Survivor One World Season Finale May 13/12

We begin the final show of the season with a shot of the first ever, all female final five. Tarzan is gone and the mood is buoyant. They reminisce about how far they've come from the first few cold, wet fireless days of the competition. Kim and Sabrina go for a walk to collect tree mail. Sabrina wants to get rid of Alicia next but Kim wants to go with Chelsea. What they both agree on is that Christina is the logical third to take before the jury. The tree mail promises a challenge involving strength, balance and memory. When they assemble in front of Dimples he explains that they will be unknotting a rope in order to remove a board that will release a gate. They go through the gate and travel over a balance beam maze. When they have successfully negotiated the maze they run over a suspended net, locate each of five bags, untie them and carry them to a table. In each of the bags are (wait for it) puzzle pieces. They must assemble the puzzle, then figure out the numerical answers to three clues hidden in the puzzle. Finally they must use these three numbers to unlock a combination lock. Kim falls behind Chelsea early on but smokes the puzzle to win her third consecutive immunity challenge. When the five women return to camp they are still one big happy team. Kim tells the others that she likes them all. Privately she tells us that she has many options (remember she still has an immunity idol) and that she needs to determine which is her best course of action. Chelsea tells Kim that she can win no matter who she takes with her to the final three. She also thanks Kim for always having her back and being someone she can trust. Chelsea also makes it clear that she expects Kim will give her the immunity idol. Oh ouch. Wasn't Kim just talking about voting Chelsea off? To keep her optons open, Kim set it up so that two women will be voting for Alicia and two will be voting for Chelsea. That way Kim can cast the deciding vote, as soon as she figures out who it is to be. At Tribal Council we learn that Kim has spared Chelsea (but made no move to turn over the idol) and Alicia is joining the jury. With Alicia goes Lorelee from our pool. After Tribal Council Christina realizes she has been lied to. She is still the strong choice for third but she is no longer sure that she can depend on what she is being told. She tells us she has been "holding back" at immunity challenges but now she needs to go "full throttle". Before that, though, the remaining four must do the obligatory memory walk culminating in burning the names of their former team mates. They didn't do this last season and I, for one, didn't miss it a bit. But it looks like it's back. Day 38 brings the final immunity challenge. The women must use a long fork to lift a clay bowl. They must then use the fork to move the bowl along a narrow metal channel. Once they accomplish that they stack the bowl on top of the metal frame. The frame is on a spring so the whole gizmo is bouncy and not at all stable. In total they must move 10 bowls through the apparatus and stack them one on top of the other. Kim and Christina duke it out on this one and Christina does seem to have found some new inner strength. However, Powerhouse Kim wins again, making this her fourth consecutive challenge win. At camp Christina tells Kim that she doesn't want to be blindsided. If she is the next to go she wants to be told outright. Kim obliges by telling her that she is the next to go. Kim has apparently decided that she can win against Sabrina and Chelsea. Even when she is ready to go to Tribal Council though, Kim is having second thoughts and wondering if he choice to keep Sabrina is sound. She does keep Sabrina though, and the votes goes against Christina who takes her eviction with an air of resignation that even Dimples can't shake her out of. Christina takes pool members Roberta and Cheryl with her to the jury. Day dawns on day 39...the last day in the Survivor calendar. We see Sabrina having a pre-dawn cry on the beach. She tells us she was laid off from her teaching job at a tough New York school. She wants to be able to share her Survivor experience with her school kids but won't have the opportunity. We also learn that Kim has recently divorced and that the success she has had in Survivor has helped her learn to trust her decisions and her instincts again. Both women get their game face back on in time to join the others for the traditional last day Survivor champagne breakfast. Then it's off to face the jury. As usual, each gets an opportunity to address the jury and tell them why they should win the million dollar prize. The opening speeches are all a little lacklustre (in my opinion). Each of the jury members then has an opportunity to ask questions of the three finalists. There is little venom in this group. Everyone is quite respectful. The biggest surprise is Kat who, rather than being angry with Kim, tells the rest of the jury that life is too short to be angry. The votes are cast and whisked away to Los Angeles for the live unveiling of the winner. Kim's gamble to take two strong women with her to the jury and trust that the jury will vote for her based on her game play pays off. She is the winner of the million dollar grand prize as well as the 100,000 prize for the most popular player based on viewer's votes. Donna has been a faithful member of our Survivor pool from the outset but has never won until tonight. Congratulations Donna! The next Survivor will take place in the Phillipines. It will include several Survivors from past seasons who had to be medically evacuated. To this group will be added some new faces. This means Colton will be back. Sigh. I will send you a note when the next season is due to start. Until then, enjoy your summer and... Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Kat I'm a big girl now Edorsson)

Survivor One World - May 9/12

Six survivors are left. Kat has joined the jury. Tarzan is the last man standing. He has a "subplot" that he believes will take him to the final four with Kim, Alicia and Christina. He tells Kim that if he gets to the final four he thinks he can then convince the jury to vote for Kim. He tells Alicia that he thinks he can convince the jury to vote for Alicia. Convince the jury?! Hell. No one can even understand what the man says! The next day, despite a dwindling supply of rice, the scheming continues. Chelsea, seeing a clear 3 on 3 split, tries to swing Christina over to side with her and Kim. She tells Christina that Tarzan can't go to the final three because all the men will vote for him. Christina promptly goes to Kim and Alicia and tells them about her conversation with Chelsea. If Alicia needed any more convincing to get rid of Chelsea, she now has it. Kim also knows that Chelsea isn't a good choice to take to the final three but tells us that the day she has to vote out Chelsea will be a sad day for her. The reward challenge involves releasing three discs from the top of posts by spinning around. Dizzy competitors must then stagger over to a puzzle table with each of their discs, put them together and turn them in such a way that three numbers are revealed. These three numbers, put in the right order will open a box and release a flag to signify the winner. The reward is an overnight trip on a yacht, complete with showers, clean clothes, cocktails and a three course meal. Chelsea wins the challenge and gets to select two others to go with her. Trying to learn from Kat's mistake, she choses Sabrina on the basis that Sabrina has not had much food and has not been involved in any rewards. For her second choice though, she goes with her buddy Kim. While on board the yacht, the three women bond even further. Kim and Chelsea proclaim their girlie love for each other. Back at camp Tarzan is stirring the pot. He tries to turn Alicia and Christina against Kim. Alicia is angry that Chelsea chose Kim when she was all about "fairness". After all, Kim has participated in more than her share of rewards. She feels the next vote must be for Chelsea but in order to accomplish that, they will have to force Kim to stick by her word and vote with Tarzan, Alicia and Christina. As this is going on, Tarzan is trying to position himself as number three amongst the women. Alicia believes this is a good idea but it all hinges on whether Kim still wants to get rid of Chelsea when she gets back from the reward challenge. On Day 36 a crusty Tarzan insists on cooking rice "his way" which seems to involve using someone's dirty buff. While Tarzan is busy grossing out the women, Alicia tells Kim that Tarzan was talking smack about her. The two compare notes and, as the story unfolds, they learn that Tarzan promised both that he would try to convince the jury to vote in their favour. They also learn he made some similar promises to Christina. So Tarzan moves back up the the top of the hit list, with Chelsea holding down the number two spot. Meanwhile Alicia tells us that she is the most powerful player in the game and that she will remain the most powerful. Sure. For the reward challenge, Survivors must take giant fish hook, hook three of them together and use that chain of hooks to hook a bag of puzzle pieces. They must collect three bags, then assemble a puzzle...a three dimensional fish skeleton. They must do all of this with one hand tied behind their back. Alicia narrowly wins this challenge over Kim. After the challenge Kim struggles to keep Chelsea in the game. Her efforts are made easier by the fact that Tarzan continues in his odd ways. He calls Alicia a bitch for winning the challenge (albeit with a smile on his face). Not only does Tarzan use a pair of Kat's forgotten and dirty underwear as a headband (Kat learns this at Tribal Council and her expression was well worth the price of admission) but he also wears her tank top to Tribal Council. So Tarzan seals his own fate and when Dimples tabulates the votes it is he, along with pool member Marie, who is heading over to the jury. All the men are now gone. Kim seems to be wielding the power, while Alicia believes she is wielding the power. Christine is no longer a target because she is safe to take to the final three. Chelsea and Sabrina are both too smart (and therefore too dangerous) to take to the final three. Will Chelsea and Sabrina be picked off next or will they make a move to overthrow Kim? Sunday May 11 (this coming Sunday) is the two hour season finale. Cheryl/Roberta (Christina) , Mitzie (Sabrina) , Debbie (Chelsea), Donna (Kim) and Lorelee (Alicia) are still in contention from our pool. Watch the finale to see which of these lovely ladies wins the grand prize. Until Sunday, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aka Kat he wore my what?! Edorsson)

Survivor One World May 2, 2012

As we rejoin our intrepid group of Survivors we are reminded that Troy is gone. Kim tells us she is physically relieved that Troy is no longer part of the equation. The talk around camp is that Christina's answers to some of the questions at Tribal Council were dumb and showed she has no concept of strategy. Ironically, that is the reason that Alicia is thinking that maybe Christina should stay. After all, reasons Alicia, Sabrina is is intelligent and articulate and would be able to talk to the jury. Alicia goes on to tell us that no one knows that she (Alicia) is in total control of everything and everyone. Good to know. I wasn't aware of that either. Tree mail arrives containing a box marked "Sprint". The word alone brings the tribe to near hysteria. These guys have watched a few episodes of Survivor. They know that a Sprint phone represents messages from loved ones. Sure enough, there is a video message for each of the Survivors from a loved one. Even better, it is clear from the messages that the loved ones are on the island. At the reward challenge each of the loved ones is brought out of the jungle for a tearful reunion. I cry. I wipe my eyes on my shirt. To win the challenge and the coveted visit with their loved one, the Survivors are tied together with their loved one and attached to a rope. The rope is woven through and obstacle course. Together the two must negotiate the course. Kat and her cousin Robbie win the challenge. Needless to say Kat gets to pick two other Survivors to accompany her. Without hesitation she picks Kim and Alicia and their respective sisters. Kat explains that she has been wanting to just hang out with these two women and get drunk. Her choice is not well recieved. Christine's dad has recently had a kidney transplant and doesn't have long to live. Tarzan and his wife have missed each other terribly. The consensus is that these two pairs should have been chosen. Even Kim feels Kat made the wrong choice and comments that she will have to do damage control when she gets back to camp. So off go the victors to their feast. Kim confesses to her sister that her best bet likely lies with Alicia and Kat...not because they are her best friends, but because she can win against them. At camp everyone is PO'd at Kat for not picking Christine and Tarzan. Her selfishness, together with Troy's whispered advice to "do it" at Tribal council has Chelsea thinking that Kat should go. She suggests that she, Tarzan, Christine and Sabrina band together to vote her off. Tarzan is reluctant though, reasoning that Kat is not a thinker and so is good to keep around. When Kim and the others return from the reward meal, Kim tries to put the focus back on Sabrina. All of the stragegizing is interupted by the immunity challenge. Survivors must stand on a ledge, holding a handle behind their back and leaning out over the water. Every few minutes Dimples turns a winch and lengthens the rope attached to the handle, thereby causing each of them to lean out further over the water and increasing the strain on their arms. Sabrina is the first to go after 10 minutes, followed by Tarzan, Alicia, Chelsea and Christine. At one hour only Kim and Kat are left. Kat whines that she should win because Kim wins everything and she (Kat) never gets to win (guess she forgot that she just won the last challenge). Eventually Kat can't hold on and Kim wins immunity. When Kim tries to high five Kat, Kat refuses and sits on the dock pouting. Back at camp Kat is still upset. She is embarassed, she tells us, at being beaten by a woman six years older than her (gasp). In another ironic turn, Kat's toughness during the challenge has made her a target again (at least in Alicia's eyes). Alicia tries to convince Kim that they should vote for Kat but Kim still feels Sabrina is more of a threat. Chelsea, though, feels loyalty to Sabrina and is leaning more towards voting for Kat. As they leave for Tribal Council Kim tells us that whatever decision she makes it will be a game changer. It is also going to be a blindside no matter which way it goes. At Tribal Council Kat foreshadows what is to come. She tells Dimples that a blindside is always exciting and fun. A few minutes later Dimples is snuffing her torch. Apparently a blindside isn't as much fun as she thought because Kat leaves the Tribal Council area sobbing loudly. Since Kat was my alter ego I was feeling her pain (but only a little bit). Sniff. So who is left, you wonder? We have the lone surviving male Tarzan (Marie). Along with Tarzan we have Kim (Donna), Chelsea (Debbie), Alicia (Lorelee), Christina (shared by Roberta and Cheryl) and Sabrina (Mitzie). Find out which of these will be the next to go.. Until next week, Outwit, Outplay, Outlast Pat (aks Kat still wondering what hit me sob Edorsson)