Throughout the post-merge game, challenge beast Jonathan Young and "dad of the tribe" Mike Turner grew close enough to form a tight alliance. They bonded over their shared masculinity (seriously). Basically, they talked about "how cool" it would be for a muscle-y challenge beast type of guy to win Survivor for once ... as if recent winners Chris Underwood and Ben Driebergen didn't fit that stereotype.

Regardless, while players realized Jonathan's misogyny (Lindsay discusses this in her EW exit interview), Mike remained a very likable guy. He won just one challenge over the course of the season, but his game was dependent on the strength of his social game. Mike was genuinely interested in the lives of the other players, and was able to bond well with people half his age.

Despite this, the jury voted overwhelmingly for Maryanne to win. Too many felt burned by Mike's promises, and because Mike claimed he played the game with "integrity," he fell into the trap of not acknowledging his strategic gameplay. If he had owned up to his moves and his blindsides, he might have won, according to Omar. Add in Maryanne's secret idol and her social control by the end of the game, and it was a landslide win for her.

Lindsay, Omar, Drea, Hai, Tori, Rocksroy, and Chanelle all voted for Maryanne. Jonathan, on the other hand, kept his word to Mike, who beat him out in the fire-making challenge, to vote for Mike as the Sole Survivor. And while it definitely could have been either Mike or Maryanne's game in the end, her final tribal performance was one of the best in Survivor history.