Agreed. I'm getting nostalgic for the minimalist challenges from Season 1.

Family stuff at the beginning was interminable. When it ended I clicked on my DVR and it said 11 minutes - I'd have figured at least 25.....

One thing that sticks out to me more and more in recent seasons of non-returning casts is it seems like a couple players per season are playing as much, if not more, to get noticed or be interesting enough to get invited back. Like what Joe did - he knew he was drawing dead, but he acted in a way that all but assured he'd be given a return invite for a future season. Now I kind of get that feeling with Mike as well, especially after the idol in the fire move. Can't blame them I guess, but it's a kind of annoying dynamic to the game, which back in the day was about winning pure and simple.

That challenge with drawing marbles was terrible. It also looked to my like Chrissy's husband cheated.

This cast has grown on me but the problem is there is still no one I am really rooting for to win. I like Dr. Mike the best for some reason, although he has almost 0% chance to win.

Lauren was playing such a solid game, what a meltdown at the end. Not sure what hope Ben has short of winning a bunch of immunities of finding another HII.

Yeah the marbles challenge was dumb. They should have put at least put a twist on it a la The Genius, such as making the marbles weigh different or something.

Other than that I thought it was a stellar episode. I don't know why people complain about "live" tribals, they're entertaining and a part of the natural evolution of the game, from pagonging to where we are now.

How often has it happened that someone was voted out with 1 vote?

It was weird how everyone was on board to vote out Ben but he didn't seem aware of it at all. I hope it was editing and he was playing the idol 100%.

how did he not seem aware of it? he overheard them planning against him and knew to use his idol. it was very obvious he was getting voted for

and I still don’t get what was wrong with mike throwing the part of the idol in the fire. how was that in any way a bad game move, or not trying to win?

the way it was edited he was really contemplating to play it or not

throwing it in the fire is obv fine

its hugely +ev for him anyway since it doesnt seem like he has any real win equity in this game but he is 'special' enough to get invited back imo, and this makes him much more likely to return.

it makes him more likely to get style points in front of the jury, which helps his chances of winning

idk about the Ben edit. it’s not like they were gonna tell us hewas 100% using it considering that was the whole suspense. I think it was still pretty obvious he was going to and that he knew he was getting votes

don't forget that Sarah got "voted out" last season when she played her idol, then she went on to win the game.

Yeah almost 100% it was editing to try and add some suspense. There was zero chance he wasn't going to play it. He said flat out to Jeff at tribal, when everyone was scrambling and whispering to each other, "they're trying to decide whether to vote out me or Lauren".

It's crazy though that no one even considered the fact that Ben might have an idol. By casting every vote on Ben they gave him the sole power to vote out whoever he chose. Didn't end up mattering since Lauren was everyone else's 2nd choice anyway. But he could have turned around and voted Chrissy just for the heck of it - then she would be wishing she tossed her vote Lauren's way.

Think of it this way - obviously Lauren is never going to give him the other half of the idol, and there's no scenario where he can somehow gain enough leverage to make it worth giving back to her, so once he has it, he's never going to do anything with it. At best, he can promise to give it back to her if he survives one vote, but that's a card he will only get to play once, and maybe even not that.

Might as well make a grandiose play to the jury and take it out of play.

Who, other than Chrissy, is mad at him?

Not mad at him, but he is acknowledged by every other player as the clear favorite to win if he makes FTC. They all just voted for him but his idol saved him. No reason not to vote for him again.

that would have been amazing/hilarious

Arrogance killed Ben

Dr Mike is insufferable. Dude thinks he always knows so much and literally he is pawn in everyones plan cause everyone knows he's so easy to manipulate

My girl Chrissy still very live to win

I like doctor mike. but they had a 4-3 majority Lauren blindside. and he screwed it up by going to Lauren

Except they didn't have have a 4-3 majority. Chrissy was non committal at the time and I don't blame her. Ben spent the entire week being a double agent which was completely unnecessary and was really smug about it afterwards to her face. If I was in Chrissy's shoes I too would say F that, I would not trust Ben's word at all. It's easy to be watching this on TV and hear all the confessionals but if yall were on the island you too would tell Ben to GTFO if you were in her shoes.

You really tell me you would be okay to look like a complete dope for the second time on national tv in front of millions of people around the world? I know for myself, I wouldn't. If someone crossed me on survivor and laughed in front of my face on national tv afterwards, they would be completely dead to me. No chance I would ever trust them again and would want them out at the very first opportunity.

I have no problems with Mike's play either. Without Chrissy's commitment he set out for plan B. I like it. It's always best to have a plan B and C and D just in case.

4sp is an emo player who would most certainly make for a bitter juror...why am I not surprised?

VT, your troll game has fallen off a cliff the last few years due to old age. Seeing as I don't have the will power to not put you in your place, I will take the bait and respond to you.

Not trusting someone who has just burned you and laughed in your face does not automatically equate to me being a bitter jury. Like I said I like to have a plan B or C. I can totally picture VT playing survivor and fancying himself someone like Spencer but he'll be duped over and over again (judging from some of your so called 'strategy' posts that you make on this forum ). VT will be the Charlie Brown of survivor lol

I mean, it still is a social game and laughing/fist pumping at tribal council is just a very very dumb thing to do. Can't really blame Chrissy for being butthurt about that.

The thing I DO blame her for is not being a better player and sucking it up like (I can't believe I'm saying this) Mike did. At least he nodded, agreed, then said "fu.ck this" and made another plan.

If neither votes for Ben in the end it's not because of being bitter, it's because Ben is an idiot. Why give money to an idiot?

Yep Ben is an idiot. Seeing as I've never been in that position where someone fist pumped and laughed in my face after they duped me on national tv, I can only go by how I think I would realistically react if put in that situation (while starving and missing family no less).

Not all of us can be as zen and play optimally at all times as our great overlord VT. He who would no doubt 100% know that Ben was telling the truth this time when he needed Chrissy's vote to boot Lauren. The great VT is the perfect survivor player that we should all aspire to be.

Based on this latest post, he was right. You are kind of emo (and would be a bitter juror), and that is from someone who probably trolled VT along with the nutjob Clovis in past years in Survivor threads.

That being said - the reaction is not that out of place, so I get it, although I do not believe the best Survivor players allow themselves to go there. Not everyone can be the best though, and that is what makes the show fun to watch.

lmao as if the way I interact with you plebs on a poker forum is any indication of my personality and how I would actually play on Survivor. LOL, okay you got me.