Survivor 46 | Ep. 13 Finale
IT’S FINALE NIGHT, IT’S FINALE NIGHT, IT’S FINALE NIGHT!!!!!!!
Welcome back everyone and thank you for joining me for the Survivor 46 Finale!!! This has been an incredible season to blog about from Jelinsky’s “several” mistakes, to the Bhanu drama, to YANU getting off their losing streak, the invention of the Q-Skirt and the Q-Bombs at Tribal, to not 1, not 2, not 3, not 4, BUT 5!, count it 5 straight people voted out via blindside and with Hidden Immunity Idols in their pockets.
And after all of that, here we are, at the final 5 on finale night. Ben, Kenzie, Liz, Maria, and Charlie remain to duke it out for the $1,000,000 prize and the title of Sole Survivor. I hope you are ready for an awesome night and the best blog yet, so let’s start here…
PREDICTION TIME
Ok, so I have indirectly given up on preseason winner picking because it felt like a game of roulette and that isn’t my game, so with it being final five, I think it’s safe to give a winner prediction right before pressing play and starting the finale. Counting down from 5 to 1…
5. Ben - As AC/DC once rocked out saying “For those about to rock, we salute you!” and the same goes out to Ben. I love Ben because he is so unapologetically himself and he is a walking talking time capsule. I imagine that Ben was this way forever aka a total throwback to hair bands, love ballads, and a time when the likes of Ozzy Osbourne and Metallica truly rocked! Having said all that, I don’t think Ben’s game will see a curtain call nor any votes to win, but I do see him being a zero vote 3rd place finisher.
4. Kenzie - Only remaining YANU member and it has been quite a journey with that tribe. It feels right that she is the last one standing. We spent seemingly the entire first four episodes with YANU and Kenzie proved herself to be a player to be reckoned with, so much so, that if Bhanu wasn’t a complete Looney Tune, Kenzie may not have made it out of YANU nor been there to be the moral supporter all season long. Going to be tough for her to win but it could happen.
3. Liz - I guess this is my sleeper pick. Liz has had an extraordinarily unique Survivor journey. NAMI’s early success pre merge, now being the only remaining NAMI (and the rest, save Randen, are on the jury) could play into her favor. The compelling arguement for Liz’s journey is learning about herself, how not to sit back, her need to express herself, and the struggles of being away from her daugther and not being able to eat all season long. I think if Charlie and Maria get knocked off, you could see Liz emerge as a winner.
2. Maria -The first contender would have been the favorite heading into tonight if not for the misstep last week in trying to blindside Charlie and not hitting her target. Instead, she goes back to camp with egg on her face and her Q-Shield sitting on the jury. I think Maria has a lot of work to do tonight to get to the Final Tribal, but if she can get there, she will have a compelling story to share and will likely garner winner votes. 3 individual challenge wins, great social game, and several blindsides are always a dangerous resume to present.
1. Charlie - The favorite heading into tonight has to be Charlie. The Swifty teamed up with Maria and Ben throughout the game and has played the middle well. He’s been able to build relationships with non-SIGA members as well as anybody this season and now is his time to take down Maria. Part 1 was last week by breaking away and showing Q to the jury and now with his #1 ally fully exposed, it’s time to go for the kill. He didn’t make mistakes during the game like Maria did (think of the pizza reward) plus if Maria is on the jury, she’s voting for Uncle Charlie.
Now, without further ado, the finale of Survivor 46. LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOO!
JEFF’S EMMY WORTHY INTRO
He did it again with the breathtaking backdrop of Final Tribal Council lurking in the background. 2 Immunity Challenges, 2 Tribal Councils, and 1 Fire Making Challenge.
NUINUI - Night 23
Maria’s big move didn’t pan out and it’s damage control time. She is awkwardly trying to cover it up and it feels like Charlie is allowing her B.S. pitch and tears to come in for a soft landing. The awkward laughs from Charlie are uncomfortable but he’s “keeping all options open” which is the right mindset after a deep breath.
Welcome to the bottom Maria. I know that you haven’t sniffed that position for the entire time but I know that she will fight for her life. It really comes down to the next challenge. If she wins, then she is guaranteed to at least go to fire. If she loses, she is likely going to be voted out. Pretty big stakes.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 24
REWARD - Pasta, Caesar Salad, Wine, and Pudding at the Sanctuary
First, they run and crawl through net tunnel in mud.
The net simply doesn’t move. It’s like restringing a sweatshirt string but 100x worse. Charlie is first out of the tunnel-o-mud and smashes himself in the face with the water to help him see. hahahaha.
Next, they are pulling out rope strung through a plank of wood. and onto a rope nest. Then, they retrieve a monkey’s nest and drop a bridge.
Kenzie is first done. Maria next, then Charlie.
Next, take your key and head up to ladder to the puzzle which reveals three clues to open a combination lock to win.
Liz doesn’t take her key. Come on Liz. Maria is out in the lead at the puzzle. Maria 2nd. Everyone else well behind.
Kenzie finishes the puzzle and raises her hands in what she thinks is victory, but Jeff says nothing. There’s a heavy pause and then, Jeff tells the players - the secret in plain sight - to read the puzzle and figure out the information to open the combination lock. The challenge isn’t over.
What happens next is one of the biggest curveballs of the season. Kenzie cannot think straight as she is reading the clues on the puzzle. She says the final part out loud “the number of holes on your plank” and enlists the help of Liz. Liz, well behind in the challenge, abandons her own puzzle and chance at winning immunity to help Kenzie. Liz figures out that the plank was what they pulled the rope through way back at the start of the challenge.
Maria is near finishing her puzzle.
Next, we see Liz slide down from the puzzle tower, recross her bridge, backtrack through the rope jungle and retrieve KENZIE’S PLANK and re-go-through the obstacles and back up to the puzzle platform to count the holes, give Kenzie the number 34, and beat Maria.
34 is wrong!!! Maria is retrieving her plank and is back up on the platform.
Liz quickly recounts the holes and fixes her mistake. 35 is the magic number. Combination lock open, gong sounded, and Kenzie wins immunity. The team effort to clearly defeat Maria isn’t hidden at all and the two “winners” of the challenge blow smoke at Maria by saying that they needed to team up to beat her.
I know that Maria says “I take it as a great compliment” and I just can’t imagine that most peopl in that situation would have the self control to utter those humble words. Maria is literally fighting tooth and nail to stay alive in the game. Maria was going to win immunity for the fourth time (and tie a Survivor record which Jeff alluded to pre challenge). Maria was going to be guaranteed final four and at least fire making.
Now, thanks to the team of Kenzie and Liz, Maria remains on the bottom and vulnerable at the finale’s first Tribal Council. The move by Liz is brilliant. Liz knew she wasn’t going to win and she knows that Maria is the biggest threat in the game, so here's another way to “win” a challenge.
Finally, the heat is on for Maria. The final fight rages on to try and salvage a crack and way to the final four.
SANCTUARY
Kenzie chooses Ben (because Liz is allergic to pasta - of course she is) and they are ready to “chill hard”.
BACK AT CAMP
The idol hunt is on for Maria and Charlie seems to be all about it. He’s helping her look for it. I can’t believe it. He’s got to know that Maria would write his name down to win.
Next, in a never give up and play to the whistle type play, Maria is making her pitch to Kenzie, Liz, and Charlie about voting Ben. She brings up Ben writing down Kenzie’s name and makes a cringeworthy pitch to consider voting Ben out and not her. I know that Liz is telling the camera that she is considering Ben, but I’m not buying it.
Not one bit.
Great try Survivor editors but I think we aren’t falling for it this time. The vote is Maria unless she found an idol and all hell is about to break lose at Tribal Council 1.
TRIBAL COUNCIL 1 - Night 24
We start with Jeff updating everyone on the jury about Liz’s move to help Kenzie at the challenge to defeat Maria and prevent the 47 year old mother of three from winning a fourth challenge. Ben is singing backup for the move by Kenzie and Liz and chalks it all up to the game.
I admire Maria’s ability to say she has no hard feelings and that she is proud of herself.
An interesting sliding door moment for Liz in her reflection of Maria’s game. If the situation were different, they may have been able to be a pair in this game.
Maria is singing her swan song being proud of herself and the game she has played. She is very aware of the moment that is before her and the fact that she knows that her kids will see this moment. She reflects on being an immigrant and the strength that she has in life. That’s why she came on Survivor. Pretty incredible stuff.
VOTES
Maria - 4
Ben - 1
Jeff often says that “the best players usually don’t win Survivor” and the notion is true with Maria being voted out. Heartfelt messages from Kenzie seeing Maria as a role model and Charlie talking directly to his future nephews is the highest compliment a non-winning player can have. Plus, a standing ovation from the remaining players? Wow! What an incredible way to have your torch snuffed. Maria joins Jesse and Ricard as the standout players from the new era to not win.
NUINUI - Night 24
The final four is set and they are ELATED!!! Now, Charlie reminds us about the importance of options in this game and the option of winning immunity is the best option going forward into the final two days.
Cut to the Ben suffering from a panic attack montage. Night 13, night 17, night 20, and night 24. From this we are hearing Ben’s major takeaway from Survivor - “not showing up for himself and others show up for him”. Ben is “going through it and thank God he had Kenzie and Charlie”.
NUINUI - Day 25
The final four is set and tree mail prompts the impending final Immunity Challenge of the season. The editors decide to tell the story heading in through Liz. She’s desperate to win, she’s afraid to make fire (another Liz ligament and joint issue in her wrist), and the reality that the jury has four former NAMI on it are all part of the million dollar stakes of this challenge.
Let’s do this.
FINAL IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 25
The challenge is simple - complete a Survivor logo puzzle, BUT there’s a twist and it’s a good one. There’s a giant Survivor pinball timer that you throw a ball up into and while the ball is clinking and clanking down to the bottom, you can work on the puzzle. But, don’t let the ball drop or you will have to wait for the super slow switchbacks before you can throw it back up into the pinball machine again and continue your puzzle.
Here we go.
Couple things off the bat - Liz is a lefty and the skee-ball ramp is on the left side. Kenzie, Charlie and Ben are all not taking any chances on the ball dropping and decide to ensure they don’t get penalized. Then, Charlie’s ball takes a much shorter time to plunk down and his gauge was off and the penalty hits him.
Brutal.
Then, Liz takes her eye off the ball and it drops. Devastating.
Kenzie misses the whole pinball timer and throws her ball onto the beach behind it and several bad tosses. More delays in time.
Charlie with a huge save - catching his ball inches from another penalty.
Ben in the lead with a squeaky clean game so far. He’s played it safe and is very close to his first win.
Charlie takes too much time and earns a second penalty. He’s out. Liz gets a second penalty too. She’s out.
It came down to three pieces and BEN WINS!!! I’m so happy for Ben. The smile on his face is priceless. He has earned a spot at the Final 3 and I couldn’t be happier for him. He came in looking completely wired, exhausted, and he has showed up for himself. It was a “transcendental shreditation” for a guy that forever channels his inner child and when Ben said it, it clicked as to why I love him so much. Ben shows everyone, if they’re aware enough, of our own inner child and the joy that it can bring us.
“When in doubt, if you rock out, it’s all gonna work out!” - Ben
Ben drops this T-shirt worthy mantra on us as we see him soaking in the immunity win and realization that he will be in the final three. The moment is euphoric. He’s smiling from ear to ear, he’s raising his hands high above his head multiple times, and his emotions are overwhelming him as he looks out on the most beautiful beach and ocean setting he’ll ever see.
PRE-FIRE MAKING SCRAMBLE
Then, the record scratches, and the reality sets in that he has to choose who will sit next to him. Who can he beat? Who can he not? Who needs the money? Who doesn’t?
Ben makes his first selection for fire making and he wisely picks Liz. With that, let the emotional roller coaster begin. Ben knows that he can’t beat Liz and Liz knows that Ben can’t beat her. Liz’s game is no secret at this point. I know she’s a millionaire or at least we’ve been told she is a millionaire. Ben is broke. Liz is in.
Kenzie and Charlie have been Ben’s emotional support for the entire Survivor journey. With this decision between Kenzie and Charlie to go up against Liz, Ben is not emotionally stable to make the decision. If he were a guitar, he would be completely out of tune. Let’s go Ben, it’s time.
TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 25
Jeff kicks us off by lobbing it up to Ben to explain how he crushed the final Immunity Challenge.
Charlie is focused on fire making. Kenzie was 3 pieces short and fire focused. Liz quotes Ben telling her she’s going to make fire.
Now, it’s time for Ben to make his decision. Ultimately, Ben is incredibly raw and authentic and the choice between Charlie and Kenzie is extremely difficult. He clearly loves both of them.
Ben chooses Kenzie to make fire which guarantees Charlie a spot in the final three. With that, Charlie says once again all the right things about his gratitude to Ben and that the relationship with Ben was what he values most. Kenzie on the other hand, is clearly not happy about having to make fire. She chooses gratitude and the high road but clearly isn’t happy. I applaud these people for the attitude of gratitude that they have had through the final stretches of this season. It just doesn’t feel like I know many people who would behave that way and communicate that message in that moment.
FIRE MAKING - LIZ vs. KENZIE
A relatively uneventful fire making challenge. Liz had some early sparks flame out and never got anything going. Kenzie was able to finally get the spark going into a flame and knock out Liz. Nothing fancy, no records broken, but just enough to take down Liz and prevent the sleeper winner from getting a chance to plead her case.
Liz is the final member of the jury. With it, we say good-bye to Liz, her quirkiness, blunt and upfront personality, and the final member of NAMI. Liz became a standout in the second half of the season with her under the radar gameplay, her realtime life lessons being learned and communicated, and an all-time melt down over the Applebee’s reward snub from Q. She was a true threat to win the game and Ben made the right decision to send her to fire and ultimately to the jury.
I think most people will likely be happy to see Liz NOT win the million dollars and title of Sole Survivor. First, she doesn’t need the money and made that clear from day 1. Second, I think it’s likely her personality won’t translate the same to viewers as it may have to Kenzie, Ben, and Charlie. Most people will likely see her as arrogant and entitled. My guess is she wouldn’t have had as much success in the final three as she thought she would considering her final words to the final three were that she would have beat them all. That’s Liz in a nutshell.
FINAL TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 26
The final three is ready and so am I. The power is now shifting to the jury and the final three has practiced their closing arguments.
Deep breaths from everyone and here we go.
Tiff gets the party going and is IMMEDIATELY TARGETING Charlie and Ben.
“We have very specific questions for you guys and we are looking for very specific answers. Please understand, we are not looking for Taylor Swift lyrics. We are not looking for pop culture or rock and roll references. We are looking for serious and thought provoking responses. - Tiff
👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Tiff just set a tone for Tribal and I’m all about it. I think we needed this to be said.
Tiff wants to know a specific move they made that changed the course of the game.
Ben doesn’t really have an answer.
Charlie talks about targeting Hunter. Hunter references Kenzie being the one who sold him on not playing the idol.
Kenzie’s move involved Q and Q needs to essentially be told to shut up by Liz so that Kenzie can talk. Fricken Q.
Venus wants to know about the mistake they made and flipped it on its head.
Charlie talks about getting the invite into the “6”, Maria seizes power in reminding Charlie that she invited him and Hunter breaks the seriousness of the vibe by pointing out the poor decision that being part of the “6” alliance was for everyone.
Kenzie’s mistake was getting cocky and confident at the Tiff vote. Perfect question for Kenzie to answer. You can see her comfort level rise.
Ben’s mistake is the rogue Kenzie vote but it goes a whole lot of nowhere even when Ben tries to bring it to his night terrors. Not looking good for Ben.
Tevin wants your best example of how you used someone on the jury to further your game.
Ben talks about being stuck with Q and Maria and having to be told what to do by them and his listening approach. He took the “chilling hard” approach of listening and bringing it back to the people who would listen to him. Not sure he communicated this well enough.
Kenzie placated to Q after the Tiff vote so she could regain her footing in the game and eventually get him out.
Charlie says he figured out that Tevin was the power player at the enigma that was NAMI but what Charlie actually did in this answer was STROKE TEVIN’S EGO. Well played counselor. Feels like the strongest moment yet.
Hunter asks Charlie and Kenzie about who you would have put in fire if you were Ben.
Kenzie would have done what Ben did.
Charlie would have taken Liz to the end because he thought he could beat Liz anyway. Charlie didn’t see the value in fire making and didn’t feel the need to throw himself into it.
Soda comments on the final three considering she has been listening the longest and delivers her takes on the final three.
She says Ben - is playing an emotional game and had no agency.
She says Charlie - was playing the middle closely with Maria but didn’t separate from her..
She says Kenzie - brought into votes pre-merge and post-merge was tell me who to vote for.
Now, Soda asks each of them to prove her right or prove her wrong in 30 seconds with Tiff as the human stop watch. Side note, the jury is happy to flex their power. “30 seconds” or “I’ll be the timer and when your time is up you need to stop.”
Kenzie says she’s a social player, not the loudest voice in the room, and a people person.
Charlie talks about putting the pieces together that allowed him to throw the punch at Maria before it landed on him.
Ben is the most emotional guy and his plan got wrecked, but his emotions helped him build relationships in the game and get him this far.
Q wants to know what do you plan to do with the money and how will it change your life?
Ben is a musician who wants to give back to his parents and use the money to give back to music education in south Florida. Nice Ben!
Charlie can set up the rest of his life and acknowledges making a donation to organizations (eye roll) and pay for law school for himself.
Kenzie owns this question saying she wants the money for herself. She runs her salon as she has and it doesn’t make her the money she could be making. I love that she owns it and the contrast between her answer and Charlie may have just put Kenzie in the driver seat. Best answer of Tribal.
Final three’s final thoughts to bring up.
Charlie - his pattern of “never close a door and keep your options open”.
Charlie played a great game. His point here is what he has been driving home to us the viewer for weeks now. However, in this moment, it feels like he is so scripted and rehearsed. He isn’t reading as genuine. He’s reading as calculated.
Kenzie - The social butterfly who came in to make friends and competed in every challenge.
Her game was rooted in love and she lets her final words reflect that as well. I think Kenzie is going to win or maybe she will have only won me over.
Ben - Acknowledges he doesn’t stack up to them, he battled night terrors, he played an emotional game, he played the game his way, he played the game he wanted to play.
Ben is definitely headed to 3rd place zero vote finish. However, the growth Ben takes from this experience is second to none.
WINNER PREDICTION
Charlie did worse than I thought he would, Kenzie did better than I thought she would, and Ben did what I thought he would. Feels like Kenzie’s genuineness, connection with people, and ownership of her game and intentions with the money helped her put the best final foot forward.
Kenzie wins 5-3-0 over Charlie and Ben.
VOTES
Kenzie - 5
Charlie - 3
Ben - 0
Congratulations to Kenzie the winner of Survivor 46!!!
The first thought is Kenzie won the million dollars and title of Sole Survivor at the Final Tribal. Kenzie took ownership of the game she played and communicated in authentically. She owned being a social butterfly. She owned playing the game from a place of love. She owned playing the game for herself and to win the money to help herself. She put other people in the game before herself at times. She built real connections with people at all phases. She had the benefit of two YANU on the jury. She had the advantage of the disadvantage that being at YANU presented her in the game. She had missteps in the game and wasn’t perfectly calculated. That’s why she won.
Kenzie played a game that put others before herself in the game. Kenzie was there for everyone else throughout the game as emotional support, as the social butterfly, letting others talk, and being by people’s sides. She won because she was able to balance all of that with being selfish enough to go on Survivor, postpone her wedding, and own the truth that the money was for her. The contrast between her answers and Charlie’s were the difference.
We can’t end this season’s blog without acknowledging the devastation that this vote and Kenzie’s win was for Charlie. Bottom line, his number 1 ally during the entire game - Maria - didn’t vote for him to win. She voted for Kenzie. If Maria votes for Charlie we have a 4-4 tie and Ben would cast a vote and decide the winner. Ben would have voted for Charlie aka his day 1 ally and friend. Ultimately, it’s not what happened and Kenzie wins Survivor 46 and the million bucks.
The only word to begin to describe what Charlie must have felt in that moment and still feeling today is utter devastation. He never thought that Maria wouldn’t vote for him to win, but she didn’t. She turned on him for the second time in the game and this time she got him. All the “Uncle Charlie” talk and life outside the game talk was just that, talk. I would imagine that Charlie quickly became the uncle that Maria’s kids never see or hear from. Can you blame him? I don’t. I know one of the lures for me to get onto Survivor is to meet incredible people and share a once in a lifetime experience and hope to take away a lifelong connection, and I think the Charlie and Maria relationship was that, until the votes were read. In that moment, my heart broke for Charlie and give him the utmost credit for how he handled the moment. There is absolutely no way I would have handled it anywhere close to as well as he did. Again, utter devastation.
