Survivor S45

[Jenny]

I have to think that's one of the most stressful aspects of the game - having an idol or advantage is one thing, but knowing when to play it and when to save it is an entirely different kind of challenge.

 

[genevieve]

Who’s the 3rd lawyer? Keturah, Jake, and …?

 

[Habs]

Who’s the 3rd lawyer? Keturah, Jake, and …?

Julie

 

[genevieve]

she really is playing a low key game!

 

[purple skates]

Julie

she really is playing a low key game!

Who?

 

[tony]

Who?

She’s been all over the screen most of the time, so I hope you’re kidding. She’s often debating whether to go against bestie Dee or not, so I feel like that might be coming. Everyone calls her mama and she also got emotional about having to vote people out. She also very nearly won two individual immunities in a row, finishing just behind Bruce.

 

[purple skates]

She’s been all over the screen most of the time, so I hope you’re kidding. She’s often debating whether to go against bestie Dee or not, so I feel like that might be coming. Everyone calls her mama and she also got emotional about having to vote people out. She also very nearly won two individual immunities in a row, finishing just behind Bruce.

Actually, I wasn’t kidding - but Mama I know!

 

[BaileyCatts]

Bu-bye Emily. Sorry but I still don't like her.

 

[screech]

WHY did Emily have to say how she got Bruce to not play her idol. She was under the radar until that. I get she wanted to show she's been playing the game and not just coasting, but she shot herself in the foot.
Also, would have been a great time for Julie to make a big move at the tribal council.

At this point, i'm all for Katurah winning (with Jake second). I liked Austin until this episode where he told Dee the plan because he was thinking with his little D.

 

[Jenny]

Again with the emotional play. Why can't players just say "you know what, I'm kinda into you, but we're playing a game so let's do that now and then when we're outta here we'll see where it goes, cool?"

I've been rooting for Austin but the mistakes are piling up. Giving Julie an idol. Not hearing Jeff shouting "both sides!" like six times, nor looking around and seeing that his buddy Drew was working on both sides. Letting his attraction to Dee cloud his decisions.

And Dee too. Yes, her whole "you have to ACT" was really well done, but she also told Julie that Austin is her #1. Julie, who is playing the "you better be loyal to me or I'm coming after you game." I'm assuming that Julie decided not to eliminate Austin because she's still sticking to that final 4 plus doesn't want to piss off Dee, but I'm also assuming Julie did not like Emily taking credit for Bruce's ouster like it was a preview of her presentation to the jury, which is smart but at the same time I think Julie is not playing that smart.

And maybe Austin knew more than we were shown, because he didn't play his idol.

 

[Kasey]

Austin telling Dee about the plan was a total boneheaded move, although Emily had put a target on herself with her describing her dealings with Bruce. I wonder if Julie will be the vote this next time, since everyone but Dee was willing to go along with it? Or if they'll pick off Jake and Katurah first.

 

[Jenny]

Austin was in a tight spot, because telling her was stupid, but not telling her could have been stupid too. As I think about it, maybe he wanted it to get back to Julie, assumed Dee would tell her, he comes out a hero to them, and loyal, and most importantly, he eliminates Julie's idol knowing she will now play it.

Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit

 

[Spikefan]

I didn’t watch live and accidentally started TAR before Survivor so got immediately spoiled, ugh. Next week should be interesting.

 

[purple skates]

I’m Emily fan. Now rooting for Katurah, which means she’s toast.

 

[genevieve]

Austin was in a tight spot, because telling her was stupid, but not telling her could have been stupid too. As I think about it, maybe he wanted it to get back to Julie, assumed Dee would tell her, he comes out a hero to them, and loyal, and most importantly, he eliminates Julie's idol knowing she will now play it.

Or maybe I'm giving him too much credit

I found it verrrrry convenient that we've seen nothing of this not quite a showmance until this episode, just when Austin makes a decision that is in fact strategic, but HEY could also be edited to be twu luv.

Lots of almost ruining everything this ep, but finally, FINALLY, some good moves. I really thought that Julie was going to go for Austin out of spite (very much her MO for the season), but she did the right thing and took out Emily - this makes Dee happy, it removes Drew's strategic sidepiece, and is kind of a neat flex for keeping the 4 together like they all just swore they would, even though she could have not.

Emily said she'd vote for Julie at the end, but Dee is the real master of this move.

I just want Drew gone. He was working up and down that beach trying to get under everyone's skin and no one ever talks about getting rid of him, even before he won immunity.

Keturah and Jake are neck and neck for can't win-ness. If someone could somehow bring both of them to the end they'd win in a blowout. Although, I don't know, maybe Austin could find a way to blow it

 

[genevieve]

Interesting EW interview with Bruce (from last week).

Excerpt:

What was it like watching the show play back on TV and seeing how Katurah really felt about you, which was, let’s just say, not great.

The first two weeks or so, I was like, “Oh, yep, I annoyed Katurah.” And then all of a sudden, it was week three, week four, week five, and I'm just like…. I'm not even mad at her at this point in time. I'm just mad at the scenario. I'm mad at the situation, and it's like: Man, I want my game to be represented in a different way and I want Katurah’s game to be represented in a different way. For us to be able to sit there and be tied together: Katurah hates Bruce. Bruce has no idea. Bruce is a dumbass that then gets voted out. That's not the arc that I saw it going, because I feel that both of us contributed a lot more to the game

And

..taking a look at the show last night and the [clapping and celebrating] that Bruce is gone, it's like it's two sides of the coin. You feel good that people looked at you as much as a threat to want to vote you out and they're happy that you're gone. But then it's also like, "Okay, so what part of that is ‘We just want Bruce the hell out of here,’ as opposed to it being gameplay?"

That kind of sums up the whole season

Overall, the interview is very Bruce. He's got some great self-awareness, but also meanders a bit. And he admits that he never thought about his endgame until the leadup to the TC where he was voted out!

 

[Jenny]

Well that was fun! At this point, Dee has the most outwardly shiny resume, but I'm still wondering what's really going on with Austin. One minute it looks like he's making a brilliant play that turns out not to be, then he does something stupid that might actually turn out to be a great strategic move. There was a lot of talk about acting from Dee, Julie and Drew these past two eps, even some from Katurah and Jake, so is this in fact pointing to Austin being the real actor here, ready to reveal all when it counts in front of the jury?

Case in point: When he chose Katurah for the reward, he said to Jeff and the group that it was about who was left behind. Everyone seemed to interpret that as Drew being left to babysit, but in confessional, Austin revealed his real strategy - have three people left behind he was certain would not work together against him. And for that matter, puppy dog move to take Dee, or was it? Was that him seeing that she's a power player and therefore keeping her close by and away from Julie?

I like Katurah, but even if she makes some sort of move now, against two others at the end, no way. Ditto Jake, although he is entertaining and I'm glad he's lasted this long, and glad he'll make it to F4.

As for Julie, she's played a solid game and will no doubt point to the Emily ouster as her crowning moment, but it would be easy enough for Dee or even Austin to take credit for that. I think she's played this game too personally without seeing the bigger picture.

 

[screech]

I don't know what I'm missing about people saying Dee is running the game/clear winner. To me she's been kind of in the background a lot of the time.
I kind of hope that Austin has hurt feelings next episode and does something chaotic. I also don't care about their relationship all that much.
I know I'm in the minority, but I actually kind of liked Drew. Like the other tribemates said, he's a great speaker. Plus he was the mastermind behind a lot of the plays that happened.
Yay to Jake! He's definitely safe through next tribal council.

 

[Mugs]

I don't know what I'm missing about people saying Dee is running the game/clear winner. To me she's been kind of in the background a lot of the time.

I agree. I think Dee has hidden behind Julie, who has taken chances and gone after people. Dee has more or less just jumped on the band wagons of other people's plans and plots. I also think the romance with Austin is more convenience than genuine feelings (but who knows).

I actually liked Drew and thought he played a decent game. Now that Drew is gone, my allegiance is with Katurah to win, although I think her overly focused mission to get Bruce voted out doesn't do her any favors. After she shared the story of her childhood and the cult...well, what can I say? She's already a survivor.

 

[screech]

I agree. I think Dee has hidden behind Julie, who has taken chances and gone after people. Dee has more or less just jumped on the band wagons of other people's plans and plots. I also think the romance with Austin is more convenience than genuine feelings (but who knows).

I actually liked Drew and thought he played a decent game. Now that Drew is gone, my allegiance is with Katurah to win, although I think her overly focused mission to get Bruce voted out doesn't do her any favors. After she shared the story of her childhood and the cult...well, what can I say? She's already a survivor.

I agree regarding Katurah. So far the only 'gameplay' she has in her pocket is revealing that she lied about her career.
If not Katurah, I'm rooting for Jake. He's got the underdog story, plus he found an idol.

 

[Jenny]

Interesting that some of us are seeing Dee's game differently. I figure she's got the basic credentials of two Immunity wins and one Reward win to start, and she seems to be successfully managing the inevitable split of the Reba alliance while keeping her hands clean for the jury. Julie can say she pulled out the idol at the right time and personally engineered Emily going, but I think Dee could take a lot of credit for that, because she's the one who tipped Julie off. Julie has come close, but has not won any challenges herself.

All I'm seeing is Julie going after anyone who mentions her name, and desperately clinging to her alliance, namely Dee at this point, to take her to the end.

 

[Spikefan]

but I think Dee could take a lot of credit for that, because she's the one who tipped Julie off.

Not only tipped her off but knew she had to write her name down and then told Julie to act mad so she could lie to Austin and Drew. She will have a good case for the jury. I also think she is playing up the relationship with Austin but he is not.

The only one left I really like is Katurah but I do not see her getting any votes, it would be smart to take her to the end.

 

[Prancer]

Julie can say she pulled out the idol at the right time and personally engineered Emily going, but I think Dee could take a lot of credit for that, because she's the one who tipped Julie off. Julie has come close, but has not won any challenges herself.

But what would be the benefit of taking credit for it, provided that it would even be seen as a move to say that Dee is the one who tipped Julie off?

Emily is the kind of player who can win because the big players in the game carry her along until it's too late for them to stop her from making her case to the jury. But from the perspective of people in the game, Emily was the fifth wheel in the main alliance of four. Julie is the only one who saw Emily as a threat and that was more of a personal thing than game play. None of the core four had Emily in their end game; the only way Emily would have made it to the end would be if one of the core four saw her as a strategic partner in getting rid of the others, and that's not what went down.

If Julie and Dee had gotten together and strategized a big play--say, taking out Austin--then that would be a big point on a resume. But all Dee did was tell Julie that she was a target and needed to play her idol to save herself, and Julie was the one who decided to take out Emily, someone who was basically a number in everyone else's games. I don't see anyone thinking this was a big play. It's just another step in the Pagong game that they were playing.

 

[alexikeguchi]

If I were on the jury, I think I would abstain; I honestly don't believe anyone deserves to win. This season of Survivor is one of the least interesting in a while, and I doubt I will bother to watch the finale now that the excellent season of Amazing Race has concluded and is no longer following.

 

[DreamSkates]

I was surprised that Drew didn’t suspect he was on the chopping block. Any strong player should know they are fair game for being voted off.

 

[Sparks]

I'm enjoying this season. I don't dislike anyone, and I am entertained. I guess the cheese stands alone

 

[genevieve]

I think this season sucked tremendously until the last 2 episodes - but it goes all the way back to the huge errors in casting that resulted in one tribe getting decimated right off the bat. I wonder what the season would have been with others in place of Hannah and Brandon, or even if they (and Sean) were not on the same tribe.

I'm so glad Drew is gone - I have been so bewildered at how he has basically bossed his alliance around and it took until now for people to realize it. He was also getting an edit that seemed to give him all the credit for the work he and Austin did together, which is weirder for the fact that Austin had idols etc - but I think TPTB just wanted to pull the romance card out at the end.

I'm with Jenny that Austin is interesting because some of his moves seem so boneheaded they are actually great, but we're out of time for a big reveal of any sekret strategies. I think Austin is a good player, and a decent strategist, but not a great one.

I'm happy that Jake has stuck around long enough and finally made a move. I can't see him winning in a F3 but we'll see what, if anything, he does with the idol next TC.

Fascinating the different takes on Dee. I think she is a master here, and keeping her counsel instead of revealing the plan to Austin, especially after how the last vote went down, was fantastic. I do give her credit for the last vote as well - she rescued Julie, but also gave Julie free rein to choose the target which was strategically smart. And she somehow sold it to everyone who needed to believe it that she didn't leak the plan.

I like Julie as a player a lot and would be interested in the case she'd make for herself in a FTC. I do think she has taken things too personally a few times and that affected her game a bit, but at least she was able to get over her distaste for Jake once Drew crossed her.

Katurah seems like a very good person, but hasn't had big impact in the game in any sense. She's someone you want to sit next to at FTC.

Emily looked like she just ate a lemon on the jury panel.

 

[tony]

I don't have any strong thoughts about how the end will play out, but I wouldn't be surprised if Julie gets the boot finally at 5 and then we are being set up with this sudden showmance storyline because it's Dee vs. Austin forced into the fire challenge. If that's even slightly the case (especially leaving Katurah and Jake), I guess Austin's the winner.

 

[Sparks]

Stephen Fishbach posted a scenario where Katurah could win
Jake plays his idol and Jane/Dee goes to jury
Austin wins immunity takes Jake. Katurah wins the fire challenge over J or D

Interesting

 

[Prancer]

Fascinating the different takes on Dee. I think she is a master here, and keeping her counsel instead of revealing the plan to Austin, especially after how the last vote went down, was fantastic.

Now THAT I think will be seen as a big play on her part and it will probably be enough, combined with her other arguments, to get her the win at the end--if she gets there.

I don't see Austin winning against her and he would be the other apparent frontrunner.

Keturah has a great personal story and Jake is the popular underdog, but I don't see much argument for gameplay.

But it's Survivor, where personal connections we don't always see make a big difference and this entire cast seems to be all about the personal and emotional.