Survivor 4/7--And Then There Were Two

[PunditLisa]

(Tom saying “Watch out for the beak”)…was very much an attempt to psych out the competition. I thought it was brilliant. The gross eating challenges can be fairly easy as long as you don’t have to THINK about what’s going on in your mouth.

Later, I agree he was deliberately talking about the duck’s body parts to psych out the opponent, but he made the “Watch out for the beak” comment to Ian.

Poor Steph. How is she going to pull that outrigger up on the beach all by herself? The fire building challenge was the first time I’ve seen her not psyched to play a challenge. Solitary confinement can be so demoralizing. And it seems there won’t be a tribe merge after all, so she’s doomed to play out the rest of her time as an Ulong, all by herself. What a pisser.

Tom rocks. That’ll be his kiss of death a la Hunter. You don’t want to be too good or the Cobys of the world (correctly) see you as the biggest threat.

I felt bad for Coby when he said he dropped out of school due to the teasing. I can’t imagine what kind of teasing he’s going to get when he returns to his real life. “Coby, Where are your black bikini panties?” People are so cruel. But so far he’s rocked on the challenges.

I cannot believe the women wanted to use fresh water for showers. What the hell were they thinking? They can use the water from their water hole for sponge baths if they don’t want to use salt water. The key is having shampoo and toothbrushes.

Janu is looking terrible. I think she wants/needs to go home.

[rockle]

@Jaade

Oh good, I thought I was the only one who found that skinny little muscular man to be a cutie.

Do you mean Ian? gush, pant, swoon Hell no! There’s a whole Cult of us around here (including Draelin, BiblioCat, and myself [among many others, I am sure]) who lurve him completely and want to have his babies and stuff, or at least be his sex slaves. Looks like we might have gotten our wish this week: the producers really have no choice but to show our much-beloved now. But riddle me this, Batman – what is sound of one Ulong sucking?

[Draelin]

I hereby proclaim myself High Priestess of the Cult of Ian. (But I’ll share with all of you.)

Anyhoo, that was a fabulous episode. I thought I would feel sorry for Bobby Jon, but I don’t. Steph deserves to be the one left. I don’t like her all that much as a person, but I can’t deny that she kicks some serious ass, and that she is undoubtedly worthy of being the sole Ulong survivor. I’m hoping that next week, it’s a one-on-one immunity challenge, one Kuror vs. Steph (and will Kuror have to sit out Ian, Tom, Coby and Gregg just so they’re using everyone?). If Steph loses, she’s gone. If she wins, Kuror votes somebody off to the jury (can you believe we’re down to the jury already?) and Steph gets to go over and hang out with the winners.

Does anyone else remember the Tom/Ian/Katie/Steph alliance being made back at day one, or was that cleverly hidden? Enormous kudos to Tom and Ian if they stick to it–Katie … meh. She’ll go where they tell her to.

[middleman]

And then there was one. Wow. I really don’t think they are going to merge. I enjoyed the way that they settled the unique “tie” at tribal council. I love that Koror is gearing up for the individual challenges. Time to see some disharmony. Here’s to hoping that Burnett has one more twist up his sleeves. Double individual immunity anyone?

And now, the less anticipated, highly derivative RICH RANKINGS! (K or U for Tribe and Last Week’s Rankings in Parentheses).

FORGOT TO FILE A 1040- I guess you couldn’t outwit everyone!

Wanda,Jonathan,Jolanda, Ashlee,Jeff, Kim,Angie,(sniff) Willard, James, Ibrehem — I wonder what the people in the lodge think of the Pagonging? It would be weird from say Jolanda or Ashlee’s perspective to see your teammates rolling in one at a time. Think there is any gloating going on by the early exiters?
Bobby Jon- (U/Jerky)- He accused Stephanie over over thinking. Well, BJ, you were just the opposite. He was a hardworker, but every time a mental aspect of a challenge presented itself, his brow furrowed in a vain attempt to comprehend (I stole that line from Skinner…Principal, not B.F.).

EATING BEEF JERKY- You’re still playing, but you’re praying for a tribe scramble!
Stephanie- (U/Jerky)- Well, she’s on the jury. So at least we’ll get to see her every week. I just don’t see a merge saving her. If she was in a pact with Tom from early on, then why didn’t he pick her over Janu? How dominant would Koror have been with Stephanie? They probably wouldn’t have lost ANY reward challenges either.
Gregg- (K/Tom)- That’s right. A few weeks after sitting in the penthouse and ONE week after I considered moving him back up to the penthouse, he falls to Jerky. I think he played his hand a little too soon. I think once the individuals begin, Tom and Ian will realize they should take out the other Alpha Male before ousting his woman. Though my predictions have been incredibly wrong (Willard anyone?), I say that the next Koror gone will be Gregg.

WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT A MERGE?- Middle of the pack players, the lotta ya!
Jennifer- (K/Merge)- I think if Gregg is eliminated as I predict, she will have one week to shake things up and topple Tom/Ian. I don’t think it will happen, and I think she will be next. Even before Janu.
Janu-(K/Jerky)- Do you get the feeling that Janu is actually upset at the dominance of Koror? I think because of her displeasure at sticking around, she may actually go further than she wants. I think Tom will appeal to her to stick around at least long enough to let him solidify his hold on the game.

HEY! LOOK AT HIS MOHAWK-You might make the merge, but you’re grimacing from the jury row!

Caryn- (K/Merge)- Notice when Coby was talking about the lazy women, he said the “three” of them. Caryn was the one excluded from his “no work” comments. Again, she seems like the perfect shield for the final TC. She’ll work hard all the way, she isn’t popular enough to rally against you, and she isn’t well-liked enough by anyone to win. Still not sure enough of my call to put her higher.
Coby- (K/Tom)- A downgrade? Why? Sure he gained some love with his team speech. It was good, but I was disappointed when I found out it was sincere. I was hoping it was manipulation. But the reason for the drop is that it is clear that he doesn’t really like the people his aligned with. He seems to dislike Jennifer. Normally, that is ok. But with someone like Coby, I think he will make the catty decision and not the smart one. I think that will cause him to jump ship and stick with Tom and Ian. Maybe even warn Tom of the coup. And that would make him the swing voter. Swing voters generally swing.

LOOKING FOR A BIG TOM TO ENGLISH DICTIONARY- Big Tom has spent more combined days on the show than anyone. But he didn’t quite grab the brass ring.

Katie- (K/Mohawk)- Moving up once again. Tom mentions her as his final four and I think that is enough to stay here for the time being. If the coup is successful, I think she would be the last one to get voted off. So, I think she’s in it for a while, either way.

ARE YOU A RAT OR A SNAKE?- Reserved for a MAXIMUM of two players. You have to be in the driver’s seat for this spot.

Tom-(K/Rat)- Careful Tom. Even when you are right, you gotta check the temperature of the tribe. I think a majority may have wanted to use the shower. That wasn’t really a vote. Shaming someone is a good tactic, but it pisses people off.
Ian-(K/Rat)- That is why Ian is at the bottom of this list. I kind of reserve that honor for the person I think is doing the best. Ian supported using the water for drinking, but let Tom take the heat. A payback for that “Ian’s the leader” comment Tom had a few weeks back?
Scope Mouthwash- Ok. We had to add a third candidate here. Because of the “no shower” edict…er…vote, we didn’t get the lovely visual of Jennifer lathering up with Dial Soap. So, instead we get all the product placement time directed at Scope. How do you feel about your beloved Dolphin Boy now that he has become Madison Avenue’s new corporate whore?!

Nothing in this episode made me change my mind on my predictions:

Final Four Prediction- Tom, Ian, Katie and Caryn
Winner- Ian over Caryn

[The_Big_Cheese]

re: Beak
I don’t think he said it loud enough for the opponents to hear it. Even if they did, why wouldn’t it have psyched out Ian too? I think he was either being serious, or probably just being funny.

It doesn’t seem like they’re taking turns doing challenges, when was the last time Katie did anything? I mean ANYTHING?? I bet they just keep running Coby, Ian, Tom at Steph until she breaks, and it won’t take long. She’s the best woman on the island, but if there’s any strength challenges, she’s toast.

My brother was gay, dropped out of high school too, so I can see why Coby felt that way. I hope he does real well.

[YWalker]

@BiblioCat

I thought the conversation about what to do with the fresh water was rather interesting.
Apparently, Jenn thought she was going to get a nice long shower in the clean water. Fifty-five gallons is a lot, but it would have just barely given all eight of them a really quick shower before running out. We have a fifty-gallon water heater here at home, and all four of us can shower, but that’s about it - that’s with my husband and son taking their usual quick showers, me taking about 8 minutes and my daughter taking about 15 or 20 minutes.

Keep in mind that you’re mixing that 55 gallons of water with roughly an equal amount of cold water, too. There’s no way that a 55 gallon drum of water is useful for that many people to consider using as a shower. They got want they wanted, though — now Tom is “mean old Tom who decided ALL BY HIMSELF that we couldn’t all get a shower.”

The thing that really irritated me last night was that they didn’t make Koror choose who was going to participate in Challenges before they identified what they were going to be. In addition to having people who were well rested from having a large group of people to share chores and having been able to sit out previous challenges, they were also able to pick and choose who could better handle particular challenges. It would have been a much more fair competition if, say, they had blindly chosen Caryn and Coby to be the duck embryo eaters.

I also thought it was bad strategy to waste their strongest physical competitors on the prize challenge, but I guess they had a deep enough bench that they could stand to risk it. (Or, even if they lost, they could just dump whiny Janu.)

[Draelin]

@watsonwil

How do you feel about your beloved Dolphin Boy now that he has become Madison Avenue’s new corporate whore?!

He’s a corporate whore with fresh breath, I still love him.

[Balduran]

It was amusing that Stephanie won the final fire competition because Bobby Jon’s was actually a better fire in the sense that it would have more likely lasted longer than a few seconds. However in this challenge what was required was the one that would burn highest the fastest. Either by plan or mistake she had more coconut shavings on top of the wood to accomplish this.

[rockle]

@Draelin

He’s a corporate whore with fresh breath, I still love him.

Word! I lurve him EVEN MORE, if such a thing is possible. Minty-fresh breath makes me weak in the knees. (Seriously – I always sneak in and kiss my husband right after he brushes his teeth.) PLUS, I super-duper-geeky-love the way he said to Tom, “Hook a brother up!” when Tom hogged the mouthwash after pounding the balut. (Which, by the way, may have turned me off of eggs forever.)

DOUBLE PLUS … it’s not like Ian is pimping stuff I don’t already use. Everything in that basket is already a product in my home, except for Scope (we are Listerine people because the ADA has made us scared that we’re going to end up with Killer! Death! Gingivitis! if we don’t use it). It’s like he’s a corporate shill picked especially for me.

Have I mentioned that I lurve him? And that I am willing to Jell-O wrestle Draelin to be High Priestess of the Cult?

[monstro]

@YWalker

The thing that really irritated me last night was that they didn’t make Koror choose who was going to participate in Challenges before they identified what they were going to be. In addition to having people who were well rested from having a large group of people to share chores and having been able to sit out previous challenges, they were also able to pick and choose who could better handle particular challenges. It would have been a much more fair competition if, say, they had blindly chosen Caryn and Coby to be the duck embryo eaters.

I was thinking abou that too. It’s hardly a team effort if they send out the first string each and every time. The show has probably never encountered such a winningest team before, so I’m hoping this is one of those things that will get ironed out by the next season.

That’s why it bugged me to see Katie sitting there, talking about how she can’t believe they’ve won again. She hasn’t done squat. None of the women on that team has done squat. I want Steph to win because she truly has struggled and fought throughout the whole game. Kukor is full of people who haven’t outwitted or outplayed anyone, and yet they reap the benefits like they have. I can’t wait till they start trimming some of the fat.

[monstro]

@Balduran

It was amusing that Stephanie won the final fire competition because Bobby Jon’s was actually a better fire in the sense that it would have more likely lasted longer than a few seconds. However in this challenge what was required was the one that would burn highest the fastest. Either by plan or mistake she had more coconut shavings on top of the wood to accomplish this.

I wasn’t paying full attention, but it seems to me that she had a better strategy. She started with the wood first, then piled on the shavings. Whereas Bobby Jon put down the shavings first, then added wood.

[Draelin]

@rockle

Have I mentioned that I lurve him? And that I am willing to Jell-O wrestle Draelin to be High Priestess of the Cult?

How about I’ll be Priestess on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and we’ll alternate Sundays?

By the way, that little confessional scene with him getting all excited about how the infighting is about to begin was beyond adorable. And I can’t help but wonder if he knows that he is now the object of nerd-lust for every geek-loving Survivor fan?

[AncientHumanoid]

It would be so cool to see Steph start ousting people in some 1-on-1 immunity challenges. Lose to Steph and you’re out! That’s how I would have it played.

Since I’ve been reading these threads, I haven’t been able to figure out what Watsonwil is saying.

[Balduran]

@monstro

I wasn’t paying full attention, but it seems to me that she had a better strategy. She started with the wood first, then piled on the shavings. Whereas Bobby Jon put down the shavings first, then added wood.

Yeah, that’s why she won. But it seemed to me it was more by accident. Bobby Jon did what you’re supposed to do to build a proper fire. When Jeff described out loud what Bobby Jon was doing, I thought I saw Steph look over then start to copy him.

[middleman]

@NoClueBoy

Since I’ve been reading these threads, I haven’t been able to figure out what Watsonwil is saying.

Everyone’s a critic.

[Lady_Venom]

Anyone else notice that there were no Jury comments from Probst last night?

8 Koror + 2 Ulong = 10. Jury is usually 9, then the final 2 = 11 players.

Are they ditching the jury?

[Draelin]

@Lady Venom

Anyone else notice that there were no Jury comments from Probst last night?

8 Koror + 2 Ulong = 10. Jury is usually 9, then the final 2 = 11 players.

Are they ditching the jury?

No, the jury is 7, plus the final 2. Ian made a comment last night (or maybe it was Tom) about how everyone on Kuror has made the jury, at least.

[middleman]

I thought the jury was usually 7.

[Johnny_L.A]

@NoClueBoy

Since I’ve been reading these threads, I haven’t been able to figure out what Watsonwil is saying.

Me neither. I guess I missed the thread where ‘U/Jerky’ and ‘K/Rat’ were defined. I get the gist, but not the specific references. (I remember Kel and the Jerky incident, but I’m not sure of the usage.)

[jayjay]

@Johnny L.A.

Me neither. I guess I missed the thread where ‘U/Jerky’ and ‘K/Rat’ were defined. I get the gist, but not the specific references. (I remember Kel and the Jerky incident, but I’m not sure of the usage.)

U and K are just tribe markers (Ulong and Koror). The shorthand (U/Jerky or K/Rat) are used to denote that contestants placing last week. F’rinstance, Caryn, who was upgraded to “Hey! Look at His Mohawk!” this week, was in “Waiting for the Merge” last week, thus (K/Merge).

And of course, “The Snake and the Rat” refers to Sue Hawk’s legendary Final Tribal Council words.