Top 4 moments of ‘Survivor 45’ finale: New jury members, a winner is crowned and a showmance blossoms
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The “Survivor 45” season finale aired Wednesday night, concluding with host Jeff Probst snuffing out a few torches and announcing that Dee Valladares, the 26-year old from Florida, was the winner. But what were the dumbest, most shocking and most exciting moments of this episode? And did the jury pick the right winner?
Below, read our “Survivor 45” finale Top 4 moments. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways on CBS’s reality TV show, who bothered you the most and who you thought should have joined the “Survivor” winners list, taking home the $1 million grand prize.
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SEE Everything to know about ‘Survivor 46’: Watch the preview trailer
Top 4 Moments of Season 45 Finale:
1. The Final Five: The final five contestants (Dee Valladares, Austin Li Coon, Jake O’Kane, Julie Alley, and Katurah Topps) were sent to a new camp, forced to start from scratch at this last portion of the game. The blossoming showmance between Dee and Austin became a target, which was smart, but a few weeks too late. The appearance of three boxes to win an advantage at the upcoming immunity challenge only added to the tension, with a smiling Jake emerging victorious. In the end, Jake’s advantage didn’t help him and Austin won immunity. Jake told Austin and Katurah about his idol, which was a bold choice that kept him safe, but he fired and missed his shot at Dee. At Tribal Council, Jake played his idol for Katurah and Julie became the seventh member of the jury.
2. Burn Baby Burn: Jake was shaken after Katurah altered her vote, keeping Dee in the game. In all fairness, it was his fault for not telling Katurah about his plan to use his idol on her. The next day, the final four were ready to give it their all in the immunity challenge. The winner would decide who would make fire. Jake was disqualified and didn’t take it well, leaving many viewers no longer rooting for him to win the season, including myself. The tears and the apology were too little too late. In the end, Dee won and held all the power, which at first seemed like a slam dunk. Jake asked to compete out of pride and to pad up his resume, leaving the choice of his opponent between Dee’s closest ally and the one she feared the most. Austin offered to compete as well in order to get Katurah into that eighth jury seat, but Dee brought him to the final three with her instead. Jake smoked Katurah in the fire challenge, making her Juror #8. She took it in stride and finally admitted to everyone she’s a lawyer.
3. Final Arguments: The final three received sustenance and compared notes on the jury. Said jury members offered some potential insight into how they may vote as well, which was nice to see but did not exactly give us a frontrunner. In the all-important question and answer session, the final three had very distinct approaches but none of them were perfect.
Jake: Embodying the “feel your truth” idea that Kendra McQuarrie spoke about, Jake was an open book. With arguably the weakest resume of the trio, he somehow turned lemons into lemonade and sold it extremely well. His ability to sell himself short at times was unfortunate but his emphasis on taking big swings that his competitors were afraid to take was a very valid point.
Austin: Austin had the weakest approach in my opinion as the answers felt a bit canned and only sometimes authentic. He made sure to point out that he was a cornerstone of the Reba alliance, but definitely overhyped his gameplay. He basically fizzled out in the last three weeks of the season outside of physical skills that ensured his safety. His reaction to circumstances around Emily Flippen’s elimination spoke volumes to me as he looked like a deer in headlights tackling something he did not prepare for.
Dee: This approach was more heart than thinking, which worked for her in a major way. Her emphasis on how she was a major force to be reckoned with all season and lived to tell the tale stood out, but she may have opened some serious wounds as she had a hand in voting out most of the jurors. Her ability to combine the heart and the brain to make decisions was a nice touch though, even if it was not exactly on point.
4. A Winner is Crowned: Following an intriguing conversation, the jury had to complete their job and judge their peers. In the end, it was a closer vote than expected with Jake receiving no votes and Dee barely edging out Austin. The group was thrilled for her and wasted no time to join in on the celebration. The reunion was filled with information and a preview of next season, which looks promising already, but Kendra’s assessment of how she predicted the love connection between Austin and Dee stole the show for me. On a personal note, I am crossing my fingers that we see Jake, Austin, Katurah, Emily and Bruce on a future all-star season (Seriously waiting on this CBS!)
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