Ep. 3 "Better Start Kissing My Ass"

3 episodes in, I thought it might be fun to cover Episode 3 “Better Start Kissing My Ass” by answering some “Tree Mail” questions from some readers. Thanks to those who reached out. If you have any thoughts or comments or questions, drop them in my tree mail —— tribalcouncilblog@gmail.com

Episode 3 Tree Mail

Tree Mail Question 1

“Hey Tom, love the blog and glad you are covering Surviving Barstool. What do you think about the format? Is the 8 person, 4 episode format working? “ (Mike - Massapequa, NY)

Thanks for the tree mail Mike. The Survivor junkie in me loves the purist form of Survivor that follows the opening tag line of 39 days, 16 people, 1 Survivor! I love the INABILITY to binge watch live airing seasons and having to deal with the drama drawn out over 13-14 episodes over 13-14 weeks.

BUT…

I have to say that the Surviving Barstool “mini” format is really working for me. I LOVE that we haven’t had to go through 8 weeks of whittling down inevitably forgettable castaways that make us wonder “How did they even get cast?”. I LOVE that we were at “The End” essentially as soon as we began. (I also used a similar format for my Survivor Bachelor Party this past July. (Easily the Best Bachelor Party Ever). Lastly, the mini format seemed like a logical way to roll out a first season of Surviving Barstool inside a NYC office. In the end, the format has worked, they planned it well to have it air in the week leading up to the Super Bowl as Survivor seasons used to debut right after the Super Bowl and perhaps most of all it has provided a sufficient scratch job to the actual Survivor drought itch.

Tree Mail Question 2

“I don’t know about you but Barstool has totally been crushing this season. They have everything Survivor has and Vodka! Plus, the content has been super quality. How would you rate the overall production 3 episodes in?” (Kim - Charlotte, NC)

Kim, I have to agree with you. After a rocky “How are we doing this exactly?/How “ALL-IN” are we going? stumble out of the gate for the overall production in episode 1, episode 2 and 3 rewarded us with authenticity and as real a Survivor feel as possible. The buffs, the torches, the backdrop, the challenges, the New Amsterdam Bar, the hidden safety idol were fantastic and exciting enough.

BUT…

The opening credits font, slow motion action shots with player names next to it, climactic music ending with the Surviving Barstool logo, the random trio of images (city skyline, Barstool office welcome mat, Surviving Barstool logo) transitioning into the story, lining up the players to walk to the NA Bar to vote in a straight line, and all the little nuance details to mirror Survivor have won me over big time.

Tree Mail Question 3

“TCB, can you make sense of Nick’s whole phone calls to his mom. I love comedy as much as anyone and so far Nick is clearly the funniest player, but I can’t tell why he is doing it exactly. Is Nick’s phone calls to his mom a schtick for future traffic/attention or a game strategy?” (Rachel - Brooklyn, NY)

Great question Rachel. I’m thinking that Nick’s bit with his mom has to be at least 80/20 schtick for future traffic/attention on Barstool’s website over game strategy. I think Nick probably got asked to do this solely because he is really funny and as KFC said on the #NAVtershow last night that Nick is one of the funniest people he knows. Hearing that endorsement combined with 3 episodes of soundbites and staged poop related phone calls to his mother would make me subscribe to or at least read more of Nick’s content after Surviving Barstool is over.

YouTube/Barstool Sports

Tree Mail Question 4

“I’m so pissed about what happened to Zah! He was a beast and a savage winning the food and thick water challenge. He was going to win the whole thing and then El Pres had to talk about it and totally SCREW ZAH OVER!” (Jake - Los Angeles, CA)

Jake I think you said it all. After episode 1 I didn’t think Zah had much of a chance but by the time he was screwed over and voted out at the end of episode 3, it made sense. He was a GIGANTIC threat to win the game. If Zah stays in the game, it’s game over for everyone else. It’s like one of the other 7 reindeers trying to lead Santa’s sleigh. It ain’t happening. If you let “poor Rudolph join in any reindeer games” he is going to win and lead the sleigh. Zah, love you, was rooting for you, but not surprised it was you.

Tree Mail Question 5

“Watching Tommy Smokes run circles around these poor rookies has me thinking back to Season 22: Redemption Island with Boston Rob and Russell. Who does Tommy remind you of more?” (Jess - Boston, MA)

Jess, as you know from previous blogs I have written like this one Boston Rob, the "MJ" of Survivor but I have to say that Tommy is playing a more Russell type game. Rob would confess to the voting camera that he was better than these rookies or that it was too easy to outwit “you amateurs” but Russell would do it to their faces. After Tommy’s stunt with faking playing the idol and telling people they are going to have to “start kissing his ass” has got me feeling more of a Russell vibe from Tommy than BR. Probably will also end for Tommy much like it did for Russell in Samoa or HvV. Tommy may dominate the game and outwit, outplay, and outlast the rest, yet still not get the votes he needs to win the $10K.

Tree Mail Question 6

“I think Tommy played the safety idol really well but can you explain to me why Brianna and Kelly CANNOT KEEP THEIR MOUTHS SHUT when it comes to revealing their strategy???” (Nicole - New York, NY)

The only logical answer goes back to the previous question and the “rookie” status of Brianna and Kelly. First, they spewed their guts after the Trysta vote, especially Brianna who voted for Tommy to keep Trysta from being mad at her. But, the worst comes when Tommy is able to fake out the ladies by making sure they were voting for Zah and not him. Then, once the girls revealed they voted for Zah, Tommy knew he was safe, and didn’t play the idol. Did Tommy outwit the ladies? No question. But, they made it easy. Lesson learned ladies. Time to step up your game, you still are very much in this thing!

Tree Mail Question 7

Hey Tom, watched last night’s episode and saw how Tommy took those rookies to Survivor school and it was a “Masterclass” to the likes of Russell in Samoa. But, Is Tommy now so unlikeable that he is actually the best person to bring to the end??? Love the blog! (Tim - Plainview, NY)

CBS

Appreciate the love Tim! You bring up a great point. Previously at the NA Bar, Tommy made everyone (the girls mostly) look foolish by fake playing his idol after he knew he was safe and Zah was going to be voted out BUT in the process of making that notable move, he also pissed people off. He may have even pissed off enough people to a high enough level that he is the BEST PERSON TO BRING TO THE END. In Season 19, Survivor: Samoa, Russell ran the game and outwitted the rest, but in the process became unlikeable enough to allow Natalie to swoop in, grab the jury vote, and win the $1M.

I don’t know that Kelly, Brianna, Nick, or Donnie are savvy enough to figure this plan out and use it to their advantage in their plea for jury votes at the final trek to the NA Bar, but we’ll see.

Tree Mail Question 8

I will close out this tree mail bag of questions with my own. Who has a chance of winning this? (Tom - Long Beach, NY)

Rankings

1 - Tommy - fooled everyone, made big move, kept idol

2 - Kelly - double crossed by Tommy, alliance with Bri, Challenge win helps

3 - Bri - double crossed by Tommy, alliance with Kelly

4 - Nick - SUPER LIKEABLE by everyone

5 - Donnie - not likely to happen

Zah - 3rd member of Jury.

Trysta - 2nd member of Jury

Cowboy - 1st member of Jury

Thanks for reading. Be sure to outlike, outcomment, and outshare the rest.

The blog has spoken!