  Todd Herzog |
The tribe has spoken.
Todd Herzog from Pleasant Grove, Utah, is $1-million richer after winning Survivor: China Sunday night. Anyone surprised? Didn't think so.
Todd was a shoo-in from the start. OK, well maybe there's no such thing as a shoo-in on Survivor. But the guy knew what he was doing, having studied the game religiously since he was 14 (he's 22 now), and being perhaps one of the top strategists Survivor has seen in its 15-season run. And doggone it, people liked him.
The small-town flight attendant - who also happens to be a dual citizen who makes regular visits to Scarborough with his Toronto-born mom (which is probably the real reason why like him) - went into the game with the goal of building a strong alliance. That's exactly what he did with doe-eyed beauty queen Amanda Himmel.
"I wanted to build an alliance and have strong numbers," Todd told Sun Media back in September. "I told myself I'd do whatever I had to do to get one step further in the game."
And he did. He lied, backstabbed, played chummy - and never lost his game face.
But things weren't exactly looking in Todd's favour at the start of Sunday night's finale. Lunch lady underdog Denise Martin tried with all her might to make the final three a girls club by sweet-talking fellow remaining castoffs Amanda and Courtney Yates.
Being the regular quote machine she is (and especially was last night), Courtney set the record straight: "This isn't welfare. (Denise) doesn't deserve it because she, like, sucks at life," she said, before admitting to Todd, "I'm the biggest bitch on the planet."
Amanda also wasn't digging Todd's vibe at the start of Sunday's two-hour showdown. After winning a Great Wall of China-themed reward challenge, she was nice enough to share her yummy pizza, beer, brownies and pop with him - but admitted she doesn't trust him. Could you blame her?
Quote machine Courtney later added Todd was a "slippery little sucker." (LOL!)
The final immunity challenge required the final four to balance fine china (not to be confused with the country). Amanda came through again, and it was no shocker that Denise would become the 13th person voted out of Survivor: China.
The last two days were sort of a blur, but how could we forget the game was coming to an end when good ol' Courtney noted, "I can't believe that sometime in the next 24 hours, I get to use a Q-tip." (Did we mention she was a riot last night?)
But this is Survivor - and the jury always has the last word. Previous castoffs Jean-Robert Bellande, James Clement, Jaime Dugan, Erik Huffman, Peih-Gee Law, Frosti Zernow and Denise interrogated the final three. Until then, Amanda had seemed like the frontrunner. But clearly, she had pissed off a few too many people.
The votes were cast, and little did we know we had seen the last of scruffy Todd, bony Amanda and skeletal Courtney. Host Jeff Probst brought out the basket to count the final votes and - Poof! - everyone had been transported from the pre-taped sweaty tribal hut to a live studio in L.A. (with an ecstatic audience, of course). They were clean, had new 'dos (we're still unsure if that was Courtney under all those bangs), and clothes that covered all their naughty bits. Don't ya just love the magic of TV?
It was then that Todd finally heard the good news, and another season of Survivor came to a seemingly sudden end.
But don't fret, little castaways. Thanks to the wonderful TV writers strike, Survivor will be back on air before you can eat a feathery bird embryo. The 16th season, Survivor: Micronesia, is set to hit your tube on Feb. 7 and will match up superfans of the show with your fave past castoffs. Can't wait!
