S36.E09: The Sea Slug Slugger

[valandsend]

23 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

He wasn't on the winning team but I think he would not have been allowed.  But I think he would've made it appear that he opted out of the alcoholic drink.  

Thanks. I forgot that he wasn't on the winning team. It would be interesting to see the excuse he comes up with.

[Jessa]

3 hours ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

The thing about the gross food challenges is the amount of food that has to be consumed.  One of those larvae is big but THREE?!  Gigantic sea slugs followed by all that abalone?  C'mon, man!  

Yes! And I always feeel badly for the ones that lose. I mean, it’s worth it for the winners, but everyone else has to sit there with a belly full of eyes/slugs/larvae and have nothing to show for it. 

[violet and green]

14 hours ago, Oscirus said:

If anything, that hammered home the fact that he was telling Laurel everything since she already knew about Dom's idol.

Perhaps you're right, but I have no recollection of when she might have heard Dom had an idol. When Wendell told her about Dom having an idol, her reply was, "So he actually has an idol, not just that shell?" Dom went to great lengths to elaborate that Chris had fallen for this bodgy fake idol he'd made, and as far as I remember Wendell was the only person who he specifically told he had an actual idol.

Anyway, blabbing about his own was unnecessary, apart from that. He has a poor read of people, and the only time I've seen him act in an appropriately cool manner was when Donothan explained what he and Dom had to do.

14 hours ago, Oscirus said:

I have a feeling that by revealing his secret to her when he didn't have to, he strengthened their bond, not the opposite.

Well, editing aside, her face said otherwise.

[peachmangosteen]

31 minutes ago, violet and green said:

He has a poor read of people ...

He has a good enough read on at least Laurel to realize she was feeling uneasy about their alliance. Whether or not he did the right thing to ease her mind we don't really know yet. But she didn't vote him out and she had a decent chance to do it.

[violet and green]

50 minutes ago, peachmangosteen said:

He has a good enough read on at least Laurel to realize she was feeling uneasy about their alliance. Whether or not he did the right thing to ease her mind we don't really know yet. But she didn't vote him out and she had a decent chance to do it.

If she was feeling uneasy then it was probably because she didn't know about Dom's Advantage, perhaps? Or maybe she just had gas. She didn't vote him out because she would then be a floater on the bottom of another alliance with whom she has no particular ties, and here she has a tight four. If telling the person you think is uneasy something that makes them even more uneasy, then you have not reassured them - and not knowing you have not reassured them, only made them warier, to my mind is poor people skills.

Edited April 20, 2018 by violet and green
boring typo

[Jessa]

1 hour ago, violet and green said:

Perhaps you're right, but I have no recollection of when she might have heard Dom had an idol. When Wendell told her about Dom having an idol, her reply was, "So he actually has an idol, not just that shell?" Dom went to great lengths to elaborate that Chris had fallen for this bodgy fake idol he'd made, and as far as I remember Wendell was the only person who he specifically told he had an actual idol.

I believe Dom showed the note from his real idol to Chris when he showed him the shell on the string. They all seemed pretty sure the shell was a  fake, but since they saw the paper, they suspected he must have a real one too.

[violet and green]

1 minute ago, Jessa said:

I believe Dom showed the note from his real idol to Chris when he showed him the shell on the string. They all seemed pretty sure the shell was a  fake, but since they saw the paper, they suspected he must have a real one too.

Only Chris saw the paper, I think. Suspecting - even a strong suspicion - is not the same as categorically knowing. Anyway, my original comment was I thought Wendell made a dumb move, and no-one else agrees! C'est la vie.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, phlebas said:

The legal drinking age in Fiji is 18. I don't know if getting his drinks bought by an American corporation complicates things.  Had he been on the reward, I doubt CBS would have shown him drinking anything if he had.

Someone here said they thought the show followed both the US and host country laws, or whichever was stricter.  I seem to recall it being mentioned that Will couldn't drink, and some other underage players.  

Though I just flashed to some video of 19-year-old Julia of Kaoh Rong acting odd in Ponderosa, so I checked her Ponderosa video.  That wasn't the video I'm remembering, but she appears to have a margarita in front of her in one or two shots.  

Did anyone else notice those margaritas at the tiki taco reward had no ice?  

2 hours ago, valandsend said:

Thanks. I forgot that he wasn't on the winning team. It would be interesting to see the excuse he comes up with.

I'm not sure if we see it but I think I've heard of adult players saying they don't imbibe in the alcohol out there for various reasons like fear of getting sick or getting too vocal, or just that they don't drink at all, period?  

[phlebas]

If I hadn't had anything to eat except for a tablespoon of rice every day for three weeks, a margarita is going to hit my brain pan like a jackhammer. I wouldn't touch it either, legal age or otherwise.

[LanceM]

My understanding is that since it is an American show shown on American tv that they don't allow anyone under 21 to drink no matter what the legal age is in the country they were filming. Michael since he is lying about his age would have been told by production that they will keep his secret but that he would have to find some reason to give to his tribemates as to why he wasn't drinking if there were any alcohol on his rewards.

[EllenB]

3 hours ago, Jessa said:

Yes! And I always feeel badly for the ones that lose. I mean, it’s worth it for the winners, but everyone else has to sit there with a belly full of eyes/slugs/larvae and have nothing to show for it. 

Oh, I imagine they'll have something to show for it after a few hours ?.

[ByaNose]

14 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Someone here said they thought the show followed both the US and host country laws, or whichever was stricter.  I seem to recall it being mentioned that Will couldn't drink, and some other underage players.  

Though I just flashed to some video of 19-year-old Julia of Kaoh Rong acting odd in Ponderosa, so I checked her Ponderosa video.  That wasn't the video I'm remembering, but she appears to have a margarita in front of her in one or two shots.  

Did anyone else notice those margaritas at the tiki taco reward had no ice?  

I'm not sure if we see it but I think I've heard of adult players saying they don't imbibe in the alcohol out there for various reasons like fear of getting sick or getting too vocal, or just that they don't drink at all, period?  

I don’t think Michael cares about the legal drinking age. If you follow him (and, the cast) on Twitter & instagram he’s drinking up a storm. He isn’t a typical 18-19 year old. He lives in California and he’s in the modeling world. He’s trying to live in the fast lane of reality tv, too. I doubt he’s just started drinking. That said, I’m curious to see if he he openly drinks in the Ponderosa videos. Even, though it’s legal for him to drink I’m not sure CBS wants to be a apart of him drinking on their (Ponderosa) show.

Edited April 21, 2018 by ByaNose

[Guest]

I was just addressing if he’d be allowed to. I think most teens would choose to, given the option.  Especially at Ponderosa.  

[Oscirus]

8 hours ago, violet and green said:

Perhaps you're right, but I have no recollection of when she might have heard Dom had an idol. When Wendell told her about Dom having an idol, her reply was, "So he actually has an idol, not just that shell?" Dom went to great lengths to elaborate that Chris had fallen for this bodgy fake idol he'd made, and as far as I remember Wendell was the only person who he specifically told he had an actual idol.

Anyway, blabbing about his own was unnecessary, apart from that. He has a poor read of people, and the only time I've seen him act in an appropriately cool manner was when Donothan explained what he and Dom had to do.

Well, editing aside, her face said otherwise.

Actually Dom also told Laurel that he had an idol shortly after the Morgan boot when he was first hammering in an alliance with Don/Laurel. 

We'll see what happens in the future, but I'd argue it builds trust with Laurel and demonstrates to her that she's an important part of their alliance as opposed to just a number that can be disposed of at will.

Regardless of what her face may or may not have said, her actions spoke volumes. That she hasn't shared it with anybody and unlike Donathon, she never seemed to waiver tells me it worked.

[ByaNose]

Asumming Michael doesn’t win immunity he’s done. Although, since he played the last (f’ing stick) HII another one could be planted, right? It will be interesting to see how it plays out and if Michael finds the obligatory HII that is not so secretly planted courtesy of production. LOL!!!!!

[defeated]

15 hours ago, violet and green said:

Only Chris saw the paper, I think. Suspecting - even a strong suspicion - is not the same as categorically knowing. Anyway, my original comment was I thought Wendell made a dumb move, and no-one else agrees! C'est la vie.

I agree!   Although it seems to have worked out, it did look like that revelation spooked Laurel.  I'd have to rewatch the scene, but it also seemed that Wendell was making it worse the more he tried to explain. 

[Nashville]

18 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

[Wendell] has a good enough read on at least Laurel to realize she was feeling uneasy about their alliance. Whether or not he did the right thing to ease her mind we don't really know yet. But she didn't vote him out and she had a decent chance to do it.

Wendell’s disclosure to Laurel certainly jarred her perceptions of their alliance in the immediate sense - but I think it might be one of those situations where, given enough time for some reflection, Laurel will feel reassured that Wendell trusted her enough to divulge his secrets.

[himela]

I think it's really predictable that the next episodes will be all about taking out the "strong players" (Michael, Wendell, Dominique) and then only people who have next to zero confessionals will raise from the dead to go to the final three. I don't find myself caring about this season that much. While I enjoy the "wow" moments after an idol or an advantage having been played, I think all this has to do with mostly luck and I don't like Survivor having that much to do with luck. I feel I miss the strategy.

[Hera]

22 hours ago, Jessa said:

On 4/20/2018 at 2:04 PM, SuburbanHangSuite said:

The thing about the gross food challenges is the amount of food that has to be consumed.  One of those larvae is big but THREE?!  Gigantic sea slugs followed by all that abalone?  C'mon, man! 

Yes! And I always feeel badly for the ones that lose. I mean, it’s worth it for the winners, but everyone else has to sit there with a belly full of eyes/slugs/larvae and have nothing to show for it. 

This is how I feel about endurance challenges as well. The runner-up only loses by seconds (since the winner usually stops once his/her win is secure) and so is usually just as tired and uncomfortable as the winner, but without getting the security of the immunity necklace.

I think Wendell had the right idea—if you know you're not going to be competitive in a challenge like this, just nope out in the first round.

[kikaha]

3 hours ago, himela said:

I think it's really predictable that the next episodes will be all about taking out the "strong players" (Michael, Wendell, Dominique) and then only people who have next to zero confessionals will raise from the dead to go to the final three.

Dom doesn't come across to me as a strong player, but more one who got lucky to find herself with numbers.  Michael spends much of his time putting out fires: won't surprise me to see him get burned, especially since he used up his shield last week. 

Wendell is one of the best players out there IMO, so I hope he stays around for a long time.  I also have believed since early on that Laurel is playing extremely well.  If she makes F3, she won't have raised from the dead, but reaped the benefit of her excellent play in every part of the game.

[txvoodoo]

On 4/19/2018 at 1:55 PM, LadyNebula said:

Oh, I love scrapple!  It's really good with syrup on it ;)

Or with a poached egg on top. Yummm.

(Philly girl born & bred, but I've lived in Texas for 20 years now)

[ProfCrash]

On 4/20/2018 at 11:19 PM, ByaNose said:

I don’t think Michael cares about the legal drinking age. If you follow him (and, the cast) on Twitter & instagram he’s drinking up a storm. He isn’t a typical 18-19 year old. He lives in California and he’s in the modeling world. He’s trying to live in the fast lane of reality tv, too. I doubt he’s just started drinking. That said, I’m curious to see if he he openly drinks in the Ponderosa videos. Even, though it’s legal for him to drink I’m not sure CBS wants to be a apart of him drinking on their (Ponderosa) show.

What he does in his private life is on him. Survivor does not allow people under the age of 18 to consume alcohol. They made a huge deal of this with Will in his season. Probst reminded Will he was not allowed to drink because he was 18 and still in high school whenever Will went to a reward. Michael would not have been allowed to drink alcohol. I am reasonably certain that the Producers remind him of that in private whenever they need to. Probst won’t blow Michael’s cover but they will not let him drink alcohol. 

It is easy enough to explain away not drinking, starting with “I don’t like the taste of alcohol.” To “Alcoholism runs in my family so I don’t drink”. You don’t have to pretend to be an alcholoic to avoid the booze.

[Matteo]

I read this in a pre-season interview: 

As for whether or not Michael will be allowed to drink alcohol in the case of a merge feast or a reward challenge, Probst says: "No, but he has a plan. He's going to tell people he doesn't drink. I've heard he has a story for how he's going to handle that, something about family issues and he doesn't like to be around alcohol."

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-ghost-island-michael-yerger-preseason-interview-1079648

[meep.meep]

On 4/21/2018 at 1:59 PM, kikaha said:

Dom doesn't come across to me as a strong player, but more one who got lucky to find herself with numbers.  Michael spends much of his time putting out fires: won't surprise me to see him get burned, especially since he used up his shield last week. 

Wendell is one of the best players out there IMO, so I hope he stays around for a long time.  I also have believed since early on that Laurel is playing extremely well.  If she makes F3, she won't have raised from the dead, but reaped the benefit of her excellent play in every part of the game.

I'm confused.  There's a Dominic who is a guy not a "herself".  There's also a Desiree and a Laurel who are "herselfs".  Who are you talking about?

I think Wendell and Laurel are both playing well.

[Guest]

I'm guessing kikaha meant Des, not Dom, since the post s/he quoted spelled it Dominique.  

[kikaha]

28 minutes ago, meep.meep said:

I'm confused.  There's a Dominic who is a guy not a "herself".  There's also a Desiree and a Laurel who are "herselfs".  Who are you talking about?

I think Wendell and Laurel are both playing well.

As Winston says, I meant Desiree, not Dom.  Thanks for pointing up my mistake. 

[meep.meep]

I was actually confused.  I've felt that Desiree is perceived differently by those on her team and it has surprised me.  One of the early challenges, she won with her basketball skills, but somehow she is not perceived as a physical threat.  I think she really is.  As you say, she's been lucky to have the numbers on her side.  I still don't know why she wanted Libby out.

Now Angela, every time her name comes up, I go "there's an Angela?"

[ByaNose]

15 hours ago, meep.meep said:

I was actually confused.  I've felt that Desiree is perceived differently by those on her team and it has surprised me.  One of the early challenges, she won with her basketball skills, but somehow she is not perceived as a physical threat.  I think she really is.  As you say, she's been lucky to have the numbers on her side.  I still don't know why she wanted Libby out.

Now Angela, every time her name comes up, I go "there's an Angela?"

Funny thing is I know who Angela and Chelsea are but I just looked at Angela's pre game pictures. She looks so different. I'm not sure if she looked older/younger in the pictures but she seems so different on the show. Maybe, because she was so quiet with little air time until last week. She looks a lot blonder in the pre game picture but in the game it looks darker. At least, to me it does.

[Guest]

I think she looks 15 years older now, with no makeup, scraggly, pulled-back hair covered with a buff, and a scowl or RBF, and the HD close-ups don't help.  

[303420]

I am heartbroken that Probst didn't say, "This is NOT...just a fuckin' stick." So what if they bleep him - we all know what he really said! And would anyone here not love him for it?