S35.E13: Million Dollar Night

[LakeGal]

Enough with the Hidden Idols.  We all know that the cameraman follows the person around that goes to hunt for them.  If the player understands to watch the camera person they can find the Idol.  The cameraman always points at where the idol is hidden.  I want to watch the original Survivor.  The over abundance of Hidden Idols has ruined the game.

[kimbrchick]

Wow. I was suspicious when Ben went to turn in for the night after a hard day of idol hunting and happened to pick the very spot the idol was hidden at. Then, the random twist that was totally just a way for Ben to have another chance in the game. My husband, who is usually indifferent to this type of thing, declared that Survivor has jumped the shark and will not be tuning in next season. I mean we most likely will watch but that was some shenanigans for sure. I can see by many comments here that we aren’t alone in that reaction.

[NeverLate]

27 minutes ago, ItsJessMe said:

You're not alone!  I adored Ben, the entire season, and Chrissy made my skin crawl.  And I found all the twists fresh and fun.

This, so much this.

[Guest]

My interest in this show has been waning and this episode killed the remaining spark. The production interference has become too obvious. Finding “hidden” idols constantly isn’t entertaining to me. And then when that fails to get them their desired final three, they change the game so they still have their desired outcome. They should have just given Ben a lighter and gasoline and Devon flint and wet wood to make their intent clearer.

Devon was a class act.

[Rachel RSL]

1 minute ago, deaja said:

Finding “hidden” idols constantly isn’t entertaining to me.

Especially when they give them a clue that basically says "Go here, dummy."  I remember the season they first introduced the hidden idol, back when the concept was still entertaining. First of all, there was only ONE of them. For the entire game. And the clue to finding it was basically "We've hidden an idol somewhere on this island."

[TVbitch]

Out Wit. Out Play. Out Last. Out Find Idols, Super Idols, Secret Advantages, Or Get Lucky WIth Game Invalidating "Twists". 

[millennium]

I think the title of the episode referred to Desi, who looked like a million dollars in that emerald dress.

[Meatball]

12 hours ago, millennium said:

I think the title of the episode referred to Desi, who looked like a million dollars in that emerald dress.

She looked gorgeous! I loved her leadership at the final TC. Bring her back!

Edited December 21, 2017 by Meatball

[azshadowwalker]

A night of pity votes and idols. What a shitty end to a great season. Not sure I will be back. I am over the idols, advantages and related bullshit. Two seasons in a row where they made all the difference. No point in watching it anymore. 

[loki567]

I kind of enjoyed the season. I said it before, I don't mind watching a season where I don't have a favorite, provided there's some interesting gameplay. I think this season fulfilled that requirement for the most part. I'll definitely give the edits some credit for not going full Mike Holloway with Ben and keeping things reasonably balanced, although they did start to telegraph it at the end there with how much gloating was going on with Chrissy/Ryan/Mike/Devon. 

But yeah, the HIs popping out like skittles and the new twist was completely bullshit. Didn't help that Ben got very tooly at the end. It's a shame because a F3 between Chrissy and Devon would have been an extremely interesting result, gameplay vs. likability. 

[GaT]

I really enjoyed Ben & his third idol, & then the killer final challenge, & then, FIRE! I was on the edge of my seat the entire show, well done.

[shok]

2 hours ago, LadyChatts said:

I'm more pissed for Devon than I am Chrissy getting what's really a non advantage.  He's the one who really got screwed out of the final 3 

For sure. I screamed at the tv when Probst was snuffing Devon's torch and said 'the tribe has spoken'. NO IT HASN'T!!!!

[Kenz]

3 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Season's over and I still can't figure out who Devon looks like. It will remain a mystery for all time.

Someone pointed out early in the season that he looks like Randolph Mantooth who was in the Emergency! TV show years ago. Devon is better looking though, and those beautiful blue eyes of his....sigh....Survivor, please bring him back for another season.

[babs1226]

I enjoyed this season, just as I enjoyed last season, because they changed things up.  I like when they start with 3 tribes, then switch them.  I liked all the new challenges.  I haven't watched every season, but in every season I've watched that had idols, the idol could be played until the final 4, and once an idol was used, it was put back in play.  Ben found the idols because he was looking for them.  So what if they changed the way the final 3 were decided.  It's better than the same old same old season after season.  It was an advantage for Chrissy because she knew what was going to happen, and planned accordingly.  I like the fact that the outcome wasn't a given at final 4.  Devon had just as much of a chance to win the fire challenge as Ben did,  and nobody controls the jury votes.   It doesn't matter how many twists they throw in, the bottom line is that the jury decides who wins, and they don't get to sit at home watching the game before they vote.

[Andromeda]

Well, that was some bullshit producer manipulation going on. They love their All-American Ben. He's fine, but I have a hard time believing he found either of the two last immunity idols without help, and that "advantage" was total crap. It ruins strategy, stole their voting, which is what this game is supposed to be about!

[MsTree]

55 minutes ago, babs1226 said:

I enjoyed this season, just as I enjoyed last season, because they changed things up.  I like when they start with 3 tribes, then switch them.  I liked all the new challenges.  I haven't watched every season, but in every season I've watched that had idols, the idol could be played until the final 4, and once an idol was used, it was put back in play.  Ben found the idols because he was looking for them.  So what if they changed the way the final 3 were decided.  It's better than the same old same old season after season.  It was an advantage for Chrissy because she knew what was going to happen, and planned accordingly.  I like the fact that the outcome wasn't a given at final 4.  Devon had just as much of a chance to win the fire challenge as Ben did,  and nobody controls the jury votes.   It doesn't matter how many twists they throw in, the bottom line is that the jury decides who wins, and they don't get to sit at home watching the game before they vote.

Well said! Despite idols/advantages, from the very beginning Ben played the game 24/7...and towards the end, out of sheer "survival".  And IMO, had he not been so exhausted, he would have won that last challenge. Unfortunately, food & sleep deprivation made him overlook the upside down "U". 

Edited December 21, 2017 by MsTree
spelling

[LoveLeigh]

2 hours ago, deaja said:

My interest in this show has been waning and this episode killed the remaining spark. 

I only watched the last 4 episodes.... I saw no point to watching it every week and seeing it all drag out week after week. I do not know much about Ben, so I therefore cannot comment about the winner. I do not look forward to next season. The show has really become boring and redundant: same game, different players and a slow crawl to the finish line. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by DakotaLavender

[millennium]

1 hour ago, Andromeda said:

Well, that was some bullshit producer manipulation going on. They love their All-American Ben. He's fine, but I have a hard time believing he found either of the two last immunity idols without help, and that "advantage" was total crap. It ruins strategy, stole their voting, which is what this game is supposed to be about!

How was he looking for idols in the black of night?   It showed him peeking under things, checking backsides of boards ... it was pitch dark!   Or it should have been.   How much illumination, both literal and otherwise, did the camera crew provide?

[navelgazer]

Well, I wanted Ben to win, so am thrilled that he did win, even though if Ben hadn't been there Chrissy would have deservedly won.  (Totally shallow, but dayum, Chrissy cleans up good.)  I was surprised at how badly Devon did at that fire challenge.  I mean, they showed him making fire at camp early in the first hour, so it's not like he hadn't done it before or didn't know how to do it. 

On the possible producer manipulation, I don't think it makes any sense for them to do anything like that.  I mean, it would be like what happened with the 1919 "Say it ain't so, Joe" Chicago White Sox.  The Survivor producers would be knowingly murdering their own money-making franchise.  Who would realistically watch if they thought the outcome was predetermined?  Such a scheme just doesn't have a great cost/benefit ratio. 

[Ellee]

Might not be a popular opinion but I kind of like the fire challenge as the final way to make it to the final 3.  I’ve never made a fire that way but I would think that it would be a skill that all of the final 4 would have or would have acquired. 

[MagicCat]

7 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Season's over and I still can't figure out who Devon looks like. It will remain a mystery for all time.

Eric Balfour

[Nashville]

7 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

And I fail to see how that was, in any way, an advantage for Chrissy, it basically screwed up her game.

It was an advantage for Chrissy in that she solely was awarded the personal opportunity to select one person she felt she had the absolute best chance at beating in FTC.

 

7 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

If Ben isn't in that F3, Chrissy wins hands down.

So, your primary problem with the advantage is that it didn't help your favorite - enough?  :)

 

7 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Poor Devon, that was twice he got screwed over by an advantage that wasn't really an advantage. Really, that was just some all around bullshit right there. 

I disagree, for the simple reason Devon had every bit as much opportunity as Ben to win the fire making challenge - more, actually, because Devon had the benefit of both forewarning and additional fire making practice.

[Whimsy]

5 hours ago, green said:

You are right.  Silly to discuss the finale without the finale.  And Probst did his usual take the urn from Fiji and appear in LA without any commercial break.  He also did live stand-ups throughout the finale so seeing him live in LA doesn't make it the reunion.  Reunion means a return of the players.  AFTER the game is over.  The winner is part of this final episode.  No way can you not discuss this in the finale thread.  You'd have to be a lawyer-trained and spend an hour trying to talk around the final scene in the finale.

Editing said Ben was winning all along so no surprise.  The surprise was production had to throw in a last minute advantage to give him a chance for same.  He played a terrible game other than finding idols.

And at final tribal when he starts with home and marines and need the money crap there suddenly was the gentle plinking piano over it with violins coming in half way through to swell his scene and make us all love love love this guy.  Didn't work.  Just made me so pissed.  Man they shoved that guy down my throat all season long to the point that I can't stand him at all.

Chrissy out played him except for the dirt digging bit.  And twice he just kind of "accidentally" found a clue to the idol just when he decided he was giving up looking?  Yes he did look long and hard but those clues somehow magically appeared after he failed to find the idol and decided to give up?  Please.  And of course Chrissy's advantage was really Ben's advantage.  I've never bought into conspiracy theories ever on Survivor ... until now.

Hopefully Chrissy will be asked back since she was the real star player and was screwed over by production this season.

Yeah, I know. You’re right. Especially this year since the finale bled so far into the reunion. So, I guess go ahead. In last seasons posters have complained about the winner being discussed in the episode thread because the winner was announced in a different show so you just can’t win. 

[Whimsy]

5 hours ago, Lantern7 said:

 

I don't think the producers would rig things for Ben and Ben alone. I mean, maybe an investigation is in order, but I don't think Burnett would get into trouble. 

I agree. People cry fowl or producer manipulation almost every year. I think some people just play way harder than others. Also, they could be spending hour and hours looking but we only see the 2 minutes it takes to find the idols.

I do think the idols can and should be much harder to find, though. It’s been made way to easy to find them and there’s way too many to find. But, I don’t think that’s meant for a particular player to find, it’s just overall too easy. 

[tessat]

I was thrilled with the ending as many times - people who do absolutely nothing ride on someone else's coattails and survives to the end - that's not outplaying or outwitting. I'm alright with the new twist or advantage at final 4 as it's not a given then that an alliance can make it all the way as planned.

 

Many may not like the changes in the game - can't say I like them all - hated exile and redemption island - but the game has to change to survive - people are sick of the same thing year after year. Amazing Race survives as each year they travel and do challenges in different countries. On Survivor - you're stuck on an island and that's pretty much it.

[DEL901]

The constant parade of idols bothered me but I could have lived with it... but not that stupid final twist.  Advantage?  Not to Chrissy.  The final 3 should be the result of a vote. Period.

[alexa]

Nothing really to add.  But I have really disliked the last few episodes because it was all about Ben and Chrissy over and over again.  So last night was just unreal to see not only how much that continued but to end on the note that the person that wins immunity at the end basically gets an advantage that can cause them to lose the game.  You know she didn't want Ben there, and that she had a better chance without him (and I am not a fan of her at all, but just felt this was completely unfair).  I hate that Devon was in that alliance and had to be sacrificed when he had earned his way to the end by being in that alliance.  I think this is definitely one of my least favorite Survivor seasons ever.  Basically any player I ever liked was sacrificed for the Ben and Chrissy show.  Ugh.

[Haleth]

5 hours ago, Kenz said:

Someone pointed out early in the season that he looks like Randolph Mantooth who was in the Emergency!

That's it!

I don't care that Ben found lots of idols.  I don't care that Chrissy's advantage put Ben on the F3.  He worked his butt off to stay in the game and deserved to be there.  The jury thought so too.  The right people ended up in the finale (although my ideal F3 would have included Lauren instead of Ryan).  Conspiracy theorists might wonder why the game was so heavily skewed in Chrissy's favor with all the puzzles.  Both of them deserved to be at the end and had a good chance of being Sole Survivor.  Seriously, until the final vote was read I thought it could go either way. 

Devon was not sacrificed.  He had just as much (maybe more) chance of building a fire as Ben did.  It just wasn't his night.

Personally I like it when TPTB throw a monkey wrench into the plans of the dominant alliance.  Too often they get lazy and forget to play.  Pagonging is boring.  Many idols and secret advantages will keep everyone on their toes.  I also liked the conversational FTC with everyone chiming in, rather than jurors taking turns with variations on "my question is... you suck!"

8 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

Count me in the apparently very small camp of those who enjoyed this season's surprises, extra advantages, and twists.  I thought it put a bit of freshness in Survivor (I've watched every season) so I don't blame the producers for having some fun with it and producing more "gotcha" moments.  But my favorite moments in the season were Ben's tribals when he produced idols no one knew about.  Loved it every time!

Me too!

Shut up, Probst.  No one cares what the audience thinks.  (We can all agree on that, right?)

Edited December 21, 2017 by Haleth

[ihartcoffee]

9 hours ago, MKL122788 said:

What a crappy ending to Survivor.

First off, in almost every final 3 season ever, idols were only allowed until day 36, which is the final 6 elimination.

EDIT: There actually has been a recent trending towards allowing idols on Day 37, but never has one been reintroduced into the game on Day 37.

Second, the twist was crappy and the timing essentially made it impossible for people to play around.

Third, both of these suspicious changes get put into place to conveniently protect the ultimate winner who didn't play a good enough game and had a 0% chance to win without said twists.

This is the first time where it really felt production had a favorite and rolled with it for the narrative they wanted to sell.

Chrissy and/or Devon got completely screwed by production here. No question about it.

My thoughts exactly.  I think it's time for me to hang it up and stop watching.  I was so pissed at the obvious manipulation by the end I was disgusted.  Then all the sappy music and the Ben show that followed made me turn off the TV.  Twitter was blowing up with people saying the same. 

[babs1226]

8 hours ago, MerBearHou said:

But my favorite moments in the season were Ben's tribals when he produced idols no one knew about.  Loved it every time!

He was the only one smart enough to keep his mouth shut.  How often do you see anyone do that in this game?

[amazingracefan]

It was a good final 3, all of them deserved to be there more than Devon I thought.

And I am glad they are mixing immunities up more so it isn't all balancing strength. 

The only downside was the usual model/example stuff (mother/father/marine) which is typical of such reality shows.  The truth is they are all playing for themselves and we don't need a moralising storyline.

[ghoulina]

It's kind of hard to tell which thread to post in because of the overlap, and I expressed most of my thoughts in the other one, but I did want to say a few things:

I thought it was very smart of Devon to write down Mike's name. Good for him. 

LOVED seeing a different challenge, but that upside down U!!!

I have been rooting for Ben since day one, but I thought the fire starting challenge was BS and that "advantage" was thrown in as a last ditch effort to save production's favorite. It pissed me off on a number of levels, least of which robbing me of being happy for the player I had been pulling for. 

[JudyObscure]

Why not just call it "Survivor Big Brother?"  Expect the unexpected with producer picked twists all planned to help the fan favorites stay in the game. Think the fans want more women to win?  Take all the strength factors out of Immunity Challenges and add  a puzzle or balance factor into every nearly every single challenge.

If Survivor is going to push this hard for  the winner who has the best  tear jerking story to tell at the finale, then we can all save time by giving out the million after the first night around the campfire.   

Jeff did his best to ruin the last three hours by cutting back to the studio before every commercial.  I really like to keep the players in the "stranded on an island" scenario for the whole 39 days.  All the reward feasts and luxury sleep overs were bad enough without seeing them all cleaned up before the show was over.

 I miss the jury members getting to stand up one by one and grill the finalists. I guess the producers think that might throw shade on their awesome cast members. Instead they all just had one more chance to brag about themselves and in this new world where modesty is insecurity and  smug conceit is confidence, we just can't admire anyone unless they keep telling us how tremendous they are every few minutes.

[ghoulina]

2 hours ago, Ellee said:

Might not be a popular opinion but I kind of like the fire challenge as the final way to make it to the final 3.  I’ve never made a fire that way but I would think that it would be a skill that all of the final 4 would have or would have acquired. 

I like the idea too. I think focusing more on "survival skills" could be interesting. But it would have sat a lot easier with me if they had announced this from the beginning, not this last minute "advantage". It's always been by vote. You're voted out. You can't just change the rules in the middle of the game because the guy you want to win is going home. 

[Guest]

4 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I miss the jury members getting to stand up one by one and grill the finalists. I guess the producers think that might throw shade on their awesome cast members. Instead they all just had one more chance to brag about themselves and in this new world where modesty is insecurity and  smug conceit is confidence, we just can't admire anyone unless they keep telling us how tremendous they are every few minutes.

Me too.  They were much more memorable than this round table style discussion, and I feel like when they did it one on one, it was more balanced.  You didn't have certain cast members talking over each other due to the format.

[BusyOctober]

I am happy with the end result.  While I was very impressed with Chrissy's Immunity Domination, she annoyed me with the smugness.  I know she didn't label herself a "Hero"; that's the team she was assigned to, so she and TPTB had to squuueeeeeze her "story" to fit the stupid narrative.  However, I think she started believing her heroine status a wee bit too much.  Her speeches  just rubbed me the wrong way.  Starting with her intro, we are told she is a "hero" because after making the "heroic" decision to be a stay at home mom.  Great.  Many parents envy your ability to have had that option.  She then made the "heroic" choice to rejoin the workforce when her kids got older. Congrats.  Thanks to her marketable skills, she chose to seek a job after years away from the 9-5 world.  Then she kept applying to do Survivor and finally gets picked.  Good for her; she attained a personal goal and should be proud/happy, whatever.  Then  when she asked for a leave to do the show, her employer said no, so she "bravely" left her job to pursue her dream. OK, again...another personal choice.  Jeff asked if she's gone back to work (outside the home), and Chrissy tearfully tells us all that she hasn't, but she has learned, through the Grace of Survivor, that spending time with her family is really what she/life/the universe is all about. Um, cool.  You are among some of the luckier people who have options, choices, means, resources, support systems, etc. to make these life decisions.  It does not necessarily make you a hero.  You were dealt a great hand in life, and played it to the best of your ability to benefit yourself.  So, congrats maybe in order, but not adulation.

[iluvobx]

I feel like the final challenges were geared towards Chrissy's strength.  The 4 made a major mistake by not sticking to Ben.  There were 4 of you and 1 of him.  3 can rest while 1 is sticking with him.  Desi was right in pointing that out to them.  They were just so sure of themselves, way too overconfident. Ben never gave up, and that is why I was glad he made it to the final 3.  (Plus to wipe that gloating look off Chrissy's face.)  I miss the total strength ones and the ones that relied on the memory of the players and things that happened.  I am very happy with the final twist.  At least make 2 of the 3 earn their spot in the final 3.

[seacliffsal]

I think that the final "advantage" really was interesting.  Chrissy had her final three picked, so it wasn't as much of an advantage to her.  However, if one really didn't want their entire alliance at that point in the finale, it's a way to try to eliminate someone without getting any "blood" on one's hands.  It still allows the final immunity winner to bring their "goat," but it also allows a strategic opportunity to get rid of someone without direct blame.  Now, if Ben had won it, there would have been an opportunity for him to pit his two biggest threats against each other and go into the final with only one of them.  I also like the fact that there is an opportunity for someone who has done a lot of the work at camp to advance as long as they made it to the final 4.  I get tired of watching many people not lift a single finger at camp and therefore actually have more energy for the challenges, etc.  Several jury members brought up the fact that Ryan did nothing at camp; this is a way to kind of reward those who watched out for everyone else with fire, helping at camp, etc.

I did notice that when Chrissy was proving how sociable she was to Joe that she chose something that he may not have wanted broadcast to the entire country.  With that one action she demonstrated why I didn't care for her-she could never resist showing her perceived superiority over others.  Not only did she show that she knew something about him, she had to show that extremely personal bit of information to the entire cast and viewing audience.  Then she went on to show what she knew about someone else and someone replied that just stating facts doesn't prove a social relationship.  

I enjoyed the season and am so glad that Ben won.  He never gave up. 

And, I so agree with others-Jeff, talk to the people we have come to know over the season and who actually played the game.  Don't care what an audience member has to say.

[Boilergal]

Why would Ben even begin to think that they would bury an idol on the same night they came back from Tribal on day 37?   Then spend ALL night looking for it knowing you have another immunity challenge coming up.  Sounds like a little snake whispered in his ear.

Even Probst knew that people would call rigged with the special advantage when he said - this isn't a one off thing we are going to use this in upcoming seasons.

I did like the format of the jury questions this year - it was more conversational instead of  -- I have to ask a question so "do you like my green socks?"

It was fun to watch Ryan being told by everyone that they didn't view him as the master strategist that he believed he was.

[iluvobx]

7 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I am happy with the end result.  While I was very impressed with Chrissy's Immunity Domination, she annoyed me with the smugness.  I know she didn't label herself a "Hero"; that's the team she was assigned to, so she and TPTB had to squuueeeeeze her "story" to fit the stupid narrative.  However, I think she started believing her heroine status a wee bit too much.  Her speeches  just rubbed me the wrong way.  Starting with her intro, we are told she is a "hero" because after making the "heroic" decision to be a stay at home mom.  Great.  Many parents envy your ability to have had that option.  She then made the "heroic" choice to rejoin the workforce when her kids got older. Congrats.  Thanks to her marketable skills, she chose to seek a job after years away from the 9-5 world.  Then she kept applying to do Survivor and finally gets picked.  Good for her; she attained a personal goal and should be proud/happy, whatever.  Then  when she asked for a leave to do the show, her employer said no, so she "bravely" left her job to pursue her dream. OK, again...another personal choice.  Jeff asked if she's gone back to work (outside the home), and Chrissy tearfully tells us all that she hasn't, but she has learned, through the Grace of Survivor, that spending time with her family is really what she/life/the universe is all about. Um, cool.  You are among some of the luckier people who have options, choices, means, resources, support systems, etc. to make these life decisions.  It does not necessarily make you a hero.  You were dealt a great hand in life, and played it to the best of your ability to benefit yourself.  So, congrats maybe in order, but not adulation.

I HATED her damn "speech" on that shit.  That does not make her a hero, that makes her a mother that was lucky to stay home.  I made the decision to quit working when my children were small (we really pinched pennies) and went back when they got older.  That does not make me a hero, so her bullshit really rubbed me the wrong way.

[Rachel RSL]

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

It was an advantage for Chrissy in that she solely was awarded the personal opportunity to select one person she felt she had the absolute best chance at beating in FTC.

It was in no way an advantage for Chrissy. She had a solid plan to vote out Ben and go to the F3 with Ryan and Devon, both of whom she thought she could beat. That "advantage" forced her to do something she never would have done otherwise and give Ben a chance to stay in the game. If it were truly an advantage, then Chrissy should have been given the option to simply not use it. The only person who benefited from that advantage was Ben.

2 hours ago, Nashville said:

So, your primary problem with the advantage is that it didn't help your favorite - enough?  :)

Yeah, I don't really know where this comment is coming from. I've stated many times over the course of the season that I wasn't a Chrissy fan and I didn't care enough to root for anybody. Calling out blatant producer manipulation of the game doesn't automatically mean I'm bitter.  

[Fallacy]

Just total bullshit all around. 

Edited December 21, 2017 by Fallacy

[ProfCrash]

I am fine with Ben winning. I would have been fine with Chrissy winning.  I think that the twist was stupid. Flat out ridiculous but it fit in well with the new Survivor which is less about playing the game and more about ridiculous amounts of idols and advantages. Chrissy got screwed. She set up he final three perfectly. She won four individual immunities and then production decides that they are going to change how they seed the final tribal? So much bullshit. I get that it is a game and that Production can do what they want to do and it is legit but it is still bullshit.

On to the overall episode. I was proud of Devon trusting his gut and voting for Mike. That was nice too see. I was a bit shocked that it took until day 37 for someone to think of using the super idol from the first episode as a decoy. Maybe that was because they all seemed to know about it but no one seems to have seen it. Ben didn't recognize it, so I doubt that anyone other then Ryan and Chrissy knew what it looked like. I thought it was a good call on their part to try and trick Ben. I thought Ben did a great job of pretending like he was screwed when he wasn't. I found all of that very entertaining and fun.

I liked the last immunity challenge. I was not surprised that Chrissy won. I said that she was going to go off and win a bunch of immunities once JP was gone. She is a good enough athlete to stay in the game and far more adept at puzzles then the rest of the crew. I thought that Chrissy set herself up nicely for the final tribal and was flat out fucked by Production. That was not an advantage. She played it perfectly. It had to be Devon that went up against Ben because Ryan was useless around camp. I thought that Devon handled it with grace. I loved his approach to the challenge. I wish he could have made fire because I think that it was an awful twist.

The final tribal was pretty good. I liked the Jury and how they responded to the answers that they got. I loved that they called pretty much everyone on their lack of a social game. I laughed at that part because it was so clear that they knew all three final players sucked at the social game.

In the end, it came down to do you vote for the person that won a ton of immunities, built a solid alliance and survived one of two real bumps in their game or do you vote for the person who kept on fighting and hunting and made the best of the Production love of hidden idols and advantages. I would have voted for Chrissy over Ben. Ben played a good game and kept on hunting but he put himself in the position where he was targeted. Ben had opportunities to step back and not look like the dictator or the king or whatever else he was called but he didn't. Ben was the one intentionally playing loud. In the end, I think Ben won because he is a Marine with PTSD. Ashley, Lauren and plenty of others commented during the season that no one could compete with his life story. Ben played a good game but, like Mike, he put himself in a crappy place game wise. Ben was saved by a shitty new production twist that got him into the finals. 

But Ben did play hard so I am not totally annoyed. I think Chrissy played hard and legit won her way into her spot at the final.

And yes, I thought that Cirie (sp) was robbed when the format changed and she went home before the final tribal. I think Rob C and other people who came in third had a right to be pissy when the final tribal was expanded to three. I don't like it when Production screws with the final tribal format or way of making it into the final tribal without giving advance notice to the players. How you get to the end should be clear to everyone. That directly effects game play. Not telling players is unacceptable and bullshit.

[Daisy]

3 hours ago, Ellee said:

Might not be a popular opinion but I kind of like the fire challenge as the final way to make it to the final 3.  I’ve never made a fire that way but I would think that it would be a skill that all of the final 4 would have or would have acquired. 

 i respect that opinion - had that been the final immunity challenge. 
or. had Chrissy + Ryan and Ben + Devon forced a tie. 
 

[Daisy]

10 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

It was in no way an advantage for Chrissy. She had a solid plan to vote out Ben and go to the F3 with Ryan and Devon, both of whom she thought she could beat. That "advantage" forced her to do something she never would have done otherwise and give Ben a chance to stay in the game. If it were truly an advantage, then Chrissy should have been given the option to simply not use it. The only person who benefited from that advantage was Ben.

Yeah, I don't really know where this comment is coming from. I've stated many times over the course of the season that I wasn't a Chrissy fan and I didn't care enough to root for anybody. Calling out blatant producer manipulation of the game doesn't automatically mean I'm bitter.  

 

exactly. it wasn't an advantage. and Personally i don't think it matters if you were rooting for Chrissy or hated her guts - She wins immunity and the "advantage" she wins, screwed her game over. Winning final immunity has always been determining your destiny (which is why the final "three" always bugs me, it has more impact for the final two imo, but that's moot). that was completely set up to give Ben another chance to win. (Or Chrissy a chance to win if it had been reversed). it's complete and utter BS. 

and I think this is sort of why the Cirie idol-out bothered me so much too.. I've heard people compare this to the PRoD, but it's not even. With the PRoD  Pascal, Katie and Jessica all chose to draw rocks and deal with the circumstances of it. Cirie's game got screwed over because the over dependence on advantages and idols, and she didn't even recieve a vote. Now I will own, I adore Cirie. But if that happened to Brad Culpepper, I would be just as indignant because it's not right.  

and the worse part is Jeff and other people are banging the drum that finding advantages and hidden idols are synonyms of Great Game Play - which it isn't. Now we can debate if Ben played a good game (I think he didn't after a point - but I've always stated if you win Survivor, you "deserve" it). but changing the rules  at the end... blegh. That's why i didn't like Redemption Island, but at least it was something everyone knew and planned for. 

The only thing this dumb twist is gonna ensure is that everyone knows how to make fire,

[watch2much]

40 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

I did notice that when Chrissy was proving how sociable she was to Joe that she chose something that he may not have wanted broadcast to the entire country.  With that one action she demonstrated why I didn't care for her-she could never resist showing her perceived superiority over others.  Not only did she show that she knew something about him, she had to show that extremely personal bit of information to the entire cast and viewing audience.  Then she went on to show what she knew about someone else and someone replied that just stating facts doesn't prove a social relationship.  

Exactly!  It didn't prove she established social relationships with someone, only that she picked up information about them.   Joe could have been just talking about that to someone and she overheard.  If her obnoxious personality came thru so thoroughly to the viewer in what we saw, imagine living with her all that time.  

Chrissy's alliance lost because of HUBRIS.  they never stopped to think that someone else was doing something to undermine them.  Devon was always so full of himself--though I give him credit for suspecting Ben had an idol.  Ryan and Chrissy were so conceited about their games.  They dropped the ball and suffered for it.

and for Ryan to be a superfan and not mastered starting a fire is amazing to me.  If I knew I was going on the show, I would make sure I had that down to a scienc.

[neece26]

  I really don't have a problem with the final "twist".  If Ben had placed his "u" correctly and won the final immunity challenge, then Chrissy would have had the same lifeline he was thrown to control her own fate in the game.   Big mistake for Devin to take a nap instead of practicing making fire.  Super nice guy though.   Overall, knowing Ben's level of determination, I think the alliance got a little too complacent allowing him to freely run around looking for idols and not really looking for one themselves.  

Even thought it was impressive, I don't think Chrissy deserved to win simply because she won a lot of challenges.   Other seasons have had challenge beasts who came up short at FTC.   Chrissy was comfortably in an alliance while Ben had to fight to stay in each week, so perhaps that is what was rewarded.  

[Sassenach]

11 hours ago, Rachel RSL said:

Season's over and I still can't figure out who Devon looks like. It will remain a mystery for all time.

With the haircut, he looks like Randolph Mantooth in his prime - most famous for playing a paramedic in a 1970's show called "Emergency!".  Even his demeanor is the same.  We need a reboot of the show -- I'd show up just to watch Devon.

[amazingracefan]

But you have to look at why Chrissy doesn't win and the jury were probably turned off by her attitude more than that of others.  Who's to say some who voted against her would't have done so with Ben not there too?

[Rachel RSL]

Quote

With the haircut, he looks like Randolph Mantooth in his prime - most famous for playing a paramedic in a 1970's show called "Emergency!".  Even his demeanor is the same.  We need a reboot of the show -- I'd show up just to watch Devon.

I remember people mentioning that early in the season and, while I can definitely see the resemblance, that's not who he reminds me of.  I just can't pinpoint who it is exactly. Luckily, I tend to forget most reality show contestants the second they're off my tv screen so at least it won't drive me crazy for too long.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Rachel RSL