by Gina Scarpa

 

Tonight's Survivor finale kicks off with Grant's arrival at Redemption Island. He's not sure who betrayed him (can't imagine why) and Andrea isn't thrilled to see him at all. Who would be?! The guy has been a beast all season long. Matt seems to have fallen in love with Redemption Island and considers it home now, which is a far cry from the breakdown he was having a week or two ago.

 

In the duel, players have to place one foot on a balancing board while a vase sits on the other end of it. If the vase drops and breaks, they're out. These challenges are way more about mental ability than physical. 40 minutes in, Grant is the first to drop. An hour in, Matt gets distracted and drops his - shocking. Soon after, Mike's vase falls and Andrea is the one to re-enter the game. Who would've called that, based on the people playing?

 

As you might expect, things were a little awkward back at camp. Andrea starts making moves to secure her place in the game and begins drawing attention to Rob and Phillip. Ashley's gunning for Rob, too. It's about time someone started paying attention to him!

 

For this immunity challenge, players have to race across a balance beam and grab bags of tiles numbered 1-100. The first player to arrange them properly on the board wins. Throughout the challenge, Ashley, Rob, and Andrea are close but Ashley pulls ahead in the end and wins her second individual immunity in a row. When did Ashley start playing this game?!

 

Back at Murlonio, Rob rallies the troops and tells them to vote Andrea. While Rob went fishing though, Phillip catches Ashley and Natalie talking (about the actual plan and nothing else) and starts creating paranoia. Rob and Phillip run off, leaving the girls to discuss the possibility of blindsiding Rob. The three girls going to the end is actually stupid because they'll split the votes big time with the jury - especially Ashley and Andrea.

 

At tribal, the girls boldly talk about voting Rob out, completely unaware that he has an immunity idol sitting in his pocket. Before Probst reads the votes, Rob allows me to breathe a sigh of relief and finally plays that idol. He didn't even need to! Everyone votes Andrea and sends her over to the jury.

 

The final immunity challenge is huge, both in size and in terms of the game. Players have to race through a very large maze and collect puzzle pieces, then use them to create the phrase "only you are safe". This challenge would be a lot more interesting if Ashley would stop following Rob through the course. The two make it to the puzzle at the same time but Rob pulls off a win, making it to final three. What a huge win!

 

Before going to tribal, Rob pulls Natalie aside and tells her that she has to turn on her friend. In her interview, she says she'd rather lose this game than lose a friend in Ashley. Really???

 

Right before the vote, Ashley makes a completely idiotic move by saying that she thinks she has a better chance of winning the game than Natalie and Phillip. When the votes are read, Natalie keeps her word to Rob and votes Ashley out of the game.

 

The final three enjoy a feast, and then a ceremony to bid farewell to Phillip's plum colored undies. Thank goodness!

 

No rite of passage walk?!

 

Time for the final tribal council and opening speeches. Natalie says that she played a great social game and was very loyal, Phillip says that he wouldn't even be sitting there if it wasn't for Boston Rob and praised his own stealthy skills, and Rob points out his physical and strategic strengths as well as his contributions around camp.

 

Andrea asks: Who is the real Phillip? He responds: You had 39 days to know who I am. There's one vote gone for the Special Agent. She calls Natalie's relationship with Rob "creepy" and accuses her of riding coattails.

 

Ashley tells Phillip that she will speak and he will listen but he talks over her and refuses to be quiet, which is actually hysterical. She comes down on Natalie for blindsiding her but Natalie tells her that she was a bigger threat than Phillip - true. She also tells Rob that she doesn't know who he is, nor does she care to know.

 

Grant has Natalie explain more about her alliance with Rob. Rob tells him that he valued his friendship all the way until he realized that he could beat him physically when it mattered most.

 

Ralph compares Natalie to a kid, in the way that she followed Rob around. Phillip tells him that he liked his work ethic and says that they would've gotten along well if they had been on the same tribe.

 

Matt only asks one question and that's of Rob - where does he draw the line? He answers that the line is drawn when he goes home. In the game, he does what he needs to do to make it.

 

Julie lectures them and tells them that they should all be humble because none of them played a respectable game. Go sit down.

 

Mike brings up that he found religion and peace in the game and asks what they learned playing Survivor. Natalie learned that she's a lot more capable than she ever believed, Rob said that he's learned that it's time to stop playing and be a family man, and Phillip said that he can stand on his own, be an outcast, and be okay.

 

Steve tells Natalie that she's proud of her, tips his hat to Rob, and tells Phillip he feels sorry for him.

 

David pulls off perhaps the best jury move (for Rob, that is): talking to them directly and making a case for them to vote for Rob to

win. Wow.

 

After the jury votes, we're magically transported to the live finale - where RealityWanted's own Michael Lamp is sitting in the audience, I might add.

 

Here are the votes for the winner of Survivor: Rob.  Phillip.  Rob.  Rob.  Rob.  Rob.  

 

After 10 years and 117 days in the game, Boston Rob FINALLY wins Survivor!

 

 

Be sure to visit RealityWanted this week for interviews and stories from the live Survivor finale event in New York City!

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa