S36.E13: Always Be Moving

[ByaNose]

4 minutes ago, Oscirus said:

Donathon's strategy was to play dom and Wendell off each other but since he has the subtlety of Russel Hantz, Wendell saw right through it.  Likely after that, he just got paranoid and went off the rails. Catching Dom and Wendell doing what they did probably didn't help

 

Kellyn heard Dom and Wendell whispering 3-2, which is likely why she voted donathon at that point. Did Kellyn not try to scramble?  How the hell did she lose Angela, that should've been an easy vote to get.

Don't say that just yet, Angela is still around and has a legit shot at 3 if these two so desire

You’re too fast. I was updating when you were posting. LOL!!!!

[RedheadZombie]

15 minutes ago, nutty1 said:

If Don and Wendell both make the final 3, I’ll have a tough time choosing who I’d rather win. 

I was impressed with Kellyn‘s exit.

The spool challenge was exciting.  

Me too, yet someone upthread said they were reminded of why they hate Kellyn. 

6 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

If they are in the Final 3 I’m curious who the jury awards the win to. They’re sort evenly matched but some have said Dom has been more aggressive while Wendell a little nicer. Of course, the 3rd person will not get a vote and we can’t say it’s bcasue they’re a woman who is a mother in her 40’s. That’s progress, right? LOL!!!!

ETA: Unless, they drag Angela to the end. I totally forgot about her when I originally wrote this. That about sums up her season in a nutshell. LOL!!!!!!!

That's interesting because I see it the opposite way.  Dom is the schmoozer who never shows anger or frustration, whereas Wendell lets those emotions show on his face and he side eyes people a bit.  It also seems that Dom was the one who was primarily working the others and keeping them informed of who the vote was for.  I can't see Wendell reacting as well as Dom when Kellyn barked she wanted Michael out NOW!

[Oscirus]

7 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

I did think Dom and Wendell made a mistake by verbalizing how easy their picks were.  I'm surprised they didn't pick Sebastian, and that he didn't have a problem that they didn't return the favor (but he doesn't seem to trouble himself with emotions other than chill).  Choosing Laurel seemed a clear choosing of team Laurel and Donathan, but he didn't see it that way.  Angela is the one who really surprises me.  She's been with these guys since the beginning and it was a clear signal to her when she wasn't chosen.

Point of all that was to maintain their four person majority. Laurel gets to come with them, they can say they gave an advantage to Seabass.  Other three could be mad at them, didn't really matter at this point.

[sally-can-wait]

So maybe I misread this but I thought the whole Dom putting something in Wendell’s bag was to trick Donathon into looking in it and finding the fake idol? Or was that not what was happening? They showed that conversation with Dom and Wendell right before and it just confused me because why would they want to trick him?

Honestly this season has turned into a big bag of blah. I’m happy it’s over next week.

[ByaNose]

3 minutes ago, sally-can-wait said:

So maybe I misread this but I thought the whole Dom putting something in Wendell’s bag was to trick Donathon into looking in it and finding the fake idol? Or was that not what was happening? They showed that conversation with Dom and Wendell right before and it just confused me because why would they want to trick him?

Honestly this season has turned into a big bag of blah. I’m happy it’s over next week.

Well, they (Dom & Wendell) were discussing the fake idol while Dom was sunbathing. In theory, they could have been trying to trick Donathan like you said but the editors didn’t elaborate on it any further. The editing has been so sucky this season. Forget invisible edits. I’m talking about discussions before and after Tribal Council. I don’t know if it’s becasue the potential ending is so obvious of a Dom & Wendell final that they had to leave everything on the editing floor or what but there have been huge gaps in storytelling this season. 

[GenerationX]

Random thoughts on episode 13 "Stock Survivor Footage"

• The bootee provides their backstory early on in the show "after my divorce"
• RC to visit local kids causes Survivors to mention their own kids and to play adorably with the kids
• Advantage:  recycled.  Slide puzzle:  recycled.  As a bonus, both were recycled from the current season.
• Strong alliance sticks with who they always intended to vote for, despite best efforts of editors and antics of lunatic who knows he's losing
• Survivor who wants bronze medal continues to play for bronze medal.

The highlight of the show?  Angela tanking the IC (on purpose?).  She now looks like even less of a threat, which I didn't think was possible.

[Hera]

51 minutes ago, princelina said:

1 hour ago, mojoween said:

Like Dom said, just because you’re with someone, you don’t have to tell them EVERYTHING, and I feel like Donathan doesn’t get that.

No but in Donathan's defense they had already picked Laurel as their "No-brainer" third on the reward, and then were acting suspiciously around camp.  This is not to say that I thought any of Donathan's moves were smooth tonight!

I think Donathan probably does get that there are things allies keep from each other in Survivor. But at the same time, if you're trying to convince someone that you see him as a valuable part of your alliance—after you've selected his closest ally to go on reward with you, and sent someone who isn't in your F4 alliance to Ghost Island to gain a potential advantage—you should maybe not hand off idol-related things to one another in front of that person if you don't plan on letting him in on what's going on. I don't believe for one instant that Domenick or Wendell would be satisfied with "I'm just giving back something that's his," as an answer to "What was that?" if they were in Donathan's place. Yes, they offered to let him go through their bags, but I'm sure Donathan realized that if they actually didn't care about him knowing, then it would have been far easier for everyone if they just told him what Domenick gave Wendell, rather than to have him rifle through their things and try to guess what it was.

It seems that Domenick and Wendell have a side-alliance with Sebastian. I'm basing this on their interactions this episode and last—God forbid we hear anyone discuss their alliances and strategies directly (except for Laurel's weekly "Should I turn on Domenick and Wendell this time? Nah," confessional). Given that they selected him and not Donathan to go to Ghost Island, I wonder if Sebastian is actually fourth in their alliance, ahead of Donathan. If he wasn't before, he may well be now. I guess we'll have to wait until post-game interviews, since the editors are not going to show us anything.

Speaking of the terrible editing, I think this season is almost as bad as Redemption Island. I don't know whether we're on a long, slow march to a Domenick victory or a Wendell one—but honestly, the editing hasn't done much to differentiate between their games (especially post-merge), so it doesn't feel like it matters. In retrospect, I wish Donathan had found a way to flip on them earlier, without Laurel. Alternatively, I wish the editors had bothered to include confessionals from the other players discussing their plans to get to the end. Even Kellyn, who was one of the most visible pre-merge players, didn't get many strategy confessionals post-merge. What was her plan once Desiree was voted out and she wouldn't be able to have the Naviti women's alliance she was planning on? What are Sebastian and Angela thinking, now that they've made it to Final 6? Is this how they planned to get this deep into the game? Based on exit interviews (and some of the moves that have been scuppered by Laurel's blind loyalty to Domenick and Wendell), I strongly suspect that a lot of the players were actually much better than their edits let on.

[eskimo]

Imagine my surprise when I didn't care if Donathan went home before Kellyn.  Last week he was my number one ( I love an underdog), but did he ever go off the deep end. 

[cooksdelight]

Dom and Wendell could have their own sitcom. 

[princelina]

15 minutes ago, Oscirus said:

Point of all that was to maintain their four person majority. Laurel gets to come with them, they can say they gave an advantage to Seabass.  Other three could be mad at them, didn't really matter at this point.

 

5 minutes ago, Hera said:

It seems that Domenick and Wendell have a side-alliance with Sebastian. I'm basing this on their interactions this episode and last—God forbid we hear anyone discuss their alliances and strategies directly (except for Laurel's weekly "Should I turn on Domenick and Wendell this time? Nah," confessional). Given that they selected him and not Donathan to go to Ghost Island, I wonder if Sebastian is actually fourth in their alliance, ahead of Donathan. If he wasn't before, he may well be now. I guess we'll have to wait until post-game interviews, since the editors are not going to show us anything.

Right - up until now, both Donathan and I thought he was the 4th person along with Wendell/Dom/Laurel.

LOLOL at the bold :)

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, Hera said:

if you're trying to convince someone that you see him as a valuable part of your alliance—after you've selected his closest ally to go on reward with you, and sent someone who isn't in your F4 alliance to Ghost Island to gain a potential advantage—you should maybe not hand off idol-related things to one another in front of that person if you don't plan on letting him in on what's going on.

That was my thought.  Donathan went nuts but his alliance let him feel insecure-- a big no-no.  You can't tip your hand on who's 4th of 4 and expect that guy to not flip on you, with seven left.  

I'm not one to favor harsher conditions but I kind of wonder if they were prompted to blame things on the conditions at tribal, because people are looking pretty ok to me.  Even Donathan's hair is all perfect and shiny like he just left a salon.  ?

[TVFan1]

I did enjoy Kellyn's boot.  I kind of felt bad for her when she had tears in her eyes as the revote revealed her name. I can't believe I'm saying this, but she wasn't so bad this episode. I actually found her somewhat likeable.

Even though Donathan blew up his own game, at least he knows that Dom will probably win this game if he makes it to the finals. Got to give him credit for trying to get something going against Dom. The first person to write his name down was awesome to see.

Laurel wants to get out Dom/Wendell, oh wait, no she doesn't. She loves her friends. It's a game, Laurel, play to win. Have fun getting no votes at the end.

[AfterwardsTV]

This season would have been better if Kellyn won

[Guest]

Not for me.  

[LadyChatts]

19 minutes ago, TVFan1 said:

I did enjoy Kellyn's boot.  I kind of felt bad for her when she had tears in her eyes as the revote revealed her name. I can't believe I'm saying this, but she wasn't so bad this episode. I actually found her somewhat likeable.

Even though Donathan blew up his own game, at least he knows that Dom will probably win this game if he makes it to the finals. Got to give him credit for trying to get something going against Dom. The first person to write his name down was awesome to see.

Laurel wants to get out Dom/Wendell, oh wait, no she doesn't. She loves her friends. It's a game, Laurel, play to win. Have fun getting no votes at the end.

Yeah, I've been waiting for this moment all season.  Yet as I mentioned before, it didn't leave me as satisfied as I wanted it to.  However, Kellyn had her own opportunities to flip her game and get rid of Dom/Wendell, except she was so damn Naviti strong.  Call me crazy, but I'd be interested in seeing Kellyn again.  Deep down I think there's a far less annoying gamer in there and I'd like to see how she'd do on a second try.

I agree with some others who said Donathan's paranoia didn't just come out of nowhere; the RC outcome was him realizing that he was, in fact, on the bottom of the 4 person alliance.  Dom/Wendell may not have realized they were feeding his paranoia, and even when they said he could go through their bags, I didn't think they were too convincing.  I can see what he was trying to do in telling Wendell that he would vote for Dom as well.  It was just poorly executed.  I'm still rooting for the kid.  At least someone is trying to make a move!

I would love to know what Laurel thinks of her edit and gamplay (or lack of), especially tonight, when she basically conceded that she isn't getting rid of Dom/Wendell.  Those two continue to play Russian routlette with their idols, and Laurel would probably know more for a fact than Donathan if they planned on pulling them out.  She had her chances, and she's blowing them.  She seems so different from the girl at the start of the season who was all talk about big moves.

Edited May 17, 2018 by LadyChatts

[enchantingmonkey]

5 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

She seems so different from the girl at the start of the season who was all talk about big moves.

Did she make any big moves during the first half of the season?  Because she's still talking about making big moves.  

[EllenB]

I'm trying to find something interesting about this season, so I'm wondering if Dom and Wendell will have a Tom and Ian falling out.  "Whaddaya mean you wanna win?  You're just here to help ME win!"

 

Okay, I paraphrased that just a tiny bit.

Edited May 17, 2018 by EllenB
Poor word choice fixed for clarity.

[Hpmec]

Angela is sort of like a seat filler at an awards show. Her job is to be unobtrusive because she isn't in the running for anything. Must be a bitch to be on Survivor and no one knows you're there.

I was hoping Kellyn's exit would be more dramatic. Dom's description of her as well-liked and a threat didn't compute with me, but then, I'm only seeing what the editors want me to see.  She struck me as a smug pain in the ass. Glad to see her go. 

[green]

3 hours ago, Straycat80 said:

This one lost me. I thought paranoid Donathan was done, not that I'm unhappy that Kellyn finally got the boot. Did Sebastian vote twice at some point? How is Angela still in this? I can't believe next week is the finale already.

No Sebastian did not use his extra vote yet.  They didn't say for how long he could use it either.  If it could be used through the final four it would be huge for him.

And Angela is still in it because she is really a shapeshifter and spends most of her time looking like a bump on a log.  Tonight I just finally learned her name she has been so good at not being there.

3 hours ago, mojoween said:

Also, I feel like there was more to the IC than they let on.

When Sebastian got to the puzzle, Wendell said “start at the top, SeaBass.”  Then he hemmed and hawed at the end and Laurel won.

I was convinced he was trying to throw it and I was getting annoyed that we didn’t get a confessional from him after. 

But then that theory did go out the window a little bit when he was whining to Jeff, but then I also thought he was overdoing it to not let on that he was throwing it. 

The editors let me down there.

No way was Wendell trying to throw an individual immunity challenge especially this late in the game.  He wasn't suicidal, just dehydrated and fried like most of the others.  I've been in situations in that kind of state before and it is like everything is in slow motion and you have to think every move through instead of automatically just acting.

2 hours ago, jay741982 said:

Finale is F6 probably cause these idiots just boot who Dom and Wendell want, no real strategy, get to FTC get all the votes. My god thank God this fucking boring trash season is over next week!

Actually this is one of my most favorite seasons.  I can't remember ever having the four people I liked best early on ALL last this long though Donathan was wearing out his welcome a little there.  Throwing around "truth bombs" is NOT the way you play Survivor.  But other than that it has been a really, nice pleasant season where the people I wanted out went out and the people I wanted in are all still there.  I personally like pleasant over unpleasant any old day myself.

Edited May 17, 2018 by green

[LadyChatts]

Quote

Actually this is one of my most favorite seasons.  I can't remember ever having the four people I liked best early on ALL last this long though Donathan was wearing out his welcome a little there.  Throwing around "truth bombs" is NOT the way you play Survivor.  But other than that it has been a really, nice pleasant season where the people I wanted out went out and the people I wanted in are all still there.  I personally like pleasant over unpleasant any old day myself.

This season ranks somewhere in the high middle for me.  Not my favorite but it had some really great moments.  I just wish it wasn't so predictable.  I think they also messed up with the concept of GI.  That was a huge bust.

Aside from that, I find it a HUGE improvement over last season's snooze fest (where I literally can't remember half the cast or even how many people were in it-not even kidding).  Dom/Wendell may be running the show, but I find them likable, and I liked that they were underdogs in the beginning.  Dom's actually pretty funny.

Edited May 17, 2018 by LadyChatts

[loki567]

Shockingly, I think Laurel has replaced Kellyn as my most annoying contestant of the season. That might have been because I can now sign in relief that Kellyn didn't win. But something about Laurel's smug, "I'm going to lose at F3," smile on her face during every confessional just drives me up the wall. 

I watch an embarrassing amount of reality television and whenever I see one (or two) players dominate a season like this, there's usually a couple of commonalities. One of those big commonalities is a large part of the cast just doesn't talk to each other, at least about game. Most of the game talk is run through the kingpin. And once a certain dynamic has been set up for 30+ days, it's hard to break it even when you're desperate. 

Considering what a brick wall Laurel's been, it really should have popped in Kellyn/Donathan/Angelina's head to make a pitch at Sebastian. It didn't seem like it occurred to them AT ALL and I think the reason  is because they never had that game relationship with him previously and weren't willing to break through the initial awkwardness. 

Edited May 17, 2018 by loki567

[Fake Jan Brady]

3 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Whatshername who couldn’t finish her bridge..... there’s your goat, she sucks at challenges.

Although she did slug sea slugs by the sea shore. 

[eskimo]

I actually like this season overall, although GI was a flop IMO.  If Chris were a more level-headed person it could have really been a Pagonging.  Thanks Chris, for being completely unaware of anything outside of yourself. 

[RedheadZombie]

10 minutes ago, cousin oliver said:

Although she did slug sea slugs by the sea shore. 

That was bad ass.  She couldn't even vomit those things back up because she would have choked to death.

[30 Helens]

2 hours ago, sally-can-wait said:

So maybe I misread this but I thought the whole Dom putting something in Wendell’s bag was to trick Donathon into looking in it and finding the fake idol? Or was that not what was happening? 

Wendell asked Dom for some leftover papers and wrapping from a real idol, so he can wrap them around a fake idol to make it look more real. That’s what Dom was putting in his bag, I believe.

Classy move by Wendell to concede the slider puzzle challenge without a fight. A lesser man would have pouted and protested, even while knowing he was in the wrong. His attitude may have also saved his ass, since it caused Laurel to rethink her plans to blindside him. (Although she may have changed her mind anyway, because as others have noted: wishy-washy.)

Donathan was disappointing tonight. Looks like emotional fatigue finally caught up with him.

Is anyone else starting to wish we’d seen more of Sebastian? He’s come across as a big stoned doofus all season, but in the last couple weeks there have been glimmers of, dare I say, intelligence? Seems like there may be more there than met the eye.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

So I've been trying to convince myself that Laurel has plans for a big move but now I'm feeling like, "If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck..."

Laurel is a duck.

And Donathan was quite the dick this week.  He's been a pretty cool, underestimated customer all the way up to Day 35 and then he loses it?  Sigh.  Things will be awkward back at the campfire post Tribal.

I love Wendell but I feel like he was so busy feigning a casual confidence about the IC, he had NO idea anyone else was close to solving that puzzle.  So his own cockiness cost him immunity.  

[GaT]

I couldn't believe Wendell just standing there with his arms out without calling Jeff. He must have just blanked out, it was so weird. I was really hoping they were going to get rid of Donathan, I hate it when people get paranoid & nuts, they just get on my nerves.

[Caseysgirl]

I kept thinking 'is Donathan an evil genius whose been playing us with his "aw, shucks" accent or is he just a crazy buffoon who has had enough and just wants to give up on the game and go to the Ponderosa?' It must be frustrating when you   are  still suffering such deprivation and you KNOW there is no chance that you will win.  I'd be thinking about good food, booze and a comfortable bed, myself.  He now knows where he stands (one step above Angela) and just wants out.

[KimberStormer]

3 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I love Dom and Wendell!  I don't get what's so annoying about them except they're ruling the game!  (So far)  I'd love to be friends ( OR MORE ) with Wendell in real life. 

You and me both, sister.  I don't find them annoying either; I find everybody else annoying, for not going against them.  When Wendell was effortlessly sliding his last ladder rung into place and climbing up to the puzzle I said, "Wendell I love you and I want you to win, but I want you to have to work harder at it."  I want people to fight and play hard and give us a show.  Even if it means my favorite loses, I'd rather see a good hard-fought game than a steamroller.  (Almost always, and I might post in the past seasons thread about this later.)  Donathan was awful today, but at least he, I don't know, did something.  Not like Laurel, who may finally replace China Denise as my go-to example of do-nothing chickenshit Survivor.  I guess Laurel doesn't sullenly announce to the cameras, to herself, and to the other players that she knows she's going to lose every five minutes while doing absolutely nothing, like Denise did, so I suppose Denise is still the gold standard there.

I did enjoy the reward challenge, and I do take them at their word that they were pretty spent after it; it does seem to explain the mind fog that seemed to take over so many people today.  When Sebastian seems to be one of the most clear-headed among you something is truly afoot!  Anyway, not much to talk about, because nothing happened, as usual.  Kellyn's final words were just fine, but I can't excuse her going full Judy Garland on her way out.  Her hair looked nice at tribal though!

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Random thoughts on episode 13 "Stock Survivor Footage"

• The bootee provides their backstory early on in the show "after my divorce"
• RC to visit local kids causes Survivors to mention their own kids and to play adorably with the kids
• Advantage:  recycled.  Slide puzzle:  recycled.  As a bonus, both were recycled from the current season.
• Strong alliance sticks with who they always intended to vote for, despite best efforts of editors and antics of lunatic who knows he's losing
• Survivor who wants bronze medal continues to play for bronze medal.

So accurate it is painful.

2 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

Dom and Wendell could have their own sitcom. 

I would watch!  Also I'm looking forward to seeing Wendell's girlfriend with the birthday at the finale...what's she got that I don't got, Wendell??  Perhaps I'll understand when I see her. 

1 hour ago, loki567 said:

Shockingly, I think Laurel has replaced Kellyn as my most annoying contestant of the season. That might have been because I can now sign in relief that Kellyn didn't win. But something about Laurel's smug, "I'm going to lose at F3," smile on her face during every confessional just drives me up the wall. 

I watch an embarrassing amount of reality television and whenever I see one (or two) players dominate a season like this, there's usually a couple of commonalities. One of those big commonalities is a large part of the cast just doesn't talk to each other, at least about game. Most of the game talk is run through the kingpin. And once a certain dynamic has been set up for 30+ days, it's hard to break it even when you're desperate. 

Considering what a brick wall Laurel's been, it really should have popped in Kellyn/Donathan/Angelina's head to make a pitch at Sebastian. It didn't seem like it occurred to them AT ALL and I think the reason  is because they never had that game relationship with him previously and weren't willing to break through the initial awkwardness. 

I think this is very very accurate.  In Boston Rob's case, for example, it was so calculated, deliberate, and artificial that it drove me up the wall (surely it was as obvious to them out there as it was to us?) but a lot of the time it's just because the kingpin is the social hub of the tribe.  True of Kim Spradlin, true of Todd (despite all the Todd haters who think all he did was smarm at FTC, nobody had any relationship with Amanda, everyone did with Todd), true of many a Survivor winner.

Also left your bit about Laurel because I feel the same way.  It may seem unfair to single out Laurel for my vitriol when Angela and Sebastian (maybe until tonight?) are just as useless, but I think Laurel's had 100% clear and easy shots to make the moves and fails to do it every time, and that is also the narrative she's getting in the edit, the "I have a great chance to make a move tonight and I have decided not to!" edit.  I can't help but be annoyed at people like that.  You know me, I loved Ciera the most in Cambodia, she spoke to my soul.

[Nashville]

Way to lock up 4th place, Donathan; keep going, and I bet you can shoot for 5th.

Bye Felicia... er... Kellyn!

[JudyObscure]

Unpopular opinions:

I never think anyone is playing for 2nd or 3rd place, because  we tend to magnify our own strengths and they all probably have had a few good moments edited out.  If I was this close to the end my delusional self would be thinking, "Oh sure I haven't won in challenges, but I did catch that fish  the first week..."  It's when they have to verbalize it to the jury that you see the self doubt kick in.

There's never been a boring Survivor season for me.  Just things like the communication between Wendell and Dom during the spool challenge and Donathan's strange "truth bombs," are good TV to me.

[Bryce Lynch]

10 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

“I find myself at the bottom” says Kellyn.  I took a few moments to let those beautiful words sink in.  Not so great there is it, honey?  Sadly, her boot wasn’t as satisfying as I had hoped.  I wanted an epic blindside damn it!  What was Angela’s expression at TC?  When Probst said they had to vote a second time.  Did she unwittingly help cause a tie vote? 

Laurel is COMPLETELY worthless.  If she makes it to the FTC she needs to openly concede.  I don’t care if she’s up against Seabass and Angela.  I don’t care if she does take out Dom or Wendell.  That ship has sailed for me with her.  Was her logic for winning that Dom/Wendell will have a vote split and she’ll get the rest? 

If Donathan ever returns he needs to learn the difference between when it’s a good time to repeat the thoughts in your head, and just keeping those thoughts in his head.  And not to run off like a loose cannon.  I’ll give him this, at least he’s trying.  He’s just failing miserably.  But he’s doing better than Laurel.  I wish he had tried to make a move last week without her.

Can’t say I was a fan of Wendell or Dom tonight.  And since when is Seabass a pirate?

I hate team rewards.  I liked when it was individuals playing with an occasional team reward thrown in.  No shot at Ghost Island?  That’s sucked this season anyway, Probst.  Big loss.  The RC was challenging at least.  Too bad they didn’t make IC that challenging anymore. 

I'm not sure it would have been smart for Laurel to try to take out Wendell and Dom at this point.

If she flipped and they voted out Dom this week and Wendell at the next TC, it would be Laurel, Kellyn, Donathan, Angela and SeaBass.  Laurel could well be at the bottom of that Final 5 or at least on the wrong side of a 3-2 split.

If she is in a Final 5 of Laurel, Dom, Wendell, Angela and SeaBass (or Donathan in place of one of the last 2), she would have a great chance of being part of an alliance of 3 to pick off Dom and Wendell, and then she would be in the Final 3 with 2 relatively weak players.

A lot of fans act as though every player has a clear and likely path to victory if they will only follow it.  But, the fact is, that by the merge, most players are dark horses at best.  If you try to make a "big move" too early to improve your chances at FTC, it usually causes you not to make FTC at all.

I think Laurel's best path both to FTC and to Sole Survivor was to vote off Kellyn and go after Dom and Wendell later.  She is a bit of a long shot either way, but she would have only hurt her chances for by going after Dom or Wendell last night.

[Ellee]

Wendell and Dom have a good read on everyone’s personality, inclinations, body language etc. And Laurel must see it too. 

We may ‘know what we want’ but they are living it. 

[amazingracefan]

I never really rooted for Donathan, I know he got the underdog edit early on and that was meant to get the audience to root for him but somehow it never convinced me.

Sebastian could be the kind who doesn't really talk game much, he may just be with his bros.  "Yern"?  Is that how some Americans pronounce 'urn'?

The best part was the first puzzle in the immunity where they had to remember the pattern and then go back and pick out the right piece.  I liked the reward challenge too.

[cooksdelight]

5 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

I think Laurel's best path both to FTC and to Sole Survivor was to vote off Kellyn and go after Dom and Wendell later.  She is a bit of a long shot either way, but she would have only hurt her chances for by going after Dom or Wendell last night.

She doesn’t have the same ability to read people and their intentions as Dom and Wendell do. Donathan clearly would be a good final 4 because he’ll have a meltdown at the last moment and get voted off. I don’t think Laurel would get a single vote in final 3, she’s pissed too many people off with her flip-floppiness. As demonstrated in this episode.

[Ms Blue Jay]

8 hours ago, RedheadZombie said:

That's interesting because I see it the opposite way.  Dom is the schmoozer who never shows anger or frustration, whereas Wendell lets those emotions show on his face and he side eyes people a bit.  It also seems that Dom was the one who was primarily working the others and keeping them informed of who the vote was for.  I can't see Wendell reacting as well as Dom when Kellyn barked she wanted Michael out NOW!

Dom is the one who was part of Dom vs Chris, which took up the first half of this season.  According to what the editors show us, Wendell's made no enemies and we've seen Wendell calming Dom down.  After Chris left, yeah, it was like Dom took major sedatives and is chill now, but earlier on, I don't think it seemed like that.  Wendell's 5 minute long rant about Chris's non-rapping rapping was just to us, not the other castmates.  I don't see this side-eyeing, I just see a poker face.

In this particular episode, Donathan revealed a bunch of stuff to Wendell, and Wendell kind of called Dom over to witness it.  People have said crazy shit to Wendell, and I don't think we've ever seen him react badly. To me, Wendell is the uber calm.  

Edited May 17, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[amazingracefan]

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

 The editors really made it seem like Angela just follows whatever Wendell wants her to do - are they or were they ever allies?  

You mean Laurel?  Angela has been for doing a blindside of the power duo, but you need numbers.

[Ms Blue Jay]

No, I mean Angela.  

At Tribal Council:

1.  On the first vote, Wendell said to Angela "The hammock talk.  Remember our hammock discussion?  Do that."  No response shown.

2.  Upon the revote, Angela looked PERPLEXED, then looked to Wendell for answers, and Wendell just shrugged and smiled.

3.  When Angela was about to make her second vote, she just stood there, gobsmacked.  It appeared as if she voted for Donathan because Wendell did not give her the 'page', and the rest voted for Kellyn.

And, Angela had the numbers this episode, if she wanted.  5 is more than 2.

Edited May 17, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Blissfool]

6 hours ago, 30 Helens said:

Classy move by Wendell to concede the slider puzzle challenge without a fight. A lesser man would have pouted and protested, even while knowing he was in the wrong. 

I'm a Wendell fan and I thought he pouted and protested too much for something that was his own fault. To me, he came across very passive-aggressive in that moment.

Am I the only one that sees Childish Gambino when I look at Wendell. Must be because of all th CB hype going around right now.

[ProfCrash]

I have enjoyed this season. I think Dom and Wendell have played a brilliant game. They have a tight two person alliance that everyone knows about and some how have been able to hold on to individual immunity idols for most of the game. That is bat shit crazy great game play.

Dom and Wendell encouraged the Navati Strong mantra, it allowed them to pick off the Malolo and strengthen their position in the game. I don't think I heard either of them every say Naviti Strong so they can point the Malolo back to Sea Bass, Angela, Chelsea, Kellyn, and Des and say "Hey, they wouldn't budge. We worked with Laurel and Donathon."

Dom and Wendell identified Laurel and Donathon as two on the bottom of Malolo and formed relationships with both of them. Wendell developed a strogner bond with Laurel and that has benefited both of them. They used Laurel and Donathon for information and used that info to vote out the people who were targeting Dom and Wendell. Hell, they even used it to vote off Des who was targeting Kellyn.

There is every indication that Dom and Wendell get along fine with pretty much everyone out there. They are controlling this game in a way that we rarely see. The weird thing is that that they have not turned on each other because they both have a solid case to win the entire thing. 

This is not a JP/Stephen or a Yul/Becky situation where there was a partnership but people saw one person as being the lead. This is a partnership were both partners are equals. The stupid thing to me is that they simply cannot take out the other because they both have idols. They are going to have to hope that one of them cannot make fire because they would be stupid to take the other to the final tribal. 

What is amazing to me is that people never seem to learn from the Dan Foley's and Sierra's of the world. Staying strong with your original tribe alliance is stupid. At some point in time you have to target your own alliance, especially when it is a larger alliance. Naviti Strong killed so many Naviti's this season. And the Malolo's seemed to be willing to help Naviti take out Malolo. Dom and Wendell used Naviti Strong just like Richard Hatch used Sean's Alphabetical voting system. The only people it helped was Dom and Wendell. 

Kellyn annoyed me when Bradley was in the game. THe two of them were smug and obnoxious. She seems to have faded into the past since Bradely left the game. I am fine with her going because she was one of the strong proponents of Naviti Strong. 

I can at least understand why Laurel and Donathon stuck with Dom and Wendell up until the last few votes. I have no clue why Sea Bass, Angela Chelsea, Kellyn, and Des could not get together and get rid of Dom and Wendell or at least make them play their idols. 

[Haleth]

It seems like everyone is playing for third right now, like they've conceded that Dom or Wendell is going to win.  And now with only 6 left they've run out of time.  The only possible way to shake things up would be to convince Dom and Wendell to go after each other, but editing hasn't really made it look like either of them has considered this an option.  I'd be happy if they decide to go to the end together and let the jury decide between them.

(I forgot about Sebastian's extra vote.  That could be important next week.)

[Ellee]

When is the last tribal for idols to be used?  And, I don't think they mentioned how long the extra vote can be used?  Did they?

[ProfCrash]

25 minutes ago, Ellee said:

When is the last tribal for idols to be used?  And, I don't think they mentioned how long the extra vote can be used?  Did they?

Normally it is when there are five people left. So two more tribals.

[TaraS1]

I'm bummed that my boy Donathan blew up and took that 1% chance he had at winning down to 0.1%, but I could understand his frustration.  He played Survivor last night like I would - way too emotional and reactive.  I don't dislike Dom or Wendell, they seem like good guys, but something about their attitudes last night really turned me off.

[Bryce Lynch]

59 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

She doesn’t have the same ability to read people and their intentions as Dom and Wendell do. Donathan clearly would be a good final 4 because he’ll have a meltdown at the last moment and get voted off. I don’t think Laurel would get a single vote in final 3, she’s pissed too many people off with her flip-floppiness. As demonstrated in this episode.

If Laurel goes to FTC with Dom and Wendell, she probably would get zero or at least very few votes.  But, I don't think it would be because she pissed people off.  It would be because she had done far less to earn Sole Survivor than Dom and Wendell.  I don't think she has been "flip-floppy".  She has stuck with Dom and Wendell for a long time.  She has listened to some plots against them (but everyone does that), but I think  her flip flopping has only been internal and expressed in talking heads where she says she wants to go after them but changes her mind.  

Her one, faint hope would be that the jurors would be bitter against Dom and Wendell for dominating the game and vote for her out of spite.  This jury does seem to have more bitterness potential that most recent ones, but that would still be a long shot.

But.  I think her plan is to go after Dom and Wendell at 5 and 4, which would put her in FTC with 2 of Donathan, SeaBass and Angela, which would give her a good shot at winning.  I don't think it would be hard to arrange those votes, but the problem is that Dom and Wendell have idols, which I don't think Laurel knows about.   But, assuming Laurel doesn't know about the idols, her strategy seem sound.  If she made the move last night, she might have ended up at the bottom of the 5 of her, Kellyn, SeaBass, Angela and Donathan.  

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

After Chris left, yeah, it was like Dom took major sedatives and is chill now

Wouldn’t you be more relaxed with that nucklehead gone? 

[Ellee]

43 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

Normally it is when there are five people left. So two more tribals.

So theoretically one wins the IC and the other has an idol to play if necessary and the following TC ... one wins the IC and the other plays an idol.   The competition being Angela, SeaBass, Donathon and Laurel.  Worse case scenario Dom and Wendell both play idols the first tribal and they pick who goes out.  Am I missing something? (Lol, I usually am. :D )

[Guest]

1 hour ago, Blissfool said:

I'm a Wendell fan and I thought he pouted and protested too much for something that was his own fault. To me, he came across very passive-aggressive in that moment.

Am I the only one that sees Childish Gambino when I look at Wendell. Must be because of all th CB hype going around right now.

No, Wendell himself mentioned Glover multiple times in pre-show interviews.  And of course many of us mentioned the resemblance, too.  

I have a feeling dialog was edited out of the end of that immunity challenge.  I figure we saw Wendell a little pissed that his solved puzzle was ignored, then Jeff re-explained the rules to him which we didn't see much of, then Wendell calmed down and took responsibility, and we saw that latter.  

I zone Jeff out every single challenge explanation so I can understand doing so out there.  

1 hour ago, amazingracefan said:

I never really rooted for Donathan, I know he got the underdog edit early on and that was meant to get the audience to root for him but somehow it never convinced me.

Sebastian could be the kind who doesn't really talk game much, he may just be with his bros.  "Yern"?  Is that how some Americans pronounce 'urn'?

The best part was the first puzzle in the immunity where they had to remember the pattern and then go back and pick out the right piece.  I liked the reward challenge too.

No, but that's how you pronounce 'urine', which is what made it funny to me.  

I've defended Sebastian all season and never thought he was an idiot or stoner.  I mean, he might be that latter but out there he just is kind of goofy and has narrow, possibly irritated eyes.  I wish they'd show his confessionals more because I find him likable and potentially interesting, in a goofy way.  He doesn't seem to have that "OMG I'm on tv, I better act brilliant and Survivor-ish" demeanor, at least.  

[ProfCrash]

2 minutes ago, Ellee said:

So theoretically one wins the IC and the other has an idol to play if necessary and the following TC ... one wins the IC and the other plays an idol.   The competition being Angela, SeaBass, Donathon and Laurel.  Worse case scenario Dom and Wendell both play idols the first tribal and they pick who goes out.  Am I missing something? (Lol, I usually am. :D )

Nope that is about it. And they have helped each other build fake idols so they know that they have real idols and fake idols. The two of them are in great shape. 

[Ellee]

giggling ... so everybody knows (or will know) that Dom and Wendell have idols ... Dom and Wendell give the fake idols to Laurel and Donathon and the next tribal no idols are actually played and either Angela or SeaBass go home because four out of the six are ‘protected’ and they can pick which of the two go?  Lol ... that sounds too crazy.  Oh as long as SeaBass or Angela don’t win immunity.  :D

SeaBass has the extra vote still. Doesn’t Dom have an extra something too?