Survivor: Philippines - Finale + Reunion in 455 seconds

This is it... the end of an epic season -- and one of my new top three favorites. I'd even say it might have snuck its way up to #2, but I know that's because it just ended and it was so welcomingly amazing, so I'm going to say it's snug at #3 now, topped only by Heroes vs. Villains at #2 and Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites at #1.

But let's talk about the finale! They made us wait, oh boy... and they made us speculate going into it with a final four rather than a final five. In fact Rob Cesternino and Parvati Shallow even stumbled across an exciting prediction that there might be a tie in the final vote. But there was no such twist, and the reading of the winner went by really swiftly actually, so we just got treated to more of what went down in those final three days.

In this final video of the season are some of my thoughts, including my feelings about Malcolm (definitely one of the 'older girls' that's totally backing him!) and Denise of course, as well as some of the things that went down at the reunion (you fans all know what I'm talking about)!

One thing I didn't mention is my feelings about the winner for Fan Fave, and I was totally surprised to see Lisa sweep it from under Malcolm's feet! In fact, if anything, I thought it'd be a toss up between Penner and Malcolm, with Malcolm for the win. It sucks to be Malcolm at this point, with both the victory for sole Survivor and fan fave escaping him so closely. I certainly hope/look forward to seeing him again! [wink wink nudge nudge]

Until February fellow Survivor fans!

Survivor: One World - FINALE in 15 seconds

Final 5 Girls

That's it! The season's over and Kim was crowned victor and Sole Survivor. I can't say I was surprised or particularly excited, but I do think it was deserved. She owned the game, both physically and strategically, and I go to sleep feeling a bit better about the whole thing because she didn't totally blindside and backstab everyone and actually stuck to some values and alliances by choosing to go to the end with Chelsea and Sabrina. Do I think she would have still won beside Alicia and Christina? Definitely. But I wouldn't have felt as good about it.

I also think the Final Tribal Council was very self-absorbed. Any respect Alicia might have earned in last week's episode in my mind was totally stalled in her completely self-promoting and somewhat delusional speech at Tribal. There were very few poignant and enlightening questions, and as much as I love Troyzan as one of the contestants this season, his question to Kim was just weird. I don't think there's any right or wrong answer to "when Kim's strategy to take him out began," and he certainly can't be the judge of it. Anyway, the right person won this season, and that's that.

As for the Reunion Show, Colton's chance at apologizing and eventually redeeming himself was wasted, and he just comes across as an even more ignorant and socially inept person. I completely agree with Jeff's comment that he's actually a contestant people hate, versus a villain people love to hate like Russell or Fairplay. All I can say, and I hope the Survivor gods hear me, is that I never want to see or hear of Colton again. The End.

Before moving on to thoughts about the season up ahead, here are my 15s on the Finale!!



So... Do you think the right person won? What are your thoughts about the three returning players twist for next season? Who do you hope to see? Who don't you hope to see? [Hope: Jonathan Penner / Dread: Colton] Let me know your thoughts!

Love and cuddles until next season... and maybe a few posts between now and then... :)

Survivor: South Pacific - [Delayed] Final Post: Four [So-]Fierce Fighters For The Win

Albert, Coach and Sophie... still in the dark.

Ok, I know that as a blogger for a TV show, there’s a certain time frame within which you need to have your post up in order to be considered legit’, and well, in order to keep readers engaged too.

Needless to say, I am far far far beyond that time frame. 

By now, I assume most Survivor fans have already read whatever it is they were going to read after the season finale, and are counting the days until the next season of Survivor begins.

To be honest, I think I delayed writing this post because I didn’t want to admit the season was over. I started writing notes for this post right after the finale; picked up again during my winter holidays; and here I am, just two weeks before the next season starts, still writing it. 

Of course I knew there was another season around the corner... but this last season will always remain near and dear to my heart, and here's why: While it wasn’t the best, it was definitely good; it had one of my all-time favorite returning players: Ozzy; it was the first season I decided to blog (and the first blog I’ve ever kept, period); and I happened to have met a whole bunch of Survivors, past and present, who made this immersive Survivor experience very special to me.

But hey, let’s get down to what actually happened in the last couple of episodes, shall we?

1. Ozzy.

He played an incredible game, took risks, competed boldly and embraced his environment to the fullest. He dominated in challenges, took advantage of Redemption Island, and though still clearly wounded by his last experience in the game (as we saw in the Finale), he played a strong social game and made lasting connections that would have won him the million and the title had he just won that last Immunity Challenge. That loss is entirely on him, and it makes sense that it would be… The game he played was very much a solitary one after his tribe got decimated, and in all likelihood it would have unfolded quite similarly had his own tribe been the one to eventually vote him out, as they undoubtedly would have tried to do. I can't imagine how devastating it must be for Ozzy to have come so close and choke at the very end, and though I think he would have deserved the win, I also think had he pulled it off, he would have "broken" all the "rules" of the game. (N.B. words in quotation marks to be taken lightly.) 

2. Albert.

Albert dug his own grave. For someone who I thought was so smart, he acted really short-sightedly and made some very bad moves. His intentions with the Jury were completely transparent, and he succeeded in fooling absolutely nobody. His move with Brandon was pure stupidity - even more stupid than Brandon actually giving Albert the Immunity Necklace. By claiming to be completely ignorant of the tribe's (and his!) hopes to vote out Brandon, he ensured that he would not win - and not get any votes - if he made it to the Final Three. The brighter thing to do would have been to use the second chance that Redemption Island offered him, let himself get voted off, take a stand against Ozzy, and, if he made it back, earn votes to win that way. Then, maybe, he would have at least had a shot. The worst part is that the guy still thinks he should have won. 

3. Coach.

Coach was brilliant this season. He beat so many odds, and worked his tribe so deftly that I would have given him my vote had I had one. Yes, he played up the religion side, and yes, it was exceedingly annoying at times. But it was also brilliant. He had Brandon, a religious "nut" (at least on the show); Albert, a Mommy's boy who believes; and Rick, a traditional conservative. Sophie wasn't going to say anything and had the brains to just go with the flow. Edna wasn't going to say anything either, and had the coattail rider's instinct to just go with the flow. It was a perfect plan. But the true brilliance in Coach's strategy is his ability to charm in a way that despite being obvious, is impossible to resist [see: Cochran.] Coach's only mistake, and what lost him the game, is that he didn't stand up for himself and his actions at Tribal. The Jury should still have seen his brilliance and let it go, but unfortunately, they did not, and unfortunately, Coach had some stiff competition with Sophie. 

4. Sophie.

Sophie, Sophie, Sophie! So-phierce. Or So-fierce. Yes, I would have voted for Coach if I could, but I would have had a hard time choosing, no doubt. I was a fan from the start, and was time and time again impressed by Sophie's willpower, her poise, her powers of observation and reaction, and her overall mad "Survivor" [not necessarily "survivor"] skills. That said, I wasn't the biggest fan of her plea at the Final Tribal Council. I think she went a bit too far in the logical breakdown of her strategy and could have afforded to show some more of her emotional and social game too - though I know her vulnerability in the previous episode was still fresh and she wanted to counter it. But even with the lack of "warmth" in the Final, Sophie can't help but exude her clever snarkiness - that might be and has been confused for coldness and superficiality - and proved that she deserved to be there, and that she deserved to win. If Coach and Ozzy had to lose, Sophie was by far my favorite pick for winner. And well, I also had a parallel desire for a non-returning player to win. So, YAY SOPHIE! 

5. Next season.

Am I the only who’s getting a bit tired of Survivor always being filmed in Samoa?!? I love the show, I don’t think that’s in question here; but one of the things I love the most is all the exotic places the seasons take us to… Australia, Africa, the Amazon, Tocantins, China, Central America… each landscape brings new challenges and new reliefs, and the diversity really adds something to the show each season. Or it used to… The South Pacific is gorgeous, don’t get me wrong! and if I were to compete on the show, I think I’d prefer to be on a sandy beach, where it doesn’t rain all too much and there are plenty of coconuts in the trees and fish in the sea. Seasons like Africa and China seemed particularly difficult what with muddy water sources, nowhere/very few places to bathe and few sources of food other than the rice or grits that were provided for them. So yeah, maybe Samoa is a good Survivor location for the actual players, but I wish the producers would keep exploring the world.

Eh,  regardless, next season looks awesome! Looking forward to it!

Survivor: South Pacific - FINALE in 15 seconds

Ohmigosh, what a momentous evening...!!! First of all, I had a prior engagement and couldn't watch the finale live. Then, the show started 30 minutes late, and my friend didn't set the live reunion show to TiVo, so the recording stopped literally right before the Final Three were revealed. So I took a cab home, and decided to wait for CBS to put the show up online... and in the meantime, recorded an initial 15s reaction at that point:




Then... when I finally got to watch the remaining 30 minutes... WOW! I'm so happy for Sophie! I love her, but I seriously can't believe she pulled it off. I knew she'd make it to the Final Three - or at least thought she deserved it - but I thought Coach had this one in the bag... Or Ozzy, had he made it to the end.

I can't even begin to say how disappointed I am that Ozzy didn't make it... I really think he deserved it, and he used the resources he had, came back, had so much heart and such determination. It just slipped away. But, he did tweet that he'd make his million "the old fashioned way," and I hope he does!

As for Tribal Council, I thought Cochran and Edna were both awesome and said just the right things. That's the first time I've actually liked Edna in the game, and what she said is the one thing I really reproached her: she wasn't aware enough that the whole point of the game was to be duped. As for Cochran, he said exactly what I thought, and voted for whom I would have voted had I been in the Jury. So... Shoutout to you, Cochran! :)

Here are my 15s post revelation of the winner... And I'll write a final South Pacific blog post this week! One thing I will say now: I was SO invested in this season, it was insane. It wasn't perfect, but I loved it all the same and I'm sad it's over. Looking forward to February 2012!