 |
| Survivor Redemption Island |
Boston Rob Mariano took home the title of Sole Survivor and the prize of a million dollars on Sunday night's eventful season finale of "Survivor: Redemption Island," playing - and dominating - the game all the way to the very end.
After a combined 117 days of playing the game, four seasons and countless immunity challenges, The Robfather was finally able to find closure after being crowned winner in "as close to a perfect game as anyone has ever played."
The last leg of the journey was no walk in the park - er, jungle, however.
The season finale kicks off with the remaining eight competitors in two very different places - literally.
Rob, Ashley, Phillip and Natalie return to a solemn Camp Murlonio following Tribal Council, having voted out Rob's island bestie Grant. To his credit, Rob feels guilty about his blindside, because, despite his path of seemingly ruthless destruction, he has "a heart in there somewhere."
So maybe it was the mob boss' plan all along to use that heart to help his fellow competitors gain a newfound appreciation for life on Redemption Island - and a closer relationship to the Big Guy Upstairs.
Matt, Mike, Andrea - and now Grant - bow their heads in prayer, and Matt, who's survived two blindsides and 29 days of banishment on Redemption Island, even calls the island limbo a "treasure."
But maybe God's golden boy spoke too soon, because at the final Redemption Island four-way dual, the dual champ falls out of the running "when he needed it most," in the words of host Jeff Probst.
Grant and Mike similarly lose the concentration challenge - the competitors balanced a vase via a wooden beam - and become the newest members of the jury, with Andrea earning her way back into Camp Murlonio.
Not that she gets confetti and a ticker tape parade (does anyone these days?) upon her return, however. Rather, the tough farm girl decides to up her game and do what seems to work best on "Survivor": lie.
She tells the girls that the men on Redemption Island are seriously considering voting for Phillip should the former special agent and Rob make it to the very end, planting a seed of doubt in their heads about their allegiance to Rob.
Finally, someone stepping up to the plate!
But Andrea's bold actions come too little, too late, because Rob is keeping a constant watch on his "soldiers" - especially Ashley, whom he labels a bad seed.
The next day's immunity challenge, however, throws a wrench in Rob's grand plan to blindside Ashley and vote her out of the game. After going neck and neck at the puzzle challenge, Ashley beats Rob and snags the immunity necklace, much to his dismay.
"I'm kind of at a loss for words, Jeff," the beaming competitor says of her win.
It's like she took the words right out of Rob's mouth.
Perceptive Andrea sees this as a ripe opportunity for her to sway the girls to her side, and Rob knows this too. Therefore, the wide-eyed outsider has got to go, Rob decides. He tells his clan his orders and heads out for some relaxing fishing.
The seed Andrea had planted is starting to sprout in Natalie and Ashley's minds, and the two second-guess their allegiance to Rob, and it seems for a moment that a Black Widow female alliance could form.
This worries Rob, who finally plays his hidden immunity idol - which nearly everyone had forgotten about - to protect himself.
But true to form, Natalie and Ashley opt for the comfort of Rob's shadow, and stick with The Robfather at Tribal council, voting odd-woman-out Andrea off to the jury.
The remaining four - Rob, Ashley, Natalie and Phillip - compete in their final challenge, a huge maze with - what else? - a word puzzle at the end.
Ashley adopts the wily tactic of following Rob throughout the maze, and she comes up just short of the immunity necklace win.
"It was Amber who encouraged me to come back again, it's because of her," an emotional Rob says, finally finding that heart he'd mentioned earlier. "Whatever happens now, I'm okay. Even if I don't win ... I did my best."
But let's be honest: Rob isn't one to settle for second-best. It doesn't take him long to evaluate which of the "three idiots" he wants out of the running, but it does take some planning for him to approach ally Natalie and tell her that her best bud Ashley is the one to go.
Baby Natalie dutifully does as she's told, backstabbing her island bestie (Grant, take heart that you weren't the only victim) to land herself in the final three.
Ultimately, however, despite Phillip's ceremonial burning of his "plum-colored" saggy underwear, Rob's work ethic, brilliant game play and convincing argument earn him the million dollars.
After a combined 117 days of playing the game, four seasons and countless immunity challenges, The Robfather was finally able to find closure after being crowned winner in "as close to a perfect game as anyone has ever played."
The last leg of the journey was no walk in the park - er, jungle, however.
The season finale kicks off with the remaining eight competitors in two very different places - literally.
Rob, Ashley, Phillip and Natalie return to a solemn Camp Murlonio following Tribal Council, having voted out Rob's island bestie Grant. To his credit, Rob feels guilty about his blindside, because, despite his path of seemingly ruthless destruction, he has "a heart in there somewhere."
So maybe it was the mob boss' plan all along to use that heart to help his fellow competitors gain a newfound appreciation for life on Redemption Island - and a closer relationship to the Big Guy Upstairs.
Matt, Mike, Andrea - and now Grant - bow their heads in prayer, and Matt, who's survived two blindsides and 29 days of banishment on Redemption Island, even calls the island limbo a "treasure."
But maybe God's golden boy spoke too soon, because at the final Redemption Island four-way dual, the dual champ falls out of the running "when he needed it most," in the words of host Jeff Probst.
Grant and Mike similarly lose the concentration challenge - the competitors balanced a vase via a wooden beam - and become the newest members of the jury, with Andrea earning her way back into Camp Murlonio.
Not that she gets confetti and a ticker tape parade (does anyone these days?) upon her return, however. Rather, the tough farm girl decides to up her game and do what seems to work best on "Survivor": lie.
She tells the girls that the men on Redemption Island are seriously considering voting for Phillip should the former special agent and Rob make it to the very end, planting a seed of doubt in their heads about their allegiance to Rob.
Finally, someone stepping up to the plate!
But Andrea's bold actions come too little, too late, because Rob is keeping a constant watch on his "soldiers" - especially Ashley, whom he labels a bad seed.
The next day's immunity challenge, however, throws a wrench in Rob's grand plan to blindside Ashley and vote her out of the game. After going neck and neck at the puzzle challenge, Ashley beats Rob and snags the immunity necklace, much to his dismay.
"I'm kind of at a loss for words, Jeff," the beaming competitor says of her win.
It's like she took the words right out of Rob's mouth.
Perceptive Andrea sees this as a ripe opportunity for her to sway the girls to her side, and Rob knows this too. Therefore, the wide-eyed outsider has got to go, Rob decides. He tells his clan his orders and heads out for some relaxing fishing.
The seed Andrea had planted is starting to sprout in Natalie and Ashley's minds, and the two second-guess their allegiance to Rob, and it seems for a moment that a Black Widow female alliance could form.
This worries Rob, who finally plays his hidden immunity idol - which nearly everyone had forgotten about - to protect himself.
But true to form, Natalie and Ashley opt for the comfort of Rob's shadow, and stick with The Robfather at Tribal council, voting odd-woman-out Andrea off to the jury.
The remaining four - Rob, Ashley, Natalie and Phillip - compete in their final challenge, a huge maze with - what else? - a word puzzle at the end.
Ashley adopts the wily tactic of following Rob throughout the maze, and she comes up just short of the immunity necklace win.
"It was Amber who encouraged me to come back again, it's because of her," an emotional Rob says, finally finding that heart he'd mentioned earlier. "Whatever happens now, I'm okay. Even if I don't win ... I did my best."
But let's be honest: Rob isn't one to settle for second-best. It doesn't take him long to evaluate which of the "three idiots" he wants out of the running, but it does take some planning for him to approach ally Natalie and tell her that her best bud Ashley is the one to go.
Baby Natalie dutifully does as she's told, backstabbing her island bestie (Grant, take heart that you weren't the only victim) to land herself in the final three.
Ultimately, however, despite Phillip's ceremonial burning of his "plum-colored" saggy underwear, Rob's work ethic, brilliant game play and convincing argument earn him the million dollars.
No comments:
Post a Comment