Survivor Heroes Vs. Villains - And the Winner Is

The Survivor Heroes vs. Villains Sunday finale proved to be the crowning cherry on top of a fantastic, often frustrating, but always riveting season. With more unlikely double dealings and probably one of the more revelatory Final Tribal Councils I've ever witnessed, it's safe to say that Heroes vs. Villains will stand up there with the greats like Amazon, Pearl Islands, Palau and Fans vs. Favorites. For this installment, I'd like to focus less on recapping the events that lead up to Sandra's phenomenal and deserving (second!) win, and more on how and why Sandra won, why Parvati almost won and why Russell never stood a chance - for a second straight time.

Why Sandra Won
It's easy. Sandra utilized a few time honored strategies, some of which are not that impressive, but they prove time and again to be ridiculously effective. This is not to say Sandra is a boring player or without any talents. If you think Sandra is a wallflower, just watch how she threw Russell's hat in the fire - I literally laughed out loud. It wasn't the act itself, but it was the indifferent way she just casually tossed it into the fire. No, Sandra is definitely not boring. She's stealthy and sneaky, and she also knows how to tell a rich and believable lie when she has to. When it isn't necessary to make waves, Sandra possesses an innate ability to know when to step back, watch and do absolutely nothing. However, when it's time to step up, Sandra beautifully personifies the old Italian saying my mother would always utter, "Throw the Rock, then hide the hand". With Coach, Sandra did a masterful job putting him on Russell's radar without even stirring Coach's suspicion that she was responsible for his ouster.

Make no mistake, Sandra didn't always play from a secure vantage point. It was hard won. Once Boston Rob and Tyson were ousted, Sandra and Courtney were vulnerable. But Sandra kept her focus and always managed to stick around for 3 more days by employing the "as long as it's not me" strategy. When your alliance needs the numbers to stay vital, you're suddenly very needed. Even when it became a brief reality that Russell had the numbers to be voted out, Sandra was shrewd enough to switch her vote to the majority when she realized Candice was waffling between the Heroes and Villains voting block. "Tell me who you want out", Sandra asks Candice. It's brilliant. She keeps herself alive in the game without forcing anyone to do her bidding. This is a brilliant example of patience and knowing when to relinquish control when it's not in your grasp.

Sandra didn't have to make elaborate double dealings or last minute convoluted strategy shifts. Aware that cooler heads always prevail, Sandra knew to keep it simple by voting with the numbers while biding her time to find the right moment to strike. Finding the immunity idol, Sandra didn't share the information or give it away to someone else, she simply hid it and used it when she needed to cement her position in the final five. Technically, she didn't even need to use it, as Rupert got the majority of the votes, but since day 36 was the last day to play the idol, she had nothing to lose by playing it and everything to lose if she didn't.

Flying under the radar seems like the passive thing to do. Again, it's boring, but its effectiveness should never be underestimated. Sandra played this perfectly so she wasn't perceived by the jury as a major backstabber. She ultimately got the majority of the votes because of her blunt and frank demeanor. It's part of Sandra's charm that she can be lippy and outspoken without ever coming across as mean or condescending. This plays an important part to Sandra's likability among the jury. In addition, she doesn't know how to do unctuous, a tone which most jury members seem to hate and immediately sniff as false and ingratiating. She simply and forthrightly stated her facts as truthfully, honestly and forcefully as she could and jury members appreciate this mix of honest, yet compassionate arguing.

Why Parvati Almost Won
Parvati didn't go down with out a fight. She managed to snag a few key votes herself and truthfully speaking, Parvati was just as deserving of the win as Sandra. She played just as cunningly, just as fiercely, with the same intensity and focus, albeit with a slightly different execution. As I've said before, Parvati is a charmer and a flirt. She plays an incredible social game while still playing with her head. Parvati knows how to weave relationships in and outside her alliance and she most definitely used her physical attributes to facilitate this. But more than that, Parvati played to win. She proved to be amazing at the challenges and despite her mistrust of Russell, she still understood that Colby and Rupert needed to go before any of the Villains. That's strategy, not emotion. In addition, she never took herself out of immunity challenges, and she let no one mentally bully her.

The element of luck also has to be factored in with playing Survivor. Sandra, Parvati and Russell all making it to the Final 3 involved some vicissitude of the game to bring them there. If the Heroes had won more immunity challenges in the beginning, the merged tribe would have had a totally different cast. If Tyson didn't vote himself out of the game, Parvati would have been sent packing. The best laid plans can still blow up in your face, but Parvati did a great job controlling her fate in the game as much as she could. She played both a great social and physical game.

Why Russell Never Stood a Chance
Russell is indomitable in the game of Survivor. He plays with an aggressive and gleefully malevolent swagger, making big moves and bulldozing his way through to the end. Russell is Superman. Like Superman, Russell also has his Kryptonite. And it's called The Final Tribal Council. As the numbers were dwindling, Parvati and Sandra did something brazen and hilarious. They openly flouted Russell, taunted and even mocked him. In a game where you keep your real feelings about someone tamped down, Sandra and Parvati intentionally riled Russell.

"Are You with me or against me?" Russell.

"Hey, who brought Boston Rob back? 'Are you with me or against me?'. Parvati (chuckling)

"I'm against you, Russell." Sandra.

And with that, Russell was no longer calling the shots. He got schooled. Russell was making it to the Finals regardless of his game play because everyone realized he'd be a shoo-in to beat! Parvati and Sandra's message was loud and clear: "Relax, Russell, we ain't scared of you and you don't have to play the game anymore. We're going to carry you to the Finals so you can lose to us. All you gotta do is sit back and watch the jury put down either of our names because you were too stupid to realize that you made some major enemies on your way to the end."

And on some level, Russell had to realize this.

Russell has been a very controversial player since his debut in Samoa. Fans of the show either love or hate him, with no in-between. Since Samoa, many Russell apologists have argued that he's a brilliant player who got cheated out of a win. Though I admit I don't care for his TV persona, I can still state with detached logic that Russell is not the best player of Survivor. Strategize and get a good read on people all you want. Get the numbers on your side, make big moves and keep finding that idol, but if you don't bring your social game, you simply do not win. There's a human element to Survivor that if ignored, will almost certainly guarantee second place. This means you have to plunge the knife in another player's back with one hand, while you're massaging it with the other. Russell was too mean spirited in his game play and the fact that he didn't realize this until the jury members had to spell it out for him, only reveals further why Russell didn't win this game. If you don't befriend the people who make up your jury, which from the editing Russell clearly did not master, well, let's put it this way: you don't laud the football team that always gets to the end zone if they get tackled at the 1 yard line time and again.

Now if you say Russell is entertaining to watch, then I might agree. He can talk smack like no one else, does some outlandish things, which definitely doesn't make him boring, but it's not enough to make him a winner. And it's been proven. Twice.

For all my opinions and armchair observations, I comment on 3 days' worth of footage whittled down to just 43 minutes. So much more happens out there that we are not privy to. Still, it doesn't keep a fan like me from dissecting what's been a fantastic season. As this chapter closes and I await new twists and turns for the next season, I want to hear from you. Did Sandra deserve to win? Parvati? If the rumors are true about Russell signing on to compete one more time, will you think he'll change his game playing strategy to even stand a chance, or will you just vomit at the thought of a threepeat? Since this is her second win, and the only player to ever have won the game twice, does this officially qualify Sandra the best Survivor player ever?

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If you want a run-down of what happened this entire season of Survivor Heroes vs. Villains, check out my weekly recaps below.

Episode 1 - Recap - Sugar Boobs

Episode 2 - Recap - Another Hero Bites the Dust

Episode 3 - Recap - Randy gets Rooted Out

Episode 4 - Recap - I'll Have One BlindSide to Go

Episode 5 - Recap - Are You Seriously Keeping the Gimp?

Episode 7 - Recap - Robbed!

Episode 8 - The Dragonslayer is Slain

Episode 9 - Recap - Love Notes and Idol Business

Episode 11 Recap - I'll Naked Jell-O Wrestle you For that Clue

Episode 12 - Recap - The Ship is Sinking