Kaoh Rong Episode 14: Ruling The Roost

Four tough cookies have made it to the finale of the most punishing season ever. Let's go through them...there's Michele, whose best asset has been her loyalty, but there's nobody left loyal to her. Aubry has faced many setbacks, but is ready to fight to the end. Cydney has had a major hand in a lot of votes, but is now precariously positioned in the middle. Lastly, Tai has had an internal battle between his heart and brain all season...can he choose the right one?

We start back at camp, and Tai knows he has to be careful now that his idol is useless. Aubry, annoyed that Jeff keeps taking her allies, wants to keep Tai close. She thinks sticking with Cydney is now her best bet, since Michele has no blood on her hands. Michele knows she's in a tight spot and expects to be screwed if she doesn't win immunity.

The reward challenge is to crawl through a net, slide tiles down a table, transfer them on a machete over a balance beam and then find the odd tiles out to open a combination lock. Up for grabs is another meal, like the one that took out Joe...hmm, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to win this. Tai is the first through the net, whilst Cydney is one of the last, but her prowess on the sliding section makes up a lot of time. Cydney and Michele both start dropping tiles whilst on the balance beam, with only Aubry getting them across effectively. Aubry however can't get the combination to work, until she corrects the tiles she was using. Tai and Cydney both make an attempt, but Aubry wins the reward. Getting to pick a dining partner, she opts for Cydney, hoping to turn her against Michele.

Cydney and Aubry are back to being buddies, and both are confident that one of them will be able to win the next challenge. Michele takes the chance to continue the work she'd been putting in with Tai, hinting that they might want to consider getting Aubry out. Shockingly, Tai is considering it.

Build em up, knock em down

The immunity challenge is to get a key from the water to unlock a ladder, then race back into the water to get a ball on the rope to pull down another ladder, then back into the water again to get puzzle pieces for a three-tiered puzzle. Aubry gets her ladders first and is comfortably ahead of the other three. The puzzle is a different story, and Aubry does not fair well. Tai and Michele build the fastest, and Michele pulls away on the final tier to win herself a spot in the final three.

Even though Michele is safe, she is feeling the pressure of needing to pick the right person to go to the end with. Aubry and Tai still want to stick together, which would mean voting against Cydney. Michele is confident she can get Tai to vote out Aubry, pointing out that she's a good talker that could work a jury. Neither Aubry or Cydney feel confident that Tai is voting on their side, leaving tribal up in the air.

At tribal council, Tai is even less reassuring when he claims alliances are out the door now. Aubry says whoever is voted out could have a lot of influence on deciding the winner of the game. Cydney mentions they have to consider who the threats are at this stage, with Aubry saying she thinks it's "comical" that she's considered one.

They walked through the fire together

The votes are read, and Tai pulls through on saving Aubry after all, tying the vote up 2-2. I kinda didn't see that coming. A fire tiebreaker commences, where Cydney is furiously attacking her flint to no avail. Aubry gets a fire burning first and just when it looks like she's won, it blows off to the side. Cydney still has no luck though and Aubry is able to go again, burning herself but winning the challenge. The two women share an emotional hug at the end. and it doesn't get any easier when Cydney mentions needing the money for her mom.

Michele tells Tai she thinks he just handed Aubry the million dollars, as the three of them debate whether there's going to be another challenge or not. Their question is answered when Michele picks up a treemail the next day. Aubry tries to find out where Tai stands with her and he gives a non-committal answer about the game being individual now - that's not good.

Tai's stack is even shakier than his gameplay

When they get to the challenge, Jeff shocks them by telling them they are not playing for immunity and are the final three. Instead, it's a reward, and a very important one - the power to vote out a member of the jury. All they have to do is stack balls on top of eachother using a pole whilst standing on a wobbly beam...the challenge they could've done in episode 1 but all chose not to. All three face an early collapse, but when they get settled, Michele is in the lead, who finds managing the platform harder than the stack. It's a close one though, as Michele and Aubry are putting their sixth balls down around the same time. Aubry's stack falls, Michele's doesn't. Michele wins again!

Upon receiving this game-changing power, Michele's initial instinct is the same as mine: vote out Joe, since he's the most loyal Aubry vote. Tai makes the point however that Joe is unlikely to slander her name at final tribal, whereas a slick talker like Neal might. Michele tells Aubry that she's thinking of picking one of her allies, and Aubry tries to sway her to going for Scot or Jason instead. It's a decision not to be taken lightly, and Michele is well aware that making a bad one could make her look stupid.

Parting shots

The jury turn up to tribal council and quickly notice nobody is wearing a necklace. Michele then lets them know it's them in the hotseat this time. Michele talks through her process, as Jeff wonders why she would trust the opinions of her two opponents. He then ridicules her again by saying he doesn't think it's that complicated of a choice, and Michele says she wants to get rid of a persuasive speaker...causing Scot to think it's him. Michele makes her vote, and Neal sees his name written down for the first time. He departs by calling Michele weak and saying she doesn't have a chance at winning, which I guess just proves she made the right choice. Removed from the game, removed from the jury...I feel for Neal. Can't really blame him for being a little salty.

No junk in the trunk

Aubry is of course disappointed to see one of her likely votes go, but she's happy to still be in it and will fight hard to get the rest of the votes. Tai thinks his big move of voting Scot out could be key to his chances. but recognizes that Scot will likely feel betrayed by him.

The final three arrive at their final tribal council, with special guest Mark also making an appearance. Nick warns them that they'll be facing animosity and tells them the quality they will need to display in order to have a chance - intelligence for Michele, awareness for Tai and confidence for Aubry. Debbie accuses Tai of having multiple personalities, but he denies being a flip-flopper...not a good start for him. She also reminds Aubry about how she helped her with her day 1 panic attack and wonders if Aubry would've done the same for her. Aubry claims that she would have and only betrayed her in the game because they were diverging down different paths.

Julia starts out cold to Michele, calling her the weak link of the Beauty tribe and a passenger for most of the game...but then says she was proud of her for voting her out and that's the point she started coming into her own. She tells Tai he had the opposite problem: he started strong, but fizzled after the merge. Tai denies this in his response, once again seemingly missing the point. Joe tries to get Aubry and Tai to make a case against eachother, which Aubry does by saying Tai needed her for most of the game.

Jason wants Tai to explain why he turned on him, and he says he was scared of his bond with Scot and seeing two strong men talk about men stuff. He also asks Michele how she got into the majority alliance, and she disputes the idea that it was luck. Cydney thanks Michele for sticking by her on the last vote and asks Aubry why she voted her out, who says she was a threat who had made the same moves she had. Scot blasts Tai for wasting his advantage and his idol, and tells Michele that she got stronger as the game went on whereas the other two got weaker.

The REAL Survivor

Probst lets the final three have the last word, where Aubry talks about how she played her heart out. Tai says he believes in kindness and recites a Vietnamese proverb...cute, but not likely to win over votes. Michele knocks it out of the park as she talks about how she overcame the stereotypes that come with being labeled a "Beauty girl" and believed in herself when no-one else did. We only see two votes cast and they're the most obvious ones...Julia for Michele, and Joe for Aubry. With their business concluded, Tai's last act is to let Mark roam free.

Jeff starts reading the votes back in the US. 2 votes Aubry, 5 votes Michele is the final total giving the pretty bartender a victory. Her family seem surprised and I think a lot of fans were too...drinks are on her, I guess?

STAR OF THE WEEK: MICHELE FITZGERALD

Michele's win might seem like a head-scratcher to a lot of fans, but she built up a lot of momentum towards the end and played the cards she was dealt well. Never underestimate the power of being likeable, and Michele was able to justify herself enough to make the jury want to give it to her.


Reunion notes:

• Was it me or does Jeff not really seem like the biggest fan of Michele? Probably because she disproved his narrative that you have to make BIG MOVES to win the game!
• Sia hijacking the reunion to randomly give money to Tai was weird, to say the least. I wonder how Keith felt when he heard he missed out on a check.
• Jesus Christ, Probst will take any excuse to mention Cochran.
• Caleb being the only pre-juror to speak...doubt anybody was shocked at that.
• The next season is Survivor: Millennials vs Gen X. Garbage title, but the theme should be fine, and there's a few faces in the promo already catching my eye.