creekdipper

Thought Reed was just having fun and, as Hernandez said, vying for air time. He's a sharp cookie & knows that he's going to get the edit, especially if what we saw was the sum total of the 'questioning' (some of which weren't even questions). Aside from Keith following form & whining about Natalie...still not understanding strategy & how the game is played...everybody else either just said "Congrats" or lobbied for the person they wanted to win. Going last, Reed saw a golden opportunity for a last hurrah & took it. Missy & Baylor should have just laughed it off instead of getting butt-hurt...which only lends credence to what he was saying about Missy. A smarter target could have even used his comments to her advantage by thanking him for giving her credit for doing more in the game than others were willing to acknowledge. Or pointed out the obvious fact that he was going for the tv edit & just rolled her eyes.

Pretty obvious to everyone that Natalie deserved to win. Only big potential mistake was the risk in voting out Baylor. She rightfully judged Keith as being too dumb to work a revenge vote from Missy for Nat daring to betray "my child" & to point out to Jacqueline the obvious game play advantage Nat had with the jury. Thankfully for her, Jacqueline overestimated Keith's power with the jury (although he probably would have won against a stuck-up beauty queen and an overly-sensitive mom who had to sit out most of the last challenges (not her fault, but didn't give her the opportunity to demonstrate ability). Of the final five, Nat, Keith, and Baylor deserved to be there over Missy & Jacq.

Still would have like to have heard from all of the contestants rather than hearing social propaganda, teasers & promos for next season, and audience visits (although the kid who thought up the challenge was a welcome touch). Agree with those who say the gimmicky seasons are stupid...it will only take about 3 weeks before the producers will re-shuffle the "tribes" if one bunch is being decimated. And safe bet that some of the "collars" will appear interchangeable just as the contestants in the B,B, & B season were.

How about a Mensa Vs. Morons season? That would be entertaining.

Is Jeff's beak growing sharper every season? In profile, he's beginning to look like a toucan.

davidh777

Watched the vote but not the reunion. Count me among those who loudly cursed when the twinnies were cast, but didn't hate Natalie as much when she was a single and thought she deserved to win.

I assume final tribal council was heavily edited since each juror pretty much asked one question to one person.

I guess they could have saved themselves 25% of the labor and materials on the final, hugely elaborate challenge. They built some really big stuff this season. I was laughing at the mattress platform rigged up with the pulley.

Brian Gentz

Pretty unimpressed with the big reveal that's it's just another contrived gimmick for Season 30. People get upset with returners, but 30 really should have been another all-stars. I wonder if they tried an all-winners but couldn't get enough committed? I like new players too, but with the way they've been casting lately and having to fit people into those three lame groups I'm worried we'll get another group that mostly doesn't know what they are doing.

Damfino

I like the White vs. Blue vs. No collar gimmick. And yes they probably will re-shuffle the tribes after about 4 episodes.

hdnmickey

If I had actually won that show there would be no way I would return for another go-round. Now second or third place, you bet.

joliom

Missy's only vote was from her daughter, so if Baylor was in the final three, Missy gets no votes. Then there were the two votes Jaclyn got: one from her boyfriend, and one from Reed. There's no way Reed would have voted for Missy or Baylor, so that only leaves John and Jaclyn as possible non-Natalie votes. But since all three of them were in on the plan to blindside John, I can't see John and Jaclyn holding that against Natalie personally. More than likely they would have voted for Natalie to win. John even complimented her on her game play. On the other hand, if Keith had made it to the final three, I think he would have easily beat out Missy, Baylor or Jaclyn, and it would have been real close between him and Natalie.

TerryW

Jaclyn should walk around 24/7 with grime, dirt and sweat all over her because she was NOT attractive at ALL on the reunion show.

I hope Keith and Baylor come back on a future show. Keith should've won. The final 3 was terrible. I wanna see how Baylor does on her own without being constantly controlled by her mother being there.

If they really want to have tribes battle, they should get the Palestinians vs. the Israelis.

Goat3001

There wasn't much drama here. The right person won which is good.

Reed saved a pretty lame final tribal council. There just wasn't that much bad blood this season. It seemed that everyone was there to play the game.

They should do a Survivor/Biggest Loser crossover where they send a bunch of fat people to the play Survivor and as a bonus people can get all weepy with all the weight loss stuff.

Bill Needle

In the reunion Probst asked about a Keith-Missy-Jaclyn final three vote from the jury (had they voted out Natalie instead of Keith) and Keith would have won 4-3-1.

Cardsfan111

I never know what to believe with the informal poll like that taken 6 months after the game has been played. Keith was strong in challenges and an asset around camp. But Natalie won because of playing a strong game and Jaclyn was taken to task just a bit for not making any big moves. Keith made no moves in the game. Unless of course, you want to count "Stick to the plan!" as a big move.

It would have been interesting. I think Jaclyn had a slightly better chance against him, even though it remains possible she finishes 2nd either way.

mwbmis

In the informal poll, Josh was pretty wishy washy with his vote. He probably could have been convinced the other way.

creekdipper

I think you meant to say "won." The show is a cash cow for Burnett, Probst, or whoever else actually has a financial stake.

Did the voting edit show Reed voting for Jaclyn? Seems that I remember a surprising vote being cast in an over-the-shoulder shot, but Reed gave credit to Nat & Keith seemed pretty upset with her. I assumed that Keith was the other Nat vote.

btw...although social game, friendships, former alliances, etc. all play a part in the vote (i.e., the best player doesn't always get everyone's vote), the jury vote when relatives are involved skews the results somewhat. In any other season, players are free to vote the way they really feel, but how many are willing to vote against a significant other or child (siblings may be a different story)? I'd imagine they would weigh years of future interactions with relatives vs. actually voting for the best player. If you polled Jon & Baylor privately & off-the-record, would they really say that their partners outplayed Natalie? Also keep in mind a conflict of interest in that Jon & Baylor would have a reasonable expectation of sharing the winnings to some degree. If I'm not mistaken, the rules of the game forbid players from offering $ bribes to jury members in return for votes, but the relative scenario can achieve the same thing (especially with Jon/Jaclyn & Missy/Baylor). Would be fun to see if Jon & Baylor would offer a different opinion now that the final results are in & their votes don't matter.

Goat3001

Jon and Baylor would have to be crazy to think that their loved one played a better game than Natalie. Jon did his best to give Jacklyn a chance to plead her case. It was very obvious that they had rehearsed that answer awhile back too.

But at the end of the day you're voting for someone to get $1 million. Everyone is going to give it to the person that they can share the money with.

JuryDuty

Honestly, this goes for just about everyone in every season. Time and again I'm struck by how much worse all these people look with make-up on vs the "realness" we see for 39 days on the beach. I don't know if it's just because we're used to them that way or what, but for some reason many survivors look better au naturale than made up. It shows just how much we change outward appearance.

(Though I guess I did think Baylor and Natalie looked a little better at the Reunion show, but neither of them looked all that different. It's the ones who look completely different--like, you-can't-recognize-them-now different--that I'm surprised about. I could pass them in the street and not realize they were the people on Survivor.)

Finisher

Yeah, it's usually the case but for some reason it's always a surprise. Jaclyn looked so, so much better on the island. Show must do screen tests of these people without makeup on.

Really enjoyed this season for some reason. Final three was anticlimactic but lots of good moves throughout and nobody was really douchey or overly annoying. Seemed like a good group for the most part.

creekdipper

Jaclyn really was much hotter with those tufts of armpit hair, fer sure.

Also looks as though she really made up for lost time at the local Corral.

Setzer

I was fully expecting the 30th season to be another All-Stars....so glad it isn't. Looking forward to the White Collar vs. Blue Collar vs. No Collar, it should be fun! Hopefully we get a better cast of people than this season!

Yep, she looked 100x better on the island, without the makeup! I felt the exact same way about Amanda Kimmel during her seasons.

joliom

I think the new theme is pretty stupid, but like you, I'm really glad it isn't another All Stars or something else with returning players. I don't mind the All Stars seasons in general, but they should space them out like once every 7 or 8 seasons. And if they're going to go that route, go all in and have the entire cast be returning players, not a mix. I really hate the Veterans vs. Newbies seasons the most.

Josh-da-man

Yeah, too bad she doesn't have a vagina.

But that's something I could work around...

Bill Needle

I thought this was a pretty terrible season as a whole. I think the lackluster episode threads bear out that I'm not alone in thinking that. If I wasn't such a completist I would have abandoned this season for sure. Hoping for a lot better this spring.

Maxflier

I've never been disappointed with any season of Survivor.

So glad Natalie won, she certainly deserved it.

davidh777

I think these thoughts are related--hated people generate lots of discussion. I myself prefer it when there's no Colton or TAR twinnies that I can't stand. Yes, it's satisfying when they leave but I'd rather watch normal gameplay than people being assholes. Not saying that's what Bill Needle is looking for--I don't really know that--but I thought it was a good season.

Bill Needle

Hmm...OK, relatively terrible season. And by terrible I mean boring and utterly forgettable.

Also I totally agree that in the end Natalie was easily the most deserving of the win.