Survivor 47 Discussion Thread

[Jedijax719]

Well, wow, I guess assuming Rachel makes the final 3 (seems incredibly likely), the only question is whether she gets ALL of the votes of if 1 or 2 go elsewhere. She may be the first ever unanimous female winner at this point.

 

[TheOriginalTiki]

I don't usually venture out of the Imagineer forums but I just wanted to pop in and say this was literally the worst possible season to do the two part finale with. I feel like next week is genuinely going to be the most boring episode of the whole season because Rachel literally doesn't have ANY opposition. This is Kim Spradlin levels of obvious. They are really laying it on THICK how much the jury adores her. I also love how she's suddenly the biggest threat in fire making.

I honestly wouldn't mind so much it I didn't think she got INSANELY lucky with the advantages. Sol giving her a free pass, her lucking into the idol clue in the fries, and the random journey she went on didn't really require any actual skill on her part apart from playing the Survivor equivalent of a phone puzzle game on the journey. Even if Andy's game was waaaay messier I have a lot more respect for the actual innovation in the way he played. I mean props to Rachel for effectively using the advantages but even then it was kind of a no brainer to use the idol when she did.

 

[SAV]

Obviously it's Rachel's game to lose. If Teeny or Sue somehow actually win the last immunity challenge, they take each other and let Sam and Rachel make fire(Which he could win). If Sam wins immunity, I think he takes Teeny and has Sue try to make fire(because I have negative confidence that Teeny could even get a spark, let alone a fire). If Rachel doesn't win immunity, she should be making fire against anyone, nobody should entertain the idea of taking her to the final.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I'm glad they split the finale. At the end of the day, it doesn't add much extra overall runtime and I'd rather not have to sit through all of it at once.

Another example that Survivor doesn't have to surprise us to be compelling television. They lean into the blindsides so often but seeing all of that play out knowing that Rachel was staying was so much fun.

Andy selling his game hard and getting himself eliminated was iconic.

Sue having an idol but never being a threat is the definition of drawing dead. Teeny never had agency in the game, and admitted as such. Sam was just kind of average I guess? Sam can win that final three, especially with his biggest ally being first on the jury.

It's hard to imagine a satisfying ending other than Rachel winning, but at the same time that's what makes Survivor great. The person you want to win often doesn't, and that unpredictability, that lack of a storybook ending, keeps it fresh.

I don't usually venture out of the Imagineer forums but I just wanted to pop in and say this was literally the worst possible season to do the two part finale with. I feel like next week is genuinely going to be the most boring episode of the whole season because Rachel literally doesn't have ANY opposition. This is Kim Spradlin levels of obvious. They are really laying it on THICK how much the jury adores her. I also love how she's suddenly the biggest threat in fire making.

I honestly wouldn't mind so much it I didn't think she got INSANELY lucky with the advantages. Sol giving her a free pass, her lucking into the idol clue in the fries, and the random journey she went on didn't really require any actual skill on her part apart from playing the Survivor equivalent of a phone puzzle game on the journey. Even if Andy's game was waaaay messier I have a lot more respect for the actual innovation in the way he played. I mean props to Rachel for effectively using the advantages but even then it was kind of a no brainer to use the idol when she did.

The idol clue was luck.

I'll give her credit for being saved by Sol because that is due in part to a social relationship. She also arguably got unfairly screwed with the split tribal format. Being randomly spared from a random occurrence is at least neutral.

Going on the journey was random but she was one of a few to realize, of course you say you want a chance to go. To pass on a potential advantage at that point in the game is lunacy. Most of the players actually let the minority be the ones to potentially go.

There's always some luck in Survivor but I think she deserves some credit as well.

 

[PUSH]

I loved the episode, but hated the outcomes. Losing Andy and Genevieve isn't what I wanted, but it was such compelling television.

At the Andy vote, he had it until he counted his chickens before they hatched. I still stand by Operation Italy being a good move. He gave himself a chance to win. If he hadn't made that move, he would have had absolutely nothing to hang his hat on at the end if he got there. In hindsight, seeing the jury's reaction to Andy getting voted out, I don't think he had a shot regardless. I think his perception was so tainted from the first few days, and he couldn't recover. First impressions are huge, especially with what he did. Regardless, Andy is a pretty darn good player. He played one of the better games, but got too eager.

Genevieve is an all-time character and player. She was great in the confessionals, by far the best of the season. She was strategic, social, and she wasn't bad in challenges. My closest comparison to her is Kim. However, the rest of the players are far too good nowadays to let someone like that get to the end. Genevieve was living rent free in their heads, even when she was telling the truth about the fake idol. Most people wouldn't have been able to have people believe them about the fake idol for that long anyway. I really hope we see Genevieve back. She's my favorite from this season, and my #1 that I hope returns.

Teeny is one of the most gullible players that I can remember. They've gotten duped so many times and never questions it. Teeny is definitely not my cup of tea.

Sam did what he had to do at the final 5 to preserve himself, but ultimately it shouldn't have been a hard decision for the rest of them. I'm not sure why Genevieve would want to vote anybody but Sam at that point, so it's no crazy to assume that's where her vote is going. Then the rest can pile on Genevieve, because even if she plays an idol, their backup plan of Sam is going home anyway. I said, if Genevieve had survived that vote, she's one of the best manipulators in Survivor history. And that still may be true.

Rachel has played an amazing game. Yes, she's gotten lucky at times, but so many of the greats do. A large part of Survivor is luck. I've heard some say she'd be the best of the new era if she wins. I still think I'd put Dee above her, but I think she'd be #2. Dee had all-around more control and was never viewed as a target. Rachel has been out of the loop multiple times. But Rachel is still a triple threat, strategic, social, and physical. She's just not a super flashy player.

Sue is such a fun character, but she has no shot to win.

Going forward, it's Rachel's game if she make the final three. Hands down, no question. However, if Sam can somehow get her out through fire-making, he wins. I don't see any other logical outcome. However, my final prediction is Rachel winning. I think it's about a 80-90% chance. The other 10-20% is Sam winning.

My final winner rankings...


Favorite
1. Rachel

Good Chance
None

Possible
2. Sam

Little to No Chance
3. Sue
4. Teeny

 

[PUSH]

I just watched Andy and Genevieve's exit interviews with Rob. I definitely feel like Andy got a bit of the "dodo" edit. Not full-blown like we've seen in the past, but a touch of it. And you can clearly see why Genevieve was such a big threat. She is one of those "sparkly" people as Shannon Guss would say. She's like a Kenzie, Parvati, Kim, Yam Yam, Michele, or Andrea. Her personality is infectious, and you just want to be around her.

 

[Jedijax719]

Okay I have a strange question that I hope doesn't come off the wrong way. Is Rachel Asian or part Asian? I was just wondering because if so that would be pretty cool that we will have had 2 Asian female winners in the new era if she does end up winning.

 

[PUSH]

Okay I have a strange question that I hope doesn't come off the wrong way. Is Rachel Asian or part Asian? I was just wondering because if so that would be pretty cool that we will have had 2 Asian female winners in the new era if she does end up winning.

She is Asian. Upon a Google search, I found she actually lived in Thailand for the first 7 years of her life before moving to Michigan. She never spoke Thai, though.

 

[CynBeth]

Thrilled for the winner!!!

 

[PUSH]

Another season has come and gone, and Rachel was a very worthy winner.

This episode, however, was the most boring of the entire season. It was very obvious, and I'm guessing there was a LOT of editing work to make it seem closer than it was. The fire making is so boring. We spent an hour or more on the challenge, the decision about fire making, the actual fire making, then the post-discussion after Sam won. And every season it's the same discussions. It's so played out and boring. Yes, this was one of the more entertaining fires, but it still needs to go. I'm never bored during Survivor, except for the final four. It's not fun. And tonight we added one more reason to hate it... the wind decided that the person who was clearly the better fire builder wasn't going to win. It ended up with a better outcome for the final tribal council, but it still wasn't right. 13 seasons of it, and it's time for a change. There's nothing redeeming about it anymore.

To talk a bit more about the "boringness" of the episode, I still enjoyed it, but the outcome was extremely obvious as soon as Rachel won immunity. I don't think they should have split up these past two episodes. I think it was a CBS decision, rather than a Survivor one, so production had to figure out how to split it. But still, all the intrigue was last week. And it left for a pretty obvious and lackluster week of hype leading up to it, only to have to sit through two hours of knowing exactly what will happen. If they continue this format in the future, they need to figure out another structure.

Alright, enough negativity. Overall, this was a solid season. It had some great episodes the past few weeks, but outside of that it was just "solid". Nothing bad, but nothing great. I have to update my rankings yet, but it's probably an average to above average season. For me, I think Operation Italy and Genevieve will be the standouts from the season, with Rachel in there, too.

Speaking of Rachel, she's a very worthy winner. I definitely see the comparison of Mike and Ben (and it was hilarious they caught the shade tonight), but Rachel definitely have more social capital than them. She didn't isolate herself like they did. Her game wasn't only reliant on challenges wins and advantages. They were aspects of her game, but not the entire game. Without having updated my rankings, I would imagine her to be in the top half, maybe even top third. Last episode I said she was probably the second best player of the new era, behind Dee, but I think she may have some competition for that spot. I think a little time and perspective since last week makes me more realistic that while he game wasn't only luck with advantages and her challenge strength, she definitely wouldn't have won without them.

Sam was a good player, but he didn't do a whole lot to deserve votes. Yes, he figured out how to make it to the end, but it was mostly by default of other players being bigger threats than him (Andy, Genevieve, Rachel). He tried to gain footing many times and failed almost every time. He didn't ride coattails, but he was kind of drug to the end.

Sue was a fun character, but she had no shot. Same if Teeny got there. Teeny was one of the most emotionally-driven players we've seen in some time.

Overall, I'm happy with the season. It wasn't a top-tier season, but it was a fun journey. And nowhere near the bottom of the list. I'm sad we're in a drought for a couple months. Looking forward to 48!

When I've updated my season, winner, and overall player rankings, I'll post them here.

 

[Jedijax719]

Rachel finished with more confessionals (86) than any other woman in Survivor history. But she was still second in this season to Sam (93).

 

[dmw]

Get. Rid. Of. Fire. I hate that way of selecting the final three. The only good thing about fire in this season was at least we had only one real loser in the final three. Sam was not great, but Teeny and Sue both in the final three would have been the most pathetic final three ever.

I also suggest making the final 6 tribal the last time an advantage or idol can be played. Let the top players duke it out in challenges and social play and make it to the final three with head-to-head play.

I would have loved to see Rachel, Andy and Genevieve in the final three, to see how the Jury would have split their votes. That would have been an incredibly entertaining final vote. I really hate to see players with no chance like Sue getting to the final vote. Rachel was such a lock to win within the actual final four, regardless of what Sue and Teeny and the editing led us to believe. It was actually pathetic that the producers tried to balance out the jury interviews pre-vote to make it seem like the Sam and Sue actually had a chance in the final three.

Sue... sigh... terrible final argument on why she should win. And, playing the birthday card as a reason she should win...? Loyalty did not get her to the final three. She got there because she was no threat to win. Sad that in her pre-tribal interview she actually believed she had a chance to win.

Oh, and for the video editing geeks, there was a huge continuity error in the immunity challenge last week. When the five walked into the challenge area Rachel was wearing the immunity necklace. And, she had it on during most of the talk with Jeff before he asked her to give it back to him. But, in one brief moment of the dialogue with Jeff BEFORE he asked for the necklace, the editors put in a clip of the contestants still in line supposedly chatting with Jeff, but Rachel was NOT wearing the necklace in the shot. It was fast, around the 7-8 minute mark in the episode. And then the next time the contestants were shown she once again had the necklace on. I freelance (hobby gig, not my primary profession) in the video industry and my wife gets annoyed when I point out stuff like this. But, this time my wife is the one that noticed it. LOL.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Another season has come and gone, and Rachel was a very worthy winner.

This episode, however, was the most boring of the entire season. It was very obvious, and I'm guessing there was a LOT of editing work to make it seem closer than it was. The fire making is so boring. We spent an hour or more on the challenge, the decision about fire making, the actual fire making, then the post-discussion after Sam won. And every season it's the same discussions. It's so played out and boring. Yes, this was one of the more entertaining fires, but it still needs to go. I'm never bored during Survivor, except for the final four. It's not fun. And tonight we added one more reason to hate it... the wind decided that the person who was clearly the better fire builder wasn't going to win. It ended up with a better outcome for the final tribal council, but it still wasn't right. 13 seasons of it, and it's time for a change. There's nothing redeeming about it anymore.

To talk a bit more about the "boringness" of the episode, I still enjoyed it, but the outcome was extremely obvious as soon as Rachel won immunity. I don't think they should have split up these past two episodes. I think it was a CBS decision, rather than a Survivor one, so production had to figure out how to split it. But still, all the intrigue was last week. And it left for a pretty obvious and lackluster week of hype leading up to it, only to have to sit through two hours of knowing exactly what will happen. If they continue this format in the future, they need to figure out another structure.

Yeah, I liked the split episode only because three hours is a lot to watch all at once. I listened to a bit of Omar on RHAP just before and he made the good point that this was a final episode in which no one is voted out directly. That's the core of Survivor.

Teeny losing to wind and not Sam was frustrating. I did appreciate their honest comments about resenting Sam for things he has no control over, and owning that we sometimes clash with people due to our own issues.

I do love the psychology of editing. The second Rachel won I thought it was over, like everyone watching, but darn if they don't get in your head. Watching the jury players strongly praise Sam had me thinking, it's so obvious what they're doing, adding suspense to what I expect to be a blow out.

Yet, it works. It had me wondering what the outcome would be. The editing of tribal continued to do so. I also went into this feeling Sam had a better chance than most. Survivor is unpredictable and the jury often does the opposite of what we think they should do as viewers.

Totally agree that much of this episode was the same old things we've seen before. I don't even love the immediate after show, but they should have spent more time there instead of the extended fire making discussions and practice.

Overall it was a good season and Rachel was a great winner. Yes, winner edits are real, but sometimes that's fine. Show us how someone clearly won. There's still enough surprises along the way to make it fun, and the aforementioned manufactured suspense the editing gives us is thrown in for good measure.

 

[PUSH]

Rachel finished with more confessionals (86) than any other woman in Survivor history. But she was still second in this season to Sam (93).

This is also the longest season we've ever had (by hours, including commercials). I'm sure that helped play into it.

 

[PUSH]

Here are my rankings...

Overall, I have Survivor 47 as the 21st best season. It's right behind Survivor 44 and right ahead of Marquesas.

I put Rachel as the 13th best winner, right behind Tyson and ahead of Richard.

For overall player rankings, my highest ranked is Rachel, coming in as the 17th best player in Survivor history. Genevieve is at #47, Andy is #103, Sam is #145, and my lowest ranked from the season is TK at #570.