Surviving the Cook Islands, the Finale: Brains vs. Brawn

How will the game change after this vote? Becky says Yul, Sundra, and herself will fight for immunity much harder, because now it won’t be Ozzy winning for the four of them but winning for himself. Probst finds this interesting, because she basically admitted they’ve been riding Ozzy’s coattails and letting him win the challenges. She says it helped them but she wouldn’t say they were riding his coattails. Personally, I wouldn’t say they were letting him win – he kicked their butts time and again. Like she was letting him do that.

Ozzy says he doesn’t care, he just wants to win. That’s the way he’s been playing, making it as far as he could on his own. Smart guy – he’s already making his arguments to the jury right now!

Adam chimes in that Ozzy’s job is to win the challenges, Yul is the brains of the operation, “and I’m not sure what these people do” – referring to Becky and Sundra, of course. The former Raros on the jury chuckle. Adam continues that they’re all boring and don’t like to take risks. “But it’s worked out for them.”

Did he try to work anything today? Adam says he tried to get them to target the idol so they would each have an even shot instead of Yul having the advantage. Becky is asked why it doesn’t hurt her to keep the idol in the game. Yul has it, Ozzy keeps winning challenges, so that means either Becky or Sundra leave next time if things stay the same. Becky says personally for her, it’s not the right time for it to come out. Adam jumps in to point out that if Yul wins immunity, he can protect someone else, like Becky. Becky smiles. Bingo.

Probst notes that one of them is vulnerable, but Adam says they’ve been riding Yul the whole way, so they don’t want to mess that up. Yul says one possibility why people aren’t targeting the idol is that they got to this point by being really tight. There have been no cracks in the alliance. Probst says that’s easy to say when you’re the guy with the idol!

With that, it’s time to vote. We see none of them, and so Probst tallies and reads them: Adam, Yul, Adam, Adam. Good try, Adam, but no go. Buh-bye.

Probst says the four of them did what seemed impossible by making it to this point. But now the game changes. “It’s going to be fun to watch it play out.” With that, he sends them back to camp.

In his last words, Adam says the Aitu four beat them fair and square. He played the game the best he could but just came up a little short. He congratulates them and wishes them all luck. Man, and he said they were boring?!

When the foursome return from Tribal Council, they are cheering and yelling. Sundra talks about how amazing it is that they managed to eliminate eight Raros. Yul also notes that the winner of this edition will come from a minority background. To him, it shows that the strongest teams come from diverse backgrounds. (I’d like to note that the Raro team had players from all four original tribes, so Yul’s comment here is pretty much meaningless.)

The next morning, Ozzy is up to watch the sunrise. He tells us if he doesn’t win immunity, it could be his last morning, so he wants to enjoy it. He’s focusing his energy and getting ready to hopefully win.

Treemail again! This one tells them to go on the usual trek to reflect on their fallen comrades. Each one is to be picked up and brought to a fire at the end. Then they will arrive at their final immunity challenge. Final? Yul is confused! They’re not sure exactly what that means. It’s been a pretty poorly-kept secret for viewers, as it was even discussed in TV Guide. But as it hasn’t been mentioned on the show itself yet, I won’t go into any more detail at this point.

Becky says the fact that they get to go through this trip together as the Aitu four is really special, because normally only the final three do it. And so they take off in their boat to find the torches.

Sekou is first, saying in voiceover that he didn’t plan to be the leader but sometimes you just have to step up. Billy says he rediscovered that he’s a dream-chaser, not a player. Cecilia considered herself a person who plays it safe, but she’s discovered she’s not as scared as she thought she was. J.P. says the game is brutal – you cannot rest at any time.

Stephannie would have loved to stay a little longer, but if your mind’s not completely there, you’re not at your best. Cao Boi repeats what we’ve heard before – that he’s most vulnerable among his own people, the Asian community. But they changed his opinion of them. Cristina says being a police officer made it more difficult to play this game because she’s a role model.

Jessica knew she was strong, but is stronger than she realized. She hopes she left some of her spirit behind with the tribe. Brad says the best part was stepping outside his comfort zone. “It was the best and worst experience of my life.”

Rebecca says you don’t always have to be the toughest person. Jenny doubted herself and didn’t think she could do Survivor, but she did it. Nate had a lot of fun and the game taught him to go with what he feels inside. Candice is a very competitive person who always wants to win. With Adam and her, she could feel he was a genuine person and what you see is what you get. She didn’t win, but she played the game the only way she could – all out.

When they get to Jonathan’s torch, Ozzy thanks it profusely. Jonathan says he had so much fun. “A 44-year-old Jew in Survivor” who lasted to day 33 is okay. He lost 30 pounds and feels fantastic.

Parvati felt like she was running the show for a while, but they all thought she was a wimp who couldn’t hold her own. She kind of shocked herself. Adam is frustrated that he got so close without winning. But he won’t let it haunt him – he’s learned a lot about himself, including that he isn’t afraid to say what he’s thinking.