S41.E13: One Thing Left to Do... Win

[Jeanne222]

Still underestimating Erika in the comments I see!  That's why she won and keeps on winning.

She received NO special treatment!  She was sent to Exile island alone with nothing!  She made fire and grew stronger from that experience.

She is minimized in board rooms and asked to see her parents in airports.

Erika is a survivor every single day of her life!  Every member of the jury but one sees her as a hero and they were there and would know if there was funny business!I

Credit where credit is due.  Erika/Survivor!

[blackwing]

I am happy with the Erika win.  I think she played a quiet game.  She was strategic and smart, and she didn't make any enemies.  I'm sure some will compare her to Michelle Fitzgerald and say she did not deserve to win, but I thought her performance at FTC was great.  She was well-spoken and accounted for herself well in a very open and honest way.  She never backstabbed or deceived anyone.

I don't necessarily think it's fair to be upset at her about the Cher If I Could Turn Back Time device.  Her own tribe wanted to get rid of her because they thought she was a threat, they sent her off to Exile without even considering the possibility that often at Exile there is a chance of gaining some advantage or idol.  When she comes back and finds that she is on the bottom, she would have been an idiot not to smash the hourglass and protect herself.  I think every single contestant in that position would have done the exact same thing.

I am a bit surprised that Xander got zero votes, and I am trying to understand why the jury had so little respect for him.  He survived the dysfunction of the yellow tribe, climbed out of the ashes to become an immunity threat, took risks, and made some moves to dictate the vote.  I thought he had a fairly good edit, and I think the edit that we were shown, of someone who never gave up and always managed to make it through to the next vote despite having a huge early target on him, just really doesn't correspond with getting zero votes.

There's always the people in FTC that you know will get zero votes and deserve it.  Gervase in BvW, Hannah Shapiro, Angelina, Julie Rosenberg, Noura Salmon, Ken McNickle, Tasha in her first appearance.  I just don't think Xander deserved zero votes.  I think he played a decent game.

I think Deshawn proved himself to be very untrustworthy and deceitful.  As soon as Shan criticised him for being a baby and having temper tantrums, I knew he lost.  No way was he going to get Shan's vote, because Shan was to the very end still about Shan and Shan's hurt feelings.

11 hours ago, North of Eden said:

Ricard's performance tonight has to be one of the most embarassing displays ever on SURVIVOR! Actually trying to use the new baby as currency to get Xander's idol and later sympathy votes was reprehensible. Worse yet he actually had the cajones to proclaim him one of the greatest players ever??! This guy actually believes his own press like he is on the level of a Cirie? Are you kidding me?

I was enjoying his sourpuss once he was on the jury but when he started talking and tried to make everything about HIM well...there is a saying....so and so has a punchable face...well Ricard  has the most punchable face ever. I disliked him on the season premiere and actively loathe him now.

 

Ricard tried to do a Jeremy Collins or Adam Klein by crying about something very personal.  His mistake was that he did it too early.  What a maroon.  He is crying at final five about how his baby might be born as he spoke... yeah, there's no way the others were going to let him get to FTC where he would cry about it and get the sympathy vote.

I was floored when he said he considers himself one of the best players to ever play the game.  And he said this DURING the game, without even any kind of reflection that comes from being done with the game and thinking about everything.  Such a joke.

11 hours ago, violet and green said:

I found it a pretty horrible season. Jeff talking to the camera, explaining things we could see happening, telling us things that were going to happen before they happened, basically acting like we were children he was educating. The fact not one tribe managed to make a decent shelter. Extensive focus on annoying personalities (cough, Shan) as if they were charm personified. Her villainous hum being orchestrated. Dumb and overcomplicated 'advantages' like the three-way idol. Vast chunks of the early eps devoted to two people walking up a long steep hill. Etc, etc.

Yep.  All of this.  I can't believe there was that midnight meet up where the tribes could get a tarp... that they apparently didn't need because none of them even attempted to make a shelter.  I have no idea how these people slept at night out in the open.  What about rats, snakes, spiders, etc.?  

35 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

As to Peachy, I'm in the middle. I do like that he brings a sense of history, continuity and excitement to the show as host. But I have hated in particular the attempt at insider stuff that he has brought this season. I wish they could dial back the "Survivor is the greatest social experiment EVER" and the stroking of his/the show's ego with contestants who are like "I grew up watching Survivor"/"Survivor taught me English"/"Survivor was crucified for my sins and on the third day rose from the dead." I wish he could dial things down to a Phil-from-Amazing-Race level. 

I have long thought that Jeffy is the worst part of the show and have been fairly vocal about complaining about him.  He's awful.  A lot of this season has been about him.  I can't wait to see him again for Season 42, where his mullet will be even longer and unkempt and grayer.  Joy.  Everything is about his own ego and it's just downright embarrassing that he thinks everyone is as excited about the show as he is.

I am so happy to see that TAR is back in January and looking forward to seeing Phil.  I keep remembering the one season where the contestants had to race through an obstacle course with cheese, and his commentary was understated yet informative, without any of the ridiculous histrionics and screeching and exclamations that we always have to get from Jeffy. 

Unfortunately, since season 42 has already been filmed (I think?), it will be the same Jeffy.  I do wonder if he ever reads comments about the show and him and just adopts a "haters gonna hate" attitude and ignores it all and just does his "thing" because his "thing" is what makes the show in his mind.

[JudyObscure]

5 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

She received NO special treatment!  She was sent to Exile island alone with nothing!  She made fire and grew stronger from that experience.

And cried and whined about it, took all day to make fire, and then was given a huge advantage on the way back.  Plus it all looked good on her resume in spite of being completely unearned, just like the final advantage she stumbled on when she was barely looking.  Things that happen to you are not accomplishments.

 

7 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

She is minimized in board rooms and asked to see her parents in airports.

And, according to her, while she says she is being minimized she is secretly running the whole show, just like she was secretly running the whole Survivor season even though they said she barely talked to anyone but Heather.  I find all this hard to picture, anytime I was minimized in meetings people would talk over and ignore me, so I wouldn't have been able to run the show unless I poisoned their coffee or something.

I did think about it.

 

[Wildcard]

Quote

The jury has ONE JOB. That is to vote for the player who is most deserving to win based on that person's actual resume and performance in the game.

Even if this is true (and I don't think it is) - is it not possible that the jury looked at the resume and performances of all three finalists and thought Erika did play the best game?

[seacliffsal]

Shan can miss me with her self-righteous "I would have gone out at 4 so the three of you could be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd" nonsense.  What about all of her statements that Ricard was her #1?  THAT'S why other alliance members turned on her-she blatantly stated who her number 1 was and it wasn't anyone in her cultural alliance.  So, Shan, just go home and be as self-righteous as you want to your congregants who you will pretend to listen to and then do what you want anyway (per an earlier talking head).

Oh, and I realized that Jeff is trying to turn Survivor into his old talk show.  as he told people how they felt and what their motivations were and then stated who was going to be voted out.  I don't know what is going on with him, but he has been the host of what was once one of the greatest reality shows on t.v. (IMO) and has turned it into a shadow of its former self and is committed to lecturing all of us while destroying the show (again, IMO).

I didn't care for Ricard in the first few episodes, then once he helped vote out Shan I liked him, but with his 'sob story' of missing his baby's birth (maybe, who knows) and then his self-congratulatory statement about being one of the best players ever (which Jeff just had to chime in about), I am so over him.  I hope that he and Shan never appear again, but I just know that Jeff loves them (how come I had to look at Shan more than the individuals in the final 3? why did almost every shot of the jury center on Shan?) and will bring them back.

And, no, a 26 day Survivor with less food is NOT the hardest season ever.  Africa, Australia (42 days!), and other seasons were far harder.  This was almost 2 weeks shorter-so, just stop with the false narrative. 

[rhygirl720]

17 minutes ago, Jeanne222 said:

.

She is minimized in board rooms and asked to see her parents in airports.

 

While I do believe this to be somewhat true, I do think it's a bit of an exaggeration to tell a story. She might get overlooked the first time in a boardroom but I'm sure by the second time they know who she is. Unless she is just traveling the country attending new boardrooms. Speaking of traveling while I think she looks young for her age, and she is small she does not look like a 14-year-old. I think she played a good game and I do think she deserved her place.

Ricard did have one good point? why bring Erika? it really was a stupid move on Xander's part. The rest of his babbling not so good which is disappointing because he did play a great game and is definitely worthy of another shot.

Xander did play a good game and he did deserve his spot. I'm not surprised he didn't get a vote considering the narrative this season. Again, someone who I think deserves another shot.

DeShawn ugh.  I would have preferred anyone else sitting there but him.

[iMonrey]

I think overall the season was too jacked up by extra twists. I'm not unhappy with the winner but, again, the show played the players more than the players played the game. I will never be happy with that dumb fire making challenge at the F4. It was a gimmick they tried to pawn off as an "advantage" when Chrissy won final immunity back in Season 17 so they couldn't vote out Ben. They've kept it ever since to justify it.

Quote

As for Xander, I knew he wasn’t winning after I read Danny’s exit interview. Apparently nobody respected him, which I find disappointing. I thought he played a smart game.

Yeah, I actually thought Xander did the best job at FTC explaining and defending his game, much better than I expected anyway, and the jury was nodding along and smiling during all his answers. Everything seemed to be going his way, so I was sort of baffled that nobody apparently thought he deserved to win. Ultimately I think the jury underestimated him because of his doofus personality, and that's too bad. (He really was kind of a doofus, but I think he played just as good a game as Erika, and had just as much of an uphill battle.)

Quote

Why are you mad that Xander didn't get a single vote? He had little social game, apparently, and his decision to usher Erika into the final 3 was a poor one.

First of all, Xander had a very good social game, as evidenced by the jury's reactions. Naseer in particular thanked him for being so kind when he was feeling down. I don't think that was the issue. Second, he had a very good reason for not making Erika do the fire challenge, because he knew if she won it it would tip the scales in her favor. Even the jury agreed that was a good reason when he explained it.

Also, Xander said repeatedly the jury seemed to agree when DeShawn criticized Erika's game. I don't know if it was wonky editing (entirely possible) or if this was just a strange jury that didn't realize what faces they were making, but I'm right there with Xander. The jury was kind of impenetrable in terms of what was going on in their heads.

[Guest]

Just now, JudyObscure said:

And cried and whined about it, took all day to make fire, and then was given a huge advantage on the way back.  Plus it all looked good on her resume in spite of being completely unearned, just like the final advantage she stumbled on when she was barely looking.  Things that happen to you are not accomplishments.

I mean, she was hunting for it among the trees the same as they all were. How was she "barely looking"?

 

[Chicago Redshirt]

10 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

Shan can miss me with her self-righteous "I would have gone out at 4 so the three of you could be 1st, 2nd, and 3rd" nonsense.  What about all of her statements that Ricard was her #1?  THAT'S why other alliance members turned on her-she blatantly stated who her number 1 was and it wasn't anyone in her cultural alliance.  So, Shan, just go home and be as self-righteous as you want to your congregants who you will pretend to listen to and then do what you want anyway (per an earlier talking head).

Oh, and I realized that Jeff is trying to turn Survivor into his old talk show.  as he told people how they felt and what their motivations were and then stated who was going to be voted out.  I don't know what is going on with him, but he has been the host of what was once one of the greatest reality shows on t.v. (IMO) and has turned it into a shadow of its former self and is committed to lecturing all of us while destroying the show (again, IMO).

I didn't care for Ricard in the first few episodes, then once he helped vote out Shan I liked him, but with his 'sob story' of missing his baby's birth (maybe, who knows) and then his self-congratulatory statement about being one of the best players ever (which Jeff just had to chime in about), I am so over him.  I hope that he and Shan never appear again, but I just know that Jeff loves them (how come I had to look at Shan more than the individuals in the final 3? why did almost every shot of the jury center on Shan?) and will bring them back.

And, no, a 26 day Survivor with less food is NOT the hardest season ever.  Africa, Australia (42 days!), and other seasons were far harder.  This was almost 2 weeks shorter-so, just stop with the false narrative. 

It's possible that Shan's statements that Ricard was her No. 1 were exaggerated, or it could be simultaneously true that Ricard was her number 1 but she expected that at some point that the rest of the alliance would vote him out/they would turn on each other as contestants do. Or it could be that she was going to backstab the alliance in the past in favor of Ricard but after further reflection at Ponderosa would have preferred the alt-reality where the AAA finished 1-4. 

I think the reason Danny and Deshawn turned on Shan was a little more complicated than Shan thinking of Ricard as her number one. I think Deshawn in particular was still bristling because he perceived Shan as being too bossy and he didn't like it. Little did they realize that they were cutting off their own noses to spite their faces. 

[phlebas]

The final vote showed us what I've suspected all along:  Xander's social game was weak.  People say they didn't come on the show to make friends, but you have to make friends if you want to win.  Specifically, you need to make five friends on the jury.

Xander seemed like he was trusting his athletic prowess to get him through, but in the modern game, being a challenge beast doesn't by itself earn you enough respect to get you the win.  (And he wasn't that must of a challenge beast.  Erika had the same number of immunity idols.  Ricard had more.)

When he did have an ally, he would burn them. He could have saved Tiffany. Or Evvie. Or Ricard. And he made sure they KNEW he could do it.  But he didn't -- very flashy, but annoying to the victims, and they were on the jury.

Xander has a decent strategic mind, but his execution wasn't great. I get why he'd want to rub Liana's nose in it, but she's a) a grudge holder, and b) on the jury. 

And I don't remember anyone saying anything positive about his game in the Ponderosa videos.  They all saw a lot more of it than we did.

For me, the most interesting thing about this game is the jury.  It's always different from one season to the next.  The winner will be the one who can figure out what appeals to the specific jury in front of them -- you cannot just walk in and assume your athletic 20-year-old body will earn you anything.  (And nothing about this particular jury should make you think they cared about that.)

In the end, it was difficult to see where he would get a vote. He had pissed off Tiffany, Evvie, and Ricard. Shan and Liana never liked him.  Naseer was kind of a wild card to me, but he had no relationship with Xander I can remember. And Danny and Heather were tight friends with the other two people in the finale.

Despite it all, Xander seems like a good dude.  If they brought him back in a couple of years, he might be a better player.

[Chicago Redshirt]

46 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

First of all, Xander had a very good social game, as evidenced by the jury's reactions. Naseer in particular thanked him for being so kind when he was feeling down. I don't think that was the issue. Second, he had a very good reason for not making Erika do the fire challenge, because he knew if she won it it would tip the scales in her favor. Even the jury agreed that was a good reason when he explained it.

Also, Xander said repeatedly the jury seemed to agree when DeShawn criticized Erika's game. I don't know if it was wonky editing (entirely possible) or if this was just a strange jury that didn't realize what faces they were making, but I'm right there with Xander. The jury was kind of impenetrable in terms of what was going on in their heads.

The fact that jurors were nodding along during some of Xander's answers isn't really evidence of a strong social game throughout the season. It's really not evidence of anything more than they understand and appreciated some of his answers.

The evidence that Xander had a poor social game includes:

1. He was rarely shown trying to make inroads with anyone and didn't really have any allies post-merge

2. By his own admission, he misread the jury on key points.

3. He is a 20-year-old with limited life experience

4. By his own admission, he thought of himself as "the lone soldier."

5. When asked by Liana to come up with a time he acted on social cues, Xander had no clue on how to respond.

6. Despite having the most impressive resume, he got ZERO VOTES. One can't get shut out of jury votes and claim that they had a "very good" social game. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Chicago Redshirt

[JudyObscure]

34 minutes ago, seacliffsal said:

And, no, a 26 day Survivor with less food is NOT the hardest season ever.  Africa, Australia (42 days!), and other seasons were far harder.  This was almost 2 weeks shorter-so, just stop with the false narrative. 

Thank you.  No one became so dehydrated they passed out.  No one was completely covered in bug bites. No one had to drink blood or eat rats.  No one had to live with Russell Hantz for39 days.

 

 

[fishcakes]

6 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The fact that jurors were nodding along during some of Xander's answers isn't really evidence of a strong social game throughout the season.

To me the biggest tell that Xander had a poor social game is that he thought Erika was a goat. Social game isn't just having people like you; it's understanding the social dynamics of the group, and Xander clearly did not. His bringing Erika to the F3 isn't the same as Colby bringing Tina or Woo bringing Tony. Colby and Woo did it because they (foolishly or not depending on anyone's particular point of view) wanted to go up against someone they considered deserving of winning the game. Xander bringing Erika to be the goat is like Russell bringing Sandra to be the goat, just a bad, wrong decision that shows they didn't know what was happening in the game. 

[HurricaneVal]

I am both surprised and not surprised that Xander didn't get any votes.  He has indeed been the underdog from the beginning, and played a good game, but there was a constant underlying theme that his fellow castaways actually didn't like him very much.  No good reason, he wasn't Russell Hantz by any means, but there's plenty evidence that he just didn't bond with the other folks out on the beach with him.  Yes, he had a great play with Evvie and Tiffany, but who was using who at that point?  He could have stuck with them and we could have had a very different game, but it seems that alliance was a "one and done" because he subsequently voted both of them out with not one ounce of regret. 

Xander's social game seemed to consist of basically hanging out and playing it loose.  I guess, in a way, he was playing a bit of the Sandra "anybody but me" strategy without Sandra's social game.  It seems, as a 20 year old, he was hoping to skate by on his athletics and good looks.  He's probably never had to do more than that in his life.  He's young, and I think that hurt him in the game.  He doesn't have the life experience to know that self confidence and a strong back only carry you so far, you have to look outside yourself to really succeed. 

I actually think that was his biggest problem, he didn't really look past his own nose, or past the immediate situation.  He didn't think Erika was a threat.  I realize we only have what production has chosen to show us, but that conversation with Ricard was the first time--I think--we've seen Xander actually have a conversation with someone on the beach that wasn't related to an upcoming tribal council.  I'll bet he couldn't tell you what Tiffany does for a living, or the names of Heather's children. 

But I'll bet Erika can.  And I think that's why she won.  She played a quiet game, but she played the game.

[ProfCrash]

I don't buy that people thought Xander was a dofus, most of his conversations struck me as intelligent and thoughtful. He has an interesting pattern of speech that seems like a surfer dude but the words he speaks are measured and well thought. His response to DeShawn and Liana's comments at the one Tribal were excellent.

I think that Xander just didn't read the room all that well and didn't realize that he was not seen as playing a strong game. He wasn't a challenge beast, he won fewer individual immunity challenges then Ricard and the same number as Erika. He wasn't a provider of food, Naseer seems to be the only one who was regularly providing different food.

Xander didn't play a bad game but he did not play a stand out game. He didn't control votes and wasn't really deciding much. When he had a chance to do that, choose the fire making folks, he choose to take Erika because he didn't think she was a threat to win. DeShawn and Heather named Erika as a threat to win and Xander told them she wasn't.

Erika won two immunity challenges, a balancing one and the final five. She didn't carry her tribe in the tribe challenges, but she had Danny, a professional football player, on her tribe and she was one of the smaller players. You wouldn't expect her to be a challenge beast. But she never held back her tribe, unlike Heather. She was probably on par with Sydney in terms of the team challenges. She was the determining vote on several occasions and guided the vote on other occasions. She was targeted to be voted out by her tribe early on because she seen as "sneaky", ie she was plotting. Erika was targeted by Shan for being "sneaky", ie she was plotting.

Erika played a solid game and earned her victory. It wasn't the flashy game but it was effective. And she managed to do it without backstabbing too many people.

[eskimo]

I haven't had a chance to read all the comments yet so forgive me if I repeat things said by others. 

I can't help but feel like Shan's 'I would have gladly taken 4th place for the cause' was a little bit of bull, because....JD.  Like I said before, the cause became important to her when it became advantageous to her.  Otherwise JD would have been off limits too.  But he had something she needed to further her game, so I guess he didn't count in her cause.  Which is fine, that's the game, but you can't make those claims after backstabbing another black player like that.  Sorry. 

I did a complete 360 on Ricard this season.  I despised him at first.  Then I warmed up to him and thought he'd have been a deserving winner.  Then in a single episode turned right back around to disliking him again.  It was just a game move when he had to vote out Shan, but when Xander didn't save him...bittercakes.  Hypocrisy is a bad look on anyone. 

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by eskimo

[survivinmt]

I was a bit surprised that DeShawn got a vote and Xander got none. Which makes DeShawn the first runner up, I guess. But no one votes for 2nd place and I would like to think that most of them thought Xander outplayed DeShawn, but Erika outplayed them both. I was more impressed with Xander in the last few episodes than in all the rest of the season. 

I think the fire challenge is fair in that they ALL know its coming. Its not a surprise to anyone. They should all know how to make fire pretty easily by day 20 or so. It was a fun challenge to watch for sure!

This is what Survivor looks like when gamers play and know its a game and that no one is actually walking the plank to their deaths or anything. I could do without all the "look how woke we are" talk though.

[KeithJ]

1 hour ago, JudyObscure said:

And cried and whined about it, took all day to make fire, and then was given a huge advantage on the way back.  Plus it all looked good on her resume in spite of being completely unearned, just like the final advantage she stumbled on when she was barely looking.  Things that happen to you are not accomplishments.

She was looking just as hard as everyone else was.  Besides, you can say that just about every advantage or idol is "stumbled on".

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, fishcakes said:

To me the biggest tell that Xander had a poor social game is that he thought Erika was a goat. Social game isn't just having people like you; it's understanding the social dynamics of the group, and Xander clearly did not. His bringing Erika to the F3 isn't the same as Colby bringing Tina or Woo bringing Tony. Colby and Woo did it because they (foolishly or not depending on anyone's particular point of view) wanted to go up against someone they considered deserving of winning the game. Xander bringing Erika to be the goat is like Russell bringing Sandra to be the goat, just a bad, wrong decision that shows they didn't know what was happening in the game. 

To this point, it's telling that he fumbled Liana's question about social awareness.

 

Just now, eskimo said:

I did a complete 360 on Ricard this season.  I despised him at first.  Then I warmed up to him and thought he'd have been a deserving winner.  Then in a single episode turned right back around to disliking him again.  It was just a game move when he had to vote out Shan, but when Xander didn't save him...bittercakes.  Hypocrisy is a bad look on anyone

I had a similar "journey" with Ricard over the season, and an opposite 360 on Xander just in this episode. I had zero problem with Xander all through this season, but in the finale suddenly everything he said was annoying me and I would have happily had anyone else in the final 4 beat him. But by the time he was talking to the jury, I was back to liking him fine (still wanted Erika to win, though!). I have no explanation for why my opinion shifted like that...probably just exhaustion 😆

[KeithJ]

13 hours ago, violet and green said:

Anyway, next season looks rank. All the new bullshit I never want to see again, repeated. Will no doubt watch it anyway!

All we can hope is that it was far enough along that they didn't have time to take out all the garbage (have they started filming yet).

Hopefully they'll see how poorly everything was received this season and make changes for 43.

[PaperTree]

2 hours ago, tinderbox said:

I’m tired of him talking non stop during every single challenge.  Shut Up, Jeff!

He needs to study some real sports play-by-play men who know how to do it without stepping on the game.

[bankerchick]

Yes, Erika, $1MM US is a lot of money in Canada, but don't forget, almost everything costs more here.  And I do believe Erika will be able to keep most if not all of the money due to tax legislation.

A very disappointing season for me but not sorry that Erika won.  Diverse casting is one thing, woke Survivor is another.  I could have lived without the tribal council on race and the follow-up on the next episode, especially since a lot of it was coming from Deshawn, who seemed to have lots of other issues as well.  Much as I didn't care for Shan, she had his number when she called him childish and said he had temper tantrums when things didn't go his way.  I think he realized it too, as he tried to backtrack or apologize after doing stupid things at tribal council, like telling Xander that Evvie told him about his immunity, and truth bomb about Erika.  I think he thought his AA alliance would vote for him and I feared this as well, but good on them for not.  Also, did we really need to hear Ricard's whining about his upcoming baby *twice.*  Same with Danny and his dad.  PTB - if these stories are going to come up at FTC, we don't need to spend needless minutes on them during the episode.  We could have seen Xander and Ricard's conversation about giving away the immunity necklace without having to hear the baby story.

On a shallow note, I found sometimes Ricard would look like Count Rugen, and other times, devastatingly handsome.

On to next season.  I was so excited to have Survivor back after so long, but also there were a lot of Wednesdays where I forgot it was on and a lot of fast forwarding.  Every show has a 'jump the shark' date and I fear I might be almost there.  I will definitely tune in for the start of next season, but not committing myself beyond that.

Edited December 16, 2021 by bankerchick

[CountryGirl]

I am ok with Erika winning but I really wanted it to be Xander. When he walked into the F4 TC with the necklace and the jury (except sourpuss Ricard) smiled as they said “Xander,” I thought he had a decent shot. He presented well at FTC except for the bobble with Liana’s question, which given their history, I can understand. I don’t agree him not letting Erika battle it out to make fire was some colossal mistake as she seemed to be faking her lack of fire-making prowess and if she had won, which I think she would have, it would have made her case that much stronger. It was honestly a catch-22 either way for him. 

[Jeanne222]

1 hour ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

The fact that jurors were nodding along during some of Xander's answers isn't really evidence of a strong social game throughout the season. It's really not evidence of anything more than they understand and appreciated some of his answers.

The evidence that Xander had a poor social game includes:

1. He was rarely shown trying to make inroads with anyone and didn't really have any allies post-merge

2. By his own admission, he misread the jury on key points.

3. He is a 20-year-old with limited life experience

4. By his own admission, he thought of himself as "the lone soldier."

5. When asked by Liana to come up with a time he acted on social cues, Xander had no clue on how to respond.

6. Despite having the most impressive resume, he got ZERO VOTES. One can't get shut out of jury votes and claim that they had a "very good" social game. 

I was just thinking about where did Xander go wrong.  You listed some very good points.

Personally  I would think going to the end so strong would have counted for something???  He seemed to have risen up  but maybe the end of the game isn't enough?

I think he chose to be overlooked throughout the playing to keep from being a target.

I'm still kind of surprised he didn't get even one vote!  He'll regret the Erica choice for a long time!

[TOL]

14 hours ago, violet and green said:

I found it a pretty horrible season. Jeff talking to the camera, explaining things we could see happening, telling us things that were going to happen before they happened, basically acting like we were children he was educating. The fact not one tribe managed to make a decent shelter. Extensive focus on annoying personalities (cough, Shan) as if they were charm personified. Her villainous hum being orchestrated. Dumb and overcomplicated 'advantages' like the three-way idol. Vast chunks of the early eps devoted to two people walking up a long steep hill. Etc, etc. If Xander had won, though, I'd be all - this season worked out okay, after all! 

Couldn’t have said it better myself.  

[30 Helens]

1 hour ago, fishcakes said:

To me the biggest tell that Xander had a poor social game is that he thought Erika was a goat.

But he didn’t think she was a goat. He thought she was his biggest competition, which is why he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to win a fire challenge. He (mistakenly) assumed she was good at fire, and thought that win might be the deciding factor between her and him.

You could see the jury was also confused by his decision, because when he explained it, they all got a “ohhh, now it makes sense” look on their faces. So I don’t think he underestimated Erika’s chances, I think he overestimated his own.

For all the bad in this season, there were a couple of good things: The game was not dominated by a challenge beast, and an actual strategist won. If not for the emphasis on twists and advantages, maybe we would have been able to see and appreciate more of Erika’s game.

 

[TVbitch]

I think this group's egos are a bit out of hand. A lot of them seem to think they were exceptional players, and they all seem to have an over-inflated sense that this season is one of the best/most important seasons in the legacy of the show. I was rooting for Ricard, and he played a good game, but dude, the BEST players of all time actually get to final tribal. ...and even win.

Jeff always tries to convince us that the conditions are so hard. I watch most of the international versions of the show and think the US cast has it the cushiest, by far.

 

[ProfCrash]

27 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

But he didn’t think she was a goat. He thought she was his biggest competition, which is why he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to win a fire challenge. He (mistakenly) assumed she was good at fire, and thought that win might be the deciding factor between her and him.

You could see the jury was also confused by his decision, because when he explained it, they all got a “ohhh, now it makes sense” look on their faces. So I don’t think he underestimated Erika’s chances, I think he overestimated his own.

For all the bad in this season, there were a couple of good things: The game was not dominated by a challenge beast, and an actual strategist won. If not for the emphasis on twists and advantages, maybe we would have been able to see and appreciate more of Erika’s game.

 

Xander told both DeShawn and Heather that he thought he could beat Erika. When Heather said that Erika was his biggest competition Xander said he didn't think that was the case and Heather told him he was wrong. He might have seen Erika as competition but he thought he would beat her and did not seem to think that what DeShawn or Heather said was possible.

[Marley GMA]

14 hours ago, violet and green said:

I thought the DeShawn vote was from Danny.

I would have agreed with that except for the praise he heaped on Erikka at the jury questioning. 

[JudyObscure]

1 hour ago, KeithJ said:

She [Erika] was looking just as hard as everyone else was.  Besides, you can say that just about every advantage or idol is "stumbled on".

I went back and watched that part to see where I got the "stumbled on," idea.  Everyone but her  reads the clue, figures it out, and runs into the woods.  Erica sits and her voice over says she was the last one to get the clue. We see her relaxed in an interview saying the she hates "scavenger hunts."  We see the others running through the jungle.  We see Erika walking slowly on the very edge of the woods, with the beach just a few feet behind her, spotting the advantage.  She was looking, but it seemed like she wasn't looking as hard as the rest.

[Chicago Redshirt]

28 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

But he didn’t think she was a goat. He thought she was his biggest competition, which is why he didn’t want to give her the opportunity to win a fire challenge. He (mistakenly) assumed she was good at fire, and thought that win might be the deciding factor between her and him.

You could see the jury was also confused by his decision, because when he explained it, they all got a “ohhh, now it makes sense” look on their faces. So I don’t think he underestimated Erika’s chances, I think he overestimated his own.

 

Xander said specifically that he didn't think that Erika could beat him at FTC when talking to either Deshawn or Heather. Now that could have been bravado or a lie, and maybe he thought that Erika couldn't beat him as his biggest competition but I don't think so. I think Xander played a pretty honest game (other than the deception about the whereabouts of his idol.) Unless you're a dummy or have a misplaced sense of honor like whatshisface, you don't bring your best competition to the finale. You bring someone you believe you can beat.

In terms of the rationale that giving Erika a chance to impress by making fire, I don't know if that is an after-the-fact rationalization once it becomes clear to him that Erika had more juice with the jury than he thought, if it was what he was thinking at the time, or what. I find it interesting that he didn't express the sentiment that he wanted to bring Erika along in his confessionals or in talking with Heather or Deshawn if that was his thinking all along. 

[Chicago Redshirt]

3 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I went back and watched that part to see where I got the "stumbled on," idea.  Everyone but her  reads the clue, figures it out, and runs into the woods.  Erica sits and her voice over says she was the last one to get the clue. We see her relaxed in an interview saying the she hates "scavenger hunts."  We see the others running through the jungle.  We see Erika walking slowly on the very edge of the woods, with the beach just a few feet behind her, spotting the advantage.  She was looking, but it seemed like she wasn't looking as hard as the rest.

She read and solved the clue slower than everyone else. It could be that she was resigned to not being able to find it given that they had such a headstart. It may be that she's not a runner. In any case, hating scavenger hunts and walking doesn't mean that she was looking for the advantage any less than anyone else or did any more lucking into finding the advantage than anyone else. And certainly doesn't support the notion that production essentially handed it to her out of "wokeness."

[seacliffsal]

Although both DeShawn and Heather told Xander that Erika could beat him, I personally would not have put much trust into their perspectives as they were trying to be the one he saved.  Yes, they were right, but it would be hard to believe them in that situation as they are trying to stay in the game.  I think this would be the hardest aspect of Survivor-who to believe, when to believe them, and why believe them?  And I think it would be even harder in the 39 day seasons when it would feel like one was even more isolated and questioning everything.

[30 Helens]

20 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

In terms of the rationale that giving Erika a chance to impress by making fire, I don't know if that is an after-the-fact rationalization once it becomes clear to him that Erika had more juice with the jury than he thought, if it was what he was thinking at the time, or what.

I would have sworn I heard him say that beforehand, and also that he thought she was strong competition (or maybe I just inferred that part). Normally I would go back and check, but I’m finding I don’t care enough. I’m ready to put this season behind me and look forward to hating the next one, too (based on previews).

Edited December 16, 2021 by 30 Helens

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I went back and watched that part to see where I got the "stumbled on," idea.  Everyone but her  reads the clue, figures it out, and runs into the woods.  Erica sits and her voice over says she was the last one to get the clue. We see her relaxed in an interview saying the she hates "scavenger hunts."  We see the others running through the jungle.  We see Erika walking slowly on the very edge of the woods, with the beach just a few feet behind her, spotting the advantage.  She was looking, but it seemed like she wasn't looking as hard as the rest.

As @Chicago Redshirt said, she did solve the clue, just after everyone else. And if you want to find something hidden, you’re obviously going to have to walk slowly at some point rather than running the whole time, or you’ll miss it. I guarantee there were points were the others were walking slowly also. And of course she was relaxed in the interview - she had found it by then!

[kassandra8286]

2 hours ago, ProfCrash said:

Erika won two immunity challenges, a balancing one and the final five. She didn't carry her tribe in the tribe challenges, but she had Danny, a professional football player, on her tribe and she was one of the smaller players. You wouldn't expect her to be a challenge beast. But she never held back her tribe, unlike Heather. She was probably on par with Sydney in terms of the team challenges.

I would argue she contributed to Luvu's IC wins with her puzzle prowess. Every pre-merge challenge that finished with a puzzle she was right there (with DeShawn), arranging the pieces like a speed demon. 

[Silver-hyren]

My biggest takeaway from the finale is Jeff Probst really, really wants to be a contestant on Survivor.

[Lady Calypso]

I am very content with an Erika win. Although her edit was more quiet (not surprising, since she wasn't making BIG! FLASHY! MOVES! that this season was banking on), especially at the beginning, you could see that she was still doing things to get her further. Her game was more social, which, for Survivor, is harder to edit in for some reason, and you do get a good picture of WHY she won. It's just a shame that women who win Survivor are often criticized and torn to shreds for their gameplay and why any of the other finalists should have won instead of them. 

Of course Erika's game wasn't perfect, but I appreciate under the radar games a lot. Plus, Deshawn/Xander clearly made mistakes along the way that cost them the win. 

Xander's million dollar mistake was his misreads throughout the season. He misread the jury (NEVER EVER EVER tell the jury what they're thinking; THEY'LL tell you what they're thinking) and overestimated his own ability due to this. He didn't see that he was never taken seriously from jury onward, which he should have picked up on when the players took out his allies and left him alone. Deshawn's mistakes were through his specific moves and not tapping more into strategy more often (ie not using his initial connection with Evvie and tossing that aside to get them out instead). 

Do I think Deshawn or Xander COULD have received an extra vote each? Sure. Xander still made SOME correct moves that could have earned him a vote, and Deshawn did well in making up with Shan and explaining his moves. But should they have? No, I think Erika simply played a better game. Deemed a threat by her own tribe early on, she still managed to survive and keep fighting. She clearly had good social connections and was able to articulate her game. And she had help in the people who DID see her game.

I do feel like Ricard was the biggest threat to win, and I would have loved that. But Erika was easily the second best out of that final 5, so I'm glad we finally got a wonderful winner. 

Also, some props to Heather, who really did well in this endgame, just coming up short.  

[blackwing]

32 minutes ago, Chicago Redshirt said:

In terms of the rationale that giving Erika a chance to impress by making fire, I don't know if that is an after-the-fact rationalization once it becomes clear to him that Erika had more juice with the jury than he thought, if it was what he was thinking at the time, or what. I find it interesting that he didn't express the sentiment that he wanted to bring Erika along in his confessionals or in talking with Heather or Deshawn if that was his thinking all along. 

 

12 minutes ago, 30 Helens said:

I would have sworn I heard him say that beforehand, and also that he thought she was strong competition (or maybe I just inferred that part). Normally I would go back and check, but I’m finding I don’t care enough. I’m ready to put this season behind me and look forward to hating the next one, too (based on previews).

I agree with the latter comment... I too thought I heard him say that she was strong competition.  I believe he said that of the three of them (her, Deshawn and Erika), she was by far the most proficient at making fire since she had to do it by herself for two days on Exile.  He knew that Deshawn was no good and I don't think he thought much of Heather's fire-making abilities.  I think his rationale was that since Erika was likely going to win the fire-making competition anyways, she would be in the finals whether he took her or not.  So he wanted to take her so she wouldn't have the "I built fire under pressure" additional accomplishment on her resume.

Unfortunately, it may have been a bad call.  Deshawn seems to have gotten little to no credit for his come-from-behind win at the fire-making challenge. 

I am curious as to who would have won if it had been a Deshawn/Heather/Xander FTC.  Would Xander still get zero votes?  Would Deshawn win?  Or would Heather have been the unexpected winner?

[Jeanne222]

58 minutes ago, JudyObscure said:

I went back and watched that part to see where I got the "stumbled on," idea.  Everyone but her  reads the clue, figures it out, and runs into the woods.  Erica sits and her voice over says she was the last one to get the clue. We see her relaxed in an interview saying the she hates "scavenger hunts."  We see the others running through the jungle.  We see Erika walking slowly on the very edge of the woods, with the beach just a few feet behind her, spotting the advantage.  She was looking, but it seemed like she wasn't looking as hard as the rest.

Erika is smart. She was thinking. Slow and steady wins the race!

[Chicago Redshirt]

12 minutes ago, blackwing said:

 

I agree with the latter comment... I too thought I heard him say that she was strong competition.  I believe he said that of the three of them (her, Deshawn and Erika), she was by far the most proficient at making fire since she had to do it by herself for two days on Exile.  He knew that Deshawn was no good and I don't think he thought much of Heather's fire-making abilities.  I think his rationale was that since Erika was likely going to win the fire-making competition anyways, she would be in the finals whether he took her or not.  So he wanted to take her so she wouldn't have the "I built fire under pressure" additional accomplishment on her resume.

Unfortunately, it may have been a bad call.  Deshawn seems to have gotten little to no credit for his come-from-behind win at the fire-making challenge. 

I am curious as to who would have won if it had been a Deshawn/Heather/Xander FTC.  Would Xander still get zero votes?  Would Deshawn win?  Or would Heather have been the unexpected winner?

Going back to the episode, Heather told Xander he should take her because Erika could beat him. Xander said he didn't think so (with IMO a super-smug look on his face.) 

Xander told Erika that he was taking her, and Erika confessionals that she was shocked that he was doing so and wondered if that meant he thought she was beatable.

Xander says in a confessional that he hoped Heather beat Deshawn in the firemaking challenge because then Heather and Erika would be telling the jury the same thing and he didn't see how he couldn't win in that scenario.

Which IMO shows that he just  doesn't get some of the subtleties of the game. Just because Heather and Erika might have had similar games does not mean they would split the votes or that he would get any more votes in that scenario than he did in reality.

Just spitballing, but I think that in a Xander/Deshawn/Heather final three, Deshawn probably wins. I do think that Deshawn probably would have also gotten votes from at least Shan and Liana in that case, so all he would have to do is pull one vote in from somewhere. I don't know if Heather gets any vote beyond Erika's. I think Ricard's vote goes to Xander. In his Ponderosa interview he alluded to their being two Survivors who deserved his vote. I assume that Erika was one and that Xander was the other, as he has been critical of Deshawn's game in general.

[mythoughtis]

I’m just now watching the after party. I have to make a comment about Shan’s outfit.   Those pants missing most of the front.  The top that doesn’t cover much.  Not someone I want for a youth pastor. This outfit isn’t part of Survivor game play.  It’s real life. 

[blackwing]

30 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

I’m just now watching the after party. I have to make a comment about Shan’s outfit.   Those pants missing most of the front.  The top that doesn’t cover much.  Not someone I want for a youth pastor. This outfit isn’t part of Survivor game play.  It’s real life. 

Hah.  You should see her Instagram.  For a pastor, she seems awfully narcissistic.  Lots and lots of photos of her posing for the camera, a few in outfits that definitely are not conservative.

[violet and green]

4 hours ago, fishcakes said:

To me the biggest tell that Xander had a poor social game is that he thought Erika was a goat. Social game isn't just having people like you; it's understanding the social dynamics of the group, and Xander clearly did not. His bringing Erika to the F3 isn't the same as Colby bringing Tina or Woo bringing Tony. Colby and Woo did it because they (foolishly or not depending on anyone's particular point of view) wanted to go up against someone they considered deserving of winning the game. Xander bringing Erika to be the goat is like Russell bringing Sandra to be the goat, just a bad, wrong decision that shows they didn't know what was happening in the game. 

Well, it was the same in the sense that like them he made a million dollar mistake.

Colby's motivation wasn't purely because he wanted someone he considered deserving of winning up beside him - he hated that chef, he was all anyone but him - and he never imagined in his wildest dreams Tina would be voted sole Survivor because she was so likeable - he thought they would reward the best player, him. Woo was just sweet.

[kassandra8286]

4 hours ago, KeithJ said:

17 hours ago, violet and green said:

Anyway, next season looks rank. All the new bullshit I never want to see again, repeated. Will no doubt watch it anyway!

All we can hope is that it was far enough along that they didn't have time to take out all the garbage (have they started filming yet).

Hopefully they'll see how poorly everything was received this season and make changes for 43.

Nope, 42 was filmed back-to-back with 41 and Jeff has proudly stated in interviews that 42 will include all the same twists, advantages, and general fuckery as 41, including Do or Die and Turn Back Time. I share your hope that all that nonsense will be dialed WAY back for 43, but Jeff is famous for not listening to anyone except the (probably mythical) "people on the street" (who conveniently love everything he does) and Mike White. Hopefully Mike will talk some sense into him but he may be too busy writing White Lotus season 2 to be bothered.

Jeff also seems to be very enthusiastic about 42, more so than this season. That's probably not a good sign.

Edited December 16, 2021 by kassandra8286

[iMonrey]

Quote

The evidence that Xander had a poor social game includes:

1. He was rarely shown trying to make inroads with anyone and didn't really have any allies post-merge

Neither was Erika. Editing this season proved nothing. Hell, I was convinced DeShawn was going to win based on the way last week's episode was edited. And he had as many allies as Erika did.

The show was focused on challenges, twists, advantages and chaotic tribals. We really didn't get a good look at any personal dynamics in between. 

Quote

2. By his own admission, he misread the jury on key points.

This is another interesting thing about the editing. Xander was absolutely correct about the way the jury reacted to DeShawn criticizing Erika's game. Yet when he said it to them, they all did a double take and Shan said "I think that's a bad read." So either they didn't realize the way they reacted to that, or didn't remember it, or simply didn't like that Xander was calling them out on it. That's another thing that might have cost him some votes, if not the game.

Quote

6. Despite having the most impressive resume, he got ZERO VOTES. One can't get shut out of jury votes and claim that they had a "very good" social game. 

I'm not convinced the jury voted for Erika because of her social game. Who knows what juries base their votes on, but I saw no evidence that they were all closer to her than they were with Xander or that they thought she had a superior social game. By her own admission she was only social with Heather.

Did Xander have a great social game? Maybe not, but I don't think he had a bad one and I don't think that's what cost him the game. 

[Hera]

I'm happy with Erika's win, but I wish she and Heather hadn't been so underedited in the first half of the game. They found time to show us Sydney, Deshawn, Danny, and Naseer on Luvu—they absolutely could have found time to show Erika and Heather as well. The finale in particular made me realize that Heather almost certainly had a good grip on the social dynamics. It would have been nice if she had been given credit for that throughout the game. As Erika pointed out, she and Heather were a tight pair who made it all the way to Final Four, which rarely happens. That should have been a storyline given the same amount of time that the Shan/Ricard and Deshawn/Danny pairings got.

3 hours ago, CountryGirl said:

I don’t agree him not letting Erika battle it out to make fire was some colossal mistake as she seemed to be faking her lack of fire-making prowess and if she had won, which I think she would have, it would have made her case that much stronger.

I had wondered if she was sandbagging not being able to start a fire as well. It would have made sense. I think Erika's ideal final three was her, Xander, and Heather, and she would have good reason to think she could beat Deshawn at making fire. But if she had been, surely we would have seen a confessional to that effect—instead, I'm pretty sure we got one saying almost the opposite.

Speaking of that fire challenge, I felt bad for Heather. It seemed like the wind whipped her fire around the string (and sometimes away from it), while Deshawn was sitting in a calmer spot, so his fire could hit that same part of the string. Now that fire-making is a permanent part of Final Four, it seems like the least the producers could do is figure out how to screen or shelter the fire makers so that the effect of the wind is minimized (or at least somewhat equalized).

5 hours ago, Wildcard said:

6 hours ago, SweaterGirl said:

The jury has ONE JOB. That is to vote for the player who is most deserving to win based on that person's actual resume and performance in the game.

Even if this is true (and I don't think it is) - is it not possible that the jury looked at the resume and performances of all three finalists and thought Erika did play the best game?

Exactly. The subjectivity of who deserves to win is what makes the end game and the final so interesting. If it were possible to assess someone's résumé and performance in the game objectively, then there wouldn't be any need for a jury at all. You'd just tally up the Sole Survivor points and whoever has the most is the winner. Xander and Deshawn both got to the end by burning their allies (except for Danny, in Deshawn's case). They both gave various jurors the impression that they would work with them, and then didn't. That's actually not such a bad way to get to the end, but it significantly increases the difficulty of winning. Some people think it's unfair; I do not. Erika lasted just as long as Deshawn and Xander, and managed to burn fewer bridges in doing so. Why shouldn't she be rewarded for it?

5 hours ago, phlebas said:

When [Xander] did have an ally, he would burn them. He could have saved Tiffany. Or Evvie. Or Ricard. And he made sure they KNEW he could do it.  But he didn't -- very flashy, but annoying to the victims, and they were on the jury.

To be honest, I think Ricard should have known not to get his hopes up at that point. I can kind of understand why Xander didn't save Tiffany (he also got votes at that Tribal Council, though if he, Tiffany, and Evvie had stuck together to vote Heather, it wouldn't have mattered), but letting Evvie get voted out was an inexcusable move if you assume he was ever willing to use the idol to save an ally. I think it was clear in that moment that Xander was never going to use his idol to save anyone else. Honestly, I'm surprised he bothered to play it for himself.

[ProfCrash]

7 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Neither was Erika. Editing this season proved nothing. Hell, I was convinced DeShawn was going to win based on the way last week's episode was edited. And he had as many allies as Erika did.

The show was focused on challenges, twists, advantages and chaotic tribals. We really didn't get a good look at any personal dynamics in between. 

This is another interesting thing about the editing. Xander was absolutely correct about the way the jury reacted to DeShawn criticizing Erika's game. Yet when he said it to them, they all did a double take and Shan said "I think that's a bad read." So either they didn't realize the way they reacted to that, or didn't remember it, or simply didn't like that Xander was calling them out on it. That's another thing that might have cost him some votes, if not the game.

I'm not convinced the jury voted for Erika because of her social game. Who knows what juries base their votes on, but I saw no evidence that they were all closer to her than they were with Xander or that they thought she had a superior social game. By her own admission she was only social with Heather.

Did Xander have a great social game? Maybe not, but I don't think he had a bad one and I don't think that's what cost him the game. 

I don’t think the jury voted for Erika because of her social game. The jury called her on that. Ricard’s entire question was “why did you only play socially with a few people?” And Erika’s response was that she was not the type of person who could form bonds with everyone, so she played in her boundaries. She had solid social relationships with Ricard and Heather. I think she thought she was solid with DeShawn when she approached him about voting out Sydney. 

I think the jury voted for Erika because she played a solid strategic game and used her few social connections wisely. Erika was someone lots of people talked to about voting out other folks or people listened to her when she had suggestions. She participated in developing plans with others. 

And Erika won immunity and helped her tribe win immunities. 

Xander did not play a bad game but he didn’t play a good game either. He was under the radar and just didn’t seem to connect with the other players. 

DeShawn did not play a good game and got one vote out of loyalty, I think. 

[LoveLeigh]

It actually is totally Xander's fault he lost. He took Erica to final 3!!! She was in! If he made her go to the fire making challenge there was a 50/50 chance she would have lost. If he was sitting next to Heather or Deshawn he may have won; his chances would have been greater. 

What was he thinking? He was afraid she would win the fire challenge? He took her anyway!

Stupid move. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by LoveLeigh

[kassandra8286]

5 minutes ago, ProfCrash said:

I think the jury voted for Erika because she played a solid strategic game and used her few social connections wisely. Erika was someone lots of people talked to about voting out other folks or people listened to her when she had suggestions. She participated in developing plans with others. 

And Erika won immunity and helped her tribe win immunities. 

Plus she laid out her strategy and accomplishments in an articulate, coherent, and persuasive manner. Her FTC performance was miles above DeShawn's and Xander's. The jurors probably had their minds made up already, but if any of them were still on the fence, Erika convinced them to swing her way. They say jurors want to feel good about their vote, and she gave them plenty of reason to do so.