After a short and very fast paced season it is time to crown the winner of Survivor 41 in a three hour finale. That will make for a lengthy Survivor 41 recap! I was highly disappointed when there was no episode last night. I was sure it was Wednesday. I’ve lost all track of what day it is. Also my days and nights are backwards so that means that basically I wake up late to work everyday. Ooops. Good thing I’m the boss. š Let’s see how this goes.
I fine with almost anyone winning tonight. But, I feel like it is Ricard’s to loose. Xander still has an idol to play. Has anyone even played one yet? I believe they all walked out with their idols in their pockets!Ā I would love Erika to have a shot at the win. But I feel like the guys with get rid of Erika and Heather first. That would be stupid, but I feel like that may happen. Let’s get on with the show.
The Final Five
This has been the craziest, most difficult season ever. Tonight, the final five go to a new island and have to start all over with nothing again. We have two immunity challenges, two tribal councils and one fire making showdown.Ā Wow. I’m tired just typing that! Also, the voting will happen on the island and so will the after show! I can’t wait! We being on the new island, and Erika is still pissed at DeShawn. Heather is upset that Deshawn let her know Erika would not take her to the end. Ricard is cozying up to Erika. They want Deshawn out. Everyone gets the same clue for the last advantage. Erika was the last to solve the puzzle and she found the advantage.
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Right away the go to the next immunity challenge. It’s another very physical challenge followed by a 75 piece puzzle. There is also a reward of steak, veggies, bread and wine. That’s certainly worth playing for. Ricard and Xander are good at puzzles though. There are several ladders involved that they have to put together. Erika’s ladders will have four rungs already completed as her advantage. That’s a nice advantage! She has an early lead right off the back. Ricard and Xander are right behind her. But Xander forgot one of his rungs and had to go back. It all comes down to the puzzle. Ricard lost a puzzle piece but he had no idea. Erika WINS! She chooses to share her reward with Heather.
The Penultimate Tribal Council
The three try to decide between Ricard, and Deshawn to send home. The smart move it is to vote out Ricard. Ricard cries to Xander and tells him he has another child being born next week. I immediately thought about the guy many seasons ago who lied about his grandmother dying or something and it worked for him. Sweet Xander cried. I’m sort of buying Ricard’s story since he repeated it in confessional. OMG! Xander wants to play his idol on Ricard. No one is voting for him anyway. So it would probably be a safe move. But he’s have to beat Ricard in the end.
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Here we go! I am so excited! I hope Deshawn goes home! Ricard tells the group he and his husband have a baby coming. Tyler talks about his bromance with Ricard. The jury is clearly falling in love with Ricard. Xander played the idol on HIMSELF! I’m shocked. But it was smart. Ricard is voted out. Xander will now win this game. All four of the others voted out Ricard. Wow. It’s the correct game move, but I’m not sure I could have done it. I’m the kind of person who couldn’t send him home after the baby story.
The Conditions Get Even More Dire
It looks like Erika is in charge of the fire back at camp. She reminds us she made fire on exile island. That night, it POURS rain and they have no shelter. They are freezing and soaking wet and miserable. Deshawn is worried because if he doesn’t win the next round, he has to be in the fire making challenge. And he can’t make fire. Then it is time for the final immunity challenge. I predict a Xander win, followed by Erika winning the fire challenge.
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Oh! It’s a balance challenge. Erika has a shot to win again. That would be awesome! Erika is according to my Twitter timeline, the fan favorite. THAT WAS HARD! And so much fun to watch. Xander won! He’s crying. I’m not crying. Much. Everyone is crying. Jeff gives him a hug. Hopefully it comes down to Xander and Erika. Either one would be a great winner. Apparently, Xander gets to pick one person for final three. The others have a fire challenge. Deshawn and Heather both tell Xander that Erika can beat him. He’s going to take Erika. Heather seems likely to go to final three. Then Erika can’t make fire either. Now Xander may just change his mind! Will he take HEATHER instead?
The Final Tribal Council
Xander does way too much talking at final council. HeĀ presumes to know what the jury is thinking. He thinks they don’t like Heather or Erika’s gameplay. Actually, Shan and Liana can’t stand Xander. So, I don’t know what he should do at this point other than STFU. Ultimately, he takes Erika with him leaving Heather and Deshawn to battle it out for fire. Liana starts immediately whispering to Shan. Erika could win this whole thing! I’d be happy with an Erika win or a Xander win.
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Fire Challenge!
It’s time for the fire challenge. Heather might actually be able to win this. Deshawn is off to an early lead. Heather finally gets fire. Shawn smothers his fire. The jury seems very happy that Heather is winning. Especially, Evvie. Heather gets very close and loses most of her fire. Deshawn is back in it. Deshawn made a huge comeback and Heather’s fire fizzled for a bit. It’s a nail biter!
It was VERY CLOSE. But in the end, Deshawn wins. Deshawn is crying. That was a really exciting fire challenge.
Heather is proud of herself. She says she almost drowned as a child and never got back in the water for thirty-five years. Then, to come on this show where most of the challenges were in the water AND they were kind of terrifying challenges. That’s amazing. Her family must be so proud. There is a lot of crying. Heather left with a smile on her face. She has a lot to be proud of. When she watches she will see how close Xander was to to taking her to the end instead of Erika. He may regret that.
The Final Three
I’m fine with the final three being Erika, Deshawn and Xander. But, I do kind of wish Ricard would have won. I’ll be happy with Erika or Xander winning. I’m not a fan of Deshawn gameplay, but I expect Shan, Liana and Kenny to vote for him. I’m not sure Xander has the votes. I hope he does. We shall see. The final three get a small “feast.” At 20, Xander would be the youngest winner ever. Deshawn played a decent social game until he blew up Erika’s game. That’s important to the jury. Anything can happen here.
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It’s time for jury questions. My boyfriend Naseer š is a big Tyler fan so that is good. He lists off a lot of things that Xander did for him. Ricard comes for Deshawn after he tries to talk up his social game because he has not won anything. Ricard says that Deshawn really threw everyone under the bus. Where’s the lie? Even Shan nods along as Ricard is speaking. Erika makes a very strong case for her game. Ricard repeatedly throws Deshawn under the bus. Xander continues to talk his way out of a million dollars. Shan seems all the way over Deshawn. She accused him of using BLM to advance his game Also, that he had a lot of temper tantrums. But, it still seems like she is voting for him to win.
It’s Anyone’s Game
I honestly don’t knw what is going to happen. But it is time to vote! Liana and Shan both look conflicted in the voting booth. That could be good for Xander. The Survivors are SHOCKED that the votes will be read immediately. OMG! Xander didn’t get a single vote. Deshawn got one but ERIKA WON! OMG!!! YAY! She had eight out of nine votes!Ā Everyone kept telling Xander that he could not beat Erika. OMG! She’s the first Canadian winner!
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The aftershow was fun but not much information was disclosed. Danny talks about how he finally dealt with his father’s death when he was eight. He seemed to resent that he died as a kid and could not understand how he could not have survived for him. That was heavy. We got a preview of next season. I’m ready for it to start now. It looks like another hard and fast season like this one. But AMAZING RACE IS COMING JANUARY 5th!!! I’m so excited.
Thanks so much to this little group who gave me a place to talk about the show!
It was a really good season but I am upset that Xander didn’t get a single vote. Sad for him but very happy for Erika.
Wow Erica. Remember when that lawyer chick wanted her out so long ago. Good for her!!
I havenāt watched survivor since the late 1990s, but some things never change.
WHO GOES ON SURVIVOR WITHOUT KNOWING HOW TO MAKE FIRE?!!!!!
Even if you never have to be in a fire-making challenge, what about pulling your weight in your tribe?
I would think before going on survivor you learn how to make fire from various vegetation using a flint and a magnifying glass, etc.
Going on Survivor without knowing how to make fire is like signing on as a yacht chef without knowing how to bake a cake.
They all made fire. However, Naseer could make fire without a flint. He was incredible. I wish he had made it to the end. He was my favorite.
Mine, too
Agree, I love Naseer! I am okay with Erika winning, she played her little girl look and tiny stature to the hilt and wonāgood for her! Xander screwed himself by taking Erika and at the question and answer plead for the votes. As a white male in 2021 he had almost zero chance anyway but he truly effed himself with his self-congratulatory narcissistic answers. He actually played a better game than Erika or DeShawn. Idiot! DeShawn tattling (see what I did there) on Erika in the previous tribal screwed him.
I say the same about scallops and risotto on Hellās Kitchen!
Great recap and great season. Thanks for having a place to talk about this because so many of my peeps stopped watching this season despite my pleas. Bummed for Xander but I think his youth was a bit of a disadvantage in the social game. He couldnāt explain his point well. I think Richard wouldāve beaten him at the last challenge. The fire making challenge was so nail-biting I almost wanted to change the channel because I couldnāt stand the suspense.
I stayed up way too late watching this finale, but it was worth it! Iām glad Erika won (Canadian woot woot!) and thought Xander would have been worthy of the prize as well. I found him charming and so articulate for a young man. Thanks for your Survivor recaps, I always read them. Looking forward to the next season in January!
I was team Ricard. Oh well Erica was a deserving winner.
I hated Ricard for taking away ācome on in, guysā from Probst. Itās the fact he did it the next day. Couldnāt have been a big deal to him if he had to think about it overnight. Maybe it was production driven but he will always be the whiner that took away ācome on in, guysā from me.
That said, he was an amazing player and I canāt believe they kept him so long! He almost had it.
Poor Xander. He totally sunk himself during the final tribal counsel. He said WAY too much and came across as out of touch and arrogant. He was my favorite and I think he played a great game. He was a bottom feeder for much of the season and he still made it to the end. I really thought of the final 3 that DeShawn was going to pull it out. I just didn’t see Erika as the final winner. I thought it might be close between Xander and DeShawn. Xander will definitely be back and perhaps he’ll mature emotionally and will play better to the end.
He in no way cam across as arrogant. WOW!!
My opinion is he lost because he did not save Ricard, Ricard then rallied Shan & Lianna who always despised Xander to not vote for him. Funny Ricard engineered the shan vote out but couldn’t handle getting voted out himself.
One thing I like about Xander was even in defeat he NEVER had or has a single cross word to say about anyone on the cast. As opposed to Shan who was literally arrogant and lookjed down on everyone.
IT. WAS.SO.GOOD! I rewound a couple times just to savor it and make it last longer. It was super exciting and that fire – off was EPIC! Iām so incredibly happy for Erica. I too , was sad that Xander didnāt even get one vote. He was deserving as well, which made for a satisfying finale. (Agree with above that his youth & inability to effectively communicate played a part in that.) The only one I didnāt think was deserving of sitting in the final 3 was DeShawn; after throwing Erica under the bus-his truth bombs seemed personal, self sabotaging and cringey. I canāt believe he got a vote & Xander didnāt. Suppose the pity vote is over along with āCome on in Guys ā. Although, for the first time I really liked all of them in final 5-even Ricard grew on me pretty quickly. (I definitely got teary when he was talking about his baby) I was thrilled that they chose to read the votes on location but I did miss the LA portion with the audience and the players all ācleaned upā-that part is always shocking. I assume itās a Covid thing?
Iām excited for the next season. I do hope that this super short survivor on steroids with all the twists is not a long term permanent thing. I hope they keep some elements that work for long term. There were some great new challenges. But it did hurt my brain in that I didnāt figure it all out until the merge, lol! Maybe theyāre just seeing what worked well vs what fell flat going forward to change up the show a bit when itās okay to get back to a regular season? Iām afraid thereās going to be even more twists coming in this next one, so Iām very grateful for the recaps and comments to help my aging brain keep up!
It really was a great season and Jeff somehow gets better looking, lol. Thanks to TT and everyone else here for a great place to discuss the best show still on television.
Finally, does anyone here play the āgame within the gameā with those clues they show? Iām not clear on if itās something for kids or something for serious fans. And why doesnāt CBS give us live feeds for this show, especially if theyāre experimenting with changing it up???
P.S. As if that wasnāt long enough, I want to give props to Heather for representing the āolder people ā proudly. She did a good job, too! š
Yeah, stay at home grandma is more like it (I’m old too. Feel free to accuse me of age shaming because I tried a little haha).
Yes IJC! Heather does deserve a nod for representing. Especially after hearing she was terrified of water! That is truly heroic. While she didn’t make any power moves or win anything, she hung in there with a true social game, unlike DeShawn’s back stabbing.
The fire will go down in Survivor history for sure. It was beyond anything Iāve ever seen on 21 years of the show. Unbelievable.
I will be curious to see what changes are kept when 42 airs, they filmed back to back so there was no viewer feedback. I wasnāt crazy about most, hell, I donāt even remember most. I know a few people had to climb a Fijian mountain and turn a boatās helm. The repeating of phrases at challenges was stupid IMO but it looks like that will be back.
I forgot about the game within a game after episode one. In a world of binge watching and immediate access to everything my mind doesnāt do so well with a week off.
Agree Beets on bringing back the repeating of phrases for 3 idols. Why bring that back now that the players know a weird phrase means someone has an idol and is waiting for the other two to reveal they too, have an idol. Is the point of this to out the idol holders and give them up front power and throw everyone else into new game plans and butt kissing? I would rather the suspense of who has an idol was kept secret.
Not a fan of this one.
Survivor is my favorite show and I’ve watched every episode of all 41 seasons so I guess that makes me a super-fan. I too was pleased with the ending – after 7 back-to-back seasons of men winning it was great to see a woman finally win again. That said, I am frustrated with the editing team for not really highlighting Erika as much as they could have to make the pay off of her winning more understandable and sweet. Don’t get me wrong, by the time they were at Final Tribal Council I felt she deserved it and pulled it out over the other 2, but I just wish we could have seen more of her journey. Someone posted on Survivor reddit a chart showing editing stats and sure enough white male winners by far receiving more screentime, confessionals, edits, etc. The bottom half was most of the female winners and all the POC female winners. So while it’s great who won, I really wish the editing team would realize we want to know about all the players, not just a select few that hog all the screen time, especially when the ultimate winner is one who was mostly relegated to the sidelines. It’s great that CBS instituted more diverse casting, now they just need to get their editing department on the same page. Rant over.
Seriously? I just canāt. You have 748 other channels to watchā¦
I don’t understand your rude/salty response Beets? I said I’m a big fan and have seen every episode and overall was very happy with the winner, just a bit disappointed by the editing not showing her as much as the other finalists and brought up a legitimate topic about representation of women and POC on the show… it’s a big topic on Survivor Reddit, TrueDorkTimes and other forums for the show so was curious to get some opinions on it here.
While the sites you mentioned are lovely, if you read the commenting rules, mentioning other sites is not allowed. Thanks.
thank you so much for recapping the show this season, I read every word, even if I didnt comment on all of them. I actually felt a little badly for Xander. He played way better than I thought he would. I remember watching the first season of Survivor and Xander may not have even been born yet! How crazy is that?
I actually read back over your initial impressions of the cast, and it was so interesting to see. I think you said that Erika annoyed you, and you liked DeShawn to go far, so that was good!
thanks again!
I had to wait a day before commenting. That’s how disappointed I was that Xander didn’t even get more than one vote. I was really pulling for that kid. Mainly because he had compassion, kindness, drive and a great attitude while being the underdog the whole time. Rare traits these trying days. I wanted to see him rewarded.
When he chose Erica I was yelling at my t.v. I remembered how hard she struggled to make fire and that once made, she kept it going for 2 days so she didn’t have to make it again. I kept saying, NO, NO. But alas, he made the wring choice and then proceeded to talk himself right into the loss. He’s a smart guy. I think he will take this experience and grow from it. By the same token, I feel DeShawn will not do the same. He really did feel his so called social game would win it for him.
My only consolation was that IMO, the second most deserving member ended up winning. Erica had more to her game than DeShawn’s social play (i.e. back stabbing).
Waiting with baited breath for the next Survivor. In the meantime I will give The Amazing Race a shot. Never watched it but TT and others here do so it must have something going for it.
Thanks for the recaps. An enjoyable season for sure!
The Amazing Race is AMAZING. It’s kind of like Survivor but in foreign countries. The last team of two finish each leg goes home each week (except for nonelimination rounds). Last season four pairs teamed up against everyone else and helped each other solve things along the way. They were the final four teams and this pissed off a lot of viewers but I though it was hilarious.
I’m IN! Sound right up my alley.
Iām so sorry that Xander didnāt win – or even get one vote š¢. He sure made the wrong decision to bring Erica to the final 3! Still my favorite! However, she played well and was a deserving winner. Heather was never a favorite but kudos to her for getting to the end. She should be very proud of herself. So looking forward to the next season!