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: Philippines - Ponderosa Recap

The Survivor: Philippines finale is impending... and in my excitement and impatience, what better to do than watch all the Ponderosa videos back to back? RC, Jeff, Artis, Pete, Penner, Carter and Abi all get put under my Survivor-fan-oscope... and the winners for favorite are by far Penner, followed by Pete. And maybe, surprisingly, Abi.

All in all, I'm confident this jury will take their voting responsibility seriously and aside from RC, who has reserved all her bitterness for people who are now out of the game anyway, they can all remove their emotions from the vote and make reasonable decisions. Bring it on, Survivor!

Favorite quote of Ponderosa: "Recognizing yourself is very powerful." -Pete

Survivor: Philippines - Episode 13 in 320 seconds

Malcolm: A Lone Survivor or The Sole Survivor?

It's the episode before the finale, and we're left with the Final Four that committed to each other: Malcolm, Denise, Skupin and Lisa. Lisa is back in it to win it; Skupin is showing his physical prowess is not to be disregarded; Denise shows she's a fighter - and a graceful one at that - and Malcolm is laying it all out just when it matters.

We've got four amazing contenders for the title, with one clear favorite in Malcolm, and there are several possible outcomes ahead, which in my mind all involve Malcolm getting voted out if he doesn't win the next Immunity Challenge(s). So what's next? There's only the finale to go and I'm still sitting on the edge of my seat...

Survivor: Philippines - Episode 12 in 280 seconds

The Immunity Idol that magically protects the
contestant most in need...

The big question at hand in this episode was: strategy or morale? It's a tough one and while as a viewer (in my most level-headed moments at least), I'm mostly voting for strategy (with a bit of heart, always!), Abi makes these polarities particularly difficult to juggle.

Now Carter is a bit of an enigma to me as a viewer. It seems people on the island connect with him quite well in person -- albeit not enough to keep him in a final alliance -- and yet he seems very simplistic about his game to me. I do believe he's a physical threat, but it doesn't seem like he's been particularly strategic throughout the game. That said, his "benevolence" during the Survivor auction and his lack of enemies do make him a social threat too. Making it to the end means he checks the "outlasting" box too. With all that laid out this way, I see why it was indeed the right move to vote him out over Abi, but I feel like the threat he poses is a fact beyond his conscious control, so that takes away from his game play for me.

Back to the vote, choosing strategy over moral here is all the more impressive when you realize how hard it was to do too, just knowing that you'll have to withstand Abi for an additional three days (though I bet she thinks they made it because of her 'brilliant' fake idol game play). Just check out this article on how listening to people complain is bad for you and can actually "make you dumb." Turns out, season 25 has become about outliving, outplaying, outlasting... and outbearing Abi's presence. So far into the game though, why not bear her a little longer and take her to the end? Now that will be the question for next episode!