So this challenge is not only well designed and creative, but pretty spectacular visually. Kudos to the challenge guys, because this is really cool. All three of the contestants seem to have no trouble, even when it's time to begin managing two balls. However, when it's time to go to three balls, Erinn drops one and gets knocked out first. When it comes time to add a fourth ball, Stephen's nerves begin to get to him and he fumbles a few. Eventually, he botches a grab at the bottom and gets knocked out, meaning that JT wins the final immunity challenge and will be a member of the final two.
Back at camp, Stephen is happy about the "enormous weight" that's been lifted off his shoulder because he won't have to make a decision between JT and Erinn. "If I stay, leave your beard alone and I'll help you with it tomorrow," Erinn says, half-kidding.
Erinn is, again, not going down without a fight. She goes to JT, telling him that not only will he get all the votes, but that "people" said that "it would be suicide" to go against him. JT puts this together pretty easily, and asks all the right questions to make Erinn admit that Stephen said he would take her.
JT, now bothered with the choice, sits with Stephen next to the fire. Stephen asks whether Erinn pleaded her case, and JT's says, verbatim: "Yes. She has a very good one, motherfucker!"
He confronts Stephen about what Erinn said, and Stephen doesn't deny it, wisely. "I'm willing to talk things through with you if you're having doubts," he says. When JT argues that it's a guaranteed million dollars to take Erinn, Stephen says "Well, you're still gonna win the million dollars, you'll just be doing the right thing."
"Well, I'd be scared if I were you," JT says to him, trying to make him pay for the promises he made to Erinn. Way to strike fear into the hearts of men, JT. You are truly intimidating, especially with the giant Babe The Blue Ox you decided to paint on your back a few episodes ago.
Tribal Council. The jury enters Brendan first, and Brendan is so excited to see if JT won immunity that he peers around the corner and then claps like a ten-year old when he enters. I guess we know who he's voting for, eh? Probst asks Erinn what her pitch to stay was, and she says that she basically laid it out for JT: she goes, he wins the million.
Probst even calls it "easy money" against Erinn, which makes me think, combined with how he acted at the last Tribal, that he may not like Stephen.
Stephen gets a similar chance to justify his continued presence, and Stephen goes the moral route, stating that keeping him around is the right thing to do. I think this, right here, is where Stephen lost a bunch of jury votes. When Probst asks him to elaborate about why he's the moral choice, Stephen brings up that they've spent a lot of time talking about having breakfast together on Day 39. Probst gets all "Oh, breakfast! Fiddle dee dee, that's worth a million dollars!" on Stephen, because, as I said, Probst hates Stephen.
Stephen then has to lay out the obvious for Jeff, telling him that it's not about the breakfast itself, but about having breakfast as a symbol of their partnership and success. Because Probst does not understand the concept of metaphor, because he has no use for them, since metaphors cannot pick heavy things up or lose teeth in battle or have sex with you.
When he finally gets around to asking JT what he thinks, JT gives Erinn props for sticking around when people were trying to get rid of her within the first week. He says this is a great reason to take her, but isn't it equally a great reason NOT to take her? It's a pretty impressive feat to survive. I mean, it's in the title of the show. What show does JT think he's on, Reward The Adorable Southerner?
Time to vote. Wow, I am really tense. I didn't realize just how much I was rooting for Stephen until this point, right here. When Probst reads the vote, it's for Erinn, and her time is up, finally. Her final words are kind of generic: she's very proud of herself (which she should be), and happy that she got to stick around for so long. Deep!
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Comments (12)
Well, I was really hoping that Stephen could have talked his way into the win, but he just seemed to go limp and let JT have it. I'm guessing they already had an agreement worked out there -- after all, Stephen gets the 100k for second place, right?
And the fact that people were falling all over themselves to lick up JT's droppings was part of his strategy -- which he pulled off really well. So he definitely deserves the win.
For once, I'm not dissatisfied with the winner. Although the whole season seemed kind of limp. Hopefully they'll toughen up the challenges for next season.
1 of 12 | Posted by itchy | Posted on May 20, 2009 5:13 PM
Although Stephen was a very good player in the game, he missed the essential point... you can't go to the end with the most-liked player in the game, whether you're in an alliance or not. And, if you're going to try and sell yourself to the jury, you can't sell yourself as a floater! You have to point out exactly what moves you made... DUH! He should have pointed out that he found the Idol with Taj, brought JT into their alliance, and protected JT from being voted out at certain points in the game.
I do agree that no matter what, what it comes to is that the juries (in the majority of seasons) only value physical brawn, no matter how strategic a game was played. If you're not the physical player, you have to actually make moves within the game that people will recognize as game-changing. Getting the people to vote out Tyson, while still keeping Sierra isolated was a master stroke and Stephen should have taken credit for it (since it WAS HIS IDEA!).
It was almost as if Stephen was playing for second place, which was my main problem with Sugar last season. If you really want to win Survivor, you have to play wire to wire. JT did, Stephen didn't.
2 of 12 | Posted by slutty_whore | Posted on May 20, 2009 5:46 PM
This was the first time in a long time I would have been satisfied with either person winning...until Stephen revealed he wouldn't have kept his word to JT. Then I was firmly in JT's corner.
3 of 12 | Posted by cattyfan | Posted on May 20, 2009 8:37 PM
Cattyfan, I don't think that is what Stephen said. He mostly said he wasn't sure. He only said he would go against JT when pressed because that was clearly the answer that they wanted to hear. I'm not sure why everyone gets down on Stephen for saying he would have to think about whether he would bring JT to the end. JT clearly had to think about whether he would bring Stephen to the end. The only difference is that we got to see what decision JT finally ended with but we will never know what Stephen would have done.
(I've not read the recap yet only the comments. :p)
4 of 12 | Posted by Snootchy Bootches | Posted on May 21, 2009 5:29 AM
Cattyfan, I don't think that is what Stephen said. He mostly said he wasn't sure. He only said he would go against JT when pressed because that was clearly the answer that they wanted to hear. I'm not sure why everyone gets down on Stephen for saying he would have to think about whether he would bring JT to the end. JT clearly had to think about whether he would bring Stephen to the end. The only difference is that we got to see what decision JT finally ended with but we will never know what Stephen would have done.
(I've not read the recap yet only the comments. :p)
5 of 12 | Posted by Snootchy Bootches | Posted on May 21, 2009 5:33 AM
Erm... that was weird.
6 of 12 | Posted by Snootchy Bootches | Posted on May 21, 2009 5:35 AM
congrats JT! and thanks for the recaps!
stephen was really portrayed as a whiney little byatch there at the end, which i'm not sure is off the mark. such a strange relationship he and JT have. bromance, fo sho.
pretty good season. sierra definitely acted like a 12 year-old all the way, proving why they hated her (b/c i had been wondering). coach was fun to watch.
looking forward to the recap of the reunion!
dax
7 of 12 | Posted by idax | Posted on May 21, 2009 9:03 AM
Schoonie - Great Recaps (again) all season. Always made my day.
On the forum side I have been plugging the Ponderosa videos. If you haven't checked it out, they actually did one with Stephen and JT showing up at Ponderosa after the final tribal council. It's worth watching because it gives a different perspective than the editing on the tribal council. Stephen and JT seemed pretty cool about the whole thing - not the drama that you might expect. It was a weird, but satisfying, "conclusion."
Thanks for all the recaps and look forward to next fall.
8 of 12 | Posted by Channel Dasher | Posted on May 21, 2009 9:16 AM
Thanks for the entertaining recaps. I always read them at ew.com and then head over hear for your vastly superior take.
9 of 12 | Posted by Emmyloo | Posted on May 21, 2009 10:07 AM
"The part of Debbie will be played by Paula . . . " BRAVO!
10 of 12 | Posted by willintherace | Posted on May 22, 2009 11:07 AM
Great, spot-on recap. I hope that Debbie and Sierra see this recap and realize how stupid their questions were.
11 of 12 | Posted by tv freak | Posted on May 22, 2009 1:57 PM
I just finished reading this. (I was on vacation.)
okay, okay, I wanted the whole thing to end in a big wedding under a tree. I didn't get that but this was almost as good.
First, Smitten and JT pledge their loyalty to each other. Then they have a fight. Then one feels betrayed. How is it resolved? In the end they end up together, side by side, [one in black and one in white (okay, yellow)]. The two of them looked like the top of a big gay wedding cake.
P.S. uh, the reason why Jeff seemingly hates Stephen is cause Jeff's jealous of Stephen and JT's "relationship."
I really enjoyed your recaps Schoonie and I look forward to the ones in the fall.
12 of 12 | Posted by Mr Dangerous | Posted on June 4, 2009 7:49 AM