The final episode of Survivor 47 aired Wednesday night, concluding with host Jeff Probst crowning a brand new champion, Rachel LaMont. An impressive jury participated in the most important vote of the season, but they jury make the right decision? And what were the dumbest, most shocking, and most exciting moments of this episode?
Here are our Survivor 47 finale top five moments. Be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways, who annoyed you most, and if you’re happy with who took home the $1 million prize.
SEE ‘Survivor 47’ crowns its ‘underdog’ champion: Did the right person win? [Poll]
Top 5 Moments of Survivor 47 finale:
1. Return to Camp: The final four contestants returned to camp after a wild Tribal Council. The mood was jovial, but nobody was happier than Christine “Teeny” Chirichillo. Sam Phalen was quieter, but the mere fact that he never voted for Sue Smey and vice versa was an interesting tidbit. Kudos to the Survivor casting team for this great season. This was truly one of the nicest final four in recent memory.
2. The Final Immunity: Immunity was up for grabs, but this challenge was by far the toughest of the season. Everyone seemed to excel, but once again Rachel reigned supreme and won her way to the final Tribal Council. The challenge beast has earned her spot the “Survivor Hall of Fame.” Sam was immediately convinced that he would be making fire that night and claimed he hadn’t made a fire all season. He was quickly assured that he would face off against Teeny.
3. Fire for the Final: As expected, Rachel saved Sue and said she was the only player she trusted in the game. Teeny admitted her rivalry with Sam was one-sided, and she resented the handsome jock who she imagines got every girl’s attention in high school, not to mention special requests from teachers to move desks around the classroom. That last remark got a few chuckles from the jury. Nevertheless, she was happy to face off with him in this final challenge. Teeny started out strong, building a blaze of fire that reached her rope quickly. However, the wind was not her friend and she couldn’t direct the flame quickly enough to raise her flag. Sam was able to come from behind, building his flame more slowly but perfectly positioned under the rope. Once his flag was raised, Sam couldn’t control his thrill of victory as Teeny broke down in tears. Her game was over and she’d have to settle for the final spot on the jury.
4. Final Arguments: All the three finalists fall did well fielding questions from the jury.
Rachel: Confidence, thy name is Rachel. Expressing she didn’t care how her game was remembered while bluntly stating she deserved to win came across as arrogant. Her quickness to attack Sam at every turn also did her no favors,. but when she let down her wall and spoke about her husband, she came across as more relatable.
Sam: Stressing his journey was one that saw him clawing his way back to stability at times as the underdog, Sam made a very compelling case for the win that was reminiscent of Chris Underwood’s jury pitch. His desire to have a game that will be remembered for the right reasons was a big aspect in the win column for me. A second positive aspect was the ease that he dodged and responded to Rachel’s barbs.
Sue: The birthday girl wanted to win, and her persistence was made even more evident in her answers. She was the most open with her answers, for better and for worse, as she often went on longer than she should have. Saying that, it also made her more endearing.
5. A Winner and a Reunion: By a vote of 7-1, Rachel was a decisive winner, with only Kyle throwing his vote to Sam. Watching Andy Rueda explain how he turned his game around after a horrible first day was hilarious. It was also refreshing to finally see Rachel admit she thought Sam would win this season. Sol Yi’s love for burgers and admitting he didn’t see Rachel’s advantage in her fries may be my favorite moment of the season. More importantly, the trailer for Survivor 48 looked incredible.
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