Rites of Passage
ButchI never spoke to you, and it seemed like you getting voted out was a result of lack of dedication and inactivity. I guess that's all I can say.
KenI really do think that you left before your time. Your conversations with others may have been infrequent, but they were better than a lot of other people in the game. I didn't connect with you until the day of your departure, and I wish that I had been able to do something to keep you around since I felt closer to you than Jake or Jan. But, with Brian/Penny, it wasn't in the cards for the long game, and the suspicion about you taking idol clues (which may very well have been true) certainly didn't help. Nonetheless, you seem like a great person, and I hope no hard feelings.
JanYou were funny! Although I don't think you realized it. Some of the most (frustrating, and yet) entertaining moments were you trying to figure out challenges, like wanting to guess Ted for seven deadly sins over and over again even when he wasn't participating. You seemed very nice though, but you leaving was a result of needing to keep Helios strong for a merge.
JakeI was pissed when you voted for me, and I was then out for blood. But, when you apologized, it did seem very genuine. Although I was hesitant to trust you after that, you seemed truly kind-hearted, and you were simply another victim of needing to keep Helios strong to combat Asteria.
RyanNever spoke to you, either, but from Rob's input during his mutiny, you sounded very "bro"-ey.
JeanneAlso from Rob's mutiny stories, he seemed awfully critical of you. But from talking to others, it sounds like you were very sweet, and just you. Hopefully this proved to be a good experience for you, and you can use it for building to another adventure.
ShawnaThis is where the game starts getting good... We barely talked. That's why you had to be targeted. You were a hit to avoid the idol, to keep the Rob/Christy/Joanna trio intact for possible future plans, and for the most competitive players to advance. Sorry that you had to be victim to that.
DanielAnother victim of not talking enough to the people running the show. You switching to our side seemed like a cowardly moved to compensate for your own laziness of getting to know your own tribe. You specifically targeting me in your last immunity challenge was another misplaced move that lead to your ouster. But fundamentally, you being voted out was because a hit needed to be made to Penny/Erin's assets, because with you, and potentially Joanna joining them, too, if Rob had been voted out, they'd be too powerful and Erin could follow through on her plan to take me out before an all-Helios F4, since I was too much of a threat. I hope no hard feelings, and sorry for the blindside.
TedYou are the one specific person that I feel the worst about voting out. I honestly think you may have been truthful to the you/me/Brian F3 (that is, unless you'd think one of us to be too threatening in an FTC). The issue is that the path you wanted to take to potentially get to that point was far too dangerous. It left my safety entirely in your hands, or the hands of Rob/Joanna/Christy electing to eliminate one of their own. Ideally, I'd have like to have voted out one of the Asterias instead of you, but then, we wouldn't have been able to guarantee eliminating an idol, which you gave us certainty with. That said, you played a brilliant game. For someone as soft spoken as you, you managed to survive on Asteria for two TCs as a spy. You did Helios a great service by getting us a merge majority. You had a very strong hand in the first two (and almost three) merge boots, while winning two ICs on your way to that. I am genuinely sorry that you were a victim to planning my endgame, but I have the utmost respect for the almost-secure position that you setup for yourself, and more than any other person, hope that there are no hard feelings.
ErinNOOOO! I hate that this happened. But it was a great play by Christy. I feel bad, in a way, because without immunity, it would have been me in your place. I enjoyed working with you, although I knew all along that you'd have turned to take me out as a threat eventually. I was shocked that the Asterias chose to take you out instead of Brian, since that would have hurt my game far more. I actually could have seen you winning if you weren't there target here.
RobWhat isn't there to say about you. If, after the game, or during the FTC, you come clean about everything, and explain that the emotional manipulation was strategy, then I would have more respect for you (though I was still annoyed by it, anyways). If you actually would have stayed true to our F6/F4 plan (which I'm not doubting), I'm sorry that you and your group fell victim to my plans designed to ensure my safety in numbers. If I did go along with the plan, and you three or Asteria or whomever took me soonafter as a result, I couldn't have blamed you, and it would've been entirely my own fault. Although I think you overplayed quite a bit and overestimated your own game (as Joanna/Christy have echoed), and your social interactions with others being somewhat of a flaw (see: you slamming everyone on Asteria to Helios before you'd even met us), I did enjoy playing with you, now that the dust has settled. In a different setup of original tribes, you and I probably could have been together til the end, but like you said, this ended up being a battle of the titans, and though I'm glad that I pulled out, I'd not have been surprised with either of the possible outcomes.
ChristyShe's amazing. In an all-Asteria F3, she'd likely have won. Hell, in an Asteria/Helios mixed F3, she'd probably still have won. She played the same game that Rob did, but had a better a less volatile relationship with others. I love how she accepts and respects practically any type of gameplay, and doesn't take it personally. I agree with that, and respect her for that mentality. I thoroughly enjoyed talking to her, and she was a great player, but too great of a competitor to potentially ruin our Helios F3, and for that, she had to be taken out before the penultimate TC. For that I'm sorry, because she deserved to make it; she was great, and I have nothing but respect.
JoannaJoanna is hilarious. Her attitude and lackadaisicalness are much of the reason why the closing days of the game were so enjoyable because her persona was just so humorous. Rob never gave her much credit for her strategic game, but as it turned out, both Joanna and Christy were far superior strategists than he, and her game has been underrated. That's much of the reason that she can't make it to finals because her sitting there is a guaranteed win on likability facing an Asteria-heavy jury.
