It wouldn't surprise me at all if Rupert won. He's a very popular player.

Personally, I'm voting for Rob, because he's the one who *should* have gotten the million.

Anybody on this board can easily f%*& over someone. You can lie to their face, call them names, and question their sexuality. But if you can f&*% someone over and have them like it, that right there is an art. So even with his women by his side and the same mantra “In Rob we trust” rumbling thorough the camps this young Boston boy still couldn‘t pull off the final million win. Why? Because Rob is an ##### and is not educated in the art of F*&^ing people over. Rob did not give Lex and Tom empathy. Rob stab them in the back and then urinated in the gapping wound. And Rob being the juvenile boy that he is can’t quite understand way these people dislike him and didn‘t give him the money.

Lex. Since I can't go with an eighteen-way tie for first place -- and to be fair, Jerri and Shii Ann distinguished themselves for honesty -- I'll take the person who fell the greatest distance. I expect Alicia to keep eight other planets and the sun in her orbit. And Tom, for all his potential double/triple/can he count that high? dealing/standards, at least shook Rob's hand at the end.

But Lex -- from my Africa slightly delusional hero to my All-Stars 'the next tattoo is going to be colored Thorazine injections' sideshow. Lex, who has to listen to Richard and realize that it is a game. Lex, who can apparently betray, stab, confound, and openly deceive people, but who can't have it turned around on him, because that's wrong. Lex of the empty gut.

Bring on the sixteen strangers. Familiarity bred contempt.

Worst on the finale was Tom, but worst over the entire season was Lex.

Alicia looked pathetic too.

I used to dislike Shii Ann but when this whole thing ended I now like her.

Ruppert came out fine and even Jenna in my opinion because who knows what you would've done the same situation. Even had they gone the purple rock there was a 66.7% chance either Ruppert or she would've gone anyways.

Richard Hatch looked good. Colby did.

Kathy redeemed herself in the end - partially.

But last night Tom easily was the worst. Lex was Lex and didn't change from previously Tom did however.

Rob should've won the million.

Agreed that Rob should of in fact won the million, but i guess in some sense he did win it. But who made a bigger fool of themselves. Lex won that one by a landslide. As others had mentioned it is ok to be devilish, and underhanded when it works to your advantage, but once someone pulls one over on you, you scream friendship, friendship. I think he contridicts(sp) himself by preaching about this isn't just a game bla bla bla. It was just a game for him when he had the upperhand and booted his so-called friends. Lex grow up.

Big Tom, was he tanked at the final TC?

Big Tom, was he tanked at the final TC?

I don't know about the final TC, but he might just have been tanked at the Reunion Show.

I agree with what many have said that Rob deserved to win this one. Like him or not, he just totally dominated the game. Amber won because, as Jeff pointed out, she played the good cop while Rob took all the heat and played the bad cop. But the two of them made all of the decisions about who to boot together. So she shouldn't have gotten off scott free. Therefore, Rob deserved the nod because he was the one who won so many of the challenges -- both group and individual -- that kept him and Amber on top.

The points about Lex and Tom have been great. And I really agree that both Shii Ann and Kathy redeemed themselves in the Reunion show by admiting the obvious. It's a shame that Tom and Lex couldn't do the same.

Congrats to Rob and Amber. I hope their marriage lasts forever.

"Rupert came out fine"???
Maybe I'm forgetting any comments that he may have made, because all I can remember is he wore yet another (or is it the same) tie-dyed tank top and produced some sort of gutteral noises. I winced when he screeched the second time - just an absence of anything concrete happening upstairs. I was actually embarrassed for him - but I guess he knows his fan-base because they loved it. A conversation between Rupert and Tom is the stuff that SNL skits are made of - parody of Clan of the Cave Bear!

Sorry, but I'd have to say that I totally disagree with that.

Rupert played the game with honor. He was one of the few players to do so, and my guess is he'll get the million dollars on Thursday.

Oh - I don't disagree that he will win the $$$ - he is a fan favorite. My initial comment was only referring to his behaviour on the reunion show.
As for playing the game with honour, I also don't particularly disagree, but I also don't think he played with any manner of independent thinking. He, of course, was not the only one, but I continually looked to Rupert to take control of the game from Rob (and there were so many opportunities!) Unfortunately, Rupert simply is not clever enough (and no, I don't mean amoral enough) to take control of the game. I guess I hoped that, after he watched is lack-lustre performance in s7, he would have upped his game some.

LAST EDITED ON 05-13-04 AT 00:17 AM (EST)

Well now that I totally agree with. He does seem to lack that cleverness to win. We can see that both in Survivor 7 and 8.

But comparing him to Tom is where I would disagree. The two are polar opposites in terms of their character, in my opinion.

Well said Estee! LOL!

You have asked two questions, luckily.

Who Made The Biggest A.S.S. of Himself? Tom, definitely. That fake handshake at Tribal Council destroyed the last bit of sympathy I had, and painted Dumbest A.S.S. ever on him.

Who Was The Biggest Loser? Lex, definitely. His dismissal of booting his tribemates Hatch, Colby, Ethan & Jerri as not being the same as Rob booting him out immediately upon merging - oh my goodness. Lex takes the cake for deluded, stupid, short-sighted, hypocritical. He should be in the dictionary (with his blue hair) as an illustration of "Loser."

Agree with all who say ShiiAnn came across as classy. I was proud of her at Final TC and she looked marvellous at the Reunion.

As for Why Didn't Rob Win? Well, it was a tough spot to convince extremely sore losers. However, Rob made AMAI's No. 1 Final TC Cardinal Mistake. He apologized for his game. No matter what you do during the game - but especially if you have cackled & laughed over the poor play of others in Confessionals, you absolutely must suck up whatever feelings you have of regret and put a bright face on it. He was low key from the start and only once put on a half-hearted smile.

In fact, contrary to what both Amber & Rob were saying prior to going to Final TC, it is not "out of your hands" - when you are a finalist, you must Must MUST think about your game and how to present it to best advantage. No matter if you lied, backstabbed, betrayed. Whether Rob did that consciously, or only realized at the last minute that that's what he'd done, he needed to portray the actions as having been consciously taken. Make the means you use to get to the end Look Like A Strategy. Put a smile on your face (most of the time - I think it would be acceptable to look unhappy when someone like Kathy starts crying) but generally, you must be upbeat, and project Winner.

That will make people forgive you for betraying them. You must make them feel you Outwitted them, not just backstabbed & betrayed. Make them feel that you had to go to these extraordinary lengths to outsmart them, make them feel that you were inspired by their intelligence & ability.

Rob apologizing lost him a close game. Who knows? Maybe Tom or even ShiiAnn - possibly even Lex would have changed their votes. It only would have taken one of them to appreciate the gameplay. Apologizing makes people feel justified for voting against you.

LAST EDITED ON 05-10-04 AT 12:44 PM (EST)

Good points.

Richard Hatch never apologized for the way he played the game, so why should Rob?

Then again, Hatch never had to deal with the extremely sore losers that Amber and Rob faced.

If Rob had not apologized, would he still have gotten Kathy's vote?

We may never know if Rob could have won. But I am happy for both him and Amber. The best team won, at least. That's classic Survivor at its best.

LAST EDITED ON 05-10-04 AT 12:52 PM (EST)

Good questions, Howard. I think being gentle with Kathy was the right way to go. But if Rob had been more upbeat... I don't know.

Lex, of course, just made A Speech, and didn't give the players a chance to speak to him in answer. Of course, Final Statements could have been used, as well as opening statements to address General Strategy Points.

I agree - the best team won. The more we talk about this season, the better it feels, now that it's almost over. The result is more palatable than S3, S5 and S6. Edited to add: actually, it's more palatable than every season EXCEPT S7. I really enjoyed Sandra's win immensely.

As far as two people being together at the end, this was much more satisfying than Colby & Tina, who allegedly had an alliance most of the game, but we never saw it. So we didn't really care (and would we have? I doubt it.)

Good points all.

The only point you made that I would personally disagree with is the winner of Survivor 7. Rupert deserved to win that one. He planned the strategy from the beginning and was the go to guy that helped them win so many challenges.

Unfortunately, he had a Johnny Fairplay in the fold who did him in. Rupert was not as streetwise as he should have been and so he succumed.

(If it had been Rob , he would have snuffed Fairplay out and sent him packing.)

Seeing Sandra win was somewhat satisfying in the sense that she was the one who called out Fairplay for the rotten apple that he was, but she was not a particularly brilliant strategist.

In other words, you can tell that I'm not a big fan of the UTR strategy. It's a cheap win, in my opinion.

The real winner was Rupert -- even if he didn't win.

>>>>Then again, Hatch never had to deal with the extremely sore losers that Amber and Rob faced.>>>>>

I don't know --- do you think??? Sue made her infamous snake-and-rat speech to Kelly and Richard and most of the jury seemed to dislike Richard, even if they awarded him the $$$.

I do think that Richard managed to be much more subtle about his backstabbing than Boston Rob which is part of the reason he was able to finagle the votes he needed at the end. He never directly p**sed anybody off or was confrontational to anyone. He was a subtle manipulator ---- something BR definitely was not and a good reason why he is not the winner today, even if he deserved to be. You gotta backstab with finesse, I've been saying for quite some time, and BR never managed to get that. And this was something that was all the more important since this group was comprised of friends instead of strangers.

And, yes, his TC speech sucked, which did not help at all.

>>>
>>>
>Rob apologizing lost him a close
>game. Who knows? Maybe Tom
>or even ShiiAnn - possibly
>even Lex would have changed
>their votes. It only would
>have taken one of them
>to appreciate the gameplay. Apologizing
>makes people feel justified for
>voting against you.
>
I don't agree. Those jerks were way too deep into their "core of hatred" to even listen to Rob. It was all about them and their "pain" of not making it to the Final 2. However, I do believe Rob's apology got him Kathy's vote. The other idiotic trio would not be swayed no matter what..... Dumb (Alicia), Dumber (Tom), and biggest DUMBA.S.S. EVER..... LEX!

Somebody owes my man Rob a million bucks! Come on people...vote for the King!

Somebody owes my man Rob a million bucks! Come on people...vote for the King!

I totally agree with you. I've already voted for him.

Imagine Rob delivering this kind of Opening Statement, in which he addresses the pissed off jurors by going on the offensive...

"Okay, I know a number of you are unhappy and feel betrayed by me - well that doesn't compare to how betrayed I feel by a couple of you.

1. Lex, I'm so disappointed in you. You had a fabulous tribe, full of strong people and you tossed them away. I was hoping you would make a real competition out of this, but no, you didn't. You really let down the side. I was counting on you to make this the most awesome experience and you blew it.

2. Tom, you and Lex and your pre-game alliance. (shakes head ruefully.) What, you think I didn't know? I knew about it and when I learned about it, I realized I couldn't trust you. When we were talking about booting out someone other than Shii Ann or ALicia, you mentioned Rupert and the threat he posed to win challenges. Later in the game, when it was a decision between Jenna & Rupert, you suddenly decided that we should keep Rupert, and toss Jenna instead. You see how I couldn't trust you anymore?

3. Kathy: no, I don't feel betrayed by you (smiles a little). I did expect a better game from you, especially after I cheered you on (when I watched the show and so wanted to see you win.) You're smart & gutsy and I really expected to see a worthy adversary in All Stars. I think you mistook Chapera taking you on the reward boat for an open-arms invitation to join our tribe. It wasn't. We brought you along for the reward to pump you for information about your tribal connections. We knew we were buttering you up to get you to spit out that information. And you delivered. But if you thought you really had a place in our tribe, and made your decisions and alliances based on that (shrugs and smiles) No, you didn't. Chapera outwitted you.

4. Finally, Alicia. I am sorry about backstabbing you (says this with feeling, even tho probably doesn't mean it.) I made an alliance with you because I just couldn't bear not to have an alliance with everybody (pause for laughter). Actually, I really thought Lex over there was going to boot out Amber. When he didn't, you & I really should have talked. Of all those I helped to boot, I feel the most sorry about how I treated you. You didn't deserve that.

5/6 Rupert & Jenna - you two I kept my promise to, so thanks Rupert for all the fish and Jenna for all the food rationing.

7. ShiiAnn - well, you & I never got to be allies during the course of the game, but if you would care to change that, why, as it happens I'm open for a little negotiation right here, right now. What do you say? (smile, eyebrow raise, coquettish)

Now, with an opening statement like THAT, what do you think? Wouldn't more people have been made to feel like Rob not only played a better game, but deserves to win AND that they'd want to be his real life friend?

He didn't just apologize by saying sorry - he looked and sounded so miserable that in retrospect, I wonder if it wasn't an act put on because that's what he thought they'd want to hear.

That would have been perfect.

I agree. That would have been much better, either as an opening statement or as a closing statement.

What Rob essentially needed to do is the same thing that Richard did in Survivor 1. He needed to point out that he played the game better, and regardless of any hard feelings that they might have for him, they should award him the million because he *did* play so well.

Amai, where were you (and the Teleprompter) when Rahb needed you the most? Great analysis and writing.

time for a sig update?