# Survivor 45 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** reality-or-game-show\ **Created:** [September 29, 2023, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870 "2023-09-29T16:19:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/21 "2023-10-05T16:37:26Z")
I’m disappointed by how the vote went down, but I get it. Brandon had two chances to save himself, and he tanked both. But Emily is an even bigger mess than we saw last week. And I don’t buy her “kinder, softer Emily” bit for a second. I predict that jettisoning Brandon will not cure Lulu’s losing ways, and Emily will be the next to go anyway. But I’m historically bad at predicting. > [@DrDeth](#): > > Rules question, so at the end of epi1, yellow team went back to their site with lit torches? Arent they allowed to use them to start a fire? Apparently not, or else Sabiyah would have gotten her idol. I think I remember a past season when Jeff told a tribe “You don’t have your flint yet, so leave your torches here” after a TC. I’m guessing the producers decided they still wanted the shot of everybody walking back with their torches, but they probably took them away or extinguished them once the tribe reached camp. ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/22 "2023-10-05T16:55:43Z")
In past seasons we’ve seen tribes start fires without flint: rubbing sticks, or using glasses as a magnifying glass. None of the Lulu’s seem to have thought of that. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/23 "2023-10-05T17:03:17Z")
There was a brief shot of Brandon trying - and, of course, failing - to start a fire with his glasses. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/24 "2023-10-05T20:11:54Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I’m disappointed by how the vote went down, but I get it. Brandon had two chances to save himself, and he tanked both. > > But Emily is an even bigger mess than we saw last week. And I don’t buy her “kinder, softer Emily” bit for a second. Yeah, but to have ANY chance of winning they had to let Brandon go. I kinda liked the dude as he was trying, but geez, he cant do _any_thing. > [@jsc1953](#): > > In past seasons we’ve seen tribes start fires without flint: rubbing sticks, or using glasses as a magnifying glass. None of the Lulu’s seem to have thought of that. Brandon briefly tried then gave up. But put the wax in the hot sun, then use the glasses to melt. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/25 "2023-10-05T21:08:48Z")
> [@AlsoNamedBort](#): > > Brandon is clearly the puzzle guy. Not after last night. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 5, 2023, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/26 "2023-10-05T22:42:22Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > But put the wax in the hot sun, then use the glasses to melt. Well, it’s not like it’s encased in titanium. She _could_ just break it open, but I’m guessing that would render the idol invalid. The note clearly stated “You must melt the wax in fire to take possession of the idol.” ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/27 "2023-10-06T12:24:45Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > But Emily is an even bigger mess than we saw last week. And I don’t buy her “kinder, softer Emily” bit for a second. She’s going to look back and call herself a “Survivor villain”, but she isn’t a Survivor villain. She’s just an unlikable, self-centered mess. I hope the edit isn’t just screwing her over, but the show really does not target players to be edited to be bad. That’s a very cliche reality show thing to do, but Survivor is a show that usually tries to show people more or less with the vibe they came off on the island. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/28 "2023-10-06T14:32:09Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > But Emily is an even bigger mess than we saw last week. And I don’t buy her “kinder, softer Emily” bit for a second. I actually read this before watching the episode (oops) so I was expecting it to be bad. But I actually thought she showed a decent amount of self-awareness and reflection this week. It started bad with the “tell me what to apologize for” rant (followed by no apology) but she very quickly realized how screwed she was if she didn’t mend some fences. It’s like she only watched previous seasons after the merge and came in thinking you had to play the way from the start. The early game is all about being useful, not annoying everybody, and making friendships. I think it was really strong play by Kaleb to take her under his wing a bit. It’s always good to have somebody that feels like they owe you, and there is no need to alienate her further when you never know if a switch might happen or they might go on a run and end up in the merge with her still in the game. He even lampshaded it in a talking head, I think. I also really liked Drew’s game so far, but that might just be because that tribe seems so strong it’s hard to really see where the cracks might be. Drew pointing out that Brandon was totally spilling the beans about his tribe (once again showing just how poorly Brandon was playing) was funny too. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/29 "2023-10-06T18:17:22Z")
I liked the girl who realized the pattern on the flag was a message. I hope she does well. She wasn’t able to figure it out without the bottom portion, but still. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 6, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/30 "2023-10-06T20:17:50Z")
Geez, _Found_- the basis is that a black chick keeps a white dude locked up in her basement, and he helps her. 🙄 Turn that around, and it could not be filmed today. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [October 7, 2023, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/31 "2023-10-07T23:44:48Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Rules question, so at the end of epi1, yellow team went back to their site with lit torches? Arent they allowed to use them to start a fire? I’ve heard that those torches really don’t stay lit for long. They usually have to relight them before Jeff snuffs it out. Also, they don’t really walk all the way to tribal and back. They film the walk, then they get on a boat. I imagine they don’t want them carrying a bunch of lit torches on a boat ride. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/32 "2023-10-13T00:27:11Z")
I can’t remember the last time I disliked a Survivor contestant as much as I dislike Emily. And after last night’s episode, I believe there’s about a 97.9% chance she’s making it to the end. Seems like there’s always that one player who _should_ be voted out every damn week, but somehow never is. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/33 "2023-10-13T00:39:02Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > I can’t remember the last time I disliked a Survivor contestant as much as I dislike Emily. She has gotten better. And Sabiyah outsmarted herself by turning on Kaleb "as a threat’- no one is a thread until the merge. So, she got what she deserved, and Emily played it smart. I dislike Katurah for her irrational hated fo Bruce. Bruce is cool and certainly deserved a second chance. And after Austen found the Idol, do note that rope and a hammer are handy tools, Dont throw them away! ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/34 "2023-10-13T01:42:34Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Not the worst quitting(there was this African American lady years ago who quit and got on the jury and it was infuriating). They even changed the rules years ago so if you quit, you can’t be on the jury. The guy who quit twice (faking illness/injury) was worse IMO. I’m actually a lot happier with this group than I have been lately. I was sick to death of the triathletes and instagrammers. I was just thinking that I hoped they would go back to putting “normal people” on the show. Much more interesting IMHO. > [@Jas09](#): > > He even lampshaded it in a talking head, I think. What does this mean? Please translate into GenX for me? ROFL! ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/35 "2023-10-13T02:35:15Z")
> [@Wheelz](#): > > Seems like there’s always that one player who _should_ be voted out every damn week, but somehow never is. That’s the one they drag all the way to the final because they know they’ll get zero votes. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/36 "2023-10-13T03:39:08Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > What does this mean? Please translate into GenX for me? ROFL! I actually used it a bit inaccurately. Basically it means somebody in the cast of a show calling attention to some dubious or unlikely thing that happened (by, canonically, “hanging a lampshade on it”). By calling attention to the issue you sort of defuse the “what the hell?” reaction from the viewer. In this case I just meant that not only did they show Kaleb taking the somewhat-surprising (but possibly pretty smart) play of trying to rebuild Emily but they also had him explicitly explain the strategy during a talking head interview. In the end building that relationship with Emily turned out to be pretty damn important, eh? ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/37 "2023-10-13T15:39:46Z")
I would say this was a sneaky-good Tribal Council. My family was yelling at Sabiyah that she needed to use her idol, or at least keep her vote. Keeping her vote at least forces a tie, although I would guess on a revote Sean would flip on her before Emily would flip on Kaleb. She just never seemed to even consider that Kaleb would flip on her. Which is a bit odd, since she was flipping on him… I did think there was a chance of a three-way tie (Kaleb voting Emily, Sean voting Kaleb, Emily voting Sabiyah) which might have been fun. In that case Kaleb probably changes his vote to Sabiyah once he sees that Sean voted for him. Could she have played her idol at that time? Or used her vote? I don’t remember how idols work on re-votes. I hope we get an explanation of how Kaleb was able to figure out that Emily was telling the truth about Sabiyah gunning for him rather than just repeating what they had already discussed (that Sabiyah would _pretend_ to be gunning for him). Pretty solid reading of the situation. I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter if Sabiyah is “really” coming after him - it’s still a way to make sure you are safe, which is job #1. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/38 "2023-10-13T20:09:24Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > She just never seemed to even consider that Kaleb would flip on her. Which is a bit odd, since she was flipping on him… It is the Survivor fallacy/delusion of someone thinking they are the Boss and in control. It rarely works. ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2023, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/39 "2023-10-13T20:10:26Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I hope we get an explanation of how Kaleb was able to figure out that Emily was telling the truth about Sabiyah gunning for him rather than just repeating what they had already discussed (that Sabiyah would _pretend_ to be gunning for him). Pretty solid reading of the situation. I guess in the end it doesn’t really matter if Sabiyah is “really” coming after him - it’s still a way to make sure you are safe, which is job #1. It’s always hard to know for various reasons. Editing - we don’t know the extent of the conversations. Maybe Kaleb was just giving lip service to Sabiyah - he might think she’s being too smart and he wants her out. Or maybe Emily was that convincing after all. I’ll say this though, I was pretty concerned for Kaleb that he wasn’t going to belive her. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [October 16, 2023, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870/40 "2023-10-16T09:05:43Z")
Saw something pointed out on reddit that hadn’t occurred to me, but is possibly my favorite change this season: No more forced metaphors at tribal council. So refreshing when the conversations are normal, like how human people talk. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-45/990870.md?page=3)