S34.E12: It Is Not A High Without A Low

[Trick Question]

12 minutes ago, blackwing said:

This legacy idol... does it function like a regular idol? So next episode Sarah can use it on herself or someone else?  Ugh.   Sarah may be playing well, but I hope that one of the later boots tells Sierra that Sarah voted for her.

The legacy idol could be played at two specific occasions --- at F13 (the merge vote) or F6.  So Sarah is still in trouble if she doesn't win immunity in either of the next two rounds, but she's safe at F6.

[GaT]

I hate the "loved ones" episode, it's only 38 days folks, the weeping is ridiculous.

So glad I don't have to be distracted by Sierra's eyebrows anymore.

[MrsR]

Sierra, what a moron. Hope she watched this episode and cried when she saw herself say,  "I'm so proud of myself" in her goodbye speech. 

 

When she tells them at Ponderosa about the legacy advantage they're going to laugh at her.

Yeah, Brad was not a quarterback but he's got mad skills at throwing bean bags.

 

Cirie got under the log before eeny weeny Tai. How does that happen?

[Rowan]

I was actually giggling when Andrea was like, "WTF?!", at Sarah's over the top acting after the vote. I hope she at least asks her what the deal was. She probably assumed that Sarah threw in with the crew that was gunning for her, and that some of the people who were supposed to vote her out ended up not flipping. Andrea's a goner unless she goes on an immunity run. 

I want Brad out. Shut up, Monica.

Sarah's playing a good game, but I cannot get past her facial expression. It's constant "derp" face for me.

Debbie is so annoying. I so dread her  final tribal/jury performance. You just know that shit was all she was living for.

[Lantern7]

4 hours ago, Eolivet said:

But "Tell me about the bond between siblings," Probst? Really? That's your compelling televisio

From Stephen Fishbach's Twitter: "The way Jeff introduces these family visits it's like the entire concept of human relationships blows his mind. #survivor" Thanks to the recap at Reality Blurred for quoting him.

[KimberStormer]

"Oh great, the loved ones visit," I said, "that means the entire thread will be nothing but bitching about the loved ones visit."

It was a long process of introducing each loved one and making them give some kind of speech.  This is one of those Pagonging episodes that taxes the editor's art, as they try to find something to fill the time when the next boot is exactly who you would figure it would be.  Nevertheless I was feeling the heavy hang of doom because before I fired up the episode I thought Andrea was going home and when she was the target I thought for sure she was going home and when Sierra's name was read first I closed my eyes and accepted in my heart that she was going home and then she didn't go home!  NICE!

Although I do think if she had gone home Andrea would have had herself to blame because those were some bad choices for the reward.  (I have to say I really do hate this reward team challenge thing.  If it were me of course I would be throwing that challenge so hard, but you can't when you're on a team.  Though I guess it helps diffuse the responsibility for the choices...those were clearly Andrea choices.)  Sarah is reasonable since she was the last to join her alliance but still, she's an even-keeled and logical sort of gal, she'll know what's up.  Don't leave Michaela alone with the other alliance when a) she's upset about losing and b) she was upset last night at the vote.  Take Michaela!  Leave Cirie!  Maybe take Tai instead of Sarah!  It worked out...but it was this close to going wrong.

Sarah's social game is the best on the island right now, and that's saying something with Cirie there.  Everyone wants to be Sarah's friend, even the person she's voting out in order to steal her advantage in heartless Machiavellian fashion.  She's clearly not seen as a flipper, despite flipping before; she's seen as a friend.  Pretty amazing, and honestly I think also amazing is she managed to turn that vote back on Sierra by bringing up the threat of that same advantage that she is going to hold herself tomorrow.  Another great Sarah episode.

Having not seen BvW and having a positive impression of Monica from One World I enjoyed seeing her, and her advice to work on Michaela.  Can't see how there's anything wrong with that advice, whether you find it "impressive" or not.  And it's nice for Jeff to make her sound like a Survivor badass, regardless of the truth; I don't know why I feel this way but for me it is an iron rule that every visiting loved one should be treated like royalty.

Overall a little boring (way not enough Cirie IMO) but still much better than I feared, as I was expecting my Survivor Sister Andrea going home.  Finally, I know it is somewhat problematic of me to feel this way but this episode I did feel rather envious of Sierra's island bod, even though her crazy-long legs made it hard for her to get under that log.

Edited May 11, 2017 by KimberStormer
emphasis

[SVNBob]

6 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Michaela has such a competitive spirit, I'd hate to think of her and Courtney Yates being tethered together in a challenge.

Michaela'd just throw Courtney over one shoulder and power through the challenge.  She'd only be carrying, what, an extra 20 pounds?

As I recall, Cirie's husband came out for the visit in her first season, and he had a similar reaction to Survivor life as their son did here.  And I think the two of them were off on Exile, so Cirie was impressing him with how she'd adapted, while he was in the same place she was back on day 1.  But this is now 3 members of the Fields family that have had great reactions to being on the show.

[mojoween]

If I were on Survivor my goal would be to come in second in the family visit reward challenge.  The team concept would stymie my plans.

Before the immunity challenge it occurred to me that Sarah reminds me of a bulldog with the way she stands with her arms cocked forward.  I get it, and someone before said that it's probably because she's adapted to holding a heavy belt on her hips plus needing to be ready for action at a moment's notice, but still, that's what I see when I look at her now.  Bulldog.

And her husband is a hottie but I don't think I would actually SAY IT, Sierra.  That was weird.

[Whimsy]

Hey guys. Two important reminders:

1. There is NO preview talk in episode threads, no matter how vague. Posts will be hidden with no explanation if there's anything at all related to preview talk in it. 

2. There is NO live chat in the episode threads. I was (am) on vacation and couldn't lock this thread, but even if the thread is unlocked it doesn't give you carte blanche to do what you want. 

[millennium]

8 hours ago, vb68 said:

The loved ones visit seemed much more emotional this time.

 

The histrionics are entirely out of control.   The sobbing, the begging, the collapsing, Michaela pitching a fit and getting scolded by her mom ...  What a bunch of babies.  Have they never gone away to school?  Moved away from home?   Spent a month at summer camp?   It's like they're all competing for camera time.   A truly pathetic display.

Edited May 11, 2017 by millennium

[himela]

I dont know if this is already mentioned but did anyone notice Sarah seem confused after the vote and Aubry noticing it and being surprised? What I got from that was that Sarah tried to act blindsided by Sierra being voted out so that Sierra sees that and wills her the legacy advantage. But Aubry caught that and she was looking weirdly at Sarah like saying " why are you acting surprised? You knew Sierra was the one voted out and you should have voted for her too!". Did anyone notice or am I imagining things?

[cooksdelight]

7 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Probst seemed so blown away by that. 

It doesn't take much to amaze Probst.

[Jeffurry]

Jeremy's loved one in Second Chance was Val, a former survivor.

An episode of Kaoh Rong was called "It’s a ‘Me’ Game, Not a ‘We’ Game."

Jeff Probst has amnesia.

[sadiegirl1999]

8 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Probst seemed so blown away by that. 

I could see his "that's the new catch phrase" swirling in his head.

[sadiegirl1999]

5 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

I don't know why I feel this way but for me it is an iron rule that every visiting loved one should be treated like royalty.

I loved how....I think it was Michaela said her mom gets a trip to Fiji.

Like, hells YEAH. *I'll* even be Sierra's loved one for a trip to Fiji.

[ghoulina]

Glad to see Sierra gone. I'm really not sure why she was brought back as a "game changer". I've never been impressed with her (although she does have a knack for grappling things), but she's always seemed mighty impressed with herself. The delicious part was that it was basically her own bad gameplay that brought her down. 

It seemed like Andrea was a lock. Then Sierra did exactly what Michaela told her NOT to do. And talked. She told Sarah about the Andrea plan. Sarah saw her opening, and she went for it. She changed Tai and Michaela's minds AND got the Legacy Advantage while doing so. Sarah was another who I was quite perplexed about being brought back on a "game changers" season, but I think she's really earning it. 

And her husband is HOT. Who would have thunk it????

I know I'm in the minority, but I always enjoy the Loved Ones visits. A big part of why I watch this show is the human connections. It's more than just a game. These are real people with real lives, and I think the Loved Ones visits, albeit brief, can shed more light on who these people are. I find it interesting and touching. 

It's also always interesting to see who gets picked when Jeff does his cliche - "Okay, pick one more person"...."Okay, pick ONE more". you know it's coming. Such a struggle, because who gets left behind can change EVERYTHING. I actually probably would have picked Cirie and Sarah too. Cirie because that's her SON, man. The kid just graduated high school and she missed it. And Sarah had SUCH an emotional reaction, and she's got a little one at home. I'd have likely made the same picks, but man.....you have to be careful. Andrea was very lucky that Sierra blabbed, because I think she was very close to being gone. 

It's funny, I actually don't have anyone I'm rooting for right now. That's not to say I dislike them all. Quite the contrary. But for some reason I don't favor any one over the other, and I'm just sitting back and enjoying the game play. Very unlike me. 

[Haleth]

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh. I thought it was because Sarah literally expected Sierra to hand over the legacy advantage right then and there and was upset when she didn't.

I think both Sarah and Andrea were confused about why Sierra left without anything being said about the advantage.  I was confused too.

Did Probst show all the votes?  I thought there was one left unread.

9 hours ago, PaperTree said:

Absolutely, but this is supposed to be "Survivor"

The loved ones visit is just another way to play with their minds, something else to survive.  Taunting them with the visit, the high of spending time together followed by the post visit let down, or the agony of watching the loved one walk away without time together.  How will this affect their game?  It's pretty cruel when you think about it.

7 hours ago, kikaha said:

When Jeff told Tai that Mark was coming out, I half expected Mark the chicken to come flying into his arms.

Do chickens cry?

I was annoyed by the constant pans to Debbie to show her reactions at TC.  I don't find Debbie entertaining so I wish the editors would quit shoving her face at us every 10 seconds.

Jared is going to see on the internet today that he is the new Survivor darling.

[Ms Blue Jay]

7 hours ago, blackwing said:

I didn't hear him tell the women to move.  I thought I heard Andrea telling Aubrey to "stay out of his way" or something like that.

I heard the same as you did.

I think the bond between siblings IS interesting.  There's good reason there have been countless television shows, books, and movies about it.

Edited May 11, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[penbrat]

Boring episode.  I was neutral about Sierra so I don't care that she was voted out.   Sarah is playing a good game but she does not need to drone on and on about it in her THs.

I laughed when Michaela's mom told her to settle down, because that is such a mom thing to say.  And while I liked what Michaela said at TC about the We flipping into Me, I find her continued temper tantrums and outbursts annoying and childish.  She has no one but herself to blame if she is voted out.

UO I know, but I like Brad.    I think he has been likeable and humble this season and is playing a good game.  I have no problems with him.

Lastly, seeing the smirk on Debbie's face, I know that this is going to be one of the bitterest juries ever and I hate that.

[Bryce Lynch]

I was thinking about the right way to share that you have the Legacy Advantage.  If you really must tell somebody, tell them that you will leave it to them if and only if:

a) They get you through the next X number of votes.  In this case, probably 1 or 2.

AND

b) They mark their ballots to prove they did not vote for you.  For example, write the 3rd letter in the name of the person you voted for backwards.  

I still think keeping it to yourself is the best option, but if you are going to try to use it to build an alliance, at least take basic precautions to prevent giving that person every motivation to vote you out immediately.

Oh, and if you are going to tell someone, you might want to choose someone other than the person who has shown the most propensity for flipping. 

Sierra seems to only play from a position of total strength ("There's a new sheriff in town!") or total weakness ("I'll do anything you guys say." "Look I have the legacy advantage and I promise to leave it to you!").  She doesn't seem to get the idea of negotiating for mutual benefit.  

Edited May 11, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[ghoulina]

7 hours ago, GaT said:

 

I hate the "loved ones" episode, it's only 38 days folks, the weeping is ridiculous.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, of course; but I think, for me, it's not so much about how long they've not seen their loved one. I mean, I live an hour from my mom and sometimes don't see her for a month. I think it's how emotionally draining the game is. You're not just away from your husband, or your sister, or your son. You're ALONE on an island with no one from your regular life. You're constantly keeping your guard up and trying to preserve yourself in this game. You may form fairly solid alliances, but at the end of the day, you can't truly trust anyone but yourself. It's very challenging mentally and emotionally. Combine that with being physically tired and hungry, and a lot of them are at their breaking points. Then you see someone from your life back home - someone who you CAN let your guard down with, someone you CAN trust. And it just all comes out. I get it. It's not really about the length of time they've been gone, but all factors combined. 

 

7 hours ago, MrsR said:

Yeah, Brad was not a quarterback but he's got mad skills at throwing bean bags.

As soon as I saw what the final portion of that challenge was, I knew Brad was going to win it. 

 

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

And her husband is a hottie but I don't think I would actually SAY IT, Sierra.  That was weird.

I did. And my husband was within hearing range. And I watch with our two sons. I couldn't help myself. :O

 

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

It doesn't take much to amaze Probst.

No, it doesn't. He was REALLY into the "We becomes a Me" thing. 

 

20 minutes ago, penbrat said:

UO I know, but I like Brad.    I think he has been likeable and humble this season and is playing a good game.  I have no problems with him.

Even more UO, I've NEVER disliked Brad. I am definitely enjoying him this season, and I think he and Monica are cute. *hidesbehindcouch*

[Bryce Lynch]

57 minutes ago, penbrat said:

Boring episode.  I was neutral about Sierra so I don't care that she was voted out.   Sarah is playing a good game but she does not need to drone on and on about it in her THs.  As for Sarah, since she has a dronish voice, I imagine 10 seconds of her talking in the THs seems like 60 seconds.  

I laughed when Michaela's mom told her to settle down, because that is such a mom thing to say.  And while I liked what Michaela said at TC about the We flipping into Me, I find her continued temper tantrums and outbursts annoying and childish.  She has no one but herself to blame if she is voted out.

UO I know, but I like Brad.    I think he has been likeable and humble this season and is playing a good game.  I have no problems with him.

Lastly, seeing the smirk on Debbie's face, I know that this is going to be one of the bitterest juries ever and I hate that.

Agree it was boring.  Most of the episodes this season have been very good, but this was the dullest.  

I also loved the way Michaela laughed and calmed down as soon as her Mom told her to.  Earlier I thought her emotional outbursts might get her voted out, but at this point they might actually keep her in the game, as they might make people see her as less of a threat with the jury.  But, unless she pulls off some (and I hate to use this term) "big moves", she probably isn't going to win with the jury with or without the outbursts.  

Edited May 11, 2017 by Bryce Lynch

[violet and green]

Well, I was very disappointed that old glittery eyes Andrea did not get voted out. That would've been a bit more fun.

Very exciting to see Mark, who Mark the chicken was named after, and sweet to see his love for Tai.

Glad Michaela is stepping up. Fun to see Momma pull her into line when she cracked it - that woman has experience!

Boy that was a hell of a series of dumb moves by Sierra. Tell the person who is half on your side about this idol thing you have that you're going to will to her if you get voted out! Then when Michaela offers you a sweet deal and tells you not to go ruining it, quick, go ruin it by blabbing the plan to your half friend who you've told about the legacy advantage you're giving her if you get voted out! Man...

[mojoween]

@ghoulina I was all set to give you a like until the last paragraph.  I just cannot get behind that thought hahaha.  

But I love what you said about the loved ones visit.  It's not the distance from when you last saw them, it's that you're surrounded by literal and figurative snakes for a month and just need contact with someone you trust implicitly.  And also someone who presumably smells good.

[Callaphera]

8 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

I can't throw shade on the players. I know that they've been playing for a month, and you figure a week would be added on to prepare them . . . but like I said, the atmosphere probably weighs heavily on them. Even an "old hand" like Cirie can break down, especially while feeling guilty about missing her son's graduation.

Eh. Didn't she say he was her third son? She's seen two others graduate before. No big. Besides, he seemed like a little bit of a momma's boy. It was probably good for him to cut the apron strings and toughen up a bit.

...Yes, I meant all of this as a joke but damn, that's cold, even for me.

In other news, I did some pricing and research and I'm still holding firm to my idea that the Immunity necklace is a Michaels craft class product. I figure you can make a close replica for $45 with some clever coupon usage and a trip to the hardware store for some rope. I wonder if I could wear it around the house to get out of cleaning jobs that I don't want to do. "No, honey, don't you see? I won immunity so you have to clean the toilet this week." Yes, that's how exciting this episode was. I priced out the Immunity necklace. 

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I say just bring the pets! 

Probst seemed so blown away by that. 

Yes! Bring the pets!

Of course Jeff will say, "We've added a twist.  You have a choice.  You can either get love from your pets for the rest of the day, or you can eat your pets."

[Callaphera]

3 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Yes! Bring the pets!

Of course Jeff will say, "We've added a twist.  You have a choice.  You can either get love from your pets for the rest of the day, or you can eat your pets."

Poor Fluffy. Not much meat on him but protein is protein.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

12 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I know it's very popular here to hate the family visits , But I loved them.  I cried at Sierra's Dad:  "Take my strength."  I was BAWLING when Jeff even MENTIONED that Michaela's mom EXISTED before I even saw her FACE and then her face looked exactly like Michaela's.  Michaela's mom: "Your mom loves you."  bAWAWWWWWWWWWWWWWWL.  Then Jared fucking comes out.  Jared with his tears falling onto his t-shirt because he sees his mom.  I was laughing with such JOY to see that kid. The parents made me cry.  Cirie's son just made me erupt in totally gleeful laughter!  His smile was EAR TO EAR!  I love every minute of this shit.

THIS x 1000.  I got freaking misty just now reading your post!  Mom missing high school graduation and having him run out?   Them being besties?  Jared randomly musing about being in Fiji "with his shirt off." Cirie and Jared were just the best part of that episode for me.  I PRAY my boys feel that way about me!  And Michaela explaining how hard her mom has worked to provide was a close second in the tears dept.  Great stuff there.

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, ghoulina said:

And her husband is HOT. Who would have thunk it????

I'm ashamed to say I was thinking the same thing, then I looked up pictures of Sarah and found one with her cute little figure tucked into a tidy uniform, the miracle of make-up and an adorable big smile and thought, Oh yeah, I can see all that making a hot guy pay attention.

I've been rooting for Sarah to win since the second episode.  She's so unself-conscious and determined out there, like kids playing.  Plus, she saw through Sandra's smooth talk, something few people have been able to do. I did have a heart hurting moment when her husband said her little boy asks for Mommy every day., though.

I'm very happy for Tai that he has found someone of his very own who is almost as pretty as Caleb.  I liked hearing him say that Tai was the best person he had ever known.  Within the game Tai can almost seem like two different people, loving all nature one minute, pulling up trees the next, but I've always suspected that the loving part was the true, outside the game, Tai. 

[ProfCrash]

Sarah is owning this game right now. She is controlling all the votes and seems to be trusted by everyone. I have no clue why Sierra would tell Sarah about the legacy advantage. I am beyond lost as to why Sierra would leave it to Sarah and not Brad or Troyzan. Sarah managed to get Sierra voted out and she gets the legacy advantage. That is amazing.

Michaela knows about the legacy advantage so I suspect that Sarah will take her out next week. Then again, Michaela is a great goat for the final tribal...

[cooksdelight]

The one time I really remember a loved ones visit making an impact on me was when Johnny Fairplay told his brother "Grandma's dead, just go along with it" or whatever he said.

That would be me. I'd pick my sister to come, as she's watched Survivor since day one and she knows how the game is played. And I'd make up some sort of story for her to exclaim loudly about someone dying or my dog being run over by a car, etc. 

Yeah, I'd do that to get further along in the game. :)

If they ever have a Survivor "Idiots vs. Morons" then and only then should Sierra get another shot.

[simplyme]

1 hour ago, Callaphera said:

In other news, I did some pricing and research and I'm still holding firm to my idea that the Immunity necklace is a Michaels craft class product. I figure you can make a close replica for $45 with some clever coupon usage and a trip to the hardware store for some rope. I wonder if I could wear it around the house to get out of cleaning jobs that I don't want to do. "No, honey, don't you see? I won immunity so you have to clean the toilet this week." Yes, that's how exciting this episode was. I priced out the Immunity necklace. 

SimplyMom and I are also convinced that the immunity necklace is a Michael's craft product. In fact, after the Mother's Day commercial where Jeff is shown putting it around Andrea's neck and saying, "That will come in handy," SimplyMom turned to me and said, "That is NOT what I want for Mother's Day."

[Bryce Lynch]

1 minute ago, ProfCrash said:

Sarah is owning this game right now. She is controlling all the votes and seems to be trusted by everyone. I have no clue why Sierra would tell Sarah about the legacy advantage. I am beyond lost as to why Sierra would leave it to Sarah and not Brad or Troyzan. Sarah managed to get Sierra voted out and she gets the legacy advantage. That is amazing.

Michaela knows about the legacy advantage so I suspect that Sarah will take her out next week. Then again, Michaela is a great goat for the final tribal...

Or Michaela will try to take out Sarah because she knows about the legacy advantage.  I'm not sure it was clear that Michaela knew that the legacy advantage gets passed down or that Sarah was going to inherit it, though.  

[IgnoranceisBLISS]

I loved the look that Crazy Debbie gave to Zeke when she just knew that Andrea was going to be the next one voted out. LOL  Only thing that could have been better is to see what they both looked like when it was Sierra!

[fishcakes]

Boring episode, but Sierra is gone, so yay!

I don't mind the loved ones visits and I usually get a little teary (but I cry at everything, so you can't go by me), but Jeff was trying to make more of the moment than necessary. Sometimes a person is just happy to see her mom. It's not necessary to have a discussion about it. "What is the significance of the mother and child bond?" "And now let us turn to a philosophical exploration of the sibling relationship and how it affects society." I was kind of hoping that after all that, one of them would be like Coach and have no one to bring out but an employee so that Jeff would have to say something like, "and who is this filthy rando? Why does he matter?"

I also thought Sarah's face as Sierra was leaving was because she was wondering about the Legacy advantage. I half expected her to call after Sierra that she was forgetting something. Nevertheless, I'm rooting for her (although now that Sierra's gone, I'm okay with any of the remaining people winning). She's not getting a winner edit, though, because they keep showing her with that slack-jawed expression. She's getting Aubry's unflattering Kaoh Rong edit, but she's playing a better game than Aubry played her first season, so maybe it won't matter as much.

13 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

It's cute how Culpepper thinks that Monica is some sort of Survivor genius and not just a goat who got dragged to the end then got crushed.

Heh. I do give Monica a ton of credit for being a challenge beast, but the answer to #WWMD is pretty much: be a goat and get one vote only because Vytas is the bitterest human to ever play Survivor.

[IgnoranceisBLISS]

13 hours ago, sadiegirl1999 said:

Anyone else noticed the shirt strap hanging out of Debbie's shirt? I'll let myself out.

No, because the pleather/snake skin skirt had be confused. LMAO You really do need to look up Debbie's "modeling" photos if you haven't already. They are quite the treat. 

[NutMeg]

8 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

"Oh great, the loved ones visit," I said, "that means the entire thread will be nothing but bitching about the loved ones visit."

It was a long process of introducing each loved one and making them give some kind of speech.  This is one of those Pagonging episodes that taxes the editor's art, as they try to find something to fill the time when the next boot is exactly who you would figure it would be.  Nevertheless I was feeling the heavy hang of doom because before I fired up the episode I thought Andrea was going home and when she was the target I thought for sure she was going home and when Sierra's name was read first I closed my eyes and accepted in my heart that she was going home and then she didn't go home!  NICE!

Although I do think if she had gone home Andrea would have had herself to blame because those were some bad choices for the reward.  (I have to say I really do hate this reward team challenge thing.  If it were me of course I would be throwing that challenge so hard, but you can't when you're on a team.  Though I guess it helps diffuse the responsibility for the choices...those were clearly Andrea choices.)  Sarah is reasonable since she was the last to join her alliance but still, she's an even-keeled and logical sort of gal, she'll know what's up.  Don't leave Michaela alone with the other alliance when a) she's upset about losing and b) she was upset last night at the vote.  Take Michaela!  Leave Cirie!  Maybe take Tai instead of Sarah!  It worked out...but it was this close to going wrong.

Sarah's social game is the best on the island right now, and that's saying something with Cirie there.  Everyone wants to be Sarah's friend, even the person she's voting out in order to steal her advantage in heartless Machiavellian fashion.  She's clearly not seen as a flipper, despite flipping before; she's seen as a friend.  Pretty amazing, and honestly I think also amazing is she managed to turn that vote back on Sierra by bringing up the threat of that same advantage that she is going to hold herself tomorrow.  Another great Sarah episode.

Having not seen BvW and having a positive impression of Monica from One World I enjoyed seeing her, and her advice to work on Michaela.  Can't see how there's anything wrong with that advice, whether you find it "impressive" or not.  And it's nice for Jeff to make her sound like a Survivor badass, regardless of the truth; I don't know why I feel this way but for me it is an iron rule that every visiting loved one should be treated like royalty.

Overall a little boring (way not enough Cirie IMO) but still much better than I feared, as I was expecting my Survivor Sister Andrea going home.  Finally, I know it is somewhat problematic of me to feel this way but this episode I did feel rather envious of Sierra's island bod, even though her crazy-long legs made it hard for her to get under that log.

Damn it, KimberStormer, you wrote almost all I came here to say. From the loved ones who as each season would monopolise a big chunk of the tread, to the fear that Andrea was going home. And even liking seeing Monica.

I also think Sarah is playing a fantastic social and strategic game. One small flaw, though: jurors talk, and Sarah's suprised look when they were voted out might end up counting against her once those who thought she was with them realize that she was not.

I'm so happy that so many people are playing, and in such different ways, this season. (I know, I probably wrote that before, but it stays true!)

Mark the non chicken looks very much like a young Yves Saint Laurent, any caricature of one could be claimed by the other as depicting him: same kind of glasses, same hairdo, similar tall lanky frame.  

Edited May 11, 2017 by NutMeg
typo

[Archery]

No loved ones visit made me bawl more than Tai (the black lady who was a girl group singer) shoving money at Jeff at the auction for the chance to go to Exile Island see her husband, and (almost) all of the other cast giving her their money.  Cirie's joy at seeing her son is a close second.  And I could just look at Michaela's face for the entire hour of the episode.   

[Daisy]

10 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Didn't Canada move their Thanksgiving to later than early October?

if they did that's news to me. lol it's still the 2nd Monday in October as far as I know

10 hours ago, legaleagle53 said:

Thanksgiving in the US always falls on the fourth Thursday of November.

oops. thanks for that :)

[Daisy]

5 hours ago, GenL said:

Hey guys. Two important reminders:

1. There is NO preview talk in episode threads, no matter how vague. Posts will be hidden with no explanation if there's anything at all related to preview talk in it. 

2. There is NO live chat in the episode threads. I was (am) on vacation and couldn't lock this thread, but even if the thread is unlocked it doesn't give you carte blanche to do what you want. 

Sorry about #2. I just thought (so I am going to assume a few others did too) this was an episode we were allowed too. hopefully Mods can consider having a live chat thread for those who'd like to though. it's fun (but i respect the decision not to if it's too much for y'all). 

[Whimsy]

14 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Sorry about #2. I just thought (so I am going to assume a few others did too) this was an episode we were allowed too. hopefully Mods can consider having a live chat thread for those who'd like to though. it's fun (but i respect the decision not to if it's too much for y'all). 

We'll do a live chat for the finale 

[peachmangosteen]

13 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Oh. I thought it was because Sarah literally expected Sierra to hand over the legacy advantage right then and there and was upset when she didn't.  But oops, LOL, I guess you are right.

This is what I thought, too. And honestly I still think that. I hope we get to see Andrea asking her about it in the next ep.

11 hours ago, Nashville said:

Frankly, I thought the contestants' reactions at just the initial mention of the Loved Ones was so overblown as to be a workshop in Bad Acting 101 class - but hey, maybe that's just me.  :>

Sarah's reaction was way OTT and felt very fake to me.

11 hours ago, PaperTree said:

Mom dumped me at college before Labor Day and I didn't see any family again until Thanksgiving.  No Big Deal.  :)

But did you talk to them on the phone? Did you text them? These people have no contact at all with any of their loved ones for over a month. That's hard. And the situation they're in makes it 10 times worse.

This was a boring ep, but at least Andrea didn't get booted!

Sarah is playing one hell of a game. I just wish I could bring myself to truly like and root for her.

Edited May 11, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[sadiegirl1999]

37 minutes ago, IgnoranceisBLISS said:

14 hours ago, sadiegirl1999 said:

Anyone else noticed the shirt strap hanging out of Debbie's shirt? I'll let myself out.

No, because the pleather/snake skin skirt had be confused. LMAO You really do need to look up Debbie's "modeling" photos if you haven't already. They are quite the treat. 

Meh, no thanks. I like my eyes and want to keep them. I'd have to throw bleach in them after that.

[Ms Blue Jay]

42 minutes ago, Archery said:

No loved ones visit made me bawl more than Tai (the black lady who was a girl group singer) shoving money at Jeff at the auction for the chance to go to Exile Island see her husband, and (almost) all of the other cast giving her their money.  Cirie's joy at seeing her son is a close second.  And I could just look at Michaela's face for the entire hour of the episode.   

Taj, from SWV!  I freaking love her.  Maybe I should watch that season again.  I would like her to come back.

[Bryce Lynch]

3 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

This is what I thought, too. And honestly I still think that. I hope we get to see Andrea asking her about it in the next ep.

Sara's reaction was way OTT and felt very fake to me.

But did you talk to her on the phone? Did you text her? These people have no contact at all with any of their loved ones for over a month. That's hard. And the situation they're in makes in 10 times worse.

This was a boring ep, but at least Andrea didn't get booted!

Sarah is playing one hell of a game. I just wish I could bring myself to truly like and root for her.

The question with Sarah is whether she is playing too hard.  She has voted out all 5 jury members and betrayed several of them in the process.  Andrea and Cirie would probably beat her at FTC, but if they are on the jury, she probably won't get their votes, especially Andrea's.  She could have a problem getting to FTC with 2 people she can beat, without also creating a jury that is bitter against her. 

[blackwing]

I too am puzzled why Sierra gave her advantage to Sarah.  Or why she even told her about it.  Because "we've bonded even though we aren't allied"?  Why wouldn't she have given it to Brad?  She and Brad were a solid team, and everyone knew it.  They had each other's backs, and I would have thought she would have wanted Brad to win.  If she was so close to Sarah and wants her to win, why didn't she ever try to entreat Sarah over to join their side?

I greatly despise Sarah so I'm unhappy to see her get her way and get Sierra's advantage.  I will miss Sierra and her matching blue underwear.

Regarding Sarah and her ability to win... can anyone remind me of similar examples of people who were devious and flipped back and forth and yet still won?  She definitely seems to be in control.  Tyson and Tony are examples I can think of of people who were in control.  They blatantly voted people out and still won the game, because everyone acknowledged that they were great at the game.  But Sarah to me seems like she has betrayed too many people.  In particular, Zeke.  Zeke is bitter.  Zeke thinks that Zeke should win and that people must justify to Zeke why they didn't think Zeke should have won.  Sarah and Zeke were allied and she turned on him.  I could easily see Zeke advocating that Sarah should not win.  Who is an example of a Betrayer who has still won the game?

I'm curious about Aubrey.  The last time she played, she was a fantastic strategic mastermind, and she was fairly relevant from start to finish.  This time around, she seems to be doing next to nothing.  Seems odd.  I get that she's probably letting other people take the lead (Andrea, Sarah) but I'm surprised that she's not more relevant.  Even if she got to the end, I'm not sure if I would vote for her, it seems like she is just a coattail rider at this point.

39 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Sorry about #2. I just thought (so I am going to assume a few others did too) this was an episode we were allowed too. hopefully Mods can consider having a live chat thread for those who'd like to though. it's fun (but i respect the decision not to if it's too much for y'all). 

I'm not opposed to it, but just to let you know, there are lots of people like me who will just skip over the entire block of live chat (whenever there is live chat in any thread) and just start with wherever the non-live discussion begins.  The most painful offender to me is awards show threads.  It's really not interesting to see blocks and blocks of "Ooooooh", "Yes!!!!!!!", "Wow she so deserved it, that was so powerful" and the like.  I'd much rather read thoughts afterwards and add my own, rather than read stream of consciousness that often makes no sense out of context, especially after we know who got eliminated.  "Here comes the immunity challenge... I really hope Sierra wins this, I like her."  [Sierra voted out.]   

Edited May 11, 2017 by blackwing

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Or Michaela will try to take out Sarah because she knows about the legacy advantage.  I'm not sure it was clear that Michaela knew that the legacy advantage gets passed down or that Sarah was going to inherit it, though.  

Sarah was very careful in her wording when she told Michaela. And since Michaela is a newbie she may not know what all it entails. 

[ljenkins782]

11 hours ago, blackwing said:

This legacy idol... does it function like a regular idol? So next episode Sarah can use it on herself or someone else?  Ugh.   Sarah may be playing well, but I hope that one of the later boots tells Sierra that Sarah voted for her.

If it's the same as last season, it means Sarah has immunity for that specific TC (at 6). She also has the other advantage she found, which I think was the steal a vote? That means she has 2 advantages, Tai has 2 idols, and Troyzan has an idol. That seems like an awful lot of extras for this stage of the game, I don't think I like it. 

The only possibly good thing is that none of the people holding these items seem to have shared them with anyone. For example, Sarah told Michaela about Sierra's advantage, but left out of the part about Sierra having to leave it behind. And since Michaela was not on the jury (and Zeke, who was there, is already out of the game), she may not have known anything about last season's legacy advantage since they filmed this before that one aired (I think). 

Quote

 

Quote

Cirie's son Jared is what, 18?  Ever see an 18yo pay much attention to anything not immediately impacting directly upon themselves?  :)

When your mothers on TV, and talks about it, yes, him! Didnt they say they talk about everything??

 

"Everything" in this case is probably not EVERYTHING. I certainly wouldn't be pressing for details about where my mom went to the bathroom in any scenario. In general, I think the bathroom and hygiene details are one of the least tangible hardships of Survivor, we technically know they don't get flushing toilets, showers, toothbrushes, etc., but don't know what the actual experience of going without any of those things for that long.

Quote

But "Tell me about the bond between siblings," Probst? Really? That's your compelling television?

That one stood out to me only because of its proximity to Andrea's mom talking about Andrea losing her sister in high school. For that reason, it seemed like a poor choice of words/sentiment.

Quote

Glad to see Sierra gone. I'm really not sure why she was brought back as a "game changer". I've never been impressed with her (although she does have a knack for grappling things), but she's always seemed mighty impressed with herself. The delicious part was that it was basically her own bad gameplay that brought her down. 

I'm so glad to see her gone too. I can't even pinpoint what it is about her that annoys me so much, but she bugs me. And the fact that she singlehandedly turned a set vote back on herself makes her exit that much better. 

Quote

Sarah is owning this game right now. She is controlling all the votes and seems to be trusted by everyone. I have no clue why Sierra would tell Sarah about the legacy advantage. I am beyond lost as to why Sierra would leave it to Sarah and not Brad or Troyzan. Sarah managed to get Sierra voted out and she gets the legacy advantage. That is amazing.

I wish I enjoyed watching Sarah a bit more so I could appreciate the excellent game she's playing. Because she is, but somehow it often seems like she's not. Maybe it's just her flat monotone voice and perpetually gaping mouth, I don't know. Like when she told Sierra "I love you, you're my IT girl out here," it just sounded so flat and not believable. 

Quote

Michaela knows about the legacy advantage so I suspect that Sarah will take her out next week. Then again, Michaela is a great goat for the final tribal...

Sarah framed as Sierra's advantage, Michaela doesn't know it goes to Sarah next, she thinks Sierra went home with immunity in her pocket. 

Quote

I'm not opposed to it, but just to let you know, there are lots of people like me who will just skip over the entire block of live chat (whenever there is live chat in any thread) and just start with wherever the non-live discussion begins.  The most painful offender to me is awards show threads.  It's really not interesting to see blocks and blocks of "Ooooooh", "Yes!!!!!!!", "Wow she so deserved it, that was so powerful" and the like.  I'd much rather read thoughts afterwards and add my own, rather than read stream of consciousness that often makes no sense out of context, especially after we know who got eliminated.  "Here comes the immunity challenge... I really hope Sierra wins this, I like her."  [Sierra voted out.]  

I'd like to see either a separate live chat thread for people who enjoy that or no live chatting at all, it's really not interesting to read disjointed thoughts about individual moments in an episode when you're not reading it in real time. 

Edited May 11, 2017 by ljenkins782

[Special K]

28 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Regarding Sarah and her ability to win... can anyone remind me of similar examples of people who were devious and flipped back and forth and yet still won? 

 

If Sarah wins, I will be so happy that Dan Foley's "FLIPPERS NEVER WIN!" has well and truly been disproved.  (That along with each season disproving his "BAMBOO. IS. HOLLOW.  IT. WILL. BREAK!")

I will take it as a personal favor to me if Sarah wins just for that satisfaction alone.  And, yes, I am that petty.

[DEL901]

12 hours ago, enoughcats said:

Didn't Canada move their Thanksgiving to later than early October?

Nope.  

 

As for Michaela and her being so emotional with the family visit... while she needs to control her emotions better in the game, she did play back-to-back seasons.  I wonder when she was last at home?