S36.E10: It's Like the Perfect Crime

[Oscirus]

24 minutes ago, SuburbanHangSuite said:

Last night, I swore Wendell and Dom would win Reward in a walk--that team looked unbeatable.  But rowing a boat in ocean currents proved to be one thing at which Wendell does not excel.  

I knew the other team had it as soon as I saw Kellyn was on their team. Like her or hate her,  Kellyn excels at puzzles.

21 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Maybe I'm the only one but yes, I've known about Jenna and Chelsea since maybe the 2nd or 3rd ep.  They haven't gotten a ton of screen time but they haven't exactly been Brett from Samoa, either?

Me too.  Jennas apparently the one with perma bitch face ( or so she thinks) currently in a showmance with seb,  Chelsea's the red head currently working with Kellyn.

Truth be told, It's not even that hard to separate naviti from malolo since malolo generally tends to be around each other a lot.

[Special K]

That was a classic example of How-to-Vote-Yourself-Out, Desiree.  Geez.  I won't miss you, but you have a great look.

I still like Dom, though his "big players" talk is getting old.  Agree that Wendell and Dom seem the most circumspect and relaxed about things.  Also Michael, who seems preternaturally mature.

I still can't stand Kellyn, but acknowledge that she is playing a strong game.  Her swimsuit top could not be more unflattering, though.  Having said that, I'm pleased that quite a number of the powerhouse women on this season have normal (ie - not enhanced) breasts.

Finally, were those bozos really eating smoked salmon that had been sitting out in the heat throughout that entire reward?

[ByaNose]

I still can't figure out who is getting the "winners edit". Last night, I thought it would be Wendell 24/7 after last week but he didn't even get a confessional. Dom was shown a lot more but it wasn't really about him as it was more about Kellyn & Laurel. I think Michael got a confessional but it was the usual "guys use me as a vote & as long as it isn't me" story. The editors are keeping me on my toes because I don't know. Watch it be the Michelle Fitzgerald edit and Chelsea or Angela win. LOL!!!

[Maya]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Asking Donathan if she should put her hair up or down?!  Christ!  I do not like people like that.  What is he, your fucking peasant?   You think your hair is so important to him it's there for his consumption or something?  

Kellyn thinks very, VERY highly of herself.

[Special K]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Asking Donathan if she should put her hair up or down?!  Christ!  I do not like people like that.  What is he, your fucking peasant?   You think your hair is so important to him it's there for his consumption or something?  

Yeah, and he told her it looked good, and she ended up going to TC looking like her hair had been set on fire.

Des:  watch Donathan.  He knows how to lie.  :)

[Nashville]

Personally, I don’t like Kellyn because she presents as a Destiny - i.e., that it’s somehow her destiny to win the game.  And I really dislike Destinies because they tend to;

1. Alternate between playing way too hard and not playing at all, with no in-between gear.
2. Rub their hands together and cackle with glee “Everything’s going according to My Plan”,  even when they had zero input into the current round of unfolding events.
3. Take inordinate offense whenever anybody else - ally or not - has the unmitigated gall to PLAY THEIR OWN GAME in a manner which does not directly benefit the Destiny’s own game.
4. Undertake personal vendettas based on the above #3, and nothing more.
5. Cannot acknowledge a simple adversarial relationship as “game”, and must instead paint the other player(s) as “wrong” or “evil”.

Did I say “dislike” earlier?  A thousand pardons.  I meant “hate”.

10 minutes ago, Special K said:

Yeah, and he told her it looked good, and she ended up going to TC looking like her hair had been set on fire.

Fucking great.  :D

 

10 minutes ago, Special K said:

Des:  watch Donathan.  He knows how to lie.  :)

Donathan is gay, he’s grown up in rural Kentucky, and he’s still alive.  Of course he knows how to lie.  ;>

Edited April 26, 2018 by Nashville
Typo

[meep.meep]

Same way they can't figure out to put their hand on top of the handle of the paddle.

[MissEwa]

2 hours ago, Kaiju Ballet said:

Thanks, this made me LOL. At this point whenever Sebastian’s onscreen, it’s like another closeup on native wildlife doing their own thang and part of the scenery.

It's not like he's been part of the gameplay so this is pretty much all he's there for at this point. 

1 hour ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

Maybe I'm the only one but yes, I've known about Jenna and Chelsea since maybe the 2nd or 3rd ep.  They haven't gotten a ton of screen time but they haven't exactly been Brett from Samoa, either?

+1. There's been a lot of 'there's a *blah*?' this season but I've actually found identifying everyone easier than I have for the past few. Less generic pretty people. Chelsea has barely spoken but she's almost always in group shots and she's quite striking and hard to miss, IMO. 

I think the below is based on a pretty well-known thing but just in case... 

Spoiler

If anything, Jenna's the only one I can't keep straight on the Naviti/Malolo spectrum and it's because I associate her with Sebastian and not with the other Malolos. I keep waiting for whatever is going on with them IRL to come into play but so far it's just been that one stinky-hair talk. 

14 minutes ago, Special K said:

Yeah, and he told her it looked good, and she ended up going to TC looking like her hair had been set on fire.

Her hair was AWFUL at tribal. I couldn't stop looking at it. 

I kind of want to give Des the Tyra 'we were all rooting for you!' GIF for blowing up her own game so thoroughly, but while I did start off rooting for her she's been getting on my nerves the past few episodes. The fact that she's 21 makes a lot of sense to me - there's an immaturity there. I feel like she would play a better game in a few years. 

This isn't the *best* season of Survivor, but so far I actually really like it? There have been so many seasons recently where by this point the dominant alliance full of people I hate is 100% in control and it's a slow march to a winner I dislike, but this season is really up in the air, and I like most of the players that still have a shot. Kellyn is the only one I'd be annoyed with as a winner (of the people who have a shot, sorry Sebastian and Chelsea), and she does worry me - her 'I'm in control' speech tonight should have been a precurser to her ouster and that it wasn't makes me wonder if it was her winner's quote instead. Fingers crossed it's not. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

What I liked about that is it was a glimpse of real camp life, and it was dull as hell.  She did sound like a twit but I can understand her asking.  You are on tv and have no mirrors.  I might be asking whoever's around if I'm looking ridiculous. 

Re:  Kellyn asking Donathan about her hair

I totally agree with the bolded.  That's something the editors would have never let us see in a million years normally but they had to because of Donathan's idol struggles.  That's why it was so weird and funny and took us out of the show.  It was like a different show.  It was so real.

Edited April 26, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Wings]

1 hour ago, Special K said:

Finally, were those bozos really eating smoked salmon that had been sitting out in the heat throughout that entire reward?

No, I assume it came out of a cooler just out of sight.  

[Matty]

Now I'm watching and waiting for them to vote out all the nonentities and get down to the final five of Dom, Wendell, Laurel, Donathan and Michael. That's who I'm hoping for final five. Once we get to them, if they are the final five, it should get really interesting as they're all strong players in different ways. I know it most likely won't happen that way but one can hope. 

Edited April 26, 2018 by Matty

[peachmangosteen]

5 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I really really like that Laurel can watch something crazy happen and/or somebody verbally attacking her and she just totally listens before calmly thinking about how to deal with it.  This is a life skill that I desperately want.

Yes, I would love her calmness when someone is confronting you. I would either get OTT angry or cry lol.

5 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I think if somebody's quiet and calm it doesn't necessarily make them meek and passive.  It's just a demeanor.

I agree, but I just see her as passive. I am quiet and passive so maybe that's why I'm seeing that in her. Being passive isn't necessarily a problem in the game imo, but it's really hard to win that way unless you have just the right people with you and I don't think Laurel is going to have that/I don't think she's even trying to have that.

5 hours ago, Oscirus said:

He just outted the fact that he has a secret alliance to Laurel in neon letters and Kellyn pretty much ignored it. 

Right! I truly don't understand how none of them questioned Laurel telling Dom that info. Maybe they did and we just didn't see it though.

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

There are a whole lot of shots of Dom drinking from his coffee cup, watching what is happening and thinking and plotting.

The one in this ep after Kellyn was all "YOU BETTER DO WHAT I WANT THIS TIME!!!!" where he just casually sips from his tiny coffee cup while saying 'huh' or whatever was perfection.

5 hours ago, Nashville said:

It could simply be the edit, but I found the omission somewhat telling.  Makes me wonder: if Donathan had been able to recover the second half of the HII stealthily on his own, would Michael have even known Donathan had found it...?

Yea, I wondered about that, too. I think Donathan probably would've told him though, unless Laurel told him not to.

4 hours ago, greyflannel said:

I think she said that the ladies had better keep winning.

Yea, that's what she said.

4 hours ago, Nashville said:

 In this context I mean Laurel presents a passive public personality, which at times requires feigning fright or timidity; under the placid exterior, however, she is simultaneously pursuing an aggressive strategic agenda.  

This is definitely possible, and for a long time I thought this was what Laurel was doing, but I don't think it's really going to turn out to be that way. Her confessionals have the same passiveness to them as her conversations do imo. 

[LanceM]

So reading Desiree's interview today and she cleared up one mystery from the Chris vote and why she voted for Libby. It was not as many people speculated that her and Angela voted that way in case Chris has n idol. Nope. She voted for Libby because Kellyn and Chelsea did not tell her of the plan to vote out Chris. Given this knowledge it is a little more understandeable why she would turn on Kellyn though I thinka  better choice would have been to try to target Dom or Wendell since Kellyn seemingly had no thought that Des might betray her.

Edited April 26, 2018 by LanceM

[Prin Holmes]

On 4/26/2018 at 9:15 AM, Dominii said:

Michael is boring. He never really shows emotion or laughs or acts silly. He's just deadpan. My girlfriend makes jokes about what having sex with him would be like, which I can't repeat here, but you get the picture.

THIS.  For the last several episodes, there has been so much fawning over Michael, and I just frankly don't get it.  In fact, I am tired of it.  He cries one fucking time, and it's "Aw, he's so adorable!  I want to hug him!"  But every other person who has cried the season gets either a "Oh, STFU!" or a "Suck it up, buttercup!" response.  And he gets nothing but praise for making what are basically obvious moves, not groundbreaking moves, and they've only blown up in his face, anyway.

I want to know what the hype over him is, and I want to know RIGHT NOW!>:(

Edited April 27, 2018 by Prin Holmes

[Ms Blue Jay]

Seriously?  He's just really good-looking.  It happens almost every season.  Ken from Millennials versus Gen X was another example.  Part of the fun of this show is the eye candy.  Sometimes I just randomly remember Morgan's breasts from Season 28, and I'm straight.

Edited April 27, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[GenerationX]

Random thoughts on episode 10 "3D:  Desi Does a Doozy"

• Not sure which is larger - her minimum DDD cup size or her maximum lie at TC
• Loved the abrupt cut to oh-so-sad music when Angela revealed the NO VOTE
• In the Stripper Cage challenge, Dom & Wendell went round and round as Michael rowed the boat ashore.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Seriously?  He's just really good-looking.  It happens almost every season.  Ken from Millennials versus Gen X was another example.  Part of the fun of this show is the eye candy.  Sometimes I just randomly remember Morgan's breasts from Season 28, and I'm straight.

Ha!  Totally.  He's also super young, calm, mature and he made some good game moves a while back.  And he's an underdog.  And an underwear model.  

[Prin Holmes]

12 minutes ago, Winston9-DT3 said:

and he made some good game moves a while back.

No, he did not.  As I said, he made obvious moves.  Obvious ones.  Not something to applaud.  So I won't.

[txvoodoo]

On 4/25/2018 at 8:08 PM, SHD said:

I still don't remember who was on which original tribe so I never understand their voting blocks.

This is the problem with so many switchups before merge. I wish they'd learn, we can't get invested when they're always doing that!

 

In other news, I knew Des was going early on. (and I never know. I'm Ms Clueless) Her THs were all "I'm gonna shake it up, make a move, yadda" and then boom. She severely overestimated her own abilities. Yes, everyone knew you were lying, Des. 

[ByaNose]

I have never understood the idea that Michael has had great game play. Granted he has found idols but I don’t see the “great” gameplay. He’s amazing looking at 18 and now probably 19, right? He could be 20 now. It’s been a while since they were out there. Anyhoo, I don’t have a problem with Michael and I like him but I think he’s been pretty vanilla this season, too. If he didn’t have the “I’m 18” storyline there really wouldn’t be much to him.  In general, he’s the typical “male model” (Why do people always put the male before model?) that plays but never wins. It’s typical casting 101. That said, I didn’t look like him when I was 18, 28, 38 or 48. Someday maybe.......LOL!!!!!!

[violet and green]

The ham-fisted editing of this season gives me the rage. As soon as Des mentioned in the first few minutes that she had been homeless I knew she was the one who'd be going home. I am pleased she went as I disliked her with a passion, but geez, what is going on with the telegraphing?

Am also haunted by the sight of Chelsea's giant lollypop head during that challenge. I get her shoulders were in a funny position and she was angled and she had a scarf on - but I kept checking the other remaining players to see if they looked like - as someone aptly put it up thread - a human Pez dispenser. No. Girl has lost too much weight, I think.

Another boring trip to GI, and another rock pull. I do love the big fire heads, like something out of The Wicker Man, in the tribal council setup. The iconography of GI as a season is really nice, but GI itself is a fizzer.

On the plus side, all the people I like are still there and in quite good positions and that is unusual.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, violet and green said:

The ham-fisted editing of this season gives me the rage. As soon as Des mentioned in the first few minutes that she had been homeless I knew she was the one who'd be going home. I am pleased she went as I disliked her with a passion, but geez, what is going on with the telegraphing?

Am also haunted by the sight of Chelsea's giant lollypop head during that challenge. I get her shoulders were in a funny position and she was angled and she had a scarf on - but I kept checking the other remaining players to see if they looked like - as someone aptly put it up thread - a human Pez dispenser. No. Girl has lost too much weight, I think.

Another boring trip to GI, and another rock pull. I do love the big fire heads, like something out of The Wicker Man, in the tribal council setup. The iconography of GI as a season is really nice, but GI itself is a fizzer.

On the plus side, all the people I like are still there and in quite good positions and that is unusual.

Yeah, there isn’t anyone I truly hate or anything. If Bradley was still in the game I wouldn’t be saying that. There are some people with good edits and a few with no edit at all. Overall, some are in great positions and I could see a few different scenarios with them winning. It’s crunch time people. Top 10!

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, violet and green said:

Am also haunted by the sight of Chelsea's giant lollypop head during that challenge. I get her shoulders were in a funny position and she was angled and she had a scarf on - but I kept checking the other remaining players to see if they looked like - as someone aptly put it up thread - a human Pez dispenser. No. Girl has lost too much weight, I think.

Kellyn and Chelsea are tiny people.  The camera adds weight, so damn, they are so small.

[30 Helens]

8 hours ago, MissEwa said:

Kellyn is the only one I'd be annoyed with as a winner (of the people who have a shot, sorry Sebastian and Chelsea), and she does worry me - her 'I'm in control' speech tonight should have been a precurser to her ouster and that it wasn't makes me wonder if it was her winner's quote instead. Fingers crossed it's not. 

I was certain that all the cockiness and proclamations that her plans were right on track were setting us up for a Kellyn blindside.  When that didn’t happen, I figured it was just misdirection to throw us off.  I hadn’t even considered that it could be part of a winner’s edit instead.  Damn. Now I’m worried, too.

 

9 hours ago, Nashville said:

Donathan is gay, he’s grown up in rural Kentucky, and he’s still alive.  Of course he knows how to lie.  ;>

LOL. Good point.

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Prin Holmes said:

No, he did not.  As I said, he made obvious moves.  Obvious ones.  Not something to applaud.  So I won't.

No one is asking you to.  They’re opinions.  Others have them.  They vary.  It’s subjective.  

[txvoodoo]

10 hours ago, Special K said:

Yeah, and he told her it looked good, and she ended up going to TC looking like her hair had been set on fire.

Des:  watch Donathan.  He knows how to lie.  :)

Seriously! She looked like a mouse had been eating it while she slept.

And yup - I think Donathan's game is being underrated. 

[ImpinAintEasy]

I really don’t get the people who feel Dom is an asshole. Other than the opening episode where he was the only one to criticize Chris’s decision, I haven’t seen him be an asshole. Bradley was/is an asshole. Dom just has that Jersey/New York accent that people associate with players like Tony. Dom seems like a good natured guy to me, but perhaps it’s the edit, in which case, he’s totally getting the winner’s edit. 

 

Kellyn makes my skin crawl. Such a prissy little spaz. People wanting the girls to gang up and take out Dom and Wendell realize that Kellyn wins in that scenario, right? Which is why I’m cool with the obvious winner situation if Dom or Wendell win. 

[SVNBob]

18 hours ago, ghoulina said:

Good on Donathan for finding an Idol. Or, half of a super Idol.

He found both halves of an de-powered Super Idol.  So he found a two-part regular Idol.

[Oscirus]

More I think about it and listen to Des's interviews, the more I see the problem with her plans (well other then her execution). Lets say it was successful and she took out Kellyn, Wendell, Dom. Now what? Malolo outnumbers you, are they supposed to target one of their own ( presumably Michael) over you?  Why would any of them  do that? If malolo's in power, they'd be fools to go to the finals with a naviti member given the jury make up in that situation.  She was so concentrated on making that "big move" that she couldn't see the forest for the trees.

[ProfCrash]

4 hours ago, Oscirus said:

More I think about it and listen to Des's interviews, the more I see the problem with her plans (well other then her execution). Lets say it was successful and she took out Kellyn, Wendell, Dom. Now what? Malolo outnumbers you, are they supposed to target one of their own ( presumably Michael) over you?  Why would any of them  do that? If malolo's in power, they'd be fools to go to the finals with a naviti member given the jury make up in that situation.  She was so concentrated on making that "big move" that she couldn't see the forest for the trees.

They would target Michael because he is a huge threat to win the entire game. He has found a couple of idol and played them pretty well. The first idol play may have failed, but he developed a convincing story and used the idol to try and encourage Naviti members to flip. He played the second idol to save himself. He has done very well in the reward challenges. He is calm, personable and likeable. If I had to go to tribal with Michael or Des, I would prefer Des. Des would have flipped on her tribe and they could very well be pissed that she took them all out. Not to mention, Des should be easier to take out because she is less likely to win immunity. She has shown herself to be awful with puzzles and she is not a huge physical threat. I don't remember her standing out in any challenges but I could be wrong.

I think targeting Kellyn was brilliant. Dom and Wendell were expecting someone to target them, not Kellyn. Kellyn is apparently seen as an important part of Dom and Wendell's alliance so I am sure that Des thought taking out Kellyn would hurt them.

Des's mistake was that she should have pulled one person aside and talked to them. Instead she gave her presentation to four people who were able to out her lie. So either Des was telling the truth and four people were lying with a very convincing story that did not change over the course of a few days or Des is lying. And what Des doesn't know is that Laurel and Donathon have proven to be reliable sources so Dom already believed Laurel over Des.

Dom's first few days were rough. He was loud and boisterous and playing on adrenaline. Bradley said that he talked with Dom about needing to calm down and Dom listened. Dom also clearly stated that he knew he had to chill out after the Chris vote and you can see that he has done so. Dom strikes me as someone who is self aware and willing to listen to others about how he is presenting himself. He listened to Bradley in the early days. He has listened to Wendell and tried not to panic or go over board. He listened to Donathon and Laurel on who to trust and who is plotting. Honestly, Don is playing a great game. He has orchestrated moves, he has thrown challenges, he has listened to people, he has found idols. He is going to be hard to beat.

But I think Laurel and Wendell stand a good chance of beating him. Both can point to being instrumental in their alliance success by keeping Dom chill and not getting out of control. By providing information and helping to make a group decision. Donathon is the only one of that alliance of four that I don't think can win because I think people see him as someone that they have supported and as more of a little brother then a player. His vote against Chris really bothered Chris, even more after Chris saw the episode. I suspect that his backstabbing of the other Malolo's will bite him in the butt. I don't think it is fair because I think Donathon has played a good game and is on pretty level footing with Dom, Wendell and Laurel but I suspect that Donathon's personality and the way he presents himself makes him develop more personal attachments with folks and that they are more likely to feel betrayed by him.

[Haleth]

9 hours ago, GenerationX said:

In the Stripper Cage challenge, Dom & Wendell went round and round as Michael rowed the boat ashore.

That is hilarious.

I'm rooting for Michael at the moment (and I know there is no way he'll make it to the end) because I can't help but hope the little guy facing overwhelming odds gets to stay through just one more TC.  I love it when it's one against many and then the many start to feed on themselves, thinking they can take out the one later.  In the meantime he/she hangs back under the radar and watches the many self destruct.  It's glorious.

[greyflannel]

19 hours ago, Nashville said:

Good GOD, but that demonstration of How NOT To Paddle A Boat drove me up the frikkin’ wall.  

News flash for anybody who didn’t know: if everybody in the SAME DAMN BOAT paddles on the SAME DAMN SIDE, that SAME DAMN BOAT is going to do NOTHING but go around in the SAME DAMN CIRCLES, dammit.

How the hell do you get on this show without knowing how to paddle a damn boat?

I guess the same way people get on The Amazing Race without knowing how to drive a stick;-)

[Apocalypso]

There's an old movie "A Guide for the Married Man" in which in one scene, "Charlie" (Joey Bishop) is caught by his wife with a girl in their bedroom.  While the wife squawks and splutters, Charlie keeps saying "What girl?" "What do you mean?" while he and the girl calmly and efficiently dress, make the bed, get rid of the glasses and ashtray, the girl leaves, Charlie nonchalantly takes up the newspaper, and the wife is left going wha?  - Totally reminded me of Des sticking to her story.  But you can't try to gaslight five people at once.  All she did was demonstrate she was untrustworthy to every last person there.  So she had to go.

[Xcptnl]

On 4/25/2018 at 10:50 PM, Mabdul Doobakus said:

This season's fatal flaw.  The terms Malolo and Naviti still have no meaning to me.

For me it’s like the parents in Charlie Brown-wahahwhahahahhawah   

[Oscirus]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

They would target Michael because he is a huge threat to win the entire game. He has found a couple of idol and played them pretty well. The first idol play may have failed, but he developed a convincing story and used the idol to try and encourage Naviti members to flip. He played the second idol to save himself. He has done very well in the reward challenges. He is calm, personable and likeable. If I had to go to tribal with Michael or Des, I would prefer Des. Des would have flipped on her tribe and they could very well be pissed that she took them all out. Not to mention, Des should be easier to take out because she is less likely to win immunity. She has shown herself to be awful with puzzles and she is not a huge physical threat. I don't remember her standing out in any challenges but I could be wrong.

I think targeting Kellyn was brilliant. Dom and Wendell were expecting someone to target them, not Kellyn. Kellyn is apparently seen as an important part of Dom and Wendell's alliance so I am sure that Des thought taking out Kellyn would hurt them.

Des's mistake was that she should have pulled one person aside and talked to them. Instead she gave her presentation to four people who were able to out her lie. So either Des was telling the truth and four people were lying with a very convincing story that did not change over the course of a few days or Des is lying. And what Des doesn't know is that Laurel and Donathon have proven to be reliable sources so Dom already believed Laurel over Des.

 

Maybe, maybe not. You're still needlessly  putting yourself at the mercy of the other alliance. Even if they do boot Michael first, Chelsea or des would still have to immunity their way to the final 2/3.

Doesn't matter who she targeted, none of them would've seen it coming. 

Des mistake was that she didn't realize how tight Laurel was to dom/Wendell. 

[ProfCrash]

Des is making the same mistake that everyone is making, they have no clue how tight Laurel, Donathon, Dom and Wendell are. The four of them have hidden their alliance beautifully. And that is why I think that Laurel has a shot at winning it all. She has played her role perfectly. I cannot wait to see the look on peoples face when they realize that there is a four person alliance that has been operating under their noses since the first swap.

[truthaboutluv]

10 hours ago, ImpinAintEasy said:

I really don’t get the people who feel Dom is an asshole. Other than the opening episode where he was the only one to criticize Chris’s decision, I haven’t seen him be an asshole. Bradley was/is an asshole. Dom just has that Jersey/New York accent that people associate with players like Tony. Dom seems like a good natured guy to me, but perhaps it’s the edit, in which case, he’s totally getting the winner’s edit. 

I liked how calmly he handled that moment when Laurel came to him to insist she was telling the truth about Des and Des suddenly pops up between them and continues her yelling and going off on Laurel. After Des stalks off, he just calmly looks at Laurel and asks her how she's doing, since she almost looked a little shell shocked at the way Des was coming at her. 

[303420]

On 4/25/2018 at 7:59 PM, Pixiebomb said:

Chelsea looks like a life sized Pez Dispenser in that immunity challenge. 

On 4/25/2018 at 10:10 PM, OutOfTheQuestion said:

She was in that arms-extended, shoulders-locked position for basically the entire time, and it looked so horribly uncomfortable that you would've thought she wouldn't have lasted long.  Kudos to her for the win.

Oh. My. God. My neck still hasn't recovered from my synesthesia in seeing her all scrunched up like that. If I were her trainer, I would have lit into her for that form, but you can't argue with results. What a great unlikely challenge beast she'd be. 

 

On 4/25/2018 at 9:07 PM, mojoween said:

It’s amazing how Sebastian can have confessionals during the episode, and yet I still forget he’s there.

For real. There was one TC shot of everyone, and I knew he was supposed to be there but I swear I could not see him even though I was actively looking. I definitely heard him say the word "high," though, and I laughed. I was too, after all.

 

On 4/25/2018 at 9:52 PM, BK1978 said:

What would be funny is if Kellyn ends up on the jury and shows up with a green Mohawk like Lex (Or was it a blue Mohawk? It was so long ago I cannot remember.)  

If she did this, I would forgive all her other sins.

I don't despise her, but I do find her annoying. The cutesy thing just does not work for me. 

On 4/25/2018 at 11:07 PM, Wandering Snark said:

The only thing lamer than Ghost Island itself is this almost instant 'Yup, let's pick rocks.' process of who should go. I agree with the previously stated that everyone should 'win' something. Sorry, no game for you, but here's a cookie! I guess it wouldn't live up to it's badass billing/motif then but it's just so lame as it's played out. They really needed to add to/change it on the fly because as-is it's terrible.

Also, if there are odds against winning why not let everyone play? That 'No Game For You!!' result has really killed things. So everyone gets a 1 in 3 chance of winning (and maybe then if you chose wrong you get the cookie?) I think that is still enough 'risk' to be worth it.

+11 to this post. Rocks is such a cop-out. When it's a group decision, they should at least vote. That would introduce an additional element of strategy when there are cross-tribal alliances due to mix-ups or whatever. Will we see an individual challenge winner have to send someone to Ghost Island? It would be so weak if they can just bleat "rocks" and not have to take responsibility.

And not only is it lame that so many people have not been able to play, but the fact that it's a game of chance is stupid too. It should be something that the person has control over. What if they had to solve a super-hard puzzle that could maybe take them all night? They have to decide whether it's more worth it to go to sleep or stay up for the advantage. Watching them do the puzzle would be boring, but watching them stress out over their decision might be cool. I don't know. Or a challenge against a clock. I don't know. Anything other than this fucking dice roll.

I guess I forgot to quote the post, but I'm with whoever said above that Donathan's game is underrated. I still fully expect him to win at least one immunity.

Either way, I think Laurel and Donathan are both in a great place, but I have mixed feelings about whether telling Dom about Des's plan to oust Kellyn was the right thing to do. Right now, Laurel and Donathan have options with Dom/Wendell and original orange tribe. Bouncing Kellyn would have cut off one of Dom and Wendell's other options, potentially making Dom/Wendell more dependent on them.

Of course, If Laurel quietly went along without notifying Dom and Wendell, that would run its own risk of alienating them. Laurel's best option would have been to organize the vote so that Kellyn goes without Laurel having to vote for her. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

For the last several episodes, there has been so much fawning over Michael, and I just frankly don't get it.  In fact, I am tired of it.  He cries one fucking time, and it's "Aw, he's so adorable!  I want to hug him!" 

Well, he's very very pretty. Which should come as no surprise because he's a male model, despite being called "realtor" by the show. Just Google him. (If they used the actual job titles on this show for the players, 75% of them would be "model" and "aspiring actor.") But no, he does not seem to have much of a personality. Which again, isn't that surprising. People that pretty rarely do. And I don't mean that as a judgment call. I just mean people who are really attractive have no incentive to develop personalities because people are just naturally drawn to them.

[plurie]

47 minutes ago, 303420 said:

Either way, I think Laurel and Donathan are both in a great place, but I have mixed feelings about whether telling Dom about Des's plan to oust Kellyn was the right thing to do. Right now, Laurel and Donathan have options with Dom/Wendell and original orange tribe. Bouncing Kellyn would have cut off one of Dom and Wendell's other options, potentially making Dom/Wendell more dependent on them.

Of course, If Laurel quietly went along without notifying Dom and Wendell, that would run its own risk of alienating them. Laurel's best option would have been to organize the vote so that Kellyn goes without Laurel having to vote for her. 

Both Desiree and Kellyn were on Dom's original tribe, so from Laurel's POV, either one going is a positive. And she buys goodwill with both Dom and Kellyn buy ratting out Des, further solidifying her place in the "secret 4" alliance and making it less likely Kellyn will be gunning for her anytime soon. So she saves BOTH of her 4-person alliances without making it obvious.

[OldWiseOne]

If Kellyn doesn't question why Laurel went to Dom with the info about Des' secret plan, they she deserves to get booted next. She is so flabbergasted that anyone would target her, she is not thinking about where the info came from.

[phlebas]

19 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

The one in this ep after Kellyn was all "YOU BETTER DO WHAT I WANT THIS TIME!!!!" where he just casually sips from his tiny coffee cup while saying 'huh' or whatever was perfection.

This was my favorite moment of the episode.

Kellyn: WE WANT MICHAEL OUT!

Dom: Next?

Kellyn: NOW!

Dom: Desiree it is!

Kellyn: Okay

Quite the web you're weaving there, Kells.

[meep.meep]

4 hours ago, greyflannel said:

I guess the same way people get on The Amazing Race without knowing how to drive a stick;-)

To be fair to these folks, Amazing Race always involves driving stick shift, Survivor doesn't always involve paddling a boat.  That said - who doesn't know to put the palm of your hand on the top of the paddle?  That way you can push and draw back at the same time.

I was surprised they didn't divide them into three groups for the reward challenge and make the winners pick who else would go with them.  Or make the person not chosen to play, the one who had to go to Ghost Island.  Or anything else that the show usually does to make people start showing their colors.

[ghoulina]

1 hour ago, phlebas said:

This was my favorite moment of the episode.

Kellyn: WE WANT MICHAEL OUT!

Dom: Next?

Kellyn: NOW!

Dom: Desiree it is!

Kellyn: Okay

Quite the web you're weaving there, Kells.

But everything is working out according to her "plan"....

[RedbirdNelly]

my question that I have most seasons---when there is a "school yard pic" they never show it. Even when one person is left out of any chance at reward as a result. I always wonder why. Everyone remembers (if you lived through school yard pics) was the bad feeling that comes with being picked last. Or your best friend picks someone else. As a completely non-athletic person, I remember the embarrassment of always being last. Here, you have something of a pecking order, at least arguably, showing up. But they never show it. I'm always curious--you drew for captains, who did they pick first? then next? why is no one ever shown being annoyed that Captain A who I thought I was close with did not pick me. . .

It seems like built in drama but we see none of it.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, 303420 said:

Rocks is such a cop-out. When it's a group decision, they should at least vote.

Rocks is a cop-out - but, strategically speaking, a totally understandable one.  Another Survivor 101 lesson: whenever possible, avoid manufacturing targets on your own back.

Guess Des was out sick the day they covered that’un, huh?  :>

[Wings]

4 hours ago, Xcptnl said:

For me it’s like the parents in Charlie Brown-wahahwhahahahhawah   

I love this!  And yes, for me too.  

[Special K]

12 minutes ago, Nashville said:

Rocks is a cop-out - but, strategically speaking, a totally understandable one.  Another Survivor 101 lesson: whenever possible, avoid manufacturing targets on your own back.

Guess Des was out sick the day they covered that’un, huh?  :>

This was another producer miscalculation -- making it have to be a unanimous decision whom to send to GI.  With so many early swaps, there was bound to never be a consensus.  And now that they're drawing for teams, it's even less likely to be unanimous. 

I wonder if it would work to have it be a simple majority decision?  In any event, people seem not to care too much who goes, and it has mostly been a non-event when they DO go!

[iMonrey]

Quote

Here, you have something of a pecking order, at least arguably, showing up. But they never show it. I'm always curious--you drew for captains, who did they pick first? then next? why is no one ever shown being annoyed that Captain A who I thought I was close with did not pick me. . .

It seems like built in drama but we see none of it.

Which leads me to suspect there is some producer participation in the picking and it isn't really 100% in the hands of the players. Because you're right, it seems like this is something that would play a major role in hurt feelings, drama, targeting, etc. The fact that it never comes up is highly suspicious. And that's probably because they all know, it wasn't really a choice they made but a choice that was made for them.

[Guest]

How would producers manipulate a schoolyard pick, with Standards & Practices out there?  And why would they?  

I think it's Occam's razor.   The most likely reason is it's not that interesting.  They used to show it and really the only time I found it interesting was when (I think it was) Bob in Gabon was picked last, and he went on to later become a challenge monster and winner.