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Season 34: Previews and Speculation


Daisy
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(edited)

So do we think that with each Exile, a different "game changer" is going to show up to talk strategy?  That could be interesting.

In my dreams, Ozzy gets sent to Exile and Yul shows up to give Ozzy a foolproof strategy to win the game.  I get the swoons just thinking about it.

Edited by laurakaye
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I don't think Exile is going to be a regular thing. I'll be shocked if it's more than just a one-time thing this season.

I'm pissed they alluded to Ozzy going in the promo because that means he won't actually go. I don't hate him this season like I did all the other seasons he was on, but I still wanna see him booted sooner rather than later.

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On 4/6/2017 at 8:59 AM, Jobiska said:

As we were watching the boat aproaching SS Exile last night, I burst out laughing and told my son that none of you predicted Cochran.  "They were all 'It's gotta be Russell.  Could it possibly be Hatch?  Oh, goddamn it, it's going to be Rupert, isn't in?"  

I did not think of a Sandra situation. "Um . . .  hi." "Hey. 'John,' right?" "John Cochran." "Nice." "Okay . . . so you look comfy on the boat, and there clearly isn't anything I can teach you, so I'm getting my pasty white ass back on the boat and sailing off." "Cool."

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Now that SS Exile has been put in play, I kind of want it to keep going.  It would have some added interest...for example, when you go to Exile, do you tell anyone that it's really a boat stocked with food?  And that you get an advantage in the game?  Or do you keep it a secret, and then once someone new goes, you kind of have to make a new alliance because you know that person also has an advantage, but you wouldn't know what that advantage was?  I guess my hope is that they keep it going at least until the Box O' Advantages is depleted.  I'm probably thinking way too much into what is likely to be a one-and-done twist, but I don't think it should be.

And I'd love to see either Yul or Boston Rob meet up with Ozzy, giving the most physical player in the game some much-needed strategy to get to the end of the game and win.

Edited by laurakaye
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I'm going to say it now: I cannot see Jeff Varner coming to the Reunion. If he has a brain, he would not show up. I do not consider him to be anywhere near the upper echelon of assholes showcased on this series, but he wouldn't just be booed. Debris would be thrown at him. Of course, Probst will talk to Zeke about what happened, even if he winds up winning, because the host will need to make three minutes super awkward. But Varner should not be present. I'm thinking he has to move to another continent, where nobody has even heard of Survivor, and try to do good to atone for his stupid, stupid mouth.

With that said? He'll show. And we'll get the most uncomfortable five minutes in Reunion history. Don't forget, that includes going over Hatch grinding on Sue in S8, with Rob Cesternino the only obstacle to a potential bloodbath.

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I hadn't even thought about Varner not coming to the reunion.  Some people on twitter were saying we now know what will take up 40 minutes of the show and that second and third place won't get airtime.  Of course, I again think they will leave it up to Zeke how it's handled at the reunion.  It's already a horribly awkward situation, and I'm sure they want to tread carefully.  Already the show is getting backlash, not just for airing, but not doing more, like putting a website or hotline number up at the end of the show.  If Zeke says he doesn't want to make a big deal about it at the reunion, I have to think they'll respect that.  Obviously, they can't and shouldn't ignore it.  I do wonder if they'll warn the audience against booing.  Did they boo Foley and Will?

JT must be happy that Probst probably won't have any time to talk to him about his idiotic moves his season.

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Yea, I feel like Brad is definitely in the F3. His edit is basically hero worship at this point. But then I remember Probst is obsessed with him so maybe this is all just to give him redemption from his first season.

I could see the merge resulting in a Brad/Sierra/Aubry vs. Zeke/Ozzy/Andrea situation. And honestly I'm not entirely sure where any of the rest of the players would fall, particularly Cirie. And if it does shake out that way, I think Cirie could end up being the big factor in who gets the upper hand. Or she could possibly grab some others and build another counter alliance.

Edited by peachmangosteen
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12 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I'm going to say it now: I cannot see Jeff Varner coming to the Reunion. If he has a brain, he would not show up. I do not consider him to be anywhere near the upper echelon of assholes showcased on this series, but he wouldn't just be booed. Debris would be thrown at him. Of course, Probst will talk to Zeke about what happened, even if he winds up winning, because the host will need to make three minutes super awkward. But Varner should not be present. I'm thinking he has to move to another continent, where nobody has even heard of Survivor, and try to do good to atone for his stupid, stupid mouth.

With that said? He'll show. And we'll get the most uncomfortable five minutes in Reunion history. Don't forget, that includes going over Hatch grinding on Sue in S8, with Rob Cesternino the only obstacle to a potential bloodbath.

I read the bolded line as "Debbie would be thrown at him."  And deservedly so, I might add.

Did both Hatch and Sue attend the reunion after the incident?  I'm assuming they did based on your last sentence.

I also can't see Varner attending the reunion.  There's only so much control Probst can have over a live studio audience, and I'd imagine the backlash would be a bit too unpredictable for live television.

Edited by laurakaye
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34 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

I read the bolded line as "Debbie would be thrown at him."  And deservedly so, I might add.

Aw, I like her. Or at least I get her crazy. Funny to think that the audience would hate somebody so much, they'd storm the stage, grab Debbie, and huck her. And that probably wouldn't be the first time that's happened to Debbie. Everything has happened with her.

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I think if the AS audience could have thrown something at Jerri they would have.  She's the only walk out I believe from getting booed.  Rich and Sue were both there.  I know Debb Eaton considered skipping out on the Outback reunion, but was persuaded to come.  Aside from Vytas and the infamous Caramoan reunion, has anyone else ever not been present?  In a way, Varner can't win whether he goes or not.  He goes, and risk a very ugly reception.  Doesn't go and people will say he's a coward for not publicly owning up to what he did in front of an audience.

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Brandon Hantz. I think because Philip would not feel safe.  I know Brandon was Section 8 and then some, but I would've supported him physically tearing into the Special Agent.

ETA: I would not question Varner's spine if he doesn't show. That would be about Zeke, not him. Like I've said, he should go away for a long time.

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5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Yea, I feel like Brad is definitely in the F3. His edit is basically hero worship at this point. But then I remember Probst is obsessed with him so maybe this is all just to give him redemption from his first season.

I could see the merge resulting in a Brad/Sierra/Aubry vs. Zeke/Ozzy/Andrea situation. And honestly I'm not entirely sure where any of the rest of the players would fall, particularly Cirie. And if it does shake out that way, I think Cirie could end up being the big factor in who gets the upper hand. Or she could possibly grab some others and build another counter alliance.

It's pretty unusual that Survivor goes into a merge episode where it's still so unclear about who might win, though past seasons of all returning players don't have the normal "winner's edit."  Maybe it's because the show feels we're already familiar with these players so their path to victory doesn't need to be so clearly laid out by the edit?  Halfway through All-Stars you certainly wouldn't have picked Amber to win, nor would you have picked Sandra at this point in HvV, and even Jeremy wasn't too major a player halfway through Cambodia.

This season is also pretty odd because of the lopsided challenge results, as a big piece of the cast has only been to one or two tribals.  (Cirie actually hasn't been to a tribal yet all season!)  It's tougher to get a read on those players' alliances and specific group dynamics since we haven't seen much of the Andrea/Zeke/Ozzy/Sarah group until the last couple of weeks, and even then things didn't get too complex vote-wise since Sandra and Varner were such obvious targets.

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4 hours ago, laurakaye said:

Did both Hatch and Sue attend the reunion after the incident?

They did, but I don't think the incident was even mentioned. The only indication was that even though Rich was voted out and then Sue left the next day, they rearranged the seating order so they wouldn't be next to each other. They normally seat by order of exit, but they stuck Cesternino in between Rich and Sue, which I'm sure was super comfortable for him.

3 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Aside from Vytas and the infamous Caramoan reunion, has anyone else ever not been present?

As Lantern7 said, Brandon Hantz was barred from the Caramoan reunion because he made some threats on twitter against Phil. Russell was also barred  from that reunion for the same reason, though he wasn't a cast member that season. They also stuck all the pre-jury boots in the audience to make it less obvious that Brandon wasn't there, and those contestants made kind of a fuss about it, but it's not like Jeff was going to talk to them anyway, so I didn't care.

Oh, and Brenda wasn't at the Caramoan reunion because she was pregnant and pretty close to her due date. She did appear via video, though.

Edited to say: Oh, shoot, I just noticed the "infamous Caramoan reunion" part of your post, which I quoted but somehow missed. So I'm just telling you stuff you already know.

Edited by fishcakes
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I don't think Jeff should avoid the reunion.  I think he badly misjudged the room and what got out last season but it was nothing he needs pitch forked over.  I don't condone what he did but Zeke did know this could come out, and presumably told Jeff V. himself.  And like Zeke said, he's not exactly in total hiding over the situation, he just wasn't sharing it on the game.  I think it's a little worse than say outing someone as a pro athlete or something but could be seen as similar, if you really put yourself in Jeff's shoes.  He was desperate and grasping at straws.  It could've been seen as something like Jeremy's pregnant wife that could've been brought out at tribal for sympathy votes.  On a jury, I for sure would sympathize with the costs and trials he's had to suffer.  In that context, it could become part of the game.  But I think it was a huge mistake and difficult to watch, though I felt a bit sorry for Jeff as well as Zeke.  And I've never been a fan of Jeff's.  But I think Zeke probably figured that given two seasons, something about it was probably going to make it to air.  

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18 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I don't condone what he did but Zeke did know this could come out, and presumably told Jeff V. himself.

When I watched the episode last night I had assumed Zeke told Varner, even though that didn't quite make sense to me. But it has come out today that that is not the case. Before I was thinking that on top of having to deal with being outted publicly Zeke was dealing with it being done by someone he had trusted enough to confide in. That would've been such an ugly betrayal to have to endure. But also I think it makes Varner doing it even worse. I don't know it just somehow seems even grosser to me that he did that all on the basis of rumors he'd heard/perceptions he'd made. Although I guess it makes him come off less malicious and more stupid/selfish, but I already thought he came off more the latter than the former anyway. I don't even know what I'm saying anymore, sorry.

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Good to know he didn't tell.  I'm a little surprised he didn't deny it.  And impressed he didn't.  When someone mentioned it last year and I googled it a little, some people on (uglier) message boards said they could see scars under his pecs.  I guess maybe with all things considered, Zeke decided lying was the wrong choice.  That was smart, I think.  

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19 hours ago, laurakaye said:

I read the bolded line as "Debbie would be thrown at him."  And deservedly so, I might add.

 

I read it the same way.  And immediately envisioned Debbie flying through the air at Varner with a new job title (human cannonball) underneath her name.

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And a clip from tomorrow.  I might have to take back these guys living the life of luxury compared to the early season castaways, because Sierra and Ozzy especially are looking rough.  I think Sierra looks worse here than she did when she was voted out during WA.

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For some reason I keep thinking about that Troyzan/Sarah scene from early on. I feel like that has to come into play at some point. At first I thought it was foreshadowing Sarah yet again getting cocky about being the swing vote and getting herself voted out, but now I'm not so sure. Plus there was that weird Troyzan/Andrea scene.

Maybe I'm just grasping at straws because I don't want Brad/Sierra/Troyzan to stay tight and dominate the game.

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I wonder what moment Probst is talking about.  It looks like it applies to the yellow team.  Cirie looks heartbroken at the end, but we see her, Zeke, and Tai in the "most inspirational moment" clip.  

Also, is Michaela missing from the shots?

Edited by LadyChatts
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Cirie looks like she could be moved almost to the point of tears, to me.   She has her arm around Tai.  

So who is Andrea calling shady?  

22 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Also, is Michaela missing from the challenge?

She just isn't in any of the shots, she has to be there unless this is another 2 hours episode and she is voted off in the first. 

ETA.  Only one hour. 

Edited by wings707
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1 hour ago, wings707 said:

Cirie looks like she could be moved almost to the point of tears, to me.   She has her arm around Tai.  

So who is Andrea calling shady?  

She just isn't in any of the shots, she has to be there unless this is another 2 hours episode and she is voted off in the first. 

ETA.  Only one hour. 

Zeke.  Must be the aftermath of the Ozzy vote. 

In the preview at the end of the episode, who was Zeke talking to about wanting to make a move?  Sarah? 

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51 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Zeke.  Must be the aftermath of the Ozzy vote. 

In the preview at the end of the episode, who was Zeke talking to about wanting to make a move?  Sarah? 

Yes, he is talking to Sarah in the hammock in the preview, if that is what you mean.  Sarah asks Zeke if he wants to make a move.  The editing is showing a movement toward voting Zeke out, so the conclusion I draw is it won't be him!  After all these years, they still do that.  

Edited by wings707
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Thanks.  I couldn't remember if it was Sarah or not.  I think Zeke could go, but there are things that might keep him around.  Could Zeke finally make a move that actually works?  I know what you mean, though, about this show not hiding whose not going home.

I'm thinking it might be Michaela, but I'd love a blindside of Sierra or Brad.  Sierra got a huge editing spike last episode, complete with the Survivor death warrant of feeling like she's in charge.  She might feel invincible after last week.  If she starts crowing too much in the episode about having all the power, I think we'll see her torch getting snuffed.  Similarly Debbie, who I'd throw in the running as being a potential boot since she feels in control and like she's pulling one over on Brad.  Andrea and Cirie were on the outs of originalNuku, so it's possible they could go, too.

Right now I'm leaning towards Zeke/Michaela/or any of Brad/Debbie/Sierra, if Sarah and Zeke flip.  I'm hoping Zeke wakes up and realizes that they need to break up the duo of Sierra/Brad.  The big question is, will Brad's side sense it, and if so, how many idols will start being pulled out at TC.

Edited by LadyChatts
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I like your thinking but I don't think he can pull off a big move.   They are onto him and don't trust him.  He probably wants Andrea out because she called him out on being shifty (forgot exact word).  She is going to be after him which is foolish because surely she knows she does not have numbers on her side to get the big guns and Zeke is vote if she can get over her anger.   She won't.  I can see her going before Sierra or Brad.  No way do they have the numbers for that unless Debbie defects.  Tai is another mark.  He is not trustworthy and he is a vote everyone can probably get behind.  If not Zeke I would not be surprised to see him go.  Debbie, maybe. 

Edited by wings707
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New Reunion Prediction: Probst gives Cochran grief for not "inspiring" Debbie far into the game. Cochran shrugs like the schmuck he needs to sell himself as these days. Also, I'm hoping Debbie calls him "Mr. Cochran" again.

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14 hours ago, Daisy said:

How weird is this. 

Hali - First juror in Worlds Apart, First juror in Game Changers
Ozzy - Second juror in Micronesia, Second juror in Game Changers
Debbie - Third juror in Kaoh Rong, Third juror in Game Changers

That is SO weird! Were any of the remaining players the forth juror in any of their seasons? Because if so we might know next week's boot!

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Andrea (Caramoan), Troyzan and Zeke were the fifth jury members, but I don't think anyone remaining was the fourth jury member. Mikaela and Brad missed making the jury, Sarah was the first jury member, Sierra was the seventh jury member, Cirie (Exile Island) was the sixth jury member (and eight in Micronesia), and Tai and Aubry made it to final tribal council. 

I think that covers everyone still in the game?

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The good news is all my favorites are doing well right now.  The bad news is all my least favorites have idols and advantages up the wazoo.  It's amazing Tai sat on his this episode, but I doubt he will again.  There's not numbers for split votes even if there weren't these new rules making them more dangerous....I forsee a very frustrating situation going forward where the good people get idoled out of the game.  Hope I'm wrong!

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(edited)

Totally agree Kimber.  This season is actually looking up, until I remember who has the idols.  At least Sarah has the vote steal, but not going to do her much good if idols come into play.  If anything will pull the trigger on them coming out, it would probably be her doing that.  And then there's Sierra's legacy advantage, which can't be used until the final 6-but still a safety net for her or someone else.

On the subject of the LA, if they do it again, I hope the person that gets it is voted out first, then the person they will it to is voted out 4th, and then that person it was willed to is voted out next-I'd like to see it change many hands for once.  Of course I'd rather see advantages gone all together, but I know that isn't happening.

Family visit next week?  Well, at least that'll finally be an individual RC.  Of course whoever wins will probably pick all but 3 people to enjoy it with them, so it might as well be a team reward. 

Edited by LadyChatts
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2 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

The good news is all my favorites are doing well right now.  The bad news is all my least favorites have idols and advantages up the wazoo.

Right! I am so scared about what's to come. I don't hate Tai/Troyzan/Brad, but I really want to see the women continue to dominate this game. And honestly I just don't think it's going to be possible. As early as next ep I suspect Tai will end up idoling one of them out and that alone might be enough to end them working together as a unit. I suspect Sarah would jump back in with Tai/Brad/Troyzan/Sierra after that.

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(edited)
5 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

I don't think it's so strange that, with all this delicacy and subtle manuevering, it's disappointing to some of us that there are crude pipe-bombs in the form of idols out there.  It's absolutely true that idols can be used in a beautiful, creative way; but more often they are clumsy and do nothing much but collateral damage.  I would rather see the dance of these ladies work itself out on its own terms than have it end abruptly and randomly when Troyzan pulls an idol.  That's just how I feel.

This. And it's made worse by the fact that the people with idols are Troyzan and Tai, neither of whom I have high hopes of being able to play the idol in a way I find exciting or interesting.

It really sucks because I feel confident that Cirie and Andrea are going to end up screwed by the idols. I think Sarah will be OK. Although there was that weird scene in one of the first couple eps with Sarah kinda threatening Troyzan and him not being too happy about it. I keep waiting for that to come back in some way. I could maybe see Troyzan using his idol to take out Sarah.

Edited by peachmangosteen
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I like the idols.  They make it harder for a majority to pull of a Pagong.  They give a chance to those who are on the bottom (often due to pure luck).  Anyone can hunt for them, no matter what their skills/abilities, which makes them (mostly) democratic and egalitarian.  They also have played key roles in some of the really fantastic tribal councils that stand out in my memory: the Tyson and JT boots in HvV and the Jeff Kent boot in Philippines to name a few.

Without idols, I suspect Cambodia would have been a pretty ordinary season, same with Philippines, and maybe the same with HvV.  Instead, those are my three favorite seasons.  Overall I think they add a lot to the game. 

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(edited)
1 hour ago, kikaha said:

I like the idols.

So do I. I think the addition of immunity idols added a new life and level of complexity to the game that was needed, after it had been on for a number of years. I think sometimes viewers' like or dislike of idols correlate with who gets them during the season. In other words, if it saves someone you like then yeah, they can be the best thing but when someone you like is eliminated because of it (look at Malcolm this season. Of course that was more J.T. being a dumbass but I digress) or someone you don't like is the one who keeps getting them, then yeah, it can kill the season for you.

I absolutely get that because let me tell you, watching Tony get idol after idol in the Cagayan season was not fun by any means. And there have been people who've won that you wonder if they would have if idols didn't exist, especially if they were saved during the season at one point because of an idol. But in general, like I said, I like the immunity idols and the extra layer of strategy and complexity it added to the game. 

Edited by truthaboutluv
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57 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

 I think sometimes viewers like or dislike of idols correlate with who gets them during the season.

Absolutely, I mean I'm not anti-idol at all, I just wish they weren't there in this particular circumstance.  Or even only that they were distributed differently, like if Andrea had one and there could be an idol showdown which might be very fun.

I like idols and think they enhance the game in general but the times they have really done anything is few.  Usually if they prevent Pagonging they do so only temporarily/superficially and, as I say, only create some collateral damage.  Jenn's idol couldn't save the No Collars or the season; all it did was eliminate Kelly. 

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On 5/4/2017 at 3:39 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Right! I am so scared about what's to come. I don't hate Tai/Troyzan/Brad, but I really want to see the women continue to dominate this game. And honestly I just don't think it's going to be possible. As early as next ep I suspect Tai will end up idoling one of them out and that alone might be enough to end them working together as a unit. I suspect Sarah would jump back in with Tai/Brad/Troyzan/Sierra after that.

Sarah will, she even said it in a confessional.  It is just a matter of when, not if.   

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3 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

I like idols and think they enhance the game in general but the times they have really done anything is few.  Usually if they prevent Pagonging they do so only temporarily/superficially and, as I say, only create some collateral damage.  Jenn's idol couldn't save the No Collars or the season; all it did was eliminate Kelly. 

Exactly.  I think there are more cases of an idol either being wasted or having no impact overall than them changing the game up.  If they do have an impact, it usually is just for one vote.  Parvati saving the villains and Edgardo getting blindsided are rare occurrences.

I agree that it isn't so much being anti idol, it's just too much.  Of course, having people you don't like having all the idols and advantages also is a downer (well, I like Sarah well enough).

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Commercial for Wednesday's episode:

And here's the compulsory "Players Break Down At Mention Of Loved Ones," which I'm not going to throw shade upon:

Can anybody provide a list on whom the "loved ones" were in past seasons? I'm thinking it's a given that we'll see Monica and Cirie's husband. How funny would it be if Mark showed up for Tai?

Here's the episode summary from Spectrum:

Quote

An immunity challenge brings loved ones together; one castaway receives invaluable advice from a special visitor.

Is there a chance that one person winds up on Exile Island, and the "special visitor" is Cochran? "Soooooo . . . how's Debbie?" "We voted her crazy ass out recently, in the Tribal after she used her extra vote." "[Cochran-like facepalm]"

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(edited)

Did they know this season was going to suck so they brought in past Survivors to make up for it?  They've never done that before.  This show really is becoming Big Brother!  I was thinking that line applied to Monica, but that wouldn't make a ton of sense if she's Brad's loved one.  Of course, it could very well apply to Brad and Monica because TPTB think the Culpeppers are that special.  Brad's the one who claims he and Monica will be back for a future season and be captains that pick their respective tribes.

My guess is Boston Rob.  Of course, I didn't see Cochran coming, so who knows.  If it is an EI situation, does this mean the exiled castaways gets one of the advantages that Debbie didn't pick?

They didn't do a loved ones visit for KR, and Michaela didn't make the loved ones visit for her season.  Did Troy?  Sierra had her dad for WA.

I'm very curious to see what happens Wednesday.  It looked like Sierra/Michaela/Troy/Tai scheming in the water.  Michaela and Sarah weren't happy about the Zeke vote, so we'll see if that comes back to bite Andrea or Cirie.

Edited by LadyChatts
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The upcoming F6 could shape up to be one of the nuttiest TCs since the F6 of Second Chances.

There'll be the usual II, which someone will have, so that's one person immune.

The Legacy becomes active again for the last time, so it'll get played by whoever has it (currently Sarah).  That makes 2.

Troy and Tai could each play an idol, making 4.  And Tai has a 2nd idol he could play on anyone else.

That means we could have a TC with 5 of the 6 people safe!  If all the idols get played at this one TC, then the only person without immunity in any form will have to go home, regardless of the actual votes.

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