Survivor season 35 finale Ponderosa: Devon Pinto is a modern bard

In a brief Survivor Ponderosa video, Devon Pinto showcases exactly why he would have been a great winner had he made it to the end.

Heading into the Survivor season 35 finale, I was fairly certain that the edgic was leading us towards a Devon or Chrissy win. Clearly, I have a lot to learn about the craft of reading the tea leaves, but it seemed like Devon’s quiet, yet brilliant gameplay was going to pay off in dividends, and voting Mike at the Final 5 to secure another day in the game was certainly the kind of thing I could expect.

However, when it came down to a fire-making challenge between Devon and Ben, with Devon not even able to start a fire in preparation, the writing was on the wall. Inevitably, Devon went home in fourth place, becoming the final member of the jury and headed to Survivor Ponderosa full of energy.

Seriously, when Devon met up with the rest of his jury, he was ecstatic about all the cool things the resort had waiting for him. Instead of worrying too much about getting a hug from Ashley and Mike (both of whom Devon had a hand in voting out with a blindside), he was ready to go 12 rounds with the punching bag, showing he had a lot more energy in him than he did right before the merge.

More than anything, Devon treasured the ability for him to enjoy all the benefits Survivor Ponderosa had to offer, including his luxury items. He broke out the ukelele and viewed it like an old friend he hadn’t seen in years. One of the more touching moments of these videos was Devon singing an original song to Ashley, showing off just how close the two were to each other.

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It’s odd to see how well Devon took the Day 38 loss better than fans of his at home. The Secret Advantage twist that meant nobody could vote Ben out of the game at the Final 4 will forever be a black spot on this season, as Devon showed he was a Tribal Council vote away from securing a strong victory. The way that everyone at Ponderosa felt comfortable and appreciated by his presence showed the possibility of a “what-if” scenario that will be brought up for years to come.