Yep, we’re starting with final thoughts on the season. But if someone can only play 13 days but still win Survivor, then my ending section can move to the beginning of the recap. Because apparently order and logic don’t matter anymore. Yes, in case it wasn’t obvious, my official stance on the Edge of Extinction twist is a big-time no.
The Edge of Extinction experiment is over, and let’s hope we never see it again. Chris Underwood was crowned winner, even after being voted out on DAY 8. I get it, this was the theme, so it would be unfair to criticize Chris. He played the game he was given, the hand he was dealt. But it speaks to the theme simply being bad and dumb. I agree that’s not the most sophisticated way to describe it, but that’s the way it is. If you want to give players a second chance in the game, it has to happen right before or right after the merge. They need a chance to play the game.
That’s a big reason why I take a pass on the Redemption Island twist as it currently functions. The final players in those seasons came back on Day 36, a full day later than Chris returned this season. Of course, it wasn’t as big of a problem in those seasons as none of those players won, or even made Final Tribal. But that’s just too late in the game. The always insightful Stephen Fishbach made a great point when he tweeted out the following:
THE signature challenge of #Survivor is – how do you vote someone out in such a way that they'll vote for you to win.
Chris never had to deal with that.
— Stephen Fishbach (@stephenfishbach) May 16, 2019
Navigating those kinds of social politics is a crucial part of the game. Chris was the third person voted out. THIRD. Then he waited on Extinction Island as everyone else went through Tribal Council after Tribal Council. I’m not saying life on the Edge of Extinction was easy, I can only believe it was incredibly difficult. But having to go through the in-game ups and downs is a signature part of the game. And then he makes a couple big moves at the very end and he wins the million dollars? Yes, he won the Final 4 immunity and then made a huge move in giving up immunity to take on Devens in the fire-making challenge. But that’s all he did. He missed TWENTY-SIX days of the game.
And what was he doing during those 26 days? Oh, nothing but making forming friendships with players who would make up 10 out of 13 jury members. It’s nothing new that a jury might vote for who they like more, and in this case, Chris had an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen those bonds. They wanted to vote for Chris at the end. And to his credit, he gave them very good reasons to. He convinced Lauren to use her idol on him (we’ll get to that). He won immunity at Final 4, when it counted the most. And then he makes arguably one of the biggest moves in the show’s history – or at least since the Final 4 fire challenge began – and gives up that immunity in order to go against Devens, the game’s biggest threat. And he goes out there and beats him.
So yes, the moves he had to make were impressive. And the fact that he had to cram all that in in so little time is also impressive. But remember those 26 days he missed? He Those were 26 days’ worth of chances to screw up, to piss someone off, to get voted out (and I mean actually voted out, in the way “voted out” is supposed to be). And while the Edge was a hard place to live, he was sheltered from some of the harder aspects of the game itself.
You know I never miss a chance to use that one.
But with Chris winning the game, it essentially renders Days 9 – 34 completely useless. Nothing that happened in that time mattered. And that might be a pessimistic point of view to take, but that’s where I’m at with it. All the fun we had with Devens, all of Wardog’s horrible challenge performances. It’s like they never happened. And I feel bad for Chris (okay, not too bad. The guy did just get a check for $1 million). But his win is going to be constantly criticized and debated among Survivor for, well, forever probably. And it’s not his fault. Again, he won the game within the circumstances he was given More power to him.
But the worst part about all this? My finale preview could not have been more wrong. Seriously, take a look at it and count every single detail I missed. Actually on second thought, don’t do that. I’ll save you the time. It was all the details, every single one. Wrong, wrong, wrong. But anyway, I think that’s enough of that. Let’s get on with the rest of what led us to this controversial moment.
Extinction Challenge
As expected we start off the episode with the second and final Edge of Extinction challenge. Again, those competing to win their way back into the game are:
Each player is attached to a rope, and has to go through various rope obstacles. Once they pass through them, they use pieces of rope to build a rope bridge to cross. They finish by maneuvering two balls through a table maze. While not quite as physically demanding as I expected it to be, this was still a fun challenge. There was a lot to do, which allowed for numerous lead changes. It never felt like any one player was in control the majority of the time.
But eventually it comes down Chris and Joe. Joe comes this close to notching the win, but can’t quite close it out, giving Chris the opening needs to secure both balls, along with his place back in the game.
During seemingly every finale, the reunion show gets short-changed. And what happens next is a reason why. Jeff goes through each (now officially) eliminated player, getting a sound bite from each. I honestly did not care for this one bit. Cut this and give us more actual show or use it for the reunion. The same goes for what happened next.
The show cuts to a live look-in with Jeff talking to Joe. It was pointless and honestly a little awkward. I never thought I would need confirmation that I didn’t care about Jeff Probst’s thoughts and opinions and Joe Anglim’s hair style choices, but I got that tonight anyway. I get that Joey Amazing is a fan favorite, but still. What did that brief chat accomplish? Arguably nothing. Again, cut it and show us more of the game or give us a few extra minutes of reunion time.
Vata Beach
After spending so much time (26 DAYS) on the Edge of Extinction, Chris gets to work right away, though he’s being careful and subtle about it. He mentions he obtained lots of information during his time on Extinction Island, and he offers “If anyone wants to come talk to me, come talk to me.”
One of these talks is with Lauren. And if you’ll remember, the first thing Wentworth did when she arrived at Extinction Island was tell everyone about Lauren’s idol. Chris uses this – and Lauren and Wentworth close friendship – to his advantage. He tells Lauren he has a message “from Wentworth.” Supposedly, Wentworth thinks it’s crucial for Lauren to play her idol correctly (duh) either for herself (obviously) or for someone else (exac…wait, what?).
I love what Chris is getting at, but come on. There’s no way Lauren is going to fall for that. It’s the Final 6! It’s past the point of playing an idol for someone else, save for some very specific circumstances.
Immunity/Reward Challenge 1
In the first Immunity Challenge of the night (which is also for reward), each player races through a series of obstacles, after which they cross a balance beam, picking up a bag of tiles along the way. They use the the tiles in the bag to solve a combination lock to unlock puzzle pieces. They then use those pieces to solve a circular puzzle.
Everyone is working on the puzzle, with Julie in the lead. And at one point, Chris actually stops his puzzle to coach Julie through the end. And Julie wins. Where’s the excitement in that? Julie picks Chris and Lauren to join her on the steak and chocolate cake reward. Devens is upset with Julie, pointing out how he has gone to bat for her multiple times and yet she has not done anything similar in return.
Reward/Beach/Pre-Tribal
Julie, Lauren, and Chris discuss Devens’ idol. They’re not so sure that it’s real. But they need to discuss an alternative plan if the idol is real. Chris claims the jury sees Devens and Victoria as the two biggest threats. And that’s seemingly enough for Julie and Lauren to get on board with the Victoria plan.
During a discussion with Devens, Chris reveals he was given the same two-part idol that Devens was given. Chris tries to prove his loyalty by giving Devens half. He then goes to Lauren, who promises to play her idol for Chris if Devens plays his. And this is where my frustration really began to settle in. Having players come back in so late is one thing. But then to give them advantage to boot? Yes, I recognize that Chris had to survive one vote and that the person with the other half has to give it back. But still, if played correctly, Chris is guaranteed a spot in the Final 4. Chris already had the advantage of becoming friends with the majority of the jury, and now the show gives him this too? It’s just too much.
Final 6 Tribal Council
Still Public Enemy #1, Devens plays his idol, negating three votes. Then Lauren makes the bone-headed decision to play her idol for Chris. The same Lauren who held onto said idol for 34 days. And the bad part? It ended up being a wasted play. I mean, she should have wanted Chris out anyway, so it was always a bad move. But then to have it not even play in her favor, right in front of the jury, no less? Rough. And there’s also the simple and obvious fact that she now does not have the idol to protect herself at the next Tribal Council, should she not win immunity.
Because of Devens’ idol, the only two valid valid votes send Victoria to Ponderosa.
Post-Tribal Beach
You’ll never believe what happens next, but Rick Devens finds a hidden immunity idol! I know, crazy, right?! I don’t even know how many idols he found this season. Seven? That still feels low. Whatever it is, it’s a lot. But Devens isn’t finished. He returns his half of the idol to Chris, meaning both are now assured of a spot in the Final 4. But he’s still not done.
He then goes on to hide two fake immunity idols, both of which are found by Julie and Lauren. In case you’re bad at counting, that means the next Tribal Council is going to have one immunity necklace, two immunity idols, and two fake immunity idols.
Immunity Challenge 2
I love this challenge. It’s simple in its most basic nature. But it actually seems quite difficult when put into practice. Plus, it just seems flat out fun. The castaways race out to six different stations, collecting puzzle pieces along the way. Only this time the challenge area is set above the ocean. This would be such a fun challenge to do, but I can’t imagine I would be any good at it, especially after living through a game of Survivor. But you didn’t come here for me to tell you how I would perform in these challenges. At least I don’t think you did. Actually, I hope you didn’t. That would be a really weird thing to do. Read nearly 2,000 words just for a couple innocuous lines about how I would be bad at one random challenge. But hey, to each their own.
Anyway, Devens wins his 4th individual immunity. With immunity, his idol, and Chris’ idol (along with Julie and Lauren each having a fake idol they believe to be real) he has tons of power heading into Tribal Council. And he plans to wield that power by promising to use the idol for Gavin if Gavin in turn promises to take Devens with to the Final 3 should Gavin win the next immunity challenge. Gavin agrees, because of course you have to in that scenario. But he even admits he very well might have to go back on that promise should that situation arise.
Final 5 Tribal Council
This was awesome, plain and simple. Even before it began, it just had the feeling of being lots of fun, if nothing else. Devens is immune. Gavin believes Devens will play his idol on him. Chris has an immunity idol. And Julie and Lauren have fake idols. If you kept track, that means every single player came into Tribal thinking they were safe.
Devens smartly waits for both Julie and Lauren to have their fake idols revealed. He then plays his idol for Gavin, and Chris feigns frustration before playing his own idol. It was Tribal Council Theater at its best. The jury was loving it. They could barely contain themselves after seeing not one, but two fake idols played. Then Devens plays his. Then Chris also plays one. They were besides themselves. I was laughing out loud. Like, legitimately laughing out loud, not like when you send “lol” in a text when really all you did was breathe out of your nose a little bit and maybe form the slightest beginning of a smile.
(Seriously, take note next time you type out lol. The nose and the smile thing. You’ll have done it. The nose for sure.)
And Lauren, poor Lauren, is voted out. If only she had an idol of her own to play, and hadn’t unnecessarily used it just one vote earlier…
Immunity Challenge 3
The final Immunity Challenge of the season is one we’ve seen a handful of times, the “stack blocks to spell something” challenge. Only this time there is a bit of a twist. Rather than walking on solid ground and spelling out a longer phrase, they have to walk on a rocking seahorse type thingy (similar to a rocking horse, but it’s a seahorse) and spell out “FINAL 3.”
And after we see tons of great money shots of players’ blocks falling over, Chris wins.
Beach/Pre-Tribal
Chris has the now classic Final 4 decision to make: who to take with him to the end, and who to pit against each other in the fire-making challenge. But as discussed in the opening section of the recap, it was not as simple as that for Chris.
Final 4 Tribal Council
Chris gives up immunity and passes it to Julie, in order to build fire against Devens. And in a vacuum, I love this move. Many might argue that Dom should have made the same move in the Ghost Island Final 4. It’s big, it’s bold, it screams confidence. But with Chris, while all of those points stay true – it is slightly different. Chris knew he had to do something big in front of the jury. This was his only chance. And to his credit, he took it. But I argue that because it was his only possible “big move,” it lessens it every so slightly.
He had one out, and he took it. Granted, you could argue that not everybody would have, but it was the only thing he could do to keep his chances alive. He didn’t have to debate between this move or that move. He had to debate between giving himself a chance to win the game and all but assuring he loses the game. And as we all know, Chris defeats Devens, sending him to the Final 3 with Gavin and Julie.
Before we move onto the Final Tribal, how about poor Julie here. Is there any move to signal someone as a complete non-threat than gifting them immunity into the Final 3? I mean, I don’t think Julie had any chance to begin with. But to be on the receiving end of that? I’d call it a soft brutal move. I’m not going to take time to explain that phrase for fear of me realizing it’s nonsense. So let’s get on with the Final Tribal Council.
Final Tribal
Early on, I really thought this was going Gavin’s way. At one point Chris even interrupted one of Gavin’s answers to ask Gavin a question. Wentworth and Lauren wasted no time calling him out on that. But Gavin was never able to take full advantage of the rough start for Chris. And when Lauren – in response to being asked how Chris convinced her to play her idol on him – responded by saying “He played me like a violin,” that’s when I knew it was over. To have someone on the jury admit something like that so freely and openly is a death knell for the other players, and, in this case, a winning endorsement for Chris.
(More) Final Thoughts
While I am 100% not a fan of the Edge of Extinction twist, this season was certainly not without its moments. Reem was a delight to watch on the Edge. And Devens turned out to be one of the most fun and entertaining players in the show’s history. But without those two? I’m not sure how good this season would have been. It certainly would have helped had someone who hadn’t been out of the game so long ended up the winner. But the cast overall left something to be desired. It was a season full of good supporting characters – Lauren, Gavin, Victoria, Aurora eventually – but was mostly devoid of great leads. David and Aubry are good but they were voted out fairly early. Wardog was fun here and there, but his schtick could also be hit or miss.
But really, and I hate to come back to it even though I don’t see another option, it comes down to the theme. Edge of Extinction simply did not work. One goal of mine for the Survivor off-season is to come up with a full ranking of all 38 seasons. (We’ll see how that goes, but I’m hoping that putting it in writing helps motivate me to get it done). I’m not quite sure where Edge of Extinction will fall, but it won’t be high. Likely in the lower half. Reem and Devens will help prop it up, but the bad theme and disappointing winner will drop it down. And with that, we close the book on Survivor: Edge of Extinction and we move on to season 39, Survivor: Island of the Idols.
As I wrote about briefly several weeks ago, the rumored twist for 39 was that Boston Rob and Sandra would be returning to the game. Except instead of playing the game, there are to serve as mentors for the castaways. And the quick preview from the Edge of Extinction finale proved that correct. Of course I have to withhold judgement until the season begins and starts to play out. But my initial thought?
We all saw how much the four returning players dominated screen time (and conversation among the other players) on Edge of Extinction. I worry that the same fate awaits Island of the Idols. And this time the returning players aren’t even playing! But again, let’s wait and see and hope season 39 surprises us.
And I already said this once, but now we can officially close the book on Survivor: Edge of Extinction. (As long as you stay away from Reddit, that is. That’s actually a suggestion to all of you. Seriously, stay away.)
