Survivor 46 Discussion Thread

[PUSH]

This was the best episode of season 46, by far. But there haven't been many good episodes.

I still am not a fan of the immediate tribe split after the "merge". You make them "earn the merge" where only half the people are safe. Then they make the "merge", and you immediately split them up. That's not what the word "merge" means! It would make more sense to do a tribe swap for two votes. Take them down to two tribes for for episodes, then merge. The merge used to be so much fun and a milestone. Now it means nothing, and there's no excitement.

But if I take all that out, it was actually a fascinating episode. I really like Kenzie and Tiff. They are probably my two favorites. Q is such an interesting character. There's no way he threw the challenge. He definitely lost, then lied about it in his confessional. That's also what I think happened when he said he wanted to quit earlier in the season. He came back and said it was strategy, but I think he was just trying to alter history.

Q is definitely arrogant, and he wants to be in control. Others are aware of that, and I think that will be his downfall.

I'm not sure it was in Tevin's best interesting to vote out Soda. She was loyal to him, and he just cut an option. Now, maybe that helps him, because he doesn't have the perception of being tied to her anymore. Maybe it lowers his threat level. But it might raise his after he planned that.

Venus is TV gold. She's so unaware, but I love her. She was so proud of herself for her plan to get out Soda working, when in all reality, that plan was well established before she even thought of it. It was hilarious watching it. She is definitely the Owen type of character this year. She tries and tries, but has no standing. She has no social capital, and she is not self aware enough to realize how she is coming across to others.

A couple other fun tidbits... the challenge was fun. The back and forth was fun. Jeff saying they had been up there "several" minutes was hilarious. I love sassy Jeff. It you didn't catch it, the episode was actually called "Episode Several" since it was the 7th episode of the season.

Also, Liz is a fun side character. I thought it was hilarious how she was just half sleeping on the beach and letting people come to her. She didn't seem like she cared if she was in on the plan. And then at Tribal she bragged about all the strong relationships she has... who does that?!

I also found it funny when Charlie was pretending to sleep behind Venus when she was talking to Maria. He would just look up at Maria. There were quite a few funny moments tonight.

Here are my updated winner rankings...

Tier 1 - Favorites
1. Hunter
2. Tiff
3. Tevin

Tier 2 - Good Chance to Win
4. Kenzie
5. Maria
6. Q

Tier 3 - Outside Chance
7. Charlie

Tier 4 - Not Winning at This Point
9. Liz
10. Venus

 

[artvandelay]

Venus and Liz both zero vote finalists?

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

This was the best episode of season 46, by far. But there haven't been many good episodes.

I still am not a fan of the immediate tribe split after the "merge". You make them "earn the merge" where only half the people are safe. Then they make the "merge", and you immediately split them up. That's not what the word "merge" means! It would make more sense to do a tribe swap for two votes. Take them down to two tribes for for episodes, then merge. The merge used to be so much fun and a milestone. Now it means nothing, and there's no excitement.

Yeah, they talked about this a lot on RHAP last week. The mergatory followed by split tribal results in conservative gameplay. No one wants to rock the boat at that big vote because they don't know what small group they'll be in next week. The split vote tends to be similar.

We got lucky that the tribes were willing to go for the moves this week, but the show will take away the wrong lessons from it.

Shout out to Hunter for bringing his bag and actually retaining the option to play an idol, unlike previous seasons.

 

[CynBeth]

As usual they save the biggest schemer with their thinking we know what that person is like can get him/her out any time and then the person makes it to the end and most of the times wins so wish Venus was gone.

 

[PUSH]

Wow. Wow, wow, wow. I have no idea what happened tonight.

This episode was totally crazy. Q... what!? I can't tell if he was actually saying he wanted to go, then he'll revise his thinking next week in confessional, or if this is his insane way of causing chaos. I can see either way. I do feel like everything he's shown has been revisionist's history. He says one thing, then gives an excuse for why he said that. He feels like he needs to be in control. The moment something is not in his control, he freaks out. It's happened over and over this season. He can not let others have thoughts. He's trying to play the Boston Rob game in an era that does not allow for that. He says he can't have someone who targets the 6 person alliance, only to target someone in the 6 person alliance in back to back episodes. His logic does not make sense. He can't explain his thoughts because there is no explanation. Was Tiff actually going home? Did he save Tiff? I have no idea.

What I do know, is I would be absolutely furious if I was in his alliance. I wouldn't be able to trust him with anything. At Tribal his closest ally, Tiff, found out she was being targeted. And it was Q who told her, when he's the one who threw her name out first! Also, she found out Q told Maria and Charlie about the idol. So stupid!

Side note... and underrated funny moment of this episode was Kenzie saying "ooooh, spicy!" when Tiff told her about the idol. I loved that. Kenzie is great.

As for Tevin going home, he targeted Soda WAY too early. He was itching for a big move, and it sounds like he was distancing himself from Soda before the merge because she was too big of a threat. In hind sight, he probably should have kept her close and used her as a social shield.

This was a quietly great episode for Liz. She has no heat, but she was the one who ultimately got Tevin voted out. According to her, she was the one who should get the credit for Soda (even though the edit told us it was Tevin). I'm just not sure where she goes from here. I can't imagine her being targeted, but does she have any allies? Regardless, she is a phenomenal character, even though she doesn't get screen time.

Along with that, while the first half of the season was a huge drag, we definitely got rid of the dead weight early. The cast from the merge on is fantastic. So many fun characters, and so many fun players.

I loved the hide and seek game. It was so much fun to watch. It was hilarious to see Q and Venus simultaneously narrating how the game was viewed strategically. That had to have been a question asked by producers in their confessionals.

The banter at the challenges is fun this season, too.

I don't even know how to wrap my head around this episode... I'll need to digest some podcasts this week to help. But here are my updated winner rankings. I added how far they moved from last week.

Tier 1 - Favorites
1. Hunter (-)
2. Kenzie (+2)
3. Tiff (-)

Tier 2 - Good Chance to Win
4. Maria (+1)

Tier 3 - Outside Chance
5. Charlie (+2)
6. Liz (+2)

Tier 4 - Not Winning at This Point
7. Q (-1)
8. Venus (+1)

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

The first third of this episode was devoted to Q leading a hide and seek game and drawing ludicrous conclusions from it. I can't tell if any of it is playing up for TV.

Then his craziness at Tribal just cements him as such an erratic and unusual player. Is it hunger? Is he someone who cannot take it when he's not in full control? It's so hard to say.

The alliance of 6 that only ever votes for one of their own is low key hilarious.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

This season is following the trajectory of last year, with an underwhelming pre-merge followed by a really fun post-merge.

Hunter just doesn't seem cut out for this game beyond the challenge prowess. If you reveal an idol, on top of being a challenge threat, you're a bigger threat. You can only bluff with an idol if your opponents lack the numbers to split.

Given how he was in a clear minority last week, he should have gone with his instinct to play it here.

Q is apparently the guy Jeff talked about in the premiere - one of you cannot win - and is now a possibility to be dragged to the end, despite getting four votes tonight.

 

[dmw]

To reveal an idol or not... Most times the strategy to earn trust with a reveal goes bad. Sorry Hunter, that was the dumbest move on your part this week. Another idol goes home as a souvenir.

Going for Q was a bad plan - he is not a threat. They should have kept the plan to get out Tiffany, with a single backup vote for Q. At least that would flush her idol, which she stated she would have played. I don't know which character is more irritating - Tiff and her anger issues, or Q and his chaos.

 

[PUSH]

Busy week... finally getting to my episode breakdown!

This was another really good episode.

It was so interesting how the consensus vote was changed so much. It went from Tiff to Hunter to Q, then seemingly back to Hunter.

Tiff was smart to say she was playing her idol just to get rid of it, even if she didn't intend for it to sway the vote off her. It's a good reasoning, where people can't really take the chance. And I think at the time, she truly meant it, so she was able to fully sell the idea. I was surprised Kenzie initially brought up the idea. I wonder if she knows she hasn't always been Tiff's number one. I just hope it doesn't come back to haunt her, now that Tiff stayed.

Hunter made a huge mistake telling others about his idol. It sounded like they were going to pile the votes on him, and he could have gotten Ben out. I get his logic of trying to build bonds, but I think we're past that era. If someone has an idol, that puts a target on their back. I really don't think idols are a benefit anymore if even a single person knows you have it. They are only beneficial if you are the only person who knows about it. And that's why Hunter made such a bad move. Getting himself another day on the island is more valuable that potentially gaining an ally or two. You're not going to sway enough people to build a majority for the rest of the game, but getting another day gives you another (good) chance at winning immunity, or even finding the idol that was rehidden. And a lot can happen in 24 hours on the island.

I don't think Q was really a plan at that vote. He was the contingency in case Hunter played an idol. He's the safe vote that everyone is okay with going. And if you're Tiff or Kenzie, it's pretty clear Q and you aren't going to work together again, so it makes sense for them. For Maria and Charlie, it makes less sense to vote him out. You want him to help take Tiff and Kenzie apart.

Looking forward from here, I'm liking Maria and Charlie's positions best. I can also see a path for Tiff or Kenzie. I don't see a path for Q or Ben at all to win. Venus is pretty much there, too, but I can see a very, very, very slim scenario where she gets to the end with Liz and Q, having defied the odds of being the unanimous safe vote for several episodes. I also think Liz is going to do something that will get her voted out. She's so concerned about getting credit, and I think she's somehow going to put an unnecessary target on herself. I haven't ruled her out at a winner, because there's a world where she is up against Q and Venus and can articulate that she was actually the reason Tevin was voted out. And maybe she can pulls off one or two more moves before the end. However, if she's not able to convince anyone that it was her move, even though it was, I don't think she would get enough votes to win.

Here are my updated winner rankings...

Tier 1 - Favorites
1. Kenzie (+1)
2. Charlie (+3)
3. Tiff (-)

Tier 2 - Good Chance to Win
4. Maria (-)

Tier 3 - Outside Chance
5. Liz (+1)

Tier 4 - Not Winning at This Point
6. Venus (+2)
7. Q (-)

 

[PUSH]

Some sad Survivor news to share... Sonja Christopher, the first player ever voted out of Survivor, has passed away.

 

[PUSH]

Jeff has officially announced that season 50 will feature returning players, although they are not sure yet on any themes.

 

[PUSH]

This was another good episode tonight. This season has really picked up since the merge. It's looking like it will join the ranks of Survivor 44, Caramoan, and San Juan del Sur, where it had a terrible premerge, but much better post merge.

The headlining attraction was Liz's blowup at the reward challenge. This felt like built up emotion that's been growing for several days. She went OFF. This was more extreme than Debbie in Game Changers. Wow.

My favorite part was Venus going to comfort her when she paused, then she starts back up again, and Venus backs up. I rewatched that clip so many times, and I laughed every time. That's my favorite kind of comedy... unscripted, unplanned moments. This season has given a lot of that.

Onto the vote... this had Tiff blindside written on it the whole way. Q was so obvious, and it just felt like everything Tiff said made her seem comfortable enough to vote off. And when Maria talked about Kenzie backtracking, it felt like Kenzie was going to be blindsided, too.

I do wonder if this is too big of a move for Maria. She's now the big target. This is something Kenzie or Charlie could benefit from next week if she gets voted out.

As far as winner potential goes, I think Maria's stock has skyrocketed. Her problem now is, she has to get to the end. Outside of her, I think Charlie and Kenzie are the two favorites. We've seen everything through their perspectives. I'm also not totally out on Liz. People seemed to side with her on the blow up. Maybe that's just because they all hate Q, but it's not nothing. If she gets to the end with Q and Venus, she could be the odd duck winner.

So here are my updated winner rankings...

Tier 1 - Favorites
1. Kenzie (+1)
2. Maria (+2)
3. Charlie (-1)

Tier 2 - Good Chance to Win
None

Tier 3 - Outside Chance
4. Ben (forgot to rank last week)
5. Liz (-)

Tier 4 - Not Winning at This Point
6. Q (+1)
7. Venus (-1)

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Yep, Kenzie is well liked, is getting the air time, and isn't a huge target going into the final votes.

Idols really are the best thing the show has introduced. They impact the game without breaking it. This season emphasizes the value of keeping them secret. They're interesting because so many players have said how hard it is to just play something and not save it.

Sponsorships are always comically effective on Survivor. Give starving and deprived people food from a restaurant known for microwaving their meals, or show them a mediocre movie, and they will sell it as the greatest thing in the world.

This episode demonstrates why Survivor endures. Unexpected and new things happen. Things you can't script. Liz evoked a lot of passionate responses online. The notion that a personal story entitles someone to a reward. The question of why is she even there when she knows she's allergic to coconuts.

It also goes to show that the lack of rice is potentially just too extreme in terms of impacting players. After the outburst I'm sure they realized they pretty much had to offer up individual rice jar(s).

 

[PUSH]

Yep, Kenzie is well liked, is getting the air time, and isn't a huge target going into the final votes.

Idols really are the best thing the show has introduced. They impact the game without breaking it. This season emphasizes the value of keeping them secret. They're interesting because so many players have said how hard it is to just play something and not save it.

Sponsorships are always comically effective on Survivor. Give starving and deprived people food from a restaurant known for microwaving their meals, or show them a mediocre movie, and they will sell it as the greatest thing in the world.

This episode demonstrates why Survivor endures. Unexpected and new things happen. Things you can't script. Liz evoked a lot of passionate responses online. The notion that a personal story entitles someone to a reward. The question of why is she even there when she knows she's allergic to coconuts.

It also goes to show that the lack of rice is potentially just too extreme in terms of impacting players. After the outburst I'm sure they realized they pretty much had to offer up individual rice jar(s).

It's been speculated on podcasts that the rice was coming back again at some point. Jeff said on his podcast a couple seasons ago that they consulted with a nutritionist about how long contestants can go without rice, and they said day 16. So that's when the rice negotiations happen. They have to offer it again, otherwise they won't have people energetic enough to have interesting content.

 

[Smiley/OCD]

Sorry, Liz…if you’re that allergic to the fruits on the show, should you really be there?

 

[CynBeth]

I thought the way Liz was treated was awful. Q should have picked her especially after she begged due to her circumstance and then when he did not one of the girls should have had compassion for her and given up a spot for her. I also did not like how they laughed about it at the feast and then flaunted it in her face upon their return. If they keep not voting out Q and Venus saying they can get them out anytime they will make it to the end.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I thought the way Liz was treated was awful. Q should have picked her especially after she begged due to her circumstance and then when he did not one of the girls should have had compassion for her and given up a spot for her. I also did not like how they laughed about it at the feast and then flaunted it in her face upon their return. If they keep not voting out Q and Venus saying they can get them out anytime they will make it to the end.

Winning a reward means you get to choose who joins you and who doesn't.

There's pros and cons to having that power. There's a reason many people suggest never winning the loved ones visit (when it was still a thing). You are going to inevitably make some people upset. Same thing here.

It's a chance to spend time with people one thinks one can forge agreements with. It's a chance to deny an opponent food.

If Q had picked Liz to be nice, it would make him more of a threat to win. That can be beneficial but can also make him a bigger target. It's his prerogative to do what most benefits him.

It's complicated and that's what makes Survivor so interesting.

Any expectation that Q is obligated to take Liz because of her personal story and current struggles goes against the concept of the game.

Two of the girls did offer their spot according to exit interviews with Tiff, and Q refused to allow it.

 

[PUSH]

This was another good episode. It wasn't as good as the past couple, but we saw a lot of strategy, which is always fun. This episode gave us a good understanding of where players are at going into the home stretch.

Maria's decision on how to pick who went on the reward was crazy. It's like she wanted them to perform for her. I don't think she intended it that way, but that's how it came off. I understand why the others were upset. It definitely hurt her going forward if she makes the final three. However, winning immunity may have saved her.

This is the most amount of players we've ever had voted off with an idol in a single season, with four... and three of them have come back-to-back-to-back. Not to mention, Randen left with one when he was medically evacuated. That's five idols found, and five idols never used. Maybe the 47 cast should be told to avoid finding idols.

Looking forward, here's how I see it...

Kenzie is the obvious one on the bottom, followed by Liz.

Charlie is looking to possibly use them to vote out his biggest ally, but biggest threat, in Maria.

Maria is looking to move forward with Charlie, Ben, and Q, probably favoring Ben and Q in a final three. Q is on board. Ben is just following.

I think this is ultimately Charlie's decision on how the season goes. Can he pull Ben over to blindside Maria? He's running out of numbers to do so. Getting Venus out now may have been his last shot to get the numbers. However, based on how people are viewing Maria after tonight, I think Charlie could beat Maria. It'd be close, but it's possible.

Here are my updated winner rankings... I still think it's got to be one of the top three, or this was a ridiculously edited season where we didn't get shown what really happened.

Tier 1 - Favorites
1. Charlie (+2)
2. Maria (-)
3. Kenzie (-2)

Tier 2 - Good Chance to Win
None

Tier 3 - Outside Chance
4. Ben (-)

Tier 4 - Not Winning at This Point
5. Liz (same placement, but moved down a tier)
6. Q (+1)

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Venus is a very unaware character. She thought she was in on every vote and that hinting at having an advantage but thinking she was being clever by not outright saying it? Ouch.

I did find to a degree the episode wanted to 'blindside the audience' as usual, by showing a lot of strategy talk but not really showing us how everyone shifted to Venus.

Surprising in that so many people had Venus as a lock for the final as someone who would be easy to beat.

Charlie is looking much better thanks to a strong social game and Maria basically torpedoing her own chances. I agree waiting until the final six to make a move could be his downfall.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

It's an interesting production decision that the immunity winner then has to take a minority group on reward.

Not sure I like that. It's arguably a disadvantage paired with an advantage, but unlike separate reward challenges you can't make the strategic decision simply not to win it, without also giving up a shot at immunity.