Survivor: Season Whichever - Page 2

Rumor has it the RI won't be back after this (or possibly the next season) - and I bring that up because Ozzy shouldn't be a threat anymore. He's been voted out TWICE, and that he can still come back and possibly win is annoying.

I've hated Cochrane from the start, so I'll be cheering when Ozzy gives him a beatdown in the next RI challenge. He doesn't have any game - he's been carried and coached and shielded for his usefulness as a swing vote, and that's it. It's painfully obvious he has no social game, he's useless in challenges, and the dude cannot shut the fuck up.

If the remaining players have an iota of cranial matter, they'll blindside Coach and get him out of there ASAP. Or do it when RI isn't a factor.

Agreed that Sophie's in the zone; I think she has a great chance of winning this, and I'd be cheering her the whole way. And SURVIVOR camera operators: more Whitney, please. MORE. I'd be happy if the camera stayed on her the entire duration of tribal council. 

I never understood why, when Cochrane was getting blasted for screwing up the ropes on that one challenge, he didn't shoot back with, "Yeah, I screwed up, but if you remember, we had the lead after getting the final bag of pieces.  How about pointing a finger at the people who blew the puzzle?"  Yeah, Cochrane cost them some time, but the way they were bungling that puzzle, he could have been a Boy Scout with those ropes and they still would have lost.

And he really should have owned his flip instead of "I'll explain later."  Scorched earth, baby.  Turn your back and move on.

Damn, that Redemption Island challenge was a nail-biter. Cochrane had it, too! He had it! Ozzy was THIS close to jury time.  Oh well, Edna obviously takes him out next week. I mean, the preview said so! And SURVIVOR editors don't lie!

No wonder Brandon's so fucked up. Watching his dad try to manipulate Coach was legitimately uncomfortable to watch.

Nice to see that things are about to get chaotic. Edna was always an obvious boot at 6, but at least she went out swinging. Too bad she waited until now to do it.

Coach has to be playing Ozzy with his final three proposition. It would make no sense for Coach to take Ozzy to the finals over his own tribemembers. He'd lose votes. I'm guessing it's just a backup plan in case Ozzy immunity wins his way to the end.

If the producers want me back next season, they had better blatantly advertise it as a "Hantz-free" season, because I am seriously beyond sick of that entire lunatic family.  Strategically, I can see why they sent Edna (jury liability), but Brandon makes my fucking skin crawl, and he can't be gone soon enough.  

Again:  Team Sophie.  

I'd love to see CBS give Brandon his own Dr. Phil like touchy-feeling advice show. It could - and should - be called Holding Hantz.

I'm sure hoping Sophie wins this thing.  All the religious crap is getting nauseating.  I'm rolling my eyes in unison with Sophie.  If I was any of these last few, I'd sure want to bring the cowboy dude along with me to finals because the dude is totally worthless.  I can't see him getting a single vote.  Unless god spoke to the jury and told them to vote for him.  Barf.

Not sure what shocked me more. Brandon giving up immunity or that they couldn't find a pizza company to sponsor that reward.

Albert was never going to win. But, now that he's pissed off his entire alliance and let Brandon be voted out, he's REALLY never going to win.

Why would anyone be considering Brandon a huge threat to win? Everyone has seen his meltdowns, heard him ramble on nonsensically about God, realized that he's an incompetent player... They should have been fighting over who gets to take him with them! Why not target Sophie? That would have made the most sense.

Regardless, Brandon exited in wonderfully crazy style. For one of the series' most psychologically unbalanced players, he didn't disappoint when it came down to his final Tribal.

Coach voted out Brandon in a very smart way. God told him to do it, after all. Brandon can't argue with that. One jury vote for Coach.

In response to Humungus, I'd argue that the religious crap has made this season far more fascinating, given the general insanity of the contestants. It's taken the REDEMPTION ISLAND/Boston Rob cult scenario to its logical conclusion. This is nowhere near the happy-happy, lovey-dovey, snore-inducing Christian coalition of AUSTRALIA.

Winner predictions anyone? My head says Sophie, but my gut says Ozzy. My heart will always say Coach - no matter what the season.

Man, Sophie looked reaalllly uncomfortable at Tribal with all that God talk.   She better win this thing, because any other winner at this point is going to be insufferable.  

God is the 19th survivor this year, no doubt.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Episode29 

 

In response to Humungus, I'd argue that the religious crap has made this season far more fascinating, given the general insanity of the contestants. It's taken the REDEMPTION ISLAND/Boston Rob cult scenario to its logical conclusion. This is nowhere near the happy-happy, lovey-dovey, snore-inducing Christian coalition of AUSTRALIA.

 

Winner predictions anyone? My head says Sophie, but my gut says Ozzy. My heart will always say Coach - no matter what the season.

As someone with a modicum of faith or belief, this season's been a fascinating and maddening microcosm of American Evangelicalism. Once again - and for the first time in a while - SURVIVOR gives us a really amazing view into group psychology and how worldviews shape individual and group decisions. The fatalism and desire to "find God's will" on display are sort of staggering in their naivete and closed-system approach to life.

I don't think Ozzy has a chance of winning. It's Coach or Sophie. I'm rooting for Sophie, but I also think Coach has pretty much earned it. He's grown a ton as a player, and he's worked pretty hard to get to where he's at.

I predict the finale is going to contain more mentions of "God" than the average episode of The 700 Club.  

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ratty 

I predict the finale is going to contain more mentions of "God" than the average episode of The 700 Club.  

I think that's already true for the regular episodes.

I hope Ozzy doesn't win, because he will have done so by effectively ducking the social game at its most crucial point.

I think it's between Coach and Sophie. I really don't think Ozzy has a chance, because of what Richard wrote, and I'm sure the actual jury members will be thinking: he's there only because he's a challenge monster, not because he had great strategy.

Geez, does every final Tribal have to be filled with such butt-hurt?  These people are complaining about things that have been part of the game for ten years.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Dickson 

Geez, does every final Tribal have to be filled with such butt-hurt?  These people are complaining about things that have been part of the game for ten years.

Agreed. I thought Edna's FTC speech really nailed it. Rick's moral indignation at being lied to in SURVIVOR was laughable.

I think Coach has this, but I'd still like Sophie to win.

And once again the winner isn't who played the best game, but who did the least to piss people off.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Dickson 

And once again the winner isn't who played the best game, but who did the least to piss people off.

Which is a legit strategy all its own.   Sophie absolutely deserved this.  Up until midway through that last challenge, I thought it was completely sewn up for Ozzy.   Sophie rocked that shit when she needed it most.  

I gotta say, I was getting really pissed at Probst at the penultimate tribal when he basically bullied Sophie to tears . . .  but then I think those tears are what pushed her over into the win with the jury.  It humanized her with most of the female members of the jury that may not have voted for her previously.  

I can get behind Sophie as a winner. I still think Coach deserved it, but Sophie played a solid, quiet, thoroughly unsexy game that was, nonetheless, extremely effective. She's a good second tier winner, which I'll take over a dud winner any day of the week. I don't expect she'll ever reappear on an ALL-STARS season, though.

The problem with Coach is his honour and integrity mantra. He played a pretty spectacular SURVIVOR game, straight up. But, by constantly reminding people of his upright gameplay and moral stature, it was way too easy for the jury to poke holes in his performance and cause him defensively to - wrongly - call his whole game a big, confused mess. Juries hate wishy-washy responses. Had he been stronger, and owned up to his moves, he might have won. 

He did get the biggest laugh of the night from me, though, when he said something along the lines of: "Rick, you know we all loved your stories!"

I'm so very glad Ozzy didn't win. We were very close to having one of the worst winners ever. Maybe it's the stubborn old-time purist in me, but I firmly believe that once you've been voted out you forfeit all worthiness of winning.

Brandon redeemed himself a bit for me tonight. He's crazy, but he played really hard and with heart, and was a genuinely good sport about losing. And it was pretty sad to see him at the reunion, without any of his family present. That's fucked up. And then, to have Russell given the spotlight to further slam him in a bid to further fan his own monstrous ego? Not cool. The kid has serious problems, but I can completely understand why. Nice to see the other SURVIVORS back him up. Maybe he'll be able to find a more worthy role model and straighten himself out a bit.

ONE WORLD sounds really interesting. I really hope Redemption Island doesn't play a role in it. Wonder if they'll keep the Two Returning Players gimmick. Can't see it working that well a third straight time around.

Maybe I missed her, but was Mikaela even present? I thought Probst really dropped the ball by not bringing up Brandon's incredibly insane obsession with her. I was pretty amazed that not even Brandon's dad or wife was there....Russell's an evil troll, but Brandon played an awful game and only survived because Coach shielded him and wanted him as a vote during TCs.

I've read that RI is a done thing - but that could be after this coming season. Whichever it is, the producers know it's played out and I think it'll be gone for a while. Which is a good thing. It was an interesting twist the first time or two, but I think this season - especially with a challenge monster like Ozzy - it becomes something that nullifies the entire idea of voting someone out.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

Good ending. Coach certainly could have won this, but Sophie had the better jury performance, and I think the Ozzy bullying pushed her over the edge. My favorite part was Albert's confidence.

 

Am I alone in wishing there had been even more self righteous bullshit from the jury? Brandon and the greasy porno guy with the nervous pig eyes (Jim? I think?) both disappointed me. I was expecting some serious crybaby shenanigans there.

I think you're right - Sophie's breakdown helped her win the game. And I think it did because she seemed genuinely upset and humbled without freaking out. She was tired, hurt, and using all her energy to navigate the game. I have to give a lot of credit to Coach for changing his approach and apparently even learning a few things about himself, but I'm glad Sophie won. She didn't have 80+ days of experience to rely on, and had to wade through a lot of craziness, forced religiosity, and big egos to win.

I don't have much of a problem with Sophie winning, I just hate watching someone play a masterful all-around game and then get ripped apart for doing just that by a ticked-off jury.  And they're usually pissed for having done to them exactly what they would have done in the same situation.

Agreed, Coach should have definitely owned what he did instead of being so apologetic for it.  And considering we can't see every last minute of what happens on the island, there may have been tons of stuff Sophie did really well.  But the producers sure didn't do her any favors with their All Coach and Ozzy edit.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richard Dickson 

Agreed, Coach should have definitely owned what he did instead of being so apologetic for it.

This. Despite watching nearly every season, Hatch is the last contestant I remember boldly saying, "Yeah, I did all these things because that's how the game is played. I'm up here because I was able to guide and persuade all of you better than anyone else, and I was able to do so while still being a strong member of the tribe and challenge contributor." Coach pretty much hoisted himself on his own petard with all the talk of honor and integrity.

The only winner I can recall that won playing a particularly "clean" game was Yul - who, IMNSHO, was one of the smartest players the game has seen. However, he wasn't a flashy or scene-hogging guy, thus no infamy and no returns. But he navigated the game remarkably well, and made some very calm, rational choices that were right almost all of the time. And did so without coming across as a weaselly dick.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelM 

 

The only winner I can recall that won playing a particularly "clean" game was Yul - who, IMNSHO, was one of the smartest players the game has seen. However, he wasn't a flashy or scene-hogging guy, thus no infamy and no returns. But he navigated the game remarkably well, and made some very calm, rational choices that were right almost all of the time. And did so without coming across as a weaselly dick.

 

Yul is my all-time favorite Survivor winner.  And who did he beat?   Ozzy!

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arjen Rudd 

That old guy who won Palau. His name was John, I think? The one who killed a shark. It was almost unreal how completely they were able to craft a hero narrative around him. And he killed a shark.

Tom.  He was pretty great, also.   Nice and honorable for most of the game, but coming into the final five, he got super ruthless when needed and actually got his closest competitor to give up the final challenge.  That's some Jedi shit right there.

Did  anyone else notice that in the promo for ONE WORLD the narration specifically said something along the lines of "In the past, 16 Americans..." That stuck out to me as odd, as they usually say "16 strangers." And that title? Could this be the first international cast? I know there's always been franchise restrictions preventing contestants from outside the US, but I wonder if there's something cool afoot. Probst said in his EW Q&A that there's more to it than the simple Both-tribes/one-island gimmick...