S35.E16: Reunion Special

[Whimsy]

The winner is revealed as the castaways reunite to discuss the season. 

Note-  don’t get the episode numbering, but this is what my tivo says. 

[RedheadZombie]

Is this the first time that all three finalists got a vote?

[RedheadZombie]

Chrissy really needs to stop groping Ben.

[LadyChatts]

10 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Is this the first time that all three finalists got a vote?

Will got one vote from Rodney during WA, and Missy got a vote from Baylor during SJDS (which is why some of the other jurors voted for Jaclyn so Missy wouldn't tie for second place).  But most times the votes are absolute blow outs.  I like them when they are closer, though I worried a little bit tonight lol  I'll be curious to find out who the jury all voted for.  Devon voting for Ryan really threw me for a loop.  

[ICantDoThatDave]

That was just a terrible season.  Bottom 5 easily, IMO.  Too many idols & that final "twist" basically nullifies the spirit of the game.  Winning final immunity should be a huge advantage.  In this case, it basically screwed Chrissy out of even having a chance to win.

[violet and green]

13 minutes ago, RedheadZombie said:

Chrissy really needs to stop groping Ben.

I was actually shouting, Get your hands off him! It just went on and on! I thought once the votes were read, she'd settle. but no, more thigh grasping this time! Ye gods!

That was a weird reunion special, with for once a lot of time spent on the winner, and more time on random plants in the audience gushing than on the top five or so; normally Jeff would sprint his questions amongst the rest of the players a bit, but not even someone reliably mouthy like Joe got a look in.

[Eolivet]

I found Devon's vote for Ryan the most touching part of the whole finale. It was like a weird full circle thing, where they started out friends, then there was betrayal, then they were enemies, then they mended fences and parted as friends, and even though Devon had to know Ryan had no shot of winning, he voted for him anyway.

That's the kind of human connection story I like to see on Survivor, not Who Finds Idols or Who Wins Challenges. Devon voted for Ryan because of who he was, not what he did. It says a lot of nice things about Devon, and his capacity for forgiveness, to do that.

[RedheadZombie]

My favorite reunion is the one hosted by Rosie O'Donnell.  I can still remember the way she presented Kathy running from the back forty to come pee on the guy stung by a jelly fish.  Hilarious.  It may have been in slow motion.

[piequinn35]

the final votes:

Ryan: Devon

Chrissy: Mike and Ashley

Ben: Desi, Cole, Joe, Lauren and JP

Surprisingly JP didn’t vote for Chrissy.

The first 5 jurors voted for Ben, the next 2 for Chrissy and last juror for Ryan.

Edited December 21, 2017 by piequinn35

[OldWiseOne]

Did we really need a 5 minute recap of Ben's season that we just finished watching? Worst reunion show ever.

[RedheadZombie]

I need Lauren to appear in another season.

James is coming back?  I loved that guy.

[ByaNose]

It’s funny how everyone thought the hour finale was always too long. Now, it was really a half hour & it was still kind of sucky! I say keep it a half hour without the audience participation. 

[LadyChatts]

3 minutes ago, piequinn35 said:

the final votes:

Ryan: Devon

Chrissy: Mike and Ashley

Ben: Desi, Cole, Joe, Lauren and JP

Surprisingly JP didn’t vote for Chrissy.

Wow, I would have bet money on that.  I also thought Cole might vote for Chrissy (debatable after the jury roundtable), and I also thought Desi would surprise me and throw a vote Chrissy's way.  I expected it to be closer than it was.

[violet and green]

Well, it was sort of splintered in throughout the rest of the show, so probably added up to more than half an hour... I always find the reunion shows too short, but on the plus side, no Boston Rob.

[RedheadZombie]

I hope Jessica realized she threw her game away for a moron.

[Wandering Snark]

8 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

It’s funny how everyone thought the hour finale was always too long. Now, it was really a half hour & it was still kind of sucky! I say keep it a half hour without the audience participation. 

But that would cut out the part they like the best which is Probst and the show runners masturbating to their own non-hidden idol: The Game Of Survivor. They seem to love to blow their own horns about how fucking amazing their show is and anyone they can call on to do the same is fine by them.

[Ms Blue Jay]

This season was sooooooooooooooooooooooo dry.  I like Ben as a winner and wouldn't be happy with anyone else, but the show was so rigged in his favour at the very end.  This was all very odd and the season felt like a huge waste of time for me.  Disappointment.  I really hope upcoming seasons are better.  I think I haven't found a season so boring since the Natalie Anderson one.

[ByaNose]

Just now, Wandering Snark said:

But that would cut out the part they like the best which is Probst and the show runners masturbating to their own non-hidden idol: The Game Of Survivor. They seem to love to blow their own horns about how fucking amazing their show is and anyone they can call on to do the same is fine by them.

Too funny & so true.

[UncleChuck]

I will prefer to believe that Ben actually found his idols and as a fellow vet, I was rooting for him, but...

I thought the special season summary focused entirely on Ben's game was a bit over the top, and then...

TPTB followed that up with a special season summary focused on Ben's PTSD.  And then...

More about Ben when his three buddies came out and gang-tackled him.

Probst and CBS REALLY LOVE survivor players who have these special backgounds (PTSD, transsexual, nerdy guy/girl).  Too bad the spring season has already been filmed or I guarantee that one (or more) of the women will be a victim of some creepy predator or groper.

[Pamela]

With blatant producer manipulation like we saw tonight, it felt more like watching Big Brother than Survivor. (And don't get me wrong -- I love Big Brother. But y'all know what I'm talking about.) I'm not particularly fond of Chrissy, but she got screwed.

A lousy end to a meh season.

[NeverLate]

A Ben bomb!  I thought Chrissy had it in the bag at one point, but she was too much. I admired her game, I just can't with her. I really like Ryan.. I had no idea who would win, but we have loved how Ben never gave up, never!
I think the fire at the end was terrific! Plus I was sure Devon( who looked better on the island)  would win that, but Ben won . We got to see more of the jury, so less of them at the end, is okay with me...
I'm really enjoyed this season, largely due to Ben at TC! 

Next season looks good! Bring it on...
Well done Ben!!!!!! 

[Ms Blue Jay]

13 minutes ago, UncleChuck said:

Too bad the spring season has already been filmed or I guarantee that one (or more) of the women will be a victim of some creepy predator or groper.

So many of us women are, though.  That's not a unique experience when you're a woman.  It's an incredibly common one.  It's just become a tiny bit more comfortable - a tiny bit more comfortable - to speak publicly about.  And I still publicly choose not to speak about it, but others do and that's great for them, if it works for them or others.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[TVFan1]

This reunion show was only 30 minutes. I think Jeff only talked to four people. WAY too much of Ben. Did we really have to go through every thing he did in the game from beginning to the end? I'm interested in the next season, though. I hope it's a better season.

Edited December 21, 2017 by TVFan1

[Jobiska]

Did they ever go back and see who that little girl voted for, leaning on Probst's back?  If so I missed it while fast-forwarding; if not, what a waste of time having her vote.

[Wandering Snark]

Yes they did show her for another of their apologistic attempts showing us why Ben deserved to win. She 'spoke for the fans' with her proud vote for Ben.

[Silver Raven]

Dammit dammit dammit.  The sob story won.

[NeverLate]

3 minutes ago, Silver Raven said:

Dammit dammit dammit.  The sob story won.

Nah, Chrissy played a good game but she let Ben's game play become personal to her and turned her into a nasty shrew. Yes, he was gruff and off-putting at times but he was always playing hard

The whole back and forth with Ryan was wasted and made her look bad and didn't help his case (as he really didn't have one). And Ben was basically begged to stand up for himself and give them a reason to throw him their votes. They all knew he had played a hard game and had his back against the wall for a good while. I don't think any of them needed to be convinced that he played the game well enough to deserve the win. I think they didn't want him to sit there and hand it to Chrissy because he wasn't speaking up.

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

I found Devon's vote for Ryan the most touching part of the whole finale. It was like a weird full circle thing, where they started out friends, then there was betrayal, then they were enemies, then they mended fences and parted as friends, and even though Devon had to know Ryan had no shot of winning, he voted for him anyway.

That's the kind of human connection story I like to see on Survivor, not Who Finds Idols or Who Wins Challenges. Devon voted for Ryan because of who he was, not what he did. It says a lot of nice things about Devon, and his capacity for forgiveness, to do that.

Plus Devon didn't like Ben for many reasons! He knew he couldn't beat Ben in the F3. That's why he tried to be rid of him. Even making fire, Ben beat Devon. I loved it! 

[ImpinAintEasy]

Devon and Chrissy were screwed. Ben had more votes against him than any Survivor winner in history. Devon received one vote all season. I know Chrissy won a ton of immunity necklaces, but to me, Devon played the best strategic + social game, by far. I was disappointed, but not surprised that they didn’t ask the jury who they vote for if it’s Devon up there instead of Ben. I think Devon would have won. 

 

Somebody needs to get through to Jeff and tell him enough with the hidden idols and secret advantages. At the very least, make it so that once an idol is played or a person is voted out with it, then it is gone for good. No more re-introducing it back into the game. 

 

I enjoyed the season more than most, but the last few episodes really soured me on it. I can’t help but feel production wanted Ben to win and aided him. 

[Lantern7]

At least the season is over. How many people did Probst deem worthy of conversation? Because I might have nailed this, from the Speculation thread:

Quote

Probst ignores thirteen contestants after he falls asleep halfway through the Reunion. He is nudged awake in time to pimp out S36.

And seriously . . . why the fuck do we have a Reunion?!? Can't we force Bryant Gumbel back for yuks? Or Rosie O'Donnell to go way to into the finale like in S4? And I reckon most of the people Probst talked to in the audience were plants. No, really, they were advertising for those. Not Ava, though. She seemed legit.

Surprised Lauren got time, even if Probst rubbed her face into her blunder as hard as he could. Like I said weeks ago, she reeks of normalcy, and I hope she gets an invite. Ditto for Desi, because she is teh hotness. Ryan can come back in five years where he finally gains all of the weight he lost.

I like the Ghost Island logo, with the palm trees making the eyeholes in the skull-not-skull. Also starting with a "G": "Gimmick."

1 hour ago, RandomWatcher said:

Per Twitter, Johnny Fairplay thinks this is a worse reunion than whatever season this was

First of all, fuck that guy. Secondly, that was Caramoan, and I make a motivational poster based on the image @RandomWatcher posted on the live thread:

Once again: it's an ending. Onto Ghost Island!

[NeverLate]

Who is Corrine, and why is she so bitter/petty?

[Rachel RSL]

35 minutes ago, NeverLate said:

Next season looks good! Bring it on...
 

I don't even understand what the theme for next season is. At first I thought they were bringing back all the people who screwed up and it was going to be Survivor: Dumbass (which, by all rights, JT should win but would still somehow screw it up) but it appears to just be based on those previous mistakes so...? I have no clue. But it does look like another season filled with idols and twists. Oh joy.

36 minutes ago, UncleChuck said:

Too bad the spring season has already been filmed or I guarantee that one (or more) of the women will be a victim of some creepy predator or groper.

That's basically almost every woman on the planet. But, yeah, you know they'd be making that a major theme.

[MVFrostsMyPie]

Well after Devin lost, I knew who'd be winning. What kind of BS "advantage" was that?! How convenient. Eat my shorts, Survivor. Devin was the only remotely likeable person to root for. Now can Ben STFU and go the fuck away forever with his wifey and kids? Ugh, I just hate 2017.

Also Ben makes shit omelettes.

[LadyChatts]

32 minutes ago, Rachel RSL said:

I don't even understand what the theme for next season is. At first I thought they were bringing back all the people who screwed up and it was going to be Survivor: Dumbass (which, by all rights, JT should win but would still somehow screw it up) but it appears to just be based on those previous mistakes so...? I have no clue. But it does look like another season filled with idols and twists. Oh joy.

That's basically almost every woman on the planet. But, yeah, you know they'd be making that a major theme.

OMG, I love that title for a Survivor season.  It beats what they are coming up with.  And next season seems like Second Chances with a bunch of idols and advantages, and a brand new cast that apparently tries to see if they can be as dumb as whoever's Survivor wrong they are trying to right.  They need to get out of Fiji if that's the idea behind these themes.  I'm scared what they are going to come up with for S37 and S38.

Edited December 21, 2017 by LadyChatts

[Guest]

I’m done with this show. Ben didn’t win, IMO, as much as production gave him $1,000,000. Couldn’t they have done that without the production of a whole season? 

[Lantern7]

1 hour ago, NeverLate said:

Who is Corrine, and why is she so bitter/petty?

Sorry about that. She was a returning player in the Caramoan season, and all of the non-jury people got shoved into the audience, as opposed to being on stage. I think that was the only season where that happened. And I really wasn't fond of Corrine between Caramoan and Gabon, so I made the poster about how awful it was for me to be on the same side as her. (ETA: I shrunk the image down. Here it is in full, with Corrine's tweets)

9 minutes ago, deaja said:

I’m done with this show. Ben didn’t win, IMO, as much as production gave him $1,000,000. Couldn’t they have done that without the production of a whole season? 

Ask Rupert. *koff*fanfavorite*koff*

Thinking about it: Ghost Island will be anticipated, but you know what it will probably feel like for most of the season? Production covering Cochran with a white blanker, poking two holes for eyes, and telling him to bug the contestants.

[millennium]

1 hour ago, Silver Raven said:

Dammit dammit dammit.  The sob story won.

Probably an unpopular opinion but I don't entirely buy the sob story.   All talk of PTSD stopped cold the instant he started finding idols and became Mr. Shit-Eating-Grin.   He reveled in screwing over everybody else, with no hint of psychological impairment.   PTSD was never mentioned again until the final tribal council where he used it as emotional leverage.

I also call foul on the "twist" at the end which served no purpose but to screw Chrissy out of her win and give it to Ben.   The producers must have held an emergency late-night meeting to pull that one out of their asses. 

I *hate* feeling manipulated.   

[Andromeda]

Wow, I feel kind of dirty. Manipulated, suckered in, and ripped off. Production really, really wanted Ben as their PTSD poster boy, and they made it happen. Blech, Survivor. I have defended you in the past, but this was beyond the pale, especially that last "advantage" which robbed the F4 of votes they had envisioned making for weeks!

[MissEwa]

16 minutes ago, millennium said:

Probably an unpopular opinion but I don't entirely buy the sob story.   All talk of PTSD stopped cold the instant he started finding idols and became Mr. Shit-Eating-Grin.   He reveled in screwing over everybody else, with no hint of psychological impairment.   PTSD was never mentioned again until the final tribal council where he used it as emotional leverage.

I also call foul on the "twist" at the end which served no purpose but to screw Chrissy out of her win and give it to Ben.   The producers must have held an emergency late-night meeting to pull that one out of their asses. 

I *hate* feeling manipulated.   

To be fair, I have a really good friend with PTSD (not military-related) and it's not like she's an anxious wreck all the time. Or even most of the time. She's fine and happy and cheerful... unless she's not. Between Ben and Hannah in MvGx I do *kind of* appreciate the way the show has been dealing with people with mental health issues - showing them, exploring them a bit, but ultimately making the take-away that they're not freaks and are still perfectly capable of doing almost anything. 

Where it gets weird for me with Ben is that I 100% believe he has PTSD and I feel for him but - completely separately to that - I still think he's an arrogant jerk and I don't like him at all. 

I 100% agree with the rest of your post. It was terrible. 

[GaT]

The reunion show was a lot better when it was an actual reunion show & we got to hear from all the contestants. All this other crap bores me.

[MsTree]

1 hour ago, deaja said:

 Ben didn’t win, IMO, as much as production gave him $1,000,000. Couldn’t they have done that without the production of a whole season? 

Hmm...I'm pretty sure BEN made the fire himself, which got him into the finale of which he WON.

[Pazlovejoy]

Why are they screwing around with all of the twists and advantages? Don't they realize that they only cheapen Survivor, bringing it down to Big Brother level? I hated that final twist with the intensity of a thousand suns. Although I'm no Chrissy fan, that "advantage" was a punch in the gut that stole her win. At this point I'm beginning to believe the Survivor I once loved is gone forever.

[BetyBee]

Survivor is usually a must see for me, but several times this season, I forgot to watch...including the finale - I missed the first hour!  I didn't find it a very compelling season, but I was satisfied with Ben winning.  Maybe if I'd seen more of the season, I would have felt differently, but I'm happy to see a veteran who played really hard and never gave up, become the sole survivor.  

[Nashville]

7 hours ago, ICantDoThatDave said:

Winning final immunity should be a huge advantage.  In this case, it basically screwed Chrissy out of even having a chance to win.

From what I've been reading, many (most?) people here feel the final twist was unfair simply because the outcome didn't favor their favorites.

Personally speaking, I don't think the validity/invalidity of a twist is proven or disproven based upon the contestants involved.

And to be perfectly honest, I expected Devon to win the firemaking challenge.  :)

[Suzysite]

Congrats to Ben!  I truly had no horse in this race, but Ben really was the energizer bunny to search all night for an idol and thus insuring his own game.   I call BS to claims of producer manipulation.   Did the idol availability go on longer than normal?  Sure.  So what.  Every season is different.  He worked for it.   HE found the idols, HE made the fire, HE gave the jury the best reason to vote for him.     And I really say this as someone who was neutral on him all season.

[Daisy]

This show needs to remember why it was so amazing.  and I'm fine with "twists and turns" but I keep saying this in the off season: you don't need to manufacture drama. You are putting 16 strangers on an island, with no food and making them work together while voting each other out. there's the drama.. Sure. sometimes you get a Thailand where it's a dirty scuzzy drama, but it's still there.  I am exhausted with the idol plays (even when they are done amazingly) because I think it's defeating the point now. (and yes. i am still and will forever be bitter that Cirie literally got idol-'ed out because the game decided to go Oprah on idols and advantages).  

I'm also tired of the "I'm doing this for mah family/my issues." when did this happen? I mean, yeah we got a lot of people 'focused' on that, but I don't remember Sandra saying it every episode four times a day. it was basically "this is my job. i come on survivor and I win. the end." And it makes me feel like I am a cow saying I don't care that Jacqui can't get pregnant (because my heart breaks for her on that score) or that Adam's mom had cancer* (my mom has it, i sympathise), or that Ben, while serving his country got hurt. in a way that you can't see and people can't always comprehend. 

 

that's not a reason to win this game. And I feel it's so blurred now people feel like they have to have this sob story, and they use it in their final jury speeches. It's a million dollars. we all have people we'd like to take care of, or charities, or college funds. (and I understand day 35 is more cause for that feeling of "bringing home the bacon" is a lot more intense than say day 9. but just stop it. 


I'm tired of BIG MOVES (because this game has shown you can win with an entire streak of little carefully detailed moves). I'm tired of focusing on "finding HII = great player." because it doesn't.  i'm tired of these twists that literally screw people around, where there's no earthly reasons for it. (and i get that people don't like Chrissy, but that's a pants advantage. there is a balance, but this game needs to remember what made it great, and it wasn't BIG MOVES. 

 

*regarding Adam's mom, it made me think of Jenna. I don't ever recall in the Amazon Jenna - whose mom was also  huge super fan, and she left (twice) to play, using her mom as a reason to win. at all. it never even came up during the finale. yet Adam just.. milked it. and i feel that's basically the difference. I knew about Jenna's mom and i felt bad for Jenna but it didn't detract from her win, vs. Adam where i honestly feel he won because he said his mom was dying. I should never have to feel like that re: a Survivor winner. 

[Ellee]

I’m thinking Ben won the jury over in the 5 to 4 TC. The reason I’m currently thinking this is that ‘the fake idol’ play the 4 made actually proved Ben doesn’t give up when he played a real idol.  The discussion of the gloating.  The two-fer day. Ryan also helped with his little speech about restructuring his game because of Ben and not liking blindsiding. And then there were Ben’s comments. The jury reaction was priceless. 

[blackwing]

So awful.  Has there ever been at idol before at final five?  I know the show will say it was a "new twist".  And the fire making "new twist" which allowed someone on the bottom to get into final three. 

I was fast forwarding a bit, did we even see Ben finding his last idol?   If not, that's two idols in a row where we never actually saw him finding it. Has that ever happened before?   Usually when we see someone looking for an idol, they almost always find one.  And I can't remember the audience at home being surprised by the fact that someone had an idol, because I thought they always showed the finding.

I always believe that production handed this game to Ben.   Yeah, I know, someone here is going to come around and talk about FCC and Quiz Show and all, but technically the show could just claim that everyone had a chance to find that last idol and that everyone had a chance to build fire.  So sick of the idols.  I thought Chrissy's plan to use the dead super immunity idol to make Ben think she found it at reward was brilliant.

I also hate that Ben used his sob story to win.  "Waaaahhhh I used to not even be able to talk to anyone and now here I am with the privilege to play with all of you."   Lauren was clearly moved by it and voted for him.  Hated it.  Ben exploited his status as a marine to win.  Just like Jeremy exploiting his pregnant wife and Adam exploiting his dying/dead mother.

I didn't like Chrissy much as a person but she played a great game and I am disappointed she didn't get rewarded by the jury for her immunity wins.   Instead, production planted so many idols in so many obvious places.   Pfffffttttt.

[plurie]

Sure Ben was "on the bottom" but HE PUT HIMSELF THERE. He HAD an alliance that he screwed over and lied so much that no one could trust him. It's not like prior seasons where someone was on the "wrong" tribe and was the target because everyone else had already been Pagonged. I have zero sympathy for this.

But Desi was right that the other four should have been tailing Ben in shifts, so they're somewhat to blame as well.

Devon shouldn't have stopped practicing his fire making when he broke the flint.

Still that last "twist" really sucked, and I don't say this just because I hate Ben and love Chrissy (neither of which is completely true). It basically negates most of the purpose of the game, which is to be sitting next to people you can beat at the FTC. If Devon had won the fire making challenge, HE probably would have won the season. Chrissy had almost no chance of winning due to this. So winning the final II only meant that she would get second place (unless she somehow won the fire making challenge).

[cheewhiz]

Geesh, who didn’t see Ben winning?  After he found that idol “right under his nose” it was all over.  The powers that be didn’t even hide that the game was Bens to win.  The new twist sucks.  I have not missed a season or an episode for that matter but I might be out after this shit show. Ben being a vet fighting for his country for sure is honourable but I do believe that’s why he won.  

They need to reboot this game and go back to basics or sadly, I’m out. They ruined this great game with twists and idols.

[Daisy]

43 minutes ago, blackwing said:

So awful.  Has there ever been at idol before at final five?  I know the show will say it was a "new twist".  And the fire making "new twist" which allowed someone on the bottom to get into final three. 

I was fast forwarding a bit, did we even see Ben finding his last idol?   If not, that's two idols in a row where we never actually saw him finding it. Has that ever happened before?   Usually when we see someone looking for an idol, they almost always find one.  And I can't remember the audience at home being surprised by the fact that someone had an idol, because I thought they always showed the finding.

I always believe that production handed this game to Ben.   Yeah, I know, someone here is going to come around and talk about FCC and Quiz Show and all, but technically the show could just claim that everyone had a chance to find that last idol and that everyone had a chance to build fire.  So sick of the idols.  I thought Chrissy's plan to use the dead super immunity idol to make Ben think she found it at reward was brilliant.

I also hate that Ben used his sob story to win.  "Waaaahhhh I used to not even be able to talk to anyone and now here I am with the privilege to play with all of you."   Lauren was clearly moved by it and voted for him.  Hated it.  Ben exploited his status as a marine to win.  Just like Jeremy exploiting his pregnant wife and Adam exploiting his dying/dead mother.

I didn't like Chrissy much as a person but she played a great game and I am disappointed she didn't get rewarded by the jury for her immunity wins.   Instead, production planted so many idols in so many obvious places.   Pfffffttttt.

 

and the worst thing is - Jeff is going to hold how Ben won as an example how! you! win! this! game! 
(which is basically blow up your entire game, then go on a HII run, then come up with some boohoo story to win. he basically Mike Holloway'ed this)