DJariya

mwbmis

Bold play at tribal. The problem as I saw it was that by telling them the vote was on Bradley they basically told the others that there was no way they could be idoled out of the game. People make panic moves when they fear their own safety and no one but Bradley was at risk.

I did like Mike telling them that the idol saved two people b/c Survivor fans might believe it knowing James history.

Inhumans99

Wait...the saving two people thing was a ploy by Mike, I am guessing this might be brought up in the EW post-mortem on the show I have yet to read.

I have to say that for me this season is back to being the survivor I know and love. I actually like that there is no mustache twirling villain on the show and am pleasantly surprised that I am not wishing any of the cast members would be eaten by a shark.

The guy who has an idol but admitted he got in over his head...I was prepared not to like him but so far so good. To me this season already feels like the polar opposite of last season where I feel that despite the producers attempts to cast more interesting players that attempt was more of a fail.

Finisher

Meh. I'm having an issue giving a shit about any of these people.

brainee

I'm still getting a handle on who all of these these people are, but it always seems that way for me at this point in the season. Every episode fleshes out some people we haven't heard much from so far. Which is far better than the trap Survivor sometimes find it way into, when it latches onto a person or two the producers just love.

Can't say I feel anything about the guy that just got voted off. He was just "there" for me. I just don't want to see a predictable Pagonging go on with that tribe, since that makes for an extremely boring show. Fortunately, recent Survivor players like to shake things up so much that we don't get much of that strategy anymore (at least for more than a vote or two).

Inhumans99

I base my enjoyment of this season on the fact that bland or not I still enjoy watching them compete for rewards/immunity while I am on the record as having complained that I basically checked out of last season long before the end because the last cast of characters on Survivor rubbed me the wrong way.

I totally get that others may be confused why I feel this season is such a marked improvement over the last but the last one set a low bar to clear.

brainee

Domenick looked early on like a Tony/Russell wannabe, but that's been toned down. With a second idol though, I can see him getting cocky and acting more villainous.

Bradley came off really arrogant in his confessionals, but I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt (since it's easy to see how that could just be editing).

I think that was smart of Kellyn to pass on the Ghost Island challenge. For her position in the game, I agree with her that the risk wasn't worth the reward. If someone from the minority alliance was there, then it would've made sense to take a chance and go for it.

hdnmickey

Liked the move of telling them the idol saved two people to get them scrambling on who to vote for, but telling them Bradley was target cancelled out the strategy. Always baffles on just how many idols get played so poorly. Oh well, at least Steph is safe!

Personally I think the edits for the last couple episodes have been kind to Dom and he really is he same mold as some of the a-holes on other seasons. Plus his tribe didn't have to vote anybody off in this last one so they rightfully focused on the tribe that would have to vote somebody off.

chowderhead

but if Michael doesn’t tell them who the four are targeting, there is no point for Sebastian or Chelsea to switch votes.

If either are targeted they will be idoled out if Michael guessed correctly who the remaining Niviti voted regardless if either Sebastian or Chelsea changed their vote to someone else. If they dont guess correctly, Brandon goes home as planned.

Strapped4Cash

I definitely was rooting for Brendan to stay, as I preferred him, as well as the moves that Michael made and the fact that the original Malolo seemed so unified.

Especially compared to the original Naviti faction that struck me as unpleasantly arrogant, which was based solely on their numbers and not any moves that they'd made. Kellyn was a great example, where on one hand it makes sense to play conservatively given her sub-group's strength, but the problem with that is that the game shakes things up regardless as to whether you want it to or not. And players are rarely rewarded for playing it safe. An idol/advantage might have been useless now, but could be huge for her down the line, especially if she makes it as far as she wants to and has to face off against he fellow original Naviti's. Though of course it's tough with having only a one-vote advantage going into the next tribal.

On the other side I was disappointed that Donathan & the one woman from the original Malolo were getting friendly with Wendell & Dom. Those four stuck together in the first vote, in which I thought they made a great move, and seemed in an ideal position in the middle with Wendell/Dom on one side and Chris/Angela on the other. If they want to vote off Chris next then convince the other two, do that, and stay a strong four. It seems too late now, but we'll see.

But I do agree that this Season has been a lot more enjoyable than many of the recent others so far.

Bill Needle

Agree it was dumb of him to tell them that they were safe whether they flipped or not. He foolishly told them the only one at risk was the one guy (Bradley) that would never switch. Tell the two of them it could be one of you two if you don't agree and make them put their own butts on the line. For all we know they would have been just as happy to see Bradley gone regardless. Good basic concept, but poorly executed.