S37.E04: Time to Bring Out the Charmpocalypse

[Paws]

Elizabeth knows exactly which buttons to push on people. It’s amazing. Also, with that giant cowboy hat she is keeping both the rain and sun off her face. I’m so glad she, David and Karl will all be together because I’d be happy if any of the three of them won.

[Mystery]

3 hours ago, jsm1125 said:

Natalia and Kara didn't even vote together? I assume this means that Kara did know that the vote was for Natalia but that she didn't want to upset her by voting for her?

Hello, Purple Lyrsa and Purple Allison.

As soon as Natalia saw the Davy vote, she should have known that Kara wasn't with her. Weren't they supposed to vote out Elizabeth?

I like the big  move, but I think Alex (sp?) should have gotten Davy and Elizabeth's promise to vote with him the next time. I think they would have given it and honored it. 

I was sure that Natalie would be the "order people around" person on her team for the immunity and reward. I like this kind of challenge. 

[EllenB]

There's an Alison?

[MVFrostsMyPie]

I didn't realize Alec even existed, which you'd think I would have, considering that he looks like he could be one of my ex-boyfriend's brothers. Tribal council was so hilarious to me, I was snorting with laughter.  Was Natalia the one "paired up" with Alec when they were all still on the Goliath tribe, or was it Angelina?

Natalia is so impulsive, she just wants to vote off whoever annoys her right away. 

And I probably would have been kicked off the show because if Natalie was bossing me around in her fucking monotone voice while sitting on her stupid ass while I was building a fire, I'd feel the urge to throw some embers in her face. 

Weren't blonde chick and Natalia going to vote for Elizabeth? Why did blonde chick write down Davey? 

[rozen]

3 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Most hilarious blindside reaction/exit since Jay blindsided Michaela. Not sure if this was the smartest move for Alec, since he's now returning to a tribe where he's down 3-2 and his remaining original Goliath tribemate will likely be pissed since she apparently didn't know about the blindside. But whether this was a dumb play or not, it was worth it just to see the obnoxious smug wiped off Natalia's face. 

I don't think there's anything to suggest that Davie, Elizabeth and Carl are a tight 3, so it wasn't necessarily a bad move. The two Davids were certainly ready to throw each other to the wolves this week, they made almost no attempt to work together to flip a 3rd vote from what I saw. Since Davie already went the 'ew, girls' route with Alec, for all we know Karl will come back and they will Pagong the women. 

Natalie cannot be an actual, real-life, successful human person. She thinks standing over someone's shoulder perpetually while spouting criticism is a form of bonding and leadership? If she has actual human employees (and not just a herd of 20 cats wearing knitted vests) they must be howling every episode as her true colors are revealed. I love that after Jeff dragged them for being so slow through the blind-folded maze portion, this lady literally slowed down in carting Angelina to parrot back with Jeff had just said.

Like, omg, Angelina, did you know we are losing our chance? Also, what's this under my foot?

 

Hope Gabby gets her mojo back now. Two nerds crying in the rainforest only has so much replay value. 

[backformore]

2 minutes ago, rozen said:

Natalie cannot be an actual, real-life, successful human person. She thinks standing over someone's shoulder perpetually while spouting criticism is a form of bonding and leadership? If she has actual human employees (and not just a herd of 20 cats wearing knitted vests) they must be howling every episode as her true colors are revealed

I don't get why they all jump to obey her commands.  "You two- start the fire!  You - get the pot ready!"  Come on, let's do it."  as she sits and watches, then micro-manages the fire, "Put the light piece on -  right there!  come on!"  

And not one person says something like "How about YOU do it?"  

Sometimes I like Christian.  And then he seems like he's doing an impression of Woody Allen, and my love fades.  

[SnideAsides]

4 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

The Idol Nullifier is an interesting twist. That’s brand new so nobody will see it coming. Although what are the odds it will be used properly?

The Australian version did it last year, and the casting people seem to love the kind of superfans who would have listened to Rob Cesternino's podcasts about it. More of a (very welcome) surprise for viewers rather than players, I think.

[LadyChatts]

44 minutes ago, rozen said:

I don't think there's anything to suggest that Davie, Elizabeth and Carl are a tight 3, so it wasn't necessarily a bad move. The two Davids were certainly ready to throw each other to the wolves this week, they made almost no attempt to work together to flip a 3rd vote from what I saw. Since Davie already went the 'ew, girls' route with Alec, for all we know Karl will come back and they will Pagong the women. 

This is my concern.  Davie already said he was blindsided at the first TC they went to, which was the result of Elizabeth fixing the flip on Jessica (even if they think/believe it was truly Gabby who led that charge).  Despite the blindside, Davie doesn't seem like a dummy, and I think he will definitely weigh his options as to what's better for his game long term: sticking with Elizabeth, who he has no real allegiance too, or Alec who flipped on his very alliance.

Quote

  Was Natalia the one "paired up" with Alec when they were all still on the Goliath tribe, or was it Angelina?

I forgot about that!  That makes her blindside even better.  It was Dan/Kara, John/Angelina, Alec/Natalia.

So we're down to 15, I wonder if there will be another tribe swap, or if they will directly merge.  I'm hopeful that there won't be an alliance dominating the merge half like there was last season.  Unlike with Dom and Wendell, so far it's not painfully obvious whose going to be there in the end.  Even the invisible Alison (I didn't know we had an Alison this season) could go far and just be that person who pops up out of nowhere when it's her boot episode, or she makes some big move at the merge.

Edited October 18, 2018 by LadyChatts

[BK1978]

Natalie needs to stay in the game for as long as possible, I just find her lack of self awareness so funny.  Granted if I was on the same tribe as her, I would boot her ass as soon as possible.

I hate the fact that the tribe switch happened so quickly.  Yes the theme was terrible but what is the point of doing these stupid themes if you ending up killing them after three weeks?

Also I never got original tribe loyalty that some players have.  I mean I could see it in seasons where there is no tribe mix-up.  However, if you click with someone from another tribe more than with people from your original tribe why not work with them. 

[Nashville]

5 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Not sure if this was the smartest move for Alec, since he's now returning to a tribe where he's down 3-2 and his remaining original Goliath tribemate will likely be pissed since she apparently didn't know about the blindside. 

 

Quote

But that Tribal. Damn. Honestly, Natalia is about as bad as her name twin, but I'm not sure this was the right move. It was fun to watch....but Carl is going to be back. Alec and Kara will be outnumbered. And when the tribes are reunited? It's possible people are going to be pissed at him. 

My first thought was, “Great TV, Alec, but shitty game move” - but upon reflection, maybe not THAT bad.  After all, this new tribe shuffle is going to last, what - three more days / one more eviction before they’re reshuffled, right?  

The smart thing for Alec to do, then, would be to surreptitiously throw the next IC and engineer Kara’s eviction - which should be fairly easy to do, insofar as (a) the Davids already have a degree of game rapport established with Alec and (b) in joining with Natalia’s assumption of automatic Goliath supremacy - and the accompanying passive condescension towards the Davids - Kara most assuredly hitched her wagon to the wrong horse.  Kara would have zero credibility in presenting herself as a more trustworthy ally than Alec; Alec joined with Davie and Elizabeth when he didn’t have to, while  any move by Kara couldn’t help but be perceived as a desperate (and therefore untrustworthy) attempt to say/do ANYTHING to save her own skin.

Once Kara is gone and the tribes re-mix, Alec can spin to the remaining Goliaths any tales he wants of TC vote schemes gone awry and leading to Natalia’s (and subsequently Kara’s) departure - because who’s going to be left among the Goliaths to say different?  ;)

 

Quote

But, boy was it fun to watch Natalia get hers. Especially after she just boasted that if she went home tonight, she'd be fine. Ha!

Apparently, Natalia was mistaken - she wasn’t NEAR as OK with it as she thought she’d be.  :D :D :D

————————

If Natalie had started that Ms. CEO of Firemaking bullshit with me, I’m reasonably certain it would’ve taken EVERY bit of willpower I have to keep from (a) standing up, (b) handing her the fire-making sticks (including Improper Stick No. 2), and (c) telling Natalie to get her own ass down here and do it herself if she was so almighty sure she knew better than anybody else on the fucking planet which was the exactly RIGHT next stick to put on the damn fire - but hey, maybe that’s just me.  ;>

 

Christian and John taking turns seeing who could pile the deadpan BS higher in their Slamtown conversation was hilarious, and my favorite part of tonight’s episode.  Methinks under all John’s muscles beats the heart of a secret nerd.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Nashville

[GaT]

Natalia is not a good loser, LOL "Don't say you're sorry, shut up" was great.

I don't understand how Natalie does not see how she treats people. I don't think she started acting this way when she came on the show, she must act this way IRL. Has no one ever said anything to her? It's mind boggling.

[MisterBluxom]

6 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Damn! I am loving this season! Great blindside and  an Ozzy-esque bitter exit lmao! I didn’t see that coming at all.

Sometimes being unspoiled is really fun. I was pleasantly surprised about the 3 tribes (mainly because now it will force me to learn who the generic Goliaths are) and I had no clue Exile Island was on the agenda this season. (Not that I actually like Exile Island but it was still fun to be surprised by it.) The Idol Nullifier is an interesting twist. That’s brand new so nobody will see it coming. Although what are the odds it will be used properly?

I’m so happy that Christian, Gabby and John are on the same tribe. All my faves are in one place. Both Christian and John get increasingly charming to me every week. They both seem like genuinely good hearted people.

I was happy and proud of Gabby for winning that IC. She rose to the occasion like a real champ!

2 hours ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

Natalia is so impulsive, she just wants to vote off whoever annoys her right away. 

Excellent observation!

[Wandering Snark]

Just had to share this image that came into my mind: Natalie in a tie vote forced to make her OWN damn fire.

[JudyObscure]

10 minutes ago, Tasha Brand said:

 so I totally got the rawness and realness in Natalia's reaction. 

I will say this,  I'd rather see someone angry in the moment than hear another rendition of, "I'm so proud of myself for how I played the game," when they have clearly been terrible at it.

I'm amazed that people keep following Natalie's orders.  When someone starts looking over my shoulder, micromanaging me I go all meek and submissive and slouch away, saying, "Oh, you'd better do it. I can tell you know lots more about it than I do."  The Natalie types always look so surprised, standing there holding the spatula or the Xerox printer ink.

[healthnut]

Holy Shit, that was awesome! Natalia has been my least favorite player since Day 1. I am loving this season! 

I won’t miss Bi, hope she recovered from her injury. At least that will take out the need to for a double elimination episode later. 

Glad my green tribe won, I hope they never go to tribal, I like all of them. 

[MissEwa]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

Who’s the southern half of Mason-Dixon, is that Nick?

Goddamn is he annoying with needing an alliance name for every person he has a conversation with.

I’m disappointed in Mike, honestly, for being so eager to go along with it.

So much this. I hate alliance names at the best of times but like... these are barely alliances. 

I'm not sure about the idol nullifier. On the one hand, it's not another idol, so that's good. And it's not an extra vote, which is great because those universally fizzle. But it's not very strategic, I feel? 

I was confused when Carl was like 'you need to guess who's going to play the idol and use it on them' because you don't. You just play it on whoever you're voting for (your primary target) if you suspect they have an idol, instead of trying a vote split, surely? If they play the idol, it's null and they go home. If someone else plays the idol, your primary target still goes home. Technically, in that case - or if no idol is played - I guess it's wasted, but there's no "guessing" involved. It's not like you'd play it for anyone your alliance wasn't throwing the majority of the votes at. It's just insurance (unless I'm missing something).

And there's no real way to counter it, as far as I can tell. Like, sure, you could trick someone into wasting it, but that's about it. And if you know about it and you have an idol and know you're the target then... what? You can't just not play your idol, you'll go home anyway. You can't give your idol to someone else, because everyone's voting for you. If it gets played and you get the most votes, you go home. The only thing that might happen, if it hangs around for multiple seasons, is that people will get savvier about keeping their idols secret, so nobody knows about them until they get played. Which... is fine, I guess? 

I don't know... I thought I liked it at first but now I feel like, element of surprise aside, it's kind of boring. I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised. 

[cooksdelight]

4 hours ago, GaT said:

Natalia is not a good loser, LOL "Don't say you're sorry, shut up" was great.

I don't understand how Natalie does not see how she treats people. I don't think she started acting this way when she came on the show, she must act this way IRL. Has no one ever said anything to her? It's mind boggling.

I think Natalie owns her own company. So ... no one to tell her she’s being an ass. I agree with the other poster, I hope she stays a little while longer and then goes out hard. 

[mertensia]

Oh, man, watching Natalia's smirk just vanish as she realized she was voted out so made up for a stressful few days at work. She obviously didn't catch Alex's look of "my god, that was like nuclear-level rude" after her little "go away and go nap" comment.

That was a blindfold challenge I could stand to see again. 

[Haleth]

Wow, Davy played that beautifully, gently suggesting to Alec that he turn on the pair that he couldn't trust.  No bullying, no pleading, just a "hey man, think about it."  It was kind of dangerous to pretend to throw Elizabeth under the bus at TC though.  It was funny watching Alec squirming the whole time.

Good for Gabby for doing so well at the challenge!  Hope it's a confidence booster for her.

"Don't be sorry.  Shut up."  So classy.  I laughed that the film crew caught her tripping on the way out and left it in to stick it to her.

Last week I was annoyed with everyone.  This week I'm back to loving the Davids plus Mike plus Alec (who I didn't even know existed last week).  Good episode!

[Ms Blue Jay]

5 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I forgot about that!  That makes her blindside even better.  It was Dan/Kara, John/Angelina, Alec/Natalia.

Wow.  My heart grew when Alec said "She doesn't have to bully Davie into voting for Elizabeth."  I don't know if it was a smart move for Alec but it was such an awesome one anyway.  I want Davie and Carl to stick together, though, more than any other pairing on that tribe.  Very interesting to see what's next.

[Ms Blue Jay]

33 minutes ago, mertensia said:

That was a blindfold challenge I could stand to see again. 

I loved the creepiness of it, when the blindfolded people have to sway back and forth to make the ball game work.  It was like watching blindfolded dancing.

[BetyBee]

Watching Natalie made me imagine my CEO playing this game.  Like Natalie, he'd imagine that his minions would be in full support of him, but unlike Natalie, he does have some redeeming qualities. Will she gain some self awareness after watching this?  I highly doubt it.  She will probably blame editing.  She actually said that she had no interest in getting to know the new people on her tribe.  That's just plain stupid!

And Natalia - what a bad sport she is.  When her name was called as next to go, she just sat in disbelief.  I thought she might refuse to leave.  I prefer when people accept their loss and say something like, "good blindside".  

[SVNBob]

10 hours ago, Lamb18 said:

I think the tribe split would have been the next episode if Bi had stayed, but with her leaving they bumped it up to the third episode. They had two days to set up a different challenge than the planned one. 17 would have been very awkward for a 3-way tribe swap.

Absolutely.  There's no way they would have done this swap set-up at 17.  Bi probably mentioned that she might quit because of her injury when medical checked her out in the previous episode, with confirmation after (trying to) sleep on it, and the plan for the swap was moved up a couple of days or so.

[neh]

9 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Random thoughts on episode 4 "Nitwit, Overplay, Won't Last"

• Not smart, Alec.  You won't outwit, outplay, or outlast for long.  Soon, you'll just be out.
• Charmpocalypse?  C'mon, Charmageddon would've been the end all.
• When they got to the tribe swap, some producer realized they had one too many contestants and decided to dredge up Exile Island.  That clue looked like it took three minutes to write, and the big blue laced coconut another two minutes.

I would love to see "Charmageddon". Maybe that will happen at the merge.

Edited October 18, 2018 by neh
Spelling

[Lamb18]

28 minutes ago, BetyBee said:

Watching Natalie made me imagine my CEO playing this game. 

I think my CEO would be like Jimmy Johnson. He wouldn't be great at physical stuff but good at strategy and would help out all he can. He'd be "aw shucks" and then pull off a mastermind move.

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, cooksdelight said:

I think Natalie owns her own company. So ... no one to tell her she’s being an ass. I agree with the other poster, I hope she stays a little while longer and then goes out hard. 

I wrote a rather large and extremely nasty post about Nastalie. Ultimately, I decided that I just couldn't post it because it would be bound to offend the sensibilities of many people here.  But I really do want to say something. I just don't know how to say it.

However, if someone was sitting behind me while I was making a fire and they were telling me to pick up one stick ... NO! NO! NO! Not that stick - The other stick! etc.  I would hope that I would have something to say to them about the sticks or the stones or what they could do with the sticks. Oh dear. I better stop now before I get myself into trouble.

Edited October 18, 2018 by MissBluxom

[ProfCrash]

6 minutes ago, MissBluxom said:

However, if someone was sitting behind me while I was making a fire and they were telling me to pick up one stick ... NO! NO! NO! Not that stick - The other stick! etc.  I would hope that I would have something to say to them about the sticks or the stones or what they could do with the sticks. Oh dear. I better stop now before I get myself into trouble.

Oh no, most of us were thinking that. I was amazed at how calm the three players making the fire were. Lyrissa and Nick knew to be quiet because they were in the minority on the tribe, Angelina knew to be quiet because she had been living with Natalie. And she voted to get rid of Jeremy so listening to Natalie tell her exactly how to build a fire was her punishment. But she was more then annoying. And I think Natalie is over all an awful player who is clueless as too how poorly she is playing. It doesn't matter that Natalie's entire tribe told her that her communication style was awful and that they did not like interacting with her. Her tribe did not vote her out so there is no reason for Natalie to change her game play.

I strongly dislike players who are not paying to win and Natalie is not playing to win. She appears to be playing the goat, hell she has been parading about that she is not physically fit enough and will be easy to vote out. She is a senior citizen and an easy vote. She is abrasive and bossy. And she knows all of this. She wants to be dragged along. And I hate that style of play.   

[EllipticalAddicted]

Whoever pointed out that the producers left in that bit of Natalia tripping or slipping as she stomped her way out of tribal, haha!   I noticed that as well and had to watch it a couple of times.   

 

I love how Alex reacted to Natalie, "it's just a game!".    

[ghoulina]

11 hours ago, HighwayFlower said:

That may have been one of my favorite blindsides! Her bossiness was obnoxious! But I am shocked Elizabeth was able to pull that off. It will be interesting going forward to see if she is that smart, or if Alec is that dumb.

I really tend to think Alec is that dumb. Elizabeth was desperate, so she was throwing everything out there. But I don't know that is was some genius move. Alex seemed to almost want to do it for the sake of a big move. If they end up at TC, after Carl comes back, he could be in hot water. And who knows how the rest of the Goliaths will react.

 

10 hours ago, mojoween said:

Who’s the southern half of Mason-Dixon, is that Nick?

Goddamn is he annoying with needing an alliance name for every person he has a conversation with.

I’m disappointed in Mike, honestly, for being so eager to go along with it.

I don't think he needs the names. I think he does it for the other person - to make them feel special and as if this is a very real alliance. It's a bonding thing. I think it may be smart, but we'll see.

That being said, I do agree about Mike. Being such a super fan, I was surprised he threw Dan under the bus so quickly. You never know how many more times the dynamics will change before the merge. 

[ghoulina]

7 hours ago, Nashville said:

Christian and John taking turns seeing who could pile the deadpan BS higher in their Slamtown conversation was hilarious, and my favorite part of tonight’s episode.  Methinks under all John’s muscles beats the heart of a secret nerd.

100%. He even talked about how he's so outgoing with his wrestling characters, but he gets really tripped up a lot during social situations and isn't good with small talk. I really related to that. I grew up doing community theater and later went to a magnet high school for performing arts. I felt so at home on stage. But in my regular life? Painfully shy, awkward, friendless nerd. I bet John uses his wrestling as an outlet for behavior he isn't comfortable with in real life. 

[Kelda Feegle]

Oh that conversation on the path... 

Horse - horse

Horse? - Horse!

Horse!!! - Horse!!

I wish I had a horse - awkward silence 

Hahahahahahahahaha 

[ProfCrash]

I see Alec's vote as something that occurred because of work done by both Elizabeth and Davie. Natalia hurt her cause with her behavior but both Elizabeth and Davie talked to Alex and worked on Alex. I think that the David's have demonstrated that they understand how to operate as the underdog across all three tribes. Elizabeth and Davie did a great job of making some type of connection with the others in their tribe and playing it cool after they lost immunity. They both understood their position and were willing to throw the other one under the bus but they both continued to work on Alex so that he would flip. Neither one of them panicked and they were able to turn it around.

Gabby and Christian did a good job at their new tribe. Christian worked hard, possibly too hard, to get to know folks and make themselves useful. Christian had no problems taking bamboo cutting tips from Dan and was clearly making an effort to help John. He was also working on the personal side. Gabby was clearly uncomfortable with her place in the tribe and melted down but she was smart in that she moved away from the group to melt down. She shared her insecurities with the one person she trusts and who has shared his insecurities with her. Gabby also rocked the immunity challenge. She was clear, concise and measure during the challenge. She guided them to an easy victory which will help her in the tribe.

Nick and Lyrissa are in an OK place at their tribe. Nick is the only one over playing, but that has been his MO the entire game. Nick is lucky that Mike and Angelina are annoyed with Natalie and are probably willing to vote her out. Both Nick and Lyrissa did a good job of keeping quiet when Natalie was being Natalie but making some type of connection with Angelina and Mike. It also helps that Mike and Angelina might have been feeling like they were not in the best place with the Goliath's because they are not the strongest in the group.

Overall, I was impressed with how well the David's played the changes. They seemed to get that there was no reason for them to panic and figure out how to make the best of a bad situation.

I do think that Alec is in trouble. The good news is that there was no one to watch him enjoy the blindside, so he probably didn't hurt his jury chances if he makes it that far. But he did seem to enjoy the blindside a bit too much which is going to make it hard for him to work with Kara. If he had been a little less excited he might have been able to sell the blindside the Kara some how. Instead, Alec firmly cemented that Kara cannot work with him with makes them both free agents with the David's. I suspect that Alec will be seen as more of a threat then Kara and will be more of a target.

[MisterBluxom]

13 hours ago, dizzyd said:

Seeing as most of us hate HIIs, the Nullifier is the best thing to introduce to the game while still keeping the drama of will they use it or won't they. 

In other news, Natalie introduces her dictatorship to new people with the same effect. 

I could only hope to get Natalia out, but thought it was too good to be true this early. Way to let her brat shine on the way out. Bye Natalia (said like Bye Felicia and yes with a big smile because we know how that riles her up).

I don't know that it's accurate to say that most of us hate HIIs. But I've always been surprised at the great frequency with which people have used those idols and that they do not fail the player most times they are played.  I would have expected that most times someone plays an HII, something will go wrong and it will be a wasted effort. I must say that I would think the odds are very high that when someone plays an HII, the odds that they will pick the correct time to play it as well as the correct person for whom to play it is just far too high for it to work. I would have thought that most times an HII is played, the vote would not have been against them and would have the correct majority.

Nonetheless, now that they have introduced this "Anti-Idol", I would expect that to fail even more often than the original HII. Why? Because ...

1) They have to pick the correct time to play this Anti-Idol and that's a very difficult thing to get right. And ...

2) They also have to select the correct person who will be getting voted out - not necessarily the person who will be playing the idol. I would guess that in order for this Anti-Idol to affect the game, the show runners need to arrange for an AI to be played almost every time that someone is about to be voted out.

This is a multi-million dollar show. So ... I would expect the show runners would have done their homework and would have a very good grasp of the odds. Surely they must know just how many Anti-Idols they have to put into the game in order for them to have some effect. Wouldn't they look stupid if people were to play an Anti-Idol every week and they never hit it correctly? By "hit it correctly" I mean they have to correctly guess for whom the idol will be played - not necessarily who will be playing the idol. So, not only do they have to guess right as to for whom the idol will be played, they also have to guess when it will be played as well as for whom it will be played. I think the odds are very much lower than just having to guess when someone is about to be voted out.

Let me ask one final question. What can the show runners possibly do for a an encore to the Antie-Idol? Will they try to introduce an Uncle-Idol? I mean will someone get an Anti-Anti-Idol? The idea would be that if you know person X is going to get voted out and you also know that someone will be playing an Anti-Idol to ensure Person X will get voted out even if someone else plays an Idol to protect Person X, will you then be able to play your Anti-Anti-Idol which will nullity the effect of the Anti-Idol and cause the person to go home anyway? Oh dear. I'm getting a headache now. This Probst fellow is just getting to be too much. Just much too much!

P.S. I hope you will excuse me. But I'm just tying to poke some fun at these silly idols. I deliberately made this post sufficiently complex that it should be very difficult for anyone to figure out whether an Anti-Idol makes any sense.  I'm just trying to poke some fun at these Idols.

Edited October 18, 2018 by MissBluxom

[Heathrowe]

Well, I don't think Alec will go the distance but he had a good episode. Natalia....I was happy to see her go. Christian, I love. I am rooting for him to win. Gabbie-I do not enjoy the crying but I am pretty sure the production people who do the talking heads really know how to push players buttons and get them to wig out. Who knows what they said to her to prompt that breakdown? But I'm happy she redeemed herself later in the episode. WrestlerGuy-not getting a lot of screentime? I think Ned Schneebly/Mike just watches everything and goes with the flow, hence the Rock Star alliance. I feel like he could walk 5 feet down the beach and then be all "Yeah, sure..." to the next person who makes an overture. Elizabeth IS good at this game. I was not sure if she and Davie were working together, and he was just appearing to throw her under the bus? Why bother to say all of that if it's basically in the bag that he, Alec, and Elizabeth will vote off Natalia? Which brings me to NATALIE...That is a weird dynamic, and I would not have the patience to listen to her. I love the thought of my boss on Survivor. He is a brilliant guy, but so, so odd. He would walk off mid-task and then probably just come back out of nowhere with a lit torch and a big smile, no explanation. He's kind of magical. We all love him.

[mythoughtis]

Elizabeth acknowledged herself as a Christian. She says she was different than her family/ I didn’t catch the specifics.   She may be a conservative.  So what- she seems to be treating others respectfully.  Lyrsa especially- she formed a bond with her.  Lyrsa has ‘outed’ herself. Elizabeth hasn’t seemed bothered by either that or Lyrsa’s facial jewelry.  She seems perfectly happy wearing underpants as outer wear around men.  I dont think  she should be stereotyped as conservative, therefore EVIL. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am neither conservative nor a church-goer. 

[ProfCrash]

13 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

Elizabeth acknowledged herself as a Christian. She says she was different than her family/ I didn’t catch the specifics.   She may be a conservative.  So what- she seems to be treating others respectfully.  Lyrsa especially- she formed a bond with her.  Lyrsa has ‘outed’ herself. Elizabeth hasn’t seemed bothered by either that or Lyrsa’s facial jewelry.  She seems perfectly happy wearing underpants as outer wear around men.  I dont think  she should be stereotyped as conservative, therefore EVIL. 

In the interest of full disclosure, I am neither conservative nor a church-goer. 

I thought I heard her say that she was a mother of three, Christian, and Conservative and then the conversation turned to discussing horses. As I said earlier, I agree with mythoughtis, as long as Elizabeth treats people with respect and is not targeting people because they are different from her, I could care less about her politics. That goes for any one out there. Elizabeth had a good week. She talked to Davie, they figured out who to target together but they also realized that they had to play for themselves. I thought they were respectful when they were targeting each other and never lost track of the fact that they would be better off with Natalia going home.

Natalia was the perfect contrast to Elizabeth and Davie. She was clearly worried about Elizabeth's ability to get along with Kara and was pushy and bossy. She was so over the top that Alec commented on her attempt to bully Davie. Natalia's overreaction only helped Elizabeth and Davie because it highlighted how accepting they were of the situation. Davie kept working on Alec, even when Davie knew he was safe, and Elizabeth continue to be civil and kind. Natalia ends up going home because of her poor behavior and Davie and Elizabeth's good work.

[Dominii]

Natalie has to go to F3 because she is the best goat ever!

[Lukeysboat]

2 hours ago, SVNBob said:

Absolutely.  There's no way they would have done this swap set-up at 17.  Bi probably mentioned that she might quit because of her injury when medical checked her out in the previous episode, with confirmation after (trying to) sleep on it, and the plan for the swap was moved up a couple of days or so.

Probst addressed this in an interview—I think with Dalton Ross. He mentioned that this swap was the original plan and that he even had to remove a buff from the tray before he passed them out. He said it just wasn’t shown on TV in the interest of time.

[fishcakes]

Crying is fine, but Gabby acts like after you get voted out, production assistants torture you until you die. Get a grip, girl; the worst thing that will happen is that you have to share a hotel room with Jessica on your all-expenses paid vacation.

[Special K]

Elizabeth has had two very good TCs.  She's one to keep an eye on. 

I was so uncomfortable watching the Gabby meltdown.  I just could not wait for it to end, but having said that, I think Christian handled it very sweetly and productively. 

Carl seems to have a wandering or lazy eye or something that makes his facial expressions extra-interesting.  I fear that he will not use the Nullifier well.  To do that, I think he'll need good intel and he hasn't seemed to be too "in the loop" up to now.

Normally I hate the blindfolded challenges -- they're always a combination of someone shrieking orders in increasing frustration and other people unwittingly walking into groin-level obstacles.  I usually have to shield my eyes.  But this one was amazing.  Gabby was awesome and should always be the caller -- it helped that her people trusted her and just followed her instructions without complaint.  Angelina wins the prize for greatest overcoming of a bad situation in that little cart with Natalie being a pain.  She totally kept her cool.

Edited October 18, 2018 by Special K

[KittyMom4]

14 hours ago, dizzyd said:

Way to let her brat shine on the way out.

I screamed something very similar at my TV only mine had a word that rhymed with sucker....

14 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

She’s probably paranoid, mouthy and bossy all day long

What a sore loser, made worse by her statement "I want to hurt him so bad".

14 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

We never see castmates enjoying rewards anymore, which is kind of funny and a big change. 

I'm glad, it grosses me out to watch them eat food with dirty fingernails....blech! 

13 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Elizabeth’s lack of pants

I don't want to shame anyone's body but it is hard to watch her and Lyrsa, especially Lyrsa with her dirty nude bathing suit bottoms, at least I hope they're bathing suit bottoms because they look like my mom's granny panties....

[Special K]

5 minutes ago, GoodieGirl said:

I don't want to shame anyone's body but it is hard to watch her and Lyrsa, especially Lyrsa with her dirty nude bathing suit bottoms, at least I hope they're bathing suit bottoms because they look like my mom's granny panties....

It's beyond time to distribute the bathing suits.  From my lips to production's ears.  Please.

[Mystery]

1 hour ago, mythoughtis said:

Elizabeth acknowledged herself as a Christian. She says she was different than her family/ I didn’t catch the specifics.

She said that she was the only one in her family who's a redneck, which seemed very odd to me. I guess I figured that being a redneck or a Yankee is a result of location and family upbringing, not a choice. (It seems farfetched that everyone in her family might have started out as rednecks and they all, except her, chose to abandon it?)

Edited October 18, 2018 by Mystery

[ProfCrash]

26 minutes ago, Mystery said:

She said that she was the only one in her family who's a redneck, which seemed very odd to me. I guess I figured that being a redneck or a Yankee is a result of location and family upbringing, not a choice. (It seems farfetched that everyone in her family might have started out as rednecks and they all, except her, chose to abandon it?)

I took that to mean that she was more tied to horses and maybe a farm or something then the rest of her family. I saw the Redneck more as a lifestyle then a location type dealio but she did not explain what she meant. Most of the folks who talk about Yankees, that I know, are referencing people from the East but Redneck seems to be more of a lifestyle thing then a geographic thing. I know people in California that are referred to as Rednecks, they tend to live in more rural areas. But that is my experience and might not be universal.

[CountryGirl]

I so love it when the smug is wiped off of someone's face on Survivor.

Natalia, don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!

Elsewhere, the Nullifier seems promising but I have a feeling its execution will leave much to be desired. 

Edited October 18, 2018 by CountryGirl

[ljenkins782]

15 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Damn! I am loving this season! Great blindside and  an Ozzy-esque bitter exit lmao! I didn’t see that coming at all.

Sometimes being unspoiled is really fun. I was pleasantly surprised about the 3 tribes (mainly because now it will force me to learn who the generic Goliaths are) and I had no clue Exile Island was on the agenda this season. (Not that I actually like Exile Island but it was still fun to be surprised by it.) The Idol Nullifier is an interesting twist. That’s brand new so nobody will see it coming. Although what are the odds it will be used properly?

I’m so happy that Christian, Gabby and John are on the same tribe. All my faves are in one place. Both Christian and John get increasingly charming to me every week. They both seem like genuinely good hearted people.

 

This season already has a leg up on last season with someone flipping so soon, I still have the "Naviti strong" ringing in my ears and I'm glad to see that trend not keep up. I do like the combo of John and Christian (and Gabby), I'm kind of rooting for them at this point since I don't have strong feelings about anyone yet.

Quote

But that Tribal. Damn. Honestly, Natalia is about as bad as her name twin, but I'm not sure this was the right move. It was fun to watch....but Carl is going to be back. Alec and Kara will be outnumbered. And when the tribes are reunited? It's possible people are going to be pissed at him. 

Yeah, I'm not sure if it was necessarily a good move for Alec, but since I'm not really invested in whether or not he wins, I'm glad he took the chance. Plus, Natalia showed her true colors on the way out, so good riddance. I do like Kara and Elizabeth and it was nice to see them bonding. 

Quote

The people on Natalie's new team have some amazing self control. As soon as she started assigning jobs I would have come back with "And what will you be doing?" The answer is obviously nothing but micromanaging. That fire scene was excruciating. I know she has employees she manages/harangues but PLEASE tell me that she doesn't have children or a pet.

God, can you imagine working for her? The fire scene was excruciating, but I feel like someone should say something to her. (I say this from my couch, I probably wouldn't speak up either if I was there). It certainly looks miserable enough, could conflict really make it any worse? 

Quote

Elsewhere, the Nullifier seems promising but I have a feeling its execution will leave much to be desired. 

This advantage seems nearly impossible to use correctly. Given how badly simpler advantages like extra votes/vote cancellers have gone, I have a hard time picturing this one working out. Needing to know who has an idol, when they're going to play it, and who it's going to be played for? That's a lot of moving pieces.  Maybe it would get easier down the road with fewer people left, but I'm still doubtful that this will be all that useful.

Edited October 18, 2018 by ljenkins782

[cooksdelight]

If I were being ordered by Natalie on which stick to pick up, where to put it, etc. .... I’d stand up, hand her the sticks, then walk off and do something else productive. I cannot stand that kind of “managing” people.

10 minutes ago, ljenkins782 said:

This advantage seems nearly impossible to use correctly. Given how badly simpler advantages like extra votes/vote cancellers have gone, I have a hard time picturing this one working out. Needing to know who has an idol, when they're going to play it, and who it's going to be played for? That's a lot of moving pieces.  Maybe it would get easier down the road with fewer people left, but I'm still doubtful that this will be all that useful.

The only way I’d use it is if someone has an idol around their neck, bragging they are safe .... or someone tells me they have one and will use it that night. Otherwise, it’s a crap shoot.

[Gummo]

So the theme of this season isn't really David vs. Goliath, it's "Digging Your Own Grave."

So far 2 people who SHOULD have had nothing to worry about talked themselves right into elimination.

Nothing sweeter on Survivor than seeing an arrogant player blindsided. The way Natalia sat there after Jeff announced her name, I thought Security was going to have to come on set and drag her out. 

Now that would have been some great TV.

So John the Wrestler is on a journey of self-discovery? We've certainly heard that before on this show, but he seems to actually mean it. If he and Christian do turn out to be a long-term partnership, that would be really cool. I love odd couples.

10 minutes ago, cooksdelight said:

If I were being ordered by Natalie on which stick to pick up, where to put it, etc. .... I’d stand up, hand her the sticks, then walk off and do something else productive.

This! "If you know so goddam much, YOU DO IT!"

Great bunch this season. I like it when contestants are there for the adventure as well as the prize. Only one will win the prize, but everyone gets to have an adventure.

[ByaNose]

I am sorta surprised that people are listening to Natalie in the first place. I too would have stood up and said if you know how to do it......then do it!!! Sometimes it backfires and makes you look bad but it seems everyone is on the same page about Natalie. Why are they even giving her the option to sit around and bark orders from her throne? So odd.

[tvfanatic13]

2 hours ago, Lukeysboat said:

Probst addressed this in an interview—I think with Dalton Ross. He mentioned that this swap was the original plan and that he even had to remove a buff from the tray before he passed them out. He said it just wasn’t shown on TV in the interest of time.

So would 2 go to exile and 2 tribes go to tribal? Or would 1 team leave short a player. This makes zero sense.