282 replies to this topic

[Kamau]

Spoiler

J'Tiah did outlast several players, but only because they were even more obnoxious than she was (technically she only outlasted Garrett. But I will say I'm glad the Beauty tribe lost last week because if they hadn't, I don't think Spencer would have had the examples he did of why he was crucial to keep for challenges.

 

As shown by my initial reaction (I posted that while watching the ep, and came back and edited once it was over) I was dumbfounded at how terrible J'Tiah was at everything. Literally, in that challenge, all she had to do was hoist a rope. Now granted, Tasha wasn't handling it the best way (she had no coordinating count or anything to help her team pull like the other two tribes figured out) but still. And when J'Tiah was floundering to put the flag on the platform? I was legit screaming at my TV because you can feel the platform and the pole! Just feel your way to placing it!

 

I was so mad when they began seriously discussing getting rid of Spencer because of J'Tiah's "loyalty" BS. She said it herself to us - all she had going for her was loyalty. And while that's a great thing once you've merged, they had no way of knowing when that would happen. As I said to mom "You've got to make it to the merge for that strategy to pull off." 

 

I honestly don't even think the rest of the Brain tribe knows there is a hidden immunity idol anywhere. Though I have to wonder where Garrett hid it, for no one to have stumbled across it. I'd like to know that. 

 

To your 'final 3' comment, they've actually been doing Final 3 for quite a few seasons, now. (In fact, my favorite player, Rafe, was in the last season that had a final 2.. It made me mad because he would have been #3 if there was a final 3 XD Though perhaps his screwup was the reason they changed it. Who knows!) But you're completely right that 14 players is too many for one camp. And date yourself all you want, Saboga was the tribe-of-one where Stephanie moved over, right? I felt so bad for her. 

 

Also, when Spencer made his "as a viewer, this would be awesome" comment I literally said to my tv "No. As a viewer I am fed up with how stupid your tribe is being."

[Glaciermage]

Most of what I was going to say you 2 have covered, but I guess i will say something anyway. :)

Spoiler

It is a relief to see J'Tia gone. (Partially because it's hard to spell her name.) How can someone be SO inept at every challenge, and be inept at the politics outside the challenges too? The only reason she was able to "outlast" others was sheer luck. The brain tribe was thinking too far into the future and not immediate enough. So it was an error on the other brain tribe members, and not anything J'Tia herself did to outlast. Even though the merge is happening, J'Tia would have been no help to Cass and Tasha. She would've been the first to get voted out, and anyone attached to her would have been in trouble anyway. Tasha is too indecisive. That would make me nervous. If I were Cass or Spencer I would look for other alliance options than Tasha.

As far as brawn goes, it looked like Woo didn't throw the challenge at all. I hope that doesnt come back to hurt him. The old lady totally threw the challenge, and you could tell Sarah was a bit too. I am sad Cliff is already being plotted against, but in a way they do have a point. He is already rich. Give someone else the money.

I like LJ more and more on beauty. I like how he even explained the chicken egg to the one girl. As if she was a 5 yr old, but in a dignified way, so as not to upset her and draw attention to himself.

Almost certainly this merge will be a random shakeup to 2 tribes. The tribes are so unbalanced you can't have 3 people sitting out of a challenge from one tribe. It will definitely be interesting to see how the balance of power shifts. I'm hoping Tony gets caught out in his lies, but I don't see it happening. I think he will last a long time in this game.

[Kamau]

Now that we've all seen it (correct me if I'm wrong).. 

 

Glace, I also think that Tony won't be caught in his lies any time soon, if at all; not unless Woo convinces Sarah to join their alliance and asks why she's so unsure. But there are plenty of other ways to get on the target list. His luck right now relies in part on Sarah continuing to gun for Cliff (And the tribe continuing to not go to tribal) and, possibly unfortunately for him, they're about to shake the teams up. So it'll be anyone's game.

 

I agree, Tasha's indecisiveness makes me really nervous. I think Cas and Spencer could make good allies, and I can see Cas becoming unsure of Tasha if she continues her flipping streak. Except, again, they're shaking the teams up. And the only reason J'Tiah outlasted was because her "alliance" had the most people. If there had been even one more person on the tribe during the ep where they voted Garrett out, she probably would have gone home. 

[Glaciermage]

Amazing Race:

Spoiler

I can't believe some of the racers were doing the bamboo trampoline in bare feet. That looked so painful.

The DJ detour looked so much easier. 3 hrs spent trying to mix drinks would frustrate anyone, but that meltdown was classic Luke. I don't rly care for Brenchel all that much and would've been fine to see them go, but I am kind of glad they got one extra leg at least after Rachel calmed down Margie and Luke.

I think if I was in that club I would've gotten awful sick of that same song playing over and over.

[Kamau]

Spoiler

I'm not sure if they were allowed to do it in shoes; I can't remember. I thought everyone was barefoot? But yes that looked incredibly painful... It amused me when (Jessica, I think?) complained about how she couldn't do it after 15 tries, when Cord took 47. :p 

 

I got nervous when the second flight became the third, but I'm glad that they ended up right on top of each other.

 

I spent the entire detour informing my mother on repeat that I could do the DJ challenge practically in my sleep. I can understand why some of the teams wouldn't have done it (you need rhythm, and if you can't follow a beat...) but I still can't believe some of them didn't switch over once they were at the drinking one for so long (looking at you Brenchel). Only Margie and Luke couldn't have done it.

 

I actually like Team Brenchel so I was super glad that this was a non-elimination leg, especially after they stopped to cheer Luke on. You're right that the meltdown was classic Luke but at the same time, he bounced back much easier (yay for growing up since the last time!) and eventually got back on track. I still love them and was sooo excited when they finished first and took off. 

 

It also amused me at the end when the Afghanimals were like "We're still hungry for first place, but damn, those cowboys are tough."

 

(My sister and I have been spending the episodes trying to learn ASL from Luke, haha. It's been a lot of fun!)

[Glaciermage]

Survivor Night!

Spoiler

Wow just that quick Brain tribe is in a total position of power. I don't know how they won that challenge. The majority of brawn should've dominated the busting up of the doors. If you were not at the front of the log, wouldn't you be looking ahead to help the team avoid wrong paths during the puzzle?

When the team that lost, lost, I figured Cliff was going home regardless. Cliff/Woo/Lindsay didn't have a backup plan for if LJ had an immunity idol. When LJ didn't play the idol I was dumbfounded. I can't believe he got away with that, and I don't understand why Tony would make that play at that point in time.

I like how the switch to 2 tribes shook everything up. I'm really looking forward to seeing what happens next week.

[Kamau]

Spoiler

Initial thoughts on the merge:

• Yay, all three Brains ended up on the same tribe!
• And Morgan, too! Hoping she and the Brains all team up.
• Thank goodness, Cops R Us was broken up. Tony was not good for her.
• I wonder if Lindsay will still try to get rid of Cliff now

Obviously, the last one was proven true. I didn't really have an attachment to him so it didn't bother me to see him go. The move took my mom and sister by surprise though, and we were all equally dumbfounded when LJ didn't play his idol. At least he still has it, now! 

 

Thoroughly enjoyed Tasha's "what now, biatch?" face when she was holding on to that pole. Mom kept saying how it was such a stupid move, having who they did holding on to the pole, but I guess it made sense because their stronger players were needed to....uhm....try and budge Boulder- I mean, Cliff.

 

Immunity-wise, both teams were kind of failing when it came to busting down the walls. But Spencer's triumphant jump was wonderful enough that we rewound the DVR and watched it again. XD

 

I'm really, really not looking forward to next week's "bitch-down" between Trish and Lindsay. Maybe we just haven't been granted much dramatic editing since the Brain tribe kept losing, but the Beauties were airing out a lot of dirty laundry to everyone who would listen. I almost forgot that Lindsay and Trish didn't like each other, honestly.

[legacyme3]

Since we've all seen it now, I'm going to just avoid the spoiler tag.

 

I really liked the episode myself. I knew when the Brain tribe all stuck together that things were going to stay interesting.

 

When reward started, I was utterly baffled at how much of an advantage the old Brawn tribe had. (Are they the new beauty tribe or something? I forget the names of the tribes.) Cliff is a fucking tank. I pride myself on being pretty strong and having an excellent grip for someone of my size, but Cliff Robinson is a huge man. And on top of that, he's a former professional athlete. I can say with no hesitation that there is no way I could outlast Cliff in this challenge. He's just too big, too strong, and too scary. If I were a member of that tribe, my first priority would be to get rid of him once it becomes clear a merge is coming. He'll destroy individual challenges if you keep him around.

 

I honestly didn't pay a ton of attention to the stuff after the Reward Challenge (until Immunity) but of what I gathered, the Brain tribe massively lucked out, to get a decent tribe that is splintering to begin with. If they play their cards right, all three of them will last to the individual rounds. Something that was in doubt a week ago. And I really hope they all do, because Spencer is fun to watch, because you know how badly he wants to be there. And the women on that tribe aren't intolerable (I've found, this season, more than in season's past, that the women are just annoying me. There are 1 or 2 others that don't bother me, but for the most part, they've just killed the fun factor when on screen.)

 

I also was pretty happy to see Woo and Cliff stick together. I knew it likely wouldn't last long, but it is how it is.

 

Seeing Sarah be the odd one out on the old Brawn tribe makes me wonder if she's really in a better position here. Smart move for her would be to ally with the old Brain tribe now, because that's obviously the power faction in that group that'll swing votes. But if she can't do that, it's really no better than being screwed by Tony later anyways.

 

When Immunity rolled along, I'll admit, I was very curious as to how the challenge was gonna go down. The old Brawn tribe had a definite edge in the destroy the wall segment, so I'm surprised it wasn't the domination I was expecting. Whereas I expected the old Brain tribe to destroy the other tribe on the puzzle segment. Overall, it was such a close challenge, and easily the biggest nailbiter we've had so far this season. Loved Spencer. He's just a fun guy to watch, and you want him to go far. And with his current situation, he may well do just that.

 

When it became clear someone was going home on the other tribe, the thought process was instant. LJ or Cliff. I personally thought they should have gotten rid of Jethra (the other holdover from the original beauty tribe) because she's far weaker in challenges than Cliff OR LJ. But she's going to fly under the radar for now, I suppose. Then I resigned myself. Cliff was going home. There is no way LJ wouldn't play him immunity idol tonight.

 

Or so I thought.

 

Ballsy move by him to NOT use him hidden immunity idol (has there ever been a season where two people had hidden immunity idols, and refused to use them, and as a result got voted out?)

 

I was about to scream at the TV what a fucking dipshitted move that was.

 

Then, I see Cliff is voted out, and I'm just like, "Wow, I can't believe LJ survived WITHOUT using his idol."

 

The line between genius and madness is incredibly blurred. Often times, it's not clear when one is genius or mad.

 

I thought LJ was mad, but it's only mad if it doesn't work. And boy, did it work. If LJ plays his cards right coming out of this tribal, he could make a power faction with Woo, Jethra, and the other girl from the original Brawn tribe that was allied with Cliff, and really wreck the other faction.

 

If I were to make a prediction tonight, on who would make it to the individual rounds, I would guess the following: Spencer, Kass, Tasha, Morgan, Sarah, Jefra, Woo, LJ, and Tony (with Jeremiah being a possibility if they have an even numbered tribe)

 

But that's just an assumption (and what I really want to happen, as this would be the most interesting group I feel) based on what I've seen. I'm out of practice with the show, so for all I know, I'm way off.

 

Not looking forward to next week's episode. Too much emphasis on a pussy fight.

[Glaciermage]

I think the fight will be a minor part of next week's episode. It seemed like the typical Survivor promo that in the end is blown out of proportion and means nothing. I'm interested to see what happens next week mainly because I want to see if Woo can better his position, and which of the former beauty tribe members brain sides with. Brain would be smart to get rid of 1 beauty member, and then girl cop. We will see if that happens.

[Kamau]

The Amazing Race

 

Spoiler

I am so upset right now. That is all.

[Glaciermage]

Spoiler

Yeah that's a horrible way to go out. You would think they would have the flights planned better. Don't they usually look into seating to make sure there is some sort of fairness?

 

If I ever go on the Amazing Race, remind me to practice sewing... just in case. That looked incredibly challenging. Riding in those "taxis" seemed crazy, too. Did you notice the one clip where a huge bus is going right at the taxi, and the taxi swerves at the last minute?

 

But, yeah. It is a bummer that Margie and Luke got eliminated, especially the way they did. Let's just hope dem Cowboys and Dave and Connor stay in it until the end now.

 

[Kamau]

Spoiler

My mom's response to my upset reaction was "they could have tried for the Singapore flight, but they decided not to." Which I guess I get but it still sucks because a 35 minute connection? With the guy in charge saying "I really wouldn't do that"?I would have been wary about risking it, too. Yeah it worked for Brendan and Rachel but all it would take would be for the plane to have been a little delayed and they would have been stranded. 

 

The plane disappointments have happened before (the wrestlers and having to wait 24 hours) but mostly because they missed the flight, not because there was no room. 

 

Mom kept hoping they'd get to the sewing part and have Margie turn out to be a super-seamstress, but you could tell they were nowhere close. I mean, it was dark out when they made it to the pit stop, and once the show started fast-forwarding through their challenges, you knew they weren't about to make it. (They would have cut to them a lot more if they were going to catch up.) 

 

It's good to try and learn all skills for the race. XD And yeah next week looks interesting, at least.

 

I've decided my order of how I'd like the rest of the show to go based off the remaining teams:

 

1st - either Dave/Connor or the Cowboys

2nd - whichever team didn't take 1st

Third - Flight Time/Big Easy

 

Fourth - Brenchel

Fifth - The Afghanimals 

Sixth - The Blondes

Seventh - John/Jessica

 

This order has little to do with their capabilities as individual teams, just the order I'd like to see them go based on how much I like them.

[kspr]

so my race got bumped for 60 minutes last night. anybody else? i ended up skipping it to fall asleep during cosmos

[Glaciermage]

I always record an extra hour because that happens way too often, kspr.

And I would switch teams 4 and 5 but otherwise I agree with you, Kamau. Both Brenchel and Afghanimals are much more likeable this time around.

[Kamau]

Yeah, we record 2 hours total in case of 60 minutes, and since I don't get home till late we fast-forward through 60 Minutes anyway. :p

 

I agree, Glace. My list is subject to change, and 4 and 5 may very well swap depending on how next week goes. 

[legacyme3]

I can has Survivor? :3

[Kamau]

Toniiight~

[Kamau]

Survivor: 

Spoiler

The smallest part of me wants to be impressed that Lindsay made the decision she did, wanting to preserve her integrity, but honestly, all I got from that was that she doesn't know how to control her emotions and be the bigger person. I can't believe she pulled herself from the game! Though really, I don't get why Trish had to go off on her like that. 

 

/liveblogging

 

Tony and Woo pretended the clue to the idol was for someone on the other tribe, and thus painted a huge target on Jeremiah's face. That. is. genius. I admit, Tony plays a crazy good game.

 

"He's not fooling anyone." Oh maaaan. I can't stop giggling. 

 

I really, really just wish I could go play on the challenges. Like, I want to film it, but I also want to participate. Just in the challenges.

 

Tony, shut your face. I hate when tribes cheat off each other.

 

I don't understand where all this paranoia is coming from about "Top Five". I mean, there are five people over there. I took it as them saying "We're not losing any more challenges!" not "they have someone over here!"

 

Alexis's face when she was voted out was glorious.

 

A merge? Already? Wow.

[legacyme3]

My own thoughts....

 

Spoiler

Lindsey annoyed me. I respect the fact that she prefers integrity to money or whatever, but I see this as a weak way to go. If you are going to go out, go out with a bang, not a whimper. I rarely like when players quit, especially for reasons such as petty bitching. I don't miss her at all already.

 

I loved Tony's move. I honestly expected that the reward was going to be the ability to take a tribe member from the other tribe, because of Lindsey's departure from the game. I think I liked this more though, because though I hate Tony as a person (he reminds me of my stepdad) I like him as a character of this show. I want Tony to last a long time, but not win.

 

I found it incredibly stupid that so many people just fell for it though. They aren't going to just let the losing tribe have immunity... think. Sure one could argue the reward was instability of the other tribe, but consider for a moment that it's just as likely, if not more so, that Tony is just fucking with you. Sarah should probably have been the one to raise a red flag at this, having spent some time with him prior, but I guess she's either dense, or Tony is way less transparent in person (though maybe, again, its because he reminds me of my step-dad that I feel he's so easy to read.)

 

The challenges do look fun, at least the athletic portions. Not a fan of the puzzles. I mean, I know how to do one, but if you give me a choice, I'm going to do the more fun thing obviously.

 

I loved how the other tribe mocked Tony's voice for saying Top Five. It was hilarious, and the highlight of the episode.

 

I was also so glad to see Alexis voted out 6-1. Doesn't get more unanimous than that. She annoyed the crap out of me (like nearly every woman on this season, bar like 2 or 3) and I'm not going to miss her. I don't know if it's just because I find the pettiness that so many of them have shown, or because I flat out find their voices annoying (so many of their voices irk me beyond belief) but I always cheer a little inside when the most annoying players leave.

 

I was a "bit" surprised to see how unanimous it was though.

 

So much crying this episode. First, Lindsey has her breakdown, and then Alexis cries on the way out, and in the credits. I'll be glad to have the merge next week, where things finally get interesting. 

 

I can't wait to see the interaction between Spencer and Tony, and Woo and the Brain Tribe (since it's obvious he needs friends right now)

[Kamau]

Spoiler

I agree, players have been quitting for really wimpy reasons lately. (You haven't watched the latest seasons, so you wouldn't understand the ridiculousness that was Colton quitting. Lindsay has nothing on him. 

 

I'm not sure how far I want Tony to go in the game. He's kind of one of the most strategic people in this season, so that alone makes him deserve to get pretty far...Him alongside some of the Brains, like Spencer, I'd say. We'll have to see how things go. 

I agree that someone other than Jeremiah should have been suspicious of the move, but the problem (that Tony played 100% on without even realizing it) is that the Beauty tribe doesn't trust each other at all. But Tony wouldn't have known how they turned on each other so quickly...and Sarah thought she and Tony were tight up until the end of this episode, so she wouldn't have questioned his moves. As for the reward, that could have been a cool one, but it wouldn't have worked because what if the tribe with 7 had won? That kind of reward would have worked if they tribes were now even. (I did enjoy LJ(?)'s ironic laughter about how Tony was "being truthful by admitting that he lied".)

 

I love the puzzles just as much as the athletic challenges. :) I'd want to do all of them, ignoring my dislike of heights and the fact that I'd probably have frozen up on that ladder. XD 

 

The only 'bit' surprised I was about it being unanimous was that the other girl didn't vote with Alexis. But then again, if she had an inkling that Alexis's plan wasn't going to have the majority vote, then she was smart for not voting with her. Especially since they were vouching for their loyalty at that point.  (Alexis was crying about not making it to the merge, but she did make it to one merge. I didn't have too much issue with her tears though, because they were there since she was passionate about playing. She just didn't play well enough to stick around. Lindsay's crying earlier was still annoying, though.)

 

I changed my mind on my incredulity over the upcoming merge upon realizing that there are 11 players left. Lindsay really screwed things up by leaving, though, because if she hadn't there'd have been 12 people to go to the merge, and someone would have had to switch sides. 

 

I feel like Woo will definitely come make friends with the Brains because he's got no alliance left. If anything, that other girl (Julia?) might swap... her and Jeremiah have a small chance of switching, but it all depends, especially because they all heard that "final five" and if you ask me, there's zero reason to switch upon hearing that.