I agree with Raven. Ben might not have played a perfect game but he worked hard around camp and at finding idols. He was strong at challenges and when that U was upside down, he didn't quit or pitch a fit afterwards, he kept trying. He was a gracious loser, not sulky.

I was real glad that Ben saw through Chrissy's "let's be friends again" ploy.

I really thought Chrissy was going to win it, you know she won 4 immunity necklaces, right? *snork* Good for her, but how many times did we hear that last night, 20? 30? LOL When Lauren was shown voting for Ben, I had hope. I guess Chrissy's appeal to the women on the jury, that Moms are more deserving to win because they are multi-tasking all the time, didn't work. It sounded too prepared to me.

And after all her animosity towards Ben, to sit there with her hand on his knee, constantly touching him, it seemed so wrong.

Yay Ben. I've wanted him to win all along, mistakes and all. I think he's a nice man and it was really nice to see his old friends supporting him. What a night for Ben and his family!

so glad Ben won... he worked at the game the whole season. made alliances, changed alliances. acted like he was on another alliance. made moves when he had to. worked hard all the time

the others not so much. Chrissy was a schemer but got outplayed more than once, too fake for me. Ryan started out ok, but fell to the wayside when his original alliance failed. Devon pretty good game but not enough.

was it fake., i hate to think so but anything is possible

Here's the recap.

I agree with Raven, I can't imagine a fix. The idols were there, and who else was looking for them? And who was watching Ben? They were pathetic and didn't deserve a win. Chrissy got worse and worse all season long. How many immunities did she win? Gag!

Loved it! Way to go Ben! Chrissy is nothing but a pig to me. I loved the look on her face when Ben won the challenge.

I wonder whether Crissy could have said, "Nah, I'm not going to use the advantage i just won and I don't want to choose a second person who can't be voted out." That way, they would have gone to a vote as normal and Ben would have been gone.

I too felt they rigged the game to Ben's advantage. Have there ever been that many hidden idols in a game before?

Joe tried to tell them. It was clear about halfway into the season. The others were really stupid to let Ben last so long.

Ben was my favorite from the beginning, and Lauren was my second choice. Ben worked harder than anyone else. While the others were sleeping, Ben was out looking for idols--and he didn't tell the others that he had the idols, which was a smart move. The game wasn't rigged--how could they know who would win the final immunity challenge and get the special advantage? I loved that twist! This season would not have been nearly as exciting without Ben!

Under the rigged theory, it would not have mattered who won the final immunity challenge. The object was to give Ben one last chance to get into the final three by eliminating the ability of the other three to vote him out. If Ben had won, he would have been in. If any of the other three won - as happened - it went to fire making contest rather than the absolutely sure vote of three against one.

It broke the Survivor format that "The Tribe has Spoken". The tribe decides who leaves the island, not Jeff and the producers. Jeff wanted to give Ben one last chance so he took away the tribe's power and gave it to Ben. He only had to make fire to win. I've seen this type of favoritism on other reality shows too.

Whatever, I'm still glad Ben won, no matter how it was done. How would they have known that Chrissy would win immunity? Was that fixed also? Jeff said there was a twist before the last challenge, so how was it rigged?

I was thrilled Ben won, he deserved it.

I disagree that it was fixed for Ben. Devon had been making fire in camp all along, He could easily have done it and won the firemaking challenge. But he didn't. It could have gone either way.

No one other than Ben ever bothered to look for an idol. It's not rigged it's just the others were lazy. Jeff said when the season began there were new twists and mentioned the finale. Did he have esp to know what to do way back then? Ben deserves the credit for playing a good game and the others lost because of sheer lack of game play and laziness. And yes same number of idols as usual in this season.

He stayed up aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaall night and found ANOTHER idol! SO COOL! That ending was the BEST!!!!!! Deserve the million dollars...he!! YES! He may have made mistakes, been at the bottom, but that fire he made was roaring! and so fast! (I remember a fire making challenge where it went on for over an hour in years past)

The bell hop needs to "eat a sandwich." The Dr was fun, but will manage with out the million. Devon was a favorite of mine. Chrissy...I wish they'd given her a car or $100K....she really deserved a consolation prize. She was a PLAYER!

Jeff said there was a twist before the last challenge, so how was it rigged?

If Ben won immunity, he'd be safe. Happy producers. If Ben lost immunity, as he did, it put him back into the game, just as the producers wanted. Ben was not going to be voted out at that last tribal because they changed the rules. Now if this was part of the plan when they conceived this season's show, fine. They'll probably claim that but we'll never know. It really has tarnished the integrity of the show, imo, but there's nothing more important than integrity and fairness to me. It may not be to you. That's why I stopped watching those rigged shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Apprentice. The Apprentice was also a Mark Burnett production.

I don't dispute that Ben worked hard and earned it. He had that one extra card stacked in his favor at the very end though, courtesy of the producers.

Second place gets $100,000, third $85,000, per this site. It says that's true "in most seasons". (I recommend checking out all the international versions of the show, really interesting!)

The Sole Survivor receives a cash prize of $1,000,000 prior to taxes and
sometimes also receives a car provided by the show's sponsor. Every
player receives a prize for participating on Survivor depending
on how long he or she lasts in the game. In most seasons, the runner-up
receives $100,000, and third place wins $85,000. All other players
receive money on a sliding scale, though specific amounts have rarely
been made public. Sonja Christopher, the first player voted off of Survivor: Borneo, received $2,500.[16] In Survivor: Fiji, the first season with tied runners-up, the two runners-up received US$100,000 each, and Yau-Man Chan received US$60,000 for his fourth-place finish.[17] All players also receive an additional $10,000 for their appearance on the reunion show.[18]

Well I would have liked to see Devon win, oh well. Was very happy that Ben won. I did think he could have had his shirt tucked in, but maybe that is just me. I did not watch the reunion show, will watch that later.

Totally agree with Mayflowers. The fix was in because this was their cause, PSTD, and this dominated the final reveal. No conversation with the other contestants at all and how they felt. ALL about Ben. I don't think these twists are fair. Ben didn't deserve to win since he actually didn't but came darn close with the upside down U. If he would have won that, what would the show have done...still went thru with the twist? I'm bummed that Devon wasn't in Ryans' place. Devon was a sweet zen guy who played a good game. Chrissie, I could not stand. I wanted Lauren and she got screwed by Ben so I was surprised she voted for him.Since Ben was a whiz at finding idols, they should have divided into shifts to follow him 24/7. There were enough of them they could have done that. Oh well, exciting finish even though I still think it was manipulated. Ben made a good story. Two months to Ghost Island. Trying to figure who returns. Devon and Lauren should have a change to return.

The final immunity challenge is just that--the final challenge. So now it's just a penultimate immunity challenge?

Even some of the former contestants are tweeting that they think it was rigged for Ben. Jeff has gotten man crushes in other seasons too. Remember the Dragonslayer, Coach Wade?

I really don't need all these twists to make the show interesting. It's the personalities who are interesting, and they could do a better job of selecting people to play. The idols are fine, and maybe there's too many of them, but I don't like the secret advantages. I don't enjoy the double challenges each episode because they have become repetitious--always in the water--but they did come up with a few new ones this season. I'd like to see more scenes of the players bonding and scheming because often I don't really know why some advance so far. Ryan had a great social game? Who knew!

Thanks sushipup for the info. Chrissy deserves "more". I was just mourning her losing. Winning 4 challenges! Wowser!

Those of you who think it was fixed ... does that include the jury?

In the general viewing public, I read that half think it was rigged. It would be interesting what the jury thought.

I don't understand how anyone can like Ben? I thought he behaved horribly and I was hoping that anyone but him would win. The way he treated people....there was just no reason for that, imo. It went way beyond stuff that might be necessary to win a game, I think. He just strikes me as a really mean person. I guess I just don't like to see mean people rewarded. I thought that the way he used the fact that he was a marine, etc. was really just awful. I am not sure how to express this, exactly, but...it seemed somewhat dishonorable to me how it seemed like he kept using his service to further his game. It just seemed so disingenuous and self-serving to me. Maybe I totally misunderstand him, but...

Overall, I was really disappointed in the outcome and I also do feel like the game was possibly rigged for him, and not just once. The producers picked where they kept hiding those idols and I rather suspect that they were put in places where they thought he'd find them. They said there would be a twist. But, they never said what it would be until near the very end, when it was obvious that Ben was going next. This makes me feel like they had a few twist options they were considering and just picked the one that would benefit Ben.

I really disliked the twist at the end. Those who played the game as it is meant to be played were robbed. Too bad Ben doesn't know up from down for the letter U. He lost, Chrissy won. The alliance should have been able to get rid of Ben, otherwise what's the point. I was rooting for Chrissy. She really played the game by winning challenges and forming alliances. All Ben did was wander off looking for idols. He got lucky, although he sure was persistent. Couldn't stand his boo-hoo act when he thought he would be eliminated.

CindyMac, I think we all knew that if Ben made it to the final 3 that he would win no matter who else was against him. The issue is how Ben made it to the final three.

Chrissy's response.

I think that Chrissy's response is an example of good sportsmanship.

So if the jury wanted Ben why the complaints? Just sounds like sour grapes. I didn't care for Chrissy, but said upthread that if Ben couldn't win I would choose her.

Juries usually reward good game players. I didn't like Ben, I didn't like the way he treated several of the contestants. But, I wasn't on the jury. And, I've been cranky about the last two seasons.

The jury only came into play after the rigging, so their votes are a non-issue. Ben shouldn't have been part of the final three but they still had to vote for which of the three they felt was most deserving. Of course that was Ben for some of them. That's why they didn't want to go up against him. But if "the tribe had spoken", as it has since 2000, Ben would have been sent packing. The twist changed the rules for the sole purpose of giving Ben another chance. What other explanation is there?

The jury would have voted for Chrissy, Devon, or Ryan, and either Devon or Chrissy would have won, so it's not sour grapes that Chrissy didn't win. I would have preferred Devon. He was remarkably gracious last night, especially for a 22 year old, and for one who had just lost a million bucks.

So then in those analogies then Chrissy winning the last immunity and getting the final reward twist had to be rigged to. I mean what if Ben had won the challenge which he nearly did and he had been given the final reward twist? Then Ben would have to pick one of the 3 to sit with him and the other 2 make fire. It just doesn't fit that it was rigged, we all knew that there was a final reward twist before they ever played for the last challenge. Any one of them could have won the challenge and been given the final reward twist.

This whole season has just not sat well with me, right from the very beginning. I even found the "healers, heroes and hustlers" theme irritating. A probation officer isn't a healer. The term "hero" is completely overused today. I'm sorry, but being a mom doesn't make you a hero. Being in the armed services also does not mean you are a hero. True heroes are rare and special. I despise the overuse of the word. Hustlers? Really? When I think of a hustler, I think of a swindler/con artist, not someone who hustles around getting stuff done. Having said that, I think Ben would have been better placed as a hustler than anything else, because I think he's a big con artist who really knows how to play on peoples' sympathies, turn on the water works when it's convenient, etc. He's the opposite of what I think of when I think of a hero. The whole hero thing...there wasn't one true hero there. Not one.

I cannot even fathom what most of those people were thinking, most of the time. The whole season made zero sense to me. I wish they'd choose better people.

Ben was my favorite in the beginning, but that changed halfway through the game with how he was treating his tribe mates. I don't care how many twists they throw at them during the game, but the end should always be as it has been. Even though I wasn't thrilled he won, I will say that he never turned off from game play and was persistent in finding the idols and for that I applaud him. It mystifies me why the others rarely went looking.

Wasn't the advantage announced at the beginning of the final immunity challenge? They knew that Ben was going to be voted out if he didn't win immunity. There are two possible outcomes--Ben wins immunity and makes it to Final 3 or Ben gets voted out. With the twist, Ben is either chosen to sit next to whoever wins immunity, making it to Final 3, or he has to make fire, giving him a second chance. It only benefits Ben.

Maybe there were different twists and the producers decided which one to use to benefit their choice...Ben. Devon was a class act all the way. I just did not like Ben and his whining about taking care of his family.

Right. It only could benefit Ben. They told Chrissy that she'd won an advantage. But, the whole thing was anything but an advantage to her. It was a disadvantage. The "advantage" was knowledge about how they were going to disadvantage her and knowing what was going to happen wasn't going to help her in any way. It was the strangest excuse for an "advantage" that I've ever seen. You have to wonder when the producers decided on that particular twist vs a different twist. I have a suspicion that what the twist was going to be was fluid and was going to be whatever benefitted Ben the most..... My suspicion is because Jeff Probst had what seemed, to me, like an obvious (heterosexual) "man crush" on Ben. It was really starting to make me wonder about his (Jeff Probst) character that he seemed so enamored of a person (Ben) who seems just so awful/mean. In all my years of watching Survivor, I've never felt this way before about things. This is a first.

Exactly, veggiegardnr. I also had the same thought as Lily.

Probst speaks!

You keep repeating how "mean" Ben was/is. I just didn't see it that way. I saw a guy who was truly suffering, whose experiences in Iraq really impacted his life in a negative way. At the last tribal, Joe actually had to prod him to talk about what made him tick. The game is ruthless, and a lot of Ben's "meanness" was acting so they would vote for him. Yes, he lost alliances and was a lone wolf, but that's the game.

I think Ben had his moments, but all in all, there have been many more people, in my opinion, that were mean, cutthroat, nasty, etc. Remember, Ben didn't turn on them til he overheard them at the well saying Ben has to go. That's what turned everything.

Chrissy was too slimy for me. Her big cheesy smile didn't hide her smugness or that she felt she was better, smarter, than everyone else. Her constant touching of people, eeeewww. At the reunion show, I would have told her to remove her hand from my leg! She also stated at the very beginning that she didn't need the money and when she got home, she was going to focus on family and not work.

I hope the final twist was in place at the beginning of the season. Otherwise, no bueno.

I also think Chrissy would not have won 4 challenges had there not been puzzles in them at the end. She was last up the steps, last in the water, etc. If they would have been purely physical challenges Ben or Devon would have won them. Everything they have anymore has puzzles in it. o.k. fine, do a puzzle challenge. Next time do a physical challenge.

I would like to see it get back to how it was in the beginning. It's really turned into more of a social/popularity game. Make it Survivor! No blankets, pillows, pots and pans, tarps, individual glass water bottles, a WELL! Sheesh.

I'm happy with the result.

True about the puzzles, Katlan. One could say it was rigged for Chrissy (c'mon, you're an adult--you should not have the name of a doll toy) to win those immunities because it was obvious she was good at puzzles.

I have a few female friends who are called "Chrissy".

'Survivor' finale: Perhaps Ben Driebergen really got the 'advantage,' not Chrissy Hofbeck

But Devon could have won the fire challenge. He was making fire at the camp all the time. I don't see that Ben had any advantage to win that contest.

Sorry, I just can't help thinking of the Chrissy doll from my childhood. The one you pulled on the ponytail to make it longer. The toy I always wanted, but never got:(

Who Ben went up against to make fire doesn't matter. What matters is that Ben was given the chance to make fire and keep himself in the game when the others had already picked him to go home at that tribal. Why bust your butts for 39 days of Survivor if the producers are going to give someone a special advantage at the very last tribal?

Exactly!!!

It might help to explain it by asking how this benefited Chrissy, the "winner" of the advantage. Veggiegardnr laid it out well.

Chrissy was Final 3. She could pick one person to go with her, but that one person was going to sit by her regardless. So where is the benefit?

It's a stupid plan....the twist ,and I wish they would heed the feedback.

Read Chrissy's comments I think she has it right.

"I would like to see it get back to how it was in the beginning. "

Nooooooooooooooooooo. Remember when they ate ALL that gross stuff in food challenges? It was awful!!!!!! The dead bird that was almost ready to hatch....oh...and the BIG bug larvae.....nasty.....nasty.....nasty!

No one should be falling face first into a fire and have to have skin grafts on his hands. I think it was too much to ask that people hurt themselves for a show. Now they have bandaids....did you notice? They don't show every little boo boo and owie. Much better.