Caroline seemed to be in a very good position. There weren’t the usual red flags David Bloomberg and Jessica Lewis talk about when discussing a player’s loss. She wasn’t the biggest threat, she was solidly in the majority alliance, and she had a strategic plan for the rest of the game. So what happened? How did she go from believing she was running things to being blindsided while one ally had an idol and another could’ve blocked a vote against her? At RHAP, we know Survivor, and we know Why Caroline Lost.[00:00:00] Brauchen wir wirklich noch einen Computer? Alle wahrscheinlich nicht. Aber wenn du Musik mit der Power eines Neuralprozessors neu erfindest oder unterwegs Migrationsmuster mit einem ganztägigen Akku analysierst oder deine Ideen mit dem KI-gesteuerten Co-Creator zum Leben erwächst, dann kann ein Co-Pilot Plus PC einen Unterschied machen. Nicht alle brauchen einen leistungsstärkeren KI-Computer. Aber wenn du versuchst die Welt zu verändern, auch wenn es nur deine eigene ist, haben wir einen für dich entwickelt. Microsoft Co-Pilot Plus PC mit Snapdragon. Die bisher schnellsten und intelligentesten Windows PCs. Die Akkulaufzeit variiert je nach Nutzung und Einstellungen.
[00:00:30] If you lost Survivor and you're feeling down, David and Jessica will turn it around. They'll break down the rules and they'll show you how. You played yourself and got voted out. This is why blank lost. This is why blank lost. This is why blank lost. This is why blank lost. Welcome back to Why Blank Lost. I'm David Bloomberg. And to get into the right mindset for this podcast, I had
[00:01:10] spaghetti and spaghetti and garlic bread for dinner last night. No tiramisu for me or, you know, as Jeff called it, tiara-masu because I don't like coffee. But joining me, of course, in what I very creatively call Operation Why Caroline Lost.
[00:01:31] This is my co-host. This is my co-host. Yes, this is my co-host Jessica Lewis.
[00:01:36] Well, hello. And I had stromboli last night. So does that count too?
[00:01:40] You have to say it right. Stromboli.
[00:01:46] It was delicious, by the way. But yes, I am here today and fascinated to talk about this episode. Truly. It was incredible.
[00:01:57] Yeah, I do want to say I even have these Trader Joe's pizza seasoned crackers that I happened to pick up.
[00:02:05] You know, so, you know, these little tiny pizzas. Look at that.
[00:02:08] See? Oh, my God. That looks amazing.
[00:02:11] They're not as amazing as they look. Sorry, Trader Joe's.
[00:02:14] Are you going to eat on?
[00:02:15] Oh.
[00:02:17] No.
[00:02:20] You're so mean.
[00:02:23] That was mean because those look delicious.
[00:02:26] But anyway, as you're crunching away, I suppose I'll let you enjoy the last bit of your crack.
[00:02:32] That was a big cracker, by the way. Those are like massive.
[00:02:35] It is. It is. It's a small pizza, but a big cracker. Yes.
[00:02:43] Well, we should certainly spend some time talking about Operation Italy for sure.
[00:02:49] Yes. And you know what? It's too bad Survivor didn't get Olive Garden to sponsor this episode.
[00:02:56] Because Andy could have named it like Operation OG.
[00:02:59] And it would have been great advertising for them.
[00:03:02] Have a good dinner. Plot out the demise of your enemies.
[00:03:05] I mean, they are normally advertised based on where families get together.
[00:03:10] Sure. Not plotting out the demise of anyone.
[00:03:13] But yes.
[00:03:15] And there was, I do appreciate the fact that there was a little bit of like, oh, like mafia kind of feels.
[00:03:25] Like what was going on.
[00:03:27] And it was just, it was delicious.
[00:03:30] I loved all of it.
[00:03:31] Yes.
[00:03:31] So good.
[00:03:32] But despite what you might think, we aren't here to talk about food.
[00:03:36] We are here to noodle over what happened to Caroline and try not to get too saucy.
[00:03:43] To figure that out.
[00:03:46] That was corny.
[00:03:49] There's no corn in Italian food.
[00:03:51] Come on.
[00:03:51] Oh, here we go.
[00:03:52] Okay.
[00:03:54] We will compare her game to my rules for winning that I originally wrote way back after season one and have been updating ever since.
[00:04:01] Using all the non-spoiler information available to us from what we saw on TV, interviews, social media, and secret scenes.
[00:04:07] The newest version of the rules can be found by going to robhizwebsite.com slash yxlosspeed and clicking on the link bubble for the survivor rules.
[00:04:16] But before we address how Caroline did in terms of the rules, we always have some other things to discuss from the episode.
[00:04:24] And let's face it.
[00:04:25] I really only have one person to talk about.
[00:04:28] And, you know, you might have guessed it's Andy.
[00:04:31] Of course, it's Andy.
[00:04:33] In fact, I want to go back in time.
[00:04:37] Five weeks.
[00:04:38] So here we go.
[00:04:38] We're going in the time machine.
[00:04:39] Woo!
[00:04:40] Woo!
[00:04:41] You need to have your lights flashing.
[00:04:43] Yes.
[00:04:43] Oh, that's right.
[00:04:44] Yes.
[00:04:45] Too late.
[00:04:48] I said after episode seven that everyone should mark my words.
[00:04:53] There was a reason we saw the scene with Andy and Genevieve agreeing to work together.
[00:05:00] And I noted at the time, my prediction was they would go far into the game together.
[00:05:05] And here they were working together, just as Andy rejoined with Sam again as well.
[00:05:12] Now, I don't always do great with predictions, such as completely bombing what I thought would happen this week.
[00:05:19] But, you know, I'm going to applaud myself for this one.
[00:05:23] If I say mark my words, you know, that must mean something then.
[00:05:29] Yes, you were right.
[00:05:31] Well, and I do think it's interesting now that I've been doing this for as long as I have.
[00:05:35] I have a tendency to watch the episodes differently than I did before.
[00:05:39] Before.
[00:05:40] And there are those little things that pop up and you just are curious at the time.
[00:05:45] Why do we care about this?
[00:05:46] Why is this being included?
[00:05:48] And I do feel like this particular season, there's been a lot of those little Easter eggs tucked into the show in various parts.
[00:05:57] And it's been very fascinating to watch the editing kind of unfold.
[00:06:01] And perhaps it's also the 90 minute episodes that are just making it so much more enjoyable because they can insert those things throughout the episodes, which I just love.
[00:06:12] Because then the story is unfolding in a more intricate and interesting way.
[00:06:17] We are learning so much more about the players.
[00:06:20] It's really been an enjoyable editing component with the additional time and the way that they're putting it all together.
[00:06:56] Yeah.
[00:06:57] So, you know, I think that's a good thing.
[00:06:58] It's a good thing.
[00:06:59] It's a good thing.
[00:06:59] It's a good thing.
[00:07:02] Which is still nice.
[00:07:03] But so it makes sense that someone's in someone in Andy's position.
[00:07:11] Would feel the need to make a big move to truly flip things around.
[00:07:16] And if I'm saying it makes sense for someone to make a big move, you know, things must be pretty desperate.
[00:07:24] You know, for him, I think he was he was literally told about the perception of his game.
[00:07:35] Mm hmm.
[00:07:36] Yeah.
[00:07:37] And if you're literally told that and I mean, he had said for a number of confessionals, I'm hiding my game.
[00:07:45] I'm hiding my game.
[00:07:46] So he knew he was hiding his game.
[00:07:48] But then he got annoyed when people were like, he's not playing a game.
[00:07:51] And it's like, well, you you were the one who was hiding it so much.
[00:07:55] You did such a good job.
[00:07:58] But he felt pushed into needing to make a move to show people he did not want to be the zero vote finalist who gets pulled to the end while we all sit at home going, well, he has no chance to win.
[00:08:12] Sure.
[00:08:13] And the other players knew that to jump ahead a little bit.
[00:08:18] You know, Stacy mentioned this to me on Blue Sky just before we started recording that even Caroline said in her interviews that.
[00:08:29] And again, we'll get to this.
[00:08:30] I don't want to jump too far.
[00:08:31] But she was letting Andy have his move so that he would feel like he was playing basically.
[00:08:39] Mm hmm.
[00:08:40] Right.
[00:08:40] Right.
[00:08:41] I think she phrased it in a way of like, you know, giving giving the toddler the Nintendo controller and letting them pretend they're playing, you know, doing what what's going on TV.
[00:08:52] If only she had known he would he had plugged it in himself and going on and he had set up the game and already pre-programmed everything.
[00:09:02] Yeah.
[00:09:02] Unfortunately, she did not know all of that.
[00:09:05] I do think it's interesting, though, that one of the components of the episode included the commentary from the jury about it being Andy and him flipping again.
[00:09:15] Well, I'm curious how that's going to affect things.
[00:09:21] Oftentimes, flippers are not individuals that get credit.
[00:09:26] The well-known, the well-known survivor philosopher, Dan, from One World said flippers never win.
[00:09:34] Well, and this is the concern, right?
[00:09:37] Where you don't ever want to necessarily be labeled a flipper.
[00:09:40] You want it you want it to be seen as I made a move and I made a choice as opposed to flipping.
[00:09:45] And so I'm very, very intrigued with that particular comment being included and how he's going to necessarily explain.
[00:09:56] What happened?
[00:09:58] And I also find it interesting that he made certain that the jury would know that it was him by telling like he he looked over and said, I'll explain.
[00:10:07] And so that's that's the question.
[00:10:10] If he says, I'll explain, that doesn't necessarily mean he was in charge.
[00:10:15] It's only I'll explain his move.
[00:10:18] And that's that's the real big debate that's going on is it's possible even this flip won't convince the jury because.
[00:10:27] The jury might correctly see Operation Italy is Andy's move or they might think he was flipped by Sam and Genevieve.
[00:10:37] So they could interpret that that comment he made if they even heard it.
[00:10:40] I mean, we heard it because he's mic'd up.
[00:10:42] But if they even heard it, it could be I'll explain why I flipped.
[00:10:48] Right.
[00:10:49] Sure.
[00:10:49] Why Sam and Genevieve flipped me.
[00:10:51] Stephen Fishback and Dalton Ross were discussing on Blue Sky that people on the bottom usually get the credit for convincing someone to flip rather than giving the credit to the person who actually flips.
[00:11:05] Hmm.
[00:11:06] That's a very fair point.
[00:11:07] Yeah.
[00:11:07] Yeah.
[00:11:07] And the thing is, we often talk about the funny thing is we often say if you're in the middle of an alliance.
[00:11:15] Or at the bottom of your alliance, you should look for people who are outside to flip with you.
[00:11:21] So in theory, people should recognize this was a move that someone in Andy's position would do.
[00:11:27] Mm hmm.
[00:11:29] But will they give it to him?
[00:11:32] You know, Evie said on the post show podcast that Andy may be drawing dead if he gets to the end with Sam and Genevieve, even though Andy was the one who saved them.
[00:11:42] So now, yes, well, they're certainly not going to give him credit for that either.
[00:11:45] We're not in final tribal council.
[00:11:47] Right.
[00:11:47] Sure.
[00:11:47] I would like to hope that Evie is wrong here.
[00:11:50] But as Shannon said in response, if the jury thinks it was flaky and not strategic, then he won't get their votes.
[00:11:58] I.
[00:11:59] Obviously think that, of course, it would be in Andy's best interest to find a way to get to the end with Sue and Tini.
[00:12:05] Um, I just don't know how that happens.
[00:12:08] And it would require a lot more flipping, you know, back and forth.
[00:12:13] Yes.
[00:12:13] Yes.
[00:12:14] He's put himself in a very difficult position because he's now potentially aligned himself with two individuals that especially Genevieve that people are looking at and going.
[00:12:27] That person is the most scary, the most threatening, the person no one wants to sit to sit next to at the end.
[00:12:37] And now he's put himself in a position where he might just have to be sitting next to her in the end.
[00:12:41] And maybe he thinks that he'll be able to say, well, she's only here because of me.
[00:12:46] But I think her response to that would be, well.
[00:12:50] We had a conversation and we came up with a plan together and you were willing to go along with this plan and it wouldn't have worked if we didn't all agree to it and formulate.
[00:12:59] Because it was interesting that there were so many layers like in order for this to work.
[00:13:04] And Genevieve went through the whole thing.
[00:13:05] There was more ways that it could blow up and not work as opposed to it working because so many things had to line up.
[00:13:12] So he can't take individual credit for it because he couldn't do it by himself, which I know people would say, well, of course you can't.
[00:13:19] You need the votes.
[00:13:20] Right.
[00:13:20] But this was it was a plan that, of course, Genevieve and Sam are going to go.
[00:13:25] Yes.
[00:13:25] Yes.
[00:13:26] We will definitely do this and we'll do anything we have to because it's to their benefit as well.
[00:13:31] And so it was fascinating to watch.
[00:13:36] But I am very fearful for now the position he has put himself in with now who he could potentially have to sit next to.
[00:13:43] Right.
[00:13:43] I mean, Genevieve can say, hey, I made the idol, you know, with with Sam.
[00:13:48] Sam and I made the idol.
[00:13:50] Sam can say, well, I knew that we were going to have a plan because that's why I picked you to come on the reward.
[00:13:56] So they could both say things.
[00:13:57] What he needs is at least one.
[00:14:01] I mean, obviously, ideally, both of them would be on the jury, but at least one of them to say, well, it was actually a lot of his plan.
[00:14:08] Of course, that's assuming they're willing to acknowledge that.
[00:14:13] And they're not like some previous jurors, you know, like on last season who don't want to acknowledge that anyone else contributed to a plan.
[00:14:20] Right.
[00:14:23] Now, the interesting thing is that as I was looking through my notes to prepare for this podcast, I stumbled on an older note that I had written when Gabe was interviewed by Gordon Holmes and was doing word association.
[00:14:36] And he called him a genius.
[00:14:40] Now, this doesn't tell us whether Andy makes it to final three or not, or if he convinces all the jurors, if he does, you know, Gabe could find out about what Andy did because Andy ends up in the jury and they talk.
[00:14:53] Or it could be something afterwards that he finds out.
[00:14:56] But I still thought it was interesting for him to say that in light of the debate about whether Andy will get credit for the movie.
[00:15:04] Interesting.
[00:15:05] Why?
[00:15:05] There's so many things here.
[00:15:06] Well, now.
[00:15:07] But wait, there's more.
[00:15:11] Because the other problem, this other debate that's going on right alongside the will he get too little credit is will he get too much credit and be seen as the biggest threat now?
[00:15:24] And.
[00:15:25] Oh, fascinating.
[00:15:26] Yeah, it could happen because he could become the new tall poppy.
[00:15:32] Like, oh, my gosh, Andy did this.
[00:15:34] We have to do something.
[00:15:35] Um.
[00:15:37] So some people are saying, well, it was a bad move for him because he could have skated, you know, kind of in the middle like he was talking about at the last tribal council and just made it into the final three that way.
[00:15:52] But here's the thing.
[00:15:53] Let's say that let's say that this happens.
[00:15:56] Everybody recognizes.
[00:15:57] Oh, my gosh, we can't beat Andy now.
[00:16:00] And they take him out this coming week.
[00:16:03] Well, then he goes out in sixth place.
[00:16:06] According to what the women on the underdog alliance were saying when he wasn't around, he was going out in fifth place anyway.
[00:16:13] Right.
[00:16:14] Sure.
[00:16:14] Um, now maybe Rachel or Caroline didn't really subscribe to that and would have flipped to keep Andy.
[00:16:22] But then we're back to him being taken to the final three is essentially a goat.
[00:16:27] So it all comes back to this, you know, this balancing act.
[00:16:33] Trying to do enough to be recognized by the jury, but not so much that you're taken out as a threat.
[00:16:40] It's it's a tightrope walk every game.
[00:16:43] Everyone who plays this game has to walk that tightrope.
[00:16:46] Yes.
[00:16:47] Yes.
[00:16:47] And I do think that it would be curious to see if we would still feel the same way about Andy's decision to do this.
[00:16:56] If it had been Rachel that had been taken out as opposed to Caroline.
[00:17:01] I'm because I think that Caroline where I know we're going to discuss her game.
[00:17:05] I think that she was much more under the radar than we have someone like a Rachel where people are, I think, genuinely concerned about sitting next to Rachel at the end.
[00:17:16] And so if they had managed to take Rachel out, I think he would have had more of a justification to say, well, this is why I did what I did, because she's got all these trinkets up her sleeve that I think he knows about all of them.
[00:17:29] So with this block of vote, the block of vote.
[00:17:34] Yes.
[00:17:34] The idols.
[00:17:34] He doesn't know about any of the idols.
[00:17:36] OK, so it's at least something that he could have pointed to to say, well, she needed to go because of X, whereas Caroline was like the backup.
[00:17:48] So I don't know if that also could affect people's determinations about this move as well.
[00:17:55] Yeah, of course, we'll get to that, you know, in a in a few minutes.
[00:17:59] In terms of discussing Caroline's threat level, I guess, is what it would be.
[00:18:08] And I do know this is a Caroline podcast, obviously, but I have a few more things to mention about Andy, especially since he was the one who made the vote against her happen, even if it doesn't really fall into any of the rules.
[00:18:22] I think Andy did a very good acting job when he got back from the reward, you know, talking to pretty much everyone in the underdogs about Sam and Genevieve.
[00:18:32] They pushed me hard.
[00:18:33] I didn't appreciate it.
[00:18:34] They tried strong arming me all to convince them that he he was still with them, which obviously worked.
[00:18:43] I do think part of that was set up previously because Caroline talked to Dalton Ross extensively about how Andy had been pushing the idea since the merge that he was basically an emotional player.
[00:18:56] You know, he talked about feeling excluded on God and how comfortable he felt with each person, how comforting it was to be with them.
[00:19:04] And that gave people a skewed vision of his true gameplay and allowed him to scheme without as many eyes focused on him.
[00:19:14] Yes.
[00:19:14] No, that is true.
[00:19:16] Mm hmm.
[00:19:16] I think that the the issue that we have with with Andy as well is that and it's funny that this came up, I think, in this episode, the perception is reality, which we talk about.
[00:19:27] Oh, yeah.
[00:19:27] All the time on the podcast.
[00:19:29] Yeah.
[00:19:29] Yes.
[00:19:29] You say this naturally is what you say.
[00:19:32] You say bless you after someone sneezes or something.
[00:19:35] And I was like, yes, she is so right.
[00:19:37] And and this is why that first moment on that mat that we watched with Andy becomes so integral into his story and this particular season, because that is how he was essentially introduced.
[00:19:52] Right.
[00:19:53] The you you don't know anyone really.
[00:19:55] And you haven't really seen other people on the other tribes.
[00:19:59] And this is what's happening all of a sudden.
[00:20:02] And this is what they're seeing.
[00:20:03] And so that's a very hard thing to, I think, recover from.
[00:20:07] And if if that was the viewpoint that people had with Andy, which apparently a lot of them did, then they're going to treat him a particular way because they're recognizing he is emotional.
[00:20:18] So we need to make him feel significant and important if we want him to work with us.
[00:20:23] And so it kind of snowballs a little bit.
[00:20:26] Right.
[00:20:26] If that's not what Andy wanted, that's what Andy became.
[00:20:29] And so it's almost like you have to lean into it at that point because you don't have a choice.
[00:20:34] That's what people saw.
[00:20:35] And that's what people think.
[00:20:37] And you can't really change what they've seen in such a short amount of time.
[00:20:41] Yeah.
[00:20:42] Yeah.
[00:20:44] I do want to mention that some have questioned whether Rachel was fully convinced of Andy's plan and trustworthy witness.
[00:20:53] I mean, it's hard to say based on the scenes that we saw.
[00:20:56] But the thing is, I'm sure the editors chose those scenes to keep a question mark in our minds as they went to tribal council.
[00:21:03] Like they weren't going to show.
[00:21:05] Yes, we will do it exactly your way because that would kind of give it away.
[00:21:10] It's also possible she wasn't 100 percent.
[00:21:12] But she knew she had immunity.
[00:21:14] So at worst, even if it goes sideways, I'm still around.
[00:21:18] You know, maybe we'll find out more next week.
[00:21:22] Yeah.
[00:21:23] No, I think I think we will find out more next week.
[00:21:25] Yes.
[00:21:28] So.
[00:21:29] All right.
[00:21:29] I know that was very highly Andy focused.
[00:21:32] Do you have anyone else or anything else you want to talk about before we get to the rules?
[00:21:36] I have one other thing, which I know might sound silly, but the music in this episode was so exciting.
[00:21:42] There was just there was just something about the buildup to the entire episode that was just so enjoyable.
[00:21:50] I felt like I was watching like old school survivor mixed with new era with how they were editing it.
[00:21:57] And I I so enjoyed it because we finally got to see.
[00:22:01] And I say finally.
[00:22:02] I'm not trying to.
[00:22:05] Speak ill of how the game has been played throughout the season.
[00:22:07] I think that everyone's been doing a great job.
[00:22:10] But there's something to be said about a move being pulled off through the use of just actual like.
[00:22:19] Like.
[00:22:19] Like mental toughness and strategic maneuvers and discussions and acting and as opposed to just trinkets and and idols, even though there was an idol, but it wasn't a real idol.
[00:22:33] And everything about it was just very, very exciting because it felt so much more like regular survivor than I miss so much.
[00:22:41] So it was really.
[00:22:43] And then the music on top of it was just so when they walked into the challenge and I was just like, this is stunning.
[00:22:49] So very much enjoyed how all of it came together.
[00:22:53] I very much enjoyed just the the real the dedication that the players had.
[00:22:59] I know that there was only three that were necessarily involved in operation Italy, but my goodness, were they all on the same page and they all knew what they needed to do and they stuck to the script and they did it.
[00:23:10] And it was incredible.
[00:23:12] But now, of course, we have to see the ramifications of it.
[00:23:16] Yes.
[00:23:16] Yes.
[00:23:17] All right.
[00:23:18] There were, of course, some other things going on in this episode and I'll be putting, you know, some of it in my YouTube shorts at David Bloomberg TV.
[00:23:26] For example, I already posted video about Sue getting dirty.
[00:23:31] Sam crushing the net portion of the challenge.
[00:23:34] Sam.
[00:23:35] Oh, my God.
[00:23:35] He did.
[00:23:36] Yeah.
[00:23:36] Sam and Genevieve doing their acting job even after the votes like, oh, use it.
[00:23:42] Oh, no, I think I'm OK.
[00:23:44] That was fantastic.
[00:23:46] Yeah.
[00:23:46] Love it.
[00:23:48] So but before we get to how Caroline do did, I do want to mention that the rules we're about to discuss come in a shorter and much more color.
[00:23:56] A full version in poster form.
[00:23:58] Yes, they do.
[00:23:59] And as we mentioned last week, these posters are on sale for the holidays for 20 percent off.
[00:24:07] Go to RobHasWebsite.com slash YXLostFeeds.
[00:24:10] Scroll down to the poster and click on it.
[00:24:13] And to everyone who ordered, I appreciate it very much.
[00:24:16] And I apologize.
[00:24:17] There are a couple that went out a couple of days late.
[00:24:20] I was a little busy this week.
[00:24:21] I had a trial.
[00:24:22] So but I just went to the post office.
[00:24:25] Six were shipped out this morning.
[00:24:27] All right.
[00:24:28] Yes.
[00:24:29] Please enjoy.
[00:24:30] And keep ordering.
[00:24:31] Keep ordering.
[00:24:32] Yes.
[00:24:33] Yes.
[00:24:33] 20 percent off.
[00:24:34] So that's only sixteen dollars plus shipping.
[00:24:38] We don't even charge for handling.
[00:24:40] You know, the shipping department uses their own gas to go there and do it.
[00:24:45] That's right.
[00:24:46] That's right.
[00:24:47] So in addition, you can scroll down, get the poster on a T-shirt or get the checklist on a T-shirt or get both or get all three.
[00:24:58] Get everything.
[00:24:59] It's the holidays.
[00:25:00] That's what people do.
[00:25:01] Exactly.
[00:25:02] So again, Rob has a website dot com slash YX lost feed.
[00:25:08] Well.
[00:25:09] In her final words, Caroline said she thinks she would have won at the end if she'd made it.
[00:25:16] The problem, of course, was making it.
[00:25:19] She wasn't the biggest threat.
[00:25:21] She was solidly in the majority alliance and she had what seemed to be a good plan.
[00:25:26] So what happened?
[00:25:27] How did she go from believing early in this episode that she was running the game to being blindsided while one ally had an idol and another could have blocked a vote against her?
[00:25:39] At RHAP, we know Survivor and we know why Caroline lost.
[00:25:46] Now, the first and most important rule is to scheme and plot.
[00:25:48] And Caroline is literally a strategy consultant in real life and said in the pregame, I'm here for strategy.
[00:25:58] I'm here for smart gameplay.
[00:26:00] And she was.
[00:26:03] She, you know, stayed pretty quiet early on, but she made an alliance with Sue right away and joined with Gabe shortly after.
[00:26:11] And the thing was, she didn't just jump in and believe him when he approached her.
[00:26:17] She pushed the issue a little until he showed his idol, confirming that he was serious in wanting to work with her.
[00:26:26] And that blossomed into a very important strategic relationship that we barely saw a sliver of, according to what each of them said in their interviews.
[00:26:35] You know, they got up late at night and spent hours talking the intricacies of strategy.
[00:26:39] Now, the reason we mostly didn't see it is it pretty much didn't come into play because after TK, they didn't go back to tribal council until the merge.
[00:26:49] But I still would have loved to be a fly on the wall, or I guess the tree, for those conversations.
[00:26:57] Yes.
[00:26:57] And I do think that there is a lot to be said about what happens at night on Survivor that we don't always get to see.
[00:27:06] Survivor after dark.
[00:27:10] That's happening.
[00:27:12] And this is something for, you just don't necessarily think about as a viewer.
[00:27:17] You're so limited in the ability of what you can actually record at night because it's so very dark.
[00:27:23] And also there's really only like usually one potential camera person or producer that might be hanging out in the camp at night.
[00:27:32] And so you can't keep track of everyone.
[00:27:34] And so I do think that this idea of people having conversations late at night can often be missed, which is unfortunate because it would be great to see what's happening.
[00:27:44] It would be great to hear what's happening.
[00:27:45] And sometimes you're just in a position to where when people are sleeping in a particular location, maybe you just don't see that they're talking to each other and maybe you just miss those things.
[00:27:57] And so it is unfortunate that we don't get to see that and didn't.
[00:28:00] But I'm at least happy that we heard about it.
[00:28:02] And so it was something that we can include as part of her strategic gameplay as well.
[00:28:07] Yeah.
[00:28:07] Yeah.
[00:28:09] Now, moving past that, as they went into the merge, Caroline crafted a plan for the two coup players to try to make it look like they were fractured.
[00:28:17] Something else we didn't really see, but she explained it in her interviews.
[00:28:22] And this is why we heard things like Gabe claiming to be on the bottom.
[00:28:26] Like we had talked about that at one point.
[00:28:29] I made a video of it.
[00:28:30] He's like, I'm on the bottom.
[00:28:31] I don't know why.
[00:28:31] I'm like, you're not on the bottom.
[00:28:33] Stop it.
[00:28:33] Right.
[00:28:33] Right.
[00:28:34] And then when she realized that continuing with Gabe wasn't in her best interests, she made the necessary moves to flip on him.
[00:28:43] And I do think there's a bit more to that story, and I'll get to that in the second rule.
[00:28:49] But the point is, she recognized where she stood strategically compared to him and took the necessary action to change it.
[00:28:58] Gabe told Mike Bloom, I think her taking me out was a great move for her.
[00:29:01] And I think it was just so badass how she pulled it off and the ruthlessness that she showed with it.
[00:29:07] It was awesome.
[00:29:07] And Caroline is just a badass player and deserves all the plaudits.
[00:29:12] And that's really great that he was able to recognize that as well.
[00:29:15] I mean, he's patting himself on the back a bit there at the same time, of course.
[00:29:19] But we also know that that's what you want to do if you're in the final three is you want to make everyone else feel better about themselves.
[00:29:25] And I think it's great that she was able to recognize the concern that she would have if I'm with Gabe.
[00:29:34] Because I know that he and I have been playing this game together.
[00:29:37] And we've talked about that a lot.
[00:29:39] When you are in the end with someone that you've been playing with the game throughout the entire game,
[00:29:45] then comparing the two becomes very difficult because they played the same game.
[00:29:50] So who do you rank above the other in that particular moment?
[00:29:53] And if she's recognizing that she's going to be ranked below him, then yes, 100%.
[00:29:59] She made the best decision to take him out to then assert herself a little bit more,
[00:30:05] put herself a little bit higher on that playing field.
[00:30:08] So yeah, badass for sure.
[00:30:12] Now, as the game went on, Caroline continued to be involved with all the strategy,
[00:30:18] making relationships with various different people and moving around as necessary,
[00:30:23] eventually resulting in her being a key part of the underdogs,
[00:30:26] believing she and Sue were controlling a big part of the game,
[00:30:30] as we saw her say early in this episode.
[00:30:32] And I do think she was in a good spot for that with an extremely solid ally
[00:30:41] and the ability to almost certainly beat at least three out of four of the other people in her alliance.
[00:30:50] Rachel was the only one who would probably give her a run for her money,
[00:30:53] but she said she had a plan to get rid of Rachel when the time was right.
[00:30:58] Now, I'm, of course, sure that Rachel had a competing plan.
[00:31:02] And, of course, Rachel also had an idol that Caroline didn't know about.
[00:31:05] So it would have been an interesting showdown if things had gone according to Caroline's plan,
[00:31:12] where she talked about maybe idling Rachel out, which, you know, well, if Sue had used an idol,
[00:31:19] then Rachel probably would have used her idol if she hadn't already.
[00:31:21] So, you know, I mean, we'll never know because things didn't go according to plan.
[00:31:26] Well, and what I think is interesting is when we saw that moment where
[00:31:32] Genevieve and Sam had their little discussion about playing of the idol and she wasn't going to.
[00:31:38] And I know that Caroline had said if she had an idol herself,
[00:31:43] she would have played it because she felt a particular way.
[00:31:45] And I was curious if in that moment, like Sue had talked about wanting to play it for her.
[00:31:52] And she's like, I didn't want to get up and I didn't want to tell Sue that if maybe there could have been
[00:31:58] something else that could have been like quietly spoken between Sue and Caroline
[00:32:04] because they weren't sitting next to each other to just be like, Sue, do it.
[00:32:09] Yeah, just just play it.
[00:32:12] Because at that point, like Sue wanted to.
[00:32:15] And Caroline's the reason why she didn't because Caroline said don't.
[00:32:19] So I don't know.
[00:32:20] I just I was wondering if maybe it would have just been best to be like, just just do the same thing
[00:32:24] that that Sam and Genevieve are doing right now and just openly discuss it and just really do that.
[00:32:30] Yeah.
[00:32:31] Yeah.
[00:32:31] I mean, I, you know, I understand, you know, she it was a gut feeling.
[00:32:36] She didn't really have anything else to go on.
[00:32:38] And so I don't think, you know, it was.
[00:32:42] What if Andy had stayed loyal and she played and she had Sue play the idol?
[00:32:48] Well, then Sue wastes an idol and he is upset because you didn't trust him.
[00:32:52] And you've just, you know, you've got a lot of, you know, a lot of cleanup to do.
[00:32:58] Oh, for sure.
[00:32:59] For sure.
[00:33:00] But why would Genevieve feel OK?
[00:33:01] OK.
[00:33:06] Well, because Andy made her feel OK in in the view, in the version of reality that they had
[00:33:13] in their heads.
[00:33:15] Andy told them he would go with them, you know.
[00:33:22] Or Andy may have felt or it may have been that she felt that Sam was going to get the majority
[00:33:28] of the vote.
[00:33:28] So that's why, you know.
[00:33:32] So, yeah, I don't know.
[00:33:34] I don't know.
[00:33:36] Fascinating.
[00:33:36] But if the whole idea was to flush the idol, I don't know.
[00:33:39] I just feel like if they were so convinced that she had an idol and they were like, this
[00:33:43] is going to flush the idol.
[00:33:44] And then she's like, no, I'm good.
[00:33:47] I just I would be like red flag.
[00:33:50] You're right.
[00:33:51] But these days recently.
[00:33:54] And I have to admit, a lot of this was on Australian Survivor.
[00:33:57] People don't necessarily seem to understand what flush the idol means.
[00:34:02] They don't, you know, because Andy had to argue, you have to put the majority of votes
[00:34:08] on Genevieve to ensure it his logic was sound, whatever his motivation, his logic was sound.
[00:34:14] Right.
[00:34:15] Given given.
[00:34:16] Given the understanding of the facts he was presenting.
[00:34:21] In order to actually flush an idol, you have to put the majority because then if they don't
[00:34:26] play the idol, they go home with the idol.
[00:34:28] Right.
[00:34:29] Right.
[00:34:30] They do play the idol.
[00:34:32] Well, then, OK, you know, they play the idol.
[00:34:34] But like there were a whole bunch.
[00:34:36] And again, this was mostly in Australian Survivor, but I've seen it in others recently, too,
[00:34:41] where they just say, well, we're going to pretend like we're putting the votes on that
[00:34:45] person.
[00:34:46] And that's going to flush the idol.
[00:34:48] And then we'll put one vote on.
[00:34:50] It's like, well, no, that doesn't flush the idol.
[00:34:52] Right.
[00:34:53] Right.
[00:34:53] You know, by definition, that is not flushing the idol.
[00:34:57] That is definitely not.
[00:34:58] And, you know, Australian Survivor, they saw through it and the same person held on to
[00:35:01] an idol for, you know, time after time because they didn't flush the idol.
[00:35:06] Right.
[00:35:06] Right.
[00:35:07] So that's why I just am wondering if if that if things would have happened a little bit
[00:35:13] differently, if Carolyn had been like Sue could have said here, you hold it and then whatever
[00:35:18] if you run into a situation where you feel like you have to because Sue wanted to play
[00:35:24] it for her.
[00:35:25] And Caroline's the one who said no.
[00:35:27] And so I just I'm just wondering how that I mean, again, this is it's not what happened.
[00:35:32] So we don't have to talk about it.
[00:35:34] But it is one of those things that I was I was just finding very interesting based upon
[00:35:38] her representations of her read on things that were happening during trial council.
[00:35:43] Yeah.
[00:35:44] Yeah.
[00:35:44] So, I mean, in the end, it all came down to Operation Italy and Andy's ability to convince
[00:35:49] the others what you know, to do what he wanted them to.
[00:35:52] And that involved, as we were just saying, splitting the vote, putting him in the spot for voting
[00:35:57] for Genevieve and Rachel not blocking any votes.
[00:36:01] You know, we saw Andy being a huge advocate of doing things his way and pushing the split.
[00:36:06] And we also saw some of Caroline joining in.
[00:36:09] And and eventually, Teenie was also convinced by some, you know, decent acting by Genevieve
[00:36:14] and Sam where, oh, look, here's the oh, oh, oh, here comes someone.
[00:36:18] We can't show you the idol to, you know.
[00:36:21] Oh, yeah.
[00:36:21] No, the paper.
[00:36:22] Yeah.
[00:36:23] The clue.
[00:36:23] I buried that.
[00:36:24] Yeah.
[00:36:24] I can get it if you want, of course.
[00:36:26] But, you know, there's no need for that.
[00:36:29] You know, but what we didn't know was how big a role Caroline played in going along with
[00:36:37] the plan that would lead to her own demise.
[00:36:40] Yes.
[00:36:40] You know, I mean, she said it in all her interviews, but she specifically mentioned to Gordon Holmes.
[00:36:45] She was essentially the unwitting fourth member of the fourth team member of Operation Italy.
[00:36:52] She said in her interviews that she was Andy's advocate in letting him do things the way he
[00:36:57] wanted to, including the split and letting him vote Genevieve.
[00:37:00] And it was because Andy had made a big deal of wanting to be respected and make a big move,
[00:37:07] which we talked about earlier.
[00:37:08] Right.
[00:37:09] And of course, he had wanted Genevieve out the previous vote, but they had ignored his
[00:37:14] mathematical arguments in favor of getting rid of Kyle.
[00:37:18] And as she told Mike Bloom, they had shut him down even harder than we saw on TV.
[00:37:25] Yeah.
[00:37:25] Well, and I think what's interesting here as well is you have Caroline who throughout the
[00:37:30] entire season has been like the biggest supporter of anyone who's doing anything, even if it's
[00:37:37] in direct like, oh, what's the word?
[00:37:42] Like directly against her.
[00:37:43] Right.
[00:37:43] Where they're like they're they're having a challenge where it's like one person is is
[00:37:47] going to be the winner and everybody else.
[00:37:49] Yeah.
[00:37:49] And or one person's going to be the loser, ultimately, I should say.
[00:37:53] And and and going to lose their vote.
[00:37:54] And she's still like the biggest cheerleader.
[00:37:56] Like, oh, it was so great.
[00:37:58] Like you're doing so good.
[00:37:59] And so it fits so nicely that she would be the one who's advocating and supporting and
[00:38:06] wanting to make Andy feel good about what he's doing, because that's what she's been
[00:38:10] doing this entire game.
[00:38:12] So it's fascinating that that was where she found herself, because that's who she is and
[00:38:17] that's who she was on the show.
[00:38:19] And we got to see that.
[00:38:21] And I and I and again, I'm curious if that's why the episodes were so inclusive of those
[00:38:25] moments of her, because she was that cheerleader and she was that big supporter of people that
[00:38:32] then here we are seeing her do the same thing and like, yeah, Andy, that's that's a great
[00:38:36] idea.
[00:38:37] We should definitely do that.
[00:38:38] And you're like, oh, Caroline, like she unwittingly did become the fourth member.
[00:38:45] Right.
[00:38:45] Of Operation Eddly.
[00:38:47] Yeah.
[00:38:47] She she said in her interviews that she was doing Andy management, you know, and and she
[00:38:54] further acknowledged to Mike Bloom that there were things she could have done to guarantee
[00:38:57] the outcome of the vote, but it would have pissed off Andy and likely caused him to do something
[00:39:03] unpredictable and chaotic.
[00:39:05] Like, I don't know, making an alliance with two people on the outs and coming up with a
[00:39:08] plan to flip the game.
[00:39:09] That would be crazy.
[00:39:11] Right.
[00:39:13] I mean, I would have thought.
[00:39:14] Yeah.
[00:39:14] Yeah.
[00:39:15] Now, Caroline also told Mike that letting Andy be in charge of the move went along with
[00:39:20] her overall strategy of helping moves happen, but apparently not being the reason for them.
[00:39:25] So in Andy's mind, he would be the one making the move.
[00:39:29] But she was in the background telling, OK, everybody, let's let's go along with this.
[00:39:34] Right.
[00:39:34] And and she said that based on what she knew and believed at the time, it made sense because
[00:39:40] of course, Andy was going to continue to target Genevieve, just like he had advocated in the
[00:39:45] previous vote.
[00:39:47] And, you know, so.
[00:39:51] Because of that, of course, he wanted to be one of the three people casting his actual vote
[00:39:57] for her.
[00:39:58] It all made sense, again, in terms of what she believed.
[00:40:02] But the thing is, Andy knew it all made sense according to what he had done previously,
[00:40:09] and he used that to his advantage.
[00:40:11] Yes.
[00:40:11] This is where it all just comes back around.
[00:40:14] Right.
[00:40:14] You know, that that's the thing about Survivor.
[00:40:16] You can only analyze the situation that you as you see and understand it.
[00:40:22] You can't know what's actually going on inside another person's head.
[00:40:27] But what we saw was Andy just out scheming Caroline and the others.
[00:40:32] You know, going all the way back to what we talked about before the rules in terms of
[00:40:37] him convincing them all that he was playing an emotional, not strategic thing.
[00:40:42] Yeah, I feel like Andy now is playing.
[00:40:45] He's like playing the long game, which it didn't feel like that at the beginning, but it feels
[00:40:50] like it now.
[00:40:51] Didn't feel like he'd have a very long game at the beginning.
[00:40:53] Well, right.
[00:40:54] And this is why I, I, I know we're not necessarily, this is not about Andy, but it is very interesting
[00:41:01] that he has been able to develop his game in a way that has encompassed what people think
[00:41:08] about him.
[00:41:09] Right.
[00:41:09] And has been able to move through the game in the way that he has because of that part of
[00:41:15] it.
[00:41:15] It is, I think, probably a very difficult thing to do.
[00:41:20] And the fact that Gabe is calling him a genius, I'm like kind of feeling that the same in this
[00:41:27] moment.
[00:41:27] But again, we don't know what's going to stem from all of this, but he utilized Caroline
[00:41:34] in that same way.
[00:41:34] Like he saw the relationship he had with Caroline and he knew the way that Caroline was.
[00:41:40] And so it, it just shows that everyone is, is playing this game in a particular way that
[00:41:48] lines up with the way they've been playing this game.
[00:41:52] And so the fact that Caroline found herself in this position and happened to be Andy is
[00:41:57] just one more component of why all of this becomes such a mental game as opposed to just
[00:42:04] a game utilizing idols or utilizing advantages and all of these other components.
[00:42:09] It is really having to factor in so many components of that other person and what you know about
[00:42:15] them in that moment.
[00:42:17] And then developing a strategy and a plan based around it.
[00:42:20] And Caroline really was doing that, but it was really to her own detriment.
[00:42:24] Yeah.
[00:42:25] Now, one question that came up before we leave the first rule here is how does Caroline do
[00:42:32] if she makes it past these particular circumstances?
[00:42:34] Like let's say Rachel doesn't win immunity and Operation Italy still works with its original
[00:42:39] intended target, which to be fair, I'm not sure it would have, you know, but if it does,
[00:42:48] then Caroline wouldn't necessarily be in a very good spot anymore unless Andy would have
[00:42:54] then flipped back.
[00:42:55] So, you know, like I said, I was asked this question, but it's just, it's hard to say,
[00:42:58] because we don't yet have insight into Andy's overall plan, what he intends to do from here.
[00:43:05] Yes.
[00:43:06] Because that's, that's the big key question, right?
[00:43:09] Is who does he think he's going to be able to now sit next to and how is this going to
[00:43:13] be viewed?
[00:43:13] I think if Caroline had, if none of this had happened and there had been no Operation Italy,
[00:43:21] Caroline would have been sitting very pretty as far as where she could have put herself
[00:43:26] in the game because she had great relationships and she was working behind the scenes and she
[00:43:31] was strategizing with everyone.
[00:43:33] And she was certainly in a really, really good position if there had been no Operation Italy,
[00:43:39] for sure.
[00:43:40] Yeah.
[00:43:41] Yeah.
[00:43:42] All right.
[00:43:42] We could go to the second rule, which says not to scheme and plot too much and keep your
[00:43:45] scheming secret.
[00:43:47] Now, obviously Caroline was in and well, I say obviously, obviously she was in an obvious,
[00:43:53] obvious duo.
[00:43:54] That's how obvious it was with Sue.
[00:43:57] As TK told Mike way back after his elimination, Sue and Caroline are a pair.
[00:44:03] They've told us they were a pair.
[00:44:04] Sue literally said, I will never write Caroline's name down to us.
[00:44:09] Uh, so we already knew they were a pair, which is the most dangerous thing in the game of
[00:44:14] survival.
[00:44:15] And Caroline also told Mike Bloom that Sue quote told everyone she will never write my
[00:44:19] name down.
[00:44:20] And she, you know, she tried to tell Sue to at least pretend, but Sue wouldn't do it.
[00:44:25] Knock it off, Sue.
[00:44:26] Yeah.
[00:44:27] Yeah.
[00:44:27] Uh, but even with all of that, they still made it very far into the game together.
[00:44:33] And yeah, I together, they still were not seen as the most threatening, you know, people
[00:44:39] were still like, okay, yeah, you have that tight duo there, but there's Genevieve, Sam
[00:44:43] and Rachel, you know?
[00:44:45] Um, so as weird as it sounds, I really don't think her being in an obvious duo played a
[00:44:52] significant role in her being voted out.
[00:44:54] I don't think it did either.
[00:44:56] And I think that you brought up a very good point about Genevieve, Sam and the other people
[00:45:00] who are still there.
[00:45:02] She talked about those individuals in her exit interviews about being shields for her.
[00:45:07] And so it was almost like they kind of balanced each other out.
[00:45:10] Like, yes, I have Sue over here.
[00:45:12] And yes, I have this, this duo.
[00:45:14] However, we've got some people over here that we need to look at because that's the
[00:45:18] bigger concern, not Sue or I.
[00:45:20] And I also think that it's fascinating that she found herself in this duo with Sue, who
[00:45:27] was much more vocal than she should have been about the fact that they were so tight and
[00:45:34] that Caroline was trying to stop her from doing that.
[00:45:38] But that also plays into, I think, the perception of Sue and just how it's like Sue management.
[00:45:46] We were talking about Andy management.
[00:45:48] Like Caroline's also having to do Sue management at the same time.
[00:45:52] And so there is a, there is a world in which we exist that Caroline managed to keep Sue
[00:45:58] a little more quiet than she even was about the fact that they were so close and keeping
[00:46:03] Sue in the position that she needed her to be in to move her forward.
[00:46:07] So I think that Caroline was having to do both Andy and Sue management at the same time.
[00:46:12] Yes.
[00:46:13] Yes.
[00:46:14] Um, now with that said, I do think Caroline accidentally schemed implied a bit too much
[00:46:19] by encouraging Andy's plan the way we discussed.
[00:46:23] Now, I know we talked about how it made sense to her at the time, but she just seemed to hand
[00:46:31] over way too much power to Andy.
[00:46:33] He got to decide the target.
[00:46:35] He got to decide the split vote.
[00:46:36] He got to decide who he was voting for.
[00:46:39] He pushed not to use any advantages, et cetera.
[00:46:43] Again, I get it.
[00:46:45] He, she wanted him to feel like he was making a big move.
[00:46:49] The problem was he was making a big move, just not the one that she expected.
[00:46:55] Yes.
[00:46:55] And she, along with the other underdogs, just handed him the ability to do that.
[00:47:01] Yeah.
[00:47:02] And I think this came up in one of her interviews as well.
[00:47:04] Just this idea that Andy had just been on an overnight.
[00:47:10] Yeah.
[00:47:11] Reward challenge with the two people that everybody's trying to vote out and then comes back and
[00:47:16] he's talking to them about, oh, they were pushing me and they're trying to make me do
[00:47:19] these things.
[00:47:20] And they were, I felt so, uh, you know, it was just uncomfortable and it wasn't fun.
[00:47:24] And, but then he's like, but by the way, I want to make all the decisions here.
[00:47:28] And, and I do think that that's an interesting kind of balance that was overlooked that, well,
[00:47:35] he just came back from this whole thing.
[00:47:37] We know how emotional Andy can be.
[00:47:39] We know how he can be swayed, you know, swayed a certain way, potentially if someone makes him
[00:47:45] feel like he's significant and important, but then why give him so much power in that moment,
[00:47:51] considering what he just came from is curious.
[00:47:54] Well, I think you kind of answered the question there because he used the emotion part, you
[00:48:00] know, they tried to push me and I want to show them I'm not going to be pushed around, you
[00:48:04] know, like that, like, you know, you know, they, they don't respect me as a game player.
[00:48:10] They tried to do this.
[00:48:11] So that's why I want to make sure that this happens, you know?
[00:48:14] And that's fair.
[00:48:16] Yeah.
[00:48:16] You know, I, I just think even in that situation, take some precaution.
[00:48:21] They took zero.
[00:48:22] Yeah.
[00:48:22] They took zero precautions.
[00:48:25] Take one.
[00:48:26] Just do one precaution.
[00:48:27] Just one.
[00:48:27] Yeah.
[00:48:28] Just one.
[00:48:28] Yeah.
[00:48:31] Now, I also want to talk about going back in time a little bit.
[00:48:35] There has been a lot of discussion that Caroline should not have taken out Gabe when she did.
[00:48:39] And that that kind of started the whole process that, you know, resulted in her getting voted
[00:48:45] out.
[00:48:47] I disagree.
[00:48:48] And I disagree in large part for a very simple reason.
[00:48:52] She didn't really have control over that vote.
[00:48:55] I mean, yes, she talked about it.
[00:48:57] She was on board.
[00:48:59] But I think it very well might have happened without her.
[00:49:02] Kyle was pushing it.
[00:49:04] The non-tukus were pushing it.
[00:49:07] I mean, maybe they wanted her agreement, but they didn't need her agreement.
[00:49:13] And yeah, you know, even if she stood firmly against it.
[00:49:19] That would have also shown how tight the tukus were and made them into bigger targets.
[00:49:25] Right.
[00:49:26] So like literally her saying, no, I don't want to vote out Gabe.
[00:49:31] Could have still made everyone be like, OK, well, now we're definitely taking out Gabe.
[00:49:36] Or they could have said, what the hell's up with Caroline?
[00:49:39] We got to take her out.
[00:49:41] So I don't like this whole 2020 hindsight thing like, well, if only she wouldn't have taken
[00:49:47] out Gabe, everything would have been different.
[00:49:50] No, I don't agree with looking back like that and and saying, oh, she'd be fine if it only
[00:49:57] weren't for that.
[00:49:58] You have to consider all the things that were going on at that point.
[00:50:01] Right.
[00:50:02] Right.
[00:50:02] You know, plus we heard from her on the show and in interviews that she felt Gabe was not
[00:50:08] working so much as a partner anymore, but a director.
[00:50:12] And that wasn't the game she was there for.
[00:50:14] So, no, I will not say she should have done something differently.
[00:50:19] You know.
[00:50:21] Those, you know, with Gabe.
[00:50:24] And again, I don't know that she could have anyway.
[00:50:27] Yeah.
[00:50:27] No, that's a very, very fair point.
[00:50:30] Yeah.
[00:50:31] All right.
[00:50:32] Well, we can move on to the third rule, which tells players to be flexible.
[00:50:36] Now, Jessica, how do you think Caroline did here?
[00:50:39] Well, I think you just explained how she was flexible.
[00:50:42] She was willing to take out Gabe, who she had had a very close relationship with.
[00:50:46] And she was realizing the issues that he could have brought to her because of the kind of where
[00:50:55] she was in the pecking order and the line of threatening individuals and whose game is
[00:50:59] better.
[00:51:00] And she's realizing Gabe is going to get more credit than she.
[00:51:02] So I do think that she was flexible.
[00:51:04] And also what we saw in this episode, right, where I don't know if people wouldn't necessarily
[00:51:10] feel that it's flexibility, but she was willing to listen to Andy and she was willing to go
[00:51:15] along with what Andy needed.
[00:51:16] So I think overall, she was certainly a flexible player because she was working through permutations
[00:51:23] and what's going to work better for her.
[00:51:26] And she was willing to change things up considering how she saw the end result being.
[00:51:31] So I would think, yes, she was.
[00:51:34] She was flexible.
[00:51:35] She was willing to consider other options and work with other people.
[00:51:39] I don't really think she had any issues with this particular rule at all.
[00:51:44] Yeah, yeah.
[00:51:46] I, you know, I, I tend to agree with you that she did very well here.
[00:51:51] She helped the two coups stay together until it wasn't advantageous to her anymore.
[00:51:57] And, you know, then, you know, like you said, she, she helped take out Gabe and Kyle.
[00:52:01] She was targeting Rachel as a big threat until she saw that they could work well together
[00:52:06] and then turned it into a, uh, a keep your enemies close situation.
[00:52:11] Um, you know, and, and where she knew that they'd have to turn on each other at one point.
[00:52:19] Um, but they could work together towards a common goal until then.
[00:52:22] And, you know, in theory, it made Rachel a shield for her as well.
[00:52:28] Um, and she was cognizant of what other people wanted, like this Andy situation we discussed.
[00:52:35] So yeah, she definitely wasn't wedded to one way of thinking or one way of viewing people.
[00:52:42] Mm-hmm.
[00:52:43] All right.
[00:52:44] Well, the fourth rule tells players not to let their emotions control them.
[00:52:47] I think Caroline turning on Gabe, uh, to bring that up again, exemplifies how she kept her
[00:52:52] emotions separate from her game decisions.
[00:52:55] I'm sure she considers him a friend.
[00:52:57] We mentioned already how they spent many hours talking to one another, but when the time came
[00:53:02] for her to cut him because she felt it was the right thing for her own strategy, she didn't
[00:53:07] hesitate.
[00:53:08] Um, you know, there wasn't all the hemming and hawing about emotions.
[00:53:11] Like we've heard from Genevieve.
[00:53:13] Oh, emotions are good.
[00:53:15] Emotions are bad.
[00:53:16] Emotions are good again.
[00:53:17] No, Caroline was perfectly okay.
[00:53:19] Being friends with someone and then getting rid of them when she needed to.
[00:53:23] Yes.
[00:53:24] And I do think that she's also utilizing other people's emotions to play the game as well,
[00:53:29] which is another component that, uh, I think is, is worth noting that she's recognizing.
[00:53:35] We talked about Andy at nauseam already about the emotional game that he is playing.
[00:53:41] And she is, or she was leaning in on that and allowing that to be part of the reason why
[00:53:47] she made the decisions that she did.
[00:53:49] So she's recognizing the effect that emotions have on other people's games and was including
[00:53:54] that in the decisions that she was making.
[00:53:56] And she wasn't letting her emotions get in the way of the decisions that needed to come
[00:54:01] with that particular managing of other players.
[00:54:05] Right.
[00:54:07] All right.
[00:54:08] Well, the fifth rule reminds players they need to, uh, pretend to be nice and play the
[00:54:12] social game.
[00:54:14] Um, you've already mentioned this, but I would say Caroline may be one of the nicest people
[00:54:20] to ever play.
[00:54:22] Oh my gosh.
[00:54:22] Yeah, for sure.
[00:54:24] Yes.
[00:54:25] Yeah.
[00:54:26] People just get her, get her some pom poms and let her just stand on the sidelines there.
[00:54:31] She was the biggest cheerleader.
[00:54:33] Just so kind, so sweet.
[00:54:35] Just an amazing person overall.
[00:54:38] Yeah.
[00:54:38] I mean, people were literally making videos, putting together all the clips of her being
[00:54:43] excited for other players in the game.
[00:54:46] You know, uh, you mentioned that she could lose her vote in a silly game of reverse Jenga,
[00:54:51] but she was happy for the two who got to keep theirs.
[00:54:54] Um, you know, uh, she might be outbid at the auction, but she was thrilled for the person
[00:54:59] who won the item and so on with many examples.
[00:55:03] She would be like the coworker who applied for the same promotion as you did.
[00:55:08] And when you get it, she'd be like, I'm so happy for you.
[00:55:12] Yeah.
[00:55:12] That was epic.
[00:55:14] Yes.
[00:55:14] She would mean it.
[00:55:15] She, she just seems like such a joy to be around.
[00:55:19] She definitely does.
[00:55:20] And I think that that's such a nice thing to see because she's still able to balance though,
[00:55:25] right?
[00:55:26] She was playing the game.
[00:55:27] She was making the moves she needed to make.
[00:55:28] She was making the decision she needed to make, but still rooting everybody on in the
[00:55:33] process.
[00:55:34] And it was really just such a breath of fresh air really to watch someone play the game
[00:55:41] in that capacity.
[00:55:43] Yeah.
[00:55:45] All right.
[00:55:46] Well, uh, we can go on to, well, actually, no, sorry.
[00:55:50] I almost forgot.
[00:55:52] Besides her being just so nice.
[00:55:54] She also understood the workings of the social game.
[00:55:58] So like when she saw how mad teeny was about Sam's choices for the reward this week, she
[00:56:06] told Gordon Holmes that it was good because it helped in terms of how the strategy would
[00:56:11] work out.
[00:56:12] So yeah, for this rule, she had it really all covered.
[00:56:15] Yeah, she definitely did.
[00:56:17] Yeah, for sure.
[00:56:18] All right.
[00:56:18] Now we can go to the sixth rule, which warns against being too much of a threat.
[00:56:22] While I do think Caroline was a threat to win, she wasn't the biggest threat in the game.
[00:56:27] And we've already kind of hinted at this along the way.
[00:56:30] She wasn't even the initial target of Operation Italy.
[00:56:33] Rachel was.
[00:56:34] But Caroline was still there in the pecking order.
[00:56:38] She had risen up and showed her capability with the game vote.
[00:56:42] And, and also, I think just the way she thought and talked about the game.
[00:56:47] It wasn't enough to overshadow Rachel or Genevieve or Sam.
[00:56:52] And it would seem that being fourth on the list of threats would be a pretty comfortable place.
[00:57:00] Until two of the people ahead of you are part of the vote and the third is immune.
[00:57:05] Suddenly, the fourth tallest poppy becomes the one that needs to get cut down.
[00:57:10] Yeah.
[00:57:10] And that's why it's interesting that they shifted immediately to Caroline, right?
[00:57:13] Where they were like, oh, Rachel's not available anymore.
[00:57:16] It's got to be Caroline.
[00:57:17] There wasn't any other consideration.
[00:57:19] There wasn't anyone else who was mentioned.
[00:57:20] It was immediately Caroline.
[00:57:22] So that certainly does show that she was within that group of people that was a concern.
[00:57:28] And if things had gone Caroline's way and she's sitting at the end with the individuals
[00:57:32] that I think she was hoping to sit with, Caroline's in a great position to win the game
[00:57:36] because you can actually see where she was as far as that pecking order was concerned
[00:57:42] and that list of threats, if you will.
[00:57:46] Yeah.
[00:57:47] I mean, I do think within the underdog alliance, it was pretty clear that she was the number
[00:57:54] two threat.
[00:57:55] Yeah.
[00:57:56] Mm-hmm.
[00:57:56] Nobody was worried about Sue.
[00:57:58] Right.
[00:57:58] I doubt people were too worried about Teenie as much as that upset Teenie when Genevieve
[00:58:04] was honest about it.
[00:58:06] Which, by the way, yeah, Teenie, love you.
[00:58:10] But that wasn't a threat.
[00:58:11] Wasn't even an ultimatum.
[00:58:12] That was just Genevieve telling you, you know, what Genevieve told you.
[00:58:16] You know, this is what I'm thinking.
[00:58:18] Yeah.
[00:58:19] You know, we know people weren't that worried about Andy at the time.
[00:58:25] There was like almost a clear delineation in threat perceptions.
[00:58:30] Like among the underdogs, you had Rachel and Caroline at the top and then this big gap
[00:58:35] and then the other three.
[00:58:37] Yeah.
[00:58:37] So like you said, when Rachel wasn't available, boom, easy decision.
[00:58:42] Yeah.
[00:58:43] Mm-hmm.
[00:58:43] Um, now one funny thing is that when Rachel told them all about the block of vote, Caroline
[00:58:53] said she was happy Rachel had it.
[00:58:56] And not just because Caroline is always happy for everybody else, like we said, but because
[00:59:01] it made her more of a threat and therefore a shield.
[00:59:04] Yeah.
[00:59:05] Which it would have if Rachel hadn't won her own big bat necklace shield.
[00:59:13] Right.
[00:59:14] Very true.
[00:59:16] Oh.
[00:59:16] Yeah.
[00:59:17] So overall for this rule, I'd say she did fine.
[00:59:19] She was right in the spot that Andy talked about in tribal council last week.
[00:59:23] Not at the top, not on the outs, ready to get to the end and have enough to make her case
[00:59:28] to the jury.
[00:59:29] And it just took this series of circumstances to suddenly position her as the biggest threat
[00:59:35] in that moment in time.
[00:59:37] Mm-hmm.
[00:59:37] Yeah.
[00:59:38] So.
[00:59:39] All right.
[00:59:40] So therefore we can go to the seventh rule, which covers idols and advantages in game mechanics.
[00:59:44] Now, Caroline was in an interesting position in that she never had anything herself, but
[00:59:49] she was like in the orbit of so many different items.
[00:59:54] We mentioned back in the first rule how she wasn't entirely sure about aligning with Gabe
[01:00:00] until he showed her his idol.
[01:00:02] Once he did, she realized how much that solidified things in terms of working together.
[01:00:08] Later, she realized that Sue had found the red paint idol and quietly mentioned it to her
[01:00:13] while assuring her that she wouldn't tell a soul.
[01:00:16] And she didn't.
[01:00:18] Mm-hmm.
[01:00:18] That helped keep their bond as well.
[01:00:20] As you talked about, Sue offered to use that idol for her.
[01:00:24] If Caroline had said yes, you know.
[01:00:27] Right.
[01:00:28] Sue would have played it.
[01:00:28] Right.
[01:00:29] Mm-hmm.
[01:00:29] And of course, she knew that Rachel had the block of vote, which by the way, it just occurred
[01:00:35] to me yesterday.
[01:00:37] How do you call this the block of vote and not call it a voting block?
[01:00:42] Come on.
[01:00:43] No.
[01:00:44] Who's right there?
[01:00:48] I had two people.
[01:00:50] I said this on Blue Sky and on Threads, and I had one person on each of them say, well,
[01:00:56] no, it's because voting block means something else.
[01:00:59] It means a group of people vote.
[01:01:01] Yes.
[01:01:01] Yes.
[01:01:01] That's the joke.
[01:01:02] Thank you.
[01:01:03] Thank you for it.
[01:01:03] That is the joke.
[01:01:04] Yes.
[01:01:05] Thank you for explaining that to me.
[01:01:07] Yes.
[01:01:16] Anything to save her.
[01:01:19] Rachel blocking Sam or Genevieve's vote, that would have done it.
[01:01:22] Sue using her idol obviously would have done it.
[01:01:25] Well, Caroline.
[01:01:27] But Caroline said in interviews that she told them both not to use those because she didn't
[01:01:32] think they were necessary.
[01:01:34] She wanted Rachel to use the voting block.
[01:01:36] I'm just calling it that from now on.
[01:01:39] At six and Sue to maybe use the idol to get rid of Rachel after that.
[01:01:44] But, you know, as we've discussed, she just didn't see how much danger she was in at that
[01:01:49] vote until that started telling her and she didn't want to, like, you know, make a big deal
[01:01:56] out of it.
[01:01:57] I do think, though, that knowing the permutations of things and the idea that she had about how
[01:02:03] she wanted things to unfold, that it likely, well, it certainly would have helped her if
[01:02:09] she had decided, if I know next vote, we're going to take Rachel out.
[01:02:13] Mm hmm.
[01:02:14] Because we're going to use the idol.
[01:02:17] And and that's my plan with Rachel.
[01:02:19] Then in this instance, it probably would have been best for her.
[01:02:22] And clearly now we know what the result was to say, hey, Rachel, why don't we do a block
[01:02:27] of vote now?
[01:02:28] Just so that way we know that that's clean and that's taken care of.
[01:02:31] And then we don't have to worry about anything potentially hinky happening.
[01:02:35] And then what we'll do, you know, next time and and kind of be looking ahead, because
[01:02:40] in Caroline's world, she knows next time we're based upon the way she sees the game
[01:02:46] unfolding.
[01:02:46] I have to take Rachel out next.
[01:02:48] So that's when we're going to need the idol.
[01:02:50] So now let's take some power away from Rachel for the next vote, because then Rachel won't
[01:02:56] be able to block a vote.
[01:02:58] She does not know about Rachel's idol.
[01:03:01] Is that correct?
[01:03:03] Yeah.
[01:03:03] So, I mean, in the world that she's living in, she doesn't know that that's a possibility
[01:03:08] for the next vote.
[01:03:09] So I feel like removing that power from Rachel would have been a good choice for her now
[01:03:14] because Rachel was willing to do it if Caroline had said do it.
[01:03:18] Yeah, I don't think she was expecting to get rid of Rachel next.
[01:03:22] I think she was looking to work with Rachel for one more vote.
[01:03:26] Use that block of vote because it's an even number, you know, make it a vote.
[01:03:30] Make sure, basically use the block of vote to make sure at that point no one flipped to,
[01:03:35] you know, to work with, you know, if Sam or Genevieve were still there, if one of them
[01:03:44] decided to try to, you know, kind of weasel their way in, they could just use that, say,
[01:03:48] nope, you're not doing anything.
[01:03:49] And now she's got herself, Rachel and Sue, and they automatically win whatever vote that
[01:03:56] is.
[01:03:57] Okay.
[01:03:57] And then next time, you know, use, you know, potentially Sue's idol somehow in her mind to
[01:04:05] do it, not realizing that then Rachel would have used her own idol and who knows what would
[01:04:10] have happened.
[01:04:10] We will literally never know.
[01:04:13] So.
[01:04:14] That's true.
[01:04:14] It sounds like that was her planning process.
[01:04:17] Okay.
[01:04:19] So.
[01:04:20] All right.
[01:04:21] Well, we could go to Appendix A, which is about the players keeping their end goals in
[01:04:25] mind when voting.
[01:04:25] And we often talk about voting out the weak and the strong and the weak and the strong.
[01:04:29] And of course, at this point, they should still be voting out the strong threats.
[01:04:33] But as has been discussed in tribal council, people have different threats in mind, especially
[01:04:40] when it comes to the timing of when to get them out.
[01:04:43] Now, we already discussed a pure ranking of threats, you know, and under that she was
[01:04:50] probably fourth, which normally would be fine.
[01:04:53] Yes.
[01:04:54] But the problem was she was the backup top threat to the people who are actually deciding
[01:05:00] the vote and the actual top threat wasn't available.
[01:05:03] Yeah.
[01:05:04] So that goes more again into who really, you know, everybody's a threat for someone else.
[01:05:10] Sure.
[01:05:10] So, yes, of course, it made sense for Sam, Genevieve and Andy to go after her.
[01:05:19] Yes.
[01:05:19] Yeah.
[01:05:21] Yeah.
[01:05:21] I didn't know if there was more to follow.
[01:05:23] But yes, I mean, she's she's the next one in line as far as taking out those the threats.
[01:05:29] And yeah, she's the next one.
[01:05:31] Yeah.
[01:05:31] Because, you know, they each wanted to break up that alliance and clear a path to the end
[01:05:35] for themselves.
[01:05:36] I I don't think all three of them, Sam, Genevieve and Andy, have the same path in mind there.
[01:05:43] Again, this is another topic that has had a lot of discussion among podcasters, former
[01:05:48] players, fans online, you know, about what the next move will be.
[01:05:53] Many believe Andy will now flip back against Sam and Genevieve.
[01:05:58] Others think he'll stay with them to take out Rachel if she's available.
[01:06:02] We'll have to wait to see what the true plan is.
[01:06:05] And even the true plan could be we'll take out Rachel if she doesn't win immunity again.
[01:06:09] Otherwise, I'll flip back with her.
[01:06:10] But I feel like Andy knows he has to get rid of more threats and will take whatever further
[01:06:17] actions he needs to make that happen.
[01:06:20] Yeah.
[01:06:21] Yeah, I agree.
[01:06:22] So.
[01:06:23] All right.
[01:06:24] Now we're at Appendix B, which discusses the jury phase, including preparing yourself
[01:06:28] for being in final three and preparing the jury to want to vote for you.
[01:06:31] As we were just discussing, a big reason for this vote was Andy wanting to clear a path
[01:06:36] to get to the final three with people he has a chance to beat.
[01:06:39] But what about Caroline herself?
[01:06:42] We heard her talk in this episode about how she could see a path to winning in her mind.
[01:06:49] And she had been looking ahead to the end game for a while, going back to when she turned
[01:06:55] on Gabe in large part because she realized he had a better track record than her and she
[01:07:00] would lose to him if they went to final three together.
[01:07:04] And we already talked about some of her other plans in terms of dealing with people who might
[01:07:10] be able to beat her in the end, like Rachel.
[01:07:13] It was all well thought out, as I would expect from a strategic planner.
[01:07:19] And then reality intervened.
[01:07:22] Yes.
[01:07:22] No, and I mean, it's just she certainly was positioning herself well and.
[01:07:29] But everyone has their own plans, as you said.
[01:07:31] And and if they don't align with yours, then you can find yourself in the position that
[01:07:36] Caroline found herself in.
[01:07:38] Yes.
[01:07:40] All right.
[01:07:41] Well, it's about time to wrap things up for the rules.
[01:07:45] So what are your final thoughts on Caroline?
[01:07:48] I think Caroline needs to get some pom poms and I just and she needs to be like the survivor
[01:07:54] cheerleader because she really was such a lovely, wonderful person to watch.
[01:08:01] Play this game, not just because strategically she was there and she was she was laying out
[01:08:07] the plans and she was working with the people she needed to work with.
[01:08:10] And she was positioning herself in.
[01:08:13] An under the radar way, but not under the radar way.
[01:08:17] It was very, very interesting to watch because she was involved in everything.
[01:08:21] She was always on the right side of the vote.
[01:08:23] And she was David Bloomberg's eating his cracker again, for those of you who are not watching.
[01:08:31] But I am very impressed with the game that she was able to play because I feel like she
[01:08:37] would have been one of those players if she had made it to the final three.
[01:08:40] She would have been able to explain her under the radar game in a way that made sense and a way that
[01:08:46] the jury would have said, oh, I see that.
[01:08:48] And I and I recognize that.
[01:08:50] I don't think she would have been in a situation where she would have struggled to explain it
[01:08:55] and struggle to have them see it.
[01:08:57] So Caroline's game overall was a very well balanced game.
[01:09:01] She managed to formulate a tight duo right from the start, right from the rip.
[01:09:07] And it didn't negatively affect her game, which is fascinating.
[01:09:10] And I think that's because of the person she chose.
[01:09:13] She knew that Sue was someone who was going to be like that mom role.
[01:09:19] And she recognized that Sue probably looked at her like a daughter.
[01:09:22] And she was able to bring Sue along and be involved in votes.
[01:09:28] And she knew she always had a second.
[01:09:30] She knew that she always had a second person that was going to be voting with her.
[01:09:34] But it didn't negatively affect her at all.
[01:09:36] People weren't threatened by that duo because she was so good at maintaining her level of threat
[01:09:42] and keeping higher levels of threat above her until she couldn't anymore.
[01:09:47] So overall, Caroline's game was so well balanced.
[01:09:50] And she was so kind throughout the entirety of it and being the best cheerleader she could for everyone.
[01:09:56] And I will always recall her saying that was epic when she was playing against someone to lose her vote.
[01:10:03] And in that moment when you can be cheering on the person who you're competing directly against,
[01:10:08] it says so much about who you are as a person and so much who you are as a player.
[01:10:13] I think Caroline was lovely.
[01:10:15] And it is it is unfortunate that she found herself in such a good position.
[01:10:20] But that good position caused her to be the next one to be the choice for the vote once the person who was the target had immunity.
[01:10:29] So unfortunately for Caroline, she did find herself the next in line.
[01:10:32] But overall, incredible gameplay, a joy to watch and really, really excited to see her in whatever she ends up doing next.
[01:10:41] So Caroline, thank you for just being so kind and such a great player at the same time.
[01:10:48] Sorry, I didn't have any popcorn to eat while you were talking.
[01:10:52] You went with your pizza cracker.
[01:10:54] My pizza cracker to keep me keep me in the Operation Italy mood.
[01:11:00] Yeah, Caroline began this week in what seemed to be a great,
[01:11:04] position.
[01:11:04] She had a super solid ally who even told her she advocate for her if they made it to final three together.
[01:11:10] She was in the majority alliance with two clear targets who were on the outs.
[01:11:14] She felt like she was in a good spot running the game, not in an egotistical way like some have,
[01:11:20] but just because of her strategic planning.
[01:11:24] But then in a series of unlikely events, everything changed.
[01:11:29] Sam barely beat Rachel in the reward challenge and took Andy and Genevieve to the
[01:11:34] sanctuary.
[01:11:34] Andy showed up with a plan to make his mark on the game and flip everything.
[01:11:39] Rachel, the intended target of that plan, won immunity, making Caroline next in line.
[01:11:46] And unbeknownst to Caroline or the others, Andy had been hiding his true strategic nature behind a cloak of emotions since the merge.
[01:11:56] This had the dual effect of making him seem to be unthreatening and also making him driven by the urge to get that big move because the others thought he was unthreatening.
[01:12:14] Caroline bought into it and let him direct this vote.
[01:12:17] The reasons for him doing what he did all made sense based on what she knew.
[01:12:23] The problem was that she couldn't know what was going on inside his head.
[01:12:29] And Andy just just plain out schemed her and the others.
[01:12:33] Hmm.
[01:12:33] For her part, Caroline, like you said, always seemed so happy to be playing survivor.
[01:12:39] So happy for other people.
[01:12:40] So happy for herself.
[01:12:42] She she may be the happiest person to ever play the game.
[01:12:45] And I really enjoyed watching her bring the combination of that positive personality and strategic thinking.
[01:12:54] But even though she had set herself up well for the end game, she ran up against someone else who was trying to do the same.
[01:13:03] She was simply outmaneuvered.
[01:13:05] And that is why Caroline lost.
[01:13:08] Operation Italy.
[01:13:10] Mm hmm.
[01:13:12] All right.
[01:13:13] Well, I do want to remind people before we go on, you know, don't stop.
[01:13:19] We have we have our predictions.
[01:13:21] And I also have.
[01:13:22] OK, I mean, really?
[01:13:24] No, no, no.
[01:13:24] We have our predictions.
[01:13:25] And I have a special surprise for you because the you and the listeners, because, you know, the wand off is happening in a couple of days.
[01:13:34] And so someone had sent me in kind of their own version of a wand off that I will be going through here.
[01:13:42] So.
[01:13:43] Oh, my gosh, I'm excited.
[01:13:46] No, probably should have announced that at the top of the show.
[01:13:49] But, you know, hopefully people are still listening now.
[01:13:50] But before we get to that, I do want to remind everyone that the rules we just discussed are available in poster.
[01:13:56] And of course, in T-shirt form.
[01:13:59] Mm hmm.
[01:14:00] Again, go to Rob has a website dot com slash YX lost feed.
[01:14:06] Click and purchase.
[01:14:08] Buy it all.
[01:14:09] And yes.
[01:14:10] And, you know, especially for the poster, get the holiday sale price.
[01:14:14] That's right.
[01:14:16] Oh, and I'm going to talk about how people can find us.
[01:14:19] We're doing that now before we do predictions.
[01:14:20] OK, so I am at Jessica Lewis 89, both on Twitter and Blue Sky.
[01:14:24] I was a little silent this week and I apologize for my absence.
[01:14:27] But like I said previously, I was on trial a week.
[01:14:30] So it's very, very busy, but was able to catch up and managed to do the podcast today with David here.
[01:14:37] So thank you so much for listening.
[01:14:39] But yes, you can certainly find me.
[01:14:40] I'm also at Jessica Lewis 6789 on Instagram.
[01:14:44] But I am not all over the place so much as the gentleman who is next to me, who is a social media guru,
[01:14:51] is everywhere and all over the place.
[01:14:54] And one of the first people on Blue Sky.
[01:14:56] So, I mean, why don't you do your Blue Sky commercial again and tell everybody how they can find you?
[01:15:01] Well, you could find me all over the place.
[01:15:03] Obviously, I am on Blue Sky as at David Bloomberg.
[01:15:07] And, you know, you could find me elsewhere through Linktree slash David Bloomberg with a dot before the E in the URL there.
[01:15:16] I am on Threads as at David Bloomberg TV.
[01:15:19] Less active there than on Blue Sky.
[01:15:23] And, you know, we've talked about it.
[01:15:26] A lot of people are moving over.
[01:15:28] A lot of the good discussions are happening over on Blue Sky.
[01:15:32] So, you know, definitely do that.
[01:15:34] I'm also on the video platforms YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram as at David Bloomberg TV.
[01:15:40] I've been posting two or three or even four videos per day.
[01:15:45] I mentioned before, I'm now at over 42,000 subscribers on YouTube.
[01:15:50] So, definitely come join the fun there.
[01:15:54] Most of the clips right now are, of course, Survivor.
[01:15:58] And then there's a few sprinkled in from the Summit.
[01:16:04] That just ended.
[01:16:05] Thank goodness that just ended.
[01:16:07] My gosh, that was a snooze fest.
[01:16:10] The occasional one from House of Villains and a bunch from the Traders Canada.
[01:16:15] But the Traders Canada ones will be trickling out.
[01:16:19] We're about done with that because I just wrapped up co-hosting the Trader podcast for that show.
[01:16:26] And we had the winner of season one on as our guest for the season two finale discussion.
[01:16:33] So, if you haven't listened to that yet, be sure to catch up.
[01:16:36] Again, that's T-R-A-I-D-A-R.
[01:16:41] Now, before we get to predictions, this is what I wanted to say.
[01:16:48] So, Brandon Straight had sent this in to me a little while ago.
[01:16:53] And I thought I'd wait until it was right around the wand off time.
[01:16:58] And so, this is, you know, I am not a singer.
[01:17:01] I am sorry for the damage I am about to do to your ears.
[01:17:05] I'm so excited.
[01:17:06] This is a version of Y Blank Lost to the tune of Santa Claus is Coming to Town by Brandon Straight.
[01:17:18] Here it goes.
[01:17:19] They're making a list.
[01:17:21] They're checking for nice.
[01:17:22] They're going to find out why Blank Lost.
[01:17:25] David and Jessica will tell us why.
[01:17:29] Oh, my gosh.
[01:17:30] I'm just massacring this.
[01:17:32] I am so sorry to everyone's ears.
[01:17:34] They see you when you're slipping.
[01:17:37] They know when it's your fate.
[01:17:40] They know why Jeff just snuffed your torch.
[01:17:43] So, be good for goodness sake.
[01:17:45] Oh, you better watch out.
[01:17:47] You better not try.
[01:17:48] You better watch out.
[01:17:50] Or they'll tell you.
[01:17:52] Or they'll let you know why.
[01:17:54] David and Jessica will tell you why.
[01:17:58] Blank lost the game by playing.
[01:18:01] And not following the rules.
[01:18:04] They're gonna let you know it.
[01:18:06] And it's gonna hurt real good.
[01:18:09] Oh, you better not shout.
[01:18:11] You better not thrive.
[01:18:12] You better dodge votes or they'll let you know why.
[01:18:15] David and Jessica will tell us why.
[01:18:21] Wow.
[01:18:21] There's a reason I don't sing.
[01:18:23] I really don't want to listen to that back.
[01:18:29] You're apparently speechless.
[01:18:31] We can't hear you, but it doesn't look like you're muted.
[01:18:33] So.
[01:18:34] You can't hear me?
[01:18:35] Now we can.
[01:18:36] Now we can.
[01:18:36] Oh, my gosh.
[01:18:37] That was incredible.
[01:18:39] Oh, my word.
[01:18:40] So, who wrote that?
[01:18:40] Brandon straight.
[01:18:42] So, Brandon, that was beautiful.
[01:18:45] Thank you so much.
[01:18:46] All props to Brandon.
[01:18:47] And I apologize, like, again, for the damage I've done to everybody's ears.
[01:18:52] You should have wrapped it.
[01:18:54] No.
[01:18:55] You've done wrapping on here before.
[01:18:57] Well, I mean, the only good thing about wrapping is it's not singing.
[01:19:00] So.
[01:19:00] Oh, my God.
[01:19:01] That was adorable.
[01:19:02] I loved that.
[01:19:03] Thank you.
[01:19:04] Yes.
[01:19:04] Thank you, Brandon.
[01:19:05] So.
[01:19:08] That was great.
[01:19:09] Yes.
[01:19:11] And so, you know, that is our entry to the Wanda.
[01:19:15] This is why everyone should appreciate David Bloomberg.
[01:19:19] He puts himself out there the way that he does singing for your entertainment.
[01:19:24] Love it.
[01:19:24] That was great.
[01:19:26] Thank you for that.
[01:19:27] Oh, my gosh.
[01:19:28] That was adorable.
[01:19:29] All right.
[01:19:29] Now, if anybody hasn't turned off the podcast.
[01:19:34] We have predictions.
[01:19:36] We do have predictions.
[01:19:37] This is going to be interesting.
[01:19:38] So the preview tells us that Teenie finds out somehow that the idol is fake.
[01:19:45] It would not surprise me at all if Andy is the one who spills that information as an attempt
[01:19:50] to shift the target off himself as the bigger threat and maybe back to Genevieve.
[01:19:55] Oh, that's a fascinating point.
[01:19:57] We also see Teenie talking to Andy, Sam, and Genevieve about Rachel having the voting block
[01:20:06] while Rachel spies on them from the bushes.
[01:20:09] So is Teenie actually flipping?
[01:20:12] Is it a ploy?
[01:20:14] We don't know.
[01:20:15] This is the big question.
[01:20:17] And of course, we know that Rachel does have the voting block and an idol.
[01:20:21] So in theory, she should be completely safe for at least the final six vote.
[01:20:27] Yes.
[01:20:28] Unless she's somehow convinced to save the idol for final five.
[01:20:32] I just can't imagine she does that.
[01:20:34] I mean, without, you know, unless she wins immunity again.
[01:20:37] Right.
[01:20:38] But having both of those things should give her a lot of control, maybe even to the point
[01:20:42] that if she uses her idol right, she chooses who goes home if everyone else gangs up on her.
[01:20:49] In that case, I think she targets Genevieve.
[01:20:54] I know it is ridiculous for me to predict Genevieve again.
[01:20:59] I believe, according to Jeremy Faust, this will make it my fourth time in a row predicting Genevieve.
[01:21:08] I mean, you know, keep going till it works.
[01:21:12] I don't know.
[01:21:13] That's just where my mind has taken me again.
[01:21:16] Yeah.
[01:21:17] Well, see, this is what I think is going to be fascinating is you're going to have Sue
[01:21:22] and Teenie and Rachel who are going to be very angry with Andy, right?
[01:21:27] And Andy is going to have to make amends.
[01:21:30] I do think that Andy is going to find himself in a position where no one, even if he wants
[01:21:38] to flip back, they're not going to want to allow him to.
[01:21:41] Because I think I feel like that's why we heard that little commentary from the jury where Andy
[01:21:46] flipped again.
[01:21:47] I feel like Rachel is going to be very much like I can't trust him at all.
[01:21:50] So I don't want to put my trust into him.
[01:21:54] And Sue, Sue has a tendency to kind of write people off we've seen.
[01:21:59] And so I feel like she's going to be like, you just took Caroline out.
[01:22:04] Caroline was my closest ally.
[01:22:07] She was like my daughter.
[01:22:08] I want nothing to do with Andy.
[01:22:10] So I don't think Andy is going to be able to put himself back into that crew.
[01:22:15] And I think Sue is going to be a big reason why he's just not going to be able to regain
[01:22:20] that trust, which is then going to cause him to have to kind of stick out where he is.
[01:22:26] And I don't think that Teenie is necessarily going to be interested in Genevieve because
[01:22:35] of how all of these things are going to be, you know, this permutation.
[01:22:38] She is dead set on Sam.
[01:22:40] She wants Sam to go.
[01:22:41] She's very much against Sam.
[01:22:43] And so I'm trying to figure out how all of the stars are going to align and where people
[01:22:48] are going to find themselves.
[01:22:50] I think, and I'm just kind of going to go out on a limb here, but I think it's going
[01:22:58] to be Sam.
[01:22:59] Wow.
[01:23:00] Okay.
[01:23:01] Yeah.
[01:23:01] And I think it's going to be Sam just because people are not going to be able to get on
[01:23:05] the same page and they're going to be scrambling to try to get as many votes as they necessarily
[01:23:09] can.
[01:23:10] And if Genevieve can make Teenie happy and say, Teenie, listen, I know you want Sam to go.
[01:23:15] Let's, let's focus on Sam.
[01:23:18] Then I feel like they could scoop Andy up and his Andy's not going to be able to go to
[01:23:23] back to the other people.
[01:23:25] And, and he's just going to be like, all right, I'll just, I'll go along with whatever I'm
[01:23:29] now being told because of the position I'm in.
[01:23:33] It's kind of like what Genevieve said.
[01:23:34] I have to make myself small and he's going to feel like I have to make myself small.
[01:23:38] And so I'll agree.
[01:23:39] So I'm going to say Sam.
[01:23:41] Yeah.
[01:23:41] The funny thing is I was working on a video of her where she said that.
[01:23:45] And it's like, she said at the beginning of the episode, I have to make myself small.
[01:23:49] And then she made herself big.
[01:23:51] I know.
[01:23:51] You know, it was like, wait, wait, you didn't do that at all.
[01:23:55] What are you talking about?
[01:23:56] If that girl does not get like a commercial with some toothpaste company by the time this,
[01:24:04] this season is over, I don't know what gives, she's got the greatest smile and just, she
[01:24:10] should definitely be out there trying to get toothpaste commercials.
[01:24:13] Now, the funniest thing would be, you know, if she ends up in final four fire making.
[01:24:21] Because remember, she didn't practice making fire because she was.
[01:24:25] Because she played the video game.
[01:24:27] Exactly.
[01:24:27] Genevieve.
[01:24:28] Yes.
[01:24:29] Oh, that's right.
[01:24:33] Oh, there are so many things here.
[01:24:36] Oh my goodness.
[01:24:37] Yeah.
[01:24:37] This will be fascinating.
[01:24:38] I'm very, I'm very, I'm very intrigued.
[01:24:41] I'm very intrigued and interested to see how this all shakes out.
[01:24:45] Yes.
[01:24:45] Now we should note that this is a two hour episode coming up and it's being marketed as
[01:24:50] part one, part one of the season finale.
[01:24:54] So there is the possibility that a second person will be voted out.
[01:24:59] What I think will happen is we will, you know, get a challenge, get a tribal council, say goodbye
[01:25:04] to someone, get a challenge, get a tribal council.
[01:25:09] And then before Jeff reads the votes, get a to be continued.
[01:25:15] So I think we will only be talking about one person next week.
[01:25:19] Yes.
[01:25:20] But I don't know.
[01:25:22] So I'm going to say if there is a second person voting out, I think it could be Andy.
[01:25:28] Um, but that's a big, yeah.
[01:25:31] Hmm.
[01:25:31] Interesting.
[01:25:33] So you're going Genevieve and Andy, I'm going to go Sam.
[01:25:36] And if there's a second person that's going to be voted out.
[01:25:41] Oh goodness.
[01:25:44] Then I'll go Genevieve.
[01:25:45] Okay.
[01:25:46] Okay.
[01:25:47] All right.
[01:25:48] Well, as we wrap up, I want to encourage people to check out the RHAP patron program at
[01:25:51] Rob has a website.com slash patron.
[01:25:53] You can get access to all the special podcasts that are put out just for patrons, plus Facebook
[01:25:58] groups and discord.
[01:26:00] You can support shows like ours and everything on the network by becoming a patron at Rob has
[01:26:05] a website.com slash patron.
[01:26:07] Also make sure you're subscribed to all the RHAP survivor podcasts by going to we know
[01:26:11] survivor.com.
[01:26:12] You'll see all the various survivor podcasts there, and then you can select your podcast
[01:26:17] service of choice to subscribe.
[01:26:19] You'll get a ton of great content, like obviously us, plus the know-it-alls, the B&B, Survivor
[01:26:26] International, and much, much more.
[01:26:30] Everything that comes out.
[01:26:31] Yes.
[01:26:33] Am I thanking people now?
[01:26:34] Yes, please do.
[01:26:36] Excellent.
[01:26:36] So I would like to thank everyone at the RHAP staff, team, does all of the incredible work
[01:26:43] for not only this podcast here, but all of the content that you do see on the RHAP page.
[01:26:49] Scott St.
[01:26:49] Pierre, Jessica Sterling, thank you for all of the editing that you do.
[01:26:53] This content is so much, and it takes so much time, and it takes so much effort, so we really
[01:26:59] appreciate it.
[01:26:59] Thank you, Doug, from the art department for the cover that you do see here, or not just
[01:27:04] our podcast, but all of the Survivor content as well.
[01:27:07] Thank you, David Bloomberg, for being kind and adjusting your schedule for me this week,
[01:27:13] so I appreciate it very much.
[01:27:14] And again, thank you to the Survivor players.
[01:27:18] It was such a great episode this week.
[01:27:20] I really appreciate it, and I look forward to seeing how this is all going to shake out.
[01:27:25] Yes, yes.
[01:27:26] Thank you, Jessica, for another great week in the middle of what has been a very busy week
[01:27:33] for you.
[01:27:34] Yes, very busy.
[01:27:35] You know, we will see everyone again next week, of course, and we will be discussing either
[01:27:42] one or two players, so we'll all find out, and you know, we'll, as the song said, we'll
[01:27:51] explain why blank loss.
[01:27:55] See you then.
[01:27:56] Bye.
[01:27:57] Bye.
[01:27:58] Bye.
[01:27:58] Bye.
[01:27:59] Bye.
[01:28:06] Bye.
[01:28:12] Bye.
[01:28:15] Bye.
[01:28:18] Bye.