Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Finale: History Has Its Eyes On You

You know, it says something about your season when your finale features an event that is unprecedented, historic, an unqualified “Survivor” first… and yet it STILL feels incredibly predictable!

Let’s not mince matters: this is less of a season finale, and more of a question of “Who would win: Domenick or Wendell”. Surprisingly, the first person we cut to to answer this question is Sebastian. Granted, we’re as usual starting with the fallout from the previous Tribal Council, but even then, it seemed like Angela was the one who was most hurt over the Donathan plan not being correct. But no, it seems that power has gone to the head of Sebastian, and now HE wants to make a move. This is probably helped somewhat by the fact that his extra vote advantage can only be used at the next Tribal Council. Can’t fault the idea, but feel it’s too little, too late. Sebastian, however, thinks it’s a great idea, which will get him out of the collective shadow of Domenick/Wendell, and turn the tide of the game for him. Sure, Sebastian. And Laurel will stop being a dues-paying, card-carrying member of the cult of Dom and Wendell.

Speaking of which, Laurel goes to talk to Donathan, bringing with her a healthy pitcher of Kool-Aid. Unsurprisingly, Donathan is shocked he’s still here. Ever the loyal follower, Laurel tries to talk Donathan around to how this is them PROTECTING him, and how he should be grateful. Yeah, Laurel, shame Donathan for wanting to play his own game. No harm can come from that.

Moving on to our real stars, they spend the next morning discussing who they want gone after the upcoming immunity challenge. Will it be Donathan, the man who’s been making a big stink lately? Angela, who has the best immunity track record after Domenick and Wendell? Or could there be a shake-up, and they vote out Laurel, out of fear that she might take a few votes for old Malolo loyalty? Rather than take any of these smart options, they decide to target Sebastian, to which I must ask: WHY? Look the guy’s likable, strong, and plotting against them, but both Domenick and Wendell have him beat on the first two counts, and have no current way of knowing about the third. As far as they’re concerned, he’s their most loyal number, after Laurel. What good does it do them to target him? It’s one day later, and it STILL boggles my mind.

Evidently someone on production said “I want my maze to be seen FROM SPACE!”, as our traditional “Survivor” maze this time around is a gigantic skull-shaped one. Probst refers to it as one of the biggest ever on the show, and given how clearly visible it is from such a great distance, it wouldn’t surprise me if this was the case. What I also like about it is the presumed asymmetry. With most “Survivor” mazes, the paths to various puzzle stations have to be the same for everyone in different quadrants to keep things fair, but with three stations spaced throughout the maze, as opposed to an even number. That can’t happen. Good job shaking things up there, production!

The puzzle this time around is really cool as well. It’s another one of those “bonsai tree” type puzzles where the pieces have no clear place to be put, and this time it gets even worse. You have to actually build the circular outline of the season logo. So, not only to you have to find where the piece goes, you have to keep the structural integrity of the thing.

First to finish their puzzle and let Jeff Probst know wins immunity and a steak dinner. Wendell is the clear favorite to win this, and sure enough, he finishes his puzzle first. To make absolutely sure Probst is aware this time, Wendell yells out his name. Then he yells it again into a megaphone. Then he pulls up the billboard he rented in Fiji for just such an occasion. Then he pulls out his homemade flashing neon sign that reads “Wendell is done with the puzzle.” Just kidding. Though while the name yell is funny, I’m a bit surprised that Wendell didn’t at least go for “Jeffrey Probst”, to ensure no confusion. Hell, he could even have gone for “Jeffrey Lee Probst”, though that would have required looking up Jeff’s middle name in the Fijian islands, which would be rather difficult.

Thus, Wendell gets the choice of who to take on reward, ultimately going with Sebastian and Angela. Odd choices at first, and I was all prepared to read Wendell the riot act for this move, but the more I thought about it, the more it made sense. I’m all for pandering to your partners, but now we’re at the endgame. There’s very little that can derail Wendell’s plans, especially since his hidden immunity idol guarantees him at least the chance to make fire for a spot in the finals. Thus, the reward is perhaps better used as a chance to curry favor with potential jurors. The favor of Donathan seems to have sailed, and Laurel and Domenick are pretty well locks for him in the end anyway. That leaves only Angela and Sebastian as question marks at this point (though really, given how Sebastian was so happy with Wendell about the shell thing, I’m pretty sure he’s good as well), and thus bringing them, and hopefully trading a steak dinner for a million-dollar vote, is worth it.

That said, I will still give Wendell flak for not taking Laurel. Domenick I understand, but Laurel is still the least-loyal of your allies, and as mentioned before, I don’t think Sebastian would have snubbed Wendell in the end anyway. Thus, probably smarter to take Laurel over Sebastian.

Sure enough, after our nice reward scene, we find that Laurel is pissed, though unsure of what moves she has left. Oddly, it’s Sebastian to the rescue, as he fills in Donathan about his extra vote, suggesting they use it to blindside Domenick. Worst case scenario: Domenick plays his idol, the person supposed to go home goes home, and chances of getting rid of Domenick improve greatly. Best case scenario: Domenick gets cocky, doesn’t play his idol, and goes home. Win-win, barring that you’re the person who Wendell and Domenick vote for. Naturally, since this plan has no downside, Laurel will be against it and immediately blab to Domenick and Wendell… Wait, what’s this? She’s actually considering it? And not telling Domenick and Wendell that we see? My God, this may actually work! Hell, they even get Angela in on the plan, thus further cementing success. All they need now is for no one to spill the plan…

And, there goes Angela talking to Domenick. I may have mentioned this before, but even if I did, it bears repeating. Angela, despite being incredibly tough, played this game at the wrong time. Her empty-nester issues were played up big time this season, and we can see the impact they have on her game. As she says, she wants to trust the people she was originally with, even if they’ve betrayed her. Despite the fact that taking out Domenick is clearly her smartest move, Angela can’t help but trust, because she wants so badly to. In life, I can’t really fault her this tendency. On “Survivor”, it’s a major flaw.

With no mystery as to the vote tonight, Tribal Council will be replaced with a magic show! Nothing up my sleeve, and PRESTO! Multiple idols for multiple people! With Donathan being uncharacteristically subdued tonight, it’s up to Domenick to make a spectacle of things. Fortunately, Domenick does this very well. He calls out the plans of Sebastian and Donathan, then to show how foolish it is, pulls out his real idol, and his fake idol. This serves two purposes. One, it scares people away from any mutinous plans. Most were convinced that Domenick had but one idol, but there was a rumor he had two. This lends credence to the rumor, especially as Domenick’s fake idol is a “real” fake idol, for want of a better term. If the stick from “Survivor Micronesia” can be an idol, so can this. Two, it’s a good bit of theater. Wendell isn’t the only one looking to score points with the jury. While Wendell is trying his best to do it socially, Domenick’s tactic is to go for the flashy moves, cementing him as the leader of the tribe. Not to be outdone, Wendell pulls out a few idols himself, one real and one fake. However, much as Domenick can be good socially, but not as good as Wendell, so to can Wendell not overshadow Domenick in flashy moves. Not only is Domenick’s theater better, but he scores points on smarts. Playing off paranoia that fake idols can be real, instead of giving up his actual idol, he plays the fake idol from “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X” pre-vote, hoping to scare people out of voting him. And it WORKS! This is crazy to me, but Sebastian does not play his extra vote. WHY? By his own admission, this is the last night he can use it! Even if you’re changing the plan and sticking with the majority, there’s NO HARM in playing it, if only to say you’ve played it! But no, Sebastian gets scared, and rightly goes home for it. Oddly, despite how I usually feel about Sebastian’s archetype, I’ve got mixed feelings about his exit. Yes, he was annoying at times. Yes, he was a bad player. But just imagine him at the Final Tribal Council. How would he have justified himself? That’s something I’d pay to see.

Oh, and this is once again a season where we randomly cut back to Probst talking to the cast and the audience before commercial. We WOULD get an interview with Sebastian, but only major characters get screentime, so instead of talking to him, we’re going to see James Clement (“Survivor China”) and Erik Reichenbach (“Survivor Micronesia”), because the editing and the boot order didn’t make this case seem weak enough!

Despite the reunion show no longer getting the airtime it deserves, we evidently STILL don’t have time for strategizing post-Tribal, as we head straight to our immunity challenge. It’s another puzzle/obstacle course combo that wouldn’t bear mentioning were it not for the fact that the puzzle is a trick one. Basically, four three-dimensional shapes have to build a pyramid, which is tough to figure out even when you’re not starved and dehydrated. My money’s on Laurel to win this one given her puzzle prowess, but once again, Wendell pulls out a victory. This puts him in a dilemma as to how he wants to use his idol, but we’ll get to that in a minute. For now, with Donathan clearly the next to go, let’s see what feeble attempt he has to save himself.

With almost no cards left to play, all Donathan can do is turn on his closest ally, Laurel. And, to his credit, he makes a pretty credible pitch to Domenick. Donathan says that he’d spare Domenick the fire-making challenge, since he wants to “Go up against the best”, and points out that Laurel may have more friends on the jury than him. Domenick at least entertains the idea, but quickly smells bullshit. Still, he floats the idea to Wendell, bringing back the question of who Wendell will use his idol on. After all, Wendell’s not going to pass up a chance to curry favor and look good in front of the jury. Given how close he and Laurel were, Laurel would seem the obvious choice, but now Wendell is second-guessing things. And I don’t buy it for a minute. I’ll give credit that this misdirection is at least DIFFERENT from what we’ve seen so far this season, and it’s doing the best it can with what it has, but with how close Laurel has been built up to be with Domenick and in particular Wendell, I don’t see her NOT getting Wendell’s idol.

To add on to this, it would be the smart move for Wendell to do. Again, I initially thought it might be best not to, since it might offend Domenick, but at this point, Domenick and Wendell are gunning for each other anyway, spared only by their idols. By keeping Laurel safe, you not only show your power in front of the jury, but you put someone pretty much guaranteed to keep you safe from fire-making if they win immunity. Given that Wendell also curried Angela’s favor with the reward, that means the only way he makes fire if he gives Laurel the necklace is if Domenick wins immunity. Pretty good odds for such a twist in the game.

Remember how I said that Wendell couldn’t outdo Domenick in terms of Tribal Council theater? Yeah, let this be the exception that proves the rule. There’s really nothing of note at this Tribal Council aside from idol plays, so let’s just skip straight to those. Wendell lets Domenick go first, thereby giving himself the recency effect, and then makes a big show of how he’s playing it for Laurel, and thus sending Donathan home. Point Wendell.

As Donathan was a big character on the show, we do get a nice interview with him about how he’s grown from the experience. Evidently it also gets Tai Trang’s (“Survivor Kaoh Rong”) Sia of Approval, as Donathan gets $10,000 to help care for his family. Good for him.

Once again, pre-challenge discussions fall by the wayside, as we head to our Final Immunity Challenge. Frankly, it’s the weakest of the bunch. It’s stacking alternate balls and bases, as in the final challenge from “Survivor Kaoh Rong”. It’s a tricky challenge, to be sure, but it’s one that lacks the epic grandeur one would hope for in a final challenge.

So, that one scenario where Wendell DOESN’T get a free pass to the finals? Guess what happens? Yeah, it surprised me as well. I thought for sure this was Laurel’s challenge to lose, given that it involved precision and balance, but she seemed to be the worst of the lot. We get a good bit of back-and-forth between Wendell and Domenick, with Domenick pulling out a victory. Good for him, and good for the show for keeping it quiet. Trust me, you’ll hear that very rarely in relation to this season.

Making sure we go there one last time, Domenick’s decision discussions will take place exclusively on Ghost Island. After much ooh-ing and aah-ing over the torch snuffers, we get down to our debate. Wendell, seeing the writing on the wall, doesn’t waste his breath trying to convince Domenick to take him, and instead just goes to practice fire making. Domenick quickly informs us that he debate is between the person he thinks actually has a chance at beating Wendell in fire-making (Angela), and the person he’d less like to see in the finals (Laurel). Both reasonable reasons to keep someone, but oddly, I find myself in agreement with Angela on this one. I’m not convinced Wendell loses to either of them in fire-making, so the choice is really who you want to see less in the end between Angela and Laurel. Given that Laurel is the last Malolo standing, and a better talker than Angela, she’s clearly the choice out. That said, I doubt I’ll be able to find fault in whatever choice Domenick makes.

This is not the only decision Domenick must make, though. Domenick got a note upon winning the Final Immunity Challenge, which tells him to hike to the top of Ghost Island. Here, he finds the voting urns from “Survivor The Australian Outback”, “Survivor Cagayan”, and “Survivor Game Changers”. We’re told that these are all the urns from finalist choices who “Made mistakes” (even though I agree with Mario Lanza in that Colby’s decision at least was not a “mistake”), and that Domenick must pick on in the hopes of, say it with me now, “Reversing the Curse”. Like most things with the Ghost Island twist, it’s not a bad idea, but the execution is underwhelming. Look, I like the tribute to past seasons, and they picked some of the cooler-looking urns (and the one from “Survivor Game Changers”) for the twist. My issue is that it doesn’t really add anything, other than one more brief moment of nostalgia for the superfans. You could make these urns more relevant. Granted, it’s a bit late in the season to introduce a twist, so I wouldn’t want to see that, but you could make it a symbolic thing. Maybe by picking the urn, you’re picking who you take to the finals (the note would say this, so Domenick wouldn’t be screwed by something he couldn’t see coming). Like, if you take the “Australian Outback” one you take Angela, “Cagayan” Wendell, and “Game Changers” Laurel, or something like that.

But no, all we get is aesthetic. That’s cool too, I guess.

Oh hey, you remember what I said about how Domenick really had no bad move in this scenario? Yeah, he managed to find one. For some reason, looking at the urns gives Domenick the BRILLIANT IDEA to give Angela his immunity, and fight against Wendell in fire-making. Do I have to spell out why this is a stupid idea? Well tough. I’m doing it anyway. You’re telling me, Domenick, that you would give up a GUARANTEED place in the finals, a finals in which you have an above-average shot no matter who you go up against, just to try and get Wendell out, a move that could take you from possibly WINNING the game to handing WENDELL the game? No. Not buying it. Domenick’s played too smart to get tripped up like this at this juncture. There’s no way this would happen.

I’ll give this Tribal Council this: It’s the most entertaining of the three, though mostly for one of Wendell’s comments. As before, he doesn’t shy away from the fact that he’s making fire, and tells Probst he’ll win so long as he sits at the station with the purple flag, rather than the “cursed” orange one. Salivating at people buying these superstitions, Probst points out that given Wendell’s seat, he WOULD get the orange flag, to which Wendell quips “Got any paint?” Ok, I may be tired of these superstitions, but that’s funny.

Domenick reveals to the jury that the took the “Survivor Cagayan” urn from Ghost Island for the final votes, justifying it by saying he played the game like Tony Vlachos on that season, and wants the jury to reward that. Good marks on the justification there, and it’s also the one I would have taken, due to looking the coolest. I would also have accepted taking the urn from “Survivor The Australian Outback”. The point is that Domenick did not take the “Survivor Game Changers” urn, and I respect him for that.

As expected, Domenick is NOT so stupid as to give up a guaranteed finals spot, and chooses Laurel to go along to the end with him, which as I say I can’t fault too much. Angela, not being the superstitious type, agrees to switch stations with Wendell. Unfortunately, this is a season where being superstitious helps, and Angela loses in no real contest. Can’t say I’m too sorry to see her go. I think she’s tougher than shown, but for what we got, she just wasn’t that interesting. Makes for the best Final Three.

Or rather, Final Two. There’s really no pretending that Laurel’s much of a competitor at this point, but her Day 39 confessionals do put up a good argument, going with her “Last Malolo Standing” distinction. Still, this really is the Domenick and Wendell show at this point, and while I’ve given the editors a lot of flak for repeating the same types of scenes over and over again, and for making who makes the Final Three INCREDIBLY obvious, I will say that they do a good job of hiding who wins between Domenick and Wendell. It’s the strategic game versus the social game. The bombastic figurehead versus the subtle manipulator. Even their placement in things keeps it all under wraps. Domenick gets the last word before Final Tribal Council, a spot usually reserved for the winner, but Wendell gets the last word AT Final Tribal Council, which is also usually reserved for the winner. My God, there’s actual tension here! I forgot what it felt like!

Even the jury seems to feel it, as even THEY have trouble deciding between Domenick and Wendell. At first, it seems like Domenick has the lead, as Wendell’s “I was the real ringmaster” argument was undercut by nearly everyone saying that Domenick brought them into the alliance. Domenick is his own worst enemy, though, as he continually interrupts Wendell and is belligerent on the points he makes. This rubs many people, most visibly Kellyn and Sebastian, the wrong way. Wendell may underplay his performance, and be a bit too humble, but at least the points he may stick as a result. And just to show how even a good performance can’t help you sometimes, Laurel has the best performance of the bunch. She’s confident, but not cocky. She makes her points, but doesn’t press them too much. She’s respectful, but doesn’t hold back in her arguments. She answers every question as well as she can, and what does she get? Jack diddly squat. Laurel, for all my berating, I feel very sorry for this. You did as well as you could, with the game that you played.

With Domenick and Wendell edited so evenly, who could be the winner? Why, both of them! Yes, with no clear favorite in this game, we can only end in a tie, the first ever at the Final Tribal Council. And boy, is it underwhelming! Don’t get me wrong, the novelty of seeing a “Survivor” first, and of these two competitors being so close in the end, does still have a lot of excitement. But with how even Domenick and Wendell were this season, coupled with Probst revealing the method for breaking Final Tribal Council ties back on “Survivor Game Changers”, it was pretty clear this was what it would come down to. This means Laurel gets to cast the deciding vote, thus sucking the remaining tension out of the season. I’m glad two worthy competitors had it so close, but with Laurel as your last vote, Wendell has it on lockdown. The guy most closely bonded with Laurel, who even gave Laurel immunity, you think he ISN’T getting her vote? Yeah, you’re delusional.

As Laurel goes to make Wendell the winner, I want to talk for a brief moment about the breakdown of the tie vote. We don’t get much info on why most of the jury voted the way they voted (another weakness of the new Final Tribal Council format, along with too much Probst interjection), but I think the breakdown of the votes helps explain it. Domenick got the votes of Chris, Libby, Des, Jenna, and Michael, while Wendell got the votes of Chelsea, Kellyn, Sebastian, Donathan, and Angela. Sound familiar? It should. That’s the order people were sent to the jury. I’m only hypothesizing here, but I think that Wendell’s strategy of making bonds worked better on later jury members because they had more time to bond with him/had more time for Domenick to put his foot in his mouth. Maybe I’m wrong, but that seems like a likely reason the votes broke down the way they did.

Back in Los Angeles, Wendell wins, and I’m happy, and not just because I’m a big Wendell fan. Wendell’s win here follows a historical precedent: That of the social versus strategic game. Let’s take the finals of “Survivor The Australian Outback” as an example, as it makes for one of the clearest examples of this dynamic. You had Colby, who was not subtle and played an up-front game, versus Tina, who was less abrasive, but also less visible. In that situations, as in all other times this sort of Final Tribal Council situation has happened, the vote has been close, but the social player wins out. Wendell is that social player, and once again, he wins in a narrow vote. Nice to see that, even so many seasons on, some precedents still hold.

Wendell as a winner reminds me a lot of Ethan Zohn (“Survivor Africa”), both in terms of play style and impact on the game as a whole. Ethan wasn’t the most strategic player, nor the most up-front. He made a few moves, but they were mostly in the background, and he spent his time playing to what strengths he had. This describes Wendell to a “T”. More important, though, is their legacy of what type of winner they were. Ethan reminded us that you don’t have to be a big-time schemer to win “Survivor”. Wendell, to me, helps counter the argument that one must make “BIG MOVES!” to win the game. Granted, Wendell had his share of moments, but if the winner was solely decided by who played the bigger game, then Domenick would be a millionaire. He’s not, and for good reason. Despite what the show would like to market, when subtle gameplay comes up against up-front gameplay, subtle always wins out.

The reunion show, such as it is, really doesn’t merit any talking about. We take more time to embarrass Erik and James again, plug some dumb new show, and only talk to 1/4 of the cast, including snubbing Laurel, THE FIRST PERSON TO CAST A TIEBREAKER VOTE IN FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL HISTORY! DO YOU THINK MAYBE SHE’D BE WORTH AT LEAST A CURSORY QUESTION? Ugh, I hate to say it, but honestly, it might be time for the reunion show to die. Still do a live vote, still have the cast meet with the audience, still preview the next season, but don’t show it on tv. I’d rather have the full hour and talk with most everyone, get in-depth with the questions. If, however, we’re not going to do that again, then give us 30 extra minutes of content on the show proper, and just ignore the reunion aspect of the thing. If you can’t be respectful of your cast, don’t even put up the pretense of trying.

Oh, and next season is “Survivor David vs. Goliath”. Wow, they’re REALLY stretching for a theme, aren’t they? Biblical references are ALWAYS the audience favorite. Here’s an idea: FOCUS YOUR SHOW ON CASTING, AND NOT ON A THEME! Needless to say, I’m not super-confident about next season. It just seems like a forced and cringe-worthy thing to do.

I’ll be saving my thoughts on the season as a whole for the end of the blog. For now, let’s just focus on how my pre-season predictions hold up, starting with:

Brendan-Starting out with a mixed bag. I nailed his time in the game, but exaggerated his personality. I’ll still call this one a victory, though.

Donathan-Pretty much right, though he made it further than I expected.

Jacob-Definitely the fan I predicted, but much less smart and much shorter-lived than my prediction.

James-I didn’t have much of a read on him, and I still don’t. I did say he’d make the merge, though, so wrong there.

Jenna-Wrong. Much more subdued and longer-lived than I would have anticipated.

Laurel-Pretty much right, though she was stronger and showed less of her smarts than I would have thought.

Libby-A bit longer for the game than I expected, and less religious. Wrong on this one.

Michael-Again, wrong. The kid was savvier than I gave him credit for, and it increased his time in the game as a result.

Gonzales-Wrong, though in my defense, I couldn’t anticipate who would be sent to Ghost Island first.
Stephanie-I nailed her time in the game, but she was so much savvier than I anticipated that I’m still calling myself wrong on this one.

Angela-Pretty much right, for once on this list.

Bradley-Right. Enough said.

Chelsea-Didn’t have much of a read on her then. Still don’t now. She made it about as far as I thought, so, right.

Chris-Evidently Naviti was just the tribe I understood better, as I’m once again right.

Desiree-Wrong, as she was much calmer overall and consequently much longer-lived.

Domenick-Wrong. Much more self-control, and much better at strategy than I gave him credit for.

Kellyn-About the smarts I anticipated, but longer for the game. Mixed bag on this one.

Morgan-Wrong. There’s always one person screwed by the swap I can’t anticipate.

Sebastian-Longer for the game than I would have thought, but the guy did play about how I expected. I’ll give myself this one.

Wendell-Absolutely right. Suck it, doubters!

So, now onto the thoughts on this season as a whole, right? WRONG! It’s time once again for…

TOP 5 and BOTTOM 5!

As there aren’t enough tie Final Tribal Council votes to do a list on, we’ll instead talk about the other stand-out thing about this episode: mazes. Yes, they’ve been around since very early on in the history of the show, yet we’ve never noted what the best and worst mazes are. Time to rectify that today. Any sort of maze goes here, be it a large traditional one, a table maze, or something even weirder. Let’s look at them all with…

TOP 5

5. “Survivor Ghost Island”: Scale may not be everything, but it gets you a long way. The maze this episode may not have been the most exciting overall, but the sheer size of it makes up for a lot of that.

4. “Survivor Cagayan”: Here, I’m not talking about the final three maze, though that was cool as well. I refer instead to the vertical table maze from the one immunity challenge Luzon actually WON. Yes, I’m sure they won. We’d seen plenty of table mazes before, and they were kind of old-hat at this point, so turning them vertical was a stroke of genius. It kept an old challenge fresh, and it made for a nice comeback victory. Good times.

3. “Survivor The Australian Outback”: This one changed up the formula for your team maze by having teams run in parallel mazes, instead of the same one. This could have been confusing, but the aerial shots made everything make sense. I like how there was no order to finding the poles; that there were no clues which way to go. If you were lucky, you stumbled on a pole, and remembered where it was later. Rewarding a spotty memory is a good shake-up to me.

2. “Survivor The Amazon”: Again, mazes are a pretty common thing on “Survivor”, so you need to shake them up. From that perspective, blindfolds are maybe the best idea the show has ever had. After all, what’s more fun than trying to make people figure out a maze? Making them figure out a maze they CAN’T see! With the rain adding great atmosphere, and Butch being horribly lost, this is a fun maze for the ages.

1. “Survivor Vanuatu”: I say again: turning the maze vertical is a great idea. Doing it for your traditional “Survivor” maze, making for an impressively intimidating structure? Fantastic.

Honorable Mention: “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”: Our shake up this time is not getting to see the maze again, but this time with the twist that it’s not blindfolds, but the maze simply facing away from you. Probst’s commentary and the novelty of the maze being on the outside of a door you can’t see past made for a good shake-up. This one loses points, and thus ends up on the Honorable Mentions, though, because of size. It does matter, and this one is just small.

BOTTOM 5

5. “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains”: I’ll be honest, this list was hard to do. There’s hardly a “Survivor” maze I dislike, and really it’s only the top three on this list that I have actual dislike for. The rest, while good, are just not as strong as the others. In this case, “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains” loses out because of a lack of originality. Granted, on a season so seeped in “Survivor” History, you’d expect some repeat challenges, but this season always went the extra step to make the repeats their own thing in some way. This was a direct copy, and thus it earns a spot on this list.

4. “Survivor Tocantins”: Another cool idea: Have people race through the “Survivor” logo. The problem here is that with the maze being in the rough shape of a line, it was kind of boring to watch when not seen from the air.

3. “Survivor Marquesas”: This one tried to be what the maze from “Survivor The Australian Outback” was, and it did have a cool door. However, having the tribes race in the same maze was confusing, and the circle shape just does not make for a memorable challenge.

2. “Survivor All-Stars”: “Say, you know what would be a fun idea? Take the maze from ‘Survivor Marquesas’, then divide it up into easily memorized quadrants, making the challenge super-easy! Imagine how fun that will be to watch!”

1. “Survivor Gabon”: This maze brings nothing new to the table, and is just dull. It’s got no color to it, the walls are just burlap, and everything just blends together. A maze should not do that.

Honorable Mention: “Survivor Borneo”: Ah, a non-traditional maze on this list. Rather than run around walls, people had to run an obstacle course while clipped to carabiners. This is a great way to shake things up for a maze, and did lead to the funny “Greg: Lost” moments. Really, it would be in the top five for sure were it not for the randomness. Most mazes can be solved with skill, but this one was almost pure luck, which demotes it to the bottom list.

No more stalling, onto my thoughts on the season as a whole. While I’ve avoided reading any other commentary post-Finale, so as to keep my thoughts my own, I did check out opinions prior to the Finale, and from what I can tell, they probably haven’t changed. I mention this to say that I hear the criticisms, and they are legitimate. The boot order pretty much let Wendell and Domenick waltz to the end unopposed. Ghost Island, while a good idea, was lackluster at best. And the editing was repetitive, not to mention clearly broadcasting that either Domenick or Wendell was our winner. All of these are valid points I completely agree with. So when I say that people are hard on this season, it’s not because I think this is an amazing season people don’t get. This, for me, falls into the category of “ok, but not great”. When I say I like this season more than others, I mean I disagree with those who call it a “Bottom 10” season. There are problems, to be sure, but worse then seasons with horrible characters on them? Worse than seasons that were predictable start to finish? This season has problems, but it’s not THAT bad, and I can only guess that such strong opinions are recency bias. Still, I can’t deny that this season feels recycled. I’m not sure whether the editors didn’t have a lot to work with post-merge, or if they were just asleep at the computer, but it seemed like we got the same scenes over and over again once the merge hit, and it REALLY detracted from the season. On top of that, I’ve always said that a strong finish for a season is much better than a strong start, and this season helps exemplify that. With rare exception, the pre-merge was great! But in being great, it got rid of all the true rivals to Domenick and Wendell, who were pretty much all on Malolo. You can’t even take the comfort of “Well, it just showcases how good Domenick and Wendell were at eliminating their competition!” Bear in mind, the only two Tribal Councils those two attended were the only Tribal Councils that a Naviti went home at. The best you can say about the pair is that they were smart enough to capitalize on the “Naviti Strong” sentiment to take it to the end. Ultimately, I would compare this season to “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains”. I’m sure many of you are now thinking “Blasphemy!”, but bear in mind, I have a much lower opinion of that season than others do, due to all the best moments coming in the pre-merge episodes, and the merge episode itself. I’d say “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains” hits higher highs (The J.T. Debacle comes to mind), but also hits lower lows (The post-merge essentially becoming the “Russell Hantz Show”, on the heals of a season that may as well have been titled “Survivor Russell Hantz”). That said, with fewer stand-out moments, I still give “Survivor Heroes vs. Villains” the edge, but in terms of level of excitement, they follow the same pattern.

If nothing else, this season gave us a great winner. Maybe we didn’t like the season that got him there, but he’s the winner we deserve, the winner we needed right now.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Episode 12: The Kentucky Public Education System

Spoiler alert: The Kentucky Public Education System is not very good! Look, I generally try to avoid racist or classist humor on this blog, as well as low-hanging fruit in general, but Donathan’s slip-up here is just too tempting to resist! Oh, not his gameplay slip-ups, though those will be dissected in great detail. I’m talking about his “If you’re going to blindside me, could you please let me know.” slip-up. Um, Donathan, I’m no longer sure if you know this but WORDS HAVE MEANINGS! Funnily enough, if someone TELLS you they’re blindsiding you, it’s no longer a blindside. It figuratively defeats the purpose. I say “figuratively” here so as not to misuse the word “literally”, something Probst does during today’s immunity challenge. Evidently the Kansas Public Education System is little better than the Kentucky one.

Moving on to non-political topics, Kellyn is understandably upset that her blindside didn’t go off as planned. In a good move on Kellyn, though, she spends less time moping and more time trying to do something about it, pulling Sebastian aside to talk. Recognizing that Sebastian and strategic talk go together like fafaru and pretty much anything else, Kellyn instead frames it as a moral issue, talking about how she feels like she’s the next to go. Sebastian assures her that she isn’t. Boy howdy, SOMEONE’S been drinking the Dom-Aid. I know that Wendell and Domenick are equal partners in the alliance, from what we’ve seen, but so help me, there’s no good way to combine the words “Wendell” and “Kool-Aid”. Point being, Sebastian really seems to be buying this stuff, forcing Kellyn to sit back and hope people come to her. Actually probably her smartest move at this point. With a solid foursome in place, there’s not much hope for her but that someone makes an ass of themselves such that they become too much of a nuisance and have to leave.

I’ll give Kellyn credit, though, at least she’s trying NEW things! We get our now requisite “Donathan wants to turn on Wendell and Domenick, but Laurel is against the idea” confessional out of the way early this time, even before our lack of opening credits. It’s the same scene we’ve seen a million times, but with a slight twist on it. Rather than simply COMPLAIN about not acting, Donathan decides to actually DO SOMETHING, even if Laurel won’t. Kellyn gets her wish of an ally coming to her, as Donathan tells her his desire to move against Wendell. Not a bad plan. Shame it won’t work. With Sebastian fully on board, and Laurel disinclined to budge, the most you can hope for is a 3-4 minority. At least it’s different, though.

Speaking of different, we get our reward challenge, which is TECHNICALLY reused, but given the changes made, I’ll give it a pass. It’s “Simmotion” the final immunity challenge first seen on “Survivor Tocantins”. I hated it there, and in subsequent instances of the challenge, because it was ALWAYS the final immunity challenge, and it just didn’t feel grand enough. Here, they solve those problems both by scaling up the size of the challenge, and making it the final reward challenge rather than the final immunity challenge, which has much less need for a grand scale. Yeah, we lose some of the complexity higher up, and having spools on “Survivor” just seems bizarre, but I’ll take what I can get this season.

Pairs are made via team captains, and I must complain about Wendell’s choice. Kellyn picking Sebastian I get. She’s trying to sway him, so taking him on reward is a wise idea. Donathan picking Laurel I also get. The pair are aligned, and it would be weird if he didn’t pick her. But Wendell picking Domenick? I get that everyone KNOWS they’re together, but whether you win or lose, that’s leaving some people alone to conspire against you. At least pick a potential swing vote like Angela or something.

Oh well, I can’t fault the pair’s skill. After some pretty intense moments, particularly a nice save by Donathan early on, Wendell and Domenick win reward. As per the pitfall of winning a reward that is not a large team challenge, the pair have to choose someone to come with them. Now, there’s an obvious move to make here, which is to take Laurel. Angela is out of the running, and Laurel is the cog in your alliance most devastating if she wavers. She is clearly the smart choice out of everyone. What I can’t get behind is how they do it. Out of respect for the other players, and so as to NOT broadcast how tight and cutthroat you are, at least pretend to discuss the decision before making it. But no, go ahead and pick Laurel without a second thought. I’m sure that will in no way piss off Donathan. Then they do the same thing when picking who to send to Ghost Island, wasting no time in picking Sebastian. Again, the smart choice. Sebastian is a loyal ally, thus keeping all advantages in your corner, but not so smart as to use it against you. But, yet again, take your time in picking him, lest you offend people.

Realizing that production still has a ton of previous advantages to get through, of course there’s a game of chance on Ghost Island. Sebastian wisely goes for it, as he’s in a fairly solid majority, and needs some sort of leverage at the end. Adding on to the incentive is the fact that evidently a 2/3 chance just wasn’t good enough, and so no the chances of selecting a key to open the advantage are 3/4. Unsurprisingly, Sebastian gets the key, and we’re left to wonder what advantage will come back this time. After all, a number of advantages were advertised previously, and we haven’t yet seen all of them. Both Lauren Rimmer’s shell idol from “Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers” and Stephen Fishbach’s Steal-A-Vote from “Survivor Cambodia” were known to be on the season, and could fit in the box, and yet we’ve seen neither. Which will it be?

The answer… IS THE WORST THING IN THIS ENTIRE EPISODE! Yes, even worse than the predictable nature of the boot! Look, I check the internet for “Survivor” commentary. I know the Ghost Island twist has gotten a lot of flak from people, partly for being underwhelming, partly for taking time from each episode, and partly for the games of chance being lame. And I agree, Ghost Island could be better, but I’m willing to cut it more slack than some, mostly because the producers are showing a good amount of restraint this time. But here I draw the line. The advantage is indeed a vote steal. But it is not Fishbach’s. No, it’s Sarah’s. You know, THE ONE THAT KELLYN PLAYED NOT TWO EPISODES AGO?! You haven’t even cycled through all the iconic twists and advantages of seasons past yet, and you’re already going back to using one’s we’ve seen THIS VERY SEASON? What are you thinking? On top of that this twist coming back so soon doesn’t even make sense with the “lore” of Ghost Island. Every other idol and advantage we’ve seen, the note talks about it “Sitting on Ghost Island, gaining power.” But that works because these advantages have been sitting there supposedly for YEARS, or at least a few months. Yet you’re telling me that something sitting there less than a WEEK can regain power! What fresh bullshit is this!

Ok, ok, need to learn from Sebastian and chill out a bit. Sebastian talks about how this will give him power in the game, and be his ticket to victory. Sure, Sebastian. Sure it will.

Off on our reward, we see that it is the usual “Give a bunch of supplies to the locals” reward, which I like to see. For all that “Survivor” can take and abuse the resources of non-western nations, it’s nice to see them do a little charity, and good to look at the cute kids. Even Domenick can’t help but comment on how the joy of kids is a universal language. Unless, of course, your name is Spencer Bledsoe (“Survivor Cagayan”).

While we’re on the subject of game-bot-ness, Wendell brings the talk about around to strategy, pointing out what everyone already know, which is that Laurel was brought along to keep her happy. She admits in confessional that she is happy, and that she does like Wendell and Domenick, but that she intends to turn on them and cut their throats. Sure, Laurel. Just like you were going to cut their throat all those OTHER times you gave nearly the exact same confessional. Yeah, you did a good job with the last episode, editing team, but your tricks have run thin.

On a somewhat better note, Donathan starts putting his plans for dissent into action, and he actually comes up with a pretty good plan. Donthan’s problem is that executing it well requires subtlety, subtlety he does not have. Donthan’s plan, since he can’t beat either Wendell or Domenick on his own, tries to turn them against each other. Wendell does a standard check-in, which Donathan takes as a lead-in to talk about how he feels left out of the alliance. Concerning enough for Wendell, but Donathan goes a step father and says to Wendell that if Wendell puts him on the jury, he’ll vote for Domenick. Donathan’s goal here is to try and get Wendell paranoid about the jury, and eliminate Domenick for him, or at least get Domenick paranoid enough to get Wendell out. And for all my complaints about Donathan overselling things, he’s actually ok here. His flaw is less in his delivery, and more in the fact that he’s trying this one Wendell, the guy who has the LEAST to worry about socially, and who’s the tightest in the bro-down. Where Donathan REALLY screws things us is when Domenick comes over to see what all the brouhaha is about, and Donathan repeats his lie more emphatically. Sadly, Donathan, this does not make it more believable, and you’ve now given incentive for Domenick to vote you out, both for a free vote at the end, and because you’re being annoying. Again, I’m happy that SOMEONE is finally doing SOMETHING about the dominant alliance. I just wish it had better execution.

Off to our immunity challenge, and it’s somewhat standard fare for this late in the game. Players build a puzzle bridge, solve a puzzle ladder, and do a slide puzzle to win immunity. Standard, reused fare, but I’m so happy it’s not yet ANOTHER endurance challenge that I’ll take it. Additionally, I really like the bridge puzzle this time. It’s different in a good way, as the puzzle is about finding the proper angle, rather than shape, for pieces.

As a plus for Kellyn, this is a challenge she has a really good shot at. She’s the puzzle whiz, don’t forget. True, Wendell and Laurel are both also pretty good at puzzles, and stronger than Kellyn, but these challenges so often come down to the puzzle that it doesn’t really matter.

Unless, of course, you fall as far behind as Kellyn. Granted, she’s not Angela, who only barely makes it past the bridge portion prior to a victor being declared (hilarious, by the way), but Wendell in particular gets a big lead early on. Only Sebastian is on him, and if you think Sebastian is winning a puzzle, then you’re smoking more pot than he is. Laurel and Domenick make it up, and there’s some competition between Laurel and Wendell, but that’s really the race. Sebastian has no clue, and Domenick further cements the “Tony Vlachos” (“Survivor Cagayan”) comparisons by throwing pieces around with reckless abandon.

So, while we wait for a victor to be decided, it’s time to note another milestone for “Idol Speculation”. Yes, the 200th blog just passed, but my longtime readers may recall that it’s a tradition for people from the current season (or a relevant one) to break into my apartment and shout at me their strategy. Superfan that I am, I still can’t fully get behind this tradition. You wouldn’t believe how much it costs to redo a wall twice a year. But for once, we’ve subverted the tradition. It’s the penultimate episode, and nothing has happened! They won’t be coming in next episode, because they have to be at the finale. I’ve done it! I’ve survived! No one has shown up! THERE WILL BE NO INTERRUPTIONS THIS YEAR!

WENDELL: Yo, bro.

ME: GAH! Wendell! How long have you been standing there?

WENDELL: Since the merge episode. Been waiting for you to notice me.

ME: Wait, you’ve just been standing in my room, arms outstretched, for a month and a half, waiting for me to acknowledge your existence?

WENDELL: Sure have. Kind of weird, I have to tell you. I’ve seen some stuff…

ME: Ok, ok, no need for the internet to know about THAT. Why didn’t you just say something?

WENDELL: I thought it would be cooler to just stand in an epic pose and have you notice me, rather than call attention to myself.

ME: But wouldn’t it have been smarter to have called out? Would have saved yourself a lot of grief.

WENDELL: Guess so. Nothing to do about it now. You mad at me?

ME: Actually, no. For once you didn’t break down my wall, you’re my favorite of the season, and you’re about the only person I’ve found on the internet who will call out out the rapping of Chris Noble, so that makes you ok in my book.

WENDELL: High five, bro!

(WENDELL and MATT do an epic high five)

ME: Ok, great to meet you and all, but seriously, go home. I’m sure your family misses you by now.

WENDELL: You go it.

(WENDELL exits politely).

In all seriousness, Wendell’s performance at the immunity challenge is, for once, a true “Survivor” First. Debate over whether the first declared winner or the first to finish wins immunity. Also one of the rare times you see Probst flustered. Yes, it is just as funny as you would imagine. It also creates a bit of a rules conundrum, as to whether Wendell (who finished first), or Laurel (who declared that she had it first) is the winner. Both sides have an argument. On the one hand, the way the challenge is described does say “The first to complete their puzzle wins” not “The first to declare they’ve completed their puzzle wins”. Ultimately, though, I have to side with the argument that the episode went with. Probst can’t check on everyone at once, and so it’s on you to declare you want a check. Plus, losing immunity seems like a reasonable price to pay for trying to look cool instead of just claiming victory.

Wendell’s a good sport about the whole thing, which I say speaks volumes about him as a person. It also gives Laurel excuse #85 for sticking with Wendell and Domenick despite it NOT being the strategically best move. Yep, there goes the last of the tension from THIS episode. Guess we’ll have to settle for the Kellyn vs. Donathan debates. These we get to very quickly, with Wendell and Domenick coming quickly to a consensus on Kellyn as the bigger threat, which is the correct move. Much as Donathan’s being annoying, that’s another wedge to use against him, and keep your core four solid. Kellyn, for all of her “Naviti Strong” preaching, is at least likable, and not prone to causing chaos, thus making her more dangerous in the long term. In addition, keeping Donathan keeps Laurel happy, and less likely to flip.

Donathan gets called over to be told he’s been spared, leading to the aforementioned misunderstanding of what a “blindside” is. Still, Donathan seems at least somewhat calm until Domenick and Wendell get a bit cute. Wendell, it seems has been making fake idols. Gee, show, sure would have been nice to see THAT instead of the same strategy confessional we see EVERY SINGLE EPISODE now. Granted, I’m not sure how much use a fake idol is on a season about using artifacts from seasons past, but points for effort. Also points for Wendell being the FIRST PERSON THIS SEASON to think of putting the papers in his fake. Rather than use his own (Erik’s idol from “Survivor Micronesia” is too distinctive for the note to be effective, I guess), Wendell asks Domenick to use his, and he agrees. So they do a handoff. Unsubtly. Right in front of Donathan. And then try to deny anything suspicious while obviously acting shady in front of a supposed “ally”. Yeah, Donathan may go a bit far here, but I can’t really fault him for how he reacts. Also, Domenick and Wendell, but mostly Domenick, way to NOT act suspicious and throw people off of your trail.

Donathan kicks it into high gear, and goes over to talk with Kellyn, at this point doing more harm than good, as Domenick and Wendell are now pissed, and even Angela’s tired of his shenanigans. I guess if we know that the main alliance will stay intact, we can at least get some mileage out of mystery as to who’s the target.

Tribal Council at first starts out on a slow burn, but picks up very quick. Following talk of being drained in relation to the immunity challenge, Domenick spills about Donathan’s reaction to his and Wendell’s maneuver. In a departure from form, Donathan handles this in a calm, collected manner, noting how it would be suspicious to anyone. Thus the whispering begins, with the invocation of Keith Nale (“Survivor San Juan del Sur”) via murmurings of “stick to the plan”. We also lose all mystery, as Wendell very blatantly tells Angela to stick with the “Hammock Plan”, aka, the one where Donathan goes home. Donathan remarks on the whispering, and Domenick tries to do damage control by asking if he and Donathan can talk. In a really badass moment, Donathan says “No.” Not a smart game move, but damn if it wasn’t satisfying. And for those of you who are worried about Donathan getting the last laugh, don’t worry. Donathan soon asks why he’s not being included in conversations, and Domenick reminds him that he shut down that conversation. All this lovely chaos ends when Wendell calls for a 3-2 split, making for some excitement this time around.

Indeed, the vote is a tie. Domenick gets a stray vote from Wendell, while the rest are split between Kellyn and Donathan (Kellyn having voted for Donathan in this case to save herself). Angela is heartbroken yet again, but the revote sends Kellyn home, who brags a little about her game, but overall takes it with good grace. I’m both sorry and not sorry to see Kellyn go. I think she had more game than people give her credit for, and you could especially see that in the last few episodes. As the only real strategist left outside of Wendell and Domenick (Laurel has lost the right to be called a strategist as of this episode. Sticking with Wendell and Domenick was pure emotion this time), she will be missed. That said, the talk of “Naviti Strong” did get old pretty quickly, and compared to Donathan, she’s less of an entertaining character. I mean, look at Donathan pulling up his bag at the first vote with his name. Comedy gold! Kellyn, for all her many good qualities, gave us nothing on that level.

This episode just BARELY scrapes itself out of being “bad”, and for once the mystery had nothing to do with it. I’m sure the show worked with what it had, but there was just no mystery tonight. Instead, the couple of funny moments (Wendell’s failure to be acknowledged, Donathan just being Donathan) made the episode fun to watch, if not for the overall narrative of the season. Still, as we are now down to the final episode left, it’s time once again to rank people’s winner chances. This will be tough, as there are a number of people I’d consider “tied”, and yet I don’t allow myself ties. Guess I’ll have to split a lot of hairs on this one.

1. DOMENICK: This is really close between Domenick and Wendell for me. The two have been in lockstep for so long, it’s hard to separate their games, possibly lending credence to Laurel’s “Split the votes” theory (though I doubt it). Domenick has been seen, both by the audience and by the jury, as the more strategic of the forces, but Wendell is the more social of the forces. Ultimately it comes down to jury preference. Does the social game win out, or does the strategic game. Going on past history, I’d normally side with the social game, but in this case, I think strategy may have it. This jury, while annoyed, does seem like the type that would respect strategy, rather than be resentful of it, so I don’t think Domenick has that downside. Plus, while Wendell is hard to beat socially, Domenick is no Russell Hantz (“Survivor Samoa”) or Jonny Fairplay (“Survivor Pearl Islands”) whom everyone just loves to hate. He’s had his moments, but he’s not someone you instantly dislike, which might give him an edge in a jury situation. Oh, and one can’t forget that the new jury format favors more strategic players, by Probst inserting himself in the discussion… I mean, by the players having more of a chance to speak!

2. WENDELL: Again, this was a really close one. Wendell has a few strategic victories under his belt as well, along with the social game being locked down. I see the jury not respecting that quite as much, but with a fair amount of respect nonetheless. If he’s articulate, or not against Domenick, Wendell could very easily be the winner of the season.

3. LAUREL: Perhaps a controversial call, but compared to everyone else, Laurel has the best shot. She’s got a lot of friends on that jury, and she seems like a smooth talker. If she can articulate how riding the coattails of Domenick and Wendell was her master plan all along, she might just take this thing. I don’t see how, but one must acknowledge the possibility. On the other hand, if she somehow successfully blindsides them, she’s got a much better shot.

4. ANGELA: A bit weird, seeing as we’ve seen very little of Angela, but the lady has stuck to her guns (proverbially speaking) out here, and won a few immunities. That’s worthy of some respect, and if she’s up against anyone but the threesome mentioned above, she might have a shot.

5. DONATHAN: He’s annoying everyone, jury included, and, as I’ve repeated many times this blog, not at all subtle. This at least means he’s PERCEIVED as doing something, which keeps him from the bottom spot, but with only failed rebellion credits to his name, he’ll have an uphill battle no matter who he’s up against.

6. SEBASTIAN: Truth be told, I really want to see Sebastian at the Final Tribal Council, just to see what kind of nonsense answers he’d provide. They won’t win him the game, but they should be a fun watch.

And there you have my rankings. Now, a couple of bits of business before we head into the finale. First off, my blog will be late. I’ve recently switch to first shift at my job, and while this does mean I get home in plenty of time to watch “Survivor”, it also means I have to be up at 6:30 AM. This means that writing a 2-hour blog after a show ending at 11:00 PM does not make sense. I will watch the show when it airs, and I solemnly swear not to read any other commentary before writing my blog, but I just can’t write it until the next day, without going to work sleep-deprived.

On a more intriguing note, I leave you with this. They say Ghost Island will be gone to “One more time”, yet I notice a multitude of unsmashed urns left on Ghost Island. There are a lot of fun ways they could go with this, though my guess is the final trip to Ghost Island will see multiple people go, but only one plays for an advantage. The boot order remains predictable, but that plus a Final Tribal Council with the best people left should make for a fun time then, at least.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Episode 11: Invasion of the Body Snatchers

If this blog seems slightly later than normal, that’s because I needed a cold shower after viewing this episode. I hadn’t been exercising or anything, but the creepiness factor of the family visit this time had me sweating proverbial bullets.

Still, we’ll get to that in a minute. In the meantime, we get to talk about the fallout from last episode. You’d think two votes along original tribal lines would have little to no fallout, but there is from the second Tribal Council. You see, our players this time around can do basic math, something you’d think would be obvious until you remember that Brad Culpepper is a previous contestant. Since he’s not on the season, Domenick in particular quickly realizes that six votes being played at a five-person Tribal Council is a bit out of the ordinary. As Ghost Island is based around old advantages coming back into play, he correctly deduces an extra vote twist. Given that Kellyn is suspicious of Domenick and Wendell due to them not voting for Laurel as she had hoped, she keeps quiet about this, and hopes the lack of information will spread discord amongst the dominant alliance.

Or, you know, she could come clean. That works too. In fairness to Kellyn, if she’s going to come clean, she does it correctly, bluntly stating the facts and offering an apology for getting them wrong. Not bad, but I still think keeping quiet would have been better. Oh well, I guess we get to just sit and wait for the smart Kellyn to come out and realize she has no shot.

Oh, and just to make it ABSOLUTELY clear that the Domenick/Wendell alliance is taking this thing, does Domenick and Wendell not taking her fears of an exit seriously make Laurel question her alliances? Of course not! In fact, she claims that this shows that Domenick and Wendell have her back. Yippee, even more predictability.

Speaking of predictable, it’s time for the loved one’s challenge. Now, since I’m about to make fun of this in a way that is slightly more cold-blooded than usual, allow me to preface my snarky remarks by saying that I actually really enjoyed seeing these family members. Some of them (Chelsea, Sebastian) were just your run-of-the-mill nice, but we had a lot of really tender moments. Wendell and his father seemed to have a genuine bond, and it was cool to have two “Survivor” fans out at once (though points are deducted from Wendell’s father for being one of those people who names his children after himself), Donathan had a good, tearful reunion with his Aunt, Kellyn and her brother seem to have a nice bond, and Angela and her daughter had a great discussion about the trials and tribulations of having a military parent. This last moment is sadly undercut by Probst’s line of questioning. He’s usually quite good here, but really drops the ball with Angela. He goes on to ask about her, in essence, choosing the military over her family, which is A, not at all how it is, and B, incredibly insensitive even if it were true. Geez, Probst, these people have been through enough.

So yeah, nice touching moment, fun and heartwarming for all the family. Now let’s ruin the shit out of it. Never before have I seen sets of non-identical twins look SO MUCH ALIKE! Granted, these people are family, so you’d expect some resemblance, but a lot of this is freaky. Our parent /child pairs (Wendell and his father; Angela and her daughter) look like younger/older versions of their counterparts, that’s at least somewhat expected. But then it gets freakier. While they’re built very differently, Donathan and his Aunt have the same face, Sebastian and his sister have the same nose and mouth, you get the idea. “But surely,” I hear you say, “You can’t mean ALL of them! I mean, what about Domenick and his wife? They aren’t genetically related.” True. I thought they were going to be the pair that saved us from this uncanny valley of resemblance. But even THEY look something alike! Not as much as the others, and their accents probably have something to do with it, but they seem to have a similar jaw-line. It’s bizarre, and it really took me out of the moment for a moment, though I’ll understand if others don’t feel the same way.

As to our challenge itself, it’s your standard balance beam obstacle course, with the winner getting an afternoon comfy feast with their loved one. I’d complain about how overused and basic this challenge is, but given that last season’s loved ones challenge amounted to “Pull beads out of a bag.”, I’ve learned my lesson. Don’t complain about the loved one’s challenge, or the producers WILL find a way to make it even worse.

If the challenge itself isn’t very good, the editing more than makes up for it, something I’ll be saying a lot throughout this episode. It’s true we have our early frontrunners (Sebastian, Laurel, Domenick), and our early slowpokes (Angela, Donathan), but nobody falls completely out of it, and the music does a good job of keeping us in suspense, once again employing the trick of “Play the dramatic music multiple times to fake people out.” Good thing too, because Sebastian (the early, big frontrunner) wins it all, a thoroughly predictable outcome.

This also further cements Sebastian as not the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, if you catch my drift. While I’m not as big an advocate for throwing individual challenges as some are, I will say that the loved one’s challenge is one you really should throw. It inevitably leads to you having to choose who gets love and who doesn’t. Being in the public allocator position is bad enough on “Survivor”, but to do it when emotions are so supercharged is practically suicide. Anyone worth their salt knows to avoid this position.

Speaking of picking people to come with, Sebastian chooses first Domenick, then Wendell, then Donathan. Not terrible picks, though given that Sebastian was never really in any power, nor in immediate danger, there’s not a lot he could have done to mess himself up. Pandering to the power players (Domenick and Wendell) is a smart touch, though I would slightly question Donathan. If you’re trying to set up that things are still “Naviti Strong”, then Chelsea or Kellyn might have been a smarter move, but again, it’s Sebastian, aka “Sea Bass”, a nickname I have not acknowledged because I think it’s stupid, and because I don’t often get to write the name “Sebastian”. I’m not giving up that opportunity for a dumb nickname. Point being, no one’s accusing him of being a Rhodes Scholar.

Unfortunately for Sebastian, not only does winning this challenge screw him, it screws him more than usual. You see, Sebastian now also has the responsibility of selecting who goes to Ghost Island, but with a twist. Giving up ANY pretense of the “game of chance” Probst admits that whoever goes gets a free advantage, thereby ensuring they will have a target on their back. Probst then explains to Sebastian the rules for selection, which are confusing. The way Probst makes it sound, Sebastian can select ANYBODY whether they won or lost the challenge, but the way Sebastian talks, he makes it sound like he has to pick someone going on the reward. This distinction is important because, should Sebastian be unable to make a decision, those not selected get to pick. Now, if Sebastian can pick from anyone, his choice is simple. Pick Kellyn, Chelsea, or Angela, thereby keeping all advantages “Naviti strong”, and prevent a tied vote from occurring with four on reward and four at camp. If Sebastian can only pick from those next to him, or himself, the choice gets harder. Thankfully, Wendell steps up to the plate. His dad is also a big gamer, and so encourages his son in this choice. A bit risky for Wendell, since everyone will KNOW he has an advantage, thus increasing the target on his back. However, on the whole, I’d still praise this move by Wendell, since he was a target anyway, and the advantage could be helpful.

We leave as Kellyn is pissed (more on that in a minute), and we head to Ghost Island. Just when you thought Jacob getting the legacy advantage was the most USELESS advantage Ghost Island had offered up yet, wait until you see what clunker Wendell got left with! He gets Malcolm’s challenge advantage from “Survivor Philippines”, the one I famously decried for sullying the sanctity that is the Final Immunity Challenge. Since this ISN’T the final immunity challenge (the note specifies that it’s the upcoming challenge), I’m ok with its presence, though the more I think about it, the more this advantage seems very situational. With an endurance challenge, unless someone lapses in concentration, or some outside force (say, the wind) steps in, one usually loses because one is just not that good at the challenge. Thus, getting a second attempt really doesn’t help that much, as it doesn’t improve your skill level. Really, Wendell’s real advantage is that he has a ball and stick to practice with, giving him an edge in that regard. Still, production is setting it up like we get an actual cursal reversal (a runner-up title for this blog), so perhaps I’m wrong.

Ok, time to talk about Kellyn being woke. Yes, after all the betrayals, after being strongarmed by Domenick, after ALL THE SIGNS pointing to Domenick and Wendell running everything, what gets Kellyn to finally move against them? Being denied the loved one’s challenge. I mean, really? I get that emotions run high, and maybe Kellyn needed her buttons pushed to move out of her comfort zone, but blaming Domenick and Wendell for this? Why had nothing to do with you missing out on your family! That was Sebastian! The worst you can say is that Wendell volunteering for Ghost Island cost you some power, and again, THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOUR FAMILIES! Don’t get me wrong: I’m very happy that Kellyn is finally moving away from “Naviti strong”, but this reasoning, after all the other logical reasons Kellyn would have to flip, seems contrived. In fact, I bet it WAS contrived. There’s no doubt Kellyn was pissed about missing the reward, but I bet she really decided to make a move because Sebastian not picking her showed where she was in the pecking order. I suspect this was just a contrived reason that played better on camera. I understand the reasoning, but for someone as smart as Kellyn, MAN it was depressing to see her strategy reduced to an emotional upheaval, not helped by the fact that we know it will come to naught. The high emotions do make for more uncertainty than we’ve had in past episodes of late, but Laurel is surprisingly quiet, and given how she feels towards Domenick and Wendell, I doubt she’ll flip.

Donathan might, though. Unsurprisingly, Domenick uses the reward to offer Donathan and Sebastian a final three deal. A pretty good move for him, as it helps ensure his power (and given Donathan an incentive not to flip), and gives him a final three he can easily beat. Wendell and Laurel are his only possible competition (and even losing to the latter only happens with a very upset jury), so an final three without them is the smartest move for Domenick. Unfortunately for him, Donathan’s misuse of idol means he’s running more scared than ever, and it seems he has a phobia of muscles. Donathan lets us know that he’s not sure he could beat Domenick, Sebastian, or Wendell (the latter was included by proxy in the conversation) in a challenge, and so may flip on them. Now THAT is actually somewhat believable, were it not for the fact that Laurel seems to get final say, and she’s more of a stalwart ally for the Domenick/Wendell alliance.

Oh, and while I’ve been hard on Sebastian tonight, I should give him credit for at least playing the dumb surfer so well that, despite establishing a pecking order, no one targets him. Props.

We get to our immunity challenge, as mentioned previously with Wendell. It’s been gone for a while, and it is a good challenge in and of itself, so I’m not super upset at its presence. However, I must complain at YET ANOTHER ENDURANCE IMMUNITY CHALLENGE! Come on, I know they’re good, but give us some variety!

Though he’s not the first out, as expected Wendell ends up blowing his advantage by not being the best at this sort of challenge. It’s actually Domenick who pulls out the victory, much to my surprise, as he was holding his pole up much higher relative to the table than others, which seemed an unnecessary risk. Good for him, and for once immunity does have an impact, since Domenick was the intended target of the ladies, should their alliance have come to fruition.

Back at camp, we get our first death knell for Wendell as he and Domenick talk about how safe the pair of them are, and how nothing will go wrong tonight. They target Chelsea, which I have to admit in hindsight makes the editor’s slighting of her in terms of the show (four confessionals in 11 episodes when she won two immunities and was apparently a driving force being a lot of the votes this season? Not cool.) a bit more understandable. As I’ve stated in previous blogs, the flaw here is that there seems to be no real danger to the Domenick/Wendell alliance, and editing tricks can only take you so far. However, when you make the target someone like Chelsea, who’s been a virtual non-entity this season, compared to Wendell (the women’s probably target with Domenick immune), who’s had a decent bit of screen time, it makes the scenario seem much more plausible. Does it make it ok for the editors to keep her so in the dark when she made it so far and was vital to a lot of the plans this season? No, but it does at least explain things a bit better.

The women do indeed intend to go for Wendell, letting Donathan in on the plan so as to have a majority. Then, of course, we see Laurel go over to talk with Wendell and Domenick, meaning the plan will come unraveled. And it does, though not in the way you’d expect. Rather than Laurel dumping the plan in their laps, she keeps quiet, listening to them talking about targeting Chelsea, and how this makes them invincible. Rather, Wendell’s emotional intelligence comes into play. While he may not be the strategic force that Domenick is, Wendell is damn good at reading the room. Through no more than a few looks, Wendell gets the sense that something is off with Laurel, leading to a good chance of an idol play tonight.

As to where Laurel actually stands? It’s a bit hard to say. Donathan, as usual, is on board with blindsiding Wendell, with Laurel on the fence. She seems to be considering a bit more, yet all we hear from the pair is good reasons to NOT flip. Donathan mentions how they can vote out Chelsea and still get a 4-3 majority next round if needed. Laurel, meanwhile, notes in confessional that it’s a choice for her between who she can get to the end with (Domenick and Wendell), and who she thinks she can beat at the end (Kellyn, Angela, and Chelsea). Now, normally I’m in the “Go big or go home” camp, saying one should play to win regardless of how likely you are to get to the end, and it is true that I still think this is the smarter move for Laurel and Donathan, but she makes a compelling point here. While Donathan I think NEEDS to distance himself to have any shot at winning the Final Tribal Council, Laurel is well-spoken and a likable underdog, meaning she has a SLIM chance of beating Domenick and Wendell, thus giving her some incentive not to flip. That said, flipping is still her best bet. While we know Wendell at least wants her in the end, there’s no guarantee for Laurel. In reality, playing both sides of Naviti against one another is her best bet, both to get to the end and have a good argument for herself. However, she needs to do it soon, or there won’t be an opportunity to do so, and given that Domenick and Wendell have idols, the sooner the better. Worst case scenario, you flush an idol, and make things easier for yourself later on.

Credit where credit is due: this episode IS more tense than previous ones. The editing has done its level best to make this an up-in-the-air vote, and the music is so good that, despite my instinct saying Laurel and Donathan aren’t going to flip, it seems like a possibility. If they do, though, I bet Wendell plays his idol.

And it seems like it will come to that, as Donathan throws subtlety out the window, stating that there are cracks in the old Naviti, and he expects a blindside. I get what Donathan’s going for here. He’s trying to play up that he’s on the bottom to misdirect people, since that’s what he’s supposed to say. However, his lack of nuance here clearly indicates his desire to make a move, and thus indicates bad things for Domenick and Wendell. And they know it. While the rest of Tribal Council is good enough (nothing to write home about, but good), the expressions on Wendell and Domenick’s faces are priceless.

On a downer note, they refer to Donathan as dropping “Bombs”. Really? I thought we’d used up our stock with the “Ben Bombs” of “Survivor Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers”. I get the metaphor, and it’s appropriate, but after last season, I’m sick of the term. Something different, please!

Now, I’ve given the editors a lot of praise this episode, and they deserve it. From the music to what they emphasize, this episode is more tense than any since the merge. However, it must also be noted when they drop the ball, and they REALLY killed the tension during the vote. How so? Well, as usual with swing votes, they show people walking up and picking up the pen, maybe even taking the cap off, but then cut away before we see what they write. Naturally, as the swing votes, Laurel and Donathan get this treatment this time. The flaw here is that they wait a BIT to long to cut away from Laurel, and we see her put her pen at the bottom of the parchment. Why is this a problem? Well, a pen at the top of the parchment could make either a “C” for “Chelsea” or a “W” for “Wendell”. But tell me, who do you know who writes “W” starting from the bottom of the page? Clearly there will be no flip tonight, and while it doesn’t undo ALL of the editor’s earlier work, it comes close.

Sure enough, Chelsea goes home, with some nice words between her and Wendell about a game well played. A nice way to go out, and I’m not sorry to see Chelsea go. While she got a raw deal in the editing department, Wendell still seems like the more interesting player, so I’m much happier he stays. Also, to give the man his due, he has balls of steel! After all of Donthan’s theatrics at Tribal Council, were I in his shoes, I’d have FOR SURE played my idol. That fact that he didn’t shows that Wendell can read the room far better than I can.

Ok, ok, enough complaining. Despite the ending editing gaffe, this episode rekindled my faith in this season. It seems the editor do have enough tricks up their sleeves to make things exciting, especially with only two episodes left. Still, I think this season still goes down predictable lines.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.

Idol Speculation: “Survivor Ghost Island” Episode 10: Lavita Loca

Frankly, this title is not clever. That is because this episode is not clever. Granted, this episode is more clever than this title, but that’s largely because most everything is cleverer than this title. Much like how this episode is more tense than last episode, but only because last episode set such a low bar. Ok, now this introduction is getting confused. Point being, this episode is a repeat of last episode, just done slightly better.

Speaking of repeating things from last episode…

MATT’S MESS-UP!

Three in a row! Six more, and I get a free milkshake! Actually, this mess-up pertains not so much to last episode, but to my commentary on hopes for this episode. In my praising of the double Tribal Council, I cited it having been gone for a while as a factor in my enjoyment. Specifically, I stated that this twist had not been seen since “Survivor Redemption Island”. In fact, I was slightly off, as this twist was last used on “Survivor South Pacific” one season later. Now, this still does not defeat my point here, but it does make me lose some cred as a “Survivor” nerd. However, as those two seasons are considered by many to be part of the worst four-season run the show ever had, I think I can be forgiven for my encyclopedic knowledge failing me this time around.

As one would expect from a blindside, there’s fallout from it, but not the fallout one usually sees on “Survivor”. Rather than questioning or screaming, there are instead hugs and kisses. Domenick is very happy that Laurel gave him the correct intelligence. He credits her with saving him, despite the fact that he was never a target, but whatever, one big happy family. Laurel, for her part, returns the love, noting once again that Domenick and Wendell have become her “Ride or Dies”, thereby sucking what little dramatic tension was left out of this season. What’s that? You say there’s still a couple of spots left? Don’t worry, the ending of this episode will take care of that.

The next morning, Wendell and Domenick talk about how close allies they are. Why, they even make goo-goo eyes at each other. Not since Rodney and Joaquin on “Survivor Worlds Apart” has there been such a bromance. Only this one ISN’T made up of douchebags, so it’s much more fun to watch. Wendell then takes the time to spell out the alliance, noting that he and Domenick are riding the “Naviti Strong” train to weed out their competition, while having the sub-alliance with Laurel and Donathan, allowing them to take it all. To their credit, as I’ll come back to later, they HAVE done a good job of hiding the alliance. People like Kellyn are definitely AWARE that Laurel is working with them, but they clearly have no idea how deep. Where Domenick and Wendell differ, however, is in how they feel about each other. Wendell goes what we might call the “Rupert Route” (so named for Rupert Boneham of “Survivor Pearl Islands”), and says he’s with Domenick to the end, and will not vote him out. Domenick, however, while he wants to work with Wendell, admits that he’d cut him loose, should need dictate. Wow, even for a season with weak misdirection like this, that’s pretty lame. I’m sure some people will say “It’s the end of the Domenick/Wendell alliance!”, and it’s definitely concerning for Wendell that Domenick doesn’t quite share his feelings. However, it’s pretty clear that Domenick meant this in a “Him or me” type scenario, not that their alliance was breaking down. No, after tonight, there’s pretty much no way that happens.

This talk does segway into more idol hunting from Domenick, and it’s not too long before he finds a suspicious looking coconut. Inside he finds a fake idol, but not the one he made. Instead, he finds the one made by David Wright on “Survivor Millennials vs. Gen-X”, which I have to say looks much more authentic with the hot pink paint having faded somewhat. As indicated above, though, this idol has NOT gained power, and is instead just a fake for Domenick to use to fool somebody. I both love and hate this. I do love the fact that this plays with our expectations. The note sounds similar to real idols, and this is the first time that production has planted a fake idol. On the other hand, Domenick’s shown himself to be not so bad at the “Fake Idol” game himself, and thus this all feels kind of pointless. There are far fewer ways a fake idol can impact the game, and all this really lends us is possible future Domenick scheming. We could have been building relationships, or coming up with convincing misdirection, but nope, gotta find that fake idol!

As one would expect with a double Tribal Council, we cut immediately to challenge time! We do have yet ANOTHER endurance challenge, but this one at least is original. Rather than balancing something or pushing up against something, tribe members pul up on a bar to keep a ball against a pole. Last two people standing win immunity at the upcoming double Tribal Council. Not the worst challenge, and I get why they did it here, but again, I could use some variety.

So, how will we divide up who gets immunity? Will it be a gender-divided contest yet again, or will we finally get to see everyone duke it out in an all-out brawl? Unfortunately, we get neither, and my disappointment with this twist comes to fruition. It is NOT taking its cue from the double Tribal Council or “Survivor South Pacific” gone by, but rather from the merge Tribal Council of “Survivor Fiji”, infamously the WORST Tribal Council the show has ever had the misfortune to have. Players will be randomly divided into two teams of five, with each individual five some going to Tribal Council with one person immune. To make things SLIGHTLY more interesting, the team that wins outright gets to go to Tribal Council second, both getting an early peek at who the other team voted out, and getting their bootee extra prize money. Whoop dee do. SO much better than a straight-up double Tribal Council.

Now, before I go further, let me state that this twist is not AS bad as the one in “Survivor Fiji”, for two key reasons. One, it’s coming later in the merge, so alliances have had more time to form, thus making things less of a crapshoot. For another, talking pre-Tribal Council is allowed, thus preventing Probst from engaging in a cheep line of questioning. I can also understand WHY production would want to do this. “Naviti Strong”, and the relative dominance of the Domenick/Wendell alliance has been sucking the life out of this season, as I indicated at the top of this blog, and dividing up the merged tribe means the possibility of a shake-up, even if only for one vote. But the fact that so much of it comes down to luck still bothers me. I know that “Survivor” involves luck, more than most people are willing to admit, but this just seems like a bit too much this late in the game. Plus, the twist doesn’t even work in that regard! One team has Domenick, Wendell, Laurel, Kellyn, and Michael on it, while the other has Jenna, Donathan, Angela, Chelsea, and Sebastian on it, meaning the original Naviti STILL has the numbers, not matter how you slice it. So all this does is slightly speed up the Pagonging. Granted, that’s hardly a BAD thing, but not enough for this lopsided twist, especially when a straight double Tribal Council would have worked so much better.

Ok, ok, calm down. There’s still a chance for this to work out well. If Michael wins immunity, the Domenick/Wendell alliance will have to eat each other early, making for some great drama. What’s that? Michael’s out super early in this challenge? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! So much for that!

As if this challenge couldn’t be any more anticlimactic, no one exciting wins on the other team either. Chelsea wins again, and once again is rewarded with exactly ZERO confessionals. She must be so pissed at production right now. It comes down to a friendly rivalry between Domenick and Wendell once again, with some good trash-talking between the pair. Domenick ultimately pulls out the win. It changes nothing, but good for him.

Back at camp, we discuss Michael’s options, as Domenick has given the order that Michael is to be the next to go. Frankly, Michael’s options are few. His best hope is to get the idol that Donathan foolishly found with him around. True to my dire warning from earlier, Donathan refuses to give Michael his idol, and as well he should. Michael is tough competition, and never seen as a super-close ally for Donathan. Playing an idol on someone else is risky at best, and playing it for someone you have only the most tenuous of alliances with? Really not worth it. Still, it doesn’t change the fact that Donathan looks like a jerk for not having over the idol, and can pretty much guarantee himself a lost jury vote. Michael’s backup plan is to simply FAKE that he has an idol, and hope that his paranoia will infect the rest of the alliance and save him. Kind of a flimsy plan, but given how solid this alliance has been so far, I can’t say I fault him for going this route. And I’ll give him credit, he’s quite a good actor. He neither over or underplays it, but does pull off the convincing look of a guy who has an idol. It’s no wonder some people believe him later.

Michael first floats his idol lie to Kellyn, which initially struck me as a poor decision. After all, even if you convince Kellyn, it’s unlikely that Laurel, Wendell, and Domenick will turn on each other, and if they think you’re voting Kellyn, worst case scenario she goes home, and they stay loyal. However, Michael’s wisdom is soon understood, as it turns out that while Kellyn may not have the most power, she DOES have the most paranoia. She falls for the acting job hook, line, and sinker, and thus floats the prospect of eliminating Laurel to Domenick. Domenick is his usual, diplomatic self, and flat out tells her that no, Michael doesn’t have an idol, despite very little evidence. To be fair, Domenick finding the fake idol might indicate that there is no real idol re-hidden, but that’s flimsy evidence at best, and as Domenick doesn’t share his evidence with Kellyn, he just comes off as crazy. More sympathetic is Wendell, who tips a hat to Michael’s acting ability and admits that Kellyn may have reason to be concerned. Showing of HIS acting chops, Wendell subtly implies that he could vote for Laurel to Kellyn. Privately, however, he wants Laurel safe, and like any good ally, warns her of the impending votes. Naturally, this makes Laurel scared, since, to emphasize the point yet again, Michael has done quite a good acting job in this situation. Seeking reassurance, Laurel asks that the vote switch to Kellyn, which might not be a bad plan. The only thing that could potentially undo the Domenick/Wendell alliance (apart from a defection by Laurel, which seems less and less likely with each passing episode), is Kellyn getting off the “Naviti Strong” train, and using that enormous brain of hers. In that sense, she’s arguably more of a threat than Michael. Wendell, in confessional, still wants to stick with the plan, and even if Wendell DOES think Michael has an idol, it’s still a smart more. Worst case scenario, you’re probably not going home, and even if you thought that, you have an idol in your pocket. Laurel may not be too happy, but she’s one vote on the jury, and you can explain your plausible deniability on Michael’s idol. And, since we as the audience know Michael has no idol, there’s really next to zero risk.

What COULD put Laurel at risk is Kellyn’s extra vote. Yeah, remember that? Neither did I. You know you’ve got too many advantages in a game when you can’t keep track of them all. Kellyn intends to use it tonight to pile an extra vote on Laurel, which makes sense. If Michael’s immune, she’s a likely target, and so having one extra safety vote for someone who’s not you is a smarter play. Thus, Laurel takes her concern over to the other group of five, who are having their own strategic kerfluffle.

This kerfluffle, however, is simpler. With neither Sebastian, Chelsea, nor Angela being the great strategic minds of our time, they quickly agree that Jenna has to go, using Donathan as a decoy. A smart plan, but I guess that means that the “Sebastian/Jenna Romance” thing was all for naught. Jenna, not giving up, angles for Donathan’s idol, which he’s tempted to give over. I understand the temptation here a bit more than I do at Michael’s request, since Jenna is closer to Donathan, and it would be a resume-builder, but even so, it seems like an unnecessary risk for someone not in your core alliance. The talk does get Donathan slightly spooked, and so he and Laurel go off to confer in the Spooky Shack… I mean, the jungle. Laurel is truly concerned that she’s in danger and so Donathan considers giving HER his idol, something that I could actually get behind. If Donathan gives Jenna his idol, it’s possible HE’S in danger. Giving Laurel his idol still puts him in danger, but no more than not playing it at all, and helps save someone who’s ACTUALLY a close ally of his. But no, Donathan acts like he’s going to do the stupid thing and give it to Jenna, citing wanting to save his friends to “reverse the curse”. Personally, I don’t buy it. Donathan’s no strategic mastermind, but he’s not an idiot, and saving Jenna would gain him so little, I personally don’t see it happening.

Still, I’ll give the episode this: there’s at least SOME credible tension at both Tribal Councils. Will Donathan do a stupid and play an idol that votes himself out? Will Wendell protect Laurel and all costs, swinging the vote towards Kellyn? Both more plausible scenarios that save this episode from being awful, but again, comparing it to the previous episode, that’s not saying much.

Our first Tribal also sees us without our good Tribal Council talkers, and is thus quite dull. As such, let us skip ahead to the only interesting part of this: whether or not Donathan will do a stupid. At first it seems like he won’t, and then he stops Jeff Probst. Fortunately even Donathan is not stupid enough to vote himself out, and does play his idol, but on himself. Frankly, this is a move I can’t fault too much. While Donathan clearly wasn’t going home from our perspective, there was risk from his. All his main allies were on the other team, and given the whole Jenna/Sebastian romance, there’s a chance he could be axed unexpectedly. Whether or not this reverses the curse is unclear, since Donathan did play the idol and negate votes, even though he didn’t need to. The point is that Jenna goes home, and I’m not at all sorry. Name one thing that Jenna did on this season, besides romance Sebastian. I’ll wait. Yeah, she was kind of a non-entity this season, and probably to be the forgotten cast member this time around. I’m sure some would argue that Chelsea should get this honor, but oddly for me, the fact that we’ve seen so little of Chelsea makes her more notorious than Jenna. It’s sort of like Purple Kelly on “Survivor Nicaragua”. Yes, she did nothing, but she did SO little she’s actually more memorable than the people who actually did stuff. Jenna, you seem perfectly nice, but on “Survivor”, you’re a non-entity.

That being said, I call bullshit on Jenna not getting final words aired. However much of a non-entity you may have been on a season, everyone deserves at least that much respect, and it’s not like there was no way to record them after the second Tribal Council. Again, bullshit.

Since all the good show-biz people were in the latter team, their Tribal Council is much more entertaining. Granted, we start off on an awkward note, with Kellyn making comments about how attractive Michael is. Not saying that Michael isn’t attractive, far from it. However, even with Michael’s lying about his age, Kellyn believes she is still a good TEN YEARS OLDER than he is. A little creepy, if you ask me.

I’ve been giving Michael all the acting props, but I should be giving plenty to Laurel as well. She can amass laurels, if you will. The lady KNOWS she’s in with Naviti at this point, but does SUCH a good job of acting like a Malolo with nowhere to go that even I was convinced of it for a minute, and I know where her loyalties lie! You go, girl!

There’s also some good whispering from Wendell and Domenick to up the tension, though I do wish we found out what they were talking about. Still, I do want to highlight something Wendell did this episode. It was commented on “Inside Survivor” that Wendell was playing to the jury, being about the only person to directly address them, and in a diplomatic manner, no less. Since this got pointed out, I’ve been watching for him to do it again, and he did it tonight. He acknowledged the threat of an idol knocking out an “innocent bystander” indicating Libby in this regard, and thus hopefully indicating to her that he sympathizes. There’s that social game I know and love! That said, I’m not sure how well it worked in this instance. Libby seemed more offended at being called an “innocent bystander” than flattered at being acknowledged.

We have a pretty tense vote, where Kellyn does player her extra vote, as she should. I’ll also give her credit that she does a damn good job of hiding said vote, such that no one knows who played it, which could make for some good chaos next episode. This play, however, results in a tie, with everyone save the immune Domenick receiving votes (Michael voted for Wendell, Laurel voted for Kellyn, Kellyn’s two votes went for Laurel, and Wendell and Domenick both went for Michael). This removes all tension, as Michael rightly goes home on a revote. I can’t say I’m sorry to see him go. While I did grow to like the guy, and he was way smarter than I gave him credit for, his storyline was just getting too repetitive, and this season has too much of that as-is. Wouldn’t mind seeing him back at some point though.

Everyone this episode, I would argue, made the correct moves given the information they had to go on. While this keeps me sane, it also makes for an odd episode. I can’t outright dislike it, as we DID have some good misdirection, but again, for this season, that’s not saying much, and this ultimately cements Domenick, Wendell, Laurel, and Donathan as the final four in case they weren’t already. With no sign that Laurel and Donathan will flip anytime soon, and only eight people left, even assuming that Kellyn rallys Chelsea, Sebastian, and Angela to her side, it’s still 4v4. When that happens, it comes down to idols and advantages. Wouldn’t you know it, but all of those are now in the pockets of Domenick and Wendell after tonight.

Think I’m just blowing smoke? Here, let me predict right here, right now, how the rest of this season will go. Kellyn is gone next episode. She’s the only real strategic left to the Domenick/Wendell alliance, and with her paranoia getting the best of her, they will be able to convince Chelsea, Sebastian, and Angela that she’s too unstable. This gives the Domenick/Wendell alliance complete control for the next few votes. Chelsea goes next, having won at least two immunities at this point, and being Kellyn’s lieutenant. After that they’ll take out Angela, as she’s smarter than Sebastian and has probably won more immunities. Sebastian will lose on a puzzle and be voted out, bringing us to the final four, where things get more interesting. Here’s where the season gets less predictable, and where my enjoyment will subsequently perk up again. My guess is either Domenick or Wendell wins immunity, and keeps the other safe. Laurel and Donathan make fire, with Donathan most likely losing, and thus giving us one of the more competitive final three’s I’ll have seen. Then it will be interesting, but until then, a slog.

-Matt

Title Credit to Jean Storrs.