SEASON 40: WINNERS AT WAR (Episode 13)

Tribemaster Brian
May 13, 2020
4 min read

Well Survivor fam... this is it. The day we've simultaneously been awaiting and dreading for the past 3 months. It's finale day, and boy is it bittersweet. It kinda feels like the last day of vacation. Or that last bite of a really good slice of pizza. You're happy because it happened but you can't believe it's already over. You're gonna miss it. I love this show so much, and I love having this group of people to share that love with. Shout out to everyone who joined our trivia night last week. I had a BLAST! (and we're cute:)

With less than 2 hours until showtime, here's a little recap and an update on our points from last week...

Denise has plans to get a cool new tat when she gets home "ENDURE + LET GO." Kinda a good mantra for our current world's situation right now!
Tony and Jeremy take a look at the Survivor calendar and debate how many days are in a week. Whose side are you on?

Cops R Us do an amazing job of manipulating Ben into thinking voting out Nick is HIS idea. This is why players like Tony and Sarah are so threatening.
Then we head to our first immunity challenge of the episode. Poor Michele can't catch a single ball, and Nick ultimately pulls out the win with those puzzle skills he's been trying to flex all season.
This means the Cops R Us + Ben plan to take out Nick is gonna have to be put on the back burner for now. Ben tries to be slimy and turn Jeremy and Michele on each other by planting seeds about Jeremy asking Michele for her 50/50 coin, but they both see right through him. Ben is really not doin it for me right now.
Nick as the ultimate swing vote chooses to take out Jeremy instead of Ben: "I'm not making my decision based on what I want to happen tomorrow or the next day. I'm making my decision based on Day 39... I'm just trying to win this game, period." Based on how the rest of this episode turned out, I think it's safe to say Nick made the wrong decision on this one.
The castaways at tribal talk about how difficult it can be transitioning out of the game and into normal life, and this was a great reminder of how intense this game can be. Those trust issues definitely follow you off the island.
Michele plays the 50/50 immunity for herself and it lands on SAFE! At first, it seemed like a mistake that she played this for herself instead of Jeremy, but ultimately I think it was the right move. If she played it for Jeremy, her votes would have been tied with Ben's and she could have gone home in a revote.

Jeremy goes home and does notttttt seem to be cool with it. Is he gonna be bitter about Tony turning on him? Was this bad jury management? I'm torn.
Michele tries to flip the script and convince Sarah that Tony needs to go by telling her that Tony is the obvious winner of this game if he gets to the final 3. Sarah doesn't buy it, and this could ultimately be the downfall of Sarah's game. But I respect her for her loyalty.
We then head to the EoE for their final challenge before fighting to get back in the game, and Natalie OF COURSE wins because she's a beast. She sells a disadvantage to Nick for 8 fire tokens, and he purchases it with the help of Michele.
Then we're at our next immunity challenge. Nick anonymously plays the disadvantaged on Ben and this was TOTALLY the right decision as Ben was verryyyy close to winning despite the disadvantage. Michele pulls out a win for the first time this season! (and no one claps for her)
We get back to camp and the spy shack is BACK IN ACTION. Tony overhears Denise targeting him, but despite this, Nick becomes the target of Cops R Us.
Just when Nick thinks he's in the best position he's been in all game... he gets blindsided.
Tan Ambuh™ gives us the most poignant reflection of her time on the edge. I love that this has been Amber's role this season.

Annnnddddd for the last bit of the episode before they hit us with an emotional but unnecessary 10 minute recap of the whole season, we see the castaways on the EoE making their final fire token purchases before they fight to get back in the game. Natalie with 14 FIRE TOKENS buys 3 advantages plus peanut butter and an idol for Tyson (confusing but exciting?)

And here's where we're at with points heading into our final episode: