Tom wins! Surprise? Not really. Satisfying? Yep.

So Mr. NYNY Fireman wins Survivor? Not too shocking, is it? Did Tom deserve it though? Heck yeah. He basically single-handedly coined the term Ulong by his ability to lead Koror to an amazing immunity streak that eradicated Ulong. Further, he was an obvious threat, but did his Kororian tribemates vote him off because of this? They didn't have many opportunities (he won 5 out of 7 individual immunities after all), but there were 2, and did they take them? Nope - they went after Stephenie and Gregg instead. So be it. But even better, Tom admits to his tribe that he's a threat, and begs not to get voted off. And they don't. You know, if a tribe is that unwilling to turn on you, then by all means, you have earned that prize.

Katie: Born for Second Place in Survivor

She professed at the final tribal council that she got to where she was because she used the cards she had in her possession. Nobody is really quite sure what those cards entailed, but nevertheless, she WAS still in the Final Two. Why? Because much like Jerri of Australia, she had been able to antagonize nearly everybody out there. It didn't seem like she was nearly as divinely bitchy as Jerri, but her personality nevertheless grated on others. A person would have been foolish to have not taken her to the Final two with them. Don't get me wrong though - I couldn't stand how everybody decided to go all high-and-mighty on Katie during the jury phase. These people who acted like they played with integrity and skill and finesse..... puhlease. Only Gregg really had a claim to those characteristics (although he annoyed me with his personal attacks too); people like Caryn and Jenn definitely had no right to pass judgment. I will fault Katie for her ginormous blunder at tribal council though: Even though Janu admitted her vote was never swaying to Katie, Katie should still have answered her question. Her obstinance to the question may possibly have influenced others against her, and hence why she had a 6-1 vote....? Anyways, Katie's got $100K now, so who's laughing last?

What the Hell, Ian?

You were your own worst enemy in this game, Ian. Specifically, your mouth always seemed to be plotting against your position in the game. When Tom discusses his rationale about who to take to the Final 3, your move, Ian, would have been to just nod sagely and agree. Not to say "I am glad I didn't have to make that decision, I'm not sure what I would have done..." D'oh! And you had absolutely no ability to keep strategy secret or to cover it up with lies. Perhaps that's a nice trait, but in Survivor, it's a sure-fire way to lose. And lose you did. Third Place has a nice cash prize, for sure, but it's no million. I will give credit to him for lasting nearly 12 hours on that endless challenge. I can't believe how long they lasted on those poles. Incredible. And he must have felt pretty bad about his lies to Tom and Katie to give up. But why wait so long? And c'mon, like people wouldn't get over it. Ah well.......

And then we had Jenn

You know, I never would have guessed she would be in the Final 4. I am betting Gregg is surprised she made it this far too. I think she nearly made it to the Final 3 past Ian too, especially with Tom's rage in full swing against Ian. Who knew there'd be another tie, and another use of the fire race. But with Jenn, unlike Stephenie, I pretty much knew she had no shot against beating Ian, because I don't think I ever saw Jenn do much more than Katie. But she was able to keep up with the boys on challenges, so there's that! Well, almost at least.

Final Thoughts! (for good, about Palau at least)

This season rocked. So many interesting twists and interesting characters. Plenty of surprises to be sure, and all around a much better season than Vanuatu or All Stars. I can't wait to see this on DVD. I am interested in the next season too - except for that human sacrifice bit...? Anyways, Survivor: Mayan Ruins looks to be sweet!

Other's Thoughts:

C-Money speaks - La Finale!:

Of course the beginning is 10 minutes of recaps of the whole season. We get to see, again, how much a snake Ian and Tom both are from the start. I know I do NOT want either of them to win. My guess is Jenn at this point. We are supposed to see things tonight that will "surprise" us, Jenn winning would be my surprise.

Final 4 - they get breakfast on Survivor. Eggs, pancakes, champagne, bacon, coffee, you name it, that's what they get. Nice to hang out with your "buddies" just before you cut their nuts off. It looks as though everyone wants Tom gone.

So the 4 go to meet Jeff, they sit in the truck that the Survivor winner will win and get to look at the "blank check" made out for a million bucks. Now, the challenge is on. All kinds of knots and keys and shit. Tom, Ian and Jenn are in the lead and who knows what the hell Katie is doing, she's having problems with the rope she's tethered to. More knots, more keys, some metal rungs, throw in a grappling hook or 2 and Ian and Tom are leading with Jenn close behind. Katie is still working on some knots back a ways. But, in the end, Tom and Ian move on to a challenge between them, the ladies just sit and digest their nice breakfast. Into the water for Ian and Tom. They need to figure out a combo to a locked box from 3 tiles with numbers on them in a bag. Tom gets the box open after 3 tries and he wins immunity. We get the feeling right away that Jenn is being voted out. It seems that everything is out in the open now and they all talk openly that Jenn is going home (God, I hope not) right in front of her. Ian says something along the lines that he was glad he didn't win because if he had, he would have had to make a BIG decision. Jenn played on that line and told Tom that he missed what Ian was saying, Ian would have voted Tom out if he had won. Tom confronts Ian and I think that was a MAJOR decision maker for Tom to... cause another vote, which comes to a second tie in this tribal council. Jenn and Ian have to break a tie and it is trial by fire like Steph and snot-rocket man. Ian wins. Jenn didn't even get a fire started, seemed like she didn't even try. Oh well, Ian is in the final three, BUT, we get the pleasure of seeing Tom write Ian's name down on that parchment. (So where was the surprise????)

Final three - Tom, Ian and Katie. Just like it was "planned" from back on day 2. After council, Tom and Ian are arguing, Katie gets in on it and this is pathetic. I keep hearing "all your lies" and "changing tactics" being thrown at Ian when Tom and Katie are NO angels either. Haven't we seen them do the sames things? Remember Gregg, Katie? Remember Caryn, Tom? It's terrible how they turn all the tides against Ian, not that I like him, but what is the saying about throwing stones in a glass house?? So, here comes the cheesy remembrance stuff (which I hope they do remember them this time). They had to bury their torches at sea. They didn't say much about anyone from the other tribe except Bobby Jon and Stephanie. The way Katie shot Janu's torch in the water was a little harsh, but all the others were dropped in nicely. Hmmm.

Final challenge - bob on a buoy for as long as you can. Barefoot on a small disk of rusted metal. I'm curious how long it will last. The wind picks up and they start to sway. 3 hours, 18 minutes, it starts to rain. 5 hours, it's dark and I'm sure they are hurting, which is proven when she steps down from pain. Ian and Tom do not say a word to each other. 7 hours, still going... 8 hours, Tom tells Ian if Tom wins, he's taking Katie. If Ian steps off, he will take Ian with him. Neither sounds good to Ian, so me thinks we will be here for a few hours more. At 11 hours 45 minutes, Ian says he'll give up and wants Tom to take Katie. He wants the friendships over the million. 11 hours, 55 minutes, Ian jumps in the water and wins Tom's respect back. Jeff accepts a verbal vote from Tom instead of going through the motions of tribal council. Katie and Tom are the final 2.

Day 39 - Tom and Katie are all smiles. They get to tear everything down and burn it. They sail off into the sunset and on to the final council. Both of them said they are humbled to be in the position they are in and that was about it. No bad things to say about anyone or each other. Now we wait for the jury to speak. Coby goes first. Calls Katie out for not playing during the game, says she rode the coat tails of others. Tom gets called out for playing dirty and wants some truth out of him from the other jury member questions. Gregg asks why he should give Tom his vote, Tom says Ian turned turned his vote against Gregg when he was voted out. Gregg also calls out Katie for her true colors, calls her pathetic. She gets a little teary eyed, but didn't say much. Steph is up next, reminds Tom of his promise way back when he said he would keep her around, he says he did what he could to save her, but he couldn't vote against his alliance. Katie says Tom came to her and said that they should vote out Stephanie before she even got to the camp. Janu gets a bunch of bullshit from Tom. When she asks Katie to give her 3 adjectives about herself getting to the final 2, Katie just tells her "I don't expect your vote Janu, so I'm not going to answer it". Caryn asks Tom if she was a pawn, Tom doesn't give her a straight answer. When she moves to Katie, she wants a reason to be voted for after telling her she was lazy. Katie tells her she (Katie) is sitting where she is because Caryn did not make an alliance. Jenn tells Tom he's a chauvinist how does he expect her vote as a woman, he again brings up Ian. I didn't hear what happened with Katie. Ian gets up and asks why the jury shouldn't give them a million dollars. Katie says her personality. Tom says because of his experience out there with them was enough. Closing statements of course are pleads and apologies, blah, blah, blah. We see that Janu voted for Tom and Coby voted for Katie, but we must wait for the gay ride back to the states... (we were blessed without one)

And the winner is... TOM. Only one vote for Katie. I won't take up anymore bandwidth with this email, so there it is for ya, Squirrel as best as I could do. Good night and sweet dreams! Until next time on.... SURVIVOR!



Squirrel's Comments - Ep 14:

Squirrel probably won't be providing comments for the rest of the season.....he's having a desert holiday in Baghdad. Take care, Squirrel!

Counterpoint -> Linus:

Links:

CBS Official Site: Ep14 - Still have to say that CBS is providing some amazing supplemental stuff to watch online, if you have a broadband connection that is. Visit and enjoy!

Why Tom Won (RNO)

Why Katie Lost (RNO)

Why Ian Lost (RNO)

Why Jenn Lost (RNO)

Strategic Overview: The Finale: Two in the Bush is not better than one in the hand (RNO)

Ep14: "Nobody Would Have Predicted This Move" (RNO) - Episode Recap

The Reunion Show: Domination and Revelation (RNO) - Reunion Recap