Hey guys and welcome to the final Next Time of the season and of 2017! I’m currently sitting on my flight to Los Angeles writing this on the notes on my phone because I’m a dummy and forgot to charge my laptop, so I’m getting straight into this week’s edition while 50,000ft in the air!
Before I jump into my predictions from last week and looking at this next episode, I wanted to look back at my picks from this season’s draft team and check out my assessments and how I thought my team would do.
Starting in order from the first booted from my team to the last remaining:
Katrina: I gave her the nickname Hurricane Katrina because of her personality. She’s TENACIOUS. I also said she would be the easy vote and I predicted she would go first when the Heroes go to tribal.
Roark: She was my winner pick and a fan favorite from the start, but unfortunately she got screwed a bit by the swap. But she also could’ve worked her angle more by talking to Ryan instead of latching onto Ali and making Ryan feel threatened. Basically everything I said about her playing with strategy and taking people down ‘insidiously’ was wrong but I also believe we didn’t see enough of Roark to know how she would play. With that being said, I’m still optimistic, and I hope we get a second chance to see her actually have the opportunity to play like we did with Kelley Wentworth.
JP: I picked him because he was cute and Cole was already taken. It was obvious from the start he was extremely boring, but when the first episode premiered, I got high hopes for his personality to shine when he revealed his crotch idol. I also said nobody would vote for someone who is boring and that’s exactly what happened – he was boring and didn’t talk strategy with anyone until his downfall deep into the merge.
Ashley: Our most recent victim of a blindside. I thought she would have an attitude just by the way she came off in pre-game interviews. Overall I said she had both great social and physical skills, but we didn’t see much of her social skills. She was definitely a competitor in challenges. She proved me wrong a little bit because I thought she would have conflicts with a lot of people but for the most part, she only had issues with Alan and Joe.
And finishing off with my last remaining contender…
Ryan: Like a Roark, I had high hopes for Ryan, and I’m happy he actually made it to the end. He still reminds me of Crouch Jr. (David Tennant) from Harry Potter. I feel like I was spot on for my assessment on Ryan. I said if he could slide into the merge unnoticed with having no physical ability, he would give people a run for their money with his social skills. And he was doing exceptionally well, but as the merge came, people like Ben and Chrissy took the driver’s seat and sat Ryan in the back. He still has a chance to win the game depending who he goes to the Final 3 with (if he makes it that far).
Previously on Survivor…
With all the bagel talk, last week was a slap in the face for some people. It really showed how some people are playing and why some people don’t deserve to win. I mean, it was almost as bad as when Hannah walked up and saw Adam looking for an idol, and she basically said ‘Hey’ and walked away. As a fan who is dying to play myself… Why would you do that!?
Overall, the last episode made me love Ben even more. I noticed on Twitter that a lot of viewers were mad about the results and how things played out. I think they are just Ben-haters. If you are a Ben-hater, when you think about it, by Ben playing the idol before the vote, it only benefited the remaining five players. Well, not necessarily Ashley because she was voted out. If nobody knew about Ben’s idol, everyone probably would’ve voted for Ben, and once again Ben would’ve played his idol and single-handedly decided who went home. By Ben playing the idol before the vote, the remaining five players had a vote that would count towards someone. But that’s just how I view the situation.
Final Next Time on Survivor…
Jumping right into the previews for this week. Did you catch that little hint at the end of the preview? “Unlike any ending in the history of Survivor”. I’m convinced there will be a tie. But between who?
And look at what’s around Chrissy’s neck in the ‘Next Time’ preview after last week’s episode! The (now dead) Super Idol is finally being put to use, and I couldn’t be happier. I’ve been waiting for her to use it. Because you can’t use an idol after the Final 5, there’s no doubt Chrissy puts it around her neck going into the first tribal of the night this week. Which also means Chrissy probably doesn’t win the first Immunity Challenge either, if she’s using her fake idol to scare someone like Ben. So that brings it down to either Ben or Devon winning the first immunity of the night.
I wanted to point out something that isn’t completely clear in the preview, but maybe you guys can give your opinion. At 00:11 seconds in the preview on YouTube, it shows Ben holding something shiny while sitting next to Chrissy. I’m not sure if that is the idol, but I would be absolutely floored if Chrissy pulled one over on Ben by giving it to him.
Blowing Up Yet Again
Why is Mike wandering off alone on the beach looking suspicious? I wonder if he thinks there is still an idol in play after Ben played his last week. Mike doesn’t really stick out in this preview like everyone else does and he definitely isn’t a threat to win challenges. From what we’ve covered so far, Devon or Ben probably wins the first immunity. Last week Ben wanted Mike out, so if Ben manages to pull out a win, there’s a possibility Mike goes out in 5th place.
More into the preview, Devon makes a few comments that caught my attention. “I’m not backing down” and “it’s crazy it’s come down to this.” After those comments, I feel like Devon may be in a little trouble, whether it’s from possibly not winning immunity or if it’s because of that ‘final advantage’ being thrown into play. Overall, he doesn’t seem confident if he’s talking about ‘not backing down’.
But you know, like Chrissy said: “No matter what you expect, something else is going to happen.”
Looking at what Chrissy said, it seems like she may be hinting at trying to pull a blindside. Could this have something to do with that advantage? What do you think it could be? An advantage in the next challenge or an advantage in the game itself?
Predictions
Who’s on the chopping block?
My gut is telling me Mike goes first. To me, Ben’s edit is built up to go out at Final 4 or finish strong in the Final 3. It’s definitely between Ben and Mike for the first tribal of the night and I believe Ben may win immunity when he needs it most. For the second tribal, I think the two targets will be Ben or Devon. Ben because, well he’s Ben. And Devon because of the comments he made about ‘not backing down’ and sounding like he may be in trouble.
Who will win immunity?
Going into the first Immunity Challenge, I think it comes down to Ben or Devon, with Ben possibly coming out as the winner since I think Mike goes out in 5th. With the second immunity, I think it will come down to Ben or Chrissy. Chrissy has proven to be a strong competitor in challenges. She’s surprised me a bit.
Will an idol or advantage be found?
The preview is a bit confusing. No doubt an advantage will be up for grabs. But Jeff said that it will be the final one. So does that mean an Idol won’t be in play at the Final 5 tribal? Going with how the game usually follows… I think there will be an idol out there, but if Chrissy shows off her fake idol, people will assume she found it. So I don’t think an idol will be found.
Will an advantage or idol be played?
Yes, that advantage mentioned by Jeff will be played. I don’t see why someone wouldn’t use it in the Final 5 or 4.
Ideas on the advantage?
It could be a number of things. Lauren had an advantage that has never been used before. This advantage I feel will impact the Final 4 or 3, like something along the lines of removing someone from the Jury like in Kaoh Rong. I think it will benefit the winner but hurt the remaining players end game.
Winner Predictions After Watching the Season
I still have to hang with my man Ben. He’s proven to be a fantastic player and has shown why he deserves to win over the remaining players. I really hope he finishes out strong.
That’s it for this season’s Next Time. I had a lot of fun taking over for Jacob Derwin this season. He’s had a lot on his plate, and I’m sure we will see what he’s been up to. Until next time!
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Before anyone says “how did it benefit ashley”, I was looking at the situation from both sides. I understand she ended up going home but it benefited the players to know ben had an idol before he shocked them and then revealed it. At least they knew and their votes could still count
I think Chrissy will go first then Ryan. I think Mike is being set up as a final 3 goat and it will be a tie between Ben and Devon for the win. With Mike being the tiebreaker and voting Ben to win. At this point i’d be fine with anyone winning except Chrissy