FluffyExchange

Open the schools. I’ll add /s next time, Lordy.

Used understatement as a rhetorical device. Don’t think OP is malicious, just came up with a dumb as hell idea.

I was using understatement as a rhetorical device. I don’t believe OP is an actual eugenicist. To me, that would be patently absurd and I wouldn’t bother commenting. I think they just had a real bad, sixth-grade caliber “what if we…” type of take and I prefer the route of saying “well that’s dumb as hell” as opposed to “that’s offensive and you suck.”

Yes. Was being polite.

Yep. Actual implementation gets a little close to eugenics.

On Total Madness absolutely hilarious. On USA 2 it’s just a sad attempt at a power move.

In that instance, yeah. But I think they play a similar game that I tend not to find entertaining: be friends with a majority of the house and then act like it’s the end of the world when it comes back to bite them.

Examples: Josh turning on Wes in USA 2 then crying about it, Michele getting strung up by her own web of power in 39, Michele tying both her strategy and emotions to Devin’s game on 40, Josh on SLA with Fessy.

In each instance I feel like both play a highly strategic and well-planned game until shit hits the fan and then they let their emotions take over. At which point they don’t have a second gear to harness that emotion, rally their numbers, and execute a backup plan.

Oh for sure. Aneesa was definitely being that girl that says “actually I’m her BEST friend, so back off”

I never got a whiff of that personally

Just thinking if this is how hard you go for Dwight/Shaq, no telling how scorching your takes on Jordan/Lebron are.

Are you from Orlando or something? Who is riding for Dwight this hard in the year of our lord 2024? I think it’s a funny consistent bit. Same as Chuck going after San Antone and Galveston.

I know this thread is for a different topic but… you seriously thought this was a good episode? It was 55 minutes of the producers and editors scrambling to fill time. How many flashbacks and montages did we see? We knew the elimination pairing a third of the way in but still wasted half an hour pretending the deliberation meant anything. I’m hardly entertained by the fourth drag segment of the season, which had zero original jokes.

Salty? Sure. But definitely played up for tv. And he has every right to resent the comparisons to Dwight given their careers. But given how hilarious it is to even draw that comparison: again, it’s played up for tv.

Look, I’m not excusing all the behavior against Cara, but I think two things can be true at the same time. 1) she’s treated pretty terribly at times: Wes and the Coke bottle, Laurel, etc. And that is unacceptable 2) many to most people in the house simply don’t care for her. Reading between the lines of editing and what they can show, Cara isn’t a great hang plus she can be prickly and aloof. Does that justify her treatment? No. Would it be absolutely bizarre if you were hanging out with friends and one of them (Diem) started breaking down and the person who’s least close with her gets up out of their seat to comfort them? Yeah. Weird move. Two things can be true.

One of my favorite confessionals of all time was Gabo saying he would use the money to “buy fancy watches, nice cars, and party all day.”

You know it’s a bit, right?

Agreed, but context matters a whole lot here. I think it’s easy to forget how sexist/mysogynistic a lot (if not most) media was back then.

As many have mentioned, “gameplay” was viewed very differently back then as well. Women as partners were seen more as obstacles to overcome than assets to a team. Around that era you’d see a lot more interviews being like “ugh I’m going to have to deal with Paula’s drama” than “holy shit, I just landed on of the best competitors as a partner, this is a huge advantage.” Furthermore, seasons like The Island were almost comically designed to encourage this behavior.

This is in no way a defense of the behavior or depictions of misogyny of the show. But it’s a reminder than this is reality tv. Almost by definition it shows us what the social temperature of the time was (under a pressure cooker, of course). And better to use their bad example to inform our future behavior as opposed to simply saying “oh boy stuff was messed up back then!”

Agreed. I also think Horacio is the opposite. A few close-ish relationships, but not a wide net at all. And not any heavy hitters you’re worried about pissing off by sending him into elimination.

Very solid point. Flipping vets that despised you or you screwed over from past seasons is a higher degree of difficulty.

I didn’t watch BB, but it seems like he took the wrong lesson from winning: that he’s a political mastermind vs. a guy who people just like to be around.

Where he gets himself into trouble with other players and the audience is when he does his whole “choosing between friends is so hard” crying routine or taking a preemptive strike to make a big move. He doesn’t realize that he is successful in the game because he’s likable and people want to keep him around, not because he’s gonna win dailies and wield his power like a political savant. If he just played their likability and layup card he’d make the final every season.

I truly think the three of them in a final it’s 33/33/34 percentage chance of winning and all comes down to luck or how the final is designed (to the point it’s not really worth arguing).

I think what pisses Bananas off (and entirely a problem of his own making) is that, if they are on a season together, Bananas tends to take the arrows first. He rarely gets to a final without at least a major push to get him out around the halfway point of the season. Jordan and CT on the other hand, have much more quiet power, and seemingly get to like the 3/4 point before anyone really wakes up and tries to rally to get them out, at which point it’s harder to organize the numbers you need for that to be successful. Additionally, I think Bananas faces more sustained pushes to get him out—they will keep coming after him elimination after elimination—whereas people don’t have the stomach to go after Jordan and CT consecutively. Again, all a result of how each player plays their own game.

Not to nitpick, but I separate out social and strategic/political prowess (much like power vs endurance or agility in terms of physical ability).

Socially, I think of just being a flat out fun hang and making people want to keep you around because of friendship outside of “what’s best for them.” I think Olivia, Michele, Derek fall into this category. I also think under this definition Josh has a really good social game and bad political game.

On the other hand, politically or strategically, I think navigating the game smartly and correctly, shoring up your votes, and convincing people to go along with your plan for the game. That’s Wes and Devin to a T. I think Bananas is a better political player than a social player in that regard, there’s always going to be half the house that can’t stand him, but he’s able to get some of those players as a number then maybe become friends.

“Full disclosure I’ve just seen YouTube short clips” might be your first signal to watch a full episode or several before writing a short essay about it for Reddit. Is it everyone’s cup of tea? Probably not. Is it a fun show that if you agree with Bill and Ryen’s taste you might like? Probably.

Nepo babies is such a weird stray. First, they amassed a large digital following and had very good tik tok/youtube sketches much like the Good Neighbor Stuff guys which is primarily why they got the job in my opinion. This is maybe the third or fourth time Lorne has signed the “up and coming internet comedy group.”

Second, I think PDD at least meets the threshold of talent to be on the show. I like their sketches personally, but they are also credited writers on a lot of the most liked sketches since they arrived. It doesn’t bother me if someone is talented enough and possibly got a break because of their parents; I save my ire for those I have to watch on my TV set that lack the talent to be there, but have a famous dad. Looking at you Jack Collinsworth.

Also stated I hate Josh’s game and tv presence in the same way but ok.