The season started off as 'David vs. Goliath,' and that's how it ended.
WARNING: Spoiler's ahead from Wednesday's season finale of Survivor: David vs. Goliath.
Season 37 of Survivor started off as David vs. Goliath. And that's how it ended.
The long-running CBS competition series crowned its newest winner on Wednesday night's season finale, after kicking off the episode with six remaining castaways. Four members of the former Goliath tribe -- Kara Kay, Angelina Keeley, Alison Raybould and Mike White -- and two members of the former David tribe -- Davie Rickenbacker and Nick Wilson -- were left of the original 20 contestants, facing off for the $1 million prize and title of Sole Survivor. And after 39 days, we have a winner.
Congratulations to...
... Nick Wilson!
Throughout the finale, titled "With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility," Davie, Alison and Kara were eliminated in successive order, leaving Mike, Angelina and Nick in the final three and facing a brutal interrogation from the jury of eliminated contestants.
Nick's overwhelming victory was revealed during the "Reunion Special" immediately after the competition's finale, and the Kentucky native opened up about how his path to victory felt, to him, like destiny.
"I tried to get on the show for so many years, so when we were sitting on that barge in the very beginning [of the season], and they drop the [banner] and it says, 'David vs. Goliath,' you know, I grew up in Sunday school, I'm thinking, "This is the season I'm supposed to be on," Nick shared. "It felt like fate."
Nick's win, however, came as a surprise to many viewers, and some of the eliminated contestants.
In his post-elimination interview last week, former frontrunner Christian Hubicki advised that fans keep an eye out for Mike, despite some thinking his successful career in Hollywood would prevent him from being carried to the end.
"I was very impressed by Mike, because I had been working with Mike secretly for a long time, where we would meet in the middle of the night, and he'd say, 'Hey Christian, let's just meet in the middle of the night, we'll talk, and no one will ever know that we talked.' And I was planning basically the end of the game with him, at least the version that we were working with each other. So I thought, 'Hey, maybe he wants to go deep with me.' But I was a long con," he revealed. "It was very well executed and very clever."
"He's such a beguiling figure that I think people would be wise to keep their eye on him, and not just assume he's just this millionaire who doesn't care about the game he's playing," he added.
Alec Merlino, meanwhile, told ET that viewers should brace themselves for "twists and turns" in the finale. "You never know what's going to happen," he shared. "[This season] truly has painted what a beautiful game Survivor is, and how real and how much it changes and how fast things can change and how quickly people can change their minds."
"Everyone in that cast, everyone that's left is a beast in their own way. Everyone's spearheaded some type of vote. Everyone's been winning immunity, they've been winning rewards. Everyone has their own plans," Alec added.
See more on Survivor in the video below. The show returns to CBS for season 38 in the spring.
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