S34.E13: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

[laurakaye]

Was "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow" the actual title of this episode?  Did anyone actually say those words, or is the editing team so lazy that they just pulled the title out of the Book of Cliches?  Might as well call the episode "I'll Read the Votes" or "The Tribe Has Spoken."  Yawn.

Also, Probst asked a question of Culpepper that made me do a hard eye-roll...something along the lines of, "Brad!  How do you know who is lying and who is telling the truth!?"  And Probst said it with a look of stunned surprise completely at odds with the decided lack of suspense at that time (this was before Cirie did...whatever Cirie did).  I found the entire TC bizarre, and that's probably because while the cast knew what the heck was going on, the viewers were left in the dark.

Honestly, I think this entire cast met for breakfast before taping began, decided who they were going to allow to win, and are trying to manufacture drama until it all plays out just as they agreed.

[fishcakes]

So the women went from a position of dominance to being tied in numbers with three guys who have three HIIs among them. They have no one to blame but themselves. I won't even be mad if Troy wins now. It was 90% Cirie's fault, but she's also going to suffer the most for it; she went from being almost certainly the winner if she got to FTC to probably not being able to beat anyone. I don't see Sarah's reaction to Cirie trying to snake the advantage as arrogance; she was angry and I can't blame her. Cirie, who's been playing a pretty terrible game this time around, is going to "save" Sarah, who's been playing well. But since Cirie chose to believe "non-transferable" means something other than what it actually means*, all she succeeded in doing was blowing up what was left of her alliance and revealing Sarah's advantage, thus pretty much forcing Sarah to use it now so that the others don't have a chance to strategize a way to counteract it. (*I'm convinced Cirie did read the entire clue beforehand but just didn't understand it; she read it out loud at TC and still tried to make a "but she gave it to me" argument.)

20 hours ago, sadiegirl1999 said:

100% the best face of the night goes to Troyzan during his Michaela vote.

I missed his face during the Michaela vote, but the one he made when Brad was doing his Shii Ann Take That! Victory Dance over his immunity win was hilarious. He was probably thinking, "I did that in my season and then I got voted out the following week."

Edited May 18, 2017 by fishcakes

[peachmangosteen]

3 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I missed his face during the Michaela vote, but the one he made when Brad was doing his Shii Ann Take That! Victory Dance over his immunity win was hilarious. He was probably thinking, "I did that in my season and then I got voted out the following week."

I kept thinking about Troyzan's similar performance while Brad was acting a fool. I missed Troyzan's reaction though. I missed his face during the Michaela vote, too. I'm gonna need to go rewatch because I love me some Troyzan reactions!

Oh, I forgot to ask this, someone said in another ep thread that they hated Andrea for reasons they'd explain later because they weren't sure if they were spoilery or not. Now that she's gone, what were the reasons? I wish I could remember exactly who it was who said it.

Edited May 18, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[mishap]

I am confused why Sarah gave Cirie the advantage in the first place.    Sarah seemed to understand that is was non- transferable, so what good did it do, for Cirie to hold onto it?   Even is Sarah was voted out of the game, Cirie could not have used that advantage in the future, right?  Non transferable means non transferable, and it seems it didn't say anything about passing it on, if someone was voted out.  I also thought that HII were null and void, if someone happened to leave them at camp, and then get voted out. 

Was Sarah just playing Cirie?  Was it a test? 

Well, it was not the only think I was confused about during episode.  Maybe we will see next week, the thought process that got Michaela voted out. 

[Charlesman]

13 minutes ago, laurakaye said:

Was "Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow" the actual title of this episode?  Did anyone actually say those words, or is the editing team so lazy that they just pulled the title out of the Book of Cliches?  

 

Culpepper said it at the first challenge when Probst removed his immunity necklace. 

[enoughcats]

3 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

 

Sarah isn't my favorite, but the woman has good game play.  Despite looking like a stranded big mouth bass all the time, she has brains & works on her  strategy.

 

I doubt that any of us would look great after that much time without soap, water, etc.  Last night I noticed Sarah rubbing her nose and (self projecting) I wonder if her sinuses are going bonkers?  When mine are bad, I breathe through my mouth or I don't breathe well.  Having lived surrounded by Gulf Coast swamp, I know that sinus problems can come on and they just don't get better without medicine.  

[candall]

I have to give Tai props for holding on to those idols.  He used to be in big hurry to play his idols, for this person or that person, and now he's sitting on two of them without even telling anyone. (ASFAIK)  I gasped when he didn't play one after the Cirie kerfluffle, just for insurance, but he was ice-water.

I think he's come a long way from Champion of Chickens.

[AZChristian]

Haven't had a chance to read all the comments here (got home late last night and just watched the DVR'd episode).  But here are my thoughts:

That was an awesome episode:
     1. Flashing red sign over Cirie's head after she tried to play the legacy: DO NOT TRUST THIS WOMAN. She will break her word, try to stab you in the back, and can't read.
     2. I understood why Brad snapped back at Michaela that her telling him to go fishing was a form of threat. She wasn't asking him politely. I thought the tone in which she said "You should go fishing" was indicating a command, not a request. When he asked what she meant, she said "You need to go fishing." There was no "All our protein is gone, we could use some fish and you're the best fisherman in the tribe." It WAS a form of blackmail: "It would be a good idea for you to go get some fish, or you're gone."
     3. Based on that scene with Michaela, I can understand why Brad was so hyped up about winning the immunity. He knew they were gunning for him, and he had saved himself. Must have been particularly sweet because Michaela thought she had won the IC, but Brad was the one who got the puzzle right. 
     4. I think when Sarah went over to whisper to Tai at TC, she told him, "Don't worry. I am going to steal your vote, but I am not going to vote against you. We are going to get Michaela out." That's the ONLY reason Tai didn't play one of his idols.

[enthropyhater]

3 minutes ago, candall said:

I have to give Tai props for holding on to those idols.  He used to be in big hurry to play his idols, for this person or that person, and now he's sitting on two of them without even telling anyone. (ASFAIK)  I gasped when he didn't play one after the Cirie kerfluffle, just for insurance, but he was ice-water.

I think he's come a long way from Champion of Chickens.

I agree, he has progressed as a player and I don't understand why some comments say he will never win if he gets to the end, no matter what. I don't agree at all. Tai has a very good chance to win if he gets to the end, depending on who sits next to him. 

[Runningwild]

3 minutes ago, enthropyhater said:

I agree, he has progressed as a player and I don't understand why some comments say he will never win if he gets to the end, no matter what. I don't agree at all. Tai has a very good chance to win if he gets to the end, depending on who sits next to him. 

I disagree. First, I don't see him ever getting to the end because he's too big an endurance challenge threat. But, if he did make it to the end, I can't see him providing a good argument to vote for him. "I found idols" is not a good argument. 

[thejuicer]

7 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

I disagree. First, I don't see him ever getting to the end because he's too big an endurance challenge threat. But, if he did make it to the end, I can't see him providing a good argument to vote for him. "I found idols" is not a good argument. 

Re: Tai. I totally agree. He's some kind of Survivor anomaly in my opinion. On paper he seems like he has the goods to win - finds idols, wins ICs, gets along with most people. But to see him in action is a big letdown. He seems to float around not really having any strategy or conviction. Yes he found two idols but like others have said, so freaking what. He can find ten idols if he wants but he'll still need to convince a jury of peers to vote for him.  If he wants to cement his strategic wiles he should have used them to protect his alliance when he had the chance but alas, Parvati he is not. If he gives his idols to save Brad and Troyzan he pretty much guarantees he won't win just because that's hell of a stupid move.

[sally-can-wait]

3 hours ago, ghoulina said:

Sarah immediately brought up that the advantage was non-transferable at TC. So I think she had to know that when she gave it to Cirie. So I can only conclude that she was well aware Cirie could never do anything with it and was just using it as a way to get what she wanted from Cirie. 

But I think this is editing trying to make us THINK Sarah knew it was non-transferable since, as mojoween noted in a previous post, Troyzan tweeted that HE let Sarah know it was not transferable at TC. So I think both Sarah and Cirie were dumb and had no idea what they were doing but editing wants us to think Sarah was on top of things...which leads me to believe she is getting a good edit. 

[Dominii]

30 minutes ago, enthropyhater said:

Tai has a very good chance to win if he gets to the end, depending on who sits next to him.

I agree. If Tai is at F3 with Troyzan and one of the women (I hate to say it, but it may be hard for one of the women to win against 2 men due to blatant sexism which is so often apparent in this contest), he could win.

If the 3 guys go against each other at the end, Culpepper will probably win. If Culpepper wins this, I'll beat my tv to death with a sledgehammer.

[Ms Blue Jay]

44 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

     2. I understood why Brad snapped back at Michaela that her telling him to go fishing was a form of threat. She wasn't asking him politely. I thought the tone in which she said "You should go fishing" was indicating a command, not a request. When he asked what she meant, she said "You need to go fishing." There was no "All our protein is gone, we could use some fish and you're the best fisherman in the tribe." It WAS a form of blackmail: "It would be a good idea for you to go get some fish, or you're gone."
 

And I like Michaela, but what's funny is, her actual intent was worse than blackmail.

Michaela tells Brad to go fish.  
Brad assumes:  You are blackmailing me.  You are telling me that if I don't go fish right now, you won't save me.
Michaela's actual intent:  Just go get some fish so that I can eat it and then we will vote you out afterwards.

Comedy.  Brad actually assumed her intent was better than it was.  Hey, if I was in trouble I'd take that quid pro quo.  LOL.  But it wasn't on the table.

Can Brad even fish?  I don't mean to sound snarky.  Had he actually done it before?

Edited May 18, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bouffe]

That was nuts. 

Best face: Zeke's huge smile of amusement and surprise when all the craziness happened at tribal council. He is without a doubt a huge fan of this show!

Tai: I was shocked that Tai did not play an idol. I agree with previous posters that Sarah must have whispered to him the very first time that she'd steal his vote but would not vote for him. He HAS come a long way as a player, as others have said. And I am ambivalent about his chances if he makes it to FTC. He was part of some moves, but did he engineer them? He found idols and so far, he has waited to play them, which shows he has evolved as a player. He's good at challenges. He's well liked, it seems. Enough to win? I don't know.

Sarah: I am still not too sure why she wanted to give Cirie the advantage. Show of trust? Perhaps. She did play both tribals very well, in my opinion. Getting Andrea out was a must, and getting back at Cirie was also a must.

Cirie: I like her and loved the way she has played so far, but she got way too cocky at F7 TC and got caught. I am not even sure "saving" Sarah the way she was planning to was necessary.

I was glad to see Andrea get voted out. She is a smart player and can rally people around her pretty easily. And she did very well in challenges. My impression of her as a player has gone up quite a bit.

I really wish Sarah and co could have rallied and vote Cirie out (even tho I like Cirie). But I guess Mikaela was a good choice, too. She is a beast at challenges, smart and aligned herself with solid players. Cirie can be taken out pretty much anytime, as she does not do well at challenges. She is, however a very effective smooth talker so I would not count her out just yet, although after a blunder like that at TC, red arrows are flashing bright above her head.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Oh, now I hope Tai wins just to see the reactions to it :)

[piequinn35]

Michaela Exit Interview

Can't blame Cirie for not knowing that the adv was not transferable, Sarah gave it to her moments before TC, she played her now Sarah is pissed at her.

[Bouffe]

10 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

Michaela Exit Interview

Lots of great info on the advantage and who was suppose to get voted out that night... And she doesn't sound bitter. At least after several months. LOL Let's see how she is on the jury!

Edited May 18, 2017 by Bouffe

[Wandering Snark]

2 hours ago, mishap said:

Was Sarah just playing Cirie?  Was it a test? 

I believe the answers are.. yes. And it's ironic that what Cirie planned to do was to show Sarah about who was trustworthy and instead it showed that it was HER who wasn't trustworthy. I think Cirie fell pray to 'Gotta make a big move to put on my resume'-itis.

[Charlesman]

22 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

Michaela Exit Interview

Can't blame Cirie for not knowing that the adv was not transferable, Sarah gave it to her moments before TC, she played her now Sarah is pissed at her.

 

Michaela has no one to blame but herself. The advantage was sitting at her feet for the entirety of that challenge she sat out. All she had to do was look at her own feet, instead of complaining she wasn't picked. Sarah stole it instead and voted her out with it. Karmic justice.

[Tryangle]

15 hours ago, PaperTree said:

As I digest all these wonderful comments, I get the sinking feeling that Culpepper or Tai is gong to win.  Ugh.

The way the edits have gone, it's really shaking up to be a final 3 of Brad/Tai/Sarah, and odds are we're going to get a 'meh' kind of winner.

[penbrat]

Deleted

Edited May 18, 2017 by penbrat
Wrong forum

[Ms Blue Jay]

Oh my god, thank you so much @piequinn35 for linking this interview.  This. Is. Awesome.

[blackwing]

3 hours ago, Dominii said:

I would be just fine with Michaela kicking EVERYONE. They were pretty awful to her.

I'm curious, could you please provide some specific examples of incidents in which they were awful to her?  Are you referring to the schoolyard pick when nobody picked her for the reward challenge?  Because in my opinion, she brings everything upon herself.  Her sullen and grouchy attitude and her... whatever it is she does at Tribal Council (sipping a drink, eating snacks, "bye felicia") doesn't exactly endear her to others.

She brings all of her problems upon herself because she has no self-awareness of how she comes across.  Her social game is terrible.  I'm not sure why it comes as a surprise that if you put shit in, it's likely that shit will come out.  Cirie tried to teach her about this and she still seems as sullen as ever.

[piequinn35]

Is this a deleted scene? Michaela is so funny!

[ghoulina]

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

 2. I understood why Brad snapped back at Michaela that her telling him to go fishing was a form of threat. She wasn't asking him politely. I thought the tone in which she said "You should go fishing" was indicating a command, not a request. When he asked what she meant, she said "You need to go fishing." There was no "All our protein is gone, we could use some fish and you're the best fisherman in the tribe." It WAS a form of blackmail: "It would be a good idea for you to go get some fish, or you're gone."

I agree. I thought it sounded really menacing, like - "go fishing or you'll be SLEEPING with the fishes". 

[sally-can-wait]

3 hours ago, double-elvis said:

But I think this is editing trying to make us THINK Sarah knew it was non-transferable since, as mojoween noted in a previous post, Troyzan tweeted that HE let Sarah know it was not transferable at TC. So I think both Sarah and Cirie were dumb and had no idea what they were doing but editing wants us to think Sarah was on top of things...which leads me to believe she is getting a good edit. 

Quoting myself because I have now read Michaela's exit interview and she said that Sarah did know it was non-transferable the whole time so I guess if she is getting a good edit she deserves it.

[Tara Ariano]

In case you missed it, here's the Previously.TV post on the episode!

 

Survivor Doubles Down On Strategic Plays

Three days! Two eliminations! One Survivor (episode)!

[JudyObscure]

4 hours ago, Seelouis said:

5 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I thought that was incredibly dumb of Sarah.  Immediately after she herself voted out Sierra, because Sierra had promised to will Sarah her Legacy Advantage.  Sarah turns around and puts Cirie in that same position of thinking, "Gee, if Sarah gets voted out tonight I get to keep her Legacy Advantage."  What on earth made Sarah think Cirie was more trustworthy than she herself was?

It is two different advantages.  The legacy advantage is immunity at 6 players.  It can be willed.  That's what Sierra willed to Sarah.  The steal a vote advantage is the one Sarah found by Michaela's feet during a challenge.  It cannot be willed or, apparently, transferred. 

Well thank you, Seelouis!  I didn't catch that at all! Sarah is my favorite so I didn't like thinking she did a dumb thing.  Only I did that.

[After7Only]

34 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I'm curious, could you please provide some specific examples of incidents in which they were awful to her?  Are you referring to the schoolyard pick when nobody picked her for the reward challenge?  Because in my opinion, she brings everything upon herself.  Her sullen and grouchy attitude and her... whatever it is she does at Tribal Council (sipping a drink, eating snacks, "bye felicia") doesn't exactly endear her to others.

She brings all of her problems upon herself because she has no self-awareness of how she comes across.  Her social game is terrible.  I'm not sure why it comes as a surprise that if you put shit in, it's likely that shit will come out.  Cirie tried to teach her about this and she still seems as sullen as ever.

Pretty much everything we saw of JT's and Michaela's interactions was him being awful and negative towards her.   We've seen lots of footage of JT, Culpepper, Troyzan, and Aubry calling Michaela lazy and making other negative statements about her character.  But Michaela's criticisms of others tended to be game related.  Her frustrations and "attitude" that we saw tended to be game related and during challenges.  Similar behaviors that Ozzy or other male contestants have exhibited.   

[simplyme]

Just remembered one thing that stood out to me during the episode. During the first TC, Sarah told Jeff that she thought the jury would reward gameplay over their emotions on being voted out, and she cited her experiences in Cagayan to back that up. She said, "I know. I've done that."

My immediate response was, "Yeah, but it was an F2, and your other option was Wu. No one wanted to say they lost Survivor to Wu."

Which actually is probably the question that really answers who will win Survivor a lot of the time. For each jury member, go through and ask yourself, "Who of the F2/F3 do they least mind losing to?" (IMO, this is also why Tai is not winning. No matter what you think of his game, people do not want to lose to Tai.)

Edited May 18, 2017 by simplyme

[piequinn35]

Sarah is really smart, if she didn't use the advantage, if Cirie voted Tai (instead of Aubry), and if Tai voted Sarah (thinking Brad & Troy will vote Sarah too), there would be a tie between Michaela and Tai, she played the advantage just in case there's a possible tie and there is no revote this season.

[survivinmt]

I don't understand why Sarah used her advantage. If she wanted to vote Michaela out - just ask Tai to help vote her out. She obviously has/had that kind of pull. I feel like she panicked and used it oddly. I also felt that it Sarah must have asked someone in production about the specifics of non-transferrable before she gave it to Cirie because otherwise that was just very risky. Plus I really wish Cirie had just not given it back or used it for that matter. "Oh that thing? We didn't need it so I used it for toilet paper."

TPTB have GOT to figure out that whispering at Tribal (especially when the jury is present) is pointless. Why should they answer Probst at all? Just sit and whisper to each other and then vote.

[blackwing]

TPTB will never ban the whispering.  Jeffy in particular seems to absolutely love it.  He sits there with this huge smile of amazement and wonder, like he's a teen watching porn for the first time.  You can almost see the thought bubble over his head proclaiming, "Wow!  THIS is what great TV is.  I smell Emmy!!!!!"

[MisterBluxom]

11 hours ago, laurakaye said:

And that's difficult for me to write.  I adore my Survivor.  This season, though...not feeling it anymore.  I am bum-puzzled.

You certainly have my sympathy. I may not understand what is going on. But I do sympathize with what you are feeling.  And, I blame Probst for causing this deterioration of the game and the show. I truly despise what he has done to this show over the approx 20 years it has been in existence.  I believe it is the result of chasing more dollars - under the guise of chasing higher ratings.  I think Probst has been a bad host.  But there's not much that can be done about that - considering that he had a great success from the moment he took charge until the present time. It's not like they auditioned a bunch of hosts and chose the best one.

He started off with a big success and never looked back. If you were the Executive Producer of Survivor (Mark Brunett), how could you ever justify firing Probst and hiring someone who would do a better job? There simply was never anyone else who had proven they could do a better job.   Would you care to guess who it might be that would do a better job?

There is an old saying that goes something like this:  "If something is working well, why mess with it?"  Know what I mean?

Edited May 18, 2017 by MissBluxom

[survivinmt]

I think Jeff loved it the first time it happened because it was so unprecedented. But now it seems like he's a little worried, like "What if I tell them to stop and they don't?" I almost feel like he would have to announce it at the beginning of TC that no whispering is allowed. Otherwise, they may as well turn the cameras off.

Another thing, when Brad pointed to who voted for Tai, didn't he point to Michaela and Cirie? When it was really Michaela and Aubry.

[ghoulina]

5 minutes ago, survivinmt said:

 

I think Jeff loved it the first time it happened because it was so unprecedented. But now it seems like he's a little worried, like "What if I tell them to stop and they don't?" I almost feel like he would have to announce it at the beginning of TC that no whispering is allowed. Otherwise, they may as well turn the cameras off.

 

Haha, agree. He's like a teacher that let his class have a little too much freedom and now they think they're running the show. He's scared!

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, piequinn35 said:

Sarah is really smart, if she didn't use the advantage, if Cirie voted Tai (instead of Aubry), and if Tai voted Sarah (thinking Brad & Troy will vote Sarah too), there would be a tie between Michaela and Tai, she played the advantage just in case there's a possible tie and there is no revote this season.

Yes. Sarah certainly does seem to be very smart.  But, how smart was it for her to give or loan her advantage to Cirie? Did she know for certain that Cirie would give it back to her if and when she asked for it back? My guess is that Cirie could have just refused to return it. What woul d have happened then?  I don't think anyone would have ever forced Cirie to return it to Sarah.  I know the advantage could not be transferred. But when Sarah gave it to Cirie and then asked for it back, would Cirie have been forced to return it?  If so, who would have forced her?  I don't think the situation has ever come up before where one player gave or loaned something to a 2nd player and then asked for it back and the 2nd player refused to return it. 

If the two of them got into a physical fight over that piece of parchment, would anyone have forced Cirie to return it to Sarah? What would the result have been?  I'm thinking it would have been very strange. That's fer sure.

Edited May 18, 2017 by MissBluxom

[blackwing]

26 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

You certainly have my sympathy. I may not understand what is going on. But I do sympathize with what you are feeling.  And, I blame Probst for causing this deterioration of the game and the show. I truly despise what he has done to this show over the approx 20 years it has been in existence.  I believe it is the result of chasing more dollars - under the guise of chasing higher ratings - and maybe chasing some kind of sexual gratification too. I think Probst has been a bad host.  But there's not much that can be done about that - considering that he had a great success from the moment he took charge until the present time. It's not like they auditioned a bunch of hosts and chose the best one.

He started off with a big success and never looked back. If you were the Executive Producer of Survivor (Mark Brunett), how could you ever justify firing Probst and hiring someone who would do a better job? There simply was never anyone else who had proven they could do a better job.   Would you care to guess who it might be that would do a better job?

There is an old saying that goes something like this:  "If something is working well, why mess with it?"  Know what I mean?

I agree, I think he tries too much to influence the game.  He doesn't seem to realise that the star of the show is the competition itself, and not him.  He does too much to remind viewers that he is the host, what with his comments during challenges, his constant obsession with male contestants, and his completely unnecessary commentary such as "Is Cirie going to jump or climb down?  Cirie!!!  DO IT!!!"

I feel like "Survivor" would have succeeded with or without him.  Yet he often seems to act like the show has become a success BECAUSE of him.  I can't stand him.  I feel the exact same way about Ryan Seacrest.  They both got lucky to be chosen as the host of a show that would have become a success regardless.  Ryan Seacrest is lucky that he had such a tool as a co-host during the first season, it made him look more appealing.  

Contrast Jeff Probst with Phil Keoghan and Tom Bergeron.  I don't know of anyone who finds Phil Keoghan annoying.   Perhaps the worst thing that can be said about him is that he has a tendency to buy pants that don't fit.   His humor and comments at the pit stops add to the show without being intrusive or irritating.  Tom Bergeron is funny and adds a lot to his show as well.  I am beyond flabbergasted that Jeff Probst has four Emmys for Reality show host and Keoghan has zero.

[violet and green]

This is the weirdestly edited season of Survivor ever.

That said, I am relieved Tai wasn't sent home with two idols unplayed, cause I like him, and thrilled to see Andrea go, but amazed at them thinking it was a good idea to keep Brad in and vote her out at that point. No! Everyone is trying so hard they are making the biggest blunders. Shut up about your stupid resumes.

It is quite pleasant to see Tai and Troyzan still calmly there, keeping silent about their idols, not freaking out, and making it through tribal after tribal - while the women cannibalise their own alliance. Weird play. But weirder edit.

[MissEwa]

This was a terrible episode, from a storytelling/editing point-of-view and for what it does for the chances of anyone I like winning. UGH. 

I know they start with a set number of episodes and a set number of players and almost bank on a medivac or two, but these were not the two TCs to mash into one. It was so rushed, even the good bits had no room to breathe. Andrea deserved her own boot episode, and all that manouvering around the second vote deserved to play out properly. Not that it mattered, because the stupid whispering... I know Jeff loves it but it makes the rest of the episode pointless and leaves us confused. If it's going to become a thing, at least mic everyone as they come into TC so we can get the dialogue. 

Also, did they just not show the reward challenges, or were there none? 

Cirie... oof. Damn. I know the 'fine print' was on the advantage the entire time but that just smells so fishy that this would be the one thing you can't transfer. Why not? It makes no sense. And yeah... it doesn't sound like there was that much fine print - it wasn't clause 6(c) or anything. She just either didn't read it at all or didn't understand what that meant. But what a disappointment after the potential for what could have been a really cool move. Also I'm confused by the Troyzan thing - how did he know the advantage was non-transferable. Did they pass it around? Could he see it over Cirie's shoulder? 

This season is balls. So glad it's almost over. 

[cooksdelight]

51 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

I don't think anyone would have ever forced Cirie to retirn it to Sarah.  I know the advantage could not be transferred. But when Sarah gave it to Cirie and then asked for it back, would Cirie have been forced to return it?

That's exactly what happened last night. Jeff told Cirie she had to give it back to Sarah, she could not use it. I really think Cirie didn't understand what "non-transferrable" means.

[MisterBluxom]

11 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

That's exactly what happened last night. Jeff told Cirie she had to give it back to Sarah, she could not use it. I really think Cirie didn't understand what "non-transferrable" means.

Heh. Heh. I guess I didn't either. Thank you very much for making that clear. I completely missed the part where Jeff told Cirie she had to return it.

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, survivinmt said:

I think Jeff loved it the first time it happened because it was so unprecedented. But now it seems like he's a little worried, like "What if I tell them to stop and they don't?" I almost feel like he would have to announce it at the beginning of TC that no whispering is allowed. Otherwise, they may as well turn the cameras off.

I think he's buddy-buddy with all of them off camera at this point, so it would be like if your best friend became your boss - you might think there were things you could get away with.  The "awe" factor of Probst is wearing very thin, especially with a group like this who clearly think they are running the show, and Probst is just a decorative piece of the set.  I would really hate to see the TC antics become a new wrinkle moving forward...as in, "you let the last cast wander all over the place and didn't tell them to sit the hell back down, so we're going to do it too."

Probst walks a fine line with me, never more evident than this last episode.  He needs to ask the leading questions without pointedly playing favorites, and he needs to get back to running TC like it's his office.  Get it together, Jeff!

[MisterBluxom]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

I agree, I think he tries too much to influence the game.  He doesn't seem to realise that the star of the show is the competition itself, and not him.  He does too much to remind viewers that he is the host, what with his comments during challenges, his constant obsession with male contestants, and his completely unnecessary commentary such as "Is Cirie going to jump or climb down?  Cirie!!!  DO IT!!!"

I feel like "Survivor" would have succeeded with or without him.  Yet he often seems to act like the show has become a success BECAUSE of him.  I can't stand him.  I feel the exact same way about Ryan Seacrest.  They both got lucky to be chosen as the host of a show that would have become a success regardless.  Ryan Seacrest is lucky that he had such a tool as a co-host during the first season, it made him look more appealing.  

Contrast Jeff Probst with Phil Keoghan and Tom Bergeron.  I don't know of anyone who finds Phil Keoghan annoying.   Perhaps the worst thing that can be said about him is that he has a tendency to buy pants that don't fit.   His humor and comments at the pit stops add to the show without being intrusive or irritating.  Tom Bergeron is funny and adds a lot to his show as well.  I am beyond flabbergasted that Jeff Probst has four Emmys for Reality show host and Keoghan has zero.

I'm so happy to see your post. I can't think of anyone who dislikes Probst more than me. But when I get on a tear about Probst, people seem to strongly object to my comments and they seem to support him. Sometimes I think that is because I just get too nasty about him. So, I've learned the hard way that I best just keep my mouth shut (mostly) when it comes to Probst. When I do post about my dislike for him, I realize I have to tone it way down or else I will be in danger of breaking the rules of this forum because of bad language. But it does my heart good to read posts like yours. So, thank you again.

Edited May 19, 2017 by MissBluxom

[Runningwild]

I didnt think Michaela was amusing in that deleted scene at all. And she was lying about her interact with Culpepper. And Cirie pointed out that Michaela still hasn't learned and still treats people like crap. 

 

As as far as the whole JT/Michaela spat - Sandra egged that on. And Michaela was laying around demanding things then too. Honestly I don't remember seeing her work or help out around camp. 

[simplyme]

19 minutes ago, MissEwa said:

Cirie... oof. Damn. I know the 'fine print' was on the advantage the entire time but that just smells so fishy that this would be the one thing you can't transfer. Why not? It makes no sense. And yeah... it doesn't sound like there was that much fine print - it wasn't clause 6(c) or anything. She just either didn't read it at all or didn't understand what that meant.

According to Michaela's interview, Sarah told Cirie she was going to give her the steal-a-vote advantage earlier in the day, but she only did so right before TC. So it's less about Cirie's reading comprehension than Sarah not giving her the time to read it.

Michaela also clarifies in that interview that Sarah did know it was nontransferable and said that right away, and when Jeff seemed to be waffling Troyzan made a comment about "nontransferable means nontransferable." 

Thanks for posting that interview, @piequinn35! Lots of interesting stuff there.

[UGAmp]

I just can't throw my support behind Sarah even though (from what they are showing us) she IS playing the better game for two reasons: 1) the dumbfounded look on her face at all times. 2) the fact that she really does seem to simply react to what others tell her and vote how her feelings tell her to (she called me a liar! She has to go even though she was my main ally) as opposed to planning and executing. She seems way too wishy washy and the fact more people don't want her gone baffles me! 

Man. What a blunder by Cirie. but the Michaela interview does shed a lot of light on the situation if she didn't get to read it beforehand.     I think Cirie is definitely the smartest player out there (but that's not saying much with who is left). She is always thinking a few steps ahead and I think she was truly the brains behind the women's alliance in Micronesia. But the fine print got her this time. 

And Aubry. Sigh. What a disappointing season for her especially after she was robbed of a win her first try. I read either on here or twitter that returning players tend to play like the winner of their original season. How ironic would it be if Aubry ends up winning because she made the most relationships and pissed off less people. The only difference between her and Michelle is Michelle was on the right side of the vote most of the time and Aubry had been on the losing side. If the girl can make it to the end and have a good final tribal performance and the jury is bitter (and I think most of this jury will be) she has a chance. The only thing standing in her way is her edit. :/

If it is a Brad/Tai/Troy final 3 it will be the worst final 3 in the history of the show. Let's hope at least one of the girls sneaks in there. 

Edited May 18, 2017 by UGAmp

[simplyme]

8 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

I didnt think Michaela was amusing in that deleted scene at all. And she was lying about her interact with Culpepper. And Cirie pointed out that Michaela still hasn't learned and still treats people like crap. 

 

As as far as the whole JT/Michaela spat - Sandra egged that on. And Michaela was laying around demanding things then too. Honestly I don't remember seeing her work or help out around camp. 

Re: That deleted scene... I don't know that Michaela is lying. I think both Culpepper and Michaela said what they thought happened. Neither one was actually accurate based on what we saw in the actual episode. Michaela didn't tell Culpepper to fish or he'd be voted out, but that's what he thought he heard. Michaela seemed to think she told him maybe fishing would help, but that's not what she actually said. It's a great lesson in the difference between what a person thinks they say, what they actually say, and what gets heard (or communicated). They can be three different things.

As to seeing Michaela work around camp... We haven't seen anyone work around camp, really. Heck, we barely see camp. We didn't even see reward challenges this time. :) For all I know, Troyzan could be giving ballroom dancing lessons to the rest of them to pass the time and we just haven't seen it.

[dkb]

32 minutes ago, Runningwild said:

I didnt think Michaela was amusing in that deleted scene at all. And she was lying about her interact with Culpepper. And Cirie pointed out that Michaela still hasn't learned and still treats people like crap. 

 

As as far as the whole JT/Michaela spat - Sandra egged that on. And Michaela was laying around demanding things then too. Honestly I don't remember seeing her work or help out around camp. 

Nobody works around camp if we are going by what we've seen. Ozzy was the only one. And Brad cause they TOLD us, but haven't seen it.

Or what @simplyme says below:

11 minutes ago, simplyme said:

Re: That deleted scene... I don't know that Michaela is lying. I think both Culpepper and Michaela said what they thought happened. Neither one was actually accurate based on what we saw in the actual episode. Michaela didn't tell Culpepper to fish or he'd be voted out, but that's what he thought he heard. Michaela seemed to think she told him maybe fishing would help, but that's not what she actually said. It's a great lesson in the difference between what a person thinks they say, what they actually say, and what gets heard (or communicated). They can be three different things.

As to seeing Michaela work around camp... We haven't seen anyone work around camp, really. Heck, we barely see camp. We didn't even see reward challenges this time. :) For all I know, Troyzan could be giving ballroom dancing lessons to the rest of them to pass the time and we just haven't seen it.

She wasn't articulating what she wanted properly, and Brad already doesn't like her, so of course he's going to see it in the worse way possible.

She wasn't trying to blackmail him but trying to get him to go fishing and selling it like if you go fishing then people will realize how valuable you are and keep you around, I'm only trying to secretly help you here Brad. 

I thought she was trying to act all buddy buddy with Brad and trying to show him that she's helping him. Obviously it missed the mark by a mile.

Edited May 18, 2017 by dkb