Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 42 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the season finale.
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Top 3 Moments
Mike’s Idol Dilemma
Christine: Mike found himself in the final five with an idol about to expire and the immunity necklace around his neck. He made separate plans to play his idol for Maryanne, Jonathan, and Lindsay, with the latter giving a particularly impassioned plea for her life. Mike ultimately decided to keep his word to Maryanne and play it for her, not realizing she had an idol for herself the whole time. On the surface, Mike had a lot of power here, but Maryanne had even more power thanks to her secret idol.
Romeo Wins Immunity
Gia: Once Lindsay was voted out of the game, I think most viewers were convinced that the immunity challenge was Jonathan’s for the taking. So, color me shocked when Romeo came out victorious in Simmotion, giving him the final say as to who was going to fire. There were a lot of surprising moments this season, but the resident underdog coming out of the woodwork to win the most important challenge of the season was a favorite for me.
The Best Kept (and Only) Secret
Gia: Maryanne prided herself on her second idol being the only true secret left in the game. So you can imagine my confusion when she decided not to play it at the final five tribal council. In fact, it wasn’t even mentioned after the vote, which left me even more confused. I should have learned not to underestimate her because the reveal at the final tribal council was well worth the wait. I wouldn’t go so far as to say this is the moment that secured her the win, as she had the best answers by far, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it at least swayed a vote or two in her favor.
Player Round-Up
Maryanne
Gia: Maryanne was many things during her time on Survivor 42. She was a lovable fan favorite, comedic relief, and an excellent confessionalist. It wasn’t until very recently that her true strategic potential was shown, and that’s just how she wanted it. She did everything in her power to ensure that her spot in the final three was a guarantee, and her idol reveal at the final tribal was one for the ages. Even without her big reveal, her answers to the jury were leagues above her two opponents. She has a natural gift for explaining complex scenarios in an easily digestible way, an understated trait in a Survivor finalist. Now she’s a million dollars richer, the second Black woman and the second Canadian to win the title of Sole Survivor.
Mike
Christine: Mike is one of my favorite Survivor characters in recent years. He was easy to root for in the pre-merge and wonderfully flawed in the post-merge: kind and caring while also being petty and vindictive, a strategic force who made plenty of blunders along the way. In the end, he couldn’t own up to his mistakes and understand what the jury needed from him, which cost him a million dollars. His finish as a losing finalist is perfect for his storyline, and the moment at Final Tribal Council where he realized in real-time that he didn’t play as honorable of a game as he thought he did was compelling and heartbreaking. Even if I ended up rooting for Maryanne over him in the post-merge, I will forever be part of #GaysForMike.
Romeo
Gia: Romeo went from the top dog in the pre-merge to the underdog in the post-merge. Of all the finalists, no one’s been through higher highs and lower lows than him. And while he finished the game in 3rd place, he ended on a positive note by shocking everyone with the final four immunity win. Overall, he was an enjoyable character that became a more outspoken, comfortable version of himself through his Survivor experience. From his touching backstory to his snarky confessionals, Romeo was a clear favorite of mine from beginning to end.
Jonathan
Christine: Jonathan dominated the pre-merge challenges this season and was a strong competitor in the merge, so his immunity loss to Romeo and fire-making loss to Mike were certainly an unexpected end to his story. He was undoubtedly the most polarizing contestant of the season. I personally wasn’t a fan of him and the way he was shown speaking to the women on the season, but I definitely didn’t expect him to make it as far as he did given his status as an obvious physical threat.
Lindsay
Christine: After being underedited in the pre-merge, I was so happy to see Lindsay become a major character in the endgame. While I wish we would’ve gotten to see more of her outside of her feud with Jonathan, their rivalry was one of my favorite storylines of the season. I’ve been saying we need more feuds on Survivor these days, and Lindsay certainly delivered on that front. I was screaming at my TV, hoping that Maryanne would play the idol for her, and was momentarily devastated when she didn’t. Maryanne made the right move to not save Lindsay, but I wasn’t quite ready to say goodbye to our high school football queen.
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