Aras Wins Survivor: Exile Island

What a great season of Survivor. And what a fitting ending – a member of each of the original four tribes in the final four, and someone who was really deserving winning it all. Definitely the best show on television.

We started the finale with Danielle and Cirie’s battle to make fire. First, when did they implement the rule that a tie would go to an individual challenge? In early seasons, a tie was decided by votes cast in previous tribal councils. There was also the “pull a rock” tie breaker on several seasons. I hated the rock pulling thing, but I like going to previous votes cast before an individual challenge. It would have meant that Danielle was gone – she had several votes cast against her, while I don’t think Cirie did. Anyways, it was a good challenge – for a few moments I really thought that Cirie had it. But in the end Danielle won, and Cirie was the next one out of the tribe. Cirie leaving the game was huge for everyone – I think that she was the one person who could have beat each and every member of the tribe in the final vote.

I’m not sure if I liked the twist of having a final reward challenge that would potentially give the winner an edge in the final immunity challenge. It was a great challenge though – I love the challenges that combine mental and physical like that. Of course, it’s true what Aras said afterwards – yes, it’s a physical advantage to have that food and cot, but it can be a psychological disadvantage because now everyone expects you to win.

Oh – can I just say how much I hated Terry coming back from tribal council and showing off his hidden immunity idol? I don’t think that was a very classy move. Not that Terry has been classy through the whole thing. So many times he was a sore loser – I don’t know why that has been glossed over in the Terry-love-fest that happened on the reunion show and the talk shows this morning.

Anyways, after the requisite rite of passage tribute to their “fallen comrades,” we get to the final immunity challenge. And it was hard. The final challenge is always about endurance, and this one added the element of balance. I really thought that they would make it farther than they did, but I guess it was a LOT harder than it looked! I also thought that Aras would do better than he did with his yoga background. And what was up with Jeff counting down the minute between platforms? At the second change, Jeff kept giving time updates that seemed to give Terry way more time than he really had. Aras commented on that today on Survivor Live…it seemed that those last 10 seconds were a lot longer than 10! Aras also confirmed that even if Danielle hadn’t given him the nod to jump off, there was no way he would have won. Danielle was in the zone, and made Red Sox fans proud!

I wonder how close Danielle really was to taking Terry to the final two? I think she may be the first Survivor to ever actually sit down with pen and paper and write out the voting scenarios for each choice. She made the right choice…she had to know that she didn’t have the votes to beat Terry. It would be much closer if she chose Aras. I don’t even know how Terry could be surprised. Those Casaya members stuck together throughout.

How can I not mention Aras on the rocks? What was he thinking walking on the wet rocks after having champagne? And Danielle seemed so helpless. It looked like she just stood there for a minute or two before she fully realized what had happened. But I did love when she asked the medical team to drug him up!

It was a good final tribal council – just enough people who were still angry to make it interesting. I laughed out loud when Shane started talking. I understand that he was still angry, but the best part was when he talked about his alliance with Aras. Did he say that he swore on his son while Aras swore on his yoga? Really? Can you swear on a hobby? Who knew? It was clear why Cirie knew to get rid of Courtney – she would have been a dream to sit next to in the final two. And I liked Terry’s comment as he voted for Aras – “I’m just so used to writing your name down…”

In the end, I was glad to see Aras win. He played the game hard and he was kind and honest throughout. Yes, he had to lie when he voted out Shane, but that might have been the only time. He was strategic throughout, and really deserved to win. I think he’ll do good things with the money (outside of those goofy hats he’s selling…of course, if you made me one for the Red Sox…). Anxiously awaiting the fall and Survivor: Cook Island...