S34.E03: Survivor Jackpot

[Tara Ariano]

Quote

The castaways drop their buffs for a tribe swap and the game starts from scratch for one set of players. Later, one castaway leaves his tribemates stranded in the ocean so he can search their camp for the immunity idol.

[pinkelephant3]

Crazy pants Sandra needs to go! 

[MostlyContent]

Agree!  She's a heartless, bossy, selfish wench!  

[Boilergal]

When they got the Momma and kid Mrs Boilergal started reaching for the remote- thought our season of survivor was over.   Glad we get to keep watching- for now. 

Sandra is getting a pretty bad edit so far.

[vb68]

Tai left his chickens all alone.

I absolutely love idols hidden at challenges. They're the best twist to this game in forever, and Troyzan took that to the last second.

Brad has clearly learned something. He got in Tai's ear masterfully.

Hali also did fine for herself at TC.

Good call on letting the goats go.

[Lamb18]

One thing I mean to mention right away - the sets and props seem so different. Just from watching seasons 1 - 4 and 25 onward, the tribal council area and idols, etc., seem to reflect the indigenous culture of the location. But this season they are European/western in nature - colonial - the sailing ship, diving helmet, lighthouse, shipwreck, etc., and for some reason it makes me uneasy. However the tribe names are regional - Nuku, Tavua, can't remember the other one.

New tribes - cool!! Tai and Caleb, reunited and it feels so good!! (but not for long) Why is Varner wearing a necktie for heaven's sake? Malcolm is so handsome.

The Nuku tribe is like a resort - they have snorkeling equipment! Tree balls?? Now why don't those guys on the raft just get themselves back? Just take turns swimming and pushing the raft. I can't believe these extra props.  Ha ha, the snake after Hali talks - maybe a reference to her cobra speech?? Now I'm kind of on Troyzan's side - he's closest to my age - and he's the outcast right now. Oh, he has Kelley Wentworth's clue!! Looks like the same challenge, too. He better wear something with pockets when he goes to the challenge. Oh, J.T. caught a baby goat!! That's not fair! Where's Tai when you need him? Oh, maybe Michaela will let them escape!  Thank goodness they let them go! I'll be hanging out with baby lambs soon so I'm glad I was spared a baby goat slaughtering.

OK Troyzan, look for that idol. Good work, Troyzan, nice faking them out. Malcolm skipping is so funny. Now they show a shark after Debbie's speech. Brad is smart, playing Tai pretty good. Now why did Tai cover himself with sand? Was he doing a scrub? I do like his shirt at tribal - a beehive with Sweet Workers under it. Go, Hali! She is good at twisting the argument against her into an argument for her.

Good-bye, Caleb!

[LadyChatts]

Whew.  Almost gave myself a heart attack there.  Hali looked nervous all throughout the episode.  Good riddance Caleb.  Wasn’t Sierra supposed to be good at puzzles?  I was surprised she only untied the knots.  They seemed to making it obvious with his boot, so I thought it’d be a red herring.  But clearly it was him or Hali.

Tai is really bad at this game.  Nice guy, but so bad at Survivor.  I would not want to align with him.  Debbie can go next.  And Sierra, everyone’s got alliances out there.  You admitted you had a pre-game alliance with Troyzan.   

Did Ciera get a mention in the opening about her boot?  Did I miss it, or did Probst not want to tarnish her legacy?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Bad edit?  She wanted to kill goats.  Bad edit?  LOL.  Bad edit?  

[Haleth]

I can't believe production was going to let them kill the goats. There would have been an uproar with a call to boycott the show and CBS.  I'm sure that whole discussion was for the drama.

[Artsda]

Aww sad to see Caleb go. Wish he'd stay longer.

Tai was stupid and Caleb was really classy to him in his exit interview.

[enlightenedbum]

Nice to see an actual Survival segment.  And yay no murdered mama goat.  Or the baby goat.

Though I suspect they felt they had to add it because the red tribe got all dud personalities.  None of those people is interesting.  Let's get back to the other tribes, please.  Couldn't really care less who got booted from them.  Hali is nicest to look at so we'll root for her.  Boot Sierra ASAP though, please.  Hell, do it tonight.

So far the highlight of this season is Andrea on Twitter though.  She's making fun of herself constantly.

[my tiffany]

Trozan 'randomly' finds a clue to the an immunity idol that just so happens to be applicable to the next immunity challenge

The immunity idol  is "randomly" stored only on Trozan's tribe puzzle table.  (So noone else could 'randomly' find one at their station.)

[LadyChatts]

Those poor goats.  I don't know why they left it up to Sandra.  She's one person.  Is she really that scary?

They didn’t mess around with getting to the swap.  Really do not like old Nuku, with a couple of exceptions.  Wish they had been on the losing end of those first two challenges.  Old Mana really got screwed in this swap, unless you are Sandra/Michaela/Aubry/Varner/Malcolm and ended up with JT.  Hali didn’t look happy.  I’d love to know why exactly she dislikes Sierra.  Didn’t know Brad was into interior designing and antiquing.  Don’t give him a likable edit, show. 

If I was NuNuku, I’d totally be hoarding the food.  And not that I like being surprised (unless it’s a good one), but it’d be interesting if they didn’t show who found the idol until they needed to use it.  But that would probably benefit someone I hated, who I was so excited to see get the boot, and then have them whip the idol out.  Also, Varner seems to not understand how idols work.  JT having an idol doesn’t mean he’s screwed.  It could mean you’re screwed there, Jeffy boy.  At least the green tribe got Ozzy.  Did Angkor even get fishing gear or rice?  I thought they literally had nothing.  I see Ozzy has returned to CI Ozzy, and says the tribe needs him or else they’ll be suffering.

Hello Andrea!  Missed you last week.  And on that note, more exciting episode than last week, but kind of meh at the same time.  A lot of people that look like they’re just going to be sheep this season.  TC is so boring when there’s no suspense (well, sort of-I was afraid it was going to be Hali over Caleb). 

[DEL901]

Do these people have no brains?  I am (as a former Big Brother watcher) happy to see the back of Caleb, but why did the decision come back to Caleb and Hali?  The two of them, Tai and the bring in Debbie.  Then they choose either Culpepper or Sierra.

[mojoween]

You motherfuckers.  Anything that makes Brad Culpepper smirk like that was a TERRIBLE idea.

That's right Caleb.  Fly on away from those assholes, don't look back.

[DEL901]

2 minutes ago, my tiffany said:

Trozan 'randomly' finds a clue to the an immunity idol that just so happens to be applicable to the next immunity challenge

The immunity idol  is "randomly" stored only on Trozan's tribe puzzle table.  (So noone else could 'randomly' find one at their station.)

I have a feeling that they only hid the idol for teams where the clue was found.  Only Troyzan had a clue, so only their table had an idol.

Also, I used to like Sandra.  Not anymore.  They were hungry but not of the verge of dying. 

[LanceM]

So glad to see Hali survive that episode.  Hopefully they can win next week's challenge so she can stick around longer.

I don't think production would ever let them kill those goats.  I am calling shenanigans on that whole lets take a vote thing.

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Tai is really bad at this game.

Can't wait until he makes top 3 again.  LOL.  If anyone's proven bad at the game why not Caleb.  Day 9 twice in a row.  Did he even do anything or just let Tai flirt with carrying him.  The editing decided to hide everything Hali did so it leaves me completely clueless as to whether she did something, or whether it was really all Brad manipulating Tai.  The arguments at Tribal mean nothing - the tribe has made up their mind by then.

May I please remind the court that Michaela's Tribe (which is what I will call them) HAD FOUR CHICKENS.  It was what, like, Day 9?!  Sandra is an asshole pure and simple.  Simply manipulating the tribe to see how far she could make them go?  Asshole.  Wanting to actually kill a goat family?  Asshole.  Either way, asshole.  For a million dollars you could not get me to kill a goat.

I liked seeing Michaela get to show off her challenge prowess for her tribe.  I liked that once again, Cirie and Zeke got to be the Dream Team together.  Ozzy is once again hot to me.  

Edited March 16, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Straycat80]

I'm glad the goats got to live.

I wasn't a fan of Caleb's but I thought they should have kept him around a little longer for the physical challenges. Tai needs to stop being so Wishy-washy. 

I'm glad Troyzan was able to get that idol. Why do they always find those clues/idols when the camera is around? Coincidence?  

Edited March 16, 2017 by Straycat80

[vb68]

To Sandra's credit, she did back off the goats as it became more obvious how everyone else felt and how bad it would look.

Was shocked Sierra admitted she has no relationship with Hali. I thought the Dirty 30 all loved and partied with each other?

Won't miss Caleb. I guess he forgot his Beast Mode.

Edited March 16, 2017 by vb68

[wallflower75]

Funny how Troyzan’s swimming trunks matched the new green buff.  Was that serendipity or what?  Speaking of Troyzan, I haven’t seen his season, haven’t heard anything good about it which is probably why I haven't—was it ever revealed why he calls himself Troyzan?  I refuse to believe his parents actually named him that.  So far I don’t have much of an opinion on him, although I’ve read enough on Survivor boards to know that he was a jerk on his season.

Uh-oh…Sandra, you’re gonna have PETA on your butt for saying that goats were put on this earth to be eaten.  But aww…it was an adorable little baby goat.  *hearts the tribe for letting it go*  Gotta agree with Boilergal—she’s not getting a very good edit so far.  And is it me, or is Culpepper getting a decent one in the first couple of episodes?  Not sure how thrilled I am about that.

So Caleb went out on the same day he went last time around.  I never saw him on Big Brother and therefore only had his first Survivor appearance on which to base my thoughts on him, but I didn’t think he was so bad here.  Maybe he learned a lesson from Big Brother and toned down whatever bad behavior he did there? Or maybe he just never had enough time to expose himself because he left both games of Survivor early?

Overall, the episode was kind of 'meh' for me.

[my tiffany]

Quote

I have a feeling that they only hid the idol for teams where the clue was found.  Only Troyzan had a clue, so only their table had an idol.

 

If they only hid the idol for teams where the clue was found means there is some collusion between the filming team and production - which  does imply to me manipulation based on what transpires outside of the contests and tribal council.   What if someone had found the idol clue outside of the filming crew?   Shouldn't be a surprise I guess.

Edited March 16, 2017 by my tiffany

[Haleth]

3 minutes ago, Straycat80 said:

I'm glad Troyzan was able to get that idol. Why do they always find those clues/idols when the camera is around? Coincident? 

They usually have cameras following them when they look for idols but the footage ends up on the cutting room floor if nothing interesting happens. 

I'm not thrilled to see all these guys running around in their underpants. 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Haleth

[Lantern7]

I'm not feeling invested thanks to the swapping. I'd want to see these people gel before Probst flips the table. I'm not inclined to write out the tribal breakdowns.

I'm telling myself Sandra didn't want goat for dinner. I mean, she's a mother. I think she just wanted to fuck with people's heads, to the point where Michaela's all, "Now I see why she was a villain!" No, she was cast as such because the producers and Probst suck a copious amount of ass. And I didn't see until the teaser that she's on the same tribe as JT . . . which means that she might bow out if she successfully eliminates him. I know we're hard on quitters in general, but Sandra could smoosh Probst's face and get away with it.

Seriously, though, are the players kept on strict rations prior to the start of the game? If we're talking the time leading up to the merge, I could see wasting a goat in front of her kids for food. Didn't Skupin scrag the piggy after Day 12 of S2? I'm happy that Sandra's tribe chose physical comfort over spices. They might have gotten ideas. Once again: I'm hoping Sandra was screwing with people.

What goes through Tai's mind? "I adore Caleb . . . but he left me on Day 9, and I wound up gliding to the end on the backs of two heinous tattooed motherfuckers. Right now, I don't think anybody likes Brad Culpepper, so maybe I can latch onto him until my inevitable betrayal." I know, Tai probably never cusses, but my point stands.

Just stick that idol down your shorts, Troy. I mean, that is the logical place to go, but how would he explain the new bulge? "Guys . . . I'm just really happy we're not going to Tribal. Really, really, really happy. Cirie, I'll let you know if it doesn't go down after four hours. Try not to giggle."

[LadyChatts]

12 minutes ago, vb68 said:

To Sandra's credit, she did back off the goats as it became more obvious how everyone else felt and how bad it would look.

Was shocked Sierra admitted she has no relationship with Hali. I thought the Dirty 30 all loved and partied with each other?

Won't miss Caleb. i guess he forgot his Beast Mode.

I think Hali has distanced herself from the group that still refers to themselves as the Dirty 30.  I don't believe that cast is really all that close anymore.  There's a core group of them that are (Joe/Sierra/Mike/Tyler/Rodney/Dan/Max) but I think the rest moved on.  Joe wished Sierra good luck tonight, but he was asked why there was no love for Hali.

Quote

What goes through Tai's mind? "I adore Caleb . . . but he left me on Day 9, and I wound up gliding to the end on the backs of two heinous tattooed motherfuckers. Right now, I don't think anybody likes Brad Culpepper, so maybe I can latch onto him until my inevitable betrayal." I know, Tai probably never cusses, but my point stands.

Well, Brad at least fits his type.

Quote

Funny how Troyzan’s swimming trunks matched the new green buff.  Was that serendipity or what?  Speaking of Troyzan, I haven’t seen his season, haven’t heard anything good about it which is probably why I haven't—was it ever revealed why he calls himself Troyzan? 

I don't remember why he gave himself that nickname.  I do remember there was a Tarzan on his season, and Troyzan wasn't happy about not being the only "-zan" out there.

Edited March 16, 2017 by LadyChatts

[mojoween]

2 minutes ago, Haleth said:

I'm not thrilled to see all these guys running around in their underpants

Au contraire!  Malcolm's underpants are delightful.  Was it a gratuitous shot of him standing by the shelter shirtless wearing only underpants?  Yes.  Was I glad for that apparently lascivious cameraperson?  Damn straight!

[Eolivet]

I get that he's an ideal goat to take to the end, but wow, has Tai ever met an alliance he couldn't screw over? When he started talking about how much he loved Caleb, I knew Caleb was going home. Yeah, Tai is a goat, but he's not loyal and he's wildly unpredictable. I wonder if anyone else will get that before final 3 this year.

I have never noticed tribal council as much as I do this year. Was that a fishing tackle box next to the voting urn? Again, someone explain to me what a shipwreck has to do with Fiji.

[NYGirl]

11 minutes ago, DEL901 said:

Do these people have no brains?  I am (as a former Big Brother watcher) happy to see the back of Caleb, but why did the decision come back to Caleb and Hali?  The two of them, Tai and the bring in Debbie.  Then they choose either Culpepper or Sierra.

I came here just to say that exact same thing.  In fact I was yelling it at the TV but I guess they didn't hear me.

i was horrified that Sandra actually wanted to kill that baby goat.  Yes Malcolm is handsome but i think Ozzie is too.  JT mumbles and I have no idea what he says.  Why didn't his tribe get themselves back to camp while he was searching for an idol?

[mythoughtis]

Why would you vote out your teams strongest guy this early in the game? You can't win if you don't make it to the merge. You decrease your chance of making it to the merge by increasing your chances of losing challenges.   Not impressed.  

 

And Sandra needs to go. Hunters don't kill does during fawn season. 

[wallflower75]

Just now, NYGirl said:

JT mumbles and I have no idea what he says.  Why didn't his tribe get themselves back to camp while he was searching for an idol?

I was thinking the same thing.  "If you guys are on a raft and thinking JT's looking for an idol, and you want him gone, get your butts back to the beach and stop him from looking for the idol!!!"  Sheesh.  You'd think they'd never played Survivor before.

[ShadowSixx]

I agree Sandra needs to take her ass on home. Then Ozzy & Cirie. 

They shouldn't have voted off Caleb so soon. You want someone that can help you win challenges during the early stages of the game. Then since he's a threat when he makes it to the merge, he'll be targeted the most iving you some leeway on not being voted out. Hali is not memorable. I can't even remember one thing she did during her season. Don't remember her helping her team win much of anything.

Tai right now is letting people run the game for him. He's too easily influenced and I don't think he's long for the game.

[Bryce Lynch]

If the tribe wanted to break up the Caleb/Tai bromance, but didn't want to weaken the tribe in challenges, wasn't the obvious decision to vote off Tai?  If we trust the edit, they never even discussed it.

Edited March 16, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[susannot]

I kinda love Michaela for wanting to pet the baby goat.  It was adorable. In Sandra's defense, she wasn't the only one who considered eating it.  Didn't JT say"It's meat?"  ITA that production never would have let them kill and eat a baby goat and it' smama.

[PerfidiousAmber]

Okay, I'm late to the party as usual lol! However, just had to quote my favorite line of the night:

"Balls....the trees have balls..."

[Lamb18]

Regarding the idol and clue, I have a feeling that if a clue isn't found up to just before the challenge, production will then swap out the clues for new ones describing an idol hidden at the next challenge. Then, as someone said above, the idol is hidden at the challenge only if someone found a clue and then it's hidden at that team's challenge set. Production can easily swap out the idol clues during the actual challenge since the camps will be abandoned during that time.

[Bryce Lynch]

I predict SIA will show up at the reunion show to hit Sandra in the face with a bag of quarters 

Edited March 16, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[Lunula]

Gotta say, I've watched this show since season 1 - don't think I have missed one episode. I have written to CBS about the cruelty they've allowed to happen to the chickens over the seasons. When they throw them off boats, grab them by legs and wings and basically terrorize them so they can then starve them at camp before killing them - that's just wrong. But had they killed those goats, I would've deleted my season pass and never watched again. This is supposed to be entertainment and that shouldn't fucking include cruelty to animals all televised on prime time. 

Sandra just needs to go. Her idiotic outburst last week after she pulled off that blindside was so childish and unnecessary, and I cannot stand watching her anymore. 

Glad Troyzan got the idol.

[ElleryAnne]

Sigh. TC is boring when you don't care which of these people goes home.  Nobody on that tribe fazes me in any way.  I ended up spending that time dreaming about my fantasy Survivor: ManBuns season.

Caleb kissing Tai's head reminded me of Homer Simpson kissing Hans Moleman's head.  I expected him to comment on how salty Tai tasted.  Tai must be a lot tougher than I am, because I would not want to rub sand in my eyes like he did.

I usually find Sandra alternately hilarious and insufferable, and this week she was completely insufferable.  Sorry, but when you've been on multiple seasons of Survivor, I'm not going to sympathize with you being hungry enough to want someone to kill a mama or baby goat on your behalf.  Wait for your turn to have an egg or else learn to fish.  

I wish that on an all-returnees season, they made things slightly tougher.  Like, not having substantial rewards like tarps and pillows.  

[Mindthinkr]

I'm going to have to turn the ringer on my phone off on Wednesday nights. Before the call I was sure Hali was going then poof it was Caleb. Not sure now why. 

I found the goat hunt disturbing. They had the big blue sea full of fish, chickens (eggs) so why ever would they consider killing the kid? Greed. Very glad that the goats were let go or I'd have to end my many years affair with Survivor. They were far from emaciated and starving at that point in the game (tho I don't know that I'd ever be ok with watching the slaughter). Boo Sandra. 

[DEL901]

Sandra only held the vote since, as she admitted, she didn't know how to kill the goats and needed someone to get their hands bloody.

I used to love her, but now she can't go home soon enough!

[choclatechip45]

I'm happy they didn't eat the goats. I am very happy they voted off Caleb. I couldn't stand him on Big Brother 16.

[vb68]

Honestly was half expecting Sandra to tell Tai that they ate a chicken and it was delicious.

If I was a player now, my eyes would constantly be scanning under those challenge tables.

I still think Andrea is probably the blandest person ever to get to play three times.

[susannot]

In re goat:  this may be O/T but I went to cooking school and learned that goat is the most consumed meat in the world.  Only America and Canada do not eat it, very much.  We cooked it in my classes and I did not like it.  Possibly Sandra and JT may be from more goat-accepting cultures or backgrounds.  (I still was totally against their slaughter for food.)

)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat#Meat

[mythoughtis]

jT was ok with eating a goat- but not a mama or her baby. Sandra didn't care 

[Michichick]

I was enjoying Sandra, but not now. Killing the goats would have been disgusting and I'm disappointed she was so heartless about it.

Caleb, meh, I despised him on Big Brother and would be delighted for him to be off my TV forever, even though he was pretty unobjectionable on Survivor.

[Bryce Lynch]

2 minutes ago, susannot said:

In re goat:  this may be O/T but I went to cooking school and learned that goat is the most consumed meat in the world.  Only America and Canada do not eat it, very much.  We cooked it in my classes and I did not like it.  Possibly Sandra and JT may be from more goat-accepting cultures or backgrounds.  (I still was totally against their slaughter for food.)

)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goat#Meat

I would have been OK with slaughtering a goat, if they were not mother and kid, though it wouldn't make sense this early while they still have the chickens.

I liked that Michaela gently stood up to Sandra, and said what everyone else was thinking by suggesting they eat chicken instead. 

[Mindthinkr]

I also knew that goat is widely consumed. Friends had it curried when visiting Jamaica. What I objected to was the fact that it would have been a senseless slaughtering. They had other rations and were not starving. I'm sure a lot of ppl were on the edge of their seats praying for the mama goat and her kid. Frankly it gave me the heebie jeebies. Do not wish to watch animals harmed for my entertainment....ever...for whatever reason. 

[susannot]

2 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

jT was ok with eating a goat- but not a mama or her baby. Sandra didn't care 

 

2 minutes ago, Michichick said:

I was enjoying Sandra, but not now. Killing the goats would have been disgusting and I'm disappointed she was so heartless about it.

 

OK, I conclude that CBS has now set the stage for Sandra's ouster next week, or soon after. Fans love her, so they had to do something to cause her to be disliked.  This definitely works.  I expect her to go out next.  I wanted her to outlast the other two winners, but c'est la vie.

[enlightenedbum]

17 minutes ago, vb68 said:

Honestly was half expecting Sandra to tell Tai that they ate a chicken and it was delicious.

If I was a player now, my eyes would constantly be scanning under those challenge tables.

I still think Andrea is probably the blandest person ever to get to play three times.

Candice is so bland you forgot about her for the purposes of this post.  Also Andrea is the best.

[ShadowSixx]

This season I really don't care that much about because I don't like a majority of the people that is part of the this season. Sandra, Ozzy, Andrea, Debbie, Malcolm, Culpepper, Tony (thank goodness he's gone), Hali. I don't care much for them. Would have been an even worse season if Coach, Phillip, or Russell was on the show. I rather they bring J'Tia's non-playing ass back.