Tribal Council 16: Society of Crossed Keys

[Wes Anderson]

Tribal Council 16

Society of Crossed Keys, welcome to Tribal Council.

1. Suzy was idoled out last Tribal Council.  How did that impact your FTC plans?

2. Is there anything other players may not be thinking of as they vote that you believe they should keep in mind?

3. At this point, your Survivor journeys this game have been written, but there's still one vote left.  Do you have more work to do?  Can you still change perceptions on the jury?

4. Which real life Survivor is the best comparison for each of the remaining finalists, in your opinion?

5. After this Tribal Council, the FTC subforum will be opened, and FTC rules will be unveiled.  You will have 24 hours to compose your opening speech, and there will be a 2000 word limit.  What story will you tell?  Is there anything you want to share right now?

[Oracle]

1. Suzy was idoled out last Tribal Council.  How did that impact your FTC plans?

I mean as we saw with the votes, I voted for Gustave at the last tribal council, so the mere fact that he is here and that Suzy went over it, that impacts my plans greatly. Suzy was just one of those people I never saw going, which is probably why she made for a good idol target. Now that she's not here, the scope of how the game changes and that's just a fact. One of myself, Gustave or Madame is going here since Richie won immunity, so whatever final 3 exists when the dust settles it will be against Richie.

2. Is there anything other players may not be thinking of as they vote that you believe they should keep in mind?

This is a confusing question, but ultimately I think everyone should vote how they feel is best for them. Vague but it's one of those things where this is final 4, at some point you have to put a vote down and hope for the best.

3. At this point, your Survivor journeys this game have been written, but there's still one vote left.  Do you have more work to do?  Can you still change perceptions on the jury?

The only thing I can do is hope. I can hope that a jury is open to whatever the finalists would have to say. If I were on the jury I would want to go into the FTC with an open mind for all of the finalists. If I don't, I'd probably need to look deep within myself to make sure I could be free of bias when asking questions. However, that's just me. I can't sit here and tell a group of people how or what to do. If their perceptions are set, there's little I can do if I do get to FTC. If they are willing to be open minded and hear me out, if I do get to FTC I would just need to present my case as best I can, answer the questions as I am asked, and hope for the best. And if I am the final member of the jury, then I would hope that I would adopt the mantra I am saying here.

4. Which real life Survivor is the best comparison for each of the remaining finalists, in your opinion?

I think Richie is somewhere between a Ben or Mike type. He won challenges and had an idol.

I think Madame is very much a Michele type. Someone who is very social and well liked amongst people.

I think Gustave is a bit like Natalie White. Someone who isn't really hated by anyone, has been in the know of things, a bit quieter than others in this final 4 and has stuck close to those he said he would.

5. After this Tribal Council, the FTC subforum will be opened, and FTC rules will be unveiled.  You will have 24 hours to compose your opening speech, and there will be a 2000 word limit.  What story will you tell?  Is there anything you want to share right now?

I have thoughts on what story I want to tell, but I don't think it wise to share here. I'll answer this question in my confessional. Plus given how tie-oriented this game is, who knows what happens with this vote. It's hard to know all elements of the story you want to write especially when it hasn't been finished being written yet.

[Richie Tenenbaum]

1.  Suzy figured in many endgame plans for a long time, mine included.  That vote was a big shake up.

2.  May not be?  I know all four of us are thinking about this vote from every angle.

3.  Final Tribal Council is a huge part of the game and cementing the way it is perceived.  The story isn't completely written until the jury votes are read.

4.  This is always fun to think about but I don't believe that defining any of us by the relatively narrow archetypes portrayed on the show does justice to the games we've played.  Nevertheless I will take a crack at it.
M. Gustave: Edna Ma (S23, South Pacific).  Like Edna, Gustave was primarily loyal to allies from his starting tribe but was excluded from a pivotal alliance structure within that tribe and eventually turned on.  Also like Edna, Gustave received multiple votes before and after the merge and was a frequent target of the people trying to break up that starting tribe loyalty.  Finally, just like Edna, M. Gustave is an understated icon.
Madame D.: Karishma Patel (S39, Island of the Idols).  There are some striking parallels between Madame D. and Queen Karishma.  She was underestimated by her opposition in her starting tribe and survived repeated attempts by a core early game alliance to vote her out.  She remained a frequent but very difficult to dislodge target in the post merge, and she played an Immunity Idol.
Oracle: Keith Famie (S2, The Australian Outback).  Keith's game has strong similarities to Oracle's.  Like Oracle, Keith's loyalties largely remained with members of his original tribe and he was in a very good position to move forward with a Pagong type strategy.  He cut the original tribe members he wasn't close to or didn't gel with before finishing off the other starting tribe.  And although it's so early in the show's history that the very meta idea of jury management wasn't really in anyone's thought process he is a prime example of someone who suffered from a strategic weakness in his negative perception from the players he was sending to the jury.

5.  Pietro and I are going to keep this to ourselves until we're ready for prime time.

[Madame D.]

1. Suzy was idoled out last Tribal Council.  How did that impact your FTC plans?

Suzy was in a potential endgame plan of mine, but it's hard to know if that would have eventuated, even without the idol play.

2. Is there anything other players may not be thinking of as they vote that you believe they should keep in mind?

I think it's important not to underestimate any one person when it comes to Final Tribal Council. I have seen multiple instances where the absolutely least expected finalist to win ended up taking home the win (especially in a F3).

3. At this point, your Survivor journeys this game have been written, but there's still one vote left.  Do you have more work to do?  Can you still change perceptions on the jury?

While many jurors have an idea of where they are going to vote before FTC, the Final Tribal Council itself is so important in either challenging or confirming jurors' preconceptions. How well you do that makes a massive difference in the end.

4. Which real life Survivor is the best comparison for each of the remaining finalists, in your opinion?

I know that Oracle mentioned Mike Holloway for Richie, but Mike is who I have in mind as well. Not just because of challenge wins and an idol play, but even that polarising charismatic charm that Mike had reminds me a little of Richie.

The others I'm having a little more trouble with, but for Oracle I will pick Todd Herzog. He may have a hard road to win over the jury, but with a good final tribal council performance could certainly do it!

And I never saw his season, but I will pick Fabio Birza for Gustave. May not have always gotten what he wanted, but there's an undeniable charm and likability there!

. After this Tribal Council, the FTC subforum will be opened, and FTC rules will be unveiled.  You will have 24 hours to compose your opening speech, and there will be a 2000 word limit.  What story will you tell?  Is there anything you want to share right now?

If I am at FTC I pledge that my opening speech will be less than 1000 words.

[M. Gustave]

1. suzy going home was infinitely better than me going home, so i think this has to be a plus! besides, i feel like she would have been tough to beat in the end because she had a similar game to me, but better - no votes cast against her until that round, iirc.

2. other people largely covered this one; what i'm trying to remember is that upsets happen, and that some of the bonds made here will last beyond the game.

3. certainly can, i've seen times where spectators have written off an ftc as a landslide and it turns out to be a one-vote margin, largely because of the performances of the finalists.

4. for richie, i've got to say that mike / ben are great comparisons, as threats who people wanted out for ages but never could thanks to timely wins and idols. madame is strong socially and had a big impact without being overt about it, using shields well; reminds me of sophie. finally oracle is memorable for his loyalty and showing his very likeable human (or dog) side; i think woo is a decent fit for him.

5. i'll get to work on making it once the forum's open; there's a general idea of what i want to say, but it could transform as i start to put it into words. no spoilers!

[Wes Anderson]

It is now time to read the votes.

First vote:

Spoiler

Oracle

Second vote:

Spoiler

Madame D.

Third vote:

Spoiler

Madame D.

That’s two votes Madame, one vote Oracle, one vote remaining.

Fourth and final vote:

Spoiler

Madame D.

Madame D., you have been eliminated. You will now join us at American Empirical Pictures as our final Producer hire, and will help decide the winner of this game.

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