In the end, it all came down to Laurel.
Ladies and gentlemen, Laurel Johnson just cast the most important vote inSurvivorhistory.
Because Jeff Probst is a freakin psychic.
Credit: CBS
Seriously, how else to explain it?
But it had never happened before.
Im not sure weve ever seen a division like that before.
And so it all came down to Laurel.
Or whatever the hell her name is.
The woman was mad with power!
Power mad, I say!
In actuality, Laurel was pretty chill about the whole situation.
Just kind of walked over and did her business.
Can you imagine if Kellyn had been in that situation?
Oh my God, that would have been incredible!
Not bars for dogs like my man Eddie fromCaramoan how is that genius idea going, by the way?
Sorry I dont have the dope flow down like my homie The Noble One.
The vote was going to Wendell.
And had it been Dom, I would have said the same thing.
Thats the most interesting element about this whole battle royale between Domenick and Wendell.
There seemed to be no wrong answer.
Sure, you may have preferred one a bit over the other.
Maybe you appreciated Domenicks aggressive style and go big or go home theatrics.
And that made for a unique finale viewing experience.
And what a show that final Tribal Council was.
The new open conversation format that started a year ago withGame Changerspaid HUGE dividends here.
Instead of stupid questions like Tell me why you got rid of me?
or grandstanding in the guise of personal pleas for particular contestants, we got actual debate and discussion.
Sometimes enlightening, other times contentious.
You had jurors scoffing at finalists.
You had jurors calling out finalists for interrupting people.
You had jurors openly debating amongst themselves as to who should get credit for what.
Wendell painted himself as the mastermind.
Dom openly refuted it with a blistering counterattack, pointing out how Theres no mastermind.
Lets stop with the nonsense.
Its always the Dom show, he said.
For one thing, the last visual I want to be imagining is whom Michael Jackson was loving.
Lets just leave that one right there.
(Recap continues on next page)
But apparently Wendell wasnt the only lover out there.
Sea Bass also proclaimed himself a lover in the most Sea Bass quote of all time.
That was brutal, he said regarding Doms theatrics before voting him out.
Im a lover dude.
Like, I played from my heart.
That was my entire game.
I didnt even have strategy, you know.
Oh, we know, Sea Bass.
Kellyn was a force on the jury.
Michael made hugely important points.
Chris Noble scored massive props by showing nothing but respect and admiration for his biggest enemy out there.
(No Bitter Jury Syndrome for that dude yo take note all future egocentricSurvivorplayers.)
Donathan backed up Domenick s version of events during Tribal… and then went and voted for Wendell!
We dont have to waste time with dumb questions that people dont even really want to ask.
Those who really, truly want to be involved and have their say can take over.
And that makes for a better discussion and it makes for better TV.
Wait, WHAT?!?
Read the votes?!?
The reactions from both the final three and the jury were priceless with major freak-outs all around.
Of course, the biggest freak-out had to be Domenick.
Clearly, Laurel was going to vote Wendell.
At least in the edit we saw, Wendell appeared to cultivate that relationship more.
I wonder if Dom could have made a deal with Laurel there before bringing her to the end.
In the event of a tie at the end, you will vote for me to win.
We promise that to each other right here and right now.
We make an unbreakable vow, kind of like Severus Snape and Narcissa Malfoy.
So how about it?
Now, as we know, such deals are completely unenforceable.
Just ask Dreamz about that as he rolls around town in his 2008 Ford Super Duty truck.
But it cant hurt.
And maybe Laurel actually then honors that agreement and Domenick is $900,000 richer.
Losing by a tiebreaker vote has to sting a super-fan like Domenick.
And that sting will never truly go away.
at nobody in particular.
Hes got a beautiful wife and adorable kids.
But the pain of getting that close will never truly go away.
She forgave me, but Im sure she has not forgotten.
And my secret shame will never truly fade.
And then theres Wendell.
A more-than-worthy winner, to be sure.
Everyone in the press who met him before the game had him on their short lists to win.
(Gordon Holmes actually picked him to take it all.
My initial pick was Dom and then I switched last minute to Brendan.
actually picked Wendell on day 1 to win the game.
Looks like Probst reversed his own curse!
I cant recall a singlewhat-was-he-thinking?!
?moment from Wendell all season.
I cant see anyone being upset at a Wendell win.
How could you be?
Wait a minute, did I just say winners???
I believe I did.
Did you see the size of this maze for the first challenge?
It was to use Mark Burnetts favorite word in the history of words epic.
In the end, Wendell finished first, and this time he made sure to call Jeff over.
Wendell: Jeff Probst!Prost: What?Wendell: I think Im done, bro.
That sounds like perfectly fine reasoning and I suppose that…
Hold on a minute.
Im getting a breaking news alert coming to us straight from the Too Little Too Late department.
Lets check in with Action News reporter Cash Rockwood who is on the scene.
Take it away, Cash!
Cash Rockwood here reporting live from the Too Little Too Late department.
Wendell wins the reward and takes the people he knows are my two biggest enemies.
I dont feel good about my alliance.
I cant take it anymore.
The gloves are off and I am coming after them.
Certainly stronger than anything weve heard from her all season.
Once again, reporting live from the department of Too Little Too Late, Im Cash Rockwood.
We then saw her blabbing to everyone what Michael said.
Yeah, exactly, and you gave away ALL of that power the second you squealed to Dom.
She even knew it!
Angela herself said I can tell you something.
I probably shouldnt because its going to f up my game.
BUT THEN SHE WENT AND TOLD HIM ANYWAY!
SHE EVEN ACKNOWLEDGED SHE WAS FING UP HER GAME BUT KEPT GOING!
DO YOU SEE HOW ANGRY I AM GETTING?!
I AM WRITING IN ALL CAPS AND CANT STOP, THATS HOW ANGRY I AM!
Thats how close Dom was to being voted out of the game.
But Angela inexplicably saved him.
And only because she could not keep her mouth shut.
Thank god Angela is the loose cannon, noted Dom.
She just has diarrhea of the mouth.
She just does not know how to keep a secret.
Thank the heavens for #SevereGastroinestinalDistressOfTheMouth.
He was fun to watch and his Aunt Patty is a national treasure.
All that said, Donathan is not exactly Marlon Brando.
I mean, Im not handing the guy any Oscars or anything.
Why the hell would I want to cut through a penny?
He just shrugged and that was pretty much that.
Its not Donathans fault though.
The guy became a victim of his own success.
He proved himself a fighter.
And he wanted to fight even harder, but Laurel kept holding him back.
No way he just slips into that state and takes being voted out with a whimper.
But it all didnt matter because Domenick already knew the truth thanks to Gossipy Gilda over there.
Oh, Jeff, sighed Dom.
I dont buy it for one second.
Hes been speaking every Tribal Council and all of a sudden he got nothing to say?
Im not buying it.
Dom then proceeded to tell them how he knew absolutely everything and then showed off his own ammunition.
My pockets are loaded.
And Im prepared to just break out pockets.
Things only got crazier.
Dom showed his real idol and his fake idol, which he claimed was now real.
And then Dom made his big move.
But why would he?
He never said it was real.
And heres the thing about Probst.
Hes said it to me a million times.
Theywantthe players to play the game.
The last thing they want to do is stymie creativity from the contestants.
No way Probst then doesnt allow that to play out.
No way at all.
If it goes bust, I cant say I didnt try.
Cojones of steel, ladies & gentlemen.
Toughen up, people!
But what was of note was how many puzzle pieces there were: only four!
How cool is that?
I love challenges that are deceptively difficult.
You look and see four pieces and youre thinking, No problem!
And then the problems begin.
No calling Jeff Probst a bro.
No Brad Culpepper stomping around the beach with a No.
1 finger pointed in the air.
After the voting, the big question was who would play their idol first.
Ill let you go first, said WendellOh, you got a big finale youre gonna do?
responded DomA little one, answered Wendell.
Awwwww, nice speech!
Of course, giving Laurel the idol also meant absolutely nothing.
Laurel was already safe once Dom and Wendell had decided to vote for Donathan.
Also, why didnt Donathan bring his bag to Tribal Council?
Final Immunity is Up For GrabsYou all know me.
In this final challenge, all the players had to do was stack 6 balls and stands.
And sure enough, Wendell tore through the course.
But as he walked back with his sixth and final ball, KABLOOEY!
yelled Probst with more than a trace of sadistic glee.
Challenges are no longer resume builders.
They can keep you in the game, but dont seem to help you win it.
Urning One Final AdvantageIm a geek.
And you all know Ive been geeking out on all the oldSurvivorprops that weve seen all season long.
But there were three more waiting at Ghost Island.
These urns were allegedly cursed because they were all from seasons where people Colby, Woo, F.U.
But I also think its a super fun touch and fits in perfectly with the theme of the season.
Allow me to explain.
She knows the game, argued Angela.Shes a fing Yale graduate.
Yeah, so is the Fonz, but I dont see Henry Winkler winningGhost Islandeither.
But was there another option?
What if Domenick actually gave his necklace to Angela and he went head-to-head against Wendell?
That was one reason.
It has more impact.
So should Dom have given away his challenge victory and thrown himself into the fire, as it were?
First off, it would have been a baller move.
I guess the question comes down to: How good is Dom at fire?
Just because he was better than Laurel or Angela does not mean he still could have beaten Wendell.
But if his chances were highly suspect, then you have to stay put and hope for the best.
Look, the most excitingSurvivorplayers dont play for second, third, or fourth place.
Why do they play?
has had that attitude throughout.
But the margin between the two at the end was, as we saw, razor thin.
This was not a matter ofif-Wendells-in-he-automatically-wins.It was moreif-Wendells-in-it-becomes-a-toss-up.
Its Orangeism, plain and simple, is what it is!
If it makes him feel better Im okay because it doesnt bother me.
Thats right, Angela!
You go, girl!
Of course, Angela was then promptly and soundly demolished.
So, I dont know, maybe orange does suck after all.
I have stated enough times in enough different ways why I am not a fan of it.
But that doesnt mean I dont recognize the upside to it.
Because there can be upside, and to ignore it simply to strengthen your own argument is unfair.
The producers are not trying to make the showworse.
They want to make the show better!
And lets look at this from their perspective.
Lets say the fire-making twist didnt exist.
There would have been no difficult choice for the jury.
There would have been none of those big, open deliberations.
I know we dont agree on much inSurvivorfandom, but I think we can all agree on that.
Laurel never stood a chance.
I wonder if she realized this heading in, or figured it out as Tribal progressed.
She tried various defenses for her gameplay but most were brushed aside by the jury.
I think if you are relying on a challenge to stash your game you are doing something wrong.
Thats an effective argument.
I have said it all season: I like Laurel.
That was very smart and thinking many moves ahead.
She misplayed her hand.
But believe it or not and this may drive you crazy Id like to see her play again.
Because I think she learned from his massive mistake and would play a much more aggressive game next time.
Listen, Des didnt didnt say a whole lot here, but she did have one great line.
And why should she?
Just because they both happen to like the same kind of music?
But thats not even why I am pointing this incident all out.
on the jury as Wendell talked about his favorite rappers.
Wendell doesnt know what hes talking about, by the way.
The Noble One has ALL The bars, yall!
Bow down and pay respects to the true O.G.!
(Original Ghost.)
Is it just me or did Angela look fabulous at the final Tribal Council?
Theres always that one person that gets on the jury and youre like WHOA!
Angela was that person this season.
Networks do that stuff all the time.
Is she still on Ghost Island or something.
I cant wait to find out!
We still have some other business to take care of before we finish things up.
First of all, we finally have a winner in our #FakeKellyn contest.
The winner will receive all 20 of the originalSurvivorLove Letters as written by theGhost Islandcast.
that we have not one winner but two!
Kellyn has kindly agreed to send a signed Naviti buff to the runner-up.
And the runner up winner is…
Congrats, Matt!
Which brings us to the winner of the original pack of 20 Survivor Love Letters.
And the winner is…
Way to put your kids to work, Bob!
Congratulations to both the winners.
Kellyn and I will be in touch with your prizes.
Dont worry if you didnt win because we still have plenty of goodies for you.
Did you read mymassive franchise deep divewith Jeff Probst and Mark Burnett?
Yep, got that too.
See, everyones a winner!
you could also follow me on the Twitter@DaltonRossto have all the handy links sent right to you.
Would you have voted Wendell or Dom?
Do you now like the final four fire-making twist?
And what were your thoughts on both the finale and the season as a whole?
Hit the message boards to weigh in.
Not unlike the subjects of Ice-Ts late-80 rap anthem Colors the fans ofSurvivorwill never die, just multiply!
I hope you have as much fun reading as I do writing.
And, Sia, if you want to float me $10,000, thats cool too.
Anyway, lets do it all again next season, shall we?
Until then, enjoy a summer-sized scoop of the crispy on my behalf!
