Survivor Recap: Cagayan Finale Episode 13 ‘It’s Do Or Die’

Four Castaways. Three Tribal Councils. Two Hours. One Sole Survivor! The Survivor Cagayan finale is here and we’ll soon know whether Spencer, Tony, Kass, or Woo walks away winning Survivor tonight.

Picking up where the last episode left off, we just saw Tony flip on his close ally, Trish, and his Idol supply has evaporated. Lucky for Tony, the rest of the players don’t know his Special Idol is nothing but a paper weight at this point.

The other thing the castaways don’t know is that this season has a Final Two for Survivor’s last Tribal Council instead of a three-seater. Can’t wait to see how that changes their game plans in the final round of strategy with the extra Immunity Challenge. Keep with us as we live recap tonight’s finale.

Back at camp the F4 congratulate each other on making it that far. Now the castaways are scrambling to figure out what’s going on with Tony’s Special Idol. Tony claims it’s a guaranteed spot for him at F3, but that’s a complete lie. Heh, Kass says she doesn’t quite believe it’s still usable at F4, but will she call his bluff?

Surprise! It’s family-visit time. We have been waiting for that all season and it’s happening really late in the season. Family that arrives: Kass’s husband, Spencer’s sister, Tony’s best friend (he wanted his wife to be there), and Woo’s cousin.

The final four enjoy a picnic including peanut butter (Woo is very excited) when Woo breaks out the next Immunity Challenge hint. Now they’re back to talking with family for some strategy and planning.

Now in a break, Jeff takes us to the Green Room for some backstage action. All the castaways are there watching and oh, there’s Quitter. Not sure why they’d bring back someone who quit the game, but sure enough Quitter is sitting on the couch next to an almost unrecognizable Sarah.

Immunity Challenge #1

Immunity is back up for grabs. The final four arrives at the beach with their loved ones. They’re just watching though.

Players must perch at the top of a pole where they’ll pour water in to a chute to lift a buoy with a key. The key is used back at the beach to unlock puzzle pieces so they can be the first to finish.

The poles are shaking all over the place. Tony is nervous and I don’t blame him. I’d get way dizzy up there.

Kass gets a full bucket and then completely misses the whole thing. Ouch. Now it’s Tony and Spencer tied up. Just as I speculated in our spoilers, Tony could lead on this one. Yes! Tony is first but he can’t swim so he won’t jump in!

Spencer has his key and jumps in to head back to the beach and we have a repeat of last week’s challenge order. Now Woo has his key. Kass is way, way behind. She finally has it and leaps toward the beach.

Everyone is up at the beach working on their puzzle and just as you’d expect, Spencer has the lead. Woo and Tony are close. Family continues to shout tips to the players. Apparently that’s okay to do.

Kass is making a huge comeback. Spencer seems trapped in the same place while Kass continues to do incredibly well. Oh boy this is close!

Kass wins Immunity! Whoa! What a comeback. That was very impressive. The guys absolutely blew a huge lead on her. Kass just locked down her place in the Final Three.

Oh no! Back at camp, Kass says this is the chance to send Spencer home. She has wanted to go to the end with two Brawn and now she can.

Now Spencer pulls Tony aside and tells him it’s going to be a F2 this season because Jeff didn’t tell them to get ready for the Jury. Spencer is right. Now Spencer is convincing Tony to keep him because Kass and Woo will take each other, not him.

Tribal Council #1:

Kass and Woo plan to vote out Spencer. Spencer and maybe Tony will vote against Woo. If it’s a tie, then they’ll have to compete to make fire as the tie-breaker. Oh boy, this should be good!

Spencer tells Tony that if he keeps him (if Tony keeps Spencer) then if Spencer wins at F3 he’ll take Tony and tell the Jury to not award him the win. Tasha looks doubtful (so did I).

Hah! “Oh snap,” says Tony when he realizes Kass would indeed take Woo over him (Tony). He realizes this because Kass just said so! Woo hangs his head realizing the situation he’s in.

Before Jeff reveals the votes, Tony announces his Special Idol was dead all along.

Jeff reads the votes: Spencer, Woo, Spencer, & … Spencer. Spencer was voted out. Bad move, Tony. Bad move.

Well dang. I think a lot of fans are disappointed right now. Spencer made a very strong argument, but Tony just didn’t see it. I wonder if Spencer’s “I will default to you Tony” lie was too over the top.

Back at the stage, Jeff is in the crowd and talking about how disappointed the crowd is at Spencer’s elimination. He then talks with Spencer’s mom and they joke about how both thought Spencer would be the first one eliminated.

The Final Three gets back to camp after Tribal and everyone is down. They expected to be celebrating arriving at the F3, but now they have another challenge ahead of them. Kass is confident that both guys will take her to the end. I think she’s right.

Immunity Challenge #2:

Welcome to your final challenge. Immunity is back up for grabs as Kass, Woo, and Tony stand at the edge of the massive maze ahead of them.

The players will have to race through a maze of turnstiles to collect four medallions. Those medallions will unlock a chest filled with cogs. Those cogs will work together to turn a set of gears and raise their flag. The prize? Immunity and a locked seat at the Final Two in front of the million dollar Jury.

All are close but Tony has a slight, slight lead on the first medallion. Kass is moving on her own while Woo puppy-dogs Tony. Yikes. Kass has the lead.

Everyone has two medallions but Kass maintains a slight lead with a third medallion as Woo and Tony are together on the third station. Now Kass has just one left to go before moving on to the gear puzzle.

Woo is the first to get to his fourth medallion. Kass is trying to find her way to the last medallion. Tony finally gets to the fourth, but Woo has the lead. Kass just can’t get to the last one.

Woo leads on the puzzle with Tony just behind. Now Kass is getting back to her puzzle to finally get started. Can she have another big comeback? Let’s see.

It’s so close again! Woo down to the end and so is Kass! Who gets there first?? Whoa! Woo wins by just seconds. Barely barely losing to Woo, Kass was right there. Woo does a backflip and celebrates.

Kass says it’s like running a marathon and losing by a second. Yep, that’s gotta feel brutal. Now it’s up to Woo on the F2. If he takes Kass to the end, does that make this the worst possible Final Two?

Back at camp both Kass and Tony are going at Woo to convince him. Kass: “It’s horrifying. The person who hasn’t made a decision all season is in charge of my fate!” Hah!

Kass warns Woo that if he takes Tony then she’ll vote for Tony because Tony has definitely played the better game. She’s right.

Now Woo tells us he’d feel more comfortable taking Tony, but he knows his chances are diminished if he does that. Yikes, Woo. Sigh.

Tribal Council #2:

We’re about to find out who makes the Final Two this season. Jeff opens with reminding Woo that Tony kept his word to him and brought him to the F3. Geez, Jeff, manipulate much? (But thank you for trying.)

Tony says he’s confident that Woo will stick to their bond and keep him. Kass feels awful about failing at that competition and talks about how she struggles with the loss.

Jeff asks Woo about the arguments he’s been hearing. Woo tells Jeff he doesn’t want to talk about anything and just go straight to the vote. Wow. Okay, so that’s how it’s going to go.

It’s time to vote. Woo will be the deciding vote, unless Chaos Kass strikes again and she votes herself out. Another blindside! No, I’m kidding.

Jeff reads the vote: Kass.

Oh Woo. You idiot.

So Woo and Tony are the F2 and Tony will win by a landslide. Good grief, Woo. Well, that’s okay. As much as that bad, bad move was, at least a deserving player will win.

Hah! Back at camp Woo tells us this was his power-move that the Jury will respect. Woo says it wouldn’t be a sweet victory to beat an easy opponent. Uh yeah, somehow I’d learn how to sleep on my bed of cash after an easy win. Dummy.

The next morning the F2 get their breakfast picnic. It looks awesome, but neither know how to cook and Tony is worried they’ll get sick

Hilarious. In the basket Tony finds a rolled up clue. He pockets it and doesn’t tell Woo as he sneaks away to follow the clue. It’s a scale and a mirror. Tony calls Woo over who exclaims, “ohh damn, I look good!” Gotta love Woo, even if he is a complete knucklehead.

Jury Q&A:

Woo and Tony go to meet the Survivor Cagayan Jury for the Q&A.

Sarah is up first and tells Tony his betrayal might keep her from voting for him.

Jefra wants Tony to own his game for all the backstabbing and betrayal. Tony has to do that and embrace it fully. Now Tony is getting defensive just like Pavarti told us you can’t do. She’s right, it’s not a good approach. Tony won’t fully call himself the villain. Missed opportunity there, Tony.

Morgan is up. The camera has to zoom in to get her cleavage out of the shot. That’s nice of them. She wants Tony to explain how he got guys to follow him so blindly like she’s used to happening for herself. Morgan tells Woo she’s impressed that he brought a real player and not a goat (doesn’t she mean llama?).

Jeremiah is upset that Tony swore on his wife and kids. He wants to know if he has a wife and baby. Tony says yes and Jeremiah says he’s pathetic. Jeremiah is bitter, bitter, bitter. Bad Jury member.

Tasha wants Tony to explain his betrayals. Same sort of stuff we’ve been hearing. Now Woo is asked to explain how/why he aligned with Woo. It’s a surprising answer about how Woo wasn’t really aligned with Tony for awhile. Tasha looks as confused as I was.

LJ wants to know who is the real Tony. Tony says he was petrified of LJ and that’s why he made a fast move against him. Tony is getting a little defensive. LJ shrugs and sits back down.

Kass has her turn. She wants to know why when he finally had control that he didn’t make the move to secure the million dollars. Woo says he wanted to be honorable. Woo tells Kass he brought Tony because she didn’t deserve to be sitting at the F2 next to him.

Trish wants to know whose idea it was to blindside her. Woo says it was his decision. She turns to Tony and you can tell she’s upset. She talks how she worked all season to keep Tony safe and secure in the tribe. Trish says Tony swore on his father’s grave and now she’s crying saying she would have never gone back on the lives of her brothers. It’s emotional.

Spencer is up and he calls Woo a puppy dog (hey, did I do that earlier too?). He asks Woo to explain how that analogy doesn’t make sense. Ouch!

Before he sits back down, Spencer turns to the Jury and champions Tony’s game. He’s right at every argument. Kudos, big kudos to Spencer on not being bitter and respecting the game.

Final Tribal Council:

Votes:
Spencer votes for Tony and says well done. Tasha votes for Woo. What the heck? Weak sauce, Tasha, from one of my favorite players this season. Very disappointed in her.

Jeff is on the live stage now and reads the votes: Tony, Woo, Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony!

Tony wins Survivor as Woo sat looking at his feet while Jeff read the votes. Oh, so now he realizes how dumb that decision was?

As part of the post-show discussion, Jeff asks the Jury if they would have voted for Woo over Kass he had taken her over Tony. ALL EIGHT raise their hands. The crowd goes “awwwww.” Jeff asks Woo if he’s feeling okay. Woo says he feels great. I don’t buy it for a second. Woo still trying to play the “I wanted to compete against a challenge” line. No way. You want to win a million dollars. That’s the whole point.

Yes, it was a million dollar mistake that Woo made in his F2 choice.

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