S38.E12: Awkward

[Tryangle]

On 5/2/2019 at 5:59 AM, Fake Jan Brady said:

Oh, guuurrlll. Time to get your prescription lenses renewed. 

On 5/2/2019 at 6:47 AM, ProfCrash said:

Ron screamed gay, from the leg crossing, to his inflection when he spoke to oh so many other cues. I am a woman who asked three gay men out in a row, when I was still dating, and I knew Ron was gay. 

On 5/2/2019 at 7:49 AM, JudyObscure said:

Yeah, Ron always sat with his long legs crossed like Tyra Banks on an ottoman, so I knew he was gay, and I never thought Gavin was gay for a minute. I did question the  choice of flower tattoos, but I question all tattoos anyway.

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I had no idea Ron was gay until Jeff said "Let's bring out your husband." So any viewers who thought he was based on the way he talks or whatever were paying way more attention to him than I was.

22 hours ago, willco said:

Well, I'm a guy and I'm not a gay guy, so I guess I pay more attention to the women on the show than the men. And I just didn't see any obvious signs from Ron that made me think, 'Yeah, he's for sure gay."

20 hours ago, ShellyD said:

Straight married female, I didn’t notice Ron was gay. Mr. SD didn’t either. We missed the first episode, maybe we should have watched it online. 🤨 Maybe the guys cross their legs cuz most of the time, they are running around in their underwear?

All of the above. Didn't have a clue, and of course none of it matters.  And yes, Ron's got a good-looking fella too 😃

On 5/2/2019 at 11:24 AM, nlkm9 said:

she reminded me of "doe-eyes" Amanda <eyeroll> that girl could put on a sad face lol.

Good comparison!

For someone who's seemed to be on the brink of packing it in mentally, she's persevered quite a bit and with an idol still in her pocket, has to be a favourite to make the end. Add me to those who suggest a Victoria-Lauren-Aurora Final 3, except that Julie is cemented as a goat to carry along.

[Melina22]

13 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

In case anyone wondered what happened when Wardog arrived at EOE.

Reem to Wardog: This is my island... You're an unwelcome guest at this point. I'll deal with you tomorrow. 

As far as I can tell, everyone's an unwelcome guest in Reem's eyes. She's so horrible! I get how defeat, hunger, lack of sleep and boredom could make a person crabby and irritable. Maybe a tad paranoid. But with the way she's acting, everyone on EOE is going to end up with Stockholm Syndrome. There's just no excuse for that level of vitriol and abuse. 

[LanceM]

1 hour ago, ree1778 said:

Victoria, to me, is the most boring person ever. Has she ever done anything or made any kind of move since she's been there? She just sits and does whatever someone tells her to do.

Huh?  Did you even watch the episode?  She was the one who organized the plan to split the vote that sent Ron home. She was also the one who organized the plan that sent Aubry home with an idol in her pocket. And given the fact that she is voted correctly at every tribal council always putting her vote with the majority I would say the only one telling Victoria where to vote is Victoria. She is playing the best game out of anyone this season.

2 hours ago, fishcakes said:

I didn't say they're useless because they went into the merge with a majority. Being in the majority and being useless are two separate things; they just happen to be both.

So voting out the big names in the game is being useless?  Allrighty then.

Edited May 3, 2019 by LanceM

[ljenkins782]

1 hour ago, ree1778 said:

Devens was on on EOE for what... a day before he got back in? I don't think it was a major bonding experience. He's also been on the wrong side of the vote every time because people are trying to get him out. No one wants to go to final with Rick, would you?

I will say that yes, he has an over the top personality, but (sigh) so do I. Many people find people like us obnoxious and phony, but it's just who we are. We're excited about everything and we tend to talk about it in a loud excited voice. We can't always, "tone it down." anymore than shy quiet people can get excited and be loud at someone's suggestion. No one has to like people like us, but to keep saying that he should stop being himself isn't going to cut it, that's who he is. I like him this way. I'd rather see someone thrilled with his experience, then someone grouchy and mean spirited. (cough, Reem, Cough)

Rick being a little over the top doesn't bother me because it seems like who he genuinely is. I don't think he's inventing a persona for air time, he probably is this loud and theatrical in his regular life. I also feel like he's getting a very balanced edit, he's got good qualities and bad ones and we're seeing all of them.

He seems to have the right idea in how he handles tribal, he makes his moves out loud for the jury to see and they appear to be eating it up. He turned Ron's play against him beautifully and tanked Julie at the same time. I don't know if Julie thinks she has any shot, but I think she's finally coming to the realization that she chose her alliance very poorly.

[SuburbanHangSuite]

On 5/2/2019 at 8:04 AM, Kelda Feegle said:

I still don't like Lauren, haven't from the first whining for home stuff a few days in, and now with the mega-eyerolling, and jump on Daddy like a limpet, nah.

2

On 5/2/2019 at 9:59 AM, nlkm9 said:

OMG when Lauren did the "bachelor handshake" I was repulsed. I dont know the tears and total hysteria seem to ramp up every year and I used to look forward to the family visits and now i dont, although it is interesting to see peoples loved ones. but the hysteria and theatrics is a bit much. but Lauren and her dad? ewww. I always wonder how the loved ones deal with what must be a bad smell--someone last nite said you smell good? lol

On 5/2/2019 at 10:08 AM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Same!

I love the family visits and I usually am very moved, but this time, no.  The Lauren thing disgusted me (I'm sorry) and I realized I don't care about any of these people.

My only feelings were that Ron's husband is hot and that I was slightly moved by Gavin's inability to speak or emote when Jeff asked if he was ready.  That was sweet.  I like Gavin a bit more now.

 

My people!   Lauren is a total non-factor in every respect of this game.  Her over-the-top reunion with her dad just made me dislike her all the more.   IDC

But the reunion had the opposite effect on me with Gavin.  He really was too sweet when he could barely speak.  But even with him, I was never close to tears which usually happens at least once or twice with me on the Family Visit episode. (Cirie and her son remains one of my very fav moments in Survivor history.)  So that just reminds me of how much a dud this season is to me.  I'm so "Meh" about everything.

Go Rick, I guess.  I love how he's hustling, making moves and playing to the Jury.  He cracked me up when he realized that he wasn't winning the Reward Challenge and just kind of stopped to chat with his wife instead.  And I do think he was intentionally soaking her.  Loved his stealth Idol Tree Climb in the middle of the night.

[HeShallBMySquishy]

15 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

In case anyone wondered what happened when Wardog arrived at EOE.

Thank you, @LadyChatts for posting this! This is what I'm referring to when I refer to Reem as a hag or a witch, it has nothing to do with her looks. Just her overall demeanor and attitude when addressing anyone who dared be voted out after her. I worked for a boss like this in the food industry, where every attempt I made to satisfy her always (without question or fail) ended up with her asking me why I didn't make it happen more efficiently, why was I so slow, or why it took so long, or why I was content to always let her down. Usually followed by, "Are you happy working here?" and "Do you like your job here?"-type questions.

After over 4 years of having that hag-crone-witch hovering over my shoulder, making sure everything was correct (I *can* read a recipe that requires working many ingredients) for her, to then have her make explicitly clear to her guests that she still didn't trust that I would not steal from her and her husband, and expect me to laugh at this "faux pas" in order to keep my job ... well, that was the final straw.

Yes, the first few weeks of June 2008 were hectic, but I can't tell you how liberating and freeing it felt to just be free of that Iron Bitch. For me, Reem's personality brings to the surface all the feelings I had to that hag-crone-witch who belittled and degraded me to the point where, I was still just "the help."

Yes, this might seem terribly inconsequential to a lot of people, but I'm guessing those same people don't see how dehumanizing it is to be alluded to as, "The Help." I know I'm likely projecting, and not everyone will see my viewpoint, but you start to get a "trained monkey" feel when you're expected to perform a certain way in order to engage the other guests.

[Nashville]

10 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I've said I would get a kick out of seeing Reem win, but not after that.  It sounds like she never lets up and the "I have to be honest," excuse doesn't cut it when no one has asked her.  People like Reem seem to forget that saying nothing is also an option.  "Her island," because she got their first?  It's hard to believe she's serious.   I want to see more EoE footage.

Maybe Reem considers the island her personal prize for being First Failure...?  😆

7 hours ago, Artymouse said:

And did I just miss it, or have they completely given up on finding and eating the chickens?

What chickens?  

Uh-oh....

3 hours ago, ree1778 said:

Devens was on on EOE for what... a day before he got back in? I don't think it was a major bonding experience.

Moreso than someone else who’s spent zero time on EoE, I’d wager.

[Nashville]

8 hours ago, gesundheit said:

Seriously - they have thousands of hours of footage. They follow people who don't find the idol, too. Why the hell would they spent part of an episode airing that, though? 

I dunno - maybe a few minutes worth to demonstrate Rick wasn’t the only person actively searching for an idol, maybe?

[KimberStormer]

22 hours ago, SVNBob said:

 Someone else who prefers Smart Movez over Big Movez, nice.

I prefer Big Movez to Boring Smart Movez any day, but I prefer even the boringest move to doing fucking nothing, then cheering and raising your arms in celebration and somehow getting people to think you've done a great job, like a certain production fave this season is doing.  Hey, maybe we should give him another fucking advantage to keep him around, after he was gifted an idol for being a loser, then a "you automatically win the IC and there is absolutely no point to the challenge" advantage he did nothing to earn...

I need to stop thinking about this because I am stewing and it is just making me more and more mad.  I hated Ben's win but at least I like Ben himself, as a person.  This is like if Ben were Dr. Mike. 

[CraftyHazel]

7 minutes ago, KimberStormer said:

I prefer Big Movez to Boring Smart Movez any day, but I prefer even the boringest move to doing fucking nothing, then cheering and raising your arms in celebration and somehow getting people to think you've done a great job, like a certain production fave this season is doing.  Hey, maybe we should give him another fucking advantage to keep him around, after he was gifted an idol for being a loser, then a "you automatically win the IC and there is absolutely no point to the challenge" advantage he did nothing to earn...

I need to stop thinking about this because I am stewing and it is just making me more and more mad.  I hated Ben's win but at least I like Ben himself, as a person.  This is like if Ben were Dr. Mike. 

For me it’s the opposite.  I disliked Ben intensely and when it became clear to me that he was going to win the season, I quit watching.  I almost never quit in the middle of something, but I just couldn’t take that.

And I actually like Rick.  I think it’s because he was aligned with David, who I love, but for whatever reason, I’m entertained by him.

[Gummo]

Very quickly --

We too only had the music channel on our broadcast. Had to wait for it On Demand and had to sit thru all the effing commercials. Ugh.

I've blown hot & cold on Rick but he owned that Tribal. Obviously had it all planned out and pulled it off perfectly. Called out Ron & Julie in front of everybody, an excellent end-game move.

Am I the only one feeling more & more anger on behalf of the jury every episode? That they are stuck living like shit when other juries got hot showers, beds, food, clean clothes ... it's ridiculous and even though I know they ostensibly have a choice, I'm just very offended on their behalf. They really got the short end of the Survivor stick this season, thru no fault of their own. EoE is perhaps the worst Survivor twist ever anyway, and this just makes me hate it more.

This cast would have been so much more enjoyable without EoE -- it just taints every moment of the game. I almost wish we could have the whole cast back for a "normal" Survivor season, just to see how they would really play. 'Cause EoE is a black hole of suck and it distorts everything around it.

Can't wait for this season to be over but of course I can't stop watching either. I think I need Survivor-anon.

[TVFan1]

There's more reason why EOE sucks. With this stupid twist, Rick is back in the game. If EOE never happened, he wouldn't be in the game anymore, and I would be so glad that he wasn't. I'm in the minority of people who dislike him. To me, he's extremely unlikable.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I think whether we love or hate the characters that come back or think they're hilarious (Reem) most Survivor fans would agree that it's unholy for any character to come back.

Unless maybe MAYBE they were foisted out in some ridiculous "twist" that makes no sense, but I don't think that happened this season.

Whatever, this season was an experiment, and it's almost over.  I've still been enjoying myself.  It's not one of my most hated seasons ever.  I think the last season I maybe didn't like was San Juan del Sur.  I've honestly really liked all of the seasons of the past 5 years.

Edited May 4, 2019 by Ms Blue Jay

[dstann]

9 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Whatever, this season was an experiment, and it's almost over. 

I am a little interested to see how EoE affects the jury.  Normally when they go to ponderosa the might stew for a day or 2 but then they get a little closure and most of the time aren't a bitter jury.  The fact that any of them could get back into the game there is no closure.  All the exiles can really do is sit around and stew on how they got voted out.  It will be interesting to see if that affects how the jury will vote in any way.

[azshadowwalker]

On 5/1/2019 at 11:10 PM, EllenB said:

Glad Ron is semi-gone.  But I'd have been just as happy to see Rick go.  I am so sick of seeing him hamming it up for the jury, the camera, Jeffy, and any lizards in his path.  And how the crappity crap could it be fair for someone who has bonded with the jury to the extent he has, WHILE HE WAS EXILED, to be in the final with people who didn't have that advantage?  It's as unfair as Reem getting to vote for/against players she's never met - both extremes of unfairness this season.  Ugh.

Rick was only out there for a few days, wasn't he? He was one of the last people voted out before the challenge to get back in. Who was he bonding with? The people who were bitter that he voted them out--and said as much? 

Of all the people who were voted out, he is probably the least objectionable possible winner precisely because he has spent most of his time in the main game. 

[PaperTree]

On 5/2/2019 at 4:05 PM, gesundheit said:

Admittedly I was a little bummed that Aurora's loved one was her brother and not a partner, only because I have a weird curiosity about what Aurora's taste in women would be. She's such a cipher. 

In her bio she credits her brother - older - for getting her through foster care.  Very strong bond.

I hope she wins.  Or Reem  lol.  Make EoE extinct.

[Special K]

32 minutes ago, azshadowwalker said:

Rick was only out there for a few days, wasn't he? He was one of the last people voted out before the challenge to get back in. Who was he bonding with? The people who were bitter that he voted them out--and said as much? 

Of all the people who were voted out, he is probably the least objectionable possible winner precisely because he has spent most of his time in the main game. 

I'm not sure how much he bonded, but it's possible the EoEers may root for a fellow EoEer in the end.

[nlkm9]

40 minutes ago, Special K said:

I'm not sure how much he bonded, but it's possible the EoEers may root for a fellow EoEer in the end.

I still keep hoping this is all a big joke and we will see a showered and glamorous jury come out. this is beyond awful!!! Maybe this week they will finally get rid of the lot of them??

[LanceM]

On 5/2/2019 at 3:21 PM, fishcakes said:

. I too was a little bothered by the Bachelor handshake, but I was more interested in the genetics of redheaded, light-eyed Victoria and her dark-haired, dark-eyed dad. This show is so boring, I was reduced to thinking, "adoption, stepdad, or cuckolded husband?" (But Professor Google tells me red hair is a recessive gene that can skip generations, so most likely he is her bio dad and at least I've added to the bank of information I'll never use.) Ron's husband is gorgeous, but he has terrible taste in spouses.

Just in case you are still interested, Victoria's dad addressed this on twitter. lol

"My wife is a red head and so was my dad’s mother. Red is a recessive gene so to have a red head the gene has to come from both parents. But it always surprises people that I’m her dad."

[ByaNose]

I don't care what Ron is screaming. I still didn't know. I'm 55 and slightly uninformed about life in general. I've made it this far so I guess I'll survive. It's like the Opioid stuff. I know it's a drug but I don't know how it's used and don't want to. Anyhoo.......I never even thought about Victoria's Dad not being her Dad with his dark hair. Odd. Although, I realized I was older when both Victoria and Lauren's Dad came out. I was all like, "Wait! I think I'm older then the fathers". I've been watching Survivor since Day 1 and I remember when I was the young one. Now, I'm the old one they'd vote of first. I wish I was young again.......

[JudyObscure]

2 hours ago, ByaNose said:

It's like the Opioid stuff. I know it's a drug but I don't know how it's used and don't want to

Now I can't resist telling you, because it's not like black tar heroin that you can just say, 'If I don't score it on the street  I'll be okay."  Someday you might break a leg (like I did) and your doctor will say (like mine did), "Here's a prescription for Percocet, take two every four hours for pain {or until you're addicted}."  No he didn't really say that last part.  Fortunately, I wasn't as naive as he was so I trashed the RX.

Sorry for the PSA but I live in southern Ohio  and it's awful.  More people are currently dying from Opioids than car accidents.

[ByaNose]

Rick Devens. He's either going to win immunity or get voted out, right? I can't imagne anyone else being the next #1 target. He is getting such a big edit. Granted, television is his career and he's good speaking thus a lot of confessionals but does that mean he will finally be voted out? Does he get voted out and get back in the game by winning the EI Challenge? Does he bypass all of that and straight out win? Too many questions and no answers. We'll know soon enough with only 2 episodes left but I have NO IDEA who is winning this season. Of course, I've never picked a winner before but this season really has me confused.

[Stinamaia]

On 5/7/2019 at 8:58 AM, JudyObscure said:

Now I can't resist telling you, because it's not like black tar heroin that you can just say, 'If I don't score it on the street  I'll be okay."  Someday you might break a leg (like I did) and your doctor will say (like mine did), "Here's a prescription for Percocet, take two every four hours for pain {or until you're addicted}."  No he didn't really say that last part.  Fortunately, I wasn't as naive as he was so I trashed the RX.

Sorry for the PSA but I live in southern Ohio  and it's awful.  More people are currently dying from Opioids than car accidents.

I feel fortunate that I have zero attraction to opioid pills despite having taken them for long term pain, major surgeries, and broken bones.  I consider my aversion a gift I’ve done nothing to earn. 

I am in the strange position of liking everyone not on EOE.  Usually I hate someone at this stage in the season.  I’m ok with whoever wins except Dan or Reem.  I was kind of happy Ron got voted out.

I knew from the start that Ron was gay.  I don’t know how I knew  I was surprised to read there were people who didn’t know.  I think i knew from before the season began.  It was never a question to me during the show.

[Ms Blue Jay]

When I saw Ron's husband

Julia's theatrics on the jersey make her one of my least favourite contestants, ever.  She's not supposed to draw so much attention to herself.  Imagine if an ACTUAL jury did that?  LOL.  It reminds me of whenever a baseball umpire does something so outlandish because of a petty grievance with a player and the audience says "The game is not about you!  You are not the star!"  She stood up several times and also DANCED.  Oh my god.

The reverse of this is Michaela, who was PART of tribal council, and brought food / drink specifically to SILENTLY much on while the TOTALLY UNEXPECTED BLINDSIDE vote happened.  Which instantly made her iconic.  

Meanwhile, I feel no way about Ron, I feel perfectly neutral.  Yet everyone seems to really dislike him.  Maybe I haven't been paying enough attention to the dialogue this time around.  Sure, he's pretty smug and thinks he's sitting pretty every other episode, but it doesn't seem to bug me.  

Edited July 3, 2020 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 5/1/2019 at 9:01 PM, Straycat80 said:

Famous last words-It’s a game, everyone’s a liar. 

The editors' love affair with Reem is HILARIOUS