And kept the idle, wp

And then Carson talking about his 3D printing. These dudes going hard.

I wonder how much of it is natural personality and how much of it is the drugs. Either way, I’m here for it.

Unlucky? Not remotely. She did that to herself.

Editors too tricky by half on this one. Make it seem the entire first two eps that Carson is together with Helen and Sarah only to show one conversation and have him flip just like that. Guessing Sarah revealed that she didn't have a vote and he didn't want to go to rocks in the case of a tie. Otherwise it seems like he's just voting out his closest ally to join up with a pair.

She took a risk and lost lol. It was the first vote. You go for the +ev play. Brandon wasn’t playing that idol until Jaime hit her shot in the dark. And you can’t convince me otherwise.

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-44-maddy-pomilla-interview/

Because he didn't trust Maddy. She manipulated him into sharing his find with her by saying of course if someone found the key, they should tell everyone. Then, when he shared his find with her, she did an about face and said they should keep the info to themselves. She showed her colors. Untrustworthy and sneaky. Then, they had a bad vibe with each other after that interaction. He knew he wasn't going home because he was going to play his idol. So he went ahead and took a shot at the person he wanted out the most. If it turned out, they were voting for him, she'd go home.

Can I convince you Brandon had an idol which she knew, and she got on his bad side which she also knew? And there was an alternative option on the table which did not require her to stick her neck out in any way?

I don’t disagree with that take.

But she decided to try to vote out the idol and the guy on her bad side than go for Lauren. Like I said, I respect the risk. I’ll also respect if you think going for the guarantee is the right move on the first vote.

I think of it as early in a MTT. You’re still 3 hours away from late reg closing. Risk the chips for a big stack or go home trying. Some people in Survivor are there to enjoy the tourney, some are there to win a mil.

I view that as gambool gambool unlucky and you view it as avoidable. I’m sure it plays out differently if Brandon doesn’t have a publicly known idol that Maddy basically forced him to expose.

Going hard early in Survivor is -ev.

I like these people. But I agree the lack of villains is a problem. Future themed seasons are going to have to be along the lines of Nerds vs. Weirdos...although that's pretty much where we're at right now.

Harry Potter is an early favorite of mine. I'm hoping it won't bite him he's aligned with crazy Sarah Conner and Yam squared. If actual Sarah shared she didn't have her vote and that's why he voted with the lunatics, then he and actual Sarah can still work together. If not, there's some chance actual Sarah might try to turn team loony tunes on him. With tribes so small and an idol in the pocket of one of the tightest pair, it feels precarious. Also, Sarah has that steal advantages thing, right? Some incentive to play on Sarah Conner's paranoia and steal her idol when she plays it. Probably not going to be able to aim her at Yam Yam, so there's some incentive to throw Harry Potter under the bus.

Firefighter reminds me of Tony. Likable, but lots of crazy energy. Obviously, another favorite.

Sarah Conner is super weird and I'll probably be annoyed when she messes up someone's game, but in the meantime...wow. Lot's of crazy to enjoy there.

The dorkmance is cute. Hopefully that guy doesn't get his heart broken again though.

I like Matthew, but I think it's a bad idea to tell people you built Survivor challenges in your back yard so you could practice.

To each his own. Going hard early on also has different layers, some negative and some positive. But I don’t think it’s wrong given all of the variables of the game, especially in new age Survivor.

My point is, I thought her play was fine and thought she leveled Brandon until Jaime hit the shot in the

This season is ok, but compared with what's been happening on Australian Survivor this season, it's literally the little league v the world series right now. The cast is actually decent especially compared with 43, but the decision to spend most of the episode on the idol/key finds means we didn't see as much of the relationship building, and why Carson decided to go with Yam Yam and Carolyn over Helen and Sarah. Yes it's likely because Sarah told him she lost her vote and he wanted to avoid a 2-2 tie but...can we see that conversation instead of excessive scavenger hunts all the time?

Voting out Brandon doesn't get you a big stack though. It's just a massive risk for very little reward.

"You gotta make BIG moves!!"

I actually thought they did a decent job this episode of stressing the difficulties players face; Carson had multiple confessionals talking about his decision, Carolyn wrestled with her own demons, Helen displayed her hubris.

Most of the scavenger hunt time just took the place where a reward challenge would usually be.

I will say this, I am LOLing more at this season that I can remember. Carolyn, Jam Jam, the nerdy lovebirds... these people are weird and hilarious.

Carolyn may be the absolute loopiest person they've ever had on here, but I still like her because I don't get the sense it's an act or she's playing to the cameras.

Also am I wrong or did Carolyn think the fake idol was the real one and vice versa? If so it could be epic when she plays it to save herself.

No, there's different stuff in each birdcage. I might not remember the specifics right, but there's three different combos:
- 1 coin idol, 1 fake bracelet (Carolyn)
- 1 bracelet idol, 1 fake medallion (Brandon)
- 1 medallion idol, 1 fake coin (Firefighter guy who;s name I forget)

Carolyn’s voice tho

I personally enjoy the show without all the twists and advantages, but at least they are interesting this season. The inheritance advantage has some potential. Person wielding that advantage needs to anticipate and play it with proper timing at minimum, or with proper information could go the next step and actively manipulate the right moment to play the advantage and scoop up maximum power. Then, with all the idols and fakes confusing the issue when the tribes merge... Could be very entertaining.

Hahaha audibly cracking up in bed.

Do you think that's part of what got them cast? Like in interview they talk about this and survivor casting likes it enough to cast them. Or is it they get cast and then for the next 3-6 months or whatever the window is they start practicing their skills.

I also thought this. Thanks for clearing it up. Guess Carolyn smarter than me. But at least I don't dig through human poo to try to find a tooth.

The advantages can add to the show but can obviously become a little much. I go back and notice the seasons I enjoy always come down to whether the cast was fun to watch or not. This cast seems really fun. I'm pretty excited that this season is going to be great.