Post by Neil Patrick Harris on Mar 5, 2011 19:04:04 GMT -5
This has been an unbelievably tough decision -- far more difficult than I anticipated.
In the end, though, my vote is for... Sofia.
For me, it came down to a choice between Gary and Sofia. While the answers/information given in tribal council has helped me to realize that Heidi probably didn't rat out the Mohua tribe during the tribal when I almost got voted out, her answers didn't shed any real light on why her strategy, such as it was, was better than Sofia's or Gary's. Both Gary and Sofia played a much stronger overall game.
Choosing between Gary and Sofia has been absolutely brutal, and I legitimately wish that I could vote for both of them. In terms of strategy, the social game, and in challenges, they were essentially equals. I came into this tribal council expecting to vote for Gary, but a few admittedly minor things changed my vote. Number one, I don't believe that Gary really had as much reason to be worried about his place in the original Chukar tribe as he seems to have had, because I honestly believe that he was as much part of the core alliance as anyone else (and I, for one, would have much rather sided with him over Kathy/Cher when push came to shove). At the same time, Sofia was fighting for her life on the other tribe, and they managed to pull a great power move to set themselves up for later on. As a result, I have to give Sofia the advantage in the early part of the game.
The other thing that changed my mind was the incessant back-and-forth between Heidi and Gary. While I absolutely side with Gary in the argument, I don't think he did himself any favors by engaging with someone who was pretty much delusional. Frankly, it made Gary look defensive, and a few ugly things came out, including some of the names he called Heidi and the revelation that he perhaps didn't try as hard in the Final Four immunity challenge as he could have. Like I said, these are pretty minor things, but it's all I've got given how much I respect both Gary and Sofia.
Admittedly, I'm kind of torn on my vote. Gary unquestionably took the biggest risk in the game, when he switched sides, and I have enormous respect for him for that reason. Part of me very much believes that he deserves to be rewarded for that move. On the other hand, as I said before, I don't know if the move was necessarily the right one to make given the information available at the time, even though it ended up working out extremely well for him. (And as a side note, I continue to be impressed that he successfully lied to my face on AIM for at least 15 minutes straight the night before the first merged tribal council. Though in all seriousness, I wish he had told me the truth, because if I had known the situation I would have gladly flipped on Chukar with him!)
In the end, though, Sofia did a fantastic job of articulating her strategy, and when she did respond to Heidi's attacks, she did so in a clear, cogent manner. In a lot of ways, this vote came down to communication, which is obviously something I appreciate given my novella-length confessionals. Sofia is an amazing communicator, and I believe that this skill helped her not only in the game, but also in the process of explaining how and why her strategy was successful. And while part of me wishes that she had chosen to stab Gary in the back at the final four -- that would have made my vote really easy! -- I have to nonetheless respect the fact that she chose to go to the final three with another very strong player and STILL managed to get my vote. Well done.
So that's the end of another Survivor game. It's been fun, everyone. Now, allow me to include my standard disclaimer: I apologize if anything I've written in these confessionals hurts anyone's feelings. It's never my intention to do so. For me, an enormous part of the fun of these games is in documenting my strategy, thoughts, and interactions, and part of that means that when I'm confused or angry it winds up being recorded for all to see. The information that others could glean from my previous diary entries probably hurt me in this game, and I expect that the info I'm giving away in these confessionals will hurt me in All-Stars. That just goes with the turf, because without the ability to write about the game I would find them to be incredibly boring. As always, feel free to respond to anything I've written or drop me a line if you actually make it through all of my posts.
So with that I say so long, and I'll see you again in All-Stars!
In the end, though, my vote is for... Sofia.
For me, it came down to a choice between Gary and Sofia. While the answers/information given in tribal council has helped me to realize that Heidi probably didn't rat out the Mohua tribe during the tribal when I almost got voted out, her answers didn't shed any real light on why her strategy, such as it was, was better than Sofia's or Gary's. Both Gary and Sofia played a much stronger overall game.
Choosing between Gary and Sofia has been absolutely brutal, and I legitimately wish that I could vote for both of them. In terms of strategy, the social game, and in challenges, they were essentially equals. I came into this tribal council expecting to vote for Gary, but a few admittedly minor things changed my vote. Number one, I don't believe that Gary really had as much reason to be worried about his place in the original Chukar tribe as he seems to have had, because I honestly believe that he was as much part of the core alliance as anyone else (and I, for one, would have much rather sided with him over Kathy/Cher when push came to shove). At the same time, Sofia was fighting for her life on the other tribe, and they managed to pull a great power move to set themselves up for later on. As a result, I have to give Sofia the advantage in the early part of the game.
The other thing that changed my mind was the incessant back-and-forth between Heidi and Gary. While I absolutely side with Gary in the argument, I don't think he did himself any favors by engaging with someone who was pretty much delusional. Frankly, it made Gary look defensive, and a few ugly things came out, including some of the names he called Heidi and the revelation that he perhaps didn't try as hard in the Final Four immunity challenge as he could have. Like I said, these are pretty minor things, but it's all I've got given how much I respect both Gary and Sofia.
Admittedly, I'm kind of torn on my vote. Gary unquestionably took the biggest risk in the game, when he switched sides, and I have enormous respect for him for that reason. Part of me very much believes that he deserves to be rewarded for that move. On the other hand, as I said before, I don't know if the move was necessarily the right one to make given the information available at the time, even though it ended up working out extremely well for him. (And as a side note, I continue to be impressed that he successfully lied to my face on AIM for at least 15 minutes straight the night before the first merged tribal council. Though in all seriousness, I wish he had told me the truth, because if I had known the situation I would have gladly flipped on Chukar with him!)
In the end, though, Sofia did a fantastic job of articulating her strategy, and when she did respond to Heidi's attacks, she did so in a clear, cogent manner. In a lot of ways, this vote came down to communication, which is obviously something I appreciate given my novella-length confessionals. Sofia is an amazing communicator, and I believe that this skill helped her not only in the game, but also in the process of explaining how and why her strategy was successful. And while part of me wishes that she had chosen to stab Gary in the back at the final four -- that would have made my vote really easy! -- I have to nonetheless respect the fact that she chose to go to the final three with another very strong player and STILL managed to get my vote. Well done.
So that's the end of another Survivor game. It's been fun, everyone. Now, allow me to include my standard disclaimer: I apologize if anything I've written in these confessionals hurts anyone's feelings. It's never my intention to do so. For me, an enormous part of the fun of these games is in documenting my strategy, thoughts, and interactions, and part of that means that when I'm confused or angry it winds up being recorded for all to see. The information that others could glean from my previous diary entries probably hurt me in this game, and I expect that the info I'm giving away in these confessionals will hurt me in All-Stars. That just goes with the turf, because without the ability to write about the game I would find them to be incredibly boring. As always, feel free to respond to anything I've written or drop me a line if you actually make it through all of my posts.
So with that I say so long, and I'll see you again in All-Stars!
