Strategic

[Lennie Briscoe]

Haha, for the record, at no point did I ever think you were stupid. Maybe you thought it was a closer race than I did, which I'm flattered by. I don't want to belabor this, though, we'll have plenty of time to talk it out afterwards.

[Scruff McGruff]

Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).

Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.

[Hercule Poirot]

Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).

Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.

M. McGruff, I do appreciate you using such a normal scale instead of 3-18. Eet makes answering zis much more facile.

For Social, I'm giving myself a 9. I think zis was easily ze category which was my biggest strength in ze game, and I think most players agree with me. Sometimes social play gets overlooked as something zat anyone ees capable of doing or zat ees incredibly easy, but I think what I 'ave pulled off socially zis game ees 'ighly impressive, and ze fact zat I am sitting 'ere at ze end at all after (and partially because of) a social game like zat ees a 'uge accomplishment. My main social failings were probably my 'andling on M. Grouch and M. Kennedy on zeir way out ze door, and zat ees ze raison zat I give myself a 9 and not a 10.

For Strategic, I actually give myself an 8. I think my strategy zis game was actually fantastique. I was consistently able to determine what ze best move for myself was each round and zen more often zan not, I was able to execute eet. I don't think eet ees as strong as my social play, since zere maybe were a few moments where my social connections caused me not to think as clearly strategically, but overall my strategy zis game was 'ighly effective and allowed me to consistently be one of ze best positioned people in ze game.

For Structural, I'm going to give myself a 5. I think my structural play was fine, but nothing particularly exciting or memorable. I think my 'andling of ze tiger idol was good, though Mlle Hopps gets more credit for zat zan I do. I did win one challenge, and because of zat I was able to keep Mlle Garcia safe in a round where I knew she would be a target and get rid of someone I needed eliminated in you.  My premerge challenge play was clearly poor, with me attending 6 tribal councils, though I did put a lot of effort into ze Immunity challenges on Strike, particularly ze 20 Questions one, because I knew 'ow crucial 'aving my Strike connections would be for me at merge. I also failed at several crucial challenges towards ze end of ze game. I don't think my structural game particularly stands out, but I definitely did do some things well structurally, and I think my social and strategic games are more zan good enough to make up for eet.

[Lucifer Morningstar]

Alright, I think I’ll give one final question before I let other jurors do their thing (unless I come up with anything else).

Lucifer and Poirot. Social, Strategic, Structural. Rate yourself in each of these categories on the much more sensible scale of 1-10.

I think I missed this earlier. Assuming 5 is roughly average-
I'd give myself a 6.5 in Social, a 7.5 in Strategy and a 9 in Structural.

I know my social game wasn't perfect, but I think it was solid and I made the connections I needed to in order to make it deep into this game and do well. I think I handled strategy pretty well too- I certainly wasn't the dominant person running the game and handling all the ins and outs marvelously most of the time, but I still positioned myself really well and knew where I stood and what I needed to do to survive some turbulent times. I think I could always improve on structural gameplay too- I could always have won more challenges and found an idol or something, so I'm not giving myself a ten, but I do think I handled it really well. I navigated the swaps pretty well, dodged a couple of dangerous items that were held by others and won big challenges when I needed to most.

[Scruff McGruff]

Hmm. Now that questioning has died down, I think I'm confident in who my vote will be for, but I'm waiting until closing speeches to make any final judgements.

[Jake Peralta]

I have also been waiting for questioning to die down. In part this is due to my ongoing crazy work schedule, and in part because this is the first jury questioning process I've ever engaged with. Mostly, however, it's because the questions I have for both finalists are potentially incendiary, and I wanted to wait until the positivity train had slowed down before throwing some curveballs.

In some ways, this FTC is a disappointment. I don't know about the other Jurors, but I enjoy FTCs where we can talk about big, exciting moves, betrayals, blindsides, idol plays, well-laid plans executed to perfection, and challenge dominance. Instead, we have a long, brutal slog through a chaotic knife fight with two finalists who never really managed to dominate the game. I don't say this to hurt your feelings, but...come on, guys. You both had some pretty major problems on the way here. To wit:

Monsieur Poirot

Mon ami, I always wanted to see you here. True, I was thinking in the context of a final three, and one in which perhaps you were conveniently disposed of around F4 through means which could not be traced to me, but I digress. I really did want to stand beside you and and go mano a mano.

However, that didn't happen. Your strategy going into the merge was to keep a core of allies around you for as long as possible, and leverage your strong social prowess to dominate the votes. That was, more or less, an abject failure. You failed to protect and reinforce critical allies at least three times by my count, and also missed the opportunistic betrayal of your closest ally, Judy, until it was too late. When you lost me, and then lost Lennie...frankly, your game was kind of done in that moment. It wasn't until everyone else who could possibly be a threat had been eliminated that you started to really have an edge again. I don't think it was a mistake that Lucifer chose to eliminate Rust at F3.

Yes, you managed to recover near the end, but your post-Merge game was characterized by plans laid and plans foiled. So far as I can tell, the best Big Moves you can claim are your part in our plan at the Grouch vote and the elimination of Leon.

So why should I vote for you? Does barely hanging on through the elimination of larger threats really qualify you for the title of Sole Survivor?

Lucifer Morningstar

Luci, Luci, Luci. You've had a hell of a game, haven't you? As I say in my Torchwalk section, if I had to point to a single mistake which irrevocably screwed up my game, it was alienating you. I think I was the only one who really saw you as a threat in the midgame.

Which is really the problem, isn't it? As I alluded to in my opening here, I don't want to vote for people who kind of slouched along, surviving by merit of not attracting attention. There's some merit to staying under the radar, but at some point you've got to make the Big Moves and control the game. Instead...you were just kind of there. I understand there were strategies and alliances I wasn't privy to, but the overriding impression I've gotten is that you were party to those plans, but not their instigator. You got to where you are largely due to the fact that no one really thought you were a threat.

Why should I vote for you? What about playing second fiddle to other players the whole game qualifies you for the title of Sole Survivor?

=================

Please do not mistake the aggressive tone of these questions for bitterness. I quite admire the facility you both showed for making lemonade out of lemons. However, we've largely heard you both endorsing your game rather than defending it. I want you to address your weaknesses directly.

Good luck to you both! As there are <6 hours left, I will take my answers in your final speeches if you can't get to them immediately.

[Hercule Poirot]

Monsieur Poirot

Mon ami, I always wanted to see you here. True, I was thinking in the context of a final three, and one in which perhaps you were conveniently disposed of around F4 through means which could not be traced to me, but I digress. I really did want to stand beside you and and go mano a mano.

However, that didn't happen. Your strategy going into the merge was to keep a core of allies around you for as long as possible, and leverage your strong social prowess to dominate the votes. That was, more or less, an abject failure. You failed to protect and reinforce critical allies at least three times by my count, and also missed the opportunistic betrayal of your closest ally, Judy, until it was too late. When you lost me, and then lost Lennie...frankly, your game was kind of done in that moment. It wasn't until everyone else who could possibly be a threat had been eliminated that you started to really have an edge again. I don't think it was a mistake that Lucifer chose to eliminate Rust at F3.

Yes, you managed to recover near the end, but your post-Merge game was characterized by plans laid and plans foiled. So far as I can tell, the best Big Moves you can claim are your part in our plan at the Grouch vote and the elimination of Leon.

So why should I vote for you? Does barely hanging on through the elimination of larger threats really qualify you for the title of Sole Survivor?

Salut, mon ami. I was wondering if we would get to 'ear from you before TC ended. Eet ees a pleasure to speak with you at last. I know zat you were serious about taking me as deep as you could, and I am so sorry zat we need not manage to pull eet off together.

I do agree with you zat my intial strategy in ze merge was to get myself into a dominant social position and zat I was always trying to dominate ze votes and get what I wanted to 'ave 'appen. And I also agree with you zat your elimination and M. Briscoe's elimination were ze two rounds zat were ze most objectively bad for my game. When M. Grouch said early on in FTC zat every single vote 'ad benefited me in some way or another, I disagreed with eet. Both of your eliminations put me in an extremely vulnerable spot, and zey represented me losing a lot of ze control zat I 'ad built up before zat point. I always knew zat ze M. Grouch vote would be a watershed moment zat changed everything, but I never anticipated zat ze next two rounds would go as poorly for me as zey did. I was ultimately able to worm my way out of zose potentially dangerous spots, but my inability to save you and M. Briscoe ees why zere wasn't an easy path through ze last few rounds of ze game to begin with.

But I will say zat I don't think eet ees a coincidence zat you, M. Briscoe, and Mlle Hopps all were eliminated before me. I chose ze side zat I did partially due my personal relationships on zat side, yes, but also because I knew zat you were all players who were attracting attention, and I needed people like zat surrounding me to survive ze rounds zat I did. My early work in ze merge meant zat even in zis per'aps worst case scenario, I was never going to be ze one going 'ome, and I do think zat ees a strength. If I managed to get to ze end even with so many things going wrong, I think my path to ze end would 'ave been even more clear if more things 'ad gone right. I was ze person who was best positioned to succeed if SVU+you dominated, and I was ze person who was best positioned to succeed even after eet fell apart.

I don't know what you mean by me failing to get Mlle Hopps until eet was too late, though. I did successfully get 'er out, so clearly eet was not too late. And she was Immune at both 8 and 7, and almost certainly would 'ave gone 'ome 7th if she wasn't Immune. Everyone in ze game was voting for 'er in zat hour before she 'ad Immunity, and eet wasn't until ze Immunity results were changed zat things flipped around on M. Briscoe. If she was vulnerable zere, I'm confident zat I would 'ave managed to send 'er 'ome. I don't know when you think I should 'ave gotten 'er out. Clearly we needed 'er vote at 9, plus she was ze person in ze game who I was ze most confident would take me to ze end. I didn't realize 'ow troublesome she would be for my game until 8, which maybe ees my fault, but she was zen Immune at 8 and 7 so I couldn't remove 'er although during both of zose rounds, if she 'ad been an option to save you or M. Briscoe, I absolutely would 'ave taken eet.

I think for me, realistically, most of ze time one person ees not going to control ze game ze entire merge. Sometimes someone gets lucky and manages eet, but zat ees very much ze exception, not ze rule. Zere are always going to be things zat 'appen outside of your control at times. For me, eet was you and M. Briscoe going 'ome. But ze important thing, and something zat I think I lived by zis game, ees zat you always try to anyway. You always fight every single round to get yourself in ze best possible position zat you can, and you take risks and maybe make yourself a bigger target, but you try and give eet everything zat you can. I was never afraid zis game. I always fought for what I believed was best for me, and I didn't give up fighting until ze votes were read.

With you, zere was no 'ope of saving you, but I tried so 'ard anyway. I sent Mlle Hopps information about M. Morningstar to try to flip things around. I went to bed at like 4am zat night because I was trying to talk with Mlle Hopps as much as I could, since I knew zat she wouldn't be around much ze following day. And zen overnight while I was asleep, M. Kennedy flipped and zere was nothing I could do to prevent zat. I was compulsively refreshing ze site ze entire next day to try to convince M. Kennedy and Mlle Hopps if zey came online, but neither of zem did. I spent hours and hours of my life trying to save you, because eet was important to me zat if zat vote wasn't going to go my way, I made eet as difficile as possible for zose who wanted eet. I think many other players in zis situation would 'ave given up long before I did. I played with courage, and I fought 'ard for what I believed in.

And zen with M. Briscoe, if eet ees possible I fought even 'arder. I think I threw literally every person in ze game's name out zat round as a possibility at some point, except maybe M. Cohle. I was working every angle I could, so much so zat I 'ave a difficult time even outlining everything zat I did and tried. And I came within an inch of flipping eet around. M. Kennedy told me zat 'e was going to sleep and voting for M. Briscoe, and I begged 'im not to and to talk to M. Cohle, who 'ad indicated to me zat 'e would vote Mlle Garcia, but 'e was nervous because 'e didn't trust M. Kennedy. And M. Kennedy did stay up and wait, even after knowing zat M. Briscoe and I 'ad targeted 'im zat round, but unfortunately M. Cohle was in ze middle of a long roadtrip and so ze two of zem were not able to get online at ze same time before M. Kennedy fell asleep. But I did not fully accept zat until literally ze moments before ze vote. I was fighting for M. Briscoe from ze moment Mlle Hopps got Immunity until ze moment ze votes were read. I think eet ees incredibly rare in zis game for someone to put in zat kind of effort to save someone other zan zemselves, but I played every round like I was ze one of ze line, every round like eet was ze most important round of ze game.

I know zat saying zat c'est vrai, I failed, but I really really tried not to ees probably not a satisfying answer to you, but I think eet shows a lot about me as a player, and I think my failures also 'elp to explain my successes. I was able to push eliminations zat I did control through because I took zat same attitude and applied eet to zose rounds too. You're never going to 'ave a 100% batting average, at least not without a lot of luck. Things will always go wrong sometimes. But you 'ave to fight as 'ard as you can, and you can't just let ze game be played around you. You 'ave to give and give until you 'ave nothing else left to give, and zen you 'ave to give more. You 'ave to leave eet all out on ze table. I feel zat I did zat during your elimination and M. Briscoe's eliminations, and I think I did so with relatively few serious ramifications for my longterm game despite failing. I can't 'ave regrets about zose rounds. I poured everything zat I could into zem.

You can say zat I barely 'ung on by a thread at ze end of ze game, but I see eet as my position being so good and my tenacity as player being so strong zat even though I was not always able to make everything go exactly 'ow I wanted eet to go, I was still in a strong spot anyway. You should vote for me because I showed my willingness in zose rounds not only to fight, but to adapt. I was both incredibly stubborn as a player, but also incredibly adaptable once things 'ad officially gone through, and I think zat ees a rare and impressive combination. I didn't just let eliminations zat I didn't want to 'ave 'appen, but zen even once zey did, I 'ad such a strong will zat I was able to forge a path forward, even under ze changed circumstances. Often when people talk about being adaptable, zey mean zat zey didn't really fight zat 'ard for anything and just went along with what was already 'appening. I never did zat, but once ze ship was sunk, I did not go down. I was unsinkable. I immediately built a new ship for myself, and I sailed on.

My game was not parfait. I 'ave never claimed zat eet was. I know zat zere were rounds where I did not get my ideal outcomes. But I think zat my successes and my failures both tell you a lot about me as a player and about 'ow much zis game meant to me. I played with courage. I played with strength. I poured myself into ze game. And as a result of zat, yes sometimes I failed, but I also was able to pull off some truly incroyable moves and earn my seat in front of you aujourd'hui. Eet ees not 'appenstance zat I am sitting where I am maintenant. Eet ees ze result of hours and hours of work, sometimes work zat failed, but often work zat succeeded. You can't 'ave one without ze other. Ze important thing ees zat I was willing to take my shots, and I was willing to do what 'ad to be done to get myself in ze best position I could. I feel zat I 'ave played my 'eart out and given zis game everything zat I could. I 'ope zat zat ees enough to earn your vote. Merci for ze 'ard question, mon ami. Eet 'as been a journey to reach zis point, but I am proud of what I 'ave accomplished, and I'm proud of myself for fighting as 'ard as I could every step of ze way.

[Jake Peralta]

Merci pour la réponse sincère, mon ami.

[Hercule Poirot]

De rien, mon cher. Merci pour ton considération.