Million Dollar Question

Million Dollar Question
Episode Information
Version	United States
Season	Philippines
Episode Number	14/15 (381)
Original Release	December 16, 2012
Viewership (in Millions)	11.46
Ratings/Share (18-49)	3.2/8
Episode Chronology
Previous	"Gouge My Eyes Out"
Next	"Reunion"
Subpages

Million Dollar Question is the season finale of Survivor: Philippines.

Story

Day 37

Denise tries to make a deal with Malcolm, but he is hesitant. Later, Denise tries to make a deal with Lisa and Skupin for the Final Three, but Lisa and Skupin made the same deal with Malcolm during their previous reward. During the Reward Challenge, Malcolm wins and receives an advantage in the Final Immunity Challenge. The other castaways claimed things like "Malcolm doesn't need an advantage" and "he would be tough to beat without immunity".

Day 38

Skupin tells Lisa they need to make sure Denise does not win, because she has not won anything, but Lisa thinks they have to let her win because they have a better chance at beating her over Malcolm. On their way to the Final Immunity Challenge, they participate in the Fallen Comrades walk to pay respects to those voted out before. At the challenge, Malcolm reads the advantage he won the previous day, which allows him to get a second chance at the challenge if he drops the ball. In the end, Skupin won final immunity, guaranteeing his spot in the final 3. When the time came to vote, Denise was up first, who voted Malcolm, followed by Lisa, and then Malcolm who retaliated and voted Denise, and Skupin voted last. Denise's vote against Malcolm was read first, followed by Malcolm's vote against Denise, and then Lisa and Skupin's votes against Malcolm, making him the 8th and final member of the jury. Malcolm says "Congratulations, Denise" before leaving tribal council.

Day 39

Denise, Lisa, and Skupin enjoyed the traditional Day 39 breakfast. Before the three headed to the Final Tribal Council, they set their shelter ablaze. At Final Tribal Council, the three made their opening statements to the jury. The jury made their statements to the three and questioned them about their game play. Artis took his statement to attack the three for betraying alliances. Carter asked Skupin why he voted him out. Pete questioned Lisa over her perceived betrayal of the former Tandang members. He questioned Denise about why she played a better game than Lisa or Skupin. RC told Lisa she wanted her out from the beginning, knowing how smart Lisa was and predicted she would be sitting in the final 3, and congratulating her for that. She also questioned Skupin about his role in her being sent to the jury, to which he responded by saying he knew Penner would be voted out. Malcolm told Lisa he considered writing her name down and questioned Denise about why she played a better game than the other two. Jeff asked Skupin if he was a person who made things happen, watched things happened, or wondered what the hell just happened. He then asked Lisa to give him examples of her not playing in the middle and being assertive. Abi-Maria asked all three why they deserved her vote. Jonathan spent his time attacking the final three and revealing Lisa's past as a television star to the jury. When the final vote came, the jury decided that Denise was the most deserving and awarder her the title of Sole Survivor by a vote of 6–1–1.

Challenges

• Reward
• Immunity

Challenge: Dragon Slayer
Castaways must make their way through various obstacles on a course, obtaining three bags of puzzle pieces along the way. Once they have all three bags, they will return to the start, where they will use the puzzle pieces to assemble a dragon puzzle. The first person to do this will win reward.
Reward: An advantage in the Final Immunity Challenge.
Winner: Malcolm Freberg

Challenge: The Ball Drop
Castaways must balance a small metal ball on a wooden cylinder, while holding the center cylinder in place with two wooden handles. Every five minutes, new pieces will be added on either end, making it harder to balance the ball on the center cylinder. The castaway who balances their ball the longest wins.
Additional Stipulation: As part of the Challenge Advantage he won from the Reward Challenge, if Malcolm Freberg were to drop his ball, he would be given a second chance and allowed to place the ball back on the center cylinder.
Winner: Michael Skupin

Tribal Council

Day 38

Tribal Council 14: Dangrayne
Voted Against	Voter
Malcolm (3 votes)	Denise, Lisa, Michael
Denise (1 vote)	Malcolm
VOTED OUT: Malcolm Freberg

Voting Confessionals

	Denise	“	(voting against Malcolm) Hey, Malcolm, I completely respect the way you play the game. But I tried to approach you, and you didn't give me a commitment, so I outwit you, bud.	”

	Malcolm	“	(voting against Denise) (sighs) Sounds like it's, uh, me or you tonight. Um...(bleep)	”

Final Words

	Malcolm	“	Maybe I pushed too hard, I leveraged too much. I had them so driven to finally play the game and see threats that they finally saw me as a threat. It's just, I'm pissed off that I'm not gonna be at the end. Right now, it's, uh, painful for a lifelong fan.	”

Final Tribal Council

Tribal Council 15: Jury Vote
Voted for Winner	Voter
Denise (6 votes)	Abi-Maria, Artis, Jeff, Jonathan, Malcolm, Pete
Lisa (1 vote)	RC
Michael (1 vote)	Carter
RUNNERS-UP: Lisa Whelchel and Michael Skupin
SOLE SURVIVOR: Denise Stapley

Voting Confessionals

	RC	“	(voting for Lisa) The minute I got on the raft, I wanted you gone because I knew what a threat you really were, so you certainly deserve this vote.	”

	Jonathan	“	(voting for Denise) You played a pretty flawless game. My congratulations to you. It hurts, but you did great.	”

	Carter	“	(voting for Skupin) You're a good dude. I hope other people recognize the type of game you played out here.	”

Final Results

Zane 18th	Roxy 17th	Angie 16th	Russell 15th	Dana 14th	Dawson 13th	Katie 12th	RC 11th	Jeff 10th
Artis 9th	Pete 8th	Jonathan 7th	Carter 6th	Abi-Maria 5th	Malcolm 4th	Lisa 2nd	Michael 2nd	Denise Winner

Trivia

Life at Ponderosa

Malcolm is warmly received by the other jurors, with Carter handing him a bottle of beer. Malcolm vents his frustration on how close he was to making it to the end. During his medical evaluation, Malcolm learns he lost a total of 10 pounds, which surprises him because he has not been this skinny since middle school.

The next day, the jurors prepare for the Final Tribal Council by pondering on their speeches.

Other

• The name of the Reward Challenge, Dragon Slayer, is a reference to Coach Wade's in-show moniker.
• This episode is the first since "The Good Guys Should Win in the End" in Gabon where only one person wins individual reward.
• This episode shares many things in common with "A Slippery Little Sucker" in China:
  • There was one Reward Challenge and one Immunity Challenge.
  • Both runners-up received no votes against them during the game.
  • All three finalists received at least one vote from a juror.
  • The final four included a contestant named Denise.
• This episode marks the third consecutive season finale where a woman from a blue tribe wins.
• This is the first season since Fiji where there are co-runners up, and the first since China where all three finalists received votes to win from the jury.
• The puzzle from this episode's Reward Challenge was reused in the final four Immunity Challenge of Survivor South Africa: Philippines.