I thought tonight's episode which was titled "The Third Turd," was the best episode so far this season. It had a very old school feel to it. Tons of camp life scenes where we got to see personal interactions at play and how they are impacting and might impact the game in the future. There was also no new powers introduced into the game this episode. Tonight's episode will probably have a huge impact on how this season plays out.

These are the key moments from tonight's episode as far as I'm concerned:

--After the last TC we see that Josh and Yam Yam are not happy with each other and more importantly, don't trust each other. We also got confirmation that Carolyn never got along with Sarah and wanted her gone from Day 1. Yam Yam was not happy at all about being blindsided and being at the bottom really ticks him off.

--We were given confirmation that Matt and Frannie are both crushing on each other. We even heard a producer ask Frannie if she was blushing after being asked about Matt. The scene where they agree to hug for a while had me wondering how often stuff like that happens. I thought it was a risky move because if they had been caught I doubt they could have talked their way out of it.

--Carson and Kane bonded over being young and geeks. Carson seems to think he's a strategic mastermind. I still think he's cocky.

--Matthew sat out of another challenge because of his shoulder. Jeff said he was going to ask medical to assess him after the IC to see if everything was okay. You could tell from the edit that Matthew wasn't going to be around much longer.

--Matthew's tribe finished first in the IC and Frannie's second. They did the three person trek thing again with Brandon, Danny, and Carolyn being chosen to go. At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game and that it would be easier to keep track of who doesn't have a power than who does. Surprisingly, the trek was a walk on the beach where they ended up at the Survivor Sanctuary for a big spread of food and no one got a power or a penalty.

--The segment at the Sanctuary was pure gold. Brandon and Danny bonded immediately and started broing it up. They totally ignored Carolyn despite her repeated interjections. When they mentioned hooking up with Josh after the merge Carolyn knew she has to get rid of him. She wants no part of a bro alliance. Brandon further pissed her off by saying that she'll probably be taken along because of her crappy performances in challenges. It should be noted that Carolyn told them Josh played an idol he got from going on the last trek. Danny immediately said that means Jaime has one which is not good for her.

--When Carolyn got back to camp she immediately signaled to Yam Yam a number of times that she was with him and wants Yam Yam gone. Yam Yam was very skeptical. Then they saw a boat approaching and realized Jeff was on it. When Jeff asked them if they were wondering why he was there, Yam Yam said immediately it was because of Matthew. Jeff told them Matthew decided to leave the game and that there would be no TC. In a confessional, Carolyn confirmed she would have voted to boot Josh. Unfortunately, we never got to hear from Yam Yam. Did Carolyn escape being blindsided?

--Next week is the merge.

--
Brian

The way they shoot it tho ... I love the djungle and colors
and amazing detail - but ... - is this too much of a good
thing?

Or is too much of a good thing, a good thing?

Because it's almost psychedelic!

The colors/contrast makes it look flat, it's like all guys
have the same focus even tho one guy stands 5 meters behind
the front guys.

--
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 10:00:17 PM UTC-6, Brian Smith wrote:
> I thought tonight's episode which was titled "The Third Turd," was the best episode so far this season. It had a very old school feel to it. Tons of camp life scenes where we got to see personal interactions at play and how they are impacting and might impact the game in the future. There was also no new powers introduced into the game this episode. Tonight's episode will probably have a huge impact on how this season plays out.
>
> These are the key moments from tonight's episode as far as I'm concerned:
>
> --After the last TC we see that Josh and Yam Yam are not happy with each other and more importantly, don't trust each other. We also got confirmation that Carolyn never got along with Sarah and wanted her gone from Day 1. Yam Yam was not happy at all about being blindsided and being at the bottom really ticks him off.
>
> --We were given confirmation that Matt and Frannie are both crushing on each other. We even heard a producer ask Frannie if she was blushing after being asked about Matt. The scene where they agree to hug for a while had me wondering how often stuff like that happens. I thought it was a risky move because if they had been caught I doubt they could have talked their way out of it.
>
> --Carson and Kane bonded over being young and geeks. Carson seems to think he's a strategic mastermind. I still think he's cocky.
>
> --Matthew sat out of another challenge because of his shoulder. Jeff said he was going to ask medical to assess him after the IC to see if everything was okay. You could tell from the edit that Matthew wasn't going to be around much longer.
>
> --Matthew's tribe finished first in the IC and Frannie's second. They did the three person trek thing again with Brandon, Danny, and Carolyn being chosen to go. At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game and that it would be easier to keep track of who doesn't have a power than who does. Surprisingly, the trek was a walk on the beach where they ended up at the Survivor Sanctuary for a big spread of food and no one got a power or a penalty.
>
> --The segment at the Sanctuary was pure gold. Brandon and Danny bonded immediately and started broing it up. They totally ignored Carolyn despite her repeated interjections. When they mentioned hooking up with Josh after the merge Carolyn knew she has to get rid of him. She wants no part of a bro alliance. Brandon further pissed her off by saying that she'll probably be taken along because of her crappy performances in challenges. It should be noted that Carolyn told them Josh played an idol he got from going on the last trek. Danny immediately said that means Jaime has one which is not good for her.
>
> --When Carolyn got back to camp she immediately signaled to Yam Yam a number of times that she was with him and wants Yam Yam gone. Yam Yam was very skeptical. Then they saw a boat approaching and realized Jeff was on it. When Jeff asked them if they were wondering why he was there, Yam Yam said immediately it was because of Matthew. Jeff told them Matthew decided to leave the game and that there would be no TC. In a confessional, Carolyn confirmed she would have voted to boot Josh. Unfortunately, we never got to hear from Yam Yam. Did Carolyn escape being blindsided?
>
> --Next week is the merge.
>
> --
> Brian

One thing I forgot to mention which is likely to be relevant later on is Josh's lame attempt at making a fake idol out of beads from treemail. Yam Yam called him out on the beads and Carolyn told us via a confessional that he's trying to pass off the same note that he got from his real idol. Josh's days are numbered as far as I'm concerned.

--
Brian

That challenge in particular, it looks fake to me.
Something with the foreground/background, lack of
depth/perspective ... ?

Not saying "the fix is in", maybe they screwed up and tried to
fix it afterwards by merging stuff that didn't belong
or something?

--
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

> That challenge in particular, it looks fake to me.
> Something with the foreground/background, lack of
> depth/perspective ... ?
>
> Not saying "the fix is in", maybe they screwed up and tried
> to fix it afterwards by merging stuff that didn't belong
> or something?

Okay, maybe not fake, it looks fake because it's shot in some
way that makes everything come into focus at the same time,
that's why it doesn't look natural because the eye don't work
like that (can't).

--
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal

On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 9:00:17 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:

>The scene where they agree to hug for a while had me wondering how often stuff like that happens.

It happens a lot less often than it did prior to Season 40. It is very obvious that the players now are told, in no uncertain terms,
that any type of physical contact without clear consent is forbidden. We rarely see them sleeping anymore, but the next time that
we do, notice how far apart they are from each other. Prior to the Dan Spilo incident, it was common for players to huddle together
at night as a way to keep warm.
> --Carson and Kane bonded over being young and geeks.

When we saw the two of them at the well, Carson was not wearing his glasses and I had no idea who he was. I kept thinking "Who is
that guy? I can't recall seeing him earlier in the season". It was only after Kane addressed him by name that I figured things out.
> At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game

I think that's exactly what was supposed to happen. However, once Matthew made the decision to leave the game, Probst probably phoned the on-site
producer and told him to switch things up with Carolyn, Brandon, and Danny. Once Matthew was gone, Probst knew that Purple Tribe would not be going
to TC and that Carolyn already had one immunity pendant, so he went to "plan B" which was to engineer some sort of merge at F12, and not bring
any more advantages into the game (until later).
> --The segment at the Sanctuary was pure gold. Brandon and Danny bonded immediately and started broing it up.

Could those two guys have been any more "tone deaf"? I still think that Danny is a very smart player, but to totally dismiss Carolyn
instead of attempting to build something with her in that special moment was really stupid.
> Then they saw a boat approaching and realized Jeff was on it. When Jeff asked them if they were wondering why he was there, Yam Yam said immediately it was because of Matthew.

Wait! What? Yum Yum said something? All I remember him doing was staring at Probst with his mouth hanging open.

> --Next week is the merge.

But it may not be a traditional merge. Jaime and Carson's parchments said that their immunity bracelets lose their power "once all the players are living
together on one beach". Rather than waste their advantages, Probst may come up with some sort of an arrangement in which he merges the tribes, but keeps them at
their current locations.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 12:13:03 AM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:

> One thing I forgot to mention which is likely to be relevant later on is Josh's lame attempt at making a fake idol out of beads from treemail. Yam Yam called him out on the beads

So, Yum Yum may not be as much of a dum dum as I had thought. Recognizing the beads as being from tree mail was very (and surprisingly) perceptive.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:04:06 PM UTC-6, zeppo wrote:
> On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 12:13:03 AM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> > One thing I forgot to mention which is likely to be relevant later on is Josh's lame attempt at making a fake idol out of beads from treemail. Yam Yam called him out on the beads
> So, Yum Yum may not be as much of a dum dum as I had thought. Recognizing the beads as being from tree mail was very (and surprisingly) perceptive.

With nothing to do but play the game you'd think everyone would notice stuff like that. Josh's idol also looked really bad. It screamed out fake as far as I'm concerned.

--Brian

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 1:59:52 PM UTC-6, zeppo wrote:
> On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 9:00:17 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> >The scene where they agree to hug for a while had me wondering how often stuff like that happens.
> It happens a lot less often than it did prior to Season 40. It is very obvious that the players now are told, in no uncertain terms,
> that any type of physical contact without clear consent is forbidden. We rarely see them sleeping anymore, but the next time that
> we do, notice how far apart they are from each other. Prior to the Dan Spilo incident, it was common for players to huddle together
> at night as a way to keep warm.

I can't see players not wanting to huddle together to keep warm but it would be nice if a recent player addressed this issue. Cassidy would be a good person to ask.

Letting us hear a producer ask Frannie about her and Matt was a smart move on the part of the show. If either of them accuses the other of doing something during the game the show will have evidence that it was very likely consensual.

> > --Carson and Kane bonded over being young and geeks.
> When we saw the two of them at the well, Carson was not wearing his glasses and I had no idea who he was. I kept thinking "Who is
> that guy? I can't recall seeing him earlier in the season". It was only after Kane addressed him by name that I figured things out.

Yeah, Carson looks really different without his glasses. I'd say he looks better. I wonder if production asked him to wear glasses most of the time to play into the nerd stereotype?

> > At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game
> I think that's exactly what was supposed to happen. However, once Matthew made the decision to leave the game, Probst probably phoned the on-site
> producer and told him to switch things up with Carolyn, Brandon, and Danny. Once Matthew was gone, Probst knew that Purple Tribe would not be going
> to TC and that Carolyn already had one immunity pendant, so he went to "plan B" which was to engineer some sort of merge at F12, and not bring
> any more advantages into the game (until later).

I don't think they can set up something like the Sanctuary that fast. Don't the chosen players leave right after the IC to go their journey? Also, we don't know when Matthew made his decision. I found it strange that they did not show him making the decision to leave the game. Have we ever not seen someone deciding to leave or being pulled from the game? What was special this time? Or are they saving it for next week?

> > --The segment at the Sanctuary was pure gold. Brandon and Danny bonded immediately and started broing it up.
> Could those two guys have been any more "tone deaf"? I still think that Danny is a very smart player, but to totally dismiss Carolyn
> instead of attempting to build something with her in that special moment was really stupid.

It was stupid but fits their strength is what matters most strategy. They judged Carolyn on pretty well just her performances in comps.

> > Then they saw a boat approaching and realized Jeff was on it. When Jeff asked them if they were wondering why he was there, Yam Yam said immediately it was because of Matthew.
> Wait! What? Yum Yum said something? All I remember him doing was staring at Probst with his mouth hanging open.

He definitely said "it's because of Matthew" or something close to that.

> > --Next week is the merge.
> But it may not be a traditional merge. Jaime and Carson's parchments said that their immunity bracelets lose their power "once all the players are living
> together on one beach". Rather than waste their advantages, Probst may come up with some sort of an arrangement in which he merges the tribes, but keeps them at
> their current locations.

That would be stupid. I hope Jeff, Matt, etc. are taking note of the very positive reactions to last night's episode. People want to see more personal interactions so we have a better understanding of what is driving the players' strategy. Seeing someone get voted out with just one vote cast against them because a ton of powers were played isn't exciting anymore. The motto of the show is "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast," not "Outluck" your opponents.

--
Brian

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:14:04 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:

> Josh's idol also looked really bad. It screamed out fake as far as I'm concerned.

I thought it looked more legitimate than Matthew's fake bracelet did. He was smart to lead the most clueless
person in the game to its hiding place. Josh, OTOH, made a big mistake in letting Yum take control of his fake
and discover how flimsy it was.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 5:06:07 PM UTC-6, zeppo wrote:
> On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:14:04 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> > Josh's idol also looked really bad. It screamed out fake as far as I'm concerned.
> I thought it looked more legitimate than Matthew's fake bracelet did. He was smart to lead the most clueless
> person in the game to its hiding place. Josh, OTOH, made a big mistake in letting Yum take control of his fake
> and discover how flimsy it was.

You'd think a surgeon would be able to construct a sturdy idol.

Watch Jaime end making F6. She might be clueless but her social game appears to be strong.

--
Brian

On Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:59:50 -0700 (PDT), zeppo
<rgibbs%telus.net@gtempaccount.com> wrote:

>On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 9:00:17?PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> >The scene where they agree to hug for a while had me wondering how often stuff like that happens.
>
>It happens a lot less often than it did prior to Season 40. It is very obvious that the players now are told, in no uncertain terms,
>that any type of physical contact without clear consent is forbidden. We rarely see them sleeping anymore, but the next time that
>we do, notice how far apart they are from each other. Prior to the Dan Spilo incident, it was common for players to huddle together
>at night as a way to keep warm.
>
>> --Carson and Kane bonded over being young and geeks.
>
>When we saw the two of them at the well, Carson was not wearing his glasses and I had no idea who he was. I kept thinking "Who is
>that guy? I can't recall seeing him earlier in the season". It was only after Kane addressed him by name that I figured things out.
>
>> At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game
>
>I think that's exactly what was supposed to happen. However, once Matthew made the decision to leave the game, Probst probably phoned the on-site
>producer and told him to switch things up with Carolyn, Brandon, and Danny. Once Matthew was gone, Probst knew that Purple Tribe would not be going
>to TC and that Carolyn already had one immunity pendant, so he went to "plan B" which was to engineer some sort of merge at F12, and not bring
>any more advantages into the game (until later).
>
I would hope that wasn't the plan as it is a horrible idea. It was
already confusing enough as to how has a real idol and who has a fake
but to add in three more would have essentially sealed the results for
the next few tribals with so many people being safe.

>> --The segment at the Sanctuary was pure gold. Brandon and Danny bonded immediately and started broing it up.
>
>Could those two guys have been any more "tone deaf"? I still think that Danny is a very smart player, but to totally dismiss Carolyn
>instead of attempting to build something with her in that special moment was really stupid.

I can't believe that people coming on to a show where the social
aspect of the game is probably the most important were so clueless as
to how they were acting with Carolyn. It's fine that they want to team
up but the way they shut out Carolyn means there's no chance they
could bring her in during a merge and a good chance she works to get
rid of them.

>> Then they saw a boat approaching and realized Jeff was on it. When Jeff asked them if they were wondering why he was there, Yam Yam said immediately it was because of Matthew.
>
>Wait! What? Yum Yum said something? All I remember him doing was staring at Probst with his mouth hanging open.
>
>> --Next week is the merge.
>
>But it may not be a traditional merge. Jaime and Carson's parchments said that their immunity bracelets lose their power "once all the players are living
>together on one beach". Rather than waste their advantages, Probst may come up with some sort of an arrangement in which he merges the tribes, but keeps them at
>their current locations.

Didn't seem like that was going to happen but time will tell.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:50:01 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:

> Yeah, Carson looks really different without his glasses. I'd say he looks better.

IMO, he looks more mature without his glasses on.

> I wonder if production asked him to wear glasses most of the time to play into the nerd stereotype?

Ha! Very possibly.

> I don't think they can set up something like the Sanctuary that fast. Don't the chosen players leave right after the IC to go their journey?

We really don't know what the time lines are. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the on-site crew sometimes keeps the players in place in order to allow
them to set something up. I was suspicious when it became clear that Danny, Brandon, and Carolyn were going to have a remarkably different experience
than the one that Carson, Jaime, and Josh had. I suspect that the original plan was to do a second mini-shuffle prior to F12, but Matthew leaving the
game made that unnecessary.

> Also, we don't know when Matthew made his decision. I found it strange that they did not show him making the decision to leave the game. Have we ever not seen someone deciding to >leave or being pulled from the game? What was special this time?

By not showing the viewers that Matthew had chosen to leave the game, it allowed the drama on Purple Tribe's beach to play out until virtually the end of
the episode. The scene involving Josh's fake immunity item and the back and forth between the three of them was good, and Production didn't want the
viewers to know that it wasn't going to matter.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 4:21:21 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:

> Watch Jaime end making F6. She might be clueless but her social game appears to be strong.

I don't agree. It's true that she does talk a lot, but she does not appear to have bonded with anybody.
Matt and Frannie both gave her the "brush off", and Matthew, who she thought was her buddy, only
wanted to play her. IMO, she is being given the "clueless clown" edit.

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 6:24:21 PM UTC-6, zeppo wrote:
> On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 4:21:21 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> > Watch Jaime end making F6. She might be clueless but her social game appears to be strong.
> I don't agree. It's true that she does talk a lot, but she does not appear to have bonded with anybody.
> Matt and Frannie both gave her the "brush off", and Matthew, who she thought was her buddy, only
> wanted to play her. IMO, she is being given the "clueless clown" edit.

There's been some bonus videos that appear to show her fitting in very nicely with her new tribe. Very convenient for her that they're all into meditation.

By the way, did you see the deleted scene from this past episode titled "Frannie the Predator"? It's a fun clip that makes her even more likable. I love her attitude and how she's trying to make the most of the experience.

--
Brian

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 6:09:29 PM UTC-6, zeppo wrote:
> On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 2:50:01 PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
>
> > I don't think they can set up something like the Sanctuary that fast. Don't the chosen players leave right after the IC to go their journey?
> We really don't know what the time lines are. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that the on-site crew sometimes keeps the players in place in order to allow
> them to set something up. I was suspicious when it became clear that Danny, Brandon, and Carolyn were going to have a remarkably different experience
> than the one that Carson, Jaime, and Josh had. I suspect that the original plan was to do a second mini-shuffle prior to F12, but Matthew leaving the
> game made that unnecessary.

We do know they go the same day and are back well before it gets dark. In one of the bonus clips Danny tells his tribe that they were there for about 45 minutes. That setup was too complex to be done in a few hours. I'm surprised they flat out told them that there would be no advantages or penalties.. They could have at least gone old school and hid a note or something in the area they were eating. Would have been even better if had been something bad.

> > Also, we don't know when Matthew made his decision. I found it strange that they did not show him making the decision to leave the game. Have we ever not seen someone deciding to >leave or being pulled from the game? What was special this time?
> By not showing the viewers that Matthew had chosen to leave the game, it allowed the drama on Purple Tribe's beach to play out until virtually the end of
> the episode. The scene involving Josh's fake immunity item and the back and forth between the three of them was good, and Production didn't want the
> viewers to know that it wasn't going to matter.

It was great to be shown that stuff now and not be blindsided later on in the season. It'll be interesting to see if Yam Yam and Carolyn are on the same page again and who they hook up with from the other tribes.

--
Brian

On Thursday, March 30, 2023 at 5:59:18 PM UTC-6, shawn wrote:
> On Thu, 30 Mar 2023 12:59:50 -0700 (PDT), zeppo
> <rgibbs%telu...@gtempaccount.com> wrote:
> >On Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 9:00:17?PM UTC-7, Brian Smith wrote:
> >
> >> At first, I was afraid that we'd end up with three more IIs in the game
> >
> >I think that's exactly what was supposed to happen. However, once Matthew made the decision to leave the game, Probst probably phoned the on-site
> >producer and told him to switch things up with Carolyn, Brandon, and Danny. Once Matthew was gone, Probst knew that Purple Tribe would not be going
> >to TC and that Carolyn already had one immunity pendant, so he went to "plan B" which was to engineer some sort of merge at F12, and not bring
> >any more advantages into the game (until later).
> >
> I would hope that wasn't the plan as it is a horrible idea. It was
> already confusing enough as to how has a real idol and who has a fake
> but to add in three more would have essentially sealed the results for
> the next few tribals with so many people being safe.

I agree. Not being selected to go on a journey shouldn't end up sealing your fate in the game.

--
Brian