After 39 days, 13 episodes, we finally have our winner of Survivor Cagayan. And with Tony we truly have a 100% deserving winner the likes of we don’t see that often. Usually there’s always a valid argument why you can say the best player didn’t win. But not this season. Tony played the hardest, the smartest and the most strategic and he managed to be even as well-liked as you can be, playing the game like Tony did.
In this final episode, we got 3 more tribals and the expected final 2. We got a lot of drama with the ‘loved-ones visit’ and the questions from the jury. But we also got 2 entertaining final tribal councils where Spencer’s exit wasn’t that absolute as you would expect. And the fact that Woo had all the power in his hands in the end was as much entertaining as it was ironic. Let’s break it down.
Right from the get-go Survivor blindsides us by changing up the format of the finale. Two seasons ago they also decided to change up the format of the final. They put the pre-jury boots in the audience, didn’t even let everyone in the jury speak at the reunion and they also gave airtime to people who had nothing to do with the season and didn’t add anything to the finale. Like many of you would agree this was a change for the worse. Apparently Survivor agreed as they changed it up again. Not only did they reinstate the entire cast on the center stage, they also interrupted the final episode a couple of times by giving a behind the scenes look at the live reunion show. I really enjoyed this and the fact that it interrupted the final episode didn’t bother me. I also felt this was an added value to the show. So congratz to CBS and Survivor, as far as I’m concerned these are changes for the good.
After decompressing and a good night sleep after yet another blindside, the spirits of the remaining four survivors are lifted when a boat arrives full of loved ones. Kass her husband, Tony’s friend, Spencer’s sister and Woo’s cousin join the final four in a small feast. After the festivities are done, the final four and their loved ones head over for an immunity challenge where a fear of height is not advisable. Sadly for Kass, she did not seem to be completely at ease at top of that unstable looking pole. This caused Kass to end up in a unwinnable position. But thanks to the support of her husband and her calm but efficient puzzling skills, she made a tremendous comeback and won immunity. Kudos to Kass!
Of course, this spells appending doom for Spencer. He’s still the biggest threat out there and now he has nothing to protect him. This doesn’t mean that he has no plan however. Spencer attentively spotted that Jeff Probst didn’t say that the previous immunity challenge was their chance to plead their case to the jury. This means that we’re heading to a final 2. With this in mind Spencer approaches Tony with his theory and states that if he votes Spencer out now and Tony doesn’t win immunity next challenge, Tony’s out. A valid statement and Spencer’s only argument to possibly save him. He articulates his argument very well and this shows once again that Spencer has a mind to play this game.
But what about Tony? Spencer’s argument is a legitimate reason for Tony to worry. So did he make the wrong decision to vote out Spencer anyways? I would say not really. It is true that with Spencer gone and if Tony doesn’t win immunity the chances are very high that Tony goes next. However, if he keeps Spencer, there’s also a very high chance that Spencer wins the next challenge and with it, also wins this season. So there’s a high risk either way for Tony and he has to decide with risk is bigger. In the end Tony figured by keeping Woo, he at least has a bigger chance of winning in the final tribal instead of going up against Spencer. This means the end for Spencer’s journey and he goes out fourth (as I predicted ^^) in a 3-1 vote.
The final three doesn’t get long to enjoy the achievement of reaching the final three. The next morning they’re presented with an immense maze as the finale immunity challenge. In a showdown between Kass and Woo, where literally a half of a second separates the two, Woo comes on top and wins immunity and his spot in the final 2. This means that Woo decides who sits next to him and who becomes the final jurymember. Pretty ironic, if you consider Woo was the dimwitted player that went through the motions the entire season, following the commands of his general Tony.
Now you might think the choice is simple for Woo, take Kass to the end and win the game. But nothing is simple in Woo-land. The choice between Kass and Tony is a huge morale dilemma for Woo. Does he stay loyal to Tony who he relied on so heavily the entire season? Or does he make the decision that makes sense? Now to understand Woo’s choice, you have to take a good look at his character. He comes from a culture where respect and honor is everything. Also, Woo doesn’t have that cutthroat mentality and just is a nice guy. With just a day earlier, saying that taking Tony would be the stupidest move ever, Woo chooses the honorable way and keeps Tony and sends Kass to the jury. Is it a smart move? Of course not but it is a move that fits his character. You can say a lot about Woo, but he is at least consistent in what he does and I guess I can respect that, even though this decision cost him a million dollars as the reunion show would prove.
With Woo and Tony in the final 2, you would think done deal right and Tony wins? I kind of had my doubts after the questions of the jury. Tony was grilled by the jury and he took a defensive stance which rarely is a good way to go. Sarah and Morgan were a question mark to me and so was Jefra who went hard on Tony. Jeremiah also seemed to be insulted by Tony’s gameplay. LJ seemed dissatisfied by Tony’s answer to his question. Trish had a very emotional reaction which also made me doubt her vote. The only vote I was sure of was Spencer, who made a plea to the jury to vote for Tony. A plea that fell on deaf ears with Tasha because she gave her vote to Woo which struck me as odd. In the end the votes weren’t that close at all. Tony slammed Woo with an 8-1 vote and became the very much satisfying and deserving winner of Survivor Cagayan.
In the reunion show we didn’t hear much interesting. Apparently Sarah and Tony aren’t talking because of a twitter dispute. (who cares right?) We did however learn that the next season will be Blood vs. Water 2. And if the rumors are right, the second Blood vs. Water season will be played with all new players. Now I never was a huge fan of the first Blood vs. Water because I felt it took away the feeling that literally anybody could play and win this game. With Blood vs. Water it seemed like you had to be connected with an all-star to have a shot at playing now. I think I would take more enjoyment if it were all new players. Definitely if the cast is as good as this season.
Now the season of Survivor might have ended but I’m not taking a summer break just yet. There’s still a casestudy to be made, which will center around the winner, Tony Vlachos. I also want to share some plans for a blog project that I will be doing in the summer break. So more news to come, stay tuned.
You can find the day after vids and ponderosa vids down below and I will see you next time!
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