Survivor's Todd Gives a Masterful Jury Performance

Perhaps Survivor's Todd should think about leaving his flight attendant days behind and become an attorney, because he rocked the final tribal council in last night's finale. Wow.

Coming into the Final 4, it seemed like Amanda was a shoo-in for victory -- she had played the game well and hadn't ruffled nearly as many feathers as Todd, so I was sure she'd get a Danni or Vecepia-like win. Winning the final two challenges should have secured her the easy $1 million dollar. But, following the tribal council in which Denise was voted out, something happened to Amanda -- she became apologetic, overly-earnest, and weak.

And then Todd stepped in for the kill.

There have been some good arguments made over the years on Survivor, but I'm not sure anyone has every handled the jury's questions with such mastery. His answer to John Robert was pure genius -- he knew what John and his big ego needed to hear, and he gave it to him in such a beautifully articulated response that the big man was actually rendered speechless. Amazing.

I'll also give some credit to Courtney, who presented her "can you believe I'm still her, and I've been totally myself the whole time" argument with such aplomb that I had a moment where I though she might actually win! The fact that she squeezed past Amanda for 2nd place is very impressive.

As for the rest of the episode, there was plenty of drama to go around, with both the final reward and immunity challenges pushing the contestants to their limits. And props to Probst -- year-in, year-out, he manages to ask the questions and make the statements that make the contestants squirm, and I love him for it.

Do you think Todd should have won Survivor: China, or should Amanda, Denise or Courtney been named the winner? Take the Idol Thoughts poll here and let me know! (Results will be revealed tomorrow morning).

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