49 Comments

  1. I think it’s probably a given that this week, Shonee and Fenella will be giving their marching orders.

    But just for entertainment sake, I really hope the Brian/Champions split turns into open warfare. I don’t think anyone realises just how dangerous Shane is.

  2. Shonee just won immunity?

    Sorry, what?

    Meanwhile, I wish they’d sprung that “dead man walking” twist on us with a little bit of forewarning. Jonathon explained it to us, but I have absolutely no idea what any of that meant.

    • Same! We had to go back, listen again, and still not 100% clear I’ve got it right!
      The shows where people don’t actually leave are my least favourite.
      I do wonder if Mon was influenced by not actually sending Steve home for this one. She seems to get on pretty well with him.

  3. Aaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrgh!!!! That sums up my feelings about Survivor at the moment – I’m barely hanging in there. Shonee’s stupidity (generally and then winning immunity and all she could say was “Oh my god, oh my god”) and Monica’s tears, it’s just doing my head in.

  4. Did anyone else just lose a little respect for Monica?

    She knew what game she was signing on for. More to the point, surely she can see that both alliances are using her for the final 4 spot?

    I still think Steve is deliberately pulling his punches. There’s no way he’s not a lot better at this game than he’s letting on. It’s the only explanation I can think of.

    And I’m still not sure about this whole “dead man walking” twist. What’s the point, other than potentially forcing a tie (three versus three) tomorrow night?

    • I can’t quite work Monika out. She’s been pretty invisible since the start with hardly any confessionals that it’s hard to determine what her game play actually is. That said, she’s never had a vote cast against her and has been on the right side of the numbers, even being the swing vote the last few episodes.

      There must be more to her game that we’re just not seeing on the show. I was especially surprised last week when she went to Steve to tell him about what Benji said about Shonee’s vote steal. I didn’t even know they were close, let alone that she went to him for advice.

      • I find the edit hard to read as well Peski. She is ALWAYS on the right side of the numbers, but being the swing vote usually means you are the bottom of a couple of alliances!

        • Too true. Her social game must be pretty strong that both sides are letting her in on the important conversations. Are they just not realising that she’s also fraternising quite cosily with their enemies?

    • Monika made a very convincing performance last night that she was with the champions, and then voted the other way. She seemed (before then) to be very tight with Brian, yet last night no sign of that. Then tears about how hard it is to be in the middle. Can’t work her out now, and starting to suspect that she is using feminine wiles on everybody, even trying to make Shane feel motherly toward her.

      The edit made it quite clear that something was happening with Steve. More air time at the start of the episode than he has had in total for the whole series.

      • I’m having trouble figuring out Steve’s gameplay, I tell you. I can’t remember him doing a single thing this whole season, beyond occasionally grunting at Jonathon or spouting faux-philosophy on the beach. I’m definitely not cheering for him to win.

  5. Hang on … with nobody going home tonight, that means no jury villa video tonight?

    That means no Robbie.

    Not. Happy. Channel 10.

    As an aside, I’m just gonna say it. Is Steve really annoying anybody else? At every TC, he’s the most expressive person there, but whenever Jonathon actually asks him a question, it’s grunts and one-word answers. He’s coming across as very fake and contrived. I’m not a fan.

        • He was rolling his eyes very dramatically. I don’t understand why their friendship is a big deal. There have been plenty of loyal friendships along the way

          • But it was a very big deal for Heath and Tegan, even when they weren’t voting together. I see the girls as quite a dangerous pair because of their close friendship. At the same time, I suspect Fenella would not have chosen a friendship with Shonee if she had had any other choice.

    • I think, at TC, Steve’s natural reaction is to be responsive with facial expressions, but his tactic is to try to say as little as possible. I love his deadpan non-answers, but he will have to start making his case soon or he is in danger of appearing inactive.

      Out of all the ones left he is still the most mysterious. Everyone else has shown their hand, to the viewers, to some extent. Of course, it possible that there is nothing behind what we have seen, and he is as bland as he seems to appear.

      • He’s very different to his Commando persona, that’s for sure. His little talk on the beach with Shane showed he’s much more of a softy than I thought.
        And yes, he doesn’t give Jonathan much to work with answer-wise so I’m glad we’re getting a lot of close-ups of his facial expressions and reactions.

  6. If Steve has been holding back in immunity challenges now’s the time to go all out.
    There are just too many left that I really DON’T want to win and no one I’m overly enthusiastic about barracking for.

    • Yeah, I’m with you, I think. There’s nobody left I’m really cheering for. It’d be nice if Brian took the game by the scruff of its neck and began turfing out the old Champions, but he’s already walking a very fine line between “chessmaster” and “repugnant”.

  7. That was a crap episode, why not just vote them out…prolong the bloody series???
    Thinking their must be a family visit soon…i enjoy those…
    God, how funny was it when shonee won immunity, i dont think anyone expected that!

    • Lots of filler. So much time devoted to JLap Talking at tribal. I’d rather see shots of Shane swimming or Steve meditating

      • I love watching Shane swim – it’s effortless, poet and just beautiful.

        No sarcasm,, I’m serious.

        I’m enjoying this series – I skipped the previous as a protest to the season before it, the one that had all those annoying contestants and manipulation from the producers (the one where the winner said she orchestrated everything but in reality, she never said or did anything that some one else hadn’t said to her first)

        Only annoying thing is the squealing – two grown women giggling at canine pitch level gives me the shits.

    • I don’t mind having a twist. I was actually wanting one to happen because it has just been elimination every night since Tegan went to exile (oh so long ago). But I think this one is a toothless tiger. I kept trying to think what difference it makes, and could only come up with the evictee having a few more days to try to swing votes. I presume it was preset, so the producers couldn’t know that at this point it basically gave the power to one faction over the other.

      I think it would have been better to put more idols/advantages in play and twist them to encourage them being played.

      • Doesn’t DMW get a chance to return to the game? They need to use this opportunity to take out Steve’s alliance. This DMW is like a holding station. If he can’t be voted out, he could end up in the final 3.

        • He doesn’t actually go anywhere. Everything stays the same except that he has no vote at the next two TCs, effectively removing a vote from the champs. I think he can be voted out, though, because JLP was saying “IF you last through the DMW period, you will be final five.”

          I don’t like the way this works, because essentially the vote last night determined which alliance will be decimated. My only hope is that someone makes (or is persuaded to make) a very unexpected move and break both alliances apart.

  8. I softened toward Shornee and Fenella when they became part of Benji’s alliance. Funny how who they support, or who they gun for, can change your feelings toward them.
    I feel like Steve and Shane have been acting a bit up themselves. That will probably change now.

  9. It was funny that Brian wanted to eliminate Steve, but all the girls wanted Shane, and Brian’s comments all indicated that he has no fear of Shane at all. That’s going to bite him in the white whale.

    How was it that it seemed that Brian changed the vote in the middle of TC (told Shenella under his breath to go Steve) yet Monika was too far away to hear that and still voted Steve. Why didn’t she stick to the first plan of Shane?

    Loving Sharn’s ability to speak so clearly and persuasively at TC. Most of them have the art of answering the questions with non-answers, but Sharn can speak ten sentences which make perfect sense, and you only realise a long time after that she hasn’t actually given anything away. She is still my favourite, but she has to get better at challenges.

    • Sharn is a successful lawyer, so words are her skill. I agree with you that both Sharn and Shane are a lot more dangerous than they appear.

      I assume Brian’s just threatened by Steve’s physicality, because based on what we’ve seen, Steve is *not* the game-breaking powerhouse I assumed he would be.

      • At this stage, anyone who might be strong in winning immunity is a threat. I think Steve was the right choice. Shane can swim like a torpedo, but isn’t great at other challenges, although she’s probably better than Steve at puzzles.

      • It seems that they’ve forgotten that Sharn can be a physical threat too… hanging off a pole for 4 hours is no mean feat.

    • What are we not seeing about Shane that Shonella wanted her for Dead Man Walking instead of Steve?

      And in some ways, Brian targeting Steve for it instead might just give Steve the incentive to start playing hard. And Steve would have Mat’s final jury vote to possibly win the whole game (since Mat is probably godfather in the jury villa too).

      • I see a lot in Shane that they all should be worried about, but she is very cleverly not showing them. Shane has already done some big things (that I didn’t like, but will give credit for) that others have taken the rap for – she is good at planting seeds and suggestions while looking innocent.

        I think you are right, Windsong – Brian is just scared of Steve winning immunity. But if Steve doesn’t win tonight, I think I will believe that I bought into the hype, and that he just isn’t as good as he should be. It will be irrelevant anyway, because if Steve doesn’t get immunity, he will be out at TC.

  10. Didn’t notice until it was mentioned last night that there are only two guys left, and all the jury are male. Obviously it was very appealing to Brian to be the last man in the tribe, but I don’t think that smart of him.

    • Yes, it’s quite rare and refreshing for this many women to have outlasted the men.

      Probably feeds Brian’s ego to be one of the last 2 guys, and I still think he has a chance to take it out. I would think Mat (and by default his two fan boys on the jury) would reward him because he successfully evaded their attempts to remove him.

  11. This dead man walking shook things up a bit. Didn’t see that one coming. Steve dodged a bullet. It would have been him going home. Matt’s expression on the jury when Jonathan told them about the dead man walking was hilarious. He looked so shocked.

  12. I still maintain that if you are not going to win the best position is first person on the jury. You have comfort for the remainder and the opportunity to talk the new jury members around to your way of thinking. (Clearly I would be hopeless at actually playing the game).

    • It’d be a bummer if I made it to merge only to be the first one out then. That’s when the individual game really kicks into high gear.
      Do you know if the Australian version is the same as the US where the winner gets $1M, runner up $100K, second runner up $50K etc?

      • I know the winner gets $500,000. In an interview with Tara last year, she said the runner-up got nothing. Presumably in addition to weekly living expenses the champions also had sweeteners just for signing on to the show. Steve would have been the biggest star going in.

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