“I hope that this season of Survivor isn’t just defined by inappropriate touching or sexual harassment. I hope that it’s defined by change,” Kellee Kim told Jeff Probst during the Survivor: Island of the Idols reunion.
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For the first time, the Season Finale of Survivor was not followed by a “Live” Reunion Show, and instead was pre-taped four hours earlier. The reasons for this were clear for anyone who has been following Season 39, “The Island of the Idols,” as this has been – by far – the most controversial season in the show’s nearly 20 year history. In a way that seemed fitting for this season, the Finale was almost preempted and overshadowed by outside news much bigger than the game, but it did air as scheduled, bringing this tough season to a close.
In true Survivor fashion, the negatives of this season were looked at as learning moments for us all, and Jeff Probst did his damnedest to turn this season’s problems into a positive. But despite all of the controversies – and potential lawsuits – swirling around this season, there was still some game to be played, and for the sake of those innocent players who didn’t sign up for all of this mess and who would rather not let the controversies define them, let us talk game, shall we?
As I do at the beginning of every recap, please heed the following: Remember that this recap assumes that you have already seen this week’s episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols. If you have not and don’t want to be spoiled, please come back later! It’s important to add that while we WILL hit on all of the important developments of the episode, this is not a linear “blow-by-blow” recap. It is more of a discussion and reaction of what we just witnessed together.
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!
We’ll address the elephant in the room in a bit, but let’s start off by giving a hearty congratulations to our newest Sole Survivor, Tommy Sheehan, the winner of Season 39, The Island of the Idols. Tommy, the 4th Grade Teacher from Long Beach, New York, Outplayed, Outwitted and Outlasted his competition and won the game with a final vote of 8-2-0 over Runner-up Dean Kowalski and Noura Salman. Tommy played a masterful social game in that he made close bonds with nearly every other player out there, and proved the old saying that “information is power.” Ironically, he was the only one of the Final Five to NOT have gotten first-hand advice from Boston Rob and Sandra at the Island of the Idols, but apparently he didn’t need any outside advice. This wholesome dude did do some sneaky things, but in the end his game was respected way more than late-bloomer Dean or wild-card Noura…enough to get eight votes to win (only Elizabeth and Aaron – two athletes – voted for Dean and his “fourth-quarter comeback” analogies).
Tommy never won an challenge, never had an advantage but was pretty much in the loop the whole way through except for a key vote where Dean ended up saving him. Tommy only received two votes against (both during the Tribal where Missy went home), and then lost two votes at the Final Vote, making him just four total votes shy of the coveted “Survivor Perfect Game,” a fete that only three players (J.T. Thomas, John Cochran and Jeremy Collins) have ever achieved. Or in other words, Tommy was an “on-the-sly” very impressive winner, even if his season will forever be marred and overlooked due to how agonizing it was to watch week in and week out. And I say “agonizing” not just in reference to the controversies surrounding the “unwanted touching,” but also to the horrendous and mind-boggling game-play that reared its ugly head at different times throughout this season.
This season also receives low marks for its main twist: The “Island of the Idols” twist featuring Boston Rob and Sandra was, by all measures, a real dud. The “lessons” that were taught there were mostly obvious to anyone who has ever watched the show before. The eventual winner never went there, and won the game without these Idols’ wisdom. Half of the episodes, Rob and Sandra were forgotten altogether, and when their segment did occur – especially early on in the season – it felt like a distraction and a missed opportunity for the show, where they could have had us spending some more time with its contestants that were actually vying for the million dollars.
But with all the bad, there was actually a lot of good within the game. There were some very likable players (Elaine, Janet) and memorable ones (Noura, Missy). For all the poor decision-making this season, Season 39 continued the tradition from recent seasons, where the level of overall play continued to reach all-time highs. These players made mistakes, no doubt, but they were at least playing the game up on a high-wire. This culminated in what seemed to me to be one of the best Final Tribal Councils in recent memory, where the jury truly seemed focused on picking a good winner and not on their own personal bitterness…they also seemed to have a deep respect and a deep understanding for the nuances of the game, which felt refreshing.
Dean sure came on strong at the end, and gave quite the Final Tribal Council performance. He’s been a slick-talker the whole season (once he finally appeared and spoke after being literally missing from nearly the entire first months-worth of episodes), and I grew really impressed with how cool and calm he was able to remain under pressure. Just as I was shaking my head at how Noura could possibly fall for his BS at their Reward, I found myself eventually drinking the “DK Chillin'” Kool-Aid all the same by the end.
Even Noura made a case for me in the end. She was the type of player I knew was destined to not win, and she was identified early on as a perfect person to sit next to at the end. But my gosh, Noura grew on me too. Her three individual Immunity wins was more than any other player this season, and she is not wrong when she said that she played a unique game that can only be described as “Noura.” She would have been a fun and surprising winner, no? It was all wishful dreaming on my part, as Noura didn’t receive a single vote in the end and probably was never really in serious consideration.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge “Mama” Janet, the fan-favorite who very well should have and could have won this game, save for a well-played Idol Nullifyer…only the second one ever to be introduced into the game and a very polarizing twist. The reason I don’t like it – other than it did in Janet, whom I was rooting for – is that there really is no counter-strategy…it’s a bit too powerful, especially when it’s able to played so late in the game. In any other season, with an Idol in her possession at Final Five and being a master fire-maker, Janet was a sure-thing for Final Tribal. This has got to be one of the most heart-breaking endings to a player’s game, and it couldn’t have happened to a sweeter person.
Also kudos to Lauren, another great and memorable player whose exit was more of a traditional backstab (by Noura), but was just as painful to watch play out as Janet‘s. She fought to the bitter end, and also had a great stake at winning the game, and she damn-near overcame the odds and won the fire-making challenge. Tommy did her dirty in the end, so Lauren’s game was perfect except for the fact that the two people she trusted the most are then ones that did her in.
The game, in some ways tonight, seemed like a precursor for what everybody was really waiting for: Was Jeff Probst going to address the Kellee/Dan situation? We had to wait until almost the 150-minute mark of the 180-minutes of Survivor to hear Kellee speak, but when she finally did, we learned a lot more than we previously knew about what production did wrong, and what it could have done right…there was barely a mention of Dan and he of course wasn’t in attendance, so “his side” of the events are yet to be publicly revealed. But Kellee said it best when she told us that her hopes for this season were not that it would be defined by these sexual harassment controversies, but that it would be “defined by change,” and would hopefully act as a pivot point to better things moving forward.
So what are those “better things”? Well first, CBS, Survivor and Jeff Probst have instituted several new changes moving forward, that not only make the producers more aware, but that also make the process easier for the players to report unwanted activity occurring within the game. Further, they plan on adding in additional layers to their pre-game “prep” of all contestants, where they will be schooled on appropriate behaviors and personal space. As part of this education, players will also be told that it will be forbidden to use anything dealing with this topic in the game as strategy or in any way. Counselors and extra staff will be on hand as support. CBS and Jeff Probst vow to make positive changes, and they started with a public apology to Kellee at the top of his interview with her, with Probst telling her plainly, “You were right.”
Kellee admitted that she felt the weight and pressure of the moment, and it probably wasn’t the best setting…in many ways the whole segment with Kellee felt like it wasn’t very substantive and that it was just a play by Probst and CBS to save face and turn the page. Kellee did admit that she felt she was not “supported or believed” by production, but stopped short of calling out the show for any further wrong-doing.
What we’re left with as fans is still a big mess that needs sorting out. There was no mention of the report that Dan inappropriately touched a member of production on a boat, the incident that allegedly is what got him kicked off the show. There was only a brief reference to how Missy and Elizabeth used this controversy as a strategy in the game. Dan was barely mentioned, even though his presence loomed large. When it comes to the actual incidents, there was very little that was addressed or explained, all pointing to the reality that this whole situation is probably being dealt with in the courts…where none of the included parties are really able to comment. So I too hope that the show can recover and move on, but there’s still a lot of cleaning up to do, and despite CBS’s best efforts, this season will not be easily swept under the rug.
I’ve tried my best to try to separate this season from Dan Spilo, but the two are intertwined, and that’s why ultimately this season feels like a huge bummer that I’m quite honestly just looking forward to moving past and getting over. I’m not even going to put out my traditional “Most Memorable Seasons of Survivor” list…just know that I full-heartedly and without reservations rank this season as 39th out of 39 seasons.
As for my typical “All-Time Winners” list? With Season 40 being publicly announced as the long-awaited “all winners season,” I think I might wait until February to let the dust settle on this one…so you may have to wait until February to see where Tommy ranks among the all-time Survivor greats.
We’ve hit on the major issue of the season, but what else did we learn from the Reunion Show? Here’s a summary:
Season 40: Winners At War. This season couldn’t have come at a better time. How do you follow up a rough season like the one we just experienced? By giving fans the season they’ve been dreaming about for years. “Winners At War” was shot in Fiji last Summer, and features 20 returning winners of Survivor, competing for not one, but a TWO million dollar prize. The “Edge of Extinction” twist will return, meaning that players who get voted out are never really gone…which probably means yet another season where there is no weekly exit press (personal bummer). There is also a new “currency” twist in the game, that was hinted at but not fully revealed.
My initial reaction to the 20 winners in the cast? It seems like an absolute downer to me that original winner, Richard Hatch, wasn’t included, but coming off of this season (and remembering that Hatch was involved in that terrible “touching” incident with Sue Hawk during a challenge on All-Stars), it was probably best to avoid him altogether. And no Cochran? How can their be a “best of” winners season without Cochran? Not surprising, but I would have loved to have seen Survivor: Thailand winner, Brian Heidik (one of the winners that I personally feel was the best). And husband and wife winners Boston Rob and Amber in the same game? I mean, that’s cool and all, but do either of them have any real chance, like really?
We will definitely have much, much more coverage as we get closer to Survivor’s 40th season, “Winners At War,” which will premiere on February 12th, 2020.
That’s a wrap from me on this season! A big thanks to all of those that follow these pages and my other work, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on this season, on the upcoming Season 40 and on Survivor as a whole in the comments below! I truly love this show and this game, and I love interacting with other Survivor fans like you. So thank you, and don’t worry, I’ll be back in February reset, reloaded and ready for Winners at War!
To close, I leave you with this season’s final installment of the artwork from two-time Survivor legend, Erik Reichenbach. Please check it out and if you like his work, you can find even more of it on his website, Dabudoodles.com.
“Playing to their Strengths”
Photo: ERIK REICHENBACH / WWW.DABUDOODLES.COM
Quick Note! I appreciate that you are reading this recap! Those that have followed me also know that I am also a RottenTomatoes-approved film critic, and I encourage you to check out my weekly movie reviews including my recent reviews of STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER and CATS, as I am the film critic and Executive Producer of the TV show, “Movie Show Plus,” the #1-rated local program in the Detroit-market (episodes are also available online at the website, www.MovieShowPlus.com.) As always, the easiest way to get all of my Survivor coverage and movie reviews is to follow me on Twitter – @tomsantilli – or on Facebook.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF THE FINALE? WAS THE CONTROVERSY HANDLED APPROPRIATELY BY JEFF PROBST? AND WILL YOU BE WATCHING SEASON 40 IN FEBRUARY?
[Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets/Timothy Kuratek/Jeffrey Neira/Michele Crowe/David M. Russell]
The post Survivor: Island Of The Idols Finale And Reunion Show Recap: When It Rains It Pours appeared first on Reality Tea.
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Last night was the season finale of Real Housewives Of Orange County and with all the chaos, the only thing I could think about was that Gina Kirschenheiter is actually MOVING her word art collection. Like it’s priceless art. Frankly I’m surprised she wasn’t selling it to Sothebys. But seriously you guys, just like her marriage and her ex-man, that stuff is garbage!
Gina decided to reconcile with Matt, and she is glowing like a teenager with a crush as she tells Emily Simpson that he’s truly changed. Gina believes this is a second chance at their marriage. They’ve sold their Coto home and are moving some place new and fresh, and Gina doesn’t even worry about what Matt’s doing in LA.
Well, just like Gina cut the dead ends off her hair, she needs to cut off Matt! Emily knows this, but she tries to be supportive. We can see in others what we can’t see in ourselves, right!
Someone who hasn’t changed is Shane Simpson. Emily goes to the doctor about her hip and learns she needs a replacement. When she calls Shane he’s all Joe Giuidce ‘whaddya want me ta do abouuuutit. I told youse it was bad.” except with even less emotion. I don’t know if Emily is more upset that she needs to get her hip sockets replaced with plastic, or that her husband is made of plastic and has all the empathy, but none of the sexiness, of a Ken doll. Emily’s daughter Annabelle is the one she brought to the appointment for moral support, and if Emily doesn’t recognize that Annabelle is going to wind up like her – trying to fix all the dysfunction in her parents life – I’m sincerely worried. Oh, also we learned that Shane didn’t pass the BAR. Again. But Shane already knew that before Emily even tried to read his results. I doubt Shane even took the BAR.
The big to do is that Vicki Gunvalson is engaged to Steve Lodge which requires a party. Emily isn’t planning it, because if she did the theme of this might actually make sense, instead that honor goes to Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador. First Shannon is now dating “Duff,” which is a more mid-90’s LA ‘shedding my suburban midwestern roots with a self-crafted re-naming’ than even Slade. Duff also has the dubious distinction of making child with another former Real Housewife of Orange County. That would Tammy Knickerbocker. I don’t remember her because I was too busy watching The Real World, but per the flashback Duff was an ass then and he’s an ass now!
Duff basically sexually harasses and fat shames Shannon on their date, except she’s too clueless and desperate to realize that the rules of flirting have changed since 1947 so she should get up and leave. Even more sad, though, is that Shannon is accustomed to this after years of being married to David, who found his solace in tortilla chips and another woman’s pink taco, but not in Shannon’s highly sterilized, free-range, wifi-free, fragrance free, fat-free, full fatuous, world of yippie health administered by a guru who calls herself Dr. Deb and wears a breastplate that says LOGO MY EGO.
Just like Shannon is forever chasing love, so is Braunwyn Windham-Burke. Except Brauwnyn is chasing her mother’s love and is gonna wind up perishing from dehydration at Burning Man if she doesn’t give up. Braunwyn throws some ridiculous cult-y yoga chant party in her backyard to bond with her mother. Really, Kelly Dodd needed to show up to whack Braunwyn over the head to knock some sense into her. After meditating on peace and love Dr. Deb self-congratulates herself by mommy shaming so-called helicopter mothers who don’t send their children to boarding school so they can party, aka have ‘me time.’ That was really a passive aggressive dig at Brauwnyn, who sits on the board at her kids school and keeps pushing children out so that someone will always love her the way her mother never had time to.
So back to Vicki’s party. The theme is country western cowgirl cozy farmhouse shabby chic totally batshit crazy that you’re making such a big deal about a THIRD MARRIAGE. There is a broken down truck in the front entrance that I assume symbolizes Vicki’s leaky love tank. The unofficial theme is “Tamra Throws A Tantrum In A Barn.” Also if we want to make this Christmas-y, Kelly was giving birth to a new personality, a virginal attitude and conscience, and the three unwise amigas gave her nonsense, mirth, and looking good being the best revenge.
Anyway! After surviving anger management Kelly has decided she will attend the party to confront her demons. Because Satan is confusing and satan is marrying Steve Lodge in what she swears is her third and final wedding. Kelly went over to Gina’s to look at some word art, and now has a mantra about peace love and happiness, that she practices in the car with Dr. Brian. He’s a better guru than Dr. Deb, by the way. And Dr. Deb is at this party because Vicki is so desperate for friends she will invite the wacky mother of a woman she doesn’t like and doesn’t actually know or like. Steve is confused about why they hired Parliament Funkadelic to play at a hoe down.
And HOE down is accurate! Hoe being Tamra, drunk and dry humping the dance floor. Tamra hit the sauce with a vendetta, and this is self-producing at it’s worst! Fearing that the inevitable Kelly and Vicki confrontation wouldn’t resume, Tamra decided to put a little Plan B in place by getting stupid wasted and fabricating a reason to be super angry at Kelly to start a fight and hopefully provoke a reaction out of Kelly. Except Kelly has been reciting “As soon as I’m with you I forget…” (Gina’s favorite!) and is all love happiness and light people on fire.
Kelly even manages to say hello to Vicki in what was the most awkward 3 minutes I’ve ever witnessed on this show and that includes the time David pretended to cry over Shannon’s fake death.
As Tamra drinks, she fumes about how Kelly is costing her $300k in a lawsuit against Jim Bellino for slander. Apparently Kelly tweeting Jim had drastic consequences in Tamra’s legal fight so now everything is Kelly’s fault. I’m sorry – was it Kelly who defamed Jim for years on TV, and then, years after he left the show went after him on a podcast!? Sure, Kelly shouldn’t have tweeted Jim in a fit of rage, but like Emily said Kelly isn’t being deposed. She hasn’t been called as a witness. The lawsuit between Jim and Tamra (and whatever is going on with Shannon) is going forth regardless, and Kelly hasn’t even been legally approached. Twitter, is not a court of law, regardless of what Tamra may think. Also Tamra take accountability for your actions!
As Tamra gets angrier and angrier, Shannon gets more and more desperate to prove that she’s a supportive friend until she gets angry and calls Kelly – gasp – “an asshole!” Now Shannon is going to need like 6 detox sessions with Dr. Moon with full colonic.
Since karma definitely exists somewhere in the Bravo Universe while Shannon and Tamra are complaining that Kelly is costing them money, Shannon accidentally lights her own hair on fire by leaning into a votive candle and Vicki tries to put it out by dousing it in tequila. Tamra doesn’t bother to try and help save Shannon because she is too focused on Kelly.
Tamra notices Kelly, Gina, Brauwnyn and Emily laughing and freaks out. She wants to go after Kelly, but Kelly doesn’t care, so Tamra goes for the low-hanging fruit: Gina. Tamra just starts eviscerating her. She literally lunges herself at Gina like Mothra, then runs off screaming into the trees. Tamra is so drunk though that even Gina kinda starts to laugh, and winds up chasing Tamra outside where she’s fake crying in a bush about how she can’t afford to send her kids to college because Kelly tweeted Jim Bellino.
Look, if I’m gonna see a drunk Housewife in a bush it better be Luann de Lesseps. Tamra’s shenanigans are boring and contrived. Shannon and Vicki don’t even realize she’s gone until it’s been minutes of Gina yanking that rodent out of the foliage. Upon seeing Tamra with Gina, Shanicki both fly into rescue mode to prove that they’re the better friends to Tamra. Shannon lets Tamra cry in her lap, sitting on a curb, while Vicki, with her boobs flopping out of that hideous prom does bridal dress, yells that Gina doesn’t understand. To her credit Gina doesn’t want to understand and basically laughs at them. Gina – this is your wakeup call. Get it together or you will be Tamra in 20 years!
Back inside Kelly calls Braunwyn stupid for even pretending that Tamra and Shannon have a legit reason to be angry with her. Brauwnyn is shocked to see the side of Kelly everyone warned her about, but in this instance Kelly is correct. As Kelly said if you open your mouth with lies, you get sued, and that’s not her fault.
We end with Tamra going home with Eddie, who I just do not understand. Maybe she’s going to offer him anal again. Shannon sitting alone at the bar bellowing for a cocktail and Duff, in that order, but getting neither. Vicki tells Steve she loves him for the 300th time and he pretends he doesn’t hear her. This was after Vicki’s brother, Billy, confessed to Tamra that he doubts this marriage will work. Vicki swears that third time is a charm though. Tamra looked just overjoyed to get this piece of bad news about her friend, cause ammunition! But honestly Eddie never looks too thrilled to be around Tamra either, and they have a vacant gym all to themselves and country club membership!
Gina is all excited to introduce Braunwyn to Matt, and then we get the sad update that Matt is headed to trial on suspicion of domestic violence. You can go to trial for that? Emily – help me! Emily got a new hip, but sadly not a new husband. YET! Hopefully these new hips will be made for walking right out on Shane!. For now Emily admits last year sucked, but she wants to try and work it out. She can borrow some of Gina’s framed word art for inspo!
Brauwnyn still has mommy issues, but since she’s the cool mom she’s BFF with her daughters. And nothing like Dr. Deb.
Kelly broke up with Dr. Brian and is now engaged. She is not speaking to Tamra, Shannon, Vicki or Jim Bellino‘s lawyers. Well, that’s a wrap!
TELL US – DID TAMRA HAVE A GOOD REASON TO BE MAD AT KELLY? WILL VICKI AND STEVE MAKE IT DOWN THE AISLE?
[Photo Credits: Bravo]
The post Real Housewives Of Orange County Finale Recap: Burning Woman appeared first on Reality Tea.
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