CLICK HERE if you are having a problem viewing the photos on a mobile device
After 39 days of backstabbing, starvation, physical challenges and a #MeToo moment, the “Survivor” franchise crowned its 39th winner.
Before we get to the newest millionaire, let’s recap some of the game play.
The episode started with the final five — Noura Salman, Tommy Sheehan, Dean Kowalski, Janet Carbin and Lauren Beck — traveling to the Island of Idols where Boston Rob and Sandra spent this season dispensing advice, teaching lessons and offering chances to play for advantages.
Of the five, only Tommy had never been there before. Rob and Sandra said farewell and headed off into the sunset, leaving the players to spend the final days in relative splendor, enjoying the digs Rob (mostly) had built.
In the first challenge, Dean won Immunity and Janet was voted out. In the second challenge, Noura won Immunity and decided to bestow safety on Tommy and force Dean and Lauren to compete for a spot in the final three by making fire. Despite determination and both getting a pretty good fire going, it was Dean who won his way into the finale.
In the final Tribal Council, Dean won two votes, Tommy eight and Noura none, giving Tommy the million in a landslide.
This was a very good 39th season for “Survivor.” Here are some of our favorite moments from the finale and some thoughts on the season overall.
Good move: Tommy figured out there was one last hidden immunity idol waiting for the players in their new digs on the Island of the Idols. The only problem was, he’s color blind and needed assistance in tracking it down.
Bad move: Tommy shared the idol clues he found with Dean, who had much better luck in finding it.
Another bad move: Janet had already booked her passage into the Final Four and was writing her statement to the jury. She had a hidden immunity idol in her pocket, and she told Tommy that everyone should vote to eliminate her, she would vote for Lauren and play the idol, cancelling out all the votes. But Tommy betrayed her, telling Dean of the plan and urging him to play his advantage, which would nullify Janet’s idol. And he did.
Almost redemption: Throughout the season, Noura bugged us like no other. She was unpredictable and excitable, and her constant and bizarre chatter was annoying. But we softened to her when she won the last Immunity Challenge and was so delightfully delighted, hopping around and cheering. It was so genuine, we couldn’t help being happy for her. But then she started talking and all that good will faded.
Noura, in typical Noura fashion, told the three remaining players that she knew who she was taking with her and who would be making fire to win the third spot. But she didn’t want to tell them until she played around in the water and wallowed in her power.
When she finally decided to tell them, it was The Noura Show, with endless blathering. She told Lauren that she had been her best friend from the get-go, but Lauren was so popular, Noura didn’t want to sit next to her in the finals. True, but cold.
Then Noura was angry and insulted when Lauren became upset that she was going to have to make fire, something she hadn’t done before. Noura hinted broadly that if Lauren was really her friend, she wouldn’t try to win a seat in the final and spoil Noura’s chance to win.
Boston Rob and Sandra: Throughout the season, we really enjoyed seeing Boston Rob and Sandra interacting with each other, and watching Rob give master classes on how to play the game. But our favorite part was watching Rob and Sandra sneak into the secret outpost to observe the Tribal Councils, and listening to their whispered observations.
#MeToo moments: The season was marred by accusations of inappropriate touching by Dan Spilo, who ended up getting tossed from the game last week after an incident that, viewers were told, involved someone other than a player.
Kellee Kim had complained early and vocally about Dan being too handsy and getting in her personal space. It was not imagined, as the video footage clearly showed, and she told him to knock it off. “Survivor” let her down in not responding sooner. As the incidents continued, the producers eventually addressed it by having one-on-one conversations with the players and as a group.
It all boiled over at a Tribal Council, where Kellee ended up getting voted out. Coincidence? Perhaps, but it reeked of victim blaming. Also troubling was that two other women, Missy Byrd and Elizabeth Beisel, had supported Kellee in her complaints, but later admitted that it was just a ploy to get further in the game. That’s shameful.
Host Jeff Probst announced that the show is taking the whole matter seriously and will put in safeguards in the future, including having third parties on hand to address issues more quickly.
Next season: We’re usually not a fan of bringing past players back, but we’re changing our tune on this one. For season 40, the theme is “Winners at War,” featuring past winners competing for $2 million. Among the cast will be Boston Rob, Sandra, Amber (Rob’s wife), Ethan Zohn, Tyson Apostal, Parvati Shallow and Bay Area fave Yul Kwon.
The new season starts Feb. 12. We can’t wait.
