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Day 39 and the happy couple wake up. Tom asks Katie if she had the same dream that he did. He's very happy to have gone the distance. Tom is bitter- sweet about his last day at Koror. Katie is also happy and looking forward to returning home. They take down the tribal banner and agree that the winner should get it. The picnic table is then turned into a large bonfire. All their trash and bedding is added in. Katie reflects on how well she think she played The Game. She also plans to try and tarnish Tom's badge of honor. Tom is very confident but still puts his trust in Fate.
The last Tribal Council begins with Jeff's patented "How the power has now shifted" speech. Tom leads off the Opening remarks saying that he is honored to have played The Game with such great people. He hopes that The Jury will judge him based on his deeds and feats. Katie admits that while she MAY NOT be as good as Tom, she is still proud of her gamesmanship. Her planning and strategy worked in outwitting the rest.
It's time for The Jury to speak, beginning with Coby. He has a lot of issues, especially with Tom. Coby has no respect for either. He calls Katie a coattail rider. But he's really mad at Tom. Coby says that Tom played dirty and wants him to admit to being dishonest. Tom admits to nothing. Gregg is next, and he asks Tom about breaking his promise to him. Tom apologizes and said that he had been misled into thinking that Gregg was planning to boot him. Gregg then unloads on Katie, calling her pathetic. Katie disagrees and says that she never strayed from her strategy.
Stephenie asks Tom about how he didn't fight to keep her in The Game after he promised he would. Tom answers that he only promised to help her as long as he could, but ultimately couldn't step away from his alliances. Katie rats Tom out on how he told her they had to vote off the remaining Ulong members first. Janu asks Tom about how he compromised his integrity to win. Tom admits to sometimes misleading or misdirecting others, but claims he never lied to anyone. Janu then asks Katie some convoluted question on naming three reasons for why she should vote for her. Katie refuses to answer and tells Janu she never expected a vote from her.
Caryn wants to know if Tom just used her as a pawn. How did she fit in his plan? Tom said that he did his best to protect her, but also says that he never made an alliance with her. Caryn then blasts away at Katie, calling her a phony, lazy, with a unkind sense of humor. Katie has no regrets for how she played The Game. That the reason she was a Finalist and not Caryn is be- cause Katie made alliances with the two strongest players. Jennifer calls Tom a chauvinist, and asks him if he ever respected her? Tom replies that she didn't show him her 'game' till the very end. Jenn then asks Katie if she thinks herself as a strong woman for how she played The Game? Katie repeats her mantra of "I stuck to my plan." Ian wraps it up asking each to give a reason why the jury should NOT reward them. Tom answers that he's already had his 'payday'. He's enjoyed himself chasing snakes and sharks. Katie replies that if you think she was just there to have fun and trash people, then don't vote for her.
Closing statements has Tom saying how, good or bad, he stuck with the peo- ple he promised to. He was willing to accept their judgment and would bear no hard feelings towards them. Katie tells The Jury that Tom was her, and their, biggest threat. Despite everything, she has her self-respect, even if none of them had any for her. It's time to vote. We only see two ballots being made. Coby votes for Katie to win. Janu votes for Tom. Jeff gathers the votes and departs. Unlike recent seasons, there is no campy travel log of Jeff's journey back to civilization. He just walks into the studio to a cheering crowd. Jeff reads off a vote for Katie, Then four for Tom. Tom Westman is the declared winner of Season 10 of Survivor! The final tally was 6-1, with Coby's vote being the only anti-Tom ballot cast.
The reunion show was less than hoped for. Jeff did make it a point on how this season was one of domination with many Survivor-Firsts. Koror won 11 out of 14 Tribal Challenges. Jeff then praised Tom for winning five of the seven Individual Immunity Challenges. Other Firsts were Ulong failing to win a single Tribal Immunity, Ulong being the first tribe with only one member. The Final Immunity Challenge was the longest is Survivor lore.
We then get caught up with some of the behind-the-scenes and what-after chat. Gregg and Jennifer are still friends. Lil'Jeff and Kim were still an item. Coby adopted his cousin's daughter and named her Janu. Tom and Gregg did hash out their differences. Gregg said that he had no intension of booting Tom before the Final Five. Tom says he knows that, which is why he made his move the TC before then. Wanda was permitted to sing one last song. Jolanda trashes Ulong for not being smart enough to accept her leadership. Even Angie agreed that Ulong never learned to listen to one another.
So ends another season of Survivor. We are left with a taste of the upcoming 11th season beginning in September, Survivor: Guatemala, The Mayan Empire! 18 castaways will live in Mayan ruins and adopt elements of Mayan culture. A good setting for some human sacrifices???
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