Yeah I thought that explanation was a terrible move for Joe! The rest of the survivors should have said "oh okay, if you don't mind the rain then you can volunteer to sleep outside the new shelter!"
The whole white rock thing was almost like a mini game theory moment. Nobody wanted to be the one who prevented the tribe…

Wentworth looked like she was trying to bite someone at one point, but she didn't go through with it. I'm guessing that would not have been allowed.
I do remember in the past that hair pulling, clothes ripping and dunking under water are all allowed, but flat out choking someone is frowned upon, especially outside the…

Aw, I didn't know that about Survivor fb. That makes me sad :(

I second your confusion. I get that Stephen was skittish about idols, but the vote split was so risky and the numbers were so close that I really think they should have just piled their votes on Joe (or Abi, or whoever). I mean, hindsight is 20/20 and all, but for Jeremy (and everyone else who isn't Stephen) why not…

I'm questioning my guess about the head injury now, since they show a blood pressure monitor on the person's finger. Would they do that for a concussion? Now I'm thinking maybe someone just passes out from dehydration/low bp? Where's Eddie when we need his expertise (probably at BarK)

That would actually be pretty cool (and possibly even game-changing?). If the golden boy challenge dominator made it to final tribal by winning, say, 9 out of 10 individual immunities and then couldn't convince the jury that he'd earned the million and the title? I would actually really enjoy seeing that play out.

Also, as we saw in the second hour, if the opposition can get together a majority to vote for someone at one TC, it's not out of the question that they'll just try it again the next time. For that reason alone I think that Jeremy wasted his idol. It was an awesome moment though, and made Jeremy seem really cool.

I'll admit I was openly rooting for Stephen all season, but did everyone lose their minds tonight?? Joe lost immunity for the first time all season and they didn't take him out?? While the double header episode was amazing, I thought the story got a little muddled at the end of the second hour. All the strategic…

Based on what they showed leading up to everyone shouting "medical" I'm wondering if it's a head injury (maybe a concussion from the idol thingy falling off a pole)?
The hand looked old and wrinkly which could mean it's Keith, but if it's raining enough anyone's hand could look that pruney…

Excellently-cast, if we do say so ourselves ;)

And ~apologies to Carrie if this seems facile~ I would think that Joe would be getting a more well-rounded edit if he were destined to win. Sure he got the golden boy edit early on, but he's been pretty light on strategy confessionals, not to mention touching moments where he cries and talks about how much winning…

That's the most adorable Hantz simile I've ever heard

Bye bye Denver diva!

Great episode last night :) I loved seeing a merge episode so packed with strategy that there wasn't even time to show us the naming the tribe/building a new camp stuff that must have gone on.
A few things occurred to me with regard to the edit:
Was the third blob in the center of Spencer's diagram meant to be Kelley…

I've been tempted to ask that very question here, but I was worried I'd already done more than my fair of speculation that gives Stephen credit for improbably elaborate strategy. I still think it's plausible though…

Do you think Joe could have come into this season claiming that his body hasn't recovered from Worlds Apart yet and just tanked every challenge to improve his post-merge odds by making himself less of a physical threat? Or was he just totally doomed from the start?

In my dreamworld Stephen is getting the full Cochran arc treatment in a single season. Pre-merge is South Pacific, where he is a pathetic nerdy loser (culminating in a betrayal that ~disgusts~ his allies) and post-merge will be Caramoan - all winning all the time :D

I thought Danny was hotter in the hospital pics, but that's definitely not okay to say…

I was surprised she didn't get any blurring. Times they are a-changing.

I imagine that NBC has a giant bingo cage of cliches that they rely on for character details. Tasha is an..[spin]..independent woman with a..[spin]…gambling problem!