Survivor 13 goes down as one of my favorite seasons. And I went into the final council with a great deal of trepidation that this whole thing was going to be decided by a bunch of eye-rolling, face-making juveniles. So I was happy to discover that the final tribal council (well, sans Adam who just couldn’t help himself, to the surprise of absolutely no one) was mostly conducted with a lot of civility and respect for the game that, at least, two of the final three played. (Sorry Becky, but ya had to know you weren’t going to score against those two.)

With Oz and Yul, we had the best, most deserving final two in a long time. It was hard to see one have to lose. I’ve never wanted to split a prize more. (Yay! Oz got the car. Woot!)

So…here’s how it all went down.

We start with five players, who all head off to an immunity challenge. Adam is clearly odd man out at this point, but there doesn’t seem to be any animosity over it. It just is what it is. He trails behind the Aitu 4 as they head off, knowing he has to get immunity or he goes home that night. Jeff explains that, in 13 seasons, it’s the most complex immunity they’ve ever had. (I know from interviews that he tried the puzzle part and gave up after a half hour….the eventual winner? Completed the whole thing in 25 minutes. And it was close with at least three competitors. That’s how strong a season this was.) So a lot of scrambling over nets, through tunnels, across planks, and gathering a compass rose puzzle pieces commences. Yul has a clear lead at first, with Ozzy trailing in last place. Then Oz scores his first bag of pieces and turns into Speed Racer. He is the first one to tackle his puzzle, with Yul and Adam right behind him. (I know. Adam? But true.) All five eventually get to the puzzle building part, but, in the end, it’s Ozzy, the Challenge Monster, who wins the crucial prize.

At this point, I just sat back and relaxed. The Aitu 4 had done the almost impossible and made it from the mutiny, when they were down 8 to 4, to the final 4 in the game. Awesome play, and very deserving play. Whatever happened from this point on, I was going to be okay with. I did want Oz and Yul at the end, but with Yul having the idol and Oz the immunity necklace, they’d make the final jury.

It was great seeing them celebrate back at camp. Adam, to his credit, tried to stir things up before leaving, by trying to convince Sundra and Oz to out the idol from Yul before the final immunity challenge. But…didn’t work and Adam goes home. Buh bye!

Now we’re left with a foursome that is so tight, they were an absolute pleasure to watch. They are told there is only one Immunity Challenge left, which confuses them, but they are told nothing else. More awesome, the final 4 get to do the Walk of the Doomed, where they revisit every previous player. It was moving to watch them stand, hands clasped, as they watched the final effigy of their torches. Also cool, was them thanking Jonathan.

Then it’s off to the final Immunity Challenge, which involves standing on poles out in the water, under the beating sun (each pole and platform built to the competitors foot and weight size.) Every fifteen minutes their platform gets smaller, until it’s down to the size of a half a postcard. Surprisingly, the final two are Sundra and Ozzy, and I have to say, it looked like Sundra had it, but Oz did triumph, which made me happy.

Although Yul does offer his idol to Becky to insure her path to the final three, all of whom will face jury and have a shot at the money, she turns it down, wanting to make it on her own merits. Major kudos to that move. Didn’t end up earning her any votes, but it was commendable, given who she was up against. The four decide that the fairest way to get to the end was to vote a tie for the two women and let them duke out who gets the final spot in a tie breaker. I loved - loved - watching the anticipation on the faces of the jury, they were salivating over the chance to watch the final 4 turn on each other. And then? DENIED. Ha!!

A tie it was, no idol pops up, and there was grudging respect on the faces of the whiny, bratty jury. (I mean, really, have you ever seen such juvenile behavior? Well, with most of Raro from Jenny on anyway.)

Now we have what turns into the most hilarious tie breaker ever….and totally seals Becky’s fate as it takes them several hours - yes, hours - to build fire. They finally resort to matches. And I swear, when Sundra ran out of matches, I was half expecting Jeff to go, “Okay, stop where you are. We go to flamethrowers.” The jury is asleep, Oz and Yul are embarrassed for their teammates, and Jeff finally makes the observation on all our minds, which is that, after 39 days on the island, tbey should be able to make fire.

Becky finally triumphs, but the display was dismal enough that everyone and their dog had to know it was going to be between Oz and Yul in the end. Which it was.

The final jury council, where they pelt the finalists with questions, was much milder than I anticipated from this group. Everyone pretty much gave them the props they deserved. The only notable exceptions were Adam, who was a confrontational idiot, and Jonathan, who comes across far more antagonistic than his questions really were. In fact, I thought his had the most substance of anyone, and felt he might have swayed people against Ozzy, due to his Beauty Pageant answer about what he’d do with the money (though he was certainly earnest in his answer, as he was with all his answers.)

It was moving and all three held up well. And, while I know that Becky was essentially a non-starter in this particular situation, I have to say that I approve whole-heartedly on the final three concept. Mostly because it pretty much ensures that two of the final three would be most deserving. In past seasons, the winner of the final immunity picks who he goes to the final two with. this would have been Ozzy’s choice, and, if he were smart, which he is, he’d have taken Becky, who had no prayer of beating him, leaving Yul to go home. This way, no choosing, they all go. I hope they keep this concept in future seasons.

I honestly had no idea who would win after the tribal council was over, except to know that it wouldn’t be Becky. At the final tribal, live in California, Jeff read the votes….and it came down 5-4 in favor of Yul. I would have been thrilled with either winning, and when Oz realized how close it was going to be, you could tell, challenge monster that he is, how badly he wanted it. But he maintained his composure really well. And he got the popularity vote online and won the SUV (which he won by an equally tight margin over Yul.) That, and the runner up money, ain’t too shabby a consolation prize. His answer to Jeff about what the game meant to him was incredibly moving.

Very satistfying conclusion. Both in watching the final 3/4 finish out their game…and, frankly, watching the jury have to sit there and admit they were outplayed (and outclassed) by the most deserving tribe ever. Ha. Loved it.

Even more satisfying is the number of Blog Babes who voted both for Parvati to be voted out Thursday and Yul to win it all on Sunday. As it happens, the winner got both of them right. Only fitting given how the season played out. So, this week’s SHaQ Attack prize goes to Blog Babe Diana P!

And now…sob! No MAC! Whatever will we do? Well, I hear there is this show running all this week called Identity. Might give it a look and see if it’s MACworthy for the week anyway. If not…we’ll have to fill out time debating on the upcoming season of American Idol and Apprentice L.A. (I know, slim pickings there!) Fortunately both Survivor (Fiji!) and Amazing Race come back in February. Sigh of relief.

Have a great Monday! Tune in tomorrow for this week’s SHaQ Attack contest details.

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