Pod Meets Twirl'd: Survivor 5001 PART 2

Summary

---

Pod Meets World: Pod Meets Twirl’d — Survivor 5001 PART 2

Episode Date: February 28, 2026
Hosts: Rider Strong & Will Friedle

---

Episode Overview

In this can't-miss installment, Rider Strong and Will Friedle continue their deep-dive into Survivor Season 50—widely hyped as the series' mega all-stars event. The hosts, both former "Boy Meets World" stars, bring their signature banter and thoughtful analysis to the ever-more-complicated web of Survivor strategy, focusing on returning legends, new twists decided by the fans, and the frequently hilarious challenges and social dynamics at play.

As the hosts dissect the super-sized three-hour premiere, they reminisce about reality TV evolutions, highlight standout contestants (both beloved and divisive), and explore how returning players adapt and grow—or sometimes repeat their past mistakes. Their insights are peppered with memorable quotes and good-natured ribbing, all through the unique lens of long-term friendship and die-hard TV fandom.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

The Three-Hour Premiere: "Nothing I want to do for three hours"

• Premiere Length Frustration
  Will expresses his exhaustion with the three-hour premiere, joking:

  “It is not hyperbole when I say there is nothing, and I mean nothing, I want to do for three hours. You name it. Sex, eating a good meal, watching a movie.” — Will Friedle (04:25)

• The hosts debate streaming (ad-free on Paramount+) vs. live TV, agreeing that commercials make the marathon episode even harder to stomach.

---

All-Star Cast Dynamics: Legends Return to the Beach

• Reunion of Icons
  • Jenna from Season 1 sparks nostalgia and awe at her longevity and fitness.
  • Mike White (“White Lotus” creator) shocks Will:

    “The guy who created School of Rock is here?” — Will Friedle (06:22)

  • Sari ("Siree"), Rick Devins, Colby, and Ozzy are called out as fan-favorites, with brief backstories and the strengths they bring.
• The hosts highlight challenges for viewers (and themselves) keeping up with so many legendary faces, especially as they all know each other's past gameplay.

---

Survivor Game Theory: Evolution of Strategy

• Returning Players vs. Old School Play
  Rider contrasts early “individualistic” gameplay with new era strategies based on alliances and persona management:

  “Now everybody kind of comes in knowing what their angle is going to be... Am I going to be a challenge person? An alliance builder? A villain?” — Rider Strong (09:55)

• Revisiting Survivor's more controversial moments (e.g., tribes split by race or generation) and comparing past “negative energy” seasons to the current returnee-focused "positive" dynamic:

  "This season seems really positive... they all come in with experience. They all know they can't get away with not working hard." — Rider Strong (13:05)

• Will’s preference for the straightforward, honorable style of Colby:

  “He just seems like a man's man. Completely honorable. What you see is what you get. I dig that. I'm Team Colby.” — Will Friedle (11:30)

---

Fan-Voted New Twists & Rule Changes

• Rice and Supplies
  • The season’s big twist: fans voted on whether to give players rice and supplies—the answer was NO, upping the challenge.

    “I can't believe they're making it harder for them... It's enough of a struggle that... it snowballs and the losing tribe just keeps losing.” — Rider Strong (15:16)

• Rider worries about the domino effect of uneven early success; Will loves the increased difficulty.

---

Early Challenges & Standout Performances

• First Big Challenge
  • Stephanie’s incredible under-the-log performance gives Vaatu a runaway lead.
  • Physical “giants” (Jonathan, Ozzy, Coach) dominate; Will humorously obsesses over Jonathan’s “patchwork pants” for 45 minutes (20:35).
  • Discussion of strategy in team challenges vs. importance of not bottlenecking on weaker roles.
• Fashion Show & Morale
  • Vaatu tribe’s fashion show prompts a sweet bond between Colby and Rizzo, with generational comedy:

    “It was a sweet moment until he looked at him and said, my dad's 47, and I wanted to throw my remote through the TV.” — Will Friedle (49:12)

---

Social Dynamics: Alliances, Early Scheming & Exile

• Scheming Starts Early
  • Strategy ramps up instantly—no time wasted on “just surviving.”

    “They all know to skip the foreplay. Let’s just get right to the business.” — Will Friedle (41:25)

  • Early alliances form quickly (Colby/Kyle/Stephanie, Sari/Ozzy, etc.), recalling how waiting can sink you.
• Exile Island
  • Solo missions (Coach, Ozzy, Q) cause suspicion upon return—returnees often have to lie or reveal tough choices (lose a vote, gain supplies).

    “Never go on a solo adventure. You never volunteer to do this because it rarely works.” — Rider Strong (25:33)

  • Ozzy’s evolution: refusing to sacrifice his vote for supplies—trying to avoid being the “provider who gets nothing.”

---

Classic Survivor Challenges: Mud, Pain, and Injury

• Opening Credits Footage
  • Rider reveals insider Survivor trivia: shots for the opening credits (mud, paint) are lifted from the first challenge for visual drama.
• Challenge Design
  • Emphasized mix of brawn and brains—sometimes one person can tank an entire team.
• Major Injury
  • Kyle’s Achilles injury gets a lot of sympathy, with praise for his toughness:

    “I couldn’t believe how he wasn’t showing his pain... that guy’s champ.” — Rider Strong (51:10)

  • Will marvels at on-site medical tech:

    “Phenomenal advances in medical technology when the guy is doing an ultrasound on his phone.” — Will Friedle (69:39)

---

Tribal Council: The Art of Saying Nothing

• Savvy Players at Tribal
  • Pros keep tribal council remarks vague—no one gives up their game plan.

    “You just keep your mouth shut, or you open your mouth and say nothing... these guys are all so good at that.” — Rider Strong (58:19)

  • Jenna, the only unlikable player in the group, is unanimously voted out after playing too aggressively and “coming in too hot.”

    “She came in guns blazing and people are like, I don’t want that... you cannot come in too hot. It really, like, I don’t understand why.” — Rider Strong (34:47)

  • Her exit earns respect:

    “Her exit speech is one of my favorite things in the world... I hope they lose every single challenge." — Will Friedle (60:18)

---

Idols, Twists, and Secrets

• Idol Twists
  • Genevieve finds a "boomerang idol" to give to someone on another tribe: if they’re voted out still holding it, it returns to her.

    “You give to somebody on another tribe… if they’re voted out while still holding the idol … it comes back to you and you can do it again.” — Will Friedle (62:23)

  • Strategically picks Ozzy, who has a history of being ousted holding an idol.
• Lying about Advantages
  • Savannah returns from a solo journey with a secret block-a-vote advantage, but her tribe suspects she’s hiding something.

---

Survivor Philosophy: The Social Jury Factor

• Winning isn’t Just Surviving
  • The importance of being likeable:

    "You can't just lie, cheat, steal. You have to actually be kind of..." — Rider Strong (48:50)

  • Jury dynamics force players to balance manipulation with social grace:

    "Because you have to face the people you stabbed in the back." — Will Friedle (48:54)

---

Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On Streaming vs. TV:

  "So you watched it the same night you watched it? ... That. So I have to watch it the next day without commercials."
  — Will & Rider (05:03)

• Mike White’s Dedication:

  "He writes every episode of White Lotus himself, directs them all... that's insane to me."
  — Rider Strong (07:54)

• On Survivor Injuries:

  "[Achilles injuries] end careers in sports... That's huge. And he did. He had surgery, I guess, that same week."
  — Will Friedle (51:21)

• On Voting Out Jenna:

  “I’m happy about that, but I don’t know if it was the right choice. If you’re just thinking strategy... you do kind of want to get out a big player early.”
  — Rider Strong (60:33)

---

Timestamps for Major Segments

• Intro & Purpose of Series – 02:15
• Three-Hour Premiere Rant – 04:03
• Meet the Returning Legends – 05:44
• Survivor Strategy: Old vs. New – 09:54
• Fan-Voted Rule Changes & New Twists – 14:59
• First Challenge Recap – 18:24
• Fashion Show & Team Bonding – 49:00
• Exile Island Supply Challenge – 23:09
• Physical Injury & Medical Advances – [51:01], 69:39
• Tribal Council Breakdown – 57:01
• Idol/Boomerang Advantages – 61:42
• Survivor Social Philosophy – 48:50

---

Conclusion

Rider and Will deliver an energetic, insightful, and nostalgia-infused breakdown of Survivor 50’s epic start. From dissecting complex new advantages and dissecting memorable personalities to exploring social strategy and the crucial human elements at play, they offer a podcast that’s both a recap and a celebration of why Survivor, after 25 years, still thrives. Tune in next episode for more reality TV analysis, friendly debate, and signature wit.

---

Closing Quote:

"The torches may be snuffed, but our questionable analysis burns on. We'll see you at the next tribal."
— Rider Strong (72:14)

---

Transcript

[Redfin Announcer]

You're listening to a podcast, so you're doing something else too. Like maybe scrolling home listings on Redfin saving places you like without thinking you'll get them, because that's what house hunting has become. But Redfin isn't built for endless browsing. It's built to help you find and own a home. Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents, which means when you find a place you love, you've got a real shot at getting it. Redfin helps turn saved listings into real addresses. Get [e-mail] own the dream

[Rider Strong]

busted appliance this is your sign to upgrade Shop at Lowe's to get up to 35% off and next day delivery on hundreds of major appliances. Lowe's we help you Save valid through 318, while supplies last selection varies by location. Order by 4pm available Monday through Saturday, subject to availability, fees, exclusions and restrictions apply. See Lowes.com available plants delivery.

[Home Instead Announcer]

For more details, visit your nearby Lowes on Colorado street in Kennewick.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is U.S. olympic gold medalist

[Will Friedle]

Tara Davis Woodhull, and I'm U.S. paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having

[Will Friedle]

a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the

[Will Friedle]

best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA, and you

[Rider Strong]

learn more at pennymac.com pennymac loan services, LLC equal housing lender nmls.id 35953 lice Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending act, conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Home Instead Announcer]

Sometimes all we want is more of the same, like another round of golf played From a channel with 24. 7 coverage, another look at the garden and the deer as they pick their way through it, another Taco Tuesday, followed by a Whatever's in the Fridge Wednesday. And to get more of the same, all we need is a little help with adaptable care plans from qualified compassionate caregivers matched to your family's needs. Home Instead can help you and your passion stay home no matter what's on your horizon. Visit home instead online for a better what's next.

[Rider Strong]

Welcome to Pod meets Twirled, a podcast that once chronicled two guys who had never seen Dancing with the Stars, but they watched a season and somehow walked away. Experts from there, we ventured into Traitors, a show I'd never seen, but Will swore he could win. And now we turn to Survivor season 50, the big one. This time, the roles are reversed. Will has seen exactly one season, the first. Meanwhile, I've watched for years. We are Will Friedle who prefers his wilderness with room service and Rider Strong, who will hike any mountain but hates the beach. Two best friends, one devoted to the comforts of civilization. One who would never leave the woods if he could. Both reality competition scholars join us as we dive into alliances, blindsides, fire making sand related misery and 25 years of television history culminating in a single massive season. This is pod meets twirled seeking immunity. Okay, should we start recapping the show now?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

All right. So always, you know, they always arrive on an island in a big group on, you know, sometimes they've done seasons where they're like on a pirate ship or like a big boat, but for the most part they get to a location like this and they all just kind of stand there and meet each other. In this case it's really interesting because they all have history with the show before.

[Will Friedle]

They all have know of each other if they don't know each other.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, they've been a part of each other's seasons. It's. Yeah, this is an interesting one and it's. There's a lot of names, there's a lot of people to keep up with. So I'm not really sure how we're gonna go through this. And like even we're figuring they're gonna

[Will Friedle]

figure out who they are and obviously as they people get weeded out, it's gonna be easier to remember everybody. It's like traders. Do you did the first 24 people in Traders? Of course not. So we'll get there.

[Rider Strong]

Overwhelming. Overwhelming.

[Will Friedle]

By the way, here's the other thing. I will say it is a. It was a three hour premiere.

[Rider Strong]

Two hours.

[Will Friedle]

Three.

[Rider Strong]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

I watched it on cbs.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, so you had the commercials, right?

[Will Friedle]

I had the commercial.

[Rider Strong]

So I watched it on Paramount plus. So I guess it was without commercial. Yeah, so.

[Will Friedle]

So you watch without commercials. Yes. There's no commercials on Paramount plus. Okay, so I have to get Paramount plus. But it was a three hour premiere.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It is not hyperbole when I say there is nothing and I mean nothing I want to do for three hours. You name it. Sex, eating a good meal, watching a movie. You don't want to travel a good

[Rider Strong]

meal for three hours.

[Will Friedle]

No, there's nothing I want to do for three hours.

[Rider Strong]

Too much Survivor.

[Will Friedle]

Too much Survivor as the opening gambit. Do an hour, maybe two hour long thing.

[Rider Strong]

The.

[Will Friedle]

The ads were insufferable to. Towards the end they were coming every five seconds.

[Rider Strong]

I can't watch commercial. So.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, well, I'm just gonna. I'm gonna sign up for Paramount plus today. So you watched it the same night you watched it?

[Rider Strong]

I watched it today. I watched it the next morning.

[Will Friedle]

There you go. That. So I have to watch it the next day without commercials.

[Rider Strong]

Yes. What I got. Yeah, exactly.

[Will Friedle]

I watched it live, and I. Yeah, it goes up on Paramount the next morning. So I watched it live. Yes. Again, nothing I want to do for three hours straight. Nothing.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, I did think after, because, you know, normally a typical episode ends with tribal council and the one person getting voted out. And so it did feel a little long when it continued into the next day. And I was like, what are we doing? And it turns out we're. We're following.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, you.

[Rider Strong]

You ended.

[Will Friedle]

It was. It was. Yeah, it was Batman Returns. And you are the.

[Rider Strong]

The.

[Will Friedle]

The second Christopher Nolan. Batman, where you finished up with the Joker, and you're like, great movie. And it's like, wait, now there's two Face. Yeah, you should have ended this. You should have ended this. So there you go. Stop, please.

[Rider Strong]

All right, so the main characters that we meet in this first beach scene, I guess would be Jenna, who is the returning from the first season. And I thought she, like, amazing shape considering she did this 20 year. 25 years ago.

[Will Friedle]

25 years ago.

[Rider Strong]

God. Yeah. So she was only, like, 20 when she did it or something. I mean, they all still look so good. Even these people who did it, you know, 15 years ago. I'm like, how are they not like, man, I'm just. I'm an old. I'm an old dude, man. I'm looking at this going like, I would not fit in on this beach. Yep.

[Will Friedle]

I thought the same thing. It's like, well, there's no way I'm going to go anyway. But still.

[Rider Strong]

And so Mike White is there. You know who he is, right?

[Will Friedle]

Of course. And the second he got there, I was like, wait a minute. The. The guy who created School of Rock is here?

[Rider Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

Like, what the hell?

[Rider Strong]

He's done Amazing Race with his dad, and he's a fan favorite. He's actually an incredible player because he's socially wonderful in that he. He reads people really well. He doesn't manipulate or lie.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

For the most part, he's just beloved. People just like him, and. And they don't usually expect him to start.

[Will Friedle]

Was it like a celebrity version of the show?

[Rider Strong]

No, he just always wanted to be on because it was before White Lotus. It was. You know, he was at that time essentially, like, I guess he had done some acting Cuz I think he was in some of his movies as in School of Rock. He is. Okay. Yeah. So he would give himself a small part. But no, he was mostly like a nerdy TV writer and he was just the biggest fan. And, you know, now he's arguably the most successful lauded writer on television. And he's, by the way, doing it.

[Will Friedle]

Love him. By the way.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. Isn't he great?

[Will Friedle]

Like, yeah, he was great.

[Rider Strong]

That's the thing. Every. He's beloved. Like, he is. He's a beloved.

[Will Friedle]

And.

[Rider Strong]

And so it's really cool to see that he's coming back and doing it because Lord knows he doesn't need the money.

[Will Friedle]

And they even say that they're like, you don't have to be here. And he's like, no, I want to be here.

[Rider Strong]

Exactly. And you know, I love that he even like gets choked up in that one part when he's like, I've been in moments when I'm working on White Lotus. Because apparently he writes every episode of White Lotus himself, directs them all.

[Will Friedle]

Do you hear how long the shoot was? No, he goes, it's like 135 days of shooting straight that he's writing and directing.

[Rider Strong]

He's writing and directing everything. And you and I know what that means. That's like usually you have a showrunner who has a team of writers writing scripts underneath them and then a team of directors underneath them. So the showrunner doesn't write every episode and direct every episode and he does.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

That's insane to me. Yeah. So, yeah, the fact that he is taking a break from that show to go do this, just making, Shooting a

[Will Friedle]

movie every day for five months.

[Rider Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

That's nuts.

[Rider Strong]

So then there's this guy, Devins. Rick Devins. Who? The idol guy who's like, oh, whatever. That guy.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Okay. I don't remember this guy. So I don't know what seasons he's from, but he seems like quite a character. And I guess his whole jam is that he always finds the idols or whatever. And I love that he just started looking for an idol.

[Will Friedle]

They also allude to the fact is he a weatherman or a local newscaster or something like that? I think they alluded to that where they're like, he's the local weather guy or something like that. So. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Okay, then you've got Saree, who is probably like one of the most beloved survivor people. She's lovely. And it's, you know, her story is that she like got off the couch to do that.

[Will Friedle]

I figured that Out. Okay.

[Rider Strong]

And it's truly remarkable, like, how far she's come and how far she's gone on the show, because I think she's done it, like three or four. Four times, and she's a great player. And again, like, not so much with the physical stuff. No, no. But she always manages to sort of. I mean, like, you see in this episode.

[Will Friedle]

That's because she's lovely.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. Everyone likes her, you know, and. And.

[Will Friedle]

And that would be my superpower. I just get to try to get everybody to like me, which is great.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, that's basically Mike does. Mike White does that. Siree does that. I think some of the smartest players, it's like, you know, one of the greatest strategies is to just partner with, like, a really strong physical, like, like the Giant guy.

[Will Friedle]

Like Jonathan the Giant.

[Rider Strong]

If you're like a social player, just latch yourself onto that person.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Help them. Tell them who to vote for, you know, and hopefully they trust you. So you see these kinds of partnerships evolve, you know, where it's like.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

And that's something that I think maybe also is a part of the new era versus the old era, because it used to be, like, such an individual game that people would just, like, rise and fall based on, like, just showing up. And now everybody kind of comes in knowing what their angle is going to be. You know, like, am I going to be a challenge person? Am I just going to be an alliance builder? Am I going to be a villain. Ish type person? I'm going to. You know, and you see that. Well, it's also interesting.

[Will Friedle]

You see people that are clearly also trying to fight against whatever previous Persona they have.

[Rider Strong]

Well, that's what makes this season bonkers to me. And that's. That's what you're. That's probably what's going to be the most confusing aspect of this for you. You know, it's just. And luckily, they're spelling it out, you know, like, they're saying, like, Ozzy's. Like, I got taken advantage of every time. I'm not gonna do that again.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Rider Strong]

And so you. You know, hopefully they'll just keep spelling out because. Yeah. Even though I've seen a lot of seasons when I'm watching this, I'm. I'm having a hard time keeping track. I was like, wait, what was Colby known for?

[Will Friedle]

Right. I remember the Colby one. I remember parts of the Colby season, actually.

[Rider Strong]

Okay.

[Will Friedle]

So I must have seen, like, a season and a half, because I remember

[Rider Strong]

he's done more than one, but.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. But I Saw that. I think it was the second season, because if memory serves, the thing that made him so famous was the fact that he essentially voted in such a way at the end of the guaranteeing somebody other than him won. Like, he gave it away. He could have. He. If memory serves, he could have voted somebody out, which then left the villain and him and everybody loved him, or he could have voted the villain out and there was an older woman there who really needed the money, and he essentially knew he was giving it away, and that's what he did, and he became beloved player, hugely honorable player, and

[Rider Strong]

then he went on. Sense from him, Right?

[Will Friedle]

Yes. I'm totally. Team Colby. I watched another show he hosted called Top Shot, where it's just all the best marksmen from around the world doing all these different shooting challenges. And I watched, like, three seasons of that. I find it totally fascinating. And he just seems like a man's man. Completely honorable. What you see is what you get. I dig that. I'm Team Cold in general.

[Rider Strong]

I like a lot of these people.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Rider Strong]

I like almost everybody except Coach, for reasons that I've already explained.

[Will Friedle]

Again. Yeah. I don't know him, so. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So interesting. It's not. There are. There have been seasons of Survivor that are just toxic, where you're just like, really? Oh, yeah. And sometimes intentionally so. Like, one of the most interesting, like, sort of devastating seasons was they divided people by race on purpose.

[Will Friedle]

Yes.

[Rider Strong]

So they all showed up on the beach, and then they were like, we're doing something different this year. And all the Asian people, all the black people, all the white people, and it was weird, dude. Oh, my God. I know. And it was weird for them. And then, of course, they all had to come together eventually, because eventually you come down to an individual game. You just form one tribe together. And it was really weird, you know, and it led to a lot of awkward conversations. Of course, they've done it where they've split them by generation. So they did, like, a gen generation, Gen X versus Millennials. And you saw, like, how the different strategies, like, how. And they were sort of. They sort of force you to consider, like, what does it mean to be a member of this race or a member of this generation and identifying as part of that or not or rejecting that and sort of working against the show's construction. Right. And then there have been some times where you just have a tribe of, like, kind of nasty people. Like, you know, like, they come together randomly, and you're just like, oh, they're just. They're gossipy. Or they're lazy or whatever. And so you see this. These different dynamics. This season seems really positive to me. Like, I kind of like everybody, and I think it's because they all come in with experience. They all know that they can't get away with, like, not working hard or not helping out. You know, like, the one person is. Rizzo is the 25 year old.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

And Colby, you know, is like that kid's. But by the end, they have like. Yeah. Because I think he sees the value of, like. Yeah, he's just 25. He just doesn't know anything.

[Will Friedle]

He's also keeping our morale up. And, hey, let's do a fashion show. And it's like, okay, you need that too.

[Rider Strong]

Like, which made me love Colby, like, that he was willing to.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I'm totally.

[Rider Strong]

And then be like, you know what? Yeah. I mean, they're all. It's. It's a good season, man. It's a really good.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

All right, good.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I'm glad I'm coming back on. On a good one.

[Rider Strong]

It's positive. It's definitely feeling positive. Good. But, yeah, it is interesting to have this, like, this. We're not discovering their personalities the way you normally are. Do you know what I mean? Like, normally a game of Survivor, this entire first episode is just like, who are these people? And, like, what jobs do they have back home? Why did they do this show? This one is like, well, we all know this band of characters, and it's. So now we're kind of rooting for known personalities, which is. It's going to be a different. It's a different vibe.

[Will Friedle]

Has there ever been a season, because I was curious about this. Ever been a season where you either get to pick your own tribes or you do something to pick a tribe as opposed to, like, we've already picked. When you get in.

[Rider Strong]

They've done them random. They've done them random seasons. Yeah, I think it's been random, but I don't think it's. It's. It's not usually I'm taking you, like, schoolyard pick, right? I don't think they've ever done that, but maybe they have. That's the thing. They. They tend to keep the show evolving. Sure. Which is smart, you know, makes for good tv because you got to mix it up. Yeah. And, you know, as opposed to Traders, it's an. They've. They've seen, they've learned a lot. You know, they've had 25 years to exactly figure out what works and doesn't. And so they're usually pretty spot on.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Right. So this season, they're leaving it up to the fans to decide, which means the fans have voted on some of the rule dynamics that have changed throughout the years. So did you know this?

[Will Friedle]

Did you vote?

[Rider Strong]

No. I wish I had. I would have done it. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Would you have voted the way that it seems like the fans voted?

[Rider Strong]

No. I can't believe they're making it harder for them. I can't know. Yeah. Because that's the first vote is whether they get rice.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And supply.

[Will Friedle]

Or they have to earn it.

[Rider Strong]

They have to earn it. And they made them earn it.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, I totally would have made them.

[Rider Strong]

Would have. Absolutely. No, man. I think it's a struggle, you know, like, I think it's such a struggle. It's enough of a struggle that, like, because, you know, here's my problem. What happens when you have to earn it is that often. Because if you lose an immunity challenge. Right, right. And that means you're going to lose one of your members, you have to vote somebody. You have to vote somebody out that night. If that also means you don't get supplies, your tribe is. Gets just getting weaker and weaker. So to me, it has a snowball effect. So, like, if you're a winning tribe, you just keep winning. So what happens with these situations is there's often. And this has happened, like, a lot of years, there's just one tribe that just keeps losing for the whole first, like, six episodes. So you're just watching these people get sadder, weaker, because they don't have fire, they don't getting food, they're not getting rice, they're not getting their supplies, they're not getting fishing. So they. They're just. So it ends up being like, the winners keep winning, the losers keep losing vibe. That's why I'm like. I like the idea of, like, no, give them equal across the board to start and then, you know, have it balance out based on who wins the immunity challenges, who doesn't, as opposed to, like, this person won the first one, and they're just going to keep winning, which is already kind of feels like it's going to happen that way. I don't know, though.

[Will Friedle]

So curious. It's going to happen.

[Rider Strong]

All right. So, yeah, the fans have decided to not give them rice or supplies. And unless they do this first challenge and you see that the challenges are usually pretty balanced as far as there's, like a physical component. There's. Yeah, there's a puzzle element. Usually there's swimming. So it's a. It's. This game is really well designed as far as the challenges go.

[Will Friedle]

It's tough, though, because there's some design where they can target one person in the group to show how weak they can be.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Which we saw in this episode where it's like.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It just makes that one person look real bad.

[Rider Strong]

Well, I forget who said it, but they were like, we bottlenecked on that one.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And it's true. Like, yeah, that was.

[Will Friedle]

The guy with. That was bd. That's what I call him. The guy from. Beatty's also from Hunger Games. It's one of the guys who won the Hunger Games by. He's like. He's a nurse. Christian. Yeah. Who's a total nerd.

[Rider Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

And, you know, those are my people. And the idea that nobody else. Everyone's like, you can make fire with glasses. Like, really? You never burned ants as a kid with a magnifying glass? Like, you'd never heard of this.

[Rider Strong]

So cool, though. I know, but that made me so happy that they figured basic science. You learn that and you start doing that in the first grade. I know, but it was.

[Will Friedle]

Nobody figured that out. Come on.

[Rider Strong]

It was really cool, though. All right, so the first challenges usually involve, like, mud and paint, and that's because they want to have great opening credit sequences.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

So that you always. You. The opening credits, where usually they list all the people, you know, all the survivors, and you get them in shots with their names to just remind you how that's how every episode starts. And they always take all the footage of that from the first challenge when

[Will Friedle]

they're, like, covered in mud or jumping

[Rider Strong]

out of water or whatever. So this one, they got to dig under a log, right?

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Rider Strong]

And then grab a paddle through a puzzle situation with, like, a metallic thing.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Rider Strong]

Then another.

[Will Friedle]

Bring the paddle back.

[Rider Strong]

Right. So you see, there's all these different roles. So it's more about teamwork, right? Yeah, it's more about figuring out who on your team has what stre. And, like, and. And, you know, going. Selecting for them.

[Will Friedle]

Well, it's a brain. A brain and brawn, as opposed to brain versus brawn. You need to use everything to really.

[Rider Strong]

Exactly. And it's. It's really about the stuff that we don't get to see often, which is how they strategize for the challenge, because they. They have, like, I don't know how long before they actually run the. The race or whatever to sit there and go, you're going to do this. I'm going to do that and some of the most interesting parts of Survivor when you get to see those conversations, they, they, they often edit them out. Mostly just. They just edit around them. I would love to see them because there have been times when somebody's like, no, no, no, I'm going to be the one to do this. And then they screw it up so bad that the rest of the team is like, we knew you shouldn't have done that. And, you know, it becomes part of the social dynamic to whether you volunteer for certain things or if you're the person who just never pulls your weight. Like, at a certain point they're going to be like, dude, we're losing challenges or we're not doing as well as we could because you're not doing anything, you know, and then, Then, then you'll get voted out. So, yeah, it's, it's. Yeah, it's interesting. So. So Vaatu, Sila and Kahlo.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Rider Strong]

So Vaatu, Stephanie gets under the log and gives them a huge lead fast. I know. And this just sort of sets them to win. I mean, they just never. No one can ever make up after that.

[Will Friedle]

She was flying.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. I thought you can see how certain people are just going to be amazing at challenges. Right? Like, coach, great. Out of the gate, Ozzy. Just unbelievable as always. Like, you could just see, like. And then there's that giant guy.

[Will Friedle]

Giant Jonathan, where Mike White is literally like, are you a giant? And he just starts going fife so intense.

[Rider Strong]

Dude, that's great. Yeah. And those, those people you need, you know, like to lead their challenges unabashedly.

[Will Friedle]

Will tell you that I spent 45 minutes last night googling and deep diving where to get Jonathan's patchwork pants.

[Rider Strong]

Wait, where are his patchwork?

[Will Friedle]

He's wearing these awesome, like, patched together pants. And I spent 45 minutes trying to. Trying to find this pair of pants to buy.

[Rider Strong]

Are they like basically apres board pants?

[Will Friedle]

No, they just look like comfy, awesome hippie. Like, you were a pirate and you. No, I'm still trying found versions of them, but not those actual ones. But God, they were good. So if anybody knows where I can get them, please let me know where I can get those pants.

[Rider Strong]

Survivors. So it's so funny because they always, you know, this one, not so much because they're. But a lot of times they come in, like outfits that represent their life back home. You know what I mean? If they're a lawyer, they come in a suit and it's like by episode two, they're just bathing suits. And buffs the whole. You just watch them strip down or

[Will Friedle]

turtleneck sweaters and long trench coats.

[Rider Strong]

But this stuff gets frayed over time. By the third episode, they're all just dirty and miserable.

[Will Friedle]

Love that.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. And you'll see they lose weight quickly. Like, it's the best anybody is going to look as far as.

[Will Friedle]

One of the reasons I want to go on this show, I just want to. Want to drop a few.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. It's shocking when they show flat, like, when you get to the end of the season, and then they show flashbacks to, like, you know, the beginning of the season, which was only like 20 days earlier. But they look like different human beings. It's really intense. Oh, man. I wonder how, like, do they have mirrors for them to look at before they go on?

[Will Friedle]

I doubt it. Because, you know, why. You know, I'm guessing they don't is because several a. What would drive me nuts is that you're covered in sand and itchy probably all day. Yeah. And they had. There's a couple people had, like, sand right at the edge of their noses and stuff like that where, you know, if they had a mirror, they would have been knocking stuff off. So. Yeah, they just. It's probably like, hey, you're on the island now. Don't worry about how you look. Just go win the game.

[Rider Strong]

God, it's so. It's so uncomfortable. I hate the beach so much.

[Will Friedle]

Right. So, like.

[Rider Strong]

Right. I would much rather do alone where, you know, I don't want to be alone, but I would much rather be in a cold, windy environment with, like, you know, trees around me. Then like, this kind of exposure on the beach. Like, no, no, you're.

[Will Friedle]

This is. This is. You know, again, when I. At first. When they. They were exiled, which will get there, I was like, oh, that's not going to be that big a deal. And I was like, oh, that's got to suck.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. All right.

[Rider Strong]

So vatu wins this first challenge. So the other teams just never made up that lead that Stephanie got from coming out into the lo. Pretty incredible. And then we have this single player's sent for supply challenge, and that ends up being coach ozzy and q and

[Will Friedle]

coach and ozzy apparently have a history.

[Rider Strong]

Okay. They go back. They were rivals. And I thought this was super interesting because, you know, they kind of shook hands and apologized, both of them to, you know, put it behind them. But didn't seem to last long, did it?

[Will Friedle]

No. And you wonder, again, knowing nothing of their history, I didn't know. I kind of thought coach Was in the right until later. And then I was like, maybe he's not. Yeah, dude, he's so. Yeah, I didn't know. So I didn't know how to feel it.

[Rider Strong]

Coach is, you know, he's. He's one of those guys who likes to be called coach. You know what I mean?

[Will Friedle]

Like, which is weird enough. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. He likes to lead yoga on the beach. And, like, he says a lot of fortune cookie kind of things.

[Will Friedle]

Well, they even said they're like, at the beginning. Give us a coachism before we start.

[Rider Strong]

He wants to be the benevolent, wise, new agey leader, but then he's kind of just the guy who does whatever it takes to win. And that contradiction is sleazy to me. I just don't like it. I get that. Yeah. But he's got his supporters out there, and it is a game you gotta win by being manipulative at some point.

[Will Friedle]

I get it. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So these are all three very physical guys that they send on the supply challenge, which turns out to be smart because it is a physical challenge.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Although it's. It's. You know, you see, like, Ozzy out of the gate is just insane. Like, he's already way ahead of the other two, even though they're all pretty fit.

[Will Friedle]

Q is even saying, man, I didn't know. I didn't know how good this guy was.

[Rider Strong]

That good. But then it turns out that that doesn't really matter much because this stick challenge is just so ridiculous. They have to tie these sticks together, go through a fence to get a key that it just clearly cann.

[Will Friedle]

And.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. And there's this little tense moment where Ozzy says, like, hey, you know, if I knock, if you knock it off, I'll let you have it. Or what does he say? He says to q, like, no, I

[Will Friedle]

think maybe there's in a cue that says, like, hey, man, if you knock it off, I'm not going to steal it from you.

[Rider Strong]

Right. I'm not going to steal it from you.

[Will Friedle]

And then the coach was like, I. I made no such promise.

[Rider Strong]

Yep. And that's exactly what happens.

[Will Friedle]

And that's what happens.

[Rider Strong]

A scramble for.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Right. And, you know, to be fair, and Ozzy's not like, super pissed. I mean, he's just like, yeah, that's kind of standard, coach.

[Will Friedle]

But I was gonna say, it seems like it's. He's like, yeah, it's par for the course. The guy 10 minutes ago, or whatever now, an hour and a half ago, told me, I'm so sorry. We're Good. And now it's like business as usual.

[Rider Strong]

It's like, okay, but so it's interesting with these kinds of solo missions that you get sent on, you see it later in this episode, too. They can really backfire on you because people don't trust you when you come back because there's often secret advantages given. So, like, my rule of thumb is never go on a solo adventure. You never volunteer to do this because it rarely works. I find. It's like you find yourself in a sticky situation where you're, like, given the choice to steal a vote or lose a vote, which is kind of what happens here. You know, like, Q gets kind of screwed, right? Like, he. He sold his vote to get the supplies and Ozzy. To his credit, Ozzy, this is what he's learned from past seasons, which is that he provided for everybody by catching fish and it never helped. Like, he still got screwed. Ironically, he still ends up doing that at the end of this episode. He's still providing and being a sucker. But at this point, he takes a stand for himself and says, no, I'm not going to take the machete and the supplies. I'm not going to give up my boat for that. I'm going to let you take it. You know, which is super interesting. He's like, I'd rather just go home empty handed.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Which I thought was kind of an evolution for him and a smart move. Just like I think him partnering with Siri is a really, really smart move. So he's my guy, man. I'm all.

[Will Friedle]

That's so funny. I didn't know. Okay. Interesting, interesting. I'm team Colby at this point because he's the only one I kind of know.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Yep. Yeah, that's it. He's the only dude I know.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is U.S. olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm U.S. paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having

[Will Friedle]

a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the

[Will Friedle]

best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA.

[Rider Strong]

And you learn more at pennymac.com PennyMac Loan Services, LLC equal housing lender and MLS ID 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act. Conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Redfin Announcer]

Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

hi, I'm Cindy Crawford, and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but, like, I never liked being told, oh, wow, you look so good for your age. Like, why even bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin and at the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age. Learn [e-mail].

[Home Instead Announcer]

Sometimes all we want is more of the same. Like another round of golf played from a channel with 24. 7 coverage. Another look at the garden and the deer as they pick their way through it. Another Taco Tuesday followed by a whatever's in the fridge Wednesday. And to get more of the same, all we need is a little help with adaptable care plans from qualified, compassionate caregivers matched to your family's needs. Home instead can help you and your passions stay home no matter what's on your horizon. Visit home instead online for a better what's next?

[Rider Strong]

All right, let's see Vaatu coming back after a commercial break. This is where we have Angelina, Stephanie, Colby. Stephanie and Colby are immediately working hard and strategizing. The key starts naming names. Singles out Rizzo for being, you know, talking too much and working too little. And, I mean, my immediate sense was like, oh, this season is like, people know how to play. Because what usually happens on this first day is you get to the camp and people are just like, oh, we gotta build a shelter. And they either just focus on building a shelter and they don't talk any strategy and that can really screw you, or people get to the beach and they just decide to, like, socialize and get to know one another, and they don't take the time to build a shelter, and they get screwed, and they have, like, a miserable night. So it's really interesting to see the people who have played before, they know to strike that balance immediately. Like, you need to all be working as hard as you can, but also find time to assess each other's character. And Colby's a pro, dude. He's immediately doing that. You can see he's working so hard, but, you know, building the shelter, but then automatically turning to and, like, assessing everybody around and being like, we need to do this. I'm with you. Super, super smart player. And they all are pretty smart players.

[Will Friedle]

He reminds me of Rob C. From Traders if he wasn't bad.

[Rider Strong]

Totally.

[Will Friedle]

Meaning, like, everyone's gonna like him. He's a man's man. He's gonna pull his weight in challenges. He's gonna be friendly. He's. But he's still gonna play the game.

[Rider Strong]

Yep.

[Will Friedle]

So he's got that kind of vibe to him.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. No.

[Will Friedle]

Which you're just. I mean, even the other. All the other players are like, dude, Colby, like, I'm so happy to be.

[Rider Strong]

And this is what's prop. The problem is when you're that dominant physically and, like, once you get into individual game, you're the first one out because really.

[Will Friedle]

Because everyone wants to keep you to

[Rider Strong]

win against other teams, but then when

[Will Friedle]

it's against each other, then you're.

[Rider Strong]

You're the biggest threat. Like, so that's why the big challenge, people like Ozzy and Coach, like, they are. They are kings up until the individual game. That's. And then the individual game flips the entire thing, and then it's like.

[Will Friedle]

But the individual game isn't also stuff that you use strength and speed, but

[Rider Strong]

it's all your own against yourself. And also, you also. You have a good social game and you're friends with everybody. Even if you don't win individual immunity, then you're not going to get voted out. Do you see what I'm saying? They're going to vote out. So there are some times when it's like you have these physical. You have these games that I'm forgetting the one guy's name. He had to just keep winning physical challenges because everybody was like, we're voting you out. We're voting you out. And he won, like, five in a row because it was his only option. Do you know what I mean? And then at a certain point, people are like, well, he's Just going to keep winning individual immunity. So we have to make an alliance with him. But it's so interesting, the game, the way the game changes from group.

[Will Friedle]

And when does that happen?

[Rider Strong]

Normally when it gets down to like 10ish people, I think 8. 8 or 10 people.

[Will Friedle]

Well, stupid question. How many, how many episodes of Survivor are. This is a full season or they're 20 something episodes or is this like 10 or 12 episodes?

[Rider Strong]

No, I believe there's like 22. Yeah, it's a full season.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. All right.

[Rider Strong]

All right. So then over at Kahlo, you've got D, who I remember and love. She's a great player. Charlie is an incredible social player. He's like, he's, he's the younger guy, kind of skinny guy. He, he's like a huge Taylor Swift fan. He was from like a couple seasons ago and he had a really smart game where he, he did this thing. If I remember, it's him that like, he studied all the individual immunity challenges and noticed that there's a preponderance of challenges that require like this muscle, like on your arm or your forearm. Yeah. Your forearms or your, like the back of your heel. Because they'll be like, you have to sit on a ledge or hold this thing up. Right. So he spent just those muscles and it totally worked. Oh, my God, it was amazing. So he's like a real Survivor strategist. He also did this really smart thing where like in the last season he picked like two older women and was like, I'm going with you all the way. Because he knew that, like, those are going to be the social players that could, like, help him out the most. And he's just a, he's a good guy and a good player. I don't think he won. If I'm remembering correctly, he didn't win, but he ended up in the final.

[Will Friedle]

This is Charlie.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, Charlie. Great guy. And then Jonathan. Everyone's a giant. John.

[Will Friedle]

I know Jonathan's a giant.

[Rider Strong]

And then the same team, you got Mike White showing off his abs, which is hysterical because he's like, you know, his first couple of seasons, he's like the pasty nerdy guy. You're like, this guy does not belong on a beach. And now he looks like.

[Will Friedle]

And everyone's like, he's got a six pack.

[Rider Strong]

And this is where he starts crying about, you know, almost crying, talking about how Survivor experiences helped him get through his tough challenges on White Lotus. And that's why he came back, which I think is so cool.

[Will Friedle]

Super likable. This Guy.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. A lot of them are likable, man.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rider Strong]

It's not like, old. There have been seasons past where you're just like, I hate these people.

[Will Friedle]

There's only one, to me, this entire first episode that I didn't find amazingly likable.

[Rider Strong]

And that was Jenna, right?

[Will Friedle]

Yep. Yeah. And that's the one that went away.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, that's what I mean. It's a good season. It's like. It's like a positive season, you know? Like, it's so far, she.

[Will Friedle]

The second she came in, she came in guns blazing, and people are like,

[Rider Strong]

I don't want that. Play that hard, man. I don't want that. Same thing happened on Traders. You cannot come in, like, too hot. It really, like, I don't understand why. Dude, you have to just play the long game. No, that's what Mike White is a genius at. He's always like, let other people make the decisions. Make. Let them be aggressively forming alliances and making enemies, because you can inevitably make enemies. So just let them do it. And you can fly under the radar. I mean, I. It's. It's a genius strategy.

[Will Friedle]

You know, it was so funny because she's the only one. I was like, ooh, that I don't like her. And that was it.

[Rider Strong]

That's what happened. There you go. So that's on Sela. We go to that tribe next. You got Joe the firefighter. He's another great guy.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, he's like a super big. Another big dude.

[Rider Strong]

Big, big, beefy challenge guy who's also pretty great. Like, he's a good dude. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And then he saves people's lives for a living. What do you expect?

[Rider Strong]

Exactly. And then Sari is just sort of like the Everyman player. Right. She's always been a fan favorite because

[Will Friedle]

she's the audience surrogate.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, the Audi. The biggest audience. Everyone just loves her. And then you got Jenna in this team who. Yeah, you know, I'm.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And it's funny because I wonder, you know, I'm actually not. She hasn't played since season one, has she?

[Will Friedle]

No, she hasn't.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, that. She.

[Will Friedle]

That. You know, they're on the beach for, it seems like four minutes, unless they edited it weirdly.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And she's like, here, here. So we gotta posteria who's.

[Rider Strong]

Who's voting?

[Will Friedle]

And I was like, oh, my God.

[Rider Strong]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

By the way, my name's Dave. Like, I'm on your team. You know, You. You don't even know.

[Rider Strong]

She's. She's. I think she's been watching for the last 48, nine seasons and been strategizing, and she did it too hard. Like, she's just like. And she, she is right. That Saree is a huge threat. Oh, I'm sure everybody loves her. Not only the audience, but, like, in the tribes, people like her. No, man.

[Will Friedle]

But you slow burn it, you know, I mean, come on. That was, that was even. I knew that was terrible strategy.

[Rider Strong]

And then we've got Savannah, who apparently just won season 49, which I didn't get to see because my son and my wife watched it without me. So I have no knowledge of Rizzo. Right. Because Rizzo is also from season 49. So I have no. But she seems great. And she admits to them that she won season 49, which means she had two weeks off, she says, which I think is going to give her a huge advantage if she's fine, you know, like, if. Yeah, like if she. And I guess, is she the one that, like, starved herself before coming on and won?

[Will Friedle]

Maybe. I mean, I think, yeah, she's playing

[Rider Strong]

well and that's, that's going to help her because she's, she's, you know, she's also younger.

[Will Friedle]

I would imagine. Everybody, if you're running, it's a lot easier to run a marathon if you don't run 13 miles one day, stop, take a good night's sleep, get a rest and try to run 13. It's easier to just run the whole damn thing at one time. So she's just mid marathon right now. Let's just keep going crazy.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is U.S. olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhull.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm U.S. paralympic gold medalist Hunter Woodhull.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having

[Will Friedle]

a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the

[Will Friedle]

best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you

[Rider Strong]

learn more at pennymac.com pennymac loan services llc/housing lender nmls.id 35953 license point by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation. Under the California Residential Mortgage Lending act, conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Redfin Announcer]

Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking a listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to. To wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning. That's redfin.com.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

hi, I'm Cindy Crawford, and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but, like, I never liked being told, oh, wow, you look so good for your age. Like, why even bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age. Learn [e-mail].

[Home Instead Announcer]

Sometimes all we want is more of the same. Like another round of golf played from a channel with 24. 7 coverage. Another look at the garden and the deer as they pick their way through it. Another Taco Tuesday followed by a whatever's in the fridge Wednesday. And to get more of the same, all we need is a little help with adaptable care plans from qualified compassionate caregivers matched to your family's needs. Home instead can help you and your passions stay home no matter what's on your horizon. Visit home instead online for a better what's next.

[Rider Strong]

All right, so we actually already covered what happens next, which is the supply solo run.

[Will Friedle]

Yep.

[Rider Strong]

With Coach and Aussie and Q. And the way that that ends is with Coach returning to Kahlo. He gives his toe ring to Charlie,

[Will Friedle]

which he's been wearing since 1982.

[Rider Strong]

Did he say full of toe jam? You just know that's so gross. But Charlie's kind of a good sport about it, I guess. Chrissy and Coach have this moment in the water. Chrissy's already targeting D because she won before over.

[Will Friedle]

I was amazed, frankly, because just not being. Not knowing the show was amazed how fast the kind of quote unquote scheming starts.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, I didn't.

[Will Friedle]

I didn't know.

[Rider Strong]

It has to. Because that's the thing. That's what always used to happen, is that people would just be like, we gotta just survive and they wouldn't focus on the gameplay, and they would just get screwed.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

So these people, they know that the earlier you form alliances and don't deviate from them, the better off you are. Like, if you. If you can actually find your ride or die and you have the numbers, you know, like, you got to stick together, because otherwise.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

You have to figure out who you can trust and never turn your back on them because.

[Will Friedle]

Well, you're right. It seems like they've done. They've all done this so many times. They're like, we all know to skip the foreplay. Let's just get right to the business. Exactly what seems to be happening.

[Rider Strong]

Right over on Sila, you have Rick Devins, the, like, idle hound guy, and Christian and him. This whole Kirk and Spock relationship starts.

[Will Friedle]

I love these guys.

[Rider Strong]

I love these guys, too. I love how much they love each other. Isn't that the best? When they're like, I was hoping it would be you, and they're like, I could kiss you.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, I love these guys.

[Rider Strong]

Emily on board. Emily is a great player. It's interesting because Emily was a huge underdog her season, and she even talks about it right here.

[Will Friedle]

Got it, got it, got it. Emily flipping.

[Rider Strong]

She used to be in the underdog because she was completely underestimated her season because she wasn't, like, like, physically, like, in it, and she even socially just sort of didn't have a lot of friends immediately. But now she's in a situation where people know her, right. And, like, somebody like Rick is. Is. Is aligning with her right away. So she's finding herself in a new position where she's, like, actually being courted by people because she's, you know, used. She's not used to that. It's.

[Will Friedle]

She said that she's like, I. I'm not. This is so strange. Like, people want to date me all

[Rider Strong]

of a sudden, which is. It's good. It's like, because she is. She's a really good player. She's. Yeah, she's actually very strong. Surprisingly, over at Vaatu, you've got Colby and Kyle forming their thing.

[Will Friedle]

Kyle. Okay. Kyle Frazier.

[Rider Strong]

Right. And Kyle. And he's the one who hurts himself at the end of this episode, which is such a bummer.

[Will Friedle]

It sucks. Yeah, we'll get. We'll figure it out.

[Rider Strong]

It sucks because he's a really good dude. And look, you know, I look forward to seeing him play. They lock in Stephanie.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, by the way, just since we just talked about him, and we will get into the surgery but he did release a statement. He. It was torn, and he needed surgery that week.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, yeah, dude. You could see when they squeeze his leg and it doesn't.

[Will Friedle]

And you could see when they did the ultrasound and everything. There's a big black.

[Rider Strong]

He's like, you want to look for dark spots? I'm like, you mean like that right there? Dude. Oh, poor guy sucks. So then kyle and genevieve lock in. So you've got a pretty good alliance. But then what sucks about this alliance is they lose kyle by the end of this episode, and q comes back without votes. So they're. Yeah, they're not in a great position.

[Will Friedle]

It was a tough. It was a tough run for them.

[Rider Strong]

So then aubrey is one of those. She's a. Again, like a sort of underdog of her season who really did well because she was underestimated. And it was really interesting, the scene between her and genevieve on the beach where they're, like, kind of not trusting one another because they sort of see each other's gaze. It was a weird tension. It was cool, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I. It's gonna. Yeah, we'll see how that plays out. So ozzy and q are stuck on exile island. You can see how miserable that is. Miserable.

[Will Friedle]

My God.

[Rider Strong]

Ozzy spent an entire season almost coast on exile island.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, but this is the guy who ever. You said every time then someone would show up, he'd be like, I have a fish dinner for you.

[Rider Strong]

He would be, wait, yeah. And then he would. Because then what they would have to do. That season, they had this whole system where if you got exiled or if you got kicked out of your tribe, you went to exile island, and then you had a. A contest with whoever was already on exile island, and then if you. If you lost to them, you'd get kicked off. So ozzy stayed on exile island for, like, five rounds, and people just kept coming through, and then he would kick their ass in a challenge and. And then he was fine. Like, it was super interesting. But so for. Of all of the people to be stuck on an exile island, ozzy was the best one.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

But just looks miserable, dude. They're talking about all the bugs all

[Will Friedle]

over them, and it looks like it's cold and the wind and you're not going to sleep yet. Looks awful.

[Rider Strong]

So then they have this. This agreement where, you know, ozzy says he's not going to take the supplies and go back and q is going to return with the supplies but not have vote.

[Will Friedle]

What would you have done as somebody who watches the show? Which one's more important, the supplies or the vote?

[Rider Strong]

It depends on how good you're feeling. The problem is right now, these guys have no reason to believe they have anybody rooting for them.

[Will Friedle]

Is it just this week? Did he lose the vote for just this week or the next time he goes to Tribal Council?

[Rider Strong]

No, it's just next time he goes to Tribal Council.

[Will Friedle]

Okay, so if the team doesn't go to Tribal Council for five weeks.

[Rider Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

But then he gets to Tribal Council. He's lost his vote the next time they go.

[Rider Strong]

But the real problem is, like, I would say, take the supplies and give up the vote if you. You're. You're. You're confident that you're. You're protected back home.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

These guys have missed the entire first night, so they didn't get to strategize.

[Will Friedle]

That's what they were saying.

[Rider Strong]

No confidence in, like, their team. And that's why Ozzy's like, I'm not giving. He's like, I'll be fine because I'm a survivalist. I don't need the supplies because, you know, and really, what I think is Q should have gone back and said, I lost my vote, guys. Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

For.

[Rider Strong]

For you to give you supplies. So please don't vote for me because I did the right thing for us to have a machete, to have a pot. Like, the fact that he comes back and lies.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Is, I think, kind of a bad call because I think you. You like. I would. If you take the thing, say you did it, and that will earn you social capital that you. You know, to make up for the fact that you missed everything.

[Will Friedle]

That's what I would have done. That's right.

[Rider Strong]

And that's, you know, Azie. Azie is fine because he'll. He'll provide in other ways. And he's like, screw it. But, yeah, I think it's super interesting that that cube comes back and lies. I. This is the part about going on a solo journey that I never want to do. So often they come back with an advantage or a disadvantage.

[Will Friedle]

Well, we saw that later.

[Rider Strong]

You have to make up a lie, man. You have to say, oh, I never found anything. Or in this case, he makes up some, like, coconut challenge. Coconut.

[Will Friedle]

We had to run 50 yards with coconuts.

[Redfin Announcer]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

It was something weird.

[Rider Strong]

Thanks.

[Will Friedle]

Keep a lie simple if you got a lie.

[Rider Strong]

No, thanks. All right, so then we have Christian with a lens starting a fire, which I thought was so cool. And Ozzy helps him get that.

[Will Friedle]

People were looking at it like it was shocking what you do what?

[Rider Strong]

I don't think it's ever happened on Survivor, but I would totally learn. I would like, Yeah, I would be reading everything about local flora and fauna and know everything, how to make the

[Will Friedle]

bow and the spindle and do everything and how you get the coal.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, of course. Why not, why not? What else are you doing besides, like, talking to people?

[Will Friedle]

If Tom Hanks can do it on an island, we can.

[Rider Strong]

So Siri and Rick Devin's meet up and he tells her that Jenna is throwing her name around already, which is why you don't play that hard that fast. Which she was Cere and Ozzy lock in, which I think is super smart for him and her because she, you know, she's not a big challenge person, so. And then he tells her that he has this extra vote and this is, you know, this is where the backstory that you don't know is that he always gets screwed. Like, he always. He always has an idol, he's always winning challenges and people just. Just backstab him because he's too much of a threat. And he's so likable that they know that if it goes to a jury, he's probably going to win the million dollars. You know, because that's at the end. You have to bring two, sometimes three people with you to the end, and then it's the people that you've kicked out during the individual who vote, which one of you gets the million dollars. So you want to. You want to like, basically you want to get up there and kick people out. Like vote against people, but let them know that you. You're.

[Will Friedle]

You hate that you had to do it, right?

[Rider Strong]

Yes. Because if you are just like too manipulative, too mean to people, they won't ever give you the million dollars. They'll hold that grudge. But then there's this other thing where sometimes they just turn around, they're like, you know what? You screwed me over. But well played. Good if you're upfront about it. But we pinky swore. See, this is the aspect the traders I think was missing, which is the jury factor. Like you. Because at traders, you could just be the biggest scumbag ever because you're rewarded for it. There's no incentive to be somewhat nice to people. Yeah, that's what I like about Survivor is like, you can't just lie, cheat, steal. You have to, like, actually be kind of.

[Will Friedle]

Because you have to face the people you stabbed in the back. Yes, exactly. Interesting, interesting.

[Rider Strong]

So you have to strategize enough or Be friendly enough so that you're not just. Yeah, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

That's an important aspect. That's an important huge dude.

[Rider Strong]

It's huge. All right. Over at Vatu, they're having this fashion show, which is hysterical, and gets Colby to come around on Rizzo, and Rizzo cries, calls him like a father figure. Really sweet moment. I love it.

[Will Friedle]

It was a sweet moment until he looked at him and said, my dad's 47, and I wanted to throw my remote through the TV. It's like, are you kidding me?

[Rider Strong]

Come on.

[Will Friedle]

Three years younger than me, you bastard.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. That's intense.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, God.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Crazy. Crazy.

[Rider Strong]

Over at Kalo, you got Jonathan and Mike doing yoga on the beach. Jonathan and coach form an alliance. Like, we've got D and Tiffany.

[Will Friedle]

So convoluted at this point.

[Rider Strong]

I know, man. I know.

[Will Friedle]

There's so many people talking to so many other people that I don't know. So many things I don't understand. I'll get it eventually.

[Rider Strong]

We don't need to cover all of this then, because I think a lot of it'll become.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So let's just get right to the challenge. This is basically the. This is the centerpiece of every episode is you have this big challenge. These are cool. And this is where you get to see, you know, the rubber. Meet the road of their actual abilities and their teamwork. Super fun. And this is where they can win fishing gear. So they got to jump over a ramp, go through the mud, and, man, Kyle has this leg moment, which you could see him push himself so hard. I mean, they are beasts, those guys, like, throwing themselves up the ramp.

[Will Friedle]

Slams on that ramp, too. I mean, like, slams on.

[Rider Strong]

Alex and I both, like.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, us too.

[Rider Strong]

Screamed out loud.

[Will Friedle]

It was one of those things where. But they're doing it on purpose, where they're like, the first thing you got to do is go through a ton of mud. So everything else you do is slippery.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

And it's like, they're doing that on purpose, obviously. Like. Yep. We're gonna.

[Rider Strong]

Oh. But again, get those great opening credit shots, because now they've got them, like, crawling through.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Looking. It's gonna be amazing.

[Will Friedle]

I felt that guy. Anybody who's done anything to an ankle or to an Achilles, it is.

[Rider Strong]

I couldn't believe how he. He wasn't showing his pain. Like, he was just. Because he didn't want to let it stop him, of course.

[Will Friedle]

And they would have kicked, and they would have kicked him out.

[Rider Strong]

I know about it. He actually did snap his Achilles tendon. Yeah. So that had to. I mean, I thought that he twisted his ankle based on how he was

[Will Friedle]

or broke it or something. Me, too.

[Rider Strong]

But he. I think snapping your tendon is way worse and probably painful. So the fact that he plays it off because he doesn't want to stop the game, like, dude, that guy's champ. And he's.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, that's. Those are injuries that end careers in sports. And, I mean, that's huge. Yeah, they're huge. And he did. He had surgery, I guess, that same week. They had some. To rebuild everything. Yikes.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. There was a guy, I think it was last season, bit by a snake, and they had to pull him because it was a genuinely poisonous snake.

[Will Friedle]

Oh, God. They can't just give him a snake bite and let him go.

[Rider Strong]

No, they. They were like, we. It's too much of a risk. We got to pull you from the game because we have to monitor you for, like, 24 hours or whatever. Sucks. I know. It's the worst. People get pulled for this kind of thing. All right, so this is where Sir Serie was holding up her tribe with the monkey fist throwing. Such a bummer.

[Will Friedle]

But it's also. This is where. Where certain things like these challenges are. Again, this is the first one I've seen, but very clever, because what would appear to be the easiest part of the challenge is actually arguably one of the most difficult parts of the challenge. You've got to throw this little thing through this thing. Hey. It might not be as physically demanding as the other stuff you've got to do, but you got to be real good to do stuff like this.

[Rider Strong]

And it's all on you. Yes. You don't want to volunteer for this position, to be honest, unless you, like, know that you're. This is your skill set, you know?

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So it's a real problem that Serie volunteered and that they let her.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And I'm surprised that that didn't come up more.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Like in tribal, like, they, you know.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, yeah, they.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, I. I think people just didn't like Jenna. People.

[Will Friedle]

I don't think so either. Well, again, the way she played, she

[Rider Strong]

was a lot of good reason to vote out Surrey right here.

[Will Friedle]

It was 100%. 100%. But it's also. It's one of those things everybody. Anybody who doesn't know football thinks being a kicker on the football teams, like, it's so easy. All you have to do is kick the ball.

[Rider Strong]

Everything's on you.

[Will Friedle]

Everything's on you.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. You got.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. You might only have one thing to do. But it's an exceptionally difficult thing to do. And it's all on you.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, dude.

[Will Friedle]

And so it's that moment where it was like. But here's the thing. Had Jenna been nicer about it? She wasn't wrong.

[Rider Strong]

No.

[Will Friedle]

With. It's like, hey, Siree, I honestly thought

[Rider Strong]

once after this challenge, I thought Siree was gone.

[Will Friedle]

Me too. And maybe should have been.

[Rider Strong]

Maybe I could not believe. But I think. I think Jenna just was too much of a.

[Will Friedle]

Agreed. She's unlikable. She. She came on way too strong. And they were like, I'm not sure.

[Rider Strong]

I.

[Will Friedle]

This personality around us right off.

[Rider Strong]

I mean, there's that moment when Emily throws out Aussie, which was like, I thought, oh, my God. But that would be playing too hard too early because then you lose the benefit of your tribe in challenges because Aussie is such an acid.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, but.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, I mean, but it already shows that Aussie is going to have the biggest target on his back once again for this entire. He needs every advantage he can get because he. He's just too much. He's too good at this game. He's. It's like he was made for Survivor in a lady, you know?

[Will Friedle]

Right, Right. Exactly. Right.

[Rider Strong]

I think he grew up in Mexico, like, on the beach, you know, Like, I think he grew up in a situation where he was swimming and fishing every day as a kid. And so this just feels like home for him. It's crazy.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

Hey, this is U.S. olympic gold medalist Tara Davis Woodhall.

[Will Friedle]

And I'm U.S. paralympic gold medalist Hunter.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

As athletes, our lives are about having

[Will Friedle]

a clear path and a team that you can absolutely trust.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

So when it came to getting the

[Will Friedle]

best mortgage, we chose PennyMac.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

PennyMac is proud to be the official mortgage provider of Team USA and you

[Rider Strong]

learn more at pennymac.com pennymac loan services, llc/housing lender nmls.id 35953 licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending act, conditions and restrictions may apply.

[Redfin Announcer]

Let's talk about modern home shopping. It's sort of become a fun side hobby, right? Scrolling listings at night, dreaming about kitchens you've never seen or backyards you haven't even stepped foot in. All from the comfort of pretty much anywhere. Redfin knows a lot of people like you want to own but are stuck in this browsing mode loop. That's where Redfin flips the script. With listings that update within minutes and tours you can book right from the Redfin app, you can see your dream home the moment it appears. Now, liking A listing is easy, but actually landing it, that's where Redfin comes in. Redfin has over 2200 agents with local expertise. And Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents. That means they want to help you win. Not just window shop. Redfin is built to help you go from just looking to wait. This could actually be home. So become the newest neighbor on the block. Visit redfin.com to start finding and start owning.

[Tara Davis Woodhull]

That's redfin.com hi, I'm Cindy Crawford and I'm the founder of Meaningful Beauty. Well, I don't know about you, but like, I never liked being told, oh, wow, you look so good for your age. Like, why even bother saying that? Why don't you just say you look great at any age, every age. That's what Meaningful Beauty is all about. We create products that make you feel confident in your skin at the age you are now. Meaningful Beauty, beautiful skin at every age. Learn [e-mail].

[Home Instead Announcer]

Sometimes all we want is more of the same. Like another round of golf played from a channel with 247 coverage. Another look at the garden and the deer as they pick their way through it. Another look, another taco Tuesday followed by a whatever's in the fridge Wednesday. And to get more of the same, all we need is a little help with adaptable care plans from qualified compassionate caregivers matched to your family's needs. Home instead can help you and your passion stay home no matter what's on your horizon. Visit home instead online for a better what's next?

[Rider Strong]

After the challenge, Christian gives his little pep talk, his little football like speech, and then it just becomes this is the they know they have to go to tribal. So this is what happens then. It's just a scramble. And this is why you have to have already hopefully solidified some of your alliances because this is where everything changes. These hours between finding out you lost the challenge and then that night going to tribal. And this is where the show gets insane. Like, you'll have episodes where this will be like 45 minutes of the episode because people are like, wait, you said you were gonna do this and I said I'm gonna do that. And then last minute and then they change and they'll change at tribal with looks to each other. Dude, it's so dramatic because this, this, these are all good players. So you notice when they get to tribal, they just speak in general aphorisms. Do you notice that? Of course, they never say any. So what. What amateur players of Survivor do is they get to tribal and they say, well, we're gonna vote siree. And they just say their strategy, and. And then it always backfires. And, like, so you just keep your mouth shut, do not reveal anything. And that's what Jeff's job is, to try and get them to reveal something. Leading questions of, like, how was your day after that challenge? Weren't you guys thinking siree that was.

[Will Friedle]

Put yourself on the chopping block there.

[Rider Strong]

His goal is to try and bring out the conflicts and to have them reveal their plans of what they're voting for. And really what you want to do is go into tribals and not change your mind. Right. Like, the worst thing that can happen is to be surprised at tribal. So you set your plan, you set your alliances, you look each other in the eyes, you shake hands, pinky swear, whatever you need to do. And then you get to tribal and you just keep your mouth shut or you open your mouth and say nothing. You just say generic speak. And these guys. Yeah, these guys are all so good at that. You see them play it out like, nobody makes a mistake.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

But if you watch earlier seasons or seasons with noobs on it, and they're just like. They're like, I was feeling this way, and now I'm not sure. I don't think I'm gonna vote for Joe. And you watch everybody just turn to them and pounce. Like, they're just like, all right, you're out of here. Or somebody will say something, you know, offensive. Or it's. It's like, so these guys are all pros. They're not making any of those mistakes, which makes for kind of a boring tribal. I'll be honest. The best tribals.

[Will Friedle]

I'm sure it'll get better.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, dude, there's. The best tribals are when you have, like, immunity reveals or when people are, like, getting up and whispering to each other. Like, they'll get up and start whispering, and then they'll. Other people will, like, realize those two are whispering. So then they got a whisper to their teammates, and then people are lying to their face. Like, no, no, I'm fake whispering. It's okay. And you're like, it's over. It's. Yeah. So it can be crazy, but this is a very tame tribal. I was surprised. I'll be honest.

[Will Friedle]

I. I wanted her to go, but I was surprised.

[Rider Strong]

I did not think they were going to vote for Ozzy, but I did think that there was a chance that it was going to be us. You know, siree was going to go.

[Will Friedle]

Well, I mean, again, Judging by just what we saw, Cerie was the logical choice. I mean, flat out, she's the logical choice. We had. We lost the challenge, essentially. Or at least you took us out of the possibility of winning.

[Rider Strong]

Right.

[Will Friedle]

Legitimately. So, you know, but again, had Jenna not come so hard so fast.

[Rider Strong]

There's something slightly poetic about the first first season player being the first one.

[Will Friedle]

First one to go.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Her exit speech is one of my favorite things in the world, by the way.

[Rider Strong]

Way. I can't remember what she said where

[Will Friedle]

she's just like, I'm just really happy to be here. It was so sweet and that, you know, just shows meant a lot to me and I hope they lose every single challenge. And it was just like, oh, yeah,

[Rider Strong]

I don't know enough about her. I, I never actually watched the first season, so I don't remember.

[Will Friedle]

I remember naked guy. I'll always remember naked guy.

[Rider Strong]

That's it. So Jenna is voted out tribal. She, I, I think think I, I, I'm happy about that, but I don't know if it was the right choice. Agreed. Like, I think if you're just thinking strategy because siree is going to be a monster player, like, she has done so well. So you do kind of want to get out a big player early, especially a big player who's not good in challenges. Right. Because that person is going to be better in the Munich in the individual game.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And you want to keep somebody like Ozzy or good at challenges now. And Jenna is was good at challenges like she was physically keeping up and do you know, so.

[Will Friedle]

But not a single person except Jenna voted for her. Not a single one.

[Rider Strong]

I know. That amazing, intense man.

[Will Friedle]

I figured there'd be one or two.

[Rider Strong]

I know. And I, Yeah. Considering the Suri screwed up as much as she did, that's pretty. It shows that she's really unlike.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. All right. So at Vatu, you get this Kyle's ankle situation. Oh, brutal. And yeah. And then unbelievably, Genevieve finds an idol or a wrapped something wrapped up. And that's when I was like, oh,

[Will Friedle]

my God, I don't know what any of this means.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, well, you kind of don't the reality. There are. There's usually hidden stuff. Sometimes it's an idol, like in this case, it is this special boomerang idol. But other times it'll just be like, other times it'll be like a what's called a beware advantage, which is something you find that says you can take this, but it also can backfire on you It'll be like you get to vote for the next. You know, you get an extra vote, but if you don't use it, you get two negative, you know, two rounds. But in this case, it is just this boomerang idol that you give to somebody.

[Will Friedle]

This was convoluted.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. You give to somebody on another tribe.

[Will Friedle]

On another tribe, and either you're giving it to somebody you want to eventually build an alliance with or somebody you want to get out.

[Rider Strong]

Because.

[Will Friedle]

Because if they're voted out while still holding the idol so they don't use it.

[Rider Strong]

Yes.

[Will Friedle]

It comes back to you and you can do it again.

[Rider Strong]

Yes. And so she makes the best choice she could, which is to give it to ozzy because that's actually happened to him. He has been voted out with an idol in his pocket, and you know that he is probably a target because, you know, he's always a target. So I think it's really smart.

[Will Friedle]

I mean, so then why wouldn't he use them? Why would he. If he's always a target? He knows he's constantly getting screwed. Why is he getting kicked out with idols in his pocket?

[Rider Strong]

Pocket. I'm confused by this is if he uses the idol, does it come back to her, too?

[Will Friedle]

No. I think. Then it's dead. I think if he's kicked out with it in his pocket, it comes back to her. But if he uses it, he uses it.

[Rider Strong]

But he's also a very powerful player. So it's a smart move because if he. If he doesn't use it and up until they merge, she could form an alliance with him.

[Will Friedle]

Of course. She could be like, hey, I'm the one, dude. I gave you the idol. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

So even if he does play it, he's gonna owe her. You know, like, let's say he plays it before they merge and then they merge, she's going to be able to say to him like, dude, I gave this to you. Out of these people here, I chose you to support your game. That's a. I think it's a good move, man. It's like you. You want to pick a power player.

[Will Friedle]

Basically, she decided it was a fine day for a white wedding and ended up with a Billy idol. So let's never forget that, my friends, because it's important.

[Rider Strong]

All right? And it's always interesting to see who they tell and who they don't when they find an idol.

[Will Friedle]

Right.

[Rider Strong]

Because you really don't want everybody on your tribe to know an idol. It's like. It's one of those things. But you Usually want to tell at least one person, but then, of course, that person has the power to betray you by telling other people.

[Will Friedle]

Now, here's my question.

[Rider Strong]

If you. What.

[Will Friedle]

What's the downside of telling everybody on the. On your tribe? Like, hey, everybody, I just want you to know I found an idol, then

[Rider Strong]

they might force you to play it. Like, they might then vote for you just to get rid of it. Because every time an idol gets used, it comes back into the game in some form.

[Will Friedle]

Okay. So they're thinking, if I make you use yours, then eventually I might.

[Rider Strong]

It'll come back. Or you just don't want somebody to have an idol knowing, you know, like. Yeah. So you'll blindside them. If you know somebody is an idol, the rest of the rest of the tribe will probably just blindside you for the sake of flushing the idol. Or they'll just make you play it. They'll be like, we're voting for you. So now you have to play it because they don't want you to have the advantage over them. I know. It's tricky, man.

[Will Friedle]

It's tricky.

[Rider Strong]

It's. So then we have this, like, journey where boats show up. And again, I would say never volunteer to go on a journey. But Mike goes on the journey, Savannah goes for Selah, and Colby goes.

[Will Friedle]

Now Colby did it. If what you're saying is true, then Colby did it the right way then by going kind of essentially saying, I don't. Not happy about this. I don't want to go, but if everybody wants me to go, I'll go.

[Rider Strong]

Yes. And Savannah was random, I believe. Right. That was just a numbers game. They did, like, whoever picked closest to 16 or something.

[Will Friedle]

Yes, exactly. And then Mike was like, I never got to go on a single one when I was on. Let me. Let me do it. Take a journey.

[Rider Strong]

I'm surprised he did that, man. Because. Because, yeah, you get into some sticky situations on this journey.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. And as. As it showed it happened.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

And so Mike. Mike goes and they tell him that coach robbed the key from Aussie, which

[Will Friedle]

snaked it from Ozzy.

[Rider Strong]

Ends up. You know, does at first, does not seem like that big of information, but it kind of plays into the rest of the episode.

[Will Friedle]

It does. And pisses Ozzy off something fierce because he's honorable. Coach Yak fists coach off.

[Rider Strong]

Are you.

[Will Friedle]

Because now riders telling me you're not so honorable.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. So they. They draw rocks, and Mike goes home immediately, which is such a pointless journey.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. What was the point of the boat ride?

[Rider Strong]

You know, here's the thing. It just, it can seed suspicion in your tribe. Like, he's going to go home and say, I came home empty handed. And, like, there's a big chance that people won't believe him.

[Will Friedle]

Believe him. Right.

[Rider Strong]

You know, in this case, I, I think that they actually believe him. I don't think. I don't. Yes.

[Will Friedle]

He's probably gone for 30 seconds where

[Rider Strong]

he's like, yeah, but he also, he comes back and he gives that information about Coach and. And that becomes more important to everybody than the fact that he came home empty handed. But he. You know, a lot of people lie. They get an advantage. They come back from a journey and they're like, there was nothing. We just. So when Mike comes back, he's lucky that they actually believe him because covered

[Will Friedle]

in chocolate, like, there's nothing there.

[Rider Strong]

Exactly. Nothing.

[Will Friedle]

It's just me by myself. All right.

[Rider Strong]

And so then we have Savannah and Colby doing the stack and kick Jenga, like, game. And she does going high when she's shorter than him.

[Will Friedle]

No terrible thing to do, man.

[Rider Strong]

Really?

[Will Friedle]

Oh, yeah. With Jenga, you want, you got, you got to make it wide and stable. I mean, at that point you're just. You see how much his hand was shaking, too?

[Rider Strong]

I mean, his hands were like, oh, my God.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah. No, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta. You know, it's a foolish man who builds his house upon the sand. You gotta, you gotta build that base.

[Rider Strong]

So he loses his vote and now it seems like she's just gonna keep her vote.

[Will Friedle]

Keep her vote.

[Rider Strong]

Right. But then she gets to the boat and they give her a secret block of vote, which.

[Will Friedle]

Which you said tends to happen. Yeah, you get some kind of thing.

[Rider Strong]

Something. So, yeah, Mike returns, tells Coach the gossip and Coach takes it hard, which.

[Will Friedle]

And now he got that thousand yard stare.

[Rider Strong]

I know.

[Will Friedle]

Dead behind the.

[Rider Strong]

And then he's like, all right, he wants to play hard. He's going to turn on Aussie. So all their apologies and, like handshaking. Yeah. Yes. Which, you know, Ozzy was like, just telling the truth. Like, it's not like he went back and said Coach is a snake. He went back and said coach stole it from me after Q. Which he described. Exactly.

[Will Friedle]

So 45 minutes of my back was killing me. I finally knocked it off and he stole it from.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, yeah, totally. That's what happens.

[Will Friedle]

Yikes. All right.

[Rider Strong]

On Vatu, you've got Q and Colby both down votes. So they're in a tough spot.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

On Sila, Savannah comes back and doesn't tell everyone that she Has a block of vote and no one buys it. Doesn't believe her.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, no one buys it. Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Doesn't believe her. So instantly. That's what I mean, instantly.

[Will Friedle]

So you're right. It's just.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. And they don't turn on Mike, which I'm. I'm curious if that's gonna happen because he came back and said, another nap.

[Will Friedle]

And see, I'm wondering if it's one of those things, though, where he was gone for five minutes. Yeah, he's gone for five or seven minutes.

[Rider Strong]

A likability.

[Will Friedle]

Everyone likes Mike and he came back with a good piece of gossip.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah, exactly.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Whereas Savannah, you know, she's a player. She just won. She just won. She's. They're like, suspicious of her. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Will Friedle]

Now, does it. Does anybody. I mean, there are episodes where people are like, okay, I don't believe you. What did you get?

[Rider Strong]

Yes. Oh, yeah. Okay. Often they'll just call them out and then that person can decide, like, oh, I'll tell you the truth.

[Will Friedle]

Okay.

[Rider Strong]

Or please don't tell so and so or whatever. Or they make up a lie and they just insist on it. But lying in this game usually doesn't work very long. Like, you usually want to confide in somebody, at least one person.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah.

[Rider Strong]

Because it cuz just lying to. The more people you lie to, the harder this game gets, I find. But, you know, like I said, I'm the type of person who just hates lies.

[Will Friedle]

Hey, it's also a good, good rule of thumb for life. More people you lie to you, the harder it gets.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah.

[Will Friedle]

So true.

[Rider Strong]

And then Jeff shows up with the medical to check Kyle's Achilles heel. This was just such a bummer.

[Will Friedle]

It also shows some pretty phenomenal advances in medical technology when the guy is doing an ultrasound on his phone.

[Rider Strong]

What the heck, Dude?

[Will Friedle]

Dude.

[Rider Strong]

Insane.

[Will Friedle]

Yeah, insane. Me too. I thought the same thing. I'm like, Star wars or Star Trek?

[Rider Strong]

We are literally in a Star Trek scene right now where your. Your tricorder. Yep. Let me check that. Exactly. I can't scan your bones and your tendon.

[Will Friedle]

Like, dude, don't tell me. Jim. I'm just trying to see if he snapped as Achilles. So crazy.

[Rider Strong]

Really? Yeah. We're in the middle of the jungle and we're like, yeah, do you need

[Will Friedle]

a giant piece of equipment? No, I'll do it on my phone with a little thing. Crazy.

[Rider Strong]

All right, well, this was a lot of coverage, man. This is a long episode.

[Will Friedle]

It was. And I don't mean to make it any longer, but as you do know, I am an expert on all things.

[Rider Strong]

Sure.

[Will Friedle]

I was first an expert on the history of dance. I then became an expert on the history of the most famous traitors that have ever walked the planet. But did you know that there's also some serious survivors that have walked the planets with some incredible stories? And you call them all? I do by heart encyclopedic or for people in my generation card catalogic. Thank you very much. I like to walk through the Dewey decimal system of my mind in a section that I'm calling world's history of famous survivors from stuff that happened in history and the past.

[Rider Strong]

Thank you.

[Will Friedle]

So you know that I work on it perfectly. I'm gonna start with a very interesting story. This is a story of somebody named ada blackjack from 1921.

[Rider Strong]

Oh, what a name.

[Will Friedle]

Great name. Ada Blackjack. She's also known as the forgotten female castaway. She was stranded on an icy expanse of Wrangel island in the Arctic after a doom expedition for nearly two years. What she relied on her resourcefulness and determination, hunting and foraging to stay alive. As the only surviv despite overwhelming odds and isolation. Ada's quiet strength helped her endure until rescue arrived. Her remarkable stories attribute to perseverance in the harshest conditions. What year is this? 1921 in the Arctic. A woman by herself for two years.

[Rider Strong]

I wonder what she had with her like as far as. Like, was she. Did she have shipwreck supplies?

[Will Friedle]

Like I can tell you. But you should go study it yourself is what I would say about that. I want you to earn the knowledge.

[Rider Strong]

I can't believe that that hasn't been made into a movie.

[Will Friedle]

I'm sure it will be.

[Rider Strong]

Absolutely cast away. Oh my God.

[Will Friedle]

Ada Blackjack, the forgotten female castaway.

[Rider Strong]

Yeah. Wow. All right. You've been listening to pod meets twirled. The torches may be snuffed, but our questionable analysis burns on. We'll see you at the next tribal.

[Home Instead Announcer]

When you stay in your home, what you love gets to stay too. From the gardens that grow wild to the grandkids that run wilder. From the Friday night baseball games to the Sunday morning brunches. Even the daily crosswords and weekly book clubs. There's room for it all. With help from home instead. The largest in home senior care network. With over 30 years, years of trusted experience delivering the peace of mind you deserve. Visit home instead online for a better what's next?

[Redfin Announcer]

There's a difference between liking a house and actually getting it. Redfin is built to make up that difference and close the gap between finding and owning the home for you. Redfin agents close twice as many deals as other agents, so when you find a home you love, you're not a step behind when it comes to making an offer. That means less watching great homes disappear and more focus on the one you'll call home. Redfin helps turn saved listings into real addresses. Get [e-mail] own the dream with the

[Will Friedle]

Venmo Debit card A taco in one hand and ordering a ride in the other means you're stacking your rewards. Nice get up to 5% cash back with Venmo Stash on your favorite brands when you pay with your Venmo debit card. From takeout to ride shares, entertainment, and more, pick a bundle with your go tos and start earning cash back at those brands. Brands do more stash get more cash Venmo Stash Bundle terms and exclusions apply. See terms at Venmo Me stash terms max $100 cash back per month Premier

[Home Instead Announcer]

Protein it's for getting after life, not just fitness. With 30 grams of protein, 160 calories, and no sugar added, helping people fuel their joyful lives with Premier Protein, you can say yes to more. Whether it's crushing a big presentation at work, building an epic fort with the kids, or hitting the hiking trail with friends, Premier Protein offers delicious flavors like cafe latte, chocolate, caramel, vanilla, strawberry, and cake batter, to name a few. Find your favorite [e-mail].