Day 30 - Final Tribal Council

Ok.

Lisa, I’m going to start with you. I feel a little bad for you honestly, because I feel like a lot of people are mad at you for being here and feel like you didn’t “earn it” and would be a lot more satisfied if you were on the jury. But the fact is, you are the ONLY person in this game who never got half or more of the votes at Tribal Council. For how much some of these jurors seem to think that results oriented thinking is the law, you’d think they would respect you a bit more. Either way, I might not vote for you tonight, but you made the end and you’re the only person in this game who was never truly in danger of leaving. So even though I personally don’t apply to results oriented thinking policies, it’s hard to deny that you did something right, even if that something was to just sit back while all the bigger personalities ate themselves.

Bobby Jon, I truly believe you were the Idiot Savant during the merge portion of this game. Because other than playing your idol at Final 7, I can’t think of anything you did RIGHT after the merge. You say you went with Gregg, Ibe, and Jo because you didn’t want to be left out by me and Guatuso, when in reality Gregg, Ibe, and Jo had every intention of sticking together and voting you and me off before the finals, AS I TOLD YOU. You told Gregg it was your social game that made it so he left at nine instead of you, but on the contrary it was your awful strategic decision to flip to the minority that made it where you were even a target. You expected a tie at Final 8, when that was never even possible since Kim, Chad, and I were always going to vote as a unit that round, with Chad basically taking the spot that you previously had before you took a dump on our alliance. And then for god knows what reason you didn’t even play the idol on Ibe at Final 6, despite wanting to go to the end with Ibe and Kim when that would have pretty much locked you three there. And then it turns out that may have been the right decision for the wrong reasons, since now you’ll be getting the self-righteous Onion-esque “you played for me to win” votes (ok, I’m really only referring to one person here to be fair.) So try to tell me a single thing not related to the idol you did after the Chris boot that helped your game with that purpose in mind. Because I got nothing.

Kim, I feel like your game has been pretty accurately described in this process: weak but strong enough to get by pre-merge, stronger throughout the merge, and fantastic from Final 6 onward. I just want to ask one thing, and if you answer what I think is the “correct” answer, my vote is a lock for you. If not, I’ll still consider voting you, but it isn’t a lock anymore. The question is: If Ami, Lisa, and I vote for Ibe at Final 6 instead of you, once you realize that Lisa and I aren’t flipping and that it will go to rocks, do you flip? Or do you take a one in three shot of going home?

I would vote off Ibrehem, and not risk doing rocks for a number of reasons. Firstly, Ibrehem was a huge huge huge threat to win. I don't think there's no doubt in anyone's mind that Ibrehem was the most impressive pre-merge player since he was able to overcome so many odds at nuGuatuso yet was still able to make the merge not as big a target as Jolanda. He then went on to win a couple impressive individual immunity challenges.
Second, I was not gonna risk a one-third chance of going home over a rock when if I flipped I still had the ~options~ to make it to the end that I keep talking about. As epic as an exit it was, there's no way I would've risked going home due to a Purple Rock. I know the Final 6 was a pretty messy round in terms of our relationship, but the fact that I wasn't down with voting for Ibrehem at Final 6 like we planned was more of a "I want Ami out" move and a "I wanna redeem myself in front of some of the old Chorotega tribe mates I have to betray" rather than a "I wanna go to the Final 3 with Bobby Jon and Ibrehem" move.
Even if we had triumphed at Final 6 and Ami leaves, you probably go home after that, and although Ibe, BJ, and I would be pretty solid at this point I would've tried to work something out at Final 4 to make sure that we ended up with Bobby Jon/me/Lisa F3 that we ended up getting anyway.
Thanks Tom

I would vote off Ibrehem, and not risk doing rocks for a number of reasons. Firstly, Ibrehem was a huge huge huge threat to win. I don't think there's no doubt in anyone's mind that Ibrehem was the most impressive pre-merge player since he was able to overcome so many odds at nuGuatuso yet was still able to make the merge not as big a target as Jolanda. He then went on to win a couple impressive individual immunity challenges.
Second, I was not gonna risk a one-third chance of going home over a rock when if I flipped I still had the ~options~ to make it to the end that I keep talking about. As epic as an exit it was, there's no way I would've risked going home due to a Purple Rock. I know the Final 6 was a pretty messy round in terms of our relationship, but the fact that I wasn't down with voting for Ibrehem at Final 6 like we planned was more of a "I want Ami out" move and a "I wanna redeem myself in front of some of the old Chorotega tribe mates I have to betray" rather than a "I wanna go to the Final 3 with Bobby Jon and Ibrehem" move.
Even if we had triumphed at Final 6 and Ami leaves, you probably go home after that, and although Ibe, BJ, and I would be pretty solid at this point I would've tried to work something out at Final 4 to make sure that we ended up with Bobby Jon/me/Lisa F3 that we ended up getting anyway.
Thanks Tom

Bobby Jon, I truly believe you were the Idiot Savant during the merge portion of this game. Because other than playing your idol at Final 7, I can’t think of anything you did RIGHT after the merge. You say you went with Gregg, Ibe, and Jo because you didn’t want to be left out by me and Guatuso, when in reality Gregg, Ibe, and Jo had every intention of sticking together and voting you and me off before the finals, AS I TOLD YOU. You told Gregg it was your social game that made it so he left at nine instead of you, but on the contrary it was your awful strategic decision to flip to the minority that made it where you were even a target. You expected a tie at Final 8, when that was never even possible since Kim, Chad, and I were always going to vote as a unit that round, with Chad basically taking the spot that you previously had before you took a dump on our alliance. And then for god knows what reason you didn’t even play the idol on Ibe at Final 6, despite wanting to go to the end with Ibe and Kim when that would have pretty much locked you three there. And then it turns out that may have been the right decision for the wrong reasons, since now you’ll be getting the self-righteous Onion-esque “you played for me to win” votes (ok, I’m really only referring to one person here to be fair.) So try to tell me a single thing not related to the idol you did after the Chris boot that helped your game with that purpose in mind. Because I got nothing.

Thanks for your thoughts, Tom. I already explained why I didn't play my idol on Ibrehem at the final 6 in response to his question. For convenience here it is again:

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.

Simply put, it was very unlikely that Ibrehem would have gone home that night. Not to mention that keeping my idol for myself guaranteed I would make the final 4.

As for your question, something I did with the goal of improving my chances of winning in mind was forcing the tie at the final 4. I knew that the argument would be made against me that I was only here because of immunity, so in order to dilute the strength of that argument I made sure that whoever I was sitting next to (along with Lisa) would had to have "won" their way to final as well.

I have one more question for Kim if that's ok (and Bobby Jon can answer too if he wants): at Final 6, did you know Bobby Jon had the second idol?

Lisa, I’m going to start with you. I feel a little bad for you honestly, because I feel like a lot of people are mad at you for being here and feel like you didn’t “earn it” and would be a lot more satisfied if you were on the jury. But the fact is, you are the ONLY person in this game who never got half or more of the votes at Tribal Council. For how much some of these jurors seem to think that results oriented thinking is the law, you’d think they would respect you a bit more. Either way, I might not vote for you tonight, but you made the end and you’re the only person in this game who was never truly in danger of leaving. So even though I personally don’t apply to results oriented thinking policies, it’s hard to deny that you did something right, even if that something was to just sit back while all the bigger personalities ate themselves.

Thanks Tom! You were fun to play this game with!

I have one more question for Kim if that's ok (and Bobby Jon can answer too if he wants): at Final 6, did you know Bobby Jon had the second idol?

Yes, I told Kim about my second idol. I wanted Kim to know that she had to do everything she could to win immunity or it would be her going home.

I didn't know he had it. I came up to him after Ibe was sent to the jury and said, "Well I'm just gonna try as hard as I can in these next two challenges" and he was like, "Oh I have an idol don't worry". So no, I had absolutely no idea, and that's okay with me. I'm sure he was keeping that information to himself because given the position he was in I doubt he would've used it on anyone else.

That sounds so confusing lol. But the answer is:
1) I didn't know he had it at F6
2) I knew he had it at F5.

Alright guys, Jury thank you, Final 3 Thank you.

It's been an amazing season of Stranded, one of the best I can safely say. And for a series with 17 seasons, I'd say that's pretty darn good.

Final votes for the winner will be due at 9c/10e. Final 3, you can say your closing speeches if you so choose but the jury should get their votes in ASAP.

Good luck everyone!

Alright. I have no further questions

Good luck tonight guys.

Correct. I told Kim immediately after Ibrehem left.

I would also like the final 3 to vote for which of the other 2 you would like to see win in the event of a tie.

I would also like the final 3 to vote for which of the other 2 you would like to see win in the event of a tie.

Jeff what happens if its a 3-3-3 tie and then the 3 finalists votes are 1-1-1

I would also like the final 3 to vote for which of the other 2 you would like to see win in the event of a tie.

Jeff what happens if its a 3-3-3 tie and then the 3 finalists votes are 1-1-1

I would also like the final 3 to vote for which of the other 2 you would like to see win in the event of a tie.

Jeff what happens if its a 3-3-3 tie and then the 3 finalists votes are 1-1-1

First place goes to the previous 10th placer, and everyone else gets bumped down a spot.

I would also like the final 3 to vote for which of the other 2 you would like to see win in the event of a tie.

Jeff what happens if its a 3-3-3 tie and then the 3 finalists votes are 1-1-1

Hopefully I can post a closing statement before the voting deadline is over

I hope I answered everyone's questions the best I could, and I hope I made my game a little more evident, and that yes, I was playing the game the entire time, just slower and some phases and faster and harder at others.
Bobby Jon has a better story. Lisa is more likable. So if this was a superhero movie or something, Bobby Jon winning would make sense. If this was a "be nice and not piss anyone off" contestant, Lisa winning would make sense. But this is Survivor, and you have to look at the overall picture. I played a way better strategic game than Bobby Jon. I won more challenges and was a lot more social than Lisa. I made "quiet" moves as well as big moves. I just feel like I couldn't have possibly played this game better from F8 onwards. I played all my cards right. I was smart about all my moves.

That's all I have to say. I'm a little rushed I'll respect your guys' decision either way, but I just believe if you guys are fair jurors and respect the game then you'll vote for me. I just flat out deserve to win this over the other two.
Cheers, it's been fun

I don't believe there's anything more I can say at this point to change the minds of the jurors. Thank you all for your opinions and questions - it has been quite a ride. I hope that after this is over we can all acknowledge that this was a game and nothing more.

Thank you once again to the hosts for all of the work you put into making this a great experience.

Best of luck Kim and Lisa.