Survivor Micronesia: Finale recap: Flirting All The Way To The Bank

[Lucy]

Well, kids, here we are! The finale, the summation of a season that saw three (at least) medical evacuations, one (if you ask me) psychological departure, and some of the best, and back-to-back, blindsides in Survivor history. We saw favorites from other seasons battle against a crowd of newbie fanboys and fangirls – and there’s only one fangirl left now. Johnny Fairplay bagged it. Ozzy got blindsided. Eliza’s eyes bugged out. James continued to make amusing asides that required subtitles to be understood.
In other words, it’s been one of the best seasons lately, and tonight, we’ll see whether the three remaining Favorites women – Amanda, Cirie and Parvati – will stick together or whether foul-mouthed Natalie can wedge her way in to be in the final two or three. And then we’ll see who wins in the end.


Who’s The Odd Girl Out?

We pick back up the night of Erik’s elimination, with the four women squealing at their victory. Parvati can’t believe people keep falling into the same trap time after time. Cirie says they couldn’t have beaten Erik, but now he’s somewhere having a sandwich and the women are going to continue with the game.

The next morning, they revel again into their victory. “It’s just tearing my heart out that there aren’t any guys around,” Cirie says.”Can’t you see the tears coming out of my eyes?”

Parvati shakes down some coconuts, nearly onto Amanda’s head. Parvati says she hasn’t missed the guys for one second. The girls are just chilling without guy egos. She and Amanda congratulate themselves on “beating them out with our brains.”

Parvati talks to Natalie, telling Nat she has a way of convincing people and she should just ask for what she wants all the time. Her life could be better, Parvati says, if she’d just ask for things.

Natalie tells us she’s the only favorite left, but she’s got a personal bond with Parvati and they get along well. Parvati tells her the people you’re with on something like this, you have to know they’re there for a reason. And they have a one in four shot of winning a million dollars, but everyone has earned their spot there. Natalie hopes they have a “connection” and that it will benefit her.

Treemail arrives to hint at the next challenge. Cirie says they’re thinking this challenge guarantees a final three, so they have to beat Natalie. “One of us has to go,” she says.


Natalie Fails to Climb Out of Last Place

The women arrive at the challenge, where there are four poles in the water, four ladders up to a platform on the beach. Jeff explains they’ll start on a small perch atop a 20-foot pole. They’ll drop a bucket to gather water to pour into a bamboo shoot, which raises a set of keys. They’ll take those back to shore to unlock a chest containing their ladder rungs. Climb to the top, raise the flag, win immunity.

The ladies get atop their perches and start hauling and pouring water. Jeff praises Natalie’s job, as she keeps getting most water into the chute. Parvati’s keeping up with her, though. Natalie gets her keys first and jumps down. Parvati isn’t far behind. Those two have a big lead, both opening their chests and starting to work on their ladders. Amanda gets her set of keys and goes, with Cirie coming last behind her.

On shore, Natalie’s ahead still. Jeff says there are 16 ladder rungs. Each only fits in one spot. Amanda begins making progress and pulls ahead. “At this point it is Amanda’s challenge to lose,” Jeff says. But Amanda’s last rung doesn’t fit, something’s not right. She makes a change, and gets to the top, raising her flag and winning immunity.


In Which the Ladies Start to Turn on Each Other

Back at camp, Cirie says the only reason Amanda beat her was because her legs are longer. “I was right hot on your trail,” she jokes. Amanda tells us she’s ecstatic at being final three, twice in a row. This time she played the game differently and is more proud of it.

They debate letting the chicken go and letting the “rooster have its way with her.”

Meanwhile, Natalie feels like the lowest woman on the totem pole, but isn’t going to tuck her tail between her legs and give up. She knows the other women are as smart as she is, and she can’t muscle her way in. She has to sound reasonable to get between them.

“I hate when it gets to this point,” Cirie says. “Why can’t they have a final four?” She asks Natalie if she’s promised anyone her vote. Natalie thinks Cirie is nervous about jury votes, and hopes that’s a glimmer. She thinks Parvati would go out on a limb for her.

Amanda and Parvati talk, and Parvati thinks it’s going to be between the two of them. They think Cirie’s going to pull out all the stops to work Natalie for the jury. Amanda says Natalie played a good game, but the other three have always planned to be final three. Everyone’s still playing the game, and they’d be stupid to forget it.

Back at camp, Natalie tells Parvati that Cirie is freaking out. Parvati thinks Natalie is a lesser threat on the jury than Cirie. But at this point, they’ve all been so sneaky she wouldn’t put it past anyone to work out a side deal. Natalie tells Parvati she still wants to be there.

Cirie says they could be fooling her. “We duped so many people with straight faces,” she says, she wouldn’t put it past anyone to be duping her.


Eeny Meeny Miney Moe, Who’s the Bottom Of the Totem Pole?

They troop off to tribal council. The jury comes in, with everyone smiling at Erik, who grins and shakes his head.

Jeff says it’s a final four of all women, and they’ve all been involved in four straight blindsides. “You should all be nominated for a Survivor academy award.” Natalie says it went down seamlessly, it was a great feeling.

Tonight, Natalie says, the four respect each other enough that there wouldn’t be a blindside, but she’d almost like one since it would probably benefit her most.

Amanda says she has no idea what’s going on. How many blindsides have to happen before you figure out you know nothing? She can’t be certain.
Jeff says only a fool would say something with confidence at tribal council by this point. Parvati says it’s been the craziest, most strategic game, and so no, she wouldn’t be confident.

Jeff asks if they’ve been assuming they just have to get to final three, and the question clearly throws them all. Amanda says no one is expecting final two. It would be a whirlwind. Cirie says the prospect is nerve-wracking, because she feels on the bottom of the alliance. Amanda asks her when she was at the bottom. Cirie says it was unspoken when they were a five-person alliance that included Ozzy. Cirie says she always felt on the bottom. No one ever said they wouldn’t vote for her. “I would be foolish not to think that,” she says.

Jeff says Natalie is holding back a big grin. She says that everything’s an opportunity, she’s just going to let them duke it out.

They go to vote, and with only four votes to count, it becomes clear pretty quickly that Natalie’s hopes that Parvati would save her, or that Cirie could be swayed, were wrong. She’s out. She hugs the others, gets her torch snuffed, and blows a kiss goodbye.

Afterwards she says she’s happy with how she played, she was the last fan standing, and feels proud of the group of girls she finished with and respects the way they played the game with her.


Amanda Cracks Up

Back at camp, Amanda asks Cirie what was all that, and why she tried to make them look so awful. Cirie says she was just trying to explain. Amanda says that’s bull***t. Cirie says no, that’s fact. When they were with James and Ozzy, those two were snuggled with the two men and she was at the bottom. She feels she’s been on the bottom. Amanda says she doesn’t see that. “you’re not me. That’s why you don’t see it,” Cirie says. Amanda tells her to stop screaming. She does, and Parvati says it makes sense. Amanda says she wasn’t trying to accuse Cirie, she’s just at her breaking point. They all hug, as Cirie says it’s pitiful for them to make it this far and then fight. Amanda cries. “I feel like I’ve been doing this forever” because she came here from the China episode. She says she lost it when Jeff suggests it would be a final two.

Parvati says there’s no way it would be only a final two. Cirie tells her she’s been wrong every time. She tells us it would break her heart to find it’s a final two. She wants to celebrate, but is afraid to be falsely happy.


Free-Range Chicken, And Some Bad News

Parvati tells us it’s been a long road. They set the chicken, Gloria, free. “She’s our last chicken standing,” Parvati says. Cirie says they decided they only had a couple of days left, and they could live without eating Gloria. Gloria, however, doesn’t get far; she digs herself a spot in the sand and settles in. “She’s like a pet dog now,” Cirie says.

They go to the tree and find a letter congratulating them on being final three, and directing them to honor the others’ memories – but also to do it before the final immunity challenge. The girls are devastated to hear there’s another immunity, and thus it’s only going to be a final two. “My heart just dropped,” Parvati says. Cirie looks resigned.

Amanda is in tears again. “When is it going to end, you know? There’s only so much you can take”. She says she’s tight with the girls and now someone has to leave and it sucks completely.

Cirie tells us they’ve been blindsiding people left and right, and now essentially they got blindsided. “What goes around comes around.”

Parvati says she feels “a little bit humble” because no one made it easy on them. Cirie says everyone was a hardcore player and she does feel honored to have gotten this far. “I beat you, but good job.”


Who Are Those People Again?

They paddle to Exile island, where they find the torches of all the booted players, and we begin a lengthy trip down memory lane, complete with sappy music. Johnny Fairplay thinks he protected his legacy by going out on his own terms. Whatever, quitter. For Mary, no one has much to say, as no one really knew her. For Yau Man, Cirie says he only went early because he was such a good player.

For Joel they say he was intense. He himself says his survivor experience is summed up as “failure” because he didn’t reach the end. Wow, ever heard of enjoying the experience? I guess Joel isn’t a “it’s all about the journey” kind of guy.

They say Jonathan would never have quit. Cirie says the chickens haven’t been the same since Chet left. Chet himself is glad he outlasted the strong people. (thanks to Tracy, which he doesn’t mention). The girls call Kathy “a colorful character.” They say Tracy was a good competitor. They loved Ami. Parvati calls Eliza, “my arch rival.”

They note that Jason beat Ozzy twice. Jason thinks he’s as good a competitor and provider as Ozzy, and no one really noticed. At James, Parvati calls him her “little cuddlebug.” They tell each other Alexis would have been hard to beat at this stage. They say they’re sorry Erik had to be the victim of their wrath. He says he learned a lot about women. Natalie says women will outwit a man, “hands down every time.”

All this sappy stuff over, they light torches and toss them into the hut. Ceremonially burning their competitors alive, I guess.


I Bet They’d Concentrate Better if You’d SHUT UP JEFF

The ladies paddle off to their final immunity challenge. Jeff wastes no time with pleasantries. He takes back the necklace and explains this is the last time immunity is up for grabs. They all have a long wooden cylinder, cut into several pieces. In the middle one has a silver ball on it. They’ll hold it with two handles, and as it goes on, they’ll add more pieces, holding them tight to keep from dropping the pieces or the ball. Drop it, and lose. No pressure.

They have five minutes in the first round, before they pick up more pieces. “The slightest lapse in concentration and you will be out of this challenge. You have to constantly check in with yourself to make sure you’re staying focused,” says Jeff, totally ruining anyone’s concentration and focus.

Everyone makes it through the first round, and add more pieces. “Drop this ball, it could cost you a million dollars,” Jeff says, continuing to mess with concentration. “Don’t blow it now.”

They all make it, and add two more pieces, for five. Jeff keeps talking, now about their 38 days of playing together and now they have to battle against each other. Jeff’s blather finally succeeds in ruining someone’s focus; Parvati drops her ball and is out.

Cirie and Amanda make it through the rest of that round. They add more pieces, and start again. Cirie drops her ball, but Jeff is still counting down so it doesn’t count. “Hold that ball steady if you want a shot at a million bucks. You have very little wiggle room,” Jeff intones. I want to just shake him and tell him to shut the hell up. Or, rather, I want Cirie or Amanda to.

They both make it to the next round – the final one, Jeff says. This one will go till someone drops the ball. Jeff yammers about how they should focus on keeping the ball stable and if they lose their fate is not in their hands. Finally Cirie loses it and drops the ball – Jeff says she lost her concentration, but I say he took it away. Amanda wins, the final immunity. Jeff sends the three women back to camp for a “fun afternoon.” Yeah, right.

Back at camp, on day 38, with Gloria the chicken still hanging out, Amanda says this is the hardest decision she’s had to make the whole game. They’re all close. Cirie says she must have blinked at that challenge, but Parvati tells her Amanda was in the zone. “She’s a closer, that one,” Parvati says. Cirie thought for sure she could win, because during surgery she has to hold retractors and things and she can’t move, or someone gets hurt. Well, I’m not sure how her patients will feel about that now.

Cirie says she knows Amanda and Parvati are buddy-buddy and unless something happens, she’s probably going home.

Amanda and Parvati talk, and Amanda says it sucks that this is her decision. Parvati says Cirie understands, which is pretty much Parvati saying she knows Amanda is going to take her to the final two. They’ve had a long alliance and a close relationship, Parvati says, so she’s not really worried. She tells Amanda they could help each other with their final speeches tomorrow, but today is awkward.

Amanda tells Cirie it’s a nightmare. How does she make the decision? Cirie says she doesn’t know. Amanda tells us they both deserve it and want it and doesn’t know what to do. But she feels more loyal to Parvati. Cirie tells her that taking her (Cirie) is Amanda’s best shot. They all screwed people over together, and Cirie did most of the talking. But Amanda says Cirie is one of those people who can talk their way in or out of anything she wants. Cirie says that’s only if people are willing to listen. Amanda says Cirie may have pissed off more of the jury, but she’s a more compelling speaker, and could win over the jury. The decision could cost Amanda a million dollars.


Amanda Cries, Jeff Drags It Out

At tribal council, the jury comes back in. Jeff says there’s only one decision left to be made. “You are in total control,” Jeff tells Amanda. She says immunity today was a blessing and a curse. “We’re so close it’s a hard, hard decision.”

Cirie says she does believe it’s difficult for Amanda. “We have been together since day one,” Cirie says. Parvati says she doesn’t envy Amanda’s position. It won’t be an easy decision.

Jeff asks Amanda the pros and cons of both women. Amanda says strategy-wise, Cirie is a great talker and convincer, and that’s a threat. But Parvati has played a very social game and made relationships on the jury that would come into play. She ultimately decided on her gut. Jeff isn’t ready for that yet, though. He wants her to revel in succeeding, and the pain of voting someone out. She starts crying. “I feel like either way it’s a lose-lose situation for me,” Amanda says. The one who’s kicked out will be hurt. The jury members she’s helped blindside, by the way, don’t look very sympathetic.

Jeff makes Amanda go off and write down the name, when she could have just said it. At any rate, she’s voted out Cirie. Cirie, who expected it, hugs Amanda and Parvati and leaves. In her final speech, she says she’s come up just short again. She apologizes to her family and cries. Aww.
Jeff tells the remaining two they’ve gone as far as they can. The next night will be the jury inquisition.


”You’re My Best Friend! I Hope They Hate You”

Back at camp, on Day 39, the last two standing wake up, excited they’re going to go home tonight. They can’t believe they’re the last two. Parvati says all the hard work paid off and it’s done.

They finally receive the traditional last meal, a basket full of real food. Parvati says they own this game, since Amanda made it to the end in China and she made it almost to the end in the Cook Islands. They giddily exclaim there’s no other person they’d want to be there with. Amanda says this is the biggest accomplishment of her life, and they battled so much to get there.

Amanda has been living in the jungle for 78 days, she says. Now she thinks there’s not much she can’t handle. She says she and Parvati played completely different games, though. She played loyally and Parvati played to take control. She thinks a lot of people on the jury won’t like Parvati.

Parvati tells us she feels really relaxed going into tribal council. She thinks her game was true to herself and she has no regrets for how she played.

They light their shelter on fire. Parvati says her game was a lot more aggressive than Amanda’s, it was more cutthroat and more aggressive. She was in it to win. So tonight she plans to stand up and own that she’s been a powerful player.

Amanda also thinks Parvati has played a cutthroat aggressive game, and thinks she’ll finish the same way. That could mean throwing Amanda under the bus, and she plans to fight for it. She thinks people will vote for her because she was loyal to ever alliance she made. “May the best woman win.”


Love, Hate, And What Is Natalie Smoking?

You all know the drill at final tribal council. Amanda and Parvati each get an opening statement, and then they’re thrown to the bitter, angry wolves, i.e. the people they threw out of the game. So let’s get started, because there are some serious unresolved issues here.

Amanda makes her opening statement, saying she came into the game to be loyal and fight to the end. She’s proud of how she played, and thanks to them for helping her.

Parvati says she came into the game with a reputation as a flirt, and knew she had to play differently, be aggressive, beat competition before they could beat her. She says they gave her a serious run for her money, and points at Ozzy. He doesn’t smile. She says she had to make power plays.

Now it’s the jury’s turn.

Eliza: She says they both played a great strategic game, she respects their moves, but has no idea who to vote for. To Parvati, she says they spent the whole game together. She respects Parvati’s work in taking out Ozzy, but she can’t respect everything Parvati did that wasn’t necessary: i.e. talking about Eliza behind her back and making fun of her. That leads her to believe Parvati isn’t a nice person.
To Amanda, Eliza says listening to Amanda talk “literally made me want to kill myself sometimes. I don’t know if I can vote for somebody so superficial.” She warns them she’ll be listening to everything they say and hopes to hear some honesty.

Jason: He first asks Amanda if she would have told Ozzy the plan was to vote him out if she’d been let in on it. She says yes. To Parvati, Jason says he’s had “misconceptions” of her as a devious player, and wants to hear her redeeming qualities. She says she was protective of her alliance with Cirie and Amanda and was loyal to them. And they didn’t kill Gloria, so she’s an animal lover.

Alexis: She asks Parvati why she is a better role model than Amanda for young girls. Parvati says she’s more independent, and more outspoken. Amanda more goes with the flow. Parvati thinks she made bolder moves. To Amanda, Alexis says she’s seen a bunch of Oscar award winning performances, and so they laughed when she cried over Cirie. So she wants to know what’s genuine. Amanda says she hasn’t been faking things. “I don’t want sympathy votes,” Amanda says. Seems to me she should take any vote she can get.

Natalie: She tells the women they have her respect. Then she turns to Parvati and says that Parvati labeled herself as a flirt, so Natalie’s question is, how does that resonate for her in the bedroom, and how does she take it to the next level of strategy in the game? Uh, okaaaaay. What the hell? Jeff rolls his eyes, James says he’s confused, and Cirie looks baffled. I for one have no idea what Natalie’s trying to ask here, unless she wants to know just how far Parvati would take it to win – i.e. would she have sex with someone. I don’t know, that’s just my guess, as Natalie isn’t making sense. She says Parvati even flirted with her. Parvati replies that Natalie is sexy, and says that flirting is part of her personality and it gets her wants she wants, and she flirts to get her way. She says she does form genuine relationships but flirting is an old standby.
To Amanda, Natalie says she’s beautiful and strong, but “always had a glazed-over look on your face.” She asks if was playing the zombie prettygirl pageant queen cliché” a strategy, or who she is? Amanda says it’s neither. She’s reserved but thinks she’s made intellectual, strategic decisions.

Erik: He says five or six days ago, he’d have been voting for Amanda. He thought of her as a big sister. But after seeing certain things he looks at her with questions. He felt burned and thrown under the bus at the last two tribal councils, where she ripped him apart. He wants to know what basis she had for judging him. Amanda answers that he was disloyal, and she wasn’t going to sit there and let him vote her out. She says she’s sorry, and he says it’s too late. He doesn’t even bother with Parvati.

James: “I’m not even going to be difficult,” James says. “Amanda pretty much knows she’s got it in the bag.” But he’s got a few choice words for his old cuddle-buddy Parvati, whom he says “fluffed me.” And I don’t think he means that in a porn sense, although with Parvati who knows. He says she “fluffed” him when she tried to explain her motivation for booting Ozzy, and he just wants her to be honest. Parvati says it’s a game and the motto is outwit, outplay, outlast. She wouldn’t have won if she’d stuck with him and Ozzy. She felt like she had to make a move.

Cirie: She first asks Amanda why Parvati deserves a million dollars more than Cirie. Amanda says Parvati played a very aggressive, bold game and she respects that. Cirie asks if Amanda doesn’t respect Cirie’s game, and Amanda is forced to backtrack. She says she respects Cirie, but Parvati made bolder decisions than Cirie and made them happen. Cirie wants Parvati to tell the jury why Cirie should be in her seat. Parvati says she played a good game, a little more under the radar.

Ozzy: Oh, hold on to your hats for this one, kiddos. Ozzy has a lot of emotions tied up in him, and he’s here to let ‘em all out. And he starts with Parvati, his good friend who backstabbed him. He says he is truly hurt by what she did. “It was a great move, it really was,” he tells her. “But I never in a million years thought you could do that to me. You put a price on our friendship. You threw us away like garbage.” It ruined their friendship, Ozzy says. And he doesn’t want Parvati to speak. “I don’t want to talk to you,” he says. “You took away 14 days that I could have spent with Amanda.”

Ah, yes, Amanda. Ozzy slaps his own cheeks, sighs, bends over, and is finally ready to address Amanda. He has tears in his eyes. “I’m not faking my feelings for you,” Ozzy says. “I really am having feelings that I never really felt before and never … I honestly feel like I started to fall in love with you.” Awww! Cue sappy music! “You’re just an amazing girl and I really want everybody to know that.”

Well. Allrighty, then. Since no one could top that, I’m glad Ozzy went last. With the quizzing over, Jeff deems it an interesting and emotional tribal council, then sends the jury to vote for who they want to win.

Erik votes for Amanda, bizarrely, saying he’s willing to forgive and forget. What happened to all that “too little too late to say you’re sorry” business from five minutes ago? Alexis voted for Parvati, saying she loves her and she deserves it. Natalie also votes Parvati. Ozzy votes Amanda. Eliza stands by the vote thing for what seems like forever, trying to make up her mind.

Jeff goes to collect the votes, and thanks everyone for a great season. And then he heads off. Their time in the jungle is over.


Guess Amanda’s Not Such A Closer After All

Now we switch over to the live ending in New York, where Amanda and Parvati are almost unrecognizable with makeup and curled hair. They sit clutching each other as Jeff marches in and asks the audience to calm down so he can read the votes.

“Word on the street from Survivor fans is that aside from the first season, this is perhaps the best season we’ve ever had,” Jeff says. “Now it’s time to put it to bed.”

There are 8 votes, so it takes five to win.

First is for Parvati. Next for Amanda. Then Parv. Then Amanda. Parv. Amanda. And the final vote – and I’m wondering now if they’d go to a tie-breaker of some sort if it was tied at the finale – Parvati wins! You know, I don’t like her much, because of her flirting, but after that tribal council I do think Parvati played a better game. Amanda just sucks at winning over the jury. Besides, sounds like she’s got Ozzy, so who needs money when you’ve got lurve?

I’m not going to recap the whole reunion, but James wins the fan vote. And we do see a preview for the next season of Survivor – we’re going to Africa, people! Gabon, to be specific, where Jeff says there is a LOT of wildlife in, you know, the wild, and the Survivors will have to deal with that. See you then!

[Google]

 

[PWS]

Great recap as always, Lucy! What a season! I suppose there were so many committed votes due to crushes etc., that my fav Cirie wouldn't have won no matter what she said, but other than that it was really just about perfect...and thanks to all the recappers who helped me catch the bits I missed!
But... you did leave out two of my favorite moments....one on the remembrance journey when the Cirie and Parvati were teasing Amanda about Ozzy and one when they lit the lean to on fire and Amanda said something like, the rats will have to find a new place to live, and I swear I saw rats leaping out of the burning roof...ugh!

[ManySkills]

Originally Posted by Lucy

Johnny Fairplay bagged it. Ozzy got blindsided. Eliza’s eyes bugged out. James continued to make amusing asides that required subtitles to be understood.

Ceremonially burning their competitors alive, I guess.

I Bet They’d Concentrate Better if You’d SHUT UP JEFF

Hilarious! You rock, Gal!

Thanks for a great recap and a great season of recaps!

[AsIs]

Great recap!

[armywife]

... THANK YOU LUCY! Wonderful recap to a fantastic season!!!