S34: Michaela Bradshaw

[Ms Blue Jay]

Survivor is just high school; if there's anyone remotely different around, someone else who thinks that they're a hotshot will make up a reason why that outsider should be hated.  Then spineless bystanders will go along.  Then the lies get repeated.  Then people start to believe that it's the truth.  It's gross.  That's why I was so disappointed in Aubry when she went along with JT.

The funny thing is, on my other favourite reality show, Project Runway, this happens a lot, too!  It's so funny because on PR the contestants don't even vote for each other or vote each other out.  It's just a lot of people are stuck in that high school mentality and when in a crowd, they cling to it.  It's nuts.

@pamplemousse I agree and it's how I feel about posts about Tai as well.  It's extremely disheartening.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[pamplemousse]

16 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

@pamplemousse I agree and it's how I feel about posts about Tai as well.  It's extremely disheartening.

Some of the comments about Tai in his original season and this one have been beyond the pale and flat-out racist and throwing around racist slurs. Thank goodness for the block users function.

Michaela, Tai, and Cirie are the only people I care to see win this season. Probably none of them have a shot unfortunately (I don't know, maybe Cirie does). I'm over Aubry, I haven't liked her at all this season -- I liked her in her original season -- but I can't really pinpoint why. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

It's like the editors in Aubry's first season were in love with her and the editors in this season do not realize she's there.  It's quite something.

Edited April 21, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[peachmangosteen]

I think for the most part the Michaela dislike is just simply that some people just don't like her personality. Sometimes we don't like people and there's really no big, explainable reason why but it's not some untoward reason either. But imo there's certainly some racial bias in it for some as well. I think there most definitely was with JT. With Sierra I'm not as sure. I think Sierra just wanted Michaela out because she isn't useful to her and so she made Michaela out to be this horrible, untrustworthy person to justify getting her out. A lot of people go that root when they want someone out. Like they can't just want someone out because they are a strategic threat or because they are bad for their game, it has to be because the person sucks . I don't really get it personally, but it happens all the time. It's more of a thing on Big Brother, but it's how I saw Sierra's crusade against Michaela.

Edited April 21, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[LadyChatts]

Yeah, I don't think the dislike is race as much as it is personality.  I've seen the Michaela types on here before (all races and genders), and the reaction by fans is typically the same.  I also don't think Sierra's problem is anything to do with race, either.  Michaela doesn't appear overly well liked by this cast, or at least the pre merge crowd. I don't think Zeke helped her cause, at least by saying what a challenge beast she is.  Who knows what else he said, but that's great ammo enough to get someone out.  Someone here said maybe that's why she dropped out of the 2nd IC, to show she isn't a threat.

I still love her, though, and hope she's in it for the long haul.  Right now I'd love to see a successful witches coven 2.0 that actually defied the odds and made it to the final 3-starring her, Cirie, and Andrea.  

Edited April 21, 2017 by LadyChatts

[Lamb18]

My sense - and it's only a guess - is that Sierra sees Michaela as competition for being the cool young woman. Aubry is too nerdy (in Sierra's mind), Sarah could never be cool and the other women are older so they can't compete. 

Or she sees Michaela as someone on the edge of the social structure and is one of those people who needs to target someone on the edge (in real life as well as in Survivor). Anyhow, I feel her need to get Michaela out is more than game play.

[simplyme]

I can't imagine spending 24/7 with 19 other unrelated people for weeks while I'm hungry, sleep-deprived, and paranoid about them. Plus everyone has quirks and smells bad, and there's probably sand in places you never want sand to go.

I've worked extensively with the public and can usually be diplomatic, but after a certain amount of time I guarantee that I would be irked enough by someone that I would manage to say something horrible, intentional or not. And sometimes once someone starts to irritate you, everything they do bugs you. (You probably know this if you grew up with a sibling.) Like how is it possible for them to breathe that loudly? All I can hear is the breathing!!! 

Er, or something like that. Maybe I can imagine it, or at least the bit where I lose it.

How does this apply to Michaela? Well, imagine you're in that constantly irritable state with another person who can't hide their feelings (which Michaela admits she can't. They show on her face.) You know every time you or anyone else annoys them. Every. Damn. Time. I imagine it makes things more awkward and you may begin to resent that person whether you mean to or not, whether they're a nice person or not.

As a viewer, I enjoy Michaela, but I can see where living with her could be a bit stressful, because there are times when we all don't want to know the truth about how others see us. But Michaela's face will give away that yes, our hair looks really bad, we look fat, and that was a dumb thing to say.

[LanceM]

Well it is nice to see an episode where we finally got to see Michaela's challenge abilities and an episode where we didn't hear from the other players how annoying she is to be around, etc. We even got to see her involved in strategy talks too. Also it was nice to see her displaying some emotion at tribal council.  This season seems to have been pretty tough for her. She went on twitter tonight to post this about why she was crying at tribal council.

"Imagine you're frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, & only have 2 friends in life. Then you stab 1 in the back. That's why I cried. #Survivor"

Edited May 4, 2017 by LanceM

[Nalan]

That's sad to know.  But really?  She has no other friends outside of Zeke and Cirie?  Her life at home must be lonely.

[KimberStormer]

I'm sure she just means in the game.

If she makes it to the end I wonder if she'll get Zeke's vote.  She made it very clear it wasn't personal and she cares about him.  But Zeke is a Survivor Nerd, the sort who will get up and make speeches about how Person X Needs To Win Because of Their Strategic Moves (my least favorite jury speech...I never thought I'd say this, but I miss "My question is you suck") and I dunno if he'll give her any credit. 

[ByaNose]

13 hours ago, LanceM said:

Well it is nice to see an episode where we finally got to see Michaela's challenge abilities and an episode where we didn't hear from the other players how annoying she is to be around, etc. We even got to see her involved in strategy talks too. Also it was nice to see her displaying some emotion at tribal council.  This season seems to have been pretty tough for her. She went on twitter tonight to post this about why she was crying at tribal council.

"Imagine you're frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, & only have 2 friends in life. Then you stab 1 in the back. That's why I cried. #Survivor"

It's too bad we didn't see her friendship with Zeke.in.either.game. I don't even recall them being in pictures in either of their twitter feeds. I might be making that up.  I can't even recall a real conversation that was aired until last week when Michaela asked Zeke what he said about her to the others.

I just read Zeke's interview with Josh Wigler and he said the following about Michaela:

 

At what point did you realize who had voted you out?

At Tribal, Brad and Troy looked very shocked, so I believed they weren't part of it. What confused me was that Michaela was crying. We were never particularly close; I always tried to be as nice to her as possible in both seasons we played, but I never thought Michaela really liked me. But when Probst started reading the votes, I saw my name and knew it was me, and Michaela was crying. I didn't know it was because she was sad that she voted me out. It confused me. 

but then he says this to Gordon Holmes....I wish he'd make up his mind:

Holmes: Does anyone realize how close Cirie and Michaela are?
Smith: I did not. I didn’t know how close they were. I knew they were tight, but I also felt close with Michaela. We’d both been away from home for a very long time and both of us didn’t know what our lives looked like. There’s a general nastiness across the board on season 34. In 33, whether or not you were voting with someone, we were friendly and fun. Thirty four is a lot more divided. Michaela got the brunt end of that a little bit. She wasn’t tight in any social circle. But, we hung out and were friends. Michaela voted for me three of the four Tribal Councils we were together, so it’s not like we were on the same page. But, we were friendly.

Edited May 4, 2017 by ByaNose

[kikaha]

6 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

If she makes it to the end I wonder if she'll get Zeke's vote. 

"Imagine you're frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, & only have 2 friends in life. Then you stab 1 in the back. That's why I cried. #Survivor"

That quote from Michaela shows why IMO it's impossible for her to make it to the end.  She has only two friends out there.  She is lonely, emotional and feels misunderstood.  i.e. she has virtually no social game, which is a recipe for failure in Survivor. 

[KimberStormer]

Sounds like Sarah at least is thinking of her as a goat, though, right?  I wouldn't discount the possibility of her in the F3.

I don't think she's so bad as much as returning immediately was not good for her (I don't think it's good for anyone, except Russell.)  She also got a very bad hand in being on OriginalMana and MiddleNuku, both of which got decimated.  Very difficult for anyone's social game to overcome these deficits.

[LanceM]

It should be noted that most of the negative opinions about Michaela are coming from the Nuku tribe.  Obviously she has not done a good job of buildling bonds with any of them except for Cirie. She did seem to form close bonds with her old Mana tribemates though, mainly Sandra, Hali and Varner.  But all of them are gone from the game.

[Nashville]

3 hours ago, LanceM said:

It should be noted that most of the negative opinions about Michaela are coming from the Nuku tribe.  Obviously she has not done a good job of buildling bonds with any of them except for Cirie. She did seem to form close bonds with her old Mana tribemates though, mainly Sandra, Hali and Varner.  But all of them are gone from the game.

More specifically, how many friends does Michaela have on the Jury?  

Hali? Zeke (maybe)?  Cirie (possibly)?

Edited May 5, 2017 by Nashville
Cirie add

[JudyObscure]

I hope Michaela does get her third chance.  I love watching her play, her awesome athletic skills and her heart-on-her-sleeve emotions, and she's so cheerful when she gets voted out!

[LadyChatts]

Seriously, where did her name come from?!  She's been a target some weeks, and this week nothing.  Was it blackmailing Brad to go out fishing?  Maybe she should have written down the definition of what blackmail means as a parting gift to Brad.

She took it well.  I hated that she was soooo close to winning that damn IC.  Until next time, you tea drinking, popcorn eating, tells it like it is, comedy gold challenge beast!

Edited May 18, 2017 by LadyChatts

[KimberStormer]

Good thing they decided to make this a one-hour double elimination or we might have had some fucking clue why Michaela was voted out.

She was absolutely adorable in her final words, and IMO has even less blame than Malcolm for getting eliminated.  She's a star!  Hope we see her again, but not for a few years.  You gotta let your seeds grow before you harvest 'em, Survivor.

[Nalan]

It's being thrown about in the episode thread, but I think Sarah wanted Michaela voted out to weaken Cirie's power and possibly neutralize an immunity threat (given how close she came in the latest episode).  Both perfectly viable reasons to vote her out.

I still felt bad for her, though, since it wasn't her fault.  But I wish her well in the future and hope she does indeed get a third shot.

[fuzzed]

I smiled like a fool through her entire Ponderosa video.

[LadyChatts]

http://ew.com/tv/2017/05/18/survivor-michaela-bradshaw-game-changers/

During Survivor Telephone, Sarah told her to vote for Tai, and believes she then told Tai to vote for her.  She thinks Sarah stole Tai's vote because he didn't want to vote for her.  Not surprisingly, she wishes Troy had kept his mouth shut when schooling Jeff on what non transferable meant, and thinks somehow the vote got shifted from Cirie to her.  I'm still confused about that.  I hope it's addressed at the reunion, because it'd be interesting to know if Sarah had gotten voted off, could Cirie still use it.  She's unsure if she'll play a third time, because she did say a lot of jurors were bitter, and would never want to end her experience like that.  So she doesn't know if it's worth it or just ending her Survivor experience happy.
 

And this was about the attitude her fellow castaways had towards her:

 

Quote

 

On why the Game Changers cast did not seem to embrace her out on the island:
“I thought about that a lot and that is something that was affecting me out there — this idea of on the one hand being completely underestimated, but on the other hand, you’re considered so intimidating to people. And for most of the game, I was on the outside. At the beginning of the game, I found a couple of cool friends, and I had to rely on Sandra a lot. That was one person that really opened up to me the first half of the game. And I’m glad that she was there. And the second half of the game, that person was Cirie.

“But by and large the majority of a lot of other people, they just never gave me a chance. And it doesn’t make sense to say, ‘Oh, they didn’t see you [play],’ because Zeke wasn’t treated that way. So in my mind, I was like, maybe it’s just one of these social dynamics. Maybe there is something about me that is extremely foreign to these people. It was a very strange situation and I just couldn’t make headway with a large chunk of the people there. And even if you look back, there’s only seven people left in the game, and you rarely see certain people ever talking to me. Because they literally wouldn’t. For what reason, I do not know.

“So it was very strange. I know that I could have navigated it better, but I found myself towards the end of the game being a little resentful towards that. And just overwhelmed by the drama of it. Maybe I could have done something better to have overcome the place that I ended up falling as far as the social strata of this game.”

 

[dkb]

33 minutes ago, Alapaki said:

Maybe this is my own anti-Michaela bias.  But the way I saw it Michaela was basically saying "hey, you're getting voted out next, so why don't you be a dear and go fishing so we'll have something to eat when you're gone."  In other words, it was more of a "now go get your shine box" statement.

And that interview with Michaela that's linked upthread just demonstrates to me that Michaela has a huge chip on her shoulder.  I don't think we saw any evidence of comments or actions that demonstrate that the other players held the opinions or attitudes towards her that she attributes to them.  

Just going to start with you have every right to not like Michaela, and yes everyone perceives things differently.

Not sure what you mean here because Debbie, and Brad have said things about her. Also Michaela was on the island if she is saying that some of them didn't even have the decency to even speak to her then I believe her.  And I don't mean in a game way; you can align with whomever, I mean in there's so many hours in a day so you get to talking with others, or just in interacting at camp you would speak to people.

Other actions can be subjective to the person who is experiencing them and maybe the rest of them really didn't do anything at all to her, she just perceived them that way. 

But I've seen things and heard things from them that show me that she is right in the way she saw them, but thats because I perceive things through my own filter. 

I don't know if I'm making any sense, and what I'm trying to say isn't coming out the way I want to say it. 

 

But yeah, Brad perceived it the way you did too.

Edited May 19, 2017 by dkb

[Alapaki]

4 minutes ago, dkb said:

Just going to start with you have every right to not like Michaela, and yes everyone perceives things differently.

Not sure what you mean here because Debbie, and Brad have said things about her. Also Michaela was on the island if she is saying that some of them didn't even have the decency to even speak to her then I believe her.  And I don't mean in a game way; you can align with whomever, I mean in there's so many hours in a day so you get to talking with others, or just in interacting at camp you would speak to people.

Other actions can be subjective to the person who is experiencing them and maybe the rest of them really didn't do anything at all to her, she just perceived them that way. 

But I've seen things and heard things from them that show me that she is right in the way she saw them, but thats because I perceive things through my own filter. 

I don't know if I'm making any sense, and what I'm trying to say isn't coming out the way I want to say it. 

 

But yeah, Brad perceived it the way you did too.

I think the difficulty in truly knowing what was going on is that there's a chicken-and-egg dilemma.  Did other contestants start out disrespecting Michaela, which led her to react the way she did?  Or were the others reacting to the way she started out acting towards them?

One small example was at this most recent TC.  First of all, I think allowing the players to get up, go over to each other, and try to confer "in private" is bullshit generally.  But it is what it is.  All of the other players who've done it this season have gone over to other players, cupped their hands up to the player's ear, and whispered whatever the wanted to say.  Michaela and Cirie and, I think, Sarah were just standing in a circle whispering to each other.  Troyzan had every right to walk over and listen in.  There's no right to privacy at TC.  But the way Michaela tried to order him to sit back down was not at all civil.  

[dkb]

7 minutes ago, Alapaki said:

I think the difficulty in truly knowing what was going on is that there's a chicken-and-egg dilemma.  Did other contestants start out disrespecting Michaela, which led her to react the way she did?  Or were the others reacting to the way she started out acting towards them?

 

This I agree with totally. 

Although it might just be personalities clashes, which I really hope is what it is. Everyone on the jury seems fine with her at Ponderosa, even the little amount with Debbie.

Edited May 19, 2017 by dkb

[numskully]

Michaela is so delusional with the way she got voted out and thinking that she was a power player.

[JudyObscure]

I thought Michaela was the star of the jury, she spoke so well for Sarah and offset all the 'bitter Betty," reaction.  She also looked beautiful.  I want Michaela to have her own sit-com where she does crazy, funny stuff every week and then says something wise at the end.

[LadyChatts]

29 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I thought Michaela was the star of the jury, she spoke so well for Sarah and offset all the 'bitter Betty," reaction.  She also looked beautiful.  I want Michaela to have her own sit-com where she does crazy, funny stuff every week and then says something wise at the end.

Completely agree.  Michaela was the voice of reason on that jury.  Not acting childish or bitter or hateful.  I hope we see her again.  She's amazing.  I especially loved the look on Brad's face when she said if she had been around she could have beat Brad.

[Bryce Lynch]

9 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I thought Michaela was the star of the jury, she spoke so well for Sarah and offset all the 'bitter Betty," reaction.  She also looked beautiful.  I want Michaela to have her own sit-com where she does crazy, funny stuff every week and then says something wise at the end.

I agree.  She really helped Sarah seal the deal.  I loved when she turned Brad into a stammering idiot when she asked him what he learned about her.

I want Michaela to replace Probst as host.

[Runningwild]

Can't stand Michaela. She is the epitome of Bitter Betty. Hope to never see her on my screen again. 

[vibeology]

11 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Can't stand Michaela. She is the epitome of Bitter Betty. Hope to never see her on my screen again. 

In what way did you find her bitter? I thought she was the most cool with getting played. I will admit that she clearly isn't impressed with Brad, but at the same time Brad was trying to talk up his social game and I don't think she was wrong to call him out on it, nor was she the only one.

[ljenkins782]

14 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I thought Michaela was the star of the jury, she spoke so well for Sarah and offset all the 'bitter Betty," reaction.  She also looked beautiful.  I want Michaela to have her own sit-com where she does crazy, funny stuff every week and then says something wise at the end.

I loved her "I'm looking under this stump right now" remark after Jeff questioned her about missing the advantage under her seat at that challenge. Also, there is a secret scene of hers on cbs.com where she tells her side of the story where she told Brad to go fishing that is hysterical. Granted, I think she was a bit obtuse about the way she came off to Brad (though Brad is quite assy in this clip), but her retelling of it is just gifted storytelling. You have to have an account to see it, but here's the link for those who have accounts. http://www.cbs.com/shows/survivor/video/q2rvYpr97U_AGHNQil0W1qGPHScuIYoG/survivor-secret-scene-michaela-ruffles-feathers/

Quote

Can't stand Michaela. She is the epitome of Bitter Betty. Hope to never see her on my screen again. 

I didn't think she showed an ounce of bitterness last night, she was quite composed and articulate, IMO. 

Quote

 I especially loved the look on Brad's face when she said if she had been around she could have beat Brad.

She was possibly a bit too successful at hiding her challenge light under a bushel this time around. She took more of a backseat in the group challenges and fell short in the individuals. Back in her original season, she was a challenge beast for sure, but that hadn't aired yet when this filmed. 

[Bryce Lynch]

27 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Can't stand Michaela. She is the epitome of Bitter Betty. Hope to never see her on my screen again. 

Michaela was the opposite of bitter.  She appreciated and praised the smart play that got her voted out and advocated for Sarah.  

[Runningwild]

12 minutes ago, vibeology said:

In what way did you find her bitter? I thought she was the most cool with getting played. I will admit that she clearly isn't impressed with Brad, but at the same time Brad was trying to talk up his social game and I don't think she was wrong to call him out on it, nor was she the only one.

Not necessarily during FTC but just in general around camp. And the way she talks to Brad. Always so condescending. Ugh. Get fish. What do you know about me? He starts to answer and she cuts him off. What did she want? What does she know about him?

[Bryce Lynch]

7 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

Not necessarily during FTC but just in general around camp. And the way she talks to Brad. Always so condescending. Ugh. Get fish. What do you know about me? He starts to answer and she cuts him off. What did she want? What does she know about him?

She explained the fish scene in her RHAP exit interview.  She was sincerely trying to save Brad (not because she liked Brad, but because she wanted the fish) and was going to use him providing fish to make the argument with her allies.  But, she couldn't come right out and tell him what she was doing.  I think she admitted she didn't handle the conversation well.  

[Runningwild]

6 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

She explained the fish scene in her RHAP exit interview.  She was sincerely trying to save Brad (not because she liked Brad, but because she wanted the fish) and was going to use him providing fish to make the argument with her allies.  But, she couldn't come right out and tell him what she was doing.  I think she admitted she didn't handle the conversation well.  

I don't buy that for one second. She knew she came off like a bully and had to make up a story. A stupid story at that. She wanted him to go fish to provide her with food and not have time to look for an idol. 

[Bryce Lynch]

35 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

I don't buy that for one second. She knew she came off like a bully and had to make up a story. A stupid story at that. She wanted him to go fish to provide her with food and not have time to look for an idol. 

She came across as very honest and forthcoming in the exit interview.  She explained it better than I did.  IIRC, she said that she was afraid if she came right out and told Brad what she had in mind, it might get back to her alliance and they would vote her out.

.  

[Mabdul Doobakus]

Yeah, I don't think Michaela was trying to save Brad.  Not buying that at all.

But nonetheless, I love Michaela.  She gets emotional, but when she's calm she's one of the most reasonable and sharp-minded people out there.  And even her emotional outbursts are honest at least.  When she's an ass to someone, it's usually because they deserve it.

I would love to see her back, but agree that a waiting period would make sense.  I would love to check in with her in 3-5 years.

[Bryce Lynch]

14 minutes ago, Mabdul Doobakus said:

Yeah, I don't think Michaela was trying to save Brad.  Not buying that at all.

But nonetheless, I love Michaela.  She gets emotional, but when she's calm she's one of the most reasonable and sharp-minded people out there.  And even her emotional outbursts are honest at least.  When she's an ass to someone, it's usually because they deserve it.

I would love to see her back, but agree that a waiting period would make sense.  I would love to check in with her in 3-5 years.

She wasn't trying to save Brad, per se, she was trying to save her fish supply.  Michaela was on very few food rewards, the only one I remember was the small plate of peanut butter sandwiches for 2nd place, so she was very hungry.  

[LadyChatts]

2 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

She wasn't trying to save Brad, per se, she was trying to save her fish supply.  Michaela was on very few food rewards, the only one I remember was the small plate of peanut butter sandwiches for 2nd place, so she was very hungry.  

That makes me love her ever more.  I saw no signs of bitterness from Michaela last night, and while she clearly doesn't care for Brad, I don't think what she said to him was uncalled for.  She asked a question about his social game, and if you play a good social game like you claim, you're going to know stuff about people.  Probably more than the basic info.  I loved that she was a champion for Sarah and laughed about her stealing the advantage.  Someone else would have thrown a fit when they found that out, and accused Sarah of taking something from them or saying she should have shared it and they could have used it together.  Michaela was fine being outplayed, and getting voted off by something she should have seen.

[Mabdul Doobakus]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

She wasn't trying to save Brad, per se, she was trying to save her fish supply.  Michaela was on very few food rewards, the only one I remember was the small plate of peanut butter sandwiches for 2nd place, so she was very hungry.  

Maybe so.  She's generally pretty honest, so I don't know why she would lie about this.  I thought I recalled her confessional saying she was sending him away so he couldn't find an idol, but I'd be lying if I said I remembered 100%.

[Bryce Lynch]

3 minutes ago, Mabdul Doobakus said:

Maybe so.  She's generally pretty honest, so I don't know why she would lie about this.  I thought I recalled her confessional saying she was sending him away so he couldn't find an idol, but I'd be lying if I said I remembered 100%.

I think she told her alliance that she was going to make sure he didn't find an idol.  I think she wanted him to go fishing: 1) So she could get fish in her belly 2) To keep him from finding an idol 3) To be able to tell her alliance that he was out fishing and could not be searching for an idol, to make it easier to talk them into keeping him around for a while, so she could continue to get fish from him. 

[fivestone]

She explains her reasoning behind her actions (including the Brad and fishing thing) here on her channel in her recap videos (Tea with Michaela B) : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGistxMvJzW-HP1cYUwk5aQ

She's well-spoken and has a way of summing things up well. I think anybody doubting her intentions when she talked to Brad about the fishing thing (admittedly not in the most eloquent way on the island) will come away most likely believing her point of view. It's been a pleasure getting to know her through the videos (I didn't watch Millenials vs Gen. X just because of the dumb theme) and this season, and understanding her and her backstory not only helped me better understand her actions on the island, but even understand myself better.

[La Traviata]

I don't know how anyone can like Michaela but not like Culpepper and vice versa.  They're the same person.  Both physically strong and athletic.  Both hot headed.  Both lacking in social skills.  Both snarky and intimidating to the weaker sect.  If you like one, you should like the other.  If you hate one, you should hate the other.

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, La Traviata said:

I don't know how anyone can like Michaela but not like Culpepper and vice versa.  They're the same person.  Both physically strong and athletic.  Both hot headed.  Both lacking in social skills.  Both snarky and intimidating to the weaker sect.  If you like one, you should like the other.  If you hate one, you should hate the other.

Can you tell me when Michaela ever:

1) Said "This is MY island!"

2) Tried to bully another player into giving up his 2 idols.

3) Cursed and gloated after winning a challenge.

4) Admitted that not ONE vote had gone the way she planned.

5) Chose to vote out a player she could beat, and take the one player she couldn't beat to FTC, purely out of spite.

6) Rejected her ally's good advice to let the final player he was sending to the jury down easy, rather than make him twist in the wind until FTC, again out of spite.

7) Claimed hundreds of thousands of dollars in Worker's Compensation benefits while playing Survivor.

No further questions,  your honor.

[nkotb]

13 hours ago, La Traviata said:

I don't know how anyone can like Michaela but not like Culpepper and vice versa.  They're the same person.  Both physically strong and athletic.  Both hot headed.  Both lacking in social skills.  Both snarky and intimidating to the weaker sect.  If you like one, you should like the other.  If you hate one, you should hate the other.

For me, the difference is all about charm & personality, & in my opinion, Brad has neither of those, or possibly, not a good personality & minimal charm. Michaela could be hot-headed, but she also was hilarious at times. Brad could be hot-headed, and from what we've seen, not a lot of good in his personality. Michaela reacted badly a few times, but she also made tribal council a few times, with her eating & drinking (I could see how it would rub some people the wrong way, but I loved her). I personally saw none of that with Brad. If Brad really is a nice guy, he should sue the producers of "Survivor" - he's a lawyer, you know - for making him looking like a giant ass in both of his seasons. The other important thing is that Michaelsa is still really young. She will grow up, & some of her immaturity & hot-headedness will go away, & then, she'll probably be an even better player. Michaela will undoubtedly be back, Jeff said he loved her, she's a good character, she's a good competitor, she makes for great tv & she got over being voted out & wasn't bitter on the jury. She's everything I want in a "Survivor" competitor.

[vibeology]

For me, the difference is I think Michaela was self-aware enough to know that her interpersonal skills were lacking at times. We saw that conversation with Cirie where it was clear that Michaela knew she was in a hole when it came to relationships but she didn't have the tools to fix the problem. With Brad, I don't think he was aware in the moment that he was an ass over and over to people that he didn't think were very useful. He saw it on TV after the fact, but that lack of self-awareness bugs me.

Neither has a stellar personality built to charm people in the game of Survivor, though I do find Michaela more entertaining as a viewer. But for me, the difference I see between them is that Michaela knows she can be awkward and tactless, understand that it hurts her and wants to do better while Brad really was blind to how he bullied Tai and how condescending he could be at times.

I imagine outside of the game both of them are easier to get along with, but as a viewer I prefer someone who is aware of their flaws to someone blind to them.

[Runningwild]

I think Michaela should have not come back. I was disappointed she got herself voted off early last time. This time she was around long enough to see what a complete ass she is. She didn't try to make any connection with anyone other than Cirie. She doesn't do well outside her comfort zone and apparently the only way she will bother to get to know someone is if they make all the effort (which apparently means adopting their vocabulary to make it easier for her to understand). She's petulant and childish when she doesn't get her way and bossy to more people than Brad. Please let that be the last we see or hear from her. 

4 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Neither has a stellar personality built to charm people in the game of Survivor, though I do find Michaela more entertaining as a viewer. But for me, the difference I see between them is that Michaela knows she can be awkward and tactless, understand that it hurts her and wants to do better

And yet she didn't. She played exactly the same game as last time. Brad at least improved from last time. 

[Bryce Lynch]

1 hour ago, Runningwild said:

I think Michaela should have not come back. I was disappointed she got herself voted off early last time. This time she was around long enough to see what a complete ass she is. She didn't try to make any connection with anyone other than Cirie. She doesn't do well outside her comfort zone and apparently the only way she will bother to get to know someone is if they make all the effort (which apparently means adopting their vocabulary to make it easier for her to understand). She's petulant and childish when she doesn't get her way and bossy to more people than Brad. Please let that be the last we see or hear from her. 

And yet she didn't. She played exactly the same game as last time. Brad at least improved from last time. 

I don't think that is true at all.  I think both Michaela and Brad played better, gentler games, though Brad reverted in the final days.

Check out Michaela's highlight reel from her first season.  She was more badass on the challenges, but she was also way more blunt.

This season, she had a few emotional outbursts, but they were mainly directed at nobody (except the challenge props) and she mostly avoided conflict with other players. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[vibeology]

51 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

And yet she didn't. She played exactly the same game as last time. Brad at least improved from last time. 

I've never really expected a player going back to back to change their game all that much. They don't get the time away from the game to reflect and decompress and they don't have a chance to see themselves on TV and see what their tribemates are saying about them. I do think we'll see Michaela again since Jeff loves her and if she is still playing the same game at that point, then I'll be disappointed. That will show for all her talk, she isn't actually interested in growing. But I tend to think she's genuine when she told Cirie she wants to get better at controlling her emotions and not letting everyone see when she's upset.

[Bryce Lynch]

Can someone make a Michaela, "No further questions, your honor." GIF?