This week on Survivor it is time for the finale! Survivor finale nights are two of my favorite nights of the year and this season especially because it has definitely been a great one! So many gamers! This is what I’ve been saying! Survivor is WAY more interesting when a lot of people have knowledge of how to play. NEXT season should be super fun, but more about that later… And let’s forgo all the “recap” – If you want to recap the whole season, just start by clicking here.
After Tribal Council Carolyn is feeling so great; she made the right choice in using that Idol; however, everyone in her alliance voted for her and soon, she is swept off to participate in damage control. Mike thinks it’s hilarious. Everyone is still all banded together against him and he’s all alone back at camp with no one to play the game with, but his self. What is so funny about all of this is that Mike DID do the right thing for him and his alliance back at that auction; the irony of this season is incredible. Anyway, the rest of the tribe is off talking and Rodney is all, “why didn’t you tell us you had an idol… we’re all in an alliance… it’s an advantage…” blah blah blah! Whatever. Carolyn wasn’t IN that alliance when she found the idol so I say – it’s HER idol, it saved her ass and so sorry about your bad luck, Rodney! lol Carolyn pretty much says the same thing and adds that only one person voted for Dan with her, but it doesn’t matter. There are no more idols, no more advantages and it’s an even playing field for all and they will get mike out and be the Final Four. Yeah… About that…
Day 36: Reward Challenge. Loved ones enter the game and will watch the challenge, go back to camp, spend the night with the winner and the winner will also win an advantage in the next Immunity Challenge. Uh oh! Let’s hope Mike doesn’t win, guys… First, they have to crawl through a net – lots of netting this year, huh? Then they have to slide tiles down a track to be collected after they hit a pan and fall off the board. The tiles then need to be transported by balancing them on a machete over a course of beams and up a ramp to the puzzle station. THEN the matching tiles must be paired up, the last three will be numbers to the combination that will release the level that raises their flag. I love this challenge. There have been some cool challenges this year. The balance beams have definitely been kicked up a notch. No more straight and narrow for Survivor! lol After all the hugs and love, Will is PUMPED and ready to go – he’s got a loved one to talk to. He’s the first one out of the net crawl! Tiles start sliding and Will, Mike and Rodney are leading, but Mike is first one to start transporting stacks. With a steady hand, Mike maintains the lead and is also the first one to start matching tiles, while Carolyn struggles to slide them and Will struggles to transport them. Finally, Mike has all the tiles paired, but his first number combination doesn’t work. Seirra is now matching pairs; Mike tries another combo, but this one is wrong too so it’s back to the board. Seirra is closing the gap, but Mike has one last shot and… Mike wins Reward! And the advantage will be revealed the next morning when he and his mom travel to the challenge area.
Back at camp everyone is enjoying having Mike’s mom around and talking about how much weight he’s lost, but then Mike decides to be selfish with is mama and they go have a chat. He tells her about all the rough times he’s had and they take a dip together. Mike’s mom totally understands and she knows her role in Mike’s game: she is there to boost his moral and keep him motivated and she wants to do a good job. The next morning they travel to the challenge area. It’s a huge maze and Mike has 30 minutes to explore it with help from his mom. The goal is to retrieve four medallions – north, east, south and west because it looks like a compass, but it’s a square – then find the Immunity Necklace. An overturned water bottle will keep time for them and they begin, but she is not having an easy time with the course – even when you can see them these things are difficult! Mike never did find the fourth medallion or the necklace and his mom feels like it will be her fault if he doesn’t win. Awww. Mike would never say it, but she knows she let him down during his advantage time. Awww! I love Mike’s mom!
Come on in, guys! It is compass maze Immunity Challenge time. Let’s fast forward! Even though he didn’t manage to find all the medallions and the necklace with his mom, that practice time was invaluable because Mike quickly finds one, two, three all four of them. Without a timer, Mike remains calm and collected as he makes his way to the necklace and even though Rodney and the others were trying to help each other: Mike wins Immunity, but he knows he still has to win the next one. Back at camp, everyone give the obligatory congratulations. Carolyn doesn’t feel great because she doesn’t have an idol, but she has another plan. Later, she and Seirra are talking with Mike about who to vote out next; Mike doesn’t care either way, but he knows he’s not “in” with either one of them so he has to do what is best for him. The girls decide to vote for Rodney – at least Will does some work around camp. Seirra will do whatever Mike wants because she’s scared of torch snuffing; she will definitely vote out Rodney. Mike doesn’t want coat tail riders around and he says he likes this threesome, but after a cuddle in the hammock with Rodney, he says he’s open to voting out Seirra and that the girls are voting for him. Rodney doesn’t like this.
I’m shocked because I thought Carolyn was a huge threat last week. Since when is Seirra so scary and I get why Mike ended up voting her out, but… Oh yeah, we’re skipping over Tribal Council because it doesn’t really matter what was said. Though, it is so funny seeing Dan’s face when he sees Mike wearing that necklace… So yeah – Mike decided to go with the boys, which makes sense because he did tell the ladies that he wanted to finish playing with gamers and Seirra isn’t a gamer, at least not when she’s playing Survivor. Perhaps in the rodeo ring the cowgirl has some skills, but she was definitely riding coat tails in this game and that’s why Mike voted her out of it. I have no idea why Rodney and Will didn’t vote for Carolyn. Seirra wasn’t bad at challenges, but those guys have been going for the weak players this whole time and Carolyn has won more. If either Will or Rodney thought she was a threat them, they were right, but at this point for both of them, it doesn’t matter who they take as long as they go with each other. Moving on!
Come on in, guys and gals, because it’s time for the final Immunity challenge of Worlds Apart and it is a crazy one! First they must open a gate by untying knots, race up a huge flight of stairs, slide down a huge water slide, crawl through a jungle gym, untie a bag of puzzle pieces – do this three times – then put together a lighthouse puzzle. WHEW! Mike is the first one out of the gate aaand… He pretty much stays in the lead the whole time with Rodney not far behind him. Carolyn and Will do not stay as close and Will is huffing and puffing his way to the last bag. Finally, though, everyone is working on the equalizer with Mike and Carolyn staying pretty close to each other, but all of the sudden… Mike kicks it into high gear. The Survivor Gods are definitely smiling on Mike and they have been smiling on him since he “betrayed” his alliance. Hmmm… Who exactly is Karma working for this season of Survivor??? Definitely Mike! Mike has won Immunity AGAIN and has ensured himself a spot in the Final Three! Will even wants to put the damn necklace around his neck! The game has changed him. He’s never been tested like this before! Whoa! Imagine that! Just keep imagining that…
Back at camp, everyone is a pretty good mood, but there is still some tension. Mike knows he has to keep his wits about him so he says he’s going to go down by the river. Carolyn wanted to wash her hair anyway so she’s going to join him. Will doesn’t like this, but Rodney is cool with it. He says Mike wants to go with them and he did vote for Seirra so there is nothing to worry about; they are all voting Mama C – you don’t take mamas to the Final Three! Off in the jungle, Mike tells Carolyn that his alliance turned on him, all three of them, and he will not take a blue to the Final Three. He will be voting for Rodney tonight, the other boys are voting for her and if she wants to stay in the game, which is what Mike wants, she’ll have to make fire because of the rules when there is a tie at the Final Four. He instructs Carolyn to go off by herself discreetly to practice to show the jury that she’s earned her spot. This freaks Carolyn out, but she has no other options. The boys will not change their minds. She quietly gathers up flint and takes off while Mike distracts Rodney with a little bit of strategy to keep Rodney close, but not too close that Rodney feels too comfortable. Mike just doesn’t want to take two goats to the end.
Meanwhile… Carolyn can’t make fire…OMG! How can you be on that island for 38 days and not have learned how to make freakin’ fire?! And again, Future Survivors: IF YOU ARE GOING TO BE ON SURVIVOR OR WANT TO BE ON SURVIVOR – LEARN HOW TO MAKE FIRE!!! Fire is your LIFE on Survivor. You should be able to make it. Do you NOT watch the damn show, Carolyn??? lol For real, though. Let’s get through this Tribal. The look on Dan’s face is – again – priceless. Everything that is discussed is nothing we haven’t heard and the vote goes as planned. Rodney and Carolyn will make fire and… OMG! After an hour, with the Jury yawning, flints breaking left and right and Jeff switching them out for new and different flints, finally, we start seeing some flames. Rodney is seems close because his flame is high, but it’s an illusion – it’s not hitting the string. Carolyn finally gets a little something going and both begin building up the wood pile and it is as neck and neck as it can get in a fire making challenge. Both seem to have a good fire going, but Carolyn has a better structure built, but WHOA, Rodney gets a little burst and we’re all on pins and needles until finally – FINALLY – Carolyn’s flag raises and Rodney is eliminated and he is not happy, but apparently…
I haven’t watched the whole reunion show yet because I had to drive home from work after it started, but… I’ve just been WAITING for Rodney to tell us that he is at peace with his sister’s death. I KNEW that he would find that out there on the island and THAT would be the real prize for Rodney. I was just watching and waiting for that moment and I am really happy that he feels better. Hopefully his attitude towards women will get better too or, seriously, you’re gonna have trouble finding that angel, buddy. I know a guy who is a lot like Rodney and angels do not put up with little devils for very long before we give up and move on. Are we a 10-4, good buddy? 😉 lol That’s a private joke for someone that will probably never read this, but I did want to comment on the whole Rodney situation and it works for both! And oh yes, Rodney, that scum bag redneck Mike will get what is coming to him. OH YES! He will definitely get exactly what the Survivor Gods and Karma think he deserves… SO!
MOVING ON! Our Final Three is Mike, Carolyn and Will, but come on now, people, can we all just admit that this is really a Final Two between Mike and Carolyn. Will did NOTHING strategy wise except keep his mouth shut and his head down, but those kinds of moves don’t get you a million dollars. It is cool, though, that we have one of each of the collars, but I think we all know that the No Collar has no shot. Like Rodney, Will is not playing to win a million dollars, he is on Survivor to learn a lesson about himself, his true self, and I have seen enough of the reunion show to say that he has not learned it yet. I got home during that apology scene and I’m not impressed with his attempt at sincerity. What I saw was a righteous man that knows what he did was very, very, very wrong and he has not yet forgiven himself. He was still being very defensive of his words and actions on the reunion show, pointing fingers at Shirin as if she is the only one with an issue. Words of advice, Will: When faced with a difficult situation ask yourself what Jesus would do.
Okay, folks, we are jumping to the Final Tribal Council because I’m obviously getting anxious to get to the first half of the reunion show and post this thing… But first… Um… Jeff didn’t give the Final Three a chance to make opening statements! Instead, Jeff brings Joe up to start the Jury questions and I have to say, nothing too incredibly insightful or interesting from anyone. People are still bitter and not really giving Mike any attention then Jenn stands up and pulls a Spencer! She doesn’t want to talk to the Final Three – She wants to talk to Jury. Everyone needs to stop holding grudges, sorry not sorry Mike played better than all of you, but suck it up be a super fan and vote for the deserving person – Mike. Then Dan comes up to talk… ::eyeroll:: Dan thinks he’s so smart about Survivor and that he knows how this game works, but every season is different. You can’t play one like the other because the people always vary! People are the variables in this math game, Dan. Not every season is going to follow the same rules because THERE ARE NO RULES IN SURVIVOR! I really thought Dan would be one of my favorites this year, but he was acting like a jealous kid just because someone else on the playground was better at dodgeball than him.
Shirin is the last one to go and she goes all out again with the wearing of her heart on her sleeve. She is grateful that she had to opportunity to confront old wounds that hadn’t really healed, that she had a protector in Mike during this rehashing of her childhood trauma and THAT felt better than making her first million dollars. Shirin’s vote is still up for grabs though… Her vote will go to the person who played the best game. She wants everyone to vote based on game play and makes some great animal kingdom analogies. Mike is an aggressive howler monkey, Carolyn is a stealthy sting ray and Will is the dead fish they dragged in with their nets that poisoned them all when they took a bite. He just sat around and let everyone drag him to the end; Shirin really wants people to focus on game play and she even references Sue from season one and her infamous Tribal Council speech! Love it! She wants this game to end as mother nature intended and bad fish should not get rewarded! LOL! This season of survivor has so many parallels to my own life that it is FREAKY! Seriously…
SO! Here we go. The votes are made, Jeff makes off with the urn then we are magically transported to the studio in L.A. for the reading of the votes and the winner is… MIKE! Mwah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Then I left my job and was home in time to see Will “apologize” to Shirin. I am super excited for next season. I am questioning this voting process, to be honest, but I’m pretty happy with who will be playing in the “Second Chance” season in Cambodia and I’m really looking forward to blogging about it! Since I want to get this thing finished and posted, I’m just going to let this be the end of my recap season. I have a lot of work to do this summer, including a Kickstarter that I hope all of my blog readers will support a little bit so… If you don’t follow me on Twitter, please do @thedolphinpoet. I hope to get my own website up as well this summer, but… You will always find my Survivor AND my King of the Nerds blogs here at Your Reality Recaps because I love my boys, Jon and Eric! (And I have some things I want to do just for fun for Big Brother, but we’ll see about those things… I’m gonna be super busy this summer…). 😉
All of my Survivor blogs are HERE. You can read my King of the Nerds blogs HERE. We’ve got Big Brother Canada 3 Blogs & Videos, Hell’s Kitchen, Bravo Shows and we also cover the Amazing Race and so much more! There is something for everyone at Your Reality Recaps if you love reality TV like we do. 🙂 If you’re buying stuff on Amazon, USE THIS LINK; it really helps us out and you don’t spend any more money. Also – Get your BB17 live feeds from US when they are made available!
Your Survivor 31: Cambodia Players (my favs in bold): WOMEN: Kelly Wiglesworth (1 Borneo), Kimmi Kappenberg (2 Australia), Peih-Gee Law (15 China), Monica Padilla (19 Samoa), Abi-Maria Gomes (25 Philippines), Ciera Eastin (27 Blood vs. Water 1), Tasha Fox (28 Cagayan), Kass McQuillen (28 Cagayan), Kelley Wentworth (29 San Juan del Sur) and Shirin Oskooi (30 Worlds Apart): MEN: Jeff Varner (2 Australia), Andrew Savage (7 Pearl Islands), Terry Deitz (12 Panama), Stephen Fishbach (18 Tocantins), Vytas Baskauskas (27 Blood vs. Water 1), Woo Hwang (28 Cagayan), Spencer Bledsoe (28 Cagayan), Keith Nale (29 San Juan del Sur), Jeremy Collins (29 San Juan del Sur) and Joe Anglim (30 Worlds Apart). AND they are all out there on an island, probably RIGHT NOW, getting ready to play Survivor 31: Cambodia: Second Chance… Depending on when you read this! Good luck to all of them! See you next season. 😉
