Board Thread:Season 21 - Salvation/@comment-24086799-20141205060625

Welcome Salvation finalists to the final tribal council.

You have worked for a long time to be here. You may not have worked particularly hard, but you are here. So I guess that’s something. You are here because, for whatever reason, you were not voted out. You “survived”. That was your job.

Our job, as the jury, is to award one of you the title of Sole Survivor, because you played the “best game” of the people who make it as far as you have. Because no two people can determine what the “best game” really looks like, there will be some disagreement.

I currently have not made up my mind on who I am voting for, and here’s why:

Ultimately one of you will be awarded the title of Sole Survivor, and whether or not it’s true, you will be considered by many to have played the best game of not only the finalists but also the entire cast. Taking that into consideration, it is incredibly difficult for me to vote for any of the three of you, when I would prefer to vote for one of the other jury members.

In other words, it is difficult for me (being of sound mind and body) to vote for any of the three of you, when I would far prefer to vote for Tyler, or TJ, or Mitchell. From my perspective, they are more deserving of my jury vote. Some jurors have lost hope that this season will have a good winner, and consider this a picking of the poisons if you will.

I will now detail exactly why it is that I, as an individual, do not want to vote for any of you at this moment.

Steve : From my perspective, you seem somewhat bland. Giving credit where credit is due, your jury speech was great, but from my perspective you played a very safe game. While you are correct, in returning player seasons it is often best to lie under the radar and vote out the threats as they come, it is also a cop out of a strategy. You played a perfect game to get you to Day 39, but from my perspective, the charade ends here.

You did exactly what you had to do to get to Day 39, and that’s just it. You didn’t make any big moves, you barely talked to me, and when you did you randomly gave me idol guesses without any promise of return.

Also, that whole Sulur 3 thing, Jino immediately told me about.

Steve, your problem is that you don’t impress me. Your task is to convince me that you deserve to be the main character of this season, that you played an active role in the plotline of its story. If you manage that, then I will vote for you.

Zane : You already know what your problem is, and its probably going to weigh on you for the entire final tribal council. People accuse you not only of being a follower, but also of not having the determination or will to even compete in this season.

Like Steve, you also don’t seem to have any blood on your hands. Unfortunately for returning players seasons, the jury often wants to see a little blood on their winner’s hands: it proves they had to earn it, that the game wasn’t won by the typical under the radar, least hated finalist.

This season is called Salvation. It is an opportunity to find redemption and freedom from the mistakes of your past.

Zane, your problem is that you lack an agenda of your own. Your task is to describe to me what it is you work for in life, what you care about, and who you care about. This is your opportunity to redeem yourself for all the social interactions you never had. Be creative, use this response however you like. Show the jury your conviction and caring; show them how strong a person you can be. If I am satisfied with your responses, then I will vote for you.

 George : Here I will speak purely from personal experience. George I really started actively playing this game when we entered the Sùlur, and we formed the six person alliance ‘Perry and the Platypussies’. I quickly formed a partnership with you, and we were already sort of friend from RPG All Stars. Here is where I was going with the entire season.

Initially I trusted you entirely, I was prepared to take you all the way to where you are now, and sit beside you at final tribal council. When I began to realize the extent of your social game, I decided it might be best to take you out at final 4, and when I noticed your willingness to betray others, I reasoned that you might come up with the same plan, and decided to get rid of you around final 6.

That said, these were literally (and I do mean literally) the only secrets I kept from you. While you were busy socializing with many, many people, I primarily talked to you, often for hours at a time. Our skype history is one of the longest in my directory. I thought that we were great friends playing a great game together. I was interested in you, I cared about you, and I legitimately wanted a special friendship with you.

You will say that we are really good friends, and that the decision to eliminate me was strictly strategic. You will say that while it is a game about lies and deception, and while you did lie to me, our friendship is real. You will say that we will be friends after the votes have been read and the next Sole Survivor is declared.

And I want more than anything, for those things to be true. “You have no idea” simply does not cover it.

You were my best friend in this game. But was I yours?

This question is of course rhetorical, and I follow it with a brief story.

Upon entering Ponderosa, I believed that I was eliminated purely as a strategic decision, as indicated above. I was a little shocked that you decided to eliminate me so early, but I reasoned that he may believe he can make the end without me.

I wished you the best of luck, and instantly wanted my best friend to win. Towards the beginning when I said I would be glad to see you win, I wasn’t lying. I was never lying.

Matthew, however, described to me a George I had never met. A George that lied, and manipulated people socially, only to cast them aside after the jury votes had been read. A George that made you feel special, when you were only another fucking pawn. A George that played to win, regardless of the methods and blind to the feelings of those he may hurt.

As the jurors entered Ponderosa one by one, I heard similar stories.

How they had trusted George maybe a little too much. How they had been so close to George when he voted them out. How George had sold them out for the sheep again.

It made me feel awful. It made me feel as if the connection I thought I had created wasn’t genuine. It made me feel as if I had wasted my entire time in this season on a person who had thrown me out when I was no longer useful.

George, you don’t have a problem. You have a dilemma. I really, really didn’t want to have to do this, but after hearing the other jurors speak, reading your rites of passage, and reading your responses, I just can’t be sure anymore. I care so, so much about the George I met. If that is the real George, I apologize from the deepest part of my heart. If it’s not, I feel no remorse. Your task is to make a decision. I want you to decide if you care more about taking my jury vote or keeping my friendship. I want you to finally settle for me what your goal has been this entire time: to create a legitimate friendship with me (this choice will null any chance you have at getting my vote) or to win my jury vote (this choice will assure you my vote, but I’m sure you can figure out the implications and consequences).

In Conclusion

A good winner is someone who gets to the end and who the jury wants to vote for, because they deserve it more than the jury. Ultimately, your job is to convince me that I want to vote for you.

I have explained to all three of you why I can’t currently vote for you, and what you have to do to earn my vote. If more than one of you completes your task, I will determine which response takes precedence over the others. If none of you complete your task to my satisfaction, I will randomly determine my vote, because I will never be able to justify consciously choosing to award any of you the honor of my vote.

I’d like you all to know that none of you are out of the running yet. At least one person has already heavily implied they are voting for each one of you. It wouldn’t surprise me if nobody gets a majority of the votes. Do not give up hope. Do not let our season end in a landslide, let it end in a photo finish. You owe the jury nothing less.

I’d also like you all to know that my comments above, with a few obvious exceptions, are purely game-related. The three people I met in the game named Steve, Zane, and George, were charming people. I am totally willing to be friends with all three of you after the season is over. My metaphorical door is always open.

All of my other questions have been or will be covered in other jury speeches.

Thank you finalists for reading as much as you did. I wish you the best of luck.

Thank you Adam, Bailey, Nuno, and Kevin for all the amazing effort put into this wonderful season.

And a massive thank you to every member of the cast of Survivor: Salvation for making this season what it is.

Thank you all, may you earn your Salvation.  