S35.E08: Playing with the Devil

[peachmangosteen]

OK, now I'm bored. I'm being forced to root for Joe and Cole just to avoid a boring as hell pagonging for fuck's sake!

I liked Desi, but I was super glad she went over Joe. She was clearly not going to do anything interesting game-wise, so I have no use for her this season. I mean Joe probably won't either, but at least he might provide me a few laughs before he gets voted out at the end of next week's ep.

I was shocked a woman became the target and Chrissy had seemingly nothing to do with it! I really hope one of the people Chrissy thinks is dumber than her (which is basically everyone) fucks her at some point. I would laugh and laugh. I really need her arrogance to take her down.

Ugh, Ryan. I hate him. I would rather watch Cole eat for the majority of every ep than listen to Ryan speak one more time.

I am so over Ben. I should've stuck with my original instincts on him. 

There are still a couple people I marginally like, but none of them will win so it's hard to be invested. And the votes are likely to be super boring for at least a couple more eps. Hopefully once the 500 person alliance has to turn on each other it will pick up again. But I always think it'll be interesting and fun when a big alliance turns on each other but it rarely ever actually is so I don't have much hope.

Edited November 16, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

The Marines are unique to the American military. They are small and see themselves as elite.

I guess that's what I don't like about some of them.  My husband (22 year vet)  currently plays the bugle for  an honor guard that buries veterans.  They are mostly old men in their 70's and 80's, standing at attention in freezing weather, to honor the veterans of wars like Vietnam and Korea where more men died in a single battle than in the entire Afghanistan war, and yet they don't brag about themselves as elite or better than  any other man who sacrificed for his country.

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, Kerri Okie said:

Agree. It was a clever lie, but Joe should have quit while he was ahead. There's pushing to the point of gameplay, and then there's pushing it beyond just for the sake of pushing it.  I don't really get the reaction toward Ben though. He, like everyone else, is tired, hungry, and stressed.  His buttons were pushed, he overreacted. He owned it, he apologized for it.  It's a lot more than many others have done. Personally, I give him credit for being man enough to do that.

Absolutely. He admitted that he's still struggling with his time over here, and what it means to be back home. He's a flawed human being, as we all are. He knows he needs to work on his reactions to things and he's trying. 

 

1 hour ago, Special K said:

Chrissy needs to keep a lid on things.  This is the second episode she was attempting to talk sotto voce in a group setting.  It doesn't even matter if people can't hear exactly what you're saying, they know you're plotting.  Not that smart. Or maybe she's arrogant.

YES. She's playing one of the better games out there, but it's like she thinks she's so untouchable that she can just start wheeling and dealing right in front of everyone. She did the same thing with Ben last week and he was insisting that she hush. You just can't be that obvious. 

[peachmangosteen]

3 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

LOL at Devon's, "I don't want to be a slug. I am a live! love! laugh! guy," and Peachy's, "OMG this is so beautiful."

Probably the only truly entertaining part of the ep.

[Dominii]

I can't stand much of anybody now. I was liking Lauren for a while until she told Ben about the advantage. I'd forgotten that she and Ben were in cahoots together until then.

Please, God, PLEASE don't let Ben go to F3. The same goes for Chrissy and Ryan. Anyone but them.

For some reason, I've started rooting for Joe. His annoying personality beats arrogant Ben's all to hell, IMO. At least Joe is playing hard! The only other ones I can stand are Dr. Mike and Devon. The lifeguard gal is forgettable, so she should leave too.

My F3 wish list: Dr. Mike, Devon, Joe.

[LizBug]

I liked the reward challenge.  The change in the rules made it more interesting:

** Everyone on a team has to take a shot at the targets before anyone can stay and take more than one shot.

** If you hit a target, you have to let someone else have a turn.  You can't stay and hit target after target.

** And the "odd man out" still got to go on the reward instead of being punished because they weren't on a team.

Most people aren't paying that much attention to Lauren.  She keeps a low profile, does odd jobs around the camp.  No wonder she was able to lift up the clue without people noticing.   I just hope she can use her double vote to shake things up. 

Joe was making "something doesn't quite add up" faces when Jeff was reading the votes.  Let's see if there's any discussion about this next week.  

Someone needs to give Ryan more food.  Seeing his heart beat was like watching a fragile bird who'd fallen out of the nest.  

[Hanahope]

I thought Mike didn't care for Cole.  Why did he tell Cole about Ben's request that he vote with them?  Had Cole not been clued in by Mike, who knows who Cole would have voted for, and then there wouldn't have been a tie.  That would have possibly kept Lauren's not-voting a secret.

However, anyone with a brain, i.e. Ryan and Chrissy, maybe Joe and Mike too, is going to count the votes and wonder why there was a tie.  They will realize that only 10 votes were cast by 11 people.  There will be a lot of speculation as to who didn't vote and why.  Mike may figure it out, since Ben wanted him to flip, and think that Ben had a specific reason (or maybe Lauren - was she there when Ben asked Mike?  I don't recall).  Anyway, I'm wondering if it might be useful for Lauren to admit that she didn't vote, but lie as to the reason.  Say something along the lines that she found the paper, but it said "disadvantage" and she was instructed not to vote at the next tribal, but not say that she got a concurrent advantage.  Say it was like the one given to Devon, but this was direct and she could tell people, or not and if necessary admit to Mike only that she did tell Ben, so they knew there was a potential problem with vote splitting.

I appreciate that both Ryan and Chrissy knew to look for an idol clue at the reward 'feast'.  I was a bit surprised Cole knew to do that too.  I'm wondering if its because he's known about two idol/advantages already, so he's a bit more primed for it (though he missed it in the nails last week).  Ryan was great to hide the plate so Joe wouldn't see it.  I was almost wondering why Ryan and/or Chrissy didn't tell the rest of their alliance that there was no way Joe had an idol, there's never more than one new idol at a time after the merge and it was not found by a healer.  But I suppose they want to keep that info secret for their own future use (just like Mike is being smart to not tell a soul except Jessica - whose gone, about his idol).

[303420]

2 hours ago, Lamima said:

I think Desi voted Lauren because she suspected Joe was going home and she kinda didn't mind that. So she wasn't going to help their block of 4. I think she thought the other block would vote 4 Joe and 3 her and their block would vote 3 Ben so she threw to Lauren thinking and hoping Joe would go and she wouldn't be a vote for him to go. If she had voted Joe she would still be there and Mr Obnoxious would be at Ponderosa.

That is a very interesting point. I'm always a bit perplexed when there are two people on the bottom and they vote for each other, and I just figured out that it helps to avoid these types of shenanigans because after all, better the other person than you. Shit, Desi is the only Healer who didn't vote for Joe!

ETA: So I guess, in a way, Desi did vote herself out. 

Which also helped to conceal Lauren's advantage. I'm kind of obsessed with this advantage, because it could be extremely difficult to hide, and would have been obvious if everyone else stuck to the script. I really want to know how much thought Lauren and Ben put into ask the scenarios. I don't mind that Lauren told Ben because I think you really need some collaboration to think something like this through.  

52 minutes ago, zscore said:

Joe is Dominican.

I suspected he was Latino; he definitely displays some of our common cultural tics. He's annoying, but I can't hate him anymore. He's definitely playing. It's inelegant at times, but it's for real.

Full disclosure: I say "aces" like Joe says "deuces."

Edited November 16, 2017 by 303420

[ljenkins782]

12 hours ago, 303420 said:

I want very much to know how it came about that Desi voted Lauren. I don't think she voted herself out with that vote, but it sure did confuse things, at least for me. I'm having trouble figuring out how the votes add up, and I'm not hungry and sleep - deprived. And also I saw the votes at the end.

Me too! Of all names, that one seemed to come completely out of left field. It was very unusual to be this deep in the game and see 4 different names written down at TC. 

Quote

Aww, Devon likes being a bright light.  I actually believe that's true in his case.  And I liked the little self-deprecating "I don't even know what I'm talking about" thing he did after saying that.

What WAS he talking about? Probst's response seemed to indicate that he was saying something deep and relevant to the conversation, but it made no sense to me. It sounded like he lost his train of thought halfway through and just trailed off and then Probst acted like it was the most profound statement ever.

Quote

Nobody should eat spaghetti with their hands, even on Survivor.  And given Cole's past history in the tribe, I'm surprised we didn't see anyone complain that Joe didn't make Cole go last - or at least, last other than Joe himself.

When they first announced the "eat however much you want by yourself" structure, I was positive that Cole would just eat the entire thing and stare blankly at everyone afterward. I was actually kinda hoping that would happen, just to see the aftermath.

Then again, Cole didn't disappoint after the challenge:

Quote

The brawl for the idol turned out to be comical, to me, and Ryan was very slick in the way he found it, told Chrissy to cover the hole, and BOOM! LOL

I found it a little interesting that Chrissy yelled for the men (Devin first, then Ben), but no one appeared to be concerned that Cole might be hurting her, they just set right to digging instead. 

Smart of her to continue to dig and act like it was still in there. And I have to give Ryan credit for pulling that one off, that was ballsy. I guess I'm in the minority in that these two don't bother me and I'm actually rooting for Ryan to win. He's playing a smart game. 

Quote

I do wonder what Cole thinks happened to the Idol.

I do too. I almost felt a little sorry for him after the big scuffle, mainly because he does seem like a child in some ways. He looked confused and sad that everyone was accusing him of having an idol he didn't have, but never gave any indication of where he thought it went. 

Also, did Ben really think he had it or did he just take the opportunity to throw a big target onto Cole because he already didn't like him. I'm thinking the latter...

Quote

The spaghetti piled on the napkin was so gross!

I really don't understand why Cole (and Chrissy) didn't hide the plate like Ryan did. If Cole was going to go so far as to put spaghetti onto a cloth napkin, why leave the plate there? 

Devin was first, so I can give him a pass for not seeing it, but the letters were starting to show during JP's turn. But he seemed more concerned with not eating more than his share, which was actually kinda sweet. I can't get a read on him, he seems like a straightforward, but possibly dim guy. 

Quote

very strange that they didn't show Lauren's blank vote, or the advantage in the urn instead, and no mention of 10 instead of eleven votes, or why it ended up tied since there was one less vote. Hopefully they focus on it in the after-tribal discussion next week, or that really makes no sense.

Okay, I hate to be that person who isn't able to follow along, lol, but I have to admit that I didn't not understand exactly what this advantage was. What was the blank parchment for? An extra vote later or what? The clue was so lengthy and it seemed like she only read parts of it, so I didn't get what was happening. 

Quote

The team of huge superfit dudes winning was no surprise, but that was one of those anti-rewards that you hope and pray to lose.  Not quite on a Brenda-in-Caramoan level, but very, very bad.  It was bad in every way -- extra levels of stress with social disaster on the line, disgusting food you can't even pig out on for pure calories, terrible company, and, it turns out, a clue that most of the people are going to see, so screwing the first eater out of everything.  Then you get hapless Cole, trying to hide the clue (which is to be fair good thinking) by moving a heaping plate of spaghetti onto a cloth, and weirdly Chrissy not finding this suspicious apparently because she still thinks she's the first to find the clue...and then did Joe find it strange that they would provide a cloth of spaghetti, instead of a plate??

"A cloth of spaghetti" is making me laugh harder than it should. Chrissy did note the lack of a plate, even though it was still there at the time, just under the cloth. But as I said above, if you're going to go the route of creating "a cloth of spaghetti" which should have looked weird to all, why not go the whole way and get rid of the damn plate? 

I was pleasantly surprised that the team who got screwed in the rock draw actually made a decent run at the challenge. When I saw JP, Cole, and Devin all on one side, I thought the other team was going to get blown away. 

I wonder how Joe felt watching this one and finding out he had the power to let himself go first and find that idol clue and didn't do it. For someone who seemed to have the Hantz touch when it comes to idols, he sure missed the boat on this one. Both Chrissy and Ryan were expecting to find a clue there and honestly, once they introduced the "eat by yourself" element, they should all have been on alert that something could be up. 

[enoughcats]

8 hours ago, Nashville said:

  5 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I'm still confused about who is on what alliance and who voted for whom, to be honest, but I finally wasn't bored out of my mind.

I'd agree with you, except I'm not sure how many blond females are left and how many young men have their swim trunks riding low.  
For this viewer, this season had a few individuals and the rest seem to have come from central casting for crowd scenes.  

More than ever, I'm looking forward to Ponderosa to see who these people are.

5 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

a cloth of spaghetti,

now that would be a Mardi Gras costume

[peachmangosteen]

6 hours ago, Hanahope said:

But I suppose they want to keep that info secret for their own future use (just like Mike is being smart to not tell a soul except Jessica - whose gone, about his idol).

Mike didn't tell Jessica about the idol. Jessica took him to where the idol was buried and stood there as he dug it up. He only got it because she point blank told him where it was. 

6 hours ago, ljenkins782 said:

I found it a little interesting that Chrissy yelled for the men (Devin first, then Ben) ...

Did she yell for them? I only heard her yell for JP, who I don't think even appeared on the scene lol. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by peachmangosteen

[piequinn35]

Why did Desi vote Lauren? If she voted for Joe too like Cole and Mike, she would still be safe.

JP didn't see Ryan get & hide the HII? JP upto last night is still invisible in confessionals and in TC. :/

[ByaNose]

I tend to agree that this season is kind of meh for me, too. I've been watching since Season 1 Episode 1. This season just isn't as fun as Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X was with a new cast. There was just so many likable people in that cast and this season I don't have a rooting interest. I can't even say I really hate these people like I did with Gabon, Thailand or Fiji but I don't like who's left either. I'll continue watching but I don't really care who wins. It isn't like when I was so sure Aubry was going to beat Michelle and I was blindsided. LOL!!! Hopefully, they (and, me) can rebound with Season 36.

1 minute ago, piequinn35 said:

Why did Desi vote Lauren? If she voted for Joe too like Cole and Mike, she would still be safe.

JP didn't see Ryan get & hide the HII? JP upto last night is still invisible in confessionals and in TC. :/

Joe or Desi didn't vote for each other. I guess they were try to stay loyal in some small way. Mike voted for her and he was thinking for his long term game. I think it was sort of a wasted vote for Lauren. Did she think there would even be any or enough votes for Lauren? It doesn't make sense. She knew most of the votes were going Joe's way.

[NeverLate]

36 minutes ago, Dominii said:

I can't stand much of anybody now. I was liking Lauren for a while until she told Ben about the advantage. I'd forgotten that she and Ben were in cahoots together until then.

Please, God, PLEASE don't let Ben go to F3. The same goes for Chrissy and Ryan. Anyone but them.

For some reason, I've started rooting for Joe. His annoying personality beats arrogant Ben's all to hell, IMO. At least Joe is playing hard! The only other ones I can stand are Dr. Mike and Devon. The lifeguard gal is forgettable, so she should leave too.

My F3 wish list: Dr. Mike, Devon, Joe.

I'd love Ben to be F3. Along with Ryan and Dr.Mike.

Isn't it funny who we like? Or root for? I don't mind Joe. But Devon, nope can't say I care for him....

[blackwing]

Joe going last for the food certainly hurt.  If he had seen the clue he might have gotten the idol.  If I were him I would have said that the positions would be drawn randomly.  Draw straws (sticks).  

I get that many a Survivor contestant past and present has disliked another.  However it seems to mostly be about gameplay and strategy and being on opposite alliances.  Ben seems to truly hate Joe and Cole.  His comments about them seem to transcend to a personal level and more than just the game.  But it seems he gets a pass, because "he's a Marine".

Good for him for serving his country and good for him for acknowledging his issues, but whatever he's doing in therapy isn't working.  He treats people he doesn't like with contempt, oh but I can't understand it, because I'm not a Marine.  Him being a Marine is just an excuse for the fact that he's just a shitty person.

I think this season may be the earliest in which I find so many unlikeable people.  When Joe (who is perhaps the only person left who is making this game still interesting) and Cole (and perhaps Mike and JP) are gone, I have zero interest in who wins.

Hope next season is better.

[MerBearHou]

I don't blame Ben one bit for getting emotional about Joe saying he "swore on the Marines".  Joe was particularly ugly in that moment by pushing Ben's buttons with regards to his military service and if the "swearing on" is a total lie (I think it is), I would have been just as upset/livid as Ben if not more.  Military service is a particularly sensitive subject and for Ben, something very meaningful and painful.  I don't hold it against Ben in the slightest for his reaction. First, you're being misquoted which is so maddening; second, you're being goaded by Joe about a painful topic; third, that topic involves military service on behalf of your country in god-knows-where.  I hadn't been anti-Joe before then (yes, he's bombastic but I didn't mind him), but now he's on my NO list.   

[ProfCrash]

Quote

Okay, I hate to be that person who isn't able to follow along, lol, but I have to admit that I didn't not understand exactly what this advantage was. What was the blank parchment for? An extra vote later or what? The clue was so lengthy and it seemed like she only read parts of it, so I didn't get what was happening. 

Lauren's advantage was that she could not vote this time and save that vote for another tribal council. In order to use her advantage Lauren had to 1) put the advantage note in the urn 2) take a blank piece of voting parchment to use at a later tribal council. There was no Lauren vote or blank parchment in the urn, there was the advantage clue. Lauren folded a piece of parchment on the revote and made like she put it in the urn but dropped it off the back of the podium instead.

Jeff did not read the advantage clue because it would alert everyone that someone had a hidden advantage. The wonky vote count would not necessarily have mattered if there had not been a tie because there are plenty of times that someone is voted out with out all the votes being read. The tie at tribal should have alerted people to something funny happening because not all the votes were read and they should have been since no one was voted out cleanly.

[Special K]

44 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

"A cloth of spaghetti" is making me laugh harder than it should.

LOL, me too! 

And when they got back to camp, and people were asking about the reward, someone said, "we had to all share the same plate!"  And I was like "Doh!"  I was waiting for Joe to say, "Plate?  What plate?  I had to eat off a cloth!"

OMG, still laughing.

[Miss Bones]

36 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

 

"A cloth of spaghetti" is making me laugh harder than it should.

I also laughed way too hard at this. 

And I am also with the crowd who found the reward challenge gross.  The spaghetti being on the dish towel made it even worse.  I think they should have put the salad on the napkin, and the spaghetti in the bowl, to make it a little less gross.  Sure a "cloth of salad" would have been odd, but not as gross as the spaghetti situation.

 

I'm also in the "I don't like Ben anymore" category.  He really needs to be cautious that he doesn't break his arm patting himself on the back so hard.  I thank him for his service to our country, but is a "hero" really someone who does not stop talking about how heroic they are?  And what with her being so smart (eye roll), I'm surprised Chrissy didn't pick up on the vote count!  I don't have any favorites really, at this point, but I will not be happy with Chrissy, Ben, or Cole in the final 3.  For some reason, the past couple episodes, Joe has started to grow on me...somebody slap me.

[Special K]

1 minute ago, Missbones said:

  Sure a "cloth of salad" would have been odd, but not as gross as the spaghetti situation.

You're killing me.  Seriously something is wrong with me, I'm laughing so hard at all this.

[Rachel RSL]

48 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

What WAS he talking about? Probst's response seemed to indicate that he was saying something deep and relevant to the conversation, but it made no sense to me. It sounded like he lost his train of thought halfway through and just trailed off and then Probst acted like it was the most profound statement ever.

It really didn't make any sense at all. That segment reminded me exactly of a stoner who has just smoked a joint, starts rambling, and then gets halfway through their sentence and forgets what their point was. It was just like watching a college flashback.

[Catronia]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

Jeff said the reward was being served "family style," but that's only true if their families have a lot of silverware but only one plate so they eat one at a time and alone. The communal spaghetti was disgusting, and it was intended to be disgusting. If it hadn't been, the reward would have been a platter of fried chicken pieces or cheeseburgers, rather than a food that people suck up, bite off, and let fall back on the plate. At least Devon had the good manners to cut a portion off the end and just eat from that portion, but no one else did. By the time Joe got there, it was probably just the remaining bits of noodles that had been in four other people's mouths.

Indeed! I don't see why they couldn't have serving utensils for the spaghetti platter and a stack of individual plates for each person to serve him/herself. Nothing else would have to change (clue still on the platter; people still being piggy or not). I'm not a germaphobe, and not at all averse to say, sharing a dessert with a family member or friend, but this was unnecessarily gross.

[scowl]

I'm going start calling all my female friends "baby girl". I wonder what my face will look like after a week.

[Eolivet]

36 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I've been watching since Season 1 Episode 1. This season just isn't as fun as Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X was with a new cast.

This. For me, what that season got right -- for all its faults -- is it had a lot of people who took the game seriously, but didn't take themselves seriously. This season is so much "I have a great social game! I'm the most strategic player out here! I'm smarter than she is!" Seriously, I haven't heard this kind of sustained, over-the-top bravado since Russell Hantz. Compare this to "I'm going to have to play from the bottom/ My back is against the wall (literally against the wall)/ I'm an endangered species," where you had players in that season communicating vulnerability or humility, even though they were frontrunners. I'm just never going to connect with players as much who say with a completely straight face (not a nod-and-a-wink, Parvati was good at this): "I'm so awesome, and here's why!" Sandra did it in such a way where it was like "I'm lying to you and you're stupid for believing me," where the viewers could laugh right along with her.

Ryan, Chrissy and Joe, take several seats and stop telling me how great you are. You haven't won anything yet.

[backformore]

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I always chuckle when people are all worried about germs and the like on these shows. I fall into the category of who cares. They each had their own fork and they are all in each others space 24/7 so the shared germs are nothing new. I get the fingers in PB jar is gross because even I stop at that but a clean fork on a shared plate of pasta just doesn't bother me. The napkin thing was fine. The napkin was clean before the spaghetti was dumped on it. I love that it took three people before someone thought to hide the plate. So I was more in the, eh who cares crowd. I didn't care when my toddler was eating dirt, I did tell him no and I did not let him near dog poop, but a little dirt is not going to hurt him. (It was our back yard and I know what my husband puts into the soil and when). Kids eat dirt, no biggie. Just make sure it is not poop and he is not put on the ground after fertilizer has been applied. Oh, and avoid the yellow snow....

chuckle all you want, but the way to spread germs is not by ingesting a little dirt.  It's by ingesting something that someone else touched with hands, mouth, or something that touched their mouth.   IT's less of an issue in a house or at a party than it is on an island with no running water soap, toilets,  etc.   Each person puts their clean fork into the spaghetti, but once they eat off that fork, and put the fork back into the pile of spaghetti, they are transferring germs into shared food.  All it takes is one person to get e coli or something similar (which isn't unlikely,given the circumstances) and they could have an outbreak.  

I share food with family all the time.  But we live in a place with flush toilets, soap, toothpaste, and running water.  When we go camping, we are more careful with germs. 

[Bryce Lynch]

49 minutes ago, MerBearHou said:

I don't blame Ben one bit for getting emotional about Joe saying he "swore on the Marines".  Joe was particularly ugly in that moment by pushing Ben's buttons with regards to his military service and if the "swearing on" is a total lie (I think it is), I would have been just as upset/livid as Ben if not more.  Military service is a particularly sensitive subject and for Ben, something very meaningful and painful.  I don't hold it against Ben in the slightest for his reaction. First, you're being misquoted which is so maddening; second, you're being goaded by Joe about a painful topic; third, that topic involves military service on behalf of your country in god-knows-where.  I hadn't been anti-Joe before then (yes, he's bombastic but I didn't mind him), but now he's on my NO list.   

Joe was definitely pushing buttons.  I am pretty sure Ben never swore on the Marines or "on your Marine" as I think Joe claimed.  But I wouldn't be surprised if he had said something like "You can trust me, I'm a Marine".   One of the castaways (Desi?) gave me the impression, that Joe's claim was an exaggeration or distortion, but might have been based upon a kernel of truth that Ben was using being a Marine to gain trust.  

[Special K]

20 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

This. For me, what that season got right -- for all its faults -- is it had a lot of people who took the game seriously, but didn't take themselves seriously.

I noticed that no one seems to be actively rooting against people in individual challenges.  I mean, many of them wanted Cole NOT to win immunity, but he did and everybody seemed to be a good sport about it (that we saw) and congratulated/praised him.  I really dislike the active rooting against people in challenges, or the golf-clap-style congratulations.  I'm thinking of the Mike Holloway season, but it happens a lot.

Of course this may change as stakes get higher.

[NeverLate]

Hubby and I are enjoying this season. There are big characters playing. Reading your thoughts and posts is an added bonus, because there are things I forget( cloth spaghetti). LOL

[mythoughtis]

I always hate it when anyone swears on someone’s life. Especially their kids. Creeps me out.  Doing it for a game?  If anyone would ever swear on someone’s life to me, I would immediately NOT trust anything they said. 

Ben strikes me as someone who thinks the same way I do about this.  Furthermore, he’s probably seen someone die in front of him.   

Edited November 16, 2017 by mythoughtis

[NutMeg]

Regarding Lauren's advantage - which I'm going to name Let go of the bird in hand for the hope you'll find two in the bush -, I'm not sure if there's a specific tribal at which she has to play her two votes, does it have to be next one, or any after this week? Did I miss it?

[KimberStormer]

4 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

  I think if people can care about women leaving the show, I think caring about minorities leaving is just as valid.

Absolutely, I care about it too.  It's another part of what made me bail on MvGX so early, and what is freaking me out about this season as well.

2 hours ago, fishcakes said:

LOL at Devon's, "I don't want to be a slug. I am a live! love! laugh! guy," and Peachy's, "OMG this is so beautiful."

I feel like this season more than others, Jeff Probst's intense longing to be a daytime talk show host has been extremely evident.  He really wants tribal to be a group therapy session, a journey of self-discovery, a place where people come together and healing happens.  If only there was an audience for him to give free stuff to.

[iMonrey]

While I understand the strategy of voting out Desi instead of Joe, it's annoying as hell that Joe is still around. I almost suspect the producers pulled all the contestants aside before tribal and said "Hey, vote off Desi, not Joe, and we'll give you extra food" or something. They clearly see Joe as "good TV" - although their idea of "good TV" is vastly different than mine. Self-delusional blowhards constantly bragging about themselves do not entertain me despite what the producers believe. But perhaps I'm in the minority on that.

That said, Desi did herself no favors, and it seems to me it should have occurred to her that it was most likely going to either be her or Joe with the possibility of a split vote. Which meant - she should have voted for Joe. If she had, he'd be gone. Period. Instead? She votes for . . . Lauren? OK then. Don't let the door hit you, Desi.

Quote

No one noticed because none of these people are working with high-functioning brains.

I would posit that few if any of them came into this game with high-functioning brains.

Edited November 16, 2017 by iMonrey

[CloudySky]

6 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

Oh no, they must be planning an all male alliance!

Said no-one, ever. What's up with that?

Other than the obvious, I think it also has to do with the epic Parvati girls alliance season. That left a mark lol. People are petrified of it now apparently.

Parvati will always be one of my faves because of her ability to pull that off so beautifully.

 

I don't get why everybody hates Joe. Other than beign a little annoying the first episode, he seems pretty normal and fine to me. He's even one of the more loyal players this season. And a lot of it is just an act. The look in his eyes even seemed like he got his feelings a little hurt at tribal although he cracked an arrogant joke.

I liked Desi but her Lauren vote showed how out of the loop she was so she deserved to go. She was playing an under the radar game but you can't do that when you're a comp beast. She had to be more socially aware and strategic to get further, but she never tried anything. She should have worked on Ashley to flip her and JP over to the healers side by pointing out all the big threats on the 7person alliance and that Ashley is on the bottom over there.

Even Cole didn't seem so bad this episode. I never liked Ben and he gets more annoying every episode. And Mike is such a non entity I forget he has an idol or even what his name is most of the time.

Devon is nothing more than Ryan's second vote at this point. Grow some balls and do something man.

JP's game is working out pretty well for him so far surprisingly. I hope he goes on an immunity streak when these morons finish voting off all the likeable players and proves Ali right.

[kikaha]

I liked Desi and wish she hadn't gotten booted.  I don't think she played a good UTR game though. 

For one, she stood out in the challenges.  Of course it's after the fact editing, but as soon as she told Jeff that she was 'temporarily' giving up the immunity necklace, Ryan's eyebrows rose.  And then she almost won the second challenge.  That helped plant the target on herself, just as so many challenge beasts in the past have done. 

Also, I don't believe she had good working relationships with anyone outside her immediate alliance (which was basically was just Joe).  Ben made the (incredible to me) mistake of telling Dr. Mike that he, Ben, was vulnerable.  But the foursome of Mike, Desi, Joe and Cole was not close, and so Desi couldn't take advantage of that. 

Her tears at the end surprised me, because during the game she didn't seem that emotional. 

All the players left seem to have at least one strong ability but also at least one fatal flaw.  The editing has done a good job of putting up multiple targets, and I have no clue who will come out on top. 

[Special K]

I think Desi might do well on another reality show, like The Amazing Race or something. She seems pretty talented and unflappabble.   I'd say she'd make a good Bachelorette, but I wouldn't wish that on anyone.

[Lamima]

I posted upthread about Desi's Lauren vote. But remember, she did not know Lauren had that advantage and wouldn't be voting. In that regard, if she was told girls are voting Joe and guys voting her and she knew (which I am guessing she did) that Mike and Cole were also voting Joe then it would be 5 Joe and 4 Desi with Joe voting Ben. Why she went Lauren instead of Ben....don't know. Maybe she hoped to work with Ben. Or Maybe in case Cole and Mike switched to vote Ben (then it would be 3 Ben and 7 split between her and Joe and maybe she thought 4 Joe and 3 her). I think she wanted Joe gone without going to a tie. And she didn't want to vote Joe as a little saving face.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Lamima

[amazingracefan]

Why would you expect people to be really likeable and nice to each other in a game where you have to vote each other out to win a huge prize?  Of course they will be lying and trying to get other people out.

I'm glad Joe stayed because he always tries to play the game and makes an effort to stay. Desi just seemed to be floating by in the game, depending on others like Joe to help her, while at the same time showing herself as an immunity threat.

Several found the clue so I wonder if they needed to make it harder to find. Ryan was actually the most sensible in throwing away the clue. Cole put the spaghetti on an apron which doesn't make much sense anyway. Ryan is so thin though, you could see his heart beating as Probst pointed out from a distance.

Ben can't complain about Joe making things up as he was doing the same with Cole this episode.

There was some strategy in the reward challenge, making people's decisions as to how long they throw to get a hit important. I think they do need to mix up the immunity challenges these days as many seasons of being balancing strength can get too repetitive.

[Charlesman]

I'm kind of upset that good and interesting twists and new ideas are being wasted on a subpar cast.

This is just not that good a season, and it's all due to who is on it. The people here kinda all suck.

 

But I do appreciate the show is at least trying new things. The new secret advantages are kinda interesting, at least it's not a new idol every week that could last for several tribals until F5, they're all 'now or never' ticking clocks of strategy. The "divide the family style meal" was another good attempt at classic Survivor--it reminded me of the "winner decides who eats what" rewards. It was at least an opportunity for a more involved and scheming cast to have some dissension and internal turmoil among the ranks. 

If only they had better people on the show to exploit them. Or, maybe Survivor is just getting too old, it's reached the point where we send 22 people to live like bumps on a log and sit around lazy and doing nothing until there's 5 minutes of scrambling before each vote.

[amazingracefan]

17 hours ago, mojoween said:

You know what occurred to me tonight?  That is so not a revelation I can’t believe it’s taken 17 years to realize?  Unlike every other competition reality show in the planet, there are no inane confessionals from the contestants during challenges.  I mean, yes, we have Peachy blathering, but not three different people explaining the challenge we are watching and telling us how they feel about it.  Must be why I love this show the mostest.

One thing Big Brother does (not just with challenges) is have different people repeat the same thing twice, or even sometimes three times., just in case some of the audience haven't been concentrating.  The DRs in that show as a result can sound very fake.

[Lamima]

How folks can say Ben is annoying or they don't like him but yet they do like Joe and Cole is beyond me. Ben is a nice good guy and a smart player. I like watching J on the show as I like gamers and he is gaming hard but he is an unscrupulous jerky douche that I don't like as a person. And C is a self absorbed jerky dimwitted douche. I hope C is next to go. Then it will be fun to watch the remaining players since they all seem to be playing (except maybe JP and Ashley....so they can go after Cole).

[MissEwa]

16 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

Scary thing about that was, that wasn't even something they were trying to accomplish.  It made me wonder if they'd hold back on idols, super idols, and advantages as a result.

And what they've done instead is double-down on the advantages but have them all need to be played at the next TC (except now Lauren's extra vote), so they can't all come out at once at F5 or whatever. I'm not a fan because I don't like anything that changes the voting process, and it means so. many. advantages. 

6 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I always chuckle when people are all worried about germs and the like on these shows. I fall into the category of who cares. They each had their own fork and they are all in each others space 24/7 so the shared germs are nothing new. I get the fingers in PB jar is gross because even I stop at that but a clean fork on a shared plate of pasta just doesn't bother me. The napkin thing was fine. The napkin was clean before the spaghetti was dumped on it. I love that it took three people before someone thought to hide the plate. So I was more in the, eh who cares crowd. I didn't care when my toddler was eating dirt, I did tell him no and I did not let him near dog poop, but a little dirt is not going to hurt him. (It was our back yard and I know what my husband puts into the soil and when). Kids eat dirt, no biggie. Just make sure it is not poop and he is not put on the ground after fertilizer has been applied. Oh, and avoid the yellow snow....

+1. Also they're all sleeping in the same shelter, sharing what little food and servingware they have all the time. Any germs will be shared anyway. They've also been in a closed environment for 20-something days so it's not like any of them are introducing viruses they've picked up from elsewhere into the communal petri dish. Someone up-thread mentioned e-coli but that's still got to come from somewhere - probably the food or the water - and in that case they'd all have it anyway. 

9 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

Question for those who like to freeze-frame and read rules: did Lauren have to use her advantage this vote, or could she have saved it for later?  For example, a time when they weren't splitting and Probst wouldn't read all the votes because the majority would have been reached (you know, when he says "That's 5, that's enough" and doesn't read the rest.)  I know Lauren said she had to use it this time, but I was wondering if she was right about that.

I didn't (and I think this has been answered upthread) but if the idea is that you have to give something up to get something, it wouldn't make sense for her to be able to choose when she doesn't vote. I'm not sure how long she has to use her extra vote now either. 

2 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I was almost wondering why Ryan and/or Chrissy didn't tell the rest of their alliance that there was no way Joe had an idol, there's never more than one new idol at a time after the merge and it was not found by a healer.  But I suppose they want to keep that info secret for their own future use (just like Mike is being smart to not tell a soul except Jessica - whose gone, about his idol).

This didn't occur to me but is a good point. But how often have we seen a potentialy-dangerous vote-split where someone in the big alliance *knows* the other side doesn't have an idol? I guess if they don't think they're the bounce-back target, then it makes sense not to say. 

I hate that there are so many, but the idols and advantages do a nice job of exposing the sub-alliances in the main alliance. Ryan and Chrissy know about the idol. Lauren and Ben know about the vote. I feel like it says something that Ben didn't go and tell Chrissy about Lauren's vote, just went and tried to neutralise it. 

I was bummed Desi went over Joe but I'm still confused as to how their alliance of - they thought four but we know two - all voted for different people. Like I would get it if you were one of a couple and you knew you were gone so you just throw votes wherever, but if they thought they had four and you knew/suspected they were splitting votes, all it would have taken was a misstep from the big alliance for yours to survive, why did they not decide on one target? What were they hoping for? i'm hoping it gets addressed in an interview but it makes no sense. 

I don't like Joe but when he said 'maybe both' in answer to Ashley's comments about him I did laugh. He's annoying as hell but at least he knows it. 

I don't like how much dopey beefcake is left on this season but at least Devon seems sweet. Cole and JP can go though. 

The cloth of spaghetti conversation is killing me. I get *why* Cole did it but it looked so ridiculous. Other than that - and that the spaghetti didn't look at all good to begin with - I didn't have a problem with that reward. I like the double-edged-swordness of a few of the advantages/rewards this season. In fact, it's about all I do like about this season, which is otherwise still tedious. 

[Lamima]

I wonder if Chrissy didn't know Ryan got the idol. He told her and told her to fill in hole but she didn't seem to hear and went on digging and then fought Cole tooth and nail and screamed for help. She could have been playing in order to frame Cole but I don't think she was. She and Ben may have truly believed Cole got that idol. And maybe they thought he'd share with Joe. And maybe then Ryan kept it secret since he was not one of the names mentioned as being on the block. Some part of him may want to sever the Chrissy and Ben alliance since he is also with Chrissy.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Lamima

[MissEwa]

I think she heard him. She wasn't digging when Cole came up. I think she kept going to throw them off the scent. 

Edited November 16, 2017 by MissEwa

[truthaboutluv]

Okay, I admit I've barely been paying attention to this season and honestly, am all but checked out. So question to those actually paying attention - did the vote against Desi make any sense? Because from my vantage point of barely paying attention, seemed to me that once they confirmed that Joe did not in fact have an idol, it would make perfect sense to get rid of him since one, he's annoying, two, most of them dislike him and three, he's already proven his ability to find idols, twice.  

[amazingracefan]

5 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I honestly don't think there's anybody even remotely close to what I would consider "horrible" this season. Everybody is just so middle-of-the-road. Chrissy & Ryan are both playing good, strategic games and I haven't seen either of them treat anybody really badly on a personal level. The closest this season has to a villain is probably Joe and, at most, he's mildly annoying.

I'm with you. Desi was very pretty and seemed like a nice person but, in terms of the game, she wasn't a great strategic player and she was boring.

Thank you! I very clearly saw a scene where there were three people sitting around, discussing who to target so how is it that only Chrissy gets accused of hating women? 

That was one of the scenes that made me dislike Ben even more than I already do. He was being a big old drama queen, claiming that he never "swore" on the Marines. Semantics, buddy. Joe said that he had been paraphrasing and that Ben may not have used the actual phrase "I swear on the Marines" but he often implied it by saying things like "As a Marine..." etc.  

Agreed.  The strange thing about 'villains' on reality shows is that people complain about them but secretly I think they actually want them.  That's why people just playing the game get hyped up as being a huge villain.  And Survivor isn't like the real world, it's a cut throat game show.

[Lamima]

@truthaboutluv

 

Desi was a comp beast, Joe was not so much.

Desi would be likable to a jury, Joe not so much.

Edited November 16, 2017 by Lamima

[amazingracefan]

3 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

Okay, I admit I've barely been paying attention to this season and honestly, am all but checked out. So question to those actually paying attention - did the vote against Desi make any sense? Because from my vantage point of barely paying attention, seemed to me that once they confirmed that Joe did not in fact have an idol, it would make perfect sense to get rid of him since one, he's annoying, two, most of them dislike him and three, he's already proven his ability to find idols, twice.  

The third point is really the important one of those, though others have been finding advantages since then.  The other two points mean he might be good to take to the end.  Joe's overplaying at the points he has been in danger has actually worked out for him, so he's probably realised that.

[truthaboutluv]

9 minutes ago, Lamima said:

@truthaboutluv

 

Desi was a comp beast, Joe was not so much.

Desi would be likable to a jury, Joe not so much.

I guess but I just think that's a bit short-sighted. With so many players still left and them admitting Joe is a dangerous player, get rid of him when you can and have enough people left for wiggle room. Yes, Desi has proven she's strong but she still lost immunity this week. Of course admittedly I don't really care about this season.

[ghoulina]

45 minutes ago, amazingracefan said:

Ben can't complain about Joe making things up as he was doing the same with Cole this episode.

DO we think he was making it up? Or does he REALLY believe that Cole has the Idol? I lean towards the latter. He kept mentioning Cole tucking his shirt in and Cole didn't deny it. He said something like, "It's a really long shirt". I almost think Cole did it intentionally to make people THINK he has the Idol. 

[watch2much]

having worked in a VA Hospital for years, I can tell you that anger is a key component of PTSD.  "Some Veterans may be more likely to feel anger in everyday situations because of a traumatic event from past military experience, such as combat"

so to have Joe, (who everyone agrees is annoying on a good day) hit a button and keep pressing it was really cruel.  I mean Ben jumped out of his skin when the fire exploded.  From what he was saying, he has been getting help and knows what he should do to avoid reacting that way.  But if I were there, I'd have ripped into Joe numerous times by now.  He's like nails on a chalk board.

though I really question whether coming on Survivor was a healthy thing to do for someone suffering from PTSD.  

Also, veterans from the current wars feel very disconnected from people who don't know what they went thru.  And yes, they volunteered but they are shouldering this burden while others don't have to.