Spoilers ahead for the season finale of Survivor.
There are long-running reality shows, and then there's Survivor. The competition series just wrapped up Season 44, and is showing no signs of slowing down. The 3-hour finale was explosive, and we have a new winner in the form of delightful castaway/underdog Yam Yam. But Survivor fans have a lot of thoughts about who got votes in the finale and who didn't. Specifically, fan favorite finalist Carolyn, who even took on Jeff Probst during the season.
The Season 44 finale of Survivor saw the final 5 duke it out for a chance to win $1 million and the title of Sole Survivor. The Tika 3 somehow managed to make it to the finale episode, although Carson was eliminated at the Final 4. In the end Yam Yam got 7 votes, while Heidi got 1 and Carolyn failed to get a single vote to be the winner. While fans seem happy with the season overall, they're sounding off via Tweets about the fact that Carolyn was snubbed in this way. One popular tweet rads:
By the way, the debate for best game played by a zero-vote finalist is no longer a debate. #Survivor44 #Survivor pic.twitter.com/uknIYA9M00May 25, 2023
Facts. Carolyn was arguably the protagonist of Season 44, despite how Final Tribal ultimately went down. We opened with one of her confessionals, and she was a compelling character who was far more savvy than her fellow castaways originally thought. And while she had a strong performance while pleading her case to the jury including contestant Danny Massa, she ultimately didn't get any votes and came in third place.
It's not only fans who seem to take umbrage with the fact that Carolyn got shut out of Final Tribal. Past castaways are also sounding off online, including Owen Knight from Survivor 43. While he was happy Yam Yam won, he thought Carolyn deserved more respect on her name. In Owen's words:
#Survivor spoiler alert #survivor44🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨There is NO world where Carolyn and I should have the same number of jury votes. @carolynwiger you played amazing and led with your heart. Bravo 👏👏👏Yam Yam was phenomenal from start to finish! Very deserving winner 👑May 25, 2023
There are also plenty of memes pouring in about the Survivor finale, as the internet is wont to do. Many of those who were unhappy about Carolyn not getting any votes used images or footage from previous seasons to really drive home their argument. Case in point: the following tweet, which features a compilation of clips from two-time Survivor contestant Debbie Wanner. She, like Carolyn, was known for having big reactions to the game. Check out the funny tweet below:
carolyn does not deserve to be a zero vote finalist. #survivor pic.twitter.com/zTs7qeXtIyMay 25, 2023
This was a funny meme reaction to the sentiment shared by so many Survivor fans out there: Carolyn deserved better. Although some tweet reactions were far more angry, and included F-bombs aimed at the jury. You can check out one of those tweets below:
i love yam yam and i’m thrilled for his win. but carolyn as a 0 vote finalist? fuck you, jury. #survivorMay 25, 2023
Regardless of Carolyn getting shut out of Final Tribal, Yam Yam winning the season was super satisfying. What's more, it marked the first time that an LGBTQ+ castaway was named Sole Survivor since Todd Herzog won China aka Season 15. And there are plenty of comparisons happening between Yam Yam and Todd, despite their very different play styles.
One fun meme made this comparison by equating Carolyn with Survivor China finalist Courtney Yates, saying they both lost thanks to their gay best friend. Check it out:
Queens of losing to their gbf #survivor pic.twitter.com/qNtKCiwQccMay 25, 2023
With Survivor 44 now in the rear view, fans are already looking forward to the new season that'll arrive this coming fall. The finale featured a quick trailer for what's to come in Season 45, and the new batch of castaways getting to play the game of a lifetime. That includes Bruce from this season, who was evacuated due to an injury early on in the game.
Survivor airs Wednesdays on CBS. Be sure to check out the TV premiere list to plan your next bing watch.
