[Macie Lightfoot]

oh god, we've officially entered the nauseating "Natalie is sweet and innocent and pure and that evil wench Ashley is trying to corrupt her!!!!" bull**** from Rob

[Macie Lightfoot]

EVIL ASHLEY WINNING IMMUNITY she really isn't that great lol but it's at the point where I'm desperately clinging to whatever I got, and somehow that is Ashley Underwood.

[JerseyWins]

Lol @ how divided the votes were this episode, 4 different people with a vote.

Janet was ok but I'm perfectly fine with her going. Pretty solid episode but definitely a step down from the first one. I feel bad for Christy and don't blame her for having kind of a bad attitude this episode. JoAnna says Christy's attitude sucks but hers was actually worse for no reason. It'd be very frustrating being deaf in that environment and feeling excluded because of it. Reminds me of Nina's situation obviously although I thought Nina didn't get enough of an edit other than "excluded deaf person" to feel anything more than just a bit sympathetic towards her. They're showing plenty of Christy's personality and also actual situations of how difficult it is for her so it's a lot more emotional and rootable than Nina who I just honestly didn't care about aside from feeling bad tbh.

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

oh god, we've officially entered the nauseating "Natalie is sweet and innocent and pure and that evil wench Ashley is trying to corrupt her!!!!" bull**** from Rob

Didn't he say this stuff with a big smile/smirk on his face though?

Rob is a funny guy.

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

EVIL ASHLEY WINNING IMMUNITY she really isn't that great lol but it's at the point where I'm desperately clinging to whatever I got, and somehow that is Ashley Underwood.

More like Ashley was a quality character but at the end she just gets kinda lost in the mix when you have people like Rob, Phillip, Natalie, Andrea stealing the show.

[VanessaFeltz.]

ew redemp**** island

[reece(:]

Not Natalie stealing the show

[Macie Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by JerseyWins

Didn't he say this stuff with a big smile/smirk on his face though?

Rob is a funny guy.

Not really! He told Natalie that he can't stand what Ashley's doing to her, and then said in a confessional that Natalie's not the brightest player but she's an innocent and pure sweetheart and Ashley's trying to corrupt that and she's imposing her wisdom on Natalie and it's not a good thing. There was no indication of humor or sarcasm or anything of that nature, he was just infantilizing Natalie in a kind of creepy way.

Originally Posted by JerseyWins

More like Ashley was a quality character but at the end she just gets kinda lost in the mix when you have people like Rob, Phillip, Natalie, Andrea stealing the show.

I think this is a joke but I genuinely can't tell

[JerseyWins]

- Oh, he usually indicates a lot of humor/sarcasm whenever he says something like that (usually with a smile or laugh at the end of his statement) but I guess maybe he was legitimately mad in that instance.

- No joke. It's the truth.

[Macie Lightfoot]

Ashley doesn't even exist until the endgame and she only appears as an absurdly desperate attempt for the editors to cast some doubt into Rob's victory march, Natalie doesn't even exist until the endgames and she only appears as a puppet who can barely form a sentence, and Andrea pops up every third episode with a confessional or two about how she could make a move but she's not going to and then she got blindsided. If you're citing them as quality characters who steal the show, then that really speaks volumes as to what a poor season it is.

[Macie Lightfoot]

"Natalie's a goodhearted little soul, one that's loyal. And, uh, I don't like to see someone corrupt my soldier."

[Macie Lightfoot]

Phillip's FTC getup is really pushy for someone who is supposedly so concerned with racism.

[Macie Lightfoot]

Julie using her jury question to tell everyone that they should be embarrassed of how they played the game

[Macie Lightfoot]

David's jury speech is so awful. I'll never forgive him for kicking off the semi-annual trend of the "the only logical decision is to vote for xx to win, and of course because I am a very logical person myself, I will be voted for xx and you all should too because if you don't then you are not voting for The Right Choice"

[Macie Lightfoot]

k I'm saving the reunion for tomorrow but here's my edgic chart



don't you just love when you can look at an edgic chart and tell that the season was a complete abomination? an unquestionable franchise low as we all know. A season that was designed for Rob or Russell to win, they really should've just ended the whole thing after Day 9 when Russell lost the Duel. We didn't need to sit through Rice Wars. We didn't need to sit through The Buddy System. We didn't need to sit through Rob *LITERALLY* carrying his family on his back. We didn't need to sit through Matt's one-note religious talk about how God wanted him to win each and every Duel. We didn't need to sit through Zapatera's painful self-destruction that only painted a narrative that they should've kept Russell. We didn't need to sit through Stephanie, someone who makes Corinne look like she has natural wit. We didn't need to sit through Andrea AND Grant AND Ashley AND Natalie all being completely oblivious to the fact that Rob was only looking out for himself. We didn't need to sit through David's jury speech. And good lord, we certainly didn't need to sit through Phillip's ridiculously phony charade of federal agent slash ****ing racist Cherokee descendant.

I'm done, at least until I sift through the reunion. Here's my cast ranking. This was exceptionally hard since it's a cast that I entirely don't care about at best and ****ing abhor at worst.

Ralph (shocker??? was surprisingly righteous and did not give a ****)
Francesca (ik she's kinda sour IRL but she was fun in her only episode)
Kristina (was fun in the premiere but kinda faded after that)
Sarita (kinda righteous and good but only if you're really looking for it)
Steve (I do appreciate his crusade against Phillip)
Julie (annoying about throwing challenges but I love her distaste for the F3 and Phillip)
Mike (only noteworthy when he called the girls concubines and when he lashed out at Krista)
Andrea (had some potential but was too pathetic to capitalize on it)
Ashley (being the endgame doubt was kinda fun(ny) but she's also kinda lame)
Matt ("I think God wanted me to win all these Duels" what)
Grant (who)
Krista (lame follower of a **** alliance)
Natalie (painfully meek and simple)
David (pompous and smug for no ****ing reason)
Stephanie (tryhard sour bitch for no ****ing reason)
Rob (congratulations, you won a CBS show on your sixth try. Most get it done on their first!)
Russell (duh)
Phillip (duh)

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

If you're citing them as quality characters who steal the show, then that really speaks volumes as to what a poor season it is.

Idk, I know these are casual/production opinions but Andrea & Phillip got on Caramoan as favorites and Natalie almost got on Cambodia I think. They had to be some level of quality characters for that to happen (it means they were showcased enough / had at least some layers to their character or were just flat out entertaining enough). What you said is just your perception (& on one part of their characters). You could do that with a lot of characters on these shows, especially SoPa for example, a season you gave a decent amount of credit. I don't think R.I. was great but it had its moments and wasn't bad for a season with the redemption island twist. I wouldn't expect you, or anyone who doesn't like Rob & Phillip in particular, to like the season because they did get major edits on the show and were big reasons why the season wasn't so bad.

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

David's jury speech is so awful. I'll never forgive him for kicking off the semi-annual trend of the "the only logical decision is to vote for xx to win, and of course because I am a very logical person myself, I will be voted for xx and you all should too because if you don't then you are not voting for The Right Choice"

Didn't Sue Hawk basically start this?

[Braden]

Finished One World.

I thought the season was okay. I said before that I was not expecting it to be enjoyable based on what I had read beforehand, but I was surprised with how much I liked it to begin with. It definitely got boring mid-way through, but it picked up again with the endgame. The finale was quite good, though Kim's win was predictable. I still like that the other two got their moments to shine throughout the season. Sabrina's confessional about how she was let off her job, and that she wanted her students to take a risk beyond Brooklyn was really lovely, and Chelsea seemed like a sweet girl with an edge ("kiss my ass" is iconic tbqh ).

I think the cast in general was a bit lacklustre, but I've definitely taken away some favourites (Sabrina (robbed of a second chance! ) and Tarzan in particular). I thought I would hate Colton and Troyzan; I know people certainly don't agree, but I couldn't help but find the former entertaining, and the latter started off okay- he definitely got annoying during the merge with the whole "This is my island!", but still quite harmless. I wouldn't rank them highly though. Colton went too far with some of his remarks, and Troyzan- despite the fact it was more of a love to hate thing- was quite lame. I'm not dreading his appearance on game Changers as much as other people now though.

Other notes: Ms. Monica Culpepper was a delight. I already liked her on BvW, which was the first season I watched live from start to finish. That might've influenced my feelings towards her, but she was still really likable. Alicia was a bit of a cow, but I ended up feeling sorry for her at the reunion. I'm still not sure how I feel towards Christina as a character, but towards the end it was almost ironic appreciation. Likeise with Kat, still don't know what to make of her. Most of the time it was second-hand embarrassment, but her jury speech was genuinely heart-warming and I don't think she's a bad person at all.

All of the other men on the jury kind of blend into one another. No-one I essentially like or dislike, except Tarzan. He was a surprise throughout the season because I didn't think I would have been as much of a fan before watching it. I think he should return to another season.

So yeah, all in all. It was a mild surprise (similar to South Pacific), but not exciting enough to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. If I am ever to reatch any season in the future, I would be reluc- well, I actually wouldn't be reluctant because it is somewhat overrated and may be interesting to gather thoughts on a re-watch, but it's not thrilling television like what is guranteed with other seasons. Th reunion was good though. Anyway...

Cast ranking:

Sabrina
Tarzan
Chelsea
Christina
Monica
Colton
Kat
Kim
Troyzan
Leif
Jonas
Nina
Bill
Alicia
Matt
Michael
Jay
Kourtney

...my rankings rarely ever make sense to me

[Braden]

Season ranking:

Heroes vs. Villains
Micronesia
Pearl Islands
Amazon
Borneo
Vanuatu
China
Panama
Kaoh Rong*
Africa
Cagayan
Marquesas
San Juan Del Sur
Palau
Gabon
Outback
Millennials vs. Gen X
Nicaragua
All-Stars
Tocantins
World's Apart
-One World-
South Pacific
Fiji
Guatemala
Blood vs. Water
Cambodia*
Cook Islands
Thailand
Samoa
Redemption Island

*denotes a season I have yet to watch in its entirety

Seasons left:

Philippines
Caramoan

...I am almost there!!

[Macie Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by JerseyWins

Idk, I know these are casual/production opinions but Andrea & Phillip got on Caramoan as favorites and Natalie almost got on Cambodia I think. They had to be some level of quality characters for that to happen (it means they were showcased enough / had at least some layers to their character or were just flat out entertaining enough). What you said is just your perception (& on one part of their characters). You could do that with a lot of characters on these shows, especially SoPa for example, a season you gave a decent amount of credit. I don't think R.I. was great but it had its moments and wasn't bad for a season with the redemption island twist. I wouldn't expect you, or anyone who doesn't like Rob & Phillip in particular, to like the season because they did get major edits on the show and were big reasons why the season wasn't so bad.

eh, I don't take much credence into people being quality characters because they get invited back for future seasons since the difference between how production casts male returnees and female returnees is staggeringly different. Like, Amber was cast as an All-Star. Danielle DiLorenzo was cast as a villain. Sierra and Hali were cast as Game Changers. Even Parvati's inclusion in Micronesia was questionable at the time to some. Just looking at the Cambodia ballot, the male side was littered with every hyper-strategist imaginable, all playing the same role, and the female side was sprinkled with bikini fluff like Mikayla Wingle and Monica Padilla.

And idk, I just finished the season and Natalie and Ashley's voices weren't even recognizable to me until the final six maybe, when they finally started getting slightly more individualized content. I'm curious as to what you or other people found to be noteworthy about them and some of the reasons why RI was an entertaining season with a lot of moments because I can't think of anything. It felt like I was watching the same episode over and over again because there wasn't much forward plot development.

Originally Posted by JerseyWins

Didn't Sue Hawk basically start this?

Motives were entirely different. Sue's speech came from a place of hurt because of all the baggage that she carried into the show and into her friendship with Kelly. David was just an ass who wanted to pat himself on the back all "the person I am voting for is objectively The Right Choice, and if you have any dignity then I expect you to vote the same way as me."

[Braden]

So I'm watching the first episode of Philippines now, and I'm cackling at Abi and RC's first-episode friendship & Penner accidently almost breaking Jeff Kent's leg.

[Braden]

<\3 Zane was actually quite amusing to watch.

Angie is giving me Amanda Kimmel vibes, which I love

[Braden]

I'm almost finished with episode 2 of Philippines, and I've really enjoyed both episodes. I can definitely see why people prefer the format of starting with three tribes as oppose to two. The dynamic of each tribe is enough to keep me interested, though the red tribe (Kalabaw?) is a bit too Penner/Jeff-heavy at the moment.

Angie gave the best response to Jeff's question:

"If you could change one thing about this tribe it would be...?"

"...*scrunches face* that we coooould- have cookies?"

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

And idk, I just finished the season and Natalie and Ashley's voices weren't even recognizable to me until the final six maybe, when they finally started getting slightly more individualized content. I'm curious as to what you or other people found to be noteworthy about them and some of the reasons why RI was an entertaining season with a lot of moments because I can't think of anything. It felt like I was watching the same episode over and over again because there wasn't much forward plot development.

To answer all of this and some previous stuff in one main answer without being able to remember specific scenes/moments (I don't remember specifics not because they were bad but because my memory sucks )...

Natalie & Ashley were fun together, ranting about Phillip as well as their way of strategizing. The moments were there throughout the season involving Phillip, Ashley & Natalie. Rob had the funny confessionals breaking down the events in entertaining fashion with plenty of witty/sarcastic/funny remarks here and there. Well executed all-around IMO. Finally, about not caring about Rob's win due to it being his 4th attempt... Well, this was only my second time watching Rob play at the time but I feel like it being his 4th try doesn't take away from the win at all. He's put months into the game, a game that involves a lot of luck and I'd assume a lot of will depending on how legit it actually is, so it's still very rootable for him to keep coming back and finally get that W in the end. Why not be invested in him finally putting it together for a win (very impressively at that)? The guy has charm/wit/charisma when he speaks so the entertainment factor alone is definitely there each episode to keep me invested personally. He showed through the season how he has actually improved at the game (like seeing Phillip as the perfect goat and keeping him until the end, keeping people against each other and laying low rather than putting the focus on him, etc.).

Ometepe as a whole were a very entertaining tribe where even though they stayed blindly loyal as a tribe behind Rob, they still had a whole lot of friction in the group thanks to Phillip's craziness and the girls' hatred of Phillip. One of the big downsides of the season besides the R.I. twist was how bland the Zapatera people were because almost all of them generally showed zero personality whenever they actually had their take on a situation. The Ometepe side doesn't deserve criticism though, it deserves praise.

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Braden

Angie gave the best response to Jeff's question:

"If you could change one thing about this tribe it would be...?"

"...*scrunches face* that we coooould- have cookies?"

Angie was great

[JerseyWins]

The guys in Amazon fantasizing over the girls for basically three straight episodes now is still hilarious to me.

Also... Butch: "I'm 50 years old, I'm not supposed to look at things like that but of course, I'm not dead either."