Survivor 33, Episode 14
"I'M GOING FOR A MILLION BUCKS"
Although I was kind of ready for it to happen, I did not cry during Adam's FTC. But I did use up the last two buckets of the tears quota that I had left for this year on this episode alone, which I could not watch without checking Wikipedia first.
Players that I've rooted for have never won before, regardless of the point I start to root for them. I always have to move on to a new pick as the season goes because my pick will always get voted out -- because give me a good edit, especially an underdog one, I'll fall for it. No, give me airtime or funny confessionals, I'll fall for it. This person is my pick now.
I thought Adam was annoooyying in the first episode, but he grew on me. And by the time we reached halfway of the game, while I was ok with a David or Jay win, I wanted Adam to win. That was the cue: there was no way he was going to win now. But he did. So, good job, both of us.
The Pink Coconut and the Final Six
The finale starts with a pretty good final six intro. (The Worlds Apart one still gives me PTSD. The whole Worlds Apart still gives me PTSD.) Then everyone is back at camp after Sunday's vote. In confessional, Bret, whose spleen is digesting because he's so hungry, compares David to bin Laden who's not taken out by the SEAL Team 6 who change their minds and go get coffee instead.
While everybody's asleep, David makes a fake idol, hoping to create chaos by throwing somebody off. The idol is pretty impressive, but the paint job on the coconut he put the idol in is not. And it's pink! But the next day, in a scene that I have to watch from between my fingers, Jay gleefully buys it. Sigh. Everybody has to take some bullets at some point this season, so it looks like it's going to be Jay's turn this episode.
The first immunity challenge, an obstacle course plus puzzle, comes with a steak reward. In short, David wins after everybody catches up to Jay, who forgot to cover his solved lock combination. Jay steals the reward using the advantage he was given to by Adam but brings David and Adam along. By giving it away, the advantage works wonderfully for Adam.
Reward is a work lunch. Jay proposes to Adam and David that they work together, saying that he's a good shield for them. Meanwhile at camp, Bret sits with Ken and Hannah and says that tribal should be easy that night: it has to be Jay. Bret and Jay later acknowledge to each other that it's going to be one of them in a we-are-friends-but-spill-me-your-strategy-again conversation.
At tribal, Jay plays the pink coconut idol and does not forget to boast to his heart's content about it. "This is -- NOT a hidden immunity idol," says Jeffrey. You mean, sneaky, David. But Jay laughs it off on his way out.
I'm not supposed to like Jay. He's supposed to be dumb and obnoxious. And not only are we supposed to judge people, we are supposed to judge people by their covers. But Jay played hard and was a fun TV. What these people do outside of the game (or inside too, actually) is most probably none of our business, but please, please don't turn out to be a superdouche, Jay.
This should also be on record: Ken played the immunity idol he got as a legacy advantage at this tribal. It didn't matter because he only received one vote, but still, him taking out the parchment from his boot was a performance.
Final Five
The next day, another person needs to go, and Ken wins immunity in a water obstacle course plus puzzle challenge.
Once they are back at camp, Adam goes out looking for idol and finds it while Bret covers for him. Smh, Bret. I hope you did look for the idol too but just not shown.
At this point, Adam thinks he has Bret and Hannah on his side. When Ken and David ask Bret to vote for Adam, Bret reports back to Adam. Adam tells Bret about his idol, then he tells Hannah, who has also been talking with David and Ken earlier.
At tribal, four jury members wear Zeke's shirts, everyone acknowledges how big of a threat David is, Adam plays his idol on himself, and Hannah sides with David and Ken -- and the three vote for Bret, to the shock of almost everyone in the room. On his way out, Bret calls Hannah a flipper and tells them that they've just handed David the million. In hindsight, that speech may have helped David lose.
Bret probably didn't get to write the best Survivor resume, but he's easy to like. He made friends, he had a good time, and when his ally got voted out, he coolly told the people who didn't vote with him that he understood the decision and was ready to work together moving forward. And he sure has the best Ponderosa video and exit interviews.
Final Four
Back at camp, the open conversation continues. Adam's I-have-to-tell-you-what's-on-my-mind goes overdrive.
Then it's time for the final immunity challenge of stacking bowls, which is again won by Ken. Back at camp, Adam tells David that David has to go because he's not settling for a third or second place; he's playing to win. Hannah tells Adam to let her talk to Ken to flip on David -- file this for later. David thinks it's going to be a fire-making challenge that night but, no, Ken flips and sides with Adam and Hannah, and David is voted out.
Since it was impossible for one person to dominate this season, David's resume was still great. He was good at rallying people around him, well, at least until he got voted out. And most importantly, he gave good confessional (very important), and his neurosis was, most of the time, entertaining to watch (sorry).
Then It's Time for the Final Tribal Council
The questions are ok, nothing scream-like-zombie explosive, which is good (I hate those), but nothing funny or creative either.
The most interesting topic, however, is credit. Which move was executed by who? One of the biggest ones was Ken flipping on David. In exit interviews, Adam reveals that he had a good relationship with Ken and did have a conversation with him the night before Bret's vote, talking about his mom and Ken's daughter -- their motivations in the game -- solidifying their bond. Earlier in the episode, Hannah seemed like the one who did the work to influence Ken. And Ken ultimately flipped on David. So who gets the credit? This plot might have been edited in a way that keeps us on our toes, but we the audience can only draw conclusions from what we saw on TV, so my vote goes to Hannah for this.
Unfortunately, Hannah's refusal to vote out bigger threats first, while I believe at least part of the goal is to make her appear in charge, backfires. It just makes Adam look better. But Hannah should be proud of her final tribal performance. She's quirky and neurotic and smart and strong. She holds her own at that tribal. Such a shame that's not brought up at the reunion. While I don't mind her supposed "flirting" story is part of her reunion package, which she responds to charmingly, by the way, it should not be the only thing highlighted of her.
You can't force every contestant to play Survivor in just one way. So we have Ken. Ken made some strange moves and said some stranger things (you know, like "fighting like men" and stuff). In some other seasons, he probably could have come out in a better light. In fact, before the Will test, Ken seemed like a dark horse in the game -- while he had not done anything spectacular, he had not done anything idiotic either before that point. He was a question mark, I feel, until the Will test, which unfortunately revealed his cluelessness.
That said, since this is the season of squeezing tears, I feel for Ken a little when he talks about how he has to flip on David for his daughter because I believe that's hard for him to do.
The accusation about sympathy votes for Adam is already in. But no, people. The jury has set their minds before coming to tribal. Moving stories alone, just like being a challenge dominant or the biggest provider, won't make people award you a million dollars. So again, good job, Adam. I'll wait for the conspiracy theory, though 😉.
*How likeable is this cast? You can have a great season, compete, clash and blindside without bullying incidents or people making hideous misogynistic comments. I can handle a little heat because we are all humans, and more often than not, crazy people on Survivor are entertaining, but I hate a pack of wolves.
Images: CBS
Although I was kind of ready for it to happen, I did not cry during Adam's FTC. But I did use up the last two buckets of the tears quota that I had left for this year on this episode alone, which I could not watch without checking Wikipedia first.
Players that I've rooted for have never won before, regardless of the point I start to root for them. I always have to move on to a new pick as the season goes because my pick will always get voted out -- because give me a good edit, especially an underdog one, I'll fall for it. No, give me airtime or funny confessionals, I'll fall for it. This person is my pick now.
I thought Adam was annoooyying in the first episode, but he grew on me. And by the time we reached halfway of the game, while I was ok with a David or Jay win, I wanted Adam to win. That was the cue: there was no way he was going to win now. But he did. So, good job, both of us.
The Pink Coconut and the Final Six
The finale starts with a pretty good final six intro. (The Worlds Apart one still gives me PTSD. The whole Worlds Apart still gives me PTSD.) Then everyone is back at camp after Sunday's vote. In confessional, Bret, whose spleen is digesting because he's so hungry, compares David to bin Laden who's not taken out by the SEAL Team 6 who change their minds and go get coffee instead.
While everybody's asleep, David makes a fake idol, hoping to create chaos by throwing somebody off. The idol is pretty impressive, but the paint job on the coconut he put the idol in is not. And it's pink! But the next day, in a scene that I have to watch from between my fingers, Jay gleefully buys it. Sigh. Everybody has to take some bullets at some point this season, so it looks like it's going to be Jay's turn this episode.
The first immunity challenge, an obstacle course plus puzzle, comes with a steak reward. In short, David wins after everybody catches up to Jay, who forgot to cover his solved lock combination. Jay steals the reward using the advantage he was given to by Adam but brings David and Adam along. By giving it away, the advantage works wonderfully for Adam.
Reward is a work lunch. Jay proposes to Adam and David that they work together, saying that he's a good shield for them. Meanwhile at camp, Bret sits with Ken and Hannah and says that tribal should be easy that night: it has to be Jay. Bret and Jay later acknowledge to each other that it's going to be one of them in a we-are-friends-but-spill-me-your-strategy-again conversation.
At tribal, Jay plays the pink coconut idol and does not forget to boast to his heart's content about it. "This is -- NOT a hidden immunity idol," says Jeffrey. You mean, sneaky, David. But Jay laughs it off on his way out.
I'm not supposed to like Jay. He's supposed to be dumb and obnoxious. And not only are we supposed to judge people, we are supposed to judge people by their covers. But Jay played hard and was a fun TV. What these people do outside of the game (or inside too, actually) is most probably none of our business, but please, please don't turn out to be a superdouche, Jay.
This should also be on record: Ken played the immunity idol he got as a legacy advantage at this tribal. It didn't matter because he only received one vote, but still, him taking out the parchment from his boot was a performance.
Final Five
The next day, another person needs to go, and Ken wins immunity in a water obstacle course plus puzzle challenge.
Once they are back at camp, Adam goes out looking for idol and finds it while Bret covers for him. Smh, Bret. I hope you did look for the idol too but just not shown.
At this point, Adam thinks he has Bret and Hannah on his side. When Ken and David ask Bret to vote for Adam, Bret reports back to Adam. Adam tells Bret about his idol, then he tells Hannah, who has also been talking with David and Ken earlier.
At tribal, four jury members wear Zeke's shirts, everyone acknowledges how big of a threat David is, Adam plays his idol on himself, and Hannah sides with David and Ken -- and the three vote for Bret, to the shock of almost everyone in the room. On his way out, Bret calls Hannah a flipper and tells them that they've just handed David the million. In hindsight, that speech may have helped David lose.
Bret probably didn't get to write the best Survivor resume, but he's easy to like. He made friends, he had a good time, and when his ally got voted out, he coolly told the people who didn't vote with him that he understood the decision and was ready to work together moving forward. And he sure has the best Ponderosa video and exit interviews.
Final Four
Back at camp, the open conversation continues. Adam's I-have-to-tell-you-what's-on-my-mind goes overdrive.
Then it's time for the final immunity challenge of stacking bowls, which is again won by Ken. Back at camp, Adam tells David that David has to go because he's not settling for a third or second place; he's playing to win. Hannah tells Adam to let her talk to Ken to flip on David -- file this for later. David thinks it's going to be a fire-making challenge that night but, no, Ken flips and sides with Adam and Hannah, and David is voted out.
Since it was impossible for one person to dominate this season, David's resume was still great. He was good at rallying people around him, well, at least until he got voted out. And most importantly, he gave good confessional (very important), and his neurosis was, most of the time, entertaining to watch (sorry).
Then It's Time for the Final Tribal Council
The questions are ok, nothing scream-like-zombie explosive, which is good (I hate those), but nothing funny or creative either.
The most interesting topic, however, is credit. Which move was executed by who? One of the biggest ones was Ken flipping on David. In exit interviews, Adam reveals that he had a good relationship with Ken and did have a conversation with him the night before Bret's vote, talking about his mom and Ken's daughter -- their motivations in the game -- solidifying their bond. Earlier in the episode, Hannah seemed like the one who did the work to influence Ken. And Ken ultimately flipped on David. So who gets the credit? This plot might have been edited in a way that keeps us on our toes, but we the audience can only draw conclusions from what we saw on TV, so my vote goes to Hannah for this.
Unfortunately, Hannah's refusal to vote out bigger threats first, while I believe at least part of the goal is to make her appear in charge, backfires. It just makes Adam look better. But Hannah should be proud of her final tribal performance. She's quirky and neurotic and smart and strong. She holds her own at that tribal. Such a shame that's not brought up at the reunion. While I don't mind her supposed "flirting" story is part of her reunion package, which she responds to charmingly, by the way, it should not be the only thing highlighted of her.
You can't force every contestant to play Survivor in just one way. So we have Ken. Ken made some strange moves and said some stranger things (you know, like "fighting like men" and stuff). In some other seasons, he probably could have come out in a better light. In fact, before the Will test, Ken seemed like a dark horse in the game -- while he had not done anything spectacular, he had not done anything idiotic either before that point. He was a question mark, I feel, until the Will test, which unfortunately revealed his cluelessness.
That said, since this is the season of squeezing tears, I feel for Ken a little when he talks about how he has to flip on David for his daughter because I believe that's hard for him to do.
The accusation about sympathy votes for Adam is already in. But no, people. The jury has set their minds before coming to tribal. Moving stories alone, just like being a challenge dominant or the biggest provider, won't make people award you a million dollars. So again, good job, Adam. I'll wait for the conspiracy theory, though 😉.
*How likeable is this cast? You can have a great season, compete, clash and blindside without bullying incidents or people making hideous misogynistic comments. I can handle a little heat because we are all humans, and more often than not, crazy people on Survivor are entertaining, but I hate a pack of wolves.
Images: CBS
Comments