Could the ‘Exile Island’ Finale Be a Repeat of ‘The Australian Outback’?

As some of the writers here at RealityNewsOnline were shooting the breeze about the possible outcomes for the finale, it occurred to me that if Cirie wins, we may find ourselves in a situation similar to one we’ve seen before – way back in the second Survivor.

If you recall, the final three in that series consisted of Colby, Tina, and Keith. Colby was the young stud who made an alliance with an older woman and carried her all the way to the finals. Tina was the older woman in question, who had been strategically guiding the game from behind the scenes while keeping her true strategic strength a secret. And Keith was the older guy who came off as a bit of a jerk.

If Cirie wins the fire challenge and moves into the final three, what will be have? There will be Aras, the young stud who has made an alliance with an older woman. Cirie is the older woman, who has been playing a lot of behind-the-scenes strategy to get where she is now, while many of her victims never knew she had it in her. And there is Terry, the older guy who recently has been acting like a jerk.

Hmmmm.

There are other similarities as well. Tina showed the most brains in her edition of Survivor, ending up with a Reality TV Hall of Fame induction. Cirie has shown the most strategic thinking in this edition, and has already been given a Reality TV Hall of Fame Moment for her Triple-Play maneuver. In the non-game side, Tina was a nurse and Cirie is a nurse – though Tina never was asked to look at a fellow player’s nether regions because of chafing.

Another similarity has nothing to do with the people, but the production. The second season of Survivor is notorious for its finale, which featured only the final three. This season’s finale will technically begin with a final four, but one will be leaving probably five minutes into the show.

There are some differences too, of course. While Aras is the strong young guy, it has been Terry who has dominated the challenges – the role that Colby had in his series. And also, while Terry has been a bit cocky and whiny lately, it is doubtful that he is as disliked as Keith was, and he can count on the probability of at least votes in the jury if he makes it to the finale.

But I do wonder if we may see a repeat. If Cirie wins the fire challenge, she will almost assuredly play no role in the final immunity challenge. In the preview at the end of Thursday night’s episode, we saw Aras and Terry scrambling up a slanted wall – no sign of anybody else. I rather doubt this means Danielle or Cirie was way ahead of them.

If Aras wins, he will be faced with the same choice Colby had 10 seasons ago. Does he take Cirie, who helped guide him through this game but has a decent chance of beating him in front of the jury? Or does he take Terry, who is disliked by a fair number of people in the jury and is almost certainly easier to beat?

Aras toasted the final two with Cirie when they were on the yacht. He has talked about how she saved him. He talks about how he wants to be a good person. Could all of this be leading up to him choosing Cirie? If he does, it could well mean a repeat of Colby’s Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment. Indeed, we would have little choice but to put Aras’ decision in the Hall of Shame, right next to Colby’s.

Or will Aras learn from history, and thus not be doomed to repeat it? While I certainly would like to see Cirie win, that’s obviously not what Aras should be looking at. He should not seek to be the second coming of Colby, giving up $900,000 for a month-old friendship.

Of course, it’s possible Terry will win final immunity or Danielle will win the fire challenge and none of this will matter. But the similarities and possibilities were simply too interesting not to explore.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor articles:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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