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Brett manages to win another immunity challenge, forcing Li'l Russell to have to choose between Jaison, who sucks at challenges and thus won't help him beat Brett but is beatable in the jury, and Mick, who also sucks at challenges but everyone thinks he's really strong and is a potential jury threat. Li'l Russell makes promises to both of them before ultimately choosing to get rid of Jaison. No, Mick and Jaison did not attempt to team up with Brett to get rid of Li'l Russell. No scheming whatsoever happened aside from Li'l Russell's. Jaison is angry at being betrayed by his alliancemate, but it's his own fault and he was boring, so good riddance to him. After the filler torch walk of the fallen contestants, we head into the final challenge, where the contestants must balance a wooden figure on an increasingly long pole. "Challenge threat" Mick is the first to go, followed by Natalie. So it's Li'l Russell against Brett at the end. Though Li'l Russell comes close to losing his figure more than once (and, if you look carefully at the footage, has one hand ABOVE the boundary mark… not sure what the explanation for that is), Brett's figure falls first and Li'l Russell wins immunity.
Back on the beach, Brett does absolutely no scrambling to stay in the game. Li'l Russell promises to take Brett to the Final 3 even though he has no intention of following through with it and Brett is voted out. The morning, Mick and Natalie try to enjoy their breakfast while Li'l Russell goes on and on about how he's going to win a million dollars and rehearsing his jury speech in front of them and saying "may the best man win." At the Final Tribal Council, Shambo openly supports Li'l Russell while the others hate Mick, hate or love Natalie, and don't give Li'l Russell the respect he clearly thinks he deserves. In the end, Li'l Russell's self-proclaimed amazingness is only good for two votes. The rest go to Natalie, and Li'l Russell spends the rest of the reunion show crying about how the best woman won.
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Want more? The full recap starts right below!It's almost over! Li'l Russell's reign of camera time will soon end! Probst recaps the season thus far, giving credit for everything to Li'l Russell, whether he had anything to do with it or not. At least he also acknowledges that Li'l Russell's sock-burning "strategy" might have had something to do with Foa Foa's "spectacular failure" at challenges. Then we watch the other Russell die, the merge feast, and Natalie actually gets a wee bit of credit for Erik's ouster before Li'l Russell is held responsible for everything else. Oh, and then we finally mention Brett, "who had been virtually unheard of the entire game," as Probst says (as if that's Brett's fault and not that of the editors who couldn't be bothered to try to give the contestants equal time or the casting lady who insists on putting the most boring people in the world on these shows), before emerging from invisibility to win two immunity challenges in a row.
After three minutes of nature footage, we've filled eight minutes of show and it can finally, actually begin. With Li'l Russell, of course. He wakes his sleeping tribemates up with some treemail he found when he was no doubt looking for a hidden super special secret secret immunity idol. There's an immunity challenge today, which Jaison is not pleased, about since he apparently spent last night doing a lot of unpleasant pooping. And thus we see the downside of reward challenge wins. Li'l Russell complains that he's the only person who appears to be focused on winning, while everyone else sleeps or complains. Or in Jaison's case, both. At this rate, he says, they'll never beat Brett in an immunity challenge. He laments that he's stuck in an alliance with a "bunch of misfits." Yes, a doctor, a lawyer, and a beautiful Southern blonde are misfits, while the Billy Barty lookalike with a missing front tooth and crop circle patterns in his beard is not. "I should be here with superstars," he adds, not realizing that if he was in the game with people who really knew how to play it, he'd have been gone a long time ago. Also, SEASON SPOILER ALERT.
Mick and Jaison talk about how Natalie is going home if Brett wins today, although Mick wonders if Li'l Russell will be able to vote his closest ally out. "I think Russell'd have an easier time doing a lot of things than you'd think," Jaison says. Well, I'm sure those words won't come back to haunt him or anything. Jaison interviews that he's worried about Brett and his "immunity run like we've never seen." It's just two wins in a row, Jaison. It's not that impressive. Well, maybe it is when you're on Foa Foa.
Li'l Russell tells Natalie that if Brett wins today, Mick and Jaison will be gunning for her. "Okay. Well, that sucks," Natalie says. Don't try to do anything about it, Natalie. Just hope and pray and everything will be fine, I'm sure. Natalie interviews that her strategy in this game was to be an underestimated underdog and "glide through," which has gotten her far but could now be her undoing. Li'l Russell says he's going to "go for it" in this immunity challenge and beat Brett. Natalie doesn't promise to do the same, because she's given up all hope of winning anything now that it's obvious that this show is only doing physical challenges she doesn't have much of a chance at beating the men in. In an interview, Li'l Russell is his usual confident self, saying people shouldn't be so scared of Brett's immunity wins because Jaison also won two immunities in a row and he sucks. Meanwhile, Li'l Russell can talk because he won... uh... zero individual immunity challenges. "He's no Mike Tyson," Li'l Russell says. "He's Brett."
The Final Five walk into the immunity challenge. Prost greets them with his most smirky tone of voice and asks Li'l Russell if it's "the Foa Foa four" against Brett. Li'l Russell says it is. Probst asks Brett if that scares or motivates him. Brett says it's the latter. Probst explains the challenge: contestants must run through an obstacle course consisting of a cargo net and a balance beam, grab a bag of puzzle pieces, and race back and climb a steep incline to a platform where they will solve the puzzle. The first person to do so wins immunity. That's right: they're only going through the obstacle course once. Just like they only played T-ball once. And threw one rock at those tiles a few immunity challenges back. Apparently, no one wants to bother filming challenges this season and thus have decided to make them as brief as possible.
The challenge begins! Li'l Russell and Natalie make it to the bags first but are closely followed by the other three. Li'l Russell is the first to start heading back, but everyone is pretty close behind. Probst calls out what everyone's doing except for Brett, who we barely see during this challenge just like we've barely seen him the entire season. Li'l Russell easily makes it up his platform and begins the puzzle, with the other four seemingly close behind. And then, puzzles are assembled. Li'l Russell appears to be the furthest along, but it's hard to tell since they don't really show everyone's at the same time. We do know, though, that Jaison has sucked out loud at puzzles in the past and this challenge will be no exception. And then Mick's appears to be the closest with just a few pieces left. Suddenly, we see Brett's puzzle and it's almost done! Oh no! He won't win again, will he? I didn't think he had a chance... and then he's done! He wins immunity again! Ahahahahahaha! The Foa Foa four forgot one thing in their master plan: they suck at challenges. "Yeah," Brett says. I guess that's his celebration voice? As Probst awards the necklace to Brett, we see that Mick and Li'l Russell were close enough to be able to complete their puzzles in the meantime. Jaison, on the other hand, still isn't even close. On their way out, Brett interviews that after tonight, he'll finally get to see an original Foa Foa member on the jury, something he's been "trying" to do for a long time. Except that he wasn't trying, really.
The five return to camp and Natalie says things suck because now they have to vote out someone in their alliance. And especially since she thinks she's the most likely to go tonight because she's the least likely person to beat Brett in the immunity challenge. "I'm hangin' by a thread," she says. Not like she'll try to do anything about it, though. She talks to Li'l Russell, who promises that he'll keep her in the game and would tell her if she was going tonight. Natalie says she trusts him and always has. Li'l Russell interviews that he meant what he said -- he wants to bring Natalie to the end because "there's no way that she can beat me in votes." Also, he's confident that he'll be able to beat Brett in the challenge. Just like he was confident he'd beat Brett in every challenge that Brett has beaten him in thus far.
Meanwhile, Jaison lies in the shelter and doesn't try to do anything to ensure that he isn't being voted out tonight. Brett is doing the same, but he has that luxury since he won immunity. Li'l Russell stops by. "Couple days left," Jaison says. Li'l Russell interviews that Jaison has "checked out" of this game and is the weakest link on their tribe right now. Even Natalie is stronger than Jaison, Li'l Russell claims. He thinks tonight's vote is between Mick and Jaison, neither of whom appear to be particularly interested in strategizing right now and thus are easy targets. Li'l Russell thinks that Jaison has no chance against him in front of a jury (which shows how much Li'l Russell underestimates people, because if there's one thing we know Jaison can do, it's present a convincing argument at Tribal Council), but also no chance of beating Brett in an immunity challenge. Mick might be able to beat Brett, but he might also beat Li'l Russell in jury votes.
Meanwhile, Li'l Russell tells Jaison that they're getting rid of Mick tonight and Jaison agrees before interviewing that he and Li'l Russell have been working together since Day 2 and they both trust each other implicitly, so he's confident that he and Li'l Russell will be two of the Final Three. Li'l Russell then talks to Mick and tells him Jaison is going tonight. Mick says he feels bad about it, but Natalie's head is in the game and Jaison's isn't, so it's an easy decision. Um, has anyone's head been in this game besides Li'l Russell's? Mick says he's been aligned with Li'l Russell since the beginning and it looks like they'll make it to the Final Three like they planned all along. Li'l Russell then interviews that Mick and Jaison are voting against each other, so the real decision of who goes home tonight is down to Li'l Russell and Natalie. And yes, Li'l Russell did say that the decision was his AND Natalie's to make -- not just his. And then they BOTH discuss it, basically doing a pros and cons list for both alliancemates that we've heard six times by now.
The five arrive at Tribal Council. Enter the jury, with Shambo greeting the people who voted her out with a big smile because she's oblivious. And not wearing a bra, which explains the triangularness of her boobs. Let this be a lesson to the ladies out there: wear your support undergarments! Probst says that someone from Foa Foa is finally, definitely going home tonight. Jaison says he thought someone would beat Brett for the immunity necklace, but no. Natalie says their dilemma right now is either to keep the strongest people in the game to have the best chance at beating Brett in the challenge or to vote out the second-biggest jury threat even though he might be the physically strongest person they have. Jaison adds that there are people in the Final Five who could earn a lot of jury votes besides Brett, so it might be a good idea to get rid of another jury threat tonight while they have the chance. Yeah, OR you could vote out freaking Li'l Russell, who isn't helping win immunity challenges against Brett and is a jury vote threat since he's the only person who did anything in this game. But no one thought of that, so it's not on the table. I can't wait to be rid of this season and its horrible, horrible cast.
Probst says there are many different layers of decision-making going on with so few people left in the game. Um, what? That's not true. I see only two layers, although they've been shoved down our throats like ten times by now simply due to the fact that there's nothing else going on to show us. Mick, of course, thinks the strongest players should stay in the game to take out Brett. Probst finally talks to Brett, asking him if he was "sandbagging" past challenges so as not to appear as a threat, only to turn it on when it was needed. Brett says the challenges happened to play to his strengths and the fact that he knew if he lost he'd be out probably gave him an edge. Probst asks him how awesome it was to be in camp today knowing there was nothing to worry about. Brett SHOCKS Probst by saying he'd rather have Foa Foa's stress than an immunity win. Probst acts like Brett is a moron, but what he said makes perfect sense: he'd rather be in a four-way majority alliance than have to rely on winning four immunity challenges in a row. Li'l Russell points out that Brett shouldn't be too worried about winning four immunity challenges since he's playing against Foa Foa, and they are notoriously horrible at this stuff. Erik laughs out loud. "We still gettin' beat by Galu, but only one of 'em is here," Li'l Russell says.
Jaison says that Brett's position is better than Brett seems to think, since all he has to do is win one more immunity challenge and he's a shoo-in to win the million dollars. Whereas no one on Foa Foa has a guarantee he'll win even if he does make it to the Final Three. Brett says that his three challenge wins will mean nothing if he doesn't win tomorrow, so he thinks it's important that he stays humble and doesn't get too confident or cocky. With that, we vote. Probst asks Brett if he wants to give up his immunity necklace since he said he'd rather not have it earlier. Shut up, Probst. That isn't what Brett meant and you know it. Brett keeps the necklace.
Mick votes for Jaison. Jaison votes for Mick. Neither is happy about it. We don't see who Li'l Russell votes for, but we hear his audio as he casts it, and he actually admits that he doesn't like to do it but it's necessary for him to win. I thought he was going to throw his puppets in the trash when he was done with them? Now he has feelings for these people? Probst returns with the urn and reads the votes. One for Mick. One for Jaison. And the rest are for Jaison. Even Brett's, which tells me that he must have known who the others were planning to vote for, and that makes me wonder why he didn't try to team up with Mick and Jaison against Li'l Russell and get rid of him. Ugh, these people are morons. Boring morons. Borons. On the jury, Dave Ball just makes a "what the hell?" hand gesture, probably also wondering why Li'l Russell is still in this game. Probst dismisses the Final Four. On Brett's way out, the jury send him obvious shows of support and love. I think they all secretly hate Brett and that's why they're sabotaging him like this.
For Jaison's good-bye speech, he says he's pissed that Li'l Russell didn't give him a heads up that he was being voted out considering their tight alliance. And now he's rooting for Brett.
The Final Four return to camp. "Thank you, Lord," Natalie says. Lord's like: "Yo, shut up, I had nothing to do with this. I don't even watch CBS. I watch the Christian channel. Gabriel and I like to make fun of the Christian rock group music videos." Brett reminds us that he's surrounded by Foa Foa members and he's banking on winning the immunity challenge because that's his only strategy.
A new day dawns. Brett and Li'l Russell walk on the beach. Li'l Russell asks Brett if he thinks he'd beat Li'l Russell in front of a jury. Brett, of course, refrains from saying "Fuck, yeah." Instead, he just says "I don't know" and "It'd be pretty close." What's Li'l Russell up to with this? He explains to us that Brett could win the immunity challenge and he wants to make sure Brett takes Li'l Russell to the end with him. Ha! As if Brett, Natalie, and Mick would get together and plan to vote Li'l Russell out. They are not capable of this. He tells Brett that he wants to make it to the Final Three with the two people who "deserve it the most." Brett agrees, saying he'd rather lose to someone who played a good game than beat someone who didn't. Brett says this because he's like 15 and thus can't wrap his head around how awesome having a million dollars is. Possibly also because he knows that no matter who he's in the Final Three with, he's going to win. Li'l Russell then makes an alliance with Brett that whoever wins the immunity challenge will "bring" the other to the Final Three, even though you don't have that kind of control in this game. You do when it's a Final Two, but not a Final Three. Whatever, it's not like Li'l Russell intends on keeping up his end of the bargain anyway. He's just making this alliance because he's addicted to making alliances and hasn't made one with Brett yet. They shake on it. Li'l Russell says this is his "insurance policy" that no matter who wins immunity, they'll take Li'l Russell with them. That also means that no matter who is voted out at the Tribal Council, he or she will be pissed at Li'l Russell for breaking his promise. Good plan! Brett and Li'l Russell fetch the treemail as Li'l Russell interviews that if he wins immunity today, he will definitely win the entire game. "This is how I want it to be," he says.
But before we can see the immunity challenge, we have to do the stupid boring time-filler walk of the fallen tribemates. First up is Marisa. Li'l Russell says if he didn't "get rid of her first" then he wouldn't have made it this far. Marisa says she'd rather be a strong woman and leave the game early than the other way around. I'm still trying to remember what, exactly, made her a strong woman. Jeffrey Tambor is up . He almost died and had to leave the game, only for his medical crisis to be overshadowed by the actual death of the other Russell. "You never give up and you go down swingin'," he says. That's great advice if you, too, want to leave Survivor in a van with an oxygen mask on your face. Betsy is up , and Li'l Russell criticizes her for telling him he was playing "too hard" because he thinks everyone should play the game hard or end up like Betsy. Betsy says that this show rekindled her desire to push herself to the limit that she lost when she became a mother. So Li'l Russell basically said "Screw you, Betsy," and Betsy basically said "Screw you, kids." Moving on.
Oh, it's Ben. "He had no idea how to play it socially," Mick says; "I wasn't sorry to see him go." Wow, has anyone gotten a worse tribute on this show than that? But he deserves it, so it's cool. Ben says people couldn't handle his honesty, and if Survivor was really about survival, he'd win. Not only that, but he'd apparently murder everyone else. I'm not going to bother arguing with him because it won't do any good. Yasmin is , and Brett gets to speak because no one else really knew her. He calls her a "character" and a "crack-up." Is Brett from the '40s? Yasmin says she's proud of what she did in this game but won't go camping anytime soon. Kind of makes you wonder why she went camping in the first place. And then, Ashley. "She was my little sister. I loved her," says Natalie, who said the same thing to Ashley right before she voted her ass out. Ashley says her "strategy" was "to make a really strong alliance. And it didn't work." Then she goes on to blame it all on Li'l Russell and his control over the game.
Dead Russell is up . Brett calls him "the heart and soul of the Galu tribe" and the reason why Galu did so well. They probably figured it out once Galu basically fell apart as soon as he left. Mick says he "hated" to see Russell go but "hoped" to see him go, too. Does Mick have anything nice to say about anyone? Russell says being medically removed from this game totally sucks as we get to see yet another replay of when he died. Hey, wait! What's up with the shot of Probst there? This is Russell's montage! Keep out! Anyway, Russell says if it wasn't for his wife and daughters then he would have rather died on Survivor. Which he did, so, congrats Mr. Deathwish! Now go drink some water so you don't die again. The last pre-merge contestant is Liz, who Natalie calls "physical" and "a rock star." They probably could have used her against Brett, then. Oops! Too late now. Liz says this game taught her to be a patient person.
And then there's Erik. Li'l Russell says nothing about Erik as a person, only how Galu getting rid of him helped Li'l Russell. Brett says Erik was a "fierce competitor." "Almost ... psycho?" Mick adds. Very respectful, Mick. At least Erik had a personality. Erik says he was betrayed by his tribe but then vindicated when they were voted out one-by-one. Also, they put in the shot of him getting clotheslined by the clothesline. That's not nice, editors. And then, random Kelly, who makes a series of confused expressions in her montage as she voiceovers that in this game, the men seem to always be terrified of the women, and that's why she was taken out. Ha ha! If they had targeted a guy instead, Brett wouldn't be there to win all those immunity challenges and possibly screw Foa Foa over in the end. Brett says Laura was "such a strong competitor" and she reminds us that despite her incredibly advanced age of 39, she's the hottest shit in town. She says she's "re-stereotyping the grandma" as she reminds us that she is one. Seriously, Laura? Being a 39-year-old grandma is not necessarily something to be proud of. Oh, and speaking of grandmas, mine is reading this right now! Hi, Grandma!
John is . Li'l Russell laughs at him for thinking he was telling the truth. Meanwhile, Mick, Brett and Natalie do not then think to themselves that they might want to doubt if Li'l Russell told them the truth. John says that he was in a tribe full of "idiots who can't process things properly" so it's not his fault he lost. Okay, asshole. Sorry, Grandma! I mean "jerk." Dave Ball is , and they insist on calling him by his stupid nickname. Natalie says he was "hilarious." Dave Ball says he knows he isn't the easiest person to get along with and has accepted that he will be "misunderstood" because of that. John might have thought that Dave Ball and the rest of Galu were idiots, but Dave Ball is obviously the most self-aware and possibly intelligent of the bunch. Too bad that didn't translate into success in this game or even trying for it. Then it's time for Monica, who Li'l Russell says was "the fakest person here." "Well ... " Natalie trails off as Brett says that Monica "wanted to go out fighting." Monica says her competitors in challenges were "well-apped," so apparently she thought she was playing this game against iPhones? Weird. But then she realized she had inner strength or something, and that's worth a million dollars to her. Except I'm sure she'd rather have the million dollars.
And then it's time for Shambo. Brett says that Foa Foa owe their lives in this game to her. Natalie agrees. Li'l Russell stays quiet because he can't bring himself to give credit to anyone but himself. Shambo cries about how her tribe treated her terribly and she was a victim and that was an "eye-opening experience." "Lift people up. Don't tear 'em down," she says. I agree, although I'm really not sure how much tearing down Galu really did to Shambo and how much of it is in her head and part of her obvious victim complex. [Also, is Survivorthe place to go to be elevated by others? If someone is lifting you up, they're likely planning to pull the ladder out from under you. - Zach] And finally, there's Jaison. Mick says good things about Jaison, and that they'll soon be voting for him for senator. Since Barack Obama became president, black people becoming politicians is the new "he's so well-spoken." Jaison says he's proud that he didn't quit this horrible experience and he's stronger than he thought. With that, the four throw the fallen contestants' name plates and masks in the fire pit and we watch them stand around it with their hands on their hips from different angles for like ten minutes.
Finally, the last immunity challenge. Probst explains: each player has a small wooden figure and a stick with a platform on it for the figure to stand on. Every two minutes, they must add another foot-long segment to the pole, thus making it harder and harder to balance the figure on the platform. If your figure falls, you're out, and the last person wins immunity. The contestants place their statues and begin. Soon, they have 30 seconds to "add another section of pole," as Probst says. Heh heh heh. This requires reaching over to the table, grabbing a section, fitting it in "the slot" and moving both hands at or below the white line at the bottom of the above pole section. All contestants do this successfully a few times in a montage until they're at five feet and Mick loses his statue while using one hand to fetch another pole section. So the guy they took with them because he was their best chance at beating Brett is out first. Natalie is out right behind him, also unable to keep her pole still during the transition. Which means... BRETT MIGHT ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE! That's so boring for the rest of the episode, and yet it would be kind of great to watch Li'l Russell's game go down in flames. Mick and Natalie can only watch (and in Natalie's case, pray) that Li'l Russell will win this for them. Brett gulps visibly like a cartoon character. Probst smirks. Li'l Russell is focused.
And then, the wind picks up. That makes things difficult for both Li'l Russell and Brett, but amazingly they both manage to keep their poles steady enough and their statues on the platform. "Good recovery," Probst says, already bored. I'm not -- this is actually a nail-biter. It's one of the only suspenseful moments we've had all season. It's time to add another pole section. Li'l Russell waits for Brett to start adding first, hoping he'll lose his statue in the process. It's a good plan, actually, except that Brett gets his section in and now Li'l Russell has to rush to do the same in the time limit. He does -- barely. Brett's pole (heh heh) wobbles quite a bit while Natalie looks very pleased, no doubt certain that the Lord has provided this. Somehow, Brett manages to recover. I have no idea how. "Nice recovery," Probst says, although you know that inside he's pissed because he wants Li'l Russell to win with all his heart and soul. Soon, Li'l Russell is starting to have problems with his pole. Mick and Natalie look on in horror, but then, as we see in a wideshot, Brett's statue falls. He's out. And if you pause that wideshot, as I did on my parents' big HDTV (home for the holidays!) you can see that Li'l Russell's hand is CLEARLY on the section of pole ABOVE the white boundary. Like, blatantly so. So much so that I think they must have re-shot this or perhaps Brett's statue fell in the middle of the transition period and for some reason they edited that part out of the show.
Anyway, Brett loses, and so he is a goner. Mick and Natalie are most grateful to Li'l Russell for saving them and Brett gets to think about how he just lost a million dollars. Ouch. On their way out, we cut to an interview with Li'l Russell with the immunity necklace around his neck. He says it's worth a million dollars and he "just won the game." Sigh. Probably. Ugh.
The tribe return to camp. Brett is a good sport about losing out on the million dollars, not crying or sulking or taking away from Li'l Russell's immunity challenge victory or anything. Remember that come the reunion show. Mick recaps the challenge for us as if we didn't just see it and then Brett tries to put as positive a spin on this as he can, saying he made it really far in the game and he's proud of that. "I'm like a little girl, all emotional," Brett says. Hmm. We'll see who gets "little girl" emotional, I suspect. Like on the reunion show. Brett interviews that he failed and he's a goner tonight unless Li'l Russell comes through on the deal he made with him. Fat chance.
Li'l Russell is so proud of himself that he can't help but talk to Mick and Natalie about how sure he is to win even though THEY'RE THE TWO PEOPLE HE'D BE WINNING AGAINST. I don't even know why I wrote that in big letters since it's so freaking obvious. Of course, Natalie immediately says, "I think that you're gonna win hands down." Li'l Russell says he's the one who took out Brett, apparently thinking that the entire jury (except Shambo) who desperately wanted Brett to make it to the end will be full of goodwill towards the guy responsible for taking him out. Li'l Russell keeps going, and Natalie and Mick have to keep telling him how awesome he is and how he's going to win. Li'l Russell honestly thinks that when the Galu jury see Li'l Russell with the immunity necklace on, they'll stand up and cheer and think his victory over Brett is "fitting" because he played this game so much better than they did. Mick is clearly getting sick of hearing this, and Li'l Russell changes the subject to what a great guy Brett is and how he wants his daughters to marry someone like him. I'll bet a lot of parents wish for a silent son or daughter-in-law, so this makes sense. Li'l Russell reminds us that he made a promise to both Brett and Mick to take them to the Final Three, so no matter who goes home tonight, he'll be mad at Li'l Russell and on the jury. "It's tough," Li'l Russell says with a smile, thinking that this could cost him the 9-0 shut out he was planning on, but not the million dollars. Surely not.
Li'l Russell and Natalie go off to get wood. Natalie returns, and Mick wants to know what's going on. "What?" Natalie asks, sounding kind of guilty. "Is there some funny business going on?" Mick asks. Natalie says no way, but Mick points out that this is the first time he's ever seen Li'l Russell get wood. Heh heh heh. Natalie can't even imagine a world where Brett isn't going home tonight, and so has no idea what Mick is talking about, saying they'll be clean and full tomorrow. Mick is worried that he'll be clean and full tonight. Mick then notices Brett get out of his hammock and presumably head off in Li'l Russell's direction. "What's going on???" he asks again. Natalie calls him paranoid. Mick's eyes dart around. "Everybody's talking about me!" he says. "Are you on drugs?" Natalie asks. He really does look like he's having some kind of coke-induced paranoid fit. She quite rightly points out that they'd be idiots to keep Brett in the game over Mick. This doesn't calm Mick down, as he knows that Li'l Russell is always scheming and coming up with a plan, even when said plan is unnecessary and could only bite him in the ass.
Meanwhile, on the beach, Li'l Russell talks to Brett about the Final Three deal they made. As Touching Music plays, Li'l Russell tells Brett he's the kind of guy he wants his daughters to marry and he wishes he was like Brett when he was Brett's age. I think he just means he wishes he was Brett's height. And had Brett's hair. Li'l Russell says that Natalie and Mick are definitely voting for Brett tonight, but if he and Brett vote for Mick then they can force a tie and it'll go down to some kind of challenge. Stop trying to be like Sugar, Li'l Russell. You're only doing this to keep things interesting for the audience and cast some doubt over the certainty that is Brett going home tonight. I'm sure the producers appreciate it, but I don't think Brett will. Packing up for Tribal Council, Brett says his only chance right now is that Li'l Russell will keep his word to him. Which means he's counting on a guy to keep his word to him by breaking an earlier promise he made to someone else. Li'l Russell interviews once again about how awesome he is to have won the immunity necklace as he goes to get his torch with Natalie, who's standing to hers talking about how thankful she is or whatever. Li'l Russell continues that he needs to get jury votes, and keeping Brett in the game might do that. Except that he'll then lose those jury votes... to Brett. "I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't," he says. Well, whose fault is that?
The four arrive at Tribal Council. Prost smirks a hello and the jury enters. Oh, no, Jaison. He shaved, like, everything. He looked so much better with hair! And he's wearing glasses that appear to be too small for his head. Oh, and he's really pissed off, along with probably the rest of Galu as they see that Brett is not wearing the immunity necklace. Probst opens with the results of the immunity challenge, describing the suckitude of Mick and Natalie and the heroic showdown between Li'l Russell and Brett. Li'l Russell says he knew it would come down to him against Brett for the win and Brett winning the immunity challenge would also mean that Brett won the entire game. And Li'l Russell says he came to win, not to come in second. Brett says he also figured he'd be going up against Li'l Russell because he had the same "I have to win" mentality that helped Brett win three immunity challenges.
Probst asks Mick if he knew the minute Brett lost the challenge that he was going home. Mick says he sure did, and it was a "huge relief" when he saw Brett's statue fall. Natalie says the same thing. Of course, Probst asks Li'l Russell a different question that makes him look like a worthy opponent rather than a coward like Mick and Natalie: if Li'l Russell respects how well Brett did at the end. Li'l Russell says he sure does, and that Brett played a "great game" and so might deserve to make it to the end. Because Li'l Russell thinks people should respect when someone plays a great game and vote accordingly. At least, when it comes to voting for Li'l Russell. We'll see if the same holds true when it comes to voting for Brett. Li'l Russell says you want to go to the end with the best, as long as the best isn't, you know, a strong female. Then she must go ASAP.
Probst asks a scowling Mick how he feels about what Li'l Russell just said. Mick says Li'l Russell is making a "pretty good case," although it's not one that he agrees with because it totally screws him over. He points out that if Brett goes in front of the jury, he wins the million dollars. Natalie says she's not surprised at what Li'l Russell said, then makes sure to point out that it would be a dumb move, strategically, not to get rid of Brett. Probst asks Brett if he's sensing some worry from Mick and Natalie. Brett says that if Li'l Russell is sincere in wanting to go up against the best, then they should be worried. And, of course, he thinks that if Li'l Russell voted to keep Brett in the game, he would earn the jury's respect. With that, it's time to vote.
Mick votes for Brett with kind words, as does Natalie. Probst returns with the urn and reads the votes. One for Brett. One for Mick. Laura grins as if Brett has a chance. Two for Brett. And then, three for Brett. "Nice," Mick whispers to Li'l Russell. He sounds kind of sarcastic there, but I think he was sincerely relieved. Probst extinguishes Brett's torch, and he says, "Good game, guys. Thanks for the adventure." He probably is a legitimately nice guy. But not cut out for this game. Or anything on camera. He leaves, and Probst says the Final Three have gone as far as they can in this game, and now it's in the hands of the jury. Shambo gives Li'l Russell a look that I can't decipher. As the Final Three stand to go, Erik whispers, "Wow. They did it."
For his good-bye speech, Brett tries to focus on the positive once more, saying he's happy to be the last Galu standing and proud of how far he made it in the game. "I went out on my own accord, to some degree," he concludes. Yes, think about that. Don't think about how you also lost a million dollars on your own accord.
Hooray! It's Day 39! Li'l Russell sharpens a machete while Mick and Natalie look forward to cleaning their teeth and hair, respectively. The three walk to treemail, and of course Natalie greets the sight of the Final Three feast with an "oh my word." Mick starts eating immediately. Back at camp, they prepare the feast. They toast their success with mimosas. "May the best man win," Li'l Russell says, that certain it'll be a man. A tiny man, but a man nonetheless. He interviews that he said from Day 1 he was going to get here, and he did. Okay, but everyone says that on Day 1. Obviously, a few will be correct and most will not. He says he also "brought" Mick and Natalie here with him. While they attempt to prepare omelettes, Li'l Russell decides to play jury and ask them how they'll respond to allegations that Li'l Russell carried them the entire way. "They're gonna say, 'you couldn't have made it without Russell.' What you gonna say?" Natalie shrugs and says it's in "God's hands" now, and she'll win if she's meant to win and lose if she isn't. Either way, she'll be happy to have made it to the end. "You ain't been thinking about your speech too much, then," Li'l Russell laughs at her, truly believing that Natalie is telling him the absolute truth. Natalie points out that she aligned with the right person on the first day, so there's a point for her. "Oh, so you're saying you set up the alliance?" Li'l Russell asks. "If you want second place, you have to do better than that." Because he thinks he's a lock for first and is just trying to do Natalie a solid and give her second.
Natalie asks what Li'l Russell thinks about Mick as a threat, since he's nice. I think she's just trying to get him off her back and onto Mick's. Li'l Russell says he's in the Final Three with "the nice guy" and "the nice girl," but neither outwitted nor outplayed him. Mick interviews that Li'l Russell has some "good points," but he could have gotten where he is without Mick and Natalie. Well, maybe not without Natalie. Mick did nothing. He says he was a "trustworthy, hardworking and likeable guy," like that counts for anything in this game or is even true. He was trustworthy only because Li'l Russell somehow convinced him that it was in his best interest not to turn against him. He was likeable in that he wasn't offensive, but I don't know that I saw him make a strong bond with anyone except Jaison, and then he voted Jaison out. Mick says he got to the same place that Li'l Russell did, but they took "totally different paths" to get there. He's hoping the jury will like the path he took better and vote for him.
Meanwhile, Li'l Russell is swinging in the hammock being insufferable. More than usual, even. "Don't make me make you look stupid in front of the jury. This game ain't over, girl. I'll put you in the jury!" I can't tell if he's saying this stuff to psych her out or because he honestly believes it and can't keep his mouth shut or both. "Ease up. Geez," Natalie says. I guess she figures she can finally stand up to Li'l Russell now that he can't turn against her and vote her out for it like he did to every other woman. Natalie interviews that Li'l Russell might be trying to make her and Mick feel like there's no point to them trying to beat him in front of the jury, but she plans to fight for the win regardless. She just won't advertise that fact to Li'l Russell, and thus he probably won't expect it from her. Neither will I, though, to be honest. Natalie says she's going to point out that she couldn't have played like Li'l Russell did, because the aggressive girls were the first to be voted out of Foa Foa. So her strategy was to be nice and inoffensive and let Li'l Russell do the dirty work, which he was all too happy to do and take full credit for. She reaped the benefits of his scheming while playing the best possible social game.
Li'l Russell announces who he thinks he's getting votes from: Shambo, Dave Ball, Brett, John, and Erik. All men except for Shambo. "I am another millionaire," he says. I still don't think he's a millionaire the first time. Real millionaires don't brag like that and can keep their mouths shut about it if they have to. Mick and Natalie just stay quiet and let him speak. He thinks they're both just rolling over and giving him the win, but he doesn't really know what goes on in people's heads. He could probably make a good educated guess, though. I can't believe I had to watch this guy all season and now I have to watch him win.
The Final Three burn Galu's shelter down and set off for the Final Tribal Council. Li'l Russell interviews that if Mick or Natalie beat him, it would be "a shame" and "wouldn't make any sense" because he played this game better, strategically, than anyone else this season and perhaps in the history of the show. This season? Sure, but it's not like he had any competition. But in the history of the show? Whether he wins or not, no way. He made deals with people he knew he'd betray that he didn't even have to make at all (Brett, lying to Jaison at the end) and then sent them to the jury where they'd have a chance to vote against him winning the million dollars. He "strategically" told everyone that he was a millionaire and that he had the immunity idol -- twice! And then again to John a THIRD TIME! You can't be the best strategic player in the history of this game if you can't keep your mouth shut. "I've accomplished the impossible out here all by myself," he says. Meanwhile, just last season a tribe of just three people managed to overthrow a majority tribe post-merge by using a similar technique to Li'l Russell's ... except they did it first (and others did it before them in even earlier seasons), so Foa Foa's four-way minority alliance triumph really isn't all that special. Li'l Russell says he's going to go into this Tribal Council, make a great speech, and win it all.
The Final Three arrive at the Final Tribal Council. Final Probst calls in the Final Jury. Laura feels the need to grab onto Erik's upper thigh as she sits beside him. Shambo, on the other hand, "flirts" with Li'l Russell by pointing her finger-guns at him with a huge smile. The Native Chanters trail off with some sinister giggles that kind of undermine the seriousness of the event as Probst congratulates Natalie, Mick and Li'l Russell on getting this far in the game and says their fate now lies in the hands of the people they voted off. And, he points out, all three jury members voted out every single person on the jury, a rare occurrence in this game. But only one of them made promises he didn't intend to keep to most of those jurors. The same guy who had the immunity idol that got rid of Kelly and then rubbed everyone's faces in his third immunity idol that he then never played. So as much as Probst (and Li'l Russell, no doubt) would love to believe that all three are equally complicit in this and thus no one contestant should be the focus of the jury's bitterness, that's not true.
Mick's opening statement is first. He says things like "sort of" and "I guess" and "uh" a lot as he says that he knows that this game pressures contestants to give themselves a "moral sort of leeway" but that he never gave into the temptation to screw people over and violate his own principles. Well, yeah. Because he didn't have to. Someone else did it for him. The jury scowl and shake their heads at him, most notably Jaison and Shambo.
Natalie speaks . She says this game was the hardest thing she's ever done and has been a "humbling" experience for her. She concludes that without the jurors, she wouldn't sitting in the Final Three now. I hate it when contestants say that in their opening statements because it just seems like they're rubbing it in. "I appreciate it. Thank you," she says. Yes, thanks for being stupid enough to get voted out by a 4-person minority alliance when your tribe had twice as many people. Natalie really appreciates that.
Finally, Li'l Russell talks. He says his speech will be "a little different" than the others, which makes John smile. Li'l Russell says he came here to do whatever it took to make it to where he is now and that he made "huge strategic moves," starting with engineering the ousters of Marisa and Betsy. Then he got Shambo on his side, enabling him to get rid of Kelly. Then he got John in with him to get rid of Laura, agreeing to vote out a member of Foa Foa . Instead, he got rid of John. As for the rest of the jurors after John, they "went like dominoes." Monica does not appreciate this. Li'l Russell says one of his most difficult moves was getting rid of Brett, but he ultimately did so. He concludes by saying that if Natalie or Mick outwitted and outplayed Li'l Russell, then vote for them. If not, vote for Li'l Russell. "May the best man win," Li'l Russell says again, thus alienating three of the four women on the jury straight away.
Probst announces that it is now time for the jury to ask the finalists questions, starting with Jaison. He insincerely congratulates the three and asks them to tell the jury "who you really are," warning that if they aren't truthful, he will be. Natalie goes first and says she was a pharmaceutical sales rep but had to quit her job in order to go on this show, so she is now unemployed. "But that is my dream job," she says. Is it? Can that be someone's dream job? To be a pretty face that cuts in line at the doctor's office and gives away pads of paper with drug logos on them? I'm not knocking it -- everyone has to make a living, and she probably does better than I do -- but it just seems like a strange choice for a "dream job." Li'l Russell claims to be a "businessman," whose business opened five years ago (with the help of his father and brother, which he does not mention but I will so no one thinks this guy is entirely self-made) and has only become successful in the last two. "This is the first business that I have succeeded with. That's what I do," he finishes. That seemed vague, but it also seemed cut to bits by the editors, so I won't blame Li'l Russell. As for Mick, he's fresh out of medical school and about $320,000 in debt. Jaison adds that Natalie has apparently made "a lot of money" in pharmaceutical sales, Li'l Russell claims to be a multi-millionaire, and while Mick is in debt, he's also a doctor with a fellowship at one of the most prestigious hospitals in America. So they're all rich and Jaison wants to make sure the jury doesn't take personal wealth into account when making their decision. I think they totally should, because then Li'l Russell won't win.
Shambo goes . "Hi guys," she says with that giant smile plastered to her face. And yet, despite her efforts not to appear bitter, she then goes off on a bitter rant, "apologizing" to America for destroying Galu (way to take all the credit there, Shambo) to prop up Foa Foa. Um, thanks for the apology, Shambo? Accepted, I guess? She sets her sights on Mick and asks if he'd agree with her that his overall gameplay was "feckless." John laughs as Mick admits he doesn't know what feckless means, although he says it in a way that suggests that he's not sure the word even really exists and isn't just a figment of Shambo's imagination. Actually, Mick, feckless is indeed a word, although I had to hit the dictionary to make sure Shambo was using it correctly. And she was! Looks like Shambo's luxury item was an SAT Verbal prep book. "I'm done with you," Shambo says, as Mick laughs at her because he thinks she's unimportant. She then turns to Natalie and says she reminds her of a word that starts with the letter "C." "Can ya finish it?" she asks Natalie, who is probably thinking of the same word I am and thus declines. Oh, but it turns out that Shambo meant "coattails." Natalie says she came into this game the most "ill-equipped" to play it but managed to make it to the end, thanks to the fact that she quickly figured out that the aggressive girls were being taken out first and she would have to play the coattail-rider role to make it anywhere. "I'm calling just major BS on your sense that you just hit me, I'm like cracking up inside, like you have no idea," Shambo says, no longer making any sense. Meanwhile, I don't know that what Natalie said was major BS. In fact, I think it was a good description of why she played the game the way she did and how her own style of gameplay did, ultimately, prove successful for her. I'm starting to see Natalie in a new light. With that, Shambo announces that she will not be voting for Mick or Natalie, but "thanks for playing." They thank her right back because by endorsing Li'l Russell, Shambo has no doubt secured them a few votes.
Brett comes up and he looks even more on the cusp of puberty than ever now that he's cleaned up a bit. He asks Mick what he would do with him if they were to go on a "bro-date." Mick doesn't know what he means by that. Between feckless and bro-date, Mick really needs to expand his vocabulary. Brett explains that it's nothing sexual, and Mick responds that he'd wake Brett up by whispering sweet nothings in his ear. The jury laughs (except for Erik, who, like me, is sitting there going "WTF?") and Mick continues that they'd "check out the news and grab some eats" and do generic guy things like talk about girls and sports. Brett explains that he asked this question to find out just how well Mick really got to know him while they were camp together. That's actually kind of clever. He doesn't say what Mick's answers revealed (although I'm guessing they revealed that Mick knows nothing about Brett, who doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would enjoy any of the things Mick described on his fantasy bro-date), nor does he apparently have any questions for anyone else.
Kelly, whoever that is, steps up and addresses Natalie first. She says she and Natalie were very similar players, but while Kelly believes she grew strong and overcame stereotypes about her, Natalie never relied on herself and always needed help from someone else. Kelly does not add that this approach took Natalie to the Final Three while Kelly has been out of the game for a long time, so I will. Natalie says that while she wasn't the strongest player physically, she thinks she improved as the game progressed and she definitely did things on her own. Li'l Russell is the focus of Kelly's random wrath. She asks him if the way he played this game by lying, cheating and stealing is the same way he acts in the real world. Of course, he says it isn't and that he is worried that his children will think he's really like this when they see the show. Hey, didn't he lie that he was a victim of Hurricane Katrina for no reason? And then laugh about it? What will his kids think about that? I hope they burn his socks and say "I learned it by watching you!" He says that while "lie, cheat and cheat" describes him in the game, "honor, integrity and loyalty," describes him outside of it. Does anyone really believe this? Especially if he truly is a successful business owner. Kelly says she has a hard time believing that, but hasn't she had, like, four questions already? Can't someone make her sit down? This is the most she's spoken in the entire season. Also, her dreadlocks are stupid.
Monica is . She says that while Li'l Russell obviously played the game hard, she never saw any "passion" from Mick or Natalie and wants to see some fight from them tonight. She asks Mick why he deserves the money and Natalie and Li'l Russell do not. He says Natalie doesn't deserve it because she didn't do anything except align with Li'l Russell and let him bring her to the end. Whereas Mick did what, exactly? Oh, that's right -- he aligned with Li'l Russell and let him bring him to the end. Mick says that Li'l Russell doesn't deserve the money because "he was willing to lie to people, pit people against each other, mislead anybody," and basically played the game while everyone else sat around scratching his ass and letting himself by played. Also, Mick says, Li'l Russell has a big ego. So he doesn't think Li'l Russell's "behavior" or "character" deserve a million dollars. Li'l Russell is given a chance to rebut Mick's points and, after a brief argument with Mick that ends, of course, with Mick giving up and being quiet, Li'l Russell says that Mick was complicit in everything Li'l Russell did in the game and approved of all the moves he made that he is now saying don't deserve to win. He says that both Mick and Natalie gave him high-fives and congratulated him every time someone else went home. Mick denies this, but come on. It's true! And a good point from Li'l Russell. On the other hand, while Mick was sincere in his congratulations of Li'l Russell, I have a feeling that Natalie said most of that stuff just to feed into Li'l Russell's tremendous ego and stay firmly on his good side to further herself in the game. Monica pats herself on the back for stirring shit up one last time and sits down.
Dave Ball has been looking bitter on the jury, so let's see what he has to say. He looks like he's about to rip the Final Three some new ones, but then simply asks them what they think their chances are tonight. Mick: "maybe 25%, 20%." Natalie: "30-40%." Dave Ball makes sure to warmly congratulate her and say she did a "great job," clearly showing who he's in favor of tonight (and of course he is, because Natalie is a hot blonde and Dave Ball is kind of a letch) before Li'l Russell answers: "55%," down from the "much larger percentage" he was imagining coming into this. Way to play humble, Li'l Russell. I guess Li'l Russell has seen this show before and knows how much jurors hate humble. They really want to be reminded of the fact that the guy who cost them a million dollars is patting himself on the back about it and smiling in the face of their loss. That's what they vote for.
Oh, good. We get to hear from Laura one last time. She asks Li'l Russell what he "learned" about her that enabled him to beat her. Uh... that she treated Shambo like shit and Shambo was looking for any way to get back at her for it, even if it meant destroying her own tribe? How about that? Li'l Russell smartly tries to play to her ego, saying he realized immediately that she was "the biggest threat" in Galu. Laura shakes her head slightly and looks like she's about to cry. What's her problem? He says that if he hadn't gotten rid of her, she'd probably be in the Final Three. That's apparently enough for Laura, so she sits down.
John asks Mick for the "hard sell" on why he should vote for him tonight. Mick says "you're not gonna find a better, more solid guy up here" and he doesn't think it's worth a million dollars to treat people "like pawns." He says it's not how he lives his life and it's not how he played this game. No, he let someone else do it and happily reaped the rewards. Mick "concludes" his "argument" by saying he's a "stand-up dude." Since this show is called Most Stand-up Dude, Mick's point is truly a valid one. John has a different question for Natalie. He says he values her strategy of getting to the end via Li'l Russell, but now wants her to win this thing on her own. Natalie says she didn't exactly ride Li'l Russell's coattails, but was "smart enough to see" that she had to appear to do so to keep from getting voted out by Li'l Russell. As soon as she saw aggressive females being targeted, she realized she'd have to be passive. Lo and behold, she was the only female on Foa Foa to make it to the merge, and now she's in the end. She makes sure to mention that she killed a rat, so she's not completely helpless. John interrupts Natalie to say that she is saying the right things here and illuminating her strategy for a jury that was looking for a reason to vote for her.
Erik is the last to speak. He doesn't have any questions. He addresses Mick first, saying that his tribe elected him to be their leader and he never saw Mick do anything to "deserve" it. Well, they elected him based on looks alone and the title was meaningless and stupid anyway, so who cares? Besides Erik. And the dead Russell. "You did nothing," Erik says, and blames Mick for Foa Foa's suckiness at challenges. Erik turns to Li'l Russell and says he played an "unethical" game and admittedly so. But it got him to the end, while Erik acknowledges that he's just a jury member. Erik says he's never been in a situation where someone got to the right place "the wrong way," and not only did Li'l Russell do that, but he's also proud of it. Has Erik never seen this show before? Why is he so surprised? This happens like every season! And what makes him think that he's so ethical and honest when he was ready to backstab his tribemate Monica only for her alliance to get him first? I think Erik's biggest problem, really, is that Li'l Russell is "proud of it." And that's a problem for many people on the jury. Li'l Russell has every right to own the way he played this game and the fact that he played it better than everyone on the jury. He can be proud of it. But on the inside. It's not good gameplay, jury-wise, for them to see your huge ego when they're all waiting for you to grovel and beg for their votes. You took their power away and they want to get it back tonight and you're supposed to indulge them. Tell the camera how awesome you are in interviews, then suck it up and be humble and sorry in front of the jury. That's how you win.
Erik then turns to Natalie and says that people may call her "weak" and "undeserving," but he doesn't see why those characteristics are considered "less admirable" than Li'l Russell's strategy of lying, cheating, and stealing. "Why does [Li'l Russell] get a free pass, but [Natalie's] 'wrong way of playing' is admonished?" Erik asks, then directly addresses the jury and says "perception is NOT reality!" And the reality according to Erik is that Natalie got to the Final Three just like Li'l Russell did. He concludes that Natalie is probably the first person to say that she's the least deserving of the win, and maybe, in this environment of "arrogance" (Li'l Russell) and "delusional entitlement" (Mick), that makes her the most deserving. He's voting for Natalie and hopes she gets four more to win it. Natalie's just like, "thanks!" Then she wipes away a tear to look extra sweet and unassuming.
With that, Probst gives the jury a chance to think about things before they vote. What, no closing statements? Although I guess Natalie won't be needing one, since Erik did it for her, and much better than she could have. Hey, remember when Li'l Russell interviewed that he thought Natalie might actually tell the jury to just give Li'l Russell the million dollars instead of her? Yeah... that didn't happen. Looks like Li'l Russell may have underestimated his "dumb-ass blonde" ally. Which was her strategy all along.
After the break, we are now cutting into the Reunion show time. Great. Way to put in a thousand shots of waves and crabs and reduce the time we get with the stuff we actually want to see. Probst says it's time to vote and away they go. Erik votes for "Ratalie," saying she came a long way in this game and congratulations. Shambo votes for Li'l Russell, as promised. "You are the only one out there that is deserving of a million dollars, in my humble opinion," she says. We don't see anyone vote for Mick, which means no one did. Ouch! Probst grabs the urn and thanks everyone for a "great" season of this show, which it totally wasn't. Then he takes off.
Once again, he does not jetski to LA or jump out of a plane or fire up the zeppelin or anything cool like that. He just walks through the jungle before emerging from the fake one on the LA live set to the cheers of the studio audience. And there are Mick, Natalie and Li'l Russell, now looking non-emaciated (well, Li'l Russell never looked emaciated, but you know what I mean). Mick and Natalie look good, if slightly bigger than they were when they first came on the show, while Li'l Russell is wearing a shirt that is too small for him. How can a shirt be too small for Li'l Russell? He must have bought it in the toddler section or something. Probst orders the audience to sit down and shut up and says all the contestants endured a "very, very tough season" and should be applauded for that. Well, except for Jeffrey Tambor and Dead Russell who could not, in the end, endure the tough season.
Probst gets down to it. He reminds us all that while Mick, Natalie and Li'l Russell played the game well enough to make it to the Final Three, they still need the votes of the jury to win. And now... the votes. We are seconds away from Li'l Russell winning and telling us all how awesome he is. I can't stand it. Natalie gets the first vote from Erik, followed by the vote for Li'l Russell from Shambo. He doesn't even smile when he sees the vote. He is focused and nervous. Natalie gets a second vote. Li'l Russell gets a second vote. Then Mick gets all the rest and wins! No, not really. He didn't get any votes. He'll have to fall back on being a doctor to make his millions now. Natalie gets a third vote. And then she gets a fourth! She needs just one more to win, so we know all the rest of the votes will be for Li'l Russell. Probst pulls the vote out and announces we have a winner. Holy crap, it's Natalie! She's surprised but fairly composed. She hugs both Mick and Li'l Russell, then heads for the audience and embraces a guy I'm assuming is her boyfriend.
Well, that's a shock! And kind of redeems the season for me in the sense that I at least have a little more faith in the editors, if not necessarily the casting people. They had to shove Li'l Russell in our faces and make him evil to make the conclusion surprising and satisfying. Also, I think it's pretty clear now that Li'l Russell was the only personality they had on the show, so they had no choice but to show him all the time anyway. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there who say that Li'l Russell was robbed by a bitter jury and deserved to win, and that argument is not without merit. But I think that Natalie played a great game, too, and that while Li'l Russell was playing for second place, she played it for first. She recognized that he was a guy who liked having his ego stroked and fed, especially by a seemingly submissive woman. So she obliged him and let him take her as far as possible. When she needed to step up and save herself in the game (like after the merge, when she was instrumental in getting Erik voted out), she did so. Then she sat back and let Li'l Russell think she was totally harmless and actually wanted him to win over her. While she played the great social game that won the jury over, she fed his ego and helped make him into the monster he was in those last few days, when he went from talking about contestants behind their backs to feeling comfortable openly bragging about how he was going to win and insulting the others so they could see who he really was and what he really thought of them. In the end, Li'l Russell was determined to prove that he could outplay everyone in this game, while Natalie knew that she only needed to outplay one person. And she succeeded. Now, stay tuned for the Reunion show, where Li'l Russell gets all the attention once again!
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You can read more from Sara Morrison at L.A.me, follow her on Twitter, or you can email her at saramorrison@gmail.com.