Last night the seventeenth season of Survivor ended and I have to say that I am pretty happy with the outcome. I had some problems with the episode as well though. For those that haven’t been spoiled and don’t want to find out who won I would suggest you quit reading immediately. This years finale was pretty surprising overall. Before talking about the winner let’s look at the rest of the episode.
A-Mazing Gabon
A challenge based on balance, maze navigating, and puzzle solving. Overall I thought the challenge was solid even though it was pretty predictable. As soon as Bob showed up at the puzzle board shortly after Sugar I knew the challenge was over. I want to know how one of the oldest contestants in Survivor history is also one of the most dominant challenge threats.
The Final Four
Also not coming as much of a surprise but Kenny was eliminated making the final four Bob, Susie, Sugar, and Matty. While Kenny was my second favorite player remaining I have to say that it was a good decision to eliminate him. With how the final vote went down I honestly think Kenny would have actually had a pretty good chance at winning the game.
Rites of Passage
Pretty boring this season overall. The rites of passage just isn’t what it used to be. It also doesn’t hurt when the contestants end up insulting many of the contestants during the walk even though some of them are deserving of what they got.
House of Cards
Will go down as one of the worst final challenges of all time. Except for the coin holding challenge and the china stacking challenge this is probably the worst final challenge Survivor has ever had. I don’t know why Survivor can’t just go back to who can keep their hand on the idol the longest. I think that was the best challenge because it tested you will to win instead of recent challenges that test stupid skills that have nothing to do with the season of Survivor. Susie ended up winning the challenge even though it really didn’t matter since I would have been shocked if anyone eliminated her if she didn’t end up winning.
The Fire Challenge
With Bob finally losing an immunity challenge it appeared like his days were numbered but it turns out that his game wasn’t over yet. Sugar ended up forcing a tie and due to his practice before tribal council, Bob ended up winning the challenge and moved onto the final three. While some people think this was a stupid move on Sugar’s part I totally disagree. She felt that she had no chance of winning the game so she decided to give Bob a chance to make the finals. This move also made her look better in front of the jury (or at least in my opinion) and was redemption for what Sugar did to Randy when he was eliminated.
The Final Tribal Council
What I liked about this year’s final tribal council is they made it shorter. I have always found the final tribal councils to be pretty boring. Thankfully it was only around 20 minutes this season. As far as the final tribal council I saw a lot of bitter people. I don’t know why Kenny couldn’t get over Bob not giving him the idol. I know it just happened a couple days earlier but how can you blame Bob for not giving you the idol especially since you were planning on kicking him off. Kenny’s feelings are forgivable unlike Corrine’s and Randy’s. In what shouldn’t have some as a surprise to anyone, they both blasted Sugar and Susie, and Randy even insulted Bob.
The Sevententh Survivor
I have to say that I was actually surprised by the vote. Not that Bob won (since that was pretty obvious) but that Susie got so many votes. Susie really didn’t do anything the entire game and yet she gets three votes. Sugar should have won at least one vote based on what she did for Bob. It turns out that Marcus, Charlie, Corinne, and Randy voted for Bob; while Kenny, Matty, and Crystal voted for Susie. Bob became the oldest Survivor winner of all time and as I mentioned earlier I couldn’t have been happier since he was my favorite contestant this season.
The Reunion
The reunion was pretty boring once again. Bob was given another $100,000 based on being the fan favorite of the season. We found out that Randy and Corinne are truly as crabby and mean as they were portrayed. Corinne actually wanted to be portrayed as being meaner. Meanwhile we found out that Ace’s accent is real and Crystal was actually an Olympic athlete. We also found out that Sugar didn’t make the wrong choice since Matty would have won if he had made the final three instead of Bob.
Survivor Tocantins
Here is the preview of next seasons Survivor:
I don’t know if it is just me but that preview really didn’t get me excited about the next season of Survivor. First of all the preview was short and it really didn’t tell us anything except for where the next Survivor is going to take place (Brazil). Since the preview really tell us a whole lot here is what I want out of the next season (even though none of it will happen):
- Get rid of the hidden immunity idol and exile island. They were both good for a time but they both need to go. The immunity idol has pretty much become a free pass to the finals and exile island really isn’t even a punishment anymore.
- Have no teams to begin the game. I know some people won’t like this idea but I think a Survivor with no teams would be interesting. It would at least be a change and Survivor really needs to make a change. Instead of team immunity, immunity could be given to the top finishers in a challenge and everyone else is eligible for elimination. If an alliance ever gets out of control they could also break them into teams in order to keep the season interesting. Survivor has tried so many things in the past and I seriously want to know why they have never even thought about trying this obvious twist.
- Don’t switch teams so many times. I don’t mind a switch a season but I think two switches were too many. Having two switches makes your survival in the game based on luck. If you are one of the unlucky people to switch to a team with a majority votes already your time is limited.
- Get rid of the final three. Survivor needs to go back to having a final two. I don’t like these final threes since it is almost always a final two anyway since one person rarely ever gets any votes anyway.
- Finally as mentioned earlier, Survivor needs to return to the hands on the idol challenge for the final challenge. Survivor hasn’t had a good and fair final challenge in a very long time. With the hands on the idol challenge everyone has the same chance to win and the winner is determined on who wants to win it the most.
Another season of Survivor down but be sure to check back in Febuary when season 18 kicks off.
