by Gina Scarpa

 

By the end of the two hour Survivor: Caramoan finale tonight, the final five will be whittled down to one winner. Things move along quicker than the players expected when Erik falls ill during the tribal council that sent Brenda packing. Jeff runs over as the group heads back to camp and the medical crew comes in soon after. The doctor makes an official call to pull him from the game and Erik makes a heartbreaking exit. It doesn't take long for Cochran to change up his game and bring in Eddie, with a plan to vote out Dawn next. Whether or not Cochran will actually turn on his closest ally remains to be seen, but at least he's got options.

 

A reward challenge has players building a house of cards with one hand while holding a lever to balance things with the other. The final four were practically salivating over the idea of food, but instead find out the prize is a big advantage in the final immunity challenge. Better than pizza or a burger, I'll tell you that! At one point or another, everyone's tower collapses, forcing them to start over multiple times. Cochran pulls off the win, gaining the advantage, but making the target on his back that much bigger.

 

Going into the final immunity challenge, the one thing people agree upon is that nobody wants to sit next to Dawn. When Eddie and Sherri disappear into the jungle to talk strategy, Dawn's paranoia runs rampant. Helping take her mind off things is the Survivor rite of passage, a milestone and memorable moment for the final four.

 

In the final immunity challenge, players race up a three story flight of stairs to retrieve bags of puzzle pieces, then head down a giant slide to bring it to a puzzle area. Cochran's advantage is that he doesn't have to untie his bags, which gives him a huge lead. Yet, by the time everyone gets back with their bags, Cochran's made no progress on the puzzle at all! Dawn takes the lead on the 3D puzzle, which is in the shape of fire, but Cochran comes back to get the most win of the season. If he doesn't win this season, there's something very wrong!

 

Back at camp, Cochran reassures a (not surprisingly) emotional Dawn, while Eddie tries to convince him that he's the better choice to bring to the end. The decision on who goes to the end is not an easy one. Sure, Dawn can play the sympathy or mom card, but Eddie's been on the outs since the beginning and must easily have Malcolm's and Reynold's votes. Dawn and Eddie battle it out at tribal, with Dawn saying Eddie's extremely likable, and Eddie saying Dawn made huge moves that changed the game. When the votes are read, Eddie becomes the last member of the jury. Smart move, people.

 

After a feast, and a little time to prepare what to say, it's time for the final three to face the jury. In their opening statements, Dawn says she's proud of the hardest decisions she made, Sherri falls apart because of her nerves but manages to get out that she did a good job integrating and adapting, and Cochran highlights his passion for the game as well as his strategy and timing. Malcolm is the first jury member to address the group and asks Cochran what he has that he doesn't, and Cochran's answer is insecurity. When Sherri tells Eddie she wasn't carried to the final three, the jury laughs at her. Phillip continues the beating by kicking Sherri out of Stealth R Us, then tells Dawn she made camp life disruptive, but has nothing but love for Cochran.

 

Erik jumps to Brenda's defense for the blindside Dawn participated in and calls Sherri a seashell on the beach. Michael gives Dawn a chance to explain why Cochran is getting off easy, and she says it's because she developed better relationships. Reynold calls Dawn a fraud, and demands three adjectives to describe him. She chooses: chauvinistic, humorous, and vulgar. Not sure what that got her, but alright. Andrea seems to most identify with Dawn's game, but Brenda can't help but bring up the hurt she felt from her blindside. When Dawn claims she wouldn't have quit if Brenda hadn't retrieved her teeth that day, Brenda turns around and asks her to take her teeth out. Granted, she's still upset but there really a need to embarrass her?

 

We transition over to the live show so let's find out how the votes were cast: Cochran.  Cochran.  Cochran.  Cochran.  Cochran.  That's enough, Cochran is the winner!

 

 

Don't miss our reunion recap and interview with Survivor: Caramoan winner John Cochran tomorrow on RealityWanted!

 

(Image courtesy of CBS)

 

 

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