FINAL THOUGHTS
— WOW. Crazy idol plays this season that lead to the demise of many.
— Three words; Mary Kate Olsen.
— Really decent pre-merge boot order and happy with the pairs that made the jury stage.
— Probably one of the funnest casts but was hard to write for with pairs.
— I'd say Meghan Trainor was totally robbed and is 100% a second chance lock.
— Iconic winner. Like. MAJOR.
ALL STAR POTENTIALS
Jake Gyllenhaal, 11th Place, one of the biggest stars in the cast, Jake Gyllenhaal came to Nicaragua and was instantly viewed as the Coyopa leader, despite Stephen Baldwin wanting the title, and he helped his tribe be the more dominating pre-merge tribe. In the early stages, he lost his sister Maggie Gyllenhaal and became a single as opposed to a pair in the game. He continued to lead his all male alliance through the tribal shuffle and upon entry to the merge, things looked to be going great for him as the whole gang - - sans Liam Hemsworth due to an idol play - - had reached the merge, however, when Mary Kate Olsen played an idol, Jake was viewed as the biggest threat without a necklace and despite four votes usually not being a majority, Mary Kate’s votes were nulled and Jake’s game came to a quick and early end as jury member one.
Chris Hemsworth, 10th Place, the dreamiest player in the cast from the perspective of many, Chris Hemsworth came to San Juan del Sur with his brother Liam and the duo on paper looked to be the strongest of all of them in the game. Chris, however, despite being a vital asset for his original Hunahpu tribe, was in the minority for the majority of the pre-merge but was kept around due to his strength in challenges. Early on, Liam was idoled out of the game by Mary Kate Olsen and Chris was forced to not only play on the bottom, but play alone on the bottom. His challenge assertiveness carried him to the merge where he won the opening individual immunity challenge, however, when he failed to win anymore immunities, the rest of the tribe viewed him as a challenge threat and he became jury member two despite arguing that Mary Kate Olsen was the bigger threat.
Mary Kate Olsen, 7th Place, one half of the Olsen twins, Mary Kate Olsen came to Nicaragua and certainly proved to be the more dominant twin indeed. Starting on the bottom of her tribe, Mary Kate Olsen quickly bonded with Calista Flockhart and the duo embraced their position on the tribe, notably in a more positive light once Mary Kate found her first idol - - which was successfully used to send home Liam Hemsworth. Mary Kate continued her winning mentality by finding another idol, which led to the demise of Jake Gyllenhaal early into the merge, however, once Calista met up with Harrison Ford, Mary Kate was left in the dust and when Ashley became the merger boot, she was instantly placed on the bottom of the tribe where, despite finding a third idol that was played unsuccessfully, she stayed until she saw her torch extinguished, landing in seventh place.
Daryl Sabara, 6th Place, the original “Spy Kid,” Daryl Sabara came to San Juan del Sur with his fiancé, Meghan Trainor, however was quickly forced to play an individual game after she was shockingly idoled out in the first tribal council. He then transitioned into role of “Fan Favorite” after he vowed to get revenge for Meghan and win for her. He was apart of the very strong male alliance of Coyopa and after bonding heavily with Hailey Baldwin at the tribal swap, joined forces with she and her father’s voting bloc at the merge where he stayed until the top six. At the vote, after swinging with Calista Flockhart to breakup power couple Ansel Elgort and Violetta Komyshan, Daryl’s alliance with Hailey was put to the test and in a shocker, she sided with her father and the other duo in the game and Daryl landed in sixth place, as jury member six.
Ansel Elgort, 5th Place, the sexiest human alive, Ansel Elgort came to Nicaragua with his longtime girlfriend Violetta Komyshan and the duo quickly became the power couple - - even when they were on opposite tribes. Ansel coached Violetta into sticking with the majority alliance until they could meet up and when they did at the swap, they controlled the game from that point on - - much to this dismay of the others, however, the duo would quickly vote off anyone who tried to do the same to them - - a process that was first seen when Ansel blindsided Maggie Gyllenhaal third after she tried to take him out. Ansel and Violetta seemed to be on their way to the finals, despite Stephen and Hailey constantly trying to take control and many on the jury admitted Ansel should have won, however, when Calista Flockhart found an idol she quickly played it and it led to the demise of Ansel, landing in fifth.
Hailey Baldwin, 3rd Place, one of the youngest players in the game, Hailey Baldwin had the rare opportunity to play the game with her father, Stephen Baldwin, however, after the twist separated the duo, Hailey was forced to play on her own. She quickly bonded with pop star Meghan Trainor, however, she was idoled out in the first vote and Hailey soon realized she was on thin ice. She bonded with Chris Hemsworth but the duo were unable to make anything happen despite almost flipping the script on Ansel Elgort. At the swap, she was united with her father and the duo were able to, with the help of Daryl Sabara, control the game with couple Ansel and Violetta from that point to the end where Hailey was able to convince the jury to vote her. In the end, Hailey only received two votes after the jury felt she didn’t play as aggressively as her father or Violetta and she landed in third place overall.
Stephen Baldwin, Runner Up, the first Baldwin brother to play “Survivor,” Stephen Baldwin entered the game with his daughter, Hailey Baldwin, but were immediately surprised to learn they’d be competing against each other. Stephen vowed, however, that no matter what happened, he would ensure he and Hailey made it to the end. And he was able to make that wish come true, first being reunited with Haley at the swap and merge and controlling the votes with power couple Ansel and Violetta for the majority of the second half of the game. At the final tribal council, however, everyone viewed Stephen as somewhat of a “coattail rider,” first riding the all men’s alliance and then capitalizing on moves orchestrated by Ansel and Violetta and he was only given two votes to win, landing as the runner up.
Violetta Komyshan, Sole Survivor, the “femme fatale” of the season, Violetta Komyshan came to Nicaragua with her longtime boyfriend, Ansel Elgort, and the duo were quickly viewed as the power couple. Violetta quickly latched onto the majority male alliance of Coyopa and was able to survive long enough to be swapped to the same tribe as Ansel where together, the duo controlled the votes leading up and throughout the merge, despite being targeted by multiple players. Violetta’s strong social game led her to be aware of any time she was in danger and was able to, with Ansel, manipulate the tides in the direction they wanted. When Ansel was shockingly idoled out at the top five, Violetta relied on brute strength to win the final immunity challenge and she argued to the jury that she played a far superior game compared to the father / daughter duo and they rewarded her with four votes, enough to make her the sole survivor.
