S34: Sierra Dawn Thomas

[ljenkins782]

How can a person so utterly bland be so damn irritating? I really hope she gets knocked off her perch soon, her getting to the end will ruin a season that's already not great.

[Hudson0325]

You know, I always wanted to like and root for Sierra simply because she is a horse loving barrel rider but after watching her attacks on Michaela I just can't anymore. Bitch can go anytime now.

[LadyChatts]

I'm surprised her nails still look as good as they do.  I know she was invisible during WA, but I wonder if she really was this annoying and obnoxious last time, and they figured Dan and Rodney were enough for one season.

Hoping Ms. "I'm (obviously not) in the driver's seat" gets sent packing next week.  I wish it had been her tonight instead of Debbie, but oh well.  Can't say I was disappointed.  Her bit to Sarah about an all female final 3 was probably garbage since she says she likes playing with the guys better than the women, but I somehow think she believes she'd actually win against Debbie and Sarah.  Debbie no doubt, but I think Sierra would get a rude awakening if she were against Sarah.  

[peachmangosteen]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I'm surprised her nails still look as good as they do.

Does she have a twitter because if so someone really needs to ask her what polish she was using because it is astonishing how nice it still looks.

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

... but I somehow think she believes she'd actually win against Debbie and Sarah.  Debbie no doubt, but I think Sierra would get a rude awakening if she were against Sarah. 

Until last night's boot Sierra was running the game and everyone knew she was the leader, so I think if the game had kept going that way and she went to F3 with those two she likely would have won.

I don't hate Sierra as much as everyone else does. I mean she really has been running the game, so her "I'm running the game," stuff doesn't bother me. Probably because it's not even like 1/10th as smug or arrogant as I've seen on this show imo. And I thought her reaction to the Debbie blindside was interesting. She didn't seem pissed or upset to me. Hell, she didn't even seem surprised! She was actually smiling. I am interested to see what she does now tbh. It's always interesting to see what people do once they're not in power anymore.

Edited April 27, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[ByaNose]

27 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

Does she have a twitter because if so someone really needs to ask her what polish she was using because it is astonishing how nice it still looks.

Until last night's boot Sierra was running the game and everyone knew she was the leader, so I think if the game had kept going that way and she went to F3 with those two she likely would have won.

I don't hate Sierra as much as everyone else does. I mean she really has been running the game, so her "I'm running the game," stuff doesn't bother me. Probably because it's not even like 1/10th as smug or arrogant as I've seen on this show imo. And I thought her reaction to the Debbie blindside was interesting. She didn't seem pissed or upset to me. Hell, she didn't even seem surprised! She was actually smiling. I am interested to see what she does now tbh. It's always interesting to see what people do once they're not in power anymore.

I actually give her credit for playing the game. She was a last minute addition (but had a pre game alliance) and, got with Brad and did well in challenges. I agree she was really running the show until this Tribal Council. She can still make it to the final with Sarah if that was her true plan. I don't know if she will win though.

[fishcakes]

I don't see that she's running things at all. All of her votes have been directed by someone else. Brad wanted Caleb out; she voted for Caleb. Brad wanted Malcolm out; she voted for Malcolm and had to be saved by Tai's HII. Since the merge, she's been consistently saying she wants Michaela out, but at the first vote, not only did she not lock up enough votes against Michaela to insure the split vote would send her home, she didn't even vote for Michaela herself. At the second vote, she wanted Michaela out, but Debbie wanted Ozzy, so Sierra voted for Ozzy. At last night's vote, she wanted Michaela out, but Brad wanted Andrea, so she voted for Andrea. I see her playing the same game she played in Worlds Apart, except this time she's dumbly decided to be the frontperson of her alliance, while Brad sits back and gets what he wants.

Not that it matters what I think; it only matters what the players think if she gets to FTC, and it seems like they're split on whether it's Brad or Sierra running the alliance. From my couch, though, it looks like Brad.

[LadyChatts]

@fishcakes that's what I've been thinking.  I get the impression Brad is calling the shots and letting everyone do the dirty work for him, and that would be his argument at the FTC if he makes it there.  I know Sierra wanted to improve her game and make moves this time, but I feel like the only move she might be able to claim as her own is Hali.  And even that could have been Brad since he wanted her out, too.  And I wouldn't consider voting out Hali a big deal.  We'll see what happens next week.  I know during WA she said her social game would have won it for her, but I don't know if that'll be the case this time.  

[peachmangosteen]

16 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Brad wanted Malcolm out; she voted for Malcolm ...

If we believe the edit (which you really can't but it's all you have to go on), Sierra was actually the one pushing for Malcom to go. Pre TC Brad was saying JT would want Sandra and people were agreeing and Sierra was saying what a mistake it was to not go for Malcom.

I think Sierra is at the very least an equal strategic partner to Brad and she is perceived as the leader (which is all that matters really), but Brad is, as @KimberStormer pointed out elsewhere, 100% the social glue of the alliance and that's much more important than being the leader.

She was playing well if boringly up until this point imo. And like I've said, it'll be interesting to see where she goes now. 

Edited April 28, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[fishcakes]

5 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

If we believe the edit (which you really can't but it's all you have to go on), Sierra was actually the one pushing for Malcom to go. Pre TC Brad was saying JT would want Sandra and people were agreeing and Sierra was saying what a mistake it was to not go for Malcom.

Okay, first of all, it's "Malcomb." Second, I might have to rewatch that episode and the Hali boot episode as well, since @LadyChatts says Sierra can take credit for that one too. Or, actually, I'll just take both of your words for it; this season is painful enough without a midseason rewatch.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Okay, first of all, it's "Malcomb." 

You'll notice that I still spelled it wrong but it was, sadly, not intentional lol. 

[ByaNose]

18 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

You'll notice that I still spelled it wrong but it was, sadly, not intentional lol. 

Didn't someone spell it Malcomb at Tribal Council? I thought it was part of the joke. 

[peachmangosteen]

Yes, Brad did. I still maintain it was a little joke about his hair though.

But most of them spelled it 'Malcom,' which is wrong but how I always spell it, so when everyone in the ep thread was blasting them for misspelling it that way I was so embarrassed lol.

Edited April 29, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[LadyChatts]

http://xfn-blogs.xfinity.com/tv/2017/05/11/survivor-castaway-sierra-feel-like-cheated-long-term-boyfriend/

Sierra thought Brad voted her out, because Sarah did a very convincing job of seeming shocked at her ouster.  She wasn't very happy when she found out at Ponderosa that Sarah betrayed her, and said telling her about the LA was not planned.  It slipped out.  She also was disappointed to find out Troy had an idol and didn't save her, as she thinks idols are more strategic when they are played for other people.  Her final 3 would have been some combo of Debbie, Sarah, Brad, but she seemed closest to Brad and Troy. 

Gordon awards her the 'Kelley Wentworth Award' (didn't do anything her first season, but did a lot the second time around).  Which I agree, but also disagree with.  Sierra did play a better game, but I use the word better kind of loosely.  She got into tunnel vision with her alliance, thought she was in total control, and they got flipped on because they couldn't see the bigger picture.  Plus, Kelley was pre-merge her first season, and couldn't really do much.  Sierra made it to the final 5, stuck with the same alliance, and got herself voted out.  Kelley also defied a huge numbers disadvantage during SC to make it to the final 4.  Sierra and her gang couldn't seem to stay on the right side of it, and they had idols that could have turned the game around in their favor.

Edited May 11, 2017 by LadyChatts

[ByaNose]

9 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

http://xfn-blogs.xfinity.com/tv/2017/05/11/survivor-castaway-sierra-feel-like-cheated-long-term-boyfriend/

Sierra thought Brad voted her out, because Sarah did a very convincing job of seeming shocked at her ouster.  She wasn't very happy when she found out at Ponderosa that Sarah betrayed her, and said telling her about the LA was not planned.  It slipped out.  She also was disappointed to find out Troy had an idol and didn't save her, as she thinks idols are more strategic when they are played for other people.  Her final 3 would have been some combo of Debbie, Sarah, Brad, but she seemed closest to Brad and Troy. 

Gordon awards her the 'Kelley Wentworth Award' (didn't do anything her first season, but did a lot the second time around).  Which I agree, but also disagree with.  Sierra did play a better game, but I use the word better kind of loosely.  She got into tunnel vision with her alliance, thought she was in total control, and they got flipped on because they couldn't see the bigger picture.  Plus, Kelley was pre-merge her first season, and couldn't really do much.  Sierra made it to the final 5, stuck with the same alliance, and got herself voted out.  Kelley also defied a huge numbers disadvantage to make it to the final 4.  Sierra and her gang couldn't seem to stay on the right side of it.

I wonder at what point she found out at Ponderosa. I don't think it was mentioned in her Ponderosa video. I wonder if it's when the next jurors show up that she is told this or realizes. She said she learned at Ponderosa but she didn't actually say when. It should be interesting to see if this comes up at the Final Tribal Council if Sarah should make it that far.

[ljenkins782]

Quote

I wonder at what point she found out at Ponderosa. I don't think it was mentioned in her Ponderosa video. I wonder if it's when the next jurors show up that she is told this or realizes. She said she learned at Ponderosa but she didn't actually say when. It should be interesting to see if this comes up at the Final Tribal Council if Sarah should make it that far.

I'm kinda disappointed to know she found out at Ponderosa, it seems like that could have a big impact on the finals if Sarah gets there. 

On a purely shallow note, how tall is this girl? She apparently started the game at 166 lbs, but she looks like a stick. 

[marsdude89]

13 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

On a purely shallow note, how tall is this girl? She apparently started the game at 166 lbs, but she looks like a stick. 

I think she's 6'1".

[LadyChatts]

16 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

I'm kinda disappointed to know she found out at Ponderosa, it seems like that could have a big impact on the finals if Sarah gets there. 

On a purely shallow note, how tall is this girl? She apparently started the game at 166 lbs, but she looks like a stick. 

That's what I'm worried about.  She seemed really upset that Sarah betrayed her, and then she gave her the advantage.  Hopefully Sarah throws it back at her that if she hadn't slipped up, she might have spared her.  But Sierra dangled a carrot in front of a horse.  How would she expect the horse to react?

[ByaNose]

It is funny to watch the scene between her and Sarah. You really do see the moment where she hesitates and then spills her guts. She said it just came out but it's the first time I recall where you see the person realizing it as they are saying it. You gotta love reality tv. LOL!!!

I just read in Sierra's exit with TV Guide how & when she finds out about Sarah flipping at Ponderosa. I would post the link but I don't want to spoil it for people even though she says how & when. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by ByaNose

[LadyChatts]

I just read that.  I actually thought Brad looked a little surprised last night, but really, he knew it was going to probably be Troy or Sierra, maybe Tai.  I am sort of surprised that none of them played idols to give themselves the numbers, or to negotiate with someone like Sarah and Michaela.  We have an idol and we're playing it-you're with us or against us.  Kind of like Yul's idol play to Jonathan (different circumstances with the idol, but still).

[cherrypj]

FFSDT totally cottoned on to people talking about her eyebrows. It seemed like she wore her buff very low on her head nearly every minute this season.

[LanceM]

This from her Josh Wigler interview just cracks me up:

Sierra: I mean, y’all see my relationship with Hali. (Laughs) Love the girl, nothing against her, we just have never been on the same page. I remember when I got the call to go, she was the first person I texted: “Hey girl, see you in Fiji!” And the reply I got back was, “Who is this?”

[Wandering Snark]

Since I haven't commented on the main thread (due to later viewing) I didn't want this fluff post to be my only post so here goes:

After not being a fan and bashing her eyebrows girl looked kind of amazing in the jury with the wind blowing her hair about... like a shampoo ad come to life and her height really was workin for her.

[ljenkins782]

3 minutes ago, Wandering Snark said:

Since I haven't commented on the main thread (due to later viewing) I didn't want this fluff post to be my only post so here goes:

After not being a fan and bashing her eyebrows girl looked kind of amazing in the jury with the wind blowing her hair about... like a shampoo ad come to life and her height really was workin for her.

She did look beautiful and I want to know what kind of makeup she uses because her skin looked glowing and amazing. 

I still think the tattooed eyebrows are a bit severe of a look for her, but in general, I think dark brows look good with blonde hair. 

[simplyme]

I'm almost done watching S30 for my first time (a painful experience that could not go fast enough), and because Sierra was in Game Changers I think I was more aware of her than viewers at the time. I can definitely see that she has potential in Worlds Apart. She's not Joe, but she's pretty athletic, and she seems aware of a lot of the currents going on and is just trying to figure out how best to work them for her. I think she definitely wanted to keep Shirin but couldn't figure out how to get the numbers without getting people pissed off at her. In fact, that seems to happen a lot. She can see where voting against her alliance at that point might get out someone really heinous... but the problem is that it would leave someone (like Joe or Jenn) who is a bigger threat to her socially and challenge-wise in the game as well as putting a target on her in a highly misogynist season. (I don't tend to use that word casually, but Dan and Rodney definitely qualify. Jebus.)

So I'm glad she was chosen for Game Changers. Probably an unpopular opinion, but I think given the heinous cast she had to work with, she played her way through S30 fairly well socially doing what she thought was best for her, even if I, the viewer, wanted her to help vote off Dan's mansplaining ass so my annoyed eye twitches would stop.

Edited August 25, 2017 by simplyme
Clarity on whose eye was twitching