Who Won SURVIVOR: NICARAGUA?

Going in to tonight’s season finale of SURVIVOR: NICARAGUA there is one player and only one player I care to see win. Who that player came as much of a shock to me as it might you. After 39-something days on the island, I am hoping that Fabio walks away with the million dollar prize tonight. After what went down at the last Tribal Council, I’m not interested in seeing Holly, Sash or Chase win it all. I suppose Dan has a shot, but…oh wait. No he doesn’t.

Whomever does go to the finale tonight would probably be best served to have Dan by their side. The guy has done nothing since he got to the island, but since he hasn’t been a credible threat, everyone has kept him around. Since there are no true villains left in the game, I can’t imagine Dan getting any votes from the jury. He’s the safest best for all the remaining castaways.

I’ll be sharing my thoughts as tonight’s episode plays out. In less than two three four hours from now we will have our answer.

• Sash is telling Fabio that he wants to go to the end with Chase…and Fabio. I think Fabio is already confused.
• The immunity challenge involves a bit of of trivia, puzzles and lots of rain. Not fun when you have to run back and forth on what is essentially a slip ‘n slide placed on the sand of the beach. Sash, Chase and Holly took a substantial lead over Fabio and Dan. But in a triumphant win, Fabio once again won immunity and locked himself into the final four.
• Back at camp Fabio and Dan made a lame attempt to get Sash and Chase to vote out Holly.  Dan pleaded with Sash by telling him all the reasons that Holly would win, rather than making it clear that in the end no one would vote for Dan. I think Dan was relying on Fabio to do all the heavy lifting with the voting tonight (surprise, surprise Dan). Chase said he wanted to keep Holly around. Sash told Fabio that he would personally like to keep Holly, but did admit in a talking head that Fabio gave him a lot to think about (I’m sure that’s a first for Fabio.)
• At Tribal Council, Dan and Probst finally discussed Dan’s strategy, which is ‘take me to the end, because I’ll never win.’ Holly tried to make he case over why she should be kpet over Dan. I can’t say that she did herself much of a favor. I think she knows that whether she stays or go depends completely on the strength of her alliance.
• In the end it was Dan that was sent home tonight.  Really? Really? I’m going to let someone much better versed in all things SURVIVOR try to explain this one to me. I just don’t get it.

Final Immunity Challenge

• On the way to tribal council, the final four walked down the memory lane beach and shared kind words about their fallen comrades. The best soundbytes came from NaOnka who said she ‘always had a smile’ on her face and that handsdown she was the smartest player in the game.  Um, NOPE!
• Talk about a lackluster final challenge.  The four remaining castaways had to stack old coins on the handle of a sword. The first one to drop the coins is out. The last one standing wins immunity and automatically advances to the finale. Holly is out first, followed by Chase, then Sash! Fabio wins final immunity and will be in the final three!!
• Fabio is glowing in the wake of his victory. Sash is desperately trying to make his case to Fabio, even going so far as to say that Fabio is his best friend in the game.  Fabio joined me in a major eye roll with that line. If Fabio was considering keeping Sash around and bringing him to the finals, it might have been that very moment when he decided no to. Had Sash admitted that Fabio would have gone home had he not won immunity, I think Fabio would have seen Sash in a better light. Asked the same question, both Holly and Chase owned up to the fact that they had an alliance with Sash, and Fabio would have gone home.
• At tribal council, the decision of who was joining him in the finals weight heavily on Fabio. He has to consider all possible scenarios. Who would get the most votes from the jury should be the person going home tonight.  When Probst tallied the final votes, all three guys voted for Holly to be sent home. Wow! I really thought it was going to be Sash.  It was actually a really smart move considering that Holly hasn’t made that many enemies and she’s played a solid game, outlasting every one in her original ‘old folks’ tribe.

So Fabio, Chase and Sash will all be battling it out for the $1 million dollar prize.

Day 39 – the final day on the island

The boys had a feast of food and champagne before making their final to the final tribal council of Season 21. At TC, all three guys had the opportunity to give an opening statement before answering the questions from the jury.  I don’t think any of the three said anything that would have swayed jurors one way or another.  Kind of fitting given how boring this season has been.

Jury Q&A

Now it’s time for the questions from the jury. This part is equally awkward and awesome. I like hearing the jury questions, but can we all agree that NaOnka and Purple Kelly should NOT be allowed to call into question anyone tonight? They quit the game, I think they should forfeit that chance. Right?

As for the jury questions, well they were a bit of a let down. A few people took the opportunity to ask pointed questions, but almost all were aimed at either calling out the ills of one of the final three or to praise either Chase, Fabio or Sash.

Marty, Jane and Dan were the most bitter.  Dan told Chase that “Beauty fades, dumb is forever.”, while Jane called Sash ‘a river rate’ and Dan jumped in to call him ‘spineless. NaOnka probably helped Fabio’s cause a bit by asking him if it was the appearance of his mother than helped pushed him through during the final challenges.  An emotional Fabio broke down and talked about just how important his family was to him. There were at least a few wet eyes in the jury at that moment.

While I don’t think final tribal helped Sash at all, both Fabio and Chase really put themselves out there in a god light.

The Final Vote

• The final votes are being announced LIVE tonight. But we got a glimpse at just a few of the votes while everyone was still in Nicaragua. Marty voted for Fabio. Alina voted for Chase. Dan voted for Fabio. Brenda voted for Chase. Does that mean that Sash didn’t get any votes? Here’s to hoping!
• Wow! All three guys look amazing…Fabio cut his hair. With his weight back on, Sash is worth another glance. And Chase, well let’s just say that he’s still hot…he never really lost a bit of that while on the island.
• Jeff Probst has the votes and when the final votes were tallied, it was 5-4.

The WINNER OF SURVIVOR: NICARAGUA IS FABIO BIRZA!!!

Jane won the $100,00 fan award from Sprint.

Chime and let me know what you think of this season of SURVIVOR.