I don't like Tony's personality or the way he plays, but I respect how good he is at Survivor, and he was definitely a deserving winner. That said, I do not give him any credit for not getting votes. There were a lot of "Tony's wheelhouse" challenges this season (including the one at final 5), which is why he almost tied the record for immunities. If that final 5 challenge had a puzzle, there's a good chance Tony ends up on the jury, though it is unlikely he goes out in Ben fashion. When Tony didn't win immunity, he almost always had an idol in his pocket, which was either known or logically assumed by the other players. In short, it's hard to get votes when you are always sitting on immunity. Tony did well outside of the immunities, which is why he was a deserving winner, but he doesn't deserve as much credit for his social game as he is getting.
I was pulling for Natalie, but she did make some mistakes down the stretch...targeting Ben instead of Sarah, showing Sarah (and Tony) her idol, and apparently not challenging Tony to fire. Her argument that she took down the alliance of 4 was very good, but Rob questioning her decision to not make fire really hurt her. I can understand not wanting to make fire when you have a ticket to final tribal in your hand. She should have at least tried to spin it by arguing that people have different strengths, and hers do not include making fire, and that her best opportunity to get rid of Tony was to put him against a better fire maker. She wasn't ducking the challenge; she was playing to her strengths. Alternatively, she could have argued that she wanted to do things her own way, and not follow Chris's blueprints. She could have even resorted to claiming that she wanted the challenge of explaining at final tribal why she was more deserving than Tony, but to sell that, she would have needed to give Tony the second spot.
Mistakes aside, Natalie deserved every vote she got. I was vehemently against Chris winning in the first EoE season, but I can't fault him for playing the game he played. If something is part of the game, it is part of the game, even if I don't like it. Natalie played the hand she was dealt. Upon being the first voted out, she immediately began doing everything she could to get back in. You can hate the game if you want, but hating the player is wrong. Natalie didn't make the rules. She just crushed the game she was given. If you are going to penalize her for going the EoE route, then penalize Tony for relying on idols.
I do feel bad for Michelle. She didn't even get a sympathy vote from Wendell (I'm shocked I'm stunned). Hanging on like a roach that just refuses to be flushed down the toilet just doesn't garner any respect. She outlasted, but she did not outwit or outplay.
Sarah played a great game, but made too many mistakes down the stretch. It would have been interesting to see how she would have done had she beat Tony. Denise appeared to stop playing after taking out Sandra. Ben made the right alliances, but that's all he did, and his description of how different he was this season was phony as hell.
I'm a notorious idol hater, but if they are going to stay, and they are, I would like to see come changes made. I like the idea of playing one as a nullifier, but that allows a third person to hold on to one. There should definitely be fewer. Maybe only allow you to use one as long as you are on the tribe you were on when you found it. If you get moved in a tribe swap or there is a merge, your idol becomes void. Every time an idol is made available, a nullifier is made available as well. You want to really feel safe? You better find both.
It was a good and enjoyable season, even if I would have preferred a different winner.