S38.E08: I'm the Puppet Master

[ByaNose]

Joe and a random tear drop. Whatever. I was glad Aubry found the advantage but I don’t like her having to Will the extra vote. Enough with EI involvement with the actual game. That said, I did enjoy Ron getting blindsided. He didn’t count on that one. 

[HappyDancex2]

I was pretty shocked that Wardog managed to plant that seed in the Kama younger members and they actually fell for it.   Why didn't they discuss that Wardog had told them the same thing and maybe they were being manipulated?

Even though the news anchor gets hit by the Kama train at the end, I did enjoy him telling Wardog that he wasn't working with him no matter how much barking he did at him.   That was comedy gold.  

The 2 halves of the immunity idol are basically wasted custody of a useless piece of wood.  Neither of them should trust the other.  Neither of them should cede control of their half.   Let's hope something happens that forces them to align.   Maybe David will force it from him as a show of trust LOL

[millennium]

2 hours ago, EllipticalAddicted said:

I wish the powers that be would end the family visit.   End it.   I hate to see it being used as a touch point for the cast.    Plus if I never hear "Ready for some Luuuuuuuuurrrrrvvvvvveeeee" from Probst's mouth, that will be too soon.

IMO, the nadir of every season.   Probst's smarmy pronunciation of "love" drives me bonkers. 

[knitorpurl]

2 hours ago, Gummo said:

I'm gonna have to play back that tribal a few hundred times for the facial expressions alone. Now that's a blindside. See those jaws dropping to the floor like a Tex Avery cartoon? See the quietly smug smiles on the overlooked players who feel taken for granted? Yeah, it's all right there in the medical dictionary, classic symptoms, really, it's the (now-not-quite) fatal malady common known as "blindside."

It was a good one. Eric trying to start counting once the third vote was read, Rick's jaw literally dropping and Ron trying to hold his face completely still as it  dropped against his will. The puppets have broken free and are running amok!

[sadiegirl1999]

I have to say, after tonight, Ron is not THE Ron Clark I expected. His books are wonderful and he comes across in them as a kind, passionate person. 

He’s shrill and harpy and unappealing on Survivor, the complete opposite of his books. 

[Steph Sometimes]

Now do you believe me there's an Aurora?!

Rick was the one who gave Aubry the advantage right? I wonder why she didn't return the favor. 

I don't mind Rick. Or David. But I'm still rooting for a woman to win. Julia seems pretty cool now that she's allowed to speak on camera. Aurora maybe a little less so. But they've both spoken more this episode than Redhead Chelsea in her whole season so that's something. Progress!

The funny thing about this season is I feel like there's no real sense of time passing. You could tell me there are three episodes left. You could tell me there are fifteen. I would probably believe you either way.

[LanceM]

The problem with this blindside tonight atleast from a storytelling perspective is that we were told that Eric and Ron were running the Kama tribe yet up until tonights episode we saw no evidence of this whatsoever in regards to Eric.  Who was shown coming up with the plan to blindside Aubry?  Not Eric. Not Gavin either it was Victoria. Last week, who came up with the plan to blindisde Joe?  That was Ron.  But where was Eric to be found?  He was waiting with Gavin for Victoria (who talked to Ron) to let him know what the plan was for the vote.  Now we are expected to believe he has been leading the tribe all this time?  Don't think so.

Edited April 4, 2019 by LanceM

[GaT]

The show starts, & the first thing I see is someone name Aurora, who I don’t remember seeing before. Then there’s some blonde guy who I don’t remember & I still don’t know his name. What is wrong with the editing this season that there are so many people I don’t recognize?

[kikaha]

52 minutes ago, HappyDancex2 said:

If you are Joe on EOE, do you fish or find food and share it with the others?  He seems too nice not to share but he should make them starve, right?  

Those people are also his jury, assuming he makes it to the end.  So I think he treats them as well as possible. 

Real good episode IMO.  EoE was the only letdown.  It still pisses me off that someone can miss most of the season, bond on EoE with the others who got booted and will make up most of the jury, come back near the end and win.  

[ChristmasJones]

As someone who has fainted at three different times, I felt for Lauren.  Its a very surreal experience to be conscious one second and then find yourself collapsed on the floor without any memory of falling down. 

One of the times I fainted, I was sitting next to my then-boyfriend in a chiropractor's office. The appointment was for him.  As they were talking, they noticed that I started leaning onto his shoulder and then suddenly slid onto the floor.  I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was really hot out... so a bit similar to Lauren's situation.

[30 Helens]

Aurora: You guys left me out of the loop last week! Why didn’t anyone tell me what was going on?

The rest of Kama: What? Who are you?

That’s how it played out in my head, anyway.

[Wandering Snark]

I enjoy a good fall from grace blindside as well as Rick blindly declaring his love for the leadership that was soon to tumble... but again NOBODY LEAVES. EVER. It is a gutpunch at the end of every episode that says "Disregard everything you just saw because none of it matters." Every week it's an asterisk hanging over and haunting the game. Today's epic blindside could just as easily be tomorrows Comeback Kid story. It's beyond annoying.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Wandering Snark

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Frankly, I was much more annoyed with Julie (or whoever that tiny housewife Etsy lady is), than Aurora. I think what Aurora did was tacky, but not because Lauren was unconscious. I don't know, I guess 1) Victoria and Aurora couldn't super tell what was going on with Lauren, but I think based on the reactions of Jeff, and him confirming from Dr. Joe that Lauren was going to be okay, then hey, keep focusing on the game especially since it hasn't stopped. But Julie, first last week she thinks it's mean/unethical to vote out Ricky Fogle (no, lady, it's called Survivor), and then this week she's acting like Lauren's dead while Aurora negotiates. Bless your heart, Julie. Now go home and apply for a different kind of reality show. 

Beanie Victoria still rubs me the wrong way. Plus she bitched on twitter about not getting that much airtime tonight. Oh boohoo. How do you think these other randos whose names we're still learning feel? Sit down child and just go take some emo beanie selfies or something.

[HappyDancex2]

Is EOE so big that Aubrey can be somewhere where no one will stumble upon her and how long does she get to practice the tangled ropes?  Does that mean everyone else is still hunting around for the clue?  And nobody is missing her while she is out there practicing?

Reem talks with a big attitude but she doesn’t do anything but complain and follow people around...while complaining.  And when she says “dude” to start her sentences it makes my blood boil.

[HappyDancex2]

1 minute ago, MVFrostsMyPie said:

Frankly, I was much more annoyed with Julie (or whoever that tiny housewife Etsy lady is), than Aurora. I think what Aurora did was tacky, but not because Lauren was unconscious. I don't know, I guess 1) Victoria and Aurora couldn't super tell what was going on with Lauren, but I think based on the reactions of Jeff, and him confirming from Dr. Joe that Lauren was going to be okay, then hey, keep focusing on the game especially since it hasn't stopped. But Julie, first last week she thinks it's mean/unethical to vote out Ricky Fogle (no, lady, it's called Survivor), and then this week she's acting like Lauren's dead while Aurora negotiates. Bless your heart, Julie. Now go home and apply for a different kind of reality show. 

I thought these 2 were the same people.  

Does aurora have an occupation?  This is confusing.  And I didn’t know Ron existed until tonight either.

I thought the people who used their buffs on their head had a bit of an advantage in the challenge.  The DH said that all of the contestants were not equally stretched up on their toes.

[mertensia]

I don't think it's exactly cricket to vote out a total stranger. Because there was no Eric before tonight.

I agree with the person upthread who said the crew should have been sprinting towards a fainting/fainted Lauren.

I would ask if Aurora was always so whiny, but since we've only seen her like twice, how would we know?

Edited April 4, 2019 by mertensia

[KimberStormer]

Another week, another episode that would have been better without the EDGE OF EXTINCTION.  Things actually happened!  Deals were wheeled!  I don't need a million years of e x t r e m e closeups of Aubry.  (The fact that she gets so much time........idk man.  If she wins, Survivor is officially a joke.  But even Joe has no edit, and Aubry has a huge one.  Scary.)  I want to see the real game.

You do have to give credit to the Wardog tonight, and honestly, I think I have to put Julia and Gavin in the "fell for it" category.  Victoria was probably right that they should wait another vote, and break up that Kelley/Lauren "POWER COUPLE" that was supposed to be such a terrifying threat to, you know, those profound masters of Survivor strategy, Reem and Wendy and Keith.  It certainly couldn't hurt the Kama Kidz to not have one or the other of those two in the game.  On the other hand, without the move here, one must assume that Kelley, with her amazing nose for the scent of her own name written on parchments, would have done as the Wentworth does and she and Lauren would have pulled out those idols, and then no Kama person is in charge of who goes home at all, plus they haven't built anything to work from.

ALSO: strategy is one thing, but satisfying is another.  Rick sucks.  Ron's "guys the family visit is almost here, we're gonna make the family visit" bullshit was heaped so high I could smell it from here.  Julie's self-righteousness is not my bag.  Seeing these folks' faces drop is the purest kind of Survivor delight.  Especially when it's not because of an idol, an advantage, or anything but pure talking and voting.  And I know that We Have Always Hated Kelley Wentworth, Who I Don't Even Remember Anyway So Who Does She Think She Is, but (Aurora aside) the successful side of the vote here are all pretty great to me.  Wardog, as I say, was the prime mover here, Lauren is a fuckin badass, Kelley is still my unkillable fave and looking amazing with her island tan etc, David was talking some professional Ciera realness tonight, and the Kama Kidz are adorable.  Aurora can go, though; I don't mind her negotiating so much, but she was very annoying and ineffectual about it, and she's just lucky things fell out the way they did because her original plan to stick with the numbers is never going to get her anything and my least favorite way to play Survivor.  Don't whine and beg, do something about it, man.

6 hours ago, truthaboutluv said:

Which brings me to my annoyance when Kelly started talking about how they were trying to destroy each other instead of working together to bring Kama down, who if left alone, was only going to pick them off one by one. Because that's EXACTLY what I said last week. I didn't understand why, when they were down in the numbers, Kelly, Lauren and Wardog's plan last week was to go straight after one of their own rather than Kelly trying to pull in Joe who had legitimate concerns that he was not part of the Kama group and try to take control of the numbers. 

Well at least part of that was editing; as you can see in her thread, she wasn't necessarily anti-Rick right away, as her cheering for him in the challenge suggested.  My guess is that a whole lot of shit went down before those three decided on voting Rick, and we probably have the EDGE OF EXTINCTION to blame for the fact that they had to simplify it down for time.

5 hours ago, Maggie Mae said:

Devens...no, Rick (he no longer deserves a nickname unless it's "1/2 idol") wants David to return the half he gave him. David deadpans: no, I think I'll keep it. 

That's the first time I've liked David.....ever!  He seems like such a people-pleaser in so many ways, yet he was willing to just unapologetically say no to the person who had up til then been his closest friend and ally, because that person was being an idiot.  I feel very justified in my season-long antipathy for Rick this episode I must admit.

[Fake Jan Brady]

6 hours ago, mojoween said:

A bikini top and a winter cap is the most annoying of sartorial choices.

A fully knotted necktie annoys me more...but maybe that's because of who's wearing it.

That montage of Joe at EOE cracked me up; I could almost hear the camera person thinking "oooh, Joe, you look good from any angle".

I know who everyone is! [I just wanted to counter all the "who..?" posts].

[dstann]

1 hour ago, KimberStormer said:

You do have to give credit to the Wardog tonight, and honestly, I think I have to put Julia and Gavin in the "fell for it" category.  Victoria was probably right that they should wait another vote, and break up that Kelley/Lauren "POWER COUPLE" that was supposed to be such a terrifying threat to, you know, those profound masters of Survivor strategy, Reem and Wendy and Keith.  It certainly couldn't hurt the Kama Kidz to not have one or the other of those two in the game.

I am not sure what they "fell for" when what Wardog was saying was actually correct.  Yeah they could have waited a vote or 2 but at the same time they took a person out of a 5 voting block and left in a 3 voting block.  I am actually happy that it happened just because I feel it make the game more exciting.

[sigmaforce86]

6 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Poor Aurora who was for all practical purposes INVISIBLE until tonight will likely only be remembered as the complete dick who was trying to negotiate when Lauren was doing a pretty fair impression of being DEAD. How anyone could be .that lacking in self-awareness is unfathomable.

If she had just waited two minutes, enough to hear Lauren didn't smack her head going down or wasn't super dehydrated and didn't need to be evacuated which could have stopped the challenge anyway.  She may have been desperate that she couldn't wait those two minutes or she'd fall (so not much of a "winner").........; it's an odd grey area of winning or losing a challenge vs. negotiating with an ally or friend vs. what she seemed to want which is just hand me the win because reasons.  Things like that bring out the contrary in me, once she started I think I'd have been likely to get stubborn and refuse to budge just because I'd feel like I was being guilted into it by someone I owe nothing to and who owes me nothing

4 hours ago, knitorpurl said:

During the IC Lauren repeatedly states how dizzy she is, the camera is doing close ups of her eyes crossing and no producer  notices? Glad she was able to get back up. The funny thing that happened right before that was Jeff announcing the three remaining players in the challenge- Victoria, Aurora and Lauren. Then Aurora mumbles something like "Dang skinny girls." Ummm, Aurora you are a dang skinny girl.

Sort of like Margie and Luke arriving at the mat on Amazing Race - Margie said multiple times "I think I need water", she was wobbling and she said her fingers were frozen.  They got it on camera but didn't do anything or rush the "You are team number" greeting until she went down.  To give Phil credit on that though once she did go down he lept into action, supported her and helped medical.    I wonder though was someone filming Lauren and ignoring the warnings or is there a dedicated camera on each person through the whole challenge so they can just edit in what they want to show later - otherwise it seems like if they have one or two guys going from person to person they risk missing a good moment.  It brings up interesting questions on how the filming works, how much the contestants are monitored and what their cut off is on when to intercede (or when they know something bad is gong on).

Anonymous Player #472 for the win!   Seriously, there are a few people that are enjoyable to watch play, sort of, but not anyone I'm sure I'd want to see win (even from the players I like), no clear front runner and if there's a "winners edit" going on I'm not seeing it.  I think the uneven wins messed things up in terms of the viewers getting to know the players and the players themselves learning to strategize, align and think long game early on so both we and they are playing catch up now and it makes a weird dynamic.

[ProfCrash]

5 hours ago, knitorpurl said:

While I understand Rick's emotions after getting voted out, he has lost perspective on where he stands with Kama alliance. And even though "Wardog" was right he is an overbearing loudmouth so no way was he going to convince Rick to trust him. Liked Rick saying "Don't bark at me." Apt description of "Wardog's" style.

During the IC Lauren repeatedly states how dizzy she is, the camera is doing close ups of her eyes crossing and no producer  notices? Glad she was able to get back up. The funny thing that happened right before that was Jeff announcing the three remaining players in the challenge- Victoria, Aurora and Lauren. Then Aurora mumbles something like "Dang skinny girls." Ummm, Aurora you are a dang skinny girl.

Dan’s approch is abbrassive. Rick’s response was both awesome and wrong. Realisticly though, Rick had a good reason to feel betrayed.It wasn’t just that he was voted out at the love fest, it was that the only votes he received when he returned were from the same people who voted him out in the first place.

Lesu did not spend any time looking for how they could work together at the merge. Lauren, Dan, and Kelly where immediatly ready to take out Rick. rick was immediatly embraced by Julie and then defended by Victoria at Tribal. 

My only issue with Rick is that he was too stuck in his position and could not see why it might be wrong or problematic. On top of it, he didn’t even play along with David’s suggestion so that he could get his idol back. 

Bad game play but that is pretty much the definition of all Lesu game play this entire season.

5 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

I was pretty shocked that Wardog managed to plant that seed in the Kama younger members and they actually fell for it.   Why didn't they discuss that Wardog had told them the same thing and maybe they were being manipulated?

Even though the news anchor gets hit by the Kama train at the end, I did enjoy him telling Wardog that he wasn't working with him no matter how much barking he did at him.   That was comedy gold.  

The 2 halves of the immunity idol are basically wasted custody of a useless piece of wood.  Neither of them should trust the other.  Neither of them should cede control of their half.   Let's hope something happens that forces them to align.   Maybe David will force it from him as a show of trust LOL

Yes, Dan was manipulating but he was right. By bringing Aurora with them, the numbers were 4 Lesu and 4 Kama. More importantly, both Kama and Lesu had one player in it who felt as if they were on the bottom of their origianl group, David and Aurora. The Kama members who were with them realized that Dan’s assessment was spot on but also did not move into a minority position, they have equal footing. 

3 hours ago, mertensia said:

I don't think it's exactly cricket to vote out a total stranger. Because there was no Eric before tonight.

I agree with the person upthread who said the crew should have been sprinting towards a fainting/fainted Lauren.

I would ask if Aurora was always so whiny, but since we've only seen her like twice, how would we know?

Survivor established that they do not interfere until they have to when he who won’t be named because he is an asshole fell into the fire and the camera crew did nothing. Lauren was more likely to be hurt from the fall then she was the faint. 

[violet and green]

4 hours ago, HappyDancex2 said:

Does aurora have an occupation?

She said in the first episode she was a divorce lawyer.

I had no problem with her negotiating in that moment. It wasn't as if Lauren was impaled on a stake in front of her.

2 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

I know who everyone is! [I just wanted to counter all the "who..?" posts].

Me, too! It's all I can do not to fill out all the details I've stocked into my memory, every time someone goes, huh, who? - until the season ends and I can no longer recall who won...

[JudyObscure]

5 hours ago, ChristmasJones said:

As they were talking, they noticed that I started leaning onto his shoulder and then suddenly slid onto the floor.  I hadn't eaten anything all day and it was really hot out... so a bit similar to Lauren's situation.

Yes, I've slid to the floor a few times and it's usually after coming into air-conditioning on a hot day.  So I wasn't really worried about Lauren, although Probst should have caught her instead of just calling it like any other challenge play. She gave him plenty of warning.

I don't blame Aurora for continuing to play, but she wasn't negotiating she was begging and not giving Victoria any reasons to listen to her.  This is Survivor, Aurora, people don't take turns at winning.

Julie as the niceness police makes my eyes roll back in my head farther than Lauren's. 

Julia is so likeable and smart!

I've never been able to catch a word the Warthog says and by the time I realize there's subtitles it's too late to read them.  It's like hedoesn'tputbreaksbeweenthewords.

I love that we know someone has arrived at  the Edge of Extinction by the sound of Reem's witchy voice!

[ProfCrash]

I passed out in spin class. The room was hot, 77 degrees is what the cute Fire Fighter said. I felt myself getting sick, went to get off the bike and when I came too there was someone calling 911 while one of the other people in the class kept me sitting and rubbed my back. It was kind of embarrassing.

I have no problem with Aurora's negotiation in the sense that Lauren was not dead or dying and Jeff told them many times to keep playing the challenge. I can see where it looked bad to the folks on the bench, they had time to be worried about Lauren because they were out of the competition and Julie, the biggest complainer, was totally safe so didn't have to worry about staying in the game.

My gripe with Aurora's negotiation was that it was desperate and made her look weak. She was already in a crappy position, begging to win by admitting that she was in a crappy position to one of the people who put her in that position was foolish. It was bad game play, but that is what I expect from this season.

I mean, Lesu just figured out that they should have targeted Kama last week this week. Even though last week they could have pulled in Joe, and with Joe Aurora, to pick off Ron or Eric. Joe was off on his own painting the damn flag all day, David and Kelly could have gone to talk to him. "Hey, Kama voted out Aubry when they had a chance to take out Wendy. So Kama is picking off returnees. Why not work with us and we can try and take out whoever you want on Kama." But no, the default was "Let's work with Kama to take out Rick."

So Aurora's "Hey, I know I am at the bottom of Kama but show me some love by throwing me the challenge so you can vote me out in 7th place" fit in with the season beautifully.

I want Reem to win. Seriously, she would be the best winner for one of the most poorly played seasons since Blue Collar, White Collar, No Collar. With the "Flippers never win" and Joe's first ineffective season of relationship building and the awfulness of Dan and Will.

[violet and green]

Reem winning would redeem this godawful season for me.

[ByaNose]

This season is so uneven I can't enjoy it. I won't stop watching but I already know it's not one of my favorites. I thought Eric & Gavin were Day 1 bff's and now nothing?! That said, who is Eric. I always confused him with Chris. Now, EI has three studs competing in Joe, Chris & Eric. Aubry has some advantage that may or may not help her and you have the greeter, Reem. Like I said, I'm watching the show but I'm not captivated and I'm actually more confused then anything. Is it just me?

[ProfCrash]

EoE is far more interesting then the stuff in camp. I am kind of enjoying the dysfunction and crappy attitudes that are on open display.

The only person I am enjoying in game is Victoria. I like that she is thinking. She listed to Gavin and Julia but did not immediately jump on board. She took some time to think about it and made a good call. Julia did a good job of taking what Dan said, processing it, and testing the theory before deciding to target Eric and Ron. I do wish we had seen how they pulled in Aurora. It is clear that she is out there as a floater but who approached her about the vote and how did they make the case?

I could see either side approaching her but which one is she going to be more tied in to? She is not likely to trust Victoria, Julia and Gavin because she was on the bottom of Kama. She doesn't have much of a relationship with Kelly, Dan, David and Lauren. I think seeing who approached her would be help provide needed back ground material, so of course they didn't show us.

I like David's approach to the game, he is calm and methodical. So the only people I am kind of rooting for are Victoria and David with a little bit of Julia?

[Haleth]

3 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

I know who everyone is! [I just wanted to counter all the "who..?" posts].

I thought I knew everyone until reading here about a Dan.  There's a Dan?  Then I realized that is Wardog.  Damn nicknames.

Joe is looking more and more like Captain Jack Sparrow.

[BusyOctober]

9 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Yes, please cancel the family visit! Why is this such a big deal...you just saw these people less than a month ago...yet every season the family and friends show up and you would think they just got liberated from Auschwitz!

Totally agree!  I guess being away from home under extreme circumstances can screw you up emotionally, so I can kinda understand the tears.  BUT, this show has been on for almost 20 years.  If you sign up, you know in advance you are being extracted from your world and will be isolated on a rain soaked, bug infested tropical island.  It should be something you mentally prepare for before you apply & after you're cast. Or else why go if being away from home is going to be so traumatic? 

The best thing ever would be if for all Ron's "mind game" of talking up the "!!Family Visit!!" Probst announces that due to the extra expense of EOE island - extra cameras, extra props, extra boat rides back & forth...), Family Visit is not happening this season.  Seriously, with all the people still left in this game, how many round trip international flights & hotel rooms would Production need to book???

At the reward challenge, wasn't there a scroll in one of the bottles?  I thought the camera zoomed in on it as the tribe walked away.  So, a clue or advantage was left behind?

I met so many new people tonight!  Aurora, Eric (bye), some red head dude who's name I missed...have these folks been hiding in the brush with the chickens?

Rick must have some kind of jungle brain infection if he thought David would ever return the 1/2 idol.  He may have thought he had a BFF, but the first rule of Immunity Idols is you don't talk about/share Immunity Idols. If those two have a stalemate & neither gets both pieces in their possession,  I'm gonna call it the "Idle Idol".

I felt bad for Lauren...to know you are going to faint must be such an odd sensation.  I have to say, despite being on an island for X many days, not eating and being sick and no grooming, Lauren one of the most naturally beautiful women I've seen on this show!  She still looks fantastic. 

Wentworth-less can go any time.  I don't have any real reason for my dislike, but it is strong.  Seeing her look of stunned incredulity when she loses a challenge may have something to do with it.

[HappyDancex2]

I think some of the problem some of us are having is because of EOE.  Usually your mind can disregard pretty much everyone before the merge....sure a few are featured but those early boots get virtually no airtime except how they are advancing the game for those who are relevant later.

With EOE they have to establish who they are so that we care about EOE...a Wendy or Keith or Kevin or whatever his name was would have gotten close to zero airtime.  That’s time spent on some of the people now who we barely know but more importantly can’t quite establish their alliances other than pure tribal lines.

Short version?  Everybody needs airtime in this format and it’s still a 1 hour show.

[kikaha]

5 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

David was talking some professional Ciera realness tonight

Despite this, the rest of your post was so good I gave it a like. 

[TaraS1]

Every time someone mentions Aurora, it just makes me think of the episode of Golden Girls where Blanche's daughter gives her baby that name.  Blanche hates it and calls her Oreo lol.

And I did find it to be poor taste that Aurora didn't at least wait until they were sure Lauren wasn't dead before she started in on Victoria.  I hate when people beg to be handed challenge wins.  Earn it, Oreo.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, Haleth said:

I thought I knew everyone until reading here about a Dan.  There's a Dan?  Then I realized that is Wardog.  Damn nicknames.

Joe is looking more and more like Captain Jack Sparrow.

Joe is trying to hard with the hair. The side swept style at Tribal Council was too much. I don't like a man caring more about their hair then a woman does.

[Bryce Lynch]

While I enjoyed the blindside of Eric, mainly because is stunned whiny Rick, I'm not sure the young Kama members put themselves in a better position.   I don't think either Ron and Eric or Julia, Victoria and Gavin played it smart.  Now both factions of Kama are dependent upon Manu/Lesu Browns members, 2 (and potentially) 3 of whom have idols.    I don't see why players have to panic about possibly being at the bottom of a 7 person alliance, at 12.   

This season feels like a soccer game (and I hate soccer).  There has been a certain amount of pointless action and skilled play, but we are more than halfway through the game, and there is still no score.  

I don't have much more a clue of who might win or even who the prime contenders are, than I did when the season started. 

Did we really need yet another twist, with Aurora (I think) getting the extra vote parchment handed to her.   There are already 2 idols, plus another potential idol floating around and the whole damn season suffers from the huge EOE twist.

Maybe they should just eliminate voting altogether and make the game about finding idols, winning challenges and being lucky.    

Lauren deserves credit for staying in the game, after her scary blackout.   Wendy and Keith should feel ashamed (though I'm sure they don't).   She needs to eat whatever food is available, even if it makes her feel sick.   

Edited April 4, 2019 by Bryce Lynch

[Bryce Lynch]

10 minutes ago, TaraS1 said:

Every time someone mentions Aurora, it just makes me think of the episode of Golden Girls where Blanche's daughter gives her baby that name.  Blanche hates it and calls her Oreo lol.

And I did find it to be poor taste that Aurora didn't at least wait until they were sure Lauren wasn't dead before she started in on Victoria.  I hate when people beg to be handed challenge wins.  Earn it, Oreo.

Oreo's begging for Victoria to drop out would have annoyed me, even if Lauren wasn't lying a few feet away, unconscious.  She revealed herself as a spoiled, entitled, heartless, pos.   She didn't quite reach Varner territory, but it was close.  

[Kelda Feegle]

No way could I have kept my balance if I knew a competitor had gone down, I would immediately swivel to see what was going on.

You just know Ron is going to throw a hissyfit when they get back to camp.

[seacliffsal]

I think the reason it seems like there is a new player (or two) added every episode is that with EoE coverage they are unable to focus on the active players as much as in the past (although there have always been players who received very little time).  Therefore it is more difficult to follow the decisions and interactions amongst the active players.

Although I wanted Ron to be voted out over Eric, I think they may have chosen Eric as it may be harder to get rid of him once he's on notice about his new location on the bottom of Kama and may be more of a threat to win individual immunities.  Nevertheless, I loved the blindside (see, this is a blindside-totally unexpected by the one voted out), and the dawning of the realization of being blindsided will never disappoint as all of the facial expressions change.

I kind of loved Rick denying Wardog.  Who knows how alliances will rearrange next week, but I loved the pushback against Wardog as he is just too convinced of his own brilliance.  I also never tire of the dominant alliance all of a sudden breaking down into the sub-alliances and turning on its own.  

I don't think Aurora was out of line as Jeff specifically told Dr. Joe to let him know if he should stop the challenge.  That would have been the heads up that something really serious was going on.  Survivor has never stepped in to aid someone just based on symptoms-they wait until the person is down.  Mike in the fire in Australia, Russell Swan whose eyes rolled back before he went down, and Caleb (I think) who may have had the most serious down.  They have stepped in when the symptoms were of mental breakdowns (Brandon and Kathy [I think]).  And they step in after injuries (I still think of Jonathan Penner's fall on those spikes).  The contestants sign waivers and the producers take advantage of that.  So, while I think Aurora wasn't out of line, I do think she may have hurt her own game in the eyes of the other contestants.

[SHD]

I'm not sure what's wrong with me and this season. I kind of care, but I find myself fast-forwarding through a lot of the strategy talks and tribal council chatter. I don't find this cast very interesting and I don't like the EoE twists and multiple chances to reenter the game. One saving grace is that they haven't had one of those competitions that requires them to beat on each other or rip at each other's clothes. I hate those.

[Melina22]

2 hours ago, BusyOctober said:

If you sign up, you know in advance you are being extracted from your world and will be isolated on a rain soaked, bug infested tropical island.  It should be something you mentally prepare for before you apply & after you're cast. Or else why go if being away from home is going to be so traumatic? 

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I love the family visits. Maybe it's because I watch Survivor way more for the psychology and interpersonal dynamics than for the strategy and the challenges. In fact, I frequently fast forward through to the end of the challenges. Too much like watching sports for me. 

I enjoy the family visits because they show you sides of the players you've never seen. It's like the hardened Survivor shells they've built up crack for a little while, and their real self shows through. 

And no matter how many Survivor episodes people have watched, or how hard they've trained, actual Survivors have said over and over that nothing can prepare you for the reality of it, or how incredibly hard it is on you, physically and mentally. That's why the visits make virtually all of them fall apart. No doubt some of them are pretty embarrassed later, sitting at home watching themselves blubbering, but I like that it's really real. Definitely not fake emotion. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

6 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

I know who everyone is! [I just wanted to counter all the "who..?" posts].

I take pride in somewhat knowing who everyone is, but the Rick/Ron/Dan names do horrifying work on my brain.  Rick Devens/(That guy who apparently is Ron Clark)/Wardog is the only way I can remember it.  I'm only now sort of understanding who Ron Clark and Eric are, but the rest, I think I knew.  It was fascinating to hear Aurora talk so much.  It was like when all of a sudden Pam Beasley went nuts and walked on the coals and made a speech about how much she missed Jim, and Stanley was like "I had never heard you speak so much before.  I thought it was Kelly."  And Kelly was like "No way that was Patheticville.  No offense Pam."  

Oh wait, I just remembered about Gavin.  Honestly, I'm not that good at knowing who everyone is.  I hope that I'm average.

Edited April 4, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[peachmangosteen]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

I do wish we had seen how they pulled in Aurora. It is clear that she is out there as a floater but who approached her about the vote and how did they make the case?

Aurora's stated strategy was to just vote with the majority, so presumably Julia/Gavin/Victoria just went to her and told her that the majority was now voting out Eric. 

I didn't have a problem with Aurora talking to Victoria after Lauren passed out. Jeff told them to keep playing. He didn't stop the challenge. There was nothing evil about her negotiating with Victoria. 

I hated Rick, but then I forgot why I hated him, but this ep reminded me. Awful. I think it was more fun watching his face fall than it was watching Eric/Ron/Julie's.

I still can't like Victoria. There is just something so annoying about her manner to me. Liking Julia more now that we actually get to hear from her. Gavin is just kind of there, but he's oddly attractive, so that's nice.

The "Joe talks wistfully about being voted out while dropping a single tear" was the single most annoying confessional ever I think. 

The game is a bit more open now and that's exciting, but EoE is still there so any excitement is kind of tempered.

Edited April 4, 2019 by peachmangosteen

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Dan’s approch is abbrassive. Rick’s response was both awesome and wrong. Realisticly though, Rick had a good reason to feel betrayed.It wasn’t just that he was voted out at the love fest, it was that the only votes he received when he returned were from the same people who voted him out in the first place.

It's fine to feel betrayed.  But maybe it's smarter to hide it.  This is for a million dollars.  You have to kind of hide all of that inside and enact your revenge in other ways.  I'm not sure how being Kama's bootlicker is going to work out for Rick, especially when Eric was voted out anyway.

I guess the people called 'abrasive' like Russell, Tony, Wardog, I don't ever mind watching on TV at all.  It's interesting how it bothers some people but I actually love it.  I think it's fascinating how Wardog is so one-track-minded.  It must be annoying on the island, as K/L pointed out he doesn't listen to them, and that sucks, but it's very entertaining as a viewer.  It's interesting to see a player who is always openly strategizing and that is ALL HE CARES about, he can't throw, or do puzzles, or anything else.

I don't agree with another poster, Papertree, who said that Wardog was being just as emotional as Devens.  Does Wardog even have emotions?  Only annoyance that people are not seeing his one true way I guess.  It was really strange that Devens was so incredibly deadpan when he was like "Yeah I do want to join up with you guys!  I do, I really do!  Except that I really do NOT!!!!"  LOL I don't remember seeing anything so strangely deadpan like that on Survivor before.  That was weird and I would have laughed but he didn't put a Chandler Bing sarcastic tinge on it so my broken raised-in-the-90s brain was like Harumph?

Edited April 4, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[SVNBob]

Ron: I'm the Puppet Master

Lesu + Young Kama:

[Ms Blue Jay]

17 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

I'm slightly embarrassed to admit this, but I love the family visits. Maybe it's because I watch Survivor way more for the psychology and interpersonal dynamics than for the strategy and the challenges. In fact, I frequently fast forward through to the end of the challenges. Too much like watching sports for me. 

I enjoy the family visits because they show you sides of the players you've never seen. It's like the hardened Survivor shells they've built up crack for a little while, and their real self shows through. 

And no matter how many Survivor episodes people have watched, or how hard they've trained, actual Survivors have said over and over that nothing can prepare you for the reality of it, or how incredibly hard it is on you, physically and mentally. That's why the visits make virtually all of them fall apart. No doubt some of them are pretty embarrassed later, sitting at home watching themselves blubbering, but I like that it's really real. Definitely not fake emotion. 

Oh, I absolutely love them too.  Totally and unabashedly.

[Lamb18]

I only watched the first half hour last night because I had to go spend the rest of the evening with baby lambs! 20 of them! So I'm going to rewatch now. By the way, the new dairy calf (born Tues.) at the farm where I volunteer is named Aurora (ha).

[SuburbanHangSuite]

This season is so "meh" that I made it all the way to Tribal Council, saw the, "It's time to vote" declaration and somehow I drifted off and snoozed through the next minute.  I actually had to rewind the DVR to see who was voted out.  (Although that rewind was worth the price of admission!

10 hours ago, sadiegirl1999 said:

I have to say, after tonight, Ron is not THE Ron Clark I expected. His books are wonderful and he comes across in them as a kind, passionate person. 

 He’s shrill and harpy and unappealing on Survivor, the complete opposite of his books. 

I can't believe he was my early pick after his Kama dance routine.  He really has become quite unlikeable.  I don't even have a favorite at this point.  Maybe Julia?  or is it Julie?  The one who approached Eric about voting out David.  Smart move.  That lame-ass "Loved-Ones" carrot told her all she needed to know.

6 hours ago, cousin oliver said:

That montage of Joe at EOE cracked me up; I could almost hear the camera person thinking "oooh, Joe, you look good from any angle". 

 

THIS!  But he really does.  Someone sign that man up for a Pantene endorsement immediately.

[Lamb18]

At the beginning, where Kelley is covering her hair totally with her buff (in the night vision scene) she looks like someone on chemo. 

Joe, suffering stoically with a man tear in his eye: "I'm where I'm meant to be."

[Melina22]

32 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

like when all of a sudden Pam Beasley went nuts and walked on the coals and made a speech about how much she missed Jim, and Stanley was like "I had never heard you speak so much before.  I thought it was Kelly."  And Kelly was like "No way that was Patheticville.  No offense Pam."  

No real comment to make. I just wanted to note how happy this reference made me. ☺️

[Lamb18]

By the way, I've read no episode posts yet because I don't want to be spoiled, so I might repeat what many other people have said.

Also since I did see the episode through the immunity challenge last night, Aurora is destined to walk the plank the next time she does not have immunity.

Ron is so kind, so concerned about everyone's physical welfare as he  states he wants Kelley and Lauren hungry and broken down. His wish almost came true with Lauren.

Kelley with those flies was funny. Maybe they weren't flies but miniature drones. And speaking of Kelley, I've noticed that this season seems to hit her harder physically than other seasons. I'd see her at tribal and just looked paler and more peaked than the others. 

[ByaNose]

BTW! I'm amazed how badly David is doing in puzzle challenges. I'm also doubly amazed that he is still doing them. No wonder Kelley looked pissed. I'm assuming he's the only one volunteering to do them? What other explanation is there?