# Survivor: Game Changers Starts on Wednesday **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 6, 2017, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580 "2017-03-06T21:15:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/241 "2017-04-28T13:38:09Z")
If used properly, the vote stealing could be deadly, but there are so many variables that it will hard to deploy it well. I kind of wish Debbie had chosen the kit to make a fake idol, we haven’t seen a fake idol used in a while. My favorite was the season where the high school science teacher made one that looked better than the ones the prop department created and of course “it’s a f\*\*\*\*\*\* stick!” is the best line in Survivor history. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/242 "2017-04-28T16:01:24Z")
> [@Patx2](#): > > I thought the same thing at first, then realized it was probably coconut. Either way, I thought it was amusing, like she was home watching a movie. On another note, I think she’s strong in challenges and I don’t know why they sit her out. Fried coconut comes out a bit like popcorn. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/243 "2017-04-28T16:03:41Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > What was all the treacly nonsense about Cirie about? Did the editors have time to fill? Does Probst always make some kind of tearjerking spectacle out of a player after every challenge, to give the editors that angle to work with if they decide to? > Because she’s the most overrated (by the fans) player ever. Okay, maybe Rupert beats her. And I would have said Ozzy, but as someone pointed out upthread, he came within one vote of winning the million dollars the first time he played. > > But Michaela has a terrible social game, and she’s good but not great in challenges. (Would you honestly pick her for your team over Culpepper or Troyzan?) She irritates the fuck out of most people who have to live around her, although this only translates through the TV to some of the audience at home, like me. Yeah, that was stupid as fuck. Not doing it, but going on & on and ON about it. Lazy with a attitude. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/244 "2017-04-28T16:46:01Z")
> [@SykoSkotty](#): > > Debbie was indeed the one target they could all agree on, because she was acting so cocky and annoying. Sara & Andrea both agreed Debbie had to go, and the others gladly followed suit. Also, everything hinged on Sara, and Sierra told her she wanted to go to the end with her, vs. Debbie that was already speaking bad about Sara. Also, someone needs to tell the producers to not have a Sara, a Sierra, and a Cirie all on the same season. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/245 "2017-04-28T16:54:55Z")
Don’t forget we also had Ciera, who got voted out in the first episode. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/246 "2017-04-28T16:58:25Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I thought the Cirie focus was kinda silly, too. Yes, she did eventually walk across the balance beam, but only because Sarah came out and helped her get on top of the platform. So not really life affirming, IMO, but okay… Based on that sequence, I’m predicting that both Cirie and Sarah are in the final three, they’re both getting a lot of screen time. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/247 "2017-04-28T17:35:57Z")
I would be very leery of taking Cirie to the end, as I think she’d be a jury favorite. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/248 "2017-04-28T18:43:52Z")
> [@Lips\_Obsession](#): > > The vote stealing / extra vote might be less powerful depending on when you vote among all the other players. If you’re one of the first people voting, everyone else will know something’s up and might change how they vote. if you’re at the end, it will be a complete surprise and will be much more impactful. I wonder if they purposely will have her vote last until it’s used, or if she gets asked if she’s using it and if she is, they’ll have her vote last? Not sure the answer, but I would be very surprised if there is any tipoff to the others involved. In any event, in the most common and efficacious situation (when your alliance is down 5-4 or 4-3, etc.) their knowing won’t do them any good. It’s not like a HII where you have to play it on the right person. You just have your minority alliance all vote for the same person, then you steal any of the majority alliance’s votes, and have that vote also cast for the person you’ve chosen. Pretty much unstoppable, absent I guess the playing of a HII on the right target. > [@PunditLisa](#): > > And, of course, Cirie could have bowed out rather than bring her team down like that. Could she? I didn’t think that was an option if you were randomly selected as a captain. ---
**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:** [April 28, 2017, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/249 "2017-04-28T19:15:42Z")
That challenge was interesting. Pretty much every team challenge this season has followed one of two formats: A) One group of players goes through one section, another goes through the second, and so on, or B) Everyone goes through the obstacle course _at the same time._ This was a rare one where they basically made it so if one person can’t get through it, the team is screwed. ---
**Author:** ![Patx2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/73ab20/32.png) [@Patx2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patx2)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2017, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/250 "2017-04-28T21:31:10Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > What was all the treacly nonsense about Cirie about? Did the editors have time to fill? Does Probst always make some kind of tearjerking spectacle out of a player after every challenge, to give the editors that angle to work with if they decide to? > > An \*extra \*vote, like Debbie had, would be tough to use effectively. There would only be two ways it would affect the vote: turning a tie into a win, or turning a one-vote loss into a tie (in which case, under the new rules, you’d draw rocks and perhaps go home earlier than you would have without using it). This new one (which is essentially \*two \*extra votes: if there is any way that it differs from that in game theory terms, it’s not occurring to me) would be \*\*golden \*\*any time your alliance is on the losing side of a one-vote split: 6-5, 5-4, etc. That shit happens all the _time_. > > Because she’s the most overrated (by the fans) player ever. Okay, maybe Rupert beats her. And I would have said Ozzy, but as someone pointed out upthread, he came within one vote of winning the million dollars the first time he played. > > But Michaela has a terrible social game, and she’s good but not great in challenges. (Would you honestly pick her for your team over Culpepper or Troyzan?) She irritates the fuck out of most people who have to live around her, although this only translates through the TV to some of the audience at home, like me. Agree about her social game, which I thought she had said earlier on she was going to try and work on it. I don’t remember a whole lot about her previous gameplay, so maybe she has improved socially 😁. I think she’s just really trying to keep her anger under control because I think the slightest things can set her off. Sure, if I had to choose sides for challenges she may not be my choice, but it obviously depends on the type of challenge. Then again, she might be. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/251 "2017-04-29T18:57:24Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Debbie was very annoying and I’m gleeful that they got rid of her. I can take batshit crazy but she’s also malicious and manipulative. I think taking her out made more sense than Sierra at this point, because Sierra is too heavy to do well on “hang on the pole” challenges and not as good at puzzles as Debbie. > > And, of course, it’s extra delicious to see players who say “You’d have to be an idiot not to go along with our plan” eat a little humble pie. My only regret about Debbie’s boot is that she would have been hilarious at the final Tribal Council. She would have spun an elaborate, narcissistic narrative about how she excelled at _everything_, was the unquestioned leader of every alliance, and exercised _absolute control_ over every single aspect of the game. And then she would have gotten zero votes and had a crazy screaming meltdown during the reunion show. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2017, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/252 "2017-04-29T20:20:28Z")
> [@erysichthon](#): > > My only regret about Debbie’s boot is that she would have been hilarious at the final Tribal Council. She would have spun an elaborate, narcissistic narrative about how she excelled at _everything_, was the unquestioned leader of every alliance, and exercised _absolute control_ over every single aspect of the game. And then she would have gotten zero votes and had a crazy screaming meltdown during the reunion show. And then she’d start doing push-ups again! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/253 "2017-05-04T05:37:19Z")
That was a real good episode. But I’m not really getting the Michaela crying bit, since she voted for Zeke. I guess that goes to the whole “turning down your heart” thing. That was a huge Immunity win of Andrea. She’s got a good game going, but lots of hidden advantages out there, especially with Tai’s 2 II. Debbie stays classy as usual. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/254 "2017-05-04T15:56:32Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > That was a real good episode. But I’m not really getting the Michaela crying bit, since she voted for Zeke. I think she felt bad for doing so. I wish they would let us see how the vote ended up the way it did, instead of playing misdirection games with us. It’s fine if there’s one swing vote (like last week) and they keep us in the dark as to which way they will swing; but here, there was a lot that was just totally unexplained. ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/255 "2017-05-04T16:50:43Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I wish they would let us see how the vote ended up the way it did, instead of playing misdirection games with us. It’s fine if there’s one swing vote (like last week) and they keep us in the dark as to which way they will swing; but here, there was a lot that was just totally unexplained. Exactly. Somehow the Andrea faction convinced 3 of the “outcast” 4 (Sierra, Brad, and Troy) to vote Tai, _and_ got Tai to vote Sierra, all while not letting Zeke realize he was the target. That’s both really good play and completely inexplicable by what we actually saw on the show. I actually think Andrea was in a really bad spot there, even after winning immunity. Either she keeps the 6 by voting out Sierra, leaving Zeke to flip next TC (which he basically said he was going to do), or she takes out Zeke but leaves herself very open to the remaining 4 pulling in Sarah or using an idol (of which they have 3 total) to get the majority back. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/256 "2017-05-04T17:10:25Z")
> [@Jas09](#): > > I actually think Andrea was in a really bad spot there, even after winning immunity. Either she keeps the 6 by voting out Sierra, leaving Zeke to flip next TC (which he basically said he was going to do), or she takes out Zeke but leaves herself very open to the remaining 4 pulling in Sarah or using an idol (of which they have 3 total) to get the majority back. I’m not following you on the first part. If they had voted out Sierra, that would tip the balance to 6-3, meaning if Zeke flipped and couldn’t get anyone to go with him, he’d still be down 5-4. (Now \*Sarah \*OTOH could flip in that situation and tip the balance, due to how powerful her advantage is; but it would then lead to a 4-4 split the following week.) ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/257 "2017-05-04T17:37:21Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I think she felt bad for doing so. Yup, this was exactly it. From [her twitter](https://twitter.com/TheMichaelaB/status/859964753288081409): “Imagine you’re frustrated, lonely, misunderstood, & only have 2 friends in life. Then you stab 1 in the back. That’s why I cried.” Can’t say I was really surprised to see Zeke go, though. He pretty much signed his own death warrant when he turned on Andrea. I enjoyed seeing the women’s alliance come together, though the way the game is played these days, it may not last long. Between the Tai and Troyzan’s three HIIs and Sierra’s legacy advantage if she can make it to 6, there’s quite a lot of potential for the ‘bottom group’ to turn things around if they can use them correctly. I’m really getting the sense that Cirie or Aubry is gonna get eliminated due to a rock draw or “only person you can vote for due to multiple idols” situation. I’m definitely rooting for Andrea and Cirie at this point, though I still think Sarah is the winner based on the edit so far. ---
**Author:** ![magnusblitz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b4bc9f/32.png) [@magnusblitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/magnusblitz)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/258 "2017-05-04T19:37:13Z")
Say what you will about Zeke, but he gives a nice [exit interview.](http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/survivor-zeke-smith-outed-as-transgender-voted-interview-1000082) Some tidbits: - He turned on Andrea because while he was originally tight with her and Cirie as a final-3 alliance, he felt that they started distancing from him after the Varner TC because no one wanted to sit next to Zeke at the final TC with that story. Andrea and Cirie started replacing him with Aubry for their three. - He had known Andrea for a few years outside of the game, which contributed to why their feud was strong (but apparently they made up afterwards) - He was pretty close with Sarah - This: > [@](#): > > Q: You, Andrea and the others came back together the very next round to vote out Debbie. How were you able to put your differences aside for this vote? > > A: Because Debbie pooped on the bamboo in the middle of camp. > > Q: Excuse me? > > A: There was a pile of bamboo in the middle of camp, and one night, Debbie woke up and pooped on it. She blamed a cameraman, but we all knew Debbie pooped on the bamboo. ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/259 "2017-05-04T19:58:43Z")
Oh, Debbie. SMH ---
**Author:** ![Jas09](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d07c76/32.png) [@Jas09](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jas09)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2017, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580/260 "2017-05-04T21:20:50Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > I’m not following you on the first part. If they had voted out Sierra, that would tip the balance to 6-3, meaning if Zeke flipped and couldn’t get anyone to go with him, he’d still be down 5-4. (Now \*Sarah \*OTOH could flip in that situation and tip the balance, due to how powerful her advantage is; but it would then lead to a 4-4 split the following week.) Maybe I misunderstood some of the discussions between Sarah and Zeke, but the way I thought I heard it they basically laid out that their plan was a final 5 of Sarah, Zeke, Aubrey, Brad and Troy. I know Zeke made some pretty strong promises to Brad and Troy. So I do think that in a hypothetical world in which the 6 just voted out Sierra, Andrea would be in a pretty precarious spot - likely on the short end of a 5-4 split with Sarah and Zeke flipping. She correctly sussed out that Zeke was going to come for her in the very near future, and very effectively took him out before he could take her out. Unfortunately she had to weaken her numbers to make that happen. The bad news, which has been surprisingly absent from the discussions we have seen, is that the remaining 4 have a ton of HIIs, which has the potential to make things very difficult for the majority 5. I wonder if they even considered hinting to Tai that it was him going home in case he had an idol. That should have been very easy since clearly nobody was talking to him at all. Tai has to realize he’s completely out of the loop now, right? Time to start playing those idols or winning some challenges… [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-game-changers-starts-on-wednesday/781580.md?page=14)