Australian Survivor is back with a bang, with its first-ever Blood versus Water season.
The season premieres on Monday on Ten and, of course, the big casting news is Sandra Diaz Twine is on the show. The two-time winner known as The Queen teams up with one of her daughters.
The question is whether the Aussies know enough about Survivor to vote her out early.
The sheer brutality of the Australian version works against Sandra’s strengths: strategy and social skills. She is not built for hardcore challenges you have to be a triathlete to win.
Who’s tuning in for Survivor?
Nup. If they feel the need to bring Sandra in they don’t have much confidence in the series being successful otherwise. Plus I don’t need to see her again, again, again, again, again, again, again.
I will tune in because I don’t know Sandra. I suspect she will be voted out in a nanosecond.
Australian viewers/players do tend to give preference to brute strength so I think she would be doomed anyway. A whole term paper could be written on what that says about us.
Plus, let’s not go past the obvious: American social skills are nothing like Australian social skills and there are a whole bunch of contestants out there who will get confused by the “foreign country” concept.
I’m a little bit interested in how the pairings will play out. It could go either way. I’m willing to wait and see.
Sandra would have said yes knowing she would be an early target but that her family would get a free Australian holiday out of it. She knows how to talk it up for TV but she is not delusional, like Russell. I hear she is an extreme couponer so she is certainly not living a rich lifestyle. I am looking forward to seeing her
Not Sandra AGAIN.I’ll be watching anyway.
There is too much on. Everything at once because I watch The Voice and MAFS.
Nancy Reagan was an avid couponer, even when she was in the White House. She didn’t need coupons, she just liked them.
I dipped in and out and probably missed some crucial bits (I was watching The Voice, blubbering. This show is so manipulative and I’m all there for it – at the beginning anyway) but the first episode of Survivor looked brutal. I’m guessing I needed a reminder that this is a brutal game.
What I hadn’t forgotten was the obvious foreshadowing. Any duffus who says, ‘I have complete control’ is destined for elimination and so goes it for Andy.
I couldn’t believe how shocked they all were that they got split from their loved one / partner…did they not watch the US seasons this theme is based on? Even if the producers swore black and blue they would get to play together surely they prepared for the assumption they would be split up?!
I think Chrissy knows more about Survivor than she is letting on.
If she looks familiar – she is from The Block way back when.
I did laugh at Sandra hoping she could come and no one would know her. She is staying very quiet ready to pounce at the right moment meanwhile her daughter is calling all the shots!
Ah, The Block.
I thought she looked familiar but I just put it down to all of these shows running together. I thought for a moment that Nathan Buckley was on. I must pay more attention.
That’s known as over-directing. I am fairly sure the second US Blood v Water contestants were all shocked, shocked I tell you, when they were split from their loved ones as well.
I’m late to the Survivor party but playing catch-up tonight.
I might have to tape tomorrow’s MAFS.
Shndraon Shurvivor iszh already annoying me with her Oshtraya. But she can say city and civilian. 😶
It was so disappointing this episode did not include at least 497 twists. Or not…
I cannot imagine what was in casting’s mind to bring back Andy. The guy is an unlikable screen presence and can’t play Survivor to save his life.
I like Sandra. She’s always makes life interesting. I think her daughter could make this game very interesting.
Chrissy should never have been cast. Grabbing the idol in the open was clever, but playing it on herself was idiotic.
A rookie mistake.
A castaway who doesn’t know what tribal council is when she reads an idol clue is not a good look,
It’s wearing and they are giving her so much air time. Once an episode of “I don’t know what that is” is enough. I like Nina a lot. And Khanh but I always liked him on MasterChef
I started tonight’s episide, and then just flipped over to The Voice, you know, just for a minute, and didn’t come back.
Survivor didn’t really grab me tonight. You just knew it was going to be some fill in who was going to be sent home and the manoeuvres haven’t really started.
The Voice is keeping it short and sweet this season so it’s a bit of a fun watch.
I’m on The Voice. I always love when there is a good singer doing a good song.
I’ll find an d Voice thread of start one.
The Voice is over. I wonder whether they got their money’s worth or whether they filmed it in parallel.
Oddly, because this doesn’t usually happen to me, I agreed with the winner. Good song choice, good singers and lots of tears.
Now I can concentrate on Survivor. I don’t find MAFS the least bit distracting.
I felt that song choices killed it for the Vin Trapps (wrecking ball), and the father and son last night. Terrible choices by Keith. Was he told to sabotage them I wonder?
How interesting they are targeting the “singles” rather than luring them into secret alliances “Juicy Dave” lived to tell the tale but his days are numbered. Sam is going to pretend to forgive him, then blindside away
I hope medical help Dave with the bullet wound he put in his own foot. I can’t remember a mistake that bad in a long time. Sandra was as evil as usual, terrorising Dave about blindsides so much he almost achieved a self-blindside.
I like Khanh and Nina. None of the Reds seem really to be playing yet.
Is red stacked with non-fans? They should have known something was up the minute JLP said blue would watch the tribal. Sandra should know better
Sandra should remember her *as long as it’s not me* strategy from Pearl Islands.
Sophie needs to remember that revenge rarely works in Survivor. Her male harem reminded me a bit of Russell.
Sandra is turning out to be lovely to watch. How did I miss her over 2 seasons? I must have been having some sort of midlife crisis.
Blindsiding Sophie was a beautifully executed tactic but I’m not sure it was great strategy.
Someone who has been slammed at TC can be a big asset to someone. If Sam had gone to David, let him do his apology, give him a graceful forgiveness speech, she would have had him eating out of her hand for the rest of the game. He would have been like a loyal puppy ie free vote. Anybody else could also have got him with a show of sympathy. Maybe they did and it wasn’t shown.
Chrissy looks more like Scott Morrison every episode. I’m beginning to think she may actually be Scott Morrison.
Sophie just proved that Dave is not the worst player in the cast.
Sandra is having a bit of a dream run. I expected her to be long gone by now.
It’s always sad when someone leaves for medical reasons.
I don’t understand the thinking of not voting him out at his request.
I mean what was the point of having an injured player stay, and if he asked to be voted out, did they not think that he wasn’t just going to ask to leave..
The whole situation was as perplexing as the grammar in that previous paragraph.
They had a plan, which was probably too complicated, to flush two idols and get rid of Sophie. Voting Alex out would stop that.
I’m fairly suspicious about the whole story. Players have always had the right to leave without needing to be voted off. Production may have asked Alex to hang on and ask to be voted out. That way the tribal wouldn’t be a complete anticlimax.
That was my thought – why wait till TC and then “ask” to be voted out? Why not just go before tribal? It is all a bit smelly.
Oh Fijane, hi. I haven’t seen you in a long while. 💐
Mind you, its also just possible that Alex didn’t know he had the right to leave. This is the cast where one player didn’t know what tribal council was when she found an idol clue.
I had to pull back, too much negative politics. Only lured back by Survivor – amazing how it still delivers the discussion after so many seasons.
I reckon this was it, Alan. They need to pad out the content for our long episodes. A Medevac is a few minutes of TV but tribal can be 20 mins of JLP asking the same questions of different people.
If Sandra says, “I am the queen” one more time …. 😑
I really find her unpleasant and annoying.
Why is Sam suddenly in cahoots with Sandra? I want to see the back of Sandra too.
Sam is in the middle between the Big Boys and Amy’s Harem. So is Sandra. Neither of them want either of the other two groups to become dominant. And Amy had an idol. This way the idol was flushed and the Harem was seriously weakened by voting out Jay. If they’d gone for a Big Boy this week they would have been at risk of an angry Harem+Big Boy combo against them next tribal.
It’s not going to happen because of the tribe swap, but my guess is Sam and Sandra would have tried to cut the Big Boys by one next time.
Jordan and Sam have both started playing suddenly and they’ll be interesting to watch.
Look I don’t love the *I am the queen* language either (Americans have as much trouble with our sense of humour as we do with theirs) but without Sandra this would have been a dead boring season so far. And we did get that great line about Nina’s Xmas presents and not getting her wedding paid for.
Alan, you really should be a Survivor contestant. You sure know your strategy.
I could easily watch without Sandra snaking around with her reputation under her belt. I don’t know why they wouldn’t have got her out early but I am guessing producers would want value for the 💸💸💸💸 she is being paid and would only have made it a detour.
Production don’t interfere to that extent.
It just shows how good Sandra is and how easy it is to be lulled into the trap of “we can get her later”. Meanwhile, Sophie and her partner and her huge Insta following have been targeting poor Sam on social media for her “betrayal”. Obviously did not watch much Survivor before the show.
And whingeing to a new tribe about their loved ones is not smart. Lay low and pretend to be humbled
I am looking forward to tonight.
Yes, I am easily manipulated by ads.
Can’t wait to see how the better players deal with this.
Arghhhh. Well, that was inevitable. I hate when the alphas play the “keep the tribe strong”. Aus Survivor needs more puzzles and earlier endurance challenges to give the non-alphas a fighting chance.
Keeping the tribe ‘blue strong and male strong’ in Jordie’s words is not a good look. After dozens of Survivor seasons worldwide, where women’s alliances and alpha male alliances have always crashed and burned, people still trot them out as if this time it’s really, really sure to work.
.
I know that this was inevitable but I wish it had been inevitable much closer to the end.
I am sad and disappointed.
Jordie orchestrated the booting of Sandra. That at least made strategic sense because it led to the rule of the Big Boys. It made absolutely no strategic sense to anyone outside the Big Boys, and just meant the Non Big Boys were 1 vote down, but I’m sure the NBB players who voted to boot Sandra felt a warm inner glow.
Now we have the weirdness of Jordie telling Josh about Mark’s idol, then targeting Josh, and assuming Josh won’t tell Mark that he’d been told about the idol. Crazy play designed to look good on screen, and not much more.
Thank goodness they finally saw sense. Now we can get to know the other players.
They really played up Mark choosing the other tribe, but I suspect a beat up. Sure, Sam was a little disappointed, but she is smart enough to have worked out that it was very wise of him. They will be in a much stronger place if they both get to merge. It would have been fun if they had run the reward challenge with Mark as part of the reward, although there’s a danger of then creating a super strong physical team.
Glad that Crock and Chrissy found an idol but Chrissy is really so open that I doubt they will get to keep it for long. The edit implied that someone heard them but it is not yet clear if they really did.
I missed an episode somewhere, somehow. I’m catching up on last night’s now. What night did Sandra go? I’m not sorry.
Sunday was Sandra, Monday was Sophie (another yay) and I won’t mention last night’s in case it is a spoiler.
I know we are used to ball jokes, but pole tugging jokes are a whole new thing.
No, Amy, it’s not a blindside when your target knows about it. Getting rid of Josh’s cousin to get close to Josh is Juicy Dave level craziness.
Booting Sandra the episode before inevitably led to an attempt to boot one of the Big Boys. Perhaps Amy should have considered that before she voted out Sandra when the Big Boys told her to. She also might have considered that Nina voted Sandra out so she could stay close to the Big Boys.
I haven’t seen a full voting breakdown yet, but a master stroke that only gets one vote is just embarrassing.
Amy’s unsuccessful sightside was a classic example of playing to your resumé instead of playing the game.
Pretty much that’s how I felt without actually knowing why.
The move felt stupid when there were better moves to be made.
And they use words (like blindside) that don’t seem to apply.
It all felt like they were following a script but the game was going in a different direction.
Unless its just all bad editing. And haven’t we been there many times.
Yep, 1 vote against Jordan.
I think what happened was that Amy’s numbers never added up. She was claiming 5 votes, including Shea and Nina, but Shea immediately warned Jordan of the master stroke and Nina is so committed to the Big Boys that she voted her own mother out. Nina almost certainly told her alliance she was still solid.
The weirdest thing about the whole train wreck is that Amy almost went home in Episode 6 playing the same master stroke. She was certain she had the numbers against Sandra but the votes were actually 4 Jay (Amy’s ally), 3 Amy and 3 Sandra.
They didn’t show us Nina talking to her alliance because it would have taken any tension out of tribal, which is fair enough.
Mel voted for Amy. That’s pretty damning because no-one trusts her and she’s not very aware of what’s happening. Even Mel went into tribal knowing Amy was dead in the water.
I suspected Amy fell victim to a bit of jealousy here. I’m feeling that there are a few romantic feelings brewing amongst the groups, and I felt she was starting to get quite attached to Jordan. Seeing him immediately neglect her in favour of his cousin would have touched her pride.
Nina also expressed the same emotion re Josh, but instead of sort-of revenge for his neglect of her, she has welcomed Jordan in the name of keeping Josh’s favour. Smart, at this stage, and also evidence that she can keep personal feelings in check.
Jordan and Josh coming back together and showing themselves to be so close, has been a poor move, IMO. They didn’t think ahead about the consequences of becoming such an obvious power couple. I expect to see one gone soon. The edit certainly painted Josh as a bit of an evil genius, so he may be emerging as a genuine contender. Not sure if he can maintain his social connections though.
The numbers are now 5 for Big Boys+Nina v Dave, Mel and Shay. The 3 Outsiders haven’t shown much initiative or ability to influence the game. Maybe Mark and Nina will go rogue together, but otherwise I see a grim future for Mel and Dave.
There doesn’t seem to be much trouble for snitching in this version so far. Often a snitcher gets the target instead of the person they have told on. Shay’s move to immediately tell the plan (and in almost full view) didn’t cause her any problem at all.
I am not really liking what I see of Shay and partner Ben. I don’t sense integrity there, yet, and Ben is a bit too aware of his physical advantage. Hopefully I am wrong.
Ben will be a target post-merge – as will all those big boys.
I just want to see a challenge where the women get the same airtime as the men, so one that isn’t all blokes tugging their poles, as JLP loves to say. Shay will excel at the same challenges as winner Hayley. I really want some puzzles as I suspect Nina will be rather good at those. And I really want confessionals from twins Mel and Michelle as I have no idea what their approach to the game is
Don’t worry, I’m fairly sure they have no idea either.
I agree the challenges are more skewed in this season than we’ve seen before. And women still have trouble hiding clues and idols.
Australian Survivor has always been skewed towards physical challenges.
I don’t know whether this is to please the Australian audience or because the production crew is primarily male.
Or to keep the big name/big price footy-fellas in the game.
Since a spelling challenge is a bridge too far for many contestants , challenges have to be physical out of necessity. Quite a few of these would think “Chess” is a girl’s name.
Oh no – poor Nina. I really enjoyed watching her. When are we having a Second Chances season? Although we all now know how big a threat she is
I’m sure Nina will be back when she’s recovered. She is an amazing player and it’s genuinely sad to see her leave for medical reasons. My evil twin wants to be a fly on the wall when Nina and Sandra meet, but I told him that’s a disgraceful thought.
Red have no luck with blindsides. It’s like a rerun of the Sophie saga.
Chrissy has really grown on me. At first I thought she’d be useless. I still think she’s probably Scott Morrison.
I don’t know how to spell that sound you make when you are really surprised and disappointed at the same time.
I was glued to the TV when Sam fainted in that challenge. And that fire making! I was glad Mel (or was it Michelle?) won. So they get confessionals now? And so we get a puzzle?
I must say I liked Dominica tonight, exposing Jess’s gaslighting.
I liked the Courtney Act girl too; sticking up for Jess’s soon to be ex.
Matt’s missing the signals. He can’t read extreme indifference bordering on “yew”. Kate’s funny with her, “No one ever liked because I was ugly, but he’s uglier”.
Selina, don’t cry. There’s nothing you can do. He’s totally gay.
The fire challenge was awesome. Ben’s train wreck was too in a weird, uncomfortable way. Despite Chrissy’s revenge I can’t see those people cooperating much in the future.
It’s going to be a deeply strange merge. I don’t remember a season where so many big boys made it this far. If they can avoid getting split (a big if) then one of them is going to win.
It has been a refreshing change from the systematic elimination of the physically strong. Maybe the pairings has had a bit to do with that, as the prospect of “power couples” has been a factor, along with the revenge being stronger when it is a partner who is sent home.
One strong person they are really going to regret keeping is Shay. The big guys will probably not manage so well with the (boring) endurance challenges, but she has already shown she can do them easily. Like Ben, she needs to go quickly or they are all in trouble.
It was a very gripping episode, and satisfying that Mel had the fire luck.
It always amazes me that contestants evidently don’t practice for fire challenges. I expected Ben to rump though but he clearly had very little idea of what he was doing.
It’s like Ma$terchef…..there’ll be amatas every year that have never peeled a prawn or filleted a fish.
“Passion” will get them through. Ch 10 have an unlimited supply of delusional contestants.
You’d also think everyone going on Amazing Race would know the ability to swim is essential, and the ability to shoot an arrow or row a canoe might be useful.
The American AR always has someone who can’t swim.
And you should see the doggie paddle people in France did. You think they would at least know frog kick. 🤣🤣🤣
It makes for entertaining tv, so they must be cast deliberately. Like Mel and Stacy on Travel Guides who can barely swim and hate heights.
The question is why would they even apply if they don’t know what is required? Having said that, Chrissy is obviously far cluey-er than she was edited or told to be. I wouldn’t be surprised to see her in the final five or so.
My cynical mind wonders too, whether Mark and Sam are staging a bit of disharmony (or using what was there to advantage) to play down their power together. The other four boys (the J brothers, and the J cousins) are going to have to face a point where the others see them as too inseparable, and therefore must be separated.
I agree on all of this but I most especially agree on Travel Guides. Initially I wondered if they really were this clueless, and then I decided, “Who cares”? Even if they are playing it up, it is very entertaining and I am here for the ride.
Im far too attached to creature comforts to go on Survivor. If I did I’d be tempted to practice running, jumping, swimming and fire starting like mad and then play dumb for the casting interview.
Australian Survivor would benefit a lot from having JLap involved in casting.
Just for the record ‘khan’ doesn’t mean king or anything else in Arabic. It’s a Mongol word. And the Vietnamese word ‘khánh’ sounds different from the Mongol word and means stone chime. It’s been bugging me all season. So there…
It would bug me too. Yes. The Khan tribe originating from Mongolia and conquering much of Europe and Asia, and becoming the Moghul rulers of Northern India. It’s an interesting history. I met an Aboriginal woman recently who was a Khan through her grandfather, she said. Pretty cool.
Sorry, I’m raving because of the knock on my head.
In 1206 Temujin of the Mongols was elected Chingiz (Ocean/universal) Khan. ‘Khan’ is a title, not a tribe, and it does mean king in Mongol. We Survivor fans are frightfully well-informed.
Now that was a blindside. Nobody’s gone home (I think) with their idol in someone else’s pocket since Micronesia in 2008.
Funny episode. Maybe it was the editing. Always blame the editing. 🤣🤣
It seemed suss as soon as there was no evidence shown of the idol being given back when they got back to camp. I would love to have seen how she managed that, and why on earth he allowed it?! Even with someone you trust really well, she must have sold him him a cracker of a story as to why it was best for her to have it. I do believe, though, that Jesse was sacrificed at the altar of his brother. He would have been saved if they could have done Jordan (Jordy?).
I really hope this isn’t a bitter jury. I suspect it might be considering the first members there. I am wondering how some people will be able to survive the fallout from last night. David or KJ are now looking like candidates to win, with small resumes.
I’m pretty sure if it had happened the edit would have shown it. Both brothers seem to have have extraordinary confidence that’s not necessarily justified in the cold light of experience.
Apparently Jordie goes on the warpath tonight over getting ‘his’ idol or ‘Jesse’s’ idol back. 1. That’s not going to happen. 2. Given his willingness to betray trust, Jordie should not be reminding the rest of the tribe just now many times he’s broken trust.
Really glad that the “committee” analogy was quashed at TC last night. It was a silly analogy, especially as everyone who has ever been on any committee knows that they are not democracies. Let’s hope the term is kaput now.
Looks like Shay is being careful not to win challenges now.
I was away and came back to find the only character I had warmed to, Jessie, is gone. So now I am team Jordie all the way. If not him, then Shay.
It’s not based on anything other than who I like the most. Last night I liked Shay.
Jordie and Shay got 2 votes out of 10 against Mark in their big move. Shay’s gone and Jordie will go the first time he loses an immunity challenge. In Survivor, revenge is a dish best not eaten at all.
Funny that I never noticed before but you are right. The moment someone goes revenge-y p, or even just dislike-y, they are gone within minutes.
The best strategist have the ability to do a hard pivot. Mind you, I’m guessing that by the time they notice that they are in the firing line then it’s probably too late anyway 😀.
The best response is to swallow your revenge and play it cool, like you just accept it as part of the game. No hard feelings, I understand why you had to do it blah blah blah. Lay low for a few tribals, then try your revenge, preferably using another person as cover.
David has done this well by going super-humble and acting like he has no game left to play and therefore no threat.
The only successful revenge was Natalie in San Juan del Sur—Blood v Water, but she waited through multiple tribal councils and said absolutely nothing about revenge to anyone. So that’s revenge is a dish best eaten cold.
One of the power couple Natalie isolated and ultimately voted off said later ‘But we thought we were loved’.
Spoiler alert…
Disappointed that Shay hasn’t really gone. I imagine she will wait for the next evictee, and then they will battle for a place back in the game. Considering she would beat most people (if she tries) she will probably be back. Not my favourite, by a long shot. Pity it wasn’t Jesse who got the twist.
It’s so rigged.
It was to celebrate International Womens Day.
I actually like second chances but they shouldn’t be so random, and they should be announced to viewers (not players) in advance to get over the appearance of rigging.
Now we have US Survivor again, and because they filmed this before the feedback of S41, it looks to be a carbon copy except with even more emphasis on dramatic back stories.
It really suffers now in comparison, and running the two simultaneously just shows that I am not in sync with US culture. I was bored with it except during the challenges. So few people with physical abilities makes it hard to watch.
I have often thought that those with no physical ability have been chosen just to be cannon fodder.
That was the worst episode of Survivor I’ve watched. They were never going to let someone with that serious a medical problem compete. That was just part of soapifying the season.
The challenges were largely spoilt by contestants who weren’t physically adequate. The cast is not likeable and not interesting. The back stories are a yawn and Probst is hopeless as Sensitive New Age Survivor Host.
If there’s a next season they need a new host and the old format.
What I can seem to understand is that they seem to idolise Probst. One of the guys was almost fangirling in the first scene. Yet, I find him quite unlikeable and would prefer that he was just a background figure who runs the challenges. No, actually I would prefer a different host, but that seems highly unlikely unless he has a reason to stop.
He’s Executive Producer too so no he’s not going anywhere.
That would have been a far better episode if Sam and Jordie had both been given chill pills about half way through.
Jordie is trying to vote me out! Sam is trying to vote me out! The horror, the horror!
Ummm. That’s what people do in Survivor.
Interesting Tribal last night. As soon as the jury walked in, all the tactics may or may not have changed. As the editors made clear (by showing Mark saying it out loud) there should have been four on the jury, and Shay was missing. Yet no explanation from JLP, and therefore everyone knows that there is some sort of second chance twist in play.
So, do you change the vote? Someone you vote for will obviously at least have a chance to return. Were Mark and Sam going to play an idol and then decided not to when a second chance is on offer? Then a second vote, with less at stake, because again you are not necessarily eliminating someone for good.
I would like to get my head around the offer to show Sam’s bag. I think she was genuine in offering to empty it (and therefore the idol was not there) but then changed to showing it after the vote was weird. Surely someone would have wanted to see Mark’s as well, but I am sure I saw him touch his pocket indicating that whatever idol had gone to TC was in his pocket, not the bags. I wouldn’t be surprised if the second idol is buried at camp for safety. If one of them goes home, then the other just gets the other idol out. They are holding their nerve well, keeping doubt in some people’s minds about Jesse’s idol. Why was Jesse allowed to nod when Jordie told his story about Sam having the idol? Or was that just an edit shown out of context?
I had to laugh when Jordie said you are all going to kick yourself when you see this back. But I think they will all also want to kick Jesse for causing such a mess.
I am interested in the plans of both Josh and David. I think Josh does believe that there are two idols, but he is playing the lie out very differently, emphasising loyalty at this point. David, I feel, is biding his time, but has sussed out the truth quite well. I wonder if he will bide too long and blow it.
I agree that the edit of the scramble was a bit sloppy. I never like the win-a-car challenge anyway, and in the end I thought we needed to see more of the others, not just long looks to suggest Sam being paranoid. I would like to see more of Mark and Sam discussing their tactics – I want to know which is the savviest, or if it is equal and therefore a definite advantage. Same with the J cousins. Show us how they are processing events together.
Finally, we are lead to believe that the evictees are forming a secret tribe, rather than having to compete for a place back. Is it a red herring, a guess by the three? I don’t really like the idea of a secret tribe – too much power for people who have been voted out.
I think the secret tribe is just Jordie’s unshakable conviction in his own rightness. He got 2 votes out of 10 in his attempt to remove Mark and did no better last night but he’s still convinced he has a winning strategy. Forming an alliance with a second chance group where, at best, everyone but Jordie is going home, is about par for the course.
I’m afraid I’ve got a little conspiracy theory of my own. Jordan looks like he should be a challenge beast but he’s been nowhere in challenges until now. Last night he suddenly looked like a personal trainer. Form was good. Concentration was good. Strength was good. There was no point where I thought he’d do anything but win. If Jordan suddenly goes on an immunity run, then he’s been dogging challenges for most of this season.
You are probably right, he’s been careful to be around the top half of the pack but not win. I also suspect he and Josh are both working to keep Mark and Sam as shields. While there is so much talk about their idols, nobody is really looking at those other strong guys.
Is that the car they actually keep? I would not want everyone in their grotty filthy clothes sitting in my nice new car. So I assume that the 3 on Purgotory will have a challenge to see who comes back. Seeing Shay wasn’t on the Jury would have given them the heads up the person they vote for wouldn’t be going home but would have a chance to come back. Sam was willing to empty her bag out so what did she do with the Idol? She better be careful lying to her alliance like that. Some people hold grudges & if she does make it to the final they may not vote for her.
Or they might reward strategic play.
I remember in one of the earliest of the American series that all voted for some despicable human being acknowledging that they didn’t like him but that they admired him.
I can’t remember who it was but I do remember that he was actually very good at the game. It’s probably not a comparable scenario (Survivor was much more fun before people cottoned on how to play) but more that the machinations of the jury are a mystery to me.
So it seems that the offer to empty Sam’s bag was a bluff that worked. The idol was in there, but the others must have assumed that by offering it wasn’t there. Apparently nobody asked to see the bag. Incredibly risky move, but it paid off.
It was generally predictable who would return, but I did like the challenge because it didn’t rely on strength but more on skill. Two of the three returnees could have gone for good imo, but the third wasn’t given a chance to defend herself so I am happy for her to have another chance.
So, Shay thinks David is smarter than he seems. That’s my impression too, but I don’t know if he has put himself in a good position. It will take some work from here for the non-alliance people.
That was, without exception, the worst advantage in Survivor history.
Does Sam just do whatever Mark tells her? Talk about huge imbalance of power.
Yes. Sam is totally dominated by soldier boy, who tonight wouldn’t play his idol to save her. Shit relationship. Shit people. The oxymoron of military intelligence.
I’m not going to criticise Mark for not playing an idol.
I bet they have a joint bank account and only one person can win.
I’m sure that this possibility was discussed before the game had even begun and tactics agreed between the two.
Ruthless maybe but the better option. They were never going to stop going after Sam and it would have been a war of attrition.
Sam is now on the jury and Mark’s chances are still good, what between his ability to win immunity and the safety net of the idols, I would calculate the probability of being in the final three as being … lots.
I don’t see any evidence of that at all. At first I was concerned that she had him under the thumb but now I see a very well planned campaign. The “exit strategy” of Sunday night showed that they had worked out which of them would be the fall guy (Sam putting herself out there with the moves) and who would be the one to slide to the end (Mark being quiet and humble and not winning much, before). They planned this to a T, presumably because they didn’t want to face each other at the end. The only problem was the advantage that scuttled the plan. Still, I was impressed by their quick thinking in pretending there had been an idol passed.
I see a very good marriage (based on admittedly the limited scope of the game) and I am impressed by finally having a decent relationship shown on tv.
I was screaming at my TV play the idol. If I were Sam I would have said give ne the fucking idol. The promos for next episode show him wanting revenge. It’s his fault for not playing the idol. I watched her Jury Villa video. That would have to be the most awkward meal ever. No one spoke.
The whole schmozzle is squarely on Josh’s shoulders. He obviously had a last-minute sense of guilt and he gave them no time to think. One thing we have learned about Mark and Sam is that one mantra is “hold your line”. Neither would be likely to impulsively change the plan with 10 seconds notice.
I don’t know for certain, but I think Josh has just handed his power over to Jordie, KJ and David. David was very clever in his twisting the story of the previous TC to make Sam look like she had shopped Jordan. Losing Jordan was the last thing she wanted, seeing she went to that TC fully planning to be voted out. Faking having the idol was purely to ensure David didn’t flip, which he did anyway.
Surprisingly short episode last night for a Sunday, but good watching with the “day spa” episode (gotta seriously wonder about someone not coping with slightly hairy legs). And none of them looked any better after coming back, I wondered if they deliberately chose that. Wonderful line from Chrissy about the spa costing half a million dollars.
Things are quite interesting now with several people crossing the floor at each vote. Chrissy has done it in the last few votes, seemingly without any detection. I noticed last night that her votes were among the ones not shown, building the tension of her flips. I find it ironic that Josh made a promise to Jordie and Shay (to protect them for two TCs) with full and absolute confidence that Chrissy would do whatever he said. He doesn’t seem to know that she can think and decide for herself – she has built a strong image of a loveable bimbo, which she is not.
In case people are still catching up, there were two possibilities for leaving, and I was a little torn as I felt both needed to go. I really, really wanted the annoying one off my screen as he becomes more and more cocky. The other, I very much agree that he is a very smart player, very good at seeing people’s motives, however I don’t think he would have won in the end because his game is not well-rounded. He was missing some of the other skills needed for a good jury to vote for.
Once again the nonsensical all-girl alliance raised its head, but I don’t think it will stick. None of them seem overly fixated on the girly thing and are intelligently playing the game without blind loyalty to a group. KJ seems to think that sliding under the radar to the end will win the game for her, but I don’t think she has done enough of anything to be a real contender. Shay singed some friendships and she also hasn’t made any moves. Both of them also have the taint of being a returnee.
I really hope none of the three lucky returnees get near the final. Mark used a great nickname for them last night, but I have forgotten it.
I am not a fan of a returnee. It feels a bit like cheating.
Good strategic play should not be outmanoeuvred by a producer.
I am not sure about “under the radar”. Sometimes I suspect that that is just editing. Good television generally comes with sound bites.
I like a short episode.
True. Sometimes I forget that there is stuff we aren’t being shown, plus other stuff specifically edited to create an impression.
I also have to remember that in the past, if I have liked a returnee, then I usually credit their good play to stay and resurrect their game. Inconsistent. It feels unfair this time, because I don’t like any of them.
Any guesses for who goes tonight? The promo says that ‘the secret is out’ so I was wondering if the other idol makes its appearance at tribal tonight.
It’s a tough one.
Mark has got to have a target on his back but is safe for a while longer.
My money is on Jordie. No body likes a flip-flopper. Isn’t it odd. Some people can play like that and it looks strategic and, for others, it looks like they are just easily bought. I know, editing.
Still, one of the reasons that I like watching Survivor is the number of times that I don’t see something coming, particularly when it’s down to the wire.
So let’s just go with who I would like to go home. Still Jordie. He just irritates me 🤣
I got sick and tired of military meathead Mark and his slave weeks ago. I took comfort that he sucked at the word puzzle last night. He won’t be a code breaker anytime soon…..
Jordie sucked at word puzzle , too.
Hope JLap goes home. He asks some ‘ken dumb questions at Tribals.
Boo hoo. My favourites were Jessie and Jordie. I suspect they’ll get a return gig.
Now I hope anyone bar Mark wins. He’s a thug and his wife’s a thief. She looked all sour grapes last night. Was it because she woke up and smelled the stench of a husband who didn’t use any of the idols (including the one she stole) or immunity necklace to save her but used them on himself. Something had her fuming.
I have a theory that Mark cut her loose and she knows it.
Well , Mark’s a “trained killer” , don’ t you know, so now he’s killing his marriage.
I’d love to know what she (Sam) was thinking. She looked savage.
I’ve watched jury villa and listened to a few podcasts Sam has done, their strategy all along was always that if one of them would needed to be sacrificed for the other to keep playing they would do it. Thats why they didn’t play the idol to save Sam.
I think she was pissed last night because she knew he didn’t need to play it.
Anyways I still don’t condone how she got the idol, especially if she already knew then that they were about to send Jesse packing. At the same time Jesse was pretty stupid to hand it over.
I thought similar, that $am got bent out of shape when Mark played the last idol. It was a $lave revolt.
You either like them or you don’t and I definitely have not been finding Mark and Sam an appealing couple. Some of you are Survivor purists, so strategy comes first but for me, it’s all about barracking for the people I like. So for me it’s a definite, “Nah” for the Sark team. Now I would prefer quiet Shay to win. She makes a pretty good Jungle Jane too.
Agree, Erin, I think the negative look (which, of course, could have been lifted from any point of time) was to show that she didn’t think he should have played the idol. That must be purely because he had one more chance, because otherwise Sam knew nothing of the scramble, and Mark really needed to judge for himself. I actually think he believed himself safe but just wasn’t willing to take the risk. He said earlier that he was getting bad vibes, and that was true – the group were wanting to take him out. It was just that someone turned the vote on Jordie (thank goodness).
Who do we think is going to win? If the aussie version is edited with the same “winners edit” that the US uses, it could only be Josh, Mark or at a pinch Chrissy. We haven’t seen enough of Shay or KJ for it to make sense for either of them to win.
Also the jury are all superfans and when Dave was booted, on Jury Villa they talked about rewarding a well rounded game. Jesse even said he didn’t think Jordie could win.
The show is prerecorded. The betting agencies I canvassed are pretty clear who the “winner” is. Three people can keep a secret……if two of them are dead.
(Not an endorsement of gambling)
Almost unbackable odds. 🤣
I haven’t looked at any betting and don’t watch the villa, but I am glad to hear that the jury might be a fair one. The last one on US version was so bitter, you could have made lemonade (poor Xander).
Who I would like to win is Mark, or if not him, Josh. Out of the choices, only these two have had visible impact on the game. Chrissy would be next choice, mainly because there have been clues laid that she has done more behind the scenes, but she would have to lay out a cracker of a case at the final.
I think KJ had potential, but her sister’s blunders caused her to bury herself for too long. She didn’t know when to emerge and impact the game. She might be worth a second season. Shay’s only strength is challenges, admittedly a huge asset, but presumably if she was (happily) eliminated then her social game wasn’t wonderful.
If this was the US version then I would presume that no man had a chance of winning, and out of the girls it would have been the least worthy. Fortunately our game hasn’t been too much like that yet, so hopefully the jury will again reward the play.
If Mark makes the final, then I can’t see how there could be an argument against his win. But then, I said that about Xander, too…
As a player. there could not be argument against his win. The stolen idol, well big deal.
As a viewer I see nothing but a watered down clone of Ben Roberts Smith. That’s a big deal.
Mark and his neurotic sidecar curdle my viewing pleasure.
Military Mediocrity and a supine slave. Suckvivor.
Who got the flick last night?
jeordie
I saw Jeordie’s eviction. I thought there was a Sunday night ep
Yes. Sorry, I lost a cpouple of days .Tranquilisers will do that.
We saw a big reset of who the group think are threats now. Suddenly Mark was not really a target, which was weird. It wasn’t stated but I think that having concealed the idol for so long, the others think that will make him less of a winner (if they are angry about the concealment, or the steal in the first place).
Suddenly Shay was the real issue, as they all looked to the final challenge and decided that nobody would beat her in the typical one that favours the light female who can zone out. I would so much love to see a different style of final challenge – one that gives all an equal chance.
Then the girls had another attempt at the “girl power” idea. Chrissy decided that it was time to make her move, and agreed to vote with the other two girls, but they didn’t trust her enough and threw in a Plan B. KJ can attribute her place on the jury to that lack of trust in Chrissy because if they had stuck to Plan A, Mark would have gone. (BTW, Shay had won the immunity).
It is really now, imo, down to who presents the best argument at the final, and whether the jury reward well-planned and executed play, or adaptability, or pulling strings from behind a bigger target. I am not so convinced of the winner now, as it seems that many might resent having been taken in by Sam and Mark’s play.
It is also hard to tell now which of the four will make the final. I think Chrissy might be there as a goat, even though I love her and think she has been more influential than she will get credit for. And her ditzy, mumsy act has been so convincing – that is gold, imo. Josh and Chrissy are totally loyal, so each will favour the other. Nobody will want Shay to win the challenge even though it is almost certain she will. If she has the choice of finalist, there is no doubt she will take Chrissy. The finals are not as clear cut as they might have seemed before.
KJ tried very hard, scrambled well, lay low when she needed to, and yet none of her efforts seemed to produce the result she was looking for. Maybe her social game, persuasion skills, just didn’t quite get there.
I’m excited to see how the game keeps turning, because I can’t predict now.
Aargh. I hate it when sheer stupidity gets in the road of a good plan.
Although I am prepared to concede that good editing can influence my view. I am so easily manipulated.
BTW, the US version is slightly better this time. They seem to have dropped Jeff’s showboating, his to-camera bits, and all the woke stuff. Removing those things has made the constant advantages etc more palatable.
I still have to laugh when Jeff constantly tries to push that these two seasons are the “toughest yet” when they all look so soft compared to outback Charters Towers.
Speaking of difficulty, has anyone noticed how the questions on the Australian version of The Chase are dumbed down compared to the British version? Are we that dumb?
Good cast, too. I like that they are not all buff.
Of course, anyone who knows me by now would know that Jesse and Jeordie would be my favourites, with their cheeky, larrikin humour. Tom Sawyer types. Rat bags.
I do like a final three. Not an unexpected outcome
I prefer a final three as well. It makes it feel bigger? More rounded? More context?
Something along those lines.
I am not surprised at the outcome.
I am disappointed. Unlikeable person so I’m giving zero for the social game.
However it was unanimous so, following my usual tradition, what would I know.
I wonder if too much emphasis is given these days to a ruthless game and not enough to ethics.
The boomakers knew for weeks.
Mark and Sam are turds floating in the toilet bowl of life. Feel sorry for their abandoned kid.
An enjoyable final for a change, although the entirely predictable challenge was a bit boring. It was quite telling that Shay got almost no questions directed at her. She seems nice but her game was so one-dimensional, and of course you get marked down as “lucky” if you return after being eliminated.
When Chrissy spoke, I thought she had turned the tide. She just about had them all in tears, and I was convinced it was all genuine. I think her real attachment for people got in the way of the ruthless player she would have liked to be.
Then the TC moved onto the questioning and from that point it was clear who they respected more. Chrissy may have won hearts, but Mark won the respect, and judging by the goodwill at the end, many of their affections as well. I would congratulate them as a pair, because I think most of the win was Sam’s skill, and their working together with a set plan. A master class on how to play Blood vs Water.
Well, that’s it for Aus Survivor for the time being. One of the better seasons.
Much as I didn’t like the outcome, you are correct.
They played as a pair whereas the others played for last-man-standing (don’t shoot me. I can’t think of a better non-gendered phrase and I don’t mean anything by it).
And absolutely this was one of the better seasons.
Let’s just hope we don’t see any of them popping up on The Bachelor.
How was josh’s form. He has a go at Chrissy for voting for him then in the next breath turns to Mark & asks him why he reneged & didn’t vote for Chrissy like they discussed. Hello. You just had a go at Chrissy for voting for you when YOU VOTED FOR HER. If I were Chrissy I would have gone are you for real? I really don’t like it when the other finalists get NO votes.