Survivor Canberra S2 Edgic - Episode 10

 We've made it! After ten phenomenal episodes, the finale has been released and the winner revealed. As such, this edgic post won't be about predicting a winner or placements because we now know. Instead, I'll cover the final five's storylines particularly in regard to why they received the edit they did, and I'll also give a whole season recap along with the charts. Let's get into it for the final time!

Complex Personalities

For a couple episodes I thought maybe Anna's story had winner potential. The second half of the season my top two had been Mar & Nic as my top two but if the edit was giving us a swerve then Anna would be that swerve. It ultimately didn't happen as Anna was voted out in fifth place. While she didn't win, she had one of the brightest edits of the season with a noticeable tinge of positivity to her merge edit. This episode I gave her (and everyone) CP but Anna got positive tone as well, as it felt like the edit played up her underdog status and attempted to make the audience root for her in a way it didn't for Sophie or Michael. Anna also ends the season as CPP, and when people look back I think they'll remember Anna for being an underdog and her story arc of not wanting be controlled or used, yet falling short due to arguably a misplay by Michael.  

Michael had probably the least cohesive edit of the season. It's unfortunate to say but we never got a clear sense as an audience what his goals or alliances really were. Beyond his connection to Mar, none of his storylines really felt true to what we were seeing. A good example is pre-merge with Banfield, a player who according to the edit he helped eliminate. This made the final four vote confusing from a viewer standpoint as Michael was someone who hadn't been shown to be a threat over Mar (or even arguably Sophie in some regards). I gave Michael a light CP edit this time as he was able to explain his reasoning for voting Anna over Sophie and there was some complexity there even if brief. Overall though, Michael unquestionably ends the season as MOR. He was present but not a main character and usually was spoken about in terms of being a number or someone to eliminate. It's hard to pinpoint what Michael would be remembered for. His partnership with Mar is the most likely answer but Mar got many more narrative points that didn't involve Michael either. Maybe he'll be remembered for quite simply having a quiet edit despite nearly winning! Either way, it was clear he wouldn't win and this finish spot does explain his edit furthermore. 

Onto the final three starting with Sophie. It is worth noting that the final 3 were an established trio early on, which is definitely intentional. Last season we had two duos make final 4 who were both well-developed characters and alliances and this time is no different. I somewhat assumed Michael would be a quiet 3rd place finisher but this makes a lot more sense to have the three biggest edits all make the end together. Sophie had strong moments in the pre-merge but fizzled out majorly when we hit merge, which is a common 3rd place finish edit. Her edit went away from the positive strategy-focused start to a more negative end due to helping Nic in the challenge and being annoyed at the stray vote against her/James. Sophie's edit in the finale was straightforward, as she received typical strategy confessionals without tying into any larger themes. She receives CP for this episode, and for the season as a whole she received CPM. Sophie's legacy will be being a part of the dominant trio but not playing as noteworthy of a game as the final two. Interesting to note she didn't win the individual immunity challenge that was listed as her final incomplete goal from episode 1 - that could've been foreshadowing that she wouldn't be able to win at the end. 

We get to our runner up Nic. Going into the finale my thoughts were 'it's Mar, but if Nic makes it to the end it's Nic'. I assumed Nic would finish 4th (maybe by Sophie winning the challenge) and would be voted out with Mar claiming that move to secure the win. Nic winning both challenges surprised me for a moment because we'd heard consistently that if Nic made it to the end he would win, but Mar had the better overall edit. When watching live I came to the realisation that it was too blatant the idea of Nic winning if he made it to the end - where's the drama if it's an easy win? Nic losing to an underestimated Mar completes their storylines in a way that I didn't expect, with Mar actually overestimating Nic and still pulling out a win. With that said, Nic did have a very strong edit and definitely was a good decoy edit even though I was able to see through it. Nic gets CP for the episode and season, comparable to Brad from last season. Nic will definitely be remembered for his masterful performance in challenges, along with his rivalry turned romance with Mar. 

It feels good to be right. Part of me was concerned by cutting Sophie and Anna as contenders that I was going to look silly if either of them pulled out a surprise win. Turns out I need to trust my judgment because I guessed the winner right from episode 4! Mar was a naturally talented confessionalist which definitely assisted her edit, but there's zero question in my mind that this was the story of Mar from the beginning. Every important thought Mar had was included in the edit which we didn't get even for Nic. This was necessary to justify the win against Nic - a player who was the consensus target for several rounds in a row. I'm genuinely glad edgic was able to deduce the winner correctly because edgic can often be wrong, especially for LRGs when there's less editorial manipulation that can be done. Mar receives a light CPP for this episode, and a strong CPP for the season as a whole. She will be remembered for her savvy gameplay, never receiving a vote and her narrow yet dominant win. Congrats Mar! 

Season Wrap Up

That's the season complete! On a viewer level, I adored the season and felt it was truly top-tier television. It rivaled or surpassed modern US Survivor in terms of how intrigued I was on an episode-to-episode basis, and the production value was substantially increased. For edgic, I think this season confirmed all the lessons I'd learned after looking at season 1. Positivity reigns supreme, all the characters who received negativity were not strong winner contenders (or in Sophie's case, fell out of contention due to it). The second-place finisher was once again a CP edit without much tone, and the winner was a CPP edit with a focus on their narratives in the season. Early alliances are of note too - that trio of Sophie/Nic/Mar was very noticable at the start and I even called out that they would all make it far. I wasn't expecting final 3 but that is completely understandable with the focus they received. Michael, despite working tight with them, didn't get included as much probably because he wasn't needed as a decoy winner the way Nic was. Most of the players who didn't have long-term storylines or connections left pre-merge, leaving the players who had developed connections and motivations as endgamers. It wasn't necessarily predictable, but the placement of players were expected based on how they'd been edited to that point. Unfortunately to let anyone down who enjoyed these posts, I won't be making them for season 3 because I am spoiled and therefore can't predict who wins! If anyone wants to fill in those shoes though, by all means go ahead. Here are the final charts:

See you all, for now!