Wait, did that just happen?
Did we seriously just etch the name Maryanne Oketch into theSurvivorhistory books as the champion of season 42?
MARYANNE!!!!
Maryanne Oketch on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
The woman Ipredicted to winback after episode 1!
A successful prediction is a successful prediction.
Do not expect that trend to continue.)
The ‘Survivor 42’ final five.Robert Voets/CBS
But I’m not delighted for the dominant 7-1-0 Maryanne victory as a sorely needed resume padder.
I’m delighted because Maryanne is delightful.
She makes up her own curse words that are not really curse words.
The ‘Survivor 42’ final five.Robert Voets/CBS
She can speak so passionately on serious issues or be the world’s biggest goofball.
She lovesSurvivor,and the only season she did not finish was one that Stephen Fishbach starred on.
WHAT’S NOT TO LOVE?
The ‘Survivor 42’ final five.Robert Voets/CBS
Oh, and she played the damn game.
you might go askBrad CulpepperandChrissy Hofbeckall about that.
That alone would have been worth it for me.
Maryanne Oketch on ‘Survivor 42’.Robert Voets/CBS
But that’s not why she earned it.
No disrespect to Mike and Romeo in the least.
He won the final immunity challenge and made a semi-decent fake idol.
He should be super proud of all that.
Winning that final immunity and getting to the final three was Romeo’s victory.
The rest was all about Maryanne.
You all know how I felt about her from the second she leapt onto my television screen.
It was reality TV love at first sight.
Hey, CBS did it for Rob and Amber!
Speaking of which, did you ever watch the Rob and Amber wedding?
So, yes, I’m happy!
Was Maryanne an amazing player?
But she was amazingly fun to watch, and it was a pleasure watching her winning journey unfold.
And joy is something we could all use right around now.
Land of ice hockey, tuques, poutine, andSurvivorchampions!
Now, let’s be champions ourselves and hit on the other big moments of theSurvivor 42season finale.
Opening Statement
Let’s step away from the game for a second.
No, not to go back and watch Boston Rob and Amber’s wedding.
(Seriously though, have you checked that out yet?)
But rather to talk about how well shot this show is.
Just take the very first scene this week.
Now, perhaps you were too unnerved byJeff Probsttalking to you through the television screen.
I’ve gone on record as digging these little confabulations between host and audience.
I do too, Jeff!
It’s not easy to light things that well and that dramatically at night.
A lot of work went into that little intro scene, and you know what?
It was worth it.
And it totally got me jacked up for the finale to come.
It was not the only production wrinkle to do so this episode.
Lindsay’s Last Stand
Romeo called her the fighter, and that’s an apt title.
(Hopefully, the sleeping giant has more secure toenails than Maryanne.)
Did I mention stations?
I DON’T CARE!
It makes for good TV!
before the challenge began.
I don’t know why that sounded so awkward, but it did, and I loved it.
As a two-decade Jersey guy, I’ve never heard that expression.
Anyway, very cool moment for Mike a fan of the show from day 1.
And now his kids got to see him win a huge challenge on aSurvivorfinale.
Shockingly, it actually appeared for a while like she was going to do exactly that.
And, afterthat, I was screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Maryanne made her big move last week and now it was Romeo’s turn!
Maybe we should get thatSurvivorsash and crown ready after all!
It was time to unlearn all that we had learned!
It was time for Romeo to drop the hammer!
Annnnnnnnnnd then he revealed it was just a fake and threw it into the fire.
from Maryanne: “I sit in the sorrow and sadness.
It’s okay to feel sad.
But the thing is, sadness doesn’t take you anywhere.
It’s what you do with that.
What am I going to do with my sadness?
I mean, shedidn’t… but it was still a nice speech.
BUT YOU DON’T SEE ME DROPPING THAT!
Mike and Maryanne dropping out so early left us with a clash of the titans between Jonathan and… All kidding aside, it was nice for Romeo to have this moment.
I’m glad he got to have that.
As for Jonathan, it shows why fears of him going on an insane challenge-winning run were so overblown.
Fire Represents Life
You all know how I feel about the fire-making at final 4.
Suffice it to say, not a fan.
The intrigue here was whether Romeo would put Maryanne or Jonathan against Mike.
At least so we believed.
Jonathan was a bit of a curious case this season.
At times, he seemed to be pretty attuned to which way the wind was blowing at camp.
But we also heard women on the tribe voice that he could be disrespectful at other times.
It’s hard to imagine Jonathan having gotten many (or any) votes at final Tribal.
Jonathan made the season a better one.
“), which is fine.
Been there, yawned through that.
I am a feminist.
I want to give a woman some money.
And they also got me totally hyped and fired up for final Tribal.
And 2) To not descend into personal ugliness.
But no home runs either.
It was all the opening Maryanne needed.
Another note to futureSurvivorplayers: When the jury answers “Touche,” you just wonSurvivor.
Alas, because this isSurvivor, we didn’t end on strategy.
We had to end on “personal evolution.”
Speaking of which, did you know Stephen Fishbach got shut out by aSurvivorjury?
It’s one of my favoriteSurvivorfacts!
And one which Maryanne didn’t even know since she refused to finish his season.
Which only makes me love her more.
Nor was it Jeff Probst’s self-described mullet.
It speaks to the difficultyhehad illustrating his gameplay, and the hammershedropped with that hidden immunity idol.
I’m sure Mike doesn’t love it, but it’s still cool.
And now it mayseemlike were done, but we’re not evencloseto being done.
I guess once you finish all that nonsense, that will be it for us until the fall.
As always, I want to thank you for taking this journey with me.
I only wish I had more scoops of the crispy to give.
See you in September!
