[Tammy]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 1:58:14 am #6995

Heidi, Tammy, Hayden. Congrats. You did what none of us could do this season. With a season full of All Stars, it's no small feat to make it this far. Kudos. You're going to get a lot of questions about why you deserve to win I'm assuming, so I'm going to approach this a little differently. Before I get into it, want to give a shout out to my "Partner" for being the biggest shitbag in Stranded history, thank the Hosts for facilitating a platform for us to play this season, and thank my allies. In a season with a theme such as this one, this shit wouldn't have been fun without you. Props.

My question is simple. Why do each of you believe that you may potentially Lose? Don't turn it around into why you should win. Don't pretend like there's no way you could lose. Anyone can lose, and anyone can win. One of the most important factors in mine, and probably a few other decisions is awareness. In order to properly demonstrate your strengths in this game, you also need to be able to demonstrate your weaknesses. If you can properly articulate what some of the negative perspectives of you might be from this jury, it might be the reason you get my vote; it might be the reason you win the game. Choose your words wisely.

Hi Drew!

It's been brought up already tonight, but I'm well aware that if I lose tonight it will be because, rightly or wrongly, people have the perception that I was nothing more than Heidi's lackey or counter-part. I think that people were expecting me to turn on Heidi in some sort of grand-gesture, and that wasn't something that I did, which might lead people to feel that I was just blindly following her through the game, or that I knew that she would beat me and didn't care.

Am I allowed to defend myself on this or is that not what you're looking for?

[Drew]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:01:19 am #6999

Heidi, Tammy, Hayden. Congrats. You did what none of us could do this season. With a season full of All Stars, it's no small feat to make it this far. Kudos. You're going to get a lot of questions about why you deserve to win I'm assuming, so I'm going to approach this a little differently. Before I get into it, want to give a shout out to my "Partner" for being the biggest shitbag in Stranded history, thank the Hosts for facilitating a platform for us to play this season, and thank my allies. In a season with a theme such as this one, this shit wouldn't have been fun without you. Props.

My question is simple. Why do each of you believe that you may potentially Lose? Don't turn it around into why you should win. Don't pretend like there's no way you could lose. Anyone can lose, and anyone can win. One of the most important factors in mine, and probably a few other decisions is awareness. In order to properly demonstrate your strengths in this game, you also need to be able to demonstrate your weaknesses. If you can properly articulate what some of the negative perspectives of you might be from this jury, it might be the reason you get my vote; it might be the reason you win the game. Choose your words wisely.

Hi Drew!

It's been brought up already tonight, but I'm well aware that if I lose tonight it will be because, rightly or wrongly, people have the perception that I was nothing more than Heidi's lackey or counter-part. I think that people were expecting me to turn on Heidi in some sort of grand-gesture, and that wasn't something that I did, which might lead people to feel that I was just blindly following her through the game, or that I knew that she would beat me and didn't care.

Am I allowed to defend myself on this or is that not what you're looking for?

You can if you'd like, but I'm looking for each of you to be aware enough to understand your flaws, so trying to defend yourself won't be accomplishing that.

[Hayden]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:04:37 am #7001

My question is simple. Why do each of you believe that you may potentially Lose? Don't turn it around into why you should win. Don't pretend like there's no way you could lose. Anyone can lose, and anyone can win. One of the most important factors in mine, and probably a few other decisions is awareness. In order to properly demonstrate your strengths in this game, you also need to be able to demonstrate your weaknesses. If you can properly articulate what some of the negative perspectives of you might be from this jury, it might be the reason you get my vote; it might be the reason you win the game. Choose your words wisely.

Hey Drew!
I think the main reason why I could potentially lose this game is probably due to the fact that I didn't play the flashiest game, and I wasn't a born leader. I think in this game you have to be able to take control at some point in this 30 day journey. My main fear is that people will perceive me that I didn't have a mind of my own, and I just happened to follow people. Also, I was very quiet and that could be a detriment in this game, you have to speak up and make yourself heard whether it's scheming or at tribal right before voting, it's important for everyone to see you're in this playing. I think that's probably two of my main criticisms that could potentially cost me the game

Thanks for the question Drew!
best of luck with your vote!

[Drew]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:05:47 am #7003 Thanks Hayden, good answer.

[Jeff Probst]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:07:28 am #7005 Alright Thank you Drew. Up next we have Sierra.

[Heidi]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:07:35 am #7006

Hi Drew -

I want to first agree with your statements of contempt for Dale and support for the hosts. I'm 100% with you on the spirit of those shoutouts.

Why might I lose? I think there is a sense that I didn't go out of my way to play a super social game. As far as I could tell, because of the nature of this season, that wasn't the kind of game that was going to get me to the end. And I think just looking at the game and seeing how it's turned out, you can find a number of instances where people voted with people they might not have liked in order to advance their own interests. I don't think that the social dynamics of this game were the driving force. This was very numbers-oriented and I think that people largely made strategic decisions. There were a number of instances, however, where I may have been an easy target because of my lacking social ties to certain members of the tribe. When I needed more votes on my side throughout the game, and now that I need votes tonight, I think it may have been more helpful to have been more social.

My answer on the prior page, just in case you didn't see it...

[Drew]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:08:03 am #7008

Hi Drew -

I want to first agree with your statements of contempt for Dale and support for the hosts. I'm 100% with you on the spirit of those shoutouts.

Why might I lose? I think there is a sense that I didn't go out of my way to play a super social game. As far as I could tell, because of the nature of this season, that wasn't the kind of game that was going to get me to the end. And I think just looking at the game and seeing how it's turned out, you can find a number of instances where people voted with people they might not have liked in order to advance their own interests. I don't think that the social dynamics of this game were the driving force. This was very numbers-oriented and I think that people largely made strategic decisions. There were a number of instances, however, where I may have been an easy target because of my lacking social ties to certain members of the tribe. When I needed more votes on my side throughout the game, and now that I need votes tonight, I think it may have been more helpful to have been more social.

My answer on the prior page, just in case you didn't see it...

I did, thanks Heidi.

[Jeff Probst]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:08:19 am #7010

Guys, good job on getting here, congrats and all that bullshit. I really don't think there can be a bad outcome here, and that's something that I love to see at a Final Tribal. I am writing this in advance, so I apologize if some of this overlaps with things you've already addressed. But if you basically already answered my questions in your opening speech you don't gotta get into it again just for the sake of it, I'll read everything at some point before casting my vote anyway. I'm leaning in a certain direction but certainly not dead-set on my decision whatsoever.

I'll keep this as short as I know how to, which is still pretty long so just scroll to your section if you want. To me, you all have more pros than cons and did awesome, so with it being such a close call IMO, this could easily come down to your performances tonight... I enjoyed all three of you in the game so I really have to nitpick when voting.

So, to everyone: List every single boot and how they each impacted your real life outside the game. I would like that in MLA format with citations and gifs where appropriate, the wordier the better. Kidding of course. One question for each of you coming up:


Hayden - What's up kid?! You did a great job in this game. I thought you were consistently well-positioned and were underestimated strategically, something I know having worked with you pretty closely for awhile at the merge. You're awesome and I may be somewhat biased towards you here, but I hold Heidi and Tammy's games in very high regard as well, so this is a hard choice. Don't hold back!

I have a 2-parter for ya: how did basically not having an original "pair" impact your game, and in your eyes, what are some important examples of you showing flexibility in the game and adapting to situations?


Heidi - It's no secret you were a force. We all know that. You built some of the closest social ties of anyone here (though not with everyone! ) and made a lot of people want to work with you to go very far in the game, at times including myself. I think you were the most consistently "open" of the F3 as much as you could be, and I'd say I have a pretty decent read on your game since the merge. BUT I need to get your take on something:

I believe that at a couple key points, you have been helped out by circumstances outside of your control more so than your two opponents here. The obvious example to me would have to be the second swap, which from what I gather, pretty much allowed you to go from the outhouse to the penthouse. And then I felt that out of your H/T duo, you willingly served as the shield, and the vast majority of players (maybe with the exception of Ozzy?) would have probably been gunning for you first if they were looking to make a move on your duo. But that worked out well for you, because both you and Tammy made it here, and I loved your ballsy out-in-front approach.

My question: Am I wrong? Is it a fair assessment to say that you had inconsistent game positioning relative to Hayden or Tammy, and what ONE thing sets you definitively apart from the other two as the winner pick here?


Tammy - So underrated all season. What a subtle goddess. But you know, it's interesting. I remember a little birdie who told me a very long time ago that sometimes just demonstrating the sheer WILL and desire to win, that KILLER INSTINCT, can really set a person apart as the most worthy... especially when the decision is otherwise too close to call. Which brings me to my question.

In this game, outwardly you seemed to be overshadowed by Heidi and some, including myself, have wondered if making the final with Heidi was just as (if not more) important to you than winning the actual game, based on your pre-existing friendship with her. Clearly your unwillingness to betray one another in any situation is honorable and I would never have ever expected either of you to do so. But just how BADLY did you want to win this game yourself, and what are some instances in which you yourself had the killer instinct? What steps did you take to try to put yourself in the position to BEAT Heidi once you reached your ideal goal of making it here together, and flat out, why was your game better than hers?

[Heidi]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:18:33 am #7018 So I'll first address the "outside circumstances" that helped me get to where I am today. I think we can all agree that there is a certain degree of luck in a game like this. Whether it's a luck-based challenge, a twist like the second tribe swap, or picking rocks at tribal council, we all stand to benefit and suffer from outcomes that are entirely luck-based. The twists in the game, like the second tribe swap that you mentioned, could have benefitted everyone. It could have put my game in an even worse position. Things like getting Ozzy to play his idol on me were all strategy though. I think that my relationship with him, aside from my relationship with Tammy, is one of the main reasons I'm here and I'm super proud of it.

I don't necessarily agree that I willingly became the shield in my duo with Tammy. The decision to write down my name over and over again was a conscious decision by other players in this game, not me. Tammy and I have different playing styles that made us more or less threatening to other players in this game at different points across it. Clearly they complement one another, as we made it here together as a pair. I do think that I played more of a defensive game than Tammy or Hayden, just because I always had too - and I think that's a lot harder of a game to play. The risk associated with any given move is a lot higher when the bad outcome is you leaving the game, and that's something that Tammy and Hayden never really played against. Tammy had me in front of her because of the tribe's perception of us, and Hayden had a lot of big fish around him so he was able to hide. You know, things not working out for Tammy or Hayden at any given tribal council didn't necessarily mean that they were going home. For me? Every move I made was life or death. That's the main difference between me and those two, and I hope that answers your question

[Hayden]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:21:07 am #7021

Hayden - What's up kid?! You did a great job in this game. I thought you were consistently well-positioned and were underestimated strategically, something I know having worked with you pretty closely for awhile at the merge. You're awesome and I may be somewhat biased towards you here, but I hold Heidi and Tammy's games in very high regard as well, so this is a hard choice. Don't hold back!

I have a 2-parter for ya: how did basically not having an original "pair" impact your game, and in your eyes, what are some important examples of you showing flexibility in the game and adapting to situations?

Hey Sierra
I got scared for a second when I read MLA citation lol

I already answered this a bit in my opening statement, but no worries I'll explain it here again
I think having not Katie with me definitely gave me an advantage, I mean aside from the whole not being regarded as threat for being a solo. It definitely reinforced my lone-wolf status, which I became much more of a free-thinker as opposed to some who were in a big alliance or a pair they probably had to think as a group. At the merge, I had few options to work with, and I mentioned in my OS that even though I was kinda predicting that I was going to end up in a minority, I felt confident that I could have bounced back and survive those eliminations, so not having my partner around it definitely did helped. I wanted to explore my options, whether it was with you, Penner, Tammy and Ozzy. There were a lot of alternatives for me.

Thanks for the question Sierra <3

[Heidi]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:29:09 am #7030 Jesus Christ Tammy did your train crash??

[Tammy]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:30:28 am #7031

Tammy - So underrated all season. What a subtle goddess. But you know, it's interesting. I remember a little birdie who told me a very long time ago that sometimes just demonstrating the sheer WILL and desire to win, that KILLER INSTINCT, can really set a person apart as the most worthy... especially when the decision is otherwise too close to call. Which brings me to my question.

In this game, outwardly you seemed to be overshadowed by Heidi and some, including myself, have wondered if making the final with Heidi was just as (if not more) important to you than winning the actual game, based on your pre-existing friendship with her. Clearly your unwillingness to betray one another in any situation is honorable and I would never have ever expected either of you to do so. But just how BADLY did you want to win this game yourself, and what are some instances in which you yourself had the killer instinct? What steps did you take to try to put yourself in the position to BEAT Heidi once you reached your ideal goal of making it here together, and flat out, why was your game better than hers?

Aw thanks Sierra!

Thank you for giving me the chance to address the Heidi situation, because that's something that I was hoping someone would give me the chance to talk about and explain a little from my perspective.

Everyone came into this with an ally, but I'm not too familiar with the individual relationships between people. It seemed like each pair had a very different history. For me and Heidi - we have been friends outside of this game for years. I'm not sure if any of the other pairs can relate, since their seasons seem a lot more recent and maybe they haven't known each other for as long, but that's a much different relationship to bring into a game like this.

Even though we're friends, we're also very, very different people, and I think that was kind of obvious to anyone who got to know us or who we had the chance to really play with for a long time. Heidi was more likely to seek out enemies and to put herself in the spotlight, and that became a huge benefit to me for most of the game. Heidi was like a human vote shield for me. as long as Heidi was in the game, I didn't have to worry about my name coming up because people were going to want to vote for her instead. And with that came a lot of perks. For one, the longer I could keep Heidi in the game, the longer I was guaranteed to be in the game because of the partner immunity advantage. Every time Heidi was almost voted out, it made sense for me to keep her because that meant two extra rounds in the game for me. and at the same time - everyone else had to begin to incorporate me into their long-term plans because they knew I'd be around and potentially immune if Heidi left. For instance, Hayden brought it up in his FTC, but it got to the point where even if Heidi was immune people didn't want to vote for me because they had already been putting some stock in me for later.

Getting to the final 4 with Heidi was always important because it guaranteed that I at least had a chance in a tiebreaker at f4, worst-case-scenario. So to me, there was never real incentive to see her go before then. A criticism of mine has been that I should have let her go there, but I don't think that would have been the smartest move for me either.

I think a lot of people wanted me to boot Heidi and then take the credit for both of our games, as if it was "one game" but... it wasn't? Heidi and I didn't play "one game." I don't understand the logic that we have one game to divide between us. We played together, but our games were very, very different. I reached out to people more. Not everyone - there were definitely flaws to my social game for sure. Dan, for instance. He and I don't get along. We see things very differently, but there were a lot of others who I believe I developed relationships with that helped influence the game: you for instance, Penner, Sugar to some extent, and Hayden for sure. Those were relationships that I don't think Heidi had.

I think that my game stands on it's own, completely. as for whether I have the killer instinct, I think I absolutely did. I wouldn't say I'm one for grand displays of it though, I don't see the point. For me, I like to think of myself as more of a quiet strength. I sat back and I struck when I needed to, but I always, always had my eye on the prize when doing it. The move I would highlight here is going to rocks at f8. A bunch of us drew rocks, but I was absolutely the one that put us there. I had the option to hold on to that extra vote and also be immune that next round... but I felt like in that event, I'd just kind of be floating through the end-game and voting with people instead of getting done what I wanted to get done. Safe, but not in any kind of control. So instead, I rolled the dice and went big with the extra vote. It wasn't just to save Heidi, it was to put myself in a position where I could play a role in deciding what happened in the last few rounds. I don't think someone who is just content to sit back would do that.

[Tammy]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:31:06 am #7032

Jesus Christ Tammy did your train crash??

as a final ode to Sierra I had to write a novel

[Jeff Probst]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:31:54 am #7033 Thank you, Sierra.

Next up, Val!

[Heidi]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:33:00 am #7035 Val

Robbed goddess

[Val]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:33:48 am #7036 Hey, Final 3! It’s your resident pariah Valhalla, what’s good?!

Now, I’m known for my, uh, succinctness… shit, let’s be honest and call a spade a spade. As an ally, enemy, or one time number, I was about as accommodating as a hog on ice. I reaped what I sowed, I truly believe.

All that self-reflective blather is leading to the question of the moment:

How did you manage your communications with the other players in this game?

More specifically, how did your articulation land you here? There can be a lot of subjective discussion on how your games were all played as they were viewed from the jury, but if there’s some way you can pinpoint the flow from the verbal seeds you planted within the network of people you were working with and against to the actualization of your will I feel like I can more fairly decide whose game was better.I don’t need all the details of all the instances of this, but I want to know that it happened more frequently than not and that your communicative prowess was key for at least one vital moment in the game.

I think it’s going to be very interesting since one of you lost your ally in the FIRST episode and the other two have managed to make it all the way to the end together. Kudos to all three of you… except screw you for voting me out and if I had my choice I’d vote for none of you and write in Mia instead.

Good luck and DON’T fuck it up.

[Tammy]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:42:34 am #7038

How did you manage your communications with the other players in this game?

More specifically, how did your articulation land you here? There can be a lot of subjective discussion on how your games were all played as they were viewed from the jury, but if there’s some way you can pinpoint the flow from the verbal seeds you planted within the network of people you were working with and against to the actualization of your will I feel like I can more fairly decide whose game was better.I don’t need all the details of all the instances of this, but I want to know that it happened more frequently than not and that your communicative prowess was key for at least one vital moment in the game.

Hi Val!

So I definitely think I had a strong social game overall. I might not have been great with everyone, I admit there were a few people that I had my short-comings with, but I think that I used the relationships I did make to my advantage.

The first one would be Sierra. Sierra was a strong social player, in my opinion the best of this season, she had a lot of friends and a lot of people that trusted her but I do believe that I was somewhere near the top with her. I think if I didn't benefit her she would have cut me, sure, but I made sure to make her feel like me being around always benefited her, and my relationship with her meant that I was never blindsided in this game. Sierra more or less told me where the vote was going to be each round. She tipped me off about not needing to use my necklace at instances, tipped me off about the Val vote, and always reassured me that the vote would be on Heidi and not me.

The biggest one that I think had a direct influence over the vote was Hayden though. I think what's interesting is that this is something that Hayden has been bringing up a lot in his own speech, but I believe that some of the seeds I planted with him early on are a big part of the reason that the end-game went the way that it did. Hayden and I formed a relationship early on in the merge. It was basically a showmance. We might be dating IRL after the game is over, not sure yet. But anyway, Hayden trusted me to take him to the end, I believe, and I think that's a big reason why he decided to flip on Sugar and come with Heidi & I, and then why he continued that path through the f5/f4. He could have flipped on Sugar and then split us up at 5, but he didn't, and I think it's because he trusted that we would go to the end with him, and he trusted that because of his relationship with me.

[Heidi]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:44:42 am #7041 Val - I've missed you so much

I think I tried to manage my communication in a way that I couldn't be caught in any lies. I was pretty loyal this whole way through, until other people screwed me over and I had to turn on them out of necessity. In order to play a game like this, you have to be very careful with information and how you share it. Obviously Tammy got everything I knew, but then it sort of fanned out to my next closest allies, like you and Ozzy, and then to Penner who I grew to (rightly) trust less and less. But then it was also very important to maintain conversations with people who were on the outside of my alliances, like Hayden and Sierra, whilst at the same time not getting caught up in some sort of conspiracy that would make me look untrustworthy to my actual allies.

This meant establishing a really measured approach to conversations that wasn't too committal, as to avoid my name getting associated with things that I didn't want to be associated with, and wasn't too feckless, as to avoid people writing me off and just putting me on a list of people that they weren't going to work with. I know as the numbers got smaller and smaller there were a few people who never would have worked with me in a million years (Sugar, namely), but my goal was really to limit that number so that I would have options. Again, I was on the defensive the entire merge so I didn't really have much leeway to mess around with relationships. A lot of the plans that ended up saving me and sending someone else home involved a lot of last minute planning, so I had to sacrifice some of the "deep" and "friendly" conversations I might have had with other people.

A good example of this was some of the final 3 deals I made. I told Penner and Ozzy both, at separate points, that Tammy and I wanted to go to the final three with them. Both times it was sort-of true, to the point where that person wouldn't write us off as people they needed to get out, but also I think we all know that those deals are more about the short-term than the long-term game. I think that it was especially important in my relationships with you (Val) and Ozzy, who were critical parts of saving me when I needed to be saved. But like I said earlier, you have to bait people into making the moves you need them to make. If you blurt it out in a single message, it seems like you are desperately reaching for something. If you build a set of ideas in a person's head over a long conversation, letting them come to a conclusion on their own, I think that increases the likelihood that they'll follow your logic in the end.

Great question!

[Hayden]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:48:01 am #7043

Hey, Final 3! It’s your resident pariah Valhalla, what’s good?!

How did you manage your communications with the other players in this game?

Hey Val
Great question!
For me personally, I think you have assess each person and what criteria they look for in an ally. You have to find common ground, and things you have in common, and I'm not only referring to common interests like real life stuff. It could be anything game related. I knew very well how Ozzy operated in this game, if I played the card that I would be his loyal ally, then I was more than confident that he was going to keep me by his side, and of course I would have to play it up a bit, and if in the end I would have escaped a vote or two, then in my mind it worked out well.

I think I did the same thing with Tammy, at the merge I went up to her and told her that the both of us weren't playing the flashiest game here, so I suggested that me and her should team up , we have the same character, we're not the loudest, I think that's how I related to people and managed to get in their good side its by finding by they look for in an ally.

Thanks for the question Val!

[Val]

- Mon Oct 24, 2016 2:49:13 am #7044 Thanks dumplings!