Now that I’ve blogged about the previous episode, and the fact that the finale was 2 hours, plus an hour long reunion show, I have to rack my brain to remember everything that happened.

I thought Erinn had NO chance of even making the final 3… but apparently I was wrong. She kicked it up a notch and almost beat JT in the challenge! Then, despite having an alliance with Taj (practically) the entire game, JT and Stephen decided to keep Erinn, because she was “easier to beat.” Honestly, I think that was an almost fatal mistake for both of them. (And that’s where Stephen lost my vote.) I don’t think Taj won a single challenge/reward on her own. So, I don’t think it would have done any harm to keep her and her trust. Did you see her devastation at the next Tribal Council? I was so sad for her!

Ultimately, JT won the final immunity challenge and got to choose who went home. (Yay!!) That was an intense tribal! The jury certainly did its best to get them to rat each other out. This was the point where Stephen lost all credibility. I know only one can win, but for saying from the beginning that he would be happy if either he or JT won, he certainly threw his best friend under the bus. Between that, and admitting that he would have probably kept Erinn, I think he lost any votes he might have possibly won. To be honest, I think if either one of them had kept Erinn, Erinn might have gotten a few default votes- for them not staying loyal.

In the end, I think JT had a lot more strategy than he led on. He stayed as loyal as he possibly could. Voting for Coach to stay last week certainly secured that vote. And by keeping Stephen, he secured Taj’s, and anyone else’s vote who might have gone with Erinn. JT said Erinn could be beat… but honestly, I think he knew that more people liked him than Stephen. So, although he made it out to be a difficult decision, byt putting loyalty ahead of “an easy win,” he truly kept the easy win (Stephen), and came out looking like the hero. He even admitted it after the fact, that he was faking being hurt by Stephen to get some sympathy! Smart!!

I’m so happy JT won. He was such a hard worker, played the game well, and was just an all-around good guy. As it should be, this was only the second time in Survivor history that someone won EVERY vote.