S34.E11: Reinventing How This Game Is Played

[MisterBluxom]

Posted in error.

Very sorry.

Edited May 6, 2017 by MissBluxom

[peachmangosteen]

9 hours ago, Jobiska said:

I never want to see anyone pulling out handfuls of hair that they are losing due to malnutrition (Elizabeth Filarski whatever her married name is).  I never want to read interviews or articles that they are hoarding food at home and have developed weird obsessions with food (I think that was Yul, perhaps among others).   That horrifies me.  

+1

[Ms Blue Jay]

11 hours ago, Jobiska said:

I never want to see anyone pulling out handfuls of hair that they are losing due to malnutrition (Elizabeth Filarski whatever her married name is).  I never want to read interviews or articles that they are hoarding food at home and have developed weird obsessions with food (I think that was Yul, perhaps among others).   That horrifies me.  

Wow.  I did not know this.  It makes a lot of sense though, because I personally know someone who had this issue after growing up extremely poor.  

[jay741982]

On 5/3/2017 at 11:43 AM, F. M. said:

Okay Andrea's sharp mind. There is more than one. I just find Andrea gave petty reasons to get rid of Zeke, hope she goes next.

Its Not petty WHEN HE IS AFTER HER. Him and Sarah were talking about getting her out after Sierra. He was gonna flip.

[NeverLate]

26 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Its Not petty WHEN HE IS AFTER HER. Him and Sarah were talking about getting her out after Sierra. He was gonna flip.

I hope she goes soon,I don't like her.

[Stinamaia]

29 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Its Not petty WHEN HE IS AFTER HER. Him and Sarah were talking about getting her out after Sierra. He was gonna flip.

Not only was he flipping on Andrea, he made a final five deal excluding all of his alliance except Sarah.  He was cutting everyone. Maybe in the end Sarah saw herself on the bottom of that deal and felt Zeke was using her as a number. 

I dunno, I had the feeling that Zeke didn't like the idea of women being in charge. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe he has to see himself in charge even with men.  

[jay741982]

10 minutes ago, F. M. said:

I hope she goes soon,I don't like her.

Well that's obvious you don't like her since you blasted her for being smart and getting out someone who was after her 

4 minutes ago, Stinamaia said:

Not only was he flipping on Andrea, he made a final five deal excluding all of his alliance except Sarah.  He was cutting everyone. Maybe in the end Sarah saw herself on the bottom of that deal and felt Zeke was using her as a number. 

I dunno, I had the feeling that Zeke didn't like the idea of women being in charge. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe he has to see himself in charge even with men.  

Considering he wanted a F5 with Culpepper who is a challenge threat and could beat him I think you are on to something

[Stinamaia]

4 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Well that's obvious you don't like her since you blasted her for being smart and getting out someone who was after her 

Considering he wanted a F5 with Culpepper who is a challenge threat and could beat him I think you are on to something

Maybe. 

I do think Andrea and Cire didn't massage his ego the way they do Sarah. That was a mistake in retrospect.  I say ego, but really I think it's more insecurities. Maybe a combo. 

[NeverLate]

Andrea got all pouty at the start, and decided a strong interesting player should be gone,all the interesting players are gone, imnsho. I'm allowed to dislike Andrea and I do..

[Stinamaia]

11 minutes ago, F. M. said:

Andrea got all pouty at the start, and decided a strong interesting player should be gone,all the interesting players are gone, imnsho. I'm allowed to dislike Andrea and I do..

At the start of what? 

You certainly can dislike Andrea for whatever reason you choose.  You can choose to see Zeke as a strong interesting player.  I think Zeke is interesting, but I think he has weaknesses as a player.  

I do think if you were playing the game and saw that a smart player was coming after you, you would want to eliminate that player as soon as you could, and you wouldn't be deterred by thinking that an interesting player was gone from the show. I do understand your loyalties were with Zeke and that influences your thinking here.  

[NeverLate]

16 minutes ago, Stinamaia said:

At the start of what? 

You certainly can dislike Andrea for whatever reason you choose.  You can choose to see Zeke as a strong interesting player.  I think Zeke is interesting, but I think he has weaknesses as a player.  

I do think if you were playing the game and saw that a smart player was coming after you, you would want to eliminate that player as soon as you could, and you wouldn't be deterred by thinking that an interesting player was gone from the show. I do understand your loyalties were with Zeke and that influences your thinking here.  

I liked Zeke, but I have no such loyalties to him. I'm just finding this season pretty boring. 

[Sugar]

 There's something so weird about Sarah. She very rarely smiles, laughs or shows even an ounce of charisma when she speaks. Other players, when they give confessionals - they're dynamic. Their voices go up and down, they use their hands when they speak, their faces are expressive.....but Sarah looks and sounds like she's a classroom instructor for night school classes on Auto repair at the community college. Just wooden and monotone and it makes me uncomfortable to watch her. Especially this episode, when she was talking about her options and being a swing vote, she may as well have been reading from an instruction manual, that's how interesting it was to watch.

I want to like her, because she's not offensive, and she's making a real effort to play. But I just don't know what it is about her - she's so very "blah" in her personality...Is it just me?

On another note - so much love for Andrea. I was rooting for her in her second season, and was disappointed that she was invisible for the first few episodes of this one. But now she's playing hard and being shown as the strategic and challenge threat that she is, and I'm loving it.
 

[NeverLate]

I don't like Sarah, I also think she's blah. I do think she's playing the game.

[enoughcats]

Another point of view here.  I won't roll out banners and fireworks for someone 'blah', but I appreciate mild manners and I think there are times when perky and squeeky and overwhelming enthusiasm are overdone.  Now the overdone I loathe is mostly on early morning "news" shows on local TV and it might be due to too much caffeine. 

For me, I think bland is more likely to be 'real' and perky enthusiasm may be playing to the cameras and may be a result of personal editing to get more minutes on a show.

[peachmangosteen]

3 hours ago, Stinamaia said:

I dunno, I had the feeling that Zeke didn't like the idea of women being in charge. Maybe that's wrong. Maybe he has to see himself in charge even with men.  

I think Zeke just wants to be in charge, no matter whether his alliance is men or women. He was like this is MvGX, too.

[snarts]

I think Andrea felt betrayed by Zeke.  Thinking back to the Varner tribal council and her reaction, they were quite close.  Thus, she felt she could no longer trust him and their argument after the vote made her realize he would be targeting her, and soon.  She was smart to get him out first.  Cirie was smart to go along with it because she also realized that he couldn't be trusted.

I'd much rather know that someone is a definite vote against me than count on someone who it's highly possible will flip on you.  That person likely knows and uses your plans against you.

Officer Sarah is getting a big head.  It happens to many people who find themselves being the deciding vote between two strong alliances.  She will eventually have to pick a side, lest she piss off the entire jury.  

[green]

On 5/5/2017 at 10:09 AM, eurekagirl mOo said:

Forgive me if this has been discussed. I just saw this Thrus. night and I'm only up to page 2.........Now their taking them OFF the island to sleep in a BED???? And, I assume, a hot shower and clean clothes. We saw the food. Now here's my gripe---Isn't this SURVIVOR? Aren't they supposed to -- I don't know-- Survive? Like ON the island? This is just so DUMB. They are so soft on these people compared to what they used to go through. I just think that's WAY to big an advantage for entire team. One person getting to sleep in a hammock and have food as a reward is all ok but seriously? Next Time On Survivor--- The teams struggle to survive at the Motel 6 while the winners go to the Four Seasons! Blech...Let's get back to REAL surviving please. 

Or just send both to the Bates Motel and see who doesn't survive the night.

[Tdoc72]

On ‎5‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 11:56 AM, MissBluxom said:

The one thing that would really help - but they never seem to consider - would be to have Jeff shut the *BLEEP* up during the competitions.

When we have a endurance challenge that lasts for an hour, how can it possibly make sense for Jeff to be yapping non-stop throughout the whole challenge?

I just mute the TV and play some music instead. I can't stand listening to Jeff during competitions - especially since half of what he says is trying to convince us that Survivor is just the most wonderful thing on earth. Nothing has ever been better than Survivor. He leaves me feeling like puking!

I wished Jeff would shut up for a long time.  But about a year ago, I watched some of the challenges from the first season.  Jeff didn't speak much at all--just instructions and then the winner.  It was so quiet and oddly weird.  I hated it that way.  So I don't mind Jeff talking anymore. 

[KimberStormer]

9 hours ago, snarts said:

Officer Sarah is getting a big head.  It happens to many people who find themselves being the deciding vote between two strong alliances.  She will eventually have to pick a side, lest she piss off the entire jury.  

People keep saying this.  I wonder.  The thing I wanted to say about this episode originally, but I couldn't articulate, was that it seemed to me to be a power struggle between Andrea and Sarah, and Sierra and Zeke were only proxies, visible hotspots in that subterannean war, much like how the first merge vote was Cirie VS Sierra played on the battlefield of Hali VS Michaela.

There seems to be a lot of two sentiments out there: one is that Sarah is alienating people by flipping, the other is that she is likely to flip back to the other side.  But if she's alienated the other side, then it's difficult for her to flip.  People won't trust her, right?  There's plenty of evidence of this.  Debbie is pissed and flips her off.  Brad and Troy go to Zeke looking for a lifeline, Sierra comes to Cirie and Andrea.  None of the people on the bottom go to Sarah looking for help.

Taking out Zeke is a good move for Andrea because it eliminates a guy who was coming after her two votes ago and is literally planning to come after her again next vote; but it's more than that.  It's also cutting off Sarah's options.  It's eliminating her buddy in the alliance, who, as Sarah has emphasized, she was with through every tribe swap in the game, making it much harder for her to accomplish an internal coup or any other move than a solo flip from alliance to alliance, which as everyone knows is a real Survivor Hail Mary if not outright Survivor Suicide, as Dan Foley will tell you.  Bottom to Bottom, Cochran-style.  Sarah, for her part, wants to keep her options, and Zeke is key here.  She then has two, and if she can convince Michaela, who seems to have no one, has a connection to Zeke via MvGX, and who seems to be a good goat, to come along, then she has three -- and three is a potent voting bloc indeed for flipping around and bumping threats from both sides.  And if they all get to the end then the people left have no choice but to vote for one of these dirty floaters who dared to subvert their alliances.  So she pulls some strings of her own: she goes so far as to reveal her secret advantage, with her eye on this long-game plan.  In the end, Andrea has immunity and is willing to push hard, dangerously hard as many of us here were savvy enough to notice, and so she wins.

But I wonder if Sarah suspects, as I do, that possibly the Entire Jury is not so pissed after all.  That people were not so furious, and also that the people now on the bottom are willing and able to put any rancor they might hold aside in order to keep their games alive, and will trust her.  That, however it may not translate through the TV screen, Officer Sarah's social game seems to be working quite well and everyone seems to want to come to her, talk to her, be friends with her.  So perhaps her options are not so cut off as it might seem, her rival Andrea has really stuck her neck out to be chopped, and Sarah has moves to make in the future, so not pushing here was the right decision for her.

Now all this is IMO beautiful, subtle Survivor, but it goes yet another level because there is somehow Cirie!  Cirie, somehow! still under the radar!  Cirie, finessing, quiet, delicate, knowing how to work both of these personalities, and the others as well.  Cirie, buttering up Officer Sarah, Cirie, letting Andrea stick her neck out and be The Threat.  With Michaela still seeming to have no one, seeming to be open to be taken as anyone's goat, but actually being with Cirie all along.  So while Andrea and Sarah have their Cold War proxy battle there is Cirie, the SPECTRE pulling both their strings!  Fantastic stuff.

I don't think it's so strange that, with all this delicacy and subtle manuevering, it's disappointing to some of us that there are crude pipe-bombs in the form of idols out there.  It's absolutely true that idols can be used in a beautiful, creative way; but more often they are clumsy and do nothing much but collateral damage.  I would rather see the dance of these ladies work itself out on its own terms than have it end abruptly and randomly when Troyzan pulls an idol.  That's just how I feel.

Edited May 7, 2017 by KimberStormer

[kiddo82]

On May 5, 2017 at 5:53 PM, cooksdelight said:

Debbie lost a pound a a half, a few have gained weight. 

Doesn't surprise me.  Debbie, being the elite athlete that she is, has such a resilient body that she can withstand days and days of malnutrition and actually come out stronger on the other side.  While her counterparts got weaker by the moment, she still had the energy to thrive with her Olympic level gymnastic skills and pound out rage push ups by the gross.  She's really a marvel of modern science.  NASA engineers are studying her as an actual, real life X-Man.

Edited May 7, 2017 by kiddo82

[MisterBluxom]

4 hours ago, kiddo82 said:

Doesn't surprise me.  Debbie, being the elite athlete that she is, has such a resilient body that she can withstand days and days of malnutrition and actually come out stronger on the other side.  While her counterparts got weaker by the moment, she still had the energy to thrive with her Olympic level gymnastic skills and pound out rage push ups by the gross.  She's really a marvel of modern science.  NASA engineers are studying her as an actual, real life X-Man.

I'm thinking maybe Debbie is actually some kind of robot or artificial life form developed by NASA or some other govt agency and they are testing her out on Survivor to see if she can pass as human.

That is the only real problem with Debbie. So far, they haven't been able to fool anyone into thinking she is actually human.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/6/2017 at 2:57 PM, Sugar said:

 There's something so weird about Sarah. She very rarely smiles, laughs or shows even an ounce of charisma when she speaks. Other players, when they give confessionals - they're dynamic. Their voices go up and down, they use their hands when they speak, their faces are expressive.....but Sarah looks and sounds like she's a classroom instructor for night school classes on Auto repair at the community college. Just wooden and monotone and it makes me uncomfortable to watch her. Especially this episode, when she was talking about her options and being a swing vote, she may as well have been reading from an instruction manual, that's how interesting it was to watch.

I want to like her, because she's not offensive, and she's making a real effort to play. But I just don't know what it is about her - she's so very "blah" in her personality...Is it just me?

Your post was really interesting!  It's definitely not just you.  I can see everything you're saying regarding Sarah.  I'm definitely attracted to charismatic or dynamic players, as this is a television show.  I wasn't a fan of Sarah during BBB but I do like her more now, because of who I think she is as a person on the inside, I guess.  But I do agree with you about how she is superficially. 

And I don't think there's only 2 choices in personalities, either monotone auto repair instructor or fake morning show host on a lot of caffeine.  There is a huge spectrum of humanity that encompasses all the many different personalities in between those.  I don't like fakely happy people either.  For example, I think Zeke and Michaela are quite charismatic and dynamic but you would never describe them as fakely happy.  Tai shows a lot of emotion and I never think it's faked or overcaffeinated.  

Edited May 7, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bryce Lynch]

On 5/6/2017 at 2:11 PM, F. M. said:

Andrea got all pouty at the start, and decided a strong interesting player should be gone,all the interesting players are gone, imnsho. I'm allowed to dislike Andrea and I do..

I agree that Andrea was pouty.  I think that made me think the Zeke move was more petty and less strategic than it actually was.  After listening to the RHAP discussion on it, I came to the conclusion that it was sort of a toss up whether she should have gone after Zeke this vote or in the next.  Either way, she would be in considerable danger in the upcoming vote, IMO.  If Zeke has been left in the game, he very well could have orchestrated a blindside against Andrea in the upcoming vote.  But, getting him out and making it 5-4 opens up the possibility of multiple alliance mates turning on Andrea, and it will only take 1.  

On 5/6/2017 at 2:57 PM, Sugar said:

 There's something so weird about Sarah. She very rarely smiles, laughs or shows even an ounce of charisma when she speaks. Other players, when they give confessionals - they're dynamic. Their voices go up and down, they use their hands when they speak, their faces are expressive.....but Sarah looks and sounds like she's a classroom instructor for night school classes on Auto repair at the community college. Just wooden and monotone and it makes me uncomfortable to watch her. Especially this episode, when she was talking about her options and being a swing vote, she may as well have been reading from an instruction manual, that's how interesting it was to watch.

I want to like her, because she's not offensive, and she's making a real effort to play. But I just don't know what it is about her - she's so very "blah" in her personality...Is it just me?

On another note - so much love for Andrea. I was rooting for her in her second season, and was disappointed that she was invisible for the first few episodes of this one. But now she's playing hard and being shown as the strategic and challenge threat that she is, and I'm loving it.
 

That "weirdness" might make her the most normal (i.e. average, typical) person on the island.  The big personalities of most of the other contestants are probably more out of the norm for the general population, but are normal in the world of reality shows.  

[blackwing]

On 5/6/2017 at 1:57 PM, Sugar said:

 There's something so weird about Sarah. She very rarely smiles, laughs or shows even an ounce of charisma when she speaks. Other players, when they give confessionals - they're dynamic. Their voices go up and down, they use their hands when they speak, their faces are expressive.....but Sarah looks and sounds like she's a classroom instructor for night school classes on Auto repair at the community college. Just wooden and monotone and it makes me uncomfortable to watch her. Especially this episode, when she was talking about her options and being a swing vote, she may as well have been reading from an instruction manual, that's how interesting it was to watch.

I want to like her, because she's not offensive, and she's making a real effort to play. But I just don't know what it is about her - she's so very "blah" in her personality...Is it just me?

I feel the exact same way.  There's something about her that I really don't like.  Superficially, it's partly what you said, she's so boring and monotone and serious.  Above all, I loathe her voice.  I also think she has this very dumb look on her face at all times.  And sometimes the way she just sits there and just stretches her arms back and stares blankly... reminds me very much of an orangutan sitting in its enclosure, watching you watching them.  On a gameplay level, I dislike her because she thinks she is this incredible mastermind that is running the show.  She seems so very thrilled with herself for how she is playing.  And she completely lost me when she went on about the expired licence plate tags and how "I notice things" which apparently to her is one of the reasons why she seems to think she is doing so much better in this game than other people who don't "notice things".

I think she's playing well, but I hardly think of her as a mastermind.  She's only in the position she is in because she is willing to flip on her alliance and go back and forth.

I would argue that Tai is doing just as well as her at "noticing things".  I think Tai's strategic game is awful, but for him to go out and find idols is impressive.  Particularly the clue that he found that led to the one he found by the well and then thought that there was probably one in the same place at the new tribe.  Tai has "noticed things" as well.  If Sarah was really the master observer she seems to think she is, why hasn't she found any idols?  

[NutMeg]

Late to this, I read all the posts I plussed 1 my way through them but didn't feel I had anything worthwhile to add. And I probably still don't but still, 

I really like how the women's games were showed and how different they are:

Andrea is playing on the offensive. If she makes it to FTC  (please, please, please) she will be a the alpha female that gets the win unless the guy prefers to reward the random guy who made it there. In that respect, she's in a Parvati (second season) situation. But as such she has a big target on her back.

Cirie is playing on the defensive with covert offensive moves.  If she makes it to FTC, i.e. if she succeeds in making people forget that she has an extremely strategic brain, she can pull the win if she shows how covert her moves were and how they helped her. I still don't think that would be enough against a more overt player, but this season, with everyone aware of everyone's game, it might work.

Sarah is playing half offensive/half defensive. It's like she wants to play all in but something reigns her in. Not that it's a bad thing. If the other two above are gone, she's in  a golden position. But she needs them, at least for a while. The editors haven't given us enough for us to know what her strategy and/or end game is. 

Aubry is playing deep cover, which might be useful for her. Michaela's game is confusing but so far she seems to be seen as a goat, and nothing tells us she could win. 

Sierra, I'm not even trying to understand. In her first season, she kept looking like she could play an interesting game and then going for the statu quo option every time. Maybe she'll somehow become interesting this season.

Amongst the men, both Brad and Troy could pull a surprise if they make it to FTC (they haven't made any enemies have they?), and I feel that notwithstanding his multiple idols there is no way Tai wins this, He'll likely make it to the end though. But I wish he could be eliminated with his dozen of idols in his pocket :)  

[Mindthinkr]

On 5/7/2017 at 9:27 AM, MissBluxom said:

I'm thinking maybe Debbie is actually some kind of robot or artificial life form developed by NASA or some other govt agency and they are testing her out on Survivor to see if she can pass as human.

That is the only real problem with Debbie. So far, they haven't been able to fool anyone into thinking she is actually human.

That's the best chuckle I've had today...thx!! 

[EvilApplesauce]

It just occurred to me that I can't remember the last time I've seen anybody on this season eating or cooking rice. Chopping up coconuts, or stoking the camp fire. Heck, I can't even remember the last scene of players sleeping in a shelter!

Edited May 8, 2017 by EvilApplesauce

[Dominii]

On 5/6/2017 at 11:51 AM, F. M. said:

I hope she (Andrea) goes soon, I don't like her.

I agree. It's her arrogance that turns me off. I'd even rather see Sarah or Culpepper win than Andrea. Both Sierra and Andrea have to go!

[simplyme]

I figure Sarah's calm demeanor is probably part natural and part developed as part of her job. I imagine she is used to trying not to show too much emotion as a female police officer. Have you ever spoken to a police officer about the reports they have to file and the language they are trained to use? From my admittedly brief discussions, it is supposed to be as impersonal as possible.

To whoever mentioned Brenda not scrambling on Nicaraugua, she later explained that the problem she faced was that her alliance decided it didn't trust her. If she suddenly started scrambling and talking to the other alliance and trying to make deals, that would simply reinforce the perception. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. From that, she said she learned not to limit herself to just one set of options. (I think this is interesting, because I consider Nicaraugua an earlier season, but we can see one of the rationales for why the game evolved away from tried-and-true alliances and pagongings.)

[Bryce Lynch]

51 minutes ago, EvilApplesauce said:

It just occurred to me that I can't remember the last time I've seen anybody on this season eating or cooking rice. Chopping up coconuts, or stoking the camp fire. Heck, I can't even remember the last scene of players sleeping in a shelter!

No time to cook, eat or sleep.  These are Game Changers!  They are spending 24 hours a day reinventing the way the game is played.  

[Special K]

Just now, Bryce Lynch said:

No time to cook, eat or sleep.  These are Game Changers!  They are spending 24 hours a day reinventing the way the game is played.  

I think you mean Reinventing the Way This Game is Played.

<snerking at TPTB, not you!>

[Bryce Lynch]

8 minutes ago, Special K said:

I think you mean Reinventing the Way This Game is Played.

<snerking at TPTB, not you!>

LOL!  I was actually debating whether to use "the" or "this".  

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, simplyme said:

I figure Sarah's calm demeanor is probably part natural and part developed as part of her job. I imagine she is used to trying not to show too much emotion as a female police officer. Have you ever spoken to a police officer about the reports they have to file and the language they are trained to use? From my admittedly brief discussions, it is supposed to be as impersonal as possible.

I expect Sarah is like virtually every other street-working LEO I've known - by which I mean they usually develop a "neutral gear" occasionally (frequently?) used when dealing with the public - especially when someone is being difficult, excitable, agitated, argumentative, and/or insulting:

1. Body motion goes to near-nil.
2. Voice goes lower and quieter and speech is more deliberate; vocalizations may approach monotone.
3. Face goes bland/expressionless.
4. Behavior becomes almost automaton-ish.

This behavior isn't the cop shutting down; it's a deliberate technique calculated to defuse emotionally charged situations, or resist demonstrating any behavior which could be claimed to be "bait" by someone attempting to provoke the officer.  I catch that from Sarah occasionally, especially when she's reciting or repeating something someone else said - on occasion, she invokes pure Cop Voice.  Sometimes I wonder if the reaction is so ingrained, Sarah even realizes she's doing it.  :)

[Lamb18]

17 hours ago, EvilApplesauce said:

It just occurred to me that I can't remember the last time I've seen anybody on this season eating or cooking rice. Chopping up coconuts, or stoking the camp fire. Heck, I can't even remember the last scene of players sleeping in a shelter!

That makes me think of season 6 where the fire was stoked and there was firewood stacked all around - so much so that the camp burned down!

[Nashville]

6 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

That makes me think of season 6 where the fire was stoked and there was firewood stacked all around - so much so that the camp burned down!

What just flashed through my mind when reading this:

Contestant #1: "The camp - the camp - the camp is on fire!"

Contestant #2: "WE DON'T NEED NO WATER...!!!"

[MisterBluxom]

23 hours ago, simplyme said:

I figure Sarah's calm demeanor is probably part natural and part developed as part of her job. I imagine she is used to trying not to show too much emotion as a female police officer. Have you ever spoken to a police officer about the reports they have to file and the language they are trained to use? From my admittedly brief discussions, it is supposed to be as impersonal as possible.

To whoever mentioned Brenda not scrambling on Nicaraugua, she later explained that the problem she faced was that her alliance decided it didn't trust her. If she suddenly started scrambling and talking to the other alliance and trying to make deals, that would simply reinforce the perception. It was a damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. From that, she said she learned not to limit herself to just one set of options. (I think this is interesting, because I consider Nicaraugua an earlier season, but we can see one of the rationales for why the game evolved away from tried-and-true alliances and pagongings.)

I have tried to follow Sarah's motives and logic, but I usually just can't figure out how or why she comes to the decisions that she does. Maybe I just don't understand law enforcement officers very well.  Most of the time, I just don't understand her thinking.

Edited May 9, 2017 by MissBluxom

[simplyme]

12 hours ago, Nashville said:

What just flashed through my mind when reading this:

Contestant #1: "The camp - the camp - the camp is on fire!"

Contestant #2: "WE DON'T NEED NO WATER...!!!"

I was ruined for life by this Onion article so that whenever people make reference to that song, it's what I think of.

Sorry, mods. I'll stick to topic now.

[Pixiebomb]

I have no idea why Sierra is a game changer. I can't even remember her first season. And this season she seems to be doing what attractive girls have done from way seasons back. Pick a guys alliance and stick with it until she feels threatened and then try to flip to the other alliance. I never liked her and I almost couldn't watch her begging to Cirie and Andrea. 

[ghoulina]

I remember Sierra's season, but I barely remember her. Although, I DO seem to recall her employing that same tactic - using a strong guys' alliance. She definitely wasn't what I would ever call a game changer. Unless they're talking about bring a whole new level of eyebrows to the game. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Zeke putting Michaela in his "Final 5" said a lot.  Everyone's wondering why Michaela cried and felt guilty for voting out Zeke.  It's pretty clear that they were both looking out for each other in a secret, special way that wasn't really HUGELY advertised on the show.