The Survivor Thread

[KevShmev]

I did like that Gervase called Caleb out on his hypocrisy when it came to lying and trying to backstab. 

Also, Tyson had the line of the night when he said that he'd hide the hidden II in his crotch because no one would suspect a bulge there.

[senecadawg2]

Two have them have been mentioned, but there were 3 hilarious moments in last night's episode. 'Ruffle Feathers." 

I'm glad Caleb got the boot, he never did much for me. The same goes for Katie.

And yeah, I am seeing a Tyson victory right about now. Though, it could get dicey when the Redemption Island victor reenters.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

And given the way it has been going at RI, Laura seems most likely to be the one to come back.  RED FLAG, EVERYONE!  Get rid of Ciera now.  If her mom comes back and you didn't get rid of Ciera, that's a duo you don't want around.  Getting rid of her next is their smartest play, to avoid that happening.

[senecadawg2]

I agree. Though, I think it may be a little more dangerous to keep Hayden around. I know he hasn't won any challenges yet, but he seems more likely than Ciera to go on a tear these next couple challenges. Of course, neither has as good a chance as Monica of doing that. I'm not a fan of the way she has played the game, and her personality rubs me the wrong way, but it's hard to deny that she deserves her place more than Caleb and Katie did.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I thought the same thing.  She irritated me from the beginning and that may have been by association to Brad.  But she has been a tough competitor at challenges, big time.

[senecadawg2]

Which reminds me of something I was thinking when watching the episode last night. There have been quite a few repeat challenges this season. It feels like that house of cards challenge has been done at least a dozen times. With that being said, the immunity challenge was really refreshing in that it didn't favor any one player over the rest. It was very simple/straightforward and yet it felt pretty unique by this season's standard.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

There have been several recycled challenges this season.  It's a bit of a bummer, but even then, their challenge design folks still put together some extremely cool stuff.

[hefdaddy42]

Tyson: "That's your seat over there." 

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I know, Tyson has been on fire with the one-liners.

[senecadawg2]

I don't remember enjoying him nearly as much his first two times around. But so far he's been a great example of the merits of returning players.

[gmillerdrake]

Initially I didn't like Tyson but at this point it's like the season Boston Rob won it. It is by his slick game playing he is where he is combined with the others being dumb enough to think they are actually playing instead of being played.....ahem....Gervais...ahem.....

At this point it's his game to lose.

Tyson: "That's your seat over there." 

That was hilarious.

[BlobVanDam]

So almost up the final. Laura has been dominating the Redemption Island challenges (she's had enough practice at it ), so I'd put odds on her coming back into the game. Tina is terrible, and Hayden is pretty average at any part of a challenge that isn't purely physical.

So what are we betting on for final 3? It looks like Monica isn't going to flip, which would give us a Tyson/Monica/Gervase final 3, which would be an easy win for Tyson I think. Ciera wouldn't fare too well if she made it to final 3, and likewise whoever returns from Redemption probably wouldn't either.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Ciera was all "Look at me, I did it! In your face, America!"  Whooptie shit.  You won one challenge.  Now suddenly you've got what it takes to be awesome all of the sudden?  No.

What confused me more was the fact that Tyson said very little at TC while Hayden and Ciera ran their mouths to Monica the whole time.  Tyson and Gervase would've been wise, knowing how PARANOID Monica is, to take her aside immediately after the challenge and say "Look, they are going to come to you and do everything they can to fill your head full of lies and throw us under the bus and make us out to be bad guys.  They're trying to make you paranoid and put doubt in your mind.  Don't listen.  Anything they say, we'll be happy to refute."

Hell, with every single episode, I want Tyson to win more and more.  Sure, he's been a bit of a jerk.  But Gervase has done next to nothing but ride Tyson's coattails.  Monica has won a lot of challenges, but has basically followed Tyson around also.  Laura, who's pretty much a shoe-in to return to the game got voted out twice already.  Hopefully, third time's a charm.  If not, and she stays in, yeah, she could say "I got voted out twice and I'm still here!", but if I were a jury member, I'd think "I voted you out twice for a reason".

I kinda chuckled when Katie came in as a jury member and they were like "WOW!". 

[BlobVanDam]

Tyson seems to let everyone else dig their own graves, while not placing himself in the crossfire unless his own ass is on the line. It's working well for him so far. Monica was pretty silly for even believing Ciera for a second, since as they pointed out, it was an obvious tactic for anyone on the chopping block.

I'd like Tyson to win. He's played a worthy game.
Gervase has been obnoxious since day 1, and is just a loud mouthed idiot.
Monica is the typical tagalong who has done very little even factoring in a couple of immunity wins. I can see how that final tribal council would go for her right now. She'll be crying and pleading that she's won immunity challenges and been loyal, and everyone would be putting her in her place and pointing out that she's a worthless pawn.
Ciera has had to up her game a bit the past couple of weeks to stay alive, but she hasn't done much overall, so people will rightly discount her.

Out of the potential returning players, Hayden hasn't excelled at anything. Tina has been worthless. Laura has actually fought really hard to stay in the game, and I think she deserves to win based on that, but people didn't really like her, and being out of the game for so long is something that works very much against you in terms of forming bonds with people that will score you a jury vote. Nobody from that position can do well.

[Prog Snob]

And I was all set to discuss High On You.   

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Set enough to discuss it here, even. 

[KevShmev]

I've been saying for weeks now that Tyson is getting the "winner's edit," and I am feeling pretty smart now.   I don't see any way he doesn't win.

After the person from RI comes back, he can use his idol to ensure that he gets to the final four.

And once it gets to the final four of Tyson, Gervace, Monica, and Laura, Hayden, Tina or Ciera, unless that person wins immunity, no way do any of the three flip on each other, since if any of those in italics there gets to the final three, they are too well-liked by the jury to not win, and the alliance of three know this.  If by chance that person did win immunity, I think they'd all vote Monica out.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Also, I don't know why Tyson and Gervase didn't hammer the following point home to Monica:

If you side with them today and vote one of us out, then whoever comes back from RI, most likely Laura, who Ciera will side with over you, is going to be their new #3.  Not you.  They'll never take you to the end.  We will.

[gmillerdrake]

No surprise really. I think we all knew Tyson was going to get it. I was pulling for Monica to get the upset at the end though. If she would have made one of those moves....maybe. Tyson took a page out of Boston Robs play book and won it.

[gmillerdrake]

Horrible sad news for Tina and Katie! Son/brother dying in a car accident weeks ago. Man, just sad.

[BlobVanDam]

Predictable ending, but I'm happy with the result! Tyson played a great game, and deserved the win. Nobody else had a chance against him, so it was always going to be a landslide vote.

I haven't watched the reunion show yet.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Very pleased with how it turned out.  Jury didn't act all bitter and pissed off as they have tended to be in recent seasons.  I was ready for final TC to be some sort of a bloodbath, like always, but it was fairly tame, actually.  Tyson nailed it.  There were a couple of times I thought he was a goner, but he made it.  Although at the end, I thought there was a good possibility that Monica's emotional appeals might have gotten to the jury members.  Glad to see they were able to look past that.  And Gervase, going on the "Tyson is the face of the company, but I'm the worker who makes the company do what it does" angle was nonsense.  Nobody ever seems to believe that.  "I made all the moves and let the other person take all the heat".  No, you didn't.  So yeah, there is no way either of the other two would've deserved to win it.

On to next season!  Looks like it's going to be all new players.  Brawn.  Brains.  Beauty.  Awesome.  A little info: Link  Filmed in the same Phillipines location as BvW.

[senecadawg2]

Good for Tyson, he deserved every vote from the jury. Although I liked Vytas during the game, it seemed awfully petty of him to not be able to put his pride aside and vote for the most deserving player.

I hope the new characters are interesting for next season. Not entirely sure what I think about the concept of Brains vs Brawns vs Beauty though, given that beauty isn't really a significant advantage in Survivor. Hopefully they are at least moderately intelligent, in which case it shouldn't be a big problem. I expect myself to be cheering for the brains , though hopefully it'll be more interesting than that.

Also, anyone else think they'll pull out something special for the 15th anniversary/Season 30? I myself would like to see an all-winners season.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

That would be pretty cool.

Also, BvBvB was filmed (already wrapped) in the Cagayan province of the Phillippines, where BvW was filmed.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

BvBvB cast announced!

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_cagayan/2014_Jan_22_cast

[hefdaddy42]

lol Cliff Robinson

What do I know, he may do pretty well.

[senecadawg2]

When is the premiere? I fully expect to be cheering for the brains this season, but I'd like to be proven wrong by a couple players from the other tribes. Also, am I correct in thinking that there will be no redemption island this season?

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Premiere is February 26th. No word in RI yet.

[BlobVanDam]

I thought I'd read there would be no RI this time.

For some reason I wasn't too impressed initially with their Brains or Beauty tribes. I think I was just expecting a more narrow selection there, while they've covered a wider variety of attributes.

[senecadawg2]

Let's bump this, tonight's the night!!

[BlobVanDam]

I knew it must have been soon, but I didn't know the date, so that's a nice surprise. Can't wait!

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Looking forward to it.  Amazing Race started on Sunday and I couldn't be happier with the team that was eliminated first.

[gmillerdrake]

I bought two spots in the office pool again, winner takes home $100. My randomly drawn players are both from the 'Beauty' tribe.....some dude named 'LJ' and a chic named 'Morgan'. We will see if luck is on my side.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I hope you win.  Morgan is an ex-cheerleader with a glorious rack:

Cast bikini pic

Possibly questionable for work, depending on the uptightness of your workplace.

[KevShmev]

Nice.

But the odds are strong that she'll look a lot less attractive once she opens her mouth.