Survivor 50 B&B Ep 11 Recap w/ Justin McElroy

[00:00:00] We all love Survivor and in my first ever book, The Tribe and I have spoken, I'll tell you how this little show evolved from that juggernaut first season on the beaches of Borneo all the way into its landmark 50th season. I'm like a storyteller, that's what I do. What role did the greatest players, the unforgettable moments, and Jeff Probst himself have in shaping what Survivor has become today? And what contribution did we play in building this worldwide tribe of Survivor fans? Love you, bae!

[00:00:28] For you future players, I've also included my Ultimate Survivor Playbook to help you win the million dollars, unlike me. It's fun, you know what dude, it's fun. This hardcover edition is filled with beautiful Survivor illustrations in every chapter and is an amazing addition for every Survivor collector. I'm a meat collector. Pre-orders are everything for a book launch, so to say thank you to everyone who pre-orders, you'll receive an exclusive digital bonus

[00:00:56] chapter called The Ultimate Rites of Passage. My personal tribute to all the players who have ever competed on the show. All 751. This is huge. I needed this. Pre-order wherever books are sold in hardcover and as an audiobook at robhasabook.com. That's robhasabook.com. Nicely done, Rob.

[00:01:43] Thanks, Rob. Thanks, Rob. It's the R-H-A-P-M. You can stay for free. Hi, everybody, and welcome to the R-H-A-P B&B for week 11 of Survivor 50. My name is Mike Bloom. Happy Mother's Day to those who observe.

[00:02:05] And I've got one mother of an episode to break down with you all because we have another double boot in quite an epic fashion as we say goodbye to a living legend with an idol in his pocket. And we got to see another living legend pull off one of the best moves perhaps she's done with the only advantage she's ever had in pocket. Really a tale of two. And I'm joined by two wonderful people to break it all down.

[00:02:35] First off, I am joined by somebody who I will gleefully make mouth sounds alongside on the beach like Emily and Rick Devins. Liana Boris. Liana. Perfect. Thank you. I understand now what the plan is, and I will not play my idol. Fantastic. You got the message across perfectly. And I am so thrilled to be joined by this guy. It's been a bit since we've had him on the B&B, but he was chomping at the bit to come on and break down all his thoughts on Survivor 50.

[00:03:03] He is a renowned podcaster, author, and his shenanigans I would never call inappropriate or disgusting the way Joe did about Rick. It is the one, the only. Justin McElroy. Hi. Well, certainly not now. Maybe in my early days. Some more blue material, but I try to work really clean. I think Joe would really approve of my actions now. I was going to say, which Survivor 50 contestant do you think would be the biggest My Brother, My Brother and Me fan, if they aren't already?

[00:03:32] Oh, my God. Well, Marianne, I know. Yes. Because Marianne is, so I have to just talk about Marianne anytime I can because she's really nice and actually really, really funny. And I like Marianne a lot. So I have to say Marianne. Cochran, I feel like probably would like My Brother, My Brother and Me. Maybe. I don't. Possibly. Joe Hunter would like me, but I think it's just because I'm a little bit on the spectrum. You know what I mean? Take me under his wing.

[00:04:02] Give you a good squeeze. It's all right, little guy. I'm two years older than you, Joe. It's all right, pal. You'll get her next time. It's going to be tough, some of these normal people conversations. Let me walk you through it, pal. You're getting a little worked up, huh? A little overstimulated. Well, Justin, walk us through your opinions on Survivor 50 so far, because believe it or not, we are only two episodes away. We are but a fortnight from figuring out who the winner of this season is.

[00:04:31] What have your thoughts through 11 weeks been so far? So, you know, I would say that, huh, definitely been entertaining. Top to bottom. I would say that, like, entertainment has, I think, is definitely delivered. I think it is maybe overstuffed a little bit in terms of, like, you have some of the best players. Not some of. This is, like, inarguably, like, the best crop of, like, people to play Survivor, right?

[00:05:01] Like, can we, like, the cast of 50 in terms of, like, skill, you know, you could put up against anybody. And there's, like, a lot of legendary players in here. And it just feels like a little bit the levels of twists and, like, the doubling of the money and the Mr. Beast thing and the flipping of the coins and the Billie Eilish boomerang idol.

[00:05:22] So I just feel like maybe, too, I would like these players to have a little bit more space to play versus I feel like kind of being mechanically railroaded a little bit, right? Like, that coin flip was going to be the most dramatic thing that happened in that episode, no matter who was doing the flip or how it shook out, you know? That's not player generated. That's, like, huge stakes, huge drama, but it's not letting these players kind of breathe and have the room to play. So that is my, that would be my hang-up.

[00:05:51] I feel like I wish it was twice as long. I would love to see these players, like, really dig in. But I feel like at this point, and this is maybe reading too much into it because I don't know too much about the world of Survivor behind the scenes. But I feel like some of these players, it's enough to sort of, like, keep their legacy up and their narrative up and their myth up and to, like, submit whatever that is.

[00:06:20] And that, because they're going to go out and, like, do signings and meet people and cameo and, you know, whatever, you know, definite career this is after that. So it's about, like, establishing their brand a little bit better rather than, like, trying to win. And that would be my, like, that is my, I feel like it's moving so quickly and there's so much talent. There's not enough people who are like, I can win this. You know what I mean? Because, like, fair play, it's pretty hard. It seems like there's a lot of really good players. But, like, I don't know.

[00:06:49] I haven't really thought about it holistically much. But, like, gut check, that's probably where I'm at. Well, I think speaking of feeling overstimulated, right? Like, that's kind of how it feels sometimes when I'm watching these episodes where it's just, especially with this week in particular, with the breakup into the two different groups, just felt so unnecessary. What are we doing here? Why? Why are we splitting it again? Exactly.

[00:07:13] So, you know, while it was fun to watch Jonathan sort of bandy back between the two different groups, on the whole, I was not the biggest fan of this particular twist. And I think that it's indicative of sort of, Justin, what you're saying about the entire season as a whole. Well, you almost did. It almost you almost feel like they didn't. Like, tribal associations have become so meaningless at this point. I feel like it moves so fast. The reorganizations move so fast.

[00:07:39] And when everybody already has an identity, I don't feel like you're ever going to have a tribal identity submit in a real way, you know? That's a really good point because I was sort of looking ahead to, OK, we're at seven people. But I'm kind of hard pressed to figure out, like, who's working with whom at this point? You know, I think for the most cogent couple of groupings we thought going to this episode, which were like, OK, we know Emily and Rick are working together. We know about this series reserve of odds group.

[00:08:07] Both of those are pretty donezo by the end of this episode. And so we see scenes of like Tiffany and Sari talking. It's like, OK, I guess they're working together. But like how closely Jonathan and Joe, obviously, you know, they are sort of in lockstep. You see Jonathan lowkey complain about Joe in this episode. So I think and maybe this is, you know, true to life. Maybe it truly did feel like you were working with someone one day and then working with someone else the next day.

[00:08:32] But it is, as you mentioned, Justin, I don't think we've really hit a point yet at the final seven where it's like, OK, these four, these three, even these two are locked in until day 26. Yeah. Yeah. I think because the math on the jury changes so quickly and I think people are just I really do think that everybody has been playing jury management. You I heard people talk about jury management early, like in a way that scared me. Like, are you sure you should be thinking about jury management, my friend?

[00:09:01] There's a lot of people around. I'd be thinking about you management, you know, about Thursday management. Yeah, I mean, that's a verse. That's what Ozzy should have done. There's a minute and a minute. There's a minute to bring Ozzy down here was him sitting all right down like old yeller style and being like, all right, let me tell you my life story so that you can vote for me on the jury. And look, if he played the idol, it would have been a good move. But that's a very big if. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:09:36] Yeah. And they're in a weird way, trusting the edit and trusting the narrative to like like it would make sense for this to work out for me. So I'm just going to keep being me. And hopefully that'll work out because it's more, you know, like I've just been doing the Ozzy thing this whole time. And I'm just going to keep doing the Ozzy thing and like, dang, Ozzy, I'll be damned if it didn't work out the exact same way it worked out every single other time. Huh, brother?

[00:10:03] Like really, truly, truly irredeemably bad at Survivor. And no one and guy I love my wife loves Ozzy. I've been an Ozzy fan. Great character on TV. But, you know, like. You can think of a great character from a sitcom, you know, like Mr. Burns, but you wouldn't want him to be your boyfriend. You know what I mean? Like, you know.

[00:10:32] Every top for a lid, you know, not to judge. Yeah. It's like a great TV character, but he can't. He's bad at the game Survivor. You know what I mean? Like, it's like. And that's his character, which is cool, but it feels like a lot of players are so in their head about what their story is and who their character is and who that like narrative is. It's all coach talks about. You know what I mean?

[00:10:56] In a way that like this season must be inscrutable if you never watched work is the only people talking about like, you know, 13 years ago, I really shook this game up. Like no one remember. What are you talking about? And you guys disappear to me the moment the show. It's like. Yeah, again, I will continue to say I do not know why it has been said, like, if you've never watched Survivor before, start with this season. It's like even in this episode, like I remember 20 years ago when I spoke ill of my father. Yeah. It would just completely go over the head.

[00:11:26] No, this is like one of those Doctor Who 65th anniversary specials where they have one cutaway to Xanthrax 13. Everybody's like, you know, like this is what this is. Well, but I think it's so funny with Ozzy because, you know, ultimately his downfall was kind of the same of every single season he's played with those social relationships. And I can understand why Ozzy would trust Rizzo, right? Or would trust Joe.

[00:11:54] Those are the people that even last week, even though Ozzy was being targeted, you know, Joe was the one who brought it up to Sari. Hey, just so you know, Ozzy's being targeted. So like there was some semblance of relationship. So I can understand why Ozzy would be blindsided. But I think that there's also a natural reaction of like, you dunce. What are you doing? Just it's you know what it is. Liana, it's like this. The as you grow up, you have first thoughts and then you hope as you get older, you have another second thought.

[00:12:23] That's like, now, wait a minute. I understand you feel very strongly about this, but like just one more beat. Just maybe do what you're thinking is right because you've lost four times. You know what I mean? Like just do what you think is right. But backwards. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, I mean, it was brutal to watch because it is something that not only we were screaming at the screen for him to do, but again, his number one ally was doing so.

[00:12:52] I'll be it from across the beach. And unfortunately, you know, much like Romeo and Juliet, you know, the the friar got sick. Jonathan wasn't able to communicate or he did communicate the message to Rizzo and Rizzo decided to purposely lose it in translation. I want to get your thoughts on the Riz God here, Justin. I need to hear your opinions on what this guy has done over the course of the season. I love I love Riz God. I love and that is not normally the sort of player.

[00:13:22] I fucking love this guy, the fully formed person, fully formed Muppet from the moment the guy's on screen. He's like an impeccable character, like he acts in his own interest. He rules. People keep trusting him and they shouldn't because he calls himself the Riz God. He's clearly a maniac. I love this guy. Like, I know I I think he's actually pretty good at Survivor and would have been. I think he's just had bad matchups in his seasons.

[00:13:52] I think I think he's great. I really I'm a huge fan. Sydney does not agree with me. It is a big point of contention in our marriage. Wow. Yeah. Huge. I mean, until the TV shuts off, at which case, you know, I forget. But I was going to say, I don't know if that will fly in like a divorce court of like, is that kind of irreconcilable differences? It is comfortable. Sible differences. So close. So close. So close. Oh, man. I love the Muppet comparison, though. That's funny.

[00:14:20] He does get very Muppet energy, a very beaker. Yeah. But like it's like one of these people who's like good is Ozzy. I think it's another who's like really good on TV. I mean, he's just like a good TV personality. Devin's knows how to be on TV because Devin's has been on TV for it's not an accident that Devin's is really good on camera. The guy does it for a living. You know what I mean? Like he knows how he reads. He knows, you know, edits and angles and stuff like that. So I think Ozzy's the same way.

[00:14:49] He's they've these people have seen their edits enough that I think it's in their head. You know what I mean? That said, I do not think Ozzy simulated any sort of mixed emotions when he was on his way out. And this is a guy who, again, we've seen even in this season, anytime he is slighted in some way, if you vote against him or you leave him out of the vote, he will treat you with the ire of his worst enemy. You are public enemy number one in that moment to him.

[00:15:18] And here just to see him so like simultaneously crestfallen, yet probably so upset, so angry that he probably would have like strangled Rizzo if he had the ability to do so. So that thousand yard stare he had just looking down while Jeff was about to stuff his torch. I was obsessed with that moment because I don't know if you're Jeff. Like, do you let him take his time? You know, this is, I guess, the last travel of the night.

[00:15:45] But like, apparently Ozzy said that he stood there for about twice as long as what was shown on the show. That's not. Gosh, man. But it is survivor, isn't it, Ozzy? They do do this to people. Tends to happen at the end of every episode. Surprise, surprise. Okay. I will remove it from. Okay. I will just do hard math. If I'm Ozzy, here's why. Here's why this this play is bad.

[00:16:11] You do have this question of it's always risk reward with an idol, right? You got the idol. You could play it now. You play later. There's a risk. There's a reward. If I'm Ozzy and I'm on the fence, you can't have a hundred percent sure thing in survivor ever. So the best thing you could do if you're Ozzy is say, well, I do have this idol now. And I'm pretty good at winning challenges.

[00:16:36] So I'm just going to have to hope that I can get another idol because I need this right now to get through because I'm not sure. And like, that's, that's easy number. You know, if it's somebody who's harder for you to get an idol, maybe you don't play it then. But if you're Ozzy, like trust me, you could probably win another couple of immunity challenges along the way. You know, I, I wonder if him being a target for the past few rounds, it's weird because on paper, you would say, okay, in theory, then you'd be like, okay, I'm definitely in trouble.

[00:17:06] There's only four people that are vulnerable. Let me do that. But Ozzy, you know, takes that paper, rolls it up a little something, something decides to light that up because I think that he felt so kind of complacent in that. Right. He's like, listen, my name has been thrown out before, but nobody's voted for me or only a couple people have. It's fine that Liana, I wonder if this time he felt it was just so familiar that he didn't actually think it was a bit of boy who cried wolf in a manner of speaking.

[00:17:33] Well, and I think that plus his relationship with Rizzo, you know, he, he took care of him on exile island. And, you know, theoretically, they've got this series. What is it? Well, not yet. Ceres, Wizard of Oz is now out of print, unfortunately. Yeah, no, that they woke up from that dream pretty quickly now. Yeah. Well, speaking of dreams, maybe that should have been the reason why Ozzy is like Ozzy, you had a dream. That's the most information your brain has ever given you.

[00:18:00] Let this be a piece of advice to not only future survivor players, but human beings worldwide. Follow your dreams. Heed your nightmares. If you wake up in a cold sweat, feeling a sense of anxiety, that is that is not just being drummed up from out of nowhere. There is something going on in your brain or environmentally that is saying like something ain't right. Something ain't right right now.

[00:18:24] This season, I think, has been the most times and it's always happens on this show, but like definitely this season a lot. I think about the dreamlike nature of this show, like the incongruous elements come together. And like if you're watching, it's like, OK, but I mean, you think about actually physically being Mike White and having to sit there and listen to that man play the guitar. You know what I mean?

[00:18:47] For what must have felt like ours and thinking about how to keep your face like you can't be liking it too much. You know, we're not going to believe it, Mike. I'm not. I couldn't sell it, you know, like and I bet it went on for a pretty long time. And then he wanted to go out spear fishing. Woof. Talk about dream scenarios. Imagine you're Devons. You're standing there. You're in front of a fire. Every survivor great ever is watching you.

[00:19:16] A million dollars rides on a coin flip. Beast is over here. Veneers blazing. Right. Just waiting to see what happens. We don't have emotions written down for that. You know what I'm saying? Like we don't. It's a singular human experience in all of existence. Like no one will be feeling what Rick Devons felt in that moment. You know what I mean? Like the pressure of like, I will get eliminated. I could win strangers.

[00:19:45] Two million dollars. Mr. Beast with the veneers. Jeff's watching like no one's. It's like what a bizarre feeling to just be in that exact moment. The most Mad Lib style. Exactly. It is like and then it feels like someone is like and then. I swear to God, it's a huge marshmallow and I'm eating it. As soon as I finish the marshmallow, Beast with the veneers is like, flip it, bud. We got to go. And it's like Jeff Probst was there for some reason.

[00:20:16] It is very much like describing your dream the next day and being like, what the hell was that? Yeah. It was like a beast coin that we flipped and like Tails was torches. I don't know. Justin, if you were presented the opportunity as a celebrity super fan to put something onto the show for season 50 and why? God, that's like that's a lot of pressure. You can do it. You can do a Zach Brown like experience. It doesn't need to be a twist.

[00:20:46] No coins involved. I would make I would I would have I would I would say, OK, if you win, we're going to recreate my favorite survivor reward. And then you won't know what it is. And then after you win, we're going to go watch Gulliver's Travel. And everybody will be like, this was a movie. I'll be like, I know, I know, I know. Keep watching. It gets better. Incredibly unique. You got to be really positive.

[00:21:16] I don't think I've ever heard a reward be used as entrapment before. I know it is. This is what you get. Yeah, you got to eat a bunch of Taco Bell. A bunch of Applebee's and Taco Bell. Yeah, that would be my. I love it. Be mine to make people do the Gulliver's. That's all I've wanted. It's all I've wanted. Free it back. Free it back, baby. Free it back. All right. Well, let's go over to the other side of the beach here.

[00:21:43] When you see one pair of footprints in the sand, it was Jonathan Young's girthy gams. Going across to talk to the other group here, because let's not bury the point that of course, we say goodbye to the lovely Emily Flippen. She went out swinging in so many ways. And listen, I guess for what it's worth, if Sari didn't have an extra vote, this plan could have gone off here. I mean, yeah. Proud of Sari for actually playing it. I was a little nervous.

[00:22:12] It felt like an absolute no-brainer. This is what extra votes are made for type situation. When legitimately you're not 100% sure and you can basically guarantee that that group of three is safe. I feel like why not do it? So it was wonderful to see her, you know, sad to lose Emily, but obviously I'm very happy to keep Sari. But just mainly, again, from like a game mechanics perspective, to actually see that have some kind of an impact, just because extra votes typically don't really do much.

[00:22:42] So it was nice to have some kind of impact. But proud of Emily, proud of Devin's for at least trying some kind of gambit. Obviously, they didn't know about the extra vote. So to them, it makes complete sense. Yeah. Justin, whatever your thoughts been about Emily flipping this season? I mean, it's interesting in that she was known for spilling all these secrets earlier in the season and she gets undone by a secret that someone else withheld from her. Yeah, she just kind of I don't I feel like you said went down swinging.

[00:23:09] And it's funny because that reminds me of Emily's play style, which I think is like this. Like it's very much like this taking swings at whoever's kind of around. It's weird that people keep getting close to Emily. Like, don't do that. She doesn't care. She'll tell everybody everything. Like, stop telling Emily stuff. Don't do that. But I think it's that thing of like, but I can change her, you know, like it doesn't work for anyone else. But I'm skilled enough that I can take the wild beast.

[00:23:34] She does have also like and this is neither a positive or negative because she has no sway over it. But she has a face that looks very trustable. She's a very trusted, trusted. You want to trust her. You know what I mean? Like you she seems like if she looked at you and was like, no, I know, Justin, I messed up in the past. But look at me. You can trust me. I'll be like, all right. Yeah. Yeah. Me and Sari and Ozzy are our partner. Don't tell anybody, though. Yeah. Yeah. But don't tell anybody.

[00:24:03] No, I completely agree with you. I think also when she speaks, she just sounds so genuine. Like when she was telling Sari about the fact that, yeah, I think I can get Devons to play the idol. Well, I believe her. Yeah. I mean, to be fair, most of the time she is speaking the truth. You know, she also doesn't plan much, I think, which I credit her for. I think that she looks at a situation and looks at her best advantage with it.

[00:24:29] Like, you know, she does play moment to moment, which I really appreciate where some people are a lot more like, you know, it's five moves ahead. Yeah, I completely agree. I think we talked about this last week, Liana, that like, I don't know if she necessarily is lying in the moments where she is like spreading all this information that she had. It's more so like I am feeling this way in this moment. So let me see what she's very much someone who wants to talk things out with other people, which is an impossibility in Survivor unless you really have a ride or die.

[00:24:58] And luckily, she does have one here in the form of Rick. You mentioned him a few times here, Justin. But what are your thoughts on Rick Devons here? You know, especially the gleeful dancing he was able to provide Don Lockwood style at the top of the episode. Rick Rick is 100 percent the way I would be playing Survivor. Like having a lot of fun doing it, not like bringing kind of a joyful attitude to it and sort of a devil may care attitude to it. I think it's really fun. I think that he is.

[00:25:30] I think that Devons, it has worked out really well for Devons, and I'm glad that it has. But he, I think, is guilty of something that a lot of players this season are guilty of, which is like leaning so deeply into their own mythos and their own. Like narrative that they're trying to play that rather than play the game, you know, like Devons, the idle play was like, it's all very like fun. And and cute. It's not really like a strategy, you know what I mean?

[00:25:59] Like it's like it's fun and chaotic and it's panning out. But I feel like he talks. He was talking so much about like, if you want that Rick Devons, then you'll have then you can have that Rick Devons. It'll be that. But like if you're thinking that much about your own narrative, then other people are thinking that way, too. You know what I mean? It's not a you're now thinking like an editor rather than someone who's playing the game, I guess.

[00:26:24] And that's kind of I think that's kind of a flaw that everybody has that they can't really shake, you know, because they're thinking about how this will come across, I think, as well as how it will or how the producers might want to shape it, you know, versus the individual moves. Mm hmm. Yeah. Well, and I think Devons also we've clearly seen his shenanigans lead to him being the target now for the past two weeks that he was basically safe the week before the Beast Week, the marshmallow dream. Not Beast Week.

[00:26:53] I'm just imagining like a Fleet Week style of all these people dressed up in Mr. Beast paraphernalia gallivanting around New York. Yeah, some people go crazy for Shark Week. I go crazy for Beast Week, as we know. So like he was obviously a target then gets saved because of the Beast Idol. Was a target this week, played his own idol, ended up safe. Right. And, you know, whether or not it would have been Emily versus Devons. Obviously, Devons seemed to be the one who people wanted out more, especially if you're Joe, even though he wasn't there to push the narrative.

[00:27:22] But Joe, oh, my God, we actually sorry. Just to completely derail, Ceri saying I wrote this down that Joe lives at 500 Hypocrisy Hill. I don't know why, but just killer. That's like such a good alliteration is what you can't like. I love it. Are we talking about Ceri for a second? Please. Yes. Okay. You want to know why Ozzy's bad at Survivor?

[00:27:48] I think if you have watched Ceri at all and I've watched everything she's done, I think she's one of the most. If this is a skill set. Yeah. And I think it is. She's probably the best like ever. And what I mean by that is Ozzy is playing all of his emotions right there out on display for everybody. You can just stop in and see what Ozzy's exactly what Ozzy's feeling. Right.

[00:28:18] Ceri, I feel like the person that you talk to, you would have to make an appointment with to talk to the actual Ceri. Like actual Ceri even fucking excuse my language. Actual Ceri cannot speak with you right now. Like the only person you get is this person you are like on the outside, but like you couldn't even get into where actual Ceri is. Like because she is thinking about exactly what she wants to do in the game.

[00:28:44] And you're Ozzy and you saw her on Traitors cut her partner's head off in cold blood. One of the iciest things I've ever seen on television. And you are Ozzy. And you think, I think a good partner for me would be one of the ice coldest killers ever on reality TV because I'm pretty, pretty much a savvy dude. That's my ride or die. Are you crazy Ozzy? Saree, dude?

[00:29:15] Get a pack of hyenas, man. Get a shark. Get an electric eel before you partner with Ceri. She's going to kill you. You're Ozzy. I mean, for what it's worth, Ozzy did genuinely seem to communicate. And this speaks to a point you made earlier that he would rather lose next to somebody like Ceri than win next to, I don't know, a Joe or Rizzo. Ozzy is he lost next to Ceri and a lot of other people. So he got his wish.

[00:30:13] That's exactly it.

[00:30:43] Like, oh, yeah. Like, one second. You guys are telling me all this stuff. Like, let's let's talk about it. Let's figure out where the truth is. And oh, my God. If anybody else caught me in a lie, I would just start sweating. No even verbal reaction. Just immediate red, immediate sweating. And I think that that is what allows it to come off like she is the authentic Ceri because she's not having this almost like two face double cross type moments because she can just stay so calm in these situations. It's really been so fascinating to watch.

[00:31:13] And I don't know why this season feels like I've seen more of it. Maybe just because I'm paying attention to it or the editors are showing it. I'm not 100 percent sure. But it just she is such a fabulous, fabulous, fabulous player. And it's wonderful to see. I think in a game where especially this season where everyone is flying at so many different cross purposes and everybody at the game is switching so fast. I think that by being Ceri and having a sense of that sense, like you're talking about, Leon, of like calm, of quiet.

[00:31:42] I think if you have that, players are so desperate for any kind of stability that they will take it at first. You know what I mean? Like, I think that you will listen to Ceri and be like, she knows what she's talking about. You know, like she she really seems to have this figured out. I should go with because she seems to have it figured out. And I feel like everything's so chaotic just by staying calm. I feel like she gets herself so much credibility because like I'm going to listen to Ceri. I don't know. I'm all over the place.

[00:32:11] And she seems to have pretty figured out. A hundred percent that a hundred percent. And like you're just going to be drawn to that. And I think it's interesting to see, you know, Ozzy, especially especially Ozzy. There was one episode. I don't remember exactly where it was, but he was basically like, well, thank God. Ceri came back and it was when the double duo thing when she was flipping the coconuts. Oh, that's right. Yes. I would want Ceri. I think no matter what my strategy was.

[00:32:39] If you talk to a Ceri about your strategy and it is different from hers, I feel like her genius would be in starting to undermine that strategy without you really realizing you're doing it. But like I would if Ceri questioned me, I would question myself. Absolutely. You know what I mean? Like no question. You have to. She's the best. You know what I'm like? So I'm like, yeah, I would I would totally buy it. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

[00:33:06] Well, let's get into some of our chatter around these two boots and let's get into our preseason predictions that Liana and I wrote for this cast. And we've got two people to talk about once more. Again, we are really like speed running through the end game here. But let's go in the order in which they were eliminated, shall we? Let's talk about Emily Flippen. Liana, of course, as Justin said, a very outspoken character.

[00:33:34] How outspoken were you about how well she'd do in the game? Yeah, I had Emily going pre-jury. Oh, I said that after Savannah and Jenna are voted out, the lines on Celia become much more clear with Ceri and Ozzy pulling in Devens and Christian to control the tribe. Emily, on the other hand, quickly finds herself on the outs alongside Joe, despite her much more composed start to this season compared to the last time she played.

[00:34:01] When Cela loses again, Ceri and Ozzy both recognize Emily as the more dangerous option compared to predictable, loyal Joe. Christian attempts to save his fellow blood on the clock tower nerd, but Ceri and Ozzy push back hard, recognizing Emily as the type of player who could hit the merge, get loud, and understandably turn the group against the one that put her on the outs.

[00:34:24] So Emily leaves pre-jury, but becomes slash remains a fan favorite after serving as the vocal antagonist to Joe's loyalty game, especially in confessionals. Her ally was Christian, enemy was Ceri and Ozzy. Yeah, I could imagine like the tweets now of like Queen was gone too soon. She wouldn't be working with all of Joe's BS. Mm-hmm. What doesn't put up for this honor and integrity alliance, all that stuff. Yeah, for sure. All right.

[00:34:52] Well, I had slightly lopped your prospects for financial analyst Emily Flippen here. I had her making the jury. So I wrote wanting to immediately show that she's not the soft version who left season 45. Emily goes hard out of the gate. She immediately locks in with Christian and starts the movement against Rick. When he attempts to bluff with an idol, we even get a classic, can I push back on that, out of her. When Emily gets swapped into a tribe with both Christian and Dee, she looks at the situation with the glee of a charcuterie platter.

[00:35:22] But her booty bumping is belayed when her two tightest allies gun for one another. As the merge nears, Emily gets in her head, fearing Dee has no endgame plans with her again. Fearing a possible crash in their relationship, she decides to sell high, getting some deep-seated revenge. Emily will yet again get down with her bad self at this season's auction, this time getting a full bottle of red wine, which she proceeds to puke up off-camera shortly thereafter.

[00:35:48] With the endgame in sight, Emily begins putting the wheels in motion to take out Charlie, but Sari begins to see the subtle influence she wields and that she's been fully inoculated from her mist. And so, in an eerily similar set of circumstances, an idle play causes Emily to get blindsided. That feeling of deja vu causes Emily to forswear reality TV, vowing she's fated to never win, no matter what.

[00:36:12] She'll then show up on a new reality show in 2028, where she'll finish once again in 7th place after getting taken out by the one-two punch of Tiffany New York Pollard and Kynes Ehring from Beverly Hills 90210. Her closest ally was Christian, and her enemy was Sari.

[00:36:29] I think it's really cool with a show like this that you leave so much space for fanfiction, because a lot of these type of shows don't have enough room to really let people just spin their own sort of O.C. about what they think might happen. So I feel like I'm glad I could be here for that. I wish I, you know, I'm glad to hear your tales. Well, I'm going to put the gavel in your hand here. You're going to be the judge during execution here, Justin.

[00:36:58] Who do you think was more on the money about Emily this season? I'll be honest with you, Mike. I was able to stay dialed in for Liana's a lot easier, so I got to go with Liana. Somehow we started, was it House of Villains, Mike? Was that what you thought? No, it's a new reality show coming in 2028. We can't even imagine what it is. Solitary 4.0. Solitary 4.0. The Fox reality channel is back. Listen, I would not be mad at Solitaire coming back. Talk about like exploitative reality TV torturing people.

[00:37:27] We're headed back, Kendrick. I love it. All right. Let's talk about someone who was tortured perhaps by his own decisions here in Ozzy. So I also had Ozzy making the jury. Due to his ailing back, Ozzy isn't able to carry his tribe on his back in challenging. As he visits tribal council in the pre-merge again and again, will be treated to commentary as to whether he's become Aquaman in a fat suit this time around.

[00:37:54] But you can't wrinkle a man with a mullet with comments like that. That's because Ozzy is the center of Stila, with everyone believing he's in their corner. Ozzy spends the pre-merge making amends with both Coach and Sarri for their prior disagreements. When the post-merge hits, there'll be a lot of questioning from both the players and Ozzy himself as to whether he's still got it. But he'll quickly prove the haters wrong when he wins the first individual immunity challenge.

[00:38:20] It's like that show Pros vs. Joe's that aired on Spike TV during his heyday. Does he always go out to the frigging boneyard, Liana? Is this always part of it? And Beauty and Joe, meet Joe Millionaire on Fox. You know, Pirate Master on CBS. Yeah, I would say, you know, as many mentions of obscure reality TV shows from the mid-2000s. I watch every single one of them. You're speaking my language. What I meant is, even if a pro athlete is like 12 years retired, chances are,

[00:38:50] if he puts on a uniform, he can whoop you in his home turf. I'll be Pirate Master back out. I don't care if he didn't finish the first season. I'll watch. No, listen, Ozzy's got the hairstyle for it, too. Ozzy will find his tribe's idol early in the game, something he'll keep close to his chest for fear of people trying to do the funniest thing ever and take him out with it in his pocket again. Actually, it's that paranoia that will make him feel jumpy enough to absolutely waste that first time he doesn't win immunity.

[00:39:17] Ozzy goes on a journey that, in theory, should be a shoo-in for him to earn yet another advantage, but a back spasm causes him to surprisingly stumble, losing his vote in the process. Seeing the legend on the ropes, Rizzo leads the charge to take him out, fearing he could idol or challenge Beast his way to the end for a third time. And so for the second time in his Survivor career, Ozzy is done in by an emaciated superfan donning a red top, who hopes that Jeff calls him by a different name.

[00:39:44] Ever the entrepreneur, Ozzy will open the first-ever Survivor-themed restaurant in L.A. Think Planet Hollywood combined with the sanctuary. The place will go under two years later after getting sued for copyright infringement. His closest allies were Sarean Coach and his enemy was Rizzo. You know, Mike, if you just change the names, you could sell these on the Kindle store. I mean, that's how Fifty Shades of Grey got started as Twilight fan fiction, that they just changed the names. Just changed the names. You could be published. You could be out there.

[00:40:13] If Survivor ever goes off the air, maybe I'll try to, like, spin these together into some sort of oddly perverted web. Your own little can of berry tales. I love it. Do it now. Okay. Well, mine's not quite so verbose as Mike's. Never is. Never is. I had Ozzy making the jury. I did say that Ozzy would enter season 50 fully aware. Everyone knows exactly who he is and how he plays. So he uses that to his advantage, playing up the Jungle Boy persona.

[00:40:43] Just chilling. Jungle Man. Jungle Man. Yes, I know. Right. Oh, I'm so sorry, Ozzy. Apologies. Just chilling, collecting coconuts. Him and Saree make a connection early, choosing to let bygones be bygones and further pairing up with Christian and Devins. At the merge, Ozzy remains loyal to the Sela numbers and becomes a key shield for Saree while bigger strategic players take each other out. When the dust settles and those heavy strategic threats are gone, a new threat emerges.

[00:41:11] Ozzy, king of the immunity challenges. Realizing no one wants to compete against Ozzy in late stage endurance challenges, the tribe finally bands together to take him out right before the finale. His ally was Saree and his enemy was Coach. Okay, well. I have to pass judgment here. And Liana, I'm sorry, but you were doing really good because you said

[00:41:38] that Ozzy would show up and everybody would know exactly how Ozzy plays. Then when you said he would use that to his advantage, that is where you fell apart. The wheels fell off. It's such a whiff that the reality you have spun from that point, this alternate world where Ozzy realizes and executes on an advantage is so hard to imagine. I got to give this one to Mike. Fair. Completely fair. Come on, pros versus Joes. What is the idiot, Joe, and like Jonathan, what is the,

[00:42:07] I think it's almost every season now. There's a period at which big men are just, I think, gravitationally drawn to each other. Do you know what I'm saying? Anytime there's a big up. And then it's like, you look, the big men have kind of like pulled together somehow, you know, like surface tension or something. And it never lasts because guys, you're all big men. You're not going to, you know what I mean? Like that's not how this works.

[00:42:37] It's like someone's going to start picking you up, whatever. But there's always like a brief, like guys, if the four of us just stick together, no one could stop us. Like, ah, okay guys, let's try it. It is. It's the gravitational pull. It's because they're so big. They get drawn together. Other people don't want to be near them, but they want to be near other big people. Yeah. I mean, it's biological. Sincerely. Yeah. I mean, it could be something as simple as like, all right. I've, if I were getting voted out,

[00:43:05] I want to pick the people that look most like me. So they write for them instead of me. So it's like, from a sure muscle mass perspective, this person could be easily, not easily confused, but like could be associated with me in a way that's like, well, listen, Jonathan's good at challenges, but have you seen Joe? And so it's a way to simultaneously shield yourself. Well, yes, perhaps a narcissistically trying to bring other boys. You could target before you target me. You know, they're really super beefy.

[00:43:35] I'm just like medium beefy. Yeah, exactly. They're Wagyu. Look at me over here. I'm a simple Chuck Rose. Leave me alone. I think it's interesting because I, I think that we saw this also happen not to like focus too much on Joe, but we also saw this happen right in 48 as well. Maybe Joe is kind of this central magnet of the beefy boys, especially to try to pull them all together. But the thing is, is it doesn't really work out for him. So, you know, is it?

[00:44:03] Does it feel like I'd have to run the numbers and y'all probably have, but I feel like the, the whole challenge beast identity is not really as much of, I feel like the producers are better at balancing challenges now where you don't have people going on challenges are balancing now. Yeah. Or, and I think that you've seen players this season, especially people who've played a bunch have worked on their endurance, like not just like, but have like are in better shape, like know what they're going to be doing and are like better prepared for it.

[00:44:32] I don't feel like you have, at least in recent years, people come with that reputation or start to get that reputation, but I don't feel like it's narratively like really pops up anymore. Well, yeah. Think about the fact that two of the biggest quote unquote challenge beats in the new era are Rachel and Savannah, two people that I think going in, and you're not like, God look out. They're going to make mincemeat of every single individual immunity challenge.

[00:44:58] I think that I think Aubrey has comported herself like hugely impressively in the, in challenges, just like sheer force of will and just being really frigging tough. Like I, I mean, it's another one who has surprised me. Yeah. Freakiness, I think it's an underrated factor. That's when she says every time she does well in a challenge, she's like, I'm a freak of nature, Jeff. That's why I'm doing this. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I think, um, I mean, I certainly think we don't have that anymore as much as a show would want, like, because they did keep talking about, Oh, Ozzy is going to, could he break the record of immunity is well,

[00:45:28] the answer is no. So it's like the cop that's one day away from retirement of like, he was so close. And that's when he gets taken down in the line of fire. Yep. Yep. Yep. I do want to ask before we move into our game here, our thoughts on this, I guess it's called the power broker advantage. I do not realize this until Jeff brings it up at tribal council, just like loosely slips it in. I mean, I think my, I don't have as big of like a problem of the concept of it. I do have a problem with it happening at the final nine after we just had

[00:45:58] beast week. I think if you drop this into a regular season at like the final 12, I do think there is something interesting, Justin about like having this one person be the sole line of communication and how in theory they could twist that information. However, they want to, to serve both agendas. I mean, again, this is something that it's like, I think it's an interesting idea, but I, I feel like you're abdicating narrative by,

[00:46:27] it's an interesting idea that these players don't need. I feel like to make it interesting, like save, I, I do feel like they shot themselves in the foot a little bit where if they've had a really interesting idea, my guess would be if they've had a really interesting idea for the past few years, they've been like, let's save that for 50. Cause it's like, it does feel very idea heavy, you know, in a, in a way that the last seasons, I mean, I feel like 49, there was almost no effort to say like, this is a, this is an individual season of TV. Like, it's almost like, all right,

[00:46:57] let's just get through it. Okay. I like 49, but still that, that is, I, I feel like it's just more ideas in a season where we didn't need them. Yeah, I agree. I think it's kind of an interesting concept, but I just, as soon as Jeff announced it, I immediately rolled my eyes because I just, just let these people interact. Like, uh, it's all, it's all I wanted. So I immediately, I was out and immediately judged the twist because I immediately hated it. But I, Mike,

[00:47:27] I can see your point that, having it potentially earlier on, maybe in a newbie season, like let's play it out and see what it looks like because I don't actually hate it that much, but especially with a cast like this, it's just the, the idea that you need that much. Okay. I am going to grouse about that. Give me one minute to, to complain about this. And I, I know how out of line I am complaining about reality TV. I don't know how to make it never made it my life. I made six episodes of a TV show and then the network got canceled. Not my show, the network. Okay.

[00:47:56] We got renewed. Season not canceled, but I saw it on having, I don't want to talk about just as a fan of TV. So ignore me. I'm sorry. I feel like in the hands of the fans is an abdication of the potential of season 50. I feel like season 50, you have the best players to ever play. You have narratively this setup. That's like,

[00:48:22] we're going to bring back the best to ever play in the hands of the fans is saying, like, we don't know how to best build a TV show around this. How would you do it? Because I think what it's saying is like, we don't know how to fulfill the promise of season 50 because we have built it up so much. So what do you all think? And then it's like, whatever happens, it's in the hands of the fans. So you can't really blame us.

[00:48:51] If season 50 didn't live up to your expectations because it's in the hands of the fans. If you're going to do in the hands of the fans, first of all, like I wasn't asked, you know, so like, you got to formalize a little bit. You got to ask me and everybody, all the fans have got to be questioned, but then like make that a season of survivor where that's an interesting facet that you have to add. You know what I mean? Like, cause I would love freaking do it where it's like, you know, hunger games where I, you know, I like this person. I can give them,

[00:49:20] you know, some gems. They can exchange for coconuts. I don't know. But like you don't need in the hands of the fans with everything else. It just feels like them saying, we don't want to be responsible for delivering on this season of TV. And I, maybe that's an uncharitable read, but like it is hard in a season where like, it's both in the hands of the fans, but then you're inventing a bunch of celebrity idols and stuff, which like,

[00:49:49] if I'm the fans and someone's like, what do you think of the Billy Eilish boomerang idol? I have no idea what you're talking. Why are you asking me? To be fair, that was Billy Eilish's answer as well on that Amy Poehler podcast. Do you think that Billy Eilish was like, you got, you have to promise me, you're going to name other idols after other celebrities. Yeah. You think she was so insane. If people say Billy Eilish boomerang idol five times a night and not say like some other celebrity. That's the problem though.

[00:50:19] We saw were one-time things. So by far the one with the biggest branding this season is the Billy Eilish boomerang idol. She's become a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's really, yeah, it's hilarious. But I think you, you bring up a lot of good points. I mean, I think that when I think about the, the way they're sort of structuring 50, I think of what they did during season 40, where there is a lot running on this season that they are really pressured to make it good. They do not want to have a dud returning player season,

[00:50:48] which we certainly have had in the past. Why? Either they're boring, straightforward votes or, you know, big players get taken out early and there's a bunch of like who players that are left at the end. And so that's why they're throwing in a bunch of things to like shake up the status quo. And of course the irony of that is like, sometimes it leads to exactly the opposite. Sometimes you're like, well, listen, I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. So let me just vote out this easy person today. You know, this was one of the first times in the post merge where like the vote was not open and shut near unanimous, but I really liked the idea of like,

[00:51:17] some of these concepts should be tried out on newbie seasons. You know, I feel like as a baseball fan, like these new advents that have come to the game are tried out like in minor league stadiums, right? Like they're tried out with smaller teams. You don't just like throw it out in the big leagues immediately. And you're like, all right, let's just see what happens. Like you go through the farm system a little bit, you try things out and you see how it works and then you tweak it and then debut it later on. I feel like that's an easier thing to do than just throw it out to your returning players. And in theory,

[00:51:47] it could work or an execution. It might be something that completely ends up having a Christian vote for himself. Just absolutely hung out to dry. I think double elimination episodes are almost always a bummer. Personally. I feel like it's really hard. I think it's a good example of like survivor, not being a TV show first, because if you go through the tension and an ideal survivor episode, you're all, it's all building to that, right?

[00:52:16] It shouldn't be a surprise when you see people pick up the torch. You should be like, well, that's locked. So let's move on to that. And then there's this like build of tension, climax done. And that's like, that should be the episode. That's a perfect episode arc. It's beautiful. You know what I mean? It's part of the problem where they started getting into like weird lengths where it's like, there's an elimination in the middle of the episode. And then there's like kind of things just meander on for a while. I think if you have an elimination and then right afterwards, another elimination, just as a viewer, it's like,

[00:52:46] it's emotionally, you're not in the right spot. It's exhausting. You know, it's exhausting. I think to be in tribal council for 25 minutes, I think it's too, it's too much. I don't, I, I, I, you know, I want to build to an elimination and then that should have like a meaning. If you're going to do two eliminations, do them in one ceremony. You know, I don't know, but like having two back to back, like they don't have two back to back challenges and they, you don't have two, you know what I mean? Like they don't have two back to back auctions. Like what you don't, it's just not good TV. Like you don't want to watch the same thing twice. It's like emotionally.

[00:53:15] I don't think it's as satisfying. It is interesting. I'm just thinking back to kind of our discussion regarding the fact that players, Justin, you had mentioned this, that players are just so hyper aware of what their perception is and what their edit is and how they're going to come across it. That's really impacting their gameplay. I do feel that somewhat similarly to just like the show of survivor and in general, that survivor has this almost weird, like stop, stop, stop paying attention to any of that. Like just throw, throw that away. Like,

[00:53:44] let's just take a second and let's try to wash away sort of all of those really complicated overthinking elements that are playing into, I think some of the decision-making when it comes to structuring the twists, uh, this season, because I do think that like a back to basics would have just like, just try it, just try it and see if you're going to try it with any cast, like this would be the best cast to try it with. Or even like strip a lot. Yeah. Just strip that stuff down and let them play survivor. You know what I mean? Like,

[00:54:11] let them like argue and then try to trick each other. You know what I mean? Like, I don't know. Like you got the best people to ever play. Like you let them play, you know, Devin's is thing was fun. His, his invented idol. Yeah. Was so much more fun because it's Devin's being Devin's and he invented it. And it's hilarious. You know, like it just feels like such a, I, I, I,

[00:54:36] I sympathize with a show having to reinvent itself. That must be like a, a freighter, you know, like, or, you know, trying to shift that thing. Yeah. It must be difficult because it's a huge operation and everybody who works on it. You know, there's some history that you're inheriting. There's a legacy you're keeping up with. There's like, I'm sure there's a lot of institutional knowledge on like what survivor is and what it can't be. And, and that stuff.

[00:55:05] So like even the twists, I feel like it's the TV show wanting to make more of good TV, the way a TV show knows how to make TV. So it's like them trying to ensure that the TV show product is entertaining and not maybe trusting that these people are going to make like, they're going to make new storylines, but I think that takes more work because you have to find them and it's maybe not pre set up, you know, ahead of time.

[00:55:34] It's a little bit more work to figure out where that TV show is to let people just kind of play and see where they end up. It feels very railroady, I think to use a D and D term. All right. Well, let's take things off the rails here. If you want to let the players play, I'm going to let you be the players here. Cause I've got quite the game for you. If you could both, please do me the honor of bringing up the cast list for survivor 50 in your own private stead, because I have a game for you.

[00:56:04] That is essentially a survivor version of the classic wheel of fortune game before and after. Thank you to Caitlin for sending this game along to us, but how this basically is going to work that I'm going to read out a clue. The answer of which will be this sort of hybridized name between a survivor 50 player. And then the second part will either be the name of a celebrity, you know, a movie TV show, et cetera. As an example,

[00:56:33] if I were to say a podcasting magnet and New York times, bestselling author gets hungry. Like all of us, his preference, a fast food restaurant named after the King of the Cowboys. The answer of course would be Justin McElroy Rogers. Yeah. That beloved chain. it's weird. Yeah. Okay. There's one on there's what I do pass one on 77. I was wondering if there was a Roy Rogers in your area. And I, yeah, it's, it's, there is set a rest stop.

[00:57:02] I think it's a combination Roy Rogers Arby's or something. So what we'll do is I'll read out the question and you each can buzz in if you want to, and going back to those Emily and Rick mouth sounds, if you think you have the answer, Liana, what is you, you have to personalize your buzzer. Do you have a buzzer sound? Ooh, my buzzer sound will be coconuts. Coconuts. I love it. Justin, do you have one? Yeah. It's Aussie, uh, audibly complaining about his own situation.

[00:57:33] I love that. Very guttural, very relatable. All right. I love it. Here we go. Then question number one, they're not like us. They were the only tribe of one in survivor history, but that was just a minor inconvenience. Uh, okay. Oh, okay. Um, uh, coconuts. So you forgot your buzz in Liana. What do you have?

[00:58:03] I'm going to have to simplify that. It's going to have to be something else. Okay. You have to simplify the word coconuts. That's too much, Mike. Too many syllables. Stephanie LaGrosa, Kendrick Lamar. That is correct. Yes. Stephanie LaGrosa, Kendrick Lamar. Oh no. Okay. I always love when games start with an, I don't know, or I don't know from one of the players. Very fun sign of things to come. All right. Let's see if we can, uh, keep it moving with this. Next one.

[00:58:30] Cheers to this winner returning for survivor 50. Maybe after this, they'll be able to start their own radio show. And fun fact, the sitcom they share a name with aired the same year. They were born. Oh, Oh, Justin. Kyle Frazier, Frazier. Yes. You know what? I'll call it Frazier, Frazier. Uh, I think they wrote Kyle Frazier crane, but I think that's the same thing. And yeah, I'll admit that was fair enough.

[00:58:59] Frazier is the name of the TV show. So I am just trying to be a purist. As someone who intimately follows your work, Justin, I will admit this was a little bit of a layup for you. So I was happy to provide it. All right. Next up here, both this player and film are considered iconic in their own rights. And they're always happy to play ball. When it comes to making plans, they always hit it out of the park, knowing if you build it, they will come. Oh, so coconuts, coconuts,

[00:59:29] three fields of dreams. That's great. All right. Next up. A former disaster tribe artist is dreaming of a white Christmas. If it's not canceled by their frenemy first. I will admit this is a tougher one. Okay. Can you read it again? Sure. A former disaster tribe artist is dreaming of a white Christmas.

[00:59:58] If it's not canceled by their frenemy first. Is it Mike white Chris? Oh, Mike white Christmas. Yeah. It sounds like a little Tim Allen ask, but no, that is not correct. Oh, wait. Yeah. What? Do you have a hint? Do you have a hint? Let me see if I can give you a hint. Let's see.

[01:00:28] They would love to spend a holiday in Ponderosa with some of their friends. They made over the season. Ooh, Ooh, Ooh, Ooh. I got nothing. I got nothing. All right. We'll pass on both ends here. Yeah. The answer is Tiffany Irving Berlin. That was never going to happen. It was a good. Yeah, it was great. It was great. That was great.

[01:00:58] Thank you. Thank you. Passing was the right call. Yep. You got to know when to hold them. No one to fold them. All right. Next up. The biggest person on the Island this season has the same ego as the little guy in this hit CBS pre- Coconuts. Yes. Coconuts. Jonathan Young Sheldon. That is my, sorry. My sound there was not buzzing in and it was discussed with myself for not buzzing in earlier about Young Sheldon.

[01:01:25] I am very surprised that Young Sheldon has not, did not show up with his own advantage here. Honestly, same him and Elsbeth. What are they doing? Guys, get it together. They show up in the lower third, but she's not peeking in on the festivities the way she has in the past. Survivor is the only reason I know that they did a spinoff of the Young Sheldon show. That's a sitcom. And I guess we're just going to go forever. It's, I mean, literally. We're going to go forever. I hope at the end of it, they give birth to another Sheldon and they just start again. That'd be so true. Yes.

[01:01:55] I love that idea. And to every generation of Sheldon is born. It is really the only, yes, I watch on the, like at all. So it's like every time it's like Hawaii five. Oh, like, what are we doing? You know, like Magnum PI is back. Are we okay? I don't think that's entirely out of the ordinary for our generation. So I do wonder if like CBS really had a certain mind. They could like make fake commercials for fake shows and put them in occasionally just to really throw out people. It's like, what are they putting on nowadays? Matlock is a good one. Leanna,

[01:02:25] the Matlock is the classic pole of like, is this Matlock? Well, I guess it looks about right. It's on. It's on. That's what I could say for it. All right. Next up here. Leanna is out to a lead right now, but there's still time to catch up. Both, both of these people were known for exploring unknown lands, whether it be the beaches of Borneo or the forests of the Louisiana Purchase.

[01:02:52] Both of them also probably had a tough time getting messages for home. Justin's got it. Jim. Jim, Lewis and Clark. That is correct. I love that. All right. Next up. Both of these guys know a little something about cheating death. Though they were brought to the edge of extinction, they made sure it wasn't their final destination, but they also have a tendency to get ghosted once or twice.

[01:03:22] I will say, I am very proud of this one personally. Sure. Of course. Both of these guys. The answer is going to irritate me. So I'm trying to brace myself. I know. Yeah. Great for impact. Both of these guys are a little something about cheating death, though. They were brought to the edge of extinction. They made sure it wasn't their final destination, but they also. Yes, Justin. Mike, I take it back. It's frigging choice. It's Rick Devon Sawa. That is correct.

[01:03:52] It's actually so good. Actually, I take it back. It's really good. And you deserve a medal. If there's a medal for what you do, you deserve it. Oh, my God. All right. Heroic. All right. Well, one last one for you. Should have gone. Oh, oh, Mike, I take it back. Should have gone out. I know. It's a lot of pressure to put on yourself. All right. Give this financial. You can still put it in the hands of the fans. There's still time. Just put this one in the hands of the fans. I don't have it. Too much pressure.

[01:04:21] 63% voted as to whether I should end the game or not. Give me one more chance here. People voted for an auction. No kidding. No kidding. People wanted an auction. So glad we put that true vote. Wow. Completely blindsided us with that, with wanting that to happen. Give this financial analyst a glass of wine, and she might put on a magic show. But don't let that fool us. She's a real contender, even if she's silent about half the time.

[01:04:51] Um, well, I don't know the second part. I'm just second part. It's I'm wait. It's come on, man. It's right there. Justin, just say that right thing. Can you read it again? Sure. Give this financial analyst a glass of wine, and she might put on a magic show. But don't let that fool us. She's a real contender, even if she only talks half the time.

[01:05:22] Justin. Emily, flip in and tell her. That is correct. For the win. Oh, I, my brain could only think of David Blaine, and I was just like, that's not right. I get that for a whole week sometimes, Leon. I don't feel bad. It is a medical condition, and no one can make you feel bad about Blaine-itis. It is a problem. They call it a my-blaine. Oh, yeah, yeah, I spent three days trying to levitate. That's how bad I had it. Like, don't feel bad. Well,

[01:05:52] I have felt positively off the ground getting to hear you all rack your brain, try to cover this. So congratulations, Justin, for taking home the win here. Thank you. A master of the before and after. We love it. Well, I will leave the ball in your court here because at the end of the B&B every week, we put the spotlight on our guest to highlight a charity or cause that might be important to them. Last time you were on a couple years ago, you highlighted the Huntington Children's Museum. Would you like to go back to that? Well, is there any other charity or cause you'd like to highlight today?

[01:06:24] I will point people towards Harmony House. It is a place where my wife, Sydney works, and it is a shelter for people experiencing homelessness. If you go to HarmonyHouseWB.com, it is a really incredible, I mean, even if you just go to see some of the stories, they change a lot of people's lives and they're always looking for a little extra help. So if you go to HarmonyHouseWB.com, you can donate there. Incredibly well said. Justin, thank you so much for coming on. This was...

[01:06:54] It is my favorite. I love doing this show. Oh my God. Likewise. I'm just so happy. Thank you for coming on and offering all of your insights into this episode. I sincerely would like to apologize to you and Liana and your listeners if I have monopolized the conversation. I get really excited to talk about Survivor and I sometimes worry on this show that I bloviate too much. So apologies if I have monopolized too much. No, we're all good. Absolutely not. Justin, I will cede any and all of my time to get to hear your fantastic insights.

[01:07:23] So please do not fret. This was such a fantastic time. And of course, if people want to hear you talk even more, you made a whole career out of it. In fact, if people want to check out all the variety of great shows you have out there in the podcast ether, how can they do so? You know, honestly, a great place to start anymore is by going to YouTube and searching for McElroy Family. A lot of our clips are there. We stream pretty much every day anymore. We're streaming different video games and stuff like that.

[01:07:53] We do a weekly show Tuesdays at noon called Super McElroy Brothers where we're currently doing Dark Souls where the six of us have split up one character. So I'm the arms and Griffin is the legs and Travis is the head. So we're playing through Dark Souls that way. I love it. It's really, it's called Six Thumbs, One Heart. And we've done some platformers like this, but we've never done a game like Dark Souls and it is hard. So that's, I check it totally out. Do you think maybe that's what happened to Ozzy? Is that like one player was operating

[01:08:22] like his brain and everyone was operating the hands going into the pocket to grab the idol and that's what led to that discrepancy? I, you know, Mike, there's gotta be an excuse somewhere. If he ties his shoes, you know, there's gotta be some excuse somewhere. Let's, he gets himself to the airport to get on the show, you know, so there must be some excuse. Well, listen, I will take any and all excuse to get the chance to talk with you, Justin.

[01:08:51] This was such a fun way to break down a very fun episode. Even if, you know, you have your druthers about, you know, the way it came and this might've been my favorite episode of the show, not the show, the season so far. It sets up a lot for what's gonna come in the next couple of weeks. We still have seven people, but we still only have like four or five days left in the game. And clearly with Ozzy, sort of the communal target being gone, and I think that opens things up considerably to see where we go from here. Justin, real quick, who is your winner pick right now? Who do you think is gonna take home

[01:09:20] the two million in two weeks time? Sari. Jeez. Okay. Don't bet against Sari. All right. Can I make a, hey, hands of the fans real quick, quick request, hands of the fans. Can we not do the thing in the last episode where we spend 40 minutes watching people who've already been eliminated and looking at pictures of them and flags with their names on it? Can we not? It is my, I fast forward 25 years I fast forwarded through that part, Jeff. Please stop putting it in. I've never watched it. Please. It sucks. It's so boring.

[01:09:51] I just want to see the last thing. Please don't do that part anymore. They got eliminated. They don't deserve more TV time. We know who all these jabronis are. It's 50. Please don't make me go to their funerals. I beg you. It's gonna, got y'all, I'm saying it now. It's gonna be 45 minutes. It's gonna be impossible. It's already in the can. You know what I mean? Like, I can't change it now. It's not the end of my fans. I suck to lose Angelina, but remember when Angelina was first on Survivor? We have a clip. Here's a, here's a, here's a video of this player's family

[01:10:20] coming over to Ellis. Let's go. All right. Well, next week, at least, we shall see how many torches are laid down in the path to the finale. Of course, check out the Puyah and Liana Lounge for Liana. Check out my interviews with Emily and with Ozzy, both incredibly insightful over at Prairie. This was all the other malarkey we've got going on here on RHCP. And thanks to everyone who came out to the live show as well. We had a big crowd of 1,500 people in New York watching this episode. Yeah, it was, when Saree played

[01:10:50] that extra vote, it was the closest thing I think we've ever seen to like reality TV fans having some sort of like sports-like ovation. Can you imagine watching the Devons thing live with people? The place would have burned down. You would have been kicked out. Oh my God. You would have burned it down. But it was so much fun. Thank you to everyone who came out, especially those of you who spoke with me after the fact, talked about how much they love the B&B. It really does mean a lot and hopefully we'll keep on producing enjoyable content in time memoriam until, you know, Ozzy comes back and gets voted out

[01:11:20] with an idol for the umpteenth time. But for now, we're going to leave this podcast in your pockets, much like Ozzy's idol, and come back next week with more Survivor fun and games. Thank you to everyone behind the scenes at RJP for editing this podcast for your eyes and ears and Wolfram America for his fantastic theme song that is more beautiful to hear on the ears than Sari surviving via an extra vote. We'll be back next week covering the penultimate episode of Survivor 50. Until then, everybody, we'll check you out

[01:11:49] at your next day.