S33.E13: I'm Going For A Million Bucks / S33.E14: Reunion

[Blissfool]

I'm not okay with an adam win either. I hate sympathetic stories that give one player an advantage over the others in the game . And I'm just gonna say this because it always bugs me.....i hate when people cry with no tears. 

Where did David get paints and brushes to create the fake idol?

Ken reminded me of Indiana Jones when he pulled out the legacy advantage. For a second there I thought he was going to reach into the fire to pull out the fake idol. Did he really pull out the legacy adv from his BOOT? who wears boots on survivor?

The most we saw of Cece were her voluptuous breasts proudly displayed behind Zeke as he talked. 

[Bigwheels1971]

47 minutes ago, LanceM said:

In case anyone wants to see the full cast next season it was posted here.

If that list is true, I'm really surprised that JP would mention that Michaela was playing again, but not Zeke.

[Alapaki]

45 minutes ago, LadyChatts said:

Honestly, I think he was kind of a jerk, trying to come off as a master mind.  What the hell, trying to tell Hannah what she can and can't talk about when trying to answer the juries questions?  He got credit for moves he didn't make.  He seemed to enjoy setting her off and pick on her during that final questioning.

I agree.  I really dislike the "your move sucked . . . because it didn't help me" argument.  The fact that Hannah's move wasn't good for you, Adam, doesn't mean it wasn't a good move.  Her job isn't to help you win.

Closely related, Bret's argument (which others, of course, have made too) that "you just cost me and you $1 million by voting me out".  Right.  Because this is totes the season where they're going to double the prize money and give a million to you and a million to your situational BFF.  Fuck off Bret.  And hit a treadmill.

13 minutes ago, ShadowSixx said:

The way it played out just felt exploitative and gross and I had to turn the tv off when Adam broke down because I felt horrible for him.   

My dick-moment of the night: When Jeff said we could go online to bid on Props from this season, I rhetorically asked "does that include Adam's mom?"  But, srsly, that was way more exploitative than it needed to be.  They both made a conscious, fully informed decision.  Which doesn't make it any easier of a decision.  But it also doesn't entitle them to any special consideration, either.  That $1 million isn't going to bring Adam's mother back.  And how many people say "I'd give $1 million for just one more day with my loved one"?  Adam literally had that opportunity, and chose the money.

25 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Agreed, the fake idol move on David's part was fucking awesome and made Jay complacent.

Not sure I agree there.  To me it reeked of Constanza with the Twix bars at the auto dealership.  "Who were you trying to trick, again?"  I really didn't see Jay let up after he found the fake idol.  His reward-steal move was pretty good.  And he made the best pitch he could during that lunch.  

More importantly, what was David really trying to accomplish there?  Was it purely to see if Jay would not really contest the immunity challenge?  That seems like weak sauce.  And, since David had to know that he was probably the next target in line after Jay, if Jay was smart and just started waving the fake immunity idol around, all of the votes would've most likely shifted to David. [obviously not after David won the IC, but at the time he planted the fake HII he hadn't yet won individual immunity].

[LanceM]

1 minute ago, Blissfool said:

I'm not okay with an adam win either. I hate sympathetic stories that give one player an advantage over the others in the game . And I'm just gonna say this because it always bugs me.....i hate when people cry with no tears. 

Where did David get paints and brushes to create the fake idol?

Ken reminded me of Indiana Jones when he pulled out the legacy advantage. For a second there I thought he was going to reach into the fire to pull out the fake idol. Did he really pull out the legacy adv from his BOOT? who wears boots on survivor?

The most we saw of Cece were her voluptuous breasts proudly displayed behind Zeke as he talked. 

From the merge. They used the paint and brushes to decorate the flag.

[Runningwild]

I don't know  if it was all the stress that I've been dealing with at work or all the family members that I have lost to cancer but at some point during the finale I realized that I really, really needed Adam to win. And when he did, I sobbed. I was so upset the dogs were upset. I had to pause the show to go have a good cry. 

[gator12]

Hannah voting out Bret instead of David wasn't a good move, its probably lost her some votes in the Jury. She at least lost Bret vote and if David had won the last immunity challenge, well I guess that didn't matter since she got no vote with David not being in the finale.

Hannah might have thought she made the right move for her but to me and to the jurors (imo) it was a stupid move and perception is everything. 

Edited December 15, 2016 by gator12

[Gemma Violet]

I was hoping for a Ken win so am a little disappointed.  I feel bad for Adam losing his mom an hour after he came back.  It's like she was waiting to see him again before she passed.  I've read a lot of stories about people doing that.  

I don't want to judge Adam for his decision, and I know his mom wanted him to compete this year, but I can't imagine leaving my mom to go off for two months, knowing she has cancer.  To me, spending those precious two months with her (even if she lived a while after the two months) would have been the only possible scenario for me.  It's not like he couldn't have competed next year.  So yeah, he made her proud and excited by going on the show, but he missed spending the last two months of her life with her.

[truthaboutluv]

Quote

Jay has to be among in the top tier of dummies. Between falling for the fake idol and not covering up his answer, I laughed hard at his fall. 

To be fair, credit to David because he did a pretty damn amazing job on that fake idol, right to the point of hiding it in the coconut. Also, I agreed with Ken's comment about Jay not covering the numbers, that what may be so simple on Day 6 is a lot harder on Day 36 when you're tired, starved and so desperate to just make it to the end. 

I said most of what I had to say about the finale in the other threads but basically, while I'm not as outraged by Adam's win as I was for some others, it definitely feels like his sharing about his mother swayed some votes. I just don't think he played a game that deserved a clean sweep. While she annoyed me plenty at times during the season, I do think Hannah held her own pretty well towards the end of the season and made a great case for herself at the final tribal council.

By the way, I'm really curious what Bret's problem with Ken is. I figured he was bitter at Hannah for her voting him out but he and Ken were never aligned so I know he couldn't be pissed about that. But he really seemed to just not be there for Ken at all, full on rolling his eyes at one point when Ken was talking. I liked that for the most part the jury was pretty chill and no one was too bitter. I was shocked that even moron Taylor asked a decent question. 

Thought Probst did a good job tonight with talking to many of the key players this season, even though some of it was stupid, like only focusing on Hannah to talk about her Ken crush. But sadly that was actually better that the audience segments with random people no one gives a crap about and just takes up screentime from actual cast members. 

[Silver Raven]

I hated Sunday's voice during the whole game and hated her voice in the FTC, as well.

Good call from Jessica on the question to Ken.  He talked about loyalty and then turns on his closest ally.

Really got tired of the Hannah and Adam bickering at FTC.

I picked Adam as my favorite on day one.  So glad to see him win.

[Lantern7]

More thoughts:

1. "Thank you for your answers. Adam, Ken, I'm going to verify your stories after this wraps up. If I find out you were lying, I will give you the hurt Jon Dalton should've gotten for the dead grandmother lie."

2. "David? Really didn't want to say anything, but a terrorist organization has kidnapped my family. All of my family. Remember the first Punisher movie? Not the one with Dolph Lundgren. Anyway, if I don't give them a 50/50 split, I'll be seeing my folks in an oil drum. Just putting it out there for the jury. I mean, you, David."

3. I am not a fan of an idol getting found on Day 37. What would have happened if Jay stumbled across that? He wouldn't have fallen so far so fast, and the ending would've sucked a little harder from him winning. Aside from the Legacy Advantage (which still sounds like a credit card feature), nobody should've had a safety net heading into a challenge that late in the game.

4. I don't like time limit challenges. Too easy for Probst to fudge things. Let them keep bumbling with the cups until all are stacked. If there has to be a forced conclusion, make it when the sun goes down a certain amount.

[RedheadZombie]

I don't get why everyone's making fun of Ken for voting for Jay with "Justin" - it's the guy's name.  It's not like he voted Ralph.

Brett and Chris were as I suspected.  Brett didn't let the female speak at all, and Chris was absolutely sure that Adam swayed Ken.  It was absolutely out of his ability to believe the woman did that.

After not liking Jay most of the season, I really started liking him last week.  This week it broke my heart a little to know what was coming with that false idol.  I want to see him again.  Went out like a champ with absolutely no bitterness to be seen.  He can teach Chris and Brett how to do it. 

I'm sure the Q&A was edited, but I wish they all would get equal time to speak.  Don't give me the version edited to the winner.

Poor Ken.  His honor is going to torture him forever.  He stabbed his BFF in the back, then the one he could have voted out won. 

I've been on the David train since the beginning.  He was very gracious in his loss.  I thought he might throw Ken a pity vote so he could get second place money.

[ShadowSixx]

6 minutes ago, Gemma Violet said:

I was hoping for a Ken win so am a little disappointed.  I feel bad for Adam losing his mom an hour after he came back.  It's like she was waiting to see him again before she passed.  I've read a lot of stories about people doing that.  

I don't want to judge Adam for his decision, and I know his mom wanted him to compete this year, but I can't imagine leaving my mom to go off for two months, knowing she has cancer.  To me, spending those precious two months with her (even if she lived a while after the two months) would have been the only possible scenario for me.  It's not like he couldn't have competed next year.  So yeah, he made her proud and excited by going on the show, but he missed spending the last two months of her life with her.

His mom pushed him to do it. I guess she wanted to know that he participated in one of their favorite shows before passing away. Some people with cancer don't want the "hovering over me" treatment. They want people to enjoy life and do what you love before it's too late because you never know when you're gonna leave this earth. Anything could have happened to Adam within a year, he could be involved in a car crash, be held hostage, etc.

Edited December 15, 2016 by ShadowSixx

[Alapaki]

4 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

while I'm not as outraged by Adam's win as I was for some others, it definitely feels like his sharing about his mother swayed some votes. I just don't think he played a game that deserved a clean sweep. While she annoyed me plenty at times during the season, I do think Hannah held her own pretty well towards the end of the season and made a great case for herself at the final tribal council.

I also thought that Hannah had a decent case, at least as good (in terms of emotions/underdog/etc) as David's.  And the way they kept showing her standing up for herself against Adam at the FTC had me thinking she was getting a winner's edit.  In retrospect, Burnett and his editors probably thought they were highlighting how "uppity" and "shrill" she is.  

All things considered, I found the pacing of this finale way off from prior ones.  No real filler (walk of the fallen comrades, extended scenes of Day 39 brunch, etc.) and yet a very truncated (no opening or closing statements) and a very obviously and clunkily edited FTC (you could tell we were seeing responses to earlier unaired statements several times).  

[Knuckles]

I hate that Adam won. Really. I think the show exploited his mom's illness, and that he colluded with that exploitation. All to win a million dollars. It was a pity vote...and that is hard to beat.

That said, I think David and Jay played the best game...they were awesome competitors. I did not like Jay, but what a player. He had a great physical and social game. And David...my choice for an early exit, and he proved to be an ace. Bravo to both of them. And David with the fake idol...what a great move. Now that is gamesmanship...and great fun to watch.  I would have loved to have seen them both at the finale, with verbal dueling. And my crush Ken proves again that he is not so smart...still great looking though. 

With Jay and David in the finale, and Ken or Hannah as the goat...who would have won? Not sure, but I would love to watch them play again.

[Bigwheels1971]

7 minutes ago, ShadowSixx said:

His mom pushed him to do it. I guess she wanted to know that he participated in one of their favorite shows before passing away. Some people with cancer don't want the "hovering over me" treatment. They want people to enjoy life and do what you love before it's too late because you never know when you're gonna leave this earth. You can cross the street tomorrow and get hit by a car.

I agree.  Personally, it's not a choice I could have made but I can't fault Adam for doing the show, either.

@dkb, I tend to agree with you.  It seemed to me that the jury liked Adam as a person more than Ken or Hannah.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Bigwheels1971

[dkb]

I really think their minds were already made up before tribal, because of the way Chris and Bret acted and the questions they asked. Adam tried to work with all of them to get David out earlier but Ken and Hannah didn't. If the order of the jurors asking questions that they showed us was the order they were asked then Adam had a perfect opportunity to use his moms story served up by Jay, he choose not to; I think it was the whole game coming to an end and he just couldn't keep it in anymore. It didn't come off as sympathy votes from the jury, they were already decided for the most part.

[RedheadZombie]

13 minutes ago, gator12 said:

Hannah voting out Bret instead of David wasn't a good move, its probably lost her some votes in the Jury. She at least lost Bret vote and if David had won the last immunity challenge, well I guess that didn't matter since she got no vote with David no being in the finale.

I doubt Bret would have ever voted for the girl.

12 minutes ago, truthaboutluv said:

By the way, I'm really curious what Bret's problem with Ken is. I figured he was bitter at Hannah for her voting him out but he and Ken were never aligned so I know he couldn't be pissed about that. But he really seemed to just not be there for Ken at all, full on rolling his eyes at one point when Ken was talking. I liked that for the most part the jury was pretty chill and no one was too bitter. I was shocked that even moron Taylor asked a decent question. 

Ken didn't do what Bret thought was the best move - to get Bret closer to the end.  The eye-rolling was ridiculous.  Man I despise that guy.

[jumper sage]

1 hour ago, Lamb18 said:

Zeke on the evolution of the game, how pedantic. 

Perfect articulation of my thought.  What an ass.

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

And for the record, I lost my dad to lung cancer, so I sympathize with Adam's struggle.  I get it.  I can't imagine being in his shoes, and knowing my loved one was back home dying.  But that's why I have a hard time getting behind people who use that to get ahead.

48 minutes ago, Marmiarmo said:

Well, I'm disappointed. I thought I'd be okay with an Adam win, but I'm just not.  I really wanted David (nice job staying loyal there, Ken), but anytime someone keeps a big secret all game long (and I don't care that he told Jay) and then reveals it at FTC for the win, they automatically drop to the bottom of my list.  if Adam had won without mentioning his mom's cancer, I'd have been okay with his win.  As it is, I hate it.

I completely agree with both of you.  I hate the sob story at the end.  Now he will never know if he won on his own gaming or because of his mom.  Kind of pathetic.

1 hour ago, wallflower75 said:

I couldn’t stop laughing at the answer to the word puzzle being “Not a participation trophy.”  Loved it!!

Such a nice kickback to the millennials.

1 hour ago, NYGirl said:

Hannah never realized that they took her along as the goat.

Nope she did not.  When she was trying to explain how she ran the game I was yelling at the tv, "Sit down and shut up goat".

All in all this was the best season on years.  I did not completely hate anyone and while I dislike a sob story I would have been ok with anyone of them winning.  I loved David and his saying he gained something for himself that is worth more than money.  So true!  He really worked on himself without going against his ethics.  I actually ended up liking Jay at the end too.  I think all of them went out with grace.

Figgy and Taylor were the worst 2 on the cast and still look pretty stupid.

Edited December 15, 2016 by jumper sage

[Lantern7]

The only parallel I can think of was the episode of Cheers where Woody was running for local office (Frasier's idea), and he kept trying to back out at the debate, but he looked more lovable because of it. Then Kelly showed up and revealed she was pregnant, and the opponent threw up his hands, all, "Fuck it, I'm out. I can't compete with this." I don't think Adam was exploitative, but that's where my brain goes.

I can't hate Hannah. We're both neurotic. She wasn't my favorite neurotic, but I could identify with her. Between her and David, maybe I should apply. Y'all would root for me, right?

[Dust Bunny]

I used to work at a lung cancer nonprofit. It's true: nonsmoking women are getting lung cancer at an alarming rate, and we don't know why. It's also one of the most deadly types of cancer, since it's usually misdiagnosed for a long time. I'm so happy for Adam and his family, and I hope tonight's attention and money will push research forward. 

What a fantastic season. Great competitors, wonderful sportsmanship, and a worthy winner.

[ShadowSixx]

5 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

The only parallel I can think of was the episode of Cheers where Woody was running for local office (Frasier's idea), and he kept trying to back out at the debate, but he looked more lovable because of it. Then Kelly showed up and revealed she was pregnant, and the opponent threw up his hands, all, "Fuck it, I'm out. I can't compete with this." I don't think Adam was exploitative, but that's where my brain goes.

I can't hate Hannah. We're both neurotic. She wasn't my favorite neurotic, but I could identify with her. Between her and David, maybe I should apply. Y'all would root for me, right?

If you were like Dave yes, if like Hannah not so much lol

[Rachel RSL]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Just go read the Wikipedia definition.  1981 is usually the cutoff point.  Some even say 1980!  Whether you consider us old or not, I'm putting us in the Millennial camp and I won't be talked out of it.  (1982 + 18 = you graduate in the year 2000 or later, for example, that was one of the cutoff reasons.)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millennials

Get out of here with your FACTS!

1 hour ago, Lantern7 said:

I'm hoping that Cirie forms a Black Widow Alliance with Sandra. I'm worried about the perfect record getting wrecked, though. 

Me too. Sandra is my fave and I loved being able to brag about how she has never been voted out. Those people are idiots if they don't boot her first.  (Speaking of, how about an All-Idiots season? We get to vote in the people we think are the biggest dumbasses to ever play.)

53 minutes ago, BigRedCheese said:

I don't think it was unnecessary, Jay thought he found it, so he stopped looking. If David hadn't planted it, Jay might have found the real one.

Ah, yes! Thank you! I knew there had to be some reason for it that I was just too dense to realize. 

[Mabdul Doobakus]

Well, I thought of the 3 people sitting at the final council, Hannah played far and away the best game of those 3.  She was on the winning side of almost every vote and her social game had a major hand at some of those votes.  Adam really wasn't very good at this game at all.  His intentions were thwarted time and time again, and he was on the wrong side of many votes.  The way Hannah completely played him leading into the final 5 vote was emblematic of this.  Hannah voted out Brett, and then when it came time to flip Ken, I don't see how Adam got ANY of the credit for that.  It seemed pretty clear that Hannah told Adam basically "stay away, I got this" and then she went and worked her mojo on Ken and got him to flip.  I don't really get how Adam could be seen as the superior player here.  And I had some respect for him for holding the thing with his mother close to his chest all season and not using it to his advantage...BUT...then he did start using it to advantage...with Jay, and then as his trump card at the final tribal, and I was kind of grossed out about the whole thing.

There's no question that his feelings for his mom were genuine, and his tears were genuine, and it's a sad story, it truly is.  But there's also no question he timed these confessions in a way that were to his advantage, whether intentional or not.

I'm shocked this was a unanimous vote for Adam.

[LanceM]

What Jay should have done is shown his idol to the others prior to going to TC in order to try to shift the vote from him in some way.  

[RedheadZombie]

8 minutes ago, Lantern7 said:

I can't hate Hannah. We're both neurotic. She wasn't my favorite neurotic, but I could identify with her. Between her and David, maybe I should apply. Y'all would root for me, right?

I would!  I love the nerds, geeks, and dorks, and I identify with the neurotics.  It was interesting to have a socially awkward finale of dorks.  If one "cool" person had been in the final group, Adam wouldn't have won, IMO.  So I loved this finale.

[Guest]

I don't think the cancer card won it for Adam.  Would you, after all that time and sacrifice out there, award a winner based solely on an unconfirmed diagnosis of a relative, if you were a juror?  I doubt it hurt him, though.  

[RedheadZombie]

3 minutes ago, LanceM said:

What Jay should have done is shown his idol to the others prior to going to TC in order to try to shift the vote from him in some way.  

But David would have immediately shot it down.

[LanceM]

Just now, RedheadZombie said:

But David would have immediately shot it down.

That is a possibility but it doesn't mean the others would have believed him. I would have taken that risk anyway and still played the idol like he did. If it worked and they voted Bret out Jay would have still been in the game. If it didn't he goes home anyway.

[Wandering Snark]

To me this will always be a great season. A great season that ends with one big ole asterisk: "Won out of pity."

Not as bad as giving Rupert a million dollars, but bad.

As one who also lost a dad/best friend to prostate cancer I can relate and yet still just feel this is a hollow win. So sue me.

I went from being sooo into the finale and feeling "oh... this is just madness right now!!" (in the best possible way) to ending feeling like "oh, this is just bullshit."

Edited December 15, 2016 by Wandering Snark

[breezy424]

Adam won??? Yikes.  I don't think it was about his mother because how many of the others actually knew about his mom?  I don't think it had anything to do with sympathy vote.  I actually don't know why he was voted for.

Ah, Ken.  I wanted you to win.  There's a lot to be said about integrity (at least to me) but you sold out David at the end.  I think you had a better chance at the end if you went up against David.   Apparently, Survivor is now more about a game rather than actually surviving in an extreme set of circumstances.  Whole other subject and I disagree with what 'real' surviving is as opposed to what many players coming into the game think it is or appreciate what it is.  It's almost kind of sad to me.  Why put the players in a remote location where they have to survive the elements.  It apparently doesn't mean anything more. 

I did love this season but at the same time, I don't like the direction.

[RedheadZombie]

Jeff seemed gobsmacked that a non-smoker died of lung cancer.   Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer.  I'm a lifetime non-smoker, who discovered I had radon when selling two houses.  It sucks. 

[Bigwheels1971]

43 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Good call from Jessica on the question to Ken.  He talked about loyalty and then turns on his closest ally.

But if David had been in F3, they would have lambasted Hannah & Ken for bringing David to the end, so either way, they were screwed. 

Edited December 15, 2016 by Bigwheels1971

[Negritude]

Really hate that Hannah didn't speak up when Chris wrongly assumed that Adam swayed Ken to vote out David. Ken of course would've denied it, but she did specifically tell Adam to let her work on him.

I was team Jay so I felt some kinda way when he fell victim to the fake idol. That being said, lolololol.

Adam's dad looked like Bryan Cranston in profile. 

[Vicky8675309]

1 minute ago, Negritude said:

Really hate that Hannah didn't speak up when Chris wrongly assumed that Adam swayed Ken to vote out David. Ken of course would've denied it, but she did specifically tell Adam to let her work on him.

I was team Jay so I felt some kinda way when he fell victim to the fake idol. That being said, lolololol.

Adam's dad looked like Bryan Cranston in profile. 

He really did look like Bryan Cranston in profile!

[Wandering Snark]

Speaking of smokers, you could tell that Ken was using that stick as a cigarette surrogate from the way he held it in his hand trying to ward off the shakes and nerves wishing he had some good ole nicotene.

[Artsda]

2 minutes ago, Bigwheels1971 said:

But if David had been in F3, they would have lambasted Hannah & Ken for bringing David to the end, so either way, they were screwed 

Yeah neither got that. Ken was either giving Adam a million or David and he chose Adam.

[Guest]

I didn't really understand why everyone in the game including David and Jeff acted like David was such a surefire winner, if he went to final three?  And at his last tribal, why was David proclaiming his game was the best?  He should've been downplaying his accomplishments.  No wonder Ken voted him out.  

[anthonyd46]

1 hour ago, LadyChatts said:

Well, this season really went downhill for me by the end.  They should have just handed Adam the check at 8 and spared us 2 hours.  They couldn't have made it more obvious he was winning.  Honestly, I think he was kind of a jerk, trying to come off as a master mind.  What the hell, trying to tell Hannah what she can and can't talk about when trying to answer the juries questions?  He got credit for moves he didn't make.  He seemed to enjoy setting her off and pick on her during that final questioning.  With Hannah and Ken's confessionals about why they deserved to win, and Ken talking about being the provider around camp, I knew they were losing.  It was already obvious, but that cemented it.  And I just can't get behind people who play a sob story.  At least at the very end.  If you talk about it throughout the season, maybe it won't seem like such a strategy thing.

Oh well.  Okay season all around, just another win that clouded what was good about it.  Guess we'll be getting a ton of sob stories in the future.  Maybe 3 people with real sob stories, and 17 Jonny Fairplays who make stuff up to gain sympathy.

And for the record, I lost my dad to lung cancer, so I sympathize with Adam's struggle.  I get it.  I can't imagine being in his shoes, and knowing my loved one was back home dying.  But that's why I have a hard time getting behind people who use that to get ahead.

Chris really got on my nerves. He basically took his assumption and ran with it. Didn't even let Ken defend himself much. He was dead wrong and I hope he doesn't work all his law cases that way.

I get Ken betrayed David, but he doesn't do that and he is labeled as a cotail rider. Cant believe he didn't get any votes he had a pretty strong FTC. 

Never seen a winner with so much NSPV. The bickering in FTC was insane. 

[ForeverAlone]

In my opinion, once it was obvious that either Adam or David was making the FTC (once Hannah pushed to vote out Bret instead of David at F5), Hannah and Ken were drawing dead, because I don't see either of them winning against Adam or David. At that point, it was deciding who they wanted to lose to. I do think they both made the right voting decision at F4, but I also think it was too late to make a difference for them. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hannah interrupted every question that was not asked of her to defend herself.  I'm not blaming her - this was her strategy to win - but Ken and Adam seemed completely gobsmacked and unprepared to respond.  Ken was just silent - again, not blaming him - and Adam was terrible at defending himself from these very prepared attacks by Hannah.

For me, Adam's game was Identifying Threats.  Hannah was so convincing in FTC and it made me think that basically I fall under the spell of editing every season and I have my favourites accordingly.  Adam identified David and Jay as his threats the entire game and was constantly trying to take them out.  Jay did NOT view Adam like this and David only tried to do this back to Adam at the end.  When David brought this up with Ken and Hannah, I'm sorry but they looked like the idea had never even crossed their minds before that Adam was a threat over them to win.  Adam was a great 'hider' though I have no idea if this is on purpose.  Even though I really liked Adam (truly) I never remembered his existence in the game unless he was on screen.  It was such a weird affect.  I don't remember having another favourite player like that.  I remembered Michaela, Zeke, and David whether they were on screen or not.

Adam describing Hannah as "Going rogue" is the wrong way of putting it.  Adam was good at Identifying Threats, less good at taking them out.  Yes, Hannah decided many votes, or according to her, all of them.  But why are you getting rid of Brett and Sunday?  For you to win, Hannah, you should be keeping Brett and Sunday, and working to eliminate Adam and David.  But obviously she and I see the game very differently.  If your moves were so great, then you would be winning - no?  You'd be at the end with the right people who could not win against you.

Adam, the editors, some typical viewers of Survivor, including myself, see the game One Way.  They see that people like Zeke, Adam, Jay, and David look like people who make great moves to keep themselves in the game and take out what look to be like equal and opposite threats.  Hannah sees the game a different way.  I don't really get what she was doing.  Maybe if the editing was a bit clearer, I could be blown away by her gameplay.

Adam ID'd who he thought would beat him at the game and who the jury would vote for, and he played it very accurately.  Hannah didn't.  I won't agree that he played the Card because I personally hate that phrase...... He did what his strategy was to win.  I think/wonder without that, he still would have won.  Maybe not unanimously, but I think he would have won.  But man, Hannah's lambasting at FTC made me very worried about it.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Ms Blue Jay

[gator12]

20 minutes ago, Artsda said:

Yeah neither got that. Ken was either giving Adam a million or David and he chose Adam.

The best move for them would have been to get rid of David and Adam and bring Bret with them. 

[vb68]

Quote

 And at his last tribal, why was David proclaiming his game was the best?  He should've been downplaying his accomplishments.  No wonder Ken voted him out.  

I knew David was toast at that point.    I don't think he had ever been shown as cocky as that.  Even if he was that confident with Ken, he should have held that in check for the jury.

I could also tell from Ken's body language how it was going to go, and I was also a little surprised that David apparently didn't see it.  I thought David should had been working the angle that Ken couldn't win unless he took David with him.  If you are gonna sell yourself hard as loyal to the end as Ken did, you really do have to live up to it.

I'm another one who thought Hannah owned the final TC. I thought she was awesome.  I think Adam's tears  did sway a few votes.  David did act like he was going to throw Ken a vote right before that. But that's almost impossible to know too.

 

Quote

By the way, I'm really curious what Bret's problem with Ken is. I figured he was bitter at Hannah for her voting him out but he and Ken were never aligned so I know he couldn't be pissed about that. But he really seemed to just not be there for Ken at all, full on rolling his eyes at one point when Ken was talking. 

I think that was just true to who Bret was out there.  I don't think he ever had any use for either Ken or David from day one and it showed badly.  I rolled my eyes hard at the intro when Jeff said Bret was so "likable".  Couldn't stand him.

 

Quote

Adam describing Hannah as "Going rogue" is the wrong way of putting it.

I also find it vaguely sexist even though I know Adam didn't mean it to be.

Edited December 15, 2016 by vb68

[Silver Raven]

Quote

I'm sure the Q&A was edited, but I wish they all would get equal time to speak.

Isn't it live?

Jeez, Jay, that beanie at the finale?  Really?

Jessica looks so much better, cleaned up.

I swear that Will is really thirty years old.

Can't stand Tony, I hope he gets voted out early.  What, no Boston Rob?

[GaT]

The good, Jay & the fake idol, that was just awesome. The bad, Adam pulling the mom & her cancer story at the last minute to get the vote. That's total crap IMO.

[millennium]

2 hours ago, Mumbles said:

Adam looks a little like Tom Hiddleston. And Will looks a little like John Krasinski.

 

He reminded me of Anton Yelchin.

I'm glad Adam won.   It's the only ending that made sense.   I didn't see this as the great season many feel it was, but no other season has ever managed to change my opinion about not one but two players so late in the game.   If you were to go back through my Survivor posts you would see that I didn't like Adam or Jay very much for most of the game, and yet tonight I wanted no one but them to win.    Jay's a shoo-in for a return appearance. 

My disdain for Hannah, however, remained consistent. 

Edited December 15, 2016 by millennium

[Kerri Johnson]

When Jeff asked the camera man to pan the group thanking them for an amazing season, did anyone else catch Figgy flipping her hair around like she was a part of that?

[millennium]

17 minutes ago, GaT said:

The good, Jay & the fake idol, that was just awesome. The bad, Adam pulling the mom & her cancer story at the last minute to get the vote. That's total crap IMO.

I hear you, but if that's his story, that's his story.   That's why he's there.    Is he obligated to conceal it just because it's a tragic story?   I don't know what it says about us as viewers that we have come to regard someone's personal tragedy as an advantage.   I'm sure he wishes it wasn't his tale to tell but it is.  He said it himself at the reunion: "I can step outside myself and see this is a beautiful story, but this is my life."    The emotional toll on him was enormous.  Why should it be compounded by an expectation that he suffer in silence?

Edited December 15, 2016 by millennium

[Daisy]

It was a good season. I would have preferred Adam not mentioning his Mom. I get that's why he was on the show and that was a motivation - but loathe anyone saying "i'm doing this for my family  etc etc " at the end. You all do it for your family. Now talk about your game play please. (I am happy though I bet my friend Hannah wouldn't win. and I was right. phew).

Reunion, blah blah - okay. Game-changers. 
1: I love Sandra. I do, like. love. her.. Should not be on this season. I honestly think she should have held out for the All-Winners season (eventually now with 33 (well, 31), winners, they have to have a few that they like to do a season). I don't want to doubt my girl, or anything - but the #1 reason why I think she got far as she got was that a lot of people on HvF - weren't survivor fans. Like I honestly think a good chunk of them believe that Parvarti's season was the first. Now you've won twice, and super fans are playing. If they're smart they'll vote her out super fast and she won't even be on the jury. However she does have the ultimate meatshield: She's won twice so who would vote for her. Take her along, use her as a buffer, stick her on the jury final 4 because you know she's not winning anything. 

2: Cirie. yay! But I don't think she's going to win anything either. She's got the Jedi "These aren't the droids you're looking for." magic going on, but nothing about her game (imo) has changed that I don't think gets her to final 3. (or 2). she's too nice. (and she's too bullheaded). AND she can Jedi-Mind-Trick people. AND she's playing with SuperFans. 

3: Ciera. Really? Why? Again? it wasn't even her choice to vote out Laura M. And she only went to rocks because Gervase was stupid and I don't even think she played that well of a game in her second season

4: Ozzy. are you kidding me?

5: Tony. sigh. 

Looking at Wiki's partial list...I honestly think this is a stretch to bring back some people who I think really shouldn't be back. and once again, are going to be ignored. (John (S4) should be back. He was a big game changer. So was Vecepia with how she won the game, boring as it may be). Its later so i can't think of others right now. but.. anyhoo. i'll keep an open mind for sure.  

And we have to wait until March 8th? Bad form, CBS!

[Lingo]

Maybe I'm biased because I've felt Adam was getting a winner's edit ever since he found the idol, but the vote made sense to me. I don't think Adam won by a sympathy vote. I think they were going to vote for him even before he revealed that. Just to me as a viewer, he seemed to have a more complete "resume" than Hannah (2 idols, finding the reward advantage, winning an immunity, etc.). On the other hand, Hannah worked hard and played aggressively in order to build her own resume for the jury, and I wish she'd gotten more respect and recognition for her efforts. When Chris was talking about how ADAM convinced Ken to vote out David, and Ken got all agitated, I actually thought he was going to say, "Uh, it wasn't Adam at all, it was Hannah." But what he actually said was, "It was all ME"! I'm shocked Hannah didn't at that moment turn to both of them and say, "Really, guys? Really???"

Anyway, this was a great season.

[GaT]

8 minutes ago, millennium said:

I hear you, but if that's his story, that's his story.   That's why he's there.    Is he obligated to conceal it just because it's a tragic story?   I don't know what it says about us as viewers that we have come to regard someone's personal tragedy as an advantage.   I'm sure he wishes it wasn't his tale to tell but it is.  He said it himself at the reunion: "I can step outside myself and see this is a beautiful story, but this is my life."    The emotional toll on him was enormous.  Why should it be compounded by an expectation that he suffer in silence?

I don't have a problem with him telling his tale (though I admit, I am sick to death of listening to it & watching him sob), what I think is crap is that he didn't tell it to anyone but Jay the whole season, but right before the final vote he pulls it out. If he didn't want to suffer in silence, then he should have spoken up during the game. I think he only brought it up to get the vote.