[Jeff Probst]

Cole,

Here you can address the jury with your question or statement. You should keep it to one post that they can reply to. Try to include all of your questions/statement in this post and save any rebuttals or further questioning for the live council on Sunday.

Please do not ask the final three to go down any long lists, keep in mind that each question takes a very long time to properly answer and asking too much can be tedious.

The floor is now yours! Please post your questions/statements before Saturday at 8c/9e.

[Cole]

Congratulations Christina, Simone & Kim

Wow. What an amazing final 3. <3 I feel like all three of you individually worked really hard to get here, and respectfully, all three of you deserve to win in some right. This is definitely a challenging decision, and I'm looking forward to reading other jury members questions, and gauge how you respond. I feel like no one has officially made up their mind yet, so don't just assume you have it in the bag... or don't stand a chance at winning! :)

Christina

Oh, Christina. Although your game looks great on paper, I feel that socially, your game was severely lacking. You just really didn't come off genuine when talking to you. Like at all. In fact, conversing with you was very similar to talking to a teenage girl... maybe that's what you were going for, or maybe that's who you actually are? (I don't think I ever caught your age), but pretty much every conversation we had seemed fake. It felt like you were trying really hard to put the charm on. I think the best thing you can say about your game is that you were a challenge beast, and you were good at bluffing with the idol. But is that really enough for you to get my vote? Please tell me why you're a more worthy winner than Simone or Kim. Who did you directly orchestrate getting out during the game, that was purely from your influence? What move did you make that directly impacted the game that you're most proud of? If you were in the jury, who would you vote for? Who do you think deserves to beat you? I want to hear some dirt. I want to hear the nitty gritty. Because I feel like you've been so fake with me, I reaaaaallly don't want to hear a fake ass answer from you for my questions. I want you to prove to me (and everyone else) why you deserve to be the sole survivor, regardless of your skills at challenges. Because I don't think being good at challenges is the most important component of the game.

Kim

Hey Kim. You are rad AF. I absolutely loved talking to you. You are truly a one of a kind, special person, despite you trying to paint yourself out to be a weasel haha. I feel like your social & strategic game was on point. I think the way you handled yourself was with tact, and you definitely earned my respect. I think you and Simone played a very similar game, except she was much more behind the scenes. How are you any different than Simone though? Despite the fact that she wasn't as "present" as you, what moves in the game did you make that was more dynamic than hers? Why do you think that you're a more deserving winner than Christina or Simone? I feel like you weren't any more strategic, or more special than the other two contestants sitting next to you. I want you to convince me why I should vote for you over them. What move did you make that directly impacted the game that you're most proud of? What's your biggest regret in the game? This is a really tough decision, so if you feel confident that you're the most deserving, I'd really like to know why. Because right now, I can't think why I should vote for you over Simone or Christina, despite our friendship.

Simone

Simone! <3 You were my number one, since day one. You were always there to listen to me bitch, you were a pleasure to shoot the shit with late at night, you were my voice of reason. I really valued you in this game, and adored playing with you. I knew I could always rely on you, and honestly wanted to go to the end with you. Thank you for putting up with my crazy ass, and my stubbornness. I personally know that you played a very under the radar game, and I think that you deserve credit for it. You were on the right side of the votes every time, and even though you were an apparent social threat, not once did it occur to someone to target you. I think that you played an awesome game, dude. And I think you would have fucked us all up if you had more time to dedicate to the game (challenges, etc). I guess my question is similar to Kim & Christina- what do you think separates you from the two of them? What made your experience more unique, why do you think that you have an edge over them that merits you to deserve to be the sole survivor of Stranded? What move did you make that directly impacted the game that you're most proud of? If you could do something differently in the game, what would you change? Who do you think sitting next to you doesn't deserve to be here? If you could take one person off the FTC, who would you remove & replace? Also, was voting Pat a last second decision, or did you already have him pre voted?


I also have a question for Kim & Simone. During Patrick's boot, Kim, you said that you wanted to vote out Ryan publicly on the forum. Matt said that he was on board too. Had Patrick said "Okay, I'll vote Ryan", would you have actually gone through with it? Simone, would you have voted Ryan out as well to "blend in"? Or was that all for show? If it went to a tie with Kim/Simone/Patrick/Matt vs Roark/Christina/Ryan/Extra vote on Pat, would you have gone to rocks, or would you have switched your vote to vote out Pat? If you had successfully gotten out Ryan at 7, and Pat was still in the game, what would your game plan been moving forward? Christina, if they had publicly said they were voting Ryan, would you have played your idol on him, or would you have gone with the majority?

It truly was a pleasure to play this game with the three of you. This is a great final 3, with three strong, intelligent women. All three of you are awesome in your own way, I honestly have no idea who's going to win, it's so up in the air. Thank you for taking the time to read my questions, and I look forward to reading your answers. :) May the best gal win.

[Christina]

~*Christina’s Response to Cole*~



Oh, Christina. Although your game looks great on paper, I feel that socially, your game was severely lacking. You just really didn't come off genuine when talking to you. Like at all. In fact, conversing with you was very similar to talking to a teenage girl... maybe that's what you were going for, or maybe that's who you actually are? (I don't think I ever caught your age), but pretty much every conversation we had seemed fake. It felt like you were trying really hard to put the charm on. I think the best thing you can say about your game is that you were a challenge beast, and you were good at bluffing with the idol. But is that really enough for you to get my vote? Please tell me why you're a more worthy winner than Simone or Kim. Who did you directly orchestrate getting out during the game, that was purely from your influence? What move did you make that directly impacted the game that you're most proud of? If you were in the jury, who would you vote for? Who do you think deserves to beat you? I want to hear some dirt. I want to hear the nitty gritty. Because I feel like you've been so fake with me, I reaaaaallly don't want to hear a fake ass answer from you for my questions. I want you to prove to me (and everyone else) why you deserve to be the sole survivor, regardless of your skills at challenges. Because I don't think being good at challenges is the most important component of the game.

I am sorry if your felt that I was not genuine to speak with. I thought we has some great conversations in the early merge. I felt like during the Jonas/Chrissy vote, we were discussing it in detail and bonding very well. This was around the time when you said you wanted to work with me. I changed my game when everyone lied to me during the Ali vote. Yourself, Patrick, Simone, Kim, Julie = Everyone voted for Ali and lied to me about it. At this point, I knew I was not high in regard for your games. I had to change the way I was playing to a more public game. Kim at this point even told me that due to my challenge wins, she was not able to work with me and I just had to ‘keep surviving’ and maybe things would change later on. My social game in the instant messages was more conversational and planting seeds of doubt, or seeds of things to do then anything else. I adapted my game to the situation I was thrown in the merge: to an open game. Everyone knew where I was at, because I wanted everyone to fear me. Does she have 2 idols? Does she have 1 idol?

The move I am most proud of is singling yourself/Patrick/Simone/Kim as key players in a public forum. Game moves are not all in instant message, and after Ali’s boot my major moves were played in a public forum. This move was to cause doubt in the head of other members of the merge game to take you guys out. Not to follow the leader, but to make a move and play for themselves. This led to the eventual tied purple rock vote. People felt strongly enough about breaking this up that they went to rocks for it. This purple rock was purely from my influence. Patrick leaving was purely from my influence of his ability to win this game and play it. I kept biting and bumping people into the spotlight every tribal council. The targets I needed them to become, and pluck them out of the shadows that they were hiding in. I never thought I was going to have to play this way but didn’t back down when it was the hand I was dealt, after winning the 3 first merge immunity challenges.

Another thing pre-merge that not many were aware of was that Ali/Myself were going to vote out Matt if Michael/Matt/Ali/Myself were to go to another tribal council. We were going to blindside him due to the potential idol he may have had. I feel as though before the merge hit, I was playing this very low-key strategic game that could have really been great come merge. I think this changed when everyone labeled me as a challenge hoe and that ruined my ability to play that strategic game.

I am worthier of the win because I played this game strategically. The biggest difference is that my game was strategic in an open thread for everyone to see. I had nowhere to hide my threat age, so everything had to be a public domain for all to see. Simone and Kim were not safe in this entire merge game. Simone was almost caught in a tie when I used my idol on her (I literally had my vote on Simone until 1 min prior when I swapped to Matt and used my idol). Kim, if the rules were followed and we all wanted them to be, would have been given fourth place. If Ryan didn’t mess up 1 post, he would have beat Kim in the final challenge. Simone was rarely here for the live challenges and tribal councils throughout the merge where everything was going down at rapid speed. We had an entire tribal council of unknown on where the heck Simone was at and how she was voting. Nobody ever had to question where I was, I was there. I was out and loud with my thoughts, opinions, and what was going on in the game from my perspective. I was even here when my electricity was out, and I was huddled on my phone downloading apps to see if I could do the maze. I never gave up, and I always adapted to the hand that I was dealt in this crazy game.

If I was in the jury. I was between Ryan or Kim as to who deserved to win. I wrote Ryan out a lot during the merge game as being a follower. However, with Cole leaving during the tied round. Patrick leaving the game soon after. Ryan’s game was shown in more of a light to me. I think his ability to get to the top 4 on his own merit spoke to the game he was playing. I was going to see how he did in terms of questions and see if there really was more to his game then was see. Kim was my other choice because of the strategic game she had. I felt bonded to her from day 1 and then she dropped me like a hot potato when I was winning the challenges. My biggest concern with her game would be: the ability she had over people, or was she more of a follower. What game moves did she influence and what was just done by Cole/Patrick that she followed. As much as many loved her, she did seem very much alone towards the end of merge as well—minus Simone. So, I was between those two for the win. Simone’s inability to vote out Kim made her lose so much respect in my own head to win this game. She didn’t seem like her own player, and her inability to be here for any challenge or tribal council 100% didn’t sit well with me either. It was hard to know what she really was thinking and doing when I wanted to know and potentially work with her.

I would like to end your questions with: I agree that an idol and immunity challenges do not deserve to win this game. I did not play this game, to beat you all in the challenges. I played this game to manipulate and be a strategic player. I hope you see that I did not think winning the challenges was going to be so easy for me at times. I did not expect to win the first 3 immunity challenges and then become this huge threat that nobody wanted to work with or trust. When this happened, I had to change my strategic game into an open-for all to see game that was a bit more chaotic. It was hard to be of influence when people were waiting for the chance to vote me out. However, I still used my power of voice and the power of bringing people up in tribal councils to my benefit and strategy.

Christina, if they had publicly said they were voting Ryan, would you have played your idol on him, or would you have gone with the majority?

I wanted Patrick to go during this tribal council. I would not have swayed from that vote. I would not have voted for Ryan, even if the majority was doing it. I would not have used my idol to save Ryan either(too early to use it, when I didn't know the future challenges). I was playing Christina’s game, and my best move was to see the back of Patrick at that point. Kim/Simone were potentials for me if I was to lose challenges—I thought, anyways.(I know that fell through now, and they were lying to me but did not at this time.) Ryan/Matt/Roark were all potentials in terms of voting with me as well to take out the bigger threats in their eyes. So to have Ryan go, and Patrick to still be in the game, wouldn’t have been ideal for me.

[Kim]

Oh Cole, how I've missed you Our relationship in this game is something I always had trouble understanding. I always knew you had a closer game relationship with Patrick and Simone, but at the same time, we were such a dynamic duo who could throw ideas off of each other and you were always there to alert me if someone was coming after me. Honestly, that's why I was so shocked when you made the revelation you wanted to flip. In hindsight, I understand you gotta do what you gotta do for your game, but I think I was just so caught aback because I would have went to rocks for you at that point in time.

One subtle move I am very proud of was at the Bill vote. First off, I knew that coming into the merge, people might be quick to try and vote out Roark due to an unfair twist and her not deserving to be here. I thought that was an insignificant reason to get rid of someone who I personally might get along with and could work with in the future. After talking with Roark, I realized she was someone I did not want to go home come the merge. Then, at the Bill vote, she chooses to give immunity to me over Simone. I strategically knew that Roark would be important since Jeff specifically said "I advise you to get to know her." Obviously, the connection we created was natural, but it was also a faceted part of moving my game forward.

At the beginning of the merge, I knew that she would become a swing vote and I wanted to play that position with her and have the option to go different ways with her knowing we'd have more power as a duo. However, as the game advanced, I determined that it was a strategic advantage to settle down with the people I felt loyal to and felt would be loyal to me and based on what people had told me, I did not feel comfortable Roark would have went the distance with me. Moreover, I found that person in Simone. Honestly, Simone probably should have gotten rid of me at the Final 4, but unlike Roark, I correctly deciphered that Simone was someone who wouldn't turn her back on me and would be a reliable ally that would take me to the end if I lost the final challenge (which is exactly what happened). I strategically picked who I genuinely trusted based on who I thought would be loyal to me and as soon as I felt that loyalty questioned, I made sure I had other options in case things went south. I found people who would stick by me through thick and thin which is not something that can be said for Christina.

Going back to the Bill vote, I had learned that you and Chrissy had a big disagreement/'fight' on the swapped Bambarun tribe where Chrissy apparently told you she would vote out Julie and then went behind your back and ratted you out to everyone else. I had no idea how true all of this was, but I knew that the beginning merge votes are always the craziest and I wanted the spotlight to be off of me as much as physically possible going into the merge. At the vote, it was 100% obvious Bill was going home so I decided to plant a little seed and watch it grow. I was the 'hinky' vote for you that round, not Chrissy. However, I knew that you would never expect it was me and would automatically go at Chrissy and further put attention on the two of you and take it away from me. In addition to this, I had talked with Julie and she felt betrayed and extremely upset with how you treated her. Again, I had no idea how true or significant it all was, but I knew at the time, I wanted Julie by my side and by being the only other person to vote you with her would show her that I was with her and she could trust me. I strategically threw my vote away in order to gain Julie's trust and fuel the fire that was burning between you and Chrissy knowing that it would have no effect on my relationship with you and I could continue moving forward in the game with you. My biggest regret is not riding the Julie wave longer. The longer she would have stayed in the game, the bigger her target would get and the more scared people would become of her.

I think I deserve to win over Simone and Christina because at some point in this game, everyone on the jury trusted me to be with them to some extent. I was able to strategically place myself in a position where I would not go home or at least have a chance of staying (you turning on me during the final 8 was the only time I was genuinely surprised so major props to you). Also, multiple times when I went against someone in a vote, I was able to do damage control and get them to trust me/work with me again. When I betrayed Julie at the Jonas vote, I was able to explain my reasoning and reassure her I was with her and then worked with her at the next vote. When Ryan came after me at the Jonas vote since he didn't want to vote Jonas, I was able to regain his trust back and assure him I was with him going forward to the point where even though I was who the opposing side was going to target at the Jonas vote, I diverted all the votes off of me onto Roark in case Jonas played an idol. I was actively ensuring my safety and maintaining my relationships so that I could strategically vote with who I wanted and not worry about people not trusting me afterwards. Also, I was a part of a group chat with Roark, myself, you, and Patrick that Simone nor Christina were a part of showing the extent of my social game that Roark trusted me more than Simone and Christina at the time. Back to the damage control, going into the Final 6 vote, Simone, Ryan, and I were always planning on voting for Roark because Ryan had the extra vote (of which I knew about before Ryan even told me). However, after the vote, I got Christina to believe that I only voted Roark because I thought she was coming at Simone at tribal. I acted dumb so that she still thought I was with her in case I was at danger of going home at the Final 5. In addition, Simone made a mistake by telling Christina about Ryan's extra vote after the Final 6 vote. I used this as an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with Ryan by telling him about it in order to gain his trust. I believe my strategic game showed primarily in my ability to be open and willing to work with my enemies. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I was flexible and I was able to use my social game to give me strategic options that Christina and Simone did not have.

[Simone]

Cole <3 TY for the kind words. It was hard to see you go, well it was kind of epic and it fitted you perfectly but it sucked because I never got to say a proper goodbye. I knew you'd want me to continue on and finish what we started. You provided the LAUGHS in some of those shoot the shit conversations. Your paranoia sometimes was next level and it was always kept me entertained. It was such a fun time playing with you through the ups and downs and thanks for making this so memorable for me. <3

What made my experience more unique than Christina's was I knew coming into this that I would more than likely be very vulnerable during my time in the game so I knew that I would have to create as many bonds as I could throughout my time in the game to make sure when the vote came around no one would be like "Oh hey, why don't we just vote for Simone?" because I wouldn't be there to defend myself. I had to constantly be on the ball with my social game even if that meant staying up to all hours messaging people because it's just how I had to play the game. Christina managed to win a lot of challenges and then and ONLY then with that immunity would she go straight into calling people out. I'd like to know if she ever would have got as pushy in tribal councils as she did if we all didn't know abut her public idol or if she didn't have any immunity secured to her. Even those times she didn't play the idol, she knew we were all playing around her because of that idol so chances are we wouldn't vote for her anyway.

What separates me from Kim is it was you/Patrick and I as a solid threesome with Kim kind of floating on the outside but we still had trust in her and there were a lot of times we questioned that trust as well which is why we never fully gave the whole picture. We were the backbone of a lot of went down in the game in that little threesome chat and Kim would then be brought into it after. I was always at least one step ahead of her in the fact I knew what was going down before her. I knew coming into this she had the big "Kimberly is a threat" hanging over her head, but in my mind we mirrored each other in the game because we virtually worked with the same people except I was more ingrained in the alliance than she was. I think Kim was very easy to get along with and she was easy to talk to which is where her threat status built from. After you and then Patrick left... I was able to pick up and continue with the game we were playing by making sure Roark left and then Matt using all the knowledge I had from our alliance chat to make sure Ryan stuck with us and that gave me the edge.

A move I'm most proud of? Besides the ones I've talked a lot about... I think my favorite moves were at the start of the merge where everything was crazy and I could float around and just create little pockets of doubt. I remember the first weekend of the merge and you thinking that you were done because Julie and Chrissy were after you. I think I even had a conversation with you were I was like Cole, you'll be fine... we'll work something out and then thats where voting for Jonas came in. I know a lot of us had a part in that vote but I distinctly remember needing to protect you and keep you in the game with me so after Chrissy had told me she really trusted Jonas... I floated around to a few people "Jonas is a super strong player, if we take out Jonas, we dismantle Julie, Chrissy, Leif because they all connect to him and without him they'd scatter" It may have not been an all out assault of a move but I think creating that idea that that is a possible alliance in the game stuck in peoples minds and if you talk about something enough, people will eventually believe it. My other proud move was the move right after in the third minutes leading up to the next tribal and voting out Chrissy. I know a lot of people were on the fence about voting for her so showing up and just pushing for it as much as I could and getting it to happen in that short period even shocked me. I even told Julie at that point I wasn't voting for her and I was voting for Chrissy and that was in order to gain a little bit of trust back from the round before because at that point Julie was being left out of a lot. The round after I thought I'd blown up my game too much when I heard Ali and Christina were telling people it was all me which made me then go on the defence against them.

As for this F3... you can look at this as a cop out or whatever but I think the other two deserve to be here and I wouldn't replace them. This was the F3 I was actively trying to avoid just because given people perceptions of the other two at times during the game, I knew this would be a much more harder sell than Ryan, Kim and I. Christina and Kim were both two people literally every one in this game at different times was avoiding letting get to far for whatever reasons they had.

At the tribal council Patrick got voted out at, I had originally voted Matt. The last conversation I had with Kim before the chat shut off was about how everyone was targeting Patrick and the very last thing she said to me was "Let's just leave our votes on Matt". At the tribal given that Ryan had completely flipped on you at the vote before and even tho Ryan was telling me he was voting Matt... It was really a 50/50 split if he would or not because Christina had told me he was voting Patrick with her. After the jury kind of reacting to Patrick winning comments I was starting to get the feeling thats where Ryan would lean. So I decided in that second I would vote for Patrick to blend in with the vote so I don't burn too much trust and then at the F6 pick up the pieces and work out a new game plan moving forward. Turns out Kim had changed her mind during the tribal also so we both had the same instinct to do that. I figured I could have been stealth about it but that didn't work when she changed also lmao. It was a decision I didn't take lightly but it felt at that point in the game it had to be done because he was a strong player also. I wasn't going to vote for Ryan even if everyone wanted to because I was the only person who had a good relationship with Ryan left in the game and after Roark and Matt had completely burned the bridge given those were the people he was trying to get to the end with. If Pat had stayed I'm not sure. Pat and I had conversations about voting out Kim and Kim and I had conversations about voting out Pat. So if I wanted to take one or the other out in the final rounds I had the option to do so if it came down to that which is most likely would have happened.

I think that's covered everything. Wether you vote for me or not, ily and thank you so much for being a friend in this. You were by far the low-key funniest person. I hope we can continue some of those talks after this is all done. <3

[Cole]

Oh Cole, how I've missed you Our relationship in this game is something I always had trouble understanding. I always knew you had a closer game relationship with Patrick and Simone, but at the same time, we were such a dynamic duo who could throw ideas off of each other and you were always there to alert me if someone was coming after me. Honestly, that's why I was so shocked when you made the revelation you wanted to flip. In hindsight, I understand you gotta do what you gotta do for your game, but I think I was just so caught aback because I would have went to rocks for you at that point in time.

One subtle move I am very proud of was at the Bill vote. First off, I knew that coming into the merge, people might be quick to try and vote out Roark due to an unfair twist and her not deserving to be here. I thought that was an insignificant reason to get rid of someone who I personally might get along with and could work with in the future. After talking with Roark, I realized she was someone I did not want to go home come the merge. Then, at the Bill vote, she chooses to give immunity to me over Simone. I strategically knew that Roark would be important since Jeff specifically said "I advise you to get to know her." Obviously, the connection we created was natural, but it was also a faceted part of moving my game forward.

At the beginning of the merge, I knew that she would become a swing vote and I wanted to play that position with her and have the option to go different ways with her knowing we'd have more power as a duo. However, as the game advanced, I determined that it was a strategic advantage to settle down with the people I felt loyal to and felt would be loyal to me and based on what people had told me, I did not feel comfortable Roark would have went the distance with me. Moreover, I found that person in Simone. Honestly, Simone probably should have gotten rid of me at the Final 4, but unlike Roark, I correctly deciphered that Simone was someone who wouldn't turn her back on me and would be a reliable ally that would take me to the end if I lost the final challenge (which is exactly what happened). I strategically picked who I genuinely trusted based on who I thought would be loyal to me and as soon as I felt that loyalty questioned, I made sure I had other options in case things went south. I found people who would stick by me through thick and thin which is not something that can be said for Christina.

Going back to the Bill vote, I had learned that you and Chrissy had a big disagreement/'fight' on the swapped Bambarun tribe where Chrissy apparently told you she would vote out Julie and then went behind your back and ratted you out to everyone else. I had no idea how true all of this was, but I knew that the beginning merge votes are always the craziest and I wanted the spotlight to be off of me as much as physically possible going into the merge. At the vote, it was 100% obvious Bill was going home so I decided to plant a little seed and watch it grow. I was the 'hinky' vote for you that round, not Chrissy. However, I knew that you would never expect it was me and would automatically go at Chrissy and further put attention on the two of you and take it away from me. In addition to this, I had talked with Julie and she felt betrayed and extremely upset with how you treated her. Again, I had no idea how true or significant it all was, but I knew at the time, I wanted Julie by my side and by being the only other person to vote you with her would show her that I was with her and she could trust me. I strategically threw my vote away in order to gain Julie's trust and fuel the fire that was burning between you and Chrissy knowing that it would have no effect on my relationship with you and I could continue moving forward in the game with you. My biggest regret is not riding the Julie wave longer. The longer she would have stayed in the game, the bigger her target would get and the more scared people would become of her.

I think I deserve to win over Simone and Christina because at some point in this game, everyone on the jury trusted me to be with them to some extent. I was able to strategically place myself in a position where I would not go home or at least have a chance of staying (you turning on me during the final 8 was the only time I was genuinely surprised so major props to you). Also, multiple times when I went against someone in a vote, I was able to do damage control and get them to trust me/work with me again. When I betrayed Julie at the Jonas vote, I was able to explain my reasoning and reassure her I was with her and then worked with her at the next vote. When Ryan came after me at the Jonas vote since he didn't want to vote Jonas, I was able to regain his trust back and assure him I was with him going forward to the point where even though I was who the opposing side was going to target at the Jonas vote, I diverted all the votes off of me onto Roark in case Jonas played an idol. I was actively ensuring my safety and maintaining my relationships so that I could strategically vote with who I wanted and not worry about people not trusting me afterwards. Also, I was a part of a group chat with Roark, myself, you, and Patrick that Simone nor Christina were a part of showing the extent of my social game that Roark trusted me more than Simone and Christina at the time. Back to the damage control, going into the Final 6 vote, Simone, Ryan, and I were always planning on voting for Roark because Ryan had the extra vote (of which I knew about before Ryan even told me). However, after the vote, I got Christina to believe that I only voted Roark because I thought she was coming at Simone at tribal. I acted dumb so that she still thought I was with her in case I was at danger of going home at the Final 5. In addition, Simone made a mistake by telling Christina about Ryan's extra vote after the Final 6 vote. I used this as an opportunity to strengthen my relationship with Ryan by telling him about it in order to gain his trust. I believe my strategic game showed primarily in my ability to be open and willing to work with my enemies. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I was flexible and I was able to use my social game to give me strategic options that Christina and Simone did not have.

Thank you for your thoughtful answer, Kim.

Could you please answer this question for me, when you have the time?

I also have a question for Kim & Simone. During Patrick's boot, Kim, you said that you wanted to vote out Ryan publicly on the forum. Matt said that he was on board too. Had Patrick said "Okay, I'll vote Ryan", would you have actually gone through with it? Simone, would you have voted Ryan out as well to "blend in"? Or was that all for show? If it went to a tie with Kim/Simone/Patrick/Matt vs Roark/Christina/Ryan/Extra vote on Pat, would you have gone to rocks, or would you have switched your vote to vote out Pat? If you had successfully gotten out Ryan at 7, and Pat was still in the game, what would your game plan been moving forward? Christina, if they had publicly said they were voting Ryan, would you have played your idol on him, or would you have gone with the majority?

:)

[Kim]

I also have a question for Kim & Simone. During Patrick's boot, Kim, you said that you wanted to vote out Ryan publicly on the forum. Matt said that he was on board too. Had Patrick said "Okay, I'll vote Ryan", would you have actually gone through with it? Simone, would you have voted Ryan out as well to "blend in"? Or was that all for show? If it went to a tie with Kim/Simone/Patrick/Matt vs Roark/Christina/Ryan/Extra vote on Pat, would you have gone to rocks, or would you have switched your vote to vote out Pat? If you had successfully gotten out Ryan at 7, and Pat was still in the game, what would your game plan been moving forward? Christina, if they had publicly said they were voting Ryan, would you have played your idol on him, or would you have gone with the majority?

Omg I'm so dumb I missed this lol but absolutely. I think I may have mentioned this somewhere, but my goal going into that tribal was to make it out in a better position than I was going into it. Now I went into that tribal voting for Matt like Simone said, but I was totally undecided what I was actually going to do at tribal. It was very much a live tribal council for me. On one hand, I wanted to go to the end with Patrick because I had made such a genuine connection with him and we had been loyal to each other for so long. However, on the other hand, I realized that if I voted out Patrick, I would no longer be lumped into this power trio, Matt would be grateful to me for saving him, and Ryan would feel a lot more secure going forward since he wouldn't have to worry about me being closer to Patrick than I was to him. Ultimately, it came down to what move would allow me to get myself to the end of the game. I mentioned in my opening statement about how I wanted options and voting Patrick out was the best way to ensure I had these options going forward where I could work with people outside of Simone/Patrick and be seen as an individual rather than a group. HOWEVER, because I did value the loyalty Patrick and I had to each other, I put out there that I would vote Ryan out. I knew Ryan was closer to Patrick than I first realized and I wanted to test if Patrick's loyalty to me was enough to vote out Ryan. At the time, Ryan and I were not as close because he had Patrick and I knew Matt would vote Ryan with us. It was a viable option that would have allowed me to stay loyal to Patrick and get rid of someone who otherwise was coming after me.

Unfortunately, the point when Patrick said he was not voting out Ryan was the point where I felt his bond with Ryan was clouding his judgment and was becoming stronger than my bond to him was. It was the hardest vote out I made in this game, but I do not regret making it. However, if Simone and Patrick had agreed to vote Ryan with Matt and I, I 100% would have done it. The whole point of that tribal like I said was to come out of it in a better position than I went into it. My goal in this game was to go to the Final 3 with Simone and Patrick and by putting us back in a decent position, we could achieve that. As for if we tied, I would not have flipped and I would have went to rocks. I'm not scared of going to rocks because one, it shows your undying loyalty to your alliance and they're more likely to never turn on you after that, two, Patrick went to rocks for me so it was only fair if I did the same for him, and three, if I go home because I got rocked out, at least I know I made an impact on the game and will be asked back. If Ryan went home, my plan would have been what it was all along: to go to the finals with Simone and Patrick.

[Cole]

Christina, Kim & Simone- Thank you so much for taking the time and energy to respond to my questions in such a thoughtful, and thorough manner. It means so much to me :') It has really given me a new perspective and insight in where your head has been this entire game. I wish all three of you the best of luck. <3