The past couple weeks there’s been a lot of comment love, so first off, let me say thank you to everyone who’s written in. The comments have been substantive, positive, and a confirmation that you guys are truly Survivor superfans like myself. It’s great to share in your theories, passion, and predictions.
One comment in particular, written by jerseygirl71, made me question if I was getting a little lazy. Her theory was that based on how many players were left with only 2 episodes to go, it has to mean that Adam is leaving sometime before Tribal Council. Now, I don’t wanna be a big spoiler – that would never happen on this site 😉 – because it may still occur, but it just made me realize I wasn’t thinking deep enough about this season.
And yes, I’ve been a little critical about how things have played out this season, but can you blame me? I even had to mention it in a comment of my own just how topsy-turvy the season is playing out. Once again – and had I recapped last season you would have read how disappointed I was in how S32 played out – we’re going to witness a Final Tribal with…how shall I say it…a less than impressive profile. And there seems to be a lot of that lately…
S32: Michelle, Aubry, Tai
S31: doesn’t count, they were return players
S30: Mike, Carolyn, Will
S29: Natalie, Jaclyn, Missy
I could name a few more (S26, S17, S9, S4) but the point I’m trying to make is that Survivor should always be about the best players making it to Tribal, not just the “survivors.” In the past, very good players usually won – okay, maybe not Natalie – but typically, great players typically came out on top. And we loved it.
Sure, Spencer could have beaten Jeremy, Coach could (should) have beaten Sophie, and Parvati should have beaten Sandra, but we knew it wasn’t simply who should win, but who the jury chose. We get it. We accepted it. We moved on when we didn’t agree.
But these last few seasons there seems to be an inverted way the game is being played, with strong players being identified and voted out early, and not even getting a chance to get their feet wet. Take a look at last season: Jennifer, Caleb, Anna, Neal, and Nick all went out pretty early. S30 gave us early departures by So, Max, Kelly, Joaquin, Hali and Joe. And S29 we said goodbye to Nadiya, Rocker, Kelley, Josh and Jeremy far too early.
Okay, I realize the game is fluid, and organic, and is never played the same way, but why has the game evolved to where strength is feared and weakness is glorified? When did this whole notion of taking goats to the end start? I’m struggling to remember when that term came to Survivor – any help from other überfans would be appreciated – because it’s not the way the game should be played. If someone is dragged to the end, it shouldn’t be something that’s openly discussed – at least from a show perspective – and incoming players should be “advised” that goats do not help the game, the brand, or the ratings.
Why am I the only one who’ll talk about this? I know I’m not the only one who thinks we should be given a strong cast, with strong gameplay, and strong alliances. What the hell is up with these stupid “trust clusters,” and paper-thin alliances? What happened to the game of Survivor? When did it become afraid to stand up for the game it was designed to be? What happened to the standard that was set by Richard, Tom, Yul, Earl, Tyson and Boston Rob?
Since when did weakness get rewarded as much as it has lately? Hell, I read today that friggin’ Hannah was nominated for one of the 20 Best TV Performances of 2016 by TV Guide. AYFKM? Who the hell would nominate that ditz for anything? Are you telling me that the only person who required medical attention in a challenge SHE DIDN’T PARTICIPATE IN is someone we want to recognize? To reward? To look up to?
And they’re saying her anxiety and ineptitude make her relatable? To whom? Is Survivor (or TV Guide) now sponsored by the Special Olympics? WTF? Why isn’t strength, gameplay, acuity and TV Q being rewarded? Instead, we’re supposed to get behind Larry Fine, the Idiot who thinks she can f**k Ken…?
God, it irks me how this country is going downhill fast. Idiocracy has become prescient, not just comical. And yet no one wants to complain about it. Okay, fine, I give up. I’ll start writing about how sexy Hannah is and how much I’d like to exfoliate her. I’m sure even that would titillate that broad. I’m done, let’s just see who gets their Survivor dream shattered a few days before Final Tribal…
Previously on…Survivor!
-Zeke’s demise can be blamed on Will popping his cherry…
-Adam threw away his idol on Hannah
-Will flipped to David’s coalition
-leaving Jay as the only player with an Idol
Night 33 and when Vinaka returns to camp Will is feeling like “the man” after his flip turned the game on its head.
As I type this I am throwing up a little but Hannah may have just finalized the final 3 . Yes the paranoid ,ditzy , neurotic one may have hammered in the final nail on the final 3 . Adam in my opinion just blew it . It would take a minor miracle for him to beat Jay or David in a final 3 ( barring him bringing up his mom ) . David and Ken are locked in . Hannah just basically committed to those two . By allowing Hannah to talk him into voting out Sunday he just blew a million dollars . Bret and Sunday were totally fine with a final 3 of Bret , Sunday and Adam ( which Adam wins hands down ) . He know has to get Bret to trust him again . Get Jay to not only vote with him but then either get Jay out or beat him in a final ( neither very likely ) . All while having David and his merry followers ( Ken and Hannah ) gunning for him . Hannah could flip but I cant see it . She is gaga over Ken and obviously wants David around .
Fish, I could not agree with you more on the Hannah thing. Girlfriend needs some help. As someone with naturally curly hair, I get it. It’s humid and dirty and there’s no shampoo, but for the love of all things holy, put it in a damn braid! Don’t just let it turn into a matted mess. And it’s always hanging in her face…huge pet peeve of mine. Grrr.
Rick, I’m also throwing up a little with this vote. What the hell was Adam thinking? He really did just screw himself. Again, as a viewer, I totally want the strongest players to battle it out in final tribal. But if I were in the game, I would 100% have kept Sunday around (why won’t she braid Hannah’s hair?)
I have to say that I really loved the moment between Adam and Jay on the hammock talking about their moms. I didn’t cry, I just had something in my eye 🙂 And again with all the respectful game play. I love it!
I’m pretty firmly rooting for Jay to win. We all know how much I adore Ken, but I’ll be kind of pissed if he wins over someone who played a better game.
I agree, Hannah is a dirty girl. Ew, no not that way Fish! I started off liking Sundae and then decided she was kind of mean once she glued herself to Brett’s side. He reminds me of Fred Flintstone, (if Fred was into Barney). Anyway, she did seem to lose a TON of weight though. Maybe she found Tay’s stash. Speaking of which, I bet Tay has a lot of stashes at home. Will was super annoying, I was glad to see him go. I really hate his dumb hair and how he was so annoying about being 18. He wanted it both ways. He’d say how amazing it was that he was the youngest person to ever play Survivor etc and yet, get mad if anyone treated him like an 18 year old. SHUT UP WILL. I really like Adam and Jay’s friendship. That’s the difference with guys, you really can be friends even when you have to be at odds. I wish women could do that better. It does seem weird to have so many players left and yet the finale is next week. And why do you think we had 2 players out in one episode, weird how they just blobbed it all together. Maybe bc Will and Sundae are so boring, they didn’t get their own episodes. Hope things are ok Fish. Don’t laugh at me. I will pray for your family. Hearts to you! -K
BWAHAHA, if Fred was into Barney!!! Love it. These comments are the best. OK, I’ll pile on Hannah too, cuz why not? I keep looking for the cloud of dirt to follow her around, Pig Pen style. Not even gonna mention the assorted small black things living between each of her teeth. I know they can’t brush, but you always see almost every player digging between their teeth with little sticks. Not Dirty Gertie though, she’s stank and proud. As for the game, ugh, I thought Adam was playing a really good game, but this might be too big a hole to dig out of. Although I still feel like he doesn’t stay to the end, I’m going to comment as though he is. I think he’s been on the right side of just about every vote until now, he probably did tip his hand at this point, Unless, and this is a stretch, now that Jay has no idol, those two stick with Bret and try to protect each other from David, KenDoll and Gertie. Jay has nothing to lose, and I think in his mind he believes he could beat either of them at tribal. This one will go right to the wire though, and that’s the best kind of finale to have, where anyone could take it. And I’m really impressed with the contestants this time, they all seem like kind and decent people. No J.O.’s like Scott, Jason, Will, Dan, etc., I wish producers would realize we don’t need complete a-holes and sore losers to play the game, people can be nice to each other and still play a good, competitive game without nastiness and mayhem at camp. With the exception of Dirty Gertie, I wouldn’t mind if any of the remaining won the game. And thanks for the shout out, Fish!
Hey guys and gals… Thanks for writin’ in…
Rick: I think you’re dialed in. Hannah is probably a lock now, as the only real goat left. Good for her. That’s worth somewhere between $50,000-70,000 for 3rd place, plus the $10,000 for being on the Reunion show. Not bad for a barista. At least she can now buy some soap…
Jen: I feel you, girl… I can’t believe she didn’t try ANYTHING all season with that nest. Fruitbat alert! And I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you bump into Ken somewhere someday. And you’re both drunk…
kinb: Hey, hot mama! Yes, he’s a total Fred. And Zeke is Barney! Oh god, the porn parodies… And yeah, if you look at Sunday’s cast picture, she looks like a fat girl who went to college and put on more weight! And in her Ponderosa video, it showed she lost 25 lbs. Wow. I hope she kept it off and started doing some ab workouts. We’ll see at the reunion show. Maybe Tay will break out a doobie and hand it to Jeff for yucks…! Good observations about Will, just be a kid or don’t… And yeah, guys can hate/like each other, if that’s what we have to do. Just suck it up and don’t say everything that’s on your mind. It’s like some people feel the need to say everything they’re thinking. Bad idea. You gotta keep some things secret… And use it to burn them later! 😉 Thanks for your prayers. Maybe someday I’ll open up and tell everyone what’s going on…but it seems like such a sympathy play. Like I said, sometimes you gotta keep some things private. Happy holidays! XO
jersey!: Yes, Pig Pen, yes… I can even imagine how she must reek… I like your scenarios. I do see Jay bonding with Bret and Adam to go to FT. At this point, anyone can link with anyone’s “trust cluster.” I gotta say that the Legacy Advantage may help Ken get to the final, though. Which could spell the end for Jay. He’s got such a target. And from everyone Ken has said all season, he won’t pull a fast one and blindside David. It’ll probably be Ken, David and Hannah, or maybe Bret sneaks in. I really have no idea. Can’t wait til Wednesday. And BTW, how pissed am I that I didn’t get a ticket to the show? So disappointed. I guess that means I’ll have more time to write, but not really. Oh well, life goes on. And you’re welcome for the SO. It’s always nice to share the love. Happy finale, JG71!
I can’t even listen to her – she’s just so dirty!