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Non-US Survivor |OT| Even Maryland Has One
- Thread starter Carthago Delenda Est
- Start date
I went back and rewatched the episode I was thinking of(Not the Tegan ep, but the Jenn ep) and I was wrong. In the episode when Anita was talking about wanting Paige out over Jenn, I was thinking there was talk from Heath about Anita being dangerous because she was head of the girls and more worried about numbers. Apparently I was mixing that up with something else? Not really sure. I couldn't find what I was thinking of at all.
Australian Survivor E10.
You know when you dont like something even if you know its good for you?
Thats me with tribe swaps whenever one tribe is getting destroyed....I want to see the Champions tribe start eating at itself.
But I know its gonna make the game hella interesting, shame paige didnt make the tribe swap, i feel like she never actually had a chance its like she was alone essentially from the get go, a tribe swap would have given her a chance to atleast make some true alliances.
Thats me with tribe swaps whenever one tribe is getting destroyed....I want to see the Champions tribe start eating at itself.
But I know its gonna make the game hella interesting, shame paige didnt make the tribe swap, i feel like she never actually had a chance its like she was alone essentially from the get go, a tribe swap would have given her a chance to atleast make some true alliances.
I felt like the last episode was setting up some trouble for Mat. Otherwise weird spot to have Brian talking about not having anything in common with him followed by a segment of how he feels with his alliance.
Pretty good episode.
Weird Jackie would talk about throwing challenges and talking pulling the girls at the challenge, but then after immunity to talk about keeping champions strong and targeting Tegan?
I almost wonder if there was some fishiness with the timeline of events. The way she suddenly goes Champions strong and get Tegan out makes me think she got caught in her flip talk earlier than shown.
I'm really curious on what other guy Robbie and the champions girl was talking about bringing over and if they were thinking the same guy. Like Champions probably would want heath, but obviously Robbie is probably thinking Benji.
Weird Jackie would talk about throwing challenges and talking pulling the girls at the challenge, but then after immunity to talk about keeping champions strong and targeting Tegan?
I almost wonder if there was some fishiness with the timeline of events. The way she suddenly goes Champions strong and get Tegan out makes me think she got caught in her flip talk earlier than shown.
I'm really curious on what other guy Robbie and the champions girl was talking about bringing over and if they were thinking the same guy. Like Champions probably would want heath, but obviously Robbie is probably thinking Benji.
How many damn chances can one person have?
Shonee be PISSED!
Shonee be PISSED!
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OP
OP
Just finished AU Survivor 2017. I'll agree that that was one of the best seasons of Survivor I've seen. So many wonderful characters and a few I definitely want to see come back. I thought the winner deserved it, too. I'll probably get to 2018 pretty soon. Can anyone not use spoilers to tell me how it compares so far?
Let down from last season for sure, but not bad. Characters just aren't as good, gameplay isn't as strong or desperate. It just kinda seems more laid back. It's still been a fun watch but I'd say it's the weaker of non-us season's I've watched recently.
Aus 2017 < South Africa 2018 < Aus 2018
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What about compared to Aus 2016? I found that to be a bit dull in retrospect.
Didn't actually watch that one. Last years was the first I had actually heard a lot of buzz around an international version.
I still haven't watched this week's two episodes of Australia 2018 but I'd say this season feels like a bit of a step up over '16... although '16 actually wound up worse post-merge...
most notably after Phoebe's boot with Lee smothering out any and all gameplay
But yeah, this has been a significant downgrade from 2017 (which was to be expected seeing how it's one of the best Survivor seasons ever).
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Yeah I'd agree with that assessment of '16. I still think it was worth watching, so if this is similar or better, then excellent. '17 was so good because they put so many game players in and they all managed to go pretty far without killing each other too much. As long as the casting remains of that quality roughly, these seasons should remain generally good.
AU 2018 so far is definitely better than AU 2016, which I liked. Of course I agree last year's season was fantastic, but this year hasn't ended yet so it would be silly to already make judgement on the entire season as a whole.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 12 (w/ some S3 comparisons drawn)
Potential twist beneficiary or not, Tegan was told about the first one she benefited from up front and this one merely served to prolong her torture and give Benji the opportunity to effectively twist the dagger that he stabbed into her back 5 episodes ago. Perhaps Heath wouldn't have been so gleeful about completing his tire puzzle a mere split-second ahead of Samuel if he knew what the eventual outcome would have been.
So she had her Phoebe moment and now we just have to hope this season doesn't go down the path of Aussie Survivor '16 following ITS Phoebe moment. Incidentally, Phoebe had her torch snuffed in the exact same spot two seasons ago in much the same circumstances.
Perhaps this portends an eventual Shonee victory as she gets used as a number following a Contender decimation and the Champions imploding as they chew through one another. Probably not seeing how Mat is infinitely more likable than Lee ever was and has a fundamental grasp on all aspects of the Survivor game as opposed to refusing to play it. Thankfully he's largely driving the Champions ship and not someone like Steve.
So she had her Phoebe moment and now we just have to hope this season doesn't go down the path of Aussie Survivor '16 following ITS Phoebe moment. Incidentally, Phoebe had her torch snuffed in the exact same spot two seasons ago in much the same circumstances.
Perhaps this portends an eventual Shonee victory as she gets used as a number following a Contender decimation and the Champions imploding as they chew through one another. Probably not seeing how Mat is infinitely more likable than Lee ever was and has a fundamental grasp on all aspects of the Survivor game as opposed to refusing to play it. Thankfully he's largely driving the Champions ship and not someone like Steve.
Just watched Aus S5 E12,
Cannot understand how they voted for Teegan, it would have bought loyalt compared to still having to keep an eye on the other male champ - forget his name. The contenders were dumb to not take her back, the champs really seem to have bought wholesale into the "best must win thing". Lydia & Matt need to be removed ASAP come the merge.
I really hope Sohnee makes it, I love her death stares and eye rolls :) and the not so subtle F you at the end (at least thats what I understood from it)
I really hope Sohnee makes it, I love her death stares and eye rolls :) and the not so subtle F you at the end (at least thats what I understood from it)
I actually forgot who Lydia is aligned with, but if it's Lydia/Sharn/Monika/Mat/Steve/Sam then those are the final 6 and the others won't be able to do anything.
Fen + Shonee will not go with Benji/Robbie so they're all screwed, I agree with you.
Fen + Shonee will not go with Benji/Robbie so they're all screwed, I agree with you.
Survivor Maryland All-Stars put up it's finale last night and it was all around great. Can't recommend it enough.
It's now all uploaded in case anyone was waiting until it was all out.
It's now all uploaded in case anyone was waiting until it was all out.
Episode 14
That was the correct move. They were staring in the face of a challenge beast who could have matched Australia Colby and Ozzy in terms of dominance.
That preview sure is sure that the rest of the season is absolutely amazing. It has a lot to live up to to beat 2017.
That preview sure is sure that the rest of the season is absolutely amazing. It has a lot to live up to to beat 2017.
In what world did they think Finella would be the person that everyone would just jump on board with voting out? lol
That was a weird ass merge where it seemed like half the people didn't realize that suddenly they have to wake up and not just make the easy votes.
That was a weird ass merge where it seemed like half the people didn't realize that suddenly they have to wake up and not just make the easy votes.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 14
"Get ready... for the greatest endgame... Australian Survivor... has ever seen." That's quite the proclamation to make on the heels of what many consider to be an all-time Top 5 Survivor season (with arguments to be made for Top 3).
Castaways w/ Strong Edits
Benji Wilson
Mat Rogers
Shane Gould
Sharn Coombes
Shonee Fairfax
Castaways w/ Good Character Edits That Have Thus Far Been Unable to Meaningfully Influence Votes
Robbie Skibicki
Samuel Hinton
Castaways w/ Seemingly No Chance to Win
Brian Lake
Fenella McGowan
Monika Radulovic
Steve Willis
Here's hoping that "don't fuck with Shane Gould" quote turns prophetic.
I'm still on Team Sharn but Shane embracing her villain role is the best chance for this season's end game to make for great reality television.
Also, that promo seems to imply that Mat's torch is liable to get snuffed out within the next week barring a timely idol play.
Mat and Sharn are the glue behind the Champions cohesiveness. Crack that irreparably and the proverbial shit will hit the fan.
Fun fact I was not privy to until just this moment... Benji is the older brother of Anneliese from last season...
So being a "self-made millionaire" isn't the only thing he's been keeping in his back pocket (along with his hidden immunity idol).
Castaways w/ Strong Edits
Benji Wilson
Mat Rogers
Shane Gould
Sharn Coombes
Shonee Fairfax
Castaways w/ Good Character Edits That Have Thus Far Been Unable to Meaningfully Influence Votes
Robbie Skibicki
Samuel Hinton
Castaways w/ Seemingly No Chance to Win
Brian Lake
Fenella McGowan
Monika Radulovic
Steve Willis
Here's hoping that "don't fuck with Shane Gould" quote turns prophetic.
I'm still on Team Sharn but Shane embracing her villain role is the best chance for this season's end game to make for great reality television.
Also, that promo seems to imply that Mat's torch is liable to get snuffed out within the next week barring a timely idol play.
Mat and Sharn are the glue behind the Champions cohesiveness. Crack that irreparably and the proverbial shit will hit the fan.
Fun fact I was not privy to until just this moment... Benji is the older brother of Anneliese from last season...
So being a "self-made millionaire" isn't the only thing he's been keeping in his back pocket (along with his hidden immunity idol).
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 14
"Get ready... for the greatest endgame... Australian Survivor... has ever seen." That's quite the proclamation to make on the heels of what many consider to be an all-time Top 5 Survivor season (with arguments to be made for Top 3).
Castaways w/ Strong Edits
Benji Wilson
Mat Rogers
Shane Gould
Sharn Coombes
Shonee Fairfax
Castaways w/ Good Character Edits That Have Thus Far Been Unable to Meaningfully Influence Votes
Robbie Skibicki
Samuel Hinton
Castaways w/ Seemingly No Chance to Win
Brian Lake
Fenella McGowan
Monika Radulovic
Steve Willis
Here's hoping that "don't fuck with Shane Gould" quote turns prophetic.
I'm still on Team Sharn but Shane embracing her villain role is the best chance for this season's end game to make for great reality television.
Also, that promo seems to imply that Mat's torch is liable to get snuffed out within the next week barring a timely idol play.
Mat and Sharn are the glue behind the Champions cohesiveness. Crack that irreparably and the proverbial shit will hit the fan.
Fun fact I was not privy to until just this moment... Benji is the older brother of Anneliese from last season...
So being a "self-made millionaire" isn't the only thing he's been keeping in his back pocket (along with his hidden immunity idol).
I feel like Brian could be in that "has some kind of edit but hasn't effected much in the game" category. He's been pretty noted in confessionals. They've gone out of their way in showing the champions not getting along with him all the way back to the early episodes with him being lazy and the funny guy, and more recently with Brian saying he has nothing in common with these people. He has had nowhere near the edit of someone like Shane or anything, but they've seemed to keep putting in confessionals about how on the outside he is with the tribe since the beginning.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 15
I still buy the hype effort from last week... but it's one of those things that needs to logically build itself via storytelling and this episode established the framework that will eventually lead to pandemonium and Mat getting blindsided. Possibly tomorrow night with a disenfranchised Sam acting as the catalyst.
The big giveaway is that absolutely none of Benji's moves were predicated on Robbie hanging around as a meatshield for him. Robbie was completely reliant on Benji to essentially play his game for him and that ultimately sealed his fate.
I've been backing Sharn since Moana's exit but her gameplay got a mite sloppy tonight. I thought she reacted perfectly last week to being confronted with the decision to vote out Lydia without burning any bridges and the moral dilemma decision was literally thrust upon her. And those are almost always set up to screw the person chose over no matter how trustworthy someone has been perceived up to that point whether they take the advantage or not.
But you've got to do a better job of lying than that when you walk back into camp with a pitifully tiny bag of veggies and sell that you passed up on sweets with no gameplay advantage whatsoever.
First off, the clue pretty much spelled out that it was an advantage strictly for the next immunity challenge... and given that she'd just won one that could be easily deflected seeing how everyone in camp spent it staring daggers into Lydia and were grateful she was exposed, it doesn't make sense that she'd want to win one again so soon to paint an even bigger challenge target on her back. I get that she wanted to protect Benji and rule out the possibility of a Robbie immunity win leading to his demise. But you've also got to put faith in other people to be able to beat him out when there's 9 other competitors still left in the game. So she could have played it straight and chosen the enormous bag of veggies and just said what the temptation advantage was. Granted, folks like Sam might still assume you got offered a DIFFERENT advantage that you did take and you're spilling a tall tale... but it's an easier sell with a giant bag versus that little dinky thing which was obviously bullshit.
Secondly, she was also given an out after taking the advantage where she could have also played it straight and said she straight out took an advantage in the next immunity challenge in exchange for taking a small bag of veggies. She was told explicitly that she would have to only hold half the appointed weight of everyone else and thus when the next challenge arrives, her story would be reinforced and people would accept her as being honest. Her advantage right now is that everyone trusts her so take the opportunity to let the nature of the challenge reinforce said honesty. Now Sam doesn't trust her and rightfully so. And we've seen that she's not a good liar... and that's a bad omen for her chances down the road. Especially when there are some clear standouts who excel in that capacity (i.e. Shane, Benji, etc.)
Sharn's got phenomenal self-awareness so hopefully that helps to cancel out that liability somewhat. Sam is going to be a problem for her once Mat's out of the picture. Shonee and Fenella are going to be problems for her as well seeing how Benji is going to want to keep them around the deeper he goes facing a predominantly Champion-filled jury (Fenella has to be his #1 favored goat right now). Benji won't want to face the jury against her... and then there's the matter of Shane, who is a veritable shark waiting to strike whenever there's blood in the water. And now she's got a challenge threat stigma on her as well? Yeah, I think that's a little too much to overcome. If I had confidence in her being able to mollify the initial strike on Mat longer, I would feel better about her chances, but the promos from last week clearly don't portend to that happening.
My expectation for tomorrow is that Shane wins the water torture immunity challenge (it's fucking breathing underwater; it's pretty much gift-wrapped for her) and we see one of two possible scenarios play out: 1) Benji and Sharn are able to swing enough votes - Sam, Shonee, Fenella, Monika - to vote out Mat... OR 2) Benji and Sharn are able to push Sam's buttons and leverage the trust Benji earned with Mat via his "Pump" nickname vote for Robbie to steer Mat's target off Benji and on to a seemingly disloyal Sam.
The big giveaway is that absolutely none of Benji's moves were predicated on Robbie hanging around as a meatshield for him. Robbie was completely reliant on Benji to essentially play his game for him and that ultimately sealed his fate.
I've been backing Sharn since Moana's exit but her gameplay got a mite sloppy tonight. I thought she reacted perfectly last week to being confronted with the decision to vote out Lydia without burning any bridges and the moral dilemma decision was literally thrust upon her. And those are almost always set up to screw the person chose over no matter how trustworthy someone has been perceived up to that point whether they take the advantage or not.
But you've got to do a better job of lying than that when you walk back into camp with a pitifully tiny bag of veggies and sell that you passed up on sweets with no gameplay advantage whatsoever.
First off, the clue pretty much spelled out that it was an advantage strictly for the next immunity challenge... and given that she'd just won one that could be easily deflected seeing how everyone in camp spent it staring daggers into Lydia and were grateful she was exposed, it doesn't make sense that she'd want to win one again so soon to paint an even bigger challenge target on her back. I get that she wanted to protect Benji and rule out the possibility of a Robbie immunity win leading to his demise. But you've also got to put faith in other people to be able to beat him out when there's 9 other competitors still left in the game. So she could have played it straight and chosen the enormous bag of veggies and just said what the temptation advantage was. Granted, folks like Sam might still assume you got offered a DIFFERENT advantage that you did take and you're spilling a tall tale... but it's an easier sell with a giant bag versus that little dinky thing which was obviously bullshit.
Secondly, she was also given an out after taking the advantage where she could have also played it straight and said she straight out took an advantage in the next immunity challenge in exchange for taking a small bag of veggies. She was told explicitly that she would have to only hold half the appointed weight of everyone else and thus when the next challenge arrives, her story would be reinforced and people would accept her as being honest. Her advantage right now is that everyone trusts her so take the opportunity to let the nature of the challenge reinforce said honesty. Now Sam doesn't trust her and rightfully so. And we've seen that she's not a good liar... and that's a bad omen for her chances down the road. Especially when there are some clear standouts who excel in that capacity (i.e. Shane, Benji, etc.)
Sharn's got phenomenal self-awareness so hopefully that helps to cancel out that liability somewhat. Sam is going to be a problem for her once Mat's out of the picture. Shonee and Fenella are going to be problems for her as well seeing how Benji is going to want to keep them around the deeper he goes facing a predominantly Champion-filled jury (Fenella has to be his #1 favored goat right now). Benji won't want to face the jury against her... and then there's the matter of Shane, who is a veritable shark waiting to strike whenever there's blood in the water. And now she's got a challenge threat stigma on her as well? Yeah, I think that's a little too much to overcome. If I had confidence in her being able to mollify the initial strike on Mat longer, I would feel better about her chances, but the promos from last week clearly don't portend to that happening.
My expectation for tomorrow is that Shane wins the water torture immunity challenge (it's fucking breathing underwater; it's pretty much gift-wrapped for her) and we see one of two possible scenarios play out: 1) Benji and Sharn are able to swing enough votes - Sam, Shonee, Fenella, Monika - to vote out Mat... OR 2) Benji and Sharn are able to push Sam's buttons and leverage the trust Benji earned with Mat via his "Pump" nickname vote for Robbie to steer Mat's target off Benji and on to a seemingly disloyal Sam.
I really just want to know if Mat has Moana's idol. It still has not been talked about since Moana left. She gave it to him for safe keeping an episode or two before she left, but it hasn't been talked about since.
It's safe to assume, but I want it confirmed.
It's safe to assume, but I want it confirmed.
EP 16 had a fantastic Tribal Council. Without the jumping up and whispering or the weird melodrama. Just all around great tribal council.
We also finally get a confirmation that Mat does have the immunity idol in the previews for next episode.
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Australian Survivor S5 Episode 16
One of my expected scenarios came to fruition with Sam predictably self-destructing, burning his bridge of trust with Mat thanks to Benji pushing his buttons and doing a piss-poor job (as he's done all game) of trying to influence votes his way. Only Fenella's long-held grudge against Benji resulted in a meaningless vote thrown his way. Frankly, this was the only outcome I was expecting after Shane decided to graciously award immunity to Mat when she was otherwise not at risk of going home. (And I can't fault that move on her part one iota.)
And so the two guys I had pegged as having sizable edits but little influence in this game a week ago have been tossed aside leaving only the sharks, snakes and goats to fight it out.
Now the promo for next Monday's episode has pretty much telegraphed what's likely to happen.
- Neither Mat or Benji win immunity.
- All of the votes that are cast go on to Mat and Benji.
- Mat and Benji both play their idols... thus nullifying each and every vote that was cast against them.
Now this above scenario has happened once before in Survivor Cambodia where multiple castaways were left exposed for elimination following a tribal council where all votes cast were nullified by idol plays. (It also happened during Survivor Game Changers but that scenario was slightly different in that 5 out of the 6 remaining castaways were all rendered immune thanks to won idols, played immunity idols and immunity-granting legacy advantages... everyone except perennial Survivor hard luck victim, Cirie.)
Survivor Cambodia's tribal council went down as follows...
- Spencer won immunity, Kimmi plotted to blindside Jeremy along with Kelley and Keith but her plan was sniffed out by Tasha and Spencer who decided they would pile all their votes on Kelley as a counter. Both Kelley and Jeremy played their hidden immunity idols out of self-preservation. All 6 votes were nullified and that left only Keith, Tasha and Kimmi exposed to be voted out.
A re-vote took place and the deadlock persisted... this time with votes split between Kimmi and Tasha (as Keith was the tribe goat at that juncture).
Probst pitched a re-vote where the 3 immune players and Keith could decide whether to change their votes... and if they could not agree to budge from their stalemate, Keith would be sacrificed as a result of a deadlocked vote. Spencer and Jeremy were adamant that they would not change their votes to boot Tasha. That effectively put the decision entirely on Kelley to decide whether Kimmi or Keith would go... and as she was more loyal to Keith, she sacrificed Kimmi and that's how that entire scenario played out.
So how will that precedent impact things here in Australia with 9 castaways in the game instead of 6? Well, clearly it'll play out much differently with an odd number of players in the game. Benji and Mat will be immune as will the immunity holder. That will leave 6 people remaining exposed and a clear 5-4 advantage for one side or the other to send someone packing... well, unless Shonee plays her vote stealing advantage from her lolly jar to really fuck with everyone's game.
And that's certainly in the cards if Benji is immune and both her and Fenella were leveraged to blindside Mat. Shonee would be targeted by Mat's loyalists ahead of Fenella. Presumably, Steve would be targeted in a re-vote (as was intimated when Mat was immune this week) and - also presumably - Shonee would make an active showing of stealing Steve's vote prior to the re-vote thus giving Benji and the Contender girls 4 solid votes in their corner leaving the door open for any one of Sharn, Monika, Shane or Brian to join up with them to destabilize Mat's influence in the game and then deny they were the ones to pull the trigger. I can definitely see Shane making a move like this KNOWING full well that she has Mat wrapped around her little finger after prodding him to boot Lydia and giving up immunity to him tonight.
Of course, it might well not go down that dramatically but it would make for some great television for Shane to stick a knife in the back of Mat's lieutenant and then point his wrath in whatever direction she chooses while she continues to float on by being ignored by everyone.
Sharn is obviously another candidate for such a play who is clearly protecting Benji and who appears content to ride the middle between him and Mat as long as possible. She might not be prepared to slit Mat's throat just yet as they have a strong bond... but she might see taking Steve out as a golden opportunity to trim Mat's influence in the game.
Brian and Monika are less likely to make waves as Mon is a pure floater at the moment and Brian's just owning the Keith Nale self-deprecating non-threat gimmick as far as it will take him. Both were excluded from Mat's "core group" along with Benji and Sam when he made overtures to Fenella during the spa reward but they're probably too meek to do much about Mat's lack of trust in them gameplay-wise. Not to mention Mat is going to suspect those two regardless of whether it's Sharn or Shane that pulls the trigger.
Anyhow that's just me going through scenarios for a tribal council outcome that might not even occur. But hey, it's fun to speculate.
And so the two guys I had pegged as having sizable edits but little influence in this game a week ago have been tossed aside leaving only the sharks, snakes and goats to fight it out.
Now the promo for next Monday's episode has pretty much telegraphed what's likely to happen.
- Neither Mat or Benji win immunity.
- All of the votes that are cast go on to Mat and Benji.
- Mat and Benji both play their idols... thus nullifying each and every vote that was cast against them.
Now this above scenario has happened once before in Survivor Cambodia where multiple castaways were left exposed for elimination following a tribal council where all votes cast were nullified by idol plays. (It also happened during Survivor Game Changers but that scenario was slightly different in that 5 out of the 6 remaining castaways were all rendered immune thanks to won idols, played immunity idols and immunity-granting legacy advantages... everyone except perennial Survivor hard luck victim, Cirie.)
Survivor Cambodia's tribal council went down as follows...
- Spencer won immunity, Kimmi plotted to blindside Jeremy along with Kelley and Keith but her plan was sniffed out by Tasha and Spencer who decided they would pile all their votes on Kelley as a counter. Both Kelley and Jeremy played their hidden immunity idols out of self-preservation. All 6 votes were nullified and that left only Keith, Tasha and Kimmi exposed to be voted out.
A re-vote took place and the deadlock persisted... this time with votes split between Kimmi and Tasha (as Keith was the tribe goat at that juncture).
Probst pitched a re-vote where the 3 immune players and Keith could decide whether to change their votes... and if they could not agree to budge from their stalemate, Keith would be sacrificed as a result of a deadlocked vote. Spencer and Jeremy were adamant that they would not change their votes to boot Tasha. That effectively put the decision entirely on Kelley to decide whether Kimmi or Keith would go... and as she was more loyal to Keith, she sacrificed Kimmi and that's how that entire scenario played out.
So how will that precedent impact things here in Australia with 9 castaways in the game instead of 6? Well, clearly it'll play out much differently with an odd number of players in the game. Benji and Mat will be immune as will the immunity holder. That will leave 6 people remaining exposed and a clear 5-4 advantage for one side or the other to send someone packing... well, unless Shonee plays her vote stealing advantage from her lolly jar to really fuck with everyone's game.
And that's certainly in the cards if Benji is immune and both her and Fenella were leveraged to blindside Mat. Shonee would be targeted by Mat's loyalists ahead of Fenella. Presumably, Steve would be targeted in a re-vote (as was intimated when Mat was immune this week) and - also presumably - Shonee would make an active showing of stealing Steve's vote prior to the re-vote thus giving Benji and the Contender girls 4 solid votes in their corner leaving the door open for any one of Sharn, Monika, Shane or Brian to join up with them to destabilize Mat's influence in the game and then deny they were the ones to pull the trigger. I can definitely see Shane making a move like this KNOWING full well that she has Mat wrapped around her little finger after prodding him to boot Lydia and giving up immunity to him tonight.
Of course, it might well not go down that dramatically but it would make for some great television for Shane to stick a knife in the back of Mat's lieutenant and then point his wrath in whatever direction she chooses while she continues to float on by being ignored by everyone.
Sharn is obviously another candidate for such a play who is clearly protecting Benji and who appears content to ride the middle between him and Mat as long as possible. She might not be prepared to slit Mat's throat just yet as they have a strong bond... but she might see taking Steve out as a golden opportunity to trim Mat's influence in the game.
Brian and Monika are less likely to make waves as Mon is a pure floater at the moment and Brian's just owning the Keith Nale self-deprecating non-threat gimmick as far as it will take him. Both were excluded from Mat's "core group" along with Benji and Sam when he made overtures to Fenella during the spa reward but they're probably too meek to do much about Mat's lack of trust in them gameplay-wise. Not to mention Mat is going to suspect those two regardless of whether it's Sharn or Shane that pulls the trigger.
Anyhow that's just me going through scenarios for a tribal council outcome that might not even occur. But hey, it's fun to speculate.
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Australian Survivor S5 Episode 17
I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at a Survivor episode as I did when Sharn made her pitiful attempt to surreptitiously sneak away from the post-immunity challenge congratulations to pluck free that idol only to then announce that she was making her way over to the group from a distance and then bounce over enthusiastically so that her newly acquired idol can slip out of her shorts and tumble to the ground while everyone watches. "Oh Jesus!" indeed. That's one of the best Survivor blunders I can recall.
I think this trumps Michaela missing out on the clearly marked "Secret Advantage" that could have potentially saved her neck. This would be like if Michaela grabbed the secret advantage and then immediately dropped it on the ground in front of everyone.
Poor Sharn.
And if that was the worst part about this episode for Sharn it would perhaps wind up simply as an amusing anecdote to muse over and a funny meme for the Survivor annals. But it got much worse after Benji effectively exposed her entire game in his bid to flush her idol, prompting her to play the idol on herself and not Mat and effectively torch any loyalty she might have had with Steve and Shane in the process. Like this move cost her a game she was well positioned for and I don't fault Benji in the least as he had absolutely nothing to lose.
That said, this brings up the topic of tribal council protocol as we saw a couple things tonight that flew in the face of years of decorum.
First off, Sam openly voiced his disdain for Fenella's empty game rhetoric from the jury. Since when is that allowed during tribal council? I mean, yeah it IS "bullshit" but you're not supposed to be allowed to say it.
And then Benji openly proclaiming to Sharn who to play her immunity idol on? We have people misplaying idols on the wrong person all the time during tribal council and people don't jump in and say, "Play it on this person instead". Like, what the fuck? I mean, I don't fault Benji but isn't this in violation of a rule of some kind?
Frankly, I'm a little cheesed about Mat going out this way as it comes off as a mite dirty and not in the spirit of the game. Am I having a brainfart and completely forgetting an instance of someone's idol play effectively getting coached/influenced from the sidelines by another person in the tribe? Because I can't recall this happening before.
I mean, if Sharn took a second to even think about it, playing the HII for herself under these circumstances would make zero sense. There are 9 people voting. She's voting for Brian. Benji's telling her to play the idol for herself so he didn't vote for her. She's had absolutely no reason to feel suspicious about Mat, Steve and Shane. She genuinely believes they're voting to evict Brian along with her. So the only way she goes home is if Brian, Fenella, Shonee and Monika all got together and thought it would be fun to stack their votes on her because she has an idol instead of Mat who wants to vote Brian out.
Benji is saying "it'll go to a re-vote" as a threat and that CAN'T happen unless his vote is a blank (resulting in his purported 4-4-1 deadlock) and why would ANYONE have knowledge of how the vote is going to go and make their vote a blank when they can influence who gets their torch snuffed by being a deciding vote? Hence Benji is clearly lying to get her to expose Mat for a blindside. And she comes off completely weak in the process by letting her idol play get influenced instead of A) simply playing it matter-of-factly for herself, B) playing it for Mat or C) keeping it to protect herself in a later vote.
This was the absolute WORST way she could have played her idol to follow up the absolute WORST way she could have found the idol in the first place. It's an unmitigated disaster.
Once again... poor Sharn.
(Mat deserved to go home, incidentally. He should have read the tea leaves after Benji spouted up so stridently and played his own idol as a defensive measure. Probably should have weighed in on Sharn's decision as well seeing how Benji was so keen to share his opinion when his own neck wasn't on the line.)
I think this trumps Michaela missing out on the clearly marked "Secret Advantage" that could have potentially saved her neck. This would be like if Michaela grabbed the secret advantage and then immediately dropped it on the ground in front of everyone.
Poor Sharn.
And if that was the worst part about this episode for Sharn it would perhaps wind up simply as an amusing anecdote to muse over and a funny meme for the Survivor annals. But it got much worse after Benji effectively exposed her entire game in his bid to flush her idol, prompting her to play the idol on herself and not Mat and effectively torch any loyalty she might have had with Steve and Shane in the process. Like this move cost her a game she was well positioned for and I don't fault Benji in the least as he had absolutely nothing to lose.
That said, this brings up the topic of tribal council protocol as we saw a couple things tonight that flew in the face of years of decorum.
First off, Sam openly voiced his disdain for Fenella's empty game rhetoric from the jury. Since when is that allowed during tribal council? I mean, yeah it IS "bullshit" but you're not supposed to be allowed to say it.
And then Benji openly proclaiming to Sharn who to play her immunity idol on? We have people misplaying idols on the wrong person all the time during tribal council and people don't jump in and say, "Play it on this person instead". Like, what the fuck? I mean, I don't fault Benji but isn't this in violation of a rule of some kind?
Frankly, I'm a little cheesed about Mat going out this way as it comes off as a mite dirty and not in the spirit of the game. Am I having a brainfart and completely forgetting an instance of someone's idol play effectively getting coached/influenced from the sidelines by another person in the tribe? Because I can't recall this happening before.
I mean, if Sharn took a second to even think about it, playing the HII for herself under these circumstances would make zero sense. There are 9 people voting. She's voting for Brian. Benji's telling her to play the idol for herself so he didn't vote for her. She's had absolutely no reason to feel suspicious about Mat, Steve and Shane. She genuinely believes they're voting to evict Brian along with her. So the only way she goes home is if Brian, Fenella, Shonee and Monika all got together and thought it would be fun to stack their votes on her because she has an idol instead of Mat who wants to vote Brian out.
Benji is saying "it'll go to a re-vote" as a threat and that CAN'T happen unless his vote is a blank (resulting in his purported 4-4-1 deadlock) and why would ANYONE have knowledge of how the vote is going to go and make their vote a blank when they can influence who gets their torch snuffed by being a deciding vote? Hence Benji is clearly lying to get her to expose Mat for a blindside. And she comes off completely weak in the process by letting her idol play get influenced instead of A) simply playing it matter-of-factly for herself, B) playing it for Mat or C) keeping it to protect herself in a later vote.
This was the absolute WORST way she could have played her idol to follow up the absolute WORST way she could have found the idol in the first place. It's an unmitigated disaster.
Once again... poor Sharn.
(Mat deserved to go home, incidentally. He should have read the tea leaves after Benji spouted up so stridently and played his own idol as a defensive measure. Probably should have weighed in on Sharn's decision as well seeing how Benji was so keen to share his opinion when his own neck wasn't on the line.)
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Great episode. But Mat should have played his idol after Benji convinced Sharn to play her idol for herself. He should have known something was up and that he was being played by Benji...especially when he's telling her to not to play the idol for him. He knew Benji couldn't be trusted after he told Sam his plan to vote him out last episode. I just think it's a dumb move by Mat not to play your idol there.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 18
Man, Benji went out like a chump tonight. I think Brian would have stuck with him because of his bitterness over the champions voting for him, but then Benji had to go and stick his foot in it.
The look on his and Shonee's faces with that stupid lie and the poor attempt to cover it up, they were like naughty children that had just been caught. Benji really had no reason to be so sure that Monica was on his side, and he obviously thought Brian was stupid enough to believe him. I thought he might have started to worry and consider playing his idol but no, he was confident to the end. Brian knew that Sharn was scrambling, so why the hell would he think she would be going to Benji to talk about future votes?
Also, lol at Fenella changing her second vote so she could get back to camp sooner rather than later.
The look on his and Shonee's faces with that stupid lie and the poor attempt to cover it up, they were like naughty children that had just been caught. Benji really had no reason to be so sure that Monica was on his side, and he obviously thought Brian was stupid enough to believe him. I thought he might have started to worry and consider playing his idol but no, he was confident to the end. Brian knew that Sharn was scrambling, so why the hell would he think she would be going to Benji to talk about future votes?
Also, lol at Fenella changing her second vote so she could get back to camp sooner rather than later.
I really really hate the insistence on needing to make endurance style competitions harder and shorter. What's the point in having a comp be some sort of endurance than?
"You got somewhere to be? Gotta make a lunch?" Really summed up that decision. It obviously isn't going to go on forever why worry about speeding it up an extra 5 minutes?
"You got somewhere to be? Gotta make a lunch?" Really summed up that decision. It obviously isn't going to go on forever why worry about speeding it up an extra 5 minutes?
I feel like a lot was done wrong at that Tribal council. Why is Sharn playing the idol for Mat? Either to blindly show undying loyalty which just kinda looks weird/sad to jury and other players, or they talked beforehand. But if they talked beforehand it makes how everything played out seem more weird. If Mat sniffed out something was going down and said play it for him instead then why didn't he play his idol once Sharn didn't play it for him, or at least talk up more? Then why didn't Mat play his idol when Benji is talking up a storm and talking about a split? If there is suddenly a freak out and you have no idea what is being talked about, chances are you're on the outs.
Benji talking I think is fine, but probably looks bad to future jury. People have talked before when people take up the idol, just not as straight forward and bluntly. I think if anything Benji's talking comes off similar to how Dom's talk at tribal came off with Sabastian last season.
Benji talking I think is fine, but probably looks bad to future jury. People have talked before when people take up the idol, just not as straight forward and bluntly. I think if anything Benji's talking comes off similar to how Dom's talk at tribal came off with Sabastian last season.
It's weird to pin it on one single thing, but Benji not picking Brian for his reward challenge team, may just have sent him home. I'm just wondering how much of Brian flipping back was a product of him feeling more comfortable with an idol in his pocket now. He's been on the outs with the Champions forever, but having an idol probably makes that not all that bad if you know they're going to go after contenders first.
Then to steal the vote of the person you're voting for? I guess you don't think about it when you're being confident, but why steal the person you're voting for?
Then to steal the vote of the person you're voting for? I guess you don't think about it when you're being confident, but why steal the person you're voting for?
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Episode 18
Benji a dumbass LOL
First his awful picks for the reward challenge - picking the two contenders who will always be on his side, and the one champion who would likely never join their side. Meanwhile, he leaves four champions on the other side, leaving his two new allies with two people he isn't working with, one who whom is Sharn who will definitely be wanting revenge for getting played by Benji the way she did.
Then his lies to Brian and Monica. My god. Both of the lies so incredibly dumb and easy to validate. He got wayyy to confident and really thought his lying skills were top notch.
The only reason he's even made it this far is because all the contenders who knew what a huge compulsive liar he is either got eliminated (Tegan and Heath) or were with him out of desperation (Shonee and Fenella). The moment the champions experienced his lying, they got him the hell outta there.
First his awful picks for the reward challenge - picking the two contenders who will always be on his side, and the one champion who would likely never join their side. Meanwhile, he leaves four champions on the other side, leaving his two new allies with two people he isn't working with, one who whom is Sharn who will definitely be wanting revenge for getting played by Benji the way she did.
Then his lies to Brian and Monica. My god. Both of the lies so incredibly dumb and easy to validate. He got wayyy to confident and really thought his lying skills were top notch.
The only reason he's even made it this far is because all the contenders who knew what a huge compulsive liar he is either got eliminated (Tegan and Heath) or were with him out of desperation (Shonee and Fenella). The moment the champions experienced his lying, they got him the hell outta there.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 18
Karma's a bitch... eh, Benji? Just goes to show one should never get over-confident in Survivor and when one's entirely focused on claiming scalps to gain power and not thinking beyond being an autocrat and dictating a boot order... well, that's never a path to success. Unless you boast the charm of Boston Rob and you're playing the game for the 4th time.
Character counts as well as gameplay... and Benji had very little genuine character to fall back on after the two people he'd struck the closest connections with in this game had either been voted out by his hand or had a fresh dagger still sticking out of their back. Not to mention the sloppy and needless lying. Shonee couldn't overcome that and she exposed her own game needlessly by trusting in Benji to make use of her advantage in effective fashion when he was already convinced he had her wrapped around his little finger. I have to imagine she'd prefer to have that in her back pocket still.
I'm happy for Sharn that she was able to overcome her blunders of the previous episode. I think she handled the aftermath in about as humble and diplomatic a fashion as possible by owning up to the fact that she'd placed her trust in the wrong person and made an error of judgment that ultimately cost Mat the game... while still not throwing in the towel and demonstrating her resilience. The strength of her social game has carried her through this adversity and I think it shows given how Mat doesn't begrudge her mistake one bit. Hopefully she can sit back a little bit and take a breather while the focus now shifts to His Charming Grubbiness and Shane's plethora of vendettas.
Brian's charm is beginning to win me over, incidentally. He's got this affable Sam Neill-like quality to him. Granted he's an Aussie and not a Kiwi like Sam, but they share some similar qualities. Hoping he'll be able to withstand a tribal council or two. I'm not sure if it's unprecedented to have two players get bounced from the game back-to-back while holding an unplayed immunity idol... but I know damn sure it would be unprecedented for THREE players to get bounced consecutively with unplayed idols.
(It was amusing to see Benji call up Anneliese to brag about lasting one day longer in the game. If there's ever a Blood vs. Water season of Australian Survivor, it would be fun to see them brought back to play together.)
Character counts as well as gameplay... and Benji had very little genuine character to fall back on after the two people he'd struck the closest connections with in this game had either been voted out by his hand or had a fresh dagger still sticking out of their back. Not to mention the sloppy and needless lying. Shonee couldn't overcome that and she exposed her own game needlessly by trusting in Benji to make use of her advantage in effective fashion when he was already convinced he had her wrapped around his little finger. I have to imagine she'd prefer to have that in her back pocket still.
I'm happy for Sharn that she was able to overcome her blunders of the previous episode. I think she handled the aftermath in about as humble and diplomatic a fashion as possible by owning up to the fact that she'd placed her trust in the wrong person and made an error of judgment that ultimately cost Mat the game... while still not throwing in the towel and demonstrating her resilience. The strength of her social game has carried her through this adversity and I think it shows given how Mat doesn't begrudge her mistake one bit. Hopefully she can sit back a little bit and take a breather while the focus now shifts to His Charming Grubbiness and Shane's plethora of vendettas.
Brian's charm is beginning to win me over, incidentally. He's got this affable Sam Neill-like quality to him. Granted he's an Aussie and not a Kiwi like Sam, but they share some similar qualities. Hoping he'll be able to withstand a tribal council or two. I'm not sure if it's unprecedented to have two players get bounced from the game back-to-back while holding an unplayed immunity idol... but I know damn sure it would be unprecedented for THREE players to get bounced consecutively with unplayed idols.
(It was amusing to see Benji call up Anneliese to brag about lasting one day longer in the game. If there's ever a Blood vs. Water season of Australian Survivor, it would be fun to see them brought back to play together.)
Is there anyone worth rooting for at this point aside from Sharn and Grubby?
Steve's a bit of a pill. Monika's an effective liar but her game will never be respected enough to land votes. Fenella's adorable but effectively floating in this game as Shonee's #2. Shane has been more bark than bite in terms of playing up to the cameras; I'll give her credit for orchestrating the Lydia vote and deflecting any heat from it onto Mat but otherwise she hasn't done much... yet.
Shonee invested too much of her stock in using Benji as a shield and it remains to be seen how she'll adjust with him gone. It seems likely - given the preview - she'll simply elect to employ the same strategy of hiding behind Grubby as cover... which isn't a terrible approach to a game when you're clearly controlling two votes. Target deflection is something she's savvy with... although I'm not sure she's aware that she's likely to face the fire before Fenella once the available meat shields are all used up.
Steve's a bit of a pill. Monika's an effective liar but her game will never be respected enough to land votes. Fenella's adorable but effectively floating in this game as Shonee's #2. Shane has been more bark than bite in terms of playing up to the cameras; I'll give her credit for orchestrating the Lydia vote and deflecting any heat from it onto Mat but otherwise she hasn't done much... yet.
Shonee invested too much of her stock in using Benji as a shield and it remains to be seen how she'll adjust with him gone. It seems likely - given the preview - she'll simply elect to employ the same strategy of hiding behind Grubby as cover... which isn't a terrible approach to a game when you're clearly controlling two votes. Target deflection is something she's savvy with... although I'm not sure she's aware that she's likely to face the fire before Fenella once the available meat shields are all used up.
Aus Survivor s05e18
Benji was so full of himself with the Godfather rubbish stuff, he had zero clue how to extert sot power. I could not get over how angry Mat looked on the jury, I really think he did not get the - its a game- thing. As much as Fen and Shonee have zero game abilities - I really like them, they just look they are having fun. But if there is one lesson I will take away it's - my god I never knew a human could move so fast in the water!! like you see the olympics, seeing Shane move compared to the normals wow. As a test in a local pool I tried throwing a ball infront of me and going the pool length (25m) - I can kinda swim, boy that is super awkward, let along open water waves and Jeff/Jon telling you "you gotta hussle" etc.
Totally on board with the previous comment about speeding up the long challanges, I remember US survivor ages back, they would go for 5+ hrs on some challanges it was crazy and amazing to watch.
Totally on board with the previous comment about speeding up the long challanges, I remember US survivor ages back, they would go for 5+ hrs on some challanges it was crazy and amazing to watch.
Mat was playing up his anger, as you can see in Benji's Ponderosa video.
Australian Survivor S5 Episode 19
I like this Dead Man Walking gimmick. Not entirely sure I approve of how the castaways here adapted (or failed to adapt) their games around it, but I like its potential for creative implementation in future seasons.
Main variable in play here was obviously how dialed in Grubby was to pin votes on the only other guy still remaining in the game regardless of the fact that he wasn't in danger of getting voted out. Brian is insistent on Steve getting his torch snuffed and I can't see him having much success with that in the next episode when Steve's vote is effectively nullified for that vote and the next. Shonee's logic was sound in wanting to place the Dead Man Walking votes on Shane and that would have strengthened Grubby's case to get Steve out of the game next but he couldn't see the forest for the trees. As usual, Shonee has sound advice for the people she's working with and they refuse to abide by it. Lucky for her Monika decided to keep her 2-vote stranglehold remaining in the equation.
I do think this was a bad play for Monika as she would have behooved herself to handicap Shonee by neutralizing Fenella now and then forcing a deadlocked vote at 3-3 during next tribal council to ideally get out one of Shane-Steve-Sharn... and would have likely flushed Grubby's idol in the process. She would have been perceived as a threat afterwards but it would have at least given her some semblance of an argument to make at final tribal should she get that far. Unfortunately, playing the role of middle man doesn't seem to be something she's comfortable with... nor does she seem to actually want to play this game to win. In an ideal world, she'd have probably welcomed the Dead Man Walking votes for herself to take the decision out of her hands for a couple weeks and let her to continue to float on by. She remains a complete non-threat to win this game... curious to see how the guilt of neutralizing Steve wears on her for the next tribal council.
Main variable in play here was obviously how dialed in Grubby was to pin votes on the only other guy still remaining in the game regardless of the fact that he wasn't in danger of getting voted out. Brian is insistent on Steve getting his torch snuffed and I can't see him having much success with that in the next episode when Steve's vote is effectively nullified for that vote and the next. Shonee's logic was sound in wanting to place the Dead Man Walking votes on Shane and that would have strengthened Grubby's case to get Steve out of the game next but he couldn't see the forest for the trees. As usual, Shonee has sound advice for the people she's working with and they refuse to abide by it. Lucky for her Monika decided to keep her 2-vote stranglehold remaining in the equation.
I do think this was a bad play for Monika as she would have behooved herself to handicap Shonee by neutralizing Fenella now and then forcing a deadlocked vote at 3-3 during next tribal council to ideally get out one of Shane-Steve-Sharn... and would have likely flushed Grubby's idol in the process. She would have been perceived as a threat afterwards but it would have at least given her some semblance of an argument to make at final tribal should she get that far. Unfortunately, playing the role of middle man doesn't seem to be something she's comfortable with... nor does she seem to actually want to play this game to win. In an ideal world, she'd have probably welcomed the Dead Man Walking votes for herself to take the decision out of her hands for a couple weeks and let her to continue to float on by. She remains a complete non-threat to win this game... curious to see how the guilt of neutralizing Steve wears on her for the next tribal council.
I feel like it's a really dumb decision to vote out the person who can't vote if you're still at all worried about Monica sticking to the Ducks. Not to mention that Steve isn't convincing anyone of shit where Sharn and Shane were in the girls ears throughout the whole game.
Just feels like a bad decision. Wouldn't be surprised to see Brian go very next episode. Seems to be a trend this season.
Just feels like a bad decision. Wouldn't be surprised to see Brian go very next episode. Seems to be a trend this season.
lol it's funny because I was actually thinking that during tribal too. "This is the most I've heard Steve speak."
Steve and Shane sounded really bitter in that episode. Steve deserves this though. After the last episode, when the host asked him if he's tried to bring Shonee or Fenella on his side and he said No, I just have to laugh. Why these people continue to ignore Shonee and Fenella and refuse to talk any sort of game with them is beyond me.
Steve and Shane sounded really bitter in that episode. Steve deserves this though. After the last episode, when the host asked him if he's tried to bring Shonee or Fenella on his side and he said No, I just have to laugh. Why these people continue to ignore Shonee and Fenella and refuse to talk any sort of game with them is beyond me.
That would be amazing.
She's already a quote and facial-expression legend. But for her to win would just be too funny.
Getting rid of Steve was fine, but Brian's insistence on giving him the DMW was dumb. Shonee and Fenella had it right when they initially said give it to Shane. Doesn't matter which member of that alliance has it, but you want it for both of the next two votes. Brian, who I think has actually done a pretty good job post-merge, just became fixated on targeting Steve and didn't think of the strategy.
My favorite subplot of the season has to be how Sharn the lawyer is completely unpersuasive, because she gets so flustered and is so transparent about trying to get people to do what's in her self interest. I love that her pitch to Monika was essentially, "Vote against the duo who are really tight and come join the trio who will, uh, definitely totally not vote you out in fourth."
Getting rid of Steve was fine, but Brian's insistence on giving him the DMW was dumb. Shonee and Fenella had it right when they initially said give it to Shane. Doesn't matter which member of that alliance has it, but you want it for both of the next two votes. Brian, who I think has actually done a pretty good job post-merge, just became fixated on targeting Steve and didn't think of the strategy.
My favorite subplot of the season has to be how Sharn the lawyer is completely unpersuasive, because she gets so flustered and is so transparent about trying to get people to do what's in her self interest. I love that her pitch to Monika was essentially, "Vote against the duo who are really tight and come join the trio who will, uh, definitely totally not vote you out in fourth."
lol the Shane/Sharn/Steve group in general really started to suck. Got rid of their own alliance members (Lydia and Sam), and now are accusing Monika of "betrayal!!1!!!" and are wondering why their numbers are dwindling.
Getting rid of Lydia so early and then taking Sam out instead of Benji really tanked their game. They really thought Brian and Monika would stick with the champions despite it being obvious that they would be the first two to go after all the contenders were gone.
And now all they have "they don't deserve to be hereeeee they do nothing at camppp :((("
Getting rid of Lydia so early and then taking Sam out instead of Benji really tanked their game. They really thought Brian and Monika would stick with the champions despite it being obvious that they would be the first two to go after all the contenders were gone.
And now all they have "they don't deserve to be hereeeee they do nothing at camppp :((("
I really wonder what changed with Brian's standing with the alliance. Because they seemed to all but hang him out to dry when they decided to target the poker player. Why would they suddenly trust him more? If anything he'd be more likely to flip after that? You literally told him he's just there for a number and is at the bottom. To expect him to watch even more flips and not eventually to flip is just crazy.