This Wednesday is the finale!

I start off because I know I am hyped, even if last episode wasn’t that good. In fact, last episode being so empty is what makes me look to the future so eagerly. Last episode, despite Joe Mena trying to hype the shit out of it on Twitter, was pretty mediocre. It was a shame to see a season, one that had a lot of emotional complexity not seen in modern Survivor, boil down to an us vs them Worlds Apart endgame scenario where five evil redshirts spend half the episode taking the indomitable hand of Murica.

Let me tell you, Ben is a poor Mike Holloway, and that’s because he’s too good of a Ben Driebergen to be reduced to Mike 2.0. It will also make me more disappointed if he wins, which isn’t a pipe dream scenario at all. If he gets two episodes of this retconning even when we see he’s kind of being an arrogant ass (and if people think he deserves credit for being on the bottom then I got a whole list of people you didn’t cape for despite them being on the bottom) that’ll be sad- all of his negative traits not being incorporated but washed away because he’s a hero, a marine, MURICA. These should add an extra layer to his character, not replace it.

Last week I said I wish I could cover Ben and Chrissy’s relationships, by far the most interesting part of that and this episode. To be fair, I could have, if I wasn’t so lazy dedicated to the premise, Going into the finale, relationships are its crucible more than individuals. In my last finale recap (way back in Kaoh Rong oops) I covered each of the individuals, but the way characters interact with each other takes just as much if not more precedent.

This finale has been hyped up from the beginning of the season as one of the best ever. While Jeff “I want every season to have Advantagegeddon” Probst’s seal of quality makes me more worried than less, I am really intrigued to see how things turn out. I hate to be a sucker for the hype machine, but if this season is more like the episodes before and less like last episode, it has set up the groundwork to be amazing.

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Chrissy/Devon/Ryan

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The finale has been dominated by an alliance of three, and alliances of three tend to dominate finales with an iron fist- especially in the dreaded F3. Sophie/Coach/Albert, Jeremy/Tasha/Spencer, Tyson/Monica/Gervase. It’s why I really don’t like the F3- so easy to keep three steady and Pagonging away, with the risk drastically lowered by just needing three. However, what differs is that these three came together just last episode. It used to just be two in Chrissy and Ryan, and a long time ago it was two in Ryan and Devon. However, with adding Devon, they have a bona fide three- there’s no need for shaking it up.

Probably the most static, dependable relationship this season has been Ryan and Chrissy. Ever since Ryan found the super idol he (featuring Devon Pinto) was able to handpick a long term ally and chose Chrissy. Contrary to what I thought, apparently the other two tribes left after Chrissy threw up on the platform. This shows that Ryan expected Chrissy to survive long enough to meet up with Ryan at a swap or merge- which, again, #MomSquad, so I don’t know how he expected that- but at swap, it worked out.

Where Ryan went wrong was that, in my opinion, he largely played for Chrissy. Some have defended his post-swap moves, but it was easy to tell from his attitude it was easy to do what he did for Chrissy by his defense for her mixed with him doing the moves she wanted. After merge, the two of them continued to work closely together, JP subbing in as the third that Devon is now- and you would think, should have been still.

After Ryan found an idol and immediately had Chrissy help cover it up, I could tell this was legit, not a relationship of circumstance. Meanwhile, Devon found out about Ryan’s idol twice- when Ryan told Devon only he knew. This indicated that Ryan wanted to keep his relationship with Devon but didn’t want to keep it serious.

However, things would come crashing down for them at the final nine, when there was a huge blindside against JP. It became clear that Devon was one of the ones who flipped, and his attitude rubbed Chrissy the wrong way, as she hated his snarky attitude. Ryan was also derisive of him, for outsmarting him while being a twenty-five year old surfer (Ryan is 23).

The thing about Ryan is that, as independent as he acts, he is very dependent on others and does as they say. In addition to all of the Chrissy stuff, on original Yawa he went with what Devon wanted to save Lauren despite his misgivings. He played his idol at Ben’s recommendations even as Ben was trying to throw it out as a double agent. He’s gone along with every plan he has been told from that point on.

Meanwhile, Chrissy adding Devon back to the fold at Final 6 seems like a cause of opportunity as Devon and Chrissy won reward- even as Ashley was classified as easier to break by Chrissy. However, it says a lot about Chrissy that she was willing to work with Devon after deeming him snarky, and that she was willing to work with Ben despite basically everything past, present, and future, and vote out Ashley even as Ashley had a better relationship with Chrissy.

That brings us to Devon, and while throughout the season Chrissy and Ryan making the end was a certainty, Devon is a mystery. He’s a definite former ally, and was condescending to them after the flip. He’s been added to alliances and given secrets because he is ostensibly likable, but he’s been added to this final three despite Chrissy not thinking highly of him. At some point, the eagerness people have to add Devon makes me wonder, is it because they like him, or because they think they can beat him? Most importantly, are they right?

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Devon/Ben



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For Devon, what is there? Devon has a lot of secrets, an invite to any alliance he wants, and presumably is very likable and gets a lot of fan mercy. In my opinion, the signs against Devon are more clear than those for him. This manifests in his rivalry with Ben, where he is constantly foiled.

The signs were there beforehand in the late-game. When he said Lauren was as good as him, I got Steph LaGrossa flashbacks, but disregarded it because oh mah werd a blindside is about to happen! However, after it happened he was seen as snarky and cocky, with Chrissy directly claiming he was snarky and not really a friend.

When Ben and Devon first truly interacted, Ben told Devon about Ryan’s idol because, by his own words, Devon was just a good kid with a nice soul. However, what happens is that Devon slowly reveals himself as kind of a cocky jerk especially to those who thought better of him. That’s why I posit his relationship with Ben as the most important to read Devon’s fate with.

Their next big interaction was when Ben was the double agent playing exiled King Arthur. Devon was really throwing himself into it, going so far as wearing Ben’s cowboy hat to mock him. This was all well and good, as they were on the same side, until they no longer were. After Devon was all aboard a failed Ben blindside, he started smarting off to Ben major league. Without fail, his taunts have backfired on him.

The most notable one was when Devon taunted Ben by saying Ben should have idoled him out (and seeing as Ben idoled out Lauren, I agree) because Devon would destroy Ben at immunity. Throughout the entire immunity challenge, Devon was a long way back. Chrissy won it. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back- in my view, Devon’s skills are not as great as he says they are.

I see Devon outlasting Ben- or at the very least they will not make Final Tribal Council together. Ultimately, I think Devon will make it because that’ll be the prime opportunity for Ben to get back at Devon. This isn’t a rivalry like Ben and Chrissy where they hate each other but can swallow their anger and use each other. This is Devon farting in his general direction while leaving his ass exposed to a mighty kick- one I think Ben will happily deliver.

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Ben/Chrissy

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Oh man.

Last time I addressed this relationship as one of the best in show history, and I stand by that. It is everything I love in this season represented. They started off as friends, but then Ben started to use her, and when Ben was exposed Chrissy got very angry at him, and it was mutual. Now, while they will swallow their anger to work with each other, they will undercut each other whenever they can.

Ben pulled off the angry-that-someone-was-blindsided-by-you shtick that Ryan started, and Chrissy got balls out revenge- and it was cold. I think I froze over watching it. It was one of the most hateful things I have ever seen that did not involve actual bigotry. Honestly, that’s the epitome of what this season has that others lack- legitimate disgust. This gives the season actual stakes, and is why I loved both Ben and Chrissy- at least before the sneaking suspicion that Ben would get a wipe clean if he won, really undermining his character.

The development from love to hate was a slow, natural burn. Those two assumed control over Levu from the word go- even as Ben initially wanted to dump a member of the #momsquad. (We will get back to Ben’s assertions that Chrissy is just a mom later). After swap, Ben mused that he was in trouble for having lost Chrissy to another tribe- meanwhile Chrissy just made new allies.

The two reunited at the Outback Steakhouse™ sponsored merge as strong as you’d imagine, with new allies to utilize that would eventually lead into double-crossing. Chrissy was talking to Ryan about voting Ben in seventh, while Ben was planning the double agent plan to blindside Chrissy’s side and still act as a friend.

Woof, no wonder Chrissy was mad. Chrissy took being blindsided really hard because of the attitudes of others. Her only solace was having two people who supported her- Ryan, and Ben, even if she wanted to blindside the latter. Then it turns out Ben was pretending, and when Chrissy confronted him back at camp Ben was alarmingly condescending, giving flippant answers and blaming it on her attitude.

At one point, he accuses her of mothering him, which is disheartening since Chrissy straight-up called him a jerk. No matter how Chrissy acts, her position, her membership at MENSA, because of her age and gender, she is the mother. Not an actuary, a scholar, or intelligent- just a mother.

I cannot see this divide working well for either of them. True, as I said, she can work with him, but there is no love lost between them. Chrissy shut the door on reconciliation after she denied Ben reward, and Ben made a fake idol to trick Chrissy out of finding the real one, loving the idea of humiliating her. At the end of the day, Chrissy is another person I can see getting Ben out, quite directly, but she’s also another person who Ben could get back at during FTC, creating some mutually assured destruction.

Someone posted a theory to Clubs, and it’s one I think circulates- that Chrissy does to Ben what David did to Jay in MvGX. Using her fake idol that was once a super idol, she lets Ben find it, and Ben is so jazzed he doesn’t look for another one and ends up wiping himself out. Oh the irony, Ben being humiliated by Chrissy with a fake idol. I think it’s very plausible. However, if Chrissy and Devon both get Ben out but Ben gets them both back as a juror, what happens? It’s not like Ryan “Tasha” Ulrich has the late game edit to win.

My answer to that is that Ryan will not make the end.

My friends, allow me to reiterate- never underestimate Doctor Mike!

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Mike

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Putting him alone, not with anyone else, was deliberate- Mike’s main influence on relationships is not having any. He’s not tied to anyone, and goes along with the relationships and rivalries of others. He’s not about to be roasted like others want to do to Ben, but he also isn’t set to make the end without putting in work.

SPOILERS- While widely known and released by Redmond pre-season, this is going to be preceded by a finale spoiler everyone may not know about. Viewer discretion advised!

If Ben doesn’t win immunity at F5, Mike is safe. Either Ben goes or Ben tries to idol out someone who isn’t him. Mike making the F4 is dangerous because immunity isn’t the only way he makes the end. At the F4, the immunity winner gets the only vote- not to evict, but to save. They can pick one person to make the end, and the other two compete in firemaking to see who gets the third slot. I believe this is the advantage that someone gets in the finale.

We’ll get more into my thoughts on this twist when it plays out. However, it gives Mike options. He doesn’t just have to win immunity. He can campaign to be taken by the winner. And if not- he just has to be better at making fire. This is, to indicate my thoughts on the twist, way too easy, but if Mike gets it done, he’s in the F3. Personally, I hope he wins immunity and doesn’t get to the end solely because of a twist no one knew about.



SPOILERS OVER

If Mike is in the F3, I would guess Ryan is not- because I think Chrissy and Devon are. Honestly, I could see Mike posing fierce competition. For my money, he wouldn’t be a great winner entirely because I think he tanked his game at Final 10 and did nothing to really worm into any majority, just doing his best to not be other people. Still, the jury has a lot of his friends on it, friends he has not lost- and as the game devolves into others spitting into each other’s faces that’s a strong quality.

Mike winning, as I indicated last week, would be the best outcome for the story. For one, because I think that while he’s a bad player, I think a bad player winning is what this season of overexertion needs. For another, how beautiful would it be if the winner of such an intense, hateful season, was the cartoonishly cocky, incompetent doctor Mike, whose best asset was being cool and never losing any of the friends he made? What an Aesop, and a testament to the social game, that someone could flop with attempted big moves but still win because he was infinitely more likable than his competition.

Of the potential outcomes, I’ve warmed up to a Chrissy win- though it could smooth over consequences of her behavior, I do not think in Survivor any +40 woman has had continuously bad behavior pushed aside because she was strategic. It’s hard to say, though, that she isn’t the polar opposite of Mike. She’s someone whose social flaws would be forgiven for her strategic game, he’s someone whose strategic flaws would be forgiven for his social game. While the former never seems to happen for her demographic, the latter never really happens in Survivor anymore. The former would be encouraging, the latter would be the right direction for the show.

I think while Mike’s most prominent relationship right now is with no one, the one when he reaches the jury is his most prominent relationship with everyone. I think he’s one of the rare modern day winners who could take it on sheer likability.

Next and Final Time on… Survivor!

I hope I’ve served as the hype-woman for the finale sufficiently. It has the potential to make or break the season, with anywhere between a season-breaking winner and the best non-Lauren winner this season could really ask for. A lot could happen, and I can safely say I am more excited to see how this turns out than I have ever been.

-Cameron

P.S. Whoever takes down Jessica and Cody on TAR30 will be my favorite team ever