Survivor: Samoa had two things going for it that worked well this season, Russell and the fact that the Foa Foa Four were able to rip apart the Galu Eight.It was these two reasons alone that made the season so much fun to watch. What was Russell going to do next? Can the Galu tribe really be letting this happen?
I have to admit I was sort of against Russell from the start. He is a multi-millionaire, who destroyed his own tribe from within and made an alliance with everyone. But, the man really understood how to play the game of Survivor. It was truly amazing that as large of a target that had to be on his back (I mean this guy found three hidden immunity idols, two without clues) that not a single person tried to get rid of him after he saved himself from being voted out once.
At the end, however, I sort of started getting sick of his arrogance. Not enough to where I felt he shouldn't win, but he was so confident and snarky with his own 'friends' at the end that it was pretty harsh to even watch.
That being said, I have always felt that the person who played the best overall game and was still able to make it to the finals (lets face it, usually if you are playing a great game you find yourself a target and voted out) should win the title of overall Survivor.
This season was pretty good overall, definitely in the Top 10 of Survivor seasons, but the finale vote really ruined the season for me.
Natalie was voted the overall Survivor last night as the season came to a close. Her only strategy besides riding Russell's coattails was the ability to get inside Galu's heads to oust Erik. That was a great move, but alone does not make her the sole Survivor.
Russell was the most deserving, but it was obvious that the jury was filled with people that don't quite understand the overall concept of the game of Survivor and voted with their feelings instead of their heads.
A couple odds & ends:
- I feel that if the overall competition for the Foa Foa is going to be Brett, then it would have been best to actually show the guy during the first two-thirds of the show. A couple of times I found myself asking, "Who the hell is that?" Even if he isn't interesting, the guy was money down the stretch and it would have been nice to know who he was before then.
- Nice to see the "Family" portion of Survivor was missing this season. I never really enjoyed the family letters or family visits. The show is Survivor and you are supposed to be alienated for the time that you are on the show. Kudos on removing it and I hope it is not coming back.
- Please, for the love of God, get rid of the promotions inside the show. I don't care if a tribe wins the Charmin Bowl, that is just advertising, but the over blown commercial that Jeff put on for Sprint was downright embarrassing.
- Also, continue to give the contestants bathing suits of your choosing. It was a definite bonus.
- Finally, and most important, get rid of the 3-person final tribal council. The show is way better when it is just two (I mean Mick had no reason to be even close to that stage). Plus, it gives the added bonus of having the person who wins the last immunity challenge have to pick who he wants to sit next to. It is added excitement.
Overall, a good season that was knocked down a few notches because of a terrible jury who just were too bitter to understand who really was the ultimate survivor.
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ReplyDeleteI can't disagree with any of your main points, though I have no idea where I would rank this season. It seems like every season we all say "this season sucks! the show has lost it," but by the end, we're digging it, and our final judgement is usually served by who the victor was. The seasons just run together for me.
Yeah, the producers have a bad, and obvious, history of practically telegraphing who is staying for the long haul and vice versa. They picked out their feature players (Russ and Shambo), and everyone else was more or less featured based on when they were going home. We didn't get to know Natalie for the longest time, either.
Amen to ditching the family stuff, sponsorships (though they certainly didn't do this altogether, and the ones that remained were painfully blatant) and to a 2-person finals. I keep praying for a tie with the 3-person variation, but they've been lucky and/or manipulated the voting such that it has yet to happen.