S37.E13: Finale

[eel2178]

8 hours ago, Maximona said:

I don't like watching the social game. It completely freaks me out. It's like Lord of the Flies.  Really!  I'm surprised Jeff Probst hasn't come up with an immunity challenge featuring a rotting pig's head on a stake.  

You must have missed the season when they had to rip pork off a carcass with their teeth.

[kikaha]

13 hours ago, KimberStormer said:

And I am always ready and willing to go back into the trenches for Ciera!  It's months til next season, we'll have nothing to do, so it would keep me in fighting trim.

 

I'll be happy to join the fray on that one. 

[eel2178]

12 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

 Alison is working in a field where you have to collaborate with others in order to make accurate diagnoses, prescribe the right medicine and provide the necessary care. No matter what the TV shows say, the Doctor is not a lone voice able to jump in to action and take charge. There is a lot of consulting and developing a plan with others. 

Unfortunately, there are way too many doctors who never come to this realization.

[srhall79]

Somewhere there's an edit showing Allison as a total threat, and not someone who won one challenge and lost everything after.

I had seen Mike's name as a trending topic on twitter the night of the finale but didn't get to watch until today, so with each vote I was wondering if he was trending because he'd been voted off at some point, or had won. The dishonesty bothered me the most with him- not the telling someone he wasn't voting against them, then voted again, the dishonesty that he was ever willing to work with the Davids. He was Nick's pal, part of the Strike Force, but every time it might be a Goliath, "Eh... why don't we vote for this David instead?" At least he stayed true to that- "I gave my word to these guys... BUT let's vote Davie out." I think his best bet would have been to go up against Nick and Davie in the final vote- or against neither. I was pretty sure if Nick or David made it they would carry the Davids' votes.

I'm very happy Nick was able to pull out back to back to back immunity wins. I don't think it was paranoia that if he lost one of those, he was gone. I didn't care for Nick at the start- the naming of alliances. But he definitely grew on me.

[jay741982]

On 12/19/2018 at 11:09 PM, LanceM said:

Just an observation. When Angelina doesn't get her way and she gets upset, she has been called whiny, pouty, throwing a tantrum, etc.  Nick gets blindsided tonight and gets upset and nary a word of criticism.  And this is not the first time with Nick either.

Just sayin.

Yep! I didnt like Allison but she was right Nick was being a Baby. Like she said people arent playing for him(though I feel Angelina and Mike played for him mostly)

On 12/19/2018 at 11:16 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Angelina gets visibly pouty in front of the people she’s talking to, Nick reserved his reactions for interviews.

Um no he was very visibly bitching and complaining about Davie being voted out they showed Allison Kara and Mike talking about it 

[jay741982]

On 12/20/2018 at 12:41 AM, 30 Helens said:

From the start of the episode, I was certain that Mike was going to win because his interviews were driving the narrative. And when he made his final speech about playing for the love of the game and brought everyone to tears, I thought that clinched it. So when the votes came back for Nick, I was 1. surprised and 2. thrilled. For a long time, Nick was my #1 choice, eventually moving to a #2 choice behind Davie. (Who, incidentally, made as fun and classy an exit as I would have expected. I’ll be pissed if he doesn’t get invited back at some point.)

I’m also baffled about what made Mike’s play so “transformative”. Please explain, Christian, and make it good, because I lost a lot of love for you with that comment. Also: hypothesis and algorithm are not such strange words.

Angelina’s final jury responses were as entertaining and clueless as I expected. Yes, you got rice! But no, you did not find an idol! (Mike found it for you.) Jeff’s comments about how we would all respect Angelina’s game if she were a man were ridiculous. I’m a woman, and I would have laughed at any man who acted the way Angelina did.

Gabby crying as she voted= priceless. The editors clearly could not resist.

Who are the two returning players next round, aside from Joe and Aubrey? Didn’t recognize them.

Kelly Wentworth and David from the season Adam won. Both finished 4th last time they played 

On 12/20/2018 at 2:04 AM, threebluestars said:

I am not a fan of final 3 because it's really a final 2. Has a final three ever had votes for all three people? It feels like only 2 ever get any votes. I prefer final 2s.

Survivor: China had a Final 3 where all 3 had votes Todd Had 4 Courtney 2 Amanda 1. 

[jay741982]

On 12/20/2018 at 7:21 AM, ProfCrash said:

If Angelina would own up to the fact that her behavior on the show was over the top and self-centered and end this "powerful woman who is ignored" shtick I would enjoy her more. I don't think it is hate as much as a high level of annoyance that she is so damn clueless.

All of her big moments are simply ridiculous, look at me, give me stuff moments and not strong women stuff. And she has become this ridiculous symbol for how women are screwed over when she wasn't screwed over. Her game play was poor.

Chrissy is in Angelina's corner on Rob Has a Podcast. And I fully buy that women are treated differently in the game, Chrissy is my number one example, I just don't think Angelina played a good game and falls into that category. I think if a man played Angelina's game we would laugh at him and maybe even deride him more because the play was just that whiny and self centered.

For me it is less Angelina hate and annoyance that she is some how the spokeswoman for strong women treated badly because I don't think she played a good enough game to win and should not be cast in that light.

Chrissy who had an air of Superiority like she was better than everyone and thought she had it in the bag was in Angelina's corner who said she knew she could beat Nick and Mike and also had an air of Superiority that her Mike and Nick were better than everyone else? I'm SHOCKED just SHOCKED

[LanceM]

Do people not understand how confessionals work?  Especially when we get to the final 3.  They ask the players specifically to talk themselves up and how they can win the game. You think you are going to see a confessional from a F3 member saying "Yeah I have basically no shot to win the game".  No you aren't.  

 

EDIT: In her secret scene for the finale episode she talks about being an underdog in the final 3 and that she had an uphill battle to climb. So no, she never said she knew she could beat Mike and Nick.

Edited December 22, 2018 by LanceM

[GenerationX]

Somewhat related thoughts on episode 13 "A Predictable but Satisfying End to an Excellent Season"

• I'm fine with fire-making to break ties, but I want to see people voted out.  Losing a fire-making challenge is too sportsmanlike for this show.
• Speaking of sportsmanlike, the jury was probably the most polite, least confrontational jury the show has had.  While I applaud the jurors for that, it's more fun when they're bitter.
• The only chance at bitter would've been Angelina.  The #1 trait reality TV producers look for is a complete lack of self-awareness, and they hit the jackpot with her.
• The jackpot on this show needs to go up.  We're at almost twenty years into this, and we're still at $1M for the big prize?  <insert Dr. Evil meme here>

[jay741982]

On 12/20/2018 at 6:25 PM, violet and green said:

Geez, it's still going on. I thought that people would finally see the light:that that was a really really bad decision by Gabby, driven by fury and hurt pride, and taking not-so-smart-in-the-strategy-department big-brained Christian along with her to his demise - and also ruining the chances of Carl, Davie and Nick getting anywhere near a sniff of the final three, when prior to that they had if not a lock a good chance of some of them getting there - I mean, spoil you own game, fine, but don't crash everyone else you are roughly aligned with's chances, ffs.

Was Carl the boss of the entire group? On that vote, apparently. Could they not have discussed future votes and not followed his ideas? I think they could have.

Gabby behaved like an entitled brat over that vote - and the fact Nick survived as long as he did and then won those three challenges in a row and went on to win is even further testimony of how focused and persevering and enduring he is, but it bothers me still that both Davie and Carl's chances were skewered by her overreaction. Christian's less so, as he is the idiot who went along with it, and has since been a bit of a prat.

People can have emotions and sit on them - novel concept! Revenge is a dish best served cold, etc.

The plan B group was a shaky, unreliable option. It included the remnants of the Strike Force Six, droopy Alison and Mike - who had expressed to Christian some time back that he was concerned about Gabby's emotional lability and inability to stay cool in tribal council, ergo he didn't trust her and would rather not rely on her going forward. For Christian, it included two members of the former Strike Force who continually dropped out of voting the way they said to him they would and instead targeted him, ffs. It would have been feasible if Christian hadn't outlasted Alec on that challenge and let him get immunity as Alec was more willing to work with them than the other Goliaths...

Anyway, presenting it as a normal reaction, and a good and reasonable move, is just rewriting history to have some sort of valiant heroine in Gabby - and there do seem to be people who feel that need, every season... I almost had my head knocked off for saying cheerfully that Cierra was a whiny adolescent or somesuch, back when she'd been appointed that weird Survivor super-heroine role. Er, she was!

And Gabby is emotionally incontinent and manipulative with it. She has lots of good attributes, also, but that was a really bad move and a spiteful one that ruined not only her chances of turning the game around and surviving until the end, but her closest ally's - and three other good players who were playing hard and deserved to be in the final five or six, or the final three, far more than floaters like Angelina and Kara and Alison, or sly dogs like Mike. Play like a fool, but don't ruin Davie's game, or Nick's game - out of petulant spite! Not my kind of Survivor heroine.

Awwwww How DARE Gabby and Christian not play for the betterment of Carl Davie and Nick's games! Nick and Davie did Jack Squat to rein In Gabby and WHY? Cause Gabby and Christian weren't even in Nick's F5 plan. He wanted Carl Davie Angelina and Mike with him in F5. How dare they not play for him Davie and Carl they should've done that then accepted their fate as next two boots more than likely. Guarantee if Carl stuck to getting Gabby out next Allison left instead of him Nick Angelina Davie and Mike would've let him. 

[drdeputy]

On 12/20/2018 at 1:48 PM, Bryce Lynch said:

Taking Angelina to FTC was an obvious, but excellent move.  She never had a chance at getting any votes.  Kara and Mike were both much bigger threats at FTC.  Was Nick supposed to make a dumb move?

If Kara did anything, I can't recall what it was, so I didn't see her as a threat.  I'm for anything to spice it up.  Sure Angelina was a no-brainer to take to FTC, but it could have been more interesting.

 

On 12/20/2018 at 3:41 PM, eel2178 said:

If she felt the need to check her pulse at every tribal council, she probably wasn't in the right physical shape to be playing the game to begin with.

She was checking her pulse during the Reunion.  What the heck is up with that?  Her tank was certainly near empty toward the end, but she did get a pretty decent kick going when she swam in.  Although she could barely stand on the pedestal without falling in the water.

11 minutes ago, jay741982 said:

Awwwww How DARE Gabby and Christian not play for the betterment of Carl Davie and Nick's games! Nick and Davie did Jack Squat to rein In Gabby and WHY? Cause Gabby and Christian weren't even in Nick's F5 plan. He wanted Carl Davie Angelina and Mike with him in F5. How dare they not play for him Davie and Carl they should've done that then accepted their fate as next two boots more than likely. Guarantee if Carl stuck to getting Gabby out next Allison left instead of him Nick Angelina Davie and Mike would've let him. 

Gabby was just emotionally unstable on all levels.

[LanceM]

The Jury speaks videos are quite enlightening especially in regards to Angelina. I am starting to go through them now. Here is Alec who is actually quite complimentary towards Angelina's game including saying she had a great social game. Was also impressed with the way she turned a game after surviving getting votes around the merge

 

[drdeputy]

1 hour ago, GenerationX said:

Somewhat related thoughts on episode 13 "A Predictable but Satisfying End to an Excellent Season"

• I'm fine with fire-making to break ties, but I want to see people voted out.  Losing a fire-making challenge is too sportsmanlike for this show.
• Speaking of sportsmanlike, the jury was probably the most polite, least confrontational jury the show has had.  While I applaud the jurors for that, it's more fun when they're bitter.
• The only chance at bitter would've been Angelina.  The #1 trait reality TV producers look for is a complete lack of self-awareness, and they hit the jackpot with her.
• The jackpot on this show needs to go up.  We're at almost twenty years into this, and we're still at $1M for the big prize?  <insert Dr. Evil meme here>

 

Does Survivor pay in a lump sum or nickel and dime it out in an annuity, like on AGT?

[drdeputy]

5 minutes ago, LanceM said:

The Jury speaks videos are quite enlightening especially in regards to Angelina. I am starting to go through them now. Here is Alec who is actually quite complimentary towards Angelina's game including saying she had a great social game. Was also impressed with the way she turned a game after surviving getting votes around the merge

 

 

I suppose playing this game ≠ being a decent person.  I wouldn't trust Angelina for any reason, for anything.  I look at character, among other things.  She gets the same number of votes for that.

[LanceM]

Interestingly John thought it was a mistake for Nick to take Angelina to the end for two reasons. One, Kara was the least biggest threat to win and secondly Angelina was great at making fire and would have probably beaten Mike who John thought payed the best strategic game which in turn would have given Nick the best chance to win.

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by LanceM

[LanceM]

Ok. Dan's is very interesting. To him his vote was between Angelina and Nick.  In fact he said Angelina was his favorite mainly based on the fact that she was in huge hole (of her own making) but managed to dig her way out of it. He think she was the most well rounded player.  He also said something which backs up something I have been saying all season namely about the show being edited in a certain way that isn't always accurate. He said if he was going to vote for the person that was the nicest to him he would vote for Angelina all day. Something of course we never saw but rather the opposite.  He also thought it was a mistake for Nick to take Angelina to end because Kara didn't do anything all game (though I kind of take his thoughts on Kara with a grain of salt)

 

Edited December 22, 2018 by LanceM

[Ms Blue Jay]

4 hours ago, jay741982 said:

Yep! I didnt like Allison but she was right Nick was being a Baby. Like she said people arent playing for him(though I feel Angelina and Mike played for him mostly)

Alison was being a baby also, crying because she doesn't win rewards or challenges or get asked on rewards. She's always bitching and moaning at every Tribal Council about what a threat she is. I don't get how Nick was being more of a baby than she ever was by being upset that his closest ally was voted out and everyone lied to his face.

Of course Angelina would be nicer to Dan than Nick was.  Was Nick ever even an alliance mate with Dan?  Had they ever even met?!  

2 hours ago, GenerationX said:

Somewhat related thoughts on episode 13 "A Predictable but Satisfying End to an Excellent Season"

• I'm fine with fire-making to break ties, but I want to see people voted out.  Losing a fire-making challenge is too sportsmanlike for this show.
• The jackpot on this show needs to go up.  We're at almost twenty years into this, and we're still at $1M for the big prize?  <insert Dr. Evil meme here>

Big time agree.

Edited December 22, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[LanceM]

This is getting ridiculous. Here is Davie's jury speaks video where he talks about the genuine relationship he was with Angelina, bonding over the fact they were both minorities, the same type of upbringing, how she was always checking in him to see if he ok and that he had enough rice.  Speaking of which he was very impressed that she sat out a challenge to get the whole tribe rice. lol.  He goes on to further say that Angelina might have had a better social game than Mike or Nick.

 

[violet and green]

1 hour ago, jay741982 said:

Awwwww How DARE Gabby and Christian not play for the betterment of Carl Davie and Nick's games! Nick and Davie did Jack Squat to rein In Gabby and WHY? Cause Gabby and Christian weren't even in Nick's F5 plan. He wanted Carl Davie Angelina and Mike with him in F5. How dare they not play for him Davie and Carl they should've done that then accepted their fate as next two boots more than likely. Guarantee if Carl stuck to getting Gabby out next Allison left instead of him Nick Angelina Davie and Mike would've let him. 

I think if you read what I wrote you will see I said 'and also ruining' the others' games.

It's one thing to ruin your own game via an over-reaction/losing your scant cool.

It's another to screw your trusting closest ally's in the process.

And it's another to scotch the chances of the rest of your alliance.

Gabby can count. I think she knew she was throwing the others, including Christian, who'd been on the chopping block for some time, to the wolves with that move. But hey! Alison was worth it. Bing!

[jay741982]

1 hour ago, violet and green said:

I think if you read what I wrote you will see I said 'and also ruining' the others' games.

It's one thing to ruin your own game via an over-reaction/losing your scant cool.

It's another to screw your trusting closest ally's in the process.

And it's another to scotch the chances of the rest of your alliance.

Gabby can count. I think she knew she was throwing the others, including Christian, who'd been on the chopping block for some time, to the wolves with that move. But hey! Alison was worth it. Bing!

Gabby ruined Christian's at most. Everyone else was mainly dumb enough to want Nick in the end and I was no big fan of Gabby but why she should play for what Nick Carl and Davie want? So they could boot her next without IC winanyway which what would have likely happened if Allison left. I already said this in my post. Nick with his hypocritical anger when Gabby and Christian weren't in his end game made me laugh HOW DARE THEY DONT PLAY FOR ME!! Nick had so many protecting him. 

[Nashville]

4 hours ago, drdeputy said:

Gabby was just emotionally unstable on all levels.

Maybe - but that doesn’t mean Gabby was wrong.  :>

[green]

7 hours ago, jay741982 said:

Kelly Wentworth and David from the season Adam won. Both finished 4th last time they played 

Survivor: China had a Final 3 where all 3 had votes Todd Had 4 Courtney 2 Amanda 1. 

I have no idea who those two are.  I don't even remember a Joe.  I vaguely remember an Aubrey but not specifics.  Returning players are not what they used to be as in memorable.

 

3 hours ago, LanceM said:

Ok. Dan's is very interesting. To him his vote was between Angelina and Nick.  In fact he said Angelina was his favorite mainly based on the fact that she was in huge hole (of her own making) but managed to dig her way out of it. He think she was the most well rounded player.  He also said something which backs up something I have been saying all season namely about the show being edited in a certain way that isn't always accurate. He said if he was going to vote for the person that was the nicest to him he would vote for Angelina all day. Something of course we never saw but rather the opposite.  He also thought it was a mistake for Nick to take Angelina to end because Kara didn't do anything all game (though I kind of take his thoughts on Kara with a grain of salt)

 

 

This is ALWAYS the case every season of every reality show.  The editors knew Angelina didn't win so why should they possibly give her a warm and fuzzy edit especially when they had all that legit wacky, delusional stuff to use instead.  It is entertainment.  She made a far better, funny villain and they had enough video she provided them with to do just that with it.

[mertensia]

5 hours ago, LanceM said:

This is getting ridiculous. Here is Davie's jury speaks video where he talks about the genuine relationship he was with Angelina, bonding over the fact they were both minorities, the same type of upbringing, how she was always checking in him to see if he ok and that he had enough rice.  Speaking of which he was very impressed that she sat out a challenge to get the whole tribe rice. lol.  He goes on to further say that Angelina might have had a better social game than Mike or Nick.

 

 

Sure, he said that, but he sure didn't vote for her. Plus his sarcastic "wow, a ladder" comment during final tribal council sure didn't place him squarely on Team Angelina.

[marys1000]

8 hours ago, drdeputy said:

I suppose playing this game ≠ being a decent person.  I wouldn't trust Angelina for any reason, for anything.  I look at character, among other things.  She gets the same number of votes for that.

Interesting you say that because as near as I can tell everyone talking about Mike's strategy boils down to this (from Christians interview)
Was it smart for Mike? Yes, I absolutely believe so. It both spoke to his adeptness at deception and willingness to win, not just skate by. You see, I actually always wanted to work with Mike, even after the “Strike Force of Six” fell apart spectacularly. I always saw Mike as a guy who was weirdly honest. When he confesses to me at final 12 that he’s worried about Gabby (and me too, by the way) being truly being committed to the six, I thought that was such a weird thing to say. Who tells their alliance member they’re worried whether or not they are loyal to their face? Perhaps someone who will make a mistake and create an important opening for me down the line...............We’d talk 80 percent about life and the poignancy of the Survivor experience, and 20 percent strategy. He would be seemingly blunt in his honesty. So I started to put too many chips down on him as an ally. This, in hindsight, was the long con of Mike’s game. He played it well, and he played me.

 

Mike got to the end and got Christian's vote by not just being a good actor lieing but creating a character as an honest person.  He purposefully said and related things honestly when they weren't important to suck people in.    Is that strategy?  I guess.  The fact that everyone liked and trusted Mike but Nick (who refused to work with him after Davie)  really highlights the importance of Nick's immunity wins.   

Edited December 22, 2018 by marys1000

[LanceM]

5 hours ago, green said:

I have no idea who those two are.  I don't even remember a Joe.  I vaguely remember an Aubrey but not specifics.  Returning players are not what they used to be as in memorable.

 

This is ALWAYS the case every season of every reality show.  The editors knew Angelina didn't win so why should they possibly give her a warm and fuzzy edit especially when they had all that legit wacky, delusional stuff to use instead.  It is entertainment.  She made a far better, funny villain and they had enough video she provided them with to do just that with it.

Oh I agree with this. It is some thing I have been saying for years. The edit never tell the whole story of a person time on the island it just tells the story the producers want to tell.  Unfortunately a lot of viewers don't seem to realize this.

2 hours ago, mertensia said:

Sure, he said that, but he sure didn't vote for her. Plus his sarcastic "wow, a ladder" comment during final tribal council sure didn't place him squarely on Team Angelina.

No he voted for the person who he described as his best friend and one who he thought played a great game.

[ProfCrash]

The Jury votes videos are filmed with production asking each contestant to talk about the positives of each of the final tribal contestants. So the amount of positives directed at Angelina is not a suprise. 

That said, Angelina’s edit was not awful. She was portayed as being entitled and a bit ridiculous but not mean or evil. The only really mean thing that she did was to make the fake idol. That was a bad move and din’t win her any votes.  

It was clear that the others saw her as a bit ridiculous but they seemed fine with her overall. I don’t think she was so obnoxious that people didn’t want to be around her. So was more of an awful player who made goofy moves and thought that they were brilliant. She was more clueless then anything. 

I almost think that the others see her like a little sister in the way they have discussed her in their interviews.

[ByaNose]

I was listening to RHAP with Bret LaBelle and he talked about the wrap party they were (he, Rob & others) at and brought up a little juicey (not really) gossip. He said none of the Goliaths went to that party. Apparently, the David’s & the Goliaths apparently don't get along. He also brought up why (a story he heard but wouldn’t elaborate) Jeremy wasn’t at the live reunion at all. Apparently, he wasn’t invited. Of course, everybody knows the Alec story. He said it was pretty impressive how great the casting for the season was but they aren’t that close from what he could tell. I need to know The Who, What & Why of reunion wrap up party-gate. LOL!!!!!

[ProfCrash]

35 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I was listening to RHAP with Bret LaBelle and he talked about the wrap party they were (he, Rob & others) at and brought up a little juicey (not really) gossip. He said none of the Goliaths went to that party. Apparently, the David’s & the Goliaths apparently don't get along. He also brought up why (a story he heard but wouldn’t elaborate) Jeremy wasn’t at the live reunion at all. Apparently, he wasn’t invited. Of course, everybody knows the Alec story. He said it was pretty impressive how great the casting for the season was but they aren’t that close from what he could tell. I need to know The Who, What & Why of reunion wrap up party-gate. LOL!!!!!

In fairness to all parties, the personality differences between the Davids and the Goliaths are pretty massive. They were all pretty good people and seemed to not bepetty in the game but that doesn’t mean that they are all going to be friends at the end of the season.

[ByaNose]

2 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

In fairness to all parties, the personality differences between the Davids and the Goliaths are pretty massive. They were all pretty good people and seemed to not bepetty in the game but that doesn’t mean that they are all going to be friends at the end of the season.

Oh, I understand that. I was just surprised that they weren’t at the wrap party. That said, there could have been more then one wrap party. Bret and Rob said they did seem to notice none of the Goliaths were there and it seemed odd. Oh, well. On to next season. See everyone in February. 

[Eolivet]

10 hours ago, ByaNose said:

He said none of the Goliaths went to that party. Apparently, the David’s & the Goliaths apparently don't get along. He also brought up why (a story he heard but wouldn’t elaborate) Jeremy wasn’t at the live reunion at all. Apparently, he wasn’t invited. Of course, everybody knows the Alec story. He said it was pretty impressive how great the casting for the season was but they aren’t that close from what he could tell.

I wonder what party that was. My husband was a seat-filler and got in to the private CBS party. He saw Nick, Christian and Elizabeth, and caught glimpses of Carl and Davie as he was leaving. The only Goliath he saw was Dan. However, there could've been multiple parties, as you said.

He overheard one person say this was the smallest, worst attended CBS party in years. But I wonder if what you heard contributed to that.

[marys1000]

Interesting about the wrap party because I have been reflecting on, or really wondering about how or whether a season of really reasonable smart acting adults who all got along on the game really really well....didn't seem  to be as close post game as so many other casts where it was non stop drama and they all run around together for months after.  

Edited December 23, 2018 by marys1000

[ProfCrash]

I have not looked at the ages but I would guess a few things. 1) The cast felt older to me and probably less interested in partying and hanging out then other casts. 2) There were far more people with professional responsibilities that probably lead to more sedate life styles. 3) They were really different people this season. So while they got along fine and were all adults at Ponderosa and in the game they were less prone to being one giant family. 

One of the things I liked about this cast was that it was more diverse then past casts. It was a far better representation of the population. They were all polite in their interviews, well apparently Mike wasn’t the best in a few. With the exeption of Jeremy’s comments about Angelina and John, the exit interviews were not exactly biting. 

I think most of them see it as a good experience but one piece of their lives while past casts have been fully focused on Survivor. 

[Eolivet]

1 hour ago, ProfCrash said:

The cast felt older to me and probably less interested in partying and hanging out then other casts.

I was surprised to find out they were older than I thought, though they still had approximately the same number of under 30s as prior years. Nine players (Jessica, Alec, Bi, Alison, Angelina, Gabby, Dan, Natalia and Nick) were under 30, so that's about standard. Still, Carl was 40, Davie and Kara were 30, Christian was 32. Alec was the second youngest at 24! So, I think it was the second point -- professionalism. With the season theme, there were a lot fewer people with "no collar" jobs, meaning they had likely less time to hang out and party.

But I'd take this cast over the pair-offs that barely got screen time on Ghost Island any day.

Edited December 23, 2018 by Eolivet

[Jextella]

I wonder if the Goliaths went to their own party - one Alec could attend.  

It will be interesting to see who remain friends when the dust settles.  All seem to have steady and decent jobs that they can't really flit around the country at a drop of a hat, and as nice as everyone was to each other on the island, they are different enough to not really connect off the island.

The only relationships that might stand the test of time might be Nick and Davie, Davie and Angelina, possibly Nick/Angelina/Mike, Dan and Jon, Dan and Angelina.  Gabby is in there too.  Postgame comments, social media, etc. suggest she might be friendly with Nick, Davie, and Angelina.

[Ms Blue Jay]

On social media , Davie and Wendell seem to be close.

[LanceM]

So Elizabeth commented on this over at Reddit:

"I was there. Basically CBS whisked everybody off from the studio that wasn’t final six or Christian. Those seven had press engagements. We were all told the location of the party. So we each Uber drove there. We get there and then hear of another party at Angelina Jolie’s house. Dan was especially ticked. Eventually everyone turned up at the official CBS party except Mike and Angelina. I wish we had all been together the whole time. But there wasn’t any animosity. Mike White is friends with AJ. AJ invited the final six. I am surmising this part. All that really mattered to me was that eventually almost everyone showed up. We genuinely love and respect each other. There are differences but we have been mature about those. None of our cast seems to be bitter. The different parties had nothing to do with tribal lines. It was logistical. Plus probably pride for making final seven. Lol."

"I was proud of them for showing up too. I was also super glad that Alec and Jeremy were there. It shows how stand up and genuine they are. They could have easily been bitter. But yeah I think our cast is above average. Just great crew of people."

"The “other party” was at the actress’ Angelina Jolie’s house. Angelina the rice queen and Mike White didn’t show up at the official CBS party. Or at least not to my knowledge. Perhaps I could have missed them. It was crowded and loud and I was drinking. Lol."

[violet and green]

The rice queen! That's a sticker.

[MisterBluxom]

On 12/20/2018 at 2:23 PM, cooksdelight said:

What f’d up universe is Jeff living in? I will never watch a season if she is back, after what she did to Alison. Who is 100 times the strong woman Angelina thinks she is. She disgusts me.

I think that in order to make sense of what Jeff says, it is necessary to first determine the "factor" or "issue" that he is using to measure the importance of what he says.

For example, I might guess that most of what he says concerns ratings. He will say or do whatever he can to promote the show and thereby help to increase its ratings. By trying to convince people that Aggravina's actions result in a terribly exaggerated show, he might then convince some of the viewers that it's a good idea to watch the show because she is somehow responsible for making the show ever so much more entertaining. If that is true, then the show just may well get much bigger ratings than it otherwise would get. It's just a guess. I truly  have no idea just how much her shenanigans impact the entertainment value of the show. Personally, I would think the primary effect of all her foolish crap would be to lower the entertainment value of the show which would then cause the ratings to fall lower. But I really do not understand the effect that the actions of the players have on the ratings of the show. So, I could easily be wrong about that. I'm just guessing.

Edited December 23, 2018 by MisterBluxom

[cooksdelight]

He’ll never convince me having that trash back on the show makes it more watchable. Quite the opposite, for me.

[LanceM]

Correct me if I am wrong but aren't you the one who is friends with Ab-Maria?  

[RescueMom]

Not really sure where to put this since it really encompasses the whole season, but since David said a prayer during final council voting I think it works here. I thought it was really nice to see a couple of religious people portrayed in such a positive way on the show this season. Both Davie and Nick were shown quietly saying prayers of gratitude during the season, and back in episode 1 Nick clearly was familiar with the story of David vs. Goliath from the Bible (I would guess many people don't realize that David from this story is the same person as King David.) I'm not religious myself (raised in a Christian church though, so I know my Bible), but I have religious friends that I respect, and most of them are in the vein of how these two were shown - quiet, grateful, humble faith. 

[eel2178]

23 hours ago, cooksdelight said:

He’ll never convince me having that trash back on the show makes it more watchable. Quite the opposite, for me.

I hate having any returning players for any reason. I'm considering sitting out next season just because I don't want to see old contestants play the game again. Boston Rob already proved if you get to play enough times, you will eventually win. I consider that experiment to be over (or at least, I'm over it).

[marys1000]

So Angelina only invites the "winners" and divides the cast in the CBS party.  Hm.  I assume from here on in it will be Mike's besties that are now on the inside Hollywood track.   Oh wait, Cockran got that already.  I suppose Angelina cast member spent the entire time bending Jolie's ear about her non profit idea. 

I wonder if Allison will try acting?  Angelina?

I would think that attendance at the CBS party was almost mandatory as the attendance at press releases etc.  Unless it wasn't an official party?  

Edited December 25, 2018 by marys1000

[ProfCrash]

9 minutes ago, marys1000 said:

So Angelina only invites the "winners" and divides the cast in the CBS party.  Hm.  I assume from here on in it will be Mike's besties that are now on the inside Hollywood track.   Oh wait, Cockran got that already.  I suppose Angelina cast member spent the entire time bending Jolie's ear about her non profit idea. 

I wonder if Allison will try acting?  Angelina?

I would think that attendance at the CBS party was almost mandatory as the attendance at press releases etc.  Unless it wasn't an official party?  

The party was hosted by Angelina Jolie, as in Billy Bob’s daughter. The Actress who starred in the original Tob raider movies and who  ended up adopting a bunch of kids and having twins wiht Brad Pitt, marrying him and then divorcing him,  Angelina. Not Angelina from Survivor. I have no clue if said party happened, I have only heard of it happening based on one post on this board. If it did happen, Angelina from the show would not have had control of the guest list. The post is based on info from reddit, which I don’t read.

[marys1000]

I could have worded it better

Angelina (Jolie) only invites the winner...........

And Angelina Jolie was married to Billy Bob not his daughter

[Ms Blue Jay]

16 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

The party was hosted by Angelina Jolie, as in Billy Bob’s daughter.

LOL

Edited December 25, 2018 by Ms Blue Jay

[Nashville]

I didn’t think the age difference between Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton was THAT big.  ;>

[ProfCrash]

8 hours ago, marys1000 said:

I could have worded it better

Angelina (Jolie) only invites the winner...........

And Angelina Jolie was married to Billy Bob not his daughter

LOL OK so I don’t pay enough attention to Hollywood. (Grins) 

[cleo]

I missed the finale and all spoilers, just caught up tonight. I watched until the final three and then jumped ahead.

Disappointed Mike got as many votes as he did, based purely on my dislike of him. Gamewise he probably did do more to earn them than Angelina, but by the end I disliked him more. 

Hard to see Angelina as a villain as she is soooo transparent and so awful at stuff she tries to do ie manipulate. Tbh she kinda grew on me by the end. She would be a good cartoon villain, like the thieves in Home Alone.

I hated the firemaking challenge when it was introduced but damn it is tense to watch, for like 20 seconds and then it's over.

Lastly, so nice to watch a season of survivor where no one was a flat out abusive asshole like Dan Foley (or abusive and deranged like the Hantzes). I feel like there were a few years where that kind of person was a constant and glad it was gone this season. 

Edited December 27, 2018 by cleo
To say thank goodness Nick won!

[Mark2]

On 12/19/2018 at 9:28 PM, Rachel RSL said:

...I continue to absolutely loathe the fire making challenge. Survivor is about strategy and voting people out, not getting into the final 3 by randomly making a fire.

Christian continues to be adorable. Although he voted for Mike? Wtf?

All in all, probably one of the best seasons of Survivor! Great cast, all sorts of craziness and a deserving winner! Yay Nick! 

On 12/20/2018 at 5:47 AM, KimberStormer said:

Most of all, this F4 fire horseshit needs to go.

It puzzles me too that at the most pivotal point, they decide to ditch the central elements of Survivor (IC/voting) in favor of a skill that is arguably one of the poorest indicators of deserving F3.  They've have 30+ days to show their fire making.  Sure one can argue that makes it a level playing field, but puh-lease do something else.

Notice how 3/4 of the last jurors voted for Mike...may say something strong about his endgame.

On 12/19/2018 at 10:47 PM, TVFan1 said:

The fire making challenge should go away, but sadly, it won't.

Why not?

On 12/19/2018 at 10:09 PM, LanceM said:

Just an observation. When Angelina doesn't get her way and she gets upset, she has been called whiny, pouty, throwing a tantrum, etc.  Nick gets blindsided tonight and gets upset and nary a word of criticism.  And this is not the first time with Nick either.

Just sayin.

On 12/19/2018 at 11:03 PM, LanceM said:

The people in the game called him a big baby. I am talking about the viewers where we heard nothing but crickets.

 

On 12/19/2018 at 10:16 PM, ProfCrash said:

I believe I have called Nick emotional and mentioned that he plays an emotional game.

I've called Nick [too] emotional on more than one occasion as well...

On 12/19/2018 at 10:16 PM, ljenkins782 said:

Angelina gets visibly pouty in front of the people she’s talking to, Nick reserved his reactions for interviews.

Per some other comments, at least one of Nick's outbursts could be heard all the way around camp.

 

On 12/20/2018 at 2:12 AM, millennium said:

Angelina's voice and manner of speaking bear an uncanny resemblance to Christina El Moussa's from "Flip Or Flop."

I really don't like Flip or Flop hosts, if that's the show I caught briefly.  But I didn't mind Angelina's voice or manner of speaking one bit...just the content at times.  But over a season, I'm not going to like everything everybody has to say all the time.

 

On 12/20/2018 at 6:11 AM, DallasGypsy said:

I lost a lot of respect for Christian after he was voted out.   At his Ponderosa, he was pontificating about the game ... he sat in the jury box making faces as if he was the only one astute enough to understand what was going on ... and, finally, he voted for Mike.  

If he's never invited back, fine with me.

You mean the humorous sketch like they did for the Brochacho code a few eps back?

Might you be open to the fact that you are misinterpreting his expressions, and he truly believed Mike deserved to win, along with 2 of the other 4 final jurors?

On 12/21/2018 at 9:39 AM, All That Jazz said:

It's not a "bad" thing. It's a great way for the right person to become very wealthy. Be the founder, campaign for huge corporate grants, run ads to get individual donations, pay yourself "wages" as the CEO, then spend a minimal amount of $$ on your "mission", drink champagne and travel first class. Happens all the time.

I won't get all political here :D

On 12/21/2018 at 10:25 AM, ProfCrash said:

Or you could be someone who takes it seriously and builds something great that helps people. I'll give Angelina the benefit of the doubt and say that she is attempting this for the right reasons and not to fleece people.

Either way, for reasons listed in her own thread, success will probably be elusive.