"Of course I'm dangerous. I'm police. I can do terrible things to people with impunity."
That's the full quote, which doesn't fit as a thread title.
Here at the end, the last two moves of the game will be terrible things. The next time Penelope isn't immune she is going to wind up as a unanimous vote, but the string of betrayal will be the worst because of my vote against her. Without an immunity win of his own Hercule will either follow her, or he will lead the way for her. No amount of talk throughout this merge about reaching final four together and amicably discussing our best options there will stay my hand. I can only hope that he is true to his word of no hard feelings for what must be done. We play to have fun. We play to win.
Lucifer and Leon will both have advocates on the jury. This is not so simple as getting to the end for an easy win. The final tribal council will be a battle all its own. But the basic calculus has not changed. Facing them is my best option, it is how I give myself the strongest chance to claim overall victory. To do anything else would be a disservice. We don't play these games to enable our friends to beat us. We're friends because we enjoy the same game.
These are my reads on the jurors...
Detective Pikachu: A vote that is mine to lose. I must honestly present the fact that I could never have gone all the way with him, or even particularly deep in the merge. Shedding the unbreakable pair image was the key to my success. If this makes him sore, I could indeed lose him. But if he respects it, he votes for me.
Scruff McGruff: The closest thing I have to a sure vote on this jury. He will also respect Leon's game, but he explicitly told me he wished to be voted out in my stead because I had the better chance to recover my position. That proved to be correct. Ride or Die isn't just in the game, it's a jury vote too.
Grouch Cop: This will be either a vote for Lucifer or a vote for me. This is a vote I very likely need to win to guarantee overall victory. I can only hope to demonstrate that my gameplay and strategy was superior and deserving of his respect.
Jake Peralta: Probably Leon's biggest jury advocate, though it's certainly hard to be sure what Jake actually values as a juror. He made a lot of hay during the merge about being betrayed by me and by everybody else, but in the end he was a unanimous vote so I am no more culpable than anyone else. Not a vote I'm counting on getting.
Lennie Brisco: I certainly hope that Lennie is a vote I can get. He doesn't seem like the type to cast his vote for the person he thought he was dragging to the end for an easy win after that person unceremoniously chucks him out the door. I believe my pitch about strategy and awareness will be able to sway him.
Judy Hopps: Judy might be a vote completely up for grabs but I think she'll wind up voting for Lucifer
Penelope Garcia: As long as it's a unanimous vote against Penelope I think I'll wind up getting her jury vote, but if Lucifer doesn't vote against her that might be enough to get her in his camp.
Hercule Poirot: Like Lennie, a vote I need to win based on strategy and awareness. More than anyone Hercule is going to be the person on the jury who informs other jurors of how deeply strategic I've been all through this merge. His eventual elimination is as important for this purpose as it is to remove a strong FTC threat.
My winning number here is four votes, because I don't believe either Lucifer or Leon will sweep the other four and if they do I believe I can get both of their tiebreaker votes. I think I can do that with Pikachu, Scruff, Lennie and Hercule even if don't carry anyone else.
I can see the winning formula. Now I need to get there.
