10/26 Show Discussion Thread **Spoilers**

[jadewarlock]

Couple of things I noticed:

1. Ozzy would've been ousted I think even if he didn't volunteer after his actions post the challenge. Not only did he look like a bad sport, he appeared dangerous. I'm surprised he didn't get hurt in the process. Just bad and unclassy like he's been in F vs. F and his first season.

2. Coach and praying... well, I personally think forcing a person to kneel to pray is too far, but he did the right thing in giving thanks for the win and giving it to him IMHO. He does need to be careful to not go too far in his antics in this realm, but I personally didn't mind the prayer of thanks after the challenge.

And searching for the HII as a team event and morale booster? - well, little silly but it obviously worked. They seemed much more cohesive in the immunity/reward challenge.

As far as the movie - Sandler can do better, but I'm sure that for the Upolu tribe, watching any type of TV while being able to eat and sit in comfy chairs indoors in a comfy room it's worth spending the hour and a half of drivel.

And no - I'm not surprised Coach is a Sandler fan - sometimes his antics are a more sedate version of Sandler's as far as crazy comments.

[Brooks]

As far as the movie - Sandler can do better, but I'm sure that for the Upolu tribe, watching any type of TV while being able to eat and sit in comfy chairs indoors in a comfy room it's worth spending the hour and a half of drivel.

The only other one I recall was the promo for the Gulliver movie. Lousy snacks, but a great mudwrestling fight by the two ladies, LOL. That time there was a clue hidden in the popcorn. Nothing like that this time, right?

[Fanny Mare]

I can't see that - simply because Ozzy would surely know that Coach's tribe's alliegance is to Coach, and Ozzy is such a Challenge Monster, probably both tribes would get rid of him at point!

Also, if Ozzy is like most men, Elyse has already been forgotten.

I agree.Boy Ozzy is easy on the eyes. Oops sorry lost my train of thought.Well praying worked for coach and his lot- sometimes thats all it takes, not the praying, the fact they were together and working like a team. I just hope Ozzy beats Christine, she is such a sour looking women

[Tilden]

I've been liking Coach a lot more this season, but the whole prayer thing last night didn't sit well with me. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said,

“When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him."

I don't mind that he was filmed out in the water by himself praying, although I thought it seemed staged, with the swooping aerial shot. But the group prayer scenes didn't bring any focus on God - it was all on Coach, using God as an extra teammate. I will say this, though. I don't think that Coach prayed that they would FIND the idol (which he already had). I think he prayed for strength and God's favor during the game. Brandon specifically prayed for help in finding the idol, and that was a genuine prayer on his part, because he didn't know that the idol had already been found. Maybe Coach got an attack of conscience when he heard that, since it was shortly after that that he revealed the idol.

As a Christian, I try to not get involved in too many internet discussions about whether people should bring their faith into reality shows, although I believe that, as our Father, God does care about every aspect of our lives. I respect that there are differences of opinion regarding faith. But to have seen this blatant example of what Jesus Himself told us NOT to do . . . I needed to say something. However, I'm not going to argue this point with anyone - I just wanted to state my opinion.

I actually thought about that exact same passage when Coach started insisting everyone have this public prayer of thanks in front of the obviously distressed losing team. I didn't mind the solo prayer back at their camp, or, in fact, any of the prayers at their own camp, since I assumed that was kind of like a "family" prayer. True, they were both public, because the cameras were on, but all sorts of private moments are made public on reality shows. The prayer of thanks seemed more deliberately orchestrated to be public by Coach, though, and I really didn't like him yanking someone (Enid, I think) to her knees and insisting that she kneel. First, they hadn't been kneeling in any of their other group prayer sessions, so it's not like any of them apparently felt it was necessary, and people don't always kneel when they pray. Second, it couldn't have been comfortable to be yanked by her arm like that by a bigger, more powerful person, and some of those people, including Enid, had taken some pretty strong physical hits in that challenge while blindfolded. Maybe suddenly hitting their knees in prayer might have really hurt. I think it would have been nice if Coach, or someone, had first asked if everyone was okay and then suggested a prayer, instead of demanding it. Or just waited for the prayer of thanks until they were back at the camp. It wouldn't have made it any less sincere.

I also really hope all the prayer sessions sort of just happened as a phenomenon on their own and that no one feels forced to be involved or become a tribal target. And I felt a little sorry for Brandon last night, since he thoroughly bought that their prayers had led Coach to find the idol, when he had it all the time. He's going to feel so betrayed when he finds out the truth and when he hears the Of Mice and Men comments Coach made about him.

[spockwhat]

I actually thought about that exact same passage when Coach started insisting everyone have this public prayer of thanks in front of the obviously distressed losing team. I didn't mind the solo prayer back at their camp, or, in fact, any of the prayers at their own camp, since I assumed that was kind of like a "family" prayer. True, they were both public, because the cameras were on, but all sorts of private moments are made public on reality shows. The prayer of thanks seemed more deliberately orchestrated to be public by Coach, though, and I really didn't like him yanking someone (Enid, I think) to her knees and insisting that she kneel. First, they hadn't been kneeling in any of their other group prayer sessions, so it's not like any of them apparently felt it was necessary, and people don't always kneel when they pray. Second, it couldn't have been comfortable to be yanked by her arm like that by a bigger, more powerful person, and some of those people, including Enid, had taken some pretty strong physical hits in that challenge while blindfolded. Maybe suddenly hitting their knees in prayer might have really hurt. I think it would have been nice if Coach, or someone, had first asked if everyone was okay and then suggested a prayer, instead of demanding it. Or just waited for the prayer of thanks until they were back at the camp. It wouldn't have made it any less sincere.

I also really hope all the prayer sessions sort of just happened as a phenomenon on their own and that no one feels forced to be involved or become a tribal target. And I felt a little sorry for Brandon last night, since he thoroughly bought that their prayers had led Coach to find the idol, when he had it all the time. He's going to feel so betrayed when he finds out the truth and when he hears the Of Mice and Men comments Coach made about him.

I bolded one part because I agree but even think it's a bit understated from where I stand.

The whole praying thing made me think about The Amazing Race and what occured there this past week. (For context, a Christian player said he felt comfortable working on a Buddhist temple, because he knew he believed in the one true God, and read the Bible.) Many people felt this would be offensive to the Buddhist people at the temple.

This week Ben made a mockery of Brandon's faith. (Even if Brandon is a bit off about what he thinks it means to be a Christian... sinless, like that's possible ) But Ben made a completely offensive mockery of what Brandon believes. He also forced another member of his tribe to carry out the act of (mock) Christian prayer, even though that person may be an atheist, Jewish, Buddhist, or anything else. Who forces people to pray with them? Who the heck does he think he is? It was embarassing to see a human being act in such an offensive manner. But as someone said, the old Coach is back, and as ugly as ever.
I found his old stories of tribal peoples trying to eat his butt more palatable than the crap he was dishing out as a pretend "Christian."

Coach Wade for the lose. Between he and Ozzy, I'm going to be hard pressed to find some redemption.

[Bearcata]

I don't think Brandon will get the comment about the Mice and Men reference. If he ever sees the movie and understands at that point if will be very upset with Coach.

As for the praying, especially after listening to the Mice and Men confessional I think Coach is playing a role for his tribe.

[Lucy van Pelt]

Did I miss something? Why are all the other threads in this forum locked?

[PWS]

They are always locked during the show (= from the time it shows on the East Coast to the time it ends on the West), to prevent inadvertent spoilers for the West Coast viewers...but sometimes someone forgets to unlock them.

[KatesMom]

I've pondered Ozzy's hopping to RI (I have a sick child and can't go to bed yet)...

IF he beats Christine and comes back into the merge, there is always the danger of how people will talk while he's gone. We've seen this before when someone temporarily visited a tribe. Once you're GONE, even in Ozzy's case to be temporary, you're still absent for a few days. That's a long time in Survivor! People are more free to talk about you, discuss the pros/cons of your not being there. I'm starting to wonder that, even if Ozzy wins and returns...will he be met with some raised eyebrows?

Will they discuss the fact that he was SO strong and willing to go to RI that he's emphasizing his invincibility during the Merge, when Individual Immunity is king? Will this be Ozzy's downfall either way? If I were on his tribe, I'd certainly be thinking that way...AND he just got Cochran in his back pocket by giving him that idol. Hmmm.

Maybe this is a stupid comment, considering its Ozzy. I didn't watch his previous seasons so I don't know if he's capable of this. But has anyone thought about Ozzy using this as an opportunity to dupe his entire tribe? As of right now, their hopes are resting on him going to RI, winning the challenge and coming back so they go into the merge strong. But he was stabbed in the back, at least in his opinion, when they voted Elyse out. What's to stop him from coming back from RI after the merge and jumping ship? I don't know how the other side would take it as he would be a real threat. But isn't there always that possibility too?

[captain]

Cochran stated (in the preview of next week) he got rid of Ozzy and received the idol at the same time. I realize Ozzy "volunteered" to go, but Cochran is the reason he went.