Down to the last night. The season finale. What will I do with my Wednesday nights? Maybe I can play the Survivor theme on my IPod. Oh wait I don't have an IPod. But, enough about me.
Its night 35. Grant arrives at Exile Island to join Matt, Mike and Andrea. Rob, Natalie, Ashley and Phillip head back to camp. Rob is proud of getting rid of Grant but admits he will miss Grant. "As much as I like to think of myself as a cold hearted player, it hurts me a little bit". It may hurt, but Rob wastes no time in planning how he can get rid of Ashley.
On day 36 we find Matt standing on a beach on Redemption Island. As the waves crash onto the rugged shore, Matt tells us that after nearly a month he has come to love Redemption Island. Mike also tells us that he will be leaving a little piece of himself on Redemption Island. The final Redemption Duel involves the four Redemptionites placing one foot on the end of a balance beam. On the other end of the beam is a glass vase. The trick is to keep that vase from falling off the other end of the beam due to an errant twitch of the leg. Grant is the first out and becomes the 5th member of the jury. He is followed by Matt and Mike. With these three go Pam, Rick and I, and Cheryl. Andrea is the surprise victor and wins her way back into the game. She heads back to camp with Rob and company but finds her reception is not exactly warm and fuzzy. She tries to convince Ashley and Natalie to vote for Phillip. Ashley tells us that she hopes Andrea will join the girls and help to get rid of Phillip or Rob. Meanwhile the men see the women talking and worry about a girl alliance. Rob is adamant that Ashley must go.
The Immunity challenge involves running along a balance beam and collecting bags of puzzle pieces tied along the beam. In each bag are numbered tiles which must be arranged in numerical order 1-100. The first to do so wins immunity. Ashley wins immunity, thereby foiling Rob's plan to get rid of her. No problem. Andrea is Rob's number #2 girl. Andrea again tries to get Ashley and Natalie to vote for one of the men, but at Tribal Council Rob plays his immunity idol (though he doesn't need to) and Andrea (along with Robert and Lorelee from the pool) is sent to join the jury.
Day 38 brings the final challenge. The four remaining survivors must navigate a giant maze to locate four bags of puzzle pieces which they must assemble into a phrase. Is it just me or are others beginning to yearn for a mud wrestling challenge or a tug of war over a crevass or something a that doesn't involve puzzle pieces? In any case Rob wins immunity, important now that he has played his idol. Rob busies himself convincing Ashley that Phillip is going home and convincing Phillip that Ashley is going home. Ashley is the target but Rob has to convince a reluctant Natalie to vote for her friend. Not about to oppose Rob at this stage of the game, Natalie complies and Ashley becomes the final member of the jury, along with Jack from the pool. Rick voted for Ashley to win so no Survivor buff for the Rickster.
And so we arrive at the final day of Survivor Redemption Island. All three of the remaining Survivors contemplate what they will say to the jury.Ever the game player, Rob pretends to give Natalie tips about what to say but is really telling her how he wants her to behave with the jury. Phillip has a sure-fired way to get votes. He intends to tell the jury why they are in the jury and he isn't. Uh hmmm Phillip. We will be waiting anxiously to see how that works out for you! On this last day Phillip burns his pink underwear (to everyone's relief) and invokes the spirit of his great great grandfather one last time. We are (thankfully) spared the usual memory walk to recall fallen Survivors. Instead we head straight off to the final Tribal Council. As usual, everyone gets a chance to address the jury. Both Natalie and Phillip say that they are there because Rob got them there, leaving me wondering why they think anyone will vote for them. Rob touches on his success in challenges, his work ethic and his strategy, but says he was really there to give his wife and daughter a better life. When each Survivor addresses the three finalists it is plain that no one is very fond of Phillip and that he has no idea how to coax their votes out of them. Rob has chosen his final three to perfection. While the jury may not like Rob, Phillip has been abrasive, unlikable and downright crazy, while Natalie has done nothing except follow Rob's orders. When the votes are counted Rob Mariano is the winner after four Survivor attempts over a 10 year span. Lynn, our unsung pool co-organizer was paired with Rob and so wins the $150.00 (though I must tell you she wasn't very excited about drawing Rob!). Donna picked Rob to win, so she gets a genuine Zapatera Survivor buff. Sorry Donna. At the time I ordered I had no idea Zapatera would be so thoroughly zapped. Besides, its a really pretty purple one!
Season 23 of Survivor will be set in the South Pacific. There will be 16 new players and 2 returning players (I'm sensing Russell?). The Redemption Island twist will be included again. We'll see you all in the fall. Enjoy your summer until, once again, we...
Outwit, Outplay, Outlast
Pat (aka Matt damn I wish I could have one just one more duel Elrod)
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