S34: Cirie Fields

[Jabu]

Hi.  I'm from Exile Island, Micronesia (aka Fans vs. Favorites), and Heroes vs. Villains.  And I won't let my emotions get the better of me.

I don't see how she did that any of those three times, but in any case . . . let's how she does during attempt number four.

[Queena]

One of my favorite, if not my favorite, Survivor of all times! She's also a great person. She's also looking mighty thin these days... Hmm 

#teamcirie

[LadyChatts]

I'm surprised that there are quite a few people wanting to work with Cirie.  I figured she'd be one of the top 3 people everyone talked about getting out first.  While I didn't like her as much after HvsV, I am hoping that's a good sign that people want to work with her.  Considering how crappy this cast is, I'm hoping some of the more memorable and favorite personalities are in it for the long haul.

Edited February 9, 2017 by LadyChatts

[nightwing877]

My all time favorite, and SO hoping she does well. The fact so many want to work with her, hoping she can do well. But I keep hearing people saying that her or Ozzy can beat Boston Rob's record of most days played. Now Ozzy always makes merge and always goes far, so it will probaly be him. But I would be over the moon if Cirie does it. 

[peachmangosteen]

I was over Cirie like two appearances ago, but I would love to see her beat BRob's record.

I'm surprised that so many of the players are saying they want to work with her. What idiots!

Edited February 10, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[Queena]

How many day's is Boston Rob's record? Unlike many, I like Boston Rob, lol, I think that when Survivor has it's final season, they should bring him, and a few of the other old good ones back. Ymmv

 

I would love for Cirie to beat anyone's record. 

[cherrypj]

BRob has 117 days. If Ozzy manages to survive 14 days, he will surpass him. Cirie has played 85 days and needs to play another 33.

[Vyk]

It's really disappointing that no one seems willing to throw in with her, even after all of these interviews from castaways saying they'd like to.  What is with these people?

[Lantern7]

Like I said on the episode thread, I figure three invites is sketchy, and four is downright overkill. However, I'm willing to make an exception for Cirie. She's just too cute. It's amazing how highly esteemed she is, especially when you figure that she got votes in the first two episodes of Exile Island. Had Tina kept it together, Cirie would've been the first boot. Instead, she lasted long into Exile Island and Fans Vs. Favorites, she got a reputation for being a power player, she might have gotten far into Heroes Vs. Villains if Tom didn't play his idol . . . but when Cirie talks about her situation, she always laughs. Why? Because she's not far from the woman she was before the show.

Also, I'm hoping she and Sandra end up on a tribe together at some point. Would they work together or go "Spy Vs. Spy" on each other?

[Maverick]

 Why was Cirie wasting her time on nutty Debbie?  I don't know why she tried to give her a heads up to begin with, but it should have been plainly clear that Debbie wasn't buying what she was selling (presumably because she had no money, being paid in military tactics and all) and Cirie should have just bailed on that whole mess.  Either Cirie didn't watch Debbie's season to know she's a) looney and b) unwilling to work with other women or she's just that desperate for allies, in which case she's in big trouble.  

[NutMeg]

As I see it, Cirie has no experience building an alliance.

Panama: Both Aras and Danielle decided to ally with her after she had been earmarked as one of the next two to go. We never saw what brought to change, but as the season majorly highlighted Cirie, I'd venture that she didn't initiate that change, because we'd have seen it. It's still possible she soft-initiated it and the scenes didn't make the cut.

FvF: Alliances were being built left and right right off the game and Cirie was sitting pretty, waiting to be approached. She was, by both factions, and chose the one that offered her the better potential. She was good at convincing people later on, but the heavy lifting of alliance-building was done by Parvati and, to some extent, Amanda. 

HvV: Again, alliances were being built left and right right off the bat and Cirie was sitting pretty, waiting to be approached. Except that this time players were more interested in voting her out that in bringing her in. She stayed relatively passive and was voted off. (My memory may be a bit hazy about her time there, I was much more interested in the Villains' dynamic)

So this time, she gets that it's risky to sit pretty and wait, and she decides to be proactive. But she's never done it and it shows, she's pretty bad at this, she has no idea who to approach, her message is all badly targeted, none of her potential dates are buying what she is selling. If she finds herself as the one to be courted after the reshuffle, she could still pull it out, but if she has do do the courting I don't see her chances as very high unless she dramatically changes her current approach. It is possible that she has bought too much into her strategic/consigliere image that that is the only game play she mentally prepared herself for. We'll see.

[ByaNose]

I was feeling sorry for Cirie since she's at the bottom of the thread and I wanted to speak my peace. She hasn't been to Tribal Council yet. Yay! Awesome! Amazing! That said, there's a tribe switch tomorrow and she might not last much longer after that. LOL!!! Hopefully, she makes the merge & the jury. I don't think she'll make the Final 4 but maybe she could eeek out a spot on the jury. Fingers crossed!

[dkb]

I will always have a soft spot for Cirie and hope she does well because of her being on Casaya. That will always be my favorite tribe. Her arc on Survivor Exile Island was great, and I was sad when she left at 4. 

Hopefully we see some of her game this time around soon and she goes far.

[KimberStormer]

I got a bad feeling today, I'm worried about Cirie.  So many Big Strong Men have gone home already, so the usual vote-out-the-threats thing at the merge might descend on her instead of challenge threats (especially if Ozzy wins immunity).  I feel like in a way it's a problem that she's never been to tribal.  Survivors say this and nobody believes them, but it's actually good to go to tribal because everything else is just talk but the votes are the votes.  A vote is something real in a game of illusions and lies.  We saw Cirie struggling to form an alliance early on; now she may have put something together (who fuckin knows since we haven't gotten to see anything except the Main Events and Brad Culpepper Sideshow) but without any tempering in the Tribal Council torchfire how strong can it be?

I sure hope we get to see the Cirie magic but as always in All-Star seasons it seems most people's first priority is Big Players with Big Edits (guess what I do not care whether you think Ciera was a big player, she certainly had big edits) and we'll probably be left with a pile of mediocrities long before the final.  I'm trying to think who's left who really brings it and I'm coming up empty except for Cirie.  Andrea maybe.  Aubry and Zeke wish they did.  I'm hoping for Hali or Michaela to pull something out, though my hopes are slim, and hey if Sierra or Sarah want to I'll be totally excited for it but I don't really see it happening...

So right now I'm probably dooming her but I'm just hoping for some of the old Cirie magic, because I have no faith in anyone else to play.

[LadyChatts]

Cirie, Hali, Michaela, and maybe Andrea are the only people that can make this a successful, happy second half of the season for me.  Everyone else I've either given up on or wasn't a fan in the first place.  I didn't think it could get much worse than the first 7 weeks, but looking at whose left, it's not a pretty sight.  I don't think Brad/Tai/Troyzan/Sierra will turn on each other, and I believe they have Aubry roped in, which is disappointing.  So 5 out 13 players left are aligned, all they need is two more for a majority.  Hopefully we see post merge KR Aubry show up in the post merge GC.  Too much recency with the cast, too many pre-game alliances, have really ruined this season far.  If something exciting doesn't happen at the merge to shake things up, it's going to be a bottom 5 season for me. 

If all else fails, here's hoping Ozzy goes on an immunity run and foils King Brad and his alpha male complex plan of getting rid of him

[ByaNose]

I'd like to see more of Cirie. It's amazing that we haven't really seen her all season. Of course, she hasn't gone to Tribal Council which helps but makes for boring story telling. I've been underwhelmed by the season overall. There is still a lot of time left so maybe the second half will be more fun. That's what was so good about Mill vs GenX. They were playing hard but having so much fun. I know it's different with returning players but I thought there would be more going on. Hopefully, tonight it's a reset button for fun and to see Cirie in the thick of things. We all know she has it in her. LOL!!!

[Hera]

I wish we had seen more of her and her tribe as well. She gives really good confessionals, so hearing her take on her tribemates would have been gold, even if it has no impact on the game.

[LadyChatts]

I'm going to be worried for her at the merge, since she was originally on the outs of OldNuku.  I don't know where she'll stand at the merge, but I can see her being targeted for being a threat.  Sucks that 3 of my faves (Cirie, Hali, and Michaela), are on the outs. 

[Rachel RSL]

I'm still so sad we'll never get to see Cirie and Sandra play together. For such a big personality, we've seen very little of Cirie this season. Granted, she was on the winning tribe a lot but, still, I'm hoping that's a sign she goes far.

[peachmangosteen]

I haven't liked Cirie since her first season, but I think she's the only one who has an actual chance to change the boring way this game is likely to go now so I really hope she's able to do that.

[ByaNose]

2 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I'm still so sad we'll never get to see Cirie and Sandra play together. For such a big personality, we've seen very little of Cirie this season. Granted, she was on the winning tribe a lot but, still, I'm hoping that's a sign she goes far.

From what I had read, I don't think Sandra liked Cirie. I think it was over some comment that Cirie might have made about Sandra not deserving to win HvV. I'm guessing Cirie thought Parvati should have won. That's just a guess on my part though. That said, I could be totally wrong about all of this. Either way, if they did like or didn't like each other it would have been interesting to see how they would have played with or against each other. I guess we'll never know. 

[peachmangosteen]

I just saw this pic. Ah, what could have been!

Edited April 19, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[Wings]

^^^^Ahhhhhhh, oh yes.  How sweet would that have been! 

[Nashville]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I haven't liked Cirie since her first season, but I think she's the only one who has an actual chance to change the boring way this game is likely to go now so I really hope she's able to do that.

I..... dunno.  

Granted we have a paucity of broadcast time from which to judge, but am I alone in thinking the Cirie we're seeing this season bears little resemblance to the Cirie of seasons past?  We haven't seen much, but what little Cirie gameplay we have been shown seems to smack more of simple paranoia than genuine strategy-building.

[LadyChatts]

Ozzy mentioned being nervous at the bigger threats going pre merge, leavkng him few shields.  Maybe Cirie is feeling the same way.  After her early exit for HvsV, I can see why she might be holding back.  Here's hoping she can round up the misfits at the merge, and expose any cracks in Brads alliance.

[Wings]

1 hour ago, Nashville said:

I..... dunno.  

Granted we have a paucity of broadcast time from which to judge, but am I alone in thinking the Cirie we're seeing this season bears little resemblance to the Cirie of seasons past?  We haven't seen much, but what little Cirie gameplay we have been shown seems to smack more of simple paranoia than genuine strategy-building.

She was not looking confident in the early episodes.  Paranoia drove her train fearing Ozzy was laying for her.  She is one of my favorites so I am hoping to see her confidence return.  

[Lamb18]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

I just saw this pic. Ah, what could have been!

Does anyone know what's showing on that TV screen?

[enlightenedbum]

Cirie remains magic.  I wish we saw how she flipped literally the entire vote and still did what her alliance told her to in the first hour.  Even for Cirie's facility with the Jedi Mind Trick, that's impressive.

Also I'd love to hear her talk about why she cast a vote for Sierra in the second hour.  She looked like she really was surprised it wasn't Zeke, so maybe she just got over confident and was messing around.  Or she knew and was acting to keep Andrea on her side.

[LadyChatts]

It looked like whoever wrote it didn't want their writing to be recognized.  I was surprised she didn't stick to the plan and vote for Zeke.  And why did she vote for Michaela in the first vote?  I don't know, I was confused by those votes.  Still, welcome to the game Cirie!  I knew you wouldn't let me down at the merge.  Too bad you picked a big mouth rat in Zeke as an alliance mate.

I loved the scenes of her and Michaela tonight.  For a two hour show, I wish we could have gotten more on their bonding.  Michaela seemed to come to life finally.

Edited April 20, 2017 by LadyChatts

[KimberStormer]

Cosign everything @enlightenedbum said.  I'm so confused.  But I am so, so glad to see Cirie out and playing again.

[cuphead]

During the confessional when she talks about being ready for war, a butterfly lands on the top of her head, and just sits there as she giggles away in what could be interpreted as either giddy anticipation or nervous dread.

I think it's clear that even Mother Nature recognizes Cirie's awesomeness. 

[peachmangosteen]

I noticed the butterfly, too. That was a cool moment. I could't tell if she realized there was a butterfly on her or not though.

[ByaNose]

I thought she was going to say something and laugh but she didn't. It's funny because Sandra got "attacked" by a fly at Tribal Council and a butterfly lands on Cirie's head. Quite a contrast indeed. LOL!!!

[enlightenedbum]

Cirie's smooth as butter approach with Sarah shows why she's the best player to never win.  Very very few contestants are able to make that move like she did.  Here's how I think you're seeing things and I am not couching this to make you think what I want  you to think at all. /waves hand

Hell, Yul and Kim are the only two winners who I think could make an approach that well.

[Hudson0325]

Cirie remains hands down one of my favorite all time players and my favorite left in the game. There is a reason most players will not let her get to the finals if they can prevent it. She is a good genius at both social  relationships and strategy. Her only weakness is the physical challenges. She may not win this season (because they all know how dangerous she is) but in my mind she will always be one of the game's premiere players.

Edited April 27, 2017 by scout305

[Lantern7]

I'm holding out hope that her struggle tonight becomes part of her Reunion Hero Montage. Hated seeing her struggle. I mean, whose idea was it to let her swim anchor? I hate being reminded of the lady that almost got voted off in her first two Tribal Councils on Exile Island.

[enlightenedbum]

It was funny watching Andrea's post-show and she's like "How am I the strategic threat?  My closest ally is Cirie!"

Mind tricks, Andrea, mind tricks.

[NutMeg]

I like that apart from the "old Cirie", I mean the one I liked in her first season, we're also seeing a Cirie we never saw before, emotional Cirie. I like it because in giving her one more dimension it makes me like her more. Plus she openly acts as a mentor to Michaela and it's a thing of beauty.  I use "openly" because it's possible that she acted the same way to Aras and Danielle in Exile Island, although we never saw it and I don't really know whether it came from a strategic part or a more personal one (because we only saw the result, not the process). I think there is a new maturity to her that wasn't there before and that makes her both more powerful and more fragile. Really, I've never liked Cirie as much as I do now, because for the first time ever I feel that she's not just a strategist, she's a full blown person, and one that anyone would be happy to have in their corner in life.

And I'm one who was not crazy about her in her last two appearances, because I thought she had bought too much into her public persona and was coasting on it. This time, she is not. And I love her. Even more than during her first season, if that makes sense: she was awesome and unexpected there, then kind of coasted on her reputation for a while, and now she's once again herself and it's amazing to watch.  However this season turns out for her, she's a winner in my book, because she's obviously grown so much since we first 'met' her, in so many ways.   

[Wings]

Good post @NutMeg.  I have always adored her.  I wish she was part of my circle of friends.  

[LadyChatts]

@NutMeg I agree with your thoughts, especially about Cirie post EI.  I have to say I wasn't a fan of hers by the end of Micronesia (despite the fact that I thought she played one hell of a game), or during HvsV.  I wondered sometimes if her early ouster and blindside humbled her a bit.  And it's been 7 years (?) since she last played.  I've really enjoyed her so far this season.  I was worried early on that she was going to be another early boot, but glad she managed to make the merge.  Sadly, I don't think Cirie is the type of contestant that will ever win, because no one is going to let her get to the end.  I'd love for her to prove me wrong!  This season has been pretty blah, but a Cirie win would definitely make it one of the best.

[NutMeg]

I know, but she's already proven that she's a star (at least for me), and from here on out any tribal she survives will be a bonus.

It's very weird, I felt like writing these almost tributes to some old school Survivor contestants, I wrote one for Ozzy early in the game and I now realise I've just written one for Cirie. I may have done it for Sandra as well, though I can't remember. I think it's me saluting these people that gave a lot of themselves to Survivor (and got a lot that shaped who they are in return) that I feel we may have seen for the last time here. It is very strange as it seems I've been watching this season partly in the rearview mirror as far as some contestants are concerned, and I still don't understand why (I don't know of any spoiler, so not including any low key spoiler here). 

Edited April 30, 2017 by NutMeg
Typo

[JenTen1585]

I like her very much too.  And she was super smart in engineering to keep Michaela.  She should drag her all the way to the end.  Then she just needs one more beatable person with her.  

[LadyChatts]

Cirie screwed herself tonight in so many ways.  Clearly she's finding out too late that you can't trust Sarah.  Her plan seemed like a good one for the second vote, but it went wrong in every way possible.  Worse, Sarah is going to be coming after her, for trying to steal her advantage, essentially forcing Sarah to use it at that TC, and she's never going to believe Tai was potentially targeting her now.  I love Cirie, but she's right that she's an old school player.  It's a whole different ball game now.  I fell out of love with her at the end of Micronesia and during HvsV, but I've really enjoyed her this season.  I still think she's one of the better people to ever play this game, but tonight she was far from it.  And now her two allies are gone.  

[Lantern7]

I kept hoping that her misplay was part of a larger game, where she knew about the restrictions of the advantage and wanted to play dumb for Sarah's benefit. I don't think that was the case. On the bright side, she did manage to make a showing at the second Immunity Challenge. Sucks that Probst yelled at her to jump down. Shut up, Probst. Seriously. With Sandra gone, Cirie is the closest thing to a queen we have here, and you will respect her, dammit.

[KimberStormer]

I don't understand why Sarah didn't vote her out, tbh.  Her attempted move today would have been something spectacular if it wasn't for the weird fine print which I don't understand why they included it in the first place -- how does it make the game better to make the advantage non-transferrable?

[Nalan]

1 minute ago, KimberStormer said:

I don't understand why Sarah didn't vote her out, tbh.  Her attempted move today would have been something spectacular if it wasn't for the weird fine print which I don't understand why they included it in the first place -- how does it make the game better to make the advantage non-transferrable?

I don't get why Sarah didn't push for her vote-off, either.  The votes, she reasoned, probably weren't there, since Brad and Troyzan all like and respect Cirie.  They didn't have the same feelings toward Michaela, though, which might've made her an easier sell for Sarah.

Still, this is going to come back and bit her badly.

[LadyChatts]

Cirie's move got me thinking about Kimmi's attempted blindside of Jeremy in Cambodia.  It came back to bite Kimmi badly because she thought she could trust certain people.  Great idea, but in her case it was the wrong time.  In Cirie's case, she's lucky she didn't get booted.  Seemed like a good plan, except for the small detail in not reading the fine print.  Sarah was not happy.  Getting rid of Brad before Andrea would have done Cirie's game a world of good.  The problem is, I don't think Sarah would go for it, and in no way do I believe she would have gone along with the vote this time.  So Cirie would have had to convince Tai to join him, Andrea, Michaela, and Aubry to vote Brad out.  Not sure that could have been accomplished, either, but at the very least, maybe an idol would have come out and we wouldn't be going into the finale with 3 of them.  Had it worked, it would have gotten rid of an ally of Sarah's, and might have crippled her game more.  Cirie, on the other hand, would have been in a better position than she's in now.

[KimberStormer]

21 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Cirie's move got me thinking about Kimmi's attempted blindside of Jeremy in Cambodia.  It came back to bite Kimmi badly because she thought she could trust certain people.  Great idea, but in her case it was the wrong time.  

I think Kimmi's move was the right move at the right time (well, perhaps a little late because she probably couldn't beat Kelley either, but anyway) and Kelley and Keith didn't do anything wrong; the problem was only that Kimmi cannot lie.  Spencer and Tasha saw right through her.  And Jeremy still wouldn't believe it!  So not really a mistake in who to trust.

I find it hard to blame Cirie for not reading the small print because that is literally the only time in Survivor history that I know about where something was non-transferable.  Sarah formally gave it to her, just like an idol or the immunity necklace.  Just bizarre not to make it transferable.  A baffling decision by the producers.

But voting Andrea off, I just don't see how that was a reasonable decision in any way.  It's great if you're Sarah or Michaela, but baffling if you're Cirie.  I just don't get it at all.

[Nalan]

2 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

I find it hard to blame Cirie for not reading the small print because that is literally the only time in Survivor history that I know about where something was non-transferable.  Sarah formally gave it to her, just like an idol or the immunity necklace.  Just bizarre not to make it transferable.  A baffling decision by the producers.

Stephen's steal-a-vote advantage wasn't transferable, either, in Cambodia, so this was actually the second time.

Edited May 18, 2017 by Nalan

[kikaha]

4 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

But voting Andrea off, I just don't see how that was a reasonable decision in any way.  It's great if you're Sarah or Michaela, but baffling if you're Cirie.  I just don't get it at all.

Cirie doesn't believe she can beat Andrea at the end.  So she took advantage of the opportunity to clip her.  (Andrea is so good at challenges, they might not get another chance to boot her.)

Cirie does believe she can beat Sarah, who in her opinion has pissed off too many jurors to win.  I also think Cirie underestimated how conniving and strategic Sarah is.