Survivor ended on Sunday, and I have to say, I was very disappointed with this season's contestants.
Here's why. Ever since the season started, I was rooting for the newbies. I like the idea of an All Star Survivor, but when veterans come back to play with first-timers, it's not a true Survivor game. It should be an all newbie season or an All Star season, not both.
The season turned out so predictably, it was ridiculous. Ozzy continued to dominate Redemption Island, and got back in the game. He won the first immunity challenge, and Sophie broke down at Tribal when she heard some not so nice things said about her courtesy of Ozzy. I have always liked Sophie - she's smart and sharp, but she can be a bit of a brat at times. However, she's been a lot more tolerable than say, Brandon, Coach, or even Ozzy at times. Does anyone else remember when Ozzy was being a total douchebag?
Anyway, Sophie wins the next immunity challenge, so it's Ozzy's turn to leave and become a part of the jury. Coach had previously told Ozzy that he would take him to the final three, but truthfully, Coach told everyone that. So he stabbed Ozzy in the back and sent him packing, leaving Coach, Sophie, and Albert in the top three.
I noticed that Survivor doesn't do the whole "remember the entire cast" journey thing they used to make the top three do on past finales. I'm not complaining, though.
My favorite part of the finale is always the jury's questions for the finalists. It always makes me laugh how bitter some of them are, and others just say what we're all thinking. But this time, no one really gave us good snark, I have to say.
Albert was really never in the race, the jury just did not care for him. He was actually referred to as "sneaky". It was really between Coach and Sophie. Coach really was the mastermind/puppetmaster this season, but when he was confronted about being deceitful, he apologized and said he was playing to win and lost his spirituality along the way. Sophie made no apologies and took credit for many of the decisions that kept Upolu strong till the end. She really did make the more compelling argument, and it paid off, because the jury decided to give her the million instead of Coach.
Now here's my take on it. Coach certainly was the leader of Upolu, and he convinced his tribe to treat him like some kind of deity. Well, most of them. But, Coach messed up when he didn't own his game. In front of the jury, he should have stood up for himself and said, "Yes, I deceived all of you. You all fell for it. And I deserve to win." And the whole praying/honor/integrity bullshit was just too much. Coach, you need to leave God out of your sorry Survivor game. You didn't win because people can tell you're not sincere.
Sophie, like I said, owned her game, even the social part, which she wasn't so great at, and the jury ultimately respected that.
I wish this season would have gone a different way. In my opinion, Christine had the best strategy of them all, GET RID OF THE VETERANS ASAP! WHY would the tribe keep a veteran around, follow him like a bunch of idiots, and let them get to the final tribal??? You're essentially giving them the million dollars! Just because they can help the tribe initially? Seriously? Just keep them around for the first few challenges, let them build the shelter for you, and then get them OUT. That's just my take on it.
The reunion was kinda lame, they kept talking about Brandon's family being ashamed of his performance, blah blah blah. His uncle Russell turned up to put him down in front of millions of people as well ... nice.
I hate that the reunion only hits on the favorites, and doesn't address the other story points. They should have spent more time talking to Christine, Mikayla, and Stacey. Oh and they just glossed over the whole Whitney/Keith situation, and didn't even MENTION that Whitney was MARRIED when she started her AFFAIR with Keith. Whatever. At least Cochran was entertaining, as usual. I really like him.
What did you think of the Survivor finale and reunion? Tweet me!
