S37: Alec Merlino

[Netta Leven]

Hi.  I'm a bartender who most relates to Malcolm from Philippines, Joe from Worlds Apart, and Jay from Millennials vs. Generation-X.

This means he'll probably be putting more emphasis on the physical game than the social or strategic games and might only be carried far enough to be voted out when his physical game becomes a liability.  But we'll see.

[Bryce Lynch]

He seems like the type who might come across as a bit of a dufus in the beginning, but might surprise us.  

[LadyChatts]

He has the perfect face to make the perfect reaction to being blindsided week after week.

[KimberStormer]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 3:57 PM, Netta Leven said:

Hi.  I'm a bartender who most relates to Malcolm from Philippines, Joe from Worlds Apart, and Jay from Millennials vs. Generation-X.

This means he'll probably be putting more emphasis on the physical game than the social or strategic games

I agree that's what it means, but it's frustrating to me since both Malcolm and Jay were social gamers with some bonus physicality, not the other way around. 

[Eolivet]

Yeah, now I'm kind of rooting against him for grouping those former players together. I just watched all their original season intro videos -- Malcolm says he's going to hide his intelligence/where he went to school and work his social game as a strategy, Jay details exactly how bartending and real estate require similar skills to those needed to win Survivor, and Joe says ... "I think I could lie if I had to."

(And Alec is only 24?! Wow, he looks a lot older in that picture, I think.)

[Nashville]

On 9/13/2018 at 10:56 PM, LadyChatts said:

He has the perfect face to make the perfect reaction to being blindsided week after week.

With that hairstyle in Alec’s headshot I can’t figure out who he’s trying to emulate more - Mark McGrath, or Groot.

[Eolivet]

Agree to disagree. I find them very similar players. Jay's social game kept him alive, post-merge, and he could read people. I think he was vulnerable at tribal council about 3-4 times, and nobody really tried to flush his idol til the very end. Compared to someone like Joe who lost immunity, post-merge, and was immediately voted out.

But Alec grouping Malcolm, Jay and Joe together, to me, is code for "well, they're all physically fit guys with manbuns, so ... same player, right?" Not good, Alec.

[MisterBluxom]

I'm surprised there is no mention in this thread of Alec running afoul of the Survivor Producers and having some serous problem(s) as a result. I'm worried that it may be against some rule to discuss this and so I will put the info in a spoiler box below:

 

I read that one of the contestants had been banned from the reunion in one of the Episode threads and was surprised they didn't mention who or what the reasons were. So I went Googling and found this:

https://survivingtribal.com/2018/05/17/survivor-season-37-castaway-punished-posting-early-photo/

According to this story, apparently, allegedly Alec published some photo somewhere that showed something about the future of his relationship with one of the ladies after the season ended.

You can read the rest for yourselves.

Edited November 15, 2018 by MissBluxom

[MissEwa]

My take is that it's not been mentioned outside spoiler threads because

Spoiler

The fact that he's been booted from the reunion likely gives away that he probably doesn't make F3. Also because it involves another player it's a reasonable indication of either alliances that form down the track and/or boot order (if the relationship started at Ponderosa, that means they were there together, which means *she* doesn't make F3 either) - especially given the other person involved was, at the time, all flirty with another player.

My take is that once they are both booted, it won't be a spoiler any more, so will get more widely discussed. 

[LadyChatts]

I had heard that someone dropped out this season, and Davey took their place as he was an alternate.  Alec was originally supposed to be on the David tribe, but got moved to the Goliath camp after Davey entered this picture.  This might explain why Alec doesn't care for the Goliath's and was quick to turn on them.

Anyone else heard this?

[ProfCrash]

Nope. I had not heard that. I suspect that there are any number of people who could swap tribes. 

[LanceM]

24 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

I had heard that someone dropped out this season, and Davey took their place as he was an alternate.  Alec was originally supposed to be on the David tribe, but got moved to the Goliath camp after Davey entered this picture.  This might explain why Alec doesn't care for the Goliath's and was quick to turn on them.

Anyone else heard this?

Apparently Johnny Fairplay said that Cirie's son was supposed to be on this season but was replaced/dropped out and Davie took his place. I would take that witha  grain of salt because, well it is coming from Johnny Fairplay.

Edited November 16, 2018 by LanceM

[violet and green]

I've liked him since his very first cheerful confessional in episode one. He's observant, and wry, and not afraid to step outside of tribal lines or to shake things up. I hope he outlasts the rest of the Goliaths.

[ByaNose]

The dude has awesome hair. Nuff said. LOL!!!

[KimberStormer]

On ‎9‎/‎6‎/‎2018 at 3:57 PM, Netta Leven said:

Hi.  I'm a bartender who most relates to Malcolm from Philippines, Joe from Worlds Apart, and Jay from Millennials vs. Generation-X.

This means he'll probably be putting more emphasis on the physical game than the social or strategic games and might only be carried far enough to be voted out when his physical game becomes a liability.  But we'll see.

Now that we've seen him play, I think he had a better read on Malcolm and Jay than I thought!  I don't really see the Joe part tbh, although I do think he expected to win more challenges than he has.  He seemed pretty upset about losing the last one.

[ByaNose]

21 minutes ago, KimberStormer said:

Now that we've seen him play, I think he had a better read on Malcolm and Jay than I thought!  I don't really see the Joe part tbh, although I do think he expected to win more challenges than he has.  He seemed pretty upset about losing the last one.

Yeah, we don't really have an idea who the challenge beast this season is. Maybe, none of them and it will be split evenly.

[RescueMom]

I did notice he stood out in at least a couple of the team challenges. He smoked Bi in the “build your ladder as you go” portion of one challenge (in her defense, I think her height was a major disagvantage in that challenge), and he really did well in that snake maze puzzle. I noticed him enough that I was expecting him to be a big challenge threat post-merge, but it hasn’t happened yet anyway.

I’m liking him more every week, to the point that he’s becoming one of my favorites.

[ljenkins782]

1 hour ago, KimberStormer said:

Now that we've seen him play, I think he had a better read on Malcolm and Jay than I thought!  I don't really see the Joe part tbh, although I do think he expected to win more challenges than he has.  He seemed pretty upset about losing the last one.

I wonder if Survivor's turn away from the more standard post-merge challenges hurt his chances to be a challenge beast. Some of these challenges are really anyone's game (like the one where they had to swing that thing around) and don't necessarily favor the Joes and the Malcolms of the world. 

I personally like the change but I can see where someone like Alec would have been expecting more "balance on this thing/hold this thing up in the air" challenges that he could excel at. 

[RescueMom]

Since Alec’s social media post controversy is now being discussed in his exit interviews, I assume it is OK to discuss here now as well. According to the exit interview on RHAP, it has been confirmed that Alec won’t be at the finale/reunion show. I assume he has also killed any chance to be invited back, and I think that is a huge loss for the show and the fans. I do understand why - there have to be repercussions when people break the terms of their NDAs or people will be pushing the boundaries with them all the time going forward. But Alec ended up being one of my favorite contestants this season (most seasons he would have been my fave by a long shot, but there are so many great contestants this season). Guess I’ll just enjoy him at Ponderosa while I can.

[ratgirlagogo]

I also understood he was not going to get any kind of payment for his appearance.  I kind of thought this meant he didn't get to vote (or his vote would be discounted) in the jury.  Is this true?

[RescueMom]

7 minutes ago, ratgirlagogo said:

I also understood he was not going to get any kind of payment for his appearance.  I kind of thought this meant he didn't get to vote (or his vote would be discounted) in the jury.  Is this true?

It wasn’t clear to me if the appearance payment was referring to all payments or just the reunion payment. I did not hear that he wouldn’t vote on the jury, and on his ponderosa video he did call himself the fourth member of the jury. But I suppose the social media post happened after all of the filming was done, so they couldn’t really edit him out of the jury shots on the show. Would they pull his vote before reading them off? 

[ProfCrash]

The picture happened after the game was over and he had voted. They are not going to remove his in game vote.

[ByaNose]

They could have given Alec a crappy edit (after the fact) but they didn’t. It seems they are just punishing him for the social media faux pas by not allowing him to attend the finale. I’m not sure if his winnings are being withheld or not. He was very Malcolm-esq and I’m sure would have been invited back but I’m not sure now. There are several guys in his Survivor archetype so it might not have been a given away. I really liked him in the game and would like for him to attend. Personally, I have always thought there’s been a social media ban on the players for years but it’s been laxed for some and then others are set to entirely different rule. 

[marys1000]

I would like to see him back.  All this press and the uninvite are punishment enough.  Forgive and bring him back!

[ProfCrash]

I do think it was more the comment then the picture. Reading the TMZ reporting, that is where this broke before the season ended, there was first the report of the picture and a warning and then a report that Alec had been banned and the fuck it comment. I think he was told to take it down ad he didn’t and he added a rude comment. 

The truth is that everyone who knew about that picture had a small part of the game spoiled. They knew that there was a close relationship between Kara and Alec going into the game. Why? Because the only picture he posted was of him and Kara. So when we see Kara with Dan as ally, we are sitting there wondering what happened to develop a relationship with Alec. When Alec makes it to the merege, we all knew he wasn’t a finalist because he would not be disinvited if he was a finalist. 

I am trying to remember which cast it was but failing. There had been a strict ban on social media which was laxed one season. I want to say it was Max’s season. They went crazy on social media and the Producers deemed it problematic and reinstated the ban. 

Alec has said that social media is just a regular part of his life so he didn’t see it as a big deal. I am sure his punishment is as much a warning to future contestants as it was to punish Alec. I hope that he gets his participation money and I wouldn’t mind seeing him back in future seasons. He played the game in competition and attempts to strategize. He might not have made the best decisions but he was playing. And he was not an ass. And he is hot.

[LanceM]

All players receive $10,000 for attending the reunion. So Alec will not be receiving this amount but e will be getting paid for his time on the island.  Personally I think they are scapegoating him for the sins of past Survivors who have posted all sorts of stuff on social media prior to the season airing. They've decided to take a stand and he is the unfortunate victim.  Captioning the photo "fuck it" obviously did not help. lol

[Nashville]

IANAL - but NDAs and such notwithstanding, I doubt TPTB would really want to go down the legal rabbit hole which might result from withholding Alec’s salary/stipend money.  

Yes, Alec broke a rule - but TPTB have already extracted a degree of punishment by denying Alec’s attendance at the finale (and the associated performance/appearance money), and that’s their right.  Start talking about denying Alec’s pay and stipend for the entire season, though, and you’re getting into murkier legal waters.  Alec put in his time both on the island and in the Jury - close to two month’s worth - and TPTB have gotten full value for that time by including Alec’s participation in its broadcast.

And THAT’S where Alec might have a case if TPTB tried to withhold 100% of his salary and “stipend”.  After Alec’s NDA infringement Production had some choices; whether or not to use their Alec-related footage, and to what degree.  Production could have easily (and justifiably) minimized Alec’s on-screen appearance time down to a Purple Kelly edit, but they didn’t; they still chose post-infringement to include Alec to a significant degree (using Alec’s “product”, so to speak), and derived financial benefit from the fruits of his labors.  

An NDA which chose to deny Alec ANY compensation might prove to be unenforceable, as it might run afoul of federal and state labor laws regarding minimum compensation.  Then again, it might not - but is that necessarily something TPTB want tested in the courts, and establishing legal precedent?

Edited December 1, 2018 by Nashville
Grammar

[RescueMom]

2 minutes ago, Nashville said:

IANAL - but NDAs and such notwithstanding, I doubt TPTB would really want to go down the legal rabbit hole which might result from withholding Alec’s salary/stipend money.  

Yes, Alec broke a rule - but TPTB have already extracted a degree of punishment by denying Alec’s attendance at the finale (and the associated performance/appearance money), and that’s their right.  Start talking about denying Alec’s pay and stipend for the entire season, though, and you’re getting into murkier legal waters.  Alec put in his time both on the island and in the Jury - close to two month’s worth - and TPTB have gotten full value for that time by including Alec’s participation in its broadcast.

And THAT’S where Alec might have a case if TPTB tried to withhold 100% of his salary and “stipend”.  After Alec’s NDA infringement Production had some choices; whether or not to use their Alec-related footage, and to what degree.  Production could have easily (and justifiably) minimized Alec’s on-screen appearance time down to a Purple Kelly edit, but they didn’t; they still chose post-infringement to include Alec to a significant degree (using Alec’s “product”, so to speak), and derived financial benefit from the fruits of his labors.  

An NDA which chose to deny Alec ANY compensation might prove to be unenforceable, as it might run afoul of federal and state labor laws regarding minimum compensation.  Then again, it might not - but is that necessarily something TPTB want tested in the courts, and establishing legal precedent?

I had a lot of the same thoughts but not nearly enough coffee in me to type them out coherently, and would not have done it as well as you anyway. So “I agree” to your entire post :)

[Nashville]

2 minutes ago, RescueMom said:

I had a lot of the same thoughts but not nearly enough coffee in me to type them out coherently, and would not have done it as well as you anyway. So “I agree” to your entire post :)

Still on my first cup myself.  :)

[Jextella]

This whole Alec thing is so unfortunate.  I love the guy and really wish he'd be at the reunion.   The punishment doesn't seem to fit the crime. I could see taking his money but not that plus barring him from the reunion.

Edited December 1, 2018 by Jextella

[cleo]

Meh. How hard is it to not post a picture for a few months? I don't have much sympathy for someone that signed a legally binding document and then freely freely chose to violate it in a dumb, unnecessary way, regardless of what happened to past contestants.

[Eolivet]

5 hours ago, ByaNose said:

They could have given Alec a crappy edit (after the fact) but they didn’t. It seems they are just punishing him for the social media faux pas by not allowing him to attend the finale.

To me, this is the most interesting aspect of this whole thing. He could've been much more invisible than he was. I thought even his final episode showed him in a positive light -- the crying about not wanting to go out in a unanimous vote, the staring at the ocean ... it was almost poetic.

Like @KimberStormer, I'm ready to happily rescind my initial opinion of Alec. He made moves, he competed well, he seemed to have a great social game. I loved the Natalia move, I liked his overtures to the Davids. A solid, if not entirely memorable character. Whatever surfer/bartender archetype exists, he did it proud (and with more personality than Joe, which is all I ask).

Snuff it, brutha.

[LadyChatts]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I do think it was more the comment then the picture. Reading the TMZ reporting, that is where this broke before the season ended, there was first the report of the picture and a warning and then a report that Alec had been banned and the fuck it comment. I think he was told to take it down ad he didn’t and he added a rude comment.  

I am trying to remember which cast it was but failing. There had been a strict ban on social media which was laxed one season. I want to say it was Max’s season. They went crazy on social media and the Producers deemed it problematic and reinstated the ban. 

 

The S29 cast was the last season I remember that had a strict SM ban, then it seemed to lax the next few seasons.  The S31 cast come home and was posting pics, and it was easy to determine who made it extremely far based on weight loss.  I know Vytas got uninvited from the reunion for leaving Ponderosa early and lying about the reason, but he also posted on SM and was home teaching yoga while filming was going on (yet it seemed like him lying about why he wanted to leave was why he wasn't invited).  During S32, there was a ban put in place mid season because Jason was essentially posting spoilers, including a picture of his half of the super idol before he even found it (IIRC).  And Caleb was on SM while Game Changers was filming, and the Ghost Island cast was following each other and showing up at charity events before they were officially announced.  Other spoiler sites figured out who the pre-jurors were from Ghost Island pretty easily based on who was following who initially.

So yeah, it seemed pretty harsh to punish Alec like this for doing something other contestants before him did, and his pic wasn't overly revealing of anything at the time (he and Kara did start on the same tribe, after all).  That's why I'm wondering if you are correct that it wasn't so much that, but the caption.  It's too bad, because like others here, I really grew to like Alec this season.  I was very impressed with his edit and game play, and he seemed like a fun, likable guy that really loved the game.  I'd like to think this was punishment enough and they'd give a second chance at the game, but I'm sure that's doubtful.   

[violet and green]

That's a shame, I really liked his energy and will miss him at the reunion and am sorry he's going to miss out on his reunion money. I accidentally clicked on a hidden thingo in someone's post a while back and was so dismayed to find out he was banned from the reunion, which to me was a spoiler as clearly that meant he couldn't have got close to winning and he was one of my (many this season) favorites. I guess his enthusiasm just took over. 

[marys1000]

R Hantz totally spoiled an entire season with misseye (however you spell it) and how many times did they bring him back?  Plus he played in Australia? 

Yes he is being made the unfortunate example, I'm just hoping that they consider 1 "crime" 1 punishment and if they start asking people back, he gets a shot. 

[Blissfool]

22 hours ago, cleo said:

Meh. How hard is it to not post a picture for a few months? I don't have much sympathy for someone that signed a legally binding document and then freely freely chose to violate it in a dumb, unnecessary way, regardless of what happened to past contestants.

I agree. It shows his sense of entitlement, "I do what I want."

I did love him on the show, tho. Riiiiiiiiight up to the point in which he was evicted. To me, he seemed to become such a bro-dude at that moment. 

[KimberStormer]

So is the spoiler about Alec that has been sort of in my peripheral vision this whole season just that he posted a picture of himself and Kara on Instagram?  Or did he spoil something else about the game?

And about that:

2 hours ago, LanceM said:

So Gabby did an interview this week

I've been seeing tons of mentions of these "mid-season interviews" with people still in the game which is something I've never heard of before in my life, and this is the season they decide to hammer somebody for posting on social media?  If they want media silence then why are they having them give all these interviews?  I don't think you should get to talk about the game until you're out of it, and I also don't think you should be banned for one measly picture with someone from your original tribe. 

[LadyChatts]

45 minutes ago, KimberStormer said:

So is the spoiler about Alec that has been sort of in my peripheral vision this whole season just that he posted a picture of himself and Kara on Instagram?  Or did he spoil something else about the game?

And about that:

I've been seeing tons of mentions of these "mid-season interviews" with people still in the game which is something I've never heard of before in my life, and this is the season they decide to hammer somebody for posting on social media?  If they want media silence then why are they having them give all these interviews?  I don't think you should get to talk about the game until you're out of it, and I also don't think you should be banned for one measly picture with someone from your original tribe. 

I've been wondering the same thing, too.  And I feel like mid seasons interviews are something that just recently started (I might be wrong), but usually it was with one person at the merge.  I don't know the full story of what went down with Alec getting banned.  The contestants were told to sign NDA, which most casts just ignore the bulk of and do what they want.  Alec posted a pic the day they came home or the day after from filming.  Was given a warning I believe and a caption appeared that said 'f*** it'.  Then it came out he and Kara both were potentially in big trouble, and there were threats that they could get sued for breaking the NDA, but only Alec got punished by being banned from the reunion.  I'm guessing because it was his IG account.  

If the show thought it gave something away because they were pretending Dan/Kara were so close...Gabby/Christian are a lot closer than those two seemed to be.  It's not like Kara/Dan were having nightly jungle make outs, and then suddenly she ruins the showmance fantasy by being pictured with Alec with filming ends.  And Kara/Alec started on the same tribe, so they had that bond to being with.

[violet and green]

Free Alec Merlino! Free Alec Merlino! Let him come to the reunion! Make it so, now!

[ProfCrash]

This season has had a ton of mid-season interviews. I have seen them from Angelina, Lyrsa, Gabby, and Mike so far. I think that TPTB realize that they have a lot of interesting people this season who are liked and are offering them up for interviews. (shrugs) I like it.

[RescueMom]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

This season has had a ton of mid-season interviews. I have seen them from Angelina, Lyrsa, Gabby, and Mike so far. I think that TPTB realize that they have a lot of interesting people this season who are liked and are offering them up for interviews. (shrugs) I like it.

Josh Wigler talked about them on Rob Has a Podcast. Sounds like it is something he has wanted to do for a while and the show agreed to try it this season. He is calling them his Active Player interviews. I like them as well - it is fun to get some context and feedback from the different players right as things are happening in the show, rather than waiting until it is over.

[RescueMom]

Alec posted an IG story with Kara and the caption, “Yes, we are dating everyone.”

[Bryce Lynch]

On 12/23/2018 at 7:40 AM, RescueMom said:

Alec posted an IG story with Kara and the caption, “Yes, we are dating everyone.”

Dating everyone? That is a really open relationship. :)

I have always been confused about what is allowed and not allowed on social media and in interviews.   The voted off contestants do sanctioned print and podcast interviews, and they often give information, that while not directly spoilers, could potentially give clues to who makes it to or near the end and who won with the jury.  For example, they give information about the relationships between castaways, that we don't see.   They also frequently post on social media while the season is being aired.  I'm surprised more serious spoilers don't accidentally get leaked.   

[RescueMom]

5 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

Dating everyone? That is a really open relationship. :)

I have always been confused about what is allowed and not allowed on social media and in interviews.   The voted off contestants do sanctioned print and podcast interviews, and they often give information, that while not directly spoilers, could potentially give clues to who makes it to or near the end and who won with the jury.  For example, they give information about the relationships between castaways, that we don't see.   They also frequently post on social media while the season is being aired.  I'm surprised more serious spoilers don't accidentally get leaked.   

Yeah, I should have noted that I left the text as he had written it, clearly missing a comma!  I'm pedantic enough that I couldn't bring myself to fix it since I was putting it in quotes :)

[ByaNose]

Luckily, Alec made jury because he might not have been datable. LOL!!!