S37.E04: Time to Bring Out the Charmpocalypse

[blackwing]

Gabby is exhausting to watch.  I don’t find her or her insecurities “cute” at all.  I don’t think she’s cut out for this show.  Survivor is not a time to decide you are going to “challenge yourself” and try to overcome the fundamental nature of your personality.  

She is whiny, clingy, insecure, and dependent. In the first episode she cried when she thought Christian would choose to support the first boot generic blonde over her.  Now she cries because she thinks Christian would rather play the game with his “new bro dudes” than with her.  

She seems to be making everything all about her without even recognizing or considering that he is actually playing the game and trying to advance himself further.  Unlike her.  All she seems to be doing is desperately cling onto someone and beg them to save her.  

Survivor has given us many examples over the years of the stereotypical weak Asian female and I absolutely hate that Gabby continues to perpetuate that image.  Hope she exits the game ASAP. 

[peachmangosteen]

You people are brutal on us neurotics lol.

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

Survivor has given us many examples over the years of the stereotypical weak Asian female and I absolutely hate that Gabby continues to perpetuate that image.  Hope she exits the game ASAP. 

Gabby is Asian?  I had no idea. I keep learning all this stuff on her about the cast. This is what happens when you don't look at anything pre-show.

Edited October 21, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[fishcakes]

3 hours ago, peachmangosteen said:

Gabby is Asian?

I was wondering about that too, as I've seen a couple of people mention it and she looks like she could be part Asian. I couldn't find anything in her various bios about it, but I saw on her twitter where she mentioned that English is her grandmother's second language and she called her "lola" which is Tagalog for grandmother, so I guess either Gabby or one of her parents is half Filipino.

 

5 hours ago, blackwing said:

Survivor has given us many examples over the years of the stereotypical weak Asian female

Hrm, I don't know about this. I'm Asian, so I feel like I'm aware of the stereotypes and "weak Asian female" isn't one I'm familiar with. In any case, I can't think of any Asian women players in the past who I would consider having been portrayed, either fairly or unfairly, as any weaker than the non-Asian women. Not saying none were weak, but some were UTR or didn't get much screentime (which can be true of any player regardless of race), so it's hard to say.

Edited October 22, 2018 by fishcakes

[jsm1125]

4 hours ago, blackwing said:

Gabby is exhausting to watch.  I don’t find her or her insecurities “cute” at all.  I don’t think she’s cut out for this show.  Survivor is not a time to decide you are going to “challenge yourself” and try to overcome the fundamental nature of your personality.  

She is whiny, clingy, insecure, and dependent. In the first episode she cried when she thought Christian would choose to support the first boot generic blonde over her.  Now she cries because she thinks Christian would rather play the game with his “new bro dudes” than with her.  

She seems to be making everything all about her without even recognizing or considering that he is actually playing the game and trying to advance himself further.  Unlike her.  All she seems to be doing is desperately cling onto someone and beg them to save her.  

Survivor has given us many examples over the years of the stereotypical weak Asian female and I absolutely hate that Gabby continues to perpetuate that image.  Hope she exits the game ASAP. 

I'd hardly consider most of the Asian females in the past week: Jenny and Becky from Cook Islands, Sylvia, Michelle and Stacy from Fiji, Mari, and Lucy from Millennials vs. Gen X, and Bi may have rubbed some the wrong way, but hardly seemed like the Hannah from Millennials vs. Gen X prototype of anxious and/or weak. The only ones that could fit these categories are Simone from Heroes vs. Heroes vs. Hustlers and Rachel from Millennials vs. Gen X.

 

Also, Gabby seems to have mostly limited her anxious tendencies to someone she deems her closest ally (Christian) and to confessionals, so she's hardly reaching Dawn-levels of paranoia to me.

[ProfCrash]

And this is why I would never apply for this show....

I like that the show casts Gabby and Gabby like people. I prefer it when they cast real people who respond to the show in a real way. Gabby is clearly insecure and struggles when she is forced to interact with people who she sees as the “cool kids.” That much is obvious. I would guess that she has a history of being bullied because she is very different. I suspect that playing a game with a group of people who are clearly Alphas, or the cool kids, is hard for her. But she is out there and doing a pretty good job of playing the game. 

The only person we have seen her collapse around is Christian, her fellow nerd and alliacne mate. I don’t count talking heads in my equation. She found someone that she trusts and feels safe enough with him to be vunerable. we have not seen her break down inf front of anyone else. Instead, we have seen her shine in immunity challenges. She is the one who figured out the pyramid puzzle in the David’s first immunity win and she totally rocked this last immunity challenge. She has been calm and composed at camp.

I have never had a problem with people who break down during the game. Survivor is hard. There is hardly any food, you are cold or hot. You are sleep deprived because the shelters are not comfortable and sleeping is hard. You are physically exhausted from the challenges and doing what needs to be done around camp to survive. And you are mentally exhausted from playing the game. I expect that people are going to break down. I strongly suspect that there are far more tears and melt downs then we ever see. 

I am impressed with Christian. He is the exact opposite of Gabby in that he is a nerd who embraces who he is and seems to be fine with that. He is comfortable in his own skin and more willing to risk it by hanging out with the cool kids. I suspect that he is well liked because he likes himself. IT is far harded then we think to like ourselves, especially when you are different. Sokuds to Christian. He has been great with Gabby, helping her feel more comfortable and ride out her insecure moments. 

I am loving this cast because I think it is far more reflective of American society then most seasons are. The David tribe gave the Producers permission to cast people who are not Alphas and probably were never part of the cool kids. It allowed them to cast people who look a whole heck of a lot more like the rest of us in a traditional season. I suspect that is why most people on the board know pretty much all of the Davids and are still a bit confused by some of the Goliath’s. We are used to seeing the pretty people with muscles on the show and they tend to blend together.

So give me your insecure as all hell ad gone Gabby. As long as she keeps rocking out the immunity challegnes, I am good. And give me Nick who is over playing everything or Conservative Elisabeth. They are making for good TV because their approaches are different because they are different. They might drive me a bit crazy but I appreciate that they are playing a very different game then we normally see.

[Ms Blue Jay]

59 minutes ago, jsm1125 said:

I'd hardly consider most of the Asian females in the past weak: Jenny and Becky from Cook Islands, Sylvia, Michelle and Stacy from Fiji, Mari, and Lucy from Millennials vs. Gen X, and Bi may have rubbed some the wrong way, but hardly seemed like the Hannah from Millennials vs. Gen X prototype of anxious and/or weak. 

Or Shii Ann!!!  She recently appeared on Million Dollar Listing New York and still seems as vibrant and assertive as ever.  

[JudyObscure]

10 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Or Shii Ann!!! 

She may be my all time favorite Survivor.  Talk about tough!  I can still picture her, after the whole bunch had turned against her,  her slender arm holding a bucket over her head longer than anyone else, to win immunity.

[green]

On 10/19/2018 at 8:39 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Thank you for reminding me about Davie's quote about not knowing many white people.  That was so cool.  I rarely get to see that kind of person represented on television - I personally have a lot of friends who are racial minorities who were the only one, or one of the only few people of their race or ethnicity in their entire elementary and high school - and I include myself.  I find that interesting too, but it's definitely a life I'm familiar with.  Very cool for Davie to say, "I've only grown up with black people". It's something I'd like to hear more about.

I feel confident I remember Carl running around Exile Island in jeans, yes.  

Regarding what @cooksdelight said about the suitcases and what production does, couldn't I get around this nonsense by ONLY packing t-shirts and sweatpants and sweat-shorts?   (And NOT jeans, or weird white pants, and weird white leggings, or suits). Because that's totally what I'd do.  (And yes, I do realize that every one of my posts outline me fantasizing me being on this show.)

 

 

On 10/20/2018 at 9:49 AM, peachmangosteen said:

...    I'm pretty sure then they'd just go buy you what they want you to wear. I actually think I've seen where former contestants have said this.

 

Yep I agree with this answer.  All we have to do is remember the classic case that outed how all this works way way back on Season 4 of The Amazing Race where, in interviews after their elimination, the "NFL Wives" let us know:

1.  They were forced to start every comment in their confessionals with "As wives of professional NFL players ..." or ilk of that kind which they hated doing.

2.  And to the point above.  They were told to bring replicate jerseys their husbands wore on the Atlanta Falcons.  They got the jerseys but decided they wanted to be their own people and purposely did NOT pack them.  When they arrived an the hotel for the week long indoctrination into rules and how to wear their mics and interact with their cameramen etc the producers went through their luggage and when they didn't find those jerseys they forced them to call up and order them shipped next day delivery to the hotel.  They were then "featured" wearing them at the starting line where they had to wear them for the first leg

So I assume Elizabeth was told in advance to pack jeans, a bandana and take along a cowboy (girl) hat.

 

On 10/21/2018 at 1:45 AM, Fretful said:

This actually does make sense if you think about the nullifier.  The way it stands only one person went to exile.  That person HAD to be male (because there are separate baskets of new buffs for men and women), so only a male could get the nullifier.  If Bi hadn't left then two people, one male and one female, would have gone to exile and had access to clue. It would have been a lot more fair.

Except Probst said there was an extra buff he put back on the spot after Bi left.  Maybe the two not selected would have had to play some challenge to win that buff and the other would be sent to Exile Island or something like that.  That is my speculation, not a fact of course.  But he definitely said there was an extra buff on the beach that was not used because Bi quit.

Edited October 22, 2018 by green

[Special K]

I fear if they didn't like any of the clothes I packed, they'd just leave me out there in my underwear.  ;)

[Maverick]

6 hours ago, green said:

 

Yep I agree with this answer.  All we have to do is remember the classic case that outed how all this works way way back on Season 4 of The Amazing Race where, in interviews after their elimination, the "NFL Wives" let us know:

1.  They were forced to start every comment in their confessionals with "As wives of professional NFL players ..." or ilk of that kind which they hated doing.

2.  And to the point above.  They were told to bring replicate jerseys their husbands wore on the Atlanta Falcons.  They got the jerseys but decided they wanted to be their own people and purposely did NOT pack them.  When they arrived an the hotel for the week long indoctrination into rules and how to wear their mics and interact with their cameramen etc the producers went through their luggage and when they didn't find those jerseys they forced them to call up and order them shipped next day delivery to the hotel.  They were then "featured" wearing them at the starting line where they had to wear them for the first leg

So I assume Elizabeth was told in advance to pack jeans, a bandana and take along a cowboy (girl) hat.

 

Except Probst said there was an extra buff he put back on the spot after Bi left.  Maybe the two not selected would have had to play some challenge to win that buff and the other would be sent to Exile Island or something like that.  That is my speculation, not a fact of course.  But he definitely said there was an extra buff on the beach that was not used because Bi quit.

  The challenges are planned well in advance of the show.  It's not easy to alter them on the fly--they're complex setups and they only have 3 days between challenges.  They can tweak them due to circumstances but outright changing the challenge would be hard.  At this point there were supposed to be two more people making it and even 3 tribes.  I'm assuming Exile Island was thrown in after one of the medivacs.  Given how common the medivacs have become, they probably have contingencies on how to deal with any challenge that assumes an equal number of contestants.  

5 hours ago, Special K said:

I fear if they didn't like any of the clothes I packed, they'd just leave me out there in my underwear.  ;)

 Solution:  pack ugly underwear.  :)  In seriousness, i think it's been reported if they don't like the clothes you brought they'll buy what they want you to wear at Target.  I know they do that for Big Brother, but I think Survivor does it as well.  

[peachmangosteen]

10 hours ago, Maverick said:

At this point there were supposed to be two more people making it and even 3 tribes.  I'm assuming Exile Island was thrown in after one of the medivacs.  

There wouldn't have been 3 even tribes at this point. Pat's medevac is irrelevant because they just didn't vote someone out. If Bi had stayed there would have been 17 people left and therefore 2 without a tribe.

[ProfCrash]

I suspect both players would have gone to Exile which would have made the nullifier far more interesting. Unless the plan was to have two different exile locations and maybe two advantages? I would  hope it was one Exile and one advantage and the two people would have to decide to work together to find the advantage and share info or go it alone. If they go it alone, the other is pretty much guaranteed to tell people that there was an advantage out there.

[blackwing]

12 hours ago, Maverick said:

 Solution:  pack ugly underwear.  :)  In seriousness, i think it's been reported if they don't like the clothes you brought they'll buy what they want you to wear at Target.  I know they do that for Big Brother, but I think Survivor does it as well.  

A lot of the men seem to end up in really bright and/or ugly underwear.  The ones that instantly come to mind are Vytas, and was it Cole who had the bright orange underwear?  I was always wondering if these guys pick garish/bold underwear on purpose or if production made them wear it.  Perhaps production forces it on them.

[Nashville]

2 hours ago, blackwing said:

A lot of the men seem to end up in really bright and/or ugly underwear.  The ones that instantly come to mind are Vytas, and was it Cole who had the bright orange underwear?  I was always wondering if these guys pick garish/bold underwear on purpose or if production made them wear it.  Perhaps production forces it on them.

Ask Philip how well the “pack ugly underwear” strategy worked out for him.  ;)  Instead of just saying “pack ugly underwear”, I’d refine it a bit; pack CLASHY underwear - bold black-and-white stripes, zigzags, etc.  The camera folks HATE that shit.  

Some BB contestants will complain every season how Production will confiscate their clothing because bold patterns are difficult to film well - throws off the camera’s exposure metering something fierce, or something like that - so I wouldn’t be too surprised if the same guidelines apply to Survivor as well.

[303420]

Re: the difference in Gabby's and Christian's reactions to their new situation:

In addition to what has already been said, I'll add that Gabby is 25 and Christian is 32. Those years were crucial in my evolution toward being comfortable in my own skin.

[survivinmt]

Way late to the boards but WHAT was up with the jerking around of the ball puzzle by Natalia? Kara would direct them to move right or left or whatever and Natalia would yank it up like she was trying to pull the whole board out of the ground. What a wacko!

[BarneySays]

On 10/18/2018 at 12:47 PM, cooksdelight said:

On 10/18/2018 at 12:37 PM, 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.

Apologies if this has been addressed.  I think the most valuable use of it would be when you need to split the votes because you don't know if there's an idol in play, but you don't have the numbers.  It serves as an insurance policy in that circumstance. 

[azshadowwalker]

Bi was such a waste of space. A recruit and a quitter. Would much rather see someone out there who gives a damn about being there. Everyone's body is important to their lives, especially their knees. I see nothing special about her. Oh, well. At least she's gone. 

[marys1000]

9 hours ago, azshadowwalker said:

Bi was such a waste of space. A recruit and a quitter. Would much rather see someone out there who gives a damn about being there. Everyone's body is important to their lives, especially their knees. I see nothing special about her. Oh, well. At least she's gone. 

One of the few that agree with you.  I wonder how she was cast.  The fact that she was big in some fighting world makes me wonder if Burnett was involved since he used to be a boxing promoter or something.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 10/21/2018 at 8:25 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Or Shii Ann!!!  She recently appeared on Million Dollar Listing New York and still seems as vibrant and assertive as ever.  

Quoting myself, because a poster upthread claimed that every Asian female on this show has been weak, which - what?!  I forgot to bring up Peih-Gee as well.  Never was weak.  Brenda Lowe never was either.  There's also Natalie and Nadyia from SJDS.  

Edited June 24, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay