As We Reach the Season Finale, I Owe an Apology to 'Survivor 45'

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I've always been a big believer that nothing gets a worse rap than "jumping to conclusions." Sure, if you rush to judgment on a thing in order to get your opinion out there, you run the risk of getting something dead wrong and looking like an idiot. Hell, a Nobel Prize winner in Economics predicted that by 2005, online shopping would be no bigger than the fax machine. And no one will ever let him forget it. But every once in a while you might get one right. In which case you look like a prophet in the eyes of the world. And you can then never let them forget it. Sometimes you just have to risk it if you want to get that biscuit. 

And so it was that about three months ago, I reached a conclusion about the latest season of the most successful franchise in Reality TV history:

And while at the time I thought I was merely being ahead of the curve, I stuck with Survivor 45. Against my better judgment. Or maybe I just began hate-watching it. But whatever the motivation, as we reach the season finale tonight, I'm happy to say (forgive me the archaic reference but Boomers are all too familiar with this bit):

I was w-w-w-rong. 

I don't blame myself. One or two episodes in, it felt like the producers went out of their way to find soft, pathetic, squishes who were not only boring, but came across like they'd never spent a night outdoors, skipped a meal, ran, swam or climbed anything in their sad lives:

The first two weeks, someone at Tribal Council asked to be sent home. Just up and quit. Mere hours after setting foot in Fiji for an adventure hundreds of thousands of prospective contestants would've killed for. 

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And to my credit, the fact the show had seemed to lay such a rotten goose egg was not lost on Jeff Probst:

But a funny thing happened in the weeks since. The season truly found its footing. To the point I don't think I've been so wrong to lose faith in an institution I care about since midway through the 2004 ALCS. And I've been pleasantly surprised by both. 

For starters, once the weaklings and quitters were exiled in the first few weeks, the season improved immensely. Like in the animal kingdom when the lame and sick get eaten, the herd grows stronger. Even Emily, who less than five minutes into the first episode managed to alienate everyone and came across like one of the most socially inept weirdos to ever get cast on the show found her footing. 

In short order, she went from destined for the Island of Misfit Toys to winning a couple of supporters to becoming a player to actually proving herself to be a threat that had to be removed. a

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Likewise with Jake. At first he gave off the the vibe that he was nothing more than a Diversity Hire. The obligatory token in the Boston shirt with the thick Masshole accent America can goof on. 

But despite being at or near the bottom of the pecking order with few allies to speak of virtually all season, he's managed to, as the name implies, survive. In fact, in the last couple of shows he's made bold moves so that he can strengthen his argument for getting the million bucks should he made to Final Tribal.

Along the way, there have been some insane moments. Blindsides. Betrayals. Moves no one saw coming. Not the least of which was the one pulled by Kaleb, who seemed like one of the most legitimate castaways of the season from the very first week. Only to go to a Tribal where he knew he was in trouble, so he took his Shot in the Dark. That meant he gave up his vote for a virtual roll of the dice. A 1-in-6 chance at immunity. And he got it. As literally every other vote went against him, and none of them counted. Instead, he was safe on the revote. And Maya, who led the plot against him, went home instead. 

But maybe the one I need to apologize most two is Dee. In my original posts, I mentioned how CBS didn't even cast anyone attractive enough to hold your attention. Using the classic example of Parvati for comparison:

Here again, I stand corrected. Because Dee has proven to be, at the very least, a D-League Parvati. Not only using her sex appeal to win the loyalty of the biggest threat in the game, Austin:

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… but being every bit as cunning as Parvati ever was. Last week she looked right into Austin's eyes and lied to his face about who she was voting for. Then slit the throat of his biggest ally in the game from the very beginning. And in her interview made it clear she has zero problem with lying, even swearing on her mother, so long as it advances her in the game. It was brilliant.

That's the sort of ruthlessness and deception that turns bad season good and a good season great. And takes a reality show about people stuck on a tropical island and turns it into a fascinating piece of sociology. 

So please accept this as my apology. It's one of the times when I'm all too happy to be wrong. And put me down as being on Team Dee. But I wouldn't hate it at all if the guy with an even worse Boston accent than mine wins.