Day 30 - Final Tribal Council

I'm catching up in the AM. When are votes due, Probst?

Since it seems like we won't get through everyone's tonight, the final votes will be due tomorrow at 9c/10e.

Thanks! Goodnight everyone! :)

'Night love.

We'll let Chad post his question tonight, let Bobby Jon, Kim and Lisa answer it and other questions more thoroughly overnight.

Then tomorrow, We'll open up with Gregg, Ibrehem, Ami and finish with Tom.

You four who are going tomorrow, please have your speeches/questions pre-written so we can finish within the hour.

First of all, I want to say congratulations to the three of you. Now for the questions.

Bobby Jon - I had a question all prepared for you regarding randomly guessing words to type into a box that saved your game versus your actual gameplay. But I decided to scratch that. It's a dead horse. There are some blaring inaccuracies on the state of events you laid out in your jury speech I would like to address. First of all, are you aware that Kim's narrative is way more accurate than your narrative? You did not put together a secret group to vote Mia out. That decision was actually made prior to you even forming that group and you were the one being used for votes. However, there was a point where the decision flipped to vote you out instead of Mia. And Kim was the one that convinced us that voting Mia out was the right thing to do, which it was. At that point, you did not have an idol, so KIM is actually the one who saved YOU. And as for your story about how you randomly typing words to find idols and save yourself also saved Kim.... Kim was not the next one to go. By a long shot. All your idol did was change who she was sitting with in the F3. So now hearing this, because you have laid this out as one of your "big moves" in the game, which it actually wasn't, and I can assure you that you had no hand in "saving" Kim at any point after the merge and prior to my departure, do you have any other "big moves" that you would like to lay claim to besides the fact that you wonky voted for Jolanda to frame Chris?

Kim - I wish you would have trusted me. I was serious. But in the end it didn't really matter all that much. Just one question. At what point to you decide to join up with Bobby Jon and Ibe after I left? Was that your plan all along? If so, why did you vote Bobby Jon out at my boot? And if it wasn't your plan, what made you change your mind?

Lisa - You mentioned that you tried to be part of the majority alliance on original Guatuso. Which alliance was that? I know of a few alliances, but you were not actually in any of the ones I know about.

First of all, I want to say congratulations to the three of you. Now for the questions.


Kim - I wish you would have trusted me. I was serious. But in the end it didn't really matter all that much. Just one question. At what point to you decide to join up with Bobby Jon and Ibe after I left? Was that your plan all along? If so, why did you vote Bobby Jon out at my boot? And if it wasn't your plan, what made you change your mind?

I know Chad, and we've discussed this It was honestly nothing personal, and it was basically the luck of the draw when it came to the way tribes ended up. You were the only person in the entire game I had never met prior to the merge, therefore you were always the person I had the least amount of a personal connection with. I do feel like we were in similar situations throughout the game. But like you said, it wouldn't have mattered anyway cause you were gonna get idol'd out regardless
But after you did, I know that I had to officially align with Bobby Jon and Ibrehem. After you left Tom said that our Final 3 was good, and that we would just replace you with Lisa, but that would entail me having to vote Bobby Jon/Ibrehem at Final 6, and then voting out whoever was left at Final 5. Therefore, at Final 4 had that plan worked out my options were extremely limited. I knew I had to win immunity, cause no matter how good it would've been in Lisa's best interest to vote Ami out at Final 4, I just couldn't trust her to do that, or even Tom for that matter. And my distrust for Tom that had been brewing since literally like... Final 10 was obviously confirmed at Final 6 when he voted for me. But yeah, had I went to the Final 3 with Tom and Lisa I think people would've just got the impression that I was riding his coattails the entire time. So at Final 6 I knew that there was absolutely no way a Final 3 that involved both me and Tom was possible.
And I voted out Bobby Jon at Final 7 because in reality, I wanted Ami or Lisa gone (a recurring theme throughout my post-merge strategy) but Ibrehem and Bobby Jon were insistent on getting you out. I knew that no matter where the cards fell that night I would've been alright because by that point I had a Final 3 with basically everyone except Ami.

Bobby Jon - I had a question all prepared for you regarding randomly guessing words to type into a box that saved your game versus your actual gameplay. But I decided to scratch that. It's a dead horse. There are some blaring inaccuracies on the state of events you laid out in your jury speech I would like to address. First of all, are you aware that Kim's narrative is way more accurate than your narrative? You did not put together a secret group to vote Mia out. That decision was actually made prior to you even forming that group and you were the one being used for votes. However, there was a point where the decision flipped to vote you out instead of Mia. And Kim was the one that convinced us that voting Mia out was the right thing to do, which it was. At that point, you did not have an idol, so KIM is actually the one who saved YOU. And as for your story about how you randomly typing words to find idols and save yourself also saved Kim.... Kim was not the next one to go. By a long shot. All your idol did was change who she was sitting with in the F3. So now hearing this, because you have laid this out as one of your "big moves" in the game, which it actually wasn't, and I can assure you that you had no hand in "saving" Kim at any point after the merge and prior to my departure, do you have any other "big moves" that you would like to lay claim to besides the fact that you wonky voted for Jolanda to frame Chris?

Thanks Chad. I already gave you and Kim credit for that move in my opening statement, but perhaps not enough. It was absolutely because of the two of you that I made it past the final 8 Tribal Council. However, the fact that Kim wanted to save me speaks to my social game. The bonds that I made with her and the others who voted for Mia should not be discounted. If I hadn't been close to Kim then I would have been voted out, so looking at it from that perspective I still played a part in that move.

As for your other question, no, I do not have any other "big moves" that I haven't already shared. Many would consider my sending you and Ami to the jury with idols big moves, but ultimately I think too much emphasis is placed on things like that. I played a solid game, formed relationships with everybody (besides Lisa who never responded to me), and did what I had to do to get to the end.

Bobby Jon - I had a question all prepared for you regarding randomly guessing words to type into a box that saved your game versus your actual gameplay. But I decided to scratch that. It's a dead horse. There are some blaring inaccuracies on the state of events you laid out in your jury speech I would like to address. First of all, are you aware that Kim's narrative is way more accurate than your narrative? You did not put together a secret group to vote Mia out. That decision was actually made prior to you even forming that group and you were the one being used for votes. However, there was a point where the decision flipped to vote you out instead of Mia. And Kim was the one that convinced us that voting Mia out was the right thing to do, which it was. At that point, you did not have an idol, so KIM is actually the one who saved YOU. And as for your story about how you randomly typing words to find idols and save yourself also saved Kim.... Kim was not the next one to go. By a long shot. All your idol did was change who she was sitting with in the F3. So now hearing this, because you have laid this out as one of your "big moves" in the game, which it actually wasn't, and I can assure you that you had no hand in "saving" Kim at any point after the merge and prior to my departure, do you have any other "big moves" that you would like to lay claim to besides the fact that you wonky voted for Jolanda to frame Chris?

Thanks Chad. I already gave you and Kim credit for that move in my opening statement, but perhaps not enough. It was absolutely because of the two of you that I made it past the final 8 Tribal Council. However, the fact that Kim wanted to save me speaks to my social game. The bonds that I made with her and the others who voted for Mia should not be discounted. If I hadn't been close to Kim then I would have been voted out, so looking at it from that perspective I still played a part in that move.

As for your other question, no, I do not have any other "big moves" that I haven't already shared. Many would consider my sending you and Ami to the jury with idols big moves, but ultimately I think too much emphasis is placed on things like that. I played a solid game, formed relationships with everybody (besides Lisa who never responded to me), and did what I had to do to get to the end.

Ibrehem, did you want to go tonight? THat way we'd only have 3 people to get to tomorrow?

Sure, I can go tonight.

First of all, I want to say congratulations to the three of you. Now for the questions.


Kim - I wish you would have trusted me. I was serious. But in the end it didn't really matter all that much. Just one question. At what point to you decide to join up with Bobby Jon and Ibe after I left? Was that your plan all along? If so, why did you vote Bobby Jon out at my boot? And if it wasn't your plan, what made you change your mind?

I know Chad, and we've discussed this It was honestly nothing personal, and it was basically the luck of the draw when it came to the way tribes ended up. You were the only person in the entire game I had never met prior to the merge, therefore you were always the person I had the least amount of a personal connection with. I do feel like we were in similar situations throughout the game. But like you said, it wouldn't have mattered anyway cause you were gonna get idol'd out regardless
But after you did, I know that I had to officially align with Bobby Jon and Ibrehem. After you left Tom said that our Final 3 was good, and that we would just replace you with Lisa, but that would entail me having to vote Bobby Jon/Ibrehem at Final 6, and then voting out whoever was left at Final 5. Therefore, at Final 4 had that plan worked out my options were extremely limited. I knew I had to win immunity, cause no matter how good it would've been in Lisa's best interest to vote Ami out at Final 4, I just couldn't trust her to do that, or even Tom for that matter. And my distrust for Tom that had been brewing since literally like... Final 10 was obviously confirmed at Final 6 when he voted for me. But yeah, had I went to the Final 3 with Tom and Lisa I think people would've just got the impression that I was riding his coattails the entire time. So at Final 6 I knew that there was absolutely no way a Final 3 that involved both me and Tom was possible.
And I voted out Bobby Jon at Final 7 because in reality, I wanted Ami or Lisa gone (a recurring theme throughout my post-merge strategy) but Ibrehem and Bobby Jon were insistent on getting you out. I knew that no matter where the cards fell that night I would've been alright because by that point I had a Final 3 with basically everyone except Ami.

Tell me when to post.

Alright then, Ibe, the floor is yours my friend!

Congratulations to all three of you guys!
When it comes down to it, you did what we on the jury could not, regardless of who played a "winning game"...which is hard to say who did. Very hard to say...
This season has been very unpredictable, so don't take any of these last jury questions lightly.
You may be very confident that you'll win and you may feel that you have no chance...
But the title of sole survivor is still very much in the air, so don't give up!

Kim, my first question is for you. Following the merge, you did A LOT of backstabbing. (Which I'm sure is general knowledge by now. That's not good by the way.) A good portion of the jury, actually... I NEVER knew if I could trust you or not in-game (not even at the Mia vote like you claim I did, I honestly still don't know if I do trust you at all, and I never really did until the F6 vote because I had to). Even up until the tribal council before my elimination, you still voted for Bobby Jon. You flipped on NuChorotega to help eliminate Caryn. You backstabbed Chris, Jolanda, Gregg and Mia. I heard you targeted me at one point. Yet, in the end, my place in the game was decided simply on the fact that I would never backstab you. I have no doubt that I could have won that challenge after my elimination. But, I'm here because I couldn't find it in myself to backstab as easily as you can. My question is why do you deserve the votes and respect of the people that you helped decide to eliminate by flipping so much? It seems to me you're trying to pass it off by calling it "taking risks" and "oh, my strategy was just flipping a lot and letting Tom take the heat" ... when it was clearly backstab... after backstab... after backstab. And now, in the Final 3, Tom isn't here to take any more heat. It's just you. Admit it, what you said is fancy for saying you simply rode Tom's coattails almost the whole way here. Up until the Mia vote, but even after that you jumped RIGHT THE HELL BACK TO TOM. All you did was beat Tom in a tie-breaker at the Final 4, you didn't distance yourself like you claim you did, it still seemed you were riding his coattails. So, please explain why you feel you deserve ANY kind of respect or votes from the jury. Personally, I find a lot of trouble in giving you my vote because, as you say, it took you until the FINAL 6 to "officially settle on an alliance"... In my eyes, that really just makes you sound extremely untrustworthy, two-faced and mostly a follower in a social game like this, and hardly strategic by any means with the exception of the Mia boot, which Chad helped you with. All you did was convince Tom to vote a certain way, and you're draining that move for all its worth which is hardly anything truly amazing by the way since you two were together most of the game... Thank you, Kim.
(Also, remember to post the Britney gif after the winner is announced! )

Bobby Jon, I have a few little questions for you. Like Kim, you have a fair deal of backstabbing on your record, too. The first question is who exactly wasn't trustworthy enough to you that made you risk joining me in the minority? And why didn't you trust those players? Secondly, I'll get right to the point here, why should you win and not Kim? And my third little question... Why didn't you tell me that you found the hidden immunity idol before my elimination? Thank you.

Finally...

Lisa, I have to commend you for playing this game without actually backstabbing anyone, like me. That is a great achievement and even though we never really got to know each other that well, I'm SO proud of you! I didn't think you would make the merge let alone the finals! I think everyone here is shocked including yourself. Tell me your biggest move that YOU made on your own accord and include why you personally feel Kim and Bobby Jon shouldn't win. Thanks, Lisa!

Thank you guys and congrats again!

Alright guys, I'm going to leave this open for the night.

Gregg, I see that you are here now, please please please write some final words and leavea vote in the event that you cannot make it tomorrow.


Please, I'll ask that the jurors do not ask any furhter questions, I'm just leaving it open for the final 3 to go back and re-answer any questions that they felt they did not answer thoroughly enough.


Ibrehem, you can continue to ask until you are satisfied. Afterwards, i'll ask that you do not ask anymore.

It's the Mia boot!

First of all, I want to say congratulations to the three of you. Now for the questions.


Lisa - You mentioned that you tried to be part of the majority alliance on original Guatuso. Which alliance was that? I know of a few alliances, but you were not actually in any of the ones I know about.

Thanks! The original Guat group I was in was such a short thing and it was so long ago but it was after Julie had been voted off and I agreed to vote with Ami/Brook/Dolly/Chris. The tribes switched right after that so nothing ever came from it though.

Bobby Jon- I think I got along with you much better then either of the other 2 finalists having said that it seems like you just lucked into your spot btwn finding hidden idols and then people booting me and Jolanda when they should have been booting you.Why do you think you deserve to win this game over Kim and Lisa?

Kim - I know we only really talked really in a short window of time since we were only actually on the same tribe like 3-4 rounds. I know you may have even wanted me out round 1 of the game. Having said that it appears you maybe had the largest role in shaping the post merge. Let's just play a hypoethetical lets say at the swap instead of the Nu Churros and Nu Gutusos both team are slightly different and you guys are bogged down with John and we get one of your better challenge performers and you guys go to 2 or 3 tribal after the shuffle. How much do you fancy your chances of making the merge in that hypothetical scenario



Lisa- I don't think you initiated a single pm to me all game and it seems like you are here because people from your original tribe saw you as a loyal vote and someone who when they made it to the end with was no threat to win. You are like a sane version of Caryn. No offense but if you ultimately get my vote it will be because neither Kim or Bobby Jon did enough to sway me their vote

Bobby Jon, I have a few little questions for you. Like Kim, you have a fair deal of backstabbing on your record, too. The first question is who exactly wasn't trustworthy enough to you that made you risk joining me in the minority? And why didn't you trust those players? Secondly, I'll get right to the point here, why should you win and not Kim? And my third little question... Why didn't you tell me that you found the hidden immunity idol before my elimination? Thank you.

Thanks for the questions, Ibrehem.

For the first question, it wasn't a matter of trust. If I hadn't turned on my alliance with Tom, Ami, and Mia (and Kim and Lisa by association), then I think we could have quite realistically trusted each other and stayed together until the end. The reason I risked joining you in the minority was that I felt as though I was on the bottom of that alliance. I wasn't included in some of the decision-making in that alliance and I only knew of Mia's thoughts and plans through Tom. I didn't want to settle for fifth or sixth so I decided to take a big risk and jump ship. I have made some enemies by doing so, but I don't believe I would be here if not for that move.

I should win over Kim because I never rode anybody's coattails. I'm not saying that Kim didn't make any moves of her own, because she did late in the game, but for the majority of the game she did not have much presence or control over how the votes went. She was more of a follower, while I took control of my own destiny from the beginning. I think that Kim would have been in much more danger than I if NuChorotega had ever lost a challenge. I set myself up in a position in which I was never even considered as a target until I betrayed Tom, Ami, and Mia. Further, I understand the argument against why I should win - that I was saved by immunity - but let's not forget that Kim needed her final 5 immunity win to stay in the game and also had to win tonight's tie-breaker challenge to be sitting where she is now. I think that overall I played a better game than Kim.

For your final question, I didn't tell you I had found the idol because I didn't want you to expect me to play it on you. I put myself first and saved it to guarantee myself safe passage into the final 4. As it was, I was expecting the tied vote at final 6 and figured that the odds were in your favor. If the tie-breaker had been that the immunity bearer could decide then I would have saved you, if the three votes had gone your way then you would have been safe (like Kim was instead), and even with the purple rock draw there was a 2/3 chance that you would have survived.

Bobby Jon, I have a few little questions for you. Like Kim, you have a fair deal of backstabbing on your record, too. The first question is who exactly wasn't trustworthy enough to you that made you risk joining me in the minority? And why didn't you trust those players? Secondly, I'll get right to the point here, why should you win and not Kim? And my third little question... Why didn't you tell me that you found the hidden immunity idol before my elimination? Thank you.

Thanks for the questions, Ibrehem.

For the first question, it wasn't a matter of trust. If I hadn't turned on my alliance with Tom, Ami, and Mia (and Kim and Lisa by association), then I think we could have quite realistically trusted each other and stayed together until the end. The reason I risked joining you in the minority was that I felt as though I was on the bottom of that alliance. I wasn't included in some of the decision-making in that alliance and I only knew of Mia's thoughts and plans through Tom. I didn't want to settle for fifth or sixth so I decided to take a big risk and jump ship. I have made some enemies by doing so, but I don't believe I would be here if not for that move.

I should win over Kim because I never rode anybody's coattails. I'm not saying that Kim didn't make any moves of her own, because she did late in the game, but for the majority of the game she did not have much presence or control over how the votes went. She was more of a follower, while I took control of my own destiny from the beginning. I think that Kim would have been in much more danger than I if NuChorotega had ever lost a challenge. I set myself up in a position in which I was never even considered as a target until I betrayed Tom, Ami, and Mia. Further, I understand the argument against why I should win - that I was saved by immunity - but let's not forget that Kim needed her final 5 immunity win to stay in the game and also had to win tonight's tie-breaker challenge to be sitting where she is now. I think that overall I played a better game than Kim.

For your final question, I didn't tell you I had found the idol because I didn't want you to expect me to play it on you. I put myself first and saved it to guarantee myself safe passage into the final 4. As it was, I was expecting the tied vote at final 6 and figured that the odds were in your favor. If the tie-breaker had been that the immunity bearer could decide then I would have saved you, if the three votes had gone your way then you would have been safe (like Kim was instead), and even with the purple rock draw there was a 2/3 chance that you would have survived.

Great, thank you for the very honest answers. That was probably one of the best responses yet.

Bobby Jon- I think I got along with you much better then either of the other 2 finalists having said that it seems like you just lucked into your spot btwn finding hidden idols and then people booting me and Jolanda when they should have been booting you.Why do you think you deserve to win this game over Kim and Lisa?

Hey Gregg. I agree that you and I got along well in the game. In fact, I probably enjoyed your PMs more than anybody else's because they were almost guaranteed to make me laugh.

Not to take anything away from that, but I got along well with nearly everybody else in the game as well. The reason I point this out is that I think my social game was a big factor as to why you and Jolanda were booted when you were, instead of me. I was everybody's friend, at least until I turned on my NuChorotega alliance. This is actually another example of why I deserve to win. Around the time of yours and Jolanda's boots, I became very aware of the fact that I was perceived as a nice guy. I was worried that people would be afraid to take me to the end, so I intentionally decided to tarnish my image. It was at this point that I started to pick on Lisa. Lisa was the sweetest person on the tribe. She was quiet and unlikely to defend herself against me, so she was the perfect target. I know that Ami and Mia didn't like what I was saying about Lisa. Heck, I didn't like what I was saying about Lisa either, but I did what I thought I had to do to improve my chances of winning. I successfully shifted the "forgettable" label off of myself and onto Lisa, and ensured that I wasn't seen as the biggest jury threat.

This example, in addition to what I have described in previous answers, shows that I am not only here because of luck. I thought about the game on multiple levels and the majority of my "moves" were very subtle. While I was pleased to find the hidden idols when I did, I believe that they have taken attention away from the rest of my game. I think I absolutely deserve to win more than Kim and Lisa.

Bobby Jon- I think I got along with you much better then either of the other 2 finalists having said that it seems like you just lucked into your spot btwn finding hidden idols and then people booting me and Jolanda when they should have been booting you.Why do you think you deserve to win this game over Kim and Lisa?

Hey Gregg. I agree that you and I got along well in the game. In fact, I probably enjoyed your PMs more than anybody else's because they were almost guaranteed to make me laugh.

Not to take anything away from that, but I got along well with nearly everybody else in the game as well. The reason I point this out is that I think my social game was a big factor as to why you and Jolanda were booted when you were, instead of me. I was everybody's friend, at least until I turned on my NuChorotega alliance. This is actually another example of why I deserve to win. Around the time of yours and Jolanda's boots, I became very aware of the fact that I was perceived as a nice guy. I was worried that people would be afraid to take me to the end, so I intentionally decided to tarnish my image. It was at this point that I started to pick on Lisa. Lisa was the sweetest person on the tribe. She was quiet and unlikely to defend herself against me, so she was the perfect target. I know that Ami and Mia didn't like what I was saying about Lisa. Heck, I didn't like what I was saying about Lisa either, but I did what I thought I had to do to improve my chances of winning. I successfully shifted the "forgettable" label off of myself and onto Lisa, and ensured that I wasn't seen as the biggest jury threat.

This example, in addition to what I have described in previous answers, shows that I am not only here because of luck. I thought about the game on multiple levels and the majority of my "moves" were very subtle. While I was pleased to find the hidden idols when I did, I believe that they have taken attention away from the rest of my game. I think I absolutely deserve to win more than Kim and Lisa.