Going in to the game, what odds did Rob give himself to win? If he could get his foot in the door and have them play with him, he’d have a shot. They held all the power, but they didn’t know that. The key moment was Kristina looking feverishly for the HII. Jeff asks what his process was in choosing an alliance? Loyalty, is Rob’s response. Natalie needed someone to help her through the game, and gave her loyalty in return. Jeff says it was kind of cult-like, the way he ran Ometepe. It’s a lot of hard work, Rob says, constantly checking in with everyone to make sure no one was talking to each other.
Ashley, why didn’t the girls flip the script on Rob? She and Natalie knew Rob had the HII, and knew he would play it, so they couldn’t go against him (though she doesn’t answer why they didn’t try to blindside him earlier than the Final Five). Andrea says Rob played the game with everyone as individuals, so she, and everyone else, felt close to him. If she played again, what did she take from this? Andrea replies that she needs to constantly check in, and never feel comfortable.
What did Rob see in Phillip? Rob says Phillip is a lovable guy. Imagine what it is like to come from a family of twelve like Phillip did: you’re always fighting for attention. If Rob showed Phillip some love, he knew Phillip would be there for him. Jeff says to Phillip that he seems down. “Are you down?” Nope, he’s just attentive.
Did Natalie ever truly consider turning on Rob? Not as long as Rob had the HII. How was the Final Tribal Council, especially with Julie being so harsh to her? She takes everything with a grain of salt and has moved on. Julie, any regrets? Yes, but at the time, she wanted to wake up the women.
Rob, when Ometepe had to turn on itself, it hurt Jeff to see him turn on Grant. Has he repaired the damage? Rob says that they first talked when they returned from Nicaragua, but he stopped hearing from Grant three episodes in to the airing of the show. Jeff says Grant’s body language looks like Grant might jump Rob. Grant, clearly still fuming at the way Rob ousted him, asks where do one draw the line between calling it a game and having it be reflection of who one really is? Jeff asks Rob is it a function of playing so much that he no longer feels the game is personal? Rob answers that if you set up lines to not cross, then you worry about those lines once in the game. For his part, Jeff says Rob’s victory was the closest to a perfect game of Survivor as has ever been played.
Matt now has records for winning ten of eleven Duels, and the most days on Redemption Island. He is also the first person to be blindsided twice in the same season. The lowest part of the game was when he broke down and cried. God does what He wants to, so we have to be respectful of that. Jeff asks if, given the chance to play the game again, he would change his strategy. Matt says that he started the game deciding to blindly follow his heart. Now he knows that doesn’t mean disregarding logic and reason.
Andrea, there was some talk of a connection between Matt and her. Is it true? She says he is cute, but won’t say if there is a love connection. Mike has protected the country as a Marine. Is the any comparison between the game and serving in the military? He learned a lot about his faith out in the game. While not the armed services, Survivor is very real, and very difficult; it’s just that one’s life is not on the line.
Russell, what was it like when people saw you cry? It was the hardest thing he’s done in his life. He congratulates Rob for playing an excellent game, and they shake hands. Zapatera wanted him out so bad that they threw a Challenge. Russell says Jeff should be asking if Zapatera has any regrets throwing a Challenge seven days in. He is shocked that Steve says Phillip isn’t a man when Steve was scared to take on Russell and gave up, especially as a former professional football player. Jeff asks if Russell would really not play again? He should say no, but tells Jeff to keep his phone number.
Jeff asks Phillip if there was a method to his madness. Yes, he saw Rob take a grip of the tribe on Day Two, and after a week, Rob still had it, so he tried to be evil. That way, Rob would see Phillip as a target and could keep the spotlight off of himself by keeping Phillip around. Plus, he played with integrity. Jeff asks for two quick answers. Has Phillip healed the race wound with Steve? Not yet, but Phillip apologizes to Steve for making a mistake, and they shake hands. Secondly, Jeff knows Phillip served in the Army, and shows a picture of him in his uniform. What federal agency did Phillip serve in? The Defense Investigator Service, and the Naval Investigative Service as a judicator. Jeff then talks to someone in the audience who trained with Phillip and confirms Phillip was a federal agent.
It was a close vote for the Sprint Player of the Season. It came down to Matt and Rob, but the winner is Rob. Jeff then talks about relationships, noting he sensed a real friendship between Ralph and Phillip. Grant proposed to his girlfriend right after he got back from Nicaragua. David has been dating Carolina, the first player voted out of Survivor: Tocantins. Jeff asks how it has been going, and whether he wants to make it more official. David then goes into the audience and proposes, though her acceptance of the proposal seems rather insincere.
Jeff then announces that for Season 23, Redemption Island is returning. Sixteen players will try to earn their own redemption on Survivor: South Pacific. Like this season, however, I would bet that the show invites two former players back. We’ll have to wait and see, though it would be nice to go back to the original format of the game.
But we still have a bit of work left to wrap up on Survivor: Redemption Island. Let’s take a look at my original Odds to Win:
1) Andrea 2) Mike 3) Krista 4) Matt
5) Steve 6) Ashley 7) Grant 8) Ralph
9) Julie 10) Phillip 11) Francesca 12) Russell
13) Kristina 14) Rob 15) Stephanie 16) Natalie
17) David 18) Sarita
Now let’s take a look at the ultimate finishing order:
1) Rob 2) Phillip 3) Natalie 4) Ashley
5) Andrea 6) Mike 7) Matt 8) Grant
9) Ralph 10) Steve 11) Julie 12) David
13) Sarita 14) Stephanie 15) Krista 16) Kristina
17) Russell 18) Francesca
I didn’t do nearly as well as last year’s results, but how was I supposed to know that Rob would end up with a tribe that completely fawned over him? I figured Ometepe would take the same approach Zapatera took with Russell and vote him out as soon as possible. Instead, Rob wa able to gain the trust, somehow, of most of his tribe, and then played them like a fiddle until the end. As I have always said, my Odds to Win aren’t the finishing order I predict the players will wind up in, but still, I was pretty off. All that means is that I have to pick it up for Survivor: South Pacific! And as a Broadway fan, you can bet there will be a number of references to the musical South Pacific next season. I apologize in advance.
So, that’s it for Survivor: Redemption Island. What did you think of the season? What did you think about Redemption Island itself? Personally, I thought the only good part of it was the fact that Matt kept winning. If someone new had won each week, I think it would have just seemed tedious, robbing us of Reward Challenges, which are always fun. Further, the person reentering the game was at a sever disadvantage, and in both cases, was sent right back out of the game. Maybe they can tweak it before next season. Are you happy with Boston Rob winning? Are you happy that he won once he made it to the Final Three (and, therefore, avoided a Russell/Natalie Survivor: Samoa debacle)? Please leave your comments below. Survivor is now gone until the cast announcement in August, which, of course, I will cover in full here at TVOvermind. Be sure to check us out all summer for all of your Survivor and other TV news. I’ll see you in August. Until then, I’m off to be proud of wearing plum-colored underwear.
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