S37: Spoilers and Speculation

[ProfCrash]

I'll believe it more when I hear that Alec is in LA for the reunion. He will have to be there if there is a revote.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

Yeah, so the THC makes me think it is indeed him getting busted for marijuana.  Which wouldn't surprise me at all.  He looked stoned most of his time on air.  As far as an advantage?  Maybe he does it just before the final immunity challenge, one that is something like that "drop the ball into the wire marble maze and catch at the end, keep adding balls and having to manage and time them all" challenge.  I think maybe the weed would make him more relaxed?

That - or maybe he smuggled in a lighter to blaze up with, and that lighter figured in the F4-to-F3 Fire Challenge...?  ;)

ETA: Actually, that might possibly make sense.  

Say a lighter was found and reported during the post-TC pack-up, but not associated with / attributed to a specific contestant.  Production may have thought, “oh well, one of the crew probably dropped it” - and didn’t realize until they were doing some last-minute edits on the takes from the fire-making challenge that it was in a contestant’s possession, and possibly used....

Edited December 18, 2018 by Nashville

[anthonyd46]

The sneak peek was posted which is the obstacle course, but Jeff says "For immunity and reward" Mike is wearing the necklace in the walk in to this challenge.

We have this shot : 

However if we look at Kara here clothes are different : 

Then if look at the walk in to this challenge the necklace is present: 

 

Davie also has orange/red socks in this challenge that he doesn't in that walk in.

Yet we have this random shot of Alison in the web preview that matches the first walk in:

 

 

So does that mean there is some other challenge at F6? or is Alison F5?

Edited December 18, 2018 by anthonyd46

[SVNBob]

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Rob proposed to Amber after she won All Stars.

Technically before.  The proposal came before the final reading of the votes.

 

But speaking of BRob, there is another meaning to the word "proposal" that could come into play.  The one that does not involve weddings per se., but just means to put forward an idea or plan.  One could say that there was a proposal for the first Redemption Island season during the reunion of HvV when BRob exchanged certain words with a certain other player.  And perhaps that what the "proposal" at this reunion is; a set-up for a future season after the upcoming S38.

Potentially, "the proposal" could even be the set-up for the Amazing Race CBS Reality Crossover season that will be airing soon-ish; with Phil stopping by to "propose" the idea of Survivors running the Race.  And given the situation with Moonves, the Chenbot may have originally been part of "a proposal" for that, but no longer wants to be involved.

[LadyChatts]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

I'll believe it more when I hear that Alec is in LA for the reunion. He will have to be there if there is a revote.

I was thinking that, too, but Alec could just be in LA to hang out with everyone post-reunion.  It did get me thinking, though, if Alec was the one who maybe ratted out Mike or whoever is in trouble.  If it is stated explicitly on the contract about smuggling in drugs could lead to an automatic disqualification or some kind of punishment, Alec may still be feeling bitter over his reunion show banishment-and he may say if they are banning him for violating the NDA, they need to take action against whoever else violated parts of the contract.  Now, I don't know if Alec would legitimately have a lawsuit or anything, but it would definitely put a dark cloud over one of the best seasons in a long time.  The funny part is, if something happens to Mike (or whoever it is) over marijuana, I feel that since the attitude of the drug has shifted tremendously in a positive direction in this country, most fans would probably roll their eyes and protest if he got DQ over this.

Quote

 OK, how is contraband found in the final 3 or 4 and just being investigated? By that point in time there should be a camera crew on each person. And why the hell would someone just get around to saying something? I would guess final 3 and someone thinks they are going to lose so they ratted out whomever in order to possibly change the outcome. 

How I understood the tweet was that production assistants knew (how many, I don't know), but that the higher ups did not.  And it sounded like this wasn't discovered until the very end but they didn't say anything; so I don't know if they knew all season or not.  I wonder if Mike put it in his food out there and maybe escaped detection for so long that way.

Quote

I just hope THC doesn't allude to a Mike win.  I just don't see how that would happen based on votes unless Mike does successfully spin a really great narrative.

When Christian said the person everyone should be paying attention to is Mike and what a great game he was playing, that did make me slightly nervous that he was alluding to a Mike victory and trying to help soften the blow.  The cast is home and likely reading articles and opinions of fans, so they may realize what a great season this is, and how Mike is perceived as a goat by many and not a winner a good percentage of fans online would be happy with.  I still can't wrap my head around how he wins, unless he does spin in the finale.  But seriously, if he wins, what a bummer.  

As for this proposal-well guess it won't be much of a surprise now if that's what the person was asking for.

[ProfCrash]

The real problem is if there is a DQ and a revote, the voting is more likely going to be based on what people have seen and not what they thought happened on the island. I think I would prefer that they just name the second place player the winner. If it is a tie, then split the winning between the two folks. There is no way for a revote to be based on game play and game play only. Or game play and Ponderosa discussions but at least those discussions are based only on each persons game experience.

[Jextella]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Contestants are searched pretty thoroughly before they go out to play after Richard smuggled matches out for All Stars. I suspect that their loved ones are similarly searched. I can't believe that Mike, or anyone out there, smuggled anything out. I am hoping this is a red herring.

Jextella: Richard Hatch smuggled in matches in his butt. They search for that now

1

Wow and gross.

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

If there is an issue the other contestants will get a bump up in their winnings. I believe when Lex was eliminated based on an answer the was correct but not the one they were looking for he was given the second place money. If Mike is removed from the game, they will have a plan in place. But I really hope that it is a red herring.

There was conversation that a second person was barred from the reunion.

1

The second one I'm familiar with is Jeremy, and that was because he left so early and didn't think the time away from home was worth it..I loved him, and wish he would have stayed longer

As to THC....I wonder if that could mean The Hot Cop?  Not sure how that plus Mike White fit together, though.  Otherwise, maybe The Happiest Contestant or something like that if Mike wins (ugh....and I like Mike!).

[blackwing]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Contestants are searched pretty thoroughly before they go out to play after Richard smuggled matches out for All Stars. I suspect that their loved ones are similarly searched. I can't believe that Mike, or anyone out there, smuggled anything out. I am hoping this is a red herring.

Jextella: Richard Hatch smuggled in matches in his butt. They search for that now

I remember reading about Hatch and the matches he shoved up his rectum.  But I had no idea that because of that, they do searches now.  Seriously?  To be on Survivor now you get strip searched and all of your body cavities inspected?  Yikes.

1 hour ago, MisterBluxom said:

How do you folks manage to stand living in a land where you must abide with your choice for a leader for four long years - no matter just how terrible that choice may be?   If I lived in your country, I would be climbing the walls and doing so much worse than that.

Hah.  Curious, where do you live?  I live in Illinois.  Not only are we forced to live with the choices for U.S. President, but we have had a history of really really bad governors in recent times.  There was "Captain Hairbrush" Rod Blagojevich who tried to sell the Senate seat of outgoing Senator and President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder, with his classic quote that the seat was "f*cking golden" and he was going to benefit from it.  And our incoming governor, JB Pritzker of the billionaire Pritzker family, was one of the alleged bidders for that seat.  In addition, he with all of his billions of dollars bought a huge house for investment purposes but then took out all of the toilets so it wouldn't qualify as a house so he could save a few thousand dollars on property taxes.  Americans are used to corruption.  I'm surprised it's taken this long for a big (alleged) cheating scandal on Survivor, since Survivor is supposed to be a microcosm of American society.  Snort.

26 minutes ago, anthonyd46 said:

The sneak peek was posted which is the obstacle course, but Jeff says "For immunity and reward" Mike is wearing the necklace in the walk in to this challenge.

We have this shot : 

However if we look at Kara here clothes are different : 

Then if look at the walk in to this challenge the necklace is present: 

 

Davie also has orange/red socks in this challenge that he doesn't in that walk in.

Yet we have this random shot of Alison in the web preview that matches the first walk in:

 

 

So does that mean there is some other challenge at F6? or is Alison F5?

I think the first shot and the later shots of Kara and Davie are from the same challenge.  Kara looks the same, she just has these long socks on.  She probably had the long socks in her bag and once she saw the challenge was physical she put on the socks so her legs wouldn't get skinned or scraped up?  They probably film that "walking in" scene multiple times so after the initial approach, on retakes, she had already had the socks on after seeing what the challenge looked like?  Same for Davie.

I think that last picture of Alison is from a different challenge.  There were pic previews of a challenge on EW and the puzzle at the end was of the "arrange pieces flat into a box to create a picture logo" variety.

[ProfCrash]

5 minutes ago, blackwing said:

I remember reading about Hatch and the matches he shoved up his rectum.  But I had no idea that because of that, they do searches now.  Seriously?  To be on Survivor now you get strip searched and all of your body cavities inspected?  Yikes.

I am not 100% certain that they are fully searched but they are watched carefully as they get ready for the first day of play. I know that Richards matches have been referenced a lot and I seem to recall the dude in season 2 who was accused by Jerry of smuggling in beef jerky, Kal or Kel, mentioned being pulled aside for a pat down/search. Then again, I would not be surprised if there was a full on inspection.

[blackwing]

29 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I am not 100% certain that they are fully searched but they are watched carefully as they get ready for the first day of play. I know that Richards matches have been referenced a lot and I seem to recall the dude in season 2 who was accused by Jerry of smuggling in beef jerky, Kal or Kel, mentioned being pulled aside for a pat down/search. Then again, I would not be surprised if there was a full on inspection.

Hmm, come to think of it I guess it wouldn't be so bad.  All of their clothing is either approved by or provided for by production.  Production could go through all the suitcases and make sure there is no contraband hidden or sewn into the clothes.   Then all contestants have to get checked out by medical, right?  So they could give everyone a pre-game physical exam just before boarding the bus to the airport... there's the full body inspection.  But I guess there'd be no sugarcoating an excuse for a butthole or vaginal invasion, other than "thank Richard Hatch".  I think even the dullest knife in the drawer wouldn't buy an excuse of "I need to check your prostate to see if you will develop prostate cancer in the next 3 to 36 days".

[sharkerbaby]

For those that may be unaware, the "Three letters" "T H C" that the spoiler referred to generally stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol which is the primary psychoactive component in marijuana.  I only mention this because some are proposing phrases for the initials and wondered if perhaps some folks were not aware.  Although, I fully admit people may be thinking outside the box or being creative since it was included as part of a frequently cryptic spoiler, and if that's the case carry on and excuse my interruption.

[mikewho]

I don't like proposals on TAR or Survivor but eh, I'll let it pass. If it's gonna happen, nothing we can do about it. But I sure as hell won't be excited. Nowadays, the live finale is usually boring as hell anyway. And barely more than a half hour long.

I'm not going to speculate about who might have done what. But personally, I hope there IS some kind of exposure of someone cheating, creating some kind of change in the finale. That would sure as hell shake things up. I'd like that.

Edited December 18, 2018 by mikewho

[Jextella]

30 minutes ago, sharkerbaby said:

For those that may be unaware, the "Three letters" "T H C" that the spoiler referred to generally stands for Tetrahydrocannabinol which is the primary psychoactive component in marijuana.  I only mention this because some are proposing phrases for the initials and wondered if perhaps some folks were not aware.  Although, I fully admit people may be thinking outside the box or being creative since it was included as part of a frequently cryptic spoiler, and if that's the case carry on and excuse my interruption.

The wording the guy posting spoilers uses if pretty clever.  His early spoilers could have had more than one meaning and were only truly revealed as accurate as time went on and the game played out.  I'm fully aware that THC has to do with marijuana, but I'm not yet convinced that is what the spoiler refers to.  

It could, but it could also mean other things that we haven't thought of.

Same goes with rumored "proposal".  As someone pointed out earlier in this thread, that could mean a proposition of sorts.  It doesn't necessarily mean marriage proposal.

Probably both are what people think they are, but the possibility exists they could mean other things :)

Edited December 18, 2018 by Jextella

[blackwing]

Whatever these two items are, I hope they actually happen and not just purposely vague/failed spoilers.  For example, what if there was indeed and allegation of cheating, and "the proposal" is a proposal from Jeff to the jury to let them re-vote.

But it does seem kind of weird that if it is an actual proposal that somebody went and told Jeff or production that they wanted time to propose.  Then it got built into the schedule.  So if Nick or Christian or whoever's girlfriend is reading these boards, I guess maybe they've been spoiled and it won't be a surprise.

[LadyChatts]

24 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Whatever these two items are, I hope they actually happen and not just purposely vague/failed spoilers.  For example, what if there was indeed and allegation of cheating, and "the proposal" is a proposal from Jeff to the jury to let them re-vote.

But it does seem kind of weird that if it is an actual proposal that somebody went and told Jeff or production that they wanted time to propose.  Then it got built into the schedule.  So if Nick or Christian or whoever's girlfriend is reading these boards, I guess maybe they've been spoiled and it won't be a surprise.

I wonder if someone thinks it'll be them and how awkward it'll be when another castaway proposes to their significant other.  Mike has a boyfriend, maybe it'll be him.  I would be very, very, very surprised if it's Christian and his girlfriend.

I hate the thought of a Mike win but I also hope that whatever this rumor of someone being DQ from their win isn't true, regardless of who it is.  I do love that online everyone believes it is Angelina who ratted him out (even though they are close, so I kind of doubt it if it is Mike), and that she did so in hoping for a live re-vote so she can win.  This really is turning into Tracy Flick and Election. 

[MisterBluxom]

I'd like to thank whoever it was who first posted about Tracy Flick and the movie titled "Election". I got ahold of that movie and watched it and there certainly is a very high similarity between Aggravina and the title character of that film, "Tracy Flick". It was a very entertaining film. Thank you.

[LanceM]

Hmmmm. Angelina is flat out saying the contraband story is BS.

 

Angelina Cardona Keeley‏ @AngelinaCardona 57m57 minutes ago

FYI - the “contraband”rumor is complete and utter BS. Enjoy the finale tomorrow, there will be enough drama without this fake stuff.

 

Oh and you apparently having seen anything yet.

 

Angelina Cardona Keeley‏ @AngelinaCardona 4h4 hours ago

I’ll say this much. If you’ve thought I’m “too much” this season, just wait till tomorrow

 

lol

 

EDIT: Apparently, Alison also tweeted out the contraband story is false (claiming that the only contraband that was smuggled in was rice) Hmmm. This could mean the rumor is false but it could also mean the CBS spin control is going into high gear to quash this.

EDIT 2: Kara is denying it now too

https://imgur.com/a/08iJQym

Edited December 18, 2018 by LanceM

[LadyChatts]

I was wondering whether the castaways would say anything about it or not, and I'm going to assume CBS gave them the go ahead to dispute it.

And Angelina being more annoying, aggravating, and egotistical than normal?  Oy vey.  I will love it if she says that and we get a quiet Angelina edit, or a bumbling one.  

Hopefully this means that Mike doesn't win and that Nick is victorious!  

[Jextella]

Thank goodness!  I can handle a Mike win over a contraband situation.  It's been far too good of a season to have it ruined with crap like that.

A Mike win over Nick might be 2nd on my list of worse things to happen, though, and I'm not looking forward to that.

So, THC does stand for something other than pot/pot pills, etc.

[LadyChatts]

Either this whole thing isn't true and isn't just going to be damage control by CBS, or someone did smuggle something in but they aren't doing anything about it.  

Now I am so nervous for a Mike win lol  With the edit he's gotten I just don't see it.  So hopefully this whole thing is fake.  Unless that THC has something to do with him finishing in 2nd place.

Edited December 18, 2018 by LadyChatts

[EVS]

6 hours ago, blackwing said:

I remember reading about Hatch and the matches he shoved up his rectum.  But I had no idea that because of that, they do searches now.  Seriously?  To be on Survivor now you get strip searched and all of your body cavities inspected?  Yikes.

Hah.  Curious, where do you live?  I live in Illinois.  Not only are we forced to live with the choices for U.S. President, but we have had a history of really really bad governors in recent times.  There was "Captain Hairbrush" Rod Blagojevich who tried to sell the Senate seat of outgoing Senator and President-elect Barack Obama to the highest bidder, with his classic quote that the seat was "f*cking golden" and he was going to benefit from it.  And our incoming governor, JB Pritzker of the billionaire Pritzker family, was one of the alleged bidders for that seat.  In addition, he with all of his billions of dollars bought a huge house for investment purposes but then took out all of the toilets so it wouldn't qualify as a house so he could save a few thousand dollars on property taxes.  Americans are used to corruption.  I'm surprised it's taken this long for a big (alleged) cheating scandal on Survivor, since Survivor is supposed to be a microcosm of American society.  Snort.

I think the first shot and the later shots of Kara and Davie are from the same challenge.  Kara looks the same, she just has these long socks on.  She probably had the long socks in her bag and once she saw the challenge was physical she put on the socks so her legs wouldn't get skinned or scraped up?  They probably film that "walking in" scene multiple times so after the initial approach, on retakes, she had already had the socks on after seeing what the challenge looked like?  Same for Davie.

I think that last picture of Alison is from a different challenge.  There were pic previews of a challenge on EW and the puzzle at the end was of the "arrange pieces flat into a box to create a picture logo" variety.

Also, George Ryan and the  ‘license for bribes’ scandal that led to the deaths of the 6 Willis children. 

[Jextella]

Anyone know when they stop planting idols?  I've read both F5 and F4. 

[LanceM]

Well Vegas is back with an update...

 

[LadyChatts]

IF Vegas isn’t full of crap (I’d say it’s a 50/50 chance), then I kind of don’t blame them for sticking with the outcome.  It’s a little late to just be finding out about this, so hopefully it didn’t dramatically affect the outcome.  Just seems like a coincidence they’d produce this tweet after 3 castaways posted tweets dismissing this (granted they could be doing damage control on the part of the show or their friend Mike, considering who tweeted about it first).

Someone on Reddit had another theory about what THC stood for: The Hot Cop, aka Dan.  Maybe he found out and spoke up.  He was voted out early enough and I don’t think spent a ton of time with Mike between the swap and his early merge boot.  So it might be logical he just found out and felt a moral obligation to do it (assuming this is Mike but I guess whoever it is). 

But damn, does this mean Mike wins?  Maybe this is why Jeff didn’t seem enthusiastic about this season at first.  I know Mike’s his friend but he probably expected much more from him.  Mike’s been playing like a wet noodle and likely got lucky that Alison tattled to him.

Edited December 19, 2018 by LadyChatts

[anthonyd46]

 

How many twists and turns with this story?

Edited December 19, 2018 by anthonyd46

[MissEwa]

I mean we're being asked to believe either Angelina - who has a definite brown-nose streak in her and will likely say whatever production wants her to, AND is... Angelina - or Russell freaking Hantz. Tough call. 

[ProfCrash]

Russell is credible. He is an asshat, troll, awful human being but he is credible. We will not know what happened because it will be covered up but I suspect something did happen. If it was Mike, I suspect it wasn’t reported or actioned because he is a big name and no one wants the backlash that might come from his being punished.

[Wildcard]

Just a thought - If Nick wins (which the spoilers a few days ago were suggesting), does that mean he was the one with the contraband?

[ProfCrash]

IF there was contraband, I think it was Mike. I think only because he is someone with enough clout that it might be something that was not reported during the season or he would be able to have some help from someone on Production. I cannot see Nick using drugs, outside of his family history it would not be tolerated by his employer. I have no why idea why I don't think it is Angelina other then it doesn't feel right.

It is important because it would change the final three and that might change how people vote. Dependent on when it happened, it could have effected things far earlier in the season. IF there was contraband, the person should have been booted at the time of the incident. So IF Mike was using pot at the final four, he should have been booted and the fourth place person should have been in the final. The bigger problem would occur if this was something that was happening all season and would have screwed up the boot order, and how people played, for all season.

Here is the problem with most of this. I have no idea what a person can smuggle in an orifice. My knowledge of these things come from TV shows, movies and documentaries. I doubt that Mike would have been able to smuggle enough for an entire season without it being caught or reported. If he did and it wasn't reported I have no clue what that say about Production and the other contestants. Mike would have had to be able to sneak off and eat/smoke with no one knowing or noticing his behavior change. I have difficulty seeing that happening unless someone was bribed to keep quiet about it.

IF Mike's boyfriend brought it during the family visit, then it only effects the final 8 and again calls into question Production. Either they didn't know about it or someone did and kept it quiet.

I have difficulty believing that contraband was smuggled on to the island but if it happened it would almost have to be with someone with enough clout that Production would be more willing to cover it up.

I also have difficulty believing that someone who was busted, during filming or after filming, for contraband would be allowed to win. IF something did happen and the person responsible for it wins, there is no way that would not leak and leak badly.

I suppose you could argue that Alec was the one busted after the fact and that would explain his reunion ban. They can cover it up with the picture, he made it onto the jury but not so far that it was all that damaging, and they have a way of punishing him. He loses the reunion bonus and will not be invited back. But I have a harder time seeing Alec get away with it and not have it slapped down harder then Mike. Only because Mike's name and resume are large enough that it would be a huge embarrassment for Survivor and if it was outed later and not during play would be even worse.

Edited December 19, 2018 by ProfCrash

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, Jextella said:

Anyone know when they stop planting idols?  I've read both F5 and F4. 

The last TC to play them is F5.

3 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

We will not know what happened because it will be covered up but I suspect something did happen. 

Same. The minute I heard about it I believed there was truth to it but that it would ultimately amount to nothing.

[LadyChatts]

Quote

I also have difficulty believing that someone who was busted, during filming or after filming, for contraband would be allowed to win. IF something did happen and the person responsible for it wins, there is no way that would not leak and leak badly.

I'm surprised TMZ isn't all over this, unless they are sitting on it until after the finale because it will be more explosive if this is true and does involve the winner.

I also believe it is true, and that they are covering it up for a few reasons, but mainly for the reputation of both the show and the offender.

[peachmangosteen]

I am starting to get really worried Mike is gonna win. What an absolutely shitty end to an amazing season. At least if Angelina won it'd be funny!

[LadyChatts]

16 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

I am starting to get really worried Mike is gonna win. What an absolutely shitty end to an amazing season. At least if Angelina won it'd be funny!

Me too.  It's hard for me to even fathom how he won, unless it is a bitter jury and he's just great at spinning shit.  

More like he got lucky is what it is.  I feel like Mike will take the Adam Klein approach and just constantly interrupt Nick and Angelina and try to discredit their game while making it seem like he did more than sit on the beach. 

Edited December 19, 2018 by LadyChatts

[ProfCrash]

He is a professional actor. I suspect he will do a fine job in front of the jury.

[Jextella]

I've poked around a few of the players' Twitter and Instagram postings and some of the spoiler sites.  Spoilers indicate it comes down to Nick and Mike.

Based on the tone and dialogue on social media, Nick does not come off as being the winner to me.  There is one post in particular by Elizabeth.  Nick made a joke about one of his game moves and she tweeted back that he shouldn't care what others think because he got to play the greatest game ever.  It sounded conciliatory and something she might never felt she needed to say to a million dollar winner.   There are a few other posts that have a non-winner vibe about them.

As to the THC rumors, after digging around a bit, I'm inclined to think they are true.   Spoiler sites say they are, contestants say they are not.   Some of the former claim ties to the network.  Contestants are at arm's length and won't have the dirt the way credible spoilers might.  One of these is the guy who has been right the whole time (the one with the riddles).

After all this, I'm inclined to think Mike does in fact win :(

I can't watch live Wed nights and have to catch the replay when I get home late at night.  I'll check here for the winner before deciding if I even want to tune in!

[ProfCrash]

If Mike or Angelina wins, the season is kind of a let down because neither one of them played a game that should win.

But Nick kind of brought that on himself when he lost Christian and Gabby by letting Carl play Godfather. Nick's entire game was managing multiple alliances and relationships. He let an important one get away. Anyone with half a brain knew that Gabby was not going to tolerate being sidelined and lied to. As soon as that happened, Gabby was going to change course. Nick and Davie should have known that and managed Carl far better then they did.  Or Nick should have talked to Gabby and Christian before that vote to make sure that Gabby felt more comfortable. I mean, Gabby's insecurities were on public view the entire season so missing that is huge.

But I think that Nick was worried that Gabby would want Mike or Angelina gone and Nick wasn't ready to give them up. In the end, that is going to hurt Nick.

But Mike did not play the type of game that I see as a winners game. I suspect that he is going to win because the Goliath's don't want to vote for a David because the whole theme grates on them.

[LadyChatts]

I feel like I don't even want to watch now (but I will).  Editing has been strange this season and while Nick hasn't screamed winner (like someone would in a previous season), Mike has had a far worse edit.  I suppose they could give him redemption tonight.  Like I said, as soon as Christian brought it up in one of his interviews about the game Mike was playing I got nervous that he might actually have a chance.  

So yeah, it looks like it could be a case of Goliath strong on the jury plus maybe a few bitter Davids aimed at Nick (thinking Gabby and Christian here).  Wonder if any of them are nervous that this season has been praised as one of the best yet many consider Mike to be one of the worst case scenarios in terms of winners.  

[LadyChatts]

Quote

 

REALvegas4sure #cbbus2‏ @REALvegasbackup

Survivor: The person intends to come clean about all this!! At some point after the finale.

So to those saying the contraband thing is false, you will find out what the contraband was when they do come forward.

 

And the plot thickens.

My guess is, if this is all true, that CBS knows it will get out more than it already has and wants to control the narrative.  I feel like if it wasn't addressed tonight (and probably won't be due to time constraints) then it likely will be tomorrow before TMZ and the other gossip rags can run with it.  It will be interesting what Angelina, Alison, and Kara have to say since they came out and said this wasn't true (whether they believed it or not I don't know).  Sadly this may end up tainting a good season.  I just feel like this might all be about something irrelevant.  

Edited December 19, 2018 by LadyChatts

[ProfCrash]

Tonight should be interesting even if the winner is disappointing.

[mikewho]

You know, I've never thought there was such a thing as a 'disappointing winner'. It may not be one of the players people WANTED to win, but if they got the votes, then it was all fair, and that person won.

I didn't watch the 1st season while it aired, only watched the finale, but everyone was talking about it all season long. So I had a basic sense of what was going on (I later bought the DVD's and watched it, knowing the winner was Hatch). I remember the next day at work, when it was big water cooler conversation, everyone being pissed because they hated Hatch. 

I remember saying, 'Didn't he deserve the win just by nature of the fact that the majority voted for him, no matter how you feel about it? No matter how he got there or what you think of him, he deserved the win. Because he won by a majority vote.'

That's how I'll feel about whoever wins tonight.

[Nashville]

47 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

And the plot thickens.

My guess is, if this is all true, that CBS knows it will get out more than it already has and wants to control the narrative.  I feel like if it wasn't addressed tonight (and probably won't be due to time constraints) then it likely will be tomorrow before TMZ and the other gossip rags can run with it. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was addressed tonight - assuming, of course, somebody doesn’t get too long-winded in their proposal.  :)  The network PR people live to screw over outfits like TMZ - and if the story is going to get out anyway, nothing would make the PR folks happier than to help the major news outlets plaster egg all over TMZ’s face.

 

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It will be interesting what Angelina, Alison, and Kara have to say since they came out and said this wasn't true (whether they believed it or not I don't know). 

Speaking of egg on faces....  :>

 

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Sadly this may end up tainting a good season.  I just feel like this might all be about something irrelevant.  

 

Echo.  I mean, “contraband” or not - if it didn’t have a salient impact upon the game outcome, what the hell difference does it make?  If all that happened was an infraction of some arbitrary network rule, who really gives a shit?  Is someone blazing up going to break the game?  Unlikely.

Personally, I’d think anybody smuggling marijuana in or out of Fiji is dumber than a sackful of wet mice - pot is highly illegal there, with possession of ANY amount punishable by a minimum 3-month jail term - but to each his own.

Edited December 19, 2018 by Nashville
Typo

[ProfCrash]

Not disappointing in the sense that the player who wins shouldn't win but disappointing in that I don't think the people who played the game the best are at the end. I think we have a loose collection of floaters and perceived goats and two strategic players and one socially decent floater.

My rank ordering of the remaining players:

Nick and Davie would be great winners for the season. They have played hard, made some great moves, and saw how to get themselves out of trouble at important moments.

Mike has played a good social game, perhaps better then we have been shown. But he really hasn't do much but float on by and allowed himself to be used as a vote. There is under the radar and then there is Mike.

Kara is a floater. She is a vote to be used. Like Mike she made one move by cutting Dan but I am not certain that she had a plan what to do after that.

Alison is seen as a threat for some reason but I don't know why. She is incapable of making a solo move. She has not been a huge threat at immunity challenges.

Angelina is where she is because she is a goat. She has been annoying. She has tried to play but is just ineffective.

For me, I think that this season had some great players, a good number of above average players, and then a group that wanted to play but were ineffective. I think it ended up with too many of the great/good players on the David tribe. While that made for a few great tribal councils, it did leave the great players targeting each other because they saw the remaining players as floaters who had no chance to win.

And worst of all, I suspect that the labels that they were given is going to effect the outcome of the game. Never mind that it led to uneven tribes in terms of strategic ability, I suspect that the Goliaths have a strong drive to not let a David win because they don't want to be bested by people who are seen as "weaker". We have had a few talking heads where the Goliaths talked about how they didn't like that their success has been down played because they had some advantages that others didn't have. At the same time, many of them seem to buy into the label.

So a season with some great play could end up with someone who floated along as winning will be disappointing to me because the game play has been so strong that I want to see one of those strong players win.

It might be one of the few times that I will be happy that there is a fire making challenge because I think it would be a three Goliath finale

[mikewho]

3 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Not disappointing in the sense that the player who wins shouldn't win but disappointing in that I don't think the people who played the game the best are at the end.

But that's sort of my point. Even if you thought they played the best game, the other players voted them out, for a variety of reasons. Which is usually to move ahead. So they couldn't have played the best game, among those who were actually there. They didn't play the best game just by nature of the fact that they were voted out.

[ProfCrash]

They made mistakes and that is why they lost. Nick’s choice of his alliance with Mike and Angelina over Christian and Gabby is going to hurt Nick. I think Nick could make a great case against Christian in the Final Tribal but I think he might be undone by his alliance with Mike. 

It is rare for me to be dissappointed in the outcome of a season, normally I fall into your camp, but this season is going to feel wrong if a Goliath wins it. Not because they didn’t vote out the right people to get to the finals but because they coasted off of the work of others. John, Dan, and Alec were going to be hard work if the Goliath’s stayed in control. Mike and Angelina benefited from Nick and Davie’s game, especially after Mike and Agnelina decided to stay Goliath strong instead of working with the Davids. 

Clearly, Nick and Davie will have made a wrong move here or there that might cost them and that is fair game. But I am not a huge fan of the floaters winning. It is kind of like Vecepia winning her season, the majority alliance screwed itself over and Paschal and Neleh did not play a great game. Vecepia survived and won but it didn’t feel a rewarding end. This season will feel the same way if Mike or Angelina wins.

[mikewho]

Wow. I actually forgot about Vecepia's season, I disliked it so much. I think that was the worst one. Thanks for reminding me (I mean that).

It was ages ago so some of this could definitely be incorrect, but I remember thinking I didn't like her strategy of flip flopping to whatever alliance seemed to be in power on that day. I also recall her screwing Kathy at the final IC.

What I REALLY didn't like was how she brought religion into it, especially in her post-season interviews.

But it's funny. I definitely agreed with Sandra's (both times) basic strategy of 'Anyone but me. Another three days. My vote is for sale.' I thought that was simple, but smart. I didn't see it as coattail riding, I saw it as a viable plan that worked.

All the other seasons, I was OK with the winner, for reasons I stated before. And it'll be the same for this season. There's never been a winner I just plain disliked as much as Vecepia.

Edited December 19, 2018 by mikewho

[MissEwa]

Not really a spoiler but the TV Guides where I am have the reunion starting at either 18 or 30 past the hour. Even just with the most obligatory packages (winner, big moves! and I'm guessing Angelina got rice! and Christian talks a lot!) and a proposal there's not going to be time left to address anything. 

I'm with @ProfCrash - my usual feeling is 'well, they won, so they deserved to', that doesn't mean you can't be disappointed. But even right at the start of the season I said to someone that given the edit just in that first episode, it would feel icky if a Goliath won. And there hasn't been anything to really counter that, no 'even Goliaths have struggled' or 'there really is no difference' narrative, which makes me think - hope? - that a David pulls it out, but yeah... I'm increasingly thinking Mike and it's not good. 

[LadyChatts]

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

I wouldn’t be surprised if it was addressed tonight - assuming, of course, somebody doesn’t get too long-winded in their proposal.  :)  The network PR people live to screw over outfits like TMZ - and if the story is going to get out anyway, nothing would make the PR folks happier than to help the major news outlets plaster egg all over TMZ’s face.

Echo.  I mean, “contraband” or not - if it didn’t have a salient impact upon the game outcome, what the hell difference does it make?  If all that happened was an infraction of some arbitrary network rule, who really gives a shit?  Is someone blazing up going to break the game?  Unlikely.

Personally, I’d think anybody smuggling marijuana in or out of Fiji is dumber than a sackful of wet mice - pot is highly illegal there, with possession of ANY amount punishable by a minimum 3-month jail term - but to each his own.

 

Wasn't TMZ the original source that broke the Alec story?  That's why I'm wondering if they are sitting on this until the finale and then we'll get something right after.

Some people are speculating on other sites that this might hurt Survivor filming in Fiji in the future-especially if people associated with the show knew about it, but did nothing.  Because I despise Mike and would love nothing more than his win to be protested because he cheated, I'm still prepared to be let down.  I'm at a loss how exactly this was cheating, and I expect the network to just do the bare minimum to make it seem like they are sorry.  So we probably won't even get the whole story, and they will likely down play any cheating.  The whole cheating thing could just be something in the contract about not smuggling in contraband.  

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Speaking of egg on faces....  :>  

Then Russell would have been right.  Who cares if he's just a troll who probably doesn't know if anything really did happen or not-he called Angelina a liar.  And who cares if she really knew if this was true or not.  If this is proven to be true, it'll make him right and her wrong.  At least that's a win!  A small one, but I'll take it if I have to take a Mike victory this season.

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Not really a spoiler but the TV Guides where I am have the reunion starting at either 18 or 30 past the hour. Even just with the most obligatory packages (winner, big moves! and I'm guessing Angelina got rice! and Christian talks a lot!) and a proposal there's not going to be time left to address anything. 

The last couple of seasons the reunion show started super late.  I don't think they'd be able to modify it at this point, but if they plan on addressing this controversy, they can always bring people out while the show is airing like they've done in the past.  Funny thing about Christian, I was watching the IG story for the Survivor account, and it had the different cast members on the bus doing some quick random comments.  Then we get to Christian, who in the first shot starts in on the story of Survivor, and in the second says 'is there a time limit on this?  Oh shit.'  I love this man!

Edited December 19, 2018 by LadyChatts

[LanceM]

It is not just Angelina, Kara and Allison but Dan and Christian also had social media posts mocking the contraband rumor.  There is obviously a lot going on behind the scenes. I suspect the initial reaction by CBS/SEG was to squash the rumor. They usually don't like their dirty laundry aired. So I am guessing they told the cast (who all signed an NDA) to deny the rumor as well.  My only question was did they tell they could deny it on social media or did these players do it on their own.

[Clare]

8 hours ago, Jextella said:

Based on the tone and dialogue on social media, Nick does not come off as being the winner to me. 

I think this is really hard to gage.  I think a lot of the other Survivors often don't want to give anything away so they don't engage with the winner at all.  I often find it's the person they don't talk about in exit interviews.  I don't know if it will be Nick or Mike but I also don't think you can read too much into tone on social media. 

[LanceM]

I am not sure we are going to hear about this tonight. The Vegas tweet said the person plans on addressing it AFTER the finale which to me says he will address it during his press interviews. I could be wrong though.

Also, on reddit someone posted pictures of the cast on the bus heading to the finale. As expected: No Alec and no Jeremy.

Edited December 20, 2018 by LanceM