Board 8 > CBS Reality Show Topic 3, where we eat 18 eggs and 9 slices of cheese

(+) Yeah! (+)

Mike had to win from an editing standpoint because why have a layup for Maryanne?

I don't know why they filmed the CBS Challenge before this season aired, because Jonathan was a no-brainer to be added.

Probst: jury will "hold you accountable for your actions"

Mike:

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/8/2/1/AAC56kAADRL1.jpg

Drea is crazy in her intensity. Such a fun character.

I missed having jury thoughts, btw. Its nice to have the season acknowledge players after theyve been voted out.

Not owning up to game = death.

Maryanne with a great answer to her strongest strategic move.

Maryanne won it with that last answer.

Underleveled posted...

If I hosted a chat on Twitch immediately after the finale/reunion, would you guys participate?

Just wanna throw this out there again

Mewtwo59 posted...

Maryanne won it with that last answer.

Agreed

8 person jury, right? Well I was hoping for 3 Mike votes but lowering that to 2...

Ezpz

Underleveled posted...

Oh good, Mike broke firemaking, so maybe now it'll be gone.

I think the goat winning 3/4 seasons broke it even more.

38 seasons later, you have company, Vecepia!

2 for 2 on Canadian winners

Pokewars posted...

Ezpz

MartinFF7 posted...

2 for 2 on Canadian winners

Technically 2 for 3, unless you mean in the post-COVID era.

RIP to all of the Canadians in season 44

Espeon posted...

Technically 2 for 3, unless you mean in the post-COVID era.

Tom shouldn't count since he could've played under the old rules.

Oh right, I forgot there would be a preview for 43.

"Get this man a pie" lol

Mewtwo59 posted...

Tom shouldn't count since he could've played under the old rules.

Hey, wikipedia says he's "From Greenwich, Connecticut". Doesn't count imo!

Doesn't count vs. Toronto and near-Toronto (Ajax)

....I could never get past the personality portion of the Survivor submission process

Honestly, I'm not even sure if Shan should count since she could also play under the old rules.

LMFAO Tori just puked

Lol of course Jeff's favorite is do or die.

Of course Rocksroy had no idea

Even the players like Do or Die?

Well fuck, that shit's here to stay I guess.

Pokewars posted...

Lol of course Jeff's favorite is do or die.

Lynze going for that second chance.

Underleveled posted...

LMFAO Tori just puked

When?

Pokewars posted...

When?

It was immediately upon coming back from a commercial. I forget which break.

Since they're going to be doing this moving forward, hopefully they bring back the pre-jury for these in 43

Another excellent season, three in a row, absolutely great cast.

Updated season ranking!

The cream of the crop:
1. Kaoh Rong
2. Vanuatu
3. Pearl Islands
4. San Juan Del Sur
5. China
6. Philippines

Very good seasons with a few minor flaws:
7. Marquesas
8. Borneo
9. Heroes vs. Villains
10. Nicaragua
11. Guatemala
12. Gabon
13. Survivor 42

Largely solid seasons, but with some major flaws that prevent them from being better:
14. David vs. Goliath
15. Cagayan
16. Exile Island
17. Fiji
18. Amazon
19. Survivor 41
20. Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers
21. Micronesia
22. Palau

Has some distinctly negative aspects, but has enough fun and enjoyable content to not hate outright:
23. Game Changers
24. Winners at War
25. Blood vs. Water
26. Edge of Extinction
27. Samoa
28. South Pacific

Mostly bland and forgettable:
29. Tocantins
30. Africa
31. One World
32. Australia
33. Ghost Island

Extremely, extremely negative and unpleasant, but at least KINDA interesting in that negativity:
34. Thailand
35. Worlds Apart
36. Island of the Idols

Aggressively boring and soulless, and revolving around a twist that honestly makes the season worse through its existence:
37. Millennials vs. Gen X
38. Cook Islands
39. Caramoan
40. Cambodia
41. All-Stars
42. Redemption Island

So much for that Twitch chat. I just got back btw.

I didn't get to watch the after show part, either, because my parents and I had a LOT to discuss (long story short, they're selling their condo) so we got started way late (which is why I wasn't here during)

Thoughts:

• I have no idea what the hell Lindsay was on in regards to that conversation with Jonathan. Like... he only raised his voice slightly because she wasn't getting the message. He was not condescending to her in that moment; she only perceived it as such because she was dysregulated. Her hypocrisy and own arrogance got the better of her. She tried to get Jonathan out and yet is mad that Jonathan apparently betrayed her........? Not a good look.
• I always enjoy those station challenges a lot more than "hold the thing" crap for the 875th time. Bring back mazes while we're at it - we know you can make one in the space you have
• Mike winning that challenge was not good because then he had three people begging for him to idol them. He shouldn't have over-promised and under-delivered. Reminds me a lot of Benjamin in South Pacific.
• I still don't quite know why Lindsay was this big jury threat. We didn't quite see it. Yes, she seems delightful, but we should've been more privy to why she was such a big threat.
• Wait WHAT ROMEO WON IMMUNITY!? Didn't see that coming. Especially since there were two guys with big hands who had just been fed.
• Mike was the only person who could beat Jonathan at fire. Maryanne wouldn't have been fast enough, but hey, she at least knew how to build a rope-burner. LOVE that she practiced building fires specifically for the challenge (also a sign that they need to get rid of this nonsense) instead of just building them in general like Jonathan.
• I didn't realize how unattractive Lindsay is until I saw her with makeup on. Perhaps that should be a sign that she shouldn't wear any: She looks significantly better without it.
• Jonathan had a classy exit. I know for a fact that he's returning whenever they do another season like that. The stangirls love him and most superfans appreciate him, even in the moments where he didn't look very good. He at least seemed to learn from others and that's HUGE.
• YESSSSS JURY SPEAKS KEEP THESE PLEASE (we haven't seen those in like 20 years?)
• I called Maryanne whipping out that idol as a clincher. Pretty sure that's what won her the game. Their jaws were on the floor, which retconned the Omar move into a Natalie Anderson "Did you vote for who I told you to vote for?" game-winner. Especially with how she explained it.
• That FTC was great. The jury really grilled the heck out of those three without grandstanding or glorifying themselves and without crossing the line into personal attacks. I enjoy those FTCs the most, particularly when people are TRYING to hold back any sick burns they have. Simply put, nobody's gonna top "Rats and Snakes" in terms of a slam, so why try?
• Romeo was... ineffectual at FTC, and the way he acted when he won immunity probably cemented his goatiness. Like... "Maryanne can wave a fan" and "I just won the pageant!" were not good for him. The best way for him to win would've been to send himself to fire against Maryanne (the only person he could beat). And then he actually looks like a player. I particularly was baffled by how he said "Chanelle, I knew you were going home, but I didn't write your name down" and then got caught in the BS he was spewing. Uhh... you do realize that retconning that makes it look like you were a coward, yes? And what proof do you have that you actually knew what was transpiring? He never had corroboration.
• Mike at least started to realize his faults at FTC and admitted to them... because he really does remind me of South Pacific Benjamin in terms of how clueless he was that he WASN'T as "HONOR INTEGRITY LOYALTY" as much as he preached. Like Hai said in Jury Speaks, Mike needed to say "I wanted to present myself as a man of honor and integrity, and when the time was right, stab you in the back." Mike didn't quite do that. Mike played a good runner-up game, though, and he was still very approachable.
• Glad a likable winner won. Maryanne was consistently delightful and played a proper strategy for someone of her archetype. Overplay the cluelessness, ride others deep into the game, and then take over when nobody could do a thing about it. Even so, that idol is what won it for her. Not sure where I'd place her on my winner ranking tbh. Her biggest knock is that she would've been next on Taku for three straight votes. Also, when is she proposing to Zach?

Eh, I think Romeo had a solid FTC. It's just that Maryanne was there with an even better one, and he was starting from an even worse position than she was. Much better than Mike's, at any rate. Might've even been able to beat him had it been a final 2 between them.

> Also, when is she proposing to Zach?

https://twitter.com/zachwurt/status/1529648026020724736

So without thinking too hard and obviously before any kind if rewatch, I think my ranking of the season is something like...

18. Jonathan
17. Daniel
16. Zach
15. Hai
14. Jackson
13. Jenny
12. Marya
11. Romeo
10. Lydia
9. Chanelle
8. Rocksroy
7. Swati
6. Mike
5. Omar
4. Lindsay
3. Drea
2. Tori
1. Maryanne

Well I guess somebody has to be last place, but even lower than Daniel, damn...

I liked Jonathan pre-merge and even a bit into the merge but his attitude became really insufferable in the final stretch.

I'm mixed in my emotions on Jonathan. There are some episodes he's terrible and a complete dickhead...but there are other episodes where he's an interesting and compelling character.

I mean I guess I'll give him that he was actually really that inept at the social game. Like, his comments at the racial tribal council, I really think they came from a place of truly not being able to read the room. So I guess he's kinda interesting in that regard but still uncomfortable to watch a lot of the time.

Yeah, Romeo wasn't BAD - he just didn't inspire anything. By "ineffectual" I mean that he didn't change anybody's mind, nothing more.

Mike's FTC was bad because it was shades of Benjamin keeping up the "HONOR INTEGRITY" shtick when he needed to drop it and admit his duplicity. Neither of them did that and thus both got 2nd place to a well-liked under-the-radar female who blew the jury's socks off.

Jonathan last makes no sense to me. He made challenges more fun to watch than anyone has in a long, long time, and I don't think he was a bad guy in the slightest. He LEARNED some things and I don't buy Lindsay saying he was condescending - I can get how she felt that way, but my fly on the wall perspective was him telling her "you're one to talk."

The thing with this cast was that almost everyone was at least good and some were great, but I can't say there are any "all-time favorites" here.

Here's my quickie ranking:
18. Jackson (not telling production about the lithium is the only reason)
17. Marya (Secondbootitis)
16. Chanelle (I recall nothing about her aside from the "Oh crap, it's Chanelle, stop talking" gag)
15. Zach
14. Lindsay
13. Jenny
12. Lydia
11. Hai
10. Rocks
9. Romeo
8. Daniel (I found his ineptitude hilarious because he was a tryhard)
7. Swati
6. Drea
5. Jonathan
4. Mike
3. Omar
2. Tori
1. Maryanne

Jonathan in that finale definitely came across as condescending. Yeah, Lindsay voted for him too, but just smugly repeating "you voted for me" AFTER making the claim that you were ALREADY planning on voting for Omar (which means you betrayed her trust just as much as she betrayed yours, from both of your perspectives) comes across as just gloating that both of you lied, but you won out over her.

Yeah, but still can't blame the guy for being salty. Betraying trust + voting against you directly is worse than betraying trust + voting against an ally.

Varying rings within the Ninth Circle of the Inferno, sure, but still...!

MartinFF7 posted...

Yeah, but still can't blame the guy for being salty. Betraying trust + voting against you directly is worse than betraying trust + voting against an ally.

Varying rings within the Ninth Circle of the Inferno, sure, but still...!

It wasn't even him really being salty. It was mostly just smugness and rubbing it in Lindsay's face. Like, by making the argument that he was already going to vote out Omar regardless, it comes across like he just was fortunate that Lindsay/Omar turned on him as well, so he could justify his betrayal by pointing at their betrayal.

https://i.imgur.com/7MYU6jI.png

Honestly, they both looked terrible there. Lindsay basically acted as if she expected Jonathan to just lay down and get voted out, and the fact that he did something about it was a great offense. And it's not like Jonathan was blindsided at Tribal that Lindsay was turning on him and Mike. That was the whole reason they threw votes on Romeo on in the first place.

I think Lindsay admittedly already didn't like Jonathan for talking down to her and condescending to her (corroborated by several accounts, and events we saw on the show), but I think it was frustrating to have him acting like she was the bad guy, while also climbing up on a lofty perch to claim he was already planning on blindsiding her and Omar regardless of what she did. It was a lot like some of the arguments Mike made at FTC: "It's okay for me to betray you because you were going to betray me", like some sort of Minority Report justification as to why your move wasn't REALLY a betrayal.

I don't think being direct was the same as being condescending. "You voted for me. I voted for Omar. We were both plotting against each other. You can't blame me for doing the same thing you were doing." Jonathan acted far more mature than Lindsay did there. Lindsay was desperate to absolve herself and looked far worse than Jonathan there. I can get why she perceived him as condescending, but I don't think he was trying to condescend. I think he was trying to get her to take a deep breath and think for a second.

EDIT: And so we're clear, I am simply talking about that conversation in particular. There were other points where Jonathan was surely condescending toward her, but that wasn't one of them.

Lindsay was doing that too! Jonathan knew that Lindsay was targeting him (or Mike), which was the whole reason Maryanne had such a hard time convincing them to vote Omar. And then she acts all upset when Jonathan left her out of the loop, when he knew the whole time that she was gunning for him.

I think Romeo was low key the best player of the finale, lol. He obviously never had a shot at getting any votes, but his challenge win and the way he handled tribal were great for him.

The way Omar made a case for a cockroach archetype really makes me want to see someone pull that off

https://twitter.com/omarzaheerdvm/status/1529900967793152005?s=21&t=UXk6cJIiEP31JL05AUX_Lw