LogFAQs > #892742000

In the immediate aftermath of the episode, I was willing to give the fire challenge a chance, because yeah, it was just the circumstances of this particular season that made it horrible. But after thinking about it, I just dislike the fire making challenge in general. I mean, I already HATE the change from F2 to F3. It felt wrong back in Cook Islands, but worse than that, it didn't solve the problem it was meant to solve. If anything, it exacerbated the problem. In a final 2, you need to have solid relationships with EVERYONE, because anyone could theoretically win the final challenge. But in a final 3, an alliance of three has a 75% chance of winning immunity and taking out that outsider.

On paper, the final four fire making tiebreaker is meant to correct that last sentence, but in reality, it's just bullshit and punishes players for good gameplay. Ben was the biggest threat in the game and the players wanted to get rid of him from the final 7 onwards. He found idols (the last of which was rather questionable, based on post-game interviews), and then was gifted a second chance after he LOST the final immunity challenge. And yeah, the fans are happy because their golden boy made it to the end and won. But fuck that. The fans getting what they want every goddamn season is why Big Brother so often turns to shit.

For all this talk of "the best player gets cut at four", that's not always true. Tai got cut at four, but if this twist was in place, odds are Brad takes Troyzan to the finals and Tai stands a good chance at beating Sarah in the tiebreaker. Then Tai likely loses to Brad, while legitimately good winner Sarah gets fucked at four. We saw what happened to Devon/Chrissy this season. My personal pick for the best winner Survivor has ever had is Natalie Anderson. And under this twist, Jaclyn won the final immunity challenge and she has two options. Either she takes Missy to the finals, Keith likely beats Natalie and Natalie gets relegated to the bullshit fourth place spot. Or she takes Natalie, Keith definitely beats Missy, and Natalie loses in a 4-3-1 vote to a likable guy who was an outright idiot for most of the season.

If you're on the outs at the final 4, it's because you played a poor game. Either you alienated yourself, or you made yourself too big of a target for one reason or another. It's bullshit to have a tiebreaker challenge to get someone to the finals, because that person might have played an objectively poor game, but wins simply because the other players can't execute their strategy to get rid of them. Like, as much as it sucks to see a final like Rob/Phillip/Natalie where they'd lose to anyone else in the cast...it takes skill to get that group to the end together. If you REALLY want to encourage that threat to be kept around at the final 4, bring back the final 2. That way that solid alliance of three has to consider "how am I gonna get to the finals?" rather than just saying "oh, we'll stick together" from the final 6 onward and having no way to break them up.

Finally, for as much as I hate Mike Holloway's win, Ben's win has given me some newgound respect for Mike. EVERYONE had the same odds of winning those immunity challenges. Anyone could've beaten Mike, but not only did he outperform them, but he also played it smart in targeting players like Tyler or Sierra, who were his biggest physical competition. With Ben, the problem with idols is just how arbitrarily they're hidden by production. Ryan had to find a clue to know to search under the flag. Lauren had to find two pieces. Ben just needed to find a marking saying "Dig ->" Plus, the thing about idols is that the learning curve is vastly more beneficial to people who find idols early than to people who've never found one. Once you know what you're looking for, it's easier to find another. Hence so many people finding multiple idols nowadays.
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