Fall TV Blog

Sunday night, country boy/warrior James “JT” Thomas, 25, bested city slicker/wizard Stephen Fishbach at the Survivor: Tocantins finale. The next day, the cattle ranch manager and newly minted millionaire from Samson, Ala., and the 29-year-old corporate consultant from New York City talked to PEOPLE about how the finale went down, their future business plans and their lifelong friendship. – Carrie Bell

How does it feel to be a millionaire via unanimous vote?
JT: It really touched my heart that these people handed me a million dollars. I’m so excited I can’t even talk! I thought the odds were in my favor, but I had no idea that I would get everyone’s vote. When I chose Stephen to go to the final two, I expected a 4-3 vote to tell you the truth, and I was hoping I would be the one with 4. I never in a million years thought I would get a landslide vote like that.

You would have taken Stephen to the final two no matter what?
JT: There was no doubt. Well, maybe I considered Erinn for five minutes! I expected that he’d think about getting rid of me because it was harder for Stephen to carry me to the final two than it was for me to carry Stephen. I can see that and I understand why Stephen would have taken Erinn. But that didn’t stop me from really playing it up and carrying on like I was hurt and disappointed when he admitted that at tribal. (more…)

After 39 days in the Brazilian highlands of Tocantins, the alliance between 29-year-old New York City corporate consultant Stephen Fishbach and 24-year-old Samson, Ala., cattle rancher James “JT” Thomas, Jr. may have started to falter but only, it seemed, for show when both preened for the jury’s votes. In the battle between the Country Boy and the City Slicker, or as Coach would say, the Warrior and the Wizard, JT claimed the $1 million prize and the title of sole Survivor, becoming only the second person ever to win by a unanimous vote.

The Big Betrayal: On night 37, the final four celebrated the ouster of Coach, but Stephen realized he could have come off as a villain. JT shrugged it off and thought if all the jury were Timbira members, it would have been “a masterpiece.” However, after a maze-puzzle challenge that looked better than it played (Tarantula-shaped course: cool. Everyone with a shot at solving a web puzzle in the end: boring), JT won immunity. Instead of scrambling for her vote, Erinn wisely told JT and Stephen that she thought Taj would win it all against them because she was very likeable. The suggestion paid off when Taj, one of the original members of the Jalapao Three, was voted out and became the 6th member of the jury.
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With Stephen, JT, Taj and Erinn remaining in the quest for $1 million, who will triumph when Survivor: Tocantins ends Sunday night? The two-hour finale and one-hour reunion show on CBS caps a season of first impressions, lasting Coach-isms, and four surprising finalists. PEOPLE spole with host Jeff Probst to assess their strengths and weaknesses:

Erinn, The Wildcard: “Erinn wasn’t really ever a part of a strong alliance,” Probst says, “but she knew that and she was smart enough to make a big move and it’s really hard to win Survivor without making at least one really big, make-or-break move.”
How She Could Win: “Even though she was an outsider on Timbira’s tribe,” Probst says, “I think that if she gets to the final, she can make a pretty compelling argument about why, out of respect, she deserves that vote even though she betrayed the people on that jury.”
Why She Won’t: “She is responsible for starting the turn that really flipped everything for Timbira and allowed three of Jalapao to make it to the final four, so that is hard to recover from.”

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Arguably one of the most entertaining people to ever be cast on Survivor, Benjamin “Coach” Wade, 37, was the 12th person eliminated from the game Thursday night. The Susanville, Calif.-based college soccer coach/symphony conductor/warrior eagerly talked to PEOPLE about his dramatic weight loss, character assassination, losing his day job and Nietzsche. – Carrie Bell

Were you blindsided last night?
I really didn’t think I was going to get voted off. But there was a moment when we were casting the votes where I looked into the fire and a voice in my head said, “You’re going home tonight. Are you cool with that?” It was a conversation in my mind. I’m not crazier than they make me out to be, I promise! I was leaning on my staff as Jeff read the names and thought, “Yeah it’s time. I’m ready.”

You told a lot of wild tales by the campfire. So level with us — are you speaking truth or are you pathological liar?
I am probably the most misunderstood person in America right now. I can guarantee you two things: I’m not delusional or crazy. My reputation and my character have been assassinated … It has been a difficult road. I’m human and some of this stuff has cut me to the quick. But I remember two things to get through it: One, I am a child of God and no one can take that away. And I’ve got the character that has been forged by these triumphant victories and devastating losses.

You wanted to keep the strongest players in the game. Why did Brendan not qualify for the Warrior Alliance?
Duk Koo Kim wrote on his lampshade ‘kill or be killed’ the night before he was killed in the ring by Boom Boom Mancini, and that’s what happened with Brendan. The very first day I went up to him and said, “Let’s change this game together. I know you are going to be strong.” He brushed me off and said, “We don’t need a coach out here.” (more…)

Ah, Benjamin Wade! Better known as Coach to the rest of us, and definitely better known as the Dragon Slayer to himself. But whatever he’s called, he certainly predicted his fate with the poem he wrote for, and read to, his captive tribal council audience: “With friend and foe, we march to the battle plain, some to seek success, others to seek fame. We play with honor for the love of this game, and with armor or without, we will toil in vain, so that someday, someone, somewhere will remember our name.” And with that, Coach became the 5th member of the jury and the 12 person to leave Survivor: Tocantins.

The Ballad of Coach Part I: After returning to Forza from the ouster of Debbie, JT spun the situation, which took out Coach’s longest-held ally, by explaining, “We thought if we told you about it beforehand, you wouldn’t believe us.” Coach then said it would have been easy to vote him out “because I know I’m a dangerous player in this game,” but defended JT’s action to himself by saying, “The game is still being played with truth.” The next day, Coach complained about his asthma as a ploy to prevent Stephen or JT from sending him to Exile. “Coach has mentioned ailments, a back problem, asthma, but it never really seems to affect his performance,” Stephen said. “I’m not sure Coach can really build a fire or cook food by himself … I think he’s scared.” (more…)

The ever-bubbly Debbie Beebee, 46, fell flat at last week’s Survivor:Tocantins tribal council after 33 days in the Brazilian wild. The middle school principal from Auburn, Ala., talked to PEOPLE.com about turning on her alliance partner Coach, getting hate mail and grossing out her husband with her Survivor stench. —Carrie Bell

Were you surprised that your tribe mates turned on you and voted you out?
I was blown away. Right before tribal, JT put his arms around me and hugged me and said, “You know how much I love you.” I should have had an inkling then, but I didn’t because they talked about voting out Coach for two days. And then they told me before tribal that everyone was putting Coach’s name down and it would be unanimous. But I was the only person to write it down, which made me feel just awful.

Why do you think they got rid of you?
I think it is a combination of things. Even Jeff pointed out that I was a threat. I was doing great in the challenges. I was well liked. I take it as a compliment that they were afraid of me and needed to get rid of me. I also don’t think that the Jalapao people want to go against a Timbira person because the majority of the jury is Timbira.

Looking back, do you think you should have been more manipulative? (more…)

Although Day 31 began with love and even lust (thanks, Taj and Eddie!), Day 32 saw Debbie throw Coach under the bus. After loudly declaring her loyalty to JT and Stephen, suggesting to vote off Coach and even vowing to give them an immunity idol she didn’t have, Debbie Beebe, a 46-year-old middle school principal from Auburn, Ala., became the fourth member of the jury and the 11th person cast out of Survivor: Tocantins.

Sierra’s Gone, But… Although Coach and Debbie should have been happy their nemesis Sierra got the boot, Coach decided to stew instead about Erinn writing Stephen’s name down and Taj voting against Debbie. Later, while reclining in a chair like a pampered warlord, he muttered, “Cowards, cowards, cowards, all around me.” His complaining ended up getting on his sole ally Debbie’s nerves. Debbie then went to JT and Stephen to suggest voting him out. A skeptical JT observed, “Debbie is playing a ’strategical’ game.”
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Sierra Reed, a Los Angeles-based model, began Survivor sick with the flu and was chosen by her team as the weakest link. Reed, 23, overcame the bad first impression and managed to last for 30 days in Tocantins, Brazil, before she was ousted from the game. She chatted with PEOPLE.com about her spats with Coach and Debbie, her first post-elimination meal and why she doesn’t regret not rejoining a Timbira alliance. – Carrie Bell

In light of the reprieve you were handed last week, did you think you had a chance of surviving the vote again this week?
No, miracles only happen once in a blue moon. JT and Stephen told me they were going to vote out Coach because he lied — and I proved it — but then he won immunity for the first time in his flipping life. So then they said, “It’s you or Debbie.” They were honest that it would be hard to vote Debbie when Coach and I were fighting so much. Going into tribal [council], JT and Stephen said they weren’t going to be able to keep me because of the drama and fighting with Coach and because I was a stronger threat physically to them. I didn’t want to hear it. I didn’t want them to stroke my ego and then wave goodbye.

You seemed to give up the fight toward the end. Were you ready to go home? (more…)

How do you solve a problem like Sierra? On the wrong side of a Brendan blindside, she struggled to stay in the game and by her own admission was happy to be a pawn in Tyson’s takeout. But given a chance to reunite the Timbira tribe in order to eliminate Jalapao, Sierra failed to make the power move and instead created drama with Coach and Debbie. So in a fairly predictable tribal council, problem solved: L.A.-based model Sierra Reed, 23, became the third member of the jury and the 10th person to exit Survivor: Tocantins.

Absorbing the Blow: Coming back to camp after Tyson’s blindside, Sierra admitted she thought she was going home. JT and Stephen fashioned an excuse for not telling Coach and Debbie how they were voting that night and, amazingly, Coach told JT he had “absolutely no hard feelings” over the vote. Of course, in the light of Day 28, Debbie confessed to Coach that she was still mad about Tyson’s exit and wanted to pull all of Timbira back together to regain control of the game.
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Professional triathlete Tyson Apostol, 29, proved to be a physical and mental force to be reckoned with on Survivor: Tocantins, but a well-executed blindside sent the Utah resident home just one week after he had planned a similar surprise ousting. He talked with PEOPLE about his bromance with Coach, his war of words with Sierra and his plan to buy a gold-dipped Ferrari. – Carrie Bell

You seemed so confident. Did you have any inkling a blindside was coming?
I went in a little nervous because I didn’t have the immunity necklace for the first time. But I thought if I can just get past this one tribal council, I should be okay. I was so close to being a millionaire and [Thursday's episode] was the pivotal moment. I could have done something too. Debbie would have given me the necklace had I asked. I could have also switched votes around to have enough people vote for Erinn to make a tie and go to a challenge. I was better at building fire than everybody. I started fire in the rain. What’s the name of the fire god? I’m like that guy. But alas, I thought I was okay.

As a master manipulator, you have to appreciate the justice of being blindsided by a well-orchestrated secret plan, right?
[It was] totally a smart play. It’s what I would have done. It’s what I did actually. Big props to Stephen. It is an accomplishment of everyone still there that they beat me. Not very often can you say you beat Tyson Apostol at something. (more…)