I was so wrapped up in Lisa Whelchel's spiritual renaissance, Michael Skupin's weird delusions of grandeur, Denise's adamantium abs, and Malcolm's surprising intuition (for a heterosexual) that I nearly forgot the obvious truth about Survivor: Philippines: We were destined for a predictable ending.
And yet -- and yet -- I feel a little crestfallen that the deeply intriguing, oddly moving Lisa Whelchel didn't pull off a miraculous win. Because let's face it, even though Malcolm and Denise began the game in awful tribe where Russell started fistfights with the gods and people named "Roxy" tried
I'm not saying those are annoying or unlovable or un-Survivor-y qualities, but the fact is if you're Lisa Whelchel, a less-than-Olympian 49-year-old who is never going to outrun or outswim the Malcolms, Denises, or even the Skupins, you have no choice but to enact a canny social game, which she comp