S37.E05: Jackets and Eggs

[cooksdelight]

12 minutes ago, OldWiseOne said:

Lyrsa was right, the eggs would have lasted longer uncooked than cooked. Freshly laid eggs are fine to be left out. Many countries do not keep eggs refrigerated in the stores. In North America, our eggs are cleaned to the point that the "bloom" is washed off, and that's why they are refrigerated. Once they are cooked and start to cool is when bacteria would have been forming and causing problems.

My brother has chickens, hens, roosters.... fresh eggs are best kept out of the ‘fridge, and they can sit in a bowl on the counter for a lot longer than people think. LOL, I sort of wish they’d each taken an egg, let Natalie have the rest and eat them in a day or so. 

[PaperTree]

12 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

I just think it would make for a better game if all the suffering was removed from the game. There is no comparable suffering in Big Brother or other reality shows and that doesn't seem to hurt them at all.

Then it would just be Big Brother at the beach front resort.  

No, I watch this for the "suffering" aspects.  

Let them eat nasty critters for immunity, and all the other nastiness.  $1,000,000 ain't what it used to be, but it's a nice payday for 39 days.

[Eolivet]

50 minutes ago, North of Eden said:

The evacuation leaves a lot of questions. Where did they go? How long where they there? Do they get downey beds? Do they get fed regular meals?

This came up the first time it happened during mvgx, and I believe the answer was they put them in some kind of empty large room, one per tribe. So, they were separated by tribe, but allowed to talk to each other. I think the lights were kept off, I don't think they fed them, but they did share sleeping bags.

(All this is from memory -- the only thing I know for sure is they shared sleeping bags, because I remember hearing that Will and Zeke shared one. But maybe it was far enough along in the game that everybody got their own sleeping bag this year).

[blackwing]

Natalie was tough to watch but I thought it was pretty crappy of Angelina to tell her to get Lyrsa’s jacket.  Why couldn’t she ask herself?  What did she expect, that Natalie was going to be able to get Lyrsa to hand it over?  “Sweetie you are going home tonight so just help us out here mmkay?”

Eggs.  Angelina wanted to store them uncooked.  No way they would keep in the heat.  Lyrsa was saying they wouldn’t keep after they were boiled.  I think Natalie was saying that they wouldn’t keep whether they were uncooked or cooked.  So just cook them all and eat them now.  That’s why she was saying it’s only two eggs per person.  I have to agree with her.

She was hard to watch and I’m sure hard to live with but she didn’t deserve the heat for the jackets and eggs.

Loved that she was wearing the jacket in her final words.  So funny.  

[eskimo]

YES!!!! We can have nice things!

[blackwing]

I like Dan and I am glad he found two idols.  I just hope he uses them properly and doesn’t do a James from China and go home with two in his pocket.  

Five episodes in and they introduced a new character, Allison.  I was so sure she was going home.  She said she was a doctor in the first episode, then fell into a well for 14 days and suddenly re-emerges.  Seemed like a clear boot, so kudos to the editors for fooling me.

[dbell1]

Talk about lacking self awareness. I have no idea why Natalie's tribemates didn't tie her to the shelter as an offering to the cyclone. And they could have added Angelina next to her. 

Wonder what Natalie's interview tape was like? Was she leveraging with orphans for their shoes? Stealing blood from the Red Cross? Or just kicking puppies? 

[AZChristian]

8 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Eggs.  Angelina wanted to store them uncooked.  No way they would keep in the heat.  

But how hot could have been if they were all fighting over a jacket?  They kept talking about how cold it was.  From a website about cooking:

"It's true that keeping eggs in the fridge is a weird American quirk. Plenty of countries sell their eggs unrefrigerated and keep them out on the counter, rather than tucked away in a refrigerated egg tray. And if the eggs have never been refrigerated, they can hang out on the counter, or in another cool place, for about a week."

Lyrsa said they would be fine for a day or two if kept out of the direct sun.  I think she was right.

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, MissBluxom said:

I've never understood why the producers feel it's important to make them suffer 

Good point about Big Brother. But they do something on both Survivor and BB that annoys me. They force various types of deprivation on contestants, whether minor ones like slop in BB , or major ones like subsistence level food, little sleep, scorching /freezing weather, itchy bugs, then almost never refer to them in the show. When's the last time we listened to a Survivor truly describe the lack of food, how they were coping, and how much they were actually eating? 

How did they survive sleeping on bamboo in torrential rain? How did they feel? What did they eat? Personally I'd be really interested. Others would be bored. But if you're never going to focus on these things, if they're just a given, why do this to them? The effects can be permanent and life-altering, so the show shouldn't be so dismissive.

Yikes. I just realized I'm saying that as long as I'm entertained by lots of explanation and detail, their suffering is justified. That's weird. So I guess I'd be willing to forgo some or most of the suffering, since for me, it's the psychology I enjoy. You don't have to be starving and passing out for that. 

Finally, I totally agree with the evacuation. If Jeff hadn't done it, and someone had been killed or injured, that would have spelled the end of the show we love so much. (Oops, I did it again. Making it all about me the viewer. I'm a very nice person in real life, I swear.) 

Edited October 25, 2018 by Melina22

[GenerationX]

Random thoughts on episode 5 - "The Goliath Pagonging Reversal":

• The geeks and misfits from the old David tribe are shrewdly reverse-Pagonging the clueless Goliaths
• The best strategic insight this season, so far, is Elizabeth's rationale for wanting to keep flipper Alec over charmer Kara
• If you were cast on the show, wouldn't you plan for what you might need to wear, given 36 seasons of evidence? 

[backformore]

Natalie was wrong about the eggs for the simple reason that the others decided to cook 6, save 6 for later, and she took the saved ones and added them to the pot.   She doesn't care what anyone else thinks, won't listen, because she always has to be right.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

17 minutes ago, GenerationX said:

If you were cast on the show, wouldn't you plan for what you might need to wear, given 36 seasons of evidence? 

Yes of course but based on what @cooksdelight and other posters have said I think that TPTB behind Survivor do all sorts of EXTREMELY SHADY things with your wardrobe to maximize ass and crotch shots, and I'm not kidding.

I made it clear I'd stuff my luggage with sweatpants, sweatshorts, and t-shirts but I think @peachmangosteen told me they do a bunch of crazy shit like shred your clothes that cover up your body parts and give you slutty clothes from K-Mart or something?  This part I might be exaggerating

[TVFan1]

So glad Natalie is gone. Couldn't really stand her that much at all. I thought by this point in the game, the Davids would be outnumbered, but the tribes are now even. I love it when players don't always vote based on tribal lines.

Can't stand Dan either. He said that Gabby is gone if they lose immunity. I hope not, and I hate that he found yet another idol. Hope he gets voted out with both idols in his pocket.

Alison got a confessional! Finally, I got to hear what she was saying.

[eskimo]

I think there is a lot of middle ground when it comes to how much they have to fend for themselves.  They give them rice and as long as they're in locations where they can fish or gather, it works for me.  I don't want to see anyone's health threatened, but this show is called 'Survivor' for more reasons than just surviving to the end of the game.  The only issue here for me is that they don't showcase it that much anymore.  Now the 'have nots' on BB don't make sense to me, because that show doesn't have the survival aspect to it.  And BB is significantly less entertaining, IMO.  Watching people sit in a house getting fat all summer is boring.  I only watch anymore because there's nothing else on in the summer, and the live feeds give insight into reality show editing.  

When it came to the eggs, I also wondered why they didn't each take their two eggs and do whatever the hell they wanted with them.  

[Etta Place]

35 minutes ago, eskimo said:

 When it came to the eggs, I also wondered why they didn't each take their two eggs and do whatever the hell they wanted with them.  

Excellent (eggsellent?) point. But of course the answer is that letting everyone decide for themselves is chaos - much better if Natalie makes the decision unilaterally, particularly without any sort of practical food knowledge. 

[Mystery]

I, too, was wondering why Angelina didn't bring her own damn jacket. Though I'm relieved that at least she's not running around without pants. I don't know why anyone even went to her with the vote-out-Natalie plan. They had three votes without her. 

In my experience, people who go on about "running cold" are usually just pointing out how thin they are. 

[Maverick]

1 hour ago, AZChristian said:

But how hot could have been if they were all fighting over a jacket?  They kept talking about how cold it was.  From a website about cooking:

"It's true that keeping eggs in the fridge is a weird American quirk. Plenty of countries sell their eggs unrefrigerated and keep them out on the counter, rather than tucked away in a refrigerated egg tray. And if the eggs have never been refrigerated, they can hang out on the counter, or in another cool place, for about a week."

Lyrsa said they would be fine for a day or two if kept out of the direct sun.  I think she was right.

Refrigerating eggs is not a quirk.  An egg has a coating on the shell making it nonporous and preventing bacteria from getting inside it.  US Food Safety rules require eggs sold in the US to be washed.  The washing process removes the coating and thus makes the egg susceptible to bacteria.   To hinder bacterial growth, the eggs must be kept refrigerated.    In Europe and most of the rest of the world, they do not wash their eggs so they are safe to leave out since they're still protected by the natural coating.    Boiling the eggs also would have removed the coating and as Lyrsa pointed out, allowed the bacteria to grow (especially in that environment) and make them unsafe to eat.  

[cooksdelight]

1 hour ago, TVFan1 said:

Can't stand Dan either. He said that Gabby is gone if they lose immunity. I hope not, and I hate that he found yet another idol. Hope he gets voted out with both idols in his pocket.

He doesn’t have pockets. Just a crotch bucket. LOL

[MisterBluxom]

I think Angelina deserves some recognition because she has changed the nature of this game forever. From now on, no matter where it is played, no matter what kind of climate, everyone will be bringing a jacket.

I also want to say that every week that passes, I'm finding Gabby's ears more and more adorable. I don't know if she would have been caught in that storm whether she would have taken off in the wind and flown herself to safety. I'm guessing she could use those ears to fly.

But regardless of whether she can fly or not, I think those ears make her one of the most gorgeous ladies ever. She reminds me of some kind of very cute little animal. Not a hamster. But something like a hamster.  Honestly, I love Gabby like I have never loved any other TV contestant and I especially love her ears. Never before have I seen such gorgeous ears on a human being.  Never!

If only I could marry Gabby, I would spend the rest of my life in rapture fondling those ears - at least until she smacked me in the mouth and screamed at me, "Leave my fucking ears alone you freak!"

Oh well, what is life coming to when I can't even have pleasant day dreams anymore? Gabby? Are you reading this? I love you. You are the most gorgeous and nicest lady in the whole world. I am amazed that so many people can be on that island with you and never get just how fabulous you are. Will you marry me?

(P.S. I just watched As Good As It Gets last night).

Edited October 25, 2018 by MissBluxom

[MisterBluxom]

1 hour ago, Melina22 said:

Good point about Big Brother. But they do something on both Survivor and BB that annoys me. They force various types of deprivation on contestants, whether minor ones like slop in BB , or major ones like subsistence level food, little sleep, scorching /freezing weather, itchy bugs, then almost never refer to them in the show. When's the last time we listened to a Survivor truly describe the lack of food, how they were coping, and how much they were actually eating? 

How did they survive sleeping on bamboo in torrential rain? How did they feel? What did they eat? Personally I'd be really interested. Others would be bored. But if you're never going to focus on these things, if they're just a given, why do this to them? The effects can be permanent and life-altering, so the show shouldn't be so dismissive.

Yikes. I just realized I'm saying that as long as I'm entertained by lots of explanation and detail, their suffering is justified. That's weird. So I guess I'd be willing to forgo some or most of the suffering, since for me, it's the psychology I enjoy. You don't have to be starving and passing out for that. 

Finally, I totally agree with the evacuation. If Jeff hadn't done it, and someone had been killed or injured, that would have spelled the end of the show we love so much. (Oops, I did it again. Making it all about me the viewer. I'm a very nice person in real life, I swear.) 

IMO, you have every right to make it all about you - the viewer. Who else should this show be for? You are the one who pays all their bills - directly or indirectly. If they ever decide to sell Survivor jackets - directly or indirectly - Heh Heh ... I'm just trying to find a way to poke fun at Natalie trying to evade her attempt to extort a jacket by calling her bullying "directly or indirectly". But I failed to find a good way.

I am definitely in agreement with you however to feel the show should be designed for your entertainment. IMHO, that is really what it's purpose should be.

[babs1226]

3 hours ago, North of Eden said:

The eggs..I don't know...I think making them right away might have been the better idea...how long before they can go bad?

Lyrsa said because they had no safe way to store the cooked eggs, they would start to develop bacteria within 4 hours.  She learned it in cooking school.  I trust her judgement.

[Charlesman]

2 hours ago, Eolivet said:

This came up the first time it happened during mvgx, and I believe the answer was they put them in some kind of empty large room, one per tribe. So, they were separated by tribe, but allowed to talk to each other. I think the lights were kept off, I don't think they fed them, but they did share sleeping bags.

(All this is from memory -- the only thing I know for sure is they shared sleeping bags, because I remember hearing that Will and Zeke shared one. But maybe it was far enough along in the game that everybody got their own sleeping bag this year).

 

My memory is that they go to a hotel, but don't get rooms or beds. Each tribe sleeps in a conference room on the floor, because it's Survivor and there are no beds unless they're reward.

BUT, I seem to remember that they are NOT allowed to talk, at all, while they're sequestered. Since they can't use any footage in the episodes, they don't want any gameplay happening while they're in the hotel. They don't want the contestants maybe making a new alliance, coming up with a new strategy, making any deals, someone saying something that causes other people to vote them out, etc., and then they can't show in the episode where it came from. So, it's just like the walk back from TC, the walk to/from each challenge, the boat rides, etc.... no talking allowed. (Which is why it isn't until they walk all the way back from TC or a challenge that they all open up and burst into talking once they're back at the beach)

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

• If you were cast on the show, wouldn't you plan for what you might need to wear, given 36 seasons of evidence? 

I don't think they're really allowed to pick all their own clothes. The producers and casting people will come up with their outfits. Most famously, Cochran had never even worn a sweater vest once in his life until he was made to wear one on Survivor (twice).

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, Mystery said:

I, too, was wondering why Angelina didn't bring her own damn jacket. Though I'm relieved that at least she's not running around without pants. I don't know why anyone even went to her with the vote-out-Natalie plan. They had three votes without her. 

In my experience, people who go on about "running cold" are usually just pointing out how thin they are. 

Haha, that's been true in my experience too, now that you point it out! 

I'd be happier that she hadn't chosen the no-pants route if she'd been wearing anything but those eye-searing grey yoga pants. For her sake, though, I was glad she had them on when they had to slide down those wooden poles in the challenge. Ouch, that must have been painful for the pants-less Survivors. 

[GaT]

So where did they go when they were evacuated? Did they give them food & access to showers & stuff?

Friggin’ Natalie, what was that crap about the Members Only jacket? And I love Angelina now. So glad she's finally gone, she was one of those people who ruin watching the game.

[piewarmer]

4 hours ago, North of Eden said:

 

The eggs..I don't know...I think making them right away might have been the better idea...how long before they can go bad?

 

Several other egg savvy posters beat me to the bloom and the lack of heat and that the eggs would have kept longer uncooked, so I'll just second, third and fourth them and add:

Can I have your jacket, Brochacho?

Edited October 25, 2018 by piewarmer
late to the bloom party

[30 Helens]

4 hours ago, mojoween said:

Also Dan can stop with the “brochacho” any damn time now.

And please tell Nick to stop with the Mason Dixon. And the Rock Stars. And all the other nicknames. It’s hella annoying.

The only jacket Angelina needs is a straightjacket. Conspiring to steal other players’ clothes before booting them is some cold psycho behavior.  Not a fan of Natalie, but I’m glad she ignored the whining pleas of her co-conspirator.

[MisterBluxom]

The eggs provide some excellent evidence as to the nature of Nastalie and the reasons for the problems she has with others. That issue provided the essential underlying reasons why she is the "no account" meanie that was such a waste of time and space during this season.  It was true that she was a little fun to laugh at.  But beyond that? It was nothing but a very unpleasant experience. Goodbye Nasty Nastalie. Go away and please do not come back.

At TC, I couldn't believe the sweet, respectful words emanating from her mouth.  Based on those words alone,  I would never have believed that she could ever have had any problems with anyone else and I think I would have decided that all the other contestants must have been insane for picking on this wonderfully wise and mature woman. Of course, none of that had anything to do with the truth.

The eggs provided the smoking gun. Several of the other contestants knew about eggs and the factors that cause them to spoil.  How and why eggs spoil is not a mystery for the ages. It is something that apparently is fairly well known to many people. But like many other things, it was not well known to Nastalie.  AAMOF, it was not known at all to Natalie.

The important question follows: The fact that this info was not known at all to Nastalie should have impacted her behavior regarding the way she injected her two cents into any of the egg discussions.  But did it?  No.  It did not.   Not at all.   Not on your life.

After all, what does knowledge have to do with influencing Nastalie?  Experience,  intelligence,  wisdom,  consideration and most importantly - human kindness - none of those things seem to make any impact at all on her.  Nastalie doesn't seem to know or care about anything except for her need to be in charge and her need to always be right.  Jeff came real close when he said that he figured out Nastalie and the key to understanding her was to understand she must always have the last word. That was close but not exactly all there was to understanding her.

I don't understand her and I really don't want to understand her.  I have only one outstanding issue with Nastalie.  I just wish that somewhere on her person, there was an "OFF" button that could be pressed in order to instantly shut her down.  Remember all those movies with robots where someone would push their "OFF" button and they would be stopped in mid-sentence?  Some of those scenes were really funny and it would be  hilarious if someone could catch her in mid-sentence and press her OFF button just to see her shut down for once and for ever.

Edited October 25, 2018 by MissBluxom

[mertensia]

Yeah, I would have guessed hard boiling them all was a good idea too, but I would have shut up when someone who graduated from culinary school corrected me (unless they'd lost on Hell's Kitchen)..  Because I did not graduate from one.

The sweater bit at the end with Natalie ignoring Angelina was comedy gold.T

Natalie is so one of those managers who doesn't care that you can't make it in to work because the State Highway Patrol just shut down the roads because she managed to make it in. Sure, she lives a block away and walks but the point is is she made it in, so so can you.

[MrsR]

Studied some food science here because  I worked at a living history museum. I never refrigerate my eggs. Never.  Even store bought washed eggs.  I have eggs last a month in cooler temps.  They don't get bacteria in them because they are sealed for the most part. (They are porous to a mild extent. They go bad because they develop gases when the protein composts within the shell. In the older days before refrigeration people stored eggs in buckets of water that was kept in cooler areas. Eggs could be kept for three months using that method in colder climates.  Very handy when the hens production shuts down in the winter.

 

Soooo happy to see Natalie gone. What an ass.  The jacket stuff was wonderful. She reduced her tribe mate down to a commodity.

 

One of my favorite moments on Survivor was when Phillip had a tantrum about not getting a share of the CRISPY RICE! "Rob gets crispy rice! Why can't I have some of the crispy rice!!!" Good times!

1 minute ago, MrsR said:

 

Edited October 25, 2018 by MrsR

[MissEwa]

8 hours ago, PaperTree said:

Karl has the "Idol Nullifier" if he knows when to use it.

This leads to a question: If Dan somehow found out about an idol nullifier (or if, say, Carl got cocky at tribal and announced it), could he play both idols on himself at once, have one be nullified and the other save him? Because that would be kind of cool. 

(I still have an unhealthy obsession with the idol nullifer. I'm sorry.)

Lyrsa's jacket is actually super-cute, but that whole thing was weird and awkward and both Angelina and Natalie came off terribly. Angelina can go next, really. 

[Kenzie]

Natalie, can I have your jacket? ..... Natalie? ..... Natalie? ..... Natalie?  

*Crickets*

Lol!!

[JudyObscure]

I'm looking forward to some future episode of Dateline when the perp is being charged with murder for paying some dude to kill their spouse and they're all, "But I'm in Sales!  It was just leverage! It's okay if you're in sales!"

[Bryce Lynch]

How was the jacket thing supposed to work?  Did I misunderstand or was Natalie trying to get Nick to promise to leave his jacket if he got voted off?

If that was the case wouldn't agreeing to it pretty much guarantee Natalie would try to vote him off?

Also, why wouldn't Angelina just go directly to Nick and try to make a deal and form an alliance? "As long as you let me borrow it, I won't vote for you.  You bring it to each TC and if you get voted off you can take it home.". That would give them both incentive to keep the deal.

I am starting to think maybe Jeremy was telling the truth about Angelina.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Bryce Lynch

[mertensia]

3 minutes ago, Bryce Lynch said:

How was the jacket thing supposed to work?  Did I misunderstand or was Natalie trying to get Nick to promise to leave his jacket if he got voted off?

If that was the case wouldn't agreeing to it pretty much guarantee Natalie would try to vote him off?

I heard it as "give me the jacket if you want to stay".

[ProfCrash]

I was oh so very happy last night. Thrilled to see Natalie go. She was an unpleasant person on the show and I did not find her entertaining. I did see that Natalie was getting the fire going when they got back to camp with the eggs.

I continue to be impressed with the David's. They have been in the minority with the swaps and still have not panicked, well Gabby panicked but I think that was general anxiety. Even then, Gabby was able to hide her concerns from the Goliath's and only talk to Christian. Nick and Lyrrisa handled the tribal loss well. I am sure there was a bit more scrambling when they got back to camp but what we saw was relatively low key. Nick had developed a relationship with Mike when Nick figured out that Mike was not a Natalie fan. Mike was more then willing to work with Nick in voting out Natalie and was miffed enough to talk to Angelina. Angelina can say that she stayed Goliath strong but she knows that she did not tell Natalie that Mike had flopped.

I wonder if Natalie moderated her tone at Tribal because she knew she was in trouble. Her demeanor was very different at this tribal then it was when Jeremy was voted out. While she was on the defensive, She was far less brash.

I laughed my ass off at the jacket bit. Natalie did not have to share her clothes with anyone but it was still pretty cold. Personally, I would just leave my clothes behind at camp before going to tribal. I seriously doubt I would want to keep too many of the clothes I was wearing out there, why not leave extra clothes for the people who are cold and uncomfortable?

[Bryce Lynch]

Did anyone else notice, that with her accent, Lyrsa called Natalie, "Egg O Tistical".  Given the subject of their dispute, the mispronunciation was fitting.

12 hours ago, vb68 said:

"I'm in sales, so it's not a bullying."

Huh?

Yeah Angelina, Natalie was asking out of love.

And then she showed how much love she had for Angelina by ignoring her desperate pleas to leave her jacket for her.

Angelina can get off my TV screen next.

Edited October 25, 2018 by Bryce Lynch

[Bryce Lynch]

9 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

Remember the Bible story about Joseph and his jacket of many colors? It was his source of power. Maybe Natalie's jacket is her source of meanness. If so, I can understand why she would need to keep it.

I don't think Joseph's coat had any power.  But it did make his brothers jealous and made them want to get rid of him, so maybe there is a parallel to Natalie's jacket.

[Bryce Lynch]

6 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

I think Angelina deserves some recognition because she has changed the nature of this game forever. From now on, no matter where it is played, no matter what kind of climate, everyone will be bringing a jacket.

I also want to say that every week that passes, I'm finding Gabby's ears more and more adorable. I don't know if she would have been caught in that storm whether she would have taken off in the wind and flown herself to safety. I'm guessing she could use those ears to fly.

But regardless of whether she can fly or not, I think those ears make her one of the most gorgeous ladies ever. She reminds me of some kind of very cute little animal. Not a hamster. But something like a hamster.  Honestly, I love Gabby like I have never loved any other TV contestant and I especially love her ears. Never before have I seen such gorgeous ears on a human being.  Never!

I am hoping Christian and Gabby get together so we can find out what half Hobbit, half Elf babies look like. :)

They also remind me a bit of Gretchen and Elliot from Breaking Bad.  Maybe their alliance should be named Gray Matter.

[cujo]

This just in.... Angelina has released another statement, this time about jackets...

"My husband and I are aware of the warmth of jackets. While we do not always wear jackets my comfort is greater with a jacket, I am surprised no one felt compelled to give me all the jackets. I think all of this really comes down to one fundamental Survivor truth: if you jacket on you can't jacket off, especially if you're a Goliath like me."

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, Kenzie said:

Natalie, can I have your jacket? ..... Natalie? ..... Natalie? ..... Natalie?  

*Crickets*

Lol!!

That really was cringe worthy. It was pretty bad that everytime Angelina is asking the others are laughing. Too funny!

[truthaboutluv]

10 hours ago, MissBluxom said:

I'm sorry but I disagree that the contestants should be subjected to the "starvation" and other hardship aspects of this game. IMHO, these are really unnecessary and don't really add anything to the viewer's enjoyment of the game. The essence of this game has always been the social interactions. Without the hardships, there would be more time and the social interactions would be able to be shown to the viewers in more detail. I could be wrong, but I think if they kept the contestants fully fed and comfortable, there would be more time for the show to concentrate on the social interactions and it would make for a more enjoyable game for the viewers.

I'm in the minority with you. I think it comes down to different viewers and what appeals to them. Some believe watching people damn near starve and be physically tortured is true to the Survivor aspect of the show, I'm the viewer though who is more interested in watching blindsides and strategy and gameplay. Seeing a bunch of people sitting around freezing or too hungry to even think much less strategize, is not my idea of fun but YMMV of course. 

[Special K]

Christian is a freaking robotics engineer!  He should ALWAYS do the fine-motor-control challenges!  Just amazing.  And his modest "thanks guys for your support" was so perfect. I just love him.

Angelina, we see right through you and karma is a bitch isn't it?

Elizabeth with her wide-eyed country smile is one of the savviest most insightful contestants this season.  Along with Mike White.

[Bryce Lynch]

I was actually almost starting to like Natalie in this episode, before Jacketgate.   

She was useful around camp, actually building a fire, instead ordering others to build a fire while barking detailed instructions and criticism at them.  

I also like the way she was enjoying the beauty and wonder of the storm.

She was very supportive of her teammates in the challenges, even with Nick after he lost the immunity challenge.

I didn't think she was that bad with the eggs.  She had an opinion and Lyrsa had another and they both expressed them.

It was like I didn't know her anymore. 

Then, she started the jacket bullying.     

I did love how she denied Angelina her jacket and acted like she didn't even hear her asking for it.  

Edited October 25, 2018 by Bryce Lynch

[Bryce Lynch]

I am somewhere in the middle when it comes to suffering by the castaways.  I think the should have barely enough food to function, as a minimum, and the opportunity to get fish, coconuts, crabs, etc, plus rewards.  

But, I think it is good for them to be pretty hungry, if they don't have any providers or challenge beasts in the tribe.  It creates a lot more tension between the desire to get the biggest threats out of the game and the desire to thrive as a tribe and be better fed and more comfortable. 

[EllipticalAddicted]

Did anyone else notice how clean Natalie's jacket looked?!   Thanks to creative editing, we never saw her wearing it, but I'm sure she did.   

 

No love here for Angelina.   She was the one Goliath tribe member that stood out on day one as she actually laughed at the David tribe as Jeff was introducing them.  The only reason she hugged Natalie at the end was to use an emotional connection to get Natalie to give her that jacket.   Those horrible gray workout pants the producers are making her wear should hopefully cause some self reflection on her part as she watches these episodes.

 

The deprivations that the cast members have to endure really ratchet things up.   Sleep deprivation, hunger, loneliness, cold, etc. can bring out the extremes in people.  The show would be boring otherwise, watching happy comfortable people.

Edited October 25, 2018 by EllipticalAddicted

[marys1000]

2 hours ago, Bryce Lynch said:

How was the jacket thing supposed to work?  Did I misunderstand or was Natalie trying to get Nick to promise to leave his jacket if he got voted off?

If that was the case wouldn't agreeing to it pretty much guarantee Natalie would try to vote him off?

Also, why wouldn't Angelina just go directly to Nick and try to make a deal and form an alliance? "As long as you let me borrow it, I won't vote for you.  You bring it to each TC and if you get voted off you can take it home.". That would give them both incentive to keep the deal.

I am starting to think maybe Jeremy was telling the truth about Angelina.

I  moved a couple of months ago and no longer have cable i.e. no longer have CBS.  So I go to someone's house to watch and while I love the company I am missing so much! I missed all the egg drama for one.  I did see Allison show up for a talking head which was nice.

I'm confused by jacket gate as well.  I thought that Angelina asked for Natalie's help in getting Lyrsa's jacket? before they voted Lyrsa off? Didn't Angelia basically sell her non vote for Natalie if Natalie could get her Lyrsa's jacket?   And Natalie decides to go to Nick and somehow extort/blackmail him to get Lyrsa?s jacket for not voting for him, thinking they were voting off Lyrsa but Nick wouldn't know for sure.  I don't know, I'm pretty confused except I was totally gobsmacked by the whole buying/selling a vote thing.  Very entertaining although I wish I could rewatch. 
HOWEVER, it did make me wonder why this hasn't happened before?  I mean technically I guess I won't vote for you if you don't vote for me is in a way some sort of pay/sell but.  

I mean, you could do it with food you've gotten.  Say you are bring in all the fish, instead of basically hoping your tribe keeps you around as a provider, just say, no vote for fish.  I mean, I think you'd be hated but.  

And I'm confused about Natalie's occupation.  I thought she created, built up and ran her own magazine?  I'm sure sales is a big part of that but saying "I'm in sales" seemed a bit weird. 

Missed whatever what went down with Elizabeth as well?  She did some sort of game play?  

I'm sort of neutral on Angelina I guess except she got rid of Jeremy who I loved and think would have been great fun to continue to watch.  But not sure I want her to go now if she is going to keep bringing so much shade as its sort of entertaining.  And I do believe Jeremy.  

The challenge was so close!  Great for Christian, felt bad for Nick.  

[peachmangosteen]

13 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

... Nick saying that she can have his now after all the saga with him and Natalie about the jacket ...

I missed this. I only remember Nick saying, to Angelina, something like, "Was the jacket worth a million dollars?" which had me rolling. And then either him or Mike (it was hard to tell because it sounded like Nick but the camera was on Mike at the time) saying, "I guess not." which had me rolling even more.

11 hours ago, North of Eden said:

The early days of this series was ALL ABOUT the Survival aspects and tribe life. A season one reward was but a SINGLE slice of pizza for five people and you use to see what went on around the camp. Present day Survivor is all gimmicks, hidden idols, strategizing and trying to "make characters" explode i popularity. Actually having to survive the elements of the storm would have really harkened back to the purity of early seasons. And honestly, they were overselling it that they "all would have died". At least one tribe sign wasn't even blown over.

Hurry, someone find the link to that article about how the cast was given canned food in one of the earlier seasons! Seriously though, is this some kind of Mandela effect? Because every damn season people are going on about how much harder it was, food-wise, in the beginning and no one ever remembers that that really isn't the case lol.

42 minutes ago, Special K said:

Christian is a freaking robotics engineer!  He should ALWAYS do the fine-motor-control challenges!  Just amazing.  And his modest "thanks guys for your support" was so perfect. I just love him.

It was even funnier because it was like, "Thanks guys ... very much for the support," in a sorta half cry. It was adorable and hilarious.

This season is truly delivering. I just hope it continues. I live in fear that it'll go down hill any minute based on, well, pretty much every recent season lol.

Edited October 25, 2018 by peachmangosteen

[SuburbanHangSuite]

Something else that made me laugh.

Lyrsa says,  "I'm writing Natalie's name down because I can't stand her.  She may be a perfectly adorable woman outside this game..."

Ummmmmm, Lyrsa?   I'm pretty sure the word "Adorable" has NEVER been used to describe Natalie---not even when she was a toddler dressed in her Sunday best.

[ghoulina]

12 hours ago, zenithwit said:

Now I know there are way more reasons why Natalie was voted out other than #jacketgate but that whole incident left a bad taste in my mouth.  I didn't like Natalie taking the fall when Angelina was just as shady.  When Angelina was giving her spiel about Natalie acting "out of love", I was really hoping that Natalie would tell the truth and call her out.  

I, too, was expecting Natalie to become very offended. "YOU mentioned wanting the jacket first!" It was weird that she just let Angelina smooth it all over with her half-truths. The only thing I can think of is that Natalie is such a narcissist, that all that flattery about "coming from a good place" and "she did it out of love" was feeding her ego and she didn't realize that Angelina was effectively taking the blame off of herself. 

 

12 hours ago, North of Eden said:

The eggs..I don't know...I think making them right away might have been the better idea...how long before they can go bad?

I'm not an eggspert, but I tend to think that countdown from good to bad eggs would be shorter once they're cooked. Lyrsa was saying to kind of dig a shallow spot and keep them out of the sun and they'd be fine. I get organic eggs at the farmers market and don't even need to refrigerate them. Once you cook them, you need to eat them relatively quickly. But I could be totally wrong. 

 

12 hours ago, princelina said:

As for Natalie - maybe they like her okay in spite of herself, if she runs a good company, gives good Christmas bonuses, etc.  But it's easy for the boss to think she gets along with everyone!

Natalie may have the least amount of self-awareness I've ever seen in a person. Every time they're at TC and an issue with her comes up, she's truly surprised. She just doesn't get it. 

Also, you can get away from your boss at the end of the day. These people are STUCK with Natalie day in and day out. On top of that, they're wet, they're hungry, they're tired. So I can see them having a lot less tolerance for her than an ostensibly well-fed, dry, well-rested employee would have. 

[Special K]

Just now, SuburbanHangSuite said:

  I'm pretty sure the word "Adorable" has NEVER been used to describe Natalie---not even when she was a toddler dressed in her Sunday best.

She was probably telling her mother, give me that lollipop and I won't throw a tantrum.  You know, since she's in sales.