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Post by Clay Jordan on May 20, 2021 16:31:51 GMT
Hi Erin! I don't know about narrow minded. But I do think I was determined and consistent, so I can see where you're coming from. I think having a consistent belief really helped me learn who I could trust, because you can follow the lines of communication and see if they add up. And that was what tipped me off when the trust between Jan and you was broken. So I don't think it hindered me. I believe it helped get me here.
I didn't know what to expect from this game. The format of the message boards is definitely different, and I'll be honest that I sometimes have social anxiety about who to message, and when to message someone. This isn't specific to survivor. It just is what it is, and I'm working on it. But I just wanted to have fun. I had an open mind about what this game could be. Maybe that's a stupid answer. But I legitimately loved playing this, and having an outlet that made sense to me in this weirdo world right now.
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Post by Jed Hildebrand on May 20, 2021 16:51:08 GMT
Hey Jan
The reason I didn’t show up for the 'barramundi, travelly, squid and silver fish' challenge was because we won all the challenges before that and still had two inactive players. I didn’t think it was fair for everyone who was playing on the other tribe to get voted out when I knew we had inactive players.
As I said to Robb, I did not know that Clay would take me to the final, that was not a guarantee. Me and Robb aligned very early and said if we were in a final 3 spot against someone from outside of our alliance that we’d take each other. I didn’t throw it, I got a score of 73 posts, out of a possible 84. I slept for 3 hours because I didn’t want to come into work with no sleep. Clay posted for 21 hours straight because he knew we wouldn’t take him.
Survivor is about outwitting, outlasting, and outplaying and I am confident in saying I did all three. Me and Robb split your and Clay’s votes up which got you out. I had the strongest alliance with Erin and Robb making me come all the way to final 2 and got everyone on board with voting Ken out making it a three two against your alliance. I can see how it may seem that way to someone like yourself but I was in full control of the game and survivor isn’t about flashy moves, it’s about outwit outlast outplay, three things I did
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Post by Clay Jordan on May 20, 2021 16:54:03 GMT
Hey Stephanie! This is a tough one. So many factors.
I've crunched the numbers, and people always like the rule of 3. It has a power in storytelling. It helps with memory. And it looks cool in a triangle.
I'm going with 3!
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Post by Jed Hildebrand on May 20, 2021 17:04:29 GMT
Erin! What’s up!
This is a tough question for me because I really try to live in the present and not focus on the what ifs or what could have been. It would have been an honour to be sitting next to both you and Robb. You because you are the challenge God and Robb for his political game. But it would have all been circumstantial and too hard to tell who I would go to the final with because we all never got to that point and the game is always changing. I’m really glad I got to know you in this game and had an amazing time playing with you.
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Post by Clay Jordan on May 20, 2021 17:48:18 GMT
Jan I know you didn't ask a question, but I think I'm supposed to respond anyway. Lol. I just want to thank you for your commitment to the game. Using this relationship I was able to build a variety of alliances to serve every round except the final. I could plan long term order of players to eliminate, and how to do it. I could challenge your ideas, and you would get on board when I talked it through. It wasn't about who came up with it. It was about being smart. You also weren't afraid to trust me when I said that things can change. They always do. (The one time you didn't get on board, was the time you got voted out. And I respected that, because I knew I could win an effort based final challenge. But it should have gone to rocks!) You were the piece that allowed me to play a political game when that's what suited me the most. They feared you, when they should have feared me. And by the time they realized, it was too late. I'm grateful.
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Post by Clay Jordan on May 20, 2021 18:11:39 GMT
"Hi Mate!" (there's one thing.) lol. Hey Tanya!
Rumour has it you're hilarious. And I wish I had taken the time to see more of that. Survivor needs more jokes. And you really brought it.
One thing I love about island life is the ability to take a swan dive off the rocks at the end of a long day. You wouldn't know it from my dad-bod physique, but I'm quite the swimmer. And it really helps me clear my head. Plus, it is hot! Gotta stay clean! One thing I absolutely hated was the spiders. I was bunking with John in the first week, and I look over and he's white as a ghost, slowly lifting his hand like he's witnessed death itself. Turns out there's a fucking HUGE spider on my shoulder. The producers had to get involved. I signed an NDA. It's not going to be in the final cut. But it happened.
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Post by Clay Jordan on May 20, 2021 18:23:00 GMT
Ken, great question. Here's my Clay Jordan avatar scorecard. Attractiveness: No, but I'm not a literal monster. 2/10 Smile: Ok! 5/10 Colour of shirt: Yellow. My actual least favourite colour. 0/10 Strength: Uh-uh. But maybe that's a good thing? 4/10 Lighting: Stellar. 10/10 That brings me to a 4.2. It's a good thing this is not the avatar olympics, but I think it's what underneath that counts.
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Post by Jeff Probst on May 20, 2021 19:44:55 GMT
FINAL STATEMENTS
Clay:
People talk a lot about trust. But I’ll tell you Jeff. I didn't feel it. Especially in this virtual format. There’s no body language to read. The only thing you can trust from people in this game is to act out of their own self interest. They want to win. And if you can align with others there, that’s a winning strategy. So I did.
I'm a very competitive person. And one of the toughest things for me in the beginning was restraint. I recognized early on in Chuay Gahn that I didn't want to be the big fish in a small pond, because once you have that reputation, you can't shake it. But I wanted to win. So I went down what I joking described in my confessionals to Jeff as "an aggressively moderate" strategy. I took the temperature of the tribe and always contributed in a meaningful way (building relationships), but never took took the glory. I was all about team effort. A united front. The stars of our original tribe liked me because I valued them, and the feeling was mutual. We carried that forward.
I've already described my strategy going into the merge in our Q&A, so I'm going to go straight to the elephant in the room. Challenges. Outwit, outlast, outplay can be done separately, sure. But what if they're done simultaneously? A feat of effort and skill doesn't contradict strategy. It is one.
Challenge 12, Outwit: The word unscrambling proved my potential. I was FAST. Challenge 13, Outplay. Where we had to win a variety challenges (puzzle, slider, unscrambler) proved that I was CONSISTENT. Challenge 14, Outlast: Holding stones (post every 15 minutes, for 21 hours). I posted 84 times. I didn't sleep. I had an awkward split focus in a meeting in my real life that day (lol). We all had the same odds, but ultimately, I WANTED IT THE MOST.
I thought I had a real shot of going for a multi-challenge run. I knew I was better than people gave me credit for. I took the high risk, high reward option for a three-peat. I wore the target on my back every day, because I thought it would a make a more compelling story. And I know that some would prefer a more peripheral approach. But guess what? I DID IT. IT WORKED! That was a winning strategy, and the definition of outplay. And it only worked because I the wits to get me there, and the guts to pull it off.
I'm not trying to talk smack, because I absolutely respect the difficulty in getting to the finals, but Jed is here because I wanted him to be. He lacked the underdog story of Robb, the tactical strength of Jan, and the challenge threat of Erin. I could have continued my aggressively moderate strategy. But honestly, where's the fun in that? The challenge dominance showed more strength.
And yes. I even had a bit of luck. So did Jed. The odds were 60/40 for a Chuay Gahn win on the rocks. But it's still a one in five chance to have gone home. I didn’t. And it positioned CG to knock out back to back members of the SJ tribe. It was worth it. It kept my shields in the game. And I was grateful to keep playing.
Maybe you like me, and maybe you don't. That's fair. But I got the job done in the most entertaining way I can imagine. I hope you will respect my game.
Thanks for a great season everyone!
Jed:
For my final thoughts I want to keep this short and sweet. I deserve to be the sole survivor because I played the best game. I didn’t have to win the last bunch of challenges (despite trying) because I made strong ties with you all, who were loyal to me. I had the flip vote (Robb) on my side and made the move to vote Ken out when it could have been a 3-3 split which made Clay and Jan’s alliance weaker. I made smart moves and secured my spot in the finals. Whichever way this goes I had an absolute blast and want to thank you all for playing with me and Jeff for setting this whole thing up!
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