Survivor: Gabon Episode Recap: "Say Goodbye to Gabon"

• Dec 15, 2008 08:40 AM ET
• by Rhoda Charles

It was a night of immunity challenges and tribal councils that ended a season of twists and turns by finally crowning Survivor: Gabon's ultimate survivor.

Ultimately, it went to a school teacher from Maine. It certainly was an unusual season with the underdogs taking control and making it to the end. Now that it is over did the finale live up to your hopes? Is Bob worthy of the crown? Before we get to all that, let's take a look at what actually happened tonight.

The Final Five: Kenny, Matty, Sugar, Susie and Bob.
The game approached its final days with Kenny still berating Bob for not being a man of honor. I'm not sure if Kenny was still playing the game or if he was seriously upset that the guy he had planned to betray in the worst way had chosen to look out for himself instead of sacrificing his chance at a million dollars for Kenny. I think Kenny lost his mind a little bit in Gabon, but Bob summed the issue up nicely for him. "The small print at the bottom of the contract was 'I help you, you help me,' not, 'I help you, you stab me in the back.'" It is common sense like this that took Bob to the end. Sugar, with more backroom dealings, put Kenny out of his misery by orchestrating another blindside. She sent Kenny to the jury 4-1 where he would later return the favor and not vote for her.

The Final Four: Matty, Sugar, Susie and Bob.
The image of these castaways as they arrived for this immunity challenge will be burned in my mind for some time I fear. They came ready to fight, decorated in war paint. Yeah, I just don't think any student needs to see their teacher quite like this. Bob, wearing only a loin cloth and covered in red paint was a sight to behold. He's a little gangly and with the vivid red paint, he looked as if he had been toyed with by some of the Gabonese wildlife.

Speaking of, the shots of the wildlife were numerous and stunning tonight. How cool must it have been to be a cameraman for this season of the show?

The Final Three: Sugar, Susie and Bob.
It occurred to me that Matty was very confident during this episode. That should have let me know that he would soon be gone, but like him, I blindly believe that Sugar would stick to her word and work to keep him in the finals. All through the torch walk I had no inkling that Matty's sage comments ("they were all quality human beings and quality competitors") would be among his last in the game. Of GC, "that kid was classic," of Ace, "He was a shyster, but he was cool."

The fallen also had some insightful things to say about themselves. Corinne: Being nice isn't a personality trait I find interesting. Anybody can be nice. Crystal: In the end I failed and for me that has been very humbling. Kenny: I grew as a person. Hopefully, people will see the change in me because I feel I really have changed and for the better. On the flip side, some people didn't quite seem to get it. Marcus: Throwing the idol away made the game less sneaky. Did it really Marcus? I think not. Still, after umpteen seasons, this was the best remembrance walk I've watched. Well, maybe second best, Parvati, Cirie and Amanda'' was pretty entertaining last season.

The final immunity challenge was all about balance and ascending new heights and managing your nerves. Yes, I'm talking about building a house of cards. They had 30 minutes to stack 200 tiles 10 feet tall or as high as possible within the half-hour. There were collapses aplenty, but in the end it was Susie's house that was still standing. Bravo to the woman who always managed to pull out a win when she most needed it. Her win meant, of course, that Bob, the biggest threat, was going home.

Wait, didn't Bob win? Yes he did. You see, Sugar's emotions changed the game again. She hinted at forcing a tie and when the time came Matty and Bob had to face off over the fire-building tiebreaker. Jeff has said many times that fire is life in this game. You would think people would take those words to heart and learn to build a freaking fire! Bob practiced. Matty did not. Bob made final three. Matty did not.

The Final Tribal Council: The Three Finalists and Some Bitter People
This final tribal left a bad taste in my mouth, and it wasn't just because Matty chose to wear a wife beater. After 39 days in this tough game there was very little no sense of accomplishment. Susie hammered home the fact that she had no game, no confidence and no real hope of winning. All that was important was that she tried to win. Bob jumped on Susie's message and announced that he had ridden coattails to get to the end (though I'm not sure I agree). Sugar more or less said that she did not know why anyone would vote for her to win and that at this point she really did not care. Tell me, why should we?

The jury also didn't really want to discuss ability, accomplishments, effort, desire, anything. They only wanted to hear themselves speak insult the finalists. I think Marcus very cleverly told Susie that he thought she was fat. And Corinne — in a Survivor low — insulted Sugar and her grief for her deceased father.

Sugar received no votes. Susie received three and Bob earned four, making him, at 57, the oldest winner in the show's history. He later learned at the reunion show that he had also won $100,000 in Sprint's online contest. He is a most deserving winner. We applaud Jeff for saving the charred remains of Bob's fake idol and for guiding us through this season of reality television's best offering.

From The Cook Islands to Fiji, from China to Micronesia and now Gabon, I've enjoyed Thursday nights on the sofa and Friday mornings reading your comments. Thank you all for playing along with me in this Survivor world. Next season stay tuned for Survivor: Tocantins in the Brazilian Highlands. Like me, I'm sure you can't wait.