Survivor: Samoa, finale

The holidays delayed this post by a week, but I finally had some time today to watch the finale. Woo hoo!

One of the themes of my Survivor write-ups is that I don’t think the game really starts until the merge. That isn’t to say that the first half of the game is worthless, though! Survivor is played by a group of people, and the personalities of those people color their actions in the game. That’s what the tribal portion of the game is for: introducing us to the people who will be playing in the real game when it starts at the merge.

What I’m trying to say here is that I’m really glad Brett lost that last immunity challenge. I’m not saying he didn’t deserve to win (thought I don’t believe he did), or that he was a bad player (though I do believe he was), just that as a viewer my overall Survivor experience would have been diminished if the finalists had included someone who wasn’t given a lot of screentime.

This is the second season in a row I’ve had this complaint. Editors, get back in the game for next season. Enough about that.

I wasn’t really that surprised when I started warming up to Brett. He’s a likable guy. Maybe not a great player, but heck, many of my Survivor favorites have been lousy players. (Or decent players who made one or two really bad decisions.) I love seeing the game played well, but I also like seeing it played by fun people, and Brett is a fun person. Occassionally I get to see it played well by a fun person, but that doesn’t happen too often.

So Brett wins the first immunity and Foa Foa eats Jaison. Not a huge surprise, but then, the only thing that would have been surprising at that stage of the game is folks getting together to gang up on Russell. (That didn’t happen, because Russell was the only good player left in the final five.) Russell then goes on to beat Brett in the final challenge, and Brett gets sent home. Also unsurprising.

The “walk of honor” was just as embarrassing as ever. Marisa, you were not voted out because you were some kind of feminine-ideal she-goddess that made the walking penises on  your tribe quake with fear; you were voted out because you sucked at Survivor. Laura, your speech about how “nobody can beat the old grandma!” was ridiculous considering there were, what, nine people who did, in fact, beat you. Black Russell… really? If not for your family you would have rather died than get removed for medical reasons? Really?

And there’s our final three: Mick, Natalie and Russell. Here’s something that did surprise me: the last day on the beach is usually one of relaxation and celebration. The finalists turn off their game faces and just kind of chill, knowing that they don’t have to scramble or claw at the game anymore.

Russell didn’t stop clawing at the game. He took that last day and used it to get inside the heads of his competition. He started from the premise that he would win, and attempted to demotivate the others by wondering aloud which of them would win second place. Both Mick and Natalie said in their confessionals that his antics weren’t working, but I don’t know… they seemed pretty flustered to me.

And that’s why I so loved Russell this season: he never stopped playing, not for one single moment, start to finish. All the quiet spots and little hidey-holes where players traditionally let their guard down, that’s where Russell struck hardest. He went at Survivor with the tenacity of a charging bull, and that is rare. I loved it.

The jury was pretty good. The final tribal council is often a dud, with players tripping over each other to apologize hardest or trying to cast blame on people who didn’t play the way they did. As Probst pointed out, though, all three finalists stood united against every single member of the jury. No room for “he voted against you and I didn’t so vote for me plz” shenanigans. I find that type of thing irritating, so it was nice to see it diffused.

Jaison started out by giving the Galu-studded jury some insight to his old allies’ financials; specifically, that none of them were hurting. It couldn’t be a question of who needs the money most (although Mick tried to swing it in that direction by mentioning his student loans). “Which contestant is the poorest” is a stupid metric by which to play Survivor, so it was nice to see that diffused as well.

None of the players were mopey or apologetic. All three played a hard game (although Russell played twice as hard as the others) and that really shone through. I loved the way Natalie continuously deflected accusations of what a weak, coat-tail player she was. Her game was more passive than most, but like she said, the strong and assertive women on Foa Foa were getting removed. She only had one way to get anywhere in the game, and that’s the move she made.

Shambo was as irritating as ever. “Mick you were feckless!”  “…what does ‘feckless’ mean?”  “I’m done with you! Moving on!” Good job, Shambo, you spent x days in your hotel room preparing that scathing burn, and just made yourself look dumb. (“Feckless,” by the way, means “unfit for responsibility.” Which Mick was, but that point a lot better but other jury members.)

I loved Erik’s speech. I don’t agree with him re: morality being more deserving. I did like how he pointed out thatgiving Russ a free pass for his deceptions while criticizing Natalie for her passiveness was hypocritical. All three people sitting in the finals deserved to win, simply by virtue of having made it to the finals. That is always my mentality when I watch these final councils.

Maybe Erik’s speech swayed some of the other jurors, because Natalie went on to win 8-1. (Russell got one vote from Shambo.) This is a very satisfying conclusion! Looking back at the season’s posts I am reminded that I initially thought of Natalie as just another airhead ditz who didn’t deserve to play, but that she proved herself by making a few key moves and generally toughening up over the game. And you know, that’s exactly the case she made for herself. Natalie, you go girl. Thanks for being such a pleasure to watch this season.

Am I disappointed Russell didn’t win? Yeah, a bit. But that’s how the jury goes. A few seasons ago the final three was dirtbag/strategist/under-the-radar and the strategist won. Next season it might be someone else. Russell’s style is always a gamble because “I played hard” doesn’t win a lot of juries over. But you know what? Natalie’s style has failed just as often as Russell’s has. Neither of them could have done better than they did, and that’s how I like to see a season finish.

I didn’t watch the reunion show. I might go back and do that.

See you guys next season.

3 comments to Survivor: Samoa, finale

  • Lys

    You should watch the Reunion show primarily for the preview of next season: Heroes vs. Villains. Yep, it’s another All-Stars. I find myself intrigued by how they’re going to classify people — you know they’re going to want Yau-man back, for instance: but is he a Hero or a Villain? ‘Popular fan-favorite’ would dictate Hero, but since they seem to be saying that Villain actually means ‘sneaky tactics’ you’d need to put him on the Villain squad, since he did start the Fake Idol craze. Pretty excited!

    • Brickroad

      I love me an All-Stars season, but I kind of don’t want to see people coming back a third time. Rupert and Yau-Man are both great, but they already had two shots, you know? On the other hand, if they brought Fairplay back and actually made him STAY this time…

  • Lys

    Yeah, I couldn’t stand Fairplay’s ‘I’m a good guy now!’ turn — even if he had stuck around, if he’d kept that up it would have been a waste. I have a feeling three times is no hindrance for TPTB now: we froze the DVR during the rapid flashes towards the end of the preview and Cirie is clearly visible.

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