DJariya

Episode 2 of 16

hdnmickey

That's either a huge misdirection or spoiler.

brainee

I don't get what you meant. Couldn't any player be reasonably seen as possibly making a mistake and then have to apologize for it?

Anyway, huge mistake by Shirin and apology not accepted! That's Survivor 101: don't make the people at the bottom of your alliance feel like crap, and give them reason to flip. Yeah, Abi's a nutcase. But having her entire alliance laugh at her while Abi's alone, within earshot, on the beach? Shirin blew it, and she knows it. If there's any type of player that I could see keeping Abi in check (who would be a great goat to have sitting next to you at final tribal), it's an older "father figure" like Terry or Jeff.

They seemed to telegraph this team going to tribal since we hardly heard from the other side. Stephen continuing to get a premium "weasel" edit

For those that watched the coming attraction:

wirefan

Thought this was a pretty amazing episode considering it's just 2 episodes in. Jeff even did a great job at TC not being too heavy handed and pointing out the commonalities to past seasons with Shirin.

I get Survivor screws with people's ability to think clearly at times, but leaving Abi out in the cold like that was a major gaffe and I'm glad it cost them. The scene with Woo and Shirin and Spencer. I do think they should have taken Spencer first though, Shirin is loud enough where she makes herself an easy target; though on the other hand that probably helps secure Abi's trust and keeps her less volatile.

Damfino

Best quote of the week...

"Who needs food when you've got Abi?"

AaronHernandez

On one hand Spencer going would have been the smarter move,on the other hand having him eliminated with Kass on other tribe would just be wrong. She needs to be the one that crushes his dreams each time

Josh-da-man

Well, shoot.

I was hoping we'd get more of Shirin doing her Winnie the Pooh thing on the beach.

Cardsfan111

It certainly was an entertaining episode. It's comical to see players who have experience, do such dumb things. First, treating Abi as an outcast when she's a much needed vote. But also to hear the cockiness of Shirin and Spencer as they described the great position they were in.

Keith6601

Best part was Woo doing an interview when Shirin and Spencer approached him and they cut back to the discussion and he was telling them the same exact thing to their faces.

I was hoping for another Shirin meltdown but I'm happy to see her go.

I like the whole chaos factor of switching tribes already. It'll send some people scrambling instead of just another week of "sitting pretty" comments.

hdnmickey

Yes, but the promos leading up to this episode were showing Abi as blowing up (again) and possibly needing to apologize /scramble at tribal. Turns out is was a complete misdirection as her tribe continues to overlook her shit and vote out stronger players. I would have loved to see that tribe taken down to one player before the merge. But on the other hand...

Love it. As returning players they should be given a lot more to handle.

Jeremy517

Seems more likely to be a redemption edit than a weasel edit.

Jackskeleton

Ha, I always love it when people start talking about which goat they want to take at this early part of the game. First focus on getting to the merger, you moron. Abi is just one loose bat shit crazy wild card you really shouldn't put your trust in this game with.

davidh777

I think it made more sense to take out Shirin considering they've lost both the challenges so far.

to one-challenge episodes.

brainee

Loved Woo laying down the hard truth to them. Don't even talk to a guy once for the whole game and then expect him to flip on his alliance for you That's another basic Survivor strategy thing that many players have botched. Because someone feels safe in their alliance, they don't give people outside the time of day (and maybe even outright treat them like crap). But you never know when things will be switched up, or if you'll need that person's vote for a million dollars. Today's enemy could be tomorrow's ally.

Ah, I didn't see (or remember) those promos.

That getting away from a tribe of manly men will jump-start Stephen's game? I guess we'll find out.

I thought that scene with Savage and Jeremy really portrayed Stephen in a bad light. That when Jeremy walks away from the group Stephen immediately assumes he's sneaking for the idol (because that's what he's been doing). While Savage has the more humanist assumption that Jeremy was overcome with emotions for his wife (which was what happened).

I agree. They need to win challenges and Spencer helps more for that. Plus, Spencer just seems easier to work with (and less overall annoying) than Shirin.

dfmaverick2

Jeremy517

Not necessarily, just that he might turn his game around somehow. Remember that early last season, Mike was portrayed quite negatively and then turned his game around. I'm not saying Stephen will win or anything, but Survivor does like to tell a redemption story within a season now, so that is possibly the path they're taking for Stephen.

davidh777

Though I'm still annoyed by his taking Tony to the end, I like Woo and thought that was awesome.

Savage and Terry remain two of my all-time-favorite players. I think their play in this episode reflects their experience with their families, which the younger players may not have.

Shirin's panic attack

I wonder if Spencer's TC plea affected any votes. (Not that Shirin couldn't have done the same thing and been edited out.)

windom

Doubtful. According to Shirin, they didn't show that she tried to flip several people to vote out Varner. He got wind of that and wanted her out.

creekdipper

Truly?

I mean, I know that appeal is a subjective thing, but we honestly thought this episode was one of the biggest wastes of time in recent seasons. You could summarize everything that happened in about 3 sentences.

What we found boring (or missing):

(1) About all we saw of Joe's tribe, aside from the one challenge, was assembling the hammocks and talking about Stephen searching for the idol (shouldn't everyone be doing that?).

(2) Only one challenge...and not a very imaginative one at that (although did like the fact that it had to be reassembled many times before getting it right).

(3) Way too much focus on Abi, Jeff, Spencer, & Shirin...barely got to see others except when Terry consoled Abi.

(4) About 20 minutes of strategizing before the challenge followed by 20 minutes of strategizing followed by a pretty uneventful TC.

Totally agree re: the producers being too quick to mix it up by dividing into three tribes so soon (although, if they waited much longer, the numbers would be harder to manage). And it will mean more focus on strategizing since old alliances won't matter depending upon the reshuffle.

I freely admit to being a bigger fan of the "Old School" Survivor (what they described as "building relationships and surviving"). Little confused when Terry talked about "playing the social game" since I thought that was what building relationships means, but I get that the show is all about scrambling around & forming alliances ASAP.

One complaint I have is that, in the older seasons, some of the stronger contestants were kept around because they were needed in order to win rewards that could keep the tribe stronger (food!) & more comfortable. Now it seems that they provide so much material (tools, food, etc.) that the tribes don't worry too much about that...and can get rid of potential finalists whenever they choose (not that that theory fit Shirin ). Anyway, maybe the new split will generate more interesting stuff.

Sorry...just didn't feel the love for this episode at all. In hindsight, could have had a cinematic V-8 instead of this. Glad some others enjoyed it.

Jeff Varner seems to be playing the Rich Hatch/Boston Rob role of sitting back & observing while quietly making moves under the radar.

JuryDuty

Essentially, I think this is the producers trying to find a way to keep the game interesting when so many players nowadays go in knowing "how" to play the game.

They did the same thing on Big Brother this year, inviting so many twists (at least early on) that there was no way the players could form any sort of strategy to defeat it. They're doing the same thing here (last week with immediate tribal; next week with this twist) and may keep it up until they feel enough friendships have formed that pre-game strategy goes out the window...

davidh777

I thought Abi was going to blow it when she revealed the plan to Shirin just to rub her nose in it.

Well, it's pretty typical to focus on a limited number of personalities, especially if they're going to be on the block. And having the blocks of strategizing is also pretty typical, other than challenges and rewards. What I found interesting was what happened during the strategizing, starting with the rejection of the highly annoying Abi, her acceptance by Terry, then Spencer and Shirin's scrambling, culminating in the rejection by Woo.

AaronHernandez

Anyone else creeped out by Savages story.

My perfect model wife came back to the country just because I am so awesome. I am not even a Stephen fan but I hope he takes down Mr Self Righteous.

creekdipper

I kept waiting for him to get to the part where she died.

Should know this having watched since Season 1, but are contestants forbidden from traveling across the island to contact members of other tribes?

Maybe I was just too tired when watching last night & the show was actually better. Still would like to see two challenges (IMO, the highlights aside from TC).

Josh-da-man

I did read a rumor that

mwbmis

For the second straight week someone went home that I was glad to see leave. I'm not sure Shirin really did anything her first time around to justify her getting a second chance.

Speaking of, I had vague memories of not really liking Andrew Savage his first time around. I remembered why when he said Stephen lacked “morals, values, loyalty, dignity, and courage.” Stephen is fairly active in the post Survivor community. He posts at Sucks and has a blog for People magazine, and he has never seemed like anywhere near a bad guy. Plus, I still love his long time (ex?) girlfriend. He also apparently officiated JT's wedding.

Andrew Savage is a douchebag.