Lurker > Blaziken

Immediate reaction to the season:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/683756248487035053/1187250343986331759/image.png

Mewtwo59 posted...

Yeah, I have to disagree, now that this post show is reminding me how much I don't like this cast.

This post-show is showing how amazing this cast is!

Mewtwo59 posted...

Honestly, I think she loses if she doesn't bring that up at the very end. That's why it was so close. She won it on that last question.

And I'd put this in the bottom quarter of seasons. Jake needed to win to save this season, and that was never going to happen.

This was the second-best new era season. Great storytelling, a negative winner instead of forcing positivity down our throats (seriously, how the fuck did Austin get three votes?), and the only bad part was the middle third, with all the twist and vote losses.

Pokewars posted...

Really annoyed. No edit to make her even remotely ok to win?

Her edit was that of a dominant, Parvati mastermind.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Couldn't they have at least tried to make her likeable?

I'm glad they didn't. I'd much rather get this than some sappy, overnice edit.

I'm more frustrated that, after dominating the physical game, dominating the social game, dominating the strategic game, and generally making Austin look like a fool over the course of the last two episodes, the jury still broke the 7-1-0 curse not in favor of Jake, who at least had a unique story...but to give 3 votes to Austin, who was CLEARLY inferior to Dee.

Dee just dunked on Austin SO hard.

I'm hoping Dee feels uncertain and puts Austin against Katurah (to crush Jake's dreams again), and Katurah shocks the world to take out the boy toy.

This final 4 is amazing. You have Jake the charismatic Charlie Brown who's lovable, yet constantly fails everything he tries. You have Katurah, who's very much playing the Sandra "Anyone But Me" strategy, while shit-talking whoever she can. You have Austin, the airheaded surfer dude. And you have Dee, the ice queen with feelings.

Jake's storyline is so fucking hilarious. This is Heidi's from last season, but he's SO much more charismatic than she was.

There's no way it will happen, but if this somehow turned into a 2-1-1-1 vote, it'd be amazing.

That F5 advantage challenge is 1/4 in terms of actually giving its winner an immunity challenge win at F5. Erika succeeded, Lindsey, Karla and now Jake have failed.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Has anyone had as quick a downfall as a character as Austin did?

Did Austin have much of a character to begin with?

If Dee is our winner, then her edit feels like a better version of Parvati's winner edit in Micronesia...namely because Dee is actually being portrayed as the one making things happen, rather than just happening to be the better of the final two once everyone else got cut away.

Christ, they have gotta be one of the most boring winners ever.

There's something so hilarious about watching the brothers go to the thing, lift the lid that has the item they need, completely MISS the item (even while looking into the box), and then put the lid back. It's sheer comedy.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Uh oh, Rob & Corey are going to suffer the hometown curse.

Oh no. I'm ever so invested in the outcome of Amazing Race with these three dynamic and interesting teams.

(Seriously though, I want Rob & Corey to win...but holy shit the final 3 is dull.)

This season has picked up SO much since the final 8 episode.

C'mon...just take Drew out. PLEASE let that happen.

Jesus Christ that performance was stone cold killer by Dee.

That Jake confessional was fucking hilarious.

I really love how we're getting down to the wire and every scene has some form of character development. The strategy revolves around the PLAYERS, rather than the twists.

KateMarsh posted...

This is the first all-male F3 TAR has ever had, right? There have been a number of seasons with just one woman among the six individuals, but unless I'm wrong this is the first time there have been zero.

It is. It's the fifth? season to have 3 M/M and 1 M/F, but the first where the M/F is gone. It's unfortunate, because the finalists are three of the most generically nice teams of the season, and there's just no investment in the finale.

Blaziken posted...

Yasssss Steve! Just stay ahead of the beard bros and we can save this season!

I jinxed it. The back half of this episode (namely Anna Leigh's confessionals, compared to Joel talking about his disabled daughter) has felt like an obvious boot. I hope I'm wrong, but it seems like an obvious elimination.

Yasssss Steve! Just stay ahead of the beard bros and we can save this season!

That was a great episode. And honestly, that's the episode I needed to really get onboard with wanting Dee to win. Dee/Julie running circles around Austin/Drew is great.

Also, Katurah still hanging in there is great too.

But yeah, the edit this episode feels like it's a bunch of chaos, but Emily's gonna eat the boot. Everything is setting her up to be this great player who just got taken out for being a threat after she proved herself better than her first impression.

For all the shit-talking that fanbase gives to Pagongings in general, it's episodes like this one, where the dominant alliance start turning against each other...even if this ends with an Emily boot...this is such compelling television. Just knowing that this group has stuck together, but they all want to win a million dollars...it's great.

Drew, you ain't no Michele Fitzgerald. Don't pull that shit.

Holy SHIT Katurah's backstory is crazy.

KateMarsh posted...

Come to think of it, just the other day I saw a Facebook Marketplace listing with a bunch of DVDs, mostly action and comedy from the 2000s, and Road Trip was definitely on there.

The hardest for me to find through any legal channel (physical or digital, purchase or rental) was Cannonball Run

This. It's weird that Cannonball Run 2 was more readily available.

God, Greg & John are so boringly competent.

Really hoping Todd & Ashlie make a comeback here. It feels like the past five legs have all revolved around one team just falling SUPER far out of contention, and only one of them ended with an unexpected elimination.

Mewtwo59 posted...

Man, they even split the vote in a way that the three of them could've taken out Julie. That's even worse.

More than that...one of the things I've said a couple times in the past (mainly focused on Tyler during the final 7 episode of WA). If you believe someone has an idol and there is a good chance that person plays that idol...I feel like you shouldn't be okay with being one of the votes on the idol-holder. Look at the vote breakdown: Austin/Dee/Drew voted Jake, meaning that if Bruce DID play his idol, it was Austin/Dee/Drew deciding the boot. Given a group of four potential back-up targets, I feel like they shouldn't have been so willing to risk themselves, just to flush Bruce's idol.

God DAMMIT, I can't believe they managed to play him that hard.

Blaziken posted...

The one thing that makes me question tonight's outcome: the "Previously on..." segment showed Austin giving Julie one of his idols, despite that being completely irrelevant to the first hour of the season. I don't know why they'd do that with such an obvious elimination.

Well, Julie getting booted with Austin's second idol in her pocket would explain a lot.

The one thing that makes me question tonight's outcome: the "Previously on..." segment showed Austin giving Julie one of his idols, despite that being completely irrelevant to the first hour of the season. I don't know why they'd do that with such an obvious elimination.

Also, damn. Bruce losing sucks, especially since it just gives Austin even MORE power via safety while holding onto two idols.

Mewtwo59 posted...

For a second there I thought she was going to win just because she was too scared to drop.

We call that pulling a Michaela.

That was an interesting challenge moment from Katurah. This feels like the season of mental health breakdowns.

KateMarsh posted...

This season is still awesome.

Unless it decides to pull an HvHvH, I really think this one is gonna land in my top 10.

I wouldn't go that far. The early merge was still a twist-bloated mess.

YESSSSS go for the jugular, Jake!

I can't wait for the girls to get back and tell Austin/Drew that Bruce was lying about the whole thing.

Good for Emily, finally securing a win.

Bruce is a top tier character this season. We haven't had a quality male lunatic in what feels like forever.

ctesjbuvf posted...

Not sure if anyone here cares lol but one of my friends back from high school participated in the Danish version of Survivor this year (Robinson Ekspeditionen as it's called). The final was today and she won the darn thing! Despite having been the sole survivor from her premerge tribe and thus biggest target for a good while. Started winning when it matters.

Oh wow, that's really cool.

Mewtwo59 posted...

So do Rob & Corey have to find the mussels on the buoy they took? I don't know why else they'd spend all this time looking for it if they don't.

I think so. Probably something like there are only so many marked buoys, and even if you have a team choosing the other detour, it'd still be unfair for one team to like, take three buoys.

Of course the only Reba member of the three is the only one to solve the puzzle.

Go Bruce! Throw a wrench into the Reba's plans!

One movie left, and I do not feel like watching it tonight. Should be done by the end of the weekend though.

Didn't want to have a spoiler in the poll.