Actually, I don’t think it was rigged either - just checking for opinions. Although I do think it is incredibly unlikely, and not at all what the producers probably wanted.
I think Rob’s influence is mostly a product of the editing at this point. I’m having a hard time remembering, but I don’t think he’s actually done anything to show if he does have influence. His team hasn’t been losing for awhile, so who know who is really aligned. IMHO, Amber was the only one who’s really tied in with Rob.
Further, I really don’t think Rob has any idea of how the game is truly played. He claim he’s got an alliance with everyone, which is exactly how not to do it. That only leads to having to doublecross people early and often, and you can only go so far doing that.
Having said that, I think this cast is got themselves so wound up in paranoia, they don’t have any idea of what they’re doing. Look for the most stable level-headed of them (Kathy, Big Tom) to pull through in the end.
Rob is also somewhat disliked and resented- many savvy players may think they have a better shot in front of the jury against him, as he is likely to repeatedly shoot himself in the foot. Would you rather face the Jury with- “shoots his mouth off” Godfather Rob, or the popular Rupert, Big Tom or Kathy? Thought so.
Kathy’s plan doesn’t involve any of the other Lexx’s Losers, and hasn’t since the reward challenge she spent on the ship. She made it clear she was jumping ship (no pun intended- much) the first chance she got. So it really was in her best interest to try aave Amber, as she will have a ready block of votes with Rob and Amber, and pathetic tag-along Shii Ann. Her fear shitck was just the cover for getting a paranoid Lexx to go along without tipping her hand. Bag on Lexx all you want, he has made 3 stupid choices in a row. Bag on do-nothing Shii Ann, who has done nothing but fawn over Hatch and now Kathy. But Kathy’s move was the smart move for her, as usual.
I disagree. I think his main asset is convincing people to do exactly what he wants even though they know (if they’ve watched his “season”) that he can’t be trusted. It’s for that reason that he deserves to win. He’s playing the game the best.
Yeah but he’s a hard worker, pissed off nobody and impressed people on some of the challenges. He would be tough to face before the jury. Plus most of them have not seen his insane rambling blow-ups— yet.
Bring back Brandon, if just for the archery challenge!
Gotta disagree with both of your main points (and while I do, wonder why I care so much about this silly show!)
I would absolutely rather face anyone in the final two over Rob M. The history of this game has consistently confirmed that being an obnoxious human being is usually totally irrelevant in the final voting decision. These players tend to vote for who they believe played most effectively, emphatically not for the people they like the most. For seasons now, people have played that card - that you might keep someone annoying around to face them in the final 2 - but the evidence doesn’t bear out it’s effectiveness. In fact, I think annoying or disliked people have an advantage in the final 2, because the jury respects that they’ve played well enough to overcome the handicap of being hated and getting so far.
Consider:
SEASON 1: Richard (despised by almost all) beats Kelly (mostly liked)
SEASON 2: Tina beats Colby (neither was hated)
SEASON 3: Ethan beats Kim (neither was hated)
SEASON 4: Vecepia beats Neleh (both were hated)
SEASON 5: Brian beats Clay (the one time the more obnoxious person lost)
SEASON 6: Jenna (regarded by most as the devil incarnate) beats Matthew (regarded generally as a pretty nice guy)
SEASON 7: Sandra beats Lil (Lil was hated, but not in the way suggested here)
In every case, the jury voted for the player, for the person who was active and perceived as in control - regardless of whether or not they were annoying. Rob M. will win if he makes it to the final two, no matter how many nasty things he might say on the way.
I agree that Kathy’s plan entails jumping ship. I disagree that it’s a good or a smart plan. She believes that she actually fits into a Rob-Amber-Shii Ann quartet, or that Rob and Amber are going to choose her over their game-long allies Tom and Alicia, and their long-term allies Rupert and Jenna, just because they sang a song about her. She believes that, but that’s because she is very stupid. In any case, joining up with Rob and Amber is a stupid move, because they are obviously committed to one another. In the best case, Kathy finds herself in a Final Two and having to beat two younger, stronger people in an endurance immunity to earn a spot in the finals - 'cause neither Rob nor Amber is going to give her the spot if they win.
I stand by my previous assessment. Morons, all of them.
I’m in the smart move for Kathy camp. I don’t think she was any more likely to buy Jerri’s loyalty, over Amber’s. She stood to alienate more of the players left in the game by getting rid of Amber. There are still so many people left, and the targets will eventually switch, when it goes to individual immunity. Kathy’s bonds with the other tribe are better than her other teammates’ (I highly doubt Lex will be in with Rob now) and so she probably has the luxury of being last to go if it ends up a merge and pagonging. In that time, a lot can happen.
I also think the buff switch could only be fixed, if the players were in on it, regardless of math. The choosing went in the order the players assigned themselves. As far as Amber, I didn’t like her strategy of latching on to a male to take her to the end, but it’s still a strategy. She’s been a good competitor in the challenges, even winning the log roll for her team. With her actions last night, I think she’s smarter than I gave her credit for, so I no longer look at her as another Shii-ann.
You are assuming Kathy will try to join with Amber in Rob. I seriously doubt that is the plan. My guess is a Lex-Kathy-Rupert-Tom alliance. I think they will probably try to fool Rob into thinking he’s got control of them. That will give them the opportunity to make some backroom deals. I further say everybody is playing Rob. He’s strutting around like the big man in charge while most of the others are pobably inwardly grinning at the big old target he is painting on himself post-merge.
I disagree. That’s the order the buffs came out, but the players were allowed to fish around a bit, they weren’t handed a buff. I’ll admit some didn’t, and that the earlier players were probably more likely to choose from the top, but I saw a few people really stick their hand in there and move it around.
Still doesn’t matter. What matters is that the picking order was pre-assigned by Burnett, and had nothing to do with the order that the teams assigned themselves. It didn’t matter if you were Red #1 or Red #4, the Red team was still picking 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 10.
I’m not saying it was fixed, but the fact that the teams “shuffled” themselves doesn’t mean anything.
Aha, I see what you are saying and agree. heh I was thinking in terms of the game being fixed by who went where, rather than keeping the teams together. What you say makes sense. I saw things as pretty random, by allowing a player to choose a buff and not having a preconceived order. I didn’t think about the alternating in the way you’ve put forth, and I’m an idiot. :smack:
Prior to the start of All-Stars, I read that the Pearl Islands season hadn’t yet aired before taping of All-Stars began. Therefore, none of the All-Stars (except Rupert) would know how the Pearl Islands season played out, and none of the other All-Stars would have known a thing about Rupert.
However, during this last episode, the tribes were asked to name the first person voted off from each season, and they were all familiar with the Pearl Islands season. Also, in retrospect, I believe during the first All-Stars episode, someone recognized Rupert and greeted him by name.
So, obviously, what I read was incorrect.
What was the timeline for this? Were the All-Stars able to watch ALL of the Pearl Island season?
I think they got to see the first few episodes before they went away. I think the last one they could have seen was where Trish and Jon tried and failed to take down Rupert. Certainly pre-Outcasts anyway.
Yeah, there have been several references to pre-Pearl Islanders being familiar with what happened on the Pearl Islands. People recognized Rupert at the very beginning, for instance, and have been familiar with his love for fishing and whatnot. I assume they allowed the other competitors to see the Pearl Island episodes before they were aired, so everyone was competing on a level playing field.
Ditto what everyone else said about how stupid Kathy, ShiiAnn and Lex are to keep Amber on board knowing she’s entirely loyal to Rob. Stupid, stupid.
As far as the team switch, had they used a wide mouth basket or jar, I might have been less inclined to believe it was “fixed.” However, they used a small mouthed jar, and Jeff held it up high, which gave the contestants very little maneuverability once their hand went inside.
And while I believe that Rob genuinely likes Amber, it’s hard to believe that you could get so tight with someone after 20 days. Rob is such a player that you wonder if he’s playing the game. Amber is the ultimate shadow, which is actually not a bad stategy because the big dog is usually voted off as a threat. You just wonder if it’s a deliberate strategy on her part or just her personality.
And I also agree that this episode lacked suspense and interest. The producers spent too much time on the Rob/Amber “love story.” Usually there is some suspense going into the final vote. By showing Lex’s talk with Jerri, you knew what was going to happen. This doesn’t make for particularly compelling t.v.
Sure it does. Even if the deal was rigged by stacking the buffs in the basket red, green, red, green, etc. all you need is one person to dig in a little bit and your nice ordering goes all to hell.
Beyond that, why would the producers want Rob and Amber split up? What’s better for the ratings that to have a torrid romance brewing? If left together, maybe they would even “do it”, a new first for Survivor.
I absolutely think it was rigged. I think the elves who stacked the buffs knew exactly what they were doing. When the players pulled the buffs out, they were all neatly folded. So I think they were stacked in the order in which they would be pulled. There didn’t seem to be much room for mixing buffs up in that container.
And I really don’t get the point of changing camps, unless it was to try to fatten up the former Mogo Mogo players to try to make them more competitive. Well, that didn’t work. . . .
