This is a difficult choice.

As I alluded to in my questioning, I prize the big moves, the strong alliances, the daring challenge wins. You each have some of that equation, but neither of you have the whole package. Monsieur Poirot, it looked like you had it all going into the merge, and then lost your grip on things and had to claw your way back to the top. Mr. Morningstar, you never really showed that dominance, but successfully manipulated things from the shadows, maneuvering others into taking the fall for you. I find one of these stories more compelling.

Lucifer, ultimately, your game was always about "Look over there, he or she is the real threat." You took advantage of the big moves others were making, hitching your wagon to theirs until it was time to jump ship and take credit for their work. There's merit to this as a short-term tactic, but I don't buy it as the foundation for an entire game strategy. As far as I can tell, the best move you made that was entirely your own was eliminating Rust over Poirot. Fully half of the people on the Jury would be able to make very strong cases against you...a Sole Survivor should be able to stand against all comers. I am sorry, you do not have my vote.

Poirot, you made mistakes. You weren't in control at TC 11, 14, or 15, and your underestimation of Judy nearly cost you the whole game. However, even when the tide turned against you, your bedrock fundamentals and strong ground game made up for it. You built contingencies and backups into your plans, and despite being far more overt than Lucifer, you were also sneakier. Your covert alliance with Rust, which we didn't know about until FTC, ensured you were never a serious candidate for the vote. As you said, you put in the effort. I feel you deserve to win Survivor: PD.

Vote: Monsieur Hercule Poirot

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.

Being targeted at F3 like that ought to be incredibly flattering...you were the odds-on favorite.

I think Rust has an edge, but you’re underselling Poirot.

I think it’s still anyone’s game.

Very well played, Leon. Your turn on me with Judy really got me in the feels. No grudges though, it's Survivor.

More or less true; I was galvanized more by the prospect of a strong alliance going into the merge than by anything to do with Lucifer, though. Judy’s case was compelling.

The newbie rate was high because they were publicly struggling to fill the game. I mean hell, I was originally slated as a spectator, and I think Poirot said so too.

Never again during the summer season.

Never.