Survivor Season 32 -- Is it too soon to care?

[jsc1953]

@araminty

Ugh. Boring finale, boring winner. I think Aubrey was the best performer, encapsulated by her presence on the stage in the reunion, she seemed so poised, especially compared with Tai babbling beside her.

As for the next season… ugh again. I’m so sick of generations taking potshots at one another. It’s so unhelpful, just driving people apart for no reason. Everyone sucks, OK?

“Babbling” is the perfect description for what Tai was doing.

Well, it is a competition – they have to divide people into teams using some criteria. It’s either totally random, or Fans vs Favorites, or Brains vs Brawn vs Beauty or Old vs Young. (Didn’t they try it by race once? Which was too controversial, and anyway they scrambled the tribes immediately). But no matter how they start, it never really seems to matter. I don’t think I’ve ever heard a tribe discuss their common characteristics vis a vis the other tribes’.

[araminty]

@jsc1953

I don’t think I’ve ever heard a tribe discuss their common characteristics vis a vis the other tribes’.

What? Michelle just said in the final TC, and again in the reunion (paraphrasing), “Because I was put in the Beauty tribe, I had to prove my strength and my intelligence.”

Original tribe alliances almost always come up in the final episodes, as players try to justify turning on their allies. You hear it over and over, “we’ve been together since day one, we think alike,” etc.
The generation thing just seems so played out. Maybe I see too many crappy Facebook memes about how Millenials suck haw haw haw.

[jsc1953]

@araminty

What? Michelle just said in the final TC, and again in the reunion (paraphrasing), “Because I was put in the Beauty tribe, I had to prove my strength and my intelligence.”

Original tribe alliances almost always come up in the final episodes, as players try to justify turning on their allies. You hear it over and over, “we’ve been together since day one, we think alike,” etc.
The generation thing just seems so played out. Maybe I see too many crappy Facebook memes about how Millenials suck haw haw haw.

Maybe she needed to prove it to herself, but it wasn’t because the other tribes were pointing and laughing at the dumb Beauties. That stuff never happens.

Yes, tribal alliances are strong – but just because they’re tribal, not because the tribe has any defining characteristics. All it takes is to wear the same color buff for a few weeks.

[araminty]

@jsc1953

Maybe she needed to prove it to herself, but it wasn’t because the other tribes were pointing and laughing at the dumb Beauties. That stuff never happens.

The first guy who spoke at the final TC (Kevin? I’m bad with names) said, “Michelle, prove you’re intelligent. Aubry, prove you’re strong.” It wasn’t her idea, it came from him.

I think the tribes do play up to their stereotypes a bit, when they’re put into these arbitrary groups.

@jsc1953

Yes, tribal alliances are strong – but just because they’re tribal, not because the tribe has any defining characteristics. All it takes is to wear the same color buff for a few weeks.

This happens too, but even within “random” tribes, people find commonalities.

[Wheelz]

This was the first time I’ve been truly surprised by the winner.

Going into final TC I actually thought it was a toss-up between Aubrey and Tai, and after TC I thought Aubrey would win. Biggest surprise was Tai not getting a single vote. He may be an odd bird, but he played a good game. All of his flipping actually kept him in the game, and that *is *the idea after all. I thought at least some of the jurors would recognize that instead of just being butthurt. I do wish he’d defended himself better against Scot’s comments. Sure, his extra vote didn’t work out like he’d planned, but I’d hardly call it stupid. And just because he never played his idol doesn’t mean he didn’t use it. His refusal to make the super-idol was his biggest and best move.

But ultimately, Tai didn’t make his case at TC very well, while Aubrey did so beautifully. Michelle? Well… She was there. Apparently folks disliked Aubry and Tai so much that being there was enough. Disappointing.

I agree that the after-show was lame. They need to either expand so that everybody gets recognized (would’ve like to hear Dr. Peter’s thoughts on how he saw himself on the show, for instance), and/or cut out all the promotional crap, and/or actually reveal the winner before 10:00, thus devoting the full last hour to the reunion rather than about 40 minutes.

[magnusblitz]

@Wheelz

Biggest surprise was Tai not getting a single vote. He may be an odd bird, but he played a good game. All of his flipping actually kept him in the game, and that *is *the idea after all. I thought at least some of the jurors would recognize that instead of just being butthurt. I do wish he’d defended himself better against Scot’s comments. Sure, his extra vote didn’t work out like he’d planned, but I’d hardly call it stupid. And just because he never played his idol doesn’t mean he didn’t use it. His refusal to make the super-idol was his biggest and best move.

I wasn’t surprised Tai didn’t get a votes. His first problem was that it didn’t seem like he had any real friends/allies on the jury - his best friend in the game was Caleb, and his best ally in the game down the stretch was Aubrey. His second was that he never has been a good speaker and I didn’t expect him to do well talking to the jury. And while his game did start strong, he did get worse as the game went along. I agree that not playing the Idol doesn’t mean he didn’t use it (clearly people didn’t want to try and vote for him because of it), and betraying Scot was the right move at that time since he would’ve been gone in a re-vote. But his use of the extra vote was completely wasteful (though, in hindsight, he was trying to vote out the eventual winner…) and he routinely bungled and gave away info at TCs. If you’re looking at best strategic player, you have to vote for Aubrey over Tai.

I agree that the after-show was lame. They need to either expand so that everybody gets recognized (would’ve like to hear Dr. Peter’s thoughts on how he saw himself on the show, for instance), and/or cut out all the promotional crap, and/or actually reveal the winner before 10:00, thus devoting the full last hour to the reunion rather than about 40 minutes.

They used to try and get everyone a question… seems in the last few years they’ve shifted away from that and had more promotional crap, or interviewing random people in the audience, stuff like that. I agree, go back to asking questions of the contestants I’ve been following.

[notfrommensa]

I have no idea who Sia is. Someone on Twitter called her Cousin It. That seems appropriate.

[EllisDee]

I was rooting for Michelle, but honestly I didn’t think she had a chance in hell. Especially after the awesome mauling Neal laid on her as he was voted off the jury.

Like most people, I figured it would be between Aubry and Tai, with Michelle getting no votes at all. So I was kind of bummed that her final win only got her a lousy advantage instead of being able to send Aubry to jury and end with final two. (If you get no votes, it doesn’t matter if you nullify one of them.)

However, I actually found Scot’s reasoning compelling. Tai did mishandle his advantages, and Michelle did get stronger as the game went on compared to Aubry, who really did seem to run out of steam as the end drew closer. I’ve never really looked at it from that perspective; of course it was a pro athlete who saw it that way. (Where performing better late is what crowns champions. ie: The playoffs. A better team getting cold will most-times lose against a weaker team that is getting hot. A prime example would be the 2007 Superbowl, when the 10-6 Giants beat the 16-0 Patriots.)

Michelle was clearly on the chopping block several weeks in a row, but kept winning her way to another week. Aubry’s claim to fame on that score was making fire, but that wasn’t her win so much as it was Cydney’s loss. Cydney could still be sitting at that fire pit right now and still wouldn’t have a fire.

Agreed with everyone that the reunion show sucked. I FFWDed through most of it.

Next season intrigues me, though. One of the biggest complaints is that they stock the show with nothing but attractive 20-somethings, so I’m a bit surprised that more people aren’t excited about a season where fully half of the contestants are over 40.

[PunditLisa]

They only thing that they did right on the finale is to dispense with the “Walk down Memory Lane” glurge that usually stinks up the last show. They clearly didn’t have enough material to fill in 2 hours, so why not make it as compelling as possible and simply start the reveal/reunion at 1.5 hours instead of waiting until the final hour?

It would help if they didn’t make the finale a separate (programmable) event from the reunion show, especially since the winner isn’t revealed until after the reunion show begins. Why the separation?

Michelle winning was a surprise for me, especially after Tai’s very moving speech about how he sees the good in everyone. I even envisioned a 3/3/2 split, which would have been historic. The only thing I can figure is that Tai’s multiple personalities annoyed the others. I don’t think that his love of animals and trees was an act. It’s just too bad for him that the jury was filled with a bunch of bitter, emasculated men who voted for the pretty, popular girl, instead of the nerdy girl. Ah, well, one can dream.

Neal’s parting speech was nasty. I liked him fine up until those remarks. And, of course, they look even more foolish in retrospect because Michelle won.

I noted that they ignored the ER Doc and Nick in the reunion show. Guess they weren’t as awesome as they thought they were in their minds. Seriously, I wonder if it was embarrassing for them to look at themselves, and the seriously arrogant shit that came out of their mouths, when they watched it later. Do people like that recognize their own arrogance?

The Sia bit was all kinds of awful. I hate when the reunion show turns into a promo for someone, or worse, a “Look who we know” deal. Especially when who they know isn’t so awesome. Survivor, at its best, is a social experiment caused by throwing 20 nobodies into a competition and seeing how they act. The “winner” is one of the least interesting aspects of the show. So by bringing in Sia or Drew Carey, they diminish the very thing that makes it interesting.

(If Sia wanted to contribute $50k to Tai and $50k to charity, then that’s wonderful. They should have filmed a 30 second bit and then shown Tai’s reaction to it on the live show. The whole “Let’s ambush the reunion AND fluster the host” was a bad idea.

Finally, I hope that they invite Mark back to future shows. I don’t know how he was able to fly under the radar like that, pardon my pun, but that was remarkable.

[muldoonthief]

@PunditLisa

Finally, I hope that they invite Mark back to future shows. I don’t know how he was able to fly under the radar like that, pardon my pun, but that was remarkable.

Do you really think he has any hope of surviving without Tai to protect him?

[SlackerInc]

@SlackerInc

Wha?? I have been surprised to see so few people on various forums touting Michele, but this is even more incomprehensible. I have watched every episode of every season but one of Survivor, and I consider her one of the very best to ever play the game. No exaggeration!

In addition to the usual winning characteristics (good at challenges, smart, strategic, good social game and jury management), she is careful not to let Jeff’s TC questions lead or provoke her into saying something impolitic. I consider this an overlooked and very important *Survivor *skill. It’s not a skill, of course, that CBS is going to play up, because they don’t want to encourage it. There was a very overrated player from a few seasons back named Kim Spradin who won despite being terrible at this. And the very underrated player who won the previous seasion, Sophie Clarke, IMO did so in part because she was good at it.

Ahem.

(That was three weeks ago, BTW.)

[DrDeth]

@PunditLisa

They only thing that they did right on the finale is to dispense with the “Walk down Memory Lane” glurge that usually stinks up the last show. They clearly didn’t have enough material to fill in 2 hours, so why not make it as compelling as possible and simply start the reveal/reunion at 1.5 hours instead of waiting until the final hour?
Michelle winning was a surprise for me, especially after Tai’s very moving speech about how he sees the good in everyone. I even envisioned a 3/3/2 split, which would have been historic. The only thing I can figure is that Tai’s multiple personalities annoyed the others. I don’t think that his love of animals and trees was an act. It’s just too bad for him that the jury was filled with a bunch of bitter, emasculated men who voted for the pretty, popular girl, instead of the nerdy girl. Ah, well, one can dream.

Neal’s parting speech was nasty. I liked him fine up until those remarks. And, of course, they look even more foolish in retrospect because Michelle won.
The Sia bit was all kinds of awful. I hate when the reunion show turns into a promo for someone, or worse, a “Look who we know” deal.

Finally, I hope that they invite Mark back to future shows. I don’t know how he was able to fly under the radar like that, pardon my pun, but that was remarkable.

Yeah, Walk down Memory Lane needed to go.:rolleyes:

I wasn’t surprised but I was surprised by the fact the vote wasn’t that close.

Sia and Drew bits were Ok but too long.

That’s funny!

[jsc1953]

What happens if there’s a tie in the final vote?

[AlsoNamedBort]

@EllisDee

However, I actually found Scot’s reasoning compelling. Tai did mishandle his advantages, and Michelle did get stronger as the game went on compared to Aubry, who really did seem to run out of steam as the end drew closer. I’ve never really looked at it from that perspective; of course it was a pro athlete who saw it that way. (Where performing better late is what crowns champions. ie: The playoffs. A better team getting cold will most-times lose against a weaker team that is getting hot. A prime example would be the 2007 Superbowl, when the 10-6 Giants beat the 16-0 Patriots.)

Michelle was clearly on the chopping block several weeks in a row, but kept winning her way to another week. Aubry’s claim to fame on that score was making fire, but that wasn’t her win so much as it was Cydney’s loss. Cydney could still be sitting at that fire pit right now and still wouldn’t have a fire.

I disagree that Michelle got stronger as the game went on though. She was clearly at the bottom of the alliance the whole time, just being used as a number to pick up votes. Once it got to five, she was saved once by Joe getting sick and then by winning immunity.

[magnusblitz]

@PunditLisa

They only thing that they did right on the finale is to dispense with the “Walk down Memory Lane” glurge that usually stinks up the last show.

They haven’t done it for awhile now. According to the Survivor Wiki, they didn’t air it in Redemption Island (season 22), and didn’t even do it for South Pacific (23) and every season from Blood vs Water (27) onward.

[muldoonthief]

If the Sia bit wasn’t staged, they need to strap on a pair and tell her that emulating Kanye isn’t a good thing.

If it was staged, they need to not stage stupid things as if they were spontaneous.

[EllisDee]

@AlsoNamedBort

I disagree that Michelle got stronger as the game went on though. She was clearly at the bottom of the alliance the whole time, just being used as a number to pick up votes. Once it got to five, she was saved once by Joe getting sick and then by winning immunity.

Michelle won five of the last eight challenges, including two of the last three immunity challenges.

[bobbycal]

michelle won challenges…her memory and puzzle skills showed extreme intelligence (for a beauty)…and she was diplomatic and forthcoming (and sincere) at the same time. a solid winner. no flaws in her game.

[Lare]

@jsc1953

What happens if there’s a tie in the final vote?

I wondered this too. Anyone know?

Another vote for making the reunion show more about the reunion instead of a commercial for the next season, interviews with people who have nothing to do with the show, etc.

[EllisDee]

@Lare

Another vote for making the reunion show more about the reunion instead of a commercial for the next season, interviews with people who have nothing to do with the show, etc.

Previews of the next season are my favorite part of the reunion show, and by a huge margin. Otherwise agreed.

If I were running it, I’d drop all the audience participation stuff and replace it with behind-the-scenes stuff that ended up getting cut for time from the episodes proper. Contestants interacting with production might be neat to see. And hell, toss in some Ponderosa footage.