# Survivor finale tonight Who wins? Speculation and Spoilers **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 15, 2011, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000 "2011-05-15T16:09:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/121 "2011-05-17T00:28:43Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > That seemed so obvious (well, it was obvious to me) that I assumed that they had instructions that they could only place their tiles in the way they did. Yeah, there had to be more instructions. Otherwise, why did they all dump the tiles in one side and then move them one at a time to the other? ---
**Author:** ![tsm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/db5fbb/32.png) [@tsm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tsm)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/122 "2011-05-17T00:33:48Z")
I was really expecting the tiles to all be randomly mixed throughout the four bags. I was surprised to find they had put 1-10 in the first bag, 21-40 in the second, etc. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/123 "2011-05-17T05:29:31Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > That chick he married looked familiar. I think she’s the actress that was in that horrible vampire detective series a few years ago. Grant is with Christina Cox. I recognized her from ABC’s short lived _Defying Gravity_. ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/124 "2011-05-17T18:44:05Z")
> [@MissSwitac](#): > > Big deal, Rob wins. It’s no big accomplishment. he’s had 4 chances to hone his game and it’s no big accomplishment. Plus, they always bring in a certain amount of stupid players whose only strategy is to let someone else run the game and ride their coattails. This game was clearly meant for Rob or Russell to win. Since Russell left early, they had lots of puzzle challenges that they know Rob is good at. Hmmm, what a coincidence. His poor wife had to sacrifice so much in order for him to play Survivor YET AGAIN. Did they already run out of her million dollar prize winnings? This show has jumped the shark and back again. Quit bringing people back, quit having so many hidden immunity idols, get rid of Redemption Island. Bow out gracefully Survivor, your golden boy finally won and you’ve run out of ideas. Y’know, Survivor can be great again: just select bad-ass contestants who think strategically and come to play and sprinkle in some wild cards who are just a little bit nutty. That and cool challenges. With the exception of Rob and Phillip, this season was pretty much void of both, IMHO. Rob’s sheeple were just a bit pathetic… ---
**Author:** ![Moonchild](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@Moonchild](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonchild)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/125 "2011-05-17T18:45:47Z")
… with the exception of Grant. Not really a guy who game to play – dude, you gotta be able to character assess to do well here and you clearly didn’t – but the coolest cat in show history. Serious man crush going on here.:eek: ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/126 "2011-05-17T19:03:51Z")
I think it would be nice if Survivor went back to picking contestants from the pool who submit applications, instead of recruiting (and bringing back prior contestants). I swear a lot of the people we’ve seen lately have never watched the show. Or, like Matt, have reasons for competing that have nothing to do with winning the game. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2011, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/127 "2011-05-17T19:08:53Z")
> [@Moonchild](#): > > Y’know, Survivor can be great again: just select bad-ass contestants who think strategically and come to play and sprinkle in some wild cards who are just a little bit nutty. That and cool challenges. With the exception of Rob and Phillip, this season was pretty much void of both, IMHO. Rob’s sheeple were just a bit pathetic… There’s a third leg to the triangle: photogenic hotties. The ones who score low in all 3 categories get very little airtime. The problem is if you don’t have contestants that straddle these 3 categories, it’s not so great. Admittedly, Rob is easy on the eyes, but most of the others are extremely one-dimensional. Russell is a mix of strategy and nuttiness, but he was out early. He did get a lot of airtime, though. Some examples from past seasons, Parvati is hot + strategic. Yau Man is strategic + eccentric, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Batsinma\_Belfry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@Batsinma\_Belfry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Batsinma_Belfry)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2011, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/128 "2011-05-18T06:30:53Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > Grant is with Christina Cox. I recognized her from ABC’s short lived _Defying Gravity_. And the vamp/detective series was \* Blood Ties\*. Hopefully, she has better luck in her personal life than in her professional one. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/129 "2011-05-19T05:53:10Z")
> [@Batsinma\_Belfry](#): > > Natalie wasn’t the only one who looked totally different. What about Grant? He went from being a scrumptious example of manhood, ( if you overlooked the espadrilles), to looking like an extra from “Little House on The Prairie.” So true! I have to admit that I’d have bailed on the entire season were it not for him. He was delicious. Then…crash and burn. He chopped off the locks, which was a Very Bad Thing. He seemed almost feminine in his demeanor at the reunion show. It was like he dipped his hotness in ice water. It didn’t help that he acted like a pussy over Rob’s betrayal. Listen, dude, did you read the rules? It’s winner take all. It’s not like the top 6 share the million bucks, so you knew that the last 3 votes were going to get ugly. Don’t participate in the bloodshed while it suits you, then whine when the people you are going to turn on, turn on you before you have the chance to cut their throat. Besides, anyone with a smidgeon of sense would have realized that being dominant on challenges would be seen by the others as a threat. So get over yourself. And grow your hair back. Phillip has a son, huh? I can’t imagine him getting over his misogyny long enough to sleep with a woman. I love when he said that his strength was his “social game.” Huh? Rob’s “I’m doing this for my wife and kid” line got old. The show has already paid them at least $700k+ after taxes. If that’s not sufficient, then at some point, he should consider getting, oh, I don’t know, a job. Other than that, I’m good with Rob. Russell attacking Steve was ridiculous. Steve voted him out because Russell, unlike Rob, annoyed the shit out of his tribe. Hey Russ, maybe by the fourth try you can TRY to not act like an asshole and perhaps you can get past the opening rounds. David’s proposal came off as embarrassing and desperate. If they met through Survivor, they can’t have dated long. And, honestly, I’d have rather heard from some of the other players than use all that time for a really ill-conceived proposal. Clearly that woman was not in love with him. Once again, I was ticked by how many commercial interruptions there were during the reunion show. They should edit the final show into 1.5 hours, then commit 1.5 hours into the reunion. I HATE that Survivor is rotating former players into the game. It gives them either an advantage or disadvantage right out of the gate. I liked the level playing field. I also hated RI and was disappointed to read that it’ll be back. Just as pitching the perfect game ultimately means a snoozer of a game, so did Rob’s “perfect game” make this season incredibly boring. The Stepford wives did nothing but follow Rob’s game plan to the letter. Nobody had the guts or sense to vote Rob out, so there were very few surprises at TC. I hated this season. I like the idea of mixing up tribes much earlier in the game to try and mix up the alliances somewhat. Blind loyalty does not translate into an interesting game. ---
**Author:** ![AlsoNamedBort](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alsonamedbort/32/3213_2.png) [@AlsoNamedBort](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AlsoNamedBort)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000/130 "2011-05-19T16:29:02Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > David’s proposal came off as embarrassing and desperate. If they met through Survivor, they can’t have dated long. And, honestly, I’d have rather heard from some of the other players than use all that time for a really ill-conceived proposal. Clearly that woman was not in love with him. I’m really curious if they met through Survivor or if it was total coincidence. I mean, his season was just on and she was the first one voted out, so I doubt they were both at Survivor events. Then again, David was clearly a big Survivor fan, so maybe he just asked her out after seeing her on TV. Maybe he just wants to meet Coach. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/survivor-finale-tonight-who-wins-speculation-and-spoilers/582000.md?page=6)