No one wanted it to end this way. We envisioned Richard, some episodes ago, as Richard III, proudly but fatefully disdaining the bounds of conscience and honor in pursuit of his goal. We found him appropriately misshapen and prone to disturbing fits of misbehavior, like nudism.

We looked forward to casting his last words as a variation of "A vote, a vote -- my million for a vote!"

As the final episode of "Survivor" approached, the "Survivor" Richard, too, seemed bothered by demons. The main question seemed merely who would deliver his comeuppance:

Crafty Sue, the truck driver, who with Richard had formed the core of the searchingly successful alliance but who was poised to win a one-on-one showdown?

Crusty, adamantine Rudy, who never professed anything but loyalty?

Or Kelly, the cipher, who through sheer force of will had, by winning immunity challenge after immunity challenge, kept herself in the game long after she was marked for death?

In Wednesday's Salon this writer explained, with no little supporting data, how Sue would in fact play the role of Henry Tudor.

In the "Survivor" endgame, the last seven castaways would return as a "jury" to sit in judgment of the final two, and vote to award one or the other a $1 million grand prize. (The runner-up would get $100,000.)

The important thing was to end up face to face with the person on the island more dislikable than you -- and for Sue and Richard, the other came closest to fitting the bill. And in the end, it seemed likely the other castaways would favor Sue over Richard.

As it happened, this analysis turned out to be somewhat flawed.

But let's talk about less happy events, and recount the final, two-hour episode of "Survivor," the show that against the odds kept the surprises coming down to the very last seconds.

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The first minutes are filled with the final four in a state of stasis. The castaways have little impetus to do anything but lie around, uncomfortable and hungry, picking at their plain rice like animals.

We see Rich laughing at Rudy's increasing disorientation.

Sue is steeling herself for the ordeal. "You sleep next to your enemy and you eat next to them. It's all you can do," says Sue with typical matter-of-factness. "I can deal with it all for the chance to win a million dollars."

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