Which do you believe?
Which fair warning is exactly what I am about to do here.
Because Ben does not win unless Ben gets to the final three.
Credit: CBS
He was a goner.
It was a fait accompli.
Instead, he was given new life and a chance to advance.
While most people probably fell quickly into LOVE IT!
camps, I can understand both sides.
On one hand, I get it.
Its a new twist!
New twists are exciting!
But then there is the inescapable feeling that it is also a bit of a cop-out.
(Probst and I have respectfully disagreed about this for years.)
So what has happened since then?
It happened to Malcolm inPhilippines.
It happened to previous winner Tina inBlood vs. Water.
It happened to Kelley inSecond Chance.
It happened to David inMillennials vs Gen X.
And it would have undoubtedly happened to Ben here.
Thats a pretty significant boost.
There are two ways of looking at this new twist.
One way is to say:Good!
Plus, its totally fair because this special help is open to all players.
Its not like at the beginning of the season the producers said, We like Ben.
Lets give him extra help to make it to the end.
Plus, this new twist offers a new strategic wrinkle.
So whats not to love?
Everyone at the merge automatically makes it to the end?
Allowing jurors to vote one of themselves into the finals?
Yes, it stinks to lose great players right before the final three.
But its also AMAZING!
Let it play out!
Like everyone, I like to see a new twist and how the players react.
Remember inKaoh Rongwhen Michele got to remove a member of the jury?
That was super cool!
I also would never want that to happen every season.
It was a nice one-time deal.
Part of what makes this show so great is that the best playersdofall short.
I have way too much respect for them to insinuate something like that.
I dont think there was anything untoward or underhanded about the twist.
Some former Survivors did not agree, however.
I also dont know their exact motivation for putting it there.
Also, producers SHOULD be having discussions on ways to improve the game and improve the show.
Not only is that their prerogative, but is their job.
They tried out a new final Tribal format last season, and thank God they did!
And you very well may agree.
That often makes for a much more compelling story.
AND THIS IS WHY I LOVESURVIVOR!
Exactly for debates like this!
How many shows on television can inspire such passionate opinions on both sides?
NotChicago Med, Ill tell you that much.
If so, theyre even smarter and sneakier than I thought.
Speaking of which, I polled you all as to what you thought of it.
Now that we got that out of the way, congratulations to Ben!
1 target on the board that is super impressive, and that is exactly what Ben did.
You cant deduct points from him for that.
The guy literally would not sleep while others were stacking Zs in the shelter.
(Recap continues on next page)
And congrats to Chrissy as well.
Give the lady her due.
She truly is Jersey Strong.
Speaking of Jersey, that brings us to Ryan.
For the 20th straight season, my choice came up short.
No hate on Ryans game though.
So a solid final three, all in all.
It sounds like weve gone through a lot, but the truth is…WEVE ONLY SCRATCHED THE SURFACE!
So lets get down to it and recap the rest of the finale.
Its our last finale of 2017 so we have to make it count.
(That, ladies and gentlemen, is what we in the biz call a tease.)
That last one was a little weak.
I mean, isnt that just kind of like saying This person is still in the game!
I guess that means Mikes not winning tonight.
While the others make small talk, Ben leaves immediately to go idol hunting.
He doesnt even bother making up any phony baloney lie about what hes up to.
He just runs away.
Ben is the bad guy in any horror movie, says Mike.
You keep trying to kill him, and he keeps coming back to life.
Everybody is zonked out cozy with their pillows.
(Cue Steve Martin inPlanes, Trains & Automobiles: Those arent pillows!)
It is indeed crazy that nobody is even making an attempt to follow him.
On one hand, you have Eddie Murphy rapping about cramming all sorts of things up a rear end.
Honestly, this is not even half the items on thestick-this-in-your-buttlist.
It would certainly explain why he has been able to find so many.
Also, where do you think Kel hid that beef jerky?
This is followed by everyone else waking up and swapping stories about how well they slept a perfect juxtaposition.
We then head off to the first immunity challenge, which takes place out in the water.
(As hard as Jeff tries, is there any food less sexy than veggies?
Balut, perhaps?)
Chrissy invites Mike and Devon to join her on the feast, and then the real fun begins.
This is the best plan ever!
He bought it hook, line, sinker, says Ryan.
That let us all know that he does not have a hidden immunity idol.
The only person laughing any harder than we were at this is Ben himself.
Im one step ahead of them through this whole game.
Its like a bunch of blind mice just running around bumping into stuff.
Unless…
Devon has an idea, and its a good one.
What if Bendoeshave an idol?
And what if Ben sees Devon as his biggest competition?
And thats exactly what happens.
People are going to bring the person to the end they feel they can beat.
(If hes mad on the jury thats not great, but its also better thanyoubeing on the jury.
And if anything, he should respect the intelligent game move.)
And the jury loves it!
Theres an interesting note to be made here in terms of immunity necklaces versus immunity idols.
I would argue that a challenge win is probably more impressive than finding an idol.
Juries seem to be more impressed with idols over necklaces and I think thats because of the theater involved.
The jury doesnt see the challenge.
They dont see the domination.
They dont see the big comeback.
They dont see the way someone almost passed out to will him or herself to victory.
All they see is someone walk in with a necklace.
Now compare that to playing an idol.
Its the height of drama!
Thats why the jury seems to lose its collective mind every time one is played.
Therefore the achievement seems heightened because it is happening right in front of their face.
They see someone saving themselves before their very eyes.
They see the other players still in the game with their open mouths and shocked looks.
They see it all.
And it therefore has far more impact, even if the achievement may not even be as great.
But the jury cant unsee what is happening right in front of them.
(Just ask Chrissy and F.U.
Mike thinks he would have beaten Ben?
Maybe he truly is coconuts after all.
You were…um, afraid to go to the bathroom.
And then you did, and you were very proud.
We are now the ones who are proud of you.
Nice job on that aqua dump.
Is that a hidden immunity idol in your pants or are you just happy to see me?
I kid, of course.
And then there is you, Roark…………Wait, Im sorry who the hell is Roark?!?
Is that a real person?
Because I am pretty sure that is not a real person.
Want to go all TattooJulie McCoyGopher on it.
you could go from first to worst in a second and a vice versa.
That means lots of hard work that all goes for naught as blocks constantly hit the ground.
Lets also pause for the cause to give some props to the editing department.
The montage of drops and foot locks are brilliant.
Except there is one teeny tiny problem.
He went into the upside down.
No, he was not forced to fight a Demogorgon and, if possible, save Barb.
Rather he placed his letter U in Hustlers upside down.
And sure enough, when he unlocks his rig to fix it, everything comes undone.
It was both beautiful and horrifying at the same time.
But then Ryan drops.
The entire challenge has turned into a symphony of destruction and futility.
But as he tries to lock it for the final time KABOOM!
(Another Ben bomb, I guess?)
Of course, thats not all she wins.
Im excited, man.
This leads us to an interesting point.
So by every single metric, Chrissy did the right thing.
Its not a great look.
Its a risky move, but one that in the right circumstances could be worth considering.
But Devon seems equally happy.
I get a chance to plead my case to the jury, says Devon.
Hes right, in a sense.
But thats only if he beats Ben.
Of course, he doesnt.
Hes not even close, actually.
Devon seems like a good dude who played a good game.
Not a great game, but a good game.
But I also expected more out of him when it came to challenges.
Like I said, good game.
Its always weird to see someone voted out without actually being voted out.
See, heres an example of why producers should always keep tinkering and trying things out.
One person would say, Tell me why you deserve to be there.
Another self-absorbed jury member would ask, Why did you get rid of me?
It all happened every single season.
Now, instead of often carefully prepared and memorized queries, we got a more free-flowing back and forth.
Its not completely remaking the wheel, merely refining it.
)(Recap continues on next page)
Its around this time where Ryan starts to lose his cool.
At which point I looked at the screen and screamed, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?
This is showtime, baby!
You dont tell them to chill out.
YOU EGG THEM ON!!
!Wow, Chrissy, are you going to let Ryan talk to you like that?
Stir the damn pot, people!
Anyway, were now on Outplay.
We begin with Cole giving himself props for being the only male to win an individual immunity competition.
Chrissy won the last two going against all dudes.
(Desi was a beauty pageant winner for crissakes.)
Although I also feel she just may have made up that 258 number.
This is the 35th season ofSurvivorand each season has had in between 8-10 female contestants.
Anyway, I dont know why I am wasting both my time and yours talking about this.
As well she should.
It makes no sense.
In fact, if Im going to be completely honest, it still makes me a little angry.
Youve been dreaming to get on this show for years.
You finally get on.
You go all the way out there.
You bust your tail for 39 days to make it to the end.
Its as simple as that: Ben outworked them.
If youre Chrissy or Ryan (or even Devon or Mike) that has to haunt you.
Nobody, only to be asked by the Sex Doctor what he learned while playing.
I need more, Joe tells him.
And he gets it.
This is Bens moment, as he talks about dealing with PTSD.
The same way Jeremy talked about his wife Val being pregnant back home.
The same way Adam talked about his mother dying of cancer.
Wheres the epic vote delivery that he has been promising me for years would return at some point?
Are you seriously going to force me to embed the epicVanuatuvote delivery AGAIN?!?
You brought this on yourself.
But it is a big deal!
Treat it like a big deal!
Get in a submarine or on a paddle-board or parasail your ass back to the states with the urn!
Thats what the fans want!
Thats what the fans command and demand!
Well, maybe next time.
Hes a quality dude in what turned out to be a quality season.
Here are the notable odds and ends from what went down during the live portion of the evening.
This was actually my idea and first debuted at EWs PopFest last year.
Glad to see theyve made it a tradition by bringing it over to the finales.
The more chances fans have to take part in an experience like that the better.
(We also got a Cochran shot in the studio audience, natch.
Does he actually live in that studio or something?)
And then there was Ben fan Grant, who just kind of nodded in agreement to whatever Probst said.
These served no purpose whatsoever.
There were also midgame interviews with Mike and Devon after they got voted out.
It actually took me out of the finale because they happened so often and went on so long.
We literally saw your heart beating out of your tiny little chest, Probst said to Ryan.
Chrissy lost her job to playSurvivor.
(#Dedication.)
I know Chrissy rubs some people (players and fans) the wrong way, but I dig her.
That was a major story line for Ben this season.
The PTSD he has been suffering from since returning from combat duty is something that has haunted him.
It is something he brought with him to the island.
And to do it as a surprise was even cooler on the part of the producers.
Did you catch Ben saying I love you through muffled tears?
How can that not move you?
Whatever, you catch my drift.
Maybe thats a bad thing.
Maybe I should have moved on to more serious endeavors long ago.
But its too late now, I suppose.
And as a more tangible measure of my gratitude, Ive got plenty of goodies for you.
First off, theres that exclusive deleted scene above.
Ill have post-finale interviews withBen (now LIVE!
),Chrissy (now LIVE!
),Ryan (now LIVE!
),Devon (now LIVE!
), andMike (now LIVE!)
and will link to those here when they become available.
We also have ourfinale Q&A with Probstwhere explains why they added the new final four twist.
And if you missed myseason-by-season rankingsor thefan-ranked winners list, definitely check that out as well.
And that will just about do it.
