The Survivor Thread

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Phillip HAS gotten a little tiresome with the Stealth R' Us schtick.  As has Brandon and his more-issues-than-a-newstand borderline psycho schtick.  However, I don't know if either of them are making it up which is the amazing part.  These people really are just this naturally delusional, it would seem.

[BlobVanDam]

Phillip HAS gotten a little tiresome with the Stealth R' Us schtick.  As has Brandon and his more-issues-than-a-newstand borderline psycho schtick.  However, I don't know if either of them are making it up which is the amazing part.  These people really are just this naturally delusional, it would seem.

Oh I have no doubt they're naturally wacko, but obviously the producers want them to play it up too, and they edit it to focus on those kinds of things. I remember reading that they made Philip bring/wear the pink underwear, so there's always that blurry line of "reality" in reality TV.

Oh, and I just remembered an interview with Probst before the show started that said someone would be taken out of the game, so I guess that's fulfilled now.

But I'm still very much enjoying this season so far. The challenges have been a step above last season, and now they're at the point of separate reward and immunity challenges, so we'll be seeing more of that now. And things always get better after the merge, and I think this season is going to be great.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Tonight's the night!  Brandon's descent into madness goes full-on.  Probst has said something along the lines of something historic happening tonight.  Popular theory online is:

Brandon getting ejected from the game

No idea though, so it'll be interesting to see what happens.

[senecadawg2]

I sure hope that theory plays out. Such an annoying personality

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

[gmillerdrake]

Wow!   Holy bipoloar meltdown...the odd thing is I actually agree with 98% of the things Brandon said about Philip. It's just the manner in which he went about doing it. I'd be willing to bet that the entire root of the issue for Brandon was that he thought he was going to come back this season....be the 'mastermind' and go on his jolly way. When it finally became apparent to him that not only wasn't he running the show in his tribe that he was on the outside looking in....he just lost it.
  Like I said, I agree with what he was saying about Philip but you can't present your case like a crazy man....no one is going to listen.
The previews seem to hint at a merge next week? Anyone else get that impression?

[senecadawg2]

Good riddance...

I too got the impression that a merge is on the way next week, though it seems a little early for that, no?  Still can't say I enjoy any of the favorites... Go Cochran!

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Not sure. Tonight was episode 5. They generally don't merge til episode 7 or 8. Maybe a redistribution of tribes, via drawing of rocks? But, maybe they'll change it up and do an early merge. Curious to see what happens.

And riddance to Brandon. That dude has problems.

[BlobVanDam]

I'm guessing they're swapping tribes rather than merging, but we'll see.

As for Brandon, at first I thought the entire thing was very put on with the constant threat of ruining the food, then doing it this week, but after the conclusion of the episode, I think he is a very real nutjob.

The fact that Probst had to get him away from his tribe immediately, and try to calm him down, and physically hold him back, and then do the vote on the spot rather than let him have risk more time with his tribe at all before tribal council, I think it was legit. Probst looked genuinely worried like he just needed to get him the hell away from everyone.

I was actually expecting that they might have stuck Brandon on the other tribe, which would have evened it up a bit, and gotten him away from his tribe (although he obviously wanted to go home too), but he was clearly too unstable for that too.

And what a surprise that jock 1 found the idol again.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Andy, from Reality Blurred, offers his take on last night and I really don't know that I can disagree with him.  I still love Survivor and will still watch it, but this reeked of foul play of some sort:

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_caramoan/2013_Mar_14_brandon-hantz-episode

[BlobVanDam]

That article is so melodramatic.
Personally, I think Probst handled the situation very well on the spot. Of course they brought Brandon back because of his volatile behaviour, but I don't see that this was a mistake. While he was a nut in his first season, he was by no stretch a dangerous person, so I don't see any error on the producers' part in casting him again.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I can see it both ways, yeah, of course you want a surefire ratings getter in Brandon, but at the same time, I just don't know, the dude had issues last time - he just got better at hiding them this time, til he got back in the game.

[BlobVanDam]

I really don't think his behaviour last time around was anything that should have stopped them bringing him back. He didn't have any history of threats or violence on the show, he was just a very unpredictable person who made stupid decisions in the game. He spent most of his time crying and whining about not liking how he was playing the game. I think it's just unfortunate that he got pushed that little bit too far this time and did cross that line to become what seemed to be pretty dangerous to the other players. Until this episode, he's been pretty benign really.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I think I was probably just irritated at his kind of irrational behavior last time (He totally wanted the one hot chick gone, simply because she was tempting him, not taking into account the fact that she likely would never have given Brandon the time of day).  I wanted Brandon gone in the worst way last time, so I was already irritated with him going into this season.

[KevShmev]

How is Brandon a surefire ratings getter?  I was about ready to stop watching this season already two weeks ago cause of him and Phillip, neither of whom were favorites in the truest sense of the word.  Sadly, the producers of the show now think that anyone who is a shit-disturber is worth watching, which is why people are getting crazier with their on-show antics, as they know the show will bring them back a second, or even third, time.  We can thanks nutjobs like Coach, Brandon, etc. for that. 

Also, that Sherri gal is awful.  Her "we kept the muscle and still lost" speech showed that she lacks very little brain power (they barely lost; take away that muscle and you would have lost in a blowout), and she has consistently sucked in challenges.  I look forward to her getting blindsided at some point and voted out.  Hopefully, Reynold and Eddie are behind the move.

[BlobVanDam]

I was never a fan of him either, or the fact he was only cast because he was related to someone else popular (and they'd already run that well dry), and that incident bothered me too. That was HIS issue, not hers (and she wasn't even that good looking).
Regardless, I had no problem with him returning. I wasn't thrilled about it, but it was expected, and I wasn't unhappy about it. That said, I think a lot more characters will get their time now that he's not taking up space, and that goes for both tribes.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I think I meant that they probably THOUGHT he would be a ratings getter in that "Hey, he's a Hantz!".  He definitely isn't any good at the game or at making people like him.  There are very few people who've commented online or that I've spoken to that like ANY of the Hantzes.  Russell, Brandon, OR Willie (who was thrown out of Big Brother for threatening another houseguest).

I was thinking the same about Sherri.  Having the other chick back would've ensured a loss.  That's the thing with these guys.  Most of the time they're neck and neck with the favorites, they just barely lose.  It's not like they're getting slaughtered every time.

[gmillerdrake]

I'd be willing to bet that the entire root of the issue for Brandon was that he thought he was going to come back this season....be the 'mastermind' and go on his jolly way. When it finally became apparent to him that not only wasn't he running the show in his tribe that he was on the outside looking in....he just lost it.
 

This is what I'm maintaining. I think Brandon deluded himself into believing that when he came back this season he would be a 'Boston Rob' and brainwash everyone and be the 'man'. The way it was building up was just how Brandon was slowly realizing that he had absolutely no control over his situation....that's why he made such a big deal about being the 'author of his fate'. I'm not saying anything you all haven't figured out....but by acting like a moron psycho and getting kicked off, in his little mind it was him who made the choice to leave instead of being voted out....because he couldn't handle the fact he would be voted out.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Sounds right to me.  You COULD almost slowly see the realization setting in for him.  He couldn't really honestly be TOO much the author of his own fate when they intended to vote him out anyway.  All the extraneous show he put on in dumping the rice and beans, and making an ass out of himself meant nothing.  Like you said - this way, in his mind, "I went out on my own terms, I left the game, I upended shit!".  No, you didn't.  You'd have been voted out regardless.  Good riddance.

[KevShmev]

Going out on his own terms would have been him leaving the game voluntarily, not being voted out.  He's too stupid to even know that.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

It's the Hantz way.  If I believe it, then it is undeniable truth.  Like Russell believing he's the greatest player of Survivor ever.  All of the Hantzes are delusional.  As mentioned earlier, Willie went out in a spectacular display of failure on Big Brother.

[BlobVanDam]

It's the Hantz way.  If I believe it, then it is undeniable truth.  Like Russell believing he's the greatest player of Survivor ever.  All of the Hantzes are delusional.  As mentioned earlier, Willie went out in a spectacular display of failure on Big Brother.

As much as I hated Russell, at least he did play somewhat smart, and actually proved twice that he could get to the end (and also proved that his method resulted in absolutely no chance in hell of actually winning votes ). So he had at least some basis for believing what he did.
Brandon was just a nut. He knew he was going, so he had a tantrum like an immature baby.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Exit interviews with Brandon.  Fucking loon.

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_caramoan/2013_Mar_15_brandon-interviews

[KevShmev]

From the same site:

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/survivor_caramoan/2013_Mar_14_brandon-hantz-episode

There is a lot of truth in what was written there.  Sadly, there are so many reality shows, most of which are drama-filled, that I think Probst and others involved with the show feel that they need drama and volatile personalities to keep viewers interested and tuning in.  Good for ratings, I guess, but it's why the show IS different than it was in its earlier days.

[hefdaddy42]

I'm just glad that Brandon is gone.  What a loser.

And that Sherry chick on the fans team is delusional WTF.

[BlobVanDam]

Man did that swap end up one sided. It really couldn't have ended up any worse.
I think they did the swap both to even it out so it didn't get more lop-sided, and also as an excuse to replenish the food that Brandon wasted, but I think it is going to make it even more lop-sided if anything. Luck of the draw.

It's refreshing to see other people getting screen time now. I liked Matt, so I was hoping that Julia went, and it would have been a lot better for their tribe. I don't like the chances of winning anything physical at all.

[gmillerdrake]

Yeah that swap definitely favors one tribe over the other. By far. Not even physically but game play as well. Brenda is a huge sleeper here. Having ruined her chances her first time around by aggressively game playing.... She took note and has changed tactics. I think she is still playing a tactful game, just not as obvious.
  But that 'orange' team.. I forgot the name... They IMO are goin to be unbeatable at challenges. Unless they completely drop the ball but I don't see it happening.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

I really liked Matt also, so I was irritated ot see that they kept Julia, who's physically less useful in challenges than Matt.  But the other tribe just STEAMROLLED them at the challenge.  It wasn't even close.  So yeah, very uneven balance of power now.  Phillip's tribe will continue to lose until the merge.  Just seems like there is no other way about it.

[BlobVanDam]

It will depend on the challenge of course, but anything physical? No contest. The only physical player they've got is Phillip, and he's no spring chicken, and they pushed him really hard in that challenge to compensate, and you could tell he was beat by the end of that.

They're going to have to hope for some puzzle challenges, or some accuracy challenges, and even then, they'd have to make up a lot of ground for the physical component.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Yep.  When you've got Reynold, the other generic dude, Matt, and Malcolm all on a tribe together, you've got some serious strength and endurance.  It'll be tough to beat, unless, as mentioned, they do something like a "hold still" challenge, where Malcolm will be completely useless, for example.

[BlobVanDam]

Yep.  When you've got Reynold, the other generic dude, Matt, and Malcolm all on a tribe together, you've got some serious strength and endurance.  It'll be tough to beat, unless, as mentioned, they do something like a "hold still" challenge, where Malcolm will be completely useless, for example.

And aside from that, Malcolm is an excellent all rounder. He keeps his composure in challenges, and thus even excels at the puzzles, and the accuracy/throwing type challenges. I don't know the extent of the abilities of the two guys from the former fans tribe, but they've seemed to be pretty good in challenges. Teams rarely have that kind of muscle on one side.

But I tell you, they're all going to be gunning for each other come merge time. They always go straight for the strong players to vote off, so individual immunity is going to be hard fought. I think it should be a good one.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Holy shit, Phillip is at the same time delusional and entertaining. Damn.

[gmillerdrake]

Holy shit, Phillip is at the same time delusional and entertaining. Damn.

Tonight's episode was extremely boring. The only saving grace was watching Cochran literally laugh in his face at least on four different occasions.....just laughed in his face!    And Philip just kept on rolling with whatever BS he was spouting.

Glad they've merged....now the challenges are going to be tough just because of the participants.

[BlobVanDam]

Holy shit, Phillip is at the same time delusional and entertaining. Damn.

Seriously. Every time he puts the challenge squarely on himself, and fails every time. What was his strategy in the first challenge supposed to be? At no point did he make a move, and he was the one who let them down. He seemed to proud to even admit to himself that he lost the second challenge too.

I have no problem with Julia going, and Cochrane's vanilla speech about her was hilariously spot on.

Bring on the merge! This is when things will get really good.

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Un-fucking-believable.  I don't know why this doesn't surprise me in the least.

https://www.realityblurred.com/realitytv/archives/april_1/2013_Apr_01_survivor-not-casting