The way that could fit would be the new Coulson is a robot or some other simulacrum (is this what a Life Model Decoy is?) that got implanted with Coulson's memories.

They made them eat Balut last season! For the first post-merge challenge of all things.

I thought that would have been a good play as well and hope that Vytas tried it and got no traction, which caused it not to be shown (rather than didn't try it at all). This season was definitely the newbies best shot given they got some coaching from returnees and had pre-made returnee alliances. The fact that they…

I agree with your last sentence. There was split second after he started his diatribe where I thought "What is he doing?" then I immediately realized he was getting voted out. Vytas was so savvy pre-merge that I knew he would only do that if he had no hope.

I'm pretty sure that Monica's flip had zero impact. They typically show every necessary vote, which means eight of the ten votes went Vytas's way. If Monica held the line, he still would have gotten seven.

Congratulations! After climbing the ranks with you for a couple weeks, I've taken a brutal fall back into the pack. Guess that's what happens when two of your players are on Redemption Island.

I thought Monica might be getting the boot (or Katie in the first one) until the bootee opened their mouths at Tribal. As soon as Vytas started talking about how angry he way, it was clear he knew he was going home. And it's hard to imagine Tina being so aggressive without feeling certain she was gone. Ah well,…

I love a good rage as much as the next guy, but I didn't mind her answer here. Mary Beth clearly had no idea what the answer was and rather than say nothing at all, she just tried to mumble Kraken and failed.

Interesting - I skipped the Bill & Jalen previews since I can't stand Jalen in podcast form (too much sportstalk CW along the lines of the losing team not having the WILL TO WIN), but I'll have to check out those previews on your recommendation.

I largely think of Simmons as a good writer who now has chosen to promote other good writers at the expense of his own work. Which is fine by me. The more exposure for Zach Lowe, the better.

While I enjoy the surprise of a blindside I don't see coming, I am typically frustrated afterward because the editors eliminated key game discussion to get there. Having the culmination of a long seeded storyline is a well they should draw from more often.

Or maybe we'll get really lucky and they'll stockpile four people on RI, like they did on (I think) Redemption Island near the end. Ugh. Hopefully this is the last season with this horrible idea.

I was impressed with Hayden's verbal jujitsu as well. As soon as it was obvious that Kat wanted back in, I wondered how he would get out of it. Framing it as "What do you think is best for us?" was brilliant. Probst on the other hand felt like he was working the producer angle excessively. They came up with this…

I'm tied with you there, but I don't know that Ciera will be a problem. She probably just has to survive one more week and then she won't be on anyone's radar post-merge as a threat. She can do this either with her tribe winning or Tyson and Aras going after each other. I like her chances to last for a few more…

I saw it two years ago. Don't recall any homophobia in that one, but it was loaded with racism and xenophobia, in addition to being horribly unfunny. All of this was made much worse by the audience laughing at it all like it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. But hey, when you have a chance to show Rihanna…

Fair enough. I think my expectations at the time had just been for something different than that given the setup of two duelling magicians. I remember liking some of it and think I'll enjoy it more this time knowing what I'm getting into. Thanks!

I tried to read this a couple times several years ago and stalled out one or two hundred pages in each time. Been planning to get back to it and finish it, but am curious - do things pick up as it goes along? Or does it maintain its stately pace throughout?

@avclub-f62296b9393b6ab9229ebde91ed8469f:disqus And yet when he had the chance to make a movie, he was more interested in a prequel than offering some kind of closure post-season 2.  Maybe he changed his mind later?

@Bitenuker:disqus My problem with that speech was that it underlined what the audience already knows.  Could there be some value in Schmidt acknowledging it himself?  Maybe, but it felt a bit overdone here.  Particularly since he was saying it to Cece and thus making things even worse.

Ah, okay.  I assumed that last week was combo reward/immunity too since I thought flint went with it.  Thanks!