As if anyone who’s been following this suddenly awesome season would overlook this, but tonight marks the season finale of Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites. That’s right: the end is here. Kind of snuck up on me. It’s actually too bad. This season started off slowly as I found myself caring more about the Favorites than anything that was going on with the Fans (this despite the Fans pulling off several early season blindsides in their own right). But once Probst mixed up the teams, things started to heat up, and then once everyone dropped their buffs and started battling for individual immunity, this Fans vs. Favorites turned white hot. Dalton Ross at Entertainment Weekly proclaimed that this season has been the best since the first. I’m not sure I’d go that far, but I will concede that the past five episodes have been without a doubt the strongest five-episode run in the series’ history.
Nevertheless, tonight promises to be a fascinating finale as none of the women seem to have a leg up on any of the others. They’ve all equally schemed, backstabbed, and fought their way to the top. How the cards will fall is anyone’s guess, which leads me to wonder who’s gonna win it all? Parvati, the conniving flirt? Cirie, the strategic mastermind? Amanda, the dangerous nice-girl? Or Natalie, the previously anonymous Fan who spent most of the season lurking in the background doing absolutely nothing? I’m rooting for Cirie, but part of me would like to reward Natalie for becoming such a wonderful late-season bitch and a half. Who are you rooting for?