Survivor S38: Edge of Extinction

[artvandelay]

I did enjoy the foreshadowing of Ron saying they just have to get to the family visit, to then be the one voted out after the family visit.

Also, two episodes ago, Wardog, Devens, and Ron have a discussion about sticking together because if they don’t, they’re goners. Last week, Wardog voted out. This week they tried for Devens, but Ron got voted out. And I’d blame Ron for all of it (credit to Stephen Fishbach for mentioning this).

 

[PUSH]

Also, two episodes ago, Wardog, Devens, and Ron have a discussion about sticking together because if they don’t, they’re goners. Last week, Wardog voted out. This week they tried for Devens, but Ron got voted out. And I’d blame Ron for all of it (credit to Stephen Fishbach for mentioning this).

Yeah, Ron would have been better to stay with the threats. The problem with that is he is probably #3 on that list, and keeping Wardog and Devens much long would have been hard. But I think you needed to keep Wardog if Devens is still in the game. Don't worry about Wardog until Devens is gone. Get Devens when you can, though.

 

[PUSH]

Next season's theme...

Spoiler: Season 39 and 40 Spoilers!

Island of the Idols. It won't have a RI or EoE element, but it will be similar to Ghost Island, except that Boston Rob and Sandra will be there to offer advice and expertise to the 20 newbies. Dumb. They are really grasping at thin air here. It makes me wonder if this, along with the season 40 rumors mean there's an end in sight to Survivor. I have nothing to base that on, but it seems like this is something they'd do if they were about to end the show. I know that's not really a happy thought, but it's where my mind went as soon as I heard the rumors for 39 and 40.

 

[NYwdwfan]

Next season's theme...

Spoiler: Season 39 and 40 Spoilers!

Island of the Idols. It won't have a RI or EoE element, but it will be similar to Ghost Island, except that Boston Rob and Sandra will be there to offer advice and expertise to the 20 newbies. Dumb. They are really grasping at thin air here. It makes me wonder if this, along with the season 40 rumors mean there's an end in sight to Survivor. I have nothing to base that on, but it seems like this is something they'd do if they were about to end the show. I know that's not really a happy thought, but it's where my mind went as soon as I heard the rumors for 39 and 40.

Spoiler

They’ll probably make it super cheesy too - like there’s a cave or a mountain you need to climb and then there’s Boston Rob on a throne fashioned out of hidden immunity necklaces from years’ past.

 

[PUSH]

Dalton Ross got almost everyone involved in the iconic moment of Erik giving his immunity necklace away to do an interview with him retelling the events in their words. It's a long story, but it's so good! Check it out on EW. I haven't finished it yet, but Parvati did reveal that when Erik sent her to Exile Island, she actually found the idol there. She ended up burying it on Exile and not bringing it back because she didn't want people to ask to see her bag to prove it wasn't there. So instead she buried it. Not as bold of a move back then, but wow! Cirie and Amanda had no idea that had happened until this interview.

 

[PUSH]

1. My dislike of Rick grows stronger and stronger each episode. He's a mix of Mike Holloway and Ben. I did not like either of them. They all are just so arrogant and cocky. Maybe if you weren't so annoying, you wouldn't be the target.

2. Rick again will get the credit from the jury when he had nothing to do with the vote. They will see that he influenced the vote on Aurora, when it likely was determined before Tribal Council. Much like how they gave him credit last week for the Ron vote, when he did not know of the plan.

3. I predict that Aurora comes back from EoE. It would fit her narrative well. A player on the bottom, constantly without allies who fights her way back into the game. Not to mention that the letter reading seemed to me like a closing to the stories of most of the players they showed. And the ones they didn't show or hear from, I assume are not making it back.

4. I really am liking Lauren. She's smart, and she's orchestrating votes in a subtle way that doesn't put the target on her back. Watch out for her if Rick does not make it to the end.

5. That being said, I think it's pretty likely that Rick will be in the final TC. He has an idol, which who knows if he'll have to play next week because now everyone knows he has it. That could influence the rest to vote a different direction.

6. If Aurora does make it back, who would she work with? The trio of Lauren, Gavin, and Victoria just betrayed her. Rick and Julie voted for her, and she made it clear she doesn't want to work with Rick. That could be an interesting narrative for her. Does she go with Rick, who she was dead set on getting out? Or would she come back into the game to finally get Rick out? I would actually welcome the latter.

7. As of right now, my personal winner vote would be for Lauren. I know Rick might deserve it more, but he is one of the rare players I can't look past everything else to just focus on gameplay. Normally I can set that aside and respect their gameplay if I don't like them, much like Tony, but I really do not like this guy.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Next season's theme...

Spoiler: Season 39 and 40 Spoilers!

Island of the Idols. It won't have a RI or EoE element, but it will be similar to Ghost Island, except that Boston Rob and Sandra will be there to offer advice and expertise to the 20 newbies. Dumb. They are really grasping at thin air here. It makes me wonder if this, along with the season 40 rumors mean there's an end in sight to Survivor. I have nothing to base that on, but it seems like this is something they'd do if they were about to end the show. I know that's not really a happy thought, but it's where my mind went as soon as I heard the rumors for 39 and 40.

Spoiler: Re: the next two seasons

This show isn't ending anytime soon. It's presumably cheap to produce and consistently popular. The prize money doesn't go up and there's no cast, other than Probst, to be demanding big bucks.

Bringing back returning players as mentors works for me. They did something similar on South Africa with two professional athletes acting as tribe captains. I prefer it to the scenario where a returning player comes in and does super well because they have the advantage of experience, like we saw with Boston Rob.

An all winners season should be popular, but I wonder if it will be the epic showdown people expect? The way Survivor is structured, the best player in a given season is often voted out close to the end, or a bitter jury rewards an undeserving winner. All Winners isn't necessary "All the best players".

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I can't see Edge of Extinction having any major impact on this season. We've seen so little of it. If someone (not counting Rick) came back now and won, it would be remarkably unsatisfying because we've seen next to nothing on how they struggled and what they had to endure. Not that I wouldn't pay good money to see Reem win the season - that would be the twist to end all twists.

 

[PUSH]

I can't see Edge of Extinction having any major impact on this season. We've seen so little of it. If someone (not counting Rick) came back now and won, it would be remarkably unsatisfying because we've seen next to nothing on how they struggled and what they had to endure. Not that I wouldn't pay good money to see Reem win the season - that would be the twist to end all twists.

I love Reem. She has made the EoE concept work. Without her it'd be so boring. But I would never in a million years want to see her win. I am struggling with the fact that she'll get a vote on the jury. I think the only possible person who could come back and win would be Aurora. However, with how other castaways have talked about her, I don't think she'd get the votes. Although, I could see her coming back and being a losing finalist.

 

[flynnibus]

I think Rick is just punch drunk on still being in the game. He doesn't see himself as some master guru... he's just dancing as he need to all the time, and is playing like he's on the edge. Instead of getting gruff serious.. he's figuring out what he can do to dance and side step. It's great.

The majority has blown this game the entire way since the first tribe swap and merge. Gavin maybe has the most to stay about being deserving... but julie and vic are just kling-ons and don't deserve any votes.

If Lauren is smart... she'll keep close to vic and gavin... and use gavin as a shield if needed. Rick will hold onto julie, and then it's a question of who the returner is... do you pull them in, or are they too risky to allow to continue to encourage everyone to turn on the returner?

Earlier in the game they gave the returner some extra air-cover to prevent the immediate bounce out. They could do that again... even if it's just letting the returner win immunity.. or have immunity for the first vote.

If they let the EoE people be the true jury.. the returner is a huge problem for final tribal votes for the regular players IMO. As much as Rick needs the vote... it's likely the returner is too big of a threat.

If you are Rick, who are your big challenge threats now? Gavin if it's a skill challenge... vic if it's a 'stand still' endurance test. If it's any blend or puzzle... the rest of them seem to SUCK.

 

[NYwdwfan]

I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone voted out first (on day 3?) could still win this game. I have a real issue with that. I am pretty sure that's not how it's going to go down, but I think they really didn't fully think this concept through before implementing it.

 

[PUSH]

I can't wrap my head around the fact that someone voted out first (on day 3?) could still win this game. I have a real issue with that. I am pretty sure that's not how it's going to go down, but I think they really didn't fully think this concept through before implementing it.

The pre-merge people should have left after the first EoE challenge. Also, I am really struggling with the fact that Rick will likely win, even though he was the 4th boot.

 

[PUSH]

Here are my probably all-too-wrong predictions for the rest of the season:

EoE Returnee: Aurora

6th place: Aurora
5th place: Victoria
4th place: Gavin
3rd place: Julie (no votes)
2nd place: Lauren
1st place: Rick

 

[PUSH]

Nope. Not feeling this. This twist should never be attempted again. Such a trainwreck. One of the worst finales I can remember.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Well, I think this will be one of the most talked about and debated finales (and season) in the show's history.

A good point was made that the theme of the season was not on trial. Would it have been fair to penalize Chris for being "out" of the game for so long? Was it unfair that the jury ultimately voted for the person they bonded with while on Edge? How do the others compete with that?

They sold the point that returning was part of the game and that he had to execute his game perfectly from that point, and he did. How do you look at that and not consider him for the win?

Was any outcome other than a Rick win going to feel good? Probably not. Gavin was my pick as I watched the final tribal, but I get the decision to a degree.

Did Jeff really need to talk about Joe's hair?

The "everybody has an idol" tribal council was entertaining. It would have been funnier if Lauren had kept hers.

Did we even see players raise the flag at Edge? I feel like we weren't even told two players left.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

A great criticism highlighted by someone online:

Fischbach on Twitter made a good point: "THE signature challenge of #Survivor is - how do you vote someone out in such a way that they'll vote for you to win.

Chris never had to deal with that."

My favourite tongue-in-cheek online prediction for next season: Rob and Sandra get to enter the game on Day 35 and one of them wins.

 

[DinoInstitute]

Well, they weren’t lying- that was the most unpredictable finale ever, lol. Definitely the weirdest final 3 ever. That was a blast to watch that doesn’t even feel real.

It was certainly fascinating. I like Chris and he played maybe one of the best single night showings of Survivor ever. Of course, you can’t ignore he was also voted out, and on day 9 at that, so it’s hard to not call him the worst winner ever. But it doesn’t really bother me, it was fun to have this crazy experiment once. Looking forward to next season.

 

[flynnibus]

A good point was made that the theme of the season was not on trial. Would it have been fair to penalize Chris for being "out" of the game for so long?

Yes... just like others have looked down on other players who made it to the end, but didn't have to do anything. Yes his path is 'in the game' - but that doesn't mean you have to respect it or value it the same as someone who played a different course.

Think about it... this season came down to one challenge and a fire making challenge. That's garbage.

They need to get rid of the fire making qualifier IMO... and the jury Q&A format they are using I still do not like.

EoE became simply an endurance challenge... one without the daily struggle that the 'in the game' competitors went through. Maybe they could save the format if the EoE side had to keep fighting to stay on their island.. or even had to qualify to be on the island. Clearly they thought the isolation+limited resources would be enough to strain people.. but it wasn't. And they aren't going to starve people anymore.. so they can't rely on people just quitting as the only way to thin the herd.

I think Rick was wrong in continuing to pick on Julie for the reward challenge picks. Wasn't necessary and only stands to lose from such behavior.

Rick played it all perfect up through the end... and to lose it over fire making was painful.

And I can't stand another season of sandra. I think she's the most overrated player. You don't have to be the best to win survivor... it just depends on the idiots sitting across from you.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

Yes... just like others have looked down on other players who made it to the end, but didn't have to do anything. Yes his path is 'in the game' - but that doesn't mean you have to respect it or value it the same as someone who played a different course.

Think about it... this season came down to one challenge and a fire making challenge. That's garbage.

Well, that's Survivor. If you want a show that ends satisfyingly and rewards the best player, don't count on this show.

For me, it's akin to being on a real life jury. If you're asked to convict someone, you base that decision on the law. Did they do the crime and therefore should be punished as per the law. You're not supposed to acquit because you disagree with the law.

The format of this season said that a player who is voted out can come back at the last minute. You don't vote against him because you think it's a stupid twist. He endured exile, he executed good gameplay when he needed to, and won challenges when he needed to. He won based on the rules the show established.

Don't get me wrong. This was a very problematic season. How can it possibly be fair that the eventual winner got to spend weeks and weeks sequestered with the jury? There was no gameplay, no backstabbing, just a long time to build friendships and relationships.

The jury may have rewarded Chris in part for enduring EOE. It's totally unfair because they have a bias, having experienced it themselves. The jury rewarded Chris's game because it was the game they played. So much bias at play.

As noted before, the hardest part of the game is voting people out in a way that they will still vote for you to win. We know the format generates a degree of bitterness among the jury. The EOE format put anyone but Chris in a terrible position.

If they do this again, they should at least make it that exiled players live with the tribe. If Gavin had the same chance to spend 24/7 with the jury, this could have gone differently.

 

[flynnibus]

You don't vote against him because you think it's a stupid twist. He endured exile, he executed good gameplay when he needed to, and won challenges when he needed to

I wouldn't advocate voting against him due to the twist.. I advocate not voting for him based on what he achieved in the game.

Rick said it best... Gavin never had his name written down. Gavin wasn't a good orator and didn't present his case well... but I don't think Eric outplayed them. He won one challenge (barely) and won a fire challenge (only by a bit). He gets credit for taking the risk of going against Rick... but 1-2 feathers vs potentially a lot more.

Julie's only hope was the social angle.. and she blew that up when she tried to say she used her emotions as her gameplay. That sunk any possible chance she had. Gavin needed a better final tribal... and he never really connected with the ppl out of his tribe.. so he had an uphill battle. Taking those two was the right choice for Eric.

And you're right about the best players not winning in survivor. The outcome swings so wildly given the crazy thoughts most jurys vote with. I don't really consider their placement in determining who I think are the best players.