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Celery Jello
Mar 21, 2005
Slippery Tilde
I feel like Ken is intellectually smart, so he can keep a catalog of emotions that he understands, and he's a model, so he knows how to visibly express them. What he lacks is the social awareness of when to express those emotions. It results in him expressing pure desperation when the smart thing to do is look constipated and upset and resigned that you're not getting a visit over Adam.

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Modus Pwnens
Dec 29, 2004

savinhill posted:


I thought it was weird how vehemently he wanted to be picked as one of Jay's extras on the family reward. Like I understand that everybody is desperately missing their loved ones back home and is starved for news and affection, but I figured Adam's whole situation would somewhat temper other players' jockeying for the spots.

Adam has been keeping it secret, hasn't he?

Poque
Sep 11, 2003

=^-^=

savinhill posted:

I thought it was weird how vehemently he wanted to be picked as one of Jay's extras on the family reward. Like I understand that everybody is desperately missing their loved ones back home and is starved for news and affection, but I figured Adam's whole situation would somewhat temper other players' jockeying for the spots.

I don't get the feeling that Adam has told anybody about his situation.

e;fb

thexerox123
Aug 17, 2007

Lone Goat posted:

Then later he gave the advantage away for no reason!

This was one of the few smart things he did with his advantage, when everyone was saying from the start that the smart move was just to burn the advantage, why act like this was a bad move??

Max
Nov 30, 2002

Adam specifically has told no one because he doesn't want them to think he's playing the sympathy card and vote him out before he reaches final tribal.

Dugong
Mar 18, 2013

I don't know what to do,
I'm going to lose my mind

yo mamma a Horus posted:

If Will knocked back a few, maybe his doofy confessionals were drunk. :lol:

This makes them so much better

savinhill
Mar 28, 2010
Oh, if that's the case then that would explain it. I thought it was pretty much out in the open now, after the episode where he got the letters from home, and also how people's attitudes have seemed different towards him over the past few episodes.

Edit: this is about Adam, don't know if posts made while was typing mine made it confusing what I was referring to

savinhill fucked around with this message at 23:29 on Dec 1, 2016

Professor Shark
May 22, 2012

Arcanen posted:

Honestly, they would have had the best possible send off. Watching someone you love die especially right at the end, where they become incomprehensible, is unbelievably awful.

They would have said goodbye when she was lucid, knowing that he was going off to fulfill a dream of his.

and if she was lucid, she would have been thinking "Adam is going to be here soon :)"


:smith:

Looten Plunder
Jul 11, 2006
Grimey Drawer

Celery Jello posted:

vv Swear to god Michaela had better be back or I will be super upset.

She is back next season with Zeke

Lone Goat
Apr 16, 2003

When life gives you lemons, suplex those lemons.




thexerox123 posted:

This was one of the few smart things he did with his advantage, when everyone was saying from the start that the smart move was just to burn the advantage, why act like this was a bad move??

The reason people were saying he should burn it because Jay and Taylor were trying to blow him up by saying THIS GUY HAS AN ADVANTAGE, HE'S A THREAT and that would be a great time to say "pssh, what advantage?" and destroy it, publicly, in the fire.

By giving it to Jay he was, again, trying to gain favour with someone that he already had favour with by not using that advantage in the first place!

The advantage is actually good if you don't gently caress it up. You don't use something that powerful on a food reward or some nonsense

You save it until someone wins a reward that gives them an IN-GAME advantage, such as:
a shortcut/advantage/practice on a future challenge
a bonus vote/vote steal
removing a jury member
a clue to an idol
who knows what else?

The other reasonable application, if he absolutely wanted to see his family, would be to announce before the loved one challenge that he will 100% play the advantage after the challenge, but if he gets to take people with him then whoever wins the challenge will be the person he takes (and have responsibility of pick any future people that come with him). This is probably worse than what he actually did-- promise not to use it, and then follow up on that promise-- but that might ruffle some feathers and what he did was certainly more noble.

thexerox123
Aug 17, 2007

Lone Goat posted:

The reason people were saying he should burn it because Jay and Taylor were trying to blow him up by saying THIS GUY HAS AN ADVANTAGE, HE'S A THREAT and that would be a great time to say "pssh, what advantage?" and destroy it, publicly, in the fire.

No, people were saying "If I got that advantage, I would just immediately burn it."

This was before they had blown up his game at tribal.

Lone Goat
Apr 16, 2003

When life gives you lemons, suplex those lemons.




thexerox123 posted:

No, people were saying "If I got that advantage, I would just immediately burn it."

This was before they had blown up his game at tribal.

Those people are dumb

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe

Celery Jello posted:

I feel like Ken is intellectually smart, so he can keep a catalog of emotions that he understands, and he's a model, so he knows how to visibly express them. What he lacks is the social awareness of when to express those emotions. It results in him expressing pure desperation when the smart thing to do is look constipated and upset and resigned that you're not getting a visit over Adam.

Why did Ken walk away from the discussion that was going on about him!?!@#

and Jay now has a HII, an advantage, and the ability to win various types of challenges.

Binary Logic fucked around with this message at 04:24 on Dec 2, 2016

Zesty
Jan 17, 2012

The Great Twist
:frogsiren: Mark you calendars. Next season of Survivor is March 8th!

I'm out on Ken. I was all in on a Ken victory at the final 13. I'm glad I didn't get him in my draft.

Binary Logic posted:

Why did Ken walk away from the discussion that was going on about him!?!@#

and Jay now has a HII, an advantage, and the ability to win various types of challenges.

I feel really good about Jay. Not only is he capable of winning challenges, he has all those advantages along with quite a few on the jury. I think he even has Adam if he gets voted out.

Max posted:

Edit: Aw, I just read about Adam's mom. :(

Aw Jeez. :(

Vernacular
Nov 29, 2004
Good episode, and great season in general. Jay letting Adam go on the reward with him was a really touching moment.

Foolish move by Ken, which I think we can just chalk up to island fatigue. Still, his immediate reaction to Will's reveal and the very "adult" way (or at least off the island it would have been) he set out to resolve that conflict were still somehow incredibly endearing.

Its hard to tell who has the upper hand right now, especially after Michelle managed to win last season. Even though he's in the minority alliance, Jay seems like the strongest threat at the moment: immunity idol, reward advantage, friends on the jury, and capability to go on an immunity run. He also still has a good relationship with Will, and if he can manage to keep a Bret-Sunday-Will-Jay faction together and finesse his idol into getting either Ken or Dave out, I think he has a good chance. Bret, Sunday and Will all seem like goats, and I tend to agree with the sentiment that David isn't as big of a threat as Zeke made him out to be, though he has played a really good social game, and could pad his resume with some big moves. Adam has been getting some momentum recently. Hannah's game is hard to gauge. Ken would probably get some "Ethan Zohn Good Guy" votes.

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe

Vernacular posted:

Good episode, and great season in general. Jay letting Adam go on the reward with him was a really touching moment.

Foolish move by Ken, which I think we can just chalk up to island fatigue. Still, his immediate reaction to Will's reveal and the very "adult" way (or at least off the island it would have been) he set out to resolve that conflict were still somehow incredibly endearing.

Its hard to tell who has the upper hand right now, especially after Michelle managed to win last season. Even though he's in the minority alliance, Jay seems like the strongest threat at the moment: immunity idol, reward advantage, friends on the jury, and capability to go on an immunity run. He also still has a good relationship with Will, and if he can manage to keep a Bret-Sunday-Will-Jay faction together and finesse his idol into getting either Ken or Dave out, I think he has a good chance. Bret, Sunday and Will all seem like goats, and I tend to agree with the sentiment that David isn't as big of a threat as Zeke made him out to be, though he has played a really good social game, and could pad his resume with some big moves. Adam has been getting some momentum recently. Hannah's game is hard to gauge. Ken would probably get some "Ethan Zohn Good Guy" votes.

Will just flipped on Jay. And last week Will flipped on Zeke and that alliance. No one is going to trust him now.

Met posted:

:frogsiren: Mark you calendars. Next season of Survivor is March 8th!

I'm out on Ken. I was all in on a Ken victory at the final 13. I'm glad I didn't get him in my draft.


I feel really good about Jay. Not only is he capable of winning challenges, he has all those advantages along with quite a few on the jury. I think he even has Adam if he gets voted out.


Aw Jeez. :(
Good point about Jay's potential jury votes. He can also put forward compelling arguments and rational answers to jury questions vs. say, Hannah or Adam who get very emotional.

Binary Logic fucked around with this message at 11:07 on Dec 2, 2016

Professor Shark
May 22, 2012

Yeah Will burned down everything

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Binary Logic posted:

Will just flipped on Jay. And last week Will flipped on Zeke and that alliance.

Eh? He went to rocks for Zeke's cause.

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe

Propaganda Machine posted:

Eh? He went to rocks for Zeke's cause.

Oh yes that is correct. Last week he was with Zeke and this week against Zeke. Cannot be trusted.

Reince Penis
Nov 15, 2007

by R. Guyovich
What the gently caress kind of pep talk did Will's mom give him? He seemed like a nice kid, then suddenly he was out to prove... well everything I guess.

ApplesandOranges
Jun 22, 2012

Thankee kindly.
Yeahhh Ken's chances of winning just nosedived. That was incredibly boneheaded, like Coach 'I only want to go to the end with honourable warriors' level.

I mean I like the guy, but he's not a great Survivor player.

Max
Nov 30, 2002

FYI, Zeke's Ponderosa is great.

ApplesandOranges
Jun 22, 2012

Thankee kindly.
I'm not really sure where I stand on the F8. It's a strong season, but the cast remaining is a weird mix of 'not great players' and 'overplaying'. Bret, Sunday, Will and Ken just aren't making the splashes they need to be making. Adam's tipping his hand too strongly and he's going to burn out. David and Hannah are okay, but at the same time also prone to being easily swayed. Jay is arguably the best player left, even if he mostly got there by luck and lasting til the radar slipped off him.

Will's in a power seat now (which he wouldn't be if it was a straight flip like he intended), but alliances can easily shake up again now that Zeke's no longer got a firm grip on his side. Bret/Sunday/Jay seem very tight though, and Jay is probably charismatic enough to flip Will or Adam. Ken/David aren't long for the game, I feel.

The Mighty Moltres
Dec 21, 2012

Come! We must fly!


PK loving SUBBAN posted:

What the gently caress kind of pep talk did Will's mom give him? He seemed like a nice kid, then suddenly he was out to prove... well everything I guess.

"You know that dog I gave you when you were ten, who you love and play with all the time? Win this game or I kill it."

Zesty
Jan 17, 2012

The Great Twist
Will's "Pendulum Strategy". He wants Hannah to be with him while they flip back and forth on each alliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceV5B1Tlq4

I doubt anything is going to come of this since they're showing it to us in a secret scene rather than the episode.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Met posted:

Will's "Pendulum Strategy". He wants Hannah to be with him while they flip back and forth on each alliance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bceV5B1Tlq4

I doubt anything is going to come of this since they're showing it to us in a secret scene rather than the episode.

Preview:

I dunno, the other players mention it by name as people look like they're throwing Will under the bus.

Spatula City
Oct 21, 2010

LET ME EXPLAIN TO YOU WHY YOU ARE WRONG ABOUT EVERYTHING
The Pendulum Strategy, aka the "Full Cesternino", is a difficult strategy to pull off, for a few reasons.

1. What if both sides get so tired of your swinging, they put aside their differences to boot you?
2. What if you get to the end, but everyone perceives you as a dirty rotten flip-flopper rather than a strategic genius?
3. What if this strategy just means you're constantly on the bottom of every alliance?

lol that a high school kid is trying to pull that off. Hilariously, he's starting to play quite a bit similar to last season's kid player, Julia. Well, the cast didn't see Kaoh Rong before the game. Kids, don't overplay.

UltimoDragonQuest
Oct 5, 2011



Reminds me a bit of Jaclyn & Jon flipping every vote and talking about how great it was they were always in control.

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe

UltimoDragonQuest posted:

Reminds me a bit of Jaclyn & Jon flipping every vote and talking about how great it was they were always in control.

F4 Trust Cluster Pendulum Players: Will Hannah David Adam.
It's possible but I don't see it happening or Jay letting it happen.

And I'm confused: there are 8 players with 2 episodes left. Even if the next ep eliminates 2 people then the final episode zips along from 6 players down to F3 and then the Final Tribal ?!
What have I got wrong here.

JesusSinfulHands
Oct 24, 2007
Sartre and Russell are my heroes

blue squares posted:

You're right. I wrote that poorly. I meant that his social game is poor because he makes people feel like they are subordinate to him rather than partners, which makes them flip because he is seen as too much of a threat. So not like Russell other than that it is a type of social game failing, albeit a very different one

Yeah, to me the fact that Hannah and Adam flipped on him last week speaks volumes about his lack of social game. There's no reason at all to lose two people who should be natural allies for Zeke. Hannah we know was turned off by Zeke's condescending, and according to exit interviews Adam and Zeke had a rocky relationship because Zeke tried to throw Adam under the bus on the original Millennial tribe when it was clear that they were bottom 2.

Apparently he works in finance which explains a lot about his impersonal approach to the game. I'm not sure that enough time will have gone by for him to learn from his mistakes.

Incidentally, while this Millennials tribe doesn't have any iconic characters (yet), does anyone agree with me that it may be one of the best tribes in Survivor history? Taylor, Jay, Adam, Zeke, Will after this last episode, Figgy, Michelle, Hannah, Michaela, and Mari - I don't see a single casting dud in there and a bunch of people who brought something memorable to the season. This tribe is great.

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

Binary Logic posted:

F4 Trust Cluster Pendulum Players: Will Hannah David Adam.
It's possible but I don't see it happening or Jay letting it happen.

And I'm confused: there are 8 players with 2 episodes left. Even if the next ep eliminates 2 people then the final episode zips along from 6 players down to F3 and then the Final Tribal ?!
What have I got wrong here.

I think they anticipated medivacs that didn't happen.

cock hero flux
Apr 17, 2011



Propaganda Machine posted:

I think they anticipated medivacs that didn't happen.

Either that or they all happen next episode.

strap in for the Culling

Bolivar
Aug 20, 2011

They should have kept Will's mum there longer so that they can get him drunk on a daily basis.

Binary Logic
Dec 28, 2000

Fun Shoe

Propaganda Machine posted:

I think they anticipated medivacs that didn't happen.
Had not considered this.
Adam was a possible potential evacuee at any time, due to his mother's health issue.
And maybe there have been so many boring, stand in one spot endurance/concentration challenges because there is less risk of serious injury.

STAC Goat
Mar 12, 2008

Watching you sleep.

Butt first, let's
check the feeds.

I think Zeke was playing a great social game up until he made the big move against David. Not only was he drawing the lines so he was going to turn off people he was otherwise good with but then he started pushing harder which pushed Hannah and Will away. If he had been able to keep playing a softer game he might still be in a great position but he fell into that trap so many players do. He realized he was playing a good game and had power and then became determined to use it overtly. He was looking at the end with 12 people left in the game, and its hard to win if you do that because once you show yourself that much that's a lot of time for people to take you out.

mancalamania
Oct 23, 2008

Binary Logic posted:

F4 Trust Cluster Pendulum Players: Will Hannah David Adam.
It's possible but I don't see it happening or Jay letting it happen.

And I'm confused: there are 8 players with 2 episodes left. Even if the next ep eliminates 2 people then the final episode zips along from 6 players down to F3 and then the Final Tribal ?!
What have I got wrong here.

Like others said, presumably they were scared of another Kaoh Rong when they plotted out the scheduling this season. The schedule is still (just barely) possible though: a double boot next week, and then a Final 6 finale is what we saw last year in Second Chances. It's definitely annoying that we'll be rushing through the most important votes of the games. What's interesting is the schedule is not just rushed episode-wise; it's also going to be rushed in-game. There are only 6 days left, which means there needs to be an Immunity Challenge and Tribal Council every single day for the rest of the game.

Also amusing, which they mentioned on RHAP this week: this schedule probably means there are no more reward challenges, which would make the reward steal advantage useless now that Jay has it. The only possibility is if some of those Immunities are combined Reward/Immunity challenges.

blue squares
Sep 28, 2007

I think the biggest gap in Zeke's strategy was not winning every immunity challenge. Had he made that his strategy, he would have gone to the end

Propaganda Machine
Jan 2, 2005

Truthiness!

STAC Goat posted:

I think Zeke was playing a great social game up until he made the big move against David. Not only was he drawing the lines so he was going to turn off people he was otherwise good with but then he started pushing harder which pushed Hannah and Will away. If he had been able to keep playing a softer game he might still be in a great position but he fell into that trap so many players do. He realized he was playing a good game and had power and then became determined to use it overtly. He was looking at the end with 12 people left in the game, and its hard to win if you do that because once you show yourself that much that's a lot of time for people to take you out.

Cool, but he had to move against David. David was moving against him. Neither of them could have counted on the Will (and Hannah, I guess) wild card. Just because moves don't work out does not make them not the right moves to make, cf. Adam's completely competent idol play this past week.

Zeke's problem was that he lost votes by treating them as numbers rather than human beings. Ultimately, he lost by his social game. He won Bret (and by extension, Sunday) by exposing his own vulnerabilities. If he'd done that more with Adam, Hannah, and Will, he'd still be around.

The Mighty Moltres
Dec 21, 2012

Come! We must fly!


cock hero flux posted:

Either that or they all happen next episode.

strap in for the Culling

"Next time on Survivor!"
*Brief clip of Jeff showing up in the middle of the night with a machete, cut to frenzied scene of people running blindly through the dark jungle as you hear Jeff encouraging them not to run in a sing-song voice.*

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savinhill
Mar 28, 2010
One of Zeke's other biggest mistakes imo was voting out Chris when he did. Chris was one of the players that he seemed to have the closest and friendliest connections to at that time in the game, even though they were ostensibly in different alliances. Not only did he remove a loyal non-alliance ally/sympathetic player, he removed a shield and distraction for the perception of the strengths of his own game, and left himself and his strategic tendencies a lot more exposed

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