And with the blink of an eye, we’ve already reached Episode 13 of Survivor‘s 33rd season…the last episode before next week’s two-hour finale. Where has the time gone? These season has kept fans on their toes throughout, so it’s no surprise that tonight will undoubtedly feature even more drama, when not one but TWO contestants go home. Yes, there will be two Tribal Councils tonight, whittling the remaining castaways down from eight to six after tonight is over. And I wouldn’t dare say that the producers are trying to “fast-forward” through some meaningless tribals – the last time I said that, we were treated to two of the best Tribals in recent memory.
So let’s get you primed for tonight’s penultimate episode!
CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE, AND THIS IS YOUR LAST *SPOILER* WARNING!
First a few house-keeping items. For those of you who followed me back when I was the “Survivor Examiner” (RIP Examiner.com), you know that at the end of every season, I release an updated “Best Survivor Winners of All-Time” and a “Most Memorable Survivor Seasons” list. I plan to do the same this year, migrating these over to RealityTea.com, so please look for those next week! So to keep track and to stay in-tune with all the latest Survivor content, here is the plan for next week:
- Wednesday 12/14 (early) – My final “preview” article of the season will get you set for the finale episode and we’ll place some odds on the remaining players
- Wednesday 12/14 (late) – My recap and reaction to the two-hour finale AND reaction from the live reunion show, which will also include a preview of upcoming Season 34 in the Spring!
- Thursday 12/15 – My updated “Best Survivor Winners of All-Time” list
- Thursday 12/15 – My updated “Most Memorable Survivor Seasons” list
After that, I’ll hopefully be back for next season (still working on that!), which I can now confirm is set to begin on March 8th, 2017.
Lastly, did everyone vote last week for this year’s Class of 2016 into the “Survivor Hall of Fame“? I cast my official Executive Committee Ballot last week, and I will share it with all of you, my readers, as soon as it’s made public.
So cool, we’ve got all of that out of the way! Now let’s return to discussing tonight’s big episode. Here is the official synopsis from CBS:
Episode 13 – “Slayed the Survivor Dragon” – It’s double the tribal councils as two castaways are sent home, and immunity is on the line in a classic game of Survivor pinball, on this season’s penultimate episode of SURVIVOR, Wednesday, Dec. 7 (8:00-9:00PM, ET/PT) on CBS.
OK, I lied. One more “off-topic” bit of news…my condolences to Ben “Coach” Wade, who lost his father recently after a long battle. The title of this week’s episode reminded me of the Survivor “Dragon Slayer,” and if you thought he was a tough dude, you should have witnessed all of his posts about his dad on social media. My best to Coach and his family.
NOW, let’s talk about tonight. Ken is coming off of his bone-headed move, throwing Will under the bus and nearly blowing up his and several other’s games. It all worked out in the end, when Will decided to blindside Zeke anyways, sending the one-time favorite out of the game in a rush, but not before flushing out another Immunity Idol. The so-called “head” of the dragon has been cut off, but does that mean that the body will remain lifeless? In the era of the Survivor “voting bloc” where loyalties shift with the wind, anything is possible, and just because you were safe last week doesn’t guarantee you anything this week.
Judging by last week’s Tribal, you would think that Jay, Sunday, and Bret are now on the bottom, but again, anything is possible. Jay of course SHOULD be everyone’s Public Enemy #1, as he’s played a great game to this point, has been quietly dominating the physical aspects of the game and if the others continue to let him slide through, he just may have what it takes to win this thing. But just like everyone looked at Zeke as being able to win it all, this is definitely the point in the game where players start looking towards the end. With Zeke gone, who poses the biggest threat?
Many left in the game might pin-point David as the new target, knowing that he has played a front-and-center game and has come out on top every last time. It doesn’t hurt that the dude seems to have the ability to crap out hidden Idols on a whim. David is about to enter very shaky ground, because not only is he a target, but his alliance is crumbling around him. Adam has shown he will do whatever he needs to advance his own game, and David’s other ally, Ken, showed his inability and instability as an alliance-mate last week. David needs Ken, and Ken is unlikely to turn on David, but will David be able to get anything sneaky going with Ken as one of his only allies?
And then there is the curious case of Will…what will Will do, or what is Will willing to do? He clearly made a point this past week, but with Zeke now gone will he regroup with Jay, Sunday, and Bret? He seems to have the most respect for Jay, and Sunday/Bret have nowhere else to turn. With eight left in the game, four isn’t quite enough to form a majority, but if Jay is willing to strategically use his Idol – the last Idol remaining in play – then they just might be able to flip the game once again in their favor.
Hannah at this point, seems lost in the wind, and may just find herself in the finals because no one can possibly view her as a threat, right? The time has passed on building up a resume for herself, as it is unlikely that Hannah will take over the game any time soon. But not being a threat, she will find herself still in the game with an all-important vote, and her history tells us that she will stick with David‘s Army. But could Hannah be inspired by what Will did last week? Could she make a desperate move to “build her resume” and vote out David? She needs to do something, and if we’ve learned anything from this season, it’s that this group of players is not afraid to go down swinging.
“The Fans Have Spoken”: Man I love the comment section each week! Some strong opinions and some great, valid points. Boy Ken fell out of favor fast! It seems most like looking at him more than they like watching him play Survivor. And there was no love lost over Zeke‘s exit, which is still fascinating to me! People loved them some Zeke just a few weeks ago! What the heck? Of everyone, Sunday seems to be the one player that no one has been able to get behind this season. She hasn’t been given the greatest edit, let’s be honest, but she is right there and has made some cunning moves here and there. Will it be enough for her to make it to the end? This group of fans hopes not.
Two will fall tonight…but which two? Make sure you’re on this site for my recap later tonight!
TELL US – WHO WILL GO HOME TONIGHT? WILL WILL STICK WITH HIS NEW ALLIANCE OR FALL BACK TO HIS OLD? AND START THINKING: WHERE DOES THIS SEASON RANK ON THE ALL-TIME LIST THUS FAR?
Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets
