Survivor Season 46 - Episode Twelve - 4 IN A ROW! Also Liz Pooped. (9 Viewers)

[Pip's Invitation]

One of the things that really strikes me is that the 45 and 46 casts basically played under the same twists and conditions, but they could not be any more different. The 45 cast valued loyalty and alliances and with a few exceptions mostly loved each other. The 46 cast values chaos and has produced few solid alliances and seems to hate each other.

One of the things pointed out in another Survivor discussion, all this drama the last few episodes has made for good episodes, and coincidentally, has come in episodes without a lot of twists and manufactured moments. No "journeys", no "pick one player to go off on their own", no advantages, and no idols played. Just... old school Survivor.

Fan complaints about that reached a fever pitch in 44 after the Matt boot. It seems like production dialed things back for 45 and 46 at least in part because of that. Now, Probst says on his podcast that they will be varying how many twists there are and which ones will appear each season to keep future casts guessing. But hopefully they will realize that 46 is the best-received newbie season since David vs. Goliath, and understand why that is.

The 90-minute episodes (which will continue for seasons 47 and 48) also help a lot with this.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I chuckled at this description on Reddit:

an absolute looney tunes season of frivolity and waived psych evals.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Charlie: Am I the one who goes awry?
Rest of cast: No, it's us.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Bhanu had 35 confessionals in 4 episodes. That is more than Ben, Liz and Maria have in 10.

 

[snogger]

Maria.. Way to wimp out
30 minutes left.. Seems it is Q or Venus.

Will Venus be the first one to actually use the idol and finally take out Q?

 

[snogger]

3 in a row

 

[TLEF316]

Venise....

 

[BigJim®]

Uhhh, Ben voted Kenzie, Liz and Kenzie voted Venus… either this was the most pointless edit ever or I watched the wrong 90 minute show.

 

[Corporation]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

 

[Mjolnirs]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

 

[simey]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

That episode showed a picture of Liz eating at Applebee's, and I'm pretty sure her burger wasn't on a bun. It looked like a messy pile of beef, shrooms, maybe onions, and swiss cheese with some fries. Fries can be risky when eaten out cause they can share a greasy oil basket with gluten stuff or even be breaded. I'm sure she ask how they make them.

Gluten free pizza can be hit or miss. Some have improved over the years. I've especially had some gluten free zucchini crust and cauliflower crust pizza that was good.

 

[TLEF316]

Pretty sure Liz's only actual allergy is not being the center of attention.

Telling the server at Applebee's that she requires the gluten free option is probably the highlight of her week

 

[Mjolnirs]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

That episode showed a picture of Liz eating at Applebee's, and I'm pretty sure her burger wasn't on a bun. It looked like a messy pile of beef, shrooms, maybe onions, and swiss cheese with some fries. Fries can be risky when eaten out cause they can share a greasy oil basket with gluten stuff or even be breaded. I'm sure she ask how they make them.

Gluten free pizza can be hit or miss. Some have improved over the years. I've especially had some gluten free zucchini crust and cauliflower crust pizza that was good.

I didn't notice that. That makes a difference.
Yeh, they say the fries are in a shared frier and risk cross contamination.
We found a really tasty GF pizza, and she got sick. It really is hit or miss.

 

[stbugs]

Pretty sure Liz's only actual allergy is not being the center of attention.

Telling the server at Applebee's that she requires the gluten free option is probably the highlight of her week

I’ve mentioned to my son and wife that I don’t think her allergies are real or her businesses. The way she said that her stress caused them and her social behavior make me doubt both. I think she’s just a complete nut.

 

[stbugs]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

Normally, I agree with you but I think this was bad for Charlie. I think he killed his chance of taking out Q and basically having a 4-2 edge where they can flush an idol and get rid of her before final 4. Now, I think he’s stuck and won’t get rid of Maria. I don’t think Ben will turn easily and Venus isn’t a number.

I think Maria won big time with Q sticking around again. Kenzie and Liz are just dumb at this point. Getting rid of Venus gets rid of the one person they could beat at the end. They’ve got 0 chance now. I think Maria has it in the bag. One more challenge win and she’s guaranteed final 4.


Does Charlie know about Maria’s idol? I can’t recall and we weren’t sure anymore.

 

[Runkle]

Pure chaos

One person begs, the rest all say 'pick whoever you want, no hard feelings' then she makes 3 people state their case and then 2 roshambo. Inane.

 

[Runkle]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

Venus's bizarre convo with Charlie... Unable to lie? Had to smirk and allude to "something"... Definitely cost her the game. What was she thinking there? What a loon.

 

[Corporation]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

Normally, I agree with you but I think this was bad for Charlie. I think he killed his chance of taking out Q and basically having a 4-2 edge where they can flush an idol and get rid of her before final 4. Now, I think he’s stuck and won’t get rid of Maria. I don’t think Ben will turn easily and Venus isn’t a number.

I think Maria won big time with Q sticking around again. Kenzie and Liz are just dumb at this point. Getting rid of Venus gets rid of the one person they could beat at the end. They’ve got 0 chance now. I think Maria has it in the bag. One more challenge win and she’s guaranteed final 4.


Does Charlie know about Maria’s idol? I can’t recall and we weren’t sure anymore.

Yep it could really go either way. Venus with an idol is an issue, and he transferred a lot of heat to Maria.

It gets confusing but I don’t think Maria has an idol. She used an extra vote advantage early on. I could be wrong though.

 

[stbugs]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

Normally, I agree with you but I think this was bad for Charlie. I think he killed his chance of taking out Q and basically having a 4-2 edge where they can flush an idol and get rid of her before final 4. Now, I think he’s stuck and won’t get rid of Maria. I don’t think Ben will turn easily and Venus isn’t a number.

I think Maria won big time with Q sticking around again. Kenzie and Liz are just dumb at this point. Getting rid of Venus gets rid of the one person they could beat at the end. They’ve got 0 chance now. I think Maria has it in the bag. One more challenge win and she’s guaranteed final 4.


Does Charlie know about Maria’s idol? I can’t recall and we weren’t sure anymore.

Yep it could really go either way. Venus with an idol is an issue, and he transferred a lot of heat to Maria.

It gets confusing but I don’t think Maria has an idol. She used an extra vote advantage early on. I could be wrong though.

Really? Damn, how could I not remember that. It was just an advantage and Jen was so meh to me that I forgot she had it. I was saying to my son that we had barely gotten any Maria screen time all season. Quick convos with Charlie and Q, but not a lot until rock paper scissors.

Makes more sense to me now that Maria is in trouble and not getting a winner’s edit. Charlie is in better position as you said without my imaginary idol.

 

[stbugs]

As soon as Venus said "Tiff going home with an idol in her pocket will haunt her forever", I knew she was gone. She actually had some of her best gameplay of the season this episode as well. She searched for and found the idol, and kept it secret (until she didn't). She performed really well in the challenge. She looked like she was corraling the goats and had a good plan for Q in place. But then she just couldn't help tipping her hand to Charlie, who is probably the one person you don't want to play that game with. I'm quite sure he went back to camp and got everyone on board for Venus, which wasn't a hard task at all.

Maria had some missteps. She took full credit for the move to blindside Tiff, which enhanced the target. She won another immunity (although you can't really pass that up), but really botched the choosing of the other 2. That really played in Charlie's favor, and he was wise to magnanimously give up being chosen to put heat on others. Q could care less if he made people mad by going on back to back challenges.

Liz is simply a trainwreck. I would love to see a documentary on how some of reality show's more outlandish characters readjust to real life. This cannot help her business (if she even has 1 or 6). Kenzie caught a stray in case Venus played her idol but it lets her know what position she is in. She's not a goat, and she's not in the alliance. Bad place to be.

Charlie was the big winner tonight.

Here's my listing of most likely to win:
Charlie - takes over from Maria, but perhaps only briefly. Both are challenge threats, but I think he played this episode well enough that he cast some serious heat on Maria.
Maria - perhaps a misstep tonight (but maybe not, since all real votes went on her choice of Venus) but still a challenge and strategic threat
Kenzie - I originally had Ben here, but I think Kenzie has a better shot to make the Final 3 than Ben (explained below). Kenzie and Ben can only win if with Q and Liz.
Ben - I just don't think Ben can win the Final 4 challenge as he has pretty much sucked at everything, and I don't see anyone bringing the likable lad along.
Q - I don't think he can win, but I put him ahead of Liz just because I don't see a scenario of anyone giving her anything
Liz - Trainwreck

Venus's bizarre convo with Charlie... Unable to lie? Had to smirk and allude to "something"... Definitely cost her the game. What was she thinking there? What a loon.

Absolutely did cost her. She was an idiot and couldn’t contain her narcissism. They showed Charlie talking to Kenzie about Venus having something up her sleeve. After seeing Liz and Kenzie voting for Venus, it’s obvious that the edited the show to not show that Kenzie (noticed Venus not really looking) and Charlie figured out Venus found it and the hatched the plan to vote her out.

 

[Jayrok]

Venus went from winning the challenge and guaranteeing herself the final 4, to being just another overly proud dummy who literally can't help telling someone she's better than everyone because she found an idol. Her giddiness with Charlie was embarrassing and, ultimately, cost her a chance to win the game. Will they ever learn?

Three in a row go home with an idol in their pocket. Has to be a survivor record. Again, what's the point in finding idols... nah, even having idols in the show? No one knows how to use them anymore. Seems the point of finding them is to just gloat for awhile and then get blindsided because you fail to read the room.

You have to think that any future contestants watching this show are vowing to not tell anyone (even those you think you're in an alliance with because alliances often shift as we see every season) about found idols. Nah, they'll screw it up. The need to tell everyone "look at me, I'm great" is just too enticing to ignore.

This season has been a hoot. Half the jury kicking themselves for sitting there with idols and dysfunctional contestants with a few meltdowns thrown in.

 

[Brony]

Venus went from winning the challenge and guaranteeing herself the final 4, to being just another overly proud dummy who literally can't help telling someone she's better than everyone because she found an idol. Her giddiness with Charlie was embarrassing and, ultimately, cost her a chance to win the game. Will they ever learn?

Three in a row go home with an idol in their pocket. Has to be a survivor record. Again, what's the point in finding idols... nah, even having idols in the show? No one knows how to use them anymore. Seems the point of finding them is to just gloat for awhile and then get blindsided because you fail to read the room.

You have to think that any future contestants watching this show are vowing to not tell anyone (even those you think you're in an alliance with because alliances often shift as we see every season) about found idols. Nah, they'll screw it up. The need to tell everyone "look at me, I'm great" is just too enticing to ignore.

This season has been a hoot. Half the jury kicking themselves for sitting there with idols and dysfunctional contestants with a few meltdowns thrown in.

Yeah, I was hoping for Venus to stick around only because I think she makes the show more interesting, but dam, she can't get out of her own way. The bizarre thing is that she thought she was playing a great game and she'll probably watch the edit and still think she did great.

 

[simey]

Venus's bizarre convo with Charlie... Unable to lie? Had to smirk and allude to "something"... Definitely cost her the game. What was she thinking there? What a loon

I was just shaking my head through that whole scene. I reckon she thought she could work Charlie by flashing him with a coquettish smile while boasting about having something up her sleeve. Did she really think Charlie wasn't gonna spread the news? Venus (and that ego of hers) thought too much of her own game to play the idol even though Q and Maria were throwing verbal darts at her in TC, and you know Ben was gonna vote with them. Others were no sure thing. The red flags were waving for Venus to play her idol. More so than they were waving for Tiff. Now she has a little souvenir to haunt her too.

The idols this year are like the bad luck Tiki idol on The Brady Bunch. They must have been taken from some ancient burial caves on the island. 5 4 people have been voted off this year with an idol in their pocket.

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

Only one percent of the population actually has celiac disease. All these other people that claim to be gluten-free, don’t have the massive side effects like your wife. It’s mostly just a lifestyle not a medical choice.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

The pic they showed of Liz and her daughter at Applebee's had Liz with a burger without a bun.

 

[TLEF316]

Yeah, Venus' entire exit had "pretty girl who always assumes things will work out" written all over it.

That convo with Charlie was absurd. Pretty sure Tay Tay is the only one that gets away with talking to him like that.

"I have a special surprise....but I can't tell you what it is....just trust me". Sorry hun.....thats not gonna fly....especially with 7 people left

 

[snogger]

Venus provided good banter on how full of herself she is.
Something along the lines of:
"If I hadn't played such a GREAT Social game, I'd play my Idol.. But I know I can save it"

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Pretty sure Liz's only actual allergy is not being the center of attention.

Telling the server at Applebee's that she requires the gluten free option is probably the highlight of her week

I’ve mentioned to my son and wife that I don’t think her allergies are real or her businesses. The way she said that her stress caused them and her social behavior make me doubt both. I think she’s just a complete nut.

All of that could be true.

However, stress releases cortisol into your system, which is known to raise your heart rate and blood pressure. If the inflammatory pathway is involved, that's the same pathway that produces screwed-up responses to food. What she said is plausible on some level, but it's not as simplistic as she described.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Venus went from winning the challenge and guaranteeing herself the final 4, to being just another overly proud dummy who literally can't help telling someone she's better than everyone because she found an idol. Her giddiness with Charlie was embarrassing and, ultimately, cost her a chance to win the game. Will they ever learn?

Three in a row go home with an idol in their pocket. Has to be a survivor record. Again, what's the point in finding idols... nah, even having idols in the show? No one knows how to use them anymore. Seems the point of finding them is to just gloat for awhile and then get blindsided because you fail to read the room.

You have to think that any future contestants watching this show are vowing to not tell anyone (even those you think you're in an alliance with because alliances often shift as we see every season) about found idols. Nah, they'll screw it up. The need to tell everyone "look at me, I'm great" is just too enticing to ignore.

This season has been a hoot. Half the jury kicking themselves for sitting there with idols and dysfunctional contestants with a few meltdowns thrown in.

4 people voted out with idols is a record. The previous was 3 in ... Island of the Idols. Three consecutive people voted out with an idol is also a record.

It's pretty obvious at this point that the key with idols is not telling anyone about them. (Which is hard to do in the premerge when you get a "Beware Advantage" and have to jump through a bunch of hoops to find the actual idol, but not when you find it like Venus did.) However, especially in the new era, the show deliberately casts people incapable of keeping their mouths shut. So we'll probably get a lot more of this, even from the 48 and 49 casts who will have seen all of this season before playing (not sure about 47).

 

[Runkle]

I think the casting directors must have thought "what would happen if we put one normal but slightly naive person (Charlie) on an island of complete mental patients? (everyone else)"

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Venus's bizarre convo with Charlie... Unable to lie? Had to smirk and allude to "something"... Definitely cost her the game. What was she thinking there? What a loon

5 people have been voted off this year with an idol in their pocket.

Four. Randen was medevac'd with a Beware Advantage that hadn't become an idol yet.

 

[jb1020]

It must be incredibly difficult to find an idol and keep your mouth shut. Like, impossible.

 

[simey]

Only one percent of the population actually has celiac disease. All these other people that claim to be gluten-free, don’t have the massive side effects like your wife. It’s mostly just a lifestyle not a medical choice.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is very real though, and some people with gluten sensitivity can get sick. I know three people that about **** themselves blind and have bad stomach pain, bloating, and gas if they eat gluten. One thing those three have in common is IBS. Gluten is a big trigger for some IBS people.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

For all the chaos and unclear allegiances, we got a hint at the beginning of this episode as to how the alliances lie. Maria's innocuous "are we [who voted for Tiffany] the final 5?" remark turned out to reflect what was happening. Not in that group was Venus, who got booted. Also not in that group was Kenzie, who caught a stray vote from Ben, her supposed ally, probably to ensure that Q would be saved if Venus played an idol (those who could vote from the group of 5 would have booted Kenzie on the revote), and that there would be no scramble if Venus played her Shot in the Dark successfully. For the first time in the postmerge I think I have a sense of how things might go for the rest of the game. But this cast is the most chaotic of the new era, so who knows.

So, here is where I think people will finish based on my read of the edit -- which is definitely not guaranteed to be reliable. I'll put it in spoiler tags in case people don't want to know anything about how edit-reading works.

Spoiler: edit-reading

6. Maria. She became a huge target by orchestrating and taking credit for the Tiffany boot. And her asinine reward-picking strategy pissed a lot of people off. Plus people see Q as her lackey who will do what she says, and they know she has been tight with Charlie (and probably Ben) all game. Her plan will probably be to boot Kenzie at 6, but I'm not sure anyone else but Q would prefer Kenzie to go over her. She and Charlie have been shown to be the best strategists of the season, but Charlie has gotten way more confessionals than her, and the edit has given us his POV way more than hers. This tells me Charlie is probably more important to the endgame than her.

5. Kenzie. If the group of 5 (Maria/Charlie/Ben/Q/Liz) is a real alliance, and I think it is, then they don't want Kenzie to get to the end. In the new era, the F5 boot, the last before firemaking, has often been given a big edit because they are the biggest threat and/or the last obstacle for the majority alliance to overcome. Kenzie fits that mold. Plus she's a social threat who could be perceived to have a lot of friends on the jury.

4. Liz. She has been shown to be completely incompetent at anything fire-related. And in this episode, the editors showed fire reflected through her glasses, like they did constantly with Carson in 44, and he lost firemaking. So I think she is our firemaking loser. Now, the editors could just be toying with us and Liz is actually the firemaking winner or doesn't go to fire at all. But this is what makes the most sense to me as of now. If Charlie wins the final immunity challenge and Maria and Kenzie are gone, he's got the game won and it doesn't matter who he puts in fire. I can see him taking Ben, whom he has been allied with from the beginning, leaving Q to beat Liz in fire.

3. Q. He's a total nutjob and his attempted quit pissed off the jury. But he's played a more restrained game since then, has used himself as a smokescreen to help take out multiple people with idols, and has been brought into what appears to be the majority alliance. And he's a top real estate salesman, so he could do a good job selling the jury on his post-meltdown "strategy." But I think he needs Maria, Kenzie and Charlie all on the jury in order to pull that off. I can see him winning a F3 with Liz and Ben, but not any other combo unless something really weird happens, which is certainly possible with this cast.

2. Ben. I think he's more aligned with Charlie and Maria than we've been shown, but we've gotten extremely little strategic content from him. He's also been really drained by the elements according to exit interviews. There's a chance that he's a Gabler "hiding in plain sight" who could pull off a victory based on his social game alone, but I don't think he can win if Charlie and/or Maria are sitting with him. And maybe Kenzie as well.

1. Charlie. This episode really separated him from Maria in terms of storyline and chances of winning IMO. He has been the voice of the audience all season, and has been edited as the only "normal" person in a cast full of wackadoodles. We are constantly getting his perspective on everything. And was never more clear than in this episode, where he got 16 (!) confessionals despite not being the overt driver of the vote. That's more than Q got in his fake-quit episode and only slightly less than Tony in the WAW episode where every storyline was dominated by him ("disadvantage" from EOE, collecting fire tokens from both alliances, winning immunity, orchestrating blindside). Why would someone get 16 confessionals at this stage, and have the crucial F7 vote shown from his perspective, if he wasn't the winner or otherwise very important to the endgame? Also, he played brilliantly, subtly poisoning the non-rewardees against Maria and sussing out that Venus was up to no good. There's a chance this is another Jesse scenario, but to me the most likely outcome is that he is our winner -- and if he is sitting at FTC with any combo of Q, Ben and Liz, he could be our first unanimous winner since Adam in S33.

 

[Corporation]

Only one percent of the population actually has celiac disease. All these other people that claim to be gluten-free, don’t have the massive side effects like your wife. It’s mostly just a lifestyle not a medical choice.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is very real though, and some people with gluten sensitivity can get sick. I know three people that about **** themselves blind and have bad stomach pain, bloating, and gas if they eat gluten. One thing those three have in common is IBS. Gluten is a big trigger for some IBS people.

Well someone needs to get Liz a Gluten-burger with a side of Gluten, because she hasn't pooped in 3 weeks

I do agree, I know some people with the gluten sensitivity as well, although I think there are many more people who claim to have it than actually do.

 

[identikit]

Surprised the pizza feed wasn't sponsored by some crappy pie slingers

 

[identikit]

Also, I'm betting Liz is @ some college protest right now

 

[Runkle]

For all the chaos and unclear allegiances, we got a hint at the beginning of this episode as to how the alliances lie. Maria's innocuous "are we [who voted for Tiffany] the final 5?" remark turned out to reflect what was happening. Not in that group was Venus, who got booted. Also not in that group was Kenzie, who caught a stray vote from Ben, her supposed ally, probably to ensure that Q would be saved if Venus played an idol (those who could vote from the group of 5 would have booted Kenzie on the revote), and that there would be no scramble if Venus played her Shot in the Dark successfully. For the first time in the postmerge I think I have a sense of how things might go for the rest of the game. But this cast is the most chaotic of the new era, so who knows.

So, here is where I think people will finish based on my read of the edit -- which is definitely not guaranteed to be reliable. I'll put it in spoiler tags in case people don't want to know anything about how edit-reading works.

Spoiler: edit-reading

6. Maria. She became a huge target by orchestrating and taking credit for the Tiffany boot. And her asinine reward-picking strategy pissed a lot of people off. Plus people see Q as her lackey who will do what she says, and they know she has been tight with Charlie (and probably Ben) all game. Her plan will probably be to boot Kenzie at 6, but I'm not sure anyone else but Q would prefer Kenzie to go over her. She and Charlie have been shown to be the best strategists of the season, but Charlie has gotten way more confessionals than her, and the edit has given us his POV way more than hers. This tells me Charlie is probably more important to the endgame than her.

5. Kenzie. If the group of 5 (Maria/Charlie/Ben/Q/Liz) is a real alliance, and I think it is, then they don't want Kenzie to get to the end. In the new era, the F5 boot, the last before firemaking, has often been given a big edit because they are the biggest threat and/or the last obstacle for the majority alliance to overcome. Kenzie fits that mold. Plus she's a social threat who could be perceived to have a lot of friends on the jury.

4. Liz. She has been shown to be completely incompetent at anything fire-related. And in this episode, the editors showed fire reflected through her glasses, like they did constantly with Carson in 44, and he lost firemaking. So I think she is our firemaking loser. Now, the editors could just be toying with us and Liz is actually the firemaking winner or doesn't go to fire at all. But this is what makes the most sense to me as of now. If Charlie wins the final immunity challenge and Maria and Kenzie are gone, he's got the game won and it doesn't matter who he puts in fire. I can see him taking Ben, whom he has been allied with from the beginning, leaving Q to beat Liz in fire.

3. Q. He's a total nutjob and his attempted quit pissed off the jury. But he's played a more restrained game since then, has used himself as a smokescreen to help take out multiple people with idols, and has been brought into what appears to be the majority alliance. And he's a top real estate salesman, so he could do a good job selling the jury on his post-meltdown "strategy." But I think he needs Maria, Kenzie and Charlie all on the jury in order to pull that off. I can see him winning a F3 with Liz and Ben, but not any other combo unless something really weird happens, which is certainly possible with this cast.

2. Ben. I think he's more aligned with Charlie and Maria than we've been shown, but we've gotten extremely little strategic content from him. He's also been really drained by the elements according to exit interviews. There's a chance that he's a Gabler "hiding in plain sight" who could pull off a victory based on his social game alone, but I don't think he can win if Charlie and/or Maria are sitting with him. And maybe Kenzie as well.

1. Charlie. This episode really separated him from Maria in terms of storyline and chances of winning IMO. He has been the voice of the audience all season, and has been edited as the only "normal" person in a cast full of wackadoodles. We are constantly getting his perspective on everything. And was never more clear than in this episode, where he got 16 (!) confessionals despite not being the overt driver of the vote. That's more than Q got in his fake-quit episode and only slightly less than Tony in the WAW episode where every storyline was dominated by him ("disadvantage" from EOE, collecting fire tokens from both alliances, winning immunity, orchestrating blindside). Why would someone get 16 confessionals at this stage, and have the crucial F7 vote shown from his perspective, if he wasn't the winner or otherwise very important to the endgame? Also, he played brilliantly, subtly poisoning the non-rewardees against Maria and sussing out that Venus was up to no good. There's a chance this is another Jesse scenario, but to me the most likely outcome is that he is our winner -- and if he is sitting at FTC with any combo of Q, Ben and Liz, he could be our first unanimous winner since Adam in S33.

Unconfirmed rumor about the final episode:

Spoiler

I can't remember where I heard it, but, somewhere in my memory I recall hearing from a source of dubious reliability that firemaking is not used this season at F4

 

[DA RAIDERS]

Here's what confused me.

I live with a person with Celiac Disease, this is a complete Gluten "allergy" that makes her very sick and damages her intestines. Gluten Free is not a choice, it is sadly a way of life.
So, Liz was excited that they were going to have Gluten Free pizza. Last week she said she loves this Applebee's hamburger. Hamburgers are not GF because of the bun. Now, it is possible to have GF buns, or have a burger without the bun, but Applebee's is not one of the places we would even halfway trust to safely make a burger. Hell, their menu has a Gluten Free section, but burgers are not on them.

Nobody really gets excited about Gluten Free pizza, not even the people that have to eat them.

That episode showed a picture of Liz eating at Applebee's, and I'm pretty sure her burger wasn't on a bun. It looked like a messy pile of beef, shrooms, maybe onions, and swiss cheese with some fries. Fries can be risky when eaten out cause they can share a greasy oil basket with gluten stuff or even be breaded. I'm sure she ask how they make them.

Gluten free pizza can be hit or miss. Some have improved over the years. I've especially had some gluten free zucchini crust and cauliflower crust pizza that was good.

I work in the restaurant industry. If the amount of people claiming gluten allergies are actually allergic we are doomed to extinction soon.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Only one percent of the population actually has celiac disease. All these other people that claim to be gluten-free, don’t have the massive side effects like your wife. It’s mostly just a lifestyle not a medical choice.

Which is a double edged sword. It causes people to roll their eyes at it, but has also led to more options available.

Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) is very real though, and some people with gluten sensitivity can get sick. I know three people that about **** themselves blind and have bad stomach pain, bloating, and gas if they eat gluten. One thing those three have in common is IBS. Gluten is a big trigger for some IBS people.

Yeh, that can be rough too.

I work in the restaurant industry. If the amount of people claiming gluten allergies are actually allergic we are doomed to extinction soon.

This is true. Each of my three grandkids has dealt with some type of an allergy as infants/toddlers. That's a discussion on its own.

Sorry to hijack the discussion.

 

[Instinctive]

Phenomenal episode. Love that Venus went home with the idol, even if it was foreshadowed incredibly heavily.

Venus has the game of the most untapped potential I can remember in a very long time. Soooooooo many advantageous positions and good strategy, but such horrible execution constantly and a super inflated sense of her own gameplay. I think she actually reminds me of a little bit less effective Marquesas Boston Rob.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Phenomenal episode. Love that Venus went home with the idol, even if it was foreshadowed incredibly heavily.

Venus has the game of the most untapped potential I can remember in a very long time. Soooooooo many advantageous positions and good strategy, but such horrible execution constantly and a super inflated sense of her own gameplay. I think she actually reminds me of a little bit less effective Marquesas Boston Rob.

I haven't seen Marquesas but didn't at least a few castmates like Boston Rob in that season?

I don't think anyone from 46 liked Venus. She had one of the worst social games I've ever seen. It doesn't matter how good your reads are if nobody likes you.

 

[snogger]

WOW.. 4 in a Row!!!!

 

[TLEF316]

Lolz. Dummies

 

[snogger]

Maria's face was priceless

 

[RG623]

Unreal that they thought Liz and Kenzie would go with keeping Q.

 

[stbugs]

Lolz. Dummies

This is the dumbest cast ever. WTF did Charlie tell Maria anything? He almost got Q suspicious. Maria just happened to think Charlie could never blindside her (Q was her only ally).

I think the game has come down to the final 5 immunity. If Maria wins, she’s the favorite and Charlie goes. If Maria doesn’t, she’s gone and Charlie’s the favorite. Yes, there is a chance with fire that the final 3 is Kenzie (she wins), Liz and Ben, but game wise, it’s if Maria wins immunity or the field wins.

Again, the mental instability and delusions of grandeur are way stronger in this cast than I ever remember.

 

[stbugs]

Unreal that they thought Liz and Kenzie would go with keeping Q.

The bad plays and misreads have been huge. Heck, Maria and Charlie controlled the game because the alliances that had the numbers couldn’t keep their **** together.

 

[Corporation]

Unreal that they thought Liz and Kenzie would go with keeping Q.

This was the most shocking thing to me. I was sure Maria told Q to play his idol. The vitriol they showed towards him all season should have made it evident they weren't going to vote out their buddy Charlie for someone they can't stand in Q.

Another well played week by Charlie, although the final verdict was out of his control (unbeknownst to him). He was willing to make the tough decision (the same Maria willingly made). He made the tough call not to take her for the loved ones (which allowed him to cement this week's alliance). After her immunity win, he switched gears and let her in on the plan in hopes of staying in her good graces next week.

Maria had yet another strong week as well. What a competitor. Was able to show emotion, but then recovered to make good sound choices. Her only slip up was not advising Q to play the idol. It could be another case of idol greed striking, since he said he was willing to play it for her next week if needed. Her face at the end said it all though, as she was shocked everyone sided with Charlie.

4 in a row, a record, going home with an idol in their pocket. They have had no problem finding idols. It is better to have played it and "wasted" it rather than go home with it. Especially after having it happen 3 times in a row.

Ben. I thought you played strategically last week in case an idol was played. Too much credit. I can't recall someone accidentally writing down someone else's name, especially not the person who holds your hand as you have a night terror. Good on you Kenzie for continuing to help the guy who voted for you. I will give Ben just a smidge of credit. I told my son "I'm not sure who will win this puzzle challenge between Maria and Charlie, but I'll tell you who it won't be: Ben. He stinks." Well, for a moment I thought he was going to stun me, and I won't even say he choked the puzzle away. Maria just dominated it.

I'll keep my chances of winning the same as last week: Charlie, Maria, Kenzie, Ben, Liz. It's rare to see someone play for number 3 as clearly as Liz is. "Hey, I stink at challenges, I can't make fire, and no one likes me. Don't vote for Liz!". Mission accomplished. Next week comes down to the immunity challenge and if they reintroduce the idol one final week.

 

[Mjolnirs]

Unreal.