Sandra Diaz-Twine crowned 'Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' winner

Sandra Diaz-Twine is the first ever two-time Survivor champion.


The Survivor: Pearl Islands winner claimed Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' $1 million grand prize during the live portion of last night's finale broadcast from the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.

"It makes me the queen. The best ever, without question" said Sandra after her victory was revealed.

"I have two titles. What else can you ask for? I go out there and my goal is to make it to the end -- and I make it to the end and I win. You can't beat that."

Sandra defeated former Survivor: Samoa castaway Russell Hantz and Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites winner Parvati Shallow by receiving five of the first eight jury votes host Jeff Probst revealed.  Parvati received the other three jury votes that were disclosed.  Jeff did not reveal the remaining ninth jury vote but did state that Russell did not receive a vote.


Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' finale broadcast began on Night 36 following the previous elimination of Rupert Boneham -- leaving Colby Donaldson the only remaining Hero in the competition.

Russell was upset that Sandra used her Hidden Immunity Idol at Tribal because "it show[ed] that she lied" because she didn't tell him she had it and he felt she didn't need to use it.

"You straight-up lied to me about it," he said to her.

"What do you mean? When I find a idol should I hurry up and tell you?" replied Sandra, adding Russell never told her about idols he had previously found.

Russell also confronted Parvati about "lying" to him because he thought she knew about Sandra's idol too.


"I didn't know about it. Neither did Jerri. Nobody did," stated Parvati.

Russell said if she did know, it would be "real sneaky" of her to not reveal it.  Once again, Parvati denied it. Colby and Jerri saw the argument and discussed how it was time for Parvati to go.

"This has been the thing with me from the beginning of the whole game," said Jerri. "Let's get rid of her. She's dangerous."

Colby agreed.

"It takes the attention of me," he said in a confessional.


Russell also viewed Parvati as a potential target should Colby win Individual Immunity.

"If Colby doesn't win Individual Immunity, he's going to have to go home," said Russell.

"But if Colby does win, I'm going to have to make a decision. The perfect scenario for me to win is me, Sandra and Jerri in the top because Sandra didn't play the game at all and Jerri didn't play the game at all. The jury doesn't even have a decision. They almost have to vote for me. So if Colby wins Individual Immunity, than the best thing to do is probably get rid of Parvati."

The next day the five remaining castaways arrived at the Immunity Challenge and Jeff explained the rules. Each castaway would balance ceramic dishes on the end of a long, wobbly balancing arm. The more dishes that were stacked, the harder it would be to keep stable. If the stack fell, that castaway was eliminated. Last castaway standing would win.

The challenge commenced. Sandra was the first castaway out, followed by Jerri and Russell. Parvati eventually outlasted Colby and claimed Individual Immunity.


"Once again, Parvati escapes her elimination vote," opined Jerri in a confessional.

"It's unbelievable how this game works sometime. It's not like it's the end of the world. We still have one more person that we can get rid of, that being Colby. But it's still Survivor and anything can happen."

Parvati knew it was a "huge deal" for her to win Immunity. Back at camp, Colby gave his self-described "surrender speech."

"Let's enjoy Day 37. I'm proud to be the last Hero standing," he told them. "But I'm not going to hustle, I'm not going to scramble."

However in a confessional, Colby said he wasn't ready to quit.


"Hell, I almost convinced myself I was giving up. But I don't know how to quit. It's just not in me. I've never quit anything in my life. So when the time was right, I made one more attempt."

Colby approached Russell on the beach to confirm he was the next to go, which Russell did.

"My case is, get rid of Sandra tonight, then the three of us have a better shot of beating Parvati tomorrow. Parvati's going to get a ton of votes, especially if she keeps winning like this."

Colby then asked if he should talk to Jerri, and Russell assured him that he "had" Jerri -- implying she would vote however he told her too.

"It might be the best strategic move to keep Colby and get rid of Sandra," said Russell in a confessional.

"I don't trust Sandra as far as I can throw her and keeping Colby helps us beat Parvati. The problem with keeping Colby is he could possibly go to the Top 3 and that's it -- my game's over. I don't know what to do this time."


Tribal Council then commenced and the jury members -- Benjamin "Coach" Wade, Courtney Yates, James "J.T." Thomas, Amanda Kimmel, Candice Woodcock, Danielle DiLorenzo, and Rupert -- entered.

Colby said he was disappointed to be losing so many challenges -- especially the most recent one -- and added if Parvati hadn't won she might have been ousted.

"There's hope and I've been hustling, trying to convince Russell specifically to take me and not Sandra," said Colby. "That's a tough sell. It would have been easier if Sandra had won Immunity today."

"You mean easier to get rid of Parvati?" asked Jeff.

"Yeah, because nobody wants to sit next to Parvati in the finals," answered Colby. "Love you to death Sandra, but everybody wants to sit next to you."

"Well, that's news to me," said Sandra.


Jeff asked Colby if the Villains "inability to trust each other" was his only hope, and he said it was. However the four remaining Villains were able to stick together one last time and eliminate Colby by a four to one margin -- with Colby casting the lone vote for Sandra.

"I know if I had won that challenge today, I had a shot at $1 million," said Colby after his ouster.

"It's disappointing, especially when the challenges were something I used to be good at. I guess I'm just an old, dusty veteran. My third time in... I'm just not destined to win this game."

Back at camp, the four remaining Villains celebrated making the Final 4.

"Tonight at Tribal when Colby said it would have been easier to get rid of me, it was kind of an eye-opener to me," said Parvati in a confessional. "I didn't realize I was such a huge threat with the jury."

The next morning, Jerri and Russell discussed how they had to win to keep Parvati from winning.


"It'd be her third in a row if she wins," said Russell to Jerri. "They all think that she's some big strategic player, which she's not."

"Not at this camp she wasn't," agreed Jerri. "She was tucked under your wings the whole time."

Russell, Sandra, Jerri and Parvati then retrieved Tree Mail, which informed them they'd be remembering Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains' 16 previously booted castaways via the game's traditional "Fallen Comrades" journey. Once it was complete, the castaways met for the final Immunity Challenge and Jeff explained the rules.

Each castaway would have to navigate a maze blindfolded. A series of guide posts would help them along the way, which they'd have to read with their fingers. Each guide post would lead them to four different stations, where they'd have to retrieve its corresponding necklace. Once they had all four necklaces, they would make their way to the finish post.

First one there would win Individual Immunity and a guaranteed spot in the Final 3.

The challenge commenced and Russell grabbed an early lead, however Jerri and Parvati subsequently passed him. All three eventually collected all four necklaces, however Russell was the first to reach the finish post and claim Immunity just ahead of them.


"I've got to talk to Russell and make sure I'm still his girl," said Parvati in a confessional. "You never know with that one, what he's going to do. If Russell thinks I'm his biggest threat when it comes to jury votes, I could be going home."

Back at camp, Jerri was pleased that Parvati would be going home due to Russell wining the idol.

"You're sitting in a real good spot," Russell said to Sandra as they walked through the woods.

"How you figure?" asked Sandra. "Parvati's in the same spot I'm in."

"You know why everybody wants to take you to the end?" asked Russell.

"Because I already won [Survivor: Pearl Islands] and they'll win against me," she answered. "But I don't care, I'll take the $100,000 [runner-up prize]."


In a confessional, Russell said he was keeping Sandra "no matter what."

"She can't beat me," he told her -- and she said she was fine with that.

"Russell's keeping me around because, 'I'll never get a single vote,'" said Sandra in a confessional, quoting Russell. "But I don't know about that."

Russell then asked Jerri if she was "ready to go to the Final 3," and she said yes before asking who Parvati thought was going.

"She thinks it's you," answered Russell, who then went for a walk with Parvati.

"I want Sandra with us," he told Parvati.


"If Sandra comes with us, she instantly gets Amanda, Candice and Courtney," said Parvati.

"I don't think so," replied Russell. "I'd rather put Jerri on the jury because I've got her vote."

The two bickered about who to take with them.

"The best option for me is to take Jerri and Sandra, that would be the best strategic move for me," Russell bluntly told Parvati.

"Your best strategic move?" asked Parvati.

"Would be Jerri and Sandra," repeated Russell.


"No, because Sandra would win," she corrected.

Russell pointed out that Sandra and Jerri had no "strategic play," which he could use to convince the jury to vote in his favor.

"I suffered way too much in this game to not win it," he said in a confessional. "I have to win this thing."

Tribal Council then commenced and the jury entered. Sandra she played up Russell's belief that she couldn't win against him.

"You never know what's going to happen," said Russell. "She could easily possibly win."

Parvati said she felt "very vulnerable" because she "played a good strategic game" and would be tough to beat with the jury. Jerri confirmed Parvati was a "huge threat" and had "a lot of friends" on the jury.


"I say, if [Russell's] going to be loyal to anyone in this game -- if he wants to redeem himself -- as far as Villains go, then take me," said Parvati. "I've been his girl the whole time. I've been protecting you."

Russell questioned the last comment and Parvati asserted they had been protecting each other since Day 1.

"I'm never gone against him, which I could have many times because we argue a lot," she said.

Russell said Parvati's comments "annoy" him and added that he had been approached strategically by all the girls during the day.

The Final 4 castaways then cast their votes, with Russell, Sandra and Parvati all choosing to oust Jerri -- who became the ninth and final jury member.

"I can't wait to hear the story later," said Jerri to Russell as they hugged.


"Crap! One more night!" opined Jerri after her ouster.

"I was so sure I had this one. I'm kind of leaning towards voting for Russell just because he's played an amazing game. He's a little reactionary -- hot-headed -- but for the most part, Russell makes decision that make sense... except for tonight."

That night the Final 3 returned to camp and awoke the next morning to celebrate their accomplishment with a big breakfast.

"Tonight I believe I have a good shot at winning this," said Russell in a confessional.

"Last season I brought two people because I thought I could beat them -- because they were the weak players -- and I didn't. I'm brining people that other people don't like. Parvati has a lot of enemies, Sandra didn't do nothing. At the end of the day, she's here because she's easy to beat."

Day 39 was also Parvati's 114th day playing Survivor overall, which she thought was quite an accomplishment.


"I put my heart and soul into this game and I'm here to win," said Parvati.

When Russell left the camp, Sandra took Russell's hat and threw it into the fire while Parvati laughed.

"Russell is obnoxious," she said in a confessional.

"Screw it. That's payback for everything he's done to me in this game. I don't care. I don't think it's about the money tonight, I think it's about the title of Sole Survivor. That's all Russell wants, and if that's what Russell wants that's what I have to make sure Russell doesn't get."

In addition, Sandra said she never "hid" behind an Immunity Idol and felt she "earned" the title of Sole Survivor.

The final Tribal Council then commenced, and the nine jurors entered. Jeff explained that Sandra, Russell and Parvati would each make an opening statement before the jury members would have as opportunity to either ask a question or make a statement of their own.


Sandra said she had been surviving on her own since her alliance was wiped out and added she tried to get rid of Russell three different times and was forced to take care of herself.

Russell said he made the final Tribal not by luck.

"For some reason, when I come here, I feel like people look at me like I did something wrong," said Russell. "I tried to play hard. If I did anything to offend anybody in this game, I apologize. But I played the game, that's all I can say."

Parvati said she knew she was competing against best but didn't realize how big of a threat she would immediately be perceived as.

"That's where Russell came in," said Parvati.

"He was the dragon and instead of slaying him I kept him as my pet. He displayed his loyalty to me and only to me. I think I played the ultimate social game, the ultimate strategic game, and the ultimate physical game."


Colby was the first juror to ask a question and asked if Russell really felt luck played no role in getting him there.

"I believe I got here with my strategic play," said Russell.

"You are delusional," replied Colby.

He then asked why Parvati is more impressive then Sandra and Russell, and she explained because it was she had to "fight harder" since there was always such a big target on her back. She referenced when she gave two Hidden Immunity Idols to Sandra and Jerri as proof of the chances she took to ensure her safety.

Coach went next and said he considered Russell "strong," thought Sandra was "useless" at challenges, and referred to Parvati as a "warrior" in challenges but added she turned on him the day he finally decided to trust her. He added he didn't know which of the three he'd be voting for until after the jurors were finished.

Amanda asked Sandra why her strategy should be considered better than Russell and Parvati's.


"I wish my strategy had been better, because had it been really good Russell wouldn't be sitting here," she answered. "What happened was, every time I went to a Hero I was like, 'I can't believe these people don't want Russell out. He's taking them out one by one.' Every time I tried to do something they would run back to Russell."

Courtney congratulated the Final 3 -- especially Parvati and Sandra, adding that she felt Sandra's loyalty was "overlooked." Sandra explained she protected and was loyal to Courtney the entire time.

J.T. asked if Russell believed he did a good job securing the votes of jurors who he had a hand in ousting.

"I really, seriously believe that everybody on the jury is going to respect my game play -- especially this group of people that's played the game before and knows how hard it is to play the game," answered Russell.

"I might not get anybody's vote. But I have to stick with what's going to get me here and then hopefully the jury will respect the way I played the game."

Parvati said she was an instant threat while Sandra was a "sleeper," which meant she didn't have to work as hard during the challenges. Sandra said she wished she could have intercepted the Hidden Immunity Idol J.T. had foolishly given to Russell, and J.T. said he wouldn't be basing his vote on "vengeance."


"You can lay in your bed like I'm laying in mine," said J.T. to Russell.

Danielle then said it was "clear" there was "a lack of skill" in Russell's "jury management" and asked if he'd change anything about his game.

"I don't regret anything that I did," he answered. "If I don't play like that, there's no way I'd be here. I'm not going to sit here and tell you what you want to hear. I'm going to tell you the truth."

"You're not going to get any votes," replied Danielle. "Nobody respects how you played the game."

"I wouldn't change anything and I don't regret it," said Russell.

Jerri said she was "absolutely, 100%" undecided and asked Russell why he didn't follow through on the plan to take her to the Final 3.


"All day I thought about it and I thought it would be a bad strategic move by me to take you," he said. "You didn't do anything to anybody on the jury and if you were sitting next to me -- in my mind -- you would have won."

Parvati said Russell had revealed to her that he wanted Jerri out of the competition because he was sure he'd get her jury vote.

"He knows he's getting your vote tonight," said Parvati.

"You know what they say about assuming," answered Jerri.

In addition, Jerri also said Sandra didn't protect her from being blindsided.

Candice congratulated the Final 3 and then accused Russell of telling "dirty lies" during the competition and "hurt people." She added Parvati played the game "under Russell's thumb" like a "spouse in a bad, abusive relationship."


"As tough as this game is, it really comes down to how you treat people," said Candice. "That's what I'm basing my vote on."

Rupert went last and called Russell a "manipulative, deceiving and lying person" and accused him of taking the easy way out.

"If you think you should be proud of how you got here, you're sadly mistaken," said Rupert.

In addition, he said he wished he talked to Sandra more but got "swayed" by a "disgusting human being" -- aka Russell. Parvati then said she didn't have a choice but to align with Russell.

"I want to say you as well as Sandra deserve the vote because you worked hard to get here," said Rupert.

The nine jurors were then given a minute to think before casting their votes. The live portion of the broadcast then commenced and Sandra was revealed to be the winner.


After Sandra proclaimed herself the best Survivor castaway ever, Jeff asked Parvati her thoughts on it.

"Sandra is extremely logical and her argument makes perfect sense," said Parvati. "However I have to argue because I've played three times and I've lasted the most amount of days and I'm kind of a challenge dominator."

Jeff also asked his thoughts on Sandra's comment.

"You really want me to explain this to you," said Russell.

"Social player? No. She's lippy and she knows it -- and she loves it, and that's okay. But social game, no. Physical game? Maybe the worst physical player to ever play the game. Strategic game? Her strategic game from Day 1: Get rid of Russell. You know what? It never panned out for her, so let's award her for her failures. The problem is the game. I think there is a flaw in the game. If she can win the game twice, there is a flaw."

Jeff asked what he thought the flaw was.


"What needs to happen is America needs to have a percentage of the votes," answered Russell, which brought wild cheers from the studio audience.

"You still wouldn't have won if they had a percentage of the vote," argued Sandra.

"Our show is not that," added Jeff. "This isn't a game in which you include America."

Jeff later asked if Russell ever thought about the potential jury vote while playing Survivor.

"I don't think about that," replied Russell. "I play as hard as I can."

"Are you aware during the game -- like when you get into an argument with Rupert that's vicious -- you're not going to get his vote," said Jeff. "When you betray Jerri, probably not going to get her vote. Are you thinking, 'That's only two votes, I've got others?'"


"After I played the first time and played right again, I played one time..." said Russell.

"That's not the question," said Jeff. "Are you aware of the jury? You haven't answered what I asked, so I'll asked you again: Do you think about the fact that the social game is something you're missing."

"I don't care about that fact," replied Russell. "I played the game as hard as I can. I do what I have to do. And you know what? I'll make it to the end every time."

Jeff later revealed that Russell had won the "Survivor of the Season" text message/cbs.com vote that allowed home viewers to award $100,000 to one of the season's castaways, with Rupert finishing second.

In addition, Jeff also formally confirmed that Survivor's upcoming 21st season will be filmed in Nicaragua and dubbed Survivor: Nicaragua.






About The Author: Christopher Rocchio