S34: Ponderosa

[LadyChatts]

Watched Michaela's Ponderosa first.  She's in very good spirits and happy with how she did.  She was asked if she found it harder this time, which really?  She made it farther, of course it was probably harder.  She lost 19 lbs (but made sure to pee first so it wouldn't add any extra weight).  She took the game more personally the last time, is excited to be on the jury, and is happy she was voted out for being a threat.  She was also happy not to stink anymore.  

I love that Hali seems to be the official face of Ponderosa.  She's been very present in every clip.  Zeke was also seen a lot in this one, probably due to his being on the same season with her.  She re-hashed her immunity loss to him.

Andrea's Ponderosa: she looked at the silver linings of winning every reward she participated in, winning two immunities, and hitting day 100.  Lost 10 lbs.  She thinks there were bigger threats to be voted out and comments Sarah is playing a great game.  She was nervous people would be mad at her at Ponderosa, but everyone was great to her.  Her and Zeke were good, too.  Zeke didn't know how he'd react seeing her, but it seems like they had a laugh about it, and all seems to be forgiven.  Hali said she only knew of Andrea's game by reading a bio about her, and had never seen her seasons.  She believes Andrea would have won had she made it to the final 3.  

Edited May 18, 2017 by LadyChatts

[LanceM]

For all the talk about how much everyone "hated" Michaela there sure seemed to be no indication of this whatsoever from her Ponderosa video where she was warmly welcomed by everyone including Sierra who was the first to greet her with a big hug.  So chalk that one up to the edit I think. I so wish Hali and Andrea could have worked together this season. They seemed to have bonded quite well in Ponderosa . Throw Michalea in there as well and that's an allaince I could totally get behind.

[Nalan]

13 minutes ago, LanceM said:

For all the talk about how much everyone "hated" Michaela there sure seemed to be no indication of this whatsoever from her Ponderosa video where she was warmly welcomed by everyone including Sierra who was the first to greet her with a big hug.  So chalk that one up to the edit I think.

I think Brad was the only one to legitimately hate her.  That much seems clear now.

[niklj]

I'll be darned if that Michaela Ponderosa doesn't put a smile on your face. That was a fun episode and nice to finally get someone who is new to Ponderosa.

[ByaNose]

The Michela outside of the game never makes it in the game. She is so joyous and happy at Ponderosa but she can't seem to take a piece of that into the game. At first, when she started talking how she liked everyone before going to Ponderosa I was worrried because of the edit. It was the exact opposite when she arrived. Maybe, it was the pre merge people who hated her? Very odd!

[cooksdelight]

6 hours ago, LanceM said:

So chalk that one up to the edit I think

Oh boy, the stories I would tell if I could. Editing makes people villains and heroes, and in real life they are never what Probst's editors make them out to be. Imagine if everyone out there got along and enjoyed each other's company. Would you watch? It's the editor-created conflicts that keep viewers coming back every season.

I've always liked Michaela and it was great seeing her having such a good time. She's a good ambassador for the game.

[Haleth]

Who is this Michaela?  This one is funny and delightful, so different than the one we saw in the game.  It's funny when you expect a booted player to be resentful at Ponderosa but they turn out to be the life of the party.  On the other hand, why is Ozzy never interacting with the others?  He never smiles or says anything on camera.  

[cooksdelight]

Because he's generally an asshole in real life? :)

[ByaNose]

I was hoping for Sierra to find out that Sarah played her. She had said in her exit interview that she found out with the next boots. She didn't mention if it was Andrea or Michaela. I'm thinking it would have been Michaela since Sarah told her (not everything) about the Legacy Advantage. I am curious to see if Sarah makes the finals if the jury is bitter or not. I will say that everyone has been very nice when greeting the next player at Ponderosa. Whether you play nice or not it must scary as to what the reaction of the others will be.

[ProfCrash]

I have to wait for the video to make its way to YouTube. The CBS site just does not run smoothly on my page at work.

[kassandra8286]

1 hour ago, ByaNose said:

I was hoping for Sierra to find out that Sarah played her. 

Me too! It's too bad they only have one Ponderosa video per player now. They used to have at least two, so you'd get a lot more content. Half of these Ponderosa videos are kind of wasted with the long intro and the weigh-in and other fluff, leaving not enough time left to show the players sitting around chit-chatting. That's the best part! We know Sierra did find out about Sarah from Andrea (she said next boot, right? or was it "next boots"?) but I wanted to see her face when she found out, damn it!

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

Who is this Michaela?  This one is funny and delightful, so different than the one we saw in the game.  It's funny when you expect a booted player to be resentful at Ponderosa but they turn out to be the life of the party.

I know, right?? I wasn't looking forward to Michaela being booted, but I was looking forward to her Ponderosa, I was super curious how she'd be. I will say that if you've seen any of her "Tea with Michaela B" videos (which I highly recommend to any Michaela fan btw), she mentions A LOT how the lack of food affected her mentally. She lost 19 pounds, and she wasn't big to begin with, so I can believe it. I know how bitchy I can get when I've skipped one meal, lol. I think a combination of lack of food plus her super-competitive nature plus her feeling isolated and disliked brought her down. I was kind of shocked when she talked about how much she liked everyone in the game and how great everyone was, lol. I'm like, who are you, and what have you done with Michaela?? 

Her scene with Zeke where she's telling him how she thought she won the immunity challenge and then she shows him how she kicked the puzzle was the best part. LOL

[enoughcats]

Lest we never forget Michaela's comment "The funk would wake me up".  

[LadyChatts]

9 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I was hoping for Sierra to find out that Sarah played her. She had said in her exit interview that she found out with the next boots. She didn't mention if it was Andrea or Michaela. I'm thinking it would have been Michaela since Sarah told her (not everything) about the Legacy Advantage. I am curious to see if Sarah makes the finals if the jury is bitter or not. I will say that everyone has been very nice when greeting the next player at Ponderosa. Whether you play nice or not it must scary as to what the reaction of the others will be.

I'm glad the jury, so far, has been very gracious and welcoming to those voted off.  Unlike certain players in season's past that act 5 and ignore people voted off.  Sarah might be interesting if she gets voted off soon, since she flipped on several people there.  The one who would probably ignore her would be Debbie, but I think the others would be nice.  Hali seemed to have set a good tone.  Sarah does have respect for how she's playing the same at least from some.  I have a feeling if Brad were there, he'd probably be super bitter to some players.

I'm also disappointed we didn't see Sierra find out that Sarah was behind her boot.  I wonder if Michaela told Sierra that she knew all about the plan to vote her off because Sarah wanted the advantage.  Sarah may need it next week, and I hope she makes a big deal of saying Sierra willed it to her when she was voted off.  I just want to see the look on Brad's face.

Edited May 18, 2017 by LadyChatts

[ProfCrash]

OK, So Hali needs to use a fork when eating her chicken and I love the jar of peanut butter on the table. Michaela could really hold of on all the bathroom stuff. I can see why Michaela would annoy folks. We saw her being moody and angry a various times in camp, there were the props at tribal, and then the off the wall energy at Ponderosa. I think she is an impulsive young person with no filter. As a middle aged impulsive person with limited filter, I know that it can rub people the wrong way. She is someone who appears to be on at all times and wears everything on her sleeve. It can be very tiring living with someone like that. I say this as the person who has tried hard to change her own behavior with some limited success. That said, she seems happy and like someone who appreciates where she is in life and the opportunities she has had to play the game.

Andrea's Ponderosa was kind of boring. She is not all that memorable and remains kind of boring. No biggie. Nothing in her game stood out for me and nothing in her Ponderosa video stood out for me.

[piequinn35]

Wow I really enjoyed Michaela's Ponderosa, her reenactment of the puzzle was really funny!

[cooksdelight]

4 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I just want to see the look on Brad's face.

You and me both. I live for Dumbfounded Brad.

[KimberStormer]

Michaela is so adorable.  Not a word I would have used for her before, but she gets voted out and she becomes the absolute cutest!  Also I really liked what she said about wanting to be someone who people can go to for help.  I love you, Michaela!

Andrea is sadly sort of overshadowed, partly because I think she's sadder than she lets on.  Like Malcolm said, hardly anyone gets to play three times and if you don't make it that's probably it.  So this has got to feel like shutting a door forever.

[Nalan]

4 minutes ago, KimberStormer said:

Andrea is sadly sort of overshadowed, partly because I think she's sadder than she lets on.  Like Malcolm said, hardly anyone gets to play three times and if you don't make it that's probably it.  So this has got to feel like shutting a door forever.

Didn't stop Ozzy, Cirie, Rob, or Rupert.  So who knows?  A fourth try may be an option for her.

[LadyChatts]

If you read some of Andeea's interviews, she says that she had a weird feeling being voted off.  Like she was bitter, but it was a weird kind of bitter.  She compared herself to Ozzy in saying she'll probably never do as good again. So that could be a lot of her let down, a realization to herself that this is it.  She's lucky she got 3 tries.  Many Survivors are still looking for a second.  She seems to be one of the more recognizable and bigger fan favorites, so I think she stands a decent chance of getting a fourth try than some.  Probst himself said that he wouldn't put a limit on Survivors returning.

Edited May 19, 2017 by LadyChatts

[Special K]

9 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Michaela is so adorable.  Not a word I would have used for her before, but she gets voted out and she becomes the absolute cutest!  Also I really liked what she said about wanting to be someone who people can go to for help.

I thought this was one of the most mature, greatest things I've ever heard a Survivor said.  That she doesn't need/want to be famous or to change the world, but she wants to be someone who can help and serve people in her life/community.  Really just a very mature, noble perspective for a young person.

Edited May 19, 2017 by Special K

[ljenkins782]

Andrea and Zeke's conversation was kind of interesting, he made it sound like Andrea betrayed him, but didn't he turn on her first? 

Random funny moment was Debbie absolutely butchering the Twilight Zone theme song and then acting like the others were too young to recognize it. No, they don't recognize it because it didn't sound ANYTHING like it. 

Hali is really getting a lot of airtime in these videos, she seems like a lot of fun to hang out with.

[LadyChatts]

Making my way though the Ponderosa's.  Cirie got a heroes welcome.  She said she's glad she took that leap 11 years ago for her first season, and would do it all over again.  She lost 19 lbs.  She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and said she kept waiting for the jury to start pulling out idols (hey, the way this show is going...).  She said despite the warm welcome, she still recognized it was Ponderosa and represents being out of the game.  Cirie is surprised she had no votes at all.  She said even though she's out of the game, she's still in game mode and can't help but notice whose talking to who and walking off together at Ponderosa.  She said she's going to be a big sister to Michaela and will always be there for her (we see them baking cookies together), and Michaela is blessed to have had this experience with her.  She considers Cirie her mentor.  Cirie's all smiles to everyone, but in her one on one TH, she's upset.  She thinks this affected her emotionally more this time.

Debbie believes she would have won this and had it snatched from her.  I don't agree with Debbie much, but I will agree on that.  Andrea thinks it was a farce, and Zeke thinks it's just the bad luck that comes with Survivor.   

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Aubry lost 15 lbs.  She was glad she wasn't blindsided, as she knew she was getting voted off.  She was happy to see Cirie.  She's very happy, and seems to have a very strong bond with Cirie.  She said she's glad she wasn't defined this time as being a Survivor nerd that went to Brown University.  She didn't think she'd make the merge this time, and was happy for her accomplishments (winning an immunity, getting an idol played for her, being on the winning tribe for the family visit).  She said she's gotten everything she could want out of this.

I wish we could have seen more of this side of Aubry during the game.  She is so much happier and upbeat.  She is a little teary that her experience is over, though.    

***************************************************************************************************************************************************

Tai wasn't surprised but disappointed.  He was proud of standing up to Brad.  He lost 12 lbs.  He was nervous about seeing everyone, but there was no bitterness.  He felt closer to some of the people this season than his last, and thought he played a good game.  He got a letter from his partner.  There really wasn't a lot to his Ponderosa.  That's about it, he just reflected on his game and shared some advice his partner had about having fun.  

Ozzy said he and Tai share a similar experience for this game, as they love it for the experience as a whole.  Aubry said Tai is kind of polarizing, and that everyone was tired and over it by the time he got there.  Aubry was proud of his TC performance, and is glad to have shared this experience with him

Edited May 25, 2017 by LadyChatts

[Haleth]

Poor Cirie.  I hope she was able to put things in perspective once she got home.  It was hard to see her hurting so much, but it was nice to see such genuine affection and sympathy from everyone at Ponderosa.

Aubry has a good head on her shoulders.  

[Special K]

I want to see Debbie do 25 pull-ups in a row.  I mean she might as well have said 100.  I think Hali should have challenged her.   Probably too busy with her pretend-to-listen-but-go-elsewhere-in-my-mind face.

[ByaNose]

I love how Aubry loves Cirie. I'm older then both of them and it's great to see different generations & ethnicity's embrace each other. Everyone was in good spirits but I agree that when Tai came they were glad it was basically over. It's a long time (but a nice vacation) and, I'm sure they all wanted to get home. It's crazy that this was done a year ago and they had to relive all over again last night. I do wish they would show the Final 3 at Ponderosa. I think the only time that was done was One World......I think. I'm not sure why it stopped there though. 

[ProfCrash]

I think Tai's reception had more to do with Tai then being ready for the game to be done. Tai is a high maintenance player who requires lots of hand holding. He has to be exhausting to play with. He wants to lie and deceive but he can't. Then he gets upset when he is caught. But he is only caught after he gives himself up because he is not capable of lying and deceiving. I would hate to play with someone like him.

I hope that Cirie is able to come to terms with her exit. It was complete and utter bullshit and a ridiculous way for someone to leave the game. I get that she had chances to find the idols and get the advantage willed to her and win immunity but what would have happened if Cirie had an idol of her own? There was one played earlier in the game and one left at camp, what if that had been in play. And Tai's second idol was essentially a gift, find one idol get the second one free. Just ridiculous. 

[ljenkins782]

I feel like I'm always harping on the weight thing, but I'm completely baffled by some of these numbers. Sierra is 160 lbs...and so is Cirie? And Andrea is 130 lbs? She looks like she would weigh 90 lbs soaking wet and this is on tv, which is supposed to add 10 lbs. I just don't get it. 

[ProfCrash]

Different body types carry weight differently. Most of the trainers at my gym thought I weighed 155 when I was 175. Muscle looks different then fat, and you don't have to be bulky muscle for it to look different.

[Special K]

Height makes a huge difference in weight.  Sierra is over 6 feet tall. 

One of the guidelines of weight that athletes (well, distance runners) use is that you give 100 pounds for 5 feet of height.  For every inch over 5 feet, add 5 pounds for women or add 7 pounds for men.   That number would be the center of a range for a decent competitive weight (though not world-class, of course).

But this is how Sierra can be very slim still at 160. 

[ByaNose]

Per Survivor Wiki. I had always wondered when the videos started airing.

The final Ponderosa videos of Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Gabon, Survivor: Tocantins, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Redemption Island are the only ones to have videos of the finalists being at Ponderosa on the final day before the cast heads home the following day.

[LadyChatts]

Andrea had mentioned in an interview that the Ponderosa vibe was different than her previous two Ponderosa's.  She said they were like one big party, but everyone here was just over it.  I think that was before Tai showed up.  For people like Hali, Ozzy, Debbie, and Zeke, they've been there a long time, so I can see why they'd want to be done.  

Cirie seemed to be in better spirits than I would be, and I don't think anyone would have blamed her if she had a bit of an attitude over her ouster.  You can see how much she loves this game, and wants this so badly.  But she's just never going to win.  And I guarantee next time she comes back, she probably won't do as well, unless she gets lucky to be on a tribe that never goes to TC until the merge again.  She's lucky Nuku didn't lose early on, because she might have been an early ouster otherwise.

[ljenkins782]

2 hours ago, Special K said:

Height makes a huge difference in weight.  Sierra is over 6 feet tall. 

One of the guidelines of weight that athletes (well, distance runners) use is that you give 100 pounds for 5 feet of height.  For every inch over 5 feet, add 5 pounds for women or add 7 pounds for men.   That number would be the center of a range for a decent competitive weight (though not world-class, of course).

But this is how Sierra can be very slim still at 160. 

I know, but I'm still quite surprised to learn that Cirie and Sierra weigh roughly the same. Also that Tai was almost 130, that's light for a man, but he's so tiny looking. 

Quote

Cirie seemed to be in better spirits than I would be, and I don't think anyone would have blamed her if she had a bit of an attitude over her ouster.  You can see how much she loves this game, and wants this so badly.  But she's just never going to win.  And I guarantee next time she comes back, she probably won't do as well, unless she gets lucky to be on a tribe that never goes to TC until the merge again.  She's lucky Nuku didn't lose early on, because she might have been an early ouster otherwise.

I'm torn on whether that's lucky or not. Going out just before FTC seems worse than going out early, there would be far fewer 'what ifs' if you were out early. And considering the bullshit way she eventually did go out, this loss may end up haunting her just as much as the fire-making challenge exit in her first season or the 'if only it had been an F3' exit in Micronesia. 

But I'm impressed with the way she was able to hold it together in front of the others and keep the regretfulness to her THs. 

As a general rule, I think a 5-time player would be pretty excessive, but I'm sad for her that she's gotten so close and always (except for HvVs) missed the brass ring by just a little bit. 

[Bryce Lynch]

On 5/18/2017 at 1:22 AM, Nalan said:

I think Brad was the only one to legitimately hate her.  That much seems clear now.

Yup, him and JT.  I think a lot of the other talk was just "Me too!" sort of talk to go along with and get in tighter one of the leaders of that alliance.  

[Runningwild]

On 5/18/2017 at 1:22 AM, Nalan said:

I think Brad was the only one to legitimately hate her.  That much seems clear now.

I don't think he hated/hates her. He just didn't like being blackmailed.