I had a feeling you would be disappointed in the episode when you posted this in another thread:

Yes, I was much happier Climbing Every Mountain and solving my Maria problem that night than I was watching this episode.

I can't believe Mike let the Ometepe 6 visit with their families. I was shocked! Jeff hit the nail on the head when he said, "I thought the odds of that happening were less than zero."

I wonder why the producers didn't just call this season Resurrection Island. It would've set up the religious undertones much better, imo. We're getting the Jesus edit even when Matt doesn't deliver. *Cue Mike and his, from what I can remember, first Bible quote of the season.

Each week, I'm finding myself more conflicted about who I want to win. Rob is playing such a good game, it's almost too good. I can't explain it, but his domination in the challenges, the social game, the strategy, manipulation, etc... is almost to the point where I feel sorry for the other players. They're being completely outplayed. So, part of me wants to root against Rob. Then I remember that the other players had the opportunity to get rid of Rob and never even considered it. So, I'm finding it hard to root for any of the Ometepe 6.

I'm pulling for Matt, Mike and/or Ralph, and hope they can beat Andrea (and any of the other remaining Ometepe players). Go Team Jesus!

Not gonna lie, I totally teared up when Mike's mom said that she wasn't surprised at his decision because he is always a hero. I kinda think he was sincere when he told the camera in a side interview that he really did it because it was the right thing, not to earn votes.

I'm actually happier and happier with the Jesus edits. At first I thought they were going to get hokey and make Christians look like idiots, but I think they've shown some sincere religious moments.


On the other side of the coin...Andrea. Wow. How could you not see that coming?

It looks from the previews that people start talking and finding out that they're all promised final spots from Rob. Really? That thought just occured to them that they all think they're going to the end? Unless one of the RI ends up in the finals, Rob (or maybe Phillip, depending on his closing arguments about how he worked the crazy man strategy) is the only one that's actually played the game and deserves to win.

And Rob keeps winning immunities and STILL has a hidden immunity idol too. He can't use that past the final four, I believe, so he could use it next time to save himself or, if he wins immunity, to give it to someone else to use.

I just wanted to scream when Andrea said that, now that the Zapateras were all gone, they could get back to the real game. Well, Andrea, if you'd been playing the real game all along, maybe you wouldn't have gone home.

And I'm with you about Mike last night (and Julie last week). I find myself being a little moved in a way I'm not used to on Survivor.

Serious question: Why? If it's people just being themselves, why is it that different from any number of other ways we see people be themselves on shows like this?

^^^ No problem. I hope I didn't sound critical asking -- I certainly didn't intend to.

My guess is that the editors are working with what they got, and it does play off the Redemption Island theme nicely. I know plenty of people like the people we've gotten the major religion vibes from -- Matt, Mike and Julie -- and I think they're just being themselves. FWIW, Reality News Online had this in an interview with Julie:

RNO: Well that’s good! You said after the duel that your life has changed – how so?

Julie: Once again, I went for one reason and watching Matt and his story, I just realized I was there on Survivor for a reason – God had put me there for a reason. I had a reborn relationship with God.

I’ve come back and found a church and I left the game fine with not winning the million dollars because what I had taken home from Survivor was worth way more than any amount of money. I found a great church and my financial worries are gone and it’s all good. I didn’t go for an experience but came home with an incredible experience.

RNO: Did Matt really convert you?

Julie: (Laughs.) No, Matt didn’t convert me. I actually found God in ‘87 and my relationship and faith had kind of dissipated in the years. God just came back in my life. Matt didn’t convert me, but Matt’s story was very touching.

I guess I've enjoyed this part because it seems to move beyond stereotypes just a little, and all too often players are pigeon-holed into stereotypes.

I get the feeling that, while Matt/Julie/Mike's religious sentiments are heartfelt, the producers are capitalizing on it. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, of course. But I can see how it could be off-putting to some. Perhaps it's because one's path to religion is typically private? I don't know. It feels calculated to me, but not necessarily off-putting.

ETA my prediction: I think it's being edited this way because Rob and Matt will be in the final 3, and the producers are setting the scene for us. Rob has been portrayed as the army chief and the puppetmaster; Matt has been portrayed as the shepherd. Both got people to do what they wanted (Rob got his tribemates to follow him blindly; Matt got his RI-mates to follow Jesus) and both end up in the finale due (in part) to their skills. Still cheering for Team Jesus here.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jen (Post 2053923) I don't know .... it's just a weird vibe that's not enjoyable for me to watch, and I feel like I can't really find the words to explain why.

I feel the same way. And it’s one of those situations where I don’t even want to attempt to explain it, because I’m afraid I’ll somehow (unintentionally) offend someone.

However……….. I’ll try…

First, let me start by saying that I’m not religious at all, so I think that could be a big part of it. I watch Survivor for the entertainment value, and I’m not “entertained” by all things religion, nor do I understand them.. nor do I want to.

I think what’s really turning me off about it is that it seems like it’s kind of taking over the show (and that it’s taken over Matt’s entire life). Yes, everyone has their own personalities, and they are all “being themselves,” but when someone like Matt appears to be completely consumed by everything religious, it just gets old. I can’t recall a clip of Matt where he DOESN’T mention something religious. Whenever they showed him on Redemption Island, I thought, “Here we go again.. what sign did God throw at you this time?” I’m sure that sounds awful, but it’s starting to remind me of a teenage girl who starts going out with her first boyfriend and WILL NOT SHUT UP about him. It gets to a point where you wonder if the person has ANYTHING else to talk about.

And that’s the best way I can explain it.

http://www.google.com/url?source=img...xkeGJ5x18z2MYg


It's supposed to. Matt is actually demonstrating well what a Christian life SHOULD be like. It SHOULD be like the girl with the new boyfriend that's so excited it's all she can talk about. That is MODEL Christian behavior. Not that Matt hasn't slipped a few times, but for the most part, "Well done, good and faithful one". Too many Christians are scared to act like that, because people WILL be off-put, think they're weird, or even persecute them. Jesus even told us in the Bible that it would happen, but we're supposed to follow him completely anyway. It kinda makes me sad that Matt can do this on national TV, and sometimes I have trouble doing it just in front of the people in my life.

Spread the Gospel...use words, if necessary.
Love people until they ask you why.:D

Clearly, we're getting an edit -- we see 40 minutes out 2-3 days each episode. So I do imagine that for any survivor, it's unfair to assume that the little bit we see is all there is to them. The editors show us what they think makes a good story arc, and I think SydneyK is calling it exactly right as to where they're headed.

They always work with story arcs, foreshadow and telegraph how things will end. That's frankly part of the fun for me -- to see if I'm reading the clues right.

We do seem to be headed to a Matt/Rob finale. I'm not sure what they could have done to hide that, given that hardly anyone other than Rob (and Phillip if you believe him) has been playing playing with any real sense of strategy.

The previews are such teasers, but next week may be very interesting for Rob - ?

As evident at the last tribal, EVERYONE thinks they're in good with Rob, so they all feel like they're going to the finals. What seems to be lacking is the fact that whoever actually IS in with Rob and does make it needs to have some sort of reason why they should win...unless their goal is $100,000 instead of the million. I doubt this season's jury is going to accept coat-tail riding as an actual strategy (ie Natalie a couple seasons back), unless they buy Phillip's game/nuttiness was actually strategy and he's not just cray-cray.

I think the fact that everyone said they felt comfortable last tribal is what ultimately is going to bring about the realization that it's time to start talking amongst themselves, since there are five people there, and probably only two of them are going to make it to the end via natural causes (not RI).

I won't get to watch this week's normal episode until Thursday. I wonder if they're really going into the Finale Sunday with 8 people still "in play".