Here, he answers burning questions from the finale and reunion show.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: I always ask you after every finale to assess the winners game.
The gameplay has never been better than this season.
Credit: Screen Grab/CBS
The personal stories of growth never more rewarding.
Adams journey combines both of those elements: gameplay and emotion.
Adams story is very unique.
He had a driving force more urgent than probably anyone else who has ever played.
Adam played a very aggressive game and it paid off.
He got to the end and when he did he had a pretty decent resume.
He found idols, he won a challenge, he was involved in key votes.
He had a legit argument.
He also put himself against the two perfect people to beat.
Ken had frustrated his tribemates and had not earned enough respect to overcome that.
Had Adam gone up against David or Bret or Jay he might not have won.
So you have to give him a lot of credit for forcing the votes the way he did.
He earned the title, no question.
The elephant in the room is the question about his mom.
Did his story have any impact on the jury when it came to their vote?
I dont know the answer, I only have an observation from sitting through the final Tribal Council.
Not one person voted for Hannah or Ken.
Its a pretty dominant victory.
How do you vote?
And I know from polling the jury pre-show that it was unanimous.
So we can safely conclude that David would have won against Hannah, Ken, and Adam.
But Bret and Jay… now it gets complicated.
That would have been a crazy-tough decision.
Three completely different games played by three very different guys.
Plus, you would have to factor in how they voted the other players out did they betray?
So that one is tough to predict given the gameplay is unknown.
Okay heres my thought process: Bret is a super likable guy.
I instantly bonded with him because he just gets to it.
He doesnt have a lot of small talk.
Bret played the moment down last night but thats pretty powerful.
Jay is one of the most likable guys weve ever had on the show.
I still remember meeting him for the first time and knowing he would be a favorite.
Its a huge ask.
He said yes instantly and was such a team player.
And to see him kill it out there was fun.
That brings us to David.
I still remember when he walked in the door for casting.
It was late in the process and I wanted him on the show within about twenty seconds.
Thats all you could ask of someone onSurvivor let us watch you battle your fears.
I believe we root for the underdog because we see ourselves in them.
All of us have fears and insecurities.
Seeing someone like David own those fears and then fight through them was very compelling.
My vote: DAVID.
Because we get giddy watching it.
David made the best fake idol of all time and it worked!
He lured Jay in so beautifully and it served its purpose.
Now its useless in the fire it goes.
Absolutely insane ending to the last immunity challenge.
Heres something I always wondered: How is the time-keeping done on challenges?
First off, I agree.
That is a challenge for theSurvivorHall of Fame.
Even watching it again last night, I couldnt move from my seat.
As for timings, they are very precise.
We do them on every challenge.
Our challenge team designates one person to be the official timer.
The last few years its been Chris Marchand.
He starts the clock when I say Go and he keeps the time.
He uses basic hand signals to let me know how long weve been going.
In situations like last night where its a locked-in amount of time, it becomes even more critical.
What you saw was really how close it was.
Ken had it nailed!
He timed it perfectly.
Okay, this has to BY FAR be the most emotionalSurvivorwin and most emotional reunion show ever.
Its hard to top what Adam shared last night.
It was the most personal story anyone has ever gone through onSurvivor.
Thanks for another fun year ofSurvivor, thanks for all the love.
See ya in March, D Ross!
Check out an exclusive deleted scene from theSurvivor: Millennials vs. Gen Xfinale above.
Also ensure toread Daltons full episode recapas well asProbsts intel on NEXT season.
Dont miss our interviews withAdam,Hannah,David,Bret, andJay.
And for all theSurvivorscoop you could handle, follow Dalton on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
