Really? Why? How is this not the same old coattail effect we've seen time and time again, with the person who does all the heavy lifting getting shafted because they have no "integrity"?

It's not about Natalie winning, it's about Russell being trounced. To me, the genius of Survivor is that you have to get the jury of people you booted vote for you. There's an exciting tension between strategizing to defeat them and convincing them you deserve to win. It privileges the social aspect and ensures that pleasant people like JT, Yul and Bob win. But if Russell won this time, I think more players would adopt his strategy and future juries might think a complete douchebag play is sufficient to win Survivor.

Russell's biggest strategic move was convincing John to vote with them, but aside from that, I'm not sure I buy that he did all the heavy lifting. Natalie's social game got Erik out and contributed to the jury liking her.

I agree. Russell may have played a *bigger* game, but I don't think he played a smarter one, and Natalie did a hell of a lot more to contribute to their overall strategy than previous under-the-radar winners. I think she did a great job of letting Russell think he was doing all the work, but I don't think he would have survived the merge without her.

The biggest question in my mind is WHY THE HELL DIDN'T BRETT FIGHT TO GET RID OF RUSSELL WHEN HE HAD IMMUNITY???? The hidden idol was out of the game, so no risk there. Brett had immunity, so no risk of backfiring and voting himself out. Why on EARTH wouldn't he go to Mick and Jaison and say hey guys, Russell only wants you in the finals as filler, you know that, right? If Brett had gotten rid of Russell at 5, it would have been him up against Mick, Jaison and Natalie in the final IC and he would be a millionaire right now. Dumbass.

Let me be clear, I don't think Natalie didn't deserve to win. The "rules" of Survivor are pretty simple 1) get to the end, 2) convince people to vote for you. She did that (although I actually think it was people on the jury who really did the latter).

I just don't see this season as being an exception as to how Survivor generally plays out.

But then, I've never wanted Survivor to be more about the social aspect (I get enough of that bullshit in the real world).

Jessica--we were yelling at the screen at Brett about that very thing at the time. "Now's the time,dude, vote out Russell!" But, noooooo.

OTOH, if it didn't occur to the doctor and the law student that voting out Russell might be a good idea, I can't really be too surprised that it also escaped the tee-shirt designer.

May I say that the examples we saw of Brett's t-shirts in the show and at reunion were not particularly impressive.

Zipping to the end to say that I enjoyed the Sing Off overall. I can't remember another competition show where I was truly and completely torn over who I wanted to win. Nor one where I was so motivated to vote. (except for one AmId, when I voted for a friend)

I was glad for Nota and not at all surprised. I think I've replayed their "Down" on youtube roughly 50 times.

I suspect the Bubs are going to be booked UP, ala Only Men Aloud t [link] for a long time to come.

About the finale. I was shocked that my favorite celebrity 'duet' ended up being Nicole. Girl really has the pipes. (I'll have to give up calling her their version of Paula Abdul, I guess)

While I adore Bobby McFerrin like unto a demigod, I wasn't blown away by his performance. And I was sad for Nota that Smokey didn't show for rehearsals. He obviously devoted major time to AI, but this competition didn't pull.

And Ben? God bless a fellow who can't really sing for advocating on behalf of A capplla. I loved both his and Shawn's knowledgeable and encouraging judging. Len and Simon could learn a thing from those two.

Brett wasn't in much of a position to make that deal, though.

Okay, so he convinces them that Russell's not really their ally. But at the same time, Russell was also not nearly such a jury threat as Brett, and was not currently on an immunity streak.

Which doesn't make Mick or Jaison any less dumbasses for not trying it at the final 4 stage. Natalie would have been a hard sell, but still.

Actually, no - I'll bet they could have sold her with a credible tie threat. If it went to a tie she'd have been facing a 50-50 shot at being out, while one of those guys was already on their way out the door to begin with so really not as big a crap shoot. If they'd had the guts to stick with it, which I doubt.

ETA: Wait, duh, I'm misremembering the order they went out in. I still don't think Brett had much leverage to do much of anything though since either way, he was clearly perceived as the biggest threat.

Yeah, the Sing-Off finale was cute, and fun that Jay Sean showed up at the end! I think it was a surprise, because David didn't seem to know if he should keep singing lead or what.

Definitely a surprise. Bless David's shocked little heart. Jay Sean should have just given him the lead!

Nerves seemed more evident in the finale than even in the first episode. Some of the best singers stumbled a little here and there. But still fun. The Voices of Lee seemed to become a back up band for their lead. I wonder if that was a producer call.