...Final Tribal Council.  Jeff reiterates that the power now shifts to Jury.  Each of the Final Three will make opening statements, followed by the Jury's questions.  In his statement, Chase thanks everyone for playing with him, and asks the Jury to bring on the questions, because he knows some of them are pissed at him because he's been wishy-washy.  Fabio just had a great time, which earns a classic NaOnka stink face.  He highlights his three Immunity Challenge wins in a row.  Further, he didn't backstab anyone; he deserves the million dollars because he had a lot of fun.  Sash says he played teh game differently than the other two.  The game is to outwit, outplay, and outlast.  All three of them outlasted the Jury, so it comes down to strategy.  He says breaking alliances is part of the game, but all of their friendships are real.

Brenda gets to go first.  She is really proud of the guys.  She enjoyed playing with Sash, and says making alliances is smart, but breaking them...Sash then cuts her off.  Sash is remorseful, but breaking alliances was his strategy. His friendship is something different.  Chase was her snuggle buddy, and she developed an emotional attachment to him.  The again, he said he could never vote for her, but then it was so easy to cut her loose.  Chase defends himself by saying he came to her immediately about Holly's maneuvering, but when Fabio and NaOnka backed out, he was stuck. Sash chimes in and says Chase could've done more, but Brenda shuts him down, by saying he should have done more to save her.

Marty.  There are obviously good reasons tjat they are there and the Jury is here.  He asks Chase that if a "Dumber Than a Bag of Hammers Award" was to be given to someone other than Marty, who would Chase pick?  Chase says it's a BS question because Marty is the only one he's give the award to.  Marty tells Sash that he is a cerebral player, and points out to Chase, that "cerebral" means smart.  He congratualtes Fabio as changing the most as person and a player, and winning three Immunities.

Holly.  Chase what was your most strategic move?  Chase answers when he voted out Shannon to play with people he could trust instead.  She asks Fabio if winning the final three immunities was too little too late?  Uh...No! In fact, it was perfect timing because he won when he had to win.  Holly asks Sash if he ever lied to her.  He did when he voted her out.  Holly concludes by saying she respects them all, and had a great time.

Jane.  She tells Sash that someone raised him very well to be such a New York City river rat (whoa!  No need to slag off NYC there, Jane!).  She wants him to crawl back into the sewer he came from.  Fabio laughs at this pretty loud.  Jane tells Chase that he made her time out there pretty fun.  She asks how he would use the money if he won.  Chase replies that he'd give $100,000 to the cancer charity his brother started, and then take care of mom.  Fabio wants to take care of mom and dad too, which causes Jeff to laugh.  Fabio swears that he's not just saying that because Chase did.

Benry doesn't want to hear from Chase.  He congratulates Fabio for his three Immunity wins.  He tells Sash that he was able to see through Sash's fake smile and laugh.  He wants to know what Sash saw was was wrong with him (Benry).  Well, if Benry could see through Sash, he should've taken a shot at him to get him out.  This shuts Benry up right quick.

Dan just rages, and calls Sash a liar and a phony.  Sash is spineless, and Dan hates his smile.  He wishes Sash would get his eye fixed for the little wink he does.  Chase backstabbed everyone, including Jane, so Dan has not time for him.  He concludes on Chase, telling him, "Beauty fades, but dumb is forever."

Purple Kelly tells the guys that they did what she couldn't do (you know, finish the game!).  She gives Sash a minute to say how he outwitted them.  Sash replies that he should've been voted out at Merge, but he wasn't.  With that, Purple Kelly sits back down.  That's all she has!  She truly is the most useless Survivor competitor ever.

It's NaOnka's turn.  Fabio was her hippy friend, and Sash was a great strategic player.  She asks Fabio if seeing his mom was gasoline to finish so strong.  As he cries, Fabio says yes.  He was gong through a lot of emotions because the other three were always plotting against him, but thoughts of his family helped him through.  This response moves the Jury, as Brenda and Benry start crying.  (And in my notes, I wrote down, "Fabio wins.")

Alina finishes up.  She tells Fabio that he's the ultimate surfer boy, but she doesn't want to give money to a boy.  She asks Sash why he deserves the win instead of the younger guys.  He says Fabio was always the last to know what was going on.  Fabio interjects that he knew more than they thought.  Sash continues, saying Chase was wishy-washy.  Chase repeats Sash's indictment of Fabio, saying that whenever they'd get back from Tribal council, Fabio would always wonder what just happened.  Fabio defends himself by saying he didn't have to backstab anyone, unlike Chase.  Sash takes a swing at Fabio's greatest achievement, by saying winning three Immunity Challenges in a row is not special.  "Dude, that's outplaying," Fabio reminds him and the Jury.  Fabio concludes that Sash didn't outplay anyone.

It's time to vote.  Purple Kelly, in one last indignity, tries to pull off the wrong end of pen.  We see Marty vote for Fabio because Chase is dumb and Sash a weasel.  Alina votes for Chase because he impressed her at Tribal Council.  Dan votes for Fabio because he hates the other two.  Brenda takes a long time, but reveals her vote for Chase.  It appears Sash is out of it at this point.  Jeff collects the votes, tells the guys that they will have to wait until he beings the votes to the...

...live Reunion show in Los Angeles!  The Jury and Final Three are looking much helathier (and much cleaner), with Fabio sporting a new Justin Bieber haircut.  Jeff begins to reead the votes.  The first four are the four we saw at the final vote: Fabio, Chase, Fabio, Chase.   The next two are for Chase, followed by two for Fabio.  It's four votes for Fabio, and four votes for Chase with one vote to go.  "The winner of Survivor: Nicaragua is...Fabio!!!"  The youngest winner ever at the age of 21, jumps up and down, and runs into the audience to hug his family.

In the reunion, Jeff starts by asking Fabio if his nickname has stuck.  It has.  Is he really a goofball or just playing that role as strategy?  He says it comes down to knowing himself well.  He's aware of the vibes he gives off and his surroundings.  Did his family life help him prepare?  Yes, he's been crazy for a while.  He comes from a family of artists.  One grandfather invented the folding card table, and another invented the color wheel.  Fabio had a modeling career before the show, but his life is going to change tomorrow.  He's going to have a lot of fun.  He wants to start a production company that explores the intersection of communications and art.

Other reunion highlights include Chase saying nothing happened between he and Brenda besides a little flirtation.  Sash didn't give Brenda the Hidden Immunity Idol because NaOnka told him about a huge plan Brenda had constructed to oust him, which she then admitted to plotting.  Chase has a passion for music, but Survivor hasn't helped him in Nashville.  Nashville only cares if you can write and sing, so Jeff gives him the opportunity to play an original song as they go out to commercial.

Jimmy Johnson said Survivor saved his life because the first time he applied, the Survivor doctor told him he had two blocked arteries.  Dan won't admit to how much money he has because the IRS might be watching.  Jane prepared for the game by running and swimming and learning how to make fire.  When asked why she and Marty fought so much, she said she tried to start an alliance with him on Day One, but he wasn't having it because she was alilgned with Jimmy J and Wendy.  Jeff asks if they are friends now, but Marty wants nothing to do with her.  Stay classy, Marty!

Is NaOnka really that way in real life?  She says she "acted a fool" because she was trying to win.  She didn't mind shoving over Kelly B because she took Kelly to be just another competitor.  Kelly appreciated that, actually.  Why did NaOnka leave after 28 days?  She had just had enough.  She wanted to leave at The Merge, but Chase convinced her to stay.  She thinks none of the should be judged in their real lives based on how they played the game.  Jeff starts to ask Shannon about his comments at Tribal Council about Sash, but Shannon cuts him off and starts talking about walking and talking like a duck.  Then he says how he met Sash's girlfriend, but he starts becoming offensive, so Jeff shuts his dumb ass up.

Jeff then starts making big announcements.  The first is that the producers will reserve the right to kick quitters off of the Jury.  Second, by the largest margin ever, Jane was slected the Sprint Player of the Season (I'd say this is Blatant Product Placement, but since Sprint is kind enough to put up the $100,000, we'll let them be).  Boston Rob and Amber had another child, but, evidently, there were complications, which none of us needed to know about.

Then we get to the much-hyped big twist for next season.  The season is entitled Survivor: Redemption Island.  What will happen is when someone is voted out, that person does not go home.  The ousted player will live alone on Redemption Island. When the next person is voted out and is sent to Redemption Island, the two players will duel.  The duel winner remains on Redemption Island, and the other is now out of the competition.  At some point later in the game, the last person on Redemtion Island will re-enter the game.

I have to say, this is pretty interesting, and could be a lot of fun.  There was a lot of criticism for Survivor: Pearl Islands for the Outcasts twist, which allowed the six previously ousted players back into the game as their own tribe.  Personally, I didn't think it was that bad, but I think Redemption Island is better.  The person who survives Redemption Island, especially if it is someone voted out early in the game, will have no idea of the dynamics back at camp when they return to the game.  How will that person be received when they return?  Will everyone automatically try to get rid of them again because they were already voted out?  Will players in the minority alliance try to pull the Redeemed in to gain the upper hand?  There are many possibilities.  Plus, there is the opportunity to have some great one on one challenges over at Redemption Island.  If anything, it will be a nice departure from this pretty lame season (though Redemption Island was also shot in Nicaragua, where the surf was too rough to have any open water challenges).  I have been assured by Entertainment Weekly's resident Survivor expert, Dalton Ross, that next season's cast is infinitely better than this most recent one, so I'm pretty psyched for Survivor: Redemption Island come February! 

But we still have a bit of work left with Survivor: Nicaragua.  Let's take a look back at my original Odds to Win:

1) Chase  2) Fabio (Jud)  3) Yve  4) Alina
5) Jill  6) Holly  7) Brenda  8) Tyrone
9) Jimmy T  10) Kelly B  11) Marty  12) Shannon
13) Sash  14) NaOnka  15) Dan  16) Purple Kelly (Kelly S)
17) Jimmy J  18) Benry  19) Jane  20) Wendy

Now let's look at the ultimate finishing order:

1) Fabio  2) Chase  3) Sash  4) Holly
5) Dan  6) Jane  7) Benry  9) NaOnka & Purple Kelly
10) Brenda  11) Marty  12) Alina
13) Jill  14) Yve  15) Kelly B  16) Tyrone
17) Jimmy T  18) Jimmy J  19) Shannon  20) Wendy

I have to say, I'm pretty impressed that I nailed the Top Two.  Granted, I had them reversed, but to come within one vote of nailing it exactly, and to have slected two of the three most athletic men (who almost never win the game) as my Top Two?  Well, I'm feeling good going into next season's predictions.  If I missed poorly (which I did), it was in Jill and Yve doing much worse than I thought, and Purple Kelly and Benry doing much better.  Then again, my Odds are figuring out the chance those players would win the whole game, and since Purple Kelly really had no shot at winning, I still feel pretty good.

Alright, that's Survivor: Nicaragua!  What did you think of the finale, and the season as a whole?  Were you happy Fabio won?  Can you believe Chase almost did?!?  What do you think about the Redemption Island twist?  Please leave your comments, questions and theories below.  Be sure to check back at TVOvermind for more information on Survivor: Redemption Island, and be on the lookout for my review of the new cast when it is announced.  Until then, I'm off to buy me a new pair of pure-quill ostrich boots!

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