Survivor 41.2 “Juggling Chainsaws”

Well, Survivor has it’s first all-girl’s alliance of the 42nd season!

I swear, we go through this every single season.  Every season, there’s at least one all-girl’s alliance.  It always starts out vaguely strong but then it falls apart because Survivor is not Big Brother.  A successful Survivor alliance depends on more than all the members having one thing in common. 

This season, Evvie, TIffany, and Liana have formed an all-girl’s alliance on the Yase Tribe.  That become relevant when the tribe lost the immunity challenge and went to tribal council for a second time.  By almost every standard, Tiffany should have gone home.  She’s performing terribly in the challenges.  She keeps talking about how she has no energy.  While she kind of apologized for totally screwing up the challenge, she also didn’t really seem to take much responsibility for it.  Tiffany got totally paranoid and kind of pushy while talking to Evvie and Liana, despite the fact that they’re supposed to be allies.  Without a doubt, Tiffany should have been voted out.

I mean, right now, it’s a tribal game.  The tribe has to win immunity or the tribe is going to continue to return to tribal council.  The way you avoid going to tribal council is to keep the members of the tribe who can actually help you win challenges.  However, Tiffany was determined to vote out Xander, despite the fact that Xander is the most athletic member of the team.  She was rightly paranoid because Xander has an idol (more on that in a minute) and an extra vote but, at the same time, now is not the time to get rid of the only athletic person on your tribe.

Fortunately, Evvie and Liana were able to convince her to keep Xander around for at least one more challenge.  Instead, Dr. Voce was voted out.  I wasn’t surprised by that decision because, from the beginning, Voce has come across as being a bit too intense for his tribe.  Much like Abraham last week, Voce likes to give orders and throw his weight around and that led to him getting voted off the island, 3-1.  Voce voted for Tiffany.  The women all voted for Voce.  And Xander didn’t vote at all.

Xander has temporarily lost his vote as a result of finding the Beware Idol.  The Beware Idol is a three-way immunity idol but it only becomes active after the other two Beware Idols are found by the other tribes.  Until those three idols are found and all three of the idol holders repeat some bizarre phrases at the immunity challenge, Xander doesn’t get a vote!

That could be bad news for Xander if Yase returns to Tribal next week.  But, at the same time, would the Yase Tribe really vote out Xander and keep Tiffany around?  If they do, they kind of deserve whatever happens as a result.

In other developments:

Deshawn and Evvie, despite being on different tribes, got a chance to bond while doing the summit hike.  If the two of them make it to the merge or if the tribes get reshuffled, that could lead to them becoming allies.

After last week’s double tribal council, we’re back to only sending one tribe to Tribal.

On the Ua tribe, Brad is getting a bit too paranoid and hyper for his own good while JD and Ricard seem to have gotten past their differences.  We didn’t spend much time with Ua during the episode but I get the feeling that things are going to come to a head with Brad, Ricard, and JD next week.

Jeff Probst looked considerably healthier this week.  I was glad to see that!

My predictions for next week: The all-girls alliance falls apart and Brad continues to get on everyone’s nerves!

We’ll see what happens!

Dr. David Voce, the third person to voted out of Survivor 41

Big Brother 23 — In Conclusion

(SPOILERS)

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Seriously, if you’re on the West Coast or if you just haven’t seen the finale yet, I’m about to spoil who won the season so read at your own risk!

Okay, with that out of the way …. it was a pretty predictable ending. I think from the minute that Tiffany and then Kyland were voted out of the House, it was pretty obvious that this game was Xavier’s to lose. Both Derek F. and Azah said they were planning on taking him to the final two if either of them won the final HoH, which would indicate that neither of them realized how weak their own cases would be compared to Xavier’s. In the end, though, Xavier won the final HoH comp and he wisely evicted Azah and took Big D to final two.

To be honest, it’s hard for me to think of any player that has ever been less deserving of making it to the end than Big D. Big D claimed that he carried the Cookout to the end. He said that he deserved to win because “I put the work in.” BIG D DID NOTHING! Big D slept all day. He complained nonstop. He didn’t come close to winning a single comp. Big D was carried to the end because Xavier knew he could beat him.

In the end, it was a 9-0 vote. Big D did not get one single vote. As for America’s Favorite Player, it went TIffany. If Tiffany hadn’t been evicted and had made it to the final two, she could have made a contest of it. That would have been an exiting finale. Instead, Tiffany was voted out and Xavier got exactly the ending that he wanted. To be honest, I was kind of bored with this season. Regardless of how historically significant the Cookout was, it’s always boring when one alliance dominates the entire game.

Xavier has made history as the first black winner of Big Brother and this season is now over. Thank you for reading! I’m afraid that I wasn’t able to be as active this season as I’ve been in the past but I do appreciate those of you who read my posts and who commented. At the end of every season, I’m usually kind of burned out on Big Brother and I think to myself, “I’m taking next year off” but I will probably be back for next season. What can I say? I’m addicted to this show! We’ll see what happens!

For now, I’m covering Survivor here at Reality TV Chat Blog!

How does everyone feel about the finale?

Lisa Marie

Big Brother 23 — It’s Time Open Up The Diary Room One Last Time! Who do you want to win?

Well, this season is nearly over. On Wednesday, the final HoH will be crowned, the final two will face the jury, and someone will win the 23rd season of Big Brother!

That also means that it’s time for us to open up the Diary Room one last time.

Who do you want to win Big Brother?

Do you vote for….

AZAH, who came on strong in the final weeks of the game after previously flying under the radar

BIG D, who insists that he’s done a lot more in the House than people realize

or

XAVIER, the co-founder of the Cookout?

You know the drill! Cast your vote in the poll or in the comments below! And then be sure to watch on Wednesday as the season comes to a close!

Happy voting!

Big Brother 23 — The Results of Parts One and Two of the Final HoH Competition

Well, the finale of Big Brother 23 is just a few days away and the houseguests are currently competing for the right to be the final HoH. Whoever wins the three-part HoH comp will not only advance to the final two but will also get to pick who sits next to them.

The part of the HoH contest was won by Xavier. No surprise there. Judging from Azah and Derek F’s comments in the House, Xavier won pretty easily.

The 2nd part of the HoH comp was Azah vs. Derek F. and Azah won! And again, who is surprised? Has Derek F. won anything during his time in the House?

On Wednesday. Azah and Xavier will face off in part three.

Derek F. is, needless to say, whining up a storm right now. Azah was comforting him by telling him that he could still win America’s Favorite Player but Derek F. says that he doesn’t want AFP. He wants to be sitting in the final two. So, you heard him. Don’t give him your AFP vote.

The finale is on Wednesday!

Big Brother 23 — About Tonight

(SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THURSDAY’S EPISODE)

Tonight’s episode of Big Brother was …. well, it’s been over an hour and I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about it.

First off, let’s get the important stuff out of the way.

Xavier did not use the veto, as we all knew he wouldn’t.

Derek F. cast his vote to evict and he voted for Kyland.

Kyland was totally blindsided. Kyland stood up, accepted his hugs from Xavier, Derek, and Azah and then….

He refused to leave.

He stood there in front of the door and he demanded that Xavier explain why he had lied to him. Xavier said that it was just the game. Kyland pointed out that he saved Xavier when he was on the block. Xavier repeated that Kyland would understand it all after the game ended.

And Kyland still did not leave.

Instead, he asked Xavier if this was what he wanted to teach Kobe.

Now, for those of you who might not know, Kobe is Xavier’s nephew. Xavier’s brother died earlier in the year and Xavier is planning on raising Kobe. Kyland basically accused Xavier of not being a good role model.

“Say my nephew’s name again,” Xavier said, as Derek F. stood beside him.

“He needs a man to look up to,” Kyland replied.

Meanwhile, in the studio, Julie said that it was time for Kyland to leave. After what felt like an eternity of glaring Kyland finally did leave. He seemed oddly cheerful outside of the house, telling Julie that he really hoped he would be invited back for an all-stars seasons which …. I don’t think it’s going to happen after that. Big Brother’s producers don’t want to get sued because a brawl broke out in the house and someone got inured.

Now, for the record, this is not the first time that there was nearly a fight after an eviction. On Over The Top, Cornbread cussed everyone out when he was evicted. On All-Stars, Howie actually tried to hit Mike Boogie but stopped himself at the last minute and instead just grabbed Mike’s hat. So, this is not the first time this has happened. Still, after a boring week of Derek F. and Azah trying to delude themselves into thinking that either one of them have a chance to beat Xavier, Kyland’s reaction did provide a moment of excitement.

When it happened, my first reaction was that Kyland was being honest in his reaction and at least it was unexpected. At the exact moment, I actually appreciated Kyland for not being fake about it. Instead of pretending to smile and hugging everyone, he went with his first reaction and demanded some answers. But now, nearly 90 minutes later, my feelings are more mixed and I kind of wish that I hadn’t witnessed all of that. Bringing up Xavier’s nephew was not a classy move and I say this as someone who doesn’t particularly like Xavier. If Kyland had called Xavier out for being a liar, that would have been one thing because there really was no reason to keep Kyland in the dark. At that point, with only four people in the House, Kyland had every right to be upset over being lied to. But making it about family …. yeah, that was a step too far. Kyland should have left Kobe out of it.

But regardless of how any of us feel about how exited the House, Kyland is now heading to the jury and our final three is made up of Xavier, Derek, and Azah. The show ends on Wednesday and, as of right now, Xavier seems almost unstoppable (though I doubt he’ll be getting Kyland’s vote.)

Lisa Marie

Survivor 41.1 “A New Age”

Survivor’s back and it’s about time!

Seriously, I was worried that we would never see Survivor again. With all due respect to Big Brother, Survivor is my favorite reality show. The thing I like about Survivor is that you actually have to work to win Survivor. This isn’t a show where you just go in a house and sleep on the couch all day and wait for your alliance to carry you to the final three (ahem …. Derek….) On Survivor, you have to build the house. The competitions are grueling. The twists are serious. Alliances are designed to fall apart after the merge. If you try to sleep through Survivor, you’re getting voted out. The majority of the people who have done well on Big Brother would be lost on Survivor. Most of the people who have won Survivor would probably be considered too intense for Big Brother.

Of course, last night, Jeff Probst opened the show by announcing that we were about to start a “new era” of Survivor. Jeff says that every season. Myself, I was more concerned with the fact that Jeff looked really tired and emaciated. It’s like he aged a decade while the show was off the air.

That said, it did turn out that Jeff wasn’t being totally hyperbolic when he said it was a new era. Here’s a few changes:

In the past, Survivor lasted 33 days. This season, it’s only 26 days due to Coronavirus protocols.

The phrase “Come in, Guys!” is now “Come on in.” Somehow, when I first watched the show, I missed that Jeff actually asked the castaways whether or not he should still say, “guys,” so I’m glad I rewatched the show before writing this up. (Because I missed Jeff asking about it, it initially seemed as if Ricard brought it up out of nowhere.) Personally, I support retiring the term but it still seemed as if the show got a bit self-congratulatory about it. (For the record, I used to watch Survivor with my mom and I can still remember her saying, “But they are not all guys!”)

Last night’s episode featured a lot footage and details about the castaways’s lives outside of the game which kind of bugged me. I’m sure they’re all great people but I don’t care about their life outside the game. The great thing about Survivor, in the past, was that the entire show was about what happened on the island. It was an unsentimental game, where bad guys often won and good guys were often humiliated. That was part of the show’s appeal, anyone could get voted off the island. It was a ruthless game and I hope that’s something that is never lost.

Finally, this season is starting off with three tribes of 6. In the past, whenever there were three tribes, that meant that two tribes could win immunity. That wasn’t the case last night. Only one tribe — the Luvu tribe — won immunity. The other two went to tribal.

Speaking of the tribes, here they are:

The Yase Tribe (Xander, Voce, Lianna, Tiffany, Abraham, Evvie)

The Yase Tribe consists of:

Xander — I liked Xander. He’s young and seems kind of spacey but he’s also likable and I get the feeling that he’ll do well in this game. On Day 2, when the tribe was told to select a member to take a journey, Xander was selected. Xander won an extra vote as a result of his journey.

Voce — Voce is a neurosurgeon and he got on my nerves last night. He’s a bit whiney.

Lianna — Lianna didn’t make much of an impression last night. She’ll get other opportunities.

Tiffany — I like Tiffany but, as one of the older people on tribe, she’s going to struggle to make it to the merge.

Abraham — Abraham threw his weight around and tried to run the tribe during the first three days. This is always a bad strategy.

Evvie — Evvie was given a lot of screentime last night so I’m guessing she’s going to be around for a while. She came across as being a little bit too needy for me.

The UA Tribe (Brad, Sara, Shan, JD, Ricad, Genie)

The UA Tribe consists of:

Brad — Brad is a rancher. He seems like a hard worker but his social skills don’t seem particularly strong. Telling Sara and Shan that they were on the chopping block was not a smart move.

Sara — Sara was the member of the UA tribe to whom I immediately related. It’s too bad that she screwed up the puzzle during the immunity challenge.

Shan — Shan is a pastor but she says she’s a “mafia pastor.” She seems like she’ll fly under the radar until the merge.

JD — I really liked JD but I get the feeling he’s going to end up playing too hard. As a result of the journey twist, JD currently has an extra vote.

Ricard — Ugh. Ricard seems like he wants to be this season’s villainous mastermind but he tends to come on way too strong.

Genie — Genie didn’t really make much of an impression last night. She seems nice.

The Luvu Tribe (Danny, Sameer, Sydney, Heather, DeShawn, Erika)

The Luvu Tribe consists of:

Danny — Danny is the season’s former NFL player and he seems like he’ll do well. I think he’ll have some trouble after the merge because he’s an obvious threat to win individual immunity.

Sameer — Sameer learned how to speak English by watching Survivor, which is nice. Sameer stills seems like kind of a jerk, though.

Sydney — I related to Sydney so I hope she goes far in the game.

Heather — Heather didn’t do much last night. I’m sure we’ll learn more about her as the show goes on.

DeSahwn — DeShawn is likable. I could see him being around for a while.

Erika — Who? Sorry, Erika made next to no impression last night, mostly because her tribe did not go to Tribal Council.

Luvu did win immunity last night, in a bit of an upset. Ua and Yase went to tribal. Yase voted out Abraham, largely because he was a bit of a bully. Ua’s tribal council was a bit more chaotic. Ricard seems to have a personal issue with JD and he wanted to target him. However, during tribal, Shan and Sara talked about how Brad had targeted them after the immunity challenge and it looked like Brad might become the target. However, then JD whispered to Shan and argued that Brad would be better in challenges. In the end, it was Sara who was voted out.

The votes broke down like this. On Yase, everyone voted for Abraham except for Abraham, who voted for Tiffany. On UA, Genie voted for Ricard and Sara voted for Brad but everyone else voted for Sara. Even Ricard went against his original plan and voted for Sara.

One final twist to discuss: the shot in the dark twist gives each castaway one opportunity to compete for safety. In the voting booth, they can roll the dice and get a chance to win immunity. But if they don’t win immunity, they lose their vote.

And that was it for last night. It was a slightly different format but I’m still glad that Survivor’s back! I look forward to writing about it each week. So far, my favorites are Xander, Sydney, Danny, and JD.

Lisa Marie

Big Brother 23 — Time To Open Up The Diary Room For Week 12

Oh, hey, I guess it’s that time again!

It’s time open up the diary room and allow you to cast your vote for who you want to see go this week!

Because there’s only 4 players left and the veto ceremony has yet to take place, that means that there are 3 possibilities. HoH Xavier is safe but, depending on what he does with the veto, either Kyland, Azah, or Derek F. could leave on Thursday!

So, who you want to see go?

KYLAND, the long-winded strategist

AZAH, who has laid low for the entire season

or

DEREK F, who always wakes up in time to cast his evote?

Let us know by voting in the poll below or in the comments! And then be sure to watch on Thursday to find out who will be the newest juror and also which houseguests will join Xavier in the final three!

Happy voting,

Lisa Marie

Big Brother 23 — My Mistake

So, I have to admit that I made a mistake.

I was under the impression that the veto meeting was today but I forgot how things work during the final week of Big Brother. The veto meeting will be Thursday, during the live show. Xavier will announce whether or not he’s going to take either Azah or Kyland off the block and then, whoever is not nominated or HoH, will cast the only vote.

As of right now, it still looks like Xavier is going to keep the nominations the same. He’s expecting Derek F. to then vote out Kyland. I imagine that is what will happen but you never know. Derek F. has been in a really bad mood today, mostly because he thinks that the other three are unfairly discounting him as a potential winner. He’s spent most of today arguing with Azah about whether or not Derek actually did anything in the House. Derek keeps insisting that he was one of the most important members of the Cookout. Azah keeps suggesting that the Cookout carried Derek to the final three.

Though she’s right, it’s still a strange strategy for Azah to take. Why upset the one person who is going to decide your fate in the game? Xavier, for his part, wants Kyland gone and I imagine that, if he feels Derek can’t be trusted, Xavier will take Azah off the block and then let her cast the eviction vote for Kyland. But then again, if Azah’s angry enough at Derek, anything’s possible.

Basically, Xavier is now having to trust that the other houseguest will continue to do what he wants, despite the fact that he really doesn’t have any power. One thing that Xavier does have going in his favor is that neither Derek nor Azah like Kyland and Kyland hasn’t done much to win either of them over this week. So, in the end, I guess it’s just going to come down to who is more annoyed at who on Thursday night.

We’ll see!

Lisa Marie

P.S. Survivor returns on Wednesday! Yay!

Big Brother 23 — Week 12 Veto Notes

Hi, everyone!

Yesterday, the houseguests competed for the veto and Xavier won it. Xavier is already HoH and he’s already nominated Azah and Kyland for eviction. He’s not going to use the veto so either Azah or Kyland will be leaving this week. The only person voting will be Derek F. So, Derek F. is guaranteed to make the final three, despite having done nothing this season.

Originally, I thought Xavier’s target was Azah but apparently, he now wants Derek F. to vote out Kyland. I think that Xavier has figured out that Kyland is the only remaining houseguest who could possibly beat him in a final two situation. He would rather take either Derek F. or Azah to the finale because neither one of them has really done anything in the House.

The only question right now is whether or not Derek F. is going to follow Xavier’s directions. Personally, I imagine he will. Derek F. may talk a big game but he’s never really shown himself to have the guts go against Xaver. Come Thursday night, our final three will probably be Xavier, Derek F., and Azah. I imagine that, if he does win the final HoH comp, Xavier will probably take Derek F. to the final two over Azah.

We’ll find out soon!

Lisa Marie

Big Brother 23 — Week 12 HoH And Nominations

Well, Azah really screwed up.

Last night, she had an opportunity to either get Xavier out of the House or at least weaken him by getting rid of one of his allies. Instead, she put Hannah up on the block and, when Hannah failed to win the veto, Hannah went home. Only after Hannah left did Azah apparently figure out that the guys all have an alliance.

After Hannah left, the HGs competed for HoH. The competition was won by Xavier and he went on to nominate Azah and Kyland for eviction.

So, here’s what’s going to happen. Only one person can vote this week. That vote will be cast by whoever is not nominated. Right now, that would be Derek F. If Azah or Kyland wins the veto and uses it, Derek F. will automatically become the replacement nominee and the veto holder will have all the power.

So, basically right now, only Xavier is safe. Everyone else is a potential nominee until after the veto comp. If Azah wants to make it to the final three, she has to win this veto. Otherwise, it’ll be Derek, Kyland, and Xavier battling it out to become the final HoH and chose someone to take with him to the final two.

The veto comp is tomorrow! We’ll see what happens.

Lisa Marie

P.S. No show on Sunday because of the Emmys!