Survivor Blood vs. Water-Episode 14 & Reunion Recap featuring Terry Deitz!
Survivor Blood vs. Water wraps up this week with the final episode of the season! Of course with everything that happened you might be a little overawed, so we’re to to recap the action for you! Joining us, we have our resident recap expert Jarryd and Ben and the Ozlets chime in with their thoughts as well! Oh, and we’ll even speak to a real expert in our good friend Terry Deitz from Survivor: Panama!
(If you haven’t watched this weeks episode and reunion yet, clicking the link below will spoil the hell out of it, so if you don’t want to be spoiled then don’t click the link!)
In the season finale of Blood vs. Water, we have a nail biting final Redemption Island Duel, two massive Immunity Challenges, two regular Tribal Councils and a massive Final Tribal Council before the Sole Survivor is announced and the season is wrapped up at the Reunion show!
Kasama return to camp after sending Hayden to Redemption Island. Ciera apologises to Monica for using her kids as leverage at Tribal Council with Monica dismissing her, telling her “it’s just a game”. Ciera confesses that things didn’t go to plan at Tribal Council with Hayden leaving but the upside is that whoever returns from Redemption Island the following day will work with her. Ciera says she hopes her mum comes back but regardless of who does, they will work together which gives her options.
Tyson reveals that his best shot at winning is going to the end with Gervase and Monica, saying that he has to keep Monica onside because Ciera and whoever returns from Redemption Island will want to try and get Monica to flip again. With this in mind, Tyson tells Monica that he won’t need to play the Idol and if he keeps it, it will just sit at home in a box before he throws it away so he tells her she can either play it or give it to her kids. Monica can’t accept the gift but Tyson is keen to give it away, so Tyson agrees to send it to her after the game as a Christmas gift. Before the first break, Monica confesses that she very well might be the guys lap dog but she doesn’t want to be manipulated so she declares she will keep her options open about who to side with, (either Gervase and Tyson or Ciera and whoever returns from Redemption Island), so that she can have “two chances to get to the Final Three”.
Tyson shares the Hidden Immunity Idol with Monica. (Image Credit: CBS)
Hayden arrives at Redemption Island, confessing that this is the first time he’s ever been voted out of a game like this and that is “sucks”. Hayden fills in Laura and Tina about what has been happening at camp, in the challenges and at Tribal, telling them that he would rather vote for Jeff instead of Gervase, Monica or Tyson. The three discuss getting back in the game, promising each other if they do, they will have to find the Idol in order to survive and make the Final Three.
On the morning of Day Thirty-six, Tree Mail arrives at Redemption Island, informing the trio that they will compete in the final Duel, the one which will see one of them return to the game, later on that day. Tina admits that it is a big day and there is a lot on the line so she won’t leave anything in the tank, whilst Laura says she’s ready for the Duel and hopes that she can be “the cavalry” that Ciera needs to help her progress in the game.
Hayden, Laura and Tina learn that one of them will re-enter the game. (Image Credit: CBS)
We arrive at Redemption Island Arena. Kasama file in and the three inhabitants arrive. There’s no mucking around this week, as Jeff gets straight into explaining the Duel. The Duel is the same as the final Duel in Redemption Island. The castaways will have to place one foot on the end of a balance board, on the other end of the board is a vase. The aim of the challenge is to keep the vase balanced on the board, meaning that if your vase drops, you’re out of the challenge. The last person left with their vase intact, wins the challenge, returns to the game and can give away the final clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, whilst the two losers will become the fifth and sixth Jury members.
We get set up. Jeff instructs everyone to place a foot on the end of their balance board, releasing the brace currently holding up the board. All three take their places and Jeff declares the Duel is underway. As Jeff describes how important the Duel is, Laura gets off to a shaky start, then recovers. We jump ahead to the fifteen minute mark, where both Hayden and Tina are holding solid and Laura makes a truly marvelous save, as she manages to keep her vase on her balance board whilst hopping around trying to regain her balance. Hayden then whips sweat off his face, loses focus and out of nowhere, drops his vase and is out of the challenge. Laura immediately asks Tina to let her have it, with Tina telling her “no way sister, this is a million dollar challenge”.
Tina, Laura and Hayden compete in the Day Thirty-six Redemption Island Duel. (Image Credit: CBS)
Another time lapse see’s us re-join the challenge at the thirty minute mark. Tina’s leg has begun to shake as she struggles to keep her vase steady, pulling off a fantastic save. As both women’s vase shake, Laura’s drops, smashing on the rocks below, giving Tina her first Duel victory and a ticket to reenter the game! Tina lets her vase drop as she celebrates her victory, and then gives both Hayden and Laura hugs.
Tina celebrates after winning the Duel. (Image Credit: CBS)
After the challenge, Hayden says that after being on the show, he now appreciates what he has at home a lot more. He burns his Buff and as he leaves, says he can’t wait to get home and tell everyone how much he loves them. Jeff asks Laura whether she is successful or a failure this season. Laura says that she feels she failed because she didn’t “finish strong”, saying that was a lesson she always taught her kids. Jeff says that the lesson of winning isn’t always important but is a good lesson to learn. Laura turns him down, saying it doesn’t matter that she won all the previous challenges now because she lost the important one. Ciera sobs as she tells her mum that she is extremely proud of her and that she “taught me “how to be a better friend, women and mother”. Laura says that after hearing that, she doesn’t feel like she failed. She leaves, dropping her Buff in the pit.
Hayden is eliminated from the game. (Image Credit: CBS)
Laura is eliminated from the game. (Image Credit: CBS)
Jeff then congratulates Tina for winning her way back into the game. Jeff then asks who she wants to give the clue to, telling her that now she is back in the game, she can keep it herself… which she decides to do. With that, Tina, her clue and Ciera, Gervase, Monica and Tyson return to camp.
Tina keeps the Hidden Immunity Idol clue for herself. (Image Credit: CBS)
Once back at camp, Ciera confesses that her heart broke when her mum was eliminated from the game. Tina confesses that she is “so happy” she is back in the game and wastes no time trying to break the three person, majority alliance by heading off with Ciera to look for the Idol. The pair read the clue and begin looking, as Tina confesses that if she can’t find the Idol, her plan is to approach Monica and see if she wants to make an “all women, all mums” alliance. Ciera confesses that Tina is a freak and has no fear for a “fifty-seven year old”, claiming that she made her feel like the older person. With the search for the Idol proving fruitless, Ciera tells Tina that there is a chance Tyson has the Idol. Ciera then gives another confessional, admitting that Tina was the “last person she wanted back in the game” but she can’t change that so she know has to work on switching Monica.
Tina and Ciera search for the Idol. (Image Credit: CBS)
Ciera and Tina pull Monica aside and begin ‘working her’. Tina tells Monica that she has the opportunity to flip and go to the end with the girls. Monica asks for more information with Tina telling her that the Jury are going to be “ugly” because everyone on the Jury is “pissed at you” because “you’re not loyal”. Ciera is having a fit, as she reveals that Tina is very confrontational and that the goal is to get Monica on their side, not turn her against them. She states that in order to do this, Tina needs to stop talking and let her handle Monica. Ciera continues, claiming that to appeal to Monica, you have to appeal to her ego, so in order to get her to side with them, she has to make Monica feel that she is “making the decision” herself, instead of siding with the “desperate people”. Ciera tells Monica that she was good in challenges and played a good social game but in order to win, she needs to make a “big move”. (I’ll give a prize to the first person to tell me how many time’s we’ve heard that phrase this season). Ciera says that if Monica sides with them, makes an important move, she will get Jury votes and there is no reason why she can’t win.
Monica listens to Tina’s plan to switch up the game. (Image Credit: CBS)
Monica confesses that the last hour, all she has heard is Ciera and Tina trying to convince her to go with them to take out the guys. Monica says that she is yet to decide what she wants to do and that whatever happens, it’s a brutal decision.
Day Thirty-seven arrives, bringing with it the Final Five Immunity Challenge. The challenge see’s everyone have a unlevel table attached to a rope. They will have to pull on the rope to level out the table. Once they have done this, they will have to walk backwards, (whilst still holding the rope to steady the table), and collect domino like blocks. The aim of the challenge is to stack the ten blocks in a line on the table. If a block drops, they have to go back to their table and restack their blocks for them to continue; which may mean putting a block back, before returning to their table… thus costing them time. The first person to hold their ten blocks stacked on the table for three seconds, wins the challenge.
Before the challenge begins, Jeff tells the five castaways to pull their rope back and steady their table, then place their first block on it. Once everyone has done this, he declares the challenge on. Almost immediately, Gervase and Tyson both drop their blocks as everyone works out how to manage the rope. All three women return with their second blocks, holding a one block lead over the men. The challenge skips ahead and we see Monica, Tina, Ciera and then Tyson putting their fourth blocks on their table. Monica however loses her stack, giving Tina the lead, but it lasts only a second as Tina’s blocks drop to, proving just how sensitive the rope and tables are.
The Final Five prior to the Day Thirty-seven Immunity Challenge. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tina struggles to get her table steady, stacking her blocks several times and then dropping them again quickly. Ciera and Monica return with their fifth block, whilst Tyson is ahead with his sixth block. Tyson returns with his seventh block, followed by Monica whilst Ciera drops her sixth blocks, costing her a heap of time. Tyson quickly collects and stacks his eighth block, giving him a one block lead once again. Tina, who is trying to get back into the challenge, drops her blocks once again, putting her back to last place.
The Final Five in the Day Thirty-Seven Immunity Challenge. (Image Credit: CBS)
Gervase and Monica return with their eighth blocks as Tyson makes his way back with his ninth block. Ciera, who has caught up again, tries to pick up the pace to close the gap on Tyson but doing so causes her to drop her blocks once again. As Tyson goes for his last block, all Gervase and Monica can do is hope that Tyson drops his blocks. Unfortunately for them, it’s not the case as Monica drops her blocks and seconds later Gervase drops his blocks, giving Tyson a huge lead in the challenge. Both Monica and Tina drop their blocks again as they go for broke in the challenge but it’s all for nothing as Tyson places block number ten on his table, is stands steady for three seconds and he is declared the winner.
Jeff calls Tyson over the collect the Immunity Necklace, with Tyson getting down on his knees, as though being knighted. He confesses on the way back to camp that even though he won, now is not the time to celebrate because he now has to focus on how the next vote will go.
Sir Tyson wins Immunity. (Image Credit: CBS)
Once back at camp, Tyson gets another confessional as he explains his desire to give his Idol to Rachel as a souvenir, (weren’t you giving it to Monica?). He states that he will “relax a little” during the afternoon, but his main focus will be on deciding who to vote out. The majority trio head off along the beach to discuss their plan. Tyson tells them he will leave it up to them to decide who is going home. Gervase states he wants Ciera to go because he believes he can beat Tina and that Ciera has a better story and made bigger moves. Monica is the opposite, wanting Tina out of the equation because she has lots of friends on the Jury.
Tyson, Monica and Gervase decide who to vote out. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tyson leaves and lets Gervase and Monica work out the vote. Both don’t want to stand down from their initial thoughts as they both press why they want someone out. Gervase begins to grow frustrated, trying to force a decision out of Monica who claims that she wants Tina gone because she has been “bullied” by her. Gervase tells her this is a vote based on emotion and not strategy and reveals in a confessional that he’s “had enough of Monica’s crap”. As Gervase does his best to explain why Ciera is more threatening, Monica confesses that she has been “bullied the entire game and is tired of it”. Monica’s confessional continues playing as their arguments goes on, as she says that it is “my time” to make a move and that Gervase should be nice to the members of his alliance because “he might need them” in the end.
Monica and Gervase has a difference of opinion. (Image Credit: CBS)
Later on, Ciera and Tina are weighing up their options. Monica joins the conversation, telling them that the boys believe she is with them one hundred percent and that Tyson has the Idol but most likely won’t play it because he wouldn’t know who to play it for. Ciera and Tina question Monica about making a big move and voting out Gervase. Tina states that it would win Monica a lot of respect and end the season with a “big bang”. As Monica questions whether she wants to vote out Gervase, Ciera reveals that she wants Tina to shut her mouth and to let her handle the negations with Monica. As the tribe heads off to Tribal, Monica explains her options ahead of the vote, claiming that it is “my Tribal Council, my strategic move, my call” and that she will do “what’s best for me”.
The women discuss the vote. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tribal Council gets underway with Tina confirming that after returning to the game, her only choice was to work with Ciera. Jeff states that their is a clear two-two split and questions Monica about which side she sits on. Monica reveals she “in the middle” and that the last twenty-four hours have made her feel like a “first round draft pick” because both sides want her. She discusses how the girls came to her in an attempt to convince her to make a big move and “take out the villains”. Jeff asks Gervase if he was a villain, with Gervase replying that he isn’t because he hasn’t done anything villainous. Ciera remarks that as soon as she teamed up with the boys, they started talking trash about Monica, labeling her as an “easy vote” and someone who could be easily “manipulated”. Tyson denies this, saying that anytime he said he’s “got Monica”, he meant that she was on his side and trustworthy and denies ever calling her his “lap dog”.
Monica informs the tribe that the last twenty-four hours has been very difficult for her because the game is starting to bring her down. She reveals that she has “died inside” after hearing all the negative comments about her. She continues, claiming that tonight is “my strategic move” and it’s “time for me, not for the team”. Just before we vote, Gervase reveals these are scary words and his heart just “dropped out of his chest”.
Everyone votes, Jeff collects them and he inquires about the Idol. At the last second, Tyson hands Gervase his Idol, which plays it for himself.
Gervase plays the Hidden Immunity Idol. (Image Credit: CBS)
The votes are read and are locked at two-two between Ciera and Gervase. With only Monica’s vote left, Monica strategic move is revealed, with a third vote for Ciera being shown and she eliminated from the game. So Monica sticks with her boys and Ciera’s torch is snuffed as she explains on her way out that the experience has given her new confidence and she was able to beat her mum.
Ciera… the tribe has spoken. (Image Credit: CBS)
Following Tribal Council, Tina reveals how shocked she was at the result of the vote. She says that her plan once again is to win the next challenge. Monica admits that despite the vote playing out as per plan at Tribal Council, she got blindsided by Tyson and Gervase playing the Idol and not telling her about it, which leads to to question if they really do trust her one hundred percent.
Day Thirty-eight arrives. Tina can’t believe she’s still in the game, whilst Tyson and Gervase discuss how important the challenge is, given that they can no longer protected by Idols.
Challenge time! Wait what? No Rites of Passage? Nope! No televised Rites of Passage this season, (just like previous seasons that featured Redemption Island; those being Redemption Island and South pacific), which I found extremely disappointing, hopefully CBS release it as a behind the scenes video!
Anyway, I’ll look past this because he got a killer final challenge. For the challenge, the Final Four will have to race through an obstacle course consisting of a climbing frame, a rope pull, a rope bridge, a net walk, a crawl-through and stepping-stone planks in order to collect six bags. The castaways can collect two bags at a time, then have to run up a flight of stairs to the top of a tower, drop off their bags, then slide down a waterslide and collect another two bags. Once all six bags are collected, they will use the pieces inside to solve a word puzzle. The puzzle itself provides information needed to solve a combination lock. Once the lock is unlocked, a lever can be release and a flag with raise, signaling victory in the challenge.
The challenge starts and the two men head to one side of the course, with the two women heading to the other side. Monica is first to collect two bags and heads for the tower, followed by Gervase. Gervase catches Monica on the stairs and warns her that he is going to pass her on her left-hand side. Monica is having none of it, throwing out an arm to keep Gervase behind her. As the pair deposit their bags at their stations and head down the waterslide, Tyson heads up the stairs with his two bags and Tina collect her second bag.
The Final Four compete in the Final Immunity Challenge. (Image Credit: CBS)
Gervase, Monica and Tyson all collect bag number three, followed quickly by bag number four, as they maintain a one bag lead over Tina. Monica is first up the tower again, followed by Tyson and then Gervase. As Tyson and Monica collect their fifth bag, Tina gets her fourth and is really slowing down as her age begins to catch up with her. Gervase gets his fifth and sixth bags in quick succession, with Tyson and Monica also claiming their last bags as all three head for the tower.
Tyson is first to begin work on his puzzle, with Gervase and Monica hot on his heels. As the tri work on their puzzles, Tina collects her fifth and sixth puzzle pieces bag and heads back up the tower. All three have made made good progress on their puzzles and Tina proves her worth, as she puts in a good effort to catch up.
The Final Four work on solving the puzzle. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tyson is the first to complete his puzzle and begins reading the clues to work out the combination to the lock. He puts the first lot of numbers into the lock then heads out onto the course to gather more information to solve the combination as the other three continue to sole their puzzles. Tyson runs back up the stairs and inputs the information into the combination lock then tries the latch. He is correct and his flag raises as he wins back to back Immunity Challenges and finally shows some emotion, screaming out in delight.
Tyson raises his flag. (Image Credit: CBS)
Jeff presents him with the Immunity Necklace again and everyone heads back to camp, ahead of the final regular Tribal Council of the season. Tina confesses that her only option now is to convince Monica is to make a big move and lock the votes at two-two which would see her take on Gervase in a fire making challenge.
Tyson wins Immunity and guarantees himself at place at the Final Tribal Council. (Image Credit: CBS)
After the challenge, Tyson admits that this is one of the “best days of my life”, then adds that he hopes tomorrow can top it. Gervase and Monica laugh about the ‘boxing out incident’ in the challenge, with Gervase unable to believe that it happened. Tyson and Gervase discuss how far they have come together whilst Gervase says the vote is a simple three-one vote and that it’s now “every man and women for themselves” on the road to convince the Jury that they were the best player of the season. Gervase talks to Tina bout how he has played the game, as he tries to convince her that he wasn’t villainous. Monica admits that he is playing hard to secure her Jury votes so decides to get in on the action herself. Monica pulls Tina aside and expresses to her that she was furious that the boys played the Idol without filling her in. Tina replies by telling Monica her only play now is for both of them to vote for Gervase, locking the votes at two-two, where a fire making challenge will be held, which Tina states she can beat him in. Whilst the girls discuss this, Gervase and Tyson joke about whether Monica will get any Jury votes.
Tina, Gervase and Monica talk on Day Thirty-eight. (Image Credit: CBS)
Back to the girls, where Tina tells Monica to make the move that is best for her game. She confesses that if Monica was to vote with her, that she would beat Gervase in a fire making challenge and find herself sitting at the Final tribal Council again. Monica questions Tina about whether Gervase can win. She claims she can, saying that he’s played a better social game and the Jury seem to like him better than Tyson. Once again as we head off to Tribal, Monica is in a predicament. She explains that making a big move and voting against Gervase could win her some Jury votes and would give Gervase a smack on the face, however, she also questions what would happen if she went with Tina and Tina won the challenge; asking herself, “Do I want to sit next to Tina?”
Tina and Monica discuss whether to lock the vote at two-two. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tina begins Tribal by telling Jeff that she felt pressure to win the challenge and therefore her own plan now is “plan B”… which Jeff correctly assume is “work Monica”. Jeff asks Monica if her alliance with the boys is over after she checked Gervase in the challenge. She replies, saying that she checked Gervase because he talked smack and she wanted to “hit back”. Gervase admits he was surprised Monica checked him as the latter goes onto say that “all beats are off” and that despite not having the Immunity Necklace, she was the person in high demand following the challenge. Tina explains that at this point of the game, it’s all about trying to get to the end with people you can beat. Gervase rounds us out by revealing that there is still enough time in the game to make a big move and sway the Jury so anything could happen.
Time to vote! Jeff grabs the votes and for the final time this season, goes through his pre-vote read ritual. Tina gets the first two votes, then Gervase gets one. With the votes at two-one, the final vote is revealed and for the third time in as many days, Monica as decided to stick by Gervase and Tyson, thus Tina is the final person voted out and the eighth and final Jury member. As Tina has her torch snuffed and leaves her parting words play as she states that she was “one Tribal Council away from tying Sandra’s record of two wins”.
Tina… the tribe has spoken. (Image Credit: CBS)
The morning of Day Thirty-nine see’s Gervase, Monica and Tyson enjoy the customary Day Thirty-nine feast. Tyson admits he’s been dreaming of this day since Day One. He continues, revealing that there were countless times he thought it wasn’t going to happen, but now it has, his sole focus is on winning a million dollars. Monica confesses that she’s proud she made the Final Three all by herself, without Brad’s help and “become Monica again”. She states that if things go well, she’ll be the millionaire at the end of the first Blood vs. Water season. Gervase states that a lot of blood, sweat and tears went into getting him to the end. He says he has gone full circle in the game, being an “original” and coming back thirteen years later to a completely different game and making it to the finals. He explains that it wasn’t luck, it happened because he “knows how to play”, (Richard Hatch is pissing himself at this), and that he has a good shot at winning.
The Final Three toast their victory. (Image Credit: CBS)
The Final Three, the Jury and Jeff arrive for the Final Tribal Council. Gervase starts off proceedings with his opening statement. He states that he thinks he played a great game, comprising both old school and new school elements. Gervase explains to the Jury that he was part of the blindsides and that had it not been for him, Aras wouldn’t have been taken out of the game. He finishes off by stating that he “played the game how it should be played” and that he “deserves” to win.
Monica starts her speech by assuring the Jury that whatever their perception of her is, she wasn’t dragged along like a puppy dog in the game. She remarks that she had three chances to turn on Gervase and Tyson but didn’t because she wanted to sit next to them at the end so their was less blood on her hands and she broke fewer promises, unlike Tyson. She then admits her strategic game gave her the best chance to win.
Tyson expresses that he was told very early on he was a target and decided to have as much fun as possible and have no regrets in the game. This however changed when Rachel left and he promised himself that in order to make her sacrifice worth-wild, he had to get to the end. He becomes teary as he states that Rachel left “because of me” and therefore he did what he had to, including making moves, finding Idols and winning challenges, in order to get to the end. He finishes up by confessing to the Jury that the moves he made were based on strategic means and not malicious and that he’s in the position he is in because of Rachel.
The Final Three. (Image Credit: CBS)
Time for the Jury to have their say. Vytas is up first. Vytas tells Tyson that he understands his game and that Tyson “got us before we got you”. He then states that his last play in the game was telling him he wouldn’t vote for him and that he’s “going to stick to that”. Vytas then turns to Gervase, saying him playing old school is an inability to adapt and doesn’t work. He claims that Gervase hooked up with a new school player that “carried him through”. Monica then gets a blast of Vytas’ thoughts as he questions whether the friendship they formed was genuine and that he felt betrayed when she turn on him. Vytas wraps up by telling the Final Three his vote is there is be won based on their Final Tribal Council performance.
Katie is next. She asks Tyson about his comments to her after she was voted out, claiming that he can’t say he didn’t do anything malicious in the game because he did in that incident. Tyson apologises to Katie, telling her that was his “only regret” in the game, that his mouth took over in the heat of the moment and he hopes she can look past this.
Caleb questions Gervase about his biggest move in the game. Gervase admits it was voting our Aras, stating that the moves came from him but he was never a target because the heat was never on him, it was on Tyson. Caleb tells Monica that she has a “perfect persona” and asks her to reveal something vulnerable about herself. Monica explains that her whole life has been overshadowed by Brad’s football career so this moment is hers. She says that she is proud of herself and admits to feeling lonely in the game ever since Brad left. She wraps up the questions as she begins to cry, claiming that she wanted to get to the end in order to win so she could have a “badge of honour” that wasn’t just being about a wife or a mother.
Ciera asks Tyson whether he see’s himself as a hero or a villain. (Um… Ciera, season twenty? Villains tribe? No?). Tyson claims that he isn’t a villain because all the moves he made in the game were strategic based. He says that he is definitely not a villain and therefore, if he isn’t a villain, he must be a hero. Ciera asks Gervase whether he ever considered voting out Tyson. Gervase remarks that he did but given the circumstances of the game, the time was never right to make a move against him because if he did, he would have been sent home next. He continues, saying that he was happy to sit next to Tyson at the end and lose because that is the decision he made; however, he also claims that he can beat Tyson.
Laura takes centre stage next, explaining to Monica she doesn’t know who she is and a revealing a vulnerability about yourself is admitting a fault. Monica says that her ugliness as being portrayed all through the game and that it has made her feel out of place because nobody seems to have taken an interest in her, instead, they have just bought up all the negatives. She claims this devastated her but she has grown from it and fought through it. She cries again as she pleads with Laura about what more she can say to prove to her that she did everything in the game that both Gervase and Tyson did.
The final Jury – (from left) – Aras, Vytas, Caleb, Katie, Hayden, Laura, Ciera and Tina. (Image Credit: CBS)
Tina asks the Final Three to describe the core of who they are. Monica answers generous, Gervase honourable and Tyson fun-loving.
Hayden is next up and asks Tyson where the Idol was and whether or not he had it the night they drew rocks. Tyson said he did and that the Idol was in the birds nest in the tree Hayden searched for it in, telling him that he was “one step ahead of you”. Hayden then questions Monica, claiming that he loves her but the Jury’s perception of her is that she’s “a bit fake”. Monica gets upset again, crying, as she claims the Jury must never have met any nice, selfless people. She states that she has passed the test and opened up but everyone just wants to keep punching her. Hayden denies this is what he is trying to do, saying he just felt he didn’t get to know her. Monica tells him that if that’s the case, they’ll go for dinner and coffee after the game.
Aras, the first Jury member this season, has the final say. He asks each person who he should vote for other than themselves. Gervase goes first, saying that he should vote for Tyson because of the many different elements of his game. He explains how Tyson had people digging all over the beach for an Idol he had and that you can’t “knock anything about his game”. Monica agrees with Gervase, saying that he should vote for Tyson because he was a “charging horse” for thirty-nine days. Tyson surprises a few people by saying that he would vote for Monica because they had a good alliance early on and after the Tribe Switch she kept her distance which people assumed meant she was on the bottom. Tyson expresses that this allowed her to gather information that they weren’t able to and doing that was “her big move”.
That’s the end of question time. Jeff praises everyone for a really good Final Tribal Council, then gives the Jury a minute to decide who they want to vote for. Only two votes are shown, Caleb’s vote for Tyson is shown and Vytas’ vote for Monica. Jeff collects the votes, thanks the cast for a great season, explains he won’t be reading the votes until they get back to America and leaves; with Tyson comically saying “bye Jeff” as he goes.
Flash forward and Jeff is walking onto a recreation of the Tribal Council set at CBS Television City in Los Angeles. An enthusiast crowd greets him and he quiets them down in order to read the votes.
Monica receives the first vote, the Tyson gets a vote. Tyson receives a further two votes as he begins to cry. Another vote for Tyson is revealed before Jeff reveals another vote and announces that Tyson is the winner of Survivor: Blood vs. Water! He hugs both Gervase and Monica, before Rachel comes on stage and then the pair go off to celebrate his family as Jeff teases us all of everything that is going to happen in the Reunion. The final count was seven votes to one, with Tyson easily sweeping past the competition to finish ahead of Runner Up Monica and Second Runner Up, Gervase, on his quest to being the Sole Survivor!
An emotional Tyson hugs girlfriend and fellow contestant Rachel after being crowed the Sole Survivor. (Image Credit: CBS)
After last season’s debacle, everyone is on stage for this Reunion, sitting in their loved one pairs in the order they got booted. First off, a clip of how Tyson won the game plays. Jeff congratulates him on his victory and asks him how this time was different to his previous outings. Tyson explains that the seasons theme allowed him to experience the game with Rachel and when she sacrificed herself for him, it made him realise he wanted to get to the end or it wouldn’t be worth it. He continues saying that he kept his focus a lot more this season and didn’t have “brain farts”. He claims that he didn’t relax as much this season, saying he only slept several hours per night, (which everyone agrees with), because you always have things running through your head.
Rachel says that she made the decision not to switch and was comfortable with it at the time because she knew Tyson had it in him to win. Tyson then explains how not only the physical demands of the game take a toll on you but also the emotional and mental demands. He says you are always strategizing and you can’t let your head drop out of the game. Before moving on, Jeff tells Tyson that he likes this new version of him.
Next, we see a montage of Monica’s time in the game and how strong she was in challenges. Jeff expresses that her and Brad were a polarising couple and that Monica earned more and more respect as the season went on. Monica says it took her until she watched the show back to understand what Survivor was all about. She states that working hard in the game was her way of saying thank you to Brad and her kids for for the life they have created. Monica says her kids were “proud but not surprised” about the outcome and that all kids view their mums as “rock stars” even if they don’t go on Survivor. Monica admits she dealt with negativity in the game since Day Three and it finally ended on Day Thirty-nine. Brad then states that was good to see Monica be able to deal with the negatively and push through it and that their kids already knew she was a “bad ass”. As Jeff tries to move on, Monica talks over him to thank Vytas for his vote with Jeff commented that this is exactly what happened during Tribal Council.
Jeff questions why Gervase didn’t show more leadership. Gervase explains you can never have two leaders and Aras and Tyson filled those positions. He explains that it was never an issue because the minority was always targeting Tyson instead of him, and had they been successful, it would have given him a further three days to plan. He continues, confirming that what he said about getting rid of Tyson was true but it was never the right time because if he pulled the pin he would have backed himself into a corner.
Both Ciera and Laura M. get a big, positive reaction from the audience as Jeff reveals he was surprised by what Ciera achieved in the game. Ciera reveals that she did make the decision to draw rocks at Tribal Council and it wasn’t preplanned it was just her realising that she was “playing to win, not playing to finish fourth”; which Jeff loves. Hayden chimes in saying that he went into Tribal with his back against the wall with his only way of surviving was to draw rocks. Hayden says that as soon as he told Ciera that she could be number three, instead of number four, things just fell into place.
We cross back to Ciera and Laura to find out how their relationship developed on the show and changed since the show. The pair state the role reversal was the only change and playing the game together hasn’t bought them closer because they were already close; instead, it has just bought a new element and more respect to their relationship.
Jeff Probst and the cast of Survivor: Blood vs. Water on stage during the Live Reunion Show. (Image Credit: CBS)
Colton tries to be funny when Probst questions him, saying that he quit because he wasn’t with Caleb. After pressure from Jeff, he admits that because of Survivor, he discovered that in his life, he’s always relied on people to look after him and he now has to learn how do that himself. Caleb confirms that the twist in the game made Colton panic and that if you threw anyone out of their comfort zone, it would happen a lot.
Rupert says that he didn’t regret taking Laura’s place on Redemption Island because it gave her a chance to experience the game. He then reiterates that he loves the game but loves him wife more. Laura B. says she was proud of what she achieved in the game, was grateful Rupert gave up his place in the game for her and that she now as a better perspective of the game.
Jeff catches up with Cochran, claims he won Survivor: Philippines and asks what he’s doing in his life now – In other words, it’s a chance for CBS to plug The Millers and a complete waste of time.
Next up, we check in whether Aras and Vytas have repaired their relationship. Aras says that they finally experienced something positive together so it has helped there relationship but he still has more Twitter followers. Vytas claims that they now have a healthy rivalry and that they can now put their relationship in perspective. Vytas and Hayden then both say they would definitely play again, with Hayden remarking that Survivor was physically tougher than Big Brother and for people to follow himself and Kat on Twitter. (Looks like Cochran did start a new craze last Reunion).
Kat confirms that her and Hayden are still a couple and that she is now a bit “top heavy” – if you can’t work that out, Kat isn’t pregnant, she just told the world she had a boob job. Oh Kat…
Candice and John receive a big cheer from the crowd, (take that Waterworth!), with the pair saying that with the loved one twist, it was difficult to think logically this season and lots of emotions came into play when someone verbally attacked your loved one.
Katie and Tina are last to speak. Like the Morett girls, they say the game hasn’t changed their relationship. Jeff than pays tribute and asks about Tina son, Taylor Lee Collins, who was tragically killed in a car accident mere weeks ago. Tina pleads with fellow mothers to make sure their kids buckle up and explains that they attended the Reunion because these people are like their extended family. Katie says that there is always light at the end of the tunnel, thanks everyone for their support and asks that anyone who wants to help them, to donate to the Philippines disaster fund.
After the last break, Jeff presents Tyson with his million dollar check and we get a preview for next season, Survivor: Cagayan – Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty.
Tyson hugs Jeff after he presents him with his million dollar cheque. (Image Credit: CBS)
For those who are interested, next season will feature eighteen NEW players divided into three tribes of brains, brawn and beauty. Redemption Island WON’T be in play and Jeff has already spoken out saying that’s it’s another good season.
Survivor: Cagayan – Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty premieres this February.
This season’s Reunion was definitely a big improvement on last season – we only missed hearing from one castaway; Marissa. However, it was also disappointing that they didn’t play a tribute to the late B.B. Anderson.
That’s it kids! Season twenty-seven is in the books! I hope you had a blast and enjoyed it as much as I did!
Survivor Oz Sweep
This season, the team at Survivor Oz put together a Survivor Sweep! Each week, we’ll update you as to who is still in the running to win!
Congratulations to Ozlet Jimmy who won our sweep thanks to Tyson being named the Sole Survivor. Finishing in second and third place and also claiming some cash were Ozlet’s Alex Morella, (with Monica), and ex-Ozlet Cable, (with Gervase). Congratulations boys!
Inappropriate Probst!
GERV WARS!
Tweet Tweet!
Below you’ll find the Twitter Handles of this seasons Castaways!
Each week few publish some of their tweets and you can get involved with us during the episode! Simple tweet us your thoughts or use the hash tag below and your tweet can feature in our recap!
Ben’s Opinion
An amazing finale to end an amazing season!
There was so much to like about the final episode and I think it lived up to it’s hype and brought the season to a satisfying close. The RI battle was a shock, as I definitely don’t think many people believed Tina would win her way back into the game. Was a great performance by her and she deserved thoroughly to win her way back in. For Laura it was so close to another shot and I’m sure she will be practicing balancing vases for a long time after tonight. Props to her for a great run and she was a surprise packet all season. Hayden too gave it his all, but he was never in with a shot at coming back.
The first TC was tense, but it was a shame that Monica didn’t flip, or at least pretend to flip. Why not play up to the fact you’re going to flip whilst knowing Tyson was going to play the idol on Gerv and then you at least are covered by the idol for your ‘flip’ and then are still in the alliance of three for the end? It made for great TV all the same. Ciara was never going to win, but to finish as the highest place new player is definitely a great result for her. Tina coming fourth was another great performance, and it means amazingly that on every season that features an Australian Outback returning player, at least one of those returnees always makes it to the final 4. A pretty amazing stat if you ask me!
FTC was interesting but wasn’t anywhere as bitter as I expected to be, and the result really was a blow out. Vytas since admitted afterwards in a tweet that he knew Tyson was going to win so he gave his vote to Monica to ensure she got second place. Very disappointing indeed as I feel Monica deserved a few more votes. She started off so well at FTC but crumbled under the pressure, and I think had she kept her emotions in check then things might’ve gone a bit differently. Gervase was never going to get a vote, and he really needed to have kept his mouth shut a couple of weeks back to have any hope. Tyson though played a great game and deserved the win, although it was a season where a lot of people made mistakes along the way to definitely help Tyson through to a millionaire. I never thought I would utter the words ‘Tyson Apostol wins Survivor‘ but it just happened. Great job Tyson!
Looking ahead we have another season that I will have trouble pronouncing (thanks CBS) but looks to be a great twist. It appears to be all newbies as well which will be a welcome change, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out! The great thing about a December finale is that we barely have 2 months until the next season! Bring it on I say, and bring on another year of our favourite TV show!
Jarryd’s Opinion
What a fantastic season!
Twenty-seven seasons on and Survivor still finds a way to deliver. This show continues to dominate the reality television genre!
I’ll start first with this episode.
I couldn’t believe that Tina won the Duel! Laura must be absolutely shattered! Whilst I would have loved to see a Duel that we hadn’t seen before for the winner to re-enter the game, but you can’t have it all. I thought Hayden may have that challenge in the bag early on but to see Tina prevail was surprising. I haven’t been a fan of Tina this season so wasn’t thrilled with her returning, especially because ended up finishing in fourth place; which I don’t think she deserved. Laura and Hayden played a much better game than Tina this season and I think both deserved to come back ahead of Tina.
I thought the Final Five challenge was great! It was a new challenge, it was simple, proved difficult and was enjoyable to watch. I was rooting for Tyson as this season went on so was pretty happy at him claiming victory.
Monica once again made the right decision to stick with the boys. If she went with Ciera and Tina, or later in the episode, tied the votes, she wouldn’t have gotten a single Jury vote.
I thought getting rid of Ciera at five was a silly decision because I wouldn’t have risked Tina winning the Final Immunity Challenge and ending up sitting in front of the Jury because she would have won hands down. Ciera had proved she isn’t fantastic in challenges and nobody was willing to work with her so it would have been a safer option.
After a few lacklustre Final Immunity Challenges in recent seasons, this challenge was brilliant! It combined both physical and mental aspects to create a fantastic final challenge that was worthy of rewarding the winner with a place in the Final Tribal Council. Plus, I would have loved to compete in it myself!
Tina getting the boot was no surprise at all and I was happy with the Final Three.
I thought the Final Tribal Council was dull. Nothing explosive or interesting really happened on stood out. I felt Tyson gave a great performance, cool and calculated and he took the blame and credit for the moves he made in the game. Gervase’s performance was okay. I think he needed to take more credit for what he did and really stand up for his game and what he did. For me, Monica’s performance was poor. She didn’t justify anything she did, she didn’t demand the spotlight and impose herself on the Jury and she couldn’t hold herself together.
The Jury wasn’t that exciting, nobody made a memorable speech and I think everyone had basically decided who they were going to vote for prior to the commencement of Tribal. Vytas voting for Monica just so she could finish second was understandable, but in terms of the game, Tyson was robbed of a “perfect game”.
It was good to see everyone on stage once again at the Reunion. Despite talking to the girl in the crowd and Cochran’s little segment, I thought it was a solid Reunion. We heard from nineteen out of twenty people so you can’t complain about that. With the game so different now, I’d love to see an extended Reunion show so that more content could be covered, but I can’t see that happening.
One disappointing thing for me was the time wasted on Cochran and I think it would have been a nice touch to devote it to B.B.
The season as a whole was great. I went in not knowing what to expect of the twist, but it turned the game and bought a new aspect to it, which really worked well. Redemption Island was successful and I have no doubt about it that we will see another that uses the loved one twist down the road and if it’s anything like this season, I can’t wait to see it!
The cast this season hit it off! Whilst some of the returnees weren’t some of my favourites, the cast gelled really well and worked well together.
I think Survivor really proved that they are still top of the pack when it comes to reality television. It was not only a fun, entertaining season, it was also edited really well and I felt that I really connected with the cast.
I think we’ll definitely see a few of these players again if Survivor continues long enough. I think the likes of Ciera, Hayden and Vytas will be seen again. As for the returnees, I don’t think we’ll see any of them again in a normal season but Aras, Tina and Tyson would definitely be worthy to return should they have an all winners season or another full returning player season.
I think this season was fantastic and I cannot wait until season twenty-eight in February!
Congratulations Tyson!
Colin’s Opinion
I find myself very torn as Blood vs. Water comes to a close. On on hand, I was as surprised as everyone when the season turned out to not only be the disaster I predicted it would be, but actually turned out to be one of the more enjoyable seasons to watch in years. On the other hand, a season is made or broken on how it finishes, and this finale was not only predictable from start to finish, but so many story arcs that seemed to have been built for weeks just completely fizzled out. To start with, it’s not that I’m opposed to Tyson’s game, because he played a great game, as good as Boston Rob’s in Redemption Island, or Cochran in Caramoan. The problem here is obvious, and that’s that it’s just not fun to watch a player blow away newbies. When half of your competition is at least a season or two behind you, your competition is less than impressive. There was no way a satisfying winner would come out of this season if it came from a returnee. Two things were destined to diminish the impact of this finale, the overplayed and unfair concept of returning players against first-timers, and Redemption Island. For the third time in three tries, Redemption Island has cost a deserving, hard playing player in Ciera a chance at going further so that we could bring back someone who played a less than impressive game, and had virtually no shot at improving their game by re-entering.
Now I’ll move on to the positives. For the first time in who knows how long, the entire Final Three gave great Tribal Council performances. Sure, Monica started to lose it emotionally near the end, but in her case that was actually the best thing she could do, considering the perception the Jury had of her. I really wish the votes would have reflected the great games that Gervase and Monica played, because unfortunately a stacked vote will leave people with the impression that Tyson had an easy win. I think Gervase said it best in the Reunion when he said that he played the best game he could, and just ended up backed in a corner. Same goes for Monica. While some may criticize that she never made a big move, any big moves would have placed her in the finals with the people the Jury REALLY wanted to see at the end, likely resulting in no votes. While the finale as a whole felt like a letdown as a stand alone episode, the Final Tribal Council, particularly the attitude of the Jury, and the great performances from the Final Three, will have me remembering Blood vs. Water as a game on a positive note.
Lynda’s Opinion
What a finale! And to think this season would be lacklustre when the initial cast were announced… How wrong I was! Going into the final Redemption Island duel I was certain that 1. Hayden would be out first, not a great challenge for big dudes, and 2. Laura would win. I was actually surprised how calm and stable Tina was balancing the urn, Laura was probably putting way too much pressure on herself to get back into the game. No matter who won they were going to join Ciera’s side and I was honestly shocked Tina made it back into the game. I’m not so sure Laura would have been able to sway Monica either, but her and Ciera and would definitely have made more waves at camp. Fast forward to the final immunity challenge, which was pretty epic, I was actually hoping Gervase might win just to see whether he would get rid of Tyson. Alas that result didn’t occur. Side note: I was also intrigued by the way Tyson was jumping half way down the slide and the little boat you had to pull yourself across to the other side as part of the challenge. Tina being booted was not a surprise and the final 3 was predictable for a few episodes, not that I wasn’t happy with this outcome. This whole season Tyson has come across calm and collective and let Gervase be the one to blow up in people’s faces. His opening speech at tribal was definitive and the added emotional story to his game was a very smart move. Gervase I felt was the Sherri of this final tribal, he did not explain his position in his alliance well and sadly came across as a goat. Monica was pretty much a basket case due to the jury-bashing. Her game was fairly wishy-washy and I feel the only thing that kept her in the game that long was her ability to win immunity challenges, which was very impressive I admit, and her last minute decisions to stay with Tyson and Gervase. For a moment I thought she may have been able to sway the female vote with her heartfelt answers, especially when Laura dug it out of her. She just needed to stick up for herself a bit more and justify her game and I was a little shocked she didn’t receive another couple of votes. Overall Tyson deserved the million this time, and after his third attempt it was great to see him grow in the game and not make the same mistakes. And my fan favourite vote would’ve gone to Ciera; started out meek and looked to be voted out in the first few episodes, but she stepped it up, made bold moves and didn’t look back! I wouldn’t be surprised if she returns for a future season. Great finale and reunion, and to everyone’s disdain I actually enjoyed the Cochran skit. No tribute to B.B. which was disappointing though. And am I the only one who misses the Fallen Comrades section of the finale?! I love watching them burn their ex-tribe mate’s torches. Bring on BvBvB in February!
Survivor Re-capper: Terry Deitz
Each week we’ll bring you the viewpoint of a former Survivor contestant to hear what they think of the episode and their thoughts for the rest of the season!
Our fourteenth recap features Terry Deitz from Panama, as he discusses why this season lived up to expectations, just how close he was to coming back this season, everything related to Aras and whether or not he was happy to see his torch snuffed, why Monica disappointed him and why his favourite didn’t win, his thoughts on the idol play and how it differed to when he played as well as if he could’ve beaten Monica and Laura in challenges and why he is coming out to Australia next year. Terry concluded the season with some special answers:
BEST PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Tyson
WORST PLAYER OF THE SEASON: Monica
MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER: Ciera
MOST OVERRATED PLAYER: Gervase
PLAYER YOU MOST WANT TO SEE RETURN: Vytas
PLAYER WHO GOT THE MOST SCREWED: Laura M
’PURPLE KELLY’ OF THE SEASON: Monica
WHERE WOULD YOU RANK THE SEASON OVERALL: Top 10
FAN FAVOURITE: Ciera/Hayden
CONTESTANT MOST SIMILAR TO: Laura M/Hayden
Guess Who?
Thanks to everyone who send in their answers for our Guess Who competition this season! Our winner of the Guess who competition will be drawn live on our episode fourteen Oztopsy! Make sure you check out the Oztopsy post on our website to see if you were the lucky winner!
What a season we’ve had! From all the talk that occurred prior to the season commencing about how this wasn’t going to be “real Survivor”, it’s certainly delivered and made a lot of people eat their words. We’d like to once again thank every one of our re-cappers for joining us throughout Blood vs. Water as well as all the feedback and involvement from our listens/readers!
We look forward to bringing you another set of recap and recap interviews during season twenty-eight, Survivor: Cagayan!
In the mean time, stay tuned to survivoroz.com during the gap between seasons during which time we’ll be publishing our our exclusive Blood vs. Water Report Card later this week. We’ll also be bringing you another Survivor Oz Top 25 list as voted by you and getting you ready for the new season of Survivor: Cagayan which will premiere in February 2014.
![JarrydElliottFooter_thumb3_thumb35_t[1]](/Documents and Settings/Ross Elliott/Local Settings/Temp/WindowsLiveWriter-429641856/supfiles12612B7/JarrydElliottFooter_thumb3_thumb356.jpg "JarrydElliottFooter_thumb3_thumb35_t[1]")
Survivor Oz 
I am like the look of the logo for Cagayan
Had a lot of favorite people in this Survivor season 27 I had a lot of fun watching it every Wednesday evening I will always remember the new friends that I added on FaceBook from Survivor season 27 I will miss it not being on until February but it won’t be the same because now there are going to be new players on the show again I really like all of my favorite players back on the show again if they want to again that would be even better but what a great Survivor season 27 it was amazing and the best
The chat with Terry was great, he’s one of my faves, hope to see him back one day. One question to Jarryd I guess o whoever. Could you make two different posts – 1 about the quest and just the post for the link and the other for all the episode recap and that stuff? I personally think that it’s not good to have them both in one post. Anyway great job and what a season! One of the best cast I remember, though I was VERT sceptical when I first saw it. Only bad thing about it is that it’s over now..
hey Allas, thanks for the comment. We keep them all in the one post because essentially it’s the same thing, but a written one and then the audio one. Jarryd has a lot to write about and usually it’s done so people can read through it and then get to the thoughts of a contestant at the bottom. Thanks for the suggestion though!