Survivor Episodes... oh, a lot

There's a few episodes to cover, but I'm actually going to start by going back to Ye Olde Mhost Upsetting Episode. There was a lot of anger directed at Missy and Elizabeth. I spent a lot of time thinking about why they might not have seen the line the crossed, when it seems so obvious to us. I am not them and I'll never really know why they made the decisions they did.

I have a theory all the same.

I think it's because they are super competitive/professional athletes. (I'm not sure if Missy is a full-fledged a professional, but she's clearly on a high level.) And I think female athletes might just live in a world where there is unwanted/unasked for touching, particularly by older males. If that's what your reality has been for most of your life, I have the sense that maybe that line just isn't so clear. So I'm not going to rage about them. Their behavior was disappointing, but I'm thinking this is more symptomatic of American sports culture than it's about these two women being horrible people.

Moving on. Karishma was my MVP of the next episode. She spent an hour finding an idol and raised no eyebrows because she simply pretended to be sick. She has had no allies, rewards aka food, or immunity wins all season long. And yet she's still fighting and looking for a way in. I don't imagine that I would be Karishma's friend. But I respect the scrappiness. Or, to put a silly poker analogy out there: she's been the short stack the entire season, and she's been forced to play that kind of strategy. It's not pretty & it's not fun. But she's really good at it and is "leveling up" nicely.

I loved the double tribal where they split up and voted out Aaron and Missy consecutively. It was the correct play made all the sweeter by the fact that neither of them saw it coming.

And moving on again...

Elizabeth unremarkably went home in the episode after that - you know, the one where Dean glommed on to the phrase "goat army" and seemed to think he'd made some kind of groundbreaking revelation. I could make a goat/woat joke here, but that's sooo 2018, so instead:

Dean, in case this wasn't clear: me and baby goat are on the same page.

Highlight of this episode was Lauren's epic rise and fall in my estimation of her. She did really well with her IoI challenge and ability to read people. Then she insta-blew the advantage she'd earned by frantically playing her idol at the slightest whiff of danger. She might be cleverer than most people left in this game, but she's no match for type of game-play we should see in Season 40! (Note: I could not get my "i'm so freaking excited" meme to paste correctly. But believe me I am.)

Side note: is there any doubt that this season has had by FAR the most idol misplays (or lack of plays) in any Survivor season ever? It hurts to watch. Not literally though. And it certainly makes me question the quality of the castaways this season (well, that and the whole Karishma obsession... see below).

And now we're back to real time and this latest episode full of mishaps and buffoonery. A couple of highlights:

• Dean just about joined the Goat Army. Maybe that's why he bailed on the plan at the last minute. Not because he couldn't trust Noura to follow through on the plan. But because he mentally and emotionally couldn't imagine himself to be a goat. But you are, Dean. You really are.
• Noura's inability to do math properly on this one was unsurprising to me. She can't slow down enough. It's probably partly due to the sleep deprivation, starvation, and paranoia that comes with the game... but it's likely largely due to this being the way she is all the time.
• It's just sad that Karishma got voted out. I mean, why? Watching this "core 4" strategize is like watching my 3 year old playing that card game memory. When she doesn't get a match she obsesses over it. Picks the same 1st card every time and won't move on until she gets that match. It's a terrible strategy and it drives me nuts - both for memory and Survivor. And these are adults, not toddlers whose brains are still developing basic functions. There is no chance that Karishma wins (though I had a theory she could win in a final tribal that was Dean + Karishma + Noura... but even that was probably wishful thinking). So why on earth are you so obsessed with voting her out?
• What makes it worse is that literally no one is talking to her during the tribal council frenzy. The utter lack of respect that they show her is upsetting and insulting. Noura's rant after the reward challenge included a line like "they think I'm as useless as Karishma?!?!" (or something to that effect) in front of Karishma. And she just had to sit there and take it. That really sums up the kind of treatment she's been receiving for 30+ days. No wonder she was a blubbering mess when she saw her husband - his was the first kind face she'd seen in a month.
• Kellee says "these are the dumbest plays" to Jack as they wrap up tribal council and I couldn't agree more. Kellee, should you ever return to this game you will be my #1 draft pick. I heart you. 

Power Rankings:

I think Bag's got this one.