Episode 17

[Lindsey Richter]

Final 6! You've officially outlasted half the people that made the merge. There are now only 3 Tribal Councils standing between you and the finals. Congratulations.

What did you think of Teresa leaving last night?

The past few votes have been relatively easy and unanimous. Do you think these were missed opportunities to make a move?

Round after round, people have threatened to play idols. But this round is the last round that people can play them. Are you worried about idols? How are you going to plan around them?

[Cirie]

We're so close to the end now. Do you think you have what it takes to win?

I’m incredibly proud of my performance throughout this game. I’ve made it to at least the final five and outlasted nineteen other competitors. Most of these players considered this to an All-stars game and relied on prior relationships to a certain extent. But, I felt like I was playing this game against twenty-three strangers… Except they all knew each other. And they didn’t know me. I was the outsider and needed to make inroads fast.

So many players underestimated me to their detriment. I think my position in this game is so interesting and unique. I can’t think of an analogous player from the actual show. Nearly everyone in this series wanted to take me to the end, because they regarded me as a potential goat. But, in the process of locking down final three commitments, they conceded so much power to me. Instead of saying, “I want you to be in my final three and this is what we’re going to do,” everyone has been saying, “I want you in my final three. What do you want to do?” This has constantly put me in the swing vote position. Can I truly be the goat if I’ve largely been dictating the game’s movement?

What's your plan now after such a crazy tribal council? What moves do you feel you still need to make?

Anarchy may be an entertaining strategy, but it’s not a winning one. I wish more people were actually playing the game to win! A lot of the contestants in the early merge were high-risk players that were chasing the adrenaline high of blindsides. They would even make moves that were detrimental to their long-term interests in order to chase that high. For example, Brenda aggravated the other players when she put her allies under the gun during a tribal council. Another example involved Sarah’s choice to use an immunity necklace to protect a clear outsider in Naonka. It’s no coincidence that these players were voted out shortly after they made such reckless gambles.

Nobody likes unpredictability! In particular, Sarah was a huge enigma at this game. At one point, Willard proposed a final four alliance of him, Gina, Sarah, and myself. Sarah communicated that she was on board with this alliance, but if Rudy, Naonka, and Teresa are to be believed, she was also conspiring to remove Gina from this game. I’m sure Sarah was placating them to a certain extent, but I worried that she was actively tossing Gina’s name around after she agreed to work with Gina. That was shady!

[Cirie]

I planned to align with the other exiles and take two of them to the final three. I strongly believed that this was the only plausible way to present a compelling argument to the jury in order to win. As a result, I was very frustrated at Brenda’s elimination, because it reduced my plausible endgame combinations from three to just one. I did feel that Brenda was going to be difficult to beat, because she presented herself as such a figurehead in her alliance. But, I still wanted to keep Brenda around as long as possible in order to have a little bit of insurance.

Brenda’s elimination forced me to double down on my commitments with Gina and Rudy. (Rudy wasn’t even aware of the exile plans until Gregg’s elimination and I had to disclose the information to him.) It’s incredibly rewarding to see how well this objective has been implemented so far. I considered this strategy at the final 20 and there are still three exiles in this game! Even if Paloma or Frank squeeze out a crucial immunity win, it’s still remarkable that the exiles have been able to stay together so deep into this game.

I was also pursuing an alternative endgame plan with Willard. I was pursuing both of these commitments in good faith and I wasn’t precluding one over another. I thought immunity idols or unexpected twists could either force my hand or otherwise affect my plans! I wanted to keep all options open! I felt that I could present a reasonable argument against Willard in the final three and I was disappointed with his elimination. At least I get to say that I substantially honored my agreement with him and didn’t participate in his elimination.

A lot of my discussions in the last few rounds involved the hidden immunity idols and how I could potentially diffuse them. Paloma and Gina both held immunity idols and they were entrenched in strong alliances. As a result, the hidden immunity idols actually restricted a lot of the movement in this game. I needed to make sure that I was in a stable position even if the idols were play. There weren’t a whole lot of options left in the final six. Rudy, Willard, and I were all vulnerable players and Willard was eliminated by default!

[Cirie]

How are you feeling about being voted here? Does that make you nervous going forward? What are your chances of making it out of tonight alive?

Unfortunately, I have been distracted in the last few days due to outside commitments. I haven’t been as active as I would like and could not attend yesterday’s tribal council. (I may not even be able to attend tonight’s tribal council!) I have needed to rely on others to follow the groundwork that I already have put in place and as a result, I’m incredibly vulnerable during these final rounds. It’s way too easy to vote out someone when they’re not even at tribal council!

My absence has caused some problems for me. I prevoted for Frank at the last tribal council without knowing that he would win immunity. This move left me exposed and probably signaled to Frank and Paloma my intent to renege on our agreement. My absence has also caused me to be an easy target for exile. It’s frustrating to be sequestered away from the other players so late in this game, because it prevents me from handling any damage control. I don’t know if any agreements or loyalties have shifted while I’m stuck here sitting on the sidelines.

I may be in danger this round, but I can only hope that the players will continue to act in their self-interests--- It is not a strategically optimal or rational move to vote me out when there are so many jury threats left in this game!

[Becky Lee]

I hope you win. I have watched your journey in this game and it has been incredible if you look at it from start to finish. Good luck so much on this because you deserve it.

[Jeff Probst]

I hope you win. I have watched your journey in this game and it has been incredible if you look at it from start to finish. Good luck so much on this because you deserve it.

I'll second this... You won my vote over even Frank and Paloma at the final 5 tC when you had the balls to start pleading your case and it was a good plea.

[Cirie]

Thanks guys! I really appreciate it and I've had a lot of fun with this experience. Thanks for putting this whole game up!

[Cirie]

Ugh. Naonka makes absolutely zero sense. She regards me as a goat, but also feel betrayed that I didn't vote with her? What was I supposed to do? "Aw gee, Naonka, I'm sorry that I didn't let you beat me in the final three."

You can't accuse me of being a goat in one breath and then complain about the poor final three in another. It doesn't make sense! It's circular logic.