S36.E01: Can You Reverse the Curse?

[Wings]

7 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Donathon annoys me. The "Good golly, gee wiz look an Exotic person" is embarrassing. He is just meeting his first Black person? Asians are exotic? I call bullshit. I can understand that there is not a hugely diverse population where he lives but the likelihood that he is just coming into contact with people who are not white is highly unlikely. He is worldly enough to be out of the closet Gay but he is referring to an Asian man as exotic? Nope. Not buying it. He can leave my screen as soon as possible.

I am with you here.  He is creating a character for himself and it isn't working. 

[TaraS1]

I'm from Donathan's general area and, believe it or not, he's not even the only person I "know" named Donathan.

He's from Pike County, which is a huge county with a huge, very advanced medical center that employs people from all kinds of backgrounds.  So yeah, it's backwoods, and yeah, he's from a very small town in that county, but it's definitely not like there are only straight white people milling around lol.  But I get what he was saying about not having many experiences getting to know people who are different from him.  He seemed very genuine to me, and I hope he does well.  (Also, I understood him perfectly - I'm fluent in hillbilly as I am one myself.)

[truthaboutluv]

Didn't realize the premiere was going to be a double episode but I was glad because I enjoyed both episodes. This season is already starting off stronger than the last and I just pray the interesting people make it to the end because last season was rough for me. Initial thoughts, losing tribe (yeah I can't remember the name) need to get it together fast because there is nothing I hate more than a season that starts with one tribe losing all the time. I like when the win-loss ratio is fairly even because I think it makes for a more interesting season and you get to see the dynamics of both tribes and all the players a lot better, when both are consistently having to go to tribal council. 

That said, I can't see losing tribe coming out of the hole they're in unless they start making smarter decisions for the challenges. How in the hell did they end up with two people running a leg, both of whom were afraid of diving? Did James say he could do it and then just choked? That sort of seemed to be what happened and what he admitted. But what I can't understand is why they paired him with Donathan who seemed very open in not being able to dive down, since the team essentially told him to come to the dock as soon as they got through the obstacles. They all seemed to accept that he was not going to be the one diving. So the wiser thing would have been to switch up the two pairings and have James with one of the people who swam the first leg and Donathan with the other because those two both didn't seem to have any issues diving down. 

By the way, I loved how James tried to be so "noble" about the loss being all his fault (which it was) and yet still looked almost outraged and stunned when his name showed up on the cards during tribal council. I was okay with both boots. Gonzalez screwed herself with that stupid move at tribal council. If her tribemates already thought she was playing way too hard, that move just solidified to them how intense and possibly not trustworthy she was. On the flipside, Donathan passively sitting there likely just convinced his tribemates that he was the perfect person to string along for awhile for numbers purposes because he'd be loyal and do what they said. Of course it'd be hilarious if he turns out to be one of those players who grows during the competition and ends up outlasting all of them (yeah don't see it happening). 

Jacob's boot was obvious because he was a crappy player. The kind of crappy who is a superfan and because of that overthinks everything to the point of screwing himself over. He also sucked at reading people, considering he actually thought his tribemates all bought his fake immunity idol line and he so easily drank the bullshit Stephanie was selling him, to the point of telling her everything. Speaking of Stephanie, I'm wondering if she never told the guys about Jacob's idol indeed being fake and his willing his legacy immunity to Morgan. Because they clearly still split the vote due to the concern that Jacob's idol could have possibly been real. And we did see her waffling in her decision, so I could see her potentially playing things close to the vest and not sharing information with the other guys. 

I was also hoping the other tribe would lose immunity so I could see what would happen in the Dominik vs. Christian battle. Admittedly I do think Dominik seems a little erratic and that could be grating but Christian is annoyingly arrogant, with little reason to be. Dominik may have been the only one to say it (which admittedly, in this game, best to lay low and say little in the early days) but I'm sure most of the tribe was thinking the same as him regarding Christian pulling the lever on the challenge. I might have seen the rationale behind if the woman from the other tribe was close to solving the puzzle but she was as confused as his tribemate. So I think it was worth it to let the woman keep trying. 

[blackwing]

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I put this in another thread, but I wondered if it was a family name (maybe a combo of Donald and Jonathan that were relatives of his?) or a typo on his birth certificate and his family never bothered to change it.  

 

That's what I'm assuming... I can't fault him for it, it was the doing of his parents.  It seems he calls himself Donathan and not just a nickname of Don.   I would think he's had to explain his name thousands of times ("my dad's father is Donald and my mom's dead brother was Jonathan so they named me Donathan", or something like that) but I didn't hear any explanation, perhaps it was edited out.

Or maybe he's just tired of explaining it.  I knew a Janita who went through and explained that her parents wanted to name her Juanita but misspelled the name on her birth certificate.  I didn't even think Janita was that unusual of a name, I really liked it and told her so.

There's a woman named Kellan this season.  In recent years we have had a girl Roark, a Tai, a Cirie, an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, a Sunday, a Woo, a Figgy, a Shirin, a Baylor, a Jefra, a J'Tia, a Gervase.  I don't see why Donathan's name is any more interesting, unusual or uncommon than any of these.  I never heard Roark or Jefra explaining their names.  

That said... I'm not sure why Gonzalez asked people to call her Gonzalez.  I get that there were two Stephanies, but there have been seasons where people had the same first name and they have managed.  Usually Jeff or the tribes themselves default into assigned names (Ryno vs Skinny Ryan, Purple Kelly).  There was "Wentworth" and "Wigglesworth" during Game Changers.  I think the only other woman that Jeff afforded last name status to was Monica Culpepper, and that was only during Blood vs Water and almost certainly because he was in love with her husband.

It did seem like an aggressive move on her part.  It's seemingly a lot more common in society to call men by their last name than it is women.  I don't know any women that I call solely by their last name.  I think in saying "call me Gonzalez" she was pretty much announcing "don't discount me because I'm a woman, I'm as aggressive and strong as any man".  I think it backfired.

Edited March 1, 2018 by blackwing

[Daisy]

25 minutes ago, Wings said:

It boggles the mind.  These 'super fans' weren't even born when this started 3 years ago so the term has changed.  If you have watched the last few seasons now falls into that category.  There are so many examples of why not to do this.  I can't remember if telling has ever paid off in a big way.  

the only one i can think of was in Cook Islands with Yul. and that was before the idol was how we see it now. 
honest to goodness - i feel that super fan is code for "I binged on the DVDS production gave me before i came out here, so I actually have some reference to who Sierra is." 

 

because I've watched every season of Survivor, and I barely remember who Sierra is, let alone squeal that "oh my god I have her dumbo legacy advantage." 

[AUJulia]

13 hours ago, Mindthinkr said:

I loved the scene when the two guys were walking back from somewhere (sorry, not up to snuff on names yet) and he said he felt like they were two guys in a candy store picking out gummy bears for each other. 

I liked the snuffer that Jeff used at tribal. Poor Gonzales. She was blindsided and did not look happy. It’s a don’t look too strong or too weak in the beginning when everyone is sizing the other people up. She looked and acted too strong. 

Naw, she acted toxic. 

[LadyChatts]

39 minutes ago, blackwing said:

That's what I'm assuming... I can't fault him for it, it was the doing of his parents.  It seems he calls himself Donathan and not just a nickname of Don.   I would think he's had to explain his name thousands of times ("my dad's father is Donald and my mom's dead brother was Jonathan so they named me Donathan", or something like that) but I didn't hear any explanation, perhaps it was edited out.

Or maybe he's just tired of explaining it.  I knew a Janita who went through and explained that her parents wanted to name her Juanita but misspelled the name on her birth certificate.  I didn't even think Janita was that unusual of a name, I really liked it and told her so.

There's a woman named Kellan this season.  In recent years we have had a girl Roark, a Tai, a Cirie, an Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera, a Sunday, a Woo, a Figgy, a Shirin, a Baylor, a Jefra, a J'Tia, a Gervase.  I don't see why Donathan's name is any more interesting, unusual or uncommon than any of these.  I never heard Roark or Jefra explaining their names.  

That said... I'm not sure why Gonzalez asked people to call her Gonzalez.  I get that there were two Stephanies, but there have been seasons where people had the same first name and they have managed.  Usually Jeff or the tribes themselves default into assigned names (Ryno vs Skinny Ryan, Purple Kelly).  There was "Wentworth" and "Wigglesworth" during Game Changers.  I think the only other woman that Jeff afforded last name status to was Monica Culpepper, and that was only during Blood vs Water and almost certainly because he was in love with her husband.

It did seem like an aggressive move on her part.  It's seemingly a lot more common in society to call men by their last name than it is women.  I don't know any women that I call solely by their last name.  I think in saying "call me Gonzalez" she was pretty much announcing "don't discount me because I'm a woman, I'm as aggressive and strong as any man".  I think it backfired.

My friend was supposed to be Natalie, but the hospital misspelled it as Nathalie.  Just one extra letter, but everyone always pronounced it with the h.  So not exactly the name her parents wanted, but close.  I suppose there are much worse scenarios and misplaced letters that could make that very awkward for some people.  I think Donathan put in his bio that he's "Donathan, not Jonathan."  I have a very common name, but a not so common spelling for it, so I get it.  

As soon as I heard Gonzalez telling people to call her by her last name, I knew she was done.  I had wondered if Probst just gave her that distinction.  Also, during Survivor Africa we had two Kims-Kim Powers and Kim Johnson.  Didn't Probst just call them by their full names, not giving one a last name and the other a first?  I really hate when this last name crap started, male or female.  Same with nicknames.  

I really wanted to like her, as she seemed one of the most normal from her bios, but she made it hard to do so.  I wasn't sorry to see her go.  Same with Jacob.  So probably for the first time in a long time, I was actually happy with the two boots (not counting the seasons where the first couple of boots get no screen time until their torch is being snuffed).

[watch2much]

I don't know why Jacob thought telling them he had an idol would be a smart move.  splitting the vote is the go to move for that.

was surprised they let Gonzales go....she was a strong player....maybe she could have dived 8 feet.....wow, just goes to show a 6 pack doesn't make you a challenge beast

[peachmangosteen]

Firstly, and this is very mean of me but whatever, these people are not attractive. There are maybe 5 people that are like sorta kinda there and that's it. Bummer lol.

I didn't hate everyone as much as I assumed, but that's probably only because they haven't shown their asses yet. 

Donathan. Oh, Donathan. I kept going back and forth with the not diving then diving thing. As soon as he and James hit that portion of the challenge, every single person was telling him to swim in. They told him not to try! So I kinda don't fault him for that. But then when he kept refusing I started getting annoyed, although I thought it was probably partially because his team showed earlier that they had no faith in him to be able to do it and he was probably thinking well they're right. But then he dove into the water pretty amazingly so I was like alright bud you're lying about thinking you couldn't do it. Ultimately I like him because he seems genuinely nice and he's somewhat interesting.

I am concerned about the guy the orange team picked as their leader. As my sister said, he looks like he's all ligaments. I really hope he doesn't make it far simply because I don't wanna see what his body would look like at the end.

I already hate Sebastian and the other guy. Although I thought their whole "We're Florida bros, man! Yea brah! Gummy bears!" was kind of hilarious.

I was wondering if they had to do the Ghost Island urns in order, too. I figure they must have been told off camera that they did indeed have to go in order since Jacob did the first one and then Donathan did the second one. We'll see though I guess.

I feel like Kellyn might be a winner contender. But maybe that's just wishful thinking since she's on my fantasy team.

Edited March 1, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[blackwing]

1 hour ago, Xcptnl said:

Does any know if you have to break the vials in order on ghost island?  I would want to break one in the middle.  

I think they have to be broken in order.  They aren't truly alone on Ghost Island, I assume there is a cameraman and some production people to monitor and give him instructions.  There's an article on the Entertainment Weekly site where Jeffy talked about "the row of urns" and how Jacob got to play a game for a reward but Donathan didn't and whether it was fair.  Jeffy said something about how the producers know what's in the urns and what challenges and rewards might await but they don't know who is going to be on Ghost Island for each particular one.

I'm not really bothered by Chris.  He does seem a little arrogant and a little too self-aware of his good looks and body.  But beyond that I didn't see anything different to hate about him any more than I do about others at this stage.  One of Gonzalez's complaints about him was that he "waxed his chest".  Why should that matter to her, or why would it be considered a negative?  If he does so I would assume it's because he is a model and might be asked to do it.

The main reason why I don't mind him is because I can't stand Dominick and I'd rather have Chris survive to take Dominick down.  I like that Chris was skeptical of Dom's suddenly generous idol reveal and sharing.

Edited March 1, 2018 by blackwing

[peachmangosteen]

I liked Chris just fine, which was a surprise to me. But I am 99% sure I will eventually hate him.

I forgot to ask this, which I'm surprised I never wondered about before, how do they get called to go to do confessionals? Like on BB the voice comes over the speakers calling them to the diary room, but that can't happen here. Does a PA or a cameraman just go to them and tell them to come?

Edited March 1, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[LadyChatts]

12 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I liked Chris just fine, which was a surprise to me. But I am 99% sure I will eventually hate him.

I forgot to ask this, which I'm surprised I never wondered about before, how do they get called to go to do confessionals? Like on BB the voice comes over the speakers calling them to the diary room, but that can't happen here. Does a PA or a cameraman just go to them and tell them to come?

From what I've heard, they come and get them, and it can be at any time.  

[plurie]

So much crappy game play.

 

Gonzalez was playing WAY too hard (and was annoying to boot), so of course they voted her out.

Jacob came up with an unnecessary lie, and couldn't sell it. He would have been better off telling the truth, or lying that he had a shot at an advantage, but didn't get it.

Dominick is lucky his tribe won immunity. He was smart not to tell about the idol, and marginally clever in making a fake idol. But then he showed the fake idol to the person he'd already told that he DIDN'T have an idol. WTF? He should have "teamed up" with Chris to look for the "idol" and let Chris find it.

 

The only person who seems able to keep a secret is the yoga instructor (can't recall her name), who played Jacob, found out all his secrets and then voted him out. She's the only one on her tribe with this information and has no reason to share it. I don't think she told anyone that his idol was fake; if she had, they wouldn't have split the votes.

[Haleth]

1 hour ago, Pondlass1 said:

Wet sneakers and gritty sand makes for lots of painful blisters.

That reminds me.  Jacob lost his shoes in the surf yet later was seen wearing boots. Where did those come from?

[Dominii]

Quote

Plus, she muttered “sad” as she walked out, which I cannot abide.

Yep, Gonzales must be a Trump fan. Her tweet could be: "Terrific non-girly girl voted out of Survivor by fake tribe. Tribe should have voted out Donathan, who is the worst (and crookedest) loser of all time. Sad!"

[AUJulia]

13 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Male Model:

 

 

[amazingracefan]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

As soon as I heard Gonzalez telling people to call her by her last name, I knew she was done.  I had wondered if Probst just gave her that distinction.  Also, during Survivor Africa we had two Kims-Kim Powers and Kim Johnson.  Didn't Probst just call them by their full names, not giving one a last name and the other a first?  I really hate when this last name crap started, male or female.  Same with nicknames. 

It most likely isn't a choice to be called by your last name, I'd be surprised if production wasn't just using it to differentiate.

 

Jacob, unfortunately for him, only got the legacy advantage.  Production must have guessed that the winning tribe would send weaker people to Ghost Island but they didn't set them up with anything that decent the first two episodes  Apparently they hadn't even broadcast the Game Changers season by the time of this one so he knew nothing about what happened with Sierra.  It's a boring twist to me but it was obvious they would start it very early (as both times before) so most likely they break the vials in order.  Getting an idol was his only hope, people won't bring two goats along I'd guess.  Although he was searching for idols he says it wasn't as much as they were showing and others were searching too (I expect Donathan was one).

Edited March 1, 2018 by amazingracefan

[amazingracefan]

2 hours ago, Wings said:

I am with you here.  He is creating a character for himself and it isn't working. 

A problem is these kind of storylines have all been done before and even recently.  Even the 'brave person finishing a challenge they've lost' angle has been done recently. 

[marys1000]

As to the whole swimming team thing I suspect they paired super buff alpha male looking James with Donathan just assuming that super buff alpha male looking guy would be a slam dunk

at any physical challenge.  If so it sure bit them in the butt.  

 

Jacob had to tell them something about Ghost Island, if he lasted surely someone else would go and come back and talk to so it had to be something reasonable. 

Curious - what scenario's would you all have come up with? 

Edited March 1, 2018 by marys1000

[AUJulia]

13 hours ago, North of Eden said:

First up the most obvious question must be asked...did Jeff and the producers go knocking on the door of all those past SURVIVOR contestants and ask for all those original trinkets back? And did they have to get the records from the Glaser Foundation and track down all the stuff auctioned off and buy them back?

Okay...breaking this down

*Sad that all the interesting people so far are on the team that is losing

*It was so sad that it came down to Gonzalez and Donathan because I didn't want to lose either one of them. Gonzalez was smoking hot eye candy and I liked Donathan's naivette and enthusiasm for meeting diverse people.

*I really, really wanted frizzy headed Stephanie to be a target for the first vote. INSTA-DISLIKE for her. She's sneaky, trying to hard to be a puppet master early on and I really don't get where Jacob was coming from pegging her as some raving beauty? Are you serious? Her body is off the charts but that's it.

*My DVR cut out but I am assuming Gonzalez didn't get a final words clip which is a really lousy thing to do to the first boot.

*Like Laurel but am disheartened that apparently she's falling in with the unpopular "losers" instead of being in a dominant alliance.

*Glad Jacob went out....I had a sinking feeling they were trying to make him the next "character" of the season ala Cochrane and the guy with the red Gilligan shirt last season but after he went out I realized....its the vile Stephanie that looks like the one they are going to be fixated on.

When Desiree was sinking those baskets I thought she was "going full Dora Milaje" and she sinks the winning basket. Wakanda Forever!

I wonder if Gonzales's final words either didn't happen because she told production to F off or if what they filmed was her saying F off. 

[Wings]

1 minute ago, AUJulia said:

I wonder if Gonzales's final words either didn't happen because she told production to F off or if what they filmed was her saying F off. 

They would love that and just bleep and blur.  

[CletusMusashi]

14 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

Goodness, what is with that woman's striped leggings? What is she, bee legs?

I think that dame's gams look swell. In fact, she's the bee's knees.

[AUJulia]

9 minutes ago, marys1000 said:

As to the whole swimming team thing I suspect they paired super buff alpha male looking James with Donathan just assuming that super buff alpha male looking guy would be a slam dunk

at any physical challenge.  If so it sure bit them in the butt.  

 

Jacob had to tell them something about Ghost Island, if he lasted surely someone else would go and come back and talk to so it had to be something reasonable. 

Curious - what scenario's would you all have come up with? 

I'd have described the place, period. If asked questions I'd have smiled and said "this season is about not repeating historic mistakes." But I'm not Aspergery.

[survivinmt]

I have to think the diving issue was due to weakness from hunger. I am no great swimmer but even I could have used the underwater cage to "climb" down to the lever to release the balls. However, that is ONLY if I am well-fed. I get hungry and all my muscles go to wet noodles. Or at least they feel like they do. I really haven't tried anything strenuous without finding something to eat first. So I can see how both of them would say, "I can't do it." without even really trying. I'd like to think though they strategize for more than 5 seconds (well, we know Chris doesn't), to determine who is going to do what.

Why did we learn almost more than we wanted about almost ALL of the men and there are at least 4 women that were invisible or nearly so - Angela, Libby, Jenna, plus one other? Dang - I know that they can't go into depth on all 20 but, come on!

[blackwing]

11 minutes ago, marys1000 said:

Jacob had to tell them something about Ghost Island, if he lasted surely someone else would go and come back and talk to so it had to be something reasonable. 

Curious - what scenario's would you all have come up with? 

"I had to break this urn and then I was supposed to pick one of two coconut shells.  I don't know what was supposed to happen after that because there was nothing in it."

My question is if production is feeding people all these tidbits about these "ghost items".  I certainly would have a hard time recognising many of them let alone knowing the detailed story.  There have been multiple "Secret Advantages" on this show, I guess the letter identified it as the Legacy Advantage.   Wasn't there a Legacy Advantage that was given to Ken by his partner, I forget her name but she had buggy eyes.   Or are players expected to know this must be the Legacy Advantage of Sierra's because it was misplayed?

What if someone doesn't know the item at all? Like the stick with a smiley face on it?

[Kaiju Ballet]

21 minutes ago, AUJulia said:

I wonder if Gonzales's final words either didn't happen because she told production to F off or if what they filmed was her saying F off. 

From Dalton Ross'  EW recap
 

Quote

It makes for good theater, but nothing changes, as Gonzalez is unanimously voted out. But there is something interesting you did not see on her way out. While you saw her say “Sad” after having her torch snuffed, Gonzalez in fact had a little more to say, and it was directed at one individual in particular. “One lion, seven sheep,” she also said on her way out.

He goes on to guess Brendan's the lion, with Gonzalez setting a target squarely on his back.

[Eolivet]

1 minute ago, blackwing said:

There have been multiple "Secret Advantages" on this show, I guess the letter identified it as the Legacy Advantage.   Wasn't there a Legacy Advantage that was given to Ken by his partner, I forget her name but she had buggy eyes.

When they said "this is the Legacy Advantage," I went "uh, there've been two," except I guess Ken played his from Jessica (buggy eyes) correctly on Millennials vs Gen X (one of the few instances of anyone from Millennials vs Gen X playing anything correctly). There were two Jessicas on that season, but one was "Figgy" -- except that strikes me as less egregious than "Gonzalez," because I got the feeling the former was a well-established nickname (or not? She seems to have embraced it).

I'm glad they're doing the recaps, because I didn't even remember Andrea not playing her idol on Caramoan (I actually didn't even remember Andrea was on Caramoan, oops).

[tvfanatic13]

I was prepared to hate this season, especially when I saw that all of the players seem to be in their early 30s at best. Not a whole lot of diversity either. But I am in for the whole shebang! I really enjoyed this episode.

Ghost Island- love seeing the flashbacks to bone-headed moves and love that not everyone will get to "play". Happy with the boots, especially watching the smug drain from Gonzales' face and her little smug curtsey at the end. Glad to also see Jacob go. He thoroughly annoyed me.

I think that the Dominick's thought process in showing a fake idol with a real note is to give it to ?? to use since he will believe that it is real because of the note.

I like Desiree but the editors better get their pixelators ready. Looking forward to the season.

[AUJulia]

35 minutes ago, Kaiju Ballet said:

From Dalton Ross'  EW recap
 

He goes on to guess Brendan's the lion, with Gonzalez setting a target squarely on his back.

It seems to begin in the middle. And did I miss the explanation for no Gonzales exit interview? Looks like the recap just says there wasn't one because it was a double episode. IIRC other double episodes have included both exit interviews.

[Charlesman]

15 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Make a fake immunity idol and a bullshit excuse for not having the note to go with it.

...

Just holy hell some awful game play. 

 

Yeah, I didn't get this play at all. It would have been much smarter for Jacob to claim he got nothing at Ghost Island, that he came back empty handed, then "accidentally" flash his fake idol to the tribe's most talkative over-thinker. Let the word spread through the rumor mill that he really did get an idol there, and he'd at least have the threat of believability. Not that the votes wouldn't have gone down the exact same way, probably, with 2 on James as a backup. But it at least would have showed the smallest amount of thought.

[ByaNose]

11 minutes ago, Charlesman said:

 

Yeah, I didn't get this play at all. It would have been much smarter for Jacob to claim he got nothing at Ghost Island, that he came back empty handed, then "accidentally" flash his fake idol to the tribe's most talkative over-thinker. Let the word spread through the rumor mill that he really did get an idol there, and he'd at least have the threat of believability. Not that the votes wouldn't have gone down the exact same way, probably, with 2 on James as a backup. But it at least would have showed the smallest amount of thought.

Yeah, he didn’t think that one through. Listening to his exit press and he said he was dead in the water from jump. He never found his footing and it went downhill from there. He’s still kind of depressed about it. Being first and second out sucks in Survivor. Actually, anything pre-merge sucks. That said, he’s a little more of a memorable 2nd boot then I can remember. A lot of people remember the first but not the seconds. That’s something, right?

[blackwing]

5 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

Yeah, he didn’t think that one through. Listening to his exit press and he said he was dead in the water from jump. He never found his footing and it went downhill from there. He’s still kind of depressed about it. Being first and second out sucks in Survivor. Actually, anything pre-merge sucks. That said, he’s a little more of a memorable 2nd boot then I can remember. A lot of people remember the first but not the seconds. That’s something, right?

By next season, I guarantee that I'll be all "Jacob who???"  I can't even remember who got booted first and second last season.  This was a season I watched religiously and commented on too much, and it still took me a good few minutes before I could actually remember that Ben ("I'm a marine, and we're not heroes, it's just what we do... until I need to constantly stuff it in your face to remind you I'm a hero deserving of a million dollars") was the winner.

[sugarbaker design]

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

It most likely isn't a choice to be called by your last name, I'd be surprised if production wasn't just using it to differentiate.

Since there were two Stephanie's I'm sure production asked both if one of them could go by a nickname/last name.

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, marys1000 said:

As to the whole swimming team thing I suspect they paired super buff alpha male looking James with Donathan just assuming that super buff alpha male looking guy would be a slam dunk

at any physical challenge.  If so it sure bit them in the butt.  

This. I'm fine with some not being here for Probst's whole "you became a hero" thing to Donathan after he finally released the balls but I disagree that Donathan was the one who cost the tribe the win. He AND James did that. As others have noted, you can clearly see and hear the tribe telling Donathan to come in as soon as he and James made it through the obstacle. It's clear that this had been been discussed and worked out that James would go down and release the balls. And he had to have agreed to it, hence his repeatedly owning the fact that he choked. 

[meep.meep]

I can't understand Donothan and it's not his accent.  He sounds like he's speaking with a sponge in his mouth.

Jacob played way too hard.  Get their trust by telling them the truth.  All he ended up doing was convincing his tribe mates to split the vote.

The bags that the Naviti tribe have?  It looks like they have all been outfitted with Hello Kitty lavender back packs.

[blackwing]

I'm curious how Ghost Island will be used after the merge.  Right now it seems to be used as a way for the winning tribe to send the weakest member of the other tribe away as a way to protect that player from eviction, and thus forcing the losing tribe to keep him and remain that much weaker.  Jacob and Donathan seem to be among the weakest.

I think I actually heard Jacob sigh in exasperation when Donathan was picked... it seems he actually wanted to go again so he would both be protected and get another chance at an advantage.

After the merge, what will happen.  Can someone please remind me how exile/redemption island worked after the merge?  Is it from reward challenge losers?  Also, when was the last time we saw it?  I want to say it was San Juan Del Sur, I remember Jon Misch finding an idol by climbing that huge rock mountain in the ocean.  I don't count Debbie getting what I think was a "mental health timeout" in Game Changers since it never appeared again.

And once "the secret" that you can gain good stuff gets out... wouldn't everyone want to go?  I think with exile the last time around people thought or knew there was a chance to find an immunity idol but it was at the expense of not being able to participate at camp and having no ability to strategise.

Edited March 1, 2018 by blackwing

[FrauBlucher]

16 hours ago, mojoween said:

Donathan said James was exotic.  I mean, this is why children should not be sheltered, people.

 

I had to roll my eyes at that, I mean give me a break. This is 2018. If Donathan is really that sheltered then it's on him.

[ghoulina]

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I have no problem with Exile/Ghost Island. I like the game play opportunities it offers. I hate redemption island but I am cool with Exile Island. Clearly you want to be sent there because there appears to be unlimited rice. I do wish the hidden immunity idols were at Exile Island but the Producers hate me so that is never going to happen again.

I feel exactly the same. HATED Redemption Island. Once you're gone, you're gone. Plus, I felt it took up too much time. Exile, or a spin on Exile, is cool. It shakes things up in a fun way. 

[Al Herkimer]

Donathan also seemed legitimately worried about encountering some ghosts on Ghost Island. 

[piequinn35]

15 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

Chris has got a douche face.

I disliked Domenick but ended up liking him due to my strong immediate dislike of the yoga bros - Chris and Man Bun.  

I like Stephanie well enough but she needs to cut about a foot of dead ends off of her hair, and stop constantly stroking it.

Desiree's bra is not going to last much longer.  I can't believe she didn't bring something more substantial.

As sad as it is that Donathon has never seen a black woman before and considers an Asian man "exotic", at least he rejoiced at meeting people different from him.

I think James simply panicked when he was trying to dive down, and he was using up all of his energy by treading water.  He should have clung to the dock to get his breath back and then attempted to dive down.  I like him but the yoga bros are gunning for him.

The yoga bros are not in James' tribe? 

I am torn if I like or dislike Domenick and Chris, Dom said in his bio that survivor should be a walk in the park, which is imo a cocky comment.

They are both smart and their war just began, let's see what happens and things like that... lol

and Michael is cute, I hope he and Brendan will make it far.

[ghoulina]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

That reminds me.  Jacob lost his shoes in the surf yet later was seen wearing boots. Where did those come from?

I think he had two pairs of footwear on the island. I could have sworn he said something like, "One of my pairs of shoes washed away". My memory sucks, but I do recall thinking he must have had a backup pair. 

 

2 hours ago, marys1000 said:

Jacob had to tell them something about Ghost Island, if he lasted surely someone else would go and come back and talk to so it had to be something reasonable. 

Curious - what scenario's would you all have come up with? 

I would have told them that there were clues leading to an Idol (isn't that similar to previous Exiles?) based on past players, but that he wasn't able to find it in time. 

 

4 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

The yoga bros are not in James' tribe? 

No, they're on the purple tribe; James is on orange. 

[PaperTree]

1 hour ago, AUJulia said:

It seems to begin in the middle. And did I miss the explanation for no Gonzales exit interview? Looks like the recap just says there wasn't one because it was a double episode. IIRC other double episodes have included both exit interviews.

It's page 4 of 7.  Scroll down there's a link for Prev Pages

[RedheadZombie]

20 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

The yoga bros are not in James' tribe? 

I am torn if I like or dislike Domenick and Chris, Dom said in his bio that survivor should be a walk in the park, which is imo a cocky comment.

They are both smart and their war just began, let's see what happens and things like that... lol

and Michael is cute, I hope he and Brendan will make it far.

No!  I was wrong.  The two alpha dudes are after James - the ones you hope will go far.

[AUJulia]

40 minutes ago, FrauBlucher said:

I had to roll my eyes at that, I mean give me a break. This is 2018. If Donathan is really that sheltered then it's on him.

Not sure you know enough about him to definitively say that. 

13 minutes ago, PaperTree said:

It's page 4 of 7.  Scroll down there's a link for Prev Pages

Tried to see it on my phone and it wasn't loading properly. Thanks. 

[RedheadZombie]

23 minutes ago, ghoulina said:

I think he had two pairs of footwear on the island. I could have sworn he said something like, "One of my pairs of shoes washed away". My memory sucks, but I do recall thinking he must have had a backup pair. 

 

I would have told them that there were clues leading to an Idol (isn't that similar to previous Exiles?) based on past players, but that he wasn't able to find it in time. 

 

No, they're on the purple tribe; James is on orange. 

I would have been mostly truthful because the very next person who goes will learn the truth.  I probably would have described the scene in minute detail, up until the part where you have to choose left or right.  I would have left out that I actually chose correctly.

[LadyChatts]

4 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Firstly, and this is very mean of me but whatever, these people are not attractive. There are maybe 5 people that are like sorta kinda there and that's it. Bummer lol.

 

 

I think Angela's one of the best looking out there, and for being the oldest contestant, she looks better than some of the 20 somethings.  I thought Sebastian was kind of odd looking, but his personality sums that all up for me.  

Edited March 1, 2018 by LadyChatts

[HurricaneVal]

Sigh.  Apparently the hallmark of a "Superfan" is to overplay, overshare, and overreach rather than outwit, outplay, and outlast.  Double sigh.

I'm still in the game, I'm almost digging the Ghost Island schtick, and I find it to be an interesting strategery if the winning tribe deploys it properly.  Either always send the assumed-to-be vote to GI so as to put the losing side into chaos, or always send the weakest physical player for the same reason.  Sometimes those are the same person, but not always.  I'm happy they are giving the exilees some measure of shelter, fire, and food.  It is almost like a stealth reward, except that you're removed from the game for a while.

I have to say, I think Donathon has a speech impediment in addition to his accent.  I can usually follow even a thick southern accent, but he's all the way up to Jodie Foster in Nell verbalization.

 

And for fuck's sake...ENOUGH WITH THE WHISPERING AT TRIBAL COUNCIL.  Jeff needs to stop that shit NOW.

[Etta Place]

The best lies are always mostly the truth. I think Jacob just got ahead of himself and couldn't wait to get to the lying part. He should have described what happened on Ghost Island, including the game. He could have either told them he didn't find anything (although he was hoping to parlay the fake idol into safety, so I'm not sure that would have gained him anything - maybe just that they would think the possibility was there that he had an idol), or that he opened it and found the idol he had in his hand. When they challenged him on the paperwork to go with it, he could have said it didn't have anything with it ... does that mean it could be a fake? *gasp*

[amazingracefan]

A lot throughout the thread on whether people like the faces of the contestants or not but I'd rather go beyond that.

The problem with the ghost island concept is it's just a rehash of twists from previous seasons, and might even mean there's an overload of twists.

[Silver Raven]

Didn't Gonzalez say her first name is Stephanie?  So maybe they told her to call her by her last name because there's another Stephanie there.  In fact, production might have even suggested it.