It was a wild ending to an intense season as "Survivor: Philippines" whittled its Final Four down to a single $1,000,000 winner. First to fall, at the final challenge, was seeming front-runner Malcolm Freberg. He admitted later that he just doesn't have steady hands, and that was what the final challenge was all about. Even an advantage won at the prior challenge didn't help.
Instead, returning player Michael Skupin won. As he had a tight alliance with former child star Lisa Whelchel, it really came down to whether they wanted to face Malcolm or Malcolm's closest ally, Denise Stapley. In the end, they chose to sit beside Denise, and it became a million dollar decision.
At the final Tribal Council, returning player Jonathan Penner outed Lisa's television past, which may or may not have impacted the votes she could have gotten. That's not to take anything away from Denise, who played a solid game. In the end, she took 6 of 8 votes, leaving Skupin and Lisa to split the other two, and thus tie for second place -- and that cash prize.
The 26th season of "Survivor" brings back the "Fans vs. Favorites" format and kicks off on February 13, 2013 on CBS.