Well, we made it, everyone. The Merge is here, and one player returns from The Edge. Admittedly, not a person that either Mary or Todd hoped would return (c’mon, Rob or Yul!), but still. Tyson’s back. Sandra is still gone, and one more player is headed to the Edge. Ready to find out what Mary and Todd have to say about all of this? Then you are in the right place.

Also, not that it matters, but Mary is still winning the fantasy Survivor league by a hefty margin. Whatever.

MARY’S MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Mary: I need to take a moment to talk about something that is not a moment as much as it is a recurring motif in this season. For some reason, the producers decided that this season needed a catchy theme song to play throughout various dramatic moments in the show (and, mostly, previews of the next episodes/previews of the season). The song is, to explain it simply, minimalistic music with a woman singing, slowly, “Ya better be readyyyyy” and I hate it. Todd is, frankly, obsessed with this song and likes to sing it whenever we talk about the show, but it’s starting to grate on me. Is it funny? Yes, but it seems like something Survivor did not need in the slightest. I mean, what happened to the classic theme song? The song is meant to build tension, or get the audience amped up, but it just makes me laugh and paints the entire season as being sort of silly. My question is, did the producers know how the song sounded? Did they think it sounded cool? Also, what do the contestants need to be ready for? Each other? To survive? It’s all a bit much. I need to know how other people out there are feeling about this song.

I also want to note that I did NOT like that Tyson was the contestant who came back from the Edge of Extinction. While I think Tyson is probably a fine guy outside of the game, he projects this strange persona that seems a little...sociopathic? He stares blankly into the camera while talking about why he wants other people to suffer or be kicked out. I just get a weird feeling from the way he’s portraying himself! 

TODD’S MOMENT OF THE WEEK

Todd: For my moment this week, I want to talk about a staple of Survivor: the pre-challenge strategy talks. Since almost the beginning of the show, editors have used this time to throw out a name and then almost immediately have that person win immunity. This week, that person was Denise. As soon as I started to hear Denise’s name be brought up multiple times, I became nervous, because I really like Denise. But a part of me also knew that the editors were probably setting up a red herring to throw us off the scent of who was going home. As soon as Jeff announced that there would be 2 individual immunity necklaces, one for the longest lasting man, and one for the longest lasting woman, I knew, in my heart, that Denise would be safe. Long may the Queenslayer reign.

PLAYER ON THE RISE

Todd: I feel like I have maybe said this multiple times already this season, but Sophie continues to impress me this season. She seems to be subtly controlling every move that is made without too many people catching on that she is the one making all the moves. Also, it really seems like she is setting up Adam to be the Phillip Sheppard to her Rob. The way that she protected him this week reminds me of the way that many stronger players have protected their favorite goats in order to take them to the end. As long as no one realizes that’s what she is doing, Sophie could go far.

Mary: For this week, I definitely agree that Sophie is doing well and going places, but I’m going to highlight another player this week: Nick! Even though he’s been on the chopping block recently, Nick really pulled through this week and got his name off the voting list. While Nick wasn’t completely responsible for his staying in the game, I think that players have come back from things like this before--even Nick has come back from things like this before. I predict that Nick is going to use this as an opportunity to get back into the game. I could be wrong, of course.

PLAYER ON THE EDGE

Todd: This would have felt odd to say a week ago, but I think Jeremy might be the next person on the chopping block? The easy assumption is that either Nick or Michele will go next, but my guess is that now that they know they are on the outs, someone will be happy to use them for their votes for a week or two (or maybe try to set them up as their own sacrificial goats for the final 3). With Wendell gone, and Jeremy being recognized more and more as one of the “big threats,” it seems likely that his time could be up sooner rather than later.

Mary: I don’t disagree! Jeremy was surprisingly coming up a lot in conversation this week--in a bad way. I”m glad Wendell got voted out (he was acting like a jerk at the end, wasn’t he?), but I’m not sure I’m ready to see Jeremy go. While I didn’t like his alliance with Natalie at the beginning of the season, I’m kind of coming around on him now. I never watched Jeremy’s season, but I would be interested to know more about him as we move forward. That being said, I think Wendell getting voted off is going to make Jeremy stand out as a pick to go home. Also, and I know I’ve said this many times, I think Adam isn’t doing too well. That makes me sad, since he’s on my fantasy team, but I still think it’s a huge possibility. Then again, he’s held on this far! 

And that’s all this week for…

SURVIVOR:

WINNERS

AT 

WAR

Ya better be ready…