Eh, Sandra leaving was kinda weak sauce. And the season is interesting but the only play is ‘fly under the radar’. Which means being competent is a hindrance and that kind of makes for less than worthy winner in the end. It’s what the game is now, but I just think it’s too tricked up which adds too much luck even though it adds ‘drama’. Still, I watch and mostly enjoy.
Yeah, I’ve been disappointed that nearly everyone who has made interesting moves has ended up being voted out. Who is even left that has been doing any interesting strategizing? Maybe Jeremy? He tried to save his friend Wendell this week but was unsuccessful.
Also, the fire tokens have made Edge of Extinction the opposite of Redemption Island now. In Redemption Island, the person voted out the earliest had to fight the hardest to stay in the game. They had to win a series of duels to stay in. So the person voted out of the game the earliest had the hardest time getting back into the game. This season, the person voted out the earliest had the best chance at getting the most fire tokens, and using said tokens to get advantages in the challenge. If Sandra had stayed in, she’d have at most two fire tokens and wouldn’t be able to afford an advantage in this week’s challenge. Yul was the newest member on Edge, and could have a maximum of one fire token and didn’t have a shot at an advantage in that challenge. So this season, the ones voted out the earliest have the best shot and winning their way back in. Which seems like a perverse system. I love Yul, but with no advantage, he was way behind the players that did. That’s what he gets for lasting longer in the game and getting voted out late.
Denise, Adam, Jeremy, Sophie and Tyson/Tony/Kim/Nick are certainly capable of it. It’s probably the most strategic cast ever - the only lightweights are Ben, Michelle and Sarah, so naturally they’ll probably make it to the end.
I hated this week’s episode. I’m sure there might be people who find this kind of episode exciting, but this is precisely what happens when all the strong strategic players are voted out. You get a bunch of people who don’t want to make waves or be seen as leading, and it’s all chaos and people trying to not rock the boat. It’s like watching a bunch of players play on a Ouija Board as they go from one name to the other. I’m sure there’s players in there trying to guide the group’s hand, but it makes for terrible viewing in my opinion.
The preview implies that next week they’re going to finally break out of that and form tribal alliances. God, I hope so, because watching people play Ouija board sucks.
I’m assuming that CBS feels this sort of ‘drama’ gets better ratings and maybe it does. But as the game has morphed into what it is today I think they’ve tricked it up so much with various immunities and what nots it’s forced the players into all being hyenas (per Tony). All playing not to lose rather than to win. The target is whoever’s name happens to pop up for any reason as everyone just wants to focus on a name, any name, so long as it’s not theirs. But now the tribe is small enough that any conversation is at least semi-public and the group just moves towards whatever name was last popped up regardless of why it was brought up. It’s just musical chairs or hot potato. I’m sure there are some strategies being played but none seem particularly interesting and none make for good tv (imho obviously).
If they would get rid of the fucking constant chatter at tribal that would help. That isn’t interesting at all and makes everything we’ve seen up until then mostly irrelevant.
Adams move to grab the ‘idol’ from the podium was greatness though. Either way it had worked out, that minute or so of tv was golden.
Yeah, that was really great. Jeff Probst really played that moment well.
Ugh. “Loved ones” episode. I’ve already posted why I detest these, but boy is Denise tiny. And Kim’s kids seem scared to death of her. So that was OK. I guess.
Again, the last few minutes of allowing chitchat during tribal makes everything that happened before meaningless. They even allows talking after Jeremy left which was supposed to be right before the vote. Too tricked up by far.
I don’t/didn’t mind the banter at tribal, which I think changes things almost never, but yesterday could have been the exception so it was a shame that they were allowed to reconvene after Jeremy left – would have been much more fun if they had to immediately vote, and therefore risk speaking out loud or signalling each other, rather than escaping for a voir dire on their own.
Well the tribal whispering has really died down so I’m glad for that. Michelle told Nick he was an idiot for not taking out one of the Ben/Tony/Sarah when they could. He seemed to believe her theory of what was gonna happen but then somehow was blindsided by being sent away? Thought he had better game than that.
Is Sarah content to play for 2nd? There is no way she can beat anyone left in a jury I wouldn’t think. Maybe Michelle, but even Michelle has had to scramble and play the last few rounds to stay in it. It’s like she’s not even pretending to try and win, just to get to the final 3 and hope she gets second behind Tony.
How is Tony not a bigger target and how has no one noticed him hiding in a tree 10 feet away? I can see it once or twice, but the big clump of leaves that seems abnormally packed together just seems too obvious a place not to check out for a bunch of paranoid players week after week.
Enjoying the last couple of eps. Really hoping whoever comes off of EoE takes it all at this point.
I think that if whoever comes back from Shithole Island makes it to the end, he/she has an excellent shot. Not only will they have bonded with the jury, but they have the “look at all I’ve endured” argument to make to a sympathetic audience.
Interesting finale! Can’t believe Michele didn’t even pick up 1 vote. I thought she played a really good game from the position she was in. Tony sure deserved that win though!
I only watched the finale, but that part had me laughing my ass off.
Long season and super long episode. Tony was really the only choice. I had wanted Natalie to be a player but once she got back in her Out Wit was lacking although getting everyone to play their immunity was pretty great. Even if it worked primarily because Ben and sarah were dumb. Michelle should have received some vote I thought. And if she had gone up against tony in the fire challenge and won maybe she would have. Sarah’s big plan to show how she wasn’t under a man’s wings and had game of her own was to let Ben give up and fall on the sword so she wouldn’t feel bad? I mean it’s a play, but not resume material. Ben…just gave up to be friendly?
CBS All Access still hasn’t put the finale up. I was curious to see how they would stage it without an audience or the contestants present, but now that I know who won anyway maybe I’ll just go ahead and cancel it now.
There was no reunion or anything. Just a 3 hour regular episode with the last ten minutes being Probst reading votes from a set in his garage and the finalists in a zoom chat.
I kept reading online that people were going to be pissed if Natalie won since she was out of the game basically the whole time on the Edge of Extinction. I understand that plus the fire tokens bring a new angle to the game, but buying an idol and 3 advantages in the challenge just because she was there the longest (I mean, not JUST because, she had to work for the fire tokens, but still) just doesn’t seem right to give her the win.
I started getting the feeling halfway through that Tony was getting the “winner’s edit”, but then second-guessed myself into believing it was deliberate misdirection.
Should have gone with my gut.
That is a huge structural flaw with the Edge of Extinction. Players come back into the game very late. Yes, they are still suffering though hardships, and need to complete challenges and accumulate advantages to get back in whilst marooned, but ultimately, the main game is being played out at the camp(s) and anybody voted early isn’t playing much of the main game. That’s not Natalie’s fault. That’s the fault of the producers. If it isn’t obvious, I’m not a fan of the Edge of Extinction, or Exile Island or any of these other mechanisms where players come back in.
Anyhow, the right person was given the win.
Yeah, the flaws of that aspect of it were GLARINGLY obvious this time. The fire tokens were an interesting idea, but I don’t think it played out very well. I mean, I get that the producers are trying to mix things up and try new things to keep things happening, but it definitely slants things a bit. I mean, it IS its own game, and Natalie played it well on Extinction, and played quite well while she WAS on the island, but it’s such a different dynamic being off the main island THE WHOLE GAME. It didn’t really work.
But yeah, the right victor was crowned.