From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote episodes I
can remember, and it shows again how you can have a great Survivor
season without a lot of silly gimmicks. Who needs Mergatory and trips
to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things donrCOt necessarily always happen) and having to search for the money you use for an auction and
all the other really dumb stuff werCOve had to put up with in the new era
of US Survivor? This was a really solid and suspenseful episode, and I
had no idea how it would end until literally the last vote was read on a
4-3-3 split.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her personality
has built a relationship with the American women (especially Parv) and
proved her loyalty through this vote. She also got her perceived
nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though she was pretty much the only
person pushing to vote out Sarah. The chemistry between Kirby and Parv
just sizzles, and I was really taken by ParvrCOs comment in the trailer
for next episode that rCLbeing taken seriously is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both women have girlfriends in real life, but I half
wonder if their relationship will go beyond the game.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the winds
were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even though she literally had only just met both of them a few days earlier. I had
often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost chilling to see the
two of them talking and strategizing together. Shonee even threw out a
combo name for her and Parvati - was it "Shonetee"? I also have to give
some kudos to Lisa and Kass who against their better judgement went
along with a vote split plan where their votes would be split between
Sarah and Janine (just in case an idol was played). In the event Sarah
had an idol, Jeanine and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote
and it would have been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine. It was masterfully
planned and one of the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for correctly
reading that the votes would not be on him. BTW, Shonee was not
correct that she is the first person to make the merge four times. I'm
pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and I think Ozzie
has done it as well. But what I think she probably meant is that she is
the first person to make it four consecutive times in four tries (i.e.,
four for four). IrCOd have to research this, but I donrCOt think anyone
else did it four times in a row out of four attempts.


And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi who
almost certainly would have been the target had he not won immunity,
even though he backed into the win via a rock draw. If my memory is
correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp challenge has
failed to finish. On US Season 43, Karla and Owen had seemingly figured
out a way to hack the challenge by anticipating surges and holding their breath at the right times and were declared co-winners when they
literally outlasted the tides. This time there were too many players
still in the game when lightning halted the challenge to make them all winners, so they ended up doing a rock draw. I think a much better
solution would have been to do the challenge Survivor Borneo used at the
merge which would be to just have the remaining players hold their
breath under water and see who could stay down the longest. They could literally have re-positioned themselves under the now submerged bars and
just resumed the challenge but with everyone holding their breath as
long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing. I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass and
Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge without Power advantage. IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really hard to go against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-Cirie foursome. With that foursome still in a minority, I can see Luke trying to recruit Lisa,
Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine to break the other four up, but
that will be tough, especially since Lisa is so taken with Cirie.
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote episodes I
can remember, and it shows again how you can have a great Survivor
season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs Mergatory and trips
to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things donrCOt necessarily always happen) and having to search for the money you use for an auction and
all the other really dumb stuff werCOve had to put up with in the new era
of US Survivor?-a This was a really solid and suspenseful episode, and I
had no idea how it would end until literally the last vote was read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up with food
and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great for Parv even
if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the votes
was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one level above
the other players. They were willing to take a risk and to realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing now.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her personality
has built a relationship with the American women (especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She also got her perceived
nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though she was pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.-a The chemistry between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was really taken by ParvrCOs comment in the trailer
for next episode that rCLbeing taken seriously is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both women have girlfriends in real life, but I half wonder if their relationship will go beyond the game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes, Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be able to beat
the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For sure she and Cirie
know they're better off aligning with Kirby and Parv than trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the winds
were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even though she literally had only just met both of them a few days earlier.-a I had
often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost chilling to see the
two of them talking and strategizing together.-a Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it "Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who against their better judgement went
along with a vote split plan where their votes would be split between
Sarah and Janine (just in case an idol was played).-a In the event Sarah
had an idol, Jeanine and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote
and it would have been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully
planned and one of the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and still a
big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for correctly reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW, Shonee was not
correct that she is the first person to make the merge four times.-a I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and I think Ozzie
has done it as well.-a But what I think she probably meant is that she is the first person to make it four consecutive times in four tries (i.e.,
four for four).-a IrCOd have to research this, but I donrCOt think anyone else did it four times in a row out of four attempts.

And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi who almost certainly would have been the target had he not won immunity,
even though he backed into the win via a rock draw.-a If my memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp challenge has
failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and Owen had seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by anticipating surges and holding their breath at the right times and were declared co-winners when they
literally outlasted the tides. This time there were too many players
still in the game when lightning halted the challenge to make them all winners, so they ended up doing a rock draw.-a I think a much better solution would have been to do the challenge Survivor Borneo used at the merge which would be to just have the remaining players hold their
breath under water and see who could stay down the longest.-a They could literally have re-positioned themselves under the now submerged bars and just resumed the challenge but with everyone holding their breath as
long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass and
Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge without Power advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really hard to go against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-Cirie foursome.-a-a With that foursome still in a minority, I can see Luke trying to recruit Lisa,
Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine to break the other four up, but
that will be tough, especially since Lisa is so taken with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for the
season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I wonder if
that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck and a
well-timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if they do a F3.
--
Brian
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/26/2025 7:39 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote episodes
I can remember, and it shows again how you can have a great Survivor
season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs Mergatory and trips
to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things donrCOt necessarily always
happen) and having to search for the money you use for an auction and
all the other really dumb stuff werCOve had to put up with in the new
era of US Survivor?-a This was a really solid and suspenseful episode,
and I had no idea how it would end until literally the last vote was
read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up with food
and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great for Parv even
if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

Luke made a dumb move for two reasons. First, it was clear Parv did not
want to go and he alienated her for no good reason. But more
importantly, he should have realized that going back to a new camp like
that could have had a hidden advantage. If I were Luke, I would have
either sent an ally like Janine back, or I just might have sent myself
which I think was within the rules. Another alternative might have been
to discuss it with the tribe and ask if anyone wanted to go back.
Knowing how much Parv really didn't want to do it, he should have backed
off.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the votes
was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one level above
the other players. They were willing to take a risk and to realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing now.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her
personality has built a relationship with the American women
(especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She also
got her perceived nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though she was
pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.-a The chemistry
between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was really taken by ParvrCOs
comment in the trailer for next episode that rCLbeing taken seriously is
the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both women have girlfriends in >> real life, but I half wonder if their relationship will go beyond the
game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes, Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be able to beat
the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For sure she and Cirie
know they're better off aligning with Kirby and Parv than trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the
winds were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even
though she literally had only just met both of them a few days
earlier.-a I had often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost
chilling to see the two of them talking and strategizing together.
Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it
"Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who
against their better judgement went along with a vote split plan where
their votes would be split between Sarah and Janine (just in case an
idol was played).-a In the event Sarah had an idol, Jeanine and Kass
would be tied and there would be a re-vote and it would have been 6-2
to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully planned and one of the rare
cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and still a
big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for correctly
reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW, Shonee was not
correct that she is the first person to make the merge four times.
I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and I think
Ozzie has done it as well.-a But what I think she probably meant is
that she is the first person to make it four consecutive times in four
tries (i.e., four for four).-a IrCOd have to research this, but I donrCOt >> think anyone else did it four times in a row out of four attempts.


And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi
who almost certainly would have been the target had he not won
immunity, even though he backed into the win via a rock draw.-a If my
memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp
challenge has failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and Owen had
seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by anticipating
surges and holding their breath at the right times and were declared
co-winners when they literally outlasted the tides. This time there
were too many players still in the game when lightning halted the
challenge to make them all winners, so they ended up doing a rock
draw.-a I think a much better solution would have been to do the
challenge Survivor Borneo used at the merge which would be to just
have the remaining players hold their breath under water and see who
could stay down the longest.-a They could literally have re-positioned
themselves under the now submerged bars and just resumed the challenge
but with everyone holding their breath as long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass and
Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge without Power
advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really hard to go
against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-Cirie foursome.
With that foursome still in a minority, I can see Luke trying to
recruit Lisa, Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine to break the other
four up, but that will be tough, especially since Lisa is so taken
with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for the
season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I wonder if
that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck and a
well-timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if they do a F3.

The only thing I would say about Cirie is - what has she really done so
far this season that is so impressive? Her confessions seem to include
a lot of rCLI donrCOt know what to dorCY or rCLI donrCOt trust so-and-sorCY and it
just seems to me she is sort of phoning the season in. She has really
been in Parv's shadow and is now sort of a third wheel to Parv and
Kirby. She's always been pretty worthless in challenges, but it just
sees to me she has been wishy-washy and indecisive in a lot of her talks
with people . I almost think she is a candidate for being taken to the
finale as a goat. Can she win just based on her name and history?

Regarding whether this will be a final two or three, I havenrCOt heard anything on this one way or the other. With a final 10 in the jury
stage, that would imply a final three with 7 jurors, since you wouldn't
have an even number eight with a two-person finale due to the
possibility of a tie. But they've occasionally done a reward near the
end where a player can actually eliminate someone from the jury, so I
guess a two person finale is still possible.



--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/26/2025 6:34 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 7:39 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote episodes
I can remember, and it shows again how you can have a great Survivor
season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs Mergatory and
trips to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things donrCOt necessarily
always happen) and having to search for the money you use for an
auction and all the other really dumb stuff werCOve had to put up with
in the new era of US Survivor?-a This was a really solid and
suspenseful episode, and I had no idea how it would end until
literally the last vote was read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item
was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up
with food and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great
for Parv even if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

Luke made a dumb move for two reasons.-a First, it was clear Parv did not want to go and he alienated her for no good reason.-a But more
importantly, he should have realized that going back to a new camp like
that could have had a hidden advantage.-a If I were Luke, I would have either sent an ally like Janine back, or I just might have sent myself
which I think was within the rules.-a Another alternative might have been
to discuss it with the tribe and ask if anyone wanted to go back.
Knowing how much Parv really didn't want to do it, he should have backed off.

It's possible Luke thought there would be an advantage as part of the
auction and he wanted to ensure that Parv had no chance of getting it.
On the other hand, we've seen too often players sent off to exile where
they end up finding a big power. IIRC, that's what lead to Erika winning
S41.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the
votes was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one
level above the other players. They were willing to take a risk and to
realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing now.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her
personality has built a relationship with the American women
(especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She also
got her perceived nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though she was
pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.-a The chemistry
between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was really taken by ParvrCOs >>> comment in the trailer for next episode that rCLbeing taken seriously
is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both women have girlfriends >>> in real life, but I half wonder if their relationship will go beyond
the game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes,
Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be able
to beat the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For sure she
and Cirie know they're better off aligning with Kirby and Parv than
trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the
winds were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even
though she literally had only just met both of them a few days
earlier.-a I had often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost
chilling to see the two of them talking and strategizing together.
Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it
"Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who
against their better judgement went along with a vote split plan
where their votes would be split between Sarah and Janine (just in
case an idol was played).-a In the event Sarah had an idol, Jeanine
and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote and it would have
been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully planned and one of
the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and still a
big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for correctly
reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW, Shonee was not
correct that she is the first person to make the merge four times.
I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and I think
Ozzie has done it as well.-a But what I think she probably meant is
that she is the first person to make it four consecutive times in
four tries (i.e., four for four).-a IrCOd have to research this, but I
donrCOt think anyone else did it four times in a row out of four attempts. >>>

And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi
who almost certainly would have been the target had he not won
immunity, even though he backed into the win via a rock draw.-a If my
memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp
challenge has failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and Owen had
seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by anticipating
surges and holding their breath at the right times and were declared
co-winners when they literally outlasted the tides. This time there
were too many players still in the game when lightning halted the
challenge to make them all winners, so they ended up doing a rock
draw.-a I think a much better solution would have been to do the
challenge Survivor Borneo used at the merge which would be to just
have the remaining players hold their breath under water and see who
could stay down the longest.-a They could literally have re-positioned
themselves under the now submerged bars and just resumed the
challenge but with everyone holding their breath as long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass and
Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge without
Power advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really hard to go >>> against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-Cirie foursome.
With that foursome still in a minority, I can see Luke trying to
recruit Lisa, Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine to break the
other four up, but that will be tough, especially since Lisa is so
taken with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for the
season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I wonder if
that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck and a well-
timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if they do a F3.

The only thing I would say about Cirie is - what has she really done so
far this season that is so impressive?-a-a Her confessions seem to include
a lot of rCLI donrCOt know what to dorCY or rCLI donrCOt trust so-and-sorCY and it
just seems to me she is sort of phoning the season in.-a She has really
been in Parv's shadow and is now sort of a third wheel to Parv and
Kirby.-a She's always been pretty worthless in challenges, but it just
sees to me she has been wishy-washy and indecisive in a lot of her talks with people . I almost think she is a candidate for being taken to the finale as a goat.-a Can she win just based on her name and history?

The other players seem to think very highly of Cirie. She's also done
not bad in challenges. She lasted ~54 minutes in the one Parv won and
didn't do much worse than Parv in the one this episode. Her read on
things isn't that bad either. She is letting Parv do some of the heavy
lifting but if she can take her out that's what will resonate with the jury.

Regarding whether this will be a final two or three, I havenrCOt heard anything on this one way or the other.-a With a final 10 in the jury
stage, that would imply a final three with 7 jurors, since you wouldn't
have an even number eight with a two-person finale due to the
possibility of a tie.-a But they've occasionally done a reward near the
end where a player can actually eliminate someone from the jury, so I
guess a two person finale is still possible.

I hope they don't do that twist. Do these guys read the votes out at
FTC? I sure hope so. It would be cool if they did a F2 and if the vote
is tied, they do fire to determine the winner. A rock draw would not be
cool.

Some more comments from me as I was in a rush when I first replied.

--At the auction when Shonee won the ribs, was Jonathan flirting with
her? When she was paying she said something about not being able to
trust the others and it sounded like he replied "I only trust you."

--Also at the auction, some of them didn't bid on a single item. Cirie
was one of them. Did she think they would be told when it was the last item?

--Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention, but are they not showing
what Day it is?

--These guys seem to have a good supply of clothes. The outfit Cirie was wearing during the IC came out the blue as did her rain gear. I think
she even had a hat! Kass's black sports bra also came out of nowhere.

--At TC, it looked like Shonee was not wearing her buff. I'm pretty sure
she wasn't. You'd think they would want them all to wear their buffs
while in the game.

--When the others arrived at the merge camp, Luke made a comment about
the chest saying something like, "It's not even open." Then there was no mention of the chest after that which I found strange. The Aussies had
to have asked about it.
--
Brian
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/26/2025 10:58 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 6:34 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 7:39 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote
episodes I can remember, and it shows again how you can have a great
Survivor season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs
Mergatory and trips to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things
donrCOt necessarily always happen) and having to search for the money >>>> you use for an auction and all the other really dumb stuff werCOve had >>>> to put up with in the new era of US Survivor?-a This was a really
solid and suspenseful episode, and I had no idea how it would end
until literally the last vote was read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item
was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up
with food and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great
for Parv even if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

Luke made a dumb move for two reasons.-a First, it was clear Parv did
not want to go and he alienated her for no good reason.-a But more
importantly, he should have realized that going back to a new camp
like that could have had a hidden advantage.-a If I were Luke, I would
have either sent an ally like Janine back, or I just might have sent
myself which I think was within the rules.-a Another alternative might
have been to discuss it with the tribe and ask if anyone wanted to go
back. Knowing how much Parv really didn't want to do it, he should
have backed off.

It's possible Luke thought there would be an advantage as part of the auction and he wanted to ensure that Parv had no chance of getting it.
On the other hand, we've seen too often players sent off to exile where
they end up finding a big power. IIRC, that's what lead to Erika winning S41.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the
votes was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one
level above the other players. They were willing to take a risk and
to realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing now.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her
personality has built a relationship with the American women
(especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She
also got her perceived nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though
she was pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.-a The
chemistry between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was really
taken by ParvrCOs comment in the trailer for next episode that rCLbeing >>>> taken seriously is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both women >>>> have girlfriends in real life, but I half wonder if their
relationship will go beyond the game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes,
Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be
able to beat the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For
sure she and Cirie know they're better off aligning with Kirby and
Parv than trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the
winds were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even
though she literally had only just met both of them a few days
earlier.-a I had often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost
chilling to see the two of them talking and strategizing together.
Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it
"Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who
against their better judgement went along with a vote split plan
where their votes would be split between Sarah and Janine (just in
case an idol was played).-a In the event Sarah had an idol, Jeanine
and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote and it would
have been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully planned and
one of the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and still
a big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for
correctly reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW, Shonee >>>> was not correct that she is the first person to make the merge four
times. I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and
I think Ozzie has done it as well.-a But what I think she probably
meant is that she is the first person to make it four consecutive
times in four tries (i.e., four for four).-a IrCOd have to research
this, but I donrCOt think anyone else did it four times in a row out
of four attempts.


And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi
who almost certainly would have been the target had he not won
immunity, even though he backed into the win via a rock draw.-a If my >>>> memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp
challenge has failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and Owen had >>>> seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by anticipating
surges and holding their breath at the right times and were declared
co-winners when they literally outlasted the tides. This time there
were too many players still in the game when lightning halted the
challenge to make them all winners, so they ended up doing a rock
draw.-a I think a much better solution would have been to do the
challenge Survivor Borneo used at the merge which would be to just
have the remaining players hold their breath under water and see who
could stay down the longest.-a They could literally have
re-positioned themselves under the now submerged bars and just
resumed the challenge but with everyone holding their breath as long
as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass and
Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge without
Power advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really hard to >>>> go against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-Cirie
foursome. With that foursome still in a minority, I can see Luke
trying to recruit Lisa, Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine to
break the other four up, but that will be tough, especially since
Lisa is so taken with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for the
season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I wonder
if that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck and a
well- timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if they do a F3.

The only thing I would say about Cirie is - what has she really done
so far this season that is so impressive?-a-a Her confessions seem to
include a lot of rCLI donrCOt know what to dorCY or rCLI donrCOt trust
so-and-sorCY and it just seems to me she is sort of phoning the season
in.-a She has really been in Parv's shadow and is now sort of a third
wheel to Parv and Kirby.-a She's always been pretty worthless in
challenges, but it just sees to me she has been wishy-washy and
indecisive in a lot of her talks with people . I almost think she is a
candidate for being taken to the finale as a goat.-a Can she win just
based on her name and history?

The other players seem to think very highly of Cirie. She's also done
not bad in challenges. She lasted ~54 minutes in the one Parv won and
didn't do much worse than Parv in the one this episode. Her read on
things isn't that bad either. She is letting Parv do some of the heavy lifting but if she can take her out that's what will resonate with the
jury.

I guess you're right that if she could orchestrate a blindside of
Parvati and get the credit for it, that would be a good selling point
for her. I just don't recall her ever actually doing that in her
earlier Survivor appearances. She is perhaps best known for being part
of the Black Widow Brigade that successfully conned Erik Reichenbach to
give up his immunity necklace, but I'm struggling to remember a time she
took the lead by herself in doing a major blindside.

Regarding whether this will be a final two or three, I havenrCOt heard
anything on this one way or the other.-a With a final 10 in the jury
stage, that would imply a final three with 7 jurors, since you
wouldn't have an even number eight with a two-person finale due to the
possibility of a tie.-a But they've occasionally done a reward near the
end where a player can actually eliminate someone from the jury, so I
guess a two person finale is still possible.

I hope they don't do that twist. Do these guys read the votes out at
FTC? I sure hope so. It would be cool if they did a F2 and if the vote
is tied, they do fire to determine the winner. A rock draw would not be cool.

They do the finale pretty much the same way we do, except that don't do
a fire challenge at final four TC unless there is a 2-2 tie vote. And
they haven't been doing a reunion or after show as the US does. I
always figured that's because a normal season has so many episodes that
they don't want to overstay their welcome with an extra episode at the
end. Since this is only a 10 episode season, I wonder if they will work
in some kind of after-show or reunion segment? I kind of doubt it.

Some more comments from me as I was in a rush when I first replied.

--At the auction when Shonee won the ribs, was Jonathan flirting with
her? When she was paying she said something about not being able to
trust the others and it sounded like he replied "I only trust you."

I think everyone, including JLP, ends up flirting with Shonee. That's
just her personality.

--Also at the auction, some of them didn't bid on a single item. Cirie
was one of them. Did she think they would be told when it was the last
item?

As far as I know, there is no Survivor auction on any version of the
show where the players are told when the auction will end. Cirie should
have known that. I think the ones who didn't bid were just waiting for
some kind of advantage. Players on US Survivor used to that too until
they changed the rules to penalize the person who had the most money
left over.

--Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention, but are they not showing
what Day it is?

They showed "Day 9" at the beginning of the segment with the Immunity Challenge.

--These guys seem to have a good supply of clothes. The outfit Cirie was wearing during the IC came out the blue as did her rain gear. I think
she even had a hat! Kass's black sports bra also came out of nowhere.

I noticed that too. I have no clue how many clothes they are allowed to
bring or how that works. But since it is only Day 9, perhaps they were
just spacing their clothes out over the super short 16-day season. I
know they are allowed to bring coats and hats because the weather in
Samoa can get rainy.

--At TC, it looked like Shonee was not wearing her buff. I'm pretty sure
she wasn't. You'd think they would want them all to wear their buffs
while in the game.

She had her buff. She wore it on her left hand and wrist during TC.
She had it on her other wrist during different parts of the episode and
she had it around her neck during the IC. I'm pretty sure both US and
Aussie Survivor rules require buffs to be worn at all times. They can
be worn on any part of the body as long as they are visible.

--When the others arrived at the merge camp, Luke made a comment about
the chest saying something like, "It's not even open." Then there was no mention of the chest after that which I found strange. The Aussies had
to have asked about it.

I'm sure there was a lot of talk about it, but they probably edited much
of it out because it just wasn't going to lead anywhere. I think the
party line among the World girls is simply that they never found the key.

--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/26/2025 10:10 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 10:58 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 6:34 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 7:39 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote
episodes I can remember, and it shows again how you can have a
great Survivor season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs
Mergatory and trips to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things
donrCOt necessarily always happen) and having to search for the money >>>>> you use for an auction and all the other really dumb stuff werCOve
had to put up with in the new era of US Survivor?-a This was a
really solid and suspenseful episode, and I had no idea how it
would end until literally the last vote was read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item
was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up
with food and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great
for Parv even if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

Luke made a dumb move for two reasons.-a First, it was clear Parv did
not want to go and he alienated her for no good reason.-a But more
importantly, he should have realized that going back to a new camp
like that could have had a hidden advantage.-a If I were Luke, I would
have either sent an ally like Janine back, or I just might have sent
myself which I think was within the rules.-a Another alternative might
have been to discuss it with the tribe and ask if anyone wanted to go
back. Knowing how much Parv really didn't want to do it, he should
have backed off.

It's possible Luke thought there would be an advantage as part of the
auction and he wanted to ensure that Parv had no chance of getting it.
On the other hand, we've seen too often players sent off to exile
where they end up finding a big power. IIRC, that's what lead to Erika
winning S41.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the
votes was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one
level above the other players. They were willing to take a risk and
to realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing now. >>>>

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her
personality has built a relationship with the American women
(especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She
also got her perceived nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though
she was pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.-a The >>>>> chemistry between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was really
taken by ParvrCOs comment in the trailer for next episode that rCLbeing >>>>> taken seriously is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty sure both
women have girlfriends in real life, but I half wonder if their
relationship will go beyond the game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes,
Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be
able to beat the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For
sure she and Cirie know they're better off aligning with Kirby and
Parv than trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the
winds were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even
though she literally had only just met both of them a few days
earlier.-a I had often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost >>>>> chilling to see the two of them talking and strategizing together.
Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it
"Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who
against their better judgement went along with a vote split plan
where their votes would be split between Sarah and Janine (just in
case an idol was played).-a In the event Sarah had an idol, Jeanine >>>>> and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote and it would
have been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully planned and >>>>> one of the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and still
a big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for
correctly reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW, Shonee >>>>> was not correct that she is the first person to make the merge four >>>>> times. I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this episode, and >>>>> I think Ozzie has done it as well.-a But what I think she probably
meant is that she is the first person to make it four consecutive
times in four tries (i.e., four for four).-a IrCOd have to research >>>>> this, but I donrCOt think anyone else did it four times in a row out >>>>> of four attempts.


And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was Tommi >>>>> who almost certainly would have been the target had he not won
immunity, even though he backed into the win via a rock draw.-a If
my memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last Gasp >>>>> challenge has failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and Owen
had seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by
anticipating surges and holding their breath at the right times and >>>>> were declared co-winners when they literally outlasted the tides.
This time there were too many players still in the game when
lightning halted the challenge to make them all winners, so they
ended up doing a rock draw.-a I think a much better solution would
have been to do the challenge Survivor Borneo used at the merge
which would be to just have the remaining players hold their breath >>>>> under water and see who could stay down the longest.-a They could
literally have re-positioned themselves under the now submerged
bars and just resumed the challenge but with everyone holding their >>>>> breath as long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass
and Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge
without Power advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really >>>>> hard to go against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-
Cirie foursome. With that foursome still in a minority, I can see
Luke trying to recruit Lisa, Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine
to break the other four up, but that will be tough, especially
since Lisa is so taken with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for
the season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I
wonder if that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck
and a well- timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if they
do a F3.

The only thing I would say about Cirie is - what has she really done
so far this season that is so impressive?-a-a Her confessions seem to
include a lot of rCLI donrCOt know what to dorCY or rCLI donrCOt trust so-and-
sorCY and it just seems to me she is sort of phoning the season in.
She has really been in Parv's shadow and is now sort of a third wheel
to Parv and Kirby.-a She's always been pretty worthless in challenges,
but it just sees to me she has been wishy-washy and indecisive in a
lot of her talks with people . I almost think she is a candidate for
being taken to the finale as a goat.-a Can she win just based on her
name and history?

The other players seem to think very highly of Cirie. She's also done
not bad in challenges. She lasted ~54 minutes in the one Parv won and
didn't do much worse than Parv in the one this episode. Her read on
things isn't that bad either. She is letting Parv do some of the heavy
lifting but if she can take her out that's what will resonate with the
jury.

I guess you're right that if she could orchestrate a blindside of
Parvati and get the credit for it, that would be a good selling point
for her.-a I just don't recall her ever actually doing that in her
earlier Survivor appearances.-a She is perhaps best known for being part
of the Black Widow Brigade that successfully conned Erik Reichenbach to
give up his immunity necklace, but I'm struggling to remember a time she took the lead by herself in doing a major blindside.

I don't recall a time either but she's got nothing to lose if she tries.
She must know that she can't go to the end with Parv.

Regarding whether this will be a final two or three, I havenrCOt heard
anything on this one way or the other.-a With a final 10 in the jury
stage, that would imply a final three with 7 jurors, since you
wouldn't have an even number eight with a two-person finale due to
the possibility of a tie.-a But they've occasionally done a reward
near the end where a player can actually eliminate someone from the
jury, so I guess a two person finale is still possible.

I hope they don't do that twist. Do these guys read the votes out at
FTC? I sure hope so. It would be cool if they did a F2 and if the vote
is tied, they do fire to determine the winner. A rock draw would not
be cool.

They do the finale pretty much the same way we do, except that don't do
a fire challenge at final four TC unless there is a 2-2 tie vote.-a And
they haven't been doing a reunion or after show as the US does.-a I
always figured that's because a normal season has so many episodes that
they don't want to overstay their welcome with an extra episode at the end.-a Since this is only a 10 episode season, I wonder if they will work
in some kind of after-show or reunion segment?-a I kind of doubt it.

A reunion would cost too much. I see no reason why they couldn't do an aftershow.

Some more comments from me as I was in a rush when I first replied.

--At the auction when Shonee won the ribs, was Jonathan flirting with
her? When she was paying she said something about not being able to
trust the others and it sounded like he replied "I only trust you."

I think everyone, including JLP, ends up flirting with Shonee.-a That's
just her personality.

--Also at the auction, some of them didn't bid on a single item. Cirie
was one of them. Did she think they would be told when it was the last
item?

As far as I know, there is no Survivor auction on any version of the
show where the players are told when the auction will end.-a Cirie should have known that.-a I think the ones who didn't bid were just waiting for some kind of advantage.-a Players on US Survivor used to that too until
they changed the rules to penalize the person who had the most money
left over.

We've seen where Jeff will draw a number and let them know what the
minimum number of items will be. That at least lets the players know
that after a certain number of items they are risking getting nothing if
they don't bid.

--Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention, but are they not
showing what Day it is?

They showed "Day 9" at the beginning of the segment with the Immunity Challenge.

Guess I'm not paying close enough attention! I find their graphics color scheme hard to read at times.

--These guys seem to have a good supply of clothes. The outfit Cirie
was wearing during the IC came out the blue as did her rain gear. I
think she even had a hat! Kass's black sports bra also came out of
nowhere.

I noticed that too.-a I have no clue how many clothes they are allowed to bring or how that works.-a But since it is only Day 9, perhaps they were just spacing their clothes out over the super short 16-day season.-a I
know they are allowed to bring coats and hats because the weather in
Samoa can get rainy.

--At TC, it looked like Shonee was not wearing her buff. I'm pretty
sure she wasn't. You'd think they would want them all to wear their
buffs while in the game.

She had her buff.-a She wore it on her left hand and wrist during TC. She had it on her other wrist during different parts of the episode and she
had it around her neck during the IC.-a I'm pretty sure both US and
Aussie Survivor rules require buffs to be worn at all times.-a They can
be worn on any part of the body as long as they are visible.

Guess I wasn't looking at her wrist.

--When the others arrived at the merge camp, Luke made a comment about
the chest saying something like, "It's not even open." Then there was
no mention of the chest after that which I found strange. The Aussies
had to have asked about it.

I'm sure there was a lot of talk about it, but they probably edited much
of it out because it just wasn't going to lead anywhere.-a I think the
party line among the World girls is simply that they never found the key.

I can't see people buying the key was not found. If they believe that
we'll likely see them look for the key themselves.
--
Brian
--- Synchronet 3.21a-Linux NewsLink 1.2

From Newsgroup: alt.tv.survivor

On 8/27/2025 6:10 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 10:10 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 10:58 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 6:34 PM, Rick wrote:

On 8/26/2025 7:39 PM, Brian Smith wrote:

On 8/26/2025 8:29 AM, Rick wrote:

My first reaction is that this is one of the best merge vote
episodes I can remember, and it shows again how you can have a
great Survivor season without a lot of silly gimmicks.-a Who needs >>>>>> Mergatory and trips to the Survivor sanctuary (where good things
donrCOt necessarily always happen) and having to search for the
money you use for an auction and all the other really dumb stuff
werCOve had to put up with in the new era of US Survivor?-a This was >>>>>> a really solid and suspenseful episode, and I had no idea how it
would end until literally the last vote was read on a 4-3-3 split.

That was a great episode. Having a scroll as the first auction item >>>>> was genius. Even better was having the selected "victim" ending up
with food and a Knowledge is Power advantage. That worked out great >>>>> for Parv even if she did end up wasting a lot of cookies.

Luke made a dumb move for two reasons.-a First, it was clear Parv did >>>> not want to go and he alienated her for no good reason.-a But more
importantly, he should have realized that going back to a new camp
like that could have had a hidden advantage.-a If I were Luke, I
would have either sent an ally like Janine back, or I just might
have sent myself which I think was within the rules.-a Another
alternative might have been to discuss it with the tribe and ask if
anyone wanted to go back. Knowing how much Parv really didn't want
to do it, he should have backed off.

It's possible Luke thought there would be an advantage as part of the
auction and he wanted to ensure that Parv had no chance of getting
it. On the other hand, we've seen too often players sent off to exile
where they end up finding a big power. IIRC, that's what lead to
Erika winning S41.

The end vote was a shock to me and the order Jonathan read off the
votes was perfect. Shonee, Kirby, Cirie, and Parv are at least one
level above the other players. They were willing to take a risk and >>>>> to realize that initial tribe breakdown by "country" means nothing
now.

The clear winner is Kirby who through the sheer force of her
personality has built a relationship with the American women
(especially Parv) and proved her loyalty through this vote.-a She >>>>>> also got her perceived nemesis Sarah out of the game, even though >>>>>> she was pretty much the only person pushing to vote out Sarah.
The chemistry between Kirby and Parv just sizzles, and I was
really taken by ParvrCOs comment in the trailer for next episode
that rCLbeing taken seriously is the best aphrodisiacrCY. IrCOm pretty >>>>>> sure both women have girlfriends in real life, but I half wonder
if their relationship will go beyond the game.

I thought Parv also did a great job connecting with Shonee. Yes,
Parv's comment in the trailer was great. She and Kirby want to be
able to beat the best. Shonee might be thinking the same way. For
sure she and Cirie know they're better off aligning with Kirby and
Parv than trying to work against them.

I also have to give a lot of credit to Shonee who saw the way the >>>>>> winds were blowing and opted to throw in with Parv and Kirby, even >>>>>> though she literally had only just met both of them a few days
earlier.-a I had often compared Shonee to Parvati and it was almost >>>>>> chilling to see the two of them talking and strategizing together. >>>>>> Shonee even threw out a combo name for her and Parvati - was it
"Shonetee"?-a I also have to give some kudos to Lisa and Kass who >>>>>> against their better judgement went along with a vote split plan
where their votes would be split between Sarah and Janine (just in >>>>>> case an idol was played).-a In the event Sarah had an idol, Jeanine >>>>>> and Kass would be tied and there would be a re-vote and it would
have been 6-2 to vote out Jeanine.-a It was masterfully planned and >>>>>> one of the rare cases where a vote split plan worked perfectly.

See my comments above about Shonee. Kass is very observant and
still a big danger in the game.

I also have to credit Luke for not playing his idol and for
correctly reading that the votes would not be on him.-a-a BTW,
Shonee was not correct that she is the first person to make the
merge four times. I'm pretty sure Parv and Cirie both did it this >>>>>> episode, and I think Ozzie has done it as well.-a But what I think >>>>>> she probably meant is that she is the first person to make it four >>>>>> consecutive times in four tries (i.e., four for four).-a IrCOd have >>>>>> to research this, but I donrCOt think anyone else did it four times >>>>>> in a row out of four attempts.


And in a way, I guess the other big winner of the episode was
Tommi who almost certainly would have been the target had he not
won immunity, even though he backed into the win via a rock draw. >>>>>> If my memory is correct, this is the second time the classic Last >>>>>> Gasp challenge has failed to finish.-a On US Season 43, Karla and >>>>>> Owen had seemingly figured out a way to hack the challenge by
anticipating surges and holding their breath at the right times
and were declared co-winners when they literally outlasted the
tides. This time there were too many players still in the game
when lightning halted the challenge to make them all winners, so
they ended up doing a rock draw.-a I think a much better solution >>>>>> would have been to do the challenge Survivor Borneo used at the
merge which would be to just have the remaining players hold their >>>>>> breath under water and see who could stay down the longest.-a They >>>>>> could literally have re-positioned themselves under the now
submerged bars and just resumed the challenge but with everyone
holding their breath as long as they could.

Still have no idea of who will win this thing.-a-a I think it is
interesting that three players have immunity idols, but the Kass
and Luke idols are completely secret, as is ParvrCOs Knowledge
without Power advantage.-a IrCOm still thinking Kass, but itrCOs really >>>>>> hard to go against the Kirby-Parv duo and the Kirby-Parv-Shonee-
Cirie foursome. With that foursome still in a minority, I can see >>>>>> Luke trying to recruit Lisa, Kass and Tommi to join him and Janine >>>>>> to break the other four up, but that will be tough, especially
since Lisa is so taken with Cirie.

Kass is looking really good to win. Do you remember the promo for
the season where we commented Cirie didn't get a confessional? I
wonder if that was intentional to throw us off? With a bit of luck
and a well- timed backstab, I could Cirie winning especially if
they do a F3.

The only thing I would say about Cirie is - what has she really done
so far this season that is so impressive?-a-a Her confessions seem to >>>> include a lot of rCLI donrCOt know what to dorCY or rCLI donrCOt trust so-and-
sorCY and it just seems to me she is sort of phoning the season in.
She has really been in Parv's shadow and is now sort of a third
wheel to Parv and Kirby.-a She's always been pretty worthless in
challenges, but it just sees to me she has been wishy-washy and
indecisive in a lot of her talks with people . I almost think she is
a candidate for being taken to the finale as a goat.-a Can she win
just based on her name and history?

The other players seem to think very highly of Cirie. She's also done
not bad in challenges. She lasted ~54 minutes in the one Parv won and
didn't do much worse than Parv in the one this episode. Her read on
things isn't that bad either. She is letting Parv do some of the
heavy lifting but if she can take her out that's what will resonate
with the jury.

I guess you're right that if she could orchestrate a blindside of
Parvati and get the credit for it, that would be a good selling point
for her.-a I just don't recall her ever actually doing that in her
earlier Survivor appearances.-a She is perhaps best known for being
part of the Black Widow Brigade that successfully conned Erik
Reichenbach to give up his immunity necklace, but I'm struggling to
remember a time she took the lead by herself in doing a major blindside.

I don't recall a time either but she's got nothing to lose if she tries.
She must know that she can't go to the end with Parv.

It's also unfortunate that an injury to James (the grave digger) in her
first season, Micronesia, may have kept her out of the finals where she
would have had a chance to make a pitch to the jury. Cirie finished
third that season, which was intended to have a final three, but because
James had to leave the game in the same episode that a player was voted
out, the producers decided on the fly to change the season to a final
two which put Cirie on the jury. Instead of a final three with a
seven-person jury, they had a final two with an eight-person jury. This
is the only time in the history of the US version of the show that they
had an even-numbered jury with a final two. To this day, they have
never explained what they would have done if the vote had gone 4-4
instead of the 5-3 win for Parv.

Regarding whether this will be a final two or three, I havenrCOt heard >>>> anything on this one way or the other.-a With a final 10 in the jury
stage, that would imply a final three with 7 jurors, since you
wouldn't have an even number eight with a two-person finale due to
the possibility of a tie.-a But they've occasionally done a reward
near the end where a player can actually eliminate someone from the
jury, so I guess a two person finale is still possible.

I hope they don't do that twist. Do these guys read the votes out at
FTC? I sure hope so. It would be cool if they did a F2 and if the
vote is tied, they do fire to determine the winner. A rock draw would
not be cool.

They do the finale pretty much the same way we do, except that don't
do a fire challenge at final four TC unless there is a 2-2 tie vote.
And they haven't been doing a reunion or after show as the US does.-a I
always figured that's because a normal season has so many episodes
that they don't want to overstay their welcome with an extra episode
at the end.-a Since this is only a 10 episode season, I wonder if they
will work in some kind of after-show or reunion segment?-a I kind of
doubt it.

A reunion would cost too much. I see no reason why they couldn't do an aftershow.

I agree. Let's see if they do that. Even a 15-minute after show where
the finalists get to talk would be good.

Some more comments from me as I was in a rush when I first replied.

--At the auction when Shonee won the ribs, was Jonathan flirting with
her? When she was paying she said something about not being able to
trust the others and it sounded like he replied "I only trust you."

I think everyone, including JLP, ends up flirting with Shonee.-a That's
just her personality.

--Also at the auction, some of them didn't bid on a single item.
Cirie was one of them. Did she think they would be told when it was
the last item?

As far as I know, there is no Survivor auction on any version of the
show where the players are told when the auction will end.-a Cirie
should have known that.-a I think the ones who didn't bid were just
waiting for some kind of advantage.-a Players on US Survivor used to
that too until they changed the rules to penalize the person who had
the most money left over.

We've seen where Jeff will draw a number and let them know what the
minimum number of items will be. That at least lets the players know
that after a certain number of items they are risking getting nothing if they don't bid.

--Maybe I'm not paying close enough attention, but are they not
showing what Day it is?

They showed "Day 9" at the beginning of the segment with the Immunity
Challenge.

Guess I'm not paying close enough attention! I find their graphics color scheme hard to read at times.

--These guys seem to have a good supply of clothes. The outfit Cirie
was wearing during the IC came out the blue as did her rain gear. I
think she even had a hat! Kass's black sports bra also came out of
nowhere.

I noticed that too.-a I have no clue how many clothes they are allowed
to bring or how that works.-a But since it is only Day 9, perhaps they
were just spacing their clothes out over the super short 16-day
season.-a I know they are allowed to bring coats and hats because the
weather in Samoa can get rainy.

--At TC, it looked like Shonee was not wearing her buff. I'm pretty
sure she wasn't. You'd think they would want them all to wear their
buffs while in the game.

She had her buff.-a She wore it on her left hand and wrist during TC.
She had it on her other wrist during different parts of the episode
and she had it around her neck during the IC.-a I'm pretty sure both US
and Aussie Survivor rules require buffs to be worn at all times.-a They
can be worn on any part of the body as long as they are visible.

Guess I wasn't looking at her wrist.

--When the others arrived at the merge camp, Luke made a comment
about the chest saying something like, "It's not even open." Then
there was no mention of the chest after that which I found strange.
The Aussies had to have asked about it.

I'm sure there was a lot of talk about it, but they probably edited
much of it out because it just wasn't going to lead anywhere.-a I think
the party line among the World girls is simply that they never found
the key.

I can't see people buying the key was not found. If they believe that
we'll likely see them look for the key themselves.

I agree with that. The fact that they only spent a few minutes on this suggests that they never looked for the key or just gave up quickly. I
was actually wondering why they never got rid of the box by either
hiding it or tossing it in the ocean, but they may have been told by
producers they couldn't do that. If they had a way to write out a fake
note or scroll, it would have been funny to plant a fake advantage like
a vote nullifier or something, and then re-hide the key in some
semi-obvious location and then arrange to have someone find it. That
would have been cool.
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