Survivor Guatemala Rewatch Part 4

In case you missed it here is Part 1 , Part 2 and Part 3

Final Six episodes 12-14

Items went pretty cheap early in the auction. I don’t why they let Danni get the advantage for the immunity challenge. They only made half-hearted attempts to block her from getting it. Rafe, Danni and Lydia seem to have used their time away well. The way they setup Judd was a pleasure to watch. Now it is questionable how much Lydia knew before she started game talking to Judd on the ruins. I have more respect for players who fight to save themselves than ones who sit back and take it. The kicker is Rafe lets Stephenie think it was her idea to get rid of Judd.

Was it necessary to get rid of Judd in the end it debatable. It sours Stephenie character in the eyes of the jury. It helps Danni and Lydia to get farther. Rafe is the most blurry as I think he had a good chance of getting to the final three with Stephenie and Judd also. I don’t think Cindy would have made it much deeper with Judd.

The car challenge from this season is one I would not have wanted to win because no matter your choice you are screwed. Either you look selfish or you look like you are trying to buy safety. It is easy for Danni and Rafe to say they would have given up a car for the group. Lydia and Stephenie were more realistic about the car choice than I feel Rafe was. If Rafe was telling the truth about giving up the car then is a better man than me. Personally I would have just tanked the challenge in the first place even without knowing the final trade option.

Stephenie and Cindy saying If Danni makes to the end she gonna beat us all and we will look like idiots was just humorous to me. Cindy leaving is the best move for Danni and Rafe as it more blood on Stephenie’s hands.

This is the funniest opening to and episode I have seen. With Lydia getting excited about a vague tree mail and the look of hope then disappointment when they realize what she did.Along with Stephenie line of “why did we keep you around?” Then funniest thing I heard all season. “Is the chicken dead Rafe?” “He just ripped the head off and threw it into the fire its a dead chicken.” said Rafe. Yes what they did was disrespectful but at least they waited for the people to leave before they ate the sacrifice. The producers did a nice job setting the players up.

The final four/five maze is my favorite challenge. This one is a huge one and a very physical intense one as well. Lydia did better than I thought she would. The only reason Lydia was booted out was because Rafe had a deal with Danni. Now whether Stephenie knew about this is a little fuzzy. Most people would agree that Danni was probably the best choice to send home. As we know what the final challenge is it is easy for us to say in hindsight that was the best choice. I think it a toss-up between the two when you don’t know what the challenge is ahead of time. Like I said above Rafe’s deal is what kept Danni safe he did not need any more blood on his hands.

When you think about it was Rafe leaving such a big surprise. Yes Rafe and Stephenie had betrayed the same people but Stephenie was a returning player which in these days had a strong stigma. I don’t think she could have won this season no matter who was at the end with her the best she could hope for was second place.

Some people downplay Danni’s win I think she deserved as she worked her way from being next booted to final two. She did not lie around and let someone else drag her to the end. Her game was subtle and most of her actions were overshadowed by louder and more aggressive players. Some say she won because the jury was bitter. I would give more credit to this if she was not the one who chose to bring Stephenie to the end. I think she knew the jury had hurt feelings and her best shot was to bring Stephenie.

Final Thoughts

It is a damn shame that people like Rafe, Danni, Judd and to a lesser extent Cindy, Gary or Jamie have not been brought back to play again. I don’t know the reasons why this season gets snubbed but as the years go by it seems less likely for these players to return.

I liked Brandon early game but really stopped caring for him after he gave up after the merge. My thoughts on Gary changed a little from my first impressions of him. Lydia seemed to be playing a watered down version of Sandra’s anyone but me strategy.

This season would have changed in a major way if Gary used the version 2 or 3 hidden idol in episode nine. If you go by the voting in the episode Stephenie would have been gone. The core alliance would have been able to regroup and I don’t know if Danni would have been able to get to the end.

The early challenges were just brutal in the amount of physical skill they demanded. They were fun to watch and have seen several make return appearances in later seasons.
Hope the people who read this enjoyed it and don’t know what season I will tackle next. I am playing with the idea of using a random number generator to pick the seasons. Also partial to the idea of doing Cook Islands or Fiji as they are looked upon as terrible seasons. I think it would be fun for me to see if  during a rewatch I come to the same conclusions as  everyone else.