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Survivor redeems itself with finale

During the season of Survivor: All Stars, viewers watched as competitors attempted to stay on the show.
However, the elimination of Rupert from the show was undesirable. Survivor’s finale episode was a grand success on account of one simple fact: Rupert won the second million dollars. Viewers, myself included, were clearly disappointed to see Rupert eliminated from Survivor: All Stars, because he received the most votes for the extra million. I cheered when the host announced that Rupert won. He deserved to win the original million, but this was revenge for his unfair removal from Survivor: All Stars,. In a way, what he won was even better than winning the million on the show. Sure, he didn’t "outplay, outlast, out something-something," but he now knows that the audience loved him more than they loved any other survivor on All Stars. People admired and respected him for the way he, unlike many of the other survivors, played.

Personally, I was surprised at the "final four," the four people who received the most votes and were in the running for the second million. The audience favorites were, in order of announcement on the show, Colby, Big Tom, Rupert, and Boston Rob. Colby probably won his votes solely due to his extremely good looks. Big Tom, a big guy in overalls, was fun to watch. Rupert, the winner, had a lot of audience appeal because of the way he played survivor: honestly. He was hard-working and caught fish for the rest of the group. His alliance with Jenna was strong, and he did not stab anyone in the back. The selection of Boston Rob was unexpected. I saw him as the villain all season. Was he one of the most popular? He acted extremely cocky and he constantly stabbed his "friends" in the back. I stomped my feet every week he wasn’t voted off. Somehow, he was one of the four most popular All Stars. I suspect that it was for no other reason than that he was one of the longest-lasting survivors. The audience had the most time to get used to him. Once you get used to something or someone, you often find that you like it.

The season also marked a deviation from the spirit of competition between the final two Survivors. First rule of Survivor: the competitors are supposed to be against each other, not on each other. This was not the case on Survivor: All Stars. As the final two Survivors, Amber and Boston Rob were not interested in competing with each other. They snuggled with each other during their final day in Panama, claiming that they were in a kind of paradise together. Proposing to Amber moments before the final decision was unveiled, Boston Rob killed the show’s climax. Once Amber had agreed to marry Boston Rob, it did not matter who won the million dollars. As a viewer, I want to see the survivors struggle to win the million dollars. I want to feel the tension as the votes are read and the winner unveiled. The 4-3 decision in favor of Amber was not a tense one.

This season of Survivor was disappointing. What happened to the supposed all stars? Where did their competitive spirits go? It seemed like most of the survivors gave up their control to Boston Rob, who became the only powerful player. Everyone else submitted to him; he seemed to determine who would be next to go without anyone else’s input. Despite the fact that his tactics were perhaps less-than-friendly, nobody really took him on and tried to eliminate him. He was fortunate enough to have the physical edge on his competition, helping him to win immunity challenges repeatedly, the one thing that kept him in the game when he might otherwise have been voted off.

I will concede that maybe Boston Rob deserved to win the game. He was essentially the boss all along, he never really faltered, and he never broke his strongest alliance. It just seemed that he was in control, and perhaps that is what it means to be the best at Survivor.

Amber, on the other hand, seemed a very passive player. She latched on to Boston Rob, who carried her all the way to the final two. The reason she won, in my opinion, is because she offended fewer people along the way, not because she was a better player. She did win, though. Should that really be the indicator of who played the game better?

It is difficult to judge what makes a great Survivor contestant. On the one hand, the winners seem to be people who will do what it takes to win, people who will use any tools they have available to them, including friendships. On the other hand, there are people who play with integrity, but they don’t seem to win the game. Sure, Rupert won a million dollars, but it was through the audience voting, not on the game.

If I were on Survivor, I think I would have to go the way of the winners. I mean, it is a game, so I would to play to win. I think that there must be an optimal blend somewhere in between using friendships and keeping friendships. There must be a way to play to win and also play fairly and considerately. I can’t condemn the players who play to win because the goal is, naturally, to win, but perhaps there is another route they can take.

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