Survivor: Kaôh Regōng Trail

[Gertrude]

Honestly, I thought it was pretty obvious it was going to be Scot as well. At some point I thought maybe it was misdirection and I bought into the 'Aubrey is in danger' story, but the guys were laying it on sooooo thick I couldn't really buy it. They went out of their way to make sure we knew the guys were feeling powerful and the girls couldn't do a single thing about it. I'm not saying it wasn't glorious, but it wasn't out of the blue.

I don't know if this helps Tai much, but it does help Aubrey and Cyd, so I'm good with it. I admit, I am kinda glad to see Julia be on the losing end of that whole deal. I understand why she wanted to work with the guys, but still - she made a deal with the devil and wasn't subtle about it.

I watched Scot's Ponderosa and Neal had a comment that pretty much sums him up. 'I wasn't sure if we were going to get juvenile dick joke Scot, or the guy I actually liked hanging out with and talking to.' (paraphrase) When he is with Jason, either they bring out the worst in each other, or the show is portraying it that way on purpose. He seems like a chill dude otherwise. Also, Scot didn't think he came across as a jerk to anyone, so watching this season might be a bit of a rude awakening for him.

[Joe Pesci]

I haven't been able to fully watch all the episodes this season so I have some gaps in knowledge, but if someone could clarify my question I'd really appreciate it. If instead of going the super idol route, wouldn't Scot and Tai playing their individual idols have accomplished the same thing when their original plan was to vote out Aubrey? It seems like they (jason and scot) wanted to use the super idol when it wasn't even really necessary and it ended up backfiring.

[Fiddler]

25 minutes ago, Joe Pesci said:

I haven't been able to fully watch all the episodes this season so I have some gaps in knowledge, but if someone could clarify my question I'd really appreciate it. If instead of going the super idol route, wouldn't Scot and Tai playing their individual idols have accomplished the same thing when their original plan was to vote out Aubrey? It seems like they (jason and scot) wanted to use the super idol when it wasn't even really necessary and it ended up backfiring.

I think the idea was to scare the others into voting out one of their own without having to use the idols at all.  The super idol was there as an emergency use only.  They were hoping that enough votes would be split and Aubrey would go home on their combined 3 votes.  

[dbunting]

1 hour ago, Fiddler said:

I think the idea was to scare the others into voting out one of their own without having to use the idols at all.  The super idol was there as an emergency use only.  They were hoping that enough votes would be split and Aubrey would go home on their combined 3 votes.  

Correct, no one else knew about the super ability. That's why Julia was telling Tai to play his idol, she wanted to flush it w/o sending him home. Once he didn't play it they all assumed it was over, not knowing that Aubrey was still in danger.

Scot didn't play it as an idol because they were trying to hold it as long as they could, like a trump card. Once one of them gets voted out, play it and save them, instead of playing it before the votes are read, only to find out you didn't have to.

[Joe Pesci]

Thank you both for the clarification.

[Gertrude]

You know, the tribal eclipsed most of the rest of the episode, but the reward challenge was fantastic. I love this idea a lot. It still shows where everyone's head is at but doesn't just give a feast to all the wankers who just want to sit it out and eat. It shows that Scot and Jason are completely comfortable and arrogant about their alliance. It shows Michelle knows she is in the middle and not in any danger. Julia and Joe are almost forgivable, but again - they don't have that absolute drive to win this game. Cyd, Aubry and Tai are playing hard to win this thing and it's another solid brick in the story of why they should win when it comes down to final tribal. I want to see more of this type of reward structure.

You know, when so many people (not just here) were talking about Michelle's edit, I was actually worried that there was some kind of spoiler out there and people were working backward to get that read on her. I feel pretty confidant now that it's just an honest reading of a wonky edit and people didn't quite know what to make of it.

I think Aubry looks good to win. Cyd could win it, but she's really dropped off and she's not getting much story time. Tai could win it if people let him get that far. I want to say Jason can't win, but he would have Scot's vote, probably Nick, maybe Debbie depending on how betrayed she feels. Julia if she's also feeling ostracized. I don't think Jason is a sure fire goat, but the story telling tells me it's probably not him as a winner. I don't feel Michelle or Joe could win. If they do, I don't know what the editing team is doing. Julia is an outside chance, but again, probably not.

Aubrey - Tai - Cydney - Julia - Jason - Michelle - Joe. Lord knows what order they go out or who the final three are, but that is my best guess at who has a chance to win this thing. I think Aubrey is the biggest threat right now - bigger than Tai - for reasons Jason spoke about at tribal. Tai made the big move here, but it was because Aubrey provided him the safety net.

 

[Raja]

This episode made me forget Joe even existed. It's kind of sad how little time he's getting in front of the screen. I'm basically okay with anyone winning it at this point, except Julia and Jason. 

Edit : Man, Scott's letter from his sister is breaking me right now. 

[Cuellar]

I feel like Aubrey is getting an edit similar to Sophie. She's a quiet woman, so tends to fall into the background really easily, but they keep putting her into all the episodes, and has a relatively favorable edit. 

Jason, Cydney and Tai (and Scot) tend to be oversized characters, so they keep dominating airtime. Aubrey's the only other person getting screen time. Michelle and Joe have barely shown up for the past few episodes. 

Tai's play is really confusing. On one hand he could be paranoid, but he seemed to have a really solid alliance. He has the advantage, and was guaranteed the final 3. Who else would he want to sit at the end with? It seemed like a no brainer for Scot and Jason to keep being the hated pair and him landing the votes... with a crafty use of the idol and advantage, with some of his challenge victories, he has a solid case to win. 

[Scrambled Aegon]

Nah, Michele's edit would be way more comparable to Sophie's (in addition to being better than Aubry's.) Aubry has a good, dynamic story, she knows how to tell a story to the cameras, she's been actively involved in most of the things she comments on, there's no reason they'd neglect Aubry. Michele doesn't have any of those things on quite that level but has still gotten a strong amount of focus throughout. This episode almost has me willing to outright call it for Michele; in any case, she's definitely still #1 and by a much, much wider margin than last episode.

 

Otherwise pretty weak episode. I wanted them to kill Mark. w/e though, we've had enough strong episodes that I don't mind this weak one. Hopefully things pick back up for the end.

[Kyoshi]

Aegon,

hope you're wrong and Michele isn't the winner. To me, she's been like Joe. I know she's there but I don't particularly care. Every time she gets a confessional I pray she'll say something interesting, even mildly, but I'm disappointed every single time. I would have even preferred a Julia win over Michele. If the editors are bending over backwards to give her the winner edit and this is the best they can do, then yeah, her win would be the sole criticism I would have about this season.

[dbunting]

Good enough episode.

Tai - starting to see everyone else verbalize that he is a threat and not wanting him to be in final 3, something in me says that Aubry wants him there though. Funny how Jason picks at Tai for turning on him but kisses up to Cydney, considering she flipped on him before Tai. When he didn't play his idol I was like no!!! Then he didn't get voted and I was like yesssss. Still hope he wins, been my favorite since day one, though I see him going home at number four.

Aubry - nothing special this episode, got out Julia as she wanted. Kind of faded to the back ground as Michelle stepped up.

Cydney - Still surprises me, she seems so genuine and then entirely fake at the same time. I could see her being somewhat famous after this, she has this thing about her, like when she laughs and smiles it lights up the screen. She seems to get a pass on a lot of stuff though. She flipped on her alliance and it's almost an after thought now. I could see her anger getting her voted out, she gets paranoid quick. Like if she hadn't one the challenge, and say Michelle and Aubrey did, and they took anyone but her, she would have gone nuts and voted differently.

Michelle - Is she new to the show? It was nice to finally see her again, she seemed to disappear after the tribe splits, before that she was pretty involved. And damn, she memorized all of the signs, not easy.

Jason - well, you tried. Now your best hope is to play the goat.

Joe - well, now you aren't even trying in the challenges so you are pretty much guaranteed final three since no one on earth outside of your family would think you out witted or out played anyone, hell Mark the chicken is more of a presence than you.

As I see it this next episode will tell the tale of who is going to the finale. Michelle, Tai, Aubrey, or Cydney has to go home this week. I can't see Joe or Jason getting the boot, they are too valuable as goats now. So the politics behind who goes this week likely tells us a lot. Do the girls have it in them to go together? Would be interesting to see that happen.

[Criston of House Shapper]

10 hours ago, Scrambled Aegon said:

Nah, Michele's edit would be way more comparable to Sophie's (in addition to being better than Aubry's.) Aubry has a good, dynamic story, she knows how to tell a story to the cameras, she's been actively involved in most of the things she comments on, there's no reason they'd neglect Aubry. Michele doesn't have any of those things on quite that level but has still gotten a strong amount of focus throughout. This episode almost has me willing to outright call it for Michele; in any case, she's definitely still #1 and by a much, much wider margin than last episode.

 

Otherwise pretty weak episode. I wanted them to kill Mark. w/e though, we've had enough strong episodes that I don't mind this weak one. Hopefully things pick back up for the end.

My theory after this episode is that it will be an Aubrey/Cydney/Michele final 3, with Cydney getting destroyed by the jury and Michele coming in second place. I think they are trying to set her up as a decoy/competition for Aubrey, kind of like Spencer last season, someone who gets kind of the same amount of airtime as the eventual winner, but it just won't happen. Michele just doesn't really do a lot and I still can't necessarily see her win, but she is getting a finalist-edit.

[Scrambled Aegon]

Before I had Michele as my #1 contender but could reasonably see other people. Now I have a wildly hard time seeing anyone else unless the producers are elaborately trolling fans who pay attention to the edit. A big endgame episode of doubt and establishing that she could win the jury vote, emphasis in the previously on segment and especially right afterwards where she gets to immediately explain her vote and how it helps her game... She's getting absolutely everything winners get. After this week there is no reason to doubt that she wins unless you think they're deliberately diverting from constant previous patterns or something.

 

Decent ep otherwise. Liked the TC, liked Jason at Reward. Not a great ep but better than last weeks and even if this endgame is a bit of a fizzle, still better than previous seasons that got worse as they went like Cagayan and BvW.

[Criston of House Shapper]

Wow, my pre-season-winner-pick ends up in 6th place for the second time in a row, that's too bad. I'm going to have to pick more carefully next season.

Joe was really funny this episode. "You dumb ball!" is one of the weirdest lines ever. 

So, will there be a final 3 or a final 2? After next week it should be four people left and then they can basically go two different routes, with either an advantage-challange or two immunities. Family-visit also hasn't happened yet, are they going to cram too much into the finale once again?

Aubry still gets the most favourable edit and will win this thing. My guess is, that she will win immunity next week, at which point people will vote out Joe, as him and Aubry are a pair.

[dbunting]

Decent episode.

Tai - starting to paint him as evil. Just evil enough to count as a mastermind, or just enough to be a jerk? Didn't help his case any at tribal. I still want him to win but it is less and less likely. His only chance is to go against Joe at the end 1 on 1. If it's him, Joe and Cydney then maybe he can win, maybe.

Aubrey - a throw away episode for her, may have thrown the victory away. She sided with Cydney against her own intuition and that may come back to haunt her. Michelle would have been the better person to vote out and she knows it. She now lost Tai and he has the hidden idol, so you know he is in top 4 (unless he stupidly doesn't play it) and he is a threat to win immunity the next week. 

Cydney - Just don't like her. She complains about people telling her what to do, but then tells Aubrey what to do, with me or against me. She just seems like a fake person to me. I will be really disappointed if she wins. 

Joe - well, you actually got some air time and it made you look like an ass ordering people around. That, and your total lack of spelling!

Michelle - You may have just won the game because of Cydneys emotion and Aubreys lack of sticking to her own opinion. Imagine what happens if Michelle wins immunity next week. Cydney-Joe-Aubrey have to turn on each other.

Jason - You were a dick and unfortunately for you this is the one season that they don't want a dick to be at the final three for an easy vote! Also, why throw away your vote? The vote for Joe was a total waste especially when Tai told him he was trying to save him, at least take a stab at it and vote Michelle. Your emotions showed again in that moment.

[Kyoshi]

^^I'm one of those people who simply don't understand what this means: "someone is being fake." Is she being fake as a human being? A player? A friend? ...it seems a statement tinged with your opinion* of her.It seems an incomplete statement to me.

Also, I don't see how they aren't all being emotional right now. Aubry literally cried. Tai makes more decisions with his heart than most players I've seen. Michele, in addition to crying over Julia, has been led to every vote by someone else; I'm supposing she does this out of loyalty and not any strategic foresight of her own. As far as I can tell, Joe might be the only "unemotional."

*I don't know how to phrase it actually. This is for lack of a better word.

[dbunting]

14 hours ago, Kyoshi said:

^^I'm one of those people who simply don't understand what this means: "someone is being fake." Is she being fake as a human being? A player? A friend? ...it seems a statement tinged with your opinion* of her.It seems an incomplete statement to me.

Also, I don't see how they aren't all being emotional right now. Aubry literally cried. Tai makes more decisions with his heart than most players I've seen. Michele, in addition to crying over Julia, has been led to every vote by someone else; I'm supposing she does this out of loyalty and not any strategic foresight of her own. As far as I can tell, Joe might be the only "unemotional."

*I don't know how to phrase it actually. This is for lack of a better word.

Yep, entirely my opinion, that's why I couldn't quite describe it very well and said, just don't like her. I kind of liked her at first but I felt like she did someone wrong on her original tribe, can't remember her name, it may have been a good move, but it felt wrong to me. Then she quickly dumped Scot and Jason, the same people she betrayed the other person for. She seems to demand loyalty without giving it. I think the original back stab(in my view it was a back stab) has tainted my view on her.

If you read my comments upstream you will see that I think she has real world potential for fame and such, she lights up a screen with her smile and personality sometimes, but then she crashes that right back down again.

[Kyoshi]

Got it.

[SpaceChampion]

Cydney is the whole reason Aubrey didn't vote out Michelle.  Losing Cydney really would screw up her game, because Cyd would turn on her if she stayed to final four, and would be a bitter jury member if voted out later.  Voting with Tai would isolate Aubrey, since Joe already made it clear he wasn't voting for Michelle.

[Scrambled Aegon]

Best episode in a couple weeks. Tai's a great character, I'm gonna be happy with the Michele win, four great contestants in the finale with a boot ep that made our 5th placer better than he had been too