S36.E05: A Diamond in the Rough

[Lamb18]

14 hours ago, LanceM said:

Very sad to see Steph go tonight but the writing was on the wall.  As one of them said tonight Jenna was harmless whereas Stephanie and Michael are not.  Step just lost the coin flip.

As far as the sob stories go, yeah they can be a little annoying at times but would people rather hear nothing at all about the players personal lives?  Would you rather watch a bunch of robots play>  Just curious.

I know next to nothing about Domenick's, Laurel's, Wendell's or Michael's life outside the game but I find them among the most interesting people in the game through their behavior, attitude, interactions with others, game performance, etc. But they haven't really said much about themselves outside of the game. And Wendell turning from law to furniture maker isn't a sob story, it's more like a success story for him.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Lamb18

[Ms Blue Jay]

A furniture maker?!  That's awesome.  Like Aidan from Sex and the City, or Magic Mike.  

[marys1000]

54 minutes ago, Lamb18 said:

I know next to nothing about Domenick's, Laurel's, Wendell's or Michael's life outside the game but I find them among the most interesting people in the game through their behavior, attitude, interactions with others, game performance, etc. But they haven't really said much about themselves outside of the game. And Wendell turning from law to furniture maker isn't a sob story, it's more like a success story for him.

Domenick and Wendell have been on the winning side so, we haven't seen much of any of them.  Laurel and don't leave out Laurell, Desiree or many others - there are still quite a few players.  Michael is too young to have a life isn't he?  High school I guess.  

I wonder if not seeing much of some people yet means they go long and there is plenty of time to see more of them. 

[Mahamid Frauded Me]

Chris reminds me of that smug a-hole Jesse from Before the 90days, Darcy the dingbats man baby

[Xcptnl]

3 hours ago, marys1000 said:

http://www.realitytea.com/2018/03/07/survivor-ghost-island-episode-3-recap-ugly-baby/

That just says he has had read elsewhere they are to hit in order.  Is it anywhere confirmed by TPTB they have to break in order?   This is really bugging me.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Xcptnl

[Jextella]

I might be a voice of one, but I like Stephanie and was sad to see her go.  The talk about the kids hadn't been too much for me....yet.

Anyway, I do have a theory that the ones who end up going home pre-merge are often the ones who let non-game play issues budge ahead of game-play in their heads.  They think they are "playing" but they really aren't.  Stephanie is a good example.  Her head was on the money for the kids first and foremost - not on the game itself. 

Compare to the kid whose mom died of cancer a season or two back who played for his mom/family.  He had the unique ability to keep things separate and actually play the game like a game.

[ljenkins782]

12 hours ago, eskimo said:

AGREED!  Five people sent to GI, one game played.  Don't get me wrong, I don't want 20 idols floating around, but they played up Ghost Island and it's really turned into nothing so far.  Could it be that they're waiting till after merge to load them up on idols and advantages??   

Well, Kellyn had the option to play and chose not to risk losing her vote, which did pay off for her because the vote was so tight at that TC, it would have been 2 of 5. I don't want to see tons of idols and advantages, so I'm okay with the games being sparingly available. 

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I am way (way, way) too old to say this, but whatever, Michael is beautiful to look at. Plus, I just like him a lot. I could barely watch him crying in this ep. It was too much for me!

He is preternaturally beautiful and so calm for an 18-year-old. Not sure how I feel about his Duran Duran wardrobe choices, but they kinda work on him. I was a little surprised that his pitch worked, unless the conversation about the real reasons for keeping him and ditching Steph weren't shown. It just seemed like a thin defense to say he'd be loyal, when just the previous week, he'd obviously try to blow up the game. 

Regarding his age, remember when they had an 18-year-old before and Probst always specified that he could have soft drinks only when the rewards included alcohol? Was that required or was Probst just sort of playing around? Just wondering if they'd have to caution Michael the same way. 

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I still love Chris. He is a fucking laugh riot to me. You guys, the rap. COME ON!

Is that what that was? I was busy cringing through my fingers. What a doofus. 

His throwing arm was impressive, but he undid all of the points he scored with that embarrassing TH directly after. 

I need the Chris/Dom team to lose one soon so all the tribal dynamics they've been showing us have some sort of pay-off. It's getting tiring spending the entire first half to 3/4s of the show on the tribe that ends up winning the IC. 

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I am never impressed by the "This is my dream" precisely because it is everyone's dream. If you cannot come up with a better reason then that then you deserve to go. Michael was able to articulate some good reasons to keep him. He discussed wanting to win challenges and earn the five's trust in him as he helps them win. He was calm and offered game reasons to stay as well as saying it was something he wanted to do his whole life. Mind you, there are easy counters to Michael's response. There is a good reason for Bradley and comp to remove Michael. They have enough of a lead in the numbers that they can toss challenges and purge the three non-alliance members. That should get them close to the merge, possibly to the merge. Take out the threats while you can.

Ditto to the "I have so much more game to play" argument. How is that something your opponents are going to want to hear? 

The biggest counter to Michael's challenge argument would be "we're not winning with you, not winning without you won't make much difference." 

Quote

 

Bradley is an ass

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I cannot wait for his smug, tiny mouthed face to get off my tv.

 

His weird mouth drives me insane. With the glasses and that permanently pursed mouth, he looks like the unlikely villain in a Marvel movie. Like how Willem DaFoe was just the rich dad of Spider-Man's friend and then also the Green Goblin. That's the only thing I see when I look at Bradley. 

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"I'm so close to the $mil, only TWENTY-FIVE DAYS to go"

Bye bye, Stephanie.

 

That was hilarious. Yes, 25 days in the real world is no time at all, but when the game starts at 39 days and there are 25 days left...that's not close. They're not even close to the jury portion yet, are they? 

I'm interested to see what's going on with Donathan at this point. He was pegged as a mega weak link in the beginning, to the point that they encouraged him to give up on that one challenge, and now he seems to be keeping up just fine in every challenge and to be a strategic participant as well. 

Again, this is why I need that tribe to lose an IC, I want to see who their real targets are. 

[EllipticalAddicted]

4 hours ago, marys1000 said:

Donathan lives in an area of the country where you have to drive 4 hours to find a town bigger than a thousand and those towns are few and far between. An area hugely conservative, hugely poor with no employment, he is gay and he is taking care of two disabled women in a trailer I'm assuming all on soc security disability.  Probst mentioned something about his family not treating him well.  At the time I wondered if that was related to his sexual orientation but maybe its related to no one being willing to help with the mom and grandmom leaving it all on him.  I mean, its a fairly crappy hand.  I doubt he wins but I want him to win just because the money would definately have the most impact for a nice kid who sure could use a leg up. 

This.  Yes.    I have watched every Survivor episode (I wish I could claim "all my life" and have that be all of ten years like Michael!!) since the very first season.   Never ever ever have I wanted someone to win the millions dollars based on need.   Everyone needs that million for some reason or another and no one's need should be deemed greater than someone else's.    However, for the very first time, I want Donathon to win based on his needing the $$$.    Unfortunately, should he win, I can see him being guilted to give it all to members of his family, even those who haven't helped him or his grandmother out.

 

Also, I want one of those thingies that Chris was having to throw at and hit with the sandbags.  The thing had three arm paddles attached to a metal ball that spiraled down a metal coil.    I'd love to have that in my yard.   Good job, production crew.  

[blackwing]

I realised that I didn't care one iota whether it was Stephanie or Jenna going.  I was so tired of Stephanie and her "mommas are doin it for themselves" schtick.  I get it.  She's a single mom.  With kids.  And she's playing to make their lives better.  Wah wah wah.   I always dislike reality contestants who decide that their ticket to getting out of the poorhouse is to win a reality show.  And that they have to win because they need to make their lives better.  

Just like those two coal miners from Kentucky on Amazing Race... their constant refrain of "we so PAWR and we need the money" got really old really fast.  They got picked for All Stars and then one dropped out because of health issues, and then the other one competed with a new partner and lost and declared something like "it's so sad that God doesn't want me to win a million dollars".  To all the Stephanies and pawr coal miners hoping to win a reality show because they need the money... no.   Why not get some better education and improve their lives and try to earn the money like most people?

Jenna apparently just joined the show this episode.  She's the one with some kind of social phobia that doesn't like talking to people, right?  Ugh.

And there's a Chelsea on this show?  Did she also just join?  She fell off the boogie board.  That's about it.

I don't mind Chris.  He is a great competitor at challenges and he might just be the best athlete I recall seeing on this show.  He puts the love of Jeffy's life, his beloved Brad Culpepper, to shame.  I think Jeffy actually orgasmed during that challenge.

I think Chris lacks awareness of how he comes across.  He's a good looking blond male model and is probably used to people doing what he wants.  That said, I didn't mind his comment about which pastry he wanted, because he was clearly the reason why his team won the challenge.  I think people could have at least been a little more appreciative.  And I do think he is trying to make connections with others.  He knows that Dominick doesn't like him so he tried to befriend Donathan and get him on his side.  I don't interpret as him using it as an opportunity to talk about himself.  He found he had something in common with Donathan and it seemed to me that Donathan appreciated it.

I despise both Bradley and Kellyn.

[OldWiseOne]

3 hours ago, fishcakes said:

Chris claiming that he takes care of his mom who lives in an assisted living facility (which means she takes care of herself for the most part with occasional help from the staff; otherwise she'd be in a nursing home) is kind of gross especially when he's telling this to Donathan who's a full-time caretaker for his grandma, with some help from his disabled mom. Those are two radically different situations. Chris has the luxury of visiting when it suits him; Donathan is on the job 24/7. I'm glad he got the chance to play Survivor now; I don't know what his grandma's health is, but it's reasonable to assume she's only going to get worse and that in a year or two, he might not have the ability to go away for a few weeks.

When Chris originally told this story on Ghost Island, he said he had taken care of his mom and now she is in an assisted living facility. I don't think he's claiming to still take care of her, but that he did when he was younger.

Edited March 22, 2018 by OldWiseOne

[ElleryAnne]

17 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Bradley is right out of Central Casting for the stuffy, A-hole current boyfriend/fiance who must inevitably be jilted in every Romantic Comedy ever made.

 

That is spot on.

[HurricaneVal]

I thought Chris told Donathan during their little heart-to-heart that his mom had been in assisted living for seven years.  How old is Chris?  And did I see Donathan kind of roll his eyes, or get an "are you kidding me?" face when Chris was talking about relating to his family story because Chris was a caretaker too--with his mom in assisted living.  I wanted him to bust out with a "Sooo... you have to drive over there to wipe your momma's ass?  Memaw just hollers at me from her bedroom."

The entitlement to the chocolate pastries was kind of ugly.  Yes, he did probably win that challenge for them and it therefore would have been best if his team gave him first choice, but just declaring they are yours because you deserve them is a wee bit too medieval "droit du seigneur" for my taste.  I was glad to see that it appeared Wendell had a chocolate croissant, or part of a chocolate croissant.  Me?  I'd try to find a bear claw or something with nuts for the protein.  Coffee and pastries is an awful reward--can you imagine the diarrhea that hit that camp all at once from ingesting all that caffeine and sugar and carbs all at once?  I've heard from past Survivor folks that rich reward food suddenly hitting your digestive system after a penurious diet of rice and coconuts runs through like a freight train, and you end up weaker than you were before.  Remember that guy who had to go out on a medical because eating all that steak at a reward gave him constipation?

That was some really awful flirting.  I think SeaBass is not all that into Jenna, but Jenna might be a bit into SeaBass, and he knows it but doesn't really like it.  "Smells like dead weasel" indeed.

I don't know why everyone gets to Ghost Island and immediately sobs about how alooooooone they are.  Me?  I'd be so happy to spend some time in solitude in such a beautiful setting with a huge amount of rice, already potable water, and a nice shelter.  But that's me.  I know some people have issues with being alone.

Michael is one wily 18yo.  He's either going to go far in life, or he's going to go to jail for putting together some sort of Ponzi scheme.  But it makes me feel a bit dirty to note how pretty he is.   I mean, he's eighteen years old for gawd's sake!

[MerBearHou]

18 hours ago, North of Eden said:

*Bradley is right out of Central Casting for the stuffy, A-hole current boyfriend/fiance who must inevitably be jilted in every Romantic Comedy ever made.

Perfect!  Bradley could have a nice career on the Hallmark Channel.  He is perfect for the smug, barely-attractive-in-a-super stiff way, trying to be nice but comes across as a jerk, boyfriend/fiancée from the "Big Bad City".

[blackwing]

18 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Bradley is right out of Central Casting for the stuffy, A-hole current boyfriend/fiance who must inevitably be jilted in every Romantic Comedy ever made.

Loved, absolutely loved the Rube Goldberg crank they were using to pull them. Looked like something Doc Brown would have constructed in Back to the Future III.

Bradley looks to me like the love child of Just Jack from "Will and Grace" and Matt Lanter from."Timeless".  And while I would agree he seems like the stereotypical jealous jerk, to me I think he'd be more likely to be starring in "Love Simon" than "Bridget Jones Baby".

That crank was awesome, I loved the image of how uneven it looked.  Two on one side, two on the other, it didn't look like a smooth cranking,  Looked very herky-jerky, slow as the  stronger side their arms went up then very fast as they were going down.

[mojoween]

I am still flabbergasted that Chris gets paid to work as a model.  His eyes are too beady.

[violet and green]

6 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Speaking of Donathan, I really want him to win. Surivivor's not a charity, whatever, I don't care, I want good things for him, dammit!

The thought of Donathan benefiting in any small way from this experience is about all that is keeping me awake during each ep, so far... From the very start he has seemed genuinely excited to be meeting new people, and to appreciate being in this beautiful setting, and I would love him to somehow make some money from it as well.

That said, that really was a spectacularly boring episode of Survivor. It's as if they got a whole new team in to edit and score this dying beast of a season. The whiny violins for Stephanie's 'impossible dream' in tribal, ye gods. We have a dull cast, with a so far pointless twist in GI and it's plethora of you don't play and you don't play, and sobbing extroverts cast away for an entire night on their own with camera crew etc, boohoo, and then this awful on the nose edit. It's pretty clear from the start of each episode who is going home as they are so heavily front and centre of the edit with a slew of repetitive confessionals. I really liked Stephanie up until this ep, but did you know she was an amazing brave kickass woman and a single mother daring to take on the world and doing it for her kids! Go, girrrl, you rawk.... Ugh.

Bradley indeed has a tiny mouth! I hadn't noticed it until this week's tribal. Is it like a manta ray's? I've seen it on some sea creature. It is probably more an expression he pulls, as it's not bothered me before. It's a lawyer-ish expression. He wasn't so annoying on old Naviti, as we hardly saw him, I guess.

I sure hope I warm to some more of this cast soon, as there are a lot of blands and then a few standout annoyances. Old 'mike drop' Chris, simpering Libby,  Kellyn, Kellyn, and Kellyn, and the rest of the dull Naviti five, for starters. I also hope that Kellyn gets blindsided in spectacular fashion and/or screwed by any future allegiance shifts and other moves.

Michael is good! Lauren seems like a decent person. Wendell's okay. I don't mind Dominick. Trying to focus on the positives... But I will just chore-watch the rest of the season if Donathan goes home any time soon.

[Lamb18]

Bradley's mouth looks like one of those commercials where there's a talking animal with a human mouth transposed on top of its real mouth. The human mouth is tiny compared to the animal's real mouth and it moves unrelatedly to what the face is doing. That's what Bradley's mouth looks like to me - small mouth moving randomly in an expressionless face.

Edited March 22, 2018 by Lamb18

[princelina]

10 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Of course I'm not really happy to have Stephanie and her boobs eliminated because she was my person to TV-hate this season.  Now what?

Bradley of course!

[LanceM]

3 hours ago, blackwing said:

I realised that I didn't care one iota whether it was Stephanie or Jenna going.  I was so tired of Stephanie and her "mommas are doin it for themselves" schtick.  I get it.  She's a single mom.  With kids.  And she's playing to make their lives better.  Wah wah wah.   I always dislike reality contestants who decide that their ticket to getting out of the poorhouse is to win a reality show.  And that they have to win because they need to make their lives better.  

 

When did Stephanie ever say she was in the poor house? 

[cherbitrary]

8 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

 

I am way (way, way) too old to say this, but whatever, Michael is beautiful to look at. Plus, I just like him a lot. I could barely watch him crying in this ep. It was too much for me!

Right there with you on ALL that. The crying was the first time he really seemed 18 to me. Motherly instincts kicked in & and I just wanted to hug him and give him a kiss on the forehead. Was very glad they kept him.

[dizzyd]

Do these guys get paid a wage, I mean besides the winnings? What is the lowest winnings to the 1st bootee? This is a job after all and I think it should be a casting requirement that they be entertaining. Sob stories aren't fun to watch and don't even pull at heartstrings when the stories aren't even anything special. This season needs a Shane, Coach, Cirie or Sandra type crackerjack personality to pull it out of the doldrums. Come on guys, do something interesting and it doesn't even have to be strategic, it could even be hilarious ghost stories at camp to commemorate GI. 

[UGAmp]

5 hours ago, Xcptnl said:

That just says he has had read elsewhere they are to hit in order.  Is it anywhere confirmed by TPTB they have to break in order?   This is really bugging me.

Here is a quote from an interview with Probst after the first episode (from EW): “And, as always, we wanted the audience to trust that like every other advantage or twist or format change it is already laid out. That’s why the row of urns is out there on day one. We know what urns hold an advantage opportunity in them but we don’t know who will end up going to Ghost Island and having the decision of whether to go for it. And as the game goes on, Ghost Island may become something people don’t fear but instead desire… because of the chance for a game-changing opportunity.”

—-

I know most will say shenanigans on everything being laid out ahead of time but... it makes sense. They set up certain games each time and they don’t know who will show up.  If it was fixed, there DEFINITELY would have been something in the urn for Stephanie to up the drama last night. But I am a self-admitted Survivor sheep when it comes to producers. *shrugs*

Perhaps they’ll change the game after a certain number of survivors is reached. Risking your vote is the game for the first 5 to visit for example and they can’t allow it for everyone. Maybe we’ll see a new game once they merge? (Remember the fake merge? That fakeout was the best.) They HAVE to do more with Ghost Island after they brought up so many examples of past players’ mistakes. I thought this season was going to be idols and advantages extravaganza and so far... not really. Granted Dominick has two but we have no idea what’s going on with that tribe since they keep winning and who might be on the chopping block since the swap.

I think Donathan is going to win the whole thing (based on editing). And if they still did fan favorite gets $100,000, he’d be a lock at this point (but Michael might give him some competition). I really like his friendship with Laurel. I hope we see more of her story soon.

Like everyone else, I love Michael. I hope he finds a way to stay in but you know that target on his back is huge. But he’s just too pretty (and smart and strategic and adorable) to go so early. 

[Jobiska]

43 minutes ago, UGAmp said:

I know most will say shenanigans on everything being laid out ahead of time but... it makes sense. They set up certain games each time and they don’t know who will show up.  If it was fixed, there DEFINITELY would have been something in the urn for Stephanie to up the drama last night. But I am a self-admitted Survivor sheep when it comes to producers. *shrugs*

Also...if they can fix them to put a game or no game message in the next one in line depending on the player, they can fix them even if the hits are random!  "Okay, production assistant, Stephanie just chose the white rock, hurry up and pull all the "no game" papers and stick in just"game" ones, because we want her to play!"  If they are going to fix, they could do it either way.  

I don't mind the hard luck stories--I think I can tune them out.  I thought Stephanie was okay--certainly I'd rather she had stayed than Jenna.  In another unpopular opinion, Chris actually endeared himself to me a little bit with his rap, because it was so darn dorky and he was so proud of it!  And even more unpopular, I don't think it's great when someone goes through other people's stuff, but I can't get worked up to care about it much either, unless of course the snooper is sanctimonious and hypocritical, which so far Desiree does not seem to be.

Not only did Sebastian say Jenna's hair smelled like dead weasel, he responded to her hair braiding boast with a raspberry!  How attractive.

I guess there is a quota for mouth attractiveness per tribe and Michael got such a gorgeous mouth that Bradley, Kellyn, and to some extent Stephanie were stinted.  
 

[EllipticalAddicted]

4 hours ago, violet and green said:

Bradley indeed has a tiny mouth! I hadn't noticed it until this week's tribal. Is it like a manta ray's? I've seen it on some sea creature

I cannot quit laughing.   "Manta ray".   Oh my gosh.    Haha!

Edited March 23, 2018 by EllipticalAddicted

[ByaNose]

4 hours ago, dizzyd said:

Do these guys get paid a wage, I mean besides the winnings? What is the lowest winnings to the 1st bootee? This is a job after all and I think it should be a casting requirement that they be entertaining. Sob stories aren't fun to watch and don't even pull at heartstrings when the stories aren't even anything special. This season needs a Shane, Coach, Cirie or Sandra type crackerjack personality to pull it out of the doldrums. Come on guys, do something interesting and it doesn't even have to be strategic, it could even be hilarious ghost stories at camp to commemorate GI. 

Here’s an old list. I think they get $10,000 for showing up for the reunion, too.

The scale below is what was widely circulated in early seasons, when there were seasons with 16 players; most seasons now have 18 or 20 players, so obviously there are other amounts—and the lower amounts, especially, may have changed since those early years. No early-boot contestant has yet, to my knowledge, publicly revealed their cash prize, so this is the best we have right now.

Winner: $1,000,000

Runner-up, $100,000

3. $85,000

4. $70,000

5. $55,000

6. $45,000

7. $35,000

8. $27,500

9. $20,000

10.$15,000

11. $10,000

12. $7,500

13. $5,500

14. $4,500

15. $3,500

16. $2,500

Edited March 23, 2018 by ByaNose

[Cutty]

Really not a fan of this season thus far. The all too early tribe swap kinda ruined any kind of quality gameplay. 

Chelsea? Maybe the most nondescript cast member of all time. Every new episode brings a character I have never seen before. 

Survivor really likes casting Mormons (or ex Mormons in Steph's case). 

Meh.

[Nashville]

15 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

My two sons were college pitchers too and I could tell from the moment I saw Chris throwing in the challenge that he was a skilled baseball player in his past.  He didn't panic in the moment -- he zoned in on the target and performed so well.  It was cool to watch.  

Same here; not college ball, but I used to coach Little League and I had him pegged as a speedballer with his first pitch.  :)

[Haleth]

14 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Perfect!  Bradley could have a nice career on the Hallmark Channel.  He is perfect for the smug, barely-attractive-in-a-super stiff way, trying to be nice but comes across as a jerk, boyfriend/fiancée from the "Big Bad City".

And extra points that he is a lawyer.

 

12 hours ago, UGAmp said:

Here is a quote from an interview with Probst after the first episode (from EW): “And, as always, we wanted the audience to trust that like every other advantage or twist or format change it is already laid out. That’s why the row of urns is out there on day one. We know what urns hold an advantage opportunity in them but we don’t know who will end up going to Ghost Island and having the decision of whether to go for it. And as the game goes on, Ghost Island may become something people don’t fear but instead desire… because of the chance for a game-changing opportunity.”

Meh.  They should have left out the urns and just presented each exilee with the choice of playing the game or not.  Then the suspense would be in seeing if they chose the right box or not.  An extra layer of uncertainty (will the urn say play or no?) adds nothing.

[ProfCrash]

I think players get a daily or weekly per diem as well as the prize money. The pre-Jury folks also get the free trip to some pretty cool places that they go on.

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With the exception of Donathan's, I wouldn't even call them "sob stories," so much as, "perfectly ordinary stories told in an overly dramatic fashion." Kellyn and Stephanie holding back proud tears while talking about how they got a divorce/don't go to church anymore and have a job now -- just like billions of other people -- is maybe a bit of an overestimate regarding the scope of their life accomplishments and intestinal fortitude. Chris claiming that he takes care of his mom who lives in an assisted living facility (which means she takes care of herself for the most part with occasional help from the staff; otherwise she'd be in a nursing home) is kind of gross especially when he's telling this to Donathan who's a full-time caretaker for his grandma, with some help from his disabled mom. Those are two radically different situations. Chris has the luxury of visiting when it suits him; Donathan is on the job 24/7. I'm glad he got the chance to play Survivor now; I don't know what his grandma's health is, but it's reasonable to assume she's only going to get worse and that in a year or two, he might not have the ability to go away for a few weeks.

I get that there are lots of similar stories. The problem I have with the sob stories is that we don't know the back stories, for all we know there was some serious crap happening that lead to the divorce or walking away from a Church. And just because it seems normal to us doesn't mean that it wasn't a huge deal for the person who lived it. My departure from the Catholic Church is highly underwhelming because both of my parents left the Church. Only one of my siblings is a practicing Catholic and I think my Mom is the only other person attending any religious service. So it is easy for me to walk away. For someone who is raised in a specific faith and walks away when everyone else is still practicing and the religion is tight knit, walking away could be very hard and problematic. There can be shunning, attacks by a community that you thought loved you and all sorts of other negatives.

I suspect that there was a real difference in Kellyn and Stephanie's divorce. I suspect that Stephanie's was more traumatic, there is the obvious that kids were involved, but the hints that are there, leaving the Mormon faith and a divorce, I wonder if something very negative happened with her ex involving the Church. Or it could be that she decided they were not compatible

Donathon's story has been told in a more well rounded fashion so it is easier to feel sympathetic. It has been told in context of things happening in the game and not confessionals. So it feels like an organic part of the game. Stephanie's and Kellyn's came through confessionals and an awful tribal council performance.

Which is why I wish they would stay away from the sob stories told in confessionals. We miss so much of the context.

I won't go on Survivor ever and I know if I did I would be roasted. I have a Doctorate but grew up thinking I was stupid because I had learning disabilities and was in resource support. Mind you, I never heard any of that at home but there was plenty of shitty teachers (an equal number of great teachers but the stuff the shitty ones said stuck more) who played too important a role in my life. Even with many years of success, advanced degrees and a few years of therapy, I still feel like I am of average intelligence and find myself defining myself by my learning disabilities. Mind you, no one else does. No one would look at me and say "She has ADHD and learning disabilities and is clearly intellectually deficient." And all of you would be like "Shut up, you live a good life and have done just fine."

So I hate the sob stories. We don't have enough info to actually understand the context. They very rarely have anything to do with game play. They tend to be driven by Production asking questions of people who are physically and mentally exhausted and as such emotionally vulnerable. I have no problem with the eye rolls on Chris's story. When you use your story as part of the game, and do so in a horrifically badly manner, it is worth mocking. Not the story but the ham fisted effort to turn it into a bond that could help Chris in the game. When you are willing to use your Mother's illness as a tool in the game then fuck you, and that is exactly what Chris was doing. Donathon had a legit emotional break down based on something in the game and walked away to compose himself. I have no problem with that. Chris's "I get it, my Mom has MS and I have had to help her and it is hard" with the confessional context that it is being done intentionally to advance Chris's game changes my view of it.

[Bryce Lynch]

17 hours ago, blackwing said:

I realised that I didn't care one iota whether it was Stephanie or Jenna going.  I was so tired of Stephanie and her "mommas are doin it for themselves" schtick.  I get it.  She's a single mom.  With kids.  And she's playing to make their lives better.  Wah wah wah.   I always dislike reality contestants who decide that their ticket to getting out of the poorhouse is to win a reality show.  And that they have to win because they need to make their lives better.  

Just like those two coal miners from Kentucky on Amazing Race... their constant refrain of "we so PAWR and we need the money" got really old really fast.  They got picked for All Stars and then one dropped out because of health issues, and then the other one competed with a new partner and lost and declared something like "it's so sad that God doesn't want me to win a million dollars".  To all the Stephanies and pawr coal miners hoping to win a reality show because they need the money... no.   Why not get some better education and improve their lives and try to earn the money like most people?

Jenna apparently just joined the show this episode.  She's the one with some kind of social phobia that doesn't like talking to people, right?  Ugh.

And there's a Chelsea on this show?  Did she also just join?  She fell off the boogie board.  That's about it.

I don't mind Chris.  He is a great competitor at challenges and he might just be the best athlete I recall seeing on this show.  He puts the love of Jeffy's life, his beloved Brad Culpepper, to shame.  I think Jeffy actually orgasmed during that challenge.

I think Chris lacks awareness of how he comes across.  He's a good looking blond male model and is probably used to people doing what he wants.  That said, I didn't mind his comment about which pastry he wanted, because he was clearly the reason why his team won the challenge.  I think people could have at least been a little more appreciative.  And I do think he is trying to make connections with others.  He knows that Dominick doesn't like him so he tried to befriend Donathan and get him on his side.  I don't interpret as him using it as an opportunity to talk about himself.  He found he had something in common with Donathan and it seemed to me that Donathan appreciated it.

I despise both Bradley and Kellyn.

I agree that Stephanie's "I'm a struggling single mom." schtick became tiresome, very quickly.  Glad to see her gone.  I also agree that crying poverty or other sob stories can be annoying.  If someone is a good player and a nice person, who is in financial need, I will tend to root harder for them, and be even happier if they win.  But, I'm not going to root for someone based upon a sob story.

Earlier, I hated Chris, but I am starting to like him more.  I thought he earned his choice of pastries by dominating the challenge.   I didn't see anything wrong with him expressing his preference.  I didn't see any reaction, either positive or negative from his tribemates, but I assume they agreed he earned the chocolate pastry. 

His rap was right on the line between uncomfortably cringy and hilariously cringy.  I think he knew it was cringy, so I laughed.  

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

When you are willing to use your Mother's illness as a tool in the game then fuck you, and that is exactly what Chris was doing. 

It did win Adam the game though, so I can see why Chris did it lol.

35 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

His rap was right on the line between uncomfortably cringy and hilariously cringy.  I think he knew it was cringy, so I laughed.  

See, I don't think he did know how cringey it was, which is what made it extra hilarious to me.

[ProfCrash]

5 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

It did win Adam the game though, so I can see why Chris did it lol.

Adam waited to final tribal and told everyone there. I think the only other person who knew before final tribal was Zeke. Chris is trying to his Mom's illness as part of his strategy. Fine if it works but it strikes me as slimy.

[Eolivet]

21 hours ago, fishcakes said:

With the exception of Donathan's, I wouldn't even call them "sob stories," so much as, "perfectly ordinary stories told in an overly dramatic fashion."

This hits on a huge problem I have with the character development this season, magnified by using Ghost Island as this shortcut in place of actual organic character interactions. It's the show failing to realize that a "sad" story isn't nearly as impactful as a "shared" story.

It makes me wonder about Stephanie and Kellyn, who were clearly both young when they got divorced. Sure, they both sobbed their guts out at Ghost Island, but ... they were also on the same tribe for six (?) days, right (nuMalolo)? That ... never came up in conversation? Or if it did, the editors decided not to show us? "I just got divorced." "Oh, yeah? Me, too." But I guess because they were in opposite alliances, they never ... talked to each other ... like people?

The Donathan/Laurel/Chris interaction was the closest I've seen this season to weaving organic personal stories into the plot of an episode, because it was a shared story, not just a sad story. In fact, had Chris not done his sobfest on Ghost Island already, this would've been an interesting and organic way to bring up his personal story without it feeling shoehorned in. It was still a shared story, even if it may have been game-motivated. These Ghost Island soliloquies are missing a huge point, story-wise: context.
 

2 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think the only other person who knew before final tribal was Zeke

It was Jay -- but this brings up a good point. In the case of Adam, I'd argue his story was similarly sad in the abstract -- even at the family visit -- but what really humanized it for me was when he told Jay about it -- when it became a shared story, not just a sad story.

[peachmangosteen]

I just don't see much difference in what Chris did to what Adam did. The only difference is Adam pretended like it wasn't for strategy in his confessionals and Chris admitted it was. But Adam is so odious to me. He just comes off kinda sinister like all the time imo. Admittedly though, he played it much better than Chris. I don't think Chris' ploy with Donathan is really going to get him anywhere.

Edited March 23, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[ProfCrash]

1 minute ago, Eolivet said:

It was Jay -- but this brings up a good point. In the case of Adam, I'd argue his story was similarly sad in the abstract -- even at the family visit -- but what really humanized it for me was when he told Jay about it -- when it became a shared story, not just a sad story.

Thanks for the correction. And I agree, it was something that happened organically in the game. We did hear about it in confessionals but the bigger moment was in game. The other stories feel like we are being force fed reasons to like folks and those reasons are normally kind of flimsy. I cringe because I know we don't know enough about the background to understand why being a single Mom or a divorcee or walking away from the Church was a life changing experience and I know there is a lot more to the story but don't think that I am going to root for you because you are any of those things.

I sympathized with Ben when the PTSD thing came out last season. That happened  generically in the game. Stuff happened around the fire, Ben responded, a tribe mate went to check on him and it worked because it was something happening in the game. Then there was a talking head were he discussed it but it tied into what we saw happening in the game. Same for Donothan and Adam. We would have had a different response if Ben had just said in his confessionals that he had PTSD and we were not seeing how it effected the game.

I guess, for me, it is more the idea that I want the stories to be something that comes out of the game. Show me the reasons to like a player in their game play and not through contrived story lines based on confessionals that are suppose to be emotional and touching. I like Dom and Wendell and Lauren because of how they are playing. I like Donathon a lot better now that we have moved past the dude who thinks Asians are "exotic" and we are seeing him interact and fit in with his tribe. Kellyn is obnoxious because of how she is playing. I suspect that her divorce was one of those "I got married because I was young and in love and then decided I didn't want to be married and got a divorce so I could do something else" and that is not a sympathy winner for me. I feel bad for Chris and his mother but I am not thrilled that he is trying to use her illness as a strategic move. That feels cheap and yucky to me. Hey like me and vote with me because my Mom has MS and you take care of your disabled Grandma and Mom. Bleeeccchhh

5 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I just don't see any big difference in what Chris did to what Adam did. The only difference is Adam pretended like it wasn't for strategy in his confessionals and Chris admitted it was. But Adam is so odious to me. He just comes off kinda sinister like all the time imo. Admittedly though, he played it much better than Chris. I don't think Chris' ploy with Donathan is really going to get him anywhere.

I didn't see Adam's telling Jay as strategic just that he was over come and Jay was there and they talked. I would have preferred if Adam had not mentioned his Mom in the final tribal but I cut him some slack. You are sleep deprived, food deprived and emotionally exhausted. You want to win the money and so you reveal something that you had not mentioned all season long. It felt cheap, and still does, because it is totally outside the game and yet it was something he was thinking about the entire time he was playing.

That feels different to me then Chris deciding he was going to tell Donathon about his sick Mom and how he helps care for her in order to bond with Donathon when Donathon was down. But that is my take, I can easily see how others saw it differently.

[peachmangosteen]

15 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I feel bad for Chris and his mother but I am not thrilled that he is trying to use her illness as a strategic move. That feels cheap and yucky to me. Hey like me and vote with me because my Mom has MS and you take care of your disabled Grandma and Mom. Bleeeccchhh

I hate that too, which is why I hated Adam doing it. Especially at FTC. So gross. 

In Chris' case it doesn't bother me as much because Chris is so ineffectual. And because he just straight up admitted he was using it as strategy, which I appreciate. But I guess people don't think Adam was using it for strategy, while we can all agree that Chris did because he straight-up said it.

15 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

That feels different to me then Chris deciding he was going to tell Donathon about his sick Mom and how he helps care for her in order to bond with Donathon when Donathon was down. 

I think if that was the reason he was doing it it'd be fine and kinda sweet actually. And I do think there was some genuineness in Chris going to Donathan with that, but ultimately, as he said, it was strategy. Which is gross, as it's always gross when someone does that imo, but also it can produce some great results and this is a game, so I can see why people do it.

Edited March 23, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[Eolivet]

22 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

But I guess people don't think Adam was using it for strategy, while we can all agree that Chris did because he straight-up said it.

I don't believe he was when he told Jay. That would require the most cynical of cynical readings -- that Adam shared his massive personal secret of a story to ... get a jury vote? And one jury vote only, since he told Jay never to tell anyone. We can debate over if Adam's motives were equally pure at final tribal council, but I'd argue his initial confession was something I'm not sure I've ever seen on Survivor: a secret personal story told to someone in the opposite alliance (in fact, the person you're targeting to go home) without game motivation attached. Heck, even Brenda, Dawn, and Dawn's teeth were in the same alliance.

Whereas Chris and Donathan, I've seen a hundred times -- granted, it's usually more like "hey I like that football team" or "hey I went to that school," and not "hey my life sucks as much as yours," but ... points for innovation?

[marys1000]

Not sure why everyone is picking apart people's stories, especially when it gets based on a lot of pure speculation.  I'm not sure people above have even read Kellyn's story? (Married a guy she had been with for 6 years and divorced in less than one but what do we know other than that?)  We don't know much about Stephanie's.  Neither are really that young.  Stephanie has been around long enough to apply to Surivor at least 15 times, starting with VHS tapes. 

What else is Donathan going to talk about?  They are more or less required to play some sort of social game which requires sharing who you are, experiences, what made you who you are.  Donathan has been nowhere, done nothing, but take care of his sick mom and grandmom.  What else is he going to talk about?  Why is that a sob story?  Because its limited and sort of sad?  Not his fault. 

Chris, I suppose he could go on and on about his struggle to be a top model.  How he never gets to eat and has to work out all the time, casting couches for all I know  - boy would people hate him then.  And for all we know he does but the editors prefer the sad mom story.  And he has said in interviews that one reason he is on is to raise awareness of MS.  

Don't get me wrong, I love to game hate people, hence my hate for Morgan but at least that was based on her actual job choice.  

 

Maybe we just don't have enough strategy to talk about - stacking the GI urns with nothing, tribe swaps that don't seem to have kept things that interesting. 

 

I did read where Stephanie said she looked for an idol, pretty much constantly. 

So GI really screwed her 3 ways.  The urn had nothing, it took her away from the tribe where she could have tried to socialize her way off the bottom, find a crack and kept her from looking from the idol more (and why was it so hard to find?) 

 

Edited March 23, 2018 by marys1000

[peachmangosteen]

6 minutes ago, marys1000 said:

Don't get me wrong, I love to game hate people, hence my hate for Morgan but at least that was based on her actual job choice.  

What was Morgan's job?

Also, man, I would love it if Chris would start talking about his struggles as a model. He already provides me with so many laughs, but that would just be the pinnacle lol.

[marys1000]

Marine mammal trainer at Sea World.   Hate that whole world of captive marine mammals being forced to perform for our entertainment.  You want to be involved in that I think you suck IRL.  

[marys1000]

Noooo she bills herself as an animal trainer, and now specifically as a killer whale trainer.  I think she has worked at the Orlando Sea World but apparently she started in San Antonio

http://www.newsandtribune.com/news/whale-of-a-job-new-albany-native-realizing-dream-at/article_fd586465-d4ab-5d02-986d-ecdb47228c8a.html

[blackwing]

33 minutes ago, Eolivet said:

I don't believe he was when he told Jay. That would require the most cynical of cynical readings -- that Adam shared his massive personal secret of a story to ... get a jury vote? And one jury vote only, since he told Jay never to tell anyone. We can debate over if Adam's motives were equally pure at final tribal council, but I'd argue his initial confession was something I'm not sure I've ever seen on Survivor: a secret personal story told to someone in the opposite alliance (in fact, the person you're targeting to go home) without game motivation attached. Heck, even Brenda, Dawn, and Dawn's teeth were in the same alliance.

Whereas Chris and Donathan, I've seen a hundred times -- granted, it's usually more like "hey I like that football team" or "hey I went to that school," and not "hey my life sucks as much as yours," but ... points for innovation?

I guess Chris and his story to Donathan doesn't bother me... it doesn't bother me that he called it strategy.  I don't necessarily think he was trying to exploit his mother's illness.  He was trying to find common ground with Donathan after hearing Donathan's story.  I thought that's what his confessional said, that he is trying to make connections.

It is no different than several seasons ago when Zeke was on the outs after a tribe switch and trying to find anything in common with others.  He tried bonding with the red headed attorney when he found out he was on the Oklahoma football team by saying he was also from Oklahoma.  And then he tried bonding with the big gay cop that nobody knew was gay over their common preference.

I don't think Chris or Zeke were trying to get people to sympathise or feel bad for them.  There must be a lot of time sitting around doing nothing and people have to talk about something, so they try and find things in common.

Whereas with Adam, although he snot sobbed his way through many confessionals, he had only shared his mom's cancer story with Jay.  Then at Tribal Council he snot sobbed to others for the first time and basically said they should vote for him because it was his dying mother's dream to see him play and win Survivor.   Because she's dying, and he has to Survive for both of them.  It was so cheap and disgusting and I find him the most disgusting winner of all time.

I was also a little disappointed with Jeremy revealing that his wife was pregnant at final tribal.  I think he would have won anyways but the sympathy vote is a large part of why Jeremy and Adam both won their seasons unanimously.

[blackwing]

26 minutes ago, marys1000 said:

Marine mammal trainer at Sea World.   Hate that whole world of captive marine mammals being forced to perform for our entertainment.  You want to be involved in that I think you suck IRL.  

It doesn't bother me.  My daughter's dream job is to be a dolphin trainer.  It's not because she wants to exploit dolphins into performing for humans.  It's because she really loves dolphins and this is one of the only ways one can have regular interaction with them.  She loves animals and regularly reads nonfiction books about all kinds of marine life and knows more about dolphins and penguins than I ever will.  

I think zoos and marine parks are great places to learn about animals.  I know animal activists think that the only place to see an animal should be in the wild, but that's simply not practical or cost-sensitive for 99% of people.

So while I found a lot to dislike about Morgan, I can't hate on her for her job.   Just like how I think the world of male modeling is... curious.   And here on this show we have two.  One seems a bit overly impressed with himself and has really rubbed Dominick and one or two others the wrong way, and has seemingly turned off a lot of viewers.  The other is well spoken and playing well and seems to be a fan favorite.  I can't dislike anyone for their job, everyone has to make a living somehow.

[peachmangosteen]

I am totally with you on Adam and Jeremy, @blackwing.

Who's the other male model? Michael? If it's not him, it should be!

[Special K]

31 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Well, I guess someone has to work with the last killer whales kept for shows.  They can't really release them into the wild.  Sea World did stop breeding them and is phasing them out entirely.  

Yes, they have to care for them, but they don't have to train them.

[ByaNose]

5 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

 

Michael is a realtor/model. I'm not really sure what makes him the most money currently though.

[ProfCrash]

44 minutes ago, Special K said:

Yes, they have to care for them, but they don't have to train them.

As I understand it, the animals kept in captivity get bored without some type of enrichment. For some it is special toys that they have to think about opening to get a treat and for others it is training them to do specific tasks. There are a good number of aquariums that train marine animals, I thinking of the seals at the Long Beach Aquarium, and use those shows to teach people about the seals. You learn about their intelligence, habits, habitat and how various activities of humans are hurting the seals.

I didn't dislike Morgan, I didn't know her well enough to know her or like her.

Chris's conversation with Donathon bothered me because it was so calculated. I have no problem with people sharing life experiences and bonding but the idea that he choose to speak to Donathon about his mother because it would advance his social game is just icky. It feels so different then the woman who went to find Donathon when he was upset and listened to Donathon. She was there comforting him and listening. Chris was talking at Donathon. It was less of a conversation and more of a lecture. Maybe that was because Chris doesn't have much of a relationship with Donathon but it sure felt similar to Chris's conversations with Angela. Instead of telling Angela she was too emotional and this is what they had to do, Chris was talking about how hard his Mom's MS was and so Donathon should understand Chris.

It was more the approach that was taken. One person probably bonded a bit with Donathon because she reached out to him as a human being, and that will benefit her game. Chris said in a talking head that he approached Donathon to share his experience as part of his social game. We have not seen Chris talking to Donathon about anything before or trying to get to know Donathon. Maybe Chris has and we have not seen it, god knows the Producers are capable of that, but the random approach and the talking head sure make it seem like Chris was using their shared experience as part of game play. Fair game but icky nonetheless.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

I would guess model since realtors make money by having a big client list.  How many 18 year olds know a ton of people buying and selling homes?  

That said, I don't even recall Michael bringing up the modeling stuff in he pre game interviews. I seem to recall that he only talked about him being a real estate agent. I guess he didn't want the label of being just a model playing Survivor. I don't think he was a recruit and that's where casting usually pools from. Seriously! I bet they have a rolodex that just says MODEL. I'll give them a littel credit and say they might have two with one saying FEMALE and other saying MALE. LOL!!!!

Edited March 23, 2018 by ByaNose

[blackwing]

9 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

That said, I don't even recall bring up the modeling stuff in he pre game interviews. I seem to recall that he only talked about him being a real estate agent. I guess he didn't want the label of being just a model playing Survivor. I don't think he was a recruit and that's where casting usually pools from. Seriously! I bet they have a rolodex that just says MODEL. I'll give them a littel credit and say they might have two with one saying FEMALE and other saying MALE. LOL!!!!

Some articles on the internet are calling him an underwear model. I'm not really sure what that means, whether he primarily does underwear modeling or that's just part of the whole modeling gig.  Maybe he doesn't want to be known as an underwear model?  I would imagine that part of being a model means you're going to be shown frequently in underwear, and I would think that if you're going to be a model you probably aren't shy or self-conscious.  So I am unclear as to why he is billed here as a realtor.  Maybe the show didn't want two "male models" on the same season.  

And it's weird how many male models this show has had.  Chris and Michael, Jeremiah Wood, Ken from recent seasons.  I am at a loss to recall any female contestants that were billed as "models".  Does anyone remember?  Pictures would be nice to jog the memory. :)

[marys1000]

All you have to do is google Michael Yerger model, go to images.  Yep he models

http://malecelebnews.com/2017/05/18/michael-yerger-photographer-jerrad-matthew/michael-yerger-by-photographer-jerrad-matthew-170518-03/

 

https://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS543US557&biw=1600&bih=720&tbm=isch&sa=1&ei=CTa1WpSBAvDm5gLP8Z_ADQ&q=michael+yerger+model&oq=michael+yerger+model&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0.109419.112534.0.112794.11.4.3.4.5.0.102.355.3j1.4.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..0.7.210...0i13k1.0._yb348a8VIA#imgrc=fesillBi-dX3yM:

Edited March 23, 2018 by marys1000