[Jeff Probst]

This is Dean's Final Tribal Council Thread.

All other Jurors should remain in their own threads. Final 3, remember... this is not for you to address each other, but to talk to Dean. In-fighting amongst the Final 3 should be reserved for the Live Final Tribal Council on Sunday.

Dean, you have until Saturday at 8c/9e to post your statements/questions to the Final 3. Remember not to take up too much of their time as they have 7 other jurors to get to. Please no listing or questions requiring novels for answers. You should post all of your statements/questions in your opening post in this thread. There is a live Final Council on Sunday where you will get to address everyone live about the statements they have made as well ask follow-ups.

[Dean]

(I think my questions and statements are easy enough to answer and hopefully won't take too long to reply to. Still, I've bolded important things for you to see them better if you just want the tl;dr for what I asked for. But just like great sex, you really do need the buildup and foreplay before you get to the climax if you want a better time and understanding )

The Final Three.

Three different paths I can take with my single vote. Feels like I’m playing Fire Emblem: Fates again, with real life consequences this time. You all have something to bring to the table as being the winner of Stranded in Tanzania. This isn’t just about being a winner, but as an icon to represent our season as a whole. So many things have went on this season, so many different strategies, people, themes, opinions, twists, jokes, and struggles that went on. I think each of you have something going for you that represents at least some part of this season well. That is my belief, anyway. Having said that, my vote will first and foremost go to someone who earns it. Do your best to earn my vote. Good luck.

To you Aaron. Congratulations on being the first to post your opening statement, early compared to everyone else, since that tells me you came prepared for this. You have great confidence and are valiant. Bro what do I have to say to you, congrats. This has been super crazy to be a part of. Do you want an interesting factoid? You were the very first person on Stranded to talk game with me. When you said that you were talking to Tommy and thought that us 3 would make a great alliance together, that was the first time I spoke game with someone, and it was great and lead to many more fun experiences in this game. So I have to thank you for that, since at the end of the day, I came here to play a game. In a way, you were actually the start of my own game and how I began to play. Now, let's go further down the timeline onto the other tribe 2.0... Win or Booze was such an odd name I found, and it was wonky to write in confessionals, and so I just named our alliance and the point I’m making here, is that I think giving you the rights to name our alliance with Carl and Nick was one of your worst moves in the game. Leave the alliance names to me But I’m not here for bad moves, I’m here for good moves. I think you know this Aaron, but I’m not really the one you should be trying to impress here if you wanna win. However, I’m still not a lock for you 100%, despite what Nick once said at his tribal council. I want to reward gameplay, first and foremost. Not just who my friends and allies in the game are. I’m expecting you to still put a little bit of effort into your answer to me! You were my ride-or-die for most of this game. It wasn’t until orange tribe 2.0 where we really began to blossom together as a duo. But I have been on the jury for a while now, Aaron, and things have been told to me which really change how I look at pretty much everyone’s games, including yours. I'm curious, were you legitimately loyal to me up until my TC? You never once thought nor planned to go after me as we got closer to the end? That's a minor question, but I have something else on my mind I really want to know more. Out of the two of us, it seems I was one with a lot of the big plans or big moves. You did most of the dirty work as a henchman, so to speak, like getting Carl and Nick to form our alliance, and talking with John to smooth things over. After all, I was designated a big threat by everyone, and I was out in 9th place, as threats usually go out around mid-jury, while here you are, guaranteed at least 3rd place. Even though some people have wanted to target you before, they not once ever mentioned to me or to other people that it was because they see you as a threat. At least, that's how it was before I was sent to jury. Even though we were considered a duo, most things that were considered a danger or threat to outsiders seemed to fall under my jurisdiction. So then, Aaron, comes my big question. Just thinking about both of our games, as well as a couple things you said in your opening statement, it makes me raise my eyebrows a little bit. In the spirit of wanting you to watch BBCAN sometime after this is all over (omg please fucking watch it man), let me paraphrase an infamous jury question from that show to you now: Not including moves and strategy you did after I was voted off, what moves did you make that were solely your own decision and not mine?

To you Kara. Congratulations on not ever having your name read on a Tribal Council vote until the final four and staying out of everyone’s radar for an incredibly long time. You have great stealth and are clandestine. Ahh here we go, my crackhead twin! Thanks for being up late night with me. Sadly though, you were on the other side of the playing board for me this whole game. I gotta say, the rest of your main group that I perceived you to be in, such as John, Alison, and Devilina, all very much outshone you game-wise in my opinion. I can name off many things those three have done in the game which impress me, and I would really consider them to win if they were in your spot right now. But you Kara? I don’t even know anything that you did in Stranded. You never even spoke game with me once (not counting the basic “who are you voting for tonight?” stuff). Prove me wrong if that wasn't true. Out of the three people here in the finals, and perhaps even amongst most of the wider cast, I know next to nothing about you or your game. Your opening statement has provided some intel on things you did do which I did not know about, such as you leading the Davie vote, which is impressive. However, you also claim that you were a strong, visible player. Perhaps for allies closer to you this is true, but a visible player is something I myself would not describe you as. I actually considered you an under-the-radar player, and when I was in jury it seemed to be pretty impressive what you were doing, and I was warming up to this UTR gameplay and really thinking of you getting a secure win because of it, as the F3 got closer and closer. However, because your opening statement paints you as someone more in the forefront and not an UTR player, now my view of you as a player is way more foggy than it was before I left for jury, and a lot of what I thought of you as a player was thrown out the window. I feel like I'm looking at you from square one now. There was one line that was said in your opening statement in particular that caught my eye: "...thinking about how many people could I make feel like they owed me or wanted to keep me safe was critical to my game." The reason this line catches my attention is because it feels like you could have trapped me really good. If you knew me and my gameplay, you know that I love control. I love being on top. I love knowing that I'm the one calling the shots. And you could have easily manipulated me into thinking that I owned you and wanted to keep you safe so I could use you as a vote, or something else, yet you didn't attempt this at all with me. I have to wonder if this was a conscious choice or you just never thought about it; was it? Why? Overall, how did I fit into your strategy? I guess I'm just incredibly confused, because how you claim you are is 100% different from how I saw you. I'm sorry that I'm not able to really make this question specific too much, but I really do have to know: What were your biggest game moves, and what were some important moments you did for your game in the time period that we were together on a tribe (after the Chelsea vote to my own tribal council)? I just have to know because, again... I have no fucking clue what went down with you. If you were UTR then that would explain things from my perspective, but the gameplay you were describing was not the gameplay that I saw. So, I just want some quick clarification on what some very important things were to you. Describe your game to me like I never saw this season of Stranded before, stuff like that. I suppose we can try to get into specifics more during the live TC instead of making it super long here, no need to stress yourself out with an essay if that's too hard. Also I gotta say right now, congrats on going against John You did successfully what I was unable to do. You get brownie points from me for that.

To you Jack. Congratulations on winning the final immunity challenge, for when lots of people seemed to have doubted your capability in this game, you sped through each lock first before anybody else did. You have great willpower and are dexterous. Jack, my friend from Chicago. I grew very close to you on a personal level; more so than anyone in this game. You were the first person I confided in about my recent struggles and conditions and hospitalizations that have forever changed my life within the past couple years. And even though I’ve mentioned my story to a couple other people, you’re the only one who didn't get a crappy, short, knock-off version of it. You were a stranger to me still at that point when I told you it, and I’ve told others IRL about it too, yet it still felt really nice to tell you specifically. The moment we started talking, there was just something about you that kept me close to you. I don't know what it was, but it was really nice to talk with you always. You have an extremely friendly aura. You're an incredible listener. You listened to me ramble, I listened to you ramble, we had a wonderful type of relationship together. I can’t express how happy I was seeing Christian go out on Poroto and have you stay in the game at merge so we could regroup again. You’re a kind soul, and I hope you continue to remain a kind soul after this is over. And I hope you can get back to the comedy club once the pandemic is over! But… friendship doesn’t get you votes in this game. At least, not from people like me. Strategy is what gets you votes. I will say that you've shed your goat status in my eyes. From my own research if I was correct, there have been people like you before who have won Stranded. However! I will ask you hard questions still. Are you really wanting to win this? When Jeff asked you at the final four tribal council if you’re in it to win it, you didn’t really give a concrete enough answer that made me satisfied. So, are you? Are you truly, 100% wanting to win this game with all of your might? Why do you want to be the winner? I will be honest, I felt confident in Aaron and Kara's statements that they'd like to win. When I read their statements, I can feel that they'd love to be the winner, but I didn't get too much of a sensation from your opening statement that you wanted to actually win this; it felt more like an explanation for your gameplay thus far, rather than trying to prove to us why you feel like you should be the winner. If that makes sense? Maybe you can prove me wrong on that. Another thing that I must ask you, is why did you choose to play the kind of game that you played? Did you want to play this way even before Stranded in Tanzania began, or did it develop over a period of time? Well, these might seem like pretty basic questions, but I think it's enough from me since I know you well enough. I imagine some other jurors might have more specific questions to ask you. Of course, we will have the live TC as well to discuss anything else if I have further questions to ask you. Take care of yourself Jack.

[Aaron]

My brother-

Thank you first and foremost for taking the time to write such detailed questions and comments. I think I can safely speak for Kara and Jack when I say that we all appreciate both the kind words and constructive feedback.

I am going to try and answer your questions within my greater response, as I believe there is much more to unpack than just the two questions you asked. First and foremost, I want to address your "henchman" comment. While I can see your point to an extent, I am a bit perplexed as to how you came up with that conclusion. I will admit, I did to a lot of the dirty work, but a lot of the plans we came up with together. Starting with Nyiri 2.0, I was the one who filled you in on the potential for us to work with Carl & Nick, and I was also the one who originally came up with the idea to throw the challenge. I backed off the idea because Carl had told me he didn't want to do it, but you insisted on going forward with the plan (which worked to our benefit, and that I gave you credit for). I was also the first one to point out how dangerous Alison was, and motioned for her being the biggest threat on the other side (which ended up being true as she lured Tommy over as well as playing a big part in luring over Nick). As I alluded to in my post to Alison, it was also my idea to flip the votes onto Angelina during Alison's idol tribal council, which through Carl- you rejected. That move ended up being the end of your and Carl's game as we lost the potential majority. You were the bigger "threat" because you made yourself that way. To use a Survivor reference- I was the Trish to your Tony. I took care of the fires you caused with your eccentric game play. A few of the main examples being your lack of communication after the idol play on Alison that lost us the numbers where you were clearly positioned as the fall man, and the way you treated Alison after that vote (I won't go into anymore detail than that, but you know what I am talking about). I also worked all week to save both of us following that moment, and you insisted on playing hardball with John as opposed to working with him- I was the one who had to answer for that when you didn't. And I don't want you to mistake that statement as something resentful, because I wouldn't have it any other way.

Which leads to your first question of whether I was really true to the end of your TC. I think if everyone could agree on one thing about my game, it's about my loyalty to you. Up until the last minute before the chat closed down, I was working with John to try and get him to save you. I was willing to throw my game in the complete trash to ensure we did this together, because I believed in what we did THAT MUCH. You and I couldn't be more different, but through this developed a friendship that I wouldn't have thrown out for shit. As I mentioned in Nicky's question, I would have taken you to the end no matter what even if it killed my own game- that's how much I appreciated what we did together.

So with all of that said, I hope I was clear in my responses, and answered your questions. I slightly resent being called your henchman, when I viewed much of what we did in this game as a true partnership, but I can understand where you were coming from. You were the first person in the game I was able to talk real life to, and that I trusted with some personal anecdotes, and I will always appreciate that. I thank you for being a great ally, and a great friend. I look forward to watching BBCAN once this is all done and banging my head against the wall while telling you how much of a fool I was for not watching before. Cheers.

[Dean]

A great answer Aaron. Thanks for your input

[Kara]

Dean!! My crackhead buddy!!! It was so nice talking to you late when I was up doing nothing important or home for a longggg workday. Congratulations on playing a great game!

Prove me wrong if that wasn't true

Thank you so much for this, because now, I can see where the Jury and I are getting lost in translation. I wasn't an under the radar figure in this game at all- I messaged people numerous times about things they'd done that I disagreed with, I called out people at tribals- pretty much my presence in the game was very much in your face, now- strategically I did take a backseat behind John, Angelina and Alison- which is where I think the under the radar part of my game is, I guess most of my strategy was clandestine- I like that word . I was playing with 3 completely overpowering personalities- It may have looked like I wasn't playing strategically but I had essentially three major shields in front of me, that wanted to get out all the people I wanted to get out and weren't coming after me. Getting myself into that position- probably put me in the best position out of everybody in the game- and to dismiss that as strategic gameplay would be discounting a major part of this game.

I have to wonder if this was a conscious choice or you just never thought about it; was it? Why? Overall, how did I fit into your strategy?

Dean, you scared the hell out of me. After talking with you for 5 minutes I liked you, I knew you had a killer social game and the people on my side were aware of that too and knew you would have to go eventually. I 100% played a social only game with you- I knew that I wasn't willing to work with you and was not willing to give you any of my game information because I was worried about what you would do with it and how you could possibly twist the good situation I had going for me. My goal with you was to just bond when we could as crackheads so that if the wheel ever turned in your side's favor I would not be a target of yours- or at least had some ground to build upon with you at 4 am or something

What were your biggest game moves, and what were some important moments you did for your game in the time period that we were together on a tribe (after the Chelsea vote to my own tribal council)?

The first half of the merge was a time of observation for me. I was observing the dynamics- who was close with who and working to be on the right side of numbers here. I was very much not playing a self-serving game here and instead played tight with my allies in order to have the flip with Tommy and Nick go over well. I think my biggest move while playing together was honestly falling in line. When John told me he was playing his Idol- I would've much preferred to vote out someone like Aaron or Tommy, but he wanted Lauren as she was spreading his name around the tribe-I actually liked Lauren and thought I could work with her at some point, but following suit was the best move for me, it brought John, Alison and I even closer. I sacrificed some self-serving gameplay and bantering for my bigger picture, which was working with these giants before I had to cut them loose.

--

Thanks so much for explaining how you viewed my gameplay instead of generalizing it, and i hope my answers maybe cleared some things up for you and if not, we can talk Sunday! Also it's so crackhead of u to be up doing this

[Dean]

Well explained Kara! Thanks for your input

[Jack]

Dean, I know that you don’t need me to tell you, but I want to tell you: you are incredibly special to me. From the moment we started talking, there was an ease to it, an inexplicable connection. I feel so incredibly honored to have gotten to hear about your life. I had an instant respect for you because of the resilience and positive attitude you’ve had in the face of your recent challenges. My admiration for you has only grown since. I cannot wait to get back to our chats, though I really wish we could start them just a bit earlier in the evening - I can’t stay up as late as you! Meeting you is easily the best thing that happened to me in this game.

I knew you wouldn’t just give me your vote though! Why must you always be so damn respectable?

One thing I don’t think we ever got to talk about is something I brought up in my response to Nick - the fact that fifteen years ago, I used to play similar online Survivor games. When Covid happened, I decided maybe it was time to dust off the ol’ buff and try again. I was, and still am, extremely competitive and I set out to see if I could win this game after accumulating 15 years of rust. I didn’t necessarily set out to take the outsider approach, but I did know I wanted to avoid common pitfalls of mine in the past: creating too many alliances, especially going into multiple alliances with a singular person who could put a lot of information on blast at a moment’s notice, and trying to be okay with a less than ideal positioning and being patient for the right moment to change it, rather than trying to constantly fight for my perfect set-up the entire game. Luckily, I think with age came some natural patience and my game had much more precision than I was able to achieve in the past.

I understand why you thought my response to Jeff lacked conviction. Just another time I tried to be cautious because I honestly thought the jury might be pissed that I was headed into the Final. It’s why I took the approach I did with my opening statement. I’m glad you’ve given me the opportunity to clear this up for you now: I am hungry for this win.

I was told over and over again I didn’t deserve to be in this game. That I was an idiot. A joke. Each time, I brushed it off and pushed forward. If you want a winner that showed resilience, if you want a winner who took an unconventional path, if you want a winner that had real highs and real lows and found his strength at the finish line, then you should vote for me. I know I want that winner. I want to be the winner of Stranded in Tanzania.

[Dean]

A lovely response, thanks Jack

To all three of you now, I say good luck once more as we approach the 90 minute live tribal council. Miigwech.