Survivor (Millenials vs. GenX) S33E14 and Reunion Special

This will probably go down as one of my favorite seasons. I liked all of the last few players - so I really didn't care who won. It was just so much fun watching the game play - Dave making that fake idol, Jay finding, and then playing it. All the blindsides - it was just a good show this time.

Next season, I dunno... not really looking forward to watching people who already had their shot again.

 

Spoiler

Especially Sandra, who has won twice. I predict Sandra will be one of the first returnee to be voted out.

 

Advertisements

I was surprised they never mentioned the fake idol at the reunion show.

Over all it was a fun season. I didn't really feel strongly for or against anyone. A lot of people did transform over the season, like David & Hannah.

 

I hope Adam did a lot more than we saw, because I don't think he deserved a single vote. Hannah had more to do with convincing Ken to vote out David than Adam did.

 

A good season finished by the worst last hour in Survivor history. Was this a remake of "Queen for a day?" Ok I am dating myself, but watching an adult cry nonstop many times because mommy was dying is not my idea of good television. It sucks when people close to you pass, but this became unwatchable.

I am glad the next season is returning players only for the reason that this won't fly.

 

I don't have too many issues with Adam winning, but think Hannah deserved better than no votes. In fact, up until the last couple of questions, I thought Hannah had done, by far, a better job of answering the questions.

I know it sounds callous, but I wonder how much influence Adam revealing his mother's sickness right at the end of questioning had an impact on the jury (of course, I am assuming that was not just an editing trick.) That being said, I don't think Adam intentionally tried to use his Mom's illness as a sympathy factor, it looks like it was just something that came out unexpectedly. It was, most definitely, a part of his story. Although we can never know, I wonder if the vote would have been different if Adam hadn't mentioned his mom.

Overall I thought this season was good, not I don't know if I would call it great.

The positives:
* There was good game play. It was refreshing to see players that were fans of the game, come to play.
* In the same vein, evicted players understood that it was a good, no bitter feelings or jury (expect, maybe, Brett)
* There were some very likable people (Hannah, David, and Jessica were my favorites)
* There were no players I absolutely hated (although Brett was getting close at the end with his "I am playing with dummies" routine. Just because it is best for YOUR game, doesn't mean that everyone else agrees.)
* The challenges were fun to watch.

The negatives
* Most of the players were not "memorable" players. How many of these players am I going to remember or recognize. Not many (David and Hannah, maybe, everyone else, nah)
* I think idol play has gotten out of hand. I know the Producers like to see idols played, but I would rather see more mystery. (Or maybe change it up. HII can not be played for yourself, only someone else? Or can only nullify a single vote.) It is also too easy to find idols. I absolutely LOVED the season that the idols were hidden in a challenge. You had to take a risk for the reward.
* The Legacy Advantage was just a big dud. I know it couldn't be predicted, but Ken had no need as he wasn't in trouble.

 

I haven't watched the reunion show yet (only the first 5 minutes to see who won), but I was very surprised Adam won - especially in a sweep

I thought Ken had it wrapped up.

I do feel bad for Adam (mom), but I wonder how many people voted for Adam because he told everyone about her in the last segment.

IMO, while sad and unfortunate, playing that type of card at the end of the game really shouldn't be allowed (although I don't know how they'd stop it).

I liked all of the final contestants (all of the last 8, really), so wasn't rooting for anyone in particular, but if I would have had a vote, based on what we were allowed to see, I would have voted for Ken.

 

I disagree about Adam not playing the "mommy dying" card intentionally. He saved it for the end, made a big deal about it at the FTC and you could see on the jury's faces that it definitely affected them. Since (to me) the three finalists could ALL make a case for winning, that was the deciding factor. I was surprised it was unanimous, as I figured Dave would throw Ken a vote. I was sort of rooting for Hannah, as WE could see a lot of her game play, but, in the end, I don't think the survivors actually did and it cost her. Overall a good season. I also didn't like the reunion show, but I think those have gotten old over the last few years. There's just not a lot to talk about anymore. And it has also lost it's luster as I used to look forward to see where they are playing next, but that's just not a big deal anymore.

On next season:

Spoiler

I get it if you want to have an All Star season (even though I'm not a fan of it) but really, we are getting a LOT of the same players for at LEAST the third time. Ozzie? Enough, is this his 4th or 5th time now? Sandra? You won twice, enough. If you are going to have AS season, at least bring in people who've never played before instead of "Professional Survivors" Don't these people have REAL jobs? For the first time ever, I'm considering not watching

 

I wonder if by Ken using his daughter as a sympathy card prompted Adam to say something. This was the first tribal that I thought they all made a pretty good case winning. Although I think Hannah was there for no other reason than they wanted her there at the end, she was a non threat. There was never talk of voting her out for that reason.

Adam finding that last immunity idol really makes me wonder if they do lead them to the idols. One day to find the idol in a pretty big area without any clues seems almost impossible.

 

I was satisfied with the way it all turned out. I figured that Jay or David would win over anyone else if they got to the end, and that Adam would win over anyone else other than Jay or David. I didn't feel like Bret, Ken, or Hannah had a realistic chance to win at all. So Adam was smart to make sure Jay and David were both gone before the finals.

I really doubt that the "my mom is dying of cancer" thing swayed any votes. I think the jury was all leaning toward him anyway. I felt like most of Hannah's answers came off as defensive, and Ken did fine, but I don't think he was ever in consideration because the jury perceived that he got there simply due to his alliance with David, not because of any good strategy by Ken.

The fake idol made by David was brilliant, down to putting it inside a coconut and painting a mark on the outside. I was so glad to see that it worked so well. Jay's face when Jeff said it wasn't real was priceless.

Leading up to the final four TC, they talked so much about a fire-making challenge that I thought for sure that's where it was going. I think the editors did a better job this season of not telegraphing the results with what they show earlier in the episode.

How are you supposed to have an All Star season with people who've never played before?

BTW, I'm not excited about this season of returning players either. I just thought it was odd for you to say "If you are going to have AS season, at least bring in people who've never played before..." There are only a couple of the returning players that I'm interested to see again, and Cirie, Ozzie, and Sandra are certainly not on my list. I will be interested to see how Michaela and Zeke can do given that none of the players will know anything about them going into the season.

 

Genius of David to make a fake idol AND a "case" for it...but who would be stupid enough to believe it was legit WITHOUT a note?!?

 

It was a bit hard to tell, but I thought he wrapped it up with the note from a previous idol he found?

 

Yeah, I really liked the fake idol...

 

If that is the case....I'm even more impressed!

 

I guess we must have been watching different shows, because I didn't think Ken had a prayer of winning. Sure, he won a bunch of challenges, but he didn't really do anything else of note. Also, it seemed like a lot of the other players were annoyed by his "holier than thou" attitude. Once it came down to the final four, I was virtually positive that either David or Adam would win. Since there was no way that both of them would make it to the final three, it seemed obvious that whichever one of them got there would sail away with the victory.

Overall, I thought this was an excellent season, but I do agree that they went a little overboard with the idols. I really didn't like the fact that there was still one in play so late in the game.

 

It's funny that Hannah and Ken both talked about their social awkwardness, and IMO in the end that's what did them in. Ken especially, since he won lots of challenges and played a pretty good game. David talked a lot about being awkward, and was at first physically, but socially he was great. I wish he could have won, but amazing that he got as far as he did.

I'm not sure why, but I never liked Adam. I guess it was just me--he seemed well liked in general.

Looking forward to seeing Michela (sp?) next season--and the little oriental guy. (don't remember his name)

 

Totally agree

Idols can be used up to and through the final five Tribal Council, and IIRC, there hadn't been one found since the Merge, so it's not surprising that there was an HII out there and that it could be played at that point of the game.

 

I read somewhere that the original plan for next season was to have a tribe of winners, a tribe of those that made the jury and a tribe that didn't make the jury. They couldn't find enough winners that wanted to do it again so they scrapped that.