How the heck did we end up here? Trish’s elimination in Survivor: Cagayan Episode 12 brought us down to the final four: Spencer Bledsoe, Tony Vlachos, Kassandra “Kass” McQuillen, and Yung “Woo” Hwang.
Strangely enough, two of the final four come from the Brains tribe, the most inept, incompetent, and frankly dumb tribe quite possibly in the history of Survivor. They turned things around after the tribe shuffle merely by sticking together, unlike the Beauties.
Even though I’m not sure he’s done much, Spencer has been insightful and has come a long way despite always being at the bottom of the totem pole. Tony and Kass have played similar games, making big, stupid moves that did not make any sense. They both seemed more interested in making good TV than playing strategically, but nonetheless they get points for controlling the game. Then there’s Woo. What, he’s still here?
Tony’s not particularly torn up about Trish’s exit, which he voted for along with everybody else. Though he liked her, he has no desire to take her to the end.
Not content with merely having voted out Trish, Kass is still going on about how she hates her.
For everybody wondering about the loved ones visit, it happens now. A boat randomly approaches them while they’re hanging around at camp.
Kass defends her game. She played like a man. So she’s not a bitch.
For the immunity challenge, they will stand on a pole high above the ocean and use a bucket to retrieve water and fill a chute, then they will head to shore to complete a puzzle. Kass is out of it right away and seems completely hopeless. Tony leads throughout and fills his chute first. Spencer is second. Who really thinks Tony is going to beat Spencer on a puzzle? Woo is not far behind them. Eventually, Kass figures out the first part of the challenge. And then, somehow, she finishes the puzzle first and wins immunity.
Kass plans to send Spencer home.
When they get back, Spencer pulls Tony aside to warn him that this year it’s a final two, not a final three. This is where being a super fan comes in handy. He’ll be happy with a fire making tie. Woo’s not so sure what will happen if there’s a tie. He thinks maybe they will have to draw rocks… or fight.
At Tribal Council, Spencer makes a further plea. He promises to take Tony to the end if he has the choice, and he asks the jury to not vote for him if he does not honor that promise. For some reason, Kass then tells Tony she has a better chance against Woo than she does against him.
Tony finally acknowledges that his stupid special idol is now dead, not that it mattered.
Votes
Spencer
Woo
Spencer
Spencer
With 3 votes, Spencer has been voted off the island. Great, now we’re stuck with two unlikeable people and one invisible one.
Woo and Kass agree to take each other to the final two.
The final immunity challenge is a large maze of turnstyles in which they will collect medallions then solve a cog puzzle. Kass takes the lead while Tony and Woo follow each other the wrong way. They keep following each other as she extends her lead. As Kass runs into the same dead end Tony and Woo did, Woo takes the lead, a bit ahead of Tony, who finally separated from him and went the wrong way. Kass is way behind, but she was a lot further behind during the last challenge. Though Kass gives him a run for his money in what Probst says is probably the closest finish ever, Woo wins immunity.
Tony tells Woo that he should take him because that would be the loyal thing to do. If he were Woo, though, he wouldn’t buy it and would rather take his chances with Kass. Woo’s dilemma is that he thinks Kass will be easier to beat, but he wants to keep his integrity, which would mean keeping his word to Tony.
Jeff asks Woo what Tony and Kass said to him at camp. Woo asks if they could just skip this and get to the vote.
Vote
Kass
With 1 vote, Kass has been voted off the island. I’m not sure that Woo has much chance against either of them, but bringing someone who you think will beat you because they are your ally is dumb. His rationalization for it is that the jury would respect it, and he also wants a more honorable win by beating someone better, as he would in a martial arts tournament.
Sarah gives Tony a hard time for breaking his promise. Then she asks Woo who he would vote for if she were in his spot, and he says he would vote for her.
Jefra continues the whining about how Tony blindsided her.
Morgan changes the story by being complimentary about how he was able to get people to follow him, and she also respects Woo for his decision last night.
Jeremiah goes right back to the original theme, calling Tony pathetic for lying on his wife and child.
Tony claims to Tasha that everybody else was coming after him first, which is why he turned on them, with the exception of Trish, who would have remained loyal to him to the end.
Though Tasha was calm, LJ is, like the others, upset by Tony.
Kass does not get the answer she was looking for when Woo tells her she did not deserve to sit there next to him.
Woo tells Trish that it was his idea to get rid of her. Then she proceeds to tear into Tony. She makes a big deal about him swearing on his father’s grave. Have you ever seen Survivor before? He says it was worth it.
Spencer says that Woo is like a dog, and Tony is his master. Then he makes a pitch to the jury why they should vote for Tony.
The jury’s decision is pretty clear cut, more than it usually is. Do they vote for someone out of respect for how he played the game, or do they make a bitter vote because they got beat?
Votes
Tony
Woo
Tony
Tony
Tony
Tony
The Survivor: Cagayan winner is Tony. It might have been interesting if he were up against someone who had done more, but Woo was just too under the radar to have won.