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« Survivor: China
Episode Recap: A Slippery Little Sucker
I’m not sure how I feel yet about the Survivor: China finale. I found myself cheering at the end. Strange since I wasn’t originally a fan of the winner though I did warm up later on. I ended up feeling unsettled about a player I had liked all along and I survived a mini-roller coaster ride with another player when I found myself with no clear favorite in the end. To sum up, I was a little all over the place during the final three hours of the show. Now I sit here somewhat dazed by it all so let me tell you how I got here and see if anyone else feels the same.
The two-hour finale started with a final reward challenge that had Amanda, Denise, Todd and Courtney rebuilding Survivor’s version of China’s Great Wall. Amanda won and was rewarded with a meal. She could choose to keep it all for herself or share it with one or two people. She agonized for the appropriate length of time and then chose to share her meal only with Todd. This was, after all, a perfect opportunity to privately evaluate her closest ally and determine if he was still trustworthy. Ironic since in the end she would be the one called out for being a liar…
Amanda prevailed again at the final immunity challenge that had each person balance a growing stack of porcelain plates on a balancing arm while standing in the hot sun. Todd and Courtney succumbed first leaving Denise to try to get Amanda to make a deal for the final three. Amanda refused, going on to win it all on her own, beholden to no one. Didn’t you just want her to win the whole thing right then and there?
At this point we learned in confessional that in her real life, Denise earned only $7/hour as a lunch lady. I wish I never heard those words. I’ve liked Denise pretty much throughout the game, but after tonight I left the show not thinking of her as I did for episodes 1-12. Instead, because such a big deal was made of it, I ended up feeling bad for the woman who we’ve learned has lost her Lunch Lady job because of her time on the show and now works as a janitor. I hate that people like Courtney feel they are entitled to make comments such as, ”This isn’t, like, welfare. She doesn’t deserve it because she, like, sucks at life.” And while it’s great that Mark Burnett decided during the live reunion show to give Denise 50K on the spot I’m soured on it because it reduces this nice woman to being a charity case and she doesn’t deserve that.
As we all knew it would, that tribal Council separated Denise from her four-pack leaving her bitter and angry at final tribal. Denise’s one consolation, however, was the fact that, deliberately or not Todd, ever the masterful player, tossed Amanda under the bus in the jury’s eye by making them believe that she had betrayed Denise. With that move, he effectively took Amanda out of the game.
Facing the jury, the final three fended off a few targeted questions, but unlike other final tribal councils, the jury was not completely nasty. James, in his wife-beater, chose not to be a ‘Bitter Betty” and asked a benign question. Jamie, however, tried to be a tough nut, but only accomplished the second half of that description as she stumbled over her circuitous question. There was some flirting between Frosti and Courtney, “You look great,” “Thanks, I dressed up for you.” There was some indignation on Todd’s part towards Peih-Gee. “First, I did not slide anywhere! Second, I got my numbers. I fought. It was a glorious battle!” And there were some retorts on Courtney’s part to Jean-Robert, “I won a challenge…Did you?’
Overall, apologetic Amanda killed her chances by painting herself as the “doe-eyed” liar who had no choice but to lie. Todd on the other hand owned his lying ways and backed up his every move with strategic reasons for each one. Courtney played the survivor card – she was the smallest and the weakest, but she lasted to the end. ‘You have to give a little bit of credit to the little girl who everybody thought would be gone.”
In the end, the jury voted Todd as the ultimate survivor, with Courtney a close second and Amanda a distant third with only one vote. I cheered and I surprised myself when I did. As I said, I was not a fan of Todd at the beginning. Then he won me over, but I still didn’t I want him to win; though I wanted and fully expected him to be there in the end. I had started to root for Amanda in recent weeks but was frustrated by her action-less talk of ousting Todd. I discounted Courtney as pretty much everyone else did. I wanted to see Denise make final three at the least, but we know how that went. Congratulations to Todd, a true student of the game who has earned his place in Survivor history.
However, if Todd were just in this for some money, then he need only have worked on being popular because that’s the other route to a fatter bank account on Survivor. Fan favorite James edged out Denise and Peih-Gee to win $100K merely by being, in Jeff’s words, one of the most popular players the show has seen in a long time. Hello? Does anybody remember a little guy named Yau-Man? I’m not all that keen on the additional prize money. In my opinion it negates the work of the actual winner. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I were Rupert or James.
Despite this, I do enjoy seeing the aftermath of the show at the reunion special. We have another Survivor love connection with Jamie and Erik who are dating. He’s still a virgin (wink, wink). Ever so tactfully, Jeff addressed Courtney’s weight and she says that she is not anorexic. She currently weighs more than 95 pounds. James was named People’s Sexy Man of the Week. All other reveals were uninspiring. Things like Jean-Robert saying he’d play the game exactly the same had he the chance to do it all over again.
So that’s it folks. Join us next season for Survivor: Micronesia where fan favorites will battle the show’s super fans. Should be good.
It’s been great blogging for you this season. Thanks for all your comments. Now one last time you tell me. Did the right person win Survivor: China?
For more Survivor: China check out our Online Video Guide.
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Dec 17, 2007 2:07 AM
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Loved hearing Jeff say he's going to read the names right now since he's live! Sure beats previous seasons where we see him traveling in various vehicles. Courtney sure gained some weight after her "Survivor" experience. Did she actually flip the bird on network television? Oh, well, maybe it wasn't intentional...Moving on, I wasn't surprised Todd won and after his answers, especially to Jean Robert, he deserved it. Amanda, much as I liked her, did not go through with her plan to have Todd voted out and her betrayal to Denise at tribal council and Todd's calling her out on it probably sealed her fate. I was actually surprised that Peih-Gee was one of the three most popular of this season's contestants especially considering how many posters here don't like her. I'm thinking the way she kept putting herself out there in trying to get some alliance going must of been a factor. Was definitely not surprised to see James get that thousand, however. So Jamie and Erik, being close Southern neighbors, are dating, eh? Couldn't have happened to a cuter couple. Glad Jeff got to interview everyone and loved Chicken's remark about if he couldn't win the million, he's glad about being voted off first or something to that effect. So now with no new Survivor blog until next February, can someone please do one on the current season of "The Amazing Race"?
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Dec 17, 2007 3:21 AM
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Darclyte- All I have to say about your comment is "OMG!!" I dont know whether to agree or disagree with you.
Anyway, since this my 3rd year watching Survivor, I am not happy that Todd won. I don't know about past Survivor seasons and how everybody felt about the winner they didn 't like. But this one.....I truelly didn't care for. Never did and never will. But he did play the game well. Sceming and plotting to vote someone out.
I wanted to slap the mess out of Courtney with that ”This isn’t, like, welfare. She doesn’t deserve it because she, like, sucks at life.”comment. Actually I wanted to slap her a long time ago.
As for the new season in Micronesia....I had to look it up, cause I never heard of it before. The superfans vs. the fan favorites should be an interesting season. I just hope that Rob and Amber are not on there.
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Dec 17, 2007 4:51 AM
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OMG I had not thought of the possibility of either Rob or Amber coming back on the next edition. I was excited at the prospect of seeing some old favorites again. Oh God please no more Rob and/or Amber!
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Dec 17, 2007 6:01 AM
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I'm disappointed that Todd won--it always seems to be the smug, arrogant jerks who get awarded the top prize by the very same people who got stabbed in the back. I'll never understand that.
I've been an Amanda fan for quite some time now, and I thought she looked SO cool during the last immunity challenge. I wanted her to win it all.
And I must say she looked absolutely breathtaking at the reunion show. I'm sure "Playboy" will be calling her before the week is out.
Mark Burnett's 50K prize to Denise didn't seem like charity to me. It was simply a very generous gesture to someone who apparently lost her job BECAUSE of her participation on the show, not as a mere coincidence.
And if I see Rob & Amber on the next "special" season of Survivor, I absolutely will not watch it.
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Dec 17, 2007 8:30 AM
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Honestly, my first thought when I heard about next season was "Please, please no Rob or Amber!!!" I just mentioned to my brother the other day that I hadn't heard about them in a while and said "Do you think CBS might finally be over them, like everyone else on earth?". I will not be able to watch if either of them is on.
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Dec 17, 2007 8:38 AM
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Todd DESERVED to win!! From episode 1, he has done everything he can to secure his place in the final 3 and it worked. Nobody had the guts to go up against him and have him thrown out. He truly outwitted, outlasted and outplayed every other player this season and I was rooting for him from the get go.
Amanda: she blew it big time. She tried to backpedal her way with the jury about he lies and backstabbing by painting Todd as the guilty one, a role he willingly embraced, while portraying herself as a victim "forced to lie". WTF, if she had played her cards right, she could have made herself look like the ultimate schemer, but instead as Peih-Gee pointed out we were tired of seeing her "doe eyes" and watching her apologize and shed crocodile tears.
Denise: I liked Denise but I question Mark Burnett's decision to give the 50 grand. Technically, she didn't lose her job, she still has one. She was just re-assigned. Secondly, Denise already won prize money for coming in #4. Awarding the extra money did feel like a charity and I thought Denise would be too proud to accept. I guess not.
As for Courtney, I could not stand her. Every week since day 1, I was hoping someone would vote her off. I'm glad she lost, but definitely don't agree with Jeff that she had the best one-liners. She's not witty, she's just an insecure little bitch. Her comment about Denise was way too much. I only wished Denise would have slugged her.
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Dec 17, 2007 8:38 AM
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If Denise didn't want to be a charity case, maybe she should have had a better argument to convince Amanda to take her, other than "I have nothing to go back to, and I only make $7/hour"
Courtney was harsh with that sucks at life comment, but she was dead on with saying that Survivor isn't welfare. Just because you're poor, doesn't mean that you're entitled to have everyone step aside so you can win. If Denise really didn't want to return to being a lunch lady/janitor, she should have taken the others up on their offer to go to the final three with her. Instead she decided to stay in her alliance, which she herself had said repeatedly would put her at the bottom of the totem pole and out fourth. She didn't want to actually play the game of Survivor, she wanted everyone to hand her the money because she had the best sob story (which Burnett ended up doing).
Amanda blew it in the final TC. If she had just owned up to her strategy of being sneaky like Todd did, she could have won it all. Todd deserves the win, simply because he continued to play the game all the way through, and didn't pack it up and claim innocence at the final tribal council.
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Dec 17, 2007 8:54 AM
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What happened to Darclyte's post? Anyway, I don't think that anyone should win Survivor without winning at least one individual challenge. At the last challenge, I think Jeff should have said that if Todd didn't win, he'd be out & there would be no need for tribal council. After all, the other three had won. I also think there should be an award for the survivor who won the most total challenges, unless he or she is the winner. In this case, it would have been Amanda. She deserved more than the third place, and I really don't understand why the jury (aside from Erik) didn't know that.
I also think that to an extent Todd rode on Amanda's & Courtney's (& Denise's coattails), just like some people say about A***r B****h M*****o.
He could have been voted off a number of times, but their loyalty kept him on.
It wouldn't bother me at all if Rob & Amber were on the next Survivor. I like them. They seem to be basically good people albeit Rob is arrogant. He did, however, win more challenges than any other competitor up to that point!
And I think it's very nice that Denise got the $50,000 and James got the popular vote consolation prize. Both of them deserved it.
I'm also glad that Erik & Jaime are still dating (and he's so cute when he blushes!). The fact that they hang out with each other's families bodes well for the relationship.
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Dec 17, 2007 8:55 AM
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Good episode.
Let me start with Jeff. For every good question (Courtney and her anorexic appearance), he comes back with the WTH question (Erik's virginity).
As mean as Courtney's comments were during the show about Denise/welfare, you can't tell me that many viewers weren't thinking that Denise shouldn't win if her only trump card was the troubles in her life. I also thought the Mark Burnett's gesture was nice, but agree that it felt like a charity case. Also, I had heard there was a story about Denise's mullet and was disappointed by her answer. Ok, I get that you want to look attractive to your husband, but you can still do that with a different hairstyle.
I had wondered why James was given grief about the idols because I don't know if I would have played them when he was voted out. I didn't know -- until last night -- that James could only use the idols up until the final 5, so I understood why his move was considered a "blunder." Unless I missed something, I hadn't heard that rule/provision during the show.
Congrats to Todd. I had hoped Amanda would have won.
Finally, I hope the next season has good fan favorites. I think it would be a waste if former Survivor winners played because they'll be immediately target (See: Survivor All-Stars). And while I would alsso hate to see Rob and Amber, you can bet they would be the first ones voted off, which is a good thing. 
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Dec 17, 2007 9:01 AM
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SNL fan said:
Courtney sure gained some weight after her "Survivor" experience. Did she actually flip the bird on network television? Oh, well, maybe it wasn't intentional...
I'm so glad someone else noticed she did this! When it happened, I asked my husband if he noticed it. He responded with, "We can't be the only ones who caught it." Heck no--I'm not convinced it wasn't intentional. She referred to herself as a bitch all the way through the show, and her behavior/reaction when Jeff confronted her about the comments just reinforces how "lovely" a person she truly is.
As for Denise, it was difficult to watch her cast her vote when we (the audience) knew what Courtney had said about her. Once she did find out what Courtney had said, Denise still took the high road.
The winner was a disappointing one to say the least. I don't care how many of those on the jury felt Todd to be the best strategist--hence their vote. This merely shows Todd to be the best liar and sneak. If this is what the show is truly about, then yes, perhaps he did deserve to win.
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Dec 17, 2007 9:05 AM
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My random comments:
I knew that Todd was going to win from early on in this season.
I really like how they changed up the last immunity challenge while maintaining the tradition of balance/endurance.
I'm really looking forward to the next season of Survivor (unless Rob & Amber are in it).
Misleading previews are one thing, but flat out lies are another. Thursday, CBS explicitly stated 3 Tribal Councils. And there were only 2.
I also found it interesting that the changed up the final TC by not letting the F3 make a closing statement. In past seasons they've had the opening statement, Jury inquiry and Final Statement.
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Dec 17, 2007 10:34 AM
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Rhoda thanks so much for your great blogging this season. I must agree with you on all your points.
Out of the three sitting there I really didn't care who won. Even as nasty as Courtney is, it would not have bothered me if she had won. I suppose on a "performance basis" it should have been Amanda.
I hope you all don't think I am a terrible person, because I really do have a heart, but Denise's crying about her financial situation all the time was annoying. She made the STUPIDIST mistake by staying with her alliance full well knowing she was going to be out at #4. She was guaranteed a #3 spot if she went with PG, and her explanation for staying with the allicance made no sense to me at all. She could have outwitted Todd, Amanda and Courntey and maybe won the whole thing. (I know they said PG wound have won, but we don't really know that for sure). I don't know whether she is too nice or too dumb. Also, she has a husband. Is he disabled? Does he not work? What the heck? And I'm sorry, that explanation for why she keeps her hair that way is just ridiculous. I guess I'm glad she got the $50k, and I hope she uses it well - maybe a decent hair cut, and pay for some schooling so she can have a hope of getting a better job than the minimum wage job she is working now (my kid even makes more than she does!)
The one bright spot for me was when Todd said he played JR for his vote. Hehehehe!!!
Here's hoping I have someone to root for in Micronisia. Maybe it will be James 
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Dec 17, 2007 10:34 AM
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Is this the first season that they didn't give a car away?
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Dec 17, 2007 10:58 AM
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Wow, I sleep in one time in months and I missed a controversial comment by Darclyte...something that actually had to be removed from the blog??? Can anyone fill me in?
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Dec 17, 2007 11:29 AM
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