Survivor: Game Changers - Mamanuca Islands (US)-[**SPOILERS**]

S.M.B.

I believe it was the opening confessional of the second half. It was the typical foreshadowing confessional that always rings alarm bells for me.

I must take a look at it again just in case I imagined it.

kaji

I'm a big Cirie fan so I was really disappointed by this episode. She shouldn't have voted Andrea out- she needed to go towards the Final 3 with strong players so they wouldn't perceive Cirie as the biggest threat and vote her out just before the Final 3. But instead she votes Andrea out. And then the whole 'vote stealing' thing was so messy. In her defense, apparently Sarah literally gave it to her just as they were going into tribal council so she couldn't have read it first. And everything else in the game is transferable- idols, etc. so I understand why she assumed she could just use it after being given it.

It was more an embarrassment for the producers I feel and to be honest, it feels like another slide downhill for Survivor overall. This season has really damaged the brand I feel. They really need to go back to casting regular people, have a 16 or 18 player game, no tribe swaps and 1 or 2 idols maximum. And better challenges which are connected to the location or culture of the place.

Thargor

Totally agree with all that second paragraph kaji, Im bored of these peopl at this stage, how many times are we going to have to watch them play?

GreNoLi

Too many permutations leads to lack of engagement.

S.M.B.

S.M.B. wrote: »

I believe it was the opening confessional of the second half. It was the typical foreshadowing confessional that always rings alarm bells for me.

I must take a look at it again just in case I imagined it.

Had a quick look again and the confessional was at the very start of the entire episode.

However, It wasn't Cirie saying she wanted to bring Sarah to the end as a goat, it was her saying she wanted to bring Sarah to the end as she felt she'll have pissed off most the jurors as she's had a big say in recent eliminations.

That seems like just as bad a call to me.

kingtut

Wow epic tribal although that sucks for Cirie!

noveltea

sucks for Cerie all right. I was going for Culpeper all along but sarah definitely deserved to win. I like the way tribal was structured.

Agent Coulson

It came down to the right two people being voted for at the end and either would have deserved it so I'm ok with the winner.


Cirie really was unlucky.


Tai has no one to blame but himself.

Also Starring LeVar Burton

Yeah, solid ending to the season and a deserved winner. I liked the new structure for the final Tribal - it's more engaging as more of a public forum rather than the usual Q&A.

mel.b

Arghhh, I downloaded the reunion episode without realising it and heard that Sarah won before I'd even twigged I had the wrong episode.

kaji

This was one of the worst seasons of Survivor for me. Cirie being booted despite not receiving a vote? That was more of an error than anything. The whole concept of Survivor is based on people leaving the game by being voted out. For a season to have a final 6 with 5 people playing 'special idols, advantages etc', that the only person without one has to leave proves that Survivor has crossed a line and is morphing into something else. What's next? Jeff having a vote too?

Even though I like Cirie, I disliked the way Jeff gave her special recognition as she was being booted. It proves that Yes, he does have his favourites and while before, he tried to remain impartial, now he doesn't even care if we all know who he favours. This is dangerous as the confessionals are done with interviewers and they sometimes ask leading questions which can almost let a player know if a blindside is happening etc.

Other things- the final tribal council where everyone is just sitting and speaking randomly- what the f***. Sue Hawk's speech is regarded as a pivotal moment in the history of reality TV. Survivor just removed the ability for something like this to happen again.

S.M.B.

A Brad/Sarah/An other finale seemed pretty telegraphed and took a lot of the drama out of the past few weeks.

Brad had the opportunity to win it but fumbled.

Don't think Ciries boot proved that the game is broken. Certainly wasn't the reason for the season being average. I think the biggest flaw of the season is they are obliged to give screen time to some big characters early in the game at the cost of the overall narrative.

I really liked the final tribal. Best thing about the show. Probably because it gave more screen time to some of our faves. Don't see how the format change prevents a sue hawk moment. They all had their opportunity to have their say as they did in season one. The reality is you'll never get a moment like that again after 34 seasons.

Also, michaela got a shocking edit. Her poderosa was great and thought she nailed final tribal.

kaji

S.M.B. wrote: »

Don't see how the format change prevents a sue hawk moment. They all had their opportunity to have their say as they did in season one. The reality is you'll never get a moment like that again after 34 seasons.

It's ruined the game. These moments won't happen anymore.

S.M.B.

Meh, the old format just guaranteed each jury member a way to make it all about themselves for few minutes. That's a perfect example.

"I'm great. I got you there. You lied. Everyone trusted me. Blah blah blah. Was it worth it? "

"Ok, here's my vote"

ElNino

I was delighted to see Sarah win but Brad would have been equally deserving after winning the last 5 individual immunities to keep himself in the game. Sarah deserved it as she controlled the game by dictating who was voted off most weeks.

Troyzan completely threw in the towel at the final tribal council. His whole game plan seemed to be to get to the final 3 on Brad's coat tails but he had no plan to get jury votes once he accomplished that.

I don't get all the love and bias towards Cerie. While she is good socially she is useless at strategy and at challenges. Also the stunt she tried to pull with Sarah last week by using her own advantage against her was pretty shady. In fairness she would have gotten Sarah out at the last 6 if Sarah didn't have the legacy advantage that nobody else knew about but that would have resulted in Brad winning and not Cerie.

seligehgit

TBH I thought it was a cracking finale and decent season in spite all it's flaws.
The Cirie non vote out was an awful fiasco,surely since she did'nt receive any votes it made a joke of the whole tribal council.Much like in the past I think all 6 should of have had to pick stones or come up with an agreed name.

As others have mentioned the enjoyment of the tribal votes has been diluted by the playing of HIIs,legacy advantages etc.Only one sole individual without immunity for a vote out in a group of 6!:mad:

I too don't get all the love for Cirie,all a tad cringeworthy.Totally overrated.Dismal at challenges and the basics of survival,her sole strength:a decent social/strategic game.Maybe it's the natural inclination to support the underdog who gets up off the couch.As I thought Sarah did not initially trust her motives when she tried to steal Sarah's vote.Cirie was trying to be too clever by half.

Aubry is a very likeable,underrated player.Real shame she's got a boyfriend.Herself and Cochrane would make a great couple.

Tai was caught out on his identifying of Sarah as a danger,Cirie sold him out.End of his game.He was right to point out all the others hypocrisy in villifying him over same.I did'nt quite get the rationale behind Brad's outrageous bullying of him.Could'nt recall Tai doing anything in particular to spark such ire and rage in Culpepper.Ok I'm sure he was'nt always in an alliance with Brad but same is all part of the game.

Huge fan of Brad's IC run,five won in total.I'd have a bias for the Ozzy's,Aras and Terry's of this world.Up there with all the greats.He's a former pro athlete but still is a beast who could solve the puzzles etc..His social game as an alpha male was poor,his disinterest in the admittedly annoying Michaela cost him a vote at final tribal.Not sure he would have secured her vote anyway,Sarah was always going to get that vote.Brad's bullying turned me off him and ditto the jury.His overconfidence and inabilty to think logically and overcome his animosity towards Tai ensured the one person who could beat him made the final 3.

What can one say about Troyzan?Nice guy but the ultimate goat who hung off the coat tails of Culpepper.

I thought the edit was very good as I thought my pre finale episode and long time tip Sarah was unlikely to beat Brad.
Sarah was beat out the door on the ICs but played a masterful game,getting Zeke's jacket,Ciera's willing her her advantage,spotting the advantage at the IC and significantly influencing most vote outs.Tony mark 2!:D A worthy winner,Brad was unlucky but hardly needs the million bucks.I was'nt digging the handlebar moustache at the reunion,attorney or not.

Really enjoyed the new format at final tribal,bit of shame there was no real spite or talk of snakes.:D I thought Hayley was particularly insightful:rolleyes: ,Probst was none too impressed with Ozzy's rant re the political situation in the US.Hardly the correct forum.

Next season thankfully is newbies and the whole heroes,healers and hustlers concept looks interesting.Tad disappointed they are'nt moving location to Asia,Africa,Central or South America.

tinpib

Resurrecting a dead-ish thread here. I watched this season a few weeks ago, then read through this thread this morning, an interesting read.

I've posted on another Survivor thread and my feelings are the same. Summing up that I can't belive a TV show is STILL compulsive viewing after 34 seasons. I think it's better than in its early days, incredible.

The reason I think it's better is that:

1. the players are a lot more sophisticated and big moves happen. And this leads to some absolutely pricless expressions in tribal council.

2. Jeff is brilliant, and I like the way he seems to make decisions on the fly as he has been host for so long and is now a producer. The show definitely dies if/when he goes but I don't see that happening. CBS will can it first, but I don't see that happeneing soon either.

3. Incredible eye candy. This season I thought Michaela was stunning, though annoying. Plenty of other very attractive women. But it never ceases to amaze me. Just started the Hustlers/Heroes/H-others last night and there are someknock outs on that too.

4. Pantomine Villains. Debbie was absolutely amazing on this. Someone else said she is a classic narcississt and I agree. No self awareness, her getting smug and then voted out was very satisfying. Love people like that on it.

So because of these 4 reasons I don't see Survivor being cancelled anytime soon.

Regarding this season, like everyone I was absolutely shocked at Zeke being outted. It does appear like a catastrophic error of judgement, I find it very difficult to fathom how that idea became more than just a fleeting thought. He had it planned for a long time, hours/days, and went through with it. Absolutely shocking.

But yes I do agree that you can get a bit sick of seeing the same players over and over. Yes the family reunion bit can be hard to stomach.

Yes, Brad was just a flat out jock bully to Tai, like he probably was in school and college and probably all through his life. Simple as. A bully. Brad's mask slipped.

Also agree with Cerie being hailed as some hero in the show and by Jeff in particualr. Don't get it myself.

I thought Sarah wasas deserving winner and she did seem like the winner form quite a way out. Troyzan indeed was a goat, he barely talked strategy once.

The final tribal council was enjoyable too with the new format.

I was watching some older seasons when there were 2 challenges in most episodes and you only got a fraction of what is going on in camp, so it's good to have reward/immunity combined.

But overall still a brilliant show and one of the few shows I still have patience to sit through due to my attention span being destroyed by modern technology.

Will finish Hustlers/Heros in due course and looking forward to reading that thread.

Thargor

tinpib wrote: »

Resurrecting a dead-ish thread here. I watched this season a few weeks ago, then read through this thread this morning, an interesting read.

I've posted on another Survivor thread and my feelings are the same. Summing up that I can't belive a TV show is STILL compulsive viewing after 34 seasons. I think it's better than in its early days, incredible.

The reason I think it's better is that:

1. the players are a lot more sophisticated and big moves happen. And this leads to some absolutely pricless expressions in tribal council.

2. Jeff is brilliant, and I like the way he seems to make decisions on the fly as he has been host for so long and is now a producer. The show definitely dies if/when he goes but I don't see that happening. CBS will can it first, but I don't see that happeneing soon either.

3. Incredible eye candy. This season I thought Michaela was stunning, though annoying. Plenty of other very attractive women. But it never ceases to amaze me. Just started the Hustlers/Heroes/H-others last night and there are someknock outs on that too.

4. Pantomine Villains. Debbie was absolutely amazing on this. Someone else said she is a classic narcississt and I agree. No self awareness, her getting smug and then voted out was very satisfying. Love people like that on it.

So because of these 4 reasons I don't see Survivor being cancelled anytime soon.

Regarding this season, like everyone I was absolutely shocked at Zeke being outted. It does appear like a catastrophic error of judgement, I find it very difficult to fathom how that idea became more than just a fleeting thought. He had it planned for a long time, hours/days, and went through with it. Absolutely shocking.

But yes I do agree that you can get a bit sick of seeing the same players over and over. Yes the family reunion bit can be hard to stomach.

Yes, Brad was just a flat out jock bully to Tai, like he probably was in school and college and probably all through his life. Simple as. A bully. Brad's mask slipped.

Also agree with Cerie being hailed as some hero in the show and by Jeff in particualr. Don't get it myself.

I thought Sarah wasas deserving winner and she did seem like the winner form quite a way out. Troyzan indeed was a goat, he barely talked strategy once.

The final tribal council was enjoyable too with the new format.

I was watching some older seasons when there were 2 challenges in most episodes and you only got a fraction of what is going on in camp, so it's good to have reward/immunity combined.

But overall still a brilliant show and one of the few shows I still have patience to sit through due to my attention span being destroyed by modern technology.

Will finish Hustlers/Heros in due course and looking forward to reading that thread.

Oh yeah, forgot about that, that was a brilliant ep