S34.E10: A Line Drawn In Concrete

[ByaNose]

I wonder what angel Michaela came from to the platform bench? I'm assume the boat dropped her off behind the bench. Jeff told her to sit down so there is no way she would have seen the advantage. I thought she would have reached for her sneaks at some point but she didn't. It's amazing Sarah saw it and realized it was "something" and retrieve it. I thought for sure she was going to use though. She might be in the Final 3 after all. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Quote

I wonder what angel Michaela came from

I wonder what angel sent Michaela to us, too ; )

Edited April 27, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[mishap]

I bet we can look forward  to gymnasts doing the 'Captain Debbie crawl' at the next summer Olympics. 

[Wandering Snark]

1 minute ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I wonder what angel sent Michaela to us, too ; )

And here I didn't think there was an angel of the obnoxious, self important, ill-tempered bad sports...

[susannot]

3 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I wonder what angel Michaela came from to the platform bench? I'm assume the boat dropped her off behind the bench. Jeff told her to sit down so there is no way she would have seen the advantage. I thought she would have reached for her sneaks at some point but she didn't. It's amazing Sarah saw it and realized it was "something" and retrieve it. I thought for sure she was going to use though. She might be in the Final 3 after all. 

I would be fine with that.  I like her after tonight.  Also, a win by Sarah would totally piss off Probst because he is counting on his beloved butt buddy, Culpepper, for the win.  Honestly, I have never seen a straight (??) guy love another guy as much as Jeffy loves Culpepper.  He practically caresses the sacred name of Culpepper every time he utters it: "Culpepper is winning again as is his God-given right decreed by Mark Burnett."

[ShadowSixx]

Debbie is gone:

About time too, ugh I swear if I hear her talk about another job I'm gonna scream. I think she's a pathological liar. No way in hell she did everything she says she did. I'm surprised editors didn't put it under her name.

I was hoping for Michaela to find the advantage but she was too angry to look around. She does eat and drink a lot from what editors are showing us but not going to complain unless we hear a majority of them say that she's not out helping getting supplies like coconut, water, etc.

Cirie is pretty much useless in challenges.

Hopefully now Sarah does play a smart game but I'm glad she didn't believe that shit on Sierra wanting to take her to the final 3. Female alliances rarely work at all.

Huge props to Aubry for not believing Debbie and going to her tribe and giving the two fuck you fingers towards Debbie. That was the highlight of the episode. 

My dreams can come true if Sierra is voted out next.

[enlightenedbum]

5 minutes ago, susannot said:

I would be fine with that.  I like her after tonight.  Also, a win by Sarah would totally piss off Probst because he is counting on his beloved butt buddy, Culpepper, for the win.  Honestly, I have never seen a straight (??) guy love another guy as much as Jeffy loves Culpepper.  He practically caresses the sacred name of Culpepper every time he utters it: "Culpepper is winning again as is his God-given right decreed by Mark Burnett."

Probst with literally any athletic dude.  Ozzy in Cook Islands was maybe the origin and the worst example where he spent the last half of the game almost openly campaigning to the jury that Ozzy should beat Yul, who intimidated Probst.

[susannot]

1 minute ago, enlightenedbum said:

Probst with literally any athletic dude.  Ozzy in Cook Islands was maybe the origin and the worst example where he spent the last half of the game almost openly campaigning to the jury that Ozzy should beat Yul, who intimidated Probst.

I don't remember that.  Have been meaning to re-watch Cook Island because it was one of my favorite seasons.  Honestly, I really think Jeffy has become worse, in worshiping strong male players.

[SourK]

The cool thing about tribal council, I guess, is that it's dark and most people aren't looking directly at your face. Kudos to Sarah for at least trying to lie, but the stiff way she was holding her face made it clear she was trying to hide her true feelings. She showed herself to be a good player this episode, though.

I wish I had more context for how Cirie's inspiring balance beam walk happened. From what we saw, it seemed like Jeff pressured her into finishing the challenge so she wouldn't look like a quitter, but I hope that, in real life, she first said something about wanting to finish or feeling bad that she didn't finish or something.

Watching that sequence also taught me something about Michaela. I like her, but I get why her tribemates don't. And it comes down to the thing where they all got super invested in having this embarrassing moment with Cirie and Michaela looked away and didn't engage very much. I would have been really uncomfortable if I were there, and I probably would have wanted to react the same way, but one of the things I've learned as I get older,is that sometimes part of what you have to do to support other people is let them pull you into their embarrassing circle of vulnerability and share that moment with them even if it's really awkward. I don't think she's willing to do that with these people, and that can put distance between you.

[Eolivet]

Probst to Cirie:

[North of Eden]

It's just as well Debbie left now...she always would have been The Goat if she had made it to a final 3....just that simple. Poetic justice too as she couldn't wait to name Michaela as the boot and even kept pushing for her after the others vetoed it. I knew she was toast when my girl Michaela started snacking at the reading of the verdict. If you see her eating or drinking someone is about to get the blindside.

The problem now with the rest of the season is no matter what great strategy players might come up with...there are just TOO MANY idols, secret advantages and what not to be played that is totally going to screw up whoevers best laid plans. Really SURVIVOR needs to limit these going forward...let someone win on their own merits.

Troyzan and Aubrey were dud picks to bring back...slots wasted...I would have gladly welcomed back Blair Warner...sorry Lisa Welchel. She was a good casting pick. Was she a game changer? I don't know but I don't see Troyzan or Aubrey having been either.

[Quilt Fairy]

So is Warner out of the game entirely?  Jeff didn't even mention him.

[TaraS1]

27 minutes ago, sadiegirl1999 said:

I am not diminishing what she did b/c I, too, would suck at every challenge.

But Probst acted like this was sooooooooo amazing. He *asked* her if she wanted to finish. She didn't say..."Jeff, will you let me finish this?"

I'll let myself out.

I love Cirie. And God bless her, I couldn't have completed that challenge because I have the athleticism of a six month old baby, so I was thrilled for her. But yeah, Jeff's version at tribal was not the version we saw at the challenge. 

20 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Glad we're rid of Debbie but I would have preferred to see Sierra go. It is possible to be in the majority alliance and not be an obnoxious twat. See: Brad Culpepper. (No, I can't believe I typed that either.)

ITA. I thought it was a no-brainer that they were going to say, "Yeah, Debbie's annoying as hell, but clearly she's no threat to win" and then blindside Sierra. It was great to see Debbie go, but leaving the two biggest threats in that alliance in the game seems like quite the tactical error. 

And Zeke being pissy about working with Andrea, as though she'd somehow betrayed him? As the kids say - miss me with that BS, Zeke. 

[susannot]

Varner is out.  He was voted out, without a vote, last time.

 

Disagree about Lisa Welchel.  She would have been awful.

[ByaNose]

41 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I wonder what angel sent Michaela to us, too ; )

Totally didn't realize I spelled angle wrong. I was wondering why I got so many replies. So embarrassing. 

[Primetimer]

Chief among the life lessons learned this week: you can be the most entertaining person on the show by just hanging out in the background looking bored.

View the full article

[ByaNose]

I love Cirie but Jeff really loves Cirie. He does love to beat a dead horse. Ciera voted her Mom out! Cirie, the woman who got up off the couch and played Survivor! Okay, we get, Jeff. Jeez!

[Rachel RSL]

51 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

This was really the sweetest revenge for us Ozzy-lovers.  The show feels so pointless now.  You should have seen my disappointment when they panned to the two teams drawn up for the RC, and of course Ozzy was nowhere.  

That challenge was tailor-made for Ozzy :(  Then again, Ozzy is 25% human, 25% monkey and 50% dolphin so pretty much every challenge is tailor-made for him.

55 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Dare I say Sarah actually seemed to have learned something from her previous season?  Where she was overconfident about being the swing vote and got blindsided, here she seems to actually be really taking everything in and weighing her options.  I wasn't onboard with her when the cast first came out, but I've been impressed with what little we've seen.  She was pretty much just there for the first part of this season, but good for her on recognizing her position in that alliance.

I had literally no recollection of Sarah when they announced the cast but I kind of love her now. She's smart and a gamer and will totally notice if your tags are expired. I wonder who keeps giving her the awesome braids? (Aside: Thank God Michelle isn't around to give Ponderosa haircuts this time.)

[AttackTurtle]

I'm so glad Debbie got to share the special experience of flying on an airplane with some of her tribe mates.  Because as a captain in the Blue Angels, she knows that not many people get that thrilling experience of being on a plane.  Jesus Christ I laughed out loud when Probst announced that she was a goner.

im not sure that they voted the right member off, but it was very satisfying.

[truthaboutluv]

26 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

And Zeke being pissy about working with Andrea, as though she'd somehow betrayed him? As the kids say - miss me with that BS, Zeke. 

This so much. Like how dare Andrea be pissed that after being together from the beginning, for no reason whatsoever, other than wanting to bloat his stupid ego, he tried to get her voted off. I mean blindsides are part of the game and Andrea is someone who totally gets that. But the fact is Zeke coming after Andrea when he tried to made no sense, when all it did was give an alliance he was not a part of, the power. 

Quote

Kudos to Sarah for at least trying to lie, but the stiff way she was holding her face made it clear she was trying to hide her true feelings. 

Not trying to be shady but isn't that her usual expression? Because I feel like it's all I ever see of her. 

Edited April 27, 2017 by truthaboutluv

[colorbars]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I love Michaela, but I was mad at her for pouting and openly complaining.  She probably killed any chance she might have had to win. Yes, they were idiots to pick people like Cirie and Zeke over you, but you need to stay under control.

I'm pretty sure Jeff said Cirie was one of the captain, so that was why she was on a team. I'm sure if she wasn't a captain, she would've been the one sitting out. And probably would've found that advantage.

1 hour ago, Rachel RSL said:

Michaela is entertaining af but the things that I find entertaining as a viewer are the things that make her fellow tribemates dislike her. Coconut popcorn is amusing but won't earn her any votes if she somehow makes it to the final TC.

I think Michaela realizes already that there's no way she's winning, or at least not gonna win anyone over. Half the people there already hate her, and no matter what she does, she's not going to endear herself to them, so she's not gonna suck up or be fake to them, and is just gonna have fun/get those memes. The people that already like her and are on her side don't seem to mind, so I don't think she's really losing anything.

Edited April 27, 2017 by colorbars

[wait.what]

Hahahahaha

loved it!

[Ms Blue Jay]

27 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Totally didn't realize I spelled angle wrong. I was wondering why I got so many replies. So embarrassing. 

I just wanted to make a cute joke.  It was irresistible.  A typo is not embarrassing at all.

Edited April 27, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Wings]

That was a very satisfying tribal!  Michaela eating coconut through the entire thing was freaking adorable. Love that girl.  

[Silver Raven]

I wish they would show us how they choose captains.  I'm sure it was just coincidental that Culpeper was a captain.  Interesting that he chose all women.

One has to wonder why Michaela is odd woman out.

How did nobody notice Sarah taking the Advantage?

That supposed dramatic moment was pretty anticlimactic.

Wow, Troyzan speaks.

Buhbye, Debbie.  Troyzan was totally confused.

[nutty1]

My favorite tribal this season! I may have to watch again just to see the shocked faces. 

[ShadowSixx]

Just now, Silver Raven said:

One has to wonder why Michaela is odd woman out.

I think her bluntness rubs them the wrong way, they also don't like that she's a challenge beast and they also don't seem to like that she eats and drinks a lot. Since she's a challenge beast you think they would choose her for reward challenges. I know she would be my first pic if I was captain whether or not I liked her. I don't like Ozzy but I would be a fool not to pick him for reward challenges.

[Daisy]

I think Michalea is suffering from "No one saw my season, no one knows me" Syndrome. 
Zeke (technically) would have suffered from this but I think i read he + Andrea were friends outside the game (NY angle)  or - just with Zeke's personality, he was more open. Michalea seems to me that she is/can be a very open person but she has little time for crap. and being "young" (I don't remember how old she is) she can't control her resting bitch face or her temper or her first reaction. I had this issue a lot. I lways thought it was a credit because i was blunt and truthful, and my grandma had to let me know there is a big difference between blunt and tactful. It seems to me Michalea hasn't gotten that talk yet. 

And like say Amanda (Or Hantz) this girl 100 percent needed to watch her season and see how she came off. I feel if she had - she'd be less. ... Michalea. Maybe. 

[Knuckles]

I'm sure it was emotionally satisfying to vote out Debbie, just based on how annoying she must be around camp...but Brad or Sierra are better targets and more threatening ones. Still, was nice to see the woman who sees all and knows all take a walk to Ponderosa. I am not getting what Zeke was thinking going after Andrea...but kudos to Sarah for making a smart play. 

[thejuicer]

I didn't think Jeff Probst was condescending to Cirie, and I'm usually the first to shout "Shut up Jeff!" at the TV during challenges.

I loved the scene with Cirie and Sarah strategizing. Choosing Sarah to be on her team may have been a very smart move on her part - I'm not sure Sarah would have swung to the "free agents" side if she won and went away with the "Power 6" or whatever the hell they call themselves.

Also loved the scene with Sarah and Andrea - that's how you do it Zeke.

It was nice to see Debbie go home. It was even better to see Sheriff Sierra taken down a peg or two. Can't wait for next week - seems like the game becomes wide open!

[Trick Question]

18 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

I wish they would show us how they choose captains.  I'm sure it was just coincidental that Culpeper was a captain.  Interesting that he chose all women.

They randomly draw for captains.  What I'd like to see are the schoolyard picks, I feel like the order and strategy behind those would impact things.  Michaela not being chosen makes little sense to me.

[vb68]

23 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

One has to wonder why Michaela is odd woman out.

I still think that Cirie is trying to hide that they are working together (most of them probably assume so irregardless), and Brad hates her. 

 

49 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

I had literally no recollection of Sarah when they announced the cast but I kind of love her now. She's smart and a gamer and will totally notice if your tags are expired.

It's kinda cute how Cirie calls her Officer Sarah as a sign of respect. 

Edited April 27, 2017 by vb68

[Daisy]

2 minutes ago, Trick Question said:

They randomly draw for captains.  What I'd like to see are the schoolyard picks, I feel like the order and strategy behind those would impact things.  Michaela not being chosen makes little sense to me.

Esp. as Cirie as a captain. Why would you pick Tai in a challenge like that? that made zero sense to me at all. 
I said if it were me. (as Cirie). I'd pick that team (minus Tai). I'd swim first. and go as slow as I could. (heck if she even struggled, I bet you Jeff would have allowed someone to help her anyway and do the course again like they did anyway). then the rest of the team could have caught up.

Cirie picked so weird. 

[Wandering Snark]

It looked like it was a double rock draw for this one would be my guess. A bag o rocks with mainly teal stones and two tangerine stones designating captains.

[UncleChuck]

Quote

And Michaela sitting there munching on coconut was hilarious.

I don't know how to capture and create a GIF, but for me the very best moment of TC was at the very end--Culpepper and Sierra were looking at each other with slack-jawed WTF just happened faces, and there was Andrea, positioned perfectly between them in the front row, and she had the BEST shit-eating grin EVER!  That little scene could not have been filmed better if it had been take 27 of a scripted movie.

[preeya]

HaHa, Jiminy Cricket got blindsided.

[backformore]

I don't have the exact quote, but Debbie said something like, there are people in power, and people who follow - that's what's called a democracy!

Then she gets voted out.  I wonder if she rethought her definition of democracy.

Edited April 28, 2017 by backformore
because lime is not the same word as like.

[vb68]

8 minutes ago, backformore said:

 I wonder if she rethought her definition of democracy.

I doubt it even though the lesson smacked her right in the face. Debbie will never change.  

[millennium]

58 minutes ago, nutty1 said:

My favorite tribal this season! I may have to watch again just to see the shocked faces. 

It was almost as satisfying as Tony's comeuppance.   

How I hate Debbie.  When she was making plans to vote off Andrea, this image came to mind

And when she was voted out:

See ya, Deb.  Wouldn't want to be ya.

Ozzy and Hali looked like the perfect couple.

The contrived Cirie moment was ridiculous.   Celebrated for utterly failing your team.   And it went on and on and on.

[NeverLate]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

That was a very satisfying tribal!  Michaela eating coconut through the entire thing was freaking adorable. Love that girl.  

Isn't she fun at TC? As for captain Debbie done everything, loved her being blindsided..LOL

31 minutes ago, vb68 said:

I doubt it even though the lesson smacked her right in the face. Debbie will never change.  

Agree, nevah!!!!llll

[ShadowSixx]

During the rewards challenge notice how Debbie crawled on the balance beam. Where is this gymnastics thing she talked about? I haven't seen her put it to use at all. Don't gymnasts usually use balance beams?

[princelina]

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

I can agree to disagree on this, but Probst laid on the "You can do it Cirie!" stuff a bit thick. I mean, it's not her first time at this. It's her fourth. I thought it was rather awkward and a tad condescending. I know Cirie didn't take it that way, but for me it was a little much.

 

3 hours ago, Eolivet said:

You hit the nail on the head. I hated when Probst did it with David last year, too. "Aww, you have friends now! The athletic kids will sit with you."

Survivor is not about conquering your fears. It's about forming relationships that can win you a million dollars. And that's it.

 

3 hours ago, vb68 said:

Yeah, I almost expected her to be given a merit badge for competing. 

It's what I call 21st Century Pandering - shown to perfection here!

2 hours ago, SourK said:

The cool thing about tribal council, I guess, is that it's dark and most people aren't looking directly at your face. Kudos to Sarah for at least trying to lie, but the stiff way she was holding her face made it clear she was trying to hide her true feelings. She showed herself to be a good player this episode, though.

I know it's been said already - but isn't that how she always looks?

2 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Totally didn't realize I spelled angle wrong. I was wondering why I got so many replies. So embarrassing. 

Blame the auto correct - it's a bitch ;)

[Gajic]

I thought the Cirie reward challenge thing was pandering as well. Jeff and the producers figured it would make great TV so they played it up. Oh look we all love you! You can do it! That's just making a big spectacle out of it. Cirie's team was os far behind they would have lost even if she aced it.

i laughed at Sarah talking about her attention to detail. Only I would notice an expired registration on a car. That's because you're a police officer and you're trained to look at it. A doctor would notice a cancerous growth on skin and an engineer would notice a failing joint on a bridge too. That's your job. 

[whiitter]

The thing that annoyed me the most in this episode is that Sierra said "Oh I know, what if we vote out Andrea, derp". When last week Zeke was totally trying to do that, and every body was annoyed at Zeke for being flaky and shit.

I totally thought that the prospect of Debbie getting voted out was too good to be true. My boy friend and I shrieked and said "Bye DEBBIE!" and high five-d each other lol.

Omg though, I was totally confused what was happening with the whole Cirie thing... I swear that that was staged or something haha. Like "Cirie, act like you struggle really hard, and every body will come help carry you to the finish" lol, but idk it just seemed like the whole Zeke episode all over again, like stuff usually just doesn't happen in Survivor like that. BUT with that being said, Cirie was probably exhausted, and is not the best swimmer to begin with, and I know from experience how hard it is to lift yourself out of the water in the ocean. Way harder than it seems. And, nothing against Cirie but she can't lift herself. But lol, yeah Jeff was very annoying about it... he made it so dramatic. lol but its kinda weird they didn't pick Michaela? Like Zeke and Cirie on the same team...

I am so happy Debbie came out. I was reading the "90% of the winners are on the right side of the vote on the merge episode" and I was getting sort of sad, but I feel as if maybe this is the episode that will be one of a kind! Let's go Cirie! Zeke! Andrea! Michaela! Sarah! Possibly Troyzan. Also he won immunity today, woot woot!   

[enlightenedbum]

1 hour ago, UncleChuck said:

I don't know how to capture and create a GIF, but for me the very best moment of TC was at the very end--Culpepper and Sierra were looking at each other with slack-jawed WTF just happened faces, and there was Andrea, positioned perfectly between them in the front row, and she had the BEST shit-eating grin EVER!  That little scene could not have been filmed better if it had been take 27 of a scripted movie.

Not a GIF, but Andrea herself retweeted this:

 

And yeah, it's pretty funny.

[HappyDancex2]

Very rarely on this show does it setup the smuggiest smugginess that ever smugged and give us the satisfying torch snuffing of said smugger.  Thank you Survivor.

It had to be done because when Debbie said the other people enjoyed the experience of being in a plane more than her because she was in planes all of the time, I think I passed out from my eyeballs trying to crawl out of the back of my head.  She came within one step of saying her ability to recognize that a FLYING FREAKING plane offered a unique perspective since it was IN THE SKY was because of her previous job of being an eagle, perched off a New Zealand fjord.  She singlehandedly cured her own endangered species status and that's how she ended up on Survivor.

[laprin]

I must remember to have popcorn and a drink nearby for Tribal Council so Michaela and I can eat or drink together.  If Michaela plays her cards right should could be in a power position should Zeke and Andrea go after each other.

You could see Cirie's second-hand embarrassment when Debbie was being so cocky at TC, one more reason I like her. 

If Brad keeps up this low-key leader thing he has going, he might win this. Sigh.

[GaT]

WOW, that caught me completely by surprise, but I'm sure not sad to see Debbie go.

Loved Michaela snacking away, just awesome.

[txvoodoo]

2 hours ago, colorbars said:

I think Michaela realizes already that there's no way she's winning, or at least not gonna win anyone over. Half the people there already hate her, and no matter what she does, she's not going to endear herself to them, so she's not gonna suck up or be fake to them, and is just gonna have fun/get those memes. The people that already like her and are on her side don't seem to mind, so I don't think she's really losing anything.

In a way, it'd set her up perfectly for final 3. She can say she didn't ride any coattails, and she's there despite everyone bitching about her. And say "I'm no goat!" OK, I'd just love to hear her say that.

[enlightenedbum]

1 hour ago, Daisy said:

Esp. as Cirie as a captain. Why would you pick Tai in a challenge like that? that made zero sense to me at all. 
I said if it were me. (as Cirie). I'd pick that team (minus Tai). I'd swim first. and go as slow as I could. (heck if she even struggled, I bet you Jeff would have allowed someone to help her anyway and do the course again like they did anyway). then the rest of the team could have caught up.

Cirie picked so weird. 

Let's try to work this out.

Brad and Cirie are captains.  Teams end up:

Team Brad:
Brad, Andrea, Sierra, Debbie, Aubry

Team Cirie:

Cirie, Tai, Zeke, Troy, Sarah

Assume both Brad and Cirie are actually trying to win the reward. (Not sure this is a safe assumption with Cirie)

Brad clearly had first pick.  The most athletic person there is Andrea, and I suspect Cirie would have picked her first if available.  Sierra is also a potential first pick because she's an idiot savant with her one skill being tossing a grappling hook and similar carnival games.  But I think it was Andrea because Cirie would have picked her first.  Then Cirie takes Sarah, both for athleticism and game reasons.  She wants Sarah semi-isolated because she knows she needs to win her back.  Brad responds with Sierra for ally reasons and also the aforementioned skill at carnival games.  I'd guess Cirie took Troy next.  He's pretty athletic for these kinds of things.  Brad takes Debbie to not hurt her ego, Cirie takes Tai for the balance, Brad goes with Aubry who seems like a solid swimmer, and then Cirie goes with Zeke.  The question then becomes why does Cirie leave Michaela when she's taking on a little mother role with her?  Three options:

1) It's a secret to everybody and she's trying to hide that one while joining the Michaela sucks train publicly.

2) She guessed the person left out would get some kind of shot at an advantage.  Cirie herself probably would have killed to be on the sitout bench for this reason.

3) Because her tribe on this season never let her prove herself and they hadn't seen the previous season, these people are not aware that Michaela is really athletic.