What followed then was the Reunion episode with all the returning castmates and some surprise audience members too.
Here are my thoughts on the reunion and some final summary of the season...
I always find that folks look different between their time on the island versus being all made up for the big celebration in New York City. Jay's hair was odd, Colton looked much better with facial hair from not shaving (not so baby like) and what was up with Bill dressing like he's Prince from the "1999" video?
Kim believes her victory was in part due to the personal connections she made with people (hard to get them to give you the money after voting them out if you don't have that connection). Jay seemed to echo that sentiment. I like that he harbors no hard feelings at all.
Tarzan reveals that it was part of his strategy all along to dismantle the guy's alliance once he realized they had no hope in evening up the numbers. And he is right. As soon as the guys all agreed, some reluctantly, to go to give up immunity and go to tribal to vote out Bill (which was all Colton's master plan) the guys were sunk. Mike and Jay should have stuck to their guns and said no. That was the turning point in the game as far as giving Kim and the girls full power.
Jonas admits that it was his mistake not to make a big move early. He waited and by the time he was ready he was in the targets. The wait-and-see approach does not always work. You have to go on gut instinct sometimes.
Jeff spends a good bit of time putting Colton on the spot for his mean, racial comments in the game. The young Southern man eventually apologizes for his words - chalking up that rough exterior he put on as a way to cope in an all-guys tribe. His sweet and innocent normal mode would have only worked with the women. His mother Martha is in the audience and tells Jeff that Colton was not raised to be that way. She apologizes for her son's actions too.
Also in the audience in Mayim Bialik (child star of Blossom and currently on The Big Bang Theory). She happens to be a huge Survivor fan and had written to Jeff last year about getting tickets to the finale if she was in New York. Turns out she would have loved to see Colton remain in the game (versus leaving early for medical reasons) if nothing more than to see how things would have played out. She thinks it all would have been entertaining. Indeed. Karma might have been a real bitch had he been in the game for a few more days/weeks.
Jeff talks to Tarzan's wife and, under the studio lights, it is very clear that she's not just the wife of a plastic surgeon but also one of his best customers. Yikes. What happened to growing old gracefully?
Kat continues to be her kooky self. She and Troyzan seemed awful chummy. What was up there? I shudder to think about it. Moving on.
Alicia is called out by Jeff on her comment to Christina being like one of her special needs students. Tearfully, Alicia follows Colton's lead and apologizes for crossing the line. She says she is not that kind of person. Uh huh...right. Both she and Colton can deny all they want but no one put a gun to their head to say those things in the "diary moments" on the show. Bill called this out earlier when the talk was about Colton. It is one thing to talk smack to other folks in the game to their faces but when it is just you and the camera person one-on-one you are showing a glimpse of your true self in some way.
Sprint awards the $100,000 fan favorite. It came down to Chelsea, Troyzan, Tarzan and Kim. Kim adds to her pay-day by winning this too. I'm rather surprised that Chelsea was in the running as barely did much (did Jeff even talk to her at the reunion? barely.).
Christina says that she changed her game play early, from being aggressive and taking charge to one of a more laid back approach. She saw the aggressive mode got Matt an early boot. She says she took everything said and done in the game as just that - the game.
To close, Jeff gives us a tease of the next season (number 25) in the Fall. Survivor is going to the Phillippines. There will be three tribes initially and the added twist is three former players will be returning to the game. These three come from those who had been air-lifted/medi-evacuated from their seasons early. It is their chance to try again to prove they have the stuff to make it. Who will it be? I hope to heck it is not Colton. Now that he has apparently learned the error of his ways, I think he could be down-right boring.
Despite the systematic removal of every guy in the game (which some would say was predictable), I really enjoyed this season. There were a lot of blindsides and underdealings going on. Yes, in the end, a day-one alliance stood at the final. That is always nice to see - loyalty. Also, I applaud Kim for not taking obvious "goats" to the final that she could easily beat. Granted, some could say Chelsea fell into the goat category having rode on Kim's coat-tails all along. This is why I like Survivor - for the sociological analysis of people and groups one can do by watching the show.
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