Survivor Season 33 Finale

Wow. Wow. Wow.
What a finale!!
I wish I had more time to write about it. My head is still buzzing. What a thrilling night that was for me as a David fan - at least until the final tribal council. He got SO close! He should have won. He did more than enough to earn the title of sole survivor. He won challenges. He found hidden immunity idols. He made big plays. He was the mastermind this season, especially after the merge. He even created a fake idol that fooled Jay and led to his torch being snuffed.

While I definitely understand why Ken blindsided David, I don't admire him for it. I know he had to do it because he could not have beaten David. But he and David had been so loyal to each other. I wanted to see him stay true to his word all the way to the end. I really thought he was going to. David really thought he was going to. I was heartbroken when he didn't.

After David was voted out, I didn't care anymore about the outcome. The game became rather meaningless, which was disappointing when the rest of the episode had been so epic. The final three were all flawed for me. Ken lost my faith in him. Hannah came on strong at the end but was still a team player rather than a leader. And Adam - I don't know. He won a few challenges. He found hidden immunity idols. But I didn't like the way he badgered Hannah in the final tribal council, and tried to take credit for the moves that she made. I was proud of her for standing her ground and fighting for recognition. The nagging question that I'm left with is, did Adam win unanimously based on his game, or because he told everyone that his mom had cancer? Of the three, I would say that Adam did enough to win, as did Ken, but not Hannah. Still, I think it should have been either David or Jay that got the title. But you can't win if you don't make it to the final tribal council.

The season wasn't perfect for me. The FigTales romance was annoying. But I absolutely loved all the personal growth that happened this season. Hannah's metamorphosis was almost as inspiring as David's for me. And even though they weren't my favorite players, I enjoyed watching the transformations of Zeke and Bret as well. More than any other season of Survivor, the show changed people.

I didn't get my Cochran moment this time. I didn't get to rejoice in the stunning, unlikely win of someone that everyone counted out in the beginning. But as David said, he didn't win the game, but he came so far and changed so much that he felt like he won. So in a way, I did get my Cochran moment again. Usually you don't remember who almost won a reality show. But I think David will be remembered. I celebrate all of his accomplishments. And I thank all of these contestants - David, Hannah, Zeke, Bret - for being examples and showing the audience that you can change your life. You can become the person you want to be.    

librarianintx