But wait, there’s more!
Halloween is still over five months away.
For the past 20 years or so, my dad has dressed up as Superman.
Credit: CBS
Its kind of become his thing.
Now, to many that would seem a tad on the unnecessary side.
And Cirie learned this the hard way.
Things only got more convoluted from there.
There were already so many layers to this thing, it felt like Patagonias High Alpine Kit.
She then announced that she would be using the vote steal advantage and stealing Sarahs vote.
However, Sarah said she couldnt and she wanted it back.
Cirie responded that she couldnt have it back because she had given it to her.
Sarah countered by saying she couldnt give it to her because it was non-transferable.
Heres my question, ladies and gentlemen: Why?
Some ofSurvivors greatest moments ever have come from people giving things to other people.
Why, look no further than when Cirie convinced Erik to give his immunity to Natalie inSurvivor Micronesia.
If idols and immunity can be passed along, why not the vote steal?
Thats because after Jeff Probst gave Cirie the Heisman on using the vote steal, Whisperpalooza 2017 broke out.
Sarah went over to Tai.
Then Cirie to Sarah.
Then Michaela joined in.
(Dude just cant get any respect from editorsorplayers.)
Then Sarah decided to use her vote steal because evidently youcantransfer it to yourself.
But she used it to steal Tais vote.
And then Taistilldidnt use one of his two immunity idols.
Because he was not the target, thats why.
And neither was Cirie.
Soooooo, to recap: Sarah gave Cirie an advantage that was not able to be used by Cirie.
Cirie attempted to steal Sarahs vote to save Sarah.
And then Sarah stole Tais vote tonotvote out Tai.
(I feel like I am stuck in an old Whos on First?
)(Recap continues on page 2.)
The entire scene was so ludicrous and comical.
But it was simultaneously amazing.
I also want to say this: I LOVE what Cirie did.
But that was truly some next-level stuff.
And that is precisely what I love about it.
I mean, seriously, who else would even contemplate such a crazy series of moves?
(Put your hand down, J.T.)
Clearly, the execution was flawed due to that fine print, but still A for effort.
I also really like what Sarah did here.
There was still a lot for her to sort out on the fly.Was Cirie really protecting me from Tai?
Is Tai really after me?
Not that they had one anyway.)
So it was all great stuff all around.
Ah, but what sort of grade will this entire season ofSurvivorget?
This being the penultimate episode, it is time for our updated season-by-season rankings.
Okay, lets hit a few other big moments from this double-elimination episode before we get to the rankings.
The Frank Underwood Immunity ChallengeThe house of cards challenge is aSurvivorclassic, and with good reason.
This variation added in the whole use-one-hand-to-balance-the-board-while-you-stack-with-your-other-hand variable.
Again, anything to cause more stack dropping works for me.
And stack dropping there was, especially when a strong breeze came through.
Which is precisely why I dont run this show.)
Michaela appeared to get the worst of it.
Every time she came within striking distance of Aubry, her stack fell.
I was actually impressed at how calm Michaela remained when it kept crashing to the ground.
Michaela kept her cool.
Its probably worth reading that last sentence again to let it sink in.
Michaela kept her cool.
Certainly more so than Aubry.
To Probsts credit, he handled that incoming assault pretty well.
No doubt he had flashbacks of theSurvivorKissing Bandit (a.k.a.
(In between Aubry/Probst and Cochran/Debbie, this certainly has been the season of long, unexpected embraces.)
Fishing for an ExplanationI still dont understand what was going on with Michaela telling Brad to go fishing.
Now, he probably wouldnt have bought that.
But it would be a hell of a lot more tactful than, Go fish.
Unless they were, you know, actually playing Go Fish.
(Recap continues on page 3.)
Andreas Last Stand (Maybe?
)A pretty interesting discussion broke out at the first Tribal Council as to what drives jury voting.
The players went back and forth on whether the jury would reward gameplay or friendship.
This is a common condition known inSurvivorcircles as BJS (Bitter Jury Syndrome).
But thats not always the case.
I could be wrong, but thats just the sense I get.
Andrea played a very strong game this time around.
Easily her best outing so far.
The Bucket ListLook, an immunity challenge taking place in the water!!!
Only, not really.
More likeon topof the water, with a brief swim to shore.
Cirie had just aweeeeeebit of trouble with this one.
First off, she couldnt even stand up on the pole.
Then her bucket got stuck.
Then she had to climb all the way down to fix it.
You guys are familiar with these.
For years, I begged for idols to be hidden at challenges.
Anyway, heres my latest annoying suggestion: Listen, we know the producerslovetheir puzzles.
They love them because they are the ultimate equalizers and allow for big dramatic comebacks.
That ones on me.
Thats my bad.)
Sure, there are a million logistical reasons why this is aterribleidea.
The tides may not allow it.
It would be hard for viewers to follow along.
It would be difficult for Jeff Probst to see if someone got it right.
But I dont care.
You could figure all that out and make a punch in of puzzle that would work.
Lets make this happen, Kirhoffer!
Pick somebody else, people!
Let me be clear: I dont have a problem with Brad celebrating his victory.
He earned that celebration.
The pressure of 35 days and now being seemingly on the bottom clearly took their toll.
Youve found the super secretSurvivorpre-game vote-off giveaway of the week.
To enter for a chance to win Andrea or Michaelas vote, just answer the following question.
We are heading into the last few days of the game forSurvivor: Game Changers.
The winner will be contacted directly.
We now return you to your regularly scheduledSurvivorrecap, still in progress.
](Recap continues on page 4.)
Michaelas MomentAll things considered, Michaela took her ouster pretty well.
There was no intense stare-down like she did to Jay last season.
There was no stomping off and kicking things like she had just lost a reward challenge.
It was fascinating to watch Michaelas back-to-back seasons and how different they were.
Whats that all about?
And you have to think she is most likely to win as well.
After all, look at the competition.
But the failed attempt to use Sarahs vote steal probably did her in.
Plus, why would anyone bring Cirie to the end?
And because she is not strong enough in challenges, she cant get there on her own.
SURVIVOR SEASON-BY-SEASON RANKINGS(From best to worst)
1.
(Tie)Survivor: Borneo(Winner: Richard Hatch)
andSurvivor: Micronesia Fans vs.
Favorites(Winner: Parvati Shallow)Ive gone back and forth with these two over the years.
AfterMicronesiaaired, I named it the bestSurvivorseason ever.
So then I returned that to the No.
If I wanted to watch one season again, it would beMicronesia.
If you ask me which is the most important season, well, obviously itsBorneo.
And the greatness just kept on coming filled with huge memorable moments like Tyson voting himself off, J.T.
giving Russell his immunity idol, and Parvati handing outtwoimmunity idols at one Tribal Council.
I know many people would consider this No.
1, but its all returnees.
For me, the fresh blood ofMicronesiakeeps that season higher.
(Maybe not well at all times, but at least they were playing.)
moment to a truly intoxicating season.
Letting fans vote in the cast?
Hiding idols at challenges?
I think you all know how I feel about that.
Tempting people to quit an immunity challenge for a mystery vote steal advantage?
All the tribe switcheroos?
They played out to perfection.
TheSurvivorproducers always throw a bunch of twists out there.
Usually some work and some dont.
This season, they all paid dividends.
I also appreciated how hard the bulk of the cast was playing.
Usually you get a small handful of big-time gamers.
Another plus: the votes were completely unpredictable from week to week, leading to some truly crazy Tribals.
Sure, the challenges were a bit blah, but still, a rousing and triumphant success.
(Recap continues on page 5.)
Some people hate on Jenna as a winner, but she won challenges and played an effective social game.
7.Survivor: Pearl Islands(Winner: Sandra Diaz-Twine)Rupert stealing shoes.
Fairplay getting drunk at Tribal Council.
Osten sucking at everything.
It was all delicious.
And the challenges may have beenSurvivors best ever.
WhenMillennials vs. Gen Xstarted, most us of were like, Yeah, its fine.
Not amazing, but not terrible either.
But then things kept happening.
And everyone kept flipping on one another.
And everyone kept getting blindsided.
And everyone kept futilely using their idols for other people.
It was madness and chaos in the best way possible.
And what was so fascinating was that (with the exception of Michaela) nobody took their ouster personally.
This was a season remarkably free of any sort of fighting whatsoever.
None of the ugliness ofWorlds ApartorKaoh Rongpermeated the proceedings, even amongst all the lying and backstabbing.
Even Hannah was entertaining with her neurosis.
Even Ken was entertaining with his late-game cluelessness.
Bret gave us a touching moment where he came out as gay to Zeke.
Sunday outsmarted Adam and Hannah with a ruse at Tribal Council.
(However, I still cant figure out why they went with three-person duels a.k.a.
truels and they definitely should have stopped RI at the merge.)
So why is it so high?
And the fact thatPhilippineshad such a strong final four Denise, Malcolm, Lisa, Skupin also doesnt hurt.
12.Survivor: Caramoan Fans vs.
But hear me out first before you Russell any feathers.
It was flat-out grating.
But everything post-merge was spectacular.
There were so many moves and countermoves galore down the homestretch.
Also, dont overlook how great the bevy of water challenges was.
Should I push it down in the rankings due to the lackluster Reunion show that followed?
He was robbed in the end, though, in the most controversial jury decision ever.
Plus: purple rock!!!
15.Survivor: China(Winner: Todd Herzog)Ive always loved this season.
It featured a really good cast stuck in a really bad location.
Todd completely owned that final Tribal Council.
Thats how you win a million dollars.
(Recap continues on page 6.)
16.Survivor: Cook Islands(Winner: Yul Kwon)What a difference a mutiny makes.
It was listless until that fateful moment when Candice and Penner stepped off the mat.
Then we finally had underdogs to root for.
Plus, just look at all the great first-time contestants (Parvati, Penner, Ozzy, Yul).
17.Survivor: Game Changers(Winner: ?
Here it is, 17 out of 34 smack dab in the middle.
What a weird season this has been.
We were treated to two titans of the game (Tony and Sandra) going toe to toe.
But something was missing.
Said events were all exciting, but they failed to form a cohesive unit.
all gone before the merge.
I would say that could be just me, but Ive heard similar concerns from a lot of people.
Im just explaining what has kept it from being a trulygreatone in my book.
Its not in my book, but it is a totally solid one.
Nothing wrong with that.
Nothing wrong at all.
18.Survivor: Australian Outback(Winner: Tina Wesson)An overrated season in my book.
Pretty predictable boot order as well.
Dude did burn his hands off, though.
But there is one thing I reallydiddig about this season, and that is the cast.
Working against this season is the fact that there simply were not enough transcendent players in the cast.
)(Recap continues on page 7.)
21.Survivor: Tocantins(Winner: J.T.
Thomas)Okay, you may roll your eyes at Coach 1.0.
But imagine for a second this season without him.
His unintentional comedy single-handedly lifted this into the middle of the pack.
(Remember Jerri getting literally booed off the stage?)
Terry was robbed on a final challenge that may or may not have been completely fair.
Another unmemorable final two.
Shane Powers should have been brought back forHeroes vs. Villains.
And theSecond Chanceseason, for that matter.
The fact that so many unworthy players went so far is simply too damning.
27.Survivor: Africa(Winner: Ethan Zohn)Some great challenges.
Not that much else was great.
28.Survivor: Guatemala(Winner: Danni Boatwright)One of the more unlikable casts so far.
Stephenies evil twin?)
Rafe was good for a few laughs, though.
Especially on rope obstacles.
That counts for something.
31.Survivor: One World(Winner: Kim Spradlin)Look, I have total respect for Kims game.
Like Tom inPalauand Rob inRedemption Island, she excelled strategically, socially, and physically.
Unfortunately, that is really the only good thing I can say about this season.
And thats too bad, because I do think the One World concept was a solid one.
But, man, what a thoroughly uninspiring cast.
(1) Splitting the tribes up by age and the Medallion of Power were both enormous flops.
(2) LikeOne World,Thailand,andFiji,Nicaraguahad just too many unlikable players.
(3) Two people quitting with only 11 days left.
(4) No big memorable moments.
EvenThailandhad the fake merge andFijihad the big Yau-Man/Dreamz free car deal gone bad, but what wasNicaraguas signature moment?
Unfortunately, it was people quitting, and that was memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Okay, thats gonna do it for the recap/season rankings combo platter.
But we have plenty of more side dishes for you to feast upon.
And for a steady stream ofSurvivorscoop, you might follow me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
Where would you rankGame Changers?Who should and will win from the remaining six?
And should the vote steal have been transferable?
