Survivor: Island of the Idols Finale & Reunion

Well, this has been an insane season with a lot that went on, so let's see how it ends, shall we? So, we start with Rob & Sandra. They chat with each other about the whole Survivor experience, such as Rob finding love on Survivor back in Survivor: All-Stars, Sandra just happy to get the money and how it was this time around, teaching the game to these newbies rather than competing against them. Then, a boat arrives at Lumuwaku. The final five are told to grab their belongings and head on the boat. So they go, and they meet Rob & Sandra who gave them a short but sweet speech about the game, making it to the final five and how the game is going to be from here. They then said their goodbyes and left the final five at their new home at the Island of the Idols with a fully built shelter, many fruits and chickens and some new special buffs for the end to take home with them. But, what they didn't tell as they left was that there was still one last test remaining. Tommy figured something was up and everything was too perfect to be true, so he looked, found the clues on the buff, the red coconut insides and the red block of wood, all while despite being color blind. Good job, Tommy. But, his mistake was telling Dean who pretended to be lazy but in all actuality, he faked it to look for the clues on his own and through some searching, he found the idol and completed the final test that Tommy could not, making him even more powerful in the game.

At the immunity challenge, the tribe fought for individual immunity and a spot in the final four by collecting ropes, making a rope bridge, maneuvering a bag of balls through a maze/ladder and finishing a ball maze with said balls. The first person to finish all of that will win immunity and get an amazing feast with one guest. So, the tribe fought and it seemed to be a close fight between Tommy & Dean. But then, Janet started to catch up and Noura did too a bit. And it ended up being a very close fight. And Dean even made a big move by going for the hard spot with the ball in the maze first and landed it. And ultimately, it worked out as Dean won immunity and the dinner. So now, he has individual immunity, the advantage of eating a nice and fulfilling feast, an idol nullifier and a hidden immunity idol. So, Dean has all the power. And to "make things right", he chose Noura to go with him to the feast.

At the "romantic dinner", Noura and Dean continued to bond. And it was revealed that yeah, it was more about getting Noura to take him to the end, which she agreed upon. They made up, were friendly and talked strategy, including about taking out Janet, who they agreed was a threat. But, there was so much more to the game. Janet meanwhile went with Tommy to tell him about her plan to get all the votes against her so she can play her idol and blindside Lauren, taking out her own threat. But, what she didn't know was that it was in Tommy's best interest to take Janet out, since everyone knew if anyone was going to win the fire-making challenge, it would be Janet, who would without any doubt, win at the final tribal council. So, everyone agreed, Janet is gonna get the votes to be out. But, Dean preferred Lauren to go. And since he has the idol nullifier, the decision was ultimately up to him. So, there's always that option and that scared Tommy & Lauren.

At Tribal Council, the tribe discussed many topics. This included their new home at the Island of the Idols, the fruit and yes, the fire challenge and how Janet would win it. And it was definitely a tough vote for everyone. Then, Janet played her idol, so you'd think that maybe she'd stay and Dean wouldn't play the nullifier but he did. And Janet's idol was officially nullified. And so, with everyone voting her, Janet joined the jury, which was pretty sad, even for me. Janet was awesome, she is someone who fights for those who needed fighting for, so it's sad to see that she didn't win, but she is a big inspiration to people everywhere.

The next day, Dean began working to make fire. He, of course was worried since he made several deals and is preparing just because of that desire to make it to the end, hoping that his deals will help him get through. Meanwhile, Tommy was working on Noura. He swore on his life that he'd take her as long as she agrees to take him to the end. He even told her all about Dean using her to get to the end. And she listened and agreed. But also thought about everything. She considered her options and was just happy to finally be included. Everyone finally wants to see Noura now all of sudden considering that they want her to bring them to the final tribal council. And then, she lost her train of thought when she saw Dean stretching near the ocean, and just started thinking about romantic relationships. But yeah, now people want to see her. What she probably doesn't realize is because she's considered to be easily beatable. The jury likely won't vote her at the end.

At the immunity challenge, it was the classic from Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, letter stacking on unbalanced beams. And so it was. Tommy & Lauren struggled, miserably. Their letter blocks fell over and over again. Meanwhile, Noura & Dean rocked it. They were head to head. Both had an equal shot to win this. It was a really close battle, until Dean's blocks started to fall, but Noura's didn't. And after Dean continued to begin his struggle, Noura didn't and she won the final immunity challenge. She went from the crazy lady who yelled and aligned with the outsider on Day One to the winner of the final immunity challenge on Day 38. Great Job, Noura.

As for the events back at camp, Noura was just Noura. She wanted to relax and keep everyone waiting. She told them that she'd let them know but it took awhile. And when it finally came time for her to tell them, she did a long speech about each individual person, but didn't just say it yet. And finally, she broke the news starting with Lauren, her #1 who was a giant social threat that she would have to go to fire and then she mentioned that it would be against Dean. So, Tommy was happy to be going to the end, but Lauren was pissed. She wanted to go to the end. She didn't work so hard only to have her game ended by a fire making challenge. So, she worked to try and make fire, with Noura trying to support her, emphasis on trying. Even talking about hiding the machete for getting upset because she wasn't chosen, which upset Lauren even more. Meanwhile, Tommy was helping out Dean, since as much as he appreciated Lauren as his #1 from the beginning, he didn't want her in the end because he knew she'd win if she made it to the end. So, Dean & especially Lauren were preparing and determined to beat each other for that third spot.

At Tribal Council, that Noura-Lauren rivalry continued. Noura was talking about her decision and Lauren continued to argue about how you can't call someone #1 ally and a best friend if you're gonna tell them that they are your biggest target, that just doesn't make sense. But, it continued and then, the fire-making battle between Lauren & Dean ensued. And, they both did make fire but, Lauren just couldn't get it to go up. She didn't have the foundation for the fire. And, at the end of it all, she unfortunately lost. Dean's fire burned the rope winning him that last spot at the final tribal council. Dean made it to the end, Lauren didn't. She got 4th, but she played a great game. That's why nobody wanted to sit next to her, they knew she would've won and the jury loved her. So, see ya Lauren, thanks for playing, you're an inspiration for future Survivor players and great job at getting to Day 38, even though you lost, played a great game.

Now, the final 3. Dean, Tommy & Noura, three separate games, but still all good players in a way. Dean made some good plays and got a lot of good advantages. Tommy was a strong social and strategic player and ran the game for a lot of the time (with Lauren at his side) and Noura, everyone thought she was crazy and weird, perfect to take to the end, but that's a good strategy on its own. Plus, she won 3 immunities this season, she's a good contender as well, whether people realize it or not. Dean definitely feels like it is basically just a final 2 between him & Tommy, but Tommy doesn't underestimate Noura. This is anyone's game. While Dean & Tommy do seem like it's the most likely that one of those two could win, Tommy even had to help Noura with her speech, Noura could pull a fast one, who knows? All of the three are great players that could win.

And here we are, the Final Tribal Council. Full of storms, screaming and overall talking. We start with the Outwit portion, how the finalists were strategically & socially. We learned more about how the finalists felt their games were. Dean wanted to be in the middle and be honest, not making promises he couldn't keep, wanted to be friends with the friend people. Tommy wanted to be everyone's friend and wanted everyone's trust. Noura was just herself, trying to get an understanding of everyone's personality and working from there. Of course, there's more to go on, each player was criticized for different reasons. Tommy was everyone's friend and did some moves but, is that too much and not enough? Dean, did he do too little to earn the title? Plus, in the Outplay portion he contradicted his own statement by stating how he made promises and didn't keep them. And Noura, she's just Noura. Crazy but entertaining. Outplay, Tommy didn't have to win challenges or get advantages, that is a big part of the game as well. Dean did but didn't necessarily need to and Noura won 3 immunities. And in the middle of Dean contradicting himself and everyone arguing over whether advantages and immunities are important in who ultimately wins, quick storm. And Outlast, final statements were made, final arguments and then the vote.

This is it, the 10 jury members will now vote for a winner, who is going to be the Sole Survivor of Survivor: Island of the Idols? Will it be crazy Noura? Maybe advantage receiver Dean? Or the social giant Tommy? And the votes were cast. This has been quite the fascinating and mind blowing season of Survivor. But it can only have one winner and it did. It wasn't close, but it wasn't Noura. Tommy Sheehan, the 4th grade teacher who was everyone's friend had won the million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor after a long, hard game filled with so much drama and pain.

Now, here we are the Reunion Show. The majority of the contestants have reunited to discuss the season. Tommy and his friendship with everyone, Dean and how hard he tried, Noura and her eccentricity, they were there to talk. And of course, the fan favorite of the season, the lovable Elaine. Elaine is just so great and so wonderful, just an incredibly likable person. It was great to see her play and us fans felt like she was so relatable and so wonderful. Also, Karishma and that wonderful hug with her husband at the family visit, it reminds us that no matter what you're going through, remember to embrace what you have, not what you want. And of course, Jamal and Jack, who are now roomates. That do-rag conversation was just so heartfelt and beautiful to watch, it shows us all that there's no need to argue, let's just connect and learn from each other. It even inspired me to write about it as part of a report for my Inequality through Music & Film course. That class and everyone that went on this season really spoke to me and made me think about who I am and how I can be a better person. And Sia gave out awards to a few people who really inspired me as well as many others this season. Jamal got $15,000 while Elaine & Janet got $100,000 each for how amazing they all were this season.

Now, the talk. What happened with Kellee was not OK. Kellee did not deserve to feel uncomfortable. She didn't deserve to be harassed. CBS and Jeff tried to handle it but, as much as I love Survivor and CBS and Jeff as a host, they could've and should've done more. So this talk is about that. Kellee finally had the ability to air her grievances towards the show and how the situation was handled. I agree, Dan should've been taken out as soon as the situation happened. But he stayed for far too long and he shouldn't have. Kellee Kim is the bravest person I have ever watched play Survivor and her story will help make change to how Survivor is aired and how it is played. I hope am sure that Jeff, everyone working at Survivor and working at CBS learn from their mistakes and do right in the future to take care of their contestants. Kellee's word should've been enough. This season won't be defined by what happened, but rather by how it will change everything. What happened is very serious and shall never occur again. Everyone deserves the right to feel safe and comfortable, not having to worry about being harassed. Thank you Kellee and I'm sorry for what Dan did to you.

And with season ending, the greatest battle in Survivor History is bound to begin this February. It is Survivor: Winners at War. 20 Former Winners will return to battle in Survivor once more and this time, it's more 2 million dollars, featuring Survivor currency and the Edge of Extinction returns. That will be an epic season and I can't wait to see 20 of Survivor's best return for one more shot. And that is the end of Survivor: Island of the Idols. Overall, wow. This has been quite the epic season from Ronnie's blindside to Tommy's victory. This was a great season with some great moments but one horrifying tragedy that we can learn from to make sure that accidents like that never occur again. This has been a wonderful season and I can't wait to see Survivor's 20 year anniversary season, Survivor: Winners at War!