Survivor 33 Finale Recap "Voters Finally Get It Right"

   Let’s skip the small talk. Let’s skip the introduction. Last night was the finale and there is tons to say, so I am just going to jump on in. While I would have preferred a Jay or David win, Adam deserved the win based off of who he was up against in the final three. It baffles my mind that there are people who think Ken or Hannah deserved to win after a season of mediocre play. Adam wasn’t perfect, but he tried, and he often knew what needed to be done. So let’s talk about the one thing that angers me about the finale. People keep insinuating that Adam won because he mentioned his mom’s cancer in his final speech. It’s amazing how bitter people are that they think that that won him the game. Just like Jeremy in Second Chances, Adam would have won anyway. Chris said it the best when he was addressing the final three: the jury gave Adam credit for the big moves that occurred in the last half of the game. Adam had Chris, Jay, Brett, and Sunday all before tribal council even began. That means he had this season in the bag before he even had the chance to mention his mother’s story. May the story have influenced David and Jessica to not give pity votes to Ken? Possibly. But it didn’t cause Adam to win. He won on his own merit by being against Hannah and Ken who did practically nothing all season.

   To all of the people who thought Ken or Hannah would win, may I ask why? Hannah had four things that were preventing her from ever winning and I predicted just last recap that she would not receive any votes. 1.) She was a flip flopper between alliances. In Big Brother those may win, but they do not win in Survivor.  2.) Any move that she may have deserved credit for, like the David vote out, she did not vocalize to the jury. How are they supposed to know she made it happen when Adam is the only one who vocalized wanting David out? 3.) The only moves she did claim were voting out Sunday and Brett. These are two moves the jury and myself included believed were mistakes. 4.) She was socially unaware the whole game. She made two connections that were strong enough for votes, David and Ken. Ken sat next to her and David was always going to vote off of game. People may not have been annoyed by her, but there is little evidence that they liked her.

   It is difficult to talk about Ken. He was an early favorite of mine, but he did nothing all season except win challenges and talk about loyalty. However, he then betrayed his closest ally David and voted him out. So he went against his only argument as to why his game play was better by turning on that level of game play. He apparently also received a good edit because in post finale interviews it appears that the cast did not even like him that much. Dear fans of alpha male survivor players, COMPETITION WINS SHOULD NOT EQUAL WINNING SURVIVOR. The worst player in the entire world with zero strategy or social awareness could win challenges and make it to the end. It requires no playing of the game or solidifying relationships to do that. If you have to champion challenge wins as why you should win the game, it means you completely ignored the fact that Survivor is a social game first and foremost. If you alienate that aspect of the game, you shouldn’t win.

    So, now on to a more positive topic: I thought I’d do a retrospective where I pasted my thoughts on the final three from my first initial thoughts on the season and see how my opinion on them has changed. I read over my initial thoughts last night and found the contrast to be hilarious. It’s part of why I enjoy not being spoiled when it comes to Survivor. It’s interesting to see how my perspective changes. 

"Adam: I really don’t have an impression of him outside of the fact that he talks REALLY loud when he is giving his confessionals."

   It’s hilarious to see that I had little to no opinion on Adam. During the rest of the season, my opinions on him fluctuated faster than Hannah flip flopped between groups.

"Hannah: We go from someone with some intelligence, to someone who miraculously showed none last night. The target was Figgy until Michelle whispered to her during tribal to vote out Mari instead. Here’s the kicker: Michelle wouldn’t tell her the reason until after. HELLO?! If someone won’t tell you the reason until after you do it, that’s a pretty good reason NOT to do it. Furthermore, the fact that she was told last minute proves she is on the bottom of the “Kappa Kappa” alliance, a name that she gave them last episode. So now a showmance and an alliance that doesn’t need her is strong in this game. She screwed herself."

   Right from the start I predicted that Hannah would make dumb choices due to lack of social awareness. And my opinion of her never really recovered. While she survived until the end, the reason why she would never win was apparent from the start.

"Ken: I like Ken. He seems down to earth and good at challenges. Basically, he is like my past favorite Joe. The issue is, these guys don’t win. The second they lose an individual immunity after the merge, they are voted out. I’ll enjoy him while I can."

  All I can say is Ken got lucky that Jay existed. If Jay had not been winning individual immunities, I have a feeling that this prediction about Ken would have come true. Though I guess I was still technically right about him not winning. Joe Anglim he was not.

   So now that that fun little retrospective is over, let’s talk about some rankings for this season. Overall, it was a pretty enjoyable season. Second Chances and Beauty V Brains V Brawn 2 had dampened my enthusiasm for the show a little bit. I was not as excited every week to watch.  I thought that would continue this season but since the merge the season was spectacular. The finale had me on the edge of my seat thinking who would go home when. 

Season rating: 8/10

Winner rating: 8/10. Adam was not the best player of the season, but he deserved it over who he was sitting next to.

My three favorite players:

1.)    Jay- It should not be a surprise to anyone. I was fairly obvious in my Jay bias in recent recaps.

2.)    David- His growth was an amazing story to watch and unlike others, when he made a strategic move it was usually in his best interests.

3.)    Ken- I am not as fond of him now since his game really became apparently bad post-merge. However, I really liked him pre-merge so he still deserves a spot on this list.

So another season of recapping comes to an end. But have no fear, I won’t be gone until March. Instead in January, I’ll be returning with recaps for Nick’s season of The Bachelor. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of mocking to do. Until then, Happy Holidays to all! Make sure to spend it with family and friends. 

Survivor 33 Finale Predictions

   Hello everyone and welcome to a special edition of my blog. Today, I am going to list my predictions for who has the best chances of winning this season IF they make final tribal council. For example, I have Jay as having the best chances if he makes it there, but it is unlikely that he does. The reason I won’t predict specific placements of people is that there are 6 people left and that would leave too many scenarios for me to have to calculate. I know what you are thinking. Well, then how can we keep Julia accountable for her predictions? It’s simple. Take the three people who make final tribal council and see how many votes they got. If my predictions are accurate, then the winner would have been placed on this list higher than the other two people. Make sense? Good. I hope my predicting these winners does not jinx them like it did with Paul on Big Brother. So here are the rankings!

1.) Jay

   Let me start off by saying that it is going to be really hard for Jay to make final tribal council. I do not expect him to. But, if he did he would beat everybody except maybe David. He has Taylor and Michelle’s votes locked down. No one is stealing those from him. That’s 2 solid votes when you only need 4 or 5 to win depending on the jury size. I am also pretty sure he would have Sunday. Adam might also vote for him as they seem to have a begrudging respect for one another that Adam has not shown to any other player.

    Also, I read somewhere that Jay’s photo as a contestant was a part of a recent episode of CBS’s sitcom Life In Pieces. Based on filming schedules of most sitcoms, at the latest that episode filmed in September when Survivor was first premiering. I don’t think CBS would have featured him as a joke in another show that would just now be airing if he did not make it very far, so add that to a conspiracy factor of him possibly winning.

2.) Adam

       I know. I am just as surprised as you are that I am putting him above David, but hear me out. Juries tend to have short term memory, they care more about the end stretch than the beginning. Adam has had a much better end stretch. He orchestrated the Will vote out. He saved Hannah. He has been the one pulling the strings while David has pulled back to not be seen as a threat. The last “big” move the jury currently has of David is when he misused his idol to save Ken who wasn’t in trouble.  Juries love a good underdog story, but somewhere along the way David became seen as a top dog, and therefore he will be held to that standard.

    Also, I’m trying to find a sensitive way to say this so please do not take what I am about to say in the wrong way.  Adam also has the fact that he is playing for his sick mother. Do I think he would bring her up in final tribal council as a deliberate game move to manipulate votes? No. I do not think he is that cold, but I do think it will come out. And his strength in dealing with that is going to garner votes. It’s why Jeremy from second chances did not tell other players his wife was expecting a baby, they would have then known to vote him out before the finals because that alone could make him win. I am not saying neither of them deserve it based off of game, they do, but that is an added benefit that both of them have.

3.) David

     David has played a good game all season, but the intensity with which he plays has fizzled out towards the end stretch. This is likely a deliberate move on his part to lose some of his being a target. However, as I said before, the jury tends to look at who played better towards the end, then what you did in the beginning. It is part of the reason why Michelle beat Aubrey in Survivor Kah Rong(or however that is spelled) even though Aubrey outplayed her all game. I think the same scenario could happen to David if he goes to the finals with either Adam or Jay. However, if he makes it with the people ranked below him on this list, he is guaranteed the win.

4.) Ken 

   I guess he could win if the jury decided to only vote on likability. Or if he ends up in the finals with Brett and Hannah. The issue is I do not see either scenario happening. The jury does not seem bitter enough to go for the first, and I do not see him betraying David to end up with the second. However, it is still possible which is why he is ranked at 4.

5.) Brett

    Brett arguably has done the least out of everyone in the final 6. But, why do I not have him at the bottom? It is very simple. He has friends on the jury. Zeke, Chris, and Sunday are all very close to him. They could all vote for him depending on who he sits next to. Therefore, it is not a lost cause that he could potentially win, it just is unlikely because 3 votes is not enough to win. He would have to swing someone else over. 

6.) Hannah

    Hannah is a lost cause for winning. In voting out Sunday, she became the new person that will not win. She does not have any close allies who will vote for her based off of a relationship except maybe Adam. The rest will vote off of game and in the perception of the jury, she has done nothing. She has been the most expendable member of every alliance she has been. And let’s not forget the week 2 tribal snafu where she agreed to vote with Michelle even though she was just told the plan at tribal and would not even be given a reason until afterwards.  She has been a mess strategically and socially this season and would at most have Adam’s vote. Even that is not guaranteed though as I could also see Adam voting off of game play and picking a Jay, David, or Ken win over her. 

    So there you have it. My predictions for who is most likely to win if they make tribal council. Drop a comment below or on my Facebook page telling me if you agree and if not which prediction would you change. I’d love to hear from you. With all of this being said, I hope you guys have a great week. I am about to go die from finals. Wish me luck.

BB18 "My Finale Predictions"

   Hello to my readers. Since there was no new episode Sunday, I have decided instead of a recap to post a special blog for you. This blog will be dedicated to me assessing each person’s winning chances and who I think will win in each possible final 2 scenario/where the votes will fall. For fun, I’ll include these predictions on finale night to see if I get them correct. Feel free to send me your predictions. 

   I’ll start with the final 2 match- up I am the most unsure of.

 Paul vs. Nicole

 Prediction: Paul wins in a close vote

 Here’s how I see the votes

DaVonne: I could see her voting either way, but I am leaning towards Nicole. Her comments during the jury segments show a huge admiration for Nicole running things and she has been adamant about wanting a female winner.

Zakiyah: Paul. Mainly because I think that’s what Paulie will vote.

Bridgette:  Paul

Paulie: Paul. Yes, he was closer to Nicole, but I can see him voting on who played the better game. And it’s not like he hated Paul, they were close at one point.

Michelle: Paul. She hates Nicole, there is no question here. Paul pissed her off, but not nearly as much.

Natalie: Nicole. She’s indicated in an exit interview that she was rooting for Nicole if she wasn’t against James.

Victor: Paul. Obvious.

Corey: Nicole. Obvious.

James: Nicole

So that puts Paul winning at 5-4 though votes could shift around with Davonne and Paulie as the real swing votes.

Paul vs. James: Paul takes this handily

DaVonne: Paul

Zakiyah: Paul

Bridgette: Paul

Paulie: Paul

Michelle: I’m leaning James. If she is able to put Paul calling her a c word aside, she might vote for him, but Michelle is known for being petty.

Natalie: James.

Victor: Paul

Corey: I could see Corey voting either way, but I’m leaning towards Paul.

Nicole: James. Though maybe she’d vote Paul.

So this prediction has Paul winning 6-3. Votes may change around, but I don't see a case where Paul loses this match-up.

Nicole vs. James: I see Nicole winning this

DaVonne: Nicole

Zakiyah: Nicole

Bridgette: Nicole. I can see her voting James, but I feel like she’d prioritize game.

Paulie: Nicole

Michelle: James

Natalie: James

Victor: Nicole

Corey: Nicole

Paul:  Nicole, another person I feel would vote game over who they liked better.

Yet again, I just don't see the votes changing enough for James to win this. Enough of these players like both Nicole and Paul enough that James's supposed likability won't matter for much. The jury will vote on game. 

So there you have it! My Predictions for the ending of this season! I’m excited to watch Wednesday night to see if I am right!