4/27 - Survivor 42 Show Discussion

I gained a lot of respect for Jonathan because he stood up for himself. Drea was calling them racist. They were trying to vote out the biggest threats - the people with immunity idols. Rocksroy was voted out because he pissed everyone off. What Drea was doing was racist.

What Drea was doing was saying "if you even think of voting us off, all 350 million people in America are going to think you are racist." They planted the seed that white people can only win because of their "privilege".

Last season there was an all-black alliance. Imagine the outrage if white people did that???

This.

We see it from the viewer standpoint, we see the conversations that make people decide to vote him off.  We aren't in the jungle, deprived of food, tired, emotions running high.  We don't know what Drea has dealt with in her past.  She saw two POC as the first two of the jury, at that point she probably wasn't even thinking of those that were booted pre-jury.  She had an emotional reaction and, smartly, played her idol.  That's the game, you bring these people together from different backgrounds and see how they react to the situation.  They had every right to feel how they felt, even if it wasn't the intention of the votes.  It doesn't matter the make-up of those that voted Rocks out, all they were seeing was what was in front of them.  

And, I agree, Rocks was voted out because he was a misogynistic a-hole.  I was glad to see him go. 

bit stunned by the comments. I watched the show and thought it was a powerful episode. Thought Drea and Marryanne were incredibly well spoken and didn't point fingers at anyone specific. Granted as a Canadian we may see things through a different lens but I didn't see "a card" being played. I saw people expressing their feelings. Jonathan did slide in my eyes though. And Rocksroy was his own worst enemy and it was his time to go.

They do, they just don’t talk about it. 

The thing is, Jonathan didn't need to stand up for himself. If he was really listening to Drea, she took great pains to say that this wasn't about her fellow castmates. It was about the simple dynamic of 3 black people potentially getting voted out in a row, whatever the reason. If she implied any racism, it was an unconscious kind, and again, she didn't accuse Jonathon or anyone else there of that -- it's just what was happening before her eyes, and she couldn't let the pattern (or random order) of tribal votes continue. She said it was her issue, not theirs. And let's face it, we've seen it before -- most recently on BB21, which is partially the reason that BB23 happened the way it did, because it was so out there, planned or not.

But Jonathan didn't hear any of that, and so he made it about him when he didn't need to. Tori and Lindsey seemed to get it though.

I think Jonathan is super sensitive as the "big guy" he is perceived a certain way and wanted to draw the line right away that he is not racist. People are super sensitive about being called that especially during the time this season was filmed and there are folks who are too quick to throw out the word racist in any given situation. That being said, this tribal council would have been the one to keep your mouth shut as both Tori and Lindsey were both socially aware it would be the smart thing to do. If Jonathan had not engaged Drea the entire situation may not have escalated to the point it did where Maryanne also joined the conversation for her two cents. 

Thank you--that helps. So, the guys who voted out Rocksroy, or at least some of them, were a part of what Drea believed was an alliance to which she thought she belonged (I'm putting it that way, as I'm assuming she didn't know that there was also an all boys alliance considered briefly) that existed prior to the game division creating what were essentially two new tribes just for that double eviction? And that's why she was so shocked to see Rocksroy gone rather than Romeo? I hope I'm following that correctly, as I have missed at least one full episode this season and pieces of other ones.

That makes it so much easier for me to see why she reacted the way she did, particularly since she had no knowledge of things the audience did (e.g.some of the other guys being put off by the idea of an all boys alliance, which Rocksroy supported). Not saying that it's impossible that race played a part in the vote to evict Rocksroy because there's no way I can know everything that was going through the voters' heads. Just saying that Drea reacted based on what she knew and she didn't know everything the viewers did. Whether that would have made any difference in her decisions one way or another if she had known isn't something I could possibly know either. Personally, given the situation, I think she was smart to play an Idol (she has more than one, right? or at least more than one advantage) because she has to know having so many advantages makes her a very big target. Also, no one really trusted Tori, so she may have wanted her gone and felt that if they couldn't vote out her or Jonathan (who, had he not won immunity would likely have been a target, too), they might go after Tori. Once Maryann played her idol as well, it was almost certain they would go after her.

Of course, as a Black American woman, I get what they're saying but, at the same time, Survivor has had African American winners who have won rightfully by outlasting, outwitting, and outplaying the other contestants. The players from today's season simply just didn't out-anything over the other players.

I agree.  Too many idols/advantages.  I think they should do a season without HII or advantages but not let the players know.