LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It finally happened. Dan was removed from the game, but it honestly took too long.
The inappropriate touching that dominated the merge episode really soured the rest of the season and the reason for his removal stains the legacy of Survivor.
Dan's Removal
Kellee brought up her discomfort with Dan on episode one and it all came to a boil at the merge but she felt confident that she could move past it.
Then she got voted out for reasons unrelated to that, but it still struck a nerve with Janet and the audience (us included). Production stepped in and talked to Dan, who seemingly just brushed it off as nothing.
But he wasn't removed from the game until this episode after he reportedly had an incident with a staff member of the crew.
Survivor does not go into detail of what happened for legal reasons, but it just seems like production dropped the ball here and should have removed him at the merge.
People is reporting that Dan allegedly touched a female crew member's leg after an immunity challenge while getting into a boat.
The whole situation sucks and this season will not be ranked as one of the bests because it was ruined by the drama around Dan.
Regardless, Dan is finally gone and we can have a finale without him on the show.
Tribal Council
Other than the ending of the episode, the whole thing is Elaine's swansong. From her nearly winning the immunity challenge to the tribal council, it is all about Elaine.
She was a force of nature in this game and it only makes sense to eliminate her, but boy did she fight all the way until the last moment.
Elaine will definitely be back for future seasons with a probably huge target on her back.
Final 3 Predictions
It's clear Tommy is making it to the final three, but Lauren and Janet have the hardest road to travel to get there. It's possible, but unlikely.
That's why it seems like it will be Tommy, Dean and Noura. And you know what, it may not be as clear cut as Tommy winning the season. Even with all of his stupid moves, Dean is building a resume that could look good in front of the jury.
See you next week for the finale!