An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Cook Islands, the Finale – A Promise Kept

Adam's Final Words

Adam starts by saying, “This is Adam Gentry, signing out.” He goes on to say he played the game the best he could, but came up a little short. He says if he could leave one thing with everybody it's to not take things for granted, appreciate the things you have, and to smile more often. Um, that's three things, Adam. He says he learned a lot about himself – gee, that's the first time anyone has said that! – about how to survive, and about people's personalities and how they mix.

Adam will most remember seeing his Dad out there and spending the day with him. It was incredible to have a loved one on the island to share the experience with. He’s looking forward to eating good food, having some beer, and seeing the jury members. He says to Ozzy, Yul, Becky, and Sundra, “you guys got us good. You knocked us out.” He says congratulations, good luck, and that they beat them fair and square.

Adam the Day After

Adam reiterates from last night that his favorite part of the game was when his Dad visited. He wanted to share the experience with him. Adam's Dad is his best friend and it gave him a huge boost down the stretch. The whole experience made him realize he could do more than he thought. Okay, Adam. You said all this in your final words already.

He found the hardest part of Survivor was the lack of food. He likes to eat a lot and it made him physically and mentally weaker. The lack of food and water was tough. He was surprised how long he lasted in the game. Of course, he wanted to last longer, but he made it 37 days. He's happy with how he reacted to being stuck on an island.

Adam admits he “didn't have as much of a strategy as other people did.” The only strategy he had was to keep the lines of communication open with the other folks on the tribe. He didn't want to shut himself off from anyone and he thinks he did a good job with it. Adam says he had a relationship with everyone on his tribes – not always good, but at least it was there. He does wish he had a better relationship with certain people, but that's the way it was.

Then Adam says that two of the worst times in his life were on Exile Island. There's almost no food and he was in a couple of storms and all alone. It was bad. He just tried to dream of other places, but then the storm would knock him out of that. It's windy and rainy and you just lay in the fetal position and shiver all night long. He didn't know if he'd be able to make it. He had to remind himself it wouldn't last forever.

It's frustrating for Adam, because he's almost 100% sure he would have won the game if he had made it to the final three. Hands down, he would have won it with the jury. Hmmm... I'm not convinced Adam's correct, although I haven't given it enough thought.

As a whole, Adam says the Survivor experience was great. He'll remember it forever. There were ups and downs, but it was a lot of fun and it was one of the best experiences of his life.

First Immunity Challenge: Compass Rose

This clip replays the first immunity challenge of the final episode. This challenge looked pretty grueling. I'm sure it took all the Survivors a loooong time to complete. I thought Ozzy and Adam did surprisingly well at the puzzle. I kept wishing Becky would get to the puzzle in time to have a real crack at it, but the physical element of the challenge seemed to favor the male players too much for her to get a real crack at it.

First Tribal Council

The only shred of drama going into this Tribal Council was if any of the Aitu four would go along with Adam's thought to out the idol. Didn't seem likely. Didn't happen.

Ozzy and his pal the immunity necklace vote for Adam. “You're a cool guy, man. Sorry it just has to go down this way, but the Aitu four gotta go to the top four.”

Becky votes for Adam. “What we need is the Aitu four to the final four, so we're sending you home. Sorry.”

Adam votes for Yul. “It really doesn't matter because I'm going home, but I decided to vote Yul anyway.” Snork.

Sundra votes for Adam. “Hey, Yul's not the only one voting strategy, but I had a good time with you on the island... You did try really hard.”

Yul votes for Adam. “Adam, you're a great guy and I actually like you a lot. I'm really sorry it's your time to go, but that's the game being played. Wish you the best and look forward to being friends.”

Sundra's Final Words

She came into this game totally terrified because Sundra didn't know much about it at all. She didn't think she'd know what to do or say, but she jumped in with both feet. The fact Sundra made it this far has “ignited so many things” in her and she's proud of herself. She's not even upset about being voted out. She gave it her all. Sundra had an amazing, amazing journey. She feels she had an ultimate Survivor experience. She really feels like she has a bond with the Aitu four and the others on Survivor. She felt emotions she'd never felt with them. She survived and she survived well, making it to the final four when she didn't think she'd make it past day three. She's proud of the other three and she's going to give them all sorts of love and support. Sundra giggles and says she's excited. Even getting voted out, it was a great day. She feels more than complete.

Sundra says she remembers a bad storm on day three with Hiki when she thought she'd never make it on the island. She also really remembers the day of the mutiny when the Aitu four formed. They had an amazing victory. She's never experienced that kind of happiness in her life and then they just kept winning.