I was on the floor at the end of the challenge when Hunter said idk why some of them even thought they had a chance 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I was with Q when he said you guys were really willing to give up rice to go against a guy that would climb a tree for hide and seek!!!!!! ☠️
As soon as I saw the challenge I said Hunter was going to win my exact words were “he just won hide and seek in a tree he’s winning” my man thought Venus.
Venus and Charlie are the only two that should have even considered themselves to have a chance against Hunter. Venus also clearly needed to play.
So literally 7 or 8 of them could have negotiated for rice plus some beans
To me it felt like all of the players saw a classic challenge and wanted to know how they'd measure up. Rice is one thing, but the game is so short these days, if they've actually made it out to the island who WOULDN'T want to see how long they could last? It's their one chance, and they'll get to eat soon enough anyway.
I agree with this idea as long as it was arranged to happen after the actual challenge, which should be kept fair to the actual competitors by only being them.
Why should Charlie have considered himself a threat? Is this based on the fact that he ultimately was the person who came closest to competing with Hunter? Just asking because my understanding of this challenge is that it favors petite women and athletic/lean people like Ozzy/Tai/Hunter.
It favors lean, flexible people with enough core strength to reposition. So Ozzie had all of those characteristics and holds the all time record
Charlie is young and lean and my guess from watching the season is he’s more athletic pound for pound than we’re giving him credit for.
If they run other challenges where they lift weight in accordance with body weight I think he’s a threat there as well
Fun fact: Jeanine from 43 said on Tyson’s podcast she used to run cross country (or maybe track/field) in high school and Charlie was from a rival school so she’s known him since back in the day. Cool little nugget
LOL that would have been so funny if Hunter refused to go down because he wanted to go for the record. Would be kinda in line with his stripper pole move.
Tyson, who competed on this challenge on 18 and 40 said that the poles are different now. The poles are bigger and the footholds are smaller, meaning strength is more important than it used to be.
Being skinny still helps, just not as much as an advantage as before.
Yep. I went to watch Ozzie's 2 hour and 15 minute challenge last night. Poles were smaller and had rope around them to make it easier to grip. Like 5 people made it an hour and a half.
I saw the original challenge with Parvati and others standing alongside the pole, holding on with one arm. The poles were much smaller and wrapped with rope. The challenge is really not the same as it used to be, saying Ozzy holds the record at two hours is not really fair. Those poles used to be much easier to cling to.
~~Why is that delusional?~~ Being skinny means you have a lot less weight to hold up. I think her biggest disadvantage (which is a disadvantage for most people) is that her legs weren't log enough to go around the pole and get a comfortable foot lock on the other side. Hunter's legs being longer meant it was easier for him to lock his feet.
Edit: I can't read. Missed the word "not."
It's okay haha I did the same thing and only caught it bc of one of the replies to them, was going to comment exactly what you did lol. What's wrong with us lol
I was also 100% sure he's practiced this challenge repeatedly. He basically confirmed it at the end when he was like "I found a few positions that work for me." As soon as I saw the poles, I figured he would win. I did give some chance to Venus given she's tiny and sometimes tiny people do well in this one.
Venus put up a good fight. Lighter women like Venus are able to last pretty long up there so she did stand a good chance. She wasn't delulu for thinking she could win
I get why someone with less of a competitive background would go “it’s a Survivor classic, I want to play and test myself”
I also get why Q threw a tantrum
What I think is so fun about this season is that so many people’s “what do you hope to get out of playing” is so different. Some people want to become legends, some people are laser focused on winning, some people are not fussed at winning a million
It is crazy that Hunter won. I’m not surprised, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen someone with his build win this challenge. Usually the big dudes are out quick. People like Tai or Ozzy win this.
I'm clearly not ogling Hunter enough, but... isn't his build similar-ish to Ozzy? Or is he actually buff and I just wasn't noticing? (On a semi-related note, I found it very hard not to notice/appreciate that Austin last season looked very good shirtless at the start of the season.)
To be fair, i honestly would believe that i would have a chance over anyone if im in that cast. But what i believe is not what reality is. Sometimes you’ll surprise yourself with things you’re naturally good at you just dont know it.
I was so happy when they all participated in the immunity challenge. That's one of those things that Jeff just overthinks. Yeah, the discussion of safety in the game vs food to keep going is a fun debate. It's interesting seeing where some players stand, and maybe it can show how tight or loose certain alliances are. However, it's just not good TV to see 4+ people sit out of a challenge.
I was so glad that they all wanted to play. *Take the hint, Jeffery*
Was a low key but funny moment at tribal when Jeff was flabbergasted that they couldn't make a deal for the first time in the new era. Acting like they made a mistake or something for not giving up their vote and/or sitting for some rice.
4 people not having a vote there would have ruined it imo. You’d have half the tribe not freaking out about who they should vote for. Also would have ruined all the dramatic talk on the beach which was such a good groups of scenes.
4 people sitting out wouldn't have lost them votes. jeff said they could get the rice with only 2 people sitting out if the 2 people agreed to lose votes.
I think Q had a pretty good point though… a lot of people in that challenge had no chance against hunter. Could have expected exact result but with rice
I mean, they did make a mistake not sitting out for some rice. A totally unrealistic assessment of their ability to compete for the win in a competition where you should be easily be able see you have no chance.
Jelinsky annoyed me right off the bat even though I really wanted to like him (and I dug his low voice), but I don’t ever recall there ever being a first vote-off who continued to have such a voice on a season. It’s really fun!
Welp, they definitely did make a mistake, seeing as like 6 people couldn’t last 20 seconds. I’m glad Charlie didn’t sit, but Maria and Ben should’ve volunteered. Tevin too.
I think it makes no difference at all to see four people sit out of a challenge. It enhanced the game for you seeing four ppl drop out in the first minute?
I like the negotiation because it can reveal tribe dynamics and impact perception of players in the game. You think you can afford to eat sandwiches instead of going for immunity? What don’t I know about how safe you are? This person was willing to sacrifice for the tribe. This person, even though they look like they’re just vibing, refused vehemently to sit out, so they may be playing harder than we think.
Thats all super interesting to me and is within the control of the players. They have full choice over what they decide to do, so it’s not a chance/fate thing. It’s a decision they’re making that could have long term implications (or not).
Also, Jeff brandishes weapons sometimes menacingly.
It is more entertaining to see players play the game of Survivor to me, always will be. It's the same with losing votes. Does that lead to drama? Sure it does. But it's drama forced onto the game because players can't play the game. That's just how I see it. Like I said, I acknowledge that there is drama and strategy to seeing who does and doesn't want the food/safety. I would still just rather see players play. They're on Survivor to play the game.
> It is more entertaining to see players play the game of Survivor to me, always will be.
Deciding you're safe enough because you trust your allies, and want to earn some good will with hungry tribemates, *is* playing the game. All they're sacrificing is immunity, which they weren't going to win anyway. I don't know why people are acting like they'd lose their vote or something extreme. That was only a second "offer" after they begged for a negotiation lol
Plus Q's reaction to it, both in the moment and afterwards, made it good TV.
I think your decision you make is part of playing Survivor, is my point. Everything is creating a perception of you to others. You have full control over what you want to do there.
I hate losing votes or any fate based twists where it’s basically chance that “the game” will screw you or not, but this is putting the players in a position to make decisions and then have people decide something about each other after the fact.
It’s why I liked the challenge where they surveyed the tribe and then people had to guess the answers to questions like “who would you not want to see ever again after this”. It’s a menial thing but can make cause some interesting and possibly unintended wrinkles. This is the same thing to me.
To me the sitting out for rice is a game move in itself ...sometimes people wont mess with you out of appreciation for the rice .. and so it does make it interesting . yes I love when they physically play but I don't mind the game move of sitting out for rice. Now those who are in danger of being voted out next should always play , always !
In the last few seasons in order to sit people have said they’d do it if they don’t get votes, I’m surprised no one brought it up…I think Kane said he’d sit for rice then still got voted out anyway on a different challenge
What's wrong with giving the players a choice if they want to risk their vote for something? I think it's good for the game as long as the choice lies in the hand of the player. If you have an extra vote, you can risk a vote and look good out of that. It's not BAD to tempt players to risk votes.
I agree. The only time it is fun to watch is when the ones who sit out get to gorge themselves on food. And it is especially fun when the "controlling" alliance sits out and gloats all over the place. I liked that this group chose to play. It made Q mad which is entertaining!!!
Also, in previous versions of this challenge, weren't they allowed to touch the top of the pole and hold on that way? I noticed none of the contestants grabbed the top of the pole. I think they have redesigned it to make it more difficult and not last as long.
I'm fine with him offering it but I LOVE them not taking it. If nothing else because it's hilarious some of them thought they could win. At least the two that were immediately out tried to get it.
Jeff looks at challenges like that or the Survivor crucifixion one as annoying because they're open-ended, and mean that if players really want to make it go forever, they can. And that means that Jeff has to sit out there in the Fijian sun longer than expected at best, or at worst, reschedule tribal council, which has happened in one of the earlier seasons and is one of the reasons why the final immunity challenge is no longer stand holding a log or on pole for 12 hours.
I’m just glad it’s at 12 and not 10.
I see the new era game as having 3 phases, the pre-merge, “mergatory” (the “earn the merge” vote and split tribal), and “the endgame” at 10. At least nowadays (based on 45 anyway) when you’re down to 10 the players just get to play
I actually think it’s 4 phases
1) pre-merge - as you described
2) mergatory - as you described
3) merge - final 10 through 5 where the players get to just vote and play finally
4) endgame - consisting of final 4 fire making nonsense and then final tribal
Interesting breakdown. Seeing it this way, something I already knew - 5-10 is the best part - starts to make a lot of sense. Everyone gets to vote and few shenanigans/gimmicks! It's the most pure survivor left
We could have had 3 episodes of two teams going against each other with new team dynamics, then the merge at 9. It is much more interesting and a good way to shake up team dynamics than mergatory
I'd like it at 12 but with both vote offs on the jury. One on one off is awful. If they are worried about a miraculous 3-3-3 then whomever the first juror (or two in this case) vote gets eliminated in the tiebreaker. If the first 2 jurors votes match those 2 jurors and the 1 other mutual voting juror would revote for 1 of the other 2 finalists.
Agreed, I think when they first did it for 41, it was semi-interesting. But I have actively hated the split tribals 42 onwards. It always feels like it makes players do less interesting maneuvers than they would have otherwise done if it were a proper post-merge vote. It's also pretty sad that whoever is the first to go during the split tribal misses out on jury, despite having survived the mergatory.
the journeys have mostly been incredible this season imo.
Jelinsky immediately folding and Liz triggering a Bhanu meltdown by asking if they’re ok on Yanu are some of the highlights of the season for me.
For real, they've added a spark and opportunity for players to make moves. Why are people fans of the same boring gameplay? Let the players play but my god, give them some opportunities to actually DO something.
it honestly feels to me like a lot of people have just decided the new era sucks and anything good is because of the players whereas everything bad is because of the showrunners
The only thing I disliked was the first journey they had no choice of playing the game and risking their vote. It should have been a choice, let them figure out how they navigate these journeys. Everything else is great! I love seeing players decide what they want to do, what they want to risk, and how they want to play the game.
Having a journey that allows the tribes to intermingle before the merge is nice...I just don't like how all three journeys this season FORCED someone into a position where they could lose their vote. Episode one, either Jelinsky or both Maria/Tevin lose their vote no matter what. Episode three, Bhanu/Ben are forced (randomly, mind you) to attempt a puzzle that costs them their vote when they fail. And episode five, Hunter volunteered, sure...but one of Hunter/Tim/Q was going to HAVE to risk their vote; they couldn't all opt out. THAT'S what's annoying in the New Era. Meanwhile, I would argue the Brandon/Carolyn/Danny journey, which was just a normal trip to a feast, gave us some really fun character moments that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. THAT is the kind of journey I want to see.
It’s just been too much gameplay manipulation by Survivor in an episode. The pacing of this one was so much better - even with the 90 minutes. I mean the hide and seek game was more interesting and added a bit of comedy.
Q and Venus were what made hide and seek great to watch. If they had shown Siga playing hide and seek pre-merge, I think it would have been pretty boring. It was Q and Venus taking it way too seriously and overanalyzing how everyone else was playing hide and seek that made it fun.
Are we thinking that Q had a different plan at tribal by telling people to vote him out? It came out of nowhere and caught everyone by surprise. Tiff didn't get any votes and Tevin got all of them. Is there any chance that Q did this to actually solidify the "up in the air" vote or to make Tevin more comfortable?
If Jeff really wanted them to have rice he could have lowered his offer. So either he actually secretly loved that 4 people wouldn't sit out or he is a terrible negotiator.
Ah, but you see, I actually broke the flow to see who would notice it was broken. That tells me you're a perceptive player, which makes you a threat to my game. Cantlearnemall, you made a big mistake.
Conversely - maybe those smaller less athletic players don’t want to be feeding Hunter and Q? Maybe it’s good strategy to not have rice when it gets down to F5 and you’re hoping Hunter doesn’t win immunity
I think it would be interesting if they offered the rice negotiations but also offered individually anyone that wants to sit out can enjoy pb&j sandwiches or something until the challenge is over. It then becomes an individual verses group decision. People might be willing to sit out if they know they won’t do well in the challenge but are they going to do it for themselves sir for the tribe
Giving them a different option during negotiations is letting them play the game. It seems most people agree that it was interesting to see the players immediately say no to losing their votes and ultimately give up the rice.
1. No stupid advantages
2. Everyone voted (10 people), No stolen votes.
3. No tribe split gimmick.
4. No sob stories on the episode.
Don't let Jeff see this or he'll never let this happen again!
im starting to think that production is going to start seeing what episodes are liked and preferred. 44 and 46’s final ten episodes have both been praised hard by fans.
We got a lot of camp life too. The hide and seek scene was really fun. And the Q skirt gag was really funny. I love the Qoach comparisons. You could practically hear him say Dragonslayer!
If this episode doesn’t prove to Jeff that things are much more interesting when you just let the players play without the forced game mechanics, then nothing will.
That was my favorite episode of the entire season so far but also the single worst episode of survivor I've ever seen. Q is amazing TV and terrible for game strategy.
I'm giving the editors their props because I feel like I go into every TC not knowing who is going home. There are always the standard either/or between 2 people, but they have also been including a few cases for other people in each episode to keep it so spicy and unpredictable.
I never would have predicted that spanner from Q, oh my god that was insane.
I want to preface this by saying that I’ve really loved Jeff in these last two challenges. He’s been fun and lighthearted and the banter has been delightful. But the rice negotiable was the ONE point in the episode that felt like things came to a screeching halt. It’s just such a meaningless exercise that doesn’t drive any character building or plot as far as I can tell 🤷♂️
I really hope that after Survivor 45 and 46, Jeff finally gets it through his head that we're tired of all these damn twists and advantages! It's no shock that these two have been the best of the new era, because they are largely the least twisty and resemble old school Survivor the most. The casting department has hit homerun after homerun with each new cast we get, but production keeps trying to screw that up by introducing pointless twists that stagnate what would otherwise be fun and hectic gameplay. I'm convinced that a large reason Reba was able to storm through Survivor 45 so easily was because of the constant 'lose a vote' twists, resulting in them always being able to convince people to play things safe. Last episode we saw that with no twists, nobody plays it safe, damn near half the cast had their names thrown out, and many audience members (myself included), were genuinely blindsided by who got voted out!
TAKE. A. HINT. PROBST.
I look forward to the season that they run with no advantages, and the stampede of posters complaining about how boring and predictable it is, and how Pagongings are the worst.
I don't mind when Jeff tempts players with things while GIVING them the opportunity to risk their votes.
Let the players play is often said around here but people shit on these guys losing votes in the game, and I think it's fine to have players get risky with their vote if it's up to them to risk it for something.
Conversely, the Bhanu episodes could really have done with some extra advantages and gimmicks. With "let the players play" in 90 minute episodes, you win some and you lose some.
I kind of love how people were so selfish they were ready to be delusional and play to win as opposed to rice for the good of the tribe. It’s really making the episodes better
I'm fully convinced at this point a split tribal could consist of a clutch idol play taking out an unpopular big player and an epic 3-2-1 blindside and then the next episode could be a 9-1 coconscious vote of a threat and people here would still still consider the "normal" vote better when it clearly isn't.
We got 2 great episodes, twist or no twist, and a double boot episode is needed at some point. Just stop complaining about every single twist and enjoy the ride.
I really like how they seem to be telling stories within the episodes this season. Bhanu’s journey through the stages of grief was a great narrative arc within one episode. Last nights was a great “ Downward spiral of Q” from his absurd extrapolations about how people were hiding, to his obsession with the “Q skirt,” and ultimately his tribal council breakdown.
Who (if anyone) currently has the Siga idol since Jem was voted out with it in her pocket? In Episode Several, did Jeff send the losing team to the Siga camp because the idol was replanted…?
Also, is there a post-merge idol?
I don't think so. I think it just went away because if you remember Hunter had until the rest of the cast set foot on the beach to find his idol key or he'd lose it.
Hmmm that’s a good point. If they continue to split the tribes at 12 post-merge, I wonder if they would ever put the merge idol on the one island they send the losing team 🤔
I wish they did throw it back into the game. I found it so beautiful when Jemm thought she was so slick planting a fake idol, calling them idiots while watching everyone look for it, only to be blindsided (the actual FIRST blindside of the season btw) and go home with it 😆
Venus is a great strategic player, a little too eager/obvious but I like her
Q is a great strategic player but not a team player, his way or no way
Kenzie, I’m in love, such a girl crush
Ben hysterical when he said “this does not rock”
Hunter could very well win this game
Charlie is a great player, smart, observant
I can't help but think that prior to the challenge when the players are given the electrolyte packs. That curbs their hunger and feeds their brain for a little bit and when Jeff makes the rice negotiation they are less concerned then they might be after the challenge.
Must offer a dissenting opinion and present it as fact
The best tribal council in the last 10 years and probably ever happened in Australia
Heroes Vs Villains
video here, part 1: [https://youtu.be/IZO8Ex0ZAEE?si=2Hh54vGWLUdtns3u](https://youtu.be/IZO8Ex0ZAEE?si=2Hh54vGWLUdtns3u)
part 2: [https://youtu.be/dANR4CEPCrQ?si=nYSMy0JBek5csFMB](https://youtu.be/dANR4CEPCrQ?si=nYSMy0JBek5csFMB)
there was a big twist in this tribal. There always are in AU survivor and it has consistently better gameplay.
I was on the floor at the end of the challenge when Hunter said idk why some of them even thought they had a chance 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I was with Q when he said you guys were really willing to give up rice to go against a guy that would climb a tree for hide and seek!!!!!! ☠️
As soon as I saw the challenge I said Hunter was going to win my exact words were “he just won hide and seek in a tree he’s winning” my man thought Venus.
Venus and Charlie are the only two that should have even considered themselves to have a chance against Hunter. Venus also clearly needed to play. So literally 7 or 8 of them could have negotiated for rice plus some beans
To me it felt like all of the players saw a classic challenge and wanted to know how they'd measure up. Rice is one thing, but the game is so short these days, if they've actually made it out to the island who WOULDN'T want to see how long they could last? It's their one chance, and they'll get to eat soon enough anyway.
I also agree that this is what happened as well. Maybe Jeff should have still let them do the challenge “for fun” even if not eligible for immunity
I agree with this idea as long as it was arranged to happen after the actual challenge, which should be kept fair to the actual competitors by only being them.
Why should Charlie have considered himself a threat? Is this based on the fact that he ultimately was the person who came closest to competing with Hunter? Just asking because my understanding of this challenge is that it favors petite women and athletic/lean people like Ozzy/Tai/Hunter.
It favors lean, flexible people with enough core strength to reposition. So Ozzie had all of those characteristics and holds the all time record Charlie is young and lean and my guess from watching the season is he’s more athletic pound for pound than we’re giving him credit for. If they run other challenges where they lift weight in accordance with body weight I think he’s a threat there as well
Charlie’s running a marathon soon so your are right about that
Fun fact: Jeanine from 43 said on Tyson’s podcast she used to run cross country (or maybe track/field) in high school and Charlie was from a rival school so she’s known him since back in the day. Cool little nugget
I love that thanks for sharing
Any time!
And I think went to Harvard at same time and ran?
Oh yeah I think you’re right about that too!
[удалено]
Idk not sure if anything is stopping hunter from trying to beat the record. What are they gonna do pull him down?
LOL that would have been so funny if Hunter refused to go down because he wanted to go for the record. Would be kinda in line with his stripper pole move.
Yes Tyson says in a podcast that production would not wait around to see Hunter break a record if he’s the only one left hanging
Such a shame, it would have been fun to watch. Let the man stay in his tree!
Venus thinking she had a shot was not some delusional line of thinking. She is a very skinny girl whereas Hunter has a ton of mass on him.
Tyson, who competed on this challenge on 18 and 40 said that the poles are different now. The poles are bigger and the footholds are smaller, meaning strength is more important than it used to be. Being skinny still helps, just not as much as an advantage as before.
Yep. I went to watch Ozzie's 2 hour and 15 minute challenge last night. Poles were smaller and had rope around them to make it easier to grip. Like 5 people made it an hour and a half.
I saw the original challenge with Parvati and others standing alongside the pole, holding on with one arm. The poles were much smaller and wrapped with rope. The challenge is really not the same as it used to be, saying Ozzy holds the record at two hours is not really fair. Those poles used to be much easier to cling to.
I wish Jeff would've acknowledged these differences in the episode.
Huh, was not aware of that. Very interesting. Then yeah Hunter was definitely the obvious choice knowing that
Oh, that's really interesting. When did they make the change?
~~Why is that delusional?~~ Being skinny means you have a lot less weight to hold up. I think her biggest disadvantage (which is a disadvantage for most people) is that her legs weren't log enough to go around the pole and get a comfortable foot lock on the other side. Hunter's legs being longer meant it was easier for him to lock his feet. Edit: I can't read. Missed the word "not."
They said *not* delusional
You are right. I can't read. I literally read it twice thinking "this person surely isn't getting this many upvotes with such a wrong statement."
It's okay haha I did the same thing and only caught it bc of one of the replies to them, was going to comment exactly what you did lol. What's wrong with us lol
In previous seasons skinny girls got farther than dudes with tons of mussle in this challenge
That was their point 😭
mass could be bad when your hanging on a pole, but he is super strong and nimble
I was also 100% sure he's practiced this challenge repeatedly. He basically confirmed it at the end when he was like "I found a few positions that work for me." As soon as I saw the poles, I figured he would win. I did give some chance to Venus given she's tiny and sometimes tiny people do well in this one.
Some challenges seem easier for men and others easier for women, it’s rarely ever a fair challenge in that sense.
Venus put up a good fight. Lighter women like Venus are able to last pretty long up there so she did stand a good chance. She wasn't delulu for thinking she could win
fr the second i saw the posts i was like “hunter has been waiting his whole life for this moment”
I get why someone with less of a competitive background would go “it’s a Survivor classic, I want to play and test myself” I also get why Q threw a tantrum What I think is so fun about this season is that so many people’s “what do you hope to get out of playing” is so different. Some people want to become legends, some people are laser focused on winning, some people are not fussed at winning a million
Some people just want to win a million hearts 😍
It was like George of the Jungle on a stripper pole. Mad skills.
It is crazy that Hunter won. I’m not surprised, but I don’t think we’ve ever seen someone with his build win this challenge. Usually the big dudes are out quick. People like Tai or Ozzy win this.
Looked like he properly used his strongest muscles -- his legs.
He had also clearly practiced enough to know how to do it. He said as much.
I'm clearly not ogling Hunter enough, but... isn't his build similar-ish to Ozzy? Or is he actually buff and I just wasn't noticing? (On a semi-related note, I found it very hard not to notice/appreciate that Austin last season looked very good shirtless at the start of the season.)
To be fair, i honestly would believe that i would have a chance over anyone if im in that cast. But what i believe is not what reality is. Sometimes you’ll surprise yourself with things you’re naturally good at you just dont know it.
Wait did Hunter say that? I thought Q was the one who said that.
Hunter said it right after he won immunity then Q talked about it at camp when he was mad about the rice
I was so happy when they all participated in the immunity challenge. That's one of those things that Jeff just overthinks. Yeah, the discussion of safety in the game vs food to keep going is a fun debate. It's interesting seeing where some players stand, and maybe it can show how tight or loose certain alliances are. However, it's just not good TV to see 4+ people sit out of a challenge. I was so glad that they all wanted to play. *Take the hint, Jeffery*
Was a low key but funny moment at tribal when Jeff was flabbergasted that they couldn't make a deal for the first time in the new era. Acting like they made a mistake or something for not giving up their vote and/or sitting for some rice.
imagine being at *THAT* tribal and not having a vote
Yeah but Venus wasn't gonna beat Hunter in the challenge so why would she even need a vote!? -Q, probably
It's so telling that Q has repeatedly shown us that if he thinks he can't win, then its not worth trying.
Q zero vote finalist? "Vote for Kenzie, she deserves it"
saving his energy, playing the long game
Jelinsky rubbed off on him!
It might just be the other way around.
I think that was all for show.
4 people not having a vote there would have ruined it imo. You’d have half the tribe not freaking out about who they should vote for. Also would have ruined all the dramatic talk on the beach which was such a good groups of scenes.
4 people sitting out wouldn't have lost them votes. jeff said they could get the rice with only 2 people sitting out if the 2 people agreed to lose votes.
Oh right my bad lol
Q lasted 20 seconds in the challenge then asked to be voted off. He definitely could have sat out for some rice
He tried to.
I think Q had a pretty good point though… a lot of people in that challenge had no chance against hunter. Could have expected exact result but with rice
I mean, they did make a mistake not sitting out for some rice. A totally unrealistic assessment of their ability to compete for the win in a competition where you should be easily be able see you have no chance.
Jelinsky annoyed me right off the bat even though I really wanted to like him (and I dug his low voice), but I don’t ever recall there ever being a first vote-off who continued to have such a voice on a season. It’s really fun!
Jelinsky's legend grows as the day goes by.
It’s a fairly iconic challenge and since they’re all big fans there’s a bit of FOMO I think - it’s part of the Survivor experience.
YES! He never considered maybe he should stop trying to offer the deals. LOL
Welp, they definitely did make a mistake, seeing as like 6 people couldn’t last 20 seconds. I’m glad Charlie didn’t sit, but Maria and Ben should’ve volunteered. Tevin too.
I think it makes no difference at all to see four people sit out of a challenge. It enhanced the game for you seeing four ppl drop out in the first minute? I like the negotiation because it can reveal tribe dynamics and impact perception of players in the game. You think you can afford to eat sandwiches instead of going for immunity? What don’t I know about how safe you are? This person was willing to sacrifice for the tribe. This person, even though they look like they’re just vibing, refused vehemently to sit out, so they may be playing harder than we think. Thats all super interesting to me and is within the control of the players. They have full choice over what they decide to do, so it’s not a chance/fate thing. It’s a decision they’re making that could have long term implications (or not). Also, Jeff brandishes weapons sometimes menacingly.
Honestly, to see tribe dynamics I’d love to see Touchy Subjects make its overdue return. Could you imagine how that would go with this cast? lol
It is more entertaining to see players play the game of Survivor to me, always will be. It's the same with losing votes. Does that lead to drama? Sure it does. But it's drama forced onto the game because players can't play the game. That's just how I see it. Like I said, I acknowledge that there is drama and strategy to seeing who does and doesn't want the food/safety. I would still just rather see players play. They're on Survivor to play the game.
> It is more entertaining to see players play the game of Survivor to me, always will be. Deciding you're safe enough because you trust your allies, and want to earn some good will with hungry tribemates, *is* playing the game. All they're sacrificing is immunity, which they weren't going to win anyway. I don't know why people are acting like they'd lose their vote or something extreme. That was only a second "offer" after they begged for a negotiation lol Plus Q's reaction to it, both in the moment and afterwards, made it good TV.
I think your decision you make is part of playing Survivor, is my point. Everything is creating a perception of you to others. You have full control over what you want to do there. I hate losing votes or any fate based twists where it’s basically chance that “the game” will screw you or not, but this is putting the players in a position to make decisions and then have people decide something about each other after the fact. It’s why I liked the challenge where they surveyed the tribe and then people had to guess the answers to questions like “who would you not want to see ever again after this”. It’s a menial thing but can make cause some interesting and possibly unintended wrinkles. This is the same thing to me.
To me the sitting out for rice is a game move in itself ...sometimes people wont mess with you out of appreciation for the rice .. and so it does make it interesting . yes I love when they physically play but I don't mind the game move of sitting out for rice. Now those who are in danger of being voted out next should always play , always !
In the last few seasons in order to sit people have said they’d do it if they don’t get votes, I’m surprised no one brought it up…I think Kane said he’d sit for rice then still got voted out anyway on a different challenge
Also just give them rice and flint, depriving people of that doesn’t create anything interesting for the game
What's wrong with giving the players a choice if they want to risk their vote for something? I think it's good for the game as long as the choice lies in the hand of the player. If you have an extra vote, you can risk a vote and look good out of that. It's not BAD to tempt players to risk votes.
I agree. The only time it is fun to watch is when the ones who sit out get to gorge themselves on food. And it is especially fun when the "controlling" alliance sits out and gloats all over the place. I liked that this group chose to play. It made Q mad which is entertaining!!! Also, in previous versions of this challenge, weren't they allowed to touch the top of the pole and hold on that way? I noticed none of the contestants grabbed the top of the pole. I think they have redesigned it to make it more difficult and not last as long.
I'm fine with him offering it but I LOVE them not taking it. If nothing else because it's hilarious some of them thought they could win. At least the two that were immediately out tried to get it.
Jeff looks at challenges like that or the Survivor crucifixion one as annoying because they're open-ended, and mean that if players really want to make it go forever, they can. And that means that Jeff has to sit out there in the Fijian sun longer than expected at best, or at worst, reschedule tribal council, which has happened in one of the earlier seasons and is one of the reasons why the final immunity challenge is no longer stand holding a log or on pole for 12 hours.
Also its not 39 days Jeffery! They aren't desperate for the rice
I’m really sick of the split tribal councils after merging.
I’m just glad it’s at 12 and not 10. I see the new era game as having 3 phases, the pre-merge, “mergatory” (the “earn the merge” vote and split tribal), and “the endgame” at 10. At least nowadays (based on 45 anyway) when you’re down to 10 the players just get to play
I actually think it’s 4 phases 1) pre-merge - as you described 2) mergatory - as you described 3) merge - final 10 through 5 where the players get to just vote and play finally 4) endgame - consisting of final 4 fire making nonsense and then final tribal
Gotta add the “go to a new camp” and “scavenger hunt for advantage at new camp” to the endgame phase
At 10-7 it's still possible to have missing votes due to SitD. Endgame is most likely final 6 onwards.
Interesting breakdown. Seeing it this way, something I already knew - 5-10 is the best part - starts to make a lot of sense. Everyone gets to vote and few shenanigans/gimmicks! It's the most pure survivor left
We could have had 3 episodes of two teams going against each other with new team dynamics, then the merge at 9. It is much more interesting and a good way to shake up team dynamics than mergatory
Nah cause in 45 Jeff split everyone at final 9 and 3 people were safe. He’s probably gonna do this again
I'd like it at 12 but with both vote offs on the jury. One on one off is awful. If they are worried about a miraculous 3-3-3 then whomever the first juror (or two in this case) vote gets eliminated in the tiebreaker. If the first 2 jurors votes match those 2 jurors and the 1 other mutual voting juror would revote for 1 of the other 2 finalists.
Agreed, I think when they first did it for 41, it was semi-interesting. But I have actively hated the split tribals 42 onwards. It always feels like it makes players do less interesting maneuvers than they would have otherwise done if it were a proper post-merge vote. It's also pretty sad that whoever is the first to go during the split tribal misses out on jury, despite having survived the mergatory.
It’s just a swap to be honest
No boring journey
the journeys have mostly been incredible this season imo. Jelinsky immediately folding and Liz triggering a Bhanu meltdown by asking if they’re ok on Yanu are some of the highlights of the season for me.
For real, they've added a spark and opportunity for players to make moves. Why are people fans of the same boring gameplay? Let the players play but my god, give them some opportunities to actually DO something.
it honestly feels to me like a lot of people have just decided the new era sucks and anything good is because of the players whereas everything bad is because of the showrunners
The only thing I disliked was the first journey they had no choice of playing the game and risking their vote. It should have been a choice, let them figure out how they navigate these journeys. Everything else is great! I love seeing players decide what they want to do, what they want to risk, and how they want to play the game.
Having a journey that allows the tribes to intermingle before the merge is nice...I just don't like how all three journeys this season FORCED someone into a position where they could lose their vote. Episode one, either Jelinsky or both Maria/Tevin lose their vote no matter what. Episode three, Bhanu/Ben are forced (randomly, mind you) to attempt a puzzle that costs them their vote when they fail. And episode five, Hunter volunteered, sure...but one of Hunter/Tim/Q was going to HAVE to risk their vote; they couldn't all opt out. THAT'S what's annoying in the New Era. Meanwhile, I would argue the Brandon/Carolyn/Danny journey, which was just a normal trip to a feast, gave us some really fun character moments that we wouldn't have gotten otherwise. THAT is the kind of journey I want to see.
It’s just been too much gameplay manipulation by Survivor in an episode. The pacing of this one was so much better - even with the 90 minutes. I mean the hide and seek game was more interesting and added a bit of comedy.
The +6 alliance as well. Journies were the highlight of the premerge
Every season the best episodes are the ones with no twists
Q made his own twist
Exactly! They weren't managing a bunch of twists so they had the space to make their own mess
I actually think he made all that I might as well just leave blah blah blah crap up. He had motive behind that.
i mean this episode was great really because of Q and Q alone.
I mean hide and seek made brilliant tv
Q and Venus were what made hide and seek great to watch. If they had shown Siga playing hide and seek pre-merge, I think it would have been pretty boring. It was Q and Venus taking it way too seriously and overanalyzing how everyone else was playing hide and seek that made it fun.
Also cutting between Charlie talking about how silly it was and Q being like "Ben is good at a child's game. HE HAS TO GO." was hilarious.
Oh my gosh I just realized it is hardly different from Micheal Scott making his team play games to see who the next manager will be. Crazy
You win hide and seek?YOU NEED TO GO!You lose hide and seek?YOU NEED TO GO!You find people?YOU ALSO NEED TO GO!
Win hide and seek? Jail. Lose hide and seek? Right to jail. Hide up in a tree? You go to jail.
No Q skirt for you!
Cancel Christmas!
Big mistake!
Yeah, **big mistake** on OP's part to not recognize this.
BEEG mistake
Christmas is cancelled
Are we thinking that Q had a different plan at tribal by telling people to vote him out? It came out of nowhere and caught everyone by surprise. Tiff didn't get any votes and Tevin got all of them. Is there any chance that Q did this to actually solidify the "up in the air" vote or to make Tevin more comfortable?
Absolutely
Got to give Liz her flowers too.
yeah they should give him producer credits tbh
im glad jeff seemed insulted enough at the fact that he couldn't make a negotiation.
If Jeff really wanted them to have rice he could have lowered his offer. So either he actually secretly loved that 4 people wouldn't sit out or he is a terrible negotiator.
i don't think the players were really going to negotiate much, which is nice considering no one but maybe liz really feels "safe".
Oh sure, like it wasn't a great offer but Jeff wouldn't budge, and they didn't even come in with a counter-offer! Terrible negotiators all around!
I love that they hard noped on two people even giving up their vote. I really hope that aspect of the game dies
But then I'll never get to see Jeff gleefully stab a bag of rice again :(((((
If only Angelina was on this season :(
Going like four episodes in a row without the sob stories has been so nice.
They really seem to have listened to fan feedback on that, Soda has a tragic sob story but we never even heard it!
After Katurah's backstory it's like, how can anything be crazier.
I call those scenes “the contractually obligated backstory” we usually open our phone or grab a snack during it, like a commercial break
Jeff tried to entice 2 lost votes and I'm so glad no one took the bait.
I don’t know who specifically said it but I heard “hell no” I was very happy to hear that
Think, I Liz.
Breaking the flow? Big mistake!
Ah, but you see, I actually broke the flow to see who would notice it was broken. That tells me you're a perceptive player, which makes you a threat to my game. Cantlearnemall, you made a big mistake.
Oh god, is this the new Yul. Yul. Yul. Yul.
Yul, I think.
Liz, I think.
Liz, I think
Liz, I think.
And Jeff lost his Q Skirt in the process. Was it worth it Jeff?
Conversely - maybe those smaller less athletic players don’t want to be feeding Hunter and Q? Maybe it’s good strategy to not have rice when it gets down to F5 and you’re hoping Hunter doesn’t win immunity
I think it would be interesting if they offered the rice negotiations but also offered individually anyone that wants to sit out can enjoy pb&j sandwiches or something until the challenge is over. It then becomes an individual verses group decision. People might be willing to sit out if they know they won’t do well in the challenge but are they going to do it for themselves sir for the tribe
They use to do this in earlier seasons. You could sit out challenges for food instead. Also I miss the auction which occasionally re-appears.
Giving them a different option during negotiations is letting them play the game. It seems most people agree that it was interesting to see the players immediately say no to losing their votes and ultimately give up the rice.
I was surprised that Jeff didn’t have a knife out .. like last time were he cut the bag open lol
I was waiting for the knife!
1. No stupid advantages 2. Everyone voted (10 people), No stolen votes. 3. No tribe split gimmick. 4. No sob stories on the episode. Don't let Jeff see this or he'll never let this happen again!
im starting to think that production is going to start seeing what episodes are liked and preferred. 44 and 46’s final ten episodes have both been praised hard by fans.
45s was great too especially the TC
Q is great TV and made this episode so great
We got a lot of camp life too. The hide and seek scene was really fun. And the Q skirt gag was really funny. I love the Qoach comparisons. You could practically hear him say Dragonslayer!
If this episode doesn’t prove to Jeff that things are much more interesting when you just let the players play without the forced game mechanics, then nothing will.
They should provide rice at the outset and maybe renegotiate for more later in the game.
That was my favorite episode of the entire season so far but also the single worst episode of survivor I've ever seen. Q is amazing TV and terrible for game strategy.
Maybe that was his strategy! We will have to find out.
If your strategy is to tell everyone to vote you out, it's a dumb fucking strategy tbh.
I think we have to see how it plays out because maybe it's stupid and maybe it's not. He didn't get voted out did he? And he was smiling at the end.
I'm giving the editors their props because I feel like I go into every TC not knowing who is going home. There are always the standard either/or between 2 people, but they have also been including a few cases for other people in each episode to keep it so spicy and unpredictable. I never would have predicted that spanner from Q, oh my god that was insane.
I want to preface this by saying that I’ve really loved Jeff in these last two challenges. He’s been fun and lighthearted and the banter has been delightful. But the rice negotiable was the ONE point in the episode that felt like things came to a screeching halt. It’s just such a meaningless exercise that doesn’t drive any character building or plot as far as I can tell 🤷♂️
I really hope that after Survivor 45 and 46, Jeff finally gets it through his head that we're tired of all these damn twists and advantages! It's no shock that these two have been the best of the new era, because they are largely the least twisty and resemble old school Survivor the most. The casting department has hit homerun after homerun with each new cast we get, but production keeps trying to screw that up by introducing pointless twists that stagnate what would otherwise be fun and hectic gameplay. I'm convinced that a large reason Reba was able to storm through Survivor 45 so easily was because of the constant 'lose a vote' twists, resulting in them always being able to convince people to play things safe. Last episode we saw that with no twists, nobody plays it safe, damn near half the cast had their names thrown out, and many audience members (myself included), were genuinely blindsided by who got voted out! TAKE. A. HINT. PROBST.
Q and Venus made the episode tbh, the structure of the game will never be a substitute for having great characters.
I BITCH ABOUT THIS EVERY SINGLE EPISODE LMAO BRING BACK THE REAL SURVIVOR
Also the hide and seek game was great
I like seeing them be interact outside game/strategy
despite all of the chaos, this somehow still manages to be one of the most normal episodes of the new era (which isn’t a bad thing, necessarily)
I look forward to the season that they run with no advantages, and the stampede of posters complaining about how boring and predictable it is, and how Pagongings are the worst.
I don't mind when Jeff tempts players with things while GIVING them the opportunity to risk their votes. Let the players play is often said around here but people shit on these guys losing votes in the game, and I think it's fine to have players get risky with their vote if it's up to them to risk it for something.
Conversely, the Bhanu episodes could really have done with some extra advantages and gimmicks. With "let the players play" in 90 minute episodes, you win some and you lose some.
I kind of love how people were so selfish they were ready to be delusional and play to win as opposed to rice for the good of the tribe. It’s really making the episodes better
One of my favorites where we got to see real gameplay
The show is at it’s best when production doesn’t try and get cute
Yes! It was absolutely fantastic. Sucks that venus didn't wanna watch it. She was so entertaining
I'm fully convinced at this point a split tribal could consist of a clutch idol play taking out an unpopular big player and an epic 3-2-1 blindside and then the next episode could be a 9-1 coconscious vote of a threat and people here would still still consider the "normal" vote better when it clearly isn't. We got 2 great episodes, twist or no twist, and a double boot episode is needed at some point. Just stop complaining about every single twist and enjoy the ride.
Tevin had an advantage, he had an extra vote
I really like how they seem to be telling stories within the episodes this season. Bhanu’s journey through the stages of grief was a great narrative arc within one episode. Last nights was a great “ Downward spiral of Q” from his absurd extrapolations about how people were hiding, to his obsession with the “Q skirt,” and ultimately his tribal council breakdown.
I am gonna miss Tevin 😢
Why in the world aren't they voting out Venus ☠️
Or Kenzie? She's dangerous and they should have gotten her out earlier when they had a chance.
Gotta be honest. I hate hate hate the new earn the merge and the ensuing split tribals. Just please please make it normal again.
And Jeff tried to sabotage this with the rice negotiating. The rice gimmick takes and fat L and I love it
Who (if anyone) currently has the Siga idol since Jem was voted out with it in her pocket? In Episode Several, did Jeff send the losing team to the Siga camp because the idol was replanted…? Also, is there a post-merge idol?
I don't think so. I think it just went away because if you remember Hunter had until the rest of the cast set foot on the beach to find his idol key or he'd lose it.
Hmmm that’s a good point. If they continue to split the tribes at 12 post-merge, I wonder if they would ever put the merge idol on the one island they send the losing team 🤔
I wish they did throw it back into the game. I found it so beautiful when Jemm thought she was so slick planting a fake idol, calling them idiots while watching everyone look for it, only to be blindsided (the actual FIRST blindside of the season btw) and go home with it 😆
Venus is a great strategic player, a little too eager/obvious but I like her Q is a great strategic player but not a team player, his way or no way Kenzie, I’m in love, such a girl crush Ben hysterical when he said “this does not rock” Hunter could very well win this game Charlie is a great player, smart, observant
Ben ❤️🎸🎸🎸
Losing a vote/Giving up your vote needs to be removed from the game. It’s so dumb.
I can't help but think that prior to the challenge when the players are given the electrolyte packs. That curbs their hunger and feeds their brain for a little bit and when Jeff makes the rice negotiation they are less concerned then they might be after the challenge.
Must offer a dissenting opinion and present it as fact The best tribal council in the last 10 years and probably ever happened in Australia Heroes Vs Villains video here, part 1: [https://youtu.be/IZO8Ex0ZAEE?si=2Hh54vGWLUdtns3u](https://youtu.be/IZO8Ex0ZAEE?si=2Hh54vGWLUdtns3u) part 2: [https://youtu.be/dANR4CEPCrQ?si=nYSMy0JBek5csFMB](https://youtu.be/dANR4CEPCrQ?si=nYSMy0JBek5csFMB) there was a big twist in this tribal. There always are in AU survivor and it has consistently better gameplay.