S36.E11: The Finish Line Is In Sight

[fishcakes]

I liked the twist in concept because there was at least a chance that Old Malolo could have been in the majority on one of the two temporary tribes. Or even if Michael and Donathan had been switched, then we could have been saying goodbye to Kellyn and her Lex-like gut.

I'm glad that Donathan stayed over Jenna, but I did feel a little bad for her when she watched everyone giving Michael so much respect and she noted that no one hugged her. She had that confessional early on where she said she was socially awkward and had a bitch face and she was trying to overcome that in the game, which is roughly like couples on the brink of divorce who think going on The Amazing Race together is a good idea. If you're the perpetual outsider, then Survivor must be torture, and she looked genuinely hurt after she got voted out, like, "oh great, here's another place where no one likes me!" I'm sure a lot of people feel that way immediately after getting voted out, but we don't necessarily see it. They have some time away from all the other players where they can process it before they get to Ponderosa, and I believe they get to see the show's psychiatrist if they want to before they rejoin the others. Jenna just had to sit there on the jury and stew.

Based on the camera angle, it appeared to me that at the second TC, Dom whispered something in Wendell's ear, and then they began passionately making out.

[ByaNose]

35 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Based on the camera angle, it appeared to me that at the second TC, Dom whispered something in Wendell's ear, and then they began passionately making out.

OMG! That's too funny. I was thinking the same thing. When they first showed them Dom was talking in to Wendell's ear. The next shot when I think Kellyn was talking showed Dom more in to Wendell's face and I was all like, um, what's going on there? Hysterical!!

[ljenkins782]

31 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

I liked the twist in concept because there was at least a chance that Old Malolo could have been in the majority on one of the two temporary tribes. Or even if Michael and Donathan had been switched, then we could have been saying goodbye to Kellyn and her Lex-like gut.

I'm glad that Donathan stayed over Jenna, but I did feel a little bad for her when she watched everyone giving Michael so much respect and she noted that no one hugged her. She had that confessional early on where she said she was socially awkward and had a bitch face and she was trying to overcome that in the game, which is roughly like couples on the brink of divorce who think going on The Amazing Race together is a good idea. If you're the perpetual outsider, then Survivor must be torture, and she looked genuinely hurt after she got voted out, like, "oh great, here's another place where no one likes me!" I'm sure a lot of people feel that way immediately after getting voted out, but we don't necessarily see it. They have some time away from all the other players where they can process it before they get to Ponderosa, and I believe they get to see the show's psychiatrist if they want to before they rejoin the others. Jenna just had to sit there on the jury and stew.

Based on the camera angle, it appeared to me that at the second TC, Dom whispered something in Wendell's ear, and then they began passionately making out.

Yeah, that had to be rough to go sit on the jury bench in your filthy Farmer Ted outfit next to all the freshly showered, made up, fed people who have had days to process their own ouster, while it was completely fresh and raw for you. 

But as for no one hugging her, she didn't exactly invite any attention. Donathan gave her a shoulder squeeze and she didn't really respond. Which I guess goes back to the socially awkward thing, but still. 

I wonder what the reason for the 2-person vote-out twist was? Did they need to cut extra people for episode reasons? 

I'm thinking back to Probst's early remarks about the people this season (I know, he's the worst judge) and it appears that nearly everyone he name-checked is either gone (Libby, James) or a complete non-entity (Sebastian). Like, what has Sebastian contributed so far that would make him a standout? He's faded completely into the background and aside from apparently being in the all-powerful Naviti group, who is he even aligned with in particular? 

[tvfanatic13]

1 minute ago, ljenkins782 said:

Yeah, that had to be rough to go sit on the jury bench in your filthy Farmer Ted outfit next to all the freshly showered, made up, fed people who have had days to process their own ouster, while it was completely fresh and raw for you. 

But as for no one hugging her, she didn't exactly invite any attention. Donathan gave her a shoulder squeeze and she didn't really respond. Which I guess goes back to the socially awkward thing, but still. 

I wonder what the reason for the 2-person vote-out twist was? Did they need to cut extra people for episode reasons? 

I'm thinking back to Probst's early remarks about the people this season (I know, he's the worst judge) and it appears that nearly everyone he name-checked is either gone (Libby, James) or a complete non-entity (Sebastian). Like, what has Sebastian contributed so far that would make him a standout? He's faded completely into the background and aside from apparently being in the all-powerful Naviti group, who is he even aligned with in particular? 

It is because they started with 20 and have had no medical evacuations, according to Probst on EW.

[Oscirus]

5 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

This season seems like it's been going on forever so I may be misremembering but wasn't Dom on the wrong side of the numbers early on in the game, during the original Chris/Dom war?  I seem to remember him being very calm and strategic, no freak outs or anything.

He usually has Wendell around to calm him down.  I believe  the original tribe it was five-five per interviews, after the first tribal swap they were on the wrong side for a few hours before they joined up with laurel/donathon. Havent been in trouble since.

[peachmangosteen]

14 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

I wonder who Kellyn voted for the second time.

Michael.

47 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

Based on the camera angle, it appeared to me that at the second TC, Dom whispered something in Wendell's ear, and then they began passionately making out.

Same. Earlier in the ep they also appeared to be flirting pretty heavily imo. 

I don't think Dom/Wendell were trying to fake out anybody with their teasing at the IC. Wendell had a confessional saying he knows everyone knows they're a duo. 

I was really hoping Laurel would go home. Mostly because I'm super over her, but also just so Dom/Wendell would have one thing not go their way for once. Also, the "No one said I was pretty!" thing was deeply embarrassing.

I really liked this season, but it's become very boring for me now that it's blatantly obvious Dom will win. I even like Dom, but watching everyone sit back and do his bidding is boring to watch. He's no Kim Spradlin!

Edited May 3, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[truthaboutluv]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

That means that Donathon had to have a good reason to trust that the Naviti were being honest with him and sending Jenna home. The Naviti were going to tell both Donathon and Jenna that they were going to vote for the other person. Donathon and Jenna knew that. Jenna believed the Naviti and thought that Donathon was going home. She relished voting for Donathon and watching him go home after playing his idol for her. Donathon did not believe the Naviti and played his idol. Donathon did get one vote, from Jenna, and had good reason to believe that he might be the target.

What had Jenna done all game?  Nothing. Donathon knows he is allied with Dom and Wendell. Donathon knows that he has helped Dom and Wendell avoid trouble. Donathon is not certain in the Naviti have figured out that Donathon is aligned with Wendell and Dom. Honestly, Donathon would have been the better person to vote out but that is based on what we have seen at home. Clearly, Laurel and Donathon's connections with Wendell and Dom are pretty well hidden because the Naviti should have voted out Donathon since he is in a tight alliance and has been instrumental in more then a few votes. Donathon knows that but the Naviti do not.

So it made sense for Donathon to play the idol for himself. He would have been the better boot. And he got a vote. I don't think it was a bad play on his part.

I completely agree. The fact is, it was a toss up. Yeah hindsight, some can say he wasted the idol because he didn't get a vote but as you well stated there, he didn't know that and voting him out did make sense. That's just the reality of idols. Frankly, better to play it than be so certain you're not getting voted out and then you leave like many others have, with an idol in your pocket. The fact is Donathan is allied with Dom and Wendell, neither of whom were in that tribe so they couldn't save him. The old Naviti members who were in that tribe are clearly still, at least for that vote, playing the us versus them game. So yeah, with uncertainty in the air, he played it and I can't fault the guy for that. And it also again drives what I said about Jenna being an idiot and rightly deserving to go because she had a chance to break up bonds and put old Malolo a little closer but she was too happy to make Donathan look like a moron and relish his leaving. So oops. 

[Oscirus]

4 hours ago, Haleth said:

I wish Michael had told both Laurel and Kellyn that he voted for Wendell.  Good luck figuring out why your allies voted for you, ladies.

I imagine Michael had to have told Lauren who he voted for and  common sense should tell Kellyn who Michael was going for. Meaning that instead of saving their own asses and blindsiding Wendell, they still went for each other. Even after that whispering  performance.  At this point, I can't even be mad at their control. If the other players dont want to do anything about it, what can one do.

Edited May 3, 2018 by Oscirus

[eskimo]

14 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Maybe Survivor should mix it up.  Next season can be 18 people playing for individual immunity, and THEN put into tribes later?  Did they ever do anything like that?   I guess it's not really practical, because people must live with each other and sleep next to each other on this island/in this game to not go insane.

 

This is an Unpopular Opinion, but I posted a couple of seasons ago that they should do something like they did tonight, but do it better IMO.  It would be like 'One World' in terms of everybody living together from the start.  Except instead of two tribes, it would be random draw every IC, up until the merge, where they would then play for II like they do now.  It would be almost impossible for a Pagonging or a major majority alliance to rule the roost because you would never get the same tribe twice.  Are you with the people you'd like to work with tonight, or not?  Who will you or your 'alliance' be with next vote?  How much should you say at a reward because lines are NOT clearly drawn and the backfire potential is high?  Who knows.  But TPTB picked a really stupid time to do this.  If something like this is going to happen it needs to be in place of separate tribes, not after the merge.  Never in that season would we have to hear dumb twits spout things like 'Naviti Strong' after we are three jurors into the merge.  This might need to be a 'second chance' type cast though, because I think it would require more advanced game play than we'd get with several recruits.  You'd really have to manage your image and threat potential from the start. 

Of course if I had my preference they'd get back to original recipe survivor.  But if they insist on fucking it up every season, and it appears they do, this is a new way to do it. 

Edited May 3, 2018 by eskimo
typo

[Rachel RSL]

10 minutes ago, Oscirus said:

He usually has Wendell around to calm him down.  I believe  the original tribe it was five-five per interviews, after the first tribal swap they were on the wrong side for a few hours before they joined up with laurel/donathon. Havent been in trouble since.

Really? I'm clearly misremembering then. I thought there was some sort of plan in place early on in the game and Dom's side got blindsided at TC.  I want to say it was when Morgan was voted out? 

(Pssst, @Novel8, you're not supposed to discuss the previews here in the episode thread.)

[Special K]

Golden moment from this episode:

Wendell, on Kellyn:  "She can go anytime."

 

That was an unfortunate top Desiree was wearing at TC.

[Oscirus]

4 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

Really? I'm clearly misremembering then. I thought there was some sort of plan in place early on in the game and Dom's side got blindsided at TC.  I want to say it was when Morgan was voted out? 

(Pssst, @Novel8, you're not supposed to discuss the previews here in the episode thread.)

You're remembering right. They got blindsided, Wendell and him gave each other a pep talk then Laurel and Donathon fell into their laps.

Poor Donathon, Dude was so happy when he thought he blindsided those fools just to have to realize that Jenna was a dumbass

[kathyk24]

I think the problem is certain contestants have received more focus than others and when one of the invisible players tries to make a move the audience doesn't like it. We learned Donathon's backstory early in the game and we learned nothing about Jenna so when she tries to vote him out she gets called names. It's so wrong Chelsea didn't get a minute to tale about her immunity wins.

[Bouffe]

I was glad Donathan played the idol for himself. Jenna voted for him, and she was going to screw him over anyway.

I am officially hidden immunity "idoled" out. Way, way, way too many, bak or real or whatever. I like the concept at the beginning of the season, but it's too much now. 

Good last ditched effort by Michael.

[greyflannel]

Dang it to a post up thread. Some of us don't watch the previews for a reason.

[Rachel RSL]

7 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I think the problem is certain contestants have received more focus than others and when one of the invisible players tries to make a move the audience doesn't like it. We learned Donathon's backstory early in the game and we learned nothing about Jenna so when she tries to vote him out she gets called names. 

I don't think anyone called her names? I have to respectfully disagree that, as viewers, we actually love when the invisible players suddenly step up and start making moves. If anything, that would make us like Jenna more. What most viewers don't like is when people are smug and obnoxious, hence nobody being too sad to see Jenna go.  

[greyflannel]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

I liked the twist in concept because there was at least a chance that Old Malolo could have been in the majority on one of the two temporary tribes. Or even if Michael and Donathan had been switched, then we could have been saying goodbye to Kellyn and her Lex-like gut.

I'm glad that Donathan stayed over Jenna, but I did feel a little bad for her when she watched everyone giving Michael so much respect and she noted that no one hugged her. She had that confessional early on where she said she was socially awkward and had a bitch face and she was trying to overcome that in the game, which is roughly like couples on the brink of divorce who think going on The Amazing Race together is a good idea. If you're the perpetual outsider, then Survivor must be torture, and she looked genuinely hurt after she got voted out, like, "oh great, here's another place where no one likes me!" I'm sure a lot of people feel that way immediately after getting voted out, but we don't necessarily see it. They have some time away from all the other players where they can process it before they get to Ponderosa, and I believe they get to see the show's psychiatrist if they want to before they rejoin the others. Jenna just had to sit there on the jury and stew.

Based on the camera angle, it appeared to me that at the second TC, Dom whispered something in Wendell's ear, and then they began passionately making out.

Based on what we saw, with her absolutely loving the thought of Donathan looking like an idiot saving her, it's not just her face. 

[LanceM]

As far as why the Navitis voted out Jenna instead of Donathon the answer is quite simple. Donation has relationships with the Navitis. Jenna mentioned on an exit interview that Donathon was always hanging out with Chelsea and Angela. In one of her secret scenes Chelsea mentions she was allied with Donatjhon so voting out Jenma was an easy choice. Heaven forbid they actually show other Navitis allied with Malolos. Only Dom and Wendell are allowed that.

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I was really hoping Laurel would go home. Mostly because I'm super over her, but also just so Dom/Wendell would have one thing not go their way for once. Also, the "No one said I was pretty!" thing was deeply embarrassing.

I think Laurel thought the line would be ironically funny because she's a woman and he's a guy and usually all the gushy compliments like that go to the female. 

I was more embarrassed for Kellyn  drooling over Michael, and Michael having to hear that just then when he was nervous about going home.  I think when most young men hear that sort of thing from women they aren't into, they have no idea how to respond.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

12 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

I was really hoping Laurel would go home. Mostly because I'm super over her, but also just so Dom/Wendell would have one thing not go their way for once. Also, the "No one said I was pretty!" thing was deeply embarrassing.

I think Laurel thought the line would be ironically funny because she's a woman and he's a guy and usually all the gushy compliments like that go to the female. 

 

Yeah, I agree.  I think Laurel was saying it for a laugh.  Now, I think Jenna saying, "No one hugged me" was said in complete seriousness.  And I love it.  Nope, you double-crossing waste of space. No hugs for you.  Take your seat with the jury!

[ProfCrash]

12 minutes ago, kathyk24 said:

I think the problem is certain contestants have received more focus than others and when one of the invisible players tries to make a move the audience doesn't like it. We learned Donathon's backstory early in the game and we learned nothing about Jenna so when she tries to vote him out she gets called names. It's so wrong Chelsea didn't get a minute to tale about her immunity wins.

Some contestants are invisible for good reason. Jenna has not gotten much air time, probably because she did not do much and is not exactly the most articulate individual. Her Ponderosa video is fun but what she has to say is not exactly enlightening. Her comments about being pregnant, rice belly and the like pretty much confirmed that she was as interesting as her conversation about how her hair smells made her sound. She seems like a nice person but lacking a certain depth.

Donathon's original story line did not exactly paint him to be a strategic genius. He was talking about how meeting James and Laurel was his first exposure to people who were Asian and African American. He did exactly shine in the challenges. I think Jenna's talking head speaks to how some of the people saw Donathon, and how Donathon was initially presented to us, as a back woods hick who was not particularly bright or worldly. I am not even sure that the recent coverage gives any credit to Donathon's game play. I think Donathon's contributions to the Mixed Alliance have been undervalued. Hell, Laurel's contributions have been undervalued.

Sea Bass falls into the Jenna camp for me. Someone who is there but not exactly deep or playing a great game. About the only person who is playing "Naviti strong that has been getting any air time is Kellyn and I think that is because she is being set up to be a foil to Dom and Wendell. She has been shown as being out of the loop the last few votes. First she backs Des, when Des is trying to take out Kellyn and now she votes for Laurel (and wastes an advantage) because she believed Michael's lie. Kellyn's story has been more someone who needed to be handled by Dom and less about Kellyn's great game play.

The only person who I would say who has been invisible that I think is getting screwed is Chelsea. When we do see her, she was in the middle of the strategic decisions and she is winning individual immunity. I suspect that she is far more involved in the game then we are being shown.

[Ms Blue Jay]

55 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

I don't think anyone called her names? I have to respectfully disagree that, as viewers, we actually love when the invisible players suddenly step up and start making moves. If anything, that would make us like Jenna more. What most viewers don't like is when people are smug and obnoxious, hence nobody being too sad to see Jenna go.  

A lot of people have called Jenna a witch or a bitch in this thread.  

27 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I think Laurel thought the line would be ironically funny because she's a woman and he's a guy and usually all the gushy compliments like that go to the female. 

I was more embarrassed for Kellyn  drooling over Michael, and Michael having to hear that just then when he was nervous about going home.  I think when most young men hear that sort of thing from women they aren't into, they have no idea how to respond.

I totally agree.  Laurel was joking (I thought).

[iMonrey]

Quote

What I don't understand is that Donathan should have been fairly certain that Michael didn't have an idol since he asked to borrow his to make people think he had one.  Why didn't Donathan and Laurel have a conversation about what is going on in their half of the tribe?  I was waiting for Laurel to tell him that people think Michael has an idol and then Donathan say he doesn't.  

The way they edit this shit is so screwy we have no idea what really what down and in what order. It's likely Laurel did mention this to Donathan and that Donathan told her Michael asked to borrow his idol. But we don't know how much time passed between that conversation and when they went to tribal, so it's conceivable Michael went out and found an idol after that conversation took place. Meaning Laurel went into tribal thinking maybe he did get one after all.

Quote

Either that or Sebastian was so stoned he forgot his nickname and was trying to figure out who voted for a fish.

The fact that Sebastian is (most likely) not stoned makes him seem even weirder.  I mean . . . he's just like that, in his natural state.

I'm worried we're going to end up with some combination of Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sebastian in the final four, at which point I simply will not care who wins. It's not that I hate any of them, it's just that I couldn't possibly care less about them. It seems odd that Chelsea keeps winning these idols and yet I still feel like she's invisible. The editing would seem to suggest it's going to be Dom, Wendell, Laurel and Donathan to the very end, but thus far the show has focused on the people who get voted out rather than the people who stay in. They might know they have a real dud for a finale so they spend all their time focusing on the "interesting" people left in the game.

Edited May 3, 2018 by iMonrey

[CloudySky]

I was so worried that Donathan would play his idol for Jenna, get tied with Sebastian and get voted out on the revote. Luckily he played it safe. I don't think the idol play was a waste because he had no way of knowing which way they'd vote and better safe than sorry. I suppose this means there will be yet another idol hidden on the island. I completely forgot Kellyn had that extra vote and the fake idol bit is just ridiculous. Amusing that Dom went basically thanks but no thanks and tossed it back under a tree.

It's frustrating that I still have no idea about Chelsea's alliances and strategy. Has she EVER had a talking head? I bet she'll get voted out the first time she loses immunity because she's an "immunity threat". Maybe as a split vote between her and Dom/Wendell to flush out an idol.

8 people left, 2 in a strong alliance with an idol each. Do these idiots even realize that's the final two if they don't do something NOW? Have there ever been this many goats in a final 8?

[RedbirdNelly]

15 hours ago, blackwing said:

 

I wish Michael had talked to Laurel at least and they could have put two votes on Kellyn.  Michael still would have gone home with only Dom and Wendell voting, but I'm confused as to why he didn't even talk to her.

This is one of the reasons why Michael is not that great of a player. I didn't dislike him and he at least tried some moves (that did not work) but his social game is weak. He apparently had no bond with Laurel. Instead he just tosses a vote at Wendell. A 3 way tie could have happened if he was paying attention/had a bond with Laurel and who knows--maybe just maybe the revote would have gone his way---unlikely but his vote would have been more useful in that case.  

[ByaNose]

It's the Final 8. Two people currently have idols. I wonder who is thinking is their Final 2 is and who they want to make fire? The biggest edits are Dom, Wendell & Kellyn with Laurel and Donathan close behind. I'm curious to see if Dom and Wendell do take each other out and who slips on in. It hasn't been a great season for me (Ghost Island twist was a dud) but I'm still dying to see how it allplays out. I'm still a Super Fan no matter how good or bad the season is.

[ProfCrash]

11 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

The way they edit this shit is so screwy we have no idea what really what down and in what order. It's likely Laurel did mention this to Donathan and that Donathan told her Michael asked to borrow his idol. But we don't know how much time passed between that conversation and when they went to tribal, so it's conceivable Michael went out and found an idol after that conversation took place. Meaning Laurel went into tribal thinking maybe he did get one after all.

The fact that Sebastian is (most likely) not stoned makes him seem even weirder.  I mean . . . he's just like that, in his natural state.

I'm worried we're going to end up with some combination of Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sebastian in the final four, at which point I simply will not care who wins. It's not that I hate any of them, it's just that I couldn't possibly care less about them. It seems odd that Chelsea keeps winning these idols and yet I still feel like she's invisible. The editing would seem to suggest it's going to be Dom, Wendell, Laurel and Donathan to the very end, but thus far the show has focused on the people who get voted out rather than the people who stay in. They might know they have a real dud for a finale so they spend all their time focusing on the "interesting" people left in the game.

I would be shocked if the final was Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sea Bass. We have not seen enough of any of them for that to be the final four. It would pretty much guarantee that no one watches the final.

Chelsea has been invisible. We would have no clue she was playing if she didn't win individual immunity.

Kellyn was a focus when she was on Malolo but only because she was afraid of Ghost Island and because Malolo kept losing. She seemed to disappear until last week. Kellyn has not gotten a favorable edit the last few weeks. She believed Des, who wanted to vote her out. She believed Michael who was trying to save his ass. She ignored Dom and tried to draw a line in the sand last week that led to her voting for Des, like Dom wanted. Kellyn is looking like someone who thinks she is playing well when she is a complete disaster.

Angela has a bit more visibility then Chelsea but that is mainly because she was tied to Chris so we had to see her. She has been invisible since she won immunity the week after Chris was voted out.

Sea Bass has only really had lines when they mention the possibility of being high because of how he presents himself.

Production had to show Chelsea, Sea Bass and Angela tonight because of the tribe that they were on but the majority of the pre tribal build up was on Kellyn freaking out over Michael and Dom trying to reign in Kellyn. The other "tribe" agreed to vote out Jenna, lie to Jenna, and Jenna tried to get the idol from Donathon.

Editing can be weird but I would be shocked if this group is the final four.

[CloudySky]

3 minutes ago, RedbirdNelly said:

This is one of the reasons why Michael is not that great of a player. I didn't dislike him and he at least tried some moves (that did not work) but his social game is weak. He apparently had no bond with Laurel. Instead he just tosses a vote at Wendell. A 3 way tie could have happened if he was paying attention/had a bond with Laurel and who knows--maybe just maybe the revote would have gone his way---unlikely but his vote would have been more useful in that case.  

Yeah, I don't really get the obsession with Michael because he wasn't that good at challenges and he had no solid alliance. Just because he's pretty? A better player would have been smart enough to vote Laurel and saved themselves. He knew it was one of them two. I would get the loyalty if they were alligned and voted together, but why toss a random vote?! Even people in a tight alliance have voted each other in the past with no hard feelings because it was one or the other going home.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I would be shocked if the final was Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sea Bass. We have not seen enough of any of them for that to be the final four. It would pretty much guarantee that no one watches the final.

But this is episode 11 so there are only 2 more, right? And there's still eight people left. That means we'll still have 6 people in the finale. Does that usually happen? Or is the season constructed/edited that way because they know what a dud the final three end up being?

[greyflannel]

30 minutes ago, CloudySky said:

I was so worried that Donathan would play his idol for Jenna, get tied with Sebastian and get voted out on the revote. Luckily he played it safe. I don't think the idol play was a waste because he had no way of knowing which way they'd vote and better safe than sorry. I suppose this means there will be yet another idol hidden on the island. I completely forgot Kellyn had that extra vote and the fake idol bit is just ridiculous. Amusing that Dom went basically thanks but no thanks and tossed it back under a tree.

It's frustrating that I still have no idea about Chelsea's alliances and strategy. Has she EVER had a talking head? I bet she'll get voted out the first time she loses immunity because she's an "immunity threat". Maybe as a split vote between her and Dom/Wendell to flush out an idol.

8 people left, 2 in a strong alliance with an idol each. Do these idiots even realize that's the final two if they don't do something NOW? Have there ever been this many goats in a final 8?

I hate that production did this. If a player wants to go through the trouble and risk of making a fake HII to try and fool another player, that's one thing. Production providing a fake and suggesting pulling a scam on someone is another. Whether or not production manipulates the game is an old argument with very differing opinions, and there will probably never be agreement on it. That being said, this poking at someone and urging them to possibly ruin another's game when they probably wouldn't have done so otherwise shouldn't be a thing. Definitely not a fan. I'm glad Dom didn't take the bait. 

[loki567]

I'm almost willing to guarantee that production drags Sea Bass to that fake idol and puts into his hands. If there's ever been a contestant lined up to have a humiliating exit, it's him. 

[Rachel RSL]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

A lot of people have called Jenna a witch or a bitch in this thread.  

Oh, ok. People have been commenting on her bitchface all season so I thought something new had come up specifically related to her trying to make some moves this week. I don't think that calling her a bitch or witch in this thread had anything to do with her making moves though. The bitchiness comments were about the way she was speaking about Donathan, not about the fact that she was finally making some moves.  

Edited May 3, 2018 by Rachel RSL

[ProfCrash]

24 minutes ago, greyflannel said:

I hate that production did this. If a player wants to go through the trouble and risk of making a fake HII to try and fool another player, that's one thing. Production providing a fake and suggesting pulling a scam on someone is another. Whether or not production manipulates the game is an old argument with very differing opinions, and there will probably never be agreement on it. That being said, this poking at someone and urging them to possibly ruin another's game when they probably wouldn't have done so otherwise shouldn't be a thing. Definitely not a fan. I'm glad Dom didn't take the bait. 

Or the Production team has handed a player a realistic looking fake idol to play with. Imagine if Michael had found it and brought it to tribal? You know that Dom would have kept the note saying it was a fake idol and Michael would have had a note from a real idol and Kellyn’s head would have exploded. 

[green]

23 hours ago, ByaNose said:

It's the Final 8. Two people currently have idols. I wonder who is thinking is their Final 2 is and who they want to make fire? The biggest edits are Dom, Wendell & Kellyn with Laurel and Donathan close behind. I'm curious to see if Dom and Wendell do take each other out and who slips on in. ...

This.  Other than the double elimination stuff the only other thing in this episode was Dom finding the "official" fake idol and saying he would know how to make good use of it.  Then Dom's confessionals about how he would take his best ally Wendell out in a heartbeat in order to win the money for his family etc.  I believe Wendell made some comment too but the Dom one(s) were longer. 

To me this means the editors are setting up a Dom vs Wendell throw-down storyline starting in this episode.  And it will be somehow tied into the "official" fake idol somehow and Dom will either get Wendell out with this ruse or will be blown up like Wiley Coyote by the attempt.

The other MAJOR edit we have gotten ad nausea for like forever is the N-something Strong crap.  As far as I can tell the two people left not original N's are Laurel and Donathan. Some people here in the past posted they don't see Laurel and Donathan gaining anything by being with Dom and Wendell who would both easily win over them.  But I respectfully disagree.  Here is why:

1.  Say one of Dom or Wendell takes the other out because they know they might not win against their buddy and because editing is setting up this showdown big time now.  So only one remains at the end.  In a three way or two way finale either Laurel or Donathan or both (three way) could be sitting next to the winner of the showdown. 

2.  Enter the Bitter Jury of Former N Strong Cult Members.  The ones that see their exits being orchestrated by either Dom or Wendell.  They won't blame Laurel and/or Donathan for their demise since they didn't betray the N tribe.

3.  Also on the jury will include some members of the M Weak tribe who may well love to see N Strong FINALLY go down and one of "theirs" win.

Anyway that is the possible path I see either Laurel or Donathan having a chance to win.  Probably won't happen but I figured Dom and Wendell would have to confront each other before the end before the "final confrontation" storyline editing even started up this episode.

***  [Edited to add that if it is a final two and one of Laurel or Donathan win the last immunity they would choose the other to sit next to over whoever survives the Dom/Wendell showdown earlier using this scenario above].

 

23 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I would be shocked if the final was Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sea Bass. We have not seen enough of any of them for that to be the final four. It would pretty much guarantee that no one watches the final. ...

 

I agree.  There is still a possibility one of the makes it through as a goat I guess.  

Kellyn has become the annoying "villain" I guess after Chris and that other ego maniac got voted out in a row.  The one who I already forgot his name.  None of these three are traditional "villains" but they have to have someone play that role and so this season the "most annoying ones" become the villains.   Anyway she could survive a few more episodes to drive the audience crazy unless the Dom vs Wendell drama starts up super early.  The editors have to have someone to use as the villain or foil or whatever and they haven't used any of the others who I can't remember at all in these roles at all.  The girl that wins immunity twice gets no "edit" at all.  Hmmm, says she does nothing to me.  Only Sea Bass gets some play as the funny, stoned guy.

Edited May 4, 2018 by green

[Rachel RSL]

Yeah, the editing has been odd this season.  I wonder if maybe the cast just didn't give them a lot to work with.  I don't find it boring like several other posters do, but I admit that it's not overly exciting. I think that's because most of the people this season seem like decent human beings, even the "villains" are only mildly annoying.  It definitely makes it more interesting when you have someone to root against. I'm not understanding Chelsea's edit at all though. She truly is being treated like the invisible woman.  I couldn't tell you a single thing about her personality.  

[Asha124]

This season should officially change it's name to Goat Island. I don't get why nobody's trying to get rid of the bad bromance of Dom and Wendell. Once all the goats start arriving to Ponderosa the locals are gonna think that the producers are trying to start a farm there...

[TresGatos]

3 hours ago, Oscirus said:

Poor Donathon, Dude was so happy when he thought he blindsided those fools just to have to realize that Jenna was a dumbass

The look on his face at TC when he realized Jenna wrote down his name was all kinds of wonderful.

It also seems like Donathan is an uncommon, but not terribly recent, name. On Ancestrylibrary.com there are 301 in Census and Voter Lists (these can be from multiple years) 997 under Birth, Marriage and Death (again there can be multiples) and 133 found in military records. Most of them seem to be centered in the South. There are 93 Donathans in the 1850 Census including Donatham Bennett in Rochester, New York, Donathan Brooke in Bible Grove, Illinois, and Donathan Brown in Freeman, Maine, along with 90 other Donathans.

The Census shows only 3 instances of Donathan in Kentucky: Donathan Rice in Russellville in 1810, Donathan Hodges in Graves County in 1900 and Donathan Lewis in London, KY in 1940 but there are other Donathans in Kentucky records other than Census including a Bessie Donathan Green who died in Bath County, KY in 1951 and a Ruby Donathan Hall who died in Bath Co KY in 1949. There seemed to be a number of women in Kentucky with the surname Donathan though I didn't find any males with that surname, only as a given name. In all, Ancestrylibrary.com turned up 62 instances of a Donathan in Kentucky but none from Pike County.

Last week I had the name Donovon with three 'Os' pop up and the 1st suggestion Spell Check came up with was Donathan over Donovan even which I found deeply weird but it made me think of how common, or uncommon, the name Donathan might be.

Edited May 3, 2018 by TresGatos
To Add Info on Donathan the Name

[JudyObscure]

3 hours ago, kathyk24 said:

Chelsea didn't get a minute to tale about her immunity wins.

And if it weren't for the weight loss  making her head look a little bit disproportionate, she would be a beautiful girl. 

 I am beginning to wonder about the way the camera men edit the young women. If they like her, she's shown in attractive poses and cute moments, if not, she's either not shown at all, like Chelsea, or only shown the way Jenna was.  We saw Sea Bass tell  Jenna her hair smelled bad, we had endless back views of her thin soiled underpants (so often that, that's how I recognized her all season,) and last night we had a close-up of her cleaning her teeth with a stick and another of her face scrunched up being scrubbed with sand. 

 Now I don't like Jenna;  Donathan told her he felt so close and friendly toward her that he was going to give her his idol and she immediately  walked away from him and called him stupid.  Not nice.  But I still think it's unfair of the camera men to film the unattractive moments that we know they all must have. The underpants situation was not Jenna's fault and even the lovely Libby must have cleaned her teeth with a stick once in while but we didn't see that. The Ponderosa crew doesn't seem in on the grudge and has instantly made Jenna much prettier and more likeable.

On the other hand, while I think it's unfair, it makes me wonder if Jenna and Chelsea have been "rude to the help.," to bring all this about.

[jay741982]

5 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Nope, they merged their Ponderosa but it was four or five minutes longer then the other Ponderosa's. I suspect that it was simply easier then trying to do two individual shoots and whatever in between tribal councils. They both had fun in their video, it is posted in Ponderosa, but I suspect that Michael disappeared with Jenna for most of the Ponderosa time and I am not certain that Jenna is all that exciting on her own.

Considering Micheal was elated to see his Survivor Crush Libby and Libby Expressed joy that she got to spend more time with him im thinking Micheal spent a lot of time With Libby 

[violet and green]

10 hours ago, zscore said:

He did waste it though. Even though Jenna voted for him, if he had not played the idol at all Jenna would still have been voted out with 3 votes.

I agree, from my p.o.v. he 'wasted' the idol, in that he didn't need to play it after all, and now it's gone. It would have been great if he'd been able to hold onto it. But so glad he read the room right and didn't play it for the sneering Jenna.

9 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

So it made sense for Donathon to play the idol for himself. He would have been the better boot. And he got a vote. I don't think it was a bad play on his part.

This is also true. Either way, I'm just so relieved he's still in the game. I was shouting at the TV, 'NO! Don't play it!'  Who's an idiot now, hey, Jenna?!

Regarding Donathon's name, as someone pointed out up thread, it has been said somewhere that Donathon is quite a common name in his region; I have also read via a quick Google: on Urban Dictionary the name means 'trustworthy friend'; and on Baby Namespedia, that 'Donathon's origin is Latin. Donathon is a derivative of the French name Donatien.'

Anyway, he's my favorite and I am hoping against hope he gets some final three money if not the whole shebang.

Other random thoughts:

They need to feed Chelsea. Apart from her semi-invisible edit, she may soon actually disappear. Her extreme weightloss is becoming frightening.

Kellyn is now becoming a fun annoyance. I hope her eventual boot episode is as funny as Chris's was.

Gazoong! Desiree's boobage in that top!

Sea Bass and Jay should have a late night TV show.

eta: Wow, it looks like I've been misspelling his name all season! It's Donathan. Anyway...

Here's a gem: 'Donathan origin and meaning: Donathan is a 8 letter name with 3 syllables.'

Edited May 4, 2018 by violet and green

[KimberStormer]

2 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

I think that's because most of the people this season seem like decent human beings, even the "villains" are only mildly annoying.  It definitely makes it more interesting when you have someone to root against.

For me anyway it's not that.  I don't need people to root against.  I need people to root for.  And I root for people when they're playing the game in an exciting way.  I like the Big Moves and I like interesting personalities.  Dom and Wendell are cool enough but they have no reason to make big moves.  None of the people who need to make big moves are making them and (as a consequence?) are getting edited into oblivion.  I want someone to overplay wildly, try some crazy shit, go hard.  But who would?  I would be content with something like Reed in SJDS coming up with his split-vote scheme that got screwed up by Keith's "stick with the plan"...it might not have worked but it was a good attempt.  Nobody's making any attempts at all right now.

[peachmangosteen]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I'm worried we're going to end up with some combination of Kellyn, Chelsea, Angela and Sebastian in the final four ...

It won't. Now 1 or even 2 of them might end up there, but 1 or 2 of Dom/Wendell/Kellyn/Donathan will too, as they are getting the most airtime and the F3 is pretty much always mostly made up of people with the most airtime.

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

That means we'll still have 6 people in the finale. Does that usually happen? Or is the season constructed/edited that way because they know what a dud the final three end up being?

They have been having the finales start with 6 for a few seasons now.

It doesn't matter to me whether Laurel was joking with her "no one called me pretty" comment, it was still embarrassing as hell. Maybe even more so if it was a joke because it really didn't land lol.

Edited May 3, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[LanceM]

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

And if it weren't for the weight loss  making her head look a little bit disproportionate, she would be a beautiful girl. 

 

Trust me. As a heterosexual male I can assure that Chelsea is indeed a very beautiful girl. The island is certainly agreeing with her. There was the one shot last night when she was talkiig to Kellyn that she looked quite stunning.

As far as her edit is concerned and her lack of confessionals, I have my theories that I base on watching all secret scenes. First, she is too nice.  She is not insulting all the other players, or making fun of them and really not talking too negative about anyone at all including the players she didn't seem to like such as Bradley and Jenna.  Secondly, she is too normal. She is not yelling and screaming at the camera or playing up to the camera like say "miss Kellyn". Instead she is talking normally giving her thoughts on the game, her strategies, etc.  Now I grant you she is not te most dynamic speaker but still nobody is saying she needs to be a major character. There is no reason at all we can't get some confessionals here and there from someone who is clearly been invloved in a lot of teh strategic decisions in this game.  Not everyone needs to be big character to get some airtime.

[millennium]

Dear Donathan,

If you had even the slightest, niggling doubt you'd reneg on your promise to Jenna, you should have kept your mouthful of marbles shut. 

Dear Kellyn,

I can't stand you.

Dear Show,

Why not just hide the million-dollar check in plain sight along the path, then direct Dom to it?    He's the Tony guy this time, so just get it over with.

[truthaboutluv]

51 minutes ago, millennium said:

Dear Donathan,

If you had even the slightest, niggling doubt you'd reneg on your promise to Jenna, you should have kept your mouthful of marbles shut. 

Jenna was convinced she wasn't being voted off and happily wrote Donathan's name down so she could gloat and gleefully enjoy his, in her words, being a moron and wasting his idol on her, while he got voted out. 

Edited May 4, 2018 by truthaboutluv

[millennium]

Just now, truthaboutluv said:

Jenna was convinced she wasn't being voted off and happily wrote Donathan's name down so she could gloat and gleefully enjoyed his, in her words, being a moron and wasting his idol on her, while he got voted out. 

Jenna's duplicity has no bearing on Donathan's.   I don't care about Jenna one way or the other.   My favorites are already on the jury (Libby and Michael).   I'm just not a fan of holding out food to starving creatures, then snatching it away.   Donathan has done very little to justify his survival so far.   Finally, he postures as if he's going to make a big move -- an unusual move to help someone else -- then gleefully plays it for himself.   Why did he offer it to Jenna in the first place?  It served no purpose, IMO.  Other than to be mean.

[violet and green]

19 minutes ago, millennium said:

Jenna's duplicity has no bearing on Donathan's.   I don't care about Jenna one way or the other.   My favorites are already on the jury (Libby and Michael).   I'm just not a fan of holding out food to starving creatures, then snatching it away.   Donathan has done very little to justify his survival so far.   Finally, he postures as if he's going to make a big move -- an unusual move to help someone else -- then gleefully plays it for himself.   Why did he offer it to Jenna in the first place?  It served no purpose, IMO.  Other than to be mean.

He offered it to Jenna out of good nature. Then he was canny enough to observe how oddly she was behaving in Tribal - no scrambling to stay, no desire to even have a tribal council! - let's just get this over with, I'm going home, said while looking rather happy. Donathan is not an idiot, and I'm glad he didn't let her play him.

It's hardly duplicity to change one's mind. To offer protection and then retract. To decide to protect oneself, after all. Also, this sort of thing happens a lot in Survivor.

[Eolivet]

5 hours ago, greyflannel said:

I hate that production did this. If a player wants to go through the trouble and risk of making a fake HII to try and fool another player, that's one thing. Production providing a fake and suggesting pulling a scam on someone is another. Whether or not production manipulates the game is an old argument with very differing opinions, and there will probably never be agreement on it. That being said, this poking at someone and urging them to possibly ruin another's game when they probably wouldn't have done so otherwise shouldn't be a thing. Definitely not a fan. I'm glad Dom didn't take the bait. 

Unpopular opinion, but I love that they did this with David's idol that caused Jay to play the fool. It showed a modicum of creativity on the part of the show, while being true to the idol's "backstory" and it made me realize what Ghost Island could have been: the "relics" but with some of their backstory in place. What if Donathan's super-idol was a two-part idol, where you had to convince someone else to play it with you, to protect only one person? What if, in order to activate the "effing stick," you had to show it to someone else and have them tell you it was fake? What if, in order for Erik's immunity necklace to work, it has to be given away to someone else?

It would demonstrate respect for the show's past and history, and would make a lot more sense (and super-fans would get a bigger kick out of it) than their hokey "this fake idol has been living on Ghost Island and grown into a real live boy idol" stories that only an 8-year old would believe.

[truthaboutluv]

37 minutes ago, millennium said:

Why did he offer it to Jenna in the first place?  It served no purpose, IMO.  Other than to be mean.

He didn't do it to be mean. YMMV but I saw no glee or vindictiveness from Donathan. I really think that as he said prior to tribal council, when he got there, he ultimately went with his gut, which clearly was telling him that he may be in jeopardy. That of course turned out not to be the case, but he didn't know that. I think Donathan was genuinely considering saving Jenna and at least getting one more Naviti out, since we have been shown him and Laurel discussing multiple times keeping their options open, despite their F4 pact with Dom and Wendell.

[fishcakes]

48 minutes ago, millennium said:

Why did he offer it to Jenna in the first place?  It served no purpose, IMO.  Other than to be mean.

He offered it because Jenna told him that Chelsea and Sebastian told her they were voting for her, which was a lie -- they told her they were voting for Donathan. If she had been honest with him, then maybe they could have worked out a plan that would have saved both of them. He had both Tai's and Scot's separate idols, which during their season could be combined to form a superidol. Donathan knew that the two idols now just form one regular idol, but Chelsea, Sebastian, and Angela did not. So Donathan and Jenna either could have bluffed that it was still a superidol that could be used after the vote, or they could have bluffed that each of them separately was a regular idol and that they were both going to play them. If either bluff worked, the three Naviti might just openly decide who to vote out (my guess is it would have been Angela), and then Donathan could either play or not play his idol, depending on how secure he felt at that point.

Jenna might not have had any reason to trust Donathan with the information that he was the target (or so she had been led to believe), but throwing in with people who can't go five minutes without spontaneously uttering, "Naviti strong!" wasn't a good plan either. She was basically playing "anyone but me," and it came back to bite her.