We only have one episode left of Survivor: Philippines – Sunday night’s two-hour finale – and I’ve got to say, this has been a hell of a season. There have been several episodes where I wasn’t sure who would be voted out, including tonight’s episode. I cannot wait for the finale, because I really think any of the remaining four have a chance to win.
This episode was all about Abi trying to convince everyone else to keep her around. And, to her credit, she had a strong argument to make. Denise and Malcolm both have great chances at winning, so first Abi went to Lisa to try and convince her to vote Denise out. (Malcolm, of course, was automatically in the final four thanks to his Immunity Idol.)
Ring, ring, ring!
The Reward Challenge was extremely interesting because of Abi’s position as a swing vote and an ideal person to take to the end. I wouldn’t have wanted to leave her alone with anyone.
For the challenge, players had to race to collect rings and then throw them onto five pegs. It was close between Skupin and Malcolm, but Skupin pulled off the win. Man, you’ve got to admit, he’s incredibly athletic for a guy his age. It’s impressive. Skupin won a boat cruise pizza party and got to invite two guests. I knew he’d invite Malcolm, because Malcolm had chosen Skupin for the family visit. But the second pick was important. If I were Skupin, I would have then selected Denise, thus leaving Lisa to work on getting Abi’s vote back at camp. Or I would choose Lisa and Abi to go on the reward, delivering the chance to woo the swing vote while Malcolm and Denise are out of the way. Instead. Skupin picked his pal Lisa, leaving Denise back at camp with the swing vote.
That should have been a stupid move. But Denise is so annoyingly committed to the idea of going to the end with the best that she didn’t try and convince Abi to vote with her and Malcolm. She just tiredly agreed with everything Abi said, all afternoon, in an attempt to avoid conflict and make their alone time as painless as possible.
Two Guys, A Girl, and a Pizza Boat
Meanwhile, Malcolm was on board the most hilarious boat ride of all time with Lisa and Skupin. Skup, who doesn’t normally consume sugar, drank pop for the first time in thirty years. (Hilarious that he said pop – usually you Americans say “soda”.) In fact, he had three pop and was quite literally sugar high. It was like he was drunk – so hilarious! I laughed out loud when Malcolm said “Suddenly, Michael Skupin is fun to be around!” Is he normally a wet blanket?
The reward was pretty cool, because they got to go swimming with some kind of whale-shark-fish type thing. Of course, Skupin had some kind of run-in with it. What an accident prone guy! Later in the episode the fire spit a spark at him and I screamed “NOT AGAIN SKUPIN GET IT TOGETHER!” like a madwoman.
On the boat, Malcolm took the opportunity to throw Denise under the bus and make a final three deal with Lisa and Skupin. I’m curious to know how serious he is about this – is it a backup alliance, or is he really going to vote Denise out? Lisa wasn’t completely on board with the idea, but she went along with it. Our little Lisa is finally playing the game.
The thing is, it’s no less dangerous for Lisa and Skupin to go to the finals, theoretically, with Malcolm than it would be to go with Denise. They’re both very strong players who could win the game. The correct choice is to take Abi. I really wish we were getting a final two this season instead of a final three.
You’re such a pain in the…
The next morning, poor Denise woke up with a terrible, burning pain in her neck…and it wasn’t just from having to hang out with Abi. She’d gotten some kind of bite on her neck (is Abi a vampire, do we think?) and was having an allergic reaction. It was sad to see super-tough Denise break down like that, she was obviously in a lot of pain. The Prayer Patrol, Lisa and Skupin, prayed for her. Abi crossed her fingers for a medical evacuation. You can’t really blame her.
An A-Maze-Ing Finish
Despite her pain, Denise performed well in the Immunity Challenge. The challenge was a complex one. Players had to cross a rope bridge with planks, collecting puzzle pieces along the way. Then they had to assemble a puzzle-maze and get a ball through the maze. Malcolm fell off the rope bridge and fell far into last place, and Denise was way ahead of the others in the puzzle. But once Malcolm caught up, he put the puzzle together with amazing speed. It was really an incredible come-from-behind victory. Malcolm didn’t need to win Immunity, but you can’t say that he didn’t deserve the win.
Of course, it complicated things. I’d assumed that if Malcolm won the challenge that he’d give his Hidden Immunity Idol to Denise, thus ensuring that they both make it to the final four. But because of his conversation on the boat with Lisa and Skupin, I wasn’t so sure.
You’re a Mean One, Ms. Abi
With the Immunity necklace sitting around Malcolm’s neck, Abi had to get back to her task of trying to convince people to keep her around. This time she worked on Skupin.
But what was really interesting was Malcolm’s reluctance to give Denise the Immunity Idol. She asked, and he gave a vague answer. He was so confident that everyone would vote out Abi that he didn’t feel like he needed to give up the Idol. Even knowing the outcome of the vote, I think this is stupid. Why risk it? There is a small risk in giving away the Idol, and that’s indicating to Lisa and Skupin that a) Denise is your homegirl and b) You don’t trust them. But this is the homestretch. The much greater risk is Denise, a close ally, getting voted out of the game at the wrong time. If Denise had been voted out tonight, Malcolm surely would have been next week. So I think the smart move would have been to give Denise the Idol.
However, Abi’s own stupidity had to have played a role as well. When everyone got to Tribal Council, she laid it on too thick – just like she did with her Hidden Immunity Idol lie. All Abi had to say was that Malcolm and Denise will likely win, and that she is a desirable person to keep around because she won’t get any votes. That’s it, that’s all she needed to say. But instead, she also called Skupin an idiot and a moron (twice!) and said he has no chance at winning the million bucks. Is she really that rude, or was that a ploy to make herself seem like even more of a bitch who couldn’t possible win the vote? I think the latter, and that she went too far.
Everyone voted out Abi, and while I’m happy she’s out of the game, I think it was a mistake. I would have kept Abi around until the end. That said, with Abi out of the game the finale should be very interesting. Let’s talk about what could happen.
Predictions
This foursome has successfully reached their goal, but it’s always been quite clearly comprised of two pairs. What will happen in the next vote? Will there be a tie? Will Malcolm betray Denise? Or will Denise turn on Malcolm? Let’s assume a final three – that one person will be voted out halfway through Sunday night’s episode, and then three will go to the end. (Womp-womp.)
If Denise or Malcolm gets into the finals, I think she or he will win. But if they’re both in the finals, I’m leaning towards Malcolm winning but I feel less confident. I think Lisa is next likeliest to win and, sadly, Skupin is least likely to win. (My mom has Skupin in the office pool, which she started up and has yet to win. I would love for her to win the pot this year, but unfortunately I don’t think it’s in the cards.)
What do you guys think? I’m SO EXCITED for the finale.
I really believe we’re going to have a Final Two, though. Two people have always been voted out in the last episode; ‘three tribal councils, two immunity challenges, one winner’ – isn’t what Jeff used to say during the earlier seasons? We’ve never had an 8 person jury and a Final Three.
But nobody else seems to realize it and I just don’t get it. Why isn’t anyone even considering that there might be a Final 2? If Malcolm does indeed vote Denise out at the next Tribal, then his chances of going to the end go down; as long as he doesn’t win the last Immunity, he’s gone. We’d end up with Lisa and Skupin in the Final Two… which is fine, I like them, but Denise and Malcolm would be the desired outcome.
I am already disappointed that Malcolm and Denise can’t both win, though. They’ve both been consistently awesome. I think I’m rooting for Denise just a little bit more because of her commitment to go to the end with the most deserving players. That’s so refreshing and it’s been so long since we’ve had a player like her…
I’ve definitely considered that it could be a final two, but I agree, the players themselves don’t seem to be thinking of it. Perhaps there will be three Tribal Councils on Sunday night. It’s certainly prefer a final two.
I for one can at least appreciate the fact that Abi fought tooth and nail to stay in the game. She came up with so many plans to stay in the game (plans that weren’t carried out very well) and ended up lasting longer in the game than expected, which was a very nice change from the past couple of seasons where people didn’t do anything and just let themselves get voted off without a fight.
Very true, we should all give her credit for her tenacity!
I still think it’s going to be a final two. We have four players left on day 36, that’s one voted out on day 37, and one on day 38, leaving a final two (and going into the last episode in previous seasons we’ve had 5 players left after the day 36 tribal going into the final episode). Also, like Alex mentioned, Probst didn’t do his normal thing saying ’3 days, x challenges, x tribals’, and the last time I can remember him not saying that was in Micronesia when everyone was convinced there would be a final three. The difference with Micronesia and this season is that the jury is so obviously pointing towards a final two here (surely it’ll be a final two, please!), whereas I think there were eight jurors in Micronesia, so it was a real surprise. I’m shocked nobody has thought about it, really.
I’m sad to see Abi go, I think it was a mistake too; but, depending on how the next immunity challenge goes, it could be the right move. As long as Malcolm doesn’t win immunity, they can use the information that he’s made a final three deal without her to get Denise to vote him out, and they might need her to beat him. Unless the next challenge was another one just about untying knots, Abi wouldn’t have been helpful at all.
Also, I would actually be surprised to see Denise win. I was pulling for her and Malcolm at the start because they were such underdogs, but since the shake-up Denise hasn’t done anything. She hasn’t made a strategic move apart from sticking with Malcolm, and I don’t really see any argument she can make at final tribal apart from the fact that she stayed loyal and survived votes without having to scramble once. Malcolm’s game has been more impressive, but I just don’t like him that much.
I really want Lisa to win, but I would be happy for Skupin to win too. I’m so looking forward to Sunday’s finale!
I saw a commercial for the finale that said there would be two tribal councils, so that suggests a final three. But I hope not. I loved that twist in Micronesia.
I disagree about Denise. I think she’s been tough in challenges, and she’s great with people and has made strong alliances. I think she and Malcolm have played very similar games, really. Can’t wait to see what happens!
I don’t think she’s shown how great she is with people. She hasn’t really been playing the jury either, whereas Lisa has been great at tribals.
I don’t know if, without Malcolm, she would’ve made this final four deal with Lisa and Skupin which clearly kept them in over Penner. I do agree though that she has been great at challenges, which definitely kept her in the game after being thrown into Kalabaw.
I just like winners to have good all around games, and I just haven’t seen that from Denise. Oh well, we’ll find out tomorrow!
I cheered when they voted out Abi. You are probably right that it’s not the best move strategically. But still, I’m happy about it! I can respect what they are doing, duking it out with good players at the end, and may the best survivor win. So I’d like to think that with everything coming up with strategy and immunity challenges in the last three days, whoever wins will be the one who should win.
I like and respect all of the remaining four, but my favorites are Malcolm and Denise. I know that Lisa has been very good, very strategic. Not sure if Skupin is as deserving in that area. He doesn’t get as much air time. Again, I keep wondering why Lisa gets so much airtime.
Before I venture onto this comment, allow me a moment to gloat over the last elimination. YAY YAY YAY! FINALLY! ABI-MARIA IS OUT! WE WON’T SEE HER IN THE FINAL EPISODE! I’d say I cheered when the last ballot was showed, but it would be an understatement.
Seriously, how fantastic it was? I have to say that, as obnoxious she can be, without her the season would have been definitely more boring. This game needs villains! Ok, ok, probably she wasn’t a villain, but I have to admit and appreciate that she fought, tooth and nails, to remain in the game, not like that other rude girl NaOnka on South Pacific (I actually HOPE she was on South Pacific…I keep mixing up seasons and past contestants’ names, I’m very sorry for that) who quit on Day 28. Before the final voting, I was certain that Denise was going home, because this was the right occasion to vote her out and probably wouldn’t happen again. I mean, everybody could see it, even Malcolm. What if the final IC is endurance-based? Good luck to everyone trying to beat her!
When Probst read the last vote, I was thunderstruck. I’ve been wanting Abi to be eliminated since I’ve started watching (that was around the fifth episode), but now it’s a lot more difficult for my personal favourite Skupin to win, assumingly there is a Final Three, obviously. At this point, one between Malcolm and Denise will surely make the Final Three, appearing as the biggest favourite before the jury speech. With a Final Two, anything can happen. It can go from a Malcolm/Denise outcome to a Skupin/Lisa one. I’ve always said that Lisa would win, but after this episode I’m changing my prediction in favour of Denise, assuming there is a Final 3. The final Immunity Challenge has often being an endurance contest, and I just don’t see the other contestants putting a great fight to this kind of challenge. (Malcolm did badly in the first individual IC.)
I had questioned as well with Skupin’s decision to take Malcolm and Lisa on the reward trip. I would have chosen Abi as the first without even thinking, as she’s a big wildcard on the jury. (At this point I only can see her voting for Malcolm, as she obviously hates Denise and probably Lisa, and won’t choose Skupin as he didn’t choose her for the reward). Then if I was Skupin I’d have chosen Malcolm, but only because he’d picked me for the loved ones’ reward. It would have been better to take Lisa or Denise, obviously. I guess I’m going to agree with Jeff Probst when he says that the political decisions about who to take on reward are one of the factors that make Survivor so damn complicated.
So now it’s a matter of days (four or five, in my case
) before knowing the winner. Since this is my last reply before the Finale, I want to thank you for the wonderful recaps that always manage to fill the gaps where I couldn’t understand something, as well as Probst, Burnett and the whole cast (YES, that actually includes Abi-Maria) for gifting us with such a wonderful season. I’ll be happy with each possible outcome, even though I’m gonna root for Mike until the end.
And now…MAY THE BEST SURVIVOR WIN!!!
Great comments!
HEY! What about the Skupin dance upon leaving tribal council? Ding dong the witch is dead!
Hahaha yes, that was the best! Hilarious!
“she also called Skupin an idiot and a moron (twice!) and said he has no chance at winning the million bucks. Is she really that rude, or was that a ploy to make herself seem like even more of a bitch who couldn’t possible win the vote? I think the latter, and that she went too far.”
Abi knew she was going home, and she lashed out at Skupin because she was frustrated that Skupin wasn’t going to save her. Abi stated in her interviews that before tribal, she convinced Lisa to vote out Denise, but Lisa only agreed to it if Skupin agreed to it too, which he didn’t because he wanted to stay loyal to Denise and Malcolm, even though Abi told Skupin time and time again that Denise and Malcolm are very big jury threats.
Interesting. In this post-show interview, she said she was trying to make herself look like even more of a jerk to prove her point that they should take her to the end. http://www.hitfix.com/the-fien-print/interview-abi-maria-gomes-talks-survivor-philippines