Oops, this never got posted earlier! Season finale Recap:
And season 19 comes to an end.
Order of Elimination:
Jaison (felt betrayed for being voted out- someone on Foa Foa had to go! brett won immunity. it’s okay to blindside mick? but not you? poor sport)
Brett (would have won the game if he didn’t drop his figurine)
Mick (man, he got screwed. no votes? basically played exactly like Natalie and got ripped apart by Shambo and Erik)
Russell (really got screwed, but more on that later)
Natalie (winner)
First, I have to say, like many others, I loved this season. But, that was most obvious and boring finale ever. Although it’s a step up from Tocantins, that’s for sure.
Natalie won. Congrats. She played a good game considering who was in the jury. She did what she needed to do to win the game. But, did she play a better “Survivor Game” than Russell? Not a chance. Russell controlled this game from start to finish. Did he deserve to win? Definitely. Am I surprised he didn’t? Not at all.
The jury always votes based on emotion. Of course, that sucks, but here’s where you gotta give Natalie credit. She knew Russell pissed off everyone so she had a great chance at winning. Stay by him, get Brett off, and she would take the title. What surprised me is how surprised the audience was by the results. If you piss off the jury, you won’t win. Period. We’ve seen it many times. Russell pissed off Kelly, Laura, and Monica the most. That’s 3 votes lost right there. Then when you have emotional Erik, and blindsided Jaison on the jury, your chances significantly drop. I remember asking in this blog, “how is Russell going to win if he makes it to the finals? He’s pissed off too many people. People responded with things like, “he just has to tell them how good of a game he’s played.” The jury doesn’t care if you played a great game, they’re still bitter you voted them out. You’re not going to give someone a million dollars that you don’t like even if they played a better game. Is that right? Probably not. But definitely understandable, especially in Survivor where it’s happened on multiple occasions.
Natalie is no saint. (not that that’s bad)
Natalie, Mick, and Russell all did the same thing. Sure, Russell was mean and was more into causing chaos, but Natalie did everything Russell did. She even planted the seed to get rid of Erik and caused the Galu downfall! Instead of being grilled, she get’s a million dollars. It’s the beauty of Survivor. It’s not logical. It’s not predictable. But that’s how the game works. On the other hand, Russell gets burned for lying?
Erik’s Speech.
Erik’s speech, although an interesting viewpoint, was completely ridiculous. Russell did what he had to get to the end. Anyone in Foa Foa’s position would have done the same. They were down 4 to 8. You need to find the cracks to take Galu out. You need to lie sometimes. Natalie was in on the “unethical gameplay” just as much, she just looked pretty doing it. It’s survivor! You need to expect that stuff. Can Erik really say he would have played a moral game? Would any of them? Say Galu took out Foa Foa right away. Would they have nicely voted one another out without lying, or manipulating? We saw Erik use Shambo to his advantage. He used her as a pawn! Is that ethical? We saw Monica try to stir up drama when she left! And we saw a man (plus Shambo) vs woman alliance forming before the merge. I bet Erik and Laura would have fought dirty to the end. Russell made the smart moves that needed to be done to get to the end! There were not many other options. Down 4-8, you’re gonna have to make some big, game changing moves. I guess Erik thinks they should have just given up.
And poor Mick. Erik grilled him for “delusional entitlement” as chief. He didn’t choose to be leader, Erik. He never said he deserved it. “Your tribe had no guts and that was your fault!” Really, how so? His and Shambo’s comments kinda got on my nerves. Way off base in my opinion.
Russell took the loss bad. Did you see him almost crying? He really played this game hard and he thought he had it in the bag. What a poor sport, though. Be happy for Natalie (or at least fake it). You said you were a completely different person outside of Survivor. You didn’t act like it.
Overall, a great season. I really wanted Russell to win, but not surprised at all that he didn’t. Congrats to Natalie- she knew how to work the jury.
Expect to see Russell on Heroes vs. Villains! He’s rumored to be in it. Will he win it this time?
sidenote: time to brag. in my fantasy team that’s 2 for 2 that I guessed the final 3 correctly after the merge. tocantins and samoa! bring on next season.
