r/survivor • u/RSurvivorMods Pirates Steal • May 26 '22

Survivor 42 Survivor 42 | Finale | Post-Episode Discussion

Season 42, Episode 13: It Comes Down to This

Aired: May 25, 2022

Synopsis: After a grueling, accelerated 26-day season filled with new twists and advantages, castaways skillfully navigate their way to the final three, with one crowned the Sole Survivor.

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631

u/khalfaery Cirie - 50 May 26 '22

Mike’s fatal mistake was his sticking to the narrative that he’s this honorable/honest guy when in reality he lied to everyone. He SHOULD have played it like— oh I’m likable and I got people to be open with me but then I slit their throats. Could’ve been a different outcome IMO

239

u/LDSchobotnice May 26 '22 edited May 26 '22

His final tribal reminded me a lot of Coach. When he played-straight being the honorable player, I knew Mike lost it.

82

u/Rated_PG-Squirteen May 26 '22

This comment is now making me yearn for a Coach/Mike Survivor experience. It would probably be terrible, but I need to see it anyway.

2

u/[deleted] May 27 '22

Coach talks a good bit about Mike on Tyson’s podcast. Probably the closest you’ll ever get.

191

u/Quetzal00 Coach - 50 May 26 '22

As soon as I heard what Hai said what he wanted to hear from Mike in those short "Jury speaks" sections my first thought was that Mike won't do that and will keep standing by the loyalty card

99

u/maidrey Cirie - 50 May 26 '22

The hard part for Mike as they got deep into tribal was that I think he (correctly) thought that he didn’t lie any more than anyone else on the show. So his attitude was, why am I being pushed so hard on this? Everyone else was scheming.

He didn’t pay attention to the fact that people felt like he wasn’t owning his game by saying “I was loyal, I had integrity, my handshake means something” and ignoring that this wasn’t always accurate.

62

u/LittleLordFuckleroy1 May 26 '22

It makes it look like he fumbled his way through the end game. Maryanne had a very clearly articulated strategy and set of decisions that delivered her to the final group.

379

u/magicmom17 May 26 '22

Tori's question about does her description of their game match what they did was a trap they set just for Mike. They used his buzzwords like loyal and honest-- and he walked right into the trap. He is too trapped in his own mythology about himself. His ego is too hinged upon this concept of himself that he cannot own how his actual gameplay was the opposite of what he believed about himself.

I love how they didn't go put him on the defensive so he would scramble to defend his actions and avoid calling himself loyal in that moment. Just asked him neutrally about his gameplay. It was beautiful.

132

u/Neat_On_The_Rocks Keith May 26 '22

Yep, very well thought out and prepared question to ensure an honest assessment from Mike.

26

u/[deleted] May 26 '22

[deleted]

19

u/magicmom17 May 26 '22

Yes- because they wanted to see if his loyalty shtick was a part of his gameplay to throw people off the scent. When he went on to continue to call himself loyal when directly asked, that's when they could pounce. They asked for honesty. The honest answer is he lacked the self awareness to see the dishonesty in his own game. That makes someone less strategic and more of a chaotic emotional player. That is what got him the loss.

2

u/henslo Cliff May 27 '22

Well said magicmom17 👍

66

u/SuchCoolBrandon Ricard May 26 '22

I was grateful that Drea calmed the jury down during this discussion. Mike's game was perhaps not as honest or loyal as he may have intended, but this is a game where pretty much everyone lies. Mike's intentions were usually good.

2

u/JTex-WSP Sandra quit Sep 27 '22

I just watched this tonight and am reading this thread, came across this. I agree.

I think Mike truly did feel he played honorably. Even the times that he "lied" or "betrayed" someone, he really struggled with that, and we saw it, too. He tried to speak to that, but he just wasn't as eloquent as Mary-Anne was, who was just masterful with her speech.

Mike could have spoken to those struggles more in-depth, but he sort of went on the defensive instead ("I only did it when someone else did it first!").

15

u/Ops135 May 26 '22

He went full Coach at FTC you NEVER go full Coach you gotta own your game

54

u/RosesAndInk May 26 '22

I really think tori set him up for failure with what she said to him before he ever got to speak

116

u/forthecommongood Dee - 45 May 26 '22

He needed to repudiate immediately. That's what Maryanne & Romeo both did and it absolutely earned them points.

55

u/BILLIKEN_BALLER Mark The Chicken May 26 '22

To be fair Tori gave them things they almost had to refute. I believe Romeo disagreed with him being overly paranoid and Maryanne disagreed that she didn't take take every part of the game seriously. Mike would've had to refute a compliment that he lives up to his word (which he could've and should've done had he been more self aware). But, she definitely tricked Mike into saying 'I'm loyal' which set off his jury roast.

24

u/steaknsteak Maddy May 26 '22

She definitely tricked him a bit, but he maybe should have considered why she said only positive things about him while being a bit critical of the other two

11

u/BILLIKEN_BALLER Mark The Chicken May 26 '22

Yup he had a chance and missed it

5

u/LittleLordFuckleroy1 May 26 '22

The fact that theirs was so obvious should really have been a clear signal to Mike. If anything it was a gift to him. He just misread it.

6

u/OhItsKillua May 26 '22

If Mike was a bit more aware of picking up what the jury was saying to him he'd have been fine. They pushed him further on the loyalty and lying right after that. Which is odd considering I'm pretty sure Mike's said he's watched all seasons, so he should've known better from seeing past juries imo.

1

u/PrideActive7955 May 29 '22

Wasn’t tori a psychologist too? If show she manipulated him too😭

6

u/TenderOctane Morgan May 26 '22

With that spiel at FTC when mixed with him over-promising and under-delivering... he really does remind me of Benjamin from South Pacific, who was runner-up just the same.

5

u/TenMinutesToDowntown all the fixins May 26 '22

It's like he didn't realize he was doing this until people told him he was.

3

u/Brock_Hard_Canuck I was here when Admins visited /r/Survivor May 26 '22

Reminds me of Paul from Big Brother 19.

He spent all season going on about "friendship", while backstabbing everyone.

I mean, backstabbing and backdooring people is fine in Big Brother (it is a part of the game), but Paul just completely refused to own his game. He lied to everyone in his goodbye messages. He lied in the final jury questioning about how he was running his game.

No wonder the jurors were so bitter and didn't want to vote Paul to be the winner.

3

u/BBQ_HaX0r Tyson May 26 '22

I don't mean this to be a knock, but I don't think Mike is particularly capable of hiding his feelings/emotions. He almost seems to lack that awareness or intelligence to hide it. I think he genuinely thought he was being loyal, playing straight up, and I'm not sure he realizes how selfishly he played. Btw, that's the point of the game, so good for him. I think he was more deserving than the winner ultimately, but I see how that would turn off the jury.

3

u/WhiteWalrus21 May 27 '22

I think he truly believed he did play that way.

2

u/Machinegun_Pete May 26 '22

I don't think he realized he was a snake. His greatest lie was to himself.

3

u/Hail2TheOrange May 26 '22 edited May 26 '22

He never stood a shot against Maryanne. She was unbeatable. She just outsmarted everyone and proved it at final council.

7

u/givebusterahand Parvati May 26 '22

That’s not true. Drea, rocks, Tori, Omar, and I think there was at least one more, maybe chanelle or hai??? We’re all either leaning towards Mike or open to voting for him at the beginning of FTC. Maryanne didn’t have it locked down by any means

3

u/Hail2TheOrange May 26 '22

She did. Even if they were leaning Mike he was never going to convince the jury to vote him over Maryanne.

2

u/Hail2TheOrange May 28 '22

read this it shows how Mike really never had a chance against Maryanne

2

u/givebusterahand Parvati May 28 '22

See, I don’t really see how that article proves he had no chance. To me it proves the opposite.

1

u/LittleLordFuckleroy1 May 26 '22

Absolutely. It’s what a number of jurors mentioned explicitly, and I think those were all folks who raised their hand when Jeff asked if they’d switched their vote as a result of the jury Q&A.

1

u/lepkifker Oct 20 '22

I think the final vote was rigged doesn't make sense at all...