Surviving the Jury on Survivor
Surviving the Jury on Survivor by Betsy Wasser -- 05/12/2007 The final players on Survivor: Fiji will have faced the elements, twists, challenges, and tribal councils. But in the end, they must face one final thing in order to win the million dollar prize: the jury. What should Survivors do to improve their chances? Read on for an analysis of what they can expect. On Survivor, surviving the elements, winning challenges, and staying in the game after tribal councils isn’t enough to win the game. Once a player has made it to the coveted final two (or three) position, he or she has to face what might be the toughest obstacle yet: the jury. As Jeff Probst has pointed out many times, players then face a unique challenge. They must convince the jurors—those same people whom they had a part in voting out—that they deserve the million dollar prize and the title of sole Survivor. Jeff often comments that for the first time, those players are not in control—the outcome of the game is in the jury’s hands. He’s right in a way, but I believe that in those last few moments of the game, a player still has a chance to improve his chances of winning. Some jurors wait until that final tribal council to make a decision. Still others have actually changed their votes based on an answer a player gave. In Survivor: Guatemala, for example, Gary told Danni and Stephenie that he was going to make his decision based on their performance at final tribal council. A Survivor player cannot stop playing when he or she reaches the jury. The game is not over until the last juror has cast his vote. I am always surprised at how little preparation some players seem to put into their appearance at that final tribal council. Their opening and closing statements are often either extemporaneous, or are simply statements of, “You saw how I played the game, so I put the decision in your hands.” They are taken aback by some of the questions asked. In contrast, Vanuatu winner Chris gave one of the best performances at final tribal council ever. He prepared ahead of time, and even more importantly, told the jurors exactly what they wanted to hear. Chris even tried to improve his chances before he and his opponent Twila left for tribal council. He told Twila that she shouldn’t put up with any crap from the jury. Then in an interview, he admitted that he said that to deliberately rile her up so she’d say something that would offend the jurors! With preparation like that, Twila didn’t stand a chance. If I were ever a contestant on Survivor, I would never take a fatalistic “it’s up to the jury now” approach to my last chance to win the game. I would spend that last day at camp preparing my opening and closing statements and doing the best I could to anticipate what kinds of questions I might expect from the jury. Think of it this way: before a job interview, isn’t it smart to practice answering likely interview questions? After so many final tribal councils, we find that there are certain kinds of questions that often come up. Let’s look at what those sorts of questions are and examine the best way a player can answer them to improve their chances of winning. After 14 seasons, there have been a lot of different jurors and finalists, so I won’t hit every one, but I will talk about the highlights and the trends that have emerged. Then, I’ll spend a little time thinking about what the contestants on Survivor: Fiji might expect from the jury at tribal council. Questions about character: We have seen several instances of jurors asking players what personality traits got them where they are. Colleen asked in the first season, Amber did in the second, and Frank asked it again in season three. In Vanuatu, Ami asked a variation on the question – what character traits did they final two have that she didn’t? This sort of question has come up four times already, a smart player should have some character traits in mind. In season one, Kelly said that her faith got her through the game, whereas Richard said that it was “self-awareness, observation, and ethics.” Richard’s answer reflected his general argument, which was that he played the smartest strategic game. It was a better and more thoughtful answer, and as we all know, he won the game. In season two, Colby said that he owed his success to staying in the game mentally at all times, drinking lots of water, and taking the time to enjoy the game. Tina said that she was there because of Colby, her strategy, and “heart/God.” At the time, I thought Tina was crazy for mentioning how important her opponent was in getting her so far, but since she won the game, I can guess that perhaps people respected her honesty. Amber voted for Colby, saying that his answer was more straightforward. In Africa, Ethan said that he got to the final two because of his power, strength, integrity, intelligence, and good luck. Kim said it was her respect, thoughtfulness, flexibility, love, and understanding. I think Ethan gave a much better answer, showing the control and strategy he showed in playing the game, whereas Kim’s answer suggested that she was a really nice person. Chris told Ami in Vanuatu that he beat her because she has a soft heart, put personal feelings ahead of strategy, and let her guard down. Twila answered that she is a colder, harder player than Ami. The two answers were similar, though Chris’s slanted a little more towards flattery of Ami than Twila’s did. In the end, Twila’s honesty was the better approach with Ami. Ami voted for Twila because she felt her answer was more sincere. Questions about your opponent: One of the most interesting questions, in my opinion, that we’ve seen asked at final tribal council is why your opponent does not deserve to win. We’ve heard that question from Erin in Survivor: Thailand, from Rob in Survivor: Amazon, and from Tijuana in Survivor: Pearl Islands. For All-Stars, Shii Ann gave a slight variation on that question, asking Rob and Amber for three reasons their opponent should win. Palau juror Stephenie asked Katie why she should vote against Tom. Gary did the same thing as Shii Ann in Guatemala, as did Cirie in Exile Island. In the Cook Islands edition, Adam actually demanded that Ozzy “talk trash” about his opponents. Brian told Erin in Thailand that Clay did not deserve to win because he was lazy and did not do his fair share of work in camp. That was an easy answer for Brian, as he knew very well that most of the jurors considered Clay to be lazy, so he had another opportunity to remind them of that fact. Clay’s answer was a lot less clear. He said that Brian was a weak leader because he constantly needed to be validated and soothed by the others in his alliance about how the voting would go. I don’t think that’s a weakness—I think that is being a smart player and not taking anyone for granted. In the Amazon, I think both Jenna and Matthew offered good reasons why the other player should lose. Matthew said that Jenna didn’t work as hard as he did around camp, and reminded everyone that just a few days prior, she had wanted to quit the game entirely. Jenna said that Matthew didn’t play the game from the start, opting instead to tag on to an alliance. Both answers certainly showed the other player’s weaknesses. Ultimately, Jenna showed that hard work at camp was not as important to the other players as strategy and game play were. In the Pearl Islands, Lill told Tijuana that Sandra was disrespectful to the other players, rode Rupert’s coattails, and was constantly asking other players how to vote. That answer struck me as funny, because other than the part about being disrespectful, I think that those same accusations could have been made against Lill. Still, Sandra’s answer wasn’t nearly as good. She told the jurors that Lill voted every single one of them out. I think Sandra was still afraid that she would lose the game because Lill was considered such a nice person and she wanted to show them that Lill wasn’t so nice after all. I think she would have fared a lot better if she had pointed out that Lill was voted out of the game once already, and therefore did not survive the entire game like Sandra did. Instead, by pointing out the hand that Lill played in eliminating all of the other players, Sandra convinced Tijuana that Lill was actually a better tactician than she’d thought. Sandra’s answer cost her Tijuana’s vote. Rob and Amber didn’t have much trouble saying nice things about each other, since the two of them were in the midst of a romance. Rob said that Amber was a true partner, never quit, and played a “straight-up” game. Amber said that Rob was stronger in challenges, was true to her, and was someone she could rely on. Amber’s argument for Rob was much weaker, which of course gave her the edge. The group of jurors, convinced that Rob had screwed them over, probably weren’t too impressed to hear that he was true to Amber! Shii Ann ended up voting for Amber, though I suspect she would have anyway, since she had earlier called Amber the mastermind of the game. Katie told Stephenie that before the merge, Tom had told her that they’d have to do everything they could to get rid of her. Tom denied it, citing the secret alliance he’d had with her before. In the end, it was Tom’s word against, Katie’s, and we all know how that turned out! Stephenie admitted that she and Gary had had an alliance at the beginning, but due to twists in the game, she was ultimately unable to honor it. It was an honest answer, one that showed due respect to the agreement she’d had with him. As for Danni she said that in addition to her alliance with Gary, she also allied herself with Rafe, which she says may have been unfair to him. She said she did what she had to do to stay in the game. Of course, it came as no surprise that Gary voted for his strong ally Danni. Danielle told Cirie that Aras was an honorable and respectful person. Aras said that when he hurt his hand just before tribal council, Danielle was genuinely caring. Their answers were nice, but Cirie had undoubtedly already decided to stick with her ally, Aras. Ozzy followed Adam’s demands and gave him potential reasons not to vote for Yul or Becky. He said that Yul didn’t work as hard around camp as he could have. Becky, on the other hand, rode coattails. I was a bit disappointed that Ozzy sank to Adam’s level and put down two people whom he respected, but he did give the jurors reasons to vote for him if they were wavering. Questions about other players: Jurors sometimes ask the final two players questions about other deserving players. Jenna started the trend in the first season, asking which two contestants Kelly and Rich would put in their place. Richard said that Greg and Rudy were the most deserving, and Kelly named Sonja and Gretchen. Of the two answers, Richard’s was slightly better. Rudy was an extremely tough player, especially for a man his age, and Greg was considered an excellent outdoorsman. Kelly’s answer of Gretchen made sense—Gretchen was a natural leader with great survival skills. But Sonja was a more odd choice—she was the first player voted out, widely considered by her tribe to be too weak to play the game. Also, because she was voted out first, most of the players didn’t know her well, so they really couldn’t have had an emotional reaction to Kelly’s answer. In the Outback, Elisabeth asked which two jurors did not deserve to win, and Nick asked who they thought would be in the final two had Michael not had his accident. Tina told Elisabeth that she would exclude Jerri and Rodger. Colby chose Jerri and Keith. Jerri was an easy answer for them—she was widely disliked, so naming her was not controversial at all. Colby’s choice of Keith was also an easy one, because most players apparently didn’t have much respect for him. But it’s hard to understand why Tina picked Rodger, who was well-liked, especially by Elisabeth. Elisabeth asked for names only, with no reasons. If you are only naming names, it’s probably better to choose uncontroversial people. Still, apparently that answer didn’t hurt Tina, since she won the game. Nick’s question was also an interesting one. His tribe had dominated the game and might have gone into the merge with a majority had Michael not fallen into the fire and burned his hands. Colby said that he thought Nick and Michael would make it into the final two, no doubt thinking that a little flattery would help him. Tina said it was hard to answer the question, since she didn’t know the dynamics at the Kucha tribe. She said she thought Michael would make it to the final two, and declined to name a second player. In season three, Brandon asked a two part question—which juror would you choose to replace you, and which juror would least deserve to win. Kim P. asked which juror taught the final two the most about themselves, and which juror taught them the least about themselves. Ethan and Kim both chose Lex as the juror that most deserved to be in the final two. Really, if in doubt, the third place finisher is a great answer to this question. That player obviously did something right, since he got farther than any other member of the jury. In answer to which player least deserved to be in the final two, Kim named Big Tom, saying that he was sexist. Ethan famously told Brandon that Brandon himself did not deserve to be in the final two. When Brandon voted, he said that he had been set to vote for Ethan, but because Ethan insulted him in his own question, he was changing his vote to Kim. In answer to Kim P’s question about which jurors they learned the most and least from, Kim said that she learned the most from Kim P, saying that she admired her decision to call off her wedding, and that she learned the least from Big Tom. Ethan said that he learned the most from Teresa’s will to win, and the least from Kelly because he didn’t know her as well. Kim’s answer to this question was the most successful. It didn’t matter that she insulted Tom twice, since she was fairly sure that he’d vote for Ethan anyway. And her flattery of Kim P apparently worked, since she got the other Kim’s vote. In season six, Heidi asked the players which juror most deserved to be in the final two. Jenna and Matthew agreed that third place winner Rob was the most deserving juror. Both of them said that he was a master strategist and knew the game very well. Heidi cast about a few hints that one of them should name her, but both of them stuck to Rob as their answer. In the end, their answers to this question were probably irrelevant, since everyone knew that Heidi would be voting for Jenna. In Guatemala, Jamie asked Danni which players she’d liked to have taken to the end with her. Cindy had an interesting question- if the final two could eliminate any juror, who would it be and why? Danni told Jamie that she’d have taken Bobby Jon, Gary, and Brandon. Honestly, it was an easy question for her- of course she’d have preferred to have the rest of her old tribe at her side. To Cindy, Danni answered simply and honestly- she’d prefer to get rid of Rafe since he had such strong ties to Stephenie and would surely vote for her. Stephenie didn’t answer nearly as well. She tried to ride the fence, saying Bobby Jon, since he was the first juror. She’d have come across much better if she’d named, say, Gary, who was loyal to Danni. Last season, Nate said that he perceived Yul as the “mob boss” and Ozzy as “the warrior.” He asked Ozzy if he’d played just as strategically as Yul. Ozzy pointed to the strategic moves he made, such as convincing his original tribe to throw a challenge and playing up his “surfer dude” persona. As for Becky, Nate asked what, exactly, she contributed. Becky said that it was a misconception that Yul was running the show. She claimed that she worked with him all along in all of the strategizing. Nate, unfortunately for Becky, wasn’t buying it. Both Ozzy and Becky were given the opportunity to improve their standing in jurors’ minds. Ozzy probably did a better job of positioning himself as a strategist than Becky did. Considering that Becky didn’t get any votes, it’s safe to say Ozzy played that better. Questions about strategy: Jurors want to be able to say they lost to the best player. As a result, they often ask the final two questions about what strategy they used to stay in the game. In Marquesas, Kathy asked when Neleh had her most dramatic strategic moment, and if it happened independently. She then asked Vecepia if she played the game too passively. Neleh told Kathy that she started playing the game when she and Pascal decided to align with Kathy, Vecepia, and Sean to oust the Rotu Four. Vecepia said that she worked to adjust her strategy and switch alliances whenever necessary to stay in the game. Kathy’s questions showed what she thought of the two players—Neleh didn’t start playing until late in the game, and even then didn’t take the lead in strategizing, whereas Vecepia was too passive. Of the two answers, Neleh’s was clearly the worst. Neleh reinforced Kathy’s opinion that she didn’t start playing the game until well past the halfway point, and that she was not a leader. Vecepia may have been passive, but at least she planned to be passive. In Pearl Islands, Darrah asked the two players what strategy they used to get to the final two. Sandra told Darrah that her strategy was to always be willing to give her vote to whoever needed it, as long as the vote wasn’t against her. Lill said she stayed in the game because she was considered a non-threat and because she was aligned with strong people. Of the two answers, Sandra’s was stronger because it showed a more active strategy. Three of the jurors in All-Stars asked about strategy. Rupert asked Amber and Rob how they got to the final two. Alicia asked them to each use one word to describe how they played the game. Big Tom asked each of them why he should give them his vote. Amber told Rupert that she played hard, citing in particular the fact that she survived when she was the one player who had to switch tribes. Rob simply said that Rupert should vote for him because he promised he would. Amber’s answer was a good one and might have reminded some players that she didn’t rely on Rob utterly to stay ahead (though he certainly had a role in her surviving that tribal swap. Rupert, though, did stay true to his previous promise to Rob. In response to Alicia’s request for one word, Rob chose “competitively,” and Amber said, “with luck.” Rob gave the best answer he possibly could have, since it addressed any accusations the jurors had about his betraying them. After all, he was playing competitively. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter in Alicia’s case. She felt betrayed by Rob and voted for Amber. As for Big Tom, Amber had trouble answering the question, saying basically that Tom had probably considered his alliance to be more with Rob than with her, thus making her betrayal the lesser of the two. Rob said that Tom was plotting against him, so he voted out Tom before Tom could vote him out. When Big Tom refused to shake Rob’s hand, it was pretty obvious that no matter what either of them had said, Big Tom wasn’t about to vote for Rob. In Vanuatu, Leann asked Twila why she betrayed their alliance, then asked Chris why she should abandon the all-female alliance to vote for a man. Twila told Leann that she outed out Leann because she thought Leann might betray her. Leann, Twila said, wanted to swap Scout in their final four for Julie, so why wouldn’t she also vote out Twila? She did it to save herself, she explained, not out of disrespect to Leann. Chris had an easier answer. He felt Leann should vote for him because he overcame some tough odds to stay in the game. He was the last man standing in the face of an all-female alliance, but he found an opening and saved himself. By claiming superior strategy, Chris won Leann’s vote. Exile Island juror Austin also asked about strategy, wondering when Aras and Danielle had made good strategic moves and when they’d done something not completely “on the up and up.” Danielle was proud of convincing the tribe to vote out Bobby instead of Bruce and regretted voting out Courtney, who had been her friend. It was a good answer, considering that Bruce was sitting on the jury and that Courtney was undoubtedly nursing some hurt feelings. Aras answered that he was proud of telling Melinda she was going home so she wouldn’t be blindsided. He was less proud of blindsiding Shane, saying that he felt bad about lying to him. Again, it was a good answer, especially considering that moments before Shane had been making faces when Aras talked about integrity. In the Cook Islands season, strategy was a big topic of conversation. Jenny kicked things off by asking Yul which was more important in winning – strategy or physicality? That was an easy question for Yul to answer, and he told Jenny about the importance of social strategy. Yul was happy to let Ozzy’s strength put a target on his back, and he was proud that his strategy took his alliance, intact, to the final four. Parvati questioned Becky’s strategic prowess. She was surprised Becky didn’t take the immunity idol at the final four and wondered if she really wanted to win the game. Becky answered that, of course, she did, but that she didn’t want to be sneaky. She was able to play the game with no regrets. Questions about regrets and integrity: As Jeff points out every season, the final two have probably screwed some jurors over to get to the finals. Jurors often want to know if they have played fairly, and if they regret any of their decisions. Gervace asked in season one if Kelly and Rich would change any of their actions. Kelly said that she regretted joining the alliance when she did. Richard had no regrets. Both players had strategy in mind when they formed their answers. Kelly knew that many of the members of the jury thought that voting with an alliance was unethical. She probably hoped that her answer would help them forgive her for voting the way she did. Richard, on the other hand, presented himself to the jury by proudly admitting the way he played and by saying that that was the way to win the game. Kelly got Gervace’s vote, but in the end, Richard won the game for his superior strategy. In Season 2, Rodger asked when the final two had not been truthful or ethical. Tina told Rodger that she felt she’d been dishonest by not telling people the order in which they’d be voted out. Still, she felt she’d been ethical within the confines of the game. Colby was more specific, saying that he promised spots in the final three to Amber and Jerri. Both were good answers—Tina was right to not tell players when their heads were on the chopping block. Being honest with a player too soon is a good way to have them plot against you. And Colby’s answer was very sincere and might have helped any hard feelings Amber and Jerri had for him. When Jerri gave Colby and Tina a chance to apologize to another player, she was probably hoping that they’d apologize to her for voting her out before Rodger and Elisabeth. She did not get her wish—Tina said she was sorry she’d gone through Kel’s pack looking for the notorious beef jerky. Colby said that he was sorry he eliminated Rodger and Elisabeth, two players he liked and respected, before Keith, but that he had to do it to improve his chances of winning. Again, both were good answers which likely had little impact on the final voting; Jerri voted for Tina because Tina had convinced Colby to take her to the final two over Keith. Their answers to her questions did not help or hurt either of them. Jerri gave Tina and Colby the opportunity to apologize to another person. In Marquesas, Robert asked which decision or action might most hurt their chances with the jury, then John accused them both of being liars and asked why he should vote for either of them. To Robert, Vecepia said that backstabbing Kathy to keep her out of the final two might hurt her. Neleh thought voting out her former tribe mates Zoë and Robert before Vecepia and Sean might affect her ability to win. Both were, of course, correct answers. Vecepia did promise Kathy a spot in the final two—she even made that deal in front of the jury, but then opted to stick with Neleh instead. And Neleh was certainly right in her assessment that the other former Rotus would hold her alliance with the other tribe against her. In the end, it wasn’t the way the women answered those questions that influenced the vote so much as the actions they described. Vecepia’s reaction kept just one person away from the finals, but Neleh’s cost all four members of the core Rotu alliance from winning. Unfortunately for Neleh, the other Rotus held a grudge. Their answers to John’s question probably yielded similar results. Neleh told him that she had planned to stick with their alliance, but when it became so obvious that she’d lose, she felt she had no choice but to switch. Vecepia simply said that she had a strategy and she stuck to it, so she deserved to win. John probably had his mind made up before he asked this question—he felt betrayed by Neleh, so he voted for Vecepia. In the Amazon, Alex asked the final two what their biggest regret was. Jenna said that she regretted putting too much trust in untrustworthy people. She was obviously referring to her alliance with Rob, a known plotter and backstabber. Matthew said that he regretted being naïve at the beginning of the game. Jenna’s answer was a better one. She cited her alliance with Rob as a regret; had she not trusted Rob, Alex might have been in the game for longer. And Matthew made the error of pointing out once again that he had not been playing the game from the beginning. On All-Stars, Kathy asked Rob how people would perceive him since he exploited friendships to get ahead in the game. Rob tried his best to smooth things over. He said that he got caught up in strategy, and that he never set out to ruin friendships. His answer must have soothed her feelings somewhat. Kathy said that she was disappointed in him, but ultimately wound up voting for him out of respect for their friendship. On Vanuatu, several jurors asked about regrets and integrity. Chad asked the two players how they changed personally over the course of the game. Sarge asked Twila if the price for swearing on her son’s name and lying was, in fact, a million dollars. Then he told Chris he was voting for Twila, and asked if that would affect their friendship. Finally, Scout made a statement about integrity. She said that Twila tells the truth even if it hurts, but that in contrast, Chris was “up to your ears” in BS. In response to Chad’s question about how they changed, Twila and Chris had very different answers. Twila said that she realized that she needs to watch how she comes across, and to not be so quick to judge others. Chris, on the other hand, said that he realized he was willing to compromise a lot to win a million dollars. Other players looked past the money,but he never did. He said that he hoped he could become a better person. I actually liked Twila’s answer better – it showed some personal growth. However, Chris’s answer was more what the jury wanted to hear, and it served him well. Faced with Sarge’s question about lying on her son’s name, Twila really didn’t have much to say. At that point, Twila was probably finding that hard to defend. Plus, Sarge had told her that he was planning to vote for her because she needed the money, so maybe she didn’t think it mattered. She was wrong, though. When Chris told Sarge that no matter what, they’d be friends and would hang out when the game was over, that was all Sarge needed to hear. Chris passed his test and won his vote. Palau juror Gregg was angry with Tom for voting him out and asked how he could have broken his alliance. His question to Katie was even more pointed- she was “pathetic” around camp and made fun of almost anyone. How did she figure that strategy would get her farther than second place? All Tom could tell Gregg was the truth- that he betrayed Gregg before Gregg could betray him. He said he regretted it, an answer that Gregg seemed to accept. Katie, on the other hand, didn’t have much to say to Gregg. She said she was sorry she was considered pathetic, and that aligning herself with strong people was a valid strategy. It was- but Gregg’s point hung in the air: it was only good enough for second place. Stephenie asked Tom if he truly did take her as far as he could. Tom gave Stephenie a great answer. He couldn’t go against a five person alliance- he’d have lost his alliance and Steph still would have been voted out. In Guatemala, Bobby Jon asked Stephenie and Danni if they were proud of the way they’d played. Stephenie told Bobby Jon that she was “very proud” of the way she played, though she “sort of backstabbed” some of the other players. Sort of? Those players in question felt a lot more strongly about it than that. Stephenie shouldn’t have downplayed the situation. She should have either apologized or just pointed to “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” and moved on. Danni, on the other hand, had a much better point to make. She was the last of her tribe, was outnumbered, yet still made it to the final two. She was proud of her strategy. That answer undoubtedly resonated with the jurors. Then Jamie vowed to be tough on Stephenie. He said that she’d pretend to be someone’s best friend, then vote them out- how did she think the jurors would feel about that? > Jamie’s question went right to Stephenie’s weakness. Many of them felt she’d screwed them over to get to the final two. She hedged a bit at first, saying they were group decisions, but then said she hoped that the jurors would ultimately respect the way she’d played. It was the best answer she could have given, and if the jurors hadn’t been too angry with her, it might have worked. Rafe accussed Danni not of going up against the “most deserving” (presumably him), but instead choosing the person she thought she could beat. Danni made the argument that Stephenie was the most deserving- she came into the game with a target on her back, yet continued to survive tribal councils. Plus, in the final immunity challenge, she struggled mightily to win, earning Danni’s respect. Judd accused Danni of “skating by,” then asked when in the game she’d lied. He was even more angry with Stephenie, saying that she crossed the line by lying to his wife and saying that her strongest alliance was with him. Danni ignored Judd’s suggestion that she “skated by,” as well she should have, since she beat some impressive odds to make it to the final two. She listed two specific times that she lied and the reasons why. It was a simple, honest answer and the best she could have given. She says that she asks for forgiveness every day. Stephenie, on the other hand, also answered honestly, but was in a much tougher position. She told Judd the truth, which was that at the time she’d talked to his wife, it was the truth. She also said that voting Judd out wasn’t her idea. She tried to play the politician, and I don’t think Judd appreciated it. Though to be honest, he was mad enough sucht hat whatever she said probably wouldn’t have mattered. In the Cook Islands season, Jonathan told Yul that he might have a future as a politician. How would he explain to his potential constituents how he played the game by misleading people and telling them half truths? Yul answered the question beautifully. He reminded everyone that Survivor is a game, and that behavior that is acceptable within the game would be unacceptable outside of it. He also added that he had stayed 100% true to his core alliance of four. Questions from angry jurors: Survivor has seen more than its share of players who were not happy to be sitting on the jury. There have been plenty of angry confrontations at the final Tribal Council. A smart player simply does his best to weather them. The most famous angry juror was, of course, Sue Hawk. In her famous “snakes and rats” speech, she ripped into Kelly, called her two-faced, promised to let her die of thirst, and said that Rich deserved to win. Kelly listened to the speech stoically, saying simply that she was sorry Sue felt that way. There was nothing she could do to change Sue’s mind at that point, but she did end up influencing other jurors. Colleen said that she had planned to vote for Rich, but that Kelly’s grace in front of Sue changed her mind. The jury in Marquesas was one of the most bitter ones ever. Tammy told Neleh and Vecepia that they were hypocrites and liars. And John, in asking his question about why he should vote for either of them, called them both liars. There wasn’t much either of them could say in response to such vitriol. Both of them defended their actions, but John and Tammy had likely made up their minds long before Tribal Council to vote against Neleh. Clay and Brian also faced angry jurors in Thailand. Ted told used car salesman Brian that his word and his friendship were lemons and accused Clay of riding coattails to get where he was. Ted then accused Clay of having made racist comments in the past. Clay had no way of defending himself, except to say that it wasn’t true. Brian said that he did what he had to do to get to the final two. Helen was also angry, because neither of them told her when she was about to be voted out. Helen demanded that Brian explain to her why he didn’t warn her beforehand. Brian claimed that Helen had planned to work with Ted against him. He then apologized to her and took responsibility for his actions. Helen next turned her ire on Clay, asking him for examples of how he contributed at camp. Clay eventually told Helen that no answer he could give would satisfy her. Brian got the votes of both Helen and Ted. Ted was convinced that Clay was a racist, and nothing Clay could have said would have convinced him otherwise. Likewise, Helen thought Clay was lazy, and he could not have changed her mind if he tried. Brian apologized to Helen, which probably went a long way in securing her vote. In the Amazon, Jenna and Matthew also had to deal with some angry jurors. Deena asked Matthew about his “may the best man win” comment at a previous Tribal Council and accused him of being sexist. Matthew apologized and claimed that he didn’t mean it so literally. Then, Christy accused Jenna of referring to her beauty as a handicap, and asked her how she could say such a thing in front of Christy, whose Deafness is a much more challenging handicap. Jenna apologized, saying that she has often been prejudged by people who think she’s just a pretty face. Jenna and Matthew handled these angry jurors as best they could, but in the end it probably didn’t matter—Deena and Christy both voted for Jenna because they considered her the stronger player. Lill was the target of a great deal of bitterness from the jurors. Rupert asked Lill if she had ever been honest with him. She sputtered and claimed that she had been honest with him up until the point that Burton convinced her to vote off Rupert. Rupert was having none of it, and pointed out that she was blaming Burton for her own actions. Lill finally said that she had been honest with him in their discussions about their families. She probably shouldn’t have tried so hard to answer that question and instead just said she was sorry he felt that way, since Sandra likely had Rupert’s vote sewn up. Christa accused Lill of apologizing for all of her actions and of hiding behind the Scout oath of truthfulness. Lill gave a fairly decent answer, saying that she had nothing else to wear besides her uniform, and that she had to lie to stay in the game. I will talk more about Lill’s discussion of her Scout uniform later. The jury on Survivor: All-Stars was the angriest one ever. Lex told the two of them that Survivor is not just a game, that it exposes who they are as people. In Rob’s case especially, it revealed some very bad things about his character. Alicia accused both of them of having mastered the fine arts of ego-stroking and butt-kissing. Neither Rob nor Amber had a chance to respond to these jurors, not that it would have made much difference. Both Lex and Alicia were so angry with Rob that nothing he could have said would have changed their votes. Eliza and Julie were both angry jurors in Vanuatu. Eliza said that Chris and Twila both owed her an apology – and she demanded one! Twila refused, but Chris gave her what she wanted, saying that he never intended to do her wrong. Appeased, Eliza voted for Chris. Julie told the final two that she was not going to vote for Chris or Twila so much as she was going to vote for or against Chris. She was hurt because she thought she was like a little sister to Chris, but he betrayed her. How could he lie to her? Her question was emotional, and Chris gave an emotional response. He said that he meant what he said at the time, but that he made a last minute decision to save himself in the game. He tearfully said that he never meant to hurt her. His answer made Julie feel better and convinced her that their friendship was important to her. He won her vote. Coby told Katie and Tom that he was going to be “very serious” with them. He made it clear that he didn’t like Katie at all, but that he thought Tom played dirty, too. He said he’d be basing his decision on what Tom said throughout the night, and that a vote for Katie would mean that Tom hadn’t swayed him. There wasn’t much either player could say to that. Janu asked Katie for positive and negative adjectives to describe the way she played the game. The question seemed innocuous enough, but Janu hated Katie. Katie said that she wouldn’t answer the question and didn’t expect Janu’s vote. In the finale, Janu admitted that she was going to vote for Tom no matter what. I still think that was a mistake. Had she given a good answer she might have swayed another juror the way Kelly swayed Gervace way back in the first season. Caryn demanded to know if Tom found her a friend or just a pawn. Tom said she was a friend, then told her to look in her heart for the answer. Seemed like a weak answer to me, but apparently Caryn’s heart was pro-Tom, since that’s how she voted. Caryn’s heart was certainly not as pro-Katie. She called her lazy and unkind, among other things, and asked why she might vote for her. Katie apologized and pointed to her strategy of making a good alliance, which is what the game is all about. It was the best answer she could have possibly given, but as Gregg’s question made clear, it was only good enough for second place. Jenn didn’t think much of Katie either, asking her whether or not she played the game as a “strong woman,” the implication being clear that she did not. Katie said that her strength was in sticking to her strategy. It’s not an answer that could have satisfied Jenn, since Katie’s strategy basically was to be carried. Questions from left field: Every once in a while, a player will come up with a question that is completely off the wall. How can a player best handle a question from left field? In Season 1, Greg’s final question was to ask the jurors to pick a number between one and ten. In Africa, Kelly gave a bitter speech in which she said that Kim’s success came at her own expense and that Ethan never bothered to get to know her. She improved upon Greg’s question by asking the final two to pick a number between one and a thousand. Big Tom was even more creative. He asked Ethan and Kim if a hyena came into their camp, ate some of the mush, and then licked its rear end, was it because of instinct, or to get the taste of the mush out of his mouth? In All-Stars, Jenna Lewis’s question wasn’t nearly so strange, but it didn’t focus directly on the game. She asked Rob and Amber what they intended to do with the money if they won. Bruce asked the same question in Survivor: Exile Island. Ian’s question in Palau wasn’t odd either- he asked Tom and Katie why they should win. Shane was an angry juror in Exile Islands. He thought Danielle was lazy and Aras was a liar. He also threw in that Aras was homeless and freeloaded off of his dad. Shane said he didn’t want to vote for either of them, but could not abstain. Thus, he asked each of them to pick a number between one and one million. When a juror asks a question from left field, it can be for one of two reasons. It might be that he or she has already made up her mind on whom to vote for, and just wants to have some fun. That’s probably what Greg did, and it is certainly what Tom did, since he said when he cast his vote that Ethan deserved to win much more than Kim did. I also believe Jenna was planning on voting for Rob all along as well, considering that when she cast her vote for him, she made it very clear that she thought he deserved the win. Bruce seemed to genuinely admire Danielle and was happy to vote for her. The other reason might be that the juror doesn’t like either player and doesn’t care who wins. I think that was the case with Kelly and Bruce’s questions. In either case, players shouldn’t spend much time trying to figure out how best to answer a question from left field. They should just pick a number or give a funny answer about hyenas and move on. Once all of the questions have been asked, players have one final chance to influence the jurors: their closing statements. Most of the time, players simply reiterate what they said in their opening statements—this is how I played the game, this was my strategy, and this is why I think I should win. It’s a great chance to firm up your argument. In the past, however, some players have used slightly different tactics. Matthew said in his opening statement that his morality and integrity were important aspects of how he played the game. But throughout tribal council, several players made it clear that neither he nor Jenna could claim a moral high ground. Alex, in particular, said that he never wanted to hear either of them claim again to have played with ethics. So when Matthew gave his closing statement, he dropped all of his claims about morality and admitted that he had been deceptive, but that it was all part of the game. Nobody was buying it—all of the jurors had seen Matthew come to tribal council week after week talking about honesty. Once he had to answer for his actions, Matthew had changed his tune and claimed that it was necessary to lie. It was the equivalent of repenting on his deathbed, and the jurors were not impressed. Jenna won in a landslide. Similarly, Lill used her closing statement to ask the jury to separate the way she played the game from the Scout uniform that she was wearing. Once again, the jury didn’t buy it. It’s true that Lill didn’t choose to wear the Scout uniform knowing she’d be shipwrecked with nothing else to wear. But she did decide to have that uniform on for her publicity shots and for it to be the outfit she wore the first time she met all of the other players. Lill knew very well the way other players would perceive her for wearing a Boy Scout uniform and should have known that by wearing the uniform, the other players would associate her with the ideals upheld by the Boy Scouts. Lill herself also invoked the Scouts many times in the course of the game. Then, when the jury told her that she hasn’t represented the Scouts well, she all of a sudden claimed that she was not there as a representative of the Boy Scouts. All of her actions prior to that point contradicted that statement. Lill did her best (as Scouts will do) to come across as an honest player and a representative of scouting until she saw that others didn’t agree. It was too late. On All-Stars, after facing so many bitter jurors, Amber and Rob suddenly spoke of the regrets they had. Amber said that she learned a great deal from her time on the island, but that she learned the most in the past few minutes from the jury and that she’d try to apply it to her life. Rob was very emotional and apologized for any hurt feelings the jurors might have. He said that he expected tension from the jury, but had no idea how much he would face. I can’t help but wonder if Rob would have fared better if he had been more direct and honest with the jurors. If he had told them honestly that he came to win and did what he had to to make it to the final two, and that he outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted them. He only would have had to sway one juror. Perhaps someone like Shii Ann, who seemed to respect strategy, might have changed her mind. In Guatemala, Twila tried to change her tune in her closing statement as well. While she opened by saying she played hard and deserved to win, then continued by refusing to apologize to Eliza, when it came time to close, Twila teared up and said that she forgot other people’s feelings in her quest to win the million. She asked the jury to forgive her so she could forgive herself. Chris, on the other hand, continued his trend of telling the jurors what they wanted to hear. In fact, he addressed each one in turn, telling Julie, Sarge, and Chad that he’d be their friend no matter how they voted. He told Eliza that he did owe her that apology. And he told Ami and Leann that he did what he had to do to win. It worked, and he beat Twila five votes to two. Most recently, Yul, Becky, and Ozzy wisely stayed true to the way they’d played the game. Yul talked about his strategy, Becky discussed her “social game,” and Ozzy emphasized his physical prowess both in challenges and in providing food for the tribe. None of them claimed to be anything they weren’t, and it was absolutely the right way for all three of them to play it. Final Thoughts I’m not sure what the final three can expect from the jury this season. Boo has done a great job physically, but hasn’t exactly been a strategic mastermind, so he should be prepared to defend that. Yau-Man might be accused of relying too much on the hidden immunity idol to advance in the game. Jurors will undoubtedly tell Cassandra that she was riding coattails, so she should be sure to explain what her strategy has been. Dreamz betrayed his fellow horsemen and attempted to do the same to Yau-Man in the last tribal council, so if he faces the jury, he should be prepared to discuss that. As for Earl, I can’t think of a thing that the jurors might hold against him. Of course, that might mean that Earl won’t ever make it in front of them! The final players in any season of Survivor have come a long way and have endured a lot to get to the final tribal council. They should be prepared for the jury so that they can make their last few moments in the game count. Certain kinds of questions can be anticipated. They should have in mind some character traits that got them into the finals, and those traits should show as much strength and active playing as possible. They should be ready to say why their opponent does not deserve to win. They should be ready to talk about which other players do and do not deserve to be in their position. They should be able to clearly state what their strategy was. If they have regrets, they should admit them, and if they can apologize sincerely to a juror, they should. They should anticipate angry jurors, again apologize if appropriate, and do their best to take the criticism gracefully. And if a question seems to come from left field, they should answer it quickly and move on. Finally, they should use their final words to restate why they deserve to win and should not use that time to repent their actions at the last minute.
Surviving the Jury on Survivor by Betsy Wasser -- 05/12/2007 The final players on Survivor: Fiji will have faced the elements, twists, challenges, and tribal councils. But in the end, they must face one final thing in order to win the million dollar prize: the jury. What should Survivors do to improve their chances? Read on for an analysis of what they can expect. On Survivor, surviving the elements, winning challenges, and staying in the game after tribal councils isn’t enough to win the game. Once a player has made it to the coveted final two (or three) position, he or she has to face what might be the toughest obstacle yet: the jury. As Jeff Probst has pointed out many times, players then face a unique challenge. They must convince the jurors—those same people whom they had a part in voting out—that they deserve the million dollar prize and the title of sole Survivor. Jeff often comments that for the first time, those players are not in control—the outcome of the game is in the jury’s hands. He’s right in a way, but I believe that in those last few moments of the game, a player still has a chance to improve his chances of winning. Some jurors wait until that final tribal council to make a decision. Still others have actually changed their votes based on an answer a player gave. In Survivor: Guatemala, for example, Gary told Danni and Stephenie that he was going to make his decision based on their performance at final tribal council. A Survivor player cannot stop playing when he or she reaches the jury. The game is not over until the last juror has cast his vote. I am always surprised at how little preparation some players seem to put into their appearance at that final tribal council. Their opening and closing statements are often either extemporaneous, or are simply statements of, “You saw how I played the game, so I put the decision in your hands.” They are taken aback by some of the questions asked. In contrast, Vanuatu winner Chris gave one of the best performances at final tribal council ever. He prepared ahead of time, and even more importantly, told the jurors exactly what they wanted to hear. Chris even tried to improve his chances before he and his opponent Twila left for tribal council. He told Twila that she shouldn’t put up with any crap from the jury. Then in an interview, he admitted that he said that to deliberately rile her up so she’d say something that would offend the jurors! With preparation like that, Twila didn’t stand a chance. If I were ever a contestant on Survivor, I would never take a fatalistic “it’s up to the jury now” approach to my last chance to win the game. I would spend that last day at camp preparing my opening and closing statements and doing the best I could to anticipate what kinds of questions I might expect from the jury. Think of it this way: before a job interview, isn’t it smart to practice answering likely interview questions? After so many final tribal councils, we find that there are certain kinds of questions that often come up. Let’s look at what those sorts of questions are and examine the best way a player can answer them to improve their chances of winning. After 14 seasons, there have been a lot of different jurors and finalists, so I won’t hit every one, but I will talk about the highlights and the trends that have emerged. Then, I’ll spend a little time thinking about what the contestants on Survivor: Fiji might expect from the jury at tribal council. Questions about character: We have seen several instances of jurors asking players what personality traits got them where they are. Colleen asked in the first season, Amber did in the second, and Frank asked it again in season three. In Vanuatu, Ami asked a variation on the question – what character traits did they final two have that she didn’t? This sort of question has come up four times already, a smart player should have some character traits in mind. In season one, Kelly said that her faith got her through the game, whereas Richard said that it was “self-awareness, observation, and ethics.” Richard’s answer reflected his general argument, which was that he played the smartest strategic game. It was a better and more thoughtful answer, and as we all know, he won the game. In season two, Colby said that he owed his success to staying in the game mentally at all times, drinking lots of water, and taking the time to enjoy the game. Tina said that she was there because of Colby, her strategy, and “heart/God.” At the time, I thought Tina was crazy for mentioning how important her opponent was in getting her so far, but since she won the game, I can guess that perhaps people respected her honesty. Amber voted for Colby, saying that his answer was more straightforward. In Africa, Ethan said that he got to the final two because of his power, strength, integrity, intelligence, and good luck. Kim said it was her respect, thoughtfulness, flexibility, love, and understanding. I think Ethan gave a much better answer, showing the control and strategy he showed in playing the game, whereas Kim’s answer suggested that she was a really nice person. Chris told Ami in Vanuatu that he beat her because she has a soft heart, put personal feelings ahead of strategy, and let her guard down. Twila answered that she is a colder, harder player than Ami. The two answers were similar, though Chris’s slanted a little more towards flattery of Ami than Twila’s did. In the end, Twila’s honesty was the better approach with Ami. Ami voted for Twila because she felt her answer was more sincere. Questions about your opponent: One of the most interesting questions, in my opinion, that we’ve seen asked at final tribal council is why your opponent does not deserve to win. We’ve heard that question from Erin in Survivor: Thailand, from Rob in Survivor: Amazon, and from Tijuana in Survivor: Pearl Islands. For All-Stars, Shii Ann gave a slight variation on that question, asking Rob and Amber for three reasons their opponent should win. Palau juror Stephenie asked Katie why she should vote against Tom. Gary did the same thing as Shii Ann in Guatemala, as did Cirie in Exile Island. In the Cook Islands edition, Adam actually demanded that Ozzy “talk trash” about his opponents. Brian told Erin in Thailand that Clay did not deserve to win because he was lazy and did not do his fair share of work in camp. That was an easy answer for Brian, as he knew very well that most of the jurors considered Clay to be lazy, so he had another opportunity to remind them of that fact. Clay’s answer was a lot less clear. He said that Brian was a weak leader because he constantly needed to be validated and soothed by the others in his alliance about how the voting would go. I don’t think that’s a weakness—I think that is being a smart player and not taking anyone for granted. In the Amazon, I think both Jenna and Matthew offered good reasons why the other player should lose. Matthew said that Jenna didn’t work as hard as he did around camp, and reminded everyone that just a few days prior, she had wanted to quit the game entirely. Jenna said that Matthew didn’t play the game from the start, opting instead to tag on to an alliance. Both answers certainly showed the other player’s weaknesses. Ultimately, Jenna showed that hard work at camp was not as important to the other players as strategy and game play were. In the Pearl Islands, Lill told Tijuana that Sandra was disrespectful to the other players, rode Rupert’s coattails, and was constantly asking other players how to vote. That answer struck me as funny, because other than the part about being disrespectful, I think that those same accusations could have been made against Lill. Still, Sandra’s answer wasn’t nearly as good. She told the jurors that Lill voted every single one of them out. I think Sandra was still afraid that she would lose the game because Lill was considered such a nice person and she wanted to show them that Lill wasn’t so nice after all. I think she would have fared a lot better if she had pointed out that Lill was voted out of the game once already, and therefore did not survive the entire game like Sandra did. Instead, by pointing out the hand that Lill played in eliminating all of the other players, Sandra convinced Tijuana that Lill was actually a better tactician than she’d thought. Sandra’s answer cost her Tijuana’s vote. Rob and Amber didn’t have much trouble saying nice things about each other, since the two of them were in the midst of a romance. Rob said that Amber was a true partner, never quit, and played a “straight-up” game. Amber said that Rob was stronger in challenges, was true to her, and was someone she could rely on. Amber’s argument for Rob was much weaker, which of course gave her the edge. The group of jurors, convinced that Rob had screwed them over, probably weren’t too impressed to hear that he was true to Amber! Shii Ann ended up voting for Amber, though I suspect she would have anyway, since she had earlier called Amber the mastermind of the game. Katie told Stephenie that before the merge, Tom had told her that they’d have to do everything they could to get rid of her. Tom denied it, citing the secret alliance he’d had with her before. In the end, it was Tom’s word against, Katie’s, and we all know how that turned out! Stephenie admitted that she and Gary had had an alliance at the beginning, but due to twists in the game, she was ultimately unable to honor it. It was an honest answer, one that showed due respect to the agreement she’d had with him. As for Danni she said that in addition to her alliance with Gary, she also allied herself with Rafe, which she says may have been unfair to him. She said she did what she had to do to stay in the game. Of course, it came as no surprise that Gary voted for his strong ally Danni. Danielle told Cirie that Aras was an honorable and respectful person. Aras said that when he hurt his hand just before tribal council, Danielle was genuinely caring. Their answers were nice, but Cirie had undoubtedly already decided to stick with her ally, Aras. Ozzy followed Adam’s demands and gave him potential reasons not to vote for Yul or Becky. He said that Yul didn’t work as hard around camp as he could have. Becky, on the other hand, rode coattails. I was a bit disappointed that Ozzy sank to Adam’s level and put down two people whom he respected, but he did give the jurors reasons to vote for him if they were wavering. Questions about other players: Jurors sometimes ask the final two players questions about other deserving players. Jenna started the trend in the first season, asking which two contestants Kelly and Rich would put in their place. Richard said that Greg and Rudy were the most deserving, and Kelly named Sonja and Gretchen. Of the two answers, Richard’s was slightly better. Rudy was an extremely tough player, especially for a man his age, and Greg was considered an excellent outdoorsman. Kelly’s answer of Gretchen made sense—Gretchen was a natural leader with great survival skills. But Sonja was a more odd choice—she was the first player voted out, widely considered by her tribe to be too weak to play the game. Also, because she was voted out first, most of the players didn’t know her well, so they really couldn’t have had an emotional reaction to Kelly’s answer. In the Outback, Elisabeth asked which two jurors did not deserve to win, and Nick asked who they thought would be in the final two had Michael not had his accident. Tina told Elisabeth that she would exclude Jerri and Rodger. Colby chose Jerri and Keith. Jerri was an easy answer for them—she was widely disliked, so naming her was not controversial at all. Colby’s choice of Keith was also an easy one, because most players apparently didn’t have much respect for him. But it’s hard to understand why Tina picked Rodger, who was well-liked, especially by Elisabeth. Elisabeth asked for names only, with no reasons. If you are only naming names, it’s probably better to choose uncontroversial people. Still, apparently that answer didn’t hurt Tina, since she won the game. Nick’s question was also an interesting one. His tribe had dominated the game and might have gone into the merge with a majority had Michael not fallen into the fire and burned his hands. Colby said that he thought Nick and Michael would make it into the final two, no doubt thinking that a little flattery would help him. Tina said it was hard to answer the question, since she didn’t know the dynamics at the Kucha tribe. She said she thought Michael would make it to the final two, and declined to name a second player. In season three, Brandon asked a two part question—which juror would you choose to replace you, and which juror would least deserve to win. Kim P. asked which juror taught the final two the most about themselves, and which juror taught them the least about themselves. Ethan and Kim both chose Lex as the juror that most deserved to be in the final two. Really, if in doubt, the third place finisher is a great answer to this question. That player obviously did something right, since he got farther than any other member of the jury. In answer to which player least deserved to be in the final two, Kim named Big Tom, saying that he was sexist. Ethan famously told Brandon that Brandon himself did not deserve to be in the final two. When Brandon voted, he said that he had been set to vote for Ethan, but because Ethan insulted him in his own question, he was changing his vote to Kim. In answer to Kim P’s question about which jurors they learned the most and least from, Kim said that she learned the most from Kim P, saying that she admired her decision to call off her wedding, and that she learned the least from Big Tom. Ethan said that he learned the most from Teresa’s will to win, and the least from Kelly because he didn’t know her as well. Kim’s answer to this question was the most successful. It didn’t matter that she insulted Tom twice, since she was fairly sure that he’d vote for Ethan anyway. And her flattery of Kim P apparently worked, since she got the other Kim’s vote. In season six, Heidi asked the players which juror most deserved to be in the final two. Jenna and Matthew agreed that third place winner Rob was the most deserving juror. Both of them said that he was a master strategist and knew the game very well. Heidi cast about a few hints that one of them should name her, but both of them stuck to Rob as their answer. In the end, their answers to this question were probably irrelevant, since everyone knew that Heidi would be voting for Jenna. In Guatemala, Jamie asked Danni which players she’d liked to have taken to the end with her. Cindy had an interesting question- if the final two could eliminate any juror, who would it be and why? Danni told Jamie that she’d have taken Bobby Jon, Gary, and Brandon. Honestly, it was an easy question for her- of course she’d have preferred to have the rest of her old tribe at her side. To Cindy, Danni answered simply and honestly- she’d prefer to get rid of Rafe since he had such strong ties to Stephenie and would surely vote for her. Stephenie didn’t answer nearly as well. She tried to ride the fence, saying Bobby Jon, since he was the first juror. She’d have come across much better if she’d named, say, Gary, who was loyal to Danni. Last season, Nate said that he perceived Yul as the “mob boss” and Ozzy as “the warrior.” He asked Ozzy if he’d played just as strategically as Yul. Ozzy pointed to the strategic moves he made, such as convincing his original tribe to throw a challenge and playing up his “surfer dude” persona. As for Becky, Nate asked what, exactly, she contributed. Becky said that it was a misconception that Yul was running the show. She claimed that she worked with him all along in all of the strategizing. Nate, unfortunately for Becky, wasn’t buying it. Both Ozzy and Becky were given the opportunity to improve their standing in jurors’ minds. Ozzy probably did a better job of positioning himself as a strategist than Becky did. Considering that Becky didn’t get any votes, it’s safe to say Ozzy played that better. Questions about strategy: Jurors want to be able to say they lost to the best player. As a result, they often ask the final two questions about what strategy they used to stay in the game. In Marquesas, Kathy asked when Neleh had her most dramatic strategic moment, and if it happened independently. She then asked Vecepia if she played the game too passively. Neleh told Kathy that she started playing the game when she and Pascal decided to align with Kathy, Vecepia, and Sean to oust the Rotu Four. Vecepia said that she worked to adjust her strategy and switch alliances whenever necessary to stay in the game. Kathy’s questions showed what she thought of the two players—Neleh didn’t start playing until late in the game, and even then didn’t take the lead in strategizing, whereas Vecepia was too passive. Of the two answers, Neleh’s was clearly the worst. Neleh reinforced Kathy’s opinion that she didn’t start playing the game until well past the halfway point, and that she was not a leader. Vecepia may have been passive, but at least she planned to be passive. In Pearl Islands, Darrah asked the two players what strategy they used to get to the final two. Sandra told Darrah that her strategy was to always be willing to give her vote to whoever needed it, as long as the vote wasn’t against her. Lill said she stayed in the game because she was considered a non-threat and because she was aligned with strong people. Of the two answers, Sandra’s was stronger because it showed a more active strategy. Three of the jurors in All-Stars asked about strategy. Rupert asked Amber and Rob how they got to the final two. Alicia asked them to each use one word to describe how they played the game. Big Tom asked each of them why he should give them his vote. Amber told Rupert that she played hard, citing in particular the fact that she survived when she was the one player who had to switch tribes. Rob simply said that Rupert should vote for him because he promised he would. Amber’s answer was a good one and might have reminded some players that she didn’t rely on Rob utterly to stay ahead (though he certainly had a role in her surviving that tribal swap. Rupert, though, did stay true to his previous promise to Rob. In response to Alicia’s request for one word, Rob chose “competitively,” and Amber said, “with luck.” Rob gave the best answer he possibly could have, since it addressed any accusations the jurors had about his betraying them. After all, he was playing competitively. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter in Alicia’s case. She felt betrayed by Rob and voted for Amber. As for Big Tom, Amber had trouble answering the question, saying basically that Tom had probably considered his alliance to be more with Rob than with her, thus making her betrayal the lesser of the two. Rob said that Tom was plotting against him, so he voted out Tom before Tom could vote him out. When Big Tom refused to shake Rob’s hand, it was pretty obvious that no matter what either of them had said, Big Tom wasn’t about to vote for Rob. In Vanuatu, Leann asked Twila why she betrayed their alliance, then asked Chris why she should abandon the all-female alliance to vote for a man. Twila told Leann that she outed out Leann because she thought Leann might betray her. Leann, Twila said, wanted to swap Scout in their final four for Julie, so why wouldn’t she also vote out Twila? She did it to save herself, she explained, not out of disrespect to Leann. Chris had an easier answer. He felt Leann should vote for him because he overcame some tough odds to stay in the game. He was the last man standing in the face of an all-female alliance, but he found an opening and saved himself. By claiming superior strategy, Chris won Leann’s vote. Exile Island juror Austin also asked about strategy, wondering when Aras and Danielle had made good strategic moves and when they’d done something not completely “on the up and up.” Danielle was proud of convincing the tribe to vote out Bobby instead of Bruce and regretted voting out Courtney, who had been her friend. It was a good answer, considering that Bruce was sitting on the jury and that Courtney was undoubtedly nursing some hurt feelings. Aras answered that he was proud of telling Melinda she was going home so she wouldn’t be blindsided. He was less proud of blindsiding Shane, saying that he felt bad about lying to him. Again, it was a good answer, especially considering that moments before Shane had been making faces when Aras talked about integrity. In the Cook Islands season, strategy was a big topic of conversation. Jenny kicked things off by asking Yul which was more important in winning – strategy or physicality? That was an easy question for Yul to answer, and he told Jenny about the importance of social strategy. Yul was happy to let Ozzy’s strength put a target on his back, and he was proud that his strategy took his alliance, intact, to the final four. Parvati questioned Becky’s strategic prowess. She was surprised Becky didn’t take the immunity idol at the final four and wondered if she really wanted to win the game. Becky answered that, of course, she did, but that she didn’t want to be sneaky. She was able to play the game with no regrets. Questions about regrets and integrity: As Jeff points out every season, the final two have probably screwed some jurors over to get to the finals. Jurors often want to know if they have played fairly, and if they regret any of their decisions. Gervace asked in season one if Kelly and Rich would change any of their actions. Kelly said that she regretted joining the alliance when she did. Richard had no regrets. Both players had strategy in mind when they formed their answers. Kelly knew that many of the members of the jury thought that voting with an alliance was unethical. She probably hoped that her answer would help them forgive her for voting the way she did. Richard, on the other hand, presented himself to the jury by proudly admitting the way he played and by saying that that was the way to win the game. Kelly got Gervace’s vote, but in the end, Richard won the game for his superior strategy. In Season 2, Rodger asked when the final two had not been truthful or ethical. Tina told Rodger that she felt she’d been dishonest by not telling people the order in which they’d be voted out. Still, she felt she’d been ethical within the confines of the game. Colby was more specific, saying that he promised spots in the final three to Amber and Jerri. Both were good answers—Tina was right to not tell players when their heads were on the chopping block. Being honest with a player too soon is a good way to have them plot against you. And Colby’s answer was very sincere and might have helped any hard feelings Amber and Jerri had for him. When Jerri gave Colby and Tina a chance to apologize to another player, she was probably hoping that they’d apologize to her for voting her out before Rodger and Elisabeth. She did not get her wish—Tina said she was sorry she’d gone through Kel’s pack looking for the notorious beef jerky. Colby said that he was sorry he eliminated Rodger and Elisabeth, two players he liked and respected, before Keith, but that he had to do it to improve his chances of winning. Again, both were good answers which likely had little impact on the final voting; Jerri voted for Tina because Tina had convinced Colby to take her to the final two over Keith. Their answers to her questions did not help or hurt either of them. Jerri gave Tina and Colby the opportunity to apologize to another person. In Marquesas, Robert asked which decision or action might most hurt their chances with the jury, then John accused them both of being liars and asked why he should vote for either of them. To Robert, Vecepia said that backstabbing Kathy to keep her out of the final two might hurt her. Neleh thought voting out her former tribe mates Zoë and Robert before Vecepia and Sean might affect her ability to win. Both were, of course, correct answers. Vecepia did promise Kathy a spot in the final two—she even made that deal in front of the jury, but then opted to stick with Neleh instead. And Neleh was certainly right in her assessment that the other former Rotus would hold her alliance with the other tribe against her. In the end, it wasn’t the way the women answered those questions that influenced the vote so much as the actions they described. Vecepia’s reaction kept just one person away from the finals, but Neleh’s cost all four members of the core Rotu alliance from winning. Unfortunately for Neleh, the other Rotus held a grudge. Their answers to John’s question probably yielded similar results. Neleh told him that she had planned to stick with their alliance, but when it became so obvious that she’d lose, she felt she had no choice but to switch. Vecepia simply said that she had a strategy and she stuck to it, so she deserved to win. John probably had his mind made up before he asked this question—he felt betrayed by Neleh, so he voted for Vecepia. In the Amazon, Alex asked the final two what their biggest regret was. Jenna said that she regretted putting too much trust in untrustworthy people. She was obviously referring to her alliance with Rob, a known plotter and backstabber. Matthew said that he regretted being naïve at the beginning of the game. Jenna’s answer was a better one. She cited her alliance with Rob as a regret; had she not trusted Rob, Alex might have been in the game for longer. And Matthew made the error of pointing out once again that he had not been playing the game from the beginning. On All-Stars, Kathy asked Rob how people would perceive him since he exploited friendships to get ahead in the game. Rob tried his best to smooth things over. He said that he got caught up in strategy, and that he never set out to ruin friendships. His answer must have soothed her feelings somewhat. Kathy said that she was disappointed in him, but ultimately wound up voting for him out of respect for their friendship. On Vanuatu, several jurors asked about regrets and integrity. Chad asked the two players how they changed personally over the course of the game. Sarge asked Twila if the price for swearing on her son’s name and lying was, in fact, a million dollars. Then he told Chris he was voting for Twila, and asked if that would affect their friendship. Finally, Scout made a statement about integrity. She said that Twila tells the truth even if it hurts, but that in contrast, Chris was “up to your ears” in BS. In response to Chad’s question about how they changed, Twila and Chris had very different answers. Twila said that she realized that she needs to watch how she comes across, and to not be so quick to judge others. Chris, on the other hand, said that he realized he was willing to compromise a lot to win a million dollars. Other players looked past the money,but he never did. He said that he hoped he could become a better person. I actually liked Twila’s answer better – it showed some personal growth. However, Chris’s answer was more what the jury wanted to hear, and it served him well. Faced with Sarge’s question about lying on her son’s name, Twila really didn’t have much to say. At that point, Twila was probably finding that hard to defend. Plus, Sarge had told her that he was planning to vote for her because she needed the money, so maybe she didn’t think it mattered. She was wrong, though. When Chris told Sarge that no matter what, they’d be friends and would hang out when the game was over, that was all Sarge needed to hear. Chris passed his test and won his vote. Palau juror Gregg was angry with Tom for voting him out and asked how he could have broken his alliance. His question to Katie was even more pointed- she was “pathetic” around camp and made fun of almost anyone. How did she figure that strategy would get her farther than second place? All Tom could tell Gregg was the truth- that he betrayed Gregg before Gregg could betray him. He said he regretted it, an answer that Gregg seemed to accept. Katie, on the other hand, didn’t have much to say to Gregg. She said she was sorry she was considered pathetic, and that aligning herself with strong people was a valid strategy. It was- but Gregg’s point hung in the air: it was only good enough for second place. Stephenie asked Tom if he truly did take her as far as he could. Tom gave Stephenie a great answer. He couldn’t go against a five person alliance- he’d have lost his alliance and Steph still would have been voted out. In Guatemala, Bobby Jon asked Stephenie and Danni if they were proud of the way they’d played. Stephenie told Bobby Jon that she was “very proud” of the way she played, though she “sort of backstabbed” some of the other players. Sort of? Those players in question felt a lot more strongly about it than that. Stephenie shouldn’t have downplayed the situation. She should have either apologized or just pointed to “Outwit, Outplay, Outlast” and moved on. Danni, on the other hand, had a much better point to make. She was the last of her tribe, was outnumbered, yet still made it to the final two. She was proud of her strategy. That answer undoubtedly resonated with the jurors. Then Jamie vowed to be tough on Stephenie. He said that she’d pretend to be someone’s best friend, then vote them out- how did she think the jurors would feel about that? > Jamie’s question went right to Stephenie’s weakness. Many of them felt she’d screwed them over to get to the final two. She hedged a bit at first, saying they were group decisions, but then said she hoped that the jurors would ultimately respect the way she’d played. It was the best answer she could have given, and if the jurors hadn’t been too angry with her, it might have worked. Rafe accussed Danni not of going up against the “most deserving” (presumably him), but instead choosing the person she thought she could beat. Danni made the argument that Stephenie was the most deserving- she came into the game with a target on her back, yet continued to survive tribal councils. Plus, in the final immunity challenge, she struggled mightily to win, earning Danni’s respect. Judd accused Danni of “skating by,” then asked when in the game she’d lied. He was even more angry with Stephenie, saying that she crossed the line by lying to his wife and saying that her strongest alliance was with him. Danni ignored Judd’s suggestion that she “skated by,” as well she should have, since she beat some impressive odds to make it to the final two. She listed two specific times that she lied and the reasons why. It was a simple, honest answer and the best she could have given. She says that she asks for forgiveness every day. Stephenie, on the other hand, also answered honestly, but was in a much tougher position. She told Judd the truth, which was that at the time she’d talked to his wife, it was the truth. She also said that voting Judd out wasn’t her idea. She tried to play the politician, and I don’t think Judd appreciated it. Though to be honest, he was mad enough sucht hat whatever she said probably wouldn’t have mattered. In the Cook Islands season, Jonathan told Yul that he might have a future as a politician. How would he explain to his potential constituents how he played the game by misleading people and telling them half truths? Yul answered the question beautifully. He reminded everyone that Survivor is a game, and that behavior that is acceptable within the game would be unacceptable outside of it. He also added that he had stayed 100% true to his core alliance of four. Questions from angry jurors: Survivor has seen more than its share of players who were not happy to be sitting on the jury. There have been plenty of angry confrontations at the final Tribal Council. A smart player simply does his best to weather them. The most famous angry juror was, of course, Sue Hawk. In her famous “snakes and rats” speech, she ripped into Kelly, called her two-faced, promised to let her die of thirst, and said that Rich deserved to win. Kelly listened to the speech stoically, saying simply that she was sorry Sue felt that way. There was nothing she could do to change Sue’s mind at that point, but she did end up influencing other jurors. Colleen said that she had planned to vote for Rich, but that Kelly’s grace in front of Sue changed her mind. The jury in Marquesas was one of the most bitter ones ever. Tammy told Neleh and Vecepia that they were hypocrites and liars. And John, in asking his question about why he should vote for either of them, called them both liars. There wasn’t much either of them could say in response to such vitriol. Both of them defended their actions, but John and Tammy had likely made up their minds long before Tribal Council to vote against Neleh. Clay and Brian also faced angry jurors in Thailand. Ted told used car salesman Brian that his word and his friendship were lemons and accused Clay of riding coattails to get where he was. Ted then accused Clay of having made racist comments in the past. Clay had no way of defending himself, except to say that it wasn’t true. Brian said that he did what he had to do to get to the final two. Helen was also angry, because neither of them told her when she was about to be voted out. Helen demanded that Brian explain to her why he didn’t warn her beforehand. Brian claimed that Helen had planned to work with Ted against him. He then apologized to her and took responsibility for his actions. Helen next turned her ire on Clay, asking him for examples of how he contributed at camp. Clay eventually told Helen that no answer he could give would satisfy her. Brian got the votes of both Helen and Ted. Ted was convinced that Clay was a racist, and nothing Clay could have said would have convinced him otherwise. Likewise, Helen thought Clay was lazy, and he could not have changed her mind if he tried. Brian apologized to Helen, which probably went a long way in securing her vote. In the Amazon, Jenna and Matthew also had to deal with some angry jurors. Deena asked Matthew about his “may the best man win” comment at a previous Tribal Council and accused him of being sexist. Matthew apologized and claimed that he didn’t mean it so literally. Then, Christy accused Jenna of referring to her beauty as a handicap, and asked her how she could say such a thing in front of Christy, whose Deafness is a much more challenging handicap. Jenna apologized, saying that she has often been prejudged by people who think she’s just a pretty face. Jenna and Matthew handled these angry jurors as best they could, but in the end it probably didn’t matter—Deena and Christy both voted for Jenna because they considered her the stronger player. Lill was the target of a great deal of bitterness from the jurors. Rupert asked Lill if she had ever been honest with him. She sputtered and claimed that she had been honest with him up until the point that Burton convinced her to vote off Rupert. Rupert was having none of it, and pointed out that she was blaming Burton for her own actions. Lill finally said that she had been honest with him in their discussions about their families. She probably shouldn’t have tried so hard to answer that question and instead just said she was sorry he felt that way, since Sandra likely had Rupert’s vote sewn up. Christa accused Lill of apologizing for all of her actions and of hiding behind the Scout oath of truthfulness. Lill gave a fairly decent answer, saying that she had nothing else to wear besides her uniform, and that she had to lie to stay in the game. I will talk more about Lill’s discussion of her Scout uniform later. The jury on Survivor: All-Stars was the angriest one ever. Lex told the two of them that Survivor is not just a game, that it exposes who they are as people. In Rob’s case especially, it revealed some very bad things about his character. Alicia accused both of them of having mastered the fine arts of ego-stroking and butt-kissing. Neither Rob nor Amber had a chance to respond to these jurors, not that it would have made much difference. Both Lex and Alicia were so angry with Rob that nothing he could have said would have changed their votes. Eliza and Julie were both angry jurors in Vanuatu. Eliza said that Chris and Twila both owed her an apology – and she demanded one! Twila refused, but Chris gave her what she wanted, saying that he never intended to do her wrong. Appeased, Eliza voted for Chris. Julie told the final two that she was not going to vote for Chris or Twila so much as she was going to vote for or against Chris. She was hurt because she thought she was like a little sister to Chris, but he betrayed her. How could he lie to her? Her question was emotional, and Chris gave an emotional response. He said that he meant what he said at the time, but that he made a last minute decision to save himself in the game. He tearfully said that he never meant to hurt her. His answer made Julie feel better and convinced her that their friendship was important to her. He won her vote. Coby told Katie and Tom that he was going to be “very serious” with them. He made it clear that he didn’t like Katie at all, but that he thought Tom played dirty, too. He said he’d be basing his decision on what Tom said throughout the night, and that a vote for Katie would mean that Tom hadn’t swayed him. There wasn’t much either player could say to that. Janu asked Katie for positive and negative adjectives to describe the way she played the game. The question seemed innocuous enough, but Janu hated Katie. Katie said that she wouldn’t answer the question and didn’t expect Janu’s vote. In the finale, Janu admitted that she was going to vote for Tom no matter what. I still think that was a mistake. Had she given a good answer she might have swayed another juror the way Kelly swayed Gervace way back in the first season. Caryn demanded to know if Tom found her a friend or just a pawn. Tom said she was a friend, then told her to look in her heart for the answer. Seemed like a weak answer to me, but apparently Caryn’s heart was pro-Tom, since that’s how she voted. Caryn’s heart was certainly not as pro-Katie. She called her lazy and unkind, among other things, and asked why she might vote for her. Katie apologized and pointed to her strategy of making a good alliance, which is what the game is all about. It was the best answer she could have possibly given, but as Gregg’s question made clear, it was only good enough for second place. Jenn didn’t think much of Katie either, asking her whether or not she played the game as a “strong woman,” the implication being clear that she did not. Katie said that her strength was in sticking to her strategy. It’s not an answer that could have satisfied Jenn, since Katie’s strategy basically was to be carried. Questions from left field: Every once in a while, a player will come up with a question that is completely off the wall. How can a player best handle a question from left field? In Season 1, Greg’s final question was to ask the jurors to pick a number between one and ten. In Africa, Kelly gave a bitter speech in which she said that Kim’s success came at her own expense and that Ethan never bothered to get to know her. She improved upon Greg’s question by asking the final two to pick a number between one and a thousand. Big Tom was even more creative. He asked Ethan and Kim if a hyena came into their camp, ate some of the mush, and then licked its rear end, was it because of instinct, or to get the taste of the mush out of his mouth? In All-Stars, Jenna Lewis’s question wasn’t nearly so strange, but it didn’t focus directly on the game. She asked Rob and Amber what they intended to do with the money if they won. Bruce asked the same question in Survivor: Exile Island. Ian’s question in Palau wasn’t odd either- he asked Tom and Katie why they should win. Shane was an angry juror in Exile Islands. He thought Danielle was lazy and Aras was a liar. He also threw in that Aras was homeless and freeloaded off of his dad. Shane said he didn’t want to vote for either of them, but could not abstain. Thus, he asked each of them to pick a number between one and one million. When a juror asks a question from left field, it can be for one of two reasons. It might be that he or she has already made up her mind on whom to vote for, and just wants to have some fun. That’s probably what Greg did, and it is certainly what Tom did, since he said when he cast his vote that Ethan deserved to win much more than Kim did. I also believe Jenna was planning on voting for Rob all along as well, considering that when she cast her vote for him, she made it very clear that she thought he deserved the win. Bruce seemed to genuinely admire Danielle and was happy to vote for her. The other reason might be that the juror doesn’t like either player and doesn’t care who wins. I think that was the case with Kelly and Bruce’s questions. In either case, players shouldn’t spend much time trying to figure out how best to answer a question from left field. They should just pick a number or give a funny answer about hyenas and move on. Once all of the questions have been asked, players have one final chance to influence the jurors: their closing statements. Most of the time, players simply reiterate what they said in their opening statements—this is how I played the game, this was my strategy, and this is why I think I should win. It’s a great chance to firm up your argument. In the past, however, some players have used slightly different tactics. Matthew said in his opening statement that his morality and integrity were important aspects of how he played the game. But throughout tribal council, several players made it clear that neither he nor Jenna could claim a moral high ground. Alex, in particular, said that he never wanted to hear either of them claim again to have played with ethics. So when Matthew gave his closing statement, he dropped all of his claims about morality and admitted that he had been deceptive, but that it was all part of the game. Nobody was buying it—all of the jurors had seen Matthew come to tribal council week after week talking about honesty. Once he had to answer for his actions, Matthew had changed his tune and claimed that it was necessary to lie. It was the equivalent of repenting on his deathbed, and the jurors were not impressed. Jenna won in a landslide. Similarly, Lill used her closing statement to ask the jury to separate the way she played the game from the Scout uniform that she was wearing. Once again, the jury didn’t buy it. It’s true that Lill didn’t choose to wear the Scout uniform knowing she’d be shipwrecked with nothing else to wear. But she did decide to have that uniform on for her publicity shots and for it to be the outfit she wore the first time she met all of the other players. Lill knew very well the way other players would perceive her for wearing a Boy Scout uniform and should have known that by wearing the uniform, the other players would associate her with the ideals upheld by the Boy Scouts. Lill herself also invoked the Scouts many times in the course of the game. Then, when the jury told her that she hasn’t represented the Scouts well, she all of a sudden claimed that she was not there as a representative of the Boy Scouts. All of her actions prior to that point contradicted that statement. Lill did her best (as Scouts will do) to come across as an honest player and a representative of scouting until she saw that others didn’t agree. It was too late. On All-Stars, after facing so many bitter jurors, Amber and Rob suddenly spoke of the regrets they had. Amber said that she learned a great deal from her time on the island, but that she learned the most in the past few minutes from the jury and that she’d try to apply it to her life. Rob was very emotional and apologized for any hurt feelings the jurors might have. He said that he expected tension from the jury, but had no idea how much he would face. I can’t help but wonder if Rob would have fared better if he had been more direct and honest with the jurors. If he had told them honestly that he came to win and did what he had to to make it to the final two, and that he outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted them. He only would have had to sway one juror. Perhaps someone like Shii Ann, who seemed to respect strategy, might have changed her mind. In Guatemala, Twila tried to change her tune in her closing statement as well. While she opened by saying she played hard and deserved to win, then continued by refusing to apologize to Eliza, when it came time to close, Twila teared up and said that she forgot other people’s feelings in her quest to win the million. She asked the jury to forgive her so she could forgive herself. Chris, on the other hand, continued his trend of telling the jurors what they wanted to hear. In fact, he addressed each one in turn, telling Julie, Sarge, and Chad that he’d be their friend no matter how they voted. He told Eliza that he did owe her that apology. And he told Ami and Leann that he did what he had to do to win. It worked, and he beat Twila five votes to two. Most recently, Yul, Becky, and Ozzy wisely stayed true to the way they’d played the game. Yul talked about his strategy, Becky discussed her “social game,” and Ozzy emphasized his physical prowess both in challenges and in providing food for the tribe. None of them claimed to be anything they weren’t, and it was absolutely the right way for all three of them to play it. Final Thoughts I’m not sure what the final three can expect from the jury this season. Boo has done a great job physically, but hasn’t exactly been a strategic mastermind, so he should be prepared to defend that. Yau-Man might be accused of relying too much on the hidden immunity idol to advance in the game. Jurors will undoubtedly tell Cassandra that she was riding coattails, so she should be sure to explain what her strategy has been. Dreamz betrayed his fellow horsemen and attempted to do the same to Yau-Man in the last tribal council, so if he faces the jury, he should be prepared to discuss that. As for Earl, I can’t think of a thing that the jurors might hold against him. Of course, that might mean that Earl won’t ever make it in front of them! The final players in any season of Survivor have come a long way and have endured a lot to get to the final tribal council. They should be prepared for the jury so that they can make their last few moments in the game count. Certain kinds of questions can be anticipated. They should have in mind some character traits that got them into the finals, and those traits should show as much strength and active playing as possible. They should be ready to say why their opponent does not deserve to win. They should be ready to talk about which other players do and do not deserve to be in their position. They should be able to clearly state what their strategy was. If they have regrets, they should admit them, and if they can apologize sincerely to a juror, they should. They should anticipate angry jurors, again apologize if appropriate, and do their best to take the criticism gracefully. And if a question seems to come from left field, they should answer it quickly and move on. Finally, they should use their final words to restate why they deserve to win and should not use that time to repent their actions at the last minute.