Survivor 26: Fans vs Favorites Discussion

Discussion in 'TV & Media' started by Garak, Feb 13, 2013.

  1. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    Wow, poor Brenda.

    Cochran and Dawn are brutal, very tough vote, maybe one of the most cutthroat decisions ever. But that's how you win...

    I don't see how Cochran's going to make to the final three either though. Dawn might win immunity, but Cochran has got to be the next one to go, absolutely no reason to keep him now.
     
  2. Skywalker

    Skywalker Admiral Admiral

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    And with that, Dawn just handed Cochran the million dollar prize. He's the one person on the island to whom she has any actual loyalty, Eddie isn't smart enough to think to get rid of him, Erik just votes however Cochran and Dawn tell him to vote, and Sherri has convinced herself that she's the one in control of the game.

    If Dawn gets to the final tribal council, she is going to get ripped to shreds.
     
  3. wissaboo

    wissaboo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    How is what she did different than what Brenda did to Andrea?
     
  4. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The brutal part of the reward challenge was that they were so close to their camp, forcing Brenda and Dawn to actually watch everyone else eating and having a great time. That's messed up!

    If Cochran makes it to the end, I don't see how he won't win. He obviously deserves it, he has done a great job. But will he make it to the end? I really hope so. That preview for next week showing someone possibly getting taken out of the game for an injury worries me. That would be especially tough with just two or three days left in the game!

    I think that unless he wins immunity, Eddie will be the next to go, because Cochran has already begun making a case to others that Eddie will win the last immunity challenges and "choose their fate," as Dawn put it. If Eddie wins immunity, I think it will come down to Eric or Sherri going. Unless one of those two makes a move against Cochran that includes Eddie.

    By the way, I noticed several very beautiful shots in last night's episode. For example, when the Survivors were walking back to camp through the water at sunset, after the barbecue.
     
  5. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    It felt very much different. Maybe because Brenda is such a sweet woman while Andrea did a lot of plotting and manipulating, so her getting blindsided was more a "live by the sword" situation.

    That in addition to the brutality of the family challenge, her choosing Dawn, then giving it up for the rest of the tribe, and getting betrayed by all of them basically.

    Voting her out was the right move, so props to Dawn and Cochran, but it was not fun to watch for me. And Dawn especially will get an earful about it if she makes it to the final tribal council. (hint: the people on Ponderosa are not her biggest fans... :D)

    eta: plus of course Brenda losing immunity to Dawn despite probably being able to hang on a while longer.
     
  6. Pegaritaville

    Pegaritaville Vice Admiral Admiral

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    I kind of felt bad for Brenda, but voting her off was the smart move. In her "tree interview", Brenda did seem to have an inkling that winning and sacrificing her reward could put a target on her back, but I guess she didn't really expect to get booted.

    Loved that Dawn got picked to share in the reward only to have it yanked away. She's the one remaining player I don't want to see win. I don't think she can win, but she's almost assured of making the final three now. And I'd rather not see her even get that far.

    I wonder if the outcome at tribal would have been different if Brenda had asked Dawn to make the decision about who got the reward? Even if it didn't help, I would have loved to have seen Dawn fall apart over that decision.
     
  7. Garak

    Garak Cruisin' Premium Member

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    I fucking haaaaaaaaaaate Dawn. I hate her attitude. I hate her chin. I hate her whining. I hate her instability. I hate her toothless mouth. I hate her hypocrisy. I hate her eyes. I hate her immaturity. I hate her crying.

    I seriously want to punch my TV every time she's on screen. She could be my least favorite Survivor ever. I thought her behavior after the reward challenge was disgusting. You're going to see your family in 4 days anyways, suck it up. If she makes it to the final 3 I hope the jury tears her a new asshole.

    Man that was a rough outing for Brenda, felt bad for her. Truth be told I probably would have voted her out too, she was a definite threat to win the game. She's just so good looking too. Nom nom nom.

    If Eric, Eddie and Sherri are smart, they form an alliance. This will not happen though, as being smart is part of the process.

    Looking forward to the finale. I was thinking that Cochrane could pull it off, but now I'm thinking that he might be seen as the evil overlord that everyone (wrongly) feels jilted by and that'll cost him some votes.

    All I know is that if Dawn wins I will kidnap Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett and make them do unspeakable things.
     
  8. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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    The entire Thailand cast.

    I would feel worse for Brenda if she wasn't already plotting against Cochran, and if it wasn't a good idea.

    Still heavily rooting for Cochran, but I actually think Erik is playing an incredible game. His strategy is simple: Be the swing vote all the time, and make the obviously smart choice.

    Dawn's strategy is also simple: Whatever anyone confides in her, go straight to Cochran and do what he says.

    And I think Cochran can win votes so long as he goes to the questions as a Rob and not a Russell. Russell didn't lose his votes because he betrayed people, he lost them because he was a dick to everyone all the time and had a constant air of superiority and entitlement. Rob was just as treacherous, only he was friendly to people and used his questions to make the jury feel good about themselves and feel in control.
     
  9. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

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    Good points about the final tribal council and jury questions. I think that Cochran has a very good shot at winning because he is a good speaker. I mean, just look at what he says during tribal councils. Jeff has been asking much more probing questions lately, and a lot of survivors make the mistake of revealing too much or too little with their answers. Cochran is always extremely diplomatic in his responses, taking the focus off of himself and onto the game in general. He is able to generalize it in a way that makes everyone, even enemies, agree and nod their heads in approval. That takes skill, and I think it will serve him well in the final tribal council, along with the fact that he takes personal emotions out of it and is not condescending.
     
  10. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    And he's clearly quite likable in general, maybe even charismatic in a quirky way, certainly an interesting on-screen persona.
     
  11. Snaploud

    Snaploud Admiral Admiral

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    Cochran isn't always that strategic with his words. He often steps into the role of impartial commentator even if it gets himself into trouble. You'll note that Brenda talked about getting rid of Cochran right after a tribal council in which Cochran admitted that he had lied to people about his final three plans.
     
  12. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

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    Man, I'm right there with you. I think I loathe Dawn almost as much as Russel Hantz. If she comes back again, and I hope she never does, it should only be as one of the villains in another Heroes vs Villains season.

    I don't blame any of the other players for getting rid of Brenda (though I would have stuck with the alliance for one more tribal and taken out Eddie first and then dragged Sherri along as the useless player no one will vote for instead), and she was plotting against Cochrane, so that's fair game. But for Dawn to do it after everything Brenda's done for her, and without any hesitation or even shedding a fucking tear after she's bawled like a newborn every day over the most insignificant crap imaginable? I can't stand her, I can't stand her shitty personality, and I can't stand the way she's played the game.

    After seeing Brenda's performance in previous challenges, I totally believe her when she said she threw that last immunity challenge so paranoid Dawn could feel good and safe. I don't think Brenda was pulling a Phillip there. If so, Brenda shouldn't have done it, but she felt pretty well assured that Eddie was going first. She also should have won the reward challenge, because it's a Catch 22. If you give away the reward to the others, they'll consider you a threat because you're too well liked. If you keep it for yourself, they'll resent you. That's why Cochrane was smart enough to not even try to win.

    Dawn played up the Eddie leaving first thing and then whined about never winning in order to get her friend Brenda to throw the challenge. Dawn threw a temper tantrum like a spoiled child because of the BBQ with the loved ones, which must have made Brenda feel like crap sitting there, but Brenda still comforted her. Brenda found her stupid teeth when that baby was ready to walk away from a million dollars without even trying to look for them herself. Brenda comforted her countless times. Brenda picked her to go on the BBQ with the loved ones until the evil Survivor change-up (which they should have known was coming) happened. Then Dawn had that stupid grin at tribal and went on and on about how they'd never get rid of Brenda after what she did. After the vote she didn't show any emotion or say "sorry" or anything. I think she's completely selfish and manipulative, and not just in terms of the game. It's no surprise that Brenda still won't speak to her now that they're back home.

    Anyway, Brenda made some big mistakes in the end after playing a good low-key game the rest of the season, but I still felt bad for her. I understand why the others voted her off though, because she was a likeable person who was good at challenges, I just think Dawn should have stood up for her a bit or at least expressed some emotion like she's done every other minute of the show.
     
  13. JirinPanthosa

    JirinPanthosa Admiral Admiral

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  14. wissaboo

    wissaboo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    that ending was so satisfying :D
     
  15. Roger Wilco

    Roger Wilco Admiral Admiral

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    Nice. Cochran is undoubtedly one of the more deserving winners of Survivor, he was very clever in his final tribal too, like with the answer to Malcolm's question (although he surely had his vote in the bag in any case).

    I was baffled that Dawn, Eddie and Sherri apparently didn't consider him much of a threat for the final, he most likely would have got there even without winning the final immunity. Total miscalculation on their part, not that they could have done anything about it even if they had seen things differently, as it turned out.
     
  16. Chensams

    Chensams Vice Admiral Admiral

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    The right person won. Nice to see.
     
  17. Pegaritaville

    Pegaritaville Vice Admiral Admiral

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    When he cast his vote, Malcolm did say that it wasn't for who he thought he was going to vote for, so maybe Cochran's answer did sway him.


    I'm glad Cochran won all the votes so Dawn didn't get second and the $100k to fix her teeth. I assume her and Sherri will split second and third. Not that Sherri had a chance to win, but boy did she give shitty answers at the final tribal council (the few times any of the jury even bothered to address her).
     
  18. wissaboo

    wissaboo Fleet Captain Fleet Captain

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    I was surprised by the reaction Sherry was getting at tribal. Sure she flew under the radar and did nothing, but people have won doing that.
     
  19. Spot's Meow

    Spot's Meow Vice Admiral Admiral

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    A great ending! I have been a big Cochran fan since the first time he played (you can go back and read that thread as proof, others didn't like him but I stuck by him!). I knew he had the potential to be a really amazing player.

    The reunion show was a bit strange. They've often shown past Survivors in the audience, but I'm not sure why we had to interview them so often this time. Rudy's interview was...awkward. As well as the interview with that little girl.

    I didn't even realize until more than halfway through that the pre-jury Survivors weren't on the stage as they usually are after the vote is read. You know, I think it really speaks to how awesome and crazy this season was that two of the most controversial players that would have been the whole story on a more boring season, Shamar and Brandon, weren't even mentioned in the reunion and yet they were not lacking for material.

    Sherri continued to be a non-entity. Did Jeff even ask her any questions after the vote was read? The jury basically ignored her and then she verbally assaulted the one person who did address her (Eric). :lol: And somehow, even with half the cast not on stage, there still wasn't enough time for questions.

    By the way, what the hell was Eddie talking about when he said he would use the money for a bar/dog park? That was so strange.

    So it looks like the rumors about the next season of Survivor are true. Basically a "blood is thicker than water" theme of castaways playing with family members. Actually what I've heard is that it will be returning players with a family member. Haven't they tapped that well dry by now? I saw a completely rumored list of returnees and it included Kat and her cousin; I had totally forgotten about that creepy incestuous relationship. :lol:

    I guess we'll see what happens next season!
     
  20. Locutus of Bored

    Locutus of Bored Yo, Dawg! I Heard You Like Avatars... In Memoriam

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    I'm so glad Cochrane won, as he was the only one who deserved the million dollars out of the final five who went into the episode at the start. That was probably the most dominant game play since Boston Rob's last season. It would have been completely unsatisfying and would have dragged this season's rank as one of the better seasons down big-time if anyone else had won, and only the latter half of the season was good anyway. Cochrane was getting a bit full of himself at times (hey "challenge monster," you did have a major advantage in two of them), but for the most part he lived up to his own hype this time and was a 180 degrees away from his terrible and disappointing performance last time, where he just folded under the pressure.

    I was wondering how Sherri and Dawn would be paid too, since neither of them got any votes. Do they both win the second place prize of $100,000 (Dawn deserves it more than Sherri, but not by much)? Do they split the second and third place prize money? It would have been nice if some more emphasis was placed on this during that waste of a reunion show.

    Brenda is catching a lot of flack around the web for her "mean-spirited" treatment of Dawn by making her remove her false teeth, and I'm sure there was some payback involved, but at the same time she did have a valid point in bringing it up. Dawn said she was ready to walk off the show and give up the million dollars if she had to appear on camera without her bottom teeth, and Brenda saved her from having to make that choice. So, Brenda was essentially saying "Why should I give my vote to someone who was willing to quit over vanity?" It calls into question her honesty and the whole "I'm playing for my kid's college fund" stuff if she was so easily willing to quit. Now, I think Brenda could have made the same point without forcing her to actually go through with it, because all of Dawn's reluctance to pull them out made it pretty clear that she was lying about saying she wouldn't have quit that day, so while it was sort of a cheap shot and a bit of revenge on her part, I do see where Brenda was coming from and don't think it reflects too badly on her.

    Sherri gave one of the absolutely worst final tribal council performances I have ever seen. Who the hell brags about how wealthy they are and how many businesses and employees they have when you're asking people to vote to give you a million dollars? Every other millionaire who's been on the show has known to keep that a secret if they could (unless they were widely recognized, like Jimmy Johnson. Jeff Kent was able to skate by most people). Also, telling everyone that she treated them like her employees? How off-putting. And while Eric was completely accurate about her not doing anything this season (ironic coming from Eric), flying below radar is a valid strategy to get to the finals, so I thought he was a bit over-the-top in his criticism of her; and it was also a bit strange to see Eric finally wake up and get mad about something, since he seemed so mellow. That being said, Sherri handled it the completely wrong way, and managed to alienate even more of the jury by shouting Eric down and saying she didn't need his vote. Not that I think she would have received any votes anyway, but if she even had any chance she completely blew it there.

    I did feel bummed for Eric. Getting medevac'd after making it to the final episode is the worst. I don't think he's that great a player or very charismatic, but I hope he gets another shot at returning in the near future.

    Eddie was exactly as he was described by both himself and Cochrane: an idiot. A bar with dogs? I'm pretty sure that would be a health code violation. Plus, his question to Cochrane (also bar related) was moronic, but Cochrane --as he did with all the questions-- answered it perfectly and with grace and humor.

    I thought Andrea and Michael came off by far the best out of the jury members. Andrea was a real class act by congratulating everyone and saying she has no bitterness over the blindside and appreciates the gameplay. It doesn't make for great TV, but it was nice to see nonetheless. I hope she gets to return as well, since she seems to learn and modify her gameplay a bit each time; though she's got to stop clinging on to the "hot guys" so much. She's a strong player in her own right and shouldn't rely on that. Michael had a good point about how Cochrane sort of relied upon Dawn's intelligence gathering and was not getting a lot of criticism that she was, although Cochrane also did not form the tight emotional bonds with people that she did, so it was less of a bitter pill to swallow when he got you voted out.

    Philip was surprisingly kind of entertaining and rational in both the tribal and the reunion show. Of course, there was the ridiculous voting Sherri out of Stealth'R'Us crap (Malcolm's reaction was hilarious), but I think that was just for fun. He paid a great complement to Cochrane on his gameplay and was funny at the reunion show.

    Malcolm and Reynold are both strong physical players, and Malcolm is marginally good at strategy (but great at making big moves which shake things up even if they don't always work out for him in the long run), but I don't think it's possible for these two to be any more full of themselves if they tried. Both of them made the tribal council questions about themselves, which is the height of arrogance. And Malcolm with his Legends of the Fall hair better not quit his day job, because he was an awful actor even with the low bar that's set by soap opera acting.

    That was one of the better final tribal councils we've had, but one of the worst reunion shows ever, and reunion shows also don't set much of a high standard to begin with. I hated that they didn't even let the other contestants besides the jury sit on the stage. I think they earned that much respect at least. They used to at least try and ask all or most of them a question, then it got down to just talking to the interesting ones, and now they've eliminated them altogether. I guess we needed to waste more time showing that teenage girls get nervous on camera when they're awkwardly asked to talk about their crushes (on Malcolm), that old people are cute with their casual bigotry (Rudy), that Boston Rob could whore his book out like nobody's business, and that Richard Hatch likes to get naked. Really, riveting stuff, producers. I thought Boston Rob was going to say that Philip's stalkerish man-crush on him was a bit creepy, but I guess not. One of the fan theories is that they didn't put the rest of the contestants on stage to draw attention away from the fact that Brandon was not asked to come back for the reunion show, but who cares? He recorded a remembrance of the fallen survivors clip, so they can't be that upset with him, and even if he wasn't there, so what? Show everyone else. I think they just keep cutting everyone out to waste time. Honestly, they didn't even ask Sherri, Dawn, and Cochrane that many questions. The one pointed question Jeff asked was why Malcolm didn't keep searching for the immunity idol even with Andrea shadowing him (answer: he actually did keep looking for a while, it just wasn't shown) but that was answered in a video clip a long time ago, so that wasn't even that great a question. I don't care if Shamar was a dickhead, I want the other people up there being asked some interesting questions, not seeing a bunch of filler from people who weren't even on this season.

    The clue about next season first made me think something shark related, like Australia again or South Africa, but after a second I got the "blood is thicker than water" connection. So obviously it's going to be a bunch of family members competing together. I don't know how that's going to play out, since the obvious move if the families are only part of the tribes would be for individual players to vote out the family members immediately, since obviously they're going to stay loyal to each other. Even if you don't care about voting out a member of your own family, it would make you irredeemable in the eyes of the other contestants and fans voting for the fan favorite. The solution would be to make both tribes up entirely out of different families so that they wouldn't be the obvious first targets (just like how anyone who gets too flirty early on gets voted out right away too). I'm just hoping that with it being families that they don't go for the obvious and have a gaggle of Hantz family members on the show, because the three or four of them they've shown so far have all been assholes. Boston Rob and his wife Amanda(?) would be an obvious choice if they go for returning family members, but with both of them being former winners and BR being such a dominant and well liked player I'd have to think they'd be major targets right out the gate. Maybe they'll stick to families of unknowns, but the trend has been to have returning players each season now.

    Anyway, great latter half of the season, with some of the best tribal councils ever, and the person who deserved to win won, so all in all I'm very happy with how things went down.