'Survivor' 2016 Winner: Did Adam Deserve To Win 'Millennials vs. Gen X'? [POLL, VIDEO]
Survivor host Jeff Probst is weighing in on why the Millennials vs. Gen X finale ended with such a decisive victory and whether the winner truly deserved the $1 million.
Adam Klein won Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X by a decisive 10-0-0 victory over Hannah Shapiro and Ken McNickle Wednesday night. While the win may not have been entirely surprising, the sheer lopsided nature of the final vote tally has been a topic of discussion in the Survivor fan community.
Probst spoke with Entertainment Weekly after the finale about why he thinks Adam won so decisively and what motivated the jury to hand him the million dollars.
"This is a tricky season and that's part of the reason that it vaults to the top as one of my personal favorite seasons of all time. The gameplay has never been better than this season. The personal stories of growth never more rewarding," Probst said. "Adam's journey combines both of those elements: gameplay and emotion. Adam's story is very unique. He had a driving force more urgent than probably anyone else who has ever played. It's hard to compute what that does to someone in terms of giving them an energetic boost at times when other players might start to falter."
From early in the season the audience learned of Adam's struggle with being out on the island while his mother was back home battling cancer. But the 25-year-old only told one person, Jay Starrett, in the course of the game, until he revealed the news to the entire jury during Final Tribal Council. Sympathy for Adam's situation may have played a part in the jury deciding to award Adam the winner of season 33, but Probst noted that his strategy and the people he was sitting next to in the end also dictated this decision.
"Adam played a very aggressive game and it paid off," Probst said. "He got to the end and when he did he had a pretty decent resume. He found idols, he won a challenge, he was involved in key votes. He had a legit argument. He also put himself against the two perfect people to beat. Ken had frustrated his tribemates and had not earned enough respect to overcome that. Hannah was seen as less secure and consistent in her voting performance and regardless if it was an accurate assessment, I think that hurt her."
What do you think? Did Adam deserve the $1 million over Hannah and Ken?
Survivor's 34th season premieres March 8 at 8/7c on CBS.
