10/5 Show Discussion Thread **Spoilers**

[sweetpea]

I do actually like Coach better this season, although when "old Coach" rears his head with the hugging, I start rolling my eyes again. At least he didn't send her off with some obscure quote from Confucious. I did like his sharpness when dealing with Brandon's paranoia. He's the veteren here, and saying it was going to get a whole lot crazier and you have to deal with it was very smart. Hopefully, though, he won't drag Brandon to the end with him. It would be good for HIS game but bad for my viewing pleasure. Wish Edna had gone straight to Coach after Brandon confessed to her to 'set the record straight.'

I do agree though that Brandon has some skewed ideas about what it means to be 'good' and just can't seem to find balance in his life. Until he matures a little he's going to continue to have a very rough road.

[pikachu]

I didn't see anything wrong with Coach offering Stacey a hug on her way out. I thought it was his way of showing that her being voted out was strategic, not something personal. Somebody had to go and Stacey has done nothing to try to bond with her group so she was the one out. It wasn't because anyone hated her and had it in for her. They need people they can trust to keep the group together and see wasn't it so she had to go. I thought it was bitchy of her not to accept the goodwill gesture. If she gets back in the game at a later point, she don't know who will be left and she might later regret snubbing people who she'll need to stay in the competition and give her jury votes. Clearly Stacey doesn't appreciate the social side of the Survivor game.

[KatesMom]

Brandon should not have come on this show. He is having a very hard time separating the game from life, which I think you have to do to win. I'm sorry, it's a game where there can only be one winner. Which means at some point everyone has to lie and backstab. Nature of the beast. The ones that don't get that and get voted out amaze me - of course you are going to be lied to and of course the chance is pretty good you are going to be voted out at some point. I think he has some serious demons he is dealing with - and this show just brings them all to the forefront. He doesn't know how to deal with it. Unless you are going to win every challenge, like Colby did early on, you can't succeed in this game without actually playing it - which means a certain amount of lying and backstabbing.

[Longhornfan]

I think that Stacey sealed her own fate when she decided to mess with Brandon's head before TC last night. Once Brandon told Coach what she had said, there was no doubt that she had to go. There might have been a moment that Coach felt like keeping Stacey over Edna - just to keep the tribe physically strong - but they all stressed loyalty last night at the TC. And Stacey did not seem to have bonded with any of the other tribe members either. From what I have seen of her, she appeared to have a hard exterior - not someone that you would approach to have a conversation with.

Now for Brandon. I think that he probably does feel like he has to be perfect in order to be a good Christian and most likley holds people to higher standards because of his struggles with his own demons. I don't think that Coach wants to cut Brandon loose yet, and he thinks that he can still reign him in and keep him from doing a lot more damage. I also think that if it weren't for the twist of sending Brandon to RI, Coach might not want to keep Brandon around much longer either. But he is stuck with him for the time being. At least he can continue to try and talk him down from the ledge.

[Fanny Mare]

I didn't see anything wrong with Coach offering Stacey a hug on her way out. I thought it was his way of showing that her being voted out was strategic, not something personal. Somebody had to go and Stacey has done nothing to try to bond with her group so she was the one out. It wasn't because anyone hated her and had it in for her. They need people they can trust to keep the group together and see wasn't it so she had to go. I thought it was bitchy of her not to accept the goodwill gesture. If she gets back in the game at a later point, she don't know who will be left and she might later regret snubbing people who she'll need to stay in the competition and give her jury votes. Clearly Stacey doesn't appreciate the social side of the Survivor game.

I thought I was the only one .She was part of a team and this part was the social game .I am positive there was a very long conversation that was edited out between these two .Coach has always been like that, so it came as no surprise to me I loved when he spoke to brandon, and then said keep an eye out if you see anyone.LOL I really like Coach..I love he did yoga on the beach one year..it does keep you grounded! sorry pun intended

[Bearcata]

I don't get why Papa Bear and Dawn are so obsessed about being older, they kept harping about it and I was thinking they both look good for being in their 50's. Then I looked their ages up. Papa Bear is 48, Dawn is 41, Stacey is 44. Whoa! Don't they know that 40 is the new 30? Still the way Dawn was so obessed over it is annoying, it is pretty obvious she takes care of herself and looks great. I'm thinking some deep body image issues.

[pikachu]

Age ain't nothin' but a number. I think Jane from last season was older than both Papa Bear and Dawn but she was a tough competitor! She outlasted the men on endurance challenges and was sharp as heck. A lot depends on how physically fit you stay, how mentally active and alert you keep yourself, and how you feel about your age. If you tell yourself you can't do this-that-the-other anymore because you're too old, you're defeating yourself and setting up a self-fulfilling prophecy.

[KatesMom]

With Papa Bear and Dawn, they are basically on a tribe with a bunch of 20 year olds (except Jim). At least in my experience (at 38), there is a big difference where I work between the 20 year olds and the rest of us (30s, 40s, 50s). I don't know if it is life experience, not really having kids yet, not being married, or some combination of everything. I don't think 40 is old at all - but on that tribe, with a bunch of 20 year olds - yeah, I would feel old and like I didn't have much in common with them too.

[Fanny Mare]

I would feel like I was their mum. It wouldnt bother me though, I lift weights, I am sure I could outlast a couple of the waifs.Its a mental thing as someone else mentioned

[KatesMom]

I would feel like I was their mum. It wouldnt bother me though, I lift weights, I am sure I could outlast a couple of the waifs.Its a mental thing as someone else mentioned

Agreed. And at least early on, that actually worked. Think Tina and Colby in the second season and Kim and Ethan in the third season.