There were some friggin’ takeaways this season.

Unlike many finales, the finale in GI had moments that justified the existence of the season- a very low bar to clear, but you would be surprised how often that bar is knocked over and stomped on. While underreported, the final four practicing firemaking on Ghost Island while Dom gets an urn for regrettable vote decisions just for the sake of ornamental reasons was really neat (I was scared they would hide an extra vote in there for Dom or something ugh).

Also, Domenick’s decision in firemaking had many different possibilities that could have led to his win or a flameout exit- mainly, the idea of him taking Angela’s place and potentially beating him in the challenge and winning in a blowout in the finals. Since Domenick and Wendell didn’t cut each other before finals, they were always gonna face this dilemma- and Domenick got the middle option- not going home because he gave away immunity, but still facing Wendell at FTC.

(I will still address the firemaking twist- I don’t like it. I still think it lets an alliance of four get away with the win just after the F7. It is a big contributor to making the game easier for people. But the implementation here was the most fair it could have been. Everyone knew about it, everyone planned around it, and while Wendell was the target who beat Angela, there’s a good chance that Laurel could have kept Wendell in due to their social game and the fact that she seemed to think she had no chance. It’s still not a concept I think is totally fair, but this is the least egregious way I think it could have gone. Low standards and all.)

Oh yeah. There was that moment too.

Obviously the finale ended in an interesting way. The 5-5 tie last night was handled really well as far as TV goes. Jeff reading it there while all 13 in the season shit several pairs of pants was such a dynamo TV moment. I always wanted to see immediate reactions, and Laurel was really classy to getting literally zero votes whatsoever at the finals.

Not only that, but we got a really interesting winner. I mean, my mild to moderate like of Wendell, though it did damper in later episodes, wasn’t a secret. What really gets me about this jury vote being tied was that it felt very social game vs strategic game.

It’s no secret that ever since the much beloved Michele win, Jeff has been pressed harder than a void stamp to her million dollar check would be if he had his way. A lot of the changes lately have been as a direct response to kill the social game altogether. The new jury format reared its ugly head into doing what he wanted- Michael encouraged Dom and talked him up while interrupting and talking down to Wendell whenever he could. The myriad of advantages that have been added to the game are designed to make it impossible to play a safe game. He encourages (aka forces) fans to only care about big moves and not the social game.

And yet, here we have a winner who won primarily through the social game. All of that work, and it got him nowhere. It almost makes me pity him.

Though the two’s social and strategic games certainly intermingled, Wendell was known for social moves- taking Angela on steak reward, giving Sea Bass his seashell, playing the idol on Laurel because she reminded him of his sister. Domenick was known for strategic moves- more or less guiding the flow of the post-merge into a way that benefited him and Wendell. The two were capable, though slightly weaker, in other areas- Domenick was dismissive and made a show of himself that Wendell performed in the background of, and Wendell was oft just behind the strategic ideas Dom had.

Ultimately, Wendell pulled it out, because as promised at the GC finale, the tie is broken by the third placer- in this case Laurel. Considering her strong bond with Wendell, the tiebreaker was a no-brainer. As soon as Jeff decided to read the votes there, I knew exactly what would happen and that Laurel would vote Wendell. That may not be the hardest thing in the world to predict, but I need a victory in prediction when I get it.

Still, I think it’s only karmic that after all the shit fans gave her this season, the outcome of the season was decided by Laurel- and by all intents and purposes, she chose her friend over the Blue Collar Family Man so many fans seem in reverence of.

As you can imagine, any time a winner wins via a social game over strategery, fans tend to flip out. You know, the “how dare Sebastian have emotions, this makes me angry” song and dance, the “jurors should never be bitter unless they’re bitter in a way that I get my way with” routine, and other forms of immediate hypocrisy that exposes their bias in an immediate way. Like I said, the entitlement really shows in a season where so little of note goes on.

Let’s be real- strategic people who have made the most big moves have lost many a season due to bitter jurors. Spencer made a lot of fabled big moves and lost to Jeremy 10-0-0 because jurors hated how arrogant he was. Dawn was so much at the strategic forefront that a lot of people saw her as ruthless and fake, and the one who went with her to see her lose won 8-0-0. A lot of people have made the biggest moves of the season and lost, and I refuse to believe those going on rage tears because the Blue Collar Family Men lost got just as angry when an older woman faced the same fate.

The context goes one step further, where Wendell and Domenick were separated by so little- and people act like it’s the end of the world that they didn’t get the winner they desired- like, how do you choose Dom over Wendell as the absolute better player? They’re so close that Wendell edged Domenick out- there were not as many miles between them as you think, even with multipliers.

But edge Domenick out, Wendell did.

Let’s recall early game, after the first swap. The three Navitis sans Angela offer her up as the boot, but Dom’s obsession with showing his idol dick spooks the Malolos so much that they vote Morgan to dodge the idols and weaken him. However, Laurel and Donathan decide to side with Wendell over Chris because they like Wendell too much to split on him. Wendell is named as the reason that alliance is formed.

I already mentioned Wendell’s social moves, but I think they did stand out more than Dom running the game in a nondescript matter. Like I said, Wendell was with Dom every step of the way, if a step or two behind, and the social moves he made were enough to make those steps up. Like, what’s the extremely angry Sebastian going to remember- that Dom did things to run the game, or that Wendell took him on steak dinner and saved his conch shell?

I think that’s important- as far as social moves go, Wendell never sunk below Domenick. Sebastian said in the jury that they both hurt his feelings. Both. But he still voted Wendell, because Wendell had instances of being nice to him. Sebastian was a social voter and not a strategy voter, or what others would refer to as “a bitter juror who should have been kicked off for not respecting the game”.

Still, every time Domenick would show off and address players for voting against him, Wendell would show off just a little bit less than him, so the blame was more on Domenick “owning Sebastian and Donathan” by showing the jury how he tricked them, than Wendell putting his idol on for no real reason and being snarky. The things Domenick was criticized for, Wendell was less guilty of, and the things Wendell was praised for, Domenick was less complicit in.

After the tie, it was up to Laurel, the vastly hated woman who did not play the game and ruined the season singlehandedly and literally caused all the problems Kellyn did not, to decide the winner. And she, with no time to process who to vote for, voted for the one who compared her to his sister and was always understanding of her- and while Dom treated her well, he was dismissive of her a few times. She was better friends of Wendell, enough that she canceled her attempt to flip because Wendell lost immunity by a mistake. Voting him to win is the least surprising outcome I can think of.

This whole season was in response to Michele winning largely due to a social game and not due to big moves. The latest in Survivor since she won has been to emphasize that you have to make big moves or you deserve to lose. Jeff even said in his latest interview that you cannot play a quiet game and win. You have to make big moves. And yet, in the biggest show of demanding big moves and #playahnthegayum, no big moves are made someone wins largely due to their social game over someone making #bigmovez.

They can punish people in the edits for voting Wendell. They can make them cautionary tales. And viewers can throw all the fits and stomp their little feet all they want. But this season is proof that despite all their best efforts, the social game will not be stopped. The original reason they created the show is the reason people win still today.

Try as he might, Jeff Probst and the producers cannot stomp that out.

As for the future, I might do a cast ranking but I probably won’t because like 17-6 would probably be me just pointing at people and going “who”, but as it stands, I have my eye on foreign Survivors- the SA, SNZ, and eventual Australian Survivor versions. It will not be a summer off for me- I still got shit to say.

-Cam