244 replies to this topic

[TWoP Pembleton]

"Shot into Smithereens" - During an emotional family reunion, an exciting reward challenge enables castaways to join forces with their loved ones. Meanwhile, at a secret meeting, an alliance devises a plan to get rid of their biggest threat.

[cooksdelight]

OMG.... Did I ever have deja vu when Lisa was waving her arms exclaiming "I can play this game! I can play this game!  Big flashback to the Academy Awards and Sally Field "You like me! You really, really like me!!"

"They're bonding with Jesus" should have been the episode title.

Csrter looked like he hit the first water platform with the full monty. Ouch!

Abi must not know how to swim. Come on Probst, cut her a little slack.

As soon as they decided to blindside Malcolm, I knew he'd win immunity. Editing of this episode was too contrived.

Now, my question, why didn't they pick Denise to go? Bigger threat than Abi or Carter by far. Thier one chance to get rid of a likable strong player and it was never even considered. Doofuses!

Carter finally talks. If nothing else, I'll remember that. It wasn't much, but it was more than three words. I think it's that flat monotone way of speaking that makes him seem slow. That, and saying "They're playing with their heads and not their hearts now."

Ya think??

[vb68]

Boy I really wish Lisa's brother was the one playing.

Edited by vb68, Dec 5, 2012 @ 10:19 PM.

[absinthe]

Malcolm's glee at his safety through the next tribal council was wonderful. As was his Harry Potter reference!

This may have been the first time I got a little teary during the reunion with the loved ones--very emotional. But unlike Probst, I found Lisa's reaction a little overwrought. 

I get why they did it, but it did seem shitty to vote out sweet, simple Carter. 

Finally, I loved the idea that Survivor Jesus would look like Malcolm and play like Carter. 

[sienna gold]

Why didn't they vote. out. Denise? Why wasn't that an option? Why was it Malcolm or bust? Oi, these people sometimes.

I am so very much over Lisa. The waffling bugs me more than I thought it would, and it' like, sweetheart, it's. a. game. To me, this waffling over 'my word, my word, etc' drives me up the wall, regardless of who says it. It's like being a volleyball player and refusing to spike the ball, or taking advantage of a breakaway in hockey, or knowing you can do a quad jump in figure skating but not, because you want to be "fair."

Oi.

[ReiMehari]

They made the right decision.

Abi winning again seems unlikely. And even if she does... it might not be the worst thing for (most of) them.

[enlightenedbum]

Now, my question, why didn't they pick Denise to go?

Because Malcolm and Denise are in control. But mostly Denise.

I've decided that Lisa is the Tim Tebow of Survivor. The hype to productivity ratio is off the charts. And yet producers keep cramming them down our throats. It helps that they're both all Jesus-y.

Kudos to everybody for making the right play even though God knows it has to be tempting to just boot Abi and be done with it. Or more to the point, kudos to Malcolm as without Carter around he could run the table unless there's an endurance thing Denise can win.

[PaulAllanJones]

It's sort of no wonder that Abi is not very athletic. Her mother is kinda chunky and even less coordinated than Skupin.

That being said, it's fairly easy to speculate as to what she's like as a mother; the sort of idiot who wants to be a child's friend instead of a parent. That's almost as destructive as panicky idiot Lisa's excesses.

[Haleth]

I am over Lisa too. Far too much time spent on her emotional conflicts. Sooooo happy Malcolm won immunity. The Harry Potter reference makes him all the more awesome.

Poor Carter. He understood why he was voted out but had no means of changing anything. Sweet kid.

Edited by Haleth, Dec 5, 2012 @ 9:14 PM.

[Aunt Pearl]

Ouch!! I think D & M made a huge mistake. Abi is now a potential swing vote with team God.

Are they smart enough to give D the idol and whack Lisa or Skubin?

Would Carter have ratted out the blindside Malcolm plot???

[miliosr]

Even though I knew Lisa's family visit would be with her brother, a part of me was hoping that Jo (Nancy McKeon) would be the one running into the open to greet Blair (Lisa).

The closer Malcolm gets to starvation, the more handsome he becomes. (With the hair, he's reminding me of Orlando Bloom in Kingdom of Heaven.)

Skupin's son being a chip off the old block of his father (in terms of injuries) was too funny.

[Lantern7]

So long, Carter. We hardly knew ye . . . and because you're surrounded by bigger personalities, we're not gonna know ye at the Reunion. I know Probst likes him some alpha males, but remember . . . Rick had perhaps the most awesome facial hair in the show's history, and Peachy didn't even acknowledge him. And Rick was in the friggin' front row!

Is it weird for me to still feel some degree of empathy for Abi Maria? Once again, I figure she's more of a pill than a total bitch, though my view might be skewed by watching the creme de la crap on The Challenge. And seeing Denise dig her claws into Crabbi is telling, given how she had to live the Russell Swan Experience for about two weeks. Yet, I still refuse to treat Crabbi like Colton. For one, I felt bad that she had the worst partner possible for the given Reward Challenge. I would've liked for Carter to throw her and her mom a bone, but that would've entailed trash-talk in two languages. Then came the immunity challenge, where Probst got sand up his ass, berating the shit out of her. If she had gone to the mat, emptied her bag, then ran to Probst and assaulted him with one of the sticks, y'all would've fell in love with her.

It was hard not to think of Probst in the Immunity Challenge. "Hey, gang! Assemble a psuedo-dong and knock over a target to win it!" If Lisa had won it, Probst would've been knocked comatose. Instead, Malcolm got it . . . and Probst probably lit up a cigarette in the afterglow. Not that I blame him . . . with the hair gone wild, Malcolm can make damn near anybody moist if they dig guys.

Damn, Michael and Michael Jr. were funny. It felt like the elder Skupin hadn't seen his son in two years. And Junior had been stationed in the Middle East. And he had been dead for three years. That's what I thought seeing the emotions. I know, overkill, but seeing Junior rip his arms up like dear ol' dad was funny. Also: Lisa's brother is twenty years younger? And named "Justice"?!? Who's named "Justice"?!? Only thing I kept thinking was Julie Louis-Dreyfus's dog in that one episode of Arrested Development, and that was a lead-up to a punchline. Natch, Lisa learns that she can play the game . . . only for Malcolm to ruin the planned blindside. At least Lisa's interview was funny.

With Anonymous Carter gone, we got a killer final five. And if Lisa decided to ally herself with Crabbi, it truly could be anybody's game.

Edited by Lantern7, Dec 5, 2012 @ 9:11 PM.

[lleykian54]

Hmm, not sure how I feel about the vote. On the one hand, Carter was proving to be a strong immunity challenge threat so I could see the appeal in getting rid of him but I just hope that's all it was based on and not Abi's bullshit lie about having an Idol. Because if they seriously took that Idol threat into consideration, I would hope that they would be smart enough to know to split the votes to call her bluff and either she does have it and Carter leaves or they've proven she's lying and have to re-vote and can vote her out.

Man, at this point, if Malcolm wins this, he would definitely a very deserving win because how many times have people tried to get him out now? And I'm rooting for him but I'm worried about the editors showing his comment about being Final 4. These editors are clever so I'm wondering if something happens, except I can't imagine what since he would know Final 5 is his last night to play the idol. I will say his biggest almost mis-step might have been the reward challenge win because he's right, it almost succeeded in giving Lisa her survivor mojo back and basically wanting to boot him out. Should have picked Denise and Carter.

I can see Skupin and Lisa next week targetting Denise and wasn't the least bit surprised by the preview for next week's show. It would make sense. They target Denise because Malcolm has the idol so they go to the Final 4 with him vulnerable and if he doesn't win Final Immunity, boot him and take Abi who they know NO ONE will vote for. The best chance for Malcolm and Denise's alliance next week is for him to win immunity again and play his idol for her and hopefully they both for Abi and finally get that horrible twit out. Oh and I cracked up at Malcolm comparing Abi to a dementor...Harry Potter reference, awesome.

[vb68]

And in his final words, Carter wishes they weren't playing with their heads. Heh.

I kinda hate his argument that he deserves it more, despite how I feel about Abi. If you have lasted that long in my view, you deserve it period.

[ECAmber]

First and what has the most impact for me: Denise and her husband. We've seen a lot of reunions, but hers was so tender and intimate without being obscene... it was really beautiful.

Poor Carter... I saw this as soon as Malcolm won immunity and it kinda tore at me. He's right... he does deserve to be there. At the same time, he really was the best choice in terms of winning. I can see why he was really digging deep during the challenge (and in retrospect why Malcolm was too - Carter had to be the next one off).

Freaking edit monkeys. Not ONE word from Malcolm's brother that was even remotely harmful. Whatever he said landed on the edit floor because it was a complete misdirect from what I saw. I find that really annoying. I don't care a little colorful distortions... but that "issue" was a complete fabrication - not even close to "reality."

At first I thought Malcolm really did a smart thing by picking Skupin and Lisa... really cementing their loyalty, because that was one hell of a generous thing to do. But it seriously backfired... trust the religious angle to be enough of a common trait between strangers that they will bond over that - and, ironically enough - be the source for arguing *against* maintaining honesty and integrity. The justifications for that were hilarious juxtaposed against the whole holy thing.

And it damn near bit Malcolm on the ass. Talk about dodging a bullet... I bet it wasn't until this episode that he realized just how close he got to betting blindsided.

Something that was really subtle but important (to me) is how Denise reacted to not being picked by Malcolm - despite being his closest, longest held alliance: because she is level headed, rational and reasonable.

I find it fascinating that Denise continues to be able to communicate to Abi, Jeff during TC and her team in what seems like a really honest way without being threatening, superior or rude. She stated Abi would not win and there didn't seem to be a trace of malice or frustration in her voice. She delivered it as an objective assessment. I'm really hoping she gets to the F3.

How charming was it that Skupin's kid seems to be about as accident prone as his dad?

[enlightenedbum]

First and what has the most impact for me: Denise and her husband. We've seen a lot of reunions, but hers was so tender and intimate without being obscene... it was really beautiful.

Reminded me of Penner and his wife from CI.

[mojoween]

Finally, I loved the idea that Survivor Jesus would look like Malcolm and play like Carter. 

I'm sorry, I just had to quote this because it gave me the giggles. Survivor Jesus. Hee!

Lisa's brother looked young enough to be her son. Was his name Justice?

I was very worried for Young Skupin when he had the machete. Those genes seem very shaky in the injury department.

[ECAmber]

Malcolm's glee at his safety through the next tribal council was wonderful. As was his Harry Potter reference!

This may have been the first time I got a little teary during the reunion with the loved ones--very emotional. But unlike Probst, I found Lisa's reaction a little overwrought.

I get why they did it, but it did seem shitty to vote out sweet, simple Carter.

Finally, I loved the idea that Survivor Jesus would look like Malcolm and play like Carter.

absinthe

This! LOL, I forgot the Demontors comment...

And yeah, Lisa was way, way over the top to me. It was actually embarrassing to watch. On the one hand I really felt like she was trying to play it up... OTOH, it really was so intense, I felt a little reluctant to give her credit for those kinds of acting chops...

[Shocker]

I let out a huge YESSSSSSS when Malcolm won that immunity challenge. Carter is a tough challenger! I also respected his TH when he was giving his reasons for staying in the game.

Malcolm came up with my new favorite name for Crabby: Soul Sucker. She just saps the spirit out of the camp. Malcolm said, "If Abbi goes home tonight, it's because she's a bitch." The truth is that the only reason she is still around is because she's a bitch and everyone feels confident that if she's in the finale, they will beat her!

Bye bye, Carter...you were a good competitor! YAY MALCOLM!

[Haleth]

So funny that the immunity challenge came down to a pole measuring contest between Malcolm and Carter.

Abi resorted to her attitude of not exerting herself with her leisurely swim back to the beach.

Lisa's brother reminded me of Donny Osmond.

Oh, and another moment I loved... Lisa talking about how God's will is bigger than Survivor and Skupin noticing the ant. "Squirrel!"

Edited by Haleth, Dec 5, 2012 @ 9:27 PM.

[cooksdelight]

Skupin's son being a chip off the old block of his father (in terms of injuries) was too funny.

They should get a home improvement show on DYI network. I'd tune in every week just to see who put a nail through their thumb.

The "blindside Denise" ship has sailed. The fewer the numbers, the less chance you have to pull it off. Tonight was the night and they blew it.

[katesus7]

Not over Lisa yet, still like her despite her continuing breakdown. I agree that she's getting way too heavy of an edit. Would like to see much more of Denise.

But Carter leaving? Meh. He's the kind of character and player that I will have absolutely no memory of by the time the next season rolls around.

I'm usually on the "keep your religion to yourself" bandwagon, but I dont't mind it in Lisa and Skupin. They're the kind of Christians that many of my friends and family are. They pray, they get comfort from God, but they're not forcing it on others, and not thinking that God will give them what they want if they pray hard enough. I'm fine with that.

I do adore Malcom when he's being dorky and snarky, which is most of the time. I would ordinarily love to see him win, but tonight I was too busy rooting for Lisa and Skupin's plan to work. And yet I was happy to see him win over Carter. so very torn! Actually, not really, for me it's Denise all they way, but I wouldn't be upset at anyone other than Abi winning it.

Tonight confirmed for me that visits from family after 30 days of being on camera, with little food, constant strategizing and challenges and stress is WAY different than me just not talking to my family for a month. Because Denise doesn't seem like the kind of person to get emotional about something like that, but she totally was. Malcolm played it a little cooler, but he still had a lot of emotion. My family and I are not sentimental at all, but I have a feeling I'd probably be a hot mess in that situation.

Carter who?

[bleacherbum153]

Abi must not know how to swim. Come on Probst, cut her a little slack.

Huh. My reaction was that she was overplaying the "Look at me, I don't need no stinking immunity, I've got an idol" thing.

[lulee]

That being said, it's fairly easy to speculate as to what she's like as a mother; the sort of idiot who wants to be a child's friend instead of a parent

Probably that, mixed with intermittent hot-saucing.

[LanceM]

Then came the immunity challenge, where Probst got sand up his ass, berating the shit out of her. If she had gone to the mat, emptied her bag, then ran to Probst and assaulted him with one of the sticks, y'all would've fell in love with her.

I am kind of hoping the rumors about Abi seriously injuring her knee out there are true just so Probst knows what a dick he is doing that shit. (not just to Abi but to every other female contestant that has ever sucked at challenges)

[lovesduncan]

I am so very much over Lisa.

Me, too. She sucked up a lot of screen time tonight, too. It was painful.

But unlike Probst, I found Lisa's reaction a little overwrought.

Yes. Way over the top. Too much melodrama.

Malcolm comparing Abi to a dementor...

Loved this comment. Malcolm continues to endear himself to me.

[JudyObscure]

I think Lisa planned her whole Survivor story arc before she ever left home. Her tearful sad beginning because she's just the most sensitive person ever, followed by lots of agonizing interviews about how it's harder for her to play the game than it is for anyone else because she's just so much nicer than most people, and finally: Tonight. The most dramatic reunion moment ever. Followed by the big star making epiphany where she throws her arms wide and shouts about how it's okay to play the game within the rules. And isn't it nice that the show is willing to help her out with soaring music and sunlight breaking through the clouds? Her Christian lecture tour must be sold out already.

[Aunt Pearl]

Malcolm needs to give Denise the Idol and both of them go for one of Team God. Skupin; Lisa whatever. Then drag Abi unless the remainder wins immunity.

I hope MD sniff this plot out.

ETA: Yeah, totally over Lisa. And what kind of crazy names their kid Justice. No wonder she is delusional.

Edited by Aunt Pearl, Dec 5, 2012 @ 9:36 PM.

[Lovelway]

I think Lisa planned her whole Survivor story arc before she ever left home. Her tearful sad beginning because she's just the most sensitive person ever, followed by lots of agonizing interviews about how it's harder for her to play the game than it is for anyone else because she's just so much nicer than most people, and finally: Tonight. The most dramatic reunion moment ever. Followed by the big star making epiphany where she throws her arms wide and shouts about how it's okay to play the game within the rules.

I was thinking the exact same thing. Even my 9-year-old was yelling "Ok, we GET IT" as she was talking about how hard this is for her, and now suddenly...she can do it!! She can not go home soon enough.

I wonder how Mike's 5 other kids felt about him gushing that that son was the best person in the world, etc.

[sienna gold]

My whole thing is - what if Abi isn't injured, what if she just stinks? So what. Why does it matter if someone is dead last. Someone is going to have to be dead last. Jeff screaming at people to "pick it up" and be breating drives me insane, because as far as I know he's never done any of the challenges period. And I would pay good money to have Abi or someone else tell Jeff, until he starves himself for 30+ days and does these challenges, keep all abrasive comments to himself.

I agree - the "Blindside Denise" train left tonight. Penner was right in this regard, the best chance was last week.