Jeff introduces the finale, telling us that the final five castaways have to start from scratch before the last push to the Final Tribal Council. 

We get comments from Deshawn, Xander, Heather, Ricard, and Erika about their chances to win. Xander says he can ride his adrenaline to the end.

Deshawn asks Erika to talk, but she's not ready. Deshawn defends his actions.

Erika and Ricard chat about what happened with Deshawn. Erika says it felt personal, and she is annoyed at Deshawn's behavior. Ricard tells her Deshawn needs to go.

In a confessional, Richard tells us he is happy Deshawn is acting out because it keeps the target off him.

Deshawn fake interviews Ricard, with which Ricard amiably plays along.

Erika and Heather go off on a walk. Heather withdraws from Erika and doesn't want to talk. 

Erika confronts Deshawn, telling him his "truth bomb" felt personal, and he tells her he's okay with whatever she decides at the ensuing tribal council.

Deshawn and Erika find the final advantage clue at treemail. There is one for every person. It's a word scramble, and they each have to solve it before looking for the advantage. Xander solves it first. Ricard gets it next, then Deshawn, then Heather, then Erika. Erika finds it -- she will get a slight advantage in the immunity challenge. Erika tells Ricard and Heather that she found it. They let Deshawn keep looking to tire him out. 

At the immunity challenge, Erika announces that she gets the advantage. Jeff explains the challenge. They must collect rope rungs to build a ladder, carry some puzzle pieces, and then solve a 75-piece puzzle. It comes with a reward, too -- steak, veggies, bread, and wine. Erika's advantage is to have four rungs already built on each ladder. Erika gets an early lead and gets to the puzzle first. Ricard and Xander nearly catch up with Erika, but Erika wins. Jeff tells her Erika can choose someone to bring with her for the meal, and she chooses Heather. 

Xander is happy that Ricard hasn't got the immunity because that means they can finally vote him out. 

Erika and Heather chat about the tribal council. Heather says what hurt her most was how Deshawn put it out there. They get emotional about how important their friendship is to them. They discuss who to vote out - Deshawn or Ricard.

Deshawn, Xander, and Ricard discuss their options. Erika and Heather return. 

Ricard and Erika talk. Erika tells him she is on the fence. Ricard states in a confessional that he can't believe Erika would consider keeping Deshawn.

Ricard and Heather chat. Ricard tries to get her to promise she'll vote out Deshawn.

Erika discusses things with Deshawn.

Deshawn promises final immunity to both Erika and Heather if he wins.

Ricard gets emotional while sharing with Xander that he has a baby due next week. Xander chokes up as well. Xander tells Ricard that he could save him with the idol. 

Xander tells Deshawn he's still undecided. 

In a confessional, Xander ponders saving Ricard, as it would be a big move, and he doesn't want to take an idol home. He could give the appearance of controlling the game. 

The final five arrive at the first of three tribal councils. Jeff notes that Deshawn kept saying Ricard needs to be voted out. Deshawn says it's a done deal. Xander says it's not so simple. Erika and Heather insist that they want to keep their options open. Ricard talks about how sad Deshawn made Erika. Ricard expresses disappointment in having made it this far, as he's been struggling without sharing the truth. Ricard tells them that his baby is due next week. Deshawn says he wishes nothing but the best for Ricard. Xander also talks about how he cares about Ricard. Ricard says Deshawn will win if he gets to the end and that they should vote for Deshawn now. Ricard expresses pride in how well he did in the game, and Jeff concurs. 

The castaways vote. Xander plays the idol for himself. Ricard is voted out 4:1.

The final four return to camp. Erika feels the final three is in her reach since she knows how to make fire. They go to sleep, but it starts to rain. A storm hits. They head into the forest. Xander enjoys it, while the others suffer. 

They wake up in the morning shivering, wrinkled and exhausted. 

Xander makes some fire, while Deshawn worries how embarrassing it would be if he had to make fire since he doesn't know how. 

Jeff welcomes the castaways to the final immunity challenge. They tell him about the storm. Jeff takes the necklace from Erika. He explains the challenge -- it will involve stacking blocks while balancing on a rocking balance beam. Erika comes close, but Xander wins.

Xander gets emotional. Jeff lets Xander have his moment, and they discuss how much it means to him. 

They return to camp. Xander talks about his childhood, how he was chubby but then decided to start running and get in shape. He says the final immunity necklace is a testament to his achievement.

Deshawn takes Xander aside for a one-on-one. Deshawn tells him that Erika is likely to win over Xander. 

Xander has a one-on-one with Heather. Heather also says that Erika can beat him.

Xander has a one-on-one with Erika. She says she's fine whatever he decides. Xander says he will take her. 

Xander wants to take Erika because he doesn't want to give her the opportunity to show off her fire-making skills. Xander announces his decision to Deshawn and Heather. Deshawn starts practicing. Heather starts practicing as well -- she says she will earn her spot in the final three by making fire. Xander hopes Heather will win because it would make Erika's game look weaker. Deshawn's fire-making starts to improve, but he has trouble getting height. 

Erika practices fire-making, but she's not very good. Xander slaps himself because he thought she was good at it. He wonders if she's faking it. Xander starts to feel unsure about his decision.

At the next tribal council, Jeff checks in with Xander. Xander states that he gets to make the big decision. Deshawn says he wants to go to the end with Heather and Xander, but he has to let Xander decide. Heather says she wants to do the challenge to prove herself. Xander talks up Heather and says the jury doesn't necessarily respect Erika's game. Erika and Jeff note how the jury can still "communicate" with the players even without talking. Xander announces that he's taking Erika with him -- Heather and Deshawn will battle for fire.

Deshawn and Heather sit down and begin the challenge. Deshawn takes an early lead, but Heather catches up as Deshawn's fire extinguishes. Heather looks like she's about to win, but her flame starts to lower. Deshawn gets a flame back. Heather's fire grows higher again. Deshawn starts to catch up. It's a tight race, but Deshawn wins, beating Heather by mere seconds. Deshawn stresses how important this moment is to him. Heather shares how she nearly drowned as a child and hadn't been in the water for over 30 years, and she's thankful for the journey. Jeff sends the final three back to camp.

Xander, Erika, and Deshawn enjoy their final sunrise. They find their breakfast feast. Xander reflects on his game and everything he's accomplished -- and how if he wins, he would be the youngest winner. Erika thinks about how she was constantly underestimated, but her alliance dominated the endgame. Deshawn looks back on his game. He didn't get lots of advantages or win a ton of challenges, but his strength was social.

Xander, Erika, and Deshawn arrive at the Final Tribal Council. Jeff gives them a minute to get ready. 

Evvie begins, reflecting on the diversity of the season and the final three, offering congratulations. Danny breaks the game into pre-merge, post-merge, and final eight. He wants each of the final three to break down their game plans.

Xander says he wanted to play his own style of game, take big risks. Quarter one was team dynamic. In quarter two, he was backed into a corner, so he offered himself as a number. In the third quarter, he said he used Ricard as a shield. Naseer mentions that Xander made a few sacrifices at challenges for Erika and the tribe, and he has a kind heart and good social game.

Deshawn explains his game plan. His first quarter was building relationships, the second quarter was keeping Luvu strong, and for the third quarter, he used his social capital. Ricard calls Deshawn out for throwing all of Luvu under the bus. Deshawn says that's not true, apologizing if he said those things.

Erika talks about her strategy -- how she intended to be sweet and kind, but Luvu kept winning, and she had to adapt. When she returned from Exile, she built relationships with other castaways, and she set herself up with lots of allies for the endgame. Ricard tells Erika she played a great game, and he loves her, but the rest of the jury doesn't know her as well. Erika says she knows she's better one-on-one, and she cites her relationship with Heather. Erika explains that she played within her social game.

Tiffany asks Xander how he felt he stood with Yase during the merge. Xander says he was a bit of an Ozzy type, but he had to adapt and cut the rest of Yase loose when it came down to it. Liana asks him to describe a moment where he had a good read and chose to make a move. After a pause, Xander says he was given different stories during the Tiffany vote and knew he was on the chopping block.

Evvie notes that Xander's idol-holding was strong and asks how he navigated that. He responds that it was a mix of fear, strategy, and reading the room.

Ricard expresses confusion about his and Xander's relationship, asking if it was real or fake. Xander explains that he didn't believe Erika was as big a threat as Ricard. Heather mentions that she told him Erika was the biggest threat to sit beside him. Xander says Ricard had a stronger game and defends his choice by explaining that he didn't want Erika to have a chance to show off her fire-making skills. 

Shan calls out Deshawn's temper tantrums and his emotional reactions. She wants to know if he was serious about that final four black alliance. He says he would never sell out his people for a game. He feels hurt that she would think that he could turn on the community and the social movement. He apologizes. She forgives him, and she congratulates him on making the final three.

Danny addresses Erika. He says she did an amazing job allowing people to underestimate her. Erika explains how she was always on the right side of the vote at every tribal. Danny says Erika played the game he wanted to play.

As a joke, Liana asks Xander if he has an idol.

The jury votes. 

Jeff announces that he will be reading the votes now, on the island. 

Erika wins in 7:1 vote (Danny voted for Deshawn). 

Jeff brings in pizza and champagne. The jury joins the final three, and they begin their after-party.

Erika talks about how the way she looks affects how she goes through life and how she knew she could use it to her advantage. She had no ego about how she played -- she just had to get at the end. Jeff shares about how he visited Erika on Exile Island. He says he saw a different person from the first half of the game. Erika talks about how her time at Exile was a turning point. 

Jeff asks Xander about his lack of social awareness, being so young. Xander states that he is proud of his game. He didn't realize how well Erika would do. 

Jeff checks in with Deshawn, who now realizes that he had a skewed perception of himself. Deshawn takes it to heart and says he will reflect and grow from the experience. 

Jeff talks about how Heather and Deshawn both did amazing at the fire challenge.

Jeff refills their champagne and pizza.

Everyone in the cast says that 26 days felt like a full 39-day season. Jeff talks about the Beware Advantage. Xander says there was no hesitation on his part in terms of opening it. Shan said she hesitated a bit. Naseer shares how hard he worked on memorizing his phrase.

Jeff talks to Tiffany about her "night-sneak." She says the most dangerous part was coming back when it started to rain because she was worried Xander would wake up. Jeff talks to Evvie about Knowledge Is Power and how she got to look at the advantage that Shan, Liana, and Tiffany had talked about. Evvie was proud of how they managed to thwart Liana's Knowledge is Power. Liana found that it was big even to get the advantage but knew it was risky to play it. Liana says she was proud of how she handled the fallout after embarrassing herself, and now she knows how to get back up again when she fails.

Naseer talks about how much he enjoyed every single moment, how this was a dream come true, and how well he utilized the island. It took him back to his childhood. He wants to inspire kids like him to achieve their dreams.

Jeff asks Evvie to describe their experience. Evvie says they felt pretty confident, but it is a life-changing experience, and anyone can grow.

Jeff checks in with Ricard. Ricard says he really thought he would win, but he's still working through it.  Danny says he just thought he just came through to compete, but he was processing his dad's death 25 years ago. It had been holding him back, and he thanks those present who helped him through it.

Evvie adds that there is a lot of talk about age, but this cast proved that anyone can play this game. The young people were mature, and the older women were tough competitors.

Jeff notes that this "after-party" is something they always do, but it's never televised. He says this group revolutionized the game. He was moved, inspired, and entertained by their stories. Jeff gives them a group hug and sends them home.