Which isn't surprising and it's hardly the first time it's happened, but it still sucks.

12 minutes ago, gator12 said:

David calling Hannah saving him an irrational move, yeah he wasn't going to vote for her. And he call Ken a goat that wasn't playing the game.

I'm going to avoid David's extra videos because it sounds like he's a real dick in them and I'd rather continue to like him!

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2 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I'm going to avoid David's extra videos because it sounds like he's a real dick in them and I'd rather continue to like him!

FWIW, I don't think he comes off too badly in them. Mostly all of them - Jessica included - all point out that while Ken was a provider, he lacked a strategic game. And he actually gives Hannah a lot of props, but basically says she got in the way of her own game, much like he did. 

I think it sounds harsher in words, but I don't think he said anything dickish. Then again, that's JMO. 

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12 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

During FTC, I remember Bret heavily rolling his eyes during one of Ken's answers.  Not sure what the animosity was there, but I don't understand the basis for it.  It made Bret come off like a jerk.  

In an earlier episode Will talked about how Ken would talk ad nauseum, I think Jay may have said something similar.  The impression I get is that Ken comes off as self righteous in his beliefs/actions and doesn't hold back on lecturing others on right way to live.  I wonder if Ken ever said anything negative about Zeke being gay in front of Bret.

I wasn't a Jay fan at the beginning of the season, but I loved him at the end.  His loyalty to Adam, taking David on the reward since he won immunity/reward, and his good humor at being had by the fake idol and being voted out.  

I call shenanigans with a hidden idol on day 37.  That is absolute crap- and funny how it resembled the idol that David made.  

I'm certain that Adam shared the mom secret with Jay when he did as total game play.  

1 - He knew Jay would protect him out of sympathy

2 - would share that knowledge with the Jury to rally votes

3 - Would vote for him at the end

I had a dream last night that I was talking to Adam and said - I'm sorry about your mom, but I really don't like the way you treated Jay, then gave him a big hug.   Stupid show got in my head.

I hope the guilt of only seeing his mom for the final hour when she was at death's door, and he's not certain she even knew he was there,  doesn't eat him up.  $1M can't fix that. 

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25 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

During FTC, I remember Bret heavily rolling his eyes during one of Ken's answers.  Not sure what the animosity was there, but I don't understand the basis for it.  It made Bret come off like a jerk.

I really hated how Bret kept referring to some other players as "the crazies".  It made him look more and more like the high school bully who picks on the smaller, nerdier kids. 

I hated the theme this season - Gen X vs Millenials - and how Jeff, all season, kept bringing it back to that.  People are different, I  hate to be stereotyped as being the same as everyone else in my generation, rather than an individual.   After the first few episodes, I didn't think the generation thing played as big a role as the producers intended. 

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2 minutes ago, JaggedLilPill said:

FWIW, I don't think he comes off too badly in them. Mostly all of them - Jessica included - all point out that while Ken was a provider, he lacked a strategic game. And he actually gives Hannah a lot of props, but basically says she got in the way of her own game, much like he did. 

I think it sounds harsher in words, but I don't think he said anything dickish. Then again, that's JMO. 

I think it's a YMMV thing bc I didnt think he could have come across as a colder gamebot if he tried.

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I thought it was crazy there was an idol that late, too.  And that they seemed to know there was.  Is that at all usual?  Or does the show tell them?  

I think it was stupid of Adam to tell Jay about his mother, not crafty, because the rational thing for Jay to do would be to move the target on his own back to Adam by letting that knowledge leak out.  But I have a feeling that fact didn't influence the jury much and Jay knew it wouldn't so why bother with the betrayal if it wasn't for sure going to get the target off his back.  

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28 minutes ago, thehepburn said:

If I was a juror, I would not want to be seen as the insensitive asshole who did not vote for the kid whose mother was dying from cancer on national TV. Even if I was inclined to vote for someone else originally, which I woulda been. 

 

Yea thats a great point. I really think he did lose some votes in the bickering, but gained them back with the cancer. Adam really was bickering alot with Hannah in that FTC. Then like this post says all the jurors didn't want to be that insensitive person. So yea maybe they were leaning Adam going in, but I think the mother thing sealed any doubts and changed them from making a rational decision to one they have to or they are going to look terrible on national TV.

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I had been hoping Adam was going to keep in the info about his mom under wraps. I just got the feeling Jay spilled the beans to the jury, but I hated that he brought it up - and I think David's question was engineered so that he would bring it up. I freaking HATE sob stories because you always walk away feeling like that's what people get rewarded for - or you end up questioning if that's the reason. It just really sucks as a viewer.

I missed the end where they announced what next season is - a quick recap for those of us who got bored and went to bed early? lol.

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17 minutes ago, Boilergal said:

 I wonder if Ken ever said anything negative about Zeke being gay in front of Bret.

That's a HUGE assumption to make without any basis. Ken never showed any hint of homophobia or bigotry and almost everybody has said in their exit interviews that he was a nice guy.

11 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

 

I thought it was crazy there was an idol that late, too.  And that they seemed to know there was.  Is that at all usual?  Or does the show tell them?  

 

I could be wrong but I'm pretty sure that, once an idol is used, it is replaced up to a certain point in the game. I think they're allowed to play an idol up to the final 4 or 5 (not sure which) so used idols are re-hidden up to that point in the game.

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I missed the end where they announced what next season is - a quick recap for those of us who got bored and went to bed early?

"Game Changers". Which is basically just a random theme so they can bring back a bunch of returning players, some for the 3rd and 4th time. 

Edited by Rachel RSL
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18 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I'm going to avoid David's extra videos because it sounds like he's a real dick in them and I'd rather continue to like him!

I don't think he look or sounds like a dick at all

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3 hours ago, alexa said:

I can't really answer this because I didn't see it at all that he exploited his mom.  I fully believe his mom and family wanted him to do this.  It was clear throughout the season how hard it was for him, but at the same time he was glad to have something he could do for his mom.  And then at the end for him to spill out the story--did it help him win?  Sure, but it was clear to everyone there how he really felt, how the situation impacted him, etc.  I just don't see it quite as negatively as described in the question above.

Also, it has to be kept in mind that nobody knew his mom would die so soon.  It certainly sounded during the brother's visit as if they had thought the prognosis was better than it turned out to be.  She was still getting treatments when he left, and it was obviously a big, unpleasant shock to learn she had had to stop, so they clearly had expected her to keep going quite a bit longer.  Nobody knows how long a terminal patient may live.  My husband was diagnosed with lymphoma the doctor was positive she could cure, but he died six months later.  You can get terribly fooled, and not all doctors even share what they believe, anyway, probably for good reason.

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I wrote an essay (hee, sorry!) in the Speculation thread about why I thought this season was exceptional.  It's too bad there wasn't a 3-3-4 jury vote to round out the distinction, but I've been thinking about all the . . . mmm, personal development that happened. 

David's change was obvious.  Brett's life is going to be different, and better.  Hannah seems to be showing some new confidence.  Zeke's remarks at the reunion blew me away--he didn't say he had "underestimated" himself, btw, he said he had undervalued himself.  Which, wow.  So many people are so down on themselves--Zeke's new sense of self-worth is a gift.   (That's some $95/hour therapy stuff right there.)

I'm no good with past Survivor details, but other than Hasselbeck discovering her celiac condition, I don't remember anyone who came out the other side of this thing with many benefits other than bank, maybe some new pals, a certain celebrity status (from network television exposure,) and of course, the value of the experience itself.

It's just another component that made this season interesting, and unique. 

 

P.S.  I considered giving Figgy partial credit for belated self-awareness.  Didn't.

.

Edited by candall
rephrased the benefit of being on tv
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I don't feel like Adam tried for the sympathy vote. When someone you love is dying, that is a heavy and lonely burden even when you're surrounded by other friends and family. And FTC being the kind of situation where people are questioning your motives and what kind of person you are and why they should give you anything (though, to their credit, this jury was not bitter and went pretty easy on everyone), I can see where it might have made him feel like he needed to explain his personal motivations. It seemed to me that he was just emotional because he'd done what his mother wanted for him by getting to the end of the game. I think he told the jury about her because he was overwhelmed, not because he was shilling for votes. I have no idea if it swayed any votes, but I doubt it. In general, I would expect a jury to be turned off by a sad story told at FTC, as it seems like the majority of people here are; if a juror had already planned on and had reasons for voting for Hannah or Ken, I don't think Adam's story would have caused them to switch their vote.

That said, I am surprised that Hannah and Ken didn't get any votes, especially Hannah, who I thought did a really good job standing up for herself at FTC and explaining what she did in the game. I didn't see her as a flipper; she was someone who maintained multiple alliances and was able to choose which way she wanted to go as she got closer to the end. And on a shallow note, she looked fantastic at the reunion. Physically she's the same (just, you know, cleaner), but she had such spirit and was so confidently flirting with Ken, the Handsomest Man Never To Win Survivor, that she was lit up. She looked really beautiful and sexy and happy. I don't know, it just makes me happy for her.

11 hours ago, wallflower75 said:

 One last thing: I hate, hate, HATE that Jeff just hands over the check without ceremony right after the winner is announced.  Especially this time.  Adam was having a very emotional moment with his father and brother, and here comes Jeff with the check.  Why not wait until after the commercial break?  That would be more dramatic.

What I liked about that was Adam took the check when Jeff handed it to him, but otherwise just ignored it so he could continue crying and hugging his family. It was a little thing that showed me that this was not primarily about the money for him. Even so, I miss the days when the winner got the giant novelty check delivered by Mark Burnett on the The Early Show the next day. It was sad when it devolved into still being awarded on The Early Show, but as a regular-sized check handed to the winner by the weatherman. Oh, but what I didn't like was when Jeff was telling the audience that Adam's mom had lung cancer even though she was never a smoker. I know there's a stigma attached to lung cancer because people think that only smokers get it, but it doesn't help to erase that stigma when people take pains to point out which people are the innocent victims of lung cancer and not the people brought it on themselves because they were dirty smokers. It's not only small-hearted, but the result is that all victims of lung cancer are hurt because there are fewer charitable dollars going to research.

1 hour ago, laurakaye said:

I thought Probst did a better job at keeping the conversation to the players, but I am incredibly upset that we didn't get to see Michaela giving Jay the death-stare again.  I was hoping Probst would ask, "Jay, what was going through your mind as Michaela was trying to blow up your head with her eyes?"  That was the best moment IMO.

I would have also liked him to ask Sunday why it was okay for her and Lucy to vote Paul out but not okay for Jessica to do it.

It was hilarious when Figgy started in on what appeared to be her rehearsed spiel about how she was a wronged woman and got cheated out of playing the game she wanted to play and Probst just cut her off with, "eh, no one forced you to have a showmance."

Jay played the stolen reward advantage exactly right, but that was the ugliest reward meal I've ever seen. I'm not entirely sure what animal that lumpen steak came from. It also seems they forgot to plan for a second vegetable and just tossed a bunch of whole carrots on the plate at the last minute.

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I don't know how Zeke could've been so undervalued by himself.  I think it takes some confidence to graduate from Harvard, lose as much weight as he has and say you're good at pretty much everything you try.  Wasn't that what he said in the game?  I like him a lot, don't get me wrong.  But I roll my eyes a bit at the PSA endings they tack on.  

I don't think it's at all remarkable when someone like Hannah or Dave or Cirie comes in afraid of the experience and exits at day 39 with the realization that, no, we don't die from living lean outdoors for 5 weeks.  That's a very normal thing I think all of them out there probably experience.    

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Does anyone know if the final 3 still do closing arguments and we just aren't shown it?  I wondered if Adam won based on that, in large part.  But it sounds like he'd won it before the jury even filed in, too.  

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