Source
r/survivor•
MattyHdot

After tonight, I'm convinced that this season has been the story of how ______ wins Survivor (spoilers)

Spoiler

Spoilers for tonight's episode, and analysis of the edit (but not really edgic, as I understand it)

Mike has gotten a weird edit, and a lot of people think he's a losing (potentially a zero-vote) finalist, but after tonight, I think he's the most likely to win.

The biggest thing working against him is the fact that he's successful outside of the game, but I think this as big of a factor as people make it out to be. Brad Culpepper seemingly would have won Game Changers had he not taken Sarah to the end. Additionally, this cast seems really invested in gameplay AND there's someone sitting on the jury who is a bigger and more successful celebrity than Mike is.

Beyond that, I think Mike's story as the winner for this season is clear: he hasn't been a dominating character, but we've consistently seen what he's thinking and, whether the votes went his way or not, he's been a driving force all season in the decisions being made by his alliances. He was the one who broke up the Strike Force. He was the one who got the Goliaths to target Christian during the second vote. He's had confessionals all season about how he needs to make the best move for his game or how he needs to put himself in the best position to win. We got to see him outline his strategy when his boyfriend asked if he was running the show; Mike's plan was to play the middle and make everyone think he's with them.

We've also seen his social game and that people do seem to like him. Even though he turned against Nick and Christian at various points throughout the season, both were shown talking about how they were excited to work with him again. Tonight, Kara had a comment about how great of a welcoming committee Mike was after rewards. These little things wouldn't be important if Mike got zero votes at the end.

Most convincingly for me, though, is how Mike was shown as the one who orchestrated the biggest move of the season in getting out Christian tonight. This move has been in the works since the merge, but it hasn't happened. I have to assume that, given that 5 people were in on the plan, the editors could have made it look like it was Nick or Kara or Alison or Angelina's move, but instead they made it look like not only was Mike the one with the idea, but he had to work hard to get it to happen. I think the only reason it makes sense to edit it this way is if Mike wins.

I don't think Mike is definitely going to win; I honestly think anyone could win at this point. I do think he has the best chance of anyone left.

Posted Dec 13, 2018, 3:44 AM UTC

148
cyanisthenewblack•

I was thinking along these lines this past episode too in front of a jury I think he might do better then we all think

15
IAmCastetter•

He has to be at FTC with Angelina and Kara. That’s the only conceivable way I see him winning

5
room317•

I've thought he was the winner for weeks. I'm on board.

3
Rarky15Natalie•

Oh my god Ive always just written off Mike as the winner but now that you mention it his content has been pretty good 😳

3
PM_ME_CATTLEPRODS•

Mike has a weird edit for sure. I think it's possible.

3
kbmj3•

I agree with a lot of this. I remember that vote at Jabeni where he talked about how important it was and how he was setting the trajectory for the rest of the game. Then he's had 2 or 3 more moments like that. I think he's got a great shot, but I worry the jury might see him as a goat or passive in the game. He and Kara are the two UTR players that didn't have flashy moves, so I have a hard time picturing the jury voting for either of them. Regardless though, Mike definitely deserves the win! But TBH so do all 6 of them.

2
englandmademetoo•

I cant see anyone voting for a multimillionaire for the win regardless of merit, especially when said person is far from blowing anyone's mind. He could barely gather enough votes to banish the perceived biggest threat from the game. He is terrible at gameplay and worse in execution and if the Emoji Movie is any indication he's not really good with creating a narrative either.

-1
kbmj3•

Whoa! Why so much Mike hate? Are things ok at home? He's survived a lot of votes and not ever really been the target. He's likable and funny and pretty well-spoken. If the jury awarded Sandra a second million, Mike could win too.

2