Jury Jeopardy

It’s time for the bi-annual throwdown where four Survivor websites enter and one emerges victorious. It’s time for Jury Jeopardy!

In this third installment of the competition, I will be representing Inside Survivor as I go head to head with the writers of Rob Has a Podcast, True Dork Times, Purple Rock Podcast, and A Tribe of One.

Last season, the team from RHAP emerged victorious with a perfect score. But this season, with such a competitive Final Five, it’s anybody’s game. This is all about bragging rights, and it’s definitely worth playing for.

THE RULES

For each Juror (and each potential Juror), each website will rank the Final Five by the likelihood of receiving their Jury vote.

For example, for Juror Desi, I have ranked Devon > Ben > Mike. This means that I predict Desi will vote for Devon if he makes the Final Three under any circumstances, she’ll vote for Ben only if Devon doesn’t make the Final Three, and Desi will only vote for Mike in a Final Three of Chrissy, Mike & Ryan.

Each blogger will score one point for each correct guess, for a possible high score of eight points. A correct guess is determined by the Juror giving their vote to the highest ranking castaway in the Final Three. For instance, if the Final Three is Ben, Chrissy & Mike, I would score one point if Desi voted for Ben, but I would not score a point if she voted for Mike.

Once the votes are read, the decision is final, and the person with the most points will be declared the winner of Heroes v Healers v Hustlers Jury Jeopardy.

But if the score results in a tie, who wins? Do we go to rocks? A challenge? Do we… fight for it?

It comes down to a game of numbers: who guesses closest to the actual vote distribution? A unanimous 8-0-0? A scattershot 4-3-1? This could decide it all!

Blogger ready? Go!

THE JURY SO FAR…

Desi’s vote is hard to place. As the first Juror, she didn’t spend a lot of time with the Final Five, and on top of that, we saw very little of her personal Survivor journey. However, she was a strong competitor who I expect will value similar all-rounder attributes. For this reason, I think her number one pick would be Devon, who has performed well in all aspects of the game and who also spent a good amount of time with her personally connecting on New Levu.

After that, I expect Desi would give her vote to Ben. We don’t know much about their personal interactions seeing as they only met at the merge, but given his endgame underdog story, I could see Desi being one of the players to reward his resourceful game. Finally, if it were to come down to Chrissy, Mike and Ryan, Desi’s vote would go to Mike, her fellow Healer, particularly after his scramble out of the Pagonging.

Like Desi, Cole’s vote is a little hard to predict. As someone who valued challenges, I can see Cole looking towards strong players with clear physicality, and I could see his vote veering towards his fellow young and athletic dude in Devon. Behind him, I’ll guess that Cole’s vote will swing in the complete opposite direction to Mike, who he shared a beach with through the Healers and New Yawa. The two seemed to get along well, and I can see Cole wanting to reward the only Healer who survived the slaughter at the merge.

Lastly, I think Cole would favour Ben. Despite the two going through some rough patches, particularly as Ben called him out for eating more than his fair share, I think Ben’s story and game might be able to smooth over the minor disputes to earn a vote. Especially over players like Chrissy and Ryan with whom Cole doesn’t share any strong connection.

We’ll see how it goes, but of the current Jury, JP’s voting preferences seem to be the most unique. He was closely allied with Chrissy and Ryan from their time on New Soko, they were all blindsided together by the Rogue Knights who took him out, and he seems like a player who would look to loyalty, friendship and things like that. I’ll give Chrissy the edge over Ryan simply because she played with JP from Day One, and her performances in the challenges (with two Immunity wins under her belt at this point) are much more impressive than Ryan’s challenge game.

Coming down to the other three men, JP’s vote is a bit of a crapshoot. He didn’t have strong ties to any of them, despite sharing alliances with two of them, but when push came to shove, I predict JP’s vote will go to Ben for reasons that are clearly becoming a default pattern: his underdog fight with flashy (and successful) moves with Idols and out-of-game heroism.

Joe’s first pick turns a full one-eighty. On Day One, he wanted him out, but on Day 39, I would expect he’d be writing Mike’s name down for an entirely different reason. Joe and Mike became unlikely allies and friends over the course of the Healer Pagonging, and if Mike were able to beat the odds and slide across the finish line, he’d get his fellow CocoNut’s vote.

Next up, I think Joe’s vote would lean towards Ben. Although there was plenty of conflict between the two, one of Joe’s constant arguments against Ben was that he was too big of a threat. Following Ben’s scramble to end with plenty of Tribal Council theatre (right up Mr. Mena’s alley), I can see Joe putting any personal animosity aside to vote for a resourceful and aggressive player.

In the case of Chrissy, Devon and Ryan, I think Joe’s vote goes to Devon, who has seemingly taken more risks in his game by guiding much of the strategy through the middle-merge and could articulate his strategy in a surprising way at the Final Tribal.

I don’t think there is any doubt that Lauren’s first pick on the board would be Devon, who she connected with back on Hustler beach, and again as a Rogue Knight. They planned to face the end together, and if he can get himself there on his own, I think he’d easily lock down Lauren’s vote.

Next up, though, I don’t know what’s going to be in the fisherman’s basket. I could see Lauren’s vote swinging in just about any direction, and I think in any Final Three with any combination of the other four, it could come down to how the game transpires in the finale. At a gamble, though, I’ll wager her vote goes next to Ben. Although they turned on each other the day Lauren went home, they had a strong friendship and alliance to that point that could prevail. Next up, I could see Lauren’s vote going towards Chrissy. They didn’t always get along well, but Lauren casting her vote for the other tough mom out on the island seems fitting.

She might have cold-shouldered a hug in the heat of the moment, but I would be shocked if Ashley waged a personal war against Devon for betraying her. They were close allies since New Levu, and both were playing hard – if Devon can rationalise why he jumped ship on her, I think he’ll retain Ashley’s vote. After him, though, I think Ashley’s vote would go to Chrissy. Ashley and Chrissy seemed to share a similar determination, boldness, and strength, and I predict Ashley would reward the last woman standing who didn’t let her gender or motherhood define the game she played.

Of the remaining three, Ben gets Ashley’s vote. Ashley was the first of the Rogue Knights to push to blindside Ben as a threat to win, and despite them ending up at odds, I think it’s clear they have respect for each other and his hard-fought path to the Final Three would be tough to overlook.

THE FINAL FIVE

As the ‘dead man walking’ – the massive threat and outcast with no allies – it’s hard to know where Ben’s vote would land if his push to the end came up short. At various points, he’s worked with all of the other four, but they’ve all worked against each other too, and each one voted to take him out at the Final 7. It’ll truly come down to what goes down in this Finale episode.

At a guess, though, I think Devon would make good on his promise to explain his game to Ben once he’s on the Jury, and with some good strategic gameplay under his belt, I think the Rogue Knight could take King Arthur’s vote. In a Final Three of Chrissy, Mike and Ryan, I think Ben gives the edge to Chrissy. They shared an allegiance back at Heroes beach, and although they have been vocal adversaries, I would not be surprised to see their stars realign. But who knows – this ballot feels like a total gamble!

I would be shocked to see Chrissy end up on the Jury, but if that fate were to befall her, her ideal vote would easily be her stalwart ally Ryan. Although they didn’t meet until they shared New Soko beach, they were aligned since Day One thanks to Ryan’s Super Idol, and through every up and down of the game, they’ve been in lock-step.

At a distant second, I think Chrissy’s vote would go to Ben, for much the same reason as I’ve discussed above. His unconventional and unlikely push to the end is a hard story to dismiss, and despite their on-again/off-again relationship, I could see game respecting game.

Devon’s ballot is tough to predict, but if the trademarked Devon “WOOOOW” is any indication, he loves a good surprise. Ben making it to the end against the odds is an exciting story and a good game, and although they ended up at odds after the defecting Four turned against each other, it was a mutual betrayal, so any hard feelings may be easily put aside.

Next up, I think Devon’s vote would sway towards his Day One ally Ryan. In another case of an on-again/off-again relationship, I think Devon would come around to support his early and unlikely friend and respect the game he’s played, even if he is the only one to do so.

There’s only one thing we can be sure about with Mike, and that’s his unpredictability. For all we know, he’d get up to the voting booth and cast his vote for Probst to win the title of Sole Survivor. But if I had to make a guess, I’d say Ben. Both Ben and Mike have found themselves with their backs against the wall at various points in the game, and both have used explosive tactics in the arena of Tribal Council. To this point, Ben has seen more success with his moves than Mike, but I think a huge Survivor fan like Mike would want to reward a like-minded player.

If it came down to Chrissy, Devon and Ryan, though… Who knows. It’s a complete stab in the dark, but I’m going to lock in Chrissy as Mike’s number two pick. They share a maturity, they’re in similar phases of life, and if Chrissy can present her strong strategies well at Final Tribal, I can see Mike rewarding her game.

Finally, we’re down to the guy in the red turtleneck – another castaway I would be surprised to see finish in 4th or 5th. But if that transpires, Ryan’s vote would go unquestioningly to Chrissy. As I said above, they’ve been working together from the start, and there’s no way he wouldn’t reward the player who tracked the same game through the merge but managed to get to Day 39. Chrissy and Ryan have also shared a lot of their strategy together, and I think Ryan also has a high appreciation of the work she’s put in to make it deep.

But at a distant second, it’s a tough choice between Ben and Devon. It’s so close, and I’ve been going back and forth on it – does he reward his Hustler ally who then betrayed him but came around full circle, or does he vote for the guy who was a constant adversary? I’ll give the edge to Ben. Although Devon has played a strong game, I think a strategist like Ryan would be impressed by Ben’s more overt game – the undercover spy, the secret idol, the innovative pre-vote idol play. But it’s a very tight race.

IN CASE OF A TIE

I predict that the vote will uncharacteristically close, but although there is a lot of speculation that this season itself will end in a tie, I’m not convinced that will be the case. I think the final tally will come down to two castaways and so I predict that the final Voting Tally will be: 5-3-0.

GAME ON

If you want to play along at home, leave a comment making your predictions or tweet under the hashtag #JuryJeopardy! And, of course, be sure to check out the predictions of our fierce competition:

Ianic Roy Richards of A Tribe of One

Sarah Freeman and the team of Rob Has a Podcast

Jeff Pitman and the team of True Dork Times

Andy at Purple Rock Podcast

• Jury Jeopardy
• Season 35
• Survivor Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers
• Season 35 Jury Jeopardy

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